30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Twenty

Day Twenty: Post a picture of somewhere you'd love to travel

Not for the reasons you may assume. I'm not big into nightclubs or gambling, I've actually had no experience with either. Alex has a grandma and some aunts who live in Las Vegas. We've never met, and they haven't seen Alex in a few years. They seem very sweet and I'm hoping for a chance to meet them in the next few years. I will admit though, the idea of visiting somewhere so well known is also very exciting!

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Nineteen

Day Nineteen: Post a picture and a letter

Well, here was another one that I wasn't quite sure what they meant I was supposed to post a picture of.  So, here is a picture of a drawing that my baby sister sent me, and a letter from my other little sister, as well as the reply that I am working on. I still think it's really exciting to get mail addressed to me, to open the letter and read everything written specifically for me to read! It usually takes me a few weeks to reply, so I should probably go work on that...aren't letters magnificent? Hehe

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Eighteen

Day Eighteen: Post a picture of your biggest insecurity

I am my biggest insecurity. I end up being afraid to be myself around other people, I don't say what I think, I don't really say much at all. I sit back and observe because - though I want to be friends with people, and I want them to be my friend - I feel like I already know that they won't like me, and I feel that it's better to never find that out for sure than to have myself proven right. I also am my harshest critic. I expect more from me than I give, I expect me to be better than I am.

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Seventeen

Day Seventeen: Post a picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

I think about the biggest impact I have had recently is getting married. It has changed my life in such a positive way!

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Sixteen

Day Sixteen: Post a picture of someone who inspires you

I was thinking about this one today, figuring out who it is that I would say inspires me. I guess it would depend on what the word means. I decided that I needed to post a picture of my dear twinsy, Christa. Not only is she one of the sweetest young ladies I know, and my best friend besides my husband, she's such a hard worker! It seems every time I talk to her she's helping with the family business, taking care of her horses, making dinner, helping someone run errands in town...and she's also taking the time to learn piano. (And doing a wonderful job, I might add.)
 Christa never fails to put a smile on my face, to offer to pray for me when I'm having a particularly bad day, and she's so willing to listen to me whine, even if she's also having a bad day. But she's not afraid to tell me if I need to just straighten out my attitude. I hope that I can also be that kind of a joy and encouragement to the people I talk to, have that much diligence when it comes to my responsibilities, and the wisdom she has shown when giving advice. I feel so blessed that we have the friendship we do, and that I actually got to meet her in person a few months ago! :)

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Fifteen

Day Fifteen: Post a picture of something you want to do before you die

I guess it's not any sort of secret. I want to be a mother, and if I were to have a baby that has wonderful blue eyes like Alex, that wouldn't bother me in the least :)

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Fourteen

Day Fourteen: Post a picture of someone you could never imagine your life without

I don't know what I would do without my wonderful Alex! I really can't say enough to tell everyone how amazing my husband is! He makes me laugh, he loves me without expecting me to change anything about me, he is so patient with me -even when I least deserve it, he teaches me, he encourages me, he wants me to succeed, he holds me when I cry, and listens to me whine (and, he's a really good kisser! ;) There's so much more that I love and cherish about him. But, I think you get the idea. I love you Alex!!

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Thirteen

Day Thirteen: Post a picture of your favorite band or artist

I have way too many bands and artists that I like to choose an absolute favorite! But, judging from the number of his songs that I don't skip while my ipod is on shuffle, I decided to pick Josh Groban. Besides that, one of his songs makes me think of Alex every time I play it.

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Twelve

Day Twelve: Post a picture of something you love

I love my husband, and I love kissing him. There just happens to be both in this picture :D

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Eleven

Day Eleven: Post a picture of something you hate

 That's right. A bathroom scale. I know that it seems a bit vain, perhaps, for a scale to be something I hate. I know it's mostly my own fault too that I so much despise stepping on one of those things and watching the little red needle *zing* to a much higher number than I would like to see. I'll keep working at it though, one of these days a low number will make me feel very accomplished.

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Ten

Day Ten: Post a picture of the person you do the craziest things with

My big brother, Clayton! In this picture we are having breakfast, aka, a monster energy drink.


