Today I woke up with this overwhelming sensation of how undeniably, unequivocally and sometimes unworthily, lucky I am.
I have the most amazing family, fiance, friends, job, life and I am even more lucky to be able to witness their successes as we all grow together.
For someone who likes to talk a lot, I don't say enough and I tend to hold things in. I'm working on allowing myself to be vocal and happy and tell you all how much I appreciate you because
The realization that I will never see my dad again, hug him or hear his laugh, hits me [every.single.day] but some days it hits me like a train, and in the mostunexpectedways.
Yesterday, I was driving home and the radio announcer introduced a new Christina Aguilera song. I figured with pop stars these days, it would be another electronic dance hit, but when the song started playing, what I felt was unexpected.
By the end of the song, I was pulled over on the side of the highway crying hysterically muttering the words of the song in that horrible cry/singing voice that only you can understand.
"Say something, I'm giving up on you. I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you."
I think about all the times I/we tried to save him and all the times that in my/our efforts to save him, I/we ended up more hurt. It's hard not to feel the guilt, I know we all do, and I know that unfortunately some people look at my sisters and I with judging eyes as if we could have done something - worked some sort of miracle.
Instrgram is now available for Android users- I have heard that people are not able to find it in the Android Market yet so try connecting through Google +
To celebrate here are some of my favorite Instagram pictures of my niece Gwenyth :)
@Jbarmstrong87
This weekend we celebrated my mother's graduation from nursing school! She is a registered RN and is actively studying to pass her state boards (which she is super stressed about but we all know she will pass with flying colors!)
Might I add, that we COULD NOT POSSIBLY be more proud of you mom. As a single mother, my mom has spent most of her life making sure we were successful, and watching her accomplish this for herself has been an inspiration. She is such a caring and nurturing person, I know she will make the best RN out there. No one works harder than Nurse Norma ;)
I prefer the syringe's that come with caps so that you don't have to prop them up in the fridge and they are easier to transport.
When making your jello, just add 1 cup boiling water, and 1 cup vodka (for the 4 serving packs).
If you use a bigger box of jello, just substitute the amount of cold water with vodka :) I used raspberry jello and strawberry vodka. Poor planning on my part to not get raspberry vodka as well but they turned out great!
They were a big hit!
Again, congrats to my beautiful mother Norma!
*Here she is pictured with her best friend Debbie who also deserves a congratulations!
Betty Crocker Reuben Casserole
Check out the recipe HERE. *Tip: instead of whipping up the instant mashed potatoes, I bought premade Bob Evans Garlic Mashed Potatoes. Saved 10 minutes!
The holidays are over and life has resumed as it was. My friends are in different cities and my boyfriend and I are back to splitting our time between Dayton and Cincinnati (this is way better than Cincinnati and DC for the record. I just really miss him during the week). I know everyone had a case of the "bahumbugs" today with the first day back at work. My older sister also had to go back to work today after maternity leave and take my 9 week old niece Gwenyth to daycare for the first time. So, she had a tougher day than the rest of us. Luckily she is the strongest person I know, and I know she will be able to pick things back up at work while continuing to be the best mom in the world. She'll find her balance. She always does.
Today, I daydreamed about the perfect vacation - a cabin getaway in West Virginia. We stayed at Mill Creek Cabins and I definitely recommend them! The cabin was clean and was stocked with fire wood, a full kitchen, and plenty of towels for the hot tub outside. We didn't even have to check in. The keys were waiting on Cabin #5's table and we left them where we found them as we quietly left the next morning. The drive through WV was just as gorgeous as the cabin with plenty of lookouts and roadside waterfalls.
It was truly paradise...
As we were leaving the cabin, we encountered our little friend who was the sweetest dog in the world but happened to be covered in poo. Someone had a little too much fun in the wilderness. Well the sneaky snake kept creeping into our pictures and I love poo dog for it.
This makes me crack up every time. Poo Dog!
Thank you Adam for the perfect getaway that I will never forget.
This year we have added 2 new additions to our Christmas celebration. My boyfriend Adam and my beautiful baby niece Gwenyth.
