Silent night

As I’m writing this, I’m sitting in the glow of the Christmas tree, enjoying the silence. All the kids have been tucked into bed, and are no doubt now dreaming about tomorrow morning. I’m sure I will be woken quite early by the excited squeals of my sibilings, but for now, I am delighted by the peace of the moment.

The presents are wrapped and under the tree.

The littles have lovingly laid out cookies and a glass of milk for Santa.

It is Christmas Eve, the most magical night of the year. But the gifts and sweets are not what makes tonight so enchanting for me. The real beauty of Christmas is the birth of my Lord.

If you listen, you can almost hear it; the waiting. Tonight is the night that the world is filled with a quiet anticipation; the night that joyfully proclaims the coming of my Savior.

And that, is what makes tonight so magnificent.

Merry Christmas,

~ Abby

The wonders of sunday afternoons

Sunday afternoons, in my opinion, are one of the best times of the week. After church, my family and I normally swing by the local taco bell, before heading home and enjoying a relaxing afternoon of nap taking and book reading. Today however, deviated from my regular Sunday program.

You see, I have this awesome friend named Leah. And she has an awesome personality, and an awesome sense of fun. So you see, she's pretty much an awesome person.

And this Sunday we decided to go on a little adventure.

 Our journey first began on a mile long walk to the nearest mcdonalds. When we arrived, we proceeded to eat delicious ice cream and take pictures of ourselves seductively eating the treats. The foremost was exceedingly easy, but we pretty much failed at the second. Then, seeing a store right across from Mickey D's, we decided to do a little shopping.

We encountered many colorful characters on this escapade.

Elmo, my childhood hero.

Seriously, these were disturbing. What kind of person would want to stick their child's foot into Spongebob's mouth? *shudders*

We even met a celebrity... The pig from Angry Birds himself! 

And we ended our shopping experience with a photoshoot in the toilet paper aisle, 'cause we're awesome like that.

We completed the day with pizza, a round of sardines with some friends, and one epic ping pong tournament. Yes I know, we're such party freaks.

 Life is good. :)

 ~ Abby

In which i confess

I think I’ve learned something very important this school semester. Something that I never would have thought I would take away from the hours and hours of chemistry and composition. In fact, it’s a lesson I didn’t even realize I needed to learn.

What is it you ask?

Well, to put it quite simply, a lesson in contentment.

You see, I’ve always loved to be busy, even as an infant. I’ve been told that as a toddler, as soon as I got up in the morning I’d go to my mother and say “Mommy, where are we going today?” In my eyes, there was always somewhere more exciting to be. Staying at home you say? Please.  I had places to go, things to see, and people to meet!

Looking at the calendar earlier this week, I seriously almost panicked. I mean, there are so many empty days over Christmas break. To a girl who is used to being gone all day almost everyday, that prospect is pretty daunting.

Surprisingly though, I’ve enjoyed the past two days of break. Sure, I’ve had a couple of moments when I’ve felt like my sibilings are going to send me to a mental hospital, but other than that, I’ve pretty much enjoyed it.

My point is that I’m learning to be content with my situation, if that makes sense. To enjoy and be satisfied with the simple things in life; to be fulfilled with the life God gave me. Now I’m not saying that I want to be an old maid and own 62 cats, but I’m also saying that perhaps it isn’t such a bad thing to have a few ‘off days’.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still struggling with feeling like I’m stuck at home with nothing to do. I’m trying to enjoy my time of peace, while reminding myself that I won’t be completely un-busy. After all, there are still graduations and parties to attend, movies to watch, and books to read… Not to mention the small matter of Christmas. :) (And no chemistry for two whole weeks! Whoop whoop!)

So, does anyone else struggle with this, or am I the only one?

~ Abby

p.s. I’m in desperate need of some new books to read… Any suggestions would be much appreciated. :)

Today was a fairytale :)

Actually, Friday was a fairytale. I’m a little late posting this, but better late than never right?

One of the most loverliest nights of my life was last Friday. And it began with my dear friend Jana.

You see, we got ready together for a dance that our homeschool co-op hosted.

I’m not sure that the term ‘getting ready’ quite describe the four hours of epic that ensued. I do believe that we spent about one hour of that time doing our hair and makeup, and the remaining three hours jumping around, pretty much drunk with giddiness and excitement. We danced and twirled around her room, *attempted* to rap Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass”, and teased each other about specific male figures in our lives.

(This wasn’t taken on Friday, but this is pretty much what we look like most of the time when we’re together.)

Yeah, we pretty much acted like teenaged girls.

Aren’t we an attractive bunch? :P

At about 6:30, this awesome group of individuals met at her house, and we went to dinner together. Our table was right across from the restaurant’s giant window, and we got a lot of strange looks. (Apparently seeing about a dozen teenagers dressed up in formal wear and chowing down on burgers and other such delicacies is not an everyday occurrence.) Somehow I managed to make it through the meal without spontaneously combusting from pure anticipation, which is quite a feat if you ask me.

After we finished eating, paying the waitress, and practicing our socialization skills, we squashed into the van and zoomed off to the dance.

It. Was. Magic.

I enjoyed every moment of it; the drinking of punch, the hysterical laughing, and the freaking out after a boys asked to slow dance. While slow dancing with a good friend of mine, he asked if I was enjoying myself. My answer: “I wish it didn't have to end." 

Because, to be quite frank, it was one of the most magical nights of my life.

~ Abby



I think you're pretty neat.

