winter break and the next four years

Well hey there bloggers! Alright, so i seriously wouldn't be surprised if none of you ever comment on any of my posts. Ever again. Because 3+ months away from this ol' blog i have here is waaay too long. Heck, I could have died and no one would have even known. But do not fear, I'm alive and somewhat well. Mannn, 8th grade is not all it's cracked up to be. But hey, some great things have come out of the year so far! Like yearbook, this whole slew of new people I've met, and all these different experiences I wouldn't have been fortunate enough to get anywhere else. So, here's a little bit about my winter break... We went back up north to Pittsburgh! Yay! And guess what traveled with me?! MY. NEW. CANON! Yesssss, fellow bloggers, you all heard me. My big Christmas present was my amaaazing camera, who I like to refer to as Norman(: I've gotten some great nature shots from hikes and just around town so I'll put those up soon, but as for now, I thought I'd introduce you all to my lovely family. So see that first picture up there? Those are my cousins. And my aunt. And me! And my brother(:




















Allow me to explain.. This is my best friend in the world, and her fantastic boyfriend! I only get to see them like three times a year, but we always pick up like we saw each other the day before. I love them sooo much.
P.S. We were playing football. Look at those game faces!



















Why this is my new friend(:


















This boy has been my best friend since 1st grade. He is NOTTT afraid to tackle a girl when he's playing football. I had bruises for weeks!












Completely unexpected. I thought the lighting was pretty cool!

These are my best friends. They're more than that, even. Family. I see them all of three times a year, but every time I come back, it's like I've never left. <3

abandoned? i think not.

Holy dang. Where have I been these past two months? Not on blogger, apparently. That much is clear for sure. So, if I haven't been on blogger, where have I been? ...

EVERYWHERE.

Not even kidding. Life as a teenager, while some say is lax, chill, spontaneous, etc, is very NOT those things when you're a teenager with the job of making sure a good yearbook is printed for the entire student body of your school in May. Yeah... when you have pages, the cover, and fundraising to take charge of, you don't really have much time to be 'lax' or 'chill'. Let alone spontaneous! But, rest assured my fellow bloggers. I have not died! Just thought I'd let you know I'm alive and well. :D And as for the yearbook, we're making some serious progress! Our cover design, (which I'm still in the process of planning and executing) is due next Friday. Oh joy. And then, there's the 50-some people I'm in charge of... If they don't get their pages done on time, I get the crap for it. I swear, if I have high blood pressure, it's definitely due to the stress of yearbook. Alas, I cannot complain. I'm loving every second of it. And all that stress? It's just part of the job(:

I'm worried. Concerned, alarmed, shaken... You name it. I live in a good, wholesome community. That much I know. But even in the best of communities, you always have that one slew of friends... The ones who are into drugs and other things waaay beyond their years. The ones I'd personally never EVER want to associate myself with. Because I, simply, am just not like that one bit. And I have good friends. Who are ALSO not like that. If they were, I would not be their friend. However, one of my absolute best friends in the world has been showing signs that they're starting to experiment with drugs. It makes me extremely sad that she's even having thoughts about doing drugs, let alone physically doing them. I'm worried. We've talked openly about her struggles and what's been leading her to experiment, but I know she's still doing them. I just want my friend back.

It's getting colder... Even here, down south. I have to say, I miss summer already. I cannot wait for the days when the harsh winter chill leaves our lives for another year, and glimpses of summer are noticeable. Yes. Those are the days!

he makes my heart beat fast. hope this feeling lasts

'something in your voice

makes my heart beat fast

hope this feeling lasts

the rest of my life <3'

Boys, boys, boys. They think we're confusing and emotional? They should try actually BEING us and having to put up with their crap and mixed signals. They'd never tell us we were overreacting EVER again.

But, I met a good one.

Oh my. Just realized, I might have to clear some things up before I go on :/ WELL, the amazingly fantastic guy i went on a few dates with? (see below :]) Yeah... not so amazingly fantastic after all. Wait. I take that back. He really is. But I realized the reality of our age difference and distance apart. No way it would've worked out during the school year. I was bummed, I will admit.

On the contrary, I met someone! He's the grade ahead of me, plays some mean piano and guitar, loves All Time Low and Mayday Parade (just like me!), loves to run, hates to swim, has the laugh that makes my heart beat fast, and swept me off my feat with his amazing ability to make me smile just by looking in my direction. Oh, and I should probably mention.. He gives me whales in my stomach. Not butterflies, whales (:

We've been together almost a month, and I'm really happy.

