Random pictures. (That Heidi has never seen!!)

So, I have mentioned that I am a big fan of pictures. And last time I just posted a few for no reason my dear older sister (Ha! Even older now!!! ;) Love you Heidi!) mentioned that she had seen them all before and wanted to see some new pictures...so, here are some never before seen -even on facebook! *gasp*

Alex and I, two days before we got married.

He's talented!!

 

My "little' brother. Little? Yeah right! He's over 6'4"!

Don't believe the shirt or the face..I was in a good mood! I even had smiley face socks on :)

This was right after Alex and I were legally married, right before heading off for the plane flight to our ceremony. Alex's step-dad was one of our witnesses

"I will pounce you, bubbles!"

"Never mind! Get away!!"

Sort of a "Part two" to my ramblings...

I was talking to Alex last night about what else I was thinking about after having posted on my blog, and he told me I should add to what I had written last night, so here are my thoughts. (Though perhaps not worded as clearly as I would like...)

We learn in Ephesians 5 (verses 22-33) that a married couple is supposed to be an example of how Christ loves the Church, and how we, as Christians, are 'married' to Him. I think that is one of the reasons that being told that Alex and I will feel less passionate about each other in a few years bothers me so much. It's sad, but the sin of the world has ruined the godly image of marriage, and even Christian are becoming less and less the good example that they are supposed to be. There is still a parallel there though and I will do my best to explain.

It seems that more and more, after a few years of being 'saved' that Christians will become complacent in their walk with Christ. They had a fire and a passion for a while and read their Bible every day they told everyone about what God had done for them, and how He had changed their life for the better; but it started to fade after a while. Now they still go to church once a week, they still tithe, and then think they are doing great. "That's just how it is." "It's just a part of life." They just got past that "newlywed stage".
Why? Why is that okay??  Just as I don't ever foresee myself saying "No, I see Alex everyday, I won't miss him if he has to go on a three day business trip" Why should I be okay if I decide to skip three days of Bible reading? Has my Savior done any less for me now than He had done fourteen years ago when I gave my life to Him? The answer is "No!" I still love Him just as much and more! I want to serve Him, please Him, and tell other people how wonderful and powerful He is!!

So, there are married couples who seem to expect that every other couple will become so used to having their spouse there that they don't even seem to notice when they have barely talked to each other for weeks. Why should we expect young Christians to feel any different when those of us who are older than them act like it doesn't make any difference to use whether we talk to our Lord -our 'husband'- or not?

Now, I just want to say that this post isn't pointing fingers at anyone in particular...but if you feel that it's talking about you, shouldn't you make a change? I'm just trying to tell it like I see it..And I'll be the first to admit that I have been having to work harder lately, because I had started to come a little bit complacent about what my wonderful Lord and Savior did for me, and what He gave up for me.

The late night ramblings of a tired woman...

For some reason I just haven't been in much of a writing mood the past few days. I do have so many thoughts going through my head, and so many things I want to say, but once I start typing none of them sound right. Oh well, perhaps I should stop thinking so much and just type...

I have to admit that sometimes I get annoyed when people say things about Alex and I being in the "newlywed stage" still and then add

   "You won't be sitting that close in a few years"
or
  "Give it some time, you'll be happy to have some times apart", etc.

Why does the "newlywed stage" have to end? Should I really expect to get tired of holding Alex's hand or sitting next to him?  Should I expect to want  to spend time away from him? To just become blase about the fact that we're married, that he's my best friend, and that God has done some pretty amazing things in our lives to bring us together?

  Honestly, I think it's a choice. We choose to love each other the way we do. We -quite literally- spent every bit of the first three months we were married together. Alex wasn't working and neither was I, everything we did we did together. That didn't lessen our enjoyment of spending time together. Sure, we've had a few misunderstandings, we had to sit down and talk about things, we've done things that -had we realized how the other one would feel about it- we wouldn't have done. But, we've been married for over five months now and I'm still so amazed that I get to wake up every morning knowing that I have such a wonderful man as my husband, that I get to have the honor of watching him sleeping and knowing that we will be together for the rest of our lives! There are times when we look at each other and can't help but grinning, "I'm married to you!!"  It gives me such a feeling...I can't even explain it...I tell him "I love you" but the words seem so feeble compared to what's in my heart.

