A holiday.

Today the weather here is crummy and its the same way I'm feeling. So when I get down like this I like to think back to times when I was having fun and the weather was better. I found this post from my myspace which I wrote on September 23, 2007. I had just gotten back from the beach with Phil and was getting ready for my first day of university at Western. I remember how I didn't want that day to end because I was not looking forward to a new school where I didn't know anyone. Since last year I had kinda forgotten that we took that trip, but we took that same trip this year on the same day: ) So it became a kind of unknown tradition I guess: ) But anyways here is the post from last year. I think it was cute.
The beach: a place to go to get away from the rest of the world. a place to relax and explore. a place to forget about everything but the here and now. it may just be a day getaway, but it still counts as a holiday. 

That is my definition of the beach. I love going to the beach, its so calming to just take your camera and remove your shoes and just explore. Yesterday Phil and I went to pacific city for the day. we were celebrating our last day of freedom, last day of summer before school starts today. It was so much fun to explore and just enjoy eachothers company.
We went to lunch, took pictures on the beach while exploring and even walked in the water. It was a day to just "be" and not to overthink too much. It was a day that I will keep alive in my memories for many days to come and revisit everytime I'm dreading to do homework or go to class. For yesterday it was a holiday, but today it is a memory in my heart: )

I wish I was there, but since I'm not here is a picture to remember the wonderful time I had last time I was there with Phil, day before classes begin 2008: )

Food for thought

" We judge ourselves on our intentions, but we judge others by their actions."  ~Jesse Merz
This really got me thinking about myself and if I really do that. I realized that I did. It's hard sometimes because I can justify what I do or say by how I thought it sounded just like the quote. But what if I gave others that same treatment that I gave myself? I probably wouldn't be so upset all the time about how people act. Maybe if I took a few minutes to evaluate the situation and say to myself..I wonder what they meant by that instead of wow that sounded so rude I know they were trying to hurt me by that. Then I think life would be a lot easier. 
In conclusion I am going to try to better myself and think more. I encourage any one else to do this as well, I think it could really make the holiday season be a lot happier.

Fall: )

My Favorite Things About Fall: )

 Leaves Changing Colors.

 All the Changing Colors.

 The Sunrises and Sunsets.

 Pretty Foggy Mornings.

 Going Back to School.

 The Smell of Freshly Sharpened Pencils.

 Apple Cider Donuts from Baumann Farms: )

 Apples.

 Bright Crisp Mornings.

 Raking Leaves and Then Jumping in the Pile.

 Carving Pumpkins: )

 Warm Sweaters.

 Coming in the Warm House and Drinking Hot Chocolate.

 Baking, Warm Cookies.

 A Warm Hug in The Cold Outside: )

A Quote from Berneice

My friend Berneice who lives at a care home always sings a song with this line in it. I wish I knew what the songs name was, but I don't. This little quote her favorite part of the song and she always repeats it to me at the end. I've been thinking about it a lot lately so I wanted to write it down.

"Today is mine, tomorrow may not come."

psychology

"The goal of the human soul is conquest, perfection, security, superiority. Every child is faced with so many obstacles in life that no child ever grows up without striving for some form of significance." ~ Alfred Alder

I got this quote out of my theories of personality class and I thought it was interesting enough to share: )

In Memory of Great Gramma DuVall...

This past Sunday my Great Gramma DuVall passed away. She was 94 years old and she lived a full life. She was a good Gramma and I will never forget that she has encouraged me along in knitting and learning to crochet.  I loved her very much and I will miss her a lot. Her funeral is on Saturday.

Sidewalk Rock!

