Underwater Occupants

God has a wonderful imagination! :-D

I walked around quoting "Finding Nemo" quite a bit during our visit, haha.

Time With Friends

I'm really looking forward to this year being over! I know that having a different year on the calendar doesn't technically change anything, but I relish the symbolism of a new year, a fresh slate, and letting go of the past.

Christmas was good. I slept in, watched a movie with my family, opened presents, and cooked dinner. I got lots of great gifts, and I have definitely have two favorites- a beautiful new Bible from my parents, and a cute sweater coat from Ryan's grandmother. In the evening Ryan and Shannon came over to exchange gifts and hang out, and that definitely made the day nice. I'm looking forward to the day I can celebrate the holidays in my own home; I want to host company and decorate and make my own traditions. I don't enjoy Christmas as much as I used to. I don't know if it's because things are different, or because I am different. But I just try to remind myself that no matter what changes, the meaning of Christmas is the same, and thanking my Saviour for His gift to me is all that really matters! At church on Christmas Eve a couple of people in praise team performed "How Many Kings" by Downhere, and it really touched me. Google the words if you haven't heard it!

This was a fun and busy weekend, and I got to share it with several people whose company I enjoy. :) On Saturday Ryan and I went with Dave, Katie, and the kids to the aquarium downtown. I finally got to see the dolphin show! It was a little cheesy, but still cute and really neat to see the work they put into understanding and training the dolphins. I've been to the aquarium at least 3 or 4 times, but this was the first time I got good pictures. My favorite that came out was the one of the anemones- they look like underwater flowers! I enjoyed my time with the Casamentos, as always. :) It's fun to see Aaron maturing and being more outgoing- he is so sweet and funny. I'm amazed at how time has flown with Belle, and I'm impressed at how much she interacts with people and has learned lately. She lets me cuddle her more lately, which makes me happy. :) That evening Kate needed a babysitter, so Ry and I went back over to play, eat dinner, and watch "The Pirates That Don't Do Anything."
Today was church of course, and then more socializing. Apparently there was a big game on ;) so Ry and I went to the Green's house and watched the first half with them. I miss all the time that Josh, Ryan, Shannon, and I used to spend together, so it's nice to go over to their house from time to time. Mr. Kevin and Mrs. Kim are really the type of parents I'd like to be one day, and their home is so laid back and welcoming. Afterwards we went to visit with Ry's cousin Josh, who is visiting from Georgia. We ended up sitting in the living room for about an hour, just sharing what God's been doing in our lives the past few months. Oddly, though most of it has not been comfortable or fun or what seems like good, it's just encouraging to share those things with other believers. I guess that's the purpose of fellowship.

Fellowship. Hm. Sometimes I think I'd pretty much shrivel up and die if it weren't for the love of good friends. On that note I say, good night. :)

Christmas Activities.

My Christmas shopping is done and the presents are wrapped! I LOVE to shop for gits and I also enjoy the wrapping of them. I went a little over my budget... :-/ but it makes me too happy to know I covered everyone on my list with something they'll enjoy to care. I'm getting one more paycheck this year (and it'll be over $100) so that will make up for it. On Sunday Ryan and I hit Arundel Mills. It was VERY crowded, but somehow we got a decent parking spot and were in and out in under two hours. It helped that I had a list of who I was shopping for and what I was getting them! I'm so efficient (when I want to be!). [Side note; that Chinese food we had for lunch, not a marvelous idea, but whatev. haha] While walking through the mall I saw several things I really wanted to stop and look at for myself. I resisted however and did not look at or try on a single thing.

When the shopping was done we had a holiday gathering at his aunt's to go to...typical fun with his family involving taco salad, karoke, and much laughter. I love it. :) Then Shannon picked me up and we picked up John and enjoyed some catching up and looking at Christmas lights in Catonsville. We stopped at Starbucks, which was the one place I treated myself to something that day. Yummy Peppermint Mocha Twist! Plus it was just before closing time, so we scored free pastry! (I ate my cinnamon roll for breakfast.) I spent the night with Shannon housesitting/dogsitting. That was interesting...the dogs were restless and kept us up. I ended up cuddling in bed with one of the dogs (and Shannon) because they would not calm down until we petted them and stayed perfectly still. I felt like I was sitting up with a fussy infant!! I don't even like dogs. *sigh* Plus, we got scared out of our minds when the wind made the back screen door move and sounded like somone trying to break in! Geez. Needless to say, I was tired today, but I had to head to work at AMF this morning.

