The Thought Process: Math Homework

• I want to play Guitar Hero.
• But I really need to do this math homework.
• I will NOT play Guitar Hero until this math homework is done!
• I really need a pencil.
• *digs through backpack*
• What IS this? Why is it sticky....? How long has that been there....?
• Maybe I don't want to know.
• Focus. Pencil.
• *dig dig dig*
• AHA! Found one!
• Aw, man, it needs sharpening.
• *look at desk, where there SHOULD be a pencil sharpener, but it is too piled with stuff to see the sharpener*
• Hmm. It'll be easier to go sharpen it downstairs.
• *go downstairs to den to sharpen pencil*
• *have pointless convo with Lil Bro*
• *go back upstairs to bedroom*
• Hey, it's the cat! Hi, Grumpy girl!
• *pause to pet cat*
• *back to bedroom*
• Oh, yeah. Calculator. I need my calculator!
• Where IS my calculator, anyway?
• *begin to search room for calculator*
• Hmmm...it doesn't appear to be anywhere up here...I did just use it recently...
• *snaps fingers*
• It must be downstairs!
• *back downstairs*
• Oh, there it is! On the kitchen counter!
• Hmmm, while I'm here, I might as well get a drink.
• Chocolate milk would be good.
• *makes chocolate milk*
• *carries calculator & milk back up the stairs*
• *sit down on bed*
• *open math book*
• Now, let's see...uh oh, I didn't write down which assignments I'm supposed to do.
• I have to go online and check the assignment website.
• *opens computer*
• Oh, look! I have new emails!
• Email from (college) about an interview? Better respond to that.
• Oh...an email from Very Best Friend about directions for tomorrow...
• That reminds me: I need to Google directions for tomorrow anyway. Better do it now so I won't forget.
• *clicks "print" for directions*
• I'd better go check and see if they printed
• *goes downstairs in den to check for directions.*
• Yay, they printed!
• *back upstairs*
• Ok. Math. Focus. I was checking the assignment.
• *goes back to site*
• *writes down assignment*
• *IM pops up*
• It's L! I haven't talked to her in ages!
• *15 minute convo with L*
• Ok. No more distractions. Math needs to get done.
• Wow...it's amazing how many times I've been distracted.
• That would make a good blog post, I think.
• *writes blog post*
• Wow, is that the time? I really better get moving on this homework...
• *does three problems*
• I'm really tired....
• I have to get up early tomorrow....
• Maybe I should go to sleep now....
• I do have all weekend to do these problems...
• They're not due til Monday....
• That's plenty of time!
• Yeah, I'll do 'em later.
• *gets ready for bed*
• Hmmm. But I'm not really tired.
• Maybe I could play just one song on Guitar Hero.THEN I'll go to bed.
• *plays Guitar Hero until much too late*
• Ooops.
• *yawn*
• I really should have done that homework if I was going to stay up so late.
• Oh, well.
• There's always tomorrow.
• Or the day after.

It's 12:24am.

I have not had more than 5 hours of sleep per night all week.

I have not finished any of the homework that's due Monday.

I have not planned the Sunday School lesson I'm teaching tomorrow morning.

I have not written a decent lengthed email in days.

I have not written anything in days.

I have over 900 unread items in Google Reader and over 100 unread, non-spam emails to attend to.

I have eaten a ridiculous amount of Tastykakes today.

I have had a very packed, yet very wonderful weekend so far, and I expect tomorrow to be the most packed and most wonderful yet.

I have no cell phone for the third week running.

I have to be awake in a mere 5 hours.

Again.

Just being my usual, informative self....

[from The New York Times]

The 11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating
by Tara Parker-Pope

Maybe you should be eating more beets, left, or chopped cabbage. (Credit: Evan Sung for The New York Times)(This post was originally published on June 30, 2008, and recently appeared on The New York Times’s list of most-viewed stories for 2008.)

