Christmas Plus a Few Pictures...

Hey everyone... so Christmas was a few days ago. Did everyone enjoy it?? I did!! On Christmas Eve we just chilled and spent time together, making last minute preparations and enjoying the gifts from my Grammy. Christmas Day was really quiet and nice... we enjoyed a family breakfast and opened presents. One present from my parents was *drumroll* a year of Picnik Premium!!! Ahhhhhhh!!!!! *heehee* I had a lot of time lately to mess around with it and here are a few of the pictures...

O! MY! GAWSH! Isn't this just really adorable???? I was messing around with the Christmas features on picnik and JohnE became SANTA!!!! I love it!!! My mom and I giggled, it was sooo cute!!!!

This one is just a classic Anna piece... Simple with a few vibrant colors. I took this picture when we went to the Butterfly Conservatory for my mom's birthday... My brother was actually giving me the butterfly. I love it!!

The day after Christmas we went to my Grandparents' house and opened gifts and did a gift exchange. This weekend was just AH-mazing!!! Hope you enjoyed your Christmas...

Much Love ♥

Festivis Pole...

Many (if not most) of you have Christmas trees. I have always wanted to put one up in my room, but I never have. Well... My mom bought this stocking holder thingy mcjig... And it kind of wasn't strong enough, if you know what I mean. *giggle* Anywho, I put it up in my room. It was REALLY pathetic... Like "makes-my-friend-pee-her-pants-laughing" (not literally of course) pathetic. So I decided that I would buy a bunch of cutesy little ornaments and tinsel and all would be well! Guess what... I was kind of wrong... You doubt me?? See for yourself!!

My dad started calling it my "Festivis Pole" like in that one Seinfeld episode... It might be a silly decoration, but it's my silly decoration!! I have a glittery flower snowflake thing, nutcracker, snowman, my first Christmas ornament, and of course... GINGERBREAD!!!! Love Love Love Gingerbread in man and house form!!! *sigh* Well...

Hope you liked my little post... What do you think??

Much Love ♥

I Promise...

I'm really sorry I haven't been blogging lately... I PROMISE that I will tomorrow though!!! I have lots of pictures from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra Concert that I just got home from... Those will go up tomorrow... I have been going non-stop since Friday with lots of different things... I hate saying "I'm so busy" because I think that we all know that everyone is busy in their own ways... And like my mom always says...

"You can always find time for what you want to do."

So yeah... Goodnight blogger world!!

Much Love ♥

5 Little Things That Bless Me...

Guess what time it is.... It's time for a "5 Little Things That Bless Me" post!!! YAY!!! So on with the post...

1.) christmas lights..... they sparkle. Oh so gorgeous!! ahaha... I love things that sparkle, which leads me to my number 2...

2.) festive nail polish... o! my! gawsh! i just painted my nails today red and i put sparkles on them... let's just say I love it!!

3.) slippers... I am not usually a slipper person, but I LOVE my new ones!!! They are Airwalk ones from Payless if you were wondering... :)

4.) blueberry candy canes... Can I just say Y-U-M-M-Y!!! The only downside is that they turn your mouth blue... So don't smile for camera... *wink wink*

5.) my amazing friends and family... I know... this is probably considered one, but whatever!! I love to death!!


Did you like it?? What are you thankful for this week??

Much Love♥

"Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas Contest"

I have decided to enter my very first PHOTO CHALLENGE!!! Ahhh!!! So exciting!! Anyways... This is the picture that I am going to enter....

Think I have a chance??



^ Christmas Photo Challenge Link ^

Some More Inspiration :)

I know that some people don't like Taylor Swift, but I do. I know, I know... I can't help myself!! One of the songs off of her new album Speak Now, Mean, has made my mom and I crack up. It just totally describes my life right now. Here I'll show you:

♥Someday, I'll be ♥
♥Livin' in a big old city♥
♥And all you're ever gonna be is mean♥

♥And someday♥
♥I'll be♥
♥Big enough so you can't hit me♥
♥And all you're ever gonna be is mean♥

♥Why you gotta be so mean?♥

~Taylor Swift

I hope that brings someone out there some comfort like it does for me... :)

Much Love ♥

Pics from the Past...

