It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

2 cheers for Holiday Cheer! I absolutely love Christmas time. It honestly is the most wonderful time of the year.

And this year was the first that I was able to have my own 'tree'. It was imported all from the beautiful Big Sky state (aka Montana) by my lovely mother.

Okay...okay...it came in a cardboard box and I had to unfold all the branches. But it's still a Christmas tree. And I added lights and ornaments! It's a wee little guy, but I love it--the first thing I do when I walk in the door of my apartment is plug it in and let the little lights twinkle.

Here she is in all her glory:


And to top off my holiday decorations, I have a robust merry little man sitting on my end table. This little guy is extra special because I painted it all by myself! This is the product of Pottery Night with the girls:

How freakin' cute is he? LOVE IT!

I am well aware that my holiday decos are pretty meager, but I'm just starting out. Wait until I post pictures of my time at home--nobody decorates like Sherry!

Cheers & Merry Christmas!

Now Read This!

As time goes by and the years pass on, few things have remained constant in my life. With the exception of one thing: reading. I absolutely love to read! When I was younger I used to sneak into the bathroom with a flashlight and climb into the bath tub and read long after it was 'lights out'.

I love to recommend books to my friends and so today's post is me listing 5 books that I think are excellent reads. And as the weather continues to get colder, sometimes the best thing to do is curl up with a warm cup of tea and a good book. Here are my top picks for the Winter Must Reads:

1. Eat. Pray. Love
By: Elizabeth Gilbert

This book is a must read for all young women. It is a personal memoir that chronicles Gilbert as she goes through quite a bit of turmoil in her personal life and she decides to take 9 months off and travel to Italy (eat), India (pray) and then Indonesia (love). In the midst of pizza, yoga mats and charity, Gilbert manages to find herself again and make some long lasting relationships along the way.
At times I felt like I was invading her privacy because Gilbert writes in such an open and honest manner. And she is hilarious. She writes very conversationally and I felt like I was talking to one of my good friends. A great book about love, loss and the return to yourself.

2. The Other Boleyn Girl
By: Philippa Gregory
Now I will admit, this is not a book for everyone. It is a historical fiction tale about King Henry VIII and his many love affairs, which specific emphasis on 2 sisters--Anne and Mary. Now we all know that Anne Boleyn ended up marrying King Henry VII and loses her head. But this story is about her sister, Mary, the other Boleyn girl.
It is a magnifying look into the political intrigues of Tudor England, where families use their daughters as means to change their social standing. Mary is simply a pawn to her family and is forced to bed with King Henry VII, ignoring her own desires to find true love, be with her children and live her own life.
I'm a history junkie and I love to read, so this was a perfect union. It's not for all, but I think most would enjoy it.

3. Feast of Love
By: Charles Baxter
This is one of my most recent reads and a new addition to my list of favorites. This book is alot like the movie Love Actually-individual stories of people struggling with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and how the individual stories manage to intermingle to make all the characters overlap.
It's a real book and has some great characters--Baxter does an amazing job developing each character and makes the reader feel like you actually know the people.
My one request is that you read the book and then see the movie. Book always trumps movie!

4. Love In The Time Of Cholora
By: Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Now, I will admit, this is kind of tentative pick. I read it, I didn't love it, but I really enjoyed. It is beautiful story of how love changes over time between two people who marry at a young age and spend their whole lives together.
The ending wasn't quite what I expected, but I found it very true life and an honest portrayal of how relationships develop over time. One of the main characters is a bit creepy at some times, but his heart is in the right place.
It is a Oprah Book Club pick and has also recently become a movie. And again, I beg you, please read book then watch movie.


5. The Handmaid's Tale
By: Margaret Atwood
This is an old one. I read it in high school because it was suggested by a friend of mine. If you liked such books as Fahrenheit 451, A Brave New World, and The Giver I think you'll like this book. It has a futuristic setting--the United States government has been overthrown and taken over by Christian Fundamentalists who rename it and turn it into a theocratic state.
The main character is Offred who is essentially a concubine to a higher level authority and has no civil rights.
It's book that has both been challenged and praised. I absolutely love it!

There are definitely more books that I love and that I would suggest. If you're looking for a good book to read, just ask!

Song of the Month

First, I'd like to apologize to Melissa for completely stealing her 'song of the....." thing. But the best form of flattery is imitation, right?