Nutritionist and author Jonny Bowden has created several lists of healthful foods people should be eating but aren’t. But some of his favorites, like purslane, guava and goji berries, aren’t always available at regular grocery stores. I asked Dr. Bowden, author of “The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth,” to update his list with some favorite foods that are easy to find but don’t always find their way into our shopping carts. Here’s his advice.

1. Beets: Think of beets as red spinach, Dr. Bowden said, because they are a rich source of folate as well as natural red pigments that may be cancer fighters.
How to eat: Fresh, raw and grated to make a salad. Heating decreases the antioxidant power.
2. Cabbage: Loaded with nutrients like sulforaphane, a chemical said to boost cancer-fighting enzymes.
How to eat: Asian-style slaw or as a crunchy topping on burgers and sandwiches.
3. Swiss chard: A leafy green vegetable packed with carotenoids that protect aging eyes.
How to eat it: Chop and saute in olive oil.
4. Cinnamon: May help control blood sugar and cholesterol.
How to eat it: Sprinkle on coffee or oatmeal.
5. Pomegranate juice: Appears to lower blood pressure and loaded with antioxidants.
How to eat: Just drink it.
6. Dried plums: Okay, so they are really prunes, but they are packed with antioxidants.
How to eat: Wrapped in prosciutto and baked.
7. Pumpkin seeds: The most nutritious part of the pumpkin and packed with magnesium; high levels of the mineral are associated with lower risk for early death.
How to eat: Roasted as a snack, or sprinkled on salad.
8. Sardines: Dr. Bowden calls them “health food in a can.” They are high in omega-3’s, contain virtually no mercury and are loaded with calcium. They also contain iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese as well as a full complement of B vitamins.
How to eat: Choose sardines packed in olive or sardine oil. Eat plain, mixed with salad, on toast, or mashed with dijon mustard and onions as a spread.
9. Turmeric: The “superstar of spices,” it may have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.
How to eat: Mix with scrambled eggs or in any vegetable dish.
10. Frozen blueberries: Even though freezing can degrade some of the nutrients in fruits and vegetables, frozen blueberries are available year-round and don’t spoil; associated with better memory in animal studies.
How to eat: Blended with yogurt or chocolate soy milk and sprinkled with crushed almonds.
11. Canned pumpkin: A low-calorie vegetable that is high in fiber and immune-stimulating vitamin A; fills you up on very few calories.
How to eat: Mix with a little butter, cinnamon and nutmeg.



Um....yeah. I like pumpkin seeds...and...well...that's about it...
Does anyone know what Swiss chard is? Or what turmeric is? (I'm assuming the former has nothing to do with Swiss cheese and the latter, quite frankly, sounds almost dangerous. Ick.)

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.)

10 Most Recent Music Downloads

Just in case anyone's curious. It's quite an amusing mix of genres, really....

Cemetaries of London -- Coldplay
Rainy Day -- Coldplay
Cinderella -- Steven Curtis Chapman [this song makes me cry every single time I hear it]
Fingerprints of God -- Steven Curtis Chapman
One Step at a Time -- Jordin Sparks
Walking in Memphis -- Lonestar
Come Unto Me -- Nicole C. Mullen
I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) -- The Proclaimers
Angel -- Aerosmith
It's Hard to be Cool in a Minvan -- Go Fish

Everyday Joys

(Thanks, L., for this email -- I LOVE it!)


Everyday Joys:



1. Falling in love.

2. Laughing so hard your face hurts.

3. A hot shower.

4. No lines at the supermarket

5. A special glance.

6. Getting mail.

7. Taking a drive on a pretty road..

8. Hearing your favorite song on the radio.

9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.

10. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer.

11. Chocolate milkshake (vanilla or strawberry).

12. A bubble bath.

13. Giggling.

14. Going barefoot

15. The beach.

16. Finding a 20 doll ar bill in your coat from last winter.

17. Laughing at yourself.

18. Looking into their eyes and knowing they Love you

19. Midnight phone calls that last for hours.

20. Running through sprinklers.

21. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.

22. Having someone tell you that you're beautiful.

23. Laughing at an inside joke with FRIENDS

24. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.20

25. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.

