Days 29 & 30: Goals, High, Lows, and Coffee

Today is the last day for the 30 Day Blogging Challenge! I got kind of lazy about doing one every day, but I did try to make up by doing two for the days that I missed (for example, I'm doing 2 today because I didn't do any yesterday). So if you guys have been totally hating these blogs, well then today is your last day of misery! Yay you!

If you kinda sorta liked these blogs, though, don't mope! Do it yourself! Some days were really dumb but others were a lot of fun (cute boys, anyone?).

So without any further ado...
Day 29: Your goals for the next 30 days.
1) Get back to work on my poor, neglected Etsy shop. With all the working I've been doing the poor thing is starving for some attention.
2) SAVE money. Not spend it.... SAVE. (I'm not shouting at you guys, I'm shouting at myself. I kinda have a problem with online shopping)
3) Learn how to play the guitar. I started a few days ago and it's going swimmingly.
4) Figure out that my summer plans are.
5) Get a haircut. My head is being overrun with hair.
6) Finish memorizing Matthew 7 and start review work on chapters 5&6.
7) Quit watching TV every night and start sewing or beading more.

Hm, that's all I got right now. I might add more later if I think of any.

Day 30: Highs and Lows of the past month.
BORING (this time I'm just shouting at anyone who will listen). I already answered this question on Day 17! Granted, that was about the whole year, but really, what's the difference? I'm not answering this question.

So instead of an answer to the question, you get a picture of me chilling in my favorite coffee shop with the yummiest cup of coffee!

 

On Wednesdays I go to work early and drink coffee and surf the web until it's time for work. The coffee shop is conveniently located only 2 stores down from where I work, so it's just a quick 'commute'. Speaking of work, it is 9:40, so I really should be going

Outfit: Mellow Yellow --- Day 28: I Miss...

I love yellow. This cardigan is really more of a camel brown, but for some reason in pictures it looks more mustard-y and I am A-O-K with that. :)

30 Day Challenge. I'm almost done! Yay!
Day 28: Something you miss.
I miss sleeping in! I used to sleep in 5 days a week (Mon.-Fri.) since I only worked on Saturday and had church on Sunday, but now I sleep in ZERO days a week because I work 6 days and church on the 7th. Booo! I get up at 8am every morning, and even more early on Sunday. It's tragic.
However, I am getting paid to wake up early, which makes it not quite so bad. Earning money is a good thing!

Days 25 & 26: Fascinating and Attracting

Click HERE for the full list of challenge topics.

Day 25: Someone who fascinates you and why.
Let's start out with a definition, shall we?
Fascinate - to attract and hold attentively by a unique power, personal charm, unusual nature, or some other special quality.
OK, so I have to think of someone who attracts me with their unique power, personal charm, unusual nature, and possibly some other special quality. Let me think...

Yoda! He has all of the qualities of a fascinating person. He has a unique power (the force), personal charm (who can resist the way he talks?), unusual nature (he's short and green. 'Nuff said), and some other special quality (he's pretty darn witty). 

Wow, I'm really in a special kind of mood today. Sorry. Maybe tomorrow I will try this again and see if I can be more thoughtful.

Day 26: What kind of person attracts you.
A fascinating person.

Doh! There I go again! 

Day 24: Favorite Movie(s)

Read the full list of 30 Day Challenge topics HERE.


Day 24: Your favorite movie and what it's about.
Yay! Fun question.
I am going to list 4 movies here, to give you an idea of how varied my taste in movies is.

Les Choristes (The Chorus)
I haven't seen Mr. Holland's Opus, but everyone online says this movie is just like that, only French.
Set in the late 40's, this movie is about a guy who goes to be a prefect at a correctional boy's school called Fond De L'Etang. Of course, the boys are all awful and none of them like him and they all do naughty things. The new teacher (Clement Mathieu), believes that the boys aren't as terrible as everyone believes they are, and decides to try and form a choir to give the boys something to work for and do well at. Of course, things go sour when the grumpy headmaster puts a stop to the the singing, but what would a movie be without an evil headmaster?

The thing I loved most about this movie is how clean it is. I mean, we are talking about a French movie here, and the French are not known for producing family-friendly flicks. But aside from a few boys singing a few, short, crude lines, there's not much objectionable content. A few profanities, but they aren't often.

Actually, I'm lying. The thing I loved most about this movie is this kid:

 Even cuter than his face is his name: Pepinot! So cute! I'll take two, please!