Gwenyth is 2 months old now and she is starting to coo and smile. I can't wait to see her little personality evolve over the next couple of months :)
Adam is Jewish, so he brought a new touch to our Christmas this year and we were so glad to have him. It's always fun to bring new people to the circle. I think my brother-in-law appreciated having another man around to hang with since there is a shortage of men in my family.
She could not be more perfect. Seriously. I can't explain her perfection. Every baby wrinkle and tiny hair is perfect. She's like sunshine... everything is better when she is there.
Today, was only her 4th day of life, and I don't want to miss a second.
The baby could come any day now and I cannot wait to meet my little Niece or Nephew. Without a doubt, the holidays this year will be the warmest with the new baby to brighten things up.
I wanted to share the beautiful nursery that my sister and brother-in-law put together. My sister said, "There is so much love in the room with handmade art and furniture created special for Baby McFall."
The color scheme is yellows, grey and white, and this isn't just because the sex of the baby is unknown, but also because my sister said that she has never been the girl-pink, boy-blue type. There is also a steady owl theme through out the room.
The Beautiful Nursery
Patrick's old baby mobile, and of course this crib can convert into a little bed set for when the baby outgrows it. Pat is always thinking ahead.
Hand painted and decorated furniture, and homemade curtains by Patrick's mom and a handmade owl picture by the little sister Kelsey.
My favorite part of the room is the yellow stripped ceiling!!!
Homemade baby keep sake box made by my mom, and an amazing owl nightlight.
Owl shelves made by my mom and Patrick's old toys :)
Keep sake shelves with old toys and an owl piece I made
I used colored felt and embroidery floss to stitch together a cute owl on a fabric background. To twist things up a bit, I used a wood embroidery hoop and a coat of white paint to frame it!
Isn't everything gorgeous??! I am slightly jealous of the baby's room because it's so awesome.
Angel finally got her surgery this past Friday! I didn't want to write a post until we knew the true status, but I am happy to report that she is doing well! For all of you that know Angel, you know that she can be a little... handicap, socially awkward, spacey... and she was digging at her stitches, so now she has to wear this lovely gem for two weeks. HA&^%#@ cracks me up.
I think it suits her quite well :)
The day before her surgery, we prepared the house by laying scrap carpet pieces and rugs over the hardwood floors so she won't slip around and re-injure herself during recovery. Angel is not a big fan of hardwood floors anyways so she was so happy to lay her belly on some cozy carpet.
Poor thing had no idea what was coming the next day :(
The surgery was "routine" for the vet, but the recovery is long and she will need a lot of attention and TLC for the next 8 weeks. Hopefully, in three months or so, Angel will be able to climb the stairs to my apartment (she already hates stairs as it is) and hang out with her big sis.
My family and I want to thank all of you for generosity and help in this time of need. And Angel sure does appreciate it too :) I would also like to thank the Gauders (recently married! Congrats!) for helping make the helpforangel.org donation website and paving the road for Angel's surgery. They were also kind enough to donate the money that their dog won in a contest (for being adorable) to our Angel in need. They "gave Angel her wings" and we could not be more grateful.
Yep, I said it. I didn't want to admit it at first but I really do.
People who are from Cleveland even have a love/hate relationship with it. It is the butt of many jokes, in the winter time they report a miserably large amount of snow, and they love to hate this man.
Last weekend I went to Cleveland to visit Adam's family and had one of the best weekends I've had in a long time. His family welcomed me with open arms, even though I'm sure his mother would have preferred a Jewish girl ;) JK, they are truly wonderful people.
We started off the day on Saturday with breakfast at the yacht club and an afternoon sail on his parent's sail boat. Without a view of land in the horizon, Lake Erie felt more like an ocean than a lake. It was gorgeous. Sailing takes a lot more work than I ever thought.. it's all manual.. it would take a lot of work and tricks to be able to go sailing by yourself. It was incredible though to see Adam and his dad working together and I would love to say that I grew up on the water.
The Family :)
My Favorite Picture!