26. Your first kiss (either the very first or with a new partner).

27. Making new friends or spending time with old ones.

28. Playing with a new puppy.

29. Having someone play with your hair.

30. Sweet dreams.

31. Hot chocolate.

32. Road trips with friends.

33. Swinging on swings.

34. Making eye contact with a cute stranger.

35. Making chocolate chip cookies.

36. Having your friends send you homemade cookies.

37. Holding h ands with someone you care about.

38. Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change.

39. Watching the expression on someone's face as they open a much desired present from you.

40. Watching the sunrise.

41. Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day.

42. Knowing that somebody misses you.

43. Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply.

44. Knowing you've done the right thing, no matter what other people think.


One Final Thought:
"Lord, keep Your arm over my shoulder and Your hand over my mouth!"

20 Reasons I Love My Best Friend:

Been thinking about my favoritest person in the whole entire galaxy a lot lately. Here are 20 reasons off the top of my head why I LOVE HER SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!

1. When life stinks, I can go over to her house and she'll drop everything just to cry with me and hug me and talk to me for hours and hours until I feel better.
   


2. She makes the best brownies...and the best french toast, too...in the whole wide world!
   


3. She calls me just to say Hi and see how my day's going
   


4. She has the most amazing sense of humor and makes me laugh ALL THE TIME!
   


5. She is BRILLIANT and gives the world's most incredible advice.
   


6. She always knows exactly what I'm thinking (and she loves me anyway)!
   


7. Whenever we go somewhere, she drives :)
   
   
8. It is IMPOSSIBLE to be in a bad mood around her, because she is always so positively joyful.
   
   
9. She is forever looking out for other people and helping in every way she can. She constantly gives of herself and has taught me SO MUCH about selflessness and serving.
   
   
10. She is an incredibly faithful person and has helped me grow so much in my own faith.
    
    
11. She's super-creative and has awesome, fun, and sometimes slightly crazy ideas!
    
    
12. She's an excellent Scrabble player. We kick butt when we're on the same team :)
    
    
13. Friday the 13th is her favorite day. Just like me.
    
    
14. She is UNBELIEVABLY patient. Incredibly. Unfathomably. Unnaturally. (Well, I guess she has to be, to put up with me!!)
    
    
15. She tells me when I'm wrong, or when I'm being stupid, or when I'm being totally irrational or completely unfair, and helps me see things more clearly.
    
    
16. She has never ever ever ever ever ever ever used a curse word in all the 8 years I've known her.
    
    
17. She remembers all sorts of little minor details or stories that I tell her. Even if I don't think they're important, she does.
    
    
18. She can play football one moment and have a tea party the next.
    
    
19. She can laugh at herself; she can be flexible when things don't go the way she planned and just laugh and move on. I, on the other hand, tend to have a conniption when plans changed. This is another area she's taught me a lot about -- flexibility :)
    
    
20. Her hugs. They're the best thing in the world.

Noah's Ark

(Thanks, Kat!)

Everything I Need to Know, I Learned from Noah's Ark:

ONE

Don't miss the boat.

TWO

Remember that we are all in the same boat.

THREE

Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.

FOUR

Stay fit. When you're 60 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.

FIVE

Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.

SIX

Build your future on high ground.

SEVEN

For safety's sake, travel in pairs.

EIGHT

Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.

NINE

When you're stressed, float awhile.

TEN

Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.

ELEVEN

No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting.

Reasons for my current state of..... *happy sigh*

Ahhhhhhh, it's days like today that make me think summer might actually be worth keeping. I mean, don't get me wrong; when I'm Dictator-of-the-World someday we certainly won't have three months of this revolting heat, laziness, and related misery, but maybe I'll allow a week or two. Maybe.

