Here Comes the Sun

Little darling
It's been a long, cold, lonely winter
Little darling
It feels like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's alright
- The Beatles

It's really easy in the winter to get caught up in the frenzy of the holidays and to be dragged down by the numbing gray skies. Everything just melts into the dull colors of season. I begin to miss the flowers of spring, the sunshine of the summer, and the vivid colors of the autumn. It feels almost like I trudge through the winter months.

But then I remember that sun will come again, and soon enough, its rays will penetrate the bleak clouds and bring new life to the Earth. The flowers will bloom, the skies will clear, and the sun will shine.

So on that note, remember...even at the darkest of times, the sun will rise and it will be alright.

Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

Pretty lights on the tree,
I'm watching them shine.
You should be here with me,
Baby please come home.
- Death Cab For Cutie

I don't know what it is about the holidays that makes me realize how much I enjoy being around my family and friends. But it just doesn't feel right if everyone I love isn't around me for Christmas.

Someone once told me that love is about missing someone. I guess that's true, but it's also true that absence makes the heart grow fonder. You don't realize how much you truly love someone until you know how hard it is to miss them.

Then it hits you.

On that note... I miss you.

Live a Life Less Ordinary, Live a Life Extraodinary With Me

The night you came into my life,
Well it took the bones of me, took the bones of me.
You blew away my storm and strife,
And shook the bones of me, shook the bones of me.
- Carbon Leaf

Some things require no words.
Sometimes, your breath gets taken away.
Funny how they seem to happen together.

La Mar (The Ocean)

This day is getting older,
in fading light it's beautiful.
This wind is blowing colder,
and too soon I'll feel it's pull.

Still, I took all my chances,
earned myself an even score.
Try to learn my lessons well.
And I don't have the answers,
for those questions anymore.
Only love can be both heaven and hell.

So sturdy up, sturdy up your heart,
for the road is long ahead.
I'll be with you even though we're apart,
but your road is yours to tread.
And so it goes, and so it goes,
and so it goes, slows your mind, mind, mind,
so it goes... and so it goes, and so it goes, slows your mind, mind, mind, mind, mind.

- The Beautiful Girls

Love, Duck

 

Snowfall Music

Nighttime bridges breathe
Ebb and flow.
Cars blink by like a metronome
As they head for home.

City glows up into the sky.
Winter ribbon clouds
Melt down into grey sky night
Electric with light.

And if you're burning like a candle all alone
And if we're burning like 2 candles
With no window to call home.
Let it snow.

Nighttime evergreens. Fade and glow.
All the kids smell snow...it will fall
The kids know it all.
Night sky. City sleep.
Snow globe halos on the lamps in the street
Ebb and Flow. Fade and Glow
And you never know. You never know.

If you're burning like a candle all alone
And if we're burning like 2 candles
With no window to call home
Let it snow. Let is snow over everything
When you hear the sound
Let it snow. Let the snowfall music
Snow its feathers down.

- Carbon Leaf

Make a Plan to Love Me

Life is too short
Death doesn't ask.
It don't owe you that.

Some things you lose
You don't get back.
So just know what you have

And make a plan to love me sometime soon.
-Bright Eyes

I know that I'm guilty sometime  of not appreciating all that life has given me. And some day it won't all be there. Then it's too late.

There's a joke about college kids that World War III could happen and we wouldn't even know it was going on because we have such tunnel vision sometimes. I know for me personally, this is true. I get absorbed into whatever it is that I'm doing and I forget to go outside and enjoy the weather or smell a flower.

So today I walked in the rain. I talked to some of the amazing people that are around me. I sometimes forget to appreciate stuff like that.

So on that note... thank you for being a part of my life, no matter how big or small. Thank you.

The Best Part of the Holidays!

This is probably my favorite Christmas cookie recipe, and it's one of the easiest to make. This recipe makes about 3 dozen, so adjust it accordingly. Make plenty, I promise, they will get eaten. You won't have to worry about leftovers.

Buckeyes

2 cups softened butter

3 cups peanut butter

12 cups powdered sugar

8 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

HINT: Use a really big bowl. This recipe makes a lot.

