Updates!

Hey guys! So I decided it was time for a complete blog makeover. I renamed it, got my own URL, redesigned it and I'm feeling much better about it all. Like hip hip hooray good about it! So from this point on this blog is THE SUNNY SIDE! I still have a few tweaks to make (like changing that picture on the side that is FOUR years old..sheesh), but it's come a long way. I'm really into the minimalist blog look (if you can't tell), so I settled for a really, clean simplistic design and I feel so much better when I look at it. I hope you like the change!

Other things I've been up to lately....

My friend and I came up with a business idea a couple months ago and I've been really busy the last couple months working with her during my free time. We've hardly told anyone about it to be honest. However, things are coming together and hopefully we'll be able to launch in the next couple months! I'm excited to share what we've been doing.

It stormed all weekend here and today (Monday) we had a typhoon. I don't even know what number typhoon this was for the summer! There's been a good handful. Kind of a bummer when its bad weather all weekend, but nice of the typhoon to come on Monday because Duke got to stay home. Any extra day I get him at home is fine by me!

I've started listening to podcasts again and I'm loving them! I listened to Serial along with the rest of the world and loved it. I listen here and there to Stuff You Should Know, which I enjoy but it isn't super engaging. This last week I started listening to This American Life and Fresh Air and I am in love with them. Mostly This American Life. Such interesting topics that makes me think about things in new perspectives. I use to listen to NPR all the time in the car when I lived in the states, but since there is only ONE english radio station out here I kinda fell off that bandwagon too. But I really enjoy that kind of stuff!

The Hydro Flask water bottle has changed my life. My friend converted me and then I converted Duke and now we never leave home without them! Keeps your water COLD for 24 hours.  Or hot beverages hot for 12 hours (haven't tested that one out). It's a little pricey for a water bottle, but it makes it so much easier for me to drink my water when it's cold. Also invest in the flip top, if you are lazy like me and unscrewing a water bottle is too much work ;)

Tomorrow I start my 4th week of Kayla Itsines Beach Body Guides. It's a 12-week program of intense but quick (28 minute) workouts. Actually she includes 4 weeks of pre-training for beginners-so I'm in the pre-taining week. Still killer. I've been following her on Instagram for months, and finally decided I want to give it a try. This is the most consistent I have worked out since BEFORE having Lucy, so it feels really good. I dread them and look forward to them all at the same time. I'd highly recommend them!

Planning our trip to Taipei over Labor Day. It's such an overlooked country-but the more I research, the more excited I'm getting. It's just a hop away from us; about an hour or so plane ride. Perfect for a long weekend. If anyone has been there I'd love to hear your favorite things you did there. I love exploring this world!!!!! AHHH!

I'm looking forward to the rest of the week! I'm working on getting out of the house more with Lucy and really exploring this island. I can't get enough!!

Nakagusuku Castle

Guess what? Okinawa has castles. How very European of them, I know. Actually they're just castles ruins but they date back to like 14th and 15th centuries I believe. Saturday I ventured out with my friend Natalie to one of the closeby ones while our husbands went scuba diving. It was so extrememly hot outside, so maybe not the best idea for the summer. But we got some pretty views of both the Pacific Ocean and the East China Sea from the top, so I guess it was worth it. Out of the castle ruins I've seen here, this one seemed to have the most left standing. 

Lucy Meets the Splashpad

Weekends are sacred around here. They are the two days of the week that we usuallllly get to hang out together as a family. When the weather is nice I try to get us out the door and explore or do something that doesn't involve staring at the TV, because that's what weeknights are for ;). Sunday we had some down time, so we went to Torii Beach for an hour. We introduced Lucy to the splashpad earlier that week actually, but got some pictures this time. She didn't seem to love it, but she didn't hate it either. Mostly was just interested in the hole the water spouted from when it disappeared. I love that she is becoming more interactive though. It's so much more fun than the coma stage.

 Chilling on the shore where lucy likes to snack on the coral. It's ok because it's totally organic ;).

Hanging in the shade with the breeze from the ocean is actually pretty nice! I love these days when it feels like time slows down.

 I love my people!

Hamahiga Island

Back in JUNE we took a little trip out to Hamahiga Island. I really haven't had time the last few months to blog, so I'm playing some catch up here. I didn't end up getting in the water more than this picture shows, but it was nice to relax on the beautiful shore. No one else was around on this random beach we found which is always a win. We sat, chatted, watched Lucy eat coral, and combed the beach for seashells and sea glass. This life out here ain't bad!

I kind of think she is the cutest :)

Beach Bashing

Today we went down the street to Sunset Beach and celebrated my friend Natasha's birthday. It was so fun! I love having the beach so close to do fun things like this. We all brought a dish and had a potluck dinner. There's also this cute little mojito shack open in the summer that just makes it feel more fun and festive. Okinawa is a beautiful place, however my favorite thing about this place is the wonderful people I have met here. There's something really special about this place-being away from family and friends and America-that brings you really close to people. I've never lived and never will live anywhere like this again. It's so easy to make good friends with awesome people and I LOVE it. There is such a support network here that makes living away from loved ones a little easier. These are some of those girls for me! Not to mention they're all so pretty :)

Sidenote- I sold my regular Ergo and got the Ergo 360 today and I'm loving it! Took it for a test drive and Lucy slept through half of our time at the beach. Love her.

Birthday Girl!

 I love summer!