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Friday, July 26, 2013

on balancing blog life…

 

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via

I haven’t been good at balancing my blog life lately.

I find myself going on runs with Stella and returning with a hundred blog topics at the forefront of my mind and lots of photos ready to share because July has been such a jam-packed month of happenings.

But somehow I’m not finding the time to blog about them.

Instead, I’ve been enjoying the impromptu moments around the house and staying out in the main room with the family instead of blogging. The irony of trying to experience things more fully is that it often means not grabbing the camera. And not having time to sit in front of the computer. Have you noticed this too?

Although I do keep a personal journal.

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And I do try to get keep current in my journal because truthfully, I no longer trust my memory.

I mean seriously, most of the time I have to work hard to remember where I parked my car so getting bits of conversations down so I’ll remember the little things is important to me.

Like this conversation the other day when I was telling Jim about my face fiasco.

About how I was rushing around trying to get ready to head out to San Francisco with Tracey and Mary and Kirsten and of course I wanted to remove my old nail polish (because god-knows-I never-seem-to-have-my-nails-done) so I grabbed the nail polish remover and my facial astringent and cotton balls (more multi-tasking) out of the bathroom and hurried down the hallway…and while I was talking and walking I dipped the cotton ball into the astringent and applied it all over my face. But suddenly in mid-sentence, I noticed the stark lemony smell and looked down and realized I’d just covered my entire face with nail polish remover!

For a horror-stricken moment I imagined strolling down the picturesque Union Street with a red blotchy face and I tore into the bathroom and began maniacally splashing water all over my face...

(don’t you hate when this happens?)

Anyway these things happen to me when I don’t have my glasses on and I when I’m going 100 miles an hour. And I always end up laughing out loud at myself.

Literally. I will stand in one place and find myself belly-laughing so hard just thinking about some of these things I do.

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And so I’m telling Jim this story and he laughs and gets this amused grin on his face and he says,

“I don’t remember you being such a character Les.”

And of course my literary ears perk up at that word.

A character? Like what do you mean…a character?”  I say.

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And I’m envisioning the beautiful, spunky Elizabeth Bennet with her flowing mane blowing in the English countryside and I share this vision.

And he says, “No… actually I was thinking more like Lucille Ball.”

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Hey watch it. I love Lucy!

Before I go here’s a snapshot of some special moments from the last few weeks.

This month we’ve been blessed with visits by dear friends; we saw Steve and Grace after so many years and they brought two of their grown up boys (now men) along for a wonderful evening of catching up.

Steve and Grace and Jim and I all waited tables at the same restaurant during college and we have so many fun stories and memories. We met our spouses at the restaurant, although Jim and Steve also grew up together and I have to add that they are two of the funniest guys I know.

Unfortunately we don’t see them much because they moved their family to Oregon twenty years ago.

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the old guys against the young ones courtesy of my cell phone..

We drank the best red wine and the guys played ping-pong and the years just seemed to melt away. It’s like that with old friends, don’t you think?

This month I also had some wonderful birthday moments.

 

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This text came from Tracey who is one of the most thoughtful people in the world, and I’m serious.

I had planned on doing an entire post about this amazing trip to San Francisco with the girls but of course, I haven’t yet.

But here’s a few photos to give you an idea of our trip.

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IMG_3808This was the first place we stopped for coffee. We ad-libbed pretty much everything, which I loved.

How about you? Do you like your getaways to be planned or impromptu?

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What I love most about San Francisco are the charming little coffee houses, bookstores and flower shops everywhere!

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I lost track of how many shops we stopped in.

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Here’s my dear friend Mary who cannot take a bad picture. We made her model this $500.00 dress while we were shopping on Union Street. I like to brag about her because she’s so darn humble. Last weekend she completed a five mile race at an eight minute mile pace, isn’t that impressive?

( not a bad pace for a 53 year old!)

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I love car rides because you can have the best conversations during them…

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I discovered the most yummy beer ever!

It’s called Blanche de Bruxelles

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It’s hard peeking into a nine million dollar home….

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But we had fun admiring the exterior.

By the way…

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If you’re interested in starting a journal or writing about your life, here’s one of my favorite books on memoir writing by the wonderful Abigail Thomas.

 

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Last night

watching Bourne Identity with Jim--instead of blogging--because I love anything with Rachel Weisz

And finally.

How are you balancing your life this summer? I’d love to hear.

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Wishing you a big fat belly laugh in your future.

 

xoxo

Leslie

 

linking up at these lovely places:

 

18 comments:

Sunflowers With Smiles said...

I can relate to your post, my memory slips some too! I do the same thing when I go shopping , having to find car when I come out of store.

I love San Francisco's coffee shops too, I especially love Oregon and Seattle's coffee houses too! Sounds like a memorable time with friends.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Kelly

Art and Sand said...

You are hilarious and that's why I love reading your blog- and the sweet comments your write to me.

San Francisco is fun even in the rain. I love to visit my daughter and walk through her neighborhood - corner of Union and Steiner - not a $9 million house. Every time we go to a better restaurant and better coffee spot. I wish we lived closer to visit her more frequently.


Sarah said...

Your posts are always inspiring to me. I often think about how to actually balance all things in life, not just blogging. The process of creating blog posts is very time consuming for me, but I enjoy the creative outlet. I just need to learn how to be more efficient about the process and the time it takes to visit and comment on other blogs.
Love San Francisco! Years ago, when my husband had occasional business trips to SF, I would tag along and spend hours walking to explore the different neighborhoods. It's a magical city for me, right up there with Paris! '-)
Happy Birthday! ~ Sarah

Debra@CommonGround said...

