happy birthday to me

i know, i know...my birthday was a week ago. but i've been busy, and when i'm not busy i'm lazy; therefore i havent gotten around to blogging until just now. so anyway...my birthday. on august 25th at 7:48 a.m. i turned seventeen. i know, i'm kind of old. i started off my day by going to nathan's house (he's the b.f...incase you weren't aware). he surprised me by taking me down to the park where he had an amazingly adorable picnic set up. and we're talking a legit picnic here...i mean, the sandwhiches were cut in heart shapes. it doesnt get much better than that.

so after our lovely picnic we ventured back to his house where we watched a movie entitled "the day after tomorrow." random, i know...but i forgot to bring pride & prejudice, which is what we had planned on watching, seeing as it's my favorite movie and all. after the movie he gave me my gift: a teddy bear (whose name is now jonathan) and a picture frame with some pictures of us. yep, my boyfriend is pretty stinken great. but my day did not end with that...

i got home just in time to get into some nicer clothes for the evening's activities. i really didnt know what those activities were going to be though, seeing as everything that night was a surprise for me. shea and ali picked me up at 6 o'clock and took us to the harker house, where colton, logan, and jason all were. confettie cake and gifts came next. the cake was delicious, but the presents were even better. the best gifts consisted of grizzly man, along with the sound track (twelve tracks of "hoo yip"). thank you jason leith :) and a plastic tarantula that climbs down walls. it's pretty much the sweetest thing ever. after some good laughs we hopped in the car, where a bandana was tied around my head...covering my eyes, and sheilding my vision so that the evening's activities would be a surprise.

first it was to macaroni grill. a 45 minute wait drove us to bed, bath & beyond across the street. we admired the magic bullets and bedsheets, but quickly found that bed bath & beyond was pretty unsatisfying. so we went back to the resteraunt where nikki and alanna met up with us, and waited patiently while taking some strange photographs that i really can't explain with words (i'll post them some time in the future). we were eventually seated...and besides that one time when jason spilled his drink all over shea, dinner was really good.

next was boomers. now, for some reason, someone (cough, colton, cough) decided we should all get the night pass for all the boomer activities: lazer tag, go carts, bumper boats, etc. first was lazer tag, which i of course owned everyone at. [see picture below...my game face is obviously better than everyone elses. well, except for maybe jason]

the boys may complain and say that their guns were broken, but the truth is they simply were not good. the birthday girl won with a score almost 1000 points ahead of logan and jason. colton got zero, which is just sad. after my outstanding victory we waited in line for the go carts for about 23 days...or atleast that's what it felt like. but we had to leave even before we got to go on them. and so colton's "night pass" idea turned out to be a dud. we got our money back and left the park with money back in our pockets. mrs. harker, the cheufer, drove everyone home, and we called it a night.

i had a great seventeenth birthday. so thanks to everyone who made it special: nathan, shea, colton, ali, jason, nikki, logan, alanna, and mrs. harker...you guys are amazing :)

dont check yourself out

i am an independent girl for the most part. i like to do things on my own, in my own way and in my own time. recently ralphs has put in self check-out stations. cashiers are not needed. bag-boys are not needed. you just do it all yourself. and being a person of independence, i'm thinking this is my kind of deal. so today i went to ralphs to purchase some drinks for the greenroom at church. four 2 liter bottles of different kinds of beverages. i got to the check out area, glanced at all the lines, and quickly found the self-check-out area. i thought, "no lines. just do it all myself. this'll be quick and easy"...i was wrong.

after scanning my first bottled drink, some delicious squirt, i was breezing through this whole check-out deal. before grabbing the second liter, though, the screen quickly began flashing, followed by a computerized voice telling me to "please wait for assistance." after pushing a few buttons, i eventually realized i actually had to wait for a ralph's employee. a lady in a red apron walked over within a few minutes and told me to wait a little longer...aparently she had more important things to attend to. upon her return, she pushed a button or two, and told me to continue my scanning.

by the third bottle, i needed a new bag. so i took the full bag and put it into my cart. but i guess that's not allowed, because i was quickly scorned by the red aprin lady, and told to put my bag of beverages back where it was and use the bag next to it, and not to put my bags in the cart until i was finished. i dont understand the point of that at all, but i did as i was told. and everything was mostly down-hill from there. i then payed and got out of there.

