The Project Unveiled!

I am opening my very own clothing line!!

HURRAY!!

This summer has been devoted to getting all of the wrinkles worked out and the system up and running and now we'll see how it goes!

 

 

DWA Design

 

^^ Click the link ^^

:D



I've Been Awarded! Huzzah!

My beautiful friend, Sierra over at as the earthen vessel has awarded me the Liebester Award!  Thank you so much for the tag, Sierra!

 

The rules are:

 

1) Each person must list 11 things about themselves. 

2) Answer the 11 questions that the tagger has set for you PLUS you MUST create 11 questions of your own for the 11 people you will nominate with this award.

3) Choose up to 11 bloggers linking them to your post.

4) Go to their page and inform them of the nomination.

5) Absolutely NO tag backs.

6) Remember to ONLY tag bloggers with less than 200 followers.

  

Here we go!

So, eleven things about myself!

1. I've been told before that I smile too much.  But, I say that if smiling makes other people smile, then it's definitely worth it.  I like smiling :D  

2. If I had to choose between jeans or a skirt/dress I'd definitely pick the skirt/dress.  What can I say? I like dressing up. 

3.  I have an odd habit of naming inanimate objects. My camera's name is Philola.  Case and point.

4.  I have never met over half of my friends. Oh the joys of being an online student.

5.  Reading. Readingreadingreading. I love it.

6.   I run on chocolate.

7. I am sixteeeen going on seventeeeen! (And I may or may not have sung this song on my sixteenth birthday....don't judge.)

8. I would rather dance than walk.

9. Bananas make me shudder.

10.  I shoot people.  Regularly.  (with a camera....but that doesn't sound nearly as dramatic).

11. Penguins are my favorite. Dress them in a bowtie and suspenders and I am one veryvery happy camper.

 

Sierra's questions for moi:

1. Right-brained or left-brained?  Probably more right-brained. 
2. Favorite books?  Oh dear goodness. Tough question. Currently: The Ashtown Burials Cycle by N.D. Wilson.
3. Ride a horse or ride a whale? A horse. Whales have this bad habit of remaining underwater for long periods of time.  Which....I can't.
4. What is your favorite Bible verse and why? This changes regularly, but my favorite as of now would have to be Proverbs 31:30 "Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised."
5. What is your favorite pastime now that you could use as a source of income (or a "job") in future? I love designing and sewing clothing. And painting/crafting.  And dancing.  All of which can be jobs :D
6. Do you have a favorite time of year? If so, what is it? I love all the seasons because they're all so different  and wonderful.  But I would be lying if I said that I didn't have a soft spot for spring. :)
7. Performing arts or ... not? Performing arts!!! Theater, dance, musicals, the whole shabang.
8. Sunny days or cloudy days?  Can I have both?  I love them both for many different reasons. Oh. Weather <3 
9. What is your worst fear? Being completely alone. No friends, no family, and no God.
10. Quote? 

“In this story, the sun moves. In this story, every night meets a dawn and burns away in the bright morning. In this story, Winter can never hold back the Spring... He is the best of all possible audiences, the only Audience to see every scene, the Author who became a Character and heaped every shadow on Himself. The Greeks were right. Live in fear of a grinding end and a dank hereafter. Unless you know a bigger God, or better yet, are related to Him by blood.” 

- N. D. Wilson, Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl

11. (If you would like, and if it is possible) What is a picture that makes you smile? If you cannot post it, please describe a memory that makes you smile :)

 

I mustache you a question. But I'll shave it for later.

At the football games last night.  Good memories with good friends. :)

My eleven questions for my eleven bloggers:
1. Lord of the Rings or Narnia? (I know. Start it out with a tough one)
2.  Introvert or extrovert?
3.  What is your favorite season?
4.  Favorite quote?
5.  Rain or sun?
6.  What is your dream job?
7.  Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
8.  If you could vacation anywhere, where would it be?
9.  Hotel or tent?
10.  What is your favorite type of food?
11.  Nature park or carnival/theme park?

The eleven (or nine) chosen bloggers!!
Hannah over at Genuine
Annie over at Pixels and Stories
Valentine over at Rain and Shine
Isaac over at Not All Those Who Wander are Lost
Megan over at Once Upon A Canvas
Abi over at Lopez Family Fieldtrip
Emilyann at The Nine Tenths
Alexis over at Stargazing and Nonstop Praising
Lillian over at Of the Field



The Suspense is Thrilling

I am so excited!

"Why?" you might ask.

Well, because all summer I've been working.  Working on a project.

'Cause you know..

All work and no play!  That's my motto!

(no play meaning...vacations, reading books, watching movies, taking pictures, sleeping...and puttering around enthusiastically doing nothing)

 

This project is finished you see, and now the only thing left to do is to

announce that I'm going to announce it this

Saturday.

As a suspense builder, don't you know.

And here's a mysterious picture that really doesn't reveal anything about the project.

Feeling the suspense yet?

 

You Make my Heart Smile

"When I give thanks for the seemingly microscopic, I make a place for God to grow within me."

- Ann Voskamp

One Thousand Gifts

 

This month I'm thankful for:

1.  Letters written to fellow Veritas students, some of the most wonderful girls

that I have never met!

2.  Fall leaves falling.

3.  Teen nights, inside jokes and funny hats.

4.  Late night/early morning skype dates with the lovely miss Sierra Mackenzie over at

as the earthen vessel.

5.  Celebrating 15 years of Isaac.

6.  Budgeting for and planning a trip to the states for my school's End of the Year Gathering.

 

 

“A life contemplating the blessings of Christ becomes a life acting the love of Christ.” 

- One Thousand Gifts

 

Unpacking (Part Two)

It's high time for the rest of that trip to France this past summer, don't you think?

