From One Year to Beyond

I am starting my very first link-up!

10 ladies will be posting about their first year of marriage and I am excited to hear and share some stories and hopefully gain some good advice along the way. My first post can be found here.  A bit of an introduction to my newly married life and wedding last May!

linking up with Kaitlyn

It's Hot!

Even though I am long past the years of summer vacations, I still can feel it in the thick humid air.  The school zones stop blinking in the mornings, the buses go off to hibernate, and the grass and trees turn a vibrant green.  The weather has turned hot and sticky and the sweat trickles down your back, even in the cool dark shade.  The ceiling fan whirls above me and I lay still on my living room rug, careful not to move.  The high buzz of the cicadas echo through the summer air and all I want is a giant cone of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

It's hot!

I can't get cool,

I've drunk a quart of lemonade,

I think I'll take my shoes off

And sit around in the shade.

It's hot!

My back is sticky,

The sweat rolls down my chin.

I think I'll take my clothes off

And sit around in my skin.

It's hot!

I've tried with 'electric fans,

And pools and ice cream cones,

I think I'll take my skin off

And sit around in my bones.

It's still hot!

Shel Silverstein

Do you see the lady in the tree?

see her now? oooh!

Happy summer!

(p.s. I know its silly to wear velour pants in the summer, but I had to hide my mosquito bite swollen ankles!)

Small table DIY

When I headed off to graduate school I had no furniture to my name, except for a small table that my mom gave me that she had found at a flea market.  While it is a cute little table and has served me well, I thought it could use a bit of a face lift.  It is a bit out dated and its coloring clashed next to the darker ikea bookcase.  

I still had some of my LaFonda Teal (which I loooved) left over from my dresser makeover and thought it would be nice to have something bright in the living room.  

It only took my 1 and 1/2 episodes of the X Files to finish! (oh how I wanted so badly to be Agent Scully when I was little)

My weekend will look at lot like

This.

I have big DIY plans for a few pieces of furniture too.  Stay tuned for some before and afters!

Lovely

Daily Affirmation

Sara Haze, Lovely 

Weekend Getaway: The leftovers

Sick of hearing about my 3 day weekend yet?

:)

A few last pictures

Weekend Getaway: Weeki Wachee Springs

Old Florida.

A term I have grown fond of since moving here.  Florida is one of the only states I know where I constantly see signs of this golden era of the 40's and 50's. Times where families took long road trips to see the attractions and the state parks.  I feel a sense of joy and admire the simpler times.

Weeki Wachee Springs State Park captures this feeling perfectly.  An attraction since the 1940's, its incredible, crystal clear springs are enjoyable all on their own.  Throw in mermaids and you have a memorable and unique experience!

They played this before the mermaid show.  Its a great little video!

Weekend Getaway: Juniper Springs

Our first day of our trip was spent in the Ocala National Forest.  We headed towards Juniper Springs, which is located in the southeastern portion of the Forest.  

It was beautiful.  The Springs is a very popular destination for families because one of the larger  springs has been opened up for swimming.  It was full of your typical "country" families with their coolers full of goodies, lawn chairs propped and observer ready, and lots of sunburned people.  We took a walk along the boardwalk and were soon alone and left to explore the most beautiful sight.  The water is crystal clear, with white sandy mounds where the spring bubbles up.  Turquoise, cobalt, green, and gray all blend together to create a shimmering blue rainbow.

On our way to our next destination we stopped for some good ol' fashioned root beer.  Delicious!

Weekend Getaway

I'm back from an amazing and much needed long weekend getaway celebrating our one year anniversary!

Bobby and I had a wonderful time exploring new parts of Florida like Ocala National Forest, Crystal River, and Weeki Wachee State Park.

Here's a little video of our explorations

:)

Song: Waterbirds by Tennis

We spent the days reconnecting and enjoying our time alone.  We saw an unexpected, beautiful part of Florida, drank really strong margaritas, went for a nighttime swim, drank old fashioned root beer, and enjoyed the sun setting over the Gulf of Mexico.  Oh yeah, and we saw mermaids!! A lovely getaway to celebrate a lovely first year!

More photos here or here and here!

Are We There Yet?

This weekend my husband and I are off on a little adventure.  

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It will be just the two of us. 

 A mini road trip

If we're lucky, I think we may even see some mermaids 

:)  

"[Her] roof was the sky, and her walls were the whispering pines, and Mother Earth was her bed"

-Connie McAdams-Rodriquez

I heard the front door of our office open and a muffled voice asking for assistance.  I had been anxiously waiting all morning for this.  We had received word yesterday of a death in the community and I knew that someone in the family would be by today. My department assists with burial locations.  Yes, not a typical museum job.  Because we help to preserve these sacred sites, families come to us to make sure that there won't be any accidental disturbance to historic, unmarked plots. We were shorthanded today and I knew I would probably need to help out.

I got up from my desk and walked to the reception area.  I saw one of our security guards, with a younger man, looking confused and uncomfortable with the situation.  I hurriedly walked over and introduced myself.  The man, with tears in his eyes, asked if I could help make sure the spot he had chosen was ok for his grandmother, an elder who had lived on the reservation the past 70 some years.

I went and got the records I needed and met him down the road.  I didn't see him at first, but as I walked through the cemetery I saw him standing under a large shady oak tree.  I silently thought to myself what a lovely final place.  The air was hot but there was a breeze that rustled the leaves and the birds happily sang away, unaware of the solemn moment.

source

I double checked the records and told him everything was fine.  I'm not very good with these types of situations.  I suppose no one really is.  

I told him I was very sorry and to let me know if I could be of any further assistance.  He smiled and told me his grandmother had lived a good, long life.  I said good-bye, leaving him to his own thoughts.  I felt sad.  Sad for him and his family. Sad remembering my own grandmothers' passings many years ago.

I looked up into the deep blue sky and gave thanks for the day.  

Nostalgia

nos•tal•gia  n.

a wistful or sentimental longing for places, things, acquaintances, or conditions belonging to the past.

I've been feeling extremely nostalgic the past few days.  I think it is partly due to the fact that my twin sister will soon be moving back to the town where we grew up.  I am secretly envious, but even more so, beyond happy for her and her little family.  

2010

I enjoy those sudden moments of nostalgia.  Brought on by a smell, a sound, a taste, a touch. So fleeting. Sometimes its bittersweet though, remembering the past and knowing that those moments only exist now in memory.  

My everyday routine always sparks a tumble of memories.  I am well known amongst my family for remembering somewhat ordinary events in great detail and it only takes a sniff of perfume or a song on the radio to bring me back in time and a wave of sentiment washes over me.

Eating a cheese quesadilla with peaches and suddenly I am 5 years old in the backyard of the home I grew up in.  Sitting underneath an A-frame I created with our plastic folding "beach" lounge chairs I am shaded from the sun.  I can still smell the lilacs that lined the back fence.

The smell of wood warming in the sun and I am transported to our summer weeklong trips to Vail. The sunshine beating onto the pine tree bark, softening the vanilla smelling sap.  

Almost every day at work I pass one of the tour guides in the kitchen.  Her perfume brings me back to visits with my Grandma Ruth.  It's the same perfume she wore.  After my grandparents would leave I would go down to the basement where they would stay and stand on the orange shag carpet, breathing in the lovely smell which would often times linger for days after.

I love to think about the complexity of our brains and how something so ordinary can trigger such a detailed trip to my past  An incredible filing system must be in place!