I was paging through the December issue of Better Homes and Gardens this evening, and it made me wish for the day I have my own place to decorate. There were so many cool ideas in there! I want to paint rooms and hang pictures and host parties and in general be a domestic diva. It's pretty much a life goal, haha. Every year when I wrap presents I have the same idea of something I want to host one day- a gift wrapping party with my girlfriends! I'll bake cookies and invite friends over to spend a fun afternoon wrapping gifts and enjoying girl time. I told Ryan about it, and he said he'll go out with the guys and I can have the house to myself and wrap as much as I want, haha- he hates shopping and gift wrapping!

On Saturday I went to the Christmas play at Trinity Assembly of God, my parent's church. The production there is always lavish, amazing, and touching. They have flying "angels" for goodness sake! I enjoy it not just for the fancy sets and beautiful music, but for the truly wonderful worship that exudes out of it. Sometimes I have trouble singing Christmas songs with anything more than a sense of tradition. When I heard and sang the songs there, like "Joy To The World" or "Come All Ye Faithful" the words felt truly alive and the impact of Jesus' birth hit me all over again. :)

Grades and early presents

I was shocked today when I got Christmas presents from my boss; not necessarily because she gave me anything, but because it was Lindor chocolates and a $30 Macy's card!! *woot* :-) Speaking of, I need to go get some chocolate to help me finish this post....

..OK, I'm back. My final grades were posted today- I got A's in Theatre and English and a C in Math. I am so happy about the A's and so relieved about the C. What's sad is that I miss school already. I miss learning new things, I miss being out of my house, I miss my friends, I just miss the whole atmosphere. *sigh*. But I will enjoy Christmas, make the best of January, and be back there before I know it. And I should use the break to concentrate on my job at AMF, and read and study things that I don't otherwise have time for.

Girlie quizzes! I love it!

You are Elinor Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! You are practical, circumspect, and discreet. Though you are tremendously sensible and allow your head to rule, you have a deep, emotional side that few people often see.

Take the Quiz here!

And Then...

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are a Katharine!

You are a Katharine -- "I am happy and open to new things"

Katharines are energetic, lively, and optimistic. They want to contribute to the world.

How to Get Along with Me

• * Give me companionship, affection, and freedom.
• * Engage with me in stimulating conversation and laughter.
• * Appreciate my grand visions and listen to my stories.
• * Don't try to change my style. Accept me the way I am.
• * Be responsible for youself. I dislike clingy or needy people.
• * Don't tell me what to do.
  

What I Like About Being a Katharine

• * being optimistic and not letting life's troubles get me down
• * being spontaneous and free-spirited
• * being outspoken and outrageous. It's part of the fun.
• * being generous and trying to make the world a better place
• * having the guts to take risks and to try exciting adventures
• * having such varied interests and abilities

What's Hard About Being a Katharine

• * not having enough time to do all the things I want
• * not completing things I start
• * not being able to profit from the benefits that come from specializing; not making a commitment to a career
• * having a tendency to be ungrounded; getting lost in plans or fantasies
• * feeling confined when I'm in a one-to-one relationship

Katharines as Children Often

• * are action oriented and adventuresome
• * drum up excitement
• * prefer being with other children to being alone
• * finesse their way around adults
• * dream of the freedom they'll have when they grow up

Katharines as Parents

• * are often enthusiastic and generous
• * want their children to be exposed to many adventures in life
• * may be too busy with their own activities to be attentive

Which Female Icon Are You?

P.S. I need advice again

I'm writing Christmas cards for a few people at work, and was wondering which type of card I should use. I would like to use ones that say on the front "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord", and has a pretty drawing of a country scene with snow and an angel. Would that card be inappropriate for a colleague if I'm not sure about their religious preference? We have a pretty laid back environment, and I'm only giving them to people whom I talk to regularly. I have other cards that are really generic and just have snow men and bears and stuff like that on them.

Decisions- Minor and otherwise.

Thanks for the great gift suggestions on the last post! I'll have to be pinching my pennies because their anniversary is so soon after Christmas (Jan 7th). I'm going to try to get to Things Remembered, and then maybe get them a gift card for their favorite restaurant. I like the photo shoot idea Jenn, but my mom doesn't really like having her picture done, so I'm unsure about going with that.

