Hugh Grant says

via google images

"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion... love actually is all around."

I'm BAAACK!

GOOD MORNING BLOGGING WORLD!

Ahhhhhh yes, it feels good to be back, I may still be hacking up a lung, but I feel 100x better!

I wanted to update you all on my Papa, he's doing better, they had to rehyrdrate him in the hospital and the next day as well, but he is home with my Granny now :) Thank you all SO incredibly much for your prayers, it made my heart burst.

In case you didn't see my Hot Sweaty Mess post, here's a recap:

Tuesday night: came home with a low grade fever

Wednesday morning: woke up with a 101.4 fever - went to the doctor, he diagnosed me with the flu and put me on Tamiflu and an inhaler for chest tightness

Wednesday evening: woke up after taking a nap with a 103.1 fever - highest fever I have ever remembered having in my life, I was so scared. I jumped in a tempid bath, took some more ibuprofen and sweated it out.

Thursday & Friday: Struggled with a fever in the low 100's and started coughing, like bad, like so hard I felt like I was going to throw up

Saturday: Felt like I was getting worse so I went to urgent care in the afternoon - the doctor there put me on cough syrup (with coediene - the good stuff) and prednizone (to help with the swelling in my throat)

So, how am I now?

Five days, four prescriptions, three days of eating nothing but soup and saltines, two doctor's visits & a partridge in a pear tree later, and I am doing MUCH better, still have a yucky cough, but it's under control. Still taking it easy though.

Which brings me to our MOVE!

I never thought it would happen, and it finally did. It went off with a few miniscule hitches, but other than that, I have to brag on my family a little before I share some photos. Bryan, & his step-dad, mom and sister loaded up 3 cars, a truck and a trailer full of our stuff, from one home to the other in a matter of hours and my mom and sister came and cleaned our apartment from top to bottom - we have an AMAZING family. Just sayin.

Ok, now I will try to get more pictures soon, but these are a few I took on my phone right after we got things moved in:

view from our backyard

my personal favorite feature of the house

just imagine candles everywhere!

yessss :)

the kitchen - and Harley

breakfast nook :)

view from our front room

Ahhhh, it feels SO good to finally be DONE with apartment living. However,  I have to say that the apartment's we've lived in have been good to us, and for that I am grateful :)

I can't wait to catch up on your blogs and see what's been going on in your lives! I've missed you! Thank you again for all your well wishes and prayers for me and my family this past week, it was definitely trying at times, but we pulled through it, together.

PS - Don't forget! Today is the last day to enter the giveaway, tomorrow morning I will be choosing a winner via random.org. Good luck everyone!

The power of prayer

I'm in need of your prayers, good thoughts, and any good juju you are able to send my way.

SO much is going on in my head right now, I feel like I'm being tested -

I'm trying desperately to get over this awful flu

I'm going to start my period this week (which is making everything 10x more emotional)

We're moving (which is great but I'm stressed because I won't be able to help much)

and we just found out that my sweet Papa(grandpa) may have had a stroke...

If there were ever a time that I would appreciate your prayers it would be now... I've never been very eloquent at praying and I'm not the best Christian that I could be, but I'm going to try...

Dear Heavenly Father, 

It's me, Amanda. I know we haven't spoken in a while, and I know it seems like I only turn to always turn to you when something is going wrong, but that's not the case. You are in my head and heart always. My family and I are having troubled times right now, please lay your healing hand over my Papa and comforting hands over my Granny, they are still so in love and I can't imagine one without the other.  I also pray for the doctor's working with him to have skillful hands and knowledgable brains. Please make this my number one priority prayer, and if there is time left over, please also see that our move this weekend goes smoothly and that my family is well taken care of - we are so lucky to have such a family that they are giving up a weekend to help us clean especially since I'm so under the weather. Thank you so much and you'll hear from me soon.

Amen

This is my sweet Papa so you can put a face to your prayers

Granny and Papa

I love you Papa, I know everything is going to be ok, have Granny give you some "healing smooches"

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart, I have tears in my eyes as I write this.

I have faith.

Hot sweaty mess

Hey ladies -

I'm going to be out of commission for the next couple days, I have the flu :( I keep getting fevers, sweating them out, getting fevers, sweating them out...disgusting hot sweaty mess.

