Finally Home!!

 I got in late last night! It felt so nice to sleep in my bed! No matter how comfy and accommodating other people's couches/spare beds/recliners etc. are, nothing beats a snooze in your own bed!

 I hope everyone had a lovely Memorial Day weekend! Hopefully you are all back safe and sound from your own travels. Now, let summer begin! 

 

Another Super Awesome Day...

 So, yesterday was fantastic!

 I woke up nice and early to go watch my amazing cousins dance. Loretta and Pat do Irish step dancing, and they are incredible!! I don't know much about Step, but as I understand it, what they were doing is called "soft shoe". They are so good at it, too!
---side rant--- Loretta is so cool. She is into all this cool stuff. She plays the violin and dances. She is into photography and acting. This summer she is going to do a drama program at a local theater. They are going to be performing "Cinderella". How cool is that? Gosh, my family is cool. --- end of side rant ---

 After dancing I went to Wamego and did a tasting at Oz Winery. What a great experience!! The wine was so incredible that I had a couple bottles shipped home to Virginia. Most of the grapes they use are local Kansas varietals. Being unfamiliar with Kansas wines, it was a great learning experience for me. Plus, the whole winery has an Oz theme. Not the "Judy Garland Oz", but "real Oz". All the bottles have the pictures from the books. The whole thing is so adorable.

 Then I popped over to Prairie Band to see Liz and Dee. I had a little lunch, then did a little gambling. Turns out they give you start up gambling money at Prairie Band, so that was awesome. I doubled my money back at roulette, so you might say I'm kind of a big deal. :)

 Tea and Dan had a BBQ last night, and it was so fun!! I saw almost all of Tea's siblings.  I hadn't seen any of them since her wedding. It was just like old times back in high school, except none of us had curfews. Ha!! :)  Dan grilled these delicious burgers. There was a bonfire. There was beer. There was booze. There were really great people. Just a really awesome time. All of Tea's little nieces and nephews are adorable. I love them all! Not to mention perfect little Maverick. He is such a cute little HotPocket!! I love him the mostest!! <3 

My little goddaughter, Lizzy, and I! She's one of Tea's sisters. 

The Pinterest lovers!! Me and Aggie Lou!!

Look at this grown up beast!! Makes me feel like a little kid now!!

 Looking forward to spending the day the day with TJ and my family!! Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone!!

Let It Go

 I don't have a whole lot to say about this particular picture, but I love the quote. It is so true!! Sometimes you have to just move on. Not because something is bad or wrong for you, but because you don't need that thing in your life.   

Hugs and Love <3

You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile :)

 Recently, I was reading something about smiling. Even though this seems obvious, the article pointed out that blind people smile. They do this without ever having seen someone else smile. It is a natural, human reaction to feeling happy.

 Then, I remembered something I had read in one of my psych classes about smiling. Just the physical act of smiling (whether we are actually happy or not) releases endorphins. Smiling literally makes us happier. It is a manifestation of happiness AND a causer of it. How awesome is that?

 Then after a little more research turns out smiling has all these other benefits. It can lower your blood pressure, It can help a person handle pain. You have a better immure system if you smile more. And if the internet isn't lying, it is contagious! Once you start smiling, so will everyone else! Then they will get all those benefits, too!! :)

 So....start smiling, people!! :)

Regrets Are For Dummies

 So, I am learning that part of growing up is having to make tough decisions. When I was a kid decisions were super easy. There was the obvious right choice and the obvious wrong choice. Even through high school there wasn't much opportunity to make horrible decisions. There were some, but nothing that was life altering.

  

 Obviously, in my almost 22 years, I have made some serious mistakes. But, here is the cool thing. They have changed my life so much that given the chance I wouldn't not make them for the world. Mistakes make us tougher. They give us scars so that the world can see what we have done, what we can do. 

 But,  now I see potential for horrid mistakes in the lives of people I care about. All I want to do is lock them up in a room of bubble wrap and keep anything bad from happening to them. Probably, my family and friends wanted to do the same to me. And, if they had, I would not have learned what I did. I wouldn't be what I am today. So, I guess...let people make mistakes. You wouldn't be able to stop them anyway. And, they will get the chance to grow. 

 One of my favorite things in the whole world is the phrase "carry on". It means that bad stuff is going to happen, but just keep going. Don't stop moving forward. Take what is given to you and carry it with you. Falling down makes you stronger, gives you the strength to carry on. 

 

 When life gets crappy just remember: Right now, in this very moment, you are still breathing and people still love you. Remember all the stuff you have made it through that has brought you right here to this moment. There is a reason that you survived what you did. It was to make you stronger so you could carry on through the bad times. 

 Don't carry regrets, and don't let others. Let them fall, but be there to help them stand back up. Thank you to all my loved ones who helped me. Here's hoping I will be as great at as they were. 

Sorry, Guys!

 So, when my life gets stressful and crazy, I have a hard time thinking of things to write. With finals and starting a new job, and just a load of stupid life drama my poor little blog has suffered.

BUT, I have a load of new writing topics, so prepare yourselves! :)

Here is a picture of Steve McQueen. Hopefully it will make up for not writing for a week.

you are welcome. 

Thank You, Previous Generations For Getting Stuff Right!!

 You know what is awesome? There was only like a one in 40 trillion chance that you would be born. That means that generations of people had to get their shit together well enough to create a chain of events ultimately resulting in you. That means that everything happens for a reason.

 Lets take for example...what are the odds that I would be friends with any of the people I am? My friend Marie and I moved from opposite coasts to the same small Kansas town. What if her parents picked a different town? Or mine decided to never leave Atlanta? Who would I be? How has her friendship influenced my life to make me the person I am today? Our shared experiences are what bonded us. So even if we had met at some other point in our lives, would we still have gotten as close as we did? If movies have taught us anything, it is that we would not. And, how sad is that? I am so grateful for every single (yes, even the horrid) things that have happened, because in this day, I am so satisfied with my life and the people in it.

 I guess the real point of all this is to say that I miss Marie and I wish she would get back from Safari so I could talk to her. :)

Also, all of you should read her blog about her time at Stellenbosch http://khayamnandi.blogspot.com/


Hugs and Smooches! :)