I'm sorry for the lack of posting in the past week (aside from my frantic "vote for me for Glee!" post). I promise I will do better. Since I was totally MIA for the weekend, I'll fill you in!

Friday: Bunco with my friend Kori. It's a once a month kind-of-thing and I was invited last month and took first place ($25) and I was invited this month and tied for 2nd. Hopefully they don't stop inviting me. After bunco, Kori and I drove to Bend for some impromptu bowling. Now, when I was younger I practically grew up in a bowling alley. Too bad I never learned how to do it. I'm horrible. I had 5 strikes and still only ended up bowling a 97. Lame. I won't even tell you how the second game went.
Saturday: Saturday morning bible study with the ladies, but only a couple showed up so we just talked. Saturday afternoon softball game (watching my best friend's daughter). She pitched, she hit, she intimidated the opposing team's outfield. Atta girl! Makes me proud. After a celebratory ice cream at DQ, we headed home for the poker night! Nine people showed up, including 7 guys and 2 girls (me being one of the girls, obviously), and buy in was $10. There are re-buys and add-on's at the break, but after, no re-buys or add-on's. Let me just say, I had a lucky night. I finished second, and for a while, I was even the big chip leader.
I left with $40 in my pocket. I couldn't have been happier.

Sunday: Started off with my favorite way to spend a Sunday. I went to church. Sang on the worship team, listened to a great sermon from my hermano, and got to see my church family, and some of my closest friends. After church I made cupcakes. I'm not very good at baking, I ruin the cookies where all you have to do is stick them on a cookie sheet. But I did pretty well. They were strawberry with vanilla frosting and sprinkes on top. They were pretty yummy if I say so myself.

Sunday night ended with friends coming over for tacos and Killer uno. Followed by Jenny, Emily and I making "Go EMILY" Signs for Emily's next softball game. Which turned out fantastic, by the way!

This weekend was a great one, and so far this week has been pretty uneventful. We'll see if we can change that up! Hope you're having a great week! Take care, and God bless.

I'm a nerd.. vote for me!

I'm a total nerd for doing this, and I know I pretty much have a 1 in a million chance of this actually happening, but I tried out for Glee on the myspace open auditions. And I hope I did good. You can check it out here and give me feedback on here, or give me a gold star. Whatever you feel like doing. Thanks people! Take care, and God bless!

Glee

Let me start off by saying, I've been in choirs since 5th grade. Singing/harmonizing/the whole sha-bang is my thing. That being said, I absolutely LOVED Glee. I watched it for the first time tonight, and it was fantastic. There were some cheesy love stories in the mix, but that comes along with every show like that right? What other interesting new shows are out there that I don't know about? Fill me in people!

Today was kind of less than satisfactory. I'm really tired of being sick, and thus far I've only been getting worse! It has to get worse before it gets better though. At least that's what they say. *Side note* Who is it that we all refer to when we say "they"? I don't really think of anybody in particular when I say it. I'm just wondering if anybody has a specific group of people in their mind when they say that. Random, but that's why it's called a side note, kids. Oh yeah, I'm watching my friends little puppy. She's an eight week old miniature Australian Shepherd. Her name is Jimmy, and she is freakin' adorable. Now I want one. Thanks a lot "friend" *wink*

This is the little girl. She's stealing my heart.

Speaking of random, I think it's time for me to take a trip to the great state of California. I've lived in Oregon [almost] all of my life, and I still haven't been to California. It's really not all that far. I don't want to go to SoCal or anything, just maybe to Oakland to catch a baseball game, and maybe San Francisco to do some shopping or whatever. It sounds like a blast to me. I just need the funds. Minor details... ha.

Funny story. This past weekend, I went to a local beauty pageant. I went to the one that was held here last year, and pretty much laughed through the entire talent portion, so I figured if nothing else, I'd get a laugh again this year. Turns out, I did. While doing the question portion of the pageant, one of the contestants was asked what she was most proud about. She rambled on about how she was proud of her sense of humor, because she could cheer people up using her humor. She continued to emphasize on this by telling us that she is really good at telling retarded jokes to her friends. Now, maybe because I'm from a liberal town, I'm sensitive to this, but I looked at my friend and said.. "Can you say that????" Clearly she should have lost. Her talent wasn't that great, and, well using that word is just not politically correct, so she kind of failed on the question part. She ended up getting runner up. I was seriously disappointed in the judges, but I'm glad that she won't be representing our part of the state in the state competition. ((Go Heather!)) She was the butt of our (my friends and mine) jokes that night, and will probably continue to do so until next year, when someone else says something retarded.