In any case, I just want to say I'm here, but not, and I hope you all are well!

PS - please listen to this song, it definitely put a smile on my face :)

Hey kiddo, it's me, Amanda!

Amanda,

Hey there kid, yep, I said it. That's what you are - a kid. Take it from an adult, you want to be a kid for as long as you can, being an adult isn't that great. There are bills to pay, people to please, responsibilities to uphold, it's tough work. It's not all about drinking, driving and living on your own so get that fantasy out of your head. I've decided to write you a letter which you can take to heart or not, which I wish that you would've. So please, sit back and listen... I mean it!

OK, first off, Stop trying to grow up too fast. You are only a kid for so long and I promise you, you will wish you would've savored every minute of it. Tell your parents you love them, every day, even if they piss you off to the point of no return. Your parents are some of the only people that will be there for you no matter what, forever, so try being a little bit nicer to them, eh? While we're on the subject of family, take time for your younger brother and sister. Take them to the park, read to them, play pretend even if you feel like a doofus, there will come a day when even they're too cool to do anything like that. Don't start dating too soon, you will have the rest of your life for romance and butterflies and rainbows - no need to rush, I promise you will grow up and meet the love of your life, oh and PS - it's VERY unlikely you think you've met him already, just a heads up. Take family trips and participate, don't sit off in the distance because you are 'over it'. Play games, make s'mores, and act silly, your family will not judge you and probably join in. Stop worrying about your weight and appearance, You. Are. Beautiful. There is no need to get all dolled up in sixth grade, those boys aren't gonna notice. Make memories, remember how certain things and people make you feel when you are happy and hold on for dear life to them. The world is so corrupt and you don't ever know who to trust, trust those memories. Act silly with your girlfriends, dance in the grocery store, paint your fingernails crazy colors and write notes back and forth - these may be friendships you are creating that will last your entire life.  Ask your grandparents to tell you their love story, and take notes, that's real love.  Believe in yourself, you've got a lot to offer and people will realize that when they meet you. Don't be self conscious, smile with your teeth, shake people's hands when you first meet them and make a lasting first impression. And last but not least, finish college, not for your parents, for you and your own future. You can do it, even if you don't know what 'it' is yet.

That's all I've got. Take it or leave it, but I would choose to take it. I know you may think you know everything, but trust me, you don't. Take it easy and enjoy it - life I mean. Don't want it to pass you by.

Olive Penderghast says

funny love quote :)

"Whatever happened to chivalry? Does it only exist in 80's movies? I want John Cusack holding a boombox outside my window. I wanna ride off on a lawnmower with Patrick Dempsey. I want Jake from Sixteen Candles waiting outside the church for me. I want Judd Nelson thrusting his fist into the air because he knows he got me. Just once I want my life to be like an 80's movie, preferably one with a really awesome musical number for no apparent reason. But no, no, John Hughes did not direct my life."

PS - If you feel so inclined, my sweet friend Jaimie from Legos in my Pocket got me in the nominations for Blog of the Month over at For the Love of Blogs - if you have a minute click here and vote for me :)

Silence

via weheartit

Monday night is bowling night. Every week. Same time, same place, same people, same food... Like I've said previously, it's not always my favorite way to be spending the evening, but my husband is there and I kinda like him so it's fun to hang out with him.


Last night was just like every other, Bryan got home, showered, waited for me to shower and get ready, and waited a little more, and we were out the door by about 5:30pm. I always know it's going to be a good night by our car ride to the bowling alley. We were laughing, talking, and singing to Pandora in his car - then all of the sudden Bryan's phone rings.

Bryan: Hello? pause Um, I'm pretty sure I gave you the keys...maybe I set them on the counter, or they might be still on my pant belt loop. pause Well do you want me to turn around and go look for them? pause CRAP! (that's not the exact word he said but we'll go with that one)

Basically what had happened was Bryan's boss called and was asking him where he had put the keys to one of their work vans, Bry couldn't remember and even though we were only about fifteen minutes away from bowling, he whipped the Subie around and started heading back towards home to look for that key set.


