ramblings and even a rant.

and life keeps running, running... it's already the end of june and i am left wondering where in the world all the time has gone?!?! i know i'm gonna close my eyes to sleep, wake up and the year that's upon us will have vanished. sad at times but everyday being the adventure that it is and the swiftness of the hours leave me with no time for dwelling on the sad. with everyday i wake up i get to meet a new part of this awesome little boy. a little man (literally) with his ever expanding ideas and way of thinking and doing things. i am really honored to be his mom, as if you couldn't tell. Scooby-Doo (doo) and we cannot forget Shaggy (saggy) are his most favorite things right now, he loves a good mystery. we talk about everyday things and our fun plans for our tomorrows- of which i know i am more excited about than him. he is by far the coolest person that i know.

exciting news on the home front- we are closing and then the work begins...this week! i am looking so forward to getting in there, getting things done, seeing all our hard work look so beautiful, get our stuff moved up the mountain and sit down, look at our new home and finally be settled. i have been busy shopping, or i should say we, my main concern, of course is the decorating. i am having the worst time finding draperies for the living room that match the ones that I have in my mind. i do believe i have envisioned something that doesn't exist. not the first time that's ever happened. b just sits back and laughs at me as i sit contemplating "curtains?". yes, curtains- they play a very important role in the grand scheme of a house. this time i am going a little bit more contemporary with my design, yet classic. all stainless appliances for that sleek look, gold walls, splashes of black and, of course red. logan will have his dinosaur room back, he is so excited and bruce and I will decorate our room to look like a hotel room- since we LOVE hotels. i'm sure there will be before and after pics- so for now i say, "let the fun begin!"

i have to take this moment to rant for a minute, i have bad moods and i sometimes grow tired of aggravating people, just being honest. ok, so here goes: don't you get tired of people stating the same things over and over and over and over and over and...well, you get the point and when i write that i don't mean good things, nice things, exciting things, happy things, things people actually want to hear or read. it's just bad, always bad about someone or something. they are living in the past when everyone else has been moved on. i wish that i had a little insight into why people wouldn't just want to get over it, grow up and move on, it's been like, what? forever. and honestly nobody cares, right?!?! just like no-one cares about my ranting, except for me. the difference is, i will say it one time and be done. usually, i don't say anything publicly about current "aggravations, tantrums and bad days." there is really no point, because honestly who wants to remember and relive bad situations? there is enough trials with every new day- why focus on yesterdays?!? goodness, i should be done now, i can feel my blood pressure rising and my ranting is definitely not worth my health, and there is no sense in going on and on and on about it today or for days to come, now is there? i will say this, and its the last thing on this subject, i promise; i really wish people could or would just move on if for nothing else but for themselves! it feels a lot better to just let go and be happy, life is much sweeter and it's so easy to do. ok...done!

busy day, everyday's busy for that matter, ready for the weekend, it's the fourth, which means...fun, food, family, friends, fireworks, and hotels, wait that so broke my "f" train, still yet it's a nice combo. for tonight, it's dinner and a movie(s): the crazies (love a good scary), hot tub time machine (love mr. cusak) and percy jackson and the lightning thief- in exactly that order! happy fourth, if i don't blog again before then, hope your weekend is "full o' fun."

take me home, yellow brick road.

I am so excited and pleased to announce that we, the Hull's, have exciting news (for us that is) SO exciting that I simply have to share...Drum roll please..... We are HOME-OWNERS. Yes, you read right, we own a home. Now, of course this isn't as exciting to most as it is to us and the ones closest to us. We have always had really nice homes to live in but they didn't belong to us, they weren't ours completely, they belonged to family which was so much better than renting from just anyone. But now that we have something that is ours the feeling is completely different. It's something that we have always wanted, but just never felt like it was the right time. Well, now that we are residents of Tennessee, it's the right time! Over the past couple of days we have got ideas and bought TONS of stuff for the remodeling which is my forte, its hard work, but I love watching my masterpiece unfold right before my eyes.

