Don't waste your life : dance, dance, dance!

It's summer, it's summer! Which gives everyone a perfectly good excuse to dance. (Even though I believe it's perfectly acceptable to dance all the time, every single day. I encourage this, actually.)

I feel like I haven't stopped much since the spring semester ended! I moved back home, I started a new job, and started summer classes. Life is so busy!

I think it's really important within the busyness of life to take time to enjoy silly little things. As I enter adulthood (or am I already there?) I find it's more difficult for my fellow 20-somethings to just.. well, laugh and be silly and live.

I want to have dance parties. I want to have sing-alongs in the car to the top 40 of the early 2000's. I want to listen to 60's on 6. I want to wear overalls in public. I want to wear funky hats. I want to create silly little doodles on sidewalks with chalk. I want to spill my heart with no worries. I want to go on as many adventures as I possibly can. I want to write love notes! I want to smile and dance and laugh and giggle and enjoy life.

I want to be silly in the midst of this silly little thing called BUSYNESS. (I believe this could also be defined as "growing up.")

Soo, I'm very happy to say that in between all of this busyness, I've been able to spend time with people that I very much care about and love.

I've had dance parties and sing-alongs with my best gal pals. We've danced in my living room, the car, fields, driveways, and streets. We also like to go out to this field in the country and stargaze and have heart-to-hearts about life, love, and just everything. These past few weeks, I've consumed more ice cream than I have in a long, long time. Which is fine, right? I went to cowboy church with my best gal pals, too. It was the best ever! I met some real life cowboys and there was a fiddle and animals and everything! It was held in a livestock auction barn, which was really neat. I really like cowboy church. It's so real - like, relaxed and down to Earth. They whooped and hollered and were just generally excited for Jesus... which I love. I went on a picnic and then to a rootbeer saloon with my favorite fella! Root beer is my favorite drink of all time. We built a blanket fort and got fake tattoos of soft serve ice cream cones. I went hiking with my daddy-o and we drank coca-cola's together. I've been visiting my grandma and watching black and white movies with her. While at her house, I learned the Texas two step from her boyfriend! There isn't a day that I can go without smiling. Just knowing the existence of God, and the fact that He will never ever give up on me. And the fact that He gave us the ability to love.  I hope I can love really close to how He loves. I also hope there are dance parties in heaven. (I assume David is on the VIP list.)

It's a good life. Thank you, God. 

Also, I really want a ukulele.

my sweet momma : mother's day 2013

For Mother's Day, I got up extra early before church to fix my momma breakfast in bed. I ended up making strawberry & Nutella crepes topped with whipped cream and powdered sugar. My, my, my... it was delicious! This was my first time ever making crepes, but they turned out great! They're so easy and very delicious. I most definitely recommend them. :) It was such a sweet morning!

After church, my dad fixed a late lunch for all of us and the rest of my family. I love them all to pieces! Because my dad's birthday is tomorrow, we celebrated that, too! 

good times. 

crepes... yum.

<3

yum.

daddy-o makin' a wish! 

To my sweet momma:
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! You are such a beautiful lady - inside and out. I know many people would agree with me on that, too! You work so, so hard every single day - both at home and work! I don't think I've ever seen you sit still for more than 10 seconds straight. You always run away from laziness and are never idle because you always try to make the best use of your time. You inspire me in so many different ways. You are the best hostess ever, and I hope I can host nice little parties and get-togethers just like you some day. You've got a loving heart that has given me many memories that I'll always remember. Thank you for always loving me, instilling in my a heart and love for Christ,  and for always putting family first. You do so many things for me all of the time, and I really am thankful for you. I know I can be mean or a little grouchy, but thank you for always loving me despite my wrongdoings.
LOVE YOU, MAMACITA!
You're the best ever.

We're All a Little Weird, Right?

Is it weird that I could literally eat breakfast for every meal and never get tired of it? Is it weird that enjoy sewing and baking and hanging out with my grandma more than a normal 20 year old girl probably should? Is it weird that I usually drop the g's on all words such as lovin', cookin', and lookin'? Is it weird that I like folding fitted sheets? Is it weird that I think it's acceptable to eat cake for breakfast? Is it weird that I prefer pizza over sushi? Is it weird that I think most days are ok days to listen to Notorious B.I.G? Is it weird that I created a zine for my creative writing class with a primary focus on Crisco and Sisqo, as in the 1999 lyrical genius?

big thanks to my favorite fella for the nice little sketch of Sisqo. : )

Weird is such a weird word... but I like it. I like people! I really do! Everyone has their own kind of weird if you think about it. Despite every mean thing that anyone has ever done and any mean thought that has ever passed through anyone's mind I like to believe that deep down inside everyone has got some beauty within them! Yes, even the biggest bully you've ever met in your entire life! Even the kid who used to steal your quarters and lunch on the playground! (Does that really happen? I guess I'll find out.) Seeing the beauty in yourself and everyone else is taking all failures, strengths, quirks, and weirdness and loving each and every bit of it! Especially yourself, which I sometimes find especially hard. Because, well, no one is better at being you than you, right? (How cheesy, I KNOW.) But hey! God made each and every person in the world intricately and uniquely with His very own hands! Which is super neat and interesting if you really sit down and ponder that for a minute.

so, this all really works out for us, I think. You are unique, you are you, you are weird, but everyone else is, too!
so, thanks, God, for that.


