Fun Post: A Day in the Life Tag

I am alive. I shall not attempt to apologize for my absence of nearly fifty-six days. In the time since I posted last, a lot has happened, including but not limited to, an absolutely incredible three week road trip out to Missouri with my entire family (minus one), a new job completely different than anything I've done before (in foodservice, no less ;P), and, most importantly to me at least, the continuance of a very special relationship. ;) Yes, as some of you may not be aware of, I am courting. And it's amazing. ;) But I shall valiantly refrain from going on about it, because once I start I don't know if I could stop, which I'm sure no one would enjoy too much. ;D Haha! I will simply say that God's leading and direction in this has been precious to see, and I am so excited to see how He continues to work! And also that Luke is an incredible guy. :)

Today I'm going to do a post I was tagged for by Grace over at Grace Notes! She tagged me forever ago, and I took the pictures for this post fairly soon after she did so, but never took the time to sit down and get them all together. :) The idea is to take 10 pictures of a normal day. Since my work is not full time, all of these things don't happen every day, but these are the activities I typically spend time at. :) Hope you enjoy! 

If I'm going to be at home for a while before work, or if I have the day off, I will start the day with coffee in one of my many, many favorite mugs. ;P For me, coffee is not fuel that I guzzle, (since caffeine doesn't do much for me energy wise). It's more of a treat that I enjoy sipping on. Also I'm really picky about it. ;P I pretty much only drink espresso type drinks. Strong, sweet and creamy. ;) 

Hand lettering is definitely a huge part of my everyday life. I started lettering around 3 years ago, but kind of fell out of it for a while. Now I'm more into it than ever, and spend much of my free time doing that. It's so relaxing and satisfying, somehow! :)

I work at Costco for the sample company, CDS. I enjoy a lot of aspects of the job, though it does have its downsides, for sure. One thing I enjoy is being able to answer people's questions about where things are located (which I'm not technically required to know, since I don't work FOR Costco, just AT Costco.) Still, it's fun to me to try to memorize where everything is so I can answer questions. ;) Also, I've grown a lot better at cooking very quickly and in a small space. Sometimes now in my own kitchen I find myself using like a 3 foot square of countertop to cook on. ;D One other fun thing about the job is people watching. You wouldn't believe the types of things you notice when you are yourself a fairly unobserved and unnoticed person standing off to the side. ;)

This is an odd pic, I know, but I spend a pretty decent percentage of my free time each day on either this app or Facetime. ;) No particular reason. Not like I'm talking to anyone special or anything. Ahem. ;)

It's a rare day indeed when I don't spend at least some time playing piano. Music is so special to me and one of my favorite things to invest time in. :)

Hanging out with my crazy family is also special to me. Being the oldest of 8 kids comes with its own fun adventures and challenges. It's awesome though. ;) 

In case you needed a demonstration of the last statement I made, here is a picture of Kourage giving Miriam a "ride". Also known as dragging her around the house as she latches onto his ankle. Not weird at all. ;)

Cooking for a large family is also its own type of interesting. We have one recipe that we make on a regular basis that has 18 eggs in it. Another one takes nearly 12 cups of flour total. Yeah, we go through a lot of baking ingredients. Heh.

I enjoy taking pictures with my phone, and usually end up taking at least a couple of them every day. I'm certainly not anything like a professional photographer, but I like playing around with it. :) Editing is fun, too. I usually do that with two different apps: Afterlight 2 (It costs around $3...totally worth it), and Snapseed. (Free!) 

This playlist on Spotify is one that I fall asleep to every night. I typically don't go to bed until well after midnight, unfortunately. ;P I'm at my most creative at night, for sure...so that's when I do a lot of my hand lettering, writing, and other creative endeavors.

Well, there you have it! 10 photos of some of my most common activities. :) I would like to tag Sarah over at Dreams in Alaska. Sorry, I'm supposed to tag more people, but I don't follow that many blogs! :'D If you would like to do this, consider yourself officially tagged. ;) I hope you guys enjoyed this glimpse into my life! I hope to be more faithful in posting things on here, but I know better than to promise anything. Life happens. :) Thank you all for your understanding!! (Looking at you, Jenny! ;) Hope you all have a lovely week.
Mykaela

Fun Post: Summer Special Tag!

