Wednesday nights = prayer night.
and they are good.
and they are good.
and the afterward dance parties are good too.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
1 Dislike, 1 Like
i Dislike:
trying to get a wet bathing suit back on you after you have to run to the bathroom!
it just doesn't happen.
especially when it's a one piece.
i try to avoid it at all costs-
by either peeing in the ocean.
or outside by spraying a hose in that area
(like when i was a kid- but i haven't done this in a while)
or i change my bathing suit all together.
just to avoid the annoyance of it all.
because when i do go through with it,
it takes at least 3 whole minutes of trying to pull it up!
no fun.
but wanna know what i like?
i Like:
buying really good songs on itunes for only 99 cents
when the song are like 8-10 minutes long!
what a deal.
just some random thoughts before i post about my graduation party with some awesome pictures my personal photographer [Kait] captured.
trying to get a wet bathing suit back on you after you have to run to the bathroom!
it just doesn't happen.
especially when it's a one piece.
i try to avoid it at all costs-
by either peeing in the ocean.
or outside by spraying a hose in that area
(like when i was a kid- but i haven't done this in a while)
or i change my bathing suit all together.
just to avoid the annoyance of it all.
because when i do go through with it,
it takes at least 3 whole minutes of trying to pull it up!
no fun.
but wanna know what i like?
i Like:
buying really good songs on itunes for only 99 cents
when the song are like 8-10 minutes long!
what a deal.
just some random thoughts before i post about my graduation party with some awesome pictures my personal photographer [Kait] captured.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Whale Watchin
this past weekend was such a fun weekend.
it began with a whale watch on Friday.
that morning Kait drove her way from Amherst to Reveahhh and soon after she arrived we headed to Gloucester, MA. there we met Mary for a whale watch.
this makes me glad for a couple reasons:
1) it now seems like tradition. last year i went on my first whale watch with Mary and Chels. after being out on the water all day, we spent our evening in Rockport - walking around, eating dinner, checking out stores and then we finished the day off with some mint chocolate ice cream. or at least i did. i don't remember what kind Chels got. but i do remember that Mary was a weirdo and didn't get any! which i reminded her about once again this past Fri! anyways, this time around we did the same thing but only instead of Chels, Kait came along. almost no difference considering they are both my freckly red head friends. but that's actually a lie. i really missed Chels this year. she would have loved it. [missed you Chels! we even sat in the same exact booth at the restaurant in Rockport! what's the restaurant name again? i was so excited to be seated in that corner booth again!] but it was a lot of fun to have Kait along because she loves this kind of thing and was just so excited to see some whales! it was a wonderful time. minus the end where i definitely got a lil sea sick! but overall, so worth it and something i want to continue to do every summer to come!
2) me and Kait get to cross off another thing on our summer "to do" list. exciting, right? very.
so far we have quite a few things crossed off that list and this trip to Gloucester and Rockport crosses off 2 things! pretty sweet :)
it began with a whale watch on Friday.
that morning Kait drove her way from Amherst to Reveahhh and soon after she arrived we headed to Gloucester, MA. there we met Mary for a whale watch.
this makes me glad for a couple reasons:
1) it now seems like tradition. last year i went on my first whale watch with Mary and Chels. after being out on the water all day, we spent our evening in Rockport - walking around, eating dinner, checking out stores and then we finished the day off with some mint chocolate ice cream. or at least i did. i don't remember what kind Chels got. but i do remember that Mary was a weirdo and didn't get any! which i reminded her about once again this past Fri! anyways, this time around we did the same thing but only instead of Chels, Kait came along. almost no difference considering they are both my freckly red head friends. but that's actually a lie. i really missed Chels this year. she would have loved it. [missed you Chels! we even sat in the same exact booth at the restaurant in Rockport! what's the restaurant name again? i was so excited to be seated in that corner booth again!] but it was a lot of fun to have Kait along because she loves this kind of thing and was just so excited to see some whales! it was a wonderful time. minus the end where i definitely got a lil sea sick! but overall, so worth it and something i want to continue to do every summer to come!
