Thanks

Today is Thanksgiving. I have been thinking lots lately of how fortunate I really am. God has blessed me beyond what I deserve, that is for sure. One thing that I am incredibly blessed with is my family.

 My stepbrother, me, and my sister.

 

 Me, my dad, and my step mom.

 

My sister and I

Me, my mom, and my sister

 

My cousin Morgan and I

 

Most of you know my family situation. When I was little my parents got a divorce. Since I was young when it happened I don't remember much. In elementary and even some early middle school I had rough days where I just wished my parents would get married to each other again so I could have a "normal" life. Right now I can honestly say I love where my life is. I have two families that would do anything for me and for that I am incredibly thankful. My life is different that most but it is a part of me now and I wouldn't change it for anything! I absolutely love spending time with my family!! We always have soo much fun and make incredible memories! Another thing I couldn't live without is my friends!

 

 

 

 

 

My friends are a huge part of my life. I talk to them every day and there is nooo way I could survive without them! I have to say, I think I have the best friends ever. They are always there for me with an open ear and sometimes I really need that. Love you all and so glad you are all in my life!!

Another thing I am extremely thankful for is our new home! My mom and Step-dad just bought a GORGEOUS house just on the other side of town.

This place is so gorgeous! We are still living in the city but I feel like we are in the country because our backyard is very wooded. It is a great quiet place that you can go out and just have time to yourself. It is so great! Our neighbors are the best too! We've met some of them and we've already been invited to neighborhood get together's! I love it here. I don't want to post to many pictures of the house because that will have its own post in the near future. :)

Hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and eat lots! I am very thankful for all of you followers! Safe travels!

Sydney

Acceptance

Acceptance: the act of taking or receiving something offered.

 

I think many people in this world, especially girls, have major acceptance issues. I think many of us think we need to have flawless, makeup full faces, skinny bodies, expensive clothing, and hair that has been died to look good. Hahaha, okay lets come back to earth here and put our heads back on straight!! For example:
 

google

 

Now, don't take this the wrong way. I am not saying Selena Gomez is fake or anything of that sort! But I am willing to bed that many of you wish you looked like her. Yes, she is pretty and all of that but you don't have to be famous or have someone else do your makeup for you in order to look pretty! Look at this girl...
 

Google

Both the girls SUPER adorable girls, just in there own ways!! I guess what I'm trying to tell you is, embrace your own natural beauty. I've watched girls that between classes go and "freshen up" their makeup, hair, and perfumes. I think this world would be extremely different if makeup had never been invented. Think about it, Adam and Eve in the beginning of time had nothing! Literally, no clothes no makeup, nothin! Now I'm not saying just go everywhere naked because I'm pretty sure you can actually get arrested for that but you don't need expensive stuff to be cute. A lot of my friends wear little to no make-up and they are some of the cutest people I know!!

 

Next time you think to yourself "Why is she so much prettier than I?" Stop right there and tell yourself how beautiful YOU are! I never want to hear you compare yourself to that popular girl in school or tell yourself your not as good because guys, you are JUST as good as them! Don't believe me? Well, ask God. I know that's what he'd tell you :)

Thanks for reading,

Sydney

Question

After considering restarted the ol' blog up I had lots of questions for myself. Am I going to be commited enough? What will I post about? Will people even read my blog? Are my posts benifial to my readers? I then put a post up on Instagram asking my IG followers if they would read should I start again. I got a hit from them and said what the heck, why not?!

I have never wanted to stop blogging. It was always something fun to do. A stress reliever in a way. It let me put my opinion out on lots of things, and I always felt comfortable telling you all my life. I want it to be that way again. I want to come to my blog and post encouraging things! I know its a dream, and probably a stretch, but its the truth. I want to be here and help you girls with whatever you need!

I am posting about this because I want you to know that if you want me to post about something and are open to my opinion, I would love to post about it for you!! I'm not going to say that I have all the brains and know everything but I'll tell you what I do know. You girls make my day with your super sweet comments and I would love to help each and every one of you if needed. You can always feel free to comment it on any of my posts or email it to me (sydance97@gmail.com).

On another note, my comments are moderated which means I have to approve of them before they can be posted on my blog. I don't want it to scare you, it is just something that I want to do! With that said, if you want to comment a request but don't want it posted just write in big capital letters "do not post" and I will read it and delete it! No one has posted anything bad on here I just have them moderated so we don't have to worry about any of that happening. :)

Hope you are having a great week so far and I am looking forward to many more posts and all of your comments!
Sydney

Fresh Start

Hey Strangers!!

It has been waaaay to long since I have blogged! After missing a couple of weeks I just ended my blog because I was very discouraged. Recently I have been getting back into the swing of things and have started reading blogs again. Then I realised how much I missed writing on here and getting your girls' opinion and advice! Soo.. With your support, I want to get back in the loop and write weekly again. What do you think? Would you read? I have lots to write about, after all it has been 6 months since my last post. SIX months!! That is absolutely crazy.. So what do you say, new beginning?

