'Fall Retreat 2012'

I've been thinking about Fall lately. It's my favorite season. I believe I am one of the few that genuinely love this season. We took a poll during all of our VBS Music Station groups this summer. I was the Lone Ranger standing at the end with Fall as my favorite season.

It's not just the colorful leaves and the advent of scarves that I love. Ever since before I was in sixth grade, I have been going on Fall Retreats. I have a ton of memories of these from moments around campfires to funny skits to great speakers.

This year is different though. This year I didn't have a Fall Retreat to attend with a church youth group. It's been a weird feeling. It's been a weird nagging at the back of my mind. It's okay though. I finally got my 'Fall Retreat 2012'.

I spent the past weekend driving across Texas and like most years, there was a terrific campfire, great speakers and laughter that could rival any skit. I spent approximately 10-11 hours driving across Texas listened to podcasts on my way to see my Forever Roommate, Christy and our friend Sara.

We ate more Mexican food in one weekend than Christy could probably stand, but my heart was fiercely in love with it and it was a pretty good exchange for being forced to watch Twilight. We made a campfire Saturday night and sunk our teeth into some well deserved s'mores.

Flannel, S'mores, Girl Talk, Laughter, Mexican Food, Jesus, Friendship, Fellowship. 
It was a 'Fall Retreat' to rival the best of Fall Retreats.

Y'all, I needed this. My heart longed for this. I'm so glad I got to see these two amazing women this weekend. May there be a Spring Retreat as well!

12 for 12 October Update

Need a flashback to the 12 for 12 September Update?

Twelve for Twelve 

1. Books.

If you're unsure where I am on the To Read List, just be assured that I haven't crossed anything else off. I have in fact added books to it as well as come so close on Quitting Church by Julia Duin that it isn't even funny. 3 chapters to go when November hit and I'm still not done on the 10th? Shameful.

2. 5K.

I have found a 5K to run. There's something about a 5K where you get to dress like Santa and they give you milk and cookies at the end that just makes it worth it. Now, if I just sign up...

3. Quotes.

'I can't say that I'm even 100% positive that I know where my quote notebook is.' Sadly, this statement is still true a month later.

4. Blog.

My love for all things pumpkin made it on the blog. WIN!

5. Create.

Pumpkin Mac & Cheese! Strawberry Brownies! New Coffee Recipes! Not too shabby of a month here.

6. Learn.

Transition is hard.

7. Minimize.

I'm still going through stuff. I need to get rid of a few things.

8. Gratefulness.

Heartbound.

9. Handmade.

I thought about preparing for Christmas gift season. My preparation stopped mainly after thinking. I have a few ideas though... :)

10. Intentionality.

Long distance friendships are hard. I also feel like most of my friends are long distance now. Real world, I'm not your biggest fan.

11. No.

Success.

12. Word.

Transition.

It's National Grilled Cheese Day!

Y'all, it's the best holiday ever: National Grilled Cheese Day! Recently I have fallen in love with grilled cheese sandwiches. There's something about that oozy, gooey, cheesy goodness that's practically irresistible. 

I celebrated today with making a guacamole and grilled cheese sandwich. It may sound kind of weird. Trust me, once you taste it, you can't go back. So stinking good! 

Really, how can you not want to bite into that?

If you want to celebrate with concocting a grilled cheese sandwich for yourself, I suggest you go and grill it up! If you're not reading this on the actual holiday, celebrate the day in retrospect - it will taste just as yummy! Check out my Pinterest board There's Nothing Like a Grilled Cheese... to get some more tasty ideas. I know for a fact that the pesto, tomato and grilled cheese sandwich is worth it.

Really, there should be more holidays like this. When's Chips, Queso & Salsa Day? I'm ready to celebrate!

Video Link Up

It's the weekend and you ran out of good tv shows to watch online? Me too. It's okay though. Enjoy these videos instead!


Fast Food Folk Song? The guy at the window is astounding.

Purity/Sex Talk Video Rap. It's real and awesome.

Nature is incredible. Digging the stars especially.

I knew cycling was intense, but wow.

I can't tell if I like this music video or just the dogs. Decision? Both.

Superbowl commercial love = only reason to watch the game.

Bustin' a move.

Love this mash up of TV theme songs.

Tearjerker. Makes me miss my granddad.