  I realize that after a few years, it may not be quite the same exciting and wondrous feeling to realize that I'm a married woman. Maybe we'll have a few kids and end our days tired and worn out, maybe Alex will have started to go bald, maybe I'll have put on a few more pounds...but I think it is very possible, and completely probable, that it will still make me feel safe and happy to have Alex hold my hand, that we will still take every red light as an opportunity to share a quick kiss, that we'll still hug each other a lot, that we'll still kiss in public, and insist on sitting beside each other if at all possible. I know that having spent that time together we will have been able to work on having our love become stronger and deeper than it is now. I am already so much closer to Alex than I was when we got married, and I love him so much more! (Yes, that is even after having discovered that he has terrible morning breath ;)

So...I guess all that rambling was to say this: I hope, and am rather certain, that in two or three years time Alex and I will probably still be in our "newlywed stage" where our whole relationship is exciting and wonderful, and such an undeserved blessing.

Happiness is...

It seems to me right now that happiness is sitting in the home that Alex and I share, hearing him working on school in the next room. Hearing his occasional  mutterings when he talks to himself. Having a big glass of ice water beside me. Eating a mint. Getting a big bag of Hershey's kisses on clearance. Seeing how adorable my kitty looks napping on the couch next to me. Listening to happy music. Surprise kisses when Alex sneaks up on me. A text from my twinsy. And sleep.....which I need right now. G'night friends!

Trials, tears, and those silly numbers

I thought I had been doing so well, I thought I had been dealing with my struggles, and changing my attitude, changing my habits and lifestyle. But I'm sitting here crying again. I feel helpless and frustrated and tired of it all. Why, oh why, does my weight have to be such a struggle? Why does it make such a difference to me? Why do I feel like when there is more of me I am worth less, less beautiful, less interesting, and less likely to have people like me and be my friend?

I've been sitting here just looking at the first paragraph I wrote, wondering if I should just erase it. But really, why would I? Do I really want to just post the happy things? Should I make it sound like my life is perfect, that I am always happy, and that I never have problems? The answer seems obvious: No. That would pretty much be leading others to assume a lie.

So, I didn't delete it. It has just been sitting here on my screen for hours, the little cursor at the end just blinking waiting for me to decide what I was going to do, what else I am going to write. I feel a little bit silly now for my outburst, for my sobbing, my feeling of utter inadequacy to change. It sounds so foolish: A number made me feel this way? a few inches? a few favorite outfits I no longer fit in? No, it has proven to be more than that, so much more. It's the fact that I have shown that I don't have the discipline and self-control that I should. It's that I thought I had beaten this, but here I am again. It's that I have failed -one of my biggest fears.

 I now know that on my own power I can't do it! I've tried and failed. But I was reminded that I have help:  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13  I don't need to worry so much about everything I have to accomplish alone, and how often I have failed before. I need to start each day asking God for His strength to help me make the wise decisions, and the choices that I should. Of course, I still have goals, I will still need to eat healthy, and exercise. But I'm not doing it alone! God has also given me wonderful friends who have proven themselves time and again over the past few months. My weight and how terrible I feel about it has come up not just a few times. They have always encouraged me, offered prayer for me, offered advice. So, thank you friends! You know who you are, and I hope you know how much I appreciate it!
I also have my wonderful husband. My dear Alex, who -somehow- despite the way I feel about myself, can make me forget everything I hate about how I look, can make me forget everything I was worried about, and I can believe him when he tells me how beautiful I am. He can make me laugh about what had me in tears minutes before, and make a huge burden seem insignificant. If only I knew how to just hold on to that feeling all the time, if I could just keep believing it. What would I ever do without you, Alex?

Maybe, maybe the whole purpose of these struggles are to strengthen my faith and draw me closer to my God. I know that He has some purpose for it, even if just to show me the foolishness of what I want, or what I think I need. Because, honestly, I probably don't know. I'm so thankful for the things He has already shown me, the things He has given me when I thought something else would be better. I do trust Him, and I know that even though I don't know what's going on -and yes, it is quite difficult and painful- He does know and I can trust Him. He has already explained to me:
    “ For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
      Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
       “ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
      So are My ways higher than your ways,
      And My thoughts than your thoughts. 
                                        Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJV)

 Maybe this seems like a lot of rambling to you, but I'm going to post it anyway. I don't think I'm dealing with all of this for nothing, and maybe, through my struggles, I can be a help or an encouragement to someone else.

Fifty things

In honor of this being post number 50 for me, I decided I would make a list of 50 things you may, or may not, know about me and my quirks. (Other than number 1, these are in no way ordered by importance!)

1. I am a born again Christian, and it means so much more to me than just going to church. Christ has changed my life in so many ways! I owe everything to Him.

