So my brother is an artist...

My brother has just recently created a blog, tumblr and website to show some of his incredibly talented  work, if you love art/animation you have to check out his work and follow him! He is currently a student in BYU's animation program his emphasis is visual development and character design and has does short animation movies and illustrations for a book and company newsletter. Please Share and pass it along! Enjoy!

Here are some samples of his work

Sketch of my dad

Sheep Barber

• http://bonesawedart.blogspot.com/
• http://bonesawed.tumblr.com/
• http://www.bonesawedart.com/

IPSY

Ipsy is another place that I get monthly samples from. But Ipsy is just strictly make-up and every month the samples come with a make-up bag as well. When you sign up you take a little survey where they ask you your hair type, skin tone, etc so that they can send you products that will benefit you personally.  I just got my first package from them a few days ago. July's ipsy bag came with:

Mineral, organic sunscreen, It's the same brand that came in my birchbox and I really like it.

I have heard good things about this hair spray but have never actually used it

Lip crayon

Perfume, It smells like the beach

Eye shadow that is perfect for my skin tone

Everything plus the bag

So my brother had a birthday...

My brother turned 26 on Thursday, but today we had all our family over to celebrate it. We asked him what he wanted for his birthday dinner, and he said homemade sushi. So my family went to work and we did in fact make homemade sushi, and it was DELICIOUS! Here is the outcome:

       

I made him these Reese's Peanutbutter cup cupcakes for his actual birthday, but tonight he had a coconut cake. 

BIRCHBOX

I have discovered the coolest thing! It's birchbox! Birchbox is a website where you can buy high end products for both men and women, anything from make-up and hygiene to food and household items. BUT that is not even the best part, I signed for the birchbox monthly box. So every month I get a box filled with samples, and then if I like the product I can buy the fullsize from the website. This is perfect for me because I am hesitant with buying expensive things, especially things I have never tried, but now I sample them and am able to decide firsthand if it's a product I would enjoy and be willing to pay a little extra for. I also am a pretty plain person, I don't really do my make up, I pretty much wear eyeliner, mascara and lip gloss and that is it. There are several reasons for this, one being that I don't know how to put on make up and make it look natural, I also don't know what products to buy, I am not good at being a girl when it comes to make up. But this website gives tips and then sends you some samples to try, so I think there is hope for me!

Here is what I got in my June birchbox:

The box the samples came in

I tried this on for fun and actually really liked it, but I have no idea when I'd ever be able to wear it

Haven't tried this nailpolish yet

Love, Love, LOVE this perfume, I will probably end up buying the full size of it

Love this sunscreen, does not make my face oily at all, I don't feel like I am going to break out if I use it, I will probably buy the full size of this too

A box of nailfiles, they work well, a girl can never have too many of these

I also got these super cute post cards

More post cards

I also have signed up for some other sample boxes from other websites, when those boxes arrive I will do a post about that website and the products you can get there. But mostly what I am trying to say is that I HIGHLY recommend birchbox to people, both men and women. Men can sign up for a birchbox full of mens samples as well!

Tortina

I love to bake, I do it as much as I have the time for. Over the past few months my sister a long with other family members have told me to start a portfolio or something, don't hide your talent. I never really thought of it as a talent though, more of a hobby. I have been asked to make cupcakes for several weddings and I made all three of my sisters wedding cakes as well as cupcakes for her wedding. I also have made bachelorette party cakes, and birthday cakes. My sister finally got tired of me doing nothing about it and took matters into her own hands, she created a blog for me. It was just launched yesterday so there is not much to it yet. But you should still go check it out! http://www.tortinacupsncakes.blogspot.com/

Here is a sneak peek of some cupcakes that I have done recently.

Camouflage

Christmas 2012

Look what I got for Christmas! Luckiest girl ever!

POSHMARK

I've been introduced to this app where you can sell your gently used clothing, jewelry, shoe items. I just started yesterday and have already sold some things. It's called Poshmark. The only downside is that you have to have an Iphone to access this app. If you have an Iphone and are interested in joining, follow me @rach22!

