More Than and Thousand Monkeys

I’m just going to say it: my niece and nephew are the two coolest kids on the planet. OK…yes. Perhaps I’m biased. And perhaps those are close to fighting words because you believe that YOU have the coolest kid(s) on the planet. Perhaps we’re both right.

I spent the weekend with Mr. T (4 ½) and Baby K (18mo). In general, Mr. T is all sugar and Baby K is all spice. I love getting in some good Aunt Moose time and just playing with these kiddos. We got down and dirty and managed to squeeze in a weekend jam packed with fun. These kids are sweet, smart, funny and crazy cute.

(Really—Jason, how did you manage to have such beautiful and amazing children??)

On Saturday we were outside playing and we had the sidewalk chalk out. I drew a picture and asked Mr. T if he knew what it was. He said, “Yes! It’s a MOOSE!” I said, ‘You’re right buddy! But do I REALLY look like that??” He looked at me with the most incredulous little face and said, “Uh, NO…You’re an AUNT Moose!”

Duh. Apparently that’s a whole other species. (And I’m not complaining).

At another time I was sitting with him and I asked him if he knows how much I love him. He stretched out his arms as wide as he could and said, “This much?” I stretched out my own arms, which of course were much wider, and said, “Even MORE than THIS much! 5 times more. 500 times more. 5 MILLION times more!” He looked at me with wide-eyed wonder and said, “I know—a THOUSAND times more!”

He jumped up and ran off to his room and came right back with a book. I should have noted the title, but it’s something that starts with a couple of monkeys and eventually builds to the crescendo—a thousand monkeys. He anxiously turned the last page, animated with monkeys everywhere, and proclaimed that he loves me “more than a thousand monkeys!”

Yep. That’s my kind of kid!

Pura Vida

Whew. OK...it's been ages since I last posted. Sorry about that! There's LOTS going on in Moosedom right now and I just haven't had a chance to write.

Part of the distraction was, in a word, PARADISE. I went on vacation last week to Costa Rica and it was the Best. Vacation. Ever. Seriously.

One of the challenges of being a 30-something single girl (who loves to travel) is finding others who have the same interests, availability and budget for a fun vacation. So I sent out a note to the many amazing single girls I know and started looking for the perfect place to go.

Hello luxurylink.com. If you aren't familiar with this website, now's the time to turn the light on and get to know one of my favorite places to hang out on this little thing we call the World Wide Web. LuxuryLink is a site that features high-end vacation rentals at discounted rates and auctions. The first time I went out to look for ideas I found the perfect place. A gift really. A little slice of paradise called Casa Oceano. And we got an amazing deal on an even more amazing house (and by house I mean villa-mansion-dwelling deluxe).

A few of us all started reaching out to our fabulous friends and ended up with the perfect group of six. Perfect not only because they were all accomplished, interesting, fun women, but also because the house had six bedrooms and, well, you can do the math. Perfection.

This trip was truly spectacular. But I have to say, that on top of all the fun and luxury and, hello, decadence, it was also a very spiritual trip. I have always felt closest to God in nature. Those moments when I look around me in awe of the natural beauty and know that God just breathed it and it came into being.

On this trip I was overwhelmed by the gift that God was giving me (and the whole group). It was impressed on me that when He was creating this beautiful coastline with its thundering surf and jagged volcanic rock, that he knew we would be there to enjoy His handiwork. That, if for nothing else, He created it for the moments that we were there to appreciate it. It all goes back to the post I wrote a few weeks ago: my life is so good and for too long I've taken for granted the beauty around me that was all a gift to enjoy.

In the last few days that I was there I was a little overwhelmed by some potentially big decisions and changes that I knew would be in front of me when I got back (sorry to be cryptic...more info as I am able to share). For a while now, the trip has been a barrier between present and future and I was acutely aware that as the trip ended that future would no longer be something "out there" but become the here and now.

In the midst of that I spent some time praying and God took me to Mark 5:18 where JC said, "Go home and tell your family what I've done for you and how good my mercies are." Yep. That fits.

This trip was such a gift and to say that God's mercies are good is simply inadequate. His love for us is perfect. He knows exactly what each one of us need in every moment and, if we're willing to open our eyes and notice, He'll show us how He's meeting those needs.

I'm really sorry that I didn't have the opportunity to blog each day of the trip to share all the fun stories with you. We had such an adventure and more fun than I can convey here. Here are a few pictures that I hope at least give you a taste of our experience.

Our fabulous group a the lookout point at the end of our beach:

The beach behind me was our playground. Our house was down by the rocks at the end of the beach.

Our amazing house:

From the dining room looking out over the sundeck (looking out over the ocean):

Our private beach:

A coconut I found on said beach:

We hiked to the waterfalls in Montezuma:Swimming in the falls:This is Sebastian (a.k.a. one of my favorite stories). This crab apparently sleeps in the house at the base of the stairs to my room. We tried to remove him and he just came back. We tried to scare him...no luck. And then we took this picture. And he never came back. Apparently Sebastian can read. And got the hint...

