{Three blog posts in one day... that's a new record!}
Today has been one of those days... between tornado warnings {that didn't stop me from going running + taking this picture on my iPhone} and having a to-do list a mile long full of mundane "adult things" and bursting in to tears in the toothbrush aisle of Target... my goodness, I haven't had one of these hot mess kind of days in a while.
I'm sure it has something everything to do with the sudden realization that moving forward definitely isn't necessarily concurrent with moving on... not to mention that there are big LIFE decisions that I need to make in the next two weeks and I hate making decisions more than anything... seriously, if I could apply the rules of the game of LIFE to my actual life I would totally leave my future up to a noisy spinner even if it meant living in a split-level shack, adopting twin boys, being a cop (& getting $5,000 every time someone rolled a 10) + building a better mousetrap... as long as all those life tracks were chosen for me...
I'm positive this funk is nothing a long run, a yoga session (thank you, Groupon!), a bouquet of yellow daffodils, a tall glass of wine, a long hot bath & a skype date with my bestie can't cure but for now I'll just keep pressing replay on this little beauty to bring sunshine to my gloomy day:
Keep cool + carry on.
And to my new followers, can I just extend the biggest "Welcome!!" to y'all! I'm so happy you're here! Make yourself at home & wherever you're reading this from, pour yourself a glass of Viognier & enjoy! That way, if you totally loathe the 'Burb & find yourself wishing you could have those 2 hours back (my rough estimate of how long it will take you to go all the way back to 2007!)... you'll still have gotten to enjoy a lovely carafe of wine... which is never a waste of time in my eyes! Caio bellas!
** Update: I started writing this post before I had the aforementioned Skype date with my bestie. Then she called + I got sidetracked like I often do and held a full-on pity-party for my heart-broken self in which I think the exact words "I just don't know if I'll ever be able to stop loving him!" left my blubbering mouth. Mid sad-session (a girl's allowed to have 'em... besides mine are few + far between these days!) I received an e-mail that LITERALLY turned my frown upside down... I'm talkin' rightoutofamovie irony laughing at how pathetically, hopelessly romantic I can be at times! Seriously, it was something that I NEVER IN A CAJILLION YEARS would have dreamed would happen to little ole me but it totally did AND it totally redirected my thinking... It's also still a long shot away from being a "reality" so until it happens, I'm keepin' it a secret!" I don't want to jinx the opportunity to meet Mr. Right. =) **
JK: Do I just cut into it?
MD: I don't know; I've never seen a mango.
JK: How do I know if I'm allergic? Don't people have severe allergic reactions to mangoes?
MD: Try it.
JK: Why is it so sour?
MD: Maybe it's not ripe.
JK: Well, how do you know if it's ripe?
MD: I don't know. That's why I'm eating a brownie.
JK: (longingly gazes in to her bowl}
MD: ...With ice cream.
JK: I'm not eating a brownie until I eat something of sustenance first.
MD: Like a mango?
JK: Maybe! It almost tastes spicy. Is it supposed to?
MD: Well, Mexicans like them... so maybe?
JK: ugghh... is there a pit in the middle that I can't see? Why won't it cut?
MD: Google "how to cut a mango". Honestly, have you ever seen someone eating a mango?
JK: I don't think so.
MD: Well, maybe it's not something you're supposed to eat outright. Like they're only meant to be blended in smoothies.
JK: F*ck it. I'm eating a brownie.
JK:... with ice cream.
My Darling Reesey Bird:
I can hardly believe you are six months old. The amount of sugarcoated happiness + sunshiney rejuvenation that your presence has brought to my life has filled my heart so incredibly full, I often fear it may burst... but it always seems to grow a little bigger, expand a little wider... and allow me to fall more in love with your sweetness everyday.
I love your high-pitched shrieks + squeals that always echo loudest mid-air.
I love your sense of adventure...
...& how you pay close attention to all the little details, never ever missing a beat.
I love how you smile so coyly when I whisper your name.
I love your wide-mouthed kisses...
& the way your long eyelashes flutter... like tiny angel wings.
You, my sweet niece, are loved beyond measure.
