Secret Blogger 2011

So it's December! The season for giving and loving.

Let's spread the love this Christmas season!

In what way exactly do you ask? 

Through Secret Blogger (AKA Secret Santa)! 

Don't know the rules of the game? Tis fine, my lovely. You shall soon learn! 

Here's what we're gonna do:

1. Comment if you'd like to participate before 10 AM on December 7

In the comment please include your email address so I can get your mailing address.

2. I'll email you a person's name, address, and more information on December 7. 

3. You'll get to send something to another person and receive some goodies too! It can be anything, but let's keep the price under ten dollars. The best things to give are homemade so keep that in mind! You may send as many things as you'd like during the month of December, and remember letters or notes are just as great! 

Make sure to let other people know about Secret Blogger through your Blog and Twitter and any other means you have. When tweeting use @IvoryGiraffes!

Let's have some fun and get commenting! 

what to do when sick: a step by step guide

étape un:

Log into your Blogger account and complain about how sick you are, and tell everyone you might be MIA this week because of it. 

étape deux:

Heat up some good 'ole water and make some tea. I used Peppermint, but you can do whatever you prefer. After brewing your cup o' tea put a spoonful of honey in it, and mix it around some. Do not use that processed junk. Use real, natural honey. I got mine at the Bliss Store, I'll ship it to you if need be. (Repeat this step as often as desired.)

étape trois:

You will definitely need some snackage. I suggest Pistachios, because they're yummy, salty and overall delicious. Plus they're fun to open up. You will also at some point have to have some Chicken Noodle soup. Cambells or homemade. 

étape quatre: 

Find a comfy chair. I used a mushroom chair, because they're obviously the best but you may use a rocking chair or recliner as a substitute. You will also need a blanket. It's a requirement. Hello Kitty will double your happiness, so she's highly recommended. 

étape cinq:

Acquire some books. I'm using school books, but any ole' book will do. These will keep you entertained and  will also stimulate your brain so it doesn't turn to mush. 

étape six: 

After you've read until your eyes are sore I recommend watching a Disney movie. Any one will do, but I would say watching one with the word "ohana" in it will double your pleasure. 

Follow (and repeat)  these steps and you'll be sure to feel well again in no time! 

merry christmas, ladies.

About Me Questions:
1.Do you have a middle name?
Lauren
2. What was youur favourite subject in school?
I've always enjoyed Algebra, but any Literature class has always been fun. 
3. What's your favourite drink? 
Hm. Probably either Vanilla Coke or Sweet Tea
4. Favourite song at the moment? 
Jingle Bells by Michael Buble
5. What would you name your children? 
Boy: Samuel Girl: Mallory
6. Do you participate in any sports? 
I was a gymnast for over ten years
7. Favourite Book?
Hard one... Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, The Notebook, The Last Song. Too many to count, really. 
8. Favourite Colour? 
Any shade of blue. 
9. Favourite Animal? 
Giraffe. Then Panda, followed by Ducks. 
10. Favourite perfume? 
Love Spell by Victoria's Secret 
11. Favourite holiday? 
Probably Christmas, with Halloween second.
12. Have you graduated High School?
No, but I will in a few months!
13. Have you been out of the Country?
I've been to Canada on occasions. 
14. Do you speak any other Languages?
French. Sarcasm. Music. 
15. Do you have any siblings? 
Two. 
16. What's your favourite store?
Antique Stores. Or TJ Maxx 
17. Favourite Restaurant?
The Depot 
18. Do you like school? 
I suppose so. 
19. Favourite Bloggers?
 Kaylah , Elycia, Brandilyn . Many more.
20. Favourite Movie?
Elf. 
21. Favourite Tv show? 
Glee 
22. Pc or Mac?
Mac. 
23. What phone do you have?
A Tracfone. Gets the job done. 
24. How tall are you? 
4'10"

