My Happy

Today is my 35th Birthday.

It's been a wildly Happy Day so far.

Mateo delivered bagels in bed and I let the girls play hooky from school for the first hour while we all snuggled and watched Pink Panther and Richie Rich.

Later Wyatt and I enjoyed Happy Meals in the grass with some bubbles and SUNSHINE! I'm looking forward to some fun plans with family and friends this weekend.

At naptime, I finally got around to "pinning."

Oh, Peoples!

This is a dangerous place for someone like me.

MANY.HOURS.LOST! is what I foresee.

But I guess wasting time on your birthday is allowed, right?!

So today, in the spirit of birthdays and being "Happy,"

I created My Happy Board.

I feel, if you take a look, you'll SEE ME.

What do you think?

Happy, Happy Day!

My So Called Life Sunday

And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8





Sunday Fun helping mom & dad conquer their to-do lists! Girls playing dollhouse while mom sews and Munch playing tools while dad fix-its!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Hello Monday!

Whoo Hoo!! Today is jammed packed. Already enjoyed celebrating Molly at school this morning as "Person of the Week." That girl is the cutest ever. With her side ponytail and all. I hope to be back later today with my Menu Plane Monday post. My menus ARE planned. Even shopped for! But finding the time to post them, well, that's on the bottom of the list today.

BUT, even in today's chaos - I didn't want to miss sharing with you two things!

One - I am featured on Angel Face Designs blog today and offering an awesome HauteBlueB giveaway! I hope you'll jump over and say hello to my friend Heather, and join in our fun!

Two - tomorrow night I am participating in a "Made By Moms" night at CC Roo in Costa Mesa. For all of you who are local friends, I would love for you to come by and say HI! There will be sips and sweets and lots of handmade lovely. You wont want to miss it!

Alright! I am off to bake and clean house! I am hosting a "Sips, Sweets and Scribing" party tonight. A hand addressing party for all 700 of the Glass Slipper Guild Gala invites. So excited to get these beauties in the mail!

My So Called Life Sunday

St. Patrick's Day Fun

Here's a photo tour of our day so far!
We had Rainbow Pancakes for breakfast.





I embellished some green tanks with doilies for the girls...so no one got pinched, of course! (inspired by CookieMondays)



Then we went to Grammie & Papa's for Shepherds Pie, Corned Beef & Cabbage, carrots, parsnips, Soda Bread, Shanagarry Salad and beer! (which was almost cancelled cause Grammie isn't 100%...but we all rallied to help make her favorite holiday a success!)

(orange roses on the table...cause we are of the NORTHERN PROTESTANTS, and don't you ever forget it!)

Green Cousins!!

(yes, for reals. That Guinness picture hangs in my parent's living room 365 days a year!)

Later we're having Shamrock Whoopie Pies for dessert.

AND!!! In other news, (in case you haven't guessed by now) Mateo gave me my birthday present early. A brand spanking new iPhone!!!! And if you can't tell, I'm quite enamored with it. And Instagram too!

**Disclaimer: I know I am srsly late to this party called iPhone...but did you know you could BLOG from it?! Whoa. Compared to my 2008 Sprint DINOSAUR, (LEGIT...I have blog evidence to prove I've been stuck in Flintstone-ville) this new toy of mine is like manna from Heaven, or sent straight from NASA, or Back From the Future! The things it is capable of doing...its sorta surreal.

Forgive me a few days as I acclimate to the present.
I'm having horrible issues reconciling the fact that
Me : iPhone = My Mother : VCR

My kids were asking I download the AngryBirds app before I ever really knew what apps were!
Yeah.
Not okay.

Moving on.
Hope everyone's day was as much a Hooley as ours! St. Patricks Day is one of my favorite holidays. So much so...I wear my "green" everyday ;-)



And now you know something VERY few people know about me!
(It was a Christmas present from my MOTHER! She, my sis, and me all have the exact same one!)
SLAINTE!!

-Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Full of POTENTIAL Wordless Wednesday

"After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God's servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollo watered it, but it was GOD who made it grow. It is not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What is important is that GOD made the seeds grow." 1 Corinthians 3:5-7

This fabulous friend is sprouting right outside my front door. I've called this square lot of dirt my home for almost two years now, and yet, I didn't put this beauty in the ground. Even still...two years later, this LIFE greets me here, in this brand new Spring moment, all on its own accord. I am {almost} wordless in its beauty. In its purpose. Almost! (if you know me, you know I am never wordless!) The potential of it all is quite making me burst with Ideas. Promise. Love. Good. Beauty. HIS Glory. Ahhh...a garden is so good! "It is not important who does the planting or the watering...what is important is WHO makes the seeds grow." GOD is so good.