2. I used to really want a big dog: St Bernard, Pyrenees, Newfie...But I prefer cats now. Cats are so independent and choosy, there's something special about having one actually like you. (Not to mention they smell better, and are much easier to clean up after and train!)

3. I have thought it would be fun to have some sort of a bakery. I just don't know how well I would do trying to make large quantities of desserts.

4. I love journals. It's amazing to have a brand new journal and flip through all the blank pages imagining filling it up with thoughts about my life. Sometimes the first page is the most difficult...writing on all that perfect clean paper.

5. Sometimes I fancy myself a writer, but then I go and read something truly well-written.

6. My dream car is a Dodge Viper convertible. Snake green is the best :D

7. I happen to like ice cream, to the extreme! Not plain chocolate though, it doesn't really taste like chocolate.

8.  I am very quiet and shy when I meet someone for the first time. I have been trying to be better about this though because I have noticed that it intimidates some people.

9. I very much enjoy painting and decorating! At one point I was looking into interior design as a career. I annoyed my poor younger sisters when we shared a room, I always wanted things "just so".

10. I love flowers!! They are so pretty, and smell so good. I think carnations may be my least favorite, they kind of smell like pepper. I currently have a calandiva, and a hyacinth in my house :)

11. I sometimes wonder how I ended up with the wonderful man who is my husband, I am so very thankful that I did though! I don't deserve him!

12. I am a perfectionist, but only for things I do. I don't require perfection from others.

13. One of my biggest goals is to touch the lives of other people in a positive way, even if just to smile at the ignored wal-mart greeter.

14. I am very much a behind-the-scenes sort of person. Let me help, but direct the spotlight elsewhere! I would much prefer doing dishes and helping with clean-up to being one of the speakers or entertainers.

15. Speaking of clean-up..I enjoy cleaning! I know that makes me weird ;) There's something relaxing and happy about making everything look better, cleaning dirt and dust, sorting through messes...

16. I text a lot. I usually send out about 2,000 a month. I pretty much only have 4 people that I text regularly though.

17. I have had a very wide assortment of nicknames. Anywhere from "Knuckles" to "Cakie" to "Angel", just to list a few.

18. I went through a period of depression about a year and a half ago, it has given me the experience to help others who struggle with the same thing. There is a way to beat it!

19. My husband is my very best friend, I tell him everything, love being around him, and miss him when he's gone, even if it's just for a few hours.

20. I am not one of those people who feels better after working out. Exercise makes me feel terrible about myself because I always feel like I should be in better shape than I am in..regardless of how often I do it I always dislike it. This doesn't refer to what I call "accidental exercise" aka playing a game of backyard football, helping friends buck hay, taking a long walk in the park with Alex...

21. I wear skirts a lot. Sometimes I feel like people may think I'm weird because of it, but I never want to change what I do, or wear, just so I can fit in.

22. I very much like scented candles! My favorites right now are called "Exotic Woods" which kind of smells like a blend of pine, cinnamon, and sunshine; and "Pumpkin Pie" which is kind of self-explanatory :)

23. I like pictures a lot! It used to be that I wouldn't leave the house without a camera and extra batteries in my purse, which lead to the 8,000 pictures now on the laptop. I'm not even that great of a photographer.

24. I was bit by a spider when I was 11 and almost lost my arm. I am now very much paranoid about spiders! I think they are the one physical thing I am afraid of.

25. Other things that scare me are more..ideas. Like failure or loneliness, or having someone disappointed in me.

26. I love music! Sometimes music says things that I never could put into words, other times it just cheers me up, or makes me want to dance, or it helps me cool-down when I'm angry. I find it very easy to memorize songs.

27. Alex was my very first boyfriend!

28. Alex and I have already picked out a couple of baby names we like in case I ever get pregnant.

29. I almost never wear make-up. Sometimes it is more of a bother than anything else. I do wear it when I want to look really dressy, or more grown-up.

30. I have a pretty good photographic memory, I remember unusual details very easily. (Do you want to know what I was wearing when Alex first asked me out?) However, I am not very good at remembering phone numbers.

31. I like making my own recipes. Tonight what started out as cheeseburger rice for dinner, ended up as a thick, spicy beans and rice dish. I need to start writing recipes down!

32. There are some days when I just want to put on a pretty "princess" dress, wear makeup, re-do my nails, and curl my hair. I guess that means I'm a girl.

