Back to Florida

This past weekend, Brad had a 3 day regatta, so I decided to head south for warmer, sunnier weather. I left on Thursday afternoon and spent a nice long weekend in Florida visiting my friend Melissa and her new adorable baby boy. This little baby is the happiest, easiest baby I have ever met. I think I heard him cry once over the 3 1/2 days I was there. I was in complete amazement and would love to clone him!
I was able to get a few hours in relaxing at the beach, which was such a nice treat after a crazy hectic work week. We had a great time together reminiscing about old times and were both astonished when we realized how much time has gone by since middle school! We've been friends for over 15 years. Yikes. I'm pretty sure we still look the same though, don't you think Miss? :-) Just a little wiser...

Sevrin loved the hat Aunt Christy brought him and he wore it at all times while outside.

Ever since I've known her, Melissa has been running a minimum of 5 miles per day. She was known around our town as "the girl who runs everywhere!" Her little boy certainly takes after her already. At 4 months, he's not running just yet, but he is constantly kicking his legs back and forth, running in place in his bouncy chair (which requires no batteries at all because he bounces himself) and rocking in his carrier. You can actually see in the picture below his legs in motion!

It was so great to meet you Sevrin and I can't wait until you come to visit me this June!

Spring Festival

This weekend Maura and I took my niece Mackenzie to a parade / festival over in Easton, MD, which is on the eastern shore. It was a gorgeous day and Miss Mackenzie really enjoyed the parade. Well, everything but when the cars roared their engine. That was a little scary.

Here is Mackenzie pointing at the Clydesdale horse above, repeatedly saying "dog."

After the parade, Mo Mo was very hungry and thirsty after making Aunt Christy and Mackenzie go into several boutiques and antique shops. Maura has a little shopping addiction you see. All in all, a great girls day out!

We're in bloom

I know that the warm weather is here to stay when the tree in our front yard blooms. Seeing as I'm not a Mrs. Greenthumbs, although working to change that, I'm not sure if this tree is a cherry blossom tree or something else, but it looks gorgeous when it's in full bloom. Unfortunately, it only lasts a week. Anyway, we are very excited about the nice weather they are predicting for this weekend. A new hammock has been ordered to replace my Pottery Barn hammock that rotted after only one season. Very disappointing... After a lot of research, I decided to go with the "Big Daddy Arc Hammock" from costco.com. I laugh every time I see the order confirmation or shipping info come through with that name. I haven't figured out why it is the "Big Daddy," but maybe after swinging it, I'll understand!

In my next life

I think I've decided that I want to be Winston in my next life. What could be better than lying on the deck in the sunlight napping all day while your owners are stuck inside working so they can pay for your house, food and take you to the park?

As you can see from above, the W is clearly exhausted from the cleaning of our teak furniture and power washing the deck yesterday. We are gearing up for springtime and getting excited about getting to use our deck again soon!

Being Thankful Part 2

16. Old Friends. I received a call from my one of my good friends Sarah tonight. We have been friends for 15 years (Yikes!). I am very thankful for all of the friendships I have maintained from my high school years.

Sarah also joined the 30 club last week. Happy Birthday Sarah! I am really looking forward to this girls beach trip we have brewing!

Being Thankful

Sometimes when things aren't going our way and aren't working out how we "have planned", I think it's very easy to lose sight of all of the wonderful things in life we are blessed with. I was out of work sick almost the entire week last week and since I'm not into watching daytime TV, I did a lot of resting and thinking about all of the things I am grateful for.

I'm thankful for:

1. Having a family who is not complicated; no drama, everyone is genuinely happy for one another's success and would do anything for anyone without ever expecting something back in return. It just stinks they all live so far away!


2. Living in a modest house in a middle class neighborhood. It's very easy to always want more and to make that next jump, but we are very happy with our decision to stay and not get in over our heads. Sure, a newer house with more space would be nice, but it's so much nicer to be able to save a lot every month, spend our money on things we love doing and not be married to our house. It will also be very nice for me to have the option some day to stay home with little ones and not to have to go back to work if I choose to stay home.
3. Having a dog. My buddy W is always there for me, whether I'm happy, sad, mad, etc. I used to not really be that into dogs, due to the hair and slobber. Luckily W doesn't slobber and I've learned to deal with the shedding. Let's face it, it doesn't kill me to vaccum in between our cleanings from the cleaning people.
4. My friend J. I had a bad day last week and instead of giving me advice or telling me it would be fine, she just cried along with me. It was just what I needed. Thanks J. You are the best.
5. My friend M. She makes me laugh. She locks her parent's out of her house, has QVC packages delivered to my house and has an enormous shoe collection that could easily put shoes on a small village of people in west Africa.
6. Having a husband who is patient, kind, thoughtful, does laundry without having to be asked and makes me laugh all of the time.
7. Living in Europe for 3 years. This experience was the most amazing experience I have yet to have. It opened my eyes to new cultures, people and gave me a new perspective on how I view certain things.
8. The friends I made during my 3 years abroad. Although we are separated by miles of ocean, I know we will all remain friends for a lifetime. It is so nice to know we always have a place to stay if we're ever passing through Capetown, South Africa or Copenhagen, Denmark!
9. Having a sister who is almost completely the opposite of myself. She keeps me in check with the simple things in life and reminds me to focus on what really matters.
10. My friend L. She is probably the most thoughtful, caring person I know. If I'm having a bad day or am stressed about work, she'll show up on my doorstop with a Starbucks and a special treat.
11. My brother's decision to move back east. I am absolutely thrilled that my brother will soon be only a 6 hour car ride away instead of on the other side of the country. He is one of those people who walks into a room and makes everyone smile in an instant. And he certainly knows how to have a good time, hence he is the inspiration behind the title of this blog.
12. Being an aunt. There is nothing that makes me happier than when I walk into a room and see my niece's face light up with the biggest smile as she runs over to me with her arms raised so I'll pick her up. It is the best.
13. Having a sister in law who is an "allie!" After hearing horror stories about many of my friends sister in law's, I consider myself very lucky. No horror here.
14. Having a job that I work hard at and feel that I am appropriately compensated for.
15. Working from home when I'm not traveling. Nothing beats this, especially on a Monday!

Welcome to the Family Cleo!

My sister and Will moved from Seattle to Montana this week and stopped by the local shelter and rescued a dog. So far Cleo is enjoying her new home and she has especially enjoyed swimming in the creek on the property. Winston can't wait to play with his new cousin!

The Three Amigos

Every Wednesday, Winston and his posse (our neighbors dogs) go to doggie daycare to run around and get tired out. It may sound a bit over the top, but it's more of a sanity check for me. A tired dog is a happy dog and a happy, tired dog makes me very happy. I found it very amusing one of the mornings I had car pool duty that I was loading the dogs in the back of our SUV and all around me parents were loading up their minivans and SUV's with their kids. Luckily, we have a lot of dog lovers in our neighborhood, so no one thinks we're too nuts... I don't think anyways!