This last week my brother and his band Sidewalk Rock played in Salem for the First Wednesday. It was so fun to listen to him sing and his band play. They play all kinds of music like the Eagles, Elton John, James Taylor, John Mayor, and a lot more. Also I got to hang out with Phil and Karen and that was fun: ) 

Cinderella: )

As a little girl my favorite movie was Cinderella and I was always dressing up and dancing around pretending I was her. I remember always wanting to dance and play Cinderella with my daddy. When  I heard this song by Steven Curtis Chapman, it made me cry because it seemed as though it was written for me. As I watched saw him and his wife on tv the other day talking about their little girls death I feel so sorry for what him and his family are dealing with right now. This song is such a beautiful song to me. 

She spins and she sways
To whatever song plays
Without a care in the world
And I'm sitting here wearing
The weight of the world on my shoulders

It's been a long day
And there's still work to do
She's pulling at me
Saying "Dad, I need you

There's a ball at the castle
And I've been invited
And I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"

Chorus:
So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oooooh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don't wanna miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone...

She says he's a nice guy and I'd be impressed
She wants to know if I approve of her dress
She says, "Dad, the prom is just one week away
And I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"

chorus

Well, she came home today with a ring on her hand
Just glowing and telling us all they had planned
She says, "Dad, the wedding's still six months away
But I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"

chorus

a picture bug..

I have this huge bug I guess you could call it to go out and take pictures. I haven't had much time this summer to get out and take pictures like I have in the past, with classes and volunteering it has been harder to get out and do that. Also I want to start taking more pictures of people so if anyone knows any seniors, family, children that are looking for a photographer send them my way: )

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2

I'm really excited to see this movie when it comes out in theaters soon. The first one was really good and I liked all the books by Ann Brashares too.

The Dark Knight.

I went to see the Dark Knight (the new batman movie) on Friday night with Phil and my family. It was a really good movie, it was dark and kind of scary at times but excellently acted. Heath Ledger and Christian Bale did a wonderful job. They were both lost within their characters and both deserve oscars for their performances.

sigthseeing in Salem..

My mom had some friends that came to visit from Colorado, so we took them to see the sights of Salem. We walked up the steps to see the gold man at the capital, rode on the carousel, had chocolate at See's candy and went to the Salem Center.

Thoughts about life...

As I watched a movie the other night, there was a scene in it that caught my attention and made me think. It was a conversation between two men facing the end of their lives and discussing what their lives meant. The idea that struck my attention was this:

The ancient Egyptians asked people who were facing the end of their lives two questions:

Have you found joy in your life?

Has your life brought joy to others?

So many times all we think about in life is what we want personally and what makes us happy, but if we instead focused on trying to make others' happy we could intern be happy and achieve both goals. For me I have found joy in showing compassion and love to others by volunteering at a care home. Yes, it is a college class for me but I picked my job that I volunteer for and it has become more than a class. As I have begun to form relationships with the people there it has become a kind of joy for me to bring joy to them by spending my time there. 

Just a thought, try to find a way to give joy to someone today. You never know what even a smile can do to someone's day.

~Leah

Best Of Show: )

This year Phil entered pictures into the Marion county fair. He had some really awesome pictures! The picture below got Best of Show for Marion county! I'm so proud of him, and the picture is beautiful!

A Good Song

I keep hearing this song on the radio and I really liked it so I looked up the lyrics are they are really good, so here they are: )

"You Find Out Who Your Friends Are": Tracy Lawernce

Run your car off the side of the road
Get stuck in a ditch way out in the middle of nowhere
Or get yourself in a bind lose the shirt off your back
Need a floor, need a couch, need a bus fare

This is where the rubber meets the road
This is where the cream is gonna rise
This is what you really didn't know
This is where the truth don't lie

{Chorus}
You find out who your friends are
Somebody's gonna drop everything
Run out and crank up their car
Hit the gas, get there fast
Never stop to think 'what's in it for me?' or 'it's way too far'
They just show on up with their big old heart
You find out who your friends are

Everybody wants to slap your back
wants to shake your hand
when you're up on top of that mountain
But let one of those rocks give way then you slide back down look up 
and see who's around then

This ain't where the road comes to an end
This ain't where the bandwagon stops
This is just one of those times when
A lot of folks jump off

{Chorus}

When the water's high
When the weather's not so fair
When the well runs dry
Who's gonna be there?

