That's how you measure...measure a year....

It's crazy how fast a year flies by. I'm sitting here today, in the midst of what's supposed to be "the worst storm in decades" and admiring the sunny yellow trees outside my window, pondering life. Over the last year, I've grown up, been childish, selfish, self-deprecating, a best friend, a bad friend, a singer, a dancer, and always myself. The funny thing is, there are so many things I'm still figuring out about what it takes to BE myself. I got a dog, and it was THE BEST decision I could have made for myself. He takes the lonely out of living alone, and keeps a smile on my face almost every day - he snorts, snores, farts, burps, throws up and doesn't listen, but he's my best little friend in the world. I suppose I shouldn't expect anything less from a Boston Terrier anyway.
So much has changed, but so much has stayed the same. I've made new friends this year, and branched out on my own - Volunteering for ArtPrize and checking out things I've always wanted to do or see. I took my first "on my own" trip to Boston over Memorial Day, and learned how much I really can rely on myself. Hopefully I'll start remembering that I have a blog and update it more often - and hopefully my life will continue to climb at an upward angle so that I have exciting things to post about.

Thoughts on a rainy Sunday evening...

- little kids will find some way to make the loudest noise possible when indoors.

- little girls will paint their fingernails ANY color your nails are, just because they want the same color nails as you. Currently, 4 members of my family - including myself - are wearing nail polish called "Gunmetal." Two of those members are below the age of 8.

- I love the rain. I love it more when it's warm rain and not the freezing cold stuff that nailed me in the ear today, but I still love the rain.

- Food just tastes better when you know you made it "from grandma's recipe"

A few of the things that made me smile today.

It's been a while since I've updated this blog, and it's cause I've come to realize that while I'm a very consistent person in some aspects of my life, I'm not very consistent in others - and blogging happens to fall into the "not very consistent" category. I've decided that I'm going to try and post at least a couple of times a week and see where that goes. So, here it is.

I went to ArtPrize in downtown Grand Rapids today and saw some of the most heartwarming things I've seen in a long time - I was present for Rob Bliss' "100,000 paper planes and melodies over Monroe" and while it was beautiful all on it's own, I think the sheer number of people that showed up for this event was amazing. People coming together, no matter what the background, what the belief, what kind of lifestyle, and participating in one afternoon of togetherness, one afternoon of the SAME thing. It was amazing. Thousands of people filled the street for a section of about 5 blocks and musicians of every skill level played in the street the same song....and thousands of colorful paper airplanes were dropped from the rooftops of several multi-story buildings.....while it was a little anti-climatic, I don't think that was the point of the whole thing today. I think it was more about bringing people together and showing that we all can have something in common, regardless of our walk of life and what we're going through.

It's also my little sisters birthday today. She's 24, and her boyfriend of the last four years proposed to her last night. She's over the moon and he's so happy to know that she'll be his for the rest of his life. Her ring is gorgeous, and I couldn't be happier as the "big sister" to welcome her boyfriend (fiance!) to the family along with my parents and older brother.

Today, the sunshine, the cool breeze, the ladder my dad donated in honor and memory of my late Grandfather to an ArtPrize exhibit, the celebratory dinner I had with my family for my sisters birthday and for the first time, the honest and true belief in myself that I'm worth more than the things in this life I'm currently settling for, the fact that I got a text from an old friend asking if I was downtown today, because they heard my voice in a crowd of people, but couldn't find me, made me smile. Tonight, I will go to bed with my head held high, and the knowledge that tomorrow begins the day that I stop settling. There are things that are beyond my control in this life, and it's time for me to let things happen as they may. It's not up to me.

SCUBA Certification

I've really been thinking a lot about getting SCUBA Certified this summer. It's something I've wanted to do for pretty much my whole life and since I'm not taking summer college classes this year, I definitely have the time to do it. Honestly, I'm kind of scared about it, but letting fear make decisions for me is not the way to go. I've snorkled before, and that doesn't scare me at all - but I can also pop my ass out of the water anytime I want to with a quickness if I get scared.

There is nothing that fascinates me more than underwater life. I love the bright colors, the coral formations, the beautiful fish, sea turtles, whatever the underwater world holds for my discovery. There's no time like the present to start something new right?

If ever you are feeling sad or blue....

So every time I get into a sad mood, or feel like crying, I find this little guy on YouTube. I don't know why he cracks me up so much, but he makes me smile every single time I watch it.



These babies are super funny too. I love how it's like a chorus of laughter.



There's nothing I love more than baby belly laughs.

NEW MOON!

I'm not even going to deny the fact that I'm a big fan of the "twilight" books....while the movie was good, I can't say it was my absolute favorite ever, but I am looking forward to "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" after this trailer....

New Moon Official Trailer

Detroit Rocks!

Today was the first game of the Western Conference Finals between the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks. The Red Wings won this game, and it was exciting to watch...lots of fights, lots of action.

The reason this match up is so exciting is because it's two Original 6 Teams - Detroit and Chicago are two of the oldest existing teams in NHL History. Since the Blackhawks haven't been in the Playoffs since 1995, for them to be playing the defending Stanley Cup Champion Red Wings is kind of a big deal.

I'm really looking forward to the rest of the series. I think it will be a really great set of games.