in conclusion, the whole process was neither quick nor easy. i'm sure now, that everyone who was waiting in the normal check-out lines has experienced the self-check out process, along with all its dissapointment and frustration. they have learned from their mistake, as have i. i have found a new love for cashiers and bag-boys. never again will i use the self check out system in ralphs. and i advise you as well, don't check yourself out.

the dastardly deed of t.p.ing

my house was toilet-papered last night. i was greeted by my brother this morning with, "your friends left you a 'gift' on the front lawn." now, i dont know what makes him think it was my friends; it could just as easily have been his. i was then ordered down stairs, handed a trash bag, and put to work. as i opened the front door, i was nearly blinded with the pure white toilet paper reflecting the morning sun. my lawn, driveway, and porch...all completely covered in a soggy, white mess. after a good half-hour of labor, the driveway is now decent looking, but the whole thing is still pretty much a disaster. i suppose "t.p.ing" (as many call it) doesn't happen much in coto, where i live. it was entertaining to see peoples facial expressions as they drove by our littered house. an annoying litte girl emereged from her house across the street to witness the scene and attempt to start some small talk...saying something about snow, and her older sister. (i wasnt paying attention. after all, i was hard at work and focusing on the job...plus, like i said before, she's annoying.) while picking up the toilet paper my brother and i had some laughs while contemplating the different possibilites of who the purpetrators could be. i didn't only have some bonding time with my brother, but with nature as well. i was almost stung by some bees, and caught a praying mantis (which was pretty freaking cool). i also came across some toilet paper that had been urinated on. and frankly, that's just gross; after that, i was done...though there is still a good amount of time and energy that needs to be put into my vandalized lawn, shrubs, and trees. so to whoever did this dastardly deed, be sure that i will hunt you down and return the favor. though i do i commend you on your "t.p.ing"...it was a job well done. (other than the multiple rolls you left un-used. if you're gonna toilet paper someone, you might as well go all-out).

goodbye hume lake

i'm finally back from camp. all week long i have experienced countless adventures, and made dozens of memories. after each experience, i would say to myself "i can't wait to blog about this!"...but now that i am home, on the computer, and ready to blog...i find that i have no desire to write about it all. i think there is simply too much to say about the past seven days to pick out certain memories and discuss them in detail. besides, i'm sure plenty of other people will blog about the same crazy camp memories. and so, to sum it up, hume lake was an amazingly fun week. and as much as i miss it, it's nice to be out of the estrigen-filled cabins, and back in my own room. silence has never sounded so good. so goodbye hume lake, and hello to the rest of summer. its time to make every day count.

pre-camp jitters

after, what seems to have been, 478 hours of packing, i'm pretty much done. i've got a lot of mixed emotions and expectations for summer camp this year. dont get me wrong, i'm SUPER excited. but there are some people i wish were going that aren't, and some stuff going on at home that i feel guilty about just leaving with my family to deal with. as guilty as i feel for leaving, though, i also am relieved to get away from it all. and i know god is going to put all circumstances aside and do some great things, he always manages to do that some how.

i'm thrilled to spend the next seven days just hanging out with my friends. i'm starting to feel those pre-camp jitters. i'm anxious to see what all will happen this year...i hope to avoid getting the stomach flu, unlike last year. and i'm pretty curious to see what this ninja/grasshopper theme is gonna be like. i pretty much just have a million-and-one thoughts running through my head right now, not all of which can be spilled out into a blog.

all in all, i know this is going to be a great week. hume lake, here i come :)

packing my bags & emptying my mind

i go on a lot of trips; every few months i get out the suit-case and load up some clothes and a toothbrush. but one trip i take every year always turns packing into an extremely vigorous task. day after tomorrow i leave for summer camp at hume lake. seven days is a lot to pack for, especially with the array of activities done at summer camp: recreation, lake activies (swimming, kyaking, etc.), the ever popular "hanging-out", and so much more. although i've been to summer camp every year since i was in the third grade, i still cant manage to think of what i need to bring. perhaps if you're going, you can share my building stress. the problem is, instead of trying to remember to pack towels and tennis-shoes, i really want to be preparing my heart for what i'm going to learn this week and how i'm going to grow. but only after packing my bags can i empty my mind and focus on what i need to.

