February Photo Challenge!!

Huzzah, my favorite month has arrived! ❤
I did this blog challenge in February 2011 and decided to try it again now,
condensing them all into one post! =)

Day 1~ A picture of yourself with ten facts about you.

Mirror pics tend to be my favs. And I tried to keep the "facts" short and simple.

Day 2~ A picture of you and the friend you have been the closest with the longest.

(...Chet Lee, not Santa. lol)
Super thankful for this friendship!

Day 3~ A picture of the cast from your favorite show.

New Girl is definitely among the favorites, but there are so many to choose from!

Day 4~ A picture of your night.

You know, just working out with my trainer. lol

Day 5~ A picture of your favorite memory.

The entire day of my 33rd birthday! (Recap HERE)

Day 6~ A picture of a person you would love to trade places with for a day.

(My Grandma Doris) She could come see all her kids and their families,
and I could go see Jesus and heaven for a day! ❤

Day 7~ A picture of your most treasured item.

There's really not one single specific item, but handwritten stuff 
from my parents feels more irreplaceable than anything else.

Day 8~ A picture that makes you laugh.

The "Chubby Hacker" costume Jace is loving lately! lol

Day 9~ A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.

My wonderful Mom! ❤

Day 10~ A picture of something you hate.

This represents 3 things: I hate feeling outcast.
I hate the thought of any child being without a loving family.
I hate the thought of anyone who's suffering feeling unseen and unsupported!

Day 11~ A picture of something you love.

Bellagio fountains in Vegas + rainbow representing God's promised protection!

Day 12~ A picture of your favorite band or artist.

I also love Queen and Coldplay, but OneRepublic still holds the top spot.

Day 13~ A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.

(Painting of Jesus.)

Day 14~ A picture of something you want to do before you die.

Complete a full marathon, just to prove to myself that I can do hard things, one step at a time!!

Day 15~ A picture of someone who inspires you.

Brillllliant author + resilient and generous human being!

Day 16~ A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.

Evergreen Baptist Church and the friendly people I've met there!

Day 17~ A picture and a letter.

(On the 17th...) Happy 35th Birthday, Lindsey-Pins!! The best is yet to come! ❤
Hope it's a good day and an awesomesauce year ahead! =)

Day 18~ A picture of your biggest insecurity.

Not exactly an insecurity, but going back and forth rather than
making confident, firm decisions is such a struggle for me!

Day 19~ A picture of somewhere you would love to travel.

An Alaska cruise (a possibility for next year).

Day 20~ A picture of something you wish you were better at.

Feels like searching for a needle in a very muddy haystack.
(But the result is really up to God, so I'm staying open to new possibilities).

Day 21~ A picture of your favorite book.

This is the current favorite - the audiobook version read by Jim Dale!
*The odd books (1, 3, 5, and 7) are all my favs, but the whole series is fantastic!!

Day 22~ A picture of something you wish you could change.

That was the first thing that came to my mind. lol 
(And with the love of Christ, I can and I will!)

Day 23~ A picture of your day.

Scoping, proofing, daydreaming, blogging, watching my digital frame. lol

Day 24~ A picture of something that means a lot to you.

Being an aunt to the niece and nephews! ❤

Day 25~ A picture of yourself and a family member.

Christmas Eve 2018 - love this pic of Mom's side of the fam!

Day 26~ A picture of something you're afraid of.

Missing out on something I was supposed to do
but didn't understand or wasn't decisive enough to fight for.

Day 27~ A picture of someone you miss.

...It was short-lived at best and may have only existed in my head,
but I miss the *perceived* support, love, and connection here.

Day 28~ A picture that can always make you smile.

What a little preshface with her drink still in her mouth
and her big eyes thinkin' she might be in trouble. lol
I love it, and I love her! ❤

Okay, that was fun. =)  Happy Friday, friends, and Happy February!! ❤

Hope it's a wonderful month ahead for you!

