Yeah, so I haven't blogged in forever. I hope I remember how to even do this :). Howdy from Pagosa Springs! This is the last day of our vacation...and it has been a really sweet vacation. Right now it is really quiet at our house -- I don't know where half my family is and the other half is playing their DSes...es...es. The dishwasher is really loud though, and everything smells like lemon and bleach because we have been cleaning.

Up here in the mountains, it kind of feels like we are removed from space and time. Not too much goes on. The wind. The clouds move. The aspens flutter. Horses graze. Rivers rumble along over rocks and through canyons. We have hiked, and rafted, and read, and picnicked. I am so stoked about the rest of my summer, but it is so peaceful right now that I don't really want to leave. :)

I won't write that much, but I will write about my favorite part of the last...two weeks. One day we drove up this quiet road through trees and yellow flowers everywhere, winding along the edge of the mountain, until there was a pine tree in the road and we couldn't go any farther. Me and my dad walked (Ok, I had to jog to keep up) until we got to this National Forest watchtower, which was our destination. Since I was pretty tired from the jog, my dad went back to get my fam and I climbed up the tower until I got to a locked door leading up into the top. So I sat on the stairs and just looked. In every direction there were mountains in the distance, there there were valleys and rivers and forests everywhere; and bigger than all of that was the blue sky that was forever high. Whenever the wind blew, I thought I was floating. But instead of feeling small, I felt like God was setting me up on the very top of the world and being like, I made all of this for you to enjoy. Isn't it ginormous? See that mountain? I made that with my hands! And look at that eagle! Isn't it wonderful how the air flows over it's wings and makes it soar?...It was pretty sweet. It was so quiet that I could hear my family when they were 1/4 of a mile away. When they got up to the top I think they asked me why I had such a goofy smile on my face.

Yeah, so I pretty much am psyked out of my mind about Bootcamp. I will see you guys all next Sunday!

Why do I blog? Hahahaha, it's kind of arogant - I guess I am just assuming that someone gives a care about whatever strikes me fancy...Ha.

Flippin Thursday with Faith...darn it.

Yeah, so I missed a lot of fridays...life is so...sporadic. Spasmatic. Spaztastic. Spazzy. Shnazzy. Ahem. I have been really busy though. Seriously, time seems to fly so fast these days. Everyday of the week we have somewhere to go, and on the days that we don't have anything scheduled we find things to do. Like last friday - I went to the mall with the Sosas and their cousin shopping for Easter finery. I also babysat four times in the last two weeks - that's a hundred dollars. Oh yeah, and it was for the same family. And in that family, their two-year-old, Jack, pretty much hates me. He throws fits just for the heck of it, and I swear if it was anyone but me it would be purely hilarious. But that whole hilarious thing kinda gets dampened when what I am trying to do is get him out of the street before a car smooshes him flat. Beats me why he had such a problem with that one. Oh, thank the Lord that I'm not two anymore - it is just a grace thing that we only have to stay at any certain age for one year. For instance - it really stunk to be me when I was 11. But hey, I am 14 now. I don't really know why it stunk to be 11, but things changed a LOT when I was 12. Then I turned 13 - I moved to France, I became friends with my brothers, I did the GA, I went to Hawaii, and it was sweet. Definitely sweet. And heck, I'm just getting started on this whole life thing! Between drama, Bible study, Dgroups, running around, other random things, and family time, I have been booked. I like it like that, though.

Anyways. What should I write about today? ... Singing in the band. Wow. Let me tell you - it is LOUD. You can seriously feel the bass in your stomache from on the stage. And, it is awkward. Don't get me wrong, I love it. But I definitely do not feel cool enough to be part of the Hypothetical Monkeys. I need to die my hair blue, or get my nose pierced, or something. Or at least find a tambourine. Another puzzlement to me is why you have to stand on the stage if you have a band. That is a little bit weird. For one thing, you can see everyone and what everyone is doing, whether they are singing, talking...or making faces at you, (won't mention any names on that one). Yet, it is pretty neat to see people worshipping God. Singing praises to my awesomely awesome God is probably my favorite thing in the world, and it is fun to sing into a mic. Ha.

