Sunday, October 31, 2010

Taking A Stand.

This weekend has been incredible. I cannot remember a time where God has touched my heart and opened my mind more than now. I cannot remember a time where I have been pushed more out of my comfort zone for God and ended up feeling so full of joy because of it. I cannot remember ever being filled with such a fervent desire to worship and praise and live completely for my God.

It's been amazing. And through it all, I've realized so many things. I've been passive in my relationship with my Savior, to say the least. No more. I don't want to waste a second. A friend facebooked me and said, "...I feel like I could just go on singing until the end of time..." about her youth retreat awhile back, and I responded with "It's as if I can't find enough words to praise Him by." And it's so true.

I'm completely overwhelmed by my Savior's love. By His Grace. By His mercy. Typing this, I'm starting to cry. There is no way to describe the feeling of being washed by Jesus--washed clean. I know He loves me; I know that He loves me so much, and the enormity of it makes me hurt. Not in a bad way, but in a sense of, "He loves a sinner like me enough to have died for me."

This weekend was about taking a stand. Living boldly for Christ. Listening to and following the promptings of the Holy Spirit. And surrendering everything to Jesus.

And I did. And I'm so glad that I did; life is filled with so much joy right now. I am so ; I'm just soaking his love in like a sponge and feel ready to burst.

With the surrendering, I surrendered my blog as well. And so I'm going to be taking a break from blogging for a bit; a time to refocus and refuel. I'm tired of playing the popularity game; tired of caring about numbers, followers, and commenters. Tired of writing to please someone else, and tired of being afraid to say something about my Jesus that could offend someone.

No more. I want to go stand outside and start singing Our God is Greater as loud as I can. My God is so good, so incredibly, amazingly, awesomely good, and I am so overwhelmed.

I'm writing this and cannot even explain. I'm DONE with fakey--there is no more posts just to post. Intentionality and authenticity; raw and real. That's what I want--that's who I want to be. Not a crowd pleaser or even someone who cares what the crowd things.

I wanna be someone who takes a stand. Every single day. In the smallest or largest ways I can for my God. And I don't care if that makes me uncool, or a loser. Call me a Jesus Freak and I'll be glad. Because honestly, to be called a Jesus freak is to be called that I'm so in love with my Savior. And I am. I'm so completely full of love for him right now. I want to praise Him all day long everyday in everything I do.

I'm sorry for being unreal; for being a crowd-pleaser; for conforming. I'm saying this to all of you, to myself, but especially to my Savior. I'm sorry for not being authentic.

No more. I can't stress it enough. I am done with fakiness. But I'm ready to be a passionate follower and herald of my Lord. Everyday, all day. Forever.

I am ready to take a stand. And I will. I am. Standing tall with my hands in the air and my voice praising my Savior.

My God is so good.

And I was so blessed by being able to do the worship with Alex, Ryan, Jake and Seth this weekend. One of the coolest things about it was how it touched me--even though I was singing. It wasn't about me at all, and I'm so glad. So eternally glad. I feel so grateful and blessed to have been able to have led worship. And that last session that we had? Or catacombs? Those were powerful. When you're worshiping with other believers, there's a hum in the air--an energy. A desire to serve and worship Christ Jesus.

I feel so blessed. Even more so because one of our youth leaders, Jason, and our pastor, Bob, asked Alex, Ryan, Jake, Seth and I to play at church. Throughout the weekend, we led 3-4 songs, but we always played the song, Love is Here. It was the song for the weekend.

So on Sunday, we sang that. And unbeknownst to us, Josh Skogerboe, videotaped it for us. So here's us this morning:


Love Is Here :: 180 Youth Music Team :: Living Hope Church, October 31, 2010 from Joshua Skogerboe on Vimeo.
I'm sorry if this post sounds choppy; I'm operating on about maybe fifteen hours of sleep in the past three days. Also, I've disabled comments on this post. If there's anything you want to talk to me about, you can always email me.

Ending on this final note...Praising Jesus and serving Him today and everyday.

Are you?

Friday, October 29, 2010

(short) Stream of Consciousness (and winners!)

Today's post is going to be fairly short because I have a lot to get done...which you'll see if you keep reading. But first, the winners of the Giveaway and the Fall Photo Challenge.
The Winner of the RMichelle Autumnal Collection Version Orange necklace is...
Email me at aspireblog[at]hotmail[dot]com with your address and I'll have RMichelle send you the necklace! :)

And the winner of the Fall Aspire Photo Challenge is Kate!
Kate had the favorite photo for the photo challenge. All of the entries were gorgeous, though! I loved seeing all of your autumn entries. :)


I'm entering a photo challenge...
I'm entering Carlotta's color photo challenge...here's my entry. I have a whole folder of these shots, but this one was one of my favorites...:)
And we'll dance in the flowers of golden hue, drinking in the sunlight.

