32. Flour

Seems like a pretty crazy thing to be happy about, but today it was one of those little things that completely changed around my week.

I haven't been having a very good week. Thanks to surgery I've been pretty cooped up and not allowed to do active things... which are usually the things that keep me going. It's not that this week has been BAD. I just haven't really been in the best mood due to frustration and, well, boredom, I suppose. Not that I've been bored. I keep finding things to do. But inactivity makes me feel bored.

Anyway, tonight I babysat for the three kids I've been sitting for since they were each born. I love those kids. Tonight I brought flour and sugar and vanilla and eggs and baking powder and frosting and sprinkles and other various decorations to make Mother's Day cookies. I decided that I didn't care how messy the kitchen got. Kind of like that one rainy day several years ago when I pulled out the paints, tied our hair up, moved everything stain-prone out of the kitchen, and let the toddlers have at it. We finger painted with regular paints and made splatter pictures and all sorts of fun art (which, in turn, painted the floor and tables and cabinets) but it was so much fun that I didn't even mind the cleanup.

Thus, tonight, when we broke out into a flour war, I didn't even mind. We splattered each other's faces and shirts and the floor and the counters and it was so fun. Emma attempted to capture it all on camera and pretty much failed but it doesn't matter. We've got the memories (although the pictures would have been spectacular).

Come to think of it, flour is a really interesting product. Who knew grinding up wheat could make such a valuable and fun powder!? It sticks to your face and clothes but is super easy to brush off. It makes bread and cookies and brownies and cakes and all sorts of yummy goodies and feels really fun between your fingers. Basically, flour is pretty darn cool. And for that reason...

Today's Sunny Thing?
Flour

31. Hallmark Cards

Little known fact about Sarah: I am addicted to Hallmark cards. It's a controlled addiction -- I can avoid buying them. However, once I let myself enter a Hallmark store, I never emerge empty handed. This last trip was forced upon me by my mommy and I promised myself I wouldn't get anything. One thing led to another, however, and I ended up with birthday cards for my entire family's next birthday, three mother's day cards, and some disappointment regarding the fact that father's day cards weren't out yet. I also found birthday cards for friends that I've lost touch with but managed to avoid purchasing them (due solely to the fact that I no longer know their addresses).

I figure it's a healthy addiction -- only joy comes from it. I once got my best friend 13 cards for her birthday and I'm pretty sure she was pretty stoked to have 2 weeks of birthday cards. Unfortunately it's not the cheapest habit but Hallmark cards have got to be cheaper than drugs, right?

Another fun fact... Crayola is owned by Hallmark. Which only makes Hallmark that much cooler.

Today's Sunny Thing?
Hallmark Cards

30. Babies

Today was the premiere of Babies -- a documentary of my favorite thing in the world. =) It followed four infants from pregnancy to toddlerhood and was one and a half hours of pure joy.

I'm not sure what it is about babies... kids in general... that makes me so incredibly happy. I mean, kids make most people pretty happy (especially in the pre-talking stages) but I kind of have an extreme version of baby-syndrome. I don't even have to be holding them. Just seeing a little tyke in a shopping cart can make my entire afternoon. It's crazy. I've been like that since I was a kid and will hopefully always feel that way. I don't even want one of my own yet so you can't blame it on "girl hormones." I was just born with something that tells me that kids are God's single greatest gift to the world.

Perhaps it's that my life has been shaped by kids. When I was really little, it was my baby brothers. Then I got a little older and had to rely on baby dolls. They served me quite well. Very few family photos exist of me without my baby dolls. If I'm not holding one, I'm probably thinking about them. Rose, a gift from my uncle Matt & aunt Chris (prior to her being my aunt), was my favorite. I seriously thought she was my daughter for quite some time. Then I was 8 and FINALLY the real little Rose came along. She came over to cheer me up when I had surgery (and go figure, 12 years later, she did the same thing!). Then I started babysitting. Lauren started it off by sleeping through the night for the first time when I stayed overnight with her at 11 years old. A little girl named Bella saved my life when I was in high school. A two year old named Lily recently taught me more than I thought a 2 year old was capable of teaching. Just recently a 5 month old named Lila flipped my world upside down and changed my perspectives on more than I could ever hope to share here. The twins, Grace and Brooke, gave me tons of lessons on patience and parenting (as well as love). The kids in Guatemala put a whole new potential future on my radar. I can't even explain the amount of tears, smiles, giggles, thoughts, lessons, joy, stress, and changes that have been brought on by the kids in my life. Given my extreme hope to work with kids in one way or another (or two or five or ten ways), I can only imagine what kids will change my life are in my future. =)

Today's Sunny Thing?