1. Beat the butter and peanut butter together, and then gradually add the sugar. I find it easier to use a mixer until only about a third of the sugar is left to put in. Then just knead the rest in by hand. By that point, it shouldn't be sticky. 

2. Refrigerate the mixture until chilled. It'll be easier to work with.

3. Lay out waxed paper on a flat surface. Begin rolling the mixture into 1-inch balls.

4. Melt the chocolate and dip the balls into it. Place the dipped balls on the waxed paper to dry.

The hardest part of this recipe is not eating it all before it's done. They're addictive! I usually freeze them-- they keep longer and they taste better that way! Enjoy!

Hey Jealousy

"The past is gone but something might be found to take its place...hey jealousy, hey jealousy"- Gin Blossoms

Maybe I'm the only one, but there always seems to be that one person that I just can't shake my jealousy for. And it's nothing that she's done to warrant this, but there's just something that puts me on edge. And it's not fair.

I reckon jealousy is just how we realize our insecurities. Sometimes it seems like when you enter a room that everyone in there is prettier, thinner, and smarter, than you are and you can't help but feel self conscious. We feel that we're in constant competition with those around us for who gets to be the best. Others feel like a threat.

But why? Why should we have to go through life wondering if we're good enough? How do we expect others to accept us if we haven't accepted ourselves?

"Cause all I really want's to be with you, feeling like I matter too." I think that's all anybody ever really wants-- to feel loved and important. How come that seems so challenging at times?

On that note... I'm sorry that I've judged you before judgement was due, but I'm human and I'm working on it. Forgive me.

Funny The Way It Is- Dave Matthew's Band

Lying in the park on a beautiful day,

Sunshine in the grass, and the children play.

Siren's passing, fire engine red,

Someone's house is burning down on a day like this?

The evening comes and we're hanging out,

On the front step, and a car rolls by with the windows rolled down,

And that war song is playing, "why can't we be friends?"

Someone is screaming and crying in the apartment upstairs

Funny the way it is, if you think about it

Somebody's going hungry and someone else is eating out

Funny the way it is, Am I right or wrong

Somebody's heart is broken and it becomes your favorite song

The way your mouth feels in your lovers kiss

Like a pretty bird on a breeze or water to a fish

A bomb blast brings a building crashing to the floor

You can hear the laughter, while the children play "war"

Funny the way it is, if you think about it

One kid walks 10 miles to school, another's dropping out

Funny the way it is, not right or wrong

On a soldier's last breath his baby's being born

Standing on a bridge, watch the water passing under me

It must've been much harder when there was no bridge, just water

Now the world is small. Remember how it used to be,

With mountains and oceans and winters and rivers and stars?

Watch the sky, the jet planes, so far out of my reach

Is there someone up there looking down on me?

Boy chase a bird, so close but every time

He'll never catch her, but he can't stop trying

Funny the way it is, if you think about it

One kid walks 10 miles to school, another's dropping out

Funny the way it is, not right or wrong

On a soldier's last breath his baby's being born

Funny the way it is, nor right or wrong

Somebody's broken heart becomes your favorite song

Funny the way it is, if you think about it

A kid walks 10 miles to school, another's dropping out.

Standing on a bridge, watch the water passing under me

It must've been much harder when there was no bridge, just water

Now the world is small. Remember how it used to be,

With mountains and oceans and winters and rivers and stars?

Because Finals Are Stressful...

Manifest Destiny

"Do you want to change your mind? You can always change your mind."- Guster

Change. The promise of it is something that's I've been consumed with for a while. It started in high school with the prospect of college growing near. Then I showed up for my first semester, not quite knowing what to expect, but knowing I was so excited to be there. Great things have happened since-- I've met some of the most amazing people and laughed harder than I ever thought was possible. I understand now why people call these years the best of their lives.
But this first semester is drawing to a close as finals loom over. I see so many motivated, determined people all around me, and they beg me to consider, what am I doing with my life? Since arriving here just a few short months ago, I've changed the path for my future ten times over. And not to say I'm not excited, but it's a bit unnerving to know that there is so much that isn't planned out. But I guess this is how life is showing me how to live in and appreciate the moment.
So on that note... carpe diem-- seize the day! You never know what lies ahead, so make the most of what you're given.