Promised Photo Post! Luallin Wedding.

Alrighty! Here are some promised photos. These are from Doug and Meagan Luallin's wedding! I got to second shoot this wedding with Laci Adkins! I had a seriously hard time picking out favorites, so I just put them all in a link to the entire album. None of the photos are edited so they might not be as snazzy as they could be. That's okay, I just like the overall feel of them. I also just didn't feel like editing today :) Check it out...here. 

Also, as a form of accountability, I'm starting to post how many miles I run each day over on the little twitter widget to the left. So if you see that I missed a day...give me a hard time! :)

Word Nonsense

Get ready for exciting news! I ran five miles today and got to go to Starbucks to read and journal for a couple of hours!! Ahh...the joys of Christmas break. I'd like to shake the hand of the man who advocated a month long vacation from college because of Christmas. Genius guy, really.

So, on the topic of geniuses, I feel that I must admit something. I was trying to come up with the word "advocated" to use in that last paragraph, but couldn't think of it, and the word "propagated" hit my brain first. I figured it meant what I wanted it to mean, but decided to look it up on Merriam-Webster just in case. Good thing, haha. If you don't know what propagated means, you should look it up before you ever try to use it as a synonym for "advocated." :)

Today at Starbucks, I got to read my Donald Miller book Searching for God knows What and he apparently likes to throw in big words sometimes. I've dedicated a page of my journal to the big words Don uses (Yes, in case you were wondering, we are on first name basis here), and it's been so much fun to learn new words like pariah and anonymity. I always feel so much smarter when I'm learning new words or reading poetry or classic literature. 

Wedding photos to come...

Song of the day: 1963 by Rachel Yamagata

Inspirations! Cecilia Carlstedt, The Cake Girls, Zara, and Loeffler Randall

Wow, do I ever have the coolest things to share with all you lucky blog readers today! I haven't blogged in a few days and things have piled up. So get ready for a lot of artistic inspirations to ring in the new year! First up, check out Cecilia Carlstedt's work...Finding these sweet artists always just makes my day! You really do need to grab a cup of coffee, sit down, and go through her portfolio. Amazing texture and color. I love how imagery is subtly incorporated into the overall composition. Be warned that it is really artistic.

Are you in the market for a new purse? How 'bout a cake? Yep, those aren't purses...they're cakes! Check out The Cake Girls for some inspiration (especially if you're a bride...they bake such sweet, simply designed cakes). Yummm!

Do you need a new place to find some fashion inspiration, lounge-o-licious music, and a bit of the Spanish language thrown in? I thought you did. Try Zara!Finally, I'm in love with the new accessory line from designer Loeffler Randall. His website has some seriously cool ideas for fashion photography (which is what I love most). Best part? The line is available at Target! Go!

P.S I realize that these posts may seem really small and materialistic. Hopefully, if you know me, or if you've been reading for a while, you know my life does not revolve around fashion and trends. But I do find a lot of creative inspiration from these "petty" pretty things. The things of this world are merely a poor reflection of His glory...but when kept in an eternal perspective the reflection can spur us on to rejoice in what is to come.

"Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create." Isaiah 65:17-18

New Design v. 3.0! And the goings on over the Christmas week!

And how do we all like the new blog look? I LOVED the Christmas-time look, but alas, Christmas is already over! Sad day. But I really get into New Years! I love fresh beginnings! I have some serious goals for January/the rest of 2008. I have a blog post from a while back about all my goals, and here are the ones I'm working on right now:

#17 Train to run a marathon. (iPod Shuffle + new Asics = Caroline running several miles a day!!) #11 Finish all of Don Miller's Books (Reading Searching for God knows What at the moment)
#19 Work at a summer camp. (Pine Cove, here I come!)
#18 Play music at a local venue regularly. (Getting my jazz piano skills up to par...it may happen in the Spring)
#14 & 2 Photography. (Purchasing CS3 soon, got a mac, getting second shoot gigs, but I'm reconsidering the website idea. hmm...)

Christmas was so good this year. It all comes down to four words: God is with us!

