Happy birthday Lauren!

It's January 3rd and my baby sister is officially 25 today! She is such a wonderful, beautiful, loving person and I am proud to not just be her sister but her best friend. We had little paintings hanging in our bedrooms when we were little that said, "Sisters by chance, friends by choice," and this couldn't be more true. She is my best friend.

So today, Lauren, let's celebrate YOU! You are amazing, and I am so glad you were born on this very day, 25 years ago.

I love you sissy. ML <333



If you're so inclined, you can visit her blog here and wish her a happy birthday too. :)

Also see the post below this for birthday celebration photos!

Saturday and birthday celebrations!

Today was such a magnificent day. Earlier today I said it was just a happy day, but now I feel the adjective must be bumped up to magnificent! We spent the day celebrating my sister's birthday, even though her actual birth date isn't until tomorrow. Her boyfriend Abe has a huge day of fun planned, so we elected to do one of the family get togethers today. My parents provided the ice cream cake, and we showered her with wonderful gifts including, but not limited to: diamond earrings, Wii, and Wii Fit Plus! I would say that she definitely made out like a bandit...and she truly deserves every good thing she received!

After presents and cake Hank and I went shopping for a bit. Afterward we went to Lauren's house for her birthday get together and had a blast. My sister and Abe are recent homeowners and their home is so adorable. We played her new Wii, ate yummy food, and had a great time hanging out. A lot of her other friends came over as the night progressed and it was a great time. I'm so glad Lauren had a fun night.

Here's some photos from the day and night!

the adorable little ice cream cake


make a wish!


Hank and me


me, showing off Laur's new earrings from Abe








It was a beautiful day today!



back home again, now ready to go to Lauren's-



This is Lauren and Abe's dog Rex! I love him so much. They rescued him after he had been found abused and left by a dumpster. :( He has a very, very happy and loved life now which makes me ecstatic.


He is so cute (and hates the flash most of the time!)




We like to take a lot of photos!


...and they often all turn out looking alike!


Kristin and Laur






I found this little gem at my sister's house in a box, completely in tact with all pieces there...this was one of our favorite games growing up. I always wanted to be Lila Fowler. I am beyond happy about this find and so happy Laur kept it after all these years.




Uncle Hank and Rex


Isn't he beautiful?!


taking this wonderful game home- we just had to pose for another photo with it. What fabulous memories!


I also had to include this photo from earlier- Ms. Madeline and me!


and...my love.


Happy birthday Laur!

Hiii!

hiii!, originally uploaded by daniellehampton.

A quick little hello from Madeline and me. We're heading over to my sister's birthday party in a moment, so I'm sure I'll have many photos to share with you wonderful people later. I hope all of you have a fantastic evening!

xoxo

Happy Saturday!

Today is a happy day indeed. Although yesterday was New Year's Day, I didn't really wake up with a feeling of new or resolve. But this morning I did! I know it shouldn't take a holiday to make me feel anew, but I love any excuse for a fresh start.

After I woke up I headed to the gym and had an awesomely motivated workout, which was exactly what I needed. When I got back to my parents' I made brunch for Hank and me and we vegged out for a bit before he headed out to get his hair cut. It's been a very low-key holiday break, and I'm very grateful for that. I'm not even dreading going back to work on Monday. It definitely helps that I like my job and the people I work with, but I think a positive mindset helps also. Do any of you have to go back to work on Monday after a nice long vacation? What are some things that help you make that transition a little easier? For me, it's going to bed really early the night before and making sure I eat a good breakfast. I'm a total breakfast-minded person, and if I don't eat a good one I feel off all day. Some of my favorite meals are egg whites with nitrate/preservative free bacon and fruit, cereal like Kashi Go Lean or Irish oatmeal, or homemade quiche! It also helps to have our house completely clean and organized. I took care of that last week, so tomorrow my main focuses are going to be laundry and planning some lessons for the first couple of days back.

This evening we are celebrating my sister Lauren's birthday with our friends at her new home, and I'm excited! I really can't believe my little baby sister is turning 25. I will make a proper birthday post for her tomorrow for sure.

I hope all of you are enjoying your second official day of the new decade. I am excited for all to come. I'll leave you with a happy little (cheesy) photo. :)

