Head in the Clouds

Reasons to be Thankful

2011-11-23T21:10:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving.

A vision of family gathered around a table loaded with delectable foods most certainly comes to mind at that word. Family and fun times are very good reasons indeed to be thankful. Many other things have occured over the months since I last blogged that I'm thankful for and below is a brief overview.

(Sorry it's been so long since last post!)

I am thankful for the family and friends God has blessed me with and the fantastic times I always have with them.
I'm thankful for the opportunity I had recently serving at an organization called Voice of the Martyrs.
While studying philosophy this year in World View 3, I've realized how there's no struggle for the Christian to find answers to the questions philosophers have failed to answer on their own. I'm most thankful that Christ gives value and purpose to our lives!
I'm very thankful that I'm doing a science this year that I enjoy learning about- Anatomy and Physiology.
I'm oh-so-thankful that I can now have sugar again! :D
I'm thankful for the fun times I have with my sister Madison, staying up late talking and laughing and reading Sherlock Holmes stories aloud in British accents.
I'm thankful for all the blessings, large and small, God has poured into my life this year.
And lastly, I'm thankful for you, who took the time out of your day to read a tad about my life. :)

Hope you and yours have a very blessed Thanksgiving this year!

Pearly Whites

2011-08-23T17:01:00.000-07:00

I believe most girls, whether secretly or openly, want pearly whites. And I recently bought bright red lipstick, and just letting you know, that is not a flattering color when your teeth happen to be a little less than snow-white… So when I saw we had run out of the Crest whiteners, I slightly freaked out. Instead of waiting until the next time we went to the store, I took matters into my own hands and looked up a natural way of whitening my teeth.

Sidenote: Personally, I’m sick of the chemical route of whitening my teeth, since it always results in me barely being able to breathe because my gums are that sensitive afterwards. And when I accidentally and inevitably swallow while the whitening strips are in, it burns my throat terribly. Surely that isn’t healthy… Alright, I’m down from my pulpit. ;)

In my search, I found this somewhat delicious and, I believe, darling way of whitening your teeth. (Yes, I just used the word darling to describe whitening teeth…) It’s a fast, cheap, easy and natural way of whitening teeth.
What you shall need:
~3 ripe strawberries (the real recipe calls for 3 to 6 strawberries. I used 4 and had an overabundance of puree…How big do they think our teeth are?! Sheesh…)

~ A blender

~ A bowl

~ Baking soda

~ Cream of tartar

~ Water

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Puree 3 ripe strawberries in a blender then place in a small bowl.

2. Apply puree to your teeth with a toothbrush or a cosmetic brush. The puree should be painted on rather than brushed on. (personally I think they only said paint it on because it makes it seem more artsy and fun sounding.)

3. Make a mixture of 1 tsp. of baking soda, 1 tsp. of cream of tartar, and 1 cup of water. Swish the mixture around in your mouth and then spit it out.

4. Brush your teeth with 1 tsp. of baking soda on a toothbrush.

5. Rinse thoroughly with cold water.

Then it came with a wonderful WARNING sign that always worries you and makes you wonder how safe it really was….

WARNING: Brush your teeth well after each strawberry treatment. The whitening ingredient- malic acid- in the strawberries along with the sugar can cause cavities if left on for too long. Limit the treatment to once per week. (So watch out.)
While doing this, I was slap happy because of the beautiful color the pureed strawberries were, and it was fairly fun “painting” my teeth with strawberries, and my teeth really were whiter afterwards.

I have a few extra warnings for you.

Be prepared about the mixture of cream of tartar and baking soda…it scared me nearly half to death when it began to fizz like some science experiment. I really questioned how safe this whitening endeavor was. But I plowed ahead and I made it out alright.

Be sure you shut your mouth when you’re brushing your teeth with the baking soda. Slobber goes everywhere. You can thank me in advance because no one warned me, so you can imagine how unglamorous THAT was.

Baking soda tastes a lot worse then you think it will. For reals.

And my last warning: you might consider setting aside the rest of that strawberry puree and saving it for after brushing your teeth with that baking soda. Helps to get rid of that horrid taste if you eat some, or so I thought. And who could resist such pink loveliness that tastes good! ;)
After all said and done, I found this to be an effective and unique way of whitening your teeth and thought it would be fun to share.

The Importance of being Earnest

2011-08-20T15:02:00.000-07:00

My time has not really been my own during July and thus far into August. This summer has been the busiest I have yet lived, and I truly believe that. The JOY Drama Group was together again most of this summer to put on a benefit play for the storm-leveled Stained Glass Theater in Joplin, Mo. All proceeds and donations went to the theater group and their ministry.

All throughout July were the rehearsals for The Importance of being Earnest, between which family were staying over at our house different weekends, we were trying to visit family and friends before the school year begins, not to mention trying to squeeze in math and French and a few other school subjects that still need finishing up…The first week in August was tech week.

Friday, the fifth, was our first performance.

Saturday was a farewell party to some friends of mine who are heading off to college. Sunday was another performance at the Artisan Theater, which is “in the round”. We had never performed in the round before, neither have we used microphones before, so it was a very new experience.

This is our cast, crew and director.

Tuesday last, our drama group headed up to Joplin, Missouri, where we volunteered at a Mt. Hope church. On the way there we had a memorable time, one of our friends had a 5-hour energy, so you can imagine he was a bit hyper. It was altogether a hilarious time!

There, we helped clean the church since they’ve had thousands of volunteers staying at the church all throughout summer. After cleaning the church, we helped them organize the sheds and trailers containing supplies donated to the distribution center. It was such fun, because we got pretty close to the other volunteers at the church. They would joke around with us, and us with them. It was a blast! Rebecca and I were given charge over organizing the baby supplies.

It was a mess -to be sure- but between us and the amazing assistance of our other wonderful friends, we were able to get it perfectly organized. At some points before it was organized, we thought we were going to drown in baby diapers…I even had dreams about baby diapers if that tells you anything about how many there were.

Here's our group with a few other volunteers we became friends with.

Every evening after working all day, we would meet the STGJ group and do something fun. We went for a frozen yogurt run, one night we watched some cartoons on a big reel movie projector, and we bowling. Since we all got on so well, it was as if we had known them for ages! We made wonderful friends, and were very loath to part with them Friday.

Last Friday was our final performance of The Importance of Being Earnest, and before the show we got our usual prayer circle, but this time, some of the SGTJ people prayed with us. It was a very … I really cannot find the right word to describe it. Humbling? Aw-inspiring? These people that we had been praying for all throughout summer, and for whom we had been putting on this production for, were praying with us, and for us. And we all had such a strong common bond; a love for Jesus, and love for the arts.
The play was a success. Beforehand we presented the SGTJ with a check for the money which had been raised for them. It was a joy bringing laughter to the audience. To hear these people, whose lives had been altered by the May 22nd tornado, laughing was the completion of all we had worked for over the past month. Backstage, we were slap-happy. It was a blast and a very neat experience.
After the play, we loaded up our set and costumes for the last time and socialized briefly with our new-found friends before we had to leave. Once they rebuild their theater, we are going to get our drama group together to watch their first production in the new location! They even mentioned coming down here to watch one of our plays!
The whole thing was a very unique experience and I loved every minute of it, even the sweaty exhausting work. Lol. I felt like I could have stayed for a month in Joplin, and almost wish we could have. Although it felt like we had been gone from home for a month, when we were there in Joplin the time went by so quickly. Good friends, hard work, funny happenings, and helping out is very satisfying. This was my first mission trip and I loved it so much I'm now looking forward to a next mission trip!
On the morning of our performance, one of the volunteers at the church came up with a Bible and showed us a verse he had found.

Jeremiah 29:13 (NLT)

“If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me.”

How awesome is that?! So that’s the importance of being earnest, folks; looking for the Lord in earnest!

The Caveman Diet and Attempts at Cookery

2011-07-11T17:02:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe I have not yet blogged about something very big in my life that happened a few months ago! Well, to spare you boredom, I will be brief. I had my blood tested for food allergies, and found out I'm allergic to 32 foods. Yes, you read that right. The big allergies are wheat, gluten, eggs, yeast, and sugar (which eliminates almost everything delicious since I'm pretty much addicted to bready things and sugary things). The other things are superfluous, except for blueberries and citrus fruits. Hopefully it's only temporary and I'll gradually be able to eat real food again. These food allergies make finding "easy" dinners next to impossible.

By now I mostly know what I can have for all my meals, its just coming up with ideas for snacks and sweet things that stump me. So I have been trying allergy-free recipes every now and then. Looking online for gluten-free, sugar-free, egg-free recipes, I came across what is called "the Caveman Diet". Apparently that is what my kind of diet is called. Its more formally called the Paleo diet, but I'm sticking with Caveman diet as it makes me laugh.

The first Caveman recipe I tried was called something like Caramel Cinnamon Walnut Clusters. There wasn't anything caramel-like about it. When you first popped it in your mouth, it tasted really good, but when you swallowed it, it was like a freight train of cinnamon hitting your mouth. They really should have called it Cinnamon Explosion.

Next thing I tried was Banana-Nut ice cream, sweetened with honey and maple syrup. Surprisingly, it was pretty good. After that was the caramel attempt, which ended up in burnt caramel which tastes utterly disgusting...

