Kids Say the Darnest Things!

A good ol' Friday night in Redding, CA; what else but a couple games of bowling?! Tonight, Josh, Casey, Caleb, Paige and myself headed to Shasta lanes to "knock some pins down".

Paige is such a cute kid. She has a great personality, and as the saying goes "Kids say the darnest things." She had us chuckling all evening long with her silly, funny comments such as "1 quarter, 3 gum balls! A Strike! Perfect Night! Booyah!"

Kids DO say the darnest things!

Unexpected Visits!

How often do you get numerous unexpected visits throughout the day from friends and/or family?! Well, today was apparently my day!

My friend Leanna, and her handsome little one, Gus stopped by the office today! Since she no longer works in office with us, we don't get to see her often enough! Little did I know, my unexpected visits weren't over for the day!

Dad had some free time tonight, so came and hung out with Josh and I for dinner! He was craving burgers, so we had a good ol' fashioned bbq dinner. I absolutely love living in the same town as him again. Its SO nice to get to have "drop by" visits with him. :-)

All in all... fantastic day!

The Little Things!

What can I say? Sometimes it's the little things that make a rough day a little better. Today, a glass wine was the little thing that helped me finish the evening in a nice relaxed mood. Thanks to Trader Joes for the Two Buck Chuck!

Scentsy!

I am a candle lover just as anyone, so when I was invited to my friend's "Scentsy Party", I was intrigued. Not only would I be able to do some new candle shopping, but I would also be able to see my friend, and her beautiful 7 month old son.

So, tonight was the party, and I learned all about these new wick-less candles. How cool! Is all I can say. These are very similar to a tart burner; however they use light bulbs, and the wax heats to a point where the scent emanates from the wax, but doesn't get so hot that it would burn you if you touch it. Since this wax heats by the light bulb, it does need electricity, it isn't a fire hazard like a lit wick is. One thing that is unique that I am super excited about, is that they have a burner that is similar to a night light! I ordered this as well as 3 wonderful scents!

All in all, I am very excited about getting my new Scentsys', and had a great time visiting with a good friend, and seeing that handsome little boy!

"The Norm"!

Sometimes there is nothing "out of the norm" that you can capture with a camera that makes you smile. You can't photograph the conversation between you and your husband about the "flowbee" (laughing out loud as I write this), or the conversation with your friend about Oklahoma, the musical, which brought back memories to seeing this favorite musical with your mom when you were a kid.

As I sat here this evening thinking about all my smiles I had for the day, I came to realize that the photographic moment for today was a picture of my everday life. Not often enough do I realize, "the norm" is what brings about the most everyday smiles.

Backyard Potty Break!

You know a day is going to turn out great when you get to sleep in, and when you do finally wake up, it is to the sound of birds chirping and the sun peaking through your blinds. Today was such a beautiful day, that we couldn't help but find ourselves wanting to be outside.

Josh and I had a wonderful time today. We decided that since it was beautiful, we would grab the card game, Phase 10, a couple of beers and head outside for some relaxing fun. We had a GREAT time. This picture is just a reminder of the fun day we had. Josh was having such a good time that he just couldn't leave for a second. He decided that apparently, our big tree out back needed to be his restroom... He giggled the entire time as I took it upon myself to take advantage of this photographic moment!

Little Black Dress!

Today Josh and I headed up to Mount Shasta to visit with Grandma and Grandpa. What a great day! We brought them a nice dinner and enjoyed a great visit. Grandma and Grandpa told us numerous stories about their dating days and stories throughout their kids growing up. Toward the end of the night, they told us the story of how they met, and their secrets of how they "wooed" each other. Grandma told us how she bought this special black dress on layaway to impress grandpa and his family. She bought this dress for the date where she met grandpa's brother and sister-in-law. She made weekly payments for a total of $110 back in 1952.

Grandpa decided to head down to the basement because he could have sworn that grandma and I were about the same figure when she wore this dress... little did I know, he was right! Seeing the look on their face while wearing the dress was precious... completely priceless.

Pranksters!

Not everyday in the office is filled with laughter and good times. Majority of the time, my day is filled with a never ending task list that continues to get longer and longer as the minutes go by.

Today, however, was different. The pranksters strike again! Jordan, our "top man on campus" seems to always be the brunt of the pranks, most likely because he has a great sense of humor and is the "top man on campus". Today, a few of the girls at work decided that Jordan's new office needed to be broken in... with balloons, shipping popcorn, streamers, and other odds and ends. Quite the surprise for him when he came in to a "new and improved" office!! Great way to say "Happy Friday!" and get some good laughs out of everyone!

Reservations Made!

What could be more awesome than spending an evening in a gorgeous hotel with restaurants and shopping, and a scheduled appointment for an 80 minute massage? ... Doing it with your Momma!

Today I finalized and reserved our plans for a mother/daughter spa weekend to celebrate my beautiful mother. Not only does this hotel look AMAZING, it includes shopping, food (of significant amounts), and a spa!

As you can imagine, I am super excited about all the above. Excited to spend some quality time with my mom, excited to have a massage, excited to go on a weekend getaway to a beautiful hotel, excited to do a little shopping, and eat some fantastic food! What's not to smile about all this?!

Spring is Here!

In the past 4 years, I have killed numerous plants from calla lilies to roses, from grass to large plants. Lets face it; me and foliage are just not meant to work together.

A year and a half ago, I moved into my first "real" house. With this house rental, I inherited 3 mature rose bushes. Well guess what guys?!? I haven't killed these yet!

Today I found my first blooming rose of the season! Beautiful, bright red! Glad I didn't do too much damage with my first year of pruning. :-)

The Beginning

For those of you who know, or don't know me, let me recap. I enjoy the small things in life, the beauty that surrounds me, the family and friends who know and love me, the daily adventures that I embark on, and the all-around life I live. I like to consider myself creative, but tend to get in ruts and not sure how to embrace it sometimes.

Today I have been inspired by a friend. We spoke about finding the things in life that we enjoy doing, are good at and make a living out of it. While that is much easier said than done; there is one thing that is easy in that statement: Find the things you enjoy and run with them.

I decided to do just that. I took a moment tonight to think about what I really enjoy. The first thing that comes to mind is being creative. I can not pin point my creativity to just one thing. So, to make this easy, inspirational, and uplifting, I decided I needed to come up with something that I could do on a daily basis that I would find enjoyment in all while having time to fit it into my busy days.

Starting tomorrow, I will post one picture daily of something that makes me smile, laugh or think of something wonderful. I will share my thoughts or stories that go along with each picture.

Remember, find the things you enjoy and run with them!