The entire ride back to our apartment what do I hear? Silence... absolutely silence. No more laughing, talking or music to sing to. All I hear are the RPM's revving up to pass other cars and the rain hitting the windshield. Why do I find this so fascinating? Because Bryan deals with his anger and/or frustration with silence. Me? I want to hug, kiss and make up ASAP or throw in a joke to lighten the mood or ask reassuring questions like, "I don't think you had them on your belt loop did you?". Not my husband, he wants silence to think about what happened. He was beating himself up for not remembering to give his boss those keys. He had pursed lips like he was holding back wanting to curse because we were going to be late to bowling - and yet - still silence remained in the car.


It's hard for me to remember sometimes that we deal with these kind of and other situations differently. He quietly stews, and I outwardly spew! I just had to sit back and take a look at how he diffused this problem - with such ease and almost no worrying - can some of that please rub off on me? I really admire the way he handled that tonight and sure enough, we got home and the keys were still on his belt loop, we ran them to his boss and still made it to the bowling alley on time, singing and laughing again along the way.

Moral of the story? Sometimes silence is ok. This is a TOTALLY new concept for me. Thank you Bry for teaching me something new almost every day.

PS - if you're not so into silence, hop on over to my friend Ashley of the Tale of Two Taylor's blog, I did a guest post for her, after all yesterday I promised a super mushy post to my husband to celebrate our 6 month-a-versary of being hitched! I'll let this go ahead and take the place of Today's Letters Inspired Tuesdays.

Katy Perry says

 "You think I'm pretty
Without any makeup on
You think I'm funny when I tell the
Punch line wrong
I know you get me
So I let my walls come down, down

Before you met me I was alright
But things were kinda heavy
You brought me to life,
Now every February
You'll be my Valentine, Valentine" ♥

ps - one more week to enter my giveaway :) 

Confessions of a 20something

Here's to crossing my comfort zone...

My husband snores, but in his defense I heard I do too
I struggle with anxiety/stress/worry
I have really bad psoriasis on my scalp
Today I've been married for six months ♥ - please expect a super mushy post from me tomorrow to my husband
I wish I could write a letter to my teen self - in fact, I think I'll do that this week
Sometimes I feel, 'Am I ready to grow up?'
I stayed up till the wee hours reading her blog last night, I feel inspired by her
I wish I lived closer to my family in California, but couldn't imagine leaving the one in Washington
I listen to a radio station that plays 60's and 70's oldies - it makes me feel good :)
I love tanning - it also makes me feel good, even though I know it's really bad for me
I desperately want a new car just to put these on them - sorry babe :)
I traded a job that paid big bills that I hated, to a job that just pays the bills that I love
I sometimes avoid people I went to high school with - why? Embarrassment...
I'm not always as nice as I should be to my parents, that needs to change
I can't wait to move this weekend, finally
I didn't date much before Bryan, I'm OK with that, sometimes people make me think I missed out, I know they're wrong
I wonder 'Would I like me if I met me?'
I get hot flashes and sweaty often - especially in the summer ugh
I got my first pap smear for the first time last year - I cried before the doctor even started the exam
I worry about debt and my weight
I worry about my husband while he's at work
I love taking long soaks in the tub
Sometimes I intentionally watch sappy love stories or listen to country songs just to cry
I feel like a major bitch sometimes - if you've experienced that side of me, I'm sorry
I'm a major homebody...like really bad - Bryan isn't, I find it is a healthy balance for me
There are some toxic people I'm looking to cut out of my life...
I'm an awful procrastinator :(
I love with all my heart, and just want to be loved that way in return
I'm really easy to please
I just bought this from my seriously talented friend and fellow bloggee - check her out!
I feel really good that I did this - thanks for sticking around till the end :)

Novalee Nation says

picture via here

"You tell them that our lives can change with every breath we take... and tell 'em to hold on like hell to what they've got: each other. You tell them we've all got meanness in us, but we've got goodness too. And the only thing worth living for is the good. And that's why we've got to make sure we pass it on."

ps - don't foget to enter my giveaway! celebrate being a girl :)

G'day mate

This weekend I'm saying goodbye to a very good best friend of mine, Charles Augustana Gross. That's Dr. Gross, to you. I don't think I could be losing this truly inspiring man to any better cause than moving to Australia to go 
chase his dreams and travel the world.

