Friday Film Day

Okay, soooo I said expect a new post this afternoon, however....I came home and took a nap instead. What can I say? It was something I just had to do. Please forgive. It's been a surprisingly long two days- those kind of days where the world just does not want you to get anything right. The kind of day that you just want to go home and put your sweat pants on. Although in this case I put on track pants- ironic, since the only track I use is the one in the carpet between the couch and the kitchen.

*BUT, I DIGRESS......*

Anyway, my lovely readers, I've decided that, like Tuesday, Friday should have a fun little theme of sorts. Since I'm already covering music, what is the other passion of mine, entertainment-wise? Don't worry, I'm not going to review what happened on the latest reality shows- while I admit that I watch them, I would never "review" them. What's to review? No, no, I thought we could chat about......movies! *Da da-da daaaaaaaa*

Alright. Just......bare with me. Maybe the nap wasn't as effective as I thought it was. Anyway, I thought I'd pick a movie that is a personal fave, and then talk about whyyy its a fave. Ingenious, I know. ; )

My first pick, of course, is going to be one of my very all time favorites, if not the favorite. Its sort of a chick flick- wait, what am I saying? Its a total chick flick. There's crying and music and girly moments and men being nincompoops and unexpected pregnancies and big hair....its great.




This is one of the few movies that I think ended up being better than the book it was based on. That might be because I saw the movie first, and read the book much later on. First off, I seriously heart Bette Midler. She's just...fabulous. And Barbara Hershey? So beautiful. I just love this story of life long friendship between two people that really live in entirely different worlds. They are so completely opposite, and yet love each other so much, and recognize one another's beauty, even when other do not. Plus, its got its funny moments, as well. Bette Midler in a bunny costume? Please.

I highly recommend this movie if you have not already seen it. I will warn you though, its a serious tear-jerker. I bawl everytime I see it- and I've probably seen it at least 100 times by now. Oh, and also- the soundtrack is pretty magical. I wore out my mother's tape version while growing up- I would spend my mornings before school rocking out to music, including songs from this film. Which drove my mother crazy. Of course, she was the one who introduced this movie to me, and so whenever I watch it, or hear the music (such as the song below), I think of her. She is, after all, my first best friend. : )

But enough about me, let's talk about you....what do YOU think of me? ~ C. C. Bloom, Beaches

A New Day

I am a walking contradiction. But I am beginning to learn that this is not as uncommon as I once thought.

There is a part of me that hates mornings. When that alarm goes off, I have the moment of "UGH". And, frankly, its almost painful. My husband has learned to not mess with me until I've had my coffee. Last Christmas, we got up early and drove to his parent's house to spend the day. I hadn't had coffee before that drive- that was a huge mistake. Now he knows we don't leave the house without it. ; )

And yet.......while I'm not good at waking up, I do like the aspect of a new day. There's something wonderfully appealing about clean slate. Especially if the day before wasn't all you meant for it to be. You get to try it again today. You get that second chance.

Maybe that's why we have bad days in the first place. Without the bad days, how would we respect and cherish the good days when they come along?

How beautiful a day can be
When kindness touches it!
~George Elliston

Also, I'm coming up with a Friday tradition to start here @ Puddles, so check back this afternoon! : )

Keep swimming

Generally, I am a pretty upbeat person. I try to be, anyway. I just think that it's a lot easier to be a happy person than a miserable one. It takes less energy! But, let's be realistic. Not every day is sunny and happy. Not everyday do we feel the urge to smile. There are those days when you wake up and immediately have the overwhelming urge to just pull the covers over your head and ignore the world. Today was kind of one of those days for me. Only I didn't pull the covers over my head. I got out of bed and struggled through the day- although I regretted it!

It's days like this that you really need to remember what is special to you. Not only that, but you need to remember what makes you smile. This picture, for example. My bestie Kelly and I stumbled upon this sign while driving around lost in Valrico, FL. How hysterical is this? So hysterical that we actually pulled the car over and modeled with it. No joke.

