Christ-mah-has of 2010

*banging on every door he passes * "Santa Clause been here. Santa Clause been here. Santa Clause been here!" - Your, Mine, and Ours (old version)

Yes, Santa came nice and bright and shiny early for us. Our stockings were bursting and I was so happy to recieve probably the thing I wanted most (not quite accurate) a new hairbrush. THANK YOU SANTA!!! ;) I also had great reason to offer thanks to the big man because he nicely stuffed the whole toe of my stocking with Lindor Truffles. Oh MAN, those are sooooo good!
It was time to go pick up my brother, Ryan, and his wife, Noelle. Dad was driving, and I rode along as usual. We were supposed to pick them up at the Shell station. Now for those of you who do not know this, right across from this particular gas station was another Shell. Dad and I went to Shell #1 and waited for about 10 minutes. I then decided to inform Dad that last year (when Justin, my other brother, had picked up Ryan and Noelle ) we had gone to the wrong station. And, to make matters worse, I was sure we were at the wrong station. Dad did not believe me. So, we kept waiting for another 5 minutes when I told Dad that we were definitely at the wrong station.
To satisfy me he decided to drive over when Ryan called him. The gyst of what he said was, "Where are you?" Yes, I was right. They were at Shell #2. And after loading their bags into our van and giving hello hugs all around, we drove for home.
Back at the house, crepes were being made and baked oatmeal was baking. :) YUM! Breakfast was amazing and we were so stuffed it took a very long time to get to presents.
And that's when it happened. Hahaha, yes. The annual question, "Where do we put the video camera this year?" It was harder than usual to decide after moving it to about 4 different locations. We eventually decided to have it exactly where it was last year. :)
Christmas was great! My presents were great! Everyone else's present were great! Dinner (beef wellington) was great!
And with my new hairbrush, I got a Digital Camera! Hope your Christmas was as enjoyable!

Flowers

I have been amazed by the influence of flowers on me. We occassionally have them in the house, and they truly brighten my day. It's very interesting. As some of you might know, roses are my favorite flower. However, any other flower I appreciate as well. I mean, I even love the weed flowers that grow in our backyard during the summer. They're tiny, purple, and look somewhat like lace. Plus, they're everywhere, and I think they're gorgeous.
I really wish we could get our rose bushes outside to bloom properly. With all the deer around us, we have about 3 bloomes a year. :(
Anyway, I just thought I'd give you this insite into my total love for flowers as I sit looking at a vase full of them on our counter. :)

Friends

Wow! We had a Christmas Party at our house today, and it was just great! Tacos, queso, chips, pop and TONS of dessert. I mean, a better party? .....no. HAHAHHAA! But really, the reason why it was so great was NOT that I got my pencil back (no questions, please). It was not because we had M&Ms and pickles and olives (Kelly party staples). And it wasn't because we had Barq's Root Beer (an absolute MUST). No, the reason why it was so great was because of the great friends that came.
It's amazing how much fun can be had with simply talking and playing regular games. I had so much fun today, and I hope it turns into something annual. I mean, wow! It was great! I love my friends!

"A party is a party. But a Christmas party, ahhhh!" --Emma (Gwenyth Paltrow version)

"In the Grass, Under the Tree"

A bare foot touches the grass.
Coolness is the welcoming touch.
The other foot meets the green
And excitment builds.
---
The world is still and silent.

The only sound is the crunching leaves.

Pale feet push down the grass into small prints

On their way to some special place

---

The spot is reached.

A tree, large and graceful, stands above.

The smell of pine creeps into the air,

Welcoming all to come and enjoy.

---

The feet stop moving and take a rest.

The back is rested against the trunk.

The head tilts up,

Peering into the fathoms of branches above.

---

It starts with a drip.

One small drop touches the arm and

Brings down a torrent of coolness,

Breaking the surrounding peace.

---

The feet should move,

Should run to safety,

They should leave this place

And return at some other hour.

---

But this was the purpose in coming.

To feel the water and hear the splash.

To leave the confines of walls and move

To the openness of the sky.

A Joyous Day

Sometimes when people have bad days (this includes me), we wonder if we can have a really fun day again. After one of these not good days, I was proved wrong, once again.
I went with my mom and sister to go meet up with my friend. Then, we were going to go watch The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I had such an amazing day, it was hard to describe it. Hanging out with my friend, who can make me laugh every ten seconds with her hilarious quips, would make the day great let alone the movie. However, we added a movie to the outing that was soooooooooo good. Okay, so everyond knows my position fully on this point. I will lay out my list of pros and cons. Feel free to comment with your own opinion. :) (Oh, and skip this part, if you haven't watched the movie.)