33. I really like shopping, but I hate spending money. It has to be either something I really, really want, or a really good deal for me to buy something that isn't a necessity.

34. It makes me feel so special when Alex sings to me, and I happen to think he has a fabulous bass singing voice!

35. My feet and/or hands tend to get cold really fast.

36. Spring is my favorite season! Everything is so fresh and new, flowers are blooming, baby birds are hatching. So lovely!

37. Phantom of the Opera is one of my favorite movies. We were watching this movie the first time Alex ever held my hand.

38. Hershey's kisses are my favorite candy, so simple and sweet.

39. I don't own a pair of plain white socks. All of my socks are brightly colored, or have silly designs on them.

40. I really enjoy drawing but haven't taken out my sketchbook for ages! I want to start sketching again.

41. I have a strange dream almost every single night. There are times when I wish I would not remember them..and I dream in color.

42. My favorite type of humor tends to be sarcasm. Don't worry if I tease you, it's my way of being friendly. I wouldn't ever tease someone just to hurt their feelings!!

43. At this very minute I can't even be sure what mood I'm in. I feel a bit excited, and tired, and reflective, and worried, and content...

44. I tend to worry too much, even about things that I have no power to change. Something that has helped me is this: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6 (NASB)

45. I have lived in only 4 different states in my lifetime.

46. I don't really like cake, unless it's ice cream cake! I much prefer pie with ice cream, cheesecake, or some sort of fruit cobbler.

47. I have very long hair, but half of the time it just ends up in a ponytail.

48. I think I would be considered "sensitive" I very much dislike displeasing people, I don't handle being called names very well, and I take every mean comment to heart, even if I don't show it outwardly.

49. I tend to laugh when I am experiencing physical pain. There are few hurts that can make me cry.

50. I like when I get freckles in the summer :)

There, you probably learned something new about me. I hope that I didn't bore you!!

Blackened pancakes?

  I have discovered that I am a bit of perfectionist. That's why this morning was so frustrating for me. I sneaked out of bed while Alex was still sleeping and decided to make pancakes. The recipe said to lightly grease the pan, so I used a bit of cooking spray. While the first pancake was cooking the grease started burning and smoking! Not wanting to set off the smoke alarm I turned on the fan. As soon as the pancake was cooked I ran the pan under cold water and scrubbed off the burnt grease. It was supposed to be a greased pan though, so I melted a little bit of butter on the pan and went back to making pancakes.

  The butter burnt too!

 I couldn't understand it, the burner was only on medium heat! I just went ahead and finished off the pancake batter, but each and every pancake was burnt. What a letdown! I was looking forward to waking up my hubby and offering him nice fluffy, golden brown pancakes. Instead, I had thin, blackened, crispy things that weren't even round. He ate them anyway though, and even liked them! What a sweetie. I can laugh about it now, but I wasn't laughing this morning. Really, who is able to mess up pancakes that bad?

Home sweet home

 I'm going to warn you ahead of time that this will probably be a very long post, because I have a lot of pictures!

Welcome to a tour of our home :) I have to admit that I did do a little bit of cleaning up before these picture, not much though because I like to keep it clean anyway. I'm "such a neat freak"-as my younger siblings say.

                        (As usual, you can click on the pictures to"biggify" them :D )

The front door and half of the livingroom

Our table by the door and a closer view of the beautiful plaque my mom sent us.

Corner table and lamp, we want to get another light for this room.

The rest of our couch and part of our "dining room"

Full view of livingroom to kitchen

Our "dining room" :)

The kitchen, I'm planning on getting curtains soon.

My coffee bar :)

Middle of the kitchen

The rest of the kitchen. I have drawings from my little sisters on the fridge :)

The other side of the livingroom

The hallway

The wall hanging my friend, Christa, sent me.

Linen and game closets,bathroom and guest room doorways.

Our front bathroom

View from bathroom doorway (KitKat was following me) Spare bedroom doorway is on the right.

Our guest room/ TV room/ computer room

Entertainment center, Alex's computer desk where he does all his school, and our bookshelf.

Guest room window and bed

The bed and my hope chest (which is hidden in the shadows)

Back to the hallway

View going into the master bedroom

Sink to the master bathroom. I like having the big mirror!

Master bathroom: where we keep KitKat's box

View of the bedroom from by the sink

My dresser, doorway back into the hallway

I love how well this wall hanging ended up matching our comforter!

KitKat's favorite place to sleep and the back door

Alex's dresser

The closet and nightstand. Having the alarm clock far away makes getting out of bed necessary to turn it off :)

 That's all! I hope you enjoyed getting a glimpse of where Alex and I live.

