along for the ride

Week 52
December 30, 2011

It is official.
I have completed my 52 week project.
And I love it.

This project made me take photos that I would not have otherwise taken.
It forced me to document my life as I was living it.

Some photos come with stories.
While others do not.
Some photos were planned.
And some were not.

And that defines life perfectly.
Some events are planned.
Some events come with stories and a history.
But most of life's events are unexpected.
Out of our control.

We are just going along for the ride.

merry CHRISTmas

Week 51

December 24, 2011

I am a college graduate!

Week 50

December, 16, 2011

The day I graduated college!

And a few other pictures...

Getting ready to walk across the stage

Me and my friend Shannon!  So glad I met this girl!

Me and mom and dad
(December family photo)

Jody came to see me graduate too!

The last four and a half years have been such a whirlwind of emotions, trials, and triumphs.  But I am glad I went through each one of those.  They have molded me into the person I am today and I am grateful. 

{Week 49}

I meant to take a picture last week, but with multiple school projects and getting sick, it just didn't happen.  So here is week 49...a week late.

Either way--it is pretty exciting!

I am officially done with school!

No more studying, test, projects, or homework.

I am done!

Now it's time to celebrate!

WooHoo! 

Adventures of Abby and the Stick

Normally when you give a dog a rawhide chew stick they eat it in 5 minutes or less.  Not Abby.  If you give her a chew stick she plays hide and seek.  Literally.  In case if you don't believe me, take a look for yourself.

This took place in about 15 minutes.  After a while she finally ate it.  Usually she keeps them around for a few days (and sometimes a few weeks).  But she was pretty funny to watch.  Just another reason why I love my pup.  Isn't she funny?!

12 of 12 | December 2011

I can't believe an entire year of 12 of 12s is complete.  I loved this project and can't wait to do it again next year!

Once again, everyone in the house is sick.  I find it a little ironic that 2 of the 12 photos in this project are us stuck at home while sick.  But either way, I kind of like this set.  

01.  Ibuprofen and water.  The two things that are getting me through this cold.
02.  Watching TV and movies while laying on the sofa.
03.  Abby is going through a needy stage.
04.  Great words.
05.  Abby thought it would be a good idea to use my head as a pillow.  See what I mean?--Needy.  We laid like this for a good 15-20 minutes.
06.  Holiday village.
07.  Christmas card I got from my friend Mallory.  (I also go her 'Save the Date' announcement too!)
08.  Mom and I tried to cure Abby's neediness so we took her on a car ride.  We saw cows and Abby barked at them.  They weren't amused and walked away the second after I took this photo.
09.  Working on my final assignments for school.
10.  Christmas Tree.
11.  My last two assignments....EVER!!!!!! Graduation is in 4 days!  Woo-Hoo!!
12.  The Oscar movies that mom and I watched today.  Trying to complete my list by the end of the year.

22 Accomplishments: November Update

So I haven't done one of these updates in a l o n g time.  Sadly I haven't really done anything off of this list.  But life and school have been so crazy and those come first before a list of fun things to do.  
In the last 3 months this is what I've completed:


-Painted the chair for my room.  It is red and looks great!  
-Took monthly family photo on Thanksgiving.
Books: (I'm switching it from 20 to 15.  I think that is more likely to actually happen.)
-One Season of Sunshine by Julia London.  Wonderful book!  Couldn't put it down.  A definite read.
-Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.  Good book.  Very interesting to learn so much about the icon.  Had to read it for a class over Thanksgiving break.  Read it in about 3 1/2 days.  Yikes!
Movies: 
-The Bridge on River Kawi.  Very unrealistic.  I can guarantee you that being a POW in WWII was not that easy.
-Platoon.  It didn't feel like the movie was ready to end when it did.
-The Lost Weekend.
-How Green Was My Valley.  Pretty good.  Started to lose interest in the middle though.


This is what my list looks like now:

1.  Make dinner for a family who is going through a tough time. (Dinner: January 22, 2011.  Care Package: July 21, 2011)
2.  Get back to my ideal weight.--half way there!
3.  Finish college.
4.  Get a 'big girl' job.
5.  Go a day without getting on the computer (or getting on the internet via iPhone.) (July 4, 12, 23)
6.  Send birthday cards to all my good friends. (January, February, March, July, August, September) (No friend birthdays in April, May, or June, October)
7.  Make a Christmas advent tree like this one.
8.  Fix and paint my desk chair in my room.
9.  Try 5 new foods. (Soy beans, raspberries, Apple dumpling, mango, fried pickle)
10.  Create (and do) a cleaning schedule to keep my room better organized.
11.  Take a family photo each month for a year. (January, February, March, April, May, June, August  (July), August, September, October, November)
12.  Do a 52 week portrait challenge. (Have completed 47 weeks so far)
13.  Feel more comfortable cooking, especially meats. (August)
14.  Plant tulips in mom's garden. 
15.  Make Wrist Key Chains.  Found here.
16.  Clean out my closet.
17.  (Finish the quilt I started 4 or 5 years ago.)  Make a quilt.
18.  Learn to make French Toast.
19.  Reach $2100 PCV  in my Silpada sales for 3 2 months. (February)
20.  Go on a family trip.
21.  Read 20 15 books.
  Here is the list I've read so far:

