that's what she said.

JOEY!!

2009-06-16T12:43:00.009-06:00

I'm back from middle school camp and it was such a blast! We went to Student Life camp in Talladega, AL and I thought it was perfect for our middle school students. I LOVED my girls, they're awesome! Three people in our church group became Christ followers, how could you not love a week when that happens?

Naturally after getting back from camp you have tons of stories to tell, but the one story that always occurs in any camp setting for girls, are the boys from other churches. That remains true after Student Life.

The setting: the pool.
The boy: Joey (thanks to Kyndal, we found out his name after a couple of hours).

We spotted little Joey doing flips off the diving board and it was love. So much so that after we had seen him I heard: "Whenever I look at him, everything else just goes away". Joey had captured our hearts.

I could give a lot of details to the story, but I really think what captures our love for Joey is this video:

Cath.. There's No Sunlight

2009-05-07T10:58:00.003-06:00

Sunday night I went to see Death Cab for Cutie at the Ryman with my favorite person in the world, Ericka. To get to the bottom line: they were AMAZING. The name might sound a little daunting to some, no they are not heavy metal (there was a little skepticism from my Dad about the name.. rest assured, Paha). They're an Alternative/Indie band from Seattle, WA and one of my favorite bands. I won't pretend to be some underground artsy kid that finds these bands because I left home and live in coffee shops, I found this band watching The O.C. Musically they're incredible, and they do not disappoint live. If you haven't heard of them already, give them a try (itunes or pandora either will give you a taste) OR just go to a concert.. it was the best concert I've been to.
Now that I've pimped Death Cab, I've got to come back to show some incredible pictures that my sister took. Check out: Ericka's Flickr. I might be biased, but I think they're pretty awesome.

you won't be seventeen forever..

2009-04-10T15:50:00.005-06:00

I won't be seventeen forever as the one hit wonder (in my opinion), Metro Station, reminds me. In fact as of tomorrow, seventeen will be another year down.
Reflecting on this past year, I've had a lot of new and great experiences, at one point I was stressed more than I've ever been, but I feel like as cliche as it is to say, I have learned a lot.
However, I'm ready for the next step: 18.
Just a few reasons as to why:

1. I can register to vote.
2. I can get a tattoo (though I probably won't willingly pay for a needle that's not going to vaccinate me).
3. I can buy, rent, or see rated R movies on my own (which is not as cool and foreign as it once was having seen them).
4. I can order almost anything Billy Mayes is selling; the eight tubs of oxi-clean is tempting for all my clothes with grease, coffee, grass, and red wine stains on them.
5. Legally, I'm an adult.

Kind of crazy, but it's welcomed.

Knowing today represents the day my Savior died for me to live, makes me eager to share and show His love and message and not waste any time that I have.

I'm really blessed to have a family that have always been open and supportive, to have a relationship with Christ for thirteen years (fourteen years tomorrow), and to have amazing people in my life that are continually shaping me.
I'm thankful for those relationships.

pause

2009-03-02T10:13:00.002-06:00

I've come to the conclusion at this point in my life:
growing up is hard.
With college in the fall it seems like there is a pressure to have my life figured out. The thing is, my future is a big question mark to me right now, and sometimes it's hard to trust that God knows my question mark. It makes it easy to seek the option of moving to Colorado to "find myself" and shred mountains - the Neverland of America, if you will (without Michael Jackson).
Consequently enough, we started a series at REMIX called PAUSE. It sounded simple enough, it's a button on your remote. But the first week alone has hit me hard. The bottom line of the night was pausing to be present.
I can be so consumed with what my future is supposed to look like, that I'm always feeling inadequate to my unknown. Taking time just to clear my head and focus on my Savior has been the most simple way to let everything go.
Are there still questions when it's time to get up and go again? Yes. Is it still important to plan towards the future? Absolutely. But choosing what's important and trying to eliminate the trivial things I worry about not only has decluttered my thoughts, but given me more space to focus on what's important in my life right now.

*A cool side note (or at least I thought it was cool), I started this blog last Monday just to get my thoughts out there and try to make sense of it all. It was written in a stressed out state of mind in turn making it pretty stressful to read. But we started this series Wednesday and finally I've been able to piece everything together, just to find that it's not important that I do. :) I'm always amazed how many times God has to remind me of things like that, yet He always does.

walking on water, with a touch of weird

2009-02-03T09:34:00.006-06:00

A few thoughts that have stuck with me this week:

There's a story in the Bible about Jesus walking on water; not surprising since Jesus can just do those kind of things.
To recap the story: Jesus had insisted his guys, (the disciples), get in a boat and go to the other side of a body of water while Jesus went on a mountain to pray. The disciples take off and it says they were far off from land when a storm came up. It was only a few hours into the morning and Jesus started walking to them in the midst of the storm. Of course, only being human, they freaked out. My Bible says "they were scared out of their wits".. I'm sure it was a good thing they had some big waves around because that deck would have been wet one way or another.
Anyway, Jesus tells them not to be afraid, that it really is him. This guy named Peter has a sudden wave of courage and says, "if it's really you, call me to come out to you". Jesus tells him to come ahead, Peter gets out of the boat and walks on water to Jesus BUT he had a moment of doubt, looked down, and started sinking. As any person would, he ask for Jesus to save him and it says Jesus didn't hesitate grabbing his hand. Jesus then asked why Peter doubted and they got back into the boat.
With all the questions and awe that can be brought out in this story, here's mine:
How did they get back to the boat?
It says Peter walked out to Jesus so he at least had to be a few steps away from the boat. I want to know if Peter swam (given the storm, not too plausible), Jesus carried him, he walked on water again back to the boat, or Jesus did some kind of teleport thing (probably not, but if he wanted to, I fully believe he could).
I was just thinking, if it were me, I would want to be able to walk on water again to show my trust for the One who called me out. I don't know that it would be easier the second time around given all the doubts that we as humans are prone to have. I wonder when Jesus INSISTED the disciples go without him, did they have enough faith to believe he could get to them again? Or did they think he was sending them off, not to rejoin them? I probably won't know that until I get to talk to Peter myself, and then I'm sure I won't care since there will be a lot better things going on.

My second thought is more of an English question. The word weird. The majority of people hear "I before E, except after C" which I honestly don't understand the C part, I think it was only added because it rhymed. However, with the word weird, it's not I before E because then it's just that: weird.. and incorrect. I'm sure there's more of an explanation for that one, probably that it's not always I before E. Still, people shouldn't teach those things if it can't apply for everything. That leaves people with all kinds of spelling errors.

Any suggestions or thoughts on these questions are welcome!

the x games, the mute, the concert

2009-01-31T13:56:00.007-06:00

Last weekend* was the most epic weekend of sports. That's right, it was the X Games. In one line: I love the X Games more than any other. Maybe I'll elaborate on it more another time. Though for the record, Kevin Pearce, I think you were robbed. I love Shaun, but it didn't seem right.

*not to be confused with THIS weekend. I'm not really into football anyway, but I'm really not into this Superbowl. I didn't even know Arizona had a team.

My past week has been spent with my mute mom. She apparently stripped her vocal chords which left her talking in nothing but a whisper all week. However I developed ears like a panther and could hear what she whispered to someone from another room when they couldn't hear her being in the same room; I've been her translator all week.