And so this is the topic for the day: remembering what makes you smile. It may be a stupid sign, an inside joke, a good book, a kiss from your true love, a baby putting their sleepy head on your shoulder, or your favorite treat. Some days might require all of the above. But as long as you have these "bad day remedies", you will be alright. : )


You know it's a bad day when you put your bra on backwards and it fits better. ~Unknown

Oh my giddiness......

*Gasp* My FIRST ever blog award. Give me moment. Let me bask.


*Basking........basking.............basking..........*

Okay, I've calmed down now. Thank you. And Thank YOU, I Love Brownies, for awarding me!!

So, now, the rules are:

1. I, as the recipient of said award, have to list 10 things about me that no one knows (this is going to be tough).
2. I need to pass this awesome award to ten new bloggers worthy of such glory (this will only be tough because I follow LOTS of ridiculously amazing blogs).
And, 3. I have to notify those 10 lucky bloggers who follow the same forum- I'll be leaving comments on your pages, so be on the lookout! And when you post your ten things, be sure to post a link back to me!

*Exciting*....okay, here we go with my ten things (that will be secret-ish):

1. Before my shower at night, I sometimes model in the mirror (this is usually after watching America's Next Top Model....but not always).


2. I am what our thin-obsessed society would call a "chubby chaser". I like my men- well, now just man- with a little meat on their bones. This is not really a secret. ; ) My celeb crushes include Kevin James and Jerry Ferrara (Turtle from Entourage).


3. I sent my son to daycare today in a mismatched outfit, for "mismatched outfit day"- and its been bugging me all day long. I'm apparently a little OCD.


4. I have to park my car exactly in front of my house, so that the front door of my townhouse is lined up with my front seat window. Again, OCD.


5. When I was in 5th grade, I beat every single kid in my class at one on one tug of war.


6. I've yet to watch the movie The Notebook. I guess the book didn't leave a serious mark in my brain.


7. I like having the house to myself sometimes, so I can watch "crap" TV (aka all the reality shows my husband can't stand).


8. I have very few true-blue-till-the-end friends. Very few. But the ones I do have, rock.


9. I have never broken a bone (yet!).


10. I grew up in the same town, in the same house my entire first 18 years of life. And my parents still live there. Okay, again, not a secret....I tried!!

And now, for my taggees:

* Love
* Drea's Crochet and Other Whimsies
* Mr. BrownThumb
* poptart
* Sanibel Toot's Lazy Days
* Shellbelle's Tiki Hut
* Stepford Dreams
* The Life of a Super Organized Mum
* Thinking Out Loud
* The Broke-Ass Bride


All of these blogs are worth following, by the way!!! : )

Sing a Little Song...

Well, I have decided that Tuesdays will be Song Day here at the ol' Puddles of Sunshine blog. Today I will be performing..............................................just kidding. I am not, nor ever will be, performing. I left those days back in high school band class, thank you very much (and to Mr. Nelson's relief, I'm sure). However, while I am no good at being musically inclined, I do love listening to music, and therefore, since its such a big part of my life, and I have CDs scattered all over the place (my house, my car, my work office...), its only fair that I blog a bit about it, right? And so, from this day forward, Tuesday blogs will showcase one particular song that I love, for whatever reason.

Today, for our first song blog, I thought it would be good to do a song that I have always had a special spot for in my heart (which will probably be the case for most of the songs showcased on Tuesdays!). Please take a listen, here:


Ah, yes, Jimmy Buffett. Those of you who know me well probably saw this coming. Jimmy has been in my life for as long as I can really remember. My mother and I used to listen to him in the car as we drove around town- often in blizzarding snow and cold- running errands. Jimmy was one of the inspirations for me to move to Florida. Jimmy (and my father) helped introduce me to margaritas. Jimmy soothes my soul, makes me laugh, and sometimes...makes me cry.

This song in particular is one that has gotten me through this past year. My husband and I had a few instances where we were apart for more than a few days (long, long story), and this song kept popping into my head everytime I got lonely and sad from missing him. Its important, as a married couple, to not only survive things, but to thrive. However, I think there are some cases that if you do survive, that is thriving all on its own. Some things in life are such a struggle that if you refuse to let them beat you, you've already won.