And I'm off!
This weekend I've got a youth retreat from Friday till Sunday morn, and won't be back to the blogging world before then! However, I might write and schedule a few posts for Saturday and Sunday. We'll see. Several of my friends, Alex, Ryan, Jake, Seth and I are leading worship for the retreat, so it should be a blast. We've got one more practice tonight at four before we leave at six, and I think it's gonna be awesome. Soli Deo Gloria! :)

Goodbye to my blogging buddies! Will talk to you soon. But for now, it's off to do school, pack, clean, practice, and get into the word (just a few things to do/get done today). Have any big plans this weekend? I'd love to hear about them. :)

Thursday, October 28, 2010

He's so big.

sam
This is my sweet Sammy.
sam
He is getting so big.
sam
His food, he definitely likes.
sam
He's such a sweetie.
sam
And this face? This face gets me every time.
sam
He's curious, stealthy, adorable, and very smart. And he loves his family.
sam
Look at his eyes.
And this smile.
sam
It gets me.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Lovely Photo Wednesday - Loving the blues

Lovely Photo - Wordless or Not-So-Wordless Wednesday at Aspire

See these shoes? I love these shoes. Granted, they aren't the most practical for walking long distances, but aren't they just darling? And I love the color. Love, love, love. You all know how much I love blues. And like the pumpkins? This year, we bought nine; one for each person in our family. It'll be fun to carve them. Though I'm not fond of Halloween, I do love carving pumpkins. Perhaps I'll take a few pictures of our family's pumpkins this year...and maybe they'll end up on here. We'll see. The little ones don't carve their pumpkins, of course, but they do have fun watching. And I'm not a huge fan of orange, but on pumpkins, I can handle it. In fact, I actually kinda like it then. What are some of your favorite colors, color combination's, etc.?
Blue Shoes & Pumpkins
If you haven't played along before, link up your lovely photo and tell us a bit about it, or none at all. Write what you want or don't say anything, but share a picture and link it up below. Then, remember to bloghop around a bit and comment on at least three other entries. Ready? Go! :)

______
Also, make sure to enter in my giveaway for a lovely fall necklace!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

My Jesus Saves.

Lately, I've been struggling with a lot of extra baggage that I've been carrying. I've been poked and prodded and pricked with labels of this world that I let stick to me. And I've been living without joy, and instead with fear, sadness, guilt and shame.

But the other night, my mom asked me what was wrong, and I just broke down. We talked and I had to do a lot of renewal in my mind; had to get rid of a lot of old patterns. And then, we prayed, and my mom prayed for me.

I asked Jesus to forgive me; I asked that He'd take the weight from my back and carry it, because I couldn't anymore. And I just cried that He would heal me. It's hard, it's so hard to feel His forgiveness, but if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us. And I know I am forgiven, it's just the shame that I struggle with.

It's the letting go that's the hardest part.

We know that if we ask Jesus to come into our lives and to clean us, then there's no holding onto past shames. There's no guilt. There is only freedom in Christ Jesus. But part of our human nature wants to cling to that old stuff--we want to hold onto what's gone because then we have excuses. We can wallow in self-pity, and even get lost in shame.

But that's not life! That's not life at all. Jesus died on the cross to take away your sins that you could live gloriously for Him, and live forever with Him. There's no glorious living when you're holding onto what's already been forgiven; there's no joy in that heartache. What's the point in holding onto it? Why can't we let it go?

It's the hardest part. And it's something that I struggle with. I know that my sins are forgiven and that by the blood of my Savior I am washed white as snow. Yet I still cling to what He's already cleansed me of; because part of me doesn't want to let it go.

Because part of me is afraid of living for Him. Part of me is afraid of letting it go.

Living for Christ is not just a one time thing. As my mom said, "Faith is a day by day, moment by moment, sometimes breath by breath decision to look beyond the current reality and to cling to something greater.”

And it's true. Looking beyond the current reality; even if we're forgiven, we can still hold onto the guilt from the sins. But no more. There is no life in that. To cling to something greater; not to our shame, but to our Savior.

He makes life all worth it.

So today, I'm choosing to know that I am forgiven. I'm choosing to cling to something greater. I'm choosing to live a life for my Savior. It's like the song, You Are More, by Tenth Avenue North.
There's a girl in the corner
With tear stains on her eyes
From the places she's wandered
And the shame she can't hide

She says, "How did I get here?
I'm not who I once was.
And I'm crippled by the fear
That I've fallen too far to love"

But don't you know who you are,
What's been done for you?
Yeah don't you know who you are?


You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade.

Well she tries to believe it
That she's been given new life
But she can't shake the feeling
That it's not true tonight

She knows all the answers
And she's rehearsed all the lines
And so she'll try to do better
But then she's too weak to try

But don't you know who you are?


You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade.

You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade.

'Cause this is not about what you've done,
But what's been done for you.
This is not about where you've been,
But where your brokenness brings you to

This is not about what you feel,
But what He felt to forgive you,
And what He felt to make you loved.


You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade.

You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade.

You've been remade
You've been remade.
You've been remade.
You've been remade.

And I have. In Christ, I am a new person.

And I am free. Free to live vividly for Him.

Free.

My God is so good. And it makes me feel overwhelmed at times. Praising Jesus today and everyday. Because He is good, and powerful, and holy, and merciful, and just, and wise, and perfect.

And loving. So very loving.

My Jesus saves.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Apples + Caramel = Some Easy Yumminess


When I'm hungry, I like to eat caramel apples. There is something that is so yummy about the simple dessert. It's one of my favorite fall meals; in fact, I don't even think about touching it the rest of the year. So today, I am going to share with you my secret recipe for easily delicious caramel apples.

