Self Portrait

Despite an optimistic post and new resolve to begin blogging more often...nothing much has happened blog-wise in over a month since promising to post more regularly.
Nothing at all, actually.

So naturally I turned to Pinterest for help. After a search for "blog challenge" and a quick glance through the results, I decided on one 30-day blogging challenge I like well enough. I'm not sure what the original source is, but I found it posted on Writer's Hub.

And now, without further ado - the beginning of my 30-day blogging challenge.

DAY ONE // a photo of yourself and a description of how your day was

This is definitely not a picture from today - but the prompt never said it had to be. This is a picture from a happier time of year, when the temperature wasn't in the triple-digits every day.

And now for a brief description of my day.

Thank goodness for afternoon church. I'm still adjusting to my new ward, but today was the first Sunday that I didn't feel totally awkward and out of place. We had an ice cream-themed "Linger Longer" after church, featuring all varieties of ice cream and popsicles, and I actually met several new people - and even carried on conversations with them. 

I also found out that being assigned to be the assistant organist doesn't just mean that they want me to play when the regular organist is out of town - it means they want me to regularly trade off playing organ with him. This gave me a mild heart attack, considering that I haven't actually played organ in over a year.

But hey - if I can manage to begin to make new friends, maybe I can pull off playing organ, too.

I Forgot How to Blog

I don't think that blogging is anything like riding a bike. After months and months and months away from the blog, I'm not really sure what I wrote about way back then, or how I went about doing it.

And right now, I really have nothing to say - but getting back into blogging, and being more serious about it, is something I know I want to do. So here I am. With a lot of words that don't mean much and an entirely unrelated picture of myself frolicking on the beach.

Things to look forward to on the blog in the near future (near being a relative term, naturally) are more regular posts, an entirely new blog design (I'll be reteaching myself all the html and whatnot), and a kinda big-ish reveal. So stay tuned.

It's good to be back.

Addicted Lately

This is a picture of me at the beach from last week. It has nothing to do with the post, but aren't we cute?

PINTEREST.

My boards were rapidly growing for a few weeks...and then they were rapidly shrinking....and now I'm going crazy again. 

Two reasons for the shrinking:

1 // When I'm in a pinning frenzy, I pin a lot of stuff that I'm not actually as 

crazy about the next day as I am in the moment.  

2 // I read an post called Blogger Beware: You CAN Get Sued For Using Photos 

You Don't Own on Your Blog. Now I'm paranoid. And concerned with doing the right thing,

but mainly paranoid.So I'm going through my Pinterest boards making sure everything is linked

to the original source, and I'm obeying their copyright laws...and I did that before I changed all the

pictures on my blog because it seemed less overwhelming. But now that I actually think about it, I

only have 150-ish posts, but hundreds of pins...so I don't know where that reasoning came from. I

guess I'll start with the blog before I do any more pins...silly me.

COUNTRY.

Looove it. 'Nuff said.

READING.

I've had to start reading for school rather than my own entertainment, but that's better than nothing.

SLEEPING.

I do it too much. I don't do it enough. It's really becoming an issue.

For example: The other day, I needed to read a chapter in my history text book. So I sat down at 8:00 pm and read a page...and woke up at 10:00 pm. I really had to read that chapter, so I woke up way early the next morning. I sat down at about 4:20 am and read a page...and woke up at 6:15 am. I never did read that chapter.

CHAMBRAY.

Fool-proof for any occasion

SLEGGINGS.

They're not jeans, because they're too stretchy. They're not leggings, because the material is too substantial. They're not jeggings, because they don't resemble jeans at all, in appearance or texture. They're kind of just really stretchy slacks....so I dub them sleggings. And I love them.

DOCTOR WHO.

I'm new to this, but I'm thoroughly obsessed. Not to mention extremely upset that Christopher Eccleston only got one season.

Anyone else "suffering" from any rather pleasant addictions?

****Don't forget to enter the FIRMOO GIVEAWAY!****

It's a Glasses Giveaway!

