STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER

Happy Fourth, Friends!

Just here to let you know that at 19 years old, I'm still terrified of fireworks. I had high hopes that this would be my year. No earplugs. No anxiety attacks. No hiding in the Laundry room with the puppies. Just me embracing the home of the brave stanza of the song and actually, going outside. 

Which I sort of did, so on second thought, this year was a mild success. I was outside and handled it semi-ok. Plus I didn't have waterproof mascara on so bursting into tears was not an option! Beauty is pain, or whatever they say.

Despite my aversion to loud noises, this was a very good fourth of July. Because any day that starts at Chick-Fil-A is going to be a good day, am I right or am I right?

PS: Previous 4th celebrations HERE.

TOP: Anthro

SKIRT: Shein.com

SHOES: WalMart 

(I'm a classy woman, yes.)

TO A SPARKLY FIFTH

I tell you, there is nothing more depressing than a rainy 4th of July! Actually wait! The only thing more depressing than a rainy 4th is a rainy 4th with thunder and lighting . I mean, on the quintessential summer holiday, where picnics and sunscreen are required by unspoken law! Rain can really dampen the mood, if you know what I mean.

So on July 5th, the sparklers were lit. And on July 6th, a blog post was written!

I'm so glad I have my priorities straight.

As for the rest of you, hope your holiday was slightly less rainy and that you got your sparkler sparkle going ON the appropriate day. Or really either way, I hope you ate a hot dog in my honor!

BOOM. CLAP. THE SOUND OF MY HEART. 
(YOU CAN FINISH THE REST....)

A peek into 4th's past! {2011} {2012} {2013}

And then, Arlington.

"The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission."


Not to jump on the whole "Cemetery are cool!" bandwagon (no emo here!) but like wow, Arlington surpasses cool by a lot! Partly because I was with fabulous friends (shout out to the bb's uptop!) but also because when you see the massive amount of graves, and visualize the people buried there, the sacrifice people have made for our nation (for you! for me!) becomes so undeniably amazing. Freedom is a very costly thing.

"We will always remember,

We will always be proud,

We will always be prepared, 

so that We may always be free."

Blue Ridge and Hockey thoughts (clearly related!)

HMMM....how cliche is this? Let me use this inspiring photo and make a complete left turn: HOCKEY! Our 2nd night, we went to a hockey game at Liberty and...GOOD GRAVY, HOCKEY IS THE GREATEST! I actually walked in thinking I was gonna cry (it seemed to be the thing that trip, ya know?)  It was loud and cold and LOUD. But lo and behold, hockey is the bestest! The brawling, oh my. I have never before taken delight (or even interest!) in grown men fighting but apparently, it's quite enjoyable. Anyway, left turn. Backtracking to autumnal things....

▲▲ Blue Ridge ya'll. And what is it about fall that makes me say ya'll? Rhyming, I guess, but then, I digress.

I'll stop now.

Oh, and thank you blogger for making my pictures blurry! So sweet of you!

▲▲ Clearly, I have mastered the art of looking scenic, whatever that is.

X and O's to infinity for you Fall (or let me be hipster, AUTUMN.) And if I were really hipster, I would be saying this whilst drinking a pumpkin latte or whatever those are. But I destest drinking wood, so hot chocolate for me!

THANKFUL 2012

What, another dog picture AND a hash tag!?!? Seriously guys, I wasn't joking when I said I had problems. But admitting it, that's the first step to recovery...RIGHT?

Well for one thing, I know I'm not super serious here on de blog. I'm not really a serious type person, so well, I don't get serious too often. But anyway, here's for a change! (kinda sorta.)

#THANKFUL 2012

FAMILY - Wow, this is SOOO cliche. But they are kind of awesome so, duh. They put up with my whining and boo hoo-ing and failed jokes and still buy me chocolate milk....WHAT?! I'm keeping these people, FOREVER. (frem, you're in here too)

*PUPPIES- Okays, so MAYBE I just got finished watching the dog show, but I would have brought it up anyway. These puppies (CLEARLY) are my favorite. Without them, I would take zero pictures, not have a snuggle buddy (I sound really cool now, I'm sure.) and basically my bff. Dff? yes.

EXPERIENCES- I've moved a ton, sometimes didn't see my dad for months at a time, and my mom has been sick ever since I was born. But honestly, these things have shaped me into who I am today. It's fun to look back and see how God worked, even when we had NO IDEA what was going on. He's just like that. We're at a point now where we can see the good that came from it. I'm truly grateful for that.

HEALTH - Our family has been going through some health problems recently this year, and I'm thankful that I'm healthy (clearly, not at the moment, but for the most part.) I mean, I have a cold. Not  cancer or a broken arm or sickle cell anemia. I can handle a cold.

BIBLE STUDY- Before we moved, I was involved in a REALLY awesome bible study (girls, if you are reading this, I love you!) I didn't realize HOW MUCH I missed it until I started going to one here, it's amazing. I love the studies and have absolutely learned so much. It's amazing.

