25 YEARS + 1 DAY

Can we just stop and appreciate how long 25 years (and one day) is? WOW. Hats off to these folks right here for their love, strength, and selflessness in this day and age. Divorce rates are sadly higher than ever, but this pair is not hearing any of it. I'm so blessed to call these two mine. They are awesome, and I just can't get over it. I wasn't there on February 11, 1989, but thinking about that day just makes me smile. I'm so thankful God gave me the family I have. Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

LET'S GO 2014

Happy New Year! Hope you all are enjoying the holiday. I spent the evening at Ronin, my favorite sushi restaurant in Royal Oak, and Great Lakes Coffee on Woodward. We (my parents and I) drove around Campus Martius to see "the D Drop" party (my dad votes to change it to "Raise the D," stay tuned for campaign details). I hope no one froze to death out there! We headed home and played gin rummy until midnight while listening to the top 104 party songs and watched the ball drop on TV with sparkling cider. Some might think that a crazy party with all your friends is way better than my quiet evening, but I really enjoy these simple times with my family (minus Haley- wish you could've joined us, sis). 

In other news, here are my resolutions for 2014!

1. Write down more of my ideas/observations/thoughts/opinions. I'm rather forgetful and these tend to come in handy later on.

2. Come closer to finding a job/career that suits me. I have interests in so many areas but I'm having a hard time settling on one thing.

3. Find a hobby so I don't sound extremely boring when I talk to people.

4. Study the Korean language more seriously (Seoul 2018, anyone?).

That's it! I hope your 2014 resolutions are challenging and productive. :)

image edited by me

LITTLE BREAK? LITTLE BREAK.

Sometimes I feel guilty for not blogging for two months straight, but then I realize that the reason I started this site was for my personal expression. What's the point of forcing myself to write a post? I'm not going to share something unless I want to share something...Just thought I'd share my thoughts on that! Here are four more thoughts that've occurred in my mind over my two month hiatus: 

1. I had no motivation to carry out my 10 for 10 goals. "Get a job" was the only thing I could cross off at the end of the month.

2. Campus couples have ruined the idea of hand-holding for me. I get it, but, seriously? Stop touching each other so much. No one wants to see that (at least on campus).

3. A pixie cut is very tempting at the moment... but so is keeping my longish hair.

4. You don't realize how "at home" you can feel until you actually leave home for a while and come back (at least, that was the case for me).

Hopefully I'll be posting a lot more regularly these days! 

Photo taken by me on my way home from Tampa last Friday. I love seeing the crystals form on my window :)

PERSONAL NOTE: 18

Whatup, I'm an adult! As of September 20, I officially became a member the big one eight club. To celebrate, a few friends and I treated ourselves to some Cheesecake Factory and shopping. The best part: I was given THREE cakes for my birthday. No, I did not ask for the cakes, but I am not complaining! Even though it was my first birthday away from home, I still had an awesome day celebrating with friends and people who care about me. Thanks to everyone who made my day special!

Image by Ifham Khan

10 FOR 10

IT'S OCTOBER! No need to remind me how much I miss fall, people (like seriously, stop with the Instagram pics of cider donuts and apple orchards). But instead of chowing down on my usual autumn staples like candy corn and peanuts, I'm going to challenge myself to meet some goals. Thanks to Reina, one of my unit mates,  most of the girls in our dorm have set some goals in areas like health, academics, sleep schedule, you name it! So here goes: my 10 for 10 aspirations . . .

1. Blog at least twice a week

2. Get to bed by 1 (Most nights... Somedays I don't have class until 10, so I'm letting my night-owl flag fly)

3. Get a job (I've been working on this for a while, but the process is extremely slow where I'm looking)

4. Exercise 3 times a week (bbllleeeeehhh)

5. Come up with some kind of budget

6. Dessert only once or twice a week (today will be one of those days... Reina just got a package with a whole pack of double stuf oreos just for me... #thestruggleisreal) 

7. Plan ahead (schoolwork, shopping, life in general)

8. Read more (My goal is to finish 2 books this month)

9. No eating past 9:30...ish

10. Wake up early enough to do my hair

Do you have any goals for October? They can be in any area you want. There doesn't even have to be 10! I just chose that many because October is the tenth month, and I liked the way it sounded.

