Well, hmmf.

"...Well, hmmf. I suppose some allowance has to be made on account of him being city-raised. City-raised young ones ain't been learned to do things when they was young. They don't have the gumption of them that's raised in the country."

-Little Britches

Application Essays. Oh joy.

I am just about finished with one of the essays I have to write over break! I am hoping to get the second one finished this week so I can get back on facebook soon! On the other hand...maybe I should just stay off - one of my good friends actually called me last night! Called me! On my phone! Unbelievable. I am certain it is because I haven't been on facebok for the last two weeks. =)

Anywho, this is the first paragraph of my essay for Clarkson College.

A ninety-three year old woman with wispy grey hair and bright blue eyes sits alone at the nursing home where I work. Some days she remembers my name, on others she can’t, but it doesn’t make any difference. When she hears my voice ask if she remembers me, she simply replies “One hundred five” with a quirk of smile. She is referring to a day when I told her I loved her so much, I wanted her to live to be 105. A couple of weeks ago, I walked into her room, gave her a hug, and said “My dear, you are precious.” “I’m what?” she incredulously asked, in her shaky little voice. “You’re precious, and I hope you know that.”

death undone

"Sing out with joy for the brave little boy who was God, but he made himself nothing. Well he gave up his pride, and he came here to die like a man..."

(This song is from the best Christmas CD ever - Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb. Listen here.)

I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas!

wednesday

a winter party...

...in which we decorated gingerbread houses! We teamed up, grabbed a house, and got to work. Well - everyone else teamed up. Jessie and I were supposed to team up, but she definitely got the short straw in a partner with zilch for creativity. So, she designed our house while I ate candy. It ended up being a sensational house. Check this out.

(when this side was finished, it had a referee, grass, yard lines and a crowd.)

(You can get the recipe for these awesome houses here.)

We also played a game where everyone had a Bible character's name on his/her back, but he/she didn't know who it was. You could ask each person one question about your character in an attempt to find out who you were. By asking questions about my character, I determined that it was a female in the New Testament, who was somewhat prominent, and who not only knew Jesus, but was related to Him...Elizabeth!

Sara, Esther, Lot's Wife and Pharaoh

got milk?

I love this lady.

more wiki humor

I got an email from my sister today. (This be the sister who found the stellar answer to "does hedgehog have swine flu?" on WikiAnswers.) The subject of the email was "As if I hadn't already lost all respect for WikiAnswers..."

Then there was this link: How does Hydra Move?

Wow, Wiki. Sooo helpful.

a quick note...

I honestly have no clue if any of my Facebook friends read my blog, but for the few and far between that just might --

The reason I am nowhere to be found in the Facebook world is because I deactivated my account this afternoon. Why, you ask, would I remove myself - temporarily - from such a wonderful place? Well! Let me tell you!

Tomorrow (TOMORROW, people!!) is the last day of this semester. Take a whopping final, finish up a workbook, and I am outta there, baby! Next semester, I am taking classes from Grace University, and they don't begin until January 19th. This gives me exactly thirty-three days of zero school. I know. I'm rejoicing too.

Not having any demanding school deadlines, I just might be tempted to frivvle away these blissful thirty-three days. This, however, is something I absolutley, 100%, do NOT want to do, as much as I might think I do. If I waste them, they will quickly change from blissful and free to disgruntling and dissatisfying.

By deactivating my Facebook account, I am keeping myself from my stupid self. I am determined to use my precious thirty-three days of freedom wisely. I have a monstrous pile of productive things I want to accomplish, and I am not going to let myself get distracted by Facebook.

So! Email me! I will email you back!

(and just for laughs, here is a picture of my older sister and me in 1994. =)

do this girl a fave

Ok. It's time for you peeps to crawl out of your lurking crevices and gumshoe hidey-holes. It's time to show yourselves. Like real men.

(Here is a winky face so you know not to take me literally up there. " ; ) " )


Please, will you leave me a comment telling me who you are? And while you're at it, tell me what you do and don't like about my blog. I'm all ears.

"Yeah, you always was." (Sorry. I had to throw in quick Barney Fife moment there.)

(image here.)

"mountains of snow"

There are frequent mornings when my sister and I walk down the stairs to find a little white sheet of paper heralding us from the kitchen counter. It reads something along these lines: "Girls - today please...vacuum the living room. Pick up the bathroom. Sweep the office." The jobs vary, but you get the idea.

This morning, the list said: "shovel the front walks."

