Day Thirty: 3 wonderful things that happened this month.

#1. Uncle Brent comes to visit

My baby brother got to come visit for Thanksgiving. And Lucy loves him. As a parent, you are always afraid how your kid will react to someone. I still remember the crazy month or so when Stella was scared of Joe who has been on of her favorite people since she was tiny:

And while I'm sure it broke Joe's heart, I remember Carrie feeling terrible that she couldn't make Stella love him. I was worried about this when Brent came. He'd been gone for a while, but the moment she saw him, she fell in love with him all over again (this happens a lot with Brent and women.) She pulled him around, shared her cookie bears, and taught him all about Strawberry Shortcake. It was a wonderful time. Christmas won't be the same without him, but we'll manage.

#2 Family "Tea" Party
Some of my most favorite moments in life are the unplanned ones. And even better if they include chocolate. We decorated for Christmas earlier than normal this year, and in the midst of it, we stopped and had a family "tea" party with hot chocolate and cookies. Lucy loved it. And it was a wonderful little family bonding moment. Although I mostly took pictures. Ha.

#3 KP Thanksgiving

I wish I had a picture for this. I went out the Sunday after Thanksgiving to help with a dinner Carrie was cooking for the neighborhood. I'll come to anything Carrie cooks at, but I was excited to be able to get to know the neighborhood more. I loved it. The dinner was fantastic, but my favorite was all the in betweens. Sitting and chatting with Carrie, drinking coffee and eating pie while David works, laughing with Stella, watching Devin try to play basketball in the little entry way. It was wonderful. And then we went to a late night movie. The Help. I cried like a fool. It was a fantastic day.

And so concludes my 30 days hath November blogging expedition. It was fun to (sometimes) blog everyday. It made me think, and take pictures, and share my life with my friends and strangers. I loved it. Now what to do for December? I've got some ideas up my sleeve! Stay tuned!

Day Twenty Nine: Some place I'd like to visit

I've never been. I want to go so bad. I want to take Lucy. I want her to get excited about meeting Princesses. I want to kiss Aladdin. (They allow that right?) I want to wear Mickey Ears the whole time. I want to swim with the Little Mermaid. I want to eat overpriced food, and buy overpriced souvenirs, and stay in Cinderella's castle. This will happen. Someday.

Day Twenty Eight: A skill I'd like to learn

I want to do this so bad. The first step is getting something besides a pocket digital camera. Unfortunately, a good camera isn't cheap. Someday.

I don't want to be crazy. I'm not going to take pictures like this:

Mostly because I'm pretty sure you can't learn to do cool things like that from Google. And you probably need some sort of natural talent, which I'm sure I don't have.
I just want to be able to take pictures like this:

And this:

Sigh. Someday.

(Thank You Joe Baughman for all these great pictures. I want to be you.)

Day Twenty Seven: Myself, a year ago.

This is the closest picture I could get to one year ago:

Look how weird and babyish Lucy looks?! Crazy what a year can do. This was September last year. But this is what I was doing exactly one year ago today (or the 27th...which is when this post was SUPPOSED to be written)

Man...I haven't played solitaire in a while...guess I know what I'll be doing the rest of today!

Day Twenty Six: Something I'm looking forward too.

SIKE!

Not pregnant.

Although I'm starting to get the itch. Newborn babies are all around. Give me another year.

Day Twenty Five: The contents of my purse

Various cold weather wear from my evening out Black Friday Shopping

My sad empty wallet

An empty tube of Project 7 Mints

House Keys

Cracker Barrel Crayons

A Ballerina Barbie

A barret

My phone

Day Twenty Four: Something that means a lot to me.

Day Twenty Three: 8 things you didn't know about me.

1. I secretly love the Harry Potter movies.

2. I once thought I could be a musician and played at a coffee house. I was terrible.

3. I was once in a band with Rachel Smith and Pat Quigley (who is now super cool and in real bands) for like, a week, until Pat quit because we sucked. (We did. Well...I did...and I played guitar...which is really important not to suck)

4. I was in FFA. Google it.

5. I'm super fascinated by polygamy. (How do those women not just kill each other all the time?! And if love is supposed to be "multiplied, not divided" why can't it go the other way? Why can't a women have multiple husbands?)

6. I would totally consider being a surrogate mother, if the circumstances where right.

7. I would rather talk to people via "chat" or texting, because I like to look at what I'm going to say, before I say it.

8. I hardly ever shave below my knees after the summer.

Day Twenty Two: Someplace I've traveled.

I'm not a traveler. Airplanes make me nervous. I'm very picky about my hotel. And...I'm poor. So traveling for me, now means a trip to Fort Wayne for 3DYC with Carrie. And I'm ok with that, until I remember Hawaii....

These pictures remind me of 3 things.

1. How much I was/am/will always be in love with Hawaii. (Even though I don't swim, surf, or snorkel).

2. I used to be thinner. And I'd really like to be that way again. (That second picture? I climbed freaking Diamond Head! Ok ok, so it was mostly stairs...but I DID IT!)

