October in Review || Hello November -- hiking + the state fair + I got a letter from the white house + lots of funnies

 

HAPPENINGS


 

Daddy took Kristen and I hiking! It was a BEAUTIFUL day to be outside!

 

 

We went to the STATE FAIR and met some friends from church up there!

 

 



My goal is to be finished 12th grade by February. I started in September and I've been working SO HARD to finish up early. I'm almost half way!! WOOT WOOT!!!

 

 

 

I went to a concert with some friends!!! IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!!

 

 

I got a letter back from the White House! THE WHITE HOUSE!!!! Maybe I'll do a post on that soon!?!?!

 

I FINALLY had my piano recital (I had it at my piano teachers house)

Daddy and Mama surprised us kids and gave us each one of these books! THEY.ARE.ADDICTING.

Our heat stopped working and while we are waiting for it to get fixed, we have to use our woodstove! Nice and toasty!

 

Kristen, Ben, and I walked around the whole lake and then spent the rest of the afternoon on the dock soaking up the sun. IT WAS SO RELAXING!!!

I WON BRI'S GIVEAWAY!!!!!

FUNNIES

 



ben: After doing connect the dots before bed. *sleep talking* "108. 109. 110....."

 

 

 

me: *talking to Kristen and a friend from church about Kristen in a teasing way* "She's a weird breed of potato."

friend: *wont stop laughing over "breed of potato"*

 

Being sick and thinking I was extremely weak after trying to pick up a bench I had easily moved before, and then realizing there was a crate full of magazines on the built in shelf under the bench.

LIKE WHAAAAAAATTT??????

 

 



 

 

ben: *talking to Kris* "Have you grown?"
kristen: "No. You dont grow when you're 23."
ben: "You wanna bet?
kristen: *in sad voice* "No."


*during dinner I hand Ben a roll* ben: *singing* "When the roll is called up yonder I'll be there."

 

 

THANKFUL FOR

 

my friends (the squad)

 

 

sitting on my parents bed and talking with them before going to bed.

 

watching the kids in the church nursery

 

 

 

driving my car (his name is Richard xD)

 

getting up early to take care of Gideon (our bullmastiff) and the chickens and seeing this beautiful view on the lake

 

 

the weather (ITS FINALLY FEELING AND LOOKING LIKE FALL OUTSIDE!!!)

 

long conversations with Kris

 

getting this book as a gift at my piano recital

 

 

 

 

BLOG POSTS

 

 

State Fair 2017 || food, smells, and rides OH MY! + lots of pictures

 

what it's like wearing braces || tips & tricks



 

We Went to a Concert || lots of photos + I'm writing 10K in November!!!

We Are Fearfully And Wonderfully Made (God Made Us Different For A Reason)

 

OCTOBER GOALS

 

read two new books  (not textbooks)     Check. I almost read four.
 

try a new recipe (something fallish)   Check. I made pumpkin cream cheese bundt cake. It was delicious!

 

write more  Check!

do a fallish photo shoot    Check

 

 



 

NOVEMER GOALS

 

 read three new books

 

write 10,000 words for my WIP, "The Room."

exercise more
 

 

 

October was such a great month, even though it did go by way too fast. October is my favorite month in Fall and it's gone. Goodbye October. Hurry back :)

 

 

 

 

 

 How was YOUR month? Something funny that happened in October? Anything exciting happening in November? What are some of your goals for November? What is your favorite month in Fall?

 

We Are Fearfully And Wonderfully Made (God Made Us Different For A Reason)

My sister let me borrow a little devotional book that she has and I recently started using it. One of the lessons really got me thinking and I'd like to share some of my thoughts with you.

Sometimes I get in my moods and everything about myself I wish I could change.


      "Oh, look at that girl. She's so pretty. She doesn't have one single bit of acne on her face. I wish I was that pretty."

     "That girl is so sweet. She never does anything to make people mad or irritated. I wish I was more like her."

     "Look at her hair. It's so thick and wavy and it's the prettiest color. And she has the perfect eye color to match. I wish I could look more like that."

     "She has all of the attention. Everybody likes her, especially the guys, and, well, I wish I could be more like her."


I struggle with thinking these things ALL OF THE TIME and I KNOW that a lot of you girls do too.

WE NEED TO STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!!!!

 

"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."

                                                        - Psalms 139:14

God has made each one of us differently. Each with our own abilities. Each with our own personalities. (Wouldn't it be boring if we were all the same?)
He knew our names, what we would look like, what our struggles would be, and what our personalities would be like before we were even thought of. Before we were even born. HE KNEW YOU!

"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee;"  

                                                               - Jeremiah 1:5a

 

God made you the way He wants you to be and He wants you to be content with how He saw fit to design you. You are fashioned by the hand of God. He made you different than "her" for a reason. So you can fulfill His purposes for your life. If you were like "her" than the Lord wouldn't be able to use you like He wanted to. Like He planned.
Also, we need to stop telling ourselves that we're are ugly, because WE ARE NOT! God made us in His image (Genesis 1:12) and He loves us the way we are.
And it is not about what we look like on the outside anyway.

 

"...for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."

 

                                                       - 1 Samuel 16:7b

 

Really, all we should be concerned about is our hearts. We need to make sure that we are all right with the Lord.

I wrote this post for me just as much as I wrote it for you. We all need this reminder. It can get hard sometimes I know, but we need to remember that God made us all different for a reason. For His purpose.



