Courtship...and Ronald McDonald? :)

Okay, before getting down to business, here is something funny. On Tuesday, I went to the library. On the way there, my bro and I saw Ronald McDonald. Seriously. We saw a Ronald McDonald. :) He was in a van painted red and, well, yellow. That prompted a conversation between my mother and I in which we discussed the practical aspects of Ronald McDonald. Here is what my research found. Well, actually, my research consists of my Mom finding this in a magazine and showing it to me. Pretty easy!
"Clowns who portray the company mascot, Ronald McDonald, are strictly forbidden from disclosing their identities. It's also taboo for two (costumed) Ronalds to be in the same place at the same time. In fact, the only time they get together is at the biennial Ronald McDonald Convention, which, as you might imagine, is also very top-secret . . . Their average income is about $40,000 a year, but the busiest clowns cna bring in as much as $100,000." So, there is your odd fact for the day.

Okay, I had two interesting comments concerning my post yesterday. One, my sister mentioned she wanted debate. Sure, go ahead, sounds good. Just please do not be negative towards people or their convictions. Second, Carissa mentioned that she would like me to outline what I mean by courtship. Sure, I was planning on that too.

Now, to try and remember what I talked about yesterday. Oh, right, about the girl who doesn't date or kiss guys. Hmm, weird. Anyway, my Dad gave me a promise ring which symbolized that my Dad was sort of my "guy" until I got married. I know that might sound odd, but, oh well. When I get married, I give the ring back to him. (Which I may try to negotiate, because I do want to keep the ring actually.) Anyway, I have decided that dating, for myself personally, is not a wise way to spend my time. I feel like there are so many more positive things that I could be spending my time one: my family, school, and other interests I have. If I had a boyfriend, I may be too busy to do a lot of this stuff. Actually, I know I would be too busy. Also, I feel like I am not ready to be married, so I do not see a reason for dating. I feel that, once again-for myself-this type of relationship signifies that two people are ready to seriously consider spending the rest of their life together.

Okay, more tommorrow, I don't want to overload.

The Topic Discussed Too Much

I am going to get serious now. Yeah, surprising due to the nature of my posts lately. :) Although I am sure many of you have heard all of this way too many times, I feel led to talk about it. Since it is such a big topic, I am going to split it up a little bit. Even though I am set in how I am doing things, I feel a need once in a while to remind mysel of why I do this. I'm talking about courtship. Yeah, I'm sure lots of you are sighing and rolling your eyes right now. If you are, sorry. :) You don't have to read if you don't want.

I made a decision to do this about 4 years ago. Because of that, I have never been on a date, never been kissed, and "all that jazz". Although once in a while, I may feel like I am missing out, I refocus and realize I am SO not missing out! I am just waiting for something really cool.

On my 13th birthday, I got a promise ring and all the traditional "courtship" books. I read a few, but I found my favorite was "When God Writes Your Love Story". Instead of focusing on a "I don't date" approach, it looked at giving EVERYTHING to God, even your "love life". (Although you may think you don't have a love life, most do. God is just working on it right now. :))

Okay, I'll post more later.

Adios Weekend

Well, it is back to a "non-slacker" life. I did absolutely nothing this weekend. I feel guilty saying this, but I completely enjoyed it. I think over the course of the weekend, I have watched, um, 6 movies. Sad, huh? I went to a friend's house on Friday which was great. We haven't hung out for a long time, so it was fun. Whenever I am at her house, we get to talking about the "end of highschool"-life as we know it. :) We're glad, but quite scared too.

Saturday: I, well, I , uh, did nothing. I wasn't feeling spectacular, so I majorly took it easy.

Sunday: The highlight of my day has been macaroni-and-cheese. I haven't had that stuff in ages and it was pretty darn good. Which, by the way, as any smart person can see, has inspired my new background. Appalling, isn't it? As one can see from this illustration, I have had no life this weekend. But I'll make up for it this week. As far as I can tell, every day this week is packed. :) It'll be fun!

Fabulous Friday!!!!!

Yeah, I'm excited. It has been a great week, but a little hectic.

