If Love Was Like Water....

Then they would have it in an endless supply

I look at these pictures and my heart and soul are filled with a deep seemingly endless happiness. I mean, these two human beings, who are SO completely different in all ways, are madly in love. Even after 27 years of being married. 27 years that haven't always been happy. Years that have been hard and tried their patience and even have them admitting that they thought about throwing in the towel, but they didn't. I am so blessed for getting to the chance to witness this type of love.

I took these photos on a random thursday afternoon after a long day of my mom being at work and my father and I being in the city meeting with doctors. During those hours with my dad we accomplished a lot and laughed a whole lot more, but the thing that stands out to me the most isn't in any of those moments. It was as we were waiting for our order at Five Guys Burgers and Fries (such good greasy sin like burgers, you HAVE the try them... they leave you the most uncomfortable happy full you will ever feel). We started talking about my mom and something silly she had done the weekend before. As I am gazing at my father on the stool and he looks away and his face drops a bit. Into a sort of introspective look that tells of secrets that only he knows about, as his face pulls up in a smirk he says "I love your Mother" and you could feel how true his words were by the look of pure happiness that poured out of them. I felt as if I had just stood directly in front of the sun, that is the kind of warm happy feelings that it gave me to know such a thing. 

I know this may sound silly to some, but for me its so much. I have the two best examples of parents. They are loving, generous, funny, smart and kind. I could not ask for better ones. I can only hope and pray that I turn into a quarter of the type of human beings that they are. Can only hope and dream that I can know what a true love like that is really like, that after 27 years of marriage my life is complete because of that one person. 

Disney movies have got nothing on my parents, Huzzah!

What is that sweet sound I hear?!

I believe that is the sound of victory folks.

That's right, I have finally managed to bake something that my picky brooklyn conservative father enjoys. YUP! I am pretty sure my whole entire day is made now. He has currently had 4 of my new Raspberry Tassie's in the past 10 minutes. This is a night that will go down in history people.... okay more like my personal journal, that is actually just me writing it here because every time I attempt to have a personal journal I fail miserably. Anyway, there is my ADD kicking in again... My dad always tells me to find a new hobby because I tend to make things he doesn't like to eat, but today the man has eaten his words! 

I truly have won this round.

And here are a picture of the lovely new 

Oatmeal Applesauce cookies with Maple Frosting I made today.

Post the recipe soon!

The Stars Sure Burn Brightly!

This weekend was busy. Work, work and more work.

BUT.... It was filled with some amazing things:

1. Burger Bliss

 I ate at Five Guys Burgers and Fries for the first time in like 5 months, it was the first time I bit into anything since I had my jaw surgery two months ago! It was.... unreal! I forgot how much enjoyment you can really get from taking one big bite out of a juicy burger! 

2. Looney Linda

I had a customer who made me literally want to pull my hair out and give her the biggest hug in the entire world. She was fantastic and frustrating. I was so grateful to have gotten to meet her. She hated almost everything I picked out! Can't have collars, if it has navy in it.. totally out, no buttons, and the list goes on. Yet, she was so loving and hilarious with her best friend of 45 years. Yes people she is 67, 5 foot and a pure spitfire. She cursed like a trucker, stopped to talk and laugh with everyone, giving compliments to other customers trying things on, and even being difficult she made it the seemingly easiest appointment on my record! 

3. Spunky Squirt

 I met a little 3 year old chunk of a little girl, who was just so spunky and full of life. She ran around like crazy and her name was Sydney! But that wasn't even the best part, she ran over and hugged my legs!!!! My heart just about exploded into billions of pieces. I can't even begin to make you understand how much I had needed this. One simple gesture and my whole entire day was instantly better.