The puppy and me: )

Craig Morgan!

So last night Phil and I went to the Linn county fair after school to look at the pictures I entered and go see Craig Morgan in concert! It was fun to walk around the fair and look at all the stuff. There was an animal area where people had rescued animals and there were all kinds of snakes, lizards and spiders too. My favorite thing was a baby Kangeroo it was so cute! There was also a Lemur which was pretty crazy jumping around its cage. The Craig Morgan concert was really good. It's always nice when you go to a concert and the singer actually sounds like the cd you have bought before hand. For those of you who might not know who he is, he sings songs like International Harvester, That's What I Love About Sunday's, and I've Got You. He has a nice country voice and it was fun to see him live. Thanks for going with me Phil: ) I like you: )

Those are some pictures that Phil took for me at the concert (I'm too short...)

Anne-isms...

Call me a hopeless romantic, but I love watching and reading the Anne of Green Gables series. Each time I watch the movie I get excited when Gilbert and Anne finally get together. Through Anne I have learned a few things such as; a girl needs a bosom friend, a kindred spirit, a true friend that will be there for you no matter what. Another thing I learned from her is that its ok to be hopelessly romantic and to be yourself. I also know that it is possible to find your true love: ) Someday I would love to go to Prince Edward Island and see the beauty that Anne took in and day dreamed about in these books. Her beloved Island.

You also have probably noticed by now I also like quotes. To me they are little pieces of wisdom that you can use in your everyday life. In fact that can be my quote: )

Here are some of my favorite Anne- Girl quotes: )

"All life lessons are not learned at college. Life teaches them everywhere" 

"Next to trying and winning the best thing is trying and failing" 

"Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive--it's such an interesting world. It wouldn't be half so interesting if we know all about everything, would it? There'd be no scope for imagination then, would there?"

"Marilla, isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?"

"And people laugh at me because I use big words. But if you have big ideas you have to use big words to express them, haven't you?"

Friends...

Here are some of my favorite quotes on Friends...

A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be. ~Douglas Pagels

True friendship comes when silence between two people is comfortable ~ Dave Tyson Gentry

Friends are those rare people who ask how you are and then wait for the answer ~Unkown

A true friend reaches for your hand and touches your heart ~ Unknown

A good friend is a connection to life- a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world. ~Lois Wyse

What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies~ Aristotle

In my friend, I find a second self. ~ Isabel Norton

Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive. ~ Anais Nin

A friend accepts us as we are yet helps us to be what we should. ~ Unknown

A friend can tell you things you don't want to tell yourself. ~ Frances Ward Weller

Friendship is a sheltering tree ~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart. ~ Elisabeth Foley

A real friend: )

I have always had a hard time making good friends, especially with girls. As I have gotten older it has only gotten harder to find girls who truly just want to hang out and get to know you without a hidden agenda. This last year has been especially hard because I have lost some friends because of jealousy and because all they wanted to do was use me instead of being a friend. Going to Western I thought that it would be easy to make friends, but it hasn't. I'm not all that outgoing and I'm not that usual prissy girl or a tom boy...and I'm not interested in acting like someone I'm not in order to make friends. Through it all I am so thankful for my boyfriend Phil. He has stuck by me in this time of mourning and searching for new quality friends I guess you could call them. He has helped me to realize that I can be me and be happy with or without friends and he is there to support me either way. The best thing that I can say that has happened since I have had this new mind set to be myself and being friendly and open is meeting my friend Karen. She has really been there for me unlike any other girl friend that I have ever had. She doesn't have a hidden agenda she just wants to be friends with me. I am so very thankful for her because now I can have someone to talk to who is understanding and we can do fun girl things. One example of this is on Saturday we planned a girls day with me and her and another girl Amanda. It was so much fun to just eat dinner, shop a little bit and go to a movie. Thank you Karen: ) I am so glad that you are my friend: ) I'm excited for many more girl's trips: ) It's hard in this period of life to keep the old friends, like the high school friends because we are so far apart. It's nice to have a friend just down the hallway to hang out with and be silly with. 

