No dogs allowed *thumbs up*

Going to the orchard is honestly my favorite thing to do in the Fall. Yes...Tuesday was the first day of Autumn! The memory of cider, doughnuts, and playing like a child again always brings me back. I'm never bored. I'm never worried that people may think of me as silly. I'm just me.  I don't know why, but orchards and parks just do that to me. :) So, seeing the above sign made me much happier! (if anyone doesn't know the reason for my dislike of dogs, comment below. I'll tell you the funny story there. )

They have all kinds of exotic animals! There are goats, horses, ducks, peacocks, lamas, donkeys, camels, pigs, sheep, zebra, kangaroos, and my personal favorite, birds! I didn't know that they could have so different animals in one place! And, add that it is free..well, this place rocks. haha

This is a view from on top of a hill. On this hill (which has stairs so you can walk up it) there is what used to be an apple shoot and is now a wonderfully long slide. I don't know why I didn't grab a photo of it... *blushing* I really wasn't thinking... oh bother.. I didn't even get a shot of the amazingly, awesome, firetruck that you can get in and actually pretend drive!  Remind me to take some pictures of it next time. ;)

The birds!

 They have this room see, that you can walk into and they are able to fly all around you. I once had one beautiful green bird land on my hand. In the one second that I didn't breath I was amazed by how light it was. It was calm, yet it gave me a feeling of extreme excitement. I'll never forget that day; in fact I wrote that in my journal when I was 11. See? I told you we have been going to this place for a loongg time. Haha!

We came a little later than we usually do. So, sadly they were out of doughnuts. But, hey, we chose something healthier instead! A bag of apples with some caramel dip. Okay....the caramel wasn't exactly healthy....but it was good! We also got some apple cider. Mmm! Thanks Mom and Dad! ♥

   Then, me and my sisters (Bree  and Sarah) we found some delicious devious looking cookies. We choice the middle on the top. I wanted the middle in the bottom row (I thought it looked better, but I was outvoted. Haha). So, it wasn't wonderful, they were pretty good for the $0.33 we each spent.

 Overall, I must say that I think this was my favorite trip to the orchard ever...well, that is, until I go next year. I love being outdoors, and what better way then at an orchard with my family? ♥

  What has God blessed you with today?

Do you like going to orchards for the fun of it? Or just for apples?

 

Today, NOT tomorrow

   You can never actually live life until you have lived it to the fullest. 

 My life could end today. Right now. Tomorrow, or maybe even 20-50 years from now. We have no idea what our lifetime will hold. I may be blessed with a family, or the Lord might have other plans for me. All I know is right now I want to live today to the fullest. I want to give glory to God for everything I do. I want to have Him the focus of my thoughts, the Lord of my life, the King that I bow to. 

   And, each person I meet has a special purpose in growing my faith. The lady who delivers my mail each day might teach me how to serve. Or my mother, how to be a strong Christian each day. Maybe someone who has hurt me in a certain way will teach me more about forgiveness. Or even just smiling at a stranger in the store and seeing a pain in their eyes, will remind me to pray for them that day.

Everyone needs Christ's love, why not show that to someone today?

   I encourage you, today, to live your day to the fullest.

  

Guest Post!! ~Jessica Joy~

Hello, Lovelies! 

   Julia asked me to do a guest post for ya'll!  She sent me some questions, which are below. =)  Before I do that, though, I thought I'd share a little bit about myself which you!  I've also scattered some pictures that I've taken throughout the post. =)

    I'm Jessica, and I blog over at (Almost) Perfectly Pink!  I'm 15 years old, and I live on a farm all the way down in South Carolina! ;)  I blog mostly about my life, mishaps and adventures, but also poems, and what I call "Thought-Provoking" posts.  I also post a lot of pictures!  I'd love if you'd visit, and leave a comment to let me know!  =)

Okay, now onto the questions. =)

 ------------------------------ Hello Jessica! I'm so excited to have you guest posting here today!
     Thanks Julia! I'm excited to be here! =)

 What is your most favorite thing to do with your siblings?
     Hmm, I would have to say either play outside, play board games, or bake.  We used to play, really play, together a ton, but now we are all either teenagers, or almost teenagers, so we spend a lot more time doing school and laying around the house wasting time online than we used to. =P

How do you feel about dressing modestly?
     I feel it is very important!  Our bodies are God-given, and our call as Christians is to bring Him honor!  As far as actual dress, I wear jeans mostly because they are more comfortable and easier to work with on the farm than a skirt.  But I highly respect girls that wear skirts all the time! =D

 If you could go anywhere in the world (for FREE) right now, where would you go?
     Mexico/Central America.  I'm learning Spanish, which is a beautiful language, and I just love the people and the culture.  I hope to serve as a missionary there, even if only part-time, someday. =)

What do you like best about being able to drive?
     Haha!  Julia, you know me too well. ;)  Background for the rest of you, I got my permit last January, and I was literally counting the days until I could get it.  Haha.  I don't know what I can say as far as what I like best about it.  It is challenging, and a draining of all your senses, but really, it can be pretty fun.  Plus, it brings a level of responsibility and requires maturity, which I strive to be, and thrive on. ;)

Are you are notebook or more of a computer type of girl? 
     Oooh...Well, I love notebooks, I always have a ton laying around, and I love writing in them, but as far as my main writing, I do it on the computer.  I guess both.  Although, there is no replacement for grabbing a notebook, and a pen, and climbing in a tree to write poems. =)
    
What is your least favorite food?
     Oooh.  Another hard one.  Hehe.  Well, just off the top of my head, they only thing I can think of is hotdogs with bread.  I love hotdogs if they are with buns!  But I cannot stand them alone, or wrapped in bread.  Yuck! =P
 Would you rather not be able to wash your hair for a week or your teeth? 
     Ew! lol My hair.
    