"life" is much better than sitting at the computer! sounds like you've been having a wonderful summer!

Blondie's Journal said...

Leslie...there is just so much to comment on in this post! First, you know I keep a journal. Obviously! Because we do forget. I used to insert photos, too, back in the day when we had them developed. I think that a lot of time "living" is replaced by sitting in front of our computers. If it helps...jot down ideas for a post and then do one when you have the time.

I've always wanted to see San Francisco...maybe one one day! :)

XO,
Jane

At Rivercrest Cottage said...

Loved your story of prettying your face with nail polish remover. I started blogging to share my craziness with my 3 daughters in other states. I wrote about how scrubbing bubbles doesn't work well as hair spray and if I was so smart how come hubby talked me into loading and unloading rocks while he relaxed on the grass and put the rocks in alignment! The beauty of blogging is your children can share your life no matter how far away they are. And looking back always makes me laugh.

Lottie said...

Wonderful post!

Dayle ~ A Collection of Days said...

I loved catching up with all of your comings and goings. We loved the city by the bay, San Francisco. I hope to go back one day.

I can also recommend the book by Abigail Thomas. I've had it in my library for years and still enjoy it.

As for balancing blogging and life, I often say you should make sure you're living life, and not just blogging about it, so you go, girl!

Gypsy Heart said...

A beautiful post, as usual. With the complete turnaround in my life, I highly recommend "living each moment" with your loved ones and good friends. We are not guaranteed tomorrow or even the next 5 minutes. Create beautiful memories rather than staring at the computer.

I guess that sounds weird as I so enjoy your posts but you know what I mean. Life is just so precious and the blogging can wait.

I absolutely LOVE San Francisco and, like you, adore the book stores, coffee houses and all the gorgeous flowers! My first visit there I wanted to buy a bunch of flowers. :)

Thank you for the book recommendation. I need to get back to my journal and I am very interested in creating my memoir. The lack of memory at times seems to affect us all...I know my mind is like swiss cheese lately.

I so appreciate you, Leslie, and thank you for making me smile today!

xo
Pat

Anonymous said...

OMG! If I had been drinking something when I read the label on that wine bottle, it would have come squirting out my nose! That's hilarious. Glad you are reveling in the joys of summer. Impromptu is the way to go =)

Leena Milligan Lanteigne said...

What a fun trip! I haven't been to San Francisco in years! Your friend looked gorgeous in that dress! I'm glad you enjoyed such a fun birthday! Hugs, Leena

Leslie Harris said...

Pat,
I’m so glad to hear from you and occasionally see you commenting around blog land. I think about you often and your family too.
I can only imagine what the funeral services and the following weeks have been like for you all… and it makes sense that what you’ve gone through would be such a transformative experience. The kind of loss that shakes you to the bones and makes you grasp the importance of ‘living each moment.” You speak the truth my friend. We are not guaranteed anything. And in the end, it’s only the relational world that truly matters, the quality of our relationships with others that will give our life meaning. The depth of our giving to others, and the smiles and hugs that we elicit. Everything else is icing on the cake.
I’m happy I made you smile and I bet you would be so fun to visit San Francisco with!

I don’t know if you ever saw the post I was inspired to write following your granddaughter’s accident. But just in case, here’s the link.
http://gwenmossblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/gratitude-apologies-and-real-friends.html

xo
Leslie

Unknown said...

Happy Birthday Leslie! I looks like we are just a couple of days apart (mine is July 15th). I can't help but laugh at your story of mixing the remover with astringent. I live in fear of mixing up remover and my eye makeup remover. I have now separated them into different drawers. Your trip to SF with friends looked fab.
Finding the balance with blogging? It really helps that I'm off work for 7 weeks in the summer. It's bliss. Having enough time helps me find balance. Great post!
xx, Heather @ Stylemindchic

Lori said...

OK ~ I snort laughed at your nail polish remover / toner mix up ~ it is something I would do as well. Sometimes multi tasking does not work. I know we emailed about balance and blogging during the summer months ~ I have been doing a lot of reading and not too much writing or commenting myself. What a great trip you had and belated Happy Birthday to you my friend. xoxo

Yvonne @ StoneGable said...

Happy belated birthday!!!! Looks like you had a wonderful time on your little trip! I had to laugh at your cute story... My hubby Bobby says I have the "Lucille Ball factor". I see you do to. Welcome to the club!

michele said...

great food for thought, leslie. what a fun girls trip! this summer won't go down in the books as the balanced one. but it is the summer of moving forward and taking things moment to moment.

michele

p.s. i have to watch bourne whenever one is on!

Monica said...

Ohh Leslie, I love this story so so much. If it makes you feel any better, I recently brushed my teeth with Neosporin and made my husband call poison control bc I though my throat was closing up!! Also, thanks so so much for reminding me to journal - someday my words will be all I have when I want to really remember what it was luck to snuggle with a toddler in the morning.:) I've taken a break from "personal" blogging and miss it - You have inspired me so much! xo

The Divorced Lady's Companion to Living in Italy said...

Well I won't be wasting good on wine on trying to get back with the exes. No way! One of whom's visit I am already dreading...
I'm not balancing anything this summer either but at least I haven't put astringent on my face! That was so hilarious. I've had a trip to Paris for work, then a trip to Cornwall for work, then some severe culture in London. Now I'm back cleaning up the house after my twenty-years-olds held the fort.. X

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