it's beginning to look a lot like christmas.

well although the so-called blizzard was a huge disappointment, i still got the winter wonderland i'd been waiting for. 
too bad it hit before i left dustins last night because my poor car couldn't make it up skyline. so i finally parked it half way up the hill & walked the rest of the way to my house. 
no big deal though because i was so happy to see the pretty snow. and lots of it. 
thanksgiving break was way better than i ever hoped it would be. i loved every minute of it. today i finished it off by putting christmas decorations up with my family. and i pretty much listened to christmas music all day because i officially can now & not feel ashamed of it since thanksgiving is over.
lastly, let me just point out that there is only two and a half weeks left of fall semester for me. although they are going to be extra busy & full of projects, presentations, & exams... i am MORE than ready for it. 

a day of giving thanks.

thanksgiving was wonderful.
it was especially wonderful because i had two thanksgiving dinners. one with dustin's family and one with my family. i love that thanksgiving gives us a day to be with our families and eat a lot of yummy food & pie. 
and even though we all act like we don't want to do the talent show every year... i really enjoy watching everyone perform (the ones who still have talents anyway). so thanks for starting that tradition grandma, it was so fun to skype you. it sure makes me thankful for technology this year as well. 
i went black friday shopping yesterday with dustin for my first time ever. yep, people are pretty insane. but i actually don't mind the crowds, just maybe not the lines. we got what we went for though so that made it all worth it. 
and right now i'm really thankful that thanksgiving break isn't over just yet! i still have the rest of today & tomorrow to enjoy. its already been so lovely too.  


p.s. sorry i don't have any pictures from the wonderful day. guess i was distracted this year.

let it snow.

I am officially on thanksgiving break & it feels so good. I came over to dustins (the boyfriend) after school cause the poor boy is sick. Now we're watching anime (nerdy, I know... But he lived in japan for two years so I guess he can't help it) I don't mind though cause I get to blog on his iPhone. It's sweeeet.. makes me want one.
I'm looking forward to this storm that is supposed to hit which is surprising but I figure if it's going to be this bitter cold then it might as well be pretty & white. Plus I'm reeeally getting into the christmas spirit. I'm usually big on waiting til after thanksgiving to listen to Christmas music but I may have slipped this morning on the way to school.. I just couldn't help it! I am looking forward to thanksgiving though.. What's better than family & yummy food?
Anyway... Today I'm thankful to be going to school & getting a degree but I'm especialy thankful for holiday breaks off from school. And I'm even more thankful I can just relax under a warm blanket & watch a movie with Dustin. Bring on the blizzard.. I'll be enjoying the day indoors :)

today is a rather blustery & chilly day.

{pictures from my parents deck}

i have been listening to the wind whip at my window all morning.
i told myself i'd be productive today and i honestly haven't gotten nearly as much done as planned, but i'm loving just sitting around in sweats doing whatever i feel. this doesn't happen very often lately so i'm thankful for this crappy weather day because i feel it gives me the right to just enjoy being at home.


and through out today i have been thinking about how thankful i am for warmth.
the warm bed i woke up in, the warm shower i took, the warm oatmeal i ate for breakfast, the warm fireplace going in our family room, the warm sweats i am wearing, & the warm house i am lounging around in.
i think i take it all for granted; but today i am truly thankful for these simple warm pleasures. 

today i am thankful for a place to call home.

a place that after leaving for awhile & experiencing a new place, i can go home to where i know people will be waiting to greet me with open arms.

a place where i know i will always be supported & loved.

a place i am familiar with and where everything seems right.

i am thankful not only to have a home; but a good home.

knowing this gives me the greatest comfort in the world.

it gives me the strength i need to go out into the world & have no fears because i know there will always be a place for me to return home to.

music is what feelings sound like.

i don't think i could live without music.
whether its waking up to mikayla practicing beautiful pieces on the piano, dancing to music with my girlfriends, singing to songs in the shower or car, listening to up-beat songs while exercising or cleaning, playing christmas music during the holidays, and especially singing hymns in church.
music does so much for the soul.
so today, i am thankful for music.

let the "what i'm thankful for" posts begin.

