Thank you Lady Bird!

I fiiiiinally went to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower center!!

I've wanted to go for like 10 years; 

3 of which I've now lived in Austin.

It's ridiculous right--so hopefully I'll go back again soon.

In fact, the gardens aren't really in bloom yet, 

so I really need to go back to see it in a month or so.

It was still so gorgeous this weekend though.

To me it's epitome of the natural beauty of Austin Texas.

It's actually literally down the road from where my grandma lives though,

so I might be partial to the look of that area.

It set the stage for a lot of my imaginary princess games when I was a kid.

Who can argue with this beauty though??

It was kind of a perfect  day too.

Gorgeous sun, and just a little cool...

"all you need is a light jacket".

The landscaping was really pretty too.

Again, very Texas-y.

That's thanks to Lady Bird.

Did you know you can fill flowerbeds with shards of glass??

It's so pretty!

And there may not be a whole lot of flowers in bloom yet,

but those pretty little bluebonnets are starting to spring up.

It was also such a lovely day due to the fact that I got to hang out

with some of my faaavorite people from Houston.

I'm so glad they came to visit Austin!

It made my weekend.

Look at these cuties!

Grateful for:

Texas,

specifically Austin;

it's beauty and weirdness,

and also Houston

because it's where I grew up with

the wonderful Jensen and Martin families,

also the best and most supportive friends and family,

and CES firesides that provide new perspectives

from modern-day apostles.

Quote of the day:

"As we confront our own trials and tribulations, we too can plead with the Father, just as Jesus did, that we might not shrink - meaning to retreat or recoil.  Not shrinking is much more important than surviving.  Moreover, partaking of a bitter cup without becoming bitter is likewise part of the emulation of Jesus.  The Savior did not shrink in Gethsemane or Golgotha."

--Elder Bednar

Little Women

An interesting thing happened last night.

I was in a movie-watching mood.

(this is hardly interesting; this is a very regular occurrence.)

But, what I decided was that I was in the mood for "Little Women".

Usually, when this thought occurs to me,

I feel guilty, and feel the need to wait to watch it

until the next time I see my favorite Sophie.

Wellll, I won't get a chance to watch it with her for a while

so I decided I could watch it by myself.

Now, I have absolutely no problem watching a movie alone.

In fact, I quite enjoy even going to the movie theater alone.

(That might be a problem,

but I'll worry about that tomorrow

as Miss Scarlett O'Hara would say.)

But Little Women, I've never watched by myself.

It's always been with my mom

and then my mom and Sophie,

and recently my mom, Sophie, and Emma Gracie.

We love it a little bit.

We also have a tendency to make parallels between our lives

and the lives of the March Sisters.

My mom is very clearly a "Marmee" figure.

I always think of her when Marmee tells Jo:

"You have so many extraordinary gifts; 

how can you expect to lead an ordinary life?  

You're ready to go out and find a good use for your talent.  

Go, and embrace your liberty.  

And see what wonderful things come of it."

or especially when Jo and Amy are fighting and she says:

"It is a very great loss and you have every right to be put out.

But don't let the sun go down on your anger.

Forgive each other, and begin again tomorrow."

That's my mama.

Emma is undoubtedly Amy;

the cute, sweet, unabashedly quirky one,

who would make up a word like "expectuating" or "degratitated"

or say something like "Jo! How could you? Your one beauty!"

in reference to a bad haircut.

And Sophie and I can't ever decide which of us is Jo, and which is Meg.

It completely depends on the day,

and the situation,

who ends up being more of a non-conformist,

and who ends up being the polite one

who gets invited to things like "Belle Gardner's 'coming out' party".

We go back and forth.

I don't think this quandary will be settled until we get married;

We'll have to wait and see who marries a Mr. Brooke,

and who marries a Professor Bhaer.

Here's a little example;

I giggle the whole way through this part,

it reminds me so much of my sisters.

And that pretty much sums us up as kids (and also adults in some ways);

playing some imaginary game that involves dress up clothes,

creating elaborate projects that we all were required to contribute to,

one of us keeping the others in line ("don't say awful, it's slang")

discussing boys; 

their "noble brows", and if they have secrets,

and we usually end with some words of wisdom from Emma.

