FATHER'S DAY // WISE IN THE WAYS

My dad and I have always been close. There are hundreds of photos of the two of us. The two of us building the shed that stands next to my house. The two of us mowing the lawn. The two of us wearing Mickey Mouse ears. The two of us wearing his work clothes. The two of us with ribbons in our hair...did I mention he was a great dad yet?

The two of us on my high school graduation day.

My dad is chock full of wisdom. He is my financial planner and my travel guide. He has taught me so much, usually on purpose, but occasionally just by being him. I thought I'd share a few of the things that I appreciate about my dad...

 - He is wise in the ways of travel, and a whole bunch of other things.

 - He is a donut purist. A table of dough will be involved in today's festivities, without a doubt. 

 - His daily reminders that "Boys are Pigs" were mostly justified.
 - He was a great 7th grade math tutor, even though I doubted his ability to teach me algebra. 

 - His chocolate chip cheesecake is legendary. 

 - He is occasionally called "Bonfire Bill" for his fire-building skills. 

 - He spends his days dreaming of what he would do upon winning the lottery.
 - He was also a fantastic tennis coach and ball feeder, although his aim was never the best. :) He would often take me out to the courts even after a 1.5 hour commute and a long day of work.
 - He can make a trip to the gas station exciting, with the promise of candy.
 - His nautical skills are enviable.
 - He abhors scrabble, but used to play daily with my mom because she loves it.
 - He currently plays a few rounds of Monopoly Deal each night, because my mom loves it.
 - He is a better stick-shift driving teacher than my mom, even though I haven't picked up on that yet.
 - His college stories can beat mine without a doubt.
 - He has survived 20+ years in a house of all women. That's something.
 - His ability to make our family laugh is unbeatable.

The list could go on... 

MOTHER'S DAY // A LOVELY MOM

My mom (far left), each of her four sisters and their kids in 1995.  My mom is holding my little sister, Megan.  I'm the one with the bowl cut in dead center.  Fashion choices have never been my mom's strong suit. 

Since this blog is all about the lovely little things, it's only fitting that I send some love my mom's way today.  After all, she's the one who taught me to appreciate the little things, live in the present and for goodness sakes, stop worrying!  As I've gotten older, I've learned to appreciate my mom in brand new ways.  Recently, she's taught me that life is never black-and-white simple and finished.  There will always always be something that you can work on, that you can work towards.  In the spirit of appreciating all that my mom has done for me, a list of things that she's taught me might do the trick.

     She's taught me to underestimate myself.  My mom and I may be what they call "pushovers" but this underestimate-yourself-thing translates to humility, a quality that I am so thankful that I've inherited.

     She's taught me that a clean house is overrated.  You'll never remember the state your kitchen is in, but you will remember the random adventure that you embark upon.

     She's taught me that a family that eats together stays together, regardless of if their eating chinese takeout or original family recipes.

     She's taught me to work hard, regardless of how it will be acknowledged.

     She's taught me to love the outdoors.  To enjoy hiking, biking, kayaking and walking.  To realize that bugs come with the territory, but it's all worth it.

     She's taught me plenty about flowers, much to my chagrin.

     She's taught me to appreciate the fall colors, admire the beauty of winter's stillness, dream big in spring, and soak up summer.  On the way home from church on any given sunday in fall, you will be sure to hear my mom mention the "pretty leaves."

     She's taught me how to pick out paint, stain, sew, patch, mend, glue, nail... the list goes on.

     She's taught me to be independent.  My mom became an engineer when it was unheard of for women to do so.  She also lived in an unfamiliar city without my dad for 6 month periods at a time for the six years he was in the Navy.  If that isn't strength, I don't know what is.

     She's taught me that it's okay to eat apple crisp for breakfast and breakfast for dinner.

     She's taught me that whoever your mom is, you will always think her way is the better way.  Mom will always know best (even if she doesn't realize it).  I love you, Mom!

From left to right - my great-grandma, baby me, and my grandma (my mom's mom).  

MAY DAY // FLORALS

photo credit 

The first day of May was always a holiday in our house growing up. We would surprise our neighbors by leaving little bouquets of flowers, picked from my mom's garden.  I'm sure it was just a rouse to get us out of the house on my mom's part, but we looked forward to that sneaky tradition.  After all, who needs an excuse to celebrate April showers bringing May flowers?  Happy May Day!

BIRTHDAY // ON BEING KIND OF LEGAL

As I mentioned in this post, I'm officially 21 and have no fun birthdays left to look forward to.   Since celebrating in style was one of my goals, and another one of my goals was to share my accomplishments,  you lovely folks get to relive my birthday with me!

It actually was, for the most part, quite fun.  My birthday fell on Good Friday, the weekend of Easter.  Since so many friends were heading home for the weekend, it was decided that a Thursday night shindig must happen.

found thanks to the matchbook gals

So it did.  A group of about 8 of us - mostly girls from my sorority, but also my best friend and a few of my good guy friends - headed out to celebrate at a piano bar called Howl at exactly midnight on my birthday.  Actually, I got into the bar at around 11:57 so I was still a bit illegal (that's where the title of this post comes from).

After a short couple hours and a few drinks, it was time to head home.  I was still a good intern and went to work at 8 a.m. the next day.  My free starbucks drink was definitely motivation to roll out of bed!

My coworkers/the company treated me to a nice lunch.  Then, a couple of my non-21 friends took me out to dinner at one of my favorites - a local mexican place.  I ordered a margarita, of course. 

I think what I'm most excited about being of legal drinking age is funnily enough, not drinking.  I'm excited to get into the bars to see concerts!  Of course, I won't say no too a few cool drinks this summer.  My senior year house has the perfect summer backyard!

