What a good day consists of.

My day is always good when thrifting is involved!

I found an army of wooden Christmas ornaments!

A delightful Christmas tin for putting delicious baked num-nums in!

An old HEAVY frame. Folks, this thing is solid! And although the picture isn't an accurate portrayal, its beautiful too!

SCORE! This amazing little mirror, with the initial "A", which happens to be the initial of my husband (coincidence?!)

And Ill be honest, I bought this game just because of the name. BUT its actually heaps of fun!

I love days that start with a hug from "A" and end with thrift stores!

Quote of the week.

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.

Helen Keller

(Picture from National Geographic)

Childhood memories.

I grew up in South America. Paraguay to be exact.

And because of that, there are huge differences to my Canadian friends that I am only now realizing.

Lets talk for a moment about literature.

My brother and I had a favorite book, in German of course. We read it all the time and I have many memories of it.

I had almost forgotten about this book until I was living in Switzerland.

I happened to stumble upon it while in a toy museum and I instantly recognized it and had to buy a copy!

When I got home, I started to read it and realized how frightening and horrible this book is! No joke! I cant believe that my parents let us read this!

AND we had NO idea how awful it was!

See? Already you're terrified, I can tell!

This book is full of morals. Although I hate to use that word.

(I wont share the graphic pictures with you, because I don't want to be responsible for your counselling costs.)

Lets sum up shall we?

When a child is picky and refuses to eat what their mother gives them, the child will starve. Literally.

When a child is disobedient and plays with matches when they are not supposed too, the child will catch on fire and burn until they are a little pile of ashes.

When a child sucks their thumb, Der Struwwelpeter will come and cut your thumbs off.

When a child daydreams to much they will fall into a river and drown.

Luckily, my brother and I were not scared of the stories, we thought they were funny!

Although I never daydream anymore...

My new thang!

I have decided to do a quote, once a week.

Its my attempt to be more intentional about blogging, more commited.

The quote will not necessarily be smooth or lovely, just something that speaks to me.

And to start off this new "thang" how about using me?

Today I had one of those moments where as soon as the words were out of my mouth, I wanted to reach out and snap them back!

I announced to my friends

"This June I will become an aunt or an uncle!"

Ooops.

Consider youreself quoted.

Today I love...

Time with my surprising, unexpected love.

(oh and also still loving our wedding pictures!)

Just so you know, I LOVE thrift stores.

I love the smell, the unique finds, the people that work there, the thrill of the hunt!

I love finding ugly ducklings and transforming them into beautiful swans!

Lately Ive been working on this dresser. I'm very excited to finally finish it!

I also bought this shelf for $2 and painted it turquoise and sanded it. Its perfect!

I also spent a few hours sewing this fun bunting. I was so sick of beige walls and these are a fun way to add color and joy!

I also made decorations with lace doilies that Ive been buying at the local thrift stores.

And whats more fun than colorful circles strung onto wool!

Ill be the first to admit that my decoration choice is not conventional, but our home is really starting to reflect Andrew and I.

Luckily I married a man who is decidedly neutral when it comes to decor! Phew!

A rekindled love.

I blame Michelle and her latest post.

Moccasins. Slippers.

Mmm, just those words make my toes curl!

Last year, about this time, I had an obsession with them.

Not just wearing them in the house when its "appropriate".

Nope, I would go out, shopping, dinner, movies.

You name it, I did it.

I bought my first pair at a thrift store. They are perfect now. Warm and deliciously broken in. You cant buy that kind of comfort! It only comes from investing many hours into these delightful creations!

I still wear this pair, except that in summer I get some strange looks from people in flip-flops and bikinis when I rock up to the beach in moccasins and shorts...

(True story. Don't let it happen to you!)

My latest pair are stolen. I prefer the term "confiscated" from my foster brother.

He didn't need them anymore. (At least that's what I tell him!)

And now, with the days chillier, and my toes in a constant state of ice-cube-ness, the craving for them is back on.

Yes, please!

Umm, maybe not...

Its been a busy weekend. With working every day and juggling 4 family dinners, Ive not only eaten a whole turkey, Im exhausted.

But life is still good.

I work up this morning singing "Kissed by a rose", dont ask why.

But the point is that I wake up each morning with a song to sing, a husband to love and a way to impact the world. Through my work, through missions, through my daily actions.

and I aint no fool! Im not taking it for granted!

I make an effort to appreciate these things daily, but it is nice to have a weekend to come together with family and friends, with love hanging off the ceiling fans and turkey up to our knees!

And so, Thanksgiving 2010, you did well.

You came, you brought turkey and you helped remind us of our blessings.

Until we meet again.

Happy happy day!

Yes, yes I know.

I still act like a child.

This was made all-too-evident this morning when I woke up at 5:30am.

Why? Because its my birthday!

And my birthday gets me all worked up and excited and then I cant sleep!

On Sunday, my husband planned a lovely dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant with some of my favorite people (minus two very favorite people...S+M),

he insured Camille and we cruised in her all day, and it was lovely!

But there is something about the actual day of birth. It just makes me happy.

Since I am 25 and, I believe, an actual adult now, I thought Id do something mature, like reflect on the past year.

It has been a crazy, eventful year!

Andrew and I got engaged!

We went to Paraguay to visit family for a wonderful month!

We got married, and visited Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

I moved permanently out of my parents house!

I have learned so much in the past year, about myself, Andrew, God and friends.

I have become closer to people, I have lost friends.

I think Ive matured (although don't ask too many of my close friends!) and feel like I'm finally figuring out long-term stuff. Which is tres exciting!

And at the same time I think "Wow, its been 25 years since I was invented! I still have no idea where I want to go, what I want to do!"

Andrew and I have big dreams and they are only starting to take shape!

Guess it'll take a while to fulfill them all..

So here's to 25 more years!

Happy birthday Me!

An official welcome...

October and I go waaaay back.

We have a shared passionate history and this year is looking like its going to be one of the best! Heres what October and I are looking forward to:

-Celebrating my 25th birthday!
That's right baby, I'm a quarter of a century old on the 5th! No matter how many birthdays go by, I still get super super excited when its my turn again!

-Going to the pumpkin patch, drinking hot apple cider and

making pumpkin pie from scratch! mmmmm.

-Running through leaves and crisp air.

-Lazy rainy days(like today)

-Drinking hot gluvien(hot mulled wine) and reminiscing about my time in Europe.

-Wearing scarves and having rosy cheeks.

-Dressing my husband up like a carrot for our Harvest party!

Generally, just enjoying the slower pace of life that Autumn seems to bring.

October, I welcome you into my life!

I try to kid myself into thinking I'm some sort of athlete, but I'm not.

At best I'm a reluctant runner.

I'm not graceful, I certainly don't look good doing it.

But I simply cannot handle being the version of myself that doesn't go.

Some days its hard to get out the door and it doesnt seem worth the effort.

But then there are days like today.

Today was beautiful.

The smell of Autumn in the air, of leaves crisping and sunshine.

Today I flew. It didn't matter that my lungs were bursting or that my legs were on fire.

Today was me and God, thinking over life, rifling through the past few months.

Today was refreshing and relaxing and oh so good.

And somewhere around the 5 km mark, I knew I would be back.

Today was the reason that I will run again tomorrow, and the day after.

Not because its easy. But because its worth it.