I kind of want to see this movie: Goodbye, First Love.

So true.

Jaguar. Jaguar. Jaguar. Children are so funny.

Did you know you can buy Carl & Ellie's house from UP? Watch the video at the end for a tour.

Set free.

Way to go veterans! I love the idea of an eat in for a peaceful protest.

Who knew organizing bookcases could be this cool and this awesome?

Impressed.

A Very Merry Christmas

I can't believe Christmas has come and gone. It's been a whirlwind this past month or so with Thanksgiving, my thesis being due and graduation, Christmastime and all that comes with that and of course the lingering question of What Now? What Now you ask? I don't really know. Job hunting and seeing where the Lord leads me.

This Christmas was filled with white elephant gift exchanges, last minute coffee dates while running errands, a lot of wondering, a ton of joy, renewing my commitment to Christ amongst some of my favorite people, watching holiday classics with friends while working on my favorite gift (a Valentines wreath) for my Mom. It wasn't the Christmas season I necessarily imagined, but I did have a lot of fun. I spent Christmas Eve with my family, Aunt Polly and Uncle Jim. It's a Christmas tradition and one of my favorites. Christmas Day was spent with my family and my brother and his kids. I still can't believe Christmas has come and gone.

& Just A Few Christmas Links From Me to You:
These are a ton of Chrstimas-y links, but I did enjoy back reading blogs today as everyone slept and I caught up on my TV.

If you enjoyed the kids nativity video on my last post, you will love this kids nativity scene inspired photoshoot. It's not just because her photography is gorgeous, but her creativity is impeccable and always in abundance.

There's something about Christmas decorations that make the holiday season so fun. This can't beat the traditional tree, but it is pretty whimsical. Then again, this is a pretty good tree too - and a great place for all those books that just don't fit on your book shelf all at once.

The lack of Texas snow this year makes it hard to envision the white Christmas, next year we'll have to go man-made on the snow. (Check out the video on the comments to see. It is awesome!) Until then, snow men will be made out of creativity. Making snowflakes is often necessary to pretend as well, especially if Darth Vader is there. If not, have Chewbacca sing Silent Night as a substitute.

One of my favorite holiday activities is wrapping Christmas presents while watching classic holiday favorites on ABC Family while enjoying some hot chocolate. It's just not Christmas until I've seen Frosty, Rudolph and Santa on the big screen. Wishing I could use some of the gift wrapping ideas or decorations like these: retro, pinecones, tying perfect bows, and cute labels, sheen and sparkle from melted crayons, fringe pom garlands and super sweet gift toppers.

Possibly some of the worlds' cutest front yard decorations.
Possibly one of my favorite Christmas Improv Videos.
Possibly one of the funniest versions of Christmas songs I've heard.
Possibly one of the most informative Christmas how-to videos. Want a candy cane?
Possibly one of the best Christmas musical uses of an ipad by a church.
Possibly one of the most interesting Christmas raps. Jack Frost creepin'...
Possibly one of the most inspirational story/song combos I've seen this year.
Possibly one of the videos that demonstrates what the visions of Christmas are.
Possibly one of the most fun holiday cards I've ever seen.
Possibly one of the greatest explanations of Santa Claus internationally.
Possibly one of the best versions of Mary Did You Know? It's Darth Vader style.
Possibly one of the most Aggie Spirited Christmas houses ever.
Possibly one of the best renditions of Bethlehemian Rhapsody I have ever seen.
& Fabulous pictures encapsulating the holiday season.

It would have been fun to wear something glitzy like this scarf though, but my flannel was good too. I possibly should have done something red and glitzy for Christmas nails, but I'm thoroughly enjoying my natural silver glitter nails I got done with Elley right before the holidays.

Hope you had yourself a very merry Christmas!

Getting Back Into the Groove

Between working on my thesis paper, job hunting, hanging out with the youth group and missing critical steps to graduation such as getting a cap and gown*, I've kind of let the blog go by the wayside as many of y'all have let me know. I am hoping to get a good uploading of Project 365 which has been so much harder than I previously anticipated to keep up with it for this semester. Until then, enjoy some things that have caught my eye around the internet.

*If you have a black cap with a tassle, can I borrow it?

I am aware that Thanksgiving is approaching rather rapidly, but these Valentines animal cookies are pretty cute.

