This was taken after our last Dinner Theater performance senior year of high school! (2006).
It's fun to look back at photos knowing what we do now.
We both agree that even then we loved each other. Throughout our years after high school that didn't really change no matter where we were.
It just took us a while to figure it all out. :)
You can be amazing
You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug
You can be the outcast
Or be the backlash of somebody’s lack of love
Or you can start speaking up
Nothing’s gonna hurt you the way that words do
And they settle ‘neath your skin
Kept on the inside and no sunlight
Sometimes a shadow wins
But I wonder what would happen if you
Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly, I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly, I wanna see you be brave
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be brave
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be brave
Everybody’s been there, everybody’s been stared down
By the enemy
Fallen for the fear and done some disappearing
Bow down to the mighty
Don’t run, stop holding your tongue
Maybe there’s a way out of the cage where you live
Maybe one of these days you can let the light in
Show me how big your brave is
Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly, I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
Innocence, your history of silence
Won’t do you any good
Did you think it would?
Let your words be anything but empty
Why don’t you tell them the truth?
Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly, I wanna see you be brave
With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly, I wanna see you be brave
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be brave
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be brave
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I wanna see you be brave
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you
I have read many articles/blogs lately that are coming down hard on the viral Dove Real Beauty Sketches video. I understand that Dove is ultimately trying to sell their product, but I also believe that there ARE amazing people working at Dove who truly care about women and their self-esteem.
There are many women in this world who are perfectly confident in themselves in terms of beauty, brains and everything else. There are also many, such as myself, who are not always so sure. This video was an emotional reminder that how we perceive our appearance is often skewed to what the world truly sees. That being said, I believe there are much more important things in life than appearances and what the world thinks of you. But I also believe that feeling good in your own skin builds your confidence allowing you to achieve more. (Through confidence - not appearance. Duh, people.)
Dove is a company trying to sell a product. Their mother-ship company also owns Axe, which of course is degrading to women AND men. So is Dove perfect? Definitely not, but I still appreciate the message they are trying to send.
On a side note, I read a comment from a woman who disliked that they used a male sketch artist. What? Are you serious? He is/was a FBI forensic sketch artist. Who cares if he has a penis or vagina? He obviously has mad skills, yo. Are you really that hardened to the opposite sex?
As previously mentioned here, Ben and I added St. George's Day to our growing list of traditions we want to keep and follow. We learned of St. George's Day from a Spanish friend. He said that on said day you give the person you love a book and a single flower. How wonderful! Since Ben and I both think that Valentine's Day is crap (you should show love to your spouse/significant other every day), and because we both LOVE to read, we penciled it in on the calendar.
Our sweet new reads and loverly flowers!
We decided to go to the book store together instead of purchasing a book beforehand. We took about an hour looking through the books at Borders (for lack of a better option), and when we had made our decision on what to get the other we met at the cash register and showed each other our selections. Ben chose When She Woke by Hillary Jordan, for me and I chose The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: The Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fall of a Serial Impostor by Mark Seal, for him. Ben also grabbed a copy of Hamlet since we will be going to the American Players Theater this fall to see it.
After we selected our books we walked to Lime Tree which is one of our favorites here in Dubai. They have delicious desserts, interesting eats and tasty smoothies and coffee. I love, love, love going there for breakfast! We talked about our book selections and started to mentally prepare for our big move coming up.
After finishing breakfast, we walked to the flower shop where we picked out two flowers to take home. The guy working wrapped them up for us and we started quoting Love Actually between us and giggling because he was taking so long. We didn't mind, though.
Our first St. George's Day was wonderful. It isn't actually until the 23rd, so we celebrated a bit early. We loved searching for a book for the other and taking time to slow down. We are already looking forward to doing this again but will go to a used book store, if possible, to search for hidden treasures. Pearl S. Buck is one of my favorite authors and I love finding old, old copies of her books. Bonus if they still have a dust cover! Plus, older, used books have more character. I blame our love for used book stores on our high school teacher, Mrs. Fahey. :)
It truly saddens me when I wake up and the first thing I hear is of evil and destruction. My heart goes out to those affected by the bombing at the Boston Marathon. Your joy was stolen from you and your accomplishment tainted with fear and despair.
