I'm just feeling completely thankful. God has blessed me so, so much. I have so much to be thankful and praise Him for. I have family and friends that love me to death. I have people to love. I have a roof over my head to shield me and food to satisfy my hunger. I have a job and a wonderful vehicle that gets me where I need to go with great mileage. I feel like I don't deserve any of this; I certainly haven't done anything to, but God somehow, someway finds me worthy. My Lord and Savior died on the cross for me. For everyone. What more could a girl want? It's the ultimate love story.
Speaking of love, I have Austin to be thankful for. Today is anniversary of the day we met. 41 months ago. Three years and four months ago. I feel that I haven't expressed that enough over the past few weeks on here just how thankful for him I am. He's been working so hard to keep contact with me. Called me when he's only had moments to spare. Texted me when he doesn't have the luxury of voice-to-voice communication. He's been constantly reminding me that he loves me, every day.
Lately, there hasn't been a day that I haven't heard from Austin. I love it. I'm getting spoiled. Probably too spoiled, but I'm totally soaking it in while I can. I'm so, so thankful for him. God blessed me with my perfect match and I believe that we're working through this with His perfect timing.
@slhallphotography@gmail.com >>> Yes I have a globe.
I'm classy, not nerdy.
I know that I don't always to take the time to tell Austin just how much I appreciate him taking the time and working so hard to make this work. I just assume that he knows. (We all know what assuming does though...) We talked on the phone today for about two hours after he got off work today. Phone convos were never our forte I don't think (at least not for me, I could never think of what to say) but they're getting easier and natural. Today was natural-ish. I loved it. And (here it comes-you've all heard it before) I love his voice.
Austin had to get off because someone else was on the other line and his room was getting inspected anyway. He called me later tonight to tell me goodnight and I was in the shower. I missed his call, but he sent me the sweetest text letting me know he's sorry he couldn't get a-hold of me and that he was "hitting the hay" (I love when his country talk comes out, it's so cute!) for work tomorrow. It just made me smile. It just made me thankful.
It made me feel so lucky to have someone like Austin in my life. We don't ever fight (at least not any real ones, we play-fight and insult each other all the time). We cherish every moment. We fit like puzzle pieces. We're both God-fearing. We know how to have fun. We know each other's weaknesses and strengths and are learning to play off the other's. We both agree that a relationship is a learning experience; it takes time.
This is Blake Shelton singing "God Gave Me You". It's an amazing song with an amazing amount of meaning. It's actually my ringtone for when Austin calls. It's silly, but it's like the song was based around us.
Austin doesn't know it yet, but this is "our song". He probably has another one picked out for us, but that's too bad. ;p
And Aust, if you get to read this...well, I mean every word. I'm a shy, hesitant little thing, as you know, and sometimes that might come off as not caring, but know that it's the exact opposite. I love you and I thank God for you everyday. Thank you isn't and couldn't ever be enough.
Thanks for reading through the gushy and mushy everyone,
A sewing monster has been born. My mother (I love you mom!) asked me to write a list before this last Christmas. I, for sure she was only half serious, wrote one just soothe her. I wrote ridiculous things on that list (plane tickets, a new camera, a camcorder, a new car, ect, ect). I also wrote a few serious things (an easy-to-use sewing machine, a GPS for travel, headphones, socks, ect, ect)
My mother got me a sewing machine. It even had "easy-to-use" in the title. I've been hand-sewing for a couple of years. It comes naturally, and I kind of like the long time it takes. Makes everything I sew even more precious. However, this last project has me pressed for time, so I got out the sewing machine.
I've never used a sewing machine before in my young eighteen year old life. It was complicated but I'm getting the hang of it.
I read the directions at least 3 times over before actually preforming the threading steps.
I just practiced on a scrap piece of fabric I had.
It took me a bit to get the hang of it though...
I think I did okay though. :) Hand-sewing just seems so less complicated, but even just sewing this little square together would have taken me about an hour with all the stitches put into it. Sew,Mama,Sew! has a lot of cute, free ideas to sew I might use.
I can't wait to get started on some real projects now though. I have a few skirts I've been meaning to try, and a dress I found on Pinterest. I have to find some things I can sew up for Austin too. What I like he has to like, period. If I like sewed little trinkets, he has to...haha : ) But I've also got to get this first little project out of the way. I can't say anything about it yet, but I will when the time comes! Promise.
Oh, and in addition to the healthy lifestyle I'm adopting, I've decided that I will try a different tea every day; preferably in the mornings before exercising! Today's was "White Tea Berry" made by Mount of Olives Treasures.