Ziplining in the canopy near Montezuma!The last day we were there about 20 howler monkeys stopped by to visit. AMAZING!! B.L.I.S.S Soaking up the sun. Sigh. (I want to go back!!)Las Gringas Locas!!

Costa Rica 2009 and Las Gringas Locas was an experience that I will always treasure for the fun and the friendship, but even more for the reminder of God's faithfulness.

The motto in the CR is Pura Vida--the good life.

Thanks, God for giving me one that is amazingly good.

Surf's UP!

OK. So, yes. I'm astronomically accident prone. We've clearly established that and have this as Exhibit A.

BUT...I also like to fancy myself as the adventurous sort and will offer up this as Exhibit B.

And (I hope) I've made it clear that I'm ALL IN along this journey of making the most of all that life has to offer in the here and now.

So despite the tendency to, uh, bruise like a peach, I just can't slow down when it comes to not only living my life, but fully experiencing our groovy little world. Along those lines I finally did something last weekend that I've been wanting to do for ages.

Several years ago I heard about a surf school in San Diego called Surf Diva. Hello...could there possibly be a better name for an establishment created to teach women how to conquor the ocean and surf?? Two sisters started Surf Diva about 20 years ago, and while they began as an surf school for women, they are now ranked as the number one surf school in San Diego (and they're even willing to help the surfer dudes out there get up and hang ten).

I knew as soon as I heard about them that THIS was a place I wanted to go to learn how to surf. So when I had a work trip to San Diego pop up, I immediately made plans to come in early and booked my first surfing lesson.

And the surfing? It is CRAZY FUN!

It's a sad thing that there are no action shots, because, y'all...I actually did WELL at this new venture! Carla and Shayna are clearly talented instructors, because I got up on my second wave and rode the third. But of course I started to overthink it and struggled a bit. (My instructor asked what I do for a living and then ascertained that I seem to always be plotting what my next step is going to be.)

That's not me at all. Except, you know, EXACTLY.

Apparently this is a sport that requires one to stop thinking about it and just "feel the waves" and once I did that I got back up and at 'em.

The pictures are certainly not my best...but I couldn't care less, beacause they were captured on a day that I smiled from ear to ear for HOURS. And so here they are completely untouched.

Just me and my board. SO SAD that my eyes are closed:

With bad ass Carla:
The newbies, Mel and Shayna (instructor in training):

I can feel it--I'm definitely hooked.

And I'm already plotting my next time out.

Ante Up

A year ago I thought I was the happiest I had ever been. I was madly in love with a guy I thought was “the one” and after a long time of waiting to find Prince Charming I thought everything was falling into place and it was all going to happen. Finally. All those things I wanted so much—passionate love, a great marriage, kiddos—would move from being things I dreamt about and become my daily life.

Yeah. Well. It clearly didn’t pan out that way.

Literally overnight we went from talking about marriage and dreaming about our future together to him telling me that this was over. In a word? Blindsided. In another word, devastated.

I’ll spare you all the messy details and just say that those were some dark days that followed.

But now it’s been almost a year, and you know what? I can honestly say that I’m happier right now than I have ever been. WOW. I did NOT see that coming. (And this is the kind of blindsided that I can get on board with.)

The thing is, I finally figured something out. It’s a funny thing to be 36 and single. It’s a state of being that most of world can’t relate to, and—most of the time—doesn’t quite know what to do with. Those of us in this life stage are often “other.” And I’ve spent a lot of time waiting and wanting to escape this category and fall into some idea of life that qualifies as “ordinary.”

And I regret to say that in my case, that waiting equated to mostly going through the motions while wishing I’d been dealt a different hand. Um, what’s that all about? What a waste of perfectly wonderful life. An extraordinary one, even.

And so at some point—without even realizing it, really—I got in the game and started to play the cards I’ve been dealt. And you know what? It’s a pretty fabulous hand.

I see it all around me—people who are stuck thinking about how green that grass looks on the other side of the fence. And it’s not just the single set. It always throws me for a loop when I hear people who have all things I think I want complain about their husbands or constantly tell me how their kids frustrate and exhaust them and rarely choose to focus on the light and love and joy that they bring.

It seems to me that we each have dozens of choices to make every day. And among the biggest of those is choosing how we’re going to look at this crazy little thing called life. I still hope that someday I’ll have the chance to be a wife and mom--and if I get that hand I’ll do all I can to play it well. But those aren’t the cards I’m holding right now.

And there’s no way I’m going to fold and go home.

What choices are you making today?

Me? I’m ALL IN.

Pizza-rific!

So if you know me at all you know that I don't really cook. It's not that I don't enjoy it or that I'm completely devoid of culinary abilities, I just rarely make the time to do more than heat up a Lean Cuisine or something similarly (not) time consuming.

