Balloon Launch

Next Saturday, balloons will be launched after The Everything Sale in memory of Damond. You can participate from anywhere you are! See below for details:

Happy Monday

I finally experienced my first Midwest ice storm. Do you see those inches of ice all over the car? Luckily our apartment complex laid out pounds and pounds and pounds of salt throughout our roads - totally necessary.

Ice is pretty. Driving on ice, not so much. Luckily Michael is the official driver of this carpool, and he's got experience with this Midwest weather. I just trust my life in his hands and eat my honey nut cheerios on the way to work. Every day. Because every day, I wake up too late to eat breakfast at home. Sigh.

The sun didn't even come out to help the whole day, and the buildings downtown disappeared into the sky. It.was.chilly. And it was wet. And it was the final sign that I am more than ready for spring. Who's with me?

This weekend we babysat some of the cute kids in our neighborhood. This little guy always brightens your day - he thinks everything you do is hilarious, and he has the best laugh. You leave his presence with like 40% more self esteem than what you started with. Michael even got to put his developing dental skills to the test. We got one out of the two kids to brush, so 50/50 and only improving :) He's off to a good start.

Sunday night I found myself with a huge bowl of popcorn and the Oscars. I didn't plan that, but obviously my subconscious did, because it just happened. And I didn't fight it. I thought we'd make a party out of it, but to one side I had a studying husband, and on the other side, well....I don't think our little cat was too into it. She attempted to cover her eyes and ears at the same time while taking a nap. 

Fair enough, kitty. Hollywood is weird.

(And yes, I finished the entire bowl of popcorn by myself. Every piece. So it was still a party in my book.)

Image Source

Here's a little thought to leave you with, from one of my all time favorite authors. I read Matilda over 10 times in third grade. Actually, I wrote Roald Dahl a letter in third grade, too. We were supposed to write a note to our favorite author, and ask them questions. No one told me dear Mr. Roald Dahl had actually long since passed away.....whoops. When I finally complained to my dad that other kids were getting letters back, he asked who I wrote to, and kindly broke the news to me. Tough love.

His quote here is so true, and just something I've been thinking about lately. The loveliest people I know seem to be the people who only say good things. I'm guessing a big part of that is their good thoughts. 

And these February Mondays could always use some sunbeams, right?

Update: Three Weeks to Go!

Just three weeks until the Everything sale! March 9 will be here before we know it. Thank you to the coworkers, friends, and family who have donated to the Farar family. Even in far away states...I'm so grateful for you! In sad, incomprehensible situations like this it is sometimes so hard to know what to do to help. This is how! See the local coverage below:

If you need my help at all to get in touch with your local Everything sale, or if you need any help with gathering/storing donations, just let me know. We love you, Farar family!

Love Day

Two years ago I had a wonderful, wonderful boyfriend on Valentine's Day. Last year, I had a seriously great fiance. And this year, I have a husband that I love very much...more every day actually, which is the greatest.

Michael is the star of my love day, three years and running. He is always the best thing about my day, every day. And I love how he loves me too...even when I'm a little scatterbrained, even when I repeatedly ask him to kill spiders, even when I'm kind of mad which means I'm not going to speak for quite some time until everything is sorted out in my head...

He loves me then, too. Sometimes getting me to talk about how I feel is like pulling teeth. But...he is going to dental school. So it looks like he's the right man for the job. Pretty lucky girl, if I say so myself. (Which I just did...because this is my blog.)

There's a great post about celebrating real love over on A Blog About Love (an appropriate blog to read today, right?). That's also where I got the Haiku above, which I think is 17 of the greatest syllables anyone could ever remember.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Change Up In Here

Confession time: After a life of faithful hair trims every 6 weeks, the last time I cut my hair was in MARCH. Pre-wedding. Pre-Indiana. Pre-letting myself go. Just kidding. (No "letting ourselves go" around here - we actually both weigh the same after almost a year of marriage. I feel good about that, except for the Michael part. I think that maybe makes me look bad. See last post: proof I feed my husband.)

So last week, I finally decided it was time. As in, 8 months overdue. Before I went, I had my hair dresser/dance coach in Utah talk me into a change...

And with just a couple snips (right in front of my eyes, mind you. It was a little dramatic for a second), my forehead is gone. Bangs are back in my life, people. It has been a while. As you can see, they were a big part of me back in the day.

So now I kind of feel like I'm channeling my 7-year-old self. Hopefully just the good parts. Does cutting your hair make you nervous? I used to be a pro at it, you could talk me into anything when I was growing up. But ever since I grew it out, it seems like hair cuts just get scarier. Thanks for giving me the final push, Summer!

So, any suggestions for my haircut next February?

Kidding.

The Best of January [in terms of food]

Sometimes we eat frozen burritos and ramen noodles. Right now I get to blame it on working full time and random things that fill the evenings. (Crochet lessons? True story.) But let's be honest, we'll probably always sometimes eat frozen burritos and ramen noodles. I mean, the thought of cooking every day sometimes gives me this special type of anxiety that also manifests itself anytime I enter a grocery store with a shopping list that I know is at least a 60-minuter. [shudder.]

But then there are days we do pretty well around here. I mean, I don't hear any complaints (from the boy who ate frozen burritos and spaghetti for four years straight, but magically made it to our wedding day alive and well). So if you think you might enjoy them as much as we did, here are some recipes you should try!

Bombay House inspired Chicken Tikka Masala

Roast with Stuffed Mushrooms

Gluten-free Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas

And my self-titled "I miss Zupa's so incredibly much" Chicken Chop Salad

And on top of that Chicken Tikka Masala recipe up there, I even made some Chickpea Curry (thanks for the recipe, Diana!). Curry is not my thing... Ok, all Indian food is not my thing. But I really don't like when I don't like food, so I have to give it a try once in a while. And you know what? It was delicious. There is hope for me and curry. We just might be happy together someday.

Not tomorrow. But, someday.

Update: How to Help the Farars

Here's another update on The Everything Sale for the Farar family: more locations, more ways to help! If there's not a location by you, follow this link to see more ways to help: The Forever Farar Family. You can donate money, time, items, or memories to the book being made for Adriana and Damond's boys.

I love this family. Every time I have written a blog post since Damond's passing, I think how happy life appears through the window of a blog. And life is happy, don't get me wrong - but it's so hard, for every person. My mind and heart have been turning back to Adriana and her boys over and over since December 28th. Adriana wrote a post on her blog about how life just awkwardly moves on, which is the truth. It has to. But just know that through that process, I am praying for this family every day along with countless others that love them very much.

I know that Damond, Adriana and their boys will be together again. That knowledge is an invaluable blessing in my life, and I'm grateful for the way it motivates me to live. Everything will be ok, but sometimes it's just so hard to understand why things happen the way they do. But, we just do what we can with what we've got, and through Jesus Christ, that's enough.

I love this family, and I love that families are forever.