You ready? Okay, here you go...
I love caramel apples.

Super Secret Simply Delicious Caramel Apple Recipe

  • 1 container of caramel
  • 1 apple
  • a knife & plate and/or bowl
Serves one.
Cut up one apple in appropriate size slices. Put them on a plate and arrange them (or not). Then, take a spoonful (or two) of caramel and plop it on the plate/bowl as well. Eat and enjoy! Easy to double.

Now remember, that's an old family recipe. Yes sir, it goes all the way back to who-knows-when. So don't go around sharing that with everyone. It's a special treat for my readers. ;)
gotta love me some caramel.
Have any easy snack foods that you love? I'd love to hear about them and get some new ideas! :)

Ps if you haven't had a chance, make sure to enter into a giveaway for some lovely fall jewelry!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

A Fall present for You! {Giveaway}

It's Fall and I know that I love any new accessories or jewelry to brighten up my look, and I'm also pretty sure that my lovely readers would love something too!

So today, I'm giving away this gorgeous necklace from the very talented RMichelle! Isn't it pretty? I'm in love with the colors and the whole design. Make sure to check out her shop; there are some great gift ideas there! :)

And here's how you could win it...

To Enter:

Comment and tell me what your favorite part of Fall is. The leaves? Autumn foods? Scarves? Let me know!

additional ways to enter...

  • Follow Aspire (and let me know that you do!)
  • Blog about this giveaway
  • Favorite RMichelle's etsy shop
  • Spread the word about the giveaway (facebook it, tweet it, etc...)

Make sure to leave a new comment for each entry! This is to ensure that all of your entries count! The giveaway will end on Thursday night at 11:59pm CST, and the winner will be announced Friday morning.

Have a happy Sunday, sweet friends! :)

Friday, October 22, 2010

Fall Photo Challenge Finalists!

Woah. What an alliteration there! Anyways, as I'm in love with fall, this was an especially fun photo challenge. As is the case, I had a lot of trouble deciding upon my favorites, but in the end it came down to these five.


By Kate. What can I say? Sometimes, there's something so perfect about an fall leaf photo, and this one definitely caught my eye. Love the colors, light, and bokeh. And did I mention it was unedited?

By Noellen. I love driving through areas that are like this photo; where you're just surrounded by the glorious Autumn colors. This shot had it for me!

By Chelsey {The Paper Mama}. How darling is Ruari? I'm a sucker for pumpkin patch photos, as it is. Major cuteness there.

By Ashley Elliot. First of all, the DOF is amazing. And what a sweet photo! I love how the little girl is just clutching the leaf with just a few fingers; just adorable!

By SalicosFamilyBlog. I don't usually like selective coloring, but this one was too fun to resist. And I love how the shot feels so inviting because of the open door. But back to the pumpkin. Really, who doesn't love a good 'ol orange pumpkin? Especially one so proudly displayed.


Thanks to everyone who entered! You can vote for your favorite until Thursday night; the winner will be announced Friday! Have fun. :)
--Hannah

Stream of Consciousness

1. We have no microwave. Correction...we have a microwave, it's just sadly broken beyond repair. This is problmatic when we have food that needs to be microwaved. But moreso when we want popcorn. We've tried grilling it, and it turned out fine, just a bit burnt. But I'm okay, because I love Angie's popcorn. Haven't tried it? Go do so, my friends. Tried it? Then you know what I mean. They're like little bites of heaven. So. Very. Good.

2. I Love Tenth Avenue North.youaremorelyricsbytenthavenuenorth

They have some incredibly powerful songs. One of my favorites is their new one, You Are More. There's one verse in particular that stands out to me, and the other day, I wrote it down on a sticky note to remind myself it. Because it's so true, and sometimes we forget it. And it's good for me to be reminded of it.

3. I love this scarf. Recently, I've fallen in love with scarfs. I want to make one, buy one, buy ten...well, you get the point. And all because of this scarf that I got from my trip to Duluth (which I still have to tell you about)...
meandmyscarf
Granted, not the best picture of me, but you get the point. I love scarfs, especially that one. Which at the moment, is my only one. Will have to do something about that. If anyone wants to send me a scarf, I'd be eternally grateful! ;)

4. I take pictures...and then forget to finish the story. I see something--be it an event, a person, a moment, whatever--and I start to take pictures of it/them. But sometimes, I forget to document the whole thing. Like when I opened up an album in my computer and found these sandwich pictures. What was I thinking? Oh, right. Blog post. Well, they made it onto a blog post, just not how I expected...I guess I got too hungry. The world may never know.
chroniclesofasandwhich

5. I think this is corn. Why? Because...
1. I took it in a cornfield.
2. I took it in a cornfield.
3. I took it in a cornfield.
But then again, what do I know about corn?
Nothing, that's what.
ithinkitscorn

6. I am doing nothing today...and glad of it. It's nice to take a break and relax a bit; spend some time getting into God's word and praying. That sort of day. Well, come to think of it, I'm doing a sorta nothing day. Have ballet rehearsal at night, but that's an (almost) everyday thing. ;)

What are you doing today? Have anything fun planned? Read any verses that particularly stuck out to you lately? Let me know! I'm all ears. :)

Thursday, October 21, 2010

One of my favorite things about Fall...



promosoupphoto
Is soup.
GEDC1571
I
GEDC1570
Love
GEDC1568
Soup
GEDC1575
What's one of your favorite fall foods?

