explore.

Sometimes you need to just get out & explore! Life is so much more fun when you're seeing, touching, hearing, smelling & living in the outdoors & mingling with the natives.

Whether you're in New York preparing for a new step in your life, backpacking through Europe on your own after college, moving to another country with a one-way ticket or just traveling with your family, make the most of it! Have a little or a lot of fun & get out there & EXPLORE!

This holiday break (this is a bit belated), my parents & I traveled to Peru & the Galapagos. We met the people, we walked the streets, we learned how to make colors out of bugs, we trekked on ancient ruins & cities, we swam with sea lions, we got our hands dirty, we played local bar games, we watched Sally Lightfoot crabs' mating dance, we ate the food (guinea pig & alpaca) & drank the drink, we listened to the music & we (attempted) to talk the talk! It was an experience to remember & something I couldn't even try to forget.

We started off in Peru with our "dear friend," Guido & became engrossed immediately in the city of Lima.  Sometimes it's hard to get out of a geocentric mindset. I visit a city in another country knowing it's not permanent, knowing that in a few weeks, I will be back at home sleeping in my own bed.  I forget that for millions of other people, this is their life. They walk these streets every day, they wear these clothes & they pass those buildings. For me it's travel, for them it's life.

Lima was a bustling city. There were cars everywhere, tall buildings, shopping malls, museums & even a coast line. There were parks & homeless people, bicyclists, stray cats & litter on the streets.  There was graffiti on the walls, street art being sold, bus stops, Starbucks & Subways on the corners & restaurants everywhere. The city I'm describing doesn't sound that different from Chicago or New York, but let me tell you... it was a whole other world.

Something interesting about Lima is that it never rains. EVER. Lima averages less than 1 inch of rain per year & it shows too. The city is dry & the roofs of all the buildings & homes are flat. Who needs a slanting roof when there's no rain? Another different aspect is how Lima itself is broken up into several different areas. When driving in the city, you can cross an invisible line & the city goes from clean & neat to trash piled everywhere with dogs rolling in anything they can muster. That invisible line is the difference between a governor with money & a good following & a governor with no funds on the brink of being booted out. The city was a checker board of safe & sketchy areas.

Once in the country, there was no questioning where you were. The people dressed in the brightest colors, wore the coolest hats & lived the most interesting, yet simple lifestyle. While nothing seemed to be actually going on... everything was happening. Little girls would sing to us for petty change, small snacks or stickers, women would sell everything & anything they could get their hands on & kids would scream in excitement over a small bracelet or trinket. They were a crafty bunch & it was cool seeing different ways people use their skills. Every skill had a purpose.

Now it's time to talk about Machu Picchu... It was crazy. I literally (yes... actually literally) have goosebumbs as I am even thinking about the place. I can't even imagine what Hiram Bingham thought as he pushed aside the overgrown Amazon bushes & saw that he was standing on an ancient Incan city from the 15th century.  How did this society build & sustain a life on the side of a jagged mountain in the middle of nowhere? Seriously... how? It was so incredible that it is hard to explain. I would love to return one day & hike the four-day Inca trail.  I would love to walk up to the Sun Gate once again, but this time from the other side, & see Machu Picchu sneaking out from behind the fog. I know that would just taste so good after four days of hiking & waiting.

We did tons of other stuff in Peru too, but if you've actually made it this far... you're probably about ready for me to quit writing; however, I haven't even talked about the Galapagos yet & you don't want to miss this! It will be quick... I promise!!!

This was our friend, the sea lion... he just wanted to play & luckily he invited us to join him! This little guy had so much personality & it made our adventure awesome! He swam with us in the water, barked like a dog, chewed sticks & practically played fetch.  He is the dog of the sea & for good reasons too!

 
The final most incredible part of this adventure was the group we traveled with. We went on a tour to these amazing places with a company called, Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) & we were lucky enough to have the most dynamic & incredible individuals traveling alongside us. It was great getting to interact with people who have done such amazing things, have lived in incredible places, have traveled to the strangest locations, have been through crazy experiences & in the end, all ended up on a dusty road in the middle of Ollantaytambo with a huge smile on their faces & a taste for adventure.  I know this experience could have been 100% different & 100% less thrilling if the group had been a dud. But the group was awesome & I wouldn't have wanted anything to change; not even 1%.

