Live, Love, Trust

I am back! After a brief October hiatus, I am ready to share my thoughts, kid pics and bizarre tidbits of info.

The other day I had a close friend email me and ask 'so, you have not updated the blog for a long time? What's actually going on?' Ahh... this sweet friend knows me so well. There has actually been a lot going on in our lives during the month of October and quite frankly I do not usually share the inner workings of my personal life via social media.

When I take a break from blogging it's usually because I am concentrating on 'life' stuff and unable to share openly. I am  not one of those people that announces to the world over facebook updates like 'I just got in the biggest fight of my life and now my husband is leaving me.' THAT DEFINITELY DID NOT HAPPEN- just an example of the types of updates I have actually read. I think that when people update in this manner they are either 1. lonely 2. a bit narcissistic 3. just really, really open with their personal stuff.

Onto, my update.
As many of you know I have been hunting for a job for about three months. When Ben decided that he wanted to pursue law school, I said 'cool, let's figure out how to pay the bills.' I have been blessed to be able to work for myself through http://www.twistconsulting.com/ over the last couple of years, but it made me quake in my pants to think that I would be soley responsible for my family's livelihood based off of being self-employed. So, I am basically a wuss and decided to figure out another work situation. I have been praying over the last several months very specifically about what I wanted 1. A job that was fun (I can't be bored out of my mind). 2. A job that will adequately take care of our finances. 3. A job with a decent work/life balance (so I can still see my kid every so often. )

I am thrilled to say that we have been completely taken care of and I just landed my dream job that perfectly meets my criteria. Starting mid-November I will be commuting into San Francisco and working for a multi-national cosmetics company doing their marketing. I couldn't be happier! There have been many ups and downs in this process but I feel immensely blessed and totally provided for.

Next on the agenda.... looking for a new house! We need to be closer to a BART station (that's the subway system to those of you Canadian readers) so that I don't have to spend all of my days commuting.

Royalty

This is what our days look like. Princess Lily has full reign over our domain.

Aloha

My mind is still back on the lush, tropical beaches of Kauai, but my body is sitting here at my kitchen table.
I guess that's what a good vacation is supposed to do? Rest and relax your mind so that you still feel like you are on island time. We even did an impromptu family swim today at lunchtime to keep the Aloha spirit going back at home.

Here is a brief rundown on how the week went:

- Awesome rental house.
- Way too many mosquitoes
- Amazing jutting, green, mountain backdrop by a pristine beach.
- Naked kids everywhere.
- A husband making a serious beachwear fashion statement.
- Passion fruit we picked ripe off the trees.
- An 8 mile hike along the Nepali Coast through muck, jungle and rivers in an attempt to reach the most surreal, prehistoric-like waterfall setting that I have ever experienced. Totally worth the next-day sore legs.

Most of my readers are also friends on Facebook, so I am only going to post a couple of my fav Hawaii shots.

 If you are considering a tropical trip (everyone should make this a priority in their lives to take as many tropical trips as possible) I highly recommend the north coast of Kauai for an authentic experience.
Mahalo!


Gratitude Project. This is the last day of my gratitude project seeing as how it is September 30th. I found that it was a cathartic experience to constantly be reflecting on the blessings in my life. So thanks for hanging in there while I bored you with my musings.

81. Passion Fruit. Who knew those slimy little seeds would taste like nature's version of sour patch kids?
82. Portable DVD Players.
83. Kind older kids that are happy to play with 2 year old Lil.
84. A loud family. Silence is way overrated.
85. Multiple interviews. God has been faithful my friends.
86. Deep sleep.
87. Insect Repellent.
88. Avocado
89. King size beds.
90. Blogging.

In a Barbie World

Sometimes my life feels like a bizarre scene out of a Malibu Barbie dream sequence.

This morning I dragged my lazy butt out of bed and joined a flock of women for a spin class. If you have never tried spin, you basically toil on a bike for about 45 mins without the climax of actually arriving at a destination.

The female citizens of my fine town are big fans of this self-torture. When I arrived for my class there were already 37, jittery, borderline starving, silicone injected housewives standing in a line that snaked around the corner of the gym. It's a little like waiting in line for the Teacup ride at Disneyland- except instead of waiting to lose your lunch from swirling in a giant cup and saucer you are waiting to lose your powerbar from pedaling your legs faster than you ever thought possible.

When we were finally let into the 'spin studio,' a dimly lit, sightly damp workout chamber, the housewives' chatter burned my ears. "We listed for 2.3 million," to my left. "We're cutting back this year and only spending 3 weeks in Aruba," to my right.

Just as we are about to start pedaling, the instructor announced that an NBA player was joining us in class before he began his pre-season with the 76ers. The women perked up like peacocks and little giggles tittered across the rows of stationary bikes.

Umm. How did I get here?

After being back for nearly a year in California, I am convinced that I have been placed among these 'real housewives' to be a gentle reminder that there is more to life than workouts, lunching and making sure that 'Billy' gets into Stanford in 15 years. I might be guilty of bleaching my hair, but it's time to get real ladies. Malibu Barbie is plastic and her lifestyle only satisfies for a nano-second.

The Gratitude Project Cont.
71. Sleeping in.
72. Reeses Peanut Butter Cups.
73. My two-year-old's princess dance shows in the middle of our living room.
74. A healthy heart. Both physically and spiritually.
75. The ice maker in my refrigerator door. I feel like the kind in trays never tastes as good and soaks up the scents/flavors of the freezer.
76. Joy.
77. Airplanes. Not only does Lil enjoy pointing them out every time one passes by, but they make our world so much smaller and accessible.
78. Parties. All types of parties. They make our lives way more fun and exciting.
79. My camera. A visual reminder of a full life.
80. Meeting new people at where they are at in their life.

Kicking Back

I think that I have already said too much this week, so I will just leave you with a couple of cute kids kickin' back. Lil likes to take it easy when her friend Griffin comes to play.

Gratitude Project Cont.
61. Warm fall weather.
62. A two year who tells me my bracelet is 'cute.'
63. Netflix.
64. Dill Pickles.
65. Anti-Bacterial soap from Bath & Body Works.
66. Stevia (I will dedicate a whole post to this another day).
67. Grandmas willing to book a last minute international flight for a weekend visit.
68. Natural bug repellent.
69. Surprise checks in the mail.
70. Clean sheets.