On a more serious note, Relevant Students had the first ever VIVA CATIE concert on Thursday. I never met Catie, but she has still made an impact on my life. She was a girl my age that battled with cancer until 2007 but remained to be an incredible reflection of Christ even in the midst of something as dark as cancer. Her story is not one you can hear and not be moved. The concert was free but donations were being taken to go to the Lance Armstrong Foundation to find a cure. Over 250 people, over $1,000 raised! It shows what a difference people can make when they have the same vision.

Just a random look into my week and another attempt to get back into blogging. Also my first usage of pictures, exciting times!

the 44th

2009-01-21T11:20:00.003-06:00

Yesterday history was written. No matter how you voted, or what you've been taught to believe, the optimism of our country yesterday was undeniable. If somehow you weren't connected to any humans or technology yesterday, it was our 44th President's, Barack Obama, inauguration.

To put it out up front, I love politics. This year it hurt that I couldn't vote (my 18th is in April). However, that didn't stop me from gaining as much knowledge as I could about the candidates. This year I have also taken a vow that through my lifetime, who I want to win won't always, but I will ALWAYS stand behind, support, and most importantly, pray for our President. What's an united country divided?

Living in a red state, (and sometimes around ignorant people), there is a lot of "I'll vote Republican til the day I die". My Grandmother, however, is a blue dog democrat. Why? Because her Great-Great Grandaddy was, and what the Democrats stood for then MUST stand for the same now, right? These two kinds of people have made me come up with some options; either I'll vote Green Party and let Ralph Nader FINALLY get his day, or, I'll vote for the CANIDATES instead of party lines.

I already love our first family because they are just that, a family. The Kids Inauguration Concert already made Michelle Obama one of my favorite first ladies. She is a real life Claire Huxtable. An Ivy League graduate, lawyer, servant to her community, but most importantly: a Mom and wife. She is a natural leader who follows her husband in an admirable way. And Malia and Sasha, oh man. They're cuties. It's so exciting to finally see young life back in the White House.
(Obama has also gotten a lot of points from me having Andy Stanley be apart of a prayer service this morning - pretty awesome).

Yesterday if you had the time on your hands to pick apart Obama's speech that you were ticked he quoted George Washington (who apparently had slaves), or you're angry because of color, I have a few words of advice: Get behind a real cause. It's our responsibility as citizens of this country to stand behind him (or her when that day comes) and PRAY for them. He's not Superman. He can't bring all this change himself. But if we take up our call as citizens, and Christ followers, and DO SOMETHING for other people, our country can make a turn for the positive.

Trip (or Fall) 2009

2009-01-12T11:16:00.003-06:00

Christmas blog: no. New Years: no. but January 12th, here I am!
Thus far my most exciting 2009 plan (besides graduating) is a trip to the WEST COAST in June. That's right, to have never been further west than Missouri (and that wasn't even a fourth into the state), I will be flying to Seattle and ending up in San Francisco. How did this come about you may ask? From here, I digress.
To set it up: Christmas night, my Uncle's house, four Twilight readers.
I was hanging out with my cousins when the ever brilliant E said we should all take a trip together (Ericka and I were already planning a warm vacation somewhere after this ridiculous winter). We started talking about Twilight and it was said "wouldn't it be cool to go to Forks?" .. from there it became a very large road trip from the Dakotas' to Southern California that has been edited so it's actually do-able. So May 30, I will take flight for the first time ever, from Nashville International Airport, to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (with a stop between for cheapening reasons).
Last night we met to work on planning and see what prices will actually be without trying to romanticize them. Needless to say, it's going to take all the saving (and maybe a bit of scrounging) I can do, but I wouldn't miss this trip. My reasoning for going now is that we can use the "young and stupid" excuse AND we might as well go now before we have some one else in our lives to think about and bills to pay. We're staying in national parks, probably eating poptarts all week, and hoping to get rid of the rental car early (that's the expense that hurts the most). Pretty much the only tourist sight we're paying for is the Space Needle, but it's not like I'm going to do that every year, or ever again really, I just want to experience it once.
We hope to blog as we go (and blog the prep for the trip), so if you'd like to keep up, you can check out: Trip (or Fall)

Bitten

2008-11-22T15:10:00.003-06:00

I've been bit. And by a vampire no less. The Edward Cullen bug has struck two in my house. Everyone has been asking me if I've read 'Twilight' yet to which I always responded 'no' for three reasons: 1) everyone else was reading them, 2) I was afraid it would replace my beloved Harry Potter, and, 3) it was about a vampire.. c'mon, seriously? I finally broke when someone said they would lend me the first two. I said sure to finally get people to stop driving me crazy with it, and was ready to go in skeptically as it seems everyone who reads it, becomes obsessed (and after all, it IS all about a vampire). I started when I got home that night and read for three hours, and got 200 pages into it. I didn't want to fall asleep, but still I was very driven to not become obsessed. Thursday I didn't have a chance to read it, but Friday was completely devoted to finishing the first book. It was mesmerizing and I was done for. In my defense, I lasted a few hundred pages into the first book. I can say now that the books are incredible. I know, I know, as if you haven't already heard that. But there's something to be said about a great read, and this is one of them.
Today I'm reading the second, plan on seeing the movie, and am listening to the soundtrack. From one skeptic turned crazed, it's worth your time.

Baptized and Star Wars

2008-10-30T13:47:00.000-06:00

My friend and I have been filling in every other week teaching in the second grade class in our children's environment at Grace. It's a lot of fun, and you certainly hear some crazy stuff. This Sunday was our week to serve so while we were waiting to go to the kids worship, I was talking to a boy in the class named Tristan. He told me one of his friends in his class "got baptizized so now he was a christian" the baptizized thing was funny (just like when one of the kids called the ten plagues the ten plagiarisms), but I told him "well Tristan, that's really cool for you friend, but being baptized doesn't make you a christian" to which he looked pretty bewildered (I may have ruined his Church of Christ background), so I told him "we become christians when we believe in Jesus, and being baptized is our way to show everyone we believe in Him" a little less bewildered but then I popped out this analogy which all second grade boys can understand, "you know when you love a movie, let's say Star Wars, and you buy a shirt that says 'I love Star Wars', well getting baptized is like that. it's showing everyone that you love and believe in Jesus" to which he responded in the enthused light bulb moment voice, "ooooooh, ok!". It felt good just to have a small moment of clarity. Kids aren't oblivious, they catch on to a lot more than parents choose to see sometimes, that's why it's so necessary to talk about the important things in ways they can understand. Volunteering for an hour on a Sunday may seem like a small thing, but teaching kids truths that will remain relevant through life is pretty incredible.
My closing statement would have to go to Conner, while talking about previous weeks he explained to his class who this John was, "His name was John.. and he was a Baptist..".

