{Pictures} March Photo-A-Day *Part 1*

Have you guys ever seen those "photo-a-day" challenges? Basically, it's like a writing prompt, but you "answer" by taking a picture. How fun, right? I thought one would be a great way for me to get my camera out, it's been suffering from disuse :) This is a March "photo-a-day" challenge. (I'll do two parts, so hopefully no one's computer goes haywire from picture overload :)

(March 1) "Up" {All our winter clothes hanging up}

(March 2) "Fruit"

(March 3) "Your Neighborhood"

(March 4) "Bedside"

(March 5) "A Smile"  {I'm not sure this counts as a smile. BUT, when I said "smile!", this is what I got. Beggars can't be choosers.}

(March 6) "5 PM" {This was what 5PM looked like for me :) Cleaning up a mess in the kitchen, sun sinking slowly}

(March 7) "Something You Wore" {I wore some old, battered tennis shoes on a walk}

(March 8) "Window" {This was a small window of time as a little strip of fog rolled through. It was gorgeous}

(March 8) "Window" {Which gets two pictures, because I found two interpretations of "window"}

(March 9) "Red" {A small red envelope from the little Alaskan cousin}

(March 10) "Loud" {The wind- howling. Loud. I'll admit, I took this a day late.}

(March 11) "Someone You Talked To" {This was class day, I talked to a lot of people. But I didn't ask anyone if I could get their picture :) Just don't think I'm an un-socialized home-schooler who only talks to her goats!}

(March 12) "Fork"

(March 13) "A Sign" {A sign of spring}

*MARCH 14 HAS NO PICTURE. THE PROMPT WAS "Cloud", BUT THERE WAS NO CLOUDS*

(March 15) "Car" {Our car full of vegetables from bountiful baskets day :)

{Ditto}

{Life} People and Lessons

There's some people in my life who I've really come to admire lately. I'm going to describe what I've learned from them, and why I respect it. However, since I haven't asked their permission to write about them on my blog, I'm not going to share their names.

First, is a girl (more of a woman, actually) who I've been learning love from. In her conversation, and her actions toward others, I just see a really loving, non-judgmental attitude. I  think she sees other people with God's perspective. This really convicts me. I am very judgmental, and it takes effort for me to look at someone and see their gifts right away, see what God sees in them. I've been praying that God would put His lens over my view of people, so I see how they fulfill His plan.

Second is that girl's mom. This lady is one of the sweetest people I know. She always has a smile on. And it's a smile you just want to reflect. She doesn't only carry a smile, but she's always ready with laughter. Her sense of humor is really fun, and I feel like people around her just pick up her joy. But, what I've most been touched by in her life is something that happened a few weeks ago. I was with some people who just knew her name, not her family, or anything about her life, and had only been around her for five minutes tops, but you know what they said? "So-and-so? Oh, she is really nice!!" That just hit me. This lady had left an impression on these people after just a few minutes. She was spreading a little bit of her joy from the Lord in so short a time. Another prayer, "To bear a faithful witness for Christ in all places; to leave a savor of my Master in every society..." {Holiness, by J.C. Ryle}

Okay, the last thing I've seen and been touched by lately is actually three families. From them, I've learned three slightly different, but really noticeable ways of showing hospitality. The first family is so enthusiastic, they just have all this balled up positive energy they share with people around them. They're also really laid back, with true servants hearts. However they can help, whatever works for you, and all with happy energy. The second family live in this little house, but they've asked my family over for dinner several times, and filled it to the brim. They are really funny, ready to laugh, but they add well-thought-through ideas to their conversation. Added to all that, they seek God's plan in their lives with open minds, and a willingness to follow wherever He leads them. The last family is one I've known for awhile, but have been privileged to spend more time with recently. So far, I've never been there when there's not someone else, outside of their family, visiting or staying for a few days while some move or situations switch is happening. Their house is open and inviting. I feel welcome when I'm there. Not like an intruder, or in the way, but just taken in as part of the family. Being around their family has been teaching me other lessons about how I treat my siblings, and how I help (or more often DON'T help) to make our home more inviting to visitors.

Those examples are really just what came to mind first. This post may reoccur often as I see gifts in people and families that I admire and learn from.

