Life lately....

     Life lately has been busy. Life lately has been boring. Life lately has been very blah. I am so so SO sick of the winter. I need spring like I need air. Only I need warm, sunny, happy air. The winter and ALL of this ridiculous snow needs to stop! It's making me crazy and a little depressed. I know I live in New England and I should expect it. Usually I do but this year is out of control! On the other hand, life lately has also been wonderful, as life always is if you look for happiness in the small things.
     We went bowling with one of my Mom, one of my best friends and her daughter. It was Gabe's first time bowling and MAN did he LOVE it!!! He was really really good at it too! He actually beat all of us!

                         

     Sophia has learned how to pull herself up and stand on her own. It was so shocking the first time I saw it happen I yelled her name and scared her so she fell. Which of course I felt horrible about! The second time (when I took the pictures below) was much better and she stayed standing for a while!

     I did a mini photo shoot with Sophia in a dress that a friend of mine bought me at my baby shower. It is a 9 month dress and she is 9 months now but she is in clothes much bigger than that and I'm afraid the dress won't fit her this spring when she could actually wear it. So instead I decided to take a bunch of pictures of her in it because the dress (and of course Sophia) are gorgeous!!!

     I bought this watch and the lovely lady who sold it to me, Leslie from this blog, also sent me the cutest Princess Sofia the First bow, for my little Princess Sophia!

I also got this ring from Lisa Leonard Designs, that I absolutely love!!! It has my fiance and children's first initial of their first names and then my favorite number, 13, engraved in it. It's handmade and so special!

I went back to the gym for the first time in years! I got cleared to do so by the doctor on Monday and went that night with a friend! I need to get back in shape and lose some weight for myself and my kids. I just want to be a happier, healthier me and it's time to start making that happen! I really enjoyed the time at the gym and can't wait to keep going! It felt so good to do something to make me a better me! 

     So yes, life lately has been a whirlwind as always. However, I wouldn't trade a single day of it for anything! I love my family. I love my friends. I love myself. I love starting new routines. I'm still wishing for spring/summer and all the outdoor activities it will bring (as well as our Disney World trip that Gabe still knows nothing about) but for now I will try and embrace the little moments... even if they do happen in the winter... 

Love, love, love! <3

Best Friend: 13 Things I Love and Promise....

     I really enjoyed doing this post to my children. They're obviously the most important things in my life and I love them unconditionally. I started thinking more and more about the most important people in my life. My fiance, my mom, my brother and my friends. Without my friends I would have gone crazy and lost it a long time ago. So this post is to my best friend who keeps me sane on a daily basis.

Dear Best Friend,
     There are a million "best friend" lists out there. So many of them apply to our friendship. However, these are some of the things that I love about our friendship. These are some of the things I promise to you forever and always. After all, who knows which is longer.

1) I will always snap chat you to ask about any article of clothing, for myself, before I buy it.
     I can't even begin to fathom what I would be wearing right now if it weren't for pictures and snap chat. Being a mom makes staying in tune difficult and you're always there with your opinion and I appreciate that. I will also tell you my opinion on anything you're about to buy. I won't stop you from buying it but I will tell you that the fluffy, funny shaped rug you're about to buy is way too weird.
2) I will always be here for you.
     I will be here to cheer you on. I will be ecstatic about the good. I will listen to you vent. I will trash talk anyone or anything that is bad. I will happily punch people in the face for you if I have to, or at least threaten to do it to make you feel better. I will play devil's advocate. I will find the positive. I will listen and understand. I will do whatever I need to do to get you through things. No matter what.
3) I will always encourage over-indulging.
     Alcohol. Food. Shopping. Coffee. Sometimes, you just need it and I am the person you can count on to understand that and make you feel way less guilty about it.
4) I will make sure that we always have a show together.
     I love that we have shows together. We just kind of fell into that fact that we both already loved One Tree Hill but I want to make sure we always have one. It's a silly connection that I really enjoy. If it could always be a show with Sophia Bush in it, that would be just fine by me!!!
5) It doesn't matter to me how much or little time we have together.
     As long as we talk, text, snap chat, facebook, instagram, tweet and see each other as often as life permits, I am happy. I know that we can pick up right where we left off no matter how little we see each other and I know that we will always be there for each other regardless of time spent together.
6) The fact that we both love....
     glitter, sparkles, Taylor Swift, One Tree Hill, the same genre of books, the number 13, the beach, Starbucks (although my addiction to that was your fault), the Patriots, crime/cop shows and so many other millions of things, makes me us, us. Our similar tastes in things combined with our many differences is what makes things so perfect!