It was wonderful to have my family around for four whole days. The entire Casey side of the family got Prime Time (a "family fun center") all to ourselves because my aunt pretty much runs the place. We had a blast playing laser tag, bowling, playing Dance Dance Revolution :) and racing in the go-karts. The best part though was being together. To quote from my brother's blog, "As typical as all these things are of Christmas’s I have celebrated in the past, it is still just as special."

Two days after Christmas, I got to shoot my first wedding by myself! It was so fun! Beautiful wedding and couple. Pictures to come soon!

Okay, I realize a while back I mentioned something about blogging a huge road trip...well...it didn't work out. I was going to go to Nashville with a couple friends, and it would have been awesome, but it didn't happen. That's okay though! It's been a great break!

A formal letter from Caroline that has more impact if you use a british accent while reading

Dearest Readers,

I do not know what kind of computer you are using to access this page; however, I feel it is necessary for me to inform you all that I am writing this blog post from my new Mac. If you are utilizing an Apple Macintosh computer at this moment, by all means leave a comment. Cheers.

Sincerely, 

Caroline Casey

 

The shortest post ever about reading

Still waiting on the delivery of my mac...oh the building excitement!

I love to read. And do you want to know something exciting? I've gotten to just sit and read the past two nights. Christmas break, at home, with the parents, with not much to do = wonderful time to feel legit about spending two evenings reading. And do you want to know something else exciting? I got a new book tonight! Only one chapter in and I can already recommend it to you. Yes, it is that good. Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller. I am super stoked about reading it!

And I started/finished all my Christmas shopping today. Deuce.

The Rundown of My Weekend! Get excited!

Here are the words that come to mind when I think about this weekend:


Wow.
What.
A.
Great.
Weekend.


Man, it was good and busy and whirlwind-ish and full of life! That's exciting! Would you like the rundown? Because I'd like to tell you the rundown! We'll start on Saturday because that's when all the excitement happened. I'm in a listing mood, so we'll go with the list format+top 5 format :)


Saturday:
1. First of all, I was off work. That equals "sleep in" which equals "YAY!"
2. I got to second shoot a wedding!! It was a blastin' blast!
3. HSU graduation was Saturday. I didn't get to go but...
4. I got to go to all the after-celebrations!
5. The best was by far getting to hot tub it up with my best friends!

Sunday:
1. I helped my brother lead worship at church and it was a beautiful experience.
2. I took some quick family portraits of Chase's family (and they turned out radtastic!)
3. I had another family portrait shoot! It was beautiful. This family loved each other so much that every picture is oozing with happiness and joy! :) It was so fun (plus there was a baby!).
4. Went to dinner with dear friends. I set my camera on the table and everyone freaked out taking pictures. Try that the next time you go out to eat with friends. You'll get some interesting pictures!
5. All kinds of friends came to the apartment that night and we watched Seinfeld, drank hot chocolate, and played with Ellie (Tino's puppy!). The best part was that the apartment was so messy that it actually felt cozy. How weird is that?

Monday:
1. I was off work AGAIN so I got to sleep in...YAY!
2. Had a dentist appointment...who cares.
3. Ate lunch with Megan at our favorite locale...Chick-fil-a. Yes, it's true!
4. Then we headed back to the apartment and decided to HARDCORE clean it. In the middle of cleaning, Megan said, "Hey Caroline, what if we swapped rooms?" And so we did. Until one in the morning. You might not think moving furniture and cleaning is much fun, but we make it a party!
5. Mr. Davey Davis came to help us too and it was nice to see him since he graduated and is leaving for Dallas soon. Graduating friends are weird. Not the people of course, the fact they are graduating and leaving. :)

Tuesday:
1. So far the greatest moment of today has been ORDERING MY MAC!! Excitement!!

Needless to say, I have quite a few sweet photos to post, but I'll be waiting til my Mac gets here. I'm in the mood travel. My brother is in Canada...Why, oh why can't I go to Canada? Eh?

Song of the day: All My Loving by The Beatles. Video of the day: FREE HUGS!

12 days til Christmas...

