waiting for winter

Today, the silly little thing that's made me smile the most is the sound of the heater kicking on. I've been so cold lately and just the sound of the heater makes me smile because I know the house will be a little warmer.

It's been the little Christmas decorations popping up around the house.

It's been all the talk of Christmas and New Years.

It's been searching for the perfect gifts for everyone and for the perfect sparkly New Years dress.

Girls night

Love the little things in life. Tonight is was laughing and painting nails with my mom and sis.

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Giving Thanks

Today Im thankful for all the little things...

Laughing like crazy with my mom while we attempted to do Julianne Hough's dance workout.

Going to Target at midnight and video taping all the crazy people that had waited in line for hours.

Playing with my little niece at my grandmas after a delicious Thanksgiving dinner.

Crashing in the car after a 12-hour shopping day with my mom and sister.

Catching up with an old friend and finally having some closure for the both of us.

Finally finding the perfect all-sequins tank I've been on the search for.

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It's going to be a good day..

Somedays, you wake up and just know that it will be a good day. I'm happy to say today is one of those days.

This weekend I had the chance to go home and spend time with all of my favorite people. I always feel so blessed when I'm with my family. There is so much love, laughs and just happy times.

[Taken by Cody Maki]

The silly little things that made me smile most this weekend were my niece and nephew. Kids are just adorable. "Jazzy! Jazzy! Jazzy!" my nephew continuously called throughout the weekend. We carved pumpkins and he made his pumpkin soup once again. Then, we went crazy painting the littlest pumpkin. We decided it looked like the earth.

[Taken by Cody Maki]

It's all the little things they do that make me so happy like Kiera's little smile. And how she would run up to my brother and lay her little head on his lap, and then look up at him giggling. It was Ronan trying to tickle everyone. It was his silly little "surprise" when I walked in the door to their apartment Friday night and how excited he was to play with me. It was Kiera trying to eat her entire piece of cake in one bite and getting frosting all over her face.

It was talking for hours with my big sister about everything under the sun and realizing how crazy our life has been. Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a movie.

It was catching up with my best friend Cassie over a little dinner date. Even just spending an hour or two filling each other in on everything new in our lives means the world to me. Next time we will have more time.

It was waking up early this morning and going for a run before sunrise, so I have time to spend with a good friend tonight.

[Taken by Cody Maki]

I've learned to take the time you're given and make the most of it. And spending time with the ones you love is the most important thing you can do. If I have to wake up early or stay up a little later in order to talk to my sister or spend some time with a good friend, then I will because in the end that's what really matter. You can have your dream job and all the money in the world but you'll never be happy if you don't make time for friends and family because no one wants to be alone.

Song of the day:

Taking a break to breath

This long weekend was full of moments -- big and little -- that made me smile.

It was seeing my parents and laughing with my mom through an entire football game.

It was buying little pumpkins and decorating our house for fall.

Me and Kelly Squatting - Taken by Sarah 

It was raking the leaves with roommates in hopes of ending our mice problem.

It was spending time to get to know a friend.

Oktoberfest 10k - Taken by my mom

It was waking up bright and early to run my first 10k. It was finishing the race and finding out that I had kept a steady pace -- 7:51 -- throughout the entire space. It was knowing that an 11-year-old boy had kicked my butt in the race. It always amazes me to see these young kids running these races and doing so well.

It was learning a new game and laughing our asses off.

Roomies - Taken by Will

It was celebrating my beautiful roommate Kari's 21st birthday.

Kelly and Kari - The Birthday Girl

It was watching my dad wrestle with his granddaughters.

It was being able to sleep in and not rush through my day.

And it was capturing all of the moments on camera.

Fall is home

Today, I went on a search for blogs with a similar topic as this one. It made my day to read about all the little things in other people's lives.

A quote about fall from Enjoying the Small Things really caught my attention.

"I don't know exactly what it is about fall. I mean, summer's so live-it-up with its bathing suits and lemonade stands and late night barbecues, spring is renewing, winter has the whole Christmas thing going for it, but fall...fall is home."

Fall is home. Is that just lovely? The statement is so true for me.

"It isn't leaves and temperature drops and cold rosy cheeks at a football game that make fall what it is. It is the grounding rituals of tradition, the return to the foundation of what matters most...our home, our family, our stories"

As it becomes more and more apparent that fall is here -- with the changing of colors and the falling of leaves -- I realize more and more how much I miss my family. It's been awhile since I've spent time with my family. I was home for a few hours about a month ago and my mom was here for a few hours a couple weeks ago. But with my busy schedule, I haven't had the time to go home for a proper visit.

Instead, I asked my parents to come here for the weekend. I am running my first 10k this Saturday and my mom has always been very supportive of my running, so I knew she'd be excited about the idea.  It is also my grandma's birthday week -- she turned 84 yesterday -- so my parents and I will be able to take her out for dinner. Plus, my parents need a break from everything to just enjoy life. 

"When my siblings and I get together, it isn't long before we're recalling childhood memories...And I think about that a lot. What will my kids remember?"

 I'll always remember raking up the leaves and jumping in them with my brother and sister when we were kids. I'll remember carving pumpkins with my nephew and watching him stir the seeds as if he was making soup. I'll remember baking pie after pie after pie with my mom one afternoon for a church pie sale. And I'll remember running the 10k this weekend, knowing my mom and dad were there to support me.
 
So maybe I can't go home this weekend and bring my niece and nephew to the pumpkin patch to pick out that perfect pumpkin to bring home and carve or bake tons of pies with my mom for church. I can still spend time with my family, and I'm very thankful for that.

"It's called making lemonade. And I dig that."

Check out Kelle Hampton's blog for beautiful photographs and beautiful stories.

I'll continue to search for blogs that relate to this one and post about them as I find ones that inspire me.

It's raining leaves

It's all the silly little things like...


...watching all the leaves slowly change colors and fall to the ground like rain.

...seeing pumpkins pop up outside of everyone's front doors.

...walking into grandma's house and smelling fresh apple pie.

...breathing in the fresh air as I run outside in the perfect weather.

...going shopping and seeing fall decorations everywhere.

...contemplating what I'll be for Halloween before I even know my plans.

...spending time outside in the parks, taking in the beauty and enjoying the peacefulness.

...and when all the leaves fall to the ground, it's raking them up into a big pile and jumping in it just like we did when we were kids.

Music makes me smile

Today it was Music.

It's amazing how it affects us. It can make us smile, make us cry or make us laugh.

My favorite songs are the ones that can make me smile no matter what mood I'm in.

My dad's music always makes me smile.

A Hopeless Wind - Clint Maki

"Some people live on the sidewalk, some people live in the park. Some people never sleep 'cause they got nothing to eat so they wander around in the dark. Some people live on the riverbank in corrugated cardboard shacks."

It's funny how a song about something so depressing can make me so happy. I think it's just that I love my dad's singing and all the good memories I have of sitting around campfires listening to him play.

"A hopeless wind keeps a blowing in these times, the whole damn country feels the breeze"

Music isn't always just about the lyrics. It's about the tone and the memories that come with that song. Some songs remind me of breakups, some songs remind me of home, some songs remind me of vacation, and some songs remind me of being alone.