Anyway, now is the time to explore. Now is the time to go outside. Now is the time to travel. Now is the time to follow the wind. Because there just isn't a better time than now.  Whether you do it now, or do it in 5 years... guess how old you'll be in 5 years? You'll be 5 years older... (good math, I know).

This is cliche, but I love it, because it reminds me of my aunt... so here it goes.  "It's not the years in your life that count, it's the life in your years!"-Good ole Abe Lincoln. So I'll say it again, get out there & EXPLORE today!

~ciao~

spontaneity.

There is a well-known expression, “not all who wander are lost,” but sometimes you just are.  

This week, my mom & I flew to St. Louis to visit my grandpa after his heart surgery.  We spent the 3 days showing him the much-needed love & hanging out with other family members until returning home to Stuart. 

On the way home, our flight to Chicago was delayed & therefore, our connection home was missed.  If you know the Harvey clan at all than you know we have had zero luck in airports lately, stuck in a land my mom likes to call “airport hell.”  In the past 2 years, every storm across the country & every issue a plane could have left us in another lovely airport hotel.  (Shoutout to AC for providing Marriott love when the going got rough & the airport wasn't able to help a sista out).  

Anyway… here we were, “Mommy & Rachele together at last without those icky boys” stuck in Chicago for the night with a 9:20 am flight.  After the initial disappointment of landing in Chicago after our flight home took off in front of us, I came up with the most brilliant beyond brilliant of plans.  What if we took advantage of this sucky situation & spent the following day exploring the city?  Make lemons out of lemonade, right? 

Now I know everyone approaches their moms differently because moms are known to self-destruct at any time, especially when under unnecessary stress, but for my mom, you just have to work that pros list, mix in a little chutzpah, smile uncontrollably, & make her laugh.  It only took me 4 hours to work my argument until she was calling American Airlines herself to change our flight to 6 pm the following day.  She may have whined along the way in her little exasperated struggle that usually gets me to stop heckling her, but I didn’t budge, & if I hadn’t, this blog wouldn’t exist.  

When moms go rogue take 1.  

Of course when I called AA at first, a woman answered, who could smell my fear & lack of domineering chutzpah, & told me changing our flight to a later departure time would cost us $200 a person.  I hung up feeling defeated after fighting my mom for 4 hours to simply consider the idea of “spontaneity,” but I convinced her to use her feminine wiles to change their minds.  The truth is… my mom’s got talent.  I am pretty sure she could smell the fear on the operator and he had no choice but to give the woman what she wanted.  6 pm flight, no charge, plenty of seats, badabing badaboom.

We ate a deep-dish dinner at Gino’s Eastside to maintain our figures & then woke up to a day in Chicago.  We began our spontaneous adventure with an architecture boat cruise through the city, a trip down memory lane for my mom & a practically brand new memory for me (I had visited Chicago once before circa 1998, but due to recent budget cuts in memory & in iCloud storage, I have very little space in my brain for vacations pre-2001.  They gotta be there somewhere though, right?).  

Anyway, the water cruise was beautiful & the city has buildings like no other.  Apparently after the 1871 fire that Ms. O'Leary's cow started, Chicago created an architecture competition to rebuild the city.  Therefore, it is a relatively new city that grew right alongside Lake Michigan.  The buildings tower alongside the river that snakes through the heart of the city & what is even more special is that a walking path has been preserved all along the river for pedestrians & joggers to enjoy.  

After the end of the tour, we walked along the river walk & up to the street level on Michigan Avenue where we explored.  The eclectic architecture between modern, classical, & impressionism was fun to look at & the size of everything around us was much larger than anything we’d ever see in Stuart, obviously.  Fun Fact: the only hill in Stuart used to be a landfill…  

Once we walked up & down the “Magnificent Mile” a few times, we crossed the river toward Millennium Park to see “The Bean.”  This strange curvaceous structure is fairly new to Chicago, but is an interesting sculpture because it reflects the view of the city & yourself & it is shaped like… you guessed it, A BEAN!

