flowers from my dear

I kind of think gerber daisies are the loveliest things on this earth.

Thank you, darling. You're my favorite.

*And yes, that is a hamburger phone. It is maybe one of my most prized possessions.

a love letter

Dear Lover,

I love your back rubs. back scratches. back massages. and foot massages, too.
I love it when you wear that blue v-neck shirt I got for you. It is very sexy.
I love your bed time prayers and words.
I love that you never, ever complain about always being the big spoon.
I love your silly songs, and I love that you love my silly songs, too.
I love it when you play with my hair while I'm driving.
I love it when you load the dishwasher/take out the trash.
I love how much you love my parents, sisters, grandparents, aunts, etc.
I love how much they love you, too.
I love how excited you get about cooking on the grill.
I love that you know how to fix everything.
I love that you don't mind having tea parties with me.
I love that you talk British sometimes.
I love your gigantic shoe collection, even though they're huge (size 15) & take up too much space.
I love how you tell me that I'm a good singer, even when I try to sound bad.
I love that you are always up for a spontaneous road trip.
I love that you are big and manly and tall and tough and strong.

I love your faith. I love your sweet spirit. I love your weirdness.
I love your kisses. I love your face. I love your hands.

And really, Lover, I just love you.

hello, hello!

it has just been brought to my attention that i never, ever blog anymore. sorry guys. i am probably the worst blogger in the history of blogging.

this summer has been quite uneventful in the sense that i've taken no fancy vacations, nor have i done anything terribly worthwhile. in a way, this makes me a happy lady. at the same time, i feel lazy & boring! but i cannot remember a summer that has been so relaxing.

i have seen lots of rainbows. gone on lots of picnics & mountain drives. spent so much time with each of my sisters. met an octopus (!!!). learned to cook an array of fancy desserts & made my first roast which got rave reviews & made me a happy lady.

i went bowling lots & lots of times (and my highest score is still 84... embarrassing). had weekend guests. went to a lovely friend's wedding in a field in missouri. went rafting & i got big-time injured. went on a tulsa adventure with my baby sisters & boyfriend.

i spent a friday night in a garage on a ranch with my big family in louisiana, playing instruments & singing gospel songs. saw the biggest fireworks display of my life while laying in a field next to the river with some of my favorite people. ate lots of barbie snowcones with my boyfriend.

these little things have brought immeasurable happiness into my life as of late. my life is bursting at the seams with love.

next week, i'm road tripping to california with two of my favorite women. hopefully i'll remember to blog with lots of stories & photos of what is going to be an amazing trip!

it makes me sad that these don't stay in bloom all year.

it also makes me sad that i waited until a cloudy day to photograph them. :(

easter weekend.

i think i'm even more tired after this busy weekend than i was before it started.

on saturday, my baby sisters had a convention for church in which they performed in a play & received gold medals for pretty little sculptures that they've been working so hard on! after the convention, my family headed down south to grandmother & grandaddy's house to eat lots of good food & celebrate such a special day. i went to richard's church, & it was easily the best church service i'd been to in a loooong time.

after a huge lunch on sunday with both sides of our family, my cousins, siblings, richard & i played with guns & grenades, watched my cousin robert play on the roof in a ghillie suit, & had a full-on brawl with confetti eggs in the garden & in the street. my family is crazy. i love them.

spring break twenty ten.

my spring break was pretty uneventful in comparison to last year's trip to the bahamas. i did close to nothing, but it was unbelievably lovely to have an entire week to relax. it was certainly full of up's and down's, but i'm very thankful that i had some time to regenerate.

good things:
a foot of snow on the first day of spring! yes, i consider that a good thing.
birthday party in little rock. i love the loony bin comedy club.
visited some family friends in texas for a few days!
watched about a million movies. read about a million magazines.
finally read david sedaris' me talk pretty one day.
actually got to spend some time with my family. sister & nieces included.
lots & lots of good food. grandmother's cooking (the best food ever), la huerta in russellville, & lots of junk. this is enough in itself to make my week.
after the snow melted, things started to turn green & the pear trees & dogwoods started to bloom! hooray!

bad things:
got SUN POISONING! do not ever ever ever get that. it was the worst pain i've been in since my rib cartlidge got inflamed & infected (yeah, how does that happen?)
school meeting on my first day of spring break. (seriously. who does that?)
aaaand, it was way too short. but school ends in 27 days!

a very long list of happiness!

So, maybe I forgot that I even had a blog. Maybe I have been so swamped with school that I have utterly neglected this little thing. Maybe I should be studying right now instead of blogging. Maybe I don't care.

I found this list tonight that I made when I was going through some rough times a couple years ago. I had just gotten my heart broken. It was very hard for me to realize that I still had so much to be thankful for. When I found it just a few minutes ago, it served as a beautiful reminder for the lovely things in this world that I enjoy so much.

Things that make me so happy I can barely stand it:
Delicious coffee (particularly iced).
Writing something satisfying.
My little sisters and the things they make for me.
My gorgeous, loud, supportive family.
Good food: home cookin', sushi, cheap dirty fast food.
Feeling classy/glamorous.
Kisses with boys that I actually want to kiss.
Vacations.
Praying out loud.
Pretty desserts.
Cute socks, comfy pjs.
Bike rides in summer dresses.
Little animals.
Being spontaneous and frivolous.
Reading fashion magazines more than textbooks.
Love!
Things that smell like sweets.
Feeling skinny.
Thinking of all I have to be thankful for.
Finishing something.
Novel covers.
Exploring unfamiliar places.
Singing loudly with Spice in the car.
Baths in Mom's jacuzzi.
This list.
When my internet decides to be fast.
Laughing my head off.
Feeling cozy.
Cities- especially Chicago, Denver, and Atlanta.
Beating old games on my Super Nintendo.
The fact that I got out of Alabama.
Feeling like a guest in my own house.

Clean, crisp, white sheets and fluffy beds.
The views in the country and mountains.
Parle-ing some francais.
The fact that my future is promising.
Feeling accepted and welcome.
Smiling at strangers.
Babies and their clothes.
Sassy, classy, nice old ladies.
Skydiving.
Grandmother's cooking.
Forgetting bad memories.
Older men with good style.
Making pretty things.
Conversations with older, wiser people.

What things make you so happy you can barely stand it?