A Severe Case of Blog Neglect

 

Time stops for no one.

 

Like seriously, sometimes I wish it would. Dude, we're half-way through 2014 already. What. even. happened?! 

I guess I shouldn't be alarmed, because every single year this moment rolls around and....yeah. It's a continuous cycle. The equilibrium of life would be lost, without it.

Anyhoo, if you though this was the typical opening to an apologetic "sorry I've been so absent" post, I hate to break it to you but.......

 

.......um, yeah, that's what it is.

 

I hate writing apologetic posts explaining my absence from the bloggy hemisphere. On one hand, I feel guilty about being gone, but on the other hand....I have a life. I can't be on the computer all day and honestly doing so hurts my eyes. So yeah.  Plus I just haven't had /time/.

 

Valid excuses, people. Totally valid excuses. *cough*

 

 

Soooo much has happened this year and especially these last few months. My being overflows with exhilaration and near-terror because some stuff occurred that I just...wasn't....expecting. God totally has a sense of humor, and to say He works in mysterious ways is a major understatement.

The thing is, His plans always make sense - even if, in the heat of the moment, they seem so crazy and just..."excuse me, what?"

 

We humans have such a limited understand of the grand scheme of things. We only see a few inches in front of us at a time. I can't trust my own judgment and vision, because it's an incomplete work that must be constantly renewed and adjusted according to Scripture. I can't trust my emotions, because they lead me into the pits of depression, the mountains of narcissism and the whirlwinds of complete madness.

 

It truly is all about walking by faith, and not by sight.

 

Oh yeah and all these pictures are from last month's annual week-long beach vacay.

 

 

 

It was a lovely trip. Always is.  I love the beach, even though I may be a country girl through and through. I got to visit a lot with my cousins, grandparents and of course my own immediate family, which is always nice.

 

My cousin and I...quite a duo.

 

 

So besides the beach, what's been happening lately? Well, I.....

• Had a pretty major art commission - actually, a childrens' book cover.
• Started writing once a month for the Survival Mom  blog.
• Been working on promoting my piano lessons business.
• Tomorrow (erm...later today I guess it is? haha it's trippy sometimes being a night-owl) I have an audition at the Ocala Piano Conservatory concerning the furthering of my own musical education. This has been something I've been praying over for two years now. It's nothing short of incredibly daunting, and immensely tremendous.
• Graduated from high school!! (whooooo!)
• Been trying to finish my ICR creation science courses.
• Began the process of looking for an agent to represent my historical novel, TROF. Been working on the query letter and all that glamorous (not) fun.
• My band and I got to play at our first PAID gig! It was a living history event in Ocala. (below are some pictures from it)
• I decided I'm a hippie free-spirit of sorts, minus the irresponsibility, drugs and all that junk. 

 

If only I could make my entire income from music gigs...it couldn't get much better than that. Seriously. Being a musician is awesome.  And it's even more awesome when people are willing to pay you well for it...

 

 

So yeah, a lot has been going on and so much more is ahead. Life has been crazy and you know what? That's the best kind.

 

To end this not-so-apologetic post, here's a few random jams I found which you should check out because they're just so chiiiiillllllll. Not to mention, addictive.

 

| Changed (DJT Remix) - Mario & Vidis |

 

 

| Beautiful Life - Martin Roth |

 

 

| Foreign Language - Flight Facilities | (loooove <3 )

 

 

You're welcome.

 

So what's been new with you peeps? I have missed you guys. Catch me up on things?

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

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Oh, hiiiii.....wait, you're still here? You didn't go? Why are you still here? I just left my closing signature a mere inches above....um, this is the part where you go comment....

 

 

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You're still here. Why?

 

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Wellllllllll then.

 

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Okayyyy so you're probably curious now why I didn't end the post already.

If you actually took the time to read all this....props to you! You're smart. And probably a bit suspicious, by now. Good. *rubs hands together*

Well, your efforts shall not be unrewarded. You see, my dear reader, this is not the end of the tale.

Not everything has been laid on the table.

 

There is still news which I have yet to share.

 

News.

 

 

News.

 

 

News.

 

 

NEWS.

 

And with that, I leave you with a single hint.

 

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Bye, y'all. ;)

What Happened to Seventeen + Reenacting Adventures & Missing Hair

 

I don't know about y'all peeps, but January (for me) has already been full to the brim with excitement and amazing things.

 

Change. Growth.

 

Last Saturday, my best friends and I got to participate in our first Civil War reenactment.

 

It was a phenomenal weekend.

Friday night beforehand, I spent the night at Kay and Maygan's house to lessen the amount of driving the next day. We spent the last hours of the evening preparing for the next day - looking up accurate hairstyles on Pinterest, getting acquainted with driving directions, last minute outfit fixing/prep, etc.

Emma, the photographer for all the Friday night pictures.

 

You know you're a reenactor when this is what can be found in the living room...

 

And also ^^ this...

 

Experimenting with hairstyles. Being the only girl in my family, I will jump at a chance to play with/style peoples' hair.

 

And then of course, I also welcome a chance to have somebody else do my hair.

 

Kay is now officially my reenactment/event stylist. ^_^ Seriously, she has done some awesome stuff with my hair.

I just love my dress from Recollections!

 

Saturday morning was eventful. I was awoken promptly at 4:30 AM, after a night of peaceful sleep, and before that, long theological discussions with Maygan when we should have been asleep. Thankfully my friends are early risers, so we had plenty of time to get ready to leave.