I feel like I should do a post since I skipped yesterday... Sorry about that!!! All of the presents are under the tree... It's making me slightly chipper. So yeah... For once I am not really in the mood to edit photos so I am going to go back in time and share some pics from the past!!



This is me with my infamous "bed-head". Some days I wake up and my hair is in big, slightly damp curls... This does not always happen, but if I'm lucky, it does!
I love this picture because of the eyes... I made them this really pretty icy blue... You can't see them very well, but oh well!!!







These are pretty orange flowers, aren't they?? I love this picture!! The orange is so vibrant!!













Did you enjoy the ride?? Promise I'll post soon!!
Much Love ♥

THREE Christmas Tree Stories Wrapped Up In One!!

I apologize for the long title... Let's just say that it was shorter in my head!! *sigh* oh well!! Here are the stories I promised....

Last night was the official "Decorate the Tree" night at my house. We set up our new, artificial tree. We decorated it and it looks GORGEOUS!!! Doesn't it?? I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!! ♥

Since we got a new tree, we put our old tree out on our back deck. This was right after we set it up... Pretty right?? Well last night was really windy, so this is what it looks like now...Yes, my dad did tether it down with an obvious white rope. And yes, the base is under a pile of rocks larger than the average person's head... Ahaha I love my family!!

The second story had to do with my dad's side of the fam... My grandparents were contemplating getting an artificial tree, so we surprised them with one!! They live an hour and half away so we drove out and set it up. My grandpa was home, but when my grandma walked in she was laughing. Here is their tree...

Those are my tree stories... Do you have any interesting stories?? Comment below and tell me... I'm all ears!!

Much Love ♥

Thanksgiving & Such...

That title is pretty sad isn't it?? Oh well... As everyone in the United States knows, yesterday was Thanksgiving... I went a little camera happy :) because I just got a new camera. Which I love love love!!! Anywho!!!

K so I absolutely ADORE this picture!!! I was so happy with how it came out!! Especially when I did some Picnic magic ;)

That fizzy drink is sparkling apple cider NOT wine! I say that with all loving kindness ♥

The amazing turkey cooked my an amazing Daddy :)

The table

My family and I had wonderful Thanksgiving!! Hope you did too!!
Much Love♥

5 Little Things That Bless Me...

The title says it all. Literally. That is what this post is about. God blesses me with many little things... I think that it is about time I give thanks!! Plus, this makes great gift ideas for that 13-year-old girl in your life *wink*.

1. fuzzy socks :)
my favorite pair!! so warm!!

2. candy cane green tea :)
O! MY! GAWSH! I'm not a big tea person, but this stuff is AMAZING!!! It's green tea, but it tastes like a candy cane was melted into it!!









(not my photo)

3. zebra print :)
I'm going through a serious phase...



















(not my photo)

4. purple pens :)
they are just so much better than black and blue!!

5. the amazing God who blessed me with all of these things
is that cheating?? nooooo!!!

Much Love ♥

November...

November. So cold. The leaves have pretty much all fallen off. For some strange reason they were all yellow this year... Not a lot of red or orange. It was still very pretty!! I would put pictures up, but at this point I do not have a nice camera to take the picture. We are selling mine. I'm getting a new one though, so more pictures possibly!!! Scratch that!! Definitely!!

I love fall!! It is probably my favorite time of the year. It's cold outside, but no to the point where you need gloves and a hat. I giggle when I see two friends walk into school... One is wearing a t-shirt and jeans with flip-flops... The other is wearing Ugg boots and jeans with a fleece jacket. I on the other hand, prefer ballet flats in the fall... My mom bought me 4 pairs so far this fall... I think. Man, do I love my mommy... ♥

So basically, the moral of this post is that I love fall. I love November. What do you love about fall?

Much Love ♥

Questions Tag...

