Tag: beach

Feel Good Friday

On By AngeliaIn Beautiful Life, In my heart forever & ever, Life is what you make it.32 Comments

I saw this meme a few weeks ago over at Erika’s place and I just fell in love with it. Happy I can do, and I promised, I would take part one day soon.

Now…… *drumroll please*……..it’s time.

I’m a little torn between writing about what really, really makes me happy or the five things that make me happiest this week. Well, since I can throw the really, really happy thing into my five things – I am going with that, and yes, I am ONLY listing FIVE things. HA.

  • The freeway. I know. What the heck? Well, for the last two years I have driven a beautiful three lane street with lots of traffic lights. It was like driving Miss Daisy suburban style. Zoom. Zoom. Stop. Zoom. Zoom. Road rage on your bumper. Stop. In two years, I hit all green lights (6 miles) once. That was pretty cool, but now I drive the freeway to work. It’s all go, all the time (on accident-free days). I go against the traffic and it’s not very often an accident clogs up the road. I LOVE IT. I just get to drive and it helps me think and prepare for my day. Then, at the end of the day, it helps me to wind down. Something about not stopping and starting and just letting the freeway roll away all the stresses. It is my meditation.
  • I cleaned Jason’s house. Not just dust, but I mean I cleaned out drawers and stuff. Feeling at home much? Do you know what was so wonderful about cleaning and making space? I was nesting. I was finally preparing my home. That meant a lot to me, to reach that place of peace and love, where I know I belong. Finally!
  • TV this week. I rarely watch “live” TV. But I found myself folding laundry at my new soon-to-be home watching America’s Got Talent and Last Comic Standing on Tuesday night. I had NO idea I could laugh that loud. Thank goodness Jason was in class and Sydney was in Mississippi, or they would have thought me MAD. HA HA HA HA HA! (oops, that was kinda loud)
  • Cooking chicken in the rice steamer. Oh joy! It’s truly the little things with me. I SWEAR, I am terrible at cooking. I’m a-skeerd. Especially, of cooking chicken, and not getting it cooked all the way, and then getting sick. PLUS, I had never used the rice cooker before. Had no idea how to use it. Gee, I know it’s not rocket science. Cooking is just not my thing. But I did it. I googled a recipe and made nice garlic seasoned chicken breasts steamed in some water and olive oil. It was incredibly delicious and you know what? I’m proud of myself. Yay.
  • My last FAVORITE happy moment of the week and includes my happiest moment/place of all time. THE BEACH. Any beach will do and we just happened by Galveston on Sunday. Now, Galveston is not my favorite, but it will do in a pinch. I could sit and watch the ocean, hear the waves, feel the sun on my skin, with toes dug in the sand EVERY day. In my former life, I was a mermaid. I just know it. It’s home. It fills me up. This visit was more special than just a regular trip, since it was the little girls first time to wade into the ocean and revel in all it’s beauty play in the surf. I think it’s safe to say, they might have been mermaids too.

Please enjoy my happy day with my mom, Jason, and the girls, as we re-visit our Sunday – on the beach.

Beach Breath

On By AngeliaIn Love and Light42 Comments

Yeah, I got it. That’s what good clean beach air will do (two weeks in a row). Yeah!

This week you can find me training in Milwaukee, Wisconsin near Port Washington. Located about one mile from Lake Michigan. How sweet is that?

It is much colder than Texas, not that you could tell any of the natives that – wearing shorts and no jackets – but for me…. brrrrrrr. Especially at the lake. I now understand why they sit in their cars instead of on the actual beach. Ha.

But hey, the view from the car is just as nice. My iPhone pictures do not do the blue justice. It’s incredible!

The trip started out meeting my dear friend in person Mr. Lance of Jungle of Life blog. His entire family is adorable, sweet, and kind with just enough silly to keep lunch very interesting (Jakob) haha. The warm and inviting hospitality, and delicious meal (yeah Wisconsin bratwurst) inside their incredibly gorgeous home nestled in a cul-de-sac surrounded with trees, countryside, and good-sized yard. Nice! I traveled the back roads (totally my bad Lance) to get there. Turns out the back roads took me past picturesque farms. So pretty!

