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!