old lady's best friend.

{I now have a photography blog; check it out here. It's still being designed, but I just thought I'd let you know!}

My brother Eric (who is fifteen years old) took his driving permit test today. And passed. And now, he is going to be driving, in a car, on public roads, and I can see him now, getting in a wreck-never mind!
We waited in line for hours and hours for Eric to take the test (well, probably just two or three hours). When Eric and Mom finally filled out all of the never-ending paperwork, Eric took the test and passed.

Then Eric and Dad went to run some more errands, while Mom and I went to the park. The trees were still back in autumn-their leaves were orange/yellow and carpeted the ground, literally. The weather was very warm, too (how interesting).

just to let you know, I don't live anywhere near where these pictures were taken, in case you're a creeper.

oh, and if you're wondering what a nutria is, it's this little animal that's about the size of a beaver and is kind of a beaver and a big rat combined. ^_^ (pictures of them are below)

little nutria.

train track.

a squirrel with its precious tortilla.

another nutria.

squirrel hopping away.

Okay, so when Mom and I were driving back from the park we looked behind us..and saw this.

hence the title.

things to be happy about

Merry (belated) Christmas, people!

I had so much to be happy about and grateful for yesterday, and I do still. All my Christmas presents, Christmas dinner, my family, our beautiful tree, and Jesus. And so much more.

Here are some of the things worth being very happy about:

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My new camera.

I couldn't be happier with my (Panasonic) Lumix DMC-LX5. It's still a point-and-shoot camera, but it has many of the same features of a DSLR. I'm so excited that I can adjust the aperture and shutter speed and stuff on this new camera!

Here are some pictures taken with my new camera..

I can do Christmas-tree-light bokeh now!

salt water taffy for my brother and I from my dad

my friend gave me a Christmas lights necklace, with all these mini, differently-colored Christmas lights on it that can flash quickly, slowly, or stay on a steady burn. I set them on steady burn and then hung it on the branch from the tree.

view of our backyard from my window, unfocused

Oh, and I need help thinking of a name for my new camera! I'm considering Renee or Gioiello (pronounced "joy-ee-ello, I believe), which means "Jewel" in Italian. Haha. Anyway, what do you think would be suiting for my Lumix? ;)

New outfit for my doll.

Mom bought an outfit on Cyber Monday from American Girl, and saved it for yesterday. It is so pretty, and I couldn't recommend it enough! (Except for the price. This thing isn't really even worth ten dollars, half the price we paid for it, in my opinion..)

The only.. 'mishap' is that the pants are sorta long and baggy, but that's okay. ;)

denim jacket is from Michael's.

bad picture of the American Girl tag on Lissie's pants.



the headband is really sparkly!

Music.

Mom got me new earphones for Christmas. They were just like my old ones, the ones our rabbit, Honey, chewed in half. (I'm not kidding-that's the reason Mom got them.)

On Christmas Eve, my mom and I watched the sound of music together and I cannot get the tune "How do you solve a problem like _ " out of my head and it's driving me CRAZY.

Presents.

My other presents for Christmas (besides my camera, the doll outfit and the earphones) were..

.aforementioned salt water taffy for my brother and I to share

.a little bag of gummy worms
.a poncho

.a big, really genuinely professional drawing kit

.a big, not really genuinely professional but still amazing painting kit

I was going to get Addy's dress and bouquet from American Girl instead of the last two up there, but Santa instead brought me art supplies, which I am still quite happy with (even though I don't know how to work with charcoal). ;)

Painting.

I've been working on painting lately with my new supplies (see above note), and it's been so much fun! Most of my work has turned out terrible just okay, but I still kinda like it. It's really fun to dip your fingers in leftover paint and make a unique piece of artwork with splattered paint all over it. I mean, at least it's unique.

Sticks of charcoal.

I don't know what it is about sticks of charcoal, but.. I don't know. They almost make me feel like a real artist, charcoal stick in hand, with a crisp, white sheet of paper spread out all over a table, ready to sketch in the great outdoors on a crisp autumn day.

New nightstand.

Mom had the idea to make me an old-fashioned-looking nightstand out of old milk crates. Tell me if you'd like pictures of it and instructions on how to do it, because I really like it and it's super easy to make.
I promise it's not tacky as all. I promise. It actually is quite attractive and cute, but I like vintage, old-fashioned things so if you're a lover of modern decor, this may not be for you.. ;)

Fireworks.

Last night people were letting off fireworks out in the distance and I tried to take some pictures, even though they didn't turn out that well. (I still don't know how to work my camera perfectly!)

no fireworks, but I still thought I'd include this picture anyway.

Merry (belated) Christmas! Tell me-how was your day yesterday? What are you happy about?

'twas the night.

(found via Emily's post)
Please do yourself the favor of reading this.. I was so blessed to be stumble upon this. It really brings the true meaning of Christmas to light.

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'Twas the night before Jesus came and all through the house


Not a creature was praying, not one in the house,

Their Bibles were lain on the shelf without care

In hopes that Jesus would not come there.



