adventure

Life is a grand adventure. I just wanted to remind myself of that. Somedays it is quite exciting wondering and waiting for what is going to happen next.
Life would be extremely boring if I knew what was coming next. Sure it would save a lot of heartache, pain, and suffering, but there would be no need for faith and trust. God, keep me trusting in you and help me to know what your will is and to do it.

Colossians1:9-12 "For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light."

Prayer request

If you think of me in the next two weeks, pray for me to have peace over my shoulder surgery. To tell you the truth, I am scared to death. I loath needles. I had to have blood drawn earlier today and I was on the verge of tears all morning. I just kept repeating, "God is my refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore I will not fear." I have somewhat of a peace about surgery, but I am still scared out of my mind. Anyhow, if you think about it, please pray for me. I would greatly appreciate it. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

And Praise God for my parents who love me. My dear father let me drive his car this morning so I could have a/c. :) He's so awesome.

Well, sometimes my life just don't make sense at all
When the mountains look so big
And my faith just seems so small

So hold me Jesus,
'cause I'm shaking like a leaf
You have been King of my glory
Won't You be my Prince of Peace

Surrender don't come natural to me
I'd rather fight You for something I don't really want
Than to take what You give that I need
And I've beat my head against so many walls
Now I'm falling down, I'm falling on my knees

Well, I'm back

Six Flags yesterday was awesome. I have a great bunch of friends (I don't think I could ever say that too much). Tower of Doom was great (even though I had a look of crazed fear on my face at the end). Haha. I was afraid it would be too hot to have any fun, but I was wrong. I just hopped around from the two water fountains and guzzled down water. And then rode water rides between riding the other rides. Get wet, ride rides, get wet again... It was great. I would suggest to never go on the octupus and then the swings (NEVER go on either of them and never one right after the other...bad idea). Also, I think our Six Flags is getting sort of boring. It was fun the first few times, but now I know where everything is. I still had fun, but I think we need a new place to explore. :) I will also mention the batman show as interesting and entertaining (with crazy fireballs...haha) and the white one (wooden rollar coaster) as fun too, but not my absolute favorite part of the day. So, my favorite parts of the day...
*Tower of Doom
*The pirate ride the first time (rocking the boat and having a water fight... great fun).
*The fudge man (he was funny).
*That phone message from Steffy (I love you, Steffy!!! I laughed until I cried... Hey FAITH!!)
*Batwing (is always my favorite -- and I got to ride up front!! Double fun!)
*Red, Hot, and Blue (need I say more -- yay for fried catfish, sweet potato fries, and huge tips...haha).
*Boggle (for the whole way home) and actually winning a couple rounds and not getting carsick.

Yep, it was a blast. Thanks to Ben, Linnea, Jared, Kyrie, and Sienna for going and keeping me laughing. Volleyball was highly entertaining too. Hardy har.

a single rose

And this is why I would be happy with a single rose (besides the fact that if another ever thought enough of me to give me a rose (or roses), I would be so happy I would feel like I was going to fall over and die. Well, unless it was so creep. In that case I would slap him. Since I have been known to do that when people offend me. Anyhow, this is what happens when you spend ten hours at work, you start thinking about the oddest things. Perhaps I should stop listening to the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack and go back to Road to Perdition. Haha) ...

"Once apon a time in a far away land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. But then, one winters night, an old begger women came to the castle and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggered apperence, the prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away, but she warned him not to be deceived by appearences, for beauty is found within. And when he dismissed her again the old woman's uglyness melted away to reveal a beautiful entrantress. The prince tried to apoligize, but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart. As punishment, she transformed him into a hidious beast and placed a powerful spell over the castle and all who lived there. Ashamed of his monsterous form, the beast concealed himself inside his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world.
The rose that she had given him was truely an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his twenty-first year. If he could learn to love another and earn their love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken, IN NOT, he would be doomed to remain a beast FOR ALL TIME.
As the years past, he fell into dispair and lost all hope, for who could ever learn to love a beast...?"

Don't you love Beauty and the Beast?

dreaming...

I hope we get to stop at Red, Hot, and Blue tomorrow.
I feel like eating sweet potato fries and fried catfish. Wow, that has to be good for you.

RAIN

I love the scent of rain.

Yesterday we went over to the Robins to have Mrs. Robins world famous chicken salad (she doesn't put nuts, celery, rasiens, grapes, or any of that stuff that ruins chicken salad, in it). Then we played Boggle and pictionary. Fun times. Boggle is one of the best games ever! Haha. I love thinking games.