...and I haven't done any shopping yet! :) That's just the way it happens for me though. After finals is when I get serious about Christmas shopping. And...oh yeah...I'M DONE WITH FINALS! 18 hour semester: FINISHED! Man, it feels good. Actually, as I'm writing this, I have the worst headache in the world. Earlier today I was whining to Megan wondering why I felt so terrible and her reply was, "Well it probably has something to do with the fact that you're sleep deprived, malnourished, overloaded on coffee, dehydrated..." It just struck me as funny. Isn't it funny how we forget about our physical state when we're concerned with...school.

Okay, no. Not funny. :)

But sweet home here I come! Home is the place where you get better! A mom to feed you, a dad to make you laugh, and too much free time to sleep. Mmmhmmm.

And now for the main reason for this post...

So I wanted to share with all you blog readers out there (and thanks for reading by the way, my blog stats are pretty high for a personal blog and it makes me stinkin' happy!) the music that got me through these weeks. Music is vital to me and I've been blessed to find some AWESOME music recently! Here goes:

*And as a side note, I chose to put links to each artist so you can hear them right now! It always stinks when people recommend music and you read it and forget it. Now you have no excuse- you can hear it and get hooked with no effort on your part! It's all right here!

1. Paramore: Riot! I mentioned them before so you know they are good if they get two blog mentions! A bit punk, with the awesome hardcore girl front singer. Misery Business and When it Rains are my fav songs!

2. Sara Bareilles: Little Voice. Man, what do I say? She's just awesome! Love the piano leads in most of her songs. Every song is sweeeeeet! Vegas, Love Song, One Sweet Love, and Many the Miles are my favs!

3. Hillsong United: All of the Above. Such good worship! This is my favorite album Hillsong has put out because it's a studio album (I don't really enjoy the 2 minutes of clapping where the band plays the same note forever at the end of all the songs on their live albums). :) My two favorite songs are Hosanna and Lead me to the Cross.

4. The Once Soundtrack. Alright, this one took a little time for me to appreciate, but it is very good! I'd call it "weird music." The movie is one of those independent, artistic films and the soundtrack echos that. If you don't feel like getting into all of it, just buy Fallen from the Sky. It's weirdly cool and uses old school keyboards. Whoo!

5. The August Rush Soundtrack. It's got an awesome variety of songs on it and I just love the whole mixture of orchestra music with underground rock.

Done with THIS class...Done with THAT class!

I'm so close! I've taken FOUR finals this week and have TWO more to go! Christmas break is getting so close! I love that feeling when you are repacking your backpack for the next study session, and you get out the book from the final you just took, and you realize, "HEY! I never have to look at that book again!"

Mmmhmm...so liberating.

And the pictures? Megan and I put off studying for a few hours to (what else?) take pics of ourselves jumping on my bed. We have close to 100 pictures. :) That's what finals do to you.

Song of the day: Our Song by Taylor Swift

Holiday Shoes!

Here's a tribute to your feet this season-- my favorite shoes of Winter!

1. Wellies! Keep your feet dry and look britishly happy in some crazy colorful rain boots! Wear 'em with your favorite long wool coat. Grab a pair at Target or J.Crew.

2. Chunky leg warmers will keep your feet warm when you wear flats! Try them over some straight leg denim or tights with your favorite ballet flats.
3. Satin Heels. Perfect to add a little shine to your party outfits. Don't know why, but I'm in love with these shoes. I want some so bad! It's a shame they are really expensive (J.Crew, you know). If you find some good knock-offs, let me know!
4. Furry snow boots! These are my shoe of choice this winter. Foot warm-ness always comes first to me :) Suede or sweater material, they are always wonderfully warm! Go for the real-deal Uggs, or find knock-offs anywhere!5. Knee-high tube socks. Take it back to the old school and look like a cool girl soccer player from the 80s! Knee socks are great for warmth when you don't want anyone to see because you can hide 'em under your jeans...but you know how cool you look. Or you could be hardcore about it and actually pull the athletic shoes, tube socks, soccer shorts, and sweatshirt combo. GOAL!!

December's Top 5!

Okay, I'm a little late on the Top Five for December...but I have good excuses! :) Here goes!

