i had the pleasure of watching a friend shine this morning.
she spearheaded our volunteer appreciation breakfast and it went off without a hitch. often more of a “behind the scenes” kind of gal, it was so nice to see her with the mic in hand. her presentation was polished, her outfit superb and some of our guests even left in tears (tears of joy, mind you).
it’s moments like these when i’m reminded of how incredible the women in my life really are and it feels damn good!
i love shopping online. i regularly check in on my favorite websites, thoughtfully fill my “shopping cart” and then right before i hit, “order” i close my browser.
all the satisfaction of a shopping spree without the buyer’s remorse later.
it’s a beautiful thing.
since i refuse to watch the morning news (who needs to wake up to all that anyway?) and since i have about two hours a day to kill while i commute, i’m a big fan of am radio.
well, on my way home today i heard the most amazing story. sandwiched between reports about the two suicide bombers in russia and the latest criticisms to health care reform, was a story about a new perfume roller that smells like women’s private parts.
i swear to god.
i almost crashed my car as i laughed at the seriousness in the reporter’s voice as he explained the public backlash to this “offensively” smelling scent.
wtf?
lola took her first walk on the strand today. i know that sounds strange considering we live a mile from the beach. but, by the time she was old enough to cruise the streets winter was here and it was just too cold to head down that way. instead, we’ve spent the winter months learning our new neighborhood and making friends at the dog park.
well, now with spring in full bloom our days at the beach are back and there’s no time like the present to introduce lola to her town.
so we walked.
she was like a drunken sailor – swaggering in front of bicycles and roller bladers. it took all we had to keep her on track.
we have some practicing to do before we hit summertime but she’ll get it and before long she’ll be a natural beach bully!
i have the most beautiful girlfriends.
i watched from a distance as they all shined in their brightly colored sundresses this afternoon. whether they’re sharing hugs, laughter, a glass of wine or an empathetic ear, seeing them in action is such a pleasure. and i swear i’m not biased…they’re equally as gorgeous on the outside as they are on the inside.
i checked with mike and he confirmed!
i love rediscovering a band i haven’t listened to in ages. it’s like running into an old friend that you forgot you even missed until you see their face.
lately, that old friend of mine has been the barenaked ladies. and, because it’s been eons since i’ve played their cd, i couldn’t locate it (of course) but felt totally alright about paying $9.99 to download it on itunes. once it was properly uploaded to my ipod, i danced around the kitchen to “brian wilson” as i cooked dinner and while he’ll probably deny it later, mike even admitted to liking a few of their songs.
at the dog park today i got to talking to a woman who was sitting on the ground amidst a pack of dogs. at first, i was a little distracted by the fact that she was literally sitting in the dirt in the middle of a dog park where hundreds of dogs “take care of their business” everyday.
i mean, who does that?
as we got to talking i realized that she was a nice enough woman. still, she kept telling me that lola is very small for her age. apparently, she’s convinced that she’s a “miniature” frenchie and will never be full grown. my instinct was to get all defensive of my slow growing bully baby but then i realized two things.
1. i like her small anyway and with her potential for health problems, we’re better off if she’s slightly underweight than overweight any day.
2. what this strange woman doesn’t know is that this 18 lb. pooch was 5 lbs. when we got her as a newborn – see below. even if she never gets any bigger (which she will), she’s already so much larger to us.
so, maybe i’m closer to being ready for parenthood after all…now that i’m able to shrug off other people’s unsolicited opinions as just that – their opinions.
this blog has become a part of my life. i mean, i’m 252 entries in, one for everyday of my 31st year. clearly, i’m hopelessly devoted.
still, after a week and a half hiatus, it was hard to come back. just carving out the time to update my online journal was a task in itself. but after an encouraging email from one of my readers that simply said,
“Caught up on your blog today, I enjoy it...PS: you're lagging behind, I know vacation, get with it...”
i knew i had to make the time. as i enter my last entry for the day, i feel so good that i did and very grateful that i took brief notes during our travels to insure i didn’t miss a beat.
i came home to a surprise today. a new kindle waiting for me on the dining room table! now understand, i’ve been resisting this technology like i do most at first (it took me forever to give up my vcr). but after watching me polish off three books in a week, my environmentalist husband had enough. he’s forcing me into the digital age whether i like it or not.
as much as i’ll miss the smell of gently used books, the crease from dog eared pages and the satisfaction of turning that last page, i can’t lie. a few minutes of messing around with the kindle and i’m already hooked! gone are the late nights spent scouring my bookshelves for a book i haven’t read too recently, finding room to pack enough reading material to get me through the flight and thousands of dollars spent on overpriced books in the airport shops when i didn’t prepare properly.