Ok, so school starts up AWFULLY soon. Murrrggghhhh :/ But I cannot wait to see everyone again! It's been a truly AWESOME summer, and I have so many stories to tell everyone!

Tomorrow. I'm walking up to the pool with Jack, one of my closest friends. Then, Olivia and I are going to go to the movies and see three in a row. Fun? I think so (:

Then Sunday, I'm hanging out with my boyfriend (: Can't wait! And then Caroline is sleeping over and we're staying up suuuper late. Not! We're the ones who fall asleep at 10 at sleepovers.

somewhere only we know :]

Hello, hello, hello! My blogging friends, to you I apologize. I have not forgotten about you, but you see, I have a problem. It takes me an awfully long time to write a blog post. An awfully long time. When I even think about posting, it's like the thought of blogging is a magnet for the contents buried deep in my mind. Everything (and MAN do I mean everything) starts bouncing around in this big head of mine... What starts off as an innocent piece of written literature then becomes a whirlwind of the contents of my life. This available time it takes for me to write a blog post is dwindling down to little to nothing these days... And I apologize for that! ..But that's the life of a teenager, for you.

So the other day, I stumbled upon a song... Older, but still some of this fine gentleman's best work. Only you, by Josh Kelley. Sure, you may not know the title, but I promise you. When you hear the catchy, distinct intro, you'll remember the song. I did just that! And I'm warning you! It's been in my head ever since. And it's been three weeks. Lovely.

Ok so I feel like if there's one thing I absolutely need to tell you about, it is my absolutely fantastic Fourth of July. Let me preface this by saying the fourth has always always always been my absolute favorite holiday. So on the fourth, my family was scheduled to come in at two. At one, my boyfriend called me and asked if I wanted to meet him in a small part of our town. It's mainly one street, and has cute little restaurants and shops. We go down there occasionally and walk around, exploring all the places that would often go unnoticed. So, I met him at our favorite restaurant and we got some water. We were walking aimlessly, with no destination in mind. That's the kind of thing we like to do. We're very spontaneous! So as we were walking, I realized we were walking in the direction of my house. Basically, we walked for about eight miles until we got to my house. My family was waiting, so I introduced them to my boyfriend. (Don't worry, my parents had already met him and knew that we were coming.) We explored my neighborhood and walked down to my favorite spot, the creek. Then we came back to my house for dinner. We then walked over to the local high school for fireworks which were absolutely breathtaking. It was so cool to be able to spend the day with my family and my boyfriend (: It really was a great day.

I'll be back in school soon. My GOODNESS how time flies.

Don't let it fly too fast (:

Cooperstown Trip June 12-19 :)

I apologize for my leave of absense. On the 12th, I went to Cooperstown, New York with my family for my brother's week-long baseball tournament at the Dream's Park. It really was a magical experience. Needless to say I wasn't *thrilled* about heading off to rural New York to watch baseball for a week, but seeing how my brother's face lit up when he got his first Cooperstown homerun made it all worth it. Seeing him running those bases... I was working the scoreboard at the time, and literally when I saw the ball go over the fence, I jumped out of my seat so quickly I practically jumped into half of our team's parents. They weren't too thrilled about that. Watching his teammates congratulating him at home plate was the icing on the cake. It brought a tear to my eye, seeing my brother so happy. When that kid is happy, I'm happy.

pittsburgh pride.

Though I do not live there anymore, Pittsburgh will forever and always be home. And even though I'm many miles away, I can still get my Pittsburgh fix with the flip of a switch... The tv switch (: If any of you follow the National Hockey League, you'd know that the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Redwings are (for the second year in a row) in the Stanley Cup series. After the defeat of the Pens to the Redwings in last year's series, I'm really pulling for a win this year. It's funny, because while my family does get back to Pittsburgh on a regular basis (well, if you count twice a year a regular basis...) I still find myself thinking nonstop about the city I will always call home. Even though I am completely settled in my new town, I've made mannnnny new friends, and am involved in sports and other activities, I'll never, ever forget those early years of my childhood spent playing Capture the Flag on those dusky summer nights, those chilly September mornings spent waiting for the bus to pull around the corner, and those oh so treasured neighborhood snowball fights. You just don't find those kinds of things most places! The people I met... All the things I experienced... You just can't put a price on things like that. I'll always always always miss Pittsburgh... Knowing the amazing kids I grew up with are making their own memories without me just kills me, but I know that they are happy and living life to the fullest (: And I'm so glad they are doing that. But sometimes it makes me sad I'm missing out on their lives. All I can say, is GO PENS! BRING BACK THAT CUP! And thank goodness for technology... <3

some more pictures :) enjoy!