{the fam on easter}

thanksgiving is almost a week away. didn't november just start? how time is flying by!

well today i am thankful for my family. common answer, i know. but they are the first thing that comes to mind because since i'm living at home, i'm reminded daily how grateful i am to have the family that i do (& lately we've had a blast playing bananagrams every day once everyone is home from school... i think we are addicted). 

not only am i thankful for my immediate family but for ALL of my family. my grandparents, aunts, uncles, & cousins. i know a lot of people who hardly even know their cousins & i'm thankful to have grown up so close to all of mine. 

i truly believe that family is the most important part of this life & i am blessed with the best. 

i love you all :)

alyssa tagged me.

Four Shows I Watch:
1. friends
2. america's next top model

3. full house

4. but i don't really watch t.v. ever

Four Things I'm Passionate About:
1. spirituality/religion

2. traveling
3. love
4. family

Four Phrases I Say A Lot:
1. "oh myyy"

2. "whatev"

3. "what are you thinking about?"
4. "i love you" :)

Four Things I've Learned from the Past:
1. service does so much for a person (not just the person who is served).

2. if you do as much as you possibly can, somehow its always enough.

3. live & let live.

4. there are no accidents.

Four Places I Would Like to Go:
1. india
2. tahiti
3. japan
4. greece

Four Things I Did Yesterday:
1. went to emily's baby shower.
2. blogged about my time in hawaii with devin (made me miss it too much).
3. went to dinner for devin's bday.
4. went on a date with dustin to trafalga & i lost once again.

Four Things I'm Looking Forward to:
1. thanksgiving break
2. fall semester to be over with
3. seeing my long lost friend, carolyn!
4. the holidays

Four Things I Love About Winter:
1. christmas music

2. boots&sweaters
3. fireplaces
4. skiing

Four Things on My Wish List:
1. a good job
2. a cruise/vacation
3. a camera
4. just happiness for all my friends & family.

Four People I Tag:
1. carolyn 

2. savannah
3. chelsea
4. jessica

hey brother,

remember how we lived on an island?

and went to school here?

and how you lived in this little dorm?

but remember how i made you stay on the couch at my house sometimes since i'm scardy-cat when i'm alone?

remember how this cool tree was one of the first things we saw when we came out of the airport & we felt like we were in the move Lion King?

remember Hyunsang was one of the first people we met? 

remember the first time we walked along temple beach behind my house & we couldn't believe we were really living in hawaii?

remember watching fireworks at turtle bay for the fourth of july & then cramming in the back of a truck on the way home?

remember how cool the sand was at "three tables" & how we'd spend so much time digging for the best shells & rocks?

remember how we watched a youtube video to learn how to properly cut a pineapple & how the pineapples there tasted like heaven? (also, remember your nasty dirt stache you grew there? & how you almost got in trouble for your jedi-braid like 3 times?)

remember how much we despised the bus? especially when that extra-smelly guy sat right in front of me & i about died?

remember how cool it was to be surrounded by palm trees everywhere we went?

remember how you'd go play in the big waves while i lied out on the shore since i'm a baby when it comes to that huge, powerful thing called "the ocean"?

remember how many books you read during those two months?

& remember all the amazing hawaiian sunsets we saw?

i could go on & on, but remember all the adventures we had together in hawaii? 

  i don't think i ever thanked you.... but thanks for putting up with me for seven weeks. you're the bestest. 

most importantly....

HAPPY NINETEENTH BIRTHDAY

to my best friend/brother:

i sure love you!!

so much love.

i don't know if anyone has noticed but i use the word lovely a lot.
i just think it's a lovely word. & it has a lovely meaning. no better way to explain it.
and what i have been thinking about lately is how much i hear about why this world is pretty much going to hell.
there is so much talk about how evil the world is becoming and i see it sometimes too.
but even through it all, i still see SO MUCH good in it too. it is still full of so many amazing people with so much
love to give. every day i'm in awe of the beauty of this world & how many wonderful people i encounter every day. whether it's someone who holds a door open for me, someone in one of my classes who helps me when i don't understand something, someone who smiles at me as i pass them on campus, someone who lets me have their parking spot in that packed school parking lot, or someone who lets me cut in front of them in their lane. i could go on & on. most of them are strangers who don't even know me but are still so kind. then i have my many friends & family that make my life truly worth living. i'm just grateful for all the loveliness that i see in this world daily. because it really is a lovely world & i'm so blessed to have the opportunity to be apart of it.