Pros.
Number 1: CASPIAN! Oh my goodness, did he get so much better. He dropped the fake accent, lost the poofy-firl hair, grew up, and got some "umph" to him. :D
2. Eustace was very good. Will Poulter did an excellent job of sounding bored, synical, and yet still funny in that way. I'm very interrested to see if he can hold the main role in Silver Chair.
3. The land of the Duffers was good. The Duffers looked good, and I loved how they kept interrupting each otehr, like in the books. Lucy trying to fight in the air was excellent. And, the door of the house that was nowhere was WAY cool!
4.Reepicheep sobered up. He was less silly in this movie which was nice. He seemed more like Reep from the books. I really liked how he was teaching Eustace how to fight as well.
5. I really liked how the power was shifted to Caspian. Now that he was crowned king (and the High King wasn't there), he was in command.
6. The Death Water Island part was cool. Watching Edmund's eyes, like his irises dissappear, was really freaky. It was chillingly cool!

Cons:
1. I did not like Rhince and his daughter, Gael. I mean, talk about POINTLESS! I know the reason why they put them in there, but it was so fake and useless. I didn't like them at all.
2. The Sea Serpent gets this rank for a very specific reason. It was well done but it was plain gross. When it opened it's neck?! *shudders* So, so gross.
3. I didn't like how Eustace showed that he was the dragon. Flying over a fire imprinted rock-land seemed pretty cheesy. They could have taken 10 extra minutes and done something a little better.
4. I wish they had left Gov. Gumpus in Narohaven. I know it would have drawn out the thing too much, but still. It's so funny in the books, so I wish they'd left it in.

Okay, for you people who haven't watched the movie, you can keep reading. Anyway, so with such a good movie as I have listed above and an amazing friend, how can you help but have a great day?
That's what I say. ;)

Spontaneous or Planner?

People are often surprised when I say something about planning stuff. I'm not the big planner of the family, but I still like to know what's going to happen. This might have stemmed from the numerous times of being left in the dark as to the goings on in the house. I will always remember one time at around 5 pm when Kathryn came into our room. (Back when we shared a room *shudder* hahahaha) She asked me why I wasn't ready. "Uh, for what?" I asked. She answered, "We're going to dinner." So, yeah, basically I scrambled to jam a comb through my hair and pull on my shoes. I am convinced that that instance scarred me for life. I really like to have a plan for something. If the plans get changed, I don't care much, but I'd like to know how it was supposed to be.
Now, after all of that, I'm often very spontaneous. I'm the kind of person that says, "Mom, let's go out right now and do..." whatever it happens to be. Sometimes, I wish that conformed to other people, but, I've learned that's just not how it works. Oh well.
So, are you a spontaneous or a planner kind of person?

A Wonderful Week of Choir

So many choir functions have been going on this week. It's been great! We had our dress rehearsal last Thursday with the concert following on that Friday. On Monday we all met together for Ministry Day. That day happens once a semester, and we go and sing at nursing homes and hospitals. After the singing part of Ministry Day was over, we all journeyed to one of the choir memeber's house. There, we PARTIED!!! and rode their very high zip line. So much fun!
Yesterday the special group in my choir, Laudate (meaning And With Praise) sang at another nursing home. And while the piano was horribly out of tune, we sounded good. :) Plus, in a gesture of appreciation, the people in the nursing home decorated candy canes to look like reindeer. It was the sweetest thing I've seen in a long time!
After that singing time, most of the group went out to dinner at Zaxby's. That's a chicken place. I like to think of it as a cross between Fridays, Fudruckers, Wendy's, and Rib Tickler. Rib Tickler was a B-B-Q stand alone restaurant that closed only recently. Anywho, the food was good and the laughs that went with the meal were priceless.
I love choir so much! And being in Laudate this year has been an amazingly fun time. I'm so glad I made it in.
I was debating whether or not to post pictures in here. Does anyone want to see pictures?

A little quip

I just thought I'd share this with you guys. It gave me a chuckle. The other day, my Chemistry teacher, Mr. Harmon, said this. "If it's green and growing, it's Biology. If it smells, it's Chemistry. And, if it doesn't work, it's Physics."

Oh he's sooo right. :)

WINNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, Nanowrimo ended yesterday and guess what? Well, it's really not fair to ask you that 'cause of the title of this post. Anyway, yes I won. Now, I didn't win a prize. That's because this is a competition vs. yourself. However, I did win against myself. This year, it was a true battle.
Yet, at around 2 yesterday, with 20,296 words, I hit the submit button. The "You Won" screen flashed, and Kathryn said I had my "goofy grin" on. But seriously, how can you NOT have a goofy grin on at that point? You've just spent a month of your life busting out 20,00o words. After being sick for a week, you finally conquered your fears and "took life by the horns." I ask you, wouldn't you have a goofy grin on? That's what I thought. ;)
Anyway, I'm very happy with my book. It turned out, more or less, exactly how I wanted it. Of course, the characters were really nothing like they were outlined out to be, but that's just kind of how I write. So yeah, I'm really happy.
You know the best part of this whole thing is, though? I don't have to write at midnight anymore!!!!! Oh, that's gonna feel sooooooooooooooooooo good. Well, cheers and I would encourage you to do this next year...with me. ;)