Halloween!!!

I love. Love. LOVE Halloween! It is one of my favorite Holidays :) lol. Hince, my adorable blog background :D

Zombie Sisters <3 Halloween 2009

Who doesn't love an excuse to dress up crazily and be whoever/whatever you want...?!? I was never allowed to dress up when i was younger (unless it was for a church event, because Halloween is evil, don't ya know?!? lol). But every opportunity i get to dress up, i take it! The first time I dressed up I was Miss Piggy (my big brother was Kermit). I was five years old, and we had to keep our trick or treating a secret so we wouldn't get in trouble! Since then, I've been Luci Ricardo (I Love Lucy), a zombie sister (one of three), Dopey (my big sister was Snow White), and King Ethud (from the Bible). We don't have any plans for dressing up this year, but these are a few of my favorites for 2010:

10. Neyturi from Avatar.  

 i think this is very creative! Though, whoever wears this costume should be very confident in their figure! ...not just anybody can pull off a full body suit in colbolt blue! lol

 

 9. Pregnant nun & Priest :O

i don't care who you are this is freaking Hillarious!!! lol

 

8. Micheal Jackson!!! OW! OW! :D

i'm not a huge fan of mr. jackson, but i do love his music :) and he's a good subject for a costume, easily recognizable.

8. Bun in the Oven & Baker

What a cute idea for a pregnant couple! So adorable <3 and very Creative!

 7. Preggo Snoopy! 

i love pregnant bellies anyway, but this is just adorable! Great idea for having fun with the belly!

6. Mario & Luigi

What a cute take on the famous duo!

 5. Trophy Wife ;)

HAHAHAHAHAHA! this is HILLARIOUS :) :) :)

4. Woody <3 Bo

i looooooooooooove this :)

3. Lucille Ricardo <3

Everyone knows how much I Love Lucy!

i have this costume! loooove it :)

this is freaking adorable! AND SO NOT HELPING MY BABY FEVER :P lol

2.  Minnie Mouse <3 

I love Minnie Mouse! i would totally wear this costume and ROCKKK it :) :) :) lol

1.  Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head <3

my favorite :) 

What are you gonna be for Halloween? I would love to hear your ideas and even see a picture :)

the rebel that lives within.

This may come as a suprise to most of you, but deep within me, a REBEL rages.  That rebel is the one who wishes she could pull off a nose ring, dreams of hot pink highlights, and watches LA Ink :)

I love to hear the stories of the people who come in to have Kat (& other artists) cover them in ink.  Kat kind of memorizes me. There is something about her I find intriguing, even inspiring. I mean she's covered neck to ankle in tats and she wears them well! She looks so confident and beautiful with her artwork proudly displayed :)
So, i started researching her a bit. Okay, okay... i googled :D lol 
At fourteen, Kat got her very first tattoo, a "J" for her first love.  Now fourteen years later, Kat's body is a collage of portraits (she has Beethoven, her mother, brother, sister, & father), acronyms (including Beethoven's initials), pin up girls, and all kinds of art. 



Kat doing her work



Not only is she one fabulous canvas, but she's an artist herself.  She got her first job as a tattoo artist at sixteen, and now owns her own tattoo parlor.  Her specialty is portraits, and she is so talented!

beetle juice by Kat



Okay, so in case your wondering if i'll let the rebel out and get my own tatoo...  
I love to look at tatoos. I love to see my friends' tatoos.  I
love to hear the stories behind tattoos, but they aren't for me. I don't think they're wrong, just wrong for me. I have two main reasons that I won't get a tat.  The lesser, but still important reason: i am indecisive, there is no waaaay i could pick something i want on my body FOREVER :P and i feel like tattoos should have a good, solid meaning- and i just don't have anything i feel strongly about that i want on my body! lol And, the biggest reason i find in the Bible.  No, no... i'm not gonna use the classic Christian Cop-out, "My body is a temple" bit.  Which is true, my bod is a temple... but it can be argued that "tats = decoration and there's nothing wrong with that"... i dunno. Honestly, I'm not God (I didn't get the job ;D lol) and i don't know how he feels about that.  But i do know that Paul said there are some things that we can do, but it's better that we don't.  Tattoos fall in that category for me because some day I'm going to be a preacher's wife and mommy :) I don't want people's mis judgement to interfere with God using me in their lives :) That said, i still appreciate a meaningful tattoo!

my trip to "the top of the world" :)

One of my favorite places to go is a look out point close to our house, "On Top of The World".  Today, i went up there just to take a walk and pick some wild flowers. 

While i walked around, i couldn't stop thinking, "WOW! this is so beautiful!"  From the edge of the Hill I could see out above all the land around me.  I was there among beautiful open fields with wild flowers sprinkled here and there.  The beauty took my breath away.  I took time to tell my Creator how wonderful he is, how he amazes me.  I like to think of my self as an artist, but he is above all. 

And then, a thought came to me, this beautiful scenery is not his masterpiece- I am.  Me?!? with my freckles, wide hips, and monkey toes?!?!  He created everything- molded each snow flake, folded a butterfly's fragile wings, painted the zebras' stripes....

 and placed each freckle on my nose.  