Current Reasons I'm at Peace with the Season of Summer:

-- Staying up freakishly late (I think it was 2am before I went to bed last night?) to work off a caffeine high and sleeping in the next morning without feeling guilty

-- Going to the library and finding that I have time to just hang out and chat with people instead of rushing off to somewhere else

-- Time to go for a run

-- Milkshakes (yeah, so that sort of negates the whole purpose of running, but whatever)

-- Swimming

-- Playing my guitar out on the patio as a breeze danced around me

-- Bare feet (I mean, sure, I've tried going barefoot in the winter, but it's rather painful; hypothermia and frostbite and all that)

-- Having the windows open


A very lovely day, all in all. And a very productive one as well! In addition to all of the above I also ran errands, unpacked from camp last week, started a load of laundry, scheduled a college campus visit, and sort of cleaned my room. Yahoo!

P.S. AP Psychology score came today -- I got a five. The perfectionist in me is finally satisfied.

*happy sigh*

Packing:

abhorrent, abominable, alarming, appalling, atrocious, awful, bad, beastly, contemptible, cursed, deplorable, depressing, despicable, detestable, dire, disgusting, distressing, dreadful, fearful, foul, frightful, ghastly, grim, grody, gross, gruesome, grungy, harrowing, hateful, heinous, hideous, horrendous, horrible, horrific, horrifying, nasty, obnoxious, odious, offensive, repulsive, revolting, rotten, shocking, stinking, terrible, ugly, unpleasant, unsightly, very bad, vile, wretched.

Packing.

Gah.

[Who doesn't love Thesaurus.com???]


I leave for camp in 20 hours. I've packed nothing. I really should get to it. But I happen to harbor a hatred of packing. Now, don't get me wrong; I am SO PSYCHED!!!!!!! for camp, but the packing is always somewhat of a challenge, due to my abhorring the whole process and all. *sigh*
But my bed is totally covered with a variety of things I want to bring with me, so I really do need to transfer it all to the duffel, or else I shall be sleeping on the floor tonight...... and it could very well take me hours just to get upstairs to my room to begin the bed-cleaning-off process. After all, my procrastination skills are pretty darn amazing.

I'll be back Friday. If I remember and am feeling particularly loquacious, I'll try to preschedule some posts; however if it is bizarrely quiet here for the next 6 days, well, now you know why :)
I expect to come home to plenty of comments telling me how much I was missed!!!! :-P


[edit: Sunday 8:15am: Well now. Apparently my procrastination skills are much more well-developed and unbelievably amazing then even *I* thought. I managed to waste the entire evening last night. The stuff on my bed? Still there. I slept on the floor last night. I now have 15 minutes of packing time before we leave for church (which I am squandering away here, online, instead of upstairs with my duffel. Hmm.) and, if I'm lucky, there will be a whole hour in between church and leaving for camp in which I can eat lunch, change, and finish packing.
Yep. We're cooking now.]

Seven Songs of Summer Meme

ZE RULES:

"List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your summer. Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they’re listening to."

[Ok, so here are the first seven songs that come to mind when I think about what I've been listening to lately...a pretty amusing mix, actually!!]

ZE SONGS:

1. Walking on Sunshine -- Katrina & the Waves
2. Brown-eyed Girl -- Van Morrison
3. Hallelujah -- Krystal Meyers
4. Average Girl -- BarlowGirl
5. Anthem -- Superchic[k]
6. Hey Baby -- the Crazy Frog version!!
7. Mirrors & Smoke -- Jars of Clay

[edit] BONUS SONG!! (Just cuz I am such a rule-breaker and can't stick to only seven...!):
8. American Pie -- Don McLean (I have been listening to this song on repeat nearly non-stop for the last 20 hours. I kid you not. Yes, it played while I slept last night...!)

ZE TAGS:

I tag Anilee, Somnite, & Patrice. I think everyone else has done it already...?

Top 3 Idea Books Every Writer Should Have

....to help conquer writer's block and get the creativity flowing!

1. poemcrazy: Freeing Your Life with Words, by Susan G. Wooldridge

Ok, so it might have originally been aimed at poets or wannabe poets like myself, but in all honesty this book is fantastic for writers of any style or genre. It has wonderful exercises that challenge you to think and explore and is full of anecdotes and examples from the author's own life. My very best friend in the entire galaxy gave me this book for my birthday a few years ago, and it is my all-time favorite book ever. I kid you not; every time I have opened this book I've written something -- not always somethinig good, but it never fails to give me ideas and get me writing, and sometimes that's the hardest thing in the world to do!