HANDWRITING- This is going to sound weird, I LOVE my handwriting. It's not fancy or really even that nice. I just kind of love how it's mine and unique to me. No really, I'm not a stingy person. (um....what?)

ENJOY LIFE- I have this mini project I've been doing for the past few months. It has been so fun. And by fun, I mean eye opening and literally amazing. Maybe I'll show you sometime, it's so different than what I blog here.

AMERICA- It's changed so much, even since I've been alive. It almost makes me sad to talk about it, but I just LOVE IT. I was writing something for my project about it on election day, and I was bawling (not that that's unusual or anything.) This is my country, I'm an American, and I am SO PROUD of it.

That's it, at least for this list anyway. Now it's your turn, what would you put on your #THANKFUL 2012 list? I'm all ears!

(and all cheese.)

*Sophie ran away today, but thankfully we caught her. If we hadn't, she would have seriously messed up this list.

Positions (and Ice Cream!)

 The fireworks just started, which means soon I'll be assuming my anual Forth of July position of hands over ears. It's also my movie theater and when motorcycles drive by pose. I do it to be cool. And I don't want to disappoint tonight!

We are the most unfestive people on the planet. We didn't wear red white or blue. We didn't go to a bbq, and we don't even have fireworks (although, not that I'm sad.) But I made Ice Cream! Which is very festive. Growing up we would always go to my grandparents for 4th of July and my grandpa always made ice cream. Lots of lemon velvet. I diverted onto a diffrent path...

Blackberry! I'm an ice cream rebel. It was delish - but not totally ice cream. More like melted-ice cream even though it's been in the freezer for 5 hours - ice cream. I still love it...whatever it was.

I love America. I love it's values and freedom and I'm SO blessed to live here. I couldn't imagine living anywhere else. The more I learn about our founders and what they wanted for our nation, the more I love this country and hope it can stay this way forever. Well, their way forever. I just love this place. Red, White and Blue are still my colors.

And If you'll excuse me.....(you'll know what I'll be doing!)

PS:

During dinner the pups began to freak out about the firecrackers we heard. This involved them trying to climb on our laps while we were eating. Needless to say, if they had arms they'd be covering their ears too. But since they don't, I suspect they expect us too. Excuse me Bubbles, but I've got my OWN ears that need covering.

When Chicago dogs cause you problems.

If you happened to drive out of your local Sonic a few days ago and see a girl trying to stuff a Chicago dog in her mouth, that was probably me. I'll admit I wasn't graceful, but what's a girl to do? Stop eating? Never. Chicago dogs are normally uneventful and mellow. Tasty but not exciting. But I was graced with an ordinary dog. It was adventure packed. It was a rascal. But I can be bossy if I want and I bossed that thing into my mouth like a seasoned pro.

So if you just so happen to find yourself with a troublemaker Chicago dog, do these things and in battle Random person vs. Chicago dog, you'll win!

Order it the way you want it. Otherwise you might find yourself scooping of sweet relish. And peppers.

If you didn't follow step one...dispose of all unwanted items as soon as possible. Unless of course you want to sit on a pepper the whole way home.

Keep everything contained. And contained does not involve onions in your shorts.

Eat the pickle with the hotdog. Or you are at risk to by squirted by your pickle.

Toothpicks required. Poppy seeds can be only slightly stingy at times.

And that's how we seasoned pros do our Chicago dogs. We might not include me. I'm just speaking on behalf of the public masses. They wanted you to know.

Go and Eat your Chicago Dog. And don't get onions in your pants. Amen.


PPS: Beverage day post? Nope. But I did celebrate so don't think I forgot. Also, sorry for my Mexican rant. I love ya you Mexican. But be a proud American because America is amazing!

2011 Recap

Because the year is almost over and because I can't think of much else to post about, how about a little recap from 2011?

Most popular post.
Thank you for asking! My blog has been off and on public during its existence. Some post were um, not so great, while other had great success. The one with the highest views however, was my Victory! post, where I posted about my Chicago adventures. Also, Sophie and the Stick was pretty high up there.

Most Controversial post.
Because my amount of readers it limited, I don't get much controversy. But my Merci Beacoup post stirred up a little more than usual. I wrote about how much I love the Sweatin' to the oldies videos. It made some people cringe. It made others laugh.

Post who's success surprised me.
When I write little posts, they usually end up being good or totally bad. So when Nautical was written, I assumed that no one would really be interested in me knowing nothing about the coast guard. However, that was not the case. This was one of my most popular posts for quite a while.

Funnest post to write.
By the way, funnest is not a word, so if you decide to use it, please don't go telling people I said it first. Thank you. I like to have fun. Blogging is another way for me to have fun. So I generally try to enjoy blogging. Possibly the best one for me was my A tribute to the 80's and parents. I got my hands on some serious blackmail photos. And I sort of think I scared everyone away with that post.