As most of you know we have been living in my Grandpa's cabin which is so nice and cozy- however, its small and completely furnished therefore none of our furniture is up here, none of what makes our home so pretty...(except for the T.V., of course). We are SO thrilled to be getting our space back, all of our furniture, pictures, decor back. I'm so anxious to get back to family dinners and the day that we are settled and can just be still. The time is creeping up where working into the nights will be begin, the u-haul will be rented and we will be at home sweet home, once again...my heart smiles.

sweet summer-time.

Sweet summertime. To be technical its not summer yet, but if you have stepped outside lately then technicalities don't really matter. Most days it is unbearable outside- then the evening storms touch down and it cools the air for a breezy afternoon. Logan loves the outside- so any chance we get we are "ow-side, ow-side." More than anything he loves swimming- he will beg to play in the pool, in the "wa-er" as he calls it. Sometimes he just has to settle for a bath though, especially with the summer storms. I swear he has grown so much lately- he is almost at my waste- which isn't really saying much, but still yet it's alot of growing that has been going on. His body isn't the only thing growing, that brain of his has taken off...his vocabulary is expanding and potty training isn't too far off, although I think I will put it off until he turns two, which isn't too far away. Some may think I am crazy, but I am already planning and preparing for his second birthday party. It is my happy place to plan events and see it all come together just perfectly. I have already got a couple things ordered and on their way. I always start planning and organizing months in advance because I hate waiting til the last minute and then trying to figure it out- something about that just doesn't feel as special. I love birthdays, to me they are so important and especially now that I have my own kid that I gave birth to, needless to say I want every party to be a memorable event. I love pulling that creative side out of myself, making things, having ideas, planning, preparing and then watching it come to be. I think I should be an event planner for a living- along with being a photographer, to me that would be my dream job. Speaking of birthdays, yesterday was my baby sisters double-digit birthday. I always pick with her, act as if I am tearing up and tell her that I remember when she was just a little tot. But it's true- I do. I remember it like it was yesterday, like she was just born and we were planning her first birthday. Now she is a little lady- CRAZY...time that is. B was filling out her card yesterday and said, "man, I have been around since her second birthday!" Which means, this year marks eight years that we have been together.

We have been SO busy recently, mostly mental busy. Trying to get settled- yes, we are still working on that. It's so time consuming, thinking and waiting, waiting and thinking some more- I like to see all that energy put to good use. By days end I am extremely exhausted and ready to crash. Bad days are really non-existent when you have that gorgeous face to look at and be amazed. We recently got Logan and new puppy- he is a double dapple dachshund- triple d's! He is the cutest thing, but I had forgot how time consuming it was to potty train a puppy. Where we got him had him trained to use a litter box which is weird for me because I only associate that with cats- so we opted out, but I think we may go back to that because it's what he knows and until we can get settled ourselves he isn't going to be settled. Logan LOVES him- he gives him the sweetest kisses and love, which just melts out heart. He comes to work with us everyday, and it is a daily thing that Logan and him take a nap together- it's the sweetest sight, them all snuggled up. So without further ado- Everyone meet: Dixon! Our lil' weenie.

Sooo...I hope this entry finds everyone enjoying your summer and making the most of your everyday- because time is fleeting.

Life: Here and Now.

