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June 24, 2008

>Five Things: Stephen King books<

I've been reading a little more lately, and so I thought I'd share my top five Stephen King books.

  1. Bag of Bones-My very favorite book of all-time. I love this book. Such a good story, good plot, good characters. A ghost story.
  2. Salem's Lot-I loved it. Every single word. If you love vampire stories, this is the one for you.
  3. The Tommyknockers-An alien story. I absolutely loved it-such a good story.
  4. Cell-Very, very good. I just got done with this one a little while ago. I loved it-I love apocalyptic movies and books. Makes me long for a super big adventure.
  5. The Stand-Again with the apocalyptic kind of story. I love it. Absolutely love it.

And I just have to say that any of his short story collections are worth reading. It is the lost form of literature, but probably my favorite. I love a good short story, and his are some of the best.

>Busy<

We have been oh so busy around here. My parents came this past Thursday and stayed the night before heading on to Iowa. We had breakfast on Sunday with Paul's aunt and uncle as they passed through on their way back to Michigan.

Sunday afternoon Robbie and I worked on recording her songs. It was a lot of fun, and they sound oh so good. We did three, so we have a few more to do this week. I cannot tell you how cool it is to look up her name under the artist section of the iPod and have her songs come up. She really has the gift of song (I so do not), and her songs always inspire me. I'm serious. When she's playing/singing them for me I get creative-scrapbooking, painting and even simple photo editing. And so now I can listen to them whenever I want-even after she's all moved to Denver. A little piece of her she's leaving with me. :-)

My parents came back today and will be here through Thursday probably. Tomorrow we are going to see Robbie at work and then heading to her apartment to help her pack. Honestly, I think we can probably get it all packed in just a couple of hours. With all of us working together, and her not having a whole lot to pack it should make for fast work.

And then next Monday begins the unexpected week for us. My parents will be back, and Robbie will be dropping the four of us (mom, dad, Paul and I) off at the airport. We are flying to Dallas where we will get to spend a day or so with David before he deploys and then we are driving his car back here. Robbie will be using it while he's deployed, which helps her out immensely. Her little oil-burning Saturn is not a good fit for mountain life. :-) It gives her time to save up for a new vehicle (which she's already planning for in her budget-she's very good with money). It was a completely spur-of-the-moment thing. My parents had to go and asked if I could join them. I really, really wanted to see David before he left. I've already started getting really emotional thinking about it. It's been harder than I thought. Part of it is the fact that he's not a Christian and he's going to a place where he could be killed. Not a pleasant thought. Anyway, they bought my ticket for me and then Paul decided to come along also. It makes our already tight finances, tighter, but I am so very grateful that he's coming. Not that I minded going by myself, and he would've survived without me, but it's going to be a very emotional time. And having the extra support will be so very good. I've been so up and down (a lot of down) lately anyway. Anyway, it's good and I'm happy. It's going to be a fast trip-we're driving straight through to get back. And Paul has to work on that Friday, but it's possible and I love driving, so it's a win-win situation. And I get to see my brother. Whom I love dearly. And who is going into combat-into a very dangerous area.

After we return, my parents will be going home to come back the following Monday to get the truck/moving trailer all packed up and then they will move Robbie to Colorado. It's been very busy for them as well. I won't be watching Carter for the first couple of days that week to help out in any way that I can. Two and a half weeks with no Carter is very strange indeed. :-)

Well, I'm out. I hope everyone has a wonderful week and if I'm not back soon-you'll know why.

June 18, 2008

>iMix:had a bad day<

This weeks iMix is full of songs for a bad day. Some are negative, a couple are more positive and some have a fighting attitude about them. Enjoy! Had a Bad Day

Had a bad day

June 17, 2008

>Five Things: For the Shower<

Or bath, for that matter. Five of my favorite bath products.

  1. Caress Body Wash-My favorite is Tahitian Renewal, I use it 99.9% of the time. I love the walnut shells that scrub my skin. I also love the Moroccon and Glowing Touch-I try to vary it up each time I buy (I buy a two-pack because it saves money in the long run).
  2. Suave Shampoo and Conditioner- They are cheap, which is our first priority. However, they do a good job as well. I use the naturals, my favorites being Aloe and Waterlily, Refreshing Tangeriene and Daily Clarifying (I like to use this one especially after a camping trip or whenever my hair hasn't been washed for a couple of days).
  3. Clean and Clear Daily Pore Cleanser- I don't use it every day. I use it every other day and it seems to help. My skin tends to be oily and this takes care of it. Am I breakout free? No, but it keeps my skin a little healthier and keeps the pimples and blackheads to a minimum.
  4. Bath and Body Works Soap-I love their soap bars. I don't use them very often, but they are my favorite soap bar out there. My favorite is sweet pea.
  5. Method Daily Shower Spray-This one isn't a product you use on yourself. It is something you spray in the shower/tub when you are finished. I love Method products because of their chemical free stance. So much better for you. You can buy Method at Target.

