Projects to Complete {Blogtember Challenge}

September 15th Prompt: Make a mood board. Are you brainstorming a room re-do, or are you dreaming of glamping with gal pals? Share a collage of any kind. 

My board is composed of DIY projects I've been wanting to try.

1. The top left is a board that gives all of our "special" dates in one, and I want to hang that in our bedroom!

2. The top middle is a set of letters to "open when _____". I want to make these for my husband so he can have them on file for when he needs one!

3. The top right shows wedding vows typed and printed out. Since Dan and I wrote our own special vows, I am dying to have them printed to hang near our bed. They were so special to us, so I want us to be reminded of those words each and every day.

4. The bottom left shows one way of organizing cards for a certain occasion. I'm debating between making the spiral book (as shown) or gluing the back of each card into an album so I can see all of the sweet cards we got for our wedding.

5. The bottom middle shows wedding photos on canvases with a couples' last name. I want to do that to hang in our main entrance / doorway. I think it's super cute, and I know I could make it myself.

6. The bottom right shows how someone glued letters onto a canvas to make words and then painted over it. I'm not sure what I want ours to say yet, but it's been sitting on one of my Pinterest boards for over a year, so I think it's time to actually get it done! Any ideas?

What are some projects you're hoping to get done before the end of 2014?

History of Blogging {Blogtember Challenge}

September 14th Prompt: When did you start blogging, and why?

Oh boy. Where do I even begin with this one? I starting blogging when I was 15... 12 years ago. Wow. That was a good 'ol Xanga (come on... you know you had one too!). It was full of awesomeness surveys and other teenage related stuff (and no, I will NOT share it. In fact, I went through great lengths to get that thing off the Internet for good! ;-) )

Real blogging though? I started on January 1st, 2012 as a challenge for myself. I blogged EVERY SINGLE DAY that year, even if it was just a hey, what's up? post. (That year, I blogged at Always Write 2012). The year was a success, but I HATED blogging every day. I worked a LOT that year (and had an hour commute each way), so it felt like a chore. I didn't want that.

So on January 1st, 2013, I started this blog with the goal of blogging a few times each week. I think it's been successful, and I love my little piece of blogland!

As for the second question, I started blogging to get stuff off my mind. It's cliché, but there's a lot going on in this brain of mine. I needed an outlet. I also LOVE to write, so it's a win-win.

How long have YOU been blogging?
Why did YOU start?

All About the Mr. & Mrs. {Blogtember Challenge}

September 13th Prompt: Your current relationship status. If dating/married, give us a glimpse of your story! If single, share that special season.

This prompt is fun because I LOVE talking about my husband. And that word (husband) is still pretty new!

We met in our co-ed fraternity in college, Phi Sigma Pi. We got to know each other for about six months as friends. And then we started dating in February of 2009. He took me on a date for hibachi and a comedy show. We had a BLAST together and began our relationship.

Fast forward a little bit: Dan gets accepted into the United States Air Force Academy Preparatory School. (He was already in the Air Guard). He leaves for Colorado, and I finish the last year of my degree in Missouri.

I move to Colorado after graduation, and Dan begins his four years at the Academy AFTER his prep school year. We are not allowed to live together (as he has to live on base), and we are NOT allowed to be married. Such is life. We enjoy our time in Colorado anyway!

In July of 2011, on Dan's summer leave period, we took a road trip through the southwest portion of the USA. He proposed to me in a surprise hot air balloon flight over Albuquerque. It was the best moment yet.

We dealt with a lot of crap from the Academy... but we made it to the 2% Club! (Supposedly, only 2% of couples who enter the Academy make it through to the end... and YAY, we made it!)

He graduated on May 28th of this year. We got married two days later, and it was bliss. THAT was the best day ever.

We went on a European adventure for our honeymoon, and we are now living together (finally - after 5.5 long years!) at our first base in Ohio, while Dan gets his Master's degree before pilot training.

