Dreams

So I've been thinking lately, about a lot of things. Mostly about my goals; spiritual, physical, and things I'd like to do in the future if the Lord wants to move me in that direction. In terms of life goals and things I'd like to do, I'm starting a bucket list of sorts. I know this post is sounding very "me me me, meeeeee" thus far, but bear with me if you can. This is list is simply one facet of many different thoughts and things going on in my life, and in an effort to blog and share, I'm posting this particular facet today. The rest will be come along in future posts eventually. This is what I have on my list of dreams starting now, but I'll add on to it as time goes on. Every list has to start somewhere!

DREAMS. 

A.K.A. My Bucket List

1. Get a nice camera. A Canon, preferably. This is something I'm really excited about and think about often. I look at pretty much everything I see as if it's a photograph. I look at the angles, the light, the colors. I literally see everything as if it was a photograph on a page or a computer screen. Weird, I know. It drives me crazy sometimes because it's simply humanly impossible to have a camera in my hand at all times. Anyway, the shots I see in my head probably won't happen anyway, until I am able to get a nice DSLR. If I'm gonna start saving up for something, I might as well go big and set my sights on the Canon 5D Mark II or III, probably II. That's a nice chunk of change for either one (anywhere from $2500 to upwards of $6k, and of course, these aren't even the nicest cameras out there. I don't need the nicest, clearly.) but remember this is a dream here. I would definitely go for the 60D or 50D as well. I would also be more than happy with a Rebel T3i or 30D with a nice lens or 3. So you see, I'm looking forward to having a DSLR. Either way, I'm starting a fund for this. 

The above is me from a few years ago, helping to shoot a wedding with some friends who taught me a ton about photography . :) I'll always be thankful for what I learned... I won't forget the good times and crazy wedding stories!

2. Look into starting a small photography business, nothing fancy, nothing big, probably mostly advertised by word of mouth, friends of friends, so on and so forth. If it takes off, great. If not, that's fine. But the idea of being a child/family photographer has been swirling in my head for quite some time now... a few years at least. I'm going to start praying about it more, perhaps it's the Lord who keeps bringing it to mind. As time goes on, the more I feel I should at least give it a go, so I can say I tried and will have no regrets. 

Maranola, Italy. Maybe I'll see it one day.

3. Travel overseas. Whether it's for a missions trip or family vacation, I'd love to travel overseas, namely to Italy and Ireland, among other places. If the Lord chooses to send me to the mission field or if I end up having the opportunity to go, I'll go wherever! (I won't lie, it scares me a little to type this in case I have to hold up my end of the bargain some day... what if I get sent to the shadiest, slummiest slums of the slimiest slummiest city in the world?!) 

4. Finish my book. I'm almost done, I just haven't been inspired enough lately to finish it, and I have to be inspired to write. I am in love with all my characters and the whole story, I just need to sit down and make time to finish it. Then I want to do the sequel that I have planned. And get at least the first one published. 


What are your dreams? What's on your bucket list? It's fun to dream isn't it? 

(I really want to keep up with this habit of blogging often... for the first time in a long time I'm really enjoying it. I love my new blog and I want to keep the posts coming! Goodnight bloggy peoples!)

The Wondrously Whacky Way of Wednesdays

Eric and I have started a new tradition. Now that Audrey has begun AWANA (many posts to come about our awesome little Cubby, I'm sure! She just earned her vest and a few patches... I'm thrilled!) our wondrously new and whacky weekly Wednesday night habit is to drop her off at church and head out for date night to a nearby coffee shop, the fun and artsy Crazy Goat. A few people from church work there and a bunch hang out there, so I'd like to think we're assisting in the further development of the newest, most popular New Life Church hangout spot! Or something like that. Anyway, pics. 

This week happened to be an event called Creepside, a family halloween gathering held on the main street of Gahanna where Crazy Goat is located, a spot otherwise known as Creekside. There were some interesting costumes, including a fully costumed Scooby Doo band and a rabbit that looked normal when I first saw it from behind, only to make me shudder a bit when I saw the view from the front. 

 

Even plastic mice make friends at Creepside.

We officially decided that our next dog will be a great dane. Her name shall be Bessy. Not to be mistaken for a cow or small horse.

Fun times. Yay for new traditions!

I figured since I'm doing a "listening" list I might as well do a "watching" list to go with it! Here's what I'm currently watching as time permits:

1. Castle, Season 2. 

LOVING this show.

2. Heroes, Season 4. 

I kinda got disillusioned with season 3 a few years ago but picked it back up his summer. I like season 4 so far!

