6 mile run starting at 5:30am with a good friend… It doesn’t get better than that, folks. Well, this view at the turn around was a pretty sweet bonus. 😉
Good morning, Sunshine!
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Tag Archives: friends
A Sign of Peace
Sorry I have left you for so long, my friends. I have had so many amazing changes occur in my life and I’m excited to fill you in! I have a new career, new amazing friends to share my life with and new goals to achieve.
I’ve continued to run and feel that I’ve gotten stronger. This summer, I have kept my schedule pretty regular. I have treated myself to several recovery walks along the ocean afterwards and these pictures are from my greatest of discoveries while on one of these walks… a baby sea turtle making its way back to the ocean.
It’s brothers and sisters had left it much earlier in the day and it was stumbling around trying to figure out which way to go. So precious and tiny!
When I posted this on Facebook, a friend of mine informed me that turtles traditionally represent peace in one’s life. How fitting that I should see this now. I am happy and at peace… there are so many adventures to look forward to in the upcoming months. I can’t wait to find my way to the ocean and experience the successes of all my efforts!
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- Baby
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- Empty Nest
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- Gorgeous sunset to end the day
Focussed
No more need for tears. I’ve found my focus.
Sometimes we humans create and work towards goals just to keep our minds engaged and to keep ourselves focussed on things we feel we do have a level of control over. Focussing and working towards achieving things we feel that we can actually attain gives our minds a rest from the hurt and seeming hopelessness of those things we have no power to change… We figure, “At least I can move forward in some way.” And the truth is it helps, because we ultimately do move towards something… Anything.
But here’s why I hadn’t truly yet shed the tear and found the focus: I was proud of my races but had no one waiting or cheering for me at the finish. I made food for myself but had no one to share my meals with. I had ideas for all sorts of creative activities but had no one to see enjoy them when I was done. I could think of a ton of fun things I wanted to do and try but had friends too far away to enjoy them with.
But I finally understood the very simple missing piece: I needed to reach out to the people I already had in my life and create connections to even more. And that doesn’t mean that I’m needy. It just means that I’m full of love. Love for my family, love for my friends, love for happiness and love for life. I like to share my life and I like to live it in many different directions at once because it makes me feel, hectic, happy and fulfilled. I need to have adventures to look forward to, even if the adventure is one that I’ve had a million times before.
The reality is, I already had tons of people to share my life with, and I’m meeting more and creating friendships with others to share it with further… and, hopefully, I’ll find that one specific person I’m looking for soon. 🙂 ❤
April 27th: Super Pup to the rescue!
We were invited to attend my friend Rosemary’s birthday party on Sunday and COULDN’T pass up the theme… Super Heroes. I mean, come on people! What other 32 year old woman do YOU know wants a super hero-themed birthday party complete with costumes and games?
Dogs were welcome so even Casey’s dog, Riley, got in on the action… Here he was driving us to the party in his little blue cape. 😉
April 12th: Time with Friends
Today I was able to reconnect with old friends and get to know some new ones a little better. Although there were a few no-shows and the planning and preparing was a little hectic, I must say that my Easter BBQ was a blast.
I am blessed to have such amazing loving friends in my life and am grateful every day that I have them. Its time like these when people take time out of their schedules or drive a long ways to spend time with you that you really feel loved and appreciate the amazingness of friendship. ❤
So much fun!
March 18th: My Childhood Friend <3
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.
March 14-17th: Savannah Georgia Adventure!
Forsyth park
You could say that I’ve done my fair share of traveling. And, as a rule, I don’t do long road trips. I’m more of a jet-setter type o’ girl if ya’ know what I mean. No I don’t generally think that “getting there is half the fun”… I think BEING there is ALL the fun. Being stuck in the cabin of my car for hours on end, smelling gas fumes and having to use public rest-area bathrooms are not this gal’s idea of a great time… But, when asked if I wanted to go on a road trip to Savannah, Georgia for a St. Patty’s Day weekend adventure, however, I jumped at the chance to make an exception to my rule.
Why, you ask? Well, for several reasons: 1) I’ve never been to Savannah before 2) Its only 6 hours away from where I live 3) I never even knew that St. Patty’s day was such a huge ordeal there! 4) It was to celebrate the birthday of a pretty awesome person so…. Why not?!
Considering we were only there for only 1 full day and two ½ days, we fit a lot in. We were even able to take a 3 mile bike ride from our hotel into the city, go for a 5 mile run including a loop around Forsyth Park in the center of town then ride our bikes to a lovely little café for brunch! (then ride our full bellies 3 miles back to the hotel) All in all, it was a great time with lots to be seen.
