Best of 2014

Here they are - some images that snapshot the year 2014. How do I even describe the (almost) past 365 days? 2014 was one of the most trying, flustered, astonishing, spine-tingling years I've experience in my 23 and 1/2 years of life.  

Without a doubt, this year pushed me past the brink of insanity and was a struggle. I can say that this was one of the hardest years on our marriage as James struggled with the military and fighting to earn his right to good mental treatment. I struggled as a wife, completely unsure of how to be supportive at times and unaware of what I could do to help. We tumbled through instability for the better half of the beginning of 2014, knowing that we "would" be on our way back home, but without any kind of date or indication. And the instability only continued when he finally did get out as we packed up the car and moved across the country with no home, no jobs, and him not registered for school. If we both have learned any life lessons from our time associated with the military, it's that you need to roll with the punches and have faith that things will work out... eventually. 

Which, they did. His schedule worked out, I found a job that allows me to not only support my financial needs for school, but also that I enjoy going to every day, and we found a beautiful, incredible spacious house that we get to call home for the next 1-2 years. Our relationship has improved exponentially - I can't stress that enough or write this without tears in my eyes. I've been so blessed to be gifted with an abundant amount of strength and patience, to be born a fighter. I was always told that one of my biggest assets as a soccer player was that I never gave up and that when I got knocked down by someone, no matter their size or how hard I got hit, I got right back up and fought back. You never realize what you're capable of until you're pushed - and I've been pushed. We've been pushed. 

But this year has been so incredibly beautiful. I'll be the first to tell you that it's not the atmosphere or surroundings that make somewhere home, it's the people. We've been gifted to know some truly remarkable people, to meet so many knew ones, and to call some of them friends. Even in California, where the sun shines every day and the beach is almost my backyard, my heart hurts for New York because of our friends. If you're a friend that we knew in New York, know that I truly consider you family and our door is always open to you. That welcome mat is aimed at you! I couldn't have survived happily up there without the people. 

My photography really took off this year. I was booked up A LOT in our last months in New York and the majority of my work happened in that short time period. Again, my heart hurts for that snowy abyss because I found something I am truly passionate about - photographing homecomings. There's nothing like the raw, uncensored emotion that you see. I've had a lot of people tell me that my photos bring them to tears and all I can say is that they even bring me to tears and it has nothing to do with my skill. There were many times where I choked back tears behind my camera, holding them back so I didn't miss a moment. I never did, because it was just too good to not capture. 

I also photographed a lot of firsts! I captured my first maternity shoots, another subject that I've fallen in love with and I hope that, one day, I'm able to be a birth photographer and capture that. I shot my first wedding and realized that I DEFINITELY am not a wedding photographer, but I fell in love with it at the same time because it was for a dear, dear friend who I've known since childhood. 

We added two new furry members to our family! We welcomed Penelope to the house in February and Talos soon followed at the end of April.  Penelope, or "Peach," absolutely flourished when she came home with us and we soon discovered that she is a miniature me. James constantly points out our similarities, often saying how we make the same noises, have the same mannerisms, and even have the same spicy attitude. I'm okay with this. Talos fit in the same way, like a hand falling into a perfectly fitted glove. I'm more in love with his sweet, brown eyes than I was when he first came along, and that's saying a lot because he's much more of a handful nowadays. Our little family became complete for the time being, and we couldn't be happier. 

As for our without-a-doubt biggest upheaval, James got out of the military this year. He ended his time with a little over 7 years in service, three deployments, and a whole lot of time away from home. Talk about a curveball. He worked, pushed, and prodded for MONTHS trying to get the care he deserved. Eventually, they saw what we knew all along. The military wasn't a good fit for him any longer and he wasn't a good fit for them. Like stated earlier, our home got packed away and taken to some storage place until we had a residence for them to drop it off at. What little we didn't have them take got shoved and stuffed into a tiny haul trailer and carted across nearly 3,000 miles of country. We ended our journey in California, where James is now going to school and absolutely excelling. We live a life of much less stress and much more comfort and while I miss a lot of our life in Watertown, I know this is where we're supposed to be right now. 