Here's to the restart of SLTDQ!
Sydney

15th Birthday Party

This is rideculous that I am just now in JUNE posting about my APRIL birthday/party! Uh! Anywho.. To celebrate my actual birthday my dad, stepmom, mom, stepdad, sister, and I all went out to Applebee's (like every other year) and had dinner. To celebrate my birthday I had four really close friends come over and have fun! Our original plans were to all meet at my moms and then go downtown for a photoshot. But, when your birthday is in April, you can almost never plan to have outdoor activities. So instead we went shopping at a mall close by then out to a very nice dinner!

After we came home from dinner, we hung out and let our food settle a little then had some DELICOUS ice cream cake, yuuum!!

Sugar + my friends = pure craziness!

I am so blessed to have these amazing girls in my life and thank God all the time for putting them in my life!

Sydney

Hello- Part 2

You guys are great! Thank you so much to Arianna and Madie for your questions! Since you did your end of the deal, I will now do mine! :)

What kind of car did you get? I got a black 2003 ford focus. (PS: that is just a picture, not actually mine.) It's great!!

What is your favorite sport? Hmm.. This is a hard one! I love playing soccer and basketball with my sister but I also really like to golf with my friend! I don't think I could pick just one but if I could pick three they would be soccer, basketball, and golf!

What is your favorite season? SUMMER by far! I looove going to the pool and tanning! Plus this summer I got a nanny job so it will be really fun! No school, just sleeping in, hanging out, and getting tan!

What kind of camera do you have? I have a Canon Rebel XS. It's a great camera, but I'm having some issues with it right now so I haven't been using it as much otherwise I just get annoyed. And no its not just a user error, it really has something wrong with it. :)

What kind of schooling do you do? I am currently doing online school. I usually call it homeschooling because it's the exact same thing except I do it on the computer. This is my first year doing it and so far I am in love! In brick-and-morder school I was always really, really stressed out with friends, homework, and all that other stuff that just comes with being in a public school. So I begged and begged my parents to let me be home schooled and we gave it a shot! I am planning to do this my entire high school career I think just because I love it so much!

When did you start your blog? Well, I have another blog that I use to write on about my adventures in babysitting before I made this one but I think your asking when I started this blog (tell me if I'm wrong though)? I started it in December of 2010. I've really been lacking bad on writing but I am going to really try to do a LOT more!

How many siblings do you have? Well my parents are divorced so I have no "100%" siblings but I have a step-brother and a half-sister at my moms.

This is Jacob (sort of an oldy). He is 11 years-old and a really sweet guy! He only lives with us in the Summer and comes to visit on some holidays but his mom lives in Chicago (we live in MN) so we don't see him as much but wish we could! He is such a sweetheart and will definatly be a heartbreaker for all those ladies out there! :) He loves, loves, loves building Legos and is really good at it.

Then we have London. She is 8 and super hilarious! Pictured above is London (left) with her BFF Ella (right) on Cinco de Mayo. I don't know what these two would do without each other! They have sleepovers literally every weekend! Anyway, back to London! She is plays soccer thtrew our local association and is super chick! Like I said above, she is hilarious! Sometimes I don't know if she is 8 or 18! I can literally tell her stuff and ask her stuff that people usually don't talk to there sisters about. "Half" sister comes from the fact that she is my mom and step-dad's daughter but I honestly don't even think of that! When people ask who she is, I just say sister because it doesnt feel any different!

What do you like to take pictures of? Anything human! Honestly, I love taking pictures of random people on the street (which may sound a littler creepy), weddings, and just regular portraits! It's super fun and people are always cute! I also like taking pictures of babies and nature, two complete opposite things.

The last picture was when I was very first starting so don't mind the copyright, it's changed since then. :)



Thank you two for your fabulous questions and let me know if you have anymore, I am always open for more!!

Hello

Hey readers!!!

How have you been? I am so sorry for the absence! I had a post scheduled and perfectly ready to go. Then it didn't go and every thing erased and I got angry and so, you did not get a post to read.

To write a quick post to get something out there, we are going to do to a question post. Ask me ANY question! Personal, favorite, anything!! I will answer ALL the questions in the next post! Just comment them below and ask away :) Thanks for reading and I can't wait for all the fab questions!

Sydney

Update

Hey guys!!

How are you?? I really need to write a blog post but just have not had the time to it down and do so. How have all you gorgeous readers been?? I have been good and really focusing on livin' up my life (one reason I haven't been typing a hole lot lately). I am going to try real hard to sit down a coupld days this week and let you all know what I've been up to in these last couple weeks! I think your going to like what I have in store for you! ;) Until then, I have some songs I really encourage you to listen to; they are fabulous!!!

Blink by Revive and Live Like That by Sidewalk Prophets 
Please make some time to listen to these two quick but powerful songs! :)

Be back soon!!
Sydney

Easter in pictures

Yesterday our family celebrated Easter. It was really sunny, but super cold!

After getting ready, we headed to our WONDERFUL church! I seriously cannot get enough of our church, its great!!

