enJOY it by Elise Blaha Cripe

magic monday.

I had a great Christmas weekend.

magic highlights : getting the giggles in the Christmas Eve service, so much good food & too many cookies, getting a mile run in both days, baking the perfect bread, video chatting with Paul, making lots of progress on the built-in couch recover project & scoring ornaments on sale.

magic monday.

Don't worry, I didn't forget about Magic Monday in the rush to post the downstairs tour. I'm overwhelmed by magic at the moment. Found mostly in a setting sun and a rising full moon. And also in the fact that thanks to Time Warner and not the crazies at Verizon, I've got internet access in my house.

It's December 12th already. I love it.

magic monday.

Magic is realizing my new place is so close to the beach.

Magic is getting in my first beach run.

Magic is toasting the new home with a beer.

Magic is walking down the street for coffee.

Magic is the ocean in the morning.

Magic is laughing about a bathroom full of mirrors.

Magic is getting organized.

Magic is having my parents in town for 48 hours to help unpack, clean, paint, decorate and act as electricians.

Magic is getting even more organized.

Magic is a second run in my new town.

Magic is finding a happy note on the floor in the midst of all the chaos.

Magic is really seriously being organized.

Magic is still (and always will be) how lucky we are to live on the beach.

Magic is Christmas decorations sneaking out of boxes to join the party.

Magic is finding a super close farmer’s market and picking up a succulent.

Magic is starting a beach rock collection.

I am settling in faster than you can say, “Open that box!” Watch for more sneak peeks (from an actual camera - not a phone) this afternoon. It’s going to be pretty photo heavy the next few days. But text, so much text, is coming.

magic monday / on a tuesday.

After reading about this, I set a goal to run at least a mile every day from Thanksgiving to New Years. I started the day after Thanksgiving, so yesterday was day four...and so far, I'm four for four. The real challenge, of course, begins today. The past few days have just meant running twice around my parents 0.7 mile block and looking for the prettiest pile of leaves to take a photo with. If I am able to keep running through the move and while settling into our new place, it will surely be magic.

So today, instead of dwelling on the craziness ahead, I am celebrating the joy that is getting my heart rate up and fresh air in my lungs. And I am taking deep breaths and reaching down to my toes to summon every inch of patience I have to get through this move.

magic monday.

MAGIC : the stripes are gone. I don't want to admit how many coats it took. But I knew I could stop when I could no longer see where to paint. For the record - totally, totally worth the hassle to have them for seven months.

MAGIC : USC won a huge football game this weekend. That would have been rad on it's own, but even better - the game was on espn3.com. We don't have regular TV/cable so I watch everything online and rarely do they play our games. I was so happy to be able to see the whole thing. I was even happier to get slightly delirious phone calls from my dad and friends immediately after the win.

MAGIC : talked to Paul for over an hour and a half Saturday night (Sunday morning for him). That has never happened - not just because he's deployed, but because I hate the phone.

MAGIC : celebrated happy hour with an old friend on Friday night. We always connect so very well.

MAGIC : met a new friend on Saturday morning!

MAGIC : this was my last weekend in San Diego. I will be in Sacramento all week and then it's pack up and ship out! I am so excited for the new place. Like my freshly painted walls, it feels like a clean slate.