Ooops. Guess I kinda lied. Not only did I not post the other day, but I don't even have an interesting topic today! You'll just have to make due with my boring life story again. So this is basically just an average post.

I have some exciting news: I finished the yearbook! After nearly 5 months of preparation it has finally been completed. This horrible project has been stressing me out for way too long and it's finished!! I'm so happy! And not only is it done, but it looks nice too! That was one of the things that I'd been worrying about. I mean, it's fine and good to have a yearbook, but if it doesn't look nice then what's the use?

Also, I've finally (almost) got my bowling curve down. Every summer my brother gets really obsessed with bowling, so every summer we go there at least two times a week. Which, you will realize if you've ever bowled before, is three times too many.
Worse still, the reason he's so obsessed with it is because he's so dang good. For example: he gets annoyed if he get less than a 100. My average score by the end of the game is 70 if I'm lucky. So, to give myself an easy excuse for my incompetence I began my quest to find my inner bowler. I started bowling with crazy spins which more than often ended up the gutter. Until yesterday. Yesterday more than half of my shots hit pins down! My score was still pitiful, but I'm getting there!

Hmm. I know there's more stuff that happens to me, but whenever I get down here to actually write it down it either becomes unbearably uninteresting or I forget it. Sometimes I wish I had a brain. Well, I'm hoping to get back to writing snippets and stories, so I might be posting those in a while. Be on your guard :)

Promise I Won't Complain

Sorry about that drama queen episode. After that whining post yesterday everything took a turn for the better. Literally immediately. Almost. I clicked "post" and my mom called the family to dinner. 'Nuff said. 

A friend had already texted and said they'd meet us to watch the fireworks. Then, when we left, my first friend invited me and my siblings to her house where all the rest of the gang was already. What's more my mom let us! 

After that it was smooth sailing. Sat around for an hour or so just chatting and eating Cheetos, then went upstairs to watch the show. My town is reknown for its skimpy 4th of July show, but since I've never experienced anything better I am content. Fireworks are magical no matter how many. It's just so amazing to watch colors explode against the black of the mountains. My favorites are the gold ones that shoot into little of balls of shimmery pixie dust. 

As if that wasn't enough, my parents invited everyone back to our house to set off some smaller fireworks and poppers. It was super cool to watch them close up, but the noise kind of ruined the ethereal, romantic feel. 

Then I was up way too early to go prop hunting for the play at our local yard sales. When that failed my mom offered to drive into the next town over and exhaust their thrift stores, and we ending up spending the whole afternoon shopping. 

I'll be on tomorrow with some sort of interesting topic, but I've pretty much used up all my news for now. On a random note, I feel like that song "The Show" by Lenka. Oh! Also wish me luck: I'm competing in a swim meet tomorrow. Let's hope I can beat my old times :)

Slightly Less Than Pleased

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

Don't be fooled by the light tone of that exclamation. It's time to switch gears so you can bear listening to me rant for a few moments.

I don't usually complain about my height. I like being short and it's never been a real problem before.

Key word being before.

My dad recently bought another truck to replace our "old" one, and said I could drive it till he got rid of the other. All I would need to do is learn to drive stick.

Not a problem.

Ish.

I can't reach the clutch. My feet literally won't stretch far enough to push it down. I'm so annoyed. Like, I would have had enough trouble already relearning how to drive, and now I can't even start! And as if that isn't mortifying enough, my dad is ordering "pedal extenders" so the pedal will reach me. It's so stupid.

I wish it would all stop there. But it doesn't. I would like to bring your attention back to the first line of this post. It's the 4th! Awesome! Holidays are at the top of my list of favorite things, after all! Family reunions, on the other hand, are included on a completely opposite list. Needless to say, it dampened my spirits a considerable amount when my dad said we'd be going to my great-aunt's house for a big 4th of July party. We were going to have tacos. Tacos on Independence day. Shameful.
Well, the day trickled by as slowly as possible, but the time finally came to hop in the car and leave. I reminded my mom of this, only to learn that she had called and canceled because of a gnarly case of the whooping cough going around here. She was scared we might be unconsciously sick and didn't want to spread the dreadful contagion throughout the family.

My spirits lifted.
Maybe now I could go to the real party, the one all my friends would be at.
But no, the sick ruse was not quite a ruse; my mom was legitimately concerned about everyone's health. There would be babies at the party. We might get them sick, despite the fact that we hadn't been in contact with the sickness first hand at all.
My consolation prize, however, was going to make up for it. My mom and dad let me invite a friend over for dinner and fireworks. But then it was my turn to mess things up. I can never talk on the phone, and in my explanation of the events I somehow indicated that we were actually sick, not just possibly maybe sick, so she wasn't able to come over.