And now, off to the other end of the movie spectrum:

District 9
District 9 is about aliens. It's freaking awesome. If they don't make a sequel I will cry.
As far as plot, it's about a nerd named Wikus van de Merwe that gets alien goo on face and starts to turn into an alien. The end.

Really, though, you've just got to see it to understand why it's so cool. It's not a typical alien-invasion movie. And there are South African accents! What more could you want?

It's very light on sexual content, but there are buckets and buckets of profanity, so if that's not your thing than I wouldn't recommend it. I don't cuss myself, but I've been to public high school before so I'm kind of immune to profanity now. There's quite a lot of violence and bloody stuff, but you can usually tell when it's coming so you have enough time to close your eyes or look away if you want.

So I have a French movie about a boy's choir, and a South-African alien-invasion movie. What's next?
Another foreign film, of course!

Pan's Labyrinth
This one is Spanish. I'm really globe-trotting here, aren't I?
The main character here is Ofelia, a little girl living in Spain during 1944. This movie falls into more of a fantasy genre than anything else, as there are fawns, giant toads, fairies, and a child-eating monster with eyes in his hands instead of on his face.

Overall, this one is rather dark and dreary, but the music and overall effects are fabulous and really make the whole thing. There are lots of interesting characters, and the girl that plays Ofelia does a pretty stellar job, in my opinion.

It's absolutely clean of sexual content, but there are plenty of bloody scenes to make up for it (it's rated R for graphic violence and some language). There are a few big profanities, but they aren't very often so it's not a constant barrage like you get in District 9.

And to complete out world tour today, let's hop along to... America! How exotic.

(500) Days of Summer
My favorite thing about this movie, hands down, is Joseph Gordon-Levitt. My second favorite thing is Zooey Deschanel. My third favorite is that it's not the typical "boy-meets-girl-then-they-fall-in-love-then-there-is-some-crisis-and-they-break-up-but-then-they-realize-their-lives-are-not-complete-without-each-other-and-they-reunite-and-live-happily-ever-after-the-end" type of chick flick. As the movie poster says, it's a story about love, but it's not a love story.

There is some sexual content, but it's nothing extreme. The camera always cuts away before anything graphic is shown. There are also some swear words but nothing too awful.
---

 In summary, I pretty much like any genre of movie. Maybe I'm just not very critical. :)

Days 22 & 23: Changes and Cute Boys!

See the full list of 30 Day Challenge topics by clicking HERE.

Day 22: How have you changed in the past two years?
Bah.... silly questions deserve silly answers.
-I've become less of an idiot. I'm still an idiot on occasion, but nearly as often as I was 2 years ago.
-I might have grown a tiny bit. But not much.
-I have discovered how to wear clothes properly.
-I decided that even though I am naturally a skyscraper that I will wear heels anyways.
-I am older than I was 2 years ago.

OK, so super boring day.

But now for the real fun one!
Day 23: Pictures of 5 famous people that you think are attractive.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt. If JGL was 6 feet tall it would be my life goal to find him and convince him to marry me. Alas, it is not so.

Heath Ledger. Why did you have to die, Heath?

 Anyone else think JGL and Heath Ledger look really similar? It's kind of freaky.

Jude Law circa 2000. I hate to say it, but the guy just is not aging well. But boy did he used to be good-looking.

Cillian Murphy with short hair. It's the weirdest thing ever... with long hair I think he looks super fruity, but with short hair I think he looks really cute. Unfortunately for me, he usually has longer hair.

Oh stink that's only 4. I can't think of any off the top of my head.... I guess Christian Bale (without a beard) and Ryan Gosling are both pretty cute as well. I'm tired of picture hunting, though. :)

Day 21: Favorite Shows

Day 21: One of your favorite shows.
Only one? Yeah right!

In no particular order...

 Monk. I am madly in love with this show. It's about an OCD detective with a knack for picking up on clues and solving crimes that no one else can seem to be able to figure out. It's a nice balance is serious stuff and comedy.

 The Office. I haven't been keeping up with the past few seasons of The Office because it's been going downhill quickly, but the first 3 seasons were hilarious. I have cried from laughing so many times watching this one.

 Project Runway. Love. That is all. (By the way, Mondo was robbed).

 Psych. This one is very similar to Monk. It's also a detective comedy, but this one is about two friends that have their own Psychic agency and hire their services out to the police and other clients. Neither of them is actually a psychic, though. One of them just happens to be very observant and pretends to "see" things that help him solve the crimes.

