Princess Party!

I mentioned yesterday that my church hosted a Princess Party for girls and their moms, aunts, grandmas, etc at our church on Sunday. This was a fun event for the girls to come dressed in their princess attire and to just spend an afternoon being reminded that we are all truly princesses because we are daughters of the King. I think it's so neat that since God is our Father and He is King of all Kings we are royalty, too!

Anyway, at the party, the girls got to walk across the stage in a pageant of sorts where they were introduced and had their pictures taken. The girls seemed to really enjoy being in a pageant and showing off their pretty princess attire! And I got to be the photographer they came to at the end of the "runway" to have their picture taken while sitting on the throne! It was so fun! And after the pageant, the girls were able to eat snacks, decorate picture frames to put their photos in, paint their nails, play games and eventually they opened up the dance floor and danced the rest of the afternoon away!

I want to share a few photos from the afternoon with you guys. I will preface however that I didn't take all these photos. Most of them I did take and but others were taken by other ladies who used my camera while I was busy doing the pageant photos.

The girls getting ready for the pageant. See me in the background with the tripod getting ready for the photos?

Waiting to decorate their picture frames.

Nail painting - they loved this!

Me, my mom, and my sister

Me and my sister

Pastor Lori came to the party but she didn't wear a dress. However, it worked out perfectly because the girls all got to make Pastor Lori into a pretty princess!



Pastor Lori and her lovely fashion design team. =)

My sister Kaity relaxing on the throne...



Dancing the afternoon away!

What a fun, fun afternoon we had! And I must say it was pretty awesome dressing up as a princess! I felt so beautiful! And it didn't hurt that after I got dressed and was getting ready to leave Collin looks at me and says "Wow... you look really beautiful!" =) The best part of the afternoon though is knowing that even without the fancy dress and the tiara, I am a princess!

I think everyone should have a Princess Party. It was so special to those girls to feel like royalty for an afternoon and to be reminded that they are. If you want to throw a Princess Party and want any ideas, don't hesitate to ask! I'd be happy to help out!

Cindy

Blogger 411

My blog friend Meagan posted this neat little getting to know you Blogger 411 today and it linked me to Becky over at From Mrs. to Mama. I think Becky has a great idea for getting to know other bloggers better and since my blog is a journey of my life I thought it could be fun for you all to learn some more about me through some fun questions.

1. How long have you been blogging? And what got you started on blogging? Has your blog changed?
I started blogging in December of 2010, so almost two years now! I started blogging because I was already a big part of the community (I read and commented on many blogs) and I wanted to journal and form relationships with the many wonderful ladies I had already met and would soon meet! My blog hasn't really changed too much. I didn't exactly have a real format. I've tried certain things that I kept up with for a little while (my Friday series stuff) that I don't do anymore and I've added other random things but mostly my blog is the same, a hodgepodge of different posts. I am proud though that my posts are accompanied by original photography now instead of finding random photos online.

2. Did you go to college? If so where, and what did you study?
I went to Messiah College in the tiny town of Grantham, PA. I studied music. Started out as Music Education and ended up as Church Music. It may have been expensive (and put me in debt) but I wouldn't trade my experience there for anything!

3. Where have you traveled?
Well, growing up my family didn't go too terribly far away for vacations. We didn't have a ton of money so if we went a long ways from Maryland is was pretty much to visit family. So as a kid I went to Phoenix and Tuscon (in the same trip), the Chicago suburb area, Louisville, and New Hampshire; and then we went to VA Beach a lot and went to numerous campgrounds in the states of VA, MD, and PA. Then in college I went to Austria and Czech Republic with my choir on an international tour, I went to Miami for an ACDA Convention (choir convention), I did a New England fall break tour with the drama ministry group, Spirit Force, I was a part of, and I went to NYC, NJ, DE, and some random other places in PA for choir tour. One summer while I was in college my family went to Las Vegas! That was also to visit family but it was such a fun trip. And then since I've been with Collin I've been to Orlando, Ormond Beach, Atlantic Beach, NC, the Poconos, Williamsport, PA, and on a cruise to the Bahamas. I REALLY love to travel. I would travel all the time if we could afford it!

4. If you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you would buy?
I would pay off all my student loan debt. Then once that was done I'd buy us a house and a Disney cruise to Alaska.