2. The Pocket Muse, by Monica Wood

I just receieved this book in the mail today, and am positively in love with it! Again, it doesn't matter what you write -- this book is for you if you've ever suffered from lack of ideas or inspiration. It is a fantastic mix of tips and tricks to make your writing better, stunning black and white photos, lists, ideas, random words to get creative juices flowing, scenarios, characters in need of further development and prompts to get you thinking and writing. AMAZING! And the layout is gorgeous; each page is beautiful and unique and I swear, this book just exudes creative vibes.



3. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words, by Philip Sexton

Filled with more then a hundred intriguing and interesting pictures, every page in this book has a photo, a lesson about some aspect of writing, an accompanying exercise or two to practice the lesson and simple questions and captions to make you think. The book is divided into sections like "Characters" and "Dialogue", designed to help you improve your writing lesson by lesson. This is incredibly helpful and useful, but I've found that the book is also fantastic just to pick up and page through and pick an image at random. Mix and match the prompts and photos to come up with interesting combinations, and then just write and see where the words take you.

Top 5 Reasons Why This Isn't A Real Post:

1. Chemistry is evil. And therefore still not done. Blah.



2. Evil trolls have taken up residence in my bedroom and keep throwing things onto the floor, un-organizing the desk and scattering shoes around. As such, my room will not stay clean, and as such, I am perpetually attempting to clean it anyway. Not because I want to, mind you, but because I have to. Merh.



3. You know how most people's summers are relaxing times, where they can unwind and focus on the things they don't have enough time to do during the rest of the year? Not me. My summers are just as busy as the school year. Busy-ness includes, but is not limited to: Summer job. Never-ending college search. Babysitting. Extracurriculars. Summer camps. Need to plan 5 lessons for upcoming week of VBS (Vacation Bible School) that's I'm teaching at our church. Guitar needs practicing. Etc.



4. Writer's block. Severe writer's block, I might add. I have not written anything, save for a short story which I'm relatively sure is idiotic, for weeks. Which is so absolutely not me. This latest block has rather far-reaching effects; it's permeated not only my stories, but also my poems, journal entries and now I'm afraid it's affecting my blog! AAAH! Any ideas, folks?!?!



5. Aforementioned trolls, apparently growing bored with being confined to my bedroom have spread out and brought all sorts of dirt and other bits of crud throughout the house and therefore causing me to have to vacuum. Again.

For all you lexophiles out there....

I got this in an email today....it cracked me up!!!!!!!!

NEOLOGISMS:

(Neologisms are alternate meanings for common words.)

Arbitrator \ar'-bi-tray-ter\: A cook that leaves Arby's to work at McDonald's.

Avoidable \uh-voy'-duh-buhl\: What a bullfighter tries to do.

Baloney \buh-lo'-nee\: Where some hemlines fall.

Bernadette \burn'-a-det\: The act of torching a mortgage.

Burglarize \bur'-gler-ize\: What a crook sees with.

Control \kon-trol'\: A short, ugly inmate.

Counterfeiters \kown-ter-fit-ers \: Workers who put together kitchen cabinets.

Eclipse \i-klips'\: What an English barber does for a living.

Eyedropper \i'-drop-ur\: A clumsy ophthalmologist.

Heroes \hee'-rhos\: What a guy in a boat does.

Left Bank \left' bangk'\: What the robber did when his bag was full of loot.

Misty \mis'-tee\: How golfers create divots.

Paradox \par'-u-doks\: Two physicians.

Parasites \par'-uh-sites\: What you see from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Pharmacist \farm'-uh-sist\: A helper on the farm.

Polarize \po'-lur-ize\: What penguins see with.

Primate \pri'-mat\: Removing your spouse from in front of the TV.

