Thanksgiving weekend

Thanksgiving weekend came and went. It was SO NICE to have a long four day weekend to do….absolutely nothing!

Mom was out of town in Carlsbad, New Mexico with some of her siblings…and her parents (who currently no longer reside in Mexico…) it seems their health is going downhill fast. I believe it’s all my mom thinks about these days. Understandably so.

Dad and I took care of each other at home…had our own little turkey-day meal…and it was so nice. A very stress-free holiday. And the time off from work allowed me to catch up on sleep and with friends. (minus the fact that i made an 8am Starbucks date with Paige on Thanksgiving morning…needless to say, i showed up in my jammies. and then slept 4 more hours after i got home)

I visited my favorite little Forsyth family in fayetteville…ate a second Thanksgiving dinner, had life discussion with lisa, and cuddled as much as i could with little Troy. (he’s already three weeks old now, and even more adorable!)

i loveLOVElove his hair. and how he smells. is it weird that i like to smell babies? lisa’s such a good mommy. and pete is a natural daddy, too.

this month has been a double-whammy…i got to see nate TWICE! him and aimee flew in for the holiday. considering we wanted aimee to get the most of her first georgia experience…we made a night trip to Waffle House.

WaHo is my only exception for drinking bottomless vanilla coke…and eating hash browns. smothered, diced, and chunked. the tummy ache is SO worth it.

the chocolate chip waffle.

if there were only two words to describe mine and jared’s relationship…CUDDLY WUDDLY. i mean, just look how happy!

oh, the holidays.

up-and-coming:

1- my overdue haircut. thank you, ryan, for being so accommodating and fitting me in…because the 10th is no longer do-able.

2- thank you mr. boss for being so accommodating and giving me the 8th and 9th off. i do love 4 days weekends …especially when they come about so unexpectedly the way this one has!

3- i also marked myself off the calendar at work for two weeks in January. Hello Italy!

4- decorating for Christmas! how i love it. this calls for a trip to Hobby Lobby. the office is counting on me.

love, whit

what a weekend! life plans. excitement.

here’s my latest update…

1 – i’m moving to utah. WHOA, i know. there’s a lot that has happened that gives me the “yes” feeling about this. and pointing me straight there. though i get this feeling that God has an interesting sense of humor…and likes to tell me to change my plans a lot right in the brink of time just to see if i’ll listen. we’ll see if he pulls another tricky one on me.

but for now…Utah it is. school starts in spring!

2 – mom’s out of town again this year for Thanksgiving. visiting her parents that she worries oh-so-much about. i’m glad she’ll get to spend this time with them….as of yesterday, turns out gramps is really sick. and it’s not looking good at all. prayers please.

3 – this weekend i prayed for something specific. kind of ridiculously specific. and just plain ridiculous. i felt so ridiculous about it. ridiculous! (how many times should i say it?!)

and well, the very same day. that night. God granted it. and i ..could NOT.. believe it. at all.  i still cannot get over it. ….really?!? wow.

4 – i’m feeling a sudden urge to want/need to visit portland

5 – i’m so tired during the day….but then night comes…and it’s proving difficult to get myself to bed at a decent hour.

6 – i’ve OD’d on japanese dumplings all weekend.

7 – i bought a $150 CHI ULTRA for $80. WIN!

8 – i’ve failed to mention that in my trip to utah, i met my #1 blog bestie in PERSON! we are real life friends now. i love blogging for this very reason! (her version of the story HERE … i’ve yet to blog mine. obvi.)

ok…

love, whit

ps – a couple utah pics, just because i hate not having pics…

the wedding day brides maids bunch:

and this reunion was lovely…nate…georgia misses him. aka, i do.

Troy Lyman Forsyth – our halloween baby!

both of my best friends growing up are having babies…and coincidentally both of their due dates are the first week in november! one is out in SLC, Utah and i’ve been so excited that i’ll be out there this coming week and hopefully not miss the event!

but that meant i would miss out on lisa’s little man when he came. they live here in GA.

