A Self Portrait, Two Mirrors & Harry Potter

I just finished a self-portrait in my life drawing class. It turned out alright -- judge for yourself.

The drawing...my head is a little wide. *sigh...*

Food

Do you like food?

Quidditch? Part three.

And...for the much anticipated story about quidditch. Click on the photo to read on.

*story written by Jessica Tippee, photos by yours truly.

Always,

Look At Me, I'm a Winner

I've been anxiously waiting for my package from The Vintage Pearl to arrive. I've been checking my e-mail every 5 minutes to look at my tracking number and see where my package was in the mail. When I saw it was in Lubbock, I checked my mail constantly. And when I went outside and saw it was actually there yesterday -- I was one happy girl!

It's backwards because I took it on my computer...but I got a 'C' for Cruz!

Being Santa

Christmas time, as a kid, was always magical. It was everything -- the smell of the Christmas tree, twinkle of lights, the taste of cookies and hot cocoa, carols and the story of Christ's birth. Of course, those are all things everybody knows. What I remember most is sneaking out with Tyler on Christmas Eve to ask "Elwood the Elf" if Santa had come yet, which of course, was this three foot tall Christmas doll my mom kept in the entryway, which I promise, was way less creepy than it sounds. I remember oranges in the tips of stockings and my brothers with new legos every Christmas morning. There was always a series of church parties, service projects, Christmas books and arts and crafts. And always, jello ribbon salad and reflecting on the true meaning of Christmas at Grandma's. I remember Mom's surprise when she found a ruby ring from "Santa" in her stocking -- Santa being Dad.

Abuse

Disclaimer: This is a sensitive subject. I appreciate and encourage your commentary, stories or questions, but please be considerate. And please...read all the way through.

As I drove home from class today, mindlessly singing along to the words playing from the radio, I was a little taken aback when I paused to consider what the words were actually saying. Not to name any names, but the song very blatantly discusses tying someone to a bed and then lighting the house on fire. Maybe I'm confused, but none of those actions sound like anything close to what should be considered a healthy relationship.

It led me to think of far too many people in my life who have been victims of abuse.

*Case #1: A friend who had been sexually abused as a child by someone they had once loved and trusted. Now, as an adult, they were struggling with their identity, their relationship with themselves and their understanding of who God was.

Speaking of Winter

"And now the snow was really melting in earnest and patches of green grass were beginning to appear in every direction. Unless you have looked at a world of snow as long as Edmund had been looking at, you will hardly be able to imagine what a relief those green patches were after the endless white."
-The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Cheez-It Chicken (& potatoes)

Mmmmmm...

Cheez-It chicken is an easy, quick, delicious crowd-pleaser for dinner. If you Google "Cheez-It chicken recipes" you'll find a million different options...this is my own, but seriously, feel free to experiment and play all you want -- it's really a no-brainer!
Experiment options: different seasonings mixed in butter or with Cheez-Its, melted cheese on top, different flavor Cheez-Its, etc.

Phases

"Newlyweds become oldyweds, and oldyweds are the reasons that families work." -- Author Unknown


****

Today marks one year since Nathaniel proposed.

The photo I sent from my phone to my parents to tell them the news.
PS I know I look totally ridiculously excited.

To say the least, I was a happy girl! Nathaniel proposed at the Lubbock LDS temple. Long story short, he wrote me a love letter, folded it up into the ring box, asked me to open it and while I read, he got down on a knee with the ring in his hand. At the end of the letter he wrote the big question -- of course, you can guess what the answer was!

Quidditch? Part two, a sneak peek

Before church today Nathaniel came with me to go see Tech's Quidditch scrimmage. We chatted with the president and vice president of the team, and watched part of the game. It was surprisingly...athletic and un-nerdy. It kind of felt like water polo sans water meets dodgeball. And the most surprising thing, not every person was a Harry Potter freak. In fact, the VP who plays and plays hard (the guy broke a rib playing last year) said he's never read the books, and admitted to only seeing a few movies -- he just liked the game. Amazing.

Brooms

One

"In the arithmetic of heaven, the most important number is one."

****

Last week, one of the speakers at church made this statement. I was struck by its simplicity and truthfulness.

We are children of Heavenly Father who loves us as individuals. What a beautiful thing.

Happy Sunday ♥ 

Always,

PB&J Cookies

I love peanut butter. I eat it straight out of the jar. When I was in high school my mom would pack my lunch with squeezable peanut butter. It was the greatest thing ever. I put it straight on apples, bananas and carrots. Delicious. I love peanut butter sandwiches, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, peanut butter and banana sandwiches, and of course...peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Button, Button

So this took me forever to figure out, but my sick-y, congested, mouth-breathing self has had a few extra minutes between naps these last few days...so here's some buttons! Just copy the code underneath the picture, click "add a gadget" under the design portion of your blog, add "HTML/JavaScript" and paste! Next step: enjoy! ♥








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Better & Better

"When things go wrong, you'll find they usually go on getting worse for some time; but when things once start going right they often go on getting better and better."

-The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis

Quidditch?

I'm working on a story for a journalism class about the actual, real-life game of quidditch...

YES. Quidditch. As in Harry Potter quidditch. As in a broom between your legs quidditch. That one.

Pebbles -- Simplicity, part 3

"The wise...resist the temptation to get caught up in the frantic rush of everyday life. They follow the advice 'There is more to life than increasing its speed.' In short, they focus on the things that matter most." -President Uchtdorf