Centennial!

Happy 100th Post, Mismatchedsockgirl!!!! YAAAY!

Wow...can you guys believe that I've posted 100 times?! Does that just totally boggle your mind?! Considering my first post started out over a year ago with, "So here begins a renewed attempt at blogging. The posts will be sporadic and random; about whatever thoughts are consuming my head at the moment. Who knows what will end up here...maybe some poems, maybe some stories, maybe some musing, maybe some quotes, maybe some arguments; most likely, a good mix of all of the above."

Even more interesting is the fact that I think I've had all of the aforementioned stuff in posts at one time or another.

So, in the spirit of 100-ness, here are 100 Facts About Mismatchedsockgirl, which I did indeed steal from Polka Dot Pickles, only I had to edit it a little bit because a lot of the numbers were missing.


1 - EVER BEEN GIVEN AN ENGAGEMENT RING?
Yes. By a four year old. It was an old twisty-tie from his lunch. He gave me one every day for two months. *sigh*

2 - EVER WON A CONTEST?
I’m the reigning champion of the annual church picnic’s hula-hoop contest. I’ve won or tied for first every year for the last 8 years. I’ve also won a few assorted call-now-to-win radio contests (one of which resulted in my receiving a VeggieTales movie, YEAH!) and a few poetry contests.

3 - LAST GIFT YOU RECEIVED?
A beautiful and wonderful necklace from my best friend!

4 - EVER DROPPED A CELL PHONE?
Daily. Hourly, probably. Most notable incidents were probably in a parking lot (in a puddle, no less!) and from my two-stories-in-the-air deck to the very hard ground. Heh. And here I wonder why the thing only works sporadically….

5 - WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YOU WORKED OUT?
Oh, goodness, this is embarrassing. Let’s just say… awhile.

6 - THING(S) YOU SPEND A LOT OF MONEY ON?
Buying presents for friends. Overdue fines at the library. Gas. Mocha lattes from Wawa.

7 - LAST FOOD YOU ATE?
Hot chocolate and three rectangles of a Hershey bar that I may or may not have commandeered from my brother….

8 - FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX?
Eyes….eyes are so magical!

9 - ONE FAVORITE SONG?
ONE favorite song?! You’re asking me to pick ONE favorite?! Don’t you know by now that I can’t DO that?!?! *sigh* Note to self: make a list of favorite songs for future post.

10 - WHERE DO YOU LIVE?
In a blue house

11 - HIGH SCHOOL YOU ATTENDED:
homeschooled, baby! Oh yeah!

12 - CELL PHONE SERVICE PROVIDER:
ATT

13 - FAVORITE MALL STORE
Learning Express, Waldenbooks, Barnes & Noble, Starbucks, Haagen-Daz, sometimes Kohl’s

14 - LONGEST JOB YOU HAD:
I’ve worked/volunteered at preschool for five years…

15 - DO YOU OWN A PAIR OF DICE?
Um…yes…fuzzy dice, actually. I won them at a church picnic in an awesome game of bingo. Only my mother won’t let me hang them in the Batmobile (family minivan) so they’re in my room.

16 - DO YOU PRANK CALL PEOPLE?:
A few times, but I’m truly terrible at it. And for some strange reason, everyone I’d normally prank call has caller ID! What’s up with THAT?! Coincidence? I think not…

17 - LAST WEDDING YOU ATTENDED:
I have been to a total of ONE wedding in my entire life, and that was when I was about…8?

18 - FIRST FRIEND YOU'D CALL IF YOU WON THE LOTTERY:
Very Best Friend in the Whole Entire Galaxy, of course

19 - LAST TIME YOU SAW YOUR BEST FRIEND:
Monday! Which was EONS ago!

20 - FAVORITE FAST FOOD RESTAURANT
Sheetz! Mmmm….roast beef & cheddar pretzel melt and frozen mochas….

