My PINK Challenge!

Finally!  Two days before the end of October, I'm finally getting around to doing my own challenge.  I'm so pathetic. ;)

These are all pictures taken by me, and all edited.  But they were all pink before editing. ;)

~Love, Jess

Posts That Have Inspired Me: October

Hi!

  I wanted to let you guys all know of some posts that have really inspired me this month.  This is not a complete list! There are countless posts that have touched me.  These are just a few. =)

  Lynde Avenue: I Dare You
       Emily talks of how much technology has taken over our lives; and inspires us to go 12 hours without it.

  Go Teen Writers: Whatever You're Doing; You're Totally Wrong
        A short, but sweet post reminding us that there will always be people who tell us we are wrong; or there is no hope; but we must learn to ignore them and focus on what is really important.

  Journey of a Lifetime: Scripture
      Sometimes just a reminder from God's Word is all you need to brighten a day

  (Almost) Completely Mad: Is Your Faith Something to Hide or Be Proud Of?
      Kat brings up an important point about not hiding your faith simply because of what other people think.

  A Free Mind: If by Rudyard Kipling
      I had never read/heard this poem before, and it's wonderful

  According To Em
      Em has recently posted 3 posts that are just awesome.  So powerful and inspiring.  You can read them: here, here,  and here!

  Adventures Beyond the Horizon
      Every week Micaiah posts a quote.  They are always so awesome and inspiring.  Here is the link to the label for these posts:

   Daughter of the King: Bloom Where You're Planted
        Brittney not only tells us why we need to learn to "Bloom where planted" but HOW to do this.

   Forever Changed: The Ticking Monster
      Sarah is one of the best writers I know.  Her thoughts are so caring, so easy to relate to, and reach right into your heart.  This post is one of her best, I think.

   Fresh Modesty: One Reason Church is So Important To Me
       Olivia reminds us to remember why church is so important; and should be important, to us personally.

    God's Daughter: Realize The Opportunities
        I highly encourage you to explore Raquel's blog.  Her posts, like this one, are always very encouraging.

    Hello Strawberrie: The Little Things
         A reminder to notice and learn to love the little things

    Lilies of Grace: Encouraging Bible Verses About Hope
       Bible verses are about as wonderful and encouraging as you can get. =)

  Little Panda Crafts: Just Keep Swimming
       Despite the shortness of this post; it was really encouraging to me one day when I was going through some rough spots.

  Loving Our Creator: It's Who
     Lauren has so many wonderful posts; it would be impossible to mention them all.  Please explore her blog. =)

   Ni Hao Ya'll: The Daily
       A beautiful post just about loving the little moments in life

   Unadorned Gifts: You Have That Power
        This is really a powerful post about how you have the power to change someone

 
This post was a lot longer than I expected!  I hope you will check out these posts and blogs.  If anyone else would like to take this idea, and share posts that have inspired you, go ahead!  I'd love to see them! =)  You may use my picture, too, if you'd like. =) <3

If you guys liked this, maybe I'll do this every month.  Would you like that? =)

~Jessica <3

ps. Thank all of you who commented on my sister's blog.  She loved it. =)  There is still time, if you haven't. =)  http://awesomecowgirl.blogspot.com/2014/10/happy-birthday-to-sweetest.html


 
   

Plans to Make Next Year, (Almost), Perfect ;)

   Well, ya'll, October is almost over.


I can't believe it.  Only two more months and then 2014 is over.  O-V-E-R.  It's so sad.

If you all hadn't been able to tell already, I'm a bit of a procrastinator.  No, really!  I know how hard it is to believe; with me always have Tacit Tuesdays on time, and such. ;)  But, it's not that I want to put things off.  I mean, I'm not constantly thinking to myself, "Oh, I'll just do this later."  I just waste time.  I'm the world's worst time waster.  I mean, I'm busy!  I don't lay around the house all day.  I just manage to do lots of things, without getting anything done.  Long story short; I'm behind.  In blogging.  In reading blogs.  In responding to emails.  In walking my dog and cleaning my room.  In school.  Especially school.

My life is busy.  In any given week, we are out of the house, all day, or at least all morning, about 2, or 3, times during the 5 day work week.  High school is 5 full days.  So, obviously I have a problem already.  But, you see, my real problem is that I don't do school when I get home after those half days.  My problem is that I don't do school after dinner, or on the weekend.  My problem is that I think my school will just eventually get done, rather than me actually getting my butt out there to do it.