A merry adventure had we

Today was a grand old day.
-I helped the Conleys paint their new house from 9-12:30. I trimmed in two coats of a room (Hope helped me with the first coat... Hope is a pretty good kid sometimes) and then did the closet in the room Mrs. Shelton was trimming. I really enjoy painting. There is something satisfying about it. But you know what I love more... refinished hard word floors!!! Man, I used to love doing that with my dad. Maybe it was because it was done with my dad, but it was so much fun. Playing the music loud and working until late into the night. Polying the floors and counting floor boards. Sanding was always crazy with that little breathing mask ... haha. I need some pictures of me in that and some of my work clothes. Those were the days... Man, I love my Dad. :D
-Mrs. Shelton then invited me over to lunch and I had a nice little chat with Pastor and Mrs. Shelton and a bowl of peaches!!! May I say again that I love fresh fruit!! So we were going to clean the house, but all I did was feather dust (which is really fun) and wash a few dishes.
-Jared showed us a few random scenes for A Mighty Wind because I didn't want to watch Seifield and he didn't want to watch a whole movie. He then went off somewhere.
-Then Mrs. Shelton and I decided to go to get ice cream, but the place we wanted to go was closed, so we went to the Hebron Dinner (what a funny little place) and ordered chocolate peanut butter pie (yummy). We had a golly good time laughing and driving around merrily about the cornfields around Hebron.
-Then I went back to the Conelys and picked up Hope.
-Anna and I then went to Rosses and I bought an awesome new shirt.
-Then I made dinner (I am getting quite good at this, since my parents are still out of town).
-Sarah, Anna, Luke, and I then played Pitch (the greatest card game ever!!! We all love it and it is so much fun... I love playing games with my siblings...I love my siblings too. They have grown up a lot in the past few years. I appreciate them a lot more then I used to. What a great bunch of kids. May God keep them that way and draw them closer to Himself).

Last night was fun with them too. We watched a bunch of epidsodes of Jeeves and Wooster and partied the night away. :) Woohoo. And the house is clean.

I love this blazer. I love old navy.

Choir and Dinner Plans

Hmmmm... Mae just got back from a conducting seminar and so we had to do some weird warm-ups last night. Next week we will be dancing around the sanctuary holding batons wearing sombreros. Haha.
So I have been at work since seven. My parents are away again so I am cooking dinner this week. Last night we had spaghetti and garlic bread. Tonight we are having something with chicken. Probably broiled with greek seasoning, cheese, and some sort of pasta. I am a huge fan of italian food. This will sort of be a greek/italian dinner of sorts. I'll probably make garlic bread again too because my siblings won't complain about dinner that way. Heh. Actually, my greek chicken is one of their favorite meals (which means I won't have to hear them whine to mom when she gets home that dinner was never good). I love my siblings. I feel like mexican food . Maybe I will get some ground beef to make tacos tomorrow or maybe extra chicken to make Fajitas. Ah, the decsions you have to make when you are taking care of a family.
I need to change the time on this blog so it says the correct time.

there is a reason for it all

I've seen hard times and I've been told
There isn't any wonder that I fall
Why do we suffer, crossing off the years
There must be a reason for it all

I've trusted in You, Jesus, to save me from my sin
Heaven is the place I call my home
But I keep on getting caught up in this world I'm living in
And Your voice it sometimes fades before I know

Hurtin' brings my heart to You, crying with my need
Depending on Your love to carry me
The love that shed His blood for all the world to see
This must be the reason for it all

Hurtin' brings my heart to You, a fortress in the storm
When what I wrap my heart around is gone
I give my heart so easily to the ruler of this world
When the one who loves me most will give me all

In all the things that cause me pain
You give me eyes to see
I do believe but help my unbelief
I've seen hard times and I've been told
There is a reason for it all

Hannah arrived safely in M-I-SS-I-SS-I-PP-I.
Thank the Lord.
Have a blast!

The near future...

• Thursday, July 28 - Sunday, July 31 --> Williamsburg (even though I don't like the town, I have been there TOO MANY TIMES!!), but we are camping with a bunch of families from the Church, so it should be cool. I can't wait for Whithe Chocolate Non-Periels (spelling???).
• Monday, August 1 --> Shoulder Surgery
• Tuesday, August 2-Friday, August 5 --> Come visit little in pain Faith and make her laugh.
• Monday, August 29 --> School starts again with Faith in a sling. :( This happens too much.

