whats up with me. {plus- a rant about clothes}

via

hey all you faithful followers of this recently very quiet blog!
it feels like i haven't written a blog post in forever. i miss it and i've thought of blog topics and say "I'm gonna write a post next time i get on the computer" and when I do- nothing. it just doesn't come. I don't know if i'm just too distracted or what. anyway, I'm sitting down and writing one now right? it! its a start right?! ;)

 

via

Okay so I think we've finally got fall around here! the highest in the last 2 weeks or so is 75/80 and the highest like in the 40s! i'm lovin' it. now i"m on the hunt for some fall clothes. Do you know how HARD it is to find jeans(or really any clothes for that matter) that you like, are your size and style and that don't cost an arm and a leg?! we went clothes shopping last night, we went to 3 stores and we couldn't find any jeans for me! there were either not my style, too skinny, too much or, 90% of the time, they didn't even have my size. we couldn't find anything over a size 11/13 and usually very skinny or they caved in at the thigh and went back out to the ends of the earth at the calves.  UM hello? they are people out here that aren't a size 11 and don't love clothes that are skin tight! ugh. do you girls have this problem?? BUT thankfully my awesome peeps on twitter gave me suggestions on where I might find some good jeans! so i'm on the hunt. :)

Ah I only have 1 more soccer game left! This season has gone by SO fast. It is my last one{i'll age out of our Rec league} and actually at the beginning of the season I wasn't too excited but then I got to know my team and got comfortable and I'm sad to see it go. I love the friendships you form from just 2 months of playing together on a soccer team.
speaking of sports, who's excited that its football season?! well i am.

via

a quick update on my health--I had an allergy test done last friday and that was an adventure. [a blog post coming about it.] I'm still battling with headaches most everyday, some that just knock me out. i get super tired and can't do school which is not very good. another than all the allergies, i think headaches are the biggest thing right now.


SO. its a beginning of a new week. {the last one of September. um just where did that month go? seriously!}. a fresh start. i'm setting some goals out there that I want to reach. not a bunch. i don't want to overwhelm myself but I don't want to cheat myself either. i'm going to keep track of how I do and i'll blog about it at the end of the week! motivation... :)


be in bed by 11pm . with babysitting and soccer its a really big help to get good sleep! ;]
workout {30 Day Shred and/or 1 mile run} on thursday.
getting my school done before getting on the computer for pleasure{blog, twitter, pinterest etc.} - school is hard enough already with my health issues and such so most of the time taking away the distraction of the computer is good.
have patience. I think that one is pretty self explanatory.

Do YOU have any goals for the week?

here are some photos from pinterest that have inspired me. i hope they inspire you too! :)

via

via

via

via

i hope you have a great start to the week friends! :) 

much love♥Samarah

2 bithdays and mother's day! {late}

I know I'm late posting about these events but I did celebrate them but I didn't get around to posting about them. well I'm here now, posting about the 2 birthdays and mother's day. its all good :)

*not my image*

On April 27th my not so little sister turned 9 years old! We celebrated her birthday with cherry delight pie and I Love Lucy. And then the next day we had her Awana leader over who shares the same birthday date with her and enjoyed dinner with her.
Okay now for a word about my sis, she is so gracious, loving, compassionate, friendly, loves the outdoors and getting her hands[and clothes ;] dirty, smart and wants to be a missionary. She loves God and loves telling other people about Him. She loves making handmade things and giving gifts. When she hears someone is sick, she sends them a colorful, bright and cheery card or gift. Like me, she loves music and good ole' tv shows and movies,  I Love Lucy, LHOP, Andy Griffith, Anne of Green Gables etc. Right now we are watching Little House on the Prairie from the very beginning, at nights :)  When she gets older, I look forward to introducing her to Dr. Quinn, The Waltons and more!
She is an example of grace and love in action. I pray I never take her for granted.
♥I love you!♥

