Happy Tuesday!

 

Doesn't that look amazing for January?! I'll take it! Wearing a thin sweater and my Sperrys today makes me happy, even if it's foggy and gloomy.

Happy Tuesday!

Pure Happiness

Wedding season came to a close as we celebrated my cousin's wedding last weekend. It was one of the most unique and fun weddings I've been to and I am so happy I was lucky to be a part of it.

 

The reception was full of fun, laughter, and love with traditional first dances (the father-daughter dance was unbelievably hilarious as my uncle got down on the dance floor shortly after knee surgery-it was seriously hilarious and awesome), an extremely talented high school string band performance, and Polish polka dances. I even got Jordan on the dance floor to do a polonaise, with what seemed like the entire reception participated in, and I think he secretly really enjoyed it. He never dances at weddings and either the alcohol or atmosphere got him in the dancing mood and I loved it!  We had so much fun as you can see from the pictures below.

 

Congratulations to the newlyweds Becky and Addam!

Family Ties

"Sisters function as safety nets in a chaotic world simply by being there for each other."
~ Carol Saline

Journalist, broadcaster, author and public speaker.

This quote made me think about how lucky I am to have a sister and how very lucky I am to have a sister and a brother. The relationship I have with each of them is very different...

My brother and I are close in age, so close that sometimes we were mistaken as twins (I always thought that was funny since I'm the youngest).  We played together as kids (singing in the back of the station wagon and reinacting Legends of the Hidden Temple in the backyard), shared experiences in school together (going on high school chorus trips, sharing the same teachers, and hanging out with friends), and partied together in college (he did have a pretty cool house and group of friends at Pitt).  Now that he lives 4 hours away, we spend time chatting on the phone, laughing, telling stories, and keeping up with each other's lives.  When we do get to spend time together it is nothing short of fun.  He has a liveliness and personality just full of fun that you can't help but have sore cheeks from laughing all of the time.  

My sister and I have a different story, but being 7 years apart, I wouldn't expect anything different.  We went through phases in life at completely different times.  When I was in elementary school obsessed with the Spice Girls and all things girly, she was a senior in high school who only cared about hanging out with friends and apparently, in those days, it was cool to dress like a boy (admit it, you did go through that phase).  She then went to college and I feel like there was a gap in middle school and early high school when she wasn't around and it was just my brother and I.  Then I turned 16 and things changed...  She taught me how to drive, we shared clothes, and we spent more time together.  Although she moved away for a few years, we still stayed close and grew even closer when she moved back to Pittsburgh and got pregnant.  I went to doctor visits with her, we went baby shopping, and spent Friday nights watching movies and eating popcorn since neither of us could drink.  I swear that my now 5 year old niece and I are so close because I spent so much time with her before she was even born.

Both of them have become my safety net in this world.  They've already experienced hurdles and problems in life that I am now going through, so they can offer advice and provide support for almost anything (the benefits I have for being the youngest).  They've shown me what not to do, given advice of how to do things differently, and proven what works in life.  In this crazy and chaotic world, our relationships remain simple and easy and through every curveball that life throws at us, I know that this is one thing that will never change.

 

 

Keep your peace

"Worrying does not take away tomorrow's troubles; it takes away today's peace."

~ Unknown

A New Chapter in Life

Spoiler alert: Jordan and I are house hunting. Eeeeeks!

This is something I have been looking forward to for years.  I love looking at houses.  I love their architecture, observing how people live, and the hunt (for the perfect house).  More importantly, I cannot wait to leap into this new chapter of life with Jordan. We are in the early stages of this exciting journey and we are more than excited!

I'll keep you posted!

New Year Advice

I get an email quote almost daily from befreeforme.com.  Sometimes the quotes are worth saving into my email "quotes" folder, tucked away, to save for days when I need little reminders.  This one, I thought, was worth sharing...

"It's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years!"

~ Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
The 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865