Most hilarious post.
This is kind of a toughie. What I think is hilarious may be totally different from what you think is hilarious. And in fact it probably is. But I do know for a fact that several extended family members though that The Cow is a wonderful creation was pretty funny.

Post I am proudest of.
I'm not really sure much of this blog is worth being proud of. So I guess my post on 9/11 is the best I've got. I started out talking about bed making and hand sanitizer and ended on a rather profound statement. (For myself anyway.)

I think I'm going to go browse my archives and see what other kinds of nonsense I can find.

I love America.

Our family likes road trips. We sort of have too. Here are some pictures from our most recent.

Made it

I did it! I made my bed! Please Applaud! Was that too many exclamation marks for you? I hope not. I kind of did a deep clean of my room today. I vacuumed. I dusted. I organized my lotion. It was so productive and nice.

Pre Bed making.

Post bed making. Proof that I really did do it. Somehow the punks wind up on my bed again. I think its apparent they run my life. That's changing now! I make the rules from now on, okay punks? Okay, great. I'm glad we are on the same page.

As I was pondering some great mysteries of life, I had the genius idea to combine all my Bath and Body works items and count them.
And there you have it. Am I obsessed? I don't know. Obsessed is a pretty strong word. Passionate will do. This picture really made me hate my camera. Oh dear.
And since is the ten year anniversary of 9/11, I thought I'd share this again. Before, I'd always thought of it as just a plane crashing into a building. I understood people died, but I never really thought about. But this year, I saw how bad it was. I realized how many people died. I realized how evil terrorist are. I hope we never forget 9/11. I hope we never forget about the people who lost their lives. And I hope we always remember how blessed we are to be Americans.

Sincerely,
Ameri-can, not an Ameri-cant

Nautical.

So the only thing I know about the Coast Guard is that in a Boxcar Children book they rescued some bizarre scientist from the water (of all things!) and the Alden's saved him. So that's that. In case you were wondering, I do not read the boxcar kids anymore, (I say kids because kids is cooler than children) The boxcar kids were really the greatest and I am now droning on about non Coast Guard topics and using a run on sentence. Oh Joy.
Lets observe this picture:

1. This is not a good angle for my face. We wont go into any details. but its really not the greatest.
2. See the kitty? We've made an earth shattering discovery.
3. Gypsy is a boy.
4. We are both very jazzed about the Coast Guard, even though neither of us know anything about it.

We did pretty good observing didn't we? I'm probably the next Sherlock Holmes. Ok, maybe not.

Good news folks! Tomorrow is the last day of VBS. VBS does not agree with me for whatever reason. I try to like it. I try to have fun. And I fail. Although, when I was in angel I did not mind a bit. Being an angel is pretty sweet. More good news: We leave in 6 days. Be assured I will have several bags of trail mix handy to keep me occupied and happy for 3000 miles.

Sincerely,
I am easily entertained.

Fireworks and Cupcakes

Happy 4th of July to all you Americans. This is so vintage, I love it.

I absolutely love the 4th of July. I dont like the fireworks, but I love that we are celebrating the birthday of our country. I love that today the Declaration of Independence was signed. I have seen that document with my own two eyes. I really have. I have pranced on the lawn of the capitol too. I'll show you the pictures sometime.

I just finished making cookies and cream bars. I've never made them before, and I have to bring them to a BBQ, my fingers are crossed. (btw, our youth pastor mentioned several times in church how much he liked bbq's because of the food, he'll probably like my bars.) I'm not going to enjoy the fireworks tonight. I have sensitive ears. I usually stay inside. Who knows, I might blog then.

Here are some patriotic things....Bomb Pops are extremely patriotic, this is from my June 30th celebration.


The sticker says, fireworks and cupcakes. I could not agree more. And Red Velvet is terribly patriotic.

I'm talking about the flags here. I have a funny story about these exact flags. Maybe even that exact one. Anyway, when we were in D.C, we went here, to the Washington Monument. And while Dad and KJ were walking up (Mom and I were visiting the constitution) KJ walked right into one of these flagpoles. He banged his head. I think that if you have to run into a flag pole, the Washington Monument is a good place to do it.

Of course, I did not get out of that city without embarrassing myself either. We were touring the National Mint and I tripped and fell flat on my face. It was terribly embarrassing. But rather Patriotic, so I'm glad I tripped there. I can always say I’ve tripped in the Mint. I bet I’m the only person who has accomplished that feat.

Puppy dogs with bandanas are patriotic.

Here’s Google’s logo for the day. I don’t think it accurately represents and captures the American Spirit. It looks more like a coloring book.

And with that, Happy 4th of July. I am so grateful for this Nation. I am so grateful for the freedom we all have. I am so grateful for Americans, the best people on earth.
Cheers to the founders, fireworks and cupcakes.

Sincerely,
Red, white and blue are my colors

PS: Attention Celebrators: I finally have the official list from Kate Beard. I am trying to find another day for June 14, but its not looking promising. If you want to celebrate the same days as me, please look at the "This Months Celebrations" section of this blog.