26 before 27

in 26 days, i’ll turn 27. doesn’t 27 seem like such an auspicious number? i think it will be a good year.

there are a few things, 26 in fact, that i want to do before my birthday. i hope i can check these all off!

1. finish anne of green gables
2. hike the bird island trail at point lobos
3. spend an evening at the santa cruz beach boardwalk
4. don’t have even one day off of keeping my eating and exercise goals
5. don’t miss a day of real gospel study
6. organize all the pictures on my hard drive
7. give my brother and his family a stellar san francisco tour
8. better organize my budget
9. sleep among the redwoods at gualala
10. perform three random, anonymous acts of service
11. blog about expectations and sacrifice
12. re-register my car
13. go to the temple
14. read at least half of the god who weeps
15. try at least five new recipes
16. see the walton lighthouse
17. redesign my blog
18. visit the pulgas water temple
19. write in my journal every single day
20. talk on the phone with each of my siblings
21. try a new restaurant in palo alto
22. surprise someone i love
23. put my feet in the ocean
24. make summer plans for utah
25. make summer plans for some other travel adventure
26. make goals for the year ahead

growing up is such a trip.

brunching in sausalito

i stayed over in the city on friday night, and on saturday morning kelsey and drove across the golden gate bridge to have brunch in sausalito.

sausalito’s charm pretty much knocks me out every time i’m there. it is just so so lovely, sunny and blithe. we ate at le garage overlooking the marina full of boats.

 

as i’m sure i’ve previously noted on this blog, kelsey and i were born to brunch together. we always get a sweet and a savory and share. we are both really good at enjoying food, especially brunch.

we walked along the bridgeway and then drove across the bridge all wrapped up in fog. the towers majestically appeared just as we drove under them. we looked at each other and said incredulously, this is our life! just cruising across the golden gate bridge on a sunny saturday. that drive will never get old to me – it will always tickle my heart a bit.

when we got back into the city and started driving up and down the hills of the marina and pacific heights, i decided to pop my head out the sunroof. it was a thrill ride! my spirit was smiling so wide. kels blasted the music and i waved at amused pedestrians, the top half of me sticking right out of the top of the car.

 

brunch with a dear friend and sunshine in the city by the bay – healing and enlivening and splendid, indeed.

a birthday and the bay

this weekend was steph’s birthday, so kelsey and i took her out on friday night in the city for some celebratory fun. we got pedicures downtown and then walked to pier 7 just as it started to get dark. the cityscape and the bridge lit up and glimmered as the sky transformed from pastel to slate to cerulean to indigo, and the fog hung out, seemingly watching the evolution. at the end of the pier we waved some sparklers, talked about steph’s year past and year to come, and just soaked up the city we love.

we walked to north beach, making a quick stop at the famous citylights bookstore for some delightful browsing on our way to get the city’s best pizza at tony’s. i love strolling through north beach and feeling just like i am in italy. the pizza was so, so delicious! we sat outside on the sidewalk overlooking the church in washington square.

ahhh, what a magical night in the city. i love san francisco and i love steph!
happy birthday again, pretty girl!

a mothers’ day bouquet

paying tribute to my mother seems almost futile; it’s just impossible to even approach a worthy expression of admiration, adoration and appreciation. linda jacobson eyre is the most incredible woman on earth and has given me everything in her example and her love.

one of the trillion, gazillion things i am grateful to my mother for is instilling in me a love and appreciation of beauty, in all its forms. i thought of her, so surging with goodness, as i strolled through elizabeth gamble gardens in palo alto yesterday, enraptured with the glorious flora and fauna. i felt so thankful for the way she taught me to grasp, treasure and enjoy splendor. i wished i could share the flowers with her.

and so, here is a virtual bouquet for my magnificent mother:

  

she is a marvel. she is saint. she is a goddess. and oh! i am just outrageously blessed that she is my mother.

i am also so grateful for the examples and goodness of my sisters and sister-in-laws, and of my dear friends who have recently become mothers. i am grateful for my grandmothers and my great grandmothers and all those women who came before them.

i believe so, so passionately in the power of motherhood. may we all celebrate its divinity fully today and everyday.

p.s. i want a baby

huzzah!

innosight institute is now officially the clayton christensen institute for disruptive innovation. and we have a shiny new website to show off our important work!

about 16 months ago, on my first day as an education research assistant at innosight institute, our president ann pulled me into her office and asked me how i felt about taking on the job of managing our website redesign/redevelopment project. i said “sure!!” truly having no idea what i was getting myself into. a coworker recently said to me, “it’s like they gave you a hammer and told you to build a house.” not a bad analogy.

it has been an incredible learning experience and quite a wild ride. i delved into a foreign world, trusted my intuition, got a lot of support from an amazing team, taught myself some basic coding and how to use some new technology tools, practiced some patience and hope, and majorly built some skills around project management and negotiating contract terms. it has been at times scary and frustrating and disheartening, but i’m so truly grateful for all i’ve learned.

on wednesday, when the site went live, i was so pumped up on adrenaline. my heart was beating so fast for a few hours, realizing the culmination of nearly a year and half of work - about the same amount of time i spent as a missionary! the website still has a ways to go, but we’ve come so far and i’m really honored to have made this meaningful contribution to the world-changing work of the institute.

of course, i planned a launch party in the office for thursday morning. i brought pastries and fruit and made everyone put on a party hat. meg brought bubbly so we could make some toasts (and some lovely flowers for all of us who’ve worked on the site!). we set up the new logo backdrop we had created for our 5th anniversary gala in march.

since i only eat sweets on holidays, my boss made me a legit holiday proclamation to make sure i got to enjoy some treats to celebrate (mmmm, that was a good donut! and my coworker brought me a 1.9 lb bag of swedish fish!). i actually had already chatted with our president about how i thought i’d recognize mother’s day a few days early to allow myself to have sweets. she said that actually fit quite well because, after all, the website has pretty much been my baby.

the long-awaited day has come. hurrah, hurray! i sure have learned a lot.