Favorite Things Friday

This week was full, to say the least, and documented through photographs! Thank you iPhone.

Went out to a bar in Phoenix, I think they must have been prepping for Halloween because we encountered this at the bottom of the stairs...I was surprised I didn't have nightmares! 

Spent all day on Sunday relaxing in Santa Monica on the beach with a good book and catching up on all of the latest gossip with my girlfriend Lauren. 

Girls' night that included wine and...assembling a dresser? Yes, that was a part of girls' night!
Lorena and I have been dear friends for a number of years now after working together at Elephant Bar while I was at Biola. 

My mom has the most wonderful spirit. This was in response to finding out that the trip I am making home for some of my dear friends' wedding would also allow me to attend the family Christmas party!

Ok maybe I'm a little anal but you have no idea how annoying it is to need a fine point Sharpie and get a big bold bad one!

I can't wait for Thanksgiving. So I made pumpkin pie. The only logical solution. 

This is currently my favorite drive-in-your-car-and-blast-it-too-loud song. LOVE.

After losing all confidence in my vocabulary and Scrabble skills thanks to Jimmy...I finally won a game at the last second! Maybe not seem like that big of a deal but, let's be honest, it really is. 

My room is finally coming together! The dresser is moved in and that mess of picture albums is ready to be hung in a collage-style on the wall above it! 

Homemade calzone. Yum.

And waking up every morning to the good Lord giving me another day!

I spent all my money on shoes...

Over the last month I have purchased:

One pair of brown leather boots.

One pair of heeled black boots.

One pair of black heels.

One pair of tan heels.

One pair of gray heels.

One pair of red heels.

One pair of strappy sandals for my Halloween costume.

And I love each and every one of them.

Now hear me out because there really is a valid explanation for why these were NECESSARY expenditures.

I started a job where business professional was required about this time last year. So, I went shopping and got a couple suit pieces and a few pairs of heels to work with just about anything I owned. Well since that time there have been 4 seasons, 3 other jobs, and countless hours on my feet! At BofA it was standing behind a counter, at Enterprise it was climbing in and out of cars and for the conference I was sponsorship director of it was one very very busy weekend and very very tired feet.

I now work in not just a business professional environment but one in which my boss notices almost every detail of my wardrobe. Maybe a little much but I like to dress up and fashionably and he likes that I dress up and fashionably so it all works out. This also meant that coming into work with tan heels that were just about brown and black pumps that were obviously well-worn was just unacceptable.

So with just a few clicks of my laptop mouse-pad and an afternoon spent with an attractive Nordstrom shoe guy, I have a whole new wardrobe of shoes! And a slightly more bare pantry than normal.

#I<3shoes

Contemplations

This evening I spent a lot of time contemplating the blessings of family members, living and deceased.

Today would have been my Grandpa Glen's 77th birthday and last month was the 7th anniversary of his passing.

While this sounds like a morbid beginning there are so many hidden blessings in life's experiences. For example, only days before passing away my Grandpa got to hold his last grandbaby who is my littest sister Morgan. She just celebrated her 7th birthday. What a gift life is. Our family was given life and had life taken with barely time for a breath between them. But I think there was more than one gift of life with Morgan's birth...as a 15 year old responsible for more than most of my friends have ever had to be in charge of, I watched my mom gain life again through her new baby and for the love of Morgan mom made it through the death of her dad after a long battle with lung cancer.

And I will always eat butterscotch and remember Grandpa and his steel toed boots, snores you could hear from a block away and obsession with ketchup.

Then, just a few years later my Great Grandpa Lloyd passed away. A man who had prayed for me every day of my life until the day he died. Despite struggling with memory and awareness just prior to his passing I was in town from school and stopped by his room in the home he was living to see him. I walked in and he knew just who I was and told me how much he loves me and verified that I knew he was praying for me. What a gift. I am so glad I stopped by that day because shortly after he was gone.

But I had a final, beautiful memory to cherish of the man who could never play Balderdash because he laughed so hard at his own definitions he would give himself away.

Then there's Nanny...and I don't even really know where to start. A woman who poured her heart and soul into my life and my siblings and my cousins and was taken away so suddenly. It's been a number of years now and I still have a hard time processing that she is gone. Life without Nanny has a big hole in it that you can feel deep down.

And yet even with so much love that has been removed from my life I am still left with the most wonderful, wonderful family members. In fact my favorite part of Apple's new OS for the iPhone is that I am able to text my parents! My mom is a pillar of strength and encouragement, my dad is my hero, and my Grandmother is my role model and inspiration for who I am pursuing to be today.