Bear hugs & eskimo kisses,
Auntie Awesome
My plane home is 23 hours canceled kind of delayed due to this balmy weather and while the rain may be taking precious hours off the amount of beauty sleep I will receive tonight (getting home at approximately 1am and up for work a painfully few 4 hours later tomorrow at 3:30p.m...) I'm not going to let it rain on my much-to-celebrate-monday parade! Not an optimist's chance... I just ordered myself an extra tall blue moon in this here airport and am utilizing these hours I didn't think I'd get today to blog! =)
First and foremost, can I tell you how excited I am for Britney Spears new album to drop tomorrow?? THIS video was taken by my dear friend, Biddy, in Vegas 2 years ago almost to the date when him & I saw B. Spears perform at the MGM in Vegas! I was so excited I could hardly contain myself... as evidence by my daft giggling + insane HAIR ... and he recorded the video to prove it/let me never forget it! But the shiny silver lining to the huge black rain cloud that is encumbering the entire state of Florida (and making me question whether I will be making it home tonight! Question answered! Officially grounded.) is that I will still be awake tonight when my pre-ordered CD is uploaded to my iTunes at midnight. Winning!!
Can I get a fist pump for my sexy wedding date this weekend?? Not only is it reason enough to celebrate getting to see this beautiful woman for four fabulous days but I'm celebrating the fact that this is the first time in my entire life that it didn't feel like an eternity since the last time I saw her! I have gotten to spend so much time with Grams these past few months she almost could be considered a part of my "everyday life"!! Good night!!
And can we talk about how happy + lucky I feel... to live my life?? Can we talk about how lucky I am to be going to GRAD SCHOOL in the fall?!! Can I tell you that I am so happy I could just cartwheel for receiving a SECOND acceptance letter last week!? I swear I am having deja vu as 2 weeks ago when I spent my weekend in Knoxville with Reese + Kara + Creed, I was celebrating my acceptance in to Vanderbilt University and this weekend: University of Washington! (Read: the #1 nursing school in the country!!!) What's a happy-go-lucky but terribly {indecisive} girl to do?? {double chin alert}
I guess there's only one thing to do... hop on the next flight to Seattle and check out my prospective future alma mater... of a MASTERS DEGREE... and hope that my answer lies in the copious amounts of coffee shops + opportunities to wear Wellingtons that Seattle offers!! =) Ohmyword. Although I have only 13 days to decide where... I am really actually going to have 3 new + awesome letters behind my name next year: J. Kirk, RN, BSN, NNP .... So, so celebrating how much I LOVE the sound of that!! =)
Isn't celebrating the absolute best way to start each new week? Only thing better is getting to celebrate with my favourite little monkey today!! Reese is most definitely celebrating, too... by sitting up all by herself!! & you better believe there are more pictures to follow of her + that ridiculously cute beanie!!
The Luckadoo-Overby Wedding Weekend is in full swing. The Gators are currently beating Butler 23-15. I just consumed the most delectable BBQ food: mac & cheese from scratch + hush puppies... delish!! Needless-to-say, this weekend is jam-packed full of family & fun! I have a little down time between the luncheon before the evening ceremony + dessert reception... and thought I would take this time to give you the opportunity to share a little blog love + grab a Suburbs of Utopia button! Take your pick! I made 2! =)
Hope y'all are having a fabulous weekend filled of rolling over + over + over, fake coughing, baby squeals, making animal noises, reading books with 3 words on each page (even better when they rhyme)... or whatever tickles your fancy (like a Burb-ia button!)... but swooning over Reese is definitely what's ticklin' mine on this nice day for a white wedding! =)
... but my life has come full circle and post-hibernation, I have reverted back to the ole' "sleep on Sundays" mantra. Instead of spending every minute of darkness asleep (when the sun set at 4:30 there were a lot of unlit hours to be wasted while in the Tundra...) wishfully hoping that when I opened my eyes the snow would have melted, the temp would have climbed a mere 80 degrees and I would have a boyfriend who loved me I would find the strength to wake up + smell the roses... Photo Taken @ Carmel-by-the-Sea along the PCH in California
... I now buy flowers by the dozen {for myself, because I am single-ly awesome like that!} + spend every spare second, even the ones in which I should be sleeping, carpe-ing the crap out of every damn diem {mantra #2}! Quick Confession: Last year, almost every night, I slept longer than the combined total of sleep I have received in the last 3 or 4 days of my newly reclaimed life... and I don't even miss my REM cycle... Sidebar: The first time my toes touched the Pacific Ocean in Pebble Beach. I had no idea just what kind of opportunities were in store when I relocated to LaLaLand. My toes will touch the O.P. again in a couple of weeks + my goodness, opportunity will be right along with my reunification with the West Coast... but more on that in another post...