So Bleah Briann did this tag and I thought it would be a lot of fun... Then I saw that an Anna Gray was tagged at the end, but there are a couple of Anna Grays out there so I'm going to do it anyway... =)
{1} What time do you wake up each morning? Why?
6... cuz of school and such

{2} You've just woken up, and you're thirsty. You fix yourself a glass of....
Orange juice unless of course we don't have any, then I just have water...

{3} Where do you go to school? What do you like/dislike about it?
I go to a middle school, but that is all I'm going to say for safety reasons and such... I don't like how they opperate the cafeteria, but whatever!!

{4} How many siblings do you have? What are their names and ages (if you're allowed to share)?
I have one brother and his name is John... again, I am not going to tell you his age because of safety reasons...

{5} What is your favorite game to play with your family?
Phase 10... it's a family tradition on my mom's side... we always play it at the reunion... fun!!

{6} What's the silliest thing you've ever done with your siblings, cousins or any other family member? Would you do it again if you could?
The silliest thing... um that would have to be trying to fry an egg on my cousins street... We thought it was really hot out, so we decided to try to fry and egg... well, all we did was make a mess in the middle of the street... that is only the beginning, but yeah....

{7} What's your favorite game to play with your friends?
Truth or dare... most of the time it's stupid questions and dares....

{8} If you could meet one person in the whole wide world (who's currently alive), who would it be? Why would you want to meet that person? What would you say to them?
idk... I already met tobyMac... hmmmmm... i don't have anyone really...

{9} If you could meet one person in the whole wide world (from the past), who would it be? Why would you want to meet that person? What would you say to them?
My Grandpa... Cuz I never got to meet him... I would talk to him and get to know him...

{10} What is your favorite way to worship God? Singing, dancing, playing an instrument, praying, fasting?
Dancing... That's one of my favorite things and well if I can dance and honor God, I'm all for it!!


{11} "God cares about the little things of life." Do you agree? Can you give specific examples of ways that God has shown Himself in the little things of your life?
I do think that God cares about the little things in life... If I pray for something that other people might think are stupid to pray for, God will provide... At the current moment, I'm praying for better skin and it's getting a little better day by day...

{12} Is there a particular Bible verse that has stood out to you recently? Which verse and why?
The one that says "Gods love endures forever". I don't remember the exact verse, but those words stand out...

{13} Your parents are out for the day, leaving you home alone (with your siblings). Then, your grandmother from out of state calls and says she'll be there in fifteen minutes. (She wasn't supposed to come until tomorrow) What do you do?
frantically rush to wash dish and pick up any last things that might be on the floor... then collapse on the couch and sigh a sigh of relief then put a smile on my face and answer the door...

{14} Have you ever traveled out of country? Why did you go?
I have been in Canada, but I don't feel like that counts... I live right by the border... so yeah in my book, no!

{15} What sport do you play and what do you enjoy about it?
Volleyball season just ended and I dance too... I just like them!!

{16} Do you like cats or dogs better? If neither, specify:
Dogs... I have one and cats bore me... so yeah dogs....

{17} Country or city?
Ummmm city... we rented a house in the country for a year and it was a stretch for me... plus we had to plan ahead to go shopping...

{18} Cowboy hat or prairie bonnet?
I'm not going to answer this question...

{19} Flipflops or tennis shoes?
flipflops... I don't really like sneakers...

{20} Do you like my (Bleah Briann's) blog?
yeah I freakin' love your blog!!! I didn't change the name...

I TAG:
everyone who reads this that wants to do it!!! =)

Much Love ♥

Pirates, Twix, Doggies, and Diaper Cakes

Hello Blogger-World!!! I have no idea for a theme so I'm just gonna go with the flow here... Since it is Halloween time, there are a bunch of "scary movies" on TV. Well, last night "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" was on... I like those movies, but I swear that those are the freakiest movies that I will ever watch!!! I jump all the time when the people walk into the moonlight *shiver*. Don't get the idea that I do Halloween just because I watch some of the movies that come on TV... Because I don't. I don't really need to go trick-or-treating to get candy because my friends supply most of my November sugary treats... especially Twix. I love them. Something about the chocolate-caramel-cookie combination is just sooooo GOOD!!!!! Mmmmmmmm....

