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the happenings of May

This month like the previous ones just seem to have flown by… Today I feel really blessed that our hard work continues to pay off so that we can live and be in a place that we want to be in. We may seem ‘really really busy’ with work but the mornings looking out over the ocean, lunch walking around the neighborhood, or an evening swim in the pool below us really makes everything else worth it. And the TIME we get to spend together is more than either of us could ask or hope for. :)

adult only pool

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Sunrise from the pool area

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The pool beneath our balcony

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I got to see TWO of my FAVORITE people in the world for a hot minute at the very beginning of the month… It had been 2.5 years since I saw Gillian last and Ciara almost 5 years!!! Way too long – but it was as if we hadn’t missed a beat and could just pick up from wherever. I met both of them in Australia in 2006 – we all lived together for over 7 months including in Egypt…so will always have some amazing memories with them and hopefully more to come in the future!

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Ciara, Gillian and Myself

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kath. ciara. gill

The first full week of May it gets busy in Jacksonville as THE Players PGA Golf Tournament is hosted here every year… This year we went on the final day to see the players live – was in the 90s with the humidity index bringing it to well over 100+ degrees so our 13 miles of walking around with little to no shade was quite exhausting this year!

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Ernie Els in the Pink

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Rickie Fowler – Winner of the Tournament

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Adam Scott – Australian

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Tiger Woods – A lot of fun to follow

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Famous 17th Hole

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With that said it is very enjoyable to be there and see everything right in front of you and for Cordie to get to connect with others in the Golf Industry.

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We are THRILLED to have balcony furniture now!!! We picked up these chairs and outdoor pouf at Target and received this amazing lounge chair in the mail a week later! They all match perfectly, look great, are comfortable and just what we’d be hoping for…

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Selfie Stick Pic

We spent two days up in Amelia Island for a Florida Golf Qualifier… such beautiful golf courses in that area.

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Hanging out in Becky & Judd’s new backyard

We spent Memorial Weekend with our good friends the Clarksons.

dante car

He loooves the car

I am still helping out my friend Jordan with her puppy Dante a couple days a week…

pvb posts

Hope you had a beautiful month and are looking forward to june!

The thing is though – on here we have our highlights of the month our life… not the days when we are slammed for 36 – 48 hours working straight on projects and not doing much more than working, eating, sleeping, all week (like this last one) maybe sitting outside while we work (like I am doing now writing this post so I can be outside) so our pictures and posts aren’t too discourage you with where you are at but hopefully encourage you to be thankful for what you DO have and where you ARE —->

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Legacy

 Something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past.

Today is Memorial Day in the United States and is also the same day my grandmother, also known as Bita (shortened for Abuelita in Spanish) passed away four years ago.

In waking up this morning and remembering the men and women who have chosen to sacrifice their lives, time, separation from their families so that we may live in safety and knowing it is the day my Grandma had passed away I have been thinking a lot about Legacy.

What does it mean? Have I left a good one so far or will I continue to build a better one and fill the shoes my Grandmother left behind?

Grandma Bassett holding Donald

This is my Grandma Katherine Myers Bassett holding my little brother Donald the day he was born, March 5th, 1990. Always so tender and attentive to who she was spending time with in the present.

Bita was so genuine when she would meet new people, ask you questions about your life, she would write names, birthdays, addresses and phone numbers down for everybody and had a systematic spot for each little note card with the information on it.

She loved her husband, her children and each of us grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She never stopped cooking or cleaning or making sure everyone had enough to eat of their favorite food or her homemade lemonade – that was usually tart but always so good.

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Grandma as a teenager in Mexico

I remember as a child getting to go to their house after school or daycare and she would let me eat as many pickles, cookies and ice cream or her homemade chocolate chip cookies before dinner and/or instead of dinner when my parents weren’t around to enforce me needing to eat ‘real’ food. :)

Grandma, Elizabeth and I

For our birthdays she would create a treasure hunt (sometimes with the help of Grandpa/Bito) that would get the whole family involved walking around the house and their yard with usually the amount of clues for whatever age one of us was turning and at the end of the hunt was always an envelope with money to match that same age (ex. if I was turning 9 I would get $9).

Grandma and Me 2009

I loved that she loved us each wholeheartedly and permeated a spirit that made you feel so special, comfortable and accepted no matter where you had come from, what life choices you had made there were always welcome arms at their house.

Grandma Katherine and Me

What legacy will I have?