Also if your reading this Phil I am so thankful for your friendship as well, you are always there for me no matter how crazy my thoughts you are. Thank you for being not only my boyfriend but my best friend. Thank you for going to places with me that I want to go even if you aren't thrilled you still go: )  (like the craig morgan concert, yay!)  I love planning fun days and dreaming with you. I like you: )

~Leah

mmm music: )

Music is something that is in my everyday life and I really enjoy. It's amazing to me how you can be in a store, listening to the radio, or in a restaurant and a song comes on and it can take you back in time to a specific moment in time and remind of of people who may or may not be in your life anymore. Some examples of this for more is the song "King of the Road" always makes me think of my Grandpa Blake who died a few years back, he always thought he was the King of the road in his big pick up truck. Many songs remind me of my boyfriend Phil in different times in our relationship some examples are "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, or "Would you go with me" by Josh Turner, or "Moon River", or "The Eye of the Tiger". There are so so many songs that remind me of him. When I hear the song the James Taylor song "You've Got a Friend" I think of my brother. The list just goes on and depending on what I'm listening there are lots of memories that can run through my mind while driving or just doing the daily tasks of life.

Going along with the music theme of this blog...I have heard a lot of people talking about Pandora the online personalized radio. I had never tried it until today and now I know why everyone is talking about it! It is so cool! All you have to do is type in a favorite artist or song and Pandora makes a personalized radio station for you with similar songs and artists. It's fun not knowing which song will come up next. The quality is so clear and it's nice to work on my homework without having to make my own playlist or be annoyed with the radio. Yay for Pandora Radio: )

Music is the poetry of the air~Richter

Music is the medicine of the mind~ John A. Logan

So little time, so much to do...

Hey everyone: )

It's been a while since I've wrote anything on here....I have been so busy with school and stuff that I haven't had a lot of time to be on here. So I'll update you on the life and times of Leah a little bit. Well I decided to take some summer classes to lighten up my load for next year...but it really has put a damper on my idea of summer. Oh well I'll thank myself next year when I'm done! I am taking four classes two online, one volunteer, and one in class. I am taking a geography class called International Trade and Transportation, which is hard but I'm learning a lot in. Also I am taking an online history class, a Psychology class at Chemeketa, and I am volunteering at a Care Home in Salem for my Sociology class. Busy, Busy I know! Also I am working two days a week at my Church as a secretary and that seems to be pretty easy, which is good. With all this planned stuff it has made it hard to think or do much of anything else. I am glad that I had the week in between classes to have fun and relax a little bit. Soon it will be easier my WOU classes are only six weeks and my Chemeketa ones are only eight so I'll still have a summer and time to find another job in between. Other than that not much has been going on, I would have to say that so far my highlight of summer has been going to the Oregon Gardens with my family and Phil for the 3rd of July. It was so nice to walk around the gardens, taking pictures and spending quality time with Phil. A lot of times it seems that all we get to do is worry about school and that really bogs us down, but it was really relaxing to spend that time with him. It was nice to just be us:) Also we got to watch an awesome display of fireworks there that lasted almost an hour! I love fireworks: ) they are so pretty and unique. The next day the 4th we went to the St. Paul Rodeo and that was fun too. We got to load up on our "carney food" as Phil calls it: ) Well I think that's about all the exciting parts (and unexciting...school) 

~Leah

Cody's Graduation!

My little Brother Cody graduated from high school a couple weeks ago and I am so proud of
him: ) He is now a man with a real job: ) Good job Cody.
Here are a few pictures from that night..

