It's been lovely, but I'm going to go scream now...

 CAN I EVEN BEGIN TO TELL YOU HOW ANNOYING IT IS TO HEAR ABOUT THAT WEDDING OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN? Ok, I'm better now. It's just that I have heard about on tv, on the radio, on the news (which I guess is tv) and all over the web... agh! I do no like weddings, never have, most likely never will (odd for a girl who is engaged, no?). What's worse is that this is a foreign Prince's wedding and we're hearing more about it then we heard about the American government possibly shutting down. Yeah... and that was our GOVERNMENT! Forgive me for being touchy about the whole thing (and I apologize if I offend anyone with this post... trust me, I don't mean too - I'm just soooo "grrr" about it).

Ok, thank you for allowing the rant. I'm going to go eat a Peep and edit photos.

Royal Wedding at 6am...and I watched....

I actually got up a little after 6am to watch the Royal wedding... I wasn't going to but then I was thinking - this is a part of history and I LOVE history.. so why not!
I watched the ceremony and then went back to sleep. It was the longest wedding. lol.
Kate's dress was stunning!!

Ok - that's all I'm gonna post on that.
Untill later,

I promise

that I will eventually get around to posting pictures of my room. I can't this weekend, or at least I don't think I can. Tomorrow I'm running errends with Momma and going with Beenie to her guitar lessons (I love going with her to her lessons, I love hearing guitar playing and trying to make sense of what her tutor is telling her - which she understands, of course). I believe my fiancé (I have the hardest time with the whole "fiancé" thing... a woman who is engaged is a "fiancée", a guy who is engaged is a "fiancé" - ugh french is soooo hard, half the time I put the accent over the wrong e or use the wrong spelling) is coming over both Saturday and Sunday, so I most likely wont be getting on the computer much. Perhaps next week, although I'll be trying to finish up three blog designs then.

Now onto something random that has nothing to do with this post. Here are some of the pictures I took with Lyssa's Nikon D90 while she was over here (isn't she so sweet letting me use her beloved camera? Yeah, I thought so too).

this and the above photo are the same - just edited differently

This is a favorite, I love the clarity and sharpness, but I like the dandy lion photo for the same reasons.

Death Toll...

Death toll from the storm is now up to 267...
It's so sad. I hope all of y'all are safe!

Whew!

The storm passed without any tornadoes for us. Ri's family was in a warning but they are fine.
I was up until 2 watching the weather and then was up again at 3 because I heard some very odd thunder.
I just saw on the news that the storm has killed at least 213 people... They say this storm is worse than the one they've been comparing it to from the '70's.
Yikes.
I'm off to get ready for work -

DANGER!

We have bad storms that are supposed to head our way - tornadoes have hit heavily in other places from this storm. I have a major phobia of tornadoes - as in I feel like I could be sick when there is a chance we can get them... as in I feel that way now. AGH!
Ok - I'm gonna go breathe and watch the weather...and pray and try to remain calm!

Pictures and Sleepover

We have taken like 143 pictures (maybe more)  We'll probably take some more later - at about 7:18pm when the light is perfect on this certain Magnolia tree - yes we're weird, but we didn't ask for your opinion!
All of the below pictures were taken manually (aka: not using a setting on the camera specifically for certain shots, we set the aperture, zoom and shutterspeed ourselves).

Lyssa's gorgeous pictures:

Stats

ISO: 2000

Zoom: 105mm

Aperture: f5.6

Shutterspeed: 1/1000

Photoshop/Picnik

not sure of all

cropped

Sharpen

Stats

ISO: 2000

Zoom: 105mm

Aperture: f5.6

Shutterspeed: 1/1250

Photoshop/Picnik

Cinema Scope

60's

w/ burn

Sharpen

Stats

ISO: 2000

Zoom: 62mm

Aperture: f6.3

Shutterspeed: 1/4000

Photoshop/Picnik

Cross process

Sharpen

Stats

ISO: 2000

Zoom: 105mm

Aperture: f5.6

Shutterspeed: 1/1250

Photoshop/Picnik:

60's

Vibrance

Sharpen

My pictures:

Stats

ISO: 2000

Zoom: 105

Aperture: f5.6

Shutterspeed: 1/1600

Photoshop/Picnik

Sharpen

Lomo-ish

Stats

ISO: 2000

Zoom: 105mm

Aperture: f7.1

Shutterspeed: 1/2500

Photoshop/Picnik

SOOC (strait out of camera) except crop

Stats

ISO: 2000

Zoom: 105mm

Aperture: f5.6

Shutterspeed: 1/80

Photoshop/Picnik

Vibrance

Sharpen

Stats

ISO: 2000

Zoom: 105mm

Aperture: f5.6

Shutterspeed: 1/100

Photoshop/Picnik

cross process

Sharpen

Oh so busy!

Easter and guitar lessons and birthdays and dinners and baking and room cleaning and gift wrapping! Oh and piano! AGH!