Our walkabout Chicago was short-lived, but definitely a positive compared to being stuck in “airport hell” with a displeased attitude.  We felt like Ferris Bueller for the day… skipping out on reality to a day in the city.  Maybe we didn’t have a random parade to “twist & shout to” or a visit to the impressionist museum to stare at tiny dots for hours, but we did have our spontaneous outing that was 100% out of character… maybe not for Ferris, but for us!  

I have known my mom for a little over 21 years now, & I will admit she is pretty fantastic all-around, but specifically what I can say about her is that she can plan.  Whether it is a safari in Africa, a RV adventure through Alaska, a Spring Break trip to Costa Rica, a ski trip to Colorado, a summer getaway in Europe, a tour through China, a road trip up the east coast, a casual visit with Daniel, or my Bat Mitzvah in Israel, my mom has an itinerary planned out & sent to family, friends, pets, the police station, & any acquaintances in the tri-state area.  She is more organized than most people I know & can plan a trip like a ninja on steroids.  Her keen sense of travel is what has made my childhood such a perfect adventure & has given us all such wonderful lives.  

So… I guess what I am trying to say is that my mom has always been a planner.  This, of course, is not a negative, but is an attribute that I believe highly describes her motivated self.  That is why this spontaneous layover in Chicago was a wonderful surprise to me.  I have to admit I did not think I’d win the argument, but I guess that is what is great about my mom… she always puts myself & Daniel & Scott first because she loves seeing us happy.  

I don’t remember where I heard this story… it may have been a question Daniel asked or just some oral tale passed down among knowing mothers, but I was told that a child turned to his or her mother once on Mother’s Day & said, “why isn’t there a kids day?”  The mother than replied with, “because every day is kids day.”  & it’s true.  How lucky are we kids to have a day devoted to us almost every day of the year?

But today is her day.  Happy Mother’s Day to the most devoted & wonderful MAMA BEAR around.  I know I have written posts before about how lucky I am to have a mom like mine, but sometimes she just goes above & beyond… like all the time really.  I love that you can laugh at yourself & your stupid questions, I love that you call me “Baby Bear,” I love that when you smile your face does too, I love that you listen, I love that you are sensitive like me, I love that you have specified “off duty” times of the day, I love that you recycled that vest that you loved so much (you know what I’m talking about), I love that you like to travel, I love that you can talk to anyone & to walls, I love that you have chutzpah, & I love that you love me (PS: Everyone else out there who is reading this should be SUPER jealous that she is not your mom because she is awesome & you’re missing out!!!).  

I LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOU LOVE ME! (& it is possible…).

-Ciao

dance marathon.

So... 26.2 hours, $1,528,330.16, & 383537246253 smiles later, Dance Marathon at UF is complete & more successful than ever before!  It is exciting knowing that our student-run philanthropy is the biggest in the Southeastern United States!

I am so incredibly proud of everyone in their efforts to make this THE BEST Dance Marathon ever!   It took over a year to plan this huge event & hundreds of hours, but it truly showed through the smiles of the miracle children as well as the loving faces of every dancer, delegate, dancer buddy, staff member, captain, & overall that breathed, ate, & slept dance marathon all weekend.

I know the Children's Miracle Network will use that money for something great that will save thousands & thousands of kids in the near future!

I remember my Freshman year of college being force fed Dance Marathon in the Fall & thinking... Why is there so much hype about something 47647854 months away??  It took one glance inside the O'Connell center & the words of the Miracle Families for me to get it.

After being on staff as a freshman, a dancer as a sophomore, & on staff again this year, I can't get enough of such a great cause.  I loved making a small difference in an event that makes a huge mark on the medical world of Shands & the kids.
I already can't wait until my final DM next year (not that it's my last), but just to see how much more we improve & make strides toward saving more & more kids.  Just in my 3 short years here at UF, I have seen the total rise about $800,000, which is INCREDIBLE!  I love seeing the dedication students have to this event & the smiles they put on the kids' faces.  It is also nice to see students completely sober for an entire weekend, while tking time out of their busy schedules, & being 100% selfless for the sake of families & kids in need.  Not only did I see FTK shaved into peoples' heads, but I saw it in action.  This is REAL philanthropy y'all. 