MY PARTY WAS THE BOMB

Of course just showing you some pictures and giving you some details isn't going to do the event justice, but I figured I'd try. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and just imaaagine... wait, no. I take that back; open your eyes, you have to see the pictures! I'll give you a walkthrough. Party recap time!

1PM - My good friend Abbi helped me put up pictures, hang ruffle garland (harder than you'd expect), and plate food (among other things). Check out the shortest video of all time >>

2PM - All the little details are finished!

3PM - 4PM - Stretching and meditation, because I party hard.

JK. It was mostly food prep and talking to relatives and helpers.

4PM - 7:30PM - Welcome! Grab a plate! Salad, mashed potatoes, and chicken? Step outside and say hello to the graduate! Clearwater Christian College, business major (was communication arts major until I found out two days prior that that was only offered as a minor now, but I'm totally content with business). Peruse my pictures, please! Have a seat under the tent, nibble on some sixlets and admire the carnations. What's that you hear? Why yes, that is the Creepy Clyde on keyboard (he's actually really great, don't be thrown by the "creepy" title. I don't know who came up with that). The drinks for the evening are water with cucumber and mint, water with lemon, iced tea, and Liz Elwart's famous lemonade (alas, I didn't get to the famous lemonade *sad face*)! I don't have to tempt you with dessert, one of Shelly Keenan's fabulous vanilla bean cupcakes is already in your hand and Haley's peanut butter dream bars are eyeing you. A second trip is already planned to pick up a key lime cupcake before you head out. 

8:30PM - 10PM - The party don't stop until someone's had a bonfire. In this case it was Alex. Thanks for hosting us, bud.

And just like that, my big day had come and gone. The result of months of planning passed with the sunset. (<< too dramatic?)

THANK YOU. Whether you came, wished you could have and were not able to come, helped, or whatever, thank you. I had an absolute blast at my party and it wouldn't have been fun at all without the help and support of others. I wish I could've talked to each of you longer!

All photos by Haley and Co. J.Crew dress.

IT'S OFFICIAL!

I GRADUATED ON FRIDAY! I was so nervous that it was going to be some sort of emotional overload, but surprisingly enough most of my class made it through the ceremony without crying! For those of you who haven't graduated yet, you should look forward to it. The event is actually a lot of fun! And then you get to go to a bunch of parties for each other! I've really been enjoying it all so far.

Thursday started with an exam and then Emily, Laynie, and I went out and decorated everyone's cars! Then we finished our exams and did the classic obnoxious car horn extravaganza, and a bunch of us girls went and got our nails done. Friday morning was the awards assembly. Even though most of it was like 3 kids winning all the awards, the portions where my class was involved were really cool to see. At 7 the official graduation ceremony began. We'd practiced a number of times so everything went smoothly (Shout out to Laynie, Derek, and Trevor for the awesome testimonies! I'm sure that if I had allowed myself to cry, I would've been bawling.). This was followed by a reception in the gym, where we took pictures, ate cake, and threw our hats (like 3 times in the name of photo-op)! To end the night most of the class went to my house for a bonfire and snacks. The next day I went to 13 OPEN HOUSES. Thankfully, like 7 of those were at one place, so it wasn't too hard to manage. I'm so glad I've been able to spend so much time with these awesome people before it gets more difficult to get together so often. Class of 2013, you're the best!

When I say "finally" I'm talking about the fact that I locked my keys in the car the day before and ruined the fun of car decorating. On the bright side, I learned that no one's going to be able to break into my car by unlocking it with a hanger! It even took the tow truck guy a little while with all of his gear.

Becca and I putting my party poppers to good use!

^^this was probably one of the best things I've ever captured on camera. Kaitlin and Trev, you crack me up.

Laynie, Danielle, and I got pedicures!

Caleb, Me, Nathanael, and Carson

My youth pastor, Kit, and his wife, Heidi. I've been in their class for 4 years and I'm going to miss it terribly when I move up in 2 weeks! 

               ^^Photo by Lauren Roberts

Laynie's open house was at her church that a number of us hadn't been to before. So naturally, we took a tour and chilled in the nursery.

SAY HELLO!

My friend Laynie started a blog! WOO! Please stop by and welcome her to the blogging world! Over the past year we've become really great friends and I can't wait to see more of her posts. Give her some love over at passing through!

Emily, Laynie, and I on senior trip!

