hello again . . . marriage links, and life lately.

wow, wow, wow.
since when does blogger randomly just start working for me, one night at nearly 11pm?
shoot. i wanted to go to sleep early. ish.
but since it's working, i wanted to get a few words in before it goes funky and fails again, as technology and sites and complicated stuff like that tends to do. :P

i made some cream of mushroom soup today, completely from scratch [and it turned out freakin' yummy, if i do say so myself and quote the family members who devoured it. lol] . . . also, baking powder biscuits, and a 2 dozen batch of blueberry muffins.
oh my word, the last paragraph and the picture line up above makes me feel like my blogging a year ago....food, food, food. ;)
anyways, during that and afterwards, i was reading all over online about young people getting married.
here are a few favorite links i found...

a stunning post by the lovely erika [the life artist]:
12 years and why are we married again?

and this one, by david lapp:
did i get married too young?

the case for early marriage.
found in the magazine/webzine christianity today. [first mentioned to me by jen and craig, justin's awesome older sister and brother in law.]

and this really good one from boundless:
paddling after jake and myrtle.

and another really interesting one via boundless:
i got married young, but not young enough, part 1.

in other news: starting last thursday, rach and i got to spend 5 nights down with justin and his family, and then he drove us up here and he got to spend 5 nights with us. :)
needless to say, the past 10ish days were filled with laughing, fascinating and quirky family members, shopping, hanging out, swimming [hello terribly hot summer weather, anybody?], watching a couple movies, making food, singing, painting [yes!!! you read that right! ;) more on that later]....having interesting discussions face to face for once [mostly they happen over the phone, obviously]......let me just say, saturday when justin and i got to go to panera bread and have a scone and coffee --a chai tea latte for him-- it was so good to just spend one-on-one time talking about all the stuff under the sun that we puzzle over on the phone.

sunday morning with him as he left for home in southern illinois, saying see-you-later was the roughest time yet, but i can feel time speeding up just a bit more, closure coming, the next step drawing nearer and nearer...

so . . . that's been my last couple weeks.
maybe some more pictures and descriptions later.... :)

oh! also. i'm growing out my hair....just trying, right now, to even get to an even-length bob. heh.
kinda rough some days. but i'm getting there. i've had only the back trimmed straight for the past few months....i'm getting there. it's almost to the tuck-behind-the-ears-and-it-stays phase! so excited. hahah. at least i liked the short-short hair cut for nearly a complete, fully year. i'm pretty proud of that.

this was today. me and rach, sharing a dark chocolate coconut frappuccino at a cute little independent coffee/antique shop. :) no, i don't have instagram. rach does though. :P lol

yeah. hair.

buzzcut beauty.
and
going all the way.
the comments are placing fingers on the reminders and reasons why i love having short hair and why i haven't missed long hair all that much. besides the length and softness and having something more to play with and be stereotypically feminine and sensual.
this comment [on the first post] especially hits the mark with my thoughts:

I love cutting my hair short. I just feel more me when I do...[when i first did it,] it felt great but I felt kind of like I should let it grow out, so I could be “girly” in the right way, even though I have never really felt that that fits me. Now, I cut it all off again, and it’s great. It definitely makes me feel more confident, and I like the fact that it’s clearly a chosen haircut, not just like a default long one. ...It seems really freeing.
...Short hair always makes me feel more feminine, and long hair always makes me feel like my hair is wearing me, not the other way around. It’s nice to be able to cut it off.

i'm also thinking the same thing as this lady commented: "I am giving it till [fill in the blank with a month] to see if I like it at shoulder length, but otherwise back to the scissors!"

now back to my coffee, this rainy-turned-sunny day, thinking about what to make for dinner, and some other super fun stuff [sarcasm....ahem....].
:)

black and white films, coffee, and yarn . . .

i experimented with my hair today.
i don't know if you noticed.
i plan on getting it wet and spiking it the normal way before heading out for bible study with anna and ben...
but a few of the siblings are voting keep it.
now all i need to get ready is the blue pair of button earrings that look like those plug-style ear thangs, and some eyeliner . . . 

but anyways, earlier this afternoon i had the need to watch this old classic.
there's nothing like some bogart and bacall. :)

so i curled up with a blanket and coffee, picked up a skein of light latte colored yarn and a crochet hook [i haven't done such things for probably more than a year] and did most of a scarf while watching to have and have not.
it was good.

it's getting more exciting, with jen's due date getting nearer and nearer . . .

i'll just say that :)

ah! and a song i've become obsessed with this afternoon, thanks to kelsey.
have a lovely tuesday tomorrow :)

before. after. my hair cut. :]

okay, i admit it.
i walk into the hall or bathroom and nearly scare myself.
it's going to take a few days before i expect something else, something more updated, to greet me in the mirror.

 before/after

don't get me wrong, though.
i like it.
i like it a lot.
so.
some of you wanted more pictures.
well, chana was the only one who said so.
but still.
might as well make a slideshow, and not a half baked one. ;)
watch out.
i took the easy way out and made a slideshow out of nearly every.flipping.picture taken today by both me and my younger sister, rach. sorry it's kind of mixed up chronologically--i took from my camera's folder of today, and then hers. no idea how long it'll take you to see all the captures, but . . .

see there?
a wonderful day.
and here's a little summarization:
ikea=the bomb.
forever21=i held up a budget. pictures to come soon of my purchases.
:D:D heck. yes.
chipotle=amazingness i didn't imagine. both the place and the food. and the reeeaaally fine black guy that served me in the line. heh.
starbucks=never getting flavor in my iced americano ever again!! americanos, to me, are best alone.
and after all that, i got my hair cut by a dear friend i haven't seen in more than a year. it was a pretty indescribable experience. :)

here's an actual picture.
and i don't normally wear flowers or headbands much at all, but rach wanted me to try it on because she made it....and....hmm. i'm kind of liking it. :)
and for those of you who are friends with me on facebook, there are a few more coming. :)
and as for the fact that [according to comments made by family] it looks like i dyed it.....actually, no. i haven't dyed it since after the funeral in mid-june. it just looks like i dyed it because all the darker stuff that was growing out is all cut off. :)
so there we have it. :)
goodnight!