Thinking about the chocolate-y-ness of chocolate... told you that I'm random... I remembered the brownies sitting out in the kitchen... Now they are going to torture me!! Ironically, my brother just mention them right after I typed that sentence... =)

You probably know how much I love Zoe... She is adorable and well I love her!! Anyway, we have been dog-sitting my aunt's dog since Thursday... Two dogs are double the work!! So cute though!!

*sigh* I have run out of randomness to blog about... Oh yeah!! Sorry that I have not been keeping my promise of blogging daily. I am going to get much better about it after this week because volleyball is ending and I handed in the hard part of this huge project I had to do for school...

Guess what my mom and I just made!! It's a cake... made out of diapers!!!!! And no, we are not planning to eat this non-edible cake. It is for a baby shower. And O! MY! GAWSH! is it CUTE!!!!!! Ahhhhhh... so yeahhhh... I think I'm done now....................... Yeah I'm gonna stop before this turns into gibberish...

Much Love ♥

25 Random Questions...

This blog idea actually has a funny story... I was cleaning the bathroom when I came up with this so it really is random!!! So as I type I will come up with the questions, so bear with me...

1.) What is your pet's name? Her name is Zoe. She is a fluffy shih-tzu bishon mix... Love her to pieces!!!

2.) What are 5 things you are touching? My pink laptop, my cell phone, Zoe's pillow, the love-seat. Does that count, because I'm sitting on it... Oh well!! The fifth thing is Zoe.

3.) What are you wearing today? The typical Aero shirt, skinny jeans, and cute socks. Nothing special...

4.) What is the weather like outside? Cloudy and COLD!!!

5.) What is something unique about your room? My room... Well first off, the walls are all "popcorn" style. You know what I mean... The spikey things that the construction guys forgot to sand off. The walls only go up about 4 feet then they start to slant into the middle where they meet in a strip that is the formal ceiling... I'm going to have to show you a picture sometime... The one thing that I do to my room is that I write inspiring things on notecards and post-its and put them on my door above the knob. I started doing this about January. They are for when I am having a bad day or I'm kind of stressed... I'll get into more detail sometime about it...

6.) What song are you listening to? The Sound of the Resistance by The Wrecking... I don't have any idea who they are... It's on the radio... Now it's MercyMe...

7.)Who is your favorite singer? Right now I'm really into Hawk Nelson, Relient K, and Britt Nicole... My all time favorite has to be tobyMac though... I freaked when I went to his concert!!

8.) What is your favorite song? Hold On by tobyMac... I have a couple lyrics from it taped to my door... :)

9.) Glasses or contacts? I have both... but I have to say that I like my contacts more. They're just easier. I wear them both pretty equally though...

10.) What is your favorite candy bar? TWIX!!! OMG LOVE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

11.) Are you running out of question ideas? Yes, yes I am.

12.) Do you get annoyed when you get an annoying forwarded text from 5 different people? First of all... How many more times could I have said a form of "annoy"? To answer the question... Yes, it does bother me greatly.

13.) Do you laugh easily? This is actually from a worksheet in Health last year... I asked my friend Izzy... She looked at me funny and I started cracking up! So the answer would be yes! My answer just made me smile a little bit...

14.) What is your favorite bible verse? John 3:16. It's just such a simple verse!!

15.) Are you easily distracted? Yes. I also don't have much patience... So this post is getting on my nerves now...

16.) What kind of things are you involved in, in school? Yearbook, Volleyball, Two accelerated classes, and National Junior Honor Society. I'm a busy chica....

17.) What language do you take in school? Spanish. You can kind of tell when I say something like cabeza or O mios Dios or even te amo or chica....

18.) If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? Barcelona. Paris. Puerto Rico. Italy. Places like that. Greece would be nice too...

19.) Have you ever been out of the country? Canada, but we live 45 minutes away from there so, personally, I don't think it counts!! I love to travel though!!

20.) Do you get hyper easily? Why yes I do!! My friends will testify to that one...

