golf + rainbows

to say that there has been a lot going on in our world would be an understatement.

pretty serious stuff, actually.

family.  jobs.  interpersonal relationships.  changes.

today, we decided to forget about it all for a hot minute and go play golf.

me.  who has played golf, oh, once in my entire life.

with my husband, who plays golf on the regular.

we had an absolute blast!

i may have whiffed the ball on a regular basis and i may have three-putted more times than i would've liked to, but it was so much fun.

we laughed and joked and shared stories we had never shared before.

we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and we waited out a rain storm....

which made me realize what a beautiful metaphor that is for life in general.

enjoying the beauty and waiting out the rain.

without sunshine and rain, there is no rainbow....

and we enjoyed a beautiful rainbow on the golf course this evening.

here's to the sunshine and the rain....

....and the inevitable rainbow that occurs when they are mixed beautifully by God.

xoxox - 

unexpected blessings

this was not the post i was originally going to write today.  i woke up this morning with a menagerie of thoughts running through my head:  comparison.  forgiveness of self and others.  fighting self-doubt and the "i'm-not-good-enough"s.  letting go.

image via & original source

then, i read this blog post, received a phone call from a friend, and it changed the trajectory of my thoughts.

i am surrounded by blessings.

a hot cup of coffee.  having a friend who confides in me.  the sliver of sunshine that fights to peek through heavy cloud cover.  a loving, supportive husband.  fluffy pink socks.  kisses from my dog.  sunflowers on the kitchen table.  a dad who makes me laugh and a mom who when she says, "its all going to be ok," i suddenly believe it.  the sound our wedding day wind chime outside.  blessings.

the difficult things?  they're blessings too.

making the choice to take a good hard look at myself, my thoughts, my feelings and deciding what stays and what goes, even when it is painful?  blessing.

my current physical and mental trials and tribulations?  for the first time in a long time, i know in my heart, that they will be a blessing.  (the fact that i can even view them in this light is true progress and in and of itself is a blessing.)

image via

we are all surrounded by blessings, if we just take a moment to open our eyes and hearts to them.

xoxox -

sunrise

sun·rise:  \ˈsən-ˌrīz\ 

~ noun:  1) the rise or ascent of the sun above the horizon in the morning; 2) the opening or beginning stage of any period.  synonyms:  dawn, daybreak ~

 my husband and i have the luxury of being mobile employees for our respective companies.  so, we trade off mornings getting up with little bogue, who usually gets up around 7:30 a.m. to 7:45 a.m.

one day last week, he decided to get up at 6:45 a.m.

on my day.

of course.

i slithered out of bed.  brushed my teeth.  threw on a sweatshirt and my fuzzy slippers.  splashed some cold water on my face.  tried desperately to make sense of what was going on.

then i looked outside.

still dark.

after a large sigh and a wistful glance at the bed, i headed to spring the little brown dog from his crate.

i grabbed a cup of coffee (hooray for programmable coffee makers).  i flipped on the deck light and out we went for a potty trip.  as a blaze of brown fur came darting by me, i sat down on the top of the stairs which head down into our back yard.

a flight of stairs which just so happens to face east.

i don't remember the last time i saw the sunrise....

...and it was beautiful.

the colors were soft and muted.  almost as if they didn't want to jolt you into your day.  instead, they wanted to whisper of the possibilities that the new day holds.

bogue came bounding up the stairs and jumped in my lap with a tennis ball.

here is where i would usually pat his head, then rush in the house to check my blackberry or my email.

not today.

all the so-called-important stuff could wait.

today, we were watching the sunrise together.   

because, this?  this moment right here?  i can't get this moment back.

and in 6 months?  4 years?  15 years?

i'll want it back.

i tossed the tennis ball.  he looked at me inquistively for about 10 seconds, looking at me like, "really mom?  you mean it??"

then, he leapt off the top step, clearing the remaining four.

he ran, grabbed the tennis ball, and came running back up the stairs at full speed and jumped into my lap, tail wagging.

the first thing i thought was how this was the cutest puppy ever.

then, i looked at the sun peaking over the horizon.

i realized how quiet it was.

when i tossed the tennis ball again and saw bogue leap into the dawn of a new day, that's when i knew for sure.

this is the important stuff.

every day's a holiday (with a sunrise),

grateful

grate·ful:  \ˈgrāt-fəl\ 

~adjective:  warmly or deeply appreciative of gifts received; thankful.  synonyms:  appreciative, glad, thankful.~

each day, i try to find at least one thing to be grateful for in my life.

sound simple?

it is.

in theory.

however, i found that in the midst of everyday life, i can sometimes forget to be grateful.

i lose sight of the blessings in my life....

....of the simple things that really bring me joy and contentment.

i can get so caught up in what isn't going right or what i didn't get done that day, that i start to focus on the negative instead of the positive.

no good.

so, i have made a conscious decision to be grateful and decided to share those little (or big) things here on mondays.

because, let's face it.

mondays can be hard.

i'm hoping a little gratefulness on mondays can get my week started off on the right foot.

and maybe it will yours too.

here's what i'm grateful for this monday:

* i attended the wedding of a dear friend this weekend.  it was cozy, intimate, and a perfect reflection of the bride and groom.  the energy in the room was palpable.  love.  happiness.  positivity.  hope.  so glad i got to be a part of it.

* the easy walk harness.  it is now a pleasure to walk an energetic 4-month old puppy instead of a chore.

* spiced pumpkin candles.

* the magnificent explosion of autumn colors in our neighborhood.

* sweet italian creme creamer.

every day's a holiday (with a little gratefulness),

holiday

hol·i·day: ˈhä-lə-ˌdā

~ noun:  a period of exemption or relief.  synonyms:  breather, relaxation, recess ~

~ adjective:  of or pertaining to a festival; festive; joyous ~ 

confession:  i've written a blog before.  in fact, maybe some of you are here because of that little corner of the internet (waving and smiling).  there was a period of time when i adored writing that blog.  it was my little corner in the vastness of the internet.

then, all of a sudden, my life was changing at a rapid pace and i was struggling to keep up.  i felt like i was drowning in an ever-growing to-do list, losing myself somewhere in the hustle and bustle of it all.

blogging wasn't fun to me anymore.  it was another item on my to-do list.

so i stopped. 

i took a holiday.

you know what is pretty amazing when you stop and take a moment? 

you learn a lot. 

at least i did.

so, here i am, 6 months later.

i went back to my first little blog to compose a post and it didn't feel right.


it is like when you find the absolutely perfect dress for, let's say, a holiday party, while you are in college.  it is just the right color, neckline, length, and sparkle.  when you slip into that dress, you feel like a million bucks.  you are working it.

then, it is 5 years later. 

that dress is hanging in the back of the closet of your new home (amazing that it made it out of the dorm room, huh?).  the company holiday party is in a few weeks.  so, you slip it on for old times sake.  you glance at yourself in the mirror and something is different.  it isn't that there is anything wrong with the dress.  it is lovely, but it just doesn't quite fit.  your style has changed. 

you've changed.

so, you go find something that is a better fit. 

this is my new holiday dress.

a place where i can take a breather in the midst of my crazy, beautiful life.

share my inspirations (which take all sorts of forms) and maybe you'll be inspired too.

remembering to breathe, smile, and be grateful every single day.

after all, every day is a holiday.  :)