{i'm pretty sure}

{grace was born today}

my beautiful new niece grace was born today. that is the most important thing.

went hiking with boise last weekend at mcdowell creek. it was rainy and muddy, but we still had a great time. i was starting to get sick so hiking in the rain probably wasn't the smartest move, but i'm so glad we went.

i wasn't very prepared for the cold weather and mud. had to roll up my sweats and steal a hat.

ready for it to be sunny so we can go back and see what it looks like during a different season.

Josh Kelley "Home to Me"

{this life}

"This life is what you make it. Not matter what, you're going to mess up sometimes, it's a universal truth. But the good part is you get to decide how you're going to mess it up. Girls will be your friends - they'll act like it anyway. But just remember, some come, some go. The ones that stay with you through everything - they're your true best friends. Don't let go of them. Also remember, sisters make the best friends in the world. As for lovers, well, they'll come and go too. And babe, I hate to say it, most of them - actually pretty much all of them are going to break your heart, but you can't give up becuase if you give up, you'll never find your soul mate. You'll never find that half who makes you whole and that goes for everything. Just because you fail once, doesn't mean you're gonna fail at everything. Keep trying, hold on, and always, always, always believe in yourself, because if you don't, then who will, sweetie? So keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly, keep smiling, because life's a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about."

{amos lee}

loving my amos lee station on pandora this morning.

{that feeling}

nice to feel alive again.
i like that.

{you became significant to yourself}

You were born a daughter.
You looked up to your mother.
You looked up to your father.
You looked up at everyone.

You wanted to be a princess.
You thought you were a princess.
You wanted to own a horse.
You wanted to be a horse.
You wanted your brother to be a horse.

You wanted to wear pink.
You never wanted to wear pink.

You wanted to be a Veterinarian.
You wanted to be President.
You wanted to be the President's Veterinarian.

You were picked last for the team.
You were the best one on the team.
You refused to be on the team.

You wanted to be good in algebra.
You hid during algebra.
You wanted the boys to notice you.
You were afraid the boys would notice you.

You started to get acne.
You started to get breasts.
You started to get acne that was bigger than your breasts.

You wouldn't wear a bra.
You couldn't wait to wear a bra.
You couldn't fit into a bra.



You didn't like the way you looked.
You didn't like the way your parents looked.
You didn't want to grow up.

You had your first best friend.
You had your first date.
You had your second best friend.

You had your second first date.
You spent hours on the telephone.
You got kissed.
You got to kiss back.

You went to the prom.
You didn't go to the prom.
You went to the prom with the wrong person.

You spent hours on the telephone.

You fell in love.
You fell in love.
You fell in love.

You lost your best friend.
You lost your other best friend.

You really fell in love.

You became a steady girlfriend.
You became a significant other.

YOU BECAME SIGNIFICANT TO YOURSELF.

Sooner or later, you start taking yourself seriously. You know when you need a break. You know when you need a rest. You know what to get worked up about and what to get rid of. And you know when it's time to take care of yourself, for yourself. To do something that makes you stronger, faster, more complete.
Because you know it's never too late to have a life. And never too late to change one.

You’re going to come across people in your life who will say all the right words at all the right times. But in the end, it’s always their actions you should judge them by. It’s actions, not words, that matter.
Nicholas Sparks

{she bangs}

had a minor hair freak out thursday and went in the bathroom with a pair of scissors and completely wacked my bangs. they aren't looking real great. i will definitely need a missy intervention soon and will be calling her this afternoon.

valentine's day was good. took my favorite valentine out to eat at los dos. we were the only ones there without boys and madison was dying! oh well. had a good visit. got a sweet valentine from my mom and once from lance too. wore cute tights and great cowboy boots to work and had hot chocolate for breakfast and kettle korn for lunch.
all in all a very good day :)

{happy as the sun}

holy long hair!

happy as the sun today :)

took madison and haley to the coast all day on sunday. had a great time. ate at the brewery and sang at the top of our lungs the whole way there and back. so fun.

madison asked her first boy to sadie hawkins today.

she made the cutest t-shirt with a bunch of names on it and hers in permanant marker. the instructions were to wash the shirt and then all of the names except for hers would disappear. so cute and creative :)

the hi-lite of the night was when she called her big brother in college to ask him if he could th ink of any "grenade names" to put on the shirt. aka ugly/fat girl names via jersey shore.

love those two. so in aprope!! but, i love it.

{hey you}

{never give up....}

{live}

{the one you love...}

{more playlist...}

enjoy.

i had a really great weekend. for starters i went out on friday night with boise and saw the dilemma and then went out to dinner at los dos amigos. yummers. it was fun. we dressed up and everything. lol...

then we met megan and amy at favorite mistake and listened to them sing karaoke. so funny.

saturday was lazy and we just hung out at home....until about one million crazy crappy things happened to me. so, i did my usual. and went to my safe happy place which is my dark little bedroom. boise was having none of it and woke me up about 2 hours later. i came downstairs and had a brand new blender sitting on the counter, a big case of diet pepsi, and my favorite person in the whole wide world right now to snuggle with on the couch.

he made me margaritas, and tacos {all in a cute apron} and then we listened to music on the computer and watched t.v. together. it was really nice. and normal. and felt good.

yesterday miss madison came home. which can sometimes be a little sketch to get back in a groove. but, it felt like old times. we went out to lunch and then to the grocery store. she told me about boys and i told her about boys and we had a really good visit.

haley came over to stay the night and then i went over to boise's parents house to watch "undercover boss and desperate housewives".....i love that that just seems normal and perfect to me. came home and made the girls smoothies with my new blender. first batch was a disaster and second batch was better thanks to haley who actually knew what she was doing. madison thought they tasted better than orange julius which is great since that place costs $5 a pop!

waiting for boise to get here at noon to take me out for lunch. learning to let go of expectations and just go with the flow. it is making me happy. i don't always have to have a 5 year/10 year plan because in the mean time i am missing out on having fun today. which is a good lesson to learn for having madison home for the next four years. i feel like i always was saving for retirement and look where that got me? lol!! if i would have just enjoyed that money and invested it in vacations or time together things may have been different. live and learn and when i know better i will do better.

{40 dogs}

i have been trying to figure out how to put my playlist from grooveshark on here so you can hear what i listen to every single day.

music makes me happy lately. like a friend that is waiting for me when i get to work.

but, since i can't figure it out....i was thinking that every time i post something i could add the next song in my playlist to my little blog and you can enjoy what i am listening to too.

what a nice person i am.

{Sometimes you remind me of a moonbeam
on the ghost of a moonbeam
out on the beach down by the coast.
Slip into the nil like the most..
beautiful thing...
I've ever seen.}

and here is the second and third song in my playlist.

this is the live version, but i still love love love it.

have an amazing weekend. i am really looking forward to mine.

{always remember....}

you don't know me at all.

{the last few months}

i have been so busy and so blessed the last few months.

my dear sweet friend had a beautiful baby girl.

spending time with sweet friends. no! we really aren't this pale in person.

thanksgiving with my two favorite kids in the world.

madison at the turkey trot on thanksgiving morning. brrr! her first 5k!

annual dinner at the mikesell building in dowtown albany....huge success!!

making 60 centerpieces in 5 hours for celebration of trees

madison and zachary at the house on christmas eve.

madison making her favorite cookies. the silly freezer dough reindeer ones from the grocery store. i think about half were eaten before they were even baked.

and dinner made by my personal chef last night (including a flower apron) love it!!

so far 2011 is looking pretty great!

{she is love}

what are you listening to?

right this very minute....i am listening to my happy song. :)

{all in all}

things dont stop when others announce they're moving on