Charlie you are one of the most intriguing, genuine, GREATEST people I know. I'm jealous of the Aussies that will meet and love you, because they're gonna! I've said it before and I'll say it again, you were never meant to stay in the USA, you've got bigger and brighter horizons than most.

We've had too many memories, death nights, and laugh-till-you-cry phone conversations than I can count, and I will treasure them deep in my heart.

You were there for us girls at Central when we needed someone to bring us ice cream in the middle of the night, needed a place to crash, or a jello-shot ;)

I honestly can't imagine my life without you, and I'm so glad that we've kept our friendship strong and alive like we have. That's it then, no ocean or continent can separate us!

But seriously, I love you best friend, brother, amazing person that you are. I know you are going to do big, HUGE things with your life.

Love you more than koalas, wallaby's and dingo's! 

G'day mate -

I'll show you mine - if you show me yours

[Foreword: I was inspired by Sydney from The Daybook to write this blog, every girl keeps her life in her purse, right?]


For some time my younger sister, Hanna, has made fun of me and my purse. Poor purse, what did it ever do to her? All it ever did was hold all my most valuable and most used items and it's always been loyal, stays right by my side through thick and thin. In any case, this is me standing up for myself, and my purse. 

It all started after she saw this:

After that it has been referred to as Mary Poppin's bag - it never seems to end and I can keep pulling stuff out of it - which in all honesty is kind of true.


Exhibit B: These are all the things my purse holds...

1. 2011 planner with a mechanical pencil - plans change that's why God made erasers

2. The actual subject in question - one of my favorite purses :)

3. Wallet from Forever 21

4. Redbox movies - a staple in our house, we <3 movies

5. Tupperwear full of hair ties, bobby pins, Burts Bees chapstick, earrings...etc

6. Fruity and minty gum

7. Tampons and fine tip sharpie - you never know when Uncle Charlie is going to visit, or when you may need to write something permanently

8. Keys

9. Our wedding photo CD discs...I guess just in case? :)

10. Camera and USB cord

11. iFlip video camera from Mom - Christmas present

&

my make-up bag (seen below)

Other items I've been known to have in there as well are a fine tooth comb, bottle of aerosol hairspray, a water bottle, an apple and my phone charger cord. I guess I see a little validity in her assumptions. I'd rather look at it that I'm just well prepared.

While we're at it, i'm going to go ahead and introduce my handy dandy make-up bag as well, PS - I'm kind of a drugstore junkie

1. Life is Good bag from Morrobay, CA - it makes me happy every time I see it

2. Perfume - DKNY Joy [smells deLISH] I'm super sad my sample is almost gone, a bottle costs $80

3. Philosophy Instant Sunshine - bronzer

4. Coralista by Benefit - blush, my favorite :)

5.  Mini Pantine Pro-V hairspray

6. Purple loose eye shadow

7. Brushes

8. Volume Express mascara by Covergirl

9. Lineur eyeliner - blogged about here

10. random lipgloss - don't remember where I got it

11. Maybelline Dream Mousse concealer - for those stubborn things that won't hide with regular cover up

12. Urban Decay eye shadow in Chopper

13. Covergirl Fresh Complexion pocket powder - LOVE this

14. Covergirl Eye Enhancers in Fard Accent - inspiration from Rachel at Tunes & Spoons here

What make-up essentials can you not live without? Do you stalk drug/department stores for good deals on your favorite things? 

I'd love to know - What's in YOUR bag?!

 

Um, so the evening after I wrote this blog, my favorite shiny black purse went to purse heaven. RIP favorite faux alligator purse, you were good to be and held all my favorites. 

I went out yesterday and bought it's replacement, I was pleasantly surprised. I found this little one just waiting to be adopted. I hope it will bring me just as much joy and hold just as many secrets and surprises :)

Hello, sunshine purse! 

Dionne Warwick and The Spinners say

[Bryan and Amanda circa 2005]

"Now that I have found ya, how did I live without ya
It's plain to see you're all I need to satisfy me
I'm so darned proud of ya, I wanna sing about ya
All I know, ya made love grow by touchin' my hand
Oh-uh-oh I never knew love before
Then came you, then came you, ooh
I never knew love before
Then came you (ooh-ooh-ooh), then came you
Hey, hey, hey, then came you" ♥

Even through our ups and downs, I love you with all my heart.