1. Oh man, go see this movie!! August Rush! Saw it last night and just loved it! It is so dreamy and NOT realistic AT ALL, but who cares?! It's fun to watch and there is some RADTASTIC music in it! I just got the soundtrack and am loving it. That's the only problem with this movie: if you spend $7 on a movie ticket, you will inadvertently be spending another $15 for the soundtrack within 24 hours. :)

2. Don't forget! Get the Mars Hill Church Podcast on iTunes! They are doing all those wonderful Advent sermons AND Don Miller gave a great sermon there the other week! Hear it all by subscribing to the podcast.

3. I've been learning that things are a lot more simple than they seem. God is in control. And He is good.

4. Another great Christmas Album! The James Taylor at Christmas Album! Everybody loves James Taylor!!

5. And finally, have fun with friends and go hot tubbin' in the snow! This is on my to-do list this winter! Apartment complexes make great hot tub destinations if you don't have one...just pretend you live there. :)

*by the way, the photo on #3 was taken by my dear friend Emily Spurlock!

Humor Me

Hello friends. You probably won't find this blog post even remotely interesting or funny, but I still just wanted to post it. If nothing else, I can look back and have a good laugh at myself. I love laughing at myself. You should too.

First of all, today while I was standing outside talking to Jen Jackson (it's a BEAUTIFUL day outside!), about 13 ladybugs landed all over me. It was a very strange feeling to have so many bugs on me. Thirteen really is a lot of ladybugs. They were climbing around on my sweatshirt, getting in my shoes, and flying into my hair...very strange. Assault by ladybugs. Good thing those little guys are friendly!

Next up, my equilibrium must be confused. I've been running into walls and doors all freaking day long. But it's hilarious because I can just imagine how stupid I look. And these are hardcore run-ins; not like I almost ran into a wall, no, but like I plowed into a wall. Several times. Awesome.

I had lots of coffee yesterday which is always fun. New fav at Tuscany's: Irish Dream Frappe. Mmmm. I think I'm going to get another one today. During this crazy time of the semester, I need to pick up an extra job to support my coffee habits. Yes, it's that bad.

To finish out this pointless post: a corny joke. What do you call an illegally parked frog?
Toad.

Things that are comin' up...

Good gracious. I have been a blog-slacker this past week! I apologize for my huge absence recently. School has been kicking my bum...and it will probably continue to until December 13th. I can't wait til it's all over! It's really strange though; this is the first semester where I have close friends graduating or moving. I guess it's hitting that time of life. Hm. I love life though...this semester has been very hard but the good most definitely outweighs the difficult. It's been a semester of making friends. I almost hang out with ACU people now more than HSU people. :) I like to laugh about that irony.

This post will be scrappy, I won't lie. But after December 13th I will have many amazing and wonderful things to post! Here's a few things to watch for:

*My very first bridal session and wedding as a photographer!! Can't wait! They will be sweeeet!

*A second-shot wedding (I'm helping Laci Adkins out)

*A super fun road trip to a surprise location that's AWESOME! I'll be blogging every day to chronicle the event...get ready for your own vicarious adventure. :)

*Oh and most definitely CHRISTMAS and a cool, cool countdown with tons of fun ideas to celebrate the best season of the freakin' year!

Maybe a few other surprises will be thrown in along the way too :) For now, I'll leave you with the band that's getting me through finals. PARAMORE!! They are amazing! A little on the punk side with the hardcore front girl singer, every song on their CD Riot is so good! My favs: Misery Business, When it Rains, We are Broken, and Hallelujah. The other super-cool thing about this band is that they are all Christians and their lyrics are profoundly spiritual, but they are a secular band and all over MTV. Yay for Christians putting superb music out there to reach the lost!

Hope you guys all survive finals too. :)

Honorable Mention in Jessica Claire's contest!! Wahoo!

Guess what? The beautiful and talented Jessica Claire held a photo contest yesterday on her blog and we were supposed to capture the thing we were most thankful for this year. I didn't win...but I got an honorable mention!!! How exciting is that? Jessica Claire is probably my favorite photographer. She is so inspiring and I respect her so much. Check it out here! My photo is the first on the left in the Family section! Yay! Here's the photo: it's my brother and his wife (married just a few days over a year!) in the super stellar snow that fell yesterday!

