RVing fun!

The beach at the Indiana Dunes.

My dad and I went camping this past weekend, and we had an absolutely blast! My stepmom and sister, Laura, we able to join us for Saturday afternoon which was awesome too! We cooked, played football, hiked, took Abby to the beach, played board games, drank, watched movies, skipped rocks, rode bikes, and got to know each other better. I can't even begin to describe how grateful I am to have had this time with my Dad. I feel like we got to know each other more intimately, and I just have to say that he's probably the coolest guy on Earth!!! On this trip, he reminded me of the importance of GIVING in all relationships, and that's a lesson that is really going to stick with me, forever. I'm so blessed to have him and his support (though it's not always apparent) in my life. Gosh, I love my dad so so much!

FOOTBALL TIME!!!!

Hiking with Laura- ah, I love her!!!

Abby on the beach

Dad with his walking stick

On a side note, Dad sold the RV. :( So this is the last camping trip we will take in it. We are all hoping he breaks down and buys another one soon. If not, well a RV is definitely on my list of things I must have after I get a job! :) It's just so fun and liberating to be able to pick up and go anywhere with your entire family including your pets and embark on this kind of adventure where everyone is forced to work together and play together as I team. It's a trip of pure fun without all the fluff, and most importantly it brings everyone closer together.

The infamously duck- taped RV that we have grown to love so much!

I guess there is one more sad thing, and it's just that weekends as fun as these remind me of how much I miss my family. My sisters are growing up so fast. My stepmom is one of the strongest women I have ever met. I admire her so much, and I wish I was around more to learn from her. And well I've already gone on about my Dad... I just don't know how else to say it.... I really really love my family. And I wish I got to see them more.

Abby's Best Friend

Abby's best friend, Maggie, has been really sick lately. In fact, on Saturday my family thought she had died. We were all so sad, and we were mourning her loss. Later that afternoon she surprised us all by walking around, though she was blind at the time. It turns out she has a congenital hepatic shunt that prevents her liver from clearing toxic waste products like ammonia. The ammonia levels built up really high in her brain, and that's why she was having these neurologic symptoms. I understand it to be similar to hepatic encephalopathy, but she is (obviously) not an alcoholic. Anyway, our amazing vet saved her life with lots of fluids, lactulose, and antibiotics. Maggie is by no means out of the woods, but she is doing much better- even her vision is back! God really does produce miracles on Earth!! Please keep Maggie in your prayers. She's such a sweet girl, my family loves her, and (as if that's not a good enough reason) she is Abby's best friend!

The Best Thing I Never Had

I've been singing these lyrics the last 24hrs straight! It's the best Beyonce song to date, in my opinion.


What goes around comes back around (hey my baby)
What goes around comes back around (hey my baby)

There was a time
I thought, that you did everything right
No lies, no wrong
Boy I, must've been outta my mind
So when I think of the time that I almost loved you
You showed your ass and I saw the real you

Thank God you blew it
Thank God I dodged the bullet
I'm so over you
So baby good lookin' out

[Chorus]
I wanted you bad
I'm so through with it
Cuz honestly you turned out to be the best thing I never had
You turned out to be the best thing I never had
And I'm gon' always be the best thing you never had
I bet it sucks to be you right now

So sad, you're hurt
Boo hoo, oh, did you expect me to care?
You don't deserve my tears
I guess that's why they ain't there
When I think that there was a time that I almost loved you
You showed your ass and I saw the real you

Thank God you blew it
Thank God I dodged the bullet
I'm so over you
Baby good lookin' out


[Chorus]
I wanted you bad
I'm so through with it
Cuz honestly you turned out to be the best thing I never had
I said, you turned out to be the best thing I never had
And I'll never be the best thing you never had
Oh baby I bet sucks to be you right now

I know you want me back
It's time to face the facts
That I'm the one that's got away
Lord knows that it would take another place, another time, another world, another life
Thank God I found the good in goodbye

[Chorus]
I used to want you so bad
I'm so through it that
Cuz honestly you turned out to be the best thing I never had
You turned out to be the best thing I never had
And I will always be the, best thing you never had.
Best thing you never had!

I used to want you so bad
I'm so through it that
Cause honestly you turned out to be the best thing I never had
Oh you turned out to be the best thing I never had
Oh I will never be the best thing you never had
Oh baby, I bet it sucks to be you right now

Goes around, comes back around
Goes around, comes back around
Bet it sucks to be you right now
Goes around, comes back around
Bet it sucks to be you right now
Goes around, comes back around
Bet it sucks to be you right now

I am a Blue Republican

Ron Paul 2012!

Cool Song

Hot Chocolate

One of my best friend's recently flew all the way to Chicago from LA to run the Chicago marathon- that's over 26miles! I woke up the morning of the race to watch him run through my neighborhood, and I have to admit watching the thousands of people- old, young, one-legged, pregnant, dressed in costumes, and so on...- made me feel really inadequate as far fitness goes. Now don't get me wrong, I'm pretty good at yoga, but my endurance in terrible. Absolutely terrible. So, in attempt to challenge myself with something new I have registered for my very first race. :) It's a 5K, 3.1miles. And thank God, there is chocolate, lots of it, at the finish line! LOL.


I want to send a huge CONGRATULATIONS to Eddie! I knew you could do it!! And a big thank you to him for his inspiration, and thank you to my friend Caroline, who has continued to encourage this running thing for years, despite my lack of "catching on". Wish me luck as I try to prepare for my very first race! Yikes!! :)

Right as Rain

Because these photos are too cool not to share- gorgeous places, gorgeous animals, and gorgeous workouts. Life is beautiful!

Picnik Photo Effects

In Halloween spirit.... Mwahahahahahahahahaha

Steve Jobs, RIP

"Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”-SJ

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”- SJ

What a technological genius Steve Jobs was! His brilliant innovations have made my life and the WORLD an infinitely better place. I'm so saddened by the news that pancreatic cancer has taken his life. I <3 Apple, forever.

Your book

While working with my mentor, he posed a question to me and it really got me thinking... If you were to write a book, what would it be about?

First let me say, I think it's awesome that he asked this question. To me, it meant that he was actually interested in getting to know who I am, what I am about, and what my passions in life are. I'm humbled and honored by that.

So after some thought, I decided that if I were to write a book today it would be some kind of memoir with lots of travel to search for healthy lifestyle secrets from all cultures. An Eat, Pray, Love kind of thing... only with a quest for health instead of a quest for spiritual growth. I would practice yoga in India, muay tai boxing in Thailand, surfing in Hawaii, snowboarding in the Swiss Alps, belly dancing in Turkey, and so on. At each place I would find some really healthy food that fits with the culture. Then, I would share recipes and tips for how we incorporate that healthy food into our lives. It's such a far out, wild idea of a book that I'll probably never get to do, but hey there were no restrictions on how big of dream this book could be! :)

So what would you write a book about? Please share!