"energy and persistence conquer all things." - benjamin franklin

hello, july.
you have arrived once again will full force and scorching temperatures. i must say, i like the heat, but my body does not.
lately i am left feeling more exhausted than normal, and in serious need for a vigor boost. so, after a little reading i have come up with a plan.

i am going to try my best to accomplish these steps:

wake up each morning and stretch. - even if it is just for five minutes.

eat SOMETHING within an hour of waking up.

drink PLENTY of water. - like a shit load.

eat less sugar. - this one is going to be tough as i have a serious sweet tooth, but it is necessary if i want to feel 27 & not 37.

eat clean. - which means no more eating out. eat at home as much as possible. this should also help with my saving money plan.

exercise. even if that means a 10 min. jump rope session. something is better than nothing.

when all else fails- breathe deeply. studies show that 3-7 deep breathes can increase energy. seems simple enough.

hopefully the act of writing this entry helps me to keep up with these actions. now i know where to find my "tips" and will look back on it when fuel levels are low.

after yet another hiatus from the blog world, this girl has returned. my 27th year is fast approaching leaving me with usual thoughts of life changing improvements. In the past, as you may have noticed, i make goals for the year to come. 
to be perfectly honest, these lists have remained pretty unsuccessful. i am currently in the car riding shotgun on the way  home from my parents house in jax. 
the boy and i are leaving behind a wonderful vacation filled with love and adventure. our first destination was for my best friends wedding. this could not have been more perfect. ejd looked nothing short of stunning. the weekend was magical. i reunited with some old friends and made new. our second stop was a wedding  in the dominican republic.  
One could say it has been an  epic ten days. 
as i think about what i want for myself this year i think of two things, happiness and healthiness. 
that's it.  
whatever it takes. 
so this year my goal is just that. 
to be happy and healthy.

fall

i love fall. i wish we had a little more of a change in fl but i still love fall. pumpkin and halloween are two of my favorite things. here are a few reasons why you should love pumpkin too!

tennis anyone?

So in less than an hour i have a tennis lesson at the local tennis center. i am so stoked. i have not played much lately and miss it dearly. my love gave me a gift certificate to the tennis center knowing i miss it and would love to get back into the swing of it. ;) sooo, tennis anyone?

labor day love

today was fantastic. the love and i spent the entire day together, just the two of us. we started the day with a dog walk (okay i lied our beautiful ladies were with us for most of it) in which ideas were created in our minds.
we ventured to the beach to enjoy a beautiful day in the sun. after settling in with our mexican rasta blanket and a couple of drinks, we enjoyed a lovely game of paddle ball. this is by far the best way to get some sun and exercise! the sun gods were in our favor today as it was just breezy enough and amazingly bright! the ocean was a bit murky but that definitely did not stop jt and sr from entering. nothing beats swimming in the ocean on a hot summer day.
after deciding we were a little hungry we packed up and headed home. followed by another lovely dog walk and some more beverages, after all it IS labor day and we are both off! we have only used the cornhole set i bought him a few times since xmas and thus decided to break it out. a few games later and we are ready for dinner. my chef is making us homemade calzones as i type allowing me to brush up and improve on my hooping skills!   such a simple day with so many smiles.

east coast lovin'

we made it! the love and i spent a good bit of two weeks on the road but we have arrived in new hampshire! from south fl--->jville--->south carolina--->asheville, nc--->pennsylvania--->nyc--->saratoga springs, ny--->new hampshire!
we have had SO MUCH FUN every step of the way.
stopping in jville was lovely and over due. i miss my family every day and am glad we were able to spend a little time with them.
killing two birds with one stop, i was able to hang with my sista from another mista! so many days go by that i wish her and i could live in the same town and hang on a daily basis. everytime i see her is just a breathe of fresh air... ahhhh someone DOES get me. :)
i received the most awesome birthday gift from her while stopping through. a modern polaroid camera with my very own smash book! i cannot wait to fill said book with beautiful photographs and lasting memories.
asheville NC was our next big stop where we did some hiking, swimming in waterfalls, camping (hendersonville was the actual town we did this in), live music listening, dancing, and visiting with my cousin who i love dearly. the last morning in town we shared the most remarkable breakfast at a place next to my cousin's house called homegrown. everything was home made and local.


with no time to spare, we headed to the big apple. good times had by all. more laughter, dancing and much needed one on one time with my childhood bff. she took me to coney island for the first time & although i didn't get 'Big'  after having my fortune read by Zoltar it was an awesome experience. we visited the NY aquarium and got matching (airbrush) bff mermaid tattoos. i had the pleasure of meeting my sister's new beau (pronounced BO!) and enjoying some good old NY pizza! YUMMO!
then it was off to Saratoga Springs for some camping and live music!
the fun definitely didn't stop there. these past few weeks have been outrageously entertaining and much needed. since in nh we managed to enjoy lovely meals with friends and family, swim in rivers and lakes, play some volley ball, get a massage, see an in theater play ( 9-5 ), and briefly visit st. johnsbury vermont. the activities are never ending.  today we are joining friends at the volley ball court for a few games and then swimming in the river followed by a meeting at another's casa for a dinner party. sunday funday here we come...

summer road trip

this summer, my beau and i are taking a road trip up the east coast. obviously, starting in south florida and working our way up to northern new hampshire and even maine. along the way we are going to  see friends, family, wildlife, beautiful scenery, stay in hotels, camp, hike and experience many other extremely exciting things. we are looking to kick start the whole trip this week. our first stop we will see my family and (hopefully) best friend for a night. not too sure where the second stop will be, but that is the beauty in it all. we do plan on stopping in NY (where sister and dana live) for a few nights and eventually new hampshire. we take this trip every summer but this is our first time driving. our main goal is to leave the tacoma up in nh, where it is looking more and more as if we will call it home for a few years. that being said, we are flying back to fl.

i am becoming really excited and a tad nervous for our adventures. many good vibes would be appreciated but i think we are set to have a great time! 

 i plan on updating and posting while we are away, but you know how that goes sometimes.