I've been compromised

2008-10-27T09:20:00.002-06:00

To pessimist, skeptics, and eye rollers alike, this post is not for you, so just go ahead and skip this one.
I've been compromised. It's true. I attributed $8.50 to the $42 million this movie brought to the box office this weekend. That's right, yesterday, October 26, I watched High School Musical 3. And what's worse? I loved it. Having watched the first and second, it was only natural I should see the third. I liked the first one but didn't fall under the cult obsession. Actually I shunned it for a long time til fate would have it one day I was bored and in need of a film. Watching movies all the time, I was left with the pre-teen collection. This resulted in me watching the original High School Musical and going bananas for it. I wanted to watch it everyday. That lead to wanting to buy the second only having watched it when it premiered. The second really isn't good, just a filler. So yesterday was the day. I wasn't proud to go see it. I thought I would hate it. But this was my favorite of the three. The music was great and returned to it's former glory, the choreography was amazing, and the plot though predictable, had me excited. The idea of having a high school with no drugs, sex, and the biggest problem being is who's cast for the spring musical is less than realistic. But it's idyllic. It's the same as every little girl growing up watching Disney movies waiting for Prince Charming (it was Aladdin for me), now it's the same group of girls, waiting for a Troy Bolton. This is nothing new, Grease was the original High School Musical with just a little more reality. I've discovered I really am a cliche teenage girl. I own Camp Rock (both movie and soundtrack). I own High School Musical 1 & 2 movies (and the first and third soundtrack). And the glue that bonds all teenage girls together, I love the Jonas Brothers. To be fair, I haven't gone crazy for any celebrities since Aaron Carter, I think I deserve to have another round since I was 5. Alright, confession over. I couldn't remain a closet teenager any more. Of course, I'm always skeptical of any Disney movie, (and just to put it out there, I don't watch Disney channel, nor do I even remotely like Miley Cyrus), but there's a little part of me that's a middle schooler all over again. I just needed to tell the world. There you have it. I'm going to perfect my dancing to Status Quo.

Goat herding, and Duh

2008-10-09T08:08:00.004-06:00

This morning I've added an accomplishment to my list:
Goat herding.
Albeit, one goat, I took it by the horns and back to it's home aka, the neighbor's. Our neighbor's have four too many pets that always seem to think su casa, is their casa, one of the pets being a goat. The goat's partner in escaping (and maybe life) is a dog we affectionately call, Duh (if you saw him, you would completely understand). The last time the goat and Duh escaped into our yard, my mom and I tried to get them up our driveway by treating the goat like a dog with no avail. We thought you just took a bull by the horns, (which is ridiculously stupid advice), but apparently this also applies to goats as well.
So, the inspirational word today: take the goat by the horns.

Orbdom

2008-09-26T11:35:00.007-06:00

The 31 Days of Halloween has begun.
This year I'm really excited for all holidays, having been a fan of Halloween in past years this isn't anything new, although I think this is the most excited I've been in awhile. Savoring the month is really what it's about. We kicked it off with a Ghost Tour. You heard. On our quest to get a picture of orb-gi's (read twice before criticizing), we went to downtown Nashville to visit some of our Capitol's haunting's. It took a little misleading and bribing to get Ericka to go as she isn't nearly as morbidly fascinated with these kind of things such as my mother and I are. (Just kidding, though I did have to tell her a six year old went on it without getting scared, and it wouldn't give her nightmares just as the website says: www.nashvilleghosttours.com). We started at 8 (PM, as if ghost would come at in the AM) at the beautiful Hermitage Hotel (make sure if you go, you go to their bathroom before, it's worth the $15. ghost tour ticket just to go pee there). From there we traveled to the Capitol which was my personal favorite. The grounds were dark and a little menacing (not in a scary way, it's well lit and guarded for the record), and the ghost I wanted to see the most is a supposed haunter of the tower, Rachel Jackson, President Andrew Jackson's wife. Sadly, she wasn't seen by me but not for lack of trying. Anywhere we were in view of the Capitol, I would look at the tower wishing for just a little ghostly glimpse. However, my beloved sister got these fantastic pictures of what is believed to be ghostly spirits*:

*negative logical comments are banned.
Really I'm a hypocritical ghost believer. I know the power of suggestion plays a strong part, and I don't dismiss the fact that there are evils in the world. I just like the idea of Halloween spooks (not really spooky though, friendly spooks, Casper for instance). We're continuing the 31 days festivities by watching Haunted Mansion, Charlie Brown, Tower or Terror, etc. We're also going to Boyd's Pumpkin Patch which I'm really excited about. That's where we got our pumpkins as kids and this year he has a corn maze which I've never experienced due to being an asthmatic child (scarring did come from school field trips to the pumpkin patch where I could participate in nothing but picking my pumpkin, and even that had stipulations!). All this to say, enjoy the holidays with your families! Make them special with the little stuff (candy corn is always well recieved). :)

the pilgrimmage thus far

2008-09-08T17:04:00.004-06:00

Coming to ya (on a dusty road), really from an island in Lake Michigan. Interesting, no? That's right I am typing this from Beaver Island, MI (google it). It's twenty degrees colder than it is in Clarksville (maybe thirty today, I've been in fleece and under quilts all day), and the biggest thing in my day is the occasional book, walking to the lighthouse (or downtown that you can walk by in approximately ten seconds.. ok maybe 30, ten if you're a speedy walker), and yesterday some games of horse shoe and wacking my very first golf ball with a seven iron (although I don't really know what that means, I really enjoyed myself though we [ericka and myself] did lose 4 balls to the neighbors weeds). It's pretty great. It took 2 1/2 hours to get here via ferry on Saturday though we began vacation on Thursday, from here, I will digress.
Thursday: left the house at 7:30..ish. Stopped twice. Saw my first lighthouse in South Haven. Started layering clothes. Drove to the end of the earth which happens to be in Michigan.
Friday: started a little grumpy due to the lack of sleep from a person who shall nameless, the ipod couldn't even drown him* out. We drove into Saugatuck (very cute, artsy, lake town), then Holland known for it's tulips and all things Dutch.. it was hard fitting in a different country but we're pretty efficient travelers. In Holland we also saw the light house affectionately deemed "Big Red", she's the most photographed lighthouse in MI and with good reason. There you can walk out to the lights that really do that guiding, it has no rails and the waves crash right into it, that was a very unique and cool experience although not very well worded for lack of knowledge about real lighthouse terms so, I apologize. From Holland we have a good 5 hour drive to where we were supposed to spend the night (to board the ferry early the next day) so we continued in the northern direction to stop in Glen Arbor where the Cherry Republic store is.. we've been an admirer theirs for a few years now. Everything cherry, cherry candy, pop (what we know as soda), wine, salsa, soap, you name it, they have it and it's delicious! From there we moved on to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park - WOW! We spent a few hours there, it was amazing! Pictures can't capture how beautiful it is. We walked on a trail that took you right on the dunes, and dunes that look out at the lakes. Well, that started nicely but what was just supposed to be a 1 1/2 mile walk resulted in myself thinking briefly that I had met my end, yoga did not prepare me for uphill trekking in sand.
Anyway, it was dark when we left there and we had to go an hour south, to travel an hour north (the lake tripped us up). We eventually arrived in Charlevoix where we boarded the Beaver Island Ferry on Saturday, and set out across Lake Michigan. When we arrived to the house we didn't know what to expect other than we knew it was old and from pictures it was the lesser evil from others. Oh man. It was not pretty. I think we all put off bringing in the bags because that would mean we had to stay there but we eventually faced the music to decided where else are we going to stay on an island with a resident total of 600? I can now say that the house has grown on all of us after a little personalizing and time. My family takes HGTV pretty seriously so every where we go, we immediately start with the "well, if I lived here I would paint this.." or "this room would become.." and "I would put this here..". So after hanging my traveling Jonas Brothers poster in my room (no comments, no judgement), Ericka and I were sitting in the living room; the way they had the furniture set up didn't make sense so for the first time, we actually took charge and moved the furniture. I think the owners and future renters will thanks us when we're gone, but we're not in a hurry to tell them [the owners who live next door]. I should also throw in the our beloved dog, Napoleon, who has made this pilgrimage with us, could not be better. Shocking, I know. I was expecting the worst so he would only exceed my expectations and he's been such a good boy, I'm very proud. I'm now awaiting my cheesy guilty teen drama shows, and looking forward to tomorrow! That's it in a very large bushel of nut shells.
From Lake Michigan, this is LG, signing out.