21 - BIGGEST LIE YOU HAVE EVER HEARD:
I’ve heard some whoppers while babysitting. “Yes, I’m allowed to play with matches. Sometimes we light the Christmas tree branches, just to see how much of it will burn!” or “I’m allergic to fruit and vegetables and milk and crackers. All I can really eat is soda and M&Ms.”

22. CAN YOU JUGGLE?
Sort of. I try. I can complete about two rotations and then I loose everything. And I have to walk forward while I do it; I can’t stand still.

23 - WHERE'S YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO EAT WITH FRIENDS?
Very Best Friend’s kitchen table

24 - CAN YOU COOK?
Heck yeah! Can I do it well? Heck no!

25 - WHAT CAR DO YOU DRIVE?:
The Batmobile, the world’s greatest black minivan, which always smells like popcorn or wet dog, depending on the season. Occasionally I drive Bob the Tomato, which is the Big Red Work Van, but it shakes, rattles and rolls, so it’s not quite as happy-making as the Batmobile is.

26. MOST BIZARRE THING YOU’VE EVER EATEN?
Onion grass, chocolate covered prunes, cow tongue. All voluntarily, believe it or not; and I hated all of them, believe it or not.

27 - LAST TIME YOU CRIED?:
Sad tears? Yesterday. Happy tears? Tuesday.

28 - MOST DISLIKED FOODS:
Nearly every green food, peaches, cantaloupe, cranberries, grapes, prunes, apricot kiffels (thank you, youth leader; that one’s entirely your fault)

29 - THING YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOURSELF:
Mismatched socks/accessories. Sheer brilliance. Night owl habits. Ability to relate to others’ situations. Tendency to talk fast and A LOT. Insane enthusiasm. My best friend.

30 - THING YOU DISLIKE MOST ABOUT YOURSELF:
Tendency to talk fast and A LOT. Inclination towards drama. Speaking before thinking. Total terror of talking on the phone. Feet. Lack of any directional sense (North? South? Huh?). Tendency to FREAK OUT over every little thing. Worrywartish nature.

31. PLAY ANY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS?
A very very very tiny bit of piano. Even less clarinet. Almost-decent amount of the guitar (this is the only instrument I really enjoy playing). Oh, and I kick butt on a kazoo.

32 - LONGEST SHIFT YOU HAVE WORKED AT A JOB?:
I’ve had babysitting jobs that lasted five days -- night and day. Loved them!

33 - FAVORITE MOVIE?
VeggieTales, Just Like Heaven, The Village, Sixth Sense, The Others, The Lake House, Notting Hill, Pirates of the Caribbean 1 & 2

34 - CAN YOU SING?
*Please see answer for #24*

35 - LAST CONCERT ATTENDED?
………I would hafta say it was SWiM back at Regionals? Wowza, it’s been a long time since I was at a concert….

36 LAST KISS?
A goodbye kiss from a five year old family friend

37 LAST MOVIE RENTED:
“Friends -- the complete 6th season” and “My Best Friend’s Wedding” and “You’ve Got Mail”

38 - ONE THING YOU NEVER LEAVE THE HOUSE WITHOUT:
Cell phone, chapstick, bobby pins, notebook, bracelet from Very Best Friend (I’m not so good at these “ONE thing” questions…)

39 - FAVORITE VACATION SPOT?
Very Best Friend’s house

40. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR BEDROOM?
The walls are mint green; there’s a fuzzy purple carpet on the floor. Christmas lights are strewn around the top of the room and my ceiling light has a blue light bulb, which makes the whole room look like it’s bathed in moonlight. My bed has a purple, green and blue comforter on, which brings everything else together nicely.

41. FAVORITE PAIR OF SHOES?
Oh, this is tough, especially considering that I don’t wear matching shoes, if I can avoid it…I would have to say my pink striped flipflop and my white polka dot flipflop.

