Missing the Mountains

Part of my soul lives in the Rocky mountains.  It has been far too long since I've visited it.  I am feeling a little disconnected and my heart and soul long to be reunited with its missing piece.

I love the mountains.  I love the crisp mountain air that seems to cleanse your lungs as you breathe it in.  I love the smell of earthy-rocks, pine trees, and wild flower meadows.   I love how small I feel in the midst of such greatness and beauty.  I love how physically close God feels to me when I'm perched on a boulder, feet dangling, taking in the surrounding beauty.

I am born and raised in the plains of Kansas, but for whatever reason the mountains have always felt like HOME to me, and I am getting home-sick.

 

 

 

These Pictures are from Geoff's and my 10th anniversary trip in 2010

Sunday Funday

I have a very expressive face, it's a curse and a blessing.  I am pretty good at easily conveying emotion in my face which helped out in my theater  and choir pursuits in school, also it helps me to get good pictures taken because I can easily control what my face is doing.  Its a curse because its next to impossible for me at times to hide my thoughts and emotions... they show up on my face without even trying... so if I don't like a person, or I'm mad, or I'm not impressed people can tell, and it has gotten me in trouble or caught up in drama on occasion. On the other hand, it makes it really difficult for me to be fake, which is wonderful.. with me what you see is what you get.

Anyway... since this is Sunday Funday I thought I would share the "ugly" side of my face to give you something to giggle about!  I have a talent for making funny faces.   I love making funny faces. When I'm feeling down, making funny faces in the mirror, or taking funny pictures with my cell phone always makes me giggle and makes me feel better!  Enjoy!

Hope you got a good laugh, or at least a grin!  If not, go make some crazy faces of your own, I promise it will lift your spirits.  I think it's good to not take things too seriously all the time, and let yourself be silly from time to time... or more!

(I added this one, just so you remember me like this.. not like the above photos! Haha!)

Take Me Back Tuesday, Best Outfit Ever

I found this old picture in my shoe box full of old pictures the other day and it made me smile.

 First, that's me when I was 9 (I think) wearing my FAVORITE outfit.  You gotta hand to me that I had some insanely fresh style going on black bike  shorts with lime green stripes on the side coordinated with a lime green tee with shoulder pads, and black stripes on the sleeves. They looked perfect together and they came from different stores, I was so proud of that pairing, I wore that outfit as often as I could. 

Second, the dog on my lap was "Slick."  He was a good dog, a mutt that my brother got for his birthday from the animal shelter one year.  He was a mix of  dachshund and shi'tzu  (a wiener shit.)  He later became my grandma's dog when we couldn't keep him at our house anymore because he bit a neighbor kid (btw the kid had it coming.)   I remember whenever I walked him, people would always ask "What IS that Thing?" He had been mistaken for a weasel on many occasions.  He was so strange looking, and I have never seen another dog that looks like him.  Oh and in the picture, there is also a little stray kitten that I was petting and Slick was sniffing.

The yellow glider I was sitting on still sits in the same place on my grandparents' patio today.  I love that glider it's so happy and bright and fun to sit on .

Anyway that's my quick little trip down memory lane.  Do you remember your favorite outfit  from way back when?



Take Me Back Tuesday: Always Loved Vintage

I have been asked many times lately, what is up with the way I dress.  I guess to some people, it seems like I just started dressing in vintage style, out of the blue.  Not the case.. and here is the picture to prove it.  Me-- in 1998 --wearing my favorite jacket, a 70's vintage track jacket.  Yes, obviously, my style and tastes have changed.. but not my love for old things.  Not that  I need to prove anything to anyone.. I just wanted to show this and say Nee-NER-nee-ner-NEE-NER.

Take Me Back Tuesday: Model Me

This week, I received my copy of the July issue of The Cat's Meow Magazine. My picture happens to be in it.  Pretty exciting stuff!  A few years ago when I was wearing size 18 jeans and lacking any personal confidence, I would have never, ever believed that there would ever be a picture of me, in a magazine, wearing a swimsuit, and looking pretty dang good.  However, my younger self, the 5-year-old version, probably would have expected it.  Little Devyn happened to be a "runway model!"  

In 1986, my local Dillard's department store had a contest.  Parents could submit photos of their children to be considered for modeling.  One lucky boy and girl from each grade level would be selected by judges, hundreds would enter, few would win.  I won!  My mom picked a picture of me wearing my dance costume, a shiny black and silver leotard made to look like a tuxedo and a heavily glittered silver  top hat.  The photo was taken at KMart's photo studio and had also been selected to be displayed in the studio's waiting room.  It was a good picture, I will have to search for it and share it with you sometime.

My prize was getting to model for a runway show featuring Back to School  fashions in the Dillard's children's department.   I modeled an adorable Spumoni sweats-outfit:  a pink sweat shirt with a puffy painted happy green dragon stretching from the middle of the sweatshirt, all the way down the right sleeve,  on the back of the dragon were adorable little teddy bears using the dragon's tale as a slide.  The shirt was paired  with a matching  sweat-skirt, with a teddy bear at the hem line.  I also modeled some classic Osh Kosh BeGosh overalls.   In the words of RuPaul, " I WERKED"  that runway too.  Most of the kids just acted shy and walked down quickly and then back.. I put my hand on my hip and did a proper pivot turn and smiled big.

This is an example of  a fine Spumoni piece of fashion, you can purchase it HERE on Etsy.

That little girl deserved to grow up and be confident.  I may have lost my way for a few years, but I  am happy to have finally become the woman she was destined to be!

