October.

starting from the top left and going around clockwise. 

*I haven't worked out in a few weeks and wanted to start again but lacked motivation but when I(my mom) bought these 2 new workout tops at ON earlier today, I'm feeling inspired! Nothing like new clothes to kick yourself back into gear :) 

* a really encouraging sign above the scale at my friend's house. YOUR WEIGHT DOES NOT DEFINE YOU. 

* rewatching Downton Abbey. Sybil and Branson are just...yeah. 

* I love my momma <3 i="i" nbsp="nbsp">

* Love Light's 'Cactus in the Valley' lyrics 

* healthy breakfast start to the October month! 

* fall leaves 

* we had lots of rain last week and after a shower, I went out and took some pictures. 

* sunset 

* GF donut love 

* Go Packers! I havent' been able to watch any games but you can be sure I stay in the know ;) 

* fall colors 

Happy October y'all! Its hard to believe its October and officially fall. Oh fall, its my favorite season. Its just perfect. I'm especially loving it because we are having such a much more colorful and fallish-fall than last year where it just rained and the leaves were brown before they fell from the tree. The photo in the center of the collage is my absolute favorite instagram I've taken and I'm in love with it. I took it this morning when my family and I stopped at some beautiful trees to take pictures while out running errands.

Update on my momma: She is doing a lot better compared to when she first hurt herself, but still is sore and can't do much. She will have physical therapy for 4 weeks starting Monday.

Update on me: I have an appointment with a food allergy specialist on the 16th because this new doctor I went to last week said that there's not reason why I should have so many allergies/intolerances. now I'm having nutrition deficiency. She also said that I most likely have a germ/disease in my gut that needs to be healed. We are praying hard that this specialist has some answers and can help me feel better. In the mean time, I feel tired, more than sleep can cover and have a hard time dealing with all the emotions. but I'm so thankful for what i have and I'm reminded daily of how Christ loves me and he is so much stronger than life and its struggles. remember that always friends, don't stop fighting. You are loved by the most awesome God and its even okay to not be okay but never quit.

with that said here's some of my goals for this week and month:

week: 

-workout 3 times. Including running, yoga and try a new workout.
-respond to the personal emails that have been sitting in my inbox for *a while*
-eat the best I can.
-track food and exercises on Livestrong
-practice a good night time routine (see month goals)

month: 

-workout at least twice a week(hopefully with mom getting better I'll have more time for working out)
-try going to youth group (I've had trouble fitting in my youth group at church during the past year so I stopped going and starting serving in nursery and participated in a bible study. well this year, I've been in contact with my small group leaders and such and i feel like i should try it out.)
-be positive
-pray more
-practice a good night time routine: computer/iphone off around 8/9, tv show/reading till 10:30. then sleep.


what are your goals for this October? its never too late! :)

your friend, 
marissa

2012.

its 2012. whoa. I really can't believe it.

When I look back at 2011 I see pain, frustration, growing, the love of family and friends, little things that I love, God's strength and grace and my realization that this is my journey, my life that God has given me. I am called to serve and love Him right where I am.
I have met some of the most sweetest girls who have become friends through this blog and through twitter. Some of them are going through similar things as I am and we've been able to encourage and strengthen one another. I'm so thankful for them. they are amazing. 


Here's a little look back on 2011:

having one of the best twitter conversations late at night on birthday with the lovelies Kinsey and Sky.

We discovered I have several allergies/intolerance's and I officially became gluten free and nut free and all the other kinds of free.


I played my last season of soccer.


spent one of the best 2 weeks of my life with Sarahlynn.


really got serious about working out and taking charge. I lost 20+ lbs. my official goal wasn't to lose weight but to tone so i was surprised! I'll take it ;) 

discovered I really enjoy superhero movies  


Thor came out.


My mom went to India. {look out for photos!}

went to the amazing Make a Difference Tour


aspirations for 2012:

My only resolution is having deeper intimacy with Jesus. All other goals/resolutions flow from there. -Lecrae's twitter

to try my best to have a positive and fresh outlook on things. especially when it comes to my health. take more photos. to have more grace and patience. to love people unconditionally. enjoy the little things. make wise choices even in the small things. don't sweat the small things. practice healthy habits. give Christ my all.

{now i know all that is not going to happen over night and I will have days when i say "what in the world was I thinking? i can't do that. but they are aspirations--A hope or ambition of achieving something-- so I will live day to day. striving to do my best. and there will be some days when I am bummed about my health and such but that's when I remember these verses and drink lots of tea and watch Monk}

here's some things I'm looking forward to this year--

--the Avengers movie coming out in May!! so excited.

--Getting to see Sarahlynn and her family in the summer. CANNOT WAIT.

