It's My Birthdayy!

2008 - 19th birthday

Now go have yourself a wonderful Friday, and weekend. 

{And thank you all for the birthday wishes through out the week. You guys are amazing! So happy to be celebrating this birthday not only with friends here, but blog friends as well :) }

22

Today is my last day being 22. And looking back, I can honestly say that this has been one of the best years of my life. 

I celebrated my last birthday with a handful of close friends. 

I want to write a whole long sappy post as I look back on the last year, but really, sometimes there just are no words. 

No words to describe how happy I am. 

I feel like this year, I finally came into myself. And it is a process that continues every day. But that process has led me to really appreciate who Amy is. 

And so I go into my last day of being 22 with nothing but appreciation for all of the memories that have been formed over the last year, and excitement for what 23 will bring. 

As for those memories, well here are just a handful:

23, bring it on. 

I'm ready. 

**Sidenote: I was so happy to be able to support the wonderful Kerrie as a Featured Sponsor this month! All proceeds go towards her and Wade's Mission Trip to... get this, INDIA! Check out my guest post here**

First Vlog!

Here it is... the first VLOG! 

Dun dun dunnnn. 

Linking up with 5ohwifey and Our Crazy Beautiful for the Girl Behind the Blog series:

I had a lot of fun with this vlog, I definitely think I'll be making some more. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it!

PS: Don't I look awesome in the Youtube freezeframe? Thanks, Youtube. Thanks a bunch!

XO 

Let The Birthday Week Begin!

My fabulous roommates took me out for a birthday dinner last night. 

{It was the only day all 5 of us could get together, so yes, it's 4 days early. Why not?}

I have

the most

amazing roommates

EVER.

I love them a lot.

And our self timer photo shoots:

I kind of love birthdays :)

Monday Randoms

1. Summer is officially here:

And I'm pretty stoked about it. I plan to be spending plentyyy of time at that there beach in the next few months. 

2. This is my last week of being 22. And you know what? I'm pretty excited about it. This year has been so, so amazing. Hands down one of my best years, ever. 

And I have a good feeling 23 is only going to be better. 

3. I started this book over the weekend: 

I'm about half way through, and I love it! Can you tell that I'm really easily pleased when it comes to books? It's totally different than Tina Fey's Bossypants, but I just find memoirs so interesting. I would definitely recommend it so far. 

4. I think I'm going to be reading this next: 

Yupp, gonna hop on that train. Any fans out there? 

5. I recorded my very first vlog this weekend. It's for 5ohwifey's Girl Behind The Blog link up:

The link up is Wednesday, so get your vlogs ready and join the party!

6. Still kind of obsessed with Instagram. Here are some recent favs:

Follow me here!

7. I bought my first maxi dress yesterday (among a bunch of other things) and I think I'll be sporting it to my roomie birthday dinner tonight. Expect some pics!

That's all for today, folks. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, and is enjoying the sun!

XO

Let's Talk Books,

Shall we? 

To be honest, I was never a huge reader growing up. I read the popular series, Harry Potter, Twilight, those classics. But assign me a book in English class, and give me a schedule to stick to? No way Jose. I'll stick to spark notes. 

Why? I have no idea. I was a pretty good student in most other aspects. I guess assigned reading is where I chose to rebel. 

Not sure what changed, but apparently 2012 is my year to hop on the reading train. We started a Book Club, and that kind of kick started it for me. Once I started, I couldn't stop. Now, I feel like I constantly have to have a book that I'm reading, and I love it. 

So today, let's talk books. I'll share a few thoughts on some books, and you do the same, will ya? I would love some recommendations!

We read this for Book Club, and it was such a unique read. It's written from the perspective of an Autistic boy, which is unlike any book I've read before. It's a really quick read, and really lets you jump inside the head of the boy telling the story. Plus, there are a few plot twists that keep you interested, always a good thing in my book. {Literally.}

Another Book Club book. Hilarious. It was the first auto-bio of a celeb that I've read, and I loved it. Especially if you're an SNL fan, you'll enjoy reading all of her stories from behind the scenes. Another quick read for me. Definitely recommend it!

You know, it's pretty cool. Since I got on this reading kick, I've gotten 4 religious books. And not one have I paid for. One was lent to me (without me having to ask for it), two were given to me from our Community Group leader, and one was won on Twitter. A sign from God? I think so. 