 Say Yes to the Dress. I wasn't sure if I wanted to admit on the internet that I like to watch a show about wedding dresses, but I don't think too many people would be surprised that a girl my age, on occasion, thinks about her wedding dress sometimes. It's fun to watch and see which dress each lady picks.

 House Hunters International. The regular House Hunters is kind of boring, but the international version is so fun! It's so interesting to see the houses in other countries.

Anything on the Tennis Channel. We switched from Comcast to DirecTV becase (a) it was a better deal for us, and (b) we would get the Tennis Channel on DirecTV.

High Stakes Poker. Almost as embarrassing as admitting to liking Say Yes to the Dress is admitting that I like to watch poker. Let me tell you, though, there's nothing cooler than watching people throw around hundreds of thousands of dollars like it's no big deal.

Outfit: Hair Insecurity --- Day 20: Education

I realized that it's been, like, centuries since I've worn my hair back. OK, well really it's been like 2 weeks, but it feels like forever. I love having my hair down. Maybe I have one of those deep psychological issues that make people view their hair as a security blanket or something.

Day 20: How Important You Think Education Is.
At the beginning of this challenge I thought these topics were really fun, but as I've been going along they have been getting less and less fun. I don't know why that is, but it kind of sucks. I'm super glad that Mckenzie is a day or two ahead of me in this, though, so I can steal her ideas for the days that I don't like. On her blog, Mckenzie talked about her own educational experience so I think I'm just going to do the same thing.

I have probably the weirdest list of schools ever. Are you ready for this?

Preschool: Some place in Australia where all we ever did was play. It was pretty sweet.
Kindergarten-5th grade: Homeschooled by my mom
6th Grade: Homeschooled for all core classes, went to middle school part-time for Band, PE, and AR (Accelerated Reading).
7th Grade: Homeschooled for math and science, went to public middle school for Band, PE, Language Arts, Social Studies.
8th Grade: Went to public middle school full time.
9th-10th grade: Went to public high school full time.
11th-12th grade: Did online high school full time.

So I've pretty much done it all, and let me tell you that homeschooling is AWESOME. You get to sleep in and eat lunch whenever you feel like it, and when you get done with one subject you can just go right to the next one. Online school is equally as awesome, because you get to do all the same stuff as homeschoolers, but you get online teachers instead of your mom (don't get me wrong, I love my mom. But having her as my teacher for high school probably would not have gone well).

The low point of my educational experience was definitely going to public high school. I really liked it in middle school because it was something new and different, but when I finally got settled into the routine, the novelty wore off for me. Both of my older sisters had similar experiences with being homeschooled and then going to public school and both of them went through all 4 years of high school with out any problems, but I just couldn't stand it. The amount of time wasted in the classroom was beyond ridiculous.

But that's all behind me now and I'm looking forward to the future! I can't tell you guys how excited I am for next year. I've been getting more information about the school I'm planning on going to and it's perfect for me. Hurray!

Lazy Daisy & Day 19: Disrespectful

I'm taking a lazy day for fashion. My outfit consists of jeans, boots, a sweater, and a cowl. I feel so... free! Like I could do a cartwheel or something (providing I actually knew how to do a cartwheel).

See the full list of the 30 Day Challenge topics by clicking HERE.

Day 19: Disrespecting Your Parents
Don't do it, fool! :)

OK, more seriously, it's not good to disrespect your parents. That's a big no-no from the Bible (but even if you don't believe the Bible it's still a good idea, right?). Even though it's a big no-no, we have all done it at one point... or two points... or three points...

I like to think that I have been mostly respectful of my parents. I've had my moments, but I've never really gone through a stretch of really not getting along with them before like most teens do. But really, you'd have to ask them about it.

Alright, I know you're bored. I'll throw in a picture to spice this up a bit:

OK, or 4 pictures. Same difference.

I love my parents! I'm so lucky I got them.

Outfit: Basic Math --- Day 18: Beliefs

So after I got dressed this morning, I realized that I'm wearing the exact colors as I did yesterday, only reversed. Also, I'm wearing a very similar top and skirt combo as I did about a week ago. So I came to the conclusion that what I'm wearing today is a combination of the two, as illustrated mathematically below.

Cool. am I right?

Anyways, 30 Day Challenge! Are you guys getting bored of this yet? I kind of am, but if I quit now then I'd be... well, I'd be a quitter! And no one likes a quitter, so I shall endure.
As usual, click HERE to see the full list of topics.

