Round-about, squeals and cleaning...

♥ Hair in a ponytail, big black sunglasses on, top down, the new Dave Matthews on the iPod and giggling as I took the round-about three times...with a slight squeal to the tires on the third trip.

♥ A big party across the street for our 7 year old neighbor Maka Hiepo (Translated: beloved firstborn) complete with wafts of curry drifting on a breeze and bounce house squeals making us smile.

♥ Each of us in our rooms, organizing and cleaning...shouting funny finds and anecdotes between songs as we worked.

Three days worth of Beauty...

♥ Two whirlwind days of reminiscing, catching up and revisiting people and places that went into shaping who I am today...

♥ Super affordable, super cute jewlery...a whole mall of it!

♥ The thunderstorm I specifically ordered from this great big state!

Three Beauty-full Things...

♥ Texan humidity. My skin and hair LOVE it!

♥ Spicy boiled crawfish. O. M. G. In my heaven crawfish comes with hush puppies and okra!

♥ Seeing my lovely after almost a year...hopping off of a plane and right smack dab into her life...her LOVELY life!

Today's Three...

♥ My boss, recognizing that today's chaos is near impossible for me to walk away from and that even if I do walk, I would carry the unfinished business of the day with me...her eleventh hour telephone call when she's rushing herself just to say "leave it here, let it go, have a great vacation, YOU ARE APPRECIATED." sigh.

♥ My kids' enthusiastic reactions to my new cut and color. I passed the most important test.

♥ Overstuffed suitcases standing at attention next to the front door...my pink & lime green polka dotted luggage!

Confusing Tuesday with Thursday...

because tomorrow is my FRIDAY! And I'm off for a BIG adventure...

Three beauty-FULL things...

♥ A busy, full day at work that made 10 hours fly right on by...but those 10 hours were amazing...my path was crossed with the bravest of brave souls who inspired me with her love of life, her acknowledgment of her personal truth and her decision to only allow it to create a richer appreciation for this human experience and all the wonder it can hold.

♥ A pamper appointment at the end of the work day...and another connection...this time where MY eyes were the ones opened and I discovered a treasure right under my nose. Not only because she can make me beauty-full but because she is, through and through, beauty-FULL!

♥ Packing for the great big adventure. Overpacking and giggling about it. :)

So much beauty!

I can't pick just three beauty-full things about this weekend...so I will categorize.

♥ Time. There just seemed to be so much time. Time as a family, time alone, time with each of my children independently, time with their rowdy amazing posse, time to sleep, time to work on projects and time to do some road tripping, hiking and movies. I can't believe this was a weekend just like all the others...it felt like three rolled into one!

♥ Projects. The den was transformed from the catch-all space to a fabulous shared space for creativity, socializing, quiet and exercise. Oh, and storage...the closet is full but organized completely...things are findable! The herb garden is coming along beautifully. The path in the back yard is looking more and more whimsical each time I work on it. We created a family budget. Babygirl's room looks feminine and unique and oh-so-her after I painted it last weekend and she has been decorating since...it now is clearly her space. Lastly, I imposed a timeline on my writing so that I can mark the whole Dewey Decimal Number ordeal off of this year's birthday list.

♥ Treasures, both gained and given. We acquired an old trunk from the "free" pile at a yard sale three doors down that turned out to be FULL of antique camera equipment! We marked the kids' old beds with "free" signs and sighed hugely when they disappeared from the front yard. We each filled big black trash bags with items to donate to the local community resource center...letting go of so many material items that clutter and crowd...journaling as we went and taking pictures to treasure the memories instead of the items representing them. Knowing our donations will find their way into the lives of those who will find them to be treasures themselves. And of course, the time and the projects listed above were some of the best treasures of the weekend. Remembering to treasure each other...and to send that love out into the world. :)

It was truly an amazing weekend...

Three Beauty-full things...

♥ Staying in jammies til NOON!

♥ My babygirl doing the right thing not for the purpose of doing the right thing but just doing it in the course of being her...and then crying when I told her what she did and how it affected me. Sigh.

♥ Recognizing when ripples sent out into the Universe make small changes in a positive direction just how they should.

Oops, it's Friday...Four. Four beauty-full things...

♥ ROCKIN' with my lovely...