let the games begin

So I just finished reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
You guys.
You guyyyyys!!
If you haven't read it yet, you've gotta grab a copy...like, now.

I'm sooo dang excited for the movie!!
Is anyone else counting down?
[only 70 more days...! eeep!!!]

2011 read-a-thon

So I love to read.

It's prettymuch a passion of mine.

My favorite thing to do on a Friday night is to curl up with a blanket and a good book, with something to drink close by [preferably something chocolatey].

I spent a lot of time reading last year.

I was depressed, and reading a good book was comforting to me.

So here is the list of all of the books I read in 2011.

[my favorites are starred.]

Hopefully you might find something you'd like to read in this list!

• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald*
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett*
• How to Be an Extraordinary Teenager by John Bytheway
• Book of Mormon Stories*
• Believe in What You're Doing; Believe in Who You Are by Hilary Weeks
• The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank*
• Anne Frank: Her Life in Words and Pictures by Menno Metselaar & Ruud van der Rol
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith*
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett*
• Finding God in the Garden by Brent & Wendy Top
• Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
• The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton*
• Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis*
• Opportunities in Speech-Language Pathology Careers by Patricia Larkins Hicks
• The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine N. Aron
• The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd*
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett*
• The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
• Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
• A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
• The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter by Beatrix Potter
• A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Atonement by Ian McEwan*
• Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
• Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
• Me and Mr. Darcy by Alexandra Potter
• Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
• Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
• The Magic of Ordinary Days by Ann Howard Creel
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling*
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling*
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling*
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling*
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling*
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling*
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling*

2012

Holy craycray, are we really at the start of a brand new year already???

I'm not gonna lie, 2011 started off kinda rocky, and it definitely didn't turn out the way that I'd planned...
But that's okay.
Heavenly Father sure knows what He's doing!

I can honestly say that I am happy with where I am today and what I am doing with my life.
I love being home with my family.
I love what I am learning in school.
I love my job and working with my daddy.
I loved being home for the holidays again.
I love having the gospel in my life and looking for opportunities to serve here at home.
I love our two new baby kitties.


...wait, whaaa???


Yuppers, y'all read that right!


So I never posted about this [bad blogger award, once again], but our 17 1/2-year-old kitty, Abby, passed away in her sleep early the morning of November 30.
She had been a part of our family since she was about six weeks old.
We all took it pretty hard, and it felt weird only having two cats again [we'd had more than two cats for 12 years].


Fast forward to Christmas morning.
Mama was opening a gift from Daddy.
It was a small box, and inside that box was another wrapped box, and inside that box was a memory stick.
Chris ran to get the digital picture frame so we could see what was on it.
We got it all set up, and we watched as the frame reeled through pictures of kittens...always two kittens together.
Then Daddy announced that we would go to pick out two baby kittens that coming week.
Of course, we were all ecstatic!


And we are loving our new babies, Lucy and Annabel!
[i would post pics, but Chris took my little uploader thingamajig with him to work...but soon!]
Lucy is a tortie and Annabel is a calico, and they are both so sweet and playful!
We're thinking Lucy might have been the runt of the litter, since she's a little smaller than Annabel, but she sure has a wild streak!
[they're about five months old, and we're going to say that their birthdays are july 28, since we brought them home on december 28.]
We are in love with them, and we're so excited to have them in our family!


Anywho, Happy 2012!!!
I hope this year brings y'all many blessings!

christmas fun

Here's a fun Christmas survey I found...

Egg nog or hot chocolate? hot chocolate for sure!

Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? he just sets them out unwrapped.

Colored lights on tree/house or white? colored, both outside and on the tree.

Do you hang mistletoe? nope.

When do you put your decorations up? usually a few days after thanksgiving, but we decided to put the tree up the day before thanksgiving this year.

What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? i looove green bean casserole...and stuffing.

Favorite holiday memory as a child: the year i got my first american girl doll, molly.

How and when did you learn the truth about Santa? i think it was a gradual process between 5th and 6th grade...

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? nope...mama is adamant that we wait until christmas morning.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree? we fill it with all the hallmark ornaments i collected after working there through two christmases, plus a mish-mash of ornaments that have been collected over 27 years of marriage.

Snow! Love it or dread it? i love it, but i'm not a huge fan of the cold...so it's kind of a love-hate relationship.

Can you ice skate? not at all!

Do you remember your favorite gift? yuppers, a violin!

What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? the birth of christ...and spending time with my family.

What is your favorite holiday dessert? ummm i can't choose a favorite...it's all good!

What is your favorite holiday tradition? sunday night christmas light drives.

What tops your tree? a green european tree topper that my parents found in st. augustine, florida.

Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? i love giving...

What is your favorite Christmas Song? josh groban's "o holy night."

What is your favorite Christmas story? the birth of christ.

spiritual yellow pages

I found this today and it made me smile.
Hope it brings a smile to your face, as well.

it's friday

Happy Thanksgiving...one-day-late!!!

Did y'all eat lots of turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie?
I know I sure did...and I probably gained like 15 lbs. in the process [at least, it felt like it].


Anywho, once again, I know it's been for-e-ver since I've posted anything, so here is an update!

1. I'm back in school! I'm working on my third Associate's, this time in Applied Science so that I can be a speech-language pathology assistant! I am loving my classes so far, and I'm super excited to have found a career that I can be passionate about.
2. I have a job! Well, I'm not getting paid yet, but I'm still excited to have something I can put on my resume again! I'm an administrative assistant, helping my dad with some parts of his business. I'm having fun with it!
3. I finally updated my mormon.org profile! I'm so happy I finally got it up-to-date, seeing as how I was still in Georgia wearing a little black name tag the last time I did anything with it! Check it out here!
4. Speaking of Georgia, the cutest sister missionary ever got married last Saturday, the 19th, in the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple! Sooo excited and happy for her!!
5. My mama went through the temple for the first time on June 21! I sure love my new temple buddy!!

And that's all I can really think of right now...

Are y'all so excited for Christmas?!
I've been listening to Christmas music since October 25...just a little excited!

"you is kind. you is smart. you is important."

I am currently rereading this book ---> for the second time in two months...

Mama and I have already gone to see this movie ---> twice within two weeks...

We are prettymuch in looove with The Help.
We feel like we really "know" and love the characters.

[skeeter, minny, and aibileen...

i can't decide who is my favorite]

All except Hilly, that is...we aren't too fond of her.

[she's a meanie]

If y'all haven't seen and/or read The Help yet, you need to.

It's the best book I've read in a looong long time, and the movie remains true to the spirit of the book...yay!!

What books and movies can you turn to over and over again, and you still love them just as much as [or more than] the first time?