He loves me the most out of all of his beautiful creations.  He loved me enough to watch His perfect son, Jesus die in my place, just so we can spend the rest of forever together <3

So, now i see this lookout as a place to not only remember who my God is, but to see who I am to him <3 

i had the best day with you today ♥ Nanny

My Nanny is one of the most special people i know :)  When I'm with her she always has cookies and a smile to share.

Yesterday, on my trip home from Missouri, I stopped to spend a night with her.  I had no idea how wonderful the trip would be! We shared a pizza, the whole time Nanny chided me to eat more saying, "You can eat one more slice, can't ya? Please don't make me put away left overs..." Then, just as I'm about to bust, she pulls out peanut butter cookies!!!  After dinner, we sat in front of the TV, but we didn't pay one lick of attention to what was happening, there was far too much to discuss!!! As Nanny caught me up on each of my cousins, i noticed her socks.  The toes were stamped with the words "NO NONSENSE".  I just laughed to myself.  How fitting! My Nanny definitely is not one for nonsense!

When it was finally bed time we brushed our teeth, put on our pjs, and settled down into bed together.  We began talking about the way things used to be...  She told me about the things that make her eyes sparkle: when she met my pa at a wrestling match, the time he snuck out in the truck of a car just to see her, when she found out she was pregnant... She even shared the hurtful things: losing her first baby, watching my pa sail away, never knowing when she'd see him again, the day she found out Pa, the only man she's ever loved, was dying...  

This morning after breakfast, i took off toward's home.  As i drove away blowing kisses, i thanked God for Nanny & the most perfect day i could ask for <3

There will be forever a corner of my heart that belongs to my Nanny.

These are a few of my favorite things :)

"...when i'm feeling sad, i simply remember my favorite things, and then i don't feel so bad!"

I'm so excited (four more days!) for silas to come home (four more days!).  Even though it's getting closer (four more days!), i'm still missing him like crazy (because it's stilllll fourrrr more days!) an i'm in a bit of a fUnK.  What would make me feel better? You said it, Fraulein Maria! ...MY FAVORITE THINGS :) :) :)

10. Freckles!

"A girl without freckles is like a night without stars..."

The first time i saw the beauty of freckles was on my missions trip to Mexico in 2006.  Some of us teen girls were sitting with the little girls of the Church there.  I was wishing i had paid more attention in my high school Spanish class, when the precious little girl i was sitting by looked up and said "pecas".  I said "QUE?!?" I had no clue what she was talking about! lol Then she started pointing to my face, "pecas". I still looked dazed. She pointed to a freckle on my arm, and then to another while almost chanting "peca, peca..."  DING! The light bulb went on! my freckles :) i had plenty of them! i just smiled at the amazed and curious little girl.  Later, when i told the missionary about what had happened he said that Mexicans don't generally freckle, so they see this rarity as beautiful. Beautiful and Rare... that's me :)

9. Autumn

ahhhhh! the cool breeze, long sleeves, bright leaves, fall festivals :) Autumn is my FAVORITE time of year!

8. Percy <3

Percy is my four year old schnauzer :) I love him so much. He's always so happy to see me, he kisses me when i'm sad and sleeps with me when i'm lonely... He's my baby :)

7. Audrey Hepburn Movies

I am always intrigued by her Characters, grace, and classic beauty :) My favorite Audrey Hepburn movies are, My Fair Lady & Sabrina. 

6. Pregnant Bellies <3

I love to see pregnant women.  I love how each woman looks different with her baby belly :) 

they are so beautiful.

5. I Love Lucy

nothing else can make me laugh so hard :D

4. PINK!

Pink is my favorite color :) I can't help but smile when i'm surrounded by pink.

I believe that your favorite color says a lot about you, this is what mine means: 

Those who choose pink as their favorite color are often calm and sensitive and care about others feelings. Pink lovers are also generally sympathetic and compassionate and dislike controversy of any kind. 

WOWZA! Dead On :D lol

3. Quotes!

i'm always hunting for a good quote :)

2. jUsT daNcE! 

i love to dance! Square Dance, Chicken Dance, Ballroom Dance, or just being silly... Crank up the music :)

my #1 favorite thing...

1. SILAS!

He is the love of my life <3 My FAVORITE ;)

There's no place like... home?

When Silas found out he'd be at JRTC for almost a month, we both decided that it would be nice if I went "home" to Missouri while he was gone.  After Silas flew off to Louisiana for training,  and, the moment  I knew my little car could chug its way to Springfield, I was gone.  Now, two weeks later, I'm "homesick" :(  

WAIT!?!!? Wasn't that the point of coming "home"?!? 

So, is it Kansas I miss, with it's on-going fields of nothing-ness? Or our little apartment with bare walls and a dryer too small? And, why is it when i am in Kansas, Home is Missouri. But, in Missouri, Kansas is home?  

The more i thought about it the more I couldn't figure it out... WHERE IS MY HOME?!?! lol  Really? Have i been a nomad so long that I don't really even have a home any more?

But, then, last Sunday night, I realized what I was "homesick" for. It's not Kansas, even though Silas and I have a nice apartment there full of all of our belongings.  It's not even Missouri, with all my family and friends.  I'm homesick for xbox games that get way out of hand, tickle wars & the sound of his laugh, Sunday afternoon spaghetti, and curling up on the couch during a Smallville marathon...  Just like the saying goes, home is where your heart is. So, my home is with Silas.  He has my heart, and, he is my home <3 

...and like Dorothy said, there's no place like home :)