Thanksgiving/First Snowfall of the Year 2007!!

This Thanksgiving was the best Thanksgiving ever! You know how sometimes Thanksgivings are kind of a let down because you just sit around all day and watch your older brothers play video games? Well, this year was definitely NOT like that! It rocked!



First of all, I woke up early to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (which I really get into :)). Then it started freaking SNOWING!! It didn't stop until way later that night too! We probably got about 4 inches! Just so you know, this kind of thing NEVER happens in Texas. So it was a blast. Then my brother and his wife came over and we had a blast taking pictures with our amazing cameras. Snow makes for really fun pictures. We also had a yum-a-licious Thanksgiving dinner consisting of Fajitas! It's an old family tradition that is a lot of fun :) And finally, we all went to go see Enchanted at the theatres! So cute...definitely go see it! Way later, my dad built a fire in the fireplace and my parents and I watched White Christmas...such a classic.



It was just a happy day and I love my family and my life. So much to be thankful for. As cheesy as it is, I love that we have a day set aside to be grateful. How often do we take these wonderful things for granted? I'm okay with a day to renew my spirit of thankfulness. :)



Hope you all had wonderful days!

Happy New Blog-Look Day and Thanksgiving!

Looky! Things are different around the blog! I spiced it up a bit for Christmas time--my favorite time of the year! A few small changes were made to: the banner at the bottom of the page, my friend's blog list, my About Me, and maybe a few other things. Obviously the big top banner is new...yay!

Hope you all have absolutely wonderful Thanksgivings!

Finding Encouragement in Strange Places

Confession: I read InStyle magazine.

Now, this is a big deal because I was that girl growing up that was highly opposed to fashion magazines because of the whole body image thing. I think it was a good choice for me while I was struggling through all those teenage girl insecurity issues. It also made it easier for me to keep my mind on things of God. Nowadays I like to flip through the pages of a magazine every once in a while to get some inspirations for photography and things. But I think it's crazy the way I've been encouraged spiritually by reading the occasional InStyle magazine.

If your any bit like me, you probably get kinda frustrated and disgusted with the whole celebrity/Hollywood scene. The extravagance, the selfish attitudes, the stupid scandal things, the focus on one-upping everyone else, the obsession with external things, I could go on. BUT I suppose it's not fair to completely overgeneralize all celebrities. Recently, I've found a couple of things that have encouraged me: people (and I'm talking about non-Christians here) really do love and serve others.

So here's my two favorite encouraging things I've found in InStyle magazine:

(1) In the December 2007 issue, Natalie Portman was interviewed for the cover story. She's apparently "living green" and one of her favorite ways to show it was by donating her old shoes to people in Kenya through a website called Shoe 4 Africa. She says, "Each pair that's worn [in Africa] will cut down the spread of disease...If you're going to buy $200 Nikes, then spend $7 to send your old shoes to Africa." I freakin' LOVE IT!! And I'm definitely donating my shoes! Check out the website!!

(2) You know how InStyle always has the "Parties!" section all about who came to so-and-so's party and what they wore? I guess so that we can feel like we were invited? Yeah, it makes me laugh too :) But something caught my eye in the October 2007 issue: a photo of an actress showing off her Invisible Children bracelet! I got excited and read about how Kristen Bell had a little party in honor of Invisible Children! How cool is that? The little caption read, "'Action' took on a whole new meaning for this crowd." I like it.

And as cynical as people can get about Hollywood and all, I'm okay with getting excited about these two things. Even if it is just for publicity or whatever. In Philippians, Paul writes that some preach Christ out of selfish ambition, just trying to stir up trouble, "...but what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice." (Phil 1:17-18) Well said, Paul!

And go donate your shoes to Africa!

Holiday Decorating Inspirations!

Here's my special Holiday Inspirations post, as promised!! Enjoy!

