What amazing courage.

Preparing for the surgery that would leave him permanently blind, Jake only wanted to see one more USC football game. The Trojans took it a step further for an amazingly brave kid. Prepare to cry.

We're off to see the wizard...

If I ever have to follow a yellow brick road to get somewhere, I want it to look like this one.

Happy weekend, everyone! :)

(thanks flickr for the picture!)

More wedding-y things!

Sister had her first engagement party this weekend! There were lots of people, great food, and most importantly...Sister and Fiancee! Aren't they perfect looking?...Brother and MJ drove up from college just to attend...

One of the flower girls helped open presents...

And then took a picture with me!...

Happy first engagement party, Sister! I know there will be many, many, MANY more... :)

A happy little fall day!

The weather was so beautiful today!

Upwards, blue sky and leaves getting ready to fall...

Downwards, leaves already fallen (and ready to be crunched!)...

Forwards, Mocha crunching through the leaves to play!...

I love the colors of this season!

Almost done with catch up!

SO, the last bit of catch up I have to do is tell you about...bridemaid dress shopping!! No, not for me, for my lovely and wonderful Sister! I can't post any pictures of the wedding dress (just in case Fiancee happens upon the blog...), but here are some shots of the bridesmaids looking for our bridesmaid dresses:Our first three picks...not bad!

In case you were wondering, yes, this was a sample.

2 bridesmaids + 1 bride (who helped try on bridesmaid dresses!) = cousins!

The winning look: the nude dress with the black sash...although the dress will be apple green for the wedding!

What's your favorite wedding site/blog? I need ideas to pass on to Sister!

School Day Sunrise

"What is the good of your stars and trees, your sunrise and the wind, if they do not enter into our daily lives?"

-E.M. Forster
Special bonus picture...the sky as I was leaving!

I have changed my mind.

THIS is the coolest commercial of all time. Isn't there just something about athletics that is so inspiring and motivating?

Pre-Halloween fun!

So yesterday, I got into the Halloween spirit...I got to carve pumpkins with the lovely and wonderful and oh-so-fun Whitney (go see her blog for more pictures!) and Guitar Hero and the gang! In the spirit of the ALCS and the fact that I am a huge Yankees fan, here is my pumpkin!:

Here are our pumpkins all spookily lit up (with delicious smelling vanilla and applie pie candles, I might add.):

And here is my pumpkin REALLY lit up! (thanks, Guitar Hero. I never knew you could light pumpkins on fire...):

We even made pumpkin seeds! Attempt number one didn't work out so well...

But attempt number two equaled delicious apple butter pumpkin seeds! YUM!

What are you going to carve into your pumpkin?

I'm BAAAAAAAAAACK! (and I'm never leaving again.)

Oh fellow bloggies and blog readers...I've missed you! Thank you for letting me be bad and take some time for m-o-i. I've been able to rest and study (which has paid off!). So, this week, I am going to catch you up on the fun things that happened to me LAST week (because yes, I was still taking pictures.). So, to begin...

I won something! Adele over at poptart had the most fabulous-tastic giveaway ever of all time and I won! Go read her blog, because I love it. Period. Look!:

More on my fun filled adventures from LAST week up through today THIS week! How are all of you!? Catch me up!

BLAAAAAAAAAAAH-G

Dear Blogg-ies and Blogg-ettes,

I have been a bad Blog-ger. This past week has included lots of midterms, life decisions, and frustrations. I apologize for leaving you for so long...but I am coming back! I beg you to let me have until this Thursday to finish un-stressing, and then I shall return! You guys are the best-est (but you probably already knew that)!

"I've learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances."

-Marth Washington (a really cool lady!)

(thanks ffffound for the picture!)

Love Letters, Chapter 6

Dear One Day Husband,

I found these lyrics today from Owl City:

"I'll watch the night turn light blue,

But it's not the same without you,

Because it takes two to whisper quietly,

The silence isn't so bad,

Till I look at my hands and feel sad,

Cause the spaces between my fingers

Are right where yours fit perfectly."

Isn't that wonderful? Your hands are going to fit mine perfectly. I can't wait to hold hands...just because, dancing, in the car, praying, walking, arm wrestling because I challenged you to be funny and you took me on and then let me win. That's really all I had to tell you today, just that I can't wait for you. And your hands holding mine.

Love,

Me

(Thanks al1son for the picture!)

The sun set as I drove home.

As I was leaving school today, the sun began to leave too...

...And then I was home...and so was the sun!

Disclaimer: If you have never tried it, it is extremely difficult to both get great pictures AND not die while careening down the interstate at approximately 75 MPH. I will probably never do it again. ;)

Halfway to the weekend!

Road Trip!

I had a day off! So of course, I used it for an adventure! I drove east, Sister drove west, and we met up in little tiny Crossville to visit the Stonehaus Winery!

No wine for us though...we went for the cheese and fudge. You see, I don't just have A sweet tooth. The human body has approximately (depending on who you are, I guess...) 32 teeth. Of my 32, I'd say 21 of them are sweet teeth, 6 are cheese teeth, and the remaining 5 are reserved for fruits and vegetables and such.

This is the peanut butter and chocolate fudge...

Sister tested creamsicle fudge, and MY favorite was pumpkin nut fudge...although that one didn't make it to the photo shoot...

We had so much fun visiting and chatting!

Do you have a favorite destination for a road trip?

Love. This. Commercial.

Short, sweet, to the point, the music gets you dancing in your seat, AND Abraham Lincoln winks at you! Perfect!

A little Shoe Love from Shoe Lust

Do we all remember my everlasting love for shoes? The spice of life. The #1 accessory. The drainer of my bank account. --sigh--. Love 'em. And here are some lovelies from Shoe Lust for you to drool over. Don't worry, I already cleaned up my puddles of drool, and here, here's a paper towel for yours. Aren't I thoughtful?? Can't you totally see yourself swing dancing in these?

I love the color!

Holy buckles! I would wear these with everything!

Zipper time!

Agh! I love love the socks with these! So chic!

I have to stop there, or I might be tempted to buy some.

Which one is your favorite?

So cute and Happy weekend!

When was the last time you were *this* intrigued by pasta? Oh, to be a kid again!

I have had such a busy few days with the work and the school...and a busy weekend coming up! I promise to drop by your blogs as soon as Monday rolls around! And until Monday...I miss you!

(thanks amolife for the picture!)

School Day Sunrise

"May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

the rains fall soft upon your fields, and until we meet again,

may God hold you in the palm of His hand."

-Irish blessing

You will see no pictures of *actual* rainbows.

Do you remember ROY G. BIV? You know, that thing you were taught way back when in elementary school to learn the colors of the rainbow (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet)? Well, it turns out if you do a google image search for "roygbiv", you get some absolutely beautiful pictures! Look:(StandardRGB)

(SC fiasco)

(Pet Helpers)

(djwhelan)

(Topcat_angel)

(Book tumbling)

I particularly love the bookstore one! And in case you were wondering about the cat...(I was too)...his NAME is Roy G. Biv!