Happy Wednesday everyone! Thanks to the clouds and cold weather, I find myself in a very sentimental mood today. The "lets sit on the couch with hot chocolate and photo albums" kind of mood. So with that in mind, I want to share a little story with you. From the time I can remember, my Mama has done most of the cooking in our house. She was/is responsible for making sure that we all eat a proper, healthy diet; and Lord knows that's a task. But on sunny Saturday morning at my house, it was my Daddy who you would find in the kitchen, getting ready to make his "signature dish" - pancakes! It might not seem like a big deal to you, but I have never in my life been able to get my pancakes to taste or look like my Dad's. Although, that might be because he cheated slightly and used Bisquick in his batter. Yep, that's right; my Dad - Mr. Health himself, used Bisquick. But come on, 80/20 right? (80% = healthy eating, 20% = not so much)... There he was, setting out the griddle and the Bisquick, getting ready to make his kids their favorite breakfast; and let me tell ya, to this day, nothing can beat pancakes and cartoons on a Saturday morning. When I woke up yesterday all I really wanted was to recreate those memories and recapture that childish delight. I miss those Saturday mornings when I would walk into the kitchen, hair all over the place and find my handsome Dad getting ready to let  me "help" flip some pancakes. (Because let's be honest, the flipping is the best part.) So yesterday my brother and I made chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream and a cold glass of milk. And as I enjoyed every bite of the diabetes-giving meal, it struck me how something from so long ago, something so small, could leave such a lasting impression. It's those memories that I will treasure always. It's those memories that make it easier to go on when you miss someone so much. Thanks Dad for leaving me something to always enjoy, even though they won't ever be as good as when you made them for me.

My first attempt at joining the blogosphere...

My first official blog post!!! *quiet excited flailing* If I am being honest, I am super nervous and super excited about this. So I guess I should start by introducing myself. My name is Sammantha, but most people call me Sammi. I am 19 years old and I live in the beautiful town of South Lake Tahoe, CA. I love to sing and my dream is to be a worship leader. I guess that my favorite pastimes include reading books, drinking coffee and boxing. Someday I want to travel the world and pretend to be a professional photographer while I take pictures of the scenery with my phone. I lead a super busy life, so keeping up with this is gonna be so much fun! I also want to explain why I wanted to start a blog in the first place. I think it's because many people have told me in the past that I need to write a book. The problem with that is, a book about what?! I have these moments of reflection that I like to share, but they are hardly long enough to write an entire book. Unless I write a book that is supposed to be filled with random thoughts....  but I'm not motivated enough for that. I just am so filled with excitement or awe at things, that I want to take a moment to expand on what I'm thinking. Sometimes they are super deep and inspiring; other times I rant about how beautiful I think the sunset was. So if nothing else, I hope that you find my writings amusing/entertaining! I'm excited talk to y'all and have awesome conversations!

   ~ Sammi Jean ~
              xo