NEW BABY!!!

Happiness #12: New Family Members

Welcome Maddie Rose! You are so adorable and I can't wait to meet you!

Linen Closet Pup

Happiness #11: Kirby Decorating Our Hallway

My dog Kirby is a 2.5 year old Chocolate Cocker. He is the sweetest dog you could ever meet and he is so smart. We ask is he wants to go get the mail and he looks at you, runs outside and waits for you to go to the mailbox. He then brings in a piece of mail. If we bring home groceries he wants to help so we have to give him a box of something to bring in. He won't go inside without something. He knows what a bone is so we have to spell it to each other. He loves a squeaky ball and lives to play. He likes to steal socks, towels...really anything so he can trade you for a bone. But he won't chew it up.

Apparently my mom was putting away towels and he wanted to take them. She wouldn't let him and she shut the linen closet tight. When my dad got up int he morning he didn't shut it all the way and the shelf we keep our wash cloths on is the perfect height for Kirby. So he must have nudged it open to take every single wash cloth off the shelf. I awoke to this...
He had decorated out hallway with the towels my mom wouldn't let him have. When I came out of my room which is on the far left behind the linen closet door he looked over at me and sunk into the ground. I had to walk by him to get my camera to take a picture in which time he never moved. I was laughing to hard. He is Denis the Menace! And we wouldn't have it any other way!

Thank you Kirby for your craziness. You are the class clown for sure!

Pin-Ups

Happiness # 10: Pin-Up Photography

I have always loved Pin-up stuff. The 40's and 50's have always been my favorite time. I would love to go back in time and spend some time in that era. A good friend of mine has recently started doing a lot of photography, mostly pin-ups and he is amazing. His name is Kevin and he is very professional. His work is very good and I love it. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

www.pinupunderground.com

My new Header

My friend Jessica made me a header for my blog. This was my gift for commenting on her blog post about giving. I have posted the same post. Please find it and read it. Comment and then add it to yours. This is a great way to spread love and give to people.

Thank you Jessica. I LOVE my new header. It is amazingly beautiful and very thoughtful! You are so sweet!

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Happiness #9: Spinach Artichoke Dip

So good. Makes the perfect appetizer. My sister and I went to dinner today and had the as an appetizer, I love to snack on. I could eat it all the time. With bread or chip...YUMMY!!!

Not knowing what to do...

Today was the first day in a long time that something happened and i really didn't know what to do. Things happen all the time and I think ok, what options do we have. Which of these options should I pick to resolve the problem.

But today something happened that I really didn't know what to do. I had no idea. There were things flashing in my mind of what I could do but none of them were actually an option. I felt like I sat forever thinking...what do we do. The answer I think was so simple that it escaped me. I felt really dumb and useless. You never want to feel useless. I think the situation went as best as possible but I hope it never happens again.

I am so sorry to all that were involved during the time when my mind went blank. I love you Brittany!

Family Visits!!!

Happiness #8: Family Visits

I love when my family comes to visit. On Friday my cousin Haylie came down from up north to visit. The next day my aunt Shelly, uncle Delbert, and cousins Chad, Kelsey, and Brett came in from Arizona. We had a very fun couple days spending time together. Every time we get together we have a blast. We end up laughing hysterically and enjoying every second we get to be together. I wouldn't trade the time I have with my family for anything in the world. I can't wait to see them again. I love you all.

Here's to Disneyland, matching green sweatshirts, "food" we couldn't decide what it was...let alone eat it, Kelsey clearing the room and not letting Haylie escape, the "charming" orange room, the bowling alley not being there anymore, hilarious bowling once we finally found a bowling alley, crazy dancing, Crowded House and Shazam, "Ew, boys do that to themselves", shamrock toes, water in Haylie's purse, "I didn't have ANY questions", trying to get info out of Steve and Carmen, zebra boots, piggy tails, matching shirts, Sea World, lying to Haylie about Atlantis...sorry about that, going home soaking wet, and more Blond moments than anyone can count! This was a CRAZY, fun weekend and I am so glad that you all came out. I make a lot more sense when people meet my family. Someday everyone will understand. Haha. I love you all!

Here is to San Fran in June!

Giving

I got this from my friend Jessica. I think it is so cute. Let's keep the love going.

Here is the deal: The first four people to comment on this post will get something made by me.

My choice.

For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make.
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year.
4- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be photography, I may sew or paint something. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
5- I reserve the right to do something extremely creative.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your own blog and offer the same deal to 4 of your own lucky blog readers. So, the first 4 people to leave a comment telling me they are in, win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it.

Mittens from BOLT

I never knew how cute Mittens was. I still haven't seen the movie BOLT, but now I think I need to. If I do say so myself, I think Mittens was especially cute on Friday, March 13th. Don't you agree?

Pretty Kitty!

Kisses for you!

Rawr!
MITTENS!

