God made us sisters, Hearts made us friends

sisters are special. the relationship of sisters is a unique one. my sister rachel took me out yesterday to celebrate my upcoming birthday. she gave me a jumbo muffin pan, which i have had my eye on for some time, a fun cupcake recipe book and "the giving tree" one of my favorite childhood books. i had just been thinking earlier this week about how much fun it would be to have a cupcake cookbook. how did she know that? somehow sisters seem to know us best. we went to lunch and then to the movie "hairspray" and it was so much fun. all of my sisters and i have always loved musicals, watching them on tv, dancing to soundtracks, going to broadway shows, being part of local plays, you get the idea... this was a truly entertaining show, it had all the broadway songs in it, not just the few songs from the older version of the movie and such an amazing, lovable cast...if you are a fan of musicals, this is one show you must go see, preferably with a sister...

husband of the year award

i am having another rough day. I am not feeling very self confident, i am tired and in pain and really overheated...dave and i just got back to the office after a wedding luncheon we attended downtown and i sit down and turn my computer on and see that i have an email from him. i open it up and it reads:

"Some people say the prettiest person at a wedding is the bride, but not today. The prettiest person was sitting just to my right."

that is why dave gets the husband of the year award...because he makes me feel like a bride every day...

wordless wednesday

taking time to appreciate the beauty in the world...


the leaves changing color is one of the reasons why i love the fall season.


snoqualmie falls in washington state is the most amazing waterfall i have ever seen up close. if you ever are in the area, you must go see it...


pink is my favorite color and i adore flowers. pink flowers remind me of my wedding day and i can't help but smile.

"did i ever tell you how lucky you are"

in the movie "breakfast at tiffanys" the main character, holly golightly talks about having the mean reds and how the thing that cheers her up and takes her to a better place is getting into a cab and going to tiffanys, the jewelry store. today i was having the mean reds and something that cheers me up is reading children's books. dr. seuss is a particular favorite of mine. there is something about the simple truths, fun rhyming schemes and fantasy worlds that he creates that makes my heart smile and i feel better.

this excerpt is taken from today's choice of after-work reading:

"he sat in a terribly prickly place.
but he sang with a sunny sweet smile on his face:

When you think things are bad,
when you feel sour and blue,
when you start to get mad...
you should do what I do!

Just tell yourself, Duckie,
you're really quite lucky!
Some people are much more...
oh, ever so much more...
oh, muchly much-much more
unlucky than you!"

thanks for giving me a new perspective dr. seuss

everything happens for a reason

Newton’s third law states: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. I know that this is a law of motion, but doesn’t it seem like it is a law of intangibles as well? For every action, word or thought, there is an equal consequence…at least that is what the whole world conspires to tell you about life from the time you are a small child, maybe even from the time you are born…good guy always wins, good things come to those that wait, those that work hard find success, those that don’t play fair will be punished, etc.

Sometimes when life’s blows seem a little too hard or too frequent I can’t help but wonder, “what did I ever do to deserve this?” What action, thought or word of mine merits this extreme consequence? This past weekend was another tough one for me as I was nauseated beyond belief, dizzy and exhausted, and cut my date to dinner with dave short because I couldn’t handle the sight of food. Life is so very taxing right now but I keep moving forward, even though it seems I am on a backwards escalator and all moving forward does is keep me from falling further down below. One of the “inspirational” quotes that I find most bothersome is this: “Everything happens for a reason.” Who came up with this one? And more importantly, why did it stick? As human beings, we want to believe that there is a purpose for everything because we can’t stand the idea that life could really be so random and cruel. There isn’t a cosmic reason for everything. We try to make sense of loss and pain because then we have a way to grasp it and can control, at least in part, our response. We tell the story to ourselves in a way that makes it easy to digest, giving it that spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down…we can’t handle the fact that life is harsh and cruel and sometimes, there is no explanation.

tribute to rachel

rachel & julie 1985


julie & rachel 2002



tonight my sister rachel and i went out to dinner and to ikea to celebrate her upcoming birthday. it was such a sweet experience for me to spend some time alone with her and take a trip down memory lane. we used to share a room and we would use this tape player to record our voices onto blank tapes...always singing and making up fun stories...we had so much fun remembering all the adventures we have had together. i feel so lucky to have such a great sister who has been such a blessing in my life. i like to think that i have always taken care of her, but since we have been "grown up" she has done a lot of taking care of me too. she and her husband have welcomed me into their home, to live for months at a time before i got married...she was the one who wrote me the most letters when i left to go to college in a different state...she is the one who did my hair and makeup for my wedding and she is the one i have spent countless childhood hours laying in bed giggling with. thanks for the memories rachel. it was a wonderful night.

one word meme

thekirnancrib tagged me with this meme today. love her blog, check it out...in turn, i am tagging celebrate, gustogirl, a force that brings good fortune, hopelessromantic and time-for-a-paws(i have linked to other bloggers on my posts in the past, i don't know why i am having trouble today, there is a link to these posts to the right under "my favorite places")...blog on ladies...


me in one word

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Relationship? married
3. Your hair? dark
4. Work? admin
5. Your sister? beautiful
6. Your favorite thing? laughter
7. Your dream last night? forgotten
8. Your favorite drink? propel
9. Your dream car? montero
10. The room you’re in? bedroom
11. Your shoes? barefoot
12. Your fears? infertility
13. What do you want to be in 10 years? calm
14. Who did you hang out with this weekend? dave
15. What are you not good at? sleeping
16. Muffin? poppyseed
17. One of your wish list items? prius(for dave)
18. Where you grew up? sugarhouse
19. Last thing you did? wrapping
20. What are you wearing? pajamas
21. What aren’t you wearing? socks
22. Your pet? none
23. Your computer? laptop
24. Your life? wonderful
25. Your mood? wistful
26. Missing? nana
27. What are you thinking about right now? work
28. Your car? montero
29. Your kitchen? functional
30. Your summer? surprising
31. Your favorite color? pink
32. Last time you laughed? today
33. Last time you cried? today
34. School? exciting
35. Love? dave
36. Name? julie