So I have been fighting this stubborn head cold for like a week and it's finally starting to take a toll on me...I am really feeling sick today! I will keep this entry short as I am ready to go to bed at 7:30 pm as soon as I drink my Sleepytime hot tea! Although it doesn't knock me out like Nyquil would, it does calm the nerves and soothe the throat, and lately it has been my sanity at night in order for me to get some shut-eye! I hate night time meds because they will zap the life out of me for 2 days after I take it. So I really avoid them....iiickkeyy. Any suggestions for getting better fast? Or what you do to feel better? I hate being sick.

And on another subject, potty training my Izzy is taking forever too. She had a number one accident in the kitchen today and it just completely broke her little heart! This has become top priority and she is fighting this head cold as well, so I haven't been pushing it as much as I was, but still working on it! Why can't babies arrive on this earth already knowing how to use the potty? Oh well, we have had some great chats while she sits on her Dora potty seat :)

That's all I have for now..Hope your week has started off on a better note than mine, that's for sure.

Tomorrow will be better!!! ..XOXO

What have I missed?! IT'S FINALLY SPRING :)

I know I have been M.I.A for a few weeks and part of that is due to having nicer weather here!!! Spring keeps popping in here and there, giving us some beautiful warmer days to enjoy after what has seemed like the longest, grayest winter EVER! I am completely pleased by this. Who wouldn't be? Personally, I think anyone who would prefer that winter drag on even another day at this point is completely nuts. :) But, I have missed taking my toddler on walks and to the park, washing my car to actually have it look nice for a few days rather than a few minutes, and opening up my balcony sliding door and windows in my apartmentt! I welcome spring with open arms...

Hope you all have had a nice few weeks as well! My birthday party night was a blast and the cake surely made me gain about 5 lbs because it was so delicious!! I actually changed my choice of dress last minute and I have posted the best pic of me I have from that night, where you can actually see the dress. And I apologize, it isn't the best picture either! After all that debating, I didn't even wear what I ordered! lol I am just too indecisive sometimes ----------------->>>>

In other news, I have a loooong to do list in the back of my head these days and I need a burst of motivation to start tackling it all! Spring seems to be the time that everything and everyone crawls out of their holes and comes alive again, isn't it? I need to sort through my daughter's closet, my closet, clean my garage, do some deep cleaning in the apartment, get my car detailed, lose that winter weight (eeeeek!!!), and I am sure a million other things I haven't thought of! Do you have things you like to accomplish when spring rolls around?

Alsoooo, I got a haircut the other day. One thing to know about me, when I get the idea in my head that I want to cut my hair, I want to do it right away. Pronto. Stat. Asap. NOW! lol I seriously do this every time I get an idea in my head about my hair and I usually get it cut within the day. Sometimes that is bad, but usually it works out. I am working really hard to grow my hair out to the small of my back but it is taking awhile. So I never get my length cut unless my ends are really, really bad. But the hairstylist almost always tries to make me cut like a half an inch off my length because "hair grows better if you keep your ends trimmed". I have never understood this concept since hair grows from your scalp and not your ends...if someone wants to explain this better maybe I will!? Hairstylist lady, why the heck are you so set on trimming my length though? She acts like I am making a life changing mistake in not letting her scissors touch the ends of my hair. But does she know how much time it took to grow out that measly half an inch? Okay- my rant is over...just seems like its a big deal every time I get my hair cut! So, back to my point, I got my layers totally re-vamped because I had been feeling like I looked like a wet cat every time I did my hair. Only thing I hate about long hair- it gets easily weighed down. I have very fine, but thick hair so it lays really nice but having body is a struggle! I need to find some good hair products that give a good boost...if you have any to share, please do! But here is a picture of the finished product! I like how it turned out :)

Until next time....(which will be sooner than this post was ;p ).. XO XO!

1. Adele- Rolling in the Deep.

2. My new fascination with cutting up old tshirts.

3. Outside jogs. (YAY spring)

4. All the dresses out for spring...love the earth tones and bohemian feel.

5. Green Tea.

6. Driving with my window cracked and heat on just because it smells good outside.

7. Long straight hair.

8. When my 2 yr old says, "Oh my gosh!" So funny!

9. You!! Because you are reading my blog, Thank you!

10. Ebay and Etsy. <3

I have decided that every Thursday I am going to make a list of ten things I love/am thankful for. They might be people, random things that come to my mind, or stuff that I am enjoying that week.

