It's a new day and this is how I'm feeling! Love this song, love Franti and loving the positive vibes that a new day is bringing! 

I wake up in the mornin' at 6 'o clock
You say there may be rain but the sun is hot
I wish I had some time just to kill today
And I wish I had a dime for every bill I got to pay
Some days you lose, you win, and the water's as high as the times roll in
So I jump back into where I learned to swim
Try to keep my head above it the best I can
That's why

Here I am
Just waitin' for the storm to pass me by
And that's the sound of sunshine
Comin' down
And that's the sound of sunshine
Comin' down (down, down, down)
Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh

One, two, three, uh huh
I saw my friend Bobby he said "What's up man?"
You got little work or 20 to lend
I opened up my hand he said "I'm glad to see"
They could take away my job but not my friends you see

And here I am
Just waitin' for the storm to pass me by (pass me by)
And that's the sound of sunshine
Comin' down
And that's the sound of sunshine
Comin' down

Yo, yo, here we go

I wanna go where the summer never ends
With my guitar on the beach there with all my friends
The sun so hot and the waves in motion
And everything smells like suntan lotion
The ocean, and the girls so sweet
So kick off your shoes and relax your feet
You say that miracles are never ceasin'
And every single song needs a little releasin'
The stereo bumpin' til the sun goes down
And I only wanna hear that sound

That's the sound of sunshine (of sunshine)
Comin' down
And that's the sound of sunshine
Comin' down (comin' down, down, down)

And I say
You're the one I wanna be with (yo, yo)
When the sun goes down (uh huh)
You're the one I wanna be with (I really wanna be with)
When the sun goes down, sing
You're the one I wanna be with
When the sun goes down
You're the one I wanna be with
When the sun goes...

That's the sound (that's the sound) of sunshine (of sunshine)
Comin' down (uh huh, uh huh)
And that's the sound of sunshine
Comin' down
Eh, eh, eh
When the sun goes down, when the sun goes down
Eh, eh, eh, eh (when the sun goes down)

Grace is Gone

This is my all time favorite Dave Matthews Band song. Thought I'd share. I honestly can't get enough of it!



Neon shines through smoky eyes tonight
It’s 2 am - I’m drunk again it’s heavy on my mind

I could never love again so much as I love you
Where you end where I begin is like a river going through
Take my eyes, take my heart cuz I need them no more
If never again they fall upon the one I so adore

Excuse me please one more drink
Could you make it strong cause I don’t need to think
She broke my heart my Grace is gone
One more drink and I’ll move on

One drink to remember, then another to forget
How could I ever dream to find sweet love like you again
One drink to remember, and another to forget

Excuse me please one more drink
Could you make it strong cause I don’t need to think
She broke my heart my Grace is gone
One more drink and I’ll move on
One more drink and I’ll be gone

You think of things impossible then the sun refused to shine
I woke with you beside me your cold hand lay in mine

Excuse me please one more drink
Could you make it strong cause I don’t need to think
She broke my heart my Grace is gone
One more drink and I’ll go

Excuse me please one more drink
Could you make it strong cause I don’t need to think
She broke my heart my Grace is gone
One more drink and I'll move on
One more drink and I’ll be gone
One more drink my Grace is gone
One more drink my Grace is gonetake

Yes, yes...this is most definitely how I feel today! Must be that hurricane weather comin' on!

January Summer Lovin'

I started writing this post back in January....thought though that I would finish writing it and add some pictures and still post! So here goes...
Seriously...what is wrong with me?! I have a BAD case of the WINTER BLUES...or something like that! :( I have been so down in the dumps for no good reason lately. I really needed something to snap me out of my winter blues and MAUI was just the thing!
I left bright and early on the morning of Thursday, Jan 13. I thought my flight to LAX was going to be the hard one to get on...guess I should have thought twice about that. I invited a friend of mine about 5 days before leaving and so the plan was to meet in LA. Her flight came from San Francisco, through LA and to Maui. Perfect! I could easily get on the flight to Maui from LA...or so I thought. Little did I know that they could weight-restrict the flight, even though there were 60 open seats! So I waved Aurora off and told her to have fun with my cousin until I got there to join them. After she departed, I crossed my fingers as I checked flights to see what I could do about getting there sometime that day. After 12 hours of sitting in the LA airport and holding my breath, hoping to be the last person to secure a seat on a later flight to Maui, I was on my way...in first class. I made it there late that night and as I was waiting for my cousin, EmmaLee, to pick me up at the airport, I sat outside, wind brushing across my face and allowed for my winter blues to begin melting away.
We spent the next 4.5 days in pure bliss! Maui was just what I needed. We went to different beaches to soak up the sun and play in the water, went whale-watching, met up with a doctor-friend of mine and his wife at the blow hole, drove to Hana (which by the way, was the most beautiful drive ever!), we swam in the Seven Sacred Pools, ate lots of fish and had a lot of drinks that had the little umbrella in them...and I have had Ziggy Marley stuck in my head since the trip with all the reggae we listened to while driving around places! It was all perfect. Em had recently gone through some trauma with one of her dogs passing away, so it was perfect timing for us to visit; we were all sad that Aurora and I had to go back home. Hoping to go back again soon! Thanks again Em :)