One thing that holds true is the ability for Americans to pull together in times of crisis. When flipping through the pictures from the explosion on CNN, it brought tears to my eyes to see the unity of those involved. Complete strangers embraced and cried on each others' shoulders and many who were physically unharmed helped the injured. There are many things wrong in this world, but that is one thing I can say with certainty is right.
Since I read 5 1/2 books over spring break, I thought it would be a good time to do another book list! I tend to vary in what genre I choose to read, so hopefully my list is diverse enough that no matter your preference, you can find something enjoyable to you.
1. Call the Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy and Hard Times by Jennifer Worth
This was an excellent, fast read suggested to me by my sister-in-law. It takes place in London during the 1950's. Twenty-two year old Jenny leaves her home to move into a covenant to learn to be a midwife. She meets some very interesting women whose stories draw you in and amaze you.
I quite enjoyed reading this book, which is now a mini-series on PBS, I believe. It is well worth the time of reading!
2. Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr
In this book you enter a world full of demons, witches and other supernatural creatures. Much like The Hunger Games, Carnival of Souls is a fighting match to become part of the ruling elite. Aya is already a part of the high class, but wants to write her own fate instead of having it decided for her. Then there is Mallory who lives in the human world. She is always on the run with her father and is soon to discover many secrets and truths about who she really is.
This book definitely drew me in and I was highly disappointed when it ended with NO sequel currently published. . . Impatiently awaiting the 2nd book!
I really enjoy the young adult paranormal/supernatural books that have strong female characters and twists to what is typically 'believed' of vampires, werewolves, witches, etc. This series focuses on vampires. Instead of being purely evil or sparkly, the vampires worship their goddess, Nyx. You are not made a vampire by a bite, but you are marked by Nyx. After being marked you go to the House of Night which is a special school for vampires. Not everyone is able to make the change to a vampire. Some die before the process is complete. Some vampires have special gifts and affinities that their goddess blessed them with. One such vampire is Zoey Redbird. She faces anything from boy issues to evil and darkness coming at her full-fledged. She is 16 years old, and the writers did an excellent job of writing her character. It is truly like you are in the mind of a 16 year old with her random thoughts and expressions. I am currently at the end of the 8th book and am still hooked!
4. Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape by Jenna Miscavige Hill, Lisa Pulitzer
I chose to read this book because I am always interested in learning about different beliefs in the world and Scientology is mentioned quite often. More often than not I hear it brought up jokingly in reference to some kind of crazy displayed by Tom Cruise and I was interested in learning more about it instead of remaining ignorant. This title specifically caught my attention because this girl had a 'harrowing escape' from Scientology. Why would you need to escape?
It was hard for me to get into, and took a book or two in between to actual finish it, but it was worth my time.
5. The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
I absolutely heart Jennifer Lawrence!
This was an interesting and quick read. It is about a man, Pat, who was in a mental facility for quite some time due to a violent act against his wife's lover. He is completely clueless as to how long he was in treatment and what happened with his wife. His mom takes him out of the mental facility and he moves in with his parents. He is a bit socially awkward and struggles with getting back in the flow of things. Pat meets Tiffany at a supper with his best friend. Her husband recently passed away and she, too, is living with her parents. She begins and awkward friendship with Pat, and that friendship ultimately helps to 'fix' them.
I really enjoyed this book, but they could have layed off the constant chant of the Eagles. It got to the point where I would completely skip over that portion of reading because I didn't want to hear about them flapping their wings and yelling and singing the fight song. Ugh. Otherwise, it was really good! I watched the movie after finish the book and it was quite good as well. It didn't follow the book completely, so if you have already watched the movie you can still read the book and find new things to keep you interested.
6. Damaged by Cathy Glass
This is a heartbreaking story about a little girl named Jodie who comes to live with Cathy and her family. Cathy is a foster mom and has taken in troubled children many times before, but none that were quite as damaged as Jodie. In her time with Cathy, Jodie slowly reveals the horrors that she has lived through and what has become her norm. If you liked A Child Called It, you will likely 'enjoy' this book as well. I say enjoy in quotations, because there is so much about this book that is NOT enjoyable. Knowing this is based on truth just disgusts and horrifies you.
