Friendship and Cancer

I was just flipping through some pictures one of my favorite websites (www.people.com) and found this picture of Kelly Pickler:

Kelly Pickler with a shaved head? YEP! 

Why did she shave her head?!

Did she have a Britney Spears moment?

NOPE.

She did it to support her best childhood friend, who is battling cancer.

This really hit me and made me thankful for all the great friends I have in my life!

Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather is one of those things that give value to survival."
- C. S. Lewis

On another note...

CANCER SUCKS!

In the past year, I have personally known three families that are affected by it.

Sometimes, all you can ask is WHY?!

Have you guys heard the new Taylor Swift song titled "Ronan"?

Katie shared it with me.

Taylor wrote it for a mom who lost her young son to cancer.

The mom has this blog: http://rockstarronan.com/2012/09/09/hey-maya-its-taylor-swift/

Taylor read her story, met her, and wrote her this song.

Here's a video of Taylor Swift performing it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9Buv4RenxQ

Here's the lyrics:

I remember your bare feet down the hallway
I remember your little laugh
Race cars on the kitchen floor
Plastic dinosaurs, I love you to the moon and back

I remember your blue eyes looking into mine like we had our own secret club
I remember you dancing before bed time then jumping on me waking me up
I can still feel you hold my hand
Little man, from even that moment I knewYou fought it hard like an army guyRemember I leaned in and whispered to you

Come on baby with me
We're gonna fly away from here
You were my best four years

I remember the drive home when the blind hopeTurned to crying and screaming, "Why?"Flowers piled up in the worst way
No one knows what to say about a beautiful boy who died

And it's about to be Halloween You could be anything you wanted if you were still hereI remember the last day when I kissed your face
I whispered in your ear

Come on baby with me
We're gonna fly away from here
Out of this curtained room in this hospital
We'll just disappear
Come on baby with me
We're gonna fly away from here
You were my best four years
What if I'm standing in your closet trying to talk to you?
What if I kept the hand me downs you won't grow into?
And what if I really thought some miracle would see us through?But what if the miracle was even getting one moment with you

Come on baby with me
We're gonna fly away from here
Come on baby with me
We're gonna fly away from here
You were my best four years

I remember your bare feet down the hallway
I love you to the moon and back.

Much Love,

Sara

Peppers, Love and Iowa State University Wins

GOOD AFTERNOON!

Below is a shot of my precious green bell peppers and marconi peppers! I just got done crunching away at the bell pepper. I love raw pepper. It's almost like a chip for me. YUMMO and healthy!

Speaking of "healthy".. Katie turned me on to sauteed carrots. They are delightful. All you do is put olive oil in a pan, add sliced carrots, then cook then on medium heat. Add salt and pepper. They are good.

Below is Colby and I at Outback.

Love love love.

We always get the Outback Special Steak.

You get a 6 oz. steak and two sides (I always get salad and sauteed brocolli with a side of cheese sauce) for $9.99.  I'm sorry but that is a D-E-A-L if I ever saw one, and it's yummo! There are two options on how you can get your steak cooked--wood fired or the original pan seared with normal seasoning. I do the pan seared and Colby does the wood fired. Both are good, but I love the original way (it's the best).

Last Saturday was the annual Iowa vs. Iowa State football game! I root for ISU because I grew up thirty minutes from Ames and had a sister go there.. We went over to my cousin Chris' and had some good food and fellowship. Here's a picture of me, Ashly (colby's sister) and Colby.

Iowa State won!!! Colby's "team" didn't.. So sorry, CA.

The other night, Colby and I had to run some errands, so I took my mom's car because my car has been on the fritz. So, I took the white Camry and off we were. As we were about 5 minutes from my house, this girl pulled right out in front of me---she was supposed to be stopped at the stop sign that was in front of her--causing me to t-bone her--and screw up my mom's car. UFF DA! However, the girls insurance is taking care of it, so I am just happy my mom's insurance isn't going to take a ding! Here is a picture of the car:



Hope everyone's Tuesdays are peachy and filled with love, sunshine, kisses and something to eat that includes apples!

Sara

Earrings! Shopping technique!

I picked up these earrings the other day for $4. I love them. The color is a perfect antique green....I will get lots of wear out of them!

So, I have a new shopping method to try. I am going to shop directly from outfits on my pinterest board! I know, brilliant. Right?! Lol. I am sure y'all have been doing this for the last year...but the light bulb just went off for me! I always struggle to put things together because I buy bits and pieces. Plus, a huge section of my wardrobe are mom clothes. Meaning, comfy but still acceptable for public. I hope it will bring some cohesion to my wardrobe. Here are some items I am lusting over on my board!!!

Cardigans!!!...especially this cute animal print!  Plus I love how the t-shirt underneath makes it look more casual!

