I Totally Forgot!

Wow! Take a look at this! I had completely forgotten about this blog. Funny how time flies. Anyway . . . what is a blog for? Advertising? Entertainment? I'll try my best to fulfill these purposes.

So here goes . . . Goooo buuuy boooooks....nooooow. Good?

Hopefully that got to some of you.

Seriously, reading has so many benefits. Not only is it entertaining and fun, it can actually make you smarter! Do you know that people who read more usually get better grades in school? So go read. Now. Reading also expands vocabulary and teaches you life lessons. Without books, where would our civilization be? Nowhere.

Now, I read a lot, but most of my friends don't. I've been encouraging them to read, and many of them have tried. To their surprise, they all enjoyed it!

So if you don't read often, then just try it and pick up a good book. If you do read, then keep it up!

Reading is the best!

What Are Your Children Watching?

"Mom, Mom," my four-year-old said in my face last week. I strained to open my eyes, coming reluctantly from a deep sleep. "What?"

She looked at me with a completely straight face. "I found a Mimzy." She showed me a pink bunny she'd received in her basket last April, nearly seven months ago. Mimzy is the name of the stuffed bunny in a show we'd watched the night before, The Last Mimzy. The little girl in the movie looks a lot like my child, long brown hair and all, but with the next sentence the connection became surreal.

"Mommy, Mimzy's going to die . . ." Dramatic pause. Just like the girl in the movie when she told her parents her Mimzy, an advanced technological device from the future, was dying. I was instantly awake. I mean, this was weird. Had this family friendly movie, somehow damaged my daughter? A tremor of illogical fear rolled through me.

". . . if she doesn't get pancakes," my daughter concluded, reminding me in a instant that it was Sunday morning, pancake day, and that I'd already slept until ten. I laughed outloud--belly-laughed. She was quite the little actress. (Boy, I'm not looking forward to her turning fifteen).

My laughing didn't amuse her for long. "Hurry, Mom. She needs pancakes now, or she's going to die!" Nothing for it but to mix up a batch of blueberries pancakes, only instead of spelling out my daughter's name with the batter, she wanted me to spell Mimzy. By the time the pancakes were ready for consumption, she'd warned me so many times that Mimzy was dying, that I was quite sick of hearing it and actually started wishing that Mimzy WOULD die.

Oh, wait. Mimzy's a stuffed animal.

That thing goes practically everywhere with her now. I've already had to fix the thread on the mouth. Seven months of complet and utter neglect and now the bunny is center stage. The power of film. I'm really glad she's mimicking The Last Mimzy instead of films like John Tucker Must Die. My sixteen-year-old got this second film to show at her birthday party, but I had to stop it in front of a room full of teenagers. What a utter piece of dirty garbage. Sadly two of the girls had already seen it, and they saw absolutely nothing wrong.

Parents, do you know what your children are watching?

Be Positive

I decided to look to check in on this website, and I realized that no one has written in a while. Well, actually I haven't written at all, so I guess it's my turn. Blogging is a first for me, so I don't really know what to write. I got this email a while ago. It is called the Positive Side of Life:

*Living on Earth is expensive, but it does include a free trip around the sun every year.
*Birthdays are good for you; the more you have, the longer you live
*Happiness comes through doors you didn't even know you left open.
* Ever notice that the people who are late are often much jollier than the people who have to wait for them?
*If Wal-Mart is lowering prices every day, how come nothing is free yet?
*You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
*Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened.
*We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors....but they all exist very nicely in the same box.
*A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Have a nice day and look for the best in everything!

A Hairy Consequence

A few weeks ago, I told my hairdresser I wanted my normal light brown/dark blonde color back. I've been highlighting for years, and I wanted to go more natural. The next thing I know, I'm walking out of the salon with dark, dark brown hair with reddish highlights. So dark, it’s almost black. Beautiful color, but sooooo not me. I've NEVER had such dark hair. It was darker than every one of my children! My family was shocked. My four-year-old thought it was ugly. My fifteen-year-old said, "Mom, it's not ugly, it's just not pretty." My seven-year-old said, "That's scary. Change it back!" Then he and his brother would scream and pretend to faint on the ground every time they saw me. (Thanks for the support, kids.)