Babies

Me & Mitchell

Me & Bella

Me, Aidan, & Emma

Me, Rose, Grace, & Brooke

Me & Harper

Me & Yeni

Yeni

Me & A Sweet Guatemalan Bebe

Me & Rose

Me & Lauren

Me & Lila

29. Wikipedia

Today I came up with whole bunches of potential things to write about. But, alas, I had to settle for one. And tonight, while watching reruns of The Office (because what else is surgery good for?), Michael Scott reminded me of a fact that I've recently forgotten. Wikipedia whoops. Fosh. Michael Scott agrees. While wearing a women's suit (making him even more credible, obv), he stated "Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject, so you know you are getting the best possible information." Not to mention the whole random page button option. It's spectacular. =)

Today's Sunny Thing?
Wikipedia

28. Palm Trees

Once upon a time, my best friend & I lived for something different every day. Our favorite one, and the one we turned to when nothing else could make us happy, was palm trees. We had palm tree shaped air fresheners in our cars, palm trees drawn on our assignment notebooks, and pictures of them hanging in our lockers. When we went to the Bahamas, they were the first thing we looked for. Thank goodness it's that time of year again when palm trees are more fitting for the weather outside. Given today's 80 degree forecast, it seemed like a spectacular thing to think of. =)

Today's Sunny Thing?
Palm Trees

27. Brothers

The past few days have made me remember how much I love my brothers. I've always known it but being home for recovery this week reminded me. They make me laugh 24/7 -- so much so that after abdominal surgery, I want to go live somewhere else just to escape the pain of laughing so hard.



They know me better than anyone else in the world and never fail to make me smile. They also know how to make me really really angry and give me spectacular lessons in patience.



I trust their judgment and value their opinions. I look up to them and am constantly learning from them. I don't know where I'd be without them... nor do I want to think about it!

Today's Sunny Thing?
My Brothers

26. Thunderstorms

I slept on the couch last night. I woke up at 6 AM due to my dad leaving for work and my mom coming down to check on me. Then it began to storm. I love storms. A lot. The rainy day soundtrack gets pulled out and I listen to all sorts of songs about rain. Nothing puts me to sleep like a good storm. This morning I stayed up until about 8:30 listening to it, and then let it lull me back to sleep for a couple of hours. I almost wish it would rain every night just as I got into bed. It's the perfect lullaby.

Today's Sunny Thing?
Thunderstorms

25. Walking

Today I was reminded of the things I so often take for granted. I've been pretty good about it over the years, due to various surgeries and injuries. However, today I was reminded of these things. Things like walking, and being able to sit down without pain, and the ability to cuddle with my boyfriend and go upstairs and sleep and eat. Today, my saving grace was walking. Well, technically Brian, because without him I would have been stuck on a couch all day in a lot of pain. But, thanks to him, I got to walk around the neighborhood (with Scout bracing my tummy, of course) and avoided boredom with euchre and movies and Friends and the dinner table. But the best part of the whole day was walking, super slowly, holding hands in the sunshine just before night overtook the sky. =)

Today's Sunny Thing?
Walking

24. Beds

I can't help it. I love my bed. It's my sanctuary, in a way. A place I go to escape the world. I can study there, or talk to people I love on the phone. I can email, play computer games, read, sleep, or look at the stars on my ceiling. I can think, ponder, pray. It's where a lot of serious talks have occurred with friends and family and where a lot of funny times have been had as well. It's where Scout, my teddy bear, lives and where my favorite bedspread rests. It's the most comfortable piece of furniture I own, and my favorite. My dad built it (with love and care, obv) and I thoroughly enjoy every moment I spend there. =)