13 Personal Questions:
1. What do you order at Starbucks? 
I've never actually had a Starbucks. 
2. One thing in your closet you cannot live without?
It's not anything I wear on a daily or even yearly basis, but probably my costumes from previous plays. Even though I think they're ugly, they mean a lot to me. 
3. What's one thing most people probabaly don't know about you?
I have lots of moles. And I love them. Most of them are just itty bitty, but they're there. 
4. Name one thing you want to do before you die?
I want to get married. And I want to have a log cabin. 
5. What's one food you cannot live without?
Hot Wings. 
6. What quote/phrase do you live by?
I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and I believe in miracles. -Audrey Hepburn 
7. What do you like/disslike about the Blogging community?
I dislike the fact that you can say whatever you want, with practically no consequences. Meaning comments. And I think people don't realize that what they say can truly make or break someone. I like everything else. I like being able to see into people's lives and learning things from them. 
8. What's your most listened to song on iTunes?
Wanted by Hunter Hayes 
9. What kind of style would you define yourself as having?
Hannah's style. I guess I don't think of myself as having a defined style, and I don't really want to have a defined style. I wear what I like, and like what I wear. Sometimes I wear very vintage clothes, sometimes country, sometimes classy. It depends on my mood. 
10. Favourite number?
I've never had a favorite number... but I suppose 13. Only because everyone has such a thing against the number thirteen, and I figure he gets lonely. 
11. Two Hobbies?
Reading. I don't think I convey on here how much of a nerd I am, and how much I love books. Right now I'm reading Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington and it is so, so good. 
Another would be sewing. That's another thing I don't say much about, but I've been sewing since I was probably in first grade. I've made numerous quilts, and I love everything sewing-like. Such as knitting, and especially (especially!!!) embroidery. 
12. Two Pet Peeves?
Improper use of their, there, they're. I don't get it, because it's really not that hard to understand. I understood it when I learned about it back in elementary school. I'm pretty sure you can wrap your mind around it.
When I'm driving, especially on the expressway, and people pass me. I, mean, I can understand if I'm going below the speed limit. But, if I'm going right at 70 mph and you find the need to pass me. You suck, and I hope you get pulled over by the cops.  
13. Guilty Pleasures?
Pop. Or Soda. Whatever you want to call it, for the record it's pop. I love pop. If I could have a water bottle full of it all the time, I would. My favorites are Vanilla Coke, Dr. Pepper, Coca-Cola, Mountain Dew, Cranberry Sierra Mist, Root Beer, Cream Soda. For the most part I like dark pops over light pops. 


I love doing these, and I hope you've enjoyed it. 
I also have fun reading other people's, so if you want to do it and leave a link for me to look at feel free to! I just feel like you can really get to know people this way!

thankful for//hunter

I'm thankful for my boy.

Ha. As if you thought I could go a whole Thanksgiving week saying everything I'm thankful for without mentioning him. He is...

I don't know if I'll ever fully be able to tell you about him. Maybe one day I'll ask him to do a mini-video so you can see his personality. 

Hunter is... my best friend. 

I'm very thankful for having him in my life, and plan on him being in it a very, very long time. 

i'm dreaming of a white christmas.

 

This is what Ms. Rebekah and I do while waiting for Thanksgiving dinner.

Which was delish. I make the best mashed potatoes evvver. 

The trick is to use, like, a half pound of butter. And room temperature milk. Cause, hey, it's Thanksgiving. You're supposed to splurge in the food department. 

the haul...

...in which i talk about my cute undies. 

 i can't make it go in the middle. ugh. 

it's the little things...

...like goodmorning texts from the boy that include the word "beautiful".

even if he woke me up before eight on thanksgiving. 

he's still a sweetie poo. 

p.s. his nickname is volcano of sweetness. 

mine is fountain of awesomeness. 

I'm thankful for my truck.

I'm thankful for food. (TURKEY!)

I'm thankful for the lake that I can swim in.

I'm thankful for my house.

I'm thankful for tea, and cuddly cats.

I'm thankful that I woke up today.

thankful for//family

I'm thankful for my friends and my family.

Which is one in the same. 

Which includes my Daddy & Mama, Uncle Bruce & Aunt Sis, Scarlett, Rebekah, Casie, Tanner, & many more.

in which i ramble.

Gah. I ramble a lot.

And make weird expressions... 

Feel free to laugh at my expense. 

thankful for//warmth

{via}

I'm thankful for blankets. 

And warm clothes.

And fires to warm my toesies. 

My very best is blankets straight out of the dryer. 
Or cuddling. Cuddling is another warmth giver. I like to cuddle.

I'm just thankful for being able to stay warm during the cold months in Northern Michigan. 


P.S. I just got a Twitter so check it. 

thankful for//music

I'm thankful for music.

Listening to. Playing. Writing. 

give thanks with a grateful heart

So, I thought I'd take it easy this week.
No "me" posts.
But, I don't want to not post all together so I thought once a day I'd post something I'm thankful for. Starting in the next post!