Cardigan in neutral with a darling belt!  Totally Mommified but super cute!

POLKA DOTS!  Classic cuteness.

Scarves!  I love this chunky scarf...this is the perfect Saturday lounge scarf!

Little Yellow Dress!

I am soooo mad at myself for not getting a better picture of my new yellow dress!  ERG!!
Jon and I road-tripped to Minneapolis for the weekend to visit our besties....somehow the girls won on our Saturday activity!  We spent the day at IKEA and The Mall of America!!  YAY!!  We didn't get a ton of shopping time because of our kiddos...but I did manage to find this cute yellow dress from H&M!  It was on sale for $20!  It wasn't a total steal...but for all the wear it will get....it was well worth an Andrew Jackson from my wallet!  Next time I wear it, I'll try to get a better pic! 

I hope you all are surviving this little heat wave!!  I am looking forward to the cooler weather this weekend!  Love to you!
Katie

Life Lately

This weekend was a busy one! I love any holiday that falls on a weekend!

Friday night, I spent the night at my friend Kelly's house. We were overall pretty lazy and hung out watching movies.  Here's a funny picture I had her hubby take of us:

Allie (baby sister), me and Kell Bell! When I sent Colby this pic, he goes: "Whose the hot librarian in the center?" HEHE. I have a sweet BF.

Saturday morning, I was up bright and early to play in my highschool's Alumni Tournament. I haven't played in a couple years and it was really fun! It is always good seeing everyone together. Makes you feel like a kid again:) I did realize that I am officially OLD because my arm was killing me from being the catcher and throwing the ball to the pitcher---literally it felt like it was going to fall off!!



Sunday I went to a church, then a church picnic.  Here's what I wore to church:

I got this dress from Charolette Russe forever ago (it's got cute little buttons and fixed me well). It was a cheap sale rack dress. The boot are real Ostrich boots I received from my friend LaNeysa. The sunglasses are freebies I got at the Rascall Flatts concert.

Sunday night...went to play Nertz (card game that is aka as Pounce, Racing Demon, Peanuts or Squeal) with my card club! We had a great turnout and things got pretty competitive--even though my team lost horrendously! If you haven't ever heard of Nertz.. you need to go buy some cards and play! Here's a link on how to play..http://www.pagat.com/patience/nerts.html. Here's a picture of what its (kind of) like:



Monday, I was a pretty big bum all day. I went to play volleyball that night and it was a blast! A bunch of people went up to a park and just played pick-up games. I really loved it.. and I discovered I can actually serve pretty well!

Random things I haven't blogged about lately.....

Last Thursday night, we went out to celebrate my friend Lindsay's graduation from Nurse Practitioner school! We went to Centro downtown and then to Chili's for a Molten Lava Cake. YUMMMO! Congrats Lindsay!!

Last weekend, I attended my highschool's State-Qualifying Basketball reunion! I was a statician for this basketball team, and our old coach invited all the players and the "stat" gals. It was really fun and was a nice way to remember the success the team had!

Colby got a new shirt! It's cute:)

MUAHHH!

Mom turned 50! Dad got her a stretch Hummer, took out a bunch of people for dinner, had a party, got her granite countertops, and much more! Great bday if you ask me! Love you mama!!

Basically this post was a compilation of iPhone pictures that made me think about events I hadn't blogged about! MUCH LOVE.

Sara

If I could have everything I wanted.....

I wanted to make a list of things I would aquire if I could have every tangible thing I wanted. Here goes:

1. A house in the country with 2 horses, a coop full of chickens, 1 goat, 1 cow and a couple dogs and cats running around. I'd want the house to have a big porch where my family could hang out in the evenings. Also, I would love having an outdoor shower.  This picture looks nice, huh? Love the green roof and brick chimney. Colby would need to have a big barn/shed looking building.

2. A nice car... Preferrably a jacked up truck that got 45 mpg.. I don't think this exists, but still this is just me wishing! I think trucks like this look cool because they are old school.



In all seriousness, here are some other cars I want:

Mini Cooper Roadster. How cute!

Range Rover. The inside of this looks so nice.

3. This plane:





Cirrus SR-22

4. On a random note, I am having a really hard time thinking about things I want.. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing????

5. A winning lottery ticket for $210 million dollars! HAHA.

6. Celebrity Closet (Jennifer Aniston). I love her style, its casual, yet on-point at all times. Plus, I would love a posh looking closet!



7. A garden that contained: every kind of pepper imaginable, roses, wild flowers, hydrangeas, sweet corn, snap peas, green beans, herbs to cook with, tomatoes (just for things like salsa, I don't like tomatoes), squash, zuccini, strawberries, red raspberries, black raspberries, blackberries, some red grapes, and watermelon.