Today's Sunny Thing?
Beds

23. Holding Hands

There's something about holding hands that makes us all feel safer. We came into the world with a reflex telling us to grasp whatever hand touched ours. As we grew older, it became a rule: "hold my hand while we cross the street!" In Red Rover it was a part of the game - same with Ring Around the Rosie. Then we hit the age where it's a sign of love, friendship, and trust. In almost every case, holding hands is a good thing -- and one that always makes me smile. =)

Today's sunny thing?
Holding Hands

22. Dresses

This weekend was full of dresses. Weddings always seem to have that effect -- dresses come out of closets for the first time in years. I'll bet I wasn't the only one that did that this weekend. I tried on old homecoming dresses, prom dresses, sun dresses, easter dresses, summer dresses, and about 60 new potentials for this wedding. I eventually had to settle on two, of course, but with unlimited funds and unlimited time, I'd probably have ended up with about 27 new dresses in my closet even though I rarely dress up.

There's something about a dress that makes a girl regress to childhood. Makes her want to play dress-up and curl her hair and put on her mommy's makeup and twirl in circles. Then she gets the makeup on and the hair done and slips on her heels and she transforms into a woman. A woman who wants to walk down the street, clutch in hand, and turn heads. She wants to dance and sway and feel the music pulsing through her veins. And, by the end of the night, with the makeup slightly melted and the out-of-place curls falling loosely around her face, she carries her shoes in her hands and wanders home, ready to crawl in bed and drift off to sleep, once again resorting to the dreamworld left over from childhood.

21. Wind

Wind is a funny thing. There's the wind that I'm not a fan of -- strong gusts against you while running, wind that messes up your hair when you spent forever doing it, wind that blows your dress up, wind that makes all the pretty leaves fall off the trees at the end of Fall, wind that pushes your car into the next lane and freaks everyone out. But for the most part, I really like wind. It flies my kite, dries my sweat, pushes me along on runs and rollerblading trips, moves air through the house, rocks me to sleep at night, gives the ocean and lakes waves to float on. As a general rule, wind is a pretty sunny thing. =)

Today's Sunny Thing?
Wind

20. Cinnamon Rolls

When I was little, my absolute favorite way to wake up was to the smell of cinnamon rolls. It didn't matter what time it was -- if that's what I woke up to, I was out of bed and downstairs. I don't like them quite as much as I used to (probably due to the high number of calories found in each one) but when my mom came upstairs today and said "Cinnamon rolls are almost done!" I got a bit nostalgic, remembering all the times I woke up to them as a kid.

Today's Sunny Thing?
Cinnamon Rolls

19. Naps

Despite a total fail in writing about naps yesterday, they still deserve to be today's sunny thing. I don't really take naps any more -- I'm too busy for that. But there have been several times when a 20 minute nap has been exactly what I needed to get through the rest of the day. On rainy days, there's nothing better than cuddling under the covers and listening to the rain fall down in the middle of the afternoon. Perhaps this summer I'll find more time for a few naps. Perhaps in the pool. =)

Today's Sunny Thing?
Naps

18. Incoherency due to Exhaustion

So last night I was attempting to catch up on the blog. I had spent the day at a wedding, meeting the boyfriend's entire extended family, and then talking & dancing at the reception until relatively late so, naturally, I was probably exhausted. However due to an amazing coffee bar I was quite awake.

Or so I thought.

I was about to write #18: Naps. I got out 6 sentences when a brief moment of clarity hit and I realized that it made no sense. At all. What did I type, you may ask? The exact wording was...

"I don't nap any more. I did. A lot. It started when I was born and ended something in my sophomore year of college. I could probably use them more than I do but, alas, life gets in the way. Plus research.. it's not bad if you can find it okay when we get there. =)"

Now I understand when Brian laughs at me when I try to talk to him before I go to bed.

