Cinderella, ella, ella

(check out these pics - 1. the modern-day Cinderella, 2. My birthday cake, 3. An inspirational wedding cake.)

Cinderella is by far my most favorite princess. I believe the reason for this is her life and mine are parallel.

The beginning of my life was not such an easy one. My family and I never had enough. I worked and worked just to get by. I delayed any further education b/c of my duty to work for my family. I never had a car of my own. I never would be able to go to any fancy, classy restaurant. For birthdays, my family couldn't afford a party, so we never had one. We couldn't afford many gifts either. All we could do was spend time, eating an ice cream cake and singing 'happy birthday.' It was nice, though. Times like those show character and I believe my family is the best.

Apart from all this doom and gloom tales... let me tell you of a great testimony. Today, I am currently enrolled in college (tuition free - and loving it!), I am shopping for a new car (any price I want, but you know me -- miss responsible, so I am finding a bargain.), I have the best man in the whole world to call my own (Nathan darling), I have a sweet, loving, giving family who stands up for one another, and above all this, I have a Savior who made a promise to a little girl..."I will take care of you... your labor is not in vain." He is right. He has taken care of me... and for that, I am eternally grateful.

It's snowing again... yay

Snow, snow snow!

 I love the wonderful snow. Let's play out in the snow.
O no?! Why not in the snow?

Well, let's play in the rain.
O no?! Not in the rain?

Ok, let's play in the sludge..
o no? Not in the sludge?
Why not in the sludge, the rain, or the snow???

...Because, its not just snow, not just rain, and not just sludge... its all three, with is not a fun playtime for me!

[Dr. Suess - what an inspiration]

3 days until the big 2-5

Three more days and I think, Woweee, how did my life zoom by like this?! I still feel 21, haha. I start to ponder on all the blessings I've received. I've had a rough first half of my 50 years, but wow, what a big turn around its been in the last 3-4 years. My Lord is great! Every time I needed the funds for a bill, a repair of some kind, or food on the table, He's responded swiftly with a donation or a job that miraculously appeared. He's a great father. I have had no father, so I'll take the best to replace the biological.

I have the BEST family in the whole world. They are all so smart, so giving, a lot more caring and loving than we were growing up (haha), and we get along so great - plus, they are all believe in our Lord, Jesus Christ, which makes me so joyous to know my family will continue on, with me, in the other realm -- Heaven. I have a superb boyfriend, with an awesome attachment of his family. Nathan (my baby) is such an intelligent man. He is the ultimate gentlemen -- always thinking of what he could do to help me. He puts his needs on the bottom and sacrifices his wants and desires for others. He's such an honest, trusting, and fun guy. I adore him. We have love; the true kind. The type that princess/prince storybooks are made of - and I got it! Hallelujah to my God. With Nathan's family, comes the other girlfriend (his bro's girl) which inevitably became my best gal pal. She's bright, caring, and fun to be around. She's not your typical drama girl (as I am not) so, we talk about the more substancial things (this is why I chose friends wisely ... cause I am just not interested in the drama, not one bit). Her name is Colbie -- like the chesse, which is awesome! :-] And, of course you have my boyfriends brother, Noah. He's a brilliant guy, who loves to point out how weird his girl and I talk. We understand eachother, yet he doesn't... I just don't get it... :) He's a great guy too. He's as musical as they come. He knows so much about so many instruments, etc...

So, I am having a moment of appreciation before I turn the big 2-5. I have lived such a full life. With more responsibility than expected, with more love than understood, and with more blessings than I deserve.

I love my Lord and My King. He's been so good to me. I await for His coming and grab as many as I can to go with me.

Sushi for lunch, yum.

Nathan and I often go out to lunch and enjoy an inexpensive meal. Though, this time, we both agreed on sushi for lunch. Something we've never done before and never understood why. The dilemma of this lunch date was "where?" We loooooooooooove this new Japanese steakhouse called Miyako, but its near me. It would clearly take Nate 45 minutes just to get over here. So, we pondered and Nathan shot out a suggestion => "how about Orient Express?!"  [this was the place of our first date - which happened to be on my 22nd birthday]

I, undoubtedly, agreed! When we arrived it was packed. I was first; Nate was close second. We dined and enjoyed every minute of it [minus the excessive wind blowing directly on me]. He order the Texas Roll [white rice] and I got the Millennium Roll [salmon on top]. Both were astounding and full-filling.

After that, I was assuming we were going to say goodbye, but surprisingly the meal didn't take too long so Nathan also suggested this new frozen yogurt placed called Yoforia. It's a self-serve, make your own frozen yogurt!!! The glee in my eyes was obvious. We paid for the amount we got. There's no rule -- you fill your cup up to the level desired. Fruit, candy, and chocolate toppings are at your disposal. When you're done, it's weighed and then you pay. Simple, right? Right! It was soooooooo yummy. [sorry, no personal pic of our creation]

So, what's the best sushi you've ever eaten? Where from?

O, where art thou valentines?

So, I'm obsessed with RealSimple.com. I always go there when I have a few moments to just relax. It's such helpful, organized, and insightful site ---> (three things that are sooooooo important to me).

With Valentine's Day coming up soon, please browse these  11 Love Quotes so that you and yours can enjoy a festive, happy, full of love day together.  [maybe even jot these quotes down and leave them somewhere unexpected *wink]

With that said, leave me some feedback. On what, you ask? Well, what type of flower you'd like to recieve on Vday, where you'd LOOOOVE to go on this great holiday, and what are the best words to hear on this day?

Three questions await to be answered, by YOU!

I gotta do it...

 This lady -ts.saks, here in Atlanta, is super talented. She offers a variety of cute (as any name brand) hand clutches, saks, hippacks, wallet clutches, ruffletts, and more. She is boomin' at the moment and am so thrilled about it.

Just go ahead and check this store out! It's worth your time, money, and everything in between. Buy now!!!

Gooooooo TS.SAKS!

I am a faithful buyer!