Relief \ree-leef'\: What trees do in the spring.

Rubberneck \rub'-er-nek\: What you do to relax your wife.

Seamstress \seem'-stres\: Describes 250 pounds in a size six.

Selfish \sel'-fish\: What the owner of a seafood store does.

Subdued \sub-dood'\: Like, a guy, like, works on one of those, like, submarines, man.

Sudafed \sood'-a-fed\: Bringing litigation against a government official.

Three Things I've Learned Today...

...Which I feel are my responsibility to share with you all, so that you don't have to go through the pain and suffering of making these discoveries yourselves:

1. TV is evil. Ok, so not quite. (But sometimes it is. Spongebob Squarepants is an excellent example.) But really, it would be more fitting to say, TV is distracting. Don't watch it while trying to write. I was watching one of my all time favorite movies today, To Kill A Mockingbird for about the 40 billionth time. For those of who haven't seen the movie (to which I say - GO WATCH IT! It's one of the few movies that does the book it's based on justice), it's set in Alabama. Thus, all the characters have very Southern accents. Well, as I was watching this movie, I had my laptop out and I was also working on a story. At first, I was all excited because I'd been very productive and written a lot. However, I went back to re-read it and found that my main character -- a 15 year old girl who lives on a mountain in India -- was speaking with a Southern accent. Just like Miss Maudie and Scout and Jem. Ooops. I guess have a lot of editing to do *sigh*

2. Those with bad aim should not be trusted to put their own eye drops in. Seriously. Now, I have to put eyedrops in occasionally when my allergies act up, but that's only occasionally, and usually I can get by without making a total fool of myself. But today I woke up with pink eye (pink eyes, technically, since it's both of them) so I now have to put two drops in each eye every 2-4 hours. For the next five days. Which is a lot of drops. Which is a lot of opportunites to totally miss my eye and instead hit my nose, chin, and once (somehow) my ear. Yeah. Don't exactly know how that one happened....

3. Rainy days exacerbate procrastination. Seriously. Or maybe it's just me, which is also entirely possible...now, I LOVE rainy days, LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE them; don't get me wrong. And today was one of those perfect rainy days; it was cloudy and foggy and the rain was just cleansing and wonderful and refreshing, not depressing or annoying. But I am sorry to say that rain ALSO makes me lazy. It makes me want to spend the entire day curled up on my bed reading and writing and staring out the window and not accomplishing anything. Add to the fact that the two main things I needed to accomplish today -- Chemistry and cleaning my room -- are two of the most awful, intolerable and traumatic activities I can think of, and, well...it was hard to find the motivation to do either of them. But I tried. I did a little Chemistry, and, well, I DO still have all day tomorrow to clean my room.................

Bad Moods and Why I’m No Longer In One

I’ve been rather grumpy lately, for a variety of reasons. Yesterday I was freakishly crabby for a good portion of the day. Now, sometimes I can get myself out of those funks just by refusing to succomb to them -- “I am NOT going to be in a bad mood today!!!”. But usually I can’t. Yesterday I couldn’t. I spent the majority of the day denying the fact that I was in a bad mood but snapping at everyone who came near me and glaring at everyone who didn’t.
Finally, I admitted to myself that I was in a bad mood and needed to do something about it. So I did one of the two things that nearly always makes me happy.

Running. Yes, I know there are plenty of biological reasons that this works -- endorphins are lovely things, after all, and it’s a great stress-reliever and all that. But I also love running because it gets me out of the house; lets me be alone to mutter and grumble and glare all I want and gives me an opportunity to push myself hard -- and be proud of the results. And it’s hard to be in a bad mood when you’re proud of yourself!
As I result, I was back to my insanely perky and happy self last night.

Today, for a bunch of similar reasons, I was back in a bad mood (it’s rather exhausting being a teenager, isn’t it?!) Because I don’t have the time or energy to run again today, much as I’d like to, I turned to the second thing that nearly always makes me happy.

Music.
What’s on my playlist, you ask?