In case you wonder where I am during the next few weeks... God bless. I will try to keep up with this. The grace of God is new every morning. May we never take one moment for granted and may He grant us the grace to be faithful in the little things. That has the be the hardest thing in life. Being Christ-like in every area of life. Man! And also valueing Christ above EVERYTHING else. It is a good thing God is merciful and full of grace. Praise the Lord of life. :)

Confederate Motto (you've got to love the south)

Here is their motto: Deo Vindice -- God will be our Vindicator

I'm back

And everyone else has left or is leaving today.

I just got back from Winchester VA -- birthplace of Patsy Cline.

I love the mountians. They are so awe-inspiring. I just stare at them and I am filled with wonder and amazement. They are one of those things in life that takes your breath away. I put that on the list of the moon reflecting off water, the stars, the ocean, and anything else in creation that is wonderful. I'm thinking quickly here since I am at work.

• Monday we saw General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's office in town and had an awesome little tour. The tour guide was amazing. Then we went over to the courthouse so that we could see the prisoners writings all over the walls. But the courthouse was closed. However the manager walked by and saw us on the stairs and offered us a private tour (and we got to see the actual courtroom -- that won't open to the public til October -- the accoustics were incredible!!!!). Then we went back to the campsite and read, swam, and ate! Haha. What fun. We also went to Walmart to get a deck of card (because the only deck we brought had different colored jokers...and for pitch you need jokers and they can't be pink... haha). Then we went to this little ice cream shop and everyone else got ice cream. We then went back to the site and played Pitch until about 11:30. Anna and I won four out of four games!!! Woohoo. The four games took us close to four hours of card playing. We are obsessed with Pitch. It is one of the most fun games ever!!!
• Tuesday - Hope and I went swimming for the whole morning while everyone else went to the Caverns. I was going to read while Hope swam, but she kept talking me into swimming her around the pool. It was quite tiring, but fun. Then we played cards!!! Ha. And went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory... (I will post pictures of this little old theatre that was falling apart -- the seats were gross) and then dinner at Cracker Barrel (fried catfish, baked potato, and green beans -- with lots of ketchup (hentz - of course) and tobasco sauce mixed in).
• Wednesday - We went swimming and then we went home and found the power off -- so I went on a run. It was great since I was already all sweating and gross from the trip. :) Woohoo for running/jogging. I really should do that more often because I do enjoy it.

Home computer...

I really don't like to post from the home computer because the thing is so blasted slow.

* Thursday we went to see Dark Water (Jennifer Connely is beautiful and wonderful!!!). It was entertaining enough. I didn't regret going and I would see it again for free. Haha. Hannah was freaking me out the whole time which made it even more fun. :) Woohoo. Being scared in a scary movie is the best. Afterwards we got frosties and fix and mixes at Wendys. I think Hannah's version is the best so far. Linnea and I were in the back seat crying we were laughing so hard.
"Why don't they just give you a butterfinger bar and a knife and tell you to fix it your self?"
"or have a cow and a ice cream maker outside and you have to make the whole thing... and pay them so that you can make it..."
* Friday night we were supposed to go to a bonfire, but because of this silly weather, it was cancelled. So we (Ben, Kyrie, Anna, and I) played botchi ball all over the Shelton's yard (mainly accross the road). Haha, that was so much fun. Gutter balls were a blast. Anyhow, then we (Jared, Hannah, Anna, Rachel Townsend, and I) went to go see Charlie and the Chocolate factory!!! WOW WOW!! What an awesome movie! I laughed and I laughed. I was laughing so hard at some points I almost couldn't breath. It was totally amazing. I told my Mom, I felt like I went to the circus or an amusement park and was made to laugh the whole time. It was a fun movie. I want to see it again! :)

Brothers Grimm

Since my boss is feeling ill today, I got to sit a work and read Fairy Tales by the Grimm Brothers. What fun!

I've always loved Rumpelstiltskin. All of the stories I have read have been great. Here is a website with most of their books online. Woo hoo.

to-day I bake, to-morrow brew,
the next I'll have the young queen's child.
Ha, glad am I that no one knew
that Rumpelstiltskin I am styled

YAY!

I'm just really happy today. Appreciate life!

I hope this movie turns out to be good.

I love the old version of this movie. I hope this one is just as good. Johnny Depp doesn't look as weird as he normally does (in the picture that is, he looks weird in the movie-haha). Cinderella Man and Batman are still my favorite movies this summer. There hasn't been much of anything else to watch.
Yay, for Martin Chuzzlewit and In the Bedroom! Some hope in the darkness.