I ended up not going to the movies because nothing looked worth seeing (the comedies at least, which is what Ry wanted to see). The weather was so gross on Tuesday, and I was in a sad mood, so instead we went to Blockbuster and he let me pick the movie. We got "Get Smart" with Steve Carell- it was really funny!

Yesterday at my cleaning job I dropped a sponge behind their stove when I was scrubbing the wall; that's better than last week when I almost broke their bathroom window! I felt stupid both times, haha. It's a little intimidating to me to clean someone's house, because you're in their space and how you think might be ok to do something might not be ok with them. But they're an easy-going couple, and I've done as thorough a job as a I can, so I'll probably have nothing to worry about. I'm really happy that the house is so close to school. When spring semester starts up I plan on walking over after classes and save anyone the trouble of driving me.

Before I end I want to explain why I was in a sad mood on Tuesday. I decided to drop my role in the main stage show at school, and I talked to the director about it on Tuesday. When I went to the cast meeting last week the director told me that my part would definitely require a lot of physical action (the type of things I was doing in audition and probably more). As I thought more about this it made me really nervous. I go to the chiropractor a lot as it is, and injure easily. I don't want to take on a role that I might not be able to do to well, or in which I might get injured. That's not fair to myself, the show, or the director. Even though I was excited to be in a show, I've had an uncomfortable feeling about it all along. I was also asked to be a part of another show, and I thought I'd better suited to it than to "Servant", and I knew I couldn't do both. It was a really hard decision to give up "Servant!" But as Shannon pointed out, it's not the last chance I'll ever have to be in a show. The show I am doing is produced by our theatre club (Barnstormers) and I was asked to be assistant director/stage manager. That's exactly the type of work I love and I know I will learn so much! Plus, it's more of a support role where I'll have the chance to be a good organizer and a calming presence. I've already seen through our school coffeehouse that I'd good in that area. If I had stuck with "Servant" it would have been for more selfish reasons...like doing something just because it meant I could be on stage. So yeah, it may seem confusing but that's the story.

I wish I felt more like "Christmas." I need to finish cleaning and writing cards, and I'm going with Ryan on Sunday to do our Christmas shopping! (I love to plan, buy, and wrap gifts. It's my favorite part of the season.) I hope you all find time to enjoy yourselves amidst all the hectic hustle, bustle, sickness, and "to-do" lists!

Recommendations?

Tomorrow Ryan and I want to go to the movies, but we don't know what to see. I've already seen "Madagascar 2" and "Twilight." Have you seen anything good lately?

Next month is my parent's 25th wedding anniversary. It was my dream to throw them a party, but I don't think that will happen. :-/ Do you have any good gift suggestions? (Something $100 and under.)

wonderful weekend!

Anniversary date was lovely! We managed to get in and out of downtown without getting lost. :p We had a delicious dinner and exchanged gifts; he gave me a lovely necklace that looks like this. I've always wanted a Journey necklace but I've never asked for one. I gave him a frame for his signed Shane and Shane CD booklet and a Colbie Caillat CD. I know they seem like odd gifts, but he was delighted. :) After dinner we walked along the water and ended up at one of my favorite places- the big Barnes and Noble by the aquarium. We usually don't go downtown without going there. There was a sign on the door announcing the Michael Phelps book signing for the next day, and Ryan said sarcastically, "oh darn, you won't be here." haha. He knows I think Michael Phelps is uber hottie. (Yes, I just said uber.) I had a fun and romantic evening and came home very happy. :)

On Saturday my family and Ryan went up to York, PA for the annual Blair/Jennys/Murray Christmas party. The year was crazy and fun, with our regular 12, plus Ryan, plus two foreign exchange students (the Murray's and the Blairs are each hosting one). Us "kids" picked on each other mercilessly, and taught the Chinese Mark and Russian Tammy the joys of games such as "Telephone", "Spoons", and "Pit". It's crazy to realize that I am now older than our parents were when they met in college. The group photos turned out great:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/Javababe01/blairs_2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/Javababe01/blairs_3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/Javababe01/blairs_1.jpg

(Pasting the links was easier because I didn't like how the pictures messed up the post.)

When we were shopping up in PA I discovered a drink called "Caribou Coffee." Has anyone ever seen it down here? It's in the refrigerator case and comes in a cute metal bottle. It tastes a lot like a Starbucks iced frappuccino, but it's a little less heavy.

