InstaJanuary

January, you've been good to me.

Spent five hours building an (impulse buy) k'nex roller coaster

Celebrated my Mom's "25th" and Kenzie's 12th birthdays

Won my first CRU prize (!!!) after a year and a half team effort

Wedding crafting with the soon-to-be Mrs. Wedel

Started weekly Thursday Night Family Dinners with the gang

Finally read Pride and Prejudice (an obsession for a later post)

Began our first week of small group with The Ladiez

Cheers to you, January.

(Aw, shoo, if I become one of those girls that's always Instagram-ing things and has like, six photos of coffee cups and her cat all over her Facebook feed every day, just put me out of my misery right here, right now. I am better than that. I am better than The Gap!)

Encouragement!

I am big on encouragement. I love to give it and I love to receive it. (Words of Affirmation is my second highest love language, do with that what you will.)
I was already a fan of Kid President, but this is exactly what I needed this afternoon.
A little pep talk.
If you need a pick-me-up or if you just wanna feel a little more "good-er" than you did three minutes ago, then this is a gift from me to you.

Let's stop being boring, get on the same team, and create something awesome!

These are a few of my favorite things.

About an hour ago, I'm sitting in my parents' kitchen when my Mom comes home from work, says "Hey, I got you something", and plops this bad boy down on the table.
Hello, Sweetest Mom on the Planet.
RyGos, sweet tea, and a new episode of "New Girl" are my version of bright copper kettles and warm, woolen mittens.

This ones for the ladiesss.

(Spoiler alert: I usually try not to get too ridiculously mushy, but this is going to have its fair share of mush. You were warned.)

The other night, I got this sweet text from a new friend saying she was so glad to have my friends and I in her life and y'all, it got me thinking about GURLFRANS.
I have some great ones.
My junior year of college I decided to be Crazy Antha and go completely blind in picking my roommate. A risky decision, which I was sure would lead to rooming with a hair-eating, Nickelback-listening, "Horse Girl" (a wildly accurate theory I'll save for a later post) actually turned into me rooming with Kaylie, who became my If-I-Didn't-Have-Sisters-She'd-Be-My-Maid-Of-Honor kind of best friend.
We met our neighbors on either side of our room (later including Shan from the floor down) and in a plot twist I thought was only possible in straight-to-DVD chickflicks, those girls became like my sisters. I met a couple of my roommate's old best friends from high school and once again, the number grew. It continues to grow.

It took me most of high school and half of college for this to really sink in, but girlfriends rock. Seriously, they're the best. Invest.
These ladies are my partners in crime. (This is where the mush comes in.) Yesterday's text made me realize how grateful I am for their friendship, so this is a tribute to my laddiiieeezzzz.
To the girls who make an intentional effort to ask about your day. To the girls who know your Sonic drink order. To those times when they send a cheer-you-up text because they telepathically know without even being told that you really needed it. To the girls who will drive to Bentonville just to have dinner with you even if it is thirty minutes away. To the girls who send you creeper pictures of that dude you like with "Hey Girl" captions. To the girls who respond to SOS calls with speed and chocolate. To nights of Barefoot Moscato and tears and brownies and quoting the entirety of Pitch Perfect. The skilled wingwomen, the 3am warriors, the road trippers, providers of sass and forced affirmation.
I love my girls and am so blessed to have their love, guidance, humor, and friendship in my life.
So, this one's for the ladies. May you stay as classy and sassy as ever. Cheers.

Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013

New year, new blog.
I honestly considered not starting a new one, but ultimately, my since-birth love of hearing the sound of my own voice won out.
One of the things I really wanted to start doing this year (I guess it'd be a New Years Resolution, but one of the serious ones - as differentiated from "Get Darren Criss to fall in love with me" and "Start running". Dream big.) was to start regularly writing again. Specifically, to start writing about my life. I want to be able to look back 1, 2, 5 years from now and see what a complete idiot I was, you know? I think Future Me would really like that.
So, inspired by this post, I thought a nice way to get started would be to say goodbye to 2012 with some of my favorite pictures/highlights of the year.

2012: The Year This Weirdo Became An Adult Weirdo

Rang in 2012 on a mission trip in Albania

Surprise party for my 22nd birthday

Ended out my last semester as chair of the Comedy Committee with some killer shows

Shared an apartment with these wonderful weirdos/loves of my life

Graduated from the University of Arkansas

Reunited with cousins at the 2012 Family Reunion in Dahlonega, GA

 

Adventures and good times with friends

(Summer full of fishball and nertz...Tulsa roadtrip for the Relient K concert...Branson roadtrip to meet Carter's family...Halloween as the Pretty Little Liars...countless bottles of moscato...Classy Christmas in Bentonville)

All in all, I'd call this year a good one. Here's to another one in 2013.