So obviously by now you've all heard about Firmoo.com.

In their words:

About Firmoo
Firmoo is the World's Most Popular Online Eyeglasses Store. We have always been committed ourselves to offering customers the best quality products at the most affordable prices which start at 8 dollars- 80%-90% lower compared to that in local store. Furthermore, Firmoo has launched First Pair Free Program for new customers to test our products and service for free by paying shipping only.

In my words:

Guys. It's awesome.

Firmoo is basically the best thing to happen to the world since glasses became cool again. 

Which is why you should all be head-over-heels about this giveaway - FREE GLASSES, people!

Here's how it goes:

If there are less than 40 participants, TWO lucky winners will be receiving the frames of their choice (not including shipping) off of the Classic Series page (the most popular glasses on the site). And if there are more than 40 participants, a THIRD winner will receive an ENTIRELY FREE (shipping and all!) pair of glasses!
The giveaway closes on August 10th.

Let's go!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Thoughts on Tutorials

I've always (as in, since I started this blog last April) thought it would be really cool to be one of those super-crafty bloggers with loads of amazing tutorials and recipes that everyone loves. 

Then I made a tutorial and realized how strange it would be for me to become that person.

Let me explain my relationship with tutorials:

Using them: I really only look at the pictures in tutorials. If there are no pictures (or fill-in-the-blank templates when it's dealing with HTML stuff for blogging) it's a no-go. Call it laziness, but that's just how it is.  I go about the project, whatever it is, based on the pictures and a quick scan of the page.
Good: This approach let's me be uber-creative with it. Bad: "Uber-creative" doesn't always turn out so well if I'm supposed to be following specific instructions.
With recipes...I'm just super-talented and I manage to get something wrong regardless of how closely I follow the directions. But then I just add extra flour and everything fixes itself.

Making them: I only give the bare bones details, according to how I went through it. Which was probably the easiest way possible. I'm also prone to use "thingamajig" or "whatchamacallit" in my description.

The verdict: tutorials aren't very me. I'm really glad I've found my place as a "lifestyle" rather than "crafty" blogger - better for you and me both!

What kind of blogger did you start off thinking you would be? Has that changed over time?

Back in the Loop

I didn't have time to read any blogs this past week. Pretty much all I've done is check my emails. I've been rather confused by the sudden influx of emails notifying me of new Bloglovin' followers. 

And now that I'm caught up on blog reading, it all makes sense.

As you all probably already know, GFC/Google Reader/whatever is closing on July 1, 2013. 

Meh. I liked GFC. I've never been a fan of having blog posts delivered to my inbox with Bloglovin'...but I'll do it, just for all of you!

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You can follow me on Bloglovin' HERE.

And just in case you're interested...

Pinterest HERE.

{that's the end of my social-media-ing}

Aaaaaaand HERE is a super easy tutorial from Northern Belle Diaries on importing your GFC list to Bloglovin. So get to it - and have a great week!

It's About Time

You know how they say that when you're learning a language, and you start to dream or think in that language, that means that you're becoming fluent?

I dreamed in blog posts the other night.

I must be becoming fluent.

Happy Saturday!

[What I've Been Doing]

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I've made this craaaazy discovery:

Not blogging is much easier than blogging.

There is no effort whatsoever involved in not blogging, and once you've gotten used to that...it's hard to start putting effort in on a regular basis again.

I haven't really been doing much in the past few weeks, so I've had plenty of time to blog - time that I instead spent watching chick flicks and period dramas and reading all the books I hadn't had time to read since school started and hanging out with family and eating.

So I haven't been blogging, 

but I think that that was time well-spent.

The Liebster Award ... second edition

I was nominated for the Liebster Award by Jess from Black and White with a Little Bit of Pink!

This is how the award works. Each person awarded must:

+ post 11 things about themselves {whoops. Didn't know about that one last time}

+ Answer the 11 questions provided for them

+ Create 11 more questions for their nominees

+ Spread the bloggy love! Nominate up to 11 more 

bloggers with under 200 followers

First things first - 11 things about me. I'll try to make them interesting...