4. Monopoly Man

There is a man that I work with who seriously looks like the Monopoly Man, except with an astounding fashion sense. I guess that is why he is the only male personal stylist! Anyway, he has always been a kind man, he just seems to exude his gentle nature. He is probably one of the best men I have ever met. A man in love with his wife and best friend of 24 years, who he affectionately said would kick his butt cause she was a real "tough cookie". I learned that he is a youth pastor and that for 17 years he has run multiple Midnight Runs. They are nights where supplies and food are brought to the homeless. Not only that but he came up to me randomly and sweetly said "Please don't take this wrong. You were cute before but you are now beautiful! Don't let anyone tell you differently." Talk about getting my face bright red and hurting from smiling so much!

5. Morning Bliss

I awoke one afternoon morning to get my butt up for work. As per my normal routine, I procrastinate for a good hour before actually rushing to get in the shower, throw on a sloppily put together outfit and get my self together. Naturally this time is taken up with completely useful time catching up on blogs, facebook, crappy tv and other such important events. This particular morning I walked into our sun room and was greeted with the view of an amazing dense morning hazy that was wrapping itself around the tree in the middle of my yard. With the sun shining it's bright happy beams through the cracks in the tree and producing one of the most breathtaking views! I wish everyone could have seen it in person, my photo does it no justice!

Man I love my life. It's always amazing to me how blind someone can be to the beauty of all the things around them. I have made a pact with myself to start paying more attention to the world around me. Really taking into account what goes on in my life and taking stock of it has brought me so much joy lately. I hope everyone will truly take in the things that go on around them and let it 

affect their lives in the most positive way possible. 

It truly makes a difference!

Baking Bonanza

These babies are my next on my baking to do list!

Blueberry Muffin with Streusel Topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Streusel Topping

What you will need:

1/2 cup Sugar

1/3 cup All-Purpose Flour

1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

1/4 cup Butter

- Combine sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl.

- Cut in butter mixture until it resembles crumbs

Muffing Batter

What you will need: 

1/3 cup Sugar

1/4 cup Butter (softened)

1 Egg

2 1/3 cup All-Purpose Flour

1 tablespoon & 1 tsp Baking Powder

1 cup Milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 1/2 cup Fresh Blueberries

- In a large bowl, combine the sugar and butter. Cream until Light. 

- Add the egg, mixing well

- In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder.

- Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, alternating it with the milk. Stir well.

- After stir in vanilla and blueberries.

- Once complete, spoon into lined muffin pans, filling each cup 2/3 full.

- Sprinkle streusel topping over muffins

- Bake for 25 - 30 mins. 

Lucky Green Goblins!

HAPPY SAINT PATRICKS DAY!

On a side note

Totally can't wait to have kids... well no okay backtrack. 

I can wait, I mean I am excited. It'll be totally awesome when the time comes

but I can wait for a bit to have all that happen. 

I just happened upon these cute little outfits and it inspired me to look around

at adorable baby things, because I mean who doesn't

love miniature everything?!

My kids are going to be so fashionable!!!!

I mean look at those little boots? And the blazers. Oh man, my poor children. 

Smothered with immense amounts of love and adorable clothing!

Oh happy days!

Random Realizations

Lately, there are a few things that I have realized...

1. That the speed meter things, ya know those big boxy things left by the police on the sides of the road that tell you how fast you are going, I have no idea what their real names are. No, that isn't my realization. It's that they actually read your speed whichever way you are going. For some reason this never occurred to me. Obviously they don't just all the sudden lose the capability to read your speed when you are facing away from them! Stupid Sydney!

2. That green pasta (aka spinach pasta) tastes JUST as good as the real kind. And no matter what your folks try to tell you it isn't that color because it's old!

3. I have blue eyes and I am convinced if I didn't have them then I just wouldn't be as cool!

4. I am immensely lucky for the family and friends that I have. They are all seriously exceptional. I can not name anyone that I truly dislike in my life, there is no one. 

5. That whenever I walk in the door my dog greets me with a couple of sneezes and a butt wag.

6. That it's totally fine I laugh obnoxiously loud at work and my coworkers call me from across the store to tell me to shush!

