happy.thanksgiving

i'm finally in a good place...i feel happy, truly happy. mariah and i were talking this week and i feel like finally everything is going the way it's supposed to be. now i know that sounds crazy because everything is always like that, but i think i must be finally accepting the way things are going and that alone is leaving me with a more positive outlook on life itself. the lack of negativity and self-doubt help to make life easier and more enjoyable....imagine that?!

this week is going to be fantastic! dana and sean are both coming home tomorrow for thanksgiving...we're all running a 5k on thanksgiving morning {brrrrr} and of course going shopping at midnight like all the crazies do, which i'm totally okay with! then a full weak of laughing and playing with family and friends...best of all, no work and no school for 5 days straight! i know i probably sound like i'm way over exaggerating how great that alone will be, but i need this break and this nice little time to breathe!

i honestly can't believe how fast this year has flown by! the other day i bought my day planner.calendar for 2011 and was filling it out, and seriously am blown away by how much has happened in the past year and yet how fast it is disappearing...but i do have to say that i'm very much looking forward to the new year beginning....i thought 2010 would be on of the most life altering years of my life, and it was...but in a completely different {and dare i say, 'better'} way than i know i was thinking it would a year ago....

i'm going to post these pictures that we had taken by swensen.photography and we just got the copyrights for to show how much i love my family and couldn't have made it through this year without them....

i hope everyone has a memorable thanksgiving and doesn't forget to whom we must ultimately show all of our gratitude....for these things, i am thankful....

p.s. i just got news that our school is closing tonight on account of a blizzard!!! and we get our hours for it?!?!? i'm tellin' ya....

CTM

yeah it's tough
most girls would have been crushed
wasting their time, wondering where they went wrong
no way, not me, i'm doing just fine

it's easy
going out on friday nights
it's easy every time i see him out
i can smile, live it up the way a single {girl} does
what he doesn't know
is how hard it is to make it look so easy

the truth is
i miss lying in those arms of his
but i don't ever let it show
i laugh and act like i'm having the time of my life
as far as he knows

it's easy

what he doesn't know

is how hard it is to make it look so easy

"sometimes we are forced in directions we ought to have found ourselves...what we do does not define who we are. what defines us, is how well we rise after falling."

missing you, it comes and goes in waves

but what is constant
is wanting to be with you

no one else but you...

i.love.my.mariah

what should be an extremely hard week has been an exceptionally good week...there's definitely a lot of different people to thank for that especially my heavenly father and the constant companion he is. but i do have to thank mariah. she's not only my sister, but most literally one of my 6 eternal best friends who is truly there for me whenever i need her. i love her and i love all my family for that matter!

i had not only one but two conversations on the phone with dana this week which was a nice change of pace and made me so excited for her to come home. she's such an inspiration and it was so fun to hear her voice and all of her stories. plus, she's a great listener which is what i needed. she's coming home in less than two weeks too!!!! yay!

constance, jory, jules, katrina, breck, curtis, becca....just to name a few more who deserve special thanks you's...

also i have to thank someone else, but i'm not sure if i'm ready for this person to make their debut on my blog just yet, but this person has been so great and understanding and patient and more than i could ever deserve or ask for and all the above...

for all these things {people}, i'm grateful!

let me leave you with this...

"for a kiss to be really good, you want it to mean something. you want it to be with someone you can't get out of your head, so that when your lips finally touch you feel it everywhere. a kiss so hot and so deep you never want to come up for air... when you find that right person for a first kiss, it's everything."

- grey's anatomy-

happy.halloween!!

halloween has never been my favorite holiday, but it's definitely during my favorite time of year. i never want the fall colors to stop. in hair. in the trees. in fashion. it's easily my favorite time of year so i hope it sticks around for another second or two. one thing i do like about halloween however is the pumpkin carving...mmm it's my favorite so {mariah} and i carved out lil' jack.o.lanterns this week. we named them mario and luigi. luigi{mariah's} on the left, mario{mine} on the right.

it ended up being a good weekend though. lately i've been really disciplining myself to not let things eat away at me forever and to just move on. i had two instances that really tested my own self-control and awareness to talk myself out of a bad mood and put myself into a good one. i couldn't do it without friends and people to talk to. it's incredible what talking about it can do and help so much! i know this will sound funny, but to blast the music and sing really loud in your car is a great medicine. you don't care who sees or even hears it, all you're thinking about it getting whatever is keeping you down out of your mind and focused on other things.

i did go out to lunch with two great friends that i haven't seen in forever whose blogs you can see here {katy} and {jules}... i went on two fun dates this weekend with two different fun guys and to breakfast with {breck} on saturday at ruth's diner, so i'd say my weekend was filled with friends and no dressing up {thank.goodness}. i can't believe it's november!

by the way, {jules} convinced me to run in the salt.lake.city.marathon in april so i have my training schedule and i'm ready to go! 26 miles is freaking far though....

i did purchase another poster/print to frame and put in my room. i think it's wonderful and i really do love it. plus, i think EVERYONE needs this reminder almost every day...you can find more like it here at {nick.agin's} etsy online shop.