Weekly Photo Challenge: Forward

Sorry this is coming out so late…. I’ve been sick and writing ANYTHING was out of the question.

So, better late than never, here is this week’s “Weekly Photo Challenge!”

Forward can mean a lot of different things. Don’t believe me, just ask the online Merriam Webster dictionary. When I consulted my good friend earlier, here’s what he had to say:

Well, that clears up a lot…. okay, not really. Which definition should I translate into a photo? Of the six definitions, there were two that obviously stood out the most to me. At this point in my life, I find that I am in a transition phase, moving and growing into, what feels like, a completely different person at times. I am in that age group where I am no longer a student, I live  in the adult world (job, paying for things on my own, making big life-changing decisions), many of my friends are getting engaged and married or they are starting their families. I’m transitioning into a grown-up version of myself and I’ll be honest, at times it’s scary. I don’t like it, but I can’t stop it. You just have to keep moving forward. Which brings me to my photo this week, which was inspired from a long conversation with my dad a few weeks ago.

I know what you’re thinking: “where in the word is she going with this?” And to that I say hear me out and I promise it will all make sense! A few weeks ago I had what can only be described as a mini melt down. I was feeling very low and had misplaced a good amount of my self-confidence. I was doubting my ability to make anything of my life or even my ability to chase my dreams. I don’t exactly remember what started the downward spiral, but it concluded with a puddle of tears, puffy eyes, an empty box of tissues and a heart-to-heart with my dad. These are nothing new, for as many times as we’ve fought over the years, we’ve had just as many, if not more, in-depth, thought-provoking conversations, and this was no exception.

This conversation focused on looking at life as a road, a journey. He told me about how he got to this point in his life, the people he met, the jobs he had, the places he lived. He told me about all the times he changed his mind over the years, how life was unpredictable. Things happened that forced him to change course, other times it was his decision. He said that in life we are traveling down the main road and there are things that happen, with or without out our control, that makes us alter our journey.

There are designated stops along the way, milestones if you will, like graduating from high school and then college, getting that first job, falling in love. Sometimes there are detours, we take the long way to get to a destination. In my life, doing the Disney College program would be considered a detour to graduation, but it’s not one I will ever regret, because had I not gone, look at all the opportunities, friends and self-discovery I would have missed out on. Other times there may be construction on the road, and you are forced to wait until it is your turn to go around so you can continue on your journey. These situations are frustrating and they seem to take forever. In my life, I’d consider this working towards my “dream job” or finding “true, everlasting love.” I know both are out there, and everyday I get closer to them, but I can’t help but feel that a snail in quicksand is moving faster than me on most days. People have told me not to wish away and rush these days, but when I see the happiness of my friends and family, I can’t always stop my heart from asking when it will be my turn. And then there is the dreaded dead-end which forces you to choose a new direction and path. It is at these points in life you have to make a decision, do you go left or do you go right? Which one is the way you should go? Is one better than the other? Will you make a choice and discover miles down the road that it was the wrong one and be forced to turn around? Or will it lead you somewhere you never dreamed would be within your reach? I can’t say what this would be in my life right now, I feel this is one of those situations you can only see after you’ve made the choice and traveled a ways and looked in the rear view mirror to reflect or as you are making a U-Turn.

So for this week, in order to move forward, we have to recognize where we are on the road of life: are we traveling down the main road with cruise control on, exploring a detour, frustrated at the construction block or choosing between the left and right of a dead-end road. Wherever you are, I hope the sun is shining, the music is turned up and you are taking many pictures along the way. And who knows, maybe our roads will cross one day, now wouldn’t that be unexpected! Until then, safe and happy travels friends!

Wordless Wednesday – 2/27/13

Never Forget

Wordless Wednesday – 2/20/13

Hauntingly beautiful

Weekly Photo Challenge: Kiss

Kiss. There are a lot of ways to capture a kiss, between two people – lovers, family, friends; two animals, or even just the sending or receiving of a kiss. — The Daily Post

There are so many types of kisses and the problem lies in deciding which one to feature in this week’s challenge. If you read my post from Valentine’s Day, then you should already be able to guess that a romantic kiss (of any nature) will just not do.

So what’s the next best thing…a kiss from your adoring dog! (Dogs are better than boys anyways!) But I can’t find the picture. And it really breaks my heart because it’s one of my favorites, and it’s of my dog that is no longer with me. (RIP Bear)

HOWEVER…. as I was rummaging through all the photo albums on my computer, I happened across this gem that I had COMPLETELY forgotten about! And it was perfect!

If you know me, or my sisters, you will know that we are a crazy, silly group of girls. We love laughing and joking and taking silly pictures. This one was taken during a visit home a few years ago, a priceless moment I’m glad was captured in a photo. I was living in Florida at the time and hadn’t seen my family in a few months.

