30 day challenges...four days. :/

Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book.

I just noticed that the 7th book is missing.

I think the 7th is actually my favorite, too.

Day 24 - A picture of something you crave a lot.

Vietnamese food.  Asian food.  All the dang time.

Day 25 - A picture of you last year and how you’ve changed since then.

Well, my hair is longer and I no longer have my lip ring.

I've also grown so much--especially in the past few months.

I've learned that in order to grow in relationships, you must become vulnerable.

You have to be strong, even if you don't think you can.

I've learned that I'm no longer supposed to be in Tulsa.

I've learned to not let others bring me down.

I've learned that I am and will always be my worst critic.

And I've learned that I may not be the richest person in the world, the most attractive or smart or funny, but I have enough love in my heart and mind to cover the world.  I just need to work on getting it out.

So, yeah, there's that.

Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you.

Marielle.

She's my best friend and sister.

And she's always there for me.

Dear blogspot,

You become not as important when Ethan is here.
I'll work on you tomorrow.
Sorry if you're angry at me for not posting anything on your beautiful face.
Know I still care about you, I'm just busy with someone I care about more.
Hope there are no harsh feelings.

Love,
Rachel

Day 22 - A picture that confuses you.

Math...or whatever this is.

Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget.

This is tough.

This is Dylan and me.  I don't want to forget our friendship.  Ever.  But I do want to forget what pulled us apart.  We're still friendly, but at one point, for a good two-three years, we were so so so so close.  He was my best friend.  Besides Marielle.  We were pretty much inseparable.  I remember spending time in his room, being ridiculous and loving each other.  Haha, that sounds cheesy, but he and I were as close as you could get, I think.  I miss him and our friendship.  I wish we still had it.

So, yeah, I wish I could forget our pulling apart from each other.

Dusty Road (So Kind) ---> 365.

It seems like I'm always "catching up" with my 365.

Maybe because I am. :/

Here you go, yesterday's and today's.

Hope you enjoy. 

I promise for something better soon.

54/365

55/365

(This quote is from Walt Whitman's Song of Myself-- which a portion I had to memorize for class...

I think these lines were my favorite.)

Tomorrow, I'll be catching you all up in my life.

This week has been oddly hectic, but great. :)

You are loved.

Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you’d love to travel.

I. Have. Wanderlust.

I want to go everywhere.  Seriously.

But right now, in this moment, here's where I'd love to find myself:

Husks and Shells (365 and an outfit post!)

Hey lovelies,
So, the 365 is always a battle between me and the want to take photos everyday.  I'm so uninspired in Tulsa lately, but I do what I can.
I know that I shouldn't be making excuses.
Without further ado, here are my 365s (51, 52, and 53) and my first ever outfit post! Yay!

51/365.

 52/365 (These are all reflections, which I thought was neat).

 53/365 (It's wicked grainy, but I think it works)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 And my first outfit post ever. :)

Shirt: UO sale

Shorts: UO sale

Skinny belt: Forever 21

Tights: Gift from my cousin

Necklace: Blue 7

Shoes: Thrifted

I feel like I look shorter in photographs than I actually am.  I felt tall today.

America's Next Top Model comes on in 15 minutes.

Needless to say, I'm excited. :)

I'll be back with my daily challenge later. 

Day 18 - A picture of your favorite place.

My favorite place is home.  And according to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, home is wherever I'm with you.

And that "you," as of late, is my family in Western Oklahoma and anywhere with Ethan Hickerson.

Home...

 and home.

Other places I thoroughly enjoy: Boston, London, Red Rock Canyon, Austin, Galveston, everywhere in Guatemala, Rhode Island, a tiny town in Germany that I don't know the name of, and Venice.

49 and 50 of my 365.

Here's 49/365 with outtakes.

49/365

Outtake 1.

Outtake 2.

 Outtake 3. 

And here's 50. :)

Ah, golden hour.  You are so kind.

I'm off to cook and watch Pretty Little Liars. 

30 Day Challenge--days 15, 16, and 17.

Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die.

See the 7 wonders of the world.

Meet JK Rowling and the Harry Potter cast.

Own a teacup pig.

See a Marc Jacobs runway show.

Day 16 - A picture of you and your friends.

These are the people I'm closest to, but I have more people I consider my friends.  

I need more pictures with them.

Day 17 - A picture of your biggest insecurity.

Myself.

I am my own worst critic.  I'm worried about how I look, how much I weigh, what kind of pictures I produce, the things I write, if I'm smart, funny, good enough.

There are days, and they are progressively happening more, that I feel dang good about who I am and who I'm becoming.  But there are other days when I feel bad about everything.  I have always had pretty low self-esteem, and I tend to compare myself to other people, but I know that I am loved and created by an artistic and incredible God.

Home for the weekend and other random things and stuff.

I made the 3 hour drive from Tulsa to little ole Cordell, Oklahoma this afternoon.  And I couldn't be happier.  I stopped in OKC on the way here and got some bubble tea with my darling boyfriend.  His beard is growing back.  He looks rugged and manly. ;)

Anyways, the drive was lovely, windows down some of the way, music up high.  You can't beat this 80 degree February weather.  I got home and talked about life with my mom.  Letting her know what's up in college and in Racheltown.  I went to Dollar General to look for some simple lace up tennis shoes (think Keds or vans) and found a white pair for $8 and a grey pair of tennis shoe flat things for $8.  Not too bad.  I painted gray chevron stripes on the white ones and they look pretty dope.

I went to Dad's house for a little while and we talked about life and school.  I love my dad.  We're having breakfast tomorrow. :)

Mom made the best eggplant parmesean I've ever had.  And I made chocolate chip cookies.  I read my Teen Vogue and chilled, while watching mindless TV and played with my morbidly obese wiener dog, Zoe and my ever-shrinking dog, Lucy.  They're adorable.