I don't do it often, probably not nearly enough, so I thought I would do a little "life to date update." Alot of things have happened recently and when I say 'things' I mean REALLY REALLY good things. However, that's about as much as I can say pertaining to the really, really, good things until further notice. I know, I know- if I were you I would want to murder me to for the simple reason that we are all a little nosey and blogs offer up free information- you don't really have to work for it. So when someone gives hints about hidden excitements it makes us wonder and ponder and anxious to know ourselves. Maybe that's just me, but I highly doubt it. Life in the great eastern Tennessee is wonderful. Watching my son continue to grow is the highlight of my everyday, seeing my husband and working along side him daily is fun. We both sit at a desk with computers back to back working as our lil' man plays with his imagination running wild. I still think everyday what a great decision it was to move our family here, things have changed for the better. I have changed for the better, and as I have mentioned in previous posts that is my everyday goal, to be a better person. Our family has grown closer. Yesterday I took a stroll with Logan, he held my hand the entire time and we discussed everything from the grass to the birds in the sky. Life's simple pleasures- making memories- sewing into his life, knowing that those moments are what are going to help make him into the man he is going to be. His little hand in mine, eyes big, huge smile, 'Momma' ringing thru the air, in that moment my heart filled and overflowed my body. If I am anything at all, I am a sappy Momma. I am eager to photograph tomorrow- I have three sessions tomorrow- all birthday portraits. One year, two year and three year. I am anxious to meet new people and capture adorable little faces. Life is getting better everyday, not that it was ever bad it's just new opportunities, new possibilities. Everyday is a gift and I am waiting anxiously to open it.

happiness is a habit...of course!

“First we make our habits, then our habits make us.”

It's been a little while since I have wrote anything- mostly because of being so busy that I simply don't have the time and then another reason being that at times I am at a loss of words and choose to not write. I don't really want to use every entry for everyday kind of things, even though I do want to highlight life to be remember- more importantly I want about things with meaning. Over the past few weeks I have personally been making a conscious decision to change things about myself that hinder me from being the best all around person that I can be- that my son deserves me to be, my husband and family, that the world deserves me to be. It is my goal in life to be the best person, not the perfect person- but the best and to strive daily to do better- so that I can in turn teach my little up and comer good characteristics- the things that I, personally have learned works or doesn't work. Mistakes that I have made that I have took and learned from to better myself and the world closest to me. I consider myself and not only that, but am vivid proof of a overly happy person. Do I have bad days? Yes. Do I have days that I wish I could crawl in a hole and lay there until the day, feelings, circumstances pass and then come out and carry on being the girl that I am? Yes, I do. However, Do I choose to focus and let the bad overtake the good? NO! It is a daily choice for me to be happy, to see the beauty in everything around me, to soak up the moments because they are ever so fleeting. Honestly, it's not that hard of a task- but in the same sentence there are moments that cloud what I know to be true. I have recently been teaching myself how to be more positive- even though I am an overly happy person- I tend to be more negative about things, circumstances and in being negative it eventually takes pieces of your joy and happiness. I slowly started seeing this happen- I was letting my priorities get out of line- which changed my outlook on things, which made me more negative, gave me a not so 'beautiful' outlook on life and the tomorrows waiting to be today, which in turn made my heart sad. In other words, a catastrophe had happened. Luckily, I saw this happening inside of myself and what it was doing to me and consciously made the decision to change. To everyday remind myself to be more positive- to take whatever it may be that could pose as negative and make it for the good. You might think it is harder than it sounds, that it would take some times- but surprisingly, as luck would have it- because may I just say, it wasnt a bed or roses this catastrophe...it doesn't. It doesn't take long at all, it happens immediatley. It has become the quickest habit that I have ever obtained. It has become a natural way of thinking. Now negativity comes to me at least twice daily, knocks on my hearts door, packaged all beautiful just waiting to attack, and its in those moments that I make that choice to not accept it because I know the outcome. Since my epiphany (lol) I have encouraged my husband to do the same. He on the other hand an always positive person- I still think needs to hear it. Because like I said there are those moments when, doubt, fear, hatred, discouragement, negativity that comes a knocking (because, after all we are human) and we have to be ready and prepared to not give in, to hold steady. I can't begin to describe how much more free I feel since I made the choice and continue to make that choice every hour of everyday. And of course, I encourage you to do the same. Make it a habit to be happy....afterall- "You are what you repeatedly do..."