I hope you enjoy the song, and the new Tuesday way. : )

Family Jewels

Mark's grandmother is one of those old-school Italian grandmothers. This means, I am terrified of her. Well, not so much now, but when we first met...oh, yeah, you betcha. I was scared to breathe incorrectly, for fear she'd put the Evil Eye Curse on me. I read too much, and I have an over active imagination, what can I say?


However, she has yet to put the Curse on me. She's actually incredibly good to me. When Mark's father and I took Landon to surprise her for her birthday just a few months after he was born, I knew it was the perfect time to really bond with her. Plus, I had a cute baby- her great grand baby- in tow, and who can resist that??


One of our last days in California visiting, she came to me with an ancient looking jewelry box. I opened it and there, laying on a bed of old red velvet, was the perfect set of pearls. She wanted me to have them, and if I would, wear them in our wedding planned for that upcoming summer. I was so immensely touched!! I did wear them on my wedding day, and they are something I will forever cherish. Someday, when Landon gets married, his wife will wear those same pearls, and continue the tradition.


Oftentimes, when there's a marriage, it is stressful to mesh families together. And we aren't the freakin' Brady Bunch or anything, but Mark's family has accepted and loved me almost immediately. And that is something I'm forever grateful for.

Sleepy Time

This morning's quick post is not even going to include a picture....because a picture of me sleeping would be creepy and bizzare. And no one wants to see that anyway.


That said, I need to do a quick ode to sleep, since its all that is on my mind this morning. Remember the old saying, we always want what we can't have? Well, last night I wanted sleep and I couldn't have it. Between Mark- my wonderful, handsome, fantastic Mark- snoring away in my ear, and Landon bouncing and yelling in his crib, I was doomed.


And so this morning I sit typing with dark circles under my eyes (cleverly disguised under make up, of course; I'm a tad vain and cannot lie about that!) and that "Do not talk to me, look at me, think about me, or I'll bite you" Look on my face. But really, I have that look on most Monday mornings. Who am I kidding- most MORNINGS.


So this is my lesson today. Yes, I lost sleep, and do not look or feel that great because of it. However, I have a feeling that someday, years down the road, I'm going to lay awake at night for no particular reason, and remember the times that I had rocked Landon in the middle of the night, and how he looked up at me with those big eyes. And I think I might just wish for those moments back. Like I said, we always want what we can't have. So...just enjoy it while you can. Even if it gives you circles under your eyes.

Birthdays

It was my hubby's birthday today. This is him with our little boy, and his yummy birthday cake.

Birthdays mean different things to different people. I'm pretty basic about them: I get cake. And presents. They aren't as fun as they are when you are a kid, but as long as I get cake, I'm good. I try not to read into it so much. I try not to let myself sink into that number, whatever it may be that year. I know, I'm only 25, no big deal. But its already slowly catching up to me. My ten year high school reunion is just down the road. Time is flying, and I feel as if I am not even trying to keep up.

But as long as there's cake...............ha ha.

You can't regret. It takes up too much time. You just have to love what you've got in that moment, make the mistakes and learn from them if you can, eat cake when you want to, take a chance, love who you love, try not to hate, maybe eat a veggie now and then (well, tryyyyy), dance and sing, be happy but cry if you need to. Breathe. It just goes by too fast to really dawdle. So just get to the point of your life, and do it. Whatever you feel is meant to be. Make it happen.

And always, keep a smile on your face. Frosting and all!

If we could be twice young and twice old we could correct all our mistakes.
- Euripides

***This post is dedicated in loving memory to my grandfather, John Erdman, who left our lives to go fishing in the big ol' blue in the sky one year ago today. We love and miss you, Grandpa. Behave yourself.***

Something Magical

I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse. ~ Walt Disney



In 2004, I decided to go on an internship offered to me by Disney World. They called it the Disney College Program. Those of us who have gone through this are...unique, and we all seem to band together through this one similar tie. I knew that this was going to be an experience of a lifetime- I did not know that it would change the course of my life forever.