1. Here's the sweetest stocking you'll ever find: The Dot Stocking from Ballard Design! How can it get any cuter? Complete with mini pom-pom trim, free monogramming, and the signature Ballard leopard, these stockings just scream happiness and cheer! Who thinks to put leopard in the Christmas mix? I love it! (I saw a wedding reception site the other day where the bride had chosen green, brown, and LEOPARD as her colors and it was totally classy! I'll try to post some photos.)

2. Take a gander at these Christmas postcards from Anthropologie! These Joyeux Noel cards are perfect for those of you that just love international flair. Vintage Paris art, silver trim, $12 for 12 (but hey, if that's your thing, then go for it!).

3. Here's something that won't break the bank! Holiday table decor is one of my favorite things. I just love having cute table settings out with a fun table runner and centerpiece. These red square dishes from Target are under $2 a piece AND they come in white too! Did someone say Mix and Match?

4. Ok, so this one is pricey. But glass based lamps are my new favorite thing. They are so retro, yet graceful and organic. This particular one is from Pottery Barn, and I'm pretty sure it's around $129 (or more), but I've seen some cute ones at everybody's favorite Target too.

5. Check out these powdered coated steel wall sculptures from Wingard! How sweet is that wreath for an alternatively mod Christmas!? Head to their site for all sorts of stellar wall art. Bit pricey, but I love to be inspired by the expensive stuff and then find my own spin off version (I know, I'm in college.)

Deck the Halls!

Hello friends! Well, Megan and I got the Christmas decorating bug! Our house looks so beautiful! Christmas is my favorite. Break out the Elf DVDs! We are definitely having some sort of wildly fun Christmas party soon. :) So, I bet you are just dying to see our decorations! Here you go...

Try this! I saw it in a magazine and it looks REALLY COOL and trendy! Tie jingle bell clusters to your dining room chandelier or light fixture! Put some sort of cool holly berry/candle centerpiece underneath it on the table and you've got it going on!!
Our poor crooked tree star. Megan wanted to be like the star. :)

Stockings hung by the fireplace with care...Look! You can see the reflection of our living room in the lovely silver orb!!This is definitely my favorite picture. The Christmas light glow makes for killer photos.We finally got the star straight!If you're looking for a beautiful Christmas tree for not much $$ head on over to Wal-Mart. Our tree was $35 and is as beautiful as any! Six and a half feet tall, full and pretty branches...very niiiice. It's not pre-lit, but putting the lights on was fun. Don't step down to the $29 tree even though it's pre lit...it's scraggly and sad looking. No one wants a sad looking Christmas tree.

Stay tuned for a special holiday "Inspirations" post, including inspirations AND things to keep on your radar! I'm gathering the best stuff ever (that's economical too!) to share with you!

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What a beautiful day!! I got to teach 6th grade for the first time ever today! Just one lesson, but still...it was a landmark. Not that I want to teach 6th grade. I was thinking more along the lines of 3rd. But it was still fun! Then I got to have a bit of time in the Word at Tuscany's. And I also got to eat lunch with my brother and he encouraged me alot about church! And finally, I went to take some pictures for Chase's recital (that's tomorrow now, don't forget!) and we ended up at Starbucks where I got some free coffee!

Oh and, remember how my purse got stolen? Well, I magically got it back today!! It wasn't stolen at all! Somehow (even though I asked and called several times), Starbucks had it the whole time! Wow. Too bad I already replaced everything.

It's pre-registration time again. I want to quit school. And be a vagrant photographer. Okay, maybe not the vagrant part.

That huge photo post I promised is coming up...probably around midnight or something. Keep watching!!

Much love,
Caroline

Your to-do list for the day

Okay, I've had this blog since June and I've made 80 posts. Not too shabby. But here's my goal: I want to have 100 posts by January 1, 2008! Can I do it? Watch and see...

And here is your to-do list for the day:

1. Eat a candy cane. I'm eating my first candy cane of the year as we speak, and it's just making me feel all toasty warm inside! The holidays are here!!

2. Check into your city events and see if the Nutcracker ballet will be happening anytime soon in your area. No better way to enjoy the season than a little fine arts. I LOVE the Nutcracker! I LOVE ballet! I should have been a ballerina...

