FINALLY FOUND A WAY TO ENJOY FOOTBALL

We are addicted to... Friday Night Lights

GRANDPA GARY IS A COMEDIAN

My moms dad, my grandfather... Gary Purviance, is one funny older guy (see picture: with very long legs, which I did not inherit:( bummer), and the best part is, he doesn't even know he's funny, nothing forced or contrived about him. He is pure entertainment, I literally follow him around with the flip camera... wouldn't want to miss out on a single one of his comedic gems. He spends a lot more time with the family these days and I don't mind at all, he has a good heart and keeps us laughing... I love the guy.

SLEEPLESS AND THANKFUL

Last night I found myself tossing and turning... again. Being an insomniac since the fifth grade, falling asleep has never been easy for me... most likely because I can't seem to slow down the good ol' noggin. Whether it's obsessing over the little things, like wondering if I left wet clothes in the washing machine, or stressing about the weightier matters like trying make important decisions about my future... the second my head hits the pillow, it goes into overdrive and just can't seem to quit. However last night, I decided that instead of lying awake and uselessly worrying myself to sleep, that I would grab my trusty iphone from the charger off the nightstand, and made a list of the things I am grateful for... i have an app for that:)

Now of course there are the biggies: Family, Friends, Faith, Health & Home that make the very top of the list when it comes to that which I am truly thankful for... however, I wanted to break it down a bit, and include even the smallest of things that make life awesome. It seems like i've heard the quote "it's all in the details", actually, I'm not entirely positive, but I think it was Oprah:) Regardless of who said it, I happen to agree with that statement. Generally day to day life is not necessarily glamourous or overly exciting, but I've come to realize that it's often times not about the far and few in between monumental somethings (though I grateful for those too) but it's about the lovely little simple details that collectively seem to make living worthwhile. I was going to stop at ten, but I had more... here I go:)

Cupcakes...(especially from Big Sugar)

Sunshine

DVR

Dinners with Dave

New Music Tuesdays

Craft stores

friendly people

Sundays

Phone calls from Mom & Dad

Burbank Airport

High Hopes & Heartbreak

the color yellow

iphone

the oldies station

Golden Grams

twitter

the piano & guitar

laughing

ugg boots

Christmas

Bicycle Rides

in n' out burger

lemonade

blogs

Christmas trees

candles

suitcases on wheels

happy movies

sunglasses

little kids

loud music

You can make your own list too... it's fun:)

iLOVE

i tend to use the word "love" often... but I hope that doesn't lessen it's effect, I say it because I mean it. i love.

CUPCAKE CONNOISSEUR

I don't know what happened to me in the last 365 days... but this year I've developed a thriving passion and appetite for cupcakes. I mean I've always liked them, who doesn't? Anywho my general appreciation of cupcakes has transformed from casual cupcake eater to straight up cupcake-aholic. In my travels I will ofen use my "around me" app to find the nearest bakery or cupcake shop and then walk a mile, sometimes two to get myself a dang cupcake. Perhaps at this point I am searching for the worlds... (or at least the nations) best cupcake.

I would argue, that I have already found it, and it's basically in my backyard (Studio City). Now taste is absolutely subjective, but I would challenge anyone to find a finer cupcake then the those found at Big Sugar Bakery. And let me tell you why... unlike many other fancy cupcake shops, Big Sugar keeps it classic, simple and not overdone... for instance, the ratio of cupcake to frosting is absolutely perfect and balanced. In my opinion, an overwhelmingly massive glob of frosting can most definitely ruin the experience... if I see a castle of frosting on top of the cupcake, you can be sure that I am going to have to bulldoze it with a napkin and throw the excess in the trash... really that much frosting is just a waste and completely unnecessary. Big Sugar understands that while cupcakes should look good, they should taste taste good too... in fact they should taste even better then they look, and they do. Honest to goodness, take one singular joyous bite out of a big sugar cupcake and you'll find yourself wondering if that is what it would taste like if you just took a bite into a fluffy cloud, a delicious red velvet cloud, (or chocolate or vanilla cloud) made of the lightest and freshest cake, topped with frosting that was delivered on the wings of angel babies from heaven. I'm dramatic yes, but lie to you I could not, it's the truth, and when one discovers truth that makes life a little sweeter, that truth is meant to be shared. amen.

I THINK I WANT A DOG...

I think it might be safe to peg L.A. the dog capital of the world. In my six years of living here, I've tried to understand why people are so obsessed with their dogs. I mean don't get me wrong, I love dogs, we had them growing up... when Shadow died in the fifth grade it shattered me, and then we had Shaq, a very large friendly dog that we rescued from the shelter, he jumped on the trampoline with us, and when we went to get our family portrait we thought it would be a good idea to bring him along to be in the photo... until he decided he needed to go potty and hosed down the back drop. When he passed away we were all deeply saddened. Point being, we truly loved our dogs, but they did not wear juicy couture or eat a special vegan diet, then again nor did we humans:). They were our backyard playmates that were generally not allowed in the house, but we brushed there shiny coats, refilled the water bucket and fed them dog food. However since I've moved out, and we have our own home in California, we have yet to own a dog, or have really felt a strong desire to have a dog...

And then Roxy came along... oh and she is so much more than a dog, she is nearly a person. I love her, and whenever I go "home" to Arizona to visit the fam, she kills me with her cuteness. She is a princess and she kinda knows it. My brother posted this unbelievably awesome video of her doing the "Thriller" dance, I'm telling you... she's special. She is adored in the White House, for obvious reasons of course. She even gets to come inside... she is hypoallergenic:)

As well, while we were on the road for the west coast tour, my tour mate Michael Johns brought along his little pup "David Puddy" for a few days. Puddy is a French Bull Dog, and he's also a little lover. One night after a particularly rough show, I went back on the bus to have a few quiet moments to feel sorry for myself and get over it... and then here comes David Puddy, he hopped up on the seat and crawled right into my lap, licked my face and laid his head on my tummy. I was so overcome with his sensitivity towards me... he just, knew. There is a reason that they have taken on the title of "man's best friend". I am gone, a lot... and taking care of a dog involves a decent load of responsibility, but I dunno... I think I want a dog. I think even Dave is considering... we'll see:)

TRAVELING TRAVELING TRAVELING...

"I am on a lonely road and I am traveling, traveling, traveling, traveling... looking for something, what can it be?" are the sentiments of Joni Mitchell in her song "all I want". I feel like I can relate to these words more than ever as it's been a long while down a lonely road. Am I alone? No... not really, but often times I am called to set out on my own to accomplish... something... what can it be? From airport to airport, city to city, stage to stage I find myself asking the same question "what am I doing here?" At one point in time I think I knew... Lately, I'm not so sure.