There are few things many people don't know about me.

1. When I like a song, like REALLY like a song, I just play it over and over and over again. And then over again. Just ask Jodie--my college roommate--how much she loved this part of my personality.

2. I love the tv show Gossip Girl. Yes, I do realize I am 24 years of age and my favorite tv show is about Upper East Side high schoolers. Don't judge.

And so to bring those two random facts together, I introduce my Song of the Month:

Apologize by Timbland and OneRepublic. Take a listen (you can bet I've already listened to it 37 times tonight)



In case you're missing the tie in with the random facts--this song was used in the closing of the latest Gossip Girl Episode.

Lifetime Meets The Weather Channel

The old adage "When It Rains, Its Pours" is consuming my life right now.


Not only is Seattle recovering from a massive precipitation violation, but the hits just keep on coming.

Two of my very dear friends are facing major health issues with their fathers. I can't even imagine what they are going through and, of course, I feel even more helpless because we are all in different states. Are we seriously at the age where I find myself writing emails to my friends telling them 'my thoughts & prayers are with you" and "everything is going be okay" or "if you need anything..." I've had to write 2 of these emails in as many days. I'm not ready for life to come at me this fast.

And I definitely just worked a 16 hour day.

It's raining all right, but I'm definitely not singing in it. I'm pretty sure I'm sinking in it.

Mama I'm Coming Home!

I will be home in less than 6 hours! I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to have the plane touch the tarmac in Billings. There are many things in life to love and I love going home! Nothing is better than having Sherry and Greg waiting for me at the bottom of the escalators at the Logan International Airport!

I will be home for 4 full days! That means 4 beautiful days of home cooking, tripoli, card games, Grandma's hilarious laughter, Amy telling jokes, Michael amusing all of us, sitting on the deck as the sun goes down and so much more!

Now I was home back in July, which really isn't that long of time, but I feel like it's been FOREVER!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! This year, I'm thankful for YOU!

KELLY CLARKSON!

Monday night.
Paramount Theatre.
Kelly Clarkson.
Changed My Life.

I had the pleasure, nay the privilege of catching a one miss Kelly Clarkson on Monday night. And let me just say that I had no idea my love for this singer could get any bigger. Until she performs her song Sober in my very own presence. Or until she pulls out an updated, remixed version of Miss Independent! Or rocks the house with Since You Been Gone.


Seriously? SERIOUSLY!

She rocked my face off. I literally have no face left because she rocked it off. That sassy thing from Texas performed her little heart out! This was my second time seeing Miss Clarkson in concert and she continues to amaze with her simplicity. She doesn't get caught up in the fireworks, fancy lights or even elaborate costumes--Kelly just gets up there with a microphone, her band and rocks the house. She played every song I wanted her too--including the song that started it all for me--Miss Independent (stop your snickering, that song allows you to totally rock out). And she played my favorite song, How I Feel, off her new album, My December. And then she brought goosebumps when she sang Sober. If you're a Kelly Clarkson fan, you need to listen to this song. If you're not a Kelly Clarkson fan, you need to listen to this song. If you're a human being, you need to listen to this song! To hear it live....wow...almost too much for this Montana girl!

All in all, this concert was amazing, Kelly was phenomenal and I left as happy as can be.

And then I found out the next day that CELINE DION is coming to Seattle. Could my concert Karma get any better?

Positively Postive.

All my life I've tried to be positive.

Have a positive attitude.
Get positive grades in school.
Be a positive influence.


And now at 24 years young I find that being positive is the hardest thing ever! Lately, I've made a definite effort to think positively. To attempt to view life with rose colored glasses. To see the light instead of the dark. To affirm the glass is half full. And while I've been mildly successful at it, I find it to be quite possibly the most difficult thing I've ever done.

But I've always believed that anything worth doing should never be easy. I've been very blessed to have positive people in my life lately. The influence of a few people has definitely helped me change the way I think about my life, the things in my life and how those things are going in my life. It always amazes that there are always a few people who, no matter what, can always look and more importantly find, the best in any person or situation. And I appreciate their ability to see the good and expect the best, it's educational for someone like myself. And inspiring.

A quote in my quote book instructs me to change my life, but if I can't change it, change the way I think about it. I think that is such a priceless nugget of advice. So I'll keep on keeping on, but as I trudge ahead on this adventure, I intend to see things from a positive perspective.