 
Do you live in the city? Or more country? (also, would you like to live somewhere else?)
     I live in the country!  We are about 7 miles down a 15-or-so mile road, and we are about 30 minutes from a grocery store.  I'm much for of a social person, and I've always dreamed of living in a city in an apartment above a store, and working in a little coffee shop, or bookstore.  I wouldn't need to use a car; just walk everywhere I wanted to go! =)  But I also love the country very much. =)

What is the scariest thing that has ever happened to you?
     Hmmm....I know a lot has happened to me, although I'm kinda drawing a blank at the moment.  I guess I'll just tell you some interesting/painful things that have happened to me:  I've fallen from a deck into a giant rose bush (I had scars for a year), I've been wiped out by a big wave on beaches twice, once in the Pacific Ocean, once in the Atlantic.  I've been tubing a good number of time, and wiped out about the same number of time.  I've had the tube land on top of me after it flipped, and then my friend who was riding the tube with me fall on top of the tube. I've been chased by a bull.  I've had to save my dog from certain death (he was strangling himself around a tree in the middle of the woods...That's another story)  And...probably a lot more that I'm forgetting!

How long have you had your blog?
     11 months!  My one year anniversary is October 22nd!  And, I'm not giving any hints here, but you might want to check back to my blog around the 1st.  Just sayin'. ;)
What made you want to start a blog?
     Well, I found an online friend who had one.  I'd also had a blog before, so I thought it would be fun to start again!  I also love writing, and interacting with people!  My followers and the comments are my favorite part of having a blog.  =)
 It was great having you Jessica! =) 
     Thanks, Julia!  This was a lot of fun! =)

Thanks everyone!  I hope you liked this interview!  If you check out my blog, let me know!  I'd love to meet you! =) <3

Toodles!  
 ~Jess 

ps. All the pictures were taken in Maine, where my family visited this summer!  I'm doing a series about it on my blog, feel free to check it out. =)

Guest Post - Amanda from SKG!

Hi, my name is Amanda Brown and I am a 15 year old graphic designer and blogger with a passion for making videos and writing.  I found Julia’s awesome blog on a list of (Almost) Perfectly Pink’s follower’s blogs.  I commented on one of Julia’s posts, hoping to gain another reader for my blog and newsletter, but instead I received a wonderful friend.  We are trading guest posts, so come on over to my website, www.southkakalakigirl.com, and check out Julia’s guest blog post. 

Do you have a passion for something?  I encourage you to follow your passion as far as it can take you.  God can do great things with you if you only allow Him to use you as a tool. With God’s amazing help, I have turned what used to be a tiny little newsletter into a website and blog with giveaways and videos and blog posts.  It’s a lot of work, but it gives me such a wonderful happiness that I keep on going.

Inadvertently, the idea came to me like a lightning bolt, sometime in late 2011 or early 2012 while I was at co-op.  When my friend Kendel asked me nonchalantly if I had ever made a magazine before, it was as if a light bulb materialized over my head.  As co-op began, my mind raced because my idea seemed crystal clear.  Could I make a magazine for Christian girls?  When I came home, I told mom the plan that I had formulated.  Everyone would submit a white piece of paper with their drawing, or article, on it, and then I would staple it together and pass it around.  At first, it sounded brilliant.  But then, as my mom talked to me about it, the idea sounded ridiculous, silly, and sloppy.  When my mom suggested that I put the newsletter together on the computer and use email to spread it around, the plan clicked together like cogs in a clock.  So, at the next co-op, Kendel and I walked around and asked the girls in our co-op group for their email addresses and phone numbers.  

And so, the South Kakalaki Girl was born.  Growing slowly, it began with only seven girls.  We started it with merely seven jobs, and we sent out the first South Kakalaki Girl newsletter on February 16, 2012.  And so, that idea that I had barely a year ago turned out to be the best one that I had ever had. 

 

Of course, not everything has gone smoothly.  One time, a girl sent in a photograph and claimed that she had taken it “several years ago.”  When my mom noticed it, she was surprised at how clear and professional it looked.  Pretty sure that the girl was being deceitful, we googled a description of the picture.  Sure enough, the exact same picture showed up.  I was crushed that someone would directly lie to me like that.  Another time, the newsletter could not be sent.  At first we had no idea why it was being rejected, but we soon realized that it was because the file was too large.  However, we learned from the hardships, and thus made our newsletter better.  Since the day that we started, the South Kakalaki Girl has gone through over twenty writers.  Currently we have about 17, including my sister, Rachel, and I.  Julia is also one of our dedicated writers. We also have over 100 people on our mailing list, and furthermore, we now have a website.  