What to-do?

I have a never ending to-do list that I keep in my head, and I rather like it that way. However, there comes a point when I forget to get things done and I start running behind on things that involve other people! It's terrible, I know. For example, I told my mom almost a month ago that I would send her pictures of the apartment that Alex and I share, but I haven't even taken any pictures yet! I think that tomorrow I will most certainly try to get that done. What do you think? Do you want to see our lovely home? I might just post pictures on here..

Cleaning out my purse was a very daunting task, I think it weighed about five pounds! I managed to go through it earlier though. Here's what I found :

~ 5 chapsticks, 2 lipglosses, 3 lipsticks (Oddly enough I pretty much only ever wear chapstick)
~ A black headband, 2 hair ties, 2 bobby pins, a barrette, a hair clip, and hot pink clip-in hair
~ A full-sized hairbrush
~ A compact mirror
~ A toothbrush
~ Daily vitamins
~ A necklace and a gem from an earring
~ A pack of tissues
~ A box of tic tacs and a pack of gum
~ 5 pens, 2 sharpies, and a pencil
~ A pad of paper
~ A wrist/thumb brace
~ 2 snowflake cutouts
~ A sewing kit
~ 2 iPods
~ My glasses (I was wondering where those went!)
~ A pink lighter
~ A pink pocket knife
~ My billfold
~ My keys
~ Gum and chocolate kisses wrappers.

I think it's a good thing I went through it!

I have other things on my to-do list too: Work on becoming better at meal menus and budgeted grocery shopping, start working on my sketches again, start practicing my violin again, journal more often, become a better wife, sister, daughter, and friend, get my driver's license...

What about you, do you have a mental list of things you want to work on?

I love you a latte!

Chai latte. It seems to be my favorite drink recently! I know that water is better for me, but I usually find water so boring. I don't know who I have to blame for my new chai craze, perhaps the local coffee franchise for having it as their monthly special a while back? However, instead of spending $3.50 to $4 every time I want one, I learned how to make them on my own. First, I steam -or microwave- a cup of milk, and then I steep the teabag directly in the milk. I have an organic chai that is made with black teas, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom, and a few other spices. I have found that vanilla chai is milder, and I may prefer it. Once the milk turns a light brown color I add a few teaspoons of honey, and some vanilla flavored coffee syrup then sprinkle the top with nutmeg. It only takes a few minutes, and I love sipping on my latte while reading a good book :)

A piece of my story..

  I sit on my bed tangled wet hair falling down my back, looking dejectedly at the outfits I had already decided to wear, then rejected. A single tear makes a trail down my cheek.

  "I don't know what to wear!" 

Alex comes over and pulls me into his arm, hugs me tightly and kisses the top of my head.

  "You're beautiful no matter what you decide to wear." 

  For years I have struggled with my weight, it seems that I have always been at least a few pounds heavier than I should be. Losing weight isn't easy for me either, I have to be super careful about what I eat, and I have to exercise without fail. I learned how to lose a few pounds here and there but I never felt like it was good enough. By the time I was fourteen I had discovered that it was much easier to just not eat than to constantly be wary of how much sugar or how many carbs I was consuming and then have to work it all off later. I developed the habit of drinking coffee most of the day, and then if I felt hungry I would eat some dinner. I liked the way being hungry felt. When my stomach was empty I felt skinnier, and so, I felt happier. I thought I had finally found something that would end my struggles.
  It didn't though! When I ate a piece of cake, or even a piece of chocolate I felt like I had ruined everything. I felt guilty when I would eat. There were days when I couldn't even eat a whole sandwich. Sometimes I would just feel weak and shaky, not having the energy to do everyday tasks. When I realized that I would be considered a bordering anorexic I started changing my habits and trying to eat more often during the day. I didn't want to end up being that girl who looks like a skeleton but still wants to lose "five more pounds". I didn't want people feeling sorry for me, pointing at me, or telling other people not to be like me. So I found a new obsession: Dance Dance Revolution. An exercise I enjoyed! It was fun to try to earn the highest scores, and I was good at it! I would spend hours every evening challenging my siblings to try to dance longer than me, and always outlast them. I would go to bed after having spent anywhere from 2-5 hours dancing. Not even a pulled muscle kept me from it. I slowed down a bit when the game disc got scratched and stopped working very well, but it seemed I had gotten past a hurdle.
 Without even realizing it I kept losing weight, and I was ecstatic! Over the next 3 years I lost over 30 lbs, without starving myself, or feeling like weight loss was controlling my life. I was able to consistently buy clothes in smaller sizes, I was able to look in the mirror and almost feel happy with what I saw.