What else...Pride and Prejudice. Jake and I are reading it for school, and I really love it. I have read it before, but it is even better the second time. Plus, I get to talk about it with Jake, and that is just funny. I wish that I was Elizabeth Bennet. She is not only amiable and good-natured, she is also quick-witted, light-hearted, and smart. Plus, a guy with a really sweet house and lots of money likes her. And on top of all that, she laughs at everything. Woah…maybe I am a little like her. Oh, wait, no, she doesn’t laugh at her own jokes. Nevermind. Anyways, I wish I could jump into books sometimes – that would be awesome. Like, Treasure Island. THAT would be awesome. Sometimes I have dreams about books, except they turn out all different because I am myself a main character; usually, I either save the day through all of my brilliant plans, I am rescued by the most handsome guy, or I wander around very confused for a long time and then I die by whatever means is fitting with whichever book I am reading. For example, in Treasure Planet, I was the cabin boy, uh…I think his name was John, in one scenario, and I came up with a brilliant plan to save the ship in one dream; in another, I was just a girl on board and John rescued me from the evil mutineers; and in one dream I think I drowned on my way to steal the ship in a canoe. Hm. That was weird. I just finished reading this book called Showdown – AJ lent it to me – and it was really creepy. I definitely stayed up til one in the morning reading it, and when I went to sleep I dreamed I was this boy in it, and I was really confused and people died horrible, distorted deaths, and I wished I hadn’t stayed up so late reading.

Anyway…I could also tell you a little bit about the play I am doing. It is called the Seussification of Romeo and Juliet, and so it’s basically a really humorous version of the story completely in rhyme that only lasts about an hour. Because I worked my tail off (while I was sick, no less) in February as an intern, I got to pick my part. I picked Juliet – but it’s always a toss-up I guess because it’s not at all what I was expecting. I will say this much, Romeo is two and a half feet shorter than me. However, I do get to yell the most well-known line in the play through a megaphone from the top of a ladder. “Romeo, baby-o baby-o buff! Wherefore art thou, Romeo – I can’t get enough!” …… yeah, that part is pretty fun. I also fall on the ground four times, and I kiss Romeo – who is two and a half feet shorter than me – three times. It’s pretty…funny. Parker, my brother, is in it too, and he plays my dad. He dances around a lot, which is hilarious. And Sam, my littlest brother, sweeps me off the stage when I am dead. We had practice today in full-costume – that was enough color and clashing patterns to make my head buzz all evening. But if the whole thing stinks, one thing will still be awesome: the costumes. They are totally rad. You can all look forward to me wearing my brothers costume pants after the show – they are the most incredible pants ever imaginable.

What else can I say? Life is good. God is good. On that note, I was reading in 2 Timothy and thought that this was pretty cool. I can’t really get enough of those ‘trust-worthy sayings’. And I especially like the last part…

11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; 13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful,

Oh yeah, and today I read one of my favorite verses, Titus 1:12, “Even one of their own prophets has said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.’” I was laughing at the Cretans until I started to wonder why God had that in the Bible if it was only for them… I guess I already knew I was an evil brute, Jake Box kindly reminds me every once in a while.

Ok, I am out. Peace out, in fact.

Flippin' Friday with Faith - entry #1



I love being cheesy. Or a cheese head. The Christmas before last we went to Marseilles and met up with Stevi and Troy, and I know you might have heard this before...but I can't help but think of a certain little kid named Luc who was very frustrated that we could not speak French. The only thing I understood him say in a whole week was "tu a fromage a la tete", meaning, you are all cheese-heads. Oh, hahahahah! That was great.



So. What will I write about today? I will write about Spring Break. Spring Break, the first day of which there is simply an air of joy over the whole city. Every kid from Round Rock to Dripping Springs might have awakened at the normal time, just to sigh with smile, roll over, and go back to sleep. You may be wondering how I think I know what I'm talking about - I am home schooled. And I'll give you that I might not. I don't think that in my nine years of school I have ever enjoyed a spring break as well as I have enjoyed this week, though. It is strange how different this school year has seemed. Last year school was very intense, but we had no social life whatsoever. The year before that, social levels were normal, and school levels were less than tiring. This year however, school has been harder than ever between church history, apologetics, literature, writing, algebra, and science. We are doing harder stuff and more of it than ever before. And added to that is our activities, drama and music and actually spending time with friends. This week has been so wonderful, just to not have anything to do. Ahhh. I have slept in, drank tea, watched movies, gone to the mall, slept some more, and read. It has been lovely. And I am basically depressed because today is the last day of blessed rest. Next week it is back to running and algebra and reading and writing. Pooh. Pooh and double pooh.