The College Program taught me a lot. The hours sucked, the money sucked, some of the really insane people we had to live and work with sucked, but the education that this gave me was worth it all. I grew up because of this experience. I learned that friendship was more valuable than pretty much anything. I learned how to get my heart broken. I learned that I did not look good in a polka dot bow tie. I learned how to make friends and travel and dance and drink and party without getting hurt. I learned that I could pick up men in spite of said bow tie (and worse, even). I learned a drop of Spanish. I learned compassion, I learned love, I learned how to fight for myself a little bit. I learned that I didn't have to be just a small town girl. I learned that I could be whatever the hell I wanted to be, and that I didn't need to be afraid of that.


After the program was said and done, I went back home to Montana. Two years after that, I moved back to Orlando. And now, here I sit, typing away, waiting for my husband and son to come home. Okay, so there's alot more to the story than just that. But you get the idea.


Its funny how one little fork in the road of our lives can completely change everything. Okay, so maybe doing this internship wasn't a LITTLE fork. Still...if I hadn't gone (which I almost didn't), I wouldn't have met certain people, Kelly and I probably wouldn't have remained as close as we are (because that internship we went on together and will forever bond us even more), and I wouldn't have decided to move back, and therefore would not have met my husband. Who knows where I would be, but it wouldn't be here...


Today, my friends, take this: follow those dreams. They may be scary, they may look bigger than you, they may actually BE bigger than you. That's good, they need to be. Its better for you to fit into your dreams than for them to fit into you, right? They won't always work out, and the road through them won't always be smooth going- but you have to try. Trying is the most important part of the battle.

Oh, and don't forget to keep the scraps of memories. They are fun to look back on. : )

One man's treasure...

*GASP* My treasure chest is empty!!

I went to write about not particularly the chest itself, but what was in it. At least, once upon a time. What was in it? Stacks of money? Magical forbidden treasure? Cursed Spanish gold?

Don't be ridiculous. If I had any of that, do you think I'd be typing away right now? Heck, no! I'd be on my own personal island, sipping a rita and wondering what you fools on the mainland were up to.

*KIDDING* I love you fools. : )

Okay, seriously, I used to keep all of my fortune cookie fortunes in this little treasure chest of mine (yeah, see...not nearly as good as forbidden treasure). I have collected fortunes for as long as I can remember, ever since I was a little kid and my parents would take me to our favorite Chinese restaurant in town, Yat Son's (that, once I got older, unfortunately closed down for suspicious reasons. But let's not go there). I will never forget the time my father got his fortune, read it, then tore it up and then stuck the shreds into his beer bottle, refusing to tell me or my mother what the fortune was. He said "It was a good one, and I want it to come true, so you can't know it". Boy, did that burn my eight year old bum. I even asked him about it years later, and he not only remembered what it was, but still would not tell me!

And now...my collection is MIA. I'm probably more upset than I should be. As if I won't ever have another fortune cookie! Still...I had a ton. Okay, maybe 50. But if you think about that in cookie standards, that's quite a few, right?

I can still remember two of my favorites. One was: Imagination is more important than knowledge- okay, technically an Albert Einstein quote, but at the time I was struggling with math and I remember rubbing that one in my mother's face a little bit. She was not pleased.

My second favorite I did not receive until after my son was born. He and I were visiting his great grandmother in California- his first plane trip, at just over two months!- and we all went out for her birthday to P.F. Chang's. "Our" fortune (which is now in his baby book) was simply: "Beautiful things await you". I thought it was so befitting for a newborn.