The best thing I've made so far are the Pumpkin Cookies. Oh heavens! You have to try it! The recipe is originally gluten free, but I replaced the eggs and sugar with what I can have.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies

-3/4 cup shortening

-2 eggs (replace with flax gel)

{to make flax gel, stir 1tablespoon flax meal into 3tablespoons warm water; let sit for 10 minutes or until thickened, enough to replace 1 egg}

-1 cup canned pumpkin

-1 tsp vanilla

- 1 cup sugar(or 3/4 cup grade B maple syrup)

- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda

- 1 1/2 tsp baking power

- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

- 1 1/4 cup rice flour

- 3/4 cup potato starch

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325 degree f. Cream together shortening, eggs, pumpkin, vanilla and sugar. Add baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, rice flour, and potato starch. Mix well. Spoon out on cookie sheet (greased lightly) about the size of a walnut. Bake for about 15 minutes.

And oh my goodness, prepare yourself for happiness.

When making these I didn't realize that it's best to use grade b maple syrup instead of grade a, since grade b is sweeter. Thus, they weren't very sweet and ended up more like pumpkin biscuits instead of cookies. Despite that, they were really scrumptious!

Oh, and fair warning- do not eat or smell the dough. You will become disappointed in your work of art and become nauseated. Trust me.

Happy Summer Day

2011-06-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my 17th Birthday. It was the perfect lazy summer day/Birthday. We had waffles with blackberries for breakfast, and we made a fruit pizza for dessert later that evening. While the crust was baking, we sang enthusiastically and I taught my Mother how to swing dance. My sister joined us then and we were all swing dancing together. Afterwards, Mother and I looked through a fun magazine. Once my Dad got home from work, we went out to eat at Uncle Julio's (the BEST Mexian resturant ever!), then came back home and watched the movie Beastly. It was such a fabulous day!

A Camping We Will Go!

2011-06-03T20:58:00.000-07:00

Just got back from my first, yes, FIRST camping trip! Sad that I'm nearly 17 and this was my first time to REALLY camp. I don't call sleeping out in a tent in a backyard real camping...

Anyways, our amazing friends the Archers invited me and Maddy to Lake Mineral Wells, and we jumped at the chance! All 11 of us crammed into their car and headed off. Once there, we swam nearly 2 miles (who can believe it) altogether by swimming to and from the other side of the lake. When Katie, Maddy and I were about to head off back to our camp site as we were on the opposite side of the lake, I saw a snake head sticking up out of the water. It was WAY too close for comfort. We yelled to the boys to defend themselves or follow us as we fled in terror. Later, we figured out that it was a water moccasin. Talk about FRIGHTENING!

When we got back, we were all exhausted, in an energetic sort of way, if that makes any sense at all. After supper we sat around the fire and enjoyed each other's company. We sang a few songs, listened to the guys play their guitars, and Katie and Maddy play their ukuleles. A friendly raccoon came up every now and then around the edges of the firelight. When I first saw it, I nearly freaked out, but calmed down when I saw it wasn't leaping at me to eat me. We all dubbed the raccoon Sir (yes, we knighted it) Maximilian Arthur Rupert III. As we girls attempted to star gaze, we were rudely interrupted by a "wild animal" thrashing about in the bushes. It SCARED the living daylights out of us but it turned out to be the younger guys trying to scare us. It worked.
Today we tried to wake up early to see the sunrise...yeah, that didn't work out like we planned. After a late breakfast and packing up camp, we headed off to a different part of the lake where they were renting canoes and kayaks. Between the 9 kids, we split 2 canoes and 1 kayak. We had so much fun! We rowed over to a darling little island in the lake, explored that, found a nest with a huge egg in it, a teeny-tiny turtle, and another snake. After four hours of canoeing, swimming and the like, we packed up and headed home.

A most delightful first camping experience, wouldn't you think?

Photos from Paradise

2011-05-30T21:38:00.000-07:00

Ft. Walton, Florida

Vicksburg National Military Park, Mississippi

Stories from the Beach

2011-05-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

Well, we're finally back home. Each day this past week was more full of adventure then the day before, and boy did I enjoy it! I sure wish we had a picture for every time something hilariously epic happened to me and my sister this week though. Like the the other day when Maddy and I were straggling towards the shore, trying to avoid large waves, and one unsuspecting wave slams into me, and I, in turn, accidentally slammed into Maddy. We nearly collapsed on the shore, from the sudden lack of balance and from laughter. Or the time I decided to wade out to a sandbar when we were in our everyday clothes, and I took a step in the wrong direction and splashed into water hip deep, soaking myself. Or the time Maddy and I were in one of the elevators and right before getting to our level, it made a horrifying sound like the cable was straining and the elevator jerked. You can be sure Maddy and I praised the Lord oh-so-sincerely when the doors opened onto our floor and we made it out alive. Or when Maddy squished into the bottom bunk with me, made each other laugh so hard we were crying and our Dad had to get onto us for being too loud, and that made it even harder not to giggle. Or the time...well, you get the point. :)

Thursday we armed ourselves with inner tubes, sunscreen, and shades as we ran to the emerald sea. As we struggled passed the onslaught of waves to deeper, calmer waters, we noticed that the algae was rampant...eeeewww. It was like we were swimming in Kumbacha (an algea- filled, natural drink some good friends of mine like...I have no idea why...lol) or some primordial soup.

The sea-soup grossed me out pretty bad, but then I made myself ignore it. After one particularly large wave slammed us, I let out a screech, which unfortunately sounded just like a seagull. Apparently, some little kids noticed too, because on shore they were staring at me, heads cocked to one side, as if contemplating what on EARTH I was.

I can see it now...

A small child turns to it's father, pointing at me, asking, "Dad, what was that?!" The dad is thinking, looks like a girl, but sounds like a seagull...hmm... "Well, I believe that thing is called a Morgan. Stay clear from it kids, it could be dangerous."

Oh heavens.

Suddenly, I look down and I am surrounded by that slime. I could have ignored it, like I did earlier. I should have ignored it, but my imagination went berserk. Here is a glimpse into my mind at that moment. The slime was really a cloud hiding some evil creature from the deep! The cloud of slime wrapped around me, about to enfold me in its embrace of death and the monster-from-the-deep was about to grab my legs and yank me under the waves and...I lost it and swam away FAST, faster than I ever have before ( I kid you not), leaving my poor sister to fend for herself against imaginary creatures of the deep.

Friday the waves were "dangerous", according to the red flag the lifeguards put up. A red flag means a strong current and/or large waves. Both in this case and boy was it fun! Since it was our last day at the beach, Maddy and I decided to make the most of it. We built a drizzle castle and got help decorating it by two bitty girls. After waving goodbye to our new little friends and our "feather castle", we headed off to swim. At one point I heard Maddy screaming. I whirled around expecting her to be mauled by a shark, but instead I see her hurdling towards me on her pink inner tube, on top of a colossal wave. Before she slammed into me I managed little else but a loud holler. Saltwater rushed up my nose and mouth, knocked off my sunglasses and flipped right me off that inner tube. Lucky for me I grabbed my sunglasses with one hand and with the other managed to snag the inner tube before it was washed away. Oh the delightful sensation of salt water up your nose...

Later, a veil of clouds had obscured the sun, and the wind picked up, creating even larger waves. That was the most fun! We were the only ones out there swimming for a long time. We would do different things with each humongous wave that came our way. Sometimes we would fling ourselves at it, and then be pummeled back by the wave. Sometimes if it was too large, or not large enough, we would dive into it. Sometimes Maddy would fling herself backwards and do a flip inside the wave. We had so much fun. So we decided to just exit the easy way. We tried our best to avoid the huge waves while attempting to get to shore, but getting pummeled was inevitable. I was slammed so hard, I could NOT, for the life of me, get back up, so I was momentarily tossed around by the waves. The only redeeming factor of such an unladylike exit was that we got wonderful exfoliation from the sand we SMASHED into. *ahem*

Yesterday as we were headed home, to our delight we stopped by the Vicksburg National Military Park, in Mississippi. Oh was it beautiful there! After leaving, our Dad was super sweet and drove us around historic downtown Vicksburg, where all the old, fabulous houses are. Mother, Maddy and I couldn't stop oohing and ahhing at all the old homes. One of the oldest we got a glimpse of was from 1853! If you ever happen to pass by there, you HAVE to go and look around at everything! After that fun excursion, we got terribly lost on the small backroads. That made it even more exciting! lol. Eventually, we found our way again, and here we are, home at last. I will be posting the pictures hopefully sometime tomorrow. :)

So Summer Begins

2011-05-24T20:17:00.000-07:00

The bright and hot sun, sand between your toes, adventures abounding, briny water, cool breezes, roaring waves pounding the surf, ukulele to be strummed, songs to be sung ..where on earth could this be? FLORIDA! :D

Yes, I am here. The 13 hour drive is definitely worth it. Though we certainly had a time getting here! To make the drive go by faster this year, my Mother read aloud The Help to us. We were about an hour from our destination, mom reading from the book again, and we were so enthralled in the plot of the book that we missed our exit! We realized it WAY too late, so it took us an extra hour. Then we got stuck in traffic for about two more hours. God obviously had another plan for us than being on time...

Finally arrived and began unloading our car. We couldn’t find a trolley-thing on our level to put the heavy bags on, so Dad went off looking for one, Mom was at the car getting things out, and Maddy and I had already lugged things in the condo room. I was waiting for Maddy so we could get back to the car, and suddenly a LOUD screech rang in our room. I looked about confusedly, and the same noise rang again. And again. That’s when I realized HECK, THAT'S THE FIRE ALARM!! I mean, really? Are you kidding me? We just got here and the building and everything is going to burn up?! I opened our room door to find that whole building’s alarms were going off and people were pouring out of the rooms. I yelled at Maddy to get the room key. She took her precious time and I’m like HURRY UP BEFORE WE DIE! Turns out it was some problem with the fire sprinklers going off in room 613. (Bad luck anyone? lol) Once everything was settled, Maddy and I passed a firefighter with movie-star good looks, who thankfully had no fires to fight. Talk about an eventful beginning to our vacation!

