Late Summer Days...

Enjoying a lazy afternoon at our favorite local restaurant, Rossi's at the Beach, just 10 blocks from our house. The sky was so gorgeous this night, like it was on fire.
Couples night! Zane's co-worker, John and his wife invited us to Finn's, also a local favorite to enjoy this GREAT band covering all the classic rock hits. They had this really talented electric cello player which was really really awesome. And a fun fact that keeps me eternally intrigued is that John use to work as a secret service agent at the White House under the Clinton administration.
Finn's
The picture quality is really poor because of the lighting, but I found it so fascinating to stumble across this tree FULL of these big white birds.

These are just a few images that capture our life these past couple weeks...

Introducing...BEN & EMMA!

It's time I share about two special little people that are an important part of my weekends: my two little English kids, Benjamin and Emma whom I babysit when 'Mum and Dad' want to go on a date night! They come almost every saturday morning to La Piazza (where I waitress) to eat breakfast, and then on some saturday or sunday afternoons I come play with them. They are very sweet, very smart, very proper "quintessential" English children whom I enjoy very much!

Rescue 911

A happy ending has come about for the beloved 'Mr. Snuggles.' I received a phone call on my cell phone around 3:30 yesterday afternoon. It was the fitting room ladies!!! Bless their hearts for caring for my crisis!!! They had found Aidan's teddy bear!!! We picked him up after we picked big sister Evan up from school, and there was a very happy reunion for Aidan and 'Mr. Snuggles,' and also for my heart.

I Can't Help But Feel That Life Is So Good

I picked up the 'little man' a.k.a 'boo-boo' a.k.a Aidan early this morning, and took him back to our place so his Mama could work on homework at home... during my commute, aproximately 50-minutes in all of driving, I was able to finish my audio book, EAT.PRAY.LOVE. which was bittersweet. I didn't want it to end but then I was thrilled to come to find out at the end that there is a continuation of Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir coming in 2009 called Weddings & Evictions. This tiny fact brings me heaps of joy! And relief i'm realizing. I found myself craving more, more & more from this book. Then Zane and I had some errands to run so we got some breakfast, went to Target to return some things, went to City Hall to pay our water bill and finally ended our long morning by strolling around the local Farmer's Market. We found a new booth selling Kenyan coffee and come to find out the man came from a village near Nairobi that Zane had been to a few years ago while visiting Jason! Anyway we left with 4 cucumbers, 2 tomatos, a 1/2 pound of walnuts and almonds, 3 pounds of apples and a big fat watermelon. Not a bad way to spend $20, especially to support our local farmers. Then we took the back roads toward home and discovered this tucked away little jogging trail that follows the intracoastal canal, and it's like 3-blocks from our house! Anyway Aidan is now sleeping soundly in his bed and i've just been meandering around the library looking for a new audio book to keep me company in the car. I also squeezed in a nice long chat with my Mom on one of the benches outside the library enjoying the sunshine and breezes. And I can't help but feel that life is so good.

I've Always Found my Way Somehow... by Taking the Long Way Around...

I am just enjoying that line from a song today in regards to my enthusiasm for the workshop i'll be starting next tuesday evening thru Daytona State College. It's called W.A.N.D. (Women Acheiving New Directions), and it's a fresh start program designed to empower you to discover your educational and career goals among other things. I feel anxious, yet happy and prepared to begin this 4-week journey. I am curious to see what kinds of things I can learn about myself to benefit my future.

Happy Campers

On the flip side... we're totally psyched for our upcoming mini-adventure! We have officially purchased our first set of camping accessories! We've got a tent for two, sleeping bags, an LED lantern and AA batteries, a mildew/moisture protectant and bright yellow rust proof stakes. I swore I could never go camping in Florida with all the bugs, spiders, lizards, snakes, alligators and torrential downpours but I have decided that it'll be okay to ease into it at a place like convention, comforted with the thought of other nearby campers, ha. And to make my good news even sweeter, i've received official word today that I can have all of friday off from my job (also Zane's 21st birthday!) so we'll get 3 whole days of togetherness, sharing a long, spiritually blissful weekend!