I thought by this point in the semester I would have read a lot more books for fun that don't deal with Costa Rican economics. At least there's other uses for books that are just as awesome.

Christmas is coming up. I'm not sure if any of y'all have noticed it's arrival which began possibly in late July and hit full force by the first week of October. Too bad my Dad doesn't need to wear a tie anymore, because this one would be the great gift of ties - especially for lunch meetings.

Felt pennants have somehow stolen my heart over the last year. So simple, yet so perfect.YAAAY!!!

I tried training for a half marathon a few years ago. I've decided that I'm so much better at other things that I probably shouldn't waste my time on it. (This really means that I can't get to that 2 mile marker without dying.) This news article about an extreme marathoner not only puts me to shame, but I'm pretty sure he's insane.

I'm short, like really short. This sign makes me chuckle just thinking about shortness. 

My best friend, Laura, came to visit me at college a few weekends ago. We got into a conversation on ruggedness. Not what you were expecting? Yeah, us either. Apparently, I love the creativity of something unique, bold and rugged.

This cartoon has been circling for awhile, but it still makes me laugh when I see it.

This book is on my to-read list.

I have very few stuffed animals that I have kept. (This does not include an entire Beanie Babies collection, but hey, that's just the 90s inside of me not willing to let go!) Decorating with these cute little critters might change my mind though. Just look at that squirrel!

I'm a vintage shopper. I'm a vintage collector. I'm a vintage decorator. I love this vintage owl cookie jar.

I could probably go on for a bit longer, but I'll just say sayonara here. 

[36]. thirtyseven. [38]. thirtynine. [40!] fourtyone. [42]. fourtythree. fourtyfour. 45! fourtysix. fourtyseven. fourtyeight. fourtynine. 50!

After 13ish hours of writing a Spanish essay test and working on an extremely involved Spanish project, I needed a break so I'm uploading photos and then it's back to reading for me. Whoooo!

thirtysix. Sad no photo day.

thirtyseven. unseenbeauty: silliness

thirtyeight. Sad no photo day.

thirtynine. unseenbeauty: thepowerofrest

fourty. Sad no photo day.

fourtyone. unseenbeauty: friendsthattrulycare

fourtytwo. Sad no photo day, but it was my birthday! :)

fourtythree. unseenbeauty: seeingfamilyonweekends

fourtyfour. unseenbeauty: theperfectpancakesyrupchoice

fourtyfive. unseenbeauty: justtherightamountofblankets

fourtysix. unseenbeauty: textbooksthatcauseenjoyablereading

fourtyseven. unseenbeauty: smallbreaksthroughouttheday

fourtyeight. unseenbeauty: magazineswithanexcellentdesign&products

fourtynine. unseenbeauty: asemilazyday.

fifty. unseenbeauty: ahomecookedmeal.

eleven.

unseenbeauty:uniqueness

seven.

unseenbeauty:fulfilledfoodcravings

Merry Christmas Eve!

Just got home from spending Christmas Eve with my parents, sister, Uncle Jim and Aunt Polly. It was a lovely evening of chili, presents, love and laughter. We ended the night early so that my aunt and uncle can head to Austin to visit more relatives in the morning. We also tried to beat the storm that is brewing outside. It's almost like a white Christmas, just a little clearer and wet rather than white and fluffy.

Now we're sitting around watching old claymatian favorites. It's such a joy to see The Year Without a Santa Clause rather than the new animated stuff that was on earlier. It's just not the same as the old stuff that I grew up with. I have already seen this classic as I now own it on video, but it's not the same as when it's on TV. Weird, right?

I'm piddling around the internet as we watch and ran across these cute little gingerbread houses on etsy. Aren't they precious? Some of my friends and I tried to make one of our own earlier in December, but ours pale in comparison to this village of beauty. By pale in comparison, I'm pretty sure the roof caved in while making it so many times we finally turned in our icing spreaders and gave up. My favorite is the airtram, but really, who wouldn't have thought that?

You can have your cake...

...but you may never be able to eat it if it's this cute:

Thank you yourmindblown.com, for showing some awesome cakes that not only make me want cake, but a cake that will be incredible.

My Undying Love... for breakfast.