*we do only have one male in our household, I'll leave you to add the clues.

the latest and greatest, with reviews!

2008-08-24T21:55:00.003-06:00

The girls of my household were finally reunited in a trip to Evansville, Indiana Saturday to our beloved Target, the Evansville River walk (pretty lack luster but nice), and my new favorite eatery, Grand Traverse Pie Company. Unfortunately the Evansville location of Grand Traverse is as far south as they go since they originated in Michigan.
Speaking of Michigan, this Thursday it'll be ONE WEEK til we leave. This is like the never ending plate of food, the vacation has seemed far away and unattainable, I'm ready to hit the road. We're taking our beloved not-so-much-a-dog, Napoleon. In theory it'll be great to have him there, in reality 15 hours with a dog is something you'll have to stay tuned to hear about but I'm pretty sure how it'll play out (Ericka and I are the only ones being realistic about how much it'll suck to travel with him).
In other news, John Mayer: Where The Light Is (late reviewing), very much worth the buy. This is probably my favorite John-John album because it's some of his old stuff done in his new ways. It has an acoustic set (great to fall asleep to), the Trio set, and then just full band. And since it was recorded at a live concert, it really is exactly like being at the concert (10 minute jazz odysseys included).
In movie reviews, went to see House Bunny and the Rocker this weekend. Loved the Rocker, it had me laughing from the opening scene, Rainn did not disappoint. House Bunny was cute, had it's funny moments, all in all a good movie.
One of the most excited moments of my week was Wednesday with Remix (our student worship). I'm leading the middle school girl lifegroup and though I thought they were scared to the core and hating themselves for coming, they all told me after they loved it and couldn't wait til next week. Even better moment today when one of my girls came up and gave me a big hug every time she saw me! She just wanted to hang out with me which is so cool and gets me stoked for this year. Her Mom told me that she was so excited to be in my group and couldn't wait until next week. I pray that God keeps using me to help show those girls what it's all about. That we can figure life out together, and just develop genuine relationships. Funny side note, they've already scoped out our many middle school boys, the awkward conversation is pretty sweet.
I'm out for now, I have a big day of going to Nanny's and erasing her voicemails that she can't figure out how to get rid of.

image

2008-08-18T18:31:00.003-06:00

"Don't let the image of the church, become your image of God."

Let me follow that saying that I know we as Christ followers are called emulate Him, but sadly the one thing in life that is a guarantee is that we all fail.. a lot. So in turn, people disappoint. And since we as imperfect people are trying to follow the image of the one and only perfection to come to earth, we flat out suck at church sometimes. I think so much of the world is turned off to God because of the image the church has created. One of my heroes and mentors said, "when it becomes about image and not the person, that's when we fail." So, how do we change that? Authentic relationships. There's nothing that makes me feel better then when I'm having a rough day and I get an email saying someone is thinking about me (well, that, and some chocolate.) Jesus' closest friends were straight up losers. Tax collectors? I mean c'mon, Jesus could have chosen anyone and he chose the outcast. It's when you start building the relationships with the overlooked that God is all about. I think it's time for the church to truly become God centered, than self centered.

banking, movies, and churning butter

2008-06-19T15:39:00.005-06:00

I opened a checking account today which in turn felt a little like selling my soul away. It wasn't a big deal but playing worse case scenario always leaves me a little paranoid that the old guy that just glanced at me is going to make off with my purse and spend all of my "oh so bountiful" sum (more accurately, lack) of money. So growing up continues.
Thus far my summer has been going quite nicely. A lot of pool time, quite a bit of reading, and working for gas which is redundant, I work so I can pay to fuel what gets me to work. Ah, the circle of life. I've also discovered how very cold natured I am. I'm not typical Scenario A of the girl who pretends to be cold for a guys jacket while batting her eyes*. I'm always very much in need of a jacket and I can't even bat my eyes. *Ok, I was that girl once in middle school but it was 7th grade when the stealing of boys hat ran rapid.
For once I'm up on all movie I want to see in theaters, (Ironman, Kung Fu Panda, What Happens in Vegas, Indiana Jones, Prince Caspian twice) all which have an excellent seal of approval from me.. well, except Indie. Sorry babe, you're still amazing, I blame Spielberg. Also musically the latest and greatest definitely goes to Coldplay: Viva La Vida. I would say it's by far the best Coldplay album yet.
In other news, yesterday I sewed a pillow case and a pillow! Yes, first time sewing though I think I am living up to the stereotypical homeschooler now.. if only I could quote Lamentations and churn butter. So life continues.

an array of multifariousness

2008-05-12T21:31:00.004-06:00

what's new with me? well, I'll tell you.
- I like the way this keyboard sounds when it types that's pretty much the only reason I'm writing this blog, sorry if you feel slighted by that all one of my faithful readers.
- I went to see 'What Happens In Vegas' today, loved it. I also saw 'Iron Man' a couple of weeks ago, loved it too.
- some of my best (married) friends are moving to Ohio. it's not easy, but knowing that's exactly where God wants them sets all my selfishness aside and makes me excited for them to spread a relevant message about a real God.
- I feel like I've seen an ever so small glimmer of what God has for me. some weeks ago we had the Ugandan Orphans Choir come to our church, it changed my world. I can't explain exactly how I felt, or even what I feel called to, but I think it's knowing God has a purpose for my life that's bigger than my now.
- in case you were wondering what my latest listenings have been (because I know you've been on the edge waiting for this), I'll share: lots of U2 (in fact I'm listening to them right now), REO Speedwagon (the ultimate makeout music* for sure, synthesizers to kill), Journey, Bob Marley, and some mixed playlist which I specialize at (or so I've been told). although my favorite song on the radio (and solely the radio) would have to be Independent (it taught me how to spell that so you can't knock it).
* disclaimer: not that I know from experience
- I think I'll have to take back saying this was just because I liked the sound of the keyboard, this was nice to get this down somewhere though I didn't know it was coming.
- my crazy amazing 'rents paid for me and my sis to go to Wilmington/Carolina Beach North Carolina last week, it was supa fly. (it was my sisters graduation present, she is now officially a college graduate).
- I think this is the end of this blog line for me, I'm out.

NCAA, Kanye, and Pottery Barn

2008-04-07T20:33:00.002-06:00

- the final game of the NCAA tourney is on, Memphis is going to win it, or at least according to my bracket, they should. see, they tied it up just now.

- I'm ridiculously still tired even after twelve hours of sleep last night. I'm one of those people that just require a lot of sleep though; it's not that I'm unhealthy, I just like sleep and sleep likes me.

