My New "Shop"

I just created a "shop" online to sell some of my photography on different items. I don't have a big selection yet, but I'm going to try to update it weekly. Check it out!

http://www.cafepress.com/beuniquebebeautifulbeyou

Just Friends?

I have been thinking about writing this blog for a while now, and I figured it would be best to write it at a point that I could not think of anything else to write about. I could think of other things to write about, but this is the last blog of the semester and I appreciate all of the feedback that I have gotten from this class, so I figured it must be the perfect time. Because believe it or not, I want your opinions.
This subject has been long debated. Some say that guys and girls CAN be "just friends" whereas others say that they CANNOT. For the longest time, I believed whole-heartedly that they could. Why? Growing up I found that being friends with other females just made things difficult. One minute you could be planning a sleepover and the next you would be fighting because someone doesn'tlike someone else that you planned on inviting. If that's not the case then it would be something to do with how your best friend kissed your boyfriend. Basically, there was just too much drama. I found it much easier to hang out with guys. They always accepted me as "one of the guys" and I never had a problem with that title. I actually really enjoyed it.
My guy friends were always picky about who I dated and they would tell me their honest opinions as well. I always appreciated that and I would always do the same for them. I only ever dated one of the guys that was in our "group", but even to this day we laugh about that. I was pretty emotional when we broke up, but after a week I realized that we were not meant to have a long-lasting relationship. Heck, I don't even know if you can call what we had a relationship in the first place because we barely talked (even when we had class together) or saw eachother when we were "dating". I always joke that we had mute dates rather than blind dates.
I swear life was much easier (when it came to having friends) when I was single. The guys were always willing to hang out and joke around with me.When they thought that my relationship was going to last they would back off from hanging out with me. This always bugged me. I told them once that if I'm going to date someone then that guy was going to have to be okay with me having guy friends. Nevertheless, they still didn't come around as often as when I was single. When they had girlfriends they seemed to not want me around much either.
Some people say that this happens because guys really "only want one thing", but that is just really hard for me to believe. I know so many guys out there that are sensitive, down-to-earth, and truly nice guys. I just cannot see them only wanting sex. And no, they are not gay.
The thing that really got me to wondering if guys and girls could really be just friends was my engagement to my husband. I had been engaged before, but my guy friends knew that relationship was not going to get to the wedding part because I kept asking them what I should do since that guy was not right for me. When Eric and I got engaged however, my friends started backing off at first and as it got closer to the date they would try to get me to hang out with them if Eric wasn't with me. Sometimes I would and we would just hang out like nothing had changed, but when the wedding came, almost none of my close guy friends showed up. I was heart-broken at my own wedding. Some of them still text me, but they never want to get together with both Eric and I. It sucks to say the least.
So what do you guys think... Can we be "just friends" with the opposite sex?

"Tanning Mom"

Have you ever heard of tanorexia? I hadn't until I saw this story on yahoo news about a mother who was accused of taking her five year old daughter tanning. This New Jersey mom is now being called "tanning mom" to boot. Her daughter went to school with what looked like a really bad sunburn one day so a teacher questioned it. The five year old said she had gone tanning with mom. This caused a lawsuit to occur. The mother denies letting her daughter tan and the owner of the tanning salon says that the daughter stayed in the lobby with her father and brother on the specific night in question.
Tanorexia is "a ‘compulsive’ drive to spend large amounts of time tanning under the sun or in a tanning bed, due in part to self-perception that one is too pale." I go and tan with my husband weekly. Both of us are really white, but I never want to be classified as tanorexic. I do not ever want to be that unnaturally dark either. It is sickening. This mother does seem to have a problem, but there are a lot of people who have the same issues. I don't think there was any means to call her out on her medical issues. Yes, I realize that the accusation about taking her five year old daughter tanning is what brought this about, but when people stretch the story to different subjects is when it becomes too much. The owner even backed the mothers story up here and unless they are on that good of terms that she paid him to do so or whatnot, the story should be dropped. Issues like this are crazy.
The medical issue behind this is that younger people are at a higher risk of developing a skin condition known as melanoma. Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer and can lead to death. Surgery is needed to treat melanoma. This mom has a very high chance of developing it if she does not already have it. I think that people should be more aware of the risks they are taking when they go to tan and that they should limit themselves if they must tan. As I said before, I tan, as does my husband, and even though I do not think I will ever completely quit tanning, I would definitely be more cautious about the medical issues it could lead to.
This mother has already gotten plenty of grief for what she does with her life, and she should not be trash talked because someone accused her of something that evidence seems to point out as a false accusation anyways. The lawsuit side of it is bogus and should be dropped. She knows it is illegal or atleast frowned upon to allow children to tan and as far as we know, she has not done anything to violate that. Let the new title go and let this family live their own lives.