Driving from west Milwaukee back to Northwest Milwaukee and seeing the sights along the way (Miller Park stadium, Milwaukee zoo, and Olympic training site), I felt I really got to know the town. I haven’t met a single person that has been impolite. I love the beauty here. I love that spring is just starting and I get to see all the trees in bloom again.

My training has been great! I am really trying to focus and use the things I don’t know. There is a LOT that is very remedial for me but focusing on the new stuff is keeping me fresh. I am a believer in over training. It doesn’t hurt a company in any way. In the last two years, some new formats and procedures have been implemented (for the better). I am LOVING the new technology. Just blows me away. This company is so hi-tech and cutting edge, all for the sake of their clients, it makes me giddy.

My partner in crime, aka the other trainee, is from California. We have so many similarities it’s not even funny. We both have Nikon D3000 cameras, significant others named Jason, black labs, baseball fans, and about the same age. I am pretty sure I forgot half-dozen other coincidences. I love it!

Tomorrow I will meet another online friend, this one from many years ago (4). She and I were challenge buddies on ediets and have kept in touch. I can’t wait to see her in person after all this time. I really do wish I had brought my camera to capture the lake and all the meet ups!

I thought I would have more time in my hotel room to catch up on reading and writing, but not really, seems like the time is just flying by. I don’t get it. Where does it go? It couldn’t possibly be the TV (with cable) in my room front and center. Naaahh…. But I did catch the news for the first time in weeks months many, many months.

Sydney and Jason are surviving, or thriving, if you consider the movie date, Wal-Mart sushi feast, and then Jason getting a meal cooked for him by an almost sixteen year old tonight. Hey Sydney….neat-O-burrito!

I’m gonna wrap this non-post up. My blogster friends….I hope you are well. Please know I am thinking of you all. I appreciate your support during this transition time of travel.

Wordful Wednesday

On By AngeliaIn In my heart forever & ever, Life is what you make it.27 Comments

Sorry for the lack of posting and blog visiting. Seems the spring cleaning bug bit me while on my trip. This is good! I have a lot to get done before I start work again and I need all the help I can get (aka motivation). I plan on catching up next week. I will be training out-of-town and won’t have the distractions: hungry teen, laundry, dishes, plants, mowing, dogs to potty/clean up after, commuting. It almost sounds like another vacation, yes?

Please send Jason some good vibes. Not only will he be dealing with his “normal” crazy life, but he will be stepping into the role of teen parent – helping me out while I’m away – seven years sooner than he should be. Pray. Ha!
🙂

Our trip was amazing. The wildflowers are blooming, especially between San Antonio and Corpus. Purple, pink, blue, yellow, and red stretch like flowing waves as if God dipped his paintbrush and painted a canvas of color. Pictures would not have done it justice and had we stopped for each beauty mark we would have never made it here and back (at least for many, many, many days).

We had a great time. Residence Inn had plenty of space for all three of us. The beach was just as sweet and calming as I had imagined. I never wanted to leave. Ever.

Trip pics

We didn’t forget the sunscreen, in fact, SPF 100 works very well. Yes, 100! I had no idea they even MADE that. Wow.

I love the seagulls. I don’t love feeding them, because they turn ugly real quick, but this one in the air is what I love most. The swift glide they have, and their soft float landings.


Just like a rock star, I really do wish I had her sense of fashion. It truly is inherit and not environment, or environment not inherit, whichever – her aunt is very stylish.


Sand art, courtesy of Jason, believe it or not, someone actually came by and took a picture (besides me that is). Heh!

Bug eyes and I Sydney and I took a nice two-mile trek along the beach. This was before, you don’t want to see the after. Walking on sand? Not easy (for me anyway), but I love it just the same. The exercise and the sights. We got to see a bride in her wedding dress being photographed. Awesome.


Bird? Plane? Size of shark? Don’t you love playing charades in the ocean? Surely she wasn’t jumping over that teeny wave? Hmm.


Perfect ending to a perfect trip. The eight-hour drive back wasn’t even that bad…. considering that SYDNEY drove a big part of it…YIKES. Luckily I had the sea breeze to meditate on – that doesn’t work when parking at Starbucks REAL close to another car if you’d like to know – but the sounds of children playing, seagulls calling, the smells of the salty air, and the gorgeous palm trees flapping in the gust. Ah. Those. Those work wonders while driving with a teenager.

Now, I’m off to mow the yard, then lunch with my matron of honor. Yay! Happy hump day!