Once in a Blue Moon...

You know the saying Once In A Blue Moon?  Well, that once, or should I say rare occurrence happened on Friday, and I  captured it in all its glory over the beautiful Atlantic Ocean.  Sadly, the moon isn't blue, it's just the term used when there are two full moons in a single month.  To add to the occasion, I toasted the blue moon with a Blue Moon beer of course!

 

I sped home from work...yes, I speed...changed into my bathing suit, fired off texts to friends to meet us at the beach, packed the car with the puppy and family, made a pit stop at WaWa for some hoagies and headed to the beach!

 

The flies were horrible, but I was able to catch a killer sunset before the beautiful moon dominated the night sky. 

I caught a sunset at the beach.  Bucket list check.

 

 The grasses were calling my name as well as the sky this evening.

I love how they look golden from the glow of the sunset. 

 

Little man had a blast riding waves.  I taught him how to catch them and then when night came, guy friends came and were pushing him off into the waves.  Night swimming in the ocean is soo much fun!   

 

 

And the moment you've been waiting for...the Blue Moon dancing in the sky and all across the ocean.  Perfection.  

 

 

Much love.

 

"The Golden Hat"

My posts keep getting deleted or error in the upload process.  Lesson learned: Keep a copy of each post in MSblogger.  How to do that is the big question? I know there is a way. 

 

Ok, back to my post.

***

 

Sometimes you need to forget about all life's duties and just read a book.  That is exactly what I did last night after a fun night of trivia.  I climbed into PJ pants that are a few sizes to big, zipped up a hoodie, but let my teal bra show just to add a bit of spice and sexiness to my reading experience and sprawled out on my living room floor to read The Golden Hat. 

 

 

I had a few extra minutes to kill while I was at the library on Wednesday evening and this book was calling my name.  It's full of pictures, poems, email correspondence and an interesting story of learning...about yourself, those with nonverbal autism and people in general.  I love books with a powerful message.  I love people with an extra something...autism, down syndrome, a lazy eye, an insane spirit for life, an overly active imagination (if there is such a thing)...I just love people who are different and kind.  This book embodies those types of individuals as well as those who appreciate good people and being good and different themselves.

 

There are pictures of and quotes from individuals with nonverbal autism in the beginning of the book.

 

 

And there are quotes and self portraits of famous people in the golden hat. Some quotes are inspirational, some are funny, some are ordinary, all are from the heart and meaningful to the individual.

 

 

My favorite part of the book are the poems written by Keli, the boy who wrote The Golden Hat and who inspired Kate Winslet, yes the famous Kate Winslet, to create this book and the foundation to raise awareness for nonverbal autism.

 

It's not a book that is a challenging read, but it is a book that most will enjoy, especially if you appreciate self portraits, good quotes and learning the human side to disabilities.  I know I sure do.

 

Much love.

What's In Store for the Weekend...

So, I don’t have much of anything planned this weekend and I’m quite excited!  This summer has been go-go-go for me and my body and mind are feeling a little tired.  With that being said, I’m sure I will do a lot this weekend, but not having a weekend packed with specific plans is what is jazzing me at the moment. 

I want to…

Have a cookout and make some really cool new recipes!  Pinterest, here I come!  Anyone have any suggestions?  I am always open to making something that has been tried and true in the past.  I want to blend summer and fall…tiki torches, ladder golf, ping pong, Summer Ale & Oktoberfest, Sangria & Cider, popsicles and pie, board games…  I don’t know exactly what will happen, but I really hope that I am able to blend summer and fall nicely!

Catch a Sunset!  I think tonight is the night.  A little beach action with friends…a kayak, a camera, a sunset, music…I’ll be a happy girl J

Revamp my house…change out pictures, move artwork around, redecorate my mantle, switch throw blankets, change linens…

Enjoy some free end of summer concerts at the beach! 

Trail Run at a local park with a girlfriend.  This is planned and it will be a blast.  I'm excited to get outside and run in the woods.  Trail running is my favorite type of running.  It's easier on my feet, shaded for the most part and much more relaxing because you don't have to worry about cars, random comments being shouted, etc.

I'll throw sleeping in, cleaning, church, possibly bowling and relaxing with friends and family in there as well, but those are all things that are low pressure and enjoyable (aside from the cleaning...)

Do you have any big plans?  If so, I’d love to hear about them!

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Much love.

Rhythm Dress

I won the Ebay bid.

It crossed an ocean and arrived on my doorstep.

It fits.

Thank Heavens!

It's my very first Rhythm Dress!

 

This little thing will be swinging around during my Rumba, Cha Cha, Mambo, Salsa, East Coast Swing, Hustle, and whatever other rhythm dances my overly ambitious and super awesome instructors have signed me up for...some of which I haven't learned yet.  They have more faith in me than I do in myself and I love them for it! 

 

This dress isn't the traditional fringe dress, but I'm kinda diggin it.

What do you think?

Love it?

Hate it?

Give it to me straight.

 

Much love.

 

P.S. This is the second time I am writing this post...Blogger isn't behaving for me...kinda like a little boy I know :)  It's been a rough week.  Sorry for the lack of blogs the past few days and that nasty Off. post.  My world has been rocked this week. Thank God a LONG weekend starts in less than 24 hours!!  Yippy!