When I was in SoCal for work my friend Guy the video guy and his sweet wife Margaret invited me over for dinner. And there was a moment of concern when I learned that menu primarily consisted of pizza. One of which I would be required to make.

But under the excellent tutelage of the experts I was shockingly pleased with the results. And--of course--needed to document my little moment of triumph.

Yes--that's me with, ahem, a rolling pin.

Clearly this was a task that required concentration.And some help from the expert.Ready for the fire.Getting it in the super groovy pizza stone grill contraption thingy.
The experts inspect the final product. Voila!
Guy with his finished pizza.

We made a crazy number of pizzas and mine was certainly not the best, but it was a delicious endeavor nonetheless. And pretty darn tastey in its own right.

(So much better than Lean Cuisine).

Thank you Ristorante Cirinelli for such a fun time--Buono!

pixurw4j6f

All in a Day's Work

Well, not really a day...more like a month. And not really all work either.

I did some calculating today, and in the month of June I've visited 5 cities. In 4 time zones. Shuffled through 7 airports. Stayed in 5 hotels. Stayed in 3 homes of friends/family. And spent 18 nights somewhere other than my own home sweet home.

(That's a lot.)

Almost all of that was for work, but I did my best to fit some play in there, too. My last trip started in Boulder for the first leg and then on to Southern California for a stop in Santa Ana and then San Diego. There are, obviously, worse places they could ask me to go slave away for the job. I completely fell in love with Boulder--it makes my top five places in the US list. It rocks. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

I got home last night, and while I'm completely pooped today I can't help but reflect on what an amazing place our crazy little world is. Mountains. Oceans. Climate swings of 30-ish degrees. (Seriously--it was something like 71 degrees when I left San Diego 24 hours ago and is currently 102 in Austin. Hello heat!)

I'm so grateful that I get to see little pieces of the planet here and there. Even better when I get to see (and make) friends along the way. This time around I even got to make some pizza. That story is going to have to wait, but here are some shots of the nature-licious sites I got to enjoy last week.

Hiking (more like sprinting because I had so little time) in The Flatirons in Boulder early Saturday morning before rushing off to the airport. At the beginning of the trail:

Where I stopped--these are rocks at the base of one of the climbing areas. I would have LOVED to scramble around up here!

The view looking down from where I stopped:

All done.
Juana rockin' the super cool car we had (mind the sarcasm).

I flew from Boulder to Orange County and had to spend some time at my most favorite place: the beach!

The cliffs of Corona del Mar:

Blue sky and blue ocean make me one happy moose.

There is simply no better way to spend an afternoon than this:

When I left Santa Ana I drove down to San Diego for a meeting. Here's the sunset at Carlsbad.

Oh, SoCal. I have a S.E.R.I.O.U.S crush on you!

Life, Liberty and Fabulous Friends

So far my summer has been a blur of traveling from one time zone to the next. It's a happy blur, but, truth be told, most mornings I wake up wondering where I'm at. 'Cause I'm just a jet setter like that.

(And because everyone knows that standing in a trade show booth or sitting through yet another training for 8 or 12 hours is Oh. So. Glamorous).

But I have to admit that one of the upsides to this very mobile life I'm living is getting to see and do a few things I've never done before. To be clear, the opportunities to enjoy the sights in various places aren't exactly experienced the way one would on a proper vacation.

The scene is something like this. Me running through the streets of Philadelphia at a feverish pace, 30 lb laptop bag on my forever misaligned shoulder. Cell phone in one hand checking email just in case something comes up. Camera on the other wrist just in case I come across something photo-worthy. Suitcase left with the hotel bellman. Flight in two-ish hours. Blisters forming as the result of said racing in shoes that could only be described as very inappropriate for the jaunt.

Can you picture it? Yeah. SUPER attractive.

But at the end of it all I did get to see some pretty amazingly historic sites last week. Truth be told I'm not really a history girl. Those classes just seemed so dry to me. Until I get to actually see things for myself and imagine what they saw. And walk where they walked. And then it sinks in and I get downright nostalgic.

And take a million photographs, the vast majority of which I will not subject you to.

But here are a few:

At the Liberty Bell Center. The Bell.

Independence Hall where men gathered and amazing historical documents that changed the entire freakin' world were signed.Ben Franklin's grave site. OK...I wouldn't have visited this one except that my boss has a major, uh, thing, for the founding fathers.
The not-historic-but-culturally-fabulous statue in downtown Philly.

After my trek through the city I raced to airport only to have my first flight delayed. Followed by my second flight that was also delayed. I was home for a few hours before driving off to The Woodlands to see a few of my childhood girlfriends.

It was fantastic to see these girls...next time we'll try to get the whole old school gang. Here are (of course) a few photos of our time together.

Mel & Marsha.
Moose & Mandy.

Amy & Marsha

The (partial) Huntsvegas Crew.
Amy & Mel

Loved Philly. Loved seeing new (really old) sites. And LOVE these girls!