Ahhh I love that movie.

And I usually cry when I watch it,

but I bawled a little bit last night; I'll admit it.

I'm a lucky lucky girl 

to have had such a March-sister-esque childhood with my sisters.

It has been quite full  of

imagination and laughing and loving 

...and more laughing.

Favorite Little Women quotes:

"Butter! Oh isn't butter divinity?" --Amy

"You don't need scores of suitors, you only need one, if he's the right one." --Amy

"You can't even propose without quarreling." --Jo

"I go around throwing away perfectly good marriage proposals..." --Jo

"I don't want to die, I've waited my whole life to be kissed, and what if I miss it?" --Amy

"Marmee, must you speak to everyone about corsets?" --Meg

"In token of my gratitude and as a means of promoting communication between adjoining nations, shouting from windows being forbidden, I shall provide a post office in our hedge, to further encourage the bearing of our souls, and the telling of our most appalling secrets." --Laurie

"Your heart understood mine " --Professor Bhaer

"And so I stepped over the divide between childhood and all that lay beyond." --Jo

Updates... including the first time I've EVER dyed my hair...

Recently,

I added some new editions to my room decor.
They were lovely little Christmas presents from my mom.

I also gave up ice cream...

and I started eating substantially more vegetables than I ever have.
My entire life.
I have a whole cup of spinach
(or kale if I'm feeling crazy)
every morning in my breakfast smoothie.

I have been getting 7-8 hours of sleep each night as well.
I even leave things a little early
just so I can get to bed on time!
(this is probably the nuttiest thing I've ever done)


Also, I gave in and went trendy;
I did the paint-one-nail-a-different-color thing...

And...
I did it!!
I dyed my hair!!!
I was terrified, but I did it!

I had a great hairdresser,
and let's be honest, it's not too crazy different;
just a bit darker on the top, and a bit lighter on the bottom....

But now that I've done it, I'm not sure I'll ever go back...
And next time I think I may even go darker,
or redder...
We'll see...


And this hasn't changed;
I'm still grateful for old movies.
Preferably ones from the 50's to mid 60's.
I could watch Cary Grant and Grace Kelly
or Humphry Bogart and Audrey Hepburn
just about any day.
I'm also grateful for faithful MTC teachers
like the awesome Tasha Marie,
that can miraculously run into Sister Robinson on her birthday!!

...and also the world's best parents
who are exceptional examples of fulfilling their callings,
and being in a relief society with wonderful sisters,
and CES firesides.

Quote of the Day:
"The thing about truth is that it exists beyond belief.  It is true even if nobody believes it... There is indeed such a thing as absolute truth--unassailable, unchangeable truth."
--President Uchtdorf

NYC Take Two.

One day,

I will live in New York City.

I will live in a tiny (yet charming) apartment.

I will know the subway system well enough

to tell tourists the wisest way to get where they're going.

I'll buy my produce in Chinatown,

my meat from a real butcher,

and my cupcakes and such from Babycake's vegan (aka gluten free) bakery.

I'll meet up with friends for lunch at places like "House of Sandwich",

or I'll  grab a hot chocolate from somewhere like "the Chocolate Room",

(and since we're living in my dream world,

I'll be an accomplished runner 

who runs in Central Park every day)

I'll go on dates to places like the Guggenheim,

or the Met, or catch a show on Broadway.

I'll watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade 

live,

every year.

I'll be a regular at the "brooklyn flea",

And get lost in stores like "Books of Wonder"

(kind of a real-life 'Shop Around the Corner' from You've Got Mail...).

My children will be cool New Yorker's

who wear bow ties and oxfords, 

or stripe-y leggings with peter pan collar dresses to church.

My family will of course be in the Manhattan ward,

and go to the church on the bottom floor of the Manhattan temple building.

Yup. Right there.

But for now, since I love Austin so much,

it is sufficient to simply visit NYC every once in a while.

Or maybe more often than "a while"...

Seeing as I went in May, and just got back from another trip with my family...

And it was as wonderful an adventure as the last.

First of all, I seriously think one of my favorite parts of this trip

was the ordeal of my entire family getting on and off the Subway--

we never lost anyone ; it's a Christmas miracle!

