being a girl

i feel like such a ball of crazy-ridiculous. normally, i kind of always am. but once a month…the levels rise. and it gets to the point of not knowing HOW i feel.

around this time, i either want to be in my p-jammies or in a dress. maybe it’s because it’s just such a GIRL time.

and then i end up in some sort of mood a little like this:

(minus the cigg…i don’t do ciggs)

and i think i want to eat 5 boxes of gushers, pleasekthanx. and some boneless buffalo wings. HA.

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so tomorrow is kind of a big deal. that is all i’m going to say. …for now.

love, whit

where has the time gone? december.

so i’m trying to wrap my head around the idea that tomorrow is the beginning of december 2011. wow.

i started going back and reading bits from my old blog. back when i was all about blogspot. it was entertaining/fascinating to peek into my mind’s workings in the past. a reason i love journals! so priceless. some things i wish i forget. some things i love remembering. other things seem so dramatic. ha! i loved letting out my rants….like this one. but sometimes just enjoyed everyday random goodness.

i particularly liked this post…i still relate to so much of it. and really wish i had this super power right now! (click for link)

ohmygoodness…i’m craving mellow mushroom RIGHT NOW. fresh pita bread and homemade hummus.

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today is wednesday. do you know what happens NEXT wednesday? oh em gee.

love, whit

home again

as many of you know, i went to utah this last week for a wedding.

(pictures coming…this will be a photo-less post. LAME, i know!)

i came home with two things.

1 – a terrible cold. i am so NOT used to utah weather. and my body does not handle a change in climate too well.

2 – a lot on my mind. …

i came home to  georgia after serving an 18 month mission for my church in may of 2010 (puerto rico/barbados = best timer EVER!). when i came home, i realized all my friends had moved on (married and/or out of state at school) and yet i stayed here. why? well, i was broke. living at home was ideal at the time. and now it’s been a year and a half, and i guess i’ve just grown accustomed to this life. work. the gym. home. really no social life at all.

then i go to utah.

no, utah is NOT my favorite place. but i was there with some of my favorite people. and met even more amazing people. remembering what it’s like to be a twenty-something with a social life. in a place full of good people to meet and mingle with. and knowing what i was coming home to is just shy of depressing.

yes, and i keep telling myself i have it good right now…living at home is cheap. i have a great job. i have transportation. school is lined up for january. granted, i haven’t even registered for classes or paid tuition yet, but i’m accepted into the program.

i don’t know. i have this innate fear of decisions and that i’m always making the wrong one. i felt fine about being here in georgia until now…now that i see what it’s like to be somewhere else. the fact that i’m 24, i don’t date at all (and haven’t for the past 3 years), and i socialize with people here maybe once a month seems like such a crap hole to be in at my age.

but my mom reminds me that if i go elsewhere i won’t have a car, a job, or be in school for a while…and i’ll have to start paying rent and groceries with the bit i have saved up. that’s enough to start frustrating any thoughts of leaving.

and yes, i know people do it all the time. they move. they find a job and figure it out. they say what’s supposed to happen will fall into place. but looking at my life makes me feel like i’m not a very good judge of what’s “supposed to happen” and “things falling into place”.

and WHY does italy have to be going bankrupt??!! makes any thoughts i have of leaving my current job situation a complete absurdity.

love, whit

a little glam for the weekend

sometimes i’m just in the mood.

love, whit

some laughs

the civility experiment

yup. definitely something to think about. and i love it.

talk about fabulous!

feeling good is beautiful!

i like seeing things that make me feel good. i like people that make me feel good. i like words that make me feel good. i like doing things that make me feel good!

well, who wouldn’t, right? DUH.

1 – i am grateful for the “little voice” inside my head. those thoughts and gut feelings. impressions. acting on them is generally wise. us LDS folk call that “following the spirit”. and i’m glad i did before it was too late. you know, sometimes we think we know best. we act selfishly. but people matter. even the people we don’t like or avoid. and often we are the answer to someone else’s prayer – if we choose to follow that spirit within us. i will never regret the sacrifice it takes to help someone in need.

2 – it’s FRiDAY! and we’re grilling steak burgers and weenies for lunch at work!

3- it’s General Conference weekend! i pray that i never take such things for granted. and you know, i’m expecting some much needed words. they’ll be there, too. i asked for them.

4 – i have too many photos that need posting! i love that. adventures, beauty, babies – all piling up and coming soon. i need to get on that, especially because i know next weekend’s event is only going to fill up my memory card yet again!

5 – really, OCTOBER!? that month smells so fresh.

6 – hearing from past close friends is happiness! even though time has passed, you realize how much you shared and know about that person… so that their company or conversation now, even after months or years, just feels like “home”.

7 – Jack Kerouac just makes you want to APPRECIATE people and places for what they are. to NOTICE. and DO things with your life!

this flavor cannot be described as merely “good”. nuh-no! it’s so much more than that…

and i thought i’d throw in a cheesy shot with a big grin…for feelin’ good’s sake…

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

what i do

“i have a perfect body, though sometimes i forget. i have a perfect body ’cause my eyelashes catch my sweat. yes, they do, they do!…”

-regina spektor (folding chair)

 

today i got a hair change! (something that happens VERY often). so before posting a foto of the “new do” – it’s only apporopriate to show the old one.

i don’t have any of the new one yet though. ha! however, today i’m going downtown with the rents for some birthday celebrations and i’m sure there will be some excellent photo opps!

we’re doing a 3 hour segway tour of atlanta. i thought it would be a ton of fun! i’ve heard only excellent reviews. so off we are…updates to follow…

love, whit

i need europe travel advice?

so, i know that it seems i JUST decided that i want to plan a trip to europe. but, i’m all in! already. oh, i love that.

the plan – and yes, i already have a plan – is to use the train system. they have these special passes you can get. you get unlimited train use for certain amount of days and countries depending on which pass you get. i’m looking into it to consider all my options with it. seems a great idea.

i’m thinking fly into madrid, spain first. when done there, take a train to barcelona.

from barcelona, we’d (i told my mom she’s coming with, she’s craving travel too) take the night train to Milan, Italy. Yes, we’re going through France and not stopping – but if i do France, i’d want Paris. and Paris needs time. trains take time. and i’d prefer Paris not in January. adding Paris to the trip ups the costs, and the length, so i’m not so sure.

anyway…after time in Milan, take the train to Florence. We’d stay in Florence a few days and take trains during the day to see Venice and Pisa. Then…last stop…ROME! a couple days there and then…fly home. depending on time, we could take a day train down to Naples too. what’s in Naples, though?

i have a rough estimate of how much time/days are needed for each stop. yes, it will be winter. but i’m not going for a tan – not that i get tan anyway. and it’s the only time i have. hay que aprovechar!

QUESTiON! i need advice. on anything. must sees. must eats. trains. hotels. attractions. things to know. tips. what’s worth it. what’s not. overrated. overpriced. you know?

i’d like to get this all figured out and planned and booked…and do it wisely.

if you’ve got anything for me – i’d appreciate it!

love, whit