{365 Days}

My life has changed a lot since last Saint Patrick's Day.

Not to dwell on the past too much, but I was so sure I knew were my life was headed

this time last year. I was on a new life course and was obsessed with it. Today, it not only

didn't happen like I thought it would, but my path has shifted so completely. I'm still

processing it all. It's taking awhile to sink in and shift from surreal to reality.

Holidays are good mile markers in time. They naturally get me thinking back to what I

was doing that same day the year or decade before. It's funny how the priorities in life

so heavily influence the way I celebrate in a certain moment and time. One thing that

always remains true -- I love having a reason to celebrate! I never plan to let that change.

In 2011 ...

- Lived in the suburbs with D and three four-legged babies

- Just got off the pill and was over-the-moon excited to get my body ready for pregnancy

- Planning a freelance career with a heavier focus on family photography to fit "mom life"

- Doing very little work in journalism

- Drove myself to Cave Creek to shop for house decor and explore a new part of town

- Made Irish Soda Bread and was all about nesting

In 2012 ...

- Single without kids

- Down one four-legged baby :(

- Living in downtown Phoenix with Norah and Oliver

- Weighing 27 pounds less than I did the year before

- Working full time in journalism

- A morning of wrapping up a story and running errands for my new house

- An afternoon with three great friends at Turf Irish Pub in our "hood." :)

One life and moment isn't better then the other.

They're just so different.

One is my present.

The other is my (very recent) past.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around it.

Anyway, back to the present! Here are some photos from the afternoon ...

Left: Here I am with a real life leprechaun!

Right: Me with my BFF Jeff. I know most of you have heard of him. Well, here he is!

I think this is his first appearance on the blog. :)

We were quite a crew, the four of us. We held down the corner of the patio at Turf for a

handful of hours. Kim and Isabelle got started early -- way before either Jeff or I did. :)

All four of us live within ten minutes of each other in Phoenix.

It's nice to have some company down here! I'm lucky to have such amazing friends!!

{Little Boxes Made of Ticky Tacky}

I've been paper crafting. That makes me a very happy girl. This time, altered paper-

mache houses. Today's the day to share the goods.

First, a note: One would think homemade gifts are a no-brainer way to skirt buying things

made overseas. But I'm fairly sure every item I bought from the big craft stores to make

these came from China. *Sigh* It's a tough battle to wage.

They are still really cute, if I don't say so myself. It basically took me three afternoons to

make these, plus time for gathering supplies. Not bad, huh?

I made one, it's in entirety, with these lovely ladies in November. Christa hosted a craft

day, and I walked everyone through the process of making their own.

From left to right: Me, Kendall, Christa, Sarah, D'Arcy, and Patti

Here's what we made! D'Arcy blinged hers out with wreaths, and she built a paper door.

(I love it.) Patti's is the second one in, followed by mine, Kendall's, Christa's, and Sara's.

Sara hand drew molding to her door frame and made an awesome, textured snowy roof.

It doesn't show well in this photo, but trust me, it rocks. They all do.

With one done, I felt inspired to make four more at home. Here's the finished product,

too late to gift for Christmas 2011 done just in time to give as birthday presents in 2012!

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you're all healthy, happy and well. Take care.

{Jingle Bell Pop}

Happy holidays, all! I hope you're having a season filled with festivity, tradition, family,

and memory makers. I wanted to take a minute to thank all the people in our lives

for their friendship and love in the last year. You make our world a better place by being

in it! All of us over here at Link Adventure wish you a very Merry Christmas ...

It's been a weird holiday season for us this year. The cherry on top came yesterday when I

finally had to concede and admit I am really sick. I was in bed all day yesterday, getting up

only occasionally for fluids, medicine or snacks. I managed to have some face time with my

brother (thanks to Apple) and drag my sick soul into the shower and get ready by 11AM

today. Not breaking any records!

But in keeping with the holiday streak I'm on this year of blogging myself in or with silly

seasonal accessories -- I snapped a photo with my $1 reindeer headband today. :)

Merry Christmas!

I'm determined to get well, and I have a stock pile of medicine to help me do it.

And, of course, the best medicine of all -- puppy love!

So, please have a safe and happy holiday! Enjoy each other and the season in good health

and boundless joy. Cheers!

{If I was a Turkey, I'd run on Thanksgiving too!}

David and I ran in our first ever Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day.