R.I.P 'Mr. Snuggles'

So Aidan and I were running errands together, one of them being a trip to Wal-mart to pick out some camping gear for convention. Everything was 'hunky-dory' until somewhere along the line Aidan let go of his beloved 'Mr. Snuggles,' (a pale blue medium sized stuffed teddy if anyone has seen it!) over the side of his stroller. It has officially been swallowed up by the Palm Coast Supercenter Wal-mart!!! You have to understand how much 'Mr. Snuggles' means to Aidan. I went into total panic mode, practically in tears running around like a mad person trying to retrace my steps, and stopping every single Wal-mart employee along the way, getting some sympathy from the ladies in the fitting room, some eye-rolls by others, and even completely ignored by one. But still no 'Mr. Snuggles.' I even had to leave a tearful message on Aidan's Mom's cell phone explaining the whole situation. So may the teddy bear rest in peace, and by some miracle be found...be assured, customer service has my cell phone number! And i've concluded that one of the worst feelings in the world is 'losing' something; it's making my heart hurt.

"Give Peace a Chance."

"Peace is not the absence of conflict; it's the absence of inner conflict." -- Unknown

I am thankful that when I awoke this morning, I was filled with this intense desire to do whatever I needed to do to keep the peace in my heart.

"America's 25 Favorite Cities 2008"

Terry Donnelly/Getty Images

Ok, so it's no secret what my favorite city in the whole world is, but it's nice to see Seattle getting some muchly deserved recognition thanks to Travel + Leisure's latest survey! Here's a clip from the article:

"The city is best in the country for cafés and coffee bars, farmers' markets, and intelligent people. Environmental awareness (No. 2) and public parks and access to the outdoors (No. 4) also scored well. Just be sure to pack an umbrella for that rainy weather (No. 23)."

simple.pleasures.

I had this revelation last night while I was home alone lost in my own thoughts. I had this urge to make myself a cup of hot tea, my choice du jour being organic chamomile, and so I was just thinking about the event that enjoying a cup of hot tea is. Have I ever sipped tea and not enjoyed it?! I can't think of a single time where this event has ever had anything but a calming effect on me whether it was enjoyed alone in silence or shared among friends and good conversation or when snuggling with my husband. It's like the eye of the hurricane, my bit of peace in the middle of the 'storm' of life.

Remembering.

Today was Patriotic Day at Evan's school so the kids were told to wear red, white and blue. It was beautiful to see other people remembering and honoring those who died seven years ago today as well.

Ahhh... Florida

I just have to share this email that was forwarded to me by my aunt Jane just because... it's certainly amusing as newish residents of Florida during the height of the hurricane season! It can be exhausting if you pay attention to the dramatic news updates... so we choose not to but still we enjoy the humor and and semi-truth in these comics! Thanks Jane!

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*Sigh* What can we say? It was wonderful to be back. It's bittersweet knowing tho that the next time we come back neither one of our grandparents will call this place home either...

Remembering the Smell of Fresh Paint, Homemade Turkey Soup & Hot Chocolate...

Of course we had to go back and visit our first place as a married twosome in Pasco! Ron & JoAnn fixed it up so cute and cozy, and they even added ponies and calves to the acre! So good to see all the changes, and during the summer months too... the last time we were here it was covered in snow...

Our old bedroom, and they even kept the carpet that Zane help put down with Gary!

JoAnn left our laundry sign up!




What a sexy man!

THE TRI-CITIES: Where 2 Became 1 (The Beginning)

Grampa Wayne and Zane Pretending to be high-rollers driving Mama Cindy's Mercedes and splurging on the Hilton one night...
Where else would you see potatoes all over the road?
In Ellensburg on our way to Mattawa...
My crazy adorable husband

Taco trucks!
We miss this sky.
Table for 2 at PF Changs