Catching up & painting turtles

I haven't been so good about keeping up the blog lately. It's not that I've had writer's block, it's that I have this long list of things to write about and I can't seem to find the time to write about them all. So I'm going to back date a few posts and let y'all know what I've been up to. Being back on track will hopefully help me pace myself going forward. I think the key is more frequent, shorter posts.

Our turtle masterpieces

Last night Kevin and I went to Uptown Art Uncorked in West Palm Beach with Lois and Steve.  Kevin saw the place on Groupon so we thought we'd check it out. Uptown Art teaches you how to paint a particular image and allows you to BYO food and beverage. We brought bottles of wine and ordered pizza from City Pizza and ate and drank as we worked diligently on our turtle paintings. It was much harder than I thought it would be! The instructor went a little fast and didn't explain much technique or strategy, so we were just trying to mimic her colors and lines. Lois got inspired halfway through to turn hers into a modern interpretation that I have subsequently named "Turtle #2." But even though it was a little frustrating at times, I like how they all turned out. It is very satisfying now to have a cool painting of a turtle that I did from scratch, but I think next time we may try something not quite as advanced!

The prototype turtle

We interrupt your normal scheduled programming...

To announce that I have the bestest friends in the world.

Thank you to Becky for giving me further inspiration and motivation to work on my blog. I hope you have a new adventure to write about very soon... ;)

And Haley (and maid of honor come November) for sending me a sticky-noted wedding magazine so "it's like reading it together."

I feel incredibly blessed to have such caring and thoughtful friends.

Love you guys.

Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes

I took off for a weekend last month

Just to try and recall the whole year
All of the faces and all of the places
Wonderin' where they all disappeared
I didn't ponder the question too long
I was hungry and went out for a bite
Ran into a chum with a bottle of rum
And we wound up drinkin' all night

It's these changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
With all of our running and all of our cunning
If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane

Reading departure signs in some big airport
Reminds me of the places I've been
Visions of good times that brought so much pleasure
Makes me want to go back again
If it suddenly ended tomorrow
I could somehow adjust to the fall
Good times and riches and son of a bitches
I've seen more than I can recall

These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
Through all of the islands and all of the highlands
If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane

I think about Paris when I'm high on red wine
I wish I could jump on a plane
So many nights I just dream of the ocean
God I wish I was sailin' again
Oh, yesterdays over my shoulder
So I can't look back for too long
There's just too much to see waiting in front of me
And I know that I just can't go wrong

With these changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
With all of my running and all of my cunning
If I couldn't laugh I just would go insane
If we couldn't laugh we just would go insane
If we weren't all crazy we would go insane

 "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes" by Jimmy Buffett

Kevin and I are settling into our new life in tropical South Florida. The change in latitude has been good to us on many levels, but it's been hard to keep up with our family and friends that are spread around the continent: DC, New York, LA, San Francisco, North Carolina, Chicago, Baltimore, Montreal, Birmingham, Niagara Falls, Ottawa, New Hampshire, Vermont, British Columbia... and a very special friend in Kentucky who inspired me to start this blog. Becky and I ran track together in high school and when we, along with our friend Seshie, all went off to different colleges, we kept blogs to keep up with each other. Over time my blog writing trailed off but Becky has an awesome blog that helps me keep up with her no matter where she is in the world or what she's up to. As much as I love our new life in Florida, there are many people I would be very sad to lose touch with and this seemed like the best way to help with that. So, with Becky as my inspiration and New Year's resolutions as my impetus, welcome to my blog and thanks for reading.

CBD