Regardless of where you’re at, I’m telling you – there’s something about September. Especially when it’s rainy. Like today. How could September get off to a more perfect start? This month begs for soft touchable sweaters, layers of beautiful scarves, and curling up in an oversized couch to enjoy steaming hot caramelized apple cider from Scooters. Or gourmet french vanilla hot chocolate at home. Also in an oversized couch.

This month, make yourself a playlist and fall in love. It doesn’t have to be that romantical kind of love (though that’s a great kind of love to fall into). Just fall in love. You know, with yourself – with your family, your friends and your LIFE. After all, no one is going to live your life as well as you can. Your playlist can help remind you of how great love is. Need a few song suggestions? I’ve got a couple. You’ll notice that they’re all songs by country music heartthrobs. What can I say? Men with great voices help my mood.

• “Love Like Crazy” by Lee Brice
• “That’s Beautiful to Me” by Jaron & the Long Road to Love
• “Invisible” by Josh Gracin
• “My Heart is Open” by Keith Urban
• “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not?” by Thompson Square

And not just moving – she is moving to MISSOURI! I don’t know how we convinced her, but we have done it! Actually, she just (finally) felt like it was the right thing to do. And our whole family is super grateful every single day – we’re totally counting down, but trying not to. 16 weeks sounds a lot better than 121 days. If you’re going to get technical, we’ve rounded the weeks down. Don’t get technical – it seems longer. She’ll be out here at the end of December. Merry Christmas to us! I can’t think of a better present. If you can, we don’t need to know about it – this is all the happiness we need.

Now that I’m a grown up, the dreams have changed a little, but I’ve finally got a pig. Well, sort of. His name is Reece. He’s no relation to my brother – and his name is certainly NOT a fat joke. But my brother Reece has his very own (real) pig farm – of one pig named Cabbage – and I thought it was only fitting that my city pig have a connection to Reece (my brother). Reece has also read the pig farming book. I doubt it will be quite as helpful for my little pig as for his, but I’ve come up with a few of my own suggestions for healthy pig raising in KC. Well, “a few” might be stretching it. I really just have one: Feed Often.

My friend Alaska* and I went out shopping last night – I was AMAZED at how much “my” color has made an appearance in fall fashion. I mean, check this out – here, here, here and here. Or here, here, here, and here. Would you like me to keep going? I could, but I think you have enough links for the moment. If you’re dying for more, send me a message. I will send you loads of them.

Fall’s color is a deeper richer blue – like a teal/jewel tone sort of beautiful awesomeness – than my favorite bright blue summer color. It. Is. Perfect. It’s even made an appearance in two beautiful shades from OPI.** (I told you I was always looking for another blue.) Ski Teal We Drop – beautiful. I wore it yesterday. On my fingernails. I never do that. What can I say? I was feeling rebellious. And it was Friday. And I wasn’t supposed to see any judges. Of course, since I did that, you KNOW I ended up seeing a judge. It must have been a lucky color though, because I wrapped up my case from start to finish in record time. I filed it on the first floor of the courthouse and fifteen minutes later it was finished on the third floor. Pretty great, especially for something I thought would take at least a month! I wonder what kind of results I’d get if I dared to wear Yodel Me on My Cell. I think I’ll still stick to playing it rebellious on days when I don’t expect to see any judges. Or maybe I’ll just wear a blue shirt. Hey, maybe you will too. After all, it’s one of Fall’s hottest colors.

*No, that isn’t her real name… you should know the drill by now. Family members = actual names, much to their chagrin. Everyone else = safe from actual names. My friend Alaska spent her summer in Alaska. I’m sure you’re shocked. Given all the places she’s been, we could have easily named her “Beijing,” “Shanghai,” “Moscow”… I liked “Alaska.” (Like I’m always telling my siblings – if you don’t like it, write your own blog.)

**For an awesome review of the new colors, check out All Laquered Out.

Anyway, back to my toes. I can paint them fun colors even when I have to go to court BECAUSE I wear closed-toe shoes. Bright blue fingernails wouldn’t exactly go over well in my chosen profession. Can you imagine? It’d definitely be eye-catching, but that’s not exactly what I’d like to be known for. However, even with no one knowing about my blue toes (besides you, of course), there’s something about having them that makes my step a little more energetic. Maybe it’s the sparkle. Maybe it’s the sense of rebellion, knowing I have blue toes even in the courthouse. Maybe it’s just coming home to slip out of my heels and to see that happy color there. It’s probably some combination of all those reasons.

I went out on a limb this weekend. I changed the color – I thought maybe a bright happy tangerine orange  could do the same thing as bright bold beautiful blue. I. Was. Wrong. It’s been bugging me all weekend. Like every time I look at my feet. And since I spent part of today at the pool, that meant it was bugging me A LOT. Really, who knew? I would have fixed it this evening, but I’ve been spending the weekend out of town and I didn’t bring a nail polish along. Come tomorrow night, I am so fixing this. And now it’s not really a secret – but my blue toes on Monday are going to totally rock.

PS – If you’re looking for an orange polish, I just might be giving one away. Who knows? Maybe orange is your blue.

Oh well. Fair or not, at least I have the satisfaction that Alisha lives in Missouri vicariously through my blog. (And no, that’s not narcissism talking. She told me. So unless you’re calling her narcissistic…) Of course, I would trade that satisfaction in a heartbeat if she’d move out here. Via the blog, I’m her official updater until we convince her to move. (See Dad, this whole “living your whole life online” is not so bad.)

