life is stellar

When I read the email from the lovely miss Jocee, my mind was definitely whirling. Seriously? Some of my favorite bloggers actually want me to work with them on a secret project? They want me, to be apart of a blog with them? Of course I was stunned, and to be completely honest, I felt (and still feel) very honored they decided to add me to the team. As I was reading the email, I was mentally doing a happy dance. You bet a million bucks I said yes... No matter how busy I get, I vowed to myself, I am going to make this happen. I was so extremely excited. I couldn't stop talking about it, I told my whole family, and one of my mom's friends, who happened to be wondering why I was in such a giddy mood.

You're probably wondering who I am.
I'm Hayley. I'm the one who sings in the shower. Who pretends she's a polar bear when it snows. Who stays up until eleven o'clock cleaning her room, because if it's not clean, she goes quite insane. Who, right when she opens up the Internet browser, types in blogger . com without even thinking. Who loves to write and create stories. Who is constantly talking to her dogs in a funny voice. Who loves Jesus and strives to be more like Him. Who has a yearning to travel and go on adventures. Who loves to act on stage and be crazy. Who loves frozen yogurt with a passion. Who always has her camera in hand, ready to capture. Who has a love for vintage and bohemian.  Who loves to laugh and make people laugh.

I live in the woods with my family of four, two spastic dogs, and one crippled turtle. I am the oldest of two,  and only have one younger brother. My two dogs, Teddy and Poppy are quite crazy. Poppy has anxiety and tends to freak out a lot, and Teddy is lazy, but if you let him off leash, you'll never see him again. My crippled turtle? He used to live in the pond my dad built him outside, but some animal ate his sister and bit most of his little arm off. So now he lives in a tank in our garage. My brother put a label on top that reads "hospital".

An Ordinary Utopia is a place where we get real. It's a place where we celebrate the beautiful, ordinary things in life that some people forget to recognize. We don't have to travel to exotic lands, or live in a small, perfect little house with vintage furniture and a giant library full of books for life to be stellar. The small, simple things in life are extraordinary, you just have to open your eyes and acknowledge them. Playing a game of Legos with your brother, laughing until you cry with your best friend, watching The Twilight Zone episodes with dad until midnight, writing stories about magic dogs with your friend. These are some moments that seriously give me happy little butterflies in my stomach. I love these moments, these ordinary, beautiful, simple moments.

xoxo, Hayley