21.) How long have you been working on this post? Wayyy too long... over and hour I do believe...

22.) Are you thinking about bailing on this post entirely? Not at this point... I'm way too close!!!!

23.) What color nail polish are you wearing? Devotion by Chinaglaze. It's a really pretty silver...

24.) Who was the last person you hugged? I believe it was my Daddy...

25.) Do you feel special now that you completed this post? Why yes... yes I do!!!



Much Love ♥

What's more important?

Sometimes I think that God puts us through some of the things we go through just to see how long it takes for us to look to the sky and say "Why God?". You try to be there for your friends, giving them amazing advice, but then realizing that advice applies to your life too. Most of the time its too late to fix what you already screwed up.

It hurts my heart when people take advantage of what God has given them. Like your voice. Why would you use your voice to hurt someone when you could be healing their wounds?

Do you remember that elementary school phrase "What goes around, comes around"? Well, if you use your voice to encourage someone instead of tearing them down, then someone will probably be there for you when you need a shoulder to cry on. Figuratively speaking, or sometimes literally.

The really sad thing is when I try to do the right thing, but I somehow get sucked into all the pointless drama. Most of it doesn't even concern me!! Then I waste my time and energy on something that doesn't even make sense... that frustrates me so much because then instead of goofing around with my friends, I am venting all of this built up frustration.

Another thing that I have been realizing is that I am wasting my time on people who honestly don't care what I think or what I have to say. But then when they want something, they are suddenly my "best friend". But I only feel complete for a minute or even just a few seconds, just until they are done with me and they move on. Why am I wasting my time when I could be spending that valuable time on God, my family, and the people that God has obviously shoved in my face to minister to??

I realized that there was so much that I didn't know about my little brother. That's really sad because we live in the same house. Yet somehow I know about so-and-so's new boyfriend at school. Lately I have been doing a serious reality check.

What's more important, fitting in, or standing out?


Much Love ♥

My Best Friend...

Have you ever noticed that the term "BFF" is used quite liberally?? People always say "Oh, she's my BEST FRIEND" then the next day they aren't even talking anymore because of some stupid fight that doesn't even make sense!!! That has always urked me... I know, I know!! I'm going on and on about the term "BFF" when the blog title is "My Best Friend". Well, there is one type of "Best Friend" that will never go away... BROTHERS. Yeah, I'm going to brag a little here... My brother is the bestest friend that anyone could have!!!!!!!!! And he is all MINE!!!! Sometimes I share him... Not much though so your lucky if I share!!! One of my friends, Mia, adores him like he is her own little brother...

One thing he does that bothers me other than the typical boy stuff is that he doesn't like to get his picture taken. So the other day, we were really hyper after having a half day in school. So while rolling around on my bedroom floor, I started taking pictures. I took them on my phone so they are not very good, but here they are anyway!!

This was the first picture... The flash was so bright that my brother accidentally crossed his eyes... I almost peed my pants laughing when I saw the picture!! I love this one the most!!!

This one is the cutest by far!! Both of our eyes look really blue... Which is strange for my eyes. Usually they look gray or green... ANYWHO!!!*PEW PEW* Yeah we're cool...

We're secret agents... shhhhh!!!!!

I love my Best Friend... ♥

Much Love♥

I'm back... Hopefully...

Hi there... I know, I know... I am supposed to be in school!! I don't feel very good so I stayed home... And I slept for like 4 extra hours!!!! Ahhhh... ANYWAYS...

Last night I played volleyball for the first time in a week and a half!! Here's the story... during one of the games earlier in October I twisted my knee funny and I ended up getting tendinitis in my left knee... I had to sit and watch four games!!!! It was pure torture!! God was faithful and healed it quickly so I got released a week early and I don't have to do physical therapy like originally planned, PRAISE THE LORD!!!! This is the second time that God healed me fast enough that I didn't need therapy....