- I forgot how much I like blowpops. I especially like watermelon and green apple.

- we had MERGE this weekend and it was incredible. in worship the band had so much energy and were so passionate not to mention they're super cool guys. and of course I have friends that are unbeatable. my prayer is that we [students] keep the passion and move forward in all areas.

- my new sunglasses are pimp. fo realz. someone told me this weekend they were very kanye west.

- my favorite street name is Demonbreun. no reason, just is.

- my favorite place in Nashville (and just one of my favorite places) is West End. I think it'd be fun to live there.

- I'm going to Ohio again this weekend. I've found through this though that God has my heart here. I hate missing Grace and Remix, hopefully I'll be back in time to go to Remix. I love being apart of something like this though [church plant], maybe later in life that'll play in again.

- since running is not something I enjoy, or excel at, I've been doing yoga. it's unbelievable how much it's worked my core not to mention it's become my 'God time'. I love that part of my morning, it's a small moment of peace blocked out for me and God.

- I love Pottery Barn. my sis and I went to Green Hills today and they have one. I want to live in a house of all PB. I also found my dream bed today, I have a picture to draw from when I need it in a few years (or twenty when I may actually be able to afford it).

- I'm out.

post numero dos - in a week!

2008-04-02T09:38:00.002-06:00

me again! I know, the maddness! just a few more things I realized I wanted to share.

- We (my mom, sister, and I) went to see the broadway musical, RENT on Saturday. it was incredible*! Ericka and I saw the movie in theaters, bought the soundtrack and listened to it non-stop for a period of time, and later she bought the movie when it went to the 5.50 shelf at Target. *some, no make that a lot of people would not enjoy this. if you're homophobic, this is not your cup o' joe.

- I have decided if I could interview someone famous it would be Paul McCartney. To some, you believe that would be a waste of time. To others it's a 'duh' kind of thing. I have a lot of questions for him, I honestly didn't know I was that into it until a trip home from Nashville listening to the Beatles.

- The Office comes back on the day before my birthday! I've decided to have an office party, to celebrate my birthday that Thursday night because getting the Office back is a joyous gift.

- The ACTs scare me beyond belief so I'm going to study for that. I'm out.

for the sake of the blog and my freedom! (not really the last part though)

2008-03-31T21:43:00.004-06:00

I'm here, I really am. I suppose I figure I live with all of my viewers so they obviously know first hand what's going on with me. For the sake of a blog though, here goes: (I feel less threatened doing a list)

- my birthday is this month (well this month as of midnight). thanks mom and dad!

- I'm going to Ohio on the 12th (coming back 13th) to be apart of the second "preview sunday" at a new church plant there. I'm excited to see what God is doing there. last time we drove up in a blizzard, no seriously. Hopefully no blizzards to be expected but I'm skeptical of the native Ohioers (Ohioians?) saying "this really isn't typical weather! really!". I just didn't buy it.

- I just scratched my head.

- today was beautiful. in honor of the beauty my sister and I dug in some dirt all afternoon, I washed the dog, we made dinner, and enjoyed it with the parentals (and dog) on the porch. (this was followed by ericka and I playing blind man until it started raining).

- I've been pretty busy lately. and I don't say that like the typical "oh how are you?" "ah you know, staying busy". it's been craziness for everyone in my house and lately my social calender has picked up (with the help of getting lucy, my car). I'm not complaining of having things to do or hanging out with peeps but I've missed my family. tonight was great and much needed.

- today I beat a level on hard on Guitar Hero.. my fingers are finally grasping the concept of a fifth button. the orange has not been our friend in the past.

- lately I've seen just how cool God is. it's not one specific thing but just little things that leave you awestruck by our Creator.

- Sunday was wonderful at GCC. I was the worship leader in the kids and I love it. those kids are insanely awesome and it cool knowing I'm apart of shaping their vision of what church is and more importantly, who God is.

- "take a child fishing or hunting so they too can enjoy the great outdoors" is the quote that randomly went through my head. Bill Jordan (pronounced Jer-den though I believe he says it incorrectly) is the one who says it at the end of every 'Monster Bucks' or 'Realtree' videoes. don't judge, I don't watch them on my own accord.

- I think hot water may have returned to the shower so I'm going to hit it up and then go to bed.

Grizzard, out.

me in pictures!

2008-02-27T16:04:00.018-06:00

Here's how it works:
1. Go to www.photobucket.com
2. Type your answer into the "search" box
3. Use only the first page
4. Copy the html for the answer

- What is your name?

- What is your current relationship status?

- What is your favorite color?

- Who is your celebrity crush?

- What band are you currently listening to?

- What is your favorite movie?

and

- What kind of phone do you have?

- What's your favorite desert?

- What do you want to be when you grow up?

just kidding. really:

gallery owner.

- What do you love most in life?

- Where were you born?

- What do you hate?

- What color are your eyes?

- What is the last book you read?

- What is better blonde or brunette?

- Day or Night?

- Oranges or Apples?

- What is your favorite tv show?

and

the dark side

2007-12-29T15:42:00.000-06:00

Christmas has come and gone, it went in a blur but it was great. my family has become Guitar Hero addicts and have played what I believe has been every night since Christmas. The random facts were fun but since I should be cleaning the house (and we all know I'm rushing to get to the vacuum) I decided to give one fact, vis-a-vis the following:

1: I've found I have a dark side. Oh yes, Star Wars (which before the backspace button was 'Star Warts') Battlefront II for PS2. I played at a friends house a few days ago and I'm a beast with a light saber, but not any lightsaber, Darth Maul's lightsaber which I think it has something to do with his face paint looking like KISS, which links to Rock'n'Roll All Night, which I do rock at in Guitar Hero.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and will have a fantastic New Years!

the numeros

2007-12-20T23:47:00.000-06:00

5 days until Christmas! of course it's 11:48 right now so by the time I finish this blog it will be 4! I'm proud to say that in one fatal swoop, I bought everyone's Christmas present (with the exception of the one present I bought, but ended up eating so I'll have to go back to replace that). anyway I saw someone post random facts about themselves on their blog so I thought I would give it a shot.. I am tired however so this might be the four random facts about me.

numero uno: bagpipes make me laugh uncontrollably hard. seriously, what kind of instrument is that and the sound.. sheesh! my family and I fear the day I go to a funeral where bagpipes will be played.. I will be crying for a different reason than the rest. (no disrespect intended).

numero dos: when I sneeze, I flap my arms as if I could take flight. I just sneezed so this information is recent.

numero tres: I'm so tired I almost forgot how to count in spanish.. to think sesame street almost failed me.

numero.. oh forget it.. number 4: nick lachey's choir won in the clash of the choirs; I was pretty stoked since his was my favorite. we did see, however, that patti labelle is a true diva and does not accept defeat well; sorry ms labelle.. I guess it's back to diabetes commercials for you.

number 6: Christmas hasn't even come and target has put out their bathing suits. yes, bathing suits. for anyone that can afford to go away to a tropical place during the winter would probably not be buying their bathing suit from target anyway bringing us to the question: why rub it in our faces that we're stuck here?

number 7: both of my middle finger nails are short whereas the rest of my fingers have long nails. this is NOT, however, because I use my middle fingers for any purpose.

bumber seven: I could correct this but I'm so tired this is what came out.. the same bumber 7 as the last question. it's midnight now anyway, 4 days til christmas!

this concludes my random facts for today. if I don't update again I wish everyone a brilliant Christmas!

sunny with a high of, well just 70, but still!