So I would like to throw a special shoutout to my roommate, Rebecca (above in middle), Sami (below on left), & Nicole (not pictured) for rocking DM for their third year in a row!  78.6 hours of dancing & they are still looking good!  "Can't sit, won't sit," or should it be "can't sit, can't sit?"  That is the question.
     

Sami & Tarah rockin' the BYOS DM style!

BUT, I would like to throw out an even more special shoutout to the 6 Kappas who are 4 year dancers!  It is so impressive to dance just 1 time, but these rockstars didn't stop standing for a total of 104.8 hours!

I was also so happy to see the dedication of the dancer buddies/visitors.  No one can stay on their feet for 26.2 hours without a friendly, non-delirious face to get them through the hours.  But sisterly & true is maximized when that friend is willing to give foot massages for an hour to her sore-footed friends!  You go Glenn Coco, aka Sarah! You are a SUPER SISTER forever!

Last but not least,  I would like to mention that I plan on continuing my shirts!  If you follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/bringyourownshirt.byos.rachele you can find my Facebook page with all the shirts I have made for DM donations!  Please like my page, browse through the ones I have made so far, bring me a shirt, tell your friends, & love a style that is your own! (I have a small example (above) of Sami & Tarah wearing their DM-related shirts & loving them up!!)  I raised about $300 on the shirts alone this years & I can't stop, won't stop.  VISIT ME AT: "BYOS: Bring Your Own Shirt" y'all FTK!

-Ciao

uf bucket list.

Everyone constantly talks about bucket lists... you know, those 100 things you want to do before you die.  I know I have one, gathering dust somewhere in the notes of my phone, promising that I will go bungee jumping in Australia, & go paragliding, & learn to sail in the Caribbean, & getting married.  But in reality, how many of those will you actually complete (hopefully the marriage one at least!)?  Because in the words of Paul Giamatti from Saving Mr. Banks, "A leisurely stroll is a gift."  Life does not always offer those bucket list opportunities, so when you are given that time for "leisurely stroll," jump on it.  You will only regret the things you didn't do.  

When I think back to my general life motto & the name of my blog, "Living in the Moment," I wonder, why would I create a bucket list... It is such a futurist mindset?  & I think I've decided that bucket lists exist so we don't regret. 

& the last thing I want to regret is my time here at UF.  A bucket list does exist in the UF world... it is called the F-Book & it consists of the usual, going to a Gator game, taking a picture kissing the Bull Gator, & eating Krishna Lunch, BUT

what it forgets to include are those underrated moments...

1. Sunsets behind the stadium

2. Listening to Frozen & watching bubbles float by after running through campus
3. Skipping along the road like no one is watching... "because skipping is the new walking." --Kerry Leonard

4. Having heart-felt conversations & forgetting about finals
5. Taking leisurely strolls to look at how beautiful our campus is
6. Gator chomping live alligators

7. Exploring the wetlands
8. Eating at Pearl's BBQ (aka an awkward, yet delicious gas station in Micanopy) & probably gaining 7638637 pounds in one bite
9. Running through Paynes Prairie in the rain
10. Being a goofball with your roommates & becoming best friends with your randoms

11. Playing soccer or hide & go seek(?) in the apartment

12. Having wine nights
13. Ordering Midnight Cookies (always)
14. Having sleepovers even when your friend lives down the street
15. Watching When Harry Met Sally over & over again

16. Dancing down the aisles in Publix
17. Swimming at Ichetcknee Springs even when it's FREEZING!

18. Sleeping in the sun in Plaza of the Americas
19. Hoping you're not the one who tumbles Century Tower
20. & remembering that you aren't anywhere else.  Doesn't get much better than UF.

I don't think I will regret a thing post-2015. #UFbucketlist

-Ciao

bahama mamas.

