1. My family is finally all together for the first time since 2009. Yay!
2. I have finally decided on what I am going to major in!
3. I have awesome friends.
4. My relationship with God is getting deeper and deeper everyday.
5. Good food.
6. Snow.
7. Christmas music and movies
8. Cookies.
I am so thankful this year, and not just during Thanksgiving. Actually, during Thanksgiving, I think I'm just thankful for yummy food :) Everything else just kinda fades into the background.
For a while now I've been considering making a couple more blogs that are just focused on one main topic. So I did. I made a photography blog called Walking Barefoot Photography and I started a cooking/baking blog called Tastefully Delicious.
I'm am SUPER stoked about these two blogs and I hope to do wondrous things through them. So come check them out! Actually they aren't totally up and running right at the moment so there isn't really much to see, but I'll let you guys know when they are!
Mmmm! Chinese food! That's what I'm having for dinner!! Yay! But I have to wait for my mom to order it and for my dad to go get it!!! Argh!!! I can't wait!!!!
So if any of you guys happen to follow Bramblewood Fashion you might have heard about their Modest Fashion Week that was going on this week. Well, it's ends today but I thought you might like to check out the giveaways that they've been hosting each day. None of them have ended yet so you still have time to enter.
Their first giveaway is Marie-Madeline Studio Giveaway. They are giving away a Route 66 skirt pattern. Just click the link to head on over and check it out. It ends on February 21 so hurry on over!
The next giveaway is a copy of My Fair Lady. This ends on February 22 and I would tell you to hurry up and enter, but I'm not going to because I want this one!!! (Just kidding, you should go enter...but I do really want this!!! I love Audrey Hepburn!)
The next giveaway, which ends on February 23 is the chance to win a homemade bath set made by Sarah from Through the Lilac Bushes. It includes a sugar scrub, bath salts, and whipped cream soap. Go check it out!
The fourth giveaway is a We Love Colors Giveaway. It's the chance to win an awesome pair of colorful tights! Who wouldn't want to win this? I know I would!!! It ends on the 24th.
The fifth giveaway is a 90-day devotional giveaway from Girlz 4 Christ. This is an awesome idea because who wouldn't want to get closer in their relationship with God? This is also an e-book so that may sway your decision on entering or not. Just thought I'd let you know. Oh, and it ends on the 25th.
I don't believe this is the last giveaway but for right now it looks like it...but it's called Creative Kates Giveaway. CreativeKates is a duo team of mother and daughter and they are giving away a cadet blue mum ring. It's actually quite cute, and I will let you know that I have entered...but you can enter too ;) It ends on February 26.
Yup, so here's the last giveaway. Kellie Falconer Designs Giveaway. She's giving away an adorable Audrey Hepburn pin, which I am definitely on this one saying that I WANT TO WIN THIS!!! :D It also ends on February 26.
There's also another giveaway at Oh, Horsefeathers. It's a free blog makeover, but it ends at midnight on February 23, 2011. Just click the link or the button in the sidebar.
Hope you've been having a good first half of your weekend!!!
Today has been a very laid back day. I have yet to change out of my pajama pants and I've watched 2 movies already and I just started Madeline. Haha, it's such a cute movie.
On Tuesday I woke up and decided that my family needed to have some cinnamon rolls. So...well, I made some!
Mmmmm! They were delicious!!!! There still some left over, but I'm not so sure if they're gonna last much longer, if you know what I mean... ;)
Today I was perusing around Modcloth.com and I found a couple things that I don't think I can live much longer without:
This super adorable owl mug.
And this retro telephone! I'm in love!
I've also decided today that when the snow FINALLY melts and the temperatures FINALLY get above freezing (preferably in the fifties or sixties) I'm going to start running. I love running, but I haven't done it in a while because my ankles are really messed up. They're really weak and so basically whenever I do run I twist my ankles or sprain them. It's not exactly the most funnest thing ever, but I really do miss it so I think I'm gonna try it again. Plus it's healthy and good for you, so that's a plus!
Okay, so I've been working on this post for like literally 5 hours. The page has been open for that long and I just keep getting distracted. I don't even know why. Wow. Yup, I just thought I'd share that random fact with you. Yay!
I received my book in the mail today!!! You know, the one that I'm going to read and the review on here!!! I'm so excited!!! I'm not going to tell you what it is until I publish my review so that I can keep you in suspense (tee hee) and so that I won't get my hopes up (if it ends up to be a not-so-great book...which hopefully I won't have to worry about that!) I'm super excited to read it!
So today I started a new adventure. It's a pretty exciting one too. On Wednesdays I have 3 1/2 hours between my first and second classes, so instead of just sitting there bored out of my brains I've decided to volunteer my time someplace. Originally I had thought about volunteering at the Christian school here, but they didn't need the extra help, but they did tell me of another place to look.
It's called Double Edge Resale. It's a thrift/resale shop that is affiliated with the Christian school (which I think is totally AWESOME and such a great idea) that runs solely on volunteered help. Every person that works there volunteers their time and doesn't get paid (which doesn't really help when you're looking for a paying job) and everything the store makes in revenue is given to the school! They even have the students from the school come and help out sometimes. Isn't that a neat idea? I wish my school had something like that when I was going.