Anywho, I'm about to finish this book, and if you're looking for a good, spiritual read, I would definitely point you in the direction of this book. It discusses how important it is to devote time to your relationship with the Lord, and actually made me feel like I was growing in my relationship by reading this book. Is there anything more you can ask for out of a book?

I just ordered this book from Amazon, and I can't wait to read it. I read the back of the book a while ago, before I was in my reading kick. I was definitely drawn to her story, and can't wait to read more. Has anyone read it, yet? 

So tell me, what are some of your favorite books? I would love to read them!

Oh, and Happy Friday!!

What We Had For Dinner

Haven't had one of these posts in a while. And I love me a good recipe, so it's definitely over due:

Seared Salmon with Jalapeno Ponzu

Ingredients:

1/4 cup lower-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons saki (rice wine)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon dark sesame oil

4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets

1 large jalapeno pepper, cut crosswise into think slices

Directions:

1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl; stir well.

2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add salmon, skin side down. 

3. Cook 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily with a fork or until desired degree of doneness.

4. Arrange 1 fillet on each of 4 plates. Top fillets evenly with jalapeno slices. Spoon about 2 tablespoons soy sauce mixture over each serving; let stand 10 minutes before serving. 

Per Serving (1 fish fillet):

333 Calories

16.6g Fat

37.2g Protein

5g Carbohydrate

0.3g Fiber

87mg Cholesterol

0.9mg Iron

621mg Sodium

24mg Calcium

I will say that the jalapenos were spiiiicy. Maybe cut out the seeds, or sautee them a bit before putting them on the fish (unless extra spicy's your style). But, we loooved the sauce that was on the fish. It was delicious!

This made for a perfect roomie dinner night. 

{Not to mention we have pretty much an entire bottle of saki left over. Saki bombs, anyone?}

Happy Almost Friday!

I Have to Share This

Yes, I realize that I just posted like 4 hours ago. 

But some things just have to be shared, and this is one of them.

If you can't check out the blog post, just read this excerpt:

So this means, God willing, that Daisy has completed her last chemo which is happy on so many levels: her hair can start to grow in 3-4 weeks! She can be around friends after she recovers! She can go out to a store or restaurant or a museum! She can swim! She can enjoy so many of the things we take for granted on a daily basis. We are forever changed by this experience of extreme restriction that has marked our lives for nearly 3 years. So go out and have some fun today, there's so much to do! We're right behind you...

We get one life, guys. Let's live it. Better yet, let's enjoy it. 

And pray, pray, pray for daisy. 

So Long Travelling

So before I even start this post, I've got a fun story from yesterday to share. 

You know when you walk out of a conversation, and realize you've had something on your face the whole time? Yeah, well yesterday after work I got in my car to notice I had chocolate on my lip. 

Pretty noticeably, too.

And I probably wouldn't have cared, until I realized that I had eaten said chocolate 3 hours earlier. 

Three hours... really?

Yeah, that happened. 

Anywho, back to this post. So this upcoming weekend will be the first weekend in over 2 months where I will be in Santa Barbara the entire weekend. 

And besides seeing this girl on Friday:

I have zero plans. 

Zilch. Nada. 

I could not be more excited. 

You see, travelling can wear on you after a while. {Shocking, I know.}

But, I will say this. I have so enjoyed the last few months. Let's recap, shall we:

- I got my Country fix in at Stagecoach.

- I soaked up the Lord both at the Women's Conference, and in Boston.

- I got to see some family and some more family.

- Had the time of my life in Vegas. 

- Reunited with great friends in Sacramento.

And last but not least:

- I watched my brother graduate and had some more birthday celebration fun. 

Oh, I haven't shared pics yet from that last one? You didn't think I'd leave you hanging, did you? 

Voila:

Now on to birthday bbq pics:

Lovely birthday girl:

Reminiscing on college drinking games:

Take note that Annika is giving me a high five in the above picture. I got skills, guys. Just saying.

Now, am I exhausted from all this recent travelling?

Heck yes.

But you know what I've realized? I want my words and my plans to be more than just words and plans. When someone says "Hey, let's do _________" {fill in the blank with your adventure of choice}, I want them to know that when I say "I'm down!" I really mean it. 

I want to take this life, and really live it. 

And in the next few months, I will be doing that by doing absolutely nothing.

But give me some time to re cooperate, and I'll be back at it :)

So who wants to plan the next trip?