sushi guac and carrot cake

yes. that is in fact the dinner I am currently eating. please don't ask : )

but if you're thinking "that sounds disgusting," it's ok...my friend amelia just gave me those exact words. personally, it tasted great.



on the eve of the start of a whole new year of life (I realized I like the beginning of things MUCH better than the end of things. I mean, who doesn't? i.e. the midnight of the start of a birthday is WAY more meaningful than the midnight of the end of your special day)....ok ok ok

anywho....I find it fitting to recap this crazy, beautiful, random, maybe the biggest year of my life thus far....these 365 past days...so here we go...

This exact day last year...this very moment in fact...I was at the D Fall Fashion show event at One Arts Plaza on the 20-somethingth floor, sipping champagne and living the fast-paced, exciting, magazine girl sort of life. Two months later, I packed up my cube, and drove home jobless. Little did I know what this thing called life had in store for me.


Thanksgiving and Christmas allowed me to spend lots of time at home with my family, watch my sweet little Krueger girls here in Dallas, and send my resume out to any...well, really just ANYONE, and hope and pray that someone would respond.

January came and went...I spent many a days at Starbucks attempting to feel "cool" with all the other Starbucks regulars, when really I was trying to dodge the creepers and drinking way to much coffee : )

A little trip home to St. Louis in February gave me some words, encouragement, and just the motivation I needed to return to Dallas, and get scrappy. Which meant, drive around Dallas, knock on doors (or rather walk in and introduce myself) to whichever storefronts struck my fancy (unfortunately i am one to judge a book by it's cover. terrible i know.) but in this case...the two places i emailed turned out to be SUCCESS and SUCCESS...and i went from having no job, to three.

To be honest, I can't even tell you who or why or what made me walk into A Little Artsy or email the special events company. well, actually i do know who. because it can't be explained any other way. God. He lead me right into that special place, and not only did I get a job, I made an incredible friend, get to spend time with her precious family, and then got another job. When something is meant to be, it is so very clear to see.

So that brings us to March (quite the "star friend" adventure to Mexico with my bestest friend...oh how i love the ocean), April and May...nannying and lots of teaching the kiddos how to draw fishies and peacocks, while I snuck in some J-Lo wedding planner action (read past entry for complete breakdown of this night. words do not even begin to describe...yes, just read)

May...a quick trip home to celebrate my sister's high school graduation and heading off to college (so proud of you sis!), and the month I met someone very special. Basketball is his game, and geno is his name. He's the oldest of nine, and I think he's fine. (ok...good-looking. handsome. yes, those sound much better and way more sophisticated. but hey, they didn't rhyme : )

June, July, and August...hot hot and hot. Good ol' Texas summer in full force. Basically all I remember is sweating a lot, and yep, sweating a lot.

This summer was one of the best summers of my life. For lots of reasons, but it was one of those "seasons" if you will, in my life, when everything just fit. Each day flowed to the next, with the right amount of curiosity as to what each new day would hold and a perfect pinch of stability and comfort.

After searching for something a little more "permanent," a very clear, in your face reason to stay in Dallas, Casey (A Little Artsy owner and sweet sweet friend) called me one random Friday and said..."I know this is crazy and so out there, but would you want to teach?"

I think I laughed and/or choked on my Starbucks...TEACH?!? ME?!?

Well, again, shows how much control we have over own lives. I am now Ms. Baker. In fact, this is so unfamiliar to me, when the kids say "Hi Miss Baker" or "Good Morning Miss Baker" in the halls, I walk right past them. Who is Miss Baker? oh wait. that's me.

But it has been such a gift to be able to teach these kids art and help them release all their creativity into a beautiful masterpiece.

A vacation here, a surprise there, lots of visitors to my BNB (Bed and Breakfast...synonym for my home : ) and many "firsts."

This year has been really incredible. I look back to a year ago and the same bright-eyed 22, soon to be 23, year old girl, is not nearly the person she is today. So much growth, and discovery, and new experiences, and the realization, that even when life throws you lemons, with a little hard work and determination, lemonade is really quite easy to make. I've learned to let love in, and show love to people, strangers, and myself in a new and fulfilling way. I've learned more of who I am as a person, where I want to go, and what I want in life. I know that I can do it. I did do it. I am doing it.

Yep. That's been me wrapped up in the past 365 days of living life. A nice little smorgasbord of days and moments that in retrospect, leave me with lots of smiles and wonderful memories.

: ) p.s. if you're reading this, thank you. You are a true blessing in my life.

p.p.s. i think a party is going on in my stomach.

p.p.p.s. (what do all the p p p's even stand for? idk. so p.p.p.s. 24...here we come!!!!)

.to a beautiful life.