And these handsome dudes were always gentlemen

and let us ladies take the seats first.

There was a lot of family bonding/huddling for warmth.

And plenty of hood/hat/scarf wearing;

it was a foreign concept to those youngins who haven't ever lived in a cold climate.

And our family's suggestion for when you visit NYC, 

is DO NOT take the "fast pass" option to the top of the empire state building;

it's code for twice as much money and an extra 2 hours of waiting...

it's not like a fast pass at Disney World... hahaha

We LOVED the Plaza though!

We even prepped for our trip by watching Home Alone 2: Lost in NY

just the night before we left

It also made me want to read the Great Gatsby again...

And mine and my mom's little hearts flipped when we saw this portrait of Eloise.

(with her pets Weenie and Skipperdee of course)

We were suuuper excited to see this on Time Square!

We felt like celebrities.

And it turns out that 'Annie' on Broadway is FANTASTIC.

Not quite as life-changing as 'Newsies', but even Dylan liked 'Annie'.

(although, Sophie and I haven't decided yet if it was quite as good as the renditions

we put on in our game room growing up...)

We ate lots of yummy food.

And clearly enjoyed each other's company.

The girls loved the SHOPPIN.

(aka window shoppin...)

Aaand the boys did not.

This picture sums up the Robinsons in NYC; 

we took up that entire ice cream store.

We saw the beautiful Grand Central Station.

Where Jesse's head pretty much scraped the ceiling...

he just won't stop growing!!

We went to church...

in my future ward.

And got to visit the breath-taking 9/11 memorial.

And walked across the Brooklyn Bridge!!! It was beautiful!

It was also freezing...

But don't worry, Emma and Logan had the appropriate head gear.

And I got to go to the Guggenheim with my mom.

She's so wonderful.

Goodness Gracious I'm in love with that city.

Grateful for:

my hippie Mom,

my cowboy Dad,

and Logan, Sophie,

Jesse, Max, Dylan,

and Emmacita,

and for the blessing to be sealed to my whoooole family

forever.

Christmas time [was] here...

I'm a big fan of the Christmas season;

I looove that Christmas lasts a whole month.

The shopping and such does stress me out,

but I do love that it's socially acceptable to sing Christmas songs every day,

and everyone seems to be a bit friendlier for the month December.

I also love the excuse to go to concerts and throw parties.

Me and sweet miss Livvy 

got to attend Emma's choir Christmas concert;

I loved when they sang "Santa is the Man".

And then Livvy Lou gave me this Christmas present--

because she knows how much I love Paris!

It was so sweet!! 

And thennn, I went to a lovely little Christmas party,

where apparently a group of us subconsciously decided 

that we wanted to show the Christmas spirit

with the color of our pants.

I ended up making way too many presents

I didn't mean to, but I spent a whole lot of hours

(that I should have been sleeping, mind you)

making, remaking, and perfecting Christmas presents...

and loved every moment of it.

My sweet roomie gave me a super wonderful gift.

And left it in my stocking before she left to go home; so cute!!

My family even came over to my apartment for treats, and coco

and the "Polar Express"

We wore Christmas sweaters 

(and snowflake headbands)

and everything.

Such cuties!

"The first gift of Christmas!"

We love the Polar Express.

And then we donned footie pajamas...

And also party hats while we were eating our Christmas Eve soup...

...we made CC and Papa wear some hats too--they were great sports.

It was an extra special Christmas because these guys were there.

They are some of the most wonderful people I know.

And we all sure love them.

...

(and then came this big, lovely trip my family took to NYC; 

just imagine a group of nine people shuffling on and off of subways,

and in and out of tiny NY restaurants and stores...

It was simply fantastic.  I love that place.)

...

It's been an exceptional Christmas!

Grateful for:

my Papa serenading us on Christmas Eve,

my sweet Grandma and friend CC,

gluten free NY pizza,

the Manhattan Temple,

my faithful, soon-to-be missionary sister,

getting to go to the temple with my parents and brother and sister,

a whole new year ahead of me,

a nice, neatly organized list of resolutions

and the blessing of forgiveness

Quote for 2013:

"It's never too late to become what you might have been."