Giggling Gems #7: Happy Birthday Note-writer-whose-name-has-been-changed-for-his/her-protection!

(Circa 1999 -- yes, we did in fact party like it was 1999)
Maggie,

Hey man!  How's it goin?  Pretty good here I guess.  Mr. Taylor (freshman biology) said we couldn't write notes, or we would get a 0.  (My friend was a rebel.)  We are on a break in the movie anyways.  So, how was ur weekend?  (Hm, I was probably on the farm so it was probably poopy.  Literally.)  Mine was OK.  The volleyball tournament was very long, & boring at times.  Well, I have a lovely track meet today.  JOYOUS!  (No one does sarcasm like a 15 year old girl.)  Well, I better go before Mr. Taylor gets mad.  (He had a bearclaw tattoo on his hand -- the actual animal, not the pastry -- so of course we all thought it was a cult marking and feared him a little for it, just not enough to do what he said.)  I'll write u again later.  (Yes!  Make sure to tell me all about your World History class!) Bye Bye!

@@@!!##,
!Samantha!


Happy Birthday!  I know your name has been changed, but today is your birthday and we had some very good, very funny, and very stupid times together.  All of this is a tribute to our collective history through our formative years, such as they were.  Though we don't get together much anymore I will always have fond memories and will never forget that "mi miastra te gusta quando mi naris correr."

Actually...yes, I did mean that.

Vacation part 2 -- Korean Friendship Bell & San Pedro

On the first Monday we were there we went down to San Pedro to see what there is to see.  It was so clear you could see Catalina Island.

We went to the Korean Friendship Bell.  None of us had ever been there before.  It was really neat.

I really wanted to ring it...

Look at all the pretty colors.

For some reason I really like this guy.

Then we went to the Ports O'Call and poked around the harbor and had lunch. 

I really should have been a lawyer -- I'm awefully convincing...

Boats, fish with the heads still on, and lemons = fun times!

Stay tuned for the next installment...thrilling...I know...

Vacation, Part 1 -- maybe I need a videography class...

This vacation started out like any other:

Then I pretended to be Steve Irwin:

So yeah...that happened...

Then we made soup.  Mom thought it would be fun to break grandpa's garbage disposal so she put kale stems down it -- it was so much fun it backed up into the bathroom sink!

This is the soup that that broke the garbage disposal, that backed up into the bathroom, that caused a mess in the house where Grandpa lives.  Lentil soup with kale, celery, onion, parsnips, and bacon.

Grandpa didn't seem to mind though.  He was too busy eating half a pan of cornbread -- oh boy cornbread!

"Oh, I don't eat much."  Sure Grandpa, sure.

Sum Fotos

After a run-in with some Best Buy employees ("Trust me, that's not what you want." "Trust me, it is.") I am now the proud owner of a new camera cord!  What this means for you, my lovely readers, is that I can fill you in on what I've been up to...that I took photos of...when the photos turned out okay...  So you'd better get some extra insurance for the edge of your seats -- vacation photos to come!  (Like, 1,000+ of them...)

For now though, this is one of my favorite photos I've taken recently.

This was about 10 days ago.  We got home from the hospital in time to go down and look at the fence Jim and his brother had started building in the bottom.  Dad was improving, the fence was going to be such a help, another field was going to be able to be mowed again, and the sky was just this crazy blaze of colors and patterns.  It was a good day.

Yes, I know you can't see them, but it's not about them so much as it is about the sky.

Close up.  Hey!  Look how much you still can't see them!

Laugh at me if you want, but I'm glad I stopped to take photos.  Punks.

Giggling Gems #6: En Espanol!

Installment #6 in the series of my treasure trove of found notes from my teenage years.

