Fog and Sunflowers

While I was stumbling through Facebookland this evening, I came across pictures I took a few years ago during an impromptu drive to Mystic, CT with my Daddy. He and I like to take little adventures together, so one summer afternoon, we hopped in the car and took the backroads down to the Connecticut shore. I remember talking the whole ride, occasionally stopping to remark at how beautiful the New England country side really is. 

After an hour or so of our happy chatter, we came across a field of sunflowers. I thought it was the most perfectly unexpected part of our day. I reminded him of that drive tonight, and we made a pact to go find it again this summer. The thought of finding that happy little field again puts a silly grin on my face.

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Dear Winter

{Because an unexpected buffalo picture can make anyone smile. Yellowstone - August 2012}

Dear subzero temperatures: You have overstayed your welcome. I'd like to go back to the 50 degrees we had last week. Please. Thank you. Dear Vermont: I can't wait to see your snow covered slopes in a few hours. It's been far too long. Dear legs: Please don't give up during our 5K snowshoe adventure tomorrow. Windchill of -12 and the fact that you haven't even walked a 5K in the last two months are not excuses for wimping out. Dear Family:  I can't wait to see you this weekend. Life seems to be too busy for all of us lately. Dear winter: You've been fun, but I'm starting to get a bug commonly referred to as spring fever. I'm sure a little mini trip to somewhere warm and exotic would be the perfect remedy :)

Happy Weekend!

Some Beachiness for a Wintry Day

I'm having some serious spring fever right now. I would do absolutely anything to be sitting on a beach right now. Not a snow covered beach, I mean a tropical paradise.

And we are only halfway through January. 

Uh oh. 

So, I thought I'd share a post I wrote early last summer but never published. I would do anything to accelerate into June so I can spend some time on my beloved Cape beaches.

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Dennis is my favorite. 

It is the town I spent a week or two in each year growing up. It's the town in which we have a cozy Cape cottage that is now our weekend retreat. It's the town of so many childhood memories.

Growing up, my parents, brother and I would journey from Texas to the Cape and meet up with my aunts, uncles and cousins. We would take over Corporation Beach with our umbrellas, beach chairs, shovels and pales. So many happy days were spent in the sun and sand along the bayside shores. I still get that happy-go-lucky childish excitement when I go to these beaches.

I don't build as many sandcastles as I used to, and I'd probably kill myself if I tried to skimboard again. I rarely get in the chilly water (usually around 65F on a warm day) except on those scorching days of July and August. However, I love watching today's children do the things that used to give my brother, cousins and me hours of entertainment. 

It's OK - 2013 Edition

After a few weeks of absenteeism, I am very excited to link up with Amber and Neely for another round of It's OK Thursdays!

It's OK... ...that NYE was spent with my dog, a bottle of prosecco, chick flicks, and my pillow. It was exactly what I needed after a solid month of chaos. ...to despise winter weather after Christmas has passed. Is it spring yet? Brrrr! ...to have bought four pairs of shoes in the last 12 days. ...to still need a stretchy waistband because all those Christmas indulgences have not quite disappeared yet. ...that you wake up at 5 AM on your days off. Funny how it's physically impossible to get yourself out of bed at that time during the work week. ...to still prefer to read actual books and spend hours wandering through bookstores.  ...that your sleepless nights have been filled re-watching The O.C. starting with season one. It's almost Friday!!!

In with the New...

{Wintry morning via my Instagram}

Resolutions.

We all make them. Most of us break them.

This year, while I have a mental list of things I want to do for myself and for others, instead of a resolution, I will enter into a new frame of mind.

At church this past Sunday, our priest asked that we keep one thing in our hears for this new year: 

Love.

Love ourselves, love our neighbors, love our enemies. 

So simple, yet sometimes so difficult. Loving those who have hurt us is hard. Oftentimes loving ourselves is harder. 

This year I will make a conscious effort to show more love and compassion to those around me through my actions and my words. 

I will practice forgiveness when I have been wronged.

I will embrace every new experience I have and every new person I meet.

This will be another year of growth in every aspect of my life. 

Entering the New Year with openness, forgiveness, and love in our hearts can only lead to extraordinary things. And as you all know, I am determined that life should not be anything short of extraordinary.