make a wish

last night during pillow talk, M & i asked each other, 

if you had one wish what would it be?

M: for our families to be content. not necessarily happy, just content.

L: just our families? why not the world? 

M: i can wish that?

L: yea, it's your wish.

M: okay, yea. i wish that then.

let's all be content. content with our circumstances. content with ourselves.

be content today. why not?

i'm over at caroline's blog today introducing myself to her readers.

xoxo

M&L

that time we played in the rain

so yesterday it rained all day. there wasn't a moment of sunshine & prettiness -- just wet & gloomy.

just before the sun disappeared we had this conversation:

M: "watcha wanna do?"

L: "i don't know.... wanna play in the rain?!"

M: ".....sure!"

& we did!

not photographed is the fight. i pulled M down the hill, where he slipped & bumped his bum. that initiated the chase & him throwing me over his shoulder. he placed me on the ground & rolled me in the mud. in return, i grabbed handfuls of the think georgia red clay & threw them at him. this probably lasted ten minutes before we realized our toes were numb & it was much colder than we imagined. 

so inside we went to get cleaned up.

have you ever played in the rain?

xoxo

-L

friday's letters {21}

dear laptop i hate to admit it, but i think you're dying. you're been vibrating & your insides are making funky sounds. i'm thinking you need to get checked out. to the apple store we go! {but maybe this is a sign for me to trade in my macbook for a pro... ;)}

dear sunscreen i've been good about putting you on everyday since the sun's been out in full force, yet still i get sunburn? what's up with that? you're spf 30. 30!! i'm asian, with supposedly great skin that doesn't burn. so i'm blaming it on you mr. {or are you a mrs.?} sunscreen. explain yourself!

dear just-cause flowers i'm pleasantly surprised you've managed to stay alive for two weeks. thought you'd be goners by day three.
dear rucker's  ^^^thank you for the free dock diving lesson. kodi was a bit confused at the part where you run & leap into the water. by the end she almost had it perfect. with a few more lessons she'll be a pro!^^^

dear wireless camera remote it's been well overdue that i purchased you. but after finding you for only $5.99 on amazon, there was no hesitating. bam! now you're on your way to become my newest companion. no more continuous shooting setting once i have you.

dear juicer you've finally arrived safely to our humble abode! once this lady week is over & i'm no longer screaming for chocolate, boston creme filled donuts, brussel sprouts & liters of mt. dew i'll whip together recipes that suja & blueprint juice won't be able to resist. 

happy friday!

have a blessed weekend!

-the brothertons

lately {15}

lately our internet has been a serious P.O.S. {to the MAX!!!}. it was off & on all week till today. however, it turned out to be very refreshing to step away from my laptop screen for a few days. but while i was away i started that dreaded time of the month us women are so blessed to experience {said no woman ever}. & this might be too much information, but mine lasts a whole week. yeah, seven full days. not sure what i did wrong to deserve that one. so, naturally i've been meeting all my cravings needs, & for the first time ever i craved brussel sprouts! weird, i know. so, lately i've been eating those, along with other pretty produce like lemons. mmm.

lately we can be found in the backyard. it's there i developed an awful tan line that a woman even proceeded to comment on tonight at dinner. sad face. M's usually fishing while i'm working on fixing my tan line. kodi's always in the water doing her own fishing, & maggie's off searching the woods for good scents. but lately maggie's been adventurous & has been joining her sister in the water. it's probably the cutest thing ever -- tiny old maggie braving the deep water just to hang out with her cool younger sister kodi. it makes my heart swell :)

what have you been up to lately?

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MIA

friday was the last day i made an appearance on this blog. oops, my bad. it's just the only thing that's been on my mind since then is that exciting news i'm hoping i can share with you guys soon {no, i'm not preggers}. it's hard to think of good material when your brain is clogged with one thing. ugh!

but on another note, i'm at home today with crappy internet that keeps going out on me & two pups that want to spend the entire day in the water, but i'm craving everything fried & sweet {& will be for the next few days... :( }. & on another another note i posted some happy pictures from the other night. M pulled out the fishing rods in hopes of catching more fish, but no luck. but we did find a little friend that made cute croaking sounds. & we held each other while we watched the sunset once again behind our lake. our days are getting numbered here -- 38 days left to enjoy this lake & create as many special moments here before we start a new chapter.

-L

friday's letter {20}

dear M i'm not sure where this ^^^face^^^ came from but you really like to use it. you're cute.
dear stomach stop growling. stop it already. i'm going to feed you once i finish this post. geez.
dear yesterday's news i'm working hard not to get my hopes up but let's be honest, they're WAY up. hopefully i'll share more soon.
dear God it's hard sometimes to understand why things happen. why would your hand be lifted during the boston marathon? why would your protection be absent in texas? it's confusing to ask myself such questions because i know it hurts you to see such devastation take place. but i'm confident prophecy is being fulfilled before our eyes. everything leads to the End & to the day you return to us all.
dear chelsea thank you for pointing out that i'm a no-reply blogger {pretty much the biggest sin for a blogger, right?}. i'll be brief, but i always knew i was, i just didn't know how to fix, nor did i take the time to figure it out. so thank you you chels for pointing out that i'm a lazy anti-social blogger ;) but i know you'd be proud to know that i fixed the issue.
dear work thank you for my raise yesterday! i was shocked when i was told & quite proud. it's a bummer i won't be able to keep it when i return to school full-time but i'm also excited about school, so it's a bit of a catch22.

