the culprit

As someone who is very close to their family, going to school in Virginia, a mere 1,207 miles (yes, I Googled) away from home has its drawbacks. Distance might be the only one that I can actually think of but nonetheless there are still days when I wish I could come home to mom's homemade chocolate chip cookies and advice waiting for me at the kitchen counter.

Two Thursdays ago I was feeling particularly far from home and called my sister, Jen. We speak almost daily and with iPhones, iChat and email I feel almost like I am up to speed with everyone's crazy lives but it just isn't the same as being there. After a few minutes of her telling me who refused to eat breakfast that morning and who wanted to turn their Batman cape into a permanent part of their daily wardrobe, (she has 3 little boys but don't worry you'll hear plenty more about them and my niece later) we hung up with my usual sign off of "miss you, wish you were here". But with a crazy life filled with being supermom, building a new house and starting a soccer team (for herself-not kidding) that just isn't a reality.

Unless of course, you are my sister.

So, last weekend Jen came to UVA and got to relive the exciting college days that have been replaced with the new fun of watching first steps, driving carpool and channeling creativity into new dinner recipes. We went to incredible restaurants, introduced her to my friends, walked around Charlottesville, put on sundresses and went to a beautiful vineyard (photo above), watched movies and laughed. It was the perfect weekend. 

Though she is now a mom, there are some things about being an older sister that you don't outgrow with age or even after you have your own children to sculpt and mold. Whether telling you what teachers to avoid in high school or what dress to wear to prom, older sisters are always looking out for you and my sister is no exception. Thus, the birth of the blog.

Before heading back to Texas Jen created my blog and left the "new post" page staring at me from my desk. Knowing how much I love to write, she designed and started what I probably never would have done myself. 

Whether it's your sister, another family member or a friend, sometimes you just need someone to give you a little shove in the right direction. 

And so it begins

I'm not gonna lie I have always been a little skeptical of blogs. I think that this is due to a mixture of wondering who would care to read about my life, thoughts, etc and the vulnerability associated with having my writing on the internet for anyone to see. When I think about blogging I feel a little bit like I do when I've woken up from that dream- you know, the one where you realize you are naked in the hallway in middle school and everyone is staring at you. But as someone who has always written in journals, jotted ideas on scraps of paper and put random thoughts in the "notes" app on my iPhone, I decided why not try it out? Why not start a blog? Sometimes doing what you love pushes you to get out of your comfort zone, to find yourself standing naked in a hallway until you wake up laughing. If you are reading this, hopefully there will be days when you will laugh with me too.
So here's to dreaming, to writing and to laughing about a  ♥'s content until your ♥'s content.