Loving

Falling in love seems difficult; for the first time, we choose to be vulnerable enough to let our hearts live outside our bodies. That vital organ now has the ability to turn its back and walk away - and somehow we still live when it does.

Love cannot have a universal definition. It has many faces and expressions that depend on circumstances and people. Miss Swift has yet to nail a note about love in a way I've experienced (another rant, another day...) Yet we all seem to judge our love - our ability to love, our relationships, our experiences with love - on media-induced ideals. Based on songs, movies and books; based on presents, romance, the quality (and quantity) of sex, fairy tale endings, knowing "exactly what to say", soul mates and attractiveness.

But I don't love this way.

I love deeply but not openly. I love imperfectly and wholeheartedly. I love complexity with simplicity.

All of this I thought as I lay next to my husband as he drifted off to sleep; slowly, then all at once. He is my greatest source of joy and it would be a shame to muddy the love we have with media expectations.

Write me a movie about that Hollywood.

Adult Rules

On my summer reading list was the book The Happiness Project, which I borrowed from a friend. I loved it so much, that I bought my own copy so I could highlight and annotate the death out of it. (If you haven't read it, you should!!) In the beginning of the book, the author, Gretchen Rubin, outlines a few of her "Rules of Adulthood" which I found highly entertaining and practical. These rules were influenced by her own experiences and lessons that she's learned in life. After reading her list, and being a list lover myself, I started to think of my own adulthood rules.

• Add 10 minutes to traveling time; 30 if you have kids 
• Burt's Bees is always needed 
• Sleep on it 
• Things work out the way they're supposed to work out 
• A clean sink makes the kitchen clean too 
• Don't hesitate to give out a compliment 
• No one pays attention to yourself more than you do 
• Pack a snack 
• A little makeup goes a long way 
• If you think you might regret not doing something ... then do it 
• Avoid going grocery shopping while you're hungry 
• Quality over quantity wins (except when considering q-tips - they're all basically the same) 
• Just because it's on sale, doesn't mean you can afford it 
• Not everyone will get your humor 
• Check your motives 
• Facebook official does NOT make it officially official 
• Somethings are better left unsaid 
• Doing things sooner somehow gets the task done in less time 

I'm sure I'll add more to this list as I get older, but I think it's a pretty good start!
Do you guys have any adult rules?

at home

{While I wish I could say I took all these photos... I've gotta be honest: Pinterest has done me well}

There's a crispness in the air today that I can hardly describe. The scent of wet grass, cool air, and leaves; a hum of energy and life... I feel at home.

I have an obsession...

This time of year is my FAVORITE. Not because it's Autumn, although I do love that too. But because it's HALLOWEEN!!! Seriously in love with this holiday.

So much so that I've been decorating for the last hour. Target and Martha Stewart? I love you.

Look:

Nightmares: The Final Frontier

I have noticed some disturbing trends in my dreams: they always end up in nightmares. Somewhere between 5-6 am my brain decides to focus on the terrible. In these nightmares, whatever it's about, Kyle is always the first to go. Disappear, divorce, death by electrocution, execution, suffocation, hanging, gun shot, car accident, falling off the San Francisco bridge... I've seen it all. After that, mom usually follow suit, then dad, my sisters, (usually at the same time) and my brother.

Last night's dream consisted of Kyle divorcing me because I failed a chemistry test, mom deciding to come down and help me find a new apartment... and then deciding to move in with me. She was shortly killed in a freak car accident involving a hallucination created by a Botha. Dad came with my siblings for the funeral that took place in some big, white mansion and then some Klingons took over, slit dad's throat and started throwing saw blades everywhere. I escaped with my siblings by hijacking a space shuttle and throwing it into warp speed.

Moral of the story? Stop watching Star Trek.