I don't really think that there are words that can ever fully describe a person. How do you put a human being into words? How do you show the way someone has been influenced by those around them? All we can do is take the time to reflect on the people who have played big roles in our lives and, if you can, let them know.

Q & A

Describe the room you are in right now.

I am not in a room. I am sitting at a metal table on the patio of my favorite coffee shop. A friend I planned on seeing is sitting across from me. A friend I ran into is sitting one table over. 80’s music is playing over the speakers and there is the gentle hum of content conversations.

You have no patience for _______.

People who complain about their lives but then do nothing to change it.

What was the last text message you sent?

I look like I’m straight out of an 80’s TV show right now.

What is your resolution for tomorrow?

Do the best that I can.

When was the last time you spoke to your parents?

A few hours ago. My dad and I enjoy talking on a regular basis for 10 minutes conversations. Mom and I speak not as often but for longer periods of time.

How do you feel about your body?

Eh. I need to be working out more. Sitting at a desk all day (or on a plane or standing in a booth) does nothing for staying in shape or feeling healthy!

What was the last goofy thing you did?

Danced interpretively to Enya’s Orinicco Flow with Ashley in my living room. I’m surprised we didn’t blow the speakers or knock anything over!

What was the last online video clip you watched?

This one. You’ll love it.

What makes you feel wonderful?

A morning jog. Being with my family. Pumpkin spice lattes. Clean sheets. 

Favorite Things Friday

And the highlights of this week are...

A new dresser. Despite the fact that it is currently still in my garage, I still am thrilled to have finally found the perfect one for the perfect price! My fingers are crossed that this will help with my lack of laundry organization but....let's be honest. I doubt it.

Having Monday off to sleep in, read, catch up on laundry and make a big breakfast!

Perfect patio weather.

McClain's. My favorite coffee shop where I always run into a few friends!

Being alone. 

At home.

Reading.

Cooking.

Music playing.

Windows open.

Peace reigning. 

Breaking down and finally buying this coat.
I think the reasons why are obvious...

Meeting people who turn out to be more than they seemed at first sight.

S C R A B B L E

Phoenix.
And the most comfortable hotel bed.
Ever.

And waking up every morning to the good Lord giving me another day!

Still A Dreamer

Once I was a little girl with big dreams. Then I grew up. Fell in love once or twice. Got lost in the whirlwind of life, school, work, and to-do lists. And something tells me it will only get busier from here on out.

But once I was a little girl with big dreams. Today I took some time to stop and remember what those dreams were. Who I was back then. What did that little girl who loved spending days at work with Dad really want? And then where in the last 15+ years did those dreams become replaced by different dreams? And what are they?

I hope to always have a dream that I am pursuing and fighting for but I also want to remember my old dreams. So when my little sister calls me for advice about boys and crushes I can remember what it was like to be 15 and like a boy. I hope to be able to remember it just as clearly when my daughter asks me the same things. And when my granddaughter asks...

It is a powerful thing to consider your dreams. And I don't just mean the ones you have while physically sleeping but the desires of your heart. Those things that when you actually take the time to sit and be with yourself (which, let's be honest, I am not good at doing) come into the forefront of your mind. What are you doing to accomplish those things? Are your priorities in a place to lead towards what you want? If you're not sure, list out the top few things you spend your time and money on as a reflection upon what your priorities are, and reconsider.

But maybe you're like me. Maybe you're at a crossroads and not exactly sure what you want or where you want to go from here. In that case, just remember. Remember that little girl (or boy) with big dreams. And the rest will come.

Favorite Things Friday

I would like to begin a new tradition.

Every Friday I will post a blog containing all of the things that week that I have loved. Food, music, places, people, whatever it may be I’ll put it up on Fridays for you all to enjoy as well. Now I do understand you may not love everything I do but that won’t keep me from sharing them! Hopefully you don’t mind. So let's begin! 

Favorite Things

True friendship that allows for human failure and always meets it with grace and forgiveness.

Birthday gifts for friends...

You can find it online here, or buy it new/half-price here.

Boots for Fall weather.

A long phone conversation with my Dad, who called just to say hi.

Clean sheets.

This sky.

Finding a ride home for Thanksgiving to save on gas, mileage and money!

Lighting all my candles that smell like Fall.

Dancing (just a bit) in the rain.

Getting my first Biola Alumni event invitation.

Commemorating the contributions to the world that were made by Steve Jobs.

And waking up every morning to the good Lord giving me another day!