Kaboom!

One of San Diego's most popular pleasures

is our weather.

Mostly sunny.

Most days.

'Tis why the wedding industry is booming here:

You can plan an outdoor wedding years ahead from now 

and rest assured that it will not rain on your wedding day.

If it does,

consider yourself the Chosen One...

that the Gods are speaking to you (good or bad, up to you)...

because it just

does

not

rain

here.

Except for today!

We awoke to a thunderstorm.

I'm talking

BOOM, BOOM, SHA-SHAKE THE ROOM

proper thunderstorm 

complete with lightning

and 

short spurts of downpour.

We positioned ourselves near our largest window,

compiled a group of rainstorm necessities,

and watched the storm pass.

Today's weather was brought to you by Tropical Storm Dolores.

aloha.

Let's Make a Deal

I woke up yesterday feeling like 

LOUNGING ALL DAY...

the little angel on my shoulder, however, kept reminding me of my summer promise to myself:

To Exercise.

...Bleh...

A few episodes of Gilmore Girls later, 

I decided that exercise didn't have to be gritty and all-out.

So I looked at the angel on my shoulder and said,

"Let's make a deal.

I'll exercise like you said I should, 

but it will be 

where I want

and

how I want."

 Surprisingly enough, the angel agreed.

To the beach we went,

and instead of running the whole length and back,

I mixed it up a bit.

 (My favorite part about running on the beach is that I get to do it barefoot!  Total motivator for me)

If you're ever having an exercise funk day,

try this:

Walk 1 min.

Run 1 min.

Walk 2 min.

Run 2 min.

Walk 3 min.

Run 3 min.

Walk 4 min. *

Run 4 min.

Walk 5 min.

Run 5 min.

BAM! 30 min. of cardio exercise!

I then pivot turned and did the entire routine in reverse,

starting with 5 min. run

and ending with 1 min. walk. 

*If you don't want to do the entire routine in reverse,

pivot turn at this point, or stroll back after the 5 min run (especially if you're at the beach :)*

Give it a try!

Or make something else up! 

Just remember,

exercise doesn't have to be gritty and grueling

to get the job done.

aloha.

My mission (if I choose to accept it)

At the start of last school year,

we (teachers) discussed the importance of

having a mission statement 

to drive the purpose of our work.

We didn't, however, get to the point of writing the statements.

We just talked about it.

Isn't that so typical of adult activity in general?

Talk about it a lot...

Take action a little.

haha

Well, it took me a year,

but I finally penned my mission!

 I think it took me a year because I was unsure of my process...

"How do I even BEGIN this process?"

and then, one day, while on the plane to Hawai'i nei,

I wrote down some words, and what did they say?

My mission, of course,

it came without force!

(wink and a questioning smirk;

I swear I've had coffee today)

I thought I'd share what my process "looked like"

in case you are searching for a process 

and would like to borrow mine

(and are a visual learner like me ;)

My Mission Statement Process

STEP 1:

Find something that inspires you and represent it somehow

(I drew a pic of the shell necklace I was wearing).

Then, connect words to that thing. Write them!

STEP 2:

Connect like-words together

(important note: connect them in a way that is meaningful to you...doesn't have to make logical sense to others)

STEP 3:

Expand the connected words into sentences.

I also picked out one guide word in each sentence and underlined it

 STEP 4:

Final Draft...clean it up!

STEP 5:

Using a photo editing website (I used picmonkey.com),

make it look GOOD!

I made two different options, and I'm deciding which one I like better to print for my classroom:

 I hope this inspires you to find your process!

aloha.

Happy Aloha 4th of July

Because everything sounds better

when you say the word

 

first.

Happy Aloha 4th of July

to you and yours!

aloha.

The Living's Easy...

You know the tune....

Summertiiiimmee

and the living's easy.....

 Are these clouds simply phenomenal, or what??!

I hope you're outside. 

Livin' easy.

aloha.

