diamonds in the rough

Hello and HAPPY FRIDAY!

I saw 2 videos this week that were so touching, they were right up there in the life-changing category. They're both making their way all over Facebook, have been embedded in countless other sites, and to date, one of them has had more than 4 million views on YouTube alone. They're both very different in circumstance, yet they share the exact same beautiful message - messages we hear all our lives, but so easily forget - - - - - Please watch both these videos the whole way through - you will LOVE them :)

Never - EVER - judge a book by it's cover..... if we'd just open it up, it's more than likely we'll find precious gems inside. One way or another, every one of us is a diamond in the rough.

Every single living being on this earth is deserving of a safe, happy life, surrounded by love. Every single one. Witness a diamond formed from whence it came, and your heart will change forever.

HAPPY WEEKEND!

xoxoxo

knuckleheads

* the fun just never ends *

happy

Happy First Day of Spring!

Here are some cheerful daffodils for you, thanks to my adorable friend Kerrie!

xoxoxoxo

heel*tastic

I'm not a huge promoter of products, but when I find one I like, I enjoy sharing it.

And this little product is amazing - WHOA!

 I love foot products, but I'm always skeptical about their claims.

My hopes have been dashed many times, but I keep searching.

I just happened to spot this at Bed, Bath & Beyond in their spa department.

I'll do anything to keep my heels from looking dry, so I decided to try it.

It's very easy to apply. It smells a little funky but you'll live.....

because I KID YOU NOT - I did indeed, "watch my dry heels disappear"!

YEAH BABY! My feet are so happy :)

Sooo..... if you pick some up for yourself, let me know how you liked it.

You're welcome, hehe :)

use your words

the Walker house in all it's glory.....

as you will see, we're the least civilized when it comes to food.....

however we do redeem ourselves fairly well in other areas :)

 Matthew's juice when he had a horrible virus :/

 Daniel's leftovers

 leftover nacho fixings identified

 Again with Daniel! Thin mints are a coveted commodity once a year.....

 hydration is important (note my dc on the right.....yeah)

 love notes AND warnings decorating the fridge

 grad school consolation and more love :)

my very most favorite, from Matthew - xoxo

this old guitar

 Remember that song by John Denver?

It was one of the first songs I learned to play on the guitar, and a fitting title for this blog post.

 When I recently went to southern Utah, I was standing in the garage of a home we own.

I happened to look down, and there in it's case, was the very first guitar I ever owned.

I hadn't seen it since my first years of college - I never knew what happened to it.

Needless to say, I was surprised and delighted - more so than I can express!

 My father bought that guitar for me when I was 14.

He and I drove down past Los Angeles somewhere, to a store a friend of his owned.

I tried out a few guitars and then saw this one hanging on the wall. 

I knew it was my guitar the second I saw it. 

It was a little more expensive than the others, but my dad was sweet and gave me his approval. 

I think I smiled the whole way home :) 

It's one of my favorite memories of just my dad and I. 

That was 36 years ago.

 I had many wonderful experiences with that first guitar.

Like the song says, it introduced me to some friends of mine, and brightened up some days :)

 So naturally, I brought it back home with me.

John surprised me by putting new strings on it for me, and I polished it up once again.

 I loved that guitar for many years, and still love it now.

But what I love about it the most, is that I have sons who can play it beautifully (Davy here)

I feel that it has not only come home once again, but come full circle as well :)

oscars, roscoe's, and countdown to 21

 Davy had an Oscar party on Academy Award night.....

Being the movie snob that he and his lovable-but-highfalutin friends are.....

he was not particularly excited about this affair, yet he wanted to watch so he could enjoy his agony.

So he threw an "overly-excited Oscar party", meaning everyone had to overreact to every lame thing.

And not only that, they had to dress as any character from one of the nominated movies.

EVEN OSCAR HIMSELF SHOWED UP!

 Now, these kids are no dummies..... they not only moved in an extra couch and two extra chairs,

but Daniel split our sectional couch in two and put one up on cement blocks to create levels!

(was he away at college too long or WHAT)

He had lots friends dressed up as fun characters..... they ate lots of food and laughed & cheered.

Davy was one of the dinosaurs from "Tree of Life". Alrighty then.

It turned out to be an extremely fun AND VERY LOUD EVENING :)  

 Which brings us to the next day, DAVY'S 21st BIRTHDAY!!!

So naturally he wanted to go to Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles to celebrate!

yayyy :/

I gotta say though, I absolutely *LOVE* the above and below photos!

 Awww..... look at that handsome Davy face!

 WHERE DID THOSE YEARS GO?!?!? :D

 Being the budding film maker that he is, his REAL present is an old Super 8 movie camera.....

But of course we had fun getting him some other cool thingies too..... and some cheesecake :)

Yeah, I guess 21 might be okay.....

:D