Weekender

For the past few days I have been island hopping along North Carolina's serene Intercoastal Waterway with these lovely friends



and their adorable son



in this boat.



We spent lots of time hanging out on beaches that looked like this.



I enjoyed observing the names of various boats that passed us such as Big Honey, Foxy Lady, Reel Happy, Reel Dangerous, and Pole Dancers. Then when I spotted this one called "The Office" I couldn't help, but think how great it would be to have these lovely waters be your office. I mean wouldn't that be grand?



I spotted some color along the way thanks to inspiration from many of you that participated in color week last week.



I also noticed these vibrant blooms as I wandered through the streets of the quaint town of Swansboro.


After spending several days relaxing by the water, with sand between my toes, salt on my skin, seeing my first lightening bugs of the season, playing with a bubble wand, having cookouts, sticky from sunscreen, wearing a swimsuit all day I finally feel like summer is here. I hope that whatever you have filled your Memorial Day weekend with has been as refreshing as this trip has been for me.

New Addition

Meet Owen Timothy Lawrence. He is the latest addition to my best friend's family and he is quite a joy. He was born on March 19th at 4:31pm and weighed a whopping 8lbs. 12 ounces and was 20 inches long.

A Letter

Dear Blog,

I have not forgotten you. I promise! I have just taken a few months out for myself, but a lot has happened that I certainly want to share. First off I spent the first part of this year in Spain and France. It was marvelous to say the least and I certainly have more to come about my travels. Speaking of travels if any of you are looking to travel to France this summer, my friends, are renting their lovely place. I stayed with them the majority of the time that I was in the Provencal region so I can personally speak to their incredible accommodations. I also got to spend a bit of time at their family's place so if you are looking for something a bit larger I would highly recommend this gorgeous place. Neither will disappoint.

You may recall me moving last year. Well, after staying with my lovely gracious friends for several months I decided it was time to get my own place again. I am excited to be all moved into a great little house. It is nice to finally have all my belongings out of that ten by ten storage unit. By the end of this week my fence should be complete so that my incredible super pup will be free to roam as she pleases. This move has helped me to feel less displaced and much more settled.

Then several months back I mentioned making a career shift. A week from today that dream will be well on it's way as I begin my first class toward my Masters in Education. I would be lying if I didn't say that I am a bit apprehensive about returning to school, but I am also really excited. I have a really busy summer ahead as I will be in class four nights a week. I am excited about this new challenge and looking forward to the new opportunities that may be unveiled.

So, that is the long and short of where I have been. I have dropped into a blog or two here and there and even found a new one or two that I really like, but all and all I have been absence. So this letter is to just let you know that I have missed you, dear blog, as well as all my lovely blogging friends. I am back and I have lots more to share in the coming days, weeks, and months ahead. Thanks for your patience!

Sincerely,

Heather

Good Times

I just wanted to take a quick moment to pop in here. I have been in Spain for about 2 weeks now and I am having a wonderful time. I have so much that I want to share with each of you, but for now a quick hello will have to do. I am headed to France for a few weeks on Friday. Spain has been incredible! Stay tuned for more details as well as photos in the coming days.

Interview

So, I decided to ring in 2009 by participating in this interview. I found out about it over at Somi. If you have never checked out her blog I highly suggest that you head on over. Nilsa covers a little bit of everything from BlogSecret to just recently getting married and she is one of those bloggers that you will find there almost every weekday. I love that! To participate in this interview there are the following rules:

1. If you want to participate, leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.” (And your e-mail address, please.)
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Not too difficult, yes? So, Somi asked me the following questions.

1.) Name only one blogger you really respect and tell me why. I believe that the blogging world is similar to a collection of friends. In circles of friends there are typically different people who you would consult with on various things or for various reasons. Most recently I have huge admiration for this blog and journey. I truly admire boho girl's open heart, candor, and truth. Most recently she and her husband have adopted a lovely baby named Cedar. If you do not know the story of their adoption it is truly an incredible journey filled to the brim with amazing people. Her experiences remind me that often the road to what we long for is bumpy and drawn out, but that persistence, hope, and faith carry us through.

2.) If you had to pick a non-urban, U.S. destination in which to vacation for a week, where would you go? I would go anywhere that there were mountains, a small quaint downtown, and a lake. I can think of many places that I have been that fit this description, but I want to go somewhere new. Any suggestions that fall into this criteria???

