Photographing the Photographer

This is Nathan. 

He's a photographer.

Which means he much prefers being behind the camera, 

not in front.

Obviously.

Style{in} Skirts: Designed Ingeniously

What is it inside of a woman that wants to look pretty?

Is it her desire to impress?

her desire to represent?

her desire to be respected?

I think personally, I just want to be proud of myself.

It's way to easy to look at pictures of myself and want to crawl in a hole.

But what is there to do about it?

I suppose the only thing to do is take a make-shift iPhone photo shoot,

laugh off the goofiness of it,

and say, "Hey!

That's me!

And I'm the only one.

That's pretty cool...right?"

 I may not feel like I'm the type of girl,

or have the type of figure,

who can pose in any fashion with any face

as soon as she gracefully rolls out of bed

 and look absolutely fabulous.

But I'm still pretty darn cool.

(Ok, maybe cool is a bit of a stretch....;)

Ladies, let's be proud of ourselves more often. We're put together like nothing else on earth, and nothing like the girl next door. That's not something to be ashamed of, or embarrassed. That's awesome! We aren't something we're not supposed to be. We're designed ingeniously.

(Holla to mah girl, Allie! She's beautiful, and one of the best friends a gal could ask for;)

 Hairband: thrifted // shirt: Cotton On (clearance!) // Yellow skirt: thrifted // Shoes: Target

Summer "do's" and Fighting Summer Blues

These past couple of weeks I've been living with mono.
On top of that, I've had three colds, an infection in my leg, lost my voice completely and had many doctor visits.
SUPER EXCITING.
But really.
I've slept a lot, and spent a lot of time resting. And anyone who knows me, knows that "resting" isn't really my thing. So this has been a challenge! And my summer is looking quite different.
Instead of getting a second job, I'm taking on less hours than before at my current job.
Instead of going to the beach all of the time, I'm frequenting Netflix more than ever.
Instead of dress shopping, I'm internet shopping.

So the greatest challenge from this is making sure I stay optimistic and that I don't waste this. I literally have the best excuse ever to not work out, not do chores, and not stress out about cramming lots of "go, go, go" into my summer. Optimism isn't always easy when I don't see people much, and I don't leave my house much, but it's been pretty great how many little things I have way too much time for now.

Hence, my Summer To-Do List: Mono Edition

- Read lots of books 

(including finishing the Harry Potter series and some Elizabeth Elliot)

- Finish New Girl and How I Met Your Mother

(which I won't have time for in the Fall)

- Edit loadssss of pics that I haven't gotten to yet

- Write letters to old pen pals

- Knit more; Sell more

- Think and pray about goals for my coming school year 

- Find quick recipes I can try when I have energy

- Start knitting more baby blankets

(you never know when someone's gonna need one;)

- Write some new songs when I get my voice back

- Buy, and take care of, some indoor plants

That's pretty much it. Until I'm back to being Normal Casey, I'm just gonna do my best to enjoy moments with just me and Jesus and my bedroom wall. Because life will pick up again and be busy enough, and then I'll be wishing I had more time to do things like this:)

What's ya'lls summer looking like?

Jump. And Keep on Jumping

As of today I am a Business major.
Yep.
And I'm terrified.

Why? Because as soon as I made the decision I was pounded with:
"Am I smart enough for this?"
"Do I manage my time well enough for 15 credit hours?"
"Will I have enough saved up to quit my job?"
"Will I have the bravery to face all of those smart people in class, when I haven't taken a math course in over 3 years?"
"Am I doing the right thing?"

Doubts. Yayyyyyy.

In the past twenty minutes, I have told myself, "you are a strong, confident young woman; a fighter and a trooper. YOU GOT THIS," about 14 times. And I'll probably say it 14 million more times. Because this isn't just a change to my major. Everything I do these days feels like a re-definition of myself, every moment of my mindset feels like it determines who I am. Which is true. But that's a lot of pressure.

But mostly it's because this change is not the only scary thing in my life. There are a lot of scary things in my life. But this is a scary thing that I've decided to tackle. I'll tackle the rest of them tomorrow. And the day after that. And the next week, and next month, and the rest of my life. But this one I tackled today.

Life is scary. And sometimes, when you don't know what on God's green earth to do with yourself and you feel like everything in life is unstable, you just have to jump. And keep jumping. Because everything is unstable.

Don't count on the stability of life. Life is surprise. Life is shaky. Life is fragile and delicate and lovely and sturdy and punch-you-in-the-mouth-like-strong-coffee. But what are you gonna do... quit???
Nope. Because life is beautiful. And I'm excited about it.

I am a strong, confident, fighter of a young woman. And now I'm a business major, too.