Have a great day!

{A Few of My Favorite Things} A Roundup

I'm totally lost on ideas. So, it's time to pull out a good ol' list, right? :) I'll try to build up some creativity for my next post. But in the mean time, this will have to do.

Ella Enchanted. I've always liked this book. It mixes some of my favorite things. My mom says I like books with "princesses and dragons". It's sadly true. I don't branch out very often. :) I was listening to it again this week, thanks to a new audio library my dad found, and enjoying it all over again!


This picture. Isn't it lovely? Just too much for words.

Catniss and Tyler relaxing on a snowy day. A few of my favorite things ;)

This smoothie. I had this the other day, and really loved it. Mom and I don't usually follow recipes when we're making a smoothie. But this wins me over! Recipes are a good idea! (This might be a good time to point out a life lesson that I come upon often. "My way" doesn't always work.)

Fig Newton Cupcakes. Are you fig newtons "yes", or fig newtons "no". I like the taste, but the texture is a little strange in my opinion. I hoping to try these soon. They LOOK yummy! And greek yogurt as frosting is such an interesting idea.

This cake. How creative is that? And, how long did that take? And, how many oreos would I have to buy to make one of these? :) (Kota walked by as I was writing this. He would like that for his next birthday cake :)


Wax paper transfer. Do you think this really works? I might give it a shot! If it does work, it could make some really cool crafts/projects!

I really like this outfit. Apparently I'm still lingering in fall colors. C'mon, brain! Time to move on to spring colors. So maybe I'd switch the colors to white, blue, green, and yellow. Or pink, cream, and orange. Or grey, green, and blue. Something like that.



Who can concur with this? Baby safety handles have the same affect on my ability to open a door! :)






 Oh, yes. Isn't it true, though. Always, always. But I miss it so often.




We rented Thor, The Dark World from Amazon last weekend. I've read all over the place that it's actually a movie about Loki, that just has Thor in it. That's actually very true. Loki brought the humor, or at least most of it. A lot of the emotion was more from that character, too. At least, that's what it felt like to me. The movie was good, super-hero type. Villains, a love story, danger, chaos... the whole enchilada. Marvel has something going with these movies! They have the Avengers to build on, Thor, Captain America, not to mention they haven't even started on the Black Widow, and Hawkeye. Years of movies about these characters, if they choose to keep going. :)

Last of all, here you go:

It is absolutely a good day to have a good day!

{Life} Morning

 The Story of My Morning

MEEP. MEEP. MEEP. I wake up, roll over, and slap my arm down on the alarm clock, clicking the button to turn off the beeping. It's probably the quickest move I'll make for the next hours. That sound, I just have to get it turned off, immediately. I have a few minutes, due to strategically setting the alarm clock earlier than necessary. So I dawdle down the hall way, and thump, thump, thud down the stairs. Shuffle, slide, shuffle. My feet drag slowly through the living room. I can already see a warm, bright, flickering red-orange light. That's my favorite sight on a cold morning. The house is dark, but the fire has been stoked so it's warm and blazing when I make my way downstairs to start breakfast. Then there's several minutes of blissful nothing. Just sitting in front of the fire, looking at the flickers across the wood floor, waking up slowly.

The clock ticks to 6:00, and it's time to start breakfast. I love the early morning, in the quiet house, all by myself in the kitchen. I put in my earphones and start a book. It might be something I haven't ever read or listened to. But more often, it's one of the stories I've had on my MP3 player for years, so familiar I can quote almost every line. Even if I never loved the book, I've listened to it so many times by now, it's like family. Put away the dishes. Makes a cup of hot chocolate. Get a skillet heating on the stove. Set the table. Cut the banana bread. 6:40, everyone's dressed, and it's starting to get noisy. After the twentieth time I have to say, "What?" when someone asks me a question, I pause my book and pull out the earphones. That action is my resignation the day actually has to start. No more quietness. Get dressed, pick up, chores, school. The story of my morning.

{A Few of My Favorite Things} Seasons

When you look around outside right now, you can see winter disappearing. The snow drifts are being replaced by puddles and mud. Even the wind is warmer. I'm really hoping for a few more days of good winter, just to reconcile myself to the end of cold weather. As much as I love winter, there's really something about every season that just makes me happy.


