The good news is...

...boring days come, and then they go.  It was just kind of an "eh" day.

But I discovered a new-to-me song today, which is simply beautiful and now I kinda want to fall in love.  Can you believe this is Pink!??

TV & Cobbler

My "I'm glad I lived today" moment is happening now.  My family and I are sitting around the tv (all on our computers of course) watching "America's Got Talent" and we are cracking jokes, making snide comments, singing, dancing.

I also was stoked that the peaches I bought last week are beyond ripe, which means only 1 thing ~ Peach Cobbler!

sick.

Yesterday I woke up with a scratchy throat and downed some emergen-C and airborne right away.  I drank as much water as I could possibly stomach...but one is supposed to do that anyways in 110+ weather, so I don't think it did much to flush the sick out.  I called it an early night, but was awoken by a runny nose many times through the night.  This morning I woke up feeling worse, but am so glad that I have absolutely nothing to do and can hopefully sleep this little bother off.

Needless to say, (but I'm saying it anyways) I'm trading in "Beach Fridays" for a day in my bed.  If only I could have this cradle to laze in!

image from Busyboo.com

Have a lovely weekend!

It happens to the best of us...

I've been a wee bit discouraged about my body lately.  I always put on a few extra pounds (which are noticeable on my petite frame) during the carefree summer months, and usually towards the middle of every August I buckle down and exercise more regularly and eat way healthier.

Tonight, while walking Shaka, I realized how lame it is that I am agonizing over a few pounds and started thinking about how awesome my body truly is.  For starters, my body totally swept, vacuumed, and mopped the entire downstairs.  It also did 45 minutes on the elliptical & the hamstring weight machine for 15 minutes.  It came up with some awesome ideas for my lesson plan this week, It took in a beautiful sunset, and tasted a juicy chunk of watermelon.  Did I mention that it also enjoyed a quick dip in the pool? My body's pretty rad, I don't think I'll be so hard on it.

She wasn't!

This picture is oh, so cool for so very many reasons.

Ode to the Siesta

Today was hot, 111 degrees to be exact.  After a busy morning & early afternoon, I gave in.  I took a nap.  It was too hot to do anything else productive, so I caught up on my z's.  And how completely refreshing it was!  Why don't we partake in regular siestas here in the states?  It makes perfect sense during the summer when it is just too hot to do anything else!

I just saw this before posting and absolutely died...it is more than adorable, I had to share it!...Billy Collin's Litany A three year old reciting beautiful poetry, posted by the lovely Joanna Goddard from Cup of Joe.

Sugar Daddy

Every August, our family goes to Campland by the Bay, an RV resort in San Diego.  The resort has scheduled daily activities and evening entertainment.  One night, Manny (my 9 year old cousin) rode his bike up to me and asked if I was going to the DJ dance party.  I then jokingly asked if he was going to take me.  He said he was and that it was a date.  About an hour before the dance, he came up, showered, wearing new clothes, cologne, and a necklace...all ready to go!

When the time came, we walked over to the cafe, where he bought me ice cream (his dad gave him money).  We ate our ice cream outside of the dance and watched for a bit.  He showed me a few of his moves, then we walked back. There is always something that marks that particular year that the rest of our family uses to recall that year...This past year was, "Remember the year Manny took Caiti on a date?"

Tonight, we went over to Manny's birthday party at the local pizza place/arcade.  Halfway through dinner he came over to the table and presented me with a ring he won from the prize machine...This kid is one smooth little guy!  Watch out ladies!

Beach Fridays.

Today was another excellent day.  Late this afternoon, some friends and I decided to head down to the beach for a bit to just smell the ocean air, feel the salt breeze, and warm sand. I was able to get in a long walk on the shore which is exactly what I needed today.  I really wanted some time to think and ponder over the conversation Wil and I had yesterday as well as think about the film I watched last night.  By the time I got back, they were ready for dinner, so we headed into town for pizza and then drove home.  I decided I'm going to try and do this as many Fridays as possible.

Also, I joined another online community this morning which I am pretty excited about.  Yesterday, Chelsea  from Love, Chelsea Lauren posted on her blog a neat little opportunity to love on someone who is going through some tough stuff, just by leaving her a "love bomb" via blog comment.   So, of course, I went ahead and dropped a love bomb, and looked a little further into it. Drop A Love Bomb is part of a greater community called ItStartsWith.Us which sends out "15 minute missions" to its community members to just love on others - Talk about a powerful social network!!  Missions are anywhere from writing to children in the hospital to Love bombs...

This couldn't have come at a perfect time.  During our conversation, Wil asked how I felt about the future, and I answered that I had trepidations, but he thinks that our generation has much hope because we are thinking independently, we are listening to each other, as well as talking to one another, and that we believe we can truly change the world, and he thinks we can too...and this is where it starts...with us.

Eat, Pray, Love.

I did all three of those things today...


Yet another great day.  I guess it's easy to be thankful for my life when I'm finally getting some sort of summer break!


I started my project with Wil today.  We only met for about 45 minutes, but conversation was rich.  I haven't uploaded onto my computer yet, or listened to it, but all throughout the day I have been pondering what we talked about.  As the project progresses, I am eager to share what I'm learning.  If you could ask a "Tuesdays with Morrie" kind of guy (He's 89!) any question, what would it be?


I also spent a few hours at the office and met with my boss.  Things could be looking quite different for me in the next month...I'm curious to see what's in store for me.


My mom and I met my aunt & cousin for dinner and a movie.  We had a delicious dinner, followed by a delicious movie - Eat, Pray, Love.  Two summers ago on our Mediterranean cruise, we all read the book and ate at the famed, Pizzeria de Michele....Tonight was a fun night.  


Wow...I'm really glad I lived today.

and then it hit me.

Tonight I was re-capping the day, trying to figure out what my, "Man, I'm really glad I lived today" moment was, when I realized I've had a day I've always dreamed about...Today, was a - "I can't believe this is my life" day.  Please, let me share ;)

This morning I slept in until about 8:30, then I went to the gym.  Came home, ate breakfast, had a cup of coffee, worked on things at home, then met a friend for lunch at my favorite local spot, and ran errands, went to work for a bit, came home, watched the ball game with brother (sadly, Giants lost), ate a fabulous dinner (Tilapia with mango-pineapple salsa), watched a netflix movie with mom, and took Shaka for her nightly walk...

It included a little bit of everything - QT with family, friend, work, productivity, and exercise...not to mention GREAT food....What a lucky girl am I.

Pesto

Tonight I made dinner...nothing special, just my pesto with penne, chicken, & sun dried tomatoes, and a salad.  But I set the table.  I couldn't remember the last time the three of us sat around the table and shared a meal at home.  Another night of love and laughter shared.

I'm really glad I lived today.

Almost two weeks ago I had a great conversation with a fantastic friend.  As we were talking, we realized we didn't want to settle for ordinary lives and that we wanted to live the most out of each day...or at the very least, appreciate each day.  During the course of the conversation, I said, "How great would it be if at the end of every day, I said, 'Man, I'm really glad I lived today."  And so now, in an effort to keep myself accountable, I'm going to chronicle the moments of each day that make me stop and say, "I'm really glad I lived today."


This evening we went over to our dear friends, the Johnsons, for Darla's birthday.  Whenever we get together with them, we laugh and laugh until our bellies ache and tears are streaming down our faces.  I'm really glad I lived today to spend last evening with them!


(Sorry...internet is not letting me upload photos...maybe tomorrow night!)