Have fun this week! 

This picture has nothing to do with anything. I've just had it saved on my computer 
for a long time and have been dying to include it in a post.
It's just too cute. 

its the little things...

...like eating mint ice-cream in a mint green bowl.

these are the things that make me insanely pleased.

p.s. any ideas how to get the borders off of my pictures?

i've tried everything. 
{edit}
i figured it out! 
finally!!!
i'm like an internet wizard or something.

what i wore//a first.

hello kitty slippers- gift; leggings- walmart; scarf- gift; t-shirt- hand me down

For Halloween I had to get some leggings, and I decided I'd try them out. But, I've assembled some rules to leggings. They are as follows:

1. You must wear something loose on top.

You don't wanna show off everything.

2. You gotta wear tights underneath.

Cause even though I take pride in my cute undies (my motto is life is too short to wear boring underwear.) the whole world doesn't need to see them. 

I'm pretty sure those are the only two. But if you follow them you will be full of success in your legging wearing adventures. 

Cause, hello, these things are the comfiest things I've ever worn! I was totally against wearing leggings because they're not pants. But my perspective has been changed, my lovelies. These things are almost as good as not wearing pants at all, and you all know how much I love not wearing pants! (seriously. if you come to my house you better call first cause chances are i'm in my underwear.)

have a holly jolly CHRISTmas.

I'm generally completely against Christmas music before December 1st. But I've realized how stupid is that? Because, hello, Christmas music is all about the birth of Jesus and pure happiness. So why not start now? 

And what better way to start than with Michael Buble that makes you feel like you're about to go to Narnia? 

Your Own Jesus

At my youth group full of crazy younger children, we have what I like to call the core group. The student leaders, if you will. Being Scarlett, Tanner, Michelle, Hunter, and me. So we have a Bible study to sort of help us prepare ourselves for the upcoming craziness. I've been trying to find something we want to study, and found some awesome videos from Casting Crowns and I found out that Mark Hall wrote some books.

So I begged my Mama to order "Your Own Jesus", the regular edition and the student edition.  May I just say right now, if you're into living a numb-like faith. Don't read this book. If you want a mind blowing relationship with the Creator of this world and you, you're gonna want to get your hands on a copy of this book. Honestly, the man doesn't have extreme ideas that you've never heard of before. But the way he presents them. I know that my life is in the process of being change. 

This book is all about not being complacent. 

Which in all honesty, I really struggle with. 

It's about finding your own Jesus. 

Not your parents. 

Not your pastors. 

Not your favorite bloggers. 

But yours. 

I'm only in the first couple chapters, but I've already highlighted half of what I've read and thinking of my life in a new way. This is a must-read. 

what i wore//chunkay sweater

jeans- thrifted; sweater- thrifted 

Look who wore her brand new old sweater!

This chick. 

I even curled my hair, which, speaking of I'm working on a special treat for you. 

I really loved this outfit. I felt fancified. 

I wore this to the first night of Chosen. It was nice and toasty... at times too toasty. But I have this thing where I detest being cold. I'd much rather be sweating than just a teensy bit cold. Why I live in Northern Michigan I know not. Oh. Yeah. I was born here. And I'm not eighteen yet. Buut, I'm pretty sure I want to live here the rest of my life. I love it here. Spring is splendid in Northern Michigan, the smell of dirt is my favorite. And then the Summer! My favorite time. Lake Michigan and free toes. Fall is beautiful. Prettiest colors I've ever did see. And in the Winter? Hm. What's good about Winter? Snowmobiling! And sledding! And the good part about it being cold is that it's perfect cuddling weather. My favorite! 

what i wish i wore//opening day

Opening Day is like a Holiday in Northern Michigan.

Literally. Hunter is taking the day off to hunt. 

Har. Har. Pun fully intended. 

So I put together a little outfit that I wish I could wear. 

With plenty of olive (camouflage) green and hunter's orange.

Plus, look at that necklace. 

I quite like it. 

Have a great day, lovelies!

And get some venison! 

awaken.

How about a good old picture overload? 

Chosen Conference 2011. Awaken. 

Scarlett  ready to go!

(sorry for the blurriness) 

I am excited!

The sun was beautiful on the way there!

Kasserole and Aar-Bear (Bieber wannabe) 

Brenda (Brendon) and Scar 

CHOSEN!

