“Being in love, I find myself smiling for no reason at all...”

As I was putting my books away, I realized that I could recall some really amazing quotes from my favorite stories and authors...Even got caught up reading a few pages from each...I thought this would be a great place to collect all of my favorites from the shelves :)

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”
“Woman work a great many miracles.”
“I wish I had no heart, it aches so…”

My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
“You don't love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not.”
“He insisted that stars were people so well loved, they were traced in constellations, to live forever”

The Lovely Bones, Lucky, The Almost Moon - Alice Sebold
“I live in a world where two truths coexist: where both hell and hope lie in the palm of my hand”
“Who would have thought something that happened that long ago could have such power?”
“Our only kiss was like an accident- a beautiful gasoline rainbow.”
“How to Commit the Perfect Murder" was an old game in heaven. I always chose the icicle: the weapon melts away.”
“Loss could be used as a measure of beauty in a woman.”
“Your first kiss is destiny knocking.”
“There was one thing my murderer didn't understand; he didn't understand how much a father could love his child.”  “Poison and medicine are often the same thing, given in different proportions”


Eragon Series, (Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, Inheritance) - Christoper Paolini
“Live in the present, remember the past, and fear not the future, for it doesn't exist and never shall. There is only now.”
“Into the sky to win or die.” 
“Respect the past; you never know how it may affect you.”
“The monsters of the mind are far worse than those that actually exist.”
“Whatever you do, protect those you care for. Without them, life is more miserable than you can imagine.”
“The future will be what it will, and fretting about it will only make your fears more likely to come true.”


Much Ado About Nothing - William Shakespeare (I'm certain I have most of these lines memorized)
“Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more,
Men were deceivers ever,-
One foot in sea and one on shore,
To one thing constant never.” (this was turned beautifully into a song)
“For which of my bad parts didst thou first fall in love with me?”
“There was a star danced, and under that was I born. ”
“In time the savage bull doth bear the yoke.”
“There's a double meaning in that”

Lorien Legacies (I am Number Four, Power of Six) Pittacus Lore
“When you have lost hope, you have lost everything. And when you think all is lost, when all is dire and bleak, there is always hope.”
“The only limits for tomorrow are the doubts we have today.”
“A place is only as good as the people in it.”
“If he had one true love, then he wanted you to have one, too.”

The Hunger Games Trilogy (The Hunger Games, The Mockingjack, Catching Fire) Suzanne Collins
“Remember, we're madly in love, so it's all right to kiss me anytime you feel like it.”
“You love me. Real or not real?' I tell him, "Real.”
“I am not pretty. I am not beautiful. I am as radiant as the sun.”
“Star-crossed lovers desperate to get home together. Two hearts beating as one. Romance.”
“Isn't it strange that I know you'd risk your life to save mine... but I don't know what your favorite color is?”
“This is the first kiss that we’re both fully aware of… This is the first kiss where I actually feel stirring inside my chest. Warm and curious. This is the first kiss that makes me want another.”
“Right before the explosions begin, I find a star.”
“Gale is mine. I am his. Anything else is unthinkable.”

The Honest Courtesan - Margaret Rosenthal
“Do you know what my daughter's nurse told her today? "In a girl's voice lies temptation - a known fact. Eloquence in a woman means promiscuity. Promiscuity of the mind leads to promiscuity of the body." She doesn't believe it yet, but she will. She'll grow up just like her mother. Marry, raise children and honor her family.”

Shel Silverstien :)
“Once there was a tree, and she loved a little boy.”
“So I'm all of love that could make it today.”
“Anything is possible. Anything can be.” 
“everything isn't everything”
“If you are a dreamer come in”
“There is a place where the sidewalk ends,
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.”


Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - Lisa See
“I know a lot about women and their suffering, but I still know almost nothing about men.”
“Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river.”
“Anyone who says that women do not have influence in mens' decisions makes a vast and stupid mistake.”  
“For my entire life I longed for love. I knew it was not right for me — as a girl and later as a woman — to want or expect it, but I did, and this unjustified desire has been at the root of every problem I have experienced in my life.”

 J.R.R. Tolkien
“And he took her in his arms and kissed her under the sunlit sky, and he cared not that they stood high upon the walls in the sight of many.”
“I will not say, do not weep, for not all tears are an evil.”
“I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things, Sam.”
“Not all those who wander are lost.”
“Courage is found in unlikely places.”
“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”
“Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall”
“And yet their wills did not yield, and they struggled on.”
“Go back to the abyss! Fall into nothingness that awaits you and your master! ”
“He stands not alone. You would die before your stroke fell.”
 “So do all men who live to see such times. All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us.”

