Monday, November 8, 2010

kitties


here's what I learned about kitties today:

number one: don't expect kitties to follow you around outside just because they follow you around in your apartment.

number two: don't use your DARE bracelet from red ribbon week in elementary school as a collar for your kitty.

number three: don't use a jump rope as a leash for your kitty, she'll think it's a toy and try to either swat at it or eat it.

number four: kitties don't like to go on walks with a collar or leash or a human being. They prefer to fly solo when they're outside.

number five: bribing kitties with turkey doesn't always work.

number six: i still love kitties even if they don't like to follow rules....or me.

two things i love: this kitty and my man

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Hiccups

We've all heard every line in the book about 'How to Cure Your Hiccups'. In fact, I bet we're all authors of our own novels about how to get rid of the hiccups and why our way works best. Hiccup remedies usually consist of drinking water, holding your breath, drinking water while holding your breath, or drinking water while holding your breath and doing some sort of upside down somersault. I hate the hiccups.

I got the hiccups today. If you know me well, you know that my hiccups are incredibly painful, last FOREVER, come in multiples throughout my day, and no home-remedy ever works to make them stop. Every once in a while I'll get the hiccups during class and random people I don't know slide water bottles across tables, suggesting I should drink some of their water to get rid of my hiccups. When I was in second grade, I had to sing "You've Got a Friend in Me" from ToyStory in front of the whole class...by myself...in spanish...while I had the hiccups. I hate the hiccups.

I decided that I today was the day that I was going to fool my hiccups through a common method used on younger siblings known as 'reverse psychology'. I convinced myself that if I told my hiccups that I loved them and wanted them to stay, that they'd leave. It didn't work. I then moved on to bigger and better ideas. I decided that I should use my hiccups as a form of talking with Jesus through prayer. After every hiccup, I prayed for someone new--whether it be whoever popped into my head at the moment, or whoever I saw as I was driving home from the beach, I prayed for them. To the man driving the blue cherokee, I prayed for you. To the woman pushing the shopping cart on Redondo Avenue, I prayed for you. To the man in the black shirt jaywalking, I prayed for you. Twice, actually. To the woman at the bus stop, I prayed for you. To Josh, I prayed for you. To my mom, I prayed for you. To my dad, I prayed for you. To my brother, I prayed for you. To leigh, nato, hyde, and mer, I prayed for you. To Jesse, I prayed for you. To Jesse's family, I prayed for you. To the man pulling out of the driveway in Signal Hill, I prayed for you. To Anthony, I prayed for you. To Christian, I prayed for you. To Tay, Kendall, and Lindsay, I prayed for you. To the two boys walking on the right side of the sidewalk and the woman walking her little dog, I prayed for you.

At first it seemed really funny...almost like a game...as if I had to think of something really good to pray about for a specific person. I quickly realized a few very valuable points--the first was that it didn't matter if I couldn't form words quickly enough or think of anything to say fast enough in time for the next hiccup to come, because that meant two things--1, that Jesus already knew how they needed to be prayed for, and 2, if I wasn't finished with my prayer by the time the next hiccup surfaced, that I was supposed to pray for them for one more hiccup. We could all use a little extra prayer. It also means that because my heart is in tune with Jesus' heart, He was able to give me the words to say in order to pray for a certain person's needs--I believe that for the people I prayed for who are strangers to me as well as those who I know well, Jesus not only gave me words to say, but also placed people who were in desperate need of prayer on my path and directly in my sight or into my mind. I believe that he sent me down Redondo Avenue for a purpose today--to pray for those I knew and those I saw. Today caused me to love the hiccups.

Speaking of loving hiccups...

Meet Hiccup and his dragon Toothless from 'How To Train Your Dragon'......also known as...
'The Cutest Movie in the World!!!'
It's a MUST-SEE!



Monday, August 9, 2010

Hearst Castle


There are two types of parents....

Those WITH Facebooks and those WITHOUT.

My parents have Facebooks.

My dad got back from a few days in New Jersey, and the first thing he says is.....

"Have you seen my Facebook yet?".

"No, dad, I don't check your Facebook on a daily basis!"

I checked it a few minutes later...and look what I found! He put up oldschool pictures of him and my mom...they're great!!! Moral of the story:
1. Your parents are cool if they have Facebooks!
2. Your parents are even more cool if they put of oldschool pictures of themselves on their Facebooks!
3. Don't be a little sarcastic brat when they ask you if you've seen their Facebook because you just might be missing out on something really sweet!


Here they are at Hearst Castle....love it.

Reunited!


I got to spend Sunday with my dear friend Lindsay. Our hearts are in tune with each other and the love of our Lord...it's such a beautiful friendship! I hadn't seen her in about two and a half months, so lindsay&tay time was definitely way past due! We drank gatorade, swam, and shared stories of our hearts from the things that had happened this summer. She's going back to North Carolina soon, the home of my favorite childhood memories and Montreat College, where she attends school. Thank you for being my friend Lindsay. You are precious to me and Our Father above! I love you!

All Sorts of Celebrations.

Aunt Tracey had brown, shoulder-length hair, freckles, and beautiful eyes to match the beauty that poured out of her soul. She loved so well, and so freely. Last Monday, my parents and I attended her funeral...people gathered together to share in their sorrow. People gathered together to stare into the watery eyes of her loved ones and to embrace one another in this time of need. I think of 'Desert Song', when Brooke Fraser sings, "In all of my life, in every season, You are still God, I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship"....I hear this song in my head as I ask God...WHY? He tells me that it's okay to be upset and angry, because He too is upset and angry at death and injustice...but He also tells me that it isn't over--it's not over for Chris, Gracie, or Cole...it's not over for the students she taught or the teachers she taught with, it's not over for her parents, it's simply not over. He says that we still have a reason to sing and we still have a reason to worship. My mind transfers to the celebration aspect of this tough mourning...tough morning....and I smile as baby Landon stares up at me with the most concerned face, as if he knew something was wrong. I smile and sing along to Amazing Grace.

I turned 20 on Saturday. My father flew back to New Jersey a few days before to attend a funeral for his cousin Chip. My mother cooked breakfast and set up a table for all of my friends to sit at in the backyard to celebrate life. I recognize the continuous circle of death, life, death, and life again....Tracey, Landon, Chip....Me....

As my friends and I laugh and enjoy life while eating my mom's sally-jesse-raphael...(kind of like a french toast type dish...with cream cheese inside!) I think about how at this time in my life, these people are important to me and have influenced my life for the better. There were a few missing from the breakfast table, of course...but being surrounded by people who care for me and love me was wonderful.