Ten on Tuesday

1| I finally got to the arboretum over the weekend. It's one of my favorite places in the metro area, but I don't get there as often as I'd like. We had a few sprinkles to start, but after a bit the clouds cleared and left us a beautiful day. I love meandering the paths and taking in all the amazing color.

2| I've been watching the U.S. Open. Oh, how I wish I could be in the stands. I'm watching a great match between Djokovic and Dolgopolov. First set: {6, 6} {12, 12 in the tiebreak.} Simply amazing tennis.

3| I saw a Ted video featuring Sheryl Sandberg, an executive at Facebook and it really resonated with me. She talked about why there are so few women leaders. My ears perked up when she said not enough women sit at the table, both literally and figuratively. Too many times women are on the sidelines, (yes!) even when invited to sit at the table (yes!) and we are often underestimating our abilities (yes!). We also have difficulty accepting praise for our achievements, instead saying it was a team effort or it was luck (yes! and yes!). I need to keep reminding myself of my accomplishments and my abilities and that I have a lot to offer the world. To not shy away from opportunities to grow. Such a hard lesson to learn and just live.

4| I recently had dinner with a friend and we decided to start a book club. I love when great ideas are cooked up over a good meal.

5| Some not so fun news. My credit card number was stolen. I only used the card for online purchases, so I'm very unsure about shopping online now. Thankfully, the company caught the fraud immediately, but no word on where the number was stolen from.

6| School starts tomorrow for my nieces. My nephew has been in school for a couple of weeks already. I'm wishing all of them a fabulous year of learning and growing and meeting new people and having fun. I can't wait to hear about all of their adventures.

7| I made a blueberry crisp yesterday. It's already half gone. Quite tasty if I do say so myself. I've been tempted to lick my plate clean. Instead I take another piece.

8| I enjoyed reading this interview with Kal Barteski. An amazing blogger and artist. She is one of a handful of blogs I read everyday.

9| I'm sad to see the long weekend end. I enjoyed letting myself relax and breathe evenly. I have a week ahead full of new experiences and opportunities to shine. I'm definitely putting #3 into practice.

10| I made my annual trip to the State Fair this year. Along with my parents, my sister and her family and my brother-in-law's family were all there too. Trying to coordinate what everyone wanted to do was a bit challenging, but it was fun to have my nieces there. They've never been. Shocker! I will leave you with a picture of me with food in both hands. A common sight from the day.