On a slightly different topic, last night I was ... listening to a bedtime story about Winnie the Pooh. (Uh, don't even ask me why.)Why is his name Pooh? I never read or watched Pooh when I was little. Some will say I was deprived - but I was loving life with Mr Rogers and Sesame Street. Now, when I watch Pooh, I am just disturbed. A bear named for excrement, a pathetic piglet, a rabbit with anger issues, and an infernally suicidal donkey. A donkey! And why are people scared of bees? It is because of the evil bees on Winnie the Pooh - always out to get the poor, honey-loving bear. Why do kids think a balloon filled with carbon dioxide should float? It is because of Pooh. I don't know, man. It is just weird. Funny, but wrong. But you see, the real reason why Pooh is called Pooh is this: once he hung onto a balloon filled with carbon dioxide for so long that his arms went stiff over his head for a week. And when a fly landed on his nose, he would have to ("pooh!") blow it off. Hahaha.


Lastly, I will fill you in on my latest doofus-ness. You all pretty much know that I am a doofus, right? Well, here is why. As you all know, Paul and Charis had their baby, Britain on Thursday night. Well, the Leydens were going to take them dinner on Tuesday night, but James was sick so the Franklins stepped in. While my mom prepared a lovely chicken and noodles dish, I worked for a considerable amount of time on a delicious cheese cake recipe that I pretty much love. It made two cheese cakes, (ahem, one for them, one for us). So we load everything up in the car, and it starts pouring rain. We get over to their apartment, and I jump out, grab the cheesecake and the green beans, and make a dash for the shelter of the car parking place. Bear with me if you don't know what I'm talking about. My mom then realizes she forgot the main dish at home. My brothers and I are already across the parking lot, so she says to go on up and she'll be back ASAP. So we take off sprinting for the building. And, me being the brilliant and graceful person that I am, slip on the wet grass, both feet in the air, land flat on my back, send the green beans one direction and the cheesecake crashing into a wall. It is still pouring rain. I get up, and go under the roof with the empty pie pan, and try to catch my breath and keep from sobbing for five minutes. Ish. So we go up the stairs, and I call my mom to tell her to get the other cheesecake. And the Emersons have other people over. Paul reaches out to usher me in, and realizes that my whole back is sopping wet. So we, dripping wet, muddy, with a completely empty pie pan and a deformed foil container of green beans, enter the Emersons peaceful, beautifully clean apartment. We see Britain, beautiful, tiny, and perfect. He goes to nurse. We see the turtle. We try not to be as intrusive as we feel, hoping our mom will get there soon. I watch a slide show of pictures from the tile inside their door, trying not to get anything wet. And finally my mom gets there, the Emersons were so nice, and Gram (Britain's grandma) tells me a story about when she dropped a pie he had worked two hours on for her husband when she first got married. My mom offers me Britain, and Paul says, "What is that verse in the Bible? If you are faithful with a little bit of pie...you get to hold the baby! Hahaha". And so we went home, I changed into my third set of clean clothes that day, and drank some hot tea, thinking of that cheesecake all over the lawn outside their apartment building. And oh, that was just the icing on the cake for my day. So my last thought, before going to sleep was only this....I think I'll move to Australia.

OK, until next week. Out.

I, unlike so many, refuse to devote even one useless and ridiculous sentence to the seeming-to-dwindle blogging network. Some people just decide to live life instead of writing about it for a while! Ha.

Anyway, I have decided to pull a Box here and start a rhyming tradition. Freaking Fridays with Faith! I am going to try to blog every friday, ok? That should make some of you happy. This is Tuesday, though, so I guess it doesn't count. But I had a minute so heres my blog post.

