Wimberley, Texas (something fun)

Yesterday my mom and I spent the afternoon in the little touristy town of Wimberley, taking silly pictures and complaining about the 98-degrees-in-almost-October heat.  Despite the weather not being ideal, I was happy to spend time with my mommy. Weird and funny things happen every. single. time we’re together… I tried writing out some of the odd experiences we had yesterday, but somehow they get lost in translation.  It’s one of those “you had to be there” type of things.

But trust me, it was fun. :) Hence, the fact that I’m using the following pictures to count towards day 11 of the photo challenge, “something fun...” 

 

  

 I want this!

 

  

YES. 

(I’m now half done with book 3, by the way)

 

    Creepy?  Or AWESOME.

    

Happy Thursday, friends. :)

Something I made

Good morning my friends!  I’ve been stuck on day 9 of the photo challenge (“faceless self portrait”), and I’ve decided to skip it for now.  Maybe I’ll come back to it, maybe I won’t.  But for day 10 (“something I made”), I wanted to share an idea with you that’s been working really well for me and Matthew!

He has classes every week day and goes to the gym super early, so breakfast is usually hurried.  For the past few weeks I’ve been making him a huge batch of oatmeal on Sunday and freezing it so he’ll have a serving for every day of the week!  You can add different kinds of fruit to each one for a little variety, and I also throw in toasted walnuts and a spoonful of flaxseed powder.

This is a great solution for people who are in a hurry weekday mornings but still want to eat healthy!

white flesh peaches, blueberries, toasted walnuts, and flaxseed meal

   

Just follow the directions on the back on the oatmeal container and add your favorite fruits!  I also add brown sugar and cinnamon, and I always cook the oatmeal with skim or low fat milk. 

If you love apples, apple cinnamon oatmeal is great too!  Just cut up the apples and cook them in with the oatmeal so they’ll be softer (unless you like them crunchy!).

The time it takes to reheat from frozen will vary depending on your microwave, but I nuke mine on high about three minutes, stir, then, heat it a few minutes more.

Maybe this idea could make some of your mornings a little easier!  Give it a try! :)

 

PS - A huge, huge thank you to those who donated to help buy beds for the Noel Orphanage.   We haven’t raised $2600 as I’d dreamed we could (not even a tiny bit close), but every single little bit helps! (see this post if you want to make as little as a $2 donation to make a difference for some sweet children. If not you… who?)

Blate Queens

I really didn’t know what to photograph for day 8, “technology,” so I decided to go out on a limb here and and just post pictures from yet another awesome blate* I was a part of yesterday!  Because without technology, us girls below would have never met.  And that would have just been sad.

  Sabrina, Shalyn, me, and Erica

       (dress and belt from TARGET!)

Favorite quotes of the day:

Jenni to Shalyn, who was slightly hungover: “What does it feel like to be hung over?  I’ve never been.”

Shalyn: “Oh, it’s the worst feeling in America!”

Jenni: “The worst feeling in AMERICA? Really?”

(entire table explodes into laughter)

* * *

Shalyn to server: “So the BLT… is that just bacon?”

Server: “Uh, basically it’s bacon, lettuce, and tomato.”

(again, entire table explodes into laughter)

((love you Shalyn!))

* * *

Later, as last picture above is being taken by awesome guy named James, an old man pedals by on his bike and shouts: “It’s like the Beatles, except way sexier!”   :P

* * *

Sabrina flew down from Washington and Erica from Boston, and they’re both staying with Shalyn.  I think that is just the coolest thing EVER, and a testament to the strong relationships that can be built through the amazing technology that is blogging. 

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

*blate = blog or blogger date, coined by Megan :)

Something New

  Day 7 of the photo challenge is “something new.”  Or in this case, several something news:

Stay tuned to see where these babies end up in my home!  Last year’s fall decor was all hand-me-downs from Matthew’s bachelor-pad days (and kudos to him for even HAVING fall decorations), but this year I felt it was high time to pick out a few pretties myself.  All of the above are from Marshall’s!

It may still be in the 90’s and 100’s here in the God-forsaken land of Texas, but this week I’m cranking down the AC, jamming out to Christmas tunes, and decking the halls for Fall.  :)

A Childhood Memory

While scrounging around for something to photograph for day 6 of the photo challenge, a “childhood memory,” I stumbled upon a big stack of my old writings, along with some photos of me when I was a preteen/teenager. 

First of all, I would just like to say that the pictures themselves were mildly horrifying.  Seriously, was wearing men’s knee socks really THAT cool?  Cause I think it might have just been me.  And wearing Doc Martens with a skirt? I’m pretty sure that was never cool either. 

I would scan these pictures in and post them here for purposes of your entertainment… IF I HAD NO PRIDE.  But the Internet is permanent, people.  And I’m not sure I want a record of those most egregious fashion mistakes of my youth.  I was once a horribly awkward person, and I am consistently surprised by how well I’m now getting along in society.  Thank God we GROW UP, right?!

Here’s a few pictures of that stack of stories and poems I found.  Some of my best childhood memories are simply of the hours I’d spend writing and reading.  I preferred the world of words to the real world, and you know what?  I think I still do.

Favorite Color & Someone I Love…

Favorite Color:

  (I really love most variations of blue and aqua or turquoise!)

Someone I Love:

DUH.

I’m already slacking on my 30 day photo challenge.  I knew this would happen eventually, but I didn’t foresee that it would already be happening by day 4.  But it’s not the “30 consecutive day challenge,” now is it? 

This is my blog, and I make the rules! Yeah!

Oh, and the winner of the Heart and Soul Pieces giveaway is…

 

Congrats Suz!! I’ll get you in touch with Meag. :)

Have a great new week everyone!

Day 1: self-portrait.

Good Labor Day morning, friends!  From my experience, people don’t really read blogs much on holidays, but I wanted to start this 30 day challenge today anyway.  Today is “self-portrait” day and I chose to photograph myself pretty au naturale (aka minimal makeup and the usual messy hair) because I think it’s a better representation of who I am. 

camera strap purchased here

I’m really not a very fussy girl. 

I keep my nails short and almost never paint them.  I hadn’t had highlights or lowlights or any type of dye in my hair for 7 or 8 years until this past year, when I started buying the cheap boxes at the grocery store to cover up the massive amounts of white hairs I was finding and plucking in horror when I did.  Yes, I am 24 and prematurely graying.

Sometimes I love my body and other times I hate it.  I have moments of great confidence and moments where it all crashes down and I feel terribly self-conscious of my tiny stature, small chest, uneven skin tone, and blemishes I was sure would have cleared by this age.

I don’t feel like myself until I put makeup on in the morning.  I loathe my makeup-less face, and I really do feel like I transform into someone else after doing a bit of work on myself.   

Exercising is one of my least favorite things to do in this world.  Somehow I’ve stayed thin while exercising pretty minimally, but lately I’ve been trying to start a better workout routine because I know a fast metabolism won’t last forever.

So, there’s a few facts to go along with my self-portrait.  There’s more to me than what’s on the outside, of course, but I chose to focus more on outward appearance today.  Not riveting stuff, but maybe it will be interesting to look back on some day.

Have a great holiday! :)

30 Day Photo Challenge… and a giveaway winner!

I like this photo challenge.  I’m gonna try and do it, starting tomorrow.   (But I’m not very good at finishing things I start, so we’ll see how it goes.) 

Anybody with me?

Also, the winner of the Young People In Love Giveaway is…

SUMMER!  Congrats, my dear!  I hope you enjoy your winnings!

And the rest of you… hope you enjoy your holiday tomorrow! :)

P.S. I believe the photo challenge graphic originated HERE.