Dear girl in the green dress,

I had so much fun getting ready with you. :) You looked absolutely stunning. However, I’m not sure if we spent more time doing our hair and makeup, or dancing around and freaking out together. :D

Remember, the score still stands at 11-1 :P

Mwahahahaha,

Your angelic twin

Dear guitar dude,

I hope you know that we’re just friends, but I had a good time with you. I hope you did as well. And no, you did not step on my toes. :)

Candidly,

Your friend

Dear ponytail,

No, my shoes aren’t red, they’re scarlet. :P Thanks for dancing with me, and thank you for your words of wisdom. It’s much easier to hear it from someone like you.

Gratefully,

Clueless

Dear girl in the “jewel tone dress”,

You my dear, are a fun person. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you better this year; I’m very glad we’re friends. :) (And I think I ought to tell you that you looked lovely as well.)

Remember the dictionary hehe,

Myself

Dear cupcake man and his girl,

You two are one of the most adorable things I have ever seen. Seriously. :)

Honestly,

Cupcake man’s cousin

Dear yellow and blue,

I think you’re pretty neat.

Trying not to blush,

A girl

~ Abby



Today i am...

Drinking peppermint tea

Hoping it will snow soon

Listening to Christmas songs

Eating breakfast for lunch

Wishing I could do this:

Wearing purple tights

Loving this:

Yup, pretty much my first ballet class as a 5 year old. :)

Wishing I was at Hogwarts. Or Middle Earth. Or Narnia.

I’m not really picky.

Happy Monday :)

~ Abby

 

Seeing red

I do believe I’ve fallen in love…

With the color red. :)

It all started when I purchased a dress for an upcoming winter formal I’m attending. The dress I chose is black and sparkly, so I’d thought I’d purchase a pair of red heels to add a pop of color.

These are pretty similar to the pair I bought. No, I do not find them difficult to walk in, but that may or may not be because I’m a beast. :P

After buying those shoes, I suddenly began to realize what a gorgeous color red really is. (I’ve always been a blue kinda gal for the most part). But really, red is such a confident, bold, fearless color. Plus, there are so many fun ways to say it; scarlet, ruby, rose, crimson, etc.

Now I’m beginning to see red everywhere, including when I’m at the store trying on crazy hats.

It’s even on the Macy’s logo, which happens to be where I bought the dress that started my crimson craze.

Nope sorry, not going to show the actual dress… At least for now. :) It is under wraps… Literally! :P

Now due to my scarlet obsession, I’m in love with the classic red nail. It makes me think of old fashioned movie stars, and the 40’s.

I’ve even gone as far to purchase a red sweater-thingie. Oh well, I’ll blame my splurge on my very serious ruby disorder. :)

So what colors do you love? Am I the only one with scarlet fever?

~ Abby

Hello December

Hello December, I’ve been waiting for you. :)

You’re such a magical month. You always turn up right as I’m beginning to tire of the wet, cold, and dreary month of November.

You brighten my day when I see Christmas lights cheering up and bringing warmth to homes.

You make me think of curling up with a book and a warm blanket, while it snows outside.

You cause me to ponder the art of making the perfect cup of hot chocolate.

You dazzle me with the beauty of God’s creation when I see scenes like this:



And to be quite frank December, you make me

So, hello December. Care to stay for a while?

~ Abby

p.s. all photos courtesy of weheartit, which I discovered yesterday and am now in love with. <3

Favorite photos: the color edition

I had planned on trying to catch up on my 52 project today, but my camera is having a relapse. So in order to feel somewhat productive, I thought that I'd post some of my favorite pictures I've taken in the past few months. A black and white edition should be along in a week or so. :)

Things like this make me smile. :)

Jana, my gorgeous friend. :)

Oh my gosh guys, IT IS SNOWING OUTSIDE!!! I'm sure that I won't be very excited about snow in a month or so, but right now it makes me realize that the most beautiful season of the year is just around the corner.

~ Abby

Getting back into the swing of things

Thanksgiving break is officially over, which has forced me to return to the reality of school. But I'm actually kind of excited, I feel like break has refreshed me, and I feel prepared to tackle my huge hill of homework. I've missed getting to see friends at classes, and being busy. I'm even, drumroll please, looking forward to chemistry class tomorrow! *cue gasps and dramatic music*

I've made a short list of things I'd like to accomplish before Christmas break. I decided to post them to help keep me motivated; at Christmas break I'll probably go back and see what I have (and haven't) gotten done... Hopefully it won't be too depressing.

Now, on with the list!

Kick My Annoying Habit of Procrastination

Hello, my name is Abby, and I've been a procrastinator for the past 16 years. When I'm assigned something in one of my classes, I tend to have a lot of enthusiasm for it at first. But then the procrastination monster comes out, and I put it off. Then it doesn't get done until 3 am the morning of class, and I end up looking like this:

Keep Up With My 52 Photography Project

Ehh, I think I'm only about 4 weeks behind... No big deal, right? WRONG. The reason I'm doing this is to help me warm up for the 365 Photography Project, which I'm planning on starting in January... But if I can't keep up with one measly picture a week, then I definitely won't be able to take one picture a day.

Write at Least 15,000 for My NaNo Novel

I don't think that I've shared this on my blog, but I am writing a book. And I was participating in National Novel Writing Month. (Was being the operative word). But with my crazy schedule, I only actually wrote 3,000 words. I know, pathetic. However, I will say that I am very pleased with how its going so far; I have strong plot and good characters, so it'll go well if I just STICK WITH IT.

Be a Better Blogger

This is pretty much self explanatory. I feel like most of my posts as of late haven't really had any real point... So here's to writing more meaningful or at least more entertaining posts! *raises glass and cheers*

Anything you are wanting to accomplish before Christmas break?

~ Abby