Hello Again!

Hello again readers! I'm back from my summer break. I took time to fully soak up lazy and busy days until school starts in August. Over my free time a few major things took place in my life and I wanted to share them with you. 

1. My family came to visit. 

My family lives across the country and they came out and visited us in the sweltering heat. We celebrated the two youngest boys birthdays and made blow up forts with duvet covers. I hadn't seen them in nearly 3 years and was truly amazed how my little cousins had grown up. It was sad to see them leave!

The best ways to entertain 4 young children for hours. And yes, the teenagers even loved climbing inside it too. 

My little bro turned 3 and my cousin 4. Fun fair themed birthday and invited all the neighbor kids over too. 

2. I moved 

In June, I moved from a house into an apartment. The space is smaller than before, but I honestly enjoy smaller living areas than larger, open spaces. We are  now well equipped with an apartment pool, which has it's perks.

3. We got a car!

This is probably my favorite thing that happened this summer. Before we had no car and had to take the bus everywhere we went. I am grateful for having the bus system, but it took it's toll. It was getting tiring, especially once it started getting deadly hot outside. We found a car for $600 on craigslist that runs great with ICY, cold AC. God has blessed us so! 

4. Blog Makeover 

You might have seen as you came onto my blog, that it has been transformed. I thought to freshen up the style and make it nice and happy for when I started blogging again. I am pretty pleased with it! 

I've missed the blogging world and am glad I am back!

How have you all been? 

Blogging Break

Hello Everyone,

I am going to take a little break from blogging this summer. Life has been so busy lately and will continue to be, leaving me without enough time to blog. And too, I don't have anything to blog about that will capture any of your attention at the moment. As you can see, I've been slacking these last few weeks. I thought it through and taking a break over the summer seems like a good idea so I don't have to worry about it.
I will pop in once and a while and comment on your blogs while I can. Meanwhile I will be back soon. Thank you for everyone who reads my blog and makes it ten times more worth it.

See you soon,

Pepper

Something to Laugh About

  I found this video the other day while browsing Youtube, wasting my time, ha! As I watched this, I found myself laughing and realizing that I did some of those things too! The video is not an insult of Christians or anything, but about a fellow believer seeing cliches among the Christian community and voicing them. Take a look :) 

If You Give a Girl a Book

School is almost out and that means I will be able to fully submerge myself into books once again. I got inspired from She Learns As She Goes because she answered some questions about her reading habits. Being a fellow reader, it's always interesting hearing about other readers. 

Do you snack as you read?

I do, but not very much because I worry I'll get food on the book!

What is your favorite drink while reading?

Iced tea or water are mostly what I drink.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

Writing in books for me is fine but dog earring it, well... that is another story!

How do you keep your place while reading a book?

Paper scraps or if I'm lucky a book mark but mostly it's whatever's easiest to find. 

Are you the type of person who tends to read to the end of the chapter, or can you stop anywhere?

Personally, I like to stop at the end of the chapter but if I must, I can stop anywhere. If I stop at the end of the chapter, chances are I'll go ahead and go on ahead and say 'one more chapter' ;)

Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or onto the floor if the author irritates you?

No, I've never done that before. I just won't read them anymore if they are that annoying! 

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you look it up right away?

Not usually. I try to figure it out by the surrounding words but if not I skip over it. I know, bad habit, I'm lazy that way! But if I'm using my Kindle and I don't know a word, I can just click on it and see the definition. 

What are you currently reading?

I have started reading a bunch of random books to see which one I want to continue to read. One I am starting on is Les Miserables, which has been very interesting so far!

What is the last book you've bought?

Last time I bought a book was when I went to the book sale in February and that was quite a lot of books to recall. 

Do you have a favorite time/place to read?

I like to read whenever I'm in the mood but I especially like to read in my room where it's quiet and I can read on my bed. 

Do you prefer series books or stand alones?

I don't prefer either. It depends if a series is really good or a novel itself is outstanding. :)

Is there a specific book you find yourself recommending over and over?

It would have to be the Princetta because of the story line, character development and overall beauty of the story. And also Captivating because it is a book every girl and woman needs to read! Two favorites. 

How do you organize your books?

I don't really organize them specifically. I just line them up on my desk and dresser and find a way to make room for more when new books come.

Reading goal this summer?

To read historical fiction books. I love reading while learning facts.   

If you do your own questions on your blog, please provide the link in the comments so I can see you answers! :)

Happy Reading!

Hands to Create

  "Though everything else may appear shallow and repulsive, even the smallest task in music is so absorbing, and carries us so far away from town, country, earth, and all worldly things, that it is truly a blessed gift of God."

                                       -Felix Mendelssohn  

This post is inspired by Lacey who got me thinking about music.

  Not just any music, but instruments.

My Great Grandmother's Piano <3 

  Earlier this week, I was having a really rough day. I had just got done with piano lessons and I felt like a failure. As I was going through my lesson with my teacher, the notes on the grand staff were not registering with my brain and my fingers were not obeying my thoughts. I was making no progress and everything on the paper in front of me seemed foreign. It made me start blaming myself afterward. Was I not practicing enough? Was I not putting enough effort into it? I have a recital in two weeks and the stress is so high I dream about my recital piece and forgetting how to play it! Agh!

  That's what had me down. I felt like a music failure. It was later that day when I was at school in the library that I heard jazz music being played. At first I thought it was the cafe playing their stereo overly loud, but when I came out I saw what it was. Five or six men playing instruments with ease and creating sweet music to my ears.

  I stood there, listening and absorbing the sound like a sponge. For some reason, it was redeeming to hear that sound after a bad day. It restored my heart and erased the stress that had been building up over the weeks. A group of regular guys coming together making something more than harmony with their talent. It showed me that someday I will be there. I have to keep going.

  That's when I fully understood how blessed I was to be able to play piano. Even if I was having a bad week playing or not, I was blessed. I have able bodied hands and ears that can create and hear fresh streamed music. It makes me so glad God created music! What would we do without it!? It stirs the souls emotions and brings the body to it's feet and we hear sounds of the creator when there is a strum of the guitar or a press of a key. The fact that there are instruments that make the sweetest, smoothest sounds in the entire universe is astonishing. 

Thank you God for music!