I loved the natural light and nature around Northern California today.
It’s that simple.
Life is good.
nAMaste, love and light.
If you were a tree, which one would you be?
Fallen
Alive and Thriving
Leaning to the Left
Hanging in There
I love trees and I love being outside. Thanks to my sister Tricia for suggesting my blog topic for tonight. Do you know how hard it is to think of a new idea to write about every night? Thank you sister!
Life is good and busy.
How was your day?
Namaste.
Got your attention! But this is clean fun and family friendly. Geez!
Come see the (grey) Elephant Seals at San Simeon on the central coast of California for free!
Tonight I’ll share some pictures as my internet connection is weak and I’ve lost a copy of my first draft.
The elephant seals are quite entertaining and stinky! You’ll see mamas and their babies and papas trying to make more babies, being very dominating and competing with the other males in sight.
And for the tender hearted, here are a couple other cuties we saw on our walk.
Life is good.
I love California and feel refreshed and relaxed being outdoors and soaking in the sunshine and natural beauty, especially when we are near the ocean.
Today we explored the coast and the majesty of Big Sur. We stopped at Nepenthe to see what everyone was talking about and it didn’t disappoint.
I just thought I’d share some moments from the day.
We enjoyed watching the fog roll in and watching the sun set. It’s the simple things, really that make life great.
Life is good. Be well, BeLoveRs.
Ever have days like this?
I wanted to be four places at the exact same time. I see this becoming a trend – at least this week and I’m struggling with making decisions. One of my birthday goals this year was to be more decisive, more quickly. I tend to think of all the possibilities and what will make everyone happy or cause the least discomfort and sometimes (no most times) I have the hardest time making a single choice. I’m practicing. Isn’t that what this life thing is all about anyway? It’s the practice… no one really has it all figured out. We’re just practicing. Don’t you feel better just knowing that?
So today I had to drop off Charlie and then I wanted to watch the USA – Germany game, hike at Rancho San Antonio with Julie and play grass volleyball with the volleyball girlfriends, who I adore. I decided to do all three, but that didn’t work.
So I decided to actually hike while the weather was still comfortable and checked the game score on twitter wherever I got reception. I had to postpone playing volleyball another week and just hope the ladies will play again next week and I won’t have to miss out on the bumping, setting, and spiking! It was a crystal clear day and a beautiful day to be up on the mountain.
It made me miss my BFF Michele who has recently moved and won’t be hiking with me weekly. That’s ok though, because we’ll just find new ways to explore nature and solve the worlds’ problems in the couple hours we’re disconnected from the “real” world.
Julie and I actually stopped at the top to sit on the little bench and just soak up the sun and magnificent views. Now that she’s a working woman, we don’t get much time to work out together like we used to. Working out together used to be our social time too. Luckily she has this summer off for us to play more and get stronger together!
We saw a few deer, lizards, a snake,
birds, goats, and chipmunks while we were out.
I especially loved the big oak trees too, that remind me of Thousand Oaks.
Life is good and I’m glad I picked the hike today, especially since the USA lost.
Hope you had a love filled day. xo
I love any reason to celebrate life and why not choose today to celebrate our beautiful Earth. Not that I did much, but I did have the opportunity to be present and outside thanks to Charlie.
We have a new, comfy outdoor couch which is so amazing, because we all want to go sit on it everyday, which makes us go outside. I hope the newness doesn’t wear off.
Today Charlie insisted that we go sit outside for awhile when he came home from school. It was just the two of us and this was the last thing I wanted to do. I had a list in my head a mile long of the things I was hoping to accomplish before his baseball game and picking up Juliana and Christian from their events, and getting ready for my meeting tonight, not to mention the dinner I had not yet planned out.
But his little voice saying, “C’mon mama, come outside and sit with me.” I could not resist. My list was now at the bottom of my priority list and I didn’t care.
I went outside because I truly believe in living in the moment and being present and practicing this concept as often as humanly possible even when I really don’t want to. We went outside. I brought my project with me. But of course, I put it down on the table once outside because a certain little someone wanted to sit on my lap and feel the sunshine together. He wanted my undivided attention and I surrendered. I felt the warmth of the sun shining down on us and loved every minute of it. Soon we were snuggling, playing hide and seek in the shadows from the sun, wrapped up in each other, hiding our faces and trying to see each others’ eyes in the dark. I lifted my arm that was providing the shadows and the sunshine seeped in and showed me his one little eye, his little nose and big lips. I could have stayed there all day. We laughed and played and enjoyed the moment before rushing off again.
And that was the highlight of my day. He helped me to rest and sit still and I helped him to relax and rest too after a long day and before his game. It didn’t last all that long, but it was just enough. He soon ran in to get dressed for his game, and I lingered a bit longer, enjoying my little slice of heaven in my backyard.
Happy Earth Day! I hope you got outside and enjoyed Mother Nature. xo
Thank you Charlie for helping me to stop and smell the roses today, that I would have otherwise missed. You are my sunshine and I love you. Congratulations on your two big hits tonight! You’re a hitter now!
“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.”
― Vincent van Gogh
It’s Day 12 of my gratitude gift giving and today I am giving thanks for the beauty of nature that surrounds us.
I keep smiling as I watch how the trees are changing daily.
I’m admiring the small blooms in my yard and appreciating the colors that brighten our yard.
I’m loving the light shows as the sun rises and begins to set.
And I’m aware, which is really cool, because how often do you really pay attention to your daily surroundings? The leaves are falling now and the grass is covered in colors of fall.
Life is beautiful, especially when you see.
What do you see in your part of the world?
Gratitude Gift Giving (GGG) – Day 3 – How do you enjoy and appreciate nature? Where is your favorite place to be?
“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As longs as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.”
― Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl
Do you feel a calling to be outdoors? Do you feel peace when you’re near the water, the forest, the hills, open spaces?
Where is your happy place? Where do you go to feel like you’re just a little part of this big, wide, open universe?
My favorite place to go in nature is the ocean. I love the sound of the waves crashing on the beach. I love seeing the sealife and smelling the salt water in the air. I love looking out and not being able to see anything else but water and not knowing where it ends. I love watching the sun setting on the horizon and imagining the daylight being transferred to another location on the earth. I love being on the water, especially on a paddle board, but I’m just as happy on any type of boat.
But today we explored the majesty of the redwood trees in the forest of Big Basin, in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Knowing that some of these trees are older than the Mayan Civilization made me feel so insignificant. Our lives are such a small part of the bigger world, but we feel like we are so important right now! Standing next to these trees that have been around for over 1500 years is amazing. Some of the trees are over 250 feet tall. I loved looking up at them, standing inside a circle of them, and hiking through the forest and admiring all their different varieties.
I liked the shadows, the darkness and the light flowing through them. I liked the old and the new, and even the fallen.
Hiking with our family at this place less than 35 miles from home filled me with joy, even though the process of getting us all out the door today together was quite the challenge! It was worth the work and effort and I think I can say we all enjoyed our family outing.
Today I am thankful for the beautiful parks of California, and for family time exploring some place new. What or where are you thankful for?