Elizabeth

Today's "Tribute Tuesday" post goes to Elizabeth Wiegner (pronounced "wig-nur")!!

Elizabeth, you are awesome because...

• Your emails and texts always make me smile!
• I really wanted to be your friend after just reading about you on your proofreading website!
• You were a fantastic proofreader and caught all the little mistakes.
• You're so easy to talk to and you always make me feel valued.
• You are a great listener and super-fun friend, truly one of my favorite people!
• You love and honor Jesus, and you lean on Him in hard times and loss.
• You always honor and speak so highly of Jonathan, and you two are so cute together!

• Your background story is fascinating and shows what a strong person you are!
• You are ambitious and determined in your work and personal goals.
• You wrote and published a great book with impressive speed!
• You prioritize keeping a healthy work/life balance and taking breaks when needed.
• You are thoughtful and encouraging, and I love our long email convos almost as much as our in-person chats! =)
• You introduced me to Bitmojis - so fun! lol
• Our personalities mesh well and balance each other, as we've discussed. =)
• I love your business logos, both on the proofing site and your newer site!
• You also have a last name that's difficult for others to pronounce. lol
• You're a natural beauty, and you can rock the pink hair and the ombre pink look!
• You're a power lifter, which is just cool!
• You know how to play the organ well enough to play for your church - I find that highly impressive!
• You have lots of fun board games and a beautiful house and home office!
• You make delicious taco casserole and cherry cobbler! =)

Thanks for being a fantastic person and wonderful friend!! ❤

MM ~ Cruise 2007

Today's memory = the 2007 cruise to Progreso and Cozumel with Rach and Kate. =)  It was definitely memorable, and seeing all the pics again made me happy!  We ate lots of good food and spent lots of time laying out on the beaches or the ship deck.  They did shots at every bar on the ship whilst I stayed sober and found them entertaining.  And we watched Dreamgirls approximately 1,000 times bc it was one of our only choices in the room. lol

*I downloaded the Shutterfly app yesterday, which gives me better access to all sorts of old photos, so more Memory Monday posts coming soon! =)

National Compliment Day

Thanks to my friend, Elizabeth, I learned that yesterday was "National Compliment Day."  She wrote an email encouraging people to send a text or email to someone telling them, "You're awesome because..." and listing at least three reasons you appreciate them. ❤

I sent one to her late last night after reading her email, but I liked the idea a lot and was tempted to get on Facebook for a while and go around complimenting lots of friends and family members.  I needed to work out, so I made myself do that instead.  Mrrr.

But I also realized that every day is a good day to compliment someone!  My original "tribute" posts here are nearly ten years old now, and so much life has happened (and so many new photos have been taken) since then, so I think it's time for an updated version with fewer random facts and more letter-style encouragement and compliments.  I'll be starting next Tuesday and posting one every Tuesday for the rest of this year, and I'm excited for that!!

* * * * * * *

Switching topics, I bought some new file boxes on Amazon then spent part of this week organizing my office files and exhibits and other random office clutter... yay!

Here's Elizabeth and Jonathan and the Ricochet Robots game... they have lots of board games (kinda like the Fosters), and it's always fun to try new ones! =)

Mom texted me these two - J&K decided to see if they could fit in this tiny cabinet, and it turns out they could. lol #cuteness #soproud

Hooray for Blogaholic Designs... I still love the look of my "Owl Love You Forever" template on my old blog. ❤

This green template with polka dots and hearts was similar, but also super cute!

