The best visits are with the ones you love...

his weekend I was able to head home and smooch on the newest member of our family. My brother and sister-in-law came up from Wilmington and brought the prince himself, Finn. It was so great to all be hanging out as a family. 

We even brought my grandmother over so that she could see her great-grandchild for the first time. To have 4 generations in a room was awesome. She was absolutely smitten and he fell asleep right in her arms.

I did my best to try to become the favorite aunt. Not really sure how much it worked :-) I tried my hardest though. I got him smiling, so I must have done something right.

Scott and Megan are such great parents. It is so weird and yet very cool and neat to see my brother doing such an amazing job as a dad. They both make me so proud to be their sister.

Dad having some play time with Finn before going to church.

It's official. I have the quietest, most content and  best nephew in the world! 

I really am thankful!!!

I had this post sitting on my desktop for days and just realized that I never posted it. Whoops! Pretend it is almost Thanksgiving day as you read!

As a wonderful, food-filled day is approaching, I suppose I should express my love and gratitude for everything I am thankful for. I’ve seen people constantly updating their facebooks daily with items they are thankful for. I am truly blessed and have a hard time just narrowing it down to only 25 (I say 25 because there are only 25 days in November before Thanksgiving.)

So here is my list:

-Family – they have to be first. They are who made me who I am today. Their constant love and support constantly blows my mind. I don’t say it enough for how thankful I am. I can not even begin to imagine my life without any of them and I am truly blessed to have them in my life.

-Friends – life would be miserable without them. My friends constantly brighten my day and make me laugh. They have the best shoulders to cry on and ears for listening.
-Puffs Plus tissues with lotion – these are a lifesaver! After finally getting over a gruesome cold, these tissues truly put my nose at ease. You would think after going through about 4 boxes of tissues my nose would be raw but these wonderful pieces of heaven speak true to their commercial – a nose in need deserves puff indeed!
-Cold medicine – considering the previous item on the list, this goes hand-in-hand – Equate brand nighttime/daytime cold medicine definitely a cold miracle
-Hot showers – something so simple that I take granted for daily.
-One bedroom apartments – Don’t get me wrong- I have had some great roommates who are some of my closest friends – but MAN do I love living alone. I don’t have to be considerate! (Haha) I can clean whenever and I can’t get mad about it because it is my mess. I love leaving the bedroom and bathroom door open. I don’t worry about where my roommates are when it’s late at night and they aren’t home yet. I don’t know what I’ll do if I ever have to go back to having roommates.
-Chrysalis – words cannot express my gratitude for the experiences I have had with Chrysalis. I am just in love!
-Best friends – I feel like this is pretty self-explanatory. The greatest gift I have ever been given.
-Sleeping – I just love sleeping. Nothing is better than curling up with cushiony covers and being so comfortable you don’t want to move. A comfortable bed is something I definitely take for granted.
-Beautiful weather – I love walking outside in just jeans, chacos and a sweatshirt and it feel absolutely perfect.
-Courage – so thankful that I have overcome so many obstacles in my life with even just the smallest amount of courage
-Charlie Brown – what a pal, that guy! One of my favorite parts of Fall – watching Charlie Brown specials on TV. My sweet baboo!
-Becoming an Aunt – I have never been so happy before! I cannot wait to spoil this baby boy and just love him unconditionally! The end of April cannot get here soon enough!
-Music – I love that I have music for ANY mood I am in. It definitely makes my life happy.
-Love of Books – I think I am fortunate enough that school did not cause me to hate reading. Of course, I don’t like reading forced material but I still love to read a good book. I hope that as a teacher I can pass on to my students a future in a love for reading.
-Photography – Over the past few years I have discovered this love for photography and taking pictures. I am so blessed to be given the opportunities to expand my love by being a camp photographer and learning new things in a free photography class at school.
-Children – I am incredibly thankful that I have a strong love for children and teaching them. I can’t wait to have my own classroom and I hope my love for children will get me through the hardships that come with education
-Hot Chocolate – Hot chocolate just warms the soul – I have found that Swiss Miss trumps Nestle but who knew Land o’ Lakes could make some bangin’ mint hot chocolate?
-Morningstar foods – as a fairly new vegetarian I am so thankful for Morningstar foods – who knew veggie meat could taste so real!
-Parents who pay for things – I am SO incredibly thankful for having parents that could pay my way through undergraduate school, my apartment, my cell phone and my car. I forget these things often but they sure mean a lot to me.
-Good food that reminds me of other things – I don’t really know how to describe this except for there are times when I eat something, smell something or hear something and it reminds me of really great memories. I am thankful for memories.
-Snow – truly a beautiful gift from God and I am thankful that I get to sit here and watch it fall peacefully as I write this
-Fuzzy socks – they keep your feet warm and are fuzzy – enough said
-Laughing – I love to laugh and I am so thankful to have so many things in my life that allow me to laugh and have a good time
-My life – I am just incredibly blessed and thankful for the life I have. I am happy. I rarely have complaints. I have a great and supportive family. I have amazing friends. I don’t think I could do any better.