It just feels so good to be home.  I love how open the fields are and how you can see the stars at night and how the sky sets itself on fire at sunset.  There aren't street lights crowding the view of the stars or skyscrapers blocking the glowing orange light.  It's open and massive and expansive and home.

It's one of my favorite feelings ever.

Apart from being home, here's what's been up:

• I have been utterly happy lately.  Maybe it has something to do with the ridiculous weather.  Maybe it has something to do with things working out.  Maybe it has something to do with how great God is.  Yeah, definitely that last one.
• I have lately been brushing my hair with a fork.  There are reasons behind it. One, I don't own a brush or comb and two, I want to feel like The Little Mermaid.  I shared this information with my mother.  She insisted on buying me a brush.
• I keep on having intense dreams.  I often wake up in my dreams and tell people who were in my dreams in my dreams about my dreams in my dreams.  Ya follow?
• I haven't heard the new Cold war kids album, but I listened to the entirety of Robbers & Cowards today.  Just so dang good.  Quality.
• A week from Sunday is mine and Ethan's one year anniversary.  I'm just typing this from my own excitement.  He's dang wonderful.
• Westboro Baptist Church (godhatefags.com) is something that makes me want to go punch things, scream at the top of my lungs and give them every. single. piece. of. my. mind.  They are coming to Tulsa in April to picket at the Lady Gaga concert.  I am seriously considering picketing back with signs that says things like "God loves you, me, and Lady Gaga" or "Created by God This Way" or something like that.  I don't want to talk any more about them...I'd get too angry.
• I found out I have a layover in Philadelphia this summer on my way to Italy.  It's a 7 hour layover.  my whole family is going exploring.  I'm stoked.  The other layover is in either Madrid or Berlin.  I'm not mad about it.
• From now on, any pets I own, I am going to name them after something from Harry Potter.  my first adoption, hopefully for my birthday in August, will be a black or yellow female lab puppy.  Named Luna.  :)  Other names for other pets or inanimate objects shall be: Weasley, Errol, Fawkes, Ollivander (Ollie for short), etc.  I'll soon have enough pets for an entire Quidditch team.

That's about it for now.  I'm going to go wat some chocolate chip cookies and absorb in the Food Network.

Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.

There are two people who popped into my mind immediately upon reading today's challenge.
My mom and my dad.

My mom and dad have been divorced since I was 5 (or 6, I can't recall).  But they've still put in all they can in order to create a good home for my brother and me.  I am blessed in the fact that I see them both pretty regularly (living 3 hours away limits my time spent with them).  They live in the same town, which is a blessing to my brother--and me when I come home.  My parents have an odd divorce--they are still one hundred percent involved in my life.  They still communicate and are friendly.  They both support me to the best of their abilities.

I regretably do not have a recent picture of my dad and I or my mom and I on this computer. (I'm away from the land of wireless for the weekend and am now using my mom's ghetto desktop :P)

But just know that there would be two pictures for today--one of my mom and me and one of my dad and me.
I love them so much and never thank them enough for all they do for broseph and me.

By the way... my brother's name actually isn't broseph.  It's Micah. :)

I'm home for the weekend, and I love it.
Southwestern Oklahoma is where it's at.

Catching up with my 365

Hello, lovelies.

Here is 46, 47, and 48 of my 365.
I learned about textures for photoshop....maybe I like them a lot.

46/365

 47/365

48/365

Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist.

This is ever changing.
My taste in music is always expanding,
but one man who will always be there for me when I need some stunning music, some beautiful vocals, or some heart-wrenching lyrics is Justin Vernon.

I won't go as far to say that I'm in love with him...
but I'm tempted.

A few other artists that are always playing in my apartment or car or on my iPod include:

The Avett Brothers, Mumford & Sons, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Florence and the Machine, Arcade Fire, Manchester Orchestra, As Tall As Lions, Iron and Wine, Sufjan Stevens, The Tallest Man on Earth, Andrew Bird, The Civil Wars, The Rocketboys, Volcano Choir, GAYNGS, Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeroes, Lissie, Local Natives, Andrew Belle, Ingrid Michaelson, Regina Spektor, Bright Eyes, and the lovely Justin Bieber. 

Yesterday was absolutely wonderful,

today is turning out to be absolutely wonderful as well.

I'll get caught up on my 365 today, promise :)

Day 12- A picture of something I love.

I'm doing several pictures on today's, cause I've been slacking otherwise.

Rain, bikes, travel, food, tea, orange juice, jellyfish, books, roadtrips, oklahoma, love.

All photos are from my flickr. :)

Frustration

I want this poem to memorize itself.
I want my stomach to feel full.
I want my headache to go away.
I want my back to stop feeling like it got run over.
I want my room to clean itself.
I want to get out of Tulsa.
I want to travel.
I want the summer.
I want this week to be over.
I want home.
I want chocolate.
I want some floral shorts.
I want a mentor.
I want my family, my best friends, and my boyfriend to be here.  And not leave.

Gosh.

Sorry about this rambling.
I am fed up with so many things.

Also, I am selfish, and I realize that.

Day 11 - A picture of something you hate.

I couldn't post a picture because everything made me so mad.

But it would have been a picture of either something Anti-Obama or bad grammar.

Thee Ole Abundance of Disposable Camera Photos

Ethan and I must have mixed up our cameras a few times, because I definitely don't remember taking a few of these.  But here is our Valentine's day in cheap film!

 Yesterday was so good.

Today was a little harsh on me, but tomorrow is a new day.

Things are shaping up; I'm about to go to an orchestra and make some Pho. :)