Soaking up June

My goodness, it’s been a long time since I’ve written here. Not because I haven’t wanted to, because I have. Not because I’ve had nothing to write about, because I have. Not because I haven’t had time, because, yes indeed, I have. So why haven’t I? I don’t know.

I have started to write several times, but each time I do, my thoughts and words veer off to a path that I don’t really want to go down in such a “public” way. Not that many people read this, so it’s not all that public, but still. I’ve started to write about many things that do not fit the purpose of my blog, which is to force myself to look on the bright side of life even when life is feeling very dark.

So…I have really wanted to write. I have really NEEDED to write. I have so many unfinished posts I have written over the past month or more. I have become quite good at starting things I don’t finish, and I’m really not sure why I keep beginning to write and then putting it aside, yet I do, and I now have a black hole of unfinished writings.

But, here I am, writing now. It’s going to be a post longer on pictures than on words. Anyone who is reading this can shout hallelujah right now. I’d really love to write more, but I’m procrastinating on work writing I really should be doing right now. I am hoping that getting a few things out of my head via my fingers will help some much-needed creative juices to start flowing through my brain.

Back to soaking up June…

June has always been my favorite month. Maybe it started when I was little because my birthday is in June, and when you are a kid, your birthday is all that is wonderful and happy and you look forward to it all year long. Now that I am pushing 50, I don’t look forward to my birthday all year long, but I do still look forward to June. In the midst of winter when the world is dreary and gray and cold, I mentally drool over the prospect of sunshine, the sounds of birds singing and lawn mowers and the ice cream truck and the smell of freshly cut grass. I think I love June so much because it is typically a glorious month of spring waiting for summer to arrive. It’s normally sunny and warm without the oppressive humidity that envelops and sometimes ruins July and August. In June, I watch the flowers that started out as tiny seedlings from the nursery 6 pack blossom into cascading waterfalls of color that spill over pots and railings. In June, I can begin my days drinking coffee and reading in a rocking chair on my front porch, and I can do so without sweating profusely. In June, my lawn is still green. In June, I buy strawberries from local produce stands, keep them in a big bowl on my kitchen counter and eat them sliced on everything from peanut butter toast to salads that are drizzled with poppy seed dressing. In June, the summer is new and fresh and winter seems a long way off. Each June, I do everything I possibly can to squeeze every last drop of warmth and summer and sunshine into my daily life.

While I have so many different things I could and want to write about right now, I’m going to fill this post with pictures of all of the many ways I am enjoying June of 2012.

**What better way to enjoy June than at the beach? IS there a better way? I think not. While it’s not my beloved Gulf of Mexico, Lake Erie is pretty darn nice too. We took a two-day trip their earlier this month, and stayed at a beautiful grand old hotel that was built in the early part of the 20^th century. Being there felt like a step back in time.

If one is going to spend a few June days at the beach, what better perch to view that beach from:

While my family spent their time at Cedar Point, I spent MY time with my butt parked on one of these beautiful chairs. I watched the sunrise

Isn’t that amazing? Watching the rising sun paint a new day is one of my favorite things to do, even at home from my kitchen window. It’s even more amazing when you can watch the sun rise over the beach.

I also sat in one of those chairs two evenings in a row with a book and a glass of wine.

Speaking of enjoying the beach in June, check out this beach:

We took a one day trip to Lake Michigan on our way home, and wow, I had NO idea how beautiful Lake Michigan is. I almost felt like I was at the Gulf of Mexico. Well, until I stepped into water that almost instantly numbed my toes that is. But isn’t it breathtaking?

**One of the best ways I soak up and celebrate June is with two of my children’s birthdays. Justin turned 18 on June 15, and Rachel turned 14 on June 26. I don’t have pictures from Rachel’s birthday, but here is my favorite from Justin’s:

When Justin was a little boy, his favorite thing in the world was Scooby Doo. One of my fondest memories from his childhood was how he used to crawl into bed with me early each morning after Tony got in the shower. He would lay his little blonde head on the pillow next to mine and snuggle with me under the covers to watch Scooby Doo when I was still half asleep. So I thought it would be fun to get him a SD cake for his birthday. He loved it, and his friends thought it was hilarious. His best friend Sam said, “Awww…you don’t want your wittle boy to grow up.” Justin smacked him.