Here are some awesome picks from this weekend’s adventure:
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- Forsyth park
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- St John the Baptist Cathedral
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- tipsy
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- City Hall
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- Tybee Island
February 20th: An old friend and lots of calories
Today my lovely, and probably oldest friend came over for a casual and calorie-filled dinner at my place. We ate pizza and brownies and drank entirely too much red wine in our pjs but… it was worth every calorie and I love her dearly.
Isn’t it awesome how you can reconnect with an old friend and it feels as though you spoke just yesterday? How quickly you can feel comfortable being yourself? How much they remember about the important aspects of your life because they have a vested interest in you? How you can still crack up about everything and nothing at the same time? It does take a long time to grow old friends… but its worth every minute. xoxo Love you Cait!
February 7th: Attitude of Gratitude
Today I am grateful for having an attitude of gratitude. (You must be thinking: Cristy, are you saying you are grateful for knowing how to be grateful? My answer is: YES!) Every morning when I get in my car, I say my prayers before I turn on the radio. I have a lot to be grateful for and reminding myself of this puts everything in perspective at the start of my day.
I’m grateful for the health of my family, our closeness, for my job, my financial stability and for friends who love me. I am grateful for all the twists and turns my life has taken and for all the things that God has taken out of my path for my own good. I’m also grateful for my resilience and innate happiness.
But having an attitude of gratitude is a little more than just being grateful for what you’ve got… In my opinion it’s also about seeing the best in people and appreciating what they put forth, even if it’s less than what you’d want. How many times have you wished a family member, a partner, a friend or even a co-worker could give you something more than what they’ve presented? Maybe you wish they were better listeners, more generous, more consistent with their word, less argumentative, a better provider, happier, more cooperative. But what if what they’re presenting to you is all they’ve got?
Seeing the best parts of people and overlooking what you don’t like may not be the best approach to finding a life partner but, I like the fact that I’m the kind of person who focusses on the best parts of people and falls in love that best part. My family members and close friends sometimes drive me insane but, I focus on all the ways they contribute to my life that I just can’t live without. I’m grateful for any and all contributions no matter how great or small in my life. I am especially grateful when people give me little reminders of how they appreciate me too 🙂
February 4th: Dinner and a Movie
Today I am grateful for someone to cook dinner for. I’m pretty good about preparing myself a big pot of something over the weekend and eating it several nights in a row or fixing myself something quick and healthy on the fly after work. What I DON’T do, however, is make myself any animal proteins when I eat alone. (unless it comes out of a can, lol)
I acknowledge that this is silly and stupid. Buying myself a small steak or my own fillet of fish at the grocery store is completely normal and would be a very beneficial to me but… I just don’t do it. There is something ceremonial about making and eating a more formal meal like that. I usually reserve that for times when I cook for someone which I LOVE to do.
In my house growing up, dinner was sacred. No answering phones, no watching TV and no reading at the table. We took some time to enjoy the meal my mother had lovingly prepared and talk about our day, laugh and enjoy each other’s company. Thats what dinner is all about… eating something special and enjoying someone’s company while eating it. On the menu tonight was salmon, broiled broccoli and white rice. Here’s how I did it…
Salmon:
Ingredients:
- Salmon fillet (not steaks) I find that salmon steaks are more bone and skin than you bargained for. Figure 6-10 oz of salmon filet per person you are serving. Trust me, you’ll eat it.
- Lime or lemon juice (use fresh!! don’t destroy the awesomeness of the fish by dousing it with that GARBAGE they sell in the little lemon-shaped plastic containers)
- sea salt
- fresh ground pepper
- cayenne
- Optional additions: Onion powder and garlic powder
Instructions:
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
- line sheet tray with foil
- rinse your filet of fish and pat the skin dry as much as possible and lay it skin side down directly on the foil. This will assure that the skin will stick to the foil and easily slide off the fish. (don’t have your fish monger take the skin off before hand. It makes it juicy while cooking. You just don’t want to eat it because its extra fishy tasting.)
- squeeze lime or lemon juice on flesh of fish
- season to taste
- Place fish in center rack of oven and check after 10 minutes. Cook to desired temperature. I like mine cooked through but some enjoy it a little rare in the center.
Broccoli:
Ingredients:
- broccoli florets
- olive oil
- sea salt
- fresh cracked pepper
- cayenne (do you see a pattern here?)
Instructions:
- Line sheet tray with foil
- wash and trim florets to desired size
- drizzle with oil
- season
- roast at 400 degrees (below the fish i the same oven) and shake the tray frequently to make sure that all sides get crunchy.
Enjoy!!!… Follow it up with a nice bottle of wine and a movie and you’ve got yourself a nice little evening if you ask me 🙂
Little Miss Sunshine State 