2014 has been a year filled with happiness and love but also sadness and pain. Ups and Downs and everything in between. Here are my final thoughts on 2014 and my New Years Resolutions for 2015!
I guess I will start with the good things about 2014. My birthday in 2014 was the BEST birthday I have ever had! I have talked about this enough times I know but since this is my 2014 year in review I have to talk about it again.
January 28, 2014! 3 days before my 26th birthday was the best day of my life so far! That is the day that I met my idol, someone who means the absolute world to me, Lucy Hale! Lucy is just amazing and the sweetest person on the planet. That day meant everything to me. After being down for so long, that day and Lucy lifted me back up, gave me hope and made me believe in my dreams and that dreams really do come true. I so hope I get to see her again! I love you more than you will ever know, Lucy! Also, I want to say to everyone hating on Lucy for any reason what so ever lately it is because she cut her hair short, shame on y'all. Just because you don't like someone or what they do or how they do things doesn't mean you can bully them and be disrespectful. Lucy is not just a celeb, she is a human being with feelings and heart just like the rest of us and it makes me sad and mad to read hateful things towards her. Lucy is beautiful no matter what she does and I love her hair it is beautiful on her! Hope y'all like the poem I wrote about Lucy as well. This is the first time and place that I have posted it.
As with any year, there a good times and bad times. A week after I met Lucy, My Grandma passed away from pneumonia. My Grandma was one of my favorite people in the world. She was one the strongest people I knew. I was really sad after that of course. In May, we took Grandma back to Michigan to bury her ashes right next to Pa in the plot she had purchased many years ago. I will always miss and love you Grandma!
When I didn't think things could get much worse, on July 4, 2014 my Nana passed away. I just couldn't believe it. I sat there shaking uncontrollably. I had seen Nana just a month before and she was fine. I couldn't believe this happened again. My Nana gave me the love of Country Music! The BEST genre of music there is I don't care what anyone says. I will always love and miss you Nana!
Things were getting better or so I thought until October 2014 when I found out a long time family friend Joanne had passed away from Lung Cancer the same cancer that took my Grandaddy when I was 14. Joanne always made me laugh and she had the longest hair but she smoked for as long as I knew her she smokedand because of that she had developed lung cancer. She had done all the treatments but even after she finished that there were still spots left on her lungs and her dr said her body couldn't handle anymore treatment so this past October, she passed away. I will always remember the fun times we had, Joanne!
So, I didn't go home to Virginia for Thanksgiving for the first time in a long time. I stayed in Florida. That was different for me as was this Christmas. No Christmas tree, hardly any decorations, and it just did not feel like Christmas to me. I did go to Richmond though and I did get to see Sarah like usual so that was good. Seeing Lucy's Disney Celebration performance on Christmas Day made things a little easier to handle as well, and here we are now December 31, 2014. The final day of the year and I am glad that a new year is starting.
2014 has been a year of unrest, violence, pain and little hopes for humanity thrown in in between the madness. The race issue continues to boil here in the US and it was never really dead to begin with. All the rioting and looting and violence it's just sad that in this day and age we can't all get along and learn to except each other for our differences. We all have the same organs and features but because we all look different, people think that is an invitation to hurt one another and it is ridiculous. Our obsession with material items is getting out of control too. There are more important things in the world than the newest electronic or shoes or something. People going nuts just to get one or a pair and stealing and beating people up it is seriously messed up. If you don't have the money to buy something then you can't get it plain and simple.
Love is the most important thing we all need. Whether it is family, friends, boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever. We all need love. I am lucky enough to have found my true love and soul mate, Rob. He has been the biggest blessing in my life, even if some people don't believe it, it is true. He understands me, loves me unconditionally, makes me feel loved and safe and happy and makes me feel like I am not alone. We complete each others sentences and laugh about stupid things. We love a lot of the same people and things. It is like a match made in Heaven and I thank God for him everyday! I love you so much Rob and I always will. You are the other half of my heart!
So for 2015, I hope that we can change our world for the better. Find solutions to our problems by talking with each other not by battling each other, that is unlikely to happen but a girl can wish right, We need more love and compassion in this world, we need more positive role models and education.
My New Year's Resolutions for 2015:
Lose weight! I really need to lose weight badly. I don't eat a lot but I am still overweight for my short height.
Figure out something to do with my life. It's very hard for me to figure something out. I love multiple things and it still my dream to be a published Author and I am going to work very hard to make that happen. Writing is my passion. I love photography, weather, animals, and working on the computer as well. I will hopefully be volunteering at my animal shelter when I get back to Florida, I am hoping that will lead into something for me. I would love to work or volunteer at a cat rescue if possible, I wish I could find one.