A Poem of Comfort

twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38
when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven's gate.
their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air
they could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there
they were filled with such joy, they didn't what to say
they remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day
"where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse
"this is heaven." declared a small boy
"we're spending Christmas at God's house."
when what to their wondering eyes did appear,
but Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near
he looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same
then He opened His arms and He called them by name
and in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring
those children all flew into the arms of their King
and as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace
one small girl turned and looked Jesus in the face
and as if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her "I'll take care of mom and dad"
then he looked down on earth, the world far below
He saw all the hurt, the sorrow, and woe
then he closed His eyes and He outstretched His had
"let My power and presence re-enter this land!"
"may this country be delivered from the hands of fools"
"I'm taking back my nation. I'm taking back my schools!"
then He and the children stood up without a sound.
"come now my children, let me show you around."
excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran
all displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can
and i heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,
"in the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT."

written by Cameo Smith, Mt. Wolf, PA

Hey Hallah Remember When...

Hey Hallah, remember when we lived in New York City and it was Christmas time and you were expecting a package from someone? Do you remember how we got a notification saying that Fedex tried to deliver it but no one was home so we were going to have to wait another day or just go to the office to pick it up? Well I remember that, I remember that I didn't want to go cuz I had just gotten home from a long day of work and it was cold and pitch black outside and the office was in the BRONX! But you begged and begged and told me you couldn't wait any longer for this package...must have been from a very special someone. I agreed to go with you. We got on the subway and literally rode to the end of the line. When we came out of the the subway station I was pretty terrified. It was pitch black, I had never been to this part of town, it was extremely ghetto and sketchy. I remember us walking down the sidewalk, lost, I might add and people staring at us and cat calling and making us super uncomfortable. I remember you saying several times "But I'm so pretty they're gonna kidnap me" I remember looking at you and saying "you did not really just say that." We laugh about that now. I remember we finally walked into a Dunkin Donuts and asked directions. We found ourselves in a huge field. I remember thinking "I think we just got tricked, our faces are going to end up on milk cartons" I remember I was talking to James on my phone to calm my nerves, but the reception was pretty bad. After walking through this abandoned field we finally saw a building in the distance with a big bright sign that said Fedex. I could not even believe it, it was in the middle of nowhere and we actually found it. We ran to it like our lives depended on it. When we got there we had to wait in a line, when it was finally our turn we picked up the package AND...it was not for you! It was for mom. I remember you being so disappoint and me being mad that I got dragged out there to pick up a package that wasn't even for you. We took it with us and walked back to the subway...FAST. We didn't make eye contact with anything. When we finally got into our neighborhood we finally looked at each other and were like "we're alive!" We went to our apartment and gave mom the package. At the time it was a scary experience but now its a funny one that I'll remember forever. Thanks for going on that little adventure with me!

We are Never Ever Ever Getting Back Together

Today Taylor Swifts "We are Never Ever Getting Back Together" song came on the radio. And as I was listening to it it made me think of something that happened a few weeks ago. Adam and I were driving somewhere and that song came on, I was started to sing the chorus (in my awful singing voice) and when I sang "we are never ever ever getting back together" Adam interrupted me and said "babe I know cuz we're never breaking up." I turned and looked at him and at first I was gonna say something along the lines of how rude it was for him to interrupt me during my jam, but then it registered to me what he said and I just smiled. I'm telling you, it's the little things! 

All In 11 days worth

On the night of day 10, Adam's last day before he had to leave again for the next couple of months, we said our goodbyes or rather our see you laters. Then the next morning I woke up early to send him one finally text saying "Have a good flight" before he boarded his flight. Then I fell back asleep. About an hour later I got a text, to my surprise it was from him, and to my bigger surprise it said "my flight isn't till tomorrow, I'm still here!" As it turns out he got all the way to the airport and when he got there he looked at his schedule and realized he wasn't actually leaving till the next morning! I was so excited! And he was in a great mood. He got one last completely stress free day to relax. So rather than the usual 10 day leave we got 11 days! I know that's only an extra day, but when your s/o (significant other) is gone all the time, one day makes all the difference.