BUT! yesterday couldn’t have been more perfect timing…little troy decided to join us on Halloween! and it just so happens that i got off work early at 3:30 and was able to head to the hospital in Fayetteville right away!

lisa is just a natural mommy!

auntie amber came by for a visit! (college roommate bestie)

and turns out we all knew emily…one of the “cone head” nurses! (even the hospital had fun on Halloween)

after a few hours they switched mommy and daddy to a more comfortable room

getting help from the nurse….(i love seeing babies all bundled into a ball of joy!)

pete is SUCH a good daddy already…

the nurse would come to check troy’s temperature and re-swaddle him

(he has big feet and long fingers like his momma! haha)

i LOVE his head full of hair…and blonde! lisa was blonde when she was little.

(they used the vacuum to get him out…so his head is extra long for now)

i played Aunt Whitney for a while…

(the lil guy does not like being moved much!)

i am his official babysitter. i decided.

love, whit

things to be tickled about! …

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sometimes breakfast sounds so good…

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in the words of Spoon: “don’t you evah”…

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ideal.

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this time next week i’ll be in utah.

because B is GETTING MARRIED!!!

this is me and b. back in memory lane and byu days. we were the best of friends…

 and i’ll be happy to be sharing a bed with this lady-face in provo:

(me and elissa FOUR years ago!)

and looking forward to many other reunions with friends i haven’t seen in…3-4 years-ish:

the Barsh. back when they were un-married.

me an’ rumbs…

JAPES!

RY!!!! i can’t wait to see him…

and my best friend from home, who now lives in SLC is HAVING A BABY!!! …the very week i’ll be out there. !!!!!!!

here’s to london, mike, and future bebe:

i’m tickled that Nate will be taking a day off work to spend with me!…we go way back…

(high school)

i’ve realized there are entirely too many pictures/faces to continue posting memory lane on here.

i’m hoping to re-connect with mission companions and friends too! i want to make the most of my week.

let’s just say… i’m excited! just. tickled!

love, whit

The Beatles were right…

i have come to the conclusion that The Beatles were right – love is all you need – or, all you need is love!

yes, the world has so much to offer, but #1- are things of this world REALLY that important because #2 – there’s something far greater than this world. and i do believe that love will get us the second and make the first more worthwhile.

everybody, whether they like to admit it or not, lives to love and be loved. we could even say that we live because we are loved…

i mean, look at where it all started. love first came from our Father in heaven who created us – and put us here in this life to learn something. that thing is love.

like everything else in life, love is a choice. and i…choose love.

why? it makes everything better!

love understands imperfection. love will make me kind, even if a person is entirely rude to me.

love will make me patient and caring. love will teach me to sacrifice and to give. love will make my life no longer be about me.

love is the over-powering SUPERNOVA of all emotions. it really is! where there’s love, there’s also hope. love overrides bitterness and anger. love brings peace and joy. love has perspective and can see beyond the surface – beyond that superficial and trivial stuff.

i don’t know who said, but i read it somewhere and really like it, “too often we waste time looking for a perfect lover instead of creating a perfect love.” – SO true.

but apart from that MUSHY-GUSHY love stuff is the other love that makes every day great.

like a love to LEARN and CRAVE NEW THINGS – to set goals and go for them. to make the most of situations and time. right now, i couldn’t be MORE ecstatic about planning my Europe trip. to travel. to experience. to enjoy the life i have.

i choose love because it lets me appreciate. appreciate little things – everyday mundane things. places. people. friendships.

i LOVE friendships. the conversations. the company. the goodness in them. just this weekend i was talking to a friend about how, for a long time there, i hadn’t felt like myself…he mentioned that for a while i used to argue with him a lot about petty things. i felt horrible and apologized, yet he giggled and said, “it’s ok whitney, i’m in it for the long haul.”

i feel really blessed to have a handful of people like that in my life. people who accept me even when i’m crazy or at my crappiest. and i want to be a person that can love people even when they treat me crappy, too. we all have our down moments. regardless, you know what they say, “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” so i refuse to play that game. make the world a better place, yah know?