Today was my first day there. There had been this very long and rather confusing correspondence between my mother, the school's office manager, the store's owner, and myself and it was difficult to figure out exactly what was being said and to whom (especially because it was all taking place through email) so today after my first class I stopped by Double Edge and introduced myself and basically just got rid of the whole need for the emailing because now we all know what is going on! Haha! I thought I was just going to be introducing myself and clearing all the confusion, but I ended up staying for a while and doing some work. Oh my goodness. I never thought I would have so much fun working! It was a blast, even though I was working by my lonesome. Seriously the only other "being" in the room was the radio...who was only there in voice. But still, it was a lot more fun than any of my previous jobs. Maybe because I knew that the people I was working with were Christians and that the store had an awesome ministry purpose. I had to leave for a bit, but I'm planning on going back later today before my evening class. I'm so glad I have this opportunity!
Tonight I'm going over to a friend's house to have a movie marathon and we're definitely going to be making cinnamon rolls! Mmmm!!! I can't wait!!!
So tonight I made a rather interesting discovery. Did you know garlic can burn? I'm pretty sure I did, but when I put the garlic in my pan of olive oil it started to immediately sizzle away and I was left standing there staring at a pan full of fowl smelling bits of burned garlic. It was a very interesting start to my supper.
At least it was the only "exciting" part to my supper. I was making breaded pork chops and normally I'm girl who likes to follow recipes, but when I pulled up the recipe on my computer, it called for ingredients that I didn't have (because I'm in Indiana and the kitchen here is sparsely occupied by anything other than cereal, bread, butter, milk, and lunchmeat.
So tonight I was faced with the challenge of creating something of my own. I had never done that before. I love watching the Food Network and watching how Rachel Ray can throw something in a pan and make it do whatever she wants and have it turn out spectacular. But I don't know how to do that. Especially not something as big as pork chops. Maybe a smoothie or something, but only because I know what fruits taste like and what they taste like together. But at least I could use some of the little tidbits and had picked up from watching the Food Network.
Thankfully my pork chops turned out amazing! My sister and my dad ate them with me and they wouldn't stop groaning. (I'm hoping they were groaning because they were so good and not because the food was turning funky in their stomachs...that would have been nasty.)
All day I have had a song stuck in my head. Normally when that happens it's a very annoying song. Usually something like "It's a Small World After All" or any other number of annoying songs. But today I had "Light Up the Sky" by The Afters.
I love that song. My favorite part, the part that gets me every time is the chorus when they sing:
You light, light, light up the sky,
You light up the sky to show me You are with me
And I, I, I can't deny,
No I can't deny that You are right here with me
Have you ever thought about that? Every morning when God makes the sun rise and light up the day, He is showing us that He is there and He is with us and He won't ever leave us. Even during those times in life when you feel as if God has turned away from you or as if God has left you just realize that the only reason that the sun rises in the morning and sets at night is because God makes it do that. If there was no God, well, there would be no you or me. I usually forget to thank God about the little things like that, but after thinking about all of this I know that I'm going to be thanking Him for every little thing He has done for me. Thank You God!
I've been having a ton of fun today with cleaning the downstairs and my bedroom! Ha, um, yeah right. I did vacuum the carpets and wash the dishes, but as far as my room...well you can see the floor!...I just can't say the same for the bed. Which is rather pointless because when I want to go to bed, I'm probably just going to put everything back on the floor. And then start the whole thing over tomorrow! Yay! ...ugh... maybe I should learn.
I tried a new recipe for dinner tonight! I feel rather accomplished! I made artichoke chicken. You know, when I first read it I was thinking "Ew gross. Artichoke? Sounds like some sort of organ." But my mom really wanted me to make it and I had actually made a Mediterranean salad before that had artichoke in it, so I knew that artichoke wasn't a type of organ, but still, the sound of the word? Artichoke? Kinda sound like artery? Yeah, that's what I was thinking.
So anyway, after it came out of the oven an hour later it smell AMAZING! And oh my goodness, it tasted even BETTER!! It was really yummy. Speaking of yummy, I'm thinking some ice cream is being called for in the near future.
I also made another discovery today that I am really excited about. I can get a free book from a publisher if I read it and then write a review for it on my blog, their website, and any consumer retail website that I visit! Wow! That is so cool! Especially for someone like me who loves to read. I just signed up for one, and I'm supposed to expect to get my first book within 10-14 business days! Yay!
And...another thing. There was a blog that I was reading today that gave a challenge to their readers. It's called the The Books of Old Reading Challenge.
You're supposed to choose 1 to 5 books to read in the year of 2011 that was published before 1950. There's more information on The Ladies Library blog. (Just click the link above.)
The 5 books on my list are: 1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 2. Emma by Jane Austen 3. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell 4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (surprisingly I haven't read this before) 5. 1984 by George Orwell
(Not necessarily in that order.)
And there's another one that I discovered if you so desire.
It's a Jane Austen Reading Challenge and again it goes from now till the end of the year. And since I'm already planning on reading 2 of her books in my first challenge I thought "what the hey?" The Cool thing about this challenge is that you can either read books that were written by Jane Austen or you can choose to read books that were inspired by her.
Well, I think that's all that's happened today. Sadly I have a slight problem with my short term memory and being able to remember things, so when I say "I think that's all that happened," it's more like "that's all I can really remember and just when I'm about to fall asleep tonight I'm going to remember something I wanted to put on here and then I won't be able to sleep"...yeah, it's really so much fun. But I deal with it. Good night world!
