Favorite Things of Summer Giveaway

Its been a while since I've had a giveaway and its time to change that, don't you think?

A few months ago I received the funnest * giveaway prize that I've ever won. Its time to pass on the good karma.



Leave a comment telling me your favorite things about summer. The winner will be drawn next Monday. I will send the lucky reader a box with some of my favorite summer things, while I'm not sure what all that will include just yet, it will be great. I promise. Just leave a comment by midnight Sunday, July 5th.

And goooo!

* I am fully aware that "funnest" is not proper grammar, I don't care I used it anyway.

Swimming Over At Little Fish's Today

Today I am over at Little Fish's place guest posting for her while she is having a great time across the pond.

Head on over there to read about one of my many ways I love to unwind.

Have a happy weekend!

Unplanned Summer Evening

Yesterday was one of those evenings where I knew it was too beautiful out to spend the evening inside. With no clear destination in mind I got in my car with the dog and drove. Rolling the windows down, feeling the summer air rush through my car lifting my hair in every direction. Sandy was lying across the back seat like a great Egyptian Sphinx, her dark eyes half closed and her neck stretched out, deliriously happy feeling the air swirl around her whole being.

After driving along the river, I ended up at a friend’s house where some others had gathered for a lazy evening on their deck. The sun set in a blazing glory in the Western sky taking with it the humidity of earlier in the day. The dog ran around in the grass, dotted with white headed clover, chasing the little kids and playfully jumping around. The rest of us congregated around a few tables playing euchre, Uno, sipping white wine from stemless glasses, eating freshly hulled strawberries. Occasional laughter punctuated the air over our soft conversations, voices low so as to not disturb the neighbors. When the night grew too dark to see the cards properly, we lounged around, no one wanting to leave.

Fireflies slowly emerged from the shrubs and grass dotting the darkness with their tiny little lights, putting on a splendid light show for us. Before I knew it, I was being led across the grass in my bare feet with a plastic container in one hand, a four year olds tiny hand tightly grasping two of my fingers on the other. We ran around the yard, wiggling our toes in the dirt and grass laughing as the lightning bugs always seemed to escape our outstretched limbs. When we did manage to cup one between our hands, we opened them just enough to peer in with one eye watching the twinkling light go off and on. Sandy, who tried unsuccessfully to sneak up on unsuspecting fireflies, cocked her head to the side in bewilderment as the bugs lit up and darted away from her. When the four year olds mother called that it was time for bed, we both protested. It had been ages since I had chased fireflies and I was having entirely way too much fun for an adult. A few more joined us in our pursuit and the plastic container was left on the edge of the deck unused because we had agreed it was more fun to try to capture the fireflies and let them go.

Eventually the evening wound down to a close. Getting into the car to head home, I glanced in the rear view mirror to see Sandy thoroughly exhausted from hours of running around. When I looked at my own reflection I saw complete contentedness. I couldn’t have planned a better evening had I tried.

Sometimes I...

Sometimes I go to an outdoor concert and have entirely way too much fun with the best friends. And by too much fun I mean I consumed entirely too many $4 forty's, lost my voice singing too loudly, and had a hangover from hell. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Sometimes I realize that while I may not be able to party like a 21 year anymore, the saying "Old enough to know better, still too young to care" definitely still applies.

Sometimes I just need an evening out with some of the most important people in my life, even if I don't quite remember the whole night.

Sometimes I make up the words to songs that aren't even remotely close to the actual lyrics, but when you are with a bunch of other drunk people no one even notices.

Sometimes I need a three hour nap after a fun night out which makes me feel old.

Sometimes I spend the next evening watching Disney movies and TLC wedding shows from bed struggling to stay awake, despite the three hour nap and the fact that its not even eleven o'clock yet.

Sometimes I, like right now, am completely ok with that.

Sometimes after a night like last night, I'm already planning the next one!

Your turn, fill in the blank. Sometimes I....

And People Are Crazy

One of the background songs in my life lately that has been summing up how I feel these days is "God is Great, Beer is Good, and People Are Crazy" (sorry, embedding is disabled, click over its worth it).

In the past 4 or 5 weeks, another blogger and a close family friend have had a run of bad news that would leave many people down on their knees ready to give up. However, both of these amazing people are continuing on, bravely fighting their separate battles, their heads held high in determination. Both of their diagnosis' serve as a reminder to live life and embrace it daily. Life is too short to waste. In a way its been a catalyst for me, given me the courage to change the things I'm not happy with. To live more in the moment, to be more spontaneous. The honest truth is, none of us know how many days we have, how long this ride is going to last.

People are crazy and thank goodness for that. We're all a little bit crazy-- crazy for putting our lives online in the form of a blog (because let's face it you either get blogging or you don't), crazy for calling people we've never met our friends, crazy for forming offline relationships with these same people. A lot of us are currently in the state of wanting more, knowing we deserve more. Some may call us crazy for searching and pursuing those dreams, seeking out those better jobs, going back to school, or taking off for an extended adventure. Maybe those things are crazy but for many of us, its whats keeping us going. You have to be a certain kind of crazy to have the courage to pursue your dreams, to do the unexpected, to live the life you know you were meant to live. Let people call you crazy, do what you want anyway.