So for more of an explination:

Lys is coming over tomorrow to spend Saturday, Sunday, Monday and part of Tuesday with us (we'll be bringing her home Tuesday afternoon). In preperation for that I need to tidy my room and scrub the bathroom (which - honestly - was going to be scrubbed anyway). We are celebrating her birthday, so she is getting cupcakes and I need to wrap her gift.

Easter is Sunday and we're having Easter dinner with my Nana and Pawpaw on Saturday (they're busy Sun.). We are also going to be baking Easter treats for the girls - cookies, cream cheese mints shaped like eggs, and rice crispy treats shaped like eggs.

Beenie takes two guitar lessons on Friday now, morning and evening. I've been going with her to sit with her so Mom can run errends.

And onto piano... I found music to His Glory Appears by Hillsong and have been attempting to learn to play it. It's five pages, but thankfully its a fairly simple tune. So far I have learned the first page RH (right hand) and part of the first page LH (left hand). I can also play the last page RH. I like the last part the best, the melody is beautiful. I also have music for You Hold Me Now by Hillsong, only it's nine pages and I haven't begun learning it yet, I think I'll focus on His Glory Appears. Oh, and I'm thinking about taking Guitar lessons. I wanted to take Piano, but I wont have a piano when I get married, so I'd rather take guitar. Plus I know enough piano that I don't have to take lessons to play when I want.

Umm.. What?!

I found out today that my birthday is the same as Hitler's. How strange is that?!

"A Very Happy Unbirthday To You"

Except it isn't an unbirthday, its a birthday... IT'S LYSSA'S BIRTHDAY! Happy Birthday my dear Lys! She is 19 91 today! Yup, she is oooold!

Ok so (as is becoming my habit) I'm going to post some facts about Lys.

1. She is a great writer!

2. She is an amazing photgrapher!

3. She LOVES Deeanne Gist books.

4. She introduces me to new things I'm going to become obsessed with and wont be able to afford.

5. When I say "guess what" she always has an answer that she knows that if she uses it enough she'll one day be right. Like used to I'd say "guess what" and she'd say "Superman proposed?" and I'd say "No! Its (fill in the blank)". Well, she was right eventually. Her new one is "you set a date?". Yeah, that one is still a "no" Lys.

6. She's still tall AND skinny and it's still unfair! (read her last birthday post)

7. She likes vanilla cupcakes with chocolate icing.

9. She has a stack of books at home that comes to her hip. If she doesn't get a book case soon I'm holding an intervention and getting her a empty library. Who is with me?

10. SHE IS THE BESTEST EVER! My A in M. A. Lemonade, my twin ripped mercilessly from me as a baby, my bfbb, my sweetest best friend, my Lyssa!

Happy Birthday Lys!

Oh and Jocee, I'm sorry you had a bad day yesterday. Hope today is much better! Here are some cupcakes for ya to enjoy!

And another birthday "cake" for Lys!

(note I only took the first picture)

Love,

end of 18.

In the last of hour of being 18 I would like to say a few things about this last year.
It was drab. Lame. Dramatic. Stressful. And FUN! hahaa.
Here's to hoping that 19 will be awesome!!
Goodnight!

Oh... boredom reigns supreme!

Ok, so I'm not exactly bored and I could do something - oh I don't know - constructive... but quite honestly I don't want to vacuum my room or learn how to do french knots (again, I cannot tie those stupid knots for the life of me). I do promise to eventually put batteries in my camera and take pictures of my room (once its vacuumed that is). I am actually doing something right now... sorta. I'm hanging out in Kay's room, listening to Pandora and chatting with Bree and Kay while Bree does school and Kay is eating ham I keep sneaking off her plate.

So what am I going to post besides randomness? I'm gonna do a daybook thingy... Yeah, see I was getting to it.

Starting time: 1:24pm

I am wearing: a denim skirt, white cap sleeved hoddie with a pink cami layered under it, glasses and engagement ring.

I am reading: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Sinner by Ted Dekker.

I am listening to: Bree complaining about not being able to Squire in the dictionary (I just found it), the fan going and A Million Miles by Carlos Bertonatti.

Looking forward to: seeing Lys this weekend!

Outside my window: trees dancing in the wind, soft blue skies... generally good weather.

I love: lazy days, sitting on the sofa cuddling with Superman, Ted Dekker books, playing Knock Out with the people at church (I'd say children, but its a mix of children and teens and young adults and so on) and reading in my reading nook.

I hate: headaches (I've been having them recently), not finishing a book when I think I should and when I put a certain type of song in Pandora and getting rap or Miley Cyrus.

The song running through my head: Speak Now by Taylor Swift (because I just heard it - I don't really like the song - maybe it's because I'd be seriously ticked if some woman crashed my wedding just because she had a crush on my husband-to-be).

What I watched last: Holmes on Homes. Dad turned it on last night and I didn't really watch.. I played a math game on his phone.

Mood: happy!

I am thinking: that I need to mow this week.

I am hoping: that I'll catch up on reading Jane Eyre.

