the girl with the tendency to ...

Lose two cars in less than six months.

With one car getting towed and costing me far too much two days before it hits its grave permanently.

Welcome to my life.

The good news is.

My sweet Arielle had her very first baby this past week.

Ethan Atlas Borcik.

He’s perfectly, perfectly perfect.

Seeing her and her sweet husband love this tiny little human brings my heart more joy than I knew to be possible.

Happy Wednesday, friends.

if ever there was a song i wish i'd written -

families are forever

D&C 25:10

“And verily I say unto thee that thou shalt lay aside the things of the world, and seek for things of a better.”

I read that in church this past Sunday. The following Monday I would be making my way to Georgia. And that Tuesday my mom would follow the footsteps of our dear Savior and be baptized. My heart is too full. Not only was I able to be there to witness it all, but I got to see my sweet nephews, niece and siblings - It's been two years since I've seen them last! Did I mention that I had lunch at Zaxby’s the first chance I got? It was just as good as I remember. The humidity, however, wasn't what I was expecting. It was a sweet reunion - one that I'll be forever grateful for.

Georgia will forever have a place in my heart. But it’s good to be back with these mountains I now call home.

Happy Saturday, Friends.  Tell your family you love them today!

measure your life in love.

I had this one staff who, every day at lunch, would have everyone say their “tops”; for the week, the day, or even the hour. Just some things that made them happy and that stood out for them. I think those memories, those good times we choose to hold on to, are what help us to make it through the times we aren't too happy about. 

Here you go, y’all. My tops for the week:

Those clean sheets.

That first Utah thunderstorm.

Long hair, she don’t care. But seriously. My long hair puts a smile on my face.

A home cooked meal.

Water balloon volley ball, kickball with a slip-n-slide home base, and pool time with my girls.

Hearing my niece and nephew say my name in their sweet voices.

Having ninja’s as neighbors who gladly climb to my third floor balcony when I lock myself out of my apartment.

Warm summer breezes.

Harry Potter marathons.

Fourth of July parade, park date, movie date, and fireworks.

My sweet sister and her cutie-pie husband who joined in on the movie date!

48 days until my TF gets married.

Be happy, friends. 

you were good to us, cali.

     I’d like you all to know that if I had the choice. I’d be a beach bum for my whole life. Being barefoot is my way of life – but being barefoot on the beach is Heaven on Earth. Reading, laying out, having the ocean waves fill my heart. Life truly can’t get much better than that. Except for when you’re lucky like me and you have six of the best people to enjoy it all with. I don’t remember the last time I’ve laughed that much before in my life. Staying where we stayed made me feel like I was home again. It was a beautiful trip; a trip that my heart has been waiting for far too long.

     At work each morning we make goals for the day and then we say a value that we want to work on. For the past few weeks my value has been Happiness. I keep searching for it and sometimes I feel like I have my fingers so close to grasping it, but then I lose it. What I took from this trip is that what I need to be happy is to fill my life with more of the people that make me laugh. People that are full of the light of Christ and that are so willing to give and to love.

                                               Stay happy, friends. 

sunday funday

Attack-by-roommates as a mode of alarm clock might seem like a bad idea – and will seem that way until ones heart calms down from the unnecessary startle so early in the AM – but how grateful I am for those ladies. After that initial shock, I took a little road trip to the great city that is Salt Lake to drop off our dear Kasface. Italia needs her more than we do. Or maybe not. Maybe that’s a lie I tell myself because I’m fully aware that this apartment can’t be as witty and hilariously commented without that beautiful girl. Our trip back was full of Disney songs that my heart has missed more than I knew to be possible.

Sundays are just my most favorite day. Church makes my week of craziness feel worth it. Naps are guaranteed to wash away my worries. Hours are spent with beautiful and interesting people that I’ve come to know and love.

I hope your Sunday has been all of that and much more, friends.

Happy Sunday!

“Remember

the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.”

D & C 18:10

Let’s all do well to be aware of our individual worth and the worth of those around us this week. It’s the least we can do.

Happy Sunday, Y’all. 

someone once said,

 “The happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything they have.”

