The days grow longer as my time grows shorter...

This is a weird time for me because it seems like everything is either changing or ending. I'm going to be moving soon so that means a new house, a new school, new people. I guess that really shouldn't feel weird, I've been uprooted before, and clearly I survived. But it will be hard to adjust to it. It always is. 

Apparently my subconscious has a thing for change, because I've been considering another one: cutting my hair short. Not super short, but right at my shoulders, which would be a big contrast from my current long hair. It's been long for a while and I'm just wanting to do something different with it. I might not, though. This has actually been on my mind for a couple months and I still haven't made a decision. 

Another change that actually will affect all of you readers (who have all so faithfully stayed with me during my recent internet absences) is that I'm getting a new layout! And it's being professional designed! I don't know about you all, but I'm super excited. In my opinion, everyone should have a custom layout if they blog, and I've been customizing my own for a while, but I have almost no knowledge of coding and HTML and whatnot. So this is absolutely wonderful that someone who knows what they're doing will be helping me out. The designer told me the waiting list is about 5-6 weeks, and that was 3 weeks ago, so it's getting close. (EEP I'M SO EXCITED) 

I guess that moral of the story is that change is exciting. It's a new adventure. And everyday I seem to be getting closer to my new adventure.

Always,

Abby Noel

Yesterday's news is another man's treasure...

My day yesterday was occupied mainly by rummaging through second-hand junk in the search for bar stools. We're moving soon, and the house we'll be living in has a bar in the kitchen, so we've been on the lookout for something to put there. Our search for cheep barstools led us to a bunch of yard sales that were conveniently happening all over town. However, we didn't end up with any barstools, but I did find some old National Geographic magazines published back in 1966.

I only ended up buying this one because all the pictures in it were so magical.

As some of you probably already know, I have this fascination with old books, and old magazines fall into that as well. It's just so interesting to me to see what was important a generation ago, and it makes me wonder what people are going to think when they read our magazines 50 years from now. 

Always,

Abby Noel 

When You're In New York...

Hey Guys! It's Katie, and as Abby said in her last post I'm on here to tell you all about my trip to New York City! The week after Easter was our county's spring break and my family and I went up to visit the Hecks (If you read my last post, they are the red neck ones) in New Jersey and took a day trip to New York while we were up there. Before I start, I want to apologize for the cheesy title, but I was listening to the Glee version on my iPod when I sat down to write this and thought 'Huh, that's clever'. Or I thought so at the time.

I had to take a picture, once I pulled myself together from freaking out..

While we were up there, we saw Wicked (The most beautiful play ever...) and Jersey Boys. :D And this is the theater

The trip was a ton of fun, and the shows were amazing. But half of  the experience was our bus ride into the city. There was one lady who swore that I took her shoe and then started throwing Popsicle sticks at me. Because, you know, what kind of woman doesn't carry those around in her purse.. The shoe was on her foot, I promise you all I did not steal it.

Always, 

Katie

P.S. I hope all of you had a good spring break :) 

Last night was the Night of One-Acts at my school and these beautiful flowers were given to me by one of my friends. (Aren't they purty?) There were four plays, but I was only in two of them- Antigone and Feiffer's People. Both of these plays were for competitions (both of which we placed horribly in) but after rehearsing everything again to do this show, I feel like I can really be proud of them. We didn't get a huge audience last night, but a lot of my friends were there and they all said they enjoyed it, so that's all that really matters, right? :) 

We were all pretty terrified for the show because our rehearsals weren't going good at all, but somehow we all pulled it together right when we needed to. Let me tell you, one of the best feelings in the world is not being able to say your next line because the whole audience is laughing and cheering. 

I'm going to try to get my friend Katie (who also did an amazing job in the one-act we were in together!) to post about her trip to New York she took over spring break. I'm super jealous because she got to see Wicked. Maybe if you're lucky you'll get to hear about it.

Always,

Abby Noel 

The cutest misery I ever did see....

Max just couldn't understand why he could see his tennis ball, but he couldn't get to it. After it rolled under the cabinet, he tried desperately (and adorably) to get his paw close it enough to get it out, but he just couldn't. In despair, he ended up staring longingly at it until I caved and got it for him.

Turns out being cute really does get you what you want. 

(But only if you're a dog)

Always,

Abby Noel 

Dusty Daisy: One-of-a-kind Jewelry!

Someone in my family (I'm not sure what you would call her- some degree of cousin, I think) started a jewelry business called Dusty Daisy so she can share her long-time hobby with other people. Her name is Mary and she hand-makes leather jewelry. My mom just showed me her website today, and I already have my eye on a few of her bracelets- they're so cute! Plus, they're reasonably priced and look really professionally made.

Here are some of the pictures she has on her website- 

You can see more on her website.

Always,

Abby Noel 

"Enjoy your life. Every day, every minute."