3. I really liked my high school friends. Especially Adam...who bought me stuff...(hence the last picture with his sad empty wallet)

Day Twenty One: Something I could never tire of.

I feel this needs no explanation.

Day Twenty: A childhood anecdote.

The best "childhood anecdote" I can think of happened when I was 13. It was the craziest, most embarrassing and probably most romantic thing that ever happened to me.

It was 7th grade at Cassopolis High. There was a boy. Let's call him...Jack. (I really hope someone reads this that remembers this. And I hope you laugh.) Apparently Jack had been in love with me since 5th grade. I walked into my homeroom one day to find a huge love letter on my desk from Jack. I wish I kept it, I wish I remembered it all, but I only remember one part:

"I can explain the eating habits of a rock wallaby but I can't explain the feeling I get around you."

Romantic.

Nerdy.

Awesome.

It was the sweetest, weirdest thing I'd ever heard. It ended with him asking me to "go out". How could I refuse? No seriously, how could I have refused? I really don't know. So I said yes. And we had the most awkward, sweet 2 day relationship of my life. He brought me chocolates. He hovered by my lunch table. He wrote me notes. We never talked in real life.

It ended with a note on his desk. Not my classiest move, but at this point I was 12! (A baby. I can't even believe it.)

This is where the story gets good.

I apparently devastated him. The only heart I've ever broken. And he seeked advice from one of my friends. Which was "You must do something drastic to win her back!" (We watched way to much TV)

So the next day at school,

which was my 13th birthday;

Jack came to school with a sandwich board sign that read:

"I love Amber Thomas with all my heart"

Which he wore most of the day. And put up on his music stand in band so the whole room could see. And finally, a teacher made him take it off.

This was supposed to be romantic. But I was mortified. Jr.Highers where in the same building as the High Schoolers, and they kept walking by me saying "You're the girl in the sign!". Ugh.

These romantic gestures continued.

One day he got in a fight with some guy who was "messin" with me. I don't remember the details, but I remember he got In School Suspension, because I was surprised to see him sitting in my home room the next day.

With a tape recorder.

And a microphone.

And the whole 7th grade.

I ran away before he could start singing.

Looking back at this whole event, I should have been flattered. I should have seen the romantics in it.

But I was 13. And self conscious. And the last thing in the world I wanted was for the whole school to look at me.

It makes me laugh today. The picture of sweet Jack in his sign, or sitting there ready to sing his heart out.

We are crazy as kids.

Day Nineteen: A silly self portrait.

What? This wasn't silly enough for you?

Ok, here's another. This is me. And my most prized possession:


What? You thought it was going to be something more sentimental? Nope. My Mac. My sweet little Mac Book Pro.

Yes! Caught Up! Almost to the end, but still some good ones left. Stay tuned. I might even write about my husband one day.

Day Eighteen: What I wore today

This post is a day late, which is fortunate because yesterday I didn't get out of my oversized Pink Floyd Shirt and leggings. Not that this is too much better. I got up at 6 today to go to a Craft Bazaar with the parents. And I didn't shower.


Jeans: Something that starts with a V. I got them at TJ Maxx for $19. Score.
Shoes: Olive Green Classic TOMS. Love. I hardly wear anything else.
Jacket: Columbia Fleece. It's getting sad and old. And apparently really short. It looks strangely short on me.

Scarf: T-shirt scarf I made myself. And purposely picked out to match my TOMS. Because I'm cool like that.

Purse: Oversized awesomeness from Charming Charlie's in Granger. (Go to this store. It's an accessory obsessed women's dream)
T-shirt:

The best T-shirt I've ever owned. It's this perfect balence of thick, sturdy material that's still super soft. And it's long. And it's from RemedyFM. And I stole it from Joe. Or maybe he gave it to me. The details are fuzzy, but it's mine now, and that's all that matters.

I pretty much wear some form of this outfit everyday. Sorry it's not more exciting. But that's my life. In fact, when I got home from running all my errands I said "Jeff! Quick take a picture of what I'm wearing today." "Why now?!" he said "Because I want to take a picture before I change into sweat pants. Which is exactly what I did right after these pictures.

Day Seventeen: My Family

Webster's Definition of Family: "A group of persons of common ancestry"

Urban Dictionary's Definition of Family: "People you love and love you back, not necessarily blood or biological, but you trust them and they trust you, and they take care of you and you take care of them."

My Family:

Day Sixteen: Someone Who Inspires Me

No....I'm not going to write about Carrie. Although she does. But I feel like I'm starting to look like a creepy stalker.

Different people have inspired me at different times in my life, for different reasons.

Right now, at this time in my life, the person who inspires me most, is my mother.

My mom hates getting her picture taken, especially by me, because she knows it will end up on the internet somewhere. But Lucy took this picture when we were out to breakfast one day, and it's probably one of my favorites. That's my mom....well...her hand anyway.

My mom did a lot of incredible things when she was raising us. I could talk about how, as long as I can remember, she worked or volunteered as a Church Treasurer of some sort. That in it's self is amazing. It's not easy being a women in any business, especially in ministry. And she balanced her home life and ministry beautifully. Actually, I should probably ask her more about how she did that, because it seems to be one of the hardest things.

