reading Close enough to touch by Colleen Oakley.
watching wildlife (we saw a bear at Yosemite!) and beautiful scenery on our road trip. So much better than TV ;)
(still) enjoying some precious family time with my cousin B and his girlfriend M. It’s so nice to have visitors from back home!
wishing there was more time (and money, ha!) to explore this beautiful world. The last couple of weeks have been so amazing. The National Parks are near and dear to my heart and I hope to spend more time exploring old and new ones!
loving the Bench Mark magnets that I got at the National Parks. Aren’t those cool?
stoked about a new PR in the half marathon. I ran the Napa Half Marathon last Sunday with B + M and while I am still chasing the elusive 2-hour mark, I was able to improve my previous PR by 2.5 minutes. I’ll take it, woot!
savoring a week off from running (it’s nice to take a little break).
eating Gunther’s ice-cream! It’s still so hot here in California and I had to introduce B + M to a local ice-cream shop. I don’t go there very often (because it’s kinda pricey), but it’s so delicious!
drinking iced tea.
looking forward to the World Series. I am really hoping the Red Sox will make it this year!
feeling slightly shocked about the results of the German elections. While I am super-relieved that Angela Merkel will remain our chancellor for the time being (a steady leader is what we need right now), I am shocked that even in Germany the right-wing party (AfD – Alternative für Deutschland) got enough votes to get seats in the German parliament. WHAT is wrong with people?
anticipating fall and everything that comes with it. I am looking forward to drinking more tea again, going to the pumpkin patch, visiting the apple orchards and dressing in layers again!
What’s going on with you currently?
Seriously, what’s wrong with people? I can’t believe that Germans keep making “fun” of America regarding their current president and here we are….. AFD???! WTF?!
Awe, you got to see a bear! Isn’t that the most incredible moment? I loved seeing all your pics on Instagram. They make me wanna go back to many of these places – this time I would love to go for one, two, three… hikes. Are you in?
I am totally in… when are we going?? :)
I wish for more money and time for travel too. There is so much I want to see! That ice cream looks so delicious. It doesn’t help that it’s getting close to my lunchtime and I’m starving, ha!
Sorry for making you drool on your lunch break :)
Seems like the right-wing is on the rise everywhere… it’s terrifying.
I know :(
Ummm – that ice cream looks incredible!
Yes, indeed.
Yup, wishing for the same. I would love to show my boys the world. But right now Id settle for some of that ice cream! LOL . Have a great rest of the week and weekend!
Thanks for stopping by… have a great weekend, too.
Oh sheesh, politics are just crazy in every country these days it seems! I’m glad that your chancellor will remain the same for now; she seems like a good one!!
Mmm…that ice cream sounds lovely. I love local places, though they can be a bit pricey.
-Lauren
I know, I am glad we’re keeping Merkel around for another few years… hope things have settled down by then.
Congrats on your Napa Valley run! I would love to visit Napa Valley (but not do the run part). lol
Thanks! Haha… and you can totally do Napa without the running :)
I am relieved that Merkel will remain chancellor. We need as many voices of reason as we can get, globally. It’s disappointing to hear about the suggest of the right-wing party. Are they a moderate right-wing party or like the alt-right movement in the US? I hope it’s not the alt-right movement, although these days even the right wing feels like alt-right as there are very few moderate republicans these days. The state of global and national politics is so concerning to me right now. :….(
I’m currently oh so happy that it’s Friday. I had a really crappy week at work. I’m so glad I have a quiet weekend ahead of me as I need to re-charge my battery. Plus the weather is going to be nice so I’m planning to go for a nice long walk and then will spend time in our hammock reading.
I am so relieved too. The right-wing party is unfortunately pretty extreme in its beliefs…. maybe not quite as bad as the alt-right, but pretty close. It’s scary to think they have seats in the parliament.
Oof, that’s bad news about German politics. You’d think they’d learn from America’s example. =/
You seem like you’re having such a grand time with your family! I’m so glad <3
You’d think! I mean, we had a 70+% election participation (which is much better than here!) and the majority of people obviously re-elected Merkel’s party into power, but to think that the right-wing party got 13% of the vote and seats in the parliament (every party over 5% get seats) is scary.
Clearly the National Parks are my favorite – they’re magical places and they really are America’s Best Idea. And also I’m v jealous of your bear sighting – I haven’t seen a bear in two years and I’m long overdue!