Two girls, two walks in need of shovelment. Seems easy enough. Except for one thing. As it happened, one of the sidewalks had your average amount of snow on it, while the other was piled high with snow. It seems the snow had drifted considerably right along that sidewalk. It was up to my hips, and I exaggerate not.

However annoying this problem may seem, it is easily solved if you have an easy-going younger sibling. I casually asked her if it mattered which sidewalk I shoveled, and because she conveniently hadn't seen the front walks yet, I was home free.

Just as I was whisking the last bits of snow off of my walk, I heard a tap at the window. Merrill was glaring out at me as she jerked her thumb towards her walk. I laughed, but then I decided to be a sacrficial sister and help her out. Obviously some good intentions are just not to be. I broke the snow shovel.

Immediately after my brief shoveling escapade, I had to leave for work. When I came home, I found this drawing on my whiteboard.

I am really going to miss this girl when I move to Omaha.

snow day

Last night and today it snowed so much, the community college cancelled classes. Merrill and I curled up on the couch and watched it snow...and snow...and snow. After naps and homework, we ventured outside for a little fun.

Here in Nebraska, hills are sparse. So Merrill and I make do with what we have...the manure pile!

(captions above pictures)

MJ trekking up Mount Everest

Doesn't this look adventurous? (Not so much.)

MJ decided to try a new route down...

...which didn't turn out so well.

"OWW...My butt hit a manure chunk!!"

We had fun. I love snow days.

B = ρVg = mg

You know you've been working on your physics assignment much too long when faithful Pandora actually stops playing the music and pops up a message:

"Are you still listening? We try not to play to an empty room."

No....I'm listening. I'm still here...working on my project. Keep playing, please...

*sigh*

via-DOC...

People, the day of jubilation has arrived. Let me explain.

I was scramming my way to Columbus this afternoon to run a few hurried errands before Thanksgiving. I was on the south edge of town mentally preparing myself for the boundless trek through winding downtown streets. See, the viaduct had been closed since February 2nd, requiring local traffic to make a hefty detour through downtown and across the tracks (often resulting in a long wait for an apathetic train).

Where was I? Oh, yes. Moving into the left lane so that I could continue to the agitating detour. I flipped off my turn signal, looked up, and - lo and behold! - one of those electronic-highway-construction-imformation-signs hailed me: "VIADUCT NOW OPEN. DRIVE SAFE."

After cringing from the atrocious grammar, I did a double-take. The viaduct? Open? The source of all my pain and suffering for the entire semester - open? For traffic? For me?!

I called my mom...and then had the time of my life driving up, up, and over the railroad tracks! No four-way stops, no tracks, no long waits....

Oh, I'm happy.

(you can see pictures of this glorious project here. =] )

Laughing...

My sister and I are sitting on the couch tonight, each doing our own thing on our own computers. Suddenly she bursts out laughing...apparently she is doing a bit of research on hedgehogs (she has a pet hedgehog), and finds some interesting information via WikiAnswers.

And I quote:

Q: Does hedgehog have swine flu?
A: No You retard. Hedgehogs arent real.

After Audrey shows me this extremely pertinent information, we both bust our guts laughing. Wow.

Gotta love WikiAnswers!

(See here. :))

My sister's VERY real hedgehog...

Luis!

There is a little boy in Nicaragua named Luis Fernando Brenes. He is five years old. He likes to sing, play ball games, and run. He lives with his mom and two siblings.

The best Christmas present Luis could ever receive is a sponsor - someone who will support Luis and his family so he can grow physically and mentally, and spiritually.

I sponsor a child through Compassion International. Her name is Crisleni. Yeah, it costs me money every month to support her, but it is really a small price to pay to release someone from poverty. (Plus I love getting letters from her!) I have been given so much. I live in a wonderful house with a wonderful family. I have all the food I need and clothes and a bed and a job and internet...and if I don't have something I need, I can get it!

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded."

Luke 12:48

I think nearly every reader of my blog can say that they have been given much. And we've all heard it a million times - "it's better to give than receive."

I think a lot of Christians today want to impact the world in a positive way, but aren't sure what to do. (All my fellow Rebelutionaries, I'm talking to you!) Yay! - you don't have to wonder or look any longer - here is your chance to use what God has given you to bless someone else. :)

I am dedicated to finding a sponsor for Luis before Christmas, so that he can receive the coolest Christmas present ever - freedom from poverty. Please let me know if you are interested in sponsoring Luis! I can send you a packet with his picture (he is *really* cute!) and more information. And trust me, even though it seems like a lot of money sometimes, sponsoring a child is something you will never regret.