I'd say I hit the jackpot. ;-)

All photos are taken from graduation / wedding week at the end of May! What a whirlwind of a week that was - but oh, how amazing it was!

Traditions Aren't Always Bad {Blogtember Challenge}

September 12th Prompt: Tell us about a favorite tradition. It can be a family tradition or from a holiday, university, you name it. What makes it so special?

Everyone has traditions... there are some that I loved growing up, like eating BBQ on Christmas Eve with my family instead of the more "traditional" foods. Hey, I'm from Kansas City, okay? BBQ capital of the world right there! :)

My FAVORITE tradition started by accident, though. Every New Year's Eve, Dan and I go out to eat. But not just out... we find a new Thai restaurant each time. Every single New Year's Eve that we've known each other (there have been five), we have done this, and we don't plan on stopping that tradition any time soon.

We did it the first year because we just like Thai food. Then, we realized the second year that we were at a Thai restaurant once again... so we decided to keep that going! It's not a type of food we eat all the time (though I'm sure we would if there was more around)... so it's a special thing for us to do!

What is YOUR favorite tradition?

Finding Inspiration in Tragedy {Blogtember Challenge}

As you all know, today is the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy. It is a day that will forever be ingrained in my brain. While I didn't realize the magnitude at the time, I still took something from that day. Continue reading to find out more... 

September 11th Prompt: How do you stay inspired? Who inspires you the most?

Way back in September of 2001, I was just a teeny-tiny 8th grader. As I sat in my third period social studies classroom, I found out about the terrorist attack. I didn't understand everything at that moment, but my teacher/coach was crying as he turned the TV on and told us we were going to watch that instead of continue with our lesson. He told us that THAT VERY MOMENT would be with us forever, and that the magnitude of that day would haunt America.

That day was a blur. I remember other students not caring at all about what was going on. I remember some even LAUGHING as they saw the plane take down the second tower. I don't judge them or blame them - none of us were old enough to "get it". None of us had ever experienced anything like that before.

I remember my football game being canceled (yes, I played football on the boys' team). I was angry about that, but I knew the situation in our country was greater than one little football game of mine. I remember everything about that day - even that my family went out for Chinese that night for dinner.

As I continued to hear about the 9/11 attacks on the news and see people being interviewed, I started to really understand it. REAL PEOPLE had been killed. They had left behind mothers and fathers, sons and daughters. Friends. Teachers. Neighbors. Coaches. People lost their LIVES. And these people were not very different from the people I knew. They were working people with families - just like my parents. I couldn't imagine at that time losing a parent. I have since (and my younger brother was in 8th grade at the time - something I can't even comprehend).

But this post is supposed to be about inspiration, not about the events that unfolded on that awful day. Inspiration is a weird thing. It's a GOOD thing to have, but sometimes I feel guilty for being inspired by tragic events. 9/11 left an impact on me in a strange way. I am fascinated by it in the same way that I am by the Holocaust. I know that both events (and so many more in our history) have been heinous and uncalled for. But I also know that people learn from mistakes. Not always - and certainly not everyone. But some do. That's why I feel inspired by these horrendous events. I feel inspired to write about them, share about them, and let people know what happened. People's stories deserve to be told. No one wanted to die that day and leave everyone behind. They didn't, but they had to. And that's not fair.

I know I don't want to waste any talent that was given to me because I am fully aware that I could lose it at any time. I genuinely feel for the people who paid the ultimate price that day because they never got to be with their families again. They never got to work on another project again. They never got to see the outside again. And because of these people sacrificing what they did, I am a little stronger. I know that in this day and age, terrorism is real. There's always a possibility. But I want to live my life how I want to live it and not be scared. Rather, I try to channel those events into inspiration instead of fear.

I'm sorry if none of this made sense and just sounded like a giant ramble of thoughts coming together. It was tough to piece together, and I'm still not sure I did it justice.