... not for a {sleep-deprived} second! What I'm trying to say is... I've been busy loving life + the 'Burb has been getting put on the back burner of the proverbial oven of my life... we all know I refuse to turn the real oven in my life on... especially after last night's cooking fi.as.co. =( But... there's a lot of really awesome drafts saved + about twenty minutes of editing for some super spectacular vlogs coming your way but for now I must clean & pack & do laundry & paint my nails & pluck my eyebrows sleep for I am boarding a plane in t-9 hours + I'm super excited for this weekend + to witness 2 lovebirds say "I Dizzle"!
oh ya, + kiss + squish + love on this 6-month-old!! eeee yaaay!
p.s. It's Great to Be An *Elite Eight* Florida Gator!! =)
It's half past midnight & I'm too sleepy (& stuffed of homemade cheesecake!) to try to put in to words how wonderful being a part of my little lovely's SIXTH birthday celebration today was and also how my niece turned six months old as well & oh my goodness! how their existence has rocked my world {in a fabulous way} but I promise to post the skinny tomorrow... and hopefully finish editing my tutorial for March that included this magnificent homemade comp-pod:
Remember that happy-go-lucky, internally optimistic lover of life that I was super afraid that I had lost frozen stiff in my wild adventure: Tundra 2010? ... Well, not only did I find her again (Welcome back, self!) but she is ALIVE and in love with life on a whole new level... I'm talkin' cosmic... and this post is proof!! =)
With this fully restored pathologically peppy demeanor, I'm discovering that outlets worth swooning over are everywhere these days... not just in running, skyping, Starbucks, baking funfetti... & all my other standard vices... but I'm recognizing the smallest fraction of fancy in the most random of locations... and scattering joy accordingly.
*I did not take this picture but I kid you not, my view looked EXACTLY like this last night!*
1. The super{moon} and the super{sunset} that preceded its arrival. Albeit I was locked in the sterile bubble I call work all day and had not caught wind that there was going to be anything super about the sun or the moon Saturday night, I immediately noticed how massive the sun appeared the second I drove off the island. To my right, the sun's reflection had turned all the buildings that the Tampa Bay skyline is comprised of in to beautiful shades of pink and as I drove West along Bayshore Drive, the vibrant light on my left nearly blinded me as it sloooowly melted in to the horizon... in which I think I started to do the sloooow clap because it was honestly, the most amazing, most fluorescent orange sunset I'd ever seen & it wasn't a quick flash either... it lasted for forever! + then the GIGANTIC moon came out & shined brighter than the aforementioned sun! Nature's night light.
2. Whipped cream vodka... Alcohol that tastes like cake? Yes, please! I could seriously drink it for breakfast, lunch and dinner... but that would make me an alcoholic so I try to limit my W.C.F.V. consumption for the really special occasions... that which my liver feels strong enough to rise to. Like weekends.
Love you, liver!
3. Six words: Josh Kelley's crossover to country music. swoon
4. Anything and everything yellow. Especially in the mustard hue.
"Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness!" - Joseph Pilates
5. Pilates Reformer classes are the new hot yoga... in my life, anyways. I went to one 60-minute private session and my abs hurt so bad afterwards I couldn't even touch them without wincing from the pain. Reformer: 1 Me: 0.
6. Whole Foods Hot Bar. Cuisine from around the world. Bring on the curried seitan, Thai fried tofu, mac & cheese combo. Delish! And what would a meal be without dessert?
7. Yummm. The girl who might have been informally known at her last job as "the girl from California always eating avocadoes?!" Ya, that's me & as for my new favourite way to consume my favorite fruiteggie... as ice cream! I definitely walked around Whole Foods eating a heaping bowl of avocado-flavoured (the flavour of the month!) gelato while I grocery shopped the other night. I highly recommend this method of multi-tasking to everyone.
And this adorable little gourmet popsicle place in Nashville appropriately named Las Paletas? Must. try. it. & my popsicle flavour of choice? Avocado. P.S. How cute is pregnant Jess eating cliche ice cream? You better believe I have photogs of her eating pickles, too.
9. Gator Basketball... fantastic! I was lucky enough to attend the first game of this year's March Madness right here in Tampa... 20 rows up from the court on Thursday! GOOO Gators... sixteen has never been so sweet! =)
10. Braids. I'm fairly certain I have worn a braid in my hair every day for the past month... which makes me also fairly certain that my nickname at my new job will be "the traveler who always has a braid in her hair?"... but I don't mind.
So much to swooon over this Sunday... but as tomorrow makes shift 4/4 and I've had 3 sleepless nights in between said shifts filled of guzzling whoamIkidding nursing green beer, NCAA, and a glimpse at the nightlife that is South Tampa, I'm currently swooning over every feather in my pillow + cannot wait to catch some zzz's!
... why, spring time, it's you!!
So happy to see ya... and that beautiful extra hour of daylight you have in tow.
Your fever? I've caught it + its propelled me to move forward... one cautionary step at a time.
I've committed to doing some {soul} cleaning... beginning with dusting my boots off... and realigning my dreams + reality.