 

The preparations took two hours. We ended up actually getting to Brooksville at around 9:30.

 

Brooksville, the location of this reenactment, is an hour and 20 minutes south of us. So this was the farthest I've ever driven. With our maps, common sense and God-given protection we got there all in one piece, and had only one instance of minor confusion on if we were on the right road or not.

 

The actual reenactment was incredible. We stayed for fourteen hours, and left around 11:45 in the night. What a day!

This was during the actual battle, when all the crowds showed up.

 

 

I loved getting to watch the battle. There's nothing like the sound of cannon and rifle-musket blanks going off everywhere, accompanied by the rousing drone of snare drums and fife melodies.

 

So many reenactors attended this event! 90% of them were Yankees, granted, but still. All the men in uniforms! In the beginning of the day us girls were just about the only females in proper attire for our age group, but as the day progressed more women and girls showed up and we didn't feel so...outnumbered.  Haha.

 

 

One of my favorite parts of the actual battle was the fife players and drummers. I would have loved to have that position!

 

Speaking of music, which is always our place at such events...

 

First off, it was frigid. Yeah, we Florida people don't know anything about true cold, but when you have a day in the early 40s it feels COLD. And we make a fuss about it.

 

On one hand, I love a nice nippy day. But when you're trying to play a stringed instrument in such weather, it proves difficult for all and sundry. The only thing that worked really well was our vocal harmonization. The bodhran sounded tinny, and Maygan's fiddle lacked depth. The guitar even felt shallow in sound, due to the dry air. But we managed. And I do think people enjoyed hearing us play. And that's all that matters.

 

I am thankful we had a few friends to meet up with during the day, to help us find places to put our instruments and such. Thanks to Jason and his family for being so helpful and accommodating!

 

One of the biggest highlights of the day was going to Chick-Fil-A in the evening during break to order dinner. Maygan, Kay and I all went inside with our dresses on and you should have seen the stares and gawking! A couple little girls walked by us and were grinning so big, pointing and whispering in amazement. I felt quite...hilarious while ordering my spicy chicken sandwich and milkshake, to say in the least. Hey, it's all an adventure!

 

 

It got especially crazy and amusing when all us girls (plus another friend who showed up later) trekked in the bathroom together....you don't even want to try and imagine using porta-potties with huge crinolines on! O_O Plus, Maygan, Kay and Christin needed to change into their ball clothes.

We had a hilarious time being total girls and laughing our heads off about ridiculous things...I think we scared off a few people who started to walk in...I was being the loopiest, and laughing at random people as they opened the door. *sigh* For real, Saturday night? Only my best friends and family could put up with such crazy behavior that I displayed. Thankfully I pulled it together before the ball.

 

 

The ball itself was really fun! You could see your breath....eeeep. Did you think that was even possible for FL weather?! ;) A nice amount of dancing and trying not to make a fool of myself by tripping all over my crinoline.

 

 

Overall, I loved the whole experience. I felt that in that one day I matured a bit, because I was forced to hold a good deal of responsibility that normally isn't mine to bear since I'm not usually traveling and hour and a half away for the whole day.

 

I love reenacting because you really, truly do feel like you've stepped back 150 years in time. People act differently, and for the most part, they're a pleasure to be around. Men and boys act like gentlemen, for the most part. If you're a girl or woman, you're treated with respect and favor. Basically, treated the way you should be treated. Granted, there will always be those few guys you want to avoid because, well, erm...they're far from gentlemanly. But that's how it is with any scenario, reenacting or not.

 

To me, Saturday was euphoric. There were a couple things which threw wrinkles in the plans, but they were minor and trivial - certainly not big enough to affect my general opinion of the day!

 

I'm incredibly thankful to God that He protected and blessed us, and that we even had the opportunity to participate in this event. It was thoroughly amazing, and something I'll not ever forget. I was a little worried that I'd fall asleep at the end of the day driving us back, because I was just SO tired....but the Lord's traveling mercies were with us and we got back safe, thank God.

 

 

In other news, more new pages have turned - this time with my age.

That's right, I've had to bid farewell to sweet seventeen. It was a wonderful year and age, the best of my life. But all good things must come to an end.

 

Eighteen ushered itself in.

 

 I am now legally an adult.

 

What even happened. O_O

Got myself a fedora with some of my birthday money, and loving it! Such a classy hat!

 

On one hand, it's just a number. Maturity doesn't come with simply being (fill-in-the-blank-number).

Wisdom doesn't come from the amount of years you've existed on this earth. It's found by seeking God and following in Christ's footsteps, always living by His Word.

 

So on one hand, 18 is a daunting number, but it's also just that. A number.

 

I'm still going to make the most of it, just like all the other years.

 

I still feel it's pretty monumental. 18 years I've walked this planet.

 

So you probably noticed the new-do by now... and yes, with the new year came a new hairstyle.

 

BANGS!

 

The last time I had my bangs cut was when I was 9. And they looked horrific. Ever since then I'd avoided them like the plague, in fear that history would be repeated.

 

But something crazy spurred me a few weeks ago to want to change up my look and try something different, so here I am!

 

I loveths them.

 

Anyway, so now y'all have been filled in on the most recent happening of my fabulous little life.

Hopefully I didn't deter you with all the run on sentences and rambling!

 

It's been a while since I spent so long on a blog post. O.o

 

Soli Deo Gloria,