a weekend recap

it was a lovely weekend, full of sunshine and summery activities...

~ friday night there was a wonderful and touching film with a good friend followed by meandering through midtown and dinner at an outdoor italian cafe. yum.

~ saturday was a totally needed, soul-refreshing day at the beach with my lovely roomie. {jones beach is just a "short" bus then subway then train then shuttle ride away. whew. but all that is forgotten once the salty sea air hits my face}. the weather was perfect, and sitting there on my beach towel with the waves crashing and the breeze blowing, i was filled with so much joy and hope. there is something about the ocean -- really it just seems as if anything is possible. and those areas of my life that seem hopeless or that typically cause me angst suddenly become so *light* and hopeful. yesterday, i delighted in just staring at the water and taking in deep gulps of fresh air, thinking, praying, and reading a few chapters of this amazing book that i got last week...sooo great. it stirs my heart and gets my creative juices flowing.
the day at the beach was then followed by a very new york kind of night, again spent with roomie: dinner at the trendy Loft, followed by drinks at the even trendier Pastis ~oo la la~ then a stop at the new "hot spot" night club Home. it was literally a velvet rope kind of club (my first time at such a place) and i didn't think we had a chance -- but leave it to my roomie to work her southern charm....it's like magic! we were in within minutes. although we soon realized that since we were neither 23 nor the sorority-girl-type, this was NOT the place for us. so we left. and after a very brief stop at our neighborhood karaoke bar, we headed home, exhausted from our day of adventures. (note: my saturday nights are not usually so "glamorous," but it's fun to take advantage of the new york night life every once in awhile!)

~ today before evening church, i spent the afternoon at the park. it was almost as lovely and refreshing and hope-filled as my day at the beach! in just under 2 hours i saw a wedding photo shoot, a rollerblade party, an african drum fest, hippies selling rainbowed bracelets, a live free concert, and a comedy show. oh, and of course the puppies and kittens and babies, O my! and all the beautiful people -- my goodness the people were so beautiful! sun kissed and smiling and happy....from all over the world, speaking their beautiful native tongues. there was just such a vibe JOY in the air. how could there not be though? central park is always so *magical* -- but particularly on sunny, humidity-free days such as today.

overall, a wonderful and refreshing weekend. now, back to work. arg.