Busy Bee!

Hey gang. Hope you are doing great! :) 

Yesterday, I was so grateful to celebrate my last day at Bobcat Company. It sure was a great time! 
So many kind people who work there wished me well in my future. I know I will see all of them again! 
In case you're wondering... I have accepted a position at Flint Communications. It's a wonderful company, I start my exciting adventure on Monday!

Lately, I have been super busy. As you can see by my title, "Busy Bee," I haven't had time for a while to blog! Sad faces. BUT, I am here to prove I can prioritize and manage my time effectively. 

William Penn once said "Time is what we want most, but what we use worst." But I don't want to simply spend time, I want to construct something out of it, and use it! No matter how old, young or  how sick or healthy you are we all get the same amount of time in a day. Each day is like a suitcase, some choose to stuff it with a bunch of Hawaiian flavored shirts, while others pack a pair of socks. What does that even mean? I'm not sure. But some people don't need more than one shirt in a day. Balance is key. Isn't it what we all aspire to? Ideal amount of time spent in your professional life, your family, social life and also your personal health, how much for each? Do you have enough time in this life to get it right? I believe that balance fluctuates with stages we go through. What is yours? What do you spend a majority of your time on? Time = love. If you spend most time at your job, you better love what you do. Because you are literally trading your life for it. 

Now I'm not saying to quit your job and live on the beach (which is the ideal life for me) but figure out what makes you tick. 

Nik and I saw Rise of the Guardians 3D last night. I mean, wow what a great movie! You should watch it, even if you are 100 years old. So much can be learned. I don't think Nik and I enjoyed a movie that much in a many moons. 

Hope your weekend is filled with joy and love. 
Take a moment to say thank you to yourself, for being so gosh-darn amazing. I mean, come on, there's only one of you in the entire world. Give yourself a foot rub. 

Always believe, the best is yet to come.
Taylor 

Legacy of sweets.

Hi. Have you ever thought where you came from? Not like your Momma's belly... but like, your grandparents/great grandparents?

What neat people. I stopped by for a visit with my Dad's parents yesterday evening. What an enriching experience.

They know everything. I mean, they practically read my mind. It was awesome. We talked about the evolution of dishes and dishwashers. Interest rates, babies and bills.

I learned that although our physical bodies fail us over time, our minds and spirits stay sharp and alive! Seriously, my McAllister grandparents should win an award for creating such a successful, beautiful and healthy family! They are the reason for SO many people! If they hadn't met each other and decided to start a family, then I wouldn't be here. Along with my Dad, cousins, second cousins... and so on. 

I re-realized where Dad's love of sweets (and mine) come from, from Gramma's cooking and Grampa's sweet tooth! Seriously, he ate a ton of delicious food over the years! It's hard to say no to Gramma jelly and lefse. 

In light of Thanksgiving coming up, what do you enjoy most about your family? I would have to say that I am MOST grateful of my family's ability to laugh. No matter what, I always am guaranteed a good giggle at any gathering. No wonder people think I'm strange, I think everything is funny. Anyone who says that should meet my parents. Seriously, I love seeing my parents and siblings. Thankfully, my best friend and sister is only a few short minutes away from me. Not to mention, my brother's sporting activities means my parents aren't far either! :) I am grateful to have family around the area, cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents are always close by. 

It breaks my heart to hear about those who don't have family, or who don't see their family. Family is God's greatest blessing. So this weekend, thank your family for being awesome. Say a little prayer and give thanks. 

Always believe, the best is yet to come.
Taylor

Top 3 Accidents

Hello cold, cold, icy world.  :)

Scarves are really great. But that's not my main focus for today's post. I am going to discuss my top 3 car accidents that have happened to me around this time of year...

