Fourteen.

Today, January the tenth, two-thousand twelve, is the day I turn fourteen. :) I remember when I was little, I used to get all excited on the week leading up to my birthday. I'd be going around the house trying to find my birthday present! :D These past couple of years though, the excitement has rather diminished. I mean, I still think of today as a special day, I just don't go around telling EVERYONE just how excited I am. It's kind of funny coming from me though, 'cause when I was little, I thought adults weird because they didn't make a big deal out of their birthdays. No parties?! That's unthinkable. And yet I don't have parties anymore either. My little six-year-old self would be horrified! :P
You know, having your birthday ten days after New Year makes it kind of hard finding a topic for your birthday post. I can't do resolutions, because I did those already, things I accomplished/learned last year, that's done too, so I'll just do birthday plans, oh, and dream cake!
So today I'm giving away a couple of my prints on my photography blog (keep an eye out for that. I'll have the giveaway posted later in the day), and I'm also going out to get Soul Surfer with my mom!

I've been wanting to see this for so loooooooong! Can't wait! As for my birthday dream cake (the one I have is really good, but this one just looks awesome on the outside)...

via pinterest

The only thing wrong with it is that it's a Nikon... I want a Canon. :P
So anyway, I'm off to... celebrate my birthday! :) Many thanks to everyone who's already sent me sweet birthday wishes. I really appreciate it!

Currently listening to...

Saltwater Room by Owl City

  Yours truly,

Christmas Eve

It's finally here. The eve of the day everyone has been waiting for since the dawn of December.

And as I sit here, recalling the sweet scent of cranberry sauce simmering on the stove...

...and of yummy sweets baking in the oven...

...I can't help but get excited! In just a few hours I'll get to see the smiles on everyone's faces as they open up the presents I've wrapped (and taken millions of pictures of)!

And yes, we do open up our presents on Christmas Eve. After all, Jesus was born in the evening, wasn't He? ;)

I fervently hope your Christmas is filled with much joy and happiness, and is covered with God's richest blessings!

          Merry Christmas! :)

What I've Been Doing...

A few minutes ago I was sitting in front of my computer thinking "Whatever should I post about?!" I went through tons of possibilities in my head, but none of then seemed right. And then suddenly I realized something: The posts I've enjoyed reading the most on other blogs were not necessarily long nor did they have a specific subject. The ones I remembered tended to ramble, and in the process, gave me a little peek at the daily life of the author. And that's what I'm going to do today, give you a glimpse of my life this past week... :)

On Monday evening I went on a walk along with my Canon, to try capturing the beauty of autumn. I like autumn better than fall. Autumn is more poetic, more worthy of being the word to describe this season full of numerous beautiful shades of yellow, orange, and red, while fall is... too normal and ordinary a word.

Anyway, as I was saying, I took a walk on Monday and got a few beautiful shots, here's one:

Slight Brightness/Contrast Adjustment

I haven't edited and/or added my watermark to any of the other ones yet, but be sure to keep an eye out for an autumn post over at my photography blog in the next few days! :)

On Tuesday I listened to Blackmore's Night's Beyond the Sunset album, which I LOVE, especially All Because of You, Spirit of the Sea, and Castles and Dreams, while I was doing math. You can listen to those below if you want:

All Because of You by Blackmore's Night

Spirit of the Sea by Blackmore's Night

Castles and Dreams by Blackmore's Night

Wednesday was pretty much normal, except for my change of music, I listened to Now We Are Free from Gladiator's Soundtrack over and over again, and I went to swimming lessons. I'm an incredibly slow swimmer. :P

On Thursday I delivered my papers, and finished reading A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine. You can read my thoughts on it here.

Yesterday I started reading Forbidden by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee. I'm currently on page 129, and I like it! :)

So, what did you do this week? :)