the best kind of breakfasts...

.. are made with love.

After a long week at work and a 36 hour assessment trip to Kansas, I was so excited to wake up to my wonderful husband making breakfast :) I won't give away his tricks, but the meal went something like this:

mmm... delicious pancakes!

the creature fiercely competed for pancake scraps

the chef... who wouldn't cooperate for the paparazzi
... but has beautiful blue eyes, don't you think?

Clearly the perfect morning, no? :)

I'm feeling a little under the weather today, but I'm excited about the week ahead. I just got back from a great assessment in Kansas, which has left me exhausted but encouraged. While eating dinner with the family, one of the little girls decided to hold "court" and have each of us (her mom, me, my advisor) tell the group why we love our husbands. It's been so fun to meet these families, these children.. to hear their stories. With the busy, busy weeks ahead, visiting with the families we work with is the best motivation to keep pushing forward. Like all of the kids we work with, our new little fellow came to us with an incredible and inspiring story.

Cory and I leave Friday for San Francisco - I'm so excited! I have a conference Tues-Friday of the following week, but we're heading down the weekend before for a mini-vacation in the middle of all of this chaos. My uncle has graciously offered us his condo near the boho Mission district -- I can't wait to explore, eat yummy food, visit the family... and most importantly, catch up with my man! Cory leaves Tues, then my friends from school are coming for the conference. I think we're planning so sneak off to Napa Valley, then I'll be presenting my master's thesis data ... then I come home for the weekend, re-pack, and head to Texas for a NIH workshop, conference, and another assessment. Two and a half full weeks of travel.

... hence why I'm a bit perturbed that I'm not feeling to hot today. I got about 3 hours of sleep every night last week, then hopped a plane to Kansas... so I'm not surprised my body is protesting. I just really need this week to catch up on school work and get ahead on school work so I can miss two weeks of classes without completely falling apart. Luckily, spring break comes after the Texas trips, so I'll have 5 days off to frantically catch up.

::sigh:: conference season. It's my favorite time of year, but it's always filled with adventures!

Thus, my posts may become a little more about eating fabulous food versus making fabulous food. The Mission district in SF is known for its amazing ethnic restaurants, so I've already started scoping out some potential conquests. The goal will be to eat somewhat healthily so I can still fit in my clothes when I get home!

So back to the present... I'm feeling so incredibly blessed amidst the cheesiness of Valentine's day. Cory and I have been married for less than a year, but I already can't imagine my life without him. He's such an inspiring man -- so kind, forgiving, loving, caring. He's constantly reminding me of the things in life that really matter - he pulls me out of my little world and back to life. I'm so lucky to have such an amazing valentine :)

"Love takes up where knowledge leaves off." - St. Thomas Aquinas