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Lovely Photo Wednesday - Izzes and a birthday!

Lovely Photo - Wordless or Not-So-Wordless Wednesday at Aspire
It's time for another Lovely Photo Wednesday! This photo taken from Saturday night, when I got my hair colored. There were all sorts of goodies at Lori's house (the gal from church who did our hair): chocolates, coffees, tomatoes, izzes, and pizza. You can't beat pizza, right? Hee hee...good 'ol American food. I just love izzes though, and wish we could have them more often. What happens is we buy them, and then they're gone. Guess that's how it is for a family of nine...;)

Also, make sure to stop by Bree's blog today and wish her a happy birthday! She's a lovely young lady with a heart for the Lord, and a love for modest fashion. Besides all that, she's got a passion for photography too! Remember to head over and sing a few verses of Happy Birthday to Bree. :)
Life is good.
If you haven't played along before, link up your lovely photo and tell us a bit about it, or none at all. Write what you want or don't say anything, but share a picture and link it up below. Then, remember to bloghop around a bit and comment on at least three other entries. Ready? Go! ;)

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Your questions...answered! :-)

Anyone remember when I asked my readers to ask me a question? Well, oh my goodness! There were a lot more questions than I thought. But I had so much fun reading over them and then answering them.

Note: As there were several repeat questions, if you asked me something and didn't see it answered, it's somewhere else in the post. :)

Maggie asked...How many hours do you spend at the dance studio every week? What do you spend that time doing? How long have you been doing pointe? And having size 10 feet, I need to know, is the rumor true that your feet can get up to 1 size smaller from pointe? Where do you get the inspiration for your posts? Who is your favorite blogger? How and where did you learn so much about HTML? (and later) 1. What kind of writing class are you taking? Where are you taking it? (it doesn't have to be the exact place, just like local college, for homeschool, etc. I am just curious to know where I can look for a writing class. :-) 2. What homeschool program/ciriculom (sp?) do you use? 3. Who is your favorite photographer? 4. How many page views do you get every day? what is the link to the writers message board that you are/were apart of that helped you improve your writing so much?

I spend roughly 10-13 hours at the studio every week. I teach on Monday nights for an hour, and on Saturday morning's from 10:30-11:30, I have pilates. The rest is spent doing ballet. I've been doing pointe since last summer, and I love it! And, my feet HAVE gone down a size. I used to wear an 8 1/2 shoe size, and I'm down to a 7 1/2 from pointe. So for me at least, the rumor is definitely true. ;-)

Oh, goodness. I get inspiration from so many things--photos, other posts of mine (and other people), good art, a verse, something in my life, something that I've felt on my heart, and anything in between. I guess you could say that I get my inspiration from many places. :-)

I don't have a favorite blogger, but I do love Ree, Kelle (I started following her blog back when I think she had 1000 some followers, and I've emailed her and she's emailed me back!) Amanda, Carissa, Lynnette, Abigail (even though she hasn't blogged forever!), and Carlotta. There are other bloggers that I enjoy, but if I listed them all, I'd take up this whole post. You know who you are! :)

For HTML, I've always loved gorgeous blogs and sites, and I didn't want to have someone else create it for me, so I started tinkering with my HTML, viewing source code (eep! I know), and googling things that I didn't know. The real help for me was when I got the Head First XHTML & CSS for Christmas--I would recommend it to any aspiring web designer who's still braving the jungles of code without a map! ;)

I'm taking a class not focused on serious novel writing, but on all aspects of writing, such as essays, short stories, biographys, etc...It's called Writing Foundations, and I believe that the teacher offers it online.

I use so many different programs and curriculum for my school. Let me see if I can think of them all: Saxon Math, Apologia Science, Beautiful Feet History, LLATL British Literature, 12th Grade Daily Grams, Rosetta Stone Italian, My Writing Class for writing, and then we're doing some root words this year. I probably missed something there, but oh well. ;)

I was actually thinking of putting a page up with my favorites. Stay tuned...;)

I don't know the average, but yesterday I had 1,296 page views.

And the Message Board was actually the Nickelodean Story Boards; I was on them from I think 10-11 (maybe a bit when I was 12). They really just solidified my writing style, funny as it sounds. Though I was little, so that's not saying much...I did have a very popular story though! hee hee...


...

Ashley Jean asked...I have one question just for the fun of it...In football terms, Minnesota Vikings or Green Bay Packers?

I have to stay true to my roots! (ha!) Vikings all the way! Though truthfully, I know absolutely nothing about football and can only name about three-five teams. But I'll cheer for my team! :)


...

carlotta asked...I know you're planning on getting a DSLR...what kind?

I've gone back and forth between Nikon and Canon and all sorts of types of each, but that's what I've finally settled on (and finally felt like God is saying, "This is it.") Is the Canon T1i.


...

