Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!

One of my favorite author's of all time, It is thanks to him that I learned to read, I always thought he was a great author for kids...  easy peasy reading and fun too!  Some of my favorite quotes are from him...  I'm not nearly as GREAT as a fan as my little sister...  BUT I do appreciate his work and everything that comes with it...  ;)  She's all about celebrating his b-day, it's kind of a big deal in our house!!  ;)

Some of my favorite quotes!  :D

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who Matter don't mind.”

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.”

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

"A person's a person, no matter how small"

Dr. Seuss' Birthday is today, Gaby thought it would be fun to "celebrate,"  soooo we made treats, took pictures and left everything ready for our seuss-elation tomorrow after work!  ;)  

Here is our adventure in pictures!  ;)  looks like Dr. Seuss was coming alive in the kitchen!  ;) Cat in the hat cupcakes, and truffula trees in the making, along with Thing 1 and Thing 2 cupcakes! :)

These mini cupcakes were on their way to becoming truffula trees!  ;)  yummmm...  GREEN frosting!

...and our final product!  They were sooooo cute!  keep reading 'till the end...  I'll give you a suggestion for these little guys!  ;)

Thing 1 and Thing 2 cupcakes...  turned out sooooo cute!!  again keep reading to the end...  there's a lesson to be learned from these!  ;)

...and we also made Cat in the Hat cupcakes... I LOVED the way these turned out, and they were super easy to make... which made these THAT much better! ;)

Lots and Lots of Cat in The Hat Hat's!!!  :)

....and we decided to have a final photoshoot, that is the main reason we did all of this!!  haha!!  that and the fact that all of these treats looked super cute for our celebration!  ;)

These were super fun to make...  My sister and I had a really fun time making all of these...  I would definitely do them again, with a few minor changes...  ;)

I NEVER read the comments from others, when I find something I like I must make it...  and I usually do, which is what happened to these guys... My sister on the other hand ALWAYS does!!  haha! HAD I READ THE COMMENTARY that was available online I would of noticed that the cotton candy was probably NOT the best idea for out treats!  It melts in about 4 hours..  so as I'm writing this, the thing 1 thing 2 cupcakes have become a melted mess of cotton candy sugar on top of the frosting....  :(  ahhhhh...  and the truffula trees have withered down to small balls on top of sticks!!  haha!!  thankfully we made these for fun, and my little people friends will love them anyway!!  ;) 

NEXT time I would still use the cotton candy on the thing 1 thing 2 cupcakes WITHOUT the frosting...  I would just set the cotton candy on top, and go with it!  as for the truffula trees...  they still look cute...  I just wouldn't make them the night before...  ANYTHING that contains cotton candy must wait until the day of the party!  LESSON LEARNED!!!  ;)

*At least everything lasted long enough for me to get pictures, BECAUSE we all know that's really all I was concerned with!*  ;D

Oh and the cotton candy that was touching the frosting had a "life-span" of about 3-4 hrs.... 

Happy treat making!!  :)

Thankful Sunday

Sooooo much to be thankful for...
New babies,
Birthdays,
FINALLY feeling like life is back to normal,
Friends,
My iPhone, never thought those words would come out of my mouth! ;).
Instagram... Thanks Jessica, I blame you for my new obsession, and you're right I LOVE it! :)
Soccer with the boys,
A much needed and very refreshing hair appt.
Angry bird cake pops, I can't wait for the kids to see them! :)
Baking with friends
Nichole's mini empanadas.... They were delightful!
Channel 7's breaking news app... ;)
Girl's night,
Fluffy clouds,
Long drives at midnight to meet a new member of the "family"
4 hour Sunday afternoon naps, after an eventful and fun weekend! :)
Lemonades, they have to be best girls scout cookies around,
My camera, and photography...
Pedi's with friends...
Random hello texts in the middle of the night! ;)
beautiful sunrises on the way to work..
Family dinners!
Family lunches on Sunday!
In sure there's more but those were the "highlights" of the week! ;)

A gloomy day!

Today I was gloomy,

There really wasn't a particular reason why,

I just was....

...and it was obvious, well to those that know me well...

"are you tired? mad? sad? what's wrong?"

my answer nothing, I'm fine, but I did feel blah.... 

I went to lunch, I thought maybe I needed to eat?

well that didn't work..

I came back from lunch and admitted it..

 "I was gloomy"

the answer?  well DUH!!  haha!

I went back to work, and thought about it,

then I figured it out, 

At first I was sad, then I got mad,

I hate lies, and I have no respect for people who lie,

or for people who think that it's ok to be "shaddy"

and a little dishonest!

and when people do this it makes me sad, and then really, really mad...

Long story short and with no details, they're unnecessary...

Someone's dishonesty and lack of respect to me, because at this point it was disrespect to me, and the fact that I may have gotten in trouble had I gone along with it, made me gloomy today, and sad, and so mad that I wanted sooooo badly to cry, oh wait I did, when I got to the car....

I hate doing things wrong the first time and then wasting "precious" time doing them the way I wanted to in the first place...  the right way! 

I hate when people try, and I emphasize try, because most of the time it doesn't work!  ;) to make me look stupid, I can do that all on my own thanks!