So the bottom line -- know there is something bigger than you out there, know that sometimes you will have to to battle through some tough things, enjoy a cold beer with your friends or watching the sun set, have the courage to be some sort of crazy.

Raise your glass and toast "God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy!"

Everyday Adventures

I'm over at Jessica's place The Everyday Adventures of Me and the City today talking about my childhood summers. I am honored to be posting for Jess today, she was one of the first bloggers I read and it took a long time for me to work up the nerve to comment on her site. When she asked me if I would guest blog, of course I said yes!

Stop by and tell me how you used to spend your summers.

I hope you all enjoy your weekends!

Glorious Debris

Earlier today Chickbug posted this quote on her blog. It was absolutely something I needed to read at the moment.

"Every one of us is called upon, probably many times, to start a new life.
A frightening diagnosis, a marriage, a move, loss of job...
And onward full tilt we go, pitched and wrecked and absurdly resolute,
driven in spite of everything to make good on a new shore.
To be hopeful, to embrace one possibility after another--that is surely basic instinct...
Crying out: High tide!
Time to move out into the glorious debris.
Time to take this life for what it is."
~Barabra Kingsolver, from High Tide in Tucson

Lately I've been feeling the strong need for a change, which is completely unlike me. Sure every once in a while I get a desire to move to a different part of the country, cut my hair all off, or do something equally drastic without completely thinking it through. That feeling may last a few days, then quickly passes, allowing me to happily go on perfectly content with the way things are. This time though that feeling isn't going away so quickly.

The beginnings of the stirring within me started a few months ago, when I decided practically on a whim to apply to graduate school. I was ecstatic to be accepted into the program, but then I found out that I won't be able to take online classes till January 2010. I am still really excited about staring school, but waiting that long isn't satisfying this insistant urging for something different.

The more I think about this feeling, the more I want an adventure. Something to scare the bejesus out of me. Give me an adrenaline rush. Something to put the wind back into my sails and lead me somewhere I never imagined. I deserve this. We all deserve this.

Life is messy, chaotic, heartbreaking and absolutely amazing. One of the most beautiful aspects of life is that we never know where one decision will take us, what doors it will open, what changes it may bring about if we let it. Change is terrifying and exhilarating all at once. Moving out into the "glorious debris" is hard, but it simply must be done. I want to "embrace one possibility after another."

Now, who's with me?

Lasting Impressions, Final Thoughts

Back in January I had the idea of doing a few posts on the blog about friendships, written by you. I had absolutely no idea if anyone would want to contribute or how it would be received. I thought if I was lucky I could get three or four people, that maybe the series would go into March.

For the past four months, every Friday, another blogger would contribute a story about one (sometimes more than one) of their friendships. No two stories were the same, I could relate to almost every one. You wrote about how your friendships touched your life, how you became friends, how friends changed your life, and how much your friends mean to you. You wrote about childhood friends, siblings, college friends, and soon to be spouses. Some of these posts made me smile at the fun memories, brought tears to my eyes at the depth of the friendship, and broke my heart when you realized it was time to move on.

I am truly honored that you all took time to share your stories with me and those who read this blog. Thank you to those of you who contributed, commented, and read. Often when I received a new post, I had the overwhelming urge to pick up the phone and call my closest friends if for no other reason to tell them I loved and missed them. I hope this series left you with a similar feeling, perhaps a lasting impression.

Idling

I spent Sunday with my family on my brothers new (to him) pontoon boat. I left my worries and cares on the dock, choosing to spend the day free from the normal stresses of everyday life and reality. By doing so, I was able to fully and completely enjoy the sight of hills covered with varying shades of green trees and the dark blue tones of the water. The fresh scent of the air filled my lungs with each deep breath. By the end of the day my skin was pink both from the sun and the wind. I slept better that night than I have in weeks, thoroughly exhausted from doing nothing but being out on the lake.



The lake where my brother docks his boat is a more laid back lake, with nothing stronger than a 10 horsepower motor allowed. There are no jet skis or wave runners, or speed boats zipping along creating large waves behind them. At a few places along the shore there are buoy's floating that request drivers idle their boats, so as not to create a lot of wake in the area, usually where there are designated swimming areas or private boat clubs. Idling a boat means cutting off most of the power to the engine and just easily, almost floating along slowly. During this time it was nice to be able to sit out on the bow of the boat without worrying about water splashing up over you or just study the shoreline more closely, which in this case was dotted with other people simply enjoying the beautiful day.

There really should be more signs in life encouraging us to idle for a while. To just slow down and take in the scenes that we often so hurriedly rush past. The lyrics from one of my favorite Alabama songs say:

I'm in a hurry to get things done
Oh, I rush and rush until life's no fun
All I really gotta do is live and die
But, I'm in a hurry and don't know why.

I challenge you all to idle your engines a bit over the next few weeks and months. Slow down. See the wildflowers along the road on your commute home. Smile at the person in your subway car instead of quickly looking away. Stop and pet a passing dog on your evening stroll. Enjoy the color of the sky as twilight gives way to night. Don't just look, actually see what you're missing. Feel the wind blow through your hair. Most importantly, simply take a few deep breaths and just be.