1. Speed/gravel/flip/roll/slew

The time was early fall. 2007. I was a sophomore. Time was in the late afternoon. I decided to jack the Dazzler-mobile, which was Jenessa's prized silver-plated Oldsmobile from the wonderful year of '86. My main goal was to drive to the parish center to do some Great American fundraising. It happened in slow-motion. I was driving (very quickly) along the skiddish gravel road from home into town. I started losing control. I honestly don't remember how fast I was going! It was right by the "Dead End" sign by the two surrounding slews (if you know the area by the house). I started fishtailing... and like an unexperienced, lady driver... I over-corrected and hit the bump on the four-corners sideways. I then launched into the air and did a flip or two. All I can remember is my hair swarming all up in my face, Jenessa's latest Diet Coke spilling into my lap (at least I hope it was DC), and looking out the windows as the world spun. I sang in my head "Jesus, Take the Wheel." The car landed on its side, with me nearest to the ground, and by the swift kick of God's food, pushed me back on the wheels and I was upright. The total event was probably only 4 seconds of my short, sweet life. But it seemed like an eternity. I then called up my Momma and was like "I just got in an accident." she replied "You literally just left the house." Haha! She and Dad then came to the rescue and pulled me from the slew-ish area. We determined that the Dazzler-mobile was no longer able to drive, so Jenessa got a new car (shocker, favorite child advantages). Luckily, I was buckled up and was not killed. 

Lessons to take from this story: wear your seat belt, don't over correct, drive someone else's car if you plan on getting in an accident. Hah.

2. Rape van + curvy road = possibly totaled Impala.

So you remember in the last story, when I totaled Jenessa's old car? Well this story is about her new-ish car. The scene is... yesterday morning... cold, VERY icy, and sweet. Jenessa, Nik and I were on our way back from church, to my place. We were discussing the hilarious parts in Bruno and Borat. Quite a humorous conversation, as you can imagine. I then spotted a dark brown/caramel rape van swerving in front of us. Just the two vehicles on the road. Our moods drastically changed from laughing and giggling, into "ohh shizzzzle that van!"  Jenessa decided to speed up, to avoid getting smashed on the front of the car (which was pretty smart), and saw the van do a 180 degree slide and smasssh into the side of Jen's car. Luckily, the curb was there to stop us from launching into the light pole that was nearby. The humorous part was when I continued watching the van as it hit us and then slid perfectly into the side of the road as if it were parking. End of story. Impala might be damaged a tish. Perhaps, totalled. 

Lessons to take from this story: always have great car conversation, don't cause more problems trying to avoid an accident than actually being in the accident, and slow down on the icy roads.

3. Stop sign from the fiery depths.

This story also involves Jenessa (shocker). It was also in the Dazzlermobile... earlier than the first story, obviously. I believe it was in the deepest part of winter in 2006. We were on our way to somewhere... maybe dance practice? Anyways, we were travelling on a road that was well plowed. During our usual jam-sessions, we realized that we lost control. But somehow we were still going strait. But then slowly... we were approaching a stop-sign. The stop sign was on my side of the road, like usual. But I seriously thought I was going to die because of this sign. It was coming right at me, without mercy. We kept sliding towards it and then ska-doosh. It sliced the living day-lights out of the passenger mirror. Thank goodness it wasn't my face. If I remember correctly, I was still screeching minutes after we had come to a complete stop. 

Lessons to take from this story: as Wendy would say "NO jamming, girls", pump your breaks in case of emergencies, and make memories. 

Bonus (non-winter story): during the summer sometime in the back roads, Jenessa and I found this lovely dog on the side of the road. We decided to pull over and check its collar. I got out and was super pumped to be a "helpful Harriet." I then got closer to the dog, tried to pet it. Then I noticed the white foamy-ness around its mouth. It then tried to snip my hand off with the large white teeth. Wow. I don't believe I have ever moved so quickly. I tried kicking it while doing a crazy dance to distract it from my meaty and delicious-looking body. In the mean time, Jenessa is safely in the car, laughing her face off at me. I am trying to escape the evil dog's range of attack. Running for the car, stumbling to reach the door. Haha. We lived to see another day. 

Never saw the dog again. 

Always believe, the best is yet to come.

taylor.