This post really didn't have a reason... Besides the fact that I haven't posted in like forever!!! I think I might just write up a bunch of posts then post them throughout the week... I don't know. I think I should probably work on school work, but I keep zoning in and out, if you know what I mean!! So I might just make up another binder cover for Nicole or something... OH YEAH!!! That reminds me!!! If you go to my last post then you will see Ashley's binder cover... If your name is Ashley or you know and Ashley that might want it then comment below please!! The first person to comment saying that they want it will get it so the race is ON!!!

Much Love ♥

My Craftiness...

I love it when I get my craft on!!! Ahaha... Well, in my school we don't have notebooks and folders, we have binders. So I have always been the girl to have the fancy shmancy covers for my plain binders. I just ADORE the crazy colored zebra prints!! So I said to myself, "I can do that!!" So I did... And now everyone has seen it and want one, so the prints have gotten better and a little more unique... Well here they are!!!

This is the original zebra print that got everyone talking!! I love it!!!!!

This is one that I made for my friend Izzy... purple and green zebra!! What could possibly be more fun than that?!?!!?

Lisha saw the one I was making for Izzy, so she asked for one... I made hers with only one zebra letter because I wanted to make hers unique and different than anything else I had done... You like it??

This one was for my chica Mia... This one is one of my favs!!!!
This one is definitely my all time FAVORITE!!!!!! LOVE IT!!!!

Rainbow zebra for Angelica... How sweet???

This one is... you guessed it.. FOR ME!!!!!! I made one for pretty much all of my friends and I finally made one for ME!!!! It's so pretty...

I think I have an idea!!! Leave a comment and vote for your favorite!!!! Much Loves ♥

Tabs and an Inspirational Quote

Don't you just ah-dore the little tabbies up top?? Seriously... LOOK UP!!!!! ^ Aren't they cute?? That is what I spent my time doing today... so I thought that I should point them out... If you missed my post last night all the info about my family is in the tab labeled "my family". Cool isn't it?? My mom and I flipped out when we figured out how to put them in... That was like a month ago and I just put them up... That was slightly pathetic... ahahaha

Anyways...
My volleyball coach says the following phrase...

"God's gift to you is your talent. Your gift to God is using that talent. So if God gave you the talent, USE IT!"

Food for thought, isn't it?? When he said that, it really touched my heart. It was nice that he had such a down-to-earth philosophy... I'm not even sure if he is a Christian...

Well that is all I have for today... Much Loves ♥

Hello World...

Hello World!!! It's me... Anna. I just wanted to introduce myself. I know I have done many other posts, but I think it's time for me to do a formal introduction...
There are four people in my family. Daddy, Mom, and John. I also have a dog... she will be five in April and her name is Zoe. My parents have been married for 15 happy years. I love them both!! Lets start with my Daddy...

Ok, so here is the story... I am a Daddy's Girl. Yeah, you heard me!! I am not ashamed of it either!! I love him soooooooo MUCH!! He got me into the whole photography thing when he got his fancy-shmancy camera... We have this tradition in my family. Every Christmas my dad gets me and my brother what we call a "Dad Gift". My favorite has to be the gold necklace he gave me a couple years ago. It is so pretty!! Every time I wear it, he is in my thoughts... Love You Daddy!!!! ♥
This is my mom... Can you tell?? No, we are not clones... She is my mom, not my twin :) You also may recognize her from "Enjoying the Process"... She got me into blogging. I am quite inspired by my family... Have you noticed?? Well yeah... Love ya Mom!!!!!!

So this my brother John. I also call him JohnE, Buddy, Ninja Buddy, and Nub... Affectionately of course!!!!!! He is 2 years younger than me. He is pretty much my Bestest Friend in the whole wide world!!!!!! Yuperz!!! He is AmAzInG!!!!!



This is my doggy Zoe!! Cute pic ain't it??? I love her!!! She is a Shih-Tzu Bishon mix... also known as "fluffy princess dog." She runs like a rabbit and she doesn't like baths... especially with the hose!!! Ugh she was sooo frustrating when I tried to give her a hose down over the summer... I still love her!!!! ♥

That's my family!!!!!!!! Don't ya just love 'em?? I DOOOO!!!!!!!! Much lovess!!!! ♥