I could talk about how my mother never once spanked us, and yet, somehow put the "fear of God" in us. We where good kids (as far as I remember) and still respected our parents. I should probably ask her more about that too...I wonder how we where as toddlers...

But there is one thing that inspires me most about my mom. It's probably stupid really, but I just find it amazing. You see, every morning of my childhood, and teenagehood (and honestly, probably my adulthood) my mother has been awake before me. Showered and dressed for the day, eating breakfast, drinking coffee and doing her devotions. This was so normal for me growing up, in fact, I barely saw my mom in her PJ's. Only those late nights when I was scared of the storm and snuck in her room do I remember ever seeing her not dressed and put together. I'm sure when I was just a baby, and my siblings where just toddlers, my mom slept when we slept and woke up when we did. But ever since I remember, she's been up before me. Somehow, this is so hard for me. Maybe if Lucy slept until 10...no...even then, I'd sleep til 10. And most days, I look like this all day:

(This is another Lucy photo...she's so good!)

What you say? This isn't that bad? It's like 1 o'clock in this picture. I'm still in what I wore to bed, and obviously have not even brushed my hair. I have this crazy hippie "It doesn't matter what I look like" attitude, but for goodness sakes, take a shower!

It's not so much the being dressed, it's the fact that every morning, no matter how early we got up for school or whatever, she got up before us and DID HER DEVOTIONS. That is cool. I've been trying to get to that point. In the morning I make Lucy breakfast and let her eat it and watch TV or play with something while I sit at the table, with my coffee and my bagel, and do my devotions. Almost every morning I think of my dear mother, all dressed and ready for the day, with her coffee and oatmeal (she was slightly heather than I) doing her devotions in the kitchen. It's something that never ment anything to me, until I was a mother myself and realized how much it ment. I want this. I want to be this. I want to shower before noon everyday. Sigh...baby steps.

My dad is pretty cool too, but he'd need a whole different post. And pictures...oh I'd need some pictures. But luckily, one of us kids already wrote a beautiful blog post about our Dad. So read that. And then be jealous about how awesome my parents are.

Day Fifteen: Some style inspiration for the season.

I was really hoping it would be freezing and snowing by now, so I could just post a picture of Lucy and I bundled up in the snow. But alas, it's 60 degrees today! All this warm weather will only make me appreciate the snow better. I really love it...but I digress...

Here's my "style". Which can't really be called a style. I'm a big fan of jeans and Toms, and scarfs to cover my cleavage and double chin. I actually own these jeans, and a similar scarf, and similar Toms, but THIS SWEATSHIRT!? I NEED IT! It's my favorite book and my favorite thing to wear?!?! Yes PLEASE!

Yes! 1/2 Way mark for my 30 Days Hath November project. Coming up: Someone who inspires me (I'm going to try not to talk about Carrie...again...) My Family, and "What I wore today", which should be good, since most days I barely shower.

Day Fourteen: A favorite movie

This is a hard one. I so love movies. My favorite depends on my mood. So how bout I tell you about a few?

In the mood for something to scare the pants off you? The Shining. All the way. Jeff and I went to the Overlook Hotel in Colorado on our honeymoon. (Which was the setting for The Shining TV series which sucks.)

How about something weird, and dark, that makes your life seem a bit more normal? Donnie Darko. (It doesn't hurt that Jake Gyllenhaal is dreamy)

Wish you lived in a simpler time where men sang and danced and kidnapped you in the middle of the night and then you fell in love? Well my friends, then Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is your kind of flick.

This is one of my (many) guilty pleasures. It's one of those movies I pretend I don't know anything about when talking with movie buffs. But it is a Christmas must. Romantic, funny, and Jack Black is my one true love, after my husband of course.

And last, is probably one of my real favorites. It's fantastic. It makes me want to wear fancy dresses and fur and go on boat rides. (All things I hate doing in real life...)

Day Thirteen: Something I'm proud of.

The idea of making and selling something at a craft bazaar seems like a great way to make some extra cash and exercise your creative side. Until you realize you've sunk way to much money into something you have no idea if people will like. This was the first year I did it by myself. I usually craft with Carrie, who is my creative side. I came to terms with the dominance of my left brain long ago, and am usually the hands and feet to the creative brain. So this year, I felt a little terrified that I would suck at this. (For lack of a better phrase). But I DIDN'T!





I mostly made "infinity scarves". Which I love, because I'm terrible at tying a scarf, but I really love wearing them to hide my double chin. So I figured, if they didn't sell...I would just have a whole new scarf wardrobe! But they DID sell. Not a ton, mind you, but it was a small bazaar, in the middle of Dowagiac, so I didn't expect much. But people LIKED them! They thought they where GOOD. And 3 people even BOUGHT ONE. And I made little nativity scenes and tutus. Random? Yes. But people liked it! My mom made the sweet wreaths you see in the picture, and my sister made knitted coffee cozies. We had a great family day. Even my dad came.

My Dad is hilarious by the way. I laughed all day, and ate too many baked goods. And bought sweet old pins shaped like guns. Great day.