#1) The number of exclamation points matters. One is good. If it's super exciting and more are necessary, then three or more are fabulous - but never only two. It seriously drives me crazy when there are only two exclamation points. That's probably one of the most arbitrary pet peeves ever.

#2) Everything in my room has a specific order. Clothes, nail polish, sharpies, highlighters - rainbow color order. Books, CDs - alphabetically. School assignments, letters, memory box - chronologically. Sheet music, stationary - by occasion. And so on...

#3) I can't actually pop my fingers...but I go through the motions anyway, when I'm nervous. Or bored.

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#4) Some of my fingers are double-jointed. See that finger up there? Back in ... seventh grade, I think,  all of my friend were double jointed and they could do that with all of their fingers, but I couldn't. I was insanely jealous...and then one day I was just sitting on my bed reading (I even remember what I was reading -Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery. That's how momentous this was for me!) and moving my fingers without really thinking about it, and all of a sudden I looked at my hand and lo and behold, my finger was doing that! I seriously got up and danced around my room to celebrate. Now I can do that with both of my middle fingers and my left ring finger. 

#5) When I'm concentrating really hard, I stick out my tongue. It doesn't matter what I'm doing - if I'm not also concentrating on keeping my tongue in my mouth, out it goes.

#6) Speaking of tongues...I can touch my nose with my tongue. Sometimes I just can't believe how amazing I am.

#7) I've kept a journal consistently since I was in 3rd grade. I have a drawer full of them now, and I'm still going. So if someone doesn't know what to get me as a gift...a journal is always a safe bet. That, or socks. I love socks.

#8) I cry, like, all the time. When I'm happy, when I'm sad, when I'm proud, when they recognize veterans, when I hear a really beautiful piece of music or see a gorgeous painting...I can usually stop myself from full-on crying, but I get teary-eyed. It's kind of ridiculous.

#9) I'm kind of vain about my handwriting. I think it's really pretty.

#10) I say "like" way too much. I don't even think about it...then this guy from Germany mentioned it and for the rest of that conversation it bugged me whenever I said it, but I couldn't stop! No worries, though, I've gone back to blissfully not noticing when I say it.

#11) Once upon a time, I had a poem I wrote published in a magazine. It was a super-ghetto magazine, but still. I had sent the poem to four or five literary magazines that published works from teenagers, and I was pretty excited when I actually heard back from one. 

And now for the questions - and Jess came up with some rather interesting ones....

#1) WHY the heck do you blog?? I mean seriously, what's the point? When I've gotten out of the blogging mood, I ask myself the same thing. And I think when I'm out of the mood, there really is no point. As much as I love my readers, I blog for me. I blog to be inspired, and hopefully to inspire. I want to be inspired to be grateful, to be happy, to forgive, to have fun, to be better.

#2) What is your current favorite song and why? Why does it move you? Or is it the kind of song that just makes you dance in the middle of the grocery store? I have one reigning favorite song that I would choose if every song but one had to be destroyed - Come Thou Font. You can read more about that in this post. But I'd say my current favorite song is Would You Go With Me by Josh Turner. Mainly because it's a cute song, and I love his deep voice. I've got a slight obsession with Julie Fowlis's Biodh An Deoch Seo 'n Laimh Mo Ruin, too. I love Gaelic... 

#3) Dream BIG: What is your dream(s)/aspiration(s)? Spill it! I've got a billion of them...I'd love to own a used book store someday. Once I've got some more experience under my belt, I want to start a little graphic design business {with prints and blog designs and such} connected with the blog. I want to be a mother more than anything, once I've married my prince charming. Seven or eight kids sounds nice {don't bother telling me I won't really want that many once I've had the first two. I hear that often enough}. I'm going to run a marathon. I want to jump off a waterfall. Someday I'll go to a Taylor Swift or Keith Urban concert. I'm going to serve a mission. I want to have an adventure. Oh, and I want to be perfect eventually...