Spring, you've sprung me straight in to training mode... every mile accompanied by immense mental clarity... and a hopeless romantic fighting hard not to look back...
You've provided time for me to take breaks + smell the freshly bloomed flowers + breathe in the cool breeze that accompanies your warm sunny days... as winter makes its final escape + I can pack away my sweaters... and iron all my white.
While I am equally spending today celebratin' how excited I am for The Bachelor (Kara, I loathe you for getting me addicted to reality-TV-at-its-finest-worst + that now I secretly aspire to be the next Bachelorette!) season finale that is on tonight ... & that its my roommates' THREE YEAR anniversary today (yaay for y'all! Have I mentioned how much I just love meg+david?)... & being able to buy gender-specific coloured clothing for my preggo bestie because she found out what combination of X's and Y's she will be welcoming in to the world come August (and let me in on her little secret!)... & that the feeling of spring break has permeated South Tampa's streets...& the weather... ya, its 75 degrees again today! & I'm headed to the beach... in a bikini + cowboy hat. =)... but mostly I'm celebrating a little letter I received in the mail last week: {How chubby are my fingers?!}
Dear Ms. Kirk,
It's official. You're going to be a Master!
Love,
Vanderbilt --- an SEC school, 2.5 hours from my sister/Reese, located in a kickass city with a program that will allow me to be an NNP next summer!! =)
Life just keeps getting better + better. I actually found out a few weeks ago when I just so happened to be in Nashville + just so happened to stop by the nursing school office where my file just so happened to be sitting on the admissions council's desk when I learned I just so happened to get in...
The administrator said it so nonchalantly... "Oh, what's your name? Your files right in front of me. Ya, you were accepted, young lady!"... that I almost didn't believe it until Carly called me back: "You were accepted in to Vandy?! Shut the f*ck up!" ... and it was those four sweet congratulatory words that confirmed that this was JUST SO HUGE! But I haven't spoken much about it because I really have kinda been in total disbelief/not 100% positive that is where I would be going but my official letter arrived last week and its real, baby! I'm going to be a Master!!! I can hardly wait to go lab coat shopping!! =)
Oh, much-to-celebrate-Monday! I'm just so happy you're here + filled to the brim with goodness! =)
I was able to escape to Knoxville the last two days to visit Kara and Reese. Reese + I have spent countless moments snuggling, have gone on bear hunts walks, read 34563 books, taken a few photo shoots, played dress-up and talked about boys. Kara + I have played yahtzee/cribbage/skip-bo/repeat, drank gallons of sweet tea and watched hours of March Madness (Gators > Volunteers!). My car is loaded with every article of clothing I own and everything on my weekend-away to-do list is complete... but I'm not ready to leave.
It's beginning to feel like home around here and I quite love it. While floating-like-a-feather-in-the-wind is more congruent with my on-the-go {life}style, there's something incredibly appeasing about the comforts of coming home.
When you walk in the door and the waft of fresh baked cookies hits you as you enter (a staple around here). When you gather in front of the TV to watch Jeopardy! and enjoy the roast that has been stewing in the crock pot all day (with the paper still on... Kara!) When the baby's bedtime routine -bath/books/bottle - allows her to fall instantly asleep + those long eyelashes begin to flutter. When you slip in to your crisp linens at the end of the day and sink in to a sea of pillows.
Being home is that feeling when the rest of the world has dozed off + you lay awake in the affable still of the darkness... accompanied solely by the light of the moon... right before you begin to dream... when your mind quiets too and says, "ahh, I'm home."
Its the simple things, the small things that make it impossible for me to leave... without shedding a few tears first. And staring in my rearview mirror until Georgia. And questioning my intentions. And counting my blessings. And reminding me to be ever-thankful for the super-soon opportunity to do it all again. The weekend-after-next. =)
My Mixed Tape: Mixed Emotions
SiDeA:
1. Britney Spears - Till the World Ends.
2. Chris Brown - Yeah 3X.
3. Billy Currington - Let Me Down Easy.
4. Adele - Rolling In the Deep.
5. Flo Rida ft. Akon - Who Dat Girl.
6. Airborne Toxic Event - Changing.
7. Mumford & Sons - The Cave.
8. Rihanna - S &M.
9. The Band Perry - You Lie.
10. Young the Giant - My Body.
SiDe B:
1. Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F).