Me and Cameron Diaz

Before Christmas, Cameron Diaz went to visit a female friend and asked her to cut a little bit of her hair. There was some misunderstanding between the two and Cameron's hair went from long and luscious to short and choppy. Diaz said she"burst into tears. I started crying. I felt so vulnerable. For a woman to all of a sudden have no hair . . . oh my God!" Her friend felt horrible about it. Diaz said that they both were crying by the time it was over, but that did not change the fact that her hair was super short. She ended up sending quite a few e-mails to her friend over the next couple days to assure her it was "OK". You can find the short article about it here.
This short article struck my attention because I can completely relate to the actress because of the specific situation. When I was really little (okay... so it was fourth grade) I had my hair all the way down to the back of my thighs. I loved it. (I think my mother loved it more though.) My whole family took a trip to the hair salon for my two brothers and my father to get their hair cut and for mom and I to get ours trimmed up a little. As I was looking through the magazines that were laid out, I kept finding and pointing out these short hair cuts that I found completely adorable! Mom did not want me to cut my hair, but since I kept begging she finally caved in.
As the hairdresser cut the long ponytail and handed it to my mother, mom burst into tears. At first I thought she was overreacting, but the lady did not stop chopping my hair off until I looked almost bald. I looked in a mirror and balled with my mom. (The boys all thought we were psycho.) I think they thing that bothered me the most at that point was that my hair looked nothing like the picture I had picked out from the magazine. It was horrible. I'm pretty sure my mom still has that lock of hair too.
Ever since this experience, I have taken the time to grow my hair long enough that each time I cut it, I am able to donate what I cut off to Wigs for Kids. Wigs for Kids is an organization that donates wigs to kids with cancer. The reason that I do this is because when my hair was chopped really short I got made fun of, and I know that kids with cancer get laughed at every day because they have no hair. It's an emotional issue for a lot of people to lose their hair in really any situation.
So as you can see, Cameron Diaz and I had some pretty similar experiences, even though I'm not an actress like her. I have never starred in awesome movies like There's Something About Mary, The Sweetest Thing, Charlie's Angels or Shrek. She still has me beat there, but she is still human and she still has weak moments. I love famous people that are truly down to earth and not completely full of themselves. I have never seen Diaz as one of those actresses.

The picture of my short hair is after it grew out a little bit. I could not find one right after it happened.

I LOVE MY HUSBAND!! :)

I absolutely love being able to spend time with my husband, but it is so hard to do when you work two jobs and go to school. I feel like I am always running around and that I "never" get to do anything fun. That is not completely true lately though. Don't tell my boss, but I kind of skipped work one day this week (yesterday) just to spend time with my husband. I did not completely lie to him, but just because I was not feeling well did not mean that I was not well enough to work. I just didn't want to drive myself to Joplin and back. Driving an hour both ways gets very tiresome and I just didn't have that much energy, especially considering what I do at work.

Eric and I avoided Joplin, and went into town to eat lunch as well as to watch his little cousins baseball game. We ended up seeing a few of his other family members as well, but the point is that we went and spent some time together. I always love that, no matter what we are doing.

We have also gone to eat after I get off work and spent extra time doing that than we normally do. Oh, and we made a random stop at the Precious Moments Chapel the other day where we took the time to get a guided tour and browse around the gift shop... And yes, he had to spend money. (But that's okay because my necklace is beautiful.)

We haven't really had any “traditional dates” lately, but spending time with him is all that I really care about. By traditional dates though, I mean something along the lines of Putt-Putt, going to the movies, going out dancing, or just something that we actually plan just for the two of us or with another couple. Like I said though, that's okay with me.

Two nights ago we rented Tekken from Redbox and stayed up late to watch it together. Then we spent all day yesterday spending that time together. Tonight, after work, we went and ate at Logans then rented The Three Musketeers from Redbox which we are going to put in the DVD player and watch as soon as I finish my homework. (See what I mean about never having time?) I do have to go to work tomorrow so I'm trying to get all of this done as soon as I possibly can.