Please enjoy my new favorite song, while you view the fun I had in MAUI (and a whale video)!

Does it get much better?!

Golden hour...my favorite time of the day!

First day at the beach...literally there ALL day

Hiking around Hana

Hana - gorgeous drive, beautiful falls!

Blow hole!

Whale watching - AMAZING!

World Humanitarian Day

Today we celebrate people helping people. Here's to numerous friends and colleagues that  have the gift to help people and have accomplished (and continue to accomplish) amazing work throughout the world! May we all have big enough hearts to find a way to change the world each day! 

"When a child is withering away it really does not matter whether the cause is drought, ignorance, or social injustice. It is a precious child that is dying. If we determine that any person is of less value because of where they were born, we have lost our humanity." 

-Dave Eller, president of World Concern

Saltiness

To those that always ask me, "Can't you go to the Great Salt Lake to go swimming and hang out at the beaches there?" I always answer, "GROSS!!! Why would you ever?!" For those of you who have spent time anywhere near the Great Salt Lake understand my point - the stank, the brine shrimp flies, the seagulls...it's not relaxing day at the beach!

Antelope Island

You can see the flies around, in a cloud of black, around the seagull.

Unfortunately, Lonely Planet did not get the same memo. I was just reading an article about the world's saltiest sites for seasoned travelers. This is what I found:

6. Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA

Size does matter. The Great Salt Lake, located in northern Utah, lays claim to being the largest salt lake in the western hemisphere, no mean feat. The lake used to be part of prehistoric Lake Bonneville, and is also known as America’s Dead Sea. It’s home to millions of creatures able to survive the high saline levels, such as waterfowl and other birds, including the largest staging population of Wilson’s phalarope in the world – a boon for birdwatchers.

If you’re looking to get lost for a while, why not take a salty cruise to one of the lake’s 11 recognised tidal islands. Antelope Island has superb beaches that off er great swimming opportunities. Take Interstate 15, heading north from Salt Lake City.

I like to listen to Lonely Planet, when Lonely Planet speaks. However, you will NOT find me hanging out at the "superb" beaches of Antelope Island any day too soon! You may find me riding a bike there, but that is a different story!

Now if I were going to go to one of the saltiest sites in the world, I would definitely be hitting up Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni - the world's largest salt flats and is known as the world's largest mirror, when covered in water.

Somebody I used to know

This is genius! I love it - such a catchy tune, but I love the video and especially the lyrics!

Now and then I think of when we were together

Like when you said you felt so happy you could die
Told myself that you were right for me
But felt so lonely in your company
But that was love and it's an ache I still remember

You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness
Like resignation to the end
Always the end
So when we found that we could not make sense
Well you said that we would still be friends
But I'll admit that I was glad that it was over

But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened
And that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger
And that feels so rough
You didn't have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records
And then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know

Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over
But had me believing it was always something that I'd done
And I don't wanna live that way
Reading into every word you say
You said that you could let it go
And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know...

But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened
And that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger
And that feels so rough
You didn't have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records
And then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know

I used to know
That I used to know

Somebody...

Gotye feat. Kimbra

Great find! Love her voice!

Ugly Bug Ball

Welcome to my life? You know, I constantly reflect on what an awesome life I have...until I find cockroaches under my sink! Then I rethink that for a few minutes. What the hell....this is disgusting! I apparently don't know how to live in the warm, humid weather, where all the nasty bugs try to invade your living space! Not cool. Reminds me of this Ugly Bug Ball sing-along song I used to watch as a child.