What things do you love right now or just in general?

The elusive birthday dress has finally been located!

Not much to say right now, been in somewhat of a blue funk lately.

(Stupid gray weather)

I hope you are having a wonderful week! I finally picked out the outfit for my birthday party...although it is not really what I was looking for, it is cute and it will work.

And it makes me dream of  SUMMER!

Pairing it with these....yummy, pink!

Now I need to pick accessories and how I will do my hair-any ideas?! 

I am pretty pumped.

Trust me, pics will be posted!!

Also, I am looking for a good quality camera for a decent price that takes great pictures, seems like my taste in cameras is quite expensive and out of my price range every time! I see great pics and inquire about the kind of camera used and they are always ones that cost $1,000-$2,000 and I just can't spend that much on a camera right now! If any of you reading this have suggestions, please enlighten me!

Have a great Wednesday lovelies!

I loved yesterday.

 Me and my favorite baby girl had a wonderful day together :)

CAN'T WAIT FOR SPRING <3

Another year older :)

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I don't know about you, but I have definitely taken notice of how different it is to have a birthday being an adult as opposed to when I was young! I don't even mean it in a bad way...it's just, different. Birthdays when I was young meant looking forward to my family and friends coming to my house and being so excited to see what gifts I would get, or looking forward to being in the DOUBLE digits!!! I still look forward to my birthdays, and still look forward to having some cake (although I may have to make one myself, haha) and even get to have a party with friends this year, but birthdays for me are now a time of reflection as well. Remembering my most memorable birthday, thinking how years ago the age 24 sounded forever and ever away, looking back on all that has changed through the years! This year, the craziest thing to me thus far in my life is that I never dreamed I would be hearing "Happy Birthday Mommy" from my own little girl upon turning 24. I love the added joy she and my love bring to my birthday, I couldn't ask for anything better!

I really have nothing else to say today, except that my heart is brimming with happiness. This past year was one of the most tumultous of my life, with some of the worst times and some of the best. But I am happy to say my heart is at peace and so is my spirit.

Switching topics...I have been looking a lot at spring fashion...and I am LOOOVING what I am seeing to say the least!!! I am still on the prowl for a birthday dress, my taste just isn't conventional :) But a brand I love... Free People, posted a blog today about their New Romantics line they are launching and it is going to be suuuuuper!!! I will link the vid here, it is such a happy little video :) The description of that line and I quote- "New Romantics grew from the love of the ocean. The beach dream and the summer feeling. The muse is a romantic...drenched in the sea, salt, and sand. The collection is made up of dreamy fabrics- slubby textures, light crochet, and intricate wovens mixed in with uber sheerness- delicate and whimsical." I am in love already! I feel like I am coming alive with spring right around the corner :D



Other things I adore.....(not from the NR line, just in general)

Photos:Reproduction

Winter, PLEASE pack your bags.

It has been too long since my last post and I am blaming some of it on winter dragging on, completely zapping my motivation! We had a nice thaw a couple of weeks ago with some 50 degrees and warmer days and all it did was get my hopes up for nothing. I am not a fan of winter at all, I would be happy if December was the only month we had winter weather because I cannot imagine a Christmas without it. I would be moving west or south right this minute if I had family there. I know I should quit complaining because there ARE much worse things going on in this world that I am blessed not to have to face, but this weather is my biggest complaint right now!

SO, my life as of lately has been rather uneventful. My love had his birthday on February 24th and we went out for dinner at Texas Roadhouse to celebrate with our little pumpkin in tow and it was a delicious time! I am sure if you have eaten there, you know how loud that restaurant can be at times, and so we were so grateful to be seated in a section with one other family with a baby. We were able to have nice conversation until an entire track team came in and was seated all around us, taking up about six long booths. LOL, Oh well, it was a good time anyway, and we had tons of leftovers. :)

Today was a laid back Monday here at home with Isabelle fighting what seems to be a flu bug. Hoping she returns to her healthy self ASAP! She was no less of a little fireball today though, so I think that means it won't last long. :)

My birthday is coming up on Wednesday of this week and I am actually getting excited. I am going to go get a full body massage either this week or next. I can't wait, I have been feeling a little off lately, maybe that will help me clear my head and just relax for an hour with no distractions. I also have a birthday party coming up in a couple of weeks with my best friend who has a birthday on the 14th and so we have some planning to do, seems like just yesterday it was New Years and we came up with the idea. Time really flies!