... and here we are as lovely as can be during study hall! Photobooth always cracks us up.

photos by me

PERSONAL NOTE #3

Thursday, man... what a day! I had my last two field trips in high school (T-14 days until graduation!). For the first half of the day we headed to the Detroit Institute of Arts, and after lunch we practiced our courtroom skills at the 24th District Court for Law Day. I love the DIA and was super excited to see the Van Gogh pieces they had on exhibit! Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin (1888) was my favorite, although Bedroom in Arles was extremely cool to see. I've been to the DIA a couple times before with my family, but being able to experience it together with my friends, talking about our favorite pieces, was especially valuable to me. A big thanks to the DIA for putting up with our teen "let's take another weird picture with THIS sculpture" behavior ;) We continued our day out with a stop at Pizza Papalis for lunch and then the courthouse. The proceedings were definitely entertaining, but unfortunately the chips did not fall in our favor. Let's just say law school does not appeal to me in the least! However, it really was blast. Follow the field trips with play practice and homework and call me wiped out! These last days of high school are certainly keeping me busy.  

1. Emily, Laynie, and me in front of the DIA 2. Posing by a piece of modern art 3. Matisse! 4. Emily, Danielle, and I 5. Laynie and I 6. All the girls in my class! 7. The Great Hall

photos 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 by Laynie

photos 3 and 7 by me

PERSONAL NOTE #2

Sorry for the absence! With senior trip and play practice and getting back into things, I decided to just take a little time off and refresh before I started posting again (and hopefully more frequently!). Things have been a little out of the norm, but out of the norm isn't bad. Anyways, I'm back now! Thanks for sticking around :)

Some weird and not so weird happenings lately...

• I graduate in 25 days! How crazy is that?
• My sister moved out, so it's like I'm an "only child" again, so strange!
• I got my computer! I don't know what I did without this thing before.
• I went to my last banquet ever on Saturday. I had loads of fun.
• The weather is just now getting warm. I'm so ready for some vitamin D!
• My open house planning is well underway and I don't know how I'm going to accomplish my long list of hopeful DIY projects.
• The photo above was taken during one of my senior pic sessions. It's kinda weird, but the lighting's cool and it looks like I'm either a) passed out or b) dreaming with my eyes open. I'll go with the dreaming, haha!

Photo by Haley & Co.

PERSONAL NOTE #1

I put a little bit about myself into each post, but I thought I'd do *gasp* an entire post about what's going on in my life and what's running through my mind! 

My friend (and fellow stat girl) Laynie and me after the district finals game last Friday

School: Well things have been a little sad for the past couple days because our varsity boys' basketball season ended on Wednesday night at regional finals :,( . As a stat girl for the team, it was hard to watch but I think they all handled it fairly well and helped me feel okay about it. If you know me at all, you know I'm not very sympathetic towards sports, but I can't help but feel for all the hard work they put into it. Oh well, what happened happened. On a happier note, I finally found a Jr./Sr. dress last week! Jr./Sr. (for those who don't know) is a school banquet held for the seniors by the juniors in the spring. Because of dress code, nice dresses can be difficult to come by. After scouring Ebay for weeks, I was kinda starting to panic, but thankfully I found this one at JJ's House (Bonus - it's Kate Middleton-inspired! Who doesn't adore the Duchess?) Senior trip begins in a little over a week and you have no idea how psyched I am! No doubt, there's gonna be unforgettable memories and bonding. I will make it happen. (If anyone in my class is reading this, you better be ready to cooperate with my bonding expectations!)

This photo boggles my mind every time I see it! HOW!? via pinterest.

Fashion: Thinking about college and careers and, well, life, I know I'm definitely drawn to doing something with fashion. As a Christian, wrestling through different issues hasn't been fun, but it's definitely important. I know I can't compromise my morals for anything, really, let alone fashion, so trying to find the right niche is difficult. I've definitely been getting some healthy thinking in, though! I don't think I want to design clothes, but I'm definitely pulled towards visual arts. Whether that's a window display, a magazine spread, or an event venue, it appeals to me. I definitely love photography, but more of the artistic aspect than the camera aspect. I think it'd be amazing to intern at a photo studio. It's fun for me to look at an image and think, "What feeling are they trying to evoke? How did they get the lighting that way? Is this on location or in a studio? How long did it take for them to do the model's hair that way? What kind of music did they play in the background? Does the image get their point across?" So, if anyone knows anyone in the industry in need of a young and willing protege, please hook me up!

Soo... yeah! I think that's enough about me for one post :)