The End

Thank you, thank you for reading this blog.

If you’d like to follow me on my next adventure head on over to…

Yep. I sang a song this week.

The intro will give you a little gist of what I’m going to do blog-wise this year!! Hope you enjoy it!

three hundred and sixty four

(It’s December 31st.)

I couldn’t write yesterday because I went up to Kathryn’s cabin along with 14 other friends to ring in the new year!!

It was RIGHT ON!

We drank champagne, ate some delicious food, danced, laughed, and just hung out. What a great way to welcome a new year. With good friends and many laughs.

2013 is new. It’s fresh. It’s my chance to re-recognize who I am as a person, a woman, a student, a member of society. It’s my time to realize my potential and do something with it. Show the world what I’ve got.

I was thinking about my blog on the drive home today. I was thinking about how it’s funny how things work out sometimes. This year was one of the hardest years I’ve ever had, yet last December, I decided to create a blog about positive thinking. Hmm…it seems those 2 events, which seemingly had nothing to do with each other, fit together like 2 pieces of  a puzzle at the  end of the day. It forced me find the positive things happening in my life even through all of the bad. Hard year counteracted by a positive blog.

This blogging experience took shape into something that I didn’t plan on at first, and it’s not exactly what I had in mind when I started. But it worked. I can look back and laugh about the crazy times Lisa and I had in New York. About visiting Monterrey, Mexico for the first time. About visiting Megan in Huntsville and meeting her Douglas. About hanging with Ning in New York and attending probably the coolest wedding ever. About road tripping up to Chicago for Frizz and Amy’s wedding with 3 of the coolest people I know (Phil, David, and Claudia!). About getting my heart broken, stomped on, and beaten to a pulp. About going to Budapest and Prague and Serbia! About being more thankful than ever for good company and absolutely great friends that picked me up when I couldn’t do it myself. About seeing the light of getting over what will now be referred to in my life not as my only love, but my first love. And duh…about how dang cute Hayden Leery really is.

My life is good. It has been hard as ka this year, but ultimately, it’s good. Thank you if you have read, commented, or encouraged me in any way, shape, or form. I really can’t say enough.

I think I’ll update within the week about my New Year resolutions. 13 for 2013!! And stick around for my next blog idea. I’ve got some in the works! 🙂

three hundred and sixty three

Saw Les Mis tonight.

Now I am NOT a movie reviewer. In fact, I love most movies that critics hate. And I hate to be that typical girl, but ohhhhhhh my gosh. Oh. My. Gosh. It was absolutely incredible!!

And if Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman don’t win awards for their performances, they will seriously be robbed. When I think about Anne’s big solo as Fantine, it still to this moment makes me choke up. She was out of control. In the most insane and absolute BEST way possible.

I wish I could find just a video of her singing “I Dreamed a Dream”, but I can’t. This video explains the process of making the musical. They actually sang their parts while filming instead of dubbing the voices in after. Awesome.

And P.S.-Um. Eddie Redmayne (aka Marius. The cute little freckly ginger.) I wrote about him in this post. And now that I know he can sing too? There’s no stopping me.

two hundred and sixty two

We woke up in ATL and went to breakfast with Shawn and Adam in Candler Park. Omelets with tomato and bell pepper suuure are good.

After breakfast/lunch, we came back down to Fay and chilled for the rest of the day.

Non made stuffed shells for dinner and Miriam Davis came over to hang and eat them with us. I love her. Ahhh I love her. I know I’ve written about how much I love her before on this blog, so I”ll just keep it short and sweet. She always knows what to say in the perfect moment. And it’s right onnnnn.

And she loves Hay.

two hundred and sixty one

(It’s December 28th.)

I went with Non to Newnan today. We ate some lunch and looked around a little bit. The traffic was INSANE.

Tar finished his papers tonight!! Hoorayyyy!! We went up to ATL to hang out a bit and spend the night. Ning and I had a little jam sesh. He guitarred and I ukuleled. We both sang. It was fuuun.

