This is the life.
This is my happily ever after right now, in this moment.
This is the best staycation I never dreamed of.
I love this life.
Thank you, Sunshine, for inviting us over tonight. We had a blast making pizzas and “shmores” and playing corn hole!! xo
nAMaste
Aren’t we lucky to be alive and to have each other?
one love.
love is.
Love is.
Love Is.
Go with the flow.
If you don’t have the answer, just wait and go with the flow.
I thought about and practiced this today, while at my happy place.
Life is good!
nAMaste
Okay, this could be the best summer now that I’m getting the hang of relaxing and being at home-not-at-home-and-working.
We have time to be, time to relax, time to work and play and low stress. There is space, sacred space at home and I’m finally embracing it. Hallelujah!!
So do you want to know what I’ve really loved this week? I knew you’d ask…I am loving pet sitting for friends with Juliana. I have loved checking on the chickens everyday and filling their water and gathering their eggs with my kids. There was a simple joy in waiting for the eggs each day and awe in how this process even works. I loved watching them peck at the water tube too and hearing the clucking sounds they made.
I loved seeing the cats and their different personalities and appearance and how three different families have three different ways of feeding and raising their fur babies. I used to not be a pet lover and now I’ve changed and that’s pretty cool. I guess old dogs can learn new tricks.
How’s your summer going? What do you love about it?
nAMaste
Today I decided to go up to San Francisco for the day. 2 of the 3 kids decided they wanted to join, and the last one came anyway, wishing he had more of a say in the decision.
Only 25 days into summer and I’ve finally got the hang of this work/life/mothering teens/summer staycation thing (at least in this moment.) It helps that I work with a really cool team and don’t mind waking up super early to get my work done first thing in the morning before the kids get up.
While being in SF, I liked being in a global city in our own backyard where people gather from all over the world. I loved seeing people walking around with their suitcases trailing behind them, which reminded me of our expat life and monthly travels. I loved seeing the tall Dutch women, exchanging dollar bills and the other traveling tourists and interesting characters. My only objective was to walk around and explore and people watch and the city didn’t disappoint. One of us wanted to seek out a bubble tea shop, while another wanted to see the Japanese tea gardens and a magic shop near Golden Gate park, and another of us wanted to see where the Bison Paddock was. Having these destination points helped to guide our journey.
April gave me another idea of exploring the painted tile steps, which is something we hadn’t seen before and as we were driving through the West Portal, we realized they were close by and on the way to Golden Gate Park. Some of us wanted to stop, while others wanted to stick with the original plan. We practiced the art of negotiation and being kind to each other as we discussed our strong opinions in a small, confined space. I like to wander and flow with what we discover, as we discover it and not wait for another day. Luckily they all finally agreed to make me happy, which actually made them happy too.
We also got to visit the desired bubble tea location, saw the Bison roaming, and walked outside the Japanese tea garden, but when we got to the magic shop, it was unfortunately closed this week for the 4th holiday week. Overall, it was a great and cold day to be in the city.
Life is beautiful!
Happy Independence Day, America!
It was a gorgeous day to be with family and friends and to enjoy the day together.
We helped out with our friend’s rummage sale early this morning. Afterwards, I was so lucky that everyone in my family rallied to go on a hike with me! This is a hard feat to master these days and I was giddy with excitement!
When we got back from the hike, Jeff and I prepared some tritips to smoke on the Traeger for a neighbor’s BBQ. He tended to the steaks and when they were ready, we all joined the festivities.
Finally, we ventured out to catch the fireworks. When we thought we found a nice spot to park our blankets and chairs on the local high school’s grass, the sprinklers went on and sprayed everyone, which made me laugh uncontrollably. I love stupid humor and innocent stupid stuff that doesn’t harm anyone, but is just uncomfortable to watch that you just have to laugh.
Today was good! The only thing we had planned today was the 5:00 BBQ. The rest of the day just flowed with the open space. Maybe, just maybe, I’m getting the hang of this.
Happy 4th of July!
Love, Adriana
We celebrated my oldest’ birthday today, and I enjoyed watching him do all the things he chose and seeing him have fun. What he wanted most today was to hang out with family and friends, and to have red velvet cake. 🙂
Simple dreams come true.
I love being his mom, and I am thankful for another year together.
What are you celebrating this month? Make it good!! xo
Today was beautiful. Seriously. In so many ways.
I brought the kids and their friends out paddle boarding and kayaking and packed a picnic lunch. Of course, this is after I already worked 4 hours bright and early this morning so I could enjoy the day “off.” I struck a balance this week and it felt really good.
I loved that the kids wanted to go with me and had a good time. I loved that I got to paddle too! And the sunshine and weather was just right.
Life is good! Happy 4th weekend everyone. Be well.
xoxoxox
This staycation keeps getting better! Who says you need to travel far to enjoy summer vacation? I still want to go away, but not just yet.
These two sawed pieces of scrap wood and practiced writing with their new wood burning tool, while I worked from home. I had to come see their work and play a little too. This was fun!! Charlie painted a sign for his room and Juliana did the lettering for him.
Charlie was craving Vietnamese pho for dinner and Christian wanted Korean BBQ. I told my international kids we could cook together instead of going out and save some money. I had them chopping and dicing and we prepared a bit of both, and stopped at the Korean market to buy a few side dishes to go with our homemade meal, that we enjoyed out on our patio.
The cool thing about this staycation thing is that the days and nights are long!! We are not in a rush and the crazy thing is that when you’re not rushing, time slows down and we seem to have more time to do all the things we wish to do. It’s really ironic what you can learn when you slow down.
What did you enjoy today? How is your summer going and are you enjoying your moment?
Life is good.
Believe it or not, I am learning to relax in my old age!!
This is the first summer where we haven’t made “real” plans ahead of time that I can remember. I am practicing going with the flow on a daily basis without a definite plan, which is quite uncomfortable for me, and I’m actually starting to enjoy it. I feel liberated, unrushed and content just being (home).
I’m getting the hang of working from home and my flexible schedule and its actually manageable and doable! Today I worked for two hours before heading out to yoga with my BFF. I then did kid logistics and enjoyed a relaxing lunch with my girl before working for two more hours before running out with my daughter to get our eyebrows waxed together! Bonding at it’s finest!! When we came home, I finished up the last part of my work shift before dinner. I flowed through today and it actually felt good.
How do you balance work and life like kids and chores and exercise? It’s all doable, just sometimes a little challenging! I’m liking the practice, though!
Hope you’re having a good week!
Pray for Istanbul and our global community that is under attack. We are Istanbul. One Love, you and me.
nAMaste
here i am 