Abba

Romans 8:15 "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."

Ever think how great it is to be able to cry Abba, Father whenever we need to? Ever think how amazing it is that we were made children of God when we did nothing? Praise the Lord for being a loving Father and not making us a slave to fear. And also praise him for his discipline when we go astray and mess up. Only a loving father punishes his children, to teach them a lesson, and leads them to the right path. Blessed be thy name. Thank you for life.

Last photos for today...

I wish I had gone on this trip. It looked like so much fun. I always love going to the plays. What fun memories.

Sarah took this really awesome picture in the creepy bathroom at the art place.
Linnea in the parking lot at the art and theatre place. She's so cute.
Something that was on display in the art section. Linnea, Luke, and Rachel, ponder what it is. Anna is just laughing.

Anna should be laughing at this. Rachel, Linnea, and Anna go shopping. I really wish I had been there. :) There is always next time.

more photos

Random photos of fun.

The philly hand photo. I still love this photo. I don't know why. This is from our Lord of the Rings trip last year. Woohoo.
Luke calls this photo "The Clinster Pose" . He says he looks very much like Clint Eastwood. Hmmm... I love my brother.

This is from the snowstorm when we were snowed in at the Sheltons. Linnea was about to go out into the crazy cold snow. I choose to stay inside and play (and get beaten in by Jared) Princess Uno with Hannah, Sarah, Jared, and Patrick.

Wedding Photos

I thought I might post a few fun photos.

This is Anna looking out over the back porch over the vineyards.

This is the house that Anna was standing on the back porch of. Wow wow.

This is Anna and me in side the house. Ra ra us!

This is my adorable little brother! ;)

And Sarah and Luke eating really awesome appetizers!!

P. G. Woodhouse

P.G. Woodhouse is a genius!!
So is Kenneth Grahame.

I love Swiss Cheese!!!

Baby Swiss is one of my favorite cheeses to have on a sandwich or just to eat plain. Today I am having swiss and turkey on wheat bread. If you melt the cheese and toast the bread it is excellent.

Nothing else overly exciting it going on. I worked in the garden last night for two hours. I picked another whole row of green beans (woohoo) which means a whole mud bucket of green beans. I also weeded and hoed the dirt around our squash, peanuts, and cantaloupes (originally known as Muskmelons, as Jared so kindly informed me, -- and if you would like to know more about them http://pages.prodigy.com/gardenshop/flwr11.htm here is a nice little page explaining all that jazz). The whole family was supposed to help, however the volleyball net was too appealing to Sarah, Anna, and Hope. They planted three rows of corn and quickly abandoned Mom, Dad, and I to the rest of the garden. I have a nice popped blister to prove my hoeing of the plants (and I put a batman bandaid on it -- haha). I love walking barefoot through the freshly tilled dirt. There is nothing quite like the feeling of soft dirt between your toes. Ah, the joys of summertime. Fireflies, green beans, warm evenings, the night sky, corn, and going barefoot through the dirt. What more can you ask of life? Maybe rain and a thunderstorm? Life is beautiful. Thank God for life.

Haha!

Sarah just called me from Snow Hill (where she is counting cars). She is telling me that there is a sign that reads "Blessing of the Combines on August 6". Haha, we should go and get our combines blessed!!

I just signed my Banannas.

INTJ (analyst).
:)

This one best describes me... but it isn't great. Heh.

Don't Waste Your Life

Is an amazing book. I was just reading it, since I have nothing else to do at work today. Isn't that awesome. I get paid to sit here and read John Piper. Praise God for my job.
"Therefore every breath we take, every time our heart beats, every day that the sun rises, every moment we see with our eyes or hear with our ears or speak with our mouths or walk with our legs is a free and undeserved gift to sinners who deserve only judgement." - John Piper.
How can you argue with that? I wish I would (and could) live this everyday of my life, every hour and second that I breath. But so often I spend more time worrying about life and what I am going to do next. WHY can't I remember that every good thing (and as John Piper says, every bad thing that God turns for the good of his redeemed children) was purchased by the death of Jesus? Why must I always be taking life for granted? It is probably because I rely on my own strength so much. Things always work out better when I trust God to provide. And I do trust Him a lot of the time.
May God grant me the strength to see his plan in everything and to give him all the glory for everything in my life. May I never take one moment for granted. Scary to say, but may I never become comfortable with were I am so that I forget to glory in the cross. Take my world apart.