Clayton and I have definitely ended up doing some crazy things! We're only about a year and a half apart in age, and I was a bit of a tomboy, so we were pretty close friends while growing up. Where do I start? There was a time when we were about 8 and 9 years old when we were throwing a rope out in the street. When a car would drive past we would try to jerk the rope back really quickly and "trip" the cars. Then the police stopped us. We used a plastic coat hanger and bamboo skewers as a bow and arrows. We had a jousting tournament in Wal-mart using pool noodles and a kiddie bikes, playing tackle football in a field covered in 3" of water, buying halloween wigs and tights to surprise the younger siblings, going as fast as his new truck would go on the empty Sunday morning highway...perhaps I should stop there.

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Nine

Day Nine: Post a picture of the person who has gotten you through the most

There are a few people in my life who have helped me deal with quite a bit! However, thinking back to while I was growing up, my big sister Erin was always the person I wanted to talk to, or have come help me when I got hurt, or when someone was mean to me. Even recently we have talked about quite a few things and she has helped me out. We've always been rather similar, we even look a lot alike! I used to be a bit envious of the way Erin was able to be so sweet and compassionate in pretty much every situation. Sometimes I wish that we lived closer so that we could chat over chai tea and cookies and be able to share more about what is going on in our lives.

I love you Erin!

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Eight

Day Eight: Post a picture that makes you laugh

This is me and my four younger siblings about a year and a half ago. It was the first time I had seen them in almost a year. I love and miss them all very much!!

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Seven, a day late.

Day Seven: Post a picture of your most treasured item

So, I think I should make it clear that my Bible itself is not my most prized possession. It is what the Bible represents to me: my close and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Now I know there are some people who don't like that, don't want to hear about Him, and just don't care. But I said in my very first post that I'm not going to change who I am to please people. I don't know where I would be if it weren't for what God has done for me, and how He has changed me.

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Six...I'll stay me.

Day Six: Post a picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day.

I had to really think about this one for a while. Would I want to trade places with someone else? What would it be like to spend a day living in a huge house, shopping at famous stores, eating at fancy restaurants? Or, maybe I would want to be a cop, or a barista, a famous ballerina, a football star, a talented doctor, a musician...
However, though it may be exciting to have those experiences, I would never want to trade what I have right now to get them. I love being who I am (though I may not love all of who I am) and I'm very blessed with the life I have now. I think that, even given the choice, I'll stay me :)

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Five

Wow, it's getting late! I almost missed this one. I have been gone all day, had church this morning, spent the afternoon with friends watching football (How bout those Jets!?!) then finished with Bible study this evening. Such a wonderful, relaxing day.

Anyway, here's day five : Post a picture of your favorite memory.

 This was rather easy to choose. So far one of the happiest days of my life has been the day I married my amazing husband. It was so full of wonderful memories I had a hard time choosing just one picture. Perhaps I will have to post more some other time :)

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Four

Day Four: Post a picture of your night.

I wasn't quite sure what they meant by "your night" so I just put together a still life of what I was doing the last hour or so before going to bed last night.

 Mom has been buying full seasons of NCIS, but couldn't find season 3 in stores. So for her birthday Alex and I ordered it online and gave it to her. She has watched all of it and is now letting us borrow it. We decided that after a full day of school and chores, it would be a good time to relax and start watching it. But first we ran to the store and picked up some milk and gourmet cocoa mix. I tried the mint truffle cocoa and Alex had the regular. We grabbed a few leftover Christmas kisses (The green ones -also mint truffle- are my favorite, while Alex prefers the candy cane kisses) and settled in for a couple hours relaxation and laughs. It made me a happy girl!

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Three

Day Three: Post a picture of the cast from your favorite show.

There you have it! I only watch these three shows, the first one being Lie to Me. I don't have a favorite out of them.

I find the idea that Lie to Me is based on fascinating. It's even more interesting when I am watching it with Alex's Grandma -who used to be a psychiatrist- she is very good at reading people's body language.

NCIS is classic (though perhaps a bit cheesy), great characters, good story lines, lots of humor and catching the bad guys...I need to catch up though, I have missed most of this season.

Fringe is a weird one! My husband and I watched the first episode of season three and were left going "Huh??", but have since caught up to the latest episode. Definitely a show you have to see all of for it to make much sense. Not recommended for those with a weak stomach either, it can be pretty graphic with the blood and guts.