I have really been in chill mode lately with my music. I just found a new band I am completely in love with- Rumspringa. They are from CA though, of course and all their shows are in that area. Can't seem to find any bands locally that really intrigue me. Around here the music scene suffers from an over abundance of screamo/emo "who can come up with the dumbest name and wear the weirdest clothes" bands and nothing too original, all in my own opinion! I love 60's, 70's rock, reggae rock and anything with a vintage sound lately...I definitely have the oddest musical taste out of all my friends. I would love to find a friend who shares my kind of taste in music and who could share new music with me too. Too many people go with whatever they hear on the radio and there is sooo much more out there. I could spend hours just looking up new music! I add new songs and bands to my mp3 player weekly- if not daily. I can't go a day without my music. :)

Well, me and my case of the Monday blah's are going to close this with a pic of a dress I loveeee, thinking of wearing it for my birthday, anyone dig it?

So many ideas!

Lately, I have buried myself in some new ways of thinking. Do you ever feel like your life needs just a bit of redirection? That's where I am at right now. Perhaps it's the creativity in me reawakening? Oh, how I miss being creative when I was younger! As the years passed by, I seemed to have let life get in the way of me nurturing that part of myself. I remember filling the days of my youth with elaborate tents in my parent's basement (fully decorated on the exterior as well as the interior, lol), building little matchbox car villages in the yard, writing my little books, drawing houses (my favorite thing to draw as a child), making forts by the lake, etc. Being an only child until the age of 10 and growing up on a farm 15 minutes out of town meant finding your own fun, and there was always plenty of it with an imagination like mine! I only hope Izzy has half the imagination that I did- and at the age of two, it's become pretty apparent she does! She goes around with this invisible dog of hers, treating it just like she would a real puppy and it warms my heart. Things like this make me connect with her on an even deeper level. I love that I can totally relate to things like this with her and I can tell by her little giggle and glimmer in her eyes- she loves that I get it.

So with all that said, I am setting some new goals. First, I am going to try and keep up with this blog as often as I can. Growing up, I always kept a diary and it is a fantastic creative outlet for me. I want to be as real and honest as I can about my thoughts on here, without stepping on any toes of course! (like my husband's, lol) This could be a great way for me to sort out my thoughts and motivate myself. And I hope to get some followers who will give some real input on my posts! Secondly, I plan to really devote more time to Izzy and her development. I know I should spend more time with her, cultivating that creativity and also teaching her how to interact and love others. Do you know anyone who takes their little ones to toddler groups? I am going to try some out and see if Iz enjoys them and perhaps we will meet some new friends! Also, I can't wait for nicer weather, I want to take Iz to all sorts of places- just me and her time. I didn't have very much of that at her age and I am beyond thankful I have that time to give to her. And one more goal, living simpler and healthier. It's a pretty broad goal, but it encompasses so many things I have had on my mind lately, so much that a list of it all would probably bore any readers! If I have any readers...lol :) But leaving that one open ended will give me lots to write about in future posts!

In current news, Miss Isabelle got her first OFFICIAL big girl haircut yesterday and she couldn't have been more of an angel. I was sure worried about the new surroundings she would find herself in when we got to the salon, and the stranger (to her) that would be putting a cape on her and getting too close for comfort. Izzy is usually very shy and leery of situations like that but she definitely surprised me! She sat on my lap still as a statue -all except for those big brown eyes darting around, watching the hairstylist's every move! If I could put into words how much I love her, it would be a never-ending blog post. *Lovesss*

Let's try this again...

Sunrises and Smiles...my title.

I picked it because out of all the random things there are in the world, those two could never fail to evoke positive, warm thoughts within me.

I hope, if nothing else, through this blog I could bring even one other person some joy or some ambition to pursue their dreams.

With that said...the only thing I have to write today...my two year old counted to six in spanish today. I stood in awe of this beautiful little girl I gave life to. All my life I have picked people apart physically, although I can see beauty in almost every face -I can always find a flaw. Hers is the only face that I cannot, she is perfection at every angle in my eyes. I can't wait until she wakes up in the morning so we can enjoy tomorrow as much as we did today :)