.

tomorrow is going to be a long day.

fun freaking frenzy

usually, i'm not big on computer games. every once in a while, though, i'll find one on the internet that i get a kick out of. the other day i was introduced to one: four second frenzy. its linked to addictinggames.com and when they say "addicting" they arent kidding. the game takes a lot of trial and error, seeing as the directions are extremely vague. i'm beginning to master it though. i beat endurance mode in 417 seconds. which i think is pretty darn good. so who's up for a challenge? see how many seconds you can last. click here.

i-suck

there are some things i wish i were better at. after taking my mom to the doctor's today, i realized one of them. while sitting in the designated waiting-room, i flipped through the given pile of magazines, containing the latest celebrity rumors, and new found miracle diets that do not interest me in any way. the real fun was discovered in a seperate pile, better known as the "kids' section." it was there that i came across a classic "i-spy" book. as i turned to the first page, my imediate thought was that this would be a sinch. it was, after all, in the kids' section, and if i kid can do this...i can do it better. but to my dismay, i could barely get through one page. the game of "i-spy" requires not only a good eye, but patience, and endurance. three characteristics i have yet to hone. to put it plainly...i suck at i-spy. and so, today i have added another item on my "to-do" list: become an i-spy master.

chocolate covered banana-less

as the owner of a deluxe annual disneyland pass, i venture to the land of disney every now and again. i am a huge fan of anything disney...the theme park(s) included. the rides are enjoyable, the abience is great, and the experience all together is always memorable. the one thing about disneyland, though, that holds a special place in my heart is the chocolate covered bananas. after picking most of the nuts off, this food item is nothing less than a supreme delicacy. if you've never had one, i'd strongly advise you to try one; the disneyland experience is not complete without one. tragically, though, last night's visit to walt's theme park left me chocolate covered banana-less. my friends and i were having an extremely pleasant evening at the theme park. so i figured i'll end the night on a high note with one of those incredibly delicious chocolate covered bananas, and get one as we leave the park. but to my misfortune, the moron who runs the snack-cart system decides to rob me of "ending the night on a high note" and closes the choclate covered banana stand at 11 pm. i arrived at the ice cream cart merely a few minutes too late...leaving my taste buds, as well as my heart, in a state of discomfort and yearning. my disneyland experience was now not only incomplete, but in an even lower ranking. as jared moine would say...it was "uncomplete." i left the park last night with my head hung low, and a bitter attitude. a haagen-daz shop in down town disney quenched my taste-buds to a small extent with their $7.25 version of a banana split. but the treat could not even hold a candal to the legendary frozen banana covered in delectable milk chocolate and crumbled nuts. i have learned from this devistating experience, though. on my next venture to disneyland, i will purchase my chocolate covered banana no later than 10:45 pm. in the mean time, i curse you snack-cart vendor, you are the reason there is heart ache in this world.

i want to be an israelite.

i'm sure most of you have heard the classic bible story of moses, pharaoh, and the plagues. if not, get out your bible and read exodus [its a good story]. like most stories, this one contains protagonists and antagonists...the good guys and the bad guys...and in this case, the israelites and the egyptians. in this story, there are the followers of moses (and god), or of pharaoh (and the world).

when relating this story to my life, or any christian's life for that matter, it seems, at first, obvious which of the two represent myself: the israelites. i am saved, i am a child of god, i am an israelite. right? not necesarily...

so many times in life i choose to do things the world's way. pharoah's way? even if it's just the little things, the small choices. too often i make deciscions that lead me to egypt, and not the promise land. so does this make me an egyptian? ugh.

while thinking about this, at first, i quickly told myself that i was somewhere in between. but the moment i said that, i realized it was a rediculous conclusion. you cant be both an israelite and an egyptian. there's no "in between." and there's no "in between" when it comes to following god. either it's done whole-heartedly or its not done at all (or at least not how it is intended).

so i have realized, through this internal debate, that i need to stop turning to pharoah, and stop looking to the world for my answers. in times of trial, or in the midst of deciscion making, i need to seek out moses, and turn to god.

.

i'm done being an egyptian. i want to be an israelite.