This was (proud moment) my second official 5k! I jogged the whole thing, doing just

under an eleven minute mile. I wasn't breaking any records, but I felt great and could

have easily kept going. David -- the marathon man who usually runs about an eight

minute mile -- humored my pace. We did the whole thing together.

There was a Turkey Trot in Chandler the weekend before Thanksgiving, but we wanted to

do it on Thanksgiving Day. So, we headed out to Anthem (an hour from our house). The

trip was worthwhile -- beautiful views and a fun event. It was a perfectly crisp morning

that made for a really nice memory. I'm glad we did it.

It might be crazy talk, but I wonder if I can get my act together enough to do a 10k.

Stay tuned. :)

{A Grateful Spirit is a Growing, Glowing One}

Source: Google Images

Gratitude is becoming a powerful presence in my life. I'm learning it's impossible to simultaneously entertain thoughts that are both negative and positive. With gratitude,

as the saying goes, fear disappears and abundance appears. That's been such an awesome

realization for me, and I'm in love with the changes it's introduced to my reality.

The darkest moments can be brightened with appreciation. Grateful thinking opens me

up to accept love and realize how blessed I am -- with things both big and small. If I so

choose, I can regard everything that happens in my life as a gift from which I can learn and

grow. Of course, that's not always easy to do! I'm still making my way around that learning curve, but I'm enjoying the journey and better for it.

It's easy to focus on the things that trouble us, but it's often (and hopefully always!) true

that the good far outweighs the bad, on any given day. So, when I catch myself feeling

negative, sad, mad, irritated, overwhelmed, or otherwise filled with bad energy -- I can

bring light to my thinking if I pause to make a mental gratitude list. It never fails to

leave me feeling more at peace with my place and space in the Universe.

And for that, I am thankful.

{A Spooktacular Halloween}

Boo!

I thought I'd pop in with a mini update from Halloween weekend. It was a busy and fun

one, for me. I had to work in one form or another Friday through Monday, but I also

made sure it was loaded with candy and friends, as God intended. Mwah-ha-ha!

I went to a third -- "Little Man" themed -- birthday party for Sawyer. :)

Then, Christa and Keith had a Halloween party at their place on Sunday afternoon.

They did it UP! They made so many awesome, festive treats and I think everyone

dressed up for the party -- little kids and "big kids" alike. I was an iron chef.

To round out the festivities, I put on as much lipstick, glitter and eye liner as possible.

Then, D & I hopped in the car and went to Jen and Anthony's to pass out -- and eat! --

a bunch of candy. I loved seeing all the trick-or-treaters in costume. They were pretty

darn cute.

Time to take down all our Halloween decorations now. Ugh.

{A Week with Her}

I'm going back in time just a little for this post ...

Before Mother's Day rolled around, we were trying to think of a nice gift for David's

mom. We decided to give her a getaway to Arizona and time we could all spend

together. It seemed like it would be a nice way to celebrate her -- you know, being

in the same state for a change instead of just sending a gift. It took her about four

seconds to confirm dates and agree to the trip when we called with our idea. That's

when we knew we hit a home run. :)

So, out she came for a week of sunshine in the desert. We had a nice time. It was, as

always, great to see her. We mostly just hung out -- casual dinners, pool time, some

shopping (for houses). We also went out to Taliesin West -- the winter home, studio

and architecture school of Frank Lloyd Wright -- and enjoyed that a lot. I was glad

we finally got out there to take a tour. He was such an interesting personality, artist

and teacher.

Happy Mother's Day to our mom. :) Thanks for loving us and letting us love you!

{Happy Birthday to my Sweet Baby Boy}

Killian would be perfect if he would just stop getting older. I want him to live as long

as I do and be as healthy and energetic as he is right now. Is that too much to ask?




My angel is six years old today. I'll tell you one things for sure, my world has been a

brighter place since he entered it. I love this boy so much!

Happy birthday, Kills. And many more!

{Celebrating With You}

Happy Easter weekend from Arizona!




David and I are enjoying a little stay-cation this weekend on the other side of town.

It's been a fabulous couple days of sun, relaxation, good food, sleep, reconnecting, and

rest. We're actually here to celebrate D's birthday, a week in advance. We thought we'd

hop over to the blog to say hello and wish you all a wonderful Easter weekend.