7) Men are infuriating.
     That is why we have best friends. The way I see it, if I didn't have you to vent to about the man in my life, I probably would have killed him by now. Having a friend who understands and listens and will go out with me to do things when he won't (or I don't want him to) is exactly what I need. Of course, I am here to do the same for you. They may be our other halves but I think you complete the first half of me.
8) I really appreciate and love the way you care for and love my kids.
     I cannot wait until you have kids so I can love and spoil them in the same way that you have mine! I am also happy to let you borrow mine for an extended period of time to insure that you don't have kids until you're 100% ready and want to. I assure you if I load them up with sugar and stuff before I leave them with you, it will make you want to wait. Most people find it difficult when they have kids and their friends don't but with you that has never been an issue and it just makes you that much more incredible.
9) I love that I can trust you with anything.
     I know that no matter what I say to you I can not only trust you with it but I know that you won't judge me. You won't judge my stupid moments, my angry moments, my bad moments or habits, my imperfections. None of those things have ever changed your opinion of me. I know that I can talk to you about anything. No matter what I hear or if something is bothering me, I'm going to talk to you about it directly. It is incredible to have a friend like that. I know that you know you can expect and do the same with me.
10) The stupid, ridiculous, silly things are my favorite.
     When you can't do math or I say something completely idiotic and we just laugh, for like, 5 years about it, those are some of my favorite moments.
11) I like that no matter what we do, we have fun as long as we're together.
     Whether we go on a trip or stay in and eat junk food and watch OTH or just head to Target for absolutely no reason at all, we're having a good time. No matter what it is that we're doing just hanging out with each other is enough to revive my soul.

12) I will always remind you just how amazing you are.
     I will always be here to tell you you're beautiful, brave, smart, kind, funny and wonderful. No matter how bad of a day you're having I will always be there for a pick me up. Sometimes I will probably even say it just because I feel like it. Every one of those things is true. You are one of the most amazing and driven and intelligent people that I know. You are going to do wonderful things with your life and I will be here every step of the way.
13) You will always be my B. Davis to P. Sawyer.
     It's the best way to say it. Lets face it, we've had ups and downs. We've gone through rough patches. Maybe we've never actually physically hit each other but there have been times when we have both felt that way. I can't express how amazing it is to have made it through all the bull shit and come out the other side closer and stronger. I will never let anything separate us again. I need you in my life. I want you in my life. You're a keeper. I love you J. Davis. Forever and always. 

Love always,
Diane

The Grass isn't Always Greener on the Other Side...

  I won't pretend that this week was the best week of my life. I honestly thought I would enjoy and appreciate it more than I did. I couldn't do anything. I was out of it with a cloudy, fuzzy brain. I was tired. In pain. Sore. Irritated. This week was a challenge considering I have done nothing since coming home from the hospital. It was difficult not to be able to do the normal things like work, dishes, vacuum, laundry. It was horrible not to be able to play with my son the way he wanted. It was devastating not to be able to pick up and hold my daughter. I felt like a terrible mom this week. Sophia couldn't understand why Mommy couldn't pick her up when she bumped her head. Gabe was understanding but hated that I couldn't go outside to play in the snow with him. I just wanted to do more. Be more. Give them what they needed. But I couldn't. This week I had to take care of me.

