in which i paid money to walk 3 miles.

this last saturday my work sponsored a 5k run to earn money for our local food bank. i committed to participate before i even realized the words were coming out of my mouth. you see, i don't do things like that. and by things like that i mean: run.but alas bright and early saturday morning some of my siblings, myself and my dad went to participate in the 5k.

even though i walked nearly the whole way and it took me about an hour, i did have a good time. the trail was beautiful and it was nice to have some time to talk with my brother and sister (who stayed with me the whole time).

and now, because i have a good sense of humor, i thought i'd share the video of me crossing the finish line. please ignore my me-ness and my weird burst of laughter for absolutely no reason. i mean really, it was early in the morning.

♥ ♥

in which i ride a camel.

you know, i love holidays that are nearly irrelevant but that give me extra days off. like today for example. not laboring on labor day? genius.

because we all had the day off, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and took a little trip down to the dallas zoo.

it was lovely.

my brother even got me on a camel. yes, all, i rode a camel. it was... frightening but also sort of cool. but i think the highlight of my day was watching my mother get onto a camel. perfect.

i love the zoo. i could sit for hours and watch the elephants and giraffes. i know all they do is walk around and eat but there is something so fascinating about them that captivates me.
what's your favorite zoo animal? and what'd you all do for labor day?

♥ ♥

26.

well, tomorrow is the day. and to be honest, i don't really know how i feel about turning 26. i look back and i think there's so much that i haven't done, where has my time gone? it makes me realize how short life can really seem. the thing is, i don't really ever remember being one of those people that was dying to grow up when i was younger. i remember wishing i was older a few times but for the most part, i lived in the moment or fantasized about a completely different life altogether.
now i'm staring 26 right in the face and its scary. what's going to happen to me in the next five years? the same old stuff that's been happening to me the last five years? or things i only dreamed of happening? grasping reality at this point seems almost impossible.

i know i'm not making much sense, and that's okay. its just weird when you sit and take a look at your life and you realize you've done basically jack squat. i've not graduated from college or made a lot of money or gotten married or had children. i haven't done much traveling or joined the peace core. i weigh more than i used to and i get depressed more often then not. so what have i done in the last 26 years?

...good question. it took some thinking and here's what i've come up with:

i've learned that capturing a picture that makes me smile every time i look at it is enough to make me want to never put my camera down. i'm not half bad at photographing people/things and that is something beautiful.

i've mended relationships with family members that i felt might be beyond repair. not too long ago, my sister and i were not very close but once i realized how horrible our relationship was we've been able to move past that and become friends. i like having her around and i miss her on days when our schedules are too hectic for our paths to cross.

i've come to realize that laughter is the best medicine. even if i don't know what i'm laughing at just the actual act of laughing alone can help keep me sane and human-feeling. i've also learned that crying is a better release than almost anything. sometimes just letting the tears fall are enough to keep me going.

i've learned that its okay to be sad. yes, it hurts and its tiring and sometimes there's a certain level of sad that i can't even understand, but its okay. everyone hurts in their own ways but with hurt comes growth.

i've realized that if you look for the ugly things in a person you will most definitely find them. but if you look for something beautiful in someone, the ugly things become less noticeable and you can learn to truly love. with that i've learned that everyone has a certain beauty inside of them. there is something about every single person in the world that makes them beautiful.

i've learned that its hard to be an individual. especially when your ideas and standards don't match what those around you believe. its hard realizing what you like and why you like it when the opinions of others are bearing down on you. but i've also learned that if you stick to what you believe in no matter what you might not always be the most popular but you will feel the best about yourself.

i've learned that if all i can manage is one day at a time, at least i can manage that.

i've realized that reading and writing are my two true passions in life. not much else can compare to what i feel when i'm doing either of these things. there is just something about creating my own story and reading what others have created that satisfies me.

and lastly, i've realized i just want to love and be loved. it is so hard to hate and grudge and judge. and it is so hard to be hated and grudged and judged. why not love instead?

so. i may not have had 3 beautiful children by now, or received a diploma. i may not have seen the pyramids in egypt or completed a humanitarian house in a third-world-country. but i did learn things about life. things i feel to be detrimental to myself and to the future me. and i guess, for now, that's plenty.

♥ ♥

p.s. it would seem i'm off on years. not sure how that happened, but here they all are:

{2008}

{2009}

{2010}

avast! gimmie my snow cone.

isn't it fun to go get a snow cone from a pirate ship?

yeah, we thought so too.

♥ ♥

*these were shot with a canon rebel using the standard lens that comes with the camera.

in-n-out.

when my family and i moved to utah from vegas, we waited 10+ years for an in-n-out burger to arrive in our town. finally, it did. then we moved to idaho which never got one.

after moving here to texas, i started craving the juicy, fresh, deliciousness that is in-n-out. a week later, a sign went up RIGHT NEXT TO MY WORK that said "Coming soon, In-n-Out Burger". i praised the heavens.

last week, the first two in-n-outs in the state of texas opened. and i was there.
(before looking at the pictures below, please read my disclaimer concerning my photos as of late. kthnx.)

i may or may not have had in-n-out 3 times in the last 5 days...

p.s. i've updated my photog blog if you wanna check it out.

birthdays and hockey games and food.

friday was sister's birthday.

she made cupcakes (yes. she made her own birthday cupcakes and refused a cake...)

our friend spent two days making authentic texas bbq (something we've never had before -- it was DELICIOUS.) and then we had some friends over to celebrate.

after the party, we took sister to her first ever hockey game.

(allen americans vs bossier-shreveport mudbugs)

even though we (allen) lost, the game was a blast and sister was happy which is what matters.

how was your weekend?

brother art.

its a drawing of me by my 6 yo brother.

i think i like it.

what do you think?

another vacay post - BABIES & movies & books oh my! {pt. 2}

90% of my friends in utah are married and have children. this equals lots of oodeling time for me when i'm there! i got to see some of my favorite kiddos (and some of my favorite mommies!) while in utah, and i thoroughly appreciated that.

le sigh.

babies.

i love 'em.

since before heading to utah (long before!), i had been really wanting to see i am number four. i'm sort of crushing on alex pettyfer and i had read the book over the summer, so i wanted to see if they did it justice.

um, yes.

they did.

i LOVED it. absolutely.

and it was probably better because i saw it in utah...

(okay, maybe not but we can pretend!)

annnnd i bought a couple of books while i was there as well.

beyonders: a world without heroes by brandon mull (which i haven't finished yet because... i've been super caught up in the mortal instruments series!)

and matched by ally condie (which my sis and i read on our drive back to texas. i'll review it soon, but *spoiler alert* i'd recommend it.)

one of the most fun parts though, was going to barnes and noble with my brother and cousins and drinking chai teas and reading.

that has got to be one of my most favorite things to do.

i feel so... chill when i do that.

anyway

that's it for now.

i'm sure you're just dying to know more about what i did a few weeks ago.

but for now, i should sleep.

cause i'm tired.