Day 31 - A picture of yourself

This is me about 2 weeks ago after getting my hair cut.

It's been awesome doing this meme!

Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss

My dad. (I'm the little baby with no hair!) He passed away 11 years ago, 12 years this May. And I hate that my girls will never grow up to see their Grandpa David and experience the overwhelming love that I know he has for them like he ha for me and my sisters. I sit and wonder what my life would be like if he were still alive. Would I even be where I'm at right now? And yeah I do get sad from time to time when I think about the fact that he was never able to walk me down the aisle or see the amazing mom I am now, but I know he's always here, in my heart and in my mind and in heaven watching over all of us.

Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile

My precious family.

Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of

Death. Simple right? I'm not worried about whether I'm going to heaven or hell. Just the thought of not breathing, not thinking, not doing anything scares me so bad that I've had panic attacks about it. I need to get over it because it does eventually happen to everyone and there's nothing I can do to stop it. However I don't let it hinder my life now like I have in the past.

Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member

This is a picture of me and my cousin Jami. I lived with her for a year in Tennessee. She's in the Army and currently lives in Ohio. I even got asked to be a bride's maid at her wedding in 2009. She is one of the biggest role models in my life and has helped Jordan and I out tremendously. I love her with all my heart and aspire ti be like her in some way when I "grow up." I could go on and on about how much she helped me, she bought me my first car, helped Jordan and I out when we were short on money and always pushed me to go to college. There is nothing negative I can say about her.

Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you

Well, this is a hard one. I guess I'd have to go with my wedding ring set and tell you all the story behind how I got them.

After Jordan and I were married, it was sort of on a whim yet planned. I guess you could say we eloped. After that, th following weekend, which I believe was the 4th of July weekend. We were over at his friend Kenny's house and his sister Amanda asked if we had rings yet. And we didn't. She was briefly engaged to someone but broke off the engagement but was still with him. She got to keep the rings. She wasn't doing anything with them so she called her boyfriend and asked if he wouldn't mind giving them to us. And so he came over and talked with Jordan and Jordan said he didn't feel comfortable just taking them, that he had to pay for them somehow. So Amanda's boyfriend took him out and Jordan bought him 2 cans of dip (like Skoal) and he said they were square. Kind of strange how we got them but I love them so much.

Day 25 - A picture of your day

Coloring with Miss Rosslyn

Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change

Poverty. Especially where I live in the Appalachian Mountains. It's probably one of the worst areas affected by poverty in the US. And to know that there are people all around me who might go hungry tonight? I can't stand that thought. I know some if not most of the reason why people go hungry (at least in my county) is because the money they do get (whether it be from the Government or not) goes to drugs. Some people are more worried about getting high than whether or not their kids eat tonight. I know people say we should worry about poverty of other countries and things like that. But when it's happening in the wealthiest nation in the world and hardly anyone is doing anything about it? Something's not right.

Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book

Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo. It's an amazing book and not many novels are written about World War I. The book goes in and out between fantasy and reality, because that's what's happening to the narrator. He was wounded in action and is in an English hospital. He has no arms or legs or a face. He cannot speak to communicate how he feels or what he's thinking. Until one day he remembers Morse code and uses his head to make the dots and dashes. A nurse figures out what he's doing one day and all he's asking for is to be killed. The nurse tells the doctors that and end the end, he's just left in the empty, dark hospital room.

Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at

Cooking.

I can bake all day long. I love making cookies, cupcakes, brownies, muffins, pancakes, waffles. Any sort of sweet treat. But when it comes down to making a meal, I have more than plenty of help from hamburger helper, banquet, Stouffer's and Betty Crocker. Jordan loves his mom's goulash and tuna noodle casserole and every time I've tried to make both, I over cook the noodles and they come out with the consistency of paste. I'm not saying I want to learn how to make bread from scratch or make a whole Thanksgiving meal by myself, I just want to learn how to fry chicken, make cornbread, fry potatoes, make pinto beans. Pretty much all the foods I grew up with.

In 2009 I received 2 cookbooks that have gotten little use and I'd really like to use them more. There are plenty of slow cooker recipes that I can try and Jordan absolutely loves seafood and I don't so that limits our recipe selection too. But I'm trying to be more open minded and will start trying to make new recipes and figure out how to cook.

Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget

Wow. This is hard. Because everything that's happened to me has made me who I am and I wouldn't change anything. With that being said, I would like to forget the bullying I had to go through in elementary and middle school.


I remember an incident in elementary school when a boy was sitting on top of me, had me pinned down on the ground and was picking on me. And another time in middle school when I was called a "tag along" and that I didn't have any real friends and just followed this one girl around. Words hurt and they stick. No matter how much I try to forget about it, that mean girl in middle school always sticks out in my mind and I always wonder if I'm really friends with someone or if they just consider me a tag along. And believe me, girls are a million times worse than boys at bullying. Because they get in your head and plant ideas in your mind. There wasn't a movie called Mean Girls for no reason. I pray to God my girls never get bullied but I pray even harder that they never bully anyone.

Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel

This will have several pictures


Australia


Peru to see Macchu Picchu


Hawaii


Ireland


New Zealand

Day 19 - A picture and a letter

To my beautiful, sweet girls,
I love you both with all my heart. You two are the greatest treasure a mommy could ever have. I want you both to know that you are able to accomplish anything you want, no matter how absurd (within reason). And know that your father and I will stand behind you 100% no matter what. If either of you wants to become an actor, be in the military, be a professional athlete or a stay-at-home-mom, we will support you in all your endeavors. You should never give up on your dreams and always shoot for the stars.

Also know that you do not have to fit in. It's better to stand out. Never try to be something you're not. Be an individual. Also, treat everyone with respect and dignity. You are no better than anyone else. But always strive to be a better person. Life is hard, especially for girls but I know both of you will grow up and be amazing people. I love you all so much and no matter what, I just want you both to be happy.
Love,
mom

Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity

My body. This picture was taken on New Year's eve and I hate it. It's supposed to motivate me to eat better and exercise. I hate how wide I look. Believe it or not, but I'm the biggest out of all of my sisters. I hate my love handles, I hate the indentation between them and my hips. I hate how big my hips are, I hate my stretch marks, I hate my flabby, saggy skin. I could go on. I know I have the excuse that I just had a baby 2 months ago but I feel like I could look better. I have slipped up several times and have had pop and other sweets. It's so hard to break the habit of buying them and having them in the house. Yesterday I made 2 dozen cupcakes and there are only 10 left. Not all of them were eaten by me, Jordan had a heavy hand in it too but he's skinny as a rail and actually wants to put weight on. So yeah, my body is my biggest insecurity.

Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

Coughing and sickness. Rosslyn has had a bad cough/runny nose the past couple of days. And Aurelia has had the sniffles for a few days as well. It's so bad that I practically stay up all night to make sure the girls are breathing and I seem to only get sleep after 7am. Which is bad because today we slept in until 11:30. I know it's probably just the weather but it's awful to hear and see your kids suffering and knowing that there is little you can do about it. Just give them medicine, lots of fluids and relax. On the plus side though, Rosslyn has been unbelievably well behaved.

Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you

This is hard.... because even though I have a lot of people I look up to, I don't know who really inspires me. But I guess if I had to name someone, I'd say Andrew W.K. Strange, I know. But I follow him on Twitter and nearly everything he tweets is inspirational and uplifting. He says a lot of things are partying but if you look at it, it pretty much applies to everyday life. Here are some of his tweets:
PARTY TIP: Happiness is not a achievement - it is a choice. A choice made easier when partying.

PARTY TIP: Everything we hate weakens us. Everything we love gives us more party power.


Party hard, my friends. Party hard.

Day 15 - Something you want to do before you die

Travel. Especially to New Zealand and Australia.

I have barely been outside of the surrounding states of Kentucky and I would love to go to New Zealand so bad. It's just so gorgeous with its mountains and beaches and best of all, it's a predominantly English speaking nation so I wouldn't have to worry about the language barrier.

Day 14

[b]A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without[/b]


My girls. I love them so much.

Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist

Favorite. Band. Ever. Can't get enough of them!

Also, coming in a close second is:

Day 12- A Picture of Something You Love

Of course, I love my family and friends and although I'd post a picture of them, I think the point of this challenge is to get to know me a little better. Scratch below the surface and find out more about me. So in lieu of the sort of generic "family" post, I love sleep and covering up and staying in bed or on the couch all day watching tv. I know it's super lazy but I just love to cuddle up with my girls and have a do nothing day. Which always inevitably catches up with me.