Also, Bri is having a giveaway on her blog. Go enter NOW!!!!

 

 What are YOUR thoughts on this? Have you ever felt like this?
Did it help you any? Anything to add? Did you enter the giveaway?

 

 

 

 

 

We Went to a Concert || lots of photos + I'm writing 10K in November!!!

Some of the teenagers/young adults of our church and some other friends went to a concert last week. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!! They played mostly classical music, but they started off by playing the national anthem (which was beautiful. I felt so patriotic standing with my hand over my heart, singing!).

(the above pictures ⬆ were taken before we left the house)

 

 

 

 

 

It was a REALLY fun night that I didn't want to end! But I'll have to admit, I think I had more fun in the van with everybody than at the concert ;)



Next month (November) I'm going to TRY and write 10K words in my current WIP. I've been SO BUSY with school work, chores, my blog, and just plain ole life that I haven't had too much time for writing and I miss it terribly. So I'm going to make it a goal to write at least 10K next month, though I know I'm going to really have to buckle down and write every chance I get.

(Actual footage of me writing next month ↓)

Have you ever been to an orchestra concert? Something exciting you're planning to do in the month of November? What is the most you've written in a month?

what it's like wearing braces || tips & tricks

I got my braces put on November 2016. I've almost been wearing them a year and my orthodontist said I'd be wearing them anywhere from 18-24 months.
My teeth were kind of bad. My bottom teeth were VERY crooked and I had a SEVERE overbite.

The first thing I had to do (even before I got my braces put on) was get spacers. Spacers are harmless looking blue rubber band looking things that fit between your back teeth. They don't look like much, but OH MAN DO THEY HURT! I think I feasted on applesauce the whole time I wore them which was one week. Just thinking about eating potato chips made me cringe. I tried eating soft noodles, but even they hurt.
Maybe it was just me because my brother (who had his spacers on the same time as I did) said that they hurt for a few days, but then weren't too terrible. So I guess everybody's different.

Getting braces put on wasn't really that bad. They took the spacers out and then cleaned my teeth to get them ready for my braces. I WAS VERY NERVOUS! But like I said earlier, it really wasn't that bad. They had the braces put on in an hour and I was soon going home.
It took quite a while to get used to them. And yes, my teeth were sore for a few days (definitely nothing like the pain I felt with the spacers) but I was eating regular food before I knew it.
Braces feel like candy stuck to your teeth. When I first got them put on I just kept rubbing my tongue across them.
Cleaning your teeth with braces is TOUGH!!!! I think it took me literally an hour to proxy, brush, floss, and rinse the first night. But don't worry, you get faster with practice. I am now cleaning all of my teeth in less than ten minutes! GO ME!!!

I go to my orthodontist approximately every other month. And I am pretty sure I have the BEST orthodontist EVER!! Everybody is so nice and sweet. And they have this cool thing where you get a card (kind of like a rewards card) and every time you go to your appointment you get points for things like clean teeth, healthy gums, wearing rubber bands, etc. You also get points for doing contests on their webpage! You can exchange your points for bags, t-shirts, hoodies, and gift cards. I've made over $150 doing the rewards thing! IT'S PRETTY AWESOME!!!

I started wearing rubber bands in August. They made my teeth a little sore at first, but now I'm used to them. You wear them day AND night and only take them off for eating. I change mine out 2-3 times a day, depending on the day.

I've heard lots of people say different things about what foods to eat, but I'm going with the majority.

 DON'T EAT/DRINK:

caramel (or any other kind of sticky candy)
popcorn
gum (bubble gum or just plain old chewing gum)
REALLY crunchy foods (some potato chips, etc.)
lots of carbonated drinks (it's alright every once and a while, but DEFINITELY not every day)

So, I guess you've had a small peak into my braces life. And since A LOT of you girls out there are wearing braces or will be getting them in the future, I thought I could share a few tips and tricks I've learned since I got them (almost) a year ago.


1. Brush (at least) 2x a day, Floss 1x, proxy after EVERY. SINGLE. MEAL., rinse with mouth wash 1x a day, and DO NOT FORGET TO WEAR THOSE RUBBER BANDS (it WILL prolong your treatment)!

2. Use a waterpik. Using a waterpik has REALLY helped me out. It gets those hard to get to places that your tooth brush can't reach. I HIGHLY recommend that you purchase one if you have braces.

3. Get a bag that fits in your purse and fill it with a toothbrush, proxy, wax, and Tylenol. IT WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE!
(Also, make sure to keep your wax close after you get your braces put on or have them tightened. If you don't, you'll wish you had xD)

4. DON'T TAKE WHITENING TREATMENT WHILE YOU ARE WEARING BRACES. Your teeth will get white, all except that part of the tooth that is under your bracket, so it will look quite silly when you get your braces removed. So wait to have your whitening treatment until AFTER you get your braces off.

5. Take Tylenol or Ibuprofen about an hour before your orthodontist appointments. It helps A LOT!

6.  Just take care of them. I know that is a broad category, but it's the best one I have. The better you take care of your braces, the faster you can get them off!!!

 

Hopefully these tips have helped you out (I know they've sure helped me out). And remember time goes by fast. I feel like I just had my braces put on, but it's going on a year. I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE IT.
I am so excited to get my braces off. NEXT YEAR, GUYS!!! YAY!!!

 

Do/did you have braces? When do/did you get yours? When do/did you get them taken off? Do you use any of these tips? Do you have any other tips I didn't mention?