#4) Share one of your top embarrassing moments please! I think I tend to repress my embarrassing moments. Or I start thinking they're so hilarious that I can't even remember being embarrassed about them. Let's see...once I was dancing with a guy and he was, like, refusing to help the conversation along...It went something like this:
me: My name's Niamh!
him: I'm [insert name here]
me: So where are you from?
him: [one word answer]
pause
me: What do you do there?
him: [short answer]
pause
me: Cool! I'm Niamh!
pause
me: Oh...wait...um...haha...

#5) How often do you shower during the week? I shower daily - and even though I know you're not supposed to, I wash my hair daily, too. I'm not willing to invest in dry shampoo at this point, and I think feeling clean wins over having uber-healthy hair. I haven't noticed any bad side-effects, anyway. Maybe I'll regret it one day, but for now I'll be enjoying my clean, grease-free hair!

#6) Favorite blog you're currently reading? First of all - I LOVE all the blogs I follow, and they all inspire me, or I wouldn't be following them. I have a strict "will-not-follow-unless-I-love-it" policy in regards to that...which is why I don't win many giveaways, I suppose. But if I had to choose just one favorite, I'd say Elise's Pieces. This was one of the first blogs I started following, and ever since then every post I've read has been kind of perfect for me at the moment I read it...it's kind of strange, actually. But mostly awesome!

#7) What is your favorite thing about yourself? Physically, I love my eyes. Non-physically, I like how if I decide I really want to change something, I will get it done.

#8) Do you fart in public or private? In the blankets or in the bathroom? Embarrassing or hilarious? Oookay, Jess...what kind of question is this? If I get this award again, I'm nominating you and making this one of the questions! Um, private, bathroom, embarrassing. Done.

#9) What wonderful piece of advice/information would you share with yourself 10 years ago? 

It wasn't your fault.

#10) Vodka or tequila? Mixed or in a shot? Or do you prefer club soda? Well, I don't drink, and I don't ever plan on doing so, so I'll take the club soda, thank you! I'd love to have a mock-tail party sometime, though...

#11) What is the greatest encouragement you have received from your journey through the bloggy world? What encouragement would you offer a fellow blogger who is struggling?

Getting comments is the hugest encouragement ever. They really make my day. If a fellow blogger was struggling...I guess I would tell them to think about why they were blogging. I really think blogging should be for your own benefit, first and foremost. If you keep writing about stuff you care about, recognition will come-people will be drawn to your sincerity.

My questions are...
#1) What is your favorite piece of artwork/decoration in your room/house?
#2) Item of clothing you couldn't live without?
#3) Fashion trend you fell in love with in 2012?
#4) What's your favorite kind of exercise?
#5) When you're feeling a bit blue, what do you do to get your spirits up?
#6) What are you wearing right now?
#7) If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
#8) If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three people would you want there with you?
#9) When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
#10) What's a song that brings back special memories?
#11) Think fast - two truths and a lie! {I'll guess in the comments}

My wonderful nominees are
Brittany at The Sapphire Bee {check out her shop!}
Ann at Hi, From Ann
Haunani at Stuff I Love
Starr at The Kiefer Cottage
aaaand last but not least,
Cassidy at Things Like Skeleton Keys and Me

Go give them some love - and by all means, if you're not already following them, do that! They're definitely worth it. And ladies, answer those questions and pass on the love {let your nominees know in a comment on their blog}! I can't wait to see your posts - comment or shoot me an email when they're up.

P.S. To see my post from the first time I got the  Liebster Award, go here.
P.P.S. You could win an iPad mini at The Freckled Fox right now! Check it out!

{2012} Year in Review

 2012 was quite the year...

I'm sure I'll be sharing more on that later, but for now-a year in blog posts! Well, not quite a year, because I haven't been a resident of blogland for a full year yet, but it's pretty close!


APRIL

The first picture of me on the blog...
Fancy, eh?

