Friday Happy Hour: I {Heart} ______

Summer

Swimming

The Beach

Hikes

Good Books

Museums

Fine Art

Festivals

and

New York City!

What is summer but adventure? A time to seek out new horizons, taste life, get your feet wet, jump right in and explore…you know, do all the things you didn’t have time to do while being too busy the rest of the year. But like the Europeans taking the month of August to lounge at the beach, I feel like it’s time to take off and enjoy life on a different level than I do during the other nine months.  And since I don’t have the ability to stay at the beach for a whole month, I have found many other ways to make a great vacation out of the local attractions. Lucky me to live where there is always something to discover!

We will have visitors for the next couple months and will not find it difficult at all to check off every one of the things on our to-do list. Besides lots of swim time and family time, I have been extraordinarily lucky to take a mini trip to New York City this week. Yes, I love it as much as Paris and I have come home intoxicated with the sights and sounds of this great city. It has inspired me and I will carry the heart of NYC for a few more days before I return to our own Charm City and fill my dreams with new stories to tell.

This was the best week ever. What more could I possibly ask for?

New York City, Time Square, by Kellee Wynne Conrad
http://www.mylifewithmonkeys.com/

New York City, Highline Park view, by Kellee Wynne Conrad
http://www.mylifewithmonkeys.com/

New York City, 5th Avenue, by Kellee Wynne Conrad
http://www.mylifewithmonkeys.com/

New York City, Highline Park view, by Kellee Wynne Conrad
http://www.mylifewithmonkeys.com/

New York City, Empire State Building, by Kellee Wynne Conrad
http://www.mylifewithmonkeys.com/

15 Minute Vignettes

In those few moments I have stuck between waiting for the water to boil and the dryer to finish a load, I have found myself with a new artistic release. Phonography and word art created on my mobile devise are filling in the creative gaps. I know it would be better if I had pencil in hand, but I am satisfied to have created something, anything at all. And what I never could figure out with the fancy Photoshop programs, I have managed to conquer in minutes with a few phone apps. Who would have thought that this little machine could do more for the average person than the first computers that took up the space of warehouses were capable of doing? But here I am, lifeline in hand, taking pictures, editing pictures, and communicating with the world!

It’s just one of many distractions that is keep me from the real thing, but in the busy moments of my life I am happy to have an outlet and I am happy to share it with you. Enjoy these little vignettes!

If you’d like to join me on instagram, I am there with my signature calling: @mylifewithmonkeys.

Dear Blog,

I am sorry I abandoned you this month. I thought I needed a break, but it turns out I needed you more. You see, I didn’t take time to get things done, I didn’t focus more on other priorities, I didn’t whip up a storm in my studio, and I certainly didn’t discover the meaning of life. No, without you I just got lazy and lost my way. I thought about you sitting here waiting patiently and still working hard to get my message out to the world wide web without me, but with no new content you were becoming old news really fast. And I was becoming just another girl with no direction.

Here I am to confess to you that I need you. When you are on my mind, I know I think consciously about my life and what message I am sending about its purpose.  When I have to confess my intent every week, I make a better effort to live life with meaning. When I share my passion about life right here, it increases happiness in my life tenfold and quite quickly an average life becomes a more vibrant and extraordinary life! So, my dear blog, it seems as if I need you more than I thought and if for no other reason, just to be a better person.

I am going to keep you on my schedule of important things to do and we will work out what direction we are going along the way. If I wait until the inspiration strikes, then we might be waiting a very long time. But If I just share with you where I am right now, we can simply take this journey together. We can do it; me, you, and a couple of dedicated readers…

Thank you for understanding, thank you for having my back when I need you the most, thank you for giving me a chance to share what’s on my mind.

Sincerely,

Kellee Wynne Conrad (artist, writer, dreamer, positive thinker, queen of the house)