So that's the story of when I turned 21.  Feel free to mock me about piano dancing any ol' time.

NEW YEAR // HELLO 2012

originally from here

I'm a fairly reflective person to begin with.  Throw in my love for list-making and you have a whole bunch of fun to be had, in my humble opinion.

2011 was good to me.  I'll admit, I felt like I was going through the motions and chugging along relatively uneventfully this year.  I must have a great choreographer though; The motions were pretty great in 2011.

The year brought my first "career-oriented" job, an unpaid internship with a great mentor as an added bonus.  It brought opportunities for more career-related positions as well (you're welcome, 2012).

2011 brought independence.  I spent the summer away from the paradise of Holland, MI for the first time in my life.  I cooked and cleaned in my oh-so-humble apartment-style living, and did it with style.

2011 rewarded me for my hard work.  I earned my first 4.0 in college (!) and spent late nights, even the weekend ones, studying to prove it.  The year also gave me some published works that I'm pretty crazy about.

2011 was the year of the blog reading for me!  Through that, I have a cherished sense of self.  I know what I like much more than I used to.  I have a deeper sense of "me" and I have more confidence in my personal style.  Blog-reading in 2011 also brought a heightened hope of traveling the world.

To sum it up, 2011 was the year of personal development.  Sometimes development is boring and unmemorable while you're in the thick of it.  I think it usually pays off in the future though, at least I hope it does.

I have big plans for 2012.  I wish that 2012 is the year of balance.  I'm taking on so much; It's only necessary for me to gain a whole lot of balancing skills.  I hope 2012 allows me to balance work and school, the present and the future, relaxing me-time and a fun social life, fitness and my love of sleeping in, healthy eating and my favorite indulgences.

Most of all, I hope to face each day with a spirit like this.

originally from here

TRADITIONS // CHRISTMAS

On Saturday night, we participated in another lovely Dobberteen tradition...bell-ringing for Salvation Army!

We ring bells and spread some holiday cheer.  My sister and I prefer to try our hand at an actual tune, while my parents prefer to just let the bell do its thing.  My dad usually whips out a few of his cheesiest dance moves.  My mom wears her fluffiest hat. It's a grand ol' time.

Our "spot" is the corner of James Street and Butternut Road under the eave of the Walgreens.  Doesn't that sound cozy?

In reality, being on the corner of something is usually not so good for standing out in the cold for an hour or so. It gets nippy out their with the wind and the snow!

This year, we were pretty lucky and temperatures were mild.  It was only the second snow of the season and it was pretty timid.

Being on the corner does have its perks.  For one, our bucket is filled pretty quickly!  I even had to use a spare paint stirrer to stuff donations further down into the bucket.  And that's really the whole point.

If you want to spread some Christmas cheer, but can't make it to a Salvation Army bucket near you, consider donating online!

TRADITIONS // CHRISTMAS

Last night was filled with the holiday spirit around these parts.  We went to see the TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA.  (I'm using all caps because they do a lot of yelling..in a good way!)

We've gone to their Christmas concert in Grand Rapids, MI at least 6 times that I can specifically remember.  We've enjoyed their tunes whilst (love that word) searching for the perfect Christmas tree and decorating the house.  It's been a part of our trips through the woods to grandmother's house.

My sister and I are known to air-violin, air-guitar, and air-keyboard along, almost as crazily as these guys.

In case you aren't the TSO groupies that we are, let me brighten your world.  The recipe for TSO is as follows:

     One part traditional string orchestra
     One part rock band
     A handful of lasers and lights
     A dash of pyrotechnics
     And holiday cheer to taste

I didn't take any photos or videos myself, but youtube them.  It will blow your festive socks right off.

I'll be back soon to share another one of our Christmas traditions.  We're doing it tonight, and it will be legendary.

THANKSGIVING // THANKS

Even though this post is slightly post-thanksgiving, it is too perfect of a time to begin my little blogging adventure on such a positive note.  Thanksgiving is such a beautiful, yet underrated, time.  It's smushed in between the candy-and-costume-crazy that is halloween and the adored holiday season.

It's beautiful in it's own right.  It's beauty comes not from what we do, but what we dwell on.  We dwell on all of the good in life.  That reminder is something that I need more than once a year!  It's so so easy to get caught up in the stress of school and all of its obligations and deadlines.  I am so grateful for a break from that whirlwind.

Of course, I am thankful for so many large things (health, a roof over my head, food, warmth, sweet friends, comforting family, a job that I enjoy, an education that I adore).  But I'm also grateful for the little things.  Things like:

      - Shows, like Pan Am and The Amazing Race, that satisfy my wandering soul (for now).
     - The First Amendment (I have a new appreciation for our country's traditions of free thinkers because of my law class... TEAM USA!)
     - Pinterest, it helps a girl dream a bit easier.
     - A brief, albeit quite unbearable, stint until finals at school.
     - Landing my dream internship.  Watch out world!
     - Fuzzy socks and cozy sweaters.
     - That it is officially acceptable to listen to Christmas music (I'm loving this one, that one, and this one too!)

My actual thanksgiving holiday was less than glamorous, yet steeped in tradition.  Just the way I like it. I did miss the parade (but I'll take the extra sleep instead!)   We had a full house of visiting family.  two turkeys. six pies. pounds and pounds of potatoes. a culture of competition via card games. lots of laughing.  and so much more to be grateful for.

What are you thankful for?  Any fun traditions?  Anyone else with an uncommon love of the first amendment?  I'd love to hear from you!