June 16, 2008

>dreams<

I am, by nature, a dreamer. I have always been a dreamer. Sometimes this is good and sometimes this is bad. On the bad spectrum, it has caused me to be somewhat of a worrier. I would always be worried that my sisters would drown when we went swimming with my brothers (they let us go out over our heads). I would always worry that we would crash into the water when we went through Ada to Grand Rapids (no guardrail at one point). A vivid imagination can cause wild and crazy thoughts and dreams which can, in turn, cause worry. I am proud to say that as I have grown and matured, my worried nature has dimmed. I can now paddle way out in Lake Michigan in a little rubber raft boat with no life jackets and be perfectly fine with it (and it probably wasn't as far as it seemed). I can jump out of a plane with a stranger and his parachute strapped to my back. I can be happy for my sister going to Denver and not worry too much about how she'll get along there.

Back to the topic at hand, I have been working hard lately to cultivate contentment regarding my dreams. There are so many places that I would love to travel to and see and visit, and I will probably never make it to 90% of them, and I want to be content with that. There are so many things that I want to try, and I will probably never get to, and I want to be content with that.

However, sometimes I wonder when a dream should be put away, if just for awhile. How do you know when enough is enough? How do you know when to hold on to a dream with everything you've got, fighting for it to the end? What path do you take to achieve that dream? Are these dreams from God?

And so, my battle continues. My questioning God for answers to these questions, my heart crying out to just know. And again I wish that life came with a blueprint. However, that would make faith unnecessary. And faith is beautiful and precious and vital.

I'm not really thinking about anything in particular, just dreams in general. Do you have any thoughts? I would greatly appreciate them and welcome them. And I would also like to know what some of your dreams are.

Here are a few of mine:

  • To visit each of the 50 United States.
  • To start my own, successful photography business.
  • To have children.
  • To be the best pastor's wife possible.
  • To be myself.
  • To find my purpose in life.
  • To become a better communicator.

Here's to the dreamers and their dreams.

2008 04 13_5410_edit_edited-3

June 11, 2008

>Before and After (x4)<

A quick before and a few afters of Carter.

Untitled-2

No. 1-adjusted the levels and color (slightly), sharpened it and voila!

No. 2-took image one and converted it to b&w, then played with the color variations until I liked it.

No. 3-took image two and put a texture overlay on it.

No. 4-took image one and adjusted the color until it had the "washed out" look I wanted.

Questions and comments are always welcome!

>iMix:heartache<

Today's iMix is all about the heartache. Some sad and somewhat bittersweet songs that embrace it. Here's the link: heartache Enjoy!

Heartache

June 10, 2008

>Gorgeous<

The day is beautiful today. Warm, but not hot. Zero humidity. Not a lot going on around here, just wanted to pop on for a quick minute. I just uploaded a few photos to the Flickr, and thought I'd share one here. Have a great day!

2008 04 06_5379_edited_2

>Five Things: Magazines<

One of my very favorite things to do is flip through a magazine. Get inspiration, ideas and read them cover to cover. I have a few favorites that cover a few different topics. I just thought I'd share them here with everyone.

  1. Simple Scrapbooks-My favorite scrapbooking magazine ever. I always find inspiration and ideas for scrapbooking. If you're into scrapbooking check it out.
  2. Martha Stewart Living-I love her ideas and crafts and tips. Sometimes she's a little too yuppie for me, but there are so many neat things and ideas in her magazine.
  3. Midwest Living-I love this one for it's tips and ideas and the fact that it has things to do in our general area.
  4. Backpacker-My favorite, favorite magazine. I love reading the articles and finding new hikes and places to visit. Warning: It will cause wanderlust. However, a little wanderlust is good for everyone sometimes.
  5. National Geographic Adventure-basically the NatGeo version of Backpacker. I love them both equally and for the same reasons. Seriously, if you are an adventurer these are for you.

>Movin' On Up<

To the mile-high city, that is. And no, not us. :-) It's this one.

2008 03 23_4759_edited-3

This crazy girl is moving to Denver, Colorado. And I am already clinging to every moment I can spend with her. I am going to miss her like mad. There was a short time when we lived 5 hours apart, but that was still close enough for weekend visits. 15-20 hours away makes that pert near impossible. Add to that the rising gas prices, and the outlook becomes bleaker. We are already planning to take our vacation in the good old state of Colorado next year. For a visit and a chance to check out her new home. I really, really am going to miss just hanging out, having lunch, trips to the store, hikes, movie nights, and making dinner together. Every single thing. I am extremely proud of her though. She graduated with a degree in youth ministry last year, has been doing (and will continue) graduate work in order to get her masters in the same. And she has tons of experience, and truly loves people-broken and whole. She really loved the church and the area and the people when she visited. She has an apartment almost lined up (just sending in the application/deposit), and will be moving in just a few short weeks (middle July). She'll be back in August for a week long intensive course, and again in January for the same. I still am going to miss her (have I mentioned that I'm going to miss her?). Very exciting. Just thought I'd give you an update.

The most crappy thing about it all is that my brother, David, will be leaving for Afghanistan the first week of July. And that's already getting to me as well. A little differently since he's going into combat-where I don't really want him to be. I know they're both in God's hands, but can I state right now that I will probably be an emotional wreck during the month of July. Just saying. I know the pastor's wife will take super good care of my little sister. It's David that I'm going to be on edge about longer (he'll be gone for 15 months-Army has the longest deployments). Ah well. I will be fine.

I'm finally finding my energy again. For awhile I was so exhausted I could barely function. It's been cooler at night and I haven't had to be up super early waiting for Carter to arrive (we're total night owls), so I think that's helped.

Anyhow, I think that is all for now. Have an awesome week!