a few things.

1.  red mango.  this if one of my favorite places in my neighborhood.  it's a frozen yogurt bar, with dozens of healthy toppings, like fresh fruit and granola and dark chocolate.  but it's frozen yogurt like you've never had before--tangy and creamy and completely natural.  i went there after my run today and ordered a huge cup with strawberries and blackberries.  PERFECTION.

2.  so so so much homework to do in the next month.  i'm kind of in denial about it.  which is why, even though i stayed home tonight to do homework, i'm sitting here watching this week's episode of 'lost' for a second time instead.

3.  and here's another reason to love jason bateman;

oh, tie me to the end of a kite.

I've been itching to travel lately.  To get on a plane and go explore a new city.  Or even a city I've been to before, like Seattle or San Francisco, but didn't really have a chance to fully tackle the first time around.

Here is a photo of Seattle.  Doesn't it just look like the perfect place to spend an afternoon??  Bliss.

But here I sit in my office in Chicago.  Thinking about how I have class tonight, and then will go to the gym, and then will write an audience development plan for my marketing class.  And even if I had the time for a vacation, the money just isn't in my bank account.

But really, I shouldn't complain.  As much as I would like to escape right now and spend an afternoon on a hill with friends and fly a kite, my life is good.  And maybe I need to be better at the living the life right in front of me...instead of dwelling in my favorite land of nostalgia or pining for my next adventure.  That can be difficult, when past experiences are remembered as being so perfect and the future seems to hold so much promise.

But fully living and embracing the possibilities of each day is something I want to get better at.  I love sitting in bed at night, reflecting on my day, knowing that I worked hard, didn't waste any time, and managed to laugh along the way.  I need more days like that.

And I bet, if I look around, I could find a kite hill, like that one in Seattle, in Chicago.  Well, maybe not a hill, but a similar spot.  All cities have them, I think.  It's just a matter of opening your eyes to discover them.