Live,Love,Laugh,Enjoy Life

Catch Up and stuff...

2010-10-20T10:23:00.003-05:00

Again it's been a while since I've been on her to write anything. The last time I was just getting ready to leave on my vacation to California. So California was fun! We had bad weather the first half of the trip but it got better towards the end of it. So that was good. We went to Disneyland our last two full days and the weather was gorgeous! The last time we had gone we had the opposite weather super hot at the beginning of the week and cold by the end. i must admit I'd like to go out there and have nice weather the entire time but ending with nice weather at Disney was better than walking around in the rain. One of the highlights was our cousin Ben and his wife Suzanne. We had so much fun with them. We went to their house our first day in town and hung out and it was so much fun!! Then he took us flying our last day there again, we had so much fun!! It was a perfect way to begin and end our vacation!!

This blog is my way of reminding myself to enjoy my life. Things change so quickly in this world and I never want to take anything for granted. The last couple years(especially this last year)I have felt like I was lost, wandering aimlessly from nothing to nothing... I quit a job i probably shouldn't have and went back to a job I probably shouldn't have and now I feel like the door I forced open is closing. I am not happy where I'm at(to be blunt). I have to get up at 4:50am every morning and every morning I could cry. Yes, this is my own doing and I have to live with the consequences of not being obedient to or waiting on God, but I do feel like my life (albeit tortoise paced)is getting back on track to where I am supposed to be. i hope that the change is coming quickly and that I can get things turned around by the new year but I am going to wait for God to open the right doors this time and not take matters into my own hands. I have said all that to say yes there are parts of my life that stink right now(who isn't going through something), but there are other parts that I really am enjoying too! I know this post turned into me rambling but if I'm the only one who reads it good.If someone else comes and reads it too AWESOME... and I hope I didn't just bore you to tears. :)

Oh and I'll be posting some California pictures soon!!

Vacation

2010-09-30T08:37:00.003-05:00

It's almost here...one of the best times of the year. No it's not a holiday..or maybe it is..more like a floating holiday you can take any time of the year you want.. Vacation! It has been over two years since my last real vacation. We plan them all the time but to actually go on one...well that's a different story. But,we finally did it and i'm so excited. We are going to California! We're going to visit our "sister". She's our best friend but more like family now. Come to think of it two years ago our last vacation was to see her too. i cannot believe it's been two years since I've had a real go-out-of-town-and-forget-about-your-real-life kinda vacation. And boy do I need this! You don't realize how much you really need to get away and refresh yourself until you're on the brink of it. This whole week I have felt overwhelmed and exhausted(that could be in part because I've been going non-stop...just worked out that way). But God knows exactly what you need and when you need it. So I am believeling that with this vacation comes a time of refreshing, peace and happiness. I'm gonna soak up the sun and enjoy every single minute of the time I'm away and come back strengthened and ready for whatever God has in store for me!

California Girls

2010-09-27T10:29:00.002-05:00

So, yes I am going to post two today since it's been so long since I actually posted. I've been very busy the last couple months. I started school at the end of August. I'm going online for Computer Information Systems.Yes, I am proud to be a Computer Nerd... So, school work is very consuming,then with work, school stuff and traveling..this past weekend was Fort Wayne, this coming weekend is California!!!!! Even though i'll still have to do homework(which I will make minimal)I am so excited to be going to see my Best Friend Tiffany!! We are going to the San Diego Zoo, Disneyland,dinner with my cousins, and a whole bunch of other things!! I don't really care what we do as long as we are having a blast while doing it, which of course, we always do! Since the weather will be in the low 60's here in Indiana I am very excited it'll be in the mid-70s out there!! Yay for warm weather.It has been two years since we've seen Tiffany and although we talk to her on Skype once a week it's so much better to see them. I already don't want to leave. It would be so awesome to find an awesome job out there and an awesome apartment, and just stay..okay? OKAY! I'll definitely post all the fun we had out there, and what we did!