My goodness, guys! I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since I've posted anything...time has gone so fast and there has been so much going on! Today I have a super fun tag that I compiled from several different sources. I thought it would be fun to start a tag that some of my blogger friends might want to do during the summer months. ;) These are just kind of random get-to-know-me questions. :) Hope you all enjoy! 


1. What's a nickname only your family calls you?

I have had sooo many nicknames. :P Currently it would probably be "Markala", a spinoff of a previous nickname, "Kala". ;)

2. What's a weird habit of yours?

I obsessively cross the fourth and fifth fingers on my left hand when I play, or even think of playing, racquetball. Please don't ask me why, because that is a question I have ZERO answer to. It's like my brain has associated that hand position with racquetball, and I have no way of disassociating it! ;P Also, I sometimes mouth the last few words of my sentences after I finish saying them? Not sure why on that either. XD

3. Do you have any strange phobias?
Yes. I am terrified of things in the water that are a tiny bit above and a lot below the surface. E.g., icebergs and those nets with the orange floaters on top and a huge net below the water. SO SCARY. (This is most likely totally irrational, something carried over from a childhood terror of some kind. ;P) Also, I'm a bit paranoid around fire. I've gotten better in recent years, but it still really freaks me out when my siblings are around a fireplace or a campfire. :(

4. What's a song you secretly love to blast and belt out when you're alone?
Haha, oh dear. ;P There are a lot of these ones. "Misty" by Errol Garner is one of them, as well as lots of Disney songs. ;)

5. What's one of your biggest pet peeves?
Being patronized. Like when people assume I am super ignorant about something or whatever. Maybe I am, but don't just assume it and treat me like I'm dumb!!!! ;P

6. What's one of your nervous habits?
I bounce my leg a LOT. :D Sometimes I won't realize I'm doing it until I suddenly notice that my leg is sore/shaky from bouncing it so long, and I wonder how many people I have unconsciously driven to the brink of insanity. ;P

7. What's a YouTuber that almost always makes you laugh?
Brian Hull. He does impressions, and he is so utterly happy and sweet, he always brings a smile to my face. :) Also, Studio C is a massive favorite of mine! ;)

8. What was your first stuffed animal, and what was it's name?
I had WAY too many stuffed animals to know what my first one was. There was Ewe (pronounced "You-ee" ;) the lamb, Aslan the lion, Chocolate the bear, and Pat the Bunny. I had an extremely large circle of animal friends, and we had a lot of fun together. :D

9. What's the drink you always order at Starbucks?
I don't go to Starbucks that often because of how expensive it is, but my universal coffee shop order is typically a 16 oz. hot breve, usually with an extra shot. (3 shots total)

10. Do you have any weird body skills?
I have flexible fingers...and I can curl my tongue.... yeah, I don't really have anything. ;D

11. What's your favorite comfort food that's bad but you eat it anyways?
Probably ice cream.

12. What's a phrase or exclamation you always say?
"Brother George Washington!!!" I get weird looks every time. Which is annoying, because when I say this I'm usually already frustrated. :'D

13. What did you used to wear that you would never wear now?
 I've always been pretty concious of my style, so there isn't actually that much that's changed! There were a few denim skirts I probably wouldn't wear now due to the frumpiness factor, but for the most part my style is the same as when I was younger.

14. What did you want to be when you were young?
A dolphin trainer. Yup. (Hence the picture at the top of this post. ;)

15. How tall are you?
I am 5'8". I feel kind of tall compared to most of my friends, but I like this height. I do wish my arms were a bit shorter though, because I cannot wear long sleeves. They are never, ever long enough!

16. Fun bonus: What are 5 ways to win your heart/become a great friend?

• Go on spontaneous adventures with me.
• Give my favorite music a chance...it means a lot to me. :)
• Make me coffee.
• Understand how passionate I am and let me talk sometimes without belittling my (most likely crazy) ideas or thoughts. Put up with my emotional side. :)
• Play games with me. 