Cousins at Disneyland

Happiness #7: Going to Disneyland with my Cousins

My cousin Haylie is in town. Every time she comes in from up north I take her, my cousin Jessica, and my sister Ashley to Disneyland. The four of us are very close and we always have a blast together. Ashley was not able to come with us on our adventure this time but the three of us had fun. I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time!

This was us on the tram today. Jessica, Haylie, and Me

This was us last time on the Tea Cups. Jessica, Ashley, Me, and Haylie!

Friday The 13th

Happiness #6: Friday The 13th

I was born on June 13th. The year I was born it was a Thursday but every time my birthday lands on a Friday I have the BEST day. I think if it is your birthday you have he opposite of the superstition. It's not a bad day, it's a great one. Now I hate scary movies so I have never seen Friday The 13th but I still like the day! Happy Friday the 13th!!!

Too Excited To Sleep

It is almost 3am and I cannot sleep. I am way too excited to fall asleep. My other half comes out here today. My cousin Haylie lives up north and I don't get to see her all that often. I share everything with her though. She knows everything about me. She really is my other half. Without her I wouldn't make sense. We are about 3 weeks apart in age so I think that helps. Haha. Her flight lands around noon and I can't wait to see her. My other cousin Jessica, Haylie, and I are going to Disneyland as soon as I get off work. We always have the best time. I am a little bummed that my sister is not going to be coming but I know we will still have a blast. Then on Saturday, Jessica's immediate family comes out. We are going to get our nails done, go to Sea World, and hang out. We are a very close family and I can't wait to see them all! YAY! Just a few more hours. This will be a busy couple days and I am sure I will be exhausted afterwards but it will be worth every second! So I am lying in bed trying and failing to get to sleep. I feel like the little kid in the Disney commercial that says he's too excited to sleep!!!

Not Just Science...Now a T.V Show

Happiness #6: The Big Bang Theory

Need to laugh? This show will do it. My mom started us watching this show. She watched the pilot and told us we had to watch it. She was so right! I love this show now. I can't miss an episode. If you haven't seen it, watch just one episode and you will be hooked.

It's about these 2 physicists that live together. When a new young, hot neighbor moves in across the hall one of them is love struck. The socially awkward physicists and their other two just as awkward friends have an interesting relationship with this newcomer.
My sister put the first season on my iPod and even though I have seen every episode, I can watch them again and again...and I do. Great writers, amazing actors, and SO many laughs. I hope this show is here to stay awhile. Monday nights, 8pm on CBS...channel 2 for me.

The Spirit of Children

Happiness #5: Children

I love children. I have been around children all my life and I love the spirit and energy they have. I thrive on feeding off that energy. Working at The Little Gym has made my love for children grow. I have had the opportunity to become close with them and love them as my own family. I look forward to going in to work everyday and seeing their smiling faces and hearing the crazy stories they want to tell me. Just today I had one of my kids in a class of mine bring his pet to class. His pet was a snake and I am TERRIFIED of snakes. But he wanted me to pet him so bad. I declined but said hi to it.

After class we give all the children stamps, one on each hand, each foot,and then a belly stamp. They love that the color of the stamp pad changes sometimes and the stamp is different every week. The same little boy that so generously brought his snake to share also brought a stamp and stamp pad of his own. The stamp pad was bright green and the stamp was baby feet. After class he wanted to give everyone a stamp. He was so sweet to share. I let him stamp my hands and feet as well. I had a bright green smear on each hand and foot. As everyone was leaving I went outside to say hello to a mom that I don't get to see often. As we were chatting I picked up her daughter and we were being silly and playing. It wasn't until about 20 minutes later that I realized that all the extra ink thatwasn't completely dry from the little girls hands and my hands was now on my freshly clean, white work shirt. I had a few green smears and black smears now on my shirt.

There was no way to be mad. It made me laugh so hard to think of how the spirit and love of these children was now on my shirt looking like a painting. I love it.

March 10th

It's March 10th 2009. Today, it has been three years since my grandmother passed away from Ovarian Cancer. She fought this silent monster long and hard and after 8 years she lost the battle. My grandmother was a driving force for going to school, she always asked how it was going, she always made it seem important, and she always made it seem ok, no matter how I was doing. I learned a lot from her and after she died I didn't care about school anymore. I really hope she is up in heaven looking down on me and can be proud that I have made the decision to go to culinary school. She always wanted her family to be happy and to do what makes them happy. I really think that one of the main reasons my family is as close as we are is because she made it that way. My grandparents always had an open door for family and friends. Anyone could walk in the door to their house and be greeted with warmth, love, and know they were welcome to stay as long as they wanted. Besides dinner was going to be soon...so you might as well stay. After she passed away my family became very active in raising awareness for this silent killer. Ovarian Cancer is a serious deal, it cannot be detected on the normal tests that doctors do. Women are not normally diagnosed until it is very late, and symptoms are usually thought to be nothing. We have started a memorial golf tournament to raise money and awareness. I cannot wait for September 15th for this years golf tournament.