After waving goodbye to our lovely gite, we headed to a conference being held by the Foucachon family near Beaune.

Our four days at the conference were spent playing with some wonderful kids,

listening to some really interesting scientific talks,

cave exploration,

 bonfires, and eating and eating and EATING!  Being the extremely prepared and photo-ready person that I am.....not, I don't have pictures of the wonderfully amazing two-hour meals that we enjoyed everyday. 

That may be because I was too busy stuffing my face.....but anyways...

I made some really fantastic friends.  And even though we have all parted and returned to our respective countries, we get to know that we will see each other again soon!

Like maybe even at college!

:)

And, to wrap up our wonderful trip to France, we decided to make a quick (well...not quick) stop in the Swiss Alps on our way home. 

And here's a picture that I have imaginitively (<-- that's a word..) entitled...

Man and Boat.

 

-RM

Of Harold and How I Found Him

It has always been a dream of mine to someday own a hedgehog. And an owl.

They'd be best friends. Amigos. Partners in crime.

I would write a children's book about them.

Well. This past June, my hopes were almost realized.

 

I met Harold.

Our meeting was monumental.

It all started with a neighbor's dog getting loose. He ended up in the tumble-down yard of a nearby abandoned house. And boy, was he upset about something. Once our neighbor had retrieved the still barking dog, he announced that it was only a hedgehog.

Only a hedgehog.

I froze. "Hedgehog?" I asked.

He nodded.

I sprinted into our house.

What followed was a mad conglomeration of trying to find a pair of old jeans to protect my legs from nettles, jumping up and down in excitement, attempting to tell my dad about how amazing this was, grabbing a towel and rapidly trying to come up with a name for my soon-to-be hedgehog baby as I raced back outside.

My brother, Isaac joined me in my quest. The goal: to find the poor, mistreated animal that must be in need of an overly-loving human mother and to name him Harold. (By that time I had decided that he would be Harold.) First obstacle: scaling the fortress' barricade. After he gave me a lift over the fence, we made our way stealthily towards the spot were my wonderful, prickly pet was hiding.

Before approaching Harold, I explained to Isaac the importance of not frightening him. Since he was about to be a part of the family and we needed to make a good first impression. So my brother straightened his collar (or rolled his eyes) and we continued.

I spoke soft, soothing words to the little (large) ball of spikes as I went to pick him up. My brother stopped me.

"He looks kindof ... sharp." he warned me.

I laughed.

"Please. I've watched youtube videos about all of this. I know what I'm doing."

Soon, Harold was safe and sound in my parent's bedroom. (my mom wasn't home and didn't learn about this till later...) I proudly announced to my father that he was now a grandpa. He gave me a look. Then he took pictures. Then he Googled while I played happily with my shweet baby.

"Uh-oh."

Google had announced that, because of their high heart-rate, 'wild' hedgehogs don't adjust well to becoming pets and could have a heart attack.

I stared.

"You mean...Harold could have a heart attack and .... die?"

My dad nodded.

I gathered my hedgehog up quickly and headed for the door. Only one thing mattered now. Harold needed to get outside and not die. We quickly said goodbye to all of our neighborhood children that had met Harold just a few minutes before. There were a few tears. Then it was a hurried walk to the woods to release my hedgehog.

 

Harold and I said our goodbyes. And then he was off.

Harold was a wonderful hedgehog and I will always treasure those thirty minutes that I had him.

Now I must look for his little brother or sister that I can keep.

And introduce to my pet owl. And write a book about.

The end.

September's Resolutions

• Find a blogging rhythm.  Now that I've settled into the "school schedule" I no longer have any excuses whatsoever to not blog.. 
• Complete at least three Pinterest projects.  I love Pinterest!  So much!  But I do have a tendency to simply "repin" anything I like and then never think about it again.  Which is really quite sad because I could be creating all of these delightful crafts and what do I do? Sit around on facebook.  *sigh*  But no more!  There will be creativity flowing from my pores!  I will throw off the bonds of this oppressive procrastination device refered to as facebook and apply myself to more useful endeavors or so help me, I will ..... Well. I don't know what I'll do.  But hey!  At least we know my dramatic side has been unharmed!
• Organize the closet.  Move fall clothes in and get those summer clothes out!  It's that time again and I'm so excited to pull out the warm stuff!! (We'll see how excited I am about that in a few months...) 
• Edit and organize all of those summer time photos. 
• Evaluate and revamp diet.  This is pretty simple....I need to start eating healthier!  To fruits and veggies and all those other things that our parents say we can't live without!

At the end of this month I'll type up a little "report card" and we'll see how well I did with my resolutions. ;)

Unpacking (Part One)

It is a well known fact here in the Lopez household that I, yes I, Rachel Micaiah Lopez, am very bad at unpacking.  It is not uncommon for my duffel bag, full of vacation treasures, to sit rather forlornly in the corner of my room for a week after I return.  There is no specific reason for this particular character trait.  I just never seem to get around to it in a timely manner.  Which makes unpacking and rediscovering all of my memory filled souvenirs later even more exciting.

In short.. I am about to virtually unpack every single bit of information concerning my summer here before your very eyes.  Okay.  Maybe not every single bit.  More like a bit here and there.  The important stuff, you know.

 

 

It all started with Mimi's arrival.  A couple of fun-filled weeks were spent here at home ... to include an afternoon at the strawberry patch!

And then it was time to pile into the car and be off to France!

France was amazing.  As usual.  Our first week we stayed in a cozy gite which was settled in a beautiful villaged called Jaulzy. 

 

We ventured out on daytrips including, but not limited to...

Exploring Jaulzy.

A picnic in Compiegne complete with a farmers market and carousel.

And an adventure on the set of Merlin. 

 

And all of that was only the first part of our trip to France which was just the first part of my amazing summer.

 

To be continued...