I look beyond the empty cross
Forgetting what my life has cost
And wipe away the crimson stains
And dull the nails that still remain
More and more I need You now
I owe You more each passing hour
Battles between grace and pride
I gave up not so long ago
So steal my heart and take the pain
And wash the feet and cleanse my pride
Take the selfish, take the weak
And all the things I cannot hide
Take the beauty, take my tears
My sin-soaked heart, make it Yours
Take my world all apart
Take it now, take it now
And serve the ones that I despise
Speak the words I can't deny
Watch the world I used to love
Fall to dust and thrown away

Yesterday

During Sunday School I pulled out my chapstick (gasp - and that is the end of the story). Haha. Actually, Sarah saw me and pulled out the same one and Mrs. Hall found it rather amusing that we had the same chapsticks. So Anna was sitting across the table and she pulls out the same Berry Explosion - Fruit Smoothies chapstick. Yep, I love my siblings. We seem to always be able to entertain ourselves no matter what the situation is. And no one else will find that funny, but I posted it for my entertainment. :) Hee Hee.
The beach was ridiculously hot yesterday. I went in the water and bobbed up and down. WooHoo. Thank God for air conditioning. We were stuck in traffic for two hours on the way home and barely made it on time for church. We went 40 streets in an hour and a half. But the grace of our God is ever new. Poor Hannah felt miserable the whole time. I think I would have been upset about the situation if I had been feeling slightly sick or if we had no a/c. However, I was only hungry (I'm always hungry or could eat food). It is probably a good thing that I didn't have food with me or I would have eaten my way through several bags of cookies and chips. Haha. Hmmm, then I would have had an excuse to run. I need to find someone to go running with me. Maybe I will talk to Stef and see what she is up to.
Well...
Well...
Should I say "Go Georgia" and get back to work? Haha. Hannah is the only person that will get that. Maybe it will make her smile since she always makes me smile.

1 Cor 9:24 "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize."

Message

It is a shame when people ruin other people's fun. Some people don't seem to know when to quit. I will say it again... You may insult me to your hearts content, but when you mess with my friends or family I will delete your comments. NO ONE thinks it is funny! We never did.

Oyster Crackers and Michael Jorden

Grief is like Michael Jorden or something like that. Haha. Or the acting in "In the Bedroom" is like watching Michael Jorden play. I got a huge kick out of that. :)

I also got a huge kick out of seeing my parents at the pizza place when Jared and I went to go pick up the pizzas for tonight. My family never goes to Ponzeties (spelling??? - haha, I'm an engineering major, not english). Anyhow, that rather mildly amused me.

And of course Linnea and I eating a whole bag of Oyster Crackers was funny too. Haha. What a fun day. In the bedroom is like watching art. The whole movie is incredibly put together. I just sit there and think how awesome it is. It doesn't feel like you are watching a movie. It feels like real life. Anyhow. I have to get to bed. Thanks for Hannah for inviting me to the beach. And thanks to Linnea for driving us home. Haha. What a great driver. To Jared for the pizza and letting me watch all your favorite movies. Oh, and thanks for Ben for taking us to the drive-in movie last night. That was incredibly amusing. Heh, okay enough of this.

That's all folks

Yep, that is all from me today. I am going home for the weekend. Hope you all are happy campers! I don't know where that came from... haha. But that reminds me of "I don't think this is a road" or "what a nice field". Yay for that wonderful video that Mrs. Shelton is supposed to be turning into a dvd someday. I still want a copy. :) Please!

Ruby Shorts

I love these short!!! What an awesome color! Ruby is such a cool word. By the way, they are from J. Crew. Linnea showed me J. Crew and now I want to buy almost everything they make. WOW WOW. :)

Crazy like... a drive in movie. :)

Stef is leaving for Beliez tomorrow. So we had lunch today at that little mexican restaurant across from campus. I don't remember the name of the place. That was really great. We should do that more often. Anyone can join me for lunch!!! It makes the day seem so much shorter and brighter.
About the movie - I am still holding it against Ben that we didn't get to see Collateral and The Village last year. :) The Fantastic Four and War of the Worlds will NOT make up for the fact that we missed two awesome movies last year. But I shall try my hardest to pretend that last year never happened and that we are having fun doing something that we have never done before. I don't have to pretend that I am having fun while doing somethign I have never done before. Sounds awesome! Just wake me up if I fall asleep or something. Haha.

summertime

Isn't the rain beautiful? I really love rain. It is perfect for sleeping in (which I could not do today, but would have loved to) and curling up with a blanket and reading great long books. What a glorious time is summer, when we have time to enjoy the simple pleasures of life.
And I got my mango gelati last night. I waited all day for it. Funny how that worked out. I was going to get one at lunch, but then I decided against it. But we went after choir! YAY.