This post took waayy longer than I meant, and I originally got on the computer to work on the CITY newsletter. :-/ At least I have an idea of the content, so I guess I'll just type it up the morning. This week I'll be adjusting to my new schedule of minus school plus two jobs. I plan to finish my Christmas shopping next weekend, when I acually have money again. That's how it always is, spending it before I get it. *sigh*

Found: One Brain

A day off from school proved helpful, though today has felt oddly long. I had no classes or finals, so I went in the morning to my new job (cleaning) and then spent the afternoon and evening writing my paper, baking, cleaning my room, and texting (yes, I seriously text so much it makes the list!)

My last post was from the frustration of not being able to write the English paper I need for my final grade. It's a research/debate paper in which I must assert a thesis and defend it. It's due Thursday at noon, and as of Monday I didn't really have much to show for the reading and research I'd been attempting to do. My thoughts and facts started to fall together today and I'm feeling much less worried.

I mentioned in a previous post that my paper is a defense of the use of chiropractic care. In this class we each picked a topic on which our assignments would focus for the entire semester. Mine was complementary and alternative medicine, and so far I've written a general research paper about different forms of CAM, an editorial on health insurance companies and their involvement with natural medicine, and a definition paper on the word "holism."

Tomorrow I have a final in theatre class for which I am totally ready and pumped. Then I'll try to calmly do some last minute studying for my math final (my teacher told me not to cram, but cramming is staying up all night the night before the test, right? :p) I need to drop of the last of my application forms for the Honor's Society. Finally, I'll be going to a cast meeting for the play. Yahoo!

As of Monday, Ryan and I have been together for four years! He picked me up at school to grab some dinner (Subway) and we went to see his cousin's new dog and then to Wal-mart together. It's nice to know I enjoy even the mundane with him. But no worries- on Friday night he is taking me to Cheesecake Factory! We were postponing our actual anniversary celebration until after finals.

Wanted: Motivation

I think my brain has taken a vacation. If you see it, could please inform it that the semester is not over yet and I need it back?

the stage for me!

Lights please! I am going to be in the CCBC spring production!!!!!!!!!! :-D I find out tomorrow which part I am playing. Circumstances surrounding my audition dimmed my enthusiasm at first. For one, the director seems like someone who is definitely going to take no nonsense and demand a lot. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. In addition, I wasn't prepared to audition with anything except some script reading. But because the play is going to have a lot of physical comedy, I had to learn and perform a shoulder roll in about 30 seconds. That was scary, and on one of the rotations I landed on my shoulder improperly. :-( To top off the craziness, my mom called me a bunch of times because I didn't call her when she was expecting me (by only about half an hour). I had no service in the theatre building, and didn't want to run out in the middle of auditions. So finally I had to ask a gracious friend to save the day and call her for me...she pretty much was freaking out and thinking goodness knows what had happened to me..that's my dear mom for ya. But all in all, after thinking it over, I am really happy I got a part and I'm looking forward to the production. I'm finally going to be in a production that does not involve something church-related! haha. I am not at all dissing the experience that I got at Halethorpe; I am deeply grateful for it! But I'm happy to finally be branching out.

Today was a great day. I got my second 90% in a row on a math quiz, meaning that I need only get a 65% on the final to pass the class. I had a great talk with my English professor that I found both gratifying and inspiring (woo, two large meaningful words there!) The day was topped off by helping to set up and coordinate the Barnstormers' coffeehouse, and I had a lot of fun there!

Now I better be gitting. Tomorrow I have a ton of laundry and homework to catch up on, some shopping to do (for a new camera, yay!) work, and a job interview.

long day, good news.

I did make it school early today! I found some helpful resources for my paper about chiropractors. My thesis is "Chiropractic care should be used regularly as part of health maintenance." I am feeling overwhelmed and under-motivated, which is not unusual when I pick a topic on my own to study. I'm happy there's only about a week left of the semester, but I'm worried about writing a good paper in that amount of time.

Tomorrow I am auditioning for "A Servant With Two Masters," the spring production at the college. It's a comedy piece, and I'm feeling dubious about the likelihood of my getting a part...but whatever, we shall see.

I got another job today! Someone from the realty company I work for would like me to clean at their house for a nice hourly rate, paid in cash. I also have the opportunity to house sit/dog sit on the weekends for the same people, if I so wish. Not so sure I want to do that! I'm not comfortable with animals, never having had one. (Little brothers don't count. ;) But I'm getting Shannon in on that, so she can pick up some work too.