42. CAKE OR ICE CREAM?
Ice cream, definitely.

43 - LAPTOP OR DESKTOP COMPUTER?:
Laptop; it’s name is MooMoo

44 - FAVORITE COMEDIAN?:
My friend D

45 - DO YOU SMOKE?
NO!

46 - SLEEP WITH OR WITHOUT CLOTHES?
Definitely WITH. Let’s move on…

47 - WHO SLEEPS WITH YOU EVERY NIGHT?:
My big brown stuffed horse Chocolate still sleeps at the foot of my bed. Occasionally Grumpy the Cat will sleep with me, too…

48 - DO LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS WORK?:
Depends on the folks. For me? Kind of….

49 - HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BEEN PULLED OVER BY THE POLICE?
Never *phew*

50 - PANCAKES OR FRENCH TOAST?
Depends on who’s cooking. If it’s Very Best Friend, I would totally choose French toast, because she makes the most awesome French toast EVER. Anyone else, pancakes. Chocolate chip, if possible.

51 - DO YOU LIKE COFFEE?:
Yum!

52 - HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS?
Deviled, hard boiled, in potato salad; NOT SCRAMBLED *gag*

53 - DO YOU BELIEVE IN ASTROLOGY?:
No way


54 - LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?:
Youth leader or Daddy….

55 - LAST PERSON ON YOUR MISSED CALL LIST?:
Daddy

56 - WHAT WAS THE LAST TEXT MESSAGE YOU RECIEVED?:
“R U coming over today?”

57. EVER WISHED ON A STAR?
Plenty of times. A few of those wishes even came true.

58 - NUMBER OF PILLOWS?:
3.. One’s hugemongous and blue and fuzzy, yay.

59 - WHAT ARE YOU WEARING RIGHT NOW?:
2nd favorite pair of jeans (with two lovely holes in the knees), black long sleeved shirt with gray stripes, pink tee, one white sock with stars on and one black sock with hotdogs on.

60 - PICK A LYRIC, ANY LYRIC:
“It’s hard to be cool in a minivan” (Thank you, Go Fish!)

61 - WHAT KIND OF JELLY DO YOU LIKE ON YOUR PB & J?
EW EW EW. I HATE jelly in every way shape and form. Blegh.

62 - CAN YOU PLAY POOL?:
Erm….theoretically, yes…

63 - CAN YOU SWIM?
Well, I haven’t drowned yet

64 - FAVORITE ICE CREAM?:
Chocolate peanut butter, Rocky Road, Mint Choc. Chip, chocolate marshmallow

65 - DO YOU LIKE MAPS?
YES. I thank God for maps on a regular basis. Especially last night when I missed my exit and accidentally left the state. Ooops.

66 - TELL ME A RANDOM FACT ABOUT YOURSELF:
I could totally be a paparazzi person if I wanted to be. I’m an excellent stalker-picture taker. *Bwahahaha*

67. HOW OFTEN DO YOU BRUSH YOUR TEETH?
Heh. Brushing my teeth makes me unnaturally happy, so I do it quite often. At least twice a day, usually three and occasionally four. Yup, I’m a freak. I always forget to floss, though, if it’s any consolation….

68 - EVER ATTEND A THEME PARTY?:
Yes!

69 - WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON?
Fall, definitely. I love jeans and t/sweatshirt weather. I love knowing winter’s around the corner and I love how fall is the start of things; school, extra-curriculars, holiday season, etc.

70 - LAST TIME YOU LAUGHED AT SOMETHING STUPID?
This afternoon, when sending a Hoops & Yoyo ecard

71 - WHAT TIME DID YOU WAKE UP THIS MORNING ?
6:56am

72 - BEST THING ABOUT WINTER?:
The smell of snow, the tingly toes, the hats, the mismatched gloves and the fact that it’s not hot.

73 - LAST TIME A COP GAVE YOU A TICKET?:
Never ever ever, YEAH!