Well, while my treasure chest is now mysteriously empty, I realize that maybe a strange version of myself got rid of the fortunes. I am a clutter-bug till the end, and I do have moments where it frustrates me beyond comprehension. Perhaps in one of those moments, my beloved fortunes perished. *Cue dramatic swelling music....something from Gone With the Wind will do...*

*KIDDING AGAIN*

Moral of my story today, is that not everything gone is missing, and not everything empty is sad. Its important in life to not shy away from any emotion, but to embrace it and let it roll over you. Otherwise, you bottle everything up, and are never happy, or at peace, or able to be anything good. Love it all: The good, the bad, and the ugly. Clint Eastwood did. ; )



Heroes take journeys, confront dragons, and discover the treasure of their true selves. ~ Carol Lynn Pearson

Savannah Banjo

Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant. ~ Socrates

It was another beautiful day in the best college town in America, Missoula, MT. My bestie Kelly and I had gone to an ice cream shop near campus for an afternoon treat. What we didn't know is that we were about to get a story that would last our entire friendship.

We sat in the shop and ate our yummy ice cream. As we got up to leave, I noticed a tambourine hanging from the door as a makeshift door bell for when customers walked in (Caution: this is where my character and sanity come into serious question). In excited hysterics, I shouted to Kelly, "Look! A banjo!" (Not a typo)

Kelly looked out the door, at an old farm truck loaded with junk and some questionable looking hillbillies (I know, the irony!). "What are you talking about?" she asked, giving me a look of complete confusion.

In response (because she was the idiot here, not me), I rolled my eyes and pointed. "A banjo! Its a banjo! RIGHT THERE! BANJO!"

Kelly was quiet for a beat, then said calmly, "You mean that tambourine?"

I felt my shoulders sink and hunch, and my cheeks burn. "Um...yes." And then we ran outside, busting up laughing.

No one knows this, but this story is why I stopped going to school there. HA, just kidding. I was pretty embarrassed by my crazed, adamant nature, though.

Now, years later, we still laugh about this ridiculous story. We tell people about it and they all look at me like I'm....well, psychotic. I can't blame them. Kelly's an impressive friend for putting up with me for as long as she has.

A few months ago, we were at Disney's EPCOT park. Long story short, Kelly bought me a beautiful tambourine in Mexico at the World Showcase: my very own Savannah Banjo. It now hangs proudly on the wall at my house, a reminder to embrace the insanity as it comes.

The Wedding Quilt

You know that question of what you would save out of your house if it was on fire? This would be one of those things. I try my hardest not to be materialistic, but there are some materials that just hold too much of your heart to let go.

When my husband and I got married, my grandmother gave us a quilt. But not just any quilt. This quilt. When we unwrapped it, I was a little confused, in spite of the fact that it was beautiful. But it felt fragile, delicate. Then my mother came up along side me and helped us find this patch attached to the back of the quilt (and excuse the poor picture taking):





The moment I began reading this, the tears began to flow. Until that point of my wedding day, I had been pretty good about keeping my composure. But this sent me right over the edge. The thing is, I always knew my grandmother loved me. But it was this act of kindness that locked and sealed the deal. It was something that not only bonded us more and grandmother and granddaughter, but as women.



Today, the quilt sits at the bottom of our staircase, on a quilt ring given to me by my mother-in-law, that is really perfect for displaying the quilt. I look at it everyday, and think of love.

See? Me brought to tears by my own grandmother!

All weddings

, except those with shotguns in evidence, are wonderful. ~ Liz Smith

The Number One Blessing

My boys, having silly time

Family is not an important thing, it's everything.
Michael J. Fox

I will never forget when I was in high school what one of my best friends, Joey, said to me. On a whim, I believe around college app time, he said "you'll be that girl who goes to college for something to do until you meet the guy you want to marry, then you'll just get married and have babies." At the time, I was horribly insulted, although I wasn't sure why. I suppose he meant it in a good way, as Joey usually did when he said matter-of-fact statements such as this one. But for whatever reason, I wanted to defend myself, to be determined that I would be much more.


Now, years later, I have yet to finish college (and do not know if I ever will, and am fairly content as I am now), I am married, and I have a beautiful toddler boy. And I can't imagine having or needing too much more. These two men are the biggest and greatest blessings I could ever hope for. In fact, they exceed my hopes outrageously. For them alone, I am so blessed.