As stated last year, I'm excited to see what 2015 has in store for the Armstrong clan. I can't imagine it being any more insanely hectic than this year was, but perhaps I should bite my tongue. 

All the photos below are copyright of Danielle Armstrong and are not to be altered in any way or claimed as another's work.

DIY Snow Globe Ornaments

All the photos below are copyright of Danielle Armstrong and are not to be altered in any way or claimed as another's work (except for the Buffalo Snow - I got that from good, ol' google).

As some of you may have seen, I crafted some pretty cool little ornaments this past weekend. The best part? They were so easy - and cheap! I think my total cost was around $10 for 6 total ornaments. Granted, I had the glue I needed already, as well, which was a cost reducer, and I used some tweezers we had at home instead of that the tutorial I read was suggesting. I didn't use a funnel to get the snow into the ornaments, either. So, if you have absolutely nothing, then your cost might be around 20 dollars, but that's still a pretty decent price considering that you get very unique, ornate little baubles for your tree that would either cost as much it would for you to make, or it would cost you more. 

Here's how you do it:

You will need: clear glass ornaments (your choice of number), some little mini trees or other small, mini things that will fit into the ornaments, some glue (I used Alene's, you can also use hot glue), and craft snowflakes. 

First things first, take off the little topper that connects the ornaments to the hook for the tree. That's only going to hinder you from, well, everything. Next, you're going to need your tweezers to grab onto the top of your little frosted tree. Turn upside down and dab some glue on the little cork holster, and then stick that little sucker through the hole in the top and down onto the bottom of the ornament. 

This may take a little work, especially if you're putting more than one tree in. There's two solutions to this - you can use hot glue instead of Alene's Fast Grab, which will hold the tree where you stick it virtually instantly or you can wait 30-60 minute for the glue to solidify some before you stick the next detail in. Fair warning with hot glue, though. Work QUICKLY! That glue will dry quickly, just like all hot glue does, and if you don't get that tree down instantly, you're in for some real fun. 

Now the next part is easy! Grab some of this fun stuff once the glue has dried: 

Let's get something straight, here.  YOU DO NOT NEED A FUNNEL. Don't worry about finding one if you don't have one, because it's really very unnecessary. Save yourself some change and just cut off a small piece of the corner on the bag. You can then pour your snow into the ornament from the hole you just cut. Either option you use, you have to finagle with the snow to get it in. It fights you a little bit, so you have to push back.

But man, is it worth it. Because once your snow is in, you're done! Your new ornament is just about ready for the tree. Just put the little top back on, put on a hook, and stick that little baby on. 

And if you're interested to see where I got the idea from and some more tips, check out this blog post!

The Armstrongs Go West: Utah (Part 1)

Utah was actually the state we probably took the most photos in. It was the one state where we actually took some time to see the scenery. And by time, I mean no more than an hour and a half because I was on somewhat of a schedule. I had a quiz and assignment due that night, but I ended up missing them because we took this detour. At the end of the day, it was my choice and it wasn't a hard one to make. Quizzes come and go, and one wasn't detrimental to my grade. Traveling across the country, though, was an event that we probably will never do again. A class can be retaken. Experiences can't be recreated. 

We drove through Arches National Park on our way through and it was one of the most breathtaking places I've ever been. I can only hope that we'll be able to go back and camp there some time soon. Experiencing it during the day was one thing, but I'd love to go and see it at night and actually hike into some of the arches that aren't accessible or visible from the road. 

These are half of the pictures we have from Utah, and I wanted to share because they're truly phenomenal.

Also, fun fact: we were here during a flash flood warning! We had no idea and the skies weren't showing any indication of storming. That was false and we raced out of there in the middle of a downpour. Obviously, we made it out alive and without issue. It made for a great story, though. 

All the photos below are copyright of Danielle Armstrong and are not to be altered in any way or claimed as another's work.