74. SOMETHING THAT DRIVES YOU CRAZY:
Drivers who don’t turn their high beams off when opposing traffic approaches, forgetting something that I KNEW I wouldn’t forget (yeah, right) and people who don’t listen to me

75 - NAME OF YOUR FIRST PET?:
Peter Aristotle Finland

76 - DO YOU THINK PIRATES ARE COOL OR OVERRATED?:
Totally, totally awesome.

77 - WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS WEEKEND??
Taking down Christmas decorations (boo!), babysitting, watching snow fall down, teaching Sunday School, practicing my guitar, wrapping birthday presents, possibly even baking cookies if I have time…

78 - BIRTHDAY
Feb 5th.

79 - WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE:
Dictator of the World would be nice. I'd be a kind Dictator, of course, not a ruthless one; but it would be nice to be in control of everything :)

80. LAST CONVERSATION YOU HAD WAS ABOUT:
Whether or not I should drive 30 minutes through the blizzard to babysit. The end decision was a disappointing but logical “No”. Boo.

81. MOST OVERUSED WORD IN YOUR VOCABULARY?
“Yay”, “commandeer”, “random” or “YAHOO!”

82. LAST BOARD GAME YOU PLAYED?
Chess. Lil Bro creamed me. Ugh. When did he get so darn GOOD at that game?!

83. - WHAT JEWELRY ARE YOU WEARING?
My new beautiful necklace. My guardian angel bracelet (most treasured possession in the world)

84. - DO YOU WISH YOU COULD SEE ANYONE PARTICULAR RIGHT NOW?
Very Best Friend in the Whole Entire Galaxy & family. Youth leader & family. D & family. *sigh*

85 - ARE YOU ON A LAPTOP?:
Yes, I’m on my beloved MooMoo

86. - HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN THE HOSPITAL?
Plenty of times. Being born, visiting people, rollerblade incident/head injury, x-rays… I even fainted in a hospital once. THAT was exciting.

87 - ARE YOU SMILING?:
Oh yeah. I’m planning my rise to power and eternal reign as Dictator. What’s not to smile about?

88. ARE YOU IN LOVE?:
Absolutely!

89 - DO YOU MISS SOMEONE RIGHT NOW?
Very Best Friend & family. D & family. EL & family.

90 - IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD WHERE WOULD YOU GO?
Very Best Friend’s house

91. - ARE YOU UPSTAIRS?:
Yes! Upstairs in the back bedroom. My room. Yay.

92 - ARE YOU IN HIGH SCHOOL?:
Yes and no. I’m in college, too; nyeh, nyeh, nyeh nyeh nyeh!

93 - DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH?:
Not anymore.

94 - WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NAME?
Addison Rose, Leah Marie, Miah Grace

95 - WHAT COLOR IS YOUR BATHING SUIT?:
Brown with red flowers or periwinkle and purple

96 - DOES YOUR SCHOOL START IN AUGUST?:
Well, technically, yeah, But I’ll probably take classes all summer. So really, school NEVER ENDS.

97 - DID YOU GO ON VACATION LAST MONTH?:
Last month? In December? Uh, no…not really…but I did have an awesome 3-day sleepover….!

98 - HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON A CRUISE?:
Nope. Have you ever heard of the Titanic?

99 - DO YOU HAVE A SISTER?
No. I wanted one for the longest time, though...

100 - WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO AFTER THIS SURVEY?
Vacuum and feed the cat. (Edit: I meant vacuum the floors, THEN feed the cat. Not vacuum the cat and feed the cat. Just wanted to be sure we're clear.)

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

This is my second-favorite time of the year :) My absolute, positive, FAVORITE holiday is Easter, but we'll go into all that at Easter time. However, the Thanksgiving-Christmastime era is definitely a close second!

I love everything about this time of year. Thanksgiving is such a great way to kick it off because it helps me focus on all my blessings in the midst of a season often dominated by materialism and "I want I want I want I WANT!" attitudes. Then, after Thanksgiving, the true Christmas season starts; a whole month of preparation for the most wonderful blessing of all time -- the birth of Jesus. After Christmas we get the excitement of New Years, the wonderful wintery-ness of January, followed by my birthday and by then, Spring is just around the corner and so is Easter! Woo hoo!