* I own this image*

On May 7th, my dear friend, Sarahlynn celebrated her birthday! Gosh, I really love this lady. We have been friends since...well forever! Even though she lives far away now, she is one of my closest friends and one of the most beautiful souls I know. She has been an amazing blessing in my life and has encouraged and inspired me so much and continues to. She loves Christ with her whole heart and strives to glorify and serve Him. She loves her family so much and it shows. She is a faithful friend and is always there. She is hil.ari.ous. Put us two together and you have a crazy fun duo! ;]  Ah, I miss her. but I know we are both where we are supposed to be :) Love you Sarahlynn!♥

*not my image*

Aaaand on May 8th is was Mother's Day! My mom. Is amazing. the best mom for me. always there for me. funny. loving. caring. a great comfort. wise. strong. forgiving. has a beautiful heart for Christ. a lovely example of a wife and mother. a wonderful friend. of course she isn't perfect, we all have our flaws but we serve a forgiving and merciful Lord! Without our mom's we wouldn't be here, literally. [quote by Lauren Barlow] :)
thank you mom for everything! I love you to the moon and back! 

And a huge thank you to all my other mom figures in my life. Thank you for being there for me and for caring about what kind of lady I am and will become :)

 I am truly blessed by my sister, friend and mom♥ 

much love,
Samarah♥

catching up on 28 days (part 2) and a giveaway you DO NOT wanna miss!!

Be sure not to miss the bit about an amazing giveaway! :]

Day 20: A hobby of yours- 

soccer

i've played for every year for 7 years. and I love it. love the team work that it takes to play a good game. involves your whole body and its great exercise. and its so much fun :) 

Day 21: Something you know you do differently than most people-

I can be me, like no one else! :]
I'm strong willed person and I don't fall under the pressure of this world to be someone I'm not. I'm true to myself and I don't care if I'm an Outcast. Kerrie Robert's song "Outcast" is my anthem right now because I'm having a hard time fitting in at church and with some other groups. I'm definitely not the popular one, probably the least popular but I'm ok with that. I'm gonna keep my head , stand my ground and be who I am because God made me who I am and He has big plans for me. I am alive and beautiful in Him :) and so are YOU!
I'm not living for them I'm living for something better! 

Day 22: A website-

I can't think of an interesting one so I'm just gonna say Air1 Radio because they play some awesome music. they've introduced me to new artists and i've been so blessed by them :)  


I'm going ahead and doing tomorrows :)

Day 23: A way in which you want to be remembered- 

this kinda goes with day 21.

I want to be remembered as a person who loved Christ and lived for Him and because of Him. Who showed some crazy love to the world and didn't fit in. Was an outcast for Christ. :] 

Alright, now onto the amazing giveaway! its pretty amazing and you definitely don't wanna miss it.

Ilene at much love, illy in honor of her blogiversary is giving away 5 lovely items! to 5 lucky much love, illy readers! :]  I just love her blog. she's gorgeous for one thing and I could spend hours on her blog reading about her love for Christ, family, friends, her Ryan and Chicago ;) I mean this picture just says it all. doesn't it just wanna make you run straight to her blog?! don't deny it. it does.

She is giving away some super cute things that any girl would l.o.v.e to get her hands on! seriously they are adorable. and you could be one of those lucky winners! click here to enter! 

I'm struggling a bit with getting school done. I just feel overwhelmed and so tired. I'm sorry to whine but its true. 

hope you all are having a better day/week than I am! 
much love,
Samarah

seriously this is CRAZY!!

I'm loving life right now. why?? well one reason is that....  

THE PACKERS WON THE SUPERBOWL!!