2007-12-11T11:48:00.000-06:00

it's December 11th (happy birthday, Ericka!) and I'm writing this sitting on our porch. that's right it's 70, and sunny! there are blue skies today which I've been missing and it's 70! my kind of Christmas. honestly if January and February felt this good, I might actually like those months. of course this weather is just a one day phenomenon; for the next four days it's supposed to rain and then sunny on Sunday with a high of a whopping 38. (thanks weather.com). still I'm enjoying today completely. anyway, last night we went to Nashville and ate at our new favorite, P.F. Chang's. it's a family style Chinese bistro (that's what they say, it's a spacious restaurant), it's delcious! this wasn't our first time, in fact I didn't even have to look at the menu to know what I wanted. for appetizers we ordered the spring rolls (always) and the lettuce wraps, and then Ericka and I ordered the sweet and sour chicken, and garlic noodles, and Mom and Dad got the orange peel chicken, and beef and broccoli. I didn't try the beef and broccoli but everything else was devine. and of course they bring out rice which with a hint of soy sauce, geschmak! (tasty for all you non-Nanny watchers). bottom line: eat there. of course it's in the same fantastic complex as a Starbucks, and a two level Borders bookstore! so of course, we always go into Borders. there's nothing like a bookstore to calm me down (though I was pretty calm from my chinese eats) but it's just so relaxing. we had a great time together, it's not often we eat meals together so that added with P.F. Chang's was fantastic. anyway, I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season, as for me I'm going to enjoy the sunshine!

the day of dark

2007-12-04T11:55:00.000-06:00

an entire month happened and you would never know from my blog. I'm terrible. I want to get onto other people for not updating but I myself am stuck in October. well needless to say, the holidays are among us. I love this time of year; the nip in the air, Christmas lights, the music and movies. but this year is different though. I'm actually enjoying the season without wanting to rush to the 25th. this year I've realized there's a world beyond myself and those I am obligated to by for (check out the December 2nd sermon on the podcast at gcomchurch.com). this year isn't about presents for me, it's about putting the reason of Christmas back into perspective. it all started with Black Friday. oh yes, THE Black Friday. normally my Mom, Ericka, and I go out at some point the day after Thanksgiving but it's normally around 9AM - definitely not the early birds. Well this year, we were going to do it. We were going to be the early birds with worms (couldn't go without an office line). Our mission: a 37" tv and Guitar Hero 3. Our target: well, Target. we got up at 5, left at 5:30, rounded the corner of Target at 5:55, gasped at the sea of humanity at 5:55, the store opened at 6:00, found a parking space at 6:00, entered the store at 6:08, and we were too late. Not only were we too late, but all the people who were also too late were letting it be known. While standing in line for Guitar Hero 3 I heard more junk said from parents than I've ever heard around peers. Slamming the workers for not being efficient, not having enough stock, not to mention the foul words that were said while holding their children. It was in the moment as I stood uncomfortably too close to strangers in the electronic department of Target that I realized this is NOT for me, nor is this what it's about. I wanted to stand on a counter top and get all of those people a what for. they were willing to shove, cuss out, and just be entirely inappropriate for the sake of a "Merry Christmas" (authors note: I believe those are the people that say Happy Holidays). We left empty handed and completely appalled. I'm not naive enough to believe we live in a kind world, but sheesh! I then decided that those people were waiting at 4 AM for the latest and greatest they were willing to shell hundreds upon hundreds for, while there are kids that are going to be lucky to get a meal on Christmas, much less Guitar Hero 3 or a Nintendo DS. Did you know that one dollar, can provide water for one year to a person in a country without clean water such as Africa? $1.00 when people were spending beyond $100.00 on one day of the year for something that won't matter next year when they'll jump on the next big thing. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against presents or even having cool things. but I am against not doing anything to affect change. I don't think we should play martyrs and deny ourselves nice things, but I think you should consider spending some of that money, or even one dollar, to make a difference for the better that's beyond yourself. check out: bloodwatermission.com or leave a comment to find out how you can be plugged into an existing project. now if this were on channel 8, this is when "do they know it's Christmas (feed the world)" would start playing :) just something to think about. it's not all that hard. ha, that's what she said.

compassionate.

2007-10-16T09:20:00.000-06:00

It's just one of those times. not just any time, those times. Where the saying "when it rains it pours" doesn't fit, it's more like "when it rains it hurricanes". I realize according to my last blog my biggest worries were that Jim and Pam would stay together and getting my finger out of my tic tac dispenser but it's actually been hard to find something amusing to write about. It's that feeling of just dangling out there. It started with a relationship lost that I actually don't know what happened. Then it's family that's being tested for cancer, again. Then someone having a mastectomy today. Then losing a compassionate woman of God Sunday night. it's in these times when some people (myself included) would ask the questions we've all heard or asked ourselves, "why do bad things happen to good people?", or "why did God let this happen?". As to the first my response is simple: crap happens (there's a devine word for ya). It happens to both the so called good and the so called bad people. As to the second, there is probably never an answer in the moment. I myself believe that everything happens in Gods time whether it seems right to you or not. Not to say everything is going to seem awesome because I find the majority of the time it doesn't feel right at all. So what's life all about if bad things are going to happen to everyone and no one has any clue why God lets it? Well the woman who passed away seems to be what I come back to. She has stuggled with severe asthma and numerous other health problems for a very long time. She knew her time was short but it didn't stop her in any way from caring about people and their relationship to Christ. She affected so many people (in the positive) and truly led such a full life. Compassionate seems to be the word to say it all. It made me realize (this so simple truth) that it was never promised to be easy and the ultimate: that the only perfection to ever come to earth died for us. Us. The ones that ask those questions and God lets us. He lets us be mad at Him. He lets us question 'why?' when it doesn't seem like there is any fairness. I think we have to live each day in the moment but with the bigger picture in mind. Like Ms Imilsie, or Ms Cookie (another amazing Godly woman). To affect change.
There is so much more that I want to say, and this is probably a jumble of thoughts but I just wanted to put it out there. This was hard for me to write because normally I don't want to write about stuff this serious on just a blog, but I felt like I should. Who knows - this could affect change. In closing words I think the Fray wraps it up with the lyric (the most quoted on myspace) but seriously, "Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same".

the one about the tic tacs.