This was a random kind of post tonight, but I'm in a random kind of mood, so you'll just have to deal with it. Take care, and God bless.

A Thin Line Between Love and Hate

As I sit here, enduring the constant coughing from this recent cold, I can't help but think about the things that I hate. As well as the things that I love. The people that I am the closest to probably know most of these things, but still, I thought it would be fun and different to share it with the blogging world. For every one thing that I hate, I'll come up with something that I equally love. This is in no particular order.

I hate coughing. I absolutely hate coughing. Especially when it's that deep cough that makes you sound like a barking seal. It is, however, a great ab work out. Maybe I should be sick more often?

I love baseball. Baseball means that summer is coming. And summer is one of the things that I love most. There's nothing better to me than coming home on a Sunday afternoon after a morning of church and falling asleep watching a baseball game, and waking up to watch the final two innings. It makes my heart happy.

I hate when the weather deceives you. Many times already this year I've looked outside and it's been sunny. I get super excited and decide to put on capris or shorts or whatever, only to go outside and see that it's really only 32 degrees. Seriously? Deceiving much? I'm ready for shorts and flipflops already. Isn't it spring? My goodness. Maybe I should use the brain that I have in my head and go outside to check to see how warm it is, but where's the fun in that?

I love hoodies. They might not be the biggest fashion statement ever (okay, I know for a fact they're not) but they are so comfy, and they're like a security blanket for me. I'm vowing to myself not to wear them anymore unless I REALLY am cold. No wearing them because it's what I'm comfy in, but wearing them to serve their purpose. I'm on a goal to become more.. feminine I guess you could say.

I HATE giving up on something that I KNOW I can do. Such as my awesome workouts I was doing in January. I went to the gym 26/30 days that month. That's a lot. And since then, I don't think I've been 26 times. I'm slacking, I know it. I need to just stop doubting myself and get back into it. I hate giving up. So I'm not going to quit anymore. I'm going back, and there will be no looking back from there.

I love the way I feel after I've had a kick *ss workout. I'm not talking about burning 400 calories on the elliptical.. I'm talkin' burning 1800 calories and THEN lifting weights. My body feels incredible, and I absolutely love that feeling. Hence the reason I need to QUIT quitting :)

I hate missing my friends. While I have a bunch of friends here that I wouldn't trade for anything, I miss all of my friends from everywhere else. I'm tired of missing them. If I had more money, I'd be able to see them, but it's just not in the plans right now. But I'm tired of missing them!!!

I love all of my new friends in P-ville. I've never had this many close friends in one town, but I absolutely love it, and I love each and every one of them. You know who you are :)

I hate having super sonic senses. I'm not exaggerating either. I can hear EVERY little thing (unless you're talking to me and mumbling, I haven't been able to decipher that yet). I have perfect eyes and can see everything, and I have a really sensitive nose. Now these are all usually good things to have, but it just leads to things annoying me even more. Things that NOBODY else can hear, annoy the crap out of me. I'm thankful that I can see, hear and smell.. but seriously.. let's just tone it down a little ;)

I love love songs. Now, as of right now, I have nobody to sing them to, but there's nothing better than a well sang love song that I can sing along with. My favorite as of right now is The Only Exception by Paramore. It's pretty grand. Check it out here.

I also love blogging. I'm having a blast, and I hope you're having an okay time reading what I randomly come up with. I'll try to write more, since I have nothing more important to do with my time ;) Until next time.

Take care, and God bless.

Doormat, no more.

I am a fairly patient person. I love people, and I love being around people. I'm what some call a "people pleaser." Recently, I've kind of been reading a book, off and on, about codependency. It's about being dependent on other people, and not dependent on God, and yourself. A lot of things I have read in this book were like slaps in the face. I thought to myself.. wow, was this book written for me or what? I've been trying to apply what I've read from the book to my life, but surprise surprise, I've been failing miserably. I decided today, that I'm taking a stand for me. I'm not going to let people push me around and walk on me anymore. I've seen too many people in my life act as doormats, and I refuse to do the same.

I have people in my life that I absolutely love and would do anything for them, I've been there for them through thick and thin, and it doesn't work the other way around. My feelings have been stomped on, and I've swallowed my pride, and didn't say a word. I don't like confrontation, I don't like drama, so if it's not necessary, then I don't bring it up. But it's necessary to say this; No more. I'm not going to become a complete jerk or anything, but I won't let you be one to me. Remember that one part in the bible where it says "Do unto others..." Yeah.. If you're going to treat me like dirt, then I'll turn the other cheek, and I'll move on, because I deserve better than that. I most definitely deserve better than that.

"It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but it takes just as much to stand up to our friends."

Take care, God bless.

Good Friday

Holy Uncreated One
Your beauty fills the skies
But the glory of Your majesty
Is the mercy in Your eyes

Worthy Uncreated One
From heaven to earth come down
You laid aside Your royalty
To wear the sinner's crown

O Great God, be glorified
Our lives laid down
Yours magnified
O Great God, be lifted high
There is none like You

Jesus, Savior, God's own son
Risen, reigning Lord
Sustainer of the Universe
By the power of Your word

O Great God, be glorified

Our lives laid down

Yours magnified

O Great God, be lifted high

There is none like You

And when we see Your matchless face
In speechless awe we'll stand
And there we'll bow with grateful hearts
Unto the Great I am

O Great God, be glorified

Our lives laid down

Yours magnified

O Great God, be lifted high

There is none like You

In the spirit of Good Friday, I thought I would share these lyrics. This is one of my favorite worship songs ever. It really speaks about God's amazing love and mercy. We're not worthy of His love, or His mercy, but He thinks we are. If the Creator of our world thinks that we are worthy of His love, then shouldn't we think so too? Shouldn't we be ever so thankful that HE thinks we're special. HE loves us. That says something about the people we are called to be, and the God that we serve. I've been reading a book by Max Lucado called 3:16 The Numbers Of Hope, and I have to admit, it's brought a whole new meaning to the verse that most Christians memorize, and probably know by heart, but don't take the time to dive in deeper. I really liked this quote and I want to share it with you.

"'God so loved the world. . .' We'd expect an anger-fuled God. One who punishes the world, recycles the world, forsakes the world. . . but loves the world?

The world? This world? Heartbreakers, hope-snatchers, and dream-dousers prowl this orb. Dictators rage. Abusers inflict. Reverends think they deserve the title. But God loves. And he loves the world so much he gave his:

Declarations?
Rules?

Dicta?

Edicts?

No. The heart-stilling, mind-bending, deal-making-or-breaking claim of John 3:16 is this: God gave his son . . . his only son. No abstact ideas but a flesh-wrapped divinity. Scripture equates Jesus with God. God, then, gave himself. Why? So that 'whoever believes in him shall not perish.'"

Personally, I'm thankful that God hasn't over-looked us. He loves us no matter how many times we turn our back on Him. He loves us no matter where we've been, and where we're going. He knew everything we would do before we were even born, and yet He STILL died for us. That is the ultimate love, and I'm so thankful for my God. I could sing of Your love forever. Thank you Jesus for loving me, and thank You for loving this "unlovable" world.

Hope you have a good weekend, and you take the time to thank our Savior for loving us. God bless.

Let's Talk About Love

I have decided that I would like to start a blog. Yes. It's about time I start to actually write down my crazy/random/weird thoughts, and the crazy/random/weird/fun things that happen to me throughout my days. I babysit a lot, so you can guess just how crazy/random/weird/fun things can get. I'm at a crossroads in my life right now. Things are going really good, and I'm finally feeling like I'm on the right path. God is leading me, and I trust in Him. I'm so excited to see what this year has to offer. I really can't believe that it's April already. Is it just me, or is the time flying by extra fast now? Is it cause I'm old? I'm so tired of the time going by so fast. I wish it could just slow down a little so I could catch my breath.

So, I'm a big duck fan.. like.. I can't even explain. I'm going to the spring game in a month, and I'm totally stoked! Bunch of cute brown boys running around in tight pants.. I'm there! Ha.. one thing you'll learn about me, I'm into the boys with color. Not against white boys by any means, I'm just sayin :) Anywho.. Another thing you'll learn about me is that I'm very random. My thoughts aren't all in order, they come out in spurts, and I rarely have control of them. Which is why I'm blogging them, if I said every thought that crossed my mind, I'd be in a padded room 24/7. Well anyways, I should get going, but I'm looking forward to sharing myself with the world, even if only a handful of people actually read this nonsens, I'm sharing anyways :) Take care, and God bless.