Live the Life you Love. Love the Life you Live.

Today's new motto. This weekend brought new emotions, new goals, new plans, and it brought out a whole new me. I've learned that life throws curve balls everyday and that we should never back down. We need to always step up to bat, even if we strike out once we have 2 more tries. "Never let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game." Another one of my favorite quotes. This life is a test and we should never be afraid of it. Life is going to happen, whether or not your afraid of it. Its going to seem so hard at times but we have to keep smiling and pushing through the hard days. Yes we are going to have bad days but that does not mean we will have a bad life. We need to be thankful for the little things we have. We need to always show a giving and loving attitudes to others. Serving other, while forgetting yourself, is the biggest blessing because we get double the happiness. This is the only chance we get to live, so why waste it on worrying and complaining. Never let anyone tell you your less than what you know you are.

Anyways... this weekend opened my eyes and I absolutely have changed my out look on life and I will never waste another day being depressed over things I can't humanly change.

just keep breathing

this week has been just one of those weeks, where absolutely nothing goes right, everything feels so wrong and out of place even when its not. i've been depressed and sad, just upset at the world. i'm trying to change myself but some days its hard to keep pressing forward and its hard to even get out of bed, but i fell upon this very inspirational story that made me feel slightly better and i thought i'd share.

Integrity - The Carpenter's House

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family.

He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."

What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.

So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized that we would have done it differently.

Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. The plaque on the wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself project." Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.

the start of my love story

WINTER FORMAL: By the Light of the Moon

December 17, 2011.... did I just meet the love of my life??

This day was greeted with much, much anticipation. It was going to be the last dance of my high school career so I wanted it to be amazing! I found the most beautiful dress in the world and I was in a group of my closest friends so I knew I would have some form of fun but I was so nervous of my date...

Explanation: Throughout the weeks leading up to the dance I was stressing out about who to ask because I wanted it to be special. I still had no idea who to ask so I approached my friend Carlie and she told me to ask her cousin Cade. I agreed to maybe meet him and see... turns out Cade and I have known each other since 6th grade through 9th grade but then he moved and we lost contact!! I thought this was pretty random but honestly didn't think much of it, but I finally got around to asking him and he said yes.. :) little did I know that I was stepping into my own book of a wonderful love story!

Anyways, my reason for being so worried was that Carlie warned me about Cade and she told me that he had a girlfriend, but he was a very big flirt and he would act like he liked me but I just had to stay careful so I wouldn't get hurt! This is mostly why I was so nervous because I didn't want to feel like he liked me and then get hurt in the end....

To shorten this already lengthy story.... the whole entire day, from beginning to end... he made me feel like a princess.. I was convinced I was in cloud nine the whole night. Each time our hands touch each other I think my heart stopped. I felt like I was in a dream, dreaming my fairy tale because this couldn't be for real. Everything felt right but I was still holding back and staying shy because I knew he was taken and I didn't want to get in the middle of that... but it was so entirely hard

not to fall for him. . .

We finally arrived at the dance I was expecting to let loose and for those stupid butterflies to leave me alone but they didn't and I was still shy... but we finally had a chance to slow dance together and it was perfect! We just flowed together... he laughed at my jokes and I laughed at his. He smiled so big and brightly I couldn't help but to share mine with him... I never would of known that I would be looking at that smile for months after...

So after the dance we went back to Cades house for some cookies and a movie. He kept making moves on me but I just kept shrugging him off because I wasn't going to be the cause of his break up. Finally near the end of the night he took me outside and explained to me that number 1: NO he didn't have a girlfriend (in my mind: YESSS). Number 2: He thought I was beautiful (this left me completely speachless). Number 3: He liked me!! (I literally pinched myself because I was sure I was dreaming!) So by the end of the night we shared our magical first kiss and I know its bad to kiss on the first date but it was just so perfect and I felt like as though I had been kissing him my whole life!