It was a great game! The Steelers did well.... but the Packs were on fire! whoop whoop!(Matthews was on his game!)   If you follow me on twitter, i apologize for filing up your twitter box! I couldn't yell and cheer because there was a babe sleeping so I had to do it on twitter ;P
Here was my Packers attire for the night :)

Aaron Rogers through some pretty sweet passes and they were caught beautifully! (most of them ;) and interception!! How sweet was that?! :) but some parts were nail biting. I'm glad that the Steelers did get a few touchdowns, I wanted them to leave with some dignity ;) But the Packers held them for the rest of the game and that lead to victory!! I was sad to see 2 players get injured :( hope they heal soon!  We had a great time with our friends. The parents talked, the kids played and I was basically the only one watching game. but dad did come and ask for updates ;) I'll post some pictures asap.go here to watch highlights from the game :]

 also, I won another giveaway!! I think I'm still in shock. I've never won any giveaways but in the past 4 weeks or so I've won 5 giveaways! but I'm definitely not complaining ;)

I won The Freedom CD from Charity Anne's January Ending Giveaway.

thank you so much Charity Anne! and thank you for making a stand on Human Slavery and Trafficking.
& I won this beautiful picture by BK!

thank you girls!! so much :)

ok on to, Day 7: Five things you couldn't possibly live without- 
I'm gonna exclude God, family, friends, house, food etc. because its obvious I couldn't live without them ;) 

1. music 
2. little kids 
3. braids 
4. blankets
5. mountains 

 What can't you live without??

so, im liking life right now :) Packers winning the SB and winning all these giveaways! its crazyly wonderful ;)
oh yeah and just FYI, I will be celebrating the Packers win all week :D

with love,

Samarah

Day 4- A favorite band

There are many bands that I really like but there are a few that I love. Switchfoot is one of them.

this group is truly amazing. they have such beautiful hearts and music.

their lyrics speak right to my heart. each song centers around Christ.

they have slower and thoughtful songs then upbeat and fun ones. 

the guys are awesome. i have an honest respect and admiration for them.

they have a funky fabulous true style

i saw them in concert a few months ago and they were amazing to say the least. i would give a lot to see them again.

"What do we really want to say to the world? Three main themes. The inability to find completion in our modern society, the inability to find completion within ourselves, and the new way to be human in what Christ offers us -- His love and His perfect plan of redemption for us."--Jon Foreman 

I have this poster on my wall and i love it :)

here are 2 of my favorite songs by them. enjoy lovelies :) 

 ~Samarah

*fun side note*
the other day my 8 y.o. sister said that Jon Foreman {lead singer} has a beautiful face. can i say she has good taste? ;)

gluten free girl,what I'm listening to and blog design!

 {yes I keep adding songs after I published it ;)}

wow, February 1st is tomorrow! Wasn't it just January 1st? well I really want to be in good health by birthday at the end of this month. the best gift I could receive would be my health. and I'm going to work hard to do that. I'm not making any promises but i will try. and I took the first step towards that today!

Today I officially became a gluten free girl :) and its feeling great!

(soon I'll be doing some blog posts about going gluten free, recipes etc.)

I haven't done a "What I'm Listening To" post in a long time! :/ my bad...anyway, here's whats rockin' my world ;)
(I'm not going to post the videos on here but I'll post the link to the video)

ok seriously I'll stop adding songs ;) 

love love love this song!! such a catchy song and its an awesome song to start your day off with! i am posting the video to this one because its soo good! please take a listen :D 

No Plan B by Manafest

I'm not a huge fan of Manafest and some of his songs are a bit too much but I like this one. it really applies to my life right now. I have changes I need to make and I'm not looking back :] 

music video here

Closer by Shawn McDonald
I've heard this song a lot on Air1 and its been stuck in my head for past few days. and its such a good song so I think I'm gonna buy it so it can be stuck in my head all the time ;) this is my prayer-

{chorus}

I just want to be closer to you

I just want to be closer, I am yours

You can have all of me anything, everything

I just want to be closer

listen to it and see the lyrics here

Echo of Love by An Epic No Less
ok seriously. this is one beautiful song. this is what I want my life to be. an echo of love. Go here to watch the music video.