But I'm learning.  And I'm working on it.  One of my big motivators that made me focus was the prospect of a BIG trip with my grandparents next spring.  Like a fly-out-to-California-then-drive-back-home-with-my-grandparents-visiting-land-marks-along-the-way kind of big.  While the trip is less than shaky, I really would like to be ready and able to go if it works out.

   So, to bring this all back around to blogging; I'm going to try to take a different approach to my blog.  So far it has been a constant "catching-up."  Often I end up rambling rather than saying anything really worth saying.  I'm going to try to change that.  Rather then just thinking, "Oh, I haven't posted in a couple days, I'll ramble about something," I'm going to schedule posts.  I'm going to actually try to say something worth while.  I have a ton of post ideas; some even written completely out!  I know I won't always get posts out on time.  I know that I'll still ramble plenty.  But hopefully I can improve my output while still keeping the same friendly feel that I hope you all love.

This isn't an official post.  I started out trying to make it one, but low and behold, I rambled.  Oh well.  My grandparents are here all this week, and then as soon as they leave the next 3 days are packed.  I'm sorry for any of you whose blogs I follow; I'm so behind in reading and commenting.  I promise I will eventually read all of them.  I might not end up commenting, but please know that I read it and loved it. =)  Also I'm sorry on responding to comments.  I am reading all of them and they are all making me smile.  The biggest thing is that I can only respond to comments and read blogs on my laptop; not my phone.

This was a very long post. Sorry.  Kinda.  Okay, not really. ;)

~Love Jess

ps.  My wonderful sister's birthday is tomorrow!  If you all would be the best followers ever and go to her blog and comment; she would be thrilled!  I'm going to post on her blog in a minute to give you a post to comment on, but the URL to her blog is: http://awesomecowgirl.blogspot.com/ Her posts are cute and funny.  I need to repair her "FOLLOWER" button, but if you want to follow via your home page, please do that.  I'm sure she will be so happy!  =)  Thanks! <3

pps. I would put some pictures to break up this really long span of text, but my internet is not being friendly tonight =(  I'll try to add pictures to this post tomorrow.  Sorry!

Guest Interview From Micaiah!

Hiya!  Today I have a very special guest post/interview from Micaiah!  You can visit her lovely blog HERE!


Hi! Welcome to (Almost) Perfectly Pink! Would you please tell us a little about yourself? =) 
     Hi, Jessica! Thank you so much for having me here! I can indeed. =) I am a young teenage girl with a passion for God, Christian music, and good books. I love reading, and writing – they are two of my favorite hobbies. I adore Christian adventure books! My favorite book is Brothers at Arms: Treasure and Treachery in the Amazon by John J. Horn, who is also my favorite author. I enjoy history, hiking, going to the movies, chatting (which includes rambling!), spending time with my family, blended coffees, Mario Kart 8 on the Wii.U (I am not a gamer, though!), going to Barnes and Noble, singing, listening to music, and numerous other things! I also enjoy writing over at my blog, Adventures Beyond the Horizon!


Do you know for about how long you've been following my blog? What made you follow?       Well, I don’t know for sure, but it has been probably a month and a half to two months. =) I found (Almost) Perfectly Pink through our mutual friend, Mikayla, and I ended up just following! I thought it looked like an interesting blog. :) The cookie recipe post kinda lured me in... ;) And the ‘You Don’t Want Prince Charming!’ post (I agree with you)! ;)

If you could change one thing about my blog, what would it be?
Oh, gosh...must I answer this question? Maybe I’d have you talk more about the books you’ve read, and the music and movies you like! :D

What is one thing about my blog that you really like? 
   I really like the fun way you write each post and how you’re so happy! :)

Do you have any advice, recommendations, or requests to make about how I can make my blog better?
     Maybe change up the posts you do, talk about a bunch of different things. :) But I think it’s pretty fun as is!

What types of posts would you like to see more of? Less of?
    Perhaps more ‘Thought Provoking’ posts, like the aforementioned ‘You Don’t Want Prince Charming’! Um...