One Silly Hour

Is it SO astonishing, that yesterday, everyone here at BringingUpBurns was "OFF."
And in off, I mean...
A little punchy.
A little tired.
Quite quick to tears.
Quite quick to giving in.

To naps, to popsicles, to TiVo'd Nemo & Hannah Montana?
To timeouts, to separate corners, to wine & The Bachelor?

I want to blame yesterday's craziness on a silly lost hour.
I want to blame yesterday's craziness on Benjamin Franklin.
I really, really do.

But, there is something in me that knows yesterday's craziness has  a whole lot more to do with that hour, when we still had it.
than when we lost it!!

Last Friday Night.
Ahem....some of us are still catching up from the fun.

(I really hope shaking your booty at the camera looses its luster as my kids age!)

Ahhhhh, Slumber Parties!
The "Glory Days" of youth.
I feel Mateo and I are just brushing the surface of what is to come with our kids.
Toilet paper, ding dong ditched neighbors, frozen bras/underwear, pee'd beds, cranked called crushes.
I am happy THIS Saturday night, resulted in nothing more than lots of giggles.

Real Life SUCKS.

 I awoke the last two days almost not able to breathe.
Heavy crap permeates this life.
I try not to think about it.
I try to focus on the good.
And GOD.

But I am morbid by nature.
As much as I try to focus on the good,
I tend to dwell on the what ifs?
And the whys?

Hello? Is this for real?

(source)

YES.
It's for real. It's the least of what's for real.
And it SUCKS.
There.
I said it.

You all know you have been thinking it these past few days.
While most of "Us Westerners" go about our daily lives...
Taking our kids to school, shopping for groceries, vacuuming, menu planning, conference attending...

Half a world away.
LIFE...

is falling apart.
Piece by piece.
What these people thought was good and proactive and making a way, day by day...
Well, it's lost.
It's washed away.
It's been swallowed up.

And here I am blogging about colorful rash guards salty-ing up my white picket fence.
Holy CRAP.
It makes me want to throw up in my mouth.
Picket fence my ass.
GAG.

But then again, HERE.
Half a world away from a global tragedy,
a local TRAVESTY continues.
We found out today that Janene Johns has been released on bail.
She reports to a parole officer once a week.

Once.
A.
Week.

She was sentenced to 6 years.
She could've gotten 10.
She fought all of it, which made me almost lose it,

And guess what?!
She's OUT after 2 years.
25 months.
Think of the milestones Owen met in the 25 months since Janene stole his Mom away.
Walking, talking, a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th birthday, starting school, learning to read, first lost tooth, first sleep over, first haircut, first lap of the pool, first AYSO goal....

Janene Johns ended THIS forever.
But for some reason., the justice system seems to think a weekly phone call can make up for the beauty, love, life long commitment, laughter, and MOMMINESS that is gone.
Forever.
STOLEN.
CUT SHORT.

I know those are harsh words...
I really do.
But, I literally ACHE with the injustice that is in front of me.

I keep this picture in a tiny jeweled frame on top of my dresser.

Cause it screams HER.
Her silliness, her vibrance, her love for Wade, her ability to have fun and make fun, she loved to dance.
Ohhh.
I deeply sigh as I type.
She was just really REAL, and fun, and fabulous.
I live to have people say the same about me when I am gone.
I wish EVERYONE could have known her.
More than anything...
I wish you could KNOW her.

She's great, and silly, and fun.
She's fiercely faithful and full of life.
She loves Madonna and Italian food.
She buys the Charlie Brown tree and makes it fab.
She has crazy, beautiful, wavvy hair.
She's loud, and crazy and FUN.

You can't HELP but be swallowed up by her energy...
That's why we call her KANSAS.
Cause she's like a tornado.
Massive.
Overpowering.
In a way you can't say NO.
In a way you never really wanted to say NO in the first place.
In a way that red and sparkly, fit all who chose to come along for the ride.
In a way that, all have fun, and all are true.
She loves TRUE.
Even if it's not her true.
She loves you.

Yep.
We call her Kansas.
And I miss her everyday.
Red sparkly shoes are the least of it.
I'd mine rubies for the rest of my life to hear her laugh one.more.time.

And Johns is out after 25 months.

I know it's not the same.
I know Japan doesn't equal Candace.
On a worldly scale...not.for.a.minute.

But in MY LIFE.
My scale.
The loss is the same.
Janene is a lifelong Tsunami.
Janene is an eternal Tidalwave of WHY?

You are never ready for it.
It's never okay.
You can never fill up on a stash of supplies just in case...
in a way that will make LOSS manageable...
I'm never gonna be over it.

BIG or SMALL.
the World's or Mine.
senseless loss is something I am still learning to process.

I can pack and prepare and educate and fill...
But life shouldn't be stolen before it's time.
Due to a natural disaster, illness, or a human mistake...
It all SUCKS.