2010

First, I have to say that there is nothing better than waking up to a new year with a clear head and healthy body, hangover free! Last night was a very low-key night. We left Prescott when Hank got off of work and arrived at my parents' around 8pm. Our family from New York was in town, and everyone was hanging out and eating yummy food, so we joined right in. We all played Catch Phrase and then watched the ball drop. Hank and I toasted with our family at midnight with Trader Joe's sparkling cider, and then I enjoyed 2010's first kiss with the man of my dreams. We were in bed by 12:30am. They say the way you spend your New Year's Eve is indicative of your upcoming year. If this is in fact true, then we couldn't have done it better. I was surrounded by the people I love most, enjoying fun games and great food. I hope this next year is just like that- full of family and happiness. Looking back, 2009 was a great year. It was full of laughter and happy hearts, traveling and friendship. It also included small disappointments, health scares and sadness. Like any other year, it had its ups and downs. I'm assuming that 2010 will be the same way, and I am definitely welcoming any and all of it with open arms. One thing I do have this upcoming year that I didn't have last is one more year of experience in handling those negative things. I feel like I'm at a place in my life where the bad things don't throw me as much; it's a good place to be. At the start of this decade I was enjoying my Senior year of high school, enjoying life but having no idea where I was going; I was a typical 17-year old. Who would have guessed that 10 years later I would be married to the love of my life, living in a dream of our own creation. It's mind-blowing. To me, this isn't just the end of a year, or a decade. This is the beginning of a new stage of our life. 2010 has promise, and I'm incredibly curious to see how this all pans out.

This year I do have 3 things I'm planning on working on-

1) getting healthier- I am definitely health conscious, and I work out a lot, but I would like to focus on mixing it up more and doing one thing in particular- going to the gym before work at 5am. I went off birth control because I felt that it wasn't healthy for me to have synthetic hormones in my body, and since going off I've gained a few pounds. Last time I went off I experienced the same thing and I hate it! So I'd like to get to my comfortable weight and then work on doing new and exciting things with my body like climbing, new dance/aerobic classes, etc.

2) saying goodbye negative people/talking- This past year I did a great job of ridding negative, rotten people from my life. I managed to do this without hard feelings...those people kind of just drifted away and out of my/our life and I am so happy about that. In 2009 I made the decision that I would only surround myself with people that made my heart happy, and with that decision I did lose a few friends. I am so much happier now though, and I feel so much more at peace. I have a little ways to go, but I feel 2010 will see the completion of this goal. Family and the few friends that are like my family are really the main things of importance in my life. Everything else is secondary, and if you are going to bring any sort of dramatics or negativity into my life, I have no desire to let you in. Furthermore, on the subject of negativity in general, I would really like to get to the point where I don't discuss anyone in a negative way. I am definitely guilty of this, and it's such an ugly trait. I don't do it a lot, but when I get with certain people this part of my personality comes out, and I hate it. I shared this goal with some of my girlfriends yesterday and they both said "You don't do that!" but I know I do. That feeling I get in my stomach after I know I haven't been the best person is horrible. So, with that said...I'm going to try my best to stop negative talking about anyone.

3) continue blogging- This year I've done the best job of really documenting my life. There's been times where I feel uncomfortable with being so public, and I feel odd about so many strangers being in my world, but at the same time it's really fun and I've met some awesome people through this little blogosphere, as well as kept in touch with faraway friends and family. I hope in 2010 I continue to be as thorough in my writing and photos.

So here we go 2010! I'm so happy to meet you.

Friends and fun

Wednesday was a wonderful day- our dear friends Erin and Jonathan came up to Prescott for a visit. We've all been friends for a long, long time, and it's always so wonderful to be able to spend extended amounts of time with them. They got in around 4pm, and once Hank got off work we all went to Hugo's for dinner (of course). Afterward we spent the rest of the night downtown, playing Wii, and laughing so much. It was perfect. I took a million little Flipcam videos, so I stuck them all into one long video. It's nothing special, but you'll get a little look at Prescott and our silliness. I am loving this little camera, and I'll be taking a lot more videos in the future.

I also wanted to add that I had to take my formspring off of my blog for now- there's absolutely no way I can keep up with all of the questions! Maybe one day I'll put it back up when I have more time.

xoxo

12/30/09 from Danielle Hampton on Vimeo.

Here are some photos-

JP and Madeline, she loves him


Hugo's session














Hank tried to make cookies but it turned into one big cookie...delicious though!






Wii bowling!


downtown




me!


Adie!


Amber!


Erin!

Finishing up the question and answer game!

I wanted to finish up answering the questions from this post, and then I have a million formspring questions to answer in the next few posts! As always, you can ask or tell me anything you'd like over there to the left. It's anonymous, and the comments/questions go straight to my email!

I'm going to try and keep my answers short and sweet because I still have a long way to go! :)

I have a question! I am on the English lit track as well in college and was going to do the library science route for my Master's but have gone ahead and decided to do teaching. Did you double major in secondary education? I'm thinking about doing that, that way I can teach while I work on getting my Master's. Do you have any advice on that? Also, is the English GRE super scary? (Silly question, I know, but the reading list terrifies me!) Thank you!

My BA was in English Literature, then I went back to grad school and got my Master's in Education, specializing in Secondary English Education. This accelerated program also had a certification emphasis, so by the time I was done with my degree I was also a certified teacher! So basically I graduated with my BA, decided to go to grad school, did that for a year and a half, student taught for a semester, graduated in May at the end of that semester with my M.Ed. and teaching cert, and then starting teaching the following fall. Fortunately I didn't have to take the GRE to get into grad school, so I don't have advice on that! Good luck! :)

Hi Danielle! I also wanted to ask you where you shop but that has been taken a few times haha! Good thing I have another! I know you wrote that the administration at your school doesn't mind your tattoos, but I was wondering if you had trouble getting a job at first because of them?