i guess what i’m trying to say is – that’s the attitude of love. throwing out the bad and embracing the good.

and then, even the little things. i mean, the really little things that i love give life an extra bit of joy.

like, for instance, these shoes…and those tights! they make me so happy, in a way that only some may comprehend

or the love of creating. that gratification of making something useful or pretty. or maybe just to let out a little inner satisfaction. …

ie: i’m going to have to do this in the upcoming month – LOVE it! …

or you know the goodness you feel when you eat something you absolutely LOVE? haha…i feel that. asian lettuce wraps, among other things, do that to me…

i also love browsing through book stores, painting my nails, and growing a garden. and photography. i LOVE photography. so why not go back to school and get a degree in it? well, i’m going to. can’t wait!

find what you love – and do it.

maybe i am just a cheesy/crazy “peace, love, & flowers” kind of girl … but, i truly believe that love – in ALL of it’s finest forms – is all you need. so go get some!

[ i did not mention it entirely, but looking at that first and great commandment to "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, might, mind, and strength" and then to "love thy neighbor as thyself" would, in a nutshell - if done correctly, encompass everything and accomplish all of what i've been saying...but...instead of raving about that and how it works for who knows how long, i'll just throw it in here at the end ]

love, whit

beauty is in all of it

life is in the little things. the people in your path. how they are. how they alter your life – if even slightly. i think beauty is a feeling we can find in everything. if we take time to look for it.

i forgot my jacket and it’s freezing in here…

a few things,

the day i have more space to decorate will be oh-so-exciting! i really love this…i have on my TO DO LIST making myself a black and white chevron stripe rug. such as this one. DiY: i just need some tape, and paint, and…a rug

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super rad mural, no?

find others at this site

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usually i don’t talk about fashion on here, but i love everything about this. minus the runs in her tights. as much as i love the sun and lazy summer days…i wish autumn would come, then people wouldn’t think me crazy if i feel like wearing tights. and boots. and so many layers.

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yesterday, like most days: i came home from work, changed, and left for the gym. only once i got there, i never made it past the parking lot. i sat in my car for well over an hour. and cried.

sometimes, i get scared. about today. about tomorrow. the future.

love, whit

life lessons

first, some amusing things:

could you imagine seeing an opera on a stage as amazing as this?!

in Austria they get pretty creative…

i love fotos like these:

not only is this artistic talent with a pencil – sometimes i get the urge to just “massage” my face like this…it feels good, you know, treating my face as pizza dough.

anyway…i’ve decided to note some things i’ve learned. in life. from experiences. i wouldn’t call it a “creed” or anything…just things that i find important. and i’m not claiming to be perfect at them by any means, because i’m not at all. but here i have them as reminders.

“TO LiVE BY” – thoughts for life application:

 1- something my mom has always tried to instill in me:

…including people (- that’s my personal addition).

2 – do not fear telling someone you love them. or appreciate them. or admire them. or care about them. or think of them. i can’t imagine anyone who would not feel at least a spark of goodness inside when hearing such things…even if the feelings aren’t mutual. the world needs more love. more good feelings.

3 – they say “be the change you wish to see in the world”. on my mission, i always applied it as “be the companion i’d like to have”. likewise – in any aspect – BE what you expect from others. be the friend. the kind new face. the one to listen. the one to talk to. the one to say “i’m sorry”. the one who shows they care. the one who can be trusted. the one who forgives. the one who helps. the one that cheers up. the one who can be counted on. whatever it is…BE it.

4 – apologize:

5 – put yourself in other people’s shoes. you know, what is the person on the OTHER END feeling? this perspective has helped me many many times. as humans, our thoughts and actions are naturally selfish…but we ought to consider others before we react, judge, criticize, say or do.

6 – go out of your comfort zone.

7 – the little things:

yes, i need to work on this.

8 - ask yourself the daily question: “have i done any good in the world today?”

9 – take time every day to ponder, think, evaluate, resolve.

10 –

love, whit