Happy thoughts...

"We both fell in love with each other before the other one of us even knew it."

"...That's what I think is so amazing and wonderful."

And I'm so glad we both know it now.... :-)

"For unto us a Child is born..."

Hail! the heav'n-born Prince of peace!
Hail! the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
Risen with healing in his wings
Mild he lays his glory by,
Born that man no more may die:
Born to raise the sone of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King!"


Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone is having a spectacular holiday, filled with good company, lots of food and all that warm happy stuff. :-) Christmas is my favorite holiday.... It's so joyous! I love the anticipation of Christmas morning and then waking and finding the gifts under the tree.... The Christmas music... That "creepy Christmas feeling". Baking cookies... Spending time with family and friends. It's all wonderful. At least for me. :-)

I didn't really put together a Christmas list this year... Which is kind of risky, because it means my grandparents go off my birthday list and I run the risk of getting doubles... BUT! That didn't happen this year! I really didn't have a lot that I wanted anyway. I'm very content with everything in general. Besides, my usual plea for a boyfriend for Christmas was taken care of a month in advance. ;-)

I did get some happy, useful things... Like an ice scraper that has a brush, so I no longer have to use my sleeve to uncover my car in the winter. I also got one of those things that checks the pressure in my car tires, a car garbage bag and a fancy billfold for my car's license and registration. I also got this stand for my laptop that helps cool the underside and keep it ventilated and a wireless mouse! (Which I wrongly guessed was a 20 questions game... silly me.) My parents gave me the soundtrack to Twilight and my grandparents gave me the movie PS. I Love You. Stephen made me a candycane tree ornament and Philomena gave me an awesome bookmark. Daniel gave me this super cute light up snowman pin, and Matthew gave me a iPup that is now named Playdough. (Mostly because when I asked what I should name him, Stephen yelled PLAYDOUGH! probably because he was reading his box of... you guessed it. Playdough.) The iPup reacts to music that he hears and plays 12 different rock riffs when he's happy. He's kind of cute. Mary gave me a shirt from Central, and that's pretty sweet too.

Mary got a stickball. I am not kidding. It's a ball. And it is made of sticks. Mom and Dad were amused and we all were very "whaaa-aat???" We figured Mary could use if for an art project at school or something. But still... A stickball? At least that random enameled pineapple jar I got for my 15th birthday is better than a ball of sticks. (Which is packed away somewhere... I still don't know what to do with it.) Matthew was laughing at Mary's stickball but I told him his time is coming...

The Doctor Who Christmas special should be online tonight!!!! I am so excited! I really want to watch it!!!!! And figure out WHAT is going on from the trailer! AHH!!! (And the music in the trailer, I must add, is spectacular.)

Right now, Philomena and Stephen are watching the Magic School Bus DVD that Stephen got for Christmas, Matthew and Mary are watching the second season of House that Mary got for Christmas, and Daniel is playing Age of Empires I and winning. Dad is working on his awesome mashed potatoes and listening to Handel's Messiah. Mom just took my temperature because I'm paranoid that I'm getting sick. Well, I mean, more sick that I already am. I have this stupid slightly stuffy nose. And I've been sneezing. :-P My temperature was fine... Actually a little under, which means I should eat something other than this sour candycane. (Except that I'm not exactly hungry, which isn't a good sign. It's 3:30 and all I've had was a bowl of cereal at 9:30 am and then some Christmas candy.) And maybe have a cup of tea.

I don't want to be sick. :-(

Anyway, Merry Christmas everyone! May God continue to bless you throughout the year!


"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time. " ~Laura Ingalls Wilder

Christmas hilarity

It's Christmas Eve everyone! :-) And that means that it's that time of year again.... Time to laugh, groan, wonder and ask yourself "why". WHY would anyone want these....

Drum roll please!!!!!

It's the:

Cavalcade of Bad Nativities!

Part I

Part II



There's more than one page people... So make sure you scroll all the way to the bottom! And even if you've already seen them, they're worth a look again... Because they're just that funny!

Talking with my best friend....

Jessica: *siiiiigh* The story of Sarah and Luke totally wins over Twilight....
Me: *siiiiiiiiiiiigh* I know.... It's just.... *siiiiiiigh* I'm so happy.....
Jessica: You just need some vampires....
Me: Hahahaha... I'll get right on that Jessica.

Finally real life is better than fiction...

Indescribable

"Find a heart that loves you at your worst, and arms that will hold you at your weakest."

Someone has found me that knows I'm not perfect, and yet he loves me anyway. Until now, I've never met someone who has made so indescribably happy.

I thank God everyday for how much I have been blessed.

"I never thought love could be so magnificent until I saw the sincere look in your eyes, telling me that this time... I would never shed another tear."