Today in math class, my teacher brought a 2-liter bottle-no, jug-of Pepsi. He was taking swigs of it throughout lecture. Ha ha! He's hilarious! He started defending himself after the first drink-but not because of the size. It was because he had off brand rather than real Pepsi. Classic!

Pippin IV's reign was indeed short. He sadly died today. *Moment of silence*........Okay, that's good. I feel bad, but it's a fish. :) Emily and I think it is because he was sick, not because of something I did. Tommorrow, I will go see if the pet store will replace him-a Pippin V.

My frog, on the other hand, is superb. He eats like crazy! A few crickets a day. I love to watch him. The first time I dropped them in, he pounced on them like lightning. A little leg or antennae usually sticks out after he does, but he gets it eventually. I guess I am a glutton for violence. Frog violence. :)

Have a great one!

Oh, and I have been tagged.
Four Jobs You’ve Had:
1. Working for my Dad-Hayden Tile
2. Babysitting
3. Driving Emily bonkers.
4. Driving my Mom bananas.

Four Places You’ve Lived:
1. Canon City, Colorado
2. California
3. Kennewick, Washington
4. Penrose, Colorado

Four Vacations You’ve Taken:
1. California
2. Pennsylvania
3. Washington-To visit old friends
4. West Virginia-for camp

Four Vehicles You’ve Owned:
1. Well, I don't really own it, but it is a 91 Jeep Cherokee
2.
3.
4.

I tag Josh, Sarah, Rabenstrange, and MVB.

Hee hee!

I don't know why I am posting this. It's so stupid. But I couldn't think of anything else to post. :) Okay, today I decided-well I guess I've known for a lot longer than that that I am accident prone. The other day, Emily and I went to get movies. We both walked on the same part of the sidewalk and I totally slipped, but she didn't. So, today, I went out to get the mail. Our driveway is still really icy from the now, so I tried to pick my way through those parts. Needless to say, it failed. I turned around with the mail in my hand, and slipped. On the ice. Despite my efforts not to. I just happened by some odd coincidence-why today?-to be wearing jeans with holes in them. Therefore, instead of just a bruise, I ended up with blood on my pants. Man, they were clean too! Oh well. :) So there you have my story of the day.

Here is a funny quote by my math teacher. We were doing frequency distribution charts on amounts of sugar in cereals. Yeah, I know, blah, blah, blah! There was a ton of samples of different cereals. He said, "We have cereals geared toward children who want to have energy to watch cartoons at four in the morning". Well, I thought it was funny anyway.

Today is Tuesday

I know, the title is not interesting, but I couldn't think of much.

Char, I cannot find your blog. Has my Mom been on your blog? Maybe she can give me the URL. :)

Okay, I logged into my online classes yesterday. Music history is great! It makes me wish I played an orchestral instrument. I think art history may be another story though. :) My first reading assignment entailed 140 pages of reading. Ah!

Well, I better go or I will miss my lecture on the Bronze Age. Chao and have a great one!

Introducing...

...my new creatures. Gross, slimy things as my sister would say. She made me promise not to get anything else. I told her I didn't have anymore room. :) My dresser and desk are full. Anyway, the first guy is an Oriental Fire-Bellied Toad. I named "him" Argyle. My sister is knitting an argyle sweater, and I liked the name. He's very colorful-like argyle. The fish is a Beta. I named "him", yeah, I made it a boy. But I really do think it's a male. The girls are smaller. I named him Pippin IV. Not after LOTR, but after a book by John Steinbeck called "The Short Reign of Pippin IV".

I have this really weird idea of something I really want to do when I get my own house. I am going to get a room and it will be filled with frogs, toads, turtles, fish, hermit crabs, millipedes, scorpions-in cages of course-and I will call it "The Reptile Room" in honor of Violet, Sunny, and Klaus Baudelaire. :) So what if it won't even have only reptiles in it...

Narnia In My Backyard

Narnia
I got up early this morning and saw that there was a TON of snow outside. Whoopee! It's about time. It was so pretty, so I jumped out of bed and grabbed some cameras to take pictures. I have been waiting a long time to take this pictures. I had to wait until it was snowy, so it would resemble Narnia. :) I took this from my backyard. Cool, huh? Have a great weekend!