Thankful Thursday

56. Plastic tubs - Every year our life ends up in these things, stacks of them. I don't know what I would do without them. Our life in boxes, sounds like a song...

57. Plans the hubby makes - I just learned that he wants to take me to Seattle for Valentine's day to spend the night at a fancy-shmancy hotel and explore the city, my heart truly melted when he told me that - romantic first Valentine's day as a married couple - Check!

58. Harley kitty - As much as he can drive me bananas at night time when he starts going crazy and running up walls and getting into the bread, I love my fur baby so much and can't believe he's almost a year old! He used to be so tiny, no he's a chunk-a-munk!

59. Great organization/storage ideas from IHeartOrganizing - I made a pact to myself  in my previous post that when we move into the new house things are going to be different this time and I'm going to make sure that things are organized. I will be doing that with the help of this love lady! She has SO many great storage/organizing/CUTE ideas -I can't even take it! Pretty please, if you are even thinking about doing some organizing of your own, hop skip or jump over to her blog, you won't be sorry!

PS I really want to make this project from her blog - SO CUTE right?!

60. Venti black iced tea from Starbucks with one Splenda -mmmmmm it's like summer in a cup. I LOVE iced tea, it's the perfect way to get caffeine in the morning without drinking coffee and getting the jitters - Thank you Starbucks for making such a perfect blend of summer dreamin for me :)

What is everyone else thankful for this week?!

PS - Don't forget to enter my very first GIVEAWAY! :)

celebrating all things girly GIVEAWAY!

If any of you know me, you know that I'm NOT a patient person, I can't keep secrets about presents and I can't keep the giveaway a secret either, so without further ado-

Druuuummmm rolllll please.....

[Some of]Amanda's Favorite Things - 

celebrating all things girly ♥

 

I wanted to put something small together of some of my favorite items that I can't live without on a daily basis - I put a list together and came up with this!

1. Chocolate - because, um, hello?! I probably eat WAY more than I should,

but being a girl means it's ok to splurge every once in a while

2. Glamour Magazine - for those of us who don't always feel as glam as Kim K.

being a girl means you find your own way to be glamours :)

3. Dove and Degree body mists - ask anyone, I have at least 3 different scents on me at one time, 

because being a girl means smelling 'pretty' some times

4. Popcorn - the buttery kind, I know but again it's ok to splurge sometimes

being a girl means you might want to even share it!

5. The Notebook - is there even an explanation needed?!

because being a girl means you've probably cried at least once seeing this movie

6. Pink nail polish - I don't paint my nails as often as I'd like, but this is my favorite kind that doesn't chip off easily

because being a girl means sometimes you give yourself home mani's

7. Mascara - I NEVER leave home without it, because I love it, but also because I have albino eyelashes if I don't wear it, I hope you like it

because being a girl means getting dolled up sometimes

8. Burt's Bees chapstick - because c'mon, let's face it, it's winter and chapped lips aren't so hot and

because being a girl you think of the little things like that

 

There are three ways you can enter to win this basket-o-goodies

1) Leave me a comment (on this post) letting me know ways that you pamper yourself!

2) Follow The Forever Endeavor (and make sure to leave me a separate comment letting me know you did/do!)

3) Post about this giveaway on your blog or Facebook and leave me a separate comment letting me know you did so-and make sure to include the link.

& an extra entry:

4) Cook and post a picture of one of the recipes I've made/mentioned on my blog - make sure to leave the picture/story how it turned out in a separate comment as well!

(For my first giveaway, you do have to be in the United States to win, but don't worry, there will be more that will be open to my international friends as well!)

I will announce the winner after using a random generator on Tuesday February 1st, so you have until Monday 1/31 11:59pm CST to enter to win! 

Be sure to check back on February 1st to see if you won!
I'm super excited about this and I hope you will be as well :)

(Winner will have 3 days to send me their info and if I don't get a response, a new winner will be selected using the same process.)

Wordless Wednesday

Dreaming of sunshine, sandy beaches, and tropical drinks melting in our hands...