After unpacking, we headed down to the beach and enjoyed the lovely evening. That’s my favorite time to be on the beach. It’s not too bright or hot, there’s a cool breeze sweeping across the beach, the waves crash against the sand, and there aren't gobs of people. Talk about relaxing!

Saturday evening was when we first got here. Surprisingly and oh-so-thankfully, I have not gotten a head-to-toe, red-as-a-lobster burn as I usually do. (Excluding my feet and one ear)

Here are a few pictures from last year, and the year before. Same beach, same lovely waters!

We call him Ol' Salty. Yes, that is a genuine pipe. Isn't that FABULOUS?!

Here is the grand view.

~Wish you were here~

Farewell to Drama....For Now

2011-05-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

This last Saturday was the ending performance of JOY Christian Academy's production of Music Man Jr. It was bittersweet. Excited about no more stress of having to sing solos in front of crowds (scary), but sad because I'm going to miss my friends terribly. The same group won't ever be together again because many of us are going separate ways. But we still all had a fabulous time together! Before each and every performance we prayed, sang the Doxology, and then talked until we had to head off to our places. It was such a wonderful time, like a youth group is supposed to be, except it was a drama group.

One of the most memorable times would have to be the Elevator Episode. Rebecca Roberts, three other friends of mine, and I got into this terribly old elevator (note, this building was built in the late 1800's or the early 1900's so the elevator -and everything else- is pretty darn old!) I had always been too scared to go in it, but with the post-performance excitement and a gaggle of friends, I decided to ride in it. Right before shutting the door, we read a plaque on the elevator wall that said the limit was 500 pounds. There were 5 of us...and I'm pretty darn sure all of us were over 100 pounds, just sayin'. But we (stupidly) didn't heed that warning, and just as the last crack of the first floor door disappeared, I commented, wouldn't that be horrible if the elevator got stuck! And what do you know?? The elevator stuck, right where the bottom of the 2nd story door was level with our eyes. We reached up and banged on it, yelling, hoping someone would hear, and you can be sure that Rebecca and I screamed, thinking for sure we would die there. Our other friends just laughed at us, while tyring to figure out what to do. Rebecca and I were pretty useless, hanging on to each other, almost in tears. Pathetic now that I think back on it, but then death seemed enevatable to our imaginations, which already lean towards the romantic/traumatic experiences. Even though the whole episode lasted four minutes at tops, it felt like a lifetime! After we made it out alive, my voice was hoarse from screaming. Apparently it was so loud backstage with everyone congratulating each other from a great show, that no one heard us screaming...just a tad alarming but thrilling to be sure! :)

So Saturday, after the last show, the whole cast and some wonderful friends who weren't even a part of drama pitched in to help "strike the set." Afterwards we headed off to Rebecca's house for a cast-party, where we tried to star gaze, but the lovely moon was so bright we could only see parts of constellations. So we mainly talked, some had their guitars and were singing, and after an hour or so, we set up music and began to swing dance! We danced until one in the morning before heading off home. Such a wonderful time!

Between tech week, the two weekends of performances, and trying to finish up the remainder of homework, I have been crazy busy!

Other things worth mentioning since last post:

Garden is still alive and flourishing! (who can believe it??)

Sister got a ukulele today and is already fabulous at playing it

Sliced my finger on a can of beans today...lovely

Just have to finish reading Communist Manifesto by Marx, The Law by Bastiat, and write a paper and I'm through with World View II!

And summer is almost here! :D Huzzah for fun times!

Herbs Part 2- Garden Galore!

2011-04-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday my family finally planted our garden. We're terribly late in planting it, but better late than never. Here are before and after pictures of my herbs, and the vegetable/fruit garden.

This was when the rosemary was blooming.

Its obvious what this herb is.

Sweet Marjoram

The first kind of lavender we got

Sage

German Thyme (my favorite because its adorable tiny leaves...)

Sweet Basil

I know its not an herb, but I couldn't resist! I consider it my pet.

Irish Moss

Here's the second kind of lavender I got

Bell Pepper

Watermelon

Strawberries (note the little white flower!)

These we got a week later. I nearly died with happiness when I found these two below!

Rue

Apple Mint

(Earlier in the day before I found this, I sort of despaired of ever finding Apple Mint around where we lived and Viola! I found some shoved in a corner of the produce store, looking like they were about to die. But I saved one!)

Here's my apple mint planted on the back porch [I took your advice Grace! :) ]

This is the area I planned on planting some of my herbs, right by the overgrown rosemary bush, and the pitiful magnolia stick (not much of a tree is it...?)

Before

And After!

And this is part of the aboveground garden with the tomatoes, peppers, cucumber plant, squash, cantaloupe, watermelon and strawberry plants.

I'm thrilled to pieces about it and cannot wait until we actually get to eat something from the garden!

Because He Lives...

2011-04-24T07:58:00.000-07:00

Easter. When I hear the word, of course I think of how Jesus rose again and He is no longer in the grave! Then I think of being in Amarillo, my Nana singing Up From the Grave He Rose beautifully at Church and my Papa whistling it while reading the newspapers. This year we're staying at home for Easter, and my Dad's side of the family is coming over this afternoon! I'm so excited because I haven't seen them in a long time! I love it, no matter what side of the family we're with, we always laugh until we're in tears. Makes me think of Pride and Prejudice, when Elizabeth says "I dearly love to laugh" And then Bingley's hoity-toity sister replies, "A family trait I think." Indeed it is. And because Christ rose again, we have a greater cause for joy and laughter!

"For we know that since Christ was from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him. The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God." ~Romans 6:9-10

"...If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith...But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead....For since death came through a man, the Resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive." ~1 Corinthians 15: 14, 20, 21-22

Here's the Easter hymn I've grown up hearing since I was a baby. Besides a fun tune to sing with, this song's words mean so much to me.

~He Lives~

1. I serve a risen Savior, He's in the world today; I know that He is living, whatever men may say; I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer, And just the time I need Him He's always near.

He Lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!

He walks with me and talks with me, along life's narrow way.

He lives, He lives, salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart!

2. In all the world around me, I see His loving care, And tho' my heart grows weary, I never will despair;

I know that He is leading thro' all the stormy blast, The day of His appearing will come at last.

He Lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!

He walks with me and talks with me, along life's narrow way.

He lives, He lives, salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart!

3. Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian, lift up your voice and sing Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the King!

The Hope of all who seem Him, the Help of all who find, None other is so loving, so good and kind.

He Lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!

He walks with me and talks with me, along life's narrow way.

He lives, He lives, salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart!

Here's another hymn, I just love the words, like the one before. These are my favorite two verses of the hymn.

~Because He Lives~

1. God sent His Son, they called Him Jesus, He came to love, heal, and forgive; He lived and died to buy my pardon, An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because He lives I can face tomorrow, Because He lives all fear is gone;

Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living just because He lives.

3. And then one day I'll cross the river, I'll fight life's final war with pain; And then as death gives way to victory, I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives.

Because He lives I can face tomorrow, Because He lives all fear is gone;

Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living just because He lives.

4th Annual Cotillion

2011-04-13T19:32:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures from last Saturday! :)

My accessories

Friends

Madison diving into the picture at the last minute.

It was altogether a wonderful dance, and an even better time with friends.

Here are a few more pictures if you wish.

Dancing The Night Away

2011-04-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited I could burst!! Tonight is the 4th Annual Home school Cotillion of Joy Christian Academy! I found my dress last Saturday! It's a black dress that ties around the neck. Then it has a waistband at my natural waistline, from there the fabric flows down and reaches down to the middle of my knees. The skirt material is...how to describe it... permanently pressed pleats?? or crinkled material? It looks a lot prettier than I've currently described it, believe me, or I would certainly decline going to the dance!
The shoes, unfortunately, took a LOT longer to find than the dress. Altogether, we went to about 15 stores, really and truly that many stores. Not ONE had my dream shoes- bright blue, smaller heels, simple in the design- but I finally went for some red heels.I think every girl should own at least one pair of red high heels, so I think I should celebrate! :)

And what to do with my hair? After being persuaded by my mother and sister, my hair is going half up-half down. Last night we tried hot rollers, since I was aiming for a soft curl, not a Shirley Temple curl that most girls do. The hot rollers didn't work too well. One side of my head flipped lovely-ish, while the other side looked like my hair had been attacked by a raccoon. Although I don't know what that would really look like, I'm imagining that's pretty darn close to what my hair looked like last night. So I'm going to be ridiculous this evening and try the hot rollers again, even after the failure of last night. Cross your fingers AND toes for me-I'm going to need it. If my hair curls right, I'm going to either make a poof and leave some wisps down and curl them to frame my face, OR A twisty-braid thing that goes across the top with the rest of my hair down.
Then after the dance, Maddy, some other friends and I are going to spend the night at a friend's house. We're each going to buy a small pint of our favorite flavor of ice cream, bring movies, and stay in the camper they have so all of us girls can giggle and talk late. SUCH a fun time we're going to have!

I'll post pictures as soon as possible!