Thrilling Thursday

Wow! I'm actually on. That is only because it is snowing-YES!!- and I can't go somewhere I was going to go. It is sad, but also a positive thing I suppose since I will be able to finish my homework before the weekend. All right! School today was nothing spectacular. Josh was hanging out after class, so we went to the library and "studied". Except not really. I read like 5 pages in an hour and a half. Pathetic, huh? Funny stuff. Anyway, I ended up finishing my studying in the parking lot of Wal-Mart. I was done with classes, and was waiting to go to the vet's office. It was too early, so I had to wait a while. That was original. You should try it sometime. I got way more done than I did in the library. Well, that's about it. I'll probably blog tommorrow, because I have no work. Have a good one!

Oh, yes, I almost forgot. I finished "Something Wicked This Way Comes" about a week ago. Great book! When I finished it, I had the same feeling I get after watching a movie like..."The Matrix". It was a great movie, but I have to digest it. That was like the book. It was way weird! Just can't quite describe it. I guess you'll have to read it. Has anyone ever seen the movie "Something Wicked This Way Comes". It is made by Disney, and I was wondering if it was based on the book.

Very Quick

Hola, all! This will be in a quick and rambling manner, because it is late and I should be snoozing. But I am busy until who knows when, so I decided to catch the time and right. (Catch time? What the heck is that?) So, I just got back from a "Spoken" concert. Much fun! I experienced many odd things-1. being pushed into a pew (So much for my second attempt at moshing. 5'3" girl, 110 pounds versus big sweaty guys just doesn't work) 2. I wore a tie. Really. 3. I was told-again-that my sister looks 17, and I look more like 14 or 15. AAHH!! 4. I was hugged by two really sweaty people. Ew! I came home and took a shower. 5. The bass player from Red came and stood on the pews and played-right by me. And, no, I'm not one of those weird girls who thinks touching the bass will impart magical powers upon me. 6. Hmm, too tired to think of anything. Many things to say, but they are too many to state.

Well, I better say chao. I am losing sleep minutes and second rapidly. Hopefully, I'll be on again by Friday.

Hola, all! Sorry this place has been not so exciting lately. Business has encroached! I have to ask my sister to install Picassa and Hello for me, so I can post pictures. And, no, I am not sure how to do it myself. :)

Yesterday, we went to Springs. I had to return that puzzle with the missing piece that I showed you all. I got one of the same brand, but different number of pieces. Can you believe that a 1000 and a 1500 piece puzzle were only three dollars different in cost? Weird! Makes a lot of sense to go with the 1500 and get lots more for your money.

Well, I am working today-grouting some showers. Whoopee! After that, I have to come home and cram as much homework and chores in as I can. I am behind. Big surprise! But through that, I want to be sure that I don't get stressed out and still enjoy the day.

Quote of the day: "Blink. AAHH!!"
Okay, I'm sure that makes no sense by itself. I went to Josh and Sarah's on Friday night. Josh was laying on his back on the floor, and Sarah was sitting on a chair. Josh kept commenting on how weird she looked from that view. He said her eyes looked upside down or something. He told her to blink and he yelled. I guess it was scary. :)

School

Ah, I would love school if all I could do was observe people. Okay, first, my humanities teacher. Very entertaining and into what he does! But pretty funny. On Thursday, he came into class with a "sailor" sweater, blue canvas shoes, khakies, and a beret thingie and did his rendition of "Hamlet"-very seriously in fact. :)

Then there is the wacko in stats class. He is supposedly a liberal. So irritating!!! He absolutely never shuts up. There are a bazillion funny stories about him, but I can't even tell them, because they are slightly innappropriate. He calls himself "metro" which supposedly means he isn't "quite" gay. What the heck does that mean? Wait, don't tell me. He always wears this cap beanie thing. When he takes it off, his hair sticks like 4 inches off his head, and I'm not exaggerating. He's got jeans, black dressy shoes, button up shirt, and over t-shirt. He walks down the halls whistling constantly. So, yeah, I'll continue the adventures of "Metro Dude" at a later time.

