Christmas spirit...

...what is Christmas spirit?  I'm guessing we will have a similar definition...

Here is my question to ponder...why is it Christmas spirit?  Why don't we have yummy, merry spirit EVERY day?  Wouldn't the world be a happier place?!  (not that we aren't happy, but you get my drift)

I am generally so tired of Christmas music (I work retail, and we get to start that in mid-October.  That's my birthday time people!! :), but this year I cannot get enough!  I LOVE pandora!  I adore Michael Buble's Christmas CD!  (yes, i bought an actual cd)  I am obsessed with stretching out the Christmas spirit this year.  Not sure why, but it feels smiley and wonderful and good.  I love feeling smiley and wonderful and good, don't you?

Let's stretch the spirit of happy loveliness...just because we can.  Hug the ones you love.  Tell them how much you adore them.  Smile a.l.o.t.  It gives you gorgeous laugh lines (I am rare and love mine).

Merry merry Christmas.

heart hands and smiles to all, and to all a good night.  :)

Look at this lover that we got from Santa.  He has purred his way into our hearts.

twinkle lights & traditions

Why does it become more "possible" to be patient and kind during the holiday season?  I'm not sure I even need an answer to that question...I just love that it "is."  <sigh>

Maybe the twinkle lights help?!  I know that my spirit is lifted from all the Christmas deco's that were hung in our home today.  Smiling from ear to ear admiring the wonderment that surrounds me tonight.  :)  What a wonderful tradition of decorating we have here.  <3

One tradition in particular makes my heart smile a mile.  My Mom's "snoopy tree."  It stands with pride in my kitchen aglow with every ornament she admired.  She loved her tree so much, it even stayed up year-round sometimes.  Ho Ho Ho, my Paw-paw would say!

Wishing you joy & love this holiday season.

Make it magical.

heart hands and smiles. xox

thx...

thx.  thanks.  THANKS.  thank you.  Thank You.  no really, thank you.  you.

sooooo many things to be thankful for.  i need reminding of that sometimes, i guess we all do.  today for some reason was one of those days.  it's Thanksgiving though, why am i in need of a reminder?  (been pondering that question all day.)

i'm thankful for such a loverly day with family.  the giggles were bountiful with the kiddos, and it makes me a whole new person when i get to soak them in.  sigh.

blessings to you and yours.
signing off with a thankful heart...love, auntie amy

best.walk.ever!  please notice the bucket, which we chocked full of acorns, pecans and leaves...otherwise known as "nature."  :)

left brain, right brain...

what are you???

(Left:) "I am the left brain. I am a scientist. A mathematician. I love the familiar. I categorize. I am accurate. Linear. Analytical. Strategic. I am practical. Always in control. A master of words and language. Realistic. I calculate equations and play with numbers. I am order. I am logic. I know exactly who I am."

(Right:) "I am the right brain. I am creativity. A free spirit. I am passion. Yearning. Sensuality. I am the sound of roaring laughter. I am taste. The feeling of sand beneath bare feet. I am movement. Vivid colors. I am the urge to paint on an empty canvas. I am boundless imagination. Art. Poetry. I sense. I feel. I am everything I wanted to be."

this is an advertisement, but I am moved by it's meaning; not to mention the beautiful colors & description!

i believe we are all a little bit of both, but that is open to interpretation, of course.  i LOVE that about this crazy colorful world we live in.  just sayin.

thanks chrissy for finding and posting this work of art.  it provokes thought and smiles from my soul.

heart hands <3 

lucky 13...

it's my birthday today!!!  I love, love, love birthdays!  i was born on Friday the 13th! (it's my lucky number btw)

what a yummy day it was!  i felt like a Princess...

the weather decided to become amazing today! (thanks Mother N!)

REAL s'mores topped off my loverly day!

pretty sure I am the luckiest birfday girl EVA!

sleep tight all... lots of love.  xoxoxoxoxoxox

to cry or not to cry...

that is the question.

I saw a "tear jerker" movie with my niece last night (Dolphin Tale).  If you know me, you KNOW I was crying.  She asked me "why?"  I said, "Because I'm happy."  Does that make any sense at all, especially to a 6 year old?!  (6 and a half to be correct btw.)  I've been thinking all day about that and my answer is...no.

Do we always need to make sense?  I believe not.  Leave it to a brilliant 6 year old to help us remember that.  "Adults are just big kids." ~CL

Today is an emotional day for me, for my family.  We lost my Mom to the C word 3 years ago.  1,095 days to be exact.  As we march on with our little lives, the positive & loving things keep us going.  Do I want to cry today?  Maybe.

Emotions...happy, sad and everything inbetween.  Express yourself as you see fit.  It's what makes us unique.

heart hands  XOX

auntie amy...

is the BEST job ever!!!
Today I got to...

...deliver cookies as big as their heads!

...see a blue ribbon for her first report card!

...witness her amazing photography skills!  (it's in the genes you know.)

