warmth.

the sun came out today.

we spent it wearing sunglasses and sunscreen
at the park, barefoot on the sidewalk, on a blanket on the front lawn.

ev crawled through the dead, prickly grass and examined the cracks on the pavement.

we went down the slide and back and forth on the swings
we ate cupcakes at the park with sticky hands.

the afternoon found us covered in dirt and sunshine and sweat.

it occurred to me to snap a few pictures of mr. sun as he made his final decent towards the west.
this day was good for my soul.

finally friday.

old collage from one of the blog posts i restored---holla!

hello! how has your week been? it's friday and the vow opens today. do you have your tickets? are you getting ready to go? i bought tickets for myself and some friends just this morning and i swear to you i scored some of the last seats in the state. it almost feels like a mini twilight premiere, no? channing tatum don't fail me now!

we've been home most of this week. evie picked up some sort of flu bug and anytime i even think about leaving the house she starts coughing and gagging and crawling into my lap to be rocked, and you just couldn't pay me a million dollars to drag her to the grocery store right now (okay maybe you could pay me a million dollars, but i won't accept less!). hoping she starts feeling better soon, because i had/have big plans for this weekend.

since we've been home-bound, i've been desperately trying to fix the blog during evie's nap times these past few days. our hard-drive is full and the pictures need to be moved to an external hard-drive & i really, really want to fix the blog before i wipe them all out. it's been a daunting process, trying to upload all those pictures again and i've learned a few things about myself in the process...

1. i take lots of pictures. like,  thousands of pictures. and i post way too many on the blog (some of these posts had 40+ pictures on them, i kid you not.)


2. when i import pictures from my camera to my computer, i like name the folders things like "mmmmk" and "random" and "whatever i don't know". this makes finding pictures for old posts so fun!


3. i should never cut my bangs again. never, ever. can someone please remind me of this the next time i convince myself to cut my bangs. dear self: NO BANGS.

4. we've had some great times & i am so glad i have been blogging about my life all these years. sometimes it's hard to even remember what things were like pre-evie, but then i read our newlywed posts and cringe/cry because some of it is just so cheesy sweet.

i'm hoping to have all my photos uploaded again by the end of next week. that's my goal-so help me! so far, i'm most excited about these specific picture-heavy posts being restored in all their glory!! (i think number five is my favorite!)

one | two | three | four | five | 

cheers to the weekend!

to remember.

Source: twitter.com via jessica on Pinterest

i pinned this the other day and haven't been able to stop thinking of it since. i decided it deserved its very own post here on the blog. i love this quote and hope to keep it in mind this year.

the state of affairs this morning.

me: matted hair. drank some orange juice. still in pajamas. actin' a fool.
g: studious. skyped into class. doesn't appreciate the wife's silliness and interruptions. scruff.
evie: bathed. dressed. ate rice cereal and a banana. thumb in mouth. napping.
my closet: needs to be organized.
the bananas: are almost ready to be baked.
my jackets: i love them with my whole heart!!
pandora: bieber.
date night: was last night.
sushi: is gooood.
ryan gosling: was in my dreams.
i own: red pants!
i also own: green ones.

 

thank you for listening.

nightmares.

this is actually nothing compared to some of the things we've seen this little man do in his sleep (usually it's more like this), but this is the first time we've caught any of it on tape. i'm always rooting for him to catch whatever it is he is chasing. such a funny pup. we love him.

and sorry about the creepy 24 background noise. g is loving this season & i am loving g (so therefore, i watch). are you watching? can't lie, even though j bubba was named after jack bauer, i'm kind of over it.

i would just like to say.

that it is absolutely ridiculous that i require this many pillows to sleep at night.

can't sleep at all with just one.
i'll struggle with only two.
quite enjoy three,
but four is ideal.

poor husband (he doesn't sleep with any pillows at all).

in other news: doesn't my bed look oh so festive?

baby, it's {muggy &} cold outside.

this morning, i couldn't see the city through my bedroom windows.
a thick layer off fog crowded the air and hid the sights i usually admire.

i ventured into the living room and found a boy asleep on my couch
he was my brother & he was fully clothed with a puffy coat still zipped to his chin.

i made him eggs and packed him a lunch
and after he left, i met his better half at the mall.

i played santa and bought myself a few things
because i've been extra nice this year, and patient, too.

finally, i drove through the snow to my cozy home
and worked on a few christmas surprises with a pup on my lap.

later, g came home and made me spaghetti with italian sausage
as i danced around the kitchen and sang christmas songs.

it was a good day.

lately we've been:

• taking lots and lots of finals (her)
• finishing up the semester (her)
• not studying for the lsat anymore (him)
  
• decorating the christmas tree (much too late, i know)
• baking cookies
• having brunch with old friends (her)
  
• sleeping in (her)
• drinking steamers
  
• working hard for the money (him)
• making christmas lists
  
• buying new snow gear
  
• sleeping all day (them)
• enjoying unemployment (her)
• counting our blessings
• cooking breakfast before church
  