    This week I learned to appreciate so many things in my life. My ability to do all of the things that I normally do. The people around me that came and helped me do everything that I was unable to do. My mom was the biggest help of all. She freaked out every time I moved for the first few days. I can never thank her enough for everything she has done. James was also a life saver. Whenever my mom was at work he was there to fill in the gaps. He was by my side, making sure the kids were taken care of and that I didn't need anything. My brother picked up Gabe from school while I was in the hospital which was extremely helpful. My friend Caroline did a very large amount of dishes the day after I came home. She had to have known they were making me crazy! My work friends sent me the most amazing Edible Arrangement. I have ALWAYS wanted someone to send me one of those but they're so expensive that I never would have asked! It made me feel really special to come home to that! And chocolate covered pineapples and strawberries.... I almost died! My friend Melissa visited me and just talked to me for a while then came again today and took me to a movie and shaved my poor cats tangled fur. My friend Jenn sent texts, facebook messaged me stickers and kept me afloat all week when I was feeling down. I could not be more grateful for all of these amazing people in my life. There are so many more that I couldn't even begin to put it all into writing. So many people checked in with me to make sure I was doing well and there is nothing that makes a person feel better than that.

     I did a lot of catching up on shows that were long forgotten on my DVR. One of them was Once Upon A Time. I forgot how much I loved that show until I watched 8 episodes straight. It is so good and the story line is just so intricate! I really enjoyed that. I also did a Criminal Minds marathon. I watched the entire first season of Girls which I have not made up my mind about whether I like or not.
     I did not do as much reading as I would have liked. I wanted to finish reading Allegiant by Veronica Roth. I do not believe I have ever not finished a book. I love to read. I get absolutely absorbed by the story. When it's a trilogy or a series, I don't stop until I am all the way through. For some reason I am at a standstill with this one. Just stopped and stuck. I liked it so I can't figure out what the problem is. I'm trying though. I started The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I haven't gotten very far but am intrigued by the characters and am pretty sure it is going to be amazing! I also got a book called I Am That Girl by Alexis Jones with a foreword by Sophia Bush. It's an inspirational and motivational book. I haven't gotten very far into it but I am loving all the good that it can teach women and girls!

     Valentine's Day was really wonderful and full of family love! It was Sophia's first which made it a special one for all of us. Both of the kids really loved waking up to their special Valentine's Day presents. A lot of what we got them was free or handmade which was really cool. Gabe made James and I a card at school and my Mom got me a Starbucks gift card... bless her heart of gold!

      I am finally getting back to feeling like myself and being able to move around normally again. Gabe and I played a couple of board games which was really enjoyable for both of us! I am really looking forward to getting back to normal with a lot more appreciation for the way my normal life is. For the rest of the night though I'm going to bask in relaxing and maybe even treat myself to a Girl Scout cookie or two. They've been here all week and they're getting impossible to resist!!! 

Second round of 50 Questions

     I'm sorry that my second round of 50 questions is a little late this week. After surgery things went okay but recovering has been a little more difficult than I anticipated. Plus, I ended up in the hospital for a day longer than I was supposed to be there. Gall bladders... pain in the butt!!! Anyway, here are my 10 questions for this week! Enjoy! Feel free to answer the same questions and let me know so I can read your answers too! 

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!! 

1. Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?

     I think I'm more worried about doing the right thing. I understand making mistakes. Do I want to make them? No. But I would certainly rather do things incorrectly than to do the wrong things completely and screw things up for me or my family. 

2. Would you break the law to save a loved one? 
     Yes. There are definitely boundaries to this and it definitely depends on what this loved one did and needs to be saved from. For the most part I can easily say I would do anything to save the people I love. 

3. What one thing have you not done that you really want to do? What's holding you back? 
     I would like to do a lot of things. One thing that I really want to do is go back to school. Further my education. Decide what I really want to do with my life. There are a lot of factors holding me back. Raising my children, money, work, time. I won't allow them to be excuses forever and I will go back to school in the next few years but right now, this time with my kids, it's the only time I will ever get and I don't want to miss it.

4. Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?  

     I have no idea how to answer this question. I hate the idea of losing my past memories. If I did lose them, how would I show my children all the things I have done in the past that they shouldn't or should do. If I kept all my old memories but could never create new ones then I would never remember, Sophia's first steps, Gabe's first date, weddings, I love you's, fights. I do not think I can honestly answer this question. Memories are too treasured from the past and the future for me to choose one. 