Christmastime is just such a cozy, (excuse the cliche...) jolly time of year! Everyone seems happier and kinder and more smiley than usual. The air smells like snow and snowflakes drift down at any given moment and christmas lights shine through the otherwise dark nights and it's cold...oh, how I LOVE the cold! It's hot chocolate time of year, and noses are cold and sweaters and hats and gloves are worn and I just love it, love it, love it!!! I love hearing Christmas songs on the radio and playing in every store in America... I just love it.

I've heard many people complaining about how Christmas starts earlier and earlier each year and why oh why do we have to start thinking about Christmas right after Halloween?!

Well...why not? What's wrong with preparing for a season of joy, blessings and family? Shouldn't a Christmas attitude of happiness and gratefulness be ours all year long?

Now, sure, I could easily write a post about all the things that are wrong with the way Americans view and celebrate Christmas....but I think, this time of year especially, it's important to focus on blessings and joy, rather than complaints and gripes. We live in a society that is constantly pushing commercialism and materialism and selfish attitudes. Last Christmas I was getting ready to leave for an international mission trip, and Christmas sort of flew by in the midst of preparations, worrying and packing. In a way, I missed Christmas last year! This year, I've made the decision that I will NOT allow the world or anything else to make Christmas a stressful time of year for me...I love it too much!! I've got plenty to be thankful for this year, and plenty of joyful blessings to share, and that's going to be my goal this Christmastime -- to focus on the true reasons for the season. Jesus' birth and the many, many other blessings that God has given me.

All Hail the Mighty Ketchup!

So today, in a desperate attempt to avoid English assignments and the multiple projects and essays I have due in the upcoming week or so, I resorted to reading the back of the ketchup bottle.

I've only recently started liking ketchup; like, say, the last four or five months or so. Prior to that, I HATED ketchup ALMOST as much as I hate mustard. But for whatever strange reason, I've suddenly started liking ketchup.

And it's a good thing, too!

I had a few startling realizations today during my ketchup-bottle-reading. First of all, ketchup is fat free. Yeah. Seriously. I mean, I'm far from being the world's heathiest eater or anything, but still. It's nice to learn that a food/condiment I LIKE, one that actually tastes GOOD, can be enjoyed without any guilt about extra calories.

Secondly, according to the nifty label on the back of the bottle, ketchup is full of lycopene, which I guess I already knew, somewhere deep down, because I knew tomatoes are full of lycopene and it really is just a logical conclusion. However, I didn't really know much about what lycopene WAS. So I found myself wondering, "What exactly IS lycopene, and what does it do? Oh, how I wish I could find out more!"

And, wonder of wonders, I found that as I kept reading, the label solved that problem for me: "Go to http://www.lycopene.org/ to find out more!" (Isn't it great when things just work out like that?! If only all questions in life were so easily answered.....!)

So, naturally, I did. And I found out that lycopene is an antioxident which may help strengthen your immune system, prevent diabetes, osteoporosis, skin aging AND has even been shown (in some studies) to lower your risk for heart disease and cancer!

So here's to ketchup! *applauds* Go get yourself some french fries or chicken nuggets or a nice cheeseburger and go heavy on the ketchup to celebrate this marvelous condiment!

O Happy Days...!

I LOVE birthdays. Not my birthday, particularly; that's never been a huge deal to me. No, I love OTHER people's birthdays. I love secretly finding out when birthdays are. I love whispering other people's birthdays to their friends so we can surprise them on their special day. I love suprising them with cards and I love giving gifts and I love singing "Happy Birthday" and I just love the whole concept of birthdays. I love how everyone has one day...one day of their very own...to be celebrated.