Obviously not ready for our picture to be taken! Haha

Sisters! <3

Chloe!! I babysit for this little cutie and her siblings. Is she not the cutest?!

 

Myself, Kiley, and Ali. Absolutely LOVE these girls!!

Kiley and Keegan!! Aren’t they just adorable!

Then my friend Ali’s mom saw my camera and instantly yelled at her kids to get out of the car so that I could take the kids’ pictures in there nice Easter clothes. I didn’t think she was serious until she opened the door to there van and repeated herself. She’s so funny!! So we climbed up the hill and took some pictures. Kiley helped me out with the positioning.

:)

After Ali and Kiley had to leave, I went outside with Adriana. She snapped this picture of me. She told me to stand still and instantly I started laughing because my positioning was so awkward but whatever. That is why I have a smirk on my face though. :)

Here is an awkward picture of my outfit but the only one that has most of it. Flower headband, BLING earrings (let me know if you want some and I can hook you up!), white dress, black cartagain, and a pink/purple necklace. I guess you can scroll up to the picture of Kiley, Ali and I to see the whole thing but this one is closer.

He is risen!

Hope you all had a fantastic Easter! How did you guys celebrate? What’s your favorite picture?

Happy Monday! :)

Sydney

Good Friday Fashion

Today for my family is good friday. That means dressing up a little bit and going to church. Before hand I had London (my sister) take a couple outfit pictures of me.

Didn’t remember how to use the camera.

It was soo bright!!

So because of the lens you can only really see my shirt and the top of my pants but I’m wearing new capri’s and an old purple shirt with my new silver ballet flats! How did you celebrate Good Friday?

Sydney

A little vlog just for you

Enjoy!

The video pretty much says it all :)

Let me just add, my sister and I were not trying to offend anyone of the Chinese race when we made that comment at about 3:45! It was just a joke!

Also, I really need to work on my pronunciation! Ofta!

So, what did you think? I know it was totally all over the place but I had no plan on what we were going to do so let me know if you like the vlogs (video blogs) or if I should just stick to writing. If you liked the video, why? And if you have any suggestions on what you want me to vlog about feel free to comment it below or email it to me (sydance97@gmail.com), either are just fine! :) Have a great week!

Sydney

Gerard Joseph Schuchard Jr

The reason I haven't wrote lately is because I've been a little busy. Wednesday night after driving school my dad had txt me telling me to call me after I was done. Okay, no problem! So I call him, we talk the usual and then he says something within the lines of Gerard is gone. I don't think I have cried as hard as I did when I hear the news than I have in a very, very long time.






If you haven't followed Gerard's journey with me, here is his story. On Saturday November 20th 2010 he went to the doctor in Carrington, ND after he found a bulge in his abdomen. After a CT Scan they discovered he had cancer. He was very young, 19 to be exact, and this all came as a shock to everyone. He was strong threw this entire thing, but God called him home Wednesday because he felt Gerard had fulfilled his purpose in life.




Because Gerard lived in North Dakota, we didn't get to see him a lot except when they made trips to Mayo. We made so many memories together, and I will cherish them all for the rest of my life. You see, Gerard had this effect on people, you met Gerard once, you'd remember him for a life time.



One thing I would like to talk about it how Gerard would talk to you about ANYTHING! You name it, he'd talk. One thing he was very open about was his battle with cancer. If you had a question, ask him and he'd give you the best answer he could give.


*didn't realize how much I said "like" until I read over our messages*



Another thing that ONLY Gerard did was mess up your hair. It was just something that he did and it didn't matter how mad you were that your hair looked like a rats nest, you just couldn't get mad at him! :)



He also always made you feel good about yourself. If you thought you weren't doing something right, he'd tell you were the best at it. He'd also always make you feel important.






But, if you really knew Gerard, you knew how big his funny bone was.











Same conversation..








<-- And he thought I was the goofy one.. ;)


One last thing about Gerard is that he would NEVER let his problems get in the way of helping others.



Pictured above is Gerard with a mask on due to health at his brothers graduation.




Staying strong for Christmas, pictured with his siblings.

Although his death is so horrible, it has made me realize how important every day, every minute, and every second of your life is. I've noticed lately that I can have quiet the attitude, yes I'll admit. In the end, that attitude or argument, could be used to change someones life. Towards the top you can see that NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, Gerard's all star, wrote to Gerard on Facebook after him and his dad had took a vacation to watch a race. Isn't that crazy how Gerard's story even touched someone who people would die to be for one day.. I think that says something abut how special Gerard was how what he meant to every one he met.

Gerard,
I'm going to miss you terribly (she writes as if she doesn't already miss you). You were the person I could ALWAYS come to with anything, and you'd be ready and willing to help, no matter how you were feeling. I know this after journey is going to be SO hard for myself and everyone else who knew you. In the end, we really just have to focus on the fact that you are in a pain free place and messing up other girls' hair. I can't wait to see you in the future and meet all your new friends you've already made within just a short period of time. Love ya man,
Sydney