A Few of my Favorite Things....

OK, so I am in the mood for writing a fun blog. It's a little "shout out" to some of the many things in life that make me happy. If you haven't tried any of these things on my list, I highly recommend it.

1. Mango Fruitista from Taco Bell!! YUM!! (A little piece of vacation in a cup.) I think I even hear reggae music in the background when I drink one of these.

2. LOVE LOVE LOVE driving in my new car with the top down. Traffic is not a bad thing anymore and I look forward to driving. It just makes everything better once I get in the car with the top down and radio up.

3. The Robert Pattinson Pandora station. Trust me on this one.

4. Which brings me to an obvious favorite. My Ipod. (*thank you Ami and Justin!!) I didn't know what I was missing before this thing!! :) Life is just better with great tunes.

5. Lemon pie and sweet tea at Chick-Fil-A. 'Nuff said.

6. McDonald's sugar cookies. Best. Cookies. Ever. (which then brings me to my next favorite thing)....

7. Embarrassing as it may be.... every woman needs to know about this little secret called the "SQUEEM". (Especially after eating all those Lemon pies and sugar cookies.)

Yes, my best friend, the Squeem. (model 26J to be exact.)

Yeah... um... so when I was online researching body shapers and came across a review that said this thing sucks in your tummy so much that it might even make you pass out, I was like, "BINGO!!" 50.00 later and I wonder how I ever lived before without this thing. Hey ladies.... BEAUTY IS PAIN. Are you with me?.... One day I might actually do some real exercise to get skinny, but as for now, I will embrace the laziness that is THE SQUEEM.

8. Facebook. I love you facebook.

Lets face it, once we become a Mom, our social days are history. Hanging with the girls can be hard to squeeze into our busy schedules. Trying to balance work, the home, getting the kids to school, helping with homework, grocery shopping, etc... it feels like there is never a time to just hang with our homies. At least facebook gives me some sort of way to socialize and keep a little bit of sanity.

9. Books!!

Facebook has taken some time away from this love of mine, but when I do find a really good book it makes me happy. ♥ Some of my absolute favorites: Lolita, Chang and Eng, The Host, Memoirs of a Geisha, Harry Potter series, Twilight Saga (more of a guilty pleasure), and just recently getting into The Hunger Games series. And the best website to keep up with my book habit is www.goodreads.com (love this site).

10. Dance Parties with my kids! Okay, so once in awhile I have to force myself to get off my butt and try to squeeze in some exercise. I mean, I think I can see a definite trend above with my favorite things. Most of them involve me sitting on my happy butt, or scarfing down some sugar loaded goodies that are sure to add a few more bulges. No more bulges thank you, my SQUEEM already fits tight enough!

So...... what better way to exercise than in the privacy of my house, with my kids, who are the only ones that can appreciate the awesomeness of my white girl dance moves? I mean, I do have some MEAN robot skillz!

Alright, well anyway... I guess 10 things oughta do it for now. Just thought I'd share. Back to reality again and time to go do one of my not so favorite things and start some dinner I guess. Peace out!

Hole in my heart

Well.... it is nearing 11:00 pm and my brain is swirling with anxiety and since I am unable to sleep, I thought I would try to blog. It feels like longer than a week ago that my Grandpa passed away, yet it has only been 4 days ago. It is weird how sometimes you will be going along okay and then other times it hits you again like a wave in your stomach. Tonight was one of those nights. I was lying there reading my book and was actually starting to fall asleep and then, "Wham"... from out of nowhere I got this dropping feeling in my gut knowing that his viewing is tomorrow and funeral services the next day.

It really is like each person close in your life has this special place in your heart or like footprints they leave in your soul. When they are gone you get these panicky feelings once in awhile thinking about how things are going to be different without them. Like there are these holes left in your heart and soul....

Like a part of you, is also going to change without them. Each person that I love so dearly in my life makes up who I am as a person. Without these people, I would be a completely different person.

Although my heart has more of a hole than it did before, I know that because of this amazing man, our family has been blessed with the lessons he taught us. He was a man who even when he made it big and had a successful business that was making a large amount of money, never let it go to his head. He became well known in the racing industry, but remained humble and generous. He never forgot about the people that weren't as fortunate as him. He would donate money, buy gift cards for food to those who were in need. He would tip big, smile big and talk to strangers. He genuinely cared about people and was such a likeable man because of his warmth. He was always thankful for the blessings in his life and so many times would talk about what a great family he had and how proud he was.

Death can be a wake up call to remind you that life is a constantly changing thing and that you never know what will happen next. That it is out of our hands and that we need to let God guide us, so that we can make the best choices in life to stay a good person and do things according to his will. I am so proud and thankful that I was able to have such big footprints in my heart that helped mold me into the person I am today. Thank you so much Grandpa. You will be missed, but never forgotten.