Two of my teens said absolutely nothing. (They’re the ones who love me—just kidding.)

But it did grow on us a little. Soon my four-year-old said she loved it because it was just like hers. (It was much darker!) My fifteen-year-old changed her evaluation to, "It's not half bad," and I even liked it marginally better. The seven-year-old, however, was still true to the faith and said it was scary and he threw himself on the ground and scream every time I passed by.

I couldn't take it very longer. Three days after the first dyeing, my hairdresser (truly a sweet person) put in more highlights. But when I looked into the mirror, all I saw was GRAY! I'm thinking, "No way! This is insane. I've aged forty years." Dark, dark hair, with highlights throughout the entire thing. Yep, gray. I can't believe my eyes! When she sees my reaction, she throws on a bleaching product and finally gets something vaguely near my originally weaved color. I grabbe my laptop and ran from the place before anything worse happened, not really caring that the color was not in any dictionary on this earth, or probably in this universe.

Frankly, I looked a bit striped. And since then every day is a bad hair day. Honestly, I can't do anything with it! I planned to cut it all off in January and start over, but it hasn’t grown long enough. Instead, I’m going to have to go back and try another color. What a disaster!

But this got me thinking how important it is in life that we associate with people who share our values. Friends have a huge influence on your daily choices, especially if you're a teen. Everyone hated my hair at first just like we all hate the idea of sin. But as the days wore on and we were in close proximity, my family mostly became accustomed to my new look. It became normal. If we embrace friends who aren't good examples, or who actively put down our values, our ability to see sin fades. Rather, it becomes normal. Over time a girl might think, “So-and-so doesn't think it's wrong to date before she's sixteen, so maybe it's not that big a deal.” “Or, sneaking out of the house to meet so-and-so isn't that big a thing. We won't be doing anything bad.” Her perception changed. Is dating before sixteen still a big deal? Is sneaking out absolutely dangerous. YES! The counsel hasn't changed, just the girl's perception because of her association with someone who doesn't respect her values. Truths are eternal. It's only the people who change.

Now I can change my hair relatively easy, but the effects of sin are much more difficult to overcome. So it’s up to each of us to decide what kind of friends we will choose and what kind of friend we’ll be.

Inspiration from an email forward!!

I just came back from a hike with my young womens group! One of the leader's boys went with us and I raced him to the top and to the bottom. We were the first ones up and down! :P It was really fun.
Well, we're not sure if we're going to move into that house I talked about in my last entry. The people don't want to wait for us to sell our house before we buy theirs! They also have another potential buyer. An agent. But they have given us two weeks--if we sell our house before then, we can buy the other one. I hope we do. I've finally come to terms about moving, and that is the house I want!
So, for my inspirational thought of the week, I am just copy and pasting two things I got in forwards that I really liked and were totally true.

Every night, someone thinks about you before they go to sleep.
At least fifteen people in this world love you.
The only reason someone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.
There are at least two people in this world that would die for you.
You mean the world to someone.
Someone that you don't even know exists loves you.
When you make the biggest mistake ever, someone good comes from it.
When you think the world has turned its back on you, take a look.
Remember the compliments you've received; Forget the rude remarks.


A father wanted to read a magazine but was being bothered by his little girl, Shelby. She wanted to know what the United States looked like. Finally, he tore a sheet out of his new magazine on which was printed the map of the country. Tearing it into small pieces, he gave it to Shelby, and said, "Go into the other room and see if you can put this together. This will show you our whole country today."
After a few minutes, Shelby returned and handed him the map, correctly fitted and taped together. The father was surprised and asked how she had finished so quickly. "Oh," she said, "on the other side of the paper is a picture of Jesus. When I got all of Jesus back where He belonged, then our country just came together."

Change

We think we've found the house we are going to move into! It is AMAZING! It has a pool, hot tub, huge yard with a volloyball net and a basketball hoop on the driveway. I just really like it. I am going to have to switch high school though, which I wish I didn't have to, but my parents said they couldn't find a house big enough in my current high school area. I actually do know some people from grade school who go to the school I will be going to this year though, so I guess it will be alright. And it's not too far away from my house now. My room is pink and green, which I am going to have to repaint, but my friend Mandy and I wanted to redecorate our rooms together anyway, so I guess it's for the better. We're going to get a horse and board it with this place across the street and a bit for about 150 dollars a month. I'm going to try and get a job there :P.

