Family Dinner

Last week, I had some family come to town. Luckily they came just a few days before Debby and could enjoy some sunny Florida weather. I come from a big big family and getting together is a big deal. There was a lot of early morning visits (6am early), sharing pictures and stories, and eating. Lots and lots of eating. It was a feast almost everyday leading up to the super feast the night before they had to leave. It called for a whole day of cooking and prepping. By the time I got home from work, everything was already done. The table was set with Vietnamese BBQ, greens and noodles for making hand wraps, with sides of homemade crab rangoon, papaya salad... pies... fruit. So much food.

This little guy stole the show the whole night.

Too much cuteness! 

These flowers. They were not picked from my yard or bought at the store. I'm pretty sure they were plucked from my neighbors yard. When my family gets together, we do some crazy things. Sorry neighbors. 

Thoughtful Thursday: Long Distance

We've been together for three years. Four this year. When we're together, we love to just bum around and watch shows.  We love spending the day together. We just simply enjoy each other's company. A few months ago, I graduated and got a job, and everything we knew was flipped upside down. We now live 2 hours away from each other when we were just 2 minutes apart in Orlando. As this month comes to an end, and he gets closer to graduating, the distance between us will only grow more. It's going to be a difficult living apart for who knows how long and managing our relationship long distance. But I think this will be good. I'll definitely need some help, but it'll be good.

These pictures are the outtakes of our photo shoot a couple weekends ago that I promised I would post. We're just being silly. When I look back at them, I remember how much I loved that day. Despite having to trudge through some weeds and twigs scratching at my legs and encountering wasps making themselves at home by our feet. It was a lot of fun, and I think even though we were goofing off while the camera snapped away, we were fortunate that it captured who we are. They will be a constant reminder keeping me strong throughout our separation. We've only got a few more times to be together before we enter into the abyss. Yes. I think that's what I'm going to call our long distance. The Abyss. 

Thoughtful Thursday // Friendship Beyond "K.I.T."

Lately, I've begun to rekindle my relationship with old friends. Many of them I haven't seen or heard from for years. But even though we've changed and we're finding our own place in the world, the connection between us hasn't faded. We're able to be around each other and not have it feel like we've been disconnected for four years. We just picked back up from where we were... like nothing changed.  I think these are the friends that I was meant to have. So no matter where this world will take us, it's nice to know that nothing will change so much that we're not still friends. 

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Thoughtful Thursday

Truth be told, I'd love nothing more than to bask in the sunlight, sprawled out on a soft blanket and nuzzled between pages of a fascinating novel. I love the nature's simplicity and the beauty that lies beyond the hills, in every tree, flower and river. How perfect would it be to go on a road trip on open roads with beautiful landscape, frolic in an open field or picnic out by a lake with someone you love. 

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