The Things You Find

I moved almost four months ago, after living in the same apartment for SEVEN YEARS.

I know.

I had lots of reasons for staying, which is a different post entirely. But we'll save that for another time. But really, I stayed because it was home -- because I made it my home.

It was my first home that was mine. It was the first place I lived after graduating from college. The first place I lived when I had a grown up job. And got to do grown up things in - have dinner parties, host out of town guests, decorate for holidays. It wasn't always good, but the good certainly outweighed the bad. Because, really, when you think about it, life is pretty awesomely good.

I unpacked most of my boxes a long time ago, but there was still a random assortment of stuff in the garage that I just hadn't gotten to yet. To be honest, I really wasn't even sure what all was in there - things that had gotten moved in a last minute rush just to get everything out of my apartment.

And last night I was struck with an overwhelming urge to get everything out of the garage. RIGHT THEN. Probably due in part to the fact that I was studying for the fourth day straight a test, but due in part because I just felt like it had to be done NOW.

So I did it. All the random stuff -- okay, MOST of the random stuff -- got brought inside and sorted out. And then I came to a box that didn't have any type of label on it at all. And had also clearly been closed up for a very long time -- much longer than the few months ago I moved. And I thought that I should probably just toss it -- after all, if it had been so long that I didn't even know what was in it, then I surely didn't need whatever it was, right?

But life doesn't ever work that way. So I opened it.

And I was shocked. The box had been closed up a long time alright...since before I moved into my apartment, to be exact. See, I dated the same person for the vast majority of college. Made life plans, blah blah blah. And then, as they so often do, things changed. Or got hard. Or grew up. Or whatever.

I should take a moment to mention here that I am not a good decision maker. What do I want for dinner? What movie do I want to see? What should I wear? What do I think about any specific topic? These are questions that I could hem and haw on FOREVER.

But the big decisions? I decide and I don't look back. For better or for worse.

So I walked away.

I boxed everything up, put it away, and didn't look back. And we all know what box I found, now don't we? Of course. It held all sorts of things that I had long forgotten about. And, as it turns out, at the bottom of the box there was a card that I'm not sure I had ever even opened. A card not even from him -- but from his sister. You would expect that it wouldn't be too kind, given that after being together quite a while I walked away and didn't look back.

But it wasn't unkind at all. Of all things? It was a thank you card of sorts, reminding me that no matter where I went or what I did with my life, that I should remember the impact I had, and that it was something she would be forever grateful for.

And finding that card? Was one of the best things that has happened to me in a long time.

Theme Thursday - Laughter

This week's theme is laughter. And I assure you, as I dredged through all my archived photos, I found several that made me laugh out loud...

For more shots that make you giggle, check out Stacy's!

Happy Halloween!

I will be the first to admit that this is just a repost from last year...that what happens when you don't get it together...but I still think the pictures are funny, so here you go!

I hope that your Halloween is filled with candy and treats, and children who enjoy their sugar induced comas...and since I have to work tonight, I hope that mine is filled with new people who make a grand entrance with enough time for their parents to stuff them into their 'first costume'...

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I adore holidays - that should come as no surprise. I love the decorating, the celebrating, the whole thing. I won't go so far as to say that Halloween is my favorite holiday, but I still enjoy it quite a bit.

And so I offer you a montage of Halloween - mostly from long ago. Although I do not have access to pictures from every year (because most are at my parents house several hours away), I did manage to find a few gems...

Like my very first Halloween - I was an angel. Obviously my true nature was clear, even from a young age.

You might think that I was crying because I wasn't excited about the holiday. You would be wrong - I was really crying because I was coming to the realization that my parents were incredibly dorky.

If you realized that you came from that, you would probably be crying too.

And while I am obviously always an angel, I don't always dress as one.

Sometimes I'm an artist.

Or Snow White.

Being Snow White clearly started a trend, as I have been known to dress as a Disney Princess on more recent occasions as well.

And although I am sure that you are quite distressed that you have missed my full Halloween history, perhaps it will be something to look forward to next year. And I will also leave you with a shining example of why I am forced to spoil my pets the majority of the year. Because on certain occasions I can be totally cruel to them.

Can you tell how excited he is to be dressed as a pumpkin?

And my personal favorite - the Halloweenies!

Happy Halloween!

Ugly Child, Part 2

Here I am as a baby although I will admit that I was not totally unfortunate looking when I was a new-ish person. But then I started growing a mullet and playing with cigarettes, and it was somewhat downhill after that. And don't even get me STARTED on my taste in shoes...








Not only am I sporting a lovely velour track suit, but what is UP with that doll?!

Ugly Child, Part 1

I know that I promised proof that I was the ugliest child ever last week, but I was too busy with good looking children and didn't get to it. But never fear, the series is about to start.

Of course, all children start as newborns. Lucky for me, I looked just like every other newborn.



See, told you.

Except I came home in a Christmas stocking. Oh, the benefits of being born 7 days before Christmas.



I like to think that my parents' Christmases have all been down hill since then.

Luckily, their hairstyles have been uphill.




I will take this opportunity to point out that I have been as pale as a ghost my entire life.




And also that I think there might be an underlying reason as to why I don't wear hats.




I would also like to point out that I have always had HUGE cheeks.




I will admit that I don't think I was a bad looking baby. But really, there aren't too many really ugly small children. But I promise you, it gets worse. MUCH worse. Stay tuned, the ugly years and your chance to point and laugh at me await.