ugggggh

ok, i'm frustrated.

i loaded these mexico pictures on the smallest setting, and it still cut half of each picture off.

can anyone help me figure out how to not waste my time loading pictures that are too big?

tulum

and by tomorrow, I mean two weeks later.

So I'm not so great at consistent posting.

I try.

ere are a few of my favorite shots/moments from our trip to heaven, I mean Tulum, Mexico

morning walks on the beach . . .

las ruinas de Tulum

las ruinas de Coba

our drive down the eastern coast of the Yucatan with a stop in the breezy, sunny, beautiful Lake Bacalar

yummy Horchata and seeing a very relaxed David in Lake Bacalar

relaxing at our cabana with our soldier friends

perhaps my favorite - snorkeling in El Cenote Dos Ojos

our guide y amigo Isaias

The biosphere Sian Ka'an

not so favorite memory - the only way to take in the view of the biosphere - a tiny tower swaying in the wind.

a hike in the biosphere that was totally worth falling and scraping my knee - it lead to our own private beach!

our last night strolling downtown Tulum

and my favorite bittersweet memory, the beautiful sunset our last morning in Tulum

the trip was amazing. i can't wait to start planning our next adventure together!

volver

Annnd we're back. The trip to Tulum was wonderful. I've posted pictures on facebook, but a long post will have to wait till tomorrow. I'm tired.

Let's just say that I think I will have a hard time topping this view for the next several months,

but Spring is here. And everything is beautiful and light and happy in the springtime!

Cleanse

I have felt really blah for the past few weeks. I think it amounts to not enough exercise, bad food, and the "end-of-winter slump". So I am doing a self-prescribed "detox" for the next week. I'll be exercising, getting GOOD sleep, eating very little, but eating well and meditating on how I've been doing things, in general.

I think a revolution is in the wings.

My sister-in-law recently introduced me on to this blog:

http://www.progressivepioneer.com/progressive-pioneer/

A lot of her blog is about motherhood, and while I'm not there yet, she also has lots of great insight into good, simple living.

I need a change and I really like some of Progressive Pioneer's ideas.

I think I'm going to start with this:

Progressive Pioneer's loose recipe for granola.

Yum!

I've been skipping breakfast lately in the interest of time, which I know is a big no-no. So I saw her simple recipe for granola and instantly understood that with something as simple as this, I would have no excuse not to eat in the morning.

A new perspective on breakfast is just the beginning. I hope to change the way I sleep, eat, spend my free time, think, love, work, etc.

Here's to change!

Ready

Wow. Yet again I've gone more than a month between posts. I promised myself that I would try to post at least once a week. I'm no good at keeping a journal, so I thought doing a weekly blog post seemed like an attainable goal. I guess I was wrong. I really have no valid excuses. Lately, I have just felt an aversion to staring at the computer screen after work. Yet I will stare at the tv screen. Hmm. It really makes no sense, but oh well. Moving on . . .

Not much going on in Atlanta.

I'm working.

David's schooling.

We're both ready for warmer weather.

See, I tell myself that once it becomes a little warmer, THEN I'll feel motivated to go running. Maybe it's true. I like to believe that it is.

One thing that IS happening is a much needed Spring break trip . . . to Mexico!

We're headed to Tulum, Mexico very soon.

I am so ready.

I will be donning this,

with a chambray tunic something like this,

these sandals,

a bikini, lots of sun block and a smile.

I can't wait.

We're staying in a cabana on the water with no electricity.

Just a hammock to swing in all day and candles to read by at night.

We're renting a car - we want to see all of the temples in the area, and maybe even drive down to Belize.

Till the trip, I'll be planning, shopping and jumping up and down.

Lots of pictures will follow, I can feel it!

images via polyvore, j crew, and steve madden

Currently Reading

I've already finished this book, but I'm way behind on posting, so this is to catch up.

I recently read My Ishmael, the "sequel" to Ishmael by Daniel Quinn.

I won't say too much about this novel, because it shares many of the same ideas as Ishmael. However, I will say that I enjoyed this novel much more than Ishmael. The narrator is Julie, a twelve-year-old girl searching for answers to the same questions Quinn presents in his first novel. Questions like "From whom can I learn about how people ought to live" and "How did the world end up in the state that it's currently in". She works out the beginnings of the answers to these questions through the same means Quinn introduced in Ishmael - through telepathic dialogues with Ishmael, the gorilla.

I found the dialogue and story in this novel much more engaging and interesting than Ishmael's conversations with Alan Lomax in the first novel. Julie is young, but very curious about the world. I like her as the narrator, because I feel that her youth allows her to look at the information Ishmael presents without prejudice, or pre-conceived opinions about his ideas. I also found the book to have a much more hopeful tone, but I think that may be due to the difference in narrators.

I liked this novel so much more than the first. I identified with Julie's sense of not knowing what to think, but having a strong sense of the need for change.

I'm not familiar with the subject matter of Quinn's third novel in the "series", "The Story of B", but maybe it will be even better than My Ishmael. We'll see . . .

Snow days are the best days

On the last weekend before David started the new semester, we decided to head to his parents' house in the mountains. We talked to his mother and learned that they had received a nice dusting of snow. We were both really excited for a relaxing, snowy weekend.

Our requisite view of the valley.

The Cates' casa.

Walking on the "Brown Dog Trail".

The brown boy himself.

After our little hike we took a drive on the national forest road.

Scary drives are made way better by the Cates' trusty Wrangler!

We headed to downtown Blue Ridge after our drive for window shopping, which is literally what we did - almost every store was closed and it was freezing. Not the best plan. Luckily, the fudge shop was open. yum!

We had lots of fires and cuddling with Murphy, but the best part was playing in the snow.

The Cates' have a great sled, perfect for flying down the center of their street.

Donna taking the first ride.

David getting ready for his turn.

Here he comes . . .

. . . there he goes!

My turn!

It was a great end to our break.

Back to work!