The Notebook, The Wedding, The Rescue, The Last Song, Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember - Nicholas Sparks
“You are, and always have been, my dream.”
“Just when you think it can't get any worse, it can. And just when you think it can't get any better, it can.”
“Love is like the wind, you can't see it but you can feel it.” 
“Nothing that’s worthwhile is ever easy. Remember that.”
“Without suffering, there'd be no compassion.”
“I fell in love with her when we were together, then fell deeper in love with her in the years we were apart.”
“I'll be anything you want, just tell me what you want and I'll be that.”
“Being in love, I find myself smiling for no reason at all...”
“If you come back; I'll marry you. If you break your promise, you'll break my heart”
“It's funny, but have you ever noticed that the more special something is, the more people seem to take it for granted? It's like they think it won't ever change. Just like this house here. All it ever needed was a little attention, and it would never have ended up like this in the first place.”

Harry Potter (all 7 years) - J.K. Rowling
“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.” 
“Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all those who live without love.”
“The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should be treated with caution.” 
“Alas, earwax!”
“Twitchy little ferret, aren't you, Malfoy?” 
“You can laugh, but people used to believe there was no such thing as the blubbering humdinger and the crumple horned snorkak!”
“Here lies Dobby, a free elf.” 
“The only way out is through.”
“I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death.” 
“I'm hoping to do something good in the world!”

Twilight Series (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn) - Stephanie Meyer
“I like the night. Without the dark, we'd never see the stars.”
“Look after my heart - I've left it with you.”
“And so the lion fell in love with the lamb..." 
“I promise to love you forever - every single day of forever.”
“You are my life now.”
“I honestly have no idea how to live without you.”
“Sometimes, loyalty gets in the way of what you want to do. Sometimes, it’s not your secret to tell.”
“You are...Well, not exactly the love of my life, because I expect to love you for much longer than that. The love of my existence.”  
 
A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket (YES, I read all 13 books!!)
“Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like.” 
“People aren't either wicked or noble. They're like chef's salads, with good things and bad things chopped and mixed together in a vinaigrette of confusion and conflict.”
“Wicked people never have time for reading. It's one of the reasons for their wickedness.” 
“The sad truth is the truth is sad.”
“I don't know if you've ever noticed this, but first impressions are often entirely wrong.” 
“I will love you as the iceberg loves the ship, and the passengers love the lifeboat and the lifeboat loves the teeth of the sperm whale, and the sperm whale loves the flavor of naval uniforms.”
“There are many, many types of books in the world, which makes good sense, because there are many, many types of people, and everybody wants to read something different.” 
“Waiting is one of life’s hardships.”


 Okay, I need to finish packing these books up!! More quotes to come!! :)

And who is responsible for this appalling child slavery? Everyone.

It should never be okay to rape, kidnap, murder, or torture another human being.  There are such things as basic human rights, and all around the world, they're being violated.  My heart aches every time I think of the women and children being abused on this planet, and it makes me sick to think that people in the Western World won't even spare a passing glance.  

Children are being raped and infected with HIV/AIDS every day because of a myth that if you are infected, and you have sex with a virgin, it will cure you.  HOW can you sweep something like this under the rug?  I was blown away when I watched Alicia Keys' documentary "Keep A Child Alive"

 

Human trafficking is one of the most lucrative businesses in the world, and we Americans claim slavery has been abolished??  In the US alone, there are over 10,000 forced laborers.  Asian women can be sold for nearly $20,000 to brothels.  In Thailand, over 60,000 CHILDREN are sold into prostitution!!

And remember that movie Blood Diamond? You think that movie was made up?? It's based on real life events that are taking place right now.  Children, being abducted and forced to murder their family and friends for what?  For one man's war-mongering power trip. 

 

Something needs to be done, and it starts with spreading awareness.  We live in world where information travels faster than the speed of light.  Let's make it happen.

Distance & Time - Alicia Keys

This song is dedicated to all the lovers
Who can't be together
Separated by distance and time

You are always on my mind
All I do is count the days
Where are you now?
I know I never let you down
I'll never go away

I really wish that you'd stay but what we do
All the days that you've been gone I dreamed about you
and I anticipate the day that you will come home, come home

No matter how far you are
No matter how long it takes him
Through distance and time
I'll be waitin
And if you have to walk a million miles
I'll wait a million days to see you smile
Distance and time, I'll be waitin
Hmmmm
Distance and time, I'll be waitin

Will you take a train, to meet me where I am
are you on your way?
I will never do anything to hurt you
I'll never live without you

I really wish that you would stay but what we do
All the days that you've been gone I dreamed about you
and I anticipate the day that you will come home, come home

No matter how far you are
No matter how long it takes him
Distance and time,I'll be waitin
And if you have to walk a million miles
I'll wait a million days to see you smile
Distance and time, I'll be waitin
(repeat)

I'll be waiting
I'll be waiting
through distance and time
I'll be waiting

You are always on my mind
All I do is count the days
Where are you now?

Used vs. Loved

My Dad sent me this email awhile back....made me reflect...


Used vs. Loved

While a man was polishing his new car, his 4 yr old son picked up a
stone and scratched lines on the side of the car. In anger, the man took
the child's hand and hit it many times; not realizing he was using a
wrench.