It's Christmas Break!

Hello Everyone! It's finally Christmas break and I am at home and doing nothing! Currently, it's a nice change. I'm sure I'll feel different by the time break is over. Maybe.

Yesterday was my last day of student teaching. I managed to make it through the whole day without crying. I saved it all for the drive back to Wartburg. One of the 5th grade students made a card and all of the 5th grade band signed it and wrote things like "Please don't leave!" "We'll miss you!" and "Come back and visit!" with lots of unhappy smilie-faces that had tears. It was super cute. I got tons and tons of hugs from both the 5th and 6th grade students. I'll miss them. My cooperating teacher wrote me a really strong, positive letter of recommendation, which is really great. I've learned a lot from this experience, and I can't believe I made it to the end!

Monday I had my last concert with the High School. It went pretty well, and I was happy with it. I think the band was nervous and tired because there were a couple spots where they had intonation issues and rushed. And didn't watch me. BUT they all pulled together and the audience really enjoyed it. :-)

Then, Monday night driving home from the concert, the heat in my car started acting weird. It was turned all the way up to full blast, but it air coming through was if it was set to the lowest setting, and it no longer was as hot. It was worse driving home on Tuesday with the crazy snowfall going on. Mostly because the windshield defroster could barely keep up with keeping the ice melted off of the glass. When I finally made it back to Waverly, I stopped at the garage that fixed my flat tire and asked if they had a moment to look at my car to see if they knew what was wrong. (I was crossing my fingers, hoping that it wouldn't be something expensive.) They were able to find the problem-- the cabin air filter was old and clogged with snow and gunk. I set up an appointment and had it fixed yesterday after I got done with school. Now my car has heat and it works! (And it wasn't expensive... Compared to getting the water pump replaced last month.)

And now, like I stated earlier, I am on break! I went to bed around 12 am last night and slept in until 10:30am. It was spectacular! I haven't done too much today. I went to the library and checked out Ivanhoe. I am determined to finish it... But I'm probably going to have to start over so I can remember all the characters. I also checked out O Brother Where Art Thou? Because I promised my cooperating teaching that I'd watch... Evidently this is a movie that I should have seen a long time ago. I also practiced my flute for the first time in, about 2 months... It was kind of painful and tiring.

Tomorrow Jessica is coming home! (Mary too.) And Saturday I am going to visit Luke! I'm really excited! I also really hope the weather cooperates. *shakes fist* It better! I could go on and on and on about how excited I am for Saturday, but it would get really redundant. It's really hard to wait! That's all I've been able to think about for quite a while... No joke...

Other things that need to happen during break:
Visit Luke
Hang out with Jessica
Practice my flute
Read Ivanhoe
Read some Sherlock Holmes
See The Tale of Despereux, Valkyrie, The Bride Wars and Marley and Me
Finish reading Paper Towns
Finish Breaking Dawn

Speaking of Twilight, tonight I'm going to see the movie again. It's at our local theatre, and it's the last night it's showing there, so I might as well see it again. :-) 3 times the charm, right?

Okay, it's time for dinner... I need to go.

When is this snowstorm supposed to hit, anyway???

"Say you're pretty!" "No!"

Rachel D.: Shut up! You're pretty!
Me: ... Well, I'm not ugly.
Rachel D.: No you're not ugly! Don't be ridiculous! You're pretty!
Me: .....
Rachel D.: You are. No arguments.
Me: But I have a big nose!
Rachel D.: YOU have big nose? Look at mine.
Me: Yours isn't that big. It goes with your face.
Rachel D.: There is nothing wrong with your nose.
Me: A couple weeks ago Mary and I had an hour long argument over AOL about who was the prettier sister. We each thought it was the other one.
Rachel D.: ......... But you two look the same....
Me: I know... It wasn't a very productive argument.


Dear Mary:

Things will get better. It just sucks right now. Especially with finals doubling your stress level. It'll be okay! *hugs* Don't worry... There is no problem. It's not you. It's not them. It's just not time. Keep praying.

"Dance with God, he'll let the right man cut in."

<3 your older sister

Because I was tagged...

1) What’s their name?
Rachel Lynn D.

2) Does he or she have a boyfriend/girlfriend?
Not yet.

3) Do you get along with this person all the time?
For sure!

4) How old is the person?
21

5) Has he/she ever cooked for you?
We've cooked together before. Um, once she made me hot chocolate.

6) Is this person older than you?
No. She is younger by 355 days.

7) Have you ever kissed this person?
Uh, no.

8) Are you related to this person?
Not biologically.

