Saturday, December 29, 2012

December 16

EBC's Children's choir preformed their Christmas play this Sunday evening!  The play was Christmas in Egypt, and Aly had the lead role as Mary!  She was so excited, and did an amazing job!

 (I took the photography for the play despite having some form of cold, but there are an excessive amount of pictures to go through so I just picked one, lol)

December 15

Warm Cozy Socks!


December 14


Delicious! Delightful! Delectable! Donuts!




I brought them for breakfast one morning; I do not believe I have ever seen Madi so quickly out of bed as when there are donuts awaiting downstairs ;)

Monday, December 24, 2012

December 13

Sam likes the Christmas Tree...




...perhaps a bit too much!



Monday, December 17, 2012

Friday, December 14, 2012

Book 18 - Illusions

Illusions, by Aprilynne Pike, book three in the Laurel Series.  Wow. This is definitely a favorite series of mine!  Absolutely lovely, enjoyable, unique, classic, intense, relaxing...a bit of everything a modern fairy tale needs ^_^  I found Laurel quite easy to relate to.  But what a cliffhanger!  And having to wait for the last book to come out? Torture!  A lovely favorite <3



December 11

Christmas light bokeh, but special!  I had so much fun doing these!  




Book 17 - Gone With The Wind

Gone With The Wind, by Margaret Mitchell.   Mmnnn....  It was lovely to curl up with this book.  I must say, quite delightful.  I haven't read anything quite like this before!  Very eye opening, very historic, very...romantic.  I would like to borrow a few of Scarlet's dresses but I fear they wouldn't fit.  An 18 inch waist? Unbelievable!  I am 4'11'', 90 pounds, and have a bigger waist than that!  Scarlet was enjoyable to read about, though I related to her little.  It was Melanie I liked, with her surprising strength to deal with life, despite her physical weaknesses.  I found her a quite better role model than Scarlet O'Hara.  Yet still, dear Scarlet was pleasant company within the book, and I enjoyed watching her grow up and learn about life; even if it took her a while to find what really mattered to her.


Book 16 - The Juliet Club

The Juliet Club by Suzanne Harper was such a cute book!  After reading Romeo and Juliet I wanted to try  reading a few books in which the play was part of the plot.  Definitely enjoyed this was; a simple yet pretty read!  Set in modern day Verona :)


December 10

Hot Chocolatey Goodness!

Hot chocolate, whipped cream, marshmallows, and cinnamon! ^_^


December 9

Mmn, the lovely time of fuzzy warm clothes and Christmas socks!  I'm finally finding sweaters I like to wear ^_^


The aftermath of two nights of our church's  Christmas performance.  I was one of the main characters (though had little stage time) and was a mother.  Lots of make-up and hair stuff... The play was titled Be Not Afraid, a rather different play as it was a "play within a play" of sorts.  I was worried about the outcome, but everyone seemed to remember lines and all went well; in the end, all the effort was beyond worth it, as we had a night-of planned invitation, and someone came forward and was saved!



Thursday, December 13, 2012

Book 15 - The World Above

The World Above was another installment in the "Once Upon A Time" is Timeless, this time a retelling of Jack and the Bean Stalk.  The creativity was good in writing the story, but not one of the best I have read by the author.  Still it was enjoyable, even if it wasn't my favorite.  


Book 14 - Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare.  This is my favorite Shakespeare play so far.  The language and poetic flow was beautiful.  The ending, well . . .  what could be more glorious?  Not exactly, dear Marianne -.-  It was sad, but mostly, it just made me rather angry.  There were so many other ways they could have survived.  Why be so hasty to die?  It also had my least favorite "comic relief" character: Mercutio.  Oh. My.  The notes and footers weren't rated, but if they were...let's just say everything Mercutio says isn't quite clean.  Shakespeare tends to be bawdy, but this was a bit much.  Thankfully he didn't have as much stage time as Romeo.  When either Romeo or Juliet were speaking, it was beautiful and lovely; the gorgeous language was astounding, and that is what made this play my favorite to read.


December 8

A beautiful Christmas snow globe. 


Wednesday, December 12, 2012

10 Introvert Myths


I found this post here, and found it quite interesting.  I consider myself an introvert, and I agree with most statements here.  The blog author gives information regarding where she found this list.  Obviously everyone is different, so this isn't a faultless chart on how introverts think and feel, but a general guideline that seems pretty accurate.  

Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk.
This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.
Myth #2 – Introverts are shy.
Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.
Myth #3 – Introverts are rude.
Introverts often don’t see a reason for beating around the bush with social pleasantries. They want everyone to just be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in most settings, so Introverts can feel a lot of pressure to fit in, which they find exhausting.
Myth #4 – Introverts don’t like people.
On the contrary, Introverts intensely value the few friends they have. They can count their close friends on one hand. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned their respect as being a person of substance, you’re in.
Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public.
Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.
Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone.
Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.
Myth #7 – Introverts are weird.
Introverts are often individualists. They don’t follow the crowd. They’d prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don’t make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.
Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds.
Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.
Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun.
Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. Introverts are not thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.
Myth #10 – Introverts can fix themselves and become Extroverts.
A world without Introverts would be a world with few scientists, musicians, artists, poets, filmmakers, doctors, mathematicians, writers, and philosophers. That being said, there are still plenty of techniques an Extrovert can learn in order to interact with Introverts.  Introverts cannot “fix themselves” and deserve respect for their natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986) showed that the percentage of Introverts increases with IQ.


Don't forget; though introverts don't usually like out of the ordinary and confusing situations, sometimes we do need to be pushed out of our comfort zone to try something new! :D

Monday, December 10, 2012

December 7

Wonderful Christmas Yumminess!  
Nothing like a bit a chocolate to calm ones nerves before a performance in a Christmas play -.-


December 6

Sinterclaas Day!

The day, celebrated by kids in Holland, where Sinterclaas, or Saint Nicholas, comes and fills your shoes with presents (specifically socks)!  I introduced my girls to it this year.  They found it strange and interesting that other kids get Christmas presents on a different day.  Madi was beyond excited that Sinterclaas would travel all the way from Holland to fill their shoes (they had to leave them on a table by a window with Sinterclaas coloring papers next to the shoes.)  Makenna was excited there were going to be presents.  (She also has decided that Jesus tells Santa Claus everything.  What is everything, you may ask?  Whatever there is to know when you are five, lol.) "Sinterclaas" forgot to get things to fill little Sam's shoes with.  Thankfully he didn't mind, and doesn't like socks anyway.

(photo by the girl's mama)

I was told to lay out my shoes too.  Thankfully, Mama Sinterclaas pulled through so I would have new Sinterclaas socks to wear in the morning :)



December 5


We had our annual co-op Christmas party.  I was very sad that I wouldn't be able to go, seeing as how I work full time now; until I found out I could take my "work" with me!  Madi, Makenna, and Sam (the kids I babysit) all went to the party, and so did I!  Sam was too little still, but the girls joined the rest of the group to see A Christmas Carol preformed at the Victoria Theater.  They enjoyed both the play and the party thoroughly!

Judging from the above pictures, the icing was very good...  ;)


Here we are, ready to go :)
(Aly, Makenna, Madi, and myself)


The annual game of musical chairs.  Once you are out, you get to go pick a present.  I didn't play this year, but I still got to take pictures!  There was (obviously) another camera across from me, using a flash XD 


December 4

Christmas shirts!  Definitely exciting ^_^  The third one from the left (with the candycane heard if you are directionally challenged) is actually a "scratch 'n sniff" shirt. O.o  It smells like peppermint!!!  How cool is that?!


December 3

Christmas Candy!

even better, it's dark chocolate ;)


December 2

The coloured lights are on the tree now too!  (Hooray for Christmas light bokeh!)


But the blue are sill my favorite ^^




Sunday, December 9, 2012

December 1

25 Days of Christmas

It is December! A picture every day as a countdown till Christmas ^_^

We got our Christmas tree!


Amelia in the kitty Santa coat! (Not very amused, I dare say.)


Sparkles is helping hang up ornaments!



Beautiful Christmas Lights!



Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Thanksgiving 2012

We made the trip down to Granny and Papa's house for our annual Thanksgiving get-together!

Ready to eat!



I went outside to practice photography.  O'Mally helped.


Poor Toby.  He's been sick and was looking a little sad :(  But he got turkey!


A few got excited about the car passing during our family portrait shoot -.-

Playing Farkle (the fives and ones are good!)


The Farkle Heads


Final score!



Granny had some old milk. So, naturally . . .




Skyeler