Fireflies

I think I may go catch fireflies tonight. I just randomly thought about that. It would be a lot of fun. :)
I also just looked at my feet and they are filthy (what a surprise to anyone who knows me - they are usually covered in some sort of dirt). I have spots of black gunk on the bottoms of my feet. What a mess. Jared should have sanded his desk and not spread citrus gunk remover all over it. :) Haha. Then everything would be covered in a fine powder and not all gunky. It will be fun to clean up that mess. The desk is going to be really awesome when it is finished.

Petition for not painting the desk!!! LEAVE IT WOOD!!!

YAY for Pastor Shelton and Bible Study. Delight in the Lord.
Whether you eat or sleep or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.

fourth and feet

Does it look like we would have the same feet...? Haha.

Pair of feet (yes that is so weird). Can you tell whose foot is whose? ^

Two right feet (even weirder). Don't stare too long. It is way too strangely odd. ^

Faith, Jared, and Hannah. --> Fourth of July - while watching fireworks. ^

big mouthed frog

The story of the big mouth frog:

do you want to be friends with this big mouthed frog...? :)

One day he saw a chicken.
HEY MR CHICKEN!!! WHAT DO YOU DO?
I eat corn.
OH, DO YOU WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH A BIG-MOUTHED-FROG??
No, go away.

Then he saw a cow.
HEY MR COW!!! WHAT DO YOU DO?
I eat grass.
DO YOU WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH A BIG-MOUTHED-FROG??
No, go away.

Then he saw an alligator.
HEY MR ALLIGATOR!!! WHAT DO YOU DO?
I eat Big-mouthed-frogs.
oooh, you do



Hardy Har. Are you not entertained...?

Bunglers I am surrounded by bunglers

To Quote Adventures in Odyssey, "Bunglers I am surrounded by bunglers!!!" Yeah, I had to say it again I think it fits my line of work well.
**I sent these people a excel file today including every piece of information they wanted and some all nicely organized and formatted on separate tabs (I take pride in making great excel worksheet --they are pieces of art... haha, not that much, but I do make them easy to read and follow).
**This person emails me back and says they needs more information.
**I say it is on tab five labeled blah blah blah, please check there first.
**This persons supervisor calls me and says that they need the file sent now!
**I say it is already included, CHECK TAB FIVE!!! It is really hard to be nice when you are working with people that don't know what they are doing in excel. This person says they can't find it so I say I will "send them a new email with all the information they need". I don't even get a thank you, just a "you are an idiot" goodbye. Haha. -So I decide to resend the file, just Tab Five (that way it is right there and the only thing that they can open and they can't get lost in my excel file - like that is really hard or something - there was only five tabs and they were all labeled...grrr).
**This first person calls back and complains that they need something else. Which I know is in both files I send them. I calmly tell this person that if you scroll over several columns you will see that information. This person goes, "oh, I didn't know you could scroll over". I know this person has worked with Excel files before. You have to when you work in this line of work. WHO KNOWS?!?!

Excel files aren't that hard. I mean you can scroll over and up and you can click on a new tab and scroll over and up. I didn't even have any graphs or anything confusing like that. Grrr. Actually it is pretty funny now. Except the fact that I was treated like an idoit who didn't know anything and I never got a thank you. :) Oh well. I still love my job. What a great life. I am learning how to deal with the world (if I didn't already know enough about that from CFA).

Great Quote of the Day from Sarah: "I don't pay any attention to him, I don't even ignore him."

Ah! It won't let me upload images this morning!!!

I guess I will try again later.

After reading about the Six Flags New England - Superman Ride of Steel, I really really want to ride it now. It is rated above the Six Flags America Superman because the second half of the ride is just as intense as the first half. WOW. Plus the first hill is 8 feet higher. Haha. :)

But I will leave you with a few quotes from a review of Six Flags America that I read this morning (they really complained about the food),

• "Food: Typical park fare (as in limited, boring, and overpriced)"

• "While the front of Six Flags America has some decent landscaping and a nice layout, the back of the park is fairly barren. Some of the newer coasters appear to have been dropped into place almost haphazardly. Batwing, for example, is tucked into a dead end behind the Superman coaster.