9) Are you really close to him/her?
Yes I am. :-)

10) Nickname?
"Clover Monkey" is her new nickname... Because this one time we were at Wal-Mart I said: "Hey, aisle 12 is open..." and she went: "What? A Clover Monkey??!" Yeah.... I don't get the translation either, but it's now her name... :-)

11.) Do they have a nickname for you?
"My person" sometimes.

12) How many times do you talk to this person in a week?
A bajillion.

13) Do you think they will repost this?
She did it first.

14) Could you live with this person?
I already am. So there! :-D

15) Why this person?
Why not? We because we're AWESOME.

16) How long have you known this person?
2 years and almost 5 months and a couple of days.

17) Have you ever been to the mall with this person?
Lots of times. We've even almost died. Kind of. It was scary. One of the malls has a parking lot of DEATH.

18) Have you ever had a sleepover with this person?
Yeah, she came to visit over the summer and that was awesome... and over fall break we did some sleepover things! :-)

19) If you ever moved away would you miss this person?
Yes, yes I would. A lot!

20) Have you ever done something really stupid or illegal with this person?
Bwahahahahaha. Yes. But nothing really really bad.

21) Do you know everything about this person?
Everything is a lot. I don't know everything. But I know a large bit.

22) Would you date this person’s siblings?
No. That would be weird.

23) Have you ever made something with this person?
Um. Lemme think. YES. We've cooked together, made t-shirts, made creative foodstuffs in the mensa together, made movies together.

24) Have you gone skinny dipping with this person?
No.

25) Is he/she on drugs?
No.

26) Have you ever worn this person’s clothes?
Um.... Yes. I borrowed a black shirt once.

27) Does this person wear your clothes?
Once she accidentally wore a camisole of mine... Because I'm messy and left it on the floor.

28) If it was “freaky friday” would you switch bodies with this person?
Sure for a day... On a day where I wouldn't mess up her life too much.

30) Do you and this person have a saying?
Vas es das? and Dooooo noooooot waaaaaaant...

31) Do you know this persons facebook password?
Nope.

32) Have you and this person ever gotten into a fight that lasted more than 2 days?
Nothing that lasted that lond.

33) Have you and this person gone clubbing?
No. We both left our clubs at home. And no one has upset either of us enough to deserve a good beating...

Do you mean like going to bars? ;-) No, not that either.

34) Do you know how to make this person feel happy?
Haha. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I do.

35) Do you and this person talk a lot?
I don't know. How much is a lot. Like almost every waking moment we're together? Then YES!

36) Do you like this person?
What kind of a question is that??? YES!

37) Has this person yelled at you?
Oh, yeah.

38) Have you and this person got into a fist fight?
No. But sometimes we pretend to punch each other in band.

39) Do you want to go out with this person?
No. Not in the sense I think this is asking. 1. I don't swing that way. 2. SHE doesn't swing that way. 3. I have a boyfriend.

40) Do you want to be friends with them forever?
YES AND THEN SOME!

The Confrontaion

1. Put your iTunes (or any other media player you may have) on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
"Let Go" by Barlow Girl

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
"There's a Girl" from the Broadway musical The Secret Garden (....aww...)

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
"Only Hope" from A Walk to Remember

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
"Facade" from the Broadway musical Jekyll and Hyde (Um... no!)

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
"To the Pirates' Cave!" from Pirates of the Caribbean! (Haha! Perfect!)

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
"Poor Unfortunate Souls" from Disney's Little Mermaid (Say it's not true... Please...)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
"Before I Gaze at You Again" from the Broadway musical Camelot (Not true! Not true!)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
"It's the Hard-Knock Life" from Annie (Well, seeing as all my best friends are in college, we all mutually feel something like this at one point or another.)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Addicted" by Kelly Clarkson

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
"A Window to the Past" from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
"Superman" by John Williams (BWAHAHAHAHA! No.)

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
'You Gotta Have Heart" from the Broadway musical Damn Yankees!

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
"My Paper Heart" by All-American Regects

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
"The Best Thing" by Relient K (Haha....)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"Good-by My Love" from the Broadway musical Ragtime (Awwww.........)

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
"The Mouse" from Stardust

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
"I'll Tell the Man in the Street" sung by Kristen Chenoweth. (Look up the lyrics... :-) It's not a secret, but it's a nice song.)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
"Softer to Me" by Relient K

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
"Sunday Best" by Augustana

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
"The One I'm Waiting For" by Relient K

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
"Someone Like You" from the Broadway musical Jekyll and Hyde (Okay, for real.... This is just amusing...)

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
"Mr. Bumper sticker Writer" a commercial from Bud Light (It's true...)

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
"This Week the Trend" by Relient K

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
"Song of the Bells" by Leroy Anderson (Does that mean yes?)