Dancing and Being a Smartalec (Or that thing that sounds like that, that I can't spell)

Ok, story time with Faith. So on Saturday we were able to attend a wedding, which is pretty sweet. It was also even sweeter because the people getting married are really cool, and of course, the ceremony was done by none other than The Danny Box, himself, Sr. Pastor of Hill Country Bible Church Pflugerville. Plus it is just fun to say Pflugerville. Anyways, so the wedding is really cool, and I am so inspired by their commitments to each other and God. I know that the majority of the SW blogging network is guys, so bear with me because you probably don't understand how a girl feels when she thinks about romantic things. So that was really cool, and both of my topics have to do with things that took place after this very nice ceremony.
Ok, so we are standing around feeling slightly awkward because we pretty much don't know anybody else at the wedding (us kids) or haven't seen them in years (our parents) - loitering, in simple terms. So Pastor Box comes over and starts talking to us, haven't seen him in a really long time. He said something about reading our blogs, and I am shocked because I don't know what he's read. So I pop off something like, Do you do that when you are supposed to be working? (this seems like a perfectly logical chain of events to me. Awkward/bored, slightly shocked, pop-off.) I didn't even think about it, but then every one's all, "oooh" with that, you-obnoxious-smartalec look. I get that a lot. Go me. So then I try to cover it by actually purposefully saying something nice. "Seeing Jake and Krista so much, I just never forget about you guys. (to Mrs Box) You and Krista are so much alike. I love Krista, she is so cool. (to them both) And Jake is doing a really great job as a youth pastor, our youth group rocks!" And Pastor Box is like, "Oh, so you're saying you would just forget us if you didn't ever see Jake and Krista?" (hahaha)
I am just always being reminded that I say smartalleck stuff so much, no body ever takes me seriously. And I can't think that is exactly pleasing to God. You know, that whole let-no-word-come-out-of-your-mouth-except-what-is-good-for-building-others-up thing. So this issue had kind of been bothering me. One day I decided to try to actually do that thing. You know, not just talk all the flipping time with out thinking, as is my custom. And that like, totally freaked my mom out and got her all wierd. Plus, I just didn't feel like myself. So I spent time thinking about this all last week.
And then, on Saturday, talking to Monsieur Box, I just kind of realized its ok to joke around. I don't think God needs me to change who I am - just to be wise. And so I joked right back with Pastor Box, with my family, and with my friends. I think I always will be a joker. You know, there's a difference between being witty and being a smart mouth.
Maybe.
I just hope every once in a while people will see that I am serious =).

So the other exciting thing - dancing! Oh yeah. I just love dancing. It is a cool thing. I know that lots of people disagree - I am already anticipating a biting, cynical comment from my brother. But I seriously think that one of the coolest things God gave us is music. A rhythm, a melody, a beat, a harmony. Words that sound good and paint pictures in my imagination. It picks you up, calms you down. Kind of like coffee. Except doesn't taste as much like dirt. Anyway, and one of the other coolest things God gave us is bodies! They bend, twist, jump, and sway. They can comfort, they can cause pain, they can feel pain, and they can take you places. And when you put those two sweet things together - music and bodies - you get dancing. To me, it makes perfect sense. Kind of like when you put butter, sugar, flour, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla, (and maybe even some chocolate chips) together, it makes yummy cookies. And I love dancing. OK, I love cookies too. But this is about dancing.
So there was dancing at the reception. And it was so much fun. Granted, I only danced with my little brother Sam and with my dad, but I was just having a blast. And probably looking like a retard. But mainly, having a blast. Really, I don't think there is an actual point to this topic. Just the fact that dancing is very awesome, and that if there is anything that I miss out on by being homeschooled, it is dances. And now, I am through.

PS. An Ode

oh for a thousand dresses to see

to try on, to make twirly

all dresses are fun

delightful each one

yet this one is greater than all

this one is purply, this one is light

its flowers in pink and orange so bright

looking like a mosaic

really fairly poetic

the best of all dresses, great and small

it resembles a fairy dress

I'll settle for no less

beautiful, blowy

happy and flowy

definitely greater than all

(I went shopping this afternoon and fell hopelessly in love with a dress that cost $80, and that I would have no opportunity to wear. It deserved so much more than that simple poem...)