Funny memory: Cade and I decided to climb to the top of this jungle gym/ bridge thingy to take a picture... well i'm not the most graceful person but coming down from this thing was a mess and I almost fell but this handsome man was right there to catch me when I was falling... for him!

lets rewind

NEW YEARS!!.... 2012.. lets hope the world isn't ending because mine is just beginning!

i chose this day to surround myself with some of my closest friends and obviously the love of my life!! we had so much fun pigging out on food, singing songs, dancing out little hearts out, and my favorite... me new years kisses and sparklers! i told cade at the beginning of the night that he wasn't allowed to kiss me until the clock struck 12 o'clock just to mess with him. i don't think i've ever seen him so impatient, but it made the entire night fun and the long awaited kiss was magical! it was defiantly a night to remember! finally it was midnight and a kiss was shared between two lovers, finally the butterflies that were getting restless could escape from inside my belly and finally we could make a memory in our lives book. and also we could now use the life time supply of sparklers that we had accumulated.

cade and i tried so hard to capture just one fethching picture of us with two sparklers but we failed.. miserably.. but honestly that was the most memorable new years ever because of that! once we would get one to light we couldn't get the other one to light. then that would one would go out right as the other one would light but finally...

SUCCESS :) we were able to get one! probably the best night of my life so far! i'm so thankful to be able to share it with cade. he is such a blessing to me and i love every second, every minute, every hour, every day, every month, and hopefully every year i get to spend with him! but even better hopefully i get to share an eternity with him!

whats new about me?

so its been a while since i've posted anything but.... i recently graduated early from high school so i have loads of time on my hands now. i decided to start posting again about my new journey, my new life and pretty much the new me. i'm dating the most amazing man in the world. . . cade koozer. he is obviously part of the new me and my new journey. he is my best friend and a huge part of my life. without him absolutely nothing makes sense. i've been playing the guitar more and started writing new music. finding my voice was difficult and quite an experience but i did it and i'm no longer afraid. i can't wait to step into this new phase of my life and i can't wait to see what the future is bringing my. college... marriage... babies.... BAHH its so exciting!

chocolate helps us "stick" together

Last Friday my bestest friend in the whole wide world had her 17th birthday party! I met so many new people and got to spend more precious time with my best friend! The night was so much fun but the after party was better. Maelani, our friend Kevin and I were helping clean up the partied out house and we were asked to clean up the glorious chocolate fountain that made a huge mess. So us being teenagers we happily agreed.

It stated off being clean and efficient until Maelani put her messy hands all over my face. Then I did the same. We ended up being covered! It was the yummiest mess I have ever been in!

Kevin watched on the side lines watching us make a mess of ourselves while he stood clean, not even touched by chocolate. Maelani and I tried our hardest to get chocolate on his face but our attempts failed. He did however allow one dot of chocolate on his nose. We drew chocolate pictures all over the table. It was so much fun and so entertaining!

We covered Kevins whole arm with chocolate and he kept doing Michael Jackson dance moves all over Maelanis kitchen. He is absolutely hilarious.

By the end of our mess making I was covered from head to toe with chocolate. Maelanis mom sprayed us with the hose to clean our sticky bodies up! Our friendship grew so much just by simply playing with chocolate. Who would of ever thought? I remember someone saying that night that if the whole world could fight with chocolate instead of guns and bombs, it would be a lot happier. Chocolate really does make the soul happy.

a fresh start

today is a new day, a new beginning, its a fresh start. its like waking up in the morning and openeing thoes sleepy eyes, seeing the sun shining through the blinds, hearing the birds chiping in the trees, and knowing that you can begin again. you can forget about all the mistakes you might of made the other day or the things you shouldn't of said. i myself make lots of mistakes and knowing that i can start new makes me happy. living life to its fullest is my plan. living with not a care in the world. but its easier said than done. i hope i can remember that i can have a fresh start and when problems come my way i can take them head on and start new the next day. today is a new day,a new beginning, its a fresh start.