thoughts, Tristan, and toddlers

Hey :)

It's been a crazy week! 

This is my thought process:

Yesterday was fun!

I got 5 hours of community service hours through decorating (not a bad way to earn hours), and then picked up Tristan to hang out all day. 

There's no limit to the things you can do in a Super Target with lots of time to kill.

My sister and I stayed at Tristan's house for his great uncle's birthday party...

we didn't know his name until we sang Happy Birthday.

Also, apparently it's awesomely normal to sing Happy Birthday both in English and in Spanish when you belong to a family of Puerto Ricans.

It was cool.

:)

Earlier this week, I went to the Myraun's house to watch the kids for a bit.

They're so flippin' cute.

I'm pretty sure that the only time Hannah puts her feet on the table is when I'm there.

I don't technically encourage it, but it is pretty funny.

We ate pizza.

Phase 1...

... and Phase 2.

This is how Joey likes to blow on/lick his pizza.

Like I said:

 so flippin' cute.

I get to go back to their house today! :)

The weekend should be fantastic.

(Friday just so happens to be my birthday.)

However, since today is Wednesday (and not Friday), I'd better do my laundry.

Actually, Wednesday has nothing to do with it.

Mostly it's the issue of not having any clothes clean. 

xoxo,

Danielle

The crazy life of the high school senior

To say that I "haven't blogged in a while" would be the greatest understatement of my blogging life.

Blogging is one of those things that, although well loved, is nearly impossible to keep up with during senior year.

Now, I know I haven't 'officially' started my senior year yet, but....

 well.

    It has begun.

However, I do find a small bit of much needed peace in blogging.

With the craziness of college preparation, I've got to do something to keep myself from panicking.

And so I have decided that (aside from tea, old French music, and reading about Paris,) that 'something' will be blogging. 

(or rather, making collages and posting them here along with whatever else I happen to post.)

This is an experiment, and I anticipate that the result will be a more relaxed state of mind.

We'll see if I'm right.

Seeing as I thought about all of this the other day, I've already created a collage!

(best enjoyed while listening to this.)

Let's hope this works. 

(fingers crossed!)

:)

xoxo,

Danielle

FFF: Friday Faves... (finally)

Hey :)

Okay, so although I said that I think I'm back on track with blogging, I haven't quite gotten back to Friday Faves. 

Basically, I won't be able to go on and on about every single picture.

I may be awesome (hence the below picture), but I'm not perfect. 

Anyway....

I did make a collage!

That llama is my phone's wallpaper. :)

For some reason, I really want a station wagon. 

(with fake wood paneling and everything. no one understands.)

Also, I really love photo booths.

Oh, and it's true: reading makes you five times more attractive. 

Unfortunately, that's all the time I have today to devote to blogging.

(The Office is on Netflix, and that beats a lot of things in a list of my priorities.)

I have a fun weekend planned, and I hope yours is fantastic.

xoxo,

Danielle

Baking with the Myrauns :)

Yesterday I went to Aunt Becky's house!

Oh, how I love it there. :)

No matter how crazy the kids get, I remain convinced that their family is near perfection.

This time around, my aunt and I baked cookies while the children napped.

It was fun!

I learned that zesting a lemon is not as easy as scraping the skin off of a lemon with a cheese grater.

Also, you don't need to pile powdered sugar onto every individual cookie, no matter how much you want to.

It will irritate the person you're baking with.

Said person may or may not have the sudden urge to hurl cookie dough at your face.

The only thing stopping them is the fact that they would have to clean up the mess.

(Sorry for the blurriness. Although iPhones have the best phone cameras around, they're not Nikons.)

These look like shrimp cookies.

In reality, they're pink lemonade cookies, and they are quite good.

However, they were not as good as we thought they would be.

That could be allotted to the fact that someone took an amazing picture of the finished product and somehow made the food look more yummy than it is.

I still think they look a little like shrimp.

Opinions aside, the recipe was a good one and deserves to be linked.

I believe I'm back on track with blogging, but we'll see.

My Summer has been filled, ironically, with school-related items.

Of course, there are the relaxed days that scream "summer", but not everyone can live stress-free lives.

Who would micro-manage?

