moments

no makeup. homework. laundromat. enjoy.

so now for a story that has nothing to do with this picture.

I was at a carshow this weekend and i wasn't doing a whole lot cuz we had set up and nobody had shown up yet, so i'm sitting their on this ice chest observing my surroundings and i see a dad and his little boy at the car next to us. i automatically could tell the little boy was handicapped. he had to be about 4 or 5 and he couldn't talk and was looking off into space while his dad was trying to talk to him. it wasn't disrespect it was lack of ability. anyway, he was just so sweet. so a little while later this little boy comes over and tries to pull himself up onto the ice chest to sit by me. he struggled a bit so i pulled him up and pulled him to my side. he had a small smile on his face and he seemed content. Him and i just watched the people go by. he put his hand on my lap and leaned his head on my arm and i tell you what, i nearly died. He was so tender and so sincere. 

Later that afternoon, another family walked by and while the dad talked to us, his adult down syndrome son stood there panting. i asked if he needed a water and then gave one to him. The sweet thing took it and drank some  then looked at me and gave me a thumb's up, he couldn't talk, but i would ask him questions about the show and how whether he was enjoying it or not, he would attempt to mouth it and then just smile. 

I'm just grateful for these kids and people on the earth who aren't fully able to take care of themselves. they have precious, beautiful souls and can teach so much even without words. The small moments i get to spend with them fill me up with a lot of love and compassion. Compassion that sometimes gets emptied out by everyday's little trials and complications. 

xoxo.

M

21 & other things

So I had my 21st birthday and it was an awesome 3 day event that husband put on for me, he's amazing, i must say. I personally believe in Birthday months, but it's no big deal, i get special treatment everyday living with husband, so i basically have birthday whole life.. errr. if that makes sense?

anyway. excited to be an official adult now? i thought that was 18.. cuz i can't really do anything now that i couldn't do when i was 18. oh wait. NOT TRUE. last night i went to RA, that sushi place, for reverse happy hour with husband and they had to see my ID in order for me to get in. so i guess that's kind of a big deal. i can now go sit in a bar and just eat to my heart's content in sushi. joyous. oh wait! i can gamble too
now, right? yeah.. guess there is a couple perks

Anyway. here's some pictures from my phone and my camera that describe what has happened lately.

he took me to get a pedi. die. i love him.

car selfies.

my twin came home!

blurry, but my mom is just really cute.

LOLO's. need i say more?

ussie. isn't that the word for it these days??

Late nights at the laudromat

my husband is my most favorite human being in the world. he's also very special.

 xoxo

m.

As of Late

 1.  I have discovered my love language in the last few weeks. i used to think it was service and time, (probably cuz my mom always said that that was HERRRSs. and we all know i just wanna be my mother..) but i recently read or heard someone say that theirs was food. Folks, i came to a realization that THAT is exactly what mine is. 

2.  for example, the other morning husband took me to get a waffle from the waffle truck and i literally just was tripping over myself  from happiness and joy and love. As we parted to go to work, he kissed me goodbye and i was literally floating on a cloud i don't even remember driving to work.. i don't understand myself sometimes, but yep FOOD SPEAKS to my heart and soul. deeply.

3.  husband and i are moving! we've been living with my parents for the last couple months just to get on our feet before we found a place. welp. we found one. We got ourselves a fancy little 5x5 cubicle. it's literally perfect. not sure how we're gonna fit in it.. but i figure anywhere husband is is where i want to be and i can be happy. that early struggle makes for a strong relationship, true or false??

4.  looks like I'm getting a Prius. i'm bout to be one of "those" people. who are "those" people anyway? cuz like that's a weird phrase to describe people that probably aren't really all that bad and shouldn't be stereotyped in such a way. i mean, they're just trying to save the planet.. even if it's really the cows that are killing the planet. my dad told me that. allegedly, a cow's fart can be pretty lethal to the ozone.. what an awkward rant that was..

5. happily in love with husband, peanut butter, and the fact that my birthday is a few days! my birthday is easily my favorite day of the year. i don't even care what i do on my birthday. i just want everyone to know it's my birthday, i'm the queen, and i want a good piece of my dad's homemade Sting of Bee cake. nomnom.