... laughter is the best medicine ...

ver the past few months, DVR has become my new best friend. i don't know what i'll ever have to do if i have to get rid of it! i've realized that i now would rather not watch shows in real time (i even just like starting the show halfway through), it's much more fun to fast forward through commercials instead. a few days or so ago, i recorded "Women of SNL" - i finally made it through watching (most of it) and found myself remembering my favorite three skits... - such classics and a great cure for a bad day! (i couldn't find the videos on youtube but found them on NBC.com)

First there was the Spartan Cheerleaders - LOVE! (sorry that it's not the best quality)

Tina Fey as Sarah Palin is always a good time.

But my favorite would have to be Debbie Downer at Disney World. especially when everyone starts to loss it (at about 3:30) - i probably rewound and watched this 5 times!

Thank you SNL for many years of parodies and laughter!

...these are a few of my favorite things...

lhat a wonderful and relaxing weekend it has been. there is nothing i love more than sleeping (ok, maybe there are a few things...) and sleep is what i've done. i started out my weekend listening to some very talented friends play at a benefit show.


and then ...

for the first time ever...

i watched....


...the sound of music.

i know i know. gasp all you want. but in my defense - when i was little, i watched (multiple times) the movies we had on VHS. the sound of music was not one of them. seeing as how i loved mary poppins, i'm sure i would have loved sound of music, but we just didn't own it. i also feel that the sound of music is one of those movies that if you don't watch as a child, you most likely won't ever watch it. so there. so upon numerous gasps and WHAT?!! from my mother and amy motley, i rented it on netflix. knowing this is one of their favorite movies, i tried my best to fall in love with it. however, it was 3 hours long and i just didn't have a connection. i didn't hate it - but i probably won't be purchasing it any time soon - sorry! at least i tried...

so keeping in tune with the sound of music, i decide to make a list of a few of my favorite things that i experienced this weekend:
(side note - why would a favorite thing be whiskers on kittens?????)
-snow
-movies
-ice cream
-Avett Brothers and Pearl Jam
-photography
-reading a good book
-curling up on a couch
-sleeping
-being lazy
-a warm bed
-laughing


...so long, farewell...

... Head Full of Doubt/ Road Full of Promise...

Head Full of Doubt/ Road Full of Promise

just spent the last hour watching the Avett Brothers on a live streaming concert on facebook. My love for them grows more and more every time I listen to them. I discovered them years ago from a friend I worked with and my life has never been the same! I have seen them multiple times and concert and just smile thinking of watching them live. If you ever get a chance to see them, I highly recommend it! 

The first time I saw them, I caught myself just watching instead of singing along. They are such incredible performers. You can just feel how much they love what they do by watching them. So much energy is brought to their performances – I just can’t get over it. They have come so far and are now making it in the "big time" and I am so happy for them. I was lucky enough to see them in Raliegh a few weeks ago and was blown away. They played for about 3 hours and did two encores. Not only do they perform with such liveliness, they are SO grateful. They are continuously thanking their fans and are so appreciative. It just makes me smile to see them do anything. They are so genuine and I love that they write all of their stuff. Just pure talent.

One of my favorite songs to listen to and see live would have to be “Talk on Indolence”. If anyone has been to a concert with me, they can vouch by saying that I cross my fingers and say this title over and over and over again until it is played. It must work, because they’ve played it at every concert I’ve been to. Why do I love this song might you ask? Well, I shall tell you. Last semester I had two classes off campus from ASU and I had to drive to Wilkesboro and Hickory weekly. This allows for many hours of music listening. The first time I heard this song live, it was one of the only songs I couldn’t sing along with because it was so many words in such a short amount of time. I decided on my nice long journey to class, I was determined to learn all the words. So I put the song on repeat and listened until I got it down pat. Now I request this song often so I can show off my skills of memorizing this song. J My next goal – “I Killed Sally’s Lover”

While watching, I heard someone sum them up to a tee –“They write music that hits everyone – it can really speak to your soul – just listen to “Salvation”; they came here for truth and family – they have strong morals and values and they have always kept to themselves”

Thank you Avett Brothers for coming into my life. You are such a pick-me-up and I can’t wait to see you AGAIN to ring in the New Year!!!

(p.s. - the video at the top is all one painting - how awesome!