If you could give one word of advice to new bloggers, what would it be? 
     Keep on going, keep on writing! You might not have a ton of followers in the first few weeks, or even months, but if you keep up your work talking about the things that you love to talk about, then you’re heading in the right direction, and the followers will come. Who needs a ton of followers anyways? :) Hitler had millions. Jesus had twelve. Just enjoy having fun and writing on your blog!!!

Thank you so much for being here! <3
Thank YOU, Jessica! It’s always a pleasure. =) I had fun!

Thank you Micaiah for the wonderful answers!!  I have one more guest post coming up, but if anyone else would like to do this, please let me know!  =)


~Jessica <3

One Year.

Wow.

One Year.

45 followers.

1455 comments.

140 published posts.

14,041 pageviews.

From 10 different countries.  

My most viewed post was viewed 158 times.

One blog.

Me.

This post marks one year that (Almost) Perfectly Pink existed.  While the now-title did not arrive until a few weeks later, this blog still represents one year of posts.  Of conversations.  Friends.  Thoughts.  Ideas.  Life.  Pictures.  Ramblings.

I started this blog kind of on a whim.  I received a friend request from a girl through NaNoWriMo, and after I saw her blog, I decided to start my own.  On October 22nd, I wrote my first post.  It was a Tuesday night, like right now.

 This has been an amazing year, ya'll. I have loved every minute of it.  I seriously can't believe that all of you lovely people want to actually listen to my ramblings.  I have loved getting to know all of you so incredibly much.  Every comment has made my day.  Every sweet note, email, message has just warmed my heart.  I love all of you so much.

I am not the perfect blogger.  I know that very well.  I have a lot to improve on.  My procrastination gets in the way of everything; but I'm learning.  Slowly.  I plan on doing more thought-provoking posts.  Getting ahead.  Always posting on time.  And I know that I'll never do all that 100% of the time.  But I'll work on it. ;) And if you are all willing to stick with me on this crazy, bumpy, simply beautiful journey; I know we will have a blast.

Here's to many more wonderful years.

Love, Jess <3

ps.  I almost can't link to it because it's way to flattering and beautiful, but my friend Mikayla (the inspiration for the beginning of this blog) wrote a beautiful post on our friendship.  You can check it out HERE!

No Video. =( But Dances and Youth Events!

On Friday we went to the library at about 3:30 for a program for my brother.  I needed to be somewhere else at 6:30.  Should be enough time to upload a video to the world wide web, right?  Well, I discovered that this was not at all the case.

  First off, I very much dislike my video editing program.  But it is free, so for now I have put up with it.  But I think I'm going to have to invest in a new program.  Anyway, so it took forever for my program to load the video.  I mean, like, 45 minutes forever.  Finally I got down to actually attempting to edit my program.  Every time I tried to click on the video to either split it, cut it, delete a piece, ect, it would lock up and not work for about 3 minutes.

Finally, after about another 45 minutes of fighting the editor, I decided to just give up and upload it as it was.  Well, of course, it was too big to fit into Blogger.  So I decided to just upload it to YouTube and give you all the link.  Well, low and behold, while YouTube was still processing my video, the library started closing on me.  It was 6:00.  I wasted 2 and 1/2 hours of my life trying to upload a video that I ultimately had to just cancel and close. So, my friends, that is why you did not get a video on Friday.  I can say from the bottom of my heart that I tried, very hard. ;)

So, now we are at the library again.  And the internet was working really fast and nice, and just now Youtube finished.  And guess what?  My video is to long for an unverified YouTube account.  Which means that I can't upload my video until I put in my phone number.  Which I'm not doing.  So, it looks like I'm going to have to re-do my video in parts.  Re-film it.  And then do this all over again.  I'm sorry ya'll. =(  I tried.  I really did.

.......

Well, might as well ramble about happier topics.  Like what I was doing Friday night, after the whole video fiasco.  I was dancing.

I had heard of this home school dance/ball thingie that a lot of my friends went to, but I had never looked into it enough to go.  So finally I decided to bite the bullet and just go to one of the two practices before the "real-deal-formal-ball." And I loved it.  Oh my goodness, ya'll.                                  I loved it!!!