Some Blogging

I haven't blogged in a long time, but I have written a lot of posts in my mind, so I will try to summarize them all into a serries of asterisks. I do, in fact, enjoy having a blog, and I have kept up with everyone elses, but I really don't think anyone reads my blog anyway, therefore I didn't feel the need to burden my extremely full schedule with writing a post. Today is your lucky day, because I don't feel like doing school and I am not doing anything theater-related until this evening!

*First, I will elaborate on my theory on video games. This seems appropriate because the youth group now has all three next generation video game consoles, bringing to light their intense geekiness and lots of conversation about video games. I think that my long standing, deep rooted hatred of video games must have started when I was very little. We had something called a sega genesis, and as soon as Jake was old enough to care, long gone were the hours that he had used to play with me. I remember when Jake liked to play beanie babies with me, and we had a huge story going about how we ran an orphanage, which adopted every beanie baby we owned, which was every one ever made. But my brothers forsook that, and even more; the batman toys, the rescue heroes, even the legos for as many hours as were permited to them on the sega. Oh, I tried to join them. I wasn't oblivious to the magnetic-seeming draw of that little black box, with the cords connecting the contollers, and the laughter, and hollering that came from that room. I tried to figure out what the deal was, and even played it a few times. But instead of helping me to enjoy the game, my brothers never failed to ignor my pleas for help, and slaughter me on whatever game it was. Except Barnie, I did ok on that one. But every other game I lost again and agian, not even understanding how the buttons worked in my young, oh so young nature. Alas, as I gave up, in came the computer games, the play station, the nintindo, the gameboy, the xbox. I grew away from those things, alone in my room coloring, reading, and playing with my stuffed animals all alone. I began to notice why all my female friends and I did not understand the draw; namely, the killing, slashing, hitting, fighting, crashing, smashing, trashing, blood, exlamations of pain, and/or violence. (I will allow that there are exceptions...but they are the snare) Now, in my ever increasng maturity, I can see what all you unknowing, enamored geeks can't - that they are slowly taking over the world. There is, I am certain, a mastermind (possibly the devil himself) behind all the gaming producion. One day, ater all of the earth's youth are fully corrupted, he or she will release a fatal virus through the entire system, that will radioactively enslave all human kind over a period of time. I will not be ensnared; no, I and the few people who stand strong will unite against that force of evil, and painfully save the world. It will be difficult, but one day, we will be heroes because we resisted. That's my theory, anyway.

*Moving on, I would like to talk about...uh...Oh, yeah, my musical! I don't know how I could have ever forgotten. The songs - stuck infernally in my head. The people - my constant companions. The theater - my second home. The make up - almost flaying my face. The costumes - similar to my skin. The lines - branded upon my memory. Basically. The shows started the 19th, and tonight is the last night! Hallelujah! You know how sometimes, the last show might be said to be somewhat bittersweet? Sad, while yet relieving? Uh, NO. I am so ready for this thing to be over, I am going to throw a party in the shower tonight, before I go to sleep! I am going to be jumping around backstage, just thrilled to get it over with; singing with extra vigor from the simple joy of the hope of imminent releif! Ah. Not to say at all that this has not been a wonderful experience. It has! I have had so much fun, and seriously, I am so at home on stage. I am in my element. I would be an actress if it was at all possible. And God majorly answered my prayers that through the whole deal I would have an opportunity to glorify Him, which is the ultimate awesomeness. So I'm so good - double whammy: answered prayer and the thing is going to be OVER. This is a great day.

*I have to go now. I am going to go cheer on my little bros at their basketball game, so I am out.

Hey. I am writing a real post now, one I've been working on for a while. This is going to be comparing, in a perhaps previously not considered way, mirrors and windows; irony and metaphor; and lies and longing.

This post is really just sharing some thoughts that were sparked from reading a book my brother actually got for Christmas, called The King in the Window. It was set in Paris, about an American guy living there, lonely and kind of depressed in the rainy, cold winter. It kinda resonated with me. But it is actually a believable, weird fantasy about an ancient war between Mirrors, or the Master of Mirrors, more accurately, and the King in the Window over people's souls. It is really a kids book, preposterous and silly, but I guess I am always looking for spiritual deep stuff...