Dory Thoughts: )

This week is the last week of Spring term...I know that everyone says this, but it really does seem like this term has gone by quickly. And yes even through all the reading, long papers, and seemingly endless web design pages I still feel that way. Overall I would have to say that this was academically the hardest term in my college (university) career so far, but also my best in terms of developing friendship wise. Finally I have been able to make a couple friends that I know I can rely on and not be taken advantage of by. I am so very thankful for my new friend Karen, it is so comforting to know that I have a friend just a few feet down the hallway to watch tv, go on walks, eat, or just hang out with. Thank you Karen: ) Another person that has been there for me through it all is my boyfriend Phil, he has been a constant listener and supporter of me through all the ups and downs of this year. Thank you so much I would have been so lost and sad without you. Your my sunshine: ) I like you: ) This has been a really hard year for me transferring here to western, I am so thankful that I am finally beginning to feel like I made the right decision in transferring here and living on campus. Up until this term I had really been questioning whether or not I was wasting my time here, but now I am all signed up for Fall term classes and I am excited for what my final year here will have in store for me. As dory would say through it all "just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming swimming swimming." : )
To wrap up this term I have two finals down, one final and a website to go....the end is in sight!
Just Keep Swimming! ~Leah

My Puppy: )

I love my puppy Gus: ) Here are a few photos that I took of him today it this beautiful weather. I hope you all got to enjoy this weather: )

Salem Academy goes to State..

My brother and sister are on a high school equestrian team and last weekend they qualified to go to State in a few events. My brother went in roping, steer daubing, team penning, Canadian flags and working rancher. My sister went in Canadian flags, team penning, and barrels. So Phil and I drove over to Redmond after school on Thursday and spent the weekend with my family taking pictures and hanging out. It was really hot, but fun. One day we went to Bend for the afternoon and it was fun to spend time with each other without having to worry about school and everything else. It was a nice vacation.
Here are a few photos that Phil my boyfriend took: ) If anyone is interested in Photographs he takes good ones: )

My Birthday: )

I just had my 21st birthday a few weeks ago and then I had a family birthday party last week. It was a lot of fun to get together with my family and friends and spend the day together catching up. Here's a few photos that my boyfriend Phil took, he's so good at taking pictures: )

HI: )

I'm a 21 year old voting member of society.
I'm a University student.
I'm a daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, and friend, but most of all I'm a person.
I love taking pictures and capturing single moments of time through a lens.
In my spare time I like to knit.
I am hopelessly romantic. I want to be swept off my feet: )
I try to think that I am artistic at least in some ways.
I love music in almost any form.
I tend to think that everyone is out there to tell the truth and be nice..I'm a little gullible.
I like driving down the rode with the music turned up and singing along.
I love little kids, they always say the cutest things.
I'm a big over thinker, I really tend to over-analyze everything.
I love spending days at the beach.
I'm a sensitive person with a caring heart.
I like chick flicks and happy endings.
I have a huge heart full of compassion and I try to think the best of everyone.
I'm not a big deal at all.
I never assume someone's not being honest with me.
My ideal outfit is a cute sundress with flip flops and sunglasses.
I love looking at art especially black and white photographs.
I like watching House and learning about weird medical problems and then applying to people I know. Pretty much I worry too much.
I like to be organized as much as I can.
I love trees, they are beautiful.
I am me, Leah: )

Thinking about school....life....everything....

I have been thinking a lot lately about what I want to do with my life, more specifically what I want to do with my degree once I get done with college. Currently I am a social science major, but I keep going back and forth on whether I am really cut out to be a teacher. Some days I am sure of myself and I think that I could really make a difference in the world, other days I feel inadequate. Today is one of the latter days, a day when I just don't know. I have these thoughts of changing my major, but not knowing what to do, also I have other job aspirations that I think about... It's hard to just choose a career, a life plan at 20. I mean I know that I could change it over my life but really its like high school just doesn't prepare you enough for what college (university) brings. I guess that, that is my biggest frustration. So this leads me to my other career idea of being a high school counselor to help kids figure things out early and let them know what is coming. I found this Audrey Hepburn quote and it really got me to feeling better, because she is right a good education is the basis to the pathway of life. Really for me my college thinking began last term when I took the global issues class. That class really got me to thinking about the world and others, thanks Dr. Khe!

