Nalu & Mike's Day At The Beach

Today I had the pure joy of introducing Nalu to my neck of the woods—the first of many pawsome adventures to come. We hit the beautiful wharf (honestly, can anyone ever get enough of that ocean breeze?), then explored my favorite new route off to the right. By the time we wrapped up our little journey, I got some exciting news: after tomorrow’s training session, there's a strong chance I'll officially become his foster dad—woo hoo! Keeping my fingers crossed and sending prayers upward that nobody adopts him too soon (though if they do, lucky them!).

Truth be told, I'm excited about the idea of helping little paws find their forever homes—paying forward the same love and warmth Santa Cruz has shown me. So, I'll do my best not to get too attached to Nalu. I'll stay open-hearted, ready to welcome whichever furry friends God sends my way. Who knows? Maybe my home will become a revolving door of joyful wagging tails—or maybe Nalu and I will decide we’re just too perfect a pair, and he'll stay permanently while we both foster new canine buddies together.

Whatever path we walk, one thing's certain: the journey is going to be one beautiful, dog-filled adventure. 🐾✨💚

Surfers Have Optimism

The surfers finally got a wave right when I was taking a picture.

I got some free lemons from the church and used it to squeeze into the water kettle and the water is super mega ultra lightening good.

A sweet gift landed thanks to the generosity from a thoughtful staff member. I’m now the proud owner of shiny pots, pans, and even a couple of meal prep boards to help me prep the finger potatoes my Veteran ally, Ron, dropped off.

Honestly, these potatoes tasted amazing—with a little touch of olive oil and a bit of salt, it was fireworks in my mouth. So thanks Ron and thanks to Jordan’s perfectly timed cookware intervention, my kitchen finally looks like a place where actual cooking occurs.

Oh yeah, my new water induction kettle—if you don't have one yet, get on it! Seriously, everyone needs this thing. It's supposed to be even better than a water filter, improving not just how smooth your water feels, but also how amazing it tastes. I noticed a big difference right away: heating up water that came from the cold side of the tap was not good tasting, I could still taste weird stuff in the water, but using the hot tap water and heating it up with this kettle transformed it into something super crisp and clean.