4-24-00
*Maggie*
Hey!  How's it goin'?  Pretty good here.  Ephram kept looking at me this morning before school when he was just sitting on that one bench when I would walk by.  It kinda creeps me out.  (It creeps me out 12 years after the fact.)  It's just so sad that we have to sit here in Geometry w/ nothing to do.  (I think we actually sat next to one another...)  So sad.  NOT.  It was boring at my house yesterday b/c mostly everybody took naps while I sad around being bored.  (Oh how the excitement level of napping changes as you age.)  That was mean of them not to let me go, cuz I didn't do anything anyways.  It also started raining & that was just swell.  Ummm...no.  Pamela is really weird about me driving.  She like said Dad was going to have to be the one to let me drive, cuz she didn't have the nerve or something like that.  She also said she didn't want me driving when her & Stephen were in the car.  There must be something wrong w/ this picture when Alice's parents let her drive w/ the whole family in the car & she doesn't even have her permit.  (?!?!?!)  She also scratched their van on a tree in the process.  Hehe.  But yet, Pamela won't let me drive w/ like 3 people in the car & I HAVE my permit.  (Clearly a 15 year old with a permit is a vastly superior driver when compared to a 15 year old without a permit...)  Something very, very wrong w/ that!  We really need --> (again, with the arrow indicating a page turn is imminent in case I was going to be going, "Oh no! Now I'll never know what we need!") to go to SDC sometime soon.  It would be fun.  (For the record, it was.)  Well, better go.  Talk to ya l8er.  (What, you're going to lean over and tell me something?)

Nos Vermos ("See you around"),
Consuelo (a.k.a. Samantha) (You know, in case I wondered who this "Consuelo" person was, "Who is sending me this note?! Oh...darn, I thought I had a new friend...sniff...")

W/B ASAP

P.S. Consuelo really does mean Connie in Spanish (Actually, it means "solace".), but that is just my dumb little name in Spanish class.  (Mine was Isabella...I know, a little over-the-top...)

After a 27 year losing streak...

My sister, at Emmy in the Making, was nominated for a blogging award by a friend!  She in turn has nominated me, schweet Pete! Now I researched this award and it's origin was apparently in a black vortex so I don't know how legit it is, nevertheless, I appreciate it.

The rules are as follows:
1.) Share five random facts about yourself.
2.) Nominate others for said award.

So, on with the business of being an award-winning blogger.

1.) Five Random Facts:
     * I have had pets named after generals, prime ministers, and foreign landmarks.
     * My blog name is a lyric to one of my favorite songs.
     * I have a fear of turning on car headlights while already in traffic.
     * My grandpa took karate lessons from Chuck Norris.
     * I would like to spend a night in a castle before I die.
     * (bonus!) Some people call me the space cowboy.  Some call me the gangster of love.  Some people call me Maurice.

As my aunt has pointed out, there's nothing in these rules that explicitly says these facts have to be true, therefore I leave it to you to puzzle it out on your own.

2.) Everyone I know/read has already been nominated. :(  So, I'm going to nominate Saul Beauregard MacDougal of Walla Walla, Washington -- best durn blog this side of the Pacos.

Trust and obey, for there's no other way

Today was a hard day.  I know they're only going to get tougher for a while.  One thing keeps coming to mind: if we ride this roller coaster, following the ups and downs, motion sickness will set in.  We will be dizzy and disoriented.  Any dancer will tell you that the trick to avoiding dizziness is to find a focal point and...focus on it.

So what is my focal point?  What do choose to think on? God tells us to depend on him for everything, but how well do I do that?

Philippians 4 says, "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.  And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."

Matthew 6 says, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

Ashleigh Brilliant is...well...brilliant...

We're supposed to focus on each day on its own and not worry about what the future holds because we know of God's love for us.  He knows what we need and he loves us enough to give it to us.  Today didn't exactly feel like love.  I think I need my dad and I think he needs me, but maybe more than that we both need God, and I have to be contented and rejoice in his perfect plan.  I haven't quite figured out how to do that yet, but I'll get there.

Today I didn't do a very good job of being positive, but I will try and do better tomorrow.