 

Wow, I really enjoyed that! I would like to tag my dear friend Kimberly, over at Peculiar on Purpose, as well as Halee from Writer Ramblings and Things. Also, Sarah from Dreams in Alaska, and Grace from Grace Notes blog. This is just an open tag, so if I didn't link to you, but you want to do it, go right ahead! Just link back to me and leave a comment if you do, because I'd love to see your answers to some of these fun questions. :) Feel free to answer some in the comments too! If you aren't able or don't wish to participate, NO worries! Thanks so much guys, and have a great week. :) Love,

Mykaela

Fun Post: Liebster Tag

So I know I just did a blogger tag...but I was recently tagged by my good friend Kimberly over at Peculiar on Purpose, to complete her question list. :) Here is a direct quote from her blog on what "Liebster" means. ;)

"Liebster. 

No, it's not English. 

'Lieb' means 'Love' in German. The suffix '-ster' is very similar to an English superlative. 'Liebster', then, means something along the lines of 'Beloved', or 'Most Loved'. 

As far as I can tell, the Liebster Tag (previously, "Liebster Award") began as a way to recognize and promote your favorite and/or new bloggers."

So there you have it! ;) I will tag someone else at the end of this post. :) Here are Kimberly's questions for me...

1. Besides the Bible, what is one book that has changed your life?

Wow, this is a tough question!! I think I'd have to say One Thing You Can't Do in Heaven, by Mark Cahill. One of the best books on personal evangelism you will ever read.


2. What color are your bedroom walls?

Eesh. Right now my walls are rather unattractive brown paneling. ;P We are going to be tearing them all out and replacing them (I live in a basement that used to be a studio apartment, but that was quite a long time ago.) Hence the lack of loveliness. When we get drywall up, I am going to be painting them a very pale blue. :)


3. Favorite season?

I think summer and fall are tied for me. I absolutely love swimming, so summer is fun because of that. But fall is when my birthday is, the leaves change, the weather is awesome...I can't pick. ;)


4. Beaches or Mountains?
Another difficult one!! I guess mountains, because there is more you can do in the mountains than on the beach.

5. Have you figured out how to answer the "What do you want to be when you grow up?/What do you want to do with your life?" question? If so, let's hear what you've got!

I want to be a full time wife and mother. I would like to write and do music stuff on the side, but we'll see how much I am able to do that. Until then, I am staying home, working, helping my family and church, and just enjoying where God has me at the moment. :)


6. If you had a time machine, when and where would you travel first? Why?

I would travel to the time of Christ, so I could see for myself the amazing miracles and messages of Jesus!!


7. What is your purpose behind blogging?

My purpose behind blogging is to be a blessing and an encouragement to everyone who comes across my blog. Specifically, to be an influence in the lives of those I may never be able to reach in person.


8. What is your current "life verse"?

2 Peter 1:5-7, which I just posted on! ;) You can read it here.


9. If your house was burning down, and your family was already safe, what two things would you grab?

My goodness, there are too many hard questions here...(thanks, Kimberly. ;P) I think my Bible and my journal. My Bible because my dad bought it for me right after I got saved, (coming up on 10 years ago now!), and it's very precious to me. My journal has soooo much family history, and I'm actually the only one in my family that has kept a journal fairly regularly for the past 13 years or so.

10. What do you wish you had more of?

Friends that lived nearby. I have actually never really had a friend that lived close enough that I could call them up and be like "Hey, want to go shopping/go out for coffee/come over..." etc. Well, I did for a few months, and then she moved away. Ahem. You know who you are. ;) Anyway, I would love it if some of you could just move here already! ;D

11. If you could broadcast one sentence across the entire earth, where literally every human being alive would hear your words in their own language, what would you say?
Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and if you turn from sin, (lying, stealing, lust, etc.), and ask Him, He will give you eternal life with Him! (Long sentence, but it was just one! ;P)

Thank you so much for these awesome questions, Kimberly!! I would like to tag Sarah over at Dreams in Alaska to do this tag. She has some really good, thought provoking posts over there, you should definitely check it out! :) My questions for her:

1. What are some of your favorite Christian artists or groups?
2. What genre do you enjoy reading most?
3. What person has been the biggest influence or made the biggest impact on your life?
4. What is your most important goal in life right now?
5. What's one of your favorite childhood memories? 
6. What are a couple of hobbies or talents of yours?
7. Is there one song that you always go back to for encouragement or just because you love it? :)
8. What is a food that you really don't like?
9. Favorite instrument? (To listen to or play)
10. Early bird or night owl? ;)

If anyone else would like to do the tag as well, just let me know and I'll link you in!! :D Hope you guys enjoyed this, because I sure did! :) Have a lovely weekend! 
Mykaela

Fun Post: Get to Know Me Tag!