--the Dark Knight Rises coming out in the summer

--continuing to save up for a laptop 

--the OLYMPICS
--leap year

what are some of your goals? what are you looking forward to this year?? :]

 

♥Samarah

happy friday! {some tunes, update, fall walks}

are ya guys glad its friday?! I am. :)
first things first--
 i had my last soccer practice on monday and then my last game on tuesday. practice was a causal fun one which i love those :) and we won our game. i think it was one of our best ones too, plus i got my first and only goal of the season. it went up and over and in. it was nice. anyway... ;) So yeah. Soccer is over. I'm having a love/hate relationship with that fact. I'm kinda glad its over but it feels weird not playing soccer almost everyday of the week and not seeing my team. AND this is my last year.  but i've learned a lot and had tons of fun. i'm satsified with it all :)
As for my goals....

be in bed by 11pm . with babysitting and soccer its a really big help to get good sleep! ;] --okay so I didn't meet this one. I went to bed every night around midnight or so.But some of that was due to staying up and watching a movie with my folks :)
workout {30 Day Shred and/or 1 mile run} on thursday. - i didn't do it yesterday because i thought we would go to my sisters soccer practice but it got rained out. SO i'm doing it tonight :)
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. --I think i did pretty good on this one! somedays I didn't even get on the computer at all. :) and its really helped me get my school done.
have patience. I think that one is pretty self explanatory. -- ehhh....

We've had some rainy chilly days around here. and we've had some pretty nice days too. and then some where it will be rain for about 20 mins then get all blue sky and sunny for 20 mins. like today. weird weather. but I'm thankful its not somethering hot.
Here are pictures from our walks :)

over the past few weeks there are been some great tunes released. here are some of my recent favorites :)



[did you like "Drifting"? You can get it for FREE at air1.com]






welp, I'm outta here. I hope you all have a great weekend! We have my sister's soccer game and my end of the season soccer party tomorrow...fun stuff :)

much love♥

P.S. Are my photos too big? are they overwhelming?

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

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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?! ;)

 

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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.

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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! :)

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

much love♥Samarah

hello there! {Let me spell it out plain and simple now. You.can.count.on.me.}

hey there fellow blogger friends! I hope you are having a good weekend. its raining right now and i'm hoping it cools things off. because its been hot.
We got back from out trip late Tuesday night and I haven't had the energy or time to sit down and blog. It was a very nice, low key trip, just what we needed. but alas, we're back to crazy busy normal life! ;)

Okay so most of you know that Mat Kearney's new album "Young Love" came out a few days ago. Once i heard "Down" on the radio I knew I wanted to own the whole cd. Because Mat Kearney's songs are just amazing. and Young Love is nothing short of awesome. and what made it even more awesome is that I got the deluxe edition for $5.99 at Best Buy! SCORE. So needless to say, its been on repeat since it came out :)

here's a song for ya: [warning: it might be stuck it head just after one listen]



 
Remember these goals i made for the trip? well lemme do a little report of how i did.

• take my soccer gear and touch the ball everyday. work on passing, dribbling, control, etc. - oh boy. well i didn't do so well on that goal. i only touched the ball/did drills, ONCE. there i said it. it was so hot(like 95+) and humid and there were gnats that would not leave you alone. and i didn't feel like going outside very much.
• walk/run every other day if not every day. I really need to do this. -i didn't do this either. blah. i WAS going to one day but there was this dog that had decided that half of the lane(my mom's family has their own lane, cuz we're awesome like that) was his territory and chased anyone who went down there. so i opted out.
• stick to my gluten(and other allergies) free eating deal. My mom and I are making lists of foods and meals I can take/make there so I have food I can definitely eat. As always, there's a stock of candy/sweets at Grandma's so it will take some strength and self control not eat it ;) -This is the one I actually did well on! I stuck to my free food plan the whole time except for when I ate a few mini Snickers bars which had nuts in them and oh.my.stars. the reaction was one of the worst i've ever had. like 5 mins after the 3rd one i ate, my legs broke out in red super itchy bumps. all over. my legs were all swollen and red. yeah, not fun. thankfully they just stayed on my legs and didn't spread. I had to take Benedryl and after like 20 mins. i was a lot better. but there are still scars and scabs from he episode. i stayed far away from the nuts for the rest of the trip!
  

• Do the 30 DS at least 4 times. -yes! I actually did pretty well on this! I worked out 3-4 times(can't remember exactly) while i was there and i'm proud that i did that! :) 

*i did some yard work and such while i was there so i'm counting that as exercise*

• take tons of pictures and work on my photography -i did take a lot of photos! like a couple hundred. mostly of the landscape and flowers :) I experimented with light and angle. pictures to come!
•  don't forget my time with God. a lot of the time when we're visiting family, God gets put on the back burner because I'm not focusing on Him. okay so i think i could of done better on this but I read some sections of Crazy Love and the content was on my mind for the rest of the week and i thought a lot about it.
• enjoy my family! :) - CHECK! :) I did enjoy my family! There was little fighting among my siblings and I so that was oh so nice ;) I think the reason was that everyone could spread out and kinda do their own thing so we weren't with each other all the time. :) 

well that's it for now! Just wanted to give ya a little update :) I'm planning on posting pictures from the trip this week!

I'm off to make pancakes!

much love,
Samarah♥