Oh, how I love thee, Helen Wise.

My message to Helen: hey! what time is lunch tuesday and can i bring my sister? we are supposed to go shopping afterward and i figured i'd just invite her to lunch too, if that is okay.

miss you!!

Her response: Why hells yes it is okay--- bring her! We are having grown up grilled cheese, soup, and spinach salad. High noon, hooker. I miss you more and we have 23939485 billion things to catch up on and your vacation is almost over and we haven't snuggled once. harumph! JK - see your ass Tuesday.

Proof positive that she is in fact the most hilarious and perfect friend!

Glee Wii!!

The purchase of my Wii conincided with my move back to the country. Inadequate internet coupled with the lack of entertainment options (with the exception of The Channel Marker!) led me to my decision, which turns out to be the best decision I've made in a while.

Ritobandito hooked me up with the Glee! karaoke game for my birthday. We broke it down last weekend but none of us performed quite like my Dad. He was amazing and he even gave us a little "truffle shuffle". Lord Jesus Taco help us!!

Enjoy! :)



Happy Dianna Day, Indeed!

Note: Handmade birthday card by the uber fabulous, Dr. Anastasia Beaverhausen! 

Last week, I celebrated my 28th birthday.  Truth be told, I have been a little leery of the big 2-8.  I've been battling with oh-shit-i'm-almost-thirty thoughts and feelings for a while now, which turns out not to be a very good place to be for someone like me who tends to be a bit on the analytical/dramatic/obsessive side.  It's not that I am so much worried about the getting older part that deals with wrinkles,sagging and dentures.  I can deal with that, I think.  It's the realization that life really does pass by in what seems like an instant.  It's the wondering if my life has meant something to this point.  It's the figuring out if I'm living my life the way I should.  It's the constant evaluation of where I am in life versus where I thought I would be.  My greatest fear is that I'll wake up in 20 years or 10 years or 5 years or 5 months filled with regret. Regret that I haven't lived my life to its fullest potential because of fear of failure or fear of the unknown.

Lucky for me, I have some amazing people in my life that ground me and help to keep those pesky obsessive crazy thoughts under control.  They inspire me to live my life with purpose and passion and by virtue of them being in my life, remind me that surely I must be doing something right. 

The ladies who helped to celebrate my birthday this year, just so happen to rank at the very top of the amazing people list. They are extraordinary women, each wonderful in their own way.  I could easily write a book about each of them and explain in detail what makes them so fabulous and why I adore and love each of them.  However, I decided to just give you one word that I think describes them best.

Helen - Vivacious
Jacqui - Thoughtful
Kayleigh - Delightful
Toya - Lovely
Wendy - Entertaining
Barbabra (Mama) - Sensitive
Jennifer (Sister) - Courageous
Brandy W. - Organized

These women are incredible and have enriched my life in unexplainable ways. They love me, support me, encourage me, are truthful with me (even when I don't want to hear it) and they challenge me to be a better person. 

If I haven't gotten the message across that I am so fortunate to have such amazing people in my life, maybe this will help to convince you.....

Right?!? Amazing!

P.S.  As if just being fabulous friends weren't gift enough....these wonderful women got me a Kindle for my birthday. Shut. The. Front. Door.  A Kindle! :)

P.P.S. When I told my Dad that the girls gave me a Kindle for my birthday, he replied, "Doesn't she play on One Life To Live?!?"  hahahahaha

Music Class

In the Bronx, on the corner of.....

....you'll find a school filled with fantastic teachers and adorably charming children.  The Bronx Charter School for Children is especially blessed to have the very fantastic, Jerry Phelps, teaching there.

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Yesterday, I met Jerry at his school for lunch and had the honor of experiencing firsthand the magic that is his teaching.  Beforehand, I sent cupcakes with Jerry to share with his co-workers.  He texted me at roughly 8:15am and said that ALL 4 dozen were gone.  I'm going to take that as a sign that they liked them.

Mr. Phelps' music class rocks.  I could write a million words explaining the fabulosity of it all, but figured I would let you see for yourself.  Enjoy!

 

Don't you want to be in Mr. Phelps' class now?  That's what I thought!

Man, I needed that......