And that’s what most of us are trying to do, right? Find happiness in this crazy little thing called life. What makes one happy? Truly and completely happy. I’m still trying to figure that out for myself, honestly. Everyday feels as if I’m starting from the beginning again. Maybe I don’t know what makes me happy. And maybe it’ll be awhile before I know for sure. There might be too many obstacles on the way to figuring things out. I might mess up. Plans will be changed. Things never work out the way our minds think they should, do they? I think we get so caught up in ourselves – and the plan that WE want or that we think we NEED. When really, Heavenly Father is all too knowing of us; of who we are and, most importantly, of who we are to become. He also knows what makes us happy. So maybe I need to just be. Just be more trusting in all that He is.
Lucky I have the most gorgeous ladies to be with me on this journey of mine. Especially when said gorgeous ladies take me places for free chocolate milkshakes. 

Be happy, friends. Whatever that might mean for you.

Happy Thursday.

here's to ...

Here’s to summer and barefoot afternoons.

To friends who pep talk your soul to better days.

For a lovely Father in Heaven who sees more than we understand.

For hard choices that will prepare us for only Heaven knows what.

Keep your light shining bright, friends.

Happy Sunday.

you did it once again, ingrid.

I don't tell anyone about the way you hold my hand
I don't tell anyone about the things that we have planned
I won't tell anybody, Won't tell anybody
They wanna push me down, they wanna see you fall down

I won't tell anybody that you turn the world around
I won't tell anybody that your voice is my favorite sound
I won't tell anybody, Won't tell anybody
They wanna see us fall, they wanna see us fall down

I don't need a parachute, baby if I've got you
Baby if I've got you, I don't need a parachute
You're gonna catch me, You're gonna catch if I fall (Down, down, down)

Don't believe the things you tell yourself so late at night
And, you are your own worst enemy, you'll never win the fight
Just hold onto me, I'll hold onto you
It's you and me up against the world, it's you and me

I don't believe anything, don't trust anyone but me
But I believe you when you say were never gonna fall
Hand behind my neck, arm around my waist
Never let me hit the ground, you'll never let me crash

I don't need a parachute, baby if I've got you
Baby if I've got you, I don't need a parachute
You're gonna catch me, You're gonna catch if I fall (Down, down, down)

I don't need a parachute, baby if I've got you
Baby if I've got you, I don't need a parachute
You're gonna catch me, You're gonna catch if I fall (Down, down, down)

I won't fall out of love, I won't fall out of
I won't fall out of love, I won't fall out of
I won't fall out of love, I won't fall out of
I won't fall out of love, I fall into you

I won't fall out of love, I won't fall out of
I won't fall out of love, I won't fall out of
I won't fall out of love, I won't fall out of
I won't fall out of love, I fall into you

I don't need a parachute, baby if I've got you
Baby if I've got you, I don't need a parachute
You're gonna catch me, You're gonna catch if I fall (Down, down, down)

I don't need a parachute, baby if I've got you
Baby if I've got you, I don't need a parachute
You're gonna catch me, You're gonna catch if I fall (Down, down, down)

I don't need a parachute, baby if I've got you
Baby if I've got you, I don't need a parachute
You're gonna catch me, You're gonna catch if I fall (Down, down, down)

Parahchute

perfectly, imperfect.

Sometimes I think about how lucky I am to have the jobs that I do. New Haven is a constant learning experience for me. Every day I see something that wasn’t there before. Most days I leave with a new perspective on life. And I always, always leave with more love for these ladies.

My mind has been pondering on the idea of how one strives for perfection. Not only that, but how one sets such high limits on themselves, only to crash and burn when those limits aren't met. I think sometimes we set these unreachable standards for ourselves; we try so hard and put our whole hearts into whatever it is that we’re working towards. And then we fail. And maybe we fail once more.

But maybe we’re never meant to reach those crazy high standards all at once. I think sometimes we forget that it’s all a process. I think that we forget that we’re meant to fall every once in a while. It’s in the struggle of standing back up that we find ourselves. We find out what makes us who we are and who we are not.

I think we’re meant to slowly become the person that we’re meant to be. I think every day we’re meant to strive to be our very best.

Happy Monday, Y’all. 

dreams do come true.

I can be a bit of a dreamer. Maybe I go into too many details about how I want my life to be like while dreaming those dreams of mine.

 That being said … I would dream of being an ice skater when I was younger. I have Disney Channel to thank for that. So going ice skating this past weekend was almost a dream come true. Almost. Did I do a few fancy turns in the air? Not even close. Was I able to skate backwards like I didn't even care? Only because I had some fellow pushing me and keeping me from falling on my face. Did I manage to not fall on my bum once throughout the evening? You betcha.