This was a practice before the real deal, so they went through all the dances step by step.  But we still needed to be asked by a guy to the dance, and we had to be all proper and such, even though the dress and everything was casual.  The very first dance a little boy, he looked about 7 or 8, came up and held out his hand and said, "May I have this dance"  just like they had said to do, and I accepted.  It was ballroom dancing, but while we kept the same partners, we danced with other people.  It's a little confusing, but basically you danced in groups of 4; 2 couples. And so you and your partner would dance with the other couple, and then after that set, you would move on down the line.  So once again, it was you and your same partner, but the other couple was different.  It was marvelous.  I touched more people's hands in that one night than my whole life I'm pretty sure. ;)  At first it was a bit weird holding a guys hand as you walked across the floor, but after a while I was pretty used to it.  I danced with 3 different girls (girls can dance with girl, but guys have to ask girls, they can't dance with each other)  and I think 3 dances nobody asked me.  But that's okay.  My favorite dance I did was the waltz. A boy I had never seen or met before asked me.  His name was Curtis. My favorite part was where I spun under his arm.  I already knew that part because I'd done it with my dad. =D

That ended much to soon, and so afterwards we headed for home, but I wasn't in bed until about 11 o'clock. I had to get up on Saturday morning at about 6, in order to go to a youth event called Farm Fest.  It was awesome!!  A full day of activities, messages, skits, songs, food, and tons of games.  From "teenage worthy" bouncy houses like human fooseball (It's awesome) from mini-golf, to giant jenga (played with pieces of 2-by-4's) and obstacle courses, it is a full day of fun.  And the messages/sermons are awesome. =)

Well, I guess I bring this post to a close.  I'm sorry about this past week/weekend, I'm so tired I wasn't able to get much done.  I'm up to 45 followers!  Whoo!!  You guys are AWESOME!!!! =D  

Scattered throughout were just a few random pictures.  =P

~Jessica

Which Posts Do You Like The Most #3

I'm just over-running y'all with posts, I'm sorry. =P  And this poll.  I don't think we'll finish by the end of October. (Time moves Waaayyyy to fast, ya'll)  So, if you guys want, we can continue this.  If not, that's fine.  How are you guys liking it so far?

Anyway, here are the next links!

Post #11

Post #12

Post #13

Post #14

Post #15

Well, that's it.  Like I said, Friday the Q&A Video should be up.  And just to let you all know, I was going to get all fancy and make it all neat and take out all my "umm"ing and "Ack"ing, but I hate my video editing software.  So, yah, you all are going to be introduced to me unedited.  If that thought gives you nightmares, I'm sorry. ;)  hehe

Well, toodles.  I'm off to bed.

~ <3 data-blogger-escaped-br="" data-blogger-escaped-jess="">

Tacit Tuesdays! {Still Too Lazy To Figure Out What Number...}

I've got a nice short TT for you today.  Annnnddd...guess what I filmed today....The Q & A Video!!!  So that should be up this Friday! =D  Yahh!!!  hehe

 My ADORABLE puppy.  Man, I love this dog.

He ever posed by the pumpkin for me! <3

 These are pictures I took a really long time ago, intending to use them in a post.  I might still, someday lol

I opened this the other day.  2 yellows.  Seriously? ;)

 Ugh, the Iliad.  We are sworn enemies >.<

See how small the text is?  Imagine having to read 32 PAGES of this stuff a day. 

Like I said, real short.  lol  Have a lovely day, ya'll!  And don't forget to vote on my poll; it ends tomorrow.  The link to the post with the links is: http://homeschooledauthor.blogspot.com/2014/10/which-post-did-you-like-most-2.html

G'night, Lovelies!

~Jessica <3

Which Post Did You Like The Most? #2

Forgot to mention this in my other post, but the new poll is up.  This runs till the 15th.  Here are the links.  Also, I have a page now to keep track of these. =)

Post #6

Post #7

Post #8

Post #9

Post #10

Thank you!!

=D

~Jess

ps.  Post #2 won that poll, even though #2 and #3 were tied.  I voted for #3, but I decided that sense they were tied, I thought I would dismiss my own vote.  =)

Updates // DIY Painted Pumpkins // Ramblings

Hey peeps.