Four Weeks

I got married two months ago, it feels like forever and not long all at the same time. It's funny i always subconsciously made fun of girls like me. meet the guy. get engaged two months later. get married. okay.. maybe not two months i knew him for 6 months before we were engaged, but still. I always said, "Self, you will know and date the guy for AT LEAST a YEAR before you EVER even consider marrying him." but then my hubby walked into my life and all the walls and things that i thought were important crumbled. and i realized that i didn't need to wait or "get to know him". i just knew. He knew before i did, that's for certain.. but anyway.

HOW TO PLAN A WEDDING IN 4 WEEKS.. or i guess maybe why did it that way??

first, i got engaged April 30th. so on Monday morning, the 5th of May, my momma and i were chatting about when my " big date" should be.. i said October, it would be cool again by then and i would have 5 beautiful months of planning. my heart on the other hand wanted to marry the boy as of yesterday and i believe my mom knew that. so we argued and came up with May 30th or October 11.. i left the room and the decision was made. i was getting married in 4 weeks. i called Tiger, he flipped at first cried a bit ,(i never said that) but then decided that we could make it work.

wedding planning in a nutshell? it was hell. i'm not even gonna lie. i hated myself for deciding to get married that quick. i was constantly making phonecalls, did some crying, coordinating things with people, more crying and i had to look pretty for engagment pictures, basically weeping, get addresses, get those sent, uncontrollable sobbing, get addresses for a shower, get those sent, straight dying, and on top of it all i had to choose colors, find a dress, call girls to be bridesmaids.. dead. WEDDING PLANNING SUCKED. at first. but by the end of the second week, things began to fall into place and i knew, just like how i knew i wanted to be with Husband forever, that this was how i was supposed to do things.  My dress was the 3rd dress i tried on. My colors just worked together so beautifully and we found things to "go" so easily as decor, it all worked. #stupideasy

i just think this is funny :]

The moral of the story?

you can plan a big, beautiful wedding in 4 weeks. (that is if you have as many hook ups as i do and an amazing mother. jk. you can do it.)

xo

M

engagement story

One time in the early parts of February, husband, then boyfriend told me he loved me. he said "you know before we start talking about the future or err whatever, there's something i need to tell you".. it was dreamy and precious. i nearly died the entire time he fumbled for words, but from there it was what him and i like to call an HOV lane relationship. Everything just fell into place and felt right. So in March when we started talking about possibly getting married i knew the actual act of it wasn't too far off.

Husband loves to dance. I pretty much have decided that i fell in love with him on the first date when he took me country dancing. So on April 30th, 2014 when he came to pick me up to go dancing, i wasn't even phased and the night went like it normally would. he whisked to the dance floor and i was spinning. Then weird stuff happened.. random friends of his were there and the absented minded and oblivious marlee (don't you speak in 3rd person? no? ok.) didn't even register it. Eventually, it got hot in that place so we went outside to get some air. we walked around and he reminisced about previous days and our relationship thus far. His sister came out and chastised us for "ditching" her and beckoned us back in. (All apart of the plot)

We walk back in and i'm on the dance floor again spinning around. And the next song that played was Mona Lisa by Brad Paisley, i believe? whatever. it was a song that husband said reminded him of us and i got excited and turned to him and said "Babe, it's your song!" he was all weird and goes "oh yeah it is huh?"

JIG WAS UP. i knew right then something was happening.

So we're dancing again. spinning, dipping and his face is a mix between a severe anxiety attack and horror. Song ends. And it's me alone with him in the middle of the dance floor and EVERYONE is surrounding us.

side note: if you know me, you'll know that I'm slightly (or COMPLETELY) (yea, i can admit it..) an attention hog. and the center of attention isn't an uncomfortable place for me. in fact, i kind of like it.

A Thousand Years by Christina Perry comes on and up on the wall is a projection of me as a little girl. The slideshow plays through and it's just wonderful and then all of a sudden Cody is on a microphone bearing his soul.. sort of. it was more just telling me how i was the one and all that and i was dying. He finally said, "So i have a question for you" and the entire audience awwwwed.