Noodles on My Back

Josh and Sarah showed this movie to me. It is hilarious. Isn't the pig cute? :)

"'I hate a Roman named Status Quo!' he said to me. 'Stuff your eyes with wonder,' he saide, 'live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories. Ask no guarantees, ask for no security, there never was such an animal. And if there were, it would be related to the greta sloth which hangs upside down in a tree all day every day, sleeping its life away.'" "Fahrenheit 451-Ray Bradbury

5 Weird Things About Myself

I was tagged by Virginia, so here I go.
Uno: One of my pet peeves is open cupboards.
Dos: I don't understand most other people my age.
Tres: Someday I want to see baby sea turtles hatch, because once on Reading Rainbow I saw an episode turtles.
Quatro: I can't stand wet socks-like when you step in a puddle in the kitchen. I absolutely MUST change them before life can go on.
Cinco: I like the smell of dirt.

Okay, so that is about all I could think of. I was drawing quite a bit of a blank.

I can't believe it. The class I worked my whole entire schedule around-journalism-has been cancelled. I got a call at 1:30 yesterday, saying it was. I didn't have time to go in and change stuff and fix books, because they were closing. Needless to say, I am irritated and frustrated. But I guess that it is God's will. Even though I'm still stressed....:)

Check it out!!

You have to check this out. Last night, my family and I were so totally addicted. It is the best. We tried the faces of everyone in the family. You upload a picture of yourself and it shows you what famous people you-supposedly-look like. Okay, you will never believe it, but with 65% accuracy, I got Hilary Clinton. Oh, I am SO going to die!!! Maybe we are distant relatives. Ahh!! Okay, and then in order of decreasing accuracy, I also got Ritchie Valens, Benny Goodman, Anne Frank, Barack Obama, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Roger Federer, Edmund Husserl, John Cusack, and Kimi Raikkonen. Yikes. Too many guys. My dad's was hilarious when he got Luciano Pavarotti. My sister got Madonna as a child. Okay...

Anyway, have a great weekend, all!

Books of All Kinds

Well, I finally finished "Last of the Mohicans". It was good, but too drawn out. I mean, how many times can people be captured by Indians and escape agagin. :) So, now I am on to "Fahrenheit 451". My Mom and sister both read it while I was reading the "Mohican" book. Supposedly, it is good.

Last night, I ran some errands with my Mom. I finally got the stamp book I have been wanting. Yes, I have a stamp collection. :) I can't wait to get them in the book.

Well, I better go. I have to leave for work. I think I am grouting. Big surprise! Have a great day!

Books of 2005

Here are all the books I've read-chronologically-since January of last year. I will put the ones that I really liked in red.