Day 18: Your Beliefs
Whaaaaaaat? That prompt is way too big. Because I believe a lot of things. For example, I believe in gravity, that paper comes from trees, that the inside of an egg can either be eaten or turned into a baby chicken, that 2+2=4, that being tall is fun, and that this question is silly.
I also believe that coffee is yummy, clothes are fabulous, my puppy is cute, that I'm getting sick of Christian radio (that's what plays at work), that pennies are dumb, that polar bears are pretty but I wouldn't want to hug one, that the burger shop that I work next too smells soooo good, that the sky is blue, and that even though it's sunny outside it's still cold.
The end.

Outfit: It's Not Easy Wearing Green --- Day 17: Highs and Lows

So I messed around with my camera a wee bit, so now my pics aren't as grainy, but the lighting is also a bit. funky. You give some and you take some, right?

Anywho, these are my new green pants! The green is a great shade for me... kinda an army/sage green. One has to be careful when wearing colored pants, though. Wearing colored pants with a colorful or over-designed top  can make you like like an emo/hipster hybrid, and no one wants that. A solid, neutral colored top is the way to go.

Fun fact: My bracelets are made out of old airplane parts. Cool, right?

Onto the 30 Day Challenge! Click HERE for the whole list of prompts.
Day 17: Your highs and lows of this past year (2010).
Lows:
-Not being able to get a job over the holidays. I had two interviews but no luck.
-Spending too much money on clothes.
-Realizing that the school I wanted to go to was way more money than I could afford.
-My dad getting a job that requires him to travel a bunch. I mean, I'm glad he has a job, but it's not much fun when he's gone for 3 weeks at a time.
-At the beginning of the year I thought that staying home a year and working before going to college was a real low. Now I'm so happy that I did, but back then I was kind of grumpy about it.

Highs:
-Graduating from high school and getting to give a speech at graduation.
-Going to France for two weeks in the summer.
-Getting a full time job! (well, technically that happened early in January... oh well)
-Discovering that thrift stores are really cool and that there are not scary monsters living in them.
-Getting to continue to meet with Charlene, a wonderful lady from my church that has been my mentor for the past 2 years. We meet every other week to do a bible study and memorize passages from the Bible together.
-Going to State in tennis with one of my best friends.
-Discovering some really awesome fashion bloggers that inspired me to have more fun with clothes (and try thrift stores!)
-Having 3 bedrooms all to myself!
-Learning how to sew.
-Getting to teach Sunday School at church. I teach 4th and 5th grade girls and it is so awesome to get to be involved in teaching them about God.

That's all I can think of right now. I'm sure there are lots more of both, but it's hard to remember (oh gosh.... I must be getting old.)

A Bunch of Text

No pictures for this blog... try not to fall asleep!

A few quick notes:
-I still have one opening left on my Pay It Forward challenge. Check it out! Never mind!
-You probably don't care, but I am wearing a super cute outfit today and my camera battery is dead. Boooo. That's what I get for not checking it before I left the house, I guess.
-Don't forget to check out my shoe blog!

Enough of that! On to the 30 Day Challenge. I'd doing 2 days again because I missed yesterday. Click HERE for the full list of topics.

Day 15: Your Favorite Tumblrs Bloggers
I don't know any Tumblrs, so I'm doing what Mckenzie did and doing this for bloggers instead. Sound good?

When I was trying to decide which blogs to include here, I decided to go by the standard of "Which blogs do I look at every single day?" So if I don't put your blog here don't be offended or anything... it probably just means you should blog more so I will check more often! :)

1. Keep Collected
2. Kendi Everyday
3. The Clothes Horse
You can read about the above 3 by clicking HERE. Since I already blogged about them I won't waste space here talking about them again.
4. Allie Photography. This girl is like the sweetest ever. And she takes pretty pictures.
5. March Rielo. I started visiting Mckenzie's blog a little more than 2 weeks ago when she started doing the 30 day blog challenge. She is really crafty and I love the 'realness' of her blog, if you know what I mean.
6. Pretty. Little. World. I don't really know the best way to describe this blog. It's just so... pretty!
7. Clothes, Camera, and Coffee. I don't actually check this one daily, but whenever I do check it pretty much blows my socks off so she makes the list anyways. :)

OK, well that was a lot shorter of a list than I was planning on. Hmmm.