MMSG’s Top Five Songs to Listen To When You’re In A Bad Mood:

1. It’s the End of the World as We Know It -- R.E.M. I was introduced to this song while babysitting one night, actually. I very dramatically announced for some reason, “it’s the end of the world as we know it!!” and all three kids burst into the refrain of this song. By the end of that night, I knew it quite well. It’s one of those wonderfully cynical and pessimistic songs that is great to listen to when you’re mad at the world.

2. Falling Inside the Black -- Skillet. You’ve got to love the loudness, intensity and overly-dramatic ness of this song. Ooh, it’s positively chilling. While we’re on the subject, many of Skillet’s songs fit this description; other favorites include Whispers in the Dark and Rebirthing.

3. Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) -- Green Day. I’m not a huge Green Day fan at all, but for some totally inexplicable reason this song appeals to me. I have no idea why, because it’s so monotonous and depressing, and yet, sometimes that’s exactly what I listen to when in the midst of whatever drama I’m going through, and it cheers me up. Don’t know why. But it does. I’m teaching myself to play it on the guitar.

4. Me Against the World -- Superchic[k]. Ok, so this song might not exactly have the same appeal if you’re a guy, but still. How can you argue with the line, “They said don’t try to change the world, you’re just a girl; so it’s me against the world today….”. I love the feeling of determination in this song!

5. Life is Good -- Stellar Kart. As hard as I try, I absolutely cannot be in a bad mood if I hear this song. It’s much too happy and exciting and wonderful; but not in an overly-optimistic gaggy way; more like just in a, “Ok, maybe-the-world’s-really-not-coming-to-an-end-today” kind of way.

(And! Since I’m now in such a good mood and feeling so incredibly generous, a bonus song!)
6. Bethlehemian Rhapsody -- Apologetix. I LOVE Apologetix’s parodies; they absolutely crack me up!! While all of their songs are ingenious and hysterical, this one happens to be my favorite. I think there are two versions of it out there, though, for some reason. I like the David and Goliath version best, if that makes any sense. And again, it's hard to be crabby when you're laughing hysterically.

Top Ten Reasons Why I Hate Driving

(in no particular order)

1. Headlights. Is it so freaking hard to turn them off, people?! Do you really need them when the street you’re driving on has streetlights every three feet or so? Must you have them on while you’re tailgating me? That’s sort of distracting, you know. And! When you’re coming towards me -- TURN THEM OFF, for pity’s sake! Are you TRYING to blind me?!?! Good grief.
   
   
2. Squirrels. The blasted things must all be on death missions, I tell you. Seriously! Do they posses any common sense? Any at ALL? Shouldn’t they at least have some kind of survival instinct that tells them to RUN when big loud things come towards them? *I* am a big, loud thing coming towards them, and they either a) sit in the middle of the road and stare at me, b) wait until the last second to run away or c) run almost totally across the road, only inches from safety, only to turn around and run IN FRONT OF ME AGAIN to go to the OTHER side of the road.Nincompoops.
   
   
3. Speaking of nincompoops, the squirrels aren‘t the only ones. About ¾ of the other drivers out there on the road seem to be one. See #1 above. Why can't people just be GOOD drivers?!?! It would make the whole experience that much more FUN, you know, instead of stressful!
   
   
4. Drive-thrus. Ugh. It’s not exactly easy to manuever a minivan around all those cement barriers and tight turns and get close enough to the window to hand them your money and get your food without scraping your side view mirror on the building… UGH!
   
   
5. Driveways. The short, curvy, long, windy (that’s WINE-dee, as in, it winds around a lot, not WIN-dee, as it, blowing breezes. Although a windy driveway would probably be unpleasant, too, if the wind was forceful enough…) tight, narrow, hilly or unpaved ones in particular. I absolutely hate 98% of driveways. I don’t like having to turn around. I don’t like having to back out, either, which sort of makes it hard to get out of just about every driveway in America.
   