Continue to be myself and not care what anyone says. I have always had a problem with that. I always take what people say about to heart whether good or bad and I need to stop that and I will. Nobody is going to change who I am or anything.
Hopefully get closer to getting married and being with my love forever. I can't wait until that can happen but we need a lot of things to happen first.
Lastly, continue to love and support Lucy Hale, Alyssa Milano, and watch Pretty Little Liars! The main people and the show that makes me the happiest and I will always love and support them!
Happy New Year Y'all! May 2015 bring you everything you hope for!
This past Sunday a close family friend Joanne passed away from Lung Cancer the same cancer that took my Granddaddy when I was 14. Joanne did smoke for as long as I knew her but it is still an awful way to go. I was in shock when I found out she passed. I knew it was coming even though the hospital had just released her a few weeks ago for doing so well.
Joanne and I always made each other laugh. Our birthdays were 6 days apart. Her's was January 25th and mine is January 31st. My mom and Joanne worked together for a long time. She was just a great person to be around so fun and made you laugh when you needed it.
Cancer is terrible it ruins peoples lives and takes the ones we love but it also causes us to come together to help raise funds and awareness to help make it so this doesn't happen to anyone else.
I wish Joanne had quit smoking. Maybe she would still be here if she had, but that is a hard habit to kick. I remember when I first found that she had Lung Cancer. She had already gone through Chemo but there were still spots left and her doctor said her body couldn't handle anymore treatment. I couldn't believe it. I had already lost my Grandma and Nana this year and now this. This year has been the best and worst year so far. If it wasn't for my idol Lucy Hale and her music I would have fallen completely apart by now. Lucy keeps me going, she keeps me strong, and she keeps my hope alive that things will get better. I love you so much Lucy!!!
No matter how hard it is, you can't give up, you can't let it get to you, you have to stay strong and try to be happy and know that one day you will see your loved ones again. I will always remember the good times Joanne and I shared and the laughs. I always remember how much she loved Guinness Beer and how she used to go wild turkey hunting. RIP Joanne!
Joanne and I at a BBQ when I was 12 years old
My Mom and Joanne at our other friend Susan's 40th bday party
Mom, Joanne, and Joanne's husband Tom at The Celtic Festival in Richmond,VA
Joanne, Susan and our other friend Kim at my High School Graduation party!!
Just a few pics to remember the good times!
Lung Cancer Awareness Month is next Month November!!!
As everyone knows or should know by now, a couple days before the world lost an incredible man and genius Robin Williams. This came as a shock to me and so many others as he was a huge part of my childhood. I grew up in the 90s and was surrounded with Disney. I was a huge fan of Aladdin and Robin Williams as the Genie was and is one of my favorite Disney characters of all time. He made me laugh so much. I had Aladdin on VHS growing up as well as many other Aladdin items:
These are just some of the things that I had growing up as you can see I still have the Genie in the first picture. It wasn't just Aladdin that I loved Robin Williams in there was Mrs. Doubtfire and Jumanji. Robin Williams just had a special way of making you laugh and feel better when things were down. It's like a part of my childhood passed when he did.
One of my favorite lines and scenes ever from Mrs. Doubtfire. It wasn't just movies, I was and still am a HUGE Friends fan and I remembered that Robin Williams along with Billy Crystal had one of the best cameos in Friends Ever!! It was in season 3 and I will never ever forget it. I laugh every time I see it:
Check it out for yourself I guarantee you will not watch the whole thing without cracking up a lot!!! And now for one of the BEST tribute videos I have ever seen! It is only a minute long but well worth the minute to watch:
This was such a beautiful tribute and I guarantee you will tear up. There will never be anyone else like Robin Williams. He was just a true comedic genius in every sense of the word. It is hard enough when someone passes but it is even harder when someone takes their own life because of depression and then to have people judge and saying what is so bad that someone takes their own life and crap like that and it is wrong for anyone to judge someone like that. They felt they were doing the right thing. I have seen it myself when I was growing up I saw alcoholism and drug addiction and having my dad tell me that he wants to die but doesn't remember the next day because he was drunk. He used to be on Zoloft and stuff and what is worse is when it is mixed with alcohol. It is scary to watch and to feel helpless and alone and that is how I felt lots of times. It is better now though my dad doesn't drink anymore but it brings me to my next topic a quote I had just recently been made aware of:
"Never hate on someone's idol, it could be the only reason they're alive". This is now my favorite quote ever. I was raised an only child so I was alone a lot and the only thing I had was TV and music. They made me feel less alone and sometimes that is what you need. My idols are Lucy Hale and Alyssa Milano. Lucy is the one in picture with the quote and she means the world to me as does Alyssa. Lately, Lucy's music has helped me through some hard times. Her music has literally helped me from falling completely apart. I listen to her songs and her beautiful voice and I feel less alone and comforted. So yeah nobody should hate on anyones idols for some they are all they have in life. Meeting Lucy Hale back in January was the best day of my life so far other than meeting my soul mate Rob of course but you get what I am saying. Lucy is just everything to me. Lucy Hale and her music help me hold one when things get tough and that is all!!