Bunny Drama

2011-04-01T20:34:00.000-07:00

Brace yourself, I'm about to be extravagant and post two blog posts in one day. Forgive me, but I probably won't have any time the rest of this week. :)

Since last semester, Madison and I have been helping our friend Rebecca out with the junior drama class. They're putting on The Velveteen Rabbit, a lovely tale of a toy rabbit and its little boy. Its been pretty fun, and this week has been tech week for them. Tonight was their first performance! To tell you the truth, I was more nervous for them than they were for themselves, haha. They did wonderfully.

My job as one of the backstage helpers is to hide behind the set and feed the little kids their lines if they forget them. I'm sure it looks hilarious, since I'm standing close to the cracks of the set walls, a script in hand and whispering, what appears to be, to the wall, hoping the younger kids can hear me. Most of the time they do, so that's a relief. I'm not looking ridiculous for no reason! : ) Another job of mine is to be one of the characters (a horse) neighs. The girl has to neigh in two different parts of the play, but she doesn't, hence, I have to neigh for her, haha. Tonight was the first time I ever neighed for the horse, and the first time was a fail (to be sure) but the second time I neighed with all my might, tyring to actually be heard. After my loud horse noise I nearly burst out laughing, and kept a hand over my mouth and with my other hand held my nose since I have a terrible habit of snorting while laughing... Rebecca has told me that if you hold your nose when laughing, it is impossible to snort. My other friends backstage quietly applauded me and were trying not to laugh hard either. It was VERY difficult to regain composure, but I finally managed to pick back up where the little kids were. Altogether, they did a wonderful job and the audience seemed to love it. One play down, one more to go, tomorrow. Gotta love it. Cross your fingers that their next play is even better! ;)

Oh, and I asked my dad later if he heard my neigh...negative. Drat.

New Favorite Movie

2011-04-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was Doctor's Day, and since my Dad's a doctor, of course we had to celebrate it. So we went to see The King's Speech. I LOVED it! It was wonderful! Besides my family, there were only four other people in the theater. I wasn't thrilled about the cussing, of course, but if that really did help King George VI get over his stammering, then I applaud for historical accuracy. Everything was absolutely breathtaking about the movie, and I got teary-eyed at the end. The Kings Speech has now been firmly established as one of my favorite movies.

Dear Jude

2011-03-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

My baby cousin Jude is 6 months old. He was just diagnosed with Neuroblastoma yesterday. Today is his surgery, at noon. Would you please keep him in your prayers? Please also keep his parents in your prayers. Praise the Lord that they caught the cancer early! That's encouraging! Its so surreal. You know it happens to other people's families, and you feel bad for them and keep them in your prayers, but you never think it could happen to your family, especially not to a baby cousin. We're in Amarillo right now and helping to take care of James, Jude's older brother. Hopefully we'll get to see Jude before he goes into surgery! Could you also pray that Jude's blood will clot so they can perform the surgery, as well as for the doctors?

The Handy Man and Driving

2011-03-16T21:20:00.000-07:00

Our Dad is very talented. He's a doctor most of the time, a handy man and carpenter the rest of the time. He can paint and is a wonderful photographer. He also is very patient and calm when instructing his daughters who tend to over-react while driving. ;)

So today Maddy and I decided to go with our Dad to help him put a lock on one of the doors at his office. To make story short, we weren't much help, except for finding ways to bring in more light (the part of the building we were in didn't have lights yet), bringing some noise to the really quiet building, trying to stable the door while our dad drilled and we vaccuumed. Other than that, we were no more help to him than our little yorkie would have. lol. But we had fun hanging out with our dad in the meantime.

Driving

Maddy has her permit now and Dad was very kind and let her drive there, and I was in the back seat of the truck praying REALLY hard that we'd actually make it to his office alive. Maddy has always been the reckless one, ever since we were tiny. She ran everywhere and always got herself hurt. Now she's the reckless driver. *gulp* I'm the cautious driver, just saying. I'm always terrified I'm too close to the other lane and so I normally wind up on the edge of the road. Maddy, on the other hand, practically drives in the wrong lane! To say the least, its terrifying. And I must say, I need to be more encouraging when she's driving since I normally say things like, "STOP DRIVING IN THE OPPOSITE LANE! I'M GOING TO BE HIT!" ahem.

Dream On

2011-03-14T18:19:00.000-07:00

~According to legend, if you rub yourself with the herb marjoram (or anoint yourself with it) before going to sleep, you'll supposedly dream of your future spouse. ~

That tickled me when I read it, so OF COURSE I had to try it. Just for fun though, since I don't believe in superstitions. And last night was the perfect time to try it, because it's no fun doing this kind of thing by yourself! My dear friend Katie spent the night, and I had mentioned it when she first came over, but with all our talking, watching Downton Abbey, and talking some more0 until 1:30 in the morning, I nearly forgot it. I was almost asleep when I suddenly remembered and probably scared Katie half to death by jumping upright and yelling "MARJORAM!" After scrambling for a light, I burst into Maddy's room, because my sister had to participate too! So after grabbing the herb from the kitchen, I came back to my room, where all of us perched on my bed and then found out it was ground marjoram, instead of marjoram leaves. Although we didn't know what to do with it at first, we decided to rub it on our arms since it was a powder. I couldn't wait to drift off to sleep.

Next thing I know the alarm is going off and I groggily asked Katie if she had any dreams about a "future possibility." Nope, no dreams at all. Neither did Maddy. I had dreams, but they were all about some weird concert or speech and there were SO many people that I couldn't even began to sort out if there was one person who reoccurred in my dreams. haha. Serves us right. But ya never know. It's still a fun idea for a slumber party or something funny you can do with your sister(s).

A few more hilarious ideas are:

~Sleep with yarrow under your pillow to dream of your true love. To make marriage certain and soon, slip in some orange leaves with the yarrow.
~Tie 3 laurel leaves to the foot of you bed and your love will be blind to everyone but you. (Yeah right!)

~If you are a woman, offer your intended a spring of basil. If he accepts, you have won him. If that fails, bathe in warm water to which a cupful of rose petals and a teaspoon of dill seeds have been added.

The only problem is, that if you do dream of someone you have a fancy for, this might make some ladies a little desperate and make some silly mistakes. Don't really hand a guy a bunch of basil...its WAY too obvious. ;)

2011-03-11T21:18:00.000-08:00

Today's news was horrible. Those poor people in Japan! First the earthquake, then the tsunami, and now the radiation from the nuclear plant! What next? If it wasn't for knowing that God was in control of all, I think I would lose it. Please remember to keep the people who have been affected by these disasters in your prayers, and also for the people going to aid them!

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake in their surging."

~Psalm 46: 1-3

Herbs Part 1

2011-02-28T20:20:00.000-08:00

Herbs. There's something relaxing about the word.

Maybe it's becuase we think of curling up with a cup of warm herbal tea on a rainy day or we remember the relaxing smell of lavender used in lotions and soaps.

Well I can think of nothing more pleasant than to write about herbs on after a long, tiring day.

These herbs below are a few ones I'm interested in planting in a small herb garden this spring.

Tansy

Chamomile

(This is the German Chamomile. I'm partial to the Roman, since its supposedly sweeter...)

Marjoram

Lavender

Passionflower

(believe it or not, this is considered an herb!)

To be continued...

One Wonderful Week

2011-02-26T14:05:00.000-08:00

This was my week last week. I've had no time in which to write until now, terribly sorry.

Monday was, of course, Valentine's Day.
Unfortunately, I had to dissect a worm. Not my ideal Valentine's Day-totally unromantic!

Tuesday we bought the character shoes

Maddy and I need for Drama and I found an army-green colored, 40's style dress!

(both of which you can see part of below)

And after we got home, we had only 30 minutes until we had to leave for our Bible Study.

Wednesday we were at JOY Christian Academy all day, where we choreographed Music Man.

Thursday, Maddy and I served at the Wise Choices Gala with nine other lovely girls.

Friday Maddy and I went with some friends to the Winter Jam Concert, which was AMAZING!

And afterward I got the autographs of the band members of Kutless (who described us as pleasant :) )

And Red's band members autographs!!! They commented on our nice smiles! I nearly died with happiness. It was pretty funny...a group of homeschooled girls going up to a rather creepy looking band. A very hilarious situation, to be sure. We didn't get home from the concert until 1:30 am.

Friday we got up bright and early to leave for Turkey Texas. We met up with Rebecca's family, and some other friends stayed at a darling, rustic hotel where we all spiffed up for the 40's and 50's dance!

After 6 hours and 17 dances, we wearily made our way back to the lodge, where we played catch phrase, ping pong, foosball, and just hung out until 3 in the morning. :)

Sunday we drove to Childress to the Shannon's place where we had a delicious brunch, a wonderful church service, and a tour of their ranch. I felt very adventurous and picked up a crawdad. Sadly, this shocked everyone...

The next Monday I had to dissect a crawdad and felt horrible since I had just made friends with one the day before. (and I was still sore from dancing)

All together a wonderful, wonderful week. Thank you Lord for Your blessings!

My Valentine's

2011-02-21T19:26:00.000-08:00

Although it’s rather late, I wanted to show you all how my Valentine's Day went!

I got together with some of my wonderful friends and we had a Valentine's Card-Making-Cookie-Baking-Movie-Watching Day.

Unfortunately, we didn't get too many cards finished because we hadn't been together as a group in a long time. But here are some we did then and over the next couple of days.