;)

I hope your weekend was fantastic.

xoxo,

Danielle

Camp 2012

Hi :)

I got back from camp today!

It was absolutely incredible.

Louie Giglio is such a fantastic pastor.

God gave him all the right words to say.

Worship was amazing, too.

Chris Tomlin played during the evening sessions, and the mosh pit was always crowded.

The bus rides were actually pretty funny.

On the first one, I fell asleep and have a picture to prove that I am not a pretty sleeper.

I'm fairly certain that I showed it to everyone that wasn't on my bus.

Obviously, the beach was awesome.

I personally didn't go surfing at sunrise, but others did.

(I stole these pictures from the 'others' Facebook pages)

Isn't it gorgeous? :)

Well, I'm off to Dreamland to hopefully catch up on sleep.

Rest is not a common resource at a camp as crazy as ours.

(crazy good, that is.)

xoxo,

Danielle

Happy Forth of July! (oh, and I may have hiked yesterday)

Happy 4th!

Today was good :)

We travelled to Uncle Mike's house for a cookout/pool party.

I went vegetarian, but I heard that the chicken was very good.

We swam, too!

(second cousin Chris and his wife Allison with their son, Jack)

Later on, Uncle Mike took us to his nice neighbor's pond.

Actually it was more of an expansive garden.

Basically the neighbor planted flowers and trees around a natural spring that had created a very long stream, which eventually leads to a pond.

(or something like that)

We even walked in the stream!

I didn't fall once, and it was awesome. :D

By the way, yesterday I wasn't even on Facebook until about 11:30 at night.

That is the majority of the reason why I did not blog.

Dad and I went back to Lach Raven, but this time we hiked a bit. :)

(we ate raspberries right off the bush)

Yeah, we stick our heads out from behind trees.

It's only because we're cool.

Maybe we'll start a trend.

Anyway, tomorrow is our last day in Maryland and although it's gorgeous up here and visiting family is nice, I am very ready to go home.

Next week is camp, so I'll have about a day (Sunday) to do laundry.

{We'll probably spend the night in NC again on our way back, which puts us at Saturday as a return date}

Fingers crossed that tomorrow goes well, and that packing will be a breeze!

Since I may or may not have time to blog tomorrow or Friday...

... Have a lovely weekend. :)

xoxo,

Danielle

Oh, Monday

Nothing particularly exciting has happened thus far, but I thought I'd blog anyway. 

There are so many people at the hotel right now!

The storm has left people without power since Friday, so most of the White Marsh population seems to have migrated to the hotel.

I've spent my day wearing stripes and listening to my playlist of songs that I can't get enough of.

Oh, and I made this collage.

I, for one, find it quite lovely. :)

Well, I'm off to drink tea and hopefully read Jane Austen.

I hope your weekend was fantastic!

xoxo,

Danielle

Sunny Sunday

Hi :)

I just realized that Friday has passed and I still have not done my faves!

Unfortunately, I have neither the time nor the energy to form them at this time.

When I get back to Florida, I'll be sure to get back on track. :)

What I can do is give you pictures from today's adventure!

We made the hour and a half trip to Gettysburg, PA to visit my grandmother.

(and a few others)

After eating lunch, we also explored the woods behind my grandma's house a little.

Despite the crazy heat, it was a pleasant afternoon. 

Here's hoping that the next several days are just as enjoyable.

xoxo,

Danielle

A visitation

Today was a good day!

We met up with relatives and ate lunch, then stopped by my great grandpa's apartment.

You'd think an old person's living space would be strange and awkward to be in.

Fortunately though, it was quite charming.

In fact, I loved it.

I am not afraid to grow old.

 A pair of doves took turns watching over a couple of eggs in the hanging pot outside. 

Just one of the many perks of living on the ground floor.

This is my favorite picture.

After that we visited the Loch Raven Reservoir.

All in all, it was a full but relaxed day.

This is turning out to be a pretty nice trip!

(fingers crossed) ;)

Until tomorrow.

xoxo,

Danielle

North Carolina

Hey :)

Yesterday my family and I stopped in North Carolina on our way to Maryland.

We met up with my great aunt and uncle... on their farm!

It was actually really neat.