Ichthus and Other Stuff

2010-09-27T10:11:00.005-05:00

Okay, one day I WILL get the hang of this thing!! It's been what two mionths since my last post...Sorry.. I spent the last hour and a half trying to sign in because I couldn't remember my password, only to find I had the wrong email. For someone who loves computers and technology I just wasn't do very well today..oh well... I'll use the excuse that I was partying all weekend at a concert...well..becasue I was. We went with a family on Friday night to Fort Wayne for a concert called Ichthus, where a whole bunch of artists come and play, and we camped out there..which in Indiana, this time of year, means we FROZE! It's that time of year when you never know what you're going to get. We didn't get the rain we were supposed to but we got the cold, and since no open fires were allowed we were huddled (the 7 of us) in a circle as close as close as camping chairs would allow. In the middle we had our propane lantern as a fire... Good Times. Actually, we had a blast! The bands were amazing!! I was so moved by some of the testimonies of those guys! I hear all their music on the radio and some of it is played over and over and over. I get tired of hearing some of the songs. But when you're at a concert and they can explain to you the reason they wrote the songs, and how those things have impacted their life, to me, it just made me love those songs even more all over again. I wasn't tired of hearing them anymore. As the lead singer in one of the bands said, "These songs aren't just lyrics we write because they are fun or just because we like them. These songs are our life on paper." I was so moved by what he said that night. After the whole things was over I told my sister I was gonna spend a lot of money on music. :) But, it was the best experience! I haven't been to a lot of concerts at all... I can count 1 concert and a few concerts where there were more than one band playing when I was in highschool. But after Icthus, I am planning on seeing a lot more!! I told my sister we needed to start looking up upcoming concerts because I have to hear all these artists again...lol

My Favorite things of Summer: A List

2010-08-02T07:00:00.008-05:00

If you know me then you know how much I LOVE Summertime. There are like a gazillion things you can find to do..(if the northwest Indiana weather permits of course.)
1.One of my favorite things to do is go to the Drive-In Movie theater. Not only does it feel like your going back in time, but it's also a great family-oriented place(with the exception of getting stuck next to a person who smokes.:()Another bonus... $8 to see two movies! This weekend my sister and I went to see Despicable Me and Twilight:Eclipse. Both were pretty good movies,and you definitely can't beat the price.
2.Another one of my favorite things is going to the beach, which unfortunately I can never seem to manage to do. With working and other things planned on the weekends it is a surprisingly hard for me to go, which is sad because I Love being out in the sun getting tan and enjoying the heat.
3.The water park can be extremely fun, there's just the expense of the high entrance fee, and expensive food..so for a one time day it's okay or if your good enough to remember in December that you can get tickets for crazy cheap then it's in your best interest to do that!
4.Chicago!! I love being up in the City, the people, the lights, the constant motion...I just love it. I love walking Michigan Avenue, going to the theater, the museums. In the summer they always have something going on outside, a jazz fest, dance fest, tech show, etc...
5.Weekend getaways are always fun. I get sick sometimes of staying home. And, since I have a job and week long vacations are seldom and have to planned well in advanced...weekend trips are perfect! Whether it's camping, or hanging out in a hotel, or a mini road-trip, you can usually do any of these things for pretty cheap too.

Family Reunion

2010-07-26T07:30:00.005-05:00

This weekend we had our Strader Family Reunion. It's the first one we've had in years! I can't remember the last time I had soo Much fun with everyone!
It was so nice to be able to catch up with everyone and to meet the new additions to the family. It was hot and sticky but we all enjoyed it anyway. I LOVE having a big family. We took up six or seven camp sites and everyone would just float from one place to another and sit and talk and then we'd move on. Then on Saturday night we had a potluck and everyone came and we sat in a big circle and just hung out and talked! With everyone living all over Indiana and the United States and ,obviously, having their own families and busy lives, it's hard to get so many of us all together but it was so worth it and I thinkthat everyone agrees, we'd love to do this every year!!

ok...umm...let's try this again...

2010-07-21T10:38:00.004-05:00

Ok so wow, I can't believe it's been a year since we(my sister and I)starting this blog...Obviously we really got nowhere...guess it's not as easy as i thought...writing down thoughts and ideas that maybe a lot of people will see...but i am determined.. I LOVE writing...I truly believe that someday i'll have a best seller or a movie that someone will want to produce...so i figured that now i will just continue to work on my writing skills and just give thoughts and hopefully finally get this thing up and running. :)

Shannon

Another Weekend in Chicago

2009-07-21T10:24:00.002-05:00

This past weekend my sister and I and a group of friends went to Wrigley Field in Chicago to the Rascal Flatts concert. We had such a blast! I know we started this blog, to kind of post some things that we were going to be doing and stuff. So this weekend is Venetian Night in Chicago. Basically people decorate their boats all out with lights and everything, and do a boat parade. It is free to go to it. So that is our plan this weekend. We are going to get some friends together, and pack some snacks, take blankets and chairs and just have fun. I love being in the city in the summertime. I know this hasn't been the warmest summer, but it's just so fun. Enjoying the nighttime air, looking at all the sky scrapers with all their lights on. I don't know what it is I just love it. So any chance we get to hang out there, we go. So it should be allot of fun. If you're looking for something to do this weekend, give it a try!! I'll post some pics from the Concert!