   
6. Pedestrians. I know, I know, you’re supposed to yield to them. I DO! That’s my problem! You can never tell where people are going (“is that woman going to cross the street? Is she waiting to cross or waiting for a bus? Is she walking down that road or going straight or turning?” etc, etc) so I always end up stopping when I don’t have to because it usually LOOKS like they’re going to cross the street only they don’t, and people behind me get mad.
   
   
7. Speed limits. Or rather, everyone else's inability to GO the speed limit. Apparently I’m the only person who follows them, and the rest of the world feels the need to tailgate me and wuite frankly, people, THAT just makes me go slower, so there! *sticks out tongue*
   
   
8. Toll Booths. Similar to the drive-thru issues, but toll booths also require intense amount of coordination and quick thinking. It’s multitasking while driveway. It’s insane! You’ve got to get in the correct lane (EZ-Pass? Or not? Cash only? Trucks only? Is a van a truck?!?) while avoiding all the other people who are swerving this way and that to get in THEIR correct lane. Then you need to slow down, roll down your window and not hit the car in front of you -- or the cement barriers, the “slow down” sign, or the toll booth itself -- pull up close enough to get the ticket, and then (after the gate raises, of course), accelerate back to a normal ramp speed and get into the correct lane to go where you’re going, all the while rolling up your window and setting the ticket down somewhere where you’ll be able to grab it quickly later. Don’t even ask me about the second half of toll booths, where you have to do all of the above and handle money, too….UGH!!!
   
   
9. Merging. Lots of cars going fast, me trying to get in the midst of them before the lane ends…need I say more?
   
   
10. Passengers. They talk to you, whistle, gasp, fiddle with the radio, make obnoxious comments, open their windows when you really don’t want to be blasted by air, make noise, ask you questions and certain people that I’m related to have a nasty habit of shrieking and bracing themselves on the dashboard in front of them everytime I slow down, as though they think they’re going to die. This is, as you can imagine, rather distracting as well.

And people wonder why I’d rather walk places!!!! SHEESH!

Best Books to Read: Classics!

Ever been to the "young adult" section of a library or bookstore? I try to avoid it at all costs. Given, there are a few contemporary authors I love -- Lois Lowry, Stephanie Meyer and J.K. Rowling. But for the most part, I find today's authors to be shallow, whiny, and unskilled. Inevitably, most of the books will center around the same few themes (with a few minor variations in a pathetic attempt to be "different"). Usually, you've got the whiny teenage "love" affairs (more on my take on teenage "love" and dating in another post) -- "My boy/girl friend left/cheated on me, how on earth will I ever survive?!?!". Or, you've got the stereotypical, "I hate the world and the world hates me" point of view. This bothers me quite a bit -- no wonder teens have such a negative stereotype in our world today! We're always portrayed as angry, shallow beings, and books like this just encourage that view. If you do manage to find a book not relating to these kinds of themes, it will more likely then not be filled with immorality of all sorts -- cheating, lying, stealing, drugs, sex, you name it; all because somehow, young adult authors have gotten the idea that this is what appeals to teens!

Obviously, nobody asked me.


Because of all this, when I walk into a library or bookstore, I always gravitate towards the "Classics" section. I feel much more at home among the rows of the works of Shakespeare, Poe, and George Orwell then I ever would among the contemporary young adult "novels".

Now, admittedly, many of us have read these books in school. But I strongly encourage you to read them again, on your own time, for no reason other then exploring them and enjoying them. I've found that often when reading a book for an assignment, I race through it in order to complete it on time and often miss the meaning, and the "magic" (yeah...I know...that sounded corny. But it's true!).

And so, here is a list -- though most definitely not a complete list, because there are millions of great classics out there! -- but a list nonetheless of 10 great classics that everyone should read -- or re-read, as the case may be:

• Animal Farm, by George Orwell
• 1984, by George Orwell
• War of the Worlds, by Orson Wells
• Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
• To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
• The Lord of the Rings Triology, by J. R. R. Tolkien
• A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William Shakespeare
• Much Ado About Nothing, by William Shakespeare
• And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie
• Lord of the Flies, by William Golding