{chorus}

I hear an echo of love
We are the echo of love
I feel an echo of love
We are the echo of love

{verse 2}
You are the strength when we are weak
You are the breath inside of me
You are the love that pierces hearts
You are the light thats shown into our darkest parts

A powerful song right?!

This is the Stuff by Francesca Battistelli

a fun, catchy song and oh so true :)

listen and see the lyrics here

Outcast by Kerrie Roberts 

kinda reminds me of Jesus Freak by dcTalk. same idea, I don't care if people cast me out because I know who I am in Christ. Let no one stop you from loving Christ with all your heart and living for Him :) 

video with lyrics here

Ground Zero by Mr. Talkbox{aka Byron Chambers}

sadly there isn't video or anything for this song. so you can only listen to it by hearing it on the radio or buying it. its such a good song and I gave in and bought it ;) which is saying a lot because I don't spend itunes money on any 'ole song! ;)

Hope you check out those songs and enjoy them :)

Also, I'm working with Lulu from Polka Dot Blog Design on a new look for my blog! so be on the look out :)

Hope you are having a nice start to the week :)

with love,

Samarah

and I'm proud to say that there a quite a few of you that are cheering for my Packs! thank you very much ;]

random post 1.26.11 {including some lovely Etsy finds}

I like doing random posts because it doesn't have to be on just one subject or anything. and usually random posts are the ones I like to read most! so here's mine ;)

warning: this post contains some content regarding the Superbowl and cheering for the Packers, so if you are cheering for that "other" team then skip the following part ;)

the Packers WON their playoff game! and they are going to Superbowl XLV!! yipeee!! so excited :)
edit-if you are cheering for the "other" team, I'll still like you and be your friend ;)

Ok, so I totally made a dumb choice tonight. I ate gluten filled pizza for dinner. and im sick. I haven't had been eating breads so my body is rejecting it :/ I've learned my lesson... {i think}

my birthday is in 33 days!! a little more than a month. wow, its hard to believe that a year has gone by already!!
 
Etsy has some lovely things and I love that they are handmade! but they can be really expensive like yesterday I found a hat that was around $200!! seriously?! most of the things are reasonable though :) I found some really cute things and I had to post my favorites :)

uhh... LOVE!! these are definitely on my birthday list! ;)

{source}

more love!! though I can't decide whether I like these or the first pair better?

{source}

so cute!!

{source}

something vintage and "woodsy" about this necklace

{source}

which ones do you like??

with love,
Samarah

eeeek.... I WON 2 giveaways!!

ahh... I'm SO excited because I won 2 giveaways! This is my first time ever winning any giveaway! Oh I'm so excited! Let me show you what I won :D

I won Arianna's giveaway and I get a free blog design by Lulu! :) can't wait to talk with you Lulu, about the details :)

I'm so hyped about this...

I won a $10 gift card to a place of my choice and the book Start Here by Alex and Brett Harris courtesy of Jessica, Madison and Becky at iheart ministry!!

I'm really looking forward to reading the book and its winter so I will have plenty of time ;)

so how sweet are those prizes?! thank you so much girls! You've made this girl very happy :)

hope you all are having a nice weekend, I know I am ;)
with love,
Samarah

Stylish Award and 4 giveaways!

 I have a few things I want to post about but since I don't want this post to be a novel I'm going to break them up into 2 or 3 different posts ;)

first of all,
Kinsey French awarded me the Stylish award. thanks :)

here are the rules:

one. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.
two. Share 7 things about yourself.
three. Award 10 recently discovered great bloggers.

seven things about me:

one.
I love that I can request items on my library website and I can go to the library and they are right there waiting for. seriously. i.love.it.

two. 
 I cannot stand heavy metal music. really any hard rock for that matter. Skillet is as heavy rock as i get.
three.
I've gotten into this show called Larkrise to Candleford.