1. Loves Music, Loves to Dance-Mary Higgins Clark-(Fun reading.)
2. Kitchen God's Wife-Amy Tan-(Relatively interesting.)
3. Not Fade Away-Peter Borton-(Good one.)
4. The Shining-Stephen King-(One part of the book scared me, but Stephen King does put a lot of dumb stuff in his books, so I don't really read them anymore. Plus, I hate his writing style.)
5. Gone with the Wind-Margaret Mitchell-(I am still not quite sure why I liked this book so much.)
6. The Notebook-Nicholas Sparks-(Too romantic, plus parts to skip.)
7. Walk to Remember-Nicholas Sparks-(Pretty good I guess.)
8. Silence in Heaven-Peter Lord-Wolff-(I would reccommend it, but there were too many parts I had to "fast forward" through.)
9. When God Writes Your Love Story-Eric and Leslie Ludy-(Pretty self explanatory.)
10. Arabian Nights and Days-Naguib Mahfouz-(Started out awesome, but got really boring.)
11. The Acts of King Arthur and His Nobel Knights [this is not a typo error]-Malary-(Great book, but sort of disheartening regarding the conduct of so called "noble knights").
12. The Poisonwood Bible-Barbara Kingsolver-(Good though slightly depressing.)
13. The Pearl-John Steinbeck-(Pretty good book.)
14. The Short Reign of Pippin IV-John Steinbeck-(Fun book with one of my favorite quotes in it-about optimism and pessimism.)
15. 8 Short Stories by Mark Twain-Mark Twain-(Amusing.)
16. All Quiet on the Western Front-Erich Maria Remarque-(One of my few all time favorites.)
17. Grapes of Wrath-John Steinbeck-(Another of my all time favorites.)
18. Girl with a Pearl Earring-Tracy Chevalier-(Good story idea.)
19. The Good Earth-Pearl Buck-(Good, but didn't quite meet my expectations.)
20. Hunchback of Notre Dame-Victor Hugo-(The only exposure I had had to this story prior to reading this was the Disney version. Needless to say, I experienced quite a shock.)
21. The Bean Trees-Barbara Kingsolver-(Good story.)
22. Sleepy Hollow-Washington Irving-(Good. Shorter than I thought it would be.)
23. A Time to Live and a time to Die-Erich Maria Remarque-(Another great one by Remarque.)
24. Three-Ted Dekker-(Some sweet fiction!)
25. Killer Spy-Peter Maas-(I was interested in Aldrich Ames. Good writing!)
26. Obsession-Ted Dekker-(First in trilogy.)
27. The Trenches-Dorothy and Thomas Hobler-(I read this, because I am interested in WWII.)
28. Black-Ted Dekker-(Great books! It made me want to get married at sunset on a mountaintop or hill. :))
29. White-Ted Dekker
30. Red-Ted Dekker
31. Monster-Frank Peretti-(Good book, but disappointing as far as F.P. goes.)
32. White Noise-Don Delillo-(I thought it was based on the movie. It wasn't.)
33. The Perfect Storm-Sebastian Junger-(Movie based on this. Pretty good, but once again some content to skim over.)
34. Venus and Adonis-Shakespeare-(Fun stuff.)
35. Cry, the Beloved Country-Alan Paton-(Good story. Very sad.)
36. The Phantom of the Opera-Gaston Leroux-(At first I thought I liked it, but when I thought about it, I didn't get why it was so popular.)
37. Manchurian Candidate-Richard ??-(Movie based on book. Definantly stuff to skip. Might be better to skip book all together.)
38. Till We Have Faces-C.S. Lewis-(I believe it might be my favorite of all time.)
39-Ben Hur-Lew Wallace-(Big book, but worth the time taken to read it!)
40. The Great Gatsby-F. Scott Fitzgerald-(Why is this a classic book?)
41. The Raven-Edgar Allen Poe-(I finally read it and wondered what all the hype was about. Telltale Heart is so much better!)
42. The Life and Times of Grigorri Rasputin-Alex de Jonge-(I was interested in Rasputin, so I read this. Worthwhile read thought not for younger people.)
43. The Night in Lisbon-Erich Maria Remarque-(This was good, but not as good as usual Remarque books.)
44. Diaries of Adam of Eve-Mark Twain-(Amusing!)
45. The Turn of the Screw-Henry James-(Josh reccommended it and I really enjoyed it.)
46. The Scarlet Letter-Nathaniel Hawthorne-(I really enjoyed it and didn't quite understand why everyone thought it was so ultra boring.)
47. The Double Tongue-William Golding-(I was thrilled when I learned that the author of "Lord of the Flies" wrote more than one book. Hmmm, big disappointment!!)

I can't believe if I would have read three more, I would have 50. Argh!

Also, someone asked a question about Underoath: Chasing Safety. I don't necessarily listen to the band, but I know several people who do, including my sister who says it is her favorite band. They are a...what do I call that, Emily?...screamo emo? I don't know. Anyway, they are a screaming band. They are classified as a Christian band. I was interested in their lyrics, so I looked here. You can check them out if you like. There is no cussing, and from looking at the lyrics, I didn't see anything that seemed innapropriate. Their lyrics do not seem as negative as many, but some can be a little "down". For myself, I have found that I dislike to listen to that type of music. It can make me feel depressed, wish my life was different, and so on. But as I said, that is just me. I don't think there is anything wrong with these types of bands. Therefore, I think that Underoath is just fine although they may not proclaim that Jesus is the answer extremely loudly. I would probably listen to their music once in a while, but I doubt they would become a favorite. What do you guys think?