...

Sometimes my mom puts flowers in my room just because.

Sometimes my mom rakes the leaves below my window just for me.

I love my mom.

late for lab

There I was, chilling at the very front of the line of cars that twisted like a snake throughout the entirety of downtown Columbus. I had previously been booking it to school, when the little red-and-white arms came flying down into my face with a "ding ding ding!" I hate trains. Especially those really obnoxiously slow ones that make you late for class.

This is what the train did: sloooowly crept foward until the very middle car was directly centered over my crossing. Then it stopped for awhile. Eventually, the grungy wheels begin turning again - backwards. Stopped. Started up again, moving approximately fifty yards, this time forward. Repeat this little boogie five or six times over the next twenty minutes, and you've got the idea. Yeah. Backward, forward. Backward, forward. I think the cunductor was either asleep or drunk.

This is what the clock did: ticked. Moved forward. Chronicled the passing of time.

This is what I did: parked, shut of the engine, turned on my iPod, took pictures of myself and graffiti on my new camera, glanced at the clock, freaked out, calmed down, and tried to find the hilarity in it all. Meanwhile the train and the clock are both still doing their thing.

And guess what?! I was late for lab!

So here are the pictures I took - on my new camera - while cooling my heels. :)

REALLY?!

This is really maddening...
Right...twenty minutes later...

(Does my skin look funny? The beauty specialist at Walgreens told me I had the weirdest skin-tone she had ever seen...)

Oh, and that graffiti? Well, the picture isn't too stellar...

LOL!

Crossed Fingers

thankful

Components of a good day:

• Early morning encouragement.
• Meeting a homeschool graduate who works for GU on my way to class. (!!!)
• A pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks with Mom.
• A phone call from a sister I really miss, in which we laughed heartily at my suggestion that the rest of our family had been whisked away, considering none of them were answering their phones and it is, after all, Halloween week...(what can I say? My Spanish teacher spent the entire class period telling us ghost stories!)
• A high school football playoff game. Go Scouts!
• Driving rain. I hate that piddly, pipsqueak, wanna-be-rain drizzle that we so often have. If it's going to rain, let it be the real deal. I love rain that requires you to put your wipers on full blast.
• Freedom to laugh.

homeschooled?

A bit of homeschool humor for us awesome homeschoolED kids. :)

high school football

this one's a doozy

I have had some peculiar and disturbing experiences with guys. Like Andrew, Mr. I'll-hypothetically-ask-you-out-over-text-so-if-you-say-no-it-won't-be-like-I-actually-asked-you. (I said no.) Or the random guy at the mall. "This isn't a pickup line, I promise..." BWA-ha-ha...yeah right. Desperate duck.

But this one isn't quite like the rest. Yesterday I got a text from a number not previously stored in my contact list.

Mystery Person: Whats up
Me: um, who is this?
Mystery Person: M__ J__ what u up to girl
[I must insert: at this point I busted up laughing because it just so happens that this guy's brother used to work for my dad! One of those 'I see you...but you don't see me' things.]
Me: Um, I think you have the wrong number...
No Longer Mysterious Person: whose this
Me: Who do you think it is?
Not At All Mysterious: idk

So I immediately text my older sister and we both enjoy a pretty big chuckle. Perhaps he simply found a random number and decided to text it - to which my dad says "so he took a fifty-fifty chance and hoped it was a girl." Or, he thought it was somebody else and, darn the luck, it was me.

Either way, I got my laugh for the day. :)

yeah, we look alike

I was playing around on Yearbook Yourself, yearbooking (never knew "yearbook" was a verb, did ya?) my sister and me. This kinda cracks me up.

The years are 1960, 1952, 1958, and 1985.

about me: in google images

1.What is your first name? 2.When is your birthday?

3.What kind of car do you want? 4.Where do you go to school? 5.What's your Favorite season? 6.Whats your favorite type of shoe?

7.What's your status?

8.What's your favorite movie?

9.What's your favorite song?

Where do you find a picture for "too many to have one favorite"?

10.Favorite Disney character? 11.Favorite clothing line?

12.Favorite vacation destination?

13.Favorite dessert?

14.Favorite letter?

15.What are you most afraid of?

16. Favorite TV show? 17. What annoys you most? 18. What's your job?

19. Whats your favorite animal? 20. How old are you?