All the rest are of Rapture Ruckus (who was amazing!!)

All in all it was a great weekend!

oh so cute.

Do you see that?

That is the boy. 

Just a couple months (maybe even more like weeks) after I met him back in 2008 (pretend that 2005 isn't there) and he was 13. I think. Goodness I feel bad for not knowing. 

But look at that complete cuteness. 

It makes me giggle. 

I must be having a Hunter day. 

we're stronger here together

Look at that boy!

He makes my heart swell. 

And makes me melt like a popsicle on the fourth of July.

He wouldn't smile in the first picture. So I asked pretty pretty please and batted my eyelashes. I have him wrapped around my little finger. (:

smile even when your heart is aching

See ya'll on the flip side home sizzles! 

I'm off for a God adventure at Chosen this weekend. 

So pray for me and all the other whipper snappers getting some Jesus talk, and that it'll sink in! My cousins'll be going today with us, and tomorrow the boy. So it's going to be a great Spirit filled weekend. 

(I managed to include the trinity in two paragraphs. Boo-yah!)

I'll have some treats for you come Monday!

(Including a *gasp* outfit post.)

this is me

Confession time. 
And it's odd that I'm nervous about this.
But, I'm gonna tell you anyways. 


My name is Hannah Lauren Byard. 
Not Lauren Holmes. 


Why did I tell you all my name was Lauren? There are a couple reasons.


 Though I love my name (Hannah) I've always hated the commonness of it. Back in 1994 it wasn't the most popular name. From 1997-2000 though, "Hannah" was number two on the charts for most popular girls name. There are an abundance of Hannahs. And Lauren, though still in the top 25, was a bit less common. Because of the trillions of Hannahs (there were literally 3 of us in my last homeschool group. and it wasn't even a big group.) I've always thought that maybe I'd like to be called by my middle name. So I tried it. Turns out, it's not very natural for me to be called by Lauren. 


 So why change my last name as well? Lauren Byard (tell me how you think it's pronounced, i've heard about a million variations.)? Well, to be honest, I didn't want anyone in my "real" life to find out about it. Not because I'm ashamed of it or anything, but because I want to be free to say whatever I want. If people I know happened upon it, cool. But I don't want to advertise this blog. That's why I have another one (where i usually talk about fairly serious stuff. it's not nearly as fun as this one. i know i don't like it as much.) that people do know about. Maybe someday I'll inform you all of that one. 


I feel like now I can be a little bit more honest with you. 
Phew. A big load of my chest. 


Really, though, how do you think Byard is pronounced?

the day.

I have a good feeling about today.

I'm pretty sure it'll be swell.

You ever have those days where you just have a good feeling? Or a bad one? I have a good feeling about today. So I shall set out my tea, start drinking, and get to work.

This is the day that the Lord has made.

Let's rejoice and be glad today!

Psalm 118:24 (GOD'S WORD translation)

thrifting

Over the weekend I went thrifting/antiquing. 

It was a fun time, hanging out with Tanner and Scar (sadly no Hunter.) and my Mimi. I set out knowing I was looking for a couple things. 

1. A chunky, big(ish) sweater

2. Ankle boots

3. A Polaroid camera

Lucky for me, I found 2 of the 3. Which is a pretty good percentage if you ask me. 

I ended up finding a smashing sweater, and the price made me very happy. I had been looking at a J.Crew sweater on sale for $80, and this one I bought ended up being $1.90. It doesn't have any tags or anything, so I'm not sure of the brand or what it's made out of. But it feels like a cotton blend. I like it. And I just noticed is has hearts. Cuuute. 

Every place we went I would ask about a Polaroid, and everyone said that they get them in but right now they didn't have any. But. But. BUT. The last place I went (20 minutes before it close, mind you) said that they did have one. I looked it over, and it seemed to be good. I was a bit bent on the price though, $50, but decided to snag it anyways. Upon bringing it home I did some research and found out my model goes anywhere from 50-200 dollars. I'm still not sure if the thing works, because I don't have film. But I'll be finding out soon, I hope. It's a Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera Sonar OneStep. 

I'm excited about it, and overall thrilled with my purchases. 


Also, about the weekend and things that went on. The boy did great at states. (:

monday, already?

Yup. This is how my Monday is feeling after a busy weekend.

On my second cup of tea.

Unfortunately it's decaffeinated. 

I'll tell you more about my weekend tomorrow.