I’ve been a bit quiet around here lately. I promise I’m still working hard on lots of things happening over here! It’s been nice to take a break from the hustle and bustle of life and really slow down to think for a bit about the growth of my business, family life and where I see myself over the next few years. This winter has been particularly cold and dreadful in the midwest, though it seems most of the country had the pleasure of experiencing the same ickiness in some capacity. I’m so looking forward to warm temps, green grass and some time playing outdoors with my boys. I was listening to Mumford & Sons on our drive back from O’Hare after our week long vacation to Florida (more on that in a minute) and though I’ve heard “Winter Winds” a million times before for some reason a lyric in the song stuck out to me.

“And if your strife strikes at your sleep

Remember spring swaps snow for leaves

You’ll be happy and wholesome again

When the city clears and sun ascends”

I was sad to leave the sun & warm salty winds of Florida and all it represents. The lyric reminded me of the “new” feeling we all experience as we see life again in the world around us. Flowers begin to surface from the deep underground, trees see the light of day, birds chirp merrily. It’s a feeling of rebirth and starting anew. It’s a wonderful feeling and I’m so happy I live in a place where I can experience new growth and all the different seasons. It’s a transformation of sorts. It reminds us that spring will always come, plants and flowers will always grow and the sun and all its glory will soon make us “happy and wholesome again” as Mr. Mumford reminds us. Those days in the sun and living in Walt’s magical kingdom cleared my head, mind and soul, just as I thought they would. Mumford and Sons reminded me that there is always an opportunity to start anew. By the way, if you haven’t been to Disney or seen Mumford in concert, I’d highly recommend both 🙂 Probably not together though 🙂 I captured this shot of the fireworks display of Cinderella’s castle. It was beyond magical. I never quite understood why people loved Disney so much. I was imagining a glorified Great America or State Fair prior to visiting. I was so utterly wrong. I said to my husband after our 3rd day living the Disney Life, “people come here because this place is so far from reality, you forget about the real world” that of course was Walt’s intention, escape from the real and into the magical. Everyone is nice, sweet, delightful and kind. People are helpful, the park is clean, the process is organized, efficient, and carefully curated to produce endless hours of fun and enjoyment. Disney should take over the government. Maybe we’d all get along better, huh? Ok, I’m kidding but people that actually care about customer service and providing an exceptional experience just don’t exist.  You’ll only get that at Disney folks. Every person we encountered embodied the Disney brand “Have a magical day” they’d say in a peppy voice. Why yes, yes I will have a magical day. Thankyouverymuch! “The city clears and the sun ascends” The snow is melting, the sun is out, we have left our house. The boys had a magical day playing outside in the not freezing temps recently. Thank you mother nature, we appreciate the fist bump. Keep it comin’ sister! After our magical trip, I’ll be eating this for weeks. You need a Disney detox diet after visiting. We indulged in one too many homemade treats on our trip, that’s what vacation is all about right? BTW, this is the best salad ever and it doesn’t taste like diet-y health food. The dressing is the best part and it’s made of juice from an orange, tablespoon of olive oil, pinch of sugar, salt, pepper, shake it up and drizzle on yo’ salad. Yumo.

I’ll be blogging more about our Disney experience, probably on my other blog though, I’ll keep ya’ll posted on that soon too!

Hopefully this random assortment of ramblings finds you well! Happy spring! I can’t wait to see some green, how about you?