On a rare 90-degree weekend...Anne and I took a photography class in Edmonds. Afterwards, armed with SPF 55 of course, we headed to the beach. With the sand between our toes and the cool (OK..honestly it was downright freezing) water lapping at our feet, we sipped our iced lattes, snapped photos and filled the day with laughter.
Yesterday I booked my friend and I on a flight to NYC...and this morning I secured an apartment a block off Times Square. For 8 gorgeous nights, we're going to live as city girls, taking in the sights, sipping martinis, eating hot dogs on the corner and riding the subway like locals...think I can get a NY accent in a week? 
Every year the sun finally peaks through the Seattle cloud layer, and there is a an uprising of "Wow! Look! It's SUN!" In the past I've never really given much thought to our "gray." I guess I just took it as a given and left it at that. Yes, I always looked forward to summer sunshine, but I never really complained about the other seasons' weather. In fact I usually enjoy the autumn leaves, winter snows and spring showers...and the gray never really had much effect on my mood that I could tell. Sure, when the sun peaked out I did get a thrill, but I never really noticed feeling "down" when it wasn't out...But last week I visited Florida, and there was a distinct shift in my mood when exposed to repetative sunny mornings. I felt...happy...calm...hopeful. I was on vacation, yes, and those feelings are a given, but on the day the clouds rolled in I noticed my body's reaction. It wasn't a depression really...more of a resignation maybe? And when I returned home to sunshine that has stuck around for a week, I was once again smiling brightly. It's not necessarily the warmth that does it (although I love that too), but the lightness...the brightness...I'm taking note of my body's reaction and pondering what to do about it. Maybe a move is in order...?
Anyone who has known me for at least five minutes knows that I love sunshine. They also know that my entire life I have dreamed of breaking out of Washington and living somewhere warm, where the sun shines most days. But I've noticed a change in me over the past few years...I've finally come to see what it is that everyone sees in the Pacific Northwest...the greenery, the mountains, the sparkling blue water...and I've fallen in love. So much so that I've even embraced the snow! And HIKED IN IT! I never thought this day would come...but I'm now smitten.
I've never been one for making New Year's resolutions, as I've always felt that they set us up to fail...Maybe that is because I'm one with many grand ideas but not much follow-through. But this year I have made an exception to my rule. And not only do I have a resolution, but (thanks to a friend of mine), I also have a word for 2008.