8. Shelves and shelves of these:



9. Four children: boy, boy, girl, then boy! I have all their names picked out too!



Vander Ross

Mac Bradley

Chesney Renee

______ Colby

(Please don't steal my non-existent children's names!!!! HAHA, but seriously).

10. Nothing else!

Much Love,

Sara

Hallie's first day and Better than thrifted clothes.

So...I really do have good excuses for my lack of posting.  I figured I better post about them!  We had a couple of fun play dates last week!  Play dates are one way SAHMs (stay-at-home-moms) keep their sanity...just in case you were wondering.  Beyond that, I spent a lot of last week thinking about and preparing Hallie for back-to-school.  We met her teacher (who was lovey) and did a little shopping.  I wanted her to feel special for her first day!  She picked out an outfit and a cute backpack on our shopping date.  Here is my little Hallie sporting her new items!

Hallie also had her first soccer game on Saturday!  She scored 2 goals and had a blast!  She was so excited the whole entire game!

Did you know there are clothes out there that are cheaper than thrift store prices?  No lie.  They can be found in your friends and family's closet!! LOL.  My girlfriend Ally cleaned out her closet and gave me a bag of clothes!  She gave me a lot of really great items!  I have already worn several.  Here are a couple low quality photos to prove it!  Both of these tops came from Ally!

I am going to post later about my mom's big bash for her 50th!  For now, I will leave you with this photo of Sara and I at the Iowa State Fair.  Unfortunately, thanks to Instagram crop, you cannot see the giant Dutch shoes we are standing in. Good times.

Love to you,
Katie
    

sentimental cards and how much I love them

Have you ever gotten a card from your friend, family member, lover, etc. and just LOVED what it contained? It's crazy to me how much I loooove getting cards from Colby and my dad.

All my life, my dad has always written his girls sweet, mushy-gushy cards. Every Christmas,  most birthdays, you can expect a nice card from my dad that highlights every accomplishment that has happened in the last year/few months of your life. He tells us how proud he is of us, how much he loves us, etc. It's better than any gift  he could really give me (well maybe not any gift, but 99% of gifts!). One year, he even wrote us letters on a softball (he had purchased us all softball gloves, so it was kind of themed).

The point of this story is that I really do love personal cards. Colby is not a huge card writer, but when he does write me a card, or a note on flowers, etc., I love it and save it in my wallet, on a mirror, etc. until it gets all crumply.  On my bathroom mirror, I have a note from our First Anniversary that is a little note about how he loves me, then it has "1.. 2.. 3.. 4.. 5..-->Forever" with the 1 crossed off (meaning we made it a year, lets mark off years til forever)!  Last Valentine's Day, he wrote me a card that wrote every attribute he loved about me. It made me glow inside and I kept it in my wallet forever (until I switched wallets and it wouldn't fit!). I love hearing the deep, "mushy gushy" feelings that Colby has for me, especially because he's not super "wordy" or mushy gushy, so when he does get a little mushy gushy, I melt!

Anyways, here are some great letters between famous couples I found via online places. I underlined my favorite parts!

 Ludwig van Beethoven
 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), one of history's most famous and mysterious composers died at the age of 57 with one great secret. Upon his death, a love letter was found among his possessions. It was written to an unknown woman who Beethoven simply called his *Immortal Beloved.* The world may never put a face with this mysterious woman or know the circumstances of their affair and his letters are all that is left of a love as intensely passionate as the music for which Beethoven became famous. Compositions such as the Moonlight Sonata as well as Beethoven's many symphonies express eloquently the tragedy of a relationship never publicly realized.

July 6, 1806
My angel, my all, my very self -- only a few words today and at that with your pencil -- not till tomorrow will my lodgings be definitely determined upon -- what a useless waste of time. Why this deep sorrow where necessity speaks -- can our love endure except through sacrifices -- except through not demanding everything -- can you change it that you are not wholly mine, I not wholly thine?
Oh, God! look out into the beauties of nature and comfort yourself with that which must be -- love demands everything and that very justly -- that it is with me so far as you are concerned, and you with me. If we were wholly united you would feel the pain of it as little as I!
Now a quick change to things internal from things external. We shall surely see each other; moreover, I cannot communicate to you the observations I have made during the last few days touching my own life -- if our hearts were always close together I would make none of the kind. My heart is full of many things to say to you - Ah! -- there are moments when I feel that speech is nothing after all -- cheer up -- remain my true, only treasure, my all as I am yours; the gods must send us the rest that which shall be best for us.

Your faithful,
Ludwig 

Napolean Bonaparte (this guy knows how to talk to his lover!!)
 In addition to being a brilliant military mind and feared ruler, Napolean Bonaparte (1763 - 1821) was a prolific writer of letters. He reportedly wrote as many as 75,000 letters in his lifetime, many of them to his beautiful wife, Josephine, both before and during their marriage. This letter, written just prior to their 1796 wedding, shows surprising tenderness and emotion from the future emperor.