^ Aunt Jody, Dad, and Uncle Bob

Today we arrived safely at our hotel in Maryland and are setting up nicely for the next 10 days.

Until tomorrow, my friends.

xoxo,

Danielle

Packing

Hi :)

I hope your weekend was lovely!

Mine was filled with plans for the trip to Maryland.

I have been packing non-stop since the middle of Sunday.

You'd think it would be easy to pack for a 10-day trip up North, but there is so much to do!

Fortunately I'm almost done.

It's a good thing, too, because we leave tomorrow morning.

Since a trip straight to Maryland would take about ten hours, we'll stay in North Carolina for a little bit before continuing our journey.

A few things that have kept me sane...

Frank Sinatra

Coldplay

Dean Martin

this blog <3

tea, of course

realizing that I love the majority of my closet

knowing that my Jane Austen novels will keep me from going bonkers if I ever find myself with nothing to do

the thought of taking pictures of MD and sharing them with all of you wonderful people

Also, my aunt and I have been planning a tea for my 17th birthday party.

It's going to be delightful!

Until I can take and upload pictures of our travels (I hope to do so daily), I leave you with this thought.

"Adventure awaits."

We shall see.

xoxo,

Danielle

Friday faves

Happy Friday :)

Here are my favorites from this week.

Descriptions will be short and sweet!

(all pics found on Pinterest)

1.) It's a baby llama! As I've said before, I have no idea why I like llamas. I was first introduced to the idea of keeping them as pets when I watched Napoleon Dynamite.

2.) The print is quite small, but it says 'So many books to read'. It's quite true. There never seems to be enough time in the world. It does help though that sequels are rarely as good as the first book. With that in mind, I don't always feel the need to continue a series. 

3.) How cute is this?? If a kid went trick-or-treating in this outfit and happened upon my doorstep, I would give him my whole bag of candy. 

4.) These dresses are so gorgeous. :) Lately I've been attracted to sparkly and/or glittery things more than usual.

5.) Again, sparkles are very obsession-worthy these days.

6.) Guys, it's a polka dot house. Need I say more?

7.) Pancakes are my all time favorite food. I like the chocolate chip ones that my mom makes, but plain ones are even more delicious. It's kind of backwards, but it's true.

8.) I hardly ever say 'hello'. Normally I use 'hey' and 'hi' and 'aloha'. Sometimes I say 'bonjour', but that's very rare. 

9.) This looks just like my grandma's cat! She's the total opposite of my cat, who is all white and never presses her paws against the window like a cutie.

10.) PB&J. :) It was kind of a small part of The Office, but do you remember when Kevin said that Jim and Pam would be good together, like PB&J? Pam Beesley and Jim? Yeah, I now think of that every time I see the sandwich. 

And that, my friends, is how you end Friday Faves. (with The Office references)

In other news...

I volunteered at Vacation Bible School this week! 

I thought for sure it would be boring, but it was actually really fun. 

I got to see my friend Rachel and my aunt every day :)

Plus, I got tons of community service hours.

Also, I got to see Kaitlyn S. the other day!

We hung out in Downtown Winter Garden (my favorite town ever), and ate at the cutest French cafè. 

It was a good day.

Other than that though, I haven't really done much.

(except watch The Office)

....which I'm actually going to do right now.

Until Monday.

Have a fantastic weekend :)

xoxo,

Danielle

Colds, tea, and Vogue.

I know, I know...

It's Wednesday, which marks the 5th day that I have avoided updating my blog.

It seem harsh, but I am sick. 

Don't worry, it's just a stuffy nose and a small cough.

Nothing a gallon or two of tea can't cure.

Speaking of tea: 

Has anyone else realized that Publix is having a sale on Tazo iced tea?

It's like Heaven in my fridge right now.

Normally I don't drink my tea with even a little sweetener, but when it's two for a dollar and pre-made, I'm not likely to say no.

While I was studiously buying every bottle of black tea I could find, I decided to pick up this month's issue of Vogue as well. Sure, they're printing July's issue already, but I'll need to read something on our trip to Maryland. 

^ Nailed it. :)

I've got this modeling thing down.

Anyway, I suppose I'd better do something productive.

Until next time :)

xoxo,

Danielle