There are definitely some awkward posts in my first month of blogging! It's interesting to look back and see myself developing my own blogging style {in writing and in the look....I think I went through three or four different designs in this first month alone}and becoming more me on my blog.
So I'm choosing I Stand All Amazed for April. This is one of the least forced-sounding posts - it's just me talking about something I care deeply about.


MAY

The first collage I ever made for the blog...oi.

I participated in Mission: Put Together 2012 in May, and It's Over? Already? is my wrap-up post. I really did love that experience - I learned a lot about my personal style and being comfortable with what I wear. And it was nice that I was one of the winners, too....


JUNE

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LOVE is just me chatting about my most favoritest song in the entire world, Come Thou Font.


JULY

 July was a busy month! I took trips and made stuff and had tons of fun-enjoying the first full month of no school. I think this was the month that I really came into my blogging voice, too, and I started reaching out and joining linky parties and such.
I'm choosing my first Dear Boys post for July...because I think it's kind of hilarious.
Oh, and one more, because it was very momentous: my first {and probably last} tutorial!


AUGUST

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August was a good month for blogging. And I like a ton of the posts...so you get more than one again.
Sorry! {but not really (: }
I made myself have a good month despite the fact that I hated August.
Hating it: It is NOT
Deciding to love it: Paradigm Shift!
Actually loving it!: It is NOT, part 2
Being awarded my first Liebster Award.
Aaaand my Bloggy Goals - which I think I'm actually doing pretty well on, by the way.


SEPTEMBER

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I Chose...and It Happened!
Sometimes, I am disciplined enough to choose joy even when everything is going against it.


OCTOBER

I loved participating in Project Inspire!


NOVEMBER

I saw Hunter Hayes live!!!

I wrote a post about How to Post Regularly When Life is INSANE ... which I haven't been following very well as of late...

DECEMBER

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I'm still having a hard time grasping the fact that it's not December anymore...holy cannoli, it's 2013!
Posting was kinda sparse in December, but I really liked Believing in Something.

And there you have it - 2012 in blog posts. 

I've loved blogging, and the friendships I've made by doing it. Thank you to everyone who reads and comments on this stuff I keep spewing out - it means a lot to me!

There's going to be a change in my blog design coming soon! Remember when I won that giveaway where I got a free blog header? Well, the header's been ready for a while now, I've just been slacking with making my new tabs and buttons and such to match it. But now that I've told y'all about it, I'm accountable to get it done before my winter break is over {I'm back in classes on Monday...ugh}. I love how it's looking so far, and I can't wait to finish it up!

Me, Myself, & I ... numero cinq

Merry Christmas Eve!
As an early present, you get to hear me talk about myself!

'Tis the season... (;

#1) What was your favorite gift given to you as a child?

Considering the amount of thought that must have gone into the gifts I received as a child, I should probably remember them better...but that was an awfully long time ago! One year my grandparents got me this huge toy horse. I immediately named it Vanilla. I was usually pretty ecstatic when I got books, too.

#2) Christmas is almost here, what is that one Christmas song you could listen to on repeat?
Josh Groban's O Holy Night.
Every day, at least once a day, since Thanksgiving.
Just a wee bit obsessed...

#3) What are a few of the items on your Christmas list this year?

I've gotten rather fond of clothing....
A mustard infinity scarf, boot socks, oxford pumps, an eyelash curler, and a
Norwegian sweater, just to name a few.

#4) Do you and your family have any special holiday traditions? Explain.
Each year we pick a sibling {drawn out of a hat} to be a secret Santa for...even though by Christmas we've usually figured out who everyone has. The gifts are lovingly handmade, with tons of thought put into them. They're always a joy to open on Christmas morning!

#5) Which do you prefer: wrapping paper or gift bags? Why?

Wrapping paper all the way! First of all, there are so many fun ways you can do it - a bag is always a bag. But wrapping paper can be the newspaper or a Trader Joe's bag or some stenciled butcher paper...
And second - who doesn't love tearing through wrapping paper?


Merry almost-Christmas, everyone! I hope you're all enjoying this time with loved ones.
Drink lots of cider for me!