Paris, December 1795
I wake filled with thoughts of you. Your portrait and the intoxicating evening which we spent yesterday have left my senses in turmoil. Sweet, incomparable Josephine, what a strange effect you have on my heart! Are you angry? Do I see you looking sad? Are you worried?... My soul aches with sorrow, and there can be no rest for you lover; but is there still more in store for me when, yielding to the profound feelings which overwhelm me, I draw from your lips, from your heart a love which consumes me with fire? Ah! it was last night that I fully realized how false an image of you your portrait gives!
You are leaving at noon; I shall see you in three hours.
Until then, mio dolce amor, a thousand kisses; but give me none in return, for they set my blood on fire.

Mark Twain:  I like this because its simply expressive and not over the top. Seems very heart felt and sexy rugged!!
May 12, 1869

Out of the depths of my happy heart wells a great tide of love and prayer for this priceless treasure that is confided to my life-long keeping.

You cannot see its intangible waves as they flow towards you, darling, but in these lines you will hear, as it were, the distant beating of the surf.
Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens), American writer, to Olivia Langdon, his future wife.

I love reading old letters when couples used to write back and forth! My grandparents have some letters like that and its such a cool thing to keep around for your kids/grandkids to read one day!

Anyways, Happy Friday!

Sara

Family

I love my family. Truly and deeply, even when some of them drive me crazy. I love everything that a family is, represents, supplies, gives and does.  Being a sister, daughter, auntie, granddaughter, cousin and niece to such a wonderful family fulfills a large part of my life. I love it.

This is my entire immediate family. Bowen (nephew), John (Bro-in-law & Katie's hubby), Katie, Lisa (sister), Jude (nephew), my mom, Harper (niece), Hallie(niece), my dad, Landon (nephew), me, Allison (sister), Grant and Ryan (bro-in-laws).

 

Very thankful to have all of these people in my life. Thank you, Lord.

Sara

Some Things...

The other night, I went  out to dinner and Salvation Army with my dear friend, Amber! We ate at Noodle Zoo and feasted on chicken fajita salad. It.is.so.good. YUMM. Then, we went to Salvation Army. Amber had been wanting to go, and for the most part, I think she liked it. Here's a couple pictures of a cute white inlet top I purchased for around $1.50.

I loved the sleeves. They are dainty and feminine:) I wore this to the Rascal Flatts concert that a ton of people went to last night. Their openings acts were INSANE..They had Eli Young Band (MY FAVES!), Little Big Town and Eden's Edge. Such a great line up.

Here's some group shots (missing lots of ppl but the only ones I've got!):

PS: I loved the earrings I had on.. can you see them? They are torquoise and dainty.

I have had such a busy week. Last week, I traveled to Oklahoma for work on Tuesday and Wednesday, got back around 6pm, picked up Katie and Deana, then hauled our fannies down to the Iowa State Fair to watch Hunter Hayes on the free stage. Colby had a surprise for me and had gotten us a pass to do a meet and greet with him! It's nice having him work for the fair! Here's our pic with Mr. Hayes:

This is Katie's hot pink tank top. I love it. She got it as a gift from TJ Maxx.

On Friday, I went to the Fair with all my family! We do this every year and it is a blast. Such a great time to hang out with everyone and see the kids enjoy themselves. Well this year, we were in for a treat: we saw a baby calf be born! It was soo surreal and made me want to be pregnant!  Hallie, my oldest niece and Katie's firstborn, was there to see it and she loved it! She kept saying, "Do you see that, Sara?!" The vet had to hook a rope around the calf's feet and yank him out, and the poor mama cow looked like she was in so much pain! As soon as the calf came out, Mama Cow walked over and started licking the baby. It was such a powerful moment! Simply amazing to see something like that! Here's some pictures:

You can see the feet/hooves being pulled out of the Mama Cow here.

Mama Cow immediately started licking Baby Calf. So precious.



On Saturday afternoon, I helped my mom and dad install hardwood floors. They are beautiful! It was nice to be able to learn how to install the flooring, too. I think my neck will be mad at me for weeks because of it, though! (I really need a better pillow, I'm thinking. My neck is always out of wack). Here's some pictures of the progress made:

I think Mom and Dad are going to be really happy with it!

And... last but not least, here is an update on my pepper plants! They are just taking off. I have around 5 medium sized peppers, with lots more hanging, just getting ready to get picked! I can't wait until I can actually pick them! Here's a picture:


Anyways, have a happy Monday! It is absolutely gorgeous outside today!  I LOVE IT. I have been humming, "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day in the neighborhood, so won't you be mine?"  (Loved me some Mr. Rogers back in the day.. Quality TV show if you ask me!).

Sara