5. What is your happiest childhood memory? What makes it so special?

     I have a lot of happy childhood memories. None of them really stick out in my mind as super special. Many of them are just ordinary, random things. Each and every one of those things is a part of who I am today. I have a lot of memories of my whole family taking long drives to ski mountains up north and skiing together. I think those are some memories that I treasure a lot. I have a memory of my Godmother cleaning the toy room in my house and asking me why it looked like this and how I kept my room so clean. I responded by telling her it was because I kept my mother out of it. I find this memory pretty funny because to this day my mom is one of the least organized people I know and I wouldn't have it any other way. I have a memory of my grandma laughing hysterically because I made so stupid comment about M & M's having more than one in the bag while we were at the hospital with her because my dad was there. And I knew  I could be her comic relief in a sad situation. There are so many little memories that make up so much of me and are so special and dear to my heart. 

6. Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous? 

     Nope. Not a chance in the world. I wouldn't want to trade 10 years of my life with my kids and fiance for any amount of fame, looks or money. Ever.

7. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you? 

     I am not really the type of person who cares too much about what other people think of me. We are not built to have everyone like us. That's not even possible. Every single person in the world is different. How could we ever all possibly mesh? Sure, it would be wonderful if we could. It would be amazing if people didn't judge other people. But I am not the type of person who is going to worry about it if they do. So what would I do differently.... wear a princess tiara every day. Ha ha. 

8. How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?  

     I would say I'm probably my age. Maybe a little older. I'm still a kid at heart but I have a mama bear inside me that can never change at this point either and I think that makes you an adult automatically. 

9. What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world? 

     I wish that we could all work together and love each other for who we are. No judgments. No one being condescending. Just work together. Appreciate each person for who they are and spread love!

10. To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken? 

     Probably a lot more than I actually think I have. When I thought about my answer to this question I though, psssh, not at all. That is simply not true. Every decision I have made, big or small, throughout my whole life, has led me here. Sure, some of the decisions that got me here were also made by my parents. But overall, my life led me here by my choices and this is exactly where I am supposed to be. 

This week I am vulnerable and needy!

This week I am dreading:
- Having surgery to remove my gall bladder
- Being stuck at home for and extended period of time
- Not being able to lift my daughter
- Being unable to do housework
- Being alone
- Being in pain
- Feeling helpless
- Feeling vulnerable
- Feeling/ being needy

This week I am looking forward to:
- Seeing a Lego Movie with James, Gabe, my friend and her daughter.
- Having an early girls Valentine's Day dinner with a close friend.
- Enjoying one free day before my surgery
- Being lazy for a while
- Catching up on some reading, TV and R & R
- Having everyone around me wait on me for a change
- Me time
- Playing lazily with my kids
- Having some time off from work
- Valentine's Day
- Breakfast in bed
- Having time to blog

This week I need:
- Love
- Attention
- Visits and texts from friends
- Good books
- Good movies
- New shows
- Music
- Blog ideas

     It's going to be a rough week for me. It is going to be relaxing and awesome in so many ways. Yet, so terrible and miserable in others. I'm nervous and uncomfortable about my surgery. I have no idea what I should expect for after. I'm vulnerable and needy. I am making the most out of the one day I have before my surgery by spending it with my kids, my fiance and a close friend. After that I am going to try and let go of control and just take everything as it comes. I know I don't really have a choice in the matter and that regardless of what I want I have no control over what I can and cannot do. I am trying to look on the bright side of things. I actually cannot wait to catch up on some reading!

Have an amazing week everyone! I'm certainly going to try! :) 

13 Things to Say to My Children Before They're Grown...

     There are so many things we want to make sure we say to our children before they're too old to listen to us. I don't want to get to the "my parents don't know anything stage" before I instill some very important values in them. There are many obvious ones but I want to try and get them to learn from my mistakes. I know that is not an easy task. I know I never wanted to listen to my parents when they told me all of the things they wished they had done differently. So here are some things that I hope I can teach my kids before they're too old to care what mom has to say.

To my two beautiful children:

1) Go to college.

     I didn't and I regret it. Someday I would like to go back. Someday I would like to further my education and make the most out of it. Right now, I just want to make sure you know how important your education is. I want you to embrace every second of learning. I know it won't be easy. I know that school seems overwhelming and redundant at times but school is important. Learning is important. Getting a degree in anything that you want is important. You can do anything you set your mind to. You can be anything you want to be. Educate yourself first and then make the decision that is right for you.

