birthday girl

my sister.


today, is her birthday.


and if you would have asked me last year, i would have said it was impossible, but this year, i can honestly say i love her even more than i did in years past.


i always knew i was lucky to have her, but she really just keeps getting better and better.


i would list a million things that are cool about her. but i think this picture says it all...she is good and pure, just as her sweet and tender face leads one to believe.


i can always count on her to pick up where i lack, she is positive when i am negative, sensible when i overreact, funny when i am morose, and excited when i am tentative.


and today, i will celebrate her all day long, and will find it hard to believe that the blond, freckled little girl who used to annoy me is now one of the greatest parts of my life. and tonite as she blows out her candles, she will wish for something secret but i will make my own wish: to one day become the sister she is to me.



P.S. sorry for the all the sappy-ness sister - I can't help it sometimes!

P.P.S. thanks for being my blog's biggest fan.

christmas cheer is here

we cozied up in the car.

hung a sparkly ornament from the mirror.

tuned into the holiday music station.

stopped at starbucks for cocoa.

and drove through ritzy neighborhoods, to look at all the shiny lights.

much to ryan's dismay and poor ears, i yelped, quite loudly, when i saw the canopy of twinkle lights that continued for a block. it was just so full of magic.

our last stop was to see this mighty tree, glowing in all it's glory.

my heart was silently singing, "o tannenbaum".

fearful that my ears would freeze and shrivel up, we headed back to the car where our cocoa awaited and duty called. our own little tree at home stood naked, quietly waiting for the night when ryan and i would disagree about lighting techniques, reach a compromise and then plug it in to see the room suddenly become awash in a golden glow. at that very moment, i will whisper...."ooooohhh", as i do every year. these christmas trees get me every time.

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last night, i smiled remembering this night.

and today i smile, remembering this night, and the memory of starting this little journal one year ago.

golden goose

last night, i came home to a specific mister of mine in the kitchen with oven gloves on both hands. let's be real: my mister and i have a lovely division of labor worked out and he is a very capable man, but cooking usually falls on my side of the chore list.

mister had roasted a beautiful chicken and made garlic mashed potatoes. He proudly opened the oven and said in his irish brogue, "a golden goose for my golden lady." I beamed.

we ate in between smiles. and i felt warm inside.

we bundled up and began a loooooong walk and he held my mittened hand the whole time. we admired and critiqued christmas light jobs and stopped at rite aid for candy. i got andes chocolate mints. i adore those little rectangle mints that you find tucked in with your check at a restaurant, i always wish i had ten more just like it. but then when you have a whole box at your disposal, somehow they lose their lustre. isn't that funny?

we trekked home and hopped right in the car to find our christmas tree. i love a big tree, but for some reason, this year, i wanted a little tree for our little house. so after much deliberation, we found our little 2010 tree. a humble little four foot noble fir. and i couldn't love it anymore.

tonight, we will decorate that tree. and all will feel right with the world.

sister slumber soiree

one my favorite things in the world must be a slumber party, and of course sister slumber parties rank pretty high.

we did a lot of snuggling, some bickering and A LOT of laughing, mostly because emily is a riot and also because we watched the hangover. i had a sore throat for two days afterwards. from laughing.

we decided to make breakfast for dinner after we discovered that the chicken i had taken from the freezer and had planned to roast was still half frozen - typical. luckily, it all worked out because rachel makes some mean eggs, melt in your mouth bacon and this night, she also made hash browns from scratch! yummmmm...

after a random late night run to mcdonalds for cokes, a katy perry dance party in the car and an attempt to watch elf we finally walked our sleepy sister bodies to bed...

the next morning we lazied around, but we didn't feel too badly because it was sunday after all. we piled on one bed, played nintendo ds, read magazines, and emily beat my fruit ninja top score on my iphone. stinker.

then we made breakfast. again. what silly girls we are! this time we had french toast and fruit...and a little bubbly.

after some more lounging, we soon got to work making a dish we could take home and enjoy all week. this lasagna recipe is special and amanda gave me the recipe at my bridal shower. i had yet to attempt it until today because....well, in short, it seemed tough and i needed rachel, who i equate to be my own personal pioneer woman. while rachel interpreted the four page recipe, emily kept us laughing. hysterically.

we chopped and stirred. and my favorite part was showing the girls the magic of shredding cheese in the cuisinart. its like magic.

we took brief breaks to "dance it out".

and soon it was time to begin stacking all that goodness...

three lasagnas for three sisters.

speak no evil, hear no evil, see no evil.

and just when i thought the day couldn't get any better, my mister came home and we ate by candlelight and ryan had seconds. which is always my cue that i made something pretty alright.

and then he did the dishes, while i put my feet up and talked incessantly from the table. awesome.

sometimes it's all about...

...breakfast for dinner.