go ahead and call me old fashioned or a weirdo but I love shows and movies set around that time period(like Cranford, Emma etc.) Most of today's shows are just so messed up and I'd much rather watch something like this.There a 4 seasons and I'm borrowing them from the library. its a perfect show for the winter ;)

four.
I really love photography. I'm saving up my money and I can't wait to get my hands on a camera like this:

I would love to travel, especially to New Zealand, Canada and England and photograph it. 
five. 
 I really hate the abbreviation Xmas. I can hardly type it. I can't it out loud, literally I can't make myself say it. I love the word Christmas. it has so much meaning and specialness. Xmas just doesn't make me feel the same way. So you are warned. please please don't say Xmas on my blog. please do not.
six.
There are some really fabulous giveaways going on! I will tell you more about them in a minute.

seven. 
I honestly and seriously don't like swimming or really getting in water. I'm not afraid or anything. it just doesn't interest me. even during the summer I'd take sitting in the 95 degree and dipping my feet in the pool than actually getting in. I know I'm weird like that.

For the awarding part, as I look through the blogs I follow, most of them have already been awarded. but you haven't yet and you follow my blog, you are officially awarded the Stylist Award by Yours Truly ;) 

Ok about the giveaways!! there are 4 giveaways going on right now (that i know of) and you should enter in all of them! :D

Arianna at There are a few of my favorite things is giving away a blog makeover made by Blizzard Blog Desgins. Go here and enter!! :)

 You could win a 11x14 frame of any style from Organic Bloom! They are beautiful and I would love one!

Go to Hannah's blog, Aspire  and enter! It ends tomorrow (friday) so hurry!

Lucia at From Under my Little Umbrella  is having a huge giveaway over at her blog! There are 25 prizes. yes 25!! Here are some of my favorites ;)

Aren't they gorgeous?! so go over to Lucia's blog and enter here!

Last but definitely not least,
In celebration of having 300 followers, Polka Dot at life is too short not to read shoes is giving away a bunch of cute things! 26 cute necklaces, earrings and rings to be exactly. and 26 different people will win something. the prizes are so darling! take a look:

I mean seriously it doesn't get much cuter than that! Oreo earrings?! that's awesome!! :) so hurry up and enter because you would be one of the 26 winners!!

I hope you have entered into these neat and fun giveaways! 

thank you for reading and following dear blogger friends :) 

with love,

Samarah

beautiful scarf and jewelry giveaway!

Ashley and Gabrielle over at Bramblewood Fashion ( i just love their blog title!) are having 2 really neat giveaways! Go over to this post and enter to win this gorgeous necklace!

and go to this post to enter to win this lovely scarf! I really like the color of this one. I've really gotten into scarfs this fall and winter, they are a great little extra to spice up any outfit :)

I have 76 followers according to my dashboard. 76 wonderful followers! :) I can't believe it! many thanks to my faithful readers and commenters!!

Love in Christ,
Samarah

i have a good reason for being absent from the blogging world :)

I would apologize for not keeping up with y'alls blogs but I would be lying, the fact is that I've been having a wonderful time with SarahLynn :D its hard to believe that she's been here 1 week.... time is flying! but she gets to stay for a whole other week!! We've had loads of fun together: laughing,taking pictures,watching movies, playing on our itouches,doing school(yes I said doing school, SarahLynn brought some subjects with her that she had to get done and I had things I had to do also...by the way doing school is way more fun with a freind than alone ;), and Christmas shopping :) here are a few pics from the week ♥

doing school and listening to Air1

SarahLynn's homework

SarahLynn's math homework... lol ;)

watching Emma

me :) 

We bought some scarves and were using them as masks,skirts,head wraps and taking funny pictures :P this one cracks me up ;) 

some fun edits we did :)

love this one :)

We had our first SNOW on wednesday! Then it stopped for a few days but today it has been snowing non stop. I love looking out and seeing  the snow falling ♥ we are relaxing in our warm cozy house :)

hope you are having a wonderful weekend!
off to spend some time with my dear friend :)
love.samarah