2007-10-14T15:39:00.000-06:00

the office is back! I figure this would be a good opening line for all of my two viewers that also watch it. but the best part of it: Jim and Pam are together! fo surrus. for those that were there in the beginning of this blog, we all hoped that this day would finally come. well on 10/04/07 this dream came true. I think it's going to be a great season. in another current events today at church I got my finger stuck in my tic tac despenser. I was needing some freshening so I opened it up, but then they started praying. well I thought I would multi-task and both pray, and get a tic tac. in order to do this it had to be quiet so I stuck my finger in the despenser (it a large tic tac case) and tried to get one out. this idea was shortly crushed so I naturally pulled my finger out, or I tried. it was stuck. it's that moment when you're in a store trying on a bracelet or ring that it doesn't come off and you think to yourself "oh crap, it's not worth that much and now I'll have to buy it anyway". well they changed up service today so they were passing around the offering buckets and I still had a tic tac despenser for a finger. so I passed the bucket with my finger stuck, I guess I could have tried to shake out a few. anyway I told the person sitting next to me which thought I was kidding and then commenced forth to pull, didn't work and really hurt. so then I leaned over to the person on my other side, she asked if I was ready and then yanked.. needless to say all is well, it came off, but word to the wise no matter how bad you want a tic tac, just wait to shake it out.

tom sawyer and barry bonds

2007-08-27T09:40:00.000-06:00

so it's safe to say I'm a sporadic blogger. to recap where we left off: the girls trip was fabulous (to describe girly things, you must use descriptive girly words). we went to Hannibal first which started with a boat ride down the Mississippi, we then went through the caves that are described in Tom Sawyer; Jesse James once hid out there (google him if this meant nothing to you - it still probably won't but at least you will have learned something). we then toured the homes of "Becky Thatcher" and "Tom Sawyer", it was really Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) and whatever the girls name was that was the inspiration for Becky Thatcher. that was a lot of fun - Hannibal is a cute town. then onto St Louis which I'm ready to go back to. I saw my first major league baseball game and I'm completely sold. I'm a Cardinals fan. going to Busch stadium, eating hot dogs, and boo-ing Barry Bonds (it was cardinals vs giants) has made me a true baseball fan. I am sad and hypocritical to say that though I booed Barry with the entire stadium of cardinals fans, I really wanted to see him hit a home run. everyone else did too.. boo him out on the field and then there was a moment of silence when the pitch would be thrown and millions of camera flashes would go off. I took videos every time he came up to bat, but they just ended up walking him every time he came up to bat, well they struck him out once and after that he took himself out of the game. of course this was pre-breaking the record when it was important. but on vacation Ericka and I where in our room, flipping channels and we saw a baseball game so we stopped and we saw (just in time) Barry break the record. it was incredible despite how he got this far, it does take talent (and apparently a good bit of steroids) but you do have to give props where they are due. in other news [REMIX] is awesome. the first service we had 100 kids. if you want to check it out go to: relevantstudents.com . we're about to start small groups september 9th which I'm really stoked about. continuing on: I really want it to rain. we have been in a drought for over a month (maybe a couple of months) now. everything is dead and it continues to be 100+ degrees. everyone needs a good rain day too just to read and watch movies. sunny days make me feel like I should be productive not that I don't enjoy them, just not like this. ok well it's still sunny outside and though I am in a way being productive finally posting again but I should probably move on to other things so probably until next month (or two), buenas tardes!

the office, the arch, and MO.

2007-06-21T08:01:00.000-06:00

well unfortunately I am back from Florida, actually i have been for about three weeks now - my bad - though I suppose it is a good thing I came back when planned as in nothing happened. but it was amazing - there's nothing like going to the beach to put priorities in place and gain perspective. also unfortunately I came back with the works: allergies, cold, cough, etc. and it makes me wonder how exactly you get a cold from the beach? but I've determined it's coming back to humid, land locked, Tennessee - whoo rocky top. but now I think I'm getting sick part 2 - the story (more like snot) continues. I'm not sure I fully got over the first and now I think I have a sore throat too. up until this point I thought getting sick in the summer was impossible; no such luck, my friend. anyway I'm sitting here at the office a tad bit bored (though I wouldn't claim that) so I will probably end up in an intense game of solitaire. actually katie is coming to get me when she gets up and we're having movie day (most likely just movie afternoon) at her house so it'll be fun. OH exciting travel news: I'm going on a girls trip to St Louis and Hannibal MO in July! I'm pretty stoked. I'll go to my first MLB game - Cardinals vs Giants - be jealous. :) and of course, The Arch (the non-golden one). and then we're going from St Louis to Hannibal which is where Tom Sawyer takes place. we inadvertently plan to go during 'the Tom Sawyer Days' - I like to refer to it as the 'Tom Sawyer Holy Days' though, it sounds hardcore. anyway that wraps up the news here at 9:23 am. I'm out.

one word: florida!

2007-06-01T11:32:00.000-06:00

I'm really into this blogging thing now; well especially now since myspace won't let me log in - don't know what's up with that and also especially now because I probably should be packing but I'm not and most likely won't until tonight - who packs this early anyway? I'm going to FLORIDA tomorrow! as stated in my last blog we do have to get up ridiculously early. I honestly didn't even know the world existed at 4 in the morning; well actually when we went to Canada, my grandma made us get up at 3 to drive there.. yeahh - moving on. it's going to stink coming back from big stuf though - it feels like I won't have anything to look forward to (as if the rest of the summer in nonexistent). there's just something about it being summer and going to camp. but for now I'm completely stoked about going. this is the ritz of camps - not only are we not staying in the woods in the middle of no where with bunk beds and cabins, but we get to hear some of the most amazing music and speakers. I'm in a room with some great girls too, there's really no downside to this (and I'm praying it stays that way). ok well mom should be home soon for us to go buy sunglasses, a navy blue tank top (it's not necessary, but for me, it's close to it) and running shoes. I probably won't post again until when I get back so ciao!

emos, curtain shopping, and the beach

2007-05-30T08:15:00.000-06:00

The Murphys moved to Colorado on Thursday night - Brennen, Bree, and Brilee all came over to Katie's house before they left. it was pretty painful - you don't realize it can actually cause physical pain. I discovered that when saying goodbye, emos are the worst. and that when they say in grey's anatomy that it "hurts in places you didn't even know you had", it's true. but after crying for almost two days straight, I got over the really hard part and was able to talk to Brennen and not completely break down on him. things are good now - I plan to visit them, some because of brennen but mostly because I told him to be friends with shaun white to get me the hookup so I have to meet him now. :) on another note, ericka and I are going curtain shopping with my grandma today (actually that still sounds depressing) - I know you're jealous.. curtain shopping with nanny is like trying to pass a law - a lot of debating and consideration, and it doesn't have to go through many people, but my grandma is person enough to have to go through. it actually should be better than I make it out to be - we're shopping for her remodeled house (only remodeled because of a fire) but either way, you get new junk and I'm glad she wants our input. and finally - big stuf is in THREE DAYS!!!! I am so excited - I think God is going to do major things. but the best part is, we are leaving at FIVE in the morning. yes, we have to be there by FIVE. that means from our house, ericka and I have to leave at 4:30. let me tell you, 4:30 in the morning is not going to be a pretty color on me and it won't be pretty until normal times I get up like 10. either way it's going to be wonderful after the initial stinkyness of ungodly morning hours. ok well curtain shopping can't wait - I'm out.