happy friday friends!
-L
linking up with ashley, chrissy & lauren

lately {14}

lately it's been all about our pups. we took kodi to doggy daycare earlier this week & i think she liked it. the people there said she sat by the gate mostly trying to find ways to escape. she went again tuesday & had a much better time. even made friends & showed off her water skills. the best thing about daycare is how exhausted she is when she gets home. she literally came home, grabbed her pillow {yes, she has a pillow} & zonked out on the sofa. sometimes i have to remind myself that she's only a dog & remember that other people have pets {cause that's what she is laurie -- she's a pet} & they don't treat them like children ...or do they? anyways, lately maggie has been down in the dumps. she goes through these rough patches where her eyesight is gone. it's only happened three or four other times & each time she's terrified. her daddy & i try to make her as comfy as possible till she regains sight. so far it's day four & we're seeing signs of improvement but not much. so lately the house just hasn't been the same without our overly happy cocker spaniel running around. 

& lately we've been day dreaming about this summer. neither one of us will be working, so loads of time together & we already have two trips planned & another bouncing around in our brains. so i've been trying to get beach body ready, work on my tan & figure out where the girls will be staying while we're away. cause now that we're married we have to find someone to house sit & dog sit. any takers?

what have you been up to lately?

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what's in your camera bag?

i'm over at chelsea's blog, life unpublished, talking about what's in my camera bag & sharing photography tips from my personal experiences. check it out & give chelsea some love!

i'm always learning, so if you have any tips or wise information PLEASE share. you all are my favorite sources of knowledge & reviews, so don't hesitate to give advice. i honestly need it & appreciate it all :)

xoxo

-L

i'm also over at shio's blog, along with four along rockstar bloggers, sharing five facts about myself. 

i totally sound like a crazy rebel compared to the other classy ladies.

meet the bradley's

hey guys. i'm so excited to introduce elizabeth & her beautiful family to you. she's living the life M & i are actually talking about doing ourselves -- being an expat. packing up & moving to another country requires lots of strength & courage that i'm trying to figure out if i have. her hubby is also from alabama, where part of me is too {my mama was born & raised there} so i know what she means when she speaks of fired pickles or basically fried anything -- mmmm! be sure to stop by her blog & say hello.

Hello everyone! I am so grateful laurie invited me to guest post! She kindly wrote over on my blog yesterday.

I'm a happily married 30 year old Mom and wanderer, currently living with my family in Thailand. Wow, has it been hot lately, although I know I am not allowed to complain as I sit by the pool and relish the wifi that is everywhere on the island. Yesterday was Super Soaker day btw, and  no I am not kidding. Here in Thailand there is a nation wide festival known as songkran where everyone has the goal of throws, splashing, or shooting water at pedestrians and even motorcyclists. Seriously it is epic! Albeit dangerous. It's known as the 'world's biggest water fight'. And I have yet to participate in it; the idea of getting splashed by strangers scares my daughter so for the third time in a row we have missed out, only to drive around the island and watch everyone else get hit.

I had an old high school friend come to visit several years back. He had no idea it was songkran and his entire family were scared of him getting hurt or kidnapped in Thailand ( thanks to the media people don't know much about what it's really like here, ie it's safe). It made him nervous, but once he saw how easy it is to make friends and the fact that there was a huge water fight, he left a very happy camper and I had won over yet another person who now loves the country. Heck yes!

We love living in Asia, from the food to the architecture, it's our thing. But I can't wait to visit my husband's family in Alabama some time this year. The mean fried pickles I had there 5 years back left a permanent impression in my stomach driven mind and I have been thinking about them recently, as well as how friendly Southerners are!

Thank you Laurie and all you lovely ladies out there reading this!

Have a fantastic week!

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all in favor of making weekends longer

i'm suffering from weekend deprivation right now. 

they should make weekends more than two days. 

two just isn't enough time to you know, sleep, veg, watch tv & be lazy.

i need moooore weekend.

maybe it's not a lack of weekend i'm suffering from. 

maybe it's the monday blues...

either way, weekends need to be longer.

xoxo

-L

i'm over at the bradley's talking about marriage today.

spring cleaning

i was spring cleaning this fine morning & captured some little moments in between my breaks. 

maggie catching up on her zzz's

i love seeing green on trees again. but i love my just cause flowers more.

kodi sleeping with her eyes open. she's watching the squirrels outside the window. please ignore the poorly made bed.

only six more instax mini pics needed to fully cover the ugly breaker box. packed up all my winter scarves & hung up the spring ones.

are you doing any spring cleaning?

happy saturday!

-L

letters {19}

dear pollen count you were absurd yesterday. we had a warning yesterday to stay indoors cause you were that high. poor pepper {she's our black car. salt is our white one. original, i know...} was yellow by the end of the day. she looked sick.
dear last night's thunder storm thanks for washing pepper & all the pollen into the lake. now our lake looks sick.
dear kodi  you are going to be so excited to know that on monday you're going to doggy daycare. you're going to make so many friends but more importantly, you're going to be exhausted. SCORE!
dear georgia you're weather has been phenomenal. we took the girls to the park & they got hot. first panting session of the year & many to come.

happy friday!

-L
linking up with ashley