Yesterday I: went to church, played Knock Out, read, hung out with Superman and chatted with Lyssa.

Ending time: 1:50pm

My cupcake

These were the cupcakes we served at our engagement dinner. Lys and I decorated them and no two were the same. We didn't plan this, but the blue and yellow icing matched my outfit. 

This is my entry for Jocee's cupcake challenge... I have never entered one before and I figured a smaller photo challenge was best. It's not a very good picture... lighting was bad, but its the only cupcake picture I have.

 

Miguel: "Don't blame me!"

Tulio: "I blame you!" (quote from El Dorado). Needless to say, my post is about blaming people.. And I blame lots of people lol! Not for my own problems mind you, but for other stuff. Here goes my list.

Kay for reading my copy of Jane Eyre so much that it fell apart and I had to get a new one!

(note, this isn't my copy)

Lys for making me fall in love with 40's music!

Jocee for making me want a cupcake everytime I read her blog.

 I sware I gain 10 lbs on my hips each time I look at her blog.

Ara for making me wish I was a better writer!

 I guess I can't really fuss because she's a good writer though...

 It wouldn't be fair

Lauren for making me fall in love with blue all over again each time I look at her blog!

Bleah for introducing me to Adam Young

(aka Owl City)

(aka Sky Sailing)

Who do you blame?

I can't help it...

I hope y'all don't run off after this - I love this music soooo much! It's awesome. :)

YAY!

I went to the doctor this morning for my foot. IT"S NOT BROKEN!!! YAY! I'm so happy about that. The doctor said that I need to stay off of it as much as I can and ice it every night before bed. He said that even though my foot isnt broken it can hurt just as bad since it is strained and I'm on it all the time.
SO! I hafta rest my foot... yay.
haha
another story comin soon!

Hail!

Today we had a really bad storm.
This is some of the larger pieces of hail (this pic was taken with my phone):

The pieces were bigger than golf balls and came down for at least 15 minutes maybe longer. I was in the barn when the storm hit and when the hail hit the tin roof it sounded like gun shots firing over and over again. Most of the horses were freaking out and one of the cats was clinging to me for dear life. lol -
It was a freaky storm. We saw the clouds forming a twister but it moved away (I was relieved). I
headed home at 10:30pm and there was so much fog and a lot of places were out of power so it was sooo dark. It was freaky!!
My car had about 4 inches of water in the front on the passenger side. I have no idea where the leak is
coming from, but it took 3 towels to get it to where it wasn't soaking. Ugh.

On to other news...
I hurt my foot somehow a few weeks ago - it would hurt when I walked, but the last few days has been horrible! I couldn't walk day before yesterday for a couple of hours. Now its all swollen and sore. Mom is gonna take me to get it looked at on Monday.

Last Tuesday Ri, Becky and Kay came down to see the new Jane Eyre movie. They picked me up and off we went. It was the first movie Riah and I have ever seen together in a theater. We made sure Becky realized that we thought it was wrong to be so deprived for almost 19 years! haha.
So we got into this small theater which is filled with old, white headed women and the previews started. They were all in foreign languages! When the previews stopped there were a couple of different screens that came on and so we talked fairly quietly before the movie. The screen when blank and this old woman, who was in the row in front of us said (quite rudely, I might add): "Would you please be quiet!"
Ri and I were trying not to laugh. The movie hadn't even started and we were being "SShhh-ed" - How rude!
haha - several times through the movie, if something was funny, I leaned over to Ri and said "I'm afraid to move - I don't want my head bitten off!"
Over all we had a great time!
More stories later!

A peek at...

Me! I know, not very exciting... You are all about to give up at this "peek into" thing right? I'm not showing you whats in my closet or jewelry box like you expected... I was going to do "A peek at my bedroom" and let y'all see what it looks like, but the only pictures I have of my room was before it was re-done. I'll go into that in the post that actually shows my room. (BTW: Lyssa posted, so strike over!)

So, about me! I'm 18 (19 this year), have blue or green eyes (depending on the day), brown hair and am 5' 4" (which in my family is basically midget - no offense intended to midgets!). I have four siblings, all girls, one older and three younger. I go by Ri more than anything else, but am also called Riah or Riah Friah Me O Miah. I have many more nicknames, but I don't feel like going into all of them. I am daughter to Ed and Becky and Superman's fiancee (awesome, right?). I like Hillsong, Tenth Avenue North, Owl City, Sanctus Real, The Afters, Robert Pierre, Colbie Caillat and so many more. Here are a few of my favorite things:

I like sunshine and bright happy things!

Rain and wet reflections

This very sappy movie...

... and this action-packed movie.

I love Once Upon a Times...

...but have a hard time believing in Happily Ever After's

I love Christian Louboutin shoes and this pair are my favorite!

I think this is a cute shirt,

And I like, love, adore letters... I never get letters... sob :(

Well, I'll have to have a "peek into me part two" I think... this post is long enough!

Love,