next time you see me, i’ll be that cool girl casually flipping through the cyber pages of my new kindle.
because we were out of the country for daylight savings time, we’re only now catching on. i love love love how it stays light longer even though it means losing an extra hour of sleep (and mama likes her sleep)!
now that we have a dog, i love it even more because lola and i have time to visit the dog park after work. and lord knows, this puppy is the belle of the dog park. she’s friends with everyone – the bigs, the smalls and especially all of the owners.
i can’t imagine a better way to end a day!
every time we plan a trip, the discussion of our return flight comes up. beforehand we always want to maximize our time away and the thought actually crosses our mind to arrive home the night before going back to work. still, we (usually) talk some sense into ourselves and cut our trip a day short so we can have a full day back before having to actually function.
mid-vacation, i always second guess our decision but once we’re home, slowly unpacking, doing laundry and settling in, i feel so grateful that our “rational” side won this argument.
the only good part about coming home from vacation is the fact that we will be reunited with our sweet lola. despite all the fun, relaxation and restful nights without her sleeping between us, we both missed her a lot.
but according to this “sign” on the side of the water taxi building in caye caulker, she was with us the whole time.
and yes, i realize that i’m talking about my dog like she’s my child. deal with it.
my husband doesn’t relax much (he doesn’t have the same obsession for napping that i do, poor guy). so, i literally have to put him on a plane to get him to completely unplug from it all. i will say though, while it takes most folks 2-3 days to get into vacation mode, the minute that guy has a beer or bloody mary at the airport, “vacation mike” is in full effect.
seeing him sleep in, doze off, read for “pleasure” and disconnect from the internet is one of the small pleasures in my life. without a distraction in sight, he’s free to do whatever mike likes. and on vacation, mike likes to just chill!
we woke up to beautiful skies today which meant our snorkel trip was on! having snorkeled in some incredible spots in my life – mainly in hawaii - i knew the great barrier reef off the belizean coast would be cool but i had no idea what was in store for us.
we saw turtles, eels, lobsters, sting rays, schools of fish and dozens of gorgeous and exotic coral. still, the highlight of my day was swimming with the nurse sharks.
while half our boat stood in shock staring into the water at the 8 foot sharks circling the boat, mike and i grabbed our snorkel gear and dove right in. being a traditionally cautious person this decision was extremely out of the ordinary for me. i guess i just figured, you only live once right? besides, if tourists were getting eaten by sharks off the coast of belize everyday, surely we’d have heard about it back home. oh, and there’s that small fact that nurse sharks are not perceived as a threat towards humans.
i mean, if wikipedia says so…it’s got to be true.
there’s no denying it, rain on vacation kinda sucks but in a tropical climate, it’s also kinda inevitable. that’s why when we learned our long awaited snorkel adventure was canceled due to impending showers, we took it all in stride.
instead of spending the afternoon discovering underwater life forms, we spent the day cruising around the very small town of caye caulker stopping for a belikin (belizean beer) here and an order of conch ceviche there. we spent a ton of time people watching, reading and overall enjoying each other’s company.
and, instead of seeing it as a wasted day of our trip, i actually believe it was one of the best.
i swear i spend half my life on a hunt for the best hot sauce imaginable. it definitely consumes a large part of my travel experience and fortunately or unfortunately (depending on how you look at it), my very “white” husband has become equally obsessed.
well, let me tell you. discovering this jar of homemade salsa made purely from habanero chilies and fondly referred to as “willy’s chili” was a highlight of our travels so far. i think as mike put it, “if it wouldn’t kill me, i’d gladly drink the entire jar.” at which point our waiter turned to me and said in a heavy kriol accent, “do you have a nice insurance policy?” we all got a chuckle out of that one.
p.s. yes, that is a fish carcas on our plate as well.
as we were driving through the belizean countryside today we passed through probably a dozen towns. still, the towns in this country are so small that if you blink you’ll miss them so we had to pay close attention to all the sights and sounds for fear we’d lose our way.
after seeing what felt like hundreds of churches, crossing a handful of rivers and passing and endless array of brightly painted homes, imagine my surprise when i saw a horse drawn buggy on the side of the road. even more shocking was the driver – a caucasian fellow dressed in traditional garb. after doing a double take, i had to remind myself that we are in belize and not pennsylvania.
i learned later that there is a huge population of mennonites in belize along with kriol, mayan, mestizo and garifuna. throw in a ton of ex pats and you’ve got the most culturally diverse country i’ve ever seen. the best part is, from everything we saw, the local people not only coexist but blend their cultures to some extent.
now, if only we can learn that fine art here in the states. imagine the possibilities.
i frequently discuss my obsession with napping and yes, i’ve heard all the arguments against wasting away an afternoon. i know it’s a sign of laziness and i completely understand that “there will be plenty of time to sleep after i die”.