Hello, everyone!
Today I'd like to do a blog tag I found online, just for fun. :) It's a list of 21 questions, so anyone joining the blog in the New Year can get to know something about me, (such as exactly HOW crazy I am. ;). Let's get started!

1. Are you named after anyone? No, I don't think so. My dad and mom just really liked the name "Mykaela". However, fun fact...right around the time I was born, there was an extremely popular T.V. show that had a main character named Mykaela. My parents did not know this. ;) So then about 5 years later, everyone and their uncle was naming their kids that after the show! ;P So funny. Now there are a lot of kids from my generation with the name.

2. When was the last time you cried? Umm...unpleasant question. ;) I cried about two weeks ago because of some pretty extreme pain. :/

3. Do you have kids? No, but I would love to someday!!

4. If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself? Yeah, I think so! I would most likely be slightly weirded out by me, but I think I would still be friends. ;)

5. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Me?! Sarcastic?! Never.

6. Will you ever bungee-jump? You would have to pay me a very, very large amount of money for me to do that. And I'm a super adventurous person! Roller coasters, yes. Ziplining, yes. Cliff jumping, yes. Skydiving and bungee-jumping, no. That's where I draw the line. ;)

7. What’s your favorite cereal? Ahhh, this is such a hard question!! I'm going to name three because cereal is a weakness of mine. Um...I think granola, Cracklin' Oat Bran, and Honey Bunches of Oats. :)

8. What’s the first thing you notice about people? Whether or not they look friendly. If they are smiling, etc. It preps me for how the conversation might play out.

9. What is your eye colour? I have medium blue eyes.

10. Scary movie or happy endings? Happy endings, absolutely. I see no point in movies being scary just to be scary, I think it's stupid.

11. Favorite smells? Fresh bread, newborn babies, summer evenings, and fall candles.

12. Summer or winter? I love both, but I think I'd have to say summer, because I love swimming so much. Can't swim very often in the winter time. ;)

13. Computer or television? Computer. I haven't had a television in my house since I was 5, I barely remember it.

14. What’s the furthest you’ve ever been from home? Samoa. I took a trip there in the summer of 2014, and it was SUCH an amazing experience.

15. Do you have any special talents? I play piano, and write music. I have my own cooking show, I've been knighted, and I can hold my breath for 30 seconds. (Only the first sentence of this was true...the rest is a quote from a movie, bonus points if you know which one. :'D)

16. Where were you born? I was born in Salem, Oregon.

17. What are your hobbies? Piano, singing, baking, reading, journaling, blogging, Pinterest, thrift store shopping, and hanging out with friends. :)

18. Do you have any pets? I don't, but I would love a dog at some point. I'm not at the right stage of life currently. ;P

19. Favorite movie? Eesh, another hard one. Again, I'm going to name a few. Ever After, Pride and Prejudice 1995 (a.k.a. THE ONLY REAL P&P), Narnia, all of the Elizabeth Gaskell movies, Princess Bride, disney movies....

20. Do you have any siblings? Oh, yes. ;) I have 7 younger siblings. Five brothers, ages 17, 15, 10, 8, and 6, and two sisters, ages 12 and 2. :)

21. What do you want to be when you grow up? "When I grow up"? I don't plan on that ever really happening, so... ;P I would love to be a Godly wife and mother, if The Lord allows. I'd also like to continue to be a songwriter, but perhaps to get some of my songs published. 

And that's all, folks! :) I hereby tag Kimberly, to continue in my footsteps of this get-to-know-me post. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Mykaela

P.s. Don't you love the picture at the top of this post?? It made me so happy. :)