At the hospital, the child lost all his fingers due to multiple fractures.

When the child saw his father.....with painful eyes he asked,
'Dad when will my fingers grow back?'

The man was so hurt and speechless; he went back to his car and kicked
it a lot of times. Devastated by his own actions.......sitting in front of
that car he looked at the scratches; the child had written 'LOVE YOU DAD'.

The next day that man committed suicide. . Anger and Love have no
limits; choose the latter to have a beautiful, lovely life..... Things
are to be us ed and people are to be loved, But the problem in today's
world is that, People are used and things are loved...

During the day, be careful to keep this thought in mind: Things
are to be used, but People are to be loved ... Be yourself....This is
the only day we HAVE. Have a nice day Watch your thoughts; they become
words. Watch your words; they become actions.

Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits they become
character; Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

Top 10 Reasons Why You Can't Trust Pitbulls

10. They will steal your spot on the couch while you are up getting a soda.
9. They will take the treat you give them and bury in the back yard like a paranoid crack head hiding their stash.
8. They will jump on your bed with muddy feet. Making you do the laundry...again!
7. They will lick visitors with an uncontrolled passion only they understand.
6. They will cause children to smile.
5. They will make you feel horrible for not walking them by looking at you with deep sad eyes.
4. They will look at you like you committed a crime against them if you don't let them lick your ice cream bowl.
3. They will cause wide spread happiness in large group settings.
2. They will crack you up by shaking their butts so hard you think they are going to snap in half.
And the number one reason why you can't trust vicious Pit Bulls...
1. They will steal your heart like a thief in the night, showing you complete and pure love that only a Pit Bull can show.

Some things are just meant to be...

Short back-story:
My favorite aunt, has kidney failure and has been on dialysis for about 3 years now.  Her sisters have tested to donate her a kidney, but 2/3 were not a good match, and the 3rd one backed out 2 months before scheduled surgery.    Since she was diagnosed, I've harbored thoughts of donating, but she kept having donors so I didn't think she needed me.  Finally, after this last upset...my aunt was completely devastated.  My family on my dad's side are devout Catholics...and when I heard she was losing her faith in God, I was stunned, and I knew I had to do something. 

I went in for the blood test 2 weeks ago and just got the results yesterday!!!  I'm a 5 out of 6 antigen match...which was better than all her sisters and her daughter!  We have the same blood type, and the cross-match showed that her blood did not reject my own.  The transplant coordinator actually said "wow" 

I am so elated...beyond words.  My aunt is one of the most beautiful, strong and supportive women I've ever known.  Her daughter and I are 9 months apart, we're like sisters...my cousin is my best friend.  I have never felt so right about anything in my life.  When I heard how hurt, and down she was I knew exactly what needed to be done.   Deep down, I knew I was going to be a near perfect match, and I knew it was going to be me.  Not only is this the right thing, this is the good thing to do.  My aunt and my cousin are deeper than family to me.

So...next steps...I have to go through another 3 days of testing. 
Day 1: 24 hour home urine collection  ewww... and if I don't do exactly 24 hours, they'll KNOW, and I'll have to do it all over again 
Day 2: More blood tests, EKG, cat-scan and chest x-ray
Day 3: Consultation w/the nephrologist (kidney doctor/surgeon), a psycho-social evaluation and support structure evaluation.

After all these tests, hopefully without repeats, I meet with the surgeon and we pick which kidney and set a date.  This whole process can take up to 6 months, I'm hoping I do everything right the first time and I won't have to do anything twice (esp the urine collection).

I've spoken with my parents, sisters, cousins, friends and co-workers...everyone is so supportive.  The more I talk about it, the more I feel comfortable with my decision and I know I'm doing the good thing.

Born a dog. Died a gentleman

I haven't posted in a month, mostly because I had to recover from a most devastating event.  My boy Monty passed away, after 7 years together, he decided it was his time.

Monty came to me 7 years ago, about 3-4 years old already.  He was a stray that I took home and he instantly won me over.  Every decision I've ever made since then, I made with his benefit in mind.  I would never say that he was my child, no... He was my companion, more than that, he was my champion.  Anyone close to me has heard my "pitbulls are the only dog that will die for you out of pure love" speech.  And everyone who knows me has heard me say "Monty has been the only constant being in my life for the past 7 years."

My heart breaks all over again as I remember his last couple weeks.  He was ailing, had a surgery and many different medications.  In the end, his medications were too much for him to take.  But even when he was at his weakest, his tail wagged until the last 5 mins of his life.

I will always remember our time together...

 Monty and Kaiser in 2008.  Kaiser passed away w/Parvo 9 months after this was taken.

 Monty was famous for his mouth...that smile <3

He always let me get in his face with a camera.

Our favorite place was the beach. 

Sleep tight Monty.  I will miss you forever, you're my heart.
born ????
loved 2004-2011