snow days.

winter has finally hit new england. we are getting a snow storm today!!! we went out earlier and mom and i went shopping and i bought a new pair of running shorts! i would buy them on a day when we're getting a snow storm. oh well, i'm wearing them around the house wishing that it was summer. since we're probably going to be snowed in for the rest of today and most of tomorrow, i have decided that i am going to start re-doing my blog!!! make it a little more...me. :) so i apologize in advance for any difficulties with the blog. and i also apologize if it looks a little strange at times. ;)

well hello there roxy :)

hannah on her ipad

the start of the snow

messy rooms. and the calm before the storm.

i can't promise this is gonna be a long post. i have a very messy room staring me in the face. begging me to finish unpacking and then eventually finish decorating. i decided that i wanted to re-do my bedroom last spring, so my mom painted the colors that i requested, but we never got around to finish the whole decorating part. you see i had this silly little thing called graduation coming up (and before that all the fun stuff that goes on at the end of your senior year) and then i went to camp, then i was home for a week then went to myrtle beach, then boom i was at college. so now that i'm home for a while, i will have time to finish re-decorating!

it's a beautiful, sunny day outside. today is probably the last day we're going to have a sunny day until sunday. well, at least that's what my iphone says. we're supposed to get snow tomorrow afternoon through thursday. i definitely miss my southern weather. oh well! such is life in the north.

and i put this picture up because i could go for a starbucks drink right now.

happy tuesday!!!

randomness. because it's friday.

hey there, everyone! i hope everyone is having a fabulous friday! i'm slowly adjusting back to life at home. it is much different than life at school. but so far i'm loving it. :) even though i am greatly missing my friends...but that is what skype is for! don't get me wrong, i absolutely LOVE being home!!! it's really nice!!! now to just finish unpacking....

anyways!

i decided to just do a random post today! i wanted to just talk about random things that i've been liking recently! so here it goes!!! :)

1. the sing-off. now, i know that the show is not going on right now, but i love listening to the music from past seasons. if you don't know what the sing-off is, it's an all-voices competition. no instruments allowed. i think it is a GREAT idea!!! it brings a whole new level to acapella singing. well, i didn't get to watch this past season while it was live, but the great thing about technology is that you can watch shows, on your computer, after they air on tv! and one of my favorite groups this season was called the yellowjackets. they are incredible! here's their first song. i think it's pretty legit! ;)

(and remember...this is all just their voices, no instruments)





2. pinterest. i absolutely LOVE pinterest!!! katelyn wrote an awesome post about pinterest (which you can read here) and i definitely recommend heading over there and checking out her post about it. pinterest is a virtual pin board where you can pin anything you would like! i absolutely LOVE it!!!

3. mail and iced coffee. you may be wondering why i have classified these 2 in the same category. well, my dad called me earlier and suggested that i take my sister (which i love being home with her and the rest of the family!!!) and the dog to dunkin donuts before the roads got bad with this storm we're supposed to get. (no we did not give roxy anything from there, but she did get to ride in the car with us ;) ) so the 3 of us drove do the dukin donuts down the road, and i got an iced coffee and hannah got a donut! then, when we came back i had a letter in the mail from one of my good friends out in ohio! there's just something about getting a letter in the mail. 

4. our puppy, roxy. you probably think i'm crazy for calling a 90 pound dog a puppy, but she's not even 1 yet!!! she is such a cutie and i absolutely LOVE her!!!! my family got her last summer while i was working at camp. she's a swiss mountain dog, and very lovable! :)

being home now, i've decided i want to start some series on the blog! leave a comment and tell me what YOU would like to see on here!!! i want your input!!! so, please let me know your ideas!!! :)

happy friday!!!

determined.

i am determined. determined to succeed. i will not give up. as most of you probably know i am now home. i had to leave school because of my health problems. not gonna lie, i was not happy. i was ready to finish the semester and come home in may. but that is not what God had planned for me. so for now, i am going to be home.

but while i am home, i am determined not to just sit around and feel sorry for myself. i want to take this opportunity that God has given me to grow in my faith and grow in my photography. i want to grow closer to God. i know that He put this into my life for a reason. i believe that He has given me this trial in my life to grow me closer to Him. i want to be a better Christian. i also want to get better in photography. i am bound and determined to not just be "another photographer" but to stand out, and make a name for myself in this photography world. i want to excel, and move forward with my business. i want to be able to use the talents and abilities God has given me. i want to grow.

sunset on the drive back home

of course, i can't do any of this on my own. i can't do anything on my own strength. it is virtually impossible. i need to rely on God for this. this is something that God has been showing me. i am the type of person that will try to do everything on my own, and not give it completely up to God. obviously this gets me nowhere. i have really learned this with all my health problems recently. i always need to give everything to Him, and rely on His strength. because if i don't, i will get nowhere.

i just wanted to pour my heart out. i don't want to be a fake. i want to be real with you all. and i invite you to join me on my journey that i am just now starting on. a new chapter in my book. a new part of God's plan for my life. and with God's help, i am determined to succeed.

not easy.

this blog post is not easy to write. these past few days have not been easy. i went to the doctors the other day and found out that they everything from all the tests came back normal. they can't find anything wrong, that is causing my symptoms. they gave me some medicine that is helping with my nausea which is nice! and they also gave me some medicine for stomach pain. the other day my adviser asked me to come meet him. i went over there before my first class and he told me that i needed to make a decision about the rest of the semester. either stay and try to fight through whatever is going on and finish out the semester, or go home and rest and work with my doctors back home. i needed to make the decision by 5pm friday night. i had no idea what to do. i called my parents and talked with them and got advice from them and my adviser. i prayed and asked God to help me. my parents and i came to the conclusion that it would be best for me to go home and just rest and see if i can get better. this was not easy for me. i am the kind of person that hates quitting things. and i know this isn't "quitting" but at the same time, i'm not finishing up this semester. it really bugs me, but i know this is what God has for me right now. He may be trying to teach me something that He can only teach me while i'm home. i don't know, but He does. so i will be going home this weekend and we will see what happens from there. something that i think God is trying to teach me is trust. the day of my biopsy i found this song called "so i will trust You" and i absolutely love it! here are the words to the chorus.

King of Glory
i know You love me
so i will trust You
yes i will trust You

God almighty
You have saved me
so i will trust You
yes i will trust in You

this song just really speaks to me and i love it!

being home will give me more time for photography, blogging, reading, and lots of other things! i am going to hopefully get a job while i'm home along with my photography. i'm just gonna keep trusting in God knowing that HE knows what's best for me!

and since blog posts are just better with a picture, here's one! just a pic i took of my red sox jersey last weekend. :) i'm pretty pumped about baseball season!!!

so there's a little update on my life. keep tuned on the blog as i will have more time on my hands to be on here. ;)

inspired.

today i got to hang out with hailey and talk about God, photography, and a whole bunch of other things! it was great to catch up! hailey and i worked together last summer at camp and hailey is an incredible photographer down in georgia. hailey asked me to be her second shooter for a wedding she is shooting in NH in june! i am super excited! so today we got to hang out and talk a little bit about the wedding too.

recently, i've been kind of discouraged about my photography business. i want a brand, i want to have a great photography business, i want to succeed. but, i'm at the beginning stage of photography. i need to have patience and just trust in God. i've talked with some photographers and they've encouraged me with being an individual in this crazy world of photography! i'm so excited for where my journey will take me.

i've been trying to figure out what exactly "my brand" is. so i've been on pinterest just kind of brainstorming and figuring it out. and it has been a lot of fun! so, i'm just gonna leave you with a few pictures that i found on pinterest that have inspired me. :)