Friday, October 30, 2015

fabulous friday // what I'm up to

ugh, I had a sick week, so it's back to a What I'm Up To! So, what am I up to? Ahh, good question.

Well, lately I've been doing a lot of thinking. okay, mostly in the past few minutes catching up on Humans of New York. Everyone has a story, don't they? and how sad, and dang hard everyone's seems to be.
Also a couple weeks ago in church my pastor brought out the point of how blessed we are to know the truth. To know that there is a God who desires what's best for us, because we are his children. And oh, how amazing, that we don't have to worry about how we're supposed to act or respond to different situations. and heck! what more do we freaking want?!? *coughcoughsorry

reading// brave new world (does anyone else feel the need to sing "a whole new world" whenever they see/hear the title? well, now you will. thank me later.)

watching// yeah, not even baseball. idk, I just haven't... *bad baseball fan, I know. for reals, though... web series. like, those web adaptions where they take a book & convert it into like a vlog. anyone remember lizzy bennet? (go check her out for sure) well, same idea. seriously, though. they're... great.

listening// b&w movies (andrew mcmahon in the wilderness) & laughter lines (Bastille) and hello (adele) a few times...

wearing// yesss it's scarf time!!

looking forward to// breakfast tomorrow. (I don't mean to be shallow, but I just got over being sick, so what do you expect? it's the little things in life. it's pumkin & banana bread, if you were wondering.)

shopping// I really really want to go to h&m. like, hey, man, I could really get into this stuff!

pinning// lala, let's try to finish my art journal before the new year, shall we? 

loving// mmm, hot apple cider and qwirkle, am I right??

one last thing: this is my very, very last post in october. shout out to october: love you lots. just thought you should know, because I'll never seen the 2015 version of you, prime time, again. you've been so kind to me. I'll always have the best memories of you. ♥

Thursday, October 29, 2015

43/52 (part two) - October 23rd // fall portraits

So while the leaves where so beautiful I grabbed some siblings (everyone who was younger an me,) and took them outside for some pictures. I said it was for the calendar, but I also wanted to practice my posing.

Whew, I have a lot of work to do.






ugh, I've come down with something. I knew it was coming. I had a meltdown sunday night and worked like crazy on monday for our scout's party and then was shivery and exhausted (plus a stuffy headache and swollen glands) on tuesday, so by the time wednesday rolled around and I had a fever, I wasn't really surprised.

Still, it's not very much fun.

Other fun news: my grandparents are visiting and by thursday I'll be all better, so it's time for a qwirkle / five crowds / hit the trail match-off! plus, it's the world series!! what's not to be excited about??

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

43/52 (part one) - so many trees

That's my window open up there... oops. I totally want to stick a sister up there, though, because the light on their face will be amazing and right now the weather is perfectly fabulous. *dies figuratively

The weather has been so nice and the leaves have been so lovely, so for the grandparent's calendar, I tracked everyone younger than me I took fall portraits. wellll, they certainly left a ton of room for improvement, but hey, they where better than last years, and it's a learning processes, and you know what? I did it. I did it and frankly, it was enjoyable... but I'm not a portrait kinda person. ugh people are hard. :\
A couple thoughts for this coming week: So we just finished throwing a operation christmas child packing party (say that three times fast!) which took all day cooking, cleaning and setting up. golly.

then tomorrow my grandparents are coming for a week, so we need to get everything clean (yep we made a mess) and get meals planned and shopping done and school, let's not forget. 

then obviously there's the halloween, but we don't celebrate that, so we'll probably going out to dinner or something with my grandparents.

and then there's the world series... sorry, royals fans, but go mets.

Then there's my sister's tenth birthday... I believe we're having friends over and we'll watch a movie...tba, I think. (*crosses fingers for a b&w)

so this is going to be a crazy, crazy next week (and a half) or so. *deep breath

sorry if I've got a crazy post schedule.

Also, guys! I can't believe I have less than ten weeks left in the year!! (plus I've never missed a post! score!) O.o

Friday, October 23, 2015

fabulous friday // caramel apple cider

Get your autumn on, guys, 'cause I have the recipe of the season. Right here. Right now.
We originally found this recipe in family fun, ripped it out and kept it... all these years. Unfortunately, it is no longer on the family fun website, but it is around the internet other places.

Like right here.

Ingredients:
CIDER
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3 cups apple cider
  • 1/2 cup water
  • CARAMEL WHIPPED CREAM
    • 1/2 cup heavy cream
    • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • Directions:
  • First, bring the cream and brown sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the cider and the water and raise the heat to medium high, heating just until the cider begins to steam, about 4 minutes.
  • 2
    Divide among 4 mugs, top each one with 2 tablespoons of caramel whipped cream (recipe follows) and serve immediately.
  • 3
    Caramel Whipped Cream: In a small chilled bowl, whip the heavy cream with the brown sugar until soft peaks form.
  • ripped off from : Tastebook.com
and 'cause I'm wondering... Cara-mel or Carmel? (I say carmel.)

Thursday, October 22, 2015

42/52 (part two) - October 17th // hike

We went on a hike for Phil, an amazing thirteen-year-old boy who has brain cancer. He is seriously one of the sweetest kids I know. He is so so kind to small children - it's so sweet. He's been such an amazing testimony of God's love and mercy he has struggled so bravely through this.

Really, there isn't much more I can say. He's going to Israel now, and the hike was raising money for the trip. They made 24,400 dollars, so I think they can call it a day!! Please pray for him to be strong through all of this, though!