So during his 11 day leave we:

• went to the beach
• hot tubing
• build a bear
• 2 movies
• took naps
• cuddled lots
• bought him some civilian clothes
• went out to eat way too much (Modern cake, Koi, Tucanos, Chili's, Zupas, Panda Express, Yogurtland, Mcdonald, Little Caesars Pizza, Kneaders, etc)
• took pictures
• had serious and not so serious talks
• BBQ
• family dinners
• hung out with frriends
• Castle of Chaos
• drove up the canyon, walked around Sundance then drove the Alpine Loop
• Drank tons and tons of pumpkin steamers
• ran errands (dry cleaners, recruiters office, paid phone bills)
• photo booths

This is not all we did or in order, but we didn't care what we did, we just wanted to be together!

When Adam found out he had an extra day we decided to go
hot tubing, I got this picture of him goofing off, he said he
felt really stress free like he was on vacation, I told him
he looked like his was on vacation haha!

Having sushi at Koi, he didn't know this picture was being taken

He doesn't love taking pictures, but he attempted
to do it for me anyway. I say attempt because he
doesn't look too thrilled in this picture.

Another one

photo booth

photo booth

photo booth

photo booth

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday shout out to my little sister Mikaela (some of you may know here by Hallah). She turned 19 today, and even though sometimes we hate each others guts, at the end of the day we are best friends and always have each others back. Follow here blog here: http://hallahmikaelaharmon.blogspot.com/

The birthday girl!

 Cupcakes I made

The birthday cake I made her.

Boot Camp Graduation Pt.2

The actually day of graduation was Oct. 12, 2012. It is safe to say that I slept maybe two hours that night. I was just so excited after seeing Adam for a few hours earlier that day and knowing that he was going to be leaving with us in just a few short hours. But I was still nervous. I was not able to sleep past 3 am so after laying awake in bed full of excitement I finally got up at about 5:30 am and got ready. When we arrived back

at the MCRD we had to wait in a line for about 30-40 minutes because we had to get our cars checked. It was insane! They checked EVERYTHING. We had to pop the hood and trunk they opened all the inside compartments of the car and checked bags and everything. When we finally got in and found our seats, graduation started. It was from 10-12 but got over at 11:40. I was hoping it would end early because I just couldn't wait any longer, and lucky me it did! When graduation ended I ran to Adam and jumped into his arms and he picked me up and hugged me so tight. Second best hug ever given on this planet. He was FREE (only for the next 10 days, but hey I'll take what I can get). After he got all his belongings we dropped them off at his families hotel room and then headed to the beach for lunch and just a day of relaxation. He loved it. He said this was the first time he was able to do what he wanted, eat real food and just sit down and relax in the last three months. It was just such and amazing day to be able to sit there and talk and laugh with him and hold hands and hug. Its the simple little things that I missed the most. Just having him by my side and being able to look at him and see him smile. I know that sounds dumb and cheesy but I really can't explain how much I missed it. I caught myself just staring at him a few time, just couldn't believe the day had finally come! But that's okay because I caught him staring back at me, not saying anything to each other, just staring. Sometime you don't have to say anything to know what each other are thinking. After the beach we went back to his family's hotel and he took a nap while the rest of us figured out where to eat dinner that night. We ended up eating at a really good BBQ place and he ordered SO MUCH FOOD! Its so crazy how tired and hungry that boy was, you would think he wasn't fed or got no sleep in the past 3 months. Later that night when his brothers, the fiance, Adam and I arrived back at my Aunts where we were staying I pulled Adam aside before bed and told him I had something for him. I had kept a journal for him. I wrote him EVERY SINGLE NIGHT he was gone. It was hard and some nights I was too tired or had a bad day and just didn't wanna right or my day was too boring, but I did it anyway. Sometimes I felt like it was a waste of time and he wouldn't like it. But when I handed it to him and explained what it was, the look on his face told me that it was 100%  worth it. I will never forget that look on his face. He then said he had something for me. He then took his Marine graduation ring out of his pocket and told me he wanted me to have it. I asked "are you sure? I know this means a lot you." He said he was sure and he gave it to me. The perfect ending to a perfect day!