...see an awesome movie!  (Dolphin Tale)

What a wonderful day of Auntie-ing.  sigh.
Did I mention I get to do it again tomorrow?!?
xoxox  auntie amy :)

queen of random...

i love to take pictures...of random, beautiful things.  my aunt Caddah just recently dubbed me "queen of random."  i adore this new title!  (afterall, she is an artist!  a REAL artist.  i just throw out what i see/feel.)  thanks Caddah for reminding me that i am an artist too...in my random way.  keets!

hoola hoop fun!  made for "adults" of all ages!  (growing up is over-rated. just sayin)
xoxox

harry t.

is my Paw-paw, Harry T. Zika.  He would have been 96 today.  Happy birthday to an amazing grandfather, husband, father, friend and chemist.

I got to hug his neck last summer.  The twinkle in his eyes and the love in his heart spreads across generations.

Hello...
my name is
HARRY T. ZIKA
aka, Mr. Tergie

(oh what fun it is to find his nametags!  keets!)

Celebrating you.
All my love,
your amy leigh
xox

happy Alice day...

i LOVE birthday's!

Give me a birthday, I will celebrate it all month!

Today is "Happy Alice Day!"  Please join me in celebrating the most important birthday in my life.  My Mom.  She is the reason I am here and able to 'sing' these joyous words you are reading.  She is dancing with my Daddy and the angels right now.  I wonder how the clouds feel beneath their feet?  I hear the harmony as they sing her birthday song.  "She floats through the air with the greatest of ease..."

She never, ever wanted a fuss.  But this daughter will always make one on her most special day.

Thinking of your wisdom, your smile, your love and guidance Mom.  I miss you so much.  Happy day of you!  It's your birthday.

All my love, your Amy Leigh
xoxxo

thank you...

thank you.  two small words that resonate big meaning.

I hope I was able to thank everyone that made today good.  It was a long and challenging day, so the little things mean even more today...

A reassuring hug, watering the plants & mowing the lawn, cleaning out the coffee maker, bringing me a drink and a treat, making me laugh, expressing your love, doing the "wave," sharing your thoughts, leaving a stickie note, liking my post on facebook, leaving the light on, a sweet text, making me breakfast, a glance at the marvelous moon, writing a thank you note for your birthday treat, fixing the a/c, leading me through tasks, praying for me, affirming me...
...for loving me...just as I am.  (thinking of Bridgette Jones' diary now.)

i am so gracious to this world of wonderful people i have around me.  sigh.

please remember to be thankful, it makes for great things...

thank YOU :), and good night.  <3

three little angels...

....jumping on the bed.  Well, they didn't jump on the bed, but I woulda let them!  After all, being an Auntie has it's perks! ;)  I did get to spend the night with them while their Daddy and Mommy were on a well-deserved vacay though!  Aren't they loverly?!

So much personality...

Yay for macaroni fingers!!!

Thumbs up! 

I am so lucky.  Maybe the luckiest Auntie in the whole wide world.  Hugs and kisses from these three little angels are one of the greatest gifts...ever.  sigh.

white...

White is a wonderful color.  I have learned to appreciate that recently.  :)  What do you think of when you close your eyes and think, "white?"

I think of calm, peaceful, serene, clean & crisp, cuddly towels, ocean surf, clouds...  Lots of yummy thoughts for this quiet color.

I was lucky enough to see a post on facebook today that reiterated my appreciation for white.  What a statement!  I hope you enjoy 10 minutes of pure white heaven...

little lovely gifts...

oh goodness, it's late...i should be in bed.  have i mentioned that i am a night owl?  whooo-whooo?! how do you spell "owl speak" anyway?!  (thanks for that Mom...I will ALWAYS defend our love for sleeping in and staying up late!)

well, i mentioned that I see hearts, right?  look at this beauty I saw while doing the dishes.  i am grateful for seeing these little lovely gifts of hearts.  my wish is that you will see yours too.

heart hands and smiles.

lots of love and thank you for reading.  xox, amy :)

fabulous day of friends...

Friends.  The life line of our existence.  

I want to keep in touch more, but the day to day things get in the way.  It matters not though, for a friend is forever, don't you think?

I was greeted today with hugs from high school friends who were having lunch next door.  A few giggles later I realized that we haven't changed all that much.  I am grateful for this lovely surprise I was given today.

I made a new friend today.  We were meant to meet.  Today.  I believe we were destined to cross paths, intertwine our lives and become friends. 

I am most grateful for the gift of friendship, especially today.

...inserting one of my favorite friend pics...

Yes, we WERE laughing that hysterically.

I hope you laugh a lot today.  xox, amy :)

fish face!

So, can you help but smile when you see it done?  I don't think so...  Make a fish face in the mirror...

now...

No really?!

please?!

I guarantee it will make you smile.  Silly little wonderful things.  I live, love and laugh by them.  Thanks for participating in my antics.  I <3 you for it.  (that's a heart on facebook btw)

Happy fish face kissing all!

perfectly imperfect

Did I mention how much I love hearts?  I see them in unlikely places and it makes my heart smile.  Look at this perfectly imperfect tomato that I was lucky enough to receive today.  I see a heart.  Do you?  Thanks Tanya for sharing your yummy farm tomatoes.  This is one benefit to the hot summer we are having...

little things...

I try to have fresh flowers at home without spending a ton of money.  Look what I did this week with my bargain flowers and extra limes from Sam's. 

This "little thing" makes me very happy (and goes well in our sunroom).  xox

hello world

hi!  I have wanted my own blog and just haven't done it.  I read a friends inspiring blog tonight and decided to "just do it."  This is a test post only.  No clever comments...yet.  :)