5. What are your 3 biggest pet peeves?
1. Hmm... This is weird but coughing. I can't stand to hear people cough. Ick.
2. People who don't know how to drive/break driving rules. And I don't just mean like driving too slow or what not. I mean people that pass on the right on a solid white line. People that talk on their cell phone/text while driving even though it's against the law in MD. People that don't use their turn signals. Just stuff like that.
3. When someone doesn't put their dirty dishes in the dishwasher but doesn't rinse it off and/or stacks the dirty plates filled with food. EWW. So gross!!! When I go to put it in the dishwasher (i.e. if it was full and/or clean when the new dirty dishes were made), I do NOT want to touch nasty food stuck to the bottom of a plate or smell icky caked on stuff.

6. What is your favorite movie?
It's too hard to choose. Here's my top 5. Up, Ocean's Eleven, RV, National Treasure, and Rat Race

7. What is your drink of choice; wine, beer, or liquor. Or Water, Soda, Tea?
Of all those options the only one I drink is water. =) And that actually is my drink of choice.

8. What is something you enjoy to do when you have me time?
I love to play piano, play frisbee golf, or read.

9. If you could have a $10,000 shopping spree to one store, which store would it be?
Only one store? That would be really hard. But I suppose either Kohl's or Marshall's. And I'd probably still only buy sale/clearance priced merchandise.

10. Share with us an embarrassing moment of your past? Or present.
This is the hardest to come up with. I know I have had NUMEROUS embarrassing moments in the past (and present) but I can't think of any. I guess I just block them out! haha. I suppose I can share with you one that happened in middle school that traumatized me forever. I was in band throughout middle school and we always had to play at the 8th grade graduation ceremony. This was in 6th grade and we had finished playing and went to lunch all together as a band. Because we had to be dressed up I was wearing a knee length black skirt with my band shirt. Our cafeteria at the time didn't have AC in it so they had these gigantic industrial fans in there to keep it cool. Well, I was walking from the table to go get in the lunch line and I tripped over one of the fan cords and landed face first on the ground. Upon standing up I realized my skirt flew up revealing my underwear to all who saw me fall. But the worst part was, the boy I had a crush on was sitting RIGHT NEXT to where I fell. I was mortified. At least it was the last day of school and everyone had forgotten about it over the summer. =)

11. What day would you love to relive again?
Either our wedding day (it was SO MUCH FUN) or our Day At Sea on our cruise in 2010.

12. If your life was turned into a movie... what actor would play you?
Kate Hudson.

13. What are the jobs you had in high school/college/the early years?
I had a lot of different jobs. In high school I worked for Peebles Department Store for a few months, I babysat, and then between high school and college I worked for a government contractor. Then during my college breaks I worked at a daycare one summer, as a behavioral specialist for a child with autism one summer, I babysat one summer, and I worked as a substitute teacher for a little while. Then after college I worked for a Temp Agency before getting my first "real" job.

14. Show us a picture from high school or college.

Collin and I at the Senior Banquet in High School. We weren't dating, we didn't really know each other all that well actually. haha! I love how it looks like we're in love though. Proves we were meant to be together! *Sorry for the poor quality of the photo. This is a scan of a physical picture and the original was kind of washed out, too*

15. If you could travel anywhere in the world, all expenses paid, where would you go?
Italy. I would go to most of the country actually but definitely Venice. And I'd ride in a gondola.

16. Show us the most current picture of you, or your family, or anything of meaning to you.

This may not be the *most* current picture but I love it. And it still looks like us. It was taken last December. We haven't really changed much at all. Except my hair is now longer. =)

17. Where do you see your life 5 years from now?
5 years from now I really have no idea! Life is so up in the air. I suppose in 5 years I hope to be pregnant and possibly owning a home. It just all depends on where we are financially. At least 5 years from now my car will be paid off and my smallest student loan will be mostly, if not all the way, paid off!

I hope you guys enjoyed getting to know a little but more about me! It's fun to fill these things out. It gives me a bit of introspection into myself. And I even had to think about things I'd forgotten about!

Cindy

...and It Was Delightful

I know that it's almost the weekend again but I just wanted to share some little tidbits about this past weekend. It was very lovely and I couldn't have been more thrilled!

Last Thursday began my weekend since I had Friday off. And it began well because my dear Collin brought me home this beautiful bouquet of flowers! Love him!

I went to Target on Thursday evening and found this dress on clearance. It cost me $12! So I just had to wear it for my errand running on Friday! It was so comfy and cute.

Friday afternoon some dark clouds rolled in. Then they rolled out. Then a BIG thunderstorm rolled in around 6PM and some of the thunder was so loud it shook our apartment! It even produced some hail.


Saturday afternoon we ventured down to St. George's Island, which is a tiny little island in the county, for a friend's congratulations party. This was the view on our drive. I love where we live!

I am so thankful for a hubby that helps with the housework. I don't mind to vacuum but my back started hurting pretty bad so Collin vacuumed the apartment before our friends came over Saturday afternoon.