Usually during Spring Break I hit the slopes in Colorado with my family, which is always super fun, but as promised, I come back pale & with dry skin, while everyone else is perfectly bronzed & sun kissed.  Not this year ladies & gentlemen... I decided to switch up my tactics a little bit & fall under the spell of the "college spring break."  A vacation to me has always been the opposite of that typical "paradise."  The snow is my happy place, but sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet & cruise with the rest of them.  So I jumped into Spring Break 2014 with a cruise to the Bahamas to become a "Bahama Mama!" 

So my roommates & I set out on an adventure to Miami to set sail on the Norwegian Sky for 4 glorious days with crystal clear oceans, white sand beaches, tropical drinks, & relaxing.  It's like that song... "I like sipping piña coladas... & getting caught in the Bahamas with 368357247254 other college students... blah blah blah... & getting caught in the rain." Those are the lyrics, right?  Well, if not all those things happened anyway.

Well anyway, this week was quite the experience.  Compared to my casual family Spring Breaks, this crazy cruise ship was crawling with college kids drowning the pain of failed midterms in $9 drinks at the bars.  I am not lying when I say the ship had about 90% college students & 10% families.  & boy did I feel bad for that minority group.  The American families were aware of the college cruise phenomenon enough to steer clear of the ships, but the foreign families just looked shell-shocked at all times.  I don't know what they were saying, but the facial expressions said it all.  It's like they have never seen American students fighting over college football while double fisting a beer in one hand & long island ice tea in the other.  Seriously though... 

On our first port of call was an island owned by the cruise line called Great Stirrup Cay, where we took a tender to the island & snorkeled in the water.  There was a ship wreck in the water for us to look at & we took sweet underwater pics with my Gopro.  The only thing that is rough about the Gopro is that you can't view any of the pictures you've taken so it is legitimate torture waiting to see what you captured.  Especially on a cruise since I didn't carry my laptop with me!  But when you do it's comparable to "The Hangover," except with laughs, because of the attractive angles taken with the fish eye lens.  Kerry understands...

So after spending the entire day in the sun & swimming & barely finishing A SINGLE piña colada (really I drank about half & Rebecca jumped in to save me from Spring Break embarrassment), we returned to the tender.  I know... I am pretty crazy.  

Anyway, it was one of the last tender's back to the ship so we got some of the rowdiest leftovers.  At this moment we learned that the 3 main colleges aboard the Norwegian Sky were UCF, FAU, & then the smallest third, UF (Go Gator), which is important because "Drunkie 1," an FAU Owl in the flesh, was stirring up some real fights with his negativity on this past Gator football season.  I forgot how well those Owls did... oh wait. They didn't...  The best part of this encounter was when "Drunkie 2," a UF Gator gal, pushed "Drunkie 1" to the ground & the boat roared with claps.  & this was just day 1. 

Señor Frogs.

I literally don't know how they do it... they drink all day, they drink all night, & I am the one taking naps & falling asleep before the 11:30 pm dance party on Deck 11.  Are they robots?

On day 2 we traveled to Nassau, where we walked around the city for a bit.  We walked up & down the main drag before making the trek to Fat Tuesday right on the beach.  I was all about drinking the Bellini flavored slushee that tasted like smiles & laying out with my favorite roommates.  

By this time, the college students have been drinking for almost 3 days straight.  Still standing, slightly comprehensive, no recollection.  I think I may have been doing Spring Break all wrong... that's okay though because I still had a blast. No rAgrets (not even just one letter?).  If you don't understand, watch "We are the Millers," than you might laugh. Maybe. 

Day 3 on Grand Bahama Island, our last port of call, was a great wrap up of the vacation.  We tanned on that windy day, climbed some trees, played with babies, got flashed, had blue tongues, & danced like no one was watching.  You may or may not have caught the "got flashed" portion of that sentence... everything I say is true.  For real.

Overall the week was a blast!  I am so glad that I succumbed to the cliché college adventure & that I have some great side kicks to keep me going.  A big shout out to my parents for funding my strides, Caitlin's & Michaela's parents for their driving generosity, & for Kerry's family for the welcoming stays! I hope everyone had a fun & safe #sb2014.   

        

-Ciao

13.1.

What a whirlwind! 10 months ago I signed up for a half marathon... but not just any half marathon, the Disney Princess Half Marathon!  At the time, just the act of signing up for it gave me the butterflies.

