Today, I went to the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens to enjoy their Hatsume festival. There were art vendors, drum performances and other exhibits. The weather was perfect, the grounds were amazing and it made for a wonderful end to my Spring Break. Check out the sites!
Afterwards, we got a little crafty and decided to try our hand at painting! I painted the coy above, inspired by the gardens we had just enjoyed. Fun way to spend an afternoon.
Today i started my morning by making my first-ever batch of blueberry pancakes. While they weren’t the best pancakes I’ve ever eaten, they certainly weren’t the worst. And, they were beautiful if I don’t say so myself… 🙂
After breakfast, I got a SURGE of energy and was on a mission to do gardening and housework before the end of my weekend… Work starts again on Monday! I started in the garden by cleaning up some fallen palm fronds and finding some bulbs in the bushes… One of the bulbs had sprouted some serious roots despite not being in the soil and the other was just beginning to grow. I decided to tie one to a palm and plant the other…. Lets see what they become! LOL
I also managed to salvage the last of my Aunt’s orchid. She sprouted three babies that were beginning to wilt because the mother plant has died and begun to dry out. I cut the babies off the mother plant and tied them to palms in my yard as well. Next year my yard is going to be VERY colorful. Can’t wait!
Somewhere out there, poor Ken is hopping around, aimlessly searching for his missing right foot…..
Honestly, though, there was far too much garbage on the beach today! A seagull could have choked on that. At least i got to enjoy a little warmth and sunshine after all these cloudy days. 🙂
Today, I am grateful for a lovely new experience I had. I decided to take a yoga class this morning to fully take advantage of my time off. I had never taken a class with this specific instructor so I was a little scared when she came into the studio carrying what looked to me like a wooden brief case. For all I knew, was full of all sorts of torture devices intended to push my already tight hip flexers to their snapping point…. Despite this, however, she appeared to be very sweet and was actually very encouraging and supportive throughout the class.
At the end of the lesson, as is traditionally done, she led us through a very peaceful guided meditation. As I laid with my eyes closed and breathed deeply, I became aware of the sound of her unclasping the wooden brief case open… then suddenly, the music began.
It was a deep reverberating accordion type of sound. It played loudly, at first, then softened as she began to sing softly yet powerfully. Such an unexpected surprise. I felt so peaceful and privileged to have listened to that.
I looked up the instrument and come to find out its called a harmonium. For your listening pleasure, here is an example of what it sounded like. Its the little things…
Another over-cast and cold day…. but I had to fit another trip in. As long as its not raining, I’m going. I have to take full advantage of my time off before I have to go back to my window-less office next Monday, lol.
corral and sea shells for my collection…
Today was just an all around awesome day!… It began with a long-run by the ocean with this view:
Then moved on to brunch and a walk through an art festival with this view:
Then ended with me getting a kick-ass bicycle thats very, very PINK!!!
I TOLD you that I was going to attempt triathlons this season… getting this bike is the first step.
I’m sooooooo excited that I’m seeing life through pink-colored glasses as the French chanteuse Edith Piaf once sang…. but my bike is so kick-ass that I’m channelling more Steven Tyler than Edith 😉
Edith:
Steven:
Let me begin by asking you something… Do I look like my mom, OR WHAT?! LOL (she can’t deny me, thats for sure.)
I had all the good intentions in the world to wake up early and do my regular early morning long run this Saturday but… when the alarm went off at 6:30 and I heard the rain falling outside I decided to cuddle up with Max a little longer and stay comfy in my bed.
It appeared to clear up a bit by 8:30 so I called my mom and did an impromptu trip to the beach. We only stayed for about 45 minutes because it got cold and rainy again (despite how sunny the sky appears to be in this picture, it was short lived.)
Not a bad way to start the weekend, though…. and to end my Saturday on a sweet note, dinner with my dad and step mom 🙂
Friday was my last day of work before spring break!!!! So, how did I celebrate? Well, by taking a very fun and productive Salsa dancing class with an adorably blue-eyed boy!!
1st class was kind of a disaster…
2nd class I spent the entire time either confused or laughing at myself for constantly turning in the wrong direction and laughing at him for getting off beat….
This 3rd class… We got this!! Oh, yeah!!
(Well, maybe we could use a few more lessons but, we’re well on our way to kinda getting through a dance without stepping on each other’s feet. Progress!!)
Dale!
I have yet another gorgeous bloom in my backyard! As I was cleaning up the kitchen, I looked out the window and couldn’t see past some palm fronds where I knew I had an orchid tied to its trunk.
When I finished up, I walked outside and found this!! Low and behold behind that mess of fronds was this gorgeous orchid with two flowers and 4 buds waiting to bloom! I ripped the fronds down from the over-grown palm to make my gorgeous new addition more visible from my window.
Here are some pics of the yard in bloom:
Today I spent time with one of my oldest friends… What can I say about my friend Caitlin other than I love her? She has been in my life since I was 8 and she was 3. We’ve had years of little to no contact and we can go days and even weeks without seeing each other but… when we do, its like nothing has changed.
There is a trust, understanding and love that you share with a childhood friend that just can’t be replaced. I can share my depths without fear of judgement and can walk around with my hair all crazy and my frumpiest of pjs on and it doesn’t matter… and the same goes for her. There’s just something about childhood friends that you can’t replace.
Little Miss Sunshine State 