still, i love me a good nap.
i rationalize this obsession with the fact that i’m constantly going nonstop. running from here to there. multitasking. overbooking. you know the drill. when i do get some “me” time, i like to drift off to la la land.
so sue me.
now that i’ve justified my favorite lazy day activity, imagine this: a river running through a belizean jungle. on the riverbank is a palapa with two hammocks hanging in it. there are no other people in sight and the only sounds come from tropical birds singing in the trees above and water flowing peacefully down river. a light breeze blows causing the leaves on the trees to ruffle ever so gently. now imagine mike and i laying quietly in those hammocks.
nap of a lifetime, i’m tellin’ ya!
have you ever noticed the gap of space where the jetway meets the airplane and the outside weather sneaks into the terminal? passing through this section can be either an extremely pleasant or very painful experience.
when that cold gust of wind blows in your face you can’t deny that you’re in a climate where no human being should be forced to function. on the other hand, when a warm breeze brushes against your skin, visions of bikinis begin to dance in your head.
that happened to me today on our connecting flight through miami. for a brief second, i could feel the sand between my toes even though i still had hours to go before i landed in my destination.
heavenly.
bags packed? check
tickets printed? check
lola on her way to grandma and grandpas? check
sunglasses, bathing suit and new book stowed in my carry on bag? check
it’s official, we’re belize bound!
i love the little trip to cvs the day before vacation. inevitably, there’s something i have to pick up – sunscreen, travel size shampoo, magazines, etc. – but i really use that as an excuse to stock up on the crap i love to buy at the pharmacy.
i mean seriously, do i need another lip gloss especially when i have a drawer full of over-priced department store brands? or how about the tinted moisturizer i read about in this month’s cosmo? is it any better than the three bottles i have stashed in my bathroom drawer?
i’ll let you know when i try it out!
i know it’s all pretty wasteful and glutinous but these shopping sprees are few and far between nowadays (instead i spend all my money at home depot and petco) so today, i don’t feel guilty buying a bunch of junk that i’ll use once and forget about!
after being busy as a bee for a week and a half, it felt really good to spend some “me” time on the couch tonight. i ignored the fact that i have about a million things to do before we leave on friday and instead, bonded with my puppy, caught up on some tivo and took care of some past due business on the computer. not a bad way to spend a wednesday.
i know i frequently discuss how much i love my girlfriends but i just can’t help it…i really do. the best are childhood friendships and how they change and evolve over time.
as i get older and time becomes more precious, it’s rare that i can spend three hours in a restaurant with someone without checking my watch once (pathetic, i know). but, it’s also refreshing to see that conversation can be that good!
and tonight, it really was!
mike had school tonight so i had the pleasure of spending some quality time with greg and ellen on their last night in town. we had a great dinner at kincaid’s but even better conversation. i love hearing stories from the early days of their marriage and especially stories about my husband before i knew him. i could listen to them over and over again!
my niece turned double digits today. it’s unbelievable…i swear, it was just yesterday that i got the call in italy that she was born.
i couldn’t help but reminisce about my most memorable childhood birthday. at 10-years-old, i got my first puppy. it was also the year that signified the path to adulthood for me. my uncle made a huge deal out of the fact that i was turning “double digits” which added to the excitement too, i’m sure.
i hope miss mikela’s birthday celebration was as memorable!
monopoly has been my favorite board game since i was a little girl. i love it…hiding my money under the board, free parking, the green and red properties, passing go – the whole shebang. the competitive side of me also loves the fact that mike has never beaten me at the game.
he just can’t keep up – i’m that good.
friday mornings are great for so many reasons. not the least of which is picking out a pair of jeans to wear to work. after four days of skirts, slacks and dresses (and god knows, i love them all) it’s fun to mix it up with a casual look.
i have my staple friday outfits – jeans, heels and a top typically considered inappropriate for work but good to go when paired with a cardigan. the outfit alone makes the weekend feel so close i can taste it!
it doesn’t get much better than coming home from a long day of work to a home cooked meal. that is unless, mike’s dad is cooking. tonight he whipped up a full surf and turf – steak, sea bass, sweet potatoes with a yummy brown sugar/butter topping and salad.
pretty impressive for a thursday night!
ah, it’s so good. and for about a half hour today, i got to soak some up!
is there any smell better for the soul? i think not!
i love secrets and every time i’m privy to one, i feel thankful that i’ve proven myself to be a trustworthy friend.
is your interest piqued yet? it should be…this is a good one.
is there anything better than buying a new bathing suit in the middle of winter?
perhaps it’s hopping on a plane with a tropical destination printed on your boarding pass.
yeah, that’s definitely better!