Day 16: Your Views on Mainstream Music
I think is general most of the bands that I like and listen to wouldn't really be considered mainstream. Raise you hand if you had heard of St. Lola in the Fields or Angus and Julia Stone before I blogged about them? Yeah, I didn't think so. I'm generally drawn to more indie bands that aren't well-known enough to fall under the 'mainstream' label.
So in most cases, I would say mainsteam music is kind of lame. I don't want to step on anyone's toes here, but I just don't understand the appeal of music like Britney Spears or Rhianna (I mean, aside from the effect that their scantily- clad bodies have on men). Let me provide you with a lyric sample to show you what I'm talking about:

"Wake up in the morning feeling like P Diddy/Grab my glasses, I'm out the door, I'm gonna hit this city/Before I leave, brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack/Cause' when I leave for the night I ain't coming back." Kesha - Tik Tok
Oh, good job Kesha! You rhymed to words Diddy with City, and Jack with Back! Someone give the girl a gold star.

"Womanizer, woman-womanizer, you're a womanizer/Oh womanizer, oh you're a womanizer, baby/You you you are, you you you are/Womanizer, womanizer, womanizer" Britney Spears - Womanizer
Womanizer womanizer womanizer womanizer, womanizer, womani- wait... what?

"Are we an item? Girl, quit playing/We're just friends, what are you saying?/Say there's another and look right in my eyes/My first love broke my heart for the first time/And I was like.../Baby, baby, baby oooh/Like baby, baby, baby nooo." Justin Bieber - Baby
I just want to remind you all that Justin Bieber is 16. He probably still thinks girls have cooties.

"When I met you girl me heart went knock knock/Now them buterflies in my stomach wont stop stop/And even though it's a struggle love is all we got/So we gon' keep keep climbin' till the mountain top." Justin Bieber - One Time
And he did this one when he was only 15! Even better! I think Justin Bieber should write a book all about love so I can buy it and sleep with it under my pillow at night.

I could go on all day, but I won't bore you.

This reminds me, though, that today is Monday which means it's time for a Music Monday blog. This is kind of sad, because I've been listening to nothing but Angus and Julia this past week so I have no clue who I'll talk about today. So I may or may not being doing a Music Monday post, just FYI. :)

Days 13 & 14: Dream Traveling and Memories

I ended up not doing my challenge blog yesterday (bad me!), so I'm doing two today to get caught up.
Click HERE to see the full list of topics.

Day 13: Somewhere you'd like to move or visit
Well, there are lots of places I'd like to visit, but not very many of them would I want to move to. So I'm separating these into two categories.

Somewhere I'd like to move:
Even though the people there aren't exactly the nicest, I would really love to live in France. On my trip there this summer I got to see Paris for a few days, and the rest of the 2 weeks was spent in Dijon. Dijon is in the middle of wine country, so as soon as you leave the city you are surrounded by vineyards. Gorgeous!

 I would love to live in one of the smaller towns outside of Dijon. The houses there are so beautiful and really unique (at least by American standards). If I ever did move to France, though, it would be like at retirement age.

Somewhere I'd Like to Visit:
Oh I could never pick just one! I'll limit myself to four.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
There is a direct flight that goes from the airport in Portland right to Amsterdam, so one of these days I may just hitch-hike my way up to the airport and hop on a plane and go! When I went to France we had to change planes in Amsterdam, and any city that looks that cool from the air has got to be totally awesome.

Cape Town, South Africa
I need to go so South Africa to find a guy to marry because South Africans have the coolest accent ever. Have you seen District 9? If not, you should! Even if you don't like alien movies, you have to see it just for the accents!

New Zealand
No, I do not want to go hike to Mordor like a LOTR nerd. I want to go see the Milford Sound!

 

Santorini, Greece

If I decided to have a destination wedding I'd go to Santorini. The white houses all clustered together overlooking the insanely blue water? Swoooon.

OK, enough of that.
Day 14: Your earliest memory.
I don't remember very much from living in Australia for a year, but I was only 3 when we went there so the memories I do have would probably be my earliest. Obviously I don't remember what happened first, but I do remember being scared of an emu (hey, its beak looked pokey!), baking play-dough in the oven, and little green caterpillar-y things on Fiji. Wow, great memories, I know.

Outfit: Bully For You --- Day 12: Bullets

ModCloth called this the Bully Mammoth Tee. Don't ask me why. But I think I'm going to make it my goal to use the word bully 5 times today. Bully for me!

I am having camera woes at the moment, so that's why these pictures pretty much suck. Which is kind of sad, because I love this outfit. It matches so well without being matchy-matchy. I wore the gray tights to match the gray of the woolly mammoth on my shirt, the navy socks (I know they look black in the pictures, but they are really navy) compliments the blue text on the shirt, and the cardigan and boots are also very complimentary tones. And black matches everything so no worries there.

