A Lovely Life

The path of life does funny things and the last year has taken me on quite the journey! There's all those old sayings aren't there? "When one door closes, another opens" "If it doesn't kill you, it will make you stronger" "Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things" And my favorite: "Everything happens for a reason" I believe that last one and here's why: A year ago this time, I had just filed for divorce. My world was imploding. My heart was hurting and my head...well I can't remember where it was. When I heard a friend of mine was going to be doing a marathon with The Kyle Pease Foundation in one of my favorite cities, Washington, DC, I saw an opportunity to get out of my house and away from the pain. That weekend, where my only plan was to hold up a poster board with something like, "Don't Shit Yourself, Mike!", ended up being one...

Divorce changes you. It challenges you.  Divorce flips your world upside down and takes from you everything you've grown to know. For me, it was a home and a little family. That little family was 50% furry, four-legged pups whom I miss dearly. Walking away crushed me, but it was for the best for those sweet ones...and I knew that there was some special dog waiting for me. When I finally felt settled into my new place in January, I decided that I needed to find that special one. I didn't look for him. He came to me. He popped up on a Facebook post and that face...oh, that face. I just had to meet him. The picture that started it all. On a cold Tuesday afternoon in January, I drove to Lifeline Animal Rescue where a sweet white and black dog was walked out to me. "HERE HE IS!", I thought. Well, he could have given 2 shits that I was there. Barely acknowledged me.  "He's a little...humpy", the girl said. She explained that she didn'...

Well, hello, there...it's been a couple of years and MY how times have changed! Life is different. I am different. And this blog, as it's been so many times before, is going to be different. I've wanted to reopen this little corner of the internet for awhile, but had no idea where to start. I seem to find myself in that situation many times over...I want to be somewhere I'm not and have no idea how to get there. One thing I've learned over the last year and half, is that there's only one way to get where you want to be and that's by taking a step. There's beauty in moving forward. In stepping into the unknown....even if you're scared shitless. As usual, I have no idea where this blog will go or what shape it will take or even how long I'll write my words down for the world to see. Even though all of that is uncertain, I'm happy to be back here...in this little space that I love. So. Here we are again, friends. Welcome back.

Let's be honest, I've been riding my bike more this year than the last 3 years COMBINED. While that's sad for the last couple of summers, it's great for this one. And this girl.  Thanks to some riding buddies who are calm and patient, I've been able to get out and ride more in the city whereas before even the thought of riding in Buckhead scared the living daylights out of me. I've encouraged myself when I really, REALLY don't want to ride and would prefer to go home after a long day and drink a glass of wine. I've pushed myself to go a little further than I felt I could. I faced some fears. Riding over I-285 during rush hour traffic giggling because I was having a way better time than those commuters! I was out this evening by myself on a local rail-to-trail and it was glorious. The trail was quiet with very few people on it, the weather was great and I just felt good! I trucked along at my best pace yet and kept thinking to myself how ...

Puppy bow ties Memories in music Coldplay  Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends 2008 Adele Live from Soho 2009 Madonna Confessions on a Dance Floor 2005 This...aka as Pure Joy!