I don't actually have anything awing or inspiring to write today, just that I'm trying to write once a week and I forgot to on Wednesday. :O haha. Well . . . I found this really funny quote on the internet the other day. It says: "Work. Yeah, I tried that once. The worst seven minutes of my life!" I don't remember who it was by though.

So I guess changing houses isn't really going to be so bad after all. I was making a big deal out of it before and kind of being a brat to my parents and .... well yeah. I still would rather prefer staying in our current house, but since I can't, this new house is going to be pretty great. My friend all don't live too far away, and I will soon be old enough to drive . . . basically it will actually be a change for the better except I'll still be a fan of my old school football teams and all! I like the actual house and yard better and I like that we're getting horses, just not that I will have to go to a different school. So my inspirational message for the day is going to be DON'T BE AFRAID OF CHANGE. It can be really scary (and usually is for me), but sometimes it's actually for the better. So don't be afraid to adjust your life to make yourself or others happier.

I'm going to connect this with the gospel -- we're encouraged to have friends who have our same values, to wear modest clothing, to speak with clean language, and such. So, to connect this with change, don't ever be afraid to change one of these aspects in your life because you're afraid of not being liked, of fitting in, being popular, etc. For one, those things are all temporary, and when you get older, they're not going to matter (ahaha just as I wrote that the song High School Never Ends by Bowing for Soup ran through my head :P). And also, those it may seem at first that people aren't going think so highly of you if you don't act. . . skanky . . . or hip or . . . whatever else! . . . that's not true. As a general rule, you will be more respected if you have higher values. And remember, the only reason someone would hate you is because they want to be just like you! (I read that in an e-mail once....:P).... well buh bye for now!

Portugal And Such

Wow-- so much has happened since I last got on here! I ended up quitting Cold Stone because of the locoation. I miss it! I also found out just before the school year ended that I still have to take one more math class next year before I'll be finished, because the class I took this year only counted as college credit, not high school. Then school ended and my family went off to Portugal to visit my portugese grandma on my dad's side for a month. I think it was wayyyy too long to be gone. Not only was I missing America and all my friends, but also my dryer and internet! They had internet cafes there with a wireless connection for customers, but you usually couldn't use them unless you brought your own laptop, which I don't have, and I just got tired of having to take the extra time hanging my clothes up to dry. I'm a bit lazy :P.

We went to the beach a lot and I had more allergy attacks than I can count! I'm really tan now though, haha. A couple days after we got back myparents put a "For Sale" sign up in front of our house and made us all clean our rooms and such so she could take pictures. I don't want to move, but it can't be helped. My mom says we won't be moving more than about fifteen minutes away from where we are now, because we need to stay near where my dad works and my little siblings' private school. I'm hoping I won't have to change schools. Plus, it's going to be a pain taking off all the glow-in-the-dark stars off my ceiling :S.

So just one thing I liked about Portugal was how easy it was to get ready in the morning. Seriously! At first, I just didn't want to be there, so I wasn't caring about how I looked and such, but when we went to church for the first time, I got ready and did my hair and make up all nicely . . . .and then when we got there, no girls were wearing make up at all! So it just made me think, I look pretty much like a portugese native, so why am I spending all this time making my face fake when they aren't and still look beautiful? I didn't wear make up the rest of the trip. When we got home, I started putting on my regular make up when getting ready in the morning, and found I hated how it looked. I started trying new styles and such, but now I just feel most comfortable plain, and I like that feeling. All my friends and other people I care about, don't care whether or not I am wearing make up or not, so what's the point in putting it on? They still love me not matter what! It was just a lesson I'm glad I learned.

The most beautiful girl is one who's just woken up from bed and is all crappy looking. It doesn't matter if you don't have dark lashes or big lips, you are still a GORGEOUS daughter of God and don't EVER let anyone tell you otherwise! Anyone who ever makes you feel like you have to dress up or be someone else to be good enough is never worth your time. All the people who care about you in your life will still care about you even when you're not dressed up, so just make sure that's never your number one priority in life. Yea, sometimes it's fun, but it shouldn't be all-important. And I'm glad I got to learn that lesson :). Until next post!