2) You are beautiful/ handsome inside and out.

     No matter what you look like on the outside you are perfect just the way you are. You are as God made you and nothing about that is wrong. You are kind, funny, smart and amazing. Your inner beauty is far more important than anything else. Regardless of that, you are beautiful/ handsome no matter what society says. Society cannot decide for you what beauty is. Only you can make that decision. It is all in how you look at it. You decide how you choose to see yourself, other people and the world. You and only you.

3) Hate is the worst thing you can do.

     It may seem obvious to you that I am saying this. You probably want to roll your eyes at me and tell me you already know that but there is so much more to it than that. Hate is something that consumes you. Hate is the only thing that can change the person that you are. Hatred of yourself. Hatred of others. Hatred of a situation. Hatred of life. Do not hate anything. Forgive everyone, no matter what. You don't have to be someone's friend or trust them if they've hurt you, but do not hold onto any ill feelings you have toward them. Forgive yourself. You're going to screw up. You're going to make a mess of things. You will do things differently next time. You can change the things you don't like. Do not hold onto hate. Hate will consume all that you are and you are worth so much more than that.

4) Never be afraid to say no.

     I am not naive. I've been there. You're going to be asked to do things that you may be unsure about. If you're unsure, do not be afraid to say no. One thing I will never regret is that I am not and have not ever been afraid to say no. If I didn't want to, if I wasn't ready, if I felt unsure or unsafe, I said no. Just like that. Things are out there. They're enticing you to try them. Do not do it until you are ready. Do not do it unless you want to. Never do anything unless you are being safe. Never put pressure on yourself or others to do anything. Do not allow others to pressure you. It doesn't matter what people think. If your friends or significant other are upset in any way that you are saying no, fuck them! They don't deserve you in their life. You're better than that and you CAN say no until you are good and ready to say yes. If you wait, for all of it, until you are completely ready, the experience is going to be that much better!

5) Don't judge.

     It is embedded in human nature to judge people that don't do things the way that we think they should. That is not for us to decide. Everyone makes choices, good and bad, for themselves for so many different reasons. Ignore the stereo-types that people tend to indulge in. That is no way to live your life. Form your own opinions of people based on the person and not how they look, dress, what their size is, what extra curricular activities they do. None of those things define a person. So don't pretend that you know everything about someone based on one quick glance into their life. Get to know the real person before making a decision about who they are. You are going to make more real and lasting friendships by getting to know people instead of being mean.

6)  Follow your own instincts.

     Embrace your own thoughts. Form your own opinions. Ignore the negative and find the positive in everyone and everything. Don't follow the crowd. Be a leader. It won't always be easy to do but I promise you that it will be worth it. You will be a happier and more pleasant person for it. You will be a better person for it.

7) The people that are mean to you are not worth your time.

     You're going to come across them your whole life. Middle school. High school. Adulthood. At this point, probably even elementary school. They do not matter. They will come and go. They will put you down. They will hurt your feelings. They will make you sad. They will make you feel like your worst self. What you need to remember is that they cannot break who you are unless you let them. So don't. Be you. Stay positive. Forgive them even though they don't deserve it. It happens to everyone. Those people are not worth the effort or negative energy that you're going to be tempted to give them.

8) Vanity and over-confidence are not becoming for anyone.

     Feel good about yourself but don't spend hours in the mirror obsessing over how you look. Be confident but not boastful. Beauty is on the inside. Beauty is how you act and treat other people. True beauty cannot be found in the mirror. People that truly love and care about you don't care what you look like. They don't want to listen to you boast about yourself. They want the real you. The true you. The deep, meaningful, core of you.

9) Forever friends are hard to come by.

     You are going to have so many friends come in and out of your life. There will be so many people that say they want to be there for you and then disappear when things get rough. The people that never leave your side, no matter how rough life gets, those are the people you need to keep in your life. There will be a lot of people who are fun to be around but in the long run the fun will fade and there will be no one there when you need someone to stand beside you. Also, always be a forever friend. No matter who the person is or what they have done for you, if someone needs you and you can be there for them, do it. Be a best friend to everyone that you can because everyone deserves someone.

