patty + kindness + the list

first off, thank you all so much for the mojo, prayers and good vibes you sent to patty over the weekend. you worked your magic (but we didn't doubt that, did we?). patty has had great progress over the last three days with her speech improving and her ability to get around using a walker. i want to share a picture of patty so that you know exactly who all of your good vibes are going to. keep them coming!! you all rock, just like patty does:)

you may have heard about this over the last few days as i think that this graduation speech is spreading like crazy. but, if you have not read this speech, you need to take 5 minutes from your day and ready it. 5 minutes. i know you have it, and you know you have it. spend it reading this speech. it is amazing, a great reminder to be kind. so click on this link (http://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/31/george-saunderss-advice-to-graduates/?_r=2) and read why george sanders regrets most his "failures of kindness." you are welcome (and i won't even rub it in that i was right about it being 5 of the best minutes of your day. i promise. i won't rub it in at all. but, i am pretty sure that we both know that i was right about this one. right? right.)

so, the list. you know that i have been working on it. the mental list i created but didn't share prior to my last round of scans. the things that i will be spending my time on over the next three months until scans roll around again. in addition to spending as much time as possible with family and friends day to day, here are a few things at the top of the list:

+++ watching my nephew get married in two weeks
+++ skydiving. yep, from a plane. yes, seriously. in two weeks. yikes!
+++ taking some online classes i am super excited about, like this one and this one
+++ getting a tattoo
+++ going for a ride in a hot air balloon (woohoo!! mike and jen - you two rock!)
+++ celebrating a ton of family birthdays, including the first birthday of our favorite little man isidro. how cute is he? yes, super duper cute - i totally agree with you.

+++ three more monthly dinners with my friend chris
+++ dinners and happy hours with friends
+++ drinking a million green juices - yum!
+++ trying two new recipes a week - super excited about this new tradition and it was a ton of fun diving into our cookbooks today and getting the meals planned for this week
+++ helping to plan and going to the baby shower for my dear friend kerry (patty's beautiful daugther)
+++ girls weekend adventures
+++ hanging out with my family at our annual summer garage sale - favorite traditions continue
+++ making our annual trip to the horse races labor day weekend
+++ working on my picture albums
+++ sending tons of happy mail
+++ working on some craft projects
+++ getting a jump start on some homemade christmas presents
+++ walking
+++ jumping
+++ watching malena at gymnastics and swimming lessons
+++ campout nights
+++ using my juicer every morning
+++ drinking tons of water and green tea
+++ eating as healthy as i can (aka continuing what i have been doing for the last four months - it seems to be working;))
+++ sleeping (yep, up past my 10pm bedtime tonight - i figured since i was writing to you it was ok)
+++ taking a long weekend trip to bend, oregon
+++ planning malena's 5th birthday party (you know i am especially loving this one)
+++ picking out malena's halloween costume

happy monday all. practice kindness. xo