I also have this slightly irrational fear that I’m going to fall and then have someone’s skate blade run over my hand.

Just thinking about it hurts.

I’d do it again.

the nicest thing.

All I know is that you're so nice
You're the nicest thing I've seen
I wish that we could give it a go
See if we could be something

I wish I was your favourite girl
I wish you thought I was the reason you are in the world
I wish my smile was your favourite kind of smile
I wish the way that I dressed was your favourite kind of style

I wish you couldn't figure me out
But you always wanna know what I was about
I wish you'd hold my hand
When I was upset
I wish you'd never forget
The look on my face when we first met

I wish you had a favourite beauty spot
That you loved secretly
'Cause it was on a hidden bit
That nobody else could see
Basically, I wish that you loved me
I wish that you needed me
I wish that you knew when I said two sugars,
Actually I meant three

I wish that without me your heart would break
I wish that without me you'd be spending the rest of your nights awake
I wish that without me you couldn't eat
I wish I was the last thing on your mind before you went to sleep

Look, all I know is that you're the nicest thing I've ever seen
And I wish that we could see if we could be something
Yeah I wish that we could see if we could be something

Kate Nash

home is whenever i'm with you.

I might be obsessed. 

happy sunday.

Keep your heart happy.

That’s what I’ve come to tell myself every day.

Now I just need to figure out what makes my heart happy.

Thank goodness for Pinterest for helping me out, eh?

Tell someone you love them today.

sometimes.

    Sometimes one moves two thousand miles away to a place too far away from her mommy and sweet nephews. But sometimes one is blessed to come to know and love a sweet family in the place she now calls Home.

    For me, this family is the Good family. I’m able to be a nanny for four beautiful, energetic, and intelligent children. These kids are my best friends. In all seriousness, I’d probably watch them without being paid. We get to sit in the living room playing games, talking, watching our favorite movies. We get to go on adventures to the Nickle-Cade, Chuck-E-Cheese, and Planet Play. They make me laugh and they teach me more than I think they realize. I think Daniel would out smart me in anything science related. Emily teaches me that it’s okay to be a lady and still choose a dragon over a Barbie doll. Jake and I could color all day and we’d be perfectly content, but I think he’d rather climb on me like I was a jungle gym in a past life. Benson has completely stolen my heart with his blonde curls and blue eyes; we’re best buddies, he says, because we like the same of everything.

    Their parents have become such good friends to me. They have welcomed me into their family and I don’t know how I can let them know how grateful I am for them.

I thank Heavenly Father for them every day.

meacham.

Maybe I just need my best friend back.

i needed someone to dance with me. in an obscure place. under unlikely circumstances.

         It’s hard to see the light in times of trials. It’s hard to be happy when you feel like you’re losing control. It’s hard to keep your heart and your mind aware that these trials are needed to mold you into a better and stronger person. It’s hard to keep your faith strong when you feel so undeserving.  It would be easy to just stop. It would be easy to pretend that you don’t care. It would be easy to stop trying. It would be easy to let it all go.

          That’s when I remember a conversation I had with Elder Price. “The easy way may never be the right way,” he told me. He was right, you know. Like he always seems to be. It can’t possibly be stormy weather forever.

          So find someone who gives you flowers and hugs you for no reason other than to be close to you. Someone who dances with you when the time seems unlikely. Someone who appreciates you in the moment. Someone who’s not willing to let you go.

Happy Monday. 

just grassin' around.

In an hour and thirty minutes, give or take, it will be a new year.

New adventures.

New loves.

New friendships.

But let’s not forget to remember the year that we’re leaving behind.

For it made us who we are.

The Arielle and I celebrated this day perfectly.

Freezing walk to Smith’s.

Crafty canvas painting.

Super nachos.

Three red box movies.

Don’t worry, ya’ll.

The night will be completed with sparkling cider and kisses to our build-a-bears.

becoming ...

“… there is no process more insightful than becoming. It is the act of leaving behind something you already are in the hope of what you might become.”

Today, three years ago, was a “becoming” moment for me; if you will. It was the day that I chose to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. How powerful is the meaning behind the act of becoming? It’s such a blessing to look back and see how the Gospel has changed who I was, and who I am, entirely. My heart is full of joy and peace. My life seems to possess more meaning and love.

Every day I am becoming.

Every day I am thankful for that simple invitation.

Every day I am in awe of the Savior.

Happy Friday.