2) me and Kait get to cross off another thing on our summer "to do" list. exciting, right? very.
so far we have quite a few things crossed off that list and this trip to Gloucester and Rockport crosses off 2 things! pretty sweet :)
this time around, i was smart enough not to wear a dress that would blow up the entire time i stood on that windy boat! i didn't learn my lesson all the way because i still decided to wear a dress. but i figured this one, reaching the floor, could do no harm. i was proved right. pretty darn comfy for a whale watch. and any other kind of activity. thank you Ngozi for sharing your dresses with me when i'm home. thank you Old Navy for making such comfy maternity dresses.
why do i always seem to have a thing for maternity clothes?
hopefully this is just a glimpse of what is to come!
why do i always seem to have a thing for maternity clothes?
hopefully this is just a glimpse of what is to come!
welcome to Rockport! such a beautiful place to be. so touristy, i know, but i love to be the tourist walking around and admiring all the beauty of the ocean and all the cute shops. every little alley i walked by i would look in and love seeing the water behind all the buildings! and i love all the bright colors of each different cafe/store building or front doors. it is so fun.
Kait trying to be serious. Mary wondering what the heck Kait is doing.
Me just so glad to have been on a whale watch earlier that day. why? because it means having spent the entire day on a boat. on the water. underneath the sun.
and now glad to be in Rockport which i think was the most exciting part of the day for me.
truly glad to just be sitting on giant rocks, be in the company of friends, staring at the ocean, enjoying the beautiful and perfect weather, hearing the sounds of the waves crashing, and being touristy. it was so relaxing.
and now glad to be in Rockport which i think was the most exciting part of the day for me.
truly glad to just be sitting on giant rocks, be in the company of friends, staring at the ocean, enjoying the beautiful and perfect weather, hearing the sounds of the waves crashing, and being touristy. it was so relaxing.
Kait and Mary being cute. these faces are so typical to Kait and Mary.
i love Kait's eyes looking at Mary and i love Mary's smile.
i love Kait's eyes looking at Mary and i love Mary's smile.
me getting my head stuck between two poles. guess how long it took me to squeeze it on out?
ps- i was not so smiley on my way out.
ps- i was not so smiley on my way out.
JK. it just looks like my head is stuck between two poles. but really, it is not.those are just random poles in the background.
kait and ngozi got a kick out of this pic of me.
check out this pic! is Kait's head photo shopped or what?!
surprisingly not!
and i just look like a goof.
and of course Mary was not playing along with us and our lil game.
she just has her Mary smirk!
surprisingly not!
and i just look like a goof.
and of course Mary was not playing along with us and our lil game.
she just has her Mary smirk!
Me, Kait and Ngozi cannot get enough of this picture! me and Kait died looking at it moments after it was captured. i think i actually fell to the ground laughing and Mary asked what was going on. Kait was hysterical. she likes the face i'm making. i cannot believe how her head seems totally cut out from another pic and then glued onto this body. and the best part was showing Ngozi later that night. she totally had the best response which made me and Kait laugh even harder i think.
and this year, thanks to Kait [my personal photographer, truly] i now have a picture of all these kayaks! for some reason last year when i was in Rockport and saw this row of kayaks, i flipped. i thought it would make such a sweet picture and i just loved seeing all the colors. this year i went straight for where they were and Kait snapped a few pics! i even tried to count how many there were but then I lost my count. maybe next year i'll add on a kayaking trip in Rockport to my summer 'to do' list. i call the pink kayak.
and that was the end to a wonder Friday - spent with friends and on the water - which to me, can't get any better than that.
but Friday was only the beginning to a wonderful Saturday, even more wonderful that Friday.
more to post tomorrow: graduation party
but Friday was only the beginning to a wonderful Saturday, even more wonderful that Friday.
more to post tomorrow: graduation party
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Friendship Makeover --> Ottoman Makeover
** i am new to this whole blogging thing, and especially new to blogging with pictures (first time ever right now) so i had a lil difficulty putting in pictures where i wanted them. and then also had difficulty putting them in order**
note: when i say "picture 1" start from the bottom picture and make your way up from there!
