...something

  Today's been a bit gloomy. The clouds can't make up their mind as to whether they want to cover the sky or not. The wind has been blowing all day. When I'm upstairs it feels like our roof might blow off. But it's not just the weather. It's something else. My mood today has also been pretty gloomy. Maybe the weather has something to do with it. Maybe it's the fact that my feet are cold. Maybe it's because the computer doesn't seem to want to let me look at my pictures from my SD card... Or maybe it's a combination of all of those things. I'm not quite sure what it is, but I can't seem to shake it.

  Last night, as I was trying to go to sleep,a thought came to me that made me realize that I've been falling into a pretty dangerous thought pattern. I've slowly begun to compare myself to people. Namely, other girls who, look prettier, are more intelligent, are more graceful. . . girls who seem to have it together. I've always been fairly comfortable with my body. So last night when my thoughts came around to "how I wish I could be like that", I stopped myself. I don't know exactly when I had started to let these thoughts find their way into my mind. But I know that I don't need or want them to stay there. As I was writing this my sister texted me with a question, and my answer to that question made me put into words the thing that I've been trying to get at here... No one is perfect. Even the people who criticize the way you do things or how you look, are not prefect. People are all different. Some people are better at some things than others are, but they still aren't perfect. The only Person who ever was and is perfect is Jesus Christ. God made all of us different, with different talents, looks, and thoughts, and I'm really glad that He did.

  It only matters what God thinks about us. And He's really more concerned about the inside of your body. . . Not the outside.

  I started writing this, not really knowing why I was writing, or even if I was going to post this in the end. Who knows, maybe I won't. But I felt that I needed to write...something.

  I'm so glad God has a purpose for everything.

  Maybe I will post this after all.

         "For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks on

the outward appearance, but the Lord 

looks at the heart." 

1 Samuel 16:7 (NKJV)

~ <3 ichelle

Christmas two-thousand eleven

Fog.

Tradition.

Peaceful.

Owl City.

Cookie.

Bracelet. My friend made this for me.

Picture. From my sister.

Necklace. My friend made this!

Flower. My friend crocheted this for me to wear in my hair :)

Garlic. For the mashed potatoes.

Necklace. My sister made this for me. Isn't it beautiful?

Gift.

Earrings. Given to me by my sister's sister-in-law, Keiki (Psst! She has a Facebook page where you can buy other treasures like this!)

Festive.

Necklace. We did a White Elephant gift exchange with my sister and her husband's family, and I got this necklace which is also from SO Keiki Jewelry.

Book. My sister gave to me.

Doughnut cutter. My sister gave to me.

That pretty much sums up my Christmas. I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!

~  <3 ichelle

Bittersweet. . .

  I'm very sorry for how long it's been so long since my last blog post. I have been busy busy busy and also waiting for edited pictures (which I still haven't completely finished editing) so I can put them in here. That said, here is a blog post from April.


     A few memorable things happened this last week; some good, some bad. The first of these things was my aunt passed away. I have so many memories of things my sisters and I did with her. Ever since we were little, we would bake cookies at Christmas time. Have Christmas (or Christmas Eve) and day-after-Thanksgiving dinner. As we got older we went sailing also. It's hard to say goodbye to someone you love.
   The other events that happened this week were: I went on an airplane for the first time; and I got to visit the places where I grew up; the places that I think will always feel like home. 
   Here are some highlights that I wrote during the week...

4/11/11
   I finally felt the familiar cold, saltwater feeling of waves rushing around my feet. It was absolute bliss to be near the roaring waves again. Just the smell of the ocean was amazing. To misjudge how far the waves will come in and, as a result, get your jeans wet even though they are rolled up. The sand clinging to your feet all the way home.

4/12/11
  As if I didn't love Trader Joe's enough, I have found another reason. I went there today with my sister and found that they sell non-dairy ice cream made with coconut milk, the same idea as Coconut Bliss but about two times cheaper (And Trader Joe's only has chocolate and strawberry, while Coconut Bliss has quite a few more flavors). Along with one of these we got green tea Mochi, whole wheat tortillas, and roasted garlic hummus. Mmm mmm...
  We also went to two thrift stores that we used to go to a lot, and I got a Martha Stewart magazine from February and a Towne and Country wedding magazine (for dress designing ideas) :).

4/13/11
  I am currently doing...nothing. Except using the computer and occasionally looking out the window to see the beautifulness. I painted my nails pink, and later I'm going out for coffee/tea with two of my good friends who I haven't seen for over a year :O
  I was going to wear an orange dress today, but as it was raining, I decided not to, and now wonder if I should have because the sky is very blue. But...oh well.
  Oh. I also went into an Urban Outfitters for the first time yesterday...It wasn't that interesting...Mostly because I couldn't find the sale section. Hahaha.

4/19/11
 After two flight delays, we finally made it back home. My sister is quite happy to be home. Back to her husband (who, I am told, was not himself while she was gone), and the regularity of life. For me it's bittersweet. But I keep having to remind myself to enjoy where I am right now, and not mope, because I am going to miss out on a lot of wonderful things in life if I do.

                                                                                                                              ~ <3 ichelle ~

I don't like goodbyes....

  "I'm laying in bed at 6:45 in the morning, trying to get a little bit of sleep before waking up again, but I find myself thinking about my sister, L----. She was here, getting ready with me almost three hours ago, and now she is either sitting in the waiting area of the airport, or, more likely, already boarded and sitting in the airplane.

   These past nine days and a morning are gone too soon. The last few days didn't go by as quickly as the rest of the days, but they are gone, none-the-less. Time goes by especially fast when it is 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning. Sometimes I wish the person visiting wouldn't come at all if they're just going to leave again. But  in the end, in spite of all the sadness, it's most definitely worth it..."

                                                                                                                                  ~Written on March 28, 2011, 6:45 a.m.~




The day my sister got here, she had a craving for something chocolate-y...something like brownies. Luckily for her, she has a sister who loves to bake anything ;) So, I looked through my cookbooks and found a recipe in my Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar cookbook! (I was very excited to find a vegan recipe :) )  I made them, and they turned out really good! I didn't sift the ingredients, so I was kind of worried about that, but they ended up being fine.

The next morning, I made omelettes. I haven't had much experience making omelettes, so I wasn't sure how they were going to turn out. They might not have looked like perfect omelettes, but they were really good. I used parmesan cheese, mushrooms, and red bell peppers.

 

         One evening, the sky looked like a painting. It was so amazingly beautiful...

 It snowed on one of the first few days my sister was here. My sister was pretty excited :)

The beautiful tart that my sister's mother-in-law and my sister made for my brother-in-law's birthday...Does that make sense ;)

" 'Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all." ~ Alfred, Lord Tennyson, From In Memoriam

The End