Happiness

How awesome is Rebekah!? She got me this amazing poster for my 

once-oh-so-plain wall!

Best poster ever. 

:)

One day

 This is the neatest idea, and one day I will put it to good

 use...

Photo: Pinterest

It's Good to Dream

After sifting (day dreaming really) through the hundreds of pictures at one fantastically beautiful and convenient website (linked below),
I've come to the conclusion that I would be perfectly content living here for the rest of my life...

Photo Credit: All Things Europe

I think we might be a match made in heaven. And by the way,

that'd be Ireland,

 if ya couldn't tell by the rolling hills, brooding clouds, and wandering sheep...

Such A Mystery

So, I had this really awesome, detailed, pretty hilarious grocery-store-story I planned on blogging all about today... but I didn't get around to it. Instead I thought I'd leave you with some words of wisdom:

listen to this kid belt his heart out and then by his EP.

Some pretty wise words, huh? ; )

M.I.A.

Instead of blogging, or doing anything else of real importance, I've been spending my time watching this...

And ya know what?...

Be still, my beating heart!

I'm in love. 

And it's with a pair of shoes. 

How could I let this happen. I am not a "shoe person." 

Yet it has happened. And all I can do is embrace the fact that these are beautiful shoes! And that they have undoubtedly captured my heart's affections. 

LuLu*s

Disguises

Today was a great day.

We had fun at the Wal-mart. 

We looked stylish in our disguise-kits. 

Hopefully GLCU didn't think we were going to rob them! ha

I love my siblings. :)

Bones

We stay up way too late watching this show...

...but it's totally worth it.

Boxes

After packing up pretty much everything I own into boxes nearly a month ago, I came to the conclusion that boxes and I cannot possibly be friends anymore, or at least not for the next three months. In fact, I'm so insistent on not being friends with boxes that a good chunk of my stuff is still packed in said boxes and will stay that way for well, at least a little while longer. 

On Saturday, my opinion of boxes might have changed a little. Well at least boxes marked by the lovely U.S. Mail sticker. Now these are great boxes that should be opened immediately. (Especially when they're sent by the wonderful Rebekah!) The whole house was excited by the presence of this one single box and longed for me to open it (a little dramatic? yes, but now you are excited about the box!) After practically being dragged out of bed, I stumbled into the living room to open the box. 

And this is what I found...

The awesome Rebekah has sent me all of summer's necessities! Along with a lovely letter (that made me laugh) with the purpose of each item.

 And the magazine! Oh my word. I was ecstatic to see it. I saw it in the store the other day and desperately wanted to get it but the whole have-to-pay-for-it thing was a major turn off. So I walked away without even glancing in it. But Saturday morning it was in my hands, and Rebekah had gone through the trouble to mark the sections I would like, along with putting her commentary in it. I was elated! Taylor Swift on the cover, an article about Taylor Swift, an article about John Krasinski (that made the magazine alone), a look at Jennifer Aniston's hair styles for the last decade, Rebekah's love James Mcavoy... pretty much the perfect magazine. I will be entertained for days. 

Basically, this long-over-due update is a HUUGE thank-you to Rebekah! You totally made my week! Expect one in return...and a thank you email! ;)

Stumbling

I have a major addiction. It's called stumbleupon.com. I'm pretty sure it is the greatest thing since sliced bread. You're probably wondering what this awesome website does, if you haven't already typed it into your browser to find out for yourself.

 Here's how it works:
First, you put in your interests, random stuff from humor to quotes to music, I mean whatever floats your boat! Then, you click the button "stumble" and vulaah! a website pops up that somehow fits in to your interests. And get this, if you click "stumble" again, another website comes up. Basically its your never-ending-mindless-web-surfing (perfect for the college student who is trying to regain brain-consciousness).
The real question is whether or not these stumblings are with sharing. Yep, they sure are.
Top Five Things I've Found?

1. Everything Random : Pretty much what it says. Random quotes, random photos, and all in one place.  You've got quotes from C.S. Lewis, to Churchill, even Irish Proverbs. (Or fortune-cookie fortunes...) Have I convinced you to check it out? It doesn't matter if I haven't (actually it does)....the website can convince you for itself! 