I student taught at the school I ended up working for, and I would never show my tattoos during that time because I wanted a job there. So in actuality, having tattoos had nothing to do with getting or not getting my job. Now that I'm hired, I've learned that is doesn't matter if I show them because we don't have a rule against it, but I'd rather just not rock the boat! I occasionally show my leg, or top of my chest piece, or arm, but it's nothing major!

Question time:
what are your thoughts about god?
how do you post images to your blog so well? (i'm having issues. :)
xox

God- I am not a religious person whatsoever. Church and organized religion is not for me in any way. With that said though, I support everyone's right to practice whatever religion you want, I just don't get it and I have no interest in getting it, ever. I don't believe in "god," although I am open to there being a god, but also open to there being nothing. My husband is an atheist, but I don't subscribe to that idea because I think saying that there is nothing is the same as saying there is something. So I am just unsure. If I believe in anything, I believe in science.

Images- I use flickr! I simply upload, then go to "all sizes" and add the html for the medium size. You also have the option of creating a blog with a photo via their blog template option. Very cool. I love flickr.

What are your favorite 5 shops in Prescott??
OH, and whats the auto place you take your car... mom and pop shops are my cup of tea...

I actually don't ever go shopping Prescott. There's just nothing that really interests me! Sounds weird, but most of the shops are touristy, or don't cater to my interests. As for as the car shop, I go to Prescott Import Car- I love them! :)

What is the hardest thing about being a teacher? Do you ever wish you were something else instead?

I thought about this for awhile before I started typing, and my answer might not be the expected answer, but the hardest thing about teaching isn't the kids, or the parents, or the actual teaching...it's everything else. The paperwork, the meetings, the accreditations. It's all "extra" stuff and really separate from everything I do. I adore teaching; I find it extremely rewarding and I love the age I teach. It's just all the extras I don't like! As far as anything else, the only other thing I'm interested in being is a mom, and that's my next career move! ;) I could see myself as other things- a librarian, a bookstore owner...but none of those are better than a mother, and fortunately I will be able to make that a full-time job.

Just wondering if you have any style icons or celeb girl crushes!

hmmm...well I will be really typical here and say how much I love Zooey Deschanel's wardrobe. I also adore Jenny Lewis. But other than those wonderful ladies I can't really think of anyone else at this moment.


for a question: did you find that starting to work out helped our your depression? is that what you best recommend for combating it?

I've worked out my entire life and then more seriously when I was "legally" able to go to the gym at my parents' country club when I was 13. Because I've always worked out, I don't know if it directly affected my depression in terms of starting to work out, but I do know that if I don't work out for more than two days in a row I'll get in a funk. I try to do something majorly active everyday. Any depression I've had is pretty hormonal, and I've also related it to alcohol use. A few months ago I stopped drinking completely and I haven't had a depressed day in months which I am really happy about. I never drank a lot at all, but even once a month out with friends would leave depression in its aftermath.


umm question is: How was it living in Flagstaff? Good stuff and bad stuff...
We love it there and visit often but never for more then a few days. We've considered moving there a couple times but can't decide.

I loved living in Flagstaff! You have to keep in mind though that I was in college during these four years so it was a typical college experience. I lived in the freshman dorms the first year, the sorority house the second year, and in a huge house with my girlfriends the last two. One of the reasons I love Prescott so much is because it reminds me of all the great things I loved about Flag, but better! Small town vibe, great mom and pop places, all four seasons, fun community events, etc...but no college vibe and all that stuff I'm not into at this point in my life!


background: I have been in a wonderful relationship for 3 years and have been thinking this is it for a while now but I always get those "i don't know anymore" moments.

question: did you go through that with hank? and if so, what was the best way you would/handled it? I know I am not alone in this but sometimes I just don't get how some people are so sure.

I wish I could help you on this one, but I can't! Seriously since the moment I met Hank I knew I wanted to marry him, and I never had any reservations about it. I'm sure our situation is uncommon though. I know a couple of my friends went through what you are going through so perhaps I should do an interview post and they can share their experiences!

Your answers post inspired me to ask: do you plan on getting any more degrees eventually? A PhD maybe? :)

I actually started down the PhD road after getting my Masters, but decided against it. At this point in my life I can confidently say no, because I have no desire, but I guess you never know where life can take you in terms of desire and interest! I'm definitely not ruling it out, but I'd rather not work my butt off in school (again). Yuck.

YAY! I'm done. haha! That was a lot of questions. I actually left a few of them off this last round because I'm planning on making large posts about those topics. So if I skipped your question, I will get to it eventually.

xoxo