   Okay, seriously people, I owe you the biggest apology.  I'm behind in everything.  Posting, updating, the PINK Celebration/Challenge, it has just fallen apart.  While I will note that my mom has been down for 2+ weeks, and I'm trying to put some overtime into school, and I'm handling the household stuff, and we have been super busy, I've also wasted a lot of time.  Doing...nothing.  So, anyway, I think I apologize way more on here than I should, but I do want you to know that I am sorry.  So, to show my gratitude for ya'll, I'm going to....ramble!  Yah!    \(^-^)/  ;)

  Well, for two Fridays in a row now, we have left the house about 9:00am and come home about 8:30pm.  Can you guess how much school I got done? ;)  We had art class, then lunch, then library, then a chiropractor appointment for my mom, the a store, then a birthday party, then a one and a half hour drive home.  When I got home I talked to two of my very good friends!  First, a girl who choose to remain anonymous sense I'm not supposed to tell that she talked to me ;)  She hasn't talked on the phone in literally years.  But, after knowing her for a year, I finally heard her voice.  Her sweet wonderful voice.  It was adorable.  After that I talked to a beautiful, familiar voice of my very best friend.  I had called and left a voice mail to her the day before in tears, and so she spend all of Friday trying to get ahold of me.  I love her so much. <3  Ah, so very very much.  Both of my peeps.  My friends.  My crutches and the people who have to put up with me the most.  Virtually, none the less.  I'm surprised they haven't thrown me off a cliff yet. ;)

  At the party they were carving pumpkins, and there was one extra so the older sister and me carved one.  We just did the normal jack o' latern.  We did a double sided one; she did one side, I did the other.  =D

Her side.  Beautiful =D ;)

My very first (that I can remember at this moment) carved pumpkin.

  So, this past Friday, we went to Trader Joe's.  Okay, this place.  Seriously.  I love Trader Joe's. It's...amazing.  Awesome.  Adorable.  I know I'm not the only one who loves Trader Joe's, please refer to Ella's post HERE!! So, yeah, I basically love Trader Joe's.  And on Ella's post, if you look in the picture you can see where the package says "Trader Joe contemplates Inner Peas."  Puns.  Everywhere.  They're awesome.  And then my mom found THESE:

DUDE......THESE THINGS!!!

Anyway...

Remember how I said that I wanted to decorate pumpkins?  Well, I'd been on the lookout for some, but hadn't found any.  Well, I found these ADORABLE mini pumpkins at TJ's.  So so cute, and so so what I wanted.  Perfect.  So, I had a photo shoot with my pumpkins.  See below ;)

Aren't they the cutest?

It looks yellow in this picture, but trust me, this is the PERFECT little pumpkin.  As you'll see later, I didn't even decorate this one.  The color, the size, the stem.  Ahh...

This is the biggest one, and only slightly bigger than my palm.

Ignore the shadows around the picture =P

This is my personal favorite picture =)

Julia staged this.  She is a magician. ;)

Well, so now come the DYI part. ;)  I didn't have the shades of paint I wanted, so I ended up using nail polish!  It worked awesome!

So, I started by covering my white pumpkin in some creamy-almost clear polish.  I wanted to bring out the white color; make it more pure, without the crystal-white from just white polish.

My workstation.  Ignore the high school football players head, I didn't realize how evident in these photos it was until I uploaded them lol XD

I did use a paint brush for this, but then the paintbrush started hardening, but sense it is my sisters, I didn't want to ruin it, so I switched later.

See how it's glossier?

The end result.  Isn't it gorgeous?

  Next pumpkin I did was Polka Dots! <3

Pretty self-explanatory lol

And then I took my biggest one and tried to make it look realistic, but more colorful.  I realize now I didn't take much pictures of this one, I missed a step. lol

I drew with a nail marker down the lines to bring out the orange =)

Then I put clear nail polish on it to bring out the gloss.  You can also see in this picture where I put green sparkley glitter polish on the stem.

Here you can see the orange lines. =)

 And...I went a little crazy with the last one....

So now please enjoy photo shoot #2 with the painted pumpkins! lol

Ahhh....Well, that's about it I suppose.  This was a super long post, I'm very sorry.  Thank you all so much for sticking with me and this blog though our not-so-good times.  I can't promise that I'll be improving with my posting, but I'll try.  Thank you Abigail for doing the PINK Challenge!  You are my hero! =D <3

Well, toodles.  Love ya.

~jess

ps.  The Q&A video.  Thankfully for you all a friend sent me a message over Goodreads, like, "Hey, how's the video coming?"  And my jaw hit the floor. Guess who c-o-m-p-l-e-t-e-l-y  forgot!  So, I'm going to film that.  Like, tonight.