Friday, January 21, 2011

The Surfers!

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Today Mr. Mustard was at home for part of the day, so while Ginger was down for her nap and Paprika was at preschool, I slipped off and had some time by myself at the beach. Sometimes when my mind starts to get heavy, it feels so good to go to the beach and watch the surfers.

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Before I know it, I am feeling back to my old self. Refreshed and recharged. It is a lot less expensive than going shopping, or even having coffee at Starbucks. The ocean is free. It costs nothing to sit on the beach and listen to the waves. But, oh, it is so good for the soul.

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I think I love watching the surfers so much because there is a little Gidget inside me, just waiting to get out! I have only been surfing twice. Once when my old roommate took me and Mr. Mustard when we were dating. And the second was when I was a summer associate at a big law firm and we took the day off to go surfing!

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Don't ask me why I am holding up the peace sign in this picture. I really can't explain it, except to say...yes, I am a dork!

When I left the house today, I almost didn't bring my camera. The light wasn't great and I knew I wouldn't have my favorite subjects to photograph (Paprika and Ginger, of course!) But last minute, I threw the camera in my bag because one thing I am not going to allow myself to become is a perfectionist, especially when it comes to photography. Capturing the moment is so much more important than making sure the light is right or the background is perfect.

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Speaking of that...even though we did a gazillion Christmas gingerbread projects, we still had one kit leftover and unused from the holidays. I was a bit of a gingerbread hoarder this year! Well, I was thinking I would just save the kit for next year, but Paprika insisted that we break out the kit now and build the house anyway.

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So we did just that. The girls had a blast putting it together.

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And they were so pleased with how it turned out!

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Even though it is late January, we had a moment of holiday spirit! So fun!

3 comments:

Devon said...

i'm glad you got out of the house for a bit....and heading to the ocean, SO good for the soul! and your pictures are beautiful, of course :)

i almost thought you photographed 2 random surfers on the beach....didn't recognize you on a surf board - ha!

Sheila said...

Ahhh... how relaxing for you.

Why not a gingerbread house of the month club? It's a new year, you could post all the houses on the year end review. I think it turned out really cute.

Mimi said...

Lovely post, and I totally agree with you that the ocean is good for the spirit. I think when we look at the vastness of it, it makes us realise not to stress about little things. And incidentally, don't children do that too..gingerbread house, why wait till next year?
Reminds me of an old saying "never put off till tomorrow what you can do today, cos if you enjoy doing it today, you can do it again tomorrow".
I iced a Christmas cake on Thursday night, so you're not alone!