 It didn't stay that way though. Towards the end of 2010, I started putting on weight again. I got married and things were different. My body is still adjusting itself to new hormones, and a new lifestyle. Also, I wasn't as active anymore. I had moved and wasn't walking around town, going on hikes, or playing backyard football with friends. Suddenly, something I thought was just a part of my past reared its ugly head and I found, and still find, myself falling into the same old thought patterns. I want to just not eat rather then trying to figure out what is good for me and what's not; what will be used for nutrients and vitamins, and what will just become fat. I fight with the idea of exercising just to exercise. I want to be splitting wood, playing a game with friends, doing something productive and actually accomplishing something that I can see the immediate results of.

 I am very blessed to have a wonderful husband who helps me when I feel hopeless, who reminds me of the promises of God I get to claim, who loves me despite everything I dislike about myself. I also have two wonderful sisters who let me call them when I have a problem, who encourage me to make the healthy changes I need to if I want to lose weight, and who let me know that they will always be there for me. I have friends who are so willing to pray for me and let me know that they love me despite my problems.

 You may be asking yourself what the point of this (very long) post is. The things is, I have friends who are also struggling with the way they feel about themselves, I see people I don't even know and recognize a struggle that has been very real and personal to me. I know beautiful women who don't realize the beauty that other people see in them, and they struggle with becoming "good enough". They reject or brush aside compliments seeming to think that the people who give them are just trying to be polite. I want people to know that they aren't alone, that they aren't the only one who has ever looked in the mirror and felt like crying over something they can't seem to change. I just want to tell them, to tell you that you are beautiful and you don't have to change yourself for other people. The God who created you made you wonderfully and He loves you more than you could ever realize.

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." ~ 1Samuel 16:7 (NKJV)


I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. ~Psalm 139:14 (NKJV)

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Thirty!!

Day Thirty: Post a picture of someone you miss

I miss my Daddy!

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Twenty-Nine

Day Twenty-Nine: post a picture that can always make you smile

I know my Alex loves me, and it makes me so very happy!! How can I help but smile?

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Twenty-Eight

Day Twenty-Eight: Post a picture of something you're afraid of

I'm scared to fail, to the point that sometimes I just won't try something, rather than to try and fail. I have been getting better, slowly, but I still very much dislike messing up or doing something wrong.

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Twenty-Seven

Day Twenty-Seven: Post a picture of yourself and a family member

Maybe we don't always get along very well, or understand each other at all...but, I love my Mommy.

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Twenty-Six

Day Twenty-Six: post a picture of something that means a lot to you

 I have been trying to avoid repeat pictures, so while there a lot of things that mean more to me than my kitty...here he is! Isn't KitKat a cutie?? He's not much of a snuggler, but he does need attention. He likes to either sleep at my feet, or lay beside me on the couch. KitKat also plays fetch, which I didn't know cats would do. He's a lot of fun and very spoiled. I love my cat :)

30 Day Photo Challenge -Day Twenty-Five

Day Twenty-Five: Post a picture of your day

Isn't it gorgeous? T'was a lovely day.

Pictures and smiles

There are over 8,000 pictures stored on my computer! I was going through some of them just now weeding out multiples, blurry shots, or those that just don't make any sense
For example:

But as I am going through them I just feel like I have to share a few! I know they may not be as cute or exciting to you, because I do understand I am a bit biased ;) I hope you enjoy them anyway though!

This Alex and his adorable niece. You might not be able to tell in this picture, but they have the same eyes! No mistaking that they are related :)

This is at a football game fall of 2009. Alex and I were nothing more than friends yet. A couple of the younger girls and I were sneaking into the backgrounds making strange faces while one of the other girls would take a picture. I just happened to be the only one able to sneak into this one. I don't think anyone figured out what we were doing.

I look completely terrible in this picture. This is the day after Alex proposed to me. I had been sick all week, sinus infection, ear infections, terrible pink eye in both eyes, and I was losing my voice. It's a not very well known fact that Alex actually proposed in a whisper because we had both been whispering for two days, as I had lost my voice and anything above a whisper sounded garbled due to my plugged ears. I have never doubted that he loves me, that he could propose when I looked so terrible, runny nose and all.

I'm out of time now though. I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into my pictures :)