7. There will never be anything better then getting into bed at night. Especially a cold bed, for some reason I LOVE getting into a cold bed. 

8. Commercials are steadily becoming just as awesome as all the TV shows I watch. Thank you TV advertisement God's you are awesome! 

9. Sicilian pizza is SO much better then regular pizza because their is basically like a trillion times the crust. I mean, isn't the crust everyones favorite part of the pizza?

10. That I suck at scrabble / words with friends / scramble... because even though I always thought I had a superior vocabulary, I actually don't. It's sorely lacking. I need to break out the dictionary and hop on the word a day bandwagon.

I could probably sit here and write a million more but then you will realize how big of an airhead I can be at times!

Conundrum

Totally not a serious one but an issue none the less.

(Ridiculous picture for a ridiculous post, seemed fitting)

I can't for the life of me figure out what to wear these days! I walk into my closet and my mind is like "Oh hellllz NO!" and just simply turns to mush, or just up and leaves. I can't decide which because at times it's as if there is a bit of rusty wheel functioning, other times it's like complete fembot break down.

So, as I was saying, I can't put myself together. I don't know why but I felt like I have looked like such a slob lately. It's definitely not that I don't have the clothing to put together nice things. I definitely have the clothing, far too much of it to be completely honest. I just tend to not be able to figure out what it is I have at the time. I work for a clothing store, I put together outfits for clients for HOURS every single day. How is it that when it comes to myself I am like a broke down honda just not able to make it through the last toll? Is it that I am missing some style gene or something? Did I just miss the class on how to dress yourself in High School?

Then there are those days where I am totally into what I am wearing, I walk out of my closet feeling all super sweet. Thinking, Man I totally look awesome, everyone is gonna be so jealous! Watch me work! Only to walk into work or wherever it happens to be, where someone totally cool walks by and immediately the little voice in my head changes its tune.  Really? Grey stockings with THOSE shoes Sydney! How could you even do that! Did you see her dress, now THAT is style. Psh! Thanks, little style guru, you have failed.

When I was younger I got dressed all the time, always put together cute outfits. Okay, maybe they weren't always SO cute but Hey! At least I tried. I have gotten far too lazy and that has GOT to end. I need to toss caution to the wind, throw on those crazy heels that make me taller than half the population (did I mention I have a Napoleon complex?), get creative and strut!

Okay, end rant!
Hope everyone is enjoying this absolutely FANTASTIC weather!
Get outside and bask for me too since I am stuck indoors.

<3

Bright Days and Wistful Thinking

This time last year I was aboard a lovely cruise liner with four of my lovely friends!

Long lazy days filled with sun, laughter, friendly islanders / strangers, great food, dancing and karaoke! I mean what can be better? Not many things come to my mind. Though, I have to say the whole the boat is moving and you randomly realize it kind of freaked me out. Not to mention my intense fear of heights and walking near the railing of the ship was totally out of the question! It's totally possible for all the welded hinges to come undone and me to topple into the shark and crazy big scary eight armed octopus infested waters. I mean, everyone said the Titanic was unsinkable, and look at what happened with that! And what animal wouldn't want to eat my boney butt? Exactly!

I can't forget spinnakers, DJ MopTop, the super sweet contests, bar crawls (in which I drank basically nothing) with awesome irish car bombs, little kids running around, yoga class with the super duper cute Swedish instructor ;) Hey Andrew! It was a fantastic time. I would love to go back or to even take a year and work on a liner myself. 

Well, here goes my picture spamming:

One of the best vacations I have ever had!

I miss these girls so much.

Promise tomorrow I will post a recipe, I know I have been seriously slacking on those!

FRIDAYYY!

Well people I just have to tell you a tiny little story that just shows how unsocialized and idiotic I have become! It's quite hilarious, I leave some mighty great impressions on people, It's really no wonder everyone remembers me. "Oh Hey! Look it's that girl that tripped down the stairs last Wednesday!"

