number seventeen: new nail polish

as i've mentioned before and will mention again, i'm a very girly girl. i like frilly things and will someday decorate my house with plants potted in old boots.

like this:

something i do when i'm feeling less than amazing is do something to make myself feel more.... just more i suppose. sometimes i'll treat myself to a new pair of shoes... other times i'll get my hair chopped off... when i'm feeling unhealthy i'll even go tanning. but somedays, when i don't want to get out of sweat pants, the best thing to do is give myself a mini manicure.

we all need to be pampered, and i like to DIM- do it myself.

my nails are now painted plum perfect. and whatdoyaknow- i feel kinda plum perfect too.

number sixteen: humble love

today, february 16th, is my parent's 26th wedding anniversary.

i should note that last year was their 25th, which i totally forgot about, and failed to do anything special for. and being the dirt poor 23 year old i am, i can't really do anything special for them this year either. life's the poops sometimes huh?

back the point though.

a few years back when i was in the only "serious" relationship i've ever encountered, i got to talking to my mom about her and my dad. you know the usual- how'd you meet, when did you guys get married, how'd you know he was "the one," etc. i didn't get a lot of solid answers, other than that they met at a party. i like to think she fell in love with his mustache first, and his sense of humor after. those are the two things i've always associated with my dad- a sweet stache (which he recently shaved despite my protest) and his amazing humor.

from where i've stood the past 23 years, my parents seem to have a humble love. they're not showy, they just seem to be confident and comfortable in their roles of husband and wife, father and mother. this is something i never fully appreciated until recently.

my parents are fantastic. they're the kind of parents every kid wishes they had. for instance: yesterday i was in a car accident. my 10th i believe. and i did what i always do- call my dad crying hysterically and then let him tell my mom. i was able to drive home and before my mom could even say anything, she took her weeping 20-something daughter inside and hugged me until i calmed down. which clearly took a while. they never yelled. they just reassured me that everything would be okay. which i hope will still be the case once we get the estimate from the chick i hit.

that incident and their reaction is one of the reasons i love my parents. they have always been there for me and put my sanity first and foremost. they truly take care of me, and i am so lucky.

that my parents have been married 26 years seems impossible. that they've been putting up with my crap for 23 years seems even more impossible.


i might never know what goes into making a 26 plus year marriage work, and therefore never truly appreciate everything they've been through. however, i will say i'm thankful. i'm so thankful that my parents met, fell in love, and got married. and then proceeded to be really stupid and have my brother and i.


i doubt my parents will ever read this. i just want the world to know that today is their anniversary. and i wish into cyberspace that they have many, many more anniversaries to come. i'm already looking forward to throwing them the party they deserve for their 50th.

my parents are the very definition of utterly wonderful, and i hope someday that i have the sort of humble love they do.

number fifteen: valentines day

i know i know, this holiday was created by the card companies.

and yeah, i probably just confused some of my avid readers... the happily solo LKB has a thing for valentines day? what sort of sense does this make? well, i don't have to make sense, it's my right as a woman.


the first valentines day i can recall was in elementary school. my longest relationship by a landslide was to a guy named matt i dated from 5th grade through part of 7th. this is the equivalent to over a decade when you're a preteen. matt spoiled me rotten every year, and taught me a lesson young- if a guy's crazy about you he'll show it.

my 5th grade self was getting an early example of what love should look like. however, it wasn't until the summer before my junior year of high school that my expectations about love were phrased eloquently and i am here to pass that on to you all today.


love is a verb.

say it aloud.

love. is. a. verb.

love isn't a word. love isn't a feeling.

love is a verb.


this is one of the many things i have learned from a little summer camp i've dedicated myself to for years upon years. it is probably the lesson that has shaped my life the most thus far. so i've brought this little nugget of theory into your world. what does that have to do with valentines day?

everything, of course.


i love love. i love the terrible love songs, holding hands is like the best drug in the world, and first kisses... don't even get me started. however, that's not what this day is really about. valentines day is, i believe, the most important holiday we've got. it is the one day of the year where you are readily encouraged to show your love through action for someone. you can't just say, "hey, it's valentines day, i stinkin love you." and expect that to suffice. on valentines day you're expected to show your love. ie demonstrate love. ie live the phrase i'm drilling into your head.


clearly i believe that love is actions. valentines day is the perfect day to show how you feel about the special one of a kind people in your life. and although in a perfect would you'd do it day after day maybe this day is a perfect time to start the behavior. practice makes perfect, start practicing using love as a verb tomorrow.

or if you wanna get real crazy, start practicing today.

number fourteen: being alone

i'm not sure if you have seen this video i stumbled upon last month, but it's amazing. it's called, clearly, 'how to be alone.' and it's the only instruction manual i've ever cared to take note of.





people tend not to believe me when i say i enjoy being alone. when i told a friend a few weeks back that i'd been single for roughly three years, his eyes got wide and he didn't know quite what to say. sure, there have been people who have passed through my world. even one i'd classify as an earth shaker. but no one's stuck for long. and it's something that perplexes people. but personally, it's something i find liberating.


what i like about this video is that it gives other people who are alone pointers. something that our society pushes is that being alone is a bad thing. that being lonely is something that should be avoided. and that if you are alone, you are automatically lonely. i am here to say that the two do no go hand in hand. being filled up by the experience of flying solo is the most fulfilling experience i've had in a very long time. when was the last time you sat and enjoyed you own mind, thought over your own messes, savored a flavor, paused to take in something beautiful...


i leave you with this, my favorite thought from this poem.

"Society is afraid of alone though. Like lonely hearts are wasting away in basements. Like people must have problems if after awhile nobody is dating them.

But lonely is a freedom that breathes easy and weightless, and lonely is healing if you make it."



if you're alone, you're not the only one.
give it a second and you might love it.

number thirteen: alaska

alaska is the 49th state, which is the basis for my next tattoo. it is also a place i am currently beyond in love with.


this past weekend, my dani campoamor's boyfriend andrew flew me to anchorage to surprise her for her birthday. the surprise was epic and so was the rest of my trip.

i met some fantastic people, saw amazing sights, and left feeling revived. a picture is worth a thousand words, so instead of going into detail as to why i loved this trip and am seriously looking into moving there i'll just post some pictures.

enjoy!