Let's start from the beginning: before October 2013, I could not even run more than 3 miles without giving up.  Not only did I not like running, but this Florida heat is just rough... I have always been pretty active though, through soccer, lacrosse, snowboarding, & hiking, but there is something different about running.  There is no ball you are chasing after, there are no lifts to carry you up the steep parts, and there is no team to help you in a bind.  It's just you, your sneakers, & a straight shot.

I used to hate running.  Ask any of my high school teammates or my coach... I literally complained every time the word "conditioning" or the dreaded, "everybody to the end line" came up during practice.  How could I run (or sprint really) for an entire 90 minute soccer game, but start panicking at the idea of a full-field suicide?

The answer isn't really clear, but once I started college & I didn't have soccer in my life 24/7, I resorted to my worst enemy.  What is that saying again?  Oh yeah... "keep your enemies closer."  Well my enemy became a companion freshman year to keep away the true threat, public enemy #1, the horrid "Freshman 15, or really 25."

I reluctantly ran to make sure I didn't pack on quite that many pounds & started enjoying it a bit more.  The key for me is that I need a friend to keep me going.  When it's just me, no one is there to make sure I keep moving.  & I may have mentioned before... my self control isn't all that strong when it comes to chocolate & running.  But over the course of my 3 years in Gainesville, I wouldn't say I became an avid runner, but a few times a week I ran a couple of miles & thought that I was a ninja.  I wasn't.    

Anyway, just about a year ago when all my friends trekked to Orlando for the Disney Princess Half-Marathon, I sat back in the comfort of my own apartment thinking, there is NO, I repeat NO way I could ever run that much... those people are nuts.  But I still stared as their pictures popped up on facebook with some sort of uncontrollable jealousy.  & pretty much the next day a half marathon appeared on my ever-increasing bucket list.

So now we are back to October 2013: I can't run more than 3 miles, the weather is still blazing, I am already scared about the half, & I need new sneakers, but I know since I have never truly run before that it is time to start training.  8 am wake ups was rough... sometimes I would even hope it was pouring when I woke up so I would have an excuse, but I had to get my body in motion.   

I would like to send a shoutout to my 3 running buddies that I acquired over the 6 months of training: Bizzy LaRue, Lauren Maginness, & Courtney Hughes.  I literally could not have woken up early 3+ times a week to run in the cold or have moved across the start line without you all.  You guys are thebomb.com!  Also, a thank you to my parents for coming up to Orlando to support me & hug me even when I am sweaty & disgusting!

So the race... it was AMAZING!  Although I didn't stop to appreciate all the princesses, villains, princes, & mouses along the way, I got to dance to "Frozen," give some Mickey Mouse high fives, run through the Magic Kingdom Castle, take a jumping picture coming out of the castle, eat some Gu, stare at some weird costumes, find my parents cheering me on in the dark, run 13.1 miles without stopping, wake up at 3 am, & cross the Disney Princess Half Marathon finish line all for the first time!  Everything was 100% worth it!    
       

It was probably one of the greatest experiences I have had & although I am still sore & my body is asking why... I am happy I did it!  What's amazing about the human body is that no matter how often you say "I can't," you can.  As I mentioned before, 6 months ago, 3 miles was a huge feat, but with just a little dedication & some practice, the body can change!  It is all mental.  Get that "I can't" garbage outta your head & replace it with some "I can" because I know you can!
   

So to sum it all up...  get out there & try something you never thought you could.  Thinking is a whole lot different that performing & I think your body will surprise you!

-Ciao

mundane.

It's funny because your life tends to follow a routine... between waking up & eating dinner, nothing truly remarkable happens in a normal day.  I often sit in front of my blinking cursor wondering, did I do anything worth blogging about today?  Usually nothing gets written because the mundane occurrences of every day life don't seem all that exciting & honestly, it's hard to express "normal" when you have had the opportunity to express "great." 

Everyone wants that outrageous day to talk about... those semesters in Italy, those crazy instances of serendipity, that time you learned how to drive for the first time, New Years Eve, that time your cat knocked over the laundry detergent & caused quite the scene, when you won the championship soccer match, & 21st birthdays.  Because those days are memorable.  You know exactly what happened on those days of your life because they stood out against the rest, they meant something bigger than a scheduled day at school.  Usually I can't even remember what I had for breakfast because it was all just so... MUNDANE.  You could have done it with your eyes closed.