So it was heavy hearts that we had to say goodbye to Robin Williams but we will never ever forget him or his way of making us all laugh! RIP Robin Williams you will be terribly missed by all across many generations!
So I have talked a little bit about Lucy Hale in previous blog posts about how she inspires me and such but not a full on blog post about her until now. Also I will talk about how I feel about the whole photoshopping crap and role models.
So I have been watching Pretty Little Liars since day one and from the second I saw Aria (Lucy Hale) I knew she was my favorite! I just connected to her more than the others. Flash forward to now and she is still my favorite and not only that, Lucy is one of my biggest idols and inspirations in life. Lucy is just amazing. She is sweet, caring, compassionate and helps whenever she can. She is a true positive role model to not only me but to so many others out there. Us women and girls need people like her to look to up to and to inspire us to go for our dreams and to remind us that we are all beautiful no matter what. Lucy does that for all of us. I am so proud to be a Haler and to call Lucy my inspiration, idol and role model and I don't care that I am 26 years old that will never change. Lucy is one of the few people that helps me to believe in my dreams and inspires my creativity and gives me hope when I have none. Her music gets me through each and every day and through the tough times I have had lately with the passing of both my grandmothers and that means more to me than anything. I am so grateful that I got to meet her back in January as y'all know by now but that day still means the world to me even now and always will. I love you Lucy, you mean the world to me and always will!
Lucy Hale is one of the few people that are true positive role models. In these times, people like Lucy Hale are so important for all of us. We all need someone like her to look up to and I am glad I look up to her. People like Lucy show us how to be good and loving and helps keep our self esteem and hope up when they are low. I know how that feels. It is especially important for us women and girls to have positive role models like Lucy who are against the whole photoshopping thing. People like Lucy show us that we are beautiful just the way we are which is so important.
The whole photoshopping thing makes no sense to me at all. Nobody is perfect so why try to make people into something that nobody can become? That's what promotes body image issues and it is so wrong. We need to lift each other up not tear each other down. We need to help each other believe that we are all beautiful. Nobody is perfect like I said and Hollywood should not be promoting fake and "perfect" it sends all the wrong messages. They need to promote what is real and show what is real and I am glad that Lucy Hale believes that too.
So anyway, those are my opinions on Role Models and Photoshopping and what Lucy Hale means to me! I hope ya'll enjoy reading and there will be more blogs to come!
So if you don't know already, my Nana passed away on July 4th and my Grandma passed away back in February. That's right I have lost both of my grandmothers in the same year. I no longer have any grandparents alive. I can't seem to wrap my mind around that. This has been a very hard year for me. I wasn't expecting to lose one let alone both my grandmothers in the same year but it happened both unexpectedly actually. It all just feels kind of surreal to me. It's like those things you thought would always be there and then poof just like that they are gone and it is just hard for me to grasp.
So RIP Nana and Grandma. I will always miss you and love you. Like I have said before Grandma gave me a love of baking and Nana gave me the love of Country Music. We would sit on the couch and watch CMT music videos sometimes all day long back in the 90s of course. Shania Twain, Martina McBride, Leann Rimes, Tim McGraw, George Strait, Clint Black, Garth Brooks, Brooks and Dunn, just to name a few of the artists we would watch. It made me fall in love with this great genre of music. So, when both my Grandmothers passed away, I turned to music to help me through, more specifically I turned to Lucy Hale's music to get me through. Her beautiful voice and those powerful yet relatable lyrics she sings would comfort me in way I needed most. I would have Nervous Girls on repeat and still listen to it everyday more than once sometimes. "I'm beautifully strong and tragically confused" that lyric from Nervous Girls is my favorite song lyric of all time. It describes me to a T right now in my life. I love those lyrics so much, I made my own art with them:
It is supposed to be a waterfall with the lyrics in the middle if that wasn't apparent. It would probably be more apparent if I scanned it instead of just taking a pic of it. I plan on scanning it a little later. I hope ya'll like it though. I really hope Lucy likes it too. Anyway, that's what I do to help myself cope. I listen to music and write, draw, and write some more.
