oh love


I know I've mentioned this before, but, the fact is, the longer I'm in Atlanta, the more I mean it.
The absolute best part about being far away from people I love is getting go take great trips to see them (e.g. here, here, here, here and here), and vice versa.
But, the worst part is when they leave you. And it always leaves me wondering two things: why do we live so far apart? And how long can I sustain this?
When my mom left Monday morning, these were two questions I couldn't quite shake from my mind. I feel pretty strongly that all of us are where we are supposed to be right now - from jobs, to school, to life situations - everyone seems to be in the exact right spot for this moment. And yet, I just couldn't quite shake the sadness I felt all day after I said bye to my mom. I.e. Lauren Alaina's Like My Mother Does came on my Spotify and I started crying a little bit...

So the first thing I did is one of my mom's top life lessons: I organized my purse. Because taking that tiny bit of control back always feels right.
Then I read this quote in my devotional and realized that yes, it's very sad being far away from people you love. But, at the same time, every situation has its ups and downs, and the best thing we can do is be grateful for where we are, and see the half-full glass for exactly what it is: running over with love. And that's just plain lucky.

foot update

Is that the sexiest title, or what?
Well, today is a wonderul day. Not just because political commericals are over (!), but also because I get to do yoga for the first time since breaking my foot. I'm ecstatic!
I'm going to a Vinyasa Flow class tonight and can only imagine how sore I am going to be tomorrow after taking five weeks off.
I'll be sure to report back with lots of zenny details.
Happy Wednesday!

king of savannah

Remember how I told you my family stinks at resting? I am fairly certain Duke is the worst at it (no offense, Dukie :)).

He's basically just a machine. I am not actually sure if he feels physical pain, and he's insanely focused. Growing up, my parents often had to remind him to eat, or remind him that he was, in fact, sick, and should probably take it easy.

This weekend, these traits were wildly apparent when he ran dominated the Savannah marathon. Sub-eights, plus negative splitting - yes. for 26.2 miles. Insane! He's amazing!

I was planning on attending the race, then my mom decided to come surprise him, too (yaay!). She flew into Atlanta, then we drove to Savannah Friday night. We got a real kick out of it when Duke called us both and we lied about what we were doing, since we were actually doing the side-by-side, en route to cheer him on.

We surprised him at mile 21. Afterwards we asked him if he saw us, because it didn't seem to register, and he said he thought he smiled and waved. He did not :) Focused, I tell ya. But after 21+ miles at the pace, can you blame him?!

After the race, we explored and dined in Savannah.


The next day, we dropped Duke off at school, then came back to Atlanta. We made a quick roadside pitstop along the way because my mom had never seen cotton before. After many an Indiana corn shucked, she felt it her Midwestern duty to check out the cotton fields, too.
It was just wonderful, as always, spending the weekend with them. Way to go, Duke! We are so proud of you!

thank you // edible schoolyard

Before we get down to business today, I want to extend a HUGE and ginormous thank you to everyone who repinned, reddit and shared my bucket list. My blog saw a big jump in activity and I'm so grateful to everyone who passed it on! It is so much fun to watch people enjoy and participate in something I created. I'm really just speechless by it! So thank you :)

//

In other ATL news, last week I had the pleasure of attending an Edible Schoolyard event hosted by SPARK, a local elementary school. If you're unfamiliar, the Edible Schoolyard started in California a while back, and has spread across the U.S. It allows kids to spend time at school gardening, then they use the vegetables grown on the local level (get the full story). 

SPARK spent all fall growing kale and spinach and then harvested it last Monday morning. Monday night, the kiddos donated all of the produce to Murphy's (yum!), who used it in their salads, then donated a percentage of the sales back to the school.

Everybody wins! 

I had so much fun being there, especially while watching how excited the kids were to try kale for the first time, learn about healthy eating and enjoy the fruits of their labor. 

I'm going to start volunteering at events more - and maybe even help in the garden if my schedule permits. I'm so excited about the new opportunity, considering it combines a lot of my favorites things (healthy eating, being outside, children, the Highlands...).

If it's your jam, you should find one in your neighborhood and do it, too! And then tell me about it. :) I really can't encourage it enough! It was so refreshing, and I only wanted to steal like 10 of the kids.

Just kidding.

Kind of.