Love Day

Meech and I made cookies for the big Valentines Day...well...Meech made cookies. And I decorated them. My making cookies would break very strict cooking rules set up by my family.

14 Valentine Memories:

1-putting all those cute little valentines cards into the homemade boxes or envelopes at school

2-giving the boy you have a crush on the one "special" barbie valentine

3-sweet boys who "anonymously" send flowers to 9th grade girls

4-my mom for ALWAYS making valentines day breakfast or dinner for the fam

5-wearing heart pajama pants to school with my friends (the ONLY day my mom would let me wear pajama pants to school...even though they were SO cool--a big thank you to her. haha)

6-beautiful jewelry from my Dad

7-Friends who come down to my apartment and get in my bed at 2:00 in the morning to tell me her boyfriend said he loved her...you know who you are :)

8-obviously...decorating heart shaped sugar cookies

9-delivering heart shaped sugar cookies to friends

10-Those tiny little heart cinnamon candies

11-heart attacking/snow spray painting young women leaders homes

12-Rose-grams at school

13-Being asked in 3rd grade to be the cutest boy in class's valentine...&...

14-Being betrayed by my 3rd grade best friend so SHE could be his Valentine

Oh the things we do for love!

The Secret Garden: A Childhood Classic

I just finished reading The Secret Garden and about a million childhood memories have come rushing back. I can remember visiting my Grandma and Grandpa as a child and watching The Secret Garden movie just about everyday during the week long stay at their home. I specifically recall my Grandmother doing her ironing while we watched the film together and her smiling and laughing when Mary told Colin "Might is only maybe and I don't care if you scream 'til you're blue in the face!" She loved the movie. The Hallmark version of this movie (which is nearly impossible to find anywhere these days!) I miss these memories. I miss her and while reading the book this past month I realized just how much I cherish these times we shared.

Anyways...enough sappy.

I did want to share a line from the book that I particularly loved:

"So long as Mistress Mary's mind was full of disagreeable thoughts about her dislikes and sour opinions of people and her determination not to be pleased by or interested in anything, she was a yellow-faced sickly, bored and wretched child. Circumstances, however, were very kind to her, though she was not at all aware of it. They began to push her about for her own good. When her mind gradually filled itself with robins, and moorland cottages crowded with children, with queer crabbed old gardeners and common little Yorkshire housemaids, with springtime and with secret gardens coming alive day by day, and also with a moor boy and his "creatures," there was no room left for her disagreeable thoughts which affected her liver and digstion and made her yellow and tired."

Where you tend a rose, a thistle cannot grow

2011 Spectacular Favorites:

Can I just say what a great year 2011 was?! So many great memories and fun experiences all rolled up into just 365 days. Here is a little taste of what I got to be a part of during this year...

Oregon Duck Football &

Arguing with Tyler at work about Oregon Duck Football

Starbucks Peppermint Stick White Chocolate Cocoa with Kortni

Reading with Maggie...&...

Maggie all the time

Criminal Minds

Zupas Chicken Enchilada Soup

The Portland Oregon Temple

(I'm going there someday...)

Dinners with Katie and Cami

Draper Boutiques

Road Trips with my Mom

"That's what I love about Aibleen,

she can take the most complicated things in life

and wrap them up so small and simple,

they'll fit right in your pocket."

"This obsession with dignity

can ruin your life

if you let it."

A Little Bit o' Tim Please?!?

I'm in love. I'm in love with a married man! AND I find that I would compromise any of my values, become a Jolie-type home wrecker and steal him away in a minute. This is the guy:

Some of you may have heard of him. TIM MCGRAW! Seeing him in concert last week may or may not have changed my life. I've decided he is one of the three sexiest men alive. My wonderful summer family, The Minnicks, invited me along to the concert for my birthday. It was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Best concert ever. Besides looking at Mr. Hottie all night he has great music that is just a blast to sing-a-long too. Second best part of the night, was when Whitney, Tanner and I started Usana Ampitheater chanting Tim's name so he'd come back for an encore.

Third Best part of the evening:

We Kick Balls!

I played Kick Ball this year with a group of friends from my church. We were the best in the league...not to brag or anything AND we had a whole lot of fun while winning! It was a great chance to get to know people outside of church. Our team name was The Kick Balls--which was made up late one night by my good friend Amber Tuckett (you can see her pictured below). Although kick ball is neither a real sport or am I any good at it, the experience was awesome. Hopefully the team overlooks all those balls I dropped out in the field and will invite me to play again next year :)