There is a funny hiking story, though... Something like this:

So I wasn't going to go on the hike, I was going to hang out with my friend and her older brother while they played (and she sang - I have talented friends) but my younger sister's best friend's dad was like, lottie, go. go. (possibly because he sent his kids on the hike and wanted me to watch them. No, really, it'd be just like him. ha.) So I went. Because I didn't want to distract my friend from singing/playing and make her nervous, and anyway, they were busying doing their thing and my younger sister was taking our youngest sister (who's two) so I felt like it would be nicest to go.

lalala. So, apparently younger sister's best friend's younger brothers (plus friends) had gone on ahead of us and were totally goofing off. like, getting off the trail and looking for snakes (they're younger than ten, so you can't blame em. and they do have spunk. gotta hand it to them.) so I was like, guys! get back on the trail! and they thought it was funny to scream whenever they saw us and run as fast as possible away from us. hil-air-i-ous. okay, boys'll be boys. no big.

so in a couple places the trail breaks into a fork, but there were helpful arrows to point us in the right direction so it was no big. well, so Elena's little sister (Elena being my younger sister, elee's, bestie...) headed off in the direction of the boys while we were busying reading a sign about Phil.

So after finishing the sign I was like, "aw, snap. where's Sandra?" so everyone took off running to find her... Well, naturally she was with the boys. duh. Here's the catch: The boys had taken a wrong turn - a shortcut, really. Well, we all rushed off to find Sandra and had missed the sign. So we got to the boys... and they were off the trail (this is the third or forth time.) like, guys! So being the responsible, nag-y person I am, I made them get back on the trail like dang. and I was like, and stay on it. and they were all, we don't want to be with you guys. so we'll wait til you go by and then we'll come. and I was like, 'k, but don't get off the trail again, or I'll tell your parents (but like totally joking because I don't want to be one of those lame losers who thinks she can boss everyone around... but I am, a little tiny bit.) and they were all, eh. our dad's don't care. and here's the thing: That's totally true. Neither of the boy's dad's cared. I mean, like, they don't want them to get hurt, but they're both all for having their kids explore. more or less. and I was like, well, fine. but I do care, and so do your mom's, so get back on this trail. and we kept going...

and then I asked another girl in the group like, hey this is the right way, right? because you've been bragging to us about how you've already gone on the hike and know your way around. (okay, I left out the part about the bragging... but she was.) and she was all, oh yeah, yeah.

well, we went around the bend and like a dude from church was there all, guys. you came the wrong way. and we were like, daaaang... so we retraced our steps and because the guys had goofed off so much, they were late to their soccer game. serves em right. next time they should listen when I boss them around.
 Tell me about your crazy story from the week (or funnest camping/hiking trip!!)

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

42/52 (part one) - October 16th // I'll see you in the future

You took me to your favorite place on Earth
To see the tree they cut down ten years from your birth.
Our fingers traced in circles round in history,
We brushed our hands right back in time through centuries.

As you held me down, you said:

"I'll see you in the future when we're older
And we are full of stories to be told.
Cross my heart and hope to die,
I'll see you with your laughter lines." 

and a few fun, crazy things from pinterest:


and some art

Friday, October 16, 2015

fabulous friday // apple picking (left overs)

You would not believe how many photos I have deleted from this day trip. It's quiet insane.

And honestly, each picture I delete feels like I failed. Like, I should have been able to get the shot. AND WHY DID I TAKE SO MANY PICTURES?? I don't need to shoot in the dark. I know how to work my camera.

Also, I've been delete a lot because I say, look, there's just no artisticness in this picture. It just sucks. It doesn't have a main subject. or, Ugh, she's smack dab in the middle, with ugly chaos everywhere. Or, Shoot, there I go, chopping of limbs.

Partly is due to the large number of people who are milling around. I always have a crowd to deal with, even when we're the only ones there. (and lemme tell you my siblings are The Absolute Worst when it comes to staying out - or IN - the frame. gaaaah noooo)

relatable, anyone?  Lately it feels like every shot is just a drag through the mud. I mean c'mon, they're TERRIBLE. 

and I mean compared to what I know I can do. Not just like, other people.

But hey. It's all for my good. This is going to make me try harder, go the extra mile, find the emotion, the light, the beauty in life. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna get back to where my photos were at least pleasant to look at.

I will. Just wait.

In other news, looking back at old photos, as I put together the calendars for my grandparents (merry christmas!) has made me encouraged. Like, dude, I used to be pretty good at focus. Even if now I've lost it. *rolls eyes





These ducks were seriously the coolest thing. They would totally just eat right out of your hand! It was so much fun!

Thursday, October 15, 2015

41/52 (part two) - october 10th // mere child's play

Baseball game highlights are always blaring around here. It's just that time of year. and hey, with the cardinals gone... well, to put it simply, life couldn't be much better.

When it was clear that the red sox and reds were out of the action (umm like on opening day, if not before,) I started cheering for whoever could beat the yankees and the cardinals. It was unfortunate, because this was the giants off year and I was really hoping for a win... But alas. *deep sigh

But moving on to other things, have I mentioned how much I love this weather?? Ah, well, it's about time I did. I mean, what is not to love about this weather? It is amazing. One day, when we leave louisville, I will truly miss this weather. It's been good to us.

As Anne Shirley once said, "I'm so glad to live in a world with Octobers."

And to finish with another famous quote...

Life starts over again when it gets crisp in the fall...

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

41/52 (part one) - october 5th // apple picking

We went apple picking!! It was so so good to be back after missing a year (though we have gone to cut our christmas tree there the past two years...) to pick apples.

I found it extremely stressful, though, to try to shoot in the full on sun. It was dreadful, believe you me. Ugh.










Seriously, I have so many pictures from hubers. Sadly, I was not able to get them all edited, but check back on friday, because I may just have the last of those guys!