30 Day Challenge!
Click HERE for the full list of prompts.
Day 12: Bullet Your Whole Day
Like Mckenzie did, I'm going to do this for yesterday because today is yet to happen!
-Wake up, hit snooze.
-Wake up, hit snooze.
-Wake up, hit snooze.
-Wake up, hit snooze.
-Get up and get dressed.
-Have a minor crisis when the planned outfit decides to break (you can read about that HERE).
-Pick a new outfit.
-Straighten hair because I slept on it wet and it was crazy funky.
-Get everything together for work (laptop, lunch, purse, reading material).
-Double check that I have work keys.
-Get picked up, go to work.
-Because I am 15 minutes early, I go to the coffee shop next door and get coffee and some mini donuts.
-Work from 10am-6pm.
-Mom picks me up, we go home.
-Watch Li Na kick Caroline Wozniaki's butt at the Australian Open on ESPN2.
-Eat dinner with my mom. We have leftovers because my dad is gone on business.
-Watch Kim Clijsters kick Vera Zvonereva's butt at the Australian Open.
-Fall asleep on the couch.
-Get woken up by mom.
-Trudge to bedroom.
-Pick out an outfit for today.
-Wish that I could stay up and watch Djokovic play Federer play, but because of the time difference their match didn't start until after midnight.
-Go to bed around midnight.
-Have weird dreams about tennis.

This has pretty much been my life for the past two weeks. I work all day, come home and watch tennis, pick out an outfit, then go to bed. Thrilling, I know. But the Australian Open will be over on Sunday so then I'll probably take a TV break for a while, other than Biggest Loser on Tuesdays because that show rocks.

Outfit: When Disaster Strikes --- Day 11: Music!

Last night when I was deciding what to wear to work today, I just decided to be lazy and wear my favorite outfit ever, which is this:
I've already worn it twice the exact same way, and I was going to wear it again today exactly the same way. It's just so perfect I don't think I could ever bring myself to change anything about it.

But then, disaster struck. As I was getting dressed this morning, one of the two buttons that keep the skirt closed (there is no zipper or anything like that) popped off. It flew off just like in the Subway commercials with all the people blowing the buttons off their pants!

So what was I to do? I could have worn it anyways, as there was still one other button, but what if I decided to blow that one off my skirt while I was at work? I couldn't risk it, so I decided I needed to wear a different skirt. After picking my new skirt, I then decided to wear a different pair of tights. Then I decided to wear boots instead of heels. And then I decided to change my top. And then I added some jewelry. And 10 minutes after the initial explosion that rocked my closet, this is what I ended up wearing:
I'm actually kind of proud of this. I know that sounds silly, but really I usually am horrible at choosing clothes to wear at the last second. That's why I always pick out my clothes the night before. So for me to come out of this not looking like a rugrat is quite an accomplishment, in my opinion.*Pats self on the back*


And now the continuation of the 30 Day Challenge... (click HERE to see all topics)

Day 11: Put your iPod on shuffle and list the first 10 songs that come up.
I've downloaded a bunch of new music lately and haven't synced it to my iPod yet, so I'm going to do this on my iTunes instead of my iPod, okay? Good, I knew you wouldn't mind.

1. Let Your Love Grow Tall by Passion Pit
2. If You Return by Maximum Balloon
3. I Belong to You by Muse
4. Manhattan by Kings of Leon
5. Little Shadow by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
6. Loose Ends by Imogen Heap
7. Eat That Up, It's Good for You by Two Door Cinema Club
8. Dog Days Are Over by Florence + the Machine (LOVE this song)
9. Thistle and Weeds by Mumford and Sons
10. Now You're Gone by Basshunter

A nice mix of techno, rock, pop, and folk. Fun!

Outfit: New Boots --- Day 9: Future

Quick, guess what I'm wearing around my neck today! Oh, and if you guess anything other than a cowl you're wrong.
Truth be told I wasn't planning on wearing my cowl today, because I wear it like every day, but I just had to wear my new booties from Charlotte Russe today and they match the cowl almost exactly. Who am I to deny such a perfect match? I also was not planning on a Charlotte Russe party, and I didn't realize I was wearing 3 things from there until I was writing up the price description for this. Shame on me.

30 Day Challenge!
Click HERE for the full list of topics.

Day 9: What you hope your future will be like.
Didn't I already answer this question back on Day 2? I was planning on being profound today since I was so lame yesterday, but I just don't think I can muster up anything interesting for a question I've already answered. What am I supposed to say? I hope it's awesome?

