Fair Week

This week is a big week in our county, the 4-H Fair is open! I grew up doing 4-H, but our fair back in Philly was NOTHING compared to the one here in Indiana. Elkhart has one of the largest county fairs in the country.

Sunday we went for free day [so basically no admission] and took the girls to see all of the animals. There is a little petting farm but we also went and saw the larger animals; like the pigs, cows, draft horses, and alpacas.

Last night we left the kiddos at home and just Dustin and I went. We met our friends Chad and Mandy there for the The Band Perry concert [Do you know how weird it feels to write 'the' two times in a row]. The grandstand seats are free and Chad and Mandy got there early enough to get us in the third row. It was awesome! We ate enough fried food to meet our calorie consumption for the rest of the week and sang our hearts out.

Well, I'm off to zip up our suitcases and throw them in the car. We are leaving for vacation tonight! I'll see you all in 10 days. :)

One Week

You think I'm talking about this post, don't you? While I am super excited about that for many, many reasons... we will actually be there on Saturday afternoon. So where will we be on Friday you ask?

And no, that is not where our beach house is. Our beach house is about 3 hours north of this little piece of heaven in South Carolina. We are going there for a much more personal reason. My roommate and best friend from college, Amy, lives there with her husband.

Our story begins Freshman year when we were paired as roommates. I wrote about her in this post, if you remember.

Apparently we liked to do things like destroy signs from the opposing political party.

Sit in boxes.



Hide in corn fields.

Show school spirit.

And hang out our third story window, risking our lives for an awesome snow picture.

Somewhere during out second year at Taylor we drifted apart. I moved to another wing for Junior year to room with another friend, and she stayed behind. We didn't talk as much as we used to. But then...

We shared our engagements together.

Reunited Senior year for student teaching.

Tried on wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses together.

Shared in my wedding together.

Had visits at TU.



She was one of the first to know that I was pregnant with Brooke.
And in turn [the second picture is just foreshadowing] she recently told me that SHE is pregnant.



We graduated together.

I shared in her wedding, 25 weeks pregnant with Brooke.

Had visits in South Carolina. The first picture is from Wilmington, NC, where One Tree Hill is filmed. We share a mutual love for that show and HAD to make a visit.

And then I surprised her at a Panera Bread in Ohio on the way to Philly for Thanksgiving this past Fall.

Amy is one of my best friends. No matter how far apart we are, or how long it has been since we have talked, we can always pick up where we left off. We can be serious together, cry together, and laugh together. Amy is my most honest friend and always held me accountable, and I know that I can call her if I ever really just need to talk.

To say I can't wait to see her would be an understatement.

So I repeat.

ONE WEEK.

Inspiration

Just when I feel like I am out of things to post about for the week, Brooke says "Hey mom, let me help you out!"

That my friends is a purple permanent marker. The thing is, I'm not sure where exactly she got it. My best lead at this point is that she smuggled it into the house. We have ONE marker we keep in the house, a fine point Sharpie for writing on CDs/DVDs. It is also kept well out of sight and reach in our bedroom. All other writing utensils are kept high in a cabinet. We learned the hard way from a pen incident involving the couch, the TV, and Molly.

I did not manage to get pictures of the girls faces, legs, arms, and other parts of their bodies that were colored on. I also did not take a picture of the marker on the TV, just to keep my husband's blood pressure low.

You are probably thinking, "What did you do? Go for a run and leave them home alone?"

Um, nope. The first damage was done while I changed Molly's diaper. She then went back to the family room to see Brooke [and become part of her art project] while I ran to get dressed so we could go to the Post Office. Brooke had a busy 4 minutes by herself.

Happy Saturday!

This morning I had big plans to sleep in. And when I say sleep in that means about 9 or 9:30 in this house. As luck would have it, fighter jets decided to circle our neighborhood and "play" in the air for about 15 minutes and boy are those suckers loud.