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
"Holes to Heaven" by Jack Johnson

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
"All I ask of You" from the Broadway musical The Phantom of the Opera

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
"Without Love" from the movie version of Hairspray

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
"Under the Sea" from Disney's Little Mermaid

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
"The Confrontation" from the Broadway musical Les Miserables



These are fun! Some of them are not true, but they're fun!

Crazy for You

Things are looking up!
I've been looking the landscape over
And it's covered with four leaf clover,
Oh things are looking up
Since love looked up at me.


Bitter was my cup,
But no more will I be the mourner,
For I've certainly turned the corner.
Oh things are looking up
Since love looked up at me.

See the sunbeams!
Ev'ry one beams
Just because of you.
Love's in session
And my depression
Is unmistakably through.

Things are looking up!
It's a great little world we live in!
Oh I'm happy as a pup
Since love looked up -
Oh I'm happy as a pup
Since love looked up at me!


Sometimes George and Ira Gershwin say it just as well as Rogers and Hammerstein.... :-)

It was almost four years ago...

I was bored and just finished reading through my old Facebook quotes.... I put some recaps up on my Facebook wall.

And I still want to know why there isn't such a thing as white Jell-O.....

Post before bed.

"Her sole company is her imagination.
People may think she is alone,
But in her head the seat across from her is occupied."

Sometimes it's difficult to have empathy for others until you're experiencing it for yourself.


As much as I'll miss student teaching, tonight I feel ready to move on. I haven't learned everything. I certainly haven't learned enough. But student teaching, and my placement in particular, has helped me improve. Until now I've never done anything in my life that's been so reassuring that *this* is what I'm meant to do. It's a nice feeling.

Despite this, I'm ready for a break. I think everyone is. I don't have any tests to worry about/study for, but I'm still feeling stressed. Outside/vicarious stresses. Like the weather. And being cold all the time. I want to go home and sit on the heater with a blanket. My fingers are ice cold right now. Typing with gloves on is really hard.

I have a week until the 17th, and 10 days until the 20th. It's not that far away, really... I'm just impatient. It's the last push to the end of a long semester. We can all make it together. :-)

You may have won the battle, but you have not won the war...

So I'm currently blogging from the library. The internet in Knights Village is down, and has been down all afternoon. It's very annoying, but I already called the ITS to find out what's wrong. But still. Bleh.

For the past hour I was in the midi-lab trying to naviate Facebook using the new computers... Which are LAME! (They're some sort of psuedo-mac) It would not let me poke ANYONE. Facebook kept giving me this error message telling me "That action is not allowed." What? Yes it is! Since when is poking forbidden? Especially since other people are allowed to poke ME! (It let me poke twice... After it took me to a separaet poking page... Like the old-old-old-old Facebook used to do. Weeeeeeird.) And then it wouldn't let me post on people's walls for a while... It was super lame.

That is also why I'm in the library. Better poking abilities. Except that no one is online poking anymore. lol...

There was a snow storm last night with freezing rain and snow. My school only had a 2 hour delay but all the other schools around it had cancelled. Since I have a 40 minute drive, my cooperating teacher told me that I didn't have to go into school, which was probably for the best. Tomorrow I will have to dig out my car and chip away at the ice. Luckily I don't have to be at school until 7:45.

Today I watched 3 episodes of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes and the first 3 episodes of Firefly. How have I missed out on this TV series????? It's really cool! (The sad thing is I won't have time to watch anymore until break... If I can find someone else who has the series......... Or I could rent it. I dunno.)

I have 6 days left at my student teaching assingment.... It's really weird to think about... My last day will be December 17th. My last concert is th 15th. I will probably cry.

Another thing that is super sad: Pushing Daisies is getting canceled. SUPER LAME DECISION ABC! I love that show. What are they thinking?! :-( *siiiigh*

Wartburg library gave all of its student employees a gift bag filled with snacks and sugary goodies... And a flashdrive... Which is pretty sweet! I now have 2 flashdrives... And one is orange. :-) The free flashdrive makes up for the rather lame box of raisins.

Okay, I know Rachel D. is bouncing around back at the dorm... She has my Christmas present and wants to give it to me... So that's all for now!

Bored on the Band Bus....

This is Rachel D. and I being silly on the bus on our way to the Des Moines concert for Christmas vs. Wartburg. This is like, the third take of the video because we kept laughing. (Does anyone else remember learning to make these apple-puppets from Lampchop's Play-a-long?)

Christmas vs. Wartburg is ALMOST done! We have our last concert this afternoon. I'm really tired of moving equipment. The current stats are:

Christmas: 2 Wartburg: 4

Christmas might gain some points in the final round because it's currently snowwing outside...