His platoon at graduation!

Right after graduation

I don't know what it is, but I LOVE this picture, I can't
figure out why though. I think its the look on his face

The sun was getting ready to set, and he and I were talking about watching
this sunset together, because on the night before he left we watched the sunset together

Walking back to the car after hanging out at the beach

Graduation ring he gave me.

Boot Camp Graduation Pt.1

So much happened while I was in California for Adam's graduation that I've decided to make two separate posts about it. This first post is about Family Day. 

Adam's family was so generous to invite to to come with them to Adam's family day and Graduation. It was amazing! Such a happy and neat experience, I feel very privileged that I got to be a part of this special time for Adam and his family.

On family day Adam's twin brothers, the brother's fiance and I arrived to the MCRD before the rest of the family. We drove in and parked and walked around for a bit and could not see a soul! I kept saying "but its family day there should be people everywhere!" One of Adam's brothers kept saying "oh my gosh Rachel there he is!" I freaked out every time and every time it was not Adam. Eventually we decided to get back into the car and drive to the other side of base to see if we could find people, as we drove we saw one random guy standing outside by himself in his camouflage uniform I didn't think anything of it but then Adam's brother and the fiance both yelled "That's Adam!" I didn't believe them because I had be tricked 4 times prior. But they parked the car and said "go get him!" So I looked out the back window and realized "oh my gosh it is him!" I slowly got out of the car with a big grin on my face, he saw me and smiled back, as we were walking towards each other I got a little emotional and panicked, so I turned around and the brothers and fiance said "Rachel! what are you doing, don't run away from him!" I wasn't running away, I just turned around for a second to compose myself, I had been extremely nervous all day to see him and after an 88 day wait the moment was finally here, yes I panicked. I turned back around and there he was and he grabbed me into a huge hug, and he held on for a long time. Best hug that was ever given on this planet!

After he said hi to his brothers and the fiance he showed us around the base a little and we ate, I ran into an old friend who had a brother graduating and got to talk to her for a bit, later I ran into a Milso and her graduating boyfriend, we had never met, but had texted and facebooked tons and she really helped me out alot, I will always be grateful for her conversations. I couldn't believe that of all the people there I was able to run into her and meet her in person! Such a blessing. After running into her Adam and I had our very first alone time for 5 whole seconds while riding in an elevator, he kissed me, and it was amazing, crazy butterflies!

A few minutes later the rest of the family arrived and Adam got to have his reunion with his family, I stepped aside at this time to let them have their moment. He spent his remaining 1.5 hours showing us around more and telling us very entertaining stories about how the past 3 months (13 weeks, or 88 days) had gone. It was so sad to have to say goodbye to him at the end of his liberty. He walked me to the car, gave me a hug, and opened the door for me. I knew we'd only be apart for a couple of hours because in the morning I'd be back to see him graduate and take him home!

Our very first picture together after being apart for 3 months

  The glare makes this picture hard to see, but it's one
of the only other pictures we got together on family day.
I was too excited about seeing him to remember to take a lot
of pictures, oops!

Adam and I

I don't usually look like this, it's the sun!

SNUGGLE BUDDY!

As you can see from my countdown Adam had since come home and as of today is gone again. Before he left though he took me to Build A Bear Workshop to build me a replacement snuggle buddy while he was gone. We had a blast and Adam did all the accessorizing because he knows the uniforms better than I do. We decided to go with the Desert Camouflage outfit instead of the Dress Blues because when I saw Adam 11 days ago for the first time in 88 days he was wearing his Desert Camouflage and he looked so handsome.  But honestly I'll probably go back and buy the Dress Blues to have just in case!

Meet my temporary snuggle buddy, Semper Fi (yes that is his name)

Semper Fi

I made him take this picture, aren't his eye's amazing!?

Super EXCITED!

911: We Will Never Forget

This is one of those posts where I don't need to say anything because pictures really are worth a thousand words. Please take the time sometime in the next 24 hours to remember this day and those who lost their lives, those who lost loved ones and those who saved lives, also remember our troops as the fight to protect our freedoms and this wonderful country we are blessed to live in.