“A quality education has the power to transform societies in a single generation, provide children with the protection they need from the hazards of poverty, labor exploitation and disease, and given them the knowledge, skills, and confidence to reach their full potential.”
~Audrey Hepburn

Michael Buble'

Hey All,
For those of you who don't know Michael Buble' is one of my favorite singers. He not only sings his own songs, but also he covers songs by Frank Sinatra (another one of my favorites). On Sunday I saw Michael on a tv show and he just seems so down to earth, he even takes his parents with him when he travels. Anyways...the reason I am writing about him is because someday I would love to go see him in concert I think that would be so fun! My current favorite songs of his are "Everything" "Home" and "Lost"

Thinking about Ed and Marge...

A few weeks ago my good friend Marge died, she was in her 80's and ready to leave this earth and go to be in her new home. I was very close to her and her husband Ed who died two years ago this year. They both meant a lot to me and I am very grateful that I knew them and I got the chance to sing at both of their funerals. As I was going through some things on my computer I found this essay that I had written right after Ed died two years ago and I wanted to share it...
~Leah

Life’s Lesson

In America today, people are taught that death is something to be afraid of. They try everything they can to prevent death from coming to them. A lot of people are uncertain about what will happen to them after they die and that scares them. Will they go to heaven or that other place? How have they lived their lives? It can be a very scary thing if a person doesn’t know where they are going. As a Christian I have always known, that when I die I will go to heaven to be with God forever. Knowing this has given me comfort through all the uncertainties of life, but none so much as the peace I have received in the past couple weeks. I have learned how precious life is and that I need to value each day as a gift from God, treating as if it may be my last.

The reason I have come to value life so much is because of my very dear friend, Ed Vantress. On the 24^th of January Ed went home to be with his savior in Heaven. Ed was 89 years old, but by looking at him one never would have guessed his age. He had a zeal for life that showed through in his spunkiness. He was on fire for God till the day he died. He was a wonderful man whose love for God shone through in all he did. I never saw Ed without a smile on his face, and never once did I hear him complain.

A favorite hymn of Ed’s really described how he lived his life. “It is Well” is an inspirational hymn by Horatio G. Spafford. Spafford wrote the hymn about his own life and all the struggles he had. Through everything that happened in Spafford’s life, his business burning down in the Chicago fire, losing his children in a shipwreck and having only his wife survive; he knew that with God he could still live on. With all that Spafford went through in his life he said, “It is well with my soul”. This is how Ed lived his life, and this is the song that the congregation sang at his memorial.

I remember the Sunday before Ed died, he had been in and out of the hospital for months. He really wasn’t doing well that day. Before he left to go back home, I went up to him and hugged him. I started to cry because even though I knew he was going to a better place, I didn’t want to lose my friend. He pulled me away from him, so I could see his face and he said, “I’m ready to go home and we both know where I’m going. I don’t want you to cry and be sad for me, because I’m happy.” With that he hugged me again and told me he loved me. His confident and fearless attitude made me realize at that moment that there was no reason to fear death if he didn’t fear it. That was the last time I ever saw Ed. He passed away two days later, and I know without a doubt that he is happy in his new home.

Although I’m going to miss Ed a lot, I can live my life by the example that he set for me. Ed lived a long and happy life. He was always so happy that he filled people’s lives with joy. In the last couple months of his life he and another older man in my church had an ongoing race. They were racing to see who would get to heaven first. They knew that they had lived good lives, and they were ready to live with their savior. The day after Ed died my family went to visit Jake; and he smiled and said, “The only sad thing is that I lost and Ed beat me!”