2007-05-24T10:03:00.000-06:00

SUMMER!! I am proud to say the pool is up, and aloe vera has become my best friend. tv series have wrapped up; the office finale was fantastic - this is jim and pam's time - I can feel it (though there will be the given drama, it can't always be perfect). grey's - oy, I have no words. everything I've known in the show has been washed away; they can't keep leading me on like this though I'll be watching the season premier in the fall. oh, and dancing with the stars - I hadn't watched it faithfully until this year but it's fun to watch. I wanted the top three to all win though I had a gut feeling apollo would win though I still have a history with joey from his nysnc days. in other news; we had a last shindig (if people still say that) for brennen last night which was amazing - we had a water fight til katelyn took a hard hit to concrete; then we did somersaults down a hill which is obviously the safer choice of the two - there's nothing like trying to stand up with the world swirling around you. the ultimate consecutive amount done was 16. then we actually decided to watch a movie like the plan was which was great - the song "secret lovers" does come to mind though - and I mean that in a completely non-dirty way. :)
anyway that's all the news for now - I'm out!

food, food, and everything else.

2007-05-10T10:03:00.000-06:00

alright so one month exactly has gone by so I think I might have some stuff to yak on about.
my family suprised me with a trip to atl (word.) for my birthday to see the louvre exhibit at the atlanta high arts museum - that was completely amazing for lack of more expressive words. I found my new loved eatery, the varsity. biggest grease pit ever but no shame baby, it was delicious - anyone that goes to atlanta, go there - get onion rings and an orange frost; you won't regret it, for awhile at least. schools dragging on. I've come to love baseball, and hotdogs (I think it has become obvious that I like to eat). but hotdogs at a baseball game is just right. May is flying by but I am so excited about BigStuf camp which I'll be going to in less than a month! it's in florida, at the beach, with some of the most incredible speakers and lead worhsippers; I'm thinking that cannot be beat. I spent the first two days of this week at the office with my mom; the first day I don't recall doing a lot until we went shopping after she got off which I fully remember. but the second day I painted from 8am-3:30pm and then put a bookcase together which was liberating since normally I just "assist" with putting things together. but I did this all on my own! today ericka and I are going to put a desk together - should be fun until the first hour goes by. haha

sixteen candles.

2007-04-10T11:27:00.000-06:00

ok so I haven't actually seen the movie 'sixteen candles' but I thought it was an appopriate title since my 16th birthday is tomorrow (it fits a little bit). it's exciting, though I don't feel it's a major deal, it'll be cool to say I'm 16, well that and when I can drive myself around.
Easter was incredible - God is doing awesome things at gcc! Easter night I went to see 'happy feet' again at the dollar theater with katie which is probably the most unfestive thing to do but you can't hunt eggs all day long and we had a lot of fun. I think I have nothing else to ramble about which completely stinks as this was my break from cleaning my room and doing laundry. oh, and just to put it out there: if anyone feels that they would like to contribute to my birthday I will accept checks, cash, and giftcards - contact me via comment. :)

home depot and spring.

2007-03-24T17:16:00.000-06:00

well it's been awhile. as in last entry it was 30 degrees outside, now it's a balmy 85 - which I'm pretty excited about! also since the last entry I've experienced a peace only God can give as He has kept me in His hand in the hard times - and that's unspeakable excitement. on current events though: today mom ericka and I went out to eat which ended up a trip to the home depot (I love the smell of the home depot.. wood, organization, and paint) which resulted in buying flowers, a trip to borders, then eventually to our original destination to get food. it's always fun with them. I love that we never stick to the original plan; I'm not a 'planny person', I rather like things spontaneous. but we now have beautiful flowers on the porch which is heartwarming because it means spring here, well technically it's very close since we haven't had the official day but either way. spring also means my birthday is close! exciting stuff. I think I'm going to play fetch with my dog though before the sunsets (playing fetch meaning I throw his bone around our yard and then have to catch him before he runs into the house) fun for all!
"oh, the uncertainty of a warm spring day." - william shakespeare

swedish pops

2007-02-14T14:38:00.001-06:00

HAPPY SWEDISH POP DAY!
don't worry if you do not understand.. one day you will. in a world with no valentines.. and swedish poopers.. uh poppers.. everywhere.
look for x games videos (the flying onion more specifically) soon.
<3

flying tomato.

2007-01-29T22:08:00.000-06:00

the x games basically define the word awesome, at least for me. I admit I didn't see all of it which was unfortunate, however what I did see was incredible. snowboarding has got to be the coolest thing to watch. I would marry shaun white if I could - or at least be friends with him. during the '06 winter olympics while watching him (shaun white) inspired me to do a little snowboarding (or the closest I could get to that) of my own. this sport is called sledboarding. basically you stand on a sled and go down a hill until you come to that inevitable moment of having to stop which results in either you jumping off or running into something. I've done both and I can't say I recomend either since we live in between two hills you pick up some speed so either way you'll get hurt.. but would i do it again? heck yes. in fact I'm hoping for some snow so I can make it happen again this year. to give an example of sledboarding this was last years first game:

[I was moving down a hill despite popular belief.]

sledboarding does include putting on pool goggles and a big bubble jacket. I'm praying for an '07 sledboarding tournament resulting in a lot of bruises and perhaps a video to prove my mad skills. i'm out. -the flying onion (to clear any confusion this name came from shaun white earning the name the flying tomato; i since became the flying onion just because every other vegatable didn't sound as cool).

senior discount.

2007-01-23T11:56:00.000-06:00

I'm trying to be a blogger. hence my second blog.
sunday was great - 700 people at gcc. pretty awesome stuff going on. small groups sunday night were excellent .. very thought provoking. some of us went to Backyard afterward and apparently this has become the hangout for the older crowd (by older I mean the ones that get the discount on certain days - wednesday at kroger for instance) either way the colts game was on (prayer was put into what I saw - God answered) and this older woman sitting at a table with a heavy southern accent yells (while flailing her arms) "GO PEYTON - GO!!!". amusing? most definitely.
on another note (but following up from my last post), thursday night - huge television moment - when asked by Karen if he still had feelings for Pam - Jam admitted he did!! there were shrills of joy in my household.
this is the stuff of dreams.

the office and enoch.

2007-01-17T22:07:00.000-06:00

I think I'm having bloggers block. which isn't too great since this is my first post. however I suppose I can ramble on about nothing so that's somewhat idyllic. it's what to ramble on about that is the question. I most likely should be dissecting spanish sentences but sitting here conteplating how to fill this up seems the lesser of two evils.
tonight is my big tv line up night - sad but true I try extremely hard to stay at home or in control of a tv somewhere on thursday nights but when it comes to the office and grey's anatomy, you've gotta do what you've gotta do. the oc also comes on (may it rest in peace as of feburary) but we are tivoless so then it's a coin toss between grey's and the oc; grey's basically always wins. last week we left at a climax in both shows.. however Dwight will come back - don't know that Angela will let him say anything though so that should be interesting, yet disturbing if you let yourself think on it. I think Michael will eventually fire Andy; they're too much alike. but what it comes down to for me is Jim and Pam. it bums me out. it will happen though, I know it.
on another note (though I believe God loves the office too); something cool I found while reading my bible (the message remix which I strongly encourage everyone to get and read, it puts a completely new prespective on everything) was while reading in Genesis it's going through a timeline of people, ages, their children and what age they died. Enoch was the first to not die, but to be taken up at age 365 (yeah, I know but that was young compared to all the other guys). Enoch was the only person up until that point to have an additional line next to his name saying he walked daily with God - there are 365 days in a year - a year to God is like a minute, but in this case you could say day hence 365. I don't know it just struck me as cool.
anyway I think this is an overly decent sized blog so I'm gone. and if you've read this far, I'm sorry you are so bored.