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 :)