[Honeymoon in Mexico July 2010]




PS - On a much heavier note, I just wanted to take a minute and reach out my hand and heart to everyone that is grieving the loss of a dear friend today in Wasco California, including my mom and Aunt Lizzie. I love you and wish I could be there for you today. Life is too short, I don't want the moment to pass by without me saying I love and appreciate you both, and am thankful to have my life touched by you two dynamite sisters♥

PMS sucks. Period.

Um, anybody else with me? 

I'm going to go ahead and say 'anybody' because I think firmly believe men have 'sympathy' PMS.

Sometimes I feel like I go from emotionally stable to crazy, crying psycho in 

5.2 seconds 

I guess it doesn't help when you add stress and anxiety on top of that - humph.

I'm just going to take a deep breath, maybe eat some chocolate, take a nap and try at life again later...

via weheartit.com

Today's Letters Inspired Tuesday

Today's Letters: Dear Husband, as much as I don't want to sometimes, going bowling with you is pretty fun. Not because of the awesome bar food, and definitely not the actual alley itself that smells like the 1970's, but when you get a strike everyone gives you a high five, I give you a kiss - get another Turkey for me, eh?  Dear Daylight's Saving Time(March 13), I don't think you could come fast enough. I left work today and it was still light out when I pulled into the parking lot, pretty amazing, just sayin. Dear Hanna's Aussie exchange student Krista, we will miss you HEAPS mate! You are just so stinkin sweet and I hope Hanna (and me!) get to visit you someday in Australia. Have a safe 16 hour flight home, and hug a koala for me! Dear love of my life, it leaves me absolutely tickled when someone asks me how long we've been married and I say six months. They nod and smile, but then I get to say, 'But we've been dating for six years' - ten points for putting up with my stinky feet, gasps in the car when I see a snow cone stand, and crying over everything for that long. Word.

What do you and/or your significant other do in your spare time? Are you on a bowling league? Do you play softball together? 

I have NO coordination what-so-ever, but I find it pretty important to still go and support the hubs.

Please see my inspiration for this post HERE :)

PS - Please see my other post, I have two this morning <3

Moving Contract, Giveaway Announcement, and a couple Thank You's

Good morning! Happy Tuesday!


First -I'm putting this in my blog, because I figure I will have something tangible to look back on when I contemplate throwing something in the corner, leaving it for someone else to do, and not organizing like I should. Something to keep myself accountable.

I, Amanda Lynn Hutson(Moury) do solemnly swear;
-That I will not stuff things in places they don't belong
-That I will be better at labeling items
-That I will organize our belongings
-That I will not wait for someone else to do it for me, I will take the initiative and do it myself.
-That I will unpack all of our things in a reasonable amount of time
-That I will actually move in - this includes but is not limited to, hanging photos/mirrors/artwork up, unpacking ALL said boxes, opening wedding gifts we haven't had room for until now, etc
-That I will decorate and make this house a home
-That I will not stress and get caught up in material things that we don't have, we will accumulate over time

There. That should do it.

Second - I will be announcing my very first giveaway on Friday! I'm super excited, it's nothing fancy, just
celebrating being a woman!
Please stay tuned!

Third - I just wanted to say a quick thank you to my unsung followers, I've gotten messages, Facebook posts, and through the grapevine, some really inspiring words from you about my blog - can I please say from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU. I'm not sure if many of you know the story of when I was planning our wedding, I put a lot of it on Facebook - like I had an entire picture album dedicated to 'wedding ideas' because we had/have so much family out of town that aren't able to be apart of the planning process, I wanted them to feel included. Surprisingly I received quite of bit negative feedback and mocking from some friends and family, making fun of how 'often' I was posting about the wedding and 'didn't I have anything better to do?'. Excuse me for caring about my family, and excuse you for being rude. If you don't like what I have to say/post - don't read it and or delete me. So when I started this blog I was fearful of the same thing happening. I've gotten a few jabs but mostly just positive feedback and I can't tell you how grateful I am and what it does for my creative spirit.

So, thank you, thank you, thank YOU.

 Especially Juan and Tassie - Thank you <3

PS - Please see my other post this morning, I have two :)