2. The Super Sprayer : This guy has got talent. I mean loads and loads of talent. This will be the best Two minutes and Forty-Four seconds spent of your entire day. 

3.When Parents Text : I'm pretty sure Jenna and I spent part of forever on this site the other night. It's a site that has a ton of things parents have texted that we, as their children find rather humorous.  Here's my favorite (I'm pretty sure my Dad is quite capable of making a joke like this :P )....

• ME: Done with my geometry final! I ALMOST DIED.
• DAD: What’d you do, try to swallow an obtuse angle?
• ME:  Oh no..please tell me you didn’t just say that.
• DAD: What..? You said you almost died. Perhaps you got food poisoning from some bad Pi.

4. When ever I see/read about libraries and books I think of Rebekah. Why? I think it might have something to do with the fact that she got a job at the school library, and when she found out about said job at the library

she became overly elated and talked about the library non-stop. And then there's the fact that she likes to peruse random bookstores. [Disclaimer: Rebekah Hill, I love the fact that you love libraries and I'm overjoyed that you got the job at the library (: ] But....back to what I found! 

A) There was this great website that should the World's Most Beautiful Libraries Some of them really are quite spectacular. Like the Klementinum National Library in the Czech Library. As Rebekah would say, "Beast, from Beauty and the Beast, would be proud!" I couldn't agree more.

B) Then came The World's Greatest Bookshops. One of them was Atlantis Books in Santorini, Greece.  And no, I have no clue how one is suppose to get those books down from that bookshelf way up there. My guess? The owner is either really tall or never wants to sell those books. 

C) I'm "stumbling" along when all of a sudden this picture popped up. I was amazed by the sheer size of the place (really the wall alone), I'm pretty sure the only thought that managed to cross my mind was: Woah, that is a lot of books. 

D) Lastly, this nifty little website came along. It shows Home Library Design Ideas. I'm pretty sure there are zillions of ideas/compilations that Rebekah can work with to have one pretty sweet home library setup. 

5. You cannot imagine all the pictures that stumbleupon brought up! Some of them were quite priceless, with lots of little life lessons. But I think my favorite one was this one...

It's nothing overly spectacular but I find it kind of adorable. I mean don't we all daydream about alien space ships? ...eh maybe that's just all the Stargate Atlantis I've been watching kicking in. 

That's what I've stumbled upon, but what are you going to stumble upon?

That's beautiful to me.

Summer is here. Yes, it is finally here. Just reading those three words makes me smile...and want to jump forjoy. But then the unbelief sinks in. The school year is over. Staying up 'till the wee hours of the morning to finish that paper or study for that test won't be necessary for the next three months. Surrendering to the tortures of the dining hall? Not for another three months!
Happy thoughts, right? Agreed. My mind then wanders, which it is a master at, to all that has happened. So I figured you'd get a front row seat as to just exactly what I've learned these last few weeks...

I've learned that May means warm weather and sunny days! ...except  when you're from a place called Waukegan, than it means 40s and overcast.

I've learned it's okay to be a perfectionist, as long as you have the time it demands as an offering....and that if you start a blog, and there happen to be people who read it, they expect you to update it, no matter what. (That one's for you Rebecca! :P )

I've learned that there is a difference between a lightening bug and a glow worm...one flies and one plummets, but they're both still happy bugs. 

I'v learned that Panera's  Chicken Almond Salad Sandwich can be a large motivator in getting you to wake up early on Sunday mornings, that and Pastor Gary's well placed jokes. 

I've learned that Rebekah Hill has a talent when it comes to getting songs stuck in my head...Who Says, I Think I Want to Marry You, That's Beautiful to Me, Ryan Started the Fire.

I've learned that no matter how hard you study for Spinney's exam, you'll still walk out of it feeling like a complete dumbo. And that finals in general can cause for an extreme amount of stress, which has a funny way of expressing itself, including very odd nightmares. 