• Food is not the park's strong point. It is bland, overpriced, and stripped of any local color. (Where are the crab cakes, for example?) But, if it's coasters you're after, Six Flags America has a tasty menu of thrills.

my beloved cat

My mom took my cat to the vet today. What a great little mother I have. Thank God for my mother. The vet thinks my cat was poisoned with something. I had written "he thinks she she was poisoned with something" but I thought it sounded too much like God thought that my mother was poisoned with something. Funny how the english language works. Anyhow, he gave her (my cat) some pills and shots and said she should get better soon. YAY!
I really wonder what she ate yesterday... I am too curious for my own good.

I found this amusing...

I need to get a picture...
I walk up and down the stairs, by the balcony for the auditorium, at least three times a day (fives days a week, for almost a year -- that would make roughly 780 trips up and down the stairs) and I just noticed this sign today... It is hanging over the doors to the balcony and reads, "Not alcoholic beverages allowed in auditorium."
So I guess they are allowed everywhere else in Holloway Hall?!? Just leave your bottles, cans, and whatever else you are drinking out of, on the floor and enter the balcony. You can pick them back up when you leave. It reminds me to the no taking merchandise into the stores bathroom's signs. Haha. The sign just struck me as funny today. I am easily amused by life.

Do you know anyone with the same feet as you...?

Haha! I am very amused by this. No one else, but Jared seems to even care. However, for my amusement alone, I am posting about this (I will post the picture tomorrow, but I had to go to bed last night and I got up too late today to load the photos from my camera--yes, I did get a picture... haha). We have almost identical right feet (oh you do). It is one of the oddest things ever. Our left feet are similar, but I have a smaller left foot then my right foot, so they aren't totally the same. Weird right? Well we thought so and got a huge kick out of it, but everyone else seems to think we are crazy. You all can go find someone with the same feet as you and see if you don't think it is very very strange. Yep.

I didn't sleep very well at all last night. I think I finally fell asleep last night around 2am and woke this morning at 6. Probable because another strange thing that happened yesterday was my cat started twitching. Her head and her eyes won't stop moving. Last night it was pretty scary, but the odd things was I wasn't emotional at all (which is weird because last time she was sick I was IN TEARS for days... okay it was only hours... but still, I rarely cry). She wasn't responding at all last night to me, but this morning she was purring and looking at me and responding to what I said. She is defiantly better, but still her head is twitching. Hmmmm... I really don't know. The Lord shall provide. Strangely enough, I am not worried.

Yesterday was enjoyable and fun for some of the day. However, it was sort of annoying because I CAN'T PLAY VOLLEYBALL!!!! Man, I can't wait until this surgery is finished. No because that means school will almost be here. Grrr. Next year, I will play again. I will be out there all day long playing volleyball and basketball. I will be playing by myself, both sides!!! Heh. I just don't know what to do with myself when every other kid is out playing volleyball and I am stuck inside or on the porch. I was pacing like a caged animal and cleaning the kitchen (which I would normally do, just not when a sport is being played in my field). I'm not complaining, I am just explaining that it is rather hard to find what I am supposed to do. It is unnatural. I can't just walk up and join a conversation because all they will ask me is what I am doing with my life and over the summer (and I would prefer to avoid that question as much as possible since I answer it at least twice a day (I wish it were three times, so I could say thrice -- I love that word)). So I was sort of lost all day yesterday.

I had fun too. Boggle, the fireworks, pondering over our feet, looking back over the WV pictures, and rearranging the food on the table to fit it all, were entertaining and gave me something to laugh about. I've never met anyone else who paid as much attention to trying to fit all the food on one table as I do. Haha. That was crazy. They really should make square bowls. The food was really good too. I ate so much yesterday. God be praised for fresh green beans!!!! One of the many things I love about summer. The corn will be coming soon! Rara. Blessed be the name of the Lord, for wonderful friends and great food. What a great life we all have. I can live with my shoulder. It is for my best. So thank you God for my shoulder. May I stop looking at my own problems and place my trust fully in you.

So yay for the feet and fresh food. The only difference is that mine are always dirtier because I prefer to go barefooted all around the yard. Who likes to wear shoes? I mean really, come on... It is so nice to go around barefoot. What normal person or people go around comparing their feet? We started because we wanted to see who had longer feet. Haha, I am talking about feet again.