But why is this Saturday happy?

Last night Dustin and I were able to go on a date. We rarely get to go anywhere together with out the girls so it was quite the treat. We went to see Harry Potter and I'll be honest, I dressed up a little.

See? Just a little.

The movie was amazing though. I'm sure some of you are thinking "Harry Potter? No. That's for kids." But it isn't! The theater was full of all ages and [fun fact] the first book was published when I was in 5th grade. True story. The story lines and creativity that the author displays in the books is phenomenal. If I could sit down and pick the brain of any author, she would be it! I would definitely recommend them if you are looking for a new series to read, and I have ALL the movies if you want to borrow them. ;)

I am going to reread the series again pretty soon here and I'm looking for to it.

J.K. Rowling: Thanks for teaching me to imagine again. It's been a good decade.

It Starts...

Today I am starting a modified version of the Paleo diet. I am hoping that it will bring back my love for lean meats and veggies and wean me off of carbs. I plan to still eat carbs, and continue to eat carbs after the diet, but I need to focus on getting other food as well. I'm hoping this will also help me lose some weight. I have been stuck at the same weight for MONTHS now. I'm talking... more then half a year. I work out three to four times a week so it has been pretty discouraging.

My first goal is to lose 5 pounds before July 30th, and I think just with a drop in carbs and an uptake in water, that is possible. Baby steps. My ultimate goal is 20 pounds, but I'm not setting any time limits because I want to have patience.

If you have an advice or good recipe blogs, let me know!

:: raises glass of water ::

Is this thing on?

July is probably our busiest month of the summer, so that is why my blog may seem neglected. We have had BBQs and days at the lake. We spend our days outside swimming and sunning, and the Nook has been getting lots of use. In just over a week starts the local 4H fair, which is one of the largest in the country, and we already have two nights planned to be there. The weekend after that we leave for vacation. Where are we going you ask?

And yes, that is the beach right on the other side of it. When I stand on the beach and look back, I'll see this.



We also have a pool and hot tub



A nice kitchen



And entertainment...

There are also 8 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms. There are beach chairs, game systems, kids stuff, and even a huge sandbox underneath the house. There will be 22 of us going and I have been looking forward to this since we booked it this past Winter. Now on to making myself look good in a bathing suit...

31 Days of Photos

I am doing this Photo challenge on FB, and I guess here too. :) I don't think I'll update every day like I will there, but I might include them in other posts or post my favorites.

So today's... who in their right mind asks a girl to pick ONE pair of favorite shoes? I think if you met me in person and got to know me, you would be shocked when you walking into my closet and saw my shoes. I have a lot of shoes, A LOT. And the majority of them are heels. So I couldn't possibly pick my favorite, so here are a few. I wear flip flops when I'm out with the girls, but for nights out or at church, I love to wear my heels. I like feeling tall. :)

Photography

See that over there? That is a POLL.

I know I have been vague about this photography thing and more of just "plugging" it. I think it is time I went a little deeper.

I have spent almost two years practicing, researching, and studying photography. I think that the beginning of a photography comes from a natural skill, something deep within you that knows just the right pose or that creative angle. You have to have it. But there is also skill building after that, which is what I've done. I had family and friends constantly encouraging me to taking it further that just my own girls and free sessions for friends. I decided that this summer would be THE summer.

I started a blog and a FB page, and have been working on my portfolio. The natural name for a photography business seems to be after the name of the photographer. I have a very common name, especially in my town. I changed it up a little with J.Miller Photography.

As I was building my portfolio I noticed that there is one specific door downtown that I am pulled to doing shoots. A simple, red door that I think might lead to an insurance agency, but I'm not sure. Here is a picture taken with that door, and I hope that there are many more to come!

The Sugar & Spice idea came from the fact that I have two girls and they pretty much define me most of the time. It is hard to remember that I am not only a mom 24/7. I have interests and passions and I matter. It is a cute name idea though.