10) Bad days suck but they make the good days so much better!

     You're gonna have bad days. You're gonna have a lot of bad days. You're probably going to have a lot of bad days in a row at times. Without the bad days, the good days wouldn't feel nearly as good. Muddle through the bad days knowing that a good day is on it's way and it's going to feel like the best day you've ever had!

11) Life isn't about material things.

     Life isn't about expensive cars, houses or vacations. Those things are all nice but they don't make you a good or better person than anyone else. Life is about family. Life is about real friends. Life is about love. Life is about finding your happy.

12) No matter what your Dad and I are here for you.

     You're going to do bad things. You're going to do great things. You're going to make bad choices. You're going to make good choices. You're going to be sad. You're going to be happy. You're going to make mistakes. You're going to fix things. There are a million ups and downs in life and your Dad and I will be here for all of them. No matter how old you get, no matter how horrible what you have done is, we are here to listen and help. You may not believe it but we have been through almost anything that you can imagine and we understand. You can come to us with absolutely anything. This is also my promise to you that if it's really bad and you come to me, I will not get mad and blow up at you for the first time you make a mistake. I will assume you have learned your lesson because you had to come to me with your tail between your legs and I know that won't be easy for you.

13) I love you unconditionally.

     There is nothing more important than this last one. I will love you no matter what you do. I will love you no matter what you say. I will love you no matter how much you dislike me at any given moment. There will be times that we dislike each other. We are going to fight. We are going to scream. We are going to want to punch each other in the face. There will never be even a moment, through all of it, that I don't love you. You are the most important things in my life and I love you with every ounce of my being. No matter what, even if you forget every other thing I have ever told you, never forget this. I love you.

Love always,

Mom

Stressed is just Desserts spelled backwards...

     Stress is an ugly thing. It can really affect everything that you do and how you do it. It affects your mood and energy level. It affects the way you deal with the people and situations around you. Stress is frustrating. Everyone has it. It's hard to deal with and you can't just will it away. When I am stressed it takes away my focus on the things that are far more important.
    Stress causes strains in relationships. It causes me to snap at my kids, fight with my fiancee, yell at my mom, say nasty things to my brother, distance myself from my friends. I do not like being that person. That is not who I am. I am patient (most of the time), respectful, caring, loving, sociable. I do not like the way that stress makes me act or feel. I realize that I am the only person who can control how I respond to situations. The way I react to things is under my control and only my control. I don't have to act this way if I don't want to. If I can learn to deal with the stress in my own way, I can learn to react differently as well.
     I have many ways of dealing with my stress. Sometimes, I shut down and ignore it completely and pretend that everything is fine. I have come to realize that this is probably not a good way to do things. It definitely doesn't solve any issues. Sometimes, I like to just let out a good scream and cry and be really dramatic about it. That's probably not a good way of handling things either. I, also, have a habit of stress eating and shopping. Those are two things that I really want to break the habit of because neither of them are good for me! I have now found that taking some time to myself to breathe and think, makes things a lot better. It can be 5 minutes, it can be a half an hour or longer if I choose. In those minutes I can choose to concentrate on the problem, block it out, cry if I have to. Basically, it gives me the time to do what I need to do to move on and deal with the problem at hand. If I can't deal with it, if it's something that is out of my control, I can still figure out what I need to do for closure, to move on and relax.
     I know this won't work every time. There are a lot of things that just weigh on you that you cannot get out of your head. Sometimes I think I just like beating myself up instead of letting things go but that's a goal for 2014. Letting things go. So this is something I have been working on about myself. Letting go of stress and dealing with it differently.

Has anyone else been under a lot of pressure and stress lately? 

How do you deal with it? I would love to hear new and different ways to cope if you have them!

Have a fantastic Friday and weekend!

Love, love, love! 

A fun little game series!

     I have decided to participate in a series of 50 questions! There will be 10 questions every Wednesday for 5 weeks. They're fun questions made by a lovely lady named Kristen, who's blog you can find here. They're made just so we can all get to know each other better! You can even answer them yourself and link up on her page!!! I'm really excited to get started and I hope you all enjoy!