It was a good day. Now I am tired and still have much to do..

a job update!

I've been volunteering for Association of Maryland Families (the org that sponsors City on the Hill) for over a year now, and been hoping to work for them. Funds are unfortunately very tight there. But today the director called me and offered me one day a week at $10 an hour! I'm so happy. :) It's still a possibility I can go full-time in the future, but this a step in the right direction and the timing is great with winter break coming up. I'll either stay on at Execuhome, or look into Chik-fil-a if they respond to my application.

In theatre class today I worked on my final. As a team we're supposed to write and act a scene and I'm doing mine with Nancy. As we talked through the script and ideas it just flowed so well into something cute and funny with a great theme. We're feeling so proud of ourselves. :) I also had a great time at Barnstormers meeting (our drama club) as usual, where we made paper snowflakes for the coffeehouse this Thursday. Turns out I am a beastly snowflake cutter; who knew? :)

Going to bed now, hoping to make it to school early (before my 9:35am class) to do research in the library.

*hugs & kisses*

Thoughts for Day 2.

Day two of my new blog and fortunately the well of my ramblings is not dry! :p

Please keep Ryan in your prayers. Tonight his family made the decision to put down one of their dogs. She's been really sick for a few months now, and recently she hardly eats or walks around. Abbi is their favorite dog, and not very old, so it's going to be hard for awhile.

Last night I was trying to unwind and go to sleep, and I started thinking about Psalm 23. I was quoting it to myself, and got the part where it says, "Your rod and your staff, they comfort me." I've been trying to train myself to stop and think about the deeper meaning of really familiar verses, instead of just thinking about them out of habit. What does a rod and a staff mean? Well, they're instruments of direction, and instruction, and protection. A shepherd uses a rod for scaring or beating away predators. So, that verse means that Jesus can defend me against my enemies; be they harmful people or harmful circumstances, or spiritual influences I can't see. The staff is something the shepherd uses on the sheep. If they wander away from the path he picks out for them, he uses the staff to literally pull them back into the right away. I bet having a wooden staff hook around your neck and pull you somewhere you don't want to go doesn't feel good! But it's for the sheep's benefit. The lessons and the situations that hurt me but drive me back to Jesus' arms are His staff in my life. It's good to really think through what a certain verse means and the impact its message has in my life. I've had Psalm 23 memorized for most of my life and never really thought about the importance of the rod and the staff.

Today I had the privilege of spending time with some of the students and staff from the City on the Hill conference last summer. We reunited to rake leaves, grill hot dogs and smores, and talk about what we've been up to since July. The staff met separately to talk through our vision for next summer and put some promotion plans in motion, plus talk about an opportunity that has come our way. Some circumstances and provision have come to pass that will make the conference grow in a huge way. I won't go into details now, but today I saw the beginnings of a dream unfolding and turning into reality! I have never seen that before for a project I was so personally invested in, and the excitement and joy it produces is almost too great to express! Due to that, plus a day spent in beautiful surroundings with beautiful people, I am very contented and joyful. :)

Got Perspective?

I observed the great american pasttime of Black Friday for the first time today- but no, I didn't shop. My parent's church, Trinity Assembly, has a coffee and doughnut ministry for BF morning and I decided to tag along. We went to a Best Buy and a Wal-mart and gave away doughtnuts and hot coffee to over 800 people. I had a blast! I woke up at 2am to be at the church by 3, and we wrapped up around 6am. I enjoyed people's reactions to a free and random act of kindness.

But I do want to sound off about something that really disgusted me today. They are people out there who seriously need to get some perspective. I am all for shopping and finding good deals! But I'm a firm believer in moderation and I also believe everything should be done with an attitude of kindness for those around you. So when at the White Marsh Wal-mart this morning our church group was witness to a fist fight and an arrest, all because of a place in line, I found it quite ridiculous! People are in line to purchase material goods that will probably not even be remembered by next Christmas, and they think it's worth beating each other up for? I just heard of an even worse situation. At another Wal-mart this morning a crowd of people stampeded a pregnant woman and she lost her baby...I can barely register the horror of that. I assume everyone would agree when I say the sale of the century is not worth someone's life?!

Sorry my first entry isn't very cheerful. But that's my thought for the day. Keep everything in perspective!