So yeah, I'm going to be a party-pooper again today. And I will be again tomorrow, but there's not really anything I can do to help that. But it looks like the topics are going to get more interesting starting on Day 11, so hang in there!


And guess what! I remembered that it's Monday today, which means I'm going to get a Music Monday blog up on the right day! I actually wrote myself a note last night that said, "Leanna, tomorrow is Monday. Don't forget!" and stuck it inside of my laptop so when I got to work I'd see it and remember. Isn't my subconscious so sweet?

Day 8: Satisfied

Click HERE for the full 30 Day Challenge list.

Day 8: The moment you felt most satisfied with your life
Hm. I don't think I can recall a specific moment that I was like, "Gee, I feel really satisfied with my life right now." Generally speaking, though, the moments in my life when I've felt the most content and satisfied are the moments that God reminds me that He is in control and I just need to trust in Him. When I'm trying to figure things out on my own things can get very frustrating and difficult, but when I rely on God and remember that He's got a plan for everything, all the pressure goes away and I can just let Him go to work.
So yeah, that was pretty much a non-answer. I'll try to be more profound tomorrow.

In other news, I am putting my clothes away! When I was little my room would always be messy with toys. Now that I'm 18, my room is always messy with clothes. Is there no end to messiness?
You may be wondering where I sleep. That's actually a very good question. Usually the mountain of clothes get shoved to the side so I can sleep, and then in the morning when I'm getting dressed they all end up over the whole bed again.

Wish me luck!

Outfit: Springy --- Day 7: Zodiac Sign

It's sunny today! Sunny! I can't even believe it.
Being sunny does not mean it's warm, though, so I am wearing exactly the same thing that I would have worn if it were raining. Lame, I know.

My vest, skirt, and watch today were all thrifted, and my accessories came from Etsy. Click HERE to go to roundabout1's shop and click HERE to go to Brydferth's.

30 Day Challenge!
Click HERE to see the full list of prompts.

Day 7: Your zodiac sign and if it matches your personality
Well, I was a Taurus, but with the new signs or whatever I'm now an Aries.
That said, I couldn't care less what I am. I don't pay any attention to them or read horoscopes or any other stuff related to zodiacs. I don't even know what the personality of a Taurus (or an Aries) is supposed to be so I can't tell you if it matches. But I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it probably doesn't, and if it does it's nothing more than a coincidence. The end.

Day 6: 30 Facts

Click HERE to see the full list of topics.

Day 6: 30 Interesting Facts About Yourself.
Oh gosh, 30? Alright kiddos, fasten your seat belts, because here I go.

1. When I was 6 or so, my I helped my sister try to bury our dog in a hole in the backyard. Needless to say, our dad did not think it was as funny as we did.

2. The only movie that has ever scared me to the point of nightmares is Creature from the Black Lagoon.3. I have lived in/been to 4 different continents. I have lived in North America (duh) and Australia (was there for a year when I was 3), and visited Europe (2 weeks in France in 2010) and Asia (1 month in Vietnam in 2008).

4. I used to be obsessed with the the game Zoo Tycoon, and probably still would be if I had it installed on mylaptop. Hm... perhaps I'll do that when I get home today!

5. When I was little it was my dream to become a present-wrapper at Emporium.

6. After moving past my goal to become a full time present-wrapper, my next ambition was to play in the WNBA and start my own organization to help save the tigers.

7. I loved tiger so much that in the 7th grade I did a PowerPoint presentation on tigers for my computers class. I got 110 out of 100 on it.

8. At a speech competition during my freshman year, I had to give a speech in a boy's locker room. It was kind of weird.

9. I used to roller skate up and down my cul-de-sac and talk to myself like I was being interviewed for a TV show. Because, as you all know, roller skating is a very prestigious activity and professional roller skaters get interviewed for TV all the time.

10. The day of my high school graduation my dad had to go rent a car (he was leaving on a business trip the next day), and he ended up getting a bright blue 2010 Mustang. For fun, I had him take pictures of my with it, which I promptly posted on Facebook stating it was my graduation present. Even though it was over 6 months ago, I still occasionally have people asking me how I'm liking my new car.11. Like every other kid that grew up in the 90's, I liked Beanie Babies. I never took the tags off most of them because everyone said, "Oohhh, you'll be able to sell those someday for so much money." Yeah, I think we sold them for like 10 cents at a garage sale.

12. When I was 9 or so my mom wouldn't buy me an American Girl doll because they were overpriced (which they were), so I saved up my money and bought one all on my own. It is probably one of the most satisfying experiences I've had in my life so far.