7. Reason to Breathe & Barely Breathing by Rebecca Donovan
This is a story of Emma Thomas. Her father died in a car accident and her mother was too drugged up to take care of her, so she went to live with her aunt and uncle. Her aunt is abusive and makes her life completely miserable. When Evan moves into town and takes notice of Emma, things start to change. She begins to enjoy her life and to open herself up to friendships. At home, things only get worse. Emma eventually decides to move in with her mother after her aunt almost kills her, which ends up being another kind of disaster. The books are definitely geared for high school kids and so I found it rather juvenile at times, but enjoyed it nonetheless. A third book should be coming out soon and I look forward to reading more about Emma!
8. Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan
I am always intrigued to read about other people's crazy, so this book instantly caught my attention. This is a memoir of a young reporter's struggle with a 'rare and terrifying disease, opening a new window into the fascinating world of brain science.' I often found the medical talk to be a bit of a snooze (and admittedly skimmed over most of it), but really enjoyed the more 'real' things revealed.
O. My. Gosh. It was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had! Anytime I talk about it or think about it I can't stop smiling! This was the big event we had planned for our spring break stay-cation. It was also something we had been wanting to do for quite a while. After arriving at Skydive Dubai and getting checked in, we met with our perspective people who we would strap our lives to. As it turned out, both of our guys learned how to skydive in the military and loved it so much that they continued it as a career. Talk about an amazing job! How could that EVER get boring?!
Ben and Joe before boarding the plane.
Ed and me inside Skydive Dubai getting suited up!
To our surprise, we didn't have a mini-session of how not to die or anything like that. We were merely given simple instructions on body placement and a walk-through of how things would work once we hurled our bodies out of the plane. Once we were suited up and given instructions, we piled onto a golf cart and went to catch our plane!
All set and ready to dive!
Once we boarded the plane it seemed as though it took forever to get to where we could finally jump! I was shockingly not nervous, scared or anxious at all. I was completely excited and grinning from ear-to-ear. Ben can tell you that he was a little nervous, but as soon as you jumped out of the plane all of that went away.
Getting ready to board the plane!
Getting ready to board the plane!
Joe & Ben
Ed & me
Our guys had different approaches to how we were to jump out of the plane. Ben was more forward, facing out, knees together, feet on the ground. I was facing more sideways and had my legs together, back and bent. All of my weight was on Ed. I'm sure that all has something to do with the fact that Ben is a tree, but it was one thing I did find interesting about our jumps.
Our photographers went out before us and grabbed on to the plane so they could catch our reaction as we were going. I cannot speak for Ben, but as soon as we jumped out of the plane I was laughing and yelling and loving every bit of the experience!
What hit me right away was the pressure of the air as we were falling and the distinctive taste of salt water. It makes sense since we were jumping over the sea, but I was not expecting that. It burned your sinuses a smidge, but wasn't uncomfortable or anything. Ben has commented that he noticed how loud it was right away. You are falling and have the air rushing around you and you couldn't hear anything. Even your own voice. I could vaguely hear myself yelling, but barely.
My experience:
Ben's experience:
Ben's fave because you can see the curvature of the Earth as well as what remains of the World Islands.
It is interesting to hear what Ben and I both have to say about our time spent hovering above the earth. He took in his surroundings and made observations about what was going on below him. I was all like, "I'M FLYYYYYYYYINGGGGGGGG! WOOOOOOO!" and noticed almost none of the things he did. I guess that is fairly typical. He is more analytical in his thinking and taking in of things than I am. I am more like skipping through Candy Land.
I desperately want to go again before we leave Dubai. Hopefully with a bit of luck and good fortune (literally, fortune), we can make the jump one more time before heading back to the States. If all else fails, we plan to make the jump again when we go to Hawaii in 2015! Better get ready for some heavy peer pressuring to go with us, family!
Below are our videos!!!! I cannot watch them without smiling and giggling like a fool!
See Ben's here. For some reason Blogger/YouTube will not let me pull up Ben's video to post as it did mine.
[Audio may not be working on the videos. YouTube has claimed copyright issues with the songs Skydive Dubai used to make everything schnazzy. I am not pleased. Therefore, when I get a chance, I will try and upload these directly to Blogger! OR you'll just have to make it a point to come to our casa when we are back and watch the DVDs with us!]
I already look forward to when we can go again!!!!!!!
P.s. The nerdy Hawkeye fan in me made sure to get in the next set of photographs. I spelled out I-O-W-A with my hands which is part of a cheer. :)