Rachel M. asked...I have a question: what is one html point that we ( that I can, I should say ;) can understand easily?

Oh, goodness. Let's see...HTML is such a huge thing so it's hard to think of one singular point that's the most important. But I would say to really remember that HTML is for STRUCTURE, not design, and CSS is for STYLE. So for example, if you wanted to make the background color of your blog blue, you wouldn't go like this in your HTML:
<background color="blue">
instead, you'd add something like this in your CSS code.
#body {
background-color:#419ea5;
}
Of course, in between the brackets, you'd have more stylistic techniques, but I'm just highlighting the main idea here. Okay--hopefully that made some sense! ;-)


...

~Miss Raquel asked...If you could tell all the young ladies in the world ONE thing...what would you say to them?

It sounds like such a cliche answer, but I'd want to tell them that they are beautiful and that they are so loved by Jesus.

...

lauren anne asked...What is your favorite type [style] of music? What aspect do you like best about blogging?

Okay. I am SO bad at knowing the style of music. I just listen. Ha! But probably pop, contemporary and some rock. I especially love Big Band and Swing; mainly because I love singing that way.

What aspect do I like best about blogging? Wow. These questions are really causing me to think--which isn't a bad thing. ;) Alright, I'd have to say that I love being able to share my life and what's on my heart with the world.

...

Bree asked...1. What type of camera do you use? 2. How do you edit your photos? 3. Is it possible make a blog background in Gimp? 4. How long have you been blogging? 5. What types of dance do you take? (I know you have probably already told us this, but I forget.) 6. What program do you use for your blog design? 7. How many designs have you done? 8. How do you make a NavBar? 9. What is your favorite color? 10. Have you ever bleached your hair with lemon juice? 11. If so, what happened?

I currently use a GE point-and-shoot, but as I mentioned in the comment to Carlotta, I'm saving for my Canon T1i.

Oh, my goodness. How do I edit my photos? I edit all of my photos with a different style (usually). I often use photoshop actions that I've created, or sometimes, other actions. (though, not often--I find that the actions I've created often suit my photos better than actions created by someone else, probably just because of the fact that I created them especially for my photos. ;-)) But for a quick edit, I'll usually make a new layer, put it on soft light, adjust the curves (so the brightness is higher) underneath the soft light, maybe edit the colors/saturation/vibrance, and then lastly sharpen this. (this is without using a action.) But it all really depends on the photo. I'll try to put up a post devoted to this topic later this week! :)

It is possible--in fact, when I used to use gimp, I created a few.

I've been blogging since September 13, 2007 (I went and looked at my first blog and hunted down the exact date for you all!). I blogged at homeschoolblogger for a few years, then switched to blogger on January 24 2009. And the rest is history. ;)

I take ballet in an academy modeled after a traditional vagonava school, so it's always ballet and pretty intense. And I do pilates (if that counts!)

I use Photoshop CS4 for my designs. And how many have I done? Oh, my. I just checked and I've done 14 complete blog designs (including mine, my mom's, and one for a really close friend of mine.) In addition to that, I've made numerous blog buttons and recently completed a job for a gal who wanted a new header. I have two ways that I make a nav bar--I either make a header/design in photoshop, then go into dreamweaver to map it out, or I code out a div in CSS and add the HTML to my page. (if anyone's interested, I can write out a tutorial on it...let me know!)

My favorite color is blue (surprise, surprise!) and I've never bleached my hair, but I've been tempted to. I don't know what would happen if I ever do!

...

Samantha asked...Ninjas or pirates?

Hee hee...I love questions like this. Easy and fun. I'd have to say pirates, because there's something about the very word that (for me) brings to mind images of splashing waves, islands of green palms and sparkling white sands, the feel of the sea underneath me and the rough touch of wood, a briny smell, and the sense of adventure--of things never been done before, yet now in sight.

...

Elizabeth Rose asked...How did you come to know the Lord? (and please tell the whole story!) What is a Scripture verse that has really stuck in your head this week? Favorite Christian music artist? Favorite non-Christian music artist? What photo-editing program do you use? What type of camera do you use? Do you use any lenses for your camera? Favorite movie(s)? Favorite book(s)? Have you ever really wanted something and God told you "wait"? Favorite thing about dance (besides worshiping the Lord)? Best thing about being on pointe? Worst thing about being on pointe?

I've grown up in a Christian family and am so grateful for that. But the first time I remember committing my life to the Lord was when I was about eight years old...and I was sweeping. I've re-dedicated my life to Christ just recently on a mini youth retreat. Honestly, Romans 12:2 is always running through my mind. My favorite Chrstian artist is Tenth Avenue North, and for favorite non-Christian artist, I honestly don't have one.

I use Photoshop CS4 for my photo-editing, and like I said in my comment to Bree, I currently use a GE point-and-shoot. And since it is a point-and-shoot, no I don't have any lenses (I wish, though!) When I purchase my DSLR, the first lens that I want to get is the 50 mm.