Recently I watched a movie called, "About Time" (with Rachel McAdams... if that peeks your interest), which explored a man's life who was diagnosed with the ability to time travel.  I don't know exactly what was so moving about that film, but it delved into the  concept that I love so dearly & try myself to live by... "living in the moment."

At first the main character's process was erratic & left him pulled in so many different directions, but then he realized that living each day twice let him enjoy the simplicities & greatness of the mundane.  He finally closed with this perspective on life: "The truth is I now don't travel back at all, not even for the day, I just try to live every day as if I've deliberately come back to this one day, to enjoy it, as if it was the full final day of my extraordinary, ordinary life."

If every day were Christmas or New Years, it would become mundane as well... that is what makes these marked moments on our calendars so special.  However, to get from point A to point B, we must sift through the mundane life has to offer.  & I will tell you, the mundane is actually what makes life so great.  Without it you wouldn't really be living at all.

The advice "About Time" offered inspired me to look at life in all it's simplicity.  To notice the little things... even if some of them weren't all that great, because each instance is what makes you YOU.

Ciao-   

my kinda cardio.

Thelma & Louise

Some people say shopping is easy, but I'll tell you up front, shopping is tough stuff.  I mean, we have all heard about those brutal Black Friday stories... some are practically on a whole new level of horror, but those shoppers we speak of are professionals. My mom & I are just 2 rather experienced, but not quite professional (yet) shoppers on a mission.  Partners in crime if you will.

But shopping isn't just a mindless game... it's war; it's exercise.  I'll have you know, just on our short outing to the Palm Beach Gardens Mall, my mom & I took 7,952 steps, burned 1,780 calories, & walked just over 3 miles. Ladies & gentlemen, the truth is out... shopping ain't easy.  Actually, shopping might just be the ticket to a healthy lifestyle.  Not only are you buying things to look good & feel good, but you look good doing it.  & it is easy to track it all with your handy (well, actually, wristy) Fitbit!  Shout out to AC (Aunt Cindy) for always picking out the perfect holiday presents!

Anyway, you got the legs when walking from shop to shop, you got the arms when carrying the merchandise like barbells, & you got the core from the crunches you do while taking your shoes on & off in the dressing rooms.  & sometimes (like on a Black Friday kind of important shopping day), you have to throw a few punches, kick a little, & huff & puff past the slow pokes to make moves in the nice shops.  Shopping is total body, kickboxing, & an ab workout all in one.  So don't feel guilty when you make that side trip to "Chick Fil A..." you deserve it!

I'm not kidding around either... you should have seen the sweat I broke while trying on sweaters today.  It took a lot out of me I'll have you know!  Especially when trying on winter sweaters... & in this Florida heat.  I mean the people up north have it easy because at least when they try on sweaters the weather is "fitting."

Not only do you get all this accidental exercise, but you are working the mind too.  All those numbers & sales & difficult style decisions... I mean those decisions aren't going to make themselves.  With all these sales we are really saving SO much money... it's a steal.   

So I guess what I'm trying to tell you is that shopping is not only important for your closet & your physical, outward appearance, but it is also crucial for your physique & mind.  Retail therapy is real people, but what you didn't know was that it's therapeutic to the body as well.

Who needs treadmills when you've got the runway down the Nordstrom's dressing room?  Or who needs weights when your lifting J-Crew, Anthropologie, & Gap all in one hand?  No one... this is a 2 in 1.  Shopping & exercise all in 1 package.  So ladies (I know I'm speaking to the heart here!)... GO SHOPPING because "shopping is our cardio."

& last, but not least... What does the Fox say?     

This is a T-Shirt... I think the Fox would say: "I'm honored to serve this country's malls & provide healthy living."

Shop-ping-ping-ping-ping-ping-ping!
Shop-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-ping!
Shop-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-ping!
... I had to.

Clearly a steal.

You heard it here first, but definitely not last! Ciao-