Now my whole family's just going for a picnic and to watch the fireworks. Which should be totally cool, but I'm too much of an extraverted idiot to see that. Well, I can see it, but I'm still not happy with it. Why do I have to be so ridiculously addicted to people?? I'm tired of depending on other people for happiness, but I don't know how to stop. It takes very particular, irregular moods for me to be content with myself; otherwise I need to be with friends, or looking forward to being with friends. Why do I have to be such an extreme people person?


Now that that rant's over I find myself at a loss for words. But I'll think of something so I don't need to end on that obnoxious note. I'm sure you all have enough problems of your own without me piling mine on to boot. Let's see...
Nothing super notable has been happening in my life lately. Just same old same old awesomeness. Been to a ton of dances. Finished the homeschool yearbook (finally!!). The play's coming along nicely. Read Jane Eyre, which made it to my list of favorite books. Looking forward to going to the highschool summer program at the college I'm planning on going to. Only two weeks left! Started some new stories with a few friends, so you can expect loads more posting since I'll be getting back into The Groove.
But I haven't made it back to The Groove yet and I can't think of anything else to say, so I shall bid you adieu. Adieu!

Better Late Than Never, Right?

I only realized yesterday that Josie tagged me onto this questionnaire blog hop thing, so here I am to give you my answers. Sorry for the delay!

1. Why did you start blogging, and what do you like about it most?

I started blogging by request of a friend ;) Josie practically blackmailed me into starting one up. My favorite part, I've gotta say, are the comments. It's one thing to write something, but it's a totally different thing to know that people read and care about it.

2. Do you have a Comfort Book that you read when you're sad or emotionally traumatized? And if you do, what is it?

Yes. My main go-to book is Heaven to Betsy, although anything I can read for a second time is comforting. 

3. If you could go on an all-expense paid trip to anywhere in the world and you could take one friend, where would you go and who would you take?

Oh, this is cruel. I'd go to Europe and mostly visit England and Ireland. And Italy. And France. And while I'm there I may as well pop into Spain. Basically, Europe. The one friend part is the tricky one. I think that the most fun would be to go with a huge group of people, so this one will require a brainstorm. I think I'd either choose Tacy Kelly or Betsy Ray.

4. Favorite quote off the top of your head. Go.

I'm going to cheat and copy the exact quote: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

5. One movie you never get tired of watching is...? Why?

Just one? You sure are making this hard on me! I'm going to say the Avengers because that was the first movie I went out to see multiple times. 

6. What's your opinion on rainy days?

That we don't get enough of them in California. Although, I think living here has made me really appreciate them. I love them to bits, but I honestly couldn't live without the sun. So, basically, I'm happy when they come but can manage when they go.

7. If you had a pet hedgehog, what would you name it?

At first I was thinking John (after our lovely little hedgehog/otter team), but now I realize that everyone else will be thinking the same thing. Instead, I think I'll go with Reginald. I've always liked that name, but I don't think I will ever have the courage to burden even a character with that outdated moniker.

8. If you were an animal, what kind of animal would you be?

This question has been the subject of numerous discussions, although it was never very hard to decide what I was. I'd be a dog. Happy, people loving, energetic SQUIRREL...you get the picture.

9. Tea or Coffee, and why?

It depends. I'm not a die hard either way. I guess I like drinking coffee with friends and in company, but while I'm by myself just doing school or writing tea is the way to go.

10. If you could spend a day with any fictional character you wanted, who would it be and what would you do?

Oh dear. Any fictional character. Hmm. Well, I could meet Steve Rogers and go save the world, or I could have  tea with Miss Bennet, or maybe steal a pirate ship with Jack Sparrow...but...I think I'm going to pick spending the day with Johnny I-Don't-Even-Know-His-Last-Name from Penelope and go on a picnic. Sorry I'm ending on such a sappy note, but it's the truth.

Good Morning. Well, Evening Now.

It's been a while, hasn't it? As always, I have an excuse ready for this week: the weather has been amazing. Let me clarify. It's been beautiful for more than a week, making it absolutely impossible to work inside on school. I always end up staring out the window, thinking about awesome things (aka NOT the Spanish Inquisition or Latin declensions).

But seriously. It cruel, how nice it's been. Blue skies. Puffy white clouds. Sunny. Breezy. Warm. It feels like summer, except that I'm guilty about not doing school. Fortunately, my mom is taking me out of my biology class, so I have one less (official) subject to work on. Unfortunately, the deal was that I take up another subject for the rest of the year. Bleh. Why does everything have to have a down side?

The weather's too perfect to be sad, though. Let's see...something nice to talk about...Well, I've had a super jam packed weekend (surprise surprise). Friday brought back my town's Cruise Night where tons of snazzy retro cars come and park on our main street to be observed by puny mortals like myself.* It was pretty gnarly. I don't really think of myself as a car person, but on nights like these I go absolutely crazy. The cars are just classy, not to mention their stellar paint jobs.

