Integrity.

I have noticed recently that people sure can be bold....when under certain circumstances ONLY.

When typing away on a keyboard, a person will say whatever they feel like saying...things they would never dream of saying in a face to face conversation with someone. But with miles between them and no other contact than that of a comment here and there on a website, people can come out with things that are downright cruel or unjustified. While hiding behind their computer, people hurt feelings, offend others, and anger people without ever thinking twice about it. In person, they would most likely think not just twice, but four or fives time over before they said these things!

Even the telephone offers a level of confidence to people to be bold...and offensive. Things someone would not want to offer up in public, on the telly, it's open-season!

I'm not excluding myself. I have entered into conversations that I may have shied away from in person because I had only the glow of the computer screen in front of me and not an actual face. However, I am recognizing it...owning it. And I WILL change it.

I am going to try on some integrity. I bet you anything it fits perfectly.

embrace it!

sometimes, i don't make sense...(by sometimes, i mean most of the time...)

i have a complete and total obsession with shoes. and within that obsession is another obsession...heels. ya following?

i don't even know how many pairs i own, but it is an embarrassing amount. every time i go shopping, i end up falling in love with another pair and battling with myself as to whether i can justify the purchase or not....usually, i find a way to leave with them.

now, let me clarify that thus far, i may have painted my obsession in a not so wonderful light. this is not the case. i do not have a shopping addiction, i do not put myself into debt because of my high-heel love. i only buy when i can afford, and i only buy after all other bills have been paid.

so why am i writing this post? is this purely informative, or is there a point, a problem?

of course there is, silly.

i RARELY wear them!! i have some heels that i LOVE, and yet i have only worn them once. why is this the case?

my height.

i am embarrassed of my height. without heels, i am a tall lady. i come in at about 5 feet and 8 inches. with heels, i reach about 6 feet. i tower over people. i've gotten the classic "how's the weather up there?" jokes, and it's embarrassing.

this. is. silly.

i need to embrace my height! many people want to be tall! models don't even have a shot unless they are tall...so what's my deal? i should be loving this right?

so that's what's about to happen. from here on out, i am wearing my beauties. i am going to strut it in my favorite shoes, and be confident about it. i challenge myself to love my height.

Brooklin Paige.

tonight, i had the opportunity to take some photographs of my beautiful cousin, brooklin paige. she is a not quite a year and a half, but she has a big personality already!! her grin melts my heart <3 i absolutely adore her.

this sweet little angel has my heart.

Remembering Julie.

"Love is stronger than death even though it can't stop death from happening, but no matter how hard death tries it can't separate people from love. It can't take away our memories either. In the end, life is stronger than death."

--Unknown

This past week, a wonderful young lady named Julie Keen was tragically killed in car accident. I had the privilege of knowing Julie personally for a good portion of my life. We attended elementary school together, as well as part of high school.

In elementary school, the memories are countless. Sleepovers at each others houses were plenty, and the silliness that always ensued was never-ending. There was the time when we thought it smart to eat an entire jar of pickles together and then jump on her trampoline. This resulted in us both getting sick to our stomachs, and yet still laughing hysterically at our idiocy. Then there was the time that we had a singing competition with two other girls, Gina Scholl and Jessica McGhee. However, we were all so nervous that the pairs hid behind a door to sing while the other two strained to hear. And of course, there was the "alarm clock" episode, when Julie and I thought it would be funny to play a prank on my sister and set up an alarm clock to wake her up at three in the morning. Of course, this infuriated my usually peaceful sister to the point of her hurling the alarm clock across the room at us. It hit me in the face, and although it hurt and I had a bruise for a week, Julie laughed so hard she was crying.

Julie was the type of friend that laughed with you, listened to you, hugged you, and loved you, asking for and expecting nothing in return. Our's was an easy friendship. I honestly do not recall ever having an argument with her. Something about us just clicked. It was simple. We didn't need to be clingy with each other to know that we were great friends. We could just be.

Julie and I shared many of the harder moments in our life. She was always there to listen to me, and let me cry, offer advice, and hugs. I hope I was as good to her as she was to me. Although we fell out of touch after high school, I will never forget how amazing of a friend she was...how true her friendship was. My life was touched by Julie. I learned a lot about friendship, about family, and about laughter from her. The memories will live on, as will the love that surrounds Julie Keen.

My heart goes out to the Keen family, and I pray for their strength and serenity in this difficult time. Julie will surely live on for a long time to come through her friends, her family, and the laugh that we could never forget.

"Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy."
--Eskimo Proverb

every so often.

i read a bunch of blogs. my sister has one, her friend kate has one, my stepmama has one, and several people i don't know at all have awesome ones that make me smile. and every so often, i get the itch. to blog. i had one awhile ago that i was really lack a daisical about. so i deleted that. so now, here i am to give it another go.

many of the blogs i read have an overall theme or point to them...but i'm not all about theme's. i'm more about just doing something and if a theme is meant to happen, it'll work itself out.

i basically am one of those dorks who just decides one day, "blogging is cool! i could do that!", when in actuality, i'll probably end up being lack a daisical on this one too. but i figure, whatevs! if it's making me smile, i'm all about it.

so here we go...i'm going to give this blogging thing another whirl. maybe it might just help me find out who i want to be.