---------------
ok, so this blog entry is really cool to me for a few reasons.
note: when i say "picture 1" start from the bottom picture and make your way up from there!
---------------
ok, so this blog entry is really cool to me for a few reasons.
1) it includes a craft project that i did with my friend Kait and that alone is exciting to me [again, for a few reasons] like...
this is some of the process:
- i have been reading so many talented people's blogs where they seem to take the ugliest looking thing (like a crap ottoman) and turn it into a beauty that i would totally buy in a heart beat. and these blogs totally inspire me but at the same time make me feel inadequate because i usually feel i am "incapable" of doing such a thing
- BUT!! with the help of Kait, my thinking was proved wrong- we totally took one of those crap ottomans that we found at the Salvation Army for like 4 bux and turned it into one of those beauties that i would SO buy in a heart beat
- so that right there makes me glad. because this gives me hope for fun projects to come, knowing that i indeed CAN do some of the crafty things i wish to do
this is some of the process:
Last year we kind of had a crummy year living together in Greenough 315. Such a bummer too, cause that room was by far the greatest dorm room ever to be decorated/furnished and just GINORMOUS! but anyways, ugly year for us. just like this stinkin ugly ottoman we found. both things in need of some work because they held potential for restored beauty [picture 1] you may think that it doesn't look that bad. but take my word for it. it was pretty nasty. fabric was ugly, old, out dated and dirty! it had to go!
First step: remove some of the crap. we pulled off the dust ruffle and immediately it already looked so much better. [picture 2]
remove some of the crap in our own lives (ex. my sin, for instance. not that it was removed immediately or even entirely still to this day, but it's acknowledged and something continually being worked on)
There was a lot of dirt [picture 3] just like there was a lot of dirt within my very ugly heart at the time..
But with the help of some tools [picture 4]- actual tools used for me and Kait's project- but certain individuals used as God's tools for His work in our hearts. I'm glad that God uses our friends and people that care about us to encourage us on. i'm glad for Rachel Kelly and her talk to me about the importance of reconciliation. I'm glad for talks with Becca about core lies and conversations with Melanie. without them tools, who knows how the work may have been accomplished
And with some hope, there was potential. Potential for a beautiful ottoman as an end result to all our work, and potential for a renewed and reconciled friendship with Kait.
This required work. (which i seem to hate. i hate that things are a process and i get too excited for the end result. i'm tooo impatient!) but our friendship required work and awkwardness and time...just like the ottoman did (minus the awkwardness). [picture 5]
The end result?
A Beautiful Ottoman. [picture 6] it's a beauty right? look at that green! i'd totally buy it if i didn't already make it.
but more importantly, a Beautiful Friendship with my dear friend and roomie Kait.
it's crazy to think- without the work on our friendship i could not even be posting about the final product of our ottoman.
i think the ottoman makeover and the friendship makeover are glimpses of really cool things to come.
thank you God.
----------------------
DIY steps:
1) remove dust ruffle- just RIP that thang off. in some areas it may require some extra work where someone holds down the ottoman and the other person yanks
2) remove any remaining staples with the tools we got there in the pic
3) vacuum the ottoman. most likely a lot of dirt will come out of it, especially if it's all old and from the Salvation Army like ours was. we don't know where they have been! whose homes they have been in. whose feet have been all over it!
4) staple some of that white stuff (can't remember the name of what the fabric is- this is where i need Kait's help) all tight to the bottom of the ottoman. just staple away at the edge of the ottoman where you catch the wood
5) repeat previous step with fabric of your choice (in our case, that beautiful green. Kait's pick from some fancy store in NY)
step 6) i think you're done! did i forget any important steps? i easily could have for sure!
then- marvel at your work! be glad! take a picture. show all your friends. slap your friend high five and say "nice team work" cause together, you have redecorated an ottoman!
------
next ottoman makeover:
for my bedroom.