That was pretty fun, but I must admit, the highlight of the weekend was when, after seeing Captain America 2, half the town plus one came back to my place and we broke out the chocolate fountain. Saturday nights in Lent are the best. There were not a few eating contests, which, though I did not participate, were entertaining to the extreme, and a few wild games of fooseball. I am ashamed to say that I've been losing my touch, and can no longer call myself the reigning queen of fooseball, but those games were able to return some of my former glory.

And speaking of former glory, I love biased teachers. On Saturday at midnight I sent in yet another stingily written essay for history and lit., and today received the news that it had received an A+ and an A- respectively. I've really been fudging on these past few papers, but apparently my subpar is above average, or at least average enough, which is gratifying. It's nice to know that I can do something well, even if it isn't my favorite thing in the world.

Well, I'm off to finish the laundry and try to go to bed early. It's pretty sad, actually, because one of my Lenten resolutions used to be to get to bed before 10, and it only lasted for the first half week of Lent. But everyone has a second chance and who knows, I may get the rest of these. Maybe.

Peace.


*I don't know where I come up with these phrases. I think it happens when I'm hyper. I won't keep mentioning it, but I apologize for my somewhat wacky wording.

More On YG and Frankenstein

Sorry for bailing on last night's post. It was late, and my brain was fried, and the post was long enough as it was. I'm afraid to say that I don't have much time right now either, seeing as I'm in the exact same predicament. But this was really powerful for me, so I can't just not say it.

Something really struck me last night in a talk my youth group leader gave. It was the feast of the Annunciation yesterday, and she was talking about something called Marian consecrations. It's where you offer your whole life on earth and eternity in heaven to Our Blessed Mother, and she, in return, intercedes to her Son on your behalf. She said that the best way to prepare for a Marian consecration is to learn about Mary, so she talked for a bit on the wedding feast at Cana.

This story is one of the few events in the Bible that records Mary's interactions with Jesus, and, even though hers is such a small "role" in the story, it really shows us how Mary intercedes for us. When Mary saw that the wine had run out she did not go to her Son to wheedle or demand a reaction. She simply brought the dilemma to His attention, then told the servants to do as He bid. That's how she responds to our prayers, too. She works as a mediator, presenting our intentions to her Son, then preparing us for His grace. We just need to be open and allow Jesus to work in our lives.


Okay. Now I have that off my chest, and I will probably go on another involuntary fast from posting, if the past is any indication of the future. Hopefully I'll be able to break the vicious cycle and get out of this writing funk. What I need are some amazing writing prompts. I'll dig some up and write a few.

And now for something a little more light hearted. Well, not really. I'm reading Frankenstein for a seminar, which is in no way light hearted. Oh my gosh. WHY does he need to be such a stubborn idiot? I'm only about halfway through, but I'm about ready to strangle that guy!

I'm sure there's more to talk about, but that'll have to wait for another time. Have a nice rest-of-your-Wednesday and don't read Frankenstein unless you want to hate humanity.

I Just Love Youth Group

I just got home from another youth group...gathering. I guess it's just youth group. Whatever. I've had mixed feelings about youth group for a while now. I love my friends, and I love getting together to party, but I've always felt that youth group is not the place to do it. I always wanted it to be set apart; something we could do to break the pattern of our everyday parties (I wish!). This past semester there have been some major changes, but it's taken some time to find the happy medium.

There were a few weeks where we spent the whole hour and a half on Bible study, which just burned everyone out. I mean, I love Bible study, but it can be trying to spend so much time on it, especially when half the room is trying to discuss and the other half is poking fun at the first. It leads to me getting mad at people, which is not a pleasant feeling. I hate hating my friends.

At the same time I don't want it to turn into just a plain old party. Now, I'm not saying anything against parties. I love parties. Anyone who knows me, or even reads this blog, will almost definitely have that fact already implanted in their minds. But I do like a little bit of color in my life (I think I inherited that from my mom), and I looked to youth group for that color. I hoped it would be a time to discuss our awesome faith with our friends. It isn't a subject that comes up explicitly too often. I find it hard to talk about the faith with friends not only because we all share about the same extent of knowledge, but also it's something so personal that, unless considered in a not-giddy environment, sounds hollow and laughable.

But twas not so tonight. Tonight a bill was passed to limit the Bible discussion to fifteen minutes, and we were able to keep relatively quiet during that time (okay, not really, but it was just a bad day for that). I think that this will really help keep the majority of people interested all the way to the games at the end.
And it worked like a charm. We stopped the discussion right on the dot, and, after a small talk by one of the leaders, got right to the carefree game portion. I've gotta say: having finished the Bible study I was able to appreciate the games so much more.

And now it's ten thirty and I just realized that I never got to the point I came on here to make. I didn't originally want to give a detailed analyses of my views, but the consequence for my ditzy-ness is that now there isn't enough time to talk about the really cool thing. I'll just need to tell you tomorrow. G'night!