I've learned that the best way to stick it to finals, is to sell back the books you studied with right after, making a small fortune and then knowing that you never have to see those text books ever again. 

I've learned that I am an expert at taping pictures up on walls...but am terrible at taking them down with out ripping them, poor Alyssa's wall!

I've learned that the Office will always, always make me laugh, and that I am going to marry Halpert. 

I've learned that a town named 'Friendsville' doesn't necessarily mean a place where you would want to make friends at. It might actually be the perfect small town for the first-ever Croatoan Virus outbreak. (And that friends, would be a Supernatural reference...and even if it takes you a whole two semesters to make it through five seasons, it's completely worth it.)

I've learned that the best kind of Ice Cream Giant sells is indeed the Coffee-with-Heath-Bar-pieces-in-it kind, and that this Ice Cream has the power to make any stressful day a better day, and it will also attract the spoons of the two lovely people sitting next to you, cough Sydney and Rebekah cough. 

I've learned that goodbyes will always be hard, but that they always make the next hello a tiny bit closer.

I've learned that the Lord has blessed me with an amazing life, filled with wonderful people and very entertaining experiences.
(:

Ya ever been to the United States before?

Never in my life did I imagine being a person with a blog, but here I am... and here is my blog. I figure I can make this first post a time to share a little about myself...who I am, what I like, what my favorite color is, etc.    or I can just cut straight to real life. I'm going with option two. (: 

This past weekend was absolutely wonderful and filled with many extremes of every sort.  

And the only hope of just slightly putting how awesome my weekend was into any amount of words is to break it down in to the coolest, best, greatest extreme moments.

The best first impression, without a doubt, goes to Rebekah's dad. It was the first time I was meeting nearly all of her family and I really didn't know what to expect. On the way to her house, in southern Virginia, Rebekah told me, er rather warned me that her father loves to make jokes, and boy did I learn that! Luckily for me, he has a good sense of humor. Now, I'm a Yankee. There's no denying it. I grew up near Chicago, have a tinge of the famous Chicagoan accent, I enjoy deep-dish pizza on any occasion, I am truly a northerner, and Mr. Hill wasted no time on using this as joke ammo. And he did a great job. One of the my favorite and most reoccurring joke was when he'd ask, "Ya ever been to the United States before?" He would then follow it up with a "You sure have picked up the language realll well!"  Hilarious? I think so.

(Pay no attention to the girl (Rebekah) in the green shirt :P )

The most terrifying yet beautiful moment was definitely our five mile hike, and it was kind of more than just a moment. Saturday morning, Rebekah, two of her brothers, her sister Abigail, one of her (Rebekah's) nephews and I went on a hike in Damascus, VA. The end goal? To reach the double waterfall. The path? Five miles up the mountain crossing the same creek over and over again.  We were up for the challenge. The first parts of the hike, on nearly flat-ish ground just crossing the creek, went great! Abigail and I learned that it was way easier to take off our shoes and wade through the creek rather than jumping on rocks or walking across logs. But, it was getting to the second waterfall that was going to be very difficult. Why difficult? Well we'd have to climb up the mountain on what seemed to be a rarely-ever taken path, and for someone (cough me) who deeply fears heights, this could be problematic. I think the only time I was ever so terrified was yesterday giving my speech (no one in their right mind enjoys public speaking). Climbing rocks, finding footholds  on a small ledge for your slightly huge feet, dodging branches, making sure to avoid any possible snake hideouts, that's all what stood between me and the safety of the second water fall...most importantly flat ground. It may have taken me a little longer, a few more terrified breaths along with a loudly beating heart, but I made and it was totally worth it. 

David Greer is a very talented and very true folk artist.