Kait's thinkin bright red.
i'm thinkin she's right.
where's it going? in front of my bed. kind of like a chest but only an ottoman!
can't wait!
just gotta get started on it. kind of like all the other things on my summer "to do list"
oh brother.
remove some of the crap in our own lives (ex. my sin, for instance. not that it was removed immediately or even entirely still to this day, but it's acknowledged and something continually being worked on)
There was a lot of dirt [picture 3] just like there was a lot of dirt within my very ugly heart at the time..
But with the help of some tools [picture 4]- actual tools used for me and Kait's project- but certain individuals used as God's tools for His work in our hearts. I'm glad that God uses our friends and people that care about us to encourage us on. i'm glad for Rachel Kelly and her talk to me about the importance of reconciliation. I'm glad for talks with Becca about core lies and conversations with Melanie. without them tools, who knows how the work may have been accomplished
And with some hope, there was potential. Potential for a beautiful ottoman as an end result to all our work, and potential for a renewed and reconciled friendship with Kait.
This required work. (which i seem to hate. i hate that things are a process and i get too excited for the end result. i'm tooo impatient!) but our friendship required work and awkwardness and time...just like the ottoman did (minus the awkwardness). [picture 5]
The end result?
A Beautiful Ottoman. [picture 6] it's a beauty right? look at that green! i'd totally buy it if i didn't already make it.
but more importantly, a Beautiful Friendship with my dear friend and roomie Kait.
it's crazy to think- without the work on our friendship i could not even be posting about the final product of our ottoman.
i think the ottoman makeover and the friendship makeover are glimpses of really cool things to come.
thank you God.
----------------------
DIY steps:
1) remove dust ruffle- just RIP that thang off. in some areas it may require some extra work where someone holds down the ottoman and the other person yanks
2) remove any remaining staples with the tools we got there in the pic
3) vacuum the ottoman. most likely a lot of dirt will come out of it, especially if it's all old and from the Salvation Army like ours was. we don't know where they have been! whose homes they have been in. whose feet have been all over it!
4) staple some of that white stuff (can't remember the name of what the fabric is- this is where i need Kait's help) all tight to the bottom of the ottoman. just staple away at the edge of the ottoman where you catch the wood
5) repeat previous step with fabric of your choice (in our case, that beautiful green. Kait's pick from some fancy store in NY)
step 6) i think you're done! did i forget any important steps? i easily could have for sure!
then- marvel at your work! be glad! take a picture. show all your friends. slap your friend high five and say "nice team work" cause together, you have redecorated an ottoman!
------
next ottoman makeover:
for my bedroom.
Kait's thinkin bright red.
i'm thinkin she's right.
where's it going? in front of my bed. kind of like a chest but only an ottoman!
can't wait!
just gotta get started on it. kind of like all the other things on my summer "to do list"
oh brother.
Monday, July 12, 2010
dang show
darn Bachelorette has got me hooked.
HOOKED i tell ya!
me and my roomies.
i look forward to each new episode when clock strikes 10pm Monday night.
which means i have exactly one week minus 2 hours to wait for a new episode to air.
my involvement in the show [and the lives of the remaining people] is so bad that tonight as we were waiting to see who was receiving a rose- or better yet- waiting to see if Chris would be kicked off or given a rose, i held out my hand for Amanda to hold. we squeezed so tight til we heard Chris' name called by Ali. let out a quiet yell cause my parents were sleeping in the next room. and then knew what would happen next- Kirk would be sent home. aka: Kirky
i'm partly kidding but partly not kidding when i say i'd accept Chris' proposal if he asked me to marry him tomorrow. or better yet, tonight.
i think i could get used to a man as funny, charming, silly n HOTT as he is. a family as loving as his. and kickin back on the front porch of a Cape Cod home with my dogs, walking the beach every night. ya, i for sure could get used to that.
darn.
if only...