What could be better than pancakes drenched with maple or blueberry syrup, fried eggs and toast buried under the sweetness of a freshly opened jar of blackberry jam, some pieces of bacon so crispy that you pick it up and it crumbles as you throw the pieces into your mouth and a glass of apple juice and a mug of coffee to top it all of? This is only one of the many meals that I would love to wake up to and have the time to fix every morning.

There's something so savory and relaxing about even the thought of a bowl of cheerios and a mug of coffee on the bistro table on my porch while I read the daily newspaper that I don't get at my house. If you have guessed that my college lifestyle doesn't have time for this kind of thing, you are right. In fact, this morning I grabbed two muffins I baked on Saturday night and carried around a cup of yerba mate as I got ready for my 8a.m. class.

I read a blog that is solely pictures of breakfast. The pictures of certain breakfasts the blogger creates cause my mouth to water with the sheer desire to be able to have that kind of time.

Breakfast, I love you.

Here's one of my bests "breakfasts" from this semester so far:

Bunnies can be quite terrifying.

I was upset earlier because my best friend, Laura, had to leave me on the phone to actually go do some work. I guess that's valid, she had called me from her job. It made me rather sad though because I was mid-story and I haven't been able to talk to her in awhile.

Then, I got an unexpected phone call from a junior high girl named Ashlee whom I love to death from back home. We proceeded to catch up on the week. She'll be coming to visit me next week! :)

This girl cracks me up! I was chowing down on some Julio's chips while I was on the phone with her and the crunch was cracking her up, which in turn cracked me up. I love how the simplest of things can make someone smile and laugh. It's such a gift from the Lord.

She told me a story of how she got scared of a bunny. This bunny chased her because she was wearing an orange hoodie. Beware of wearing orange hoodies around bunnies. They're quite ferocious and may mistake you for a carrot. I just want you to sit back and picture that in your mind right now. Just picture it. Now, picture a person dressed up in a huge carrot running down the streets with ferocious little bunnies chasing after him. This picture makes me crack up.

She just was sitting on a swing telling me that she "wishes that I could see her now as she sits in a swing with her feet up because a bunny might come and attack."

She just told me she saw a bulldog. She is not scared, however, bunnies are terrifying.

I love this girl and the fact that she can crack me up like no other.

This was written by me and was approved by Ashlee.

P.S. We decided that I really like food.

I like funny things.

Driving The Distance

Ironically after the last post, I've fallen ill. However, I have a feeling I was already starting to get sick when I wrote that as I did feel rather lousy.

I came down to Houston to the doctor on Tuesday. Wednesday we did some medical testing. (We'll get those results back Saturday?) Thursday, I woke up even worse than I had been on Tuesday. It's been a great week of midterms. Out of 4 tests, 1 presentation, 1 bibliography and possibly something I've forgotten in the midst of it all, I've completed one test. This being said, next week is going to be a long week.

I drove up to CS last night to pick up some books, clothes, etc. that I'm going to need to read, wear, etc. This morning, I hit the road to come back to Houston and recover here and get ready for next week.

I've decided that one of my favorite things in life is waking up, grabbing some Chickfila chicken minis and some green tea and driving on an open road as the sun sets itself high in the sky. I prefer some Ben Stuart speaking some truth into my life or a mixture of beloved cds, some Christian music or some country twang ringing in my ears, preferably in the form of Brad Paisley.

Really though, I enjoyed my drive home this morning.

2%

I'm an Aggie. Yesterday was a Saturday here in Aggieland (and everywhere else as far as I know). More than that though, it was the day where the 12th man came together in Kyle Field for the first game of the season. How awesome were my seats? Amazing because I didn't go. Here in Aggieland, I'm what you call a 2 percenter. I'm not sure why it's only 2, but this doesn't phase me one bit.

I decided to cook dinner with one of my friends, Maryum. This simple little dinner expanded throughout the weekend into 7 of us (Jeremiah, Stephanie, Maryum, Danielle, Hannah, Chris and I) crowded around our kitchen as we cooked and later the table as we enjoyed a feast together. Rice Krispie Treats, 2 types of queso and chips, chilaquiles, garlic bread and pesto pasta salad. It was amazing to say the least. We also made an ice cream cake, but it wasn't ready before everyone left. I had some today. All I can say is wow and that I'll be going back to the grocery store later this week to make another.

This is now going to be one of our traditions as none of us really go to Kyle Field to watch football. I'm a believer that our tradition is a million times better and certainly tastier!