Each day is a gift from God that we don’t even deserve. Life is precious. The lesson that I have learned from all of this is that we need to take each day and live it to its fullest with no complaints and no regrets. Each day has a purpose and I need to seek out that purpose and fulfill it. I want to use my days here on earth to glorify God.

Let it snow let it snow let it snow...

Hey Everyone: )

I just wanted to show you this video I made earlier this morning at my house.  I can't believe that its the end of April and I woke up to snow! I hope you all have a good day and safe travels.

~Leah

My Favorite Quote: )

Whoever is happy will make others happy too. He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery. ~ Anne Frank

I love this quote because of all that Anne went through. Even in the hardest times that anyone could imagine living through, she was happy. She made it her goal in life to press on in courage and faith in everything. That's how I feel as well. I mean if you are so focused on keeping yourself happy no one can bring you down. They have a choice be happy and be with you or be downtrodden and not be with you. I want to be happy: )

Knit Happens: )

Hey all,

I have always wanted to learn how to knit, so this term I joined a knitting club called, knit happens. This is my very first project and after having to take out all I had started with once (which was about 8 rows) I am now well on my way to a scarf: ) It is so cool to be able to make something that people pay a lot of money for in a store. It's exciting to work on something and actually see some progress. My Great Gramma knits and crochets so she helped me along a little bit too. I've begun to really get the hang of it, so now it isn't so stressful. I am definitely  learning both patience and that things don't always have to be perfect. I'll post some more pictures when I get further along: )

~Leah

Free Rice: )

Hey Everyone,
This term I am taking a global issues class and it has really opened my eyes to so many things that I never knew very much about. A couple weeks ago in class we watched a video of Thomas L Friedman who is the foreign affairs columnist at the New York Times Newspaper. His excerpts in our global issues book really caught my attention and then getting to watch his speech in class was really neat. His ideas have really been on my mind since I read about them. It was intriguing to hear what others thought in the video when he asks “where were you when you learned that the world was flat?” The more I think about it the more I like how he phrased that. The world is changing and globalizing so quickly that it leaves people behind and they don’t even realize it until its too late. Going into stores it is very rare to find a piece of clothing or some other kind of accessory that is made in the United States, everything is being outsourced. Each week in this class I am learning more and more that I didn’t realize. Last week when we learned that the richest man in the world is no longer an American. Then this week we learned that India and China are exploding with wealth like never before. There are a lot of things that I never really thought about so overall if he asked me where I was when I learned that the world was flat? I would have to say I was at Western Oregon University in my Global issues class. To wrap up my thoughts about this I learned about this really cool website called free rice.com and all you have to do is go through and match vocab words with their definition and for each correct answer 20 grains of rice are donated through the UN World Food Program to help end hunger. It's such an easy thing to do and be able to make a difference. Like tonight I sat while watching tv and ended up donating 280 grains of rice. I encourage everyone to go to this website and try this out. It's just a small amount of your time to make a big difference.
~Leah

Here's the website:
http://www.freerice.com/

New haircut: )

Hello All,

I just got my hairs cut last week and I wanted to show everyone. I really like it: ) Let me know what you think.

~Leah

My First Thoughts....

Hello All,
I have been thinking for a while about getting a blog and now I have finally done it. I guess I should start off with a little about me and my life. My name is Leah and although I am kind of shy those who get to know me see my sassy and fun loving side too. I am a college student and am studying History and Psychology. I love photography and I go out to take pictures as often as I can. I am always looking for different people to take photos of, so if anyone is interested let me know: ) For fun I like going to the beach and planning "fun days" with my boyfriend. Also I enjoy singing an playing the piano, I can't imagine life without a melody. I love to travel and would someday like to go wherever my camera leads and take pictures of whatever is at the end of my lens. When I'm not at school I like spending time with my family. I'm just an average girl with larger than average dreams.