Needless to say, I was AMBUSHED with lots of kisses! But honestly, who wouldn’t love that?!

Memories

Quietly she cries ice water tears

As she thinks about him.

She remembers the way his up and away blue

Eyes would dance when he’d laugh.

The way he’d brush her wildflower honey hair

Out of her eyes.

And softly touch her ballerina slipper cheeks.

Her cool country blue eyes started to water again

As she watched the nautilus blue sky

Turn dove gray.

Her hollyhock red heart was breaking

All over again, and there was nothing

She could do to stop it.

© The Undercover Princess, 2013

I Hate February, but I’m Learning to Love Me

I hate February. I really, really hate February. The weather is bipolar, everyone is suffering from cabin fever, the sun is on vacation in the southern hemisphere, and…it’s Valentine’s Day.

Here we are again, a day of flowers and chocolates and cheesy cards, hearts and cupids, couples and love. Everywhere you look there’s something red or pink, X’s and O’s, and reminders of all kinds that this is a day for lovers. It’s so overwhelming, for this one day everyone feels the need to broadcast that they have a significant other. But what about the other 364 days of the year, why aren’t they as important when it comes to showing your special someone, and the world, how happy and in love you really are?

This year is not so unlike the many other Valentine’s Days I’ve faced in my life time. It has always just been another day where I (and I’m sure there are many others out there like me) am reminded that forever love hasn’t found me yet. So needless to say, I have never had a fantastic Valentine’s Day.

But who knows, maybe this year will be different? I mean, a girl can dream after all….

Now, don’t misunderstand me. I’m not the kind of girl who needs big gestures and a fanfare. I’m easy to please — talk to me, spend time with me, get to know my family and friends, let me be part of your life, be proud to introduce me to YOUR family and friends, make me laugh, remind me I’m yours daily and I’ll be the happiest girl in the world. When I fall in love, I fall hard, with my whole heart and soul. I would move Heaven and Earth to make the one I love happy. I would walk thousands of miles to spent 2 precious minutes with him. I am a hopeless romantic and I hope everyday he will know how special and important he is to me, and how much I love him.

Have you seen the Hallmark commercial “Tell Me,” it’s been running for a couple of years now. I’ll link it here. In the video description is says “Everyone has something that they need to hear this Valentine’s Day. Tell them with a Hallmark greeting card.” Now I know the point of the commercial is to sell more cards, but let’s think about it the deeper meaning here. We each have something we NEED to hear, and the commercial captures all these needs perfectly. The lines are raw with emotion, delivered by a cast who looks like every day, normal people. I find myself relating to this commercial because inside I am screaming for someone to tell me those things, too.

Tell me I’m beautiful. Tell me you need me. Tell me you’ll miss me. That you’ll never let me go. Tell me I’m worth it. Tell me we’ll grow old together. Tell me that I’m still the one and that you need me.

That’s all I need.

I don’t need chocolates or flowers on a day that was created to sell more merchandise. I just need to know I’m special to you because, when you grow up feeling invisible, it’s hard to believe anyone out there will ever want, or even be satisfied with just you.

So this Valentine’s Day I’ve decided to focus my attention on learning to love myself and it’s going to be hard. I am my own worst critic and I’ve known that for years. When I look in the mirror, I see faults, failures, mistakes and disappointment. But starting today, I will try to discover one new thing everyday I love about being me.

This is a very drastic approach to this day than I took in high school. Don’t believe me, check out this photo. It’s so old, I had to hack into my MySpace account (it took me the better part of an hour to remember the email and password combination, if that gives you any indication to the last time I logged in!) to retrieve it! Back then, my best friend and I would search for the PERFECT Anti-Valentine’s Day shirts so we could celebrate Singles Awareness Day in style — you guessed it, we wore them to school. This one is from my sophomore year and it also happens to be my favorite.

I found this comic in the morning paper a couple of days ago. Reminded me of my parents, they always get my sisters and I a heart-shaped box of chocolate, and sometimes there’s even been a cute card or stuffed animal. I’m very lucky they are mine, and I love them so very much!

 

So Happy Valentine’s Day or Single’s Awareness Day, and if you don’t like either of those…. HAPPY THURSDAY! 😀

Wordless Wednesday – 2/13/13

First one of the season!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Home

This week’s Weekly Photo Challenge is all about home. I’ve called a few different places home in my lifetime.

Home is where the heart is, where you are safe and secure. It doesn’t have to be big or stylish. Home means many different things to many different people. What does it mean to me?

Family — Friends  — Love — Memories —   Peace — Growth — Challenges — Success — Dreams — And so much more

But most of all, it’s the place I know I can always run back to, and I’ll be embraced with open arms.  While I have dreams that may one day take me far from theses walls, I know that if there ever comes a time when I need to come back, I can. The best part about coming home after months away…. the homemade signs that let you know you were missed.

What can I say?

I have awesome, talented little sisters. 