Spring Fashion 2011

2011-01-31T20:29:00.000-08:00

Fashion. I love it and I hate it. The first things that comes to mind are brilliant colors and swirling fabrics, sad starving models, and the thought of how far our fashion has gone down hill. Yet I'm cheered up by the styles of Spring 2011!

Early 60s styles

70s styles

Denim Jackets

Cropped Pants

Stripes

Longer Skirt Lengths (yay!)

Waist-cinching belts

Mixing Patterns (be careful with this one ladies!)

Cooking and Whatnot

2011-01-28T15:40:00.000-08:00

Last week I found a yummy-souding recipe and decided to make it. Its called Pasta with Chicken and Squash. Real fancy name, I know.

The recipe calls for

1 small onion, chopped * 1 garlic clove, minced

5 Tbsp. olive oil,divided * 2 medium zucchini, julienned*

2 medium yellow summer squash, julienned* salt and pepper*

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, julienned*

1/4 tsp. each dried basil, marjoram, and rosemary*

1 (16 oz.) package of spiral pasta* 2 cups of half-and-half*

1 Tbsp. butter or margarine* 2 cups of shredded Mexican cheese blend or cheddar cheese.

Makes 6-8 servings

(We accidentally didn't have any boneless skinless chicken breasts so we used boneless skinless chicken thighs instead, and it came out just as good)

In a large skillet, over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in 3 tablespoons oil until onion is tender. Add squashes and cook until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and keep warm. (we used a bowl to put the vegetables in until we were ready for them) Add remaining oil to skillet; cook chicken with herbs until juices run clear. While chicken is cooking, prepare pasta according to package directions. Sauce is prepared by combining half-and-half and butter in saucepan until butter melts. Then add chess, stirring until cheese is melted. Place drained cooked pasta on a platter. Cover with cheese sauce. top with chicken and squash and serve. :)

***

Other things I've been doing besides cooking are...
Planning on planting a garden this spring with my sister! I'm excited about that but still not sure on what herbs to do though...anyone have advice for novice gardeners??
Beginning to study politics (Leviathan by Hobbes and The Prince by Machiavelli) and its not as bad as i thought it would be...surprising!
And the biggest accomplishment of the week is that I've (drum roll) finally gotten my sister, Maddy, to like Opera music! Yay!

Music Man Jr.

2011-01-12T19:59:00.000-08:00

Today was the FIRST day of drama and I've been looking forward to for so long! My friend Rebecca gave me and Maddy our Music Man Jr. scripts an hour early before the class started and I was thrilled! Flipping through it as fast as I could, I decided to begin highlighting. Running to get my highlighter, I accidentally picked Maddy's script up and in my enthusiasm highlighted all MY lines in HER book. Haha, sorry Maddy... ;)

Usually for the first day of drama, our director hands out our scripts and we all sit in a large circle, reading and singing through it, today was no different. I am Marian Paroo in the play and managed to get through most of the play without being too embarrassed. But when it came to the song Till There Was You, my friends told me I was red as my plaid coat. Which is very red. Good honk! (excuse my phraseology) Besides that it was a blast!

Highlights of 2010

2011-01-02T18:14:00.000-08:00

Who can even believe it's already January 2011?!

Here is a list of some of my favorite memories from 2010....

With JOY Christian Academy our fashion design class was able to take a tour of the fashion collection at the University of North Texas.
I immensely enjoyed preforming in The Fiddler On The Roof as Tzeitel

During the summer my family and I visited Ft. Walton, Florida

I turned 16!!

My friend and I created a spoof of Les Miserables

Our friends took my sister and I on photo shoots

If you ever get the chance, you should totally spray paint the cars at Cadillac Ranch it is extremely fun!

I enjoyed fellowship with beautiful friends

Stayed up really late with my sister watching BBC movies such as Persuasion, sense and sensibility, Lorna Doon, etc, nearly every night eating toast and tea. It was delightful although we occasionally got in trouble for being a little too delighted...hehehe.

My sweet baby cousin Jude Quinn was born in October

We celebrated the Holidays with family

I narrated The Best Christmas Pageant Ever for 7 exciting performances
(in case you're wondering, it was the best Christmas pageant ever)

These are just a few of the highlights of 2010. I have been abundantly blessed with family and friends.

Once again, I wish you all a Happy New Year!

Merry Belated Christmas!

2010-12-28T16:02:00.000-08:00

Oh I feel terrible! Not putting something about Christmas ON Christmas.... But I think everyone can relate to being crazy busy before, during, and even after Christmas. I mean, I truly thought I had more time! Ridiculous no? Since I've had ALL year to get ready for it... So here it is:

MERRY CHRIST TIDE!!! (a little late)

And to be early this time....

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

~May God bless you in the year to come~

Sincerely,

Morgan

Random Happenings

2010-12-06T17:37:00.000-08:00

I can hardly believe that about this time last week was our second production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, we have finished up at the theater, yesterday we performed it up at the Civic Center, and will later be performing it at two different churches.
*

Also, who can believe its almost Christmas?? This is all happening so quickly!

So a random hilarious thing happened to me today. My sister and I were home alone, and to make chores a little more fun, I turn on some music. Ok, so I was sweeping and singin' my heart out to Mr. Sandman by the Chordettes, and suddenly out my periphs (peripheral vision) I see someone coming to the door. I think it's my dad coming home for lunch and continue singing loudly. Meanwhile our ridiculous little Yorkie skitters across my nicely swept pile (arg!) and I yell HEY!! (unfortunately it wasn't a lady-like yell either!) I look up and see a strange car in front of our house, and a young man at the door.. I nearly had a heart attack! There I was, belting out the lyrics to a song, sweeping, while in my PAJAMAS, hair thrown back into a messy ponytail, and I yell like a man at the dog! How embarrassing... I laugh now, certainly not then. Thank the Lord I wasn't dancing...

Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T18:29:00.000-08:00

Crowding together in the kitchen, food sitting about on the counter, Maddy reading Psalm 145, bowing our heads, holding hands, and giving thanks for everything.
You have got to love Thanksgiving! Not merely because of the DELICIOUS food, or lovely desserts, but rather gathering with family you don't get to see often and laughing and having a wonderful time.

These are my top three things I'm thankful for this day:

1. I'm thankful for my Creator Who loved us enough to send us His Son, that He thought we were worth dying for, Who died an excruciating death for us, and rose again on the third day for our salvation, that He bridged the gap created between man and God since the Fall by stretching out His arms across the cross

2. For my loving and encouraging family, who are always there for me

3. My dear friends, who are just as crazy as I am

Hope ya'll have had a fabulous Thanksgiving day!

Les Miserables

2010-11-18T15:14:00.000-08:00

Last night was the best night ever! My sister, mom, and i joined our friends to go see the 25th Anniversary of Les Miserables. I cannot tell you just how absolutely breathtaking it was! We arrived and could barely breath with excitement, sat down after getting refreshments and impatiently waited until the movie began. When the lights dimmed I thought I was going to die of excitement!

Almost every song had me in tears, and when the unbelievably talented actors and actresses hit those amazing notes, I just sat there, draw dropped, with a silly grin on my face. It was SO crazy hard not to burst out into song, which, haha, we actually did...quietly. Oh! Is it even possible to describe such talent?? Even the orchestra had me in tears! It was the closest thing to perfect music on this earth. (well, most of it was...)

When the most remarkable concert ended, just when I thought it couldn't get ANY better, suddenly the crowd split, and out came the ORIGINAL cast from 1985!! Me and Rebecca couldn't stop cheering. Then they began to sing!! If I had died right then, I would have died completely happy! *sigh* Afterwards the two Frenchmen who originated the musical came out said a few words! I am surprised I didn't start crying at that too! It's now my dream preform in Les Miserables! Though I must say, if I'm going to be in it, I'm going to have to learn not to cry every time someone sings. ;)

Here's a glimpse of what we experienced. Grab the Kleenex... And btw, this isn't my video, unfortunately, we were not at the London performance, just at a movie theater in Ft. Worth. (the guy in the white, puffy shirt is Alfie Boe and he was the man who played Jean Valjean in the production we watched last night. He has such incredible talent!!)

Frog Leg Anyone??

2010-11-15T17:53:00.000-08:00

Ok, I totally meant to blog about this yesterday, but, haha, forgot. The random and brave thing I did yesterday was I ATE A BITE OF FRIED FROG LEG!! And no, it doesn't taste like chicken, contrary to belief. I think someone just made that up so their sister would try it! It had a weird taste, and it was slimy! eh. Though I must say it definitely was not the worst thing I've ever eaten... like escargot. Gag me with a spoon. So...yeah. true story. :)

Bon Appetit!

My Day

2010-11-08T18:18:00.000-08:00

A glimpse into my Monday

1. Studied like a maniac for my Biology test and felt confident about it, yet still was stumped by a few questions (why is that?!)

2. Got back my grade for the quarterly test last week and thank the Lord I made a good grade to make up a few grades which were...um, less then acceptable...so Huzzah for that!!
3. Drew what I saw under the microscope. There is NOTHING simple about a cell! It felt like someone had handed me a small pic of the Sistine Chapel and told me to try to sketch it! Egad that was complicated...
4. Prepared my monologue for Music Man JR.
5. Discovered that sewing and laughing is not a good choice. I dropped my needle somewhere in the couch and...hehehe, couldn't find it....oops.
6. RAN to my worldview class thinking I was late, but actually was a tad early, so winded for NOTHING...lol
7. I felt like Barney Fife in Worldview today... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBuPQgV8yBM
8. For Music Man auditions I recited Opportunity by Edward R. Sill and sang 16 going on 17 from The Sound of Music. Although I messed up a bit on the poem and my hands fluttered like leaves at my side, it went pretty well.
9. Had fun reading different parts in the script!
10. Now I am going to sew on those stays that need to be finished and maybe learn a bit more French...