3.) If you had $500 to spend on housing, food and entertainment for the trip mentioned in (2), how would you spend it? I would spend the majority of my money renting a small house where I could walk out my door and go on long hikes with my superpup. The remainder of my money I would spend on purchasing groceries. I love spending hours preparing a meal or making a new recipe when time is not a factor. The great thing about the mountains is that I barely need money for entertainment as I can be entertained by outdoor activites for free.

4.) Tell me about one person with whom you've lost touch. If you hope for a reunion, how would you like that reunion to take place? I was a United States Peace Corps Volunteer from September 2002 through November 2004 in Zambia. There were about 24 others that were apart of my group. I keep up with some of my fellow volunteers by phone, e-mail, or facebook, but one of my closer friends, Christina and I have completely lost touch. A bunch of us were together for New Years Eve in NYC to ring in 2005 and that was the last time that I have seen or talked to her. I would love to reunite with her. From a friendship that began in the bush of Africa we really would not need much entertainment. I would be all for a comfortable evening with no time constraints to sit outside, drink wine, and talk until there is nothing left but a comfortable silence.

5.) In 2008, what was your biggest achievement and your biggest failure/disappointment? I am going to take the liberty of beginning with the biggest disappointment first and then end on an up note here. Without a doubt the biggest disappointment of 2008 was the end of a long-term relationship with a man that I truly adored, the cancellation of our engagement, and the selling of our house. My biggest achievement in 2008 was the undercovering of a new path for myself which will include an extended trip to Europe, graduate school, and a new career path in 2009.

Well, that is it for the questions I was asked. Like I said if you are interested in participating leave a comment with your e-mail address. Happy New Year everyone!

Begin Today

The print above is by Kelly Rae Roberts. I follow her blog on a daily basis as she just moved to Seattle, recently had her first book published, and continues to nurture her creative spirit. Last week she had a sale at her Etsy boutique and I ordered the print above as well as one other. I truly meant to tell each of you about the sale here, but I got distracted with Christmas and all.

In a previous post I mentioned feeling stuck. Then I had this light bulb moment if you will. Yes, a lot has happened to me this year that I had no control over. However, I can control how I respond to everything and what I do now. Then I came across the print above that said, "Begin Today" and it just resinated with me. This has become my new mantra. Now this is a bit of an abbreviated verison of my story as I have been pondering what is next for me for months.

Based on the sequence of events this year I did not want to make any rash decisions. Basically I wanted to make sure that I made changes that were not solely emotional responses and were more clearly thought out plans. All this being said about a week ago I made some huge strides toward a new journey that I am very excited about.

First off, I resigned from my job. Yes, I know that the economy sucks, but stay with me here. I have done various sales jobs for years and I always seem to like them for a while, but my enthusiasm seems to fade fast. Finally I realized that if that is happening repeatedly then I needed to do something about it. I refuse to no longer take action on the things I can control so I resigned. My boss was completely understanding and said that I was a person to him first and an employee second and that he just wanted me to be happy. I mean who says that in corporate America today? So, I am helping him finish up some things in the next few weeks and then will be leaving.

Now if you recall I mentioned taking a trip and it is almost time for this journey. Now that I do not have to be back within a certain time period I am going to be staying a bit longer, wandering a bit farther, relaxing a bit more, and generally enjoying myself.

I should be back by early Spring and you may be wondering then what? Well, I am going to pick up some odd jobs and then I am going to start grad school to get my Masters in Education. You may be thinking where in the world did this come from. I had actually always wanted to be a teacher and then somehow in college I took another route. Now I feel as if I am finally coming back to what I was meant to do. I am excited about a career that I think I can find some fulfillment in and I think that I will appreciate teaching more now that I have pursued some other avenues. I am also really excited about some of the opportunities to teach abroad, etc.

So, I am really excited about this new journey. I feel like a ton of bricks has been removed from my shoulders. I look forward to keeping each of you abreast of what comes next. Here's to beginning today...

Welcome Home

I want to send out a special message to my brother in law who just returned from a 15 month deployment the other day. The photo above is one that my sister's mother in law took as the family reunited. I love the pure glee that it captured here. My sister said that my niece, Lillian, could not have been programmed to respond any better. Evidently Lillian was extremely excited to see her daddy and was smothering him with hugs and kisses. I know this special family just received the best Christmas gift ever. Welcome home Christian! I look forward to seeing you soon.