P.S. Sunday is Mother's Day!! Love on your madres a little extra this weekend, and do something very special for her.

Happy Birthday, Wuwu!

May 6th, 2013... the day God decided to add another year to my sweet grandma's life! 

And my, my, my she is lookin' so good!

 I hope and pray that I look just like her and have the same sweet, kind, and loving heart as her someday. 

Louetta Mae King, my sweet Wuwu,  you are the most beautiful lady, both inside and out. You are always full of joy and kindness. You are so much fun to be around - always! You are my inspiration and my best friend. 

I hope that everyone in the world gets to meet Wuwu at least once in their life. She is all smiles at all times! Because she is joyful, you, too, will be filled with joy! 

She is always willing to go on adventures with me, and I love that about her. I love her stories. She gives the best advice on life, love, and relationships. Each time I'm with her, she reminds me what it's like to be a true lady, and I strive for that daily! 

She is so pretty at all times. I also love the fact that she wears a rain scarf. She is oh so, so glamorous! I love going on BBQ Barn dates with her. I love her pumpkin pie. I love, love, love her fried chicken. She always has the best food and is the best company at her house! 

*note: If you go to her house, ask her if she has any chocolate pie. She will bring out her candy jar with all sorts of chocolate. It would be wise if you chose a KitKat and/or Reece Cup. You can thank me later. *

"Always follow your heart, it will tell you what to do."

Wuwu is so easy to love, but she is so, so good at loving others. She continues to show unconditional love to me and the rest of my entire family no matter what. Now that I'm older, I am far more interested in Wuwu's love life, too. I always ask her about Papa and how she knew he was "the one." They fell in love in April 1948 and she always says she just knew in her heart that he was the one. I hope I can be the lover, wife, mother, grandmother, lover of Christ, and lady that she is. She is such a wonderful example of all of these things. 

I am so, so, so blessed to be able to call her my very own grandma. 

Happy birthday, Wuwu! You are such a PYT and I love you so much! 

P.S. If you're reading this, go call, text, email, write your grandma right now. If you're able, go visit her and give her a hug around the neck and kiss on the cheek and let her know how thankful you are for her and how much you love her. Grandma's are the absolute best, and I think that they deserve the world. 

beauty.

I really like life a whole lot, both the good parts and the bad. It's the end of the school year and even though it's a sad thing, I wanna think about all of the good things that I've experienced this year... which, I definitely think it's been a rather good year collectively. I love SIU, Carbondale, my classes, the people I've met, everything. 

I really think I've learned to appreciate and find the beauty in every single thing, good or bad, big or small. I find myself looking at everything around me and smiling so, so big because of the part it plays in this big, huge, world. My mind is oftentimes blown by the things that God has created purely for beauty and as I like to think, to make us smile. 

Of course I had to snap a photo of the pretty walk around campus lake with my gal pal.

It also made me think about other things that are beautiful to me...

afternoon walks with my best gal pal

always God's plan, never a coincidence

rainy days that allow me to wear rain boots

warm days that allow me to wear sundresses

sundays with nick. 

people who are really good at what they do, but still down to earth and humble

days and nights spent with family 

my grandma's boyfriend who is battling (and conquering) cancer and still continues to be his silly, goofy self

music

handwritten things

letters

memories
the library

a love for books

the farmers market 

my pretty conversation partner, Sun-ah

bluegrass and folk music

conversations with my roommate, jordan
people who are real with me

time spent with my two best gal pals, emma & hillary 

trees, flowers, the sky, grass, clouds

people's stories

people's testimonies
root beer
parties

my mom and dad

my sweet grandma who teaches me to be a lady each and every day 

records

my brother and his big brain

hugs

breakfast foods

family get-togethers

love notes

listening and dancing to oldies from the past

alone time with God

seeing elderly couples going on walks together, holding hands, and eating ice cream cones.

seeing my best friends in love

adventures!!
Carbondale

different cultures

reconnecting with old friends

engagements

milkshakes, or anything of the ice cream variety

old photos

late night conversations on life 

dairy queen

meeting new people and hearing all about their life stories 

mutual smiles

phone calls

the ability to love

the existence of God

and the fact that He will never give up on me

and He won't on you, either.