Brooklyn Girl

When we first moved to San Diego,

the thing we were most excited about was

FOOD!

Island fare is unique,

and at times, I would consider it very good,

HOWEVER...

there just is not much in terms of variety.

The unique restaurants that we did love there,

we really loved.

Read about them here

We knew, though, that SD had a fantastic foodie scene,

and we were stoked to explore it!

One of our first stops was

Brooklyn Girl

in Mission Heights.

We were amazed.

Incredible tastes.

Everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) done well.

Yesterday, we decided to go back and experience the joy again.

After 4 years of living in SD, 

we were curious if it would be as good as we remember from our first experience.

Oh...it was.

Can someone say, "Best Veggie Lasagna in the History of Veggie Lasagna?"

May I suggest bringing a handsome date?

Key.Lime.Pie.

Just when you think the place can't get any cuter...

This place is not to be missed.

We will be back!

Yes, this is their to-go bag.

aloha.

Are you my mother?

Well, we've done it.

As if life couldn't get any cuter,

we've been chosen by the neighborhood hummingbird

as the safe-house

to bring these guys to life:

In a primal way,

I am honored.

Mama bird, 

I will do my best to keep you all safe here at our casa.

Welcome to our ohana!

Are You My Mother?

aloha.

Take it to the limit

A few days ago, 

Hubs and I attended the

San Diego Surf Film Festival.

(Yes, my friends....that's Tom Carroll)

SO, VERY RIGHT-UP-OUR-ALLEY

I'm talkin' 

Great Greek Food

Free "Adult Beverages" 

Surf Art EVERYWHERE

Live Music

Ocean-Minded People

and

Surf Films. . . all night long

It felt like HOME to me.

Similar elements coexisted on a daily basis 

throughout our island life.

Surrounded by such things on-island, I found my joy and my peace.

After moving off-island, 

I've had a "hole in my soul". . .

that was just filled up by the fabulous surf community of SD.

One of the films, "Mike Coots", was centered on adaptive surfing, 

and this Special Education teacher couldn't have been more thrilled! So many memories flooded my head...watching my students catch waves has been one of the TOP highlights of my career.  Hands DOWN. 

(um, hello! The World Adaptive Surfing Championship will be held in SD this coming September! I'm calling one of my previous students to see if he and his family can come out for this! Ahhh!)

In another film, 

"Ocean Driven",

surfer Chris Bertish describes his journey through Big Wave Surfing.

My biggest take-away from the night came from a scene showing him training with a championship free-diver.  

She (the diver) was explaining the difference between 

capabilities and limits.

Capabilities are the range of our individual abilities...

the "you can do anything that you set your mind to do."

Limits are what we must understanding about ourselves in order to fully explore our capabilities as individuals.

Still with me?

Let's use Chris as an example.

He was learning the signs that the body gives as it is shutting down due to lack of oxygen underwater.

As a Big Wave Surfer,

the chance that he would be held underwater for a lengthy period of time was 100%.

SO...in order to explore his capabilities, 

he first had to learn his limits.

This got me to thinking:

HOW OFTEN DO I LET MY FEAR OF THE LIMIT

PREVENT ME FROM EXPLORING MY CAPABILITIES?

HEAVY.

Then, my mind went back to the previous film (adaptive surfing).

I thought about my previous students who participated in adaptive surfing.  Many times, the reality of their "dis"ability forced the truth about their limits.  They learned (and many times fully accepted) this truth early in life.  

I'm talking 3rd graders, here people.  

They are truly "living" by 

knowing their limits and exploring their capabilities.

What incredible leaders they are in this life.

'Tis why I do what I do every day for a "profession."

I learn SO MUCH from the beautiful souls who pass through my door.  

It's definitely time to follow Chris' lead.

Fully understand my limit,

and then explore my capabilities.

Is that the key to life?

For the adventurous soul,

it just may be!

aloha.

(This was the sunset last night from our backyard. . .

Hawai'i style orange clouds!)