Favorite movies? I'll just list a few that I really enjoy--not to say these are the only ones, because there are definitely many more, but here are just a few. Secondhand Lions, the LOTR Trilogy, Princess Bride, Phenomenon, Ever After, Secretariat (Got to go see an early, private screening of it!), Hulk, The Prince of Egypt (always loved this movie), and some PIXAR faves...Up, The Incredibles, Cars, Bolt, Finding Nemo, and Kung Fu Panda. Hee hee...can't go wrong with those movies. :)

Favorite books I can't even touch upon really. The bible, obviously. And actually, now that I think about it, The Book Thief is probably my favorite book. Very powerful and as family friend remarked, "Masterful language." I cried in it, and I've only cried in three books--that one, Rilla of Ingleside, and Walk Two Moons.

Yes. Many times actually. I've gotten very close to being able to buy my camera, but there's been this sense of, "Not yet." And it's hard. It's so, very hard. But I've prayed about it and I know that it's not time yet. I had a similar experience with my laptop, and in fact, was unable to purchase it even when I had enough funds, and had to wait a month or so. I ended up getting a better deal and an insane amount of incredible software because I did wait. I won't lie though--it was very hard. And still is. But God is good and His plan is so much bigger and greater than what I can even comprehend.

I'm going to quote from what I said in the paper (oh, yes--I got interviewed for an article about our ballet studio and it made it to the paper. eek! I was so excited. :)) I love being able to dance in a way that's beautiful and an art form.

The best thing is how beautiful pointe can look (if done right) and the worse is the pain, and the constant problem of needing new pointe shoes. I use Grishko soft, and have to go and get the Grishko Strong, which, for those of you who don't dance ballet, has the strongest shank of any pointe shoe there is.

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Hannah M asked...About how much time to you spend on the internet/blogging each day? How long does it usually take you to write a blog post? When did you start going on pointe? Do you do any other types of dance other than ballet? When and how did you become interested in photography? How long have you been using photoshop? What type of photoshop do you have...Is it Elements or CS?

Too much, I'd say. ;) My business is pretty much all on the computer, so I spend a lot of time using my laptop. Although, I have cut back on the amount of time since school started, but I still need to get better with my time management, because there's a lot more stuff that matters more. :)

To be completely honest...it can take me about 15 minutes, but I'm a perfectionist in the fact that I edit and edit and edit. ha! but I think it once took me 2 hours to write a post, because of all the photos I edited for it. That's the most time consuming part.

I remember about a year ago, I had gone to a blog, saw some pretty pictures, then went outside to take some pictures of a flower, thinking "This is easy. What's the point? I can do this too." I grabbed my digital camera (not the one that I'm currently using) and took some pictures, while realizing with a sinking feeling that my pictures did NOT look like what I had seen. That's when I got interested--seriously--in photography. And why? Maybe it was God giving me a little push and saying, "Go." :-)

I've been using photoshop since February something. I'm completely self-taught in the fact that I've never taken a class, but I've definitely googled my share of tutorials. ;)

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Anna Gray asked...What editing program do you use for your photos? How did you get so many followers? What is your inspiraton for your photos?

How did I get so many followers? Sometimes I wonder this myself. Hee hee...I'm not entirely sure how I got so many followers, but I am so grateful for them. The best advice I can offer is to comment a lot, write a good amount of posts with interesting content (and keep the text talk limited--or nonexistent), and have a good design and make sure to put in some pictures. I wrote a post on this here.

I am inspired by the beauty that I see everywhere, everyday, in the littlest and sometimes most ordinary of things.

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Coby asked...I love hearing you talk about the relationship between you and your brothers and sisters. What did your parents do to cultivate those relationships?

Ooh. Good question. I think that the biggest thing that they've done is to really bring us up in a mindset of Family First. Jesus at the center, of course, but family comes before friends. That's why when my friends come over, we don't really kick out my little sibs...at least not often! :)

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Ann asked...what is the best/worst thing about being from a large family?

The best thing is simply being a large family--I love all of my siblings (and of course my amazing parents) and can't imagine life without them. I'm so blessed to have them all in my life, and I love living surrounded by people that I love! The worst part is probably that going anywhere can be an ordeal in that fact that it takes a bit to get everyone ready, and then there's always some person who counts us all as we pass by. (no joke!)

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Erin asked...How did you get involved in blogging? How tall are you? :)

My mom starting writing on my dad's caringbridge site when he was diagnosed with cancer, and after he was cancer free, started blogging. I loved the very idea of blogging, and asked to start a blog. And like I said before--the rest is history.

I'm about 5'5, 5'6. I think I'm supposed to grow a bit more. My mom's side of the family is really tall--and in fact, she's the shortest in her family (besides HER mom) at 5'7. And her youngest sister is 5'10. :)

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Evergreena asked...1. What's your favorite font? 2. Do you like Nutella? 3. What do you prefer: Spring or Autumn? 4. Are you going to do NaNoWriMo? 5. Do you have a "life verse"?

My favorite script font is probably Aquarelle at the moment, favorite serif would be georgia, and for sans-serif, I love Nilland, Century Gothic, and GeoSansLight. :)

I love Nutella. Love, love, love Nutella. I prefer Autumn, though I love Spring as well. I'm still debating doing nanowrimo this year. And my lifeverse would definitely have to be Romans 12:2. Surprise, surpise there. ;-)

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Mia asked...I also can't help but wonder where you learned all you know about html and graphic design. You're simply amazing at it :) If you don't mind me asking... what denomination are you (if any)?