Our Weekend Fun!

2009-07-15T14:31:00.003-05:00

I just thought I'd write real quick and let everyone know what we decided to do this past weekend. We decided on Great America for Saturday and Deep River Water park for Sunday. So it was quite a full weekend. Our cousin Kelly has only ever been on 1 roller coaster. She's been to Amusement Parks before but I guess she's never gone on the coasters, so we thought this would be something fun for her. She's a hard person to read sometimes, I mean she's 17, but she said that she had a good time. We went on nearly every roller coaster in the park with the exception of 2 or 3, and did some of the other rides as well. Overall I think we had an enjoyable time. I hope she did. The next day we went to Deep River Water park. I thought it was going to be warmer. It was one of those days, as long as you were in the water you were OK, but as soon as you got out, make a run for your towel. We did all but 3 of the water slides,and went in the wave pool once. We spent most of our time in the lazy river. It was fairly relaxing compared to the walking non-stop of the day before. She said she had fun, and I was glad and thankful that she did. There were points when I was ready to take her home,lol, but I had to continue to remind myself she's only 17, she's had a hard life, and she is not a christian. She's stayed with us last night and will probably again tonight. I hoping she has had a good time with us. Sometimes its hard to entertain, especially someone who complains a lot, and never seems thankful. I just have to remind myself again, she's had a hard life, and I was probably the same way at that age.

What to do With a 17 yr. old?

2009-07-08T09:58:00.000-05:00

OK so as you can tell, and like I mentioned before, I'm not the best at this blogging thing. I've been wanting to write, but either because of lack of anything to write about, or just busyness I haven't gotten around to it. So here I'm again, giving it another try.
So this weekend our 17 year old cousin Kelly will be staying with us. She lives in Arizona now, so she's been here almost a month visiting. Like I said she is staying with us this weekend. I feel bad the poor girl has not done much since she's been here. I know everyone else in my family has kids and their own things to take care of so everyone is a little tapped out as far as money is concerned. Anyway, I just wanted to show her a good time. Saturday we will go to the Water park(I'm praying fervently that it doesn't thunderstorm). However if it does storm I need some backup plans. She's already been to the zoo, and a Cub's game. So this all begs the question What do you do with a 17 year old? I haven't seen her since my Aunt got married in 2005. I've talked to her now and again, and kept in touch through text, my space and stuff like that. But I have no idea what she likes to do for fun. I know she likes BMXing. Or she used to. Anyway all this to ask for suggestions. I want to take her out. She's been cooped up at our Aunt's house watching TV almost the whole time she's been here. So, so far some of my ideas are well the water park, which she said she'd love to(provided it doesn't rain), The Museum of Science and Industry, which I enjoy but I don't know if she would, yeah that's all i have. So any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Sorry if this post is long and boring. I'll get better at it...I hope... LOL!!

A Little Bit About Us

2009-06-20T22:23:00.000-05:00

My name is Amanda Strader, and my sister Shannon and I are 27 years old. We currently live in Northwest Indiana. We love to travel, hangout with friends, and we love trying new things! Church and God are a major part of our lives, and some of what you find on this site will reflect that. This site will just show the things we love to do, things we are going to try, and other fun stuff as well. If you have any stories of some of your experiences or suggestions on what you love to do post a comment, we'd love to hear them.
We got the name for this blog because, well, we had basically sat down one night and we were coming up with everything we wanted to be available on this site. We had been thinking for over an hour about what to call it because we wanted to have the perfect name. We wanted it to represent what we were trying to do, which is to enjoy our lives and live to the fullest everyday. Sometimes I think as singles we begin to focus on what we don't have like money, boyfriends, even free time..i know I do. So me and my sister decided that this was gonna be our motto we were gonna live life to the fullest no matter what! Whether we could go do something in the city one night or find something more local, its all about enjoying the place you're at in your life!