HEY MR ALLIGATOR!!! DO YOU WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH A BIG-MOUTHED-FROG??
No, I eat Big-mouthed-frogs.
oooh, you do

I'll post that picture too.
Well... I should get back to work.

What a beautiful day!!!

What-ho What-ho What-ho???
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!

I am using my computer at home and it is blasted annoying. Haha. Last night we went to the Taylors house and played in the water, shot off fireworks, played boggle, ate food, and played the chicken game (haha). I must say that that game is one of the most fun games I have played in a while (I would agree that it must be played late at night and with a bunch of people that don't mind making fools of themselves). Linnea and I were on the couch shaking because we were laughing so hard *WASZOO!!!*. Cluck, cluck, cluck cluck CLUCK, BAWWWWWWKKKKKKK!!! Great times. And I bet we will have even more fun times today! Woohoo. Congradulations Linnea. Six Flags is going to be a great lot of fun. :)
I'm just really appreciating life right now. God has blessed me with such wonderful friends and a great family. I wouldn't trade places with anyone in the world. Sure we all aren't perfect (or normal--we are actually all rather odd, heh), but it is okay. Nothing in the world is going to be perfect. I'm content with my place in life right now. I haven't always been able to say that. I think I am just becoming more and more aware that God has total control of my life and has the best planned for me if I would only trust him. Yeah, that is the hard part some days. Hmmm, well I would like to say more, but I have to go buy some water balloons for our rely races today. :) What fun.

I'm hungry...

I forgot to pack a lunch today :( (that's what I get for staying up late two nights in a row). I'm stopping at Rita's on my way home today and I can't wait!! So my day is pretty much wonderful. Tonight is the VBS closing event and Anna is in the play. I told her I would go see her in it, so that is where I will be tonight. Whoever decorated the church did an amazing job!! I wish I were still in VBS. :)

Linnea, Hayley, and Kayleen
Partying on Sarah's graduation day. ^

Oh and I forgot to mention that we went to see War of the Worlds last night. I thought it was an okay movie. It had the potential to be a great movie, but something went wrong at the end. I felt the ending was very flippant in comparison to the rest of the movie. AND Tom Cruise was playing a Tom Cruise role... I have only ever liked him in Collateral. Dakota Fanning was pretty good (she much better in Man on Fire!!!). Tim Robbins was great in his short little part (he is so cool in Shawshank Redemption... or the edited version that I saw (thanks to Jared) and need to see again). It just seemed that everything bad was happening all around (things blow up, people die) and Tom Cruise would escape AGAIN! And I wasn't scared at all (the aliens were almost "cute"). Anna told me she wasn't scared and was almost laughing at the aliens (which is crazy because she is terrified of Signs). Yeah, so I'll try not to say anything else about it.

Spend your money on Batman Begins and you get to see Morgan Freeman, Tom Wilkinson, Gary Oldman, Christian Bale, Liam Neeson, and Michael Caine. :) It means a lot for me to pay for a movie more then once. Heh.

One of my favorite verses...

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

This verse was another verse that I had written all over my freshman textbooks (along with 2 Cor 4:7-9, 16-18, Isaiah 40:31, Hewbrews 12:1-3, Psalm 118:6,8 and many others). I don't really need to say how much I disliked my freshman year of college. However, at the same time that I hated it, now that I look back I can see how much I grew during that time. So I guess I really can't hate it. It was uncomfortable for me, but God had me go through it for a reason. Sort of like being the oldest child, I used to hate my place in the family, but now I see that I have learned so much from being the eldest. Actually I am now quite thankful to be the oldest.

So thank God for the trials he has us walk because when I am weak then I am strong (2 Cor 12:9,10 "9 "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. "). If only I could always be reminded of that when I face difficulties. God has life planned out for my good. I just need to trust that sometimes. Heh, I guess that is my problem since I hate depending on anyone for help. In a way, that is why I am thankful that I hurt my shoulder. Surgery will make me rely not so much on my own strength. I'm not saying that it won't be hard... haha. It is going to be quite painful, but I think it will be really good for me. Hey, I am rambling on again. May I always be content with the will of the father. Praise God for his mercies are new every morning. He is ready to help all those to call to him. He lifts us up out of the pit and sets our feet on dry ground. What a wonderful Saviour is Jesus my Lord!

Hosanna, hosanna to the Lamb that was slain.
Hosanna, hosanna, Jesus died and rose again.
Jesus Christ has set me free.