Off.

Off.

That explains my state of mind at the moment.

I feel unbalanced, as if something is lacking in my spirit, a lack of excitement…
I’m just off.
It stinks.

Work has been a bit trying.
Dance was fun, but I beat myself up for not being perfect. 
I just wasn’t feeling the music.
I need to feel more positively.  I have been empathetic lately and feeling quite sad or worried for others.  While this isn’t a bad thing, I can’t let it completely alter my state of being. 

Oh Positive Vibes, come find me!  I need you today and probably for the next few days until I shake this “off-ness” that is consuming my body and mind. 

I will be running this evening…hopefully running this off-ness right out of me.

Much love.

A Little Doll

My niece...

I love her.

This should be the last photo, but I am having a hard time reordering the photos, so I'll just start off with the STOP TAKING PICTURES picture.

 

Kids say the darndest things.

Especially this one.

 

For example:

That man is weird.

(Said right in front of the man. LOL.  Luckily Pop Pop immediately followed that up with "Am I weird?" Casey "Yup!" Pop Pop "Is Sarah weird? Are you weird?"  Casey "Oh yea!")

 

I was changing while she was sitting on my be and she points to me and says...

You have a tiny butt.

I have a tiny butt too.

Thank you darling!  I love you!

 



This is my favorite photo of her!  Love her face, scab and all!

She tells people what she thinks. 

If she thinks you look pretty, you know it.

If she thinks you should have more than one ring on, you know that too.

If she doesn't want to change, you know.

Luckily, Auntie Sarah is pretty good at coaxing little girls to do as she wishes.

Tickles, finger counting, ring playing, and walks are my main tricks.

 



Oh she is a cutie!

Much love.

Weekend Happenings

This weekend I headed to my parent's house with my puppy as my companion. She was a trooper as always...especially after a traumatizing vet appointment.  She flattens when she knows she's going into the vet and literally gives me puppy eyes.  Oh Lord, it's hard to handle.  I just want to grab her and run the opposite direction.  She has a clean bill of health!

Since I won't be home for my little sister's 12th birthday, we celebrated by getting manicures!  It was her first time and only my 3rd time! 

I went with Friar, Friar I'm on Fire by OPI and I am in love!  It's like fall in a bottle and now on my nails!!  It looks a bit redder than it actually it.  It's a red/orange that just makes me smile every time I look at them :)

The birthday girl got hot pink and then some extra treats in the form of feather paint and sparkles!!  Oh heavens she was a happy one! 

She's a cutie! 

 

After we got our nails done and were feeling all sassy, we headed to Dunkin Donuts request of the birthday girl and got Coffee (oh beloved coffee) and donuts for the two of us and Gramma!  My Gramma is in a nursing home. She can't feel from her waist down, but heavens she still has spunk in that head of hers and an appetite!  Two things I am grateful for and truly appreciate about her!  She always knows what to say and she never turns down desert!

It was a family affair!  My mom, dad and niece all met us up there.  I gave Gramma hand massages and we talked about dancing and family members, sea turtles following the moon and getting manicures, college and going away speeches, and the list goes on.  She looks worlds better from the last time I saw her, thank the Lord!  She's my last gramma on my side of the family and I really really want to have her around for as long as possible.  She is one of, if not, the strongest women I know. 

 

Going home is never complete with a walk.  Home is so relaxing for me.  Enjoy some photos of where I grew up.

The neighboring farm.

 



Corn fields and "the hill" that we dreaded biking up as kids :)



I love grass.

This is me playing with my camera. 

The sun was strong. 

Ink berries!

Quick little story.  When I was younger (8ish) and idolized my older brother, we were out picking berries in my new, super cool, jean coveralls.  I came back and was covered in ink.  My brother told me he knew how to fix it so that mom wouldn't get mad.  Mistake number one was trusting my BROTHER to fix CLOTHING.  He proceeded to tie dye my overalls with bleach.  I ended up having purple, jean and white overalls.  Like mom wouldn't notice that.  LOL.  Me being the little girl I was, I thought they were the coolest things in the entire world because my brother made them.  Looking back, I just shake my head and smile.

 



Small town pride!

 

We are getting a new bridge!!  It has been closed for years and adds 5 minutes to our drive to church and school.  The new bridge is to the left, the old bridge is to the right with the "Road Closed" sign.  Big difference, eh?

Here is a picture of the creek I grew up on.  It's really low...

 

The non documented part of my weekend involves my best friend and a high fashion scarecrow photo shoot!  Sarah i.e. best friend, came in from Detroit, dropped off my wedding dress because she wore it for her wedding, and we headed to Philly!  It was glorious!  We drank Pumpkin Ale, talked about college things and enjoyed being in the city that helped mold our wonderful friendship!

 

The high fashion scarecrow photo shoot was for a friend.  I modeled in a cobalt blue dress, big hair, crazy colorful make-up and red high heels in a field of corn.  Once the photos are edited, I will be sure to put some on here with a link to her website.  She's one talented lady!  Love her! 

 

Much love.