3. Check back here tomorrow evening for a massive photo post including a salsa dancing party and Emily's quest for a wedding dress! Here's a teaser...

Yesterday since the band and I never took real pictures, we played around instead...and here's a few of the results.

I think Tino was trying to make Jordan feel awkward. Play, Tino, play. And watch out for trains.Somebody stole my camera at one point and got a shot of me half playing the djimbe, half looking at something on Russell's computer. Hello Andy! Jordan hung himself...on a coat hook. How desperately sad. They all have such a "band" look about them...I think it's the hair.

Anybody want to take a guess as to what's going on here? I didn't think so...

Yay for friends who are okay with taking silly pictures all afternoon! :)

Much love,

Caroline

P.S. I got to go to the Shane and Shane concert on Wednesday and it was beyond wonderful! Afterwards was great too because Megan, Davey, and I went to eat at Bueno which turned into sitting there for two hours talking and laughing. YAY!

Another post for November 7th!

Ok, yes, I do have another post today! (I'm really procrastinating the homework.) But I just had to share a couple of things with you!

First of all: If you need a little "Life is beautiful" moment, I've found one for you! Head over to the Lyon's photography blog and check out their brand new baby boy! You'll have to scroll down a couple of posts I think, but man...you need to go look. You'll laugh, you'll smile, you'll feel better about your life. :) Here's a picture to entice you. I'll say no more :)

Second up, real quick (and then I've got to get on the homework!): Everybody who is a bottled water drinker should start drinking Ethos water. Why? Because it is their mission to get clean water to children around the world and to raise awareness about the world water crisis (which my roommate Megan has been telling me all about recently too). 4,500 kids die every day because of a lack of clean water. Only 8 billion US dollars would make this problem non-existent (to put this in perspective, about 17 billion dollars are spent annually on overdraft charges from the bank in America). But not much seems to be happening. So support those who are making things happen!

Can't we just live?

Before I even jump into everything I feel I could write, I just want to marvel at how God created our minds and emotions and everything that makes us "us." It is mindblowingly complex. It's cool to look at the big picture and know that God is the God who created mountains and galaxies, but I think it's even more incredible to see His attention to detail. Each breath. Syllables. Shadows. The color red. Such tiny things that he gives His attention, all while keeping the big things in order. We serve a God who is everything.



Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! Rom 11:33



These past few days, my mind has not been on the things of God. I've wanted God's leading, but my heart has not put forth the effort to seek Him with all my heart. It's a lesson I've learned a million times, but all my frazzled-ness is calmed when I am in the Word. I finally let down and just read and thought out loud to God a little bit ago...the peace makes it seem like I was never freaked out. And my heart is absoluteley welling up with the love that God must have for His children to offer such peace again and again. So good. So beautiful. And so sweet.



Since my mind hasn't been on God these past few days, my mind has been on myself. Selfishness was the name of the game (and IS the name of the game alot of the time). I do not want it. I want to wake up every morning and ask myself why I am so selfish when I've been given so much. Father please help me get it in perspective.



I was talking to Kassie last night at the NSO paramount movie showing and we were talking about how worrying and selfish thoughts can get us stuck and we miss life. She was telling me that Chase (her boyfriend) always asks her, "Kassie, can't we just live?"



If you've read this blog for any amount of time, you are probably thinking, "Is this an entry from last month. Because it sounds the same." :) You would be right. I get selfish, then realize how dumb and dangerous that is, then come back to the Lord with such joy that He is yet again taking me back. I wish I was a perfect person so that I could give God a great rap on earth...but did anyone catch something wrong with that sentence?



God can make His own great rap. Sorry Caroline.



I don't really understand the mastermind plan of God :) but this I know-- 1. I can't understand it fully (Isaiah 55:9 go look it up), and 2. God is good anyway (Psalm 84:11, go read it. And notice it says "Blameless" which means forgiven...not perfect).



Anyway, I hope you are all having wonderful days and I hope that somehow the Lord uses this to inspire you to Him. As always, I'm greatful to you for reading. :)







Seriously, go look up those verses.