I will always remember the good times I had with both my grandma and Nana and without Lucy's music, I would have fallen completely apart by now so thank you Lucy, from the bottom of my heart for helping me get through these tough times with your music. I love you more than you will ever know. Last bit of confession, when I first heard Lucy's song Road Between, I had tears streaming down my face, I related to it so much and it was so beautiful and inspiring that I couldn't help but cry.
Anyway, cherish everyone you love you never know when it will be your last moment with them.
Just wanted to put some of my favorite poems that I have written together here so ya'll can read and I hope ya'll like them!
This poem is called "Lucy" I have written this one about my idol Lucy Hale there is also another poem that I will put after this that I have written about Lucy Hale as well:
Lucy
She's the prettiest flower in the bouquet She's the sweetest sugar In a glass of iced tea On a hot summer's day She has a smile so bright It shines like a star in the night sky When it's dark, she's the light She's an Angel from up above And that's no lie She's as warm as a cup of Starbuck's coffee And as cute and lovable as a unicorn She's just like you and me I'm so glad she was born She pours her heart out through her songs So why don't we all sing along Her name is Lucy can't you see How much she inspires me!
My Country Queen
She's a beautiful girl So full of love She sings to the world She's someone I'm so proud of She's so full of grace And so full of art She's truly amazing And has a beautiful heart She inspires me everyday To keep going and hold on I just listen to her music And all my troubles are gone Her name is Lucy She's a sight to be seen It's no wonder why She's my Country Queen!
Those two poems are about Lucy Hale!
I have also written poems about my other idol, Alyssa Milano
This one is called "Heart of Gold"
Heart of Gold
You're beautiful in every way You're light shines through on everyday You're love is a gift from your soul Because of you have a heart of gold When disaster strikes somewhere You're here, you're there, you really care You make others feel whole when you console Because you have a heart of gold Baseball is a game you really love Creating fans is what you're made of Sharing you love with the world as a whole Because you have a heart of gold You can really make a person smile You really have a caring style Your light and love will never be cold You have a heart of gold!
My Hero
My hero is someone with a huge heart She is a true beauty inside and out She is a woman who is very smart She will be there for you without a doubt
My hero loves animals of all kinds She loves sports, her son, & family too Her clothing line is full of amazing designs Her favorite color is Dodger blue
My Hero loves everyone She is someone we all can look up to She shines like the stars, moon, and sun Guess what Alyssa, My hero is YOU!
Those two poems are about Alyssa Milano
I have also written poems about my Fiance Rob. Here is one I don't have a title for
You came into my life when there was no one before To make my life complete You make my life worth living for You are always so sweet
God gave you to me To be my happiness and love The true love I thought I'd never see To be the one I always think of
You are my soul mate and true love The missing piece to my heart The one I have always dreamed of We will never ever be apart
This poem is about my friends in general not to one in particular
Friends like you Fill the world with rainbows and sunshine and make the grey skies turn blue I am proud to call you mine
Loyal, dependable, and caring too Always there with a laugh or smile The world needs more friends like you You make our friendship really worthwhile
So I dedicate this poem to you My best friends forever You are always so true You are the best ever
This poem I wrote for my 8th grade English class when I was 14.
Wild Springs Flow
Wild springs flow Where the green grass grows With flowers it seems like hours As day turns to night Creatures are in sight To come drink where the Wild Springs Flow
These last two poems are the latest ones I have written because I just wrote them today.
Little Red Box
Small, plastic, and red Covered in stickers And Sitting on my bed
Filled with memories, photos, and stuff Fun times and knick knacks I can't get enough
A life This little box holds Priceless possessions And stories to be told
My little red box Means the world to me It holds my treasures Now you see
Most of my poems are based on real things/people/places. This one is about my little red box as you can see. This last poem I wrote today is called "Home" this one is about the place I grew up in. Home Fireflies, honeysuckles, fresh country air Free to roam Without a care Fresh cut grass Sprinklers and bikes Slip n slide fun Flying colorful kites Always barefoot Swinging on swings playing with the neighbors Oh the joy it would bring How I miss those times now As I wander and roam Finding my place I know This place will always be home! I hope ya'll enjoy my poems. I am always writing and there will be more. ~Peace and Love~
