the last supper

this was our last supper at their house. amazing memories, but my heart is way sad.

a day in the life of me

i woke up today & opted for a 15-minute jog rather then an hour & a half yoga session as previously planned. because obviously i'm way to busy for that (i kid, i'm just lazy). i found my jogging headphones in Zane's car, which is one of those simple pleasures for me today. i have been struggling with ear buds that fall out every 10-steps which is quite exasperating. i also might add that i plug these lovely headphones into my beloved discman that i got for $14 at wally world. i feel like the only person in the world who uses a discman anymore, but truth be told, i love it WAY more than my ipod so... old skool it is.

later.

it was dark at 4 o'clock in the afternoon thanks to a storm that decided to sit & stay awhile. it was delicious. reminded me of my glorious seattle days. the sun is so wasted on me! it makes me want to hole up in an alaska winter & overdose on the color gray. anyway the afternoon found me in the library scouring the shelves for a good read. instead i found four. i chose to start with this new memoir called it sucked & then i cried. & i'm ENTHRALLED. it's laugh out loud funny tho i feel weird saying that because it deals with really heavy material. this woman copes with chronic depression & has a baby & then deals with post partum depression. sidenote- if you've never been pregnant, i wouldn't recommend this read til after you have had a baby. it might permanently scare you away altogether because her experience was extra awful & extreme.

great day.

retirement?

so i've got all this time on my hands aka "unemployment" & i still feel like there are not enough hours in the day to do all the things that i need to do. is this what retirement is going to feel like? its' kind of exhausting...

"Our Old Stuff"

time on my hands finds me exploring some of those locations that i've driven by at inconvenient times, but locations that had been put on my mental list of places that needed to be explored someday. someday like today. most especially: "Our Old Stuff." it drew me in sometime back in april when we drove by it's boldly painted blue & green exterior. green like orbits sweet mint green & the kind of blue you would get if you were painting with a bright royal blue & you mixed a dollop of white. & big words like "VINTAGE" & "RETRO" & "MODERN" were written across the windows. total eye candy for me. i put my purse in a locker (required) & walked around barefoot in my tutu dress, stilettos in hand. i got lost winding thru the maze of rooms packed with treasures. i spent hours just touching, smelling & taking it all in. it took me back to countless afternoons i'd spent in tri-cities browsing antique stores. i realized how much i have missed these afternoons! i scored a handmade dress from the 60s & it's bad to the bone i assure you even my conservative husband approves. it's not wild by any means, but the proposition of a dress from the 60s coming home with me had him sweating, i could hear it in his voice. i'm so in love with the idea that i possess a dress from fifty years ago! i mean it's so old that even after i washed it, it still has that "old" smell. which brings immense joy to my heart. i also found a skinny square brown van heusen tie & it dates back to the 70s. so my dear husband wouldn't feel left out. duh. it is worth every single one of those 500 pennies to cost me. & then i met this crushed velvet couch that is straight out of my dreams. i have this love affair with crushed velvet furniture. it was from the 1930s- i mean that alone makes me feel giddy! it's just not in our budget so it must stay in my dreams. until further notice...

two thursday's ago was my last last day as a nanny. of course i was ecstatic for this random unplanned opportunity that arose, but i gotta say these long extended goodbyes are really rough on my heart.

after nap-time, Little Man & i picked up Evie from summer camp. it was hailing, which i have to say, i kind of love that it was hailing, because now it will forever be remembered that on my last last day as a nanny that i got hit in the forehead with a chunk of hail. when Evie saw me i got one of those running "Naaaaana!!!!" hugs that just broke my heart into a million little pieces.

so we 3 musketeers braved the hail- the whole 30-seconds that we were exposed to it left us as dry as you would be if you showered fully-clothed. when we shut the car door finally (it was an intense 30-seconds), we looked at each other's dripping faces & giggled. we decided ice cream or "ice ceam!!!" as aidan pronounces it, was the obvious choice for our next activity so off to baskin robbins we went.

we sat at the corner table next to the window & watched the rain & dripped in our chairs & devoured our treats. it was such a fun moment.

being back at their house felt like i was coming home after a vacation- it had the fits-like-a-glove type feeling. i baked chicken nuggets & french fries & we ate supper in the driveway together while we painted pictures with hot pink chalk paint. it felt like the most natural thing to do in the whole world.

Z came just in time for bath time & story time. the 4 of us arranged ourselves on Aidan's little superman couch & huddled around the glow of his LSU football night light & we read.

then came the lullabies & Aidan settling into my arms as we swayed to the tunes of the ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star & Rockabye Baby- the only three i could remember the words to; & then i got a goodnight kiss & it was a perfect close to a perfect day.

my bridge.

it's not famous. it doesn't have historical significance. it's not widely recognized in photos. it's just my bridge. the one that still makes me feel giddy when i get to the highest point & begin to see the ocean come into view & i know i'm close to home. it's the one that dots the night sky with lights, that i can see from our back patio. it's the one that all the locals pull over on & watch the shuttle launches. it's the one that get's covered in cones the weekend of the july 4th so visitors can't park on the bridge. it's the one that makes me feel both envious & sorry for those i see running or biking up it. & where it's normal to see coaches equipped with clipboards & stop watches & a single file line of boys & girls shining with sweat running ahead of them. & also the moms & stroller's & the ladies jogging & jabbering. the one's you always see & think: "i should do that." it's the bridge i know i'm going to miss someday.

more amelia

it's good to be a guest.

my beautiful strawberry lemonade cupcake!

an early morning walk on the beach- turtle-spotting in the dunes- writing messages to each other in the sand- cheap coffee & bagel sandwhiches & exploring downtown. sweet memories.

three words.

elizabeth. pointe. lodge. we fell in love with this bed & breakfast. they were full (not to mention over our budget) but we are determined to come back someday! it was like straight out of a nicholas sparks movie. they invited us to stay for complimentary wine & afternoon refreshments & some quality porch-sitting-time. it was voted one of the top ten places to sit on the porch by usa today. we totally agreed.

a lazy saturday afternoon

we decided on a whim to get out of town on our anniversary. we decided on amelia island- just a couple hours north of us. we took one of those leisurely drives & stopped for important things (like cupcakes!) & it even led us onto this mini-ferry boat ride- the best kind of drives to take in my book=-)

the last week

it was my last week as a nanny to evan & aidan. i wanted it to be a balance of both "normalcy" & fun things if that makes sense. trips to the park- water balloons- a picnics- beach trips- dunkin donuts in our pajamas-etc.