No I did not do that BUT I did do something pretty stupid. It was more a comment than anything else. I guess I should stop qualifying and just tell the story already, geez! Anyway, thursday was my second full day back at work. I was exhausted from my first day back and my excursion with the moon the night before. Naturally, this means that my otherwise impeccable social skills and cues were sorely impaired (not to mention seriously rusty). Where I work is currently under intense reconstruction, so all our merchandise has been shifted into aisles and into other departments, in some weird semblance of order. The new rule of thumb at our store is to make sure you stay in the aisle and "Greet EVERY customer with a smile and friendly Hello!". Sounds right up my ally! Talking to strangers? YES! Being happy? YES! Smiling? Heck YES! I have this down pat people. I was totally in my element. Little did I know this is a competition of sorts, and when a manager notices such exemplary performances they give out "chips" aka poker chips. Every friday you are supposed to take your winnings to the office and deposit your name and chips into a drawing and see if you won a super sweet prize. Cool beans? I can totally do that. So, off I go, Greeting and mingling with the hoards of shoppers. 

Suddenly, my store manager (aka the big alpha dog) comes up to me and compliments my skills. At some point in walking down the aisle with her, as she is explaining what she likes about my approach, I must have dropped my mind. We stop and converse a bit more and suddenly she begins to dig around in her pants pocket. "Sydney, I am very impressed. Keep up the good work. I want to share a chip with you!" says Big Alpha Dog.  As I take a few steps toward her and put my arm around her shoulders with my other hand giving her a friendly tap on the arm and exclaim "Oh, no! I couldn't. That's sweet of you to share but I can't eat them!" dun dun dun.... Idiot Sydney has just entered the building. Realizing what just came out of my mouth, what she was referencing too, the fact that she had a look that was the cross between disbelief and amusement. Not to mention, I am HUGGING my BOSS! I am an idiot... Really Sydney? Is she seriously keeping potato chips in those tight pants pockets of hers? Points for team Sydney! NAHT! 

Oh well, on a happier note.... 

(Excuse the odd face I am making)

Me and Tiny! Loves her, the feisty adorable 4'9 spitfire! 

Have a good weekend 

<3

My bones ache

I am weary and need to sleep.

Even my jaw aches.... oh wait, that could always be because they sawed

 through it about a month ago!

So I leave you folks with this:

Just because it's thursday! 

Goodnight Moon!

I know it's late... I just can't resist! 

(Photo Source)

I have just had one fantastic day. From the start it was just good. Do you ever have those days where you wake up and you just get that feeling inside that things are going the way they were supposed to? Well, if not, just nod your head and pretend for a second! Today was that day for me. It was my first real day back at work. Exhausting after sitting on my tush for about 6 weeks straight, but amazing to see and laugh with the people I love at work. Getting to have random conversations with some fantastic

new patrons was awesome, their are some fascinating people out there. They have

some of the greatest stories if you just take the time to listen to them for a few. It is always such a thrill and a pleasure. 

The amazingness didn't just stop there. Once I got home I was greeted by the waggy butt bear cub, aka dexter, and then proceeded to laugh with my parents. As the night wore on the exhaustion began to take its toll and I felt the need to sleep but as I went to shut the lights in my computer room something happened. The night sky called to me. I know that sounds totally lame and "crazy woo woo" (as my mom would say) but it did. It was this pull in my gut, I went to the window and I couldn't deny it. I climbed out the window with a big blankie and basked in the unbelievable site that is our night sky. I am telling you guys, this one was a beauty. It was worth every single second of lost sleep for the grace of God that I got to experience. 

It truly is an experience of God. I can't explain it any other way. I know there are those who don't believe but sitting beneath something so vast, so unbelievable in every fathomable and logical way to me, I just can not simply say there is no God. For me that is the proof. That kind of experience of awe just opens my eyes, heart and soul up to the rest of the proof that I often take for granted. Natures beauty, sounds, the people I love, the things I do, even what I am as a human being. 

Tonight... I am thankful. So very thankful for everything God has given me!

