WEEKENDER

Writing about last weekend on a Thursday should be an indicator of what this week has been like.

But anyway, last weekend I:

Donated 10 dollars a month to WJCT, for street cred and for Ira Glass. They're still collecting btw, and apparently you can win an iPad mini? Do it.

Cruised Springfield and daydreamed with my blue-eyed bluejay.

Hung with an old friend and struck out at every single thrift store in this town. But the conversation was good.

Attended One Spark and ate a delicious Peanut Butter Pie Popsicle.

I honestly had no idea what to expect, but I knew it had to be good when the Skyway platform was fully packed to the gills. I had a sense that the Skyway had it's "Little Engine That Could Moment" this weekend.

I realized what a small town Jacksonville is, in its vastness, this weekend. There were thousands of people downtown, and yet I saw the girl who washed my hair at Hawthorn the other day, the girl who blew up my balloons at party city last week and a woman who's breasts I got an eyeful of when she breastfed her baby at a shower almost a year ago. I never forget a pair of boobs. Jared also saw our favorite yoga teacher walking around.

Anyway, if you missed OneSpark, go next year. Take your little kids and your grandma too. There were all kinds of people. You really saw the diversity of the city, and I felt a huge sense of community that I don't often get here.

Jacksonville, you're not that bad. I should make tee shirts.

OH, HELLO THERE

I used to have so much free time and then suddenly I just didn't.

Also, my relationship with how much I wanted to share with the big wide world, aka the 5 readers I have, has been heavy on my mind lately. Someone recently asked me a question they fully knew the answer to based on a blog I posted a while back. I'm assuming they asked to make me squirm and you know what? It did! So why did I write about it in the first place? Because I felt compelled to. Because I wanted to. Because I thought it would help myself and others.

Anyway, I think I want to blog again. I think I want to write and keep some sort of journal here. The openness that has been my stumbling block lately used to be my motivation. When I write something goofy thats me, and when I write something deathly serious, that's me too. And right now I think I need to keep putting me out there.

What a boring post y'all seriously. For your efforts I will give you a prize. A picture of the cutest darn puppy I know. Reminds me of this classic Onion article.

SHOUT HOORAY

When I was a little girl I would think about being grown up and sophisticated. Grown-up to me was twenty-five. 

Twenty-Five. Danielle and I both came up, separately, with the idea of feathers for our yearly headdress, Frozen "Let It Go" was belted, cookie cake was devoured, labradoodles were held against their will and forced to snuggle within an inch of their lives. Jared and I saw Iron and Wine and got suuuuuper mellow. 

I feel happy a lot these days. There are some crap times, but I feel that the older I get, the more cognizant I am of all the blessings swirling around, resulting in a seriously cheerful Kip. I like my job, I love my family, the Veronica Mars movie came out last night and my house is half-way clean. I feel good about twenty-five. Real good. Thank you to everyone who has already made it so great.

Oh and thanks Austin Karaoke for taking a picture of half the party. Amatuer.

GO WEST YOUNG MAN

Keep in mind that these picture and the snow pictures were taken on the same day, within hours of one another. Arizona is funny like that.

It was my second time visiting the big girl, the Grand Canyon, and her fancy pants neighbor Sodona. Still has not quenched my desire to ride a sweet little donkey down into the base, hike to Havasu Falls, Devil's Bridge and slide on my belly down Slide Rock. Jared and I even considered turning right back around and going out again over Spring Break, but we decided to be adult about it and just go to a theme park instead. How novel.

You know you have a golden egg on your hands when your husband doesn't even mind wearing matching beanies all day long. I am aware I look like a crazed gnome who just LOVES COLORZ but give me a break. At this point I was wearing every scrap of fabric I owned just to keep warm.

SNOW

I learned quite a few things on our recent trek out to Arizona.
One, few things make me full of child-like giddiness like a fresh field of white snow.
Two, even with fingers swollen up like vienna sausages, I still can't resist packing a snowball.
Three, I look like an idiot while throwing said snowballs, but hey, I never claimed I was an athlete, just an enthusiast.
and Four, I have the devious smirk of an Elf on the Shelf.