Summer...
My favorite things about summer are getting to play in water and not freeze, having long days, cool steamy mornings, and stepping into air conditioning. Swimming or playing in the lake makes me think I would really miss summer if I lived in a place that never had it. Long days and cool mornings sort of go together. Staying up late to see the slow stages of twilight is really special. It just doesn't seem as fast as early winter sunsets. I can enjoy it more in the summer, because it's late enough, I'm not trying to do anything else.

Autumn...
After winter, fall is my favorite season. Not ONLY because of volleyball :) But volleyball is definitely one upside! I like fall because it's looking forward to winter. The weather is only getting colder, snow is coming. Aside from that, fall colors are lovely. I like how wind stirs up the leaves that have fallen. There's one tree, right out our door that turns the brightest orange/red!

Spring...
Mud. Which is good. I like mud! It's fun to play in... it's fun to drag in the house (that was a joke!). Spring is when the creek by our house floods. There's nothing that is in danger from the water on our property, so floods are really just interesting. I like to see how high on trees debris can be caught. Aside from the water and mud, things starting to bloom is something I really look forward to after winter.

Winter...
Is my favorite season. It's cold, there's snow, early bedtimes, family movie nights, dad spends a lot of time at home, there's snow :), sledding, hooding, ice, being hermits, there's snow, the fireplace/woodstove are burning, and chili. I love chili. With cornbread! The best part of winter is just that my family spends more time together than other seasons.

3 There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

~Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

{Life and Pictures} Donuts

Me: Mom, do you have any good blog post ideas? I'm drawing a blank.
Mom: How about sledding?
Me: Yay, I suppose I could. But I don't feel very inspired to write about that... Dad, do you have any ideas?
Dad: (thinks for a few seconds) Donuts.
Me: ?? Donuts?
Dad: Yay

Okay, so that's how this all got started. My dad has some strange ideas :) I think this one was inspired by the leftover donuts from Tyler's birthday.

Donuts? Or doughnuts? Is it "do" and then "nuts", or "dough" and then "nuts"? I can't figure out which way is right! What do you use? Donuts or doughnuts?


My earliest recollection of donuts is these tie-dye, swirly, quite-ugly donuts from Dillons. They were one of those things, as a little kid, I choose Every. Single. Time. I didn't even like them! But they were bright, colorful, and stuck out to me. So every time mom bought us donuts, I wanted a tie-dye one. Do you have a similar story from your childhood?

 One thing that slightly ruins donuts for me now, is making them myself. Mom and I have done it a few times together. It's a day-long project and clean up. I really enjoy it. Choosing a recipe, mixing them up, then frying the batch. It's fun to watch how oil cooks batter. But often, after we make donuts, I loose interest in eating them. A whole day of frying donuts, then cleaning up the deep fat frying mess. Ugh. Usually, I never want to see a donut again by the time they're done. I get over it in a few days ;)
 

Plain, glazed donuts that mush into nothingness are not my favorite, no way. I would choose cookies, or muffins, or pie, or brownies over those. To me, they're just sickeningly sweet. No real flavor... mostly air. A thick, but soft, cake-y donut- now that I like! And one of my favorites? Apple fritters. They are so good! It's like soft apple pie, in your hand! There's an orchard near Topeka that has apple cider donuts that are amazing! (or, they used to. We haven't been there in awhile. Stopping to get donuts on the way to a volleyball game just hasn't happened yet. I keep hoping!)

 
 

What are your thoughts on donuts? Cake donuts or soft yeast donuts? Chocolate or cinnamon? Apple fritters? Jelly filling or no way? Have you ever tried a bacon donut?

{Life and Pictures} Running

That title was a bit of a joke :) I don't run, I jog... slloowwlllyyy. You can ask anyone in my family, or on my volleyball team, I don't run quickly!


If I'm actually running... well...

I'll try to stop talking in pinterest now.