Hahaha
After a day of fun on the water (and a nauseously hungover sail) we headed off to Great Lakes Brewery. We tried to get a table for dinner but the wait was too long so we headed down to the bar/cellar for some yummy tastings. We each got a pint of their specialty beers on tap for the week, Traffic Light and Market Street Wheat. I loved the Traffic Light and he loved the Market Street so it worked out perfectly. I definitely need to go back next time I'm in town.
Next, we met up with Adam's old college roommates and our friends from OU for the Indians game. We scalped tickets for $8 a piece and went in around the 5th inning, so we would be able to sneak down with our friends right behind home plate. The seats were amazing. I took this picture with my cell phone from our seats:
Even though we had an incredibly annoying stuck up family in front of us... heaven forbid we say the H-E-double hockey sticks word.. it was an amazing night... and the Indians pulled out a WIN! I am a Reds fan but I love all Ohio teams (except the Bengals). It was really odd because after the game, no one left their seat. It was weird.. usually people are rushing out at the 6th inning to beat traffic.. then we saw signs that said Rock and Blast tonight after the game. We assumed fireworks so we stuck around. Good thing we did.
Rock and Blast was an extravagant fireworks show synchronized to 30 seconds clips of all the rock classics... Adam was in heaven and I thought I was going to have a seizure I was in awe.
So yes, I loved Cleveland and I'm looking forward to our next trip, whenever that may be. The best part is, I was telling my best friend Ally about Cleveland and her boyfriend is from Cleveland too.. she leaned forward and whispered "isn't Cleveland fun?!" like it was a secret :)
I have been neglecting my blog for the past few weeks. I haven't had a knack for writing lately. I never really have had one, but I'm trying. There are so many days when I wish I could use this blog as my personal venting/counseling sessions but I'm trying not to make every detail of my life public information.. which we all know is hard these days with Twitter, Facebook, etc;
As many of you know, this week is my last week in Washington DC. I have accepted a job in Dayton, OHIO and I am very excited for this new opportunity and the start of a new chapter in my life. I was waiting until now to write a post about my new job and move back to the Buckeye State because there were some complications with my job offer. A very distant relative works at my new company (which I was unaware of) and the company was investigating a possible conflict of interest. At one point, my job offer was actually rescinded... this catapulted me into a 24 hour period of panic:
Thankfully, my new company worked hard to fix the situation and finally offered me the job. I am thankful that they were willing to work with me to come to a solution.
Tomorrow is my 24th birthday and my last night in Washington DC. And exactly one year ago, my 23rd birthday was my first day in Washington DC. It's crazy how everything came full circle. What an amazing ride 23 was.
I thought that my college years were the time for learning about yourself and what you want out of life, but boy was I wrong. 23 was the year for me. I had my highest highs and my lowest lows, but I don't regret a single second. My head has never been so clear. I know exactly what I want, and I am surrounded by the most amazing people to help get me there.
Blink 182 said it best, "Nobody likes you when you're 23."
My family recently discovered that my family dog Angel needs surgery on her leg because she tore a ligament. She is 8 years old, and an injury like this can really be detrimental if it isn't fixed soon. My sister posted a plea on Facebook asking if anyone knew of a pro bono veterinarian that would be willing to help us out.
The problem is that my mom is unemployed because she is persuing a career in nursing (we are really proud daughters!!) and we don't have the money to pay for the surgery.
Some friends of ours saw our plea on Facebook and thanks to our friend's company (VoloTechnologies), they made us a donation website!
Words cannot express how touched my family is by the generous donations and your kindess will not be forgotten :) Thank you again!
For more information on Angel's condition and how to donate, please visit helpforangel.org.
Mother's Day Was a little extra special this year.
First of all, I want to say how proud I am of my mom for going to school to become a nurse. She earned her nursing certificate but didn't stop there. By the end of this year, she will be a RN and I could not be more proud of her.
You'd think she was graduating from Modeling School! Hubba hubba.
Also, I'm going to be an AUNT!!!!! AHHHH. So excited. My sister B and brother-in-law are expecting a little one. They are 14.5 weeks (15 weeks this Thursday) and I want to congradulate my sister on her first Mother's Day.
Baby nugget
I wish I could be there to celebrate with you guys! I love you and miss you every day.