Awh! Thank you. You talked about learning about HTML earlier in this post (mostly by trial and error as well as google), but for design, it just sort of came naturally. Not sure else how to explain it. And I'm Lutheran. :)

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Rachel asked...What are your favorite and least favorite parts of being homeschooled? How about being a part of a large family? Also, what is your favorite genre to write?

To be completely honest, I love everything about homeschooling and I can't think of anything that I dislike about it. I feel so blessed and I'm so grateful that my parents decided to homeschool me and my siblings. And I love to write fantasy, but I love to write my life out--as in blogging. :)

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Ellyn asked...If you could get another sibling free of charge, who would it be? (Can be older or younger)

I love being the oldest, so I'd love another younger sibling.

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Kaboom asked...Yeah! I have some questions...What DO you prefer? Canon or Nikon? How do you take a pic with bokeh? Would you guest post on my blog? (Here's the site so you can look 'er over)http://chazak-kaboom.blogspot.com/

Canon. Not sure why, it's just always felt like the brand to go with...once I buy my camera. I'm not expert on bokeh, but if you want to play around with bokeh, go outside and take a picture of some trees with the light streaming through them...except don't focus on them. Point-and-shoots are bad for bokeh, but with DSLR's, the different DOF effect the background bokeh. As much as I love being asked to guest post, at the moment I just simply don't have enough time. But I appreciate it! :)

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Christy, Home-Mom.com Asked...great idea! Well I'm working on building a large family it seems, having our 4th next month. We homeschool and love it really. How would you say your home was a success as far as big families go and being homeschooled? Also I love taking pictures but once I take them I have a hard time deleting even the worst pictures because well they're of my kids. Do you keep all your pictures or delete?

For one thing, my parents really feel that homeschooling and having a large family is what God is saying for our family. This isn't necessarily the case for everyone, but I know that there has been so much prayer put into it. It's a success in so far that there is such a joy and a blessing in being home and being around family all the time. I love my siblings and I couldn't imagine my life without them, just as much as I couldn't imagine my life at school instead of home.

I'm terribly bad at not deleting pictures...;)

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Ms. Givens asked...Do you keep photo albums anymore?

On my computer, yes. Otherwise, no. Although, my mom has several scrapbooks/photo albums from when my sister Chloe and I were really little. :)

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Lindsay asked...What's your favorite thing to photograph? How do you get so much bokeh with a point and shoot camera? You amaze me! What's a typical day like at your house? What's your favorite song? What's your favorite movie? Who's your favorite actor?

People. I love photographing people. I love being able to capture and celebrate a moment, a feeling, an expression. Though, I do love macro. Yet I hate the term. I'll just call it, I love taking pictures of little things. I'm not sure how I get so much bokeh, honestly. But awh, thank you! :)

A typical Monday might go like this...
6:32-7:30 : wake up
8:30 eat breakfast / start school
11:50 break for lunch
1:00 start up again
2:00-3:00 finish school (usually)
3:30 get ready for ballet
4:15 get to the studio
4:30-5:30 teach
5:30-6:30 wait at the studio
6:30-9:00 ballet
9:23 get home
9:35 read, use my computer, watch I Love Lucy (honestly!)
10:45 get ready for bed
10:50-11:20 read and then go to bed.
It varies though...:)

By Your Side & Healing Begins by Tenth Avenue North are my favorite songs (in that order). And no favorite actor here. :)

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Caroline asked...1. Who is your favorite character that you've written? 2. Have you ever done Nanowrimo? (similar to Evergreena) 3. What's your favorite piece of clothing/accessory?

Probably Eirad, who was the MFC in my Nanowrimo 09 novel. Yes, I've done nanowrimo, and it was a blast! Though I was very tired by the end of the month...

My favorite piece of clothing would have to be my jeggings--love them--or a super cute blue top from Kohls. My favorite accessory would be my multi-colored, sorta-tassled, scarf. :)

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Maggie asked...1. What kind of writing class are you taking? Where are you taking it? (it doesn't have to be the exact place, just like local college, for homeschool, etc. I am just curious to know where I can look for a writing class. :-) 2. What homeschool program/ciriculom (sp?) do you use? 3. Who is your favorite photographer? 4. How many page views do you get every day? what is the link to the writers message board that you are/were apart of that helped you improve your writing so much?

I'm taking a class not focused on serious novel writing, but on all aspects of writing, such as essays, short stories, biographys, etc...It's called Writing Foundations, and I believe that the teacher offers it online.

I use so many different programs and curriculum for my school. Let me see if I can think of them all: Saxon Math, Apologia Sciece, Beautiful Feet History, LLATL British Literature, 12th Grade Daily Grams, Rosetta Stone Italian, My Writing Class for writing, and then we're doing some root words this year. I probably missed something there, but oh well. ;)

I was actually thinking of putting a page up with my favorites. Stay tuned...;)

I don't know the average, but yesterday I had 1,296 page views.

And the Message Board was actually the Nickelodean Story Boards; I was on them from I think 10-11 (maybe a bit when I was 12). They really just solidified my writing style, funny as it sounds. Though I was little, so that's not saying much...I did have a very popular story though! hee hee...