 

What used to be a minute, insignificant newsletter is now swiftly growing better and better.  So, what does this show us?  Pondering carefully and logically, you can do anything that you put your mind to, especially since America is the land of opportunity.  Whether it’s creating a spiritually rich newsletter for Christian girls (or boys!) to creating a business, you can do something huge and make a difference.  So many people, who have fantastic ideas, don’t do anything about it because they are lazy or don’t think that it would work.  What could have become a world-changing thing is now thrown in the pile of forgotten dreams.  

So, do something!  Ideas can have a gigantic impact!  Dreams aren’t just silly ideas; they can become a reality with just a bit of work, thought, and a whole lot of prayer!

Thanks for reading this post, and a special thanks to Julia for trading guest posts! 

 

Amanda B.

9/11 remembrance

note *these photos were taken off the internet*

Majestic Moss Camping trip

I am back and alive from camping! It was so much fun, so sit back and I'll start blabbing my embarrassing stories. Here is the first: Do you see that bridge?  Well,  I crashed on it. You see, the roads here are really fun going down, but not going back up. You don't even have to peddle going down (you actually need to push on the break!  Or, die.) and you have to walk your bike going back up. So, I didn't gauge myself correctly coming down it once and crashed into the railing going across it. Yeah...thankfully I didn't get hurt and I'm even more thankful that nobody saw. (So, why am I telling you this?!) Anyway...


 I'm calling this the 'Majestic Moss Camping trip' because of the amazing moss growing on the road, stairs and grass. Yes, road. They are not driven on that often I guess....

Here, squint, it looks better then. Haha! *note. this one photo was taken off of the internet*

 We road our bikes around the whole place and even found time to get some fishing in. I caught one the first day and another the second. It was so fun to reel them in! My Dad got some photos taken on his phone, but I can't get them off of there. :P Sorry...

 Who'd know that is gets SO cold in that tent?! Oh my, it was supposed to be 49F degrees that night (I'm not sure what it really was), but I could see my breath! I wore all of my clothing that I brought, slept with the sleeping bag over my head and was finally warm enough. I did get comfortable around 5:30 a.m., so that wasn't horrible. ;) My older sister (who didn't camp) asked me if it was worth it. I answered "eehh, yeah? What was I going for?" Haha! It wasn't like I was going across the country or something. lol!

I thought I would add something funny for you all to laugh at. I am wearing 3 shirts there (it was getting colder!) and my little sis handed me my sun glasses, so I put them on to keep them from getting broken. While wearing them (in the dark...haha..) my sister with the camera grabbed a picture. Oh, and do you see that scary man with a flashlight on his hat behind me? Don't worry, it's my Dad. ;)

    I hope you laughed as much as I did that weekend. :D Oh...and um...the restroom experience.  That was lots of fun.  NOT.  (Future post?  Yes..or no? hehe)

   When was the last time you went camping? Have you crashed on your bike before?

Is there any camping food that you don't  like?

P.s.  This is my 60th post!!!!!!!!!!!

Blueberry jam || camping

Who likes blueberry lime jam?? (Comment below and I know you are my friend! ;) ) Mmmm, yes, I made 8 quarts of blueberry lime jam after I finished my schoolwork today. I love making jam and this was a new kind for me. I also made some raspberry jam the other day.

I sent this photo to a really dear friend of mine and she asked me if I was going to eat the foam off of the top and I of course replied yes! It makes up for the steam, hard work, berry stains and little burns you get from boiling water. ;) 

Guess what I am might be doing this weekend with my dad and a few of my siblings? 

 Camping!  Yahoo!!

 I've never been actual camping before. You know, roughing it. ;) There is nothing like the hard ground, smoky smell, Mosquitos and *shiver* whatever else there is... Hahaa! Don't worry, we are bringing a camera! 

  Do you like camping? Or are you more of a stay at home type of person?

   Have you made jam lately? 

School is awesome! (Hahaa!)

Yahoooooooo! It is the first day of school! It was such a lovely day, and I can't wait for tomorrow. ♥
I had so many things I really wanted to learn about and I am finally able to. Such as, Sign Language and herbs. Since this is also my Sophomore year I am writing down things that I am interested in and would like to pursue. It is really exciting to see the things I've always thought about turning into things I might able to use in life. I love school. :D

 I also said that I had some big news for you a few posts back. *blushing...* (Yeah, sorry about that.) So, onto the big news! I have started listing my own cross-stitch/embroidery creations on Etsy! My older sister has been kind enough to allow me to use part of her shop until I actually start selling stuff (if I do that is.. ;) ).

I have it listed here; Love One Another embroidery. I'd love it if you would spread the word! :) I am going to list another one very soon. I'm excited to do so, because it is so different and if you like colorful buttons then you will love it as I do! :D

How did your first day of school go?

Did you have a fun labor day weekend? 

What did you do this weekend?