~ Bonne nuit mes amis~

Snow Cones

2010-10-22T14:30:00.000-07:00

Snow cones in Fall.

Delightful. :)

A Small Questionnaire

2010-10-19T16:15:00.000-07:00

The Rules

You are given 8 questions from the person who tagged you before, your job is to answer them, write 8 questions of your own, then tag 8 people with your questions.

1) What time period would you travel back to?

You might have well asked me to pick a star out the sky! Hard one. hmm....

Maybe the early or mid 1700's?? Because of the gorgeous clothing.Or maybe the 1500's because of the Reformation...and the clothing ;)
Can I choose all of them??

2) What five things make you extremely happy?

Books, the sound of laughter (especially little kids laughter!),

fabric, being with family, and

thunderstorms! :)

3) You find out that your great-uncle twice removed on your mother's side died and left you something huge. You arrive and you discover it is a ___________. What is your reaction? (fill in the bank)

I discover that he willed me his ancestral castle in Scotland overlooking the ocean. I'm so happy I cry. (that's what would really happen if something like a castle ever was willed to me) lol. :)

4) Have you ever met a celebrity? Ever been somewhere famous?

Unfortunately no. OH wait! Does going to a concert of someone famous count?? Didn't really get to meet them, but I got to seem them in real life! I admit....it was the Jonas Brothers. Yes, yes, when I was 13 i went through a 'JB' phase...pitiful huh?

5) Your favorite recipe please?

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough!!!

2 1/2 cups of flour

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. baking soda

2 large eggs

1 tsp. salt

2 cups chocolate chips

1 cup of Crisco

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat Crisco, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl until creamy. add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. gradually beat in flour mix. Stir in chocolate chips. Use an ice cream scoop to place cookie dough onto ungreased baking sheets. Don't mush it down. (the last two instructions are my Nana's idea! Her choco. chip cookies look like those in cooking magazines! )

BAKE for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown.

Let cool and ENJOY! :)

6) What's an obscure movie that nobody has probably ever seen

that you really like...?

Brigadoon! So wonderful! :D

7) What is something you want really, extremely, exceedingly, terribly bad?

A plane ticket to Scotland!

8) A dream you wish to come true...occur...? (Not necessarily a "nighttime" dream...like a "daydream")

To travel the world or save someone from dying.

***

Alrighty, now for your questions.

1) If you could go ANYWHERE in the world, where would it be and why?

2) If you were a tree, would kind would you be?

3) Would you rather skydive or explore a deep, dark cave? (why)

4) If you could wear clothing from any time period (without being seen as odd), what would it be?

5) Would you be willing to sing an opera song at the top of your lungs in the middle of a mall for a hundred dollars?

6) Would you rather have an amazing castle beside a lake or a cottage by the sea? (why?)

7) If you could change your hair color to any color, what would it be?

8) Would you rather live in a tree house or fly away with a balloon?

These are for anyone who wants to do this small questionaire. :) Send me a link if you do!

A Lovely Fall Day

2010-10-09T21:36:00.000-07:00

Today I went with my mother and sister to go shopping. At Southlake Town Square we went to Bath and Body Works where I found dazzlingly beautiful glitter (I'm a sucker for glittery things) and just to have fun rubbed some on my face. I had no idea it was dark purple glitter and my sweet sister hastily rubbed it off, whispering it looked awful. Goodness gracious! What would I do without Maddy?! We got a good laugh from that incident. After a few more stores we went to Jo Ann's where I finally got the fabric for a 70's dress I needed for a play we're in. The pattern unfortunately called for horrendous fabric. A double knit polyester. *gasp* At least I was able to get it in bright mustard yellow! :)

Afterwards we went to Target where we bought fun colored tights in hot pink and teal for Maddy, and purple and navy for me. Also worth mentioning, Maddy convinced me to let her try peacock blue eyeliner on me. Once she applied it she grimaced. Not exactly reassuring! I rushed around trying to find a mirror and once I did, I just had to laugh. Maddy had (accidentally) way overdone the wet eyeliner and made a blobby mess. After smearing a bit off, I managed to make it look decent, sort of. lol.

Heading out to the car, Maddy stood on the front of the cart while I ran and pushed it. I'm sure it was like flying. Once we loaded up the car and waited for mom to come back, we turned up the volume of the radio and sang our hearts out. Driving home we sang some more, laughed and admired the lovely sunset and the sliver of a moon rising up in the night sky. Altogether a lovely fall day, even though I had to do Biology homework afterwards and the bright blue eyeliner turned out to be waterproof. Lol. Fun day.

Help Meet

2010-09-28T17:19:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled to pieces! Tomorrow is the beginning of a Small Group of 13 girls reading the book below, and it's at our house. I'm so excited! It is one of the BEST devotionals I have ever read. For all of you single girls 14 and up , I highly recommend it!

(isn't it gorgeous!)
The back of the book reads:

I can think of nothing I want more

than someone to truly love me.
You spend your time pining away for your
true love and suddenly... you're married and
it is a lot more than you bargained for. Now is
the hour you should be preparing to be a wife- to
be a help meet.

What does a good guy really look for in a girl?
are you a Dreamer, Servant, or Go-to Gal?
Do you know what to pray for your man-to-be?
Should you tell a guy you like him?
Can you know God's will in choosing a husband?

As soon as I read that I immediately flipped it back to the front and flew through the book. It truly is amazing and was really convicting. I need to pray more, change the way I talk to being more positive instead of negative, I need to start learning about how to fix things around the house, how to cook a whole meal. For most of you girls out there, you probably already know that. Me? I know how to bake cookies, omelets, sandwiches and shortbread. I'm afraid my skills are bit lacking there.
Hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!

Life

2010-09-17T16:27:00.000-07:00

My life since the last post has been crazy busy!

I've been...

1. getting back into the groove with school. We go attend a christian academy for homeschoolers, where the classes are amazing but the homework is quite consuming!

2. waiting on repairmen because several things are being improved at our house.

3. hanging out briefly with our friends on the weekends.

4. hoping to work on different sewing projects. Which are barely being touched since World View is taking up most of my time!

5. working towards my license...Slow but steady wins the race is what i keep telling myself.

(and the most exciting thing is...)

6. yesterday we packed quick as lightening and drove as fast as we legally could towards Amarillo to see our new baby cousin! We are SO completely in love with Jude Quinn (isn't that the cutest name??) and are marveling at how darling he is!

Aunt Snuzi and Uncle Brad brought home Jude today and we all laid on the bed talking and cooing over the new baby. Baby James (well, not the baby any more!) is the best big brother, held Jude gave him a slobbery kiss on the nose and laid his head on the little bundle of baby. So sweet!

Holding Jude's hand, I marvel at how tiny he is! His skin is incredibly soft and he makes such soft little cooing noises. There's nothing so sweet as a new born baby!

Here is a link to see pictures of Jude Quinn.

http://everycaptivethought.blogspot.com/

I think it is so fun to be the oldest cousin out of seven. I cannot wait until I am more experienced driver and can take my little cousins out to the park or to feed the ducks at the pond. Until then I can just enjoy holding and playing with my little cousins.

Maddy and I are the oldest and only girls out of the seven cousins on my mother's side. I often wonder where on earth do little boys get their energy?? ;)

Here Ye, Here Me!

2010-08-31T17:10:00.000-07:00

Ye Good Ole Renaissance!

Oh to go back for just a week! The sights, the sounds, the smells (well...some of the smells) the clothing, the music! I would love it.
In one of my classes, we're reading Dante's Divine Comedy.

What better way to get into the mood to read a Renaissance book, than to listen to Renaissance music? I have been listening to it nearly all day. I must say I love Renaissance music very much, though most of my friends- and sister- think I'm crazy because of that.
I found this AMAZING website where you can listen to about any type of music, and to my utter joy they had Renaissance music!

The songs that I highly recommend are: Cease Leaden Slumber Dreaming
When to her lute Corinna sings (I've memorized it and have sung it all day long), Soldier's Song (it's hilarious!), Come again sweet love doth now invite, Martin said to his man (it makes me think of Under the Greenwood Tree!), and Greensleeves.
Hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Amarillo

2010-08-25T18:06:00.000-07:00

The week before last, was when we went to see the musical Texas. Whilst we waiting for the musical to begin, we took some pictures, looked around at our fellow audience members, and were having a pleasant time.

Alas, my happiness was shattered when my dear friend Rebecca dealt a terrible blow to my poor nerves. She had the audacity to raise the binoculars to her eyes, not to look out at the lovely Palo Duro Canyon as any normal person would, but into the audience around us! I could have died of mortification.

Suddenly, she jerked the binoculars from her eyes, sat straight forward, and was attempting to reign in her laughter.

She was peeking into the private goings-on of a particular group whose face-making brought Rebecca much entertainment. But the tables were turned when they spotted her! Thus Rebecca was now the one to bring entertainment to them and they laughed heartily at her. Serves her right. ;)

***

When we got back home, my papa told us they had caught another opossum. (Recently they've caught several of the sneaky creatures in their backyard) We scurried out back to see it, and whatdaya know? It's an adorable baby possum! About the size of a small rat, though in appearance it looked more like a mouse with over-grown ears. It was climbing up the side of the cage and it's pink tail curled around the cage wire. I was brave and touched it's tail- though I must say Maddy and Rebecca were appalled. The poor thing hissed at me, but it wasn't very scary.