I'm Weird

I'm weird, or maybe I should say unique... for sure I am quirky.  Here is a short list of  7 (rhymes with Devyn)  reasons why:

1.  I have this habit to talk in and out of funny voices.  I usually do this when I'm nervous or insecure. Sometimes, I do it just because it's funny and I'm in a funny mood.  I also like to read books aloud and give every character their own voice... think about me reading "50 shades of Grey" using my voices.

2. I am overly sensitive to other peoples energy.  I can feel energy in a room like its my 6th sense.  I absorb it like a sponge.  Sometimes its a good thing, I can usually tell how genuine someone is just by standing near them long enough, my first impressions are usually spot on.  Most of the time its a bad thing.  I can't take too much negative, tense, intense, or just high energy in a room.  I can actually feel it as heavy on my chest. I have had anxiety attacks because of my energy sensitivity.  My body starts shaking, my heart races and I burst into tears for no reason at all.. super embarrassing.  Usually,  I can "escape" a high energy situation before that happens... but when I can't ohhh man, it sucks.


3. I have to know details.. details of details. If I dont it freaks me out.  Especially when it comes to my schedule.

4. I often look at what a random person is wearing  and wonder what their shopping experience was when they bought that particular outfit.

5. I think I might be psychic.  Seriously, I have these moments when I'm daydreaming and it will be like I'm thinking of a memory, only it hasn't happened yet and then eventually it does happen.  This happens alot when I meet people that will become an important relationship in my life.  I knew that my husband was going to be my boyfriend when I first saw his picture in a yearbook, months before I every met him in person. 

6.  I like to put on bright lipstick and lip-sync while watching myself in the mirror.

7. I am alot smarter than people think.  I made extremely good grades all through school without trying very hard.. I know I come across as an air head blond, but I was actually in the gifted program in school


What are some of the things that make you weird, unique, or quirky?  I'd love to know!

Doll Divine

So I found this super fun, time-wasting, addicting, website, www.dolldivine.com.  You can make just about any kind of cartoon/avatar version of yourself you can think of.  I, of course, love the pin-up deluxe doll maker.  I got a little obsessed recreating some of my pin-up photos in computer graphic form.  I loved playing with paper dolls when I was a kid, I guess this is kind of the new paper-dolls.  Here is what I came up with:

*All photos by Vixen Pin Up Photography

Watch This Flick

If there was ever a movie that changed my life, it is the movie "Click," with Adam Sandler.  It's a comedy, with a lesson; enjoy every moment life has to offer, don't wish it away.

At the time the movie came out in 2006, Geoff and I were going through one of life's rough patches.  The church he was working for (yeah, I used to be a Pastor's wife.. weird huh)  had drastically cut his salary to next to nothing, the senior pastor was incredibly harsh to work for (think Kevin Spacey in Terrible Bosses) and we were desperate to move on.  Finding a job in any job market is difficult but finding a good job in ministry is next to impossible. The process takes an insanely long amount of time, because every body has to take time to pray about everything.. send your resume.. they read it, they pray over it.. call you on the phone.. they pray about it, come meet with the senior pastor.. pray pray pray... then meet with the hiring committee.. pray.. then the church body talks it over.. pray... then the hiring committee meets again... ugh, its exhausting just typing it.  Anyway, Geoff and I had been through this process 3 or 4 times, only to be told, "we're going in a different direction."  I had my heart broken several times, I had gained a ton of weight, and I was depressed.

I found myself wishing my life away, thinking, "when I am finally out of Michigan I will be happy," or "If Geoff could just get a new job, I will be happy" or "If I could loose 20 pounds, I'd be happy.."  I was so busy living in the "someday" I forgot all the wonderful little things "today" had to offer.  Shaylee was an adorable little toddler back then, and I missed out on alot of memories I could have made with her.  I was living my life half alive, on auto pilot, just going through the motions.

When I saw "Click" I totally related with Adam Sandler's character, I won't go into detail, in case you haven't seen it yet.  I had never cried so much during a FUNNY movie in my life.  Ever since I saw that movie, I vowed to appreciate every bit of my life, even the crappy times. You'll never hear me say, "Is it Friday yet?" or " I just can't wait til..." or " I'll be happy when..."  these days. 



If you haven't seen the movie.. watch it, I am pretty sure its available on netflix... here's theTRAILER .

Sunday Funday

I didn't come up with a quirky "mavynism" to illustrate for Sunday Funday this week. So, for something different I will just poke a little fun at myself.

With it being Summer vacation from school for the kids, my house is in a constant state of destruction.  I am a housewife, I should be good at house cleaning.. but I am not.  I am a creative, free spirit kind of gal... I am completely disorganized in my living and my thinking, although I try really hard.  My husband, Geoff,  is the opposite, he is a total neat freak and he gets kind of antsy when the house is disheveled.    I wanted him to have the happiest of Father's Days so I had to get the house clean .

Saturday, I spent the day cleaning house, while Geoff took the kiddos to the pool..  to make it more fun for my eccentric self I dressed the part of a proper house wife--- boat neck tank, head scarf, pedal pushers, red lipstick.  I put on some sweet tunes from spotify (the soundtrack to Dirty Dancing) and sang and danced my way around the house.. cleaning as I go.

I have a flare for the dramatic, what can I say... but the house is clean and I didn't hate doing it!

PS.  Can we talk about how cute my little doggy, Leo (named after the Leo Diamond) is, check him out chillin on the right-hand-side of the picture!