spiritual sunday - isaiah 43:18

let's face it - we all dwell on the past from time to time...it's human nature. 

we long for what once was - an old job, an old lifestyle, an old flame. 

however, when this longing for what was starts to affect what is, that's when things starts to get unhealthy.

i find myself quite often thinking about how different my life would be if i had done this instead of that or if i had majored in x instead of y. 

all this contemplating and reliving the decisions of past-vanessa wasn't doing anything to benefit the vanessa of today.

i realized that by dwelling on the past and worrying about the future, i was neglecting the only element of time that i really have control over - the present. 

while reading my bible, i stumbled upon isaiah 43:18 which reads:

"forget the former things, do not dwell on the past." (NIV)
*don't you love it when you find a bible verse (or general quote) that says exactly what you need to hear?

i interpreted this verse as saying that whatever the past was, it's gone.

ultimately, we have no control over it and so we must shift our focus to the present which is what i'm going to try to do from here on out.

*emphasis on try...

happy sunday, y'all :)

vanessa

ps. for all my big brother fans out there:

this!

game well played, good sir.

game well played.

but most importantly:

THISSSSS!

bae, though.

G&G turns one!!

i am what a terrible mother.
two days ago my blog celebrated it's first birthday and i didn't even notice.
shameful.

they say it's better late than never so...

 happy first birthday to my little nook of the internet!

initially, i wasn't too sold on the idea of blogging but must admit, i have thoroughly enjoyed it!
it's been nice to have this blog as a creative outlet and i quite often find myself scrolling through old posts.

for all who've taken the time to read my posts and leave lovely comments, thank you :)
here's to many more years of blogging and virtual friendships!

:)
vanessa

ps. i never did post my family's annual summer music video.
so, i present "problem - summer 2014" :)

nico is four!!!!!!

birthday, it's yo' birthday

on this very day four years ago, my nephew-son came into the world and changed all our lives for the better.
so, i just want to take a moment and say - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NICO!!!!!

birthday behaviour

he's having a "how to train your dragon" themed birthday party this weekend and is so excited.
in his own words: "you won't want to miss it!"

i can't wait!

:)
vanessa

goodbye august.

well, another summer has come to a close and i can't lie, i am saddened.
i've always heard that life as a whole tends to "speed up" with age but was never really convinced.
this summer, however, may have changed my mind - it seemed to just fly by.

life kept me pretty occupied and i wasn't able to blog as much as i would have liked.
so, like in july, i've decided to sum up the month of august via photos :)
*warning: this post is verrrry image heavy.

new york minute:

pit stop on our road trip to NY for saturne's wedding

nico's first time riding in the back seat of the truck

saturne's wedding:

newlyweds!

repost - just because i love this pic so much

moments spent with my surrogate children:

amy and matt's wedding - august 23rd, 2014:

peek-a-boo with not so baby silas

an old photo of amy and my sister on one of the photo boards at the reception

they were probably playing "heart and soul", lol

that ravioli was everything!

strathmore crew.

malibu:

my spot aka. the malibu country mart

rodeo drive:

dream house #1 on south rodeo drive

dream house #2 on south rodeo drive

i had no business being on rodeo.

so, i snapped this photo and left.

santa monica nights:

happy birthday, ashley!

hollywood:

"i survived law school" party but only 3 of us survived...

only one of us is in law school...

santa monica - day:

san diego:

lady jaguars and i

cruiser bikes in san diego

temucla - ponte winery:

happy birthday, tasha!

lunch *salivates...

la - the grove:

lunch at the marmalade café on what should have been my first day of class...

photos of nico shopping for snacks for kindergarden... *gah:

rosco's chicken and waffles - la:

malibu pier:

i'll never get over this view!

"spend some time alone every day."

appropriate beach attire, no?

until next time, cali.

and with that, my summer came to a close.

*tears.

:)

vanessa

UPDATE:
while riding bikes in santa monica, jenn and i (mostly i) were accosted by this british dude.
words were exchanged, a fake number was given and all was forgotten.
flash forward to this weekend when our bro-in-law in tags us both in a video on facebook with a caption that read, "holy sh*t, it's you guys!"

*fast forward to 1:25...lol...smh.

part of me is dying of laughter because what are the odds while the other part of me is creeped out.
i always tell people how i'm soooo hypervigilant due to my many years of watching law and order: svu.
apparently i'm not as aware as i thought, lol.