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Whew! Okay...I think I got them all. Chocolate chip cookies for those who read the whole thing. :)

-hannah

Monday, October 18, 2010

It's Monday...

It's Monday and I'm feeling tired. I'm feeling a bit behind. I'm feeling a bit beaten down.

But I'm going to meditate on these verses today...

11 You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

12 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.
Psalm 30:11-12

Kinda puts it in a bit of perspective. My heart will not be silent; I will give thanks to my God forever. Reading verses like that make me feel better already. They remind me of the glory of God, and how good God is. No matter what, He's always perfect, holy, and loving. And that makes me want to go sing praises to Him from the rooftops, because He's so good. Because He loves me and died for me and wants a relationship with me. That's the coolest thing ever.

And I got my hair done at a girls night on Saturday with some gals from our church. It now has some nice red tints in it. I'm really loving it.
before&after
And there's a lot of this outside...
fall
Ahh. Despite everything I said in the beginning sentences, I'm starting to feel good. I think today will be a good day. Praising Jesus for today.

What are you doing on this fine Monday morning?

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Finally Feeling Fully like Fall...

Notice anything different? Yes...I've finally put up my new Autumn look. What do you think? I kept some of the blue, because I couldn't bear to completely get rid of it, but I did add some reds and browns. I love the feeling of my blog right now--still the same design, just tweaked for the Fall.

I've also rewritten my about me page, so I'd love for you to check that out. I've kept this design waiting for a bit, just making sure it was ready to put up. And since I was feeling a bit uninspired for a post today, I thought I'd put this up.

What do you think? Also, answers to the questions coming tomorrow...stay tuned. :)

Have a happy week, sweet friends!
--Hannah

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Aspire Photo Challenge - Falling in love with Autumn


Aspire Photo ChallengeAspire Photo Challenge
Like I said, I'm seeing Fall everywhere, so what better photo challenge than an Autumn one? Although red leaves are the typical fall photo, they do truly say autumn. Whenever I see them I'm reminded of leaf fights, hay rides, bonfires, a cup of chai in my mittened hands, woolen hats, autumn coats, a crisp, chilly, almost spicy smelling air, and late movie nights with the family. Mmm...don't you just love fall? I sure do. ;) As I've stated numerous times, it's my favorite season. What reminds you of autumn? And why? Tell me...or better yet, link up with your fall photo.
Autumn Loveliness
If you haven't played along before, choose a photo that you've taken that best represents the category for this week to you. Then make sure to grab a button to include in your post. And remember to bloghop around a bit; a photo challenge is more fun if there's an active group of photogs partaking in it, so make sure to visit at least three other entries and comment on them. You've got till next Friday night to link up, so have at it! Finalists will be posted on Sunday. :)

Friday, October 15, 2010

Stream of Consciousness

1. I love this guy.
I love him.As in, I seriously, completely, one hundred percent love him. And it seems like everyone we meet loves him. We were down at the orthaepedic center for my foot, and at least four people came up and remarked on his adorableness. One even said that he stole her heart.
Look at his eyes.
Newsflash. He stole mine ages ago.

2. a Wardrobe Armoire. That's what I really need. I barely have enough room in my little closet for my clothes. But lately, I think I have a thing for boots lately. A week and a half ago, I got my boot, and now I'm getting some more boots from CSN. And my question to you is...which one do you think it is that I'll be reviewing? How well do you know me? ;)


3. I love snapple. Even the name is fun to say. Snapple, snapple, snapple. Try it. Snapple, snapple, snapple. Okay, I'll stop. Do you like snapple? Or no? Why? And if not...what's one of your favorite beverages?
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4. Changes are coming to Aspire First of all--nothing major is gonna happen to the site/design. Just a few tweaks to give it a more autumn feel. Because, let's face it: it's not screaming fall right now. However...after the new design, well, let's just say that we'll see. Stay tuned! ;)

5. Amendment to ramble number 3. Coffee. As much as I love snapple, coffee has it beat. And Caribou? Mmm...:)
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6. New photo challenge coming on Saturday. Get ready--another photo challenge will be up tomorrow. The theme this week? Autumn. What else? Get your Fall photos ready!

7. We've got photographers in our house... Brennan's taking pics all the time now. He wants to use my camera whenever he can. I love looking at the photos he takes. It's interesting to see his eye.
brennanphotography

8. Thursday was a good day. A very, good day. Why? I got to go back to ballet! Only a half class, because I couldn't do anything in the center with my foot, but I got to do barre. Believe me, I was so happy. And my foot--my foot is feeling good. Ahh...so happy. :)

What's on your agenda today? Have anything special you're doing? I'd love to hear about it! Have a happy Friday, sweet friends!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

I love breakfast, especially this...

If you're in need of something yummy...
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And want to have that something that melts in your mouth...
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Especially if you love icing...
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Plus cinnamon...
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Then I would suggest making some Cinnamon Rolls.
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They're yummy and oh-so-deliciously-flaky, and when you spread the icing on on them, it melts and creates a sweet, sticky mess.
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Heaven.
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Look at that...perfection on a plate.
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What's your favorite breakfast food? and why do you like it so much? I'd love to know!