**If the beach and my children’s birthdays are the two best ways to celebrate June, then tooling around in a convertible has to be third on the list.

The girls and Rudy and I went to visit my dad for Father’s Day, and we decided to drive the whole way there with the top down. It was a 90 plus degree day, and I was a sweaty, windblown mess by the time we arrived, but it was so worth it.

 **This past weekend, I visited my mother in law. She loves to garden, and has always had beautiful flowers and plants. Unfortunately, her health doesn’t allow her to do much of it herself these days, but she does have a few people who work for her and help her keep up with the planting and watering and such, and while her gardens aren’t what they used to be, they are still pretty, and the house is surrounded by large shade trees. Each morning, I enjoyed sitting on her patio reading and having coffee. My inlaws live on the outskirts of town on 2 acres of land, so it is nice and quiet and peaceful there.

**I don’t plant as many flowers as I used to simply because I don’t have the time that is required to keep them alive during the heat of July and August. I do still plant pots of flowers on my deck and front porch, and this morning, I took this photo of some of them:

I planted them just a few weeks ago, but already, they are spilling over the pots. I love how they are thriving and growing.

So that is the month of June in a nutshell.

Joyful Simplicities... 

While I haven’t kept up with my Joyful Simplicities posts the way I envisioned I would, I have been keeping track and taking photos of simple little things that make me smile. It’s a long list since I’m so far behind, but here goes:

**I took a week-long trip to Miami in May with my boss, and while we worked our butts off, we did manage to find some time at the end of the week to visit the beach, eat some Cuban food, and drink mojitos as the sun set.

**The highlight of our trip was spending time with some old friends who used to live here in St. Charles and now live in West Palm Beach. They treated us to lunch at one of the most magnificent places I have ever been, The Breakers hotel. I felt like I was hob-nobbing with the rich and famous.

 **My red front door. Back in the winter, I decided on a whim to paint the inside of my front door bright red, and I’m so glad I did. I love it, and it makes me smile.

**New kitchen utensils. I adore these things…I love to cook, they are awesome, and I enjoy them so much more knowing that I won them in the silent auction at Angel Ball…I paid $30 for all of them, and they are worth $12-18 each. I smile every time I unload them from the dishwasher.

 **A quiet early Saturday morning with the sun streaming through the windows of my family room.

**Branches of honeysuckle I found growing wild in my yard one morning.

**A pitcher of iced tea, made in my Aunt Mary’s crystal pitcher. One afternoon, I decided I might as well use it and enjoy it rather than save it for special occasions and let it gather dust in my china cabinet.

**My kids have miraculously been getting along famously lately. Oh, they do have their bratty moments, but we had so much fun on our mini vacation, and it warmed my heart to see them all having fun together. They rode rides at Cedar Point, played Frisbee in the lake, had a blast playing a round of miniature golf and just generally enjoyed being with each other.

Last week when Brandon and Justin enlisted in the Navy, Rachel was sooo excited and wanted to make posters to hang on the garage door that they would see when they arrived home. She had her good friend Emily over, and they did a great job making posters.

**This is silly, but I loved these lamps that lined the boardwalk outside our hotel in Ohio.

**I also am in love with this blue house we spotted in St. Joseph, Michigan, right across the street from Silver Beach on Lake Michigan. I totally want a blue house now…with black shutters and a yellow front door. It would stick out like a sore thumb in my neighborhood, but I almost don’t care. I can’t imagine ever coming home in a bad mood if I pulled up in a driveway that led to blue house with a yellow front door.

 **Flowers:

I have been buying myself flowers once every week or so. My favorite grocery store sells colorful bouquets for only $5, so how can I resist? The rocks in the bottom of this vase were gathered on a walk I took on the shores of Lake Michigan at Indiana Sand Dunes State Park. This picture was taken there as well:

It was so beautiful there, but I quickly learned that hiking up a sand dune is no easy task. You also can't do it wearing sandals. You can't do it barefoot either. Trust me. I know these things.

Finally, the biggest joyful simplicity of all!

I love this girl! My sweet niece Jean flew in and spent last weekend with us. More on that in another post, but for now, here is a picture of Jean and my kids. We all cried when she left Sunday evening.

I have run out of photos and words. Thank goodness, huh? For now anyway. I actually have a post about something really profound churning around in my brain…we shall see if it actually makes it to my blog.