I apologize for my somewhat disappearance! Life has been exceptionally demanding lately. Good thing, though, summer is officially here in 10 days! (That's if you include the weekend :]) Anyways, I'd love to hear any feedback about my photos. The earliest these pictures were taken was sometime last July, and the newest pictures were taken last weekend. Hope you enjoy, and please leave a comment! Thanks ;-)

half joking always turns into something great

That's what happened a few months ago. I should preface this post by saying that my mom is literally my best friend. She's the only one I can go to with anything and I know that not only will all my secrets be safe with her, but that she will never judge me because of anything I say or do. I love that she's so bluntly honest. If I say something that shocks her, confuses her, makes her angry, or disappoints her, she says so. And I so very much appreciate that, because it makes me a better person. And on the other hand, whenever she's happy for me, proud of me, or pleasantly shocked, she says so :) My mom is the best person I know. I love my mom :)

So, anyways, a few months ago, I was asking my mom about some things... Our conversation went something like this...

Me: Mom, can we travel?

Mom: What do you mean?

Me: Like... To someplace exotic... Someplace far, far away? Ooo like Thailand. Or Ireland! Or *contented sigh* Greece.

Mom: *laughs* Someday we will!

Me: I really want to travel. Really bad!

Mom: I know you do.

*silence* (I was thinking about Ireland and all the other places I wanted to visit.)
Mom: I know what you should do!

Me: What?

Mom: When you grow up... You should write for a travel magazine and travel around the world and take pictures and write articles about all the places you visit!

*my eyes lit up to the size of Texas and I ran around the room in little circles, screaming and thinking about all the fun that would be*

Me: You're brilliant!

So, I had my heart set on doing just that. I did research. I made a list. I picked out (in order, I might add) the countries I wanted to visit and what I wanted to do in each one, and compiled a report. (Yes... I know... When I get into something, I get really into it.) Unfortunately, no plans that I know of are in the works to go to any of these places any time soon, but I will always have my faith :)

Here's my re-re-re-re-re-vised list....

1) Galway, Ireland
2) Phuket, Thailand
3) Santorini, Greece (Yes, where the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was filmed :])
4. Venice, Italy
5. London, England (I hear it's a photographer's DREAM!)
6. L.A., California
7. Cannon Beach, Oregon
8. Paris, France
9. Maui, Hawaii
10. Slovenia
11. Milan, Italy
12. Buenos Aires, Argentina

My goal is to visit all of these places one day... And so so many more!

i'm that girl with the camera

Photography is a huge part of my life. H.U.G.E. I realized, though, that I've only posted about photography once! That needs to change :) So, I think it will change right now. These are pictures I've taken from this time last year until now. The ones at the bottom are the oldest and the ones towards the top are the newest. Some are random, and some have a distinct purpose. They all mean something to me... They tell a little about who I am. Anyways, just to warn you, this post is very long :) There's something like 30 photos here, but I hope you enjoy! Any and all comments are welcomed/appreciated. Tell me your thoughts... Which are your favorites? Have any constructive criticism? I'd love to see what everyone thinks of these!

We had a photo shoot!! :-)

Looove this one.

This was an early morning shot at the beach. I'm very happy with it!

A gorgeous reflection!

I'm pleased with the shadows in this one.

There's a story behind this :) I was walking around my yard, and this iridescent little leaf instantly jumped out at me! It caught the light just right, so I ran in my house to grab my camera :)
We actually had snow! I couldn't believe it! So, I had a field day with my camera :)

View from a plane :)

The sky was brilliant that night.

I loved these jellyfish at the Aquarium! They were my favorite exhibit of the day.

Autumn is the BEST time of year :)

Pittsburgh will always be home! Go Steelers/Penguins/Pirates/Pitt!! :-)

This night was like something straight out of a dream. By the end of it, I think I had about 50 photos! This was my favorite because of the dark-light color contrast. I thought it really captured the essence of summer.

This was a cloud at the beach. It was beautiful!

My favorite dog in the entire world! Jack :)

Literally, I turned around, and this view was staring me right in the face! I didn't have my camera, and I knew that if I waited and ran back up to get it, this shot would never be the same. So, I took it on my phone :)