I wish that you all could have experienced it with me. 

Cuddle!

Hope your week is filled with as much love as mine! 

(Yes, this was taken during recovery... jealous of my makeshift hospital bed?!)

Yes folks, that is me with two, count em' TWO of my minion loves about to take a glorious nap!

Life is awesome!

Am I the Only One...

- Who finds it takes them forever to read Pride & Prejudice because I just can't seem to grasp

everything in old english?

- Who has drawers and closets filled with clothes and shoes but for some reason can never put together a decent outfit? I mean how do these fashion bloggers do it?!!! Seriously, everyday you look put together. Do you do it the night before? I don't get it. It's like when I wake up and try to put something cute together it never looks right. Or I have those minds farts where I completely forgot that totally adorable outfit that I thought of yesterday! Fail!

- Who doesn't have it together? I read all these blogs and everyone seems to know exactly what they are doing, is awesome at organizing, always happy, can basically: juggle, cook a big thanksgiving dinner, while standing on their head and burping their babies! What kind of super good at life energy drink do you have and where can I find it?

- Who really wishes that they could sing like Christina Aguilera? Cause man belting seems more therapeutic then punching a pillow! 

- Who has no idea what I am meant to do with my life? I feel as if I am stuck in this limbo of no career ideas. Like I have no useable talents that could even be dabbled with and turned into something that could resemble a career. Why wasn't I one of those prodigy babies that grew up talented or knowing exactly what they wanted? 

- Who can't seem to time meals correctly. Either the side dish is done about an hour and a half before the dish or vice versa! Do I need to go to cooking schools or is this a gift of genetics, because apparently it skipped my generation! 

- Who really wants to like going to the gym and working out but can't seem to get to that elusive 30 day mark that would get me over the hump of it being torture?

- Who collects high heels like its my job but has absolutely NO WHERE to wear them? I mean what am I gonna do wear them for the hour that I go to the grocery store. Talk about some weird looks!

- Who doesn't seem to understand how people just "know"? Is it a feeling? Do you just go with it and take you're best shot hoping that you made the right choice? I am so confused! Is it because I am as indecisive as a little kid debating between a cookie or a donut.

- Who wishes that they could have that thick hair that needs nothing done when it comes out of the shower and is either perfectly straight or has those sexy beachy waves when dry? 

- Who really has no idea how to do makeup? Or to do my hair? Pretty sure my life consists of concealer, powder, blush, mascara, and a straightening iron! Can someone give me lessons?!!!

- Who thinks Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez are just adorable? Don't care if you think the are ridiculous, I am a fan and not ashamed to admit it! 

Now, let me make something clear. I am NOT unhappy with my life. I understand that things are not easy. I also realize just how completely lucky I truly am. I am so thankful that I have all my limbs, that my body works, that I have been blessed with such amazing people and opportunities in my life but that does not mean that I don't wonder. That I wish that maybe it was somehow simpler sometimes. That things just seemed to make sense, decisions weren't so hard sometimes, that I just was born with some fantastic talent for all things. I mean, who doesn't dream? These things mentioned above (well the more important ones like where I'll go with my life) just seem to be things I catch myself wondering about more and more. I just never can wrap my head around if it's just me? I'm not the only one right?

Oh Love!

This is the best man I have ever known....

I have loved him my whole life and I bet I will continue to for far longer than that.
His name is Stuart & he's my Dad. The best any girl could ever ask for! 

Thank you for being mine

<3

Cakes Galore!

My mama is one talented little lady!

She used to decorate and design cakes professionally, kind of like the cake boss

except better :) Admittedly, I may be a bit biased. I swear it's true though!

(Isn't that just utterly ridiculous! Sorry I couldn't resist)

(Made completely of chocolate!)

(I had the best birthday cakes!)

I have one talented mama y'all! Jealous?! 

And why Yes, That is an edible replica of the Emerald city!

Now how is it fair that I didn't get even a pinky's worth of her artistic talent!