The title of this came from a conversation I overheard today while my sister was trying on prom dresses. It's funny how much blogging gets into your head, because right when I heard it I thought- "Don't forget that! It's blogging material!" 

But before you go to the mall in hopes of hearing some wise words, keep in mind that I also heard someone say they like a candle because it smells like the bottom of their mom's purse. 

And now I'm off to take the advice of a random mall-goer and enjoy the rest of my day by getting ice cream and going to a youth group movie night. I hope you like the pictures, and have a good night!

Always,

Abby Noel 

Hello there. I am horse. I watch you eat now.

Just a nice horse that decided to join us for dinner at Apple-Bee's today. (And also decided to scare the spinach and artichoke dip out of Annie when she made the mistake of looking up.) 

Always,

Abby Noel 

Ask Abby- This is going to be good...

*Raylyn asked: "Temme everything you know about Justin Bieber. WITHOUT GOING ON THE INTERNET." 

Okay, this is going to be kinda hard because I'm not really a Bieber fan, (don't kill me) but I'll give it a try.

1. He was born in Canada.
2. He's responsible for the highly contagious and dangerous disease commonly referred to as "Bieber Fever".
3. He's dating Selena Gomez.
4. He's mentioned eating fondue in a recently new song of his.
5. He's in some ProActive commercial 
6. He's friends with Ellen DeGeneres
7. He has millions of fans who can probably name more than seven things about him, but I'm not one of those people. 

*Katie H asked: What's green and has wheels?

Grass. You lied about the wheels. 

*My mother asked: If you could only travel to one in the world, where would it be?

I don't know. I kinda want to go to India, but according to my MOTHER, it's dangerous. -_-  It would have to be someplace adventurous, though. I would want to be able to do what I want and explore. Cruises or guided tours and stuff like that just wouldn't work for me.

*Scarlet Brier asked: Do you have any advice for us little known bloggers, who are just starting out, or have been writing for a while, and are only just starting to write for an audience? Thanks :) 

Well the important thing to know is that when you first start out, you have to be really lucky to get readers right off the bat. What you need to do first is invite all the people you know to read it by sharing your blog on Facebook, or just by suggesting they take a look (not too forcefully though, you don't want people feeling like they're being spammed).
Another good thing to do when you're first starting out is to have a unique layout. You don't need to be a HTML wizard just to give your blog an original touch. Just try making your own background, or messing around a little with the template designer. People are way more likely to read some posts on a blog when they first see it if it doesn't look like every other blog on the web. It's also important to make sure you use correct grammar, spelling, and all that fun stuff. It's easy to fix and makes your blog look a lot more professional.
But the most important thing is to just keep posting. If you keep at it, eventually readers will come, you just have to be determined.

*Katie D asked: If you have 15 ducklings in a basket, how many elephants are on the roof?

None- Pancakes don't cry!

*Sana asked: Here's a riddle :) A boys mom turns the light off while he's reading. He still reads...how?

Well I have to admit that I couldn't come up with the answer to this on my own. I told it to my mom and she came up with an answer, and it sounds right to me- is it because it was daytime? That the light didn't matter because it was still light outside?

*My father asked: Why is Algebra 2 important to everyday life?

It isn't. And that is my final answer.
For those of you that don't know, (which is all of you) this question was most likely inspired by a few days ago when my dad stayed up way past his bedtime to help me with math homework I had no intention of actually finishing.

That's all folks! Make sure to send in your questions for next week! 

Always,

Abby Noel 

 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. 

Mark 16:6 

Happy Easter! It's been a really great day- sunshine, candy, impromptu photo shoots with the flowers in my front yard, and obviously, Jesus! I mean, it's Easter! 

Speaking of impromptu photo shoots, like the purple shirt? It's one of the first additions to my wardrobe revival. I've been noticing lately that I always gravitate towards the same clothes every morning when I get dressed. There's just SO MUCH that I never wear! I even found one shirt I don't think has ever been on my body... 

My goal is to have a nice looking clothing collection by the time we move. The way I see it, there's no better time to feel awesome in new clothes than when you're in a new place. 

In addition to revamping my style, I'm also trying to get in shape (I would love to say "back in shape" but let's face it, I've been a weakling my whole life). It took some willpower, but I managed to force myself to turn on the Wii and do a Wii-Active workout today. It's definitely one of the better workout games, if you're in the market for one. They have a bunch of different activities-like volleyball, dance, roller blading, and all the standard (but less fun) strength exercises-that you can put together however you want to create your own custom workout. And if you don't want to make one yourself, you can choose from their pre-made workouts. 

I'm not the exercise type at all, but I must say, I like it. I feel like I can eat whatever I want (as if I didn't do that before) and it's even clearing my skin up. For anyone who wants to make a spring resolution, you should join me in getting in shape!

Well I think the best way to wrap-up this post is to give you all an overdose on adorableness. 

The next time someone is in a bad mood, just show them this. Problem solved. 

Always,

Abby Noel