Wordless Wednesday – 2/6/13

Super Bowl Commercials: Yea or Nea?

It’s that time of year again, Super Bowl Sunday XLVII. A night we will all remember as we witnessed not only a Destiny’s Child reunion live on National television, but also the Super Bowl power-outage. (I read a post one of my Facebook friends had where they wanted to know if there was going to be a baby boom in 9 months, starting with the GoDaddy couple. Okay, that was wrong, but you know you laughed….a chuckle, little belly shake, maybe?) And I wont try to fool you, I could honestly care less about the game itself. I’ve never been one to enjoy watching sports, be it live or on television, it’s just not my cup of tea. (Alright, you caught me, those last 4 minutes had even me sitting on the edge of my seat! Holy cow, talk about using every minute to make every play count.) But what I do enjoy are the commercials. They are fascinating to me, and not just because my degree is in advertising.

While I was in college, each year my professors had us watch the commercials and then we would talk about them in class, and now, I guess the tradition lives on through my blog. Please remember these are my own personal opinions and I respect that you may or may not share my views, and that’s okay. The world would be much too boring if we all had the same thoughts and feelings about everything. I won’t link all the commercials I talk about, just some of my favorites. 🙂

So without further ado, the [more memorable] commercials of 2013:

1. GoDaddy – I just don’t have the words to express how disgusted I was by this. As my dad pointed out, guys don’t want to see “hot” females making out with “nerds” and from a girl’s point of view, it made me (and most of my friends on Facebook) sick to watch. It was disturbing. And when they cut to a close-up, it was all I could do to keep from losing my dinner. I understand that GoDaddy is the type of company to push it too far, but I feel they missed the mark big time with this one. Honestly, who was their target audience? However, I am talking about it, and my guess is many of my fellow bloggers are as well, so maybe their creative team was onto something. If you missed it, thank your lucky stars, and heed my warning, DON’T look it up on YouTube.
2. Best Buy – Okay, I didn’t just like this one because it referenced 50 Shades of Gray (which I just finished reading a few weeks ago and if you haven’t read it yet, you need to. Enough said). I thought this commercial was funny because I’m the type of person who would ask a million trillion questions of the sales person, and I’d hope he or she would be as calm, cool and collected as the guy in this ad. And yes, that last question of the sales person “will you?” was great.
3. Doritos Dad – I loved this commercial, and I think that was because I related to it. When my sisters and I were younger, my dad would put up with us as we played hairdresser and who knows, he may even have attended a tea party or two. This feel-good spot brought all those happy memories back. It was hysterical to see the extent the dad (and then his friends) were willing to go to for Doritos.
4. Coke Chase – I think Coke did a great job with this one! Had a great story line, and while I wasn’t surprised with how it ended, I did love the call-to-action. Who did you vote for to win?! I was torn between the Vegas Show Girls and the cute cowboy.
5. Taco Bell – That commercial was AWESOME! Too funny. That’s all I’ve got to say really, other than I hope I’m that fun as an older adult. I also really enjoyed the Spanish, worked well. YouTube it.
6. Audi (Prom) – I wasn’t overly impressed with this ad. I know they were trying to get across that you will feel brave and confident in this car, but some of my friends have pointed out, and to some extent I agree with them, that Audi is saying violence is okay. With the world we live in, I don’t feel this is the message we need to be putting out there. I mean, the world is violent enough with the movies, television shows and video games we as a society are exposed to on a daily basis. Again, I know this wasn’t the purpose of the ad, but that was my main take-away.
7. Budweiser “Brotherhood” – Okay, I’ll be honest. I saw this one on YouTube during the halftime show. I think I replayed it 4 or 5 time. I’ve got chills! I love when you see them reunited. It’s the type of commercial that just tugs at your heartstrings. And I’ve always loved the Budweiser Clydesdales. Did you see at the end the fans get to name the 7 day-old foul that was featured at the beginning?! What do you think would make a great name for this little star?
8. Jeep “Until They Are All Home” – This commercial hits close to home for my family. My cousin is serving his second tour over seas. There’s not a day that goes by that we don’t miss or worry about him. These men and women are putting their lives in danger, spending countless time away from their families and missing out on some of life’s greatest moments to keep you and I safe. They are (too often) not thanked for their service. As the commercial said, they are some of the best of this country.
9. Ram Trucks “God Made a Farmer” – I was captivated by this one. The voice over by Paul Harvey was perfect. The faces of the farmers made it so I couldn’t look away. I feel like I can’t give this commercial the praise it needs, so here, watch it for yourself.
10. And of course, my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE part of the Super Bowl: “You’ve just won the Super Bowl, what are you going to do next?!” If you are at The Walt Disney World Resort® in Orlando, Florida, today, February 4, 2013, I hope you make sure to watch the 3:00PM parade in Magic Kingdom….because Joe Flacco is there, too!