2. Black Eyed Peas - Gettin' Over You.
3. Esmee Denters ft. Justin Timberlake - Love Dealer.
4. Miranda Lambert - Heart Like Mine.
5. Neon Trees - Animal.
6. Diplo & Tiesto ft. Busta Rhymes - C'mon (Catch 'Em by Surprise)
7. K.T. Tunstall - Suddenly I See.
8. Young the Giant - My Body.
9. Snoop Dogg - Sweat.
10. Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream **the song I currently cannot stop listening to!**
Only thirteen more days til I see you again, baby girl! =)
I'm writing this in a thunderstorm. Its a full-on downpour outside + while I hope the rain stops before I drive South this afternoon, I am absolutely loving waking up to Mother Nature + the pitter-patter of raindrops on my window. Accompanied by the occasional crack of lightning not far off in the distance, this rain shower is a blissful reminder of the temperature outside... warm enough to rain (Read: Not cold enough to snow!) In addition to the weather in Southwest Florida, there's so much to celebrate this week it just makes me want to go dancing in the streets... even if its raining!
I am celebrating Carly's fifteen seconds of fame on Tosh.0 this week. So proud of you + all the awesomeness you exude every day in the form of raunchy blog posts. Love you, lifewife! =)
I am celebrating getting to see my sweet baby Reese in T minus seven hours. I think my heart might explode when I land back in Tennessee this afternoon + squish those little rolls. My weekend away starts today and after standing for 12 hours straight the last 3 days, my tired, achey feet are excited that you, my dear weekend, are here + are full of put-your-feet-up opportunities!
I am celebrating my new roommates. They. are. awesome. Saturday nights filled of delishi sushi + Balderdash? Yes, please.
I am celebrating finding the energy + enthusiasm to commit to a half marathon that is twelve weeks away! I am celebrating its location: San Diego, CA. I cannot wait to run along the Pacific Ocean rockin' out to the live music at every mile. Best part is... I'll be running it with my besties because they have committed, too.
I'm celebrating life in South Tampa. Running routes along Bayshore. A Target on top of a Whole Foods. Yoga + pilates studios. Starbucks within walking distance. Afternoons watching live music in Ybor City. Our neighborhood cats, Cookies + Cream. Anthropologie. Sand-covered toes + yacht clubs. A street lined with sushi restaurants + great bars... ahhh, Palma Ceia: my quaint little corner of the world. Oh, happy weekend! =)
Super missing Reese these week... found this "old" video from her first couple weeks of life. Her little sneeze sends me over the moon! =) My, how I wish I could bottle up her squishynewborngoodness and savour it for forever.
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up!
*** I know it is Wednesday... but I meant to post this yesterday... on Tuesday... when all my tutorials will be held... the first Tuesday of every month... I'm hoping to increase the frequency of said tutorials when I figure out how to successfully tap into the right side of my brain Sperry said us southpaws more dominantly use! Until that day comes, I will leave you with this awesome tutorial: newspaper nail polish**
Working in the NICU, I actually sign contracts vowing that I will not wear nail polish to work so I basically have used this job requirement as an excuse to always have horribly unmanicured hands (chipped nails, skin raw + knuckles bleeding from the incessant handwashing and polar-bear-cold weather!) the last three years but on the {FLIPSIDE}... of my quarter-life retirement... I have taken full advantage of painting my fingernails each and everyday of the last three months!
I splurged when I was stranded in a strip mall in Orlando a couple of weeks ago and got a professional mani/pedi! It was Valentine's Day weekend so I was feeling sorry for myself the mani came free with the pedicure! =)
I had my fingernails painted with some nude color that I cannot remember the name of for the life of me but I have had a lot of fun playing with the hand mannequin on the OPI website the last 15 minutes searching for the creatively named colour...
I digress. When it started chipping a few days later, I came across a cute idea on a blog I would give credit to if I could remember where I read it but because I spend hours perusing blogs on a daily basis (its my guilty pleasure... so is Off the Map. It's on tomorrow night. DVR it) + have no idea where I was in Cyber World when I happened upon it, I will provide you with my own tutorial.
What You Will Need:
1. A nude/white nail colour 2. Newspaper Clippings
3. Alcohol 4. Clear Top Coat
{simple} INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Dip individual fingernail {painted + dry with nude colour} in to a {shot} glass of alcohol for about a minute. The original recipe called for rubbing alcohol but when I didn't have any, I went with what our cupboards were stocked with: Smirnoff.
Worked like a charm! =) *I chose my horoscope, the crossword puzzle, a review of Gnomeo + Juliet, among other things but if you're a classifieds-kind-of-girl, go for it!*
2. Press newspaper clipping on to alcohol-saturated nail and firmly hold for about thirty seconds... it kinda peels off once the writing sticks + the paper dries... just like applying cheekers on gameday! =)
3. Apply top coat + repeat steps 1 & 2 nine more times!
4. Hold your hand out + admire. Voila!