I started jogging thanks to Mr. Keeley. He set up a 5k for volleyball training (and anyone who wanted to join) when I was eleven. It was a big deal! There was rest days, and cross training days, and jogging days. Before that, I had really never jogged. I knew Anna was going to run the 5k, and that was reason enough for me to give it a shot! I think the other motivation for me was feeling like I was really training for volleyball. It was my last year of parks and rec, but if CHIEF volleyball players were going to train, so was I. Getting to play on the homeschool volleyball teams was something I was really looking forward to!

So I jogged that 5k. Anna graciously ran with me (so did my dad! He's only raced with me twice, ever.), although I'm pretty sure, being a Keeley, she could have taken off at any time and left me in the dust! I was so wound up from excitement the whole day after the race. :) It was really fun, and made running something I could think on pleasantly. Nonetheless, after the race, I quit jogging for awhile. Several months, I think. But somehow, in the spring I got started again. I think long distance running is a little addictive. There's some point where it becomes really enjoyable. (Getting to that point can be miserable!)

Although running long distance is good for overall physical fitness to some level, it actually is not at all helpful for volleyball. For volleyball, the ideal is short, explosive movements to increase vertical jump and quick movements. *ugh* Short? Fast? I really, really don't like sprinting. It takes so much more focus to push myself for that small space than to just let my mind wander for a few miles!

Which leads to a half marathon in January. I have done a few races in between 5th grade and now. There was a two mile St. Patrick's day race, the 5k dog-n-jog at the vet school, and 5k Turkey Trot at lake elbow. But this year, I really wanted to do a half-marathon. I started last spring when I was trying to come up with some goal to have for jogging. A winter half marathon was my conclusion. So I did some experimenting, and figured out I could probably GO that far, just not quickly. I choose winter for a few reasons:
It's after volleyball season. I can forget my vertical for awhile.
It's not hot!
It's not spring= fewer allergies!

Just if you ever want to know, there's not very many winter half marathons in Kansas. It was handy not to have a whole bunch to choose from! ;) So here's a few things I learned:

• Stretching is really, really, really important. I've read this everywhere, seen it a million times, been told over-and-over, and NOW it's finally starting to sink in. Stretching is good, take the time to do it! (It actually feels really wonderful sometimes to stretch out muscles!)
• Water, Water, Water, Water. Dehydration is easy. I have spent most of my life in a state of constant dehydration. That is not healthy and can cause some serious headaches. << spoken from experience. One week after a long run, a really hard night made me realize I HAVE to drink more water, no matter how much I dislike it. (As a side note, when you just can't stand to drink plain water, try no sugar added cranberry juice with water mixed in. The tart cranberry flavor goes a long way!)
• Sometimes, goals just can't be met. That's okay. Goals are there to help you push yourself, not to help you tune-out legs saying they are too tired to keep going!

Those are my big things. Now, the half marathon. One of my favorite parts was a really sweet lady and her daughter who I ran most of it with. The little girl (yeah, she was twelve) beat me. I'm actually pretty amused over that. Over half the race she kept saying, "Mom, I really just want to run! Can I just go?" Her mom kept saying, "No, just wait awhile." I'm thinking, "Yeah, she just wants to run off some excitement, then she'll be really dead tired." I was SO wrong. At about the 6 mile marker, her mom gave her permission to go. (I was a little bit ahead of them at that point.) She passed me, and I didn't see her until she high-fived me at the finish line. *jaw drops* I was impressed!

Another silly think that just thrilled me was the 12 mile marker. I somehow missed the 11 flag, and really thought that stretch was dragging! When I saw a "12" on the flag instead of "11" I had several minutes of silly, half-crazed excitement. I was a little worn-out and my brain was going strange directions!
So, that was what made me laugh/some of the reasons I really, truly enjoyed the race. The last, BEST reason was my fans! My parents and Hannah made the BEST fans I could ask for. They braved some cold wind and several hours of watching people run, just to encourage me. That was really special for me! I mean who CHOOSES to spend their Saturday doing THAT?! Some very sweet people, let me tell ya'! And at the end of the day, I ended up with sore legs (thanks to a very hilly route), 3rd place in my age group, and a pair of Topeka to Auburn half-marathon socks! :)

I said I wasn't going to talk in pinterest anymore, but that last (rather embarrassing) picture, really illustrates this point: