al's thoughts for the day

White Water

2011-07-12T17:02:00.000-07:00

me at whitewater 2010 showing off my sharpie lightsaber tattoos- don't copy me!

I can't believe White Water is almost here. This is the premier event for 8th graders and it will impact you for the rest of your life. Which leads me to ask, why is camp so impactful? Whether it is summer camp, winter camp, at a facility, run on your own, big church, small church, old, young, whatever, what is it about camp that leads it to changing some aspect of your life? Maybe all the time spent together as a church body? The chance to get away from everyday distractions? The purposefullness of spending time with God while you are there? What is that magic, that camp high that people talk about? Hey I am not knocking camps- they are great, you should go, i am just pondering why we have to encourage people to bring their experience "down the mountain." Every camp has to tell its campers not to let the change they made in their lives, in their hearts stay at camp, but rather to bring it home with them. Why is this something that must be addressed? You would think that we take our other experiences with us and they become part of who we are, why must it be reminded about camp? Do we take camp for granted? I don't know, my coffe is wearing off and so is this philosophical mindset I am in, so I will sign off- but what do you think, I would like to hear?

Where did the time go?

2011-06-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

I rememeber adults telling me when I was younger about how quickly time goes by. I am discovering this is a very true phenonemon. I remember when it felt like summers lasted forever ( we used to actually have a full 3 months- just less vacation during the school year) and it seemed to take so long before your next birthday. Time has somehow gotten shorter since then, days definitely aren't as long, whole months can pass by in a blink, and years- wow. This summer has started off at a crazy pace. I am not even surprised that June is almost over, althought I feel like I am still in April. And I know the summer will just continue to go faster and faster. We have so much going on! TNL, LNT, OverNighter, Beach Days, 2 Summer Camps, Allnighter, Weekends- it is an action packed summer!! Really is you aren't coming you are really missing out- come to everything, fill your summer with fun! That picture is me in bygone days when summer really did last forever- like my cute bathing suit!?!

Oldie but goody

2010-12-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas time is here and it always makes me think of my favorite Christmas Movie, "Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!" I have talked about it before in my blog but it is great. Not only does it have an awesome soundtrack, but also an awesome message. Anyway, that movie always makes me think of Christmas and just reminds me of all my Christmases. You know, childhood memories and all that excitement you felt, how certain you were that your heard Santa on your roof the previous night. I haven't watched it yet this year, I think I might save it for Christmas Eve, but I have started watching some of the others. So far I have caught Elf, Nightmare Before Christmas, and Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas. I have a few more in my collection that I will bust out if I can't catch them on TV. They often play them so early that I miss them! Sorry but I wasn't looking for Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer on Thanksgiving, it is a Christmas movie! Silliness. Anyway- what is your favorite Christmas movie?

Man oh man.

2010-12-02T16:04:00.001-08:00

So I could go through a bunch of lame excuses for not posting since July, but that is exactly what they would be- lame. It's not like nothing has happened, quite a lot actually. Summer camps, work moving, new this new that, I turned 30, house flooded, Thanksgiving and now Christmas on the way, life has felt like a whirlwind. Not only that but I have found a bunch of sweet games and i was thinking, "I should post these on my blog" but then my next thought would always be, "I don't wanna" or "I'll do it later." Which bring us to today, 4 months since my last blog. Sorry. Especially to my 4 followers:) I smile because I know no one really cares but I said i would post so I should be posting so now I frown:(

So I do have a fun little addicting game for you (insert happy face here:) It makes me think of the late 80's when everything turned neon. Enjoy!

Click here to play Flyde

I am so excited!

2010-07-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

I know, things have been crazy but I found a little bit 'o happiness the other day, a lil' ray of sunshine, if you will, poked through the cloud of insanity that has been May, moving and camp prep. This beacon of all things wonderful in none other then Sushi Cat: the honeymoon!!! It isn't Sushi Cat 2, it is more like Sushi Cat 1.5. If you haven't played the first Sushi Cat you should, as this continues the story- not that there is much of one beyond the silliness but you can get to it here click here to play the first Sushi Cat

I don't know why I love this little game but I do!!! And this one's little story is more ridiculous than the first. Oh, and the pwer up sushi is way better- I like the ball of yarn one and the super sushi tongue. Don't know what I am talking about- of course not that is why you must play!!!

Click here to play Sushi Cat: the Honeymoon

Moving More

2010-06-25T09:45:00.000-07:00

I can't believe our church is finally moving. It feels like it has been on the horizon for so long now that een though it is actually here and even now I am kneeling at my computer, that I quickly set up in a temporary location when I heard our servers and internet it available again, looking at blank walls and just everything in pieces and located in a big uhaul outside. I am feeling a lot of things right now. First off, I am feeling very sweaty- yay (said with much sarcasm). I feel a little sad to leave these buildings behind that I have been working in for 10 years. I feel mostly excited about the new property and getting everything set up. Being over there the last several days has been exciting as things are changing literally overnight. I had brought my camera but we were so crazy I didn't even get a chance to take any pictures. I have some that the church staff took of the new property so that is what I have above. I am sure once I stop driving to this campus and show up for work on the weekend I will start feeling a bit more sentimental. As of right now, I don't know what will become of these buildings but it will be interesting to see. Well gotta run- another uhaul load is ready so I gotta go!

Moving Day

2010-06-17T13:19:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it is time to move to our new campus! The last few weeks have been spent cleaning and packing. The junior high room looks so crazy right now! Last weekend was the last one we will spend in our old JH room here on the Melrose campus- a little sad. Actually, I am mostly excited because it will be so cool to finally move into our new facitlity. It has been so long in coming! I was cleaning out things in my office and I had an old pictoral directory of the church from 2000. If you wanted, your family could get a picture taken and it would be in the church "phone book". It was cool and kind of ended up being a little bit like a miny yearbook. Anyway, one of the yearbook type pages was about the relocation project- can you believe it! There was info on there about the tent meeting where the project was explained and those meetings were over on the new property a decade ago!!! When I saw that in there I was just shocked that 10 years later we are just now moving in. It feels like it has been so long in coming, and when i saw that info I realized that it has been a really long time! But it is finally here. I wonder what the next 10 years will bring? Only God knows:)

These pictures are from the last weekend service in the JH room. So see all the pictures check out our junior high page and click on the photo album link.

Umm, excuse me? May, where did you go?

2010-06-07T16:32:00.000-07:00

Wowee was May crazy! I still can't believe it is over and here we are already a week into June!! Time is a funny thing and my parents were right, it is going faster now then when I was a kid.

So I can't believe we have already said goodbye to our old 8th graders and hello to the new 7th! Always a bittersweet time, it is sad to say goodbye but AWESOME so say hello! So hello:)

Here is a picture of the 8th grade class, next week I think I will have a funny video up, although you may not think it is funny since it is an interesting rendition of of a super sweet 80's, maybe early 90's, tv show. Still it is pretty funny because the guy doing the song is impersonating someone else and he does a great job of it- this part you will know.

Also I have a game coming soon- I have several actually but don't want you to get so overwhelmed that your head a splode! (that is an old strongbad joke btw and in case you are, shall we say, older, then the junior high generation, btw means "by the way" although you probably got the strongbad reference)

So keep checking in, I will be better about updating at least once a week, rarely do I do more then that but I will do my best to get back on some sort of consistent basis.

Talk to you soon!

Difference

2010-04-27T14:15:00.000-07:00

I love online games- I am sure you can tell since I post them fairly frequently. Sometimes i find them to be a fun adventure, others are interesting puzzles and some are kind of relaxing. I have a game for you today that falls into the latter 2 categories: it is a bit of a puzzle but also relaxing mostly due to the soundtrack and the pretty visuals.

It is a spot the difference game. This one in particular is 4 Differences. I have posted another one called 5 Differences , I started on the series with 6 Differences which I may have posted as well but I can't remember- I'll check, if not, I'll add it some other time. Anyway, 4 Differences is a really nice way to get into this type of game as it isn't as difficult as when you have to find 6 differences in every scene and the game itself isn't quite as long as in there aren't as many scenes to go through. I finished it in a very timely manner and I thought you might enjoy it as well.

I chose my picture because it reminded me of a scence that could be from the game but isn't. It is a picture of a bridge that spans the Niagra River. We were there for our honeymoon many years ago- this is called the Rainbow Bridge I believe and we are on the Canada side of the river. I love Canada- but that is another story:)

Here you go- enjoy and tell me what you think!
Click Here to Play!!!

Language

2010-04-22T10:55:00.001-07:00

Before I get into the post I must say what a lame month for blogging! I apologize for my lack of bloggy-ness. You klnow how your parents always say, "don't want to grow up so fast, time just keeps going by faster adn faster. Before you know it you are old!" I never really paid attention to it, how could years, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds possible go any faster? They are a measured unit of time- they simply are what they are. Now that I am nearing 30, I have noticed that my perception of those units of time is what change. Albert Einstein has a great quote that relates, "When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity."

Anyway, what I am trying to say is that time does seem to go faster the older you get, even though it is only your perception of it. Maybe it slows down again at some point later on in life- I'll let you know if I get there. All I have left to say about this subject, for now, is that the week goes by and I don't even realize it it seems. I am still stuck somewhere back in November of 2009.

Which happens to bring me to my topic. In late October and ealry November last year, my husband and I had the amazing opportunity to visit his sister, our brother-in-law, and niece over in Germany. We had an absolutely fantastic time, it was such a blast. One of the things that was so cool and so very much appreciated was the fact that many Germans, especially those under 40, spoke English and spoke it fairly well. Here is the thing though, most weren't only bilingual, some spoke 3 or 4 languages. I realize that the borders of our country make it a little different as far as interaction with other languages on a daily basis, whereas over there, you could drive around for 2 weeks straight and hit some part of like 12 nations. For example in Belgium they spoke Flemish, French, German and English. It is a smaller nation surrounded by other nations. I think our lingual isolation could easily be overcome if we taught language better, and if it were more of priority. Did you ever notice how no one had to teach you English? That when you were a kid you just kind of picked it up. Sure you learned words and vocabulary but it was much easier then our High School method of teaching language. I think you should be exposed to more language early on, in preschool and kindergarten. My little niece- fluent in German, she went to a German preschool/daycare type thing and just picked it up. Something about our brains just pick up language easier when we are young, so I think we should teach language then. Not taking any language out of High School- then you could learn more complex language stucture instead of trying to memorize apple is ... dog is ... cat..., etc. We would already know all that basic vocabulary and could instead focus on higher level lingual learning (nice alliteration if I do say so myself:). Then by college how cool would it be to read all those books they make you study in their original language, ok so maybe not all because you probably wouldn't be that fluent in all languages, but even to read some would be such an experience. Not to knock translations but sometimes things just don't translate the same. For example- how cool would it be to read the Bible in some of the original language?! Way cool. We would understand the English word "love" could be one of 3 words in the original language (Greek is what I am talking about here), "philo" meaning brotherly-type love, "eros"- passionate type, desiring love, and "agape" - meaning sacrificial love. All describing rather different emotions and actions.

So to wrap it all up, I wish we taught language earlier in this country. And I wish I knew more languages. My Spanish is super rusty, I was pretty good at it- not fluent by any means, but I defintely could get around with it, when I was in college. I had a teacher that would only speak Spanish to us- total immersion, especially by the end of the class. In the beginning he would answer in english sometimes if we had questions, but by the end, we didn't need him to because we could understand.

The picture is us with my sister-in-law and niece and her German friends- who were awesome and invited us into their home for dinner one night. They made zweiblecochen- not sure if I spelled it right, it's a German dish that is translated literally as "onion cake" and is kind of like a flat quiche- oh and absolutely delicious!

Here is more Germany:

Sorry I Stink

2010-04-06T16:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I thought I was only a week behind or so but my last post was St. Patty's Day! Wow- that was forever ago. Sorry!

Here is something funny because I am so crummy!

Sad News

Please join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community. The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71.

Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Buttersworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch.. The grave site was piled high with flours.

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was considered a very smart cookie, but wasted much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times, he still was a crusty old man and was considered a positive roll model for millions.......

Doughboy is survived by his wife Play Dough, three children: John Dough, Jane Dough and Dosey Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.

The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.

PS- thanks Sierra for the laugh!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-18T15:07:00.000-07:00

I was reading up a bit on St. Patrick- who is he? what did he do? Since yesterday was St. Patricks Day I was a bit curious. I didn't do a ton of research, basically I just looked it up on Wikipedia- which I do have to say, the article was well cited by a vast number of sources so it is probably fairly accurate. Anyway, this is a small portion from it that tells just the basics of who Patrick was and what he did.

"Patrick was born in Roman[ruled]Britain ... When he was about sixteen, he was captured and carried off as a slave to Ireland. Patrick worked as a herdsman, remaining a captive for six years. He writes that his faith grew in captivity, and that he prayed daily. After six years he heard a voice telling him that he would soon go home, and then that his ship was ready. Fleeing his master, he travelled to a port, two hundred miles away he says, where he found a ship and, after various adventures, returned home to his family, now in his early twenties.

Patrick recounts that he had a vision a few years after returning home:

I saw a man coming, as it were from Ireland. His name was Victoricus, and he carried many letters, and he gave me one of them. I read the heading: "The Voice of the Irish". As I began the letter, I imagined in that moment that I heard the voice of those very people who were near the wood of Foclut, which is beside the western sea—and they cried out, as with one voice: "We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us. . .

. . .something can be seen of Patrick's mission. He writes that he "baptised thousands of people". He ordained priests to lead the new Christian communities. He converted wealthy women, some of whom became nuns in the face of family opposition. He also dealt with the sons of kings, converting them too."

Patrick brought the gospel to the Irish people- he was basically a missionary. I think that it is pretty cool that he is still honored today. We celebrate St. Patrick's day on March 17, the anniversary of his death which is believed to be March 17, 460 or 490 -ish AD. This man is revered in Ireland as a foreigner who came to "walk among" the Irish people and he talked to them about Jesus. He himself was a Catholic and so that was what he taught them and you can see the lasting impression he made as Irish and Catholic are often words that go together. Sometimes I think we push and try to hard to talk to people about God instead of being open to God working. Hey I am not saying that we shouldn't talk to others about God but maybe we need to change our viewpoint. I really like how St. Patrick said he walked among them, not that he converted them. It is not our job to convert people, everyone must make their own decision about God and His Son. I guess I want to ask what kind of impact are you having on those you are walking among? Do people see God in you? When you feel that small voice inside pushing you to bring up Jesus or to tell someone you are praying for them, to be kind to your enemies, to not gossip or retaliate when someone hurts you- do you listen? Walk with God and walk with people.

Anyway- I hope you had a great St. Patty's Day.

Time Change

2010-03-15T14:08:00.000-07:00

Maybe I am just getting old but the time change has thrown me so out of wack! I am totally dragging- I mean I don't get it, it is one hour, shouldn't be that big of a deal but man am I sleepy! You junior highers must be hit super hard, although I know a lot of schools changed their hours so you don't have to get up quite as early. I think that is awesome and in no way begrudge the fact that I had to get to Roosevelt at 7:08 because class started at 7:12. Insane!!!! So I am glad that the times are later now for you because that truly was ridiculous. I don't think anyone was awake until like 3rd period. We would get out at like 2 something but I would have much rather slept in. Anyway, I am sure it was still a little rough getting up this morning. Right now I am seriously tired and it really doesn't make a whole lot of sense, I got the same amount of sleep last night, I guess it just "felt" earlier when I got up this morning. I even took a nap yesterday! That is why I interjected the comment about being old. Maybe you have a harder time adjusting to these things when you get old. I know at Starving 2 Serve my knees started hurting, no reason, or at least I didn't do anything. I think maybe it was the cold or the fact that I was standing basically the whole night. But here's the thing- that was the same for everyone- difference: I am old:)

Sushi Cat

2010-03-03T15:55:00.000-08:00

I stumbled across this fun little gem last week. WARNING: it is very awesome and very addicting. I mean who wouldn't want to help a little blue cat be with the little pink cat he is in love with? And of course the only way to do this is to help him become as big as a sumo wrestler by eating sushi. Sushi Frenzy!!!

Let me know what you think:)

Click here to play Sushi Cat!

What do you do when people are hurting?

2010-02-24T12:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we talked about a subject at TNL that allowed a lot of people to share some ways that they are hurting. I feel a couple of things about this. I am so sad that such young people have such hardship in their lives, really heavy burdens that too often they seem to be shouldering alone. Second is amazement of the resiliency of junior highers to continue on in spite of a really tough reality and hope that they will rise above their current situation- and I know that they can. In the midst of experiencing anothers heartache, I often feel at a loss for words, for how to comfort without seeming cliche. I find the answer in Romans 12:15 "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." Sometimes all you can do is cry with someone, the only comfort you can offer is "I am here." While this seems like you are doing nothing the truth is you have validated their pain, confirmed for them that they are not crazy or wrong to feel the way they do. Empty condolences offer no real help and while just sharing in their hurt doesn't help in the standard definition of the word would lead you to believe, I think it can help just knowing that you aren't alone. My heart is heavy for these people I talked with yesterday and for those I know have such brokenness but I didn't talk to. I look at the sea of faces and I see so much in them, so much potential, so much joy, so much innocence, and so much pain. I wish I could make it better for them but I know I can't. I know the only one who can help is God, He can work in a heart and a life that may not get better in this lifetime but He promises to make a new life for those who follow Him. He is the only one who can keep you from ever being alone. He is the ultimate Counselor, the Prince of Peace. He is faithful, even when we are not. Those who follow are pulled into His promise, adopted into His family, and has a place in eternity with Him. I have no other comfort then that, knowing this life is not the end but the beginning to our lives with Him for those who know Him. Oh how I wish they all would know Him! I know He wishes that too.

Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln

2010-02-11T12:15:00.000-08:00

You may or may not be aware of the fact that "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" is back at Disneyland. What is it you ask? Well- the idea first came out and was realized in the 60's for a special thing they were doing in Illinois. Disney had always been a huge admirer of Lincoln and he also happened to be the head of the Disney Studio and therefore one of the leaders in something called Audio-Animatronics. That is how the Tiki Room works, the Pirates, anything that moves "realistically" and talks. So Disney made a talking Abraham Lincoln for this fair thing in Illinois. Then he brought it to Disneyland to the Opera House on Main Street. It was gone for about 5 years now where it was replaced by a sweet show with Steve Martin and Donald Duck titled "The First 50 Magical Years" or something like that that debued during their 5 year long 50th birthday celebration. Well in January they brought Mr. Lincoln back.

This last Monday, I needed a day off and so I went to Disneyland. I had an incredible time!!! The Cast memebers were so great, I got free parking, free buttons, and felt super well taken care of. I went on rides, drew Pluto and all around had a blast. I learned 2 things- (well more then that but the rest for a later time) 1. that the Jewel of Orleans- my favorite jewelry store (it's right in New Orleans square across from the guy that paints umbrellas), is closing- I am soooooo bummed!!! But more importantly 2. That Mr. Lincoln was back and better then ever. The show was so good! It reminded me of all the reasons I am proud to be an American, and taught me more about a great leader from our history who was a man of deep character, who faced very difficult circumstances, and who followed God.

I hope you get a chance to see it in person but if not I got this off of youtube. It is fairly long but oh so good. It is in 2 parts- make sure you start with the one on top:)

Punxsutawny Phil

2010-02-02T14:33:00.000-08:00

Do you even know what that is? That is the name of the ground hog that tells us if we will have 6 more weeks of winter of if we are in for an early spring. The whole deal around Groundhog Day, if he sees his own shadow- you know what I am talking about, yes?

Punxautawny is the name of the town where all this groundhog stuff takes place and where Phil lives. But why is this a national holiday? Why do we have Groundhogs day in the first place? While I was determined to find out. After some extensive research I found that Phil's first prediction was in 1887 and that he is wrong more then half the time. Still I was no closer as to learning how we even care what a groundhog thinks about the weather. I continued searching and I came across this:

"The story of Groundhog Day begins with Candlemas, an early Christian holiday where candles were blessed and distributed. Celebrators of holiday eventually declared clear skies on Candlemas meant a longer winter. The Roman legions, during the conquest of the northern country, brought this tradition to the Germans, who concluded that if the sun made an appearance on Candlemas Day, a hedgehog would cast a shadow, thus predicting six more weeks of bad weather or "Second Winter." German immigrants brought the tradition to Pennsylvania, but how did Punxsutawney Phil emerge?

In 1887, a spirited group of groundhog hunters from Punxsutawney dubbed themselves "The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club." One member was an editor of Punxsutawney's newspaper. Using his ink, he proclaimed Punxsutawney Phil, the local groundhog, to be the one and only weather prognosticating groundhog. He issued this proclamation on Candlemas, and yes, Groundhog Day. Phil's fame spread, and newspapers from around the globe began to report his Gobbler's Knob prediction. Today you will find 20,000+ in attendance an millions watching on television or via the web."

Strange but true. If you actually read the whole article probably you are wondering what "prognosticating" means so I'll throw the answer to that in for free: "to make a forecast; prophesy."

Happy Groundhog's Day!

Cute and a little strange

2010-01-28T10:31:00.000-08:00

So I saw this video- it s pretty sweet, I think it is a commercial for Evian water or something, but the reason it is cool is because it has these babies roller skating. Not just wheeling around but doing all these tricks and stuff. You can kinda tell there is some serious morphing of baby faces on abult men bodies- look for the hairy legs in one of the scenes, never-the-less the overall effect is neato. Click the link below and let me know what you think:)
Evian Roller Babies

Introspective

2010-01-14T12:20:00.000-08:00

Looking back over my last few blogs I have noticed they are about things to think about. I guess I have been doing a lot of thinking lately, just reflecting on things in my life. I am still processing and don't really have much to share except that which I have been and am about to post on here. Because of my introspective state I gues you could say I am hearing things a little differently, external things are impacting me internally. So I got hit by something today that I wanted to share with you.

I subscribe to a daily email article from this guy named John Fischer, it is called "The Fischtank." Anyway, his article today really made me think, in fact I am still thinking about it. Let me let you read it first then I will tell you some thoughts.

Character development
by John Fischer

I know I've used this before but I can't help it. Never have I witnessed a part, a character or a situation as a dramatic production that is closer to my deep-seated fears and misassumptions than what I find in the character played by Peter Facinelli in the movie The Big Kahuna starring Kevin Spacey and Danny DeVito.

I keep coming back to it because I have quotes from it in my speaking notes and when I go on the road and prepare for a new talk I run across them again and sometimes I find something new that didn't hit me as strongly as it did before. Probably because I wasn't ready for it. Truth is always like that.

Peter Facinelli, who plays Bob in this movie, is a perfect example of a kid who grew up Christian, went to a Christian college, took on all the trappings of what a Christian is supposed to be and do, and truly means it, but when thrust into the real world with two seeking individuals who to him would simply be non-Christians, the holes in his character, the missing links of humanity, the inability to connect with what should be naturally human become glaringly obvious. So much so that towards the end of the movie, Phil (the Danny DeVito character) makes an observation, "Your problem, Bob, is that you haven't lived long enough to regret anything."

To which Bob replies, "You're saying I have to go out and do something bad so I'll have something to regret?" (Exactly what I would have said, by the way.)

Phil: "I'm saying you've already done plenty of things to regret you just don't know what they are."

Ouch! That's the part that always nails me. But then he goes on to say: "It's when you discover them (the things you regret), when you see the folly in something you've done, and you wish that you had it to do over, but you know you can't, because it's too late. So you pick that thing up, and carry it with you to remind you that life goes on, the world will spin without you... Then you will gain character, because honesty will reach out from inside and tattoo itself across your face."

This adds new meaning to "pick up your cross and follow me…" Instead of dragging around some imaginary bloody beam of wood, what if Jesus meant for us to face into the failures, disappointments and mistakes of our lives and own them instead of excusing them or skating over them, and let them become a part of who we are and are becoming? Pick them up and carry them around as reminders of why there had to be a cross in the first place. So many Christians are like Bob: they're trying so hard to be good Christians that they wouldn't recognize their own cross if they tripped over it. Their cross is all the things they should be regretting but don't know anything about. Believe me, I can speak with certainty about this because I'm an expert at it.

Picking up your cross then would mean moving on in spite of your mistakes, failures and regrets. It would mean growing through regret and forgiveness, and finding hope on the other side of the cross.

I guess it has just got me thinking. There are plenty of things I regret in life however none of them are recent. And I don't believe we are to carry all our mistakes around with us all the time- Jesus paid for those mistakes, His yoke is easy and His burden is light. I am no longer chained to those sins, I am set free. But maybe that is what Jesus means by "pick up your cross and follow me." Too often I am overly impressed with myself- I need to rememebr why there had to be a cross- me, my mistakes and imperfections are enough to keep me away from the ultimate lover of my soul, so to make me perfect God sent His son to the cross. That's all I can articulate just now- still processing through the rest.

Let me know your thoughts

Owl City

2010-01-12T17:51:00.001-08:00

I don't know if ya'll have heard of this band, they do the Firefly song, but I really dig them. The have a Death Cab for Cutie type feel, fairly mellow, a little whimsical sound. Anyway, what is super cool is that Owl city is mainstream but they are Christians. I am not knocking Christian music but it is so awesome when Christians are able to be "in" where there are non-Christians, you know so they can be a light without being annoying. Plus we are called to infiltrate not isolate ourselves from the fallen world. I saw this cool article about the lead guy from Owl City and I thought I'd share:)

I hope you can read it- I think if you click on it it will be bigger. If not you could always save it or copy it somewhere and then magnify.

Cool article

2010-01-06T11:39:00.000-08:00

I subscribe to the Worth the Wait newsletter. They are a company that makes purity rings and when you buy one from them they will send you an email like once a month with a different little article about purity, or a question of the month- different things like that. Anyway, this was this months article and I thought it was pretty cool and I wanted to share it with you. Let me know your thoughts or if you have any questions.

Purity Equal Happiness
"One of the biggest cultural problems of our society is that it makes no attempt to draw the line between how we act before we get married and how much success we eventually enjoy in marriage. The thing very few tell you is this: The way you conduct yourself before you get married will have a huge impact on your long-term happiness in marriage. Don't expect to have little discipline, ignore the future impact of your choices, and pray for a miracle after you say "I Do", and expect long-term happiness. It won't happen. The way you conduct yourself before you get married, the discipline you acquire, and your ability to look to the future instead of living for the moment will help to insure the kind of love story you desire and the happiness that will make life good. Abstinence/Purity is more than just not having sex before marriage. It is delaying sex until your marriage for the greater good, knowing that if you can wait, it's going to make you adult life less-complicated. Studies say that one in three married people in the United States is happily married. I really believe you are the generation to restore marriage and family to what God designed it to be, but this will only happen as we realize that purity equals happiness."

Now it doesn't mean the future will be perfect, you and your future husband are bot imperfect sinners but wouldn't you want to do all you could to set yourself up for success? If you knew a way to step around future heartache and pain wouldn't you want to go that way? You can't stop all pain or avoid all pain in your life but waiting until you get married is something you can control, that you can decide to do.

I got a dog

2009-12-09T15:58:00.000-08:00

He is pretty cute. Right now his name is Little Buddy. We have danced around the idea of changing it to something tough like Maximus, but we are a bit partial to "little buddy" since we have been calling him that since we got him.

Animals are a lot of work. Actually I am lucky. He isn't very big which means small size poo, and he doesn't need to walk for hours because his little legs are doing like quintuple speed to keep up with me. But there is extra time involved. I have to get up early, spend time with him and take care of this little fuzzy life that lives in my house. I don't mind though. He is a really good dog and a bunch of fun, so the freedom that I gave up is worth it to me. You will probably see him at Christmas TNL- so don't miss it!!!

Did you know dogs dream. I can tell Little Buddy is dreaming because he twitches and whines, even barks sometimes in his sleep. I hope he is having fun adventures chasing rabbits or something. Why do they move like that when they are sleeping? I don't think I do that but maybe I do. I shall have to videotape myself sleeping some night and see if I do funny stuff in my sleep as well:)

Christmas!!! Holy Smokes!!

2009-12-02T11:37:00.001-08:00

Every year seems like Christmas comes up so quickly but this year seems like it is in HYPERDRIVE (or HYPERACTIVE for those who made catch this extremely subtle movie reference). I have not gotten a single gift for anyone! Not one! Some of you junior highers may be thinking, "I am in the same boat" but here is the dilema for me- I like to get people things that they asked for. And the lists from my family are starting to get pretty picked over as in other family memebers have already bought x, y, and z. So what does that leaven me with? I think I might have to buy gift cards- which aregreat, I am not knocking them by any stretch of the imagination, in fact I love getting gift cards, but to have everyone open their present and it is a gift card gets kinda boring after awhile. Because I like to see what everyone is getting, we actually go around one at a time and take turns opening so you can see what everyone gets. It is super fun:) Anyway, watching people open gift cards is about as much fun as watchigna snow globe, it's cool for like 2 minutes and then you are bored to tears. Plus they aren't very fun to wrap and I really like wrapping presents. I always buy wrapping paper and Christmas cards after Christmas, because they all go on sale, and then I save them for next year. Genius, I know.

To almost completely switch subjects, the intial blog I was going to write about had to do with Christmas but none of this other stuff. I really wanted to tell everyone that I heard on the radio this morning that Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer is on TONIGHT!!! on CBS at 8pm!!! You cannot miss the claymation-y-goodness that is in store tonight. I love the Christmas specials. I don't own this one or How the Grinch Stole Christmas- which is another one of my favorites, a very close second to Merry Christmas Charlie Brown! which is my all-time favorite Christmas special. So I have to watch them on TV. I haven't seen Rudolf in forever, for a while they kept playing it the day after Thanksgiving and I wouldn't even start looking at my Christmas TV schedule until December so I kept missing it. So I want to catch that and grinch, and Mickey's Christmas Carol, because I really like that one too. I have the Peanuts one on DVD, like I said, and Elf, and A Very Merry Muppet Christmas (also a winner)so I'll be watching those on my own schedule, but i can't wait to watch Rudolf tonight- you should watch it too!!!

Sweet video

2009-11-18T17:11:00.000-08:00

I like skateboarding- I don't mean doing it, I am not that cool- but I like watching tricks and stunts that people do. I am always amazed at how high, how fast, and how many spins, flips, etc. they are capable of doing- all under human power, you know, no motor. (that was a huge run on sentence by the way). Anyway- I think that stuff is cool to watch. You gotta check out this video, it is not like other skateboarding videos, same tricks and stunts but the kid is in a wheelchair! Incredible stuff he does. And when he takes off his helmet, he looks like he is only 13-15, so you age, and he is super sweet. Check it out!!! and let me know what you think:)

I am back

2009-11-10T15:34:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you know but I was out visiting family in Germany! That is right-I was in 4 different countries in the last 2 weeks, USA, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg. It is kind of sad to say but I didn't realize Luxembourg was a nation until very recently. It is very small and maybe I learned about it in school but I just don't remember studying it in school. I have to say it has a pretty interesting history, as I learned while I was there, and I absolutely loved Luxembourg City, but I don't recall it being on the big map of Europe in "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego," which was the sweetest game show for junior highers back in the day. Rockappella the singing group did all these cool little jingles and you had to know geography and histroy- so much fun. There were 3 contestants and the one with the highest score at the end got to do the final challenge where there was a big map- huge really, that you would run across. The host would say a country and you would run across the map and put a flag on the country. If it was right it would light up. You only had a certain amount of time to get all 15 countries right. Sometime you got Europe or South America- you just never knew what map you would get so really you would need to study all of them. The hardest was always the Africa map. It was so hard because there are so many different countries in Africa and you would have to label 15- you just don't know which 15 they'll pick. So maybe you know where Ivory Coast is but you mix up Narobi and Namibia and you are finished! Anyway- I don't remember Luxembourg being on the map of Europe but maybe it was:)

So I had fun- here are some pics of me in Luxembourg!

Attendance Matters!

2009-10-21T15:57:00.000-07:00

Would you believe that the places of all the Tournament Series teams- Nascar, Cyclist, Bikers and Truckers, has COMPLETELY changed? Well it has. And it came down to one little thing I like to call attendance. That's right- today we counted up how many people came from each team and divided it by how many people came the previous week to give us the standard diferential and voila! Cyclists are no longer in first place. Every team changed places- last place team is no longer in last place. First place is now, are you ready for it?, the Truckers! That is right- Spirit Champs and First Place standings! insane!!! And that means that attendance next week may be even more important then ever before. The scores are so close that even if you win the Great Relay, you may not get Magic Mountain. Make sure you bring absolutely everyone you know- even those you don't know to Tournament Series this week!!!

Friends

2009-10-08T15:23:00.000-07:00

Transparent relationships are so important. We need to have another person in our lives that knows us, the real us, someone we can depend on and who depends on us. We need real friends- the kind that encourages us when we are down, stands up for us when we are in trouble, and helps us when we are in need.

Eccesiastes 4:9-12 says this: Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:
If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

We need to have people like this in our lives. Here is a cool story about friendship:

Friends forever.....The orangutan was in a rescue and not doing well. This old hound wandered in absolutely emaciated and the orangutan snapped to like his buddy had arrived. He stayed with the hound night and day until he was well and in the whole scenario, found a reason to live. They are now inseparable. Isnt that sweet?

I can't believe

2009-10-06T10:18:00.001-07:00

it is October!!! And you know what October means. . . Tournament Series!!! That is right, the whole month we will be playing it up & cheering our guts out all for a free trip to Magic Mountain.

Who do you thnk will win? I say NASCAR!!!!

I REALLY need your input- ONLINE SURVEY

2009-09-23T16:11:00.000-07:00

Ladies, ladies- I know it feels like our move to the new building is a long way off, HOWEVER, we are starting to get things in order NOW. This means I need your input ASAP! Please let me know what video games you would like to see in the new junior high room!!! As of right now we are losing some MarioKart so if that is your fav- you need to let me know!!!

Remember, you do not have to login or be a member or anything to leave a comment- just sign in anonymously- please tell me who you are in your message though:) What would you like to play? Ooohhh- One more thing- I moderate my comments so you might not see yours up right away, just FYI:P

Thanks gals!!!

In other news- I got to go over to the new property today and it was very exciting to see the buildings. Most things are just framed but some have dry wall already and buildings are definitely beginning to take shape:)

I need your input

2009-09-16T16:45:00.000-07:00

To all the ladies out there, I need to know what you think. Video games- I like video games and I know a lot of you out there do too. Here is my question for you- what kind do you like? Currently in our Junior High Room we have Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart, Guitar Hero and kinda Rock Band- I say kinda because the drums are broken. What games would you like to see in there? It would be for PS3, Xbox 360 or Wii systems. Please leave a comment telling me what games you like to play (even if it is one I already listed because if people don't like one maybe we'll get rid of it), what system it is available on, and what about it do you like. I would really appreciate it. You don't have to be a blogger to leave a comment- just do the Anonymous one, but please leave your name in your message so I know who you are:)

Personally I really like computer games-actually I guess I like them all, I just don't really have a system to play on at home so I play online all the time- in fact I have one for you today. If you are an artist- a true artist, you might not like this one, if you want to be an artist but aren't creative at all you probably will like this. It is called Copy Cat and is pretty fun. You have to copy the art on the right onto your own canvas. Really it is more about figuring out how to mix colors then art but I found it addicting. I got stuck at level 24 I think it was- bummer. The picture today is courtsey of a true artist- Marikate Dougan!

Click here to play Copy Cat

Did you know?

2009-09-09T11:53:00.000-07:00

That Tournament Series will soon be upon us? It is so exciting and such a great opportunity to invite every single 7th and 8th grader you know to come to church!!! This year the theme is . . . Ha ha ha- did you think I would actually tell you!?! You should know better- you can't know the theme until the pep rally on Sept 29. Then we will reveal the theme and the teams to you. I will tell you this- it is incredible. In fact I will give you a hint.

Here it is:

Find out more on the 29th!

Oh the Things You Can Think

2009-09-01T13:23:00.000-07:00

I know my blog is called "al's thoughts of the day" but I don't always have thoughts on here. Sometimes I have games or random pictures. I was thinking about that today as I was thinking of some thoughts for my blog. And honestly the first thing that came to my mind was the book "Oh the Things You Can Think" by Dr. Seuss. That got me thinking about Dr. Seuss books and how much I liked them as a kid. The Cat in the Hat wasn't my favorite but I love the Grinch. There is also this cool story about these bird things and some have stars on their bellies and some don't and how they were being prejudiced against the different star bellies and things would go back and forth- sometimes stars were cool and sometimes they weren't till the end where they agreed it didn't matter. If you know the title of that one- let em know please. i seriously haven't read it since I was like 9. I also liked "I Can See with My Eyes Shut"- it was funny. Anyway, thinking about Dr, Seuss got me thinking about my college, UCSD, because our library there is named after him. It is called Geisel Library because that is Dr. Seuss' real last name. It is a super sweet library, it was designed to look like a tree. There is a picture of it below. It is in commercials a lot (not as a library, but playing the part of other buildings because it is so interesting architecturally). There is a little museum inside to Geisel with some first edition Dr. Seuss books and stuff like that. Thinking about the library got me thinking about the smell of libraries. It doesn't work in newer libraries- it takes at least 10 years for the smell to permeate the building and then only if the library contains a lot of books at least 20 years old. The library smell is a combo of aged paper and leather, with a little bit of musty-ness thrown in on top. I love the smell of libraries. Just thinking about it makes me want to go to one now. But the one closest to my house is fairly new and doesn't really have the smell, so then I was thinking I should go down to UCSD and visit- it is a great campus to walk around, so many interesting things to see. Thinking of UCSD makes me think of how I want to walk down the walkway that looks like a giant snake again- it is cool, and the other neat things there- Virtues and Vices lights, the silent tree, the singing tree, the test columns-turned-art, the ocean view- oooh and the new campus I haven't seen yet!

So there you go- not just a thought of the day but my train of thoughts for the last couple of minutes. Enjoy:)

God is Cool

2009-08-18T16:06:00.001-07:00

God created everything. He thought of all the cool stuff in this world and just made it be. Of course it is beautiful, and at times awe-inspiring, but what always gets me is the variety. God made trees- but htere are so many different kinds, animals and all the crazy varieties, butterflies- you would think one or 2 kinds would be enough but there are so many. Even people- yes everyone is unique but I just mean the variety in groups of people even. Take this flower for example. There are so many cool flowers- just more evidence of God' masterful creation, but again I am awed by the variety- the sheer number of kinds of flowers. Why did He do all this? I think He did 1.) because He can and 2.) for us. To show us His awesomeness, His tender and gentle heart, and that He cares about us- even the little things that we can enjoy about this world, He made it for us to enjoy. So now we get this coolness, the parrot flower. Enjoy.

Whitewater 1

2009-08-03T15:20:00.001-07:00

So, if you haven't heard, Whitewater was a freaking incredible trip. There was all kinds of crazy adventures to be had- mega water fights, crazy worship, rock jumping, and the tree. The tree was prettty sweet- I mean this had never happened before. Drive up to clear creek- awesome time, so beautiful, everyone chilling, swimming and of course jumping, we fininsh up with baptisms and everyone gets one more jump. Then we all heard back to the vans for the drive out. I was in the front van and we are driving along, go around a corner and stop- whoa, where did the road go? Gone- branches and pine needles everywhere!!! Can't see the road at all. Then we see the log. Probably a good 3 feet tall and so long it strtches across the entire road. It was quite a feat of everyone working together to get all the smaller pieces out of the way and then to tackle the beast as it were. Luckily it split in half and the 2 sections were able to be rolled, separately, off to the sides of the road by about a dozen people putting their backs into it. Crazy! But super sweet.

More Whitewater adventures to come!

Storybook

2009-07-14T14:26:00.000-07:00

I love books- they are great! There is something magical about being transported wherever in your imagination- about having to see it in your mind instead of on the screen. Don't get me wrong I love movies as you can see on my bio but imagination stuff that comes out of books- good stuff.

I know pretty much all of you are too young to remember this TV show called "Reading Rainbow." It was about kids books and it was hosted by Levar Burton, Geordi LaForge from Star Trek. I loved it. Kids gave their own reviews and it really brought books to life and it had this great theme song- here are the lyrics, I can sing them for you if you like:)

"Butterfly in the sky, I can go twice as high
Take a look, it's in a book - Reading Rainbow.

I can go anywhere!
Friends to know and ways to grow - Reading Rainbow.

I can be anything!
Take a look, it's in a book - Reading Rainbow.

Reading Rainbow, Reading Rainbow, Reading Rainbow, Reading Rainbow!"

So the reason I tell you all about this is I have a sweet game, a storybook game. You have to click on images to make them face the right way- it explains in the game but the game interface itself looks like a pop up storybook! So cool! So check it out and let me know what you think- I have beaten the game but each level changes slightly everytime you play so I can't really help you out if you get stuck. Just keep trying! It's fun:)

Click here to play Storybook game!!!

I Like Junior Highers

2009-06-23T16:25:00.001-07:00

Whenever I tell people what I do I get 2 responses- always one or the other and usually both. 1. "Is that full-time?" and 2. "Wow, I could never work with junior highers." I just don't get why so many people don't seem to like the junior high age. I think junior highers are awesome! They still like to have fun and do crazy things, physically their brains have developed to a place where they can reason and start to question and discover on their own (a truly fascinating transformation), and they still think I am cool. What is there not to like?!

Plus they do awesome things like this:

More about the mental state of junior high students: I don't know if you realize what a cool place you are at developmentally. Did you know that before this stage your brain wasn't capable of higher level thinking? Now you have all the connections and neurons in place that actually changes the process of how you think. This is where all the training and guidance your parents and others have given you until this point comes into question: you now are capable of looking at what they have told you, what you have learned and deciding for yourself if it is true. You are smack dab in the middle of changing from a child to an adult. This is the age where you set your moral compass that you will follow and base your decisions on in your high school years. Trust me, it makes you very fun, exciting and important age to work with!

Jazzy gaming fun!

2009-06-15T11:09:00.000-07:00

I like online games- I find them super fun:) This weekend I played this game called "Little Wheel" and it is so cute that I thought I would share it with all of you! Aren't you excited!?! This is a point and click adventure- don't worry it isn't too difficult. There are little grey circles that help you figure out what to click on. The story is so cute- you have to help a world of robots whose power supply has gone out. The graphics are sweet as is the soundtrack. First- graphics- it is all black silhouettes on a sepia background- really cool looking. Then the soundtrack is a chill, jazzy beat- love it! Anyway, it is a fairly short adventure and plenty of fun. Check it out and let me know what you think! Also if you happen to get stuck there is an in-game walkthrough that will help you out.

Enjoy!

Click here to play!!!

And yet again. . .

2009-06-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

I heard about a cool illusion (sort of illusion). Apparently there is a magazine ad for the Navy Seals that is pretty sweet. It looks just like a swamp but if you look closer there are 8 Seals camouflaged somewhere in there. I didn't really see anything. I found the largest copy I could online to look at but even so I could examine it much better if I had the actual magazine. It is possible that they are there and I just can't find them. A lot of people have theorized that since they don't see any they must be lying and it is a trick. I like to try to think on the brighter side and believe that most people are truthful- however I do realize this is an ad and therefore already kinda questionable since it seems like a lot of advertisers lie in their ads. But, that aside, I like to believe that people are telling me the truth unless I have evidence to prove otherwise, so I believe there are really people hidden in this picture.

When I was visiting Jim's fam in Pittsburgh, we saw a doe cross the road right in front of us and jump into the tress. Then it stopped moving. It was next to impossible to take a picture of it because it was so hard to see. I looked away for one moment to check my camera to make sure I got the shot- there was a bit of a glare so I look up to take another picture and I don't see it anymore. It hadn't moved, I just looked away. It was probably about 20 feet away from us- so not far at all but it seriously disappeared. Jim had to kinda try to point it out to me and I tried to remember how I was facing when I took the previous picture and I snapped a second shot. After we got the pic printed it took a bit to find the deer, but I did manage to capture it in the shot. Now if you think about it, we were in the woods in December so not a lot of leaves. A deer is brown but a big animal, and I saw it moving to its "hiding spot." Even so I had a difficult time picking it out in the picture. In conclusion, I think it is very well possible that there really are 8 Seals hiding in this ad.

What do you think? See any Seals? Do you see the deer?

Illusions

2009-06-02T13:56:00.000-07:00

Face painting- I really like to paint people's faces. Don't know why just soemthing fun to do I guess. When I was a kid we had a facepainting book- still have it actually, that shows you how to do all this cool illusions to make people look like soemthing else. We painted faces in the neighborhood- so fun to have princesses, vampires, tigers running around, people with dragons or rainbows, stars painted on their cheeks.

Well I love optical illusions and I know a lot of you do too! So I saw these super cool pictures of this face painter. To truly appreciate how crazy his work it you have to really look at it. Try to see if you can figure out where his lips are- then you'll realize he is painting his neck, or different facial features, even upside-down!

Travis Series

2009-05-11T10:49:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I have had any new pictures for my "silly pictures of Travis" series (2 years almost!!!) but our fearless leader did not disappoint. Last week for Cinco de Mustache he looked crazy! So enjoy the insanity!!

Click on the labels to see previous editions of silly pictures with trav:)

I am a nerd

2009-05-05T16:28:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make: I have probably watched Star Wars at least 100 times. Now I am talking about the original series- episodes 4, 5 & 6. Don't even get me started on 1, 2 & 3 because they completely goofed them up although I have to admit the lightsabre battle in Episode 1 between Darth Maul, Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon is one of the best movie sword fights I have ever seen. The final battle between Obi Wan and Annakin in Episode 3 wasn't bad either but really those were the only redeemining parts of those movies.

No- it is the original series that is so incredible. Everything about them is cool- the special effects are sweet even though they are old, you can't help but love the characters, the music is outstanding and the story itself is that classic motif of good versus evil- they are just great!!! I have to say that Episode 5 is my favorite, it has the best character development asd some of the best lines, for example: "Laugh it up Fuzzball", "I'd sooner kiss a wookie." and who can forget "I love you" "I know" and "Luke, I am your father." Sweet stuff. I am a little disappointed that only the special editions are available on DVD- I have been waiting and waitng for them to come out on DVD and when they did I was a little bummed they were the original original. I am of with upgrading the sound and fixing up some of the special effects. I don't like all the unneccessary extra scences and they really blew it in Episode 4 when they have the storm troppers searching Tattooine on those lizard beast- the Empire is not organic and would never use an animal when a machine could do it- didn't they ever watch the movies! Also I don't really care for how they added the super young Annakin at the end of 6, it doesn't really make sense because Obi Wan doesn't look like Ewan McGregor. I know the argument is that he reverted back to his "true" self, before he became Darth Vader and I think that is a somewhat valid arguement, I might be biased because I didn't like the acting job of Christian whatever his name is in 2 & 3.

So if you have never seen the original movies they really are worth it- it is quite an experience:) I remeber the first time I saw them. For me it was on TV because I was too young or not alive yet to see them in the theaters. But for their 30th anniversary they rereleased them in the theater- I was so excited to go experience them there and it was incredible. I still have my movie stubs. And I was a midnight show goer for the release of Episode 1- didn't for 2 & 3, just because I was so excited that we would get the back story to some of my all time favorite movies. Now I know they messed that up but the originals still stand the test of time:)

Give Thanks

2009-04-28T11:46:00.000-07:00

Sometimes life feels so empty and hopeless, or we are hurting so bad that we feel there is nothing we can be thankful for. This is simply not true. God wants us to give thanks not because He needs to hear it but for us- that we take a moment to step back and look at where we are. Yeah bad things happen and are no fun- but there is still something in your life or around you to be thankful for. How much better is it to look for the positive instead of dwelling in the negative? We need to remember to give thanks.

We also need to give thanks when things are going well. At these times it is so easy to look to ourselves as the instigator of the good things that are happening- that because we are so great, we got this life figured out, we are smarter, quicker, better- that is why things are good. When we give thanks in this case, we are remembering that it is really all from God- in this case, giving thanks can keep us humble.

I don't know which category you fall into right now but it is important that we remember to give thanks in all situations. Take a few minutes to watch this video. After it is over- spend some time really thanking God for what He has given you.

I dreamed a dream

2009-04-20T13:25:00.000-07:00

Too often we look at the outside and make judgements on people. There are generalizations that are easily made by the way that we dress, wear our hair, etc, that are ok. Things like, "oh, they are wearing a Steelers jersey, they must be a fan." Or, "they are dressed punk/rock, they must like that kind of music." How we present ourselves definitely matters especially if we want to stand out from the world so our lives beg a question about the God that we follow. Those kind of assumptions are ok- our clothing and appearance choices are statments that we are choosing to make. The kind of judging I am talking about is different. I mean when we look at someone and we use that cursory glance to decide whether or not a person is valuable. That is so not what God says. In 1 Samuel 16:7 it says "The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." I wish we as people would be better at looking at the heart. Too often we write someone off as unimportant or insignificant simply based on our outward assesment of them. Or we think overly-highly and idolize someone based on their apperance which leads to aonther kind of problem with worshipping someone other then God. But when God sees people, He sees something valuable, made in His own image. It is an important thing for us to remember. I think this video represents that idea well. I can't embed it so you will have to CLICK HERE to follow the link.

Let me know what you think.

Puzzle

2009-04-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

I love games, they are such a great way to relax and challenge your mind. My favorite types are the puzzle/adventure style games where you have to use logic to either advance to the next level or use logic to advance the storyline. Both are very enjoyable.

Naomi sent me this fun eye quiz. I like this kind of stuff too. It is a challenge- I think the "N" was the hardest one. Can you find them all?!?!

Here Goes...Can you find the B (there are 2 B's)?RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Once you've found the b 'sFind the 1
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII1IIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Once you found the 1...............Find the 6
9999999999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999969999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999999999
9999999999999999999999999999999999999999

Once you've found the 6...Find the N (it's hard!!)MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMNM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Once you've found the N...Find the Q.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOQOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

How did you do?

Gettin' Hitched

2009-04-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

2 weekends ago my little sister got married. It was crazy but fun. She and her husband are both into theater stuff and they had a Hollywood glamour wedding. People really got into it with cute hats and gloves, jewelry, and fedoras all to look kinda 1940's. I was in the wedding and my husband walked my mom down the aisle- so I don't have any pictures of that. The only pics I do have so far are those he was able to take so hopefully I will get some more soon!

It kind of hasn't really hit me yet that she is married. She and her now husband have dated for a long time and it is not like things for me have changed really. Neither of us were still living with my parents so its not like she isn't at home anymore. It will be weird once her name gets changed over. You probably didn't know this but it doesn't change the day you get married. The marriage certificate has to be mailed in and recorded then you get it back then you change your social security card and they mail you a new one then you change your driver's license and they mail you a new one then you can change your credit cards, car titles, library cards- anything that had your old name on it. It is quite a process because if you know anything about government and bureacracy, you know they are anything but speedy.

So the next family gathering will probably be the same as before except now they are married and of course there is all the post wedding stuff- more opening gifts and getting more pictures, seeing the video and all that fun stuff- I really can't wait for more pictures.

So enjoy- my sister's wedding:

The Lost Generation

2009-03-31T10:39:00.000-07:00

I got this really cool video from my grandma and I think it has a really cool message, make sure you watch the whole thing.

I am age-wise, on the beginning of what is aften called the "Lost Generation." More specifically my generation was called Generation X. As Junior Highers, "Lost" term more applies to you and people your age. I do not believe this is accurate. Each generation will make its own way. In their youth the "Greatest Generation", your grandparents and great grandparents- those that were a part of WWII, was called a bunch of degenerates whose moral depravity would sink the nation. How wrong those naysayers of the 30's and 40's proved to be. Each peer group makes its own path and it starts with individuals- people like you deciding to stand up for what is right and not allowing people to pidgeon-hole them into a "type." 2 Timothy 4:12 says "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."
Now go and live it.

If you can't tell

2009-03-23T14:10:00.000-07:00

I like dogs. I think they are so cool. Dogs always think the best of you. They are so unconditional with their affection, doesn't matter who or what you are, your dog will love you.

I always wonder what is it in dogs that make them act heroic. There are plenty of cases of dogs saving their masters- considering how loyal and affectionate they are, that almost could be expected. But dogs also save strangers and even other animals. Why? What is in them that creates this rescue-attitude? I got this cool clip that shows one dog's crazy bravery. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Caught Unawares

2009-03-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

I got this sweet video from my uncle and I thought I would share it all with you. I also included a video of people's reaction to the dance- I like in particular what that last lady had to say. I have always felt that I am a "stop and smell the roses" kind of person, one that looks for little things of joy in everyday life. I think I do still do that to some extent but I am not as good at it as I used to be. I am lucky that on my way home from work there is this part in the road when I am close to my house that you can see the ocean as you are driving. Beautiful- you can see the lagoon too and when it is really clear, you can also see those islands that are off our coast that I don't know the name of(why don't they teach that kind of stuff in school?). I always remember to stop and say thanks at that point of my drive but I want to think abot that kind of stuff more. I don't want to let my circumstance dictate my mood, rather I want to be a joyful person and therefore see joyful things around me. Does this make sense? I do stop and smell the roses, maybe I just need to spend more time in gardens.

I'm sorry

2009-03-05T15:59:00.000-08:00

I forgot that I haven't updated this. You know I meant to. I even am all set for my next couple of blogs. Here is the first thing I wanted to post.

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!!!! These people are professionals! I know you have always wanted to put random things in the microwave just to see what happens- I sure have! But I also know you don't want your parents to kill you for blowing up the house. So you were only left to imagine what may happen if you put a bottl eof Elmers glue in the microwave. You must just dream of what eggs would do or gelatin cups because how can you know? Well that is why you read my blog:) I know what happens. And soon you will too. Check out this link and remember DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.

Click here to watch stuff in the microwave

I would save the christmas lights for last- they are my favorite:)

I am sick:(

2009-02-17T13:24:00.000-08:00

Hi all. I feel crummy. My nose is runny, my brain is foggy, and my body is achy. Curling up in bed sounds absolutely delightful right now. I find a lot of comfort in a cup of hot tea. I don't know why but something about it is very soothing and makes me feel better (a little). I got this stuff at home called Yogi Tea. They have teas to boost you immune system, tea for cold season as well as regular types of tea. Right now my favorite is this throat therapy one- it coats your throat and gets rid of that dry, hacking feeling. I have always enjoyed tea- I blame Star Trek really. I though Capt. Picard was so cool and he would always order form the replicator, "Earl Grey, hot" and so I forged into the world of Earl Grey Tea and a passion was born. I still like Earl Grey but now I tend to go more for the less caffinated kinds. Green Ginger, Berry Blossom White, and plain Chai are some of my favorites. I overdid the whole coffee thing a year or so ago so I gave up coffee completely and even now only have decaf on occasion, but instead of my daily cup 'o joe, now I have a cup of tea. And I enjoy it. Today I am having Chai with cream. Cream in the tea, while very brittish, is fairly new to me. I only like cream, so far, in Chai and Earl Grey. I hope this has been educational. Thank you.

Winter Camp

2009-02-10T12:39:00.000-08:00

What a fun time! I couldn't believe how cold it was up there. It turned out to be so cool because it SNOWED- a lot! What a super fun time!! I thought the speaker and the worship was great too. If you haven't already, you can check out our pictures online- just go to the JH website!

Up in space. . .

2009-01-26T12:09:00.000-08:00

See, isn't Disneyland the Best Thing Ever!?!

2009-01-21T13:30:00.000-08:00

Well I think by now you realize that I LOVE Disneyland, in fact I was just there last weekend and I will be there next weekend! But I bet you didn't realize how much Disneyland loves me!!! Check this out:)

The Cutest Game in the World!

2009-01-07T14:46:00.000-08:00

Here is that game I promised:) It is so cute!!! You have this sad little monkey and each level you have to figure out a different task to make the monkey happy. It is adorable and fun. I think there are 8 levels- I forget but I had a really good time playing it. Check it out and tell me what you think! You don't have to have a blogger account to leave a comment- just click "anonymous" and it will let you leave one. Just remember to type your name in at the end of your comment so I know who it is from. Also I moderate my comments which means I have to approve them before they post so it might take a couple of days before your comment shows up on my blog. Really- I want to hear from you!!!

Click here to play!!!

Sorry!

2009-01-06T14:55:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know I have been bad about updating my blog what with all the holidays and all- no, no excuse! Here is me and my fam at Christmas this year:) Ok so the good thing is I got some time to find some super sweet games that I will be loading this week. Here is the first one- it is an escape game but a bit easier then some of the others I have posted. There is even a walkthrough link on it if you get stuck and of course you can always ask me for help! It is about a horse that you have to help get out of the barn and it is magical- I won't say anymore because I don't want to give it away! The next game that I will put on later this week is like the cutest thing ever!!! So keep your eyes peeled for it!

Click here to play Charger Escape

Christmas is Coming

2008-12-08T12:43:00.000-08:00

I went to Disneyland yesterday. I love Disneyland- I still feel the magic like I did when I was a kid. Anyway- I love the way they deck it out for the holidays- as if it wasn't magical enough! They also had this cool thing called "Candlelight"- I guess they have been doing it for 50 years but this was the first I had heard of it. There is this super huge choir with an amazing stage and awesome lighting (the picture below only shows one section of the choir- there are 2 more sections! One just like this one and one on risers shaped like a christmas tree). They sing selections from Handel's Messiah- which you may not recognize the name but I know you have heard some of the music, the Hallelujah Chorus is one you probably know. In between the songs a narrator tells the Christmas story. D-land only does this one weekend a year and last weekend happened to be it:) We had a great time! I can't believe Christmas is around the corner!!!

Turkey

2008-11-20T16:52:00.000-08:00

I like Turkey- Thanksgiving has the best food I think, of the traditional holiday fare. In fact what I really loved is stuffing- but it has to be stuffing that was cooked in the turkey. All stuffing is good but in the turkey stuffing is so much better:) I also love yams. Not to be confused with sweet potatoes, although those are good too, yams are the ones that are orange. I loved them steamed but probably mashed is my favorite. Mashed with cinnamon- ummm ummm good! My husband just got the recipe for yam casserole or something I forget what it is called but you mash the yams put them in 9x13 dish with pecans and some other ingredient that sounds absolutely delicious but I can't think of right now, then you bake them in the oven. It is going to be like a sweet potato/pecan pie casserole of goodness. Yum yum! So enjoy your Turkey Day and let me know what you are thankful for in the comments section. You dont' have to have a blog- just choose the "anonymous" one- type your name at the end though so I know who you are. I moderate my comments so it won't appear for a couple of days until I get a chance to check it:)

See you later!

Pittsburgh

2008-11-18T14:34:00.000-08:00

My husband was born and raised in Steeler Country, Pittsburgh, PA. For the longest time I didn't realize there was a "h" at the end of Pittsburgh- it is silent. For Thanksgiving we are going out to visit his family out there- should be super fun except for the fact that it is freezing. It is supposed to be in the 20's when we arrive and during the week it is supposed to warm all the way up to the toasty temperature of 34! Ordinarily this wouldn't be that bad- I mean it is back east and it snows there. The problem is that it is so hot here! We will be going from shorts and flip flops to down jackets, beanies and woolen mittens! There is like a 50 degree differential!!! I am going to freeze!! Hopefully when I get back I will still have all my toes.

This is from Christmas time last year in the " 'Burgh"

I have a problem

2008-11-11T13:23:00.000-08:00

I must admit I have a serious problem with chocolate. I love it- I crave it- I am addicted. I have the same problem with cookies- it is worse actually with cookies, sometimes I can resist chocolate, but I have a much harder resisting cookies. Anyway, so we have Mounds in our office right now. It always makes me think of the catchy little jingle, "Almond Joy has nuts, Mounds don't" and "Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't." So Niki has a bag of Mounds in her desk. Unfortunately I am also aware of the fact that Niki has Mounds in her desk. They are delicious. I always think- oh I'll just have one- never happens. I don't think I ever eat just one. I was getting ready for TNL tonight and in the process of preparing my opener, I ate 3. Plus I had one earlier today as well. I just get sick if I eat too much candy but they are so good I feel my defenses weakening even now. Actually I am begining to feel sick so I will probably be able to resist for at least another hour or so. I have an awful memory so I am hoping that soon I will completely forget that they are even in her drawer. They aren't even my favorite candy! I would tell you what my favorite candy is but I am afraid in all of your kindness and good intentions you may bring me some and I would have to eat them- probably all at once, and I just can't let that happen:) I repeat- Mounds are not my favorite candy- please don't give me any!!!

Dog Saves Cats!

2008-10-30T14:18:00.000-07:00

I got this cute animal story from my friend Beth and you all probably know what a sucker I am for cute animal stories- if not just click on the "animal" label below and you'll see all my other animal tales. Anyway so this dog protected a litter of kittens- why, who knows:)

Uglydoll

2008-10-22T15:46:00.000-07:00

I think these are so cute! So ugly they are cute! I first saw them at summer camp this year- Chloe has one. My faves are Big Toe and Moxy- pictured here:) I even saw them at Aaron Brothers- they had little key chain ones. All JH students that are reading this are probably like "what is Aaron Bros.?" It is a framing store- they sell picture frames, prints, art and custom frames, definitely not a place you would expect to see Uglydolls.

So I was checking out games today and I found this fun one that reminds me of uglydolls. You have to get the "keys" into the slots at the bottom- anytime there are 2 (or more) of the same color next to eachother you click them and they dissappear. There are also mushrooms that change the color of all the little guys, skulls that block your action, and chompers that will eat the row or column they are facing- super fun! I finally got to level 16 when I was like- I gotta stop! It is really fun and really addicting!

Click here to play!!!

Cool thought of the day

2008-10-20T17:35:00.000-07:00

Not mine but a good one for us all to remember. I thought it rather fitting since we are in our Morph series right now. I got this from my friend Beth.

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of — throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.

--CS Lewis

Highlanders!

2008-10-09T17:05:00.000-07:00

TSeries has begun and what a night it was!!! So much action, adventure, and cheering. Remember- it ain't over 'til it's over! In fact I think everyone might be suprised when they see what changes attendance scores can do. Do whatever you can to be there!!! You do not want to miss. Thanks to Cat for the pic!!!

Barlow Girl

2008-09-29T13:30:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, Makenna and her mom took me to Barlow Girl. They were incredible!!! The concert was in Oceanside and there were 2 artists on before them, Brooke Barrett-Smith and Jimmy Needham. I liked them both very much. But Barlow Girl themselves were so incredible, not only are they amazingly talented but they also have an awesome message. They put on a great show- you should all try to see them!!!

Here is a link to their website Barlow Girl

And here is a video of one of their songs from a concert

And another

enjoy and let me know what you think of them!!!

Dogs are Smart

2008-09-17T15:44:00.000-07:00

So right now I don't have any pets. I have plants- which I also do not have a green thumb so me and plants are interesting. Why can I keep weeds alive and not other plants? Anyway- my parents have a dog and she was my dog too but I haven't lived there in like 5 years so she isn't really my dog- maybe more like my step-dog I visit on weekends and holidays. She is a sweet dog though, and loves people. Her name is Jacey and she is really smart. She has figured out how to open all the screen doors and has recently discovered how to open the slider so basically she can get in and out of the house whenever she wants if the doors aren't locked. Soon she will probably be able to turn a doorknob and run for president. Anyway- so I don't have a dog but I think dogs are cool- here is a video of another sweet dog.

Escape with paint!

2008-09-10T12:08:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling very creative lately. I am working on this tree skirt thing- it involves a lot of sewing, beading, and embroidering- so that is pretty creative. Also I am working on making some costumes for Tournament Series- don't even ask, I am NOT telling you the theme! And lately I have really been feeling the need to paint. I don't know what to paint but I'm sure I'll think of something eventually:)

So you all know how I like online games and I like escape games and now you know I am feeling artistic so it just seems fitting that I should put up Escape Artist for you all to play:) You have to find pieces of a stained glass window to escape. It is fun and interactive and the music is pleasant- although I had to turn it off because it made it hard to think! Any way- Enjoy!

Click here to play Escape Artist!

Optical Illusions 6

2008-09-03T15:26:00.000-07:00

This one is a bit tricky. It has to do with letters, numbers and patterns. I actually had no problem finding the ones you are looking for, they stood out to me but I bet it has to do with what type of a thinker you are and what side of the brain is more dominant. Let me know what you think:) I got this from my grandma.

The Eye Test

Can you find the B (there are 2 B's)

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Once you've found the B Find the 1

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII1III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Once you found the 1.............. Find the 6

9999999999999999999999999999999999

9999699999999999999999999999999999

9999999999999999999999999999999999

Once you've found the 6... Find the N (it's hard!!)

MMMMMMMMMMMMM

MMMMMMMNMMMMM

MMMMMMMMMMMMM

Once you've found the N... Find the Q...

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOQOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

So how did you do?

Hidden Mickey's

2008-08-21T15:47:00.000-07:00

So a couple of months ago I was sitting on Pirates of the Carribean at Disneyland, minding my own business when I overheard the people sitting in front of me talking about hidden Mickeys. They were saying the the Disney folks hid a Mickey Mouse on every ride and that there was one on Pirates. They said where it was and sure enough- I saw it. Well I was hooked. I have become obsessed with finding hidden Mickeys. I found the one on Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain and I heard of ones on Indiana Jones and the Matterhorn. So I began spreading the word about supposedly hidden Mickeys on every ride. For my birthday, my mom found me this book called "Hidden Mickeys". Here is the link to the author's website Click here. Thing is- there are more then one Hidden Mickey on most rides and there are a bunch just around the park and in lines. Plus, I have heard of Hidden Mickey's not in the book as well. The book itslef list 170 hidden Mickeys. Anyway, so Jim and I ran around Disneyland and California Adventure finding Hidden Mickeys. I took some pictures and here they are. I have a lot more- if you want to see them send me your name and email address in the "comments" section- for JH and former JH students only.

Cutie cute cute

2008-08-06T11:00:00.000-07:00

My friend Bridgette sent me this one. It is pretty adorable I have to admit. I think I want a puppy. Not right now but in the next year or so. I don't think we'll get a boxer- too big and too high energy but I have always liked beagles:) Who am I kidding, we'd probably go pick a mutt out of the pound. If I get a puppy I will have to try singing it to sleep- I wonder if it really works?

Optical Illusions 5

2008-07-24T15:43:00.000-07:00

Continuing in this series, I got a sweet email from Jon C. We were on the bus on the way home from Sugarpine I think and somehow we got on the subject of optical illusions. I told them how cool I thought they were and that I have a bunch on my blog and he told me about this email he got. It is a picture of Albert Einstein but if you stand 15 feet away from your computer screen it will look like Marilyn Monroe! If you wear glasses- just take them off as you are sitting in front of your screen- same thing!

Go ahead, try it!

I don't know why or how this works. Do any of you? I mean obviously they have done something to the pic- softened some edges and I wonder if the color has anything to do with it? But I don't understand why it works- and I want to. Tell me your thoughts!

If you haven't seen my other optical illusion blogs make sure that you check them out by clicking on the label "optical illusions" listed below.

Camp!!!

2008-07-10T17:01:00.000-07:00

Yay! Summer Camp is here!!! This year I am headed out to Sugarpine. It is up near Yosemite and it is such a fun camp! This is a picture of me and Lisa from last time we were there. We are holding the brightly colored balls because we had just won the Bocce Ball Tournament!! That's right- we were the best team at the entire camp!!! Should be another fun summer this time around. So you don't get bored here is an incredible, amazing, relaxing and soothing game called 6 diffeences. Now I posted 5 differences before but this is a new version of the same game- all new pictures and animations- super sweet. Check it out!

Click here to play

Game-On!

2008-07-02T15:13:00.000-07:00

It is time for the next installment of my game series. I have some pretty sweet games on my blog- trust me, everyone thinks so. After you play this one you should click on the "games" label at the bottom and play all my games!

This is a game called Arachnophilia, which, if you know any latin roots, means "love of spiders". Ew, nasty! I hate spiders! When I lived with my parents, we had this massive pine tree right next to the house. All kinds of nasty spiders were attracted to it. And since it was so close to the house, these big, huge orange and grey spiders would build their webs in our eaves. This house had the front door upstairs with a big deck going around it so the eaves of the house were quite close. We would have to walk with you hands in front of us at night becasue these spiders would build their webds right at face level. I still freak out a bit just thinking about one of thise huge spiders landing in my hair or something.

But this game is pretty sweet- you get to be a spider, make a web and try to catch insects. It also has fun spider facts so you could say playing this game is educational as well as entertaining.

Click here to PLAY!

Pandas

2008-06-30T11:55:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I like to post super cute pictures of fuzzy, adorable, baby animals. I know such a girly cliche' but even the toughest biker dude would have to admit these things are pretty cute. So I got this email from Cathreine (now in 9th grade) so I thought I would share:)

S ICHUAN , China -- One zoo in southwest China has its hands full with 16 baby pandas. The Sichuan Wolong Panda Protection and Breed Center is dealing with the results of a breeding boom -- 16 pandas have been born since July, 2006. The brood includes five sets of twins. The cubs are weighed and measured every five days (see pics)The heaviest tips the scale at just over 24 pounds, while the lightest weighs about 11 pounds. The pandas are due to stop suckling by February, 2007 just about the time they'll start learning to walk. Once weaned, the panda cubs will attend panda kindergarten.

I wonder, where are they now? Hmmmm.

It's HOT!

2008-06-18T15:33:00.000-07:00

Well I guess summer time is here. It has been gorgeous the last several days but today is the first time I would say it is really Hot! (except for that crazy heat wave we had in what, May? March?) Anyway, the office is kept quite chilly so my body almost goes into shock whenever I go in and out of the building. If I was off today, and spending most of the day outdoors, I think it would be so cool to have somthing like this to go play at: (you can click on the images to make them larger)

"If you like doing laps in the swimming pool, you might want to stock up on the energy drinks before diving in to this one. It is more than 1,000 yards long, covers 20 acres, had a 115ft deep end and holds 66 million gallons of water. Yesterday the Guinness Book of Records named the vast pool beside the sea in Chile as the biggest in the world. But if you fancy splashing out on one of your own - and you have the space to accommodate it - then beware: This one took five years to build, cost nearly 1billion and the annual maintenance bill will be 2million. The man-made saltwater lagoon has been attracting huge crowds to the San Alfonso del Mar resort at Algarrobo, on Chile 's southern coast, si nce it opened last month. Its turquoise waters are so crystal clear that you can see the bottom even in the deep end. It dwarfs the world's second biggest pool, the Orthlieb - nicknamed the Big Splash - in Morocco , which is a mere 150 yards long and 100 yards wide. An Olympicsize pool measures some 50 yards by 25 yards. Chile's monster pool uses a computer- controlled suction and filtration system to keep fresh seawater in permanent circulation, drawing it in from the ocean at one end and pumping it out at the other. The sun warms the water to 26c, nine degrees warmer than the adjoining sea. Chilean biochemist Fernando Fischmann, whose Crystal Lagoons Corporation designed the pool, said advanced engineering meant his company could build 'an impressive artificial paradise' even in inhospitable areas.' As long as we have access to unlimited seawater, we can make it work, and it causes no damage to the ocean.' "

Ok- a couple of things. First- why on earth did they build a pool directly next to the ocean? Ok- in the article they explain that they use sea water but still. . .

Then I guess you don't have to worry about sharks or jellyfish, or anything like that. Too bad it isn't just around the corner- I would love to visit it but I don't really see myself going to Chile anytime soon. Thanks to Hannah G. for submitting this email:)

Hello Goodbye

2008-06-05T10:41:00.000-07:00

Wow- what a crazy time of year! It is so bittersweet. I mean here we are saying goodbye to a great group of students that we have gotten to know really well over the last 2 years and watched them grow and learn and change. So that is sad. And at the same time it is exciting to get a new group of students, little wee ones that we get to start the whole process over again with. So I find myself a little torn.

Goodbye 8th graders! You will be missed! I love visitors- you can always come back and see me anytime. Say plugged in in High School- it is different then JH but still really fun. Don't let the difference scare you away- if everything always stayed the same life would get so boring!

Hello 6th graders- soon to be 7th! I am really looking forward to getting to know you all- we are going to have a great time over the next 2 years!

I'll leave you and start you off with a fun game. It's called 5 differences. You have to search and find what is different between the 2 pictures. I thought it fitting since things are going to be different in the next few weeks but still super cool:)
Click here to play!

Nintendo

2008-05-28T12:07:00.001-07:00

I know pretty much all of you students are too young to remember the advent of video games (the ones you could have inside your home and not have to go to the arcade) but for those of us that do, check out this sweet video!

Randomly I came across this video as I was searching for images to create a link for our newest video for the JH page and I just thought this was so cool! I was never super into Tetrus (I like Dr. Mario better) but this was pretty stinkin creative. Back in the time of complete 2D graphics with everything basically looking like a block. I still have my original Nintendo complete with Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt, 2 controllers and the grey gun- before they switched it to red. I even have the game genie:) It is somewhere at my parents house but I should dig it out because I had a good number of games and it is still fun to play even though it doesn't hold a candle to what technology is capable of now. There was something kinda crazy about only a few kids on the whole block that had a video game system. Everyone would hang out there and you would hope to get a chance to take a turn playing something. Anyway- I hope you thought the video was cool:)

Number 111

2008-05-15T16:37:00.000-07:00

This is my one hundred and eleventh post! 111! Pretty neato I think:) Anyway I got this cute story from my gram. It is called "The Kiss"- click here to check it out!

After you read it, let me know what you think! Sign in and leave a comment if you have a blogger account, if you don't you can leave an anonymous one (just make sure you leave your name somewhere in your message so I know who you are). Comments don't appear right away- I have to release them, but I would love to hear from you and it will appear on my blog!

Another Another Cool Dog

2008-05-08T15:18:00.000-07:00

My husband's boss has a sweet dog. He is a boxer I think and they have kiddos so their backyard has this house-like playstructure and a trampoline. So the dog plays on all this stuff. He has this pattern that he runs and climbs over things, up over the roof of the play stucture and in general is kinda crazy.

Here is a video of another cool dog, another series of mine, click on the labels at he bottom to find the other one. I guess I have really nothing else to say except dogs are cool:)

It is time for a game!!!

2008-04-30T16:24:00.000-07:00

I was noticing on my blog that it has been awhile since I had a game up:) I have been checking some out and I found a pretty sweet one. So if you have 15 minutes (I promise it will take no longer) and a calculator- you are set!!! By now I am sure you know how I like point and click- figure it out- puzzle games- I hope you enjoy this one too! When I finished I literally had seconds to go. Let me know how you do!

Click here to play The Package!

hint: for the keypad- the number 15 is good to know.
Let me know if you are stuck

One more thing- sometimes you need to click the refresh button to load the game.

Go Granny Go!

2008-04-23T15:03:00.000-07:00

I wonder if this is real? Either way it is funny:)

Electromagnetic Personality Disorder

2008-04-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

I have this problem. You see I kill watches. I can't help it, it just happens. There doesn't seem to be much I can do, something in me just zaps the life out of watch batteries.

Seriously- I have maybe 8 watches, only one works. I talked about this like 2 years ago and at that time I had one working watch, well it went the way of the dodo but I got a new watch for Christmas that does work. I am wearing that one right now. Don't get me wrong- I still wear all the non-working ones, I figure they are more like fashion accessories then time pieces. I don't know what the deal is- why do they die on me? Most people say their watch batteries last a couple of years, at least 5 sometimes. I have yet to own a watch that makes it past the 1 year mark. My old- used-to-work watch made it a year and a couple of days- my longest record by far. I've tried cheap watches, expensive watches, silly watches, you name it- I still kill 'em.

The coolest watch I do have is a wind up watch. I don't count it as one of my working watches because it only works when I wind it up- otherwise it is like all the others. It's pretty neat though- they should make all watches that way, you know- wind up. When I told my mom that she was like "well they used to, duh." I got that watch from my Great Aunt- no it's not an heirloom piece, she got it in the 70's, but it's still pretty sweet. You can see it on the room of the month video we just did, and to the right- its the sparkly silver band that looks like a bracelet. Anyway, when I want to wear it I pull out the little stick on the side, set the time, push that back in then you twist it oh like 10 times and the watch starts ticking away. It lasts all day and it is one watch that I haven't killed because I can't- look ma, no batteries!

Lady Lovely Locks

2008-04-07T14:24:00.000-07:00

I have a couple of series on my blog- silly pictures of Travis, amazing videos, and optical illusions, just to name a few. Well I also have a series about my hair- I know, try to hold back your excitment, but ever since I did that student poll on how I should get my hair cut I have just told you about all of my haircuts. I got another one on Thursday. The incredible master hair crafter Lisa came over to my house and cut my hair. I was daring- initially I wanted to cut it all off but I hate trying to grow it out again. My hair was really long and it was annoying me so I opted for a much shorter "long" cut with some cute super short layers around my face. I think it is great! My hair has been growing really fast lately so I am sure I'll need to cut it again in the fairly near future! I know the pictures still look long but trust me- I think we cut off like 6 inches! It feels short to me which is a good thing so I won't just chop it!!

By the way, make sure you leave a comment if you know what "Lady Lovely Locks" is!!!

Sweet sketching

2008-03-31T15:22:00.000-07:00

I am ok at drawing- not like anything professional but I can do a bit. But I got this video from my aunt and wow- this guy can draw. Not only is he an incredible artist but he can draw super details all from memory! Check it out!

Kermix

2008-03-18T12:38:00.000-07:00

Ok- so truthfully the reason I tried this game was because it is called "Kermix" and I love Kermit- the frog that is. It has nothing to do with frogs- you are a little red square, but it stimulates the brain and does require some hopping so I hope you enjoy! I thought is was fun. Currently I am on level 16- let me know what you think and how you do!

Click here to play Kermix

This is sickinigly cute!

2008-03-06T15:09:00.000-08:00

Ok, I can't help it. I got this from my grandma (yes she is hip and does email and surfs the internet). Anyway- this link is so cute you have to check it out. And because it is so cute, I had to bring out other cute pictures- hence all the ridiculously adorable crap that follows:) Not that I am against cute, I just wouldn't say it is my thing. Although whenever I use a noise or imitate a noise to describe something my husband thinks its cute. But I think he is the only one.

Click here to see the cuteness

100000

2008-02-21T13:52:00.000-08:00

So this may not seem like a big deal to some of you but it is something that I have been lookng forward to for weeks now- ever since my car hit 90,000 miles. This weekend it finally happened. I was on my way home from second service and was just on my way up the big hill on Twin Oaks Valley. It happened- my odometer went to 99999. So of course I took a picture- I had been carrying my camera around in my car all week so I wouldn't miss the moment- it only happens for one mile! Then I was figured I might as well take a picture when I hit 100,000 miles too, and then 100001 looked neat also so I took a picture of that. I have a silver 2000 Audi A4 that I have owned since June of 2000 back when it had 11 miles on it. Hard to believe that I have now clocked over 100000 miles in my car, in just 8 short years. Anyway, thought I'd share. You'll find find more pictures when I hit 111,111 and it would be really cool if I can get 222,222 out of it- guess I'll find out in another 8 years!

This is it at 99999- click on it and you'll see a bigger image:)

Here it is at 100000, and a picture of me at 100000 and where on the road I was at 100000.

And lastly when I hit 100001. Yes, I am a nerd.

Boogey-Woogey

2008-02-07T10:25:00.000-08:00

Cat sent me this great clip of 2 people who know how to jitterbug! If you don't know what that is watch this clip- then I challenge you to ask your grandparents or great grandparents if they used to jitterbug back in the day! Anyway- I love dancing and I always enjoy watching talented people perform! So I hope you like it- I want to sign up for dance lessons:)

Winter Camp!!!

2008-01-30T15:53:00.000-08:00

Ok- so check out this incredible picture!!!! That is our winter camp right now. All we need is for the temperatures to stay cold and we will have snow there- so fun, I can't wait! Bring a warm coat and some gloves for a huge snowball fight! You can Click Here to view the webcam from the Thousand Pines website.

Brainity

2008-01-24T10:44:00.000-08:00

Hannah G and I were hanging out yesterday and she showed me this cool game. It is called Phit and it is challenging. I think I was on level 18 or something when she had to leave and I stopped playing- how high can you go?

Click HERE to play!

Cool Poem

2008-01-22T15:06:00.000-08:00

I got this sweet poem that I tholught I would share with all of you. Valerie Hansen sent it to me so you can thank her. Take a second to read- definitely worth it:)

SLOW DANCE

Have you ever watched kids

On a merry-go-round?

Or listened to the rain

Slapping on the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?

Or gazed at the sun into the fading night

You better slow down.

Don't dance so fast

Time is short

The music won't last.

Do you run through each day

On the fly

When you ask "How are you?"

Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done

Do you lie in your bed

With the next hundred chores

Running through your head?

You'd better slow down

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

Ever told your child,

We'll do it tomorrow?

And in your haste,

Not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch,

Let a good friendship die

Cause you never had time

To call and say,"Hi"

You'd better slow down.

Don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere

You miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day,

It is like an unopened gift....

Thrown away.

Life is not a race.

Do take it slower

Hear the music

Before the song is over.

I'm back

2008-01-14T16:59:00.001-08:00

Wow- it feels like it has been forever!!! Christmas was in Pittsburgh- cold but no snow:( Fun times though. We were back here for New Year's but then gone again on a cruise down the Baja Pennisula! Now I am home and it feels good!

Here are some pictures from our trip!

This is Pittsburgh at night from Mt. Washington. You actually ride this really old incline up to the top of the mountian- it's pretty cool (and yes, I took this picture myself:)

Here we are on Christmas Day. We are in Jim's aunt's neighborhood. It is our tradition to take a walk on Christmas - so we did.

This is us in Cabo San Lucas. The water behind us is the Sea of Cortez. It was a beautiful day in Cabo- but when we were at sea it was cold!

This is La Bufadora- it is a blowhole in Ensenada. There is an underground cave and when the waves come in just right it shoots air out with this funny sound and then blows out water like a geiser! It was pretty neat to see.

Well I'm glad to be home- until next time!

Optical Illusions Part 3

2007-12-12T16:33:00.000-08:00

Wow- it has been some time since I have posted some optical illusions!!! These ones are pretty sweet too:) I got them from Hannah Gardner. Check 'em out!

This is not a test - just a phenomenon. All readings are explained.
Read out loud the text inside the triangle to the right.

More than likely you said, 'A bird in the bush,'! And. .
If this IS what YOU said, then you failed to see
That the word THE is repeated twice!
Sorry, look again.

Next, let's play with some words.
What do you see?

In black you can read the word GOOD, in white the word EVIL

Now what do you see?

You may not see it at first, but the white spaces read the word optical, the blue landscape reads the word illusion. Look again! Can you see why this painting is called an optical illusion?

What do you see here?

This one is quite tricky!
The word TEACH reflects as LEARN.

Last one.
What do you see?

You probably read the word ME in brown, but.......
When you look through ME you will see YOU!

Next:
EYE TEST
Count every ' F ' in the following text:
FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE
SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTI
FIC STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS...

HOW MANY ?
WRONG, THERE ARE 6 -- no joke.
READ IT AGAIN !
Really, go Back and Try to find the 6 F's before you scroll down.
The brain cannot process 'OF'.
Incredible or what? Go back and look again!!
Anyone who counts all 6 'F's' on the first go is a genius.
Three is normal, four is quite rare.

O lny srmat poelpe can raed this.
I cdnuolt blveiee that I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in what oredr the ltteers in a word are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is that the first and last ltteer be in the rgh it pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it wouthit a porbelm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! If you can raed this psas it on !!

Hope you enjoyed it!!!

Very Awesome Video

2007-12-03T16:28:00.000-08:00

I know it has been awhile- life is crazy sometimes. Anyway my Grandma sent me this sweet video of ballet dancers- the cool thing is one has no arm and the other has no leg- but it is still a beautiful dance!!! You got to watch!!!

Veteran's Day

2007-11-13T10:08:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was Veterans Day. Most of you had school off because of it. I hope you got a chance to thank a Veteran that day, for giving us the freedom we have. Freedom isn't free and in this politically charged atmosphere too often people seem down on the USA. I don't even mean people in other countries, I'm talking about Americans- where did our national pride go? Hopefully on this day that we remember those who served and fought we can remember that this nation is great because of our many freedoms. The freedoms that allow us to criticize, allow us to worship our God, allow us to live in peace.

My aunt sent me this cool audio clip and I found the youtube video to match. A man tells the story of where the National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, comes from.
Enjoy.
Side note- at the end of the video is a push for some guy running for president. Now I am not endorsing him, I don't even know who he is so don't get all in a huff if you don't like him or his party (voting is important and I will vote but I'm not voting now so I don't know who any of the people are really). The rest of the video is about history- which is vital knowledge, a lot of complaints and problems in this country- if people would only look at history I think they would be more patient. Anyway- sorry about the last part, I don't know how to take it out so you'll just have to deal with it.

Game On!

2007-11-08T09:59:00.000-08:00

I was just checking my blog and I realized that it has been a long time since I posted a game!!! You all must have absolutely nothing else to do online since there aren't any new games on my blog! So I decided to add one today. Truthfully it is taking awhile for me to decide which one. You know I play them all first because you never know what might show up on the most innocent seeming games- so I have to play a lot of games- to make sure they are alright- hey, it's still work! It's "research" for my blog:)

Having several to choose from I finally decided on "Escape:The Phonebooth." It is pretty sweet- done by the same people who did "Escape:The Car." So if you like escape games- one of my favorites, you'll enjoy this! Click on everything and figure out how to use what you find to escape the phonebooth!!! Let me know what you think and if you need any helpful hints (I think there are in-game hints as well)

Click Here to play!!!

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T14:51:00.000-07:00

I love dressing up for Halloween- it is so fun to get to pretend:) I haven't totally decided what I am going to be tonight- last year we had Tournament Series on Halloween and I dressed up as Belle from Beauty and the beast- that was cool. Right now at work I am dressed up like a Marine, but I might change for tonight- who knows. Well I wanted to leave you with this sweet story- enjoy!

Christians are like Pumpkins

Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes youin, and washes all the dirt off of you. He opens you up, touches youdeep inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff-- including the seeds ofdoubt, hate, greed, etc. Then He carves you a new smiling face and putsHis light inside you to shine for all the world to see.This was passed on to me from another pumpkin. Now, it is your turn to pass it to a pumpkin. I liked this enough to pass it along to all the pumpkins in my patch.

Sharks!

2007-10-10T12:42:00.000-07:00

So I got to go to Maui with my hubby 2 weeks ago. We had the most incredible time! It was a business type trip so we were witha large group of people all in the same business (heating and air conditioning). Anyway, while we were there a good chunk of the beach- at least the stretch from Lahina to Napili (which included where we were staying in Ka'anapaali) was closed because of sharks! And we saw them- in fact I have a video. . . (and yes I took the above picture)

Travis Time:)

2007-10-10T12:22:00.000-07:00

I know you have all been waiting for the next installment of Silly Pictures of Travis!!!! Now is that time!!! So here is our fearless leader cooking for Beach TNL:)

My Hair, again

2007-09-20T15:51:00.000-07:00

Lisa cut my hair again. It's been about a month now but I just kept forgetting to mention it. I LOVE it! It looks so cute! She cut a ton off- but it is still long, I just have some shorter layers. For those of you who were a part of my hair survey forever ago (click on the label and you'll see the rest) this style reminds me more of the Sandra Bullock (in Miss Congeniality) look- which no one really liked at the time of the voting. For some reason the majority went with Paula's hairdo- I just didn't want bangs, so I went with the second highest votes which was Kate Beckinsale's hair (like in Click). So I thought I'd showcase off my new do. I wore a ponytail today but you can get the idea:)

Block this!

2007-09-11T16:25:00.000-07:00

Molly sent me this highly addicting game. It is pretty fun- you should check it out too!!! Click here to play!

Ya'll know how much I like games. I was cruising through addiciting games the website and I saw a ton of new ones I got to try out so I can pass along the gaming goodness to you my loyal fans!!! But also you can let me know whenever you find a cool game too!