So, continuing with the reasons that Alisha should move here…

• I discovered the BEST artisan ice cream place. Ever. And it’s right near my house. Pineapple-cilantro sorbet? Yes, it sounds totally weird. And it’s amazing.
• In the same week, I discovered KC’s own version of my favorite frozen yogurt hotspot in Vegas. Except better. Also right near my house. (I knew moving was a good idea.) I’d highly recommend the Pomegranate Yogurt with kiwi, strawberries and pineapple. It hits the spot every time. Plus, you pay by the ounce – you can make it the perfect size for you. No small, medium, or large issues to deal with.
• You could come with me to the MoBar Family Law Conference and hang out at the Lake while I attend seminars all day. The shopping’s good too – outlets galore! You’ve got time to plan – it’s next August.
• Road trips. The latest was this past weekend to McPherson, Kansas. I drove from the MoBar Family Law Conference to pick up the kids from vacation at our Aunt & Uncle’s house. I know, it’s shocking, but we don’t go to McPherson just for the sightseeing. Unless you count “seeing” our darling cousins. Then we are totally guilty of going there for the sightseeing.

Since getting back from the MoBar Family Law Conference this week, I’ve been working around the clock. But those are a few of the simple pleasures that are a part of life here in KCMO. C’mon Alisha… don’t you want to be a part of it?

Wahoo! Today I’m celebrating. Well, actually I’m celebrating all month, because that’s how I roll. I highly recommend that when you have a birthday, you celebrate all month too. I can’t take credit for that brilliant idea. It’s a suggestion I got from a friend of mine a long time ago and it means the month of August totally rocks every year. I’ve officially reached “antique” status. For those of you who don’t speak the language of my 2.0, that means I’m now 25 years old. Don’t fault her for the whole “antique” thing – she’s only 11, so 25 is bound to sound ancient.

There are so many blessings in my life! In honor of turning 25 today, I thought I’d list 25 things that I’m grateful for. Yep, this is going to be a long list. Deal with it – it’s my party, and I’ll write what I want to.

1. The Gospel of Jesus Christ and my membership in His Church
2. Mom
3. Dad
4. Alisha
5. Logan
6. Jessie
7. Reece
8. Wade
9. Sam
10. Cassie
11. My law degree from BYU
12. Running my own law firm
13. Living in KCMO
14. Cute running clothes
15. The color blue – that totally bright, really happy blue.
16. Cupcakes
17. Country music - Trace Adkins, Carrie Underwood, Justin Moore, Jason Aldean, Jaron & the Long Road to Love… all those good people.
18. Four Inch Heels
19. The Piano
20. Scented Candles
21. Calla Lilies
22. Italian Food
23. Texas Roadhouse Rolls
24. Men who open doors
25. Big dreams. And little dreams. Just all sorts of dreams.

I picked up a card a little while ago. There’s a quote on it and it’s how I’m determined to live. “This is your world. Shape it or someone else will.”

Dad’s in Brazil right now – it made taking Mom out on a date last night kind of difficult for him. Don’t worry, he’s not a slacker – he’s got plans for when he gets back. Mom was cool about him being at work. After all, having a job’s kind of important when you’re supporting a family. HOWEVER, we couldn’t really let the day go uncelebrated. A waterfall in the living room (don’t ask – just be appreciative when your roof doesn’t decide to leak during a rainstorm) cut a big chunk of time out of our lives, but we still had enough time to do SOMETHING.

My Dad has two favorite restaurants – Ma & Pa’s Kettle and The Rib Crib. He’s a country guy. What can we say? When he’s out of the country, Mom and I NEVER go to either one. They aren’t really our style. (Mom is NOT a country girl.) Except last night. We did their anniversary just like they’d do a normal date night* for them – dinner at Ma & Pa’s and a movie at the local theater. It was almost like Dad was there.

And yes Dad, before you ask – I made sure to get Mom’s door.

*Dad’s already got “real” anniversary plans for when he gets back that are a departure from the normal routine, so I didn’t spoil anything, don’t worry.

My running has been sporadic over the past few months. I was blaming that on my fooorever long commute, but since moving to KC three weeks ago, I still wasn’t feeling it. For some reason, Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” as my alarm doesn’t help me vault out of bed. And if I don’t work out in the morning, it’s probably not happening. I am SO a morning person. Last week, I changed my alarm. Nickelback. Just about anything from their Dark Horse CD makes me jump out of bed. Problem solved, and I am back on the wagon. It’s a good thing too – I unpacked my scale this week. Of course, given that I’m taller than I thought, that number isn’t really as bad as it could be – I’m only six pounds off from the range that I give myself. Give me a month and I’ll be back on track. For now, I’m just extra bootylicious. That’s hardly a bad thing.

This morning I talked my roommate into going with me. Let’s call her Juarez – that’s where her family’s from, but it’s not her real name. (Roommates are almost family, but they get some level of protection. Come on, that’s only fair, right? Reece wishes he was my roommate.) We’ve actually got another roommate who will be joining us in a few short weeks and we can’t wait! Maybe we’ll rope her into early mornings too. It’s always more fun to run with someone else. Even when you’re not running “together.” (That wasn’t a problem today. Juarez is shorter than SixFour.)

Take a look at how beautiful it is out there in those early morning hours. Care to join us?