I shared this photo yesterday but it was such a significant part of my weekend that I wanted to share it again. This is the part of the Chesapeake Bay where Collin was baptized on Sunday!

After the baptism was over we enjoyed an afternoon with our friend Megan at her apartment and then out to dinner at Bob Evan's. This was the view when we walked out of the restaurant. Pure bliss. And a great way to end our weekend!

Cindy

Good for the Soul

Do you ever have one of those good for the soul kinds of weekends? I had one this past one. I was busy, and sure I would have liked a little bit more relaxation, but it was great. I spent time with Collin (though less than I wanted), spent time with friends, spent time with my sister, and got some more work done around the apartment! My weekend started on Thursday once work was over! I absolutely adore having every other Friday off. And when I got home I discovered that some Washi Tape I had ordered from The Plain Barn came in!! I was so excited because I have not been able to find it anywhere local! Our Target sells two different kinds. Black and white polka dots (which is cute) and some weird green one with words that are really only good for scrapbooking (which I don't do). So I was elated when The Plaid Barn did a deal on washi tape.

And then, after opening my tape I realized that my buddy boy has been feeling neglected lately and wanted some loving. So I began to play with him and boy was he spunky. At one point I moved rather quickly and it must have startled him because he decided he needed to "hide". I wonder if he knew this was not an effective hiding spot. lol

Friday I got to do some much needed grocery shopping early in the morning and I bought myself a beautiful hanging basket of Citrus Fire for the porch. It has made me SO happy to have that beautiful plant on my porch. I also bought some potting soil and seeds (I already had two pots) for planting zinnias and dwarf sunflowers. I'll have some pretty little flowers this summer!

Friday afternoon I spent with a friend whom I hadn't seen in quite some time. We did some much needed catching up and then we went to our local library's free showing of The Help. We had both finished the book recently and really enjoyed watching the movie. So, so good. Then in the evening I went to a Tastefully Simple party with my friend Jeannie and had a good time trying out some new food.
Saturday I headed up to Annapolis to do some shopping with my sister. We had a great time together and even though I wasn't planning to buy anything I did find a sexy yet sophisticated dress at Ann Taylor LOFT that was on their final sale rack for $14.99 and it fit so well I couldn't pass it up! It was originally a $90 dress!! So excited about that purchase. I can't wait to wear it. =) After doing some clothes shopping we headed to Menchie's and got delicious frozen yogurt!


Yesterday after church Collin and I got some stuff done around the apartment. He cleaned out some of his stuff from the hall closet and put a few more boxes into our storage room off the porch. We hung a few things up around the house before Jeff and Jeannie came over in the afternoon. Jeannie and I made lots of cards while the men played frisbee golf and video games. Then I made dinner for us all and we played Monopoly until it was time to say goodnight! And I had beautiful fresh flowers in the house that I'd purchased at a Farmer's Market I discovered! Love! It brought me such joy!


This weekend brought so much joy to my life. It was definitely good for my soul. Because some weekends you need to be surrounded by loved ones and lots of fun and pretty things. And yet others you just need to relax and do nothing. Both are absolutely fine. I just know I enjoy any weekend that is just what my soul needs, whether filled to the brim with great things or filled with relaxation and quiet. =)

Cindy

Things That Make Me Happy

Today I just want to share with you some things have that made me happy lately. It's been a week of lots of smiles.



Making birthday cards for people I love

I bought this skirt at the thrift store several months ago. When I bought it I couldn't try it on but it was my size. I got home and tried it on and it wouldn't zip/button. I wasn't expecting to be able to wear it on Tuesday but I wanted to try. And it fit!!

Having pancakes for supper to celebrate Shrove Tuesday before going to praise team practice!

Warm-ish weather! And (mostly) sunshine!

The pile of laundry I had (and still have) to fold. This might be weird to some of you, but I love laundry. So even though I haven't had time to fold it yet I look forward to doing it.

Our church held a very touching and moving Ash Wednesday Service. I took some notes and the ones that stood out to me the most were "We can't work to be free of our guilt. We must just accept Jesus' forgiveness. - New start through the CROSS"

I love doing this and Jessica is the one who inspired me. I love her "I Smile" Wednesday posts. What's made you smile this week? I hope you've had lots of things. I'd love to hear about them in the comments!

Cindy

Super Bowl!