Will I be someone that gives of myself, my time, my attention, will I give my energy to engage in genuine conversations with individuals of all types and backgrounds? Will I remember their names? Will I remember birthdays, anniversaries and moments that mean so much to them?

What is your legacy?

Do you TAKE and engulf everything out of the people around you? Do you ask questions because you are noisy, an information seeker for your next line of gossip? Are you one of integrity and honesty? Love and respect? Am I?

Do you look at life wondering how you can make others feel special and cared for or look at life wondering what they will do for you? What they will GIVE you if you continue to befriend them? How much time do we have to create or change our legacy and what others perceive us as?

Bita - March 2011

I will never forget taking this picture of Bita… it was one of the last times I got to see her and I remember how she wanted me to bring her a brush and hand held mirror to make sure she looked okay. :) Which was such a precious moment to witness as she had been apologizing for not making any sense or the fact that her thinking wasn’t very clear but in all reality everything that she said came out perfectly with great love and care which is the very thing she always was and I hope to be remembered as some day.

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High School or College Portrait

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Thank you Grandma for being you and always accepting us as OURSELVES.

grandma bassett

<3 For leaving a legacy that I will never forget and hope I can pass on. For always sharing great wisdom and speaking truth.

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April…

…went by way tooo fast! We moved to a new condo on the beach… had a great week celebrating my birthday… friends (basically family) were near by for over two weeks…Easter with my best friends inlaws…their 40th Anniversary Party…it was a very full month of spending time with people… unpacking… reorganizing and enjoying life in our new location!

Living Room

Living Room

Dining Room

Dining Room

Kitchen Kitchen

Master Bedroom

Our Bedroom.. yes we can see the ocean from bed. :)

Office

Looking into our Office (smaller than our last place but we gained a lot of outdoor work space and a larger living room!)

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Just over a month in we are loving our decision to move onto the beach instead of getting a larger house in the suburbs!

 

Birthday Dessert

Judd is my bff’s husband and he and I share the same birthday! :)

We enjoyed our house warming gift from Cordie’s father… the ‘Selfie Stick’ there will be plenty more pictures taken with it and from our balcony!

Selfie Stick 1st wake up
Above is from the first morning we woke up here!

Selfie Stick Bday

Selfie Stick Easter

 

walking to beach with cass family

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We took HUNDREDS of pictures while the Cass Family took their holiday nearby… We really do miss seeing them on a regular basis but cherish the moments we do get to see them here in FL and in MN
(planning on visiting family and friends this June/July)!

Other highlights from the month of April:

– Cordie loooves our beach walks together, walking to a variety of coffee shops to work every Monday

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– We both ride my Birthday Beach Cruiser present at least 4-5x a week to the grocery store… literally anywhere within 5 – 6 miles here on the beach :)

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– I am watching a friend’s puppy a few days a week (since he was 8 wks now almost 12wks old) his name is Dante
dante bone

dante sleeping

– These are my nephews Eddie & Walter – Golden Doodle Brothers and I hang out with them every once in a while :) They are about 5 months old now

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–Opening of the Beaches Parade is always a blast!
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–Mostly just so blessed by our new home and that our lifestyle has changed dramatically! We are up before 7AM everyday and are both trying to be very active whether its swimming, walking, riding the bike or going to the gym!

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Color Me Rad 5K

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Jordan, Becky and I before the event started this past Sunday – Nice and clean. :)

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4,000 people lining up waiting to start the 5K – There were all sorts of people there – kids, elderly, families.

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During the middle of the race… semi colored…

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It was a lot of fun to see how much color we each got after running through the ‘color stations’

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At the end we were given ‘color bombs’ to throw up into the crowd and the three of us had more fun than you can see below!

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Even in the 45 degree weather we still had a blast as none of us had ever ran a color run before and definitely will again!

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The great thing about the new Iphone 6 and 6+ (was on the 5s too but we never had one) is it’s burst feature that captures 10 frames per second and is perfect for action shots!

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Have you ever participated in a color run? Hope you LOVED it and if NOT you should!

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3 miles a day… well almost

I recently read this story about a guy who turned 65 and decided he would start walking five miles everyday…. he is now in his 90s!

With that in mind I decided to challenge myself and hope Cordie would join in.

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And so far our first week he has! We started on Sunday…above is Monday when we walked nine holes together which is about 3.5 miles (yes it was chilly for here).. Tuesday we walked the beach during our lunch breaks…

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As you can see Wednesday the weather was beautiful so we walked the front nine at the course we are members at!

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Today is our rest day and I am hoping to walk at least three miles 5/6 days a week.. Do you have any spring goals?