mini book.

as i mentioned previously, i created my first mini book with many thanks and a lot of inspiration from elise.  i needed something to get me motivated, was fast to put together and easy to ship.  after all, it was going to a. 

i must say, these mini books are my new obsession.  i'm seriously obsessed.  once i had the pictures and supplies, the amount of time it actually took to put the book together was trivial...hours at most.  i turned on a few episodes of glee and cut, taped & punched away.

i created this book as a 5x5.  while my theme was nothing more than the month of october (it was a great month for us), i didn't generally stick with a color pattern.  i tried to repeat a lot of the same techniques for a unified look and found that the photos did a great job tying in the colors.  in the future i'll be sure to order more 5x7 photos- i love the full photo pages!

there are a lot of photos so i only included my favorites.  to view the entire album, please view my flickr account.

a holiday weekend.

i hope you had an amazing thanksgiving with family, friends and other loved ones.

i trekked it to my aunt & uncle’s in virginia.  the weekend was a wonderful and relaxing- even with the drive.  there were some mainacs on the road and i hit a bit of holiday traffic, but it was well worth the trip. 

we ate, drank & were merry for the entire weekend.  a few walks & adventures are always welcome after a food-fest.

thanks be to skype.

isn't it amazing how easily we can chat with someone (and see their face if we're lucky enough) across the world?  not just afghanistan- but italy, australia or brazil...all from the comfort of your home, airport, office or car.  seriously, where would we be without skype?


let me say this: it makes deployment so much easier...and anything that makes a year-long deployment easier, is something to be thankful for in my book.  i often wonder how couples stayed connected during those long, long stretches in world war 1 or 2.  Not knowing when they would hear from one another or even go home.  a. and i are able to chat almost everyday and i'm so grateful for that connection.  while most of the time we spend typing, there are the rare occasions that we can actually talk or video conference.  and those days are amazing!


so thank you skype.  thank you for brightening our days and keeping it possible to chat often...especially during the holidays!

thankful for weekends.

{image found here}

lying in bed until noon weekends.
watching movies all day weekends.
hosting parties and game night weekends.
spending time with the girls weekends.
catching up on errands weekends.
crafting weekends.
chatting with a. on skype...for a while...weekends.
cleaning the house with rockin' music weekends.
hiking, biking or outdoor weekends.

and the best are when you can pack everything into two little days...perfect weekends.

a natural thanks.

as i mentioned yesterday, i have many things to be thankful for.  and one thing that i'm constantly thankful for is nature.  seriously.  don't think this is a cop-out.  second to my families, nature has been the second largest influence to who i am today.

i grew up swimming in the ocean, hiking and backpacking, canoeing and kayaking, mountain biking and snow boarding.  today, i've added snow shoeing and cross country skiing to my repertoire.  for me, it's more than the love of being outside or being active.  i'm constantly learning about who i am and what i'm capable of when surrounded by trees, sitting on a surf board or riding down a hill.  the lessons i've learned from the challenges & achievements i've faced while being in and around nature have given me so much self-confidence, an appreciation of my limits & helped mold my spiritual and political beliefs (seriously).  hence, why i need to thank mother.  nature, that is.

she is unpredictable, volatile, and unforgiving.  she's also a comforter &  provider.  seriously, think about it for a minute.  she can throw anything at you and if you are willing to adapt (and know how to), nature will provide everything you need to make ends meet.  it's amazing.  i am constantly in awe of nature and the surprises she brings.  the sunsets, storms, temperate lakes, fierce waves, cool breezes, beautiful flowers and gorgeous tress...this list could go on forever.  she has helped me change my life, reduce my impact and improve my eating habits.  from adventure to beauty to health, there is truly so much to thank her for.