Off to a great start!

Well, so far so good with the fundraising for Relay for Life this year! We still have over 2 months to go and the team I'm on has raised more than $1100! We have a team goal this year of $1500 but if we get close to that within the next month we are going to bump it up some.

I've only gotten $25 on my online personal page thus far but I've been working really hard at getting donations from the members who come into our bank. We are collecting quite the plethora of Sun & Moon donation cards at work from all of the generous people who donate.

Other than that things are still just moving along. I can't believe we've been away from Spokane for 8 months already.. I sure am looking forward to going back to visit this summer! Oh how I long to see green trees & real mountains!

Relay for Life

Relay for Life has quickly become one of the most important events to me each year, not only for the fact that it brings around a chance to raise money for the American Cancer Society but also that it allows for the celebration of those who are fighting cancer and the ones who have lost their battles.

My Aunt Julie Thomsen fought very very hard for years, battling ovarian cancer and going through round after round of chemotherapy all while putting together and hosting family Thanksgivings & Christmases, volunteering for the Fantasy Flight every to help underprivileged children, raising money for Relay for Life as well as cooking, cleaning and carrying on the daily tasks around her home.

Aunt Julie (L) and my Mom (R) at Relay for Life the summer before Aunt Julie passed away.

My Mom is a cancer survivor and has beaten breast cancer. She was diagnosed the summer after I graduated high school. After surgery, radiation, and 5 years of anti-cancer medication she is 100% cancer free! ** Knock on wood **

So, that's why this year I am committed to participating in Relay for Life once again. Although, it's not in Spokane like I'm used to, I am still going to give it everything I can to try and help make a difference in the lives of those fighting cancer and to honor those who have passed on. I do ask anyone who reads this blog to please consider donating even $10 to the American Cancer Society. No one knows for sure, but that small donation could be the extra little bit that helps find a cure, or a new treatment for cancer. It could give someone that little bit of extra time with their family or the hope to fight a little harder.

If you are interested here is my personal page for Relay for Life this year: Whitney's Personal Relay for Life Page

Good ol' Days

Do you ever stop and think back to the days where everything seemed awesome all the time and nothing was really much of a big deal? I sure do...

I also realize that I really do miss some of the people who were in my life back then. There were those that I could talk to for hours upon hours and just go drive around with and time just completely stood still. Certain people who I considered my best friends and never ever worried about them judging me or being two faced. I could call them at any hour of the day or night and I knew they would be right there for me. It really hurts to stop and think that I don't have that kind of relationship with them anymore and that I wish things were different.

Don't get me wrong, I love my life now but I think it would be a much better place if I could still have the friendships I did back then. I did bring it on myself though, there were things I said and did that I shouldn't have and I am now really beginning to regret that. I don't think there's ever going to be a chance for me to take back those things and make our friendships the way they were and I hate that. All I can say is that I really hope I can just hold on to what's left and just remember the good times. The late nights, the long drives, all the fun and happy times we had.

So to those who have amazing wonderful people in your life, just take a second to remind yourself how important they are and don't ever take them for granted.

What's this?? Oh! It's a brand new car!!

Yup, you have read that right! I (well "we" I suppose if you count my husband) am the proud new owner of a 2011 Ford Edge Limited! ** Pics to follow in a later post ** I loved "Old Blue" our 2008 Tundra but it was getting close to being out of warranty and I just really wanted something new.

Our Edge is Silver with stone grey leather interior and it has that awesome new MyFord Touch Sync system in it. Everything from the climate controls to the radio to my phone is all controlled on an 4x8 inch touch screen in my dash... how awesome is that?! It's also got ambient lighting in the front cupholders, door handles and floorboards in the front and back, and has a bunch of colors to choose from. It's also got great safety ratings and lots of room, which will be good for later on when we decide to start having kiddos (mind you that won't be for a while yet lol)

But yeah, we didn't make out too badly.. we got a car that was 3 years newer with only 35 miles on it when we got it from the dealership and our payments and insurance stayed virtually the same. I think it was an awesome choice! I will hopefully be posting pics in the next day or two, unless I get too distracted playing with all the gadgets and touch screen stuff it has........

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Had a pretty good day today :) The only thing that would help make it better is getting this lovely migraine to go away...

I'm getting so excited for April to get here so I can start planting my flowers out in the flower beds in front of our house! There's two of them and they are both decent in size. I am really leaning towards planting as many kinds of lilies as I can in them. *For those who don't know: Lilies are my favorite flowers and 2 of my tattoos are of lilies*

Starbucks + Shopping for gardening stuff + Billy Sims BBQ + Hanging out with the hubby = a pretty darn good day. When you subtract points for my head feeling like it might just split in half it still works out to be pretty good :)

If anyone gets the chance to go eat at a Billy Sims BBQ... do it! They have the most delicious Smoked Turkey Sandwiches! It's whole chunks of smoked turkey (or chicken or pork or whatever you want) put on a plain bun and served with a side (potato salad, beans, chips, etc.), red onions and a pickle and it is A-Mazing!!!

Never say goodbye... Because goodbye means going away..... And going away means forgetting

This has become a very inspirational quote to me for the simple fact that this past November, I lost my cousin Shannon. She was such a wonderful young woman with so many dreams and goals she wanted to accomplish. Not only had she gone through Basic Training for the Army she had just graduated from her AIT school less than a month before she was killed in a car wreck. I can't even begin to say how proud I am of her and how much she really made our whole family proud. I wish I could be as driven and as strong as she was. Shannon was not the type to just let people walk on her and if she didn't like what was going on, you were going to know about it! I can only hope that I live my life in a way that would make her proud to say she is my cousin.

Shannon's mom Bekki with her memorial tattoo

See in my family cousin is a very strong and important word. Cousin means that you will be there for each other through thick and thin, no matter what happens. Despite the fact we all don't talk as much as we would like, I know that if I ever needed anything, ever, I could call on my cousins and they would have my back.

So here's to cousins.... here's to true family.... and here's to Shannon....

Shannon Elaine "Gumby""Nanners""Bones" Swartz

03/25/1991 - 11/20/2010

                        

"All-American Nightmare"

Ink Is Only Skin Deep is becoming my place to collect my thoughts and really just have somewhere to be able to put my feelings, memories, goals, dreams, fears and any other random thought that happens to cross my twisted little mind LOL. 

My post title says All-American Nightmare and as the lyrics to the song say "I'm red white and blue tattooed and just don't care..."and that couldn't be a better quote for me. I like to think of myself as a "rocker chick" who has a "girly girl" side with a little bit of "princess" mixed in there. I may not be the typical All-American girl but I am true to who I am right down to my bones. Many times I have tried to mold myself to fit someones perception of me or what they think I should be like and I finally came to the conclusion that it doesn't matter what I do or say that I can only be myself and if you don't like it then sorry. There's no room in my life for people who are going to judge me or look down upon me, if you can't take me at my worst you sure don't deserve me at my best.

Those who have known me since elementary school, or even high school for that matter, would most likely say that I am quite different than I was back then. I always got good grades and never really got in trouble, I suppose one could say I was a bit of a teacher's pet. Looking back now I can see that and I have no regrets about how I was back then, but if I went back and did it all again I would do things differently. I would have loosened up and had more fun, worried less and just took chances in life a little more. There are things I never told people and now don't have the chance to, opportunities I missed and friends I've lost... but I can honestly say I've learned from my mistakes and am very thankful for the people who have stuck by me throughout the good times and the bad. 

As I close out this, my very first blog post ever, I can say that while I don't know how long this whole blogging thing will last, I will say that it is bound to be quite the adventure....