busy busy but fun

Friday a bunch of friends and me went to a ski resort, but I didn't ski. I stayed back in the lodge with a friend who wasn't feeling well. We had tons of fun though, playing cards, Apples to Apples, Mad Gab, talking, exploring the lodge, and just hanging out.

Today my sis, and one of my LFs (little friends) went walking downtown.

my friend got me this vintage pin for Christmas. the eyes roll around..so cute!
yummy strawberry cupcake from a cute little bakery.

woohoo! spoon rings are the best!

i'm drinking a london fog tea from starbucks. interesting quote on the cup:

The Way I See It #284: You can't lead the people, if you don't love the people. You can't save the people, if you don't serve the people. -- Cornel West, University professor, Princeton University.

peace ♥

stripety socks

i got these homemade socks from my friend for my birthday last month. aren't they beauteeful? this is my second time wearing them. another friend gave me the dress/shirt thing, which has awesome enormous sleeves.

My sister and I are planning a photoshoot involving the christmas lights that are still draped over the bushes in our front yard, my old ballet costumes (maybe), and snow.

I cannot wait for Valentine's day! ♥♥♥♥ I've been thinking lately about real love and how much love and giving are intertwined. with a new (at least better)perspective on selflessness, I've been finding the desire to give to people to express my love, whether it be little pretty things that i made, a hug, a note, or just the time they want to talk with me. Love is not thinking "now what can I get out of this? what does this profit me?" It's "what can I do for this person?"

Happy Hump Day!!! hump days are wednesdays; the middle of the week. once you get over the hump day, it's easy coasting down to the weekend. :)

I'm afraid my blog is a day behind. If anyone knows how to fix it, please let me know...

la dee dah

'Tis Tuesday. I wish people other than me still said "tis." Much more fun that "it's." Well, today was school. homework. having my cat follow me around. going to a friend's house to watch an old Julie Andrews movie. drawing in my sketchbook. sharing an apple chai from starbucks with my sis. wearing a banana on my head. hopefully tomorrow will bring exciting-er adventures!
adios.

why does the top of this post say it's monday? cuz it's not...hmm...

My attire

I got new tights yesterday for three bucks; I tried them out with my favorite LBD and a thrifted jacket. The beautiful shoes are H&M and they KILL my feet.

*sigh* photography is so much fun.

♥

kitties and a poem

here is a picture and a video of my adorable kitty-diddy. Ogden Nash wrote a poem once:

The trouble with a kitten is THAT

Eventually it becomes a CAT.

It's a cute poem, but falls apart when I think of my own pet. I never knew her as a kitten, but we've been great friends just the same. well, here they are. Happy Saturday, all!

katrina relief service trip

i should have put this up weeks ago, but I totally forgot until last night. So here are some pics from a service trip I went on in the middle of January, down to Mississippi. It's unbelievable that people are still affected by the Hurrican Katrina that hit four years ago. People told stories of how the forty-foot wave came; the real devastation was when the water pulled everything back with it into the gulf.
Jobs that the various volunteer teams did during the week included home-building, cleaning, cooking, helping out in the distribution center, and ministry work. It was so great being with cheerful people who wanted to be working, to be helping the people who Katrina hit the hardest. One man described it this way: "faith with it's sleeves rolled up."
Check out arbcainlakeshore2009.wordpress.com for more information on the trip.

there was a full moon our first night there. stunning.

this is my BFF, trying to sleep through the annoyance of me snapping pictures of her. :)
me.

breakfast.

these were the huts the volunteers slept in; there were other buildings in the back as well.

some girls on the beach of the Gulf of Mexico.

this little gumbi toy survived the hurricane. our motto was "semper gumbi": always flexible.
me.
guys working on building a porch.
this is the storage tent for the distribution center. we organized it and cleaned it up.
some customers in the distribution center .
an invitation.

a house in the making.

signs like this were everywhere; signs like "Mold removal: call this number," or "This number for new roofing."

try and figure this one out...

this is a brown recluse we found while cleaning out a storage shed. it was the size of a half dollar.

one of the girls on the kitchen crew liked to get creative with the food that was served. She made ordinary things like lunchmeat and donut holes look beautiful.

this is the porch again; coming along well.

at the end of the week we went shopping for food for the distribution center. we filled up six or seven carts.

there was a casino along the shore. it was one of the first things built after the hurricane. Hmm...what was that parable about the house built on sand?

Well, that's all I have for now.

peace.

birthday blessings

last week was my birthday. it feels weird that one day a year who you are and part of your identity changes. i'd like to say i feel more grown-up, but i don't. As i look at the years ahead of me, it's easy to realize how young I still am, and how much I have yet to grow.
on a happier note, I'm so thankful for the friendships I have made over my few years so far on earth, and I have a stronger sense of the many blessings God's showered on me. A year ago I'd never imagine I'd be the person I am today today (lol, if that makes any sense).
below is a pic of the pink champagne cake my friend surprised me with. The candle holders are incredibly adorable; she bought them at a little downtown antique shop. I think they're German...


anyway, that's all i got for now.

peace ♥