Today is my very bestest friend in the whole world's birthday (Happy Birthday, dear!!!) and I am so happy about it!!! I have been counting down the days to her birthday for months now. She does EVERYTHING for EVERYONE ALL THE TIME, but on her birthday, at least, it's a chance for the whole world to do things for HER, and to let her know how special and wonderful she is and how much we love her and how happy we are to have her in our lives :)

But it got me thinking, too.... as wonderful as it is to celebrate someone especially on their birthday, and let them know how special they are, why can't we do that every day? Why only once a year? Birthdays don't come nearly often enough, you see....I would never survive if I had to wait a WHOLE ENTIRE YEAR to tell my friend how amazing she is and make her feel special again....I mean, after all, I try to do that every day!!!!!

Remembering someone's birthday shows that you care about them, but you can show you care on the other 364 days, too!

One neat thing I LOVE to do is surprise people on their HALF birthdays -- it's a fun way to let them know you're thinking about them when they least expect it. Send a card, give a little gift or just call them and sing "HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY TO YOU....". You will be surprised how happy this makes both of you!

Even more fun is celebrating an UNbirthday -- celebrating someone you love on a totally random day. Not because it's their birthday (or half-birthday!); but simply because you love them :)

Look for ways to let someone know how very special they are to you today. Look for ways to encourage people today. Send them a card in the mail for no reason at all, bake some cookies to share, draw a picture, write a poem, give them a call or even just a big hug!

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" -- Phillipians 4:4

"For this is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!" -- Psalm 118:24

We can and SHOULD celebrate things that bring us joy and rejoice in our blessings EVERY DAY!!!!! And my friends are certainly some of the biggest blessings in my life :)

Christmas with a capital "C"!

OK -- plain and simple:
CHRISTmas is about CHRIST.
Thus the reason it's called "Christmas". Not "Presentmas", not "Decorateyourtreemas", not even "Snowyholidaymas", but "CHRISTMAS".

We celebrate the day that Christ was born. We celebrate the day that the Savior of the world became human and entered our earth to save us. We celebrate the fact that because of this baby, we have been saved from a fate of punishment and suffering and that, because of His unbelievable love and sacrifice, we've been blessed with the gift of eternal life in Heaven!

And if that's not a reason to celebrate, then I don't know what is!!

Around this time of year, there is always a lot of discussion about whether you say "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas". I think it's so sad that people get so caught up in the words that are being said, instead of the meaning behind the words. I refuse to be drawn into a bitter argument about the right phrase to say -- it's Christmas. The time of celebrating love, not making enemies and arguments!!

During this wonderful, joyous season, please just remember the REASON for the SEASON: Christ. You know, the one they named the holiday after :)

And while you're at it, read these lyrics by an awesome group called Go Fish. They really sum it up nicely.

"IT’S CALLED CHRISTMAS WITH A CAPITAL C "

It’s called Christmas!

Well I went to the coffee shop to get myself a mocha,
The lady at the counter said "Happy holidays";
I said, "Thanks lady, I am pretty happy,
But there’s only one holiday that makes me feel that way."

It’s called Christmas, what more can I say?
It’s about the birth of Christ
and you can’t take that away.
You can call it something else,
but that’s not what it will be.
It’s called Christmas with a capital "C."

God's got a law and we pretty much destroyed it.
We’re gonna get judged, there’s no way to avoid it.
But Jesus came down to take the punishment for me.
He did it for you too, so maybe you can see . . .

Why It’s called Christmas, what more can I say?
It’s about the birth of Christ
and you can’t take that away.
You can call it something else,
but that’s not what it will be.
It’s called Christmas with a capital "C."

It’s called Christmas!
It’s called Christmas!
It’s called Christmas!
It’s called Christmas!

It’s called Christmas, what more can I say?
It’s about the birth of Christ
and you can’t take that away.
You can call it something else,
but that’s not what it will be.
It’s called Christmas with a capital "C."


This song can be found on their album, Snow.


Also, I invite you to check out the video of this song, which is pretty great :)


MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!