As hard as it has been losing her I know that she is now in a better place. I think it has also brought some of my family even closer. While it seems there are some pulling away from the family, everyone else seems to be closer than ever.I love my family and would do anything for them. I can't wait to see you guys this weekend!

Haylie...3 days! YAY!
Everyone else...4 days! YAY!

I love and miss you grandma! R.I.P Elizabeth Miller

Target Socks

Happiness #4: Target Socks
I love socks from Target. From the knee highs to the ankle socks. I think they are really cute and fun.

Girl Scout Cookies

Happiness #3: Girl Scout Cookies
I was a girl scout when I was little and I actually loved selling cookies. It was really fun to hang out in front of the grocery store and hassle people to buy our cookies. But the cookies are so good that they really sell themselves. Now that I am older I still love to support the girl scouts...who am I kidding. I love the cookies. Thin Mints are my favorite and I think it is really dumb that they changed the names of the cookies after so many years. I understand making them more expensive but why change the names? Oh well. I love this time of year and always wish I had bought more because I go through them so fast. I am not sure who decided that the serving size for Thin Mints is 4 cookies but I could eat half a box. They brighten my day because I can't get them all year so it makes me happy when the time comes.

Pole Dancing?

OC Pole Fitness
My best friend told me that she was going to take a class at OC Pole Fitness because she wanted to work on her upper body strength. She thought this would be a very fun thing to do. So I said I would go with her. We went tonight to the 7:15pm class. This place is in Aliso Viejo and you would never know it is there because it is upstairs of a Karate and Gymnastic Studio. The class started with us doing a lot of stretching. Once we stretched we worked on some floor work. Just trying to be sexy and silly and have fun. Then we started working with the poles.
There are 7 poles in the room and the class was the perfect size to have two people on a pole. My friend and I were on the same pole. We stretched a little more using the pole as support. After that the instructor taught how to walk around the pole. She showed us a fun sexy walk. Then she showed us a how to spin on the pole. She taught us a very "simple" spin. This spin was not simple. We had a hard time trying to get it right. It is really all about where your body is at the right time. We worked on that for a while and then we got to learn another spin. This next spin was a little more advanced but after the first spin we could handle it. This spin was my favorite but I know I will have bruises from it. After that she taught us a little routine that added the first turn with some other moves that every girl knows how to do. Once we did that for a little bit we had some time to "free dance". She played a song and you had the entire length of the song to do whatever you wanted to work on. At the end of the song she said switch groups and she played another song so that everybody got a chance to free dance. I was in the second free dance group and toward the end she came over o teach me a new spin. I think I will have some bruises on my shins thanks to this spin.
Then she asked if we were all ready for the workout. My friend and I looked at each other and said "what did she just say?" Oh my did she mean workout. She kicked our butts. We worked out muscles I wasn't aware I had. And she didn't let you give up. She was so nice and encouraging.
After the workout it was time to go home but because it was a few of our first day she told us to hang out and she would show us some things that we could learn in a few months. She totally did a sexy pole dance for us. It was very impressive since we were looking at it from a muscle standpoint. I am sure any guy would have thought it was really hot.
The class was $40 but for the workout I got I think it was worth every penny. I hope that I can go back...they have different plans that you can do so you can pay for what you think you will attend and I sure hope that I can do a party or something for all my girlfriends at some point.
Thanks Erika we had a blast. But i don't think I will be able to move for like 3 days haha!

http://www.ocpolefitness.com/home.php

Cupcakes!!!

Happiness #2: Cupcake Stuff
I love cupcake stuff! Anything from the cupcake ornament hanging from the rear view mirror of my car to pajamas with cupcakes on them to cupcakes themselves. If it has a cupcake on it or anything to do with cupcakes I need it. Haha. That is why I have so many cupcake books. Owning all things cupcake has become my new obsession and it makes me happy.

Changes

I am beginning this blog for a few reasons. I have been going to college for almost 6 years and have been working toward my someday getting my teaching credentials. In the past two or three weeks I have decided to change my world completely and I applied to culinary school. I found out last week that I was accepted to The Art Institutes Of California and I am so excited and scared at the same time. Not really knowing what I am getting myself into is a little scary but it is so exciting that I could have possibly found the thing I was meant to do. Also, in the past year I have met one of the most inspirational women I have ever met. Her family is battling something very dangerous and serious and she still has the time to smile and take care of her 3 children. I find her a great role model and I hope one day to be as strong and open as she is. she has started this thing about what makes her happy. She has tried everyday or every couple days to post something that makes her happy and makes her day a little better. I find this amazing. If everyone thought more about what made their day better than what ruined it, I think this would be a better world. So I have decided to do the same thing. Hopefully this will begin a chain of people who think about what makes their day and life great!

So my first happiness is here:

1. Puppy Love
I have two dogs who give out the most unconditional love. I come to Kirby and Bailey everyday knowing I will smile, be greeted with happiness and wagging tails. And then I get to snuggle and hug them while watching t.v. You can't beat it!

This was the other day, Kirby put his head on top of Bailey's while they were laying with me on my couch! So sweet!