The most interesting and new experience I had was meeting the mountain people. Rebekah's brother wanted to go get a few paintings from a local artist (he happens to be a pretty great at what he does) who happened to live in the mountains. I should have known it was going to be an interesting experience the moment we turned on to the mountain road. Think gravel, narrow, bumpy divets, foreboding  (yet beautiful view) over the edge which seems to be a little too close, and then you will have experienced the mountain road. On this road, that never seemed to end, Rebekah and her brother were light heartedly joking about how mountain people don't like outsiders very much, but at the time I didn't know they were joking. You can imagine the thoughts running through my brain, something like "Oh, great,  I'm an outsider." Then one of them would again, jokingly say "Stephanie  you better pick up a fake accent real quick." Yep, you guessed it, silly naive me thought "I am not going to say a single thing to anyone on this mountain no matter what they ask me. I am surviving." I had prepared myself for the worst, and in the end it was all unnecessary. We got to the artist's house, met him and his mom and got to look at his amazing artwork. (Obviously they were nice people.) 

The first full day we were in town I got to experience the Bristol Mall, where I had one of the weirdest experiences. No, it wasn't with how the mall was or any of the people, but in realizing how much I look like Kirsten Dunst. I've been told that for the longest time, but never actually believed it until Rebekah showed me this picture she took. I think it is safe to say that I do slightly resemble her. 

The Second day we also spent some time at the mall, with Rebekah's best friend. We were on the hunt for Easter shoes, sadly we didn't find any, but what we did find was man outside playing the banjo! You would not believe how excited I was! I've seen people playing guitars, saxophones, violins, and even a puppet show (one of the beauties of being from the Chicago-area) but never had I seen a banjo! Checked that one off the bucket list!

We were constantly doing things all weekend, it didn't seem like we got much relaxing veg time. But, the best veg time we got was at Rebekah's sister's house. We went over to Summer's to watch some of The Office. One of my favorite shows, and luckily for me the Lord blessed Summer and Rebekah with this good taste in television, too. :P Summer was oh so nice and made us coffee and let us eat her left over cake (which was super yummy!) We all sat down, fell a little bit more in love with Jim Halpert, and laughed hysterically at Michael Scott. I think the way you can tell if someone has a good sense of humor is by whether or not they like the Office...

It was great to spend a weekend in an actual family, and not just a dorm or college with a bunch of college kids. We got to spend time with actual kids, I mean four years old and under, the ones that love you when you're just being plain silly, which for some of us is nearly all the time. Summer's boy Oscar, is in the running for cutest, most smooth talker of the year. When all us girls went to get our toe nails done for Easter, Oscar and I got to spend some quality time together playing the coolest little game gadget thing ever! At one point he turned around and said "You pretty girl" (but in his adorable two year old voice) and then put his necklace around my neck! Definitely the sweetest moment of the weekend, even though shortly after he jumped off my lap and tried to create havoc with the nail polish stand. 

We ended the weekend on Easter. Woke up early, got all prettied up (which means wearing a dress) and went to church. Church was great, topped with an inspiring Easter message that reminded all of the sacrifice Christ made. After church, we made our way back to the family house to prepare for Easter Lunch. Now, my family doesn't have nearly as many people as Rebekah's so I wasn't quite sure what Easter would be like. I learned real fast (about as fast as I learned the local language) that it was great fun and filled with the most amazing food. Everyone had prepared a side dish (my contribution was putting the marshmallows neatly in rows on Summer's sweet potato dish) while Rebekah's mom made the main dish of chicken dumplings (which was AMAZING). We all, nearly twenty of us, gathered around the table and completely devoured everything, while drinking sweet tea (which this weekend has given me a new appreciation of). One of the best Easter lunches I do believe I've ever had the pleasure of consuming. 

The funniest moment of the whole weekend was with Rebekah and Rebekah's sister Anna Kaye. We even took a picture to document it. All weekend Anna Kaye, Abigail and I would tease Rebekah about her "bossy-ness" which in reality is just her ENTJ, get-it-done personality. Every time she would ask us to do something we would rub our upper lip as if there were a mustache there. It caught on like wildfire.Lucky for us, Rebekah has a great sense of humor and knows how to take a joke. Did you know Hitler was an ENTJ, too? 

You're probably wondering what the overall best moment of the weekend was. That's easy, the entire weekend! There wasn't a single moment that was better than the other. I mean what couldn't be great about having adventures with awesome new people like this?

Now, who ever said extremism was bad?