Two hundred and sixty

(It’s December 27th.)

I went with Lis today to get her NEW CAR!!! She saved up her money and bought a 2011 Black Ford Escape!!! It’s too beautiful.

New Car!!!

Too legit.

After we went to get the car, I went to dinner with her and Brittany at O’Charley’s. Can we just say yeast rolls?! And the Grilled Chicken Spinach Salad? Heavenly!! We had so much fun hanging out and figuring out the navigation system and bluetooth in Lis’ car!!

Joyridingggg!

two hundred and fifty nine

(It’s December 26th.)

I straight up chilled today. Didn’t leave the house. Played around with my little Panchito (the ukulele). Ate leftovers!!

The whole family stayed at home and just hung out.

This is what I did. All day.

Tar is working on papers that he has due on Friday, so he’s been glued to his computer. I know he’ll be glad when that’s over!!

Tar did find this incredibly hilarious invention in the Harriet Carter magazine though.

Painful bowel movements. Always funny. Unless it’s you.

three hundred and fifty eight

(It’s December 25th.)

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!

What a great day. Annual breakfast casserole with Mimi and Pappy and then laying around all day and then eating (again!) at Mim and Pap’s for dinner. And more presents and sitting around.

This year, I will have you know, Joy, Charlie, and I did ALL of the dishes from Christmas dinner!! I think it will be the new tradition.

I love going over to Mim and Pap’s house on Christmas Day. We’ve always been so lucky to have lived within 30 minutes of all of our grandparents. I always remember following Joy around like a little Puppy on Christmas Day night wanting and wishing that she would notice me and think I was cool. 🙂 We would both be in our smocked dresses with HUGE bows on our heads. And matching, of course. Our mothers ALWAYS made sure of that!!

PICTURES!!

Annual Christmas morning pic

“Dud, what does W. U. mean?”
“Wuz up.”

She doesn’t believe we’re taller than her.

Doing dishes!!

Reading the Christmas book

Same face.

What a monkey!

The fam

Silly faces are always better.

Movie star smiles.

Um. And also. I got a ukulele!?!?!?! His name is Panchito.

Precious!!

three hundred and fifty seven

(It’s December 24th.)

I just love Christmas Eve. I remember when Charlie and I were younger, we would take our PJ’s to my grandmother’s house in order to be ready to get in bed RIGHT AWAY when we arrived home. It would be toasty inside. Warm. Full of laughter and family and presents and talk of Santa Clause. Then, we would run out in our sock feet into the winter air and jump in the car, shivering. I miss that excitement on Christmas Eve. It’s still warm and full of laughter, but the mystery and longing for Christmas Day isn’t really there anymore. I guess it’s something you don’t really ever get back. Being able to give your kids that same warm, happy feeling is about as close as it gets I would think. But I don’t know yet! We will see. The absence of mystery doesn’t really subtract from my love of the occasion, though. It’s fun to be able to watch Sarah get so excited about what she’s going to get for Christmas!!

We always go to Mud’s house on Christmas Eve and spend time with that side of the family. We have this great tradition where each of us gets one of the “12 Days of Christmas” ornaments and we perform the song singing only the ornament we have. Some people double (or triple) up and we sing and laugh at the people who forget their turn and sing some more. I’ll have to say…this year was one of our best times! No one really forgot to come in and sing their day. I was “…7 swans a swimmingggg…”

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the night.

Funny cousin pic!

The 4 original girl cousins

Feliz navidad!

Smile!!

Oh, brother.

Lean back.

Grandma position

Proud of my outfit!

Balancing act.

three hundred and fifty six

Sang at church.

Took Mud to lunch.

Watched LOTR. (only the 2nd bc Tar watched the 3rd one without me…)

Finished some cross stitching.

Sitting by the heater.

Watching Downton Abbey reruns.

Good day?

Yeah.

(And then there’s this…)

That’s milk in the top right corner. He wants it.