• using the cocomotion
• babysitting littles
  
• blasting christmas music
• planning surprises
• getting ready to spend 4 consecutive weekends at the cabin
• filling up our calendars
• having snowball fights
• building snowmen
  
• and watching movies in bed.

it's the most wonderful time of the year & life is good with this little family.

my brothers are funny.

and i mean, really really funny. which is quite honestly my favorite thing about them. i'm not all that in to twitter, but i do check out my brother ryan's page, simply to chuckle over gems like these:

• My door key isn't working at my parents house anymore. Either the cold has frozen the lock or this is their way of telling me I'm adopted.
• My 4 year old niece told me to "grow up already" when we were playing Barbies. See if I ever bring my Barbies to her house again.
• I don't let my baby watch Barney the Dinosaur because it teaches children it's fine to hug and play with large carnivorous animals.
• Boss just called in sick. He said he was going to lay down for an hour so I shouldn't bother him. Like a good employee I plan to do the same
• My baby just threw my cell phone and hit me in the lip, & she thinks its so funny. I always thought children were innocent until I had one.

and finally, my personal favorite:

• People ask me why I'm not on Facebook. It's simple, I prefer to remember old girlfriends before they got ugly.

touché.

away.

as you've probably guessed, i won't be blogging for a little while. i have lots to share, but i need to survive this week {and finals} first. i'll be back when life calms down again.

xo.

{rip} little red samsung.

you know what i think is really fun?

put your cell phone in your back pocket and forget about it & then go to the bathroom a few hours later. just wait, because here comes the fun part! as you sit down your phone will most definitely FALL INTO THE TOILET and be broken forever, even if you take it out immediately & google every life-saving trick imaginable.

try it!

i think it's really fun!

in limbo.

"some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. delicious ambiguity." -gilda radner

this quote perfectly describes our life right now.

this is what happens when i'm sick.

my sink starts looking like this:

because i spend all of my time here:

and ps...how 2 people can dirty that many dishes in a 48 hour period is a mystery to me.

i miss this face.

today i got a really sweet, loving, understanding and encouraging letter from k. it was completely out-of-the-blue and just what i needed. it made me so grateful that even though i can't see him or talk to him every day, he still gets me and we still share a special understanding and friendship that can't really be described. so so grateful for my little brother.

this is my quote mirror.

and these suckers are specifically chosen to shut me up when i am feeling negative, discouraged or down. lately, i've been considering just tattooing them to my forehead already. what do you think?

ps. no, not depressed. just stressed & impatient. we're friends, so you get what i'm saying, right? also, thanks for your nice comments about our gettysburg pictures. it really was as beautiful as it looks and i think you should go there, too. more pics of our adventure coming soon.

life is good.

thanks so much for all of your dc tips.
thanks for taking the time to help me plan.
and thanks for being my friend.

i have a lot on my mind these days & lots that i would love to write about
but i also know that tonight i need to clean, do homework, wash clothes, pack and play with my pups
so that's what i'm going to do

but i just wanted to say thanks first
and also, isn't mr. briggs so cute?
g took these photos of him while we visited last weekend.
so many big emotions from such a little man.

today is friday.

today sir gilligan's right eye has swollen up and is 4 times it's regular size.
hopefully today, sir gilligan does not die.

today a co-workers coffee spilled all over my car.
so today i am grateful that even though i don't drink coffee, i love the smell of mocha.

today i had to choose between having christmas eve or the day after thanksgiving off.
it made me wish that the whole world could just have both.

today i listened to a voicemail my mother left me, but i could barely make out her words
because in the background she was blasting her music too loudly

today that made me smile

you're never too old

for a ring pop.

thanks holls!

making lemonade.

my day so far:

• got pulled over for expired plates on my way to work. thought he would cut me some slack for only being one month late & give me a warning. instead, he gave me a ticket.
• late for work because the officer stared at my license for at least 12 minutes in his car. seriously, what are you doing back there?!
• tried to get a new pack of diet coke out of the top cupboard in our kitchen at lunch and while standing on my tip toes trying to reach, i managed to knock the whole pack off the shelf and onto my tile floor. coke cans exploded, everything got sprayed, pups ran for their lives, you get the picture.
• speaking of the pups, one of them pooped in my house today for the first time in over a year.
• and the only reason i discovered it is because i stepped in it.

still barely scraping by in a good mood. mostly, because i think rebecca is darling, even if she is just 12!

ps. found a ghostbuster, going to see if the renters will do it!

black + white & sometimes blue.

I'll get around to posting my Newport pictures soon,
in the meantime, here is a favorite one that Jon took of me & my Mo.

And just in case you need it like I did, this quote is taped to my mirror right now:

"It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning, 'It all works out in the end.' Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. If we put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy if His blessings, He will hear our prayers."

-Gordon B. Hinckley