Which is worse, failing or never trying?
     Never trying is definitely worse for me. If I fail, I can do what I need to do to get over it, learn from it and move on. If I never try, it will hang over my head for eternity. Ok, that's probably a little dramatic but I do not like to regret things. It eats away at me. I'm just the type of person who would rather do it than wonder what if.
What are you most grateful for?
     There are SO many things in my life that I am grateful for. My fiance, my loving family (including my fiances family which I feel as though I have been adopted into), my supportive friends, my job... I could probably go on forever... but the thing I am most grateful for is definitely my kids.
Why are you, you?
     There were a lot of things that happened in years past that shaped my life to make me who I am today. I don't think I can pinpoint just one thing. It's a little bit of everything that has shaped and molded me into who I am now.
Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were really upset? Does it really matter now?
     Some of it matters, some of it doesn't. Am I a better person for all of it, yes, without a doubt.
Would you rather have less work to do or more work you actually enjoy doing?
     Easily more work I enjoy doing. I hate being stagnant. I would rather be busy than slow. Time just drags on and on when there's very little to do. So I would definitely rather be busy and loving it than bored and hating it!
Do you push the elevator button more than once? Do you really believe it makes the elevator go faster?
     It depends on my mood. If I am in a hurry I do which is ridiculous because I don't really believe that it makes the elevator go faster. I just get impatient I guess.
If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?
     One piece of advice... assuming it's a piece of advice that they remember forever... I guess I would tell them to be brave and loving so they can get through anything life throws at them. I'm not really sure though. This is kind of a scary question for me!
If the average human life span was 40 years how would you live your life differently?
     I think a lot of things would change. I wouldn't work as much, or worry about money as much, I don't think. I would want to scrape every second of my life and spend it with my family and friends instead of working and stressing out.There are just so many factors to this question but that was the first thing I thought.
Which is worse, when a good friend moves away or losing touch with a good friend who lives near you?
     Definitely losing touch with a good friend who lives near me. I have had both of these things happen and you can easily make long distance friendships work, especially with texting and facebook and stuff. Catching up is made pretty easy if both people care enough about each other to put the time in. Losing touch with someone that you're close to that still lives near you is always really hard and sad. It's painful and not something you can easily get over. I understand why it happens and that it happens but that doesn't usually make it any easier.
If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always afraid to make a mistake?
     I think there are always repercussions to our mistakes no matter how big or small they may be. Feeling like you've made a mistake is not a good feeling either, especially if you feel like you have let someone down in the process. Mistakes can usually be fixed though and more often than not you can move on from them. You definitely learn from every mistake you make no matter how big or small so maybe we shouldn't be so afraid to screw up.

    Those are the first 10 questions! I had a lot of fun thinking about them and sharing my answers! I hope as you read this you decide to answer them yourself and link up on Kristen's wonderful blog here!!! Have a beautiful and relaxing snow day to those of you in this area! I'm sending you thoughts of warm coffee and snuggles! Love, love, love!

Penguin Plunge 2014

    Yesterday was the 15th Annual Penguin Plunge. I'm pretty sure this was my 7th time plunging into the ocean in the dead of winter. Am I crazy or what?! It was awesome, as always! It's just so thrilling when you hit that 35 degree water in 40 degree or less air temperatures! It's like you're breaking the rules... but you're not. It's a wonderful fundraiser for the Special Olympics and I am more than happy to do it for the cause. It was amazing to see some of my old work family, as well. I miss them a lot! 

    And get this; we made the news!!!! We were in the first wave of jumping (there were 3 waves) and we were right in the front and caught on camera! I don't think I have ever been on the news quite so front and center before and it was totally cool to see myself. I'm glad I wasn't doing anything too silly! This is the video of us at the Plunge! 

    I had a wonderful time and I hope to be able to do some fundraising at my new work and have some of my new work friends come next year and be crazy with me! I bet I know a few who would be willing to be a little nutty with me. Let me just say, being 21 or older and having a couple of shots before you jump in, is always very helpful! So get ready for me next year, friends! I will be recruiting and fundraising! <3