
Crossing the George Washington Bridge on our way home from Long Island, early July
(August, darlings, it’s August!)
What is it that I usually say here? Oh yes: Welcome to this week’s edition of…
Friday Gratitude: The July High!
There are so many things to be grateful for as I look back on the last five weeks. July, my friends, was my happiest, busiest month of 2013 so far.
1. I’m grateful for all the delicious food I ate in July. Plus, a lot of it was either donated, free, and/or from our garden!

Waffles made with garden zucchini and basil, with local wild raspberries!

French toast made of gifted cinnamon swirl bread, and more wild raspberries

Homemade smoothie with spinach and parsley from the garden, plus yogurt, berries, and banana.
2. I’m grateful for taking the time to appreciate sunsets.

Burger Hill, Rhinebeck, NY

Jones Beach, Wantagh, NY
3. I’m grateful for my health insurance that just went into effect. First time since 2005! What a huge relief.
4. I’m grateful for challenges and the opportunity to learn from my friends and loved ones. Every interaction, every conversation we have is a chance to grow- be it from hearing a friend’s insight, a verbal misunderstanding, or maybe making an assumption about someone. It’s important to pay attention to our words and how we convey them. Thank you, universe, for teaching me these lessons <3

The universe provides some fabulous reflections 🙂
5. July has been unbelievably filled with abundance. I’m grateful for generous, thoughtful, and kind friends! Did you see my excitement on Twitter two days ago about all the free clothes I received? Andy posted some photos from a photo shoot featuring all the stuff that didn’t quite fit, but here’s everything I am keeping:

Skirts, dresses, tops, pants, and sweaters! (I know, terrible folding job here. I’ll never work in a clothing store ;))
Plus in July there was beach time, festivals, family get-togethers, great desserts, baby-sitting, lots of friend time, and my return to jogging. It’s easy to get carried away with how overstimulating the height of summer can be, but I think I kept myself in check- for the most part 🙂
What are you grateful for this month? Did anything exciting or noteworthy happen in July? What are your weekend plans?
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…But because truly being here is so much; because everything here apparently needs us, this fleeting world, which in some strange way keeps calling to us. Us, the most fleeting of all.
Ah, but what can we take along into that other realm? Not the art of looking, which is learned so slowly, and nothing that happened here. Nothing. The sufferings, then. And, above all, the heaviness, and the long experience of love, just what is wholly unsayable. –Rainer Maria Rilke
The French toast looks amazing! I love the sunset and reflection photos. Happy August! 🙂
Check out my blog post on Sunday, August 4th, for a Sunshiny Surprise for you… You’ve been nominated for The Sunshine Award!
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
Lorelai @ Life With Lorelai recently posted…Sour Cream, Cilantro and Parsley Potatoes on the Grill – Printable Recipe
Thank you, Lorelai, and Happy August to you, too! A Sunshine Award- how nice, thank you so much!
I am grateful for the fact that I got some fun pool/friend time in July with my kids! 🙂 And that summer has been better than I expected. Stopping by from SITS Saturday Sharefest. Your french toast looks DELICIOUS!
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Pool time is always super sweet! Glad summer has beaten your expectations and yup, the French toast was even better than it looks 🙂
I love gratitude posts! They always remind me of how blessed I am! I’m grateful to read blogs that are so positive and uplifting!
I’m always grateful for your comments, Katherine. You know how to make a girl feel good!
What an amazing month for you!
I am grateful for much this month. Getting syndicated on three major sites, new clients for my little business, friends, my children.
How wonderful, Alison! Getting syndicated must be huge for you! Thank you so much for joining the gratitude party.
Looks like a fabulous month for you girl and you scored with all those new clothes. I love the photo of the sunset and that you actually wrote that you took the time to appreciate the sunset. A lot of times, we glance at it and move about our business, so you’re right, we should take time to actually sit back and enjoy it because there is nothing more beautiful than a gorgeous sunset or sunrise. There’s also something so comforting about sunrise, it’s like a new start and your slate is wiped clean. It’s a fresh awakening! I hope August is an even better month for you! xoxo, Jackie
Thanks, Jackie- just like with early mornings, I don’t see sunsets as often as I would like to, but I really appreciate it when I do.
Hoping you have a great August, as well!
Found you on Meg and can’t wait to read all about Kingston, NY. Love the waffles and that smoothie looks totally delish. Thanks for sharing your photos. Have a great weekend!
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Hey, Madison, thanks for coming on over from Meg’s page! I think I might make a similar smoothie for lunch 🙂 Enjoy your weekend, too!
I had a wonderful July! I miss it, although I’m trying to remind myself that August is a very big month and school isn’t until mid September. I’m grateful for our garden which has given us a ton of food, as well as blogging connections that really strengthened for me in July.
I’m glad your July was so nice too, Tamara. In fact, I agree with everything you said- except school begins in just three weeks for me :\ But hurray for garden bounty! And making new friends via blogging 🙂
[…] Last week, it seemed that there was a lot going on- events and nonstop action. This week, I’ve still been busy, but more in a getting-things-done kind of way. Checking things off the ever-present To-Do List and moving on to the next thing, which usually leads to a nice sense of satisfaction. […]