Have you ever wondered in a passing, bored thought, (you know what I'm talking about, those ones that are really random and only make sense to you, But are fascinating nonetheless, and you never voice them or think of them again, you just use them as a kind of pastime) at the difference between irony and sarcasm? What about the difference between a simile and a metaphor? Have you ever thought of what a mirror has in common with irony, and what a window has in common with metaphor? Well, I hadn't either, not even in one of my bored thoughts. Well, let me give you 'a look through the window of my soul' if you will, and perhaps you will catch a glimpse what I'm talking about. The Master of Mirrors stole people's souls as they looked into mirrors in everyday life. When you look into a mirror, everything is reversed. When you say something sarcastic, you are saying the reverse of a truth; and when you add time, it is ironic. For example, if I said, "You just have your head in the clouds" and then in a few years you got your pilots license and really did have your head in the clouds, that would be ironic. These are the medium of mirrors - reversed truth, irony and sarcasm. Irony doesn't have much to do with wisdom, only wit. Now, for the medium of windows. A simile is when you say one thing IS another. A metaphor is when you just describe something using the example of something else. For instance, if I said there is a confused monkey sitting at this computer, it would be a metaphor, but if I said you looked like a confused monkey, it would be a simile. I know that is just a humorous metaphor, but when you hear a real one, somehow it makes you (or at least me...) think of, well, something more. It isn't flat, like sarcasm, but descriptive while making your mind do something it hasn't before. A metaphor is true rhetoric, and metaphors can take true wisdom, not simply a wit.

Now. What do windows and mirrors and all this stuff really have to do with souls? Well, think for a minute of sometime when you looked through a window, and were truly longing for something. Maybe you've looked through a window, not really seeing what was on the other side... I know I've spent time longing for things while I was looking out a window, though they weren't really touchable things. A window shows multiple views. You can see your reflection, or you can look beyond that to see the world; a beautiful meadow, a budding tree, snow falling, people going about their lives. You see yourself...But somehow, you see, more. And when you look at a mirror, all you see is a harsh, true, but reversed and flat image of yourself. The book said something that is still floating around in my mind, like a fragrance that brings back indescribable memories. It said that longing is what keeps your soul alive. It's what keeps a fire inside of you, a spark in your eyes, and keeps you getting out of bed every morning. When you look at a mirror for too long, your fire goes out, your longing for...more, goes away, swallowed by your self. At least, that's what happened in the book...
(This is what I think about on long walks by myself in the cold on vacation.)

Anyway I thought it was interesting, since I am a philologist, after all. I don't feel that I explained that adequately, because the book was really the profound thing, not my own thoughts. And it doesn't always work out so well when I try to communicate even my thoughts, anyway... Ah well. Tell me if any of that made sense, or if it was just ignatum ad ignatius...

Happy New Year!! It is 40 minutes past midnight in Austin but 20 til here in Pagosa Springs.

This has been the best year of my life. I don't know how I can possibly top this year, but I am psyked out of my mind for next year anyways!! God is so cool, I know he has a way more awesome story for my life than I coul ever imagine. That ROCKS! Like, I will probably never tell the story like I imagine it now, "the year of 2006 was the best year imaginable, and it set the course for my life and I never had a year so incredibly cool. Heck yes, it was so sweet and tight and awesome!!" I see myself telling my grandkids that when I am like, 82 and all those hip adjectives will be so, so out of date that it will just be wrong to say them. And they will look at all the awesome pictures of me and my rockin' pals and be like, woah, how the HECK did they go out in public?!...

Yep, the future is a sweet thing when you're where I'm at. Sometimes the place I'm at is at a loss for words. Or at the end of my energy and ready for bed. I hope I get over this SLEEP SLEEP MUST HAVE MORE SLEE.....zzzzzzzZZZZZ phase in 2007...

Nighty night everyone. Miss ya, wish I was there in Austin with you, see you next Sunday and will try to write the post I've been steeping for a while now before I leave. Out.