(Note: This is not the same baby possum that was caught)

You can't tell me that isn't cute!

So after washing my hands (NO doubt) and after getting on our pajamas, we sat down to watch Bright Star. (SAD movie, made me cry!) A little ways into it, our papa came in and told us that the Animal Control people were coming soon to get the baby opossum. We were glad for the warning. Not long after the heads up, the doorbell rang, and George (their little Maltese dog), who was sitting right next to Rebecca's head, let out a surprisingly loud howl/bark. It sounded like a lady screaming. Rebecca screamed which scared me so I screamed and jumped into her lap, then Maddy screamed and George was still yapping loudly. You can imagine we looked pretty ridiculous. After our initial scare, we laughed so hard we were snorting.lol. I am quite certain that we made that poor critter-catchin' man's night...a bit more interesting. :)

Two days later our papa took us to Cadillac Ranch where anyone can spray paint the cars. we of course HAD to buy spray paint as well. It was fun, though I must say Maddy holds the talent for artistic ideas for painting on cars. (she was so good you'd think she'd decorated cars before. hmm...lol) Me and Rebecca were pretty clueless as what to do, so we just did our initials.

All together, it was a very fun time in Amarillo with our grandparents. Can't wait to go there again!

TEXAS & Memories

2010-08-18T14:55:00.000-07:00

Twirling skirts, men in denim, horses onstage, singing, dancing...It can only mean one thing...its TEXAS the musical!! Last night we enjoyed the musical in the outdoor theater as the sun was setting. I was thrilled. Last year, like this year, we went to see it with our grandparents and had some very memorable moments. One of them was when I was nearly killed by a grasshopper. They are terrifying!

I could only handle a drawing...even this one disgusts me. *shivers* Looking at a real picture of one caused me to gag, get goosebumps, and quickly exit the page. Besides spiders, they are the creepiest and nastiest of bugs. ick. They're one of my big fears. Sounds stupid, but I've been scarred! One time I was walking around and one jumped on my chest and stared daggers at me with its buggy eyes while I screamed and hollered. I attempted to remove the pest from my shirt yet I couldn't do so without touching it. hm. But my most memorable (and hilarious) time was last year while going to see Texas.

So there we were *dramatic pause* driving down into the canyon, and I really had to go to lady's room. I mentioned stopping to Papa but I don't think he heard me, so we passed about five bathrooms and I'm kind of frantic. *AHEM, this is Maddy, Morgan's sis. this is what REALLY happened...she kinda WHISPERED her situation to me. Of course they didn't hear from the front seat, I barely did! ahem...yes.* Finally my dear sis saw my distress and said to please stop. So we did. As I ran towards the bathroom with Nana and sister trailing behind me, Nana said to watch out for snakes. great.

Side note: I am NOT a country girl. But I'm also NOT a city girl (can't stand the city). I can't handle bugs, but I can tolerate snakes...sort of. Also note worthy- I was wearing one of those maxi dresses that are nearly floor length (bad choice to wear in the canyon!) This in mind. I will finish my tale.

So I'm thinking hope I don't get eaten by a big snake, or bitten by a poisonous one while flinging open the door. I scanned the ground. It was all clear. I go to a stall door and as I shut it behind me, I turned and EGAD RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME is the BIGGEST grasshopper I've ever laid eyes on!! You can be sure I let out a yell that might have made even the walls of Jericho tremble. My poor sister and Nana, thinking I was being mauled by a villainous snake came running in yelling WHAT'S WRONG?! I could not answer (I'm still screaming) because to my absolute terror the foul beast was inching upwards to a more suitable position to pounce on me (I knew it's evil intentions, to be sure!) while staring at me with it's big, empty eyes. I reflect, now, and think, wow, that's stupid I kept screaming, my mouth WIDE open and everything, when that bug could have leaped into my gaping gullet. Thank the Lord that didn't happen. I might not have recovered. So while screaming it backed up far enough where I was able to fling back open the stall door and leap for safety. I don't think I've ever moved that fast before. I gasped with relief and Nana and Maddy stared at me looking terrified and I told them that a bug just about killed me (it's true). Of course, Maddy gave me a look of contempt that spoke louder than words, and Nana goes to inspect this "killer bug". She agreed with me saying it's the biggest grasshopper she'd ever seen. I then chose the stall furthest away from Creepy Bug, tho of COURSE after thoroughly inspecting it for no more hidden terrors.

I went to wash my hands at the sink (and surprise, surprise, no soap)and while rinsing them, I thought, what a funny looking counter with black dots all over. I leaned down closer for a better look. My goodness 'twas no mere specks!!! It was bugs; some dead, some still twitching! I yelped and flung myself backwards. Utterly disgusting. And then, as we were walking towards the door, I saw a hornet flying around above the door and I was like, OH NO! because flying insects with stingers just seem to know about my loathing and fear of them, and so they ALWAYS dive bomb me! no joke! I said something and Maddy's like, no big deal. leave it alone and it'll leave you alone. not so. I took a deep breath, determined to be brave, and suddenly it flew right towards me, buzzing loudly. I screamed, flinging my sister out of my way (she was going slow as Christmas), hiked up my long dress to my knees and flew out the door like the devil himself was after me. I finally made it to the car door (yes, I did check to make sure my family made it out alive) then sank into the seat, thankful that I was still in one piece. My papa said he heard me screaming even from inside the car. hehehe, oops. Once everyone was back in the car, me, Nana and Maddy burst out laughing for at least five minutes. Good times.

Thankful that nothing happened like that this year. Though we did have some good laughs!

TO BE CONTINUED....;)

Next time - a creepy critter, and vandalism to Cadillacs.

Cousins

2010-08-12T19:09:00.001-07:00

This week has been spent at our aunt's house. While doing all sort of fun things like tag, hide-and-go-seek, and cops and robbers with my cousins Will (9), Grant (8), and Brock (4), I have learned an INVALUABLE lesson. :)

Lesson

(Learned while playing cops and robbers)

I's a little scary being the robber, in a cramped position in a tall, cardboard box, where unseen spiders might be lurking, being paranoid because you think you hear the "cops" sneaking up, seeing their shadow pass by, being found, chased, and eventually tied up to a chair.(I should know as I was dubbed the robber) If any of my friends are thinking of going into the criminal profession (which I certainly hope they aren't!), I don't suggest it. It's tense and NOT worth the price you pay.

Get an honest job.

50 Minutes of Terror

2010-08-09T16:06:00.000-07:00

Today on our way to my Aunt's house my mother decided it was time for me to practice driving since I've had my permit for almost a month. On the highway. *gulp* So my first time to really drive was today. She pulls off the side of the highway (thankfully its out in the middle of almost nowhere, so not too many cars) (but more 18-wheelers!) My heart is beating fast. My hands are getting sweaty. My breath quickens.... and I'm not even in the drivers seat yet. Pathetic.
I climb over into the drivers and as I buckle up and put my foot on the brake she explains how to get back on the road without killing myself. I manage to get onto the highway. I set cruise control (God bless the person who came up with that!) on 60 mph instead of 70 mph. I have never driven this fast before!
So I have a bad habit of being dramatic when scared (hard to believe, right?!) and a BIG 18-wheeler (I mean, they're all big, but they seem SO much bigger when you are actually the one behind the wheel!) starts getting closer to me and I squeal as it passes me, and I started hyperventilating. Mom reminded me to stay calm, keep in my lane, and to take deep slow breaths.
Eventually, more cars come up around me, everyone passes by me, and I wondered, how long have I been driving?? I guessed around 20 minutes so far, each second longer than the last, each minute a miracle we're still alive. I ask mom how long it has been. She checks her watch, and replies that it has been...get ready for this.... ten WHOLE minutes. My jaw nearly dropped. TEN, only ten?? It felt like an hour. Then my dear little sister pipes up in the back saying what I was thinking. ONLY TEN MINUTES?! FEELS LIKE FOREVER! precious.

Side note: One of the first times I drove (I mean not on the highway, but on a country road) I was driving down this dirt road and my sister was present at the time. A car WAY down the road appeared and I yelled, "A CAR!!" freaking out, thinking for sure I was going to be killed. She hasn't let me live that down.

OK, back to my terrifying time.
So I'm feeling pretty confident about going 60mph. That is, until I see a van pass me, with a scooter on the back! A disabled person is going faster than me! Definitely one of my low moments. That and when I ran over a beautiful, big butterfly that innocently strayed into the path of a novice driver. :'(
The whole time I'm driving I keep my arms perfectly straight, determined not to relax lest it kill us, so my arms start to cramp. I eventually feel a little more at ease after 30 minutes. Yet I was still nervous that someone would get ticked off at my slow going and flip me off or blare their horn (I swear, if that happened I would pass out or have a heart failure) Thankfully that never happened. Whew!
I'm driving and I see a sign for Sonic, where Maddy really REALLY wanted to get a hot fudge shake. Unfortunately the sign said EXIT NOW. I nearly missed it and didn't put on my brakes fast enough for my mother. Thus I kind of cut the corner fast. Plus, there's someone behind me, RIGHT behind me (as if I'm going too slow or something! psh! psh!...ahem...) And the stop sign is right below the exit, so I nearly don't brake enough again. Mom tells me just to park the car so we can switch seats. I climb over into the passenger seat and my arms just plopped into my lap like Jello. No joke. I'm not looking forward to tomorrow morning, my arms are going to be soooooo sore from keeping them so tense today. After my mom begins driving, I attempt to text my friend with my noddle-like hands, which didn't work so well. As i lift up my Charles Dickens book to read, my arms flop around. So I just decide to sit still, my limp, tingly arms slowly reviving.
I cannot believe we survived.

