What an adventure!

These last two weeks have been filled with so many new things!

On the 13th I boarded a plane to Asheville, NC. This was the first flight I actually chose to take. The others were forced upon me due to moving (flying from Washington to Phoenix when I was 10) or necessity (a deposition when I was 30) and I was miserable the whole time I was on those flights. This one, however, was more filled with the excitement of what was to come and the lovely surprise planned for April. Everything went so smoothly, too. The security check was a breeze, the flight had no mishaps, there was a shuttle waiting to take me to the other gate for the connecting flight, and the weather was lovely.

On the 15th I ran/walked in the Asheville 5k. After the first burst of energy, I only ran downhill and walked uphill. There were a lot of hills!!! I was sure I'd end up taking a whole hour on that route, but I made it across the finish line in just over 44 minutes. I was mostly happy with that time. That afternoon Kam & April had a party and we all celebrated the run. (Kam & April ran the half marathon!) Good food, Patrón Cafe, laughter, and friendship... what a wonderful way to celebrate Life!

After that, there was a combination of new foods (my first Indian food), workouts, knitting, and a drive to Mount Mitchell. The whole set of pictures is here and I can honestly say that I enjoyed every moment of the trip. Even the workouts. I woke each morning at my normal times (5:30-ish) and stepped outside to greet the day. Each morning Moon Kitty would walk out there with me and sit by my feet while I breathed in the fresh morning air. Each evening I would fall asleep with a smile on my face. And through every moment I felt true gratitude that I was alive and able to see the beauty in everything around me.

And now I am home and thinking about all the stuff I want to do before the end of the year. Clearing out the house, getting even more healthy, working on my businesses of choice, and so much more. The cooler weather is setting in and it's time to begin looking inside for reflection. I have people in this world, near and far, who fully support me in all that I do. I have strength of heart and body to carry me through the tough times. I have creativity and passion to fuel my Life on Fire.

I am truly blessed.

Life is strange

I can't help but wonder sometimes, why life can be so odd most of the time. A rush of feelings, whether negative or positive can affect the way you look at the day, at the week, at the decade. It is up to us to determine and choose which way we want to handle it all. Even when the decision may be the tougher road, it might be necessary.

Even with those thoughts in my head I know that there are some really amazing things coming my way. I can't share them just yet, but there is a strong love that started this event, a stronger love that put the event into motion, and an even stronger love that is following through with it all. Sounds confusing, doesn't it? Well, a friend asked a question, that question prompted a gift, and the love I have for myself is pushing me to accept the gift with grace and enjoy every moment of it. Even the scary parts.

Keeping quiet...

What can I say about this week? There are moments when a frenzied excitement comes over me for an event coming up next week. Then there are other moments when I'm almost terrified about the same thing. Crazy, huh? What I've been doing is staying pretty busy so I don't think about it very much. It helps a little. And I can't tell you guys what it is just yet. And so, I stay off the internet a lot.

This weekend was very nice. I had 3 days off the daycare and enjoyed each of them. Between good movies, good food, time with family, and some honest labor, I had a pretty good time. And now I can say that I have used a Sawzall! Yes, it was pretty weird feeling to do so. Still, that's one more power tool. Granted, I only made 2 cuts with it so I'm not able to say that I am experienced with it, but it was still pretty cool.

Even though this is very brief, I'm going to end it here. I just deleted 3 paragraphs that were more like a rambling than anything else. I do hope you all have a wonderful week!