thankful quickie

THANKFUL

for a good cup of coffee to keep my eyes open

for living next to a lot that makes me think I live in the country

for Bryan being so good at word games

my hair dresser that knows JUST what I like! Back in blonde!

What are you thankful for today? :)

Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday!

71. Harley - as much as I want to wring his neck at night when he's bouncing off the walls and won't let us sleep...I just remember this sweet face and his funny relaxing places, and forgive him for being a complete terror...

72. American Idol nights - It's kind of become tradition to curl up on the couch with some pizza and watch AI - we pretend we're the judges. PS - any other AI watchers out there? Is Steven Tyler becoming the new Paula?! LOL

73. Full Throttle energy drinks - this morning I totally remembered why/how those little suckers got me through two loooong years at college. Thanks for the extra little boost in the morning :)

74. Pinterest - a FABulous new site I stumbled across. I haven't quite figured out exactly how it all works yet however, there is something for EVERYone. For example I've found:

[super cute things I want to make]

[Quotes that make me smile

...and giggle]

[not to mention SUPER cute recipes!]

75. My new followers friends! I'm so glad you've stopped by my corner of blogger land :) Welcome! I try to check out your blogs as well, I'm sure we will be good friends :)

What are YOU thankful for this week? 

Sunshine? Hopefully you've got some of that Vitamin D in your neck of the woods! :)

Thankful Thursday

In many past blogs I've written about my amazing Mom here, here, and here.

It's really been on my heart lately that I need to pay some attention to another amazing person in my life as well.

My mom married my stepdad on July 17th, 1993. You could say that was a day that changed mine and my mom's life forever.

[My mom with her parents at her wedding]

Looking back I don't ever really remember going through the, "You're not my real dad stages" [or at least saying it out loud and if I did, I'm sorry Dad]

He was and always had been a great provider for our family. Growing up in California we had a pretty nice little life. House on a coul-de-sac, beautiful green grass with a palm tree in the front yard, and the beautiful California sunshine to soak up every day. When I started to get older and my parents added Wesley and Hanna to the mix, they soon realized that plush little California life was not as good as it could be because the school districts were not what they wanted. An opportunity arose and our family moved on up the west coast and settled in Washington. I was mad at both of them - they took me away from my school, my friends, and the only life I'd known. Now, I look back and realize that they loved me so much that they were willing to take me away from my school and friends to give me the life I deserved.

My dad is a frugal man. We laugh about it now, but really, one of my favorite memories is going to the store with him when I was a teenager because there was a sale on Tillamook cheese and toilet paper and he had coupons to use! He's taught me more about saving money, being realistic and the real world then I ever wanted to know, but I'm thankful because that grown-up part of my heart knows it's the right thing.

He may not be the most lovey-dovey kind of dad, but I know his heart and that he loves me as if he was my biological father. He even had a conversation with my mom one time and asked her, "Did you have acne when you were a teenager? Because I didn't so Amanda must have gotten it from you." ps-thanks mom! just kidding :) But you see what I mean?

A couple years back he lost his father to cancer. I watched him spend the months flying back and forth to and from Las Vegas making sure to spend all the time he could with him. On the day of his funeral I cried tears for my dad. I couldn't imagine losing your parent, and didn't want to.

On the day of my wedding, as I walked down the aisle arm in arm with my mom and my dad and biological father right behind me, it my dad that said, "Take it all in Amanda, look at everyone and how beautiful everything is. It's all for you two." I had held it together pretty much until then, but as you can only imagine, I lost it after that. The ugly cry set in lol.

[Me and my parents on my wedding day]

So basically what I'm trying to say is, I love you and am so grateful for the life you've provided for your family. I know we've disagreed and butted heads in the past, and Lord knows I'm sure we will in the future, but it doesn't matter. I'm sure I get my stubbornness from you ;)

Today I'm thankful for my dad.

Connection

via weheartit.com

Do you have that one road/freeway/bridge that connects your life?

You know what I'm talking about, the one you find yourself on weekly or even daily? The one that you could drive with your eyes closed? Ok maybe not that well, but it's the one you spend your 'life' on. The one you know exactly how many minutes it's going to take you to get to and from where you need to go. The one you know exactly when to switch lanes to avoid getting stuck behind the traffic line. The one that is comforting.

I have one. I know it well. When I was making the drive from the old apartment to the new house on Sunday, I couldn't help but think, this is the road that connects my life. It connects my past to my present. It connects us to both our families and jobs. It connected us to each other when I was going to college and when Bryan lived with his dad in high school. It's the road we'll probably be driving on for the rest of our life.

Do you ever take a minute on that road to just breathe and give thanks? Without that road I would be lost. Literally, I can't navigate back roads very well lol Maybe I'm getting a little deep here for  a Wednesday morning, it's just been on my heart since the move. It's funny the little things we depend on every day.

So, thank you little freeway for getting me where I need to go, knowing me so well, and always steering me in the right direction. I'll see you later ;)

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! :)

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 :)

You can get with this, or you can get with that...

I sometimes find myself looking at others and wishing I had what they had. Their cars, their clothes, their butts, you name it. It feels unhealthy at sometimes really. 

Why am I constantly unsatisfied with me and what I have? 

With me?

Why can't I have Blake Lively's long beautiful blonde locks? If I tried to grow my hair out this long and have it beautifully curled the way she does, it would be a  HOT MESS!

Why can't I have a HUGE, beautiful house like on Father of the Bride

(PS-Am I the only one obsessed with this house?)

Why wasn't I born into the Kardashian family and have a super hot butt like Kim's?

Siiiiigh.

Because I don't have a personal stylist to make me look pretty every day.

I'm sure the person who owns that beautiful house worked very hard for it.

And because who needs a big butt anyway when you've got family like I do.

Right?

Right.

I know, I know, everyone goes through these moments. But it's time to stop wishing and comparing my life to celeberties and everyone else in general for that matter. It's time to take pride in myself, my belongings, and my attributes. It's just time to be all around thankful.