Sweet home

Here at long last is the real peak into our new home. To us, it couldn't feel more comfy or happy. We're grateful to have had an easy move, and we're excited to welcome visitors and make memories. Enjoy the tour!

New home sneak peek

As you know, we've recently moved, and what a journey it has been, and continues to be!

Now that we're starting to settle in, we're ready to give you just a peak into our new world.

The best part about this picture? O the cat loving our brand new chaise lounge.

The second best thing about this picture? The sum total expense to S and I for every single object in it is zero dollars. Cero dolares. Nada.

By comparison, that makes O the cat quite the luxury item.

More on our move later!

Open eyes, open ears

We've made the big move out west, to central Massachusetts!

Our first weekend in a new home, we ventured up north a bit to the New England Drag Way for a day of lemonade, sunshine, and racing Mustangs.

I am so glad S invited me to this event! I learned a lot about different kinds of car modifications, drag racing in general, and was very entertained by both the match ups and the car show, which featured all sorts of varieties of this American classic car. How neat for S to be part of a club like this, where he can find buddies to talk cars with and inspiration to keep the lovely Mustang Sally looking good.

I have so much fun trying out new things, especially when I get to learn something in the process or explore a different area of the world - in this case New England/New Hampshire.

Do you think I look ready for the races?!

Ever think about this?

A series of studies released this week found that even at the Olympics - where for the first time ever, every country has a female representative, and the U.S. has actually sent more women than men to compete  - the coverage of male athletes continues to outnumber that of females. (Despite the fact that more women are watching the events than men.) And, when women are being covered at the games this year, they are often sexualized or reduced to observations on their appearance. 

- MissRepresentation

Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals. 

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Never stop thinking.

Delayed gratification

 It only gets harder as you get older, little S. 

 One day we'll both get puppies. 

Hang in there!

Moments

Having a low key weekend or two has its benefits.

I can’t believe it is almost August, and time for work to start picking up again for the school year. I can’t believe that within a series of a few months, I’ll be moving, presenting, and training all over the place again.

This was the perfect weekend to relax and prepare for the onslaught ahead.

Saturday and Sunday were beautiful and sunny. On Saturday, I spent the early afternoon at the pool, re-reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and enjoying the warmth, water, and the airplanes on the flight path over my head.

Later in the afternoon, S and I took a weekend drive and hiked the Blue Hills. After that late week thunder storm extravaganza we had up here, the weather couldn’t have been better for a hike – bright with continually cool breezes wafting over us.

We then went for a snack run and settled in for an evening of a movie (Tropic Thunder – really funny) and Pictionary (the most funny thing we do as a family perhaps).

Sunday was a day of cleaning, organizing, and getting a jumpstart on the work week.

A quote has been playing on my mind recently – “What if you woke up with only those things that you’d thanked God for yesterday?”

Whatever your belief system, this can really hit home. How many moments do we truly appreciate, express gratitude for, and value each day? How many of the blessings in our lives do we actively accept and rejoice in?

This weekend was a chance for me to slow down and begin again.

Family

The Ys - S’s clan - graced us with their presence this week.

We did things like visit the Asian Market in Quincy, the Blue Hills in Milford, and the Library in Randolph. Basic things. Fun family things that we would have done on our own time, but loved doing with them.

Among our most touristy days were those spent in Cambridge, where Poppa Y, chemistry professor, was presenting at a conference on “green” chemistry.

We toured around MIT and Harvard and dined at some lovely restaurants while there. Around the table at meals we got a chance to talk politics, science and life.

S’s mom is as sweet and funny as ever, and S’s little brother L is as tall as a tree, and I am actually pretty proud to say, a really good teenager.

It is funny to hang out with S’s family and see the traits he shares with them - his dad, who tends to make everything bigger than life, his mom, who share’s most of S’s eccentric phobias, and his little brother, who shares S’s love of all things video game.

As much fun as it was, and as good as it was to see them, it also made me appreciate my own little nuclear family – how I got to grow up a “friendly introvert” with plenty of time to myself and to share.

It is refreshing to know that families of all types can keep forming us for the better even when we’re grown.