I really wish real life could BE,
Without these sucky moments.

But it's not.
And so I try to learn.
And celebrate the moments that scream LOVE!
Don't take a single moment for granted.
You might only get this ONE chance.

I love you Candace. 

I live my life...as a woman, friend, wife, mom and daughter, in your memory.

True.

And crazy like a tornado!

XOXO

Coach's Wife In Technicolor

What does your front yard look like when you are the Surf Coach's wife?

Well....many days it looks like this.

Wet, salty rash guards air drying on your white picket fence.

At least it's very colorful!

Although surf competitions keep Daddy busy many weekends right now, we love that we get to tag along, play in the sand, practice our moves, and cheer on the team! 

ADORABLE Cookies & Milk Birthday Party is linked up over on HauteBlueB. You really must go check it out. And would you share with me what your favorite cake recipe is! I'm looking for something fun and yummy to bake for my own birthday...(keep in mind, me and chocolate are not friends. I know. GASP!) Happy Monday!

My So Called Life Sunday

(at the National Scholastic Surfing Association Championships yesterday, cheering on Daddy & NHHS!)

What is "My So Called Life Sundays" anyhow?

CLICK HERE to find out! CLICK HERE to see past posts.

Kate's Roaring 20's Birthday

I flew to Chicago last month to celebrate my sister's last year as a "20-something." Hence - her idea to have a ROARING 20's Party! It was a blast. Living in Al Capone's stomping grounds didn't hurt, either.
{is my BABY sis really 29? Cause that makes me mid 30's....ugh!}

AndersRuff custom designed the invites. So cute, right?!

I absolutely LOVE Chicago.

I'm not sure if it's really because of who lives there...

or because of all the "big city" fun I have when I visit!

Friday we went to dinner at Girl & the Goat.

{ridiculously GOOD. silly FABULOUS.}

If you ever go,

eat the pork fat fried donuts with mango and vanilla creme.

Then DIE.

Dinner was followed by front row seats to Dolly's 9 to 5.

Vibrant. FUN. Exciting. FUN!

Did I mention Friday was the coldest day in Chicago in the past 2 years!

Walking to dinner it was 7 degrees.

When you're just visiting, this kind of cold is FUN!

(espesh when your Windy City Sis has FAB boots your SoCal self gets to borrow...

Cause you own nothing other than flip flops and ballet flats!)

Saturday we went to brunch at Meli Cafe, and then to mani/pedis.

Then we returned to the loft and party prepped.

Made tissue poms, antipasto platters, minestone soup, and meatball sliders.

Mixed Apricot Sidecars and made homemade Irish Creme for the hot coffee and chocolate.

Fixed up some Flapper feathered, bejeweled headbands.

Curled our hair. Applied lots of red lipstick.

Toasted the Birthday Girl!

My parents had 29 long stem red roses delivered for her birthday. They were the perfect centerpiece for the party! A girlfriend she went to grad school with arrived with the personalized Birthday Cake.

After an hour of mingling, we hit the curb for the "Untouchables Tour!"

A bus tour around Chicago's famous historical Mafia hot spots.

Treat bags of Garrett's Chicago Popcorn, pretzels and M&M's were at the door to take along.

Right beside a donation bin for One Warm Coat. (What Kate asked for instead of presents!)

After the tour, everyone came back to the "Suberlak Speakeasy" for more libations and... A MAGICIAN!

He was seriously good.

Weird, scary, I can't figure out how he did it, GOOD!

It was sooo fun!

The rest of the night we danced the night away and celebrated the woman I love most in this world! My sister.

I was so impressed with everyone's costumes and willingness to get into character.

Kate & Paul have fun friends!

It's official.

Kate owes me a trip.

My 40th will go off.

And she will BE there ;-)

ROAR!

Holding Hands

I have a hand.

You have another.

Put them together and we have each other.

LumberJack & Jill Couples Shower

One of my bestest, oldest friends is getting married this September. Even better? She's marrying one of my husband's bestest, oldest friends! They were both in our bridal party 12 years ago. The groom just returned from this THIRD TOUR of duty in Iraq this week and everyone is excited to get the wedding festivities started.

Matt and I, along with several friends, are throwing them a couples shower next month. Both Bride and Groom love the outdoors, so we've decided to do a "LumberJack & Jill" party. This is the inspiration board I made to get the party planning rolling. 

I'm thinking...

Wood, moss, daisies and sunflowers.

Plaid, boots, hats, beards, and mustaches.

Candles, mason jars, burlap and gingham.

Lemonade, beer, and apple cider punch.

Mini sliders, corn on the cob, and baked beans.

S'more cupcakes, mini fruit pies, and a hot chocolate bar.

I'm so excited to have this party come together and celebrate the happy couple!