a new (and exciting) month ...

Hey there and happy August!

The last week of July was such a blur for me, lots going on. But let me start with the BEST part of all ... Buddy's visit to the cancer clinic yesterday. It was time for his remission progress exam, bloodwork, and lung X-rays. Such a time of panic and anxiety for us! But ... everything came back FINE !! We are SO thankful !! Outside of some signs of aging, like mild cataracts and a bit of arthritis in his back, Buddy is doing incredibly well on chemotherapy!! Thanks to everyone for your prayers and concern and well-wishes.

I took a day off last week ... spent it at The Spa at The Breakers resort in Palm Beach. Not that I frequent such swanky spas, but it is a perk of living locally and having a giftcard from my sweet husband! Sal had given me a giftcard for Christmas 2008 ... yes, over a year and a half ago! Life had just been too crazy (and at times too difficult with Buddy's illness) to slow down and fully savor a spa visit. Or, as I like to call it, a "spaaaaaahhhhh" visit, LOL. So, I booked a kiwi-coconut body scrub, and it was delightful! They use sea salts from Bali for the "scrub" and then add in the tropical fruit oils for skin hydration and a heavenly aromatherapy.

A bit of serendipity added to the day's pleasure ... I arrived early and asked if they had any water aerobics classes going on that day and, sure enough, one was starting in just a fw minutes! So I hopped in the pool and joined the fun ... the teacher took a pic of a few of us:

The weather was perfect ... bright sunshine, blue skies, warm but not-too-hot because of a nice ocean breeze ... so I decided to stay for lunch and indulged in a veggie burger with a (virgin) pina colada, sitting poolside and overlooking the ocean.

Afterwards, I napped in an oceanside hammock slung between 2 palm trees (so inviting!) and then spent time floating in one of the resort's 4 beautiful pools.

Overall, a day of true relaxation and tranquility ... I needed it! Thanks, sweetheart, for a wonderful gift! I enjoyed it a little late, but loved it just the same.

I'm SO excited about August ... this month will be filled with exciting and fun times! Soon Sal and I will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary and we have something SPECIAL planned (stay tuned for all the deets!). Yes, our "big" celebration will be in Maui later this year, but we couldn't let the actual day go by without some fanfare, right?!?

And in mid-August, the movie Eat Pray Love will hit theaters. I've been waiting all summer for it! I loved the book ... can't wait to see it come to life on the big screen. And HSN will be airing a special EPL series of shows. I'll be tuning in to what exotic goodies they have, all inspired by the memoir's journey through Italy, India, & Indonesia.

This month is also a special anniversary for Sal ... 10 years ago, he began his work as a professor. Sweetheart, I wish you many more years of fulfillment in your professorship and research endeavors! Love you!

Wishing you an August filled with fun as summer (unfortunately) begins to wind down....