I love my husband, and I love being able to spend this extra time with him. I just wish that this could be more of an everyday occurrence rather than just every once in a while. It would be nice to feel like I actually get to see my husband more often than just driving to and from Joplin and when we get ready for bed and wake up. Of course we do argue some, but at the end of the night we are still in love so it all works out :P

Extreme Roller Coasters

"To some, any roller coaster is a scary roller coaster. But to the brave at heart, the faster they come, the bigger they smile." I read this statement and automatically knew that I was definitely not part of the latter. On the other hand, my husband is.

 This article is about America's five scariest rollercoasters. The whole reason I clicked on this article was because I was searching for ideas for a trip my husband and I can take and to get a range of what a trip might cost us. Even though I do not like this kind of adrenaline rush, I do love seeing him have fun on the big rides and being with him to check out the little gift shops and non-death defying rides at amusement parks. Three of the five roller coasters are found at Six Flags. The other two are at places that I have never heard of. Along with that, they are spread out to four different states.

The first, at Six Flags in Jackson, New Jersey is considered to be the worlds TALLEST roller coaster and was the worlds fastest in 2004 when it opened. Kingda Ka is its name and it is 456 feet tall. The ride lasts for about half of a minute. Our second roller coaster is found in this same park. It is the third tallest roller coaster and is called El Toro. It has a more rustic look than Kingda Ka.

I have actually been to the Six Flags where you find our third roller coaster. That would be Superman: Krypton Coaster in San Antonio, Texas. This rides is said to have "the world's largest complete vertical loop". I flat out refused to ride it with the rest of my classmates on our senior trip. However, some of my best friends LOVED it!

Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia is our fourth roller coaster. It has a 300 foot drop and a top speed of around 90 miles per hour. It was named, in memory, of Dale Earnhardt. One of its hills has actually been toned downed since it was finished in 2010.

Our fifth and final roller coaster is called Big Shot and can be found at Stratosphere Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. You may not find it to be too too interesting at first since it "only" goes up to 45 mph and is about 160 feet tall, but when you factor in that it is on top of the tallest building in Las Vegas, you might find it more interesting. The Stratosphere Hotel is 100 stories tall and on this ride you are about 1000 feet above the Strip.

These roller coasters would scare the living daylights out of me, but I personally think the parks and the hotel would be great to visit!

Thomas Kinkade died at 54

Thomas Kinkade was an amazing artist. When I heard of his death I was sitting in Hardees with my husband. I was shocked when it came across the news. I have always liked Kinkade's art and have even bought a few of his pieces to give as presents to family and friends. My favorite painting of his has always been Deer Creek Cottage. He painted it when I was two years old, but I don't consciously remember seeing it until I was in middle school. We had to write a paper in art class about our favorite artist, what medium he/she used most often, and which of their specific pieces was our favorite and why. Deer Creek Cottage really stood out to me. I love the wintery look and how brightly the lights in the house illuminate the snow and the creek below. At first glance, you may not see the deer in the corner, but when you do, you can tell they look to be curious. This image has always put a smile on my face. Below, you can see the image I am talking about, or you can go to the official website and browse his work.

I have also found that Thomas Kinkade was very popular for his lighthouse paintings. The Light of Peace is a very inspirational painting of a lighthouse. Actually, almost all of his paintings have some inspirational aspects to them which I find really awesome. Here is what Thomas Kinkade had to say about The Light of Peace: "Storms must end. God's glorious light streams through the clouds in brilliant beams. That moment, when peace returns to the land, sea, and sky is a wonderful affirmation. It is the inspiration for The Light of Peace, third in my Seaside Memories collection. These heavenly lights literally take my breath away; I hope this dramatic print has that effect on you." I find this to be very moving as a Christian. I know that when a storm comes in my life I feel terrified, but when it all subsides I feel that sense of peace that he illustrates perfectly in this painting.

Unfortunately, many in the art field regarded Kinkade as if he wasn't a real artist. They felt as if he was only giving people what they wanted and not something different. In my eyes, there is nothing wrong with traditional work that I can put in any room of my house. According to a news article highlighting his death, Kinkade even told The New York Times in 2001, “I view art as an inspirational tool... People who put my paintings on their walls are putting their values on their walls: faith, family, home, a simpler way of living, the beauty of nature, quiet, tranquillity, peace, joy, hope. They beckon you into this world that provides an alternative to your nightly news broadcast.” I completely admire him for this. I love having inspirational pictures and quotes surrounding me because I really don't like feeling down all the time. Kinkade is in part, one of the reasons I really love photography. How is that? Well it's because photography is an art and there are many people that I look up to who have inspired me in the wonderful field that art has expanded to. It's hard to believe he is dead, but I thank God for putting Thomas Kinkade in this world to be the inspiration that he is.