The children were dressing to crawl into bed,

Not once ever kneeling or bowing a head.

And Mom in her rocker with baby on her lap

Was watching the Late Show while I took a nap.



When out of the East there arose such a clatter,

I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash!



When what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here.

With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray,

I knew in a moment this must be THE DAY!



The light of His face made me cover my head,

It was Jesus! Returning just like He had said.

And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth,

I cried when I saw Him in spite of myself.



In the Book of Life which He held in His hand,

Was written the name of every saved man.

He spoke not a word as He searched for my name;

When He said, "It's not here," my head hung in shame.



The people whose names had been written with love,

He gathered to take to His Father above.

With those who were ready He rose without a sound,

While all the rest were left standing around.



I fell to my knees, but it was too late;

I had waited too long and thus sealed my fate.

I stood and I cried as they rose out of sight,

Oh, if only I had been ready tonight.



In the words of this poem the meaning is clear;

The coming of Jesus is drawing near.

There's only one life and when comes the last call,

We'll find that the Bible was true after all!



Author: Dianne Frances Donenfeld – 1988

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Are you ready for when He comes? Be careful, because who knows–He could just come for us tonight, even before we get the chance to open our Christmas presents.
 
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Merry Christmas Eve! Have a wonderful day tomorrow. :)

if our pets kept a journal..

Have you ever wondered what your pet was thinking, at that very moment? How it viewed things, and//or what its perspective on life was? I have, and sometimes I think that it'd be so funny or interesting that I write about it. I decided to call Krispy (our cat)'s tales "the Krispy Chronicles," but I still have to think about Honey (our rabbit) and Sunny (our dog)'s. ;)

Anyway, the following is a bit of what I've written about our cat, Krispy. Go on and read it, and don't hesitate to let me know what you think of it!

I was miffed. Hannah was holding a rabbit! A rabbit! Just think of how insulted I must have felt! I turned away and pranced into Hannah's room, slithering underneath the bed and into the farthest corner. No one wanted me anymore, no one loved me, so I would stay away from them until they came searching for me. They'd only look for me if they truly loved me, if they genuinely cared for me. This is where I would stay till they proved their love for me.

Nobody came for a while, and I was so hungry that I had to leave my hiding place to get a snack. But there was no food in my dish! This was simply unbelievable. I was angry and hurt. So they were starving me now. Well, if they wanted to play this game, they certainly could! I just wouldn't eat. I hung around for a while, hoping someone would notice I needed food, but no one so much as glanced at me. They were too busy with the rabbit.

While I walked to Hannah's room to go back under the bed, an idea struck me. Since no one loved me, since everyone hated me enough to starve me, I could run away. I wouldn't have food, I would have to search for it, but I didn't have food now, either. What was the difference?

So it's not the best, at all-in fact, it's almost.. horrible, but I just felt like sharing it with y'all. ;)

So go ahead, tell me what you think of it! Friendly criticism is appreciated, but keep it kind. Let me know if you want any more. ;)

happy birthday krispy + kirsten

Guess whose birthday it is today? That's right-it's little miss Krispy (our little cat)'s birthday. She is five today. Five years ago she was just a tiny kitten, probably just hours old, and now she is five. I can see her now on my pillow licking her paw. I love you, Krispy!
Call us crazy. But we had cake today for her and we sang happy birthday. While she literally sat on her pillow in the chair, having woken up from her beauty rest. I'm not joking.

Hey, can you even believe Christmas is only four days away?! I.. can't. ;) There are three presents for me under the tree; I only know what one of them is. And no, I didn't peek! I can just guess by its size. ;)

Anyway, it's been a while since I have posted about my dolls, so I thought I would today. :) Even though I have mentioned it before.. I have owned by Kirsten for almost three years (it will have been three years this Christmas). I can't believe it! I still love her so much and don't know what I would do without her. Well, I could make do without her, but of course.. I'd rather not. ;)



I love you, Kirsten! ♥ 

So, what are your plans for Christmas? Are you excited? What are you getting hoping to get?

PS} This is super random and weird, but I wish I could play the bagpipes. They're such a pretty instrument. I listened to part of the soundtrack (Hymn to the Sea) from the movie Titanic (which I am not in full support of), and the music kind of depressed me, in a way. It was pretty, though.

new look + laughter

First of all, I'm sorry for my absence. ;) We were visiting with relatives this weekend, and I planned to post, but I never really got around to it. Anyway, I'm back now. :)

So, do you like the new look? I do! The header photo is actually from WeHeartIt (but I edited it)-I'll make sure to mention that in the copyright as soon as I'm done posting, just to make sure. ;)

Anyway-are you ready to see some funny pictures I found this morning? I just love how sweet and funny pets can be, and these are some photos of their sweetness (found here):

>sigh< I just love animals, don't you? And they're so funny without even knowing it. I mean, when Dad came home from work today, Krispy was curled up on top of a pile of magazines and Dad was inches away from her. We told him, "Look who's next to you!" (referring to the cat, of course) and he didn't even notice, Krispy camouflaged so well. XD

What makes you laugh? What makes you happy?