Yesterday we had a fun time watching the Super Bowl. We watched it with Collin's parents and the neighbor from across the street because his wife is out of town. I was rooting for the Giants and was so excited that they won! That was one intense 4th quarter, too! Honestly though, I didn't pay much attention to the game until the 4th quarter when it got intense. =) I'm not much a football fan but I do enjoy the Super Bowl. And I do get excited and into it when good things are happening. But I enjoyed the commercials. My favorites were the one with the dog who exercised to go chase a Volkswagen and the one for the new Acura with Jerry Seinfeld. And I don't know about you but I loved the half time show! I thought Madonna did a great job! I've always like her music and I was very impressed that she wasn't dressed trashy and that her overall show was more about the music then it was about her flaunting herself! What did you think of the game? Were you happy with the result? Did you watch it just for the commercials or are you into football?

Super spicy hot wings made for the Super Bowl My sweet boy laying on my chest while I played on my phone/watched the Super Bowl My two boys during the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl. And one more of my Stanky laying at my feet.

All photos taken via Instagram on my iPhone

Cindy

Happy Day

*I know I haven't updated the gratitude challenge in a week and I'll explain more on that tomorrow, but for now, know that just because I haven't updated it does not mean I'm not grateful and everyday giving thanks for my blessings!*

Okay, so have you ever had one of those mornings where it just stinks? You wake up late due to nothing but your own fault, you're freezing cold in the shower, and you don't have enough time to blow dry your hair? That was only part of my morning. When I got out of the shower and finally warmed up I quickly picked out what I was going to wear to work this morning and was so excited about it. I was going to wear my brand new pink tights with a black skirt, white shirt and pink cardigan. So I start getting dressed and I'm pulling up the tights and I get them all the way up but I wanted to pull them up just a little more over my butt. And for those that might not know I do not have a small bottom. It's not big as in wide, it's large as in it sticks out the back of my body a lot. Anyway... I'm only telling you that so you can understand this... As I'm pulling up the tights over my butt I hear riiiiip. I look down at my butt and sure enough there's a HUGE tear in the tights. I was SO upset. I was really, really excited to wear those tights today. So instead I put on my black tights and was instantly disappointed with how drab my outfit now looks. (It's actually not bad and I still like it, it's just not what I was envisioning and in the heat of the moment I was exaggerating how bad it looked.) Then because of this whole tight ripping incident I spent like 5 minutes putting on the pink tights, taking them off and putting on black ones. And 5 minutes may not seem like much but it's a lot when you're running late and trying to hurry.

So I'm on my way to work steaming about how upset I was over my tights and that I'm now going to be a few minutes late to work because of it and I didn't even get to have a filling breakfast when I finally started paying attention to the music that was playing from my iPod. "Happy Day" by Fee begins to play. This was one of the songs that Leeland, the worship band at ALIVE (more about that this week), played this weekend for us. And I immediately just stopped my grumbling and began praising my God. How absolutely wonderful that God knows just what I need to make me feel better. I needed just a simple song as a reminder of how blessed I am and how even though my morning may not have started off the way I wanted it to that this is a happy day!

A happy day indeed!! My sins are washed away. I am forever changed all because Jesus died to save me! Every single day, no matter what troubles or strife I am facing, is a happy day!! A happy day because I am saved and I am free! Hallelujah!! Go and enjoy this happy day!

Cindy

The Gratitude Challenge - Day 11

1 Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.
Let the whole world know what he has done.
2 Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.
Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.
3 Exult in his holy name;
rejoice, you who worship the Lord.
Psalm 105 (NLT)

Today, I didn't take any pictures of what we were doing, but you know what, it didn't matter. I had a wonderful day and I am so grateful for the low-key evening that Collin and I were able to have at home. Life can be busy and hectic. I am grateful that Collin and I were able to just sit at home tonight watching tv and playing video games. It was a delightfully lovely evening!

Do you ever have these evenings? Ones where you just relax at home and snuggle with the one you love (or with yourself if you're single!) Which do you prefer? Ones relaxing at home or ones where you're out and about doing stuff? I do enjoy both and honestly I don't think I could choose one or the other. I need an mix of both. But tonight just happened to be a night where I needed to stay in!

Cindy

The Gratitude Challenge - Day 9

1 Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.
Let the whole world know what he has done.
2 Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.
Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.
3 Exult in his holy name;
rejoice, you who worship the Lord.
Psalm 105 (NLT)

Today I am grateful, oh so very grateful, that Target is selling colored tights for $5. I have been wanting fun colored tights for MONTHS. Literally since last winter. But the stores around here only sold basic colors (or ones I wasn't too interested in) and they were too expensive for my liking. But I was walking around Target on Sunday and saw that display above and I literally stopped in my tracks and said a quick thank you to God! It might seem silly but I am so happy. So, so happy. So far I've only bought two pairs, red and plum, but I plan to buy quite a few more. Hurray for fun colored tights!!

Cindy