And I'm loving this bright new "Cotton Candy" template currently on the blog! =)

Anyway, happy Friday, and I hope you have a lovely weekend! =)

Three-Day Weekend Recap

Quick weekend recap:

• Lunch with Kristin was good and fun!  She was supportive and excited for me about Evergreen, and we had a good talk about that and other life events and prayer requests.
• Packed and curled my hair (always a lengthy chore for me), then drove to MWC in time to ride with Mom and Dad and the boys to Charleston's. (The Miss stayed in Aftercare at CHA with Rach.)
• Mom loved her gift from me and Rach (MacKenzie Childs courtly check cake plate from On a Whim).
• Yay for the potato soup and croissants at Charleston's!  
• And yay for getting to see Bill and Jill, who are trying to talk Mom and Dad into an Alaska cruise... then Jill invited me to come without them if I'm interested, which was super nice, and I might be!! =)
• The Parrishes came over for cookiecake, which was also fun!  The boys have "Hacker masks," and the masks are super creepy but they're so delighted by it that it becomes cute!
• Rach and I spent a crazy amount of time looking for a specific SnapChat pic of Kyndal Faith. lol
• Later that night, I found out about Boo and had to write a blog tribute. =(
• Saturday was Jace's first Crossfit Kids class (or "Crossfit for toddlers" as Sarah called it - lolol).  He loved it!!  The trainer lets them have 15 minutes of free play where he was all about showing off his chin-ups and climbing the rope, then the class was mostly body weight stuff and kept it on a lighter level.
• We had Johnnie's for lunch with the kids, then came back to Mom and Dad's where they played for a while.
• Mom and I helped Carter organize all his CHA notebooks, which was a fascinating 4-hour process!
• Met the rest of the Parrish fam for dinner at Rib Crib.

• Sunday was LifeChurch (sermon on Habits) followed by lunch at Cheddar's!  J&K love to sign the second copy of the receipt and show everyone that they paid for dinner. lol
• Then I went over to Rach's to borrow some of her clothes for my Vegas trip. =)
• That night was the football playoff games, so Mom and I made spaghetti, garlic bread, and brownies, and Charlene came over for dinner and watching the games, which were both intense and exciting!  (Even though Mom's team (Kansas) lost in overtime - sad.)
• Mom also fixed up strawberries and dip for me to take to Elizabeth's the next day.
• Monday:  Slept in =) then got ready and went to Jonathan and Elizabeth's for lunch!
• She made taco casserole, which was awesome, then we had the strawberries and dip, and then played games for a while.  (5-Second Rule, Ricochet Robots, and Potion Explosion)
• It's always fun seeing them and catching up on life!
• Drove back home and did some laundry and cleaning...
• Went to Jon and Kristin's group, where I felt a bit out of place for the first time but still had fun playing Nertz and hanging out.
• I managed to stay in my calorie range and make good choices at the restaurants, and I'm happy about that!  And that covers it. Today I'm back to work for felony Tuesday, feeling thankful for a nice long weekend with people I love!

Yay for curling my hair every so often - I need to practice and get faster and more comfortable with it!!

Here's the random SnapChat pic we FINALLY found of the Miss K!  It looks like the makeup and nose ring are real, but thankfully, not so much! lol

This = a little video recap of January so far. =)

Hope your week is off to a good start!! ❤

The Little Boo Puppy!

Some sad news on this happy day of Mom's birthday... I read on Facebook that sweet little Boo died in his sleep this morning.  His best friend, Buddy, died a year ago, and his owner said Boo was heartbroken and his health started to go downhill right after that. =(  Saaaadness.

But now they're together playing in heaven (and yes, I really believe dogs will be there). =)

...I first discovered Boo while in Vegas for Bill and Jill's wedding in 2011, seeing him on a book cover and thumbing through it for a while as everyone else was shopping.  =)

I found his Facebook page shortly after my parents' wreck that week, and the adventures of Boo and Buddy helped to cheer me up as I was feeling down while Mom was in the hospital (HERE).

I have followed Boo's page since then and written multiple posts celebrating his cute little life, and I even had the groomers try to make the best girlfranz look like Boo - tiny living teddy bears! =)

A collage of some of my favorite Boo pics!! ❤  Cuddly Pom puppy cuteness!!

I was pretty sad to hear this news today, but I'm thankful that Boo and Buddy brought so much joy to so many people (definitely including me) in their short little lives!  ❤