Happiness is the Icing on the Cake

A posting from The Secret:

Every human being on the planet wants to be happy. Anything that anyone desires is because they think their desire will make them happy. Whether it is health, money, a loving relationship, material things, accomplishments, a job, or anything at all, the desire for happiness is the bottom line of all of them. But remember that happiness is a state inside of us, and something on the outside can only bring fleeting happiness, because material things are impermanent.

Permanent happiness comes from you choosing to be permanently happy. When you choose happiness, then you attract all the happy things as well. The happy things are the icing on the cake, but the cake is happiness.

Valentine's Day

"Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him, who will lie under the stars and listen to your heartbeat, or will stay awake just to watch you sleep... wait for the boy who kisses your forehead, who wants to show you off to the world when you are in sweats, who holds your hand in front of his friends, who thinks you're just as pretty without makeup on. One who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares and how lucky his is to have you.... The one who turns to his friends and says, 'that's her.'”

I hope everyone had a special Valentine's! This was a neat Valentine's for me cause I actually was with someone who I care about very deeply and also, of course, my kitties!

The weekend started off on Friday with Laila getting her uterus and ovaries removed (R.I.P.) - not a good start for her.... :( And when she came home, Sasha HATED her - apparently Sasha thought she was a stranger because she had a whole new smell on her. It took a few days but Sasha finally got back to her old self and LOVES Laila again. The girls got new gold heart charms with their names engraved on them from Things Remembered for Valentines. They love them!

Will (my best guy friend) came over on Friday night to have our "low-key" date night for Valentine's - we drank wine, funnelled beer, smoked french cigarettes, listen to some 80's pop music and ended the night watching "Going the Distance" with Drew Berrymore and a hot hot Justin Long (he has a secret hot body). It was fun. I love spending time with my Will!

Saturday I got up and went to Chickboxing - this session was quite challenging for me...not sure if it was the wine and beer I drank the night before or some of the new moves, but I made it through! I missed all my girls though! :( Alicia's dryer broke and the other ladies headed off to ATL - you girls were missed!

Anyways, I cleaned my house and started to get ready for a date night with Josh. We planned on going to movie and THEN dinner - an oh this movie was good. I laughed for two straight hours...best Adam Sandler movie I have seen in a while - possibly ever!

We finished the evening with a dinner for two at Tony's Little Italy - yum!

Sunday, Josh cooked me a big breakfast and we lounged till time for our Hot Stone Massage at the Blue Med Spa at the Westin, it was pretty good! Josh loved his -After the massage, we had a quick snack with Amy and Lee (and that WHOLE crew) at Scene and came home and just relaxed. It was nice just to RELAX and not do too much and just spend time together.

Monday, February 14th came nice and early and my work day was pretty busy with meetings but I made a lunch date with Will at Subway and caught up on his V-day weekend shenanigans! Oh how I LOVE our weekly lunch dates. Anywhoo...as the day progressed, I got a delivery of roses and a box of chocolates (damnit) at work... Here's a photo of my surprise:

After work I made it to the gym for some Body Pump action and was unpleasantly surprised to find the gym PACKED even on Valentine's Day...when will the gym new year newbies leave????? I met Josh home, we made a healthy salad for dinner and watched this oldie but goodie, "Splash" - which Josh fell asleep in the recliner watching. :) Mermaids are sexy right?????? Okay so that was my complete 4-day synopsis of Valentine's Day! Okay now, I'm ready for some Saint Patty's!

It's been a Brutal Winter...sprinkled with some gentle moments...

Hello again blog! Sorry I have been MIA but things have been pretty crazy since the holidays...

There have been a lot of things I need to catch you up on since November...

November was a good month as I stuffed my face with Thanksgiving goodies and layed around spoiled with Netflix...At this time, work was very busy and the Christmas season and the hustle and bustle was looming upon us.

Oh December flew by in a blink!
Kelsie and Manny has the most beautiful wedding in Laguna, California - the day couldn't have been better and Kelsie looked amazing! Plus I was with all of my Fabulous Five girls and my wonderful boyfriend. We shared some amazing memories (our song - "Just the Way You Are" will always be cherished).

The following weekend, Josh's childhood friend got married in a very quaint ceremony in a beautiful formal church downtown - the "Ava Maria" was sang (beautiful) and it really spoke to me. I mentioned it to my mother and she said when she was pregnant with me in Germany, she first heard the song and it made her cry...hmmmmmm...makes you wonder? It was so nice meeting Josh's friends he's known almost his whole life- they were a pleasure to get to know.

Oh and mid December was filled with last minute Christmas shopping and parties with friends....ahhhhh, the busi-ness!!! Christmas soon came and with that was an actual "White Christmas" - my neighborhood was just blanketed with snow - looking very picturesque. I took the kitties outside for their first snow experience - not very happy about it though! We spent the holiday snowed in, opening presents and stuffing our faces, and we even busted out a game of Uno! It was a good holiday but I looked forward to the snow and ice melting away soon!

Then the unfortunate, I got news that my Paw Paw fell on the ice (back home in Georgia) when he was taking my Great-Aunt Julia to the doctor (my Grandmother's sister). He broke his foot (completely turned around) and had to be rushed by ambulance to the hospital where he had immediate surgery. There were complications with the pain medicine and he spent a day vomiting and soon after he acquired pnemonia. At his age, 80 years old, pnemonia is almost like a death sentence and he was very weak and unable to talk when I visited him New Years Eve. It was very sad seeing my strong Paw Paw so weak like that, so unlike himself. To this day, he is still struggling with his health. It has been an emotional rollercoaster for my family and I as he has taken two steps forward to recovering, however, soon after taking three steps back. It's very hard to explain to people what a magnificant person that he is and what an example he has set for my family. I cannot explain how much of a GOOD, GENUINE, LOYAL, STRONG, HONEST (the list goes on and on) MAN he is. He has been an exceptional SON, HUSBAND, FATHER, GRANDFATHER, and GREAT-GRANDFATHER to his family...he is a BELOVED FRIEND and BROTHER. I am so honored and proud that he is my PawPaw. At this time, he is making steps toward recovery... Thanks and please continue your prayers! Below is a old picture of my sister, Emily, our Paw Paw and I...I love you!!!!

For mine and Josh's first NEW YEAR, we spent it in Atlanta with his childhood bestfriend, Ashley. Her husband and her are both lawyers and her husband's firm has sky box seats at the Georgia Dome where Florida State University and South Carolina played in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl - so we rang in the New Year watching FSU win over the Cocks! It was good! I also met Chris and Tracy (who were also visiting Ashley and her husband) - great times with good people!

Ohhhh and the month of January was a bitterly cold one with a few ARTIC BLASTS us Southerners were just not prepared for. It has been a brutal winter for us down here and I think we are all ready for Spring Time! Ugh....but with Spring comes fewer clothes and my 7lbs have since then turned into 12lbs! With all the busi-ness of the holidays, work, and family issues - may lack in exercise and good eating, once again, crept upon me. But I must say, I have been doing well in the gym for the most part and eating right and I'm seeing the scale SLOWLY drop...

I have a beach trip to ring in a 30th birthday for my girl, Erin, in Orlando at the end of April and then we have an Annual Girls Beach Trip planned for June 9th - these two things are really keeping my motivation up!

Oh and before I close, I have to add that I have recently started some ChickBoxing with a MMA trainer - it's a group exercise/training class that I am taking with some of my girls. Last night was MY first night and it was a short and sweet workout! I'm feeling it my "cheeks"...yay!

Until next time...remember to....