Christmas is a necessity.
There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that 
we're here for something else besides ourselves.
ERIC SEVAREID

all images from my Pinterest boards

Hullo, Lovelies...

It's been a while. 

Remember when I used to post a lot?

Those were the days...

But never fear! Finals will be over in another week or so {minor freakout...}, and then things'll get back to normal! And maybe then I'll get back to working hard and caring about my work quality and not procrastinating. 

It never hurts to be positive!

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So, all you college students, how are YOUR finals/prepping for finals going?

And non-students...how glad are you that you don't have finals anymore? The rest of us are jealous.

Chin up, chickadees - life is good!

Guess What....??? {a sneak peak}

P.S. I'm part of a giveaway over on Rushing for Bagels!

You can get more details on her blog, but I'll be hosting the Rafflecopter here, too!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Getting Excited...

 Today I'm guest posting on Brittany's blog!

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 Check it out here - I'm talking about my favorite holiday traditions.

Speaking of which, I forgot to write about one of my absolute favorite holiday traditions - putting up the Christmas tree the Monday after Thanksgiving. THAT'S TONIGHT!

So if anyone needs me, I'll be decking the halls ... and singing Christmas carols at the top of my lungs.

Is anyone else as excited as I am for the holidays?

What traditions are you looking forward to???

How To...Post Regularly When Life is INSANE

Okay guys, I think I've got it figured out.

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One of my goals here was to find a way to post regularly even through school, and  I think I've got a pretty good system going {besides that one week...we're ignoring that one week}. 

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Here's how you do it:

+ Still write posts the day of as often as possible
+Whenever you have a thought that you know you could blog about, open a new post, title it, and type up that idea
+As there's time, complete the idea and add pictures

Then, when the need arises, I have an almost complete post waiting for me that I add a sentence to and voila - it's ready to publish. And it's kind of funny, because that's the process that was used for this post ... it's been sitting around for months waiting to be finished. So here's proof that it works!

Having regular weekly/monthly posts {i.e. Dear Boys, High 5 for Friday, Me, Myself & I} is nice, too - one less day to worry about!

But then the problem arises when you've used all of your pre-made posts and are somewhat inspirationless...at least tomorrrow's a Dear Boys day!

P.S. I'm grateful for

+ waking up on time for the first time in a week!

+ eggs on toasted sourdough bread

+ Costco pumpkin streusel muffins...how have I been missing out on these?

Whaddaya Know...She's Still Alive

I don't even know how long it's been since I last blogged...it probably hasn't actually been that long, but this past week has felt like a month in and of itself, so it feels like forever! School is thoroughly yucky. What do you say about me dropping out to become a full-time blogger?

Oh. You think that sounds dumb? And a waste of time and money? ... Right. Me too. Duh.

************************************************

It's over...can you believe it? I can't. 

The first blogger I was assigned to disappeared off the face of the earth, so the day before the reveal, I was reassigned to Starr at The Kiefer Cottage.

To be perfectly honest....I could have done much, much better. Poor Starr was orphaned by her first angel and then reassigned to me...who dropped off the face of blog-land for a while shortly after the reveal due to life gone insane. I've been commenting as often as I've been able. She requested help with guest posts and collaborations, so I emailed her about some opportunities I knew about {since this here bloggy is pretty small and guest posting here wouldn't do much to increase her blog traffic}. Starr remains one of the funniest bloggers I know, with an adorable family. I'll definitely be keeping in touch with her, and helping more if I can!

My bloggy mentor has been amazing, making herself 100% available to help me with anything I need. We had the pretty cool coincidence of having me win a giveaway of hers, and I'm going to be guest posting on her blog soon. Brittany has pretty much been the epitome of an ideal blog angel - thank you Brittany!!!

See everyone else's experiences here.

Coming up in December is the ULTIMATE Blog Angels experience - if you didn't sign up this time around, I would definitely recommend joining in December. It really is an amazing experience!

I should be back in business this week. I've definitely got a lot to write about!