SEIZE

1) to take hold of suddenly or forcibly; grasp
2) to grasp mentally; understand clearly and completely
3) to take possession of by force or at will
4) to take possession or control of as if by suddenly laying hold

April truly went by in the blink of an eye (I feel like I start every post with HOW FAST time seems to be flying). I can't believe we are now starting the fifth month of the year!

If I had to dedicate a phrase to April it would be "seize the day". From parasailing in Mexico (yes that post will be coming!) to dancing to our favorite Macklemore songs at Whitney's wedding or making awesome improvements around the homestead, April was the month to do it all. Take a look below! Carpe diem!

April photo challenge daily topics (L to R, top to bottom):
Day 1: "your reflection"
Day 2: "colors" - bikinis ready for Mexico!
Day 3: "mail" - a postcard from a bestie

Day 4: "someone who makes you happy" - this boy who doesn't mind twinning!
Day 5: "tiny"
BONUS: Cheers to our vacation! (at the airport before our flight)

BONUS: El Arco in Cabo San Lucas - so stunning!

Day 6: "lunch" - salmon salad on the cruise
Day 7: "shadow" - catching some shade on the beach in Loreto
Day 8: "inside your wallet" - all out of money after our vacation!
Day 9: "younger [crazier] you"
Day 10: "cold" drinks on the beach
Day 11: "where you ate breakfast" - room service on our cruise
Day 12: "stairs" - after 1,311 stairs I was happy to see a view with NO stairs :)
Day 13: "something you found" - towel monkey in our room
Day 14: "how you feel today" - sleep and sad, post vacation :(
Day 15: "sunset" - view from the plane

BONUS: DMB tickets arrived!
Day 16: "flower"

BONUS: Remember last month when I said I really wish I had a watch? I got one!
Day 17: "something you hate" - our old, dirty carpet

BONUS: our NEW carpet!
Day 18: "hair"
Day 19: "orange" - HMG's colorDay 20: "something you drew" - a note in my planner
Day 21: "bottle" - Vapur, the anti-bottle
Day 22: "last thing you bought" - new Hunter rain boots
Day 23: "vegetable" (carrot sticks)
Day 24: "something you are greatful for" - my faith in a higher power
Day 25: "looking down"
Day 26: "black and white"
Day 27: "somewhere you went" - Skagit Valley Tulip Festival!
Day 28: "1pm" - baby shower!
Day 29: "circle" - aerial view of my water bottle
Day 30: "something that makes you said" - my current read, The Poisonwood Bible

PARTAKE

1) to take or have a part or share along with others; participate 

2) to receive, take, or have a share or portion 

3) to have something of the nature or character

Time really does fly when you are having fun. Life has been so good to me lately -- now if only I could convince it to slow down. 

Since autumn is my favorite season, I knew it would fly by in the blink of any eye. In order to to squeeze the most I could out of the season, I was determined to do "all things fall". I am thankful that I had some of my favorite people by my side as I checked off my fall to-do list: went to the pumpkin patch, carved pumpkins, sipped hot apple cider and ate cake doughnuts, raked leaves, hand crafted pumpkin spice lattes, played dress-up for Halloween, pulled sweaters, scarves and boots out from hiding, ate soup, watched football, made a fire, read good books, and relaxed by candlelight. 

I still have one more month of autumn goodness. I am determined to hug each minute of it, as I continue to find autumn activities in which I want to...

PARTAKE! 

RECOMMEND

1) to present as worthy
2) to make desirable or attractive

Back in June I made my third “big girl purchase” — a car. And while I will be the first person to admit I am obsessed with her (yes, Betty White), it may come as a surprise that I do not drive to work. Call me crazy, right?!
 

Wrong. I seriously treasure my bus ride time. I covet my 20ish minute commute, two times a day, five days a week. For the 20 minutes that I am stranded in the germ tube, I get some quality “me time” in for reviewing work emails, quick facebook stalking, groupon hunting, jamming out, or some meditation. But the activity I look forward to the most is reading. 

When it comes to good books, I love getting recommendations from friends, family, and co-wokers. I look forward to trading books with my cousin whenever I see her for visits and discussing when we swap again. But occasionally, I find myself in a bind… I have nothing in my mental reading queue (or worse…the library is standing me up!) and I am entering the reading “danger zone” (you know what I’m talking about, the final ten or so pages that you read the slowest because you are savoring your last moments with the characters). When desperate times call for desperate measures I do what every perpetual bus rider hates — I spy.

Generally these efforts are fruitless, as my bus-mates and I clearly don’t share much in common in the literature category (or everyone reads their Kindle which makes spying impossible). But on a rare occasion, I spy a gem. 

The gem I just finished reading is “MWF seeking BFF” and I would love to recommend it to you. This book chronicles Rachel Bertsche as she finds herself feeling friendless in the Windy City. When she realizes that her new married life is missing something, she resolves to spend one year making new friends. She re-tells the (insert: awkward, hilarious, touching, and heart-warming) stories of the fifty-two friend-dates she experiences (one per week for a year), as she searches for her new BFF. She totally hooks nerd-girls like me with her blend of personal account and social/psychological research as she examines the question: why will women happily announce they need a man but are embarrassed to admit they need a BFF?
 

This book as a good one, and although I had to return my copy to the library (actually, my loving sister returned it for me!) take this as me passing my copy of the book on to you. 

While we are at it, do you have something that you…

RECOMMEND?

ps. Big shout out to my cherished friends. Reading this book made me so thankful for all of you and pushed me to work harder in all of my friendships. Bless you for all of you have done for me and I very much look forward to all we have in store.