1.  Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin

2. Between Sisters by Kristin Hannah

3.  Marrying Daisy Bellamy by Susan Wiggs. 

4.  Borrowed Bride by Susan Wiggs

5.  The Child Called It by David Pelzer.

6.  What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

7.  Dear Cupid by Julie Ortolon

8.  The Island by Elin Hilderbrand

9.  The Beach Club by Elin Hilderbrand
10.  The Opposite Of Me by Sarah Pekkanen
11.  One Season of Love by Julia London
12.  Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

22.  Watch every movie that made 'Best Picture' in the Oscars.
 Here is the list: I've marked off the ones I've already seen.  There are a few that I've already seen, but I need a refresher before I check them off the list.  (Too bad, I could cross off another 6 movies...)

*Note: The ones that are marked out but don't have a date by them are movies I've already seen in the years past.

1928 Wings (April)
1929  The Broadway Melody
1930  All Quiet on the Western Front (June) 

1931  Cimarron (May)
1932  Grand Hotel (May)
1933  Cavalcade (June)

1934  It Happened One Night (April)
1935  Mutiny on the Bounty (April)
1936  The Great Ziegfeld (June) 

1937  The Life of Emile Zola
1938  You Can't Take It With You (July)
1939  Gone With the Wind
1940  Rebecca (May)
1941  How Green Was My Valley (November)
1942  Mrs. Miniver (July)
1943  Casablanca
1944  Going My Way
1945  The Lost Weekend (November)
1946  The Best Years of Our Lives (June)
1947  Gentleman's Agreement (May)
1948  Hamlet
1949  All The King's Men
1950  All About Eve (March)
1951  An American in Paris (September)
1952  The Greatest Show on Earth
1953  From Here to Eternity
1954  On the Waterfront (June) 

1955  Marty
1956  Around the World in 80 Days
1957  The Bridge on the River Kwai (October)
1958  Gigi (March)
1959  Ben-Hur (August)
1960  The Apartment (July)
1961  West Side Story
1962  Lawrence of Arabia
1963  Tom Jones
1964  My Fair Lady (May)
1965  The Sound of Music
1966  A Man for All Seasons (September)
1967  In the Heat of the Night
1968  Oliver
1969  Midnight Cowboy
1970  Patton
1971  The French Connection (March)
1972  The Godfather
1973  The Sting (July)
1974  The Godfather Part II
1975  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1976  Rocky
1977  Annie Hall
1978  The Deer Hunter
1979  Kramer vs. Kramer
1980  Ordinary People (June) 

1981  Chariots of Fire (June) 

1982  Gandhi
1983  Terms of Endearment
1984  Amadeus
1985  Out of Aftrica
1986  Platoon (November)
1987  The Last Emperor
1988  Rain Man (September)
1989  Driving Miss Daisy
1990  Dances With Wolves
1991  The Silence of the Lambs (February)
1992  Unforgiven (September)
1993  Schindler's List
1994  Forrest Gump
1995  Braveheart
1996  The English Patient
1997  Titanic
1998  Shakespeare in Love (March)
1999  American Beauty (June) 2000  Gladiator
2001  A Beautiful Mind
2002  Chicago

2003  The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

2004  Million Dollar Baby

2005  Crash

2006  The Departed

2007  No Country for Old Men

2008  Slumdog Millionaire

2009  The Hurt Locker

2010  The King's Speech

Week 48

Week 48

November 27, 2011

Just trying to stay strong.

Week 47

iPhone

Abby is not much of a cuddler.  She likes the close comforts of being in the same room with you.  But she does not like to be held or cuddled.  Abby also does not like anything laying on her.  She likes to lay on top of blankets, pillows, paper (pretty much anything), but she does not like things on top of her.



I woke up early Saturday morning and was not in a good mood.  My stress level is off the wall.  Honestly I do not know how I am still functioning.  So the first thing I did was bring my pillow out to the living room and vegged on the sofa....all day long.

Without any help or motivation, Abby jumped up on the sofa and layed down right next to me.  I was cold so I pulled the blanket over us.  Abby didn't move.  She layed there next to me for the next hour.  She didn't sleep. She didn't move.  She just layed there.

It amazes me how well she knows me.  She is a dog.  She can't communicate.  She can't understand what I'm saying.  Yet she knows my personality.  She knows when I need to be comforted.  And she knows exactly how to do so.

I love this dog more than words can say.