Today's Sunny Thing?
Incoherency due to Exhaustion

17. White Picket Fences

When I was little, I never understood the world's fascination with white picket fences. Supposedly everyone wanted "the cute little house with the white picket fence" but I never got it. I hated fences. I didn't like being kept in or contained... I liked running free. I still feel that way.

Now, however, I've got a different view of white picket fences. I actually find them kind of cute. And I always imagine that inside the cute little houses with white picket fences is a girl that always dreamed of having that picket fence. =)

Today's Sunny Thing?
White Picket Fences

16. 1999

1999 was a great year. Y2K, Britney Spears in her glory days, gas at $1.22/gallon, U.S. women's soccer winning the women's world cup, Barbie turning 40, The Bad Touch making the top 5 list, Lance Armstrong's first Tour de France win... basically 1999 whoops.

Tonight my biffle & I made plans for parties we're throwing next year. Party Like It's 1999 is quickly becoming my favorite. It's gonna have karaoke because 1999 had some BA top songs.

Who didn't love 1999? Fo reals.

Today's Sunny Thing?
1999

15. Old Books

I went home this weekend and went through the bookshelf in what used to be The Spare Room (previously the baby room, and now it's Stephen's room -- who, in fact, used to be "the baby"). I was specifically looking for one book but emerged with 7 or 8. I've got quite a summer read ahead of me!

I began one of my childhood favorites last night. It's the book that made me want to work in Pediatric Oncology. Reading it again is reaffirming that dream. It was a brand new book when I bought it. Now it has yellowed pages and that Old Book Smell. We all know that smell. It's the smell of every book grandma reads. It's the smell of libraries. And now, it's the smell of my childhood books. In a way, that's kind of sad to think about. But at the same time, I've always liked that dusty book scent. Now my old faves have it! =)

Today's Sunny Thing?
Old Books

14. Orange Moon

I hope you've had the experience of driving down a country road at sunset on one of those spectacular but rare nights when the moon is huge and bright and orange. It's an experience I had a few times last summer and am looking forward to this year.

Seeing that orange moon is one of the best parts of commuting to work. I'm not sure I'll get to see it as often this year as the floor I work on now doesn't schedule 12 hour shifts (and thus, I won't be driving at sunset) but I'm still hoping to experience at least a few orange moons.

The problem with the orange moon is that you can't capture it on film. At least, not on a normal camera. It doesn't put off enough light to show up in the photograph. If it does, it's just a tiny speck in a black picture. I've tried. Several times. And never has it turned out. Thus, I've got to rely on memory. I hope you can have the same memory. =)

Today's sunny thing?
Orange Moons

13. Playing the Piano

When I was 3, I decided that I wanted to play the piano. For Christmas I got a little color coded keyboard with about 6 huge keys on it. It came with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and a few other simple songs, printed on cardboard with color coded notes, perfect for little fingers. It was made for little girls and boys my age. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. So, shortly after receiving that keyboard, I got another one. This one had smaller keys, and a lot more of them, and had pre-programmed songs. The keys lit up as you played them and it was quite fun to fool around on. But, again, it wasn't enough. Finally, when I was 4, my mom signed me up for piano lessons. We went to the Conservatory where Miss Lee asked if I knew my ABC's (just A-G would be sufficient) and if I could count to 4. I was dismayed. Of COURSE I knew my ABC's (all the way to Z, thank you very much) and I could count too (past 100, for that matter). So, piano began.

I stuck with it through some tough times. There were times I loved it, times I hated it, times I got frustrated, and times I hated the sticker she gave me for completing a song. There were times my wheelchair prevented me from being able to reach the keys and times I wouldn't use my index finger because "my tiny baby cousin Rose touched it and she might die." There was a time when Miss Lee couldn't teach me anything new and I switched to Banae (who is an absolutely amazing piano instructor) and that began a whole new set of tough times. Eventually a time came when sports and school and clubs and babysitting prevented me from having the time for piano, and thus, 12 years later, I had to stop taking lessons.

Now I just fool around with it. I play when I'm home alone and once in awhile with the cousins (who have no patience for learning anything but hitting every key at once). But it's something I still love and something I hope I keep up for a long time to come.

Sunday's Sunny Thing?
The Piano