I noticed -- dare I say -- a trend this year. It sounds like a lot of you who aren't Catholic

still gave something up for lent anyway. I thought that was cool. There's never anything

wrong with adding some habit changing discipline to your life. Did you give up anything

for lent? If so, what and why? And how did it go?

p.s. I hope the Easter bunny came to see you today!

(Photo taken in March at the Tempe Art

Festival with one of the giant rabbits.)

{"African Cats" In Theaters Now}

Happy Earth Day to my fellow Earthlings!

You may remember Disneynature releases "African Cats" to theaters
today in honor of this important holiday. My friend, Jeff Mitchell, is an
awesome movie critic. (Check out his site to find out who's doing what
in movieland and if it's worth your time.) He generously agreed to catch
an advanced screening of the film so he could offer my readers his
review in time for Earth Day and the weekend. What a great guy, huh?
Enjoy ... and pop over to Mitch On Movies when you have a minute.
You'll be glad you did.

(Image is Courtesy of Disneynature,
Google Images)

"African Cats" 3 / 4 stars - Sita! Mara! Layla! Kali! Fang! No, these are not the names of the latest "American Idol" contestants, they are some of the wild animals - or more specifically, cats - you'll meet in the latest feature from Disneynature ("Oceans", "Earth"). Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, "African Cats" follows the drama surrounding the lives of a cheetah and her cubs, a lion and his sons, and a large pride of other lions in Kenya. Directors Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey impress with gorgeous sweeping overhead shots of the Kenyan plains along with the smallest details of lion cubs cooing while playing with their mother on a given pristine morning.
It should be noted that earlier this year, National Geographic released a similar film, "The Last Lions", and I found it more effective than "African Cats." "The Last Lions" centered its story on only one lioness and her difficult journey, and the film's singular focus successfully generated - from me - a measurable vested interest (and strong emotional tugs) to her troublesome odyssey.
In other words, less was more.
And "African Cats" seemed to march in a rhythm where one terrible crisis occurs, followed by a cute shot of a turtle, and another hair-raising event takes place, followed by a fun scene of warthogs playing. Unfortunately, I started to predict the film's pattern after a little while. But I still enjoyed "African Cats." Fothergill's and Scholey's skillful abilities, fascinating shots and successful storytelling shouldn't be discounted. Look, any film that gets this pacifist hoping a cheetah will successfully chase down a harmless gazelle is a near-remarkable feat.

{Disneynature Strikes Again}

Earth Day is coming. Cats will prowl into theaters everywhere on April 22nd.

This will be the third year in a row that Disneynature releases one of their amazing

nature series movies on Earth Day. This year's film is "African Cats," and it looks like

it'll be every bit as entertaining and gorgeous as "Oceans" (2010) and "Earth" (2009).

David and I have made a recent tradition of going to these Disneynature productions

on Earth Day. This year, I know we'll go see it opening weekend, but I'm not sure we'll

make it on Friday. Either way, I'm excited to keep the tradition alive.

The videography, the shots, the amount of time, and the number of cameras involved

in the making of these films is reason enough to go see them. But they also weave

together moving stories about family and survival that show you things you'd

otherwise never get to witness in person.

For me, at least, these movies create an appreciation for how big and amazing this

beautiful Earth of ours is, and how it's filled with incredible beings even in it's most

wild corners. We owe it to ourselves and future generations to take care of this one

of a kind place, and what better day to be reminded of that then on Earth Day.

If you see "African Cats" during opening week, Disneynature will make a donation

in your name that will go toward protecting the Savanna and the majestic cats who

live there. I mention it here today so you have time to plan a trip to the theater.

Have you been doing anything for Earth Month? What are your plans for Earth Day?

{My Little Marshmallow is All Grown Up}

Norah Bean is celebrating her fourth birthday today.

I had to go back and do a little reminiscing.

She was such a cute puppy.

I know they're all cute when they're little and fuzzy like this,

but when you fall fast in love with them, nothing else can hold

a candle to the light they put off in your life.

I called her a marshmallow when she was little because her rear end was so squishy

and light colored like a little Marshmellowy cloud of goodness!

It would be amazing if I could snap my fingers and transform her into a puppy again.

All that extra puppy skin and those sweet, tiny puppy kisses. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Magical.

But then again, I probably wouldn't give anything to change her now. She's too perfect

in every single way. Norah's the best! I love her so much.

Happy birthday, Norah! Let's celebrate, beautiful girl!!