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Two..and the thoughts it brings to surface.

Day Two: Post a picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest.

Me and my older sister, Heidi, on my wedding day. She was my matron-of-honor, and obviously rather pregnant at the time.

There is so much I could say, so I think I will try. Heidi has always been one of my dearest friends. I remember her telling me that I was her first known answer to prayer. She had been praying for a baby sister, and the year that she was 4 years old, I was born. We've always been able to laugh together and have never had a fight. I have such good memories from when we were younger: Staying up late playing cards, Heidi reading Shakespeare aloud until I fell asleep, "snot pudding" (Really, you might not want to know!) the claims that she was my adopted mother and had saved me from a life on the streets...and so many other things!

When I was 15, Heidi got married and asked me to be her maid-of-honor. I was dreadfully self-conscious and shy at the time, but I was thrilled that she asked! Of course, I accepted. I was so pleased that she was now so happy, she had married a wonderful man. About two years later they moved to the other side of the country. I still called Heidi and talked to her often though. She was the person I went to for advice, to cry on her shoulder, and to just tell about what was going on in my life.

 The year I turned 18, I also traveled across the country, and moved in with Heidi and her husband. They put up with so much! Heidi had to listen to all my tears and frustrations centering around guys, other teenage girls, and the drama that those two things put together create. We still had fun times together too, frequenting our favorite coffee shop, going on shopping trips and trying on crazy clothes we would never actually wear. It was Heidi that gave me advice on how to handle my feelings when I first started liking Alex, and ended up being the first person I called when he proposed! She made my wedding dress for me, and I was so happy to have her by my side in support for our wedding. Honestly, I can't imagine how different my life would be without her. I love you Heidi!

30 Day Photo Challenge

I have a friend that had this posted on her facebook,and I thought it was a really neat idea! Each day there is something I am supposed to post a picture of. I figure that since I haven't been doing the greatest at figuring out what I want to write about, this will at least give me a start.

Day One: Post a picture of yourself  along with 10 facts about you.

1. Most of the time, at least in person, I am rather quiet and laid back. My husband brings out my more outgoing and talkative self, as does being tired.

2. I really enjoy writing, usually with pen and paper. I especially like using cursive.

3. I love baking! Desserts are a favorite, especially cheesecakes, or anything that I can make look fancy and professional. I enjoy trying new recipes.

4. I used to drink coffee constantly, but haven't had any for the past 3 months.

5. I love going barefoot! I can almost never be found with something on my feet, unless I am in a public establishment.

6. I am a football fan, and know a lot about the game, but I have only seen about a dozen matches in my life.

7. I have been married for exactly 4 months! Or 4 months and 4 days. I legally married my husband 4 days before our ceremony, but we only count after the ceremony as actually having been married.

8. Speaking of my wedding, my very first kiss was at my wedding ceremony. it was Alex's very first kiss too, and it was amazing :)

9. I love writing-and getting- old fashioned, snail mail letters. I have a very hard time finding actual stationary though! I believe that letter writing could be a dying tradition and it makes me sad.

10. I am a night owl. It is very easy for me to stay up til the wee hours of the morning, and even all night sometimes! It doesn't take much sleep for me to function well.

A lot to say!! Or not...

I was going to write a rather long, and hopefully interesting, post this evening. I have had so much on my mind, so many things to say. But then I spent all day typing out worship music to make a songbook for church, and my poor left hand has been begging me to stop. After years of typing with only three fingers and my thumbs I discovered why it would have been better to have learned to type properly. Hehe. So, I will make this entry short and simple.

Today I realized how happy it makes me to see someone actually return their shopping cart to the "cart corral". Which actually makes me think of a whole different idea, but my thumb is screaming at me to let it rest. More later! *Stretches sore fingers out*

Why can't we be friends?

I have an idea: Let's be friends! That's really some of what this blog is all about, right? I am purposely inviting you into my life, into my personal thoughts. I'm inviting you to get to know who I am and what I am all about. So welcome to my life. Maybe you won't ever get to meet me, get to hear what I sound like, see how much I move my hands when I talk, or ever really realize just how shy I actually am...but that doesn't mean we can't be friends. Now I just have to make sure I post more than once a month...