But I mostly hate when my honesty is questioned...  I know I usually err on the side of honesty, BUT it's who I am, I hate lies, and I don't lie, and it still amazes me when people lie and think I'm gonna go along with it!

Someday people will figure out that lying and being "shaddy" will always come out in the end. Lies can't be hidden, at least not for long.  And when they are finally caught the only ones who look stupid is them...  right?  right??  ;)

As for me I will continue to live my life with

Honesty, and Integrity

Because that is the way I was brought up...  and because that is what let's me sleep at night!  ;)  And with that I will leave today's gloomy-ness behind me, and remember to

Because, well finding this is what made a gloomy day better today!!  Gotta LOVE that Katie girl!!  ;)

Here's to a GREAT week for everyone!!  :)

I am now a member of the other side!

I finally broke down and got an iPhone... 

Yep, I decided it was time to join everyone else in cool "apple" land!  ;)  AND to be completely honest, it was Instagram that really pushed over the edge...  That and the fact that my other phone kept jacking up, and eating my stuff, you know contacts, pictures, txts...  ugh..  I am going to miss the back arrow on my old incredible phone the most I think... 

That and the period, comma, and exclamation points being so accessible on the front txt screen, on the droid phone...  BUT I can see that I am going to LOVE the iPhone, so far it's GREAT!!  :) Now to figure out how to set everything up on this guy!!  ;)

2012, A year of FIRSTS!!

I really feel like 2012 will be a year filled with NEW FIRSTS!  So I decided that I will keep "updating" this one blog, with one picture from whatever "first" I/we have done, of course there will be a full blog documenting the experience after....  ;) 

We'll start the year with Lulu's first trip to D-land!  :)  She was leery at first, but waaaay into it, towards the end!  ;)

...and at sushi night with the family I tried Sweet shrimp for the first time!  ;)  mmmmm....  sweet shrimp, YES they were raw, and wet, and yes that was the head on the side!!  :)  and YES I LOVED them!  ;)

A Mud Run! my very first one!  This one isn't until sometime in June, and believe it or not I am SUPER excited for it...  ;)

...and my VERY first Etsy Purchase....  I LOVED it, everyone is/was right, etsy is amazing....  and if everything is as cute as this, I'm definitely on board!!  :)

I got my very FIRST FLORAL ARRENGEMENT DELIVERY at work!  and they were BEAUTIFUL!  Thanks guys...  you truly made my day!  ;)

.....and I made a leap into "the other side," by joining the rest of the world, well most of the rest of the world...  I finally broke down and got an iPhone!  ;)

A flower delivery! :) 1/30

LOVED, LOVED getting these the other day at work, they totally made my day!  And I can honestly say they were my first arrangement ever delivered at work, sure I've gotten flowers before, but always at home!  Work was a nice location for a delivery though... 

Thank you little people friends....  I LOVED them!!  ;)

They were sooooo pretty and all of my favorite colors!  ;)

...aren't they BEAUTIFUL?  ;)

What is HAPPINESS to you?

My friend Allison wrote a blog that started off like this a few days ago....  you can find it here.  I remember reading it, and thinking what a GREAT question, and I meant to answer it but the phone must of rang, or there must of been something interesting on tv.?  or maybe I remembered something else I had to do...  haha!  YES, I am VERY easily distracted, and I hear it EVERYDAY!  Oh well, it is what it is...  Back to the blog, and my answer...  Immediatly after reading it I thought, that's an easy answer, and I started making a "list," in my head,

the kids

people

sisco
pedi's
massages
sunrises/sunsets

sincerity

loyalty

my parents

my friends

baking

FOOD....

Not necessarily in that order...  ;)

AND then today I finally figured it out...  SURE, ALL of those things make me happy, but why? Today as I was driving my friend to the hospital, her mom was there and she wanted nothing else than to be with her.... 
It hit me....  HELPING people and being there for them is what makes ME happy....  It is truly what makes my cup stay half full.  For the most part...  There are definitely "not so happy" days, but those are thankfully very few and far between!!  ;) 
There's nothing more fulfilling and "happy" than watching the reaction of the kids when they see me, hearing 'RIIIIIAAAAA  across the store when they come in to visit, or when they open the door to let me in at their house, or just to get my attention.  Or the way that they lovinly snuggle, and want me to play with them...  For the girls and their excitement over coming to visit and hang out with Tia MJ!  They bring more happiness to my life than they will ever know, and for that I  AM HAPPILY GRATEFUL EVERYDAY!!  :)
There is also nothing more "happily" fulfilling than knowing that you have made as much of an impact in someone else's life as they have in yours.... 
Being spontaneous, and doing things without reservation!  :)
RESPECT....  This one is BIG!
and of course the companionship of a good friend, and definitely family members, it means we are surrounded by GREAT people!  and everyday I am happily thankful for the friends/family I have been  blessed with!  ;)
Or in knowing that you've helped someone in a way that they NEVER expected, this is what makes me happy, doing things for people, treating people like I want to be treated.... 
so there you have it, the things that make me happy and why...  ;) Makes this quote I received today, so much more "true,"  ;)
"Happiness is in the heart,
not in the circumstances."
- Author Unknown
 Thanks Allison for giving me something to think about!!  ;)  What makes you happy??