And i said yes of course. :]

So my ring is custom made and perfectly me. Husband did so good. When i took it in to get sized and cleaned the jeweler just gawked at it and took pictures. I'm so proud of it. it's unique and i'm a lucky girl. Also. my engagement was one of the coolest things that I've ever experienced in my life. the amount of effort husband put in just to put on that show, reflects just how much he loves me. so blessed.

xo.

M



Tiger

So it's been awhile since the last post. well kids, that's cuz a lot has happened since the last post.

Yo girl is in a SURRRious relationship. so. with all i got... i present.. to you... CODY.

How cute and handsome and attractive and good looking is he? I know. i can't hardly stop myself from attacking him when i see him. 

Anyway. That's my Tiger. he's the most fantastic man in the world. Like. don't even get me started. okay fine. i'll start.

He makes me feel like a queen. like that literally the ground i walk on is precious. I mean. what else could a girl want. but wait. he opens doors and waits on me and is constantly assessing to see if i'm okay or if i need something. chivalry lives on people. he's funny and makes me laugh constantly and i love to listen to him talk. which is kind of new for me. typically i get annoyed when people talk a lot, but i just like the way he speaks. (is that weird?) oh well. he tells me I'm beautiful more times a day than i can count and i feel like I'm top priority for him. C'mon. when you take precedence over video games or the "bros" you caught a good one.  

I love everything about him. he's like the biggest cheeseball and i appreciate it from him. it's all heartfelt and sentimental and wonderful. and it makes me the happiest girl ever. like this for instance...

who writes notes anymore? my tiger does. I'm so blessed and SOOOO in love. he could not be any more perfect than he already is. 

he feels like forever to me. i've dated plenty right? and with him it's deeper. it's more emotional and mental rather than physical. (even though that's good too.) but in all serious. a big one for me is that I'm comfortable with him. I get really self conscious at times and i don't really get that way with him. because i know that he likes me for me and all of me at that. that's like a big deal for me. i like the way i feel with him, as well as the way he makes me feel about us, myself, and everything. i didn't know it was possible. anywho. He's my FAVORITE favorite and i don't know how i've gotten along without him for the last 20 years. i, personally, believe you can make it work with anyone if you try hard enough, but i don't think i know that i could not be happier with anyone else, but him. i love tiger, he's got my heart.

xo.

M

{Five} Things

1. Having seven sisters is probably my favorite thing in the world. my sisters are the biggest pains in the neck and also my best friends. i couldn't function properly if even one of them wasn't in my life. 

2. i decided that i'm gonna try to not dye my hair once this year. i don't remember the last time i went more than four months without dying it so this is gonna be a challenge! i don't wanna call it a goal tho.. bc like if i don't accomplish it then.. awk.. my hair is bout to get real oily tho. gonna have to start showering more. flip.

3. have i ever explained my love for lifting? like. i love it sooooo much. the ache and pain and deep rooted agony in your soul after a good heavy session? there's nothing like it. i like how more people are starting to get into it though. the "strong is the new skinny" trend is a step in the right direction. i like being strong. lift like a lady or a dude. i don't care. #shehulk

4. #FIRSTWORLDPROBLEMS the water in my shower just does not seem to stay hot for as long as i want it to lately. like for real i don't even take long showers, but you can't stay hot for more than eight minutes? jeez. what's a girl gotta do to get some hot water around here..?

5. i have a healthy obsession with Lupita Nyong'o. (please click her name and understand) like i can't even comprehend her beauty. God put an extra dose of gorgeous in her, bc like she radiates with perfection. die.

-m

my best friend.

i've been reading a lot of articles lately.. actually i always am reading articles.. it's what i do since i don't feel like i can sit still long enough to read a whole book.. but that's besides the point. anyway. lately my articles have been about moms. being one, being a better one, how to be a good one.. so on, so forth..

i just wanna take a second to say how grateful i am for my mom.

