pink and denim // outfit

Skirt: gift {$0}

Pink Tank: Walmart {$3.99}\

Chambray Shirt: Khols {$19.99}

Belt: Thrifted {$2.99}

Hair: Side braid, with bangs braided to the side as well. ;)

I'm not really sure if this outfit "works" or not... but I love this chambray shirt, and wear it basically all the time. :) The skirt has become a favorite as well, it's cute, and seems to go with a lot of my clothes, which is a huge plus. ;) {side note: smiling for camera's is so awkward. i may or may not have mentioned that before. but seriously, "i'm now smiling at a black box for no apparent reason." AWKWARD!} Also, my make up... I waited until just a few minuets ago to get my brother to take a picture for me, so my make-up has lasted all day and doesn't look that great. But I was determined to get this up without procrastinating any more. ;) I'm really good at procrastinating... 

xx,

life is a grand adventure// but sometime it disguises itself in the everyday

i. lately life has been exceedingly normal; school, babysitting the littles, and lots of laundry. I've spent a lot of my time reading and journaling; two perfectly normal occupations, especially for for me, but ones that make my heart sing. I finally hit the 1/3 mark for my reading challenge, (50 of 150. :)  and I am quite content with the odd assortment of books I filled my head with so far. Right now I have a stack of eight or ten books, mostly biographies I've been meaning to read, awaiting me, and more coming from the library. I've decided that right now I don't have much going on in my life, I don't have a job, a significant other, or priorities pressing from every side, and this is a season of my life that I can devote to reading like a mad woman, because who knows, sometime in the future my life may change and I won't have time to work on my reading list.

ii. my hand hurts more and more as time flies past. (I tore/pulled a tendon in my thumb whilst playing piano over a year ago.) i have good days, where I  don't even notice pain, and those are the days I make myself happy by playing piano and working a little on some of the sheet music that's been staring at me for months. but i generally pay for those days for a while afterwards with even more pain than usual. I realized about a month ago that I've lost a lot of mobility in my thumb. I used to be able to reach over nine keys on the piano comfortably, with even room to spare. now I can barely reach an octave, and even that is stretching it. i'm hoping to begin treatment for it soon, but we've made no definite plans yet. 

iii. we're working on watching Cranford right now. mom is letting all kids watch it, and they are determined to watch all 458 minutes, even though every single one of them is bored out of their minds, because it's a "big kid movie." (anything they aren't normally allowed to watch, for various reasons, is so titled "big kid." :) we finally had to send the three littles outside this afternoon, because they were soo bored. :)

iiii. the weather is weird here. seriously. last week was gorgeous, with sunshine and high temperatures. and the out of the blue Sunday was stormy, and poured forth rain so hard I've never seen anything quite like it. 

v. one of my goats had twins two days ago. they're cute. (and I'm sure photos will end up on here before long. :) And they look almost identical so it's going to be a little hard to tell them apart at first. :)

so, how was your weekend? :)

Bleak House // Book Review

 Bleak House is a satirical look at the Byzantine legal system in London as it consumes the minds and talents of the greedy and nearly destroys the lives of innocentsa contemporary tale indeed. Dickens's tale takes us from the foggy dank streets of London and the maze of the Inns of Court to the peaceful countryside of England. Likewise, the characters run from murderous villains to virtuous girls, from a devoted lover to a "fallen woman," all of whom are affected by a legal suit in which there will, of course, be no winner. 
The first-person narrative related by the orphan Esther is particularly sweet. 
Readers must pay close attention in order to keep up with the multiple narratives and cast of curious characters, including the memorable Inspector Bucket and Mr. Guppy. Fortunately, the publisher provides a partial list of characters on the inside jacket.

Where to even start with Bleak House? First, it's massive; So huge it's mind blowing occasionally. Second. it's amazing. I watched a movie adaptation before I read this, (it's eight hours long, but oh so good! It's totally worth it. Do yourself a favor and go watch it!), so I knew what was going on, and it did make it a little easier to keep track of characters.

      Esther is so sweet and lovely. It's hard for me to pick between her and Amy Dorrit, for a favorite Dickens heroine.  

     Bleak House was full of twists and new plotlines, and constantly bringing forth new ideas and bizarre characters. Perhaps that is what I enjoy most about Dickens novels;his unexpected, different and strange characters that all work together to create a massive storyline. The more I read Dickens' novels, the more I am able to recognize his sense of humor, and his books make me laugh. (and cry!) It has taken cultivating the recognition that he is cracking a joke, but once I got used to his sense of humor, I have found his books extremely amusing. ("Mrs. Bagnet, tell him my opinion..."  probably my favorite line in the book, and he say's it all the time! :) I don't think I could pick a favorite, amusing character. I loved Bucket, Mr. Guppy, the Bagnets, George, Jenny, Jo,  Judy and Grandfather Smallweed, (and Grandmother Smallweed for that matter. She was exceedingly amusing.), Allen, the list could go on and on. 

     So basically my thoughts on this beautiful, complex book is this: It's huge, and can be hard to read at times, due to descriptions and long narratives, but it's worth ploughing your way through. The story and characters are amazing, and so much fun. It's beautiful. :)

my rating: * * * * * {five of five}

Have you read this? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts, insights, favorite lines or characters. :) let's talk!

xx,

thirty-nine days

       

  it's been thirty-nine days since the move. thirty-nine days since I heard my horse nicker a greeting as I stepped outside on the porch in the morning; since I walked barefoot to the mailbox, and ran all the way back; since I grabbed a white mocha at Cornerstone; thirty-nine days since I stopped by the library on my way home from the grocery store really quick to pick up a stack of books to burn through. 

          here's the thing: i expected moving to be hard. i expected the loneliness of living in a completely new city, with a completely different pace, habits and schedules,  and not having normal people and places around. I expected the sadness (missing people, my beautiful mountain, mentors and especially the sweetest, gentlest horse in the entire world, whom we had to put down due to health issues.). I expected it all. And it hit me between the eyes, full force. there are days when the only thing I want to do is curl up and cry. (I don't, because crying is weird. ;)  

          but the thing i didn't expect was that I know it'll be fine. i'll adjust, i'll find people to hang out with, people to love. i'll find a job, and someday in the future i'll have a busy schedule. someday i'll fit in here. i also realized that probably i won't ever live in Goldendale again. it feels weird to say it, but there aren't opportunities there for many young people. there aren't jobs, schools, or any way of a future. (unless you're a farmer... which i'm not presently.) i probably wouldn't have said it when living there, because it's the city that has my heart. but i realize that my dream of becoming an EMT/Paramedic most likely couldn't have ever been fulfilled there. 

           so i guess what i'm saying is, that i miss Goldendale, and I miss my life there, my friends, Mt. Adams, (because let's face it. I am. in. love. with. that. mountain.), but I can see how this move could turn out to be a good thing.

but. enough about me. what's new with you. (I really want to know. comment and tell me what your life has been like, and the new experiences you've had this year.)

xx,