[just so you know- i dont think i should ever watch this show in the future]
HOOKED i tell ya!
me and my roomies.
i look forward to each new episode when clock strikes 10pm Monday night.
which means i have exactly one week minus 2 hours to wait for a new episode to air.
my involvement in the show [and the lives of the remaining people] is so bad that tonight as we were waiting to see who was receiving a rose- or better yet- waiting to see if Chris would be kicked off or given a rose, i held out my hand for Amanda to hold. we squeezed so tight til we heard Chris' name called by Ali. let out a quiet yell cause my parents were sleeping in the next room. and then knew what would happen next- Kirk would be sent home. aka: Kirky
i'm partly kidding but partly not kidding when i say i'd accept Chris' proposal if he asked me to marry him tomorrow. or better yet, tonight.
i think i could get used to a man as funny, charming, silly n HOTT as he is. a family as loving as his. and kickin back on the front porch of a Cape Cod home with my dogs, walking the beach every night. ya, i for sure could get used to that.
darn.
if only...
[just so you know- i dont think i should ever watch this show in the future]
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Job Interview
this coming up Monday.
8:45am
Hadley Elementary School
please pray i don't sound like a moron in my interview and that i don't need to know all this education lingo.
please pray that somehow [by God's grace] they will see me as someone who could be in one of their classrooms, working with their students.
i'm scared. nervous
oh brother.
8:45am
Hadley Elementary School
please pray i don't sound like a moron in my interview and that i don't need to know all this education lingo.
please pray that somehow [by God's grace] they will see me as someone who could be in one of their classrooms, working with their students.
i'm scared. nervous
oh brother.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Life in Amherst
[Writing to myself so that I acknowledge the good and fun going on in my life right now-
so i stop and take a moment to be thankful for the little joys of my life.]
things i look forward to happening:
so i stop and take a moment to be thankful for the little joys of my life.]
- living life in Amherst this summer: new place, new bedroom, two bathrooms, decorating with Kait, sharing space with Jenn/Kait/Allie and Katy, chatting with Katy about guys, living so stinkin close to town, walking to church this morning
- crafts with Kait: putting new fabric on ottoman together, making key holder with Zarinah and Neri and feeling crafty because i made art, other projects to look forward to
- laughing from my room as Kait almost falls down the stairs yelling "woah, woah!!" as she tries to hold on and not actually tumble down. and then laughing for another minute straight as we talk about how funny that was
- laughing in general
- experiencing Amherst as this small and cute town! i mean, places like Revere and other cities back home do not have commons, to begin with. and do not have things like "The Taste of Amherst" on the common for every townie to go to and buy samples of food. where are you? in a movie or something?! how wonderful it was today. oh! and don't forget about the carnival you went to on the common back when school was still happening. seriously like a town in a movie
- hot summer weather
- strawberry picking with Melanie and her kids. you finally went strawberry picking!! that was on your summer 'to do' list for like 3 summers now. officially crossed off!
- meeting with Mary to talk about Hope and how hope comes from persevering through trials. and seeking the kind of hope that never disappoints- JESUS. surrender to hard times and see what God wants to do through them and what he wants to teach you instead of trying to fight them and constantly ask "but why?"
- getting to watch Macy and hang/laugh with her: playing candy land a bunch of times and her beating me almost every time, pushing her on the swing, seeing her chicks grow and how much she loves them
- the move: DO NOT FORGET about the move and all the people that helped you. you could have never done it w/o them. they worked almost a 12 hour day, working harder than you did and it was YOUR move. they did it joyfully. they served you in a way you have never seen service before. and then to top it off, they treated you guys to dinner! dinner! steak, fresh vegetables, cake, ice cream floats. who could have asked for a day like that? God, you were too kind to us, truly.
things i look forward to happening:
- FINDING A JOBBB
- going home so that my bro can teach me to ride his stand up jet ski. what?! he's really going to teach me? what has gotten into him? -- i won't complain though. i love spending time with him
- more strawberry picking
- did i mention finding a JOB??
- making lemonade and drinking it on our front porch
- more walks into town
- boat rides with my entire family
- going to the stinkin beach - there are no beaches near Amherst
- swimming in general. at puffers
- getting to know Jesus more. just spending time with him and seeing what he does- where he takes me
- more laughing
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