For today’s totally random lunch, I credit the aggressive grocery budget Danny and I put ourselves on in July. Well, that and the fact that I really, really didn’t want to have to make a trip to the grocery store this morning.

So I decided I was going to scrounge up something quick and unexpected for lunch. One round of veggie chopping and a turbo-cook cycle of the rice cooker later, and I was sizzling up some fried rice in the wok. We had “nothing” in the house. Just some carrots and onions and rice and soy sauce and frozen peas and corn. Just exactly what we needed for fried rice.It wasn’t anything fancy, but it tasted a lot better than my other options (“nothing” and “stale Saltines with PB&J”) and involved a lot less driving/time away from work than going to the grocery store. So this lunch clearly earned a W.

Also, I liked the colors of the fried rice. It looks like fall, inside a wok. And since it’s rainy/humid/still pushing 90 on most days here in Florida, I’ll take a bit of pre-fall where I can find it.

Something else I like right now: Dreaming big. Again. As usual.

I say that, as if big dreams are as much a part of my daily routine as brushing my teeth or wishing I didn’t have to go to the grocery store, but the truth is, there are often lulls between the dreams, quiet R.E.M.-like interludes in which the necessities get taken care of but I don’t feel like life is charging forward the way I do when the dreams loom large and inviting. Well, today they’re looming. They’re large. They’re inviting. Some are in the process of happening. And some others are getting mapped out today with permanent ink and with a clear plan of action, because big dreams are only as good as their execution, as Danny likes to remind me every so often. And quite honestly, while I don’t want to ever stop dreaming, I want to stop dreaming the same dreams. Because once a dream comes true, I’ll be ready to move on to the next one. To charge forward.

Here’s to dreams, old and new, realized and coming-to-pass and far out on the horizon. I feel like I should toast to them. I almost feel like some champagne is in order.

(But that would mean a trip to the store.)

~ Laura