What do you get when you have one Dianna Phelps + two of the best friends of said Dianna Phelps + wine + a charming cabin on the mountain + the threat of bears + great conversation + handmade notecard making + plenty of laughter????  I'll tell you what you get.....you get the best damn weekend of 2010 and quite possibly the best weekend of Dianna Phelps' entire almost 28 years of life.

Helen, Toya and I ventured to Mena, Arkanasas last weekend for some much needed time away from the craziness that is life.  We talked, laughed and sang (Helen, you have the voice of an angel!) all the way to the cabin on Friday night.  Once we arrived, we drank wine and stayed up talking until the wee hours of the morning.  It was fantastic and made me think of sleepovers I used to have with my friends when I was 10, sans the wine of course and no one froze anybody's panties! :)

On Saturday, Helen enjoyed a trek into the "city" for a massage while Toya and I explored life outside the cabin - climbing a tree house, trying to find a trail to take us to the top of the mountain and keeping vigilant watch for the bears that Helen warned like to make appearances. It was divine.

(Note: Toya can WORK IT even in a tree house!)

In the afternoon, we took a trip into Mena for lunch and a little shopping and then we took a drive up the mountain to take in the wonder of it all. 

The rest of the evening was filled with more wine, handmade note card making (and I aint gonna lie, we have mad notecard making skills) and dinner at the Chopping Block.

The next morning we traveled back up the mountain and had breakfast at the lodge and took in the last of the beautiful scenery. Then, traveled back to reality - home.

The weekend was magical and refreshing and simply lovely. It was the kind of weekend that fuels you and makes you feel like you can make it through the coming weeks/months filled with the craziness until you can experience another weekend or moment that brings with it peace and quiet and refreshment.

I'm so blessed to have such amazing friends in my life. Especially in the form of one Toya Tucker and one Anastasia Beaverhausen. Thank you both for being so fabulous, so encouraging and so kind. The world needs more people like the both of you.

 

Wordless Wednesday

Just another MANIC MONDAY....

Celebrate good times, come on!!!

I love a good celebration.  Any kind of celebration, really. Elaborate, silly, important, insignificant, impromptu, quaint, gigantic.... it just doesn't matter as long as it's a celebration!  If you pay attention, there are a ton of things around you begging to be celebrated.  For instance, today, the weather is actually fall-like and you better believe I am celebrating.  Celebrating with a pumpkin spice latte, a cute scarf and quick but very sincere thank you to the real Jesus, not the taco.

This week I've had the extremely good fortune of being able to take part in some fantastic celebrations. 

The first was a birthday celebration for my fabulous friend, Toya.  Toya is incredibly kind, incredibly beautiful, incredibly intelligent and an all-around incredible friend.  Toya is the kind of person that deserves to be celebrated year-round, not just on her birthday.  Here's to you and your fabulousness, friend!

I also celebrated Halloween last night by helping my sister throw a party for my nephews and their friends.  It was fun! It was wild! It was perfect!

We celebrated by dressing up:

We celebrated by decorating creeeeeepy Halloween cupcakes:

We celebrated by bobbing for apples:

 Of course, we celebrated with lots and lots of candy:

In addition to all these fun things, we also celebrated with a dance party in the living room, a much too loud game of red rover in the dark, and tons of laughter.  It was a divine Halloween celebration fit for the most wonderful boys, er, villians....Chucky and Freddy Krueger to be exact.

Celebrate something today!  It doesn't have to be a birthday or a holiday to celebrate.  Celebrate life - say thank you, give a big ol' fist pump, do a cartwheel or the cabbage patch, it doesn't matter....just CELEBRATE!!

thankful thursday

At present, I have an over abundance of thankfulness swelling in my heart for the following:

#1 Sweet, encouraging, beautiful (inside & out) and wonderfully generous friends.

#2 Pumpkin Spice Lattes.  The weather may still be warm in Louisiana but fall has most definitley arrived at Starbucks!

#3 The opportunity to work with some pretty fantastic kids.

#4 Good, effective, motivated, life-changing teachers.

#5 Precious memories of my sweet Grandmommie.

#6 My freshly booked plane ticket to NYC to celebrate Thanksgiving with my brother.