What are you doing?

Here's a post that will be changing alot. It's kind of more for me than you readers...but that's okay sometimes :) These are just some of my goals for the time being. I'm really doing them!!



1. Ride a real horse.

2. Get a bludomain website by January.

3. Go to Six Flags with people I love (I haven't been in years...I used to go every year!).

4. Find a church and use my gifts there (hopefully with music and youth).

5. Give 5% of my photography earnings to the Susan G. Koman Breast Cancer Foundation and give another 5% to a ministry that either combats AIDS in Africa or gets clean water to children in Africa.

6. Call a friend I haven't talked to in a while each month.

7. Babysit baby Justus for my friend Cherith!

8. Attend a photography workshop (preferably with The Image is Found).

9. Encourage people around me instead of fearing what they think of me.

10. Convince my parents to get a puppy :)

11. Read the rest of Don Miller's books.

12. Get stamina- not just in shape, but freakin' able to snowboard down a mountain without getting tired! So I guess that means work out.

13. GRADUATE SOON (obviously)

14. Second shoot for a top photographer that I admire.

15. Start a monthly gathering of local photographers to shoot for fun, encourage eachother, and share ideas etc.

16. Go to a Vienna Boys Chior performance (or some other awesomely prestegious chior).

17. Train to run a marathon.

18. Play music at a local venue.

19. Work a Summer Camp.

Life is sweet

Just wanted to share this quick picture of one of my best friends, her hubby, and their almost 3 month old baby! So beautiful! The Lord makes wonderful things. :)

November's Top 5!

Am I seriously already writing another Top 5? This month flew!! Okay, well here's the Top 5 for November (Top 5 is made up anything that catches my eye if you were wondering.)

1. Raise your hand if you were looking for a PLAID coat this winter! Look no further than American Eagle! They even come in different colors and have a detachable hood. You can bet your bottom dollar that I asked my parents for this one for Christmas. :)

2. Chilly? Go buy some really cute thick tube socks (or knee socks), pour in a few cups of long grain rice, sew the end shut and you've got yourself a new best friend: a heatsock! Once you make yours, put it in the microwave (NOT the oven) for 1 or 2 minutes. The things stay warm forever! I use mine (or, um...actually my roommate's) when I go to bed to keep my feet warm. They also feel great on your neck (or anywhere else). You'll have your own little heating pad- no plugs required!

3. I love free stuff. And I love Mars Hill Church in Seattle. So it stands to reason that I love their free podcast on iTunes! Rob Bell is an amazing teacher, and I'm so excited about his sermon lineup for Christmas! Make sure you subscribe by December- it will be a four week Advent series (sermons by week will be: Do Not Be Afraid, Joy, Glory, and the Peace of God). What a way to get ready for the glorious celebration of Christmas!

4. Looking for a sweet gift or something to make stellar invitations? Look no further than Angela Adams! These stationary designs are simple and balanced, but retro-fun and colorful! Totally mix and match-- anything goes! I especially appreciate her little slogan, "Shouldn't you be inspired by the thing that you use everyday?" :)

5. Ready for some ultra-lounge Christmas music? Grab a copy of Christmas Cocktails-- some of the jazzy-est and most classic Christmas songs ever. The best part? It's on iTunes! More good news? There are three (maybe more) volumes, so you won't get tired of the same ol' songs. Another Christmas music recommendation: Michael Buble's 5 song EP "Let it Snow!"

There ya go!

On a more heartfelt note, it's been a rough past couple of weeks for me dealing with stress and school, and I'm sure it's been that way for lots of other people out there. It's just that time of the semester when everyone seems exhausted. I was flipping through my Bible the other night and came across these few verses that spoke peace to me, and reminded me that we have a heavenly home that we will soon see. This is a truth that cannot dim: I will see God!

Behold I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered...but be glad and rejoice in what I will create. For I will take delight in my people. The sound of weeping will be heard no more. Never again will there be an infant who lives but a few days or an old man who does not live out his years. Isaiah 65:17-20 (a bit paraphrased)

Much love,

Caroline