Aspirations

2010-08-07T17:52:00.000-07:00

I looked up in the dictionary the true meaning of aspiration. The title I was shooting for was not to mean the pronunciation accompanied by breathing out as was one of the meanings, but rather, the desire or ambition to achieve something. It's my dream to someday create beautiful, historic gowns with soft, delicate fabrics, or heavy brocades and lovely laces. As for now, I work with cottons, yet even cottons are attractive.
These pictures are courtesy of a museum online (unfortunately I have forgotten the exact place, since our internet has been out for a week or two!) and their AMAZING collection of dresses. I like trying to imagine what each lady who where the original owners of these dresses were like and what they looked like. These are my favorites of but a few of the many, many gorgeous dresses.

This 1700's dress is adorable, and is made of cotton :)

Wish fervently we still wore this style of dress! or at least still have the option of wearing one like this without being considered "out there"

This bodice is sooooo lovely, I wonder what kind of fabric it is??

Morning dress from the 1850's. A nice cotton once again! (huzzah)

This Dinner dress from the 1870's (and the one beneath it from 1885) makes me feel crazy happy. *sigh* Oh the days when we could wear this to dinner! The soft pastel colors, the detail around the neckline and sleeve hem, the ruffles are all so perfectly feminine and delicate! I honestly would pass out if I ever got to wear something like this!

Like I said above, I feel the same way about this dress. I ADORE the belt!

Ok, the lace peeking out at the left shoulder and appearing under the bows in the skirts make me happy! the style is the norm for the late 1800's, but just the details of the lace and where they appear is just completely different from any paintings or pictures that I've seen from that time period, that it makes it a favorite!

lovely, lovely dress from the 1914's - 1917's

Evening dress from the 1950's. unfortunately there were no pictures with color, but the description said it was a pale blue with dark blue details. I'm sure it was absolutely breathtaking in the glittering lights at a party with the accessories! *sigh again*

I can imagine perfectly what the lady who once wore this looked like...

Picture I Promised

2010-07-27T18:26:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures.

This is the fabric I used for the stays.

Stays pinned together on my mannequin These are my drawings of the pattern I liked and the pattern pieces I figured were used to put it together.

(the lacing I just noticed is wrong for the time period. oops!)
This bodice is similar to a bodice used for the American Girl doll I had, Felicity. I always loved this dress the best out of all her different outfits. After years of dear Felicity sitting in the old playroom, I looked to her for inspiration. I'm surprised now at how accurate her clothing is! Who would've thought? :) So I'm thankful I have something to look at in case I get stuck in it's construction.

Side note: Oh! And if you're wondering what in the world happened to my bonnet, its still coming together. Slowly but surely. I've almost finished getting the crowning on the buckram.

18th Century Stays

2010-07-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

How long ago it was that I decided to make an eighteenth century bodice, I have no idea. This year or the last, they're kind of running together at the moment. So I was inspired to make an 18C bodice, and so I googled patterns. I found one, drew it, and am sometime going to attempt to draft my own pattern and try making a bodice myself. *gulps* But then it hit me, DUH! To make it fit proper I'm going to need the correct time period corset, or stays, whichever. So when I found the perfect fabric for the bodice-which is exactly how I had imagined it-I also found in the sale bin of scrap fabric a fairly small roll of gorgeous blue and white floral fabric. It was a bit thicker than normal cotton and I'm on a restricted budget. So i though 'hey, why not??' and decided to use the cotton instead of the usual silk. The fabric has the perfect print, since the floral patterns for the 1700's were more spiny looking rather than the round, soft flowers that came later in the next century.

Ok a little side note here: Does anyone else hate how the flimsy tissue paper used for patterns seem to float around everywhere? I mean, one time I just sighed, and the pattern flew off into a corner of my room! crazy...and not helpful.

Anyways...Last night I pinned the corset pieces together, and today found that it was a few sizes too large, even tho I had used the right size according to the measurements and the pattern. So the rest of today has been spent taking up more fabric in the seams, and a little earlier I FINALLY got it to the right size! Now all I need to get is the 30 yards of boning *gasp!* the broadcloth to line it with, and some ribbon. For the lining, I was thinking either a pale green or pale blue. Maybe the pale green? I will post pics of the pinned together stays, the fabric, and the drawing for the bodice as soon as i possibly can. (My day is going to be pretty busy tomorrow)

Poetry is Ah Sae Fine!

2010-07-19T13:55:00.000-07:00

Poetry. What would our lives be like without it? (I shudder at the thought) I absolutely adore poetry. Just to name a few of the poets I love are Lord Alfred Tennyson, Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, and Emily Dickenson. (though I have many besides just these) My all time favorite is Robert Burns, who wrote in the Scottish Dialect.

He wrote 559 poems and songs in his short lifetime. He was born in Ayrshire, Scotland in 1759 and died in 1796. I recently discovered that his life was not what i had expected and his pleasures were not what they ought to have been. I was terribly disappointed. Well, as someone once said: love the sinner, hate the sin. The first poem I ever read of his was Handsome Nell. It's so cute and he wrote it when he was fifteen too! (how sweet)

Handsome Nell

O, once I lov'd a bonnie lass,

Aye, and I love her still;

And whilst that virtue warms my breast

I'll love my handsome Nell.

As bonnie lasses I hae seen,

And mony full as braw,

But for a modest gracefu' mien

The like I never saw.

A bonnie lass, I will confess,

Is pleasant to the e'e,

But without some better qualities

She's no a lass for me.

But Nellie's looks are blithe and sweet,

And what is best of a'

Her reputation is complete,

And fair without a flaw.

She dresses aye sae clean and neat,

Both decent and genteel;

And then there's something in her gait

Gars ony dress look weel.

A gaudy dress and gentle air

May slightly touch the heart,

But it's innocence and modesty

That polishes the dart.

'Tis this in Nelly pleases me,

'Tis this enchants my soul

For absolutely in my breast

She reigns without control.

Here's one of his songs. It's quite lovely when played on the harp.

A Red, Red Rose

O, my luve's like a red, red rose,

That's newly sprung in June:

O, my luve's like the melodie

That's sweetly played in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,

So deep in luve am I;

And I will luve thee still, my dear

Till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,

And the rocks melt w' the sun!
I will luve thee still, my dear,

While the sands o' life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only luve!

And fare thee weel a while!

And I will come again, my luve,

Though it were ten thousand miles.

The Stars at Night are Big and Bright...

2010-07-16T14:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of my best friend's Birthday party and around midnight, we got sleeping bags and blankets to lay out on her upstairs deck. We had brought a TV out there and watched a chick flick, then afterwards, we lay back looking at the stars. Even though we were in the suburbs, I was awed at how many stars brightly shone in the night sky! I don't know about you, but every time I lay back and watch the stars I feel so peaceful and close to God. Then I thought how the sky was like black fabric pulled over the heavens. Behind the fabric is Heaven and all the glory of God. And each star was a pinprick in that fabric, allowing a tiny hole to allow that Light to shine through. Then at the end of the world, when Jesus comes back in all His glory, and defeats Satan, that God will roll back the black fabric and we will behold Him Who Created heaven and earth. Makes me giddy with happiness to think of it, not to mention an amazing peace.

The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech, night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language were their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the end of the world.

~ Psalm 19:1-4

The Bonnie Blue Bonnet

2010-07-12T15:42:00.000-07:00

Several months ago (truth be told, last year) I began a bonnet which i planned to wear to the Bonnie Blue Ball. Alas, it was not finished. Until recently, it's lain somewhat (not quite) forgotten in a dark corner of my room collecting dust (no joke) and now I've started working on it again.

This is the McCall's pattern I'm using. Last night and this morning I have been working on getting the piping juuuust right. I'm a real perfectionist when it comes to my sewing projects which can be rather frustrating. Now I'm working on the "crown" and for some reason it does not fit exactly how it should, even though I cut the fabric and the buckram the required length. Ach! So now I have to move back the second contrasting piping back further from the edge than called for. Like so...

Once I get the piping finished, I'm going to sew lace around the inside edge to frame the face. When that is finished and the crown and lining, I'm going to work on bending the wire into the right shape. For now it's just going to stay a bit bended.

A Lovely Sunday Afternoon...The Perfect Time to Begin a Blog

2010-07-11T14:26:00.000-07:00

I have finally been persuaded by my dear friend to begin a blog. This blog will be a conglomeration of my thoughts, bits of stories I write, favorite verses, poems and hymns, as well as what new project I'm working on or dreaming of. (for I frequently get swept away by new ideas) Since today is a beautiful Sunday, I think I'll begin with one of my most beloved hymns. It's an Ancient Irish hymn, and the music is an Irish folk melody.

Be Thou My Vision

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;

Naught all else to me, save that Thou art-

Thou my best thought, by day or by night,

Waking or sleeping, Thy Presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thy my true word;

I ever with Thee and Thy with me Lord;

Thou my great Father, I Thy true son,

Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise.

Thou my inheritance, now and always;

Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,

High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,

May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's Sun!

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

Still by my vision, O Ruler of all.

Amen.