3. Fringe Season 3. 

It's taken us forever to get through his season because we're watching it online and there never seems to be time. Still one of my favorite shows of all time!

4. Psych - Current Season. 

It just started. So excited! 

5. The Sing Off - Current season. 

 I LOVE THIS SHOW. I'm seriously starting an a'capella group with people I know. 

6. Project Runway - Current season. 

I've been a little disappointed with the designers this year, but it's entertaining as always!

7. Parks and Rec -Current season. 

Hilarious as always. I laugh through every episode.

8. The Office - Current season. 

I find it funny even without Steve Carrel. Having Andy as the manager stresses me out, but it still cracks me up!

9. Adventure Time. 

Craziest and best cartoon ever. Even Audrey likes it!

10. The new Thundercats. 

Surprisingly, a very enjoyable watch!!

There are others that I don't keep up with as well, or that are currently off season. I usually watch online while working on art, doing chores, or multitasking in some other way. I'm not the couch potato that this list would seem to indicate! :p

1.  Mat Kearney's new album, Young Love. SOOOoooooo good. My favorite songs right now are Hey Mama and Ships In The Night.

2. One Republic, Waking Up. My faves go back and forth, right now I love Secrets, Good Life, and Marchin On.

3. Hillsong United, Aftermath. Specifically: Like an Avalanche and Aftermath. These songs speak volumes (and volumes and volumes) to me right now.

4. Sherwood, QU. I haven't listened to the whole album yet but I like their sound so far.

5. Hellogoodbye's album called Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! Still listening through it so I haven't heard it all yet, but they are fun and have a great sound. 

That's about it for now. I have a ton of stuff I listen to on and off, some new, some old, but when I find music I like, I listen to it a LOT until I'm sick of it. That's where I am with Mat Kearney and One Republic. I've been a fan of Mat's since I got his first album like 8 years ago, before he was well known. Not much of his music since then has had the same distinct sound as that first CD, and I've missed it. Young Love brought it back! So happy! One Republic has been at the top of my list for a good 6 months at least, and I haven't listened to much else until very recently. 

I hope to repeat this list once or twice a month. I love music and it's fun to share!

Indian Summer

 Our yard is in desperate need of some attention. I spent most of the afternoon trimming the bushes and tearing down climbing rose vines out front, while Audrey decorated the driveway with chalk, baby in tow. The weather was absolutely perfect today, high 70's with a balmy breeze - impossible not to want to be out in the sunshine. It's the summer we didn't get to have this year, but in October! I wish these indian summer days would last forever. (Click for big versions of photos!)

I love this little girl so much. I don't often stop and just sit and listen to her (she talks a lot, but often has lovely, funny, and surprisingly insightful things to say), simply spending time without always having to be DOING something. Either way, mental note: must spend more time with her. Sometimes I need to just forget my long list of to-do's! Time is flying by much too quickly, and before I know it Audrey will be in high school. Going to prom. Or college. OMG. Stopping that train of thought right now.

Such a beauty.

During my outdoor excursion, I found the most adorable little birds nest in a tree near the house. It was empty, but still cute.

I love this purple ground cover. It kinda takes over the grass, so I imagine a lot of people don't like it, but it's cool on your feet on a hot summer day and the color is beautiful.

I take a ton of pictures, as often as I can. I won't ever post them all, otherwise my blogs would be pages long and Blogger's image storage wouldn't hold them all. Speaking of which, I REALLY need to get an external hard drive for my computer... My poor little 160 gig hard drive is almost full, and a lot of that is taken up by pictures. Be happy I didn't take pictures of my poor shredded hands after tearing down climbing rose vines all afternoon! Geesh - ouchies.

I finally blogged a bit, and that is more than I can say for the past few months. My work here is done. Good night bloggy bloggers!

Overhaul Done... For Now!

I can't take complete credit for the overall look, as I got most of the graphics from Shabby Blogs. However, I did piece it together from a bunch of different designs and freebies I found there. I tweaked the header too (including adding the text, clearly). I'll be adding more as time goes on, and you know I'll be changing the theme for certain holidays and seasons... I love doing that!

Anyway, now that I've spent hours and hours working on this, I must step away to make a dent in the cleaning of ground zero, a.k.a my house. I'll be making an effort to blog more and also keep up with your blogs. I've been pretty terrible about that lately! Thanks for looking - let me know what you think about the new look! HUGS!

Finally...

Bloggy blog overhaul in progress. The header isn't done yet... I'm just testing some new stuff all around. If you wanna tell me if you like it so far, go for it! :) Pardon the mess, construction will be done soon!