It was pretty good, one of my favorites I've had so far. I didn't put anything in it, but I chilled some of it after I tried it warm. It was really good with some ice. I think it's the berry taste.
Hello everyone!Yes, this post is about the awesome site Pinterest!
I love lists. List make my world go 'round and 'round. Without them I would be nothing (sorry Aust!). So when I discovered Pinterest a few months back I was in awe. Suddenly I was surrounded with lists on top of organized lists. Of everything and anything you could imagine.
Yesterday I went through my Pinterest and made a couple of boards. I went a little crazy. Everyone following me was probably thinking how much of a Pinterest nerd I am, but whatever. It's an awesome site, I love it.
I also made a cute board calling Making It Work<3. It's made for all of the Marine girlfriends/bestfriends/ wives out there. It's full of gear, tips and cute quotes to conquer the "military love" lifestyle. I've pinned a lot of pins for the upcoming deployment in January. It's so far away, but I'm afraid that it's going to sneak up on me and before I know it all my time to spend with Austin before he goes away for a year will be gone. In a way, I kind of want him to go ahead and leave so he can come home and be back already...as weird as that sounds. I just want to get it over with. (I'm sure he feels the same-getting it over with) If you're on Pinterest and have an significant other in the military, you should follow my board. I update it frequently (as frequently as I'm on pinterest-which is everyday).
Well, I also have another board that you all might want to check it.
It's all green and eco-friendly. It's full of natural and homemade
beauty products you can make at home! I made this board for my upcoming life-style turn around. With all of the reading I've been doing lately, I finally notice just how bad a lot of the everyday products you use are for you! I've been checking labels and ingredients every time I get something at the store now. If they have it, I get the most natural and organic brand they have at the market of the product I want. It's a bit more pricey but it's better for you and the amazing green Earth God made for us. :) Over the course of time, I'll probably post up some DIY's using the technics from this board. You'll probably see the homemade translucent powder really soon (as soon as I find the green clay!). You can make so much of it for so little; it'll really be better than buying the really expensive stuff from the store. What I'm looking at in the mean-time are all of the Tea Tree Oil recipes. There are so many uses for it!
The last board I'm going to share with you is my Workouts/Health Foods :). It's full of fun exercises and workout plans to get you in the best shape! Most of them are pretty easy too and only require 15 minutes a day or so. (Because I know I don't have enough time in the day to spend three hours exercising...) I have a few yoga sequences to go through too. I haven't tried any yoga, but I've been thinking about it. I'm just not sure though, because yoga is originally a practice of some other religion and I really don't want to be un-knowingly or knowingly worshiping another religion... (I don't want to get into a whole religious philosophic thing, so we'll save that for another post.) But feel free to follow any of my boards and I'll follow yours too!
Just email me at slhallphotography@gmail.com and let me know about your pins and boards! Also, feel free to ask me any questions about anything else you might want to know!
Thanks for reading and go check out Pinterest! Now!
Evening everyone! I'm going to make this post short and simple.
So many people complain about drinking water, which I understand. It does have sort of a "blah" taste, but it's so good for you! You really need to drink about a gallon of water at least everyday. It de-toxifies your body and keeps you hydrated and feeling good!
I added grapefruit and blueberries this time. A very good combination!
It can also help your acne and you'll find that you feel more energetic every day!
I know a few simple tricks to make that "blah-blah" taste of water go away:
Add fresh fruits! This seriously is the best thing. I usually leave mine in overnight with a bunch of ice in the picture to keep it fresh and cold. I usually use lemons (and I toss in a bit of mint if I can get my hands on some!), but you can use any fruit of your personal preference!
You can buy flavored drops to put in your water now specifically made to make it taste better. Though I would watch which brands you buy and look at the ingredients first. Some of those flavorings are really, really un-healthy and completely take away the point of drinking water.
Adding fruit juice is a good way tot improve the taste of water too, so you don't have to go through the hassle of buying expensive fresh fruits.
Make your water bubbly! Some people prefer the taste of sparkling water to regular. Though again, watch which brand you buy and check your ingredients!
Flavor your ice cubes. Put in store bought flavoring before freezing, or take the fruit idea from above and chop it up into your water before freezing your cubes. You can have different tastes to choose from each time you get a drink!
To get your water intake, you don't necessarily have to drink water. You can drink tea. Fruit and herbal teas are known to be better for you then "black tea" or "English tea". There are tons of flavors to choose from!
Hope this helps some people with their water dilemma. I know regular water can get a little boring, but honestly, the possibilities for water flavoring are endless. You just have to find your favorite!