13. I used to get a whole bunch of chocolate Kisses from my dad every year on Valentine's day and I would make them last a whole year until the next Valentine's day. If he still did that I would probably just eat them all in one day.

14. I HATE peanut butter. And it's not one of those things that's like, "Oh, I don't like this, but I'll eat it anyways". I seriously can't even stomach it. I'm pretty sure if I was forced to eat it I'd die. Oddly enough, though, I like peanuts. I'm a weirdo I guess.

15. I'm scared of open water, whether it's the ocean or a lake. I just can't stand the thought of not knowing what's underneath me.

16. While in Alaska visiting my sister, I caught my very first fish.
17. Not only did I catch my first fish, but I also filleted it with my bare hands. OK, well butchered or massacred would probably be better word choices than filleted, but still, the point is that I touched the inside of a fish with my bare hands.
18. I have never been able to do a cart-wheel.

19. One time in middle school I wore floor-length gaucho pants. I'm secretly a tiny bit grumpy at my mom now for letting me leave the house in them. Thankfully there are no pictures!

20. I grew up in a bedroom with pink walls and red carpet. It was scary.

21. Last year I had to get a mole taken off of my upper arm. After taking a look at it in a lab, they decided to take out more of my skin because it was potentially a melanoma mole (they never really decided for sure). They ended up carving out a hunk of flesh about 1.75 inches long and 1 inch deep. Looking at a piece of your own arm in a cup is a really weird experience. 22. The one time in my life I have been truly lost (which was at a fair in Australia), I let a complete stranger take me away to a modular set up in the middle of the fair. They gave me cookies and juice and I was perfectly content until my mom came and found me. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened to me if someone not as nice as the lady with the pink shirt had picked me up first.

23. I am running out of things to say.

24. While in France, I tried escargot. I ate it, and then promptly ran upstairs to un-eat it. Just take my word for it... never. eat. escargot.
25. I love doing 1000 piece puzzles. Anything less than 1000 is a wussy man's puzzle.

26. I have no idea how to wear a hat. Like, I know it goes on your head, but whenever I try one on I just look weird.

27. Unlike the rest of the world, I think Titanic is unbearably awful. After watching it I kind of hated Leonardo DiCaprio, though he did redeem himself slightly after his role in Inception (which was a ridiculously awesome movie, by the way.)

28. This is what I looked like when I was little. Does that count as a fact? I don't even know anymore, I'm just so ready for this to be over. 29. Uhhhh...... I like pizza?

30. Fact: I am super thrilled to be done with this.

Outfit: Vintage --- Day 4: Religion

I didn't realize it until right now, but I have the exact same look on my face in both of these pics, have my hands in my pockets in both of these pics, and have my feet crossed in both of these pics. Wow. Sorry about that.

Both my shirt and my shorts are vintage. I got the shirt from VintageOutlet and the shorts from miskabelle, both on Etsy.

I was quite concerned about wearing socks over my tights. In my head I thought they looked fine, but then the doubt monster came stumbling in and started laughing at me. So to show the doubt monster who is boss, I went on Chictopia to find some examples. And sure enough, I found some. Take that, Mr. Doubt! [Image Source: Chictopia.com]

So now I am happily at work, gray tights with white socks and all. I am also enjoying my breakfast, which comes in the form of donuts and coffee from the coffee shop two stores down from where I work. And not just one or two donuts, but twelve donuts.

Yay for mini donuts!

Okey dokey, artichokes. I'm pressing onwards in the 30 Day Blog Challenge (see the full list HERE).

Day 4: My Views on Religion

I love religion! Well, I love my religion anyways. I'm a non-denominational Christian, which means that on Facebook (and back in the day when I did MySpace), I get to enter the generic "Christian" label under the religion area on my profile, which I HATE because that's what most people who don't really practice a religion put. Believing that God exists does not make you a Christian, buddy. If you had ever cracked your Bible open or gone to church you would know that.

Anyways...
I've gone to church my whole life. The only time I don't go to church is when I am (a) sick, (b) on a trip, or (c) when there is a tennis final on TV - which is only four times a year so don't laugh at me. I also know, however, that going to church every Sunday doesn't make you any more of a Christian than those who believe that God exists and say they're a Christian on Facebook. A Christian is someone who has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and believes that He came to earth and died and rose again so that sinful, undeserving men and women could have the opportunity to be saved.

Wow, I went from tennis finals to the resurrection of Jesus in one paragraph. If that's not talent I don't know what is.