she's everything i want to be. from the time i was coherent and aware of life i just admired everything about her.SH'es just so awesome.  She has a beautiful voice and i love that she taught me so many silly, little songs that i hope to someday teach my own kids one day.
she taught me to be independent. i used to complain about it when i was younger. my mom wasn't one to make me breakfast every morning, school lunch, or get me up for school EVERY morning. she did do it on occasion though. i remember being jealous of the kids whose moms did do that every flippen day.. but you know what? i'm sooooo glad she didn't because those kids are the ones who aren't independent and honestly, these days, knowing how to be independent and how to take care of yourself is even more crucial than it has ever been. everyone relies so much on technology that they are forgetting to teach there kids REAL LIFE skills.  i know way to many people my age whose mom did ALL their laundry, cooked and cleaned, and never gave their kids responsibility. Who's laughing now? i can stand on my own.
Said kids are like "nooo. my parents love me, that's why i'm 20+ and still getting a weekly allowance."
please. love? no. you're being coddled. one day that's gonna get cut off, then you'll be cold turkey in the real world. good luck with that. "LOVE" has nothing to do with it. lol. rant over.
truth is, my mom has taught me what "love" is. love is time. love is service. love isn't getting, it's giving and not expecting anything in return. I don't know about my brothers and sisters, but i'm grateful that my mom has ingrained that in my brain. To love people is why we are here on this earth. Because if you love everyone around you in a Christlike way, how can you go wrong?
personally, i'm glad my mom isn't a clean freak or OCD about things being perfect. because i feel that it taught me to not stress about little things and to be comfortable with what you have to offer. why cry over spilled milk? i remember breaking a pretty glass pie tin when i was younger and being so scared that she'd be upset, but she wasn't, she helped me clean it up and moved right along. i love her.
also my mom taught me confidence. she asks my brother and i all the time why we're so vain and full of ourselves. it's not so much that we think we're beautiful (okay maaaybe my brother does..), but we're completely comfortable with looking like fools and being loud and dismissing anybody that thinks anything less of what we view ourselves as. like, that's pretty amazing for a mom to instill in her kids.  a confident kid thrives in this world. mom, you're building children to be natural leaders. (insert applause)

all in all though i'm just glad my mom is who she is. she doesn't try to be flashy, or perfect to society. she is just being a mom. i think a mom's job is the hardest one. there's no days off. no hour lunch break. it's a constant battle. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. from crying little ones, to diapers, cleaning, to homework assignments, procrastinated projects, shopping, bills, laundry, chores, dinner, more cleaning, directionless teenagers, or just 13 stubborn, loud, obnoxious kids. my mom doesn't complain. maybe she occasionally wants to run away.. but hey, who doesn't. :]

i love my momma.
 she's weird. she's crazy. she's funny. she's smart. she's talented. she's a simple mom. she's the best mom ever.

being that Sunday was her birthday.. this post just happens to be fitting, although i started it before her birthday..
happy birthday, meeshki.
-m

Life Lately + 2014goals

Happy New Year. 2014 is startin off strong.

So. have you heard Queen Bey's new album. killer.

Anywaaaay. my mom has been nonstop about my future. it's freaking me out. i'm a details person, but those are details i don't wanna mess with. she like wants me to start planning ahead and i just wanna live right now. In fact, i feel like everyone is trying to get me to plan ahead. I have all these questions and problems and people and ideas swimming around in my head at all times and i'm gonna drown here pretty soon. sounds pretty dramatic huh? it's not that bad, i just wrote that cuz it sounds cool. moving on..

at the same time, i feel sort of stuck where i am at. i can't make any decisions about ANYTHING right now. there's too many variables, too many people who will get their feelings hurt. too many things that i'll "what if" later though too. i'm stagnant. but, like, i don't mind it. really i don't. i'm content with my stagnation... it's fine with me.
i used to want to fast forward my life and just be five years down the road already. i'm realizing i don't want to be established yet. i still want to get through some adversity and cry and make mistakes and be sad and feel hopeless. okay. maybe i don't want it that bad, but i definitely don't wanna be anywhere else but here right now. my life is really simple, my problems are all in my head and i know i'll look back at now someday and wish i had it this good again.. so i'm gonna enjoy the nothingness. it's pretty calm here.. for now.

2014 goals. {cuz like, why not..}

find a school that will pay for hopefully all your last 2 years and have it be someplace where you will be most HAPPY.
read the BOM 3 times
do something memorable this summer
get a real job (this one is debatable)
don't let anyone or anything influence the choices you make this year.. they're gonna be big..- except God. ;]

-m