Where's Abby (+ Dylan and dogs)

Finishing the 11th day (in a row!) of my 30 day yoga challenge is officially the most consistent, committed thing I've ever done. Not really, but close to it.  My year anniversary with Jacksonville, living under the SAME roof, in a couple of weeks will be a major milestone too. Got Leslie in on the yoga madness yesterday too! Even after Al's Pizza $1 wine night. Commitment . So much goodness. My casual walk to the pier tonight turned into an amateur gymnastics show, flying attempts with the powerful wind giving me kid-like vigor, sporadic lunges, and a random sprint to home at the end. Here's to being a kid again.  The kid section in the library is one of my new favorite hangouts.  Oh hey, look what I did.  Painted these bad boys this week with the help of Meryl. DIY Success! Chalk paint is the best! DIY success! Chalk paint is the best! Sounded like it needed to be turned into a chant.  Lastly, if anyone is moving and hates unpacking, I gotcha. That's one of my...

Happy weekend!! My weekend will be busy with work, working all three of my jobs. Nanny tonight, tutor in the morning, nanny tomorrow night, Daniel Sunday morning. Dad pointed out that I'll be able to tell my future kids I used to work three jobs to get by. So enjoy relaxation time extra for me! So I got into my "not much blog-worthy stuff has happened lately" thinking in the last couple weeks but I suppose it has.  1. One being an extremely impressive drag show. Finally. my first drag show, and it blew me away. They were some  Beautiful queens. Not to mention there was a crime scene for a shooting right next door. Kinda crazy. After said drag show and discovering Nick's hidden talent for dancing, we chilled with stranger friends we met on our walk home in their high rise apartment with a ridic view of the beach, left my purse and all importants at their apartment, didn't realize til home and tired, and my most irrational option led to a trip to Hom...

Happy 1st of September and Labor Day, friends!  The last couple of weeks have been filled with greatness liiiike... Lots of fun with this guy... Two half days at work very well spent. On Wednesday, Nick and I had planned to paddle board but a date mix-up led us to a Fish Fry  Grill with his team, hosted by his generous sponsor parents. They grilled up a portion of their 200lbs of personally caught Alaskan salmon and halibut. Fantastic. If only we hadn't just indulged in some deliciously filling MShack burgers, I would've enjoyed it even more! It was like an excited lightbulb went off in my stomach when I finally became hungry enough to eat it.  We spent the next day paddle boarding, Lemon Barring, and stumbling in on a Sam Hunt concert at Mavericks . The end of the night transformed from a unique situation into a fun, exciting and strangely romantic night.  An incredibly enjoyable time at a concert with Neighbor John and Leslie, cu...

I've been waiting for the go ahead to post this for like a week now because of some exciting news I include. It's been a good couple of weeks in the world of Abby. Here are some of the things I'm grateful for lately.  Going to my first  Reggae Sunday in St. Augustine with Dana, Martin, Will, and Milton. What a place for people watching... Old man with crazy, salsa-like dance moves all around the dock and funky smelling tent, old lady with crazy bejeweled hair net and... chest squares? It looked like she used the jewels preteens use to bedazzle their cell phones for a chest decoration. We said these two probably "came to Reggae Sunday 20 years ago and never left." We're such "consistent smilers."  Will and I had a Cute Niece Contest. Adaleigh won with a forfeit after one video of the precious angel baby's smiles.  A surprise birthday dinner to celebrate Mr. Chad Baker. I've been back in Jax for like 10 months now and had probs only seen the ki...

Had yet another beautiful slap in the face reminder to get out of the house yesterday. The last couple days, I've come home wanting to just laze it out and watch movies and sleep. Fortunately, today I saw a post from Lynch's Irish Pub reminding me of the art walk going on just down the road !  Just as I was contemplating heading to Publix to get the supplies to make baked goods (paleo at least) and veg on the couch watching Frozen to catch up with the kiddo culture, I realized I now had an art walk to pass through. Definitely  getting out now.  I rode down the street to find surprisingly unique artists along the sidewalks. I think I was expecting the typical palm tree paintings, hippie clothes that are  supposedly handmade but mysteriously look the same as every other hippie booth, and some sea shell jewelry. Not so. There were definitely some cool ones here. I found some sweet art and artists alike for some future gift ideas and good conversations. Jax Beach Art Wa...

Happy Friday and First of August, friends! This week's been an interesting one for sure. The highlights could basically all be dedicated to Willis but I'll include a couple others.  1. Number one will go to hanging out with a new friend we're appropriately calling Wild Man on Monday. We stuffed our faces with awesome burgers at Poe's, played some laughable games of pool, and attempted dumpster diving for some flowers. None were to be found and we were a little disappointed in our grossed out reactions. Gotta keep trying. I haven't laughed as much as I did this night in maybe ever.  2. Now. Local Friend Willis . After meeting him on Sunday, Wild Man and I took his much desired Coke to him. After swimming, grocery shopping, and cooking (some delicious fish tacos), we came back to find him still dancing away in the ocean. Tonight I took him fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. " Do you like chocolate chip cookies? These are right out of the oven!...

Last night's slightly bummy mood was quickly turned around after a Dip in the Sea, followed by some Observing in the Sand. I smiled at the tough looking high school/college kids playing hand slapping games we'd play as kids in line at Disney. (Cousin Lindsey! ;) ).  I also spotted a homeless (which we're now calling LOCAL from now on) man dancing away in the sea. I laid there for a while, remembering that night  months  ago that I ran passed him by the pier. He brought a smile to my face then, watching him dancing with so much joy. I contemplated stopping to tell him this simple fact of the joy his  joy spread, but I kept running, immediately with regret but not enough conviction to turn around.  After another time, seeing a Happy Go Lucky old man shoveling away in the sand, building what looked like a giant moat, (but rooms said was probably him burying his wife), and letting  that interesting Character Conversation pass too, I vowed to never let that happ...