Friday, December 11, 2009

Thinking Positively

Ladies and gentlemen,

Have you ever had one of those days where you find it very ...how do I put this... arduous...

Definition: Difficult, hard to endure - Synonyms include: backbreaking, burdensome, exhausting, fatiguing, formidable, grueling, harsh, heavy, labored, laborious, murder, no picnic, onerous, painful, punishing, rigorous, rough, severe, strenuous, taxing, tiring, toilsome, tough, troublesome, trying, uphill

...to stay positive. You try to keep a straight face, not let people realize how you are feeling, because the moment someone does, "Oh, are you alright? Can I help you? That must be tough?" You either 1.) Let 'em have it (they become your emotional punching bag) or 2.) Hurt their feelings and tell them to screw off and leave you alone. I can handle this on my own... Which reminds me of a Jeff Dunham joke, Jeff was conversing with his puppet, Walter...

Jeff Dunham: Ya know, your birthday wasn't to long ago, did your wife get you anything?
Walter: Yeah, she got me a book on reincarnation.
Jeff Dunham: Oh, do you believe in reincarnation?
Walter: Hell, I don't know.
Jeff Dunham: Well if reincarnation
happens, who would you come back as and what would you do?
Walter: I'd come back as my wife and leave me the hell alone.

...at least he's honest...
Everything on these particular days, seems to look and feel "negative". It would be easier to hide under the sheets and forget everything that happened. I apologize to those who don't enjoy reading this rant, but lately it seems like this is the only place I can reason to do it. My wife already has a lot on her plate, the last thing she needs is another large serving of worry. (Not that this post will help that.) I must be lucky though, because the world seems to be full of idiots, and I don't have any of them for friends. So, to all of you who are reading, thank you for being sane.
So, to end this rant I give you the random picture of the day...

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Time to introduce my kitties!

This is Cloud. When we first got the kittens, she was so traumatized by everything that she hid under the couch for a week! Now, she has become the more cuddly of the two, such a lap kitty (whenever she winds down enough to cuddle...)If we have guests, she might hide for a little bit, but only for about 20 minutes, and then she gets too curious for her own good.
She seems to be the leader of the two, and I have no doubt because she is a whopping 10 or so ounces heavier than Cathryn (which is alot when you only weigh 3-4lbs!) I catch her grooming and taking care of Cathryn often.
Cloud is a very special kitty... Even though she might be the leader, that also means the leader of the mischevious type! She is ALWAYS getting into trouble! She pees on the carpet, scratches my cork board, and chews on the mini-blinds. She has also done a couple mad dashes to the bedroom (forbidden area) when she knows shes about to be punished because she can hide in there. I had a tub of pepperoni out once, looked away for no longer than 10 seconds and she managed to snatch one right out of the bucket without me noticing.
Cloud is techinically Matt's cat, he named her, and its quite obvious.... Matt prefers dogs, and lo and behold... She might as well be one! She's always begging for our food, chasing her tail for 20+ minutes at a time, and drinking out of the toilet whenever we leave the seat up, even if she has her own water. But we love her.


This is my baby, Cathryn, or Cat for short. I love cats and when I was little wanted my name to be "kitty." I thought it would be cool to name my kid Cathryn (cat for short) but there are two things that made me name my kitten the name I love instead... 1: everyone who has the name Catherine/Kathryn hates it. 2: I do not have the heart to knowingly name my child "Cat Stevens." :(... Anyway, back to the kitty!
This picture does not do her justice! She is completely adorable, the vets assistant could not stop commenting on how adorable and beautiful she was! You cant see in this picture, but she's got patches of color on her white little legs, and the patches of color have stripes just like the upperside of her body! They drive me crazy with cuteness!
While Cloud is more mischevious, Cat has always been the more playful kitty by far! She's always running around finding something to play with and nipping on your fingers and attacking your toes! Never once was she a shy kitty. She likes to be held, but only if you're standing up. She is reluctant to cuddle on top of you, but will happily ball up a few inches away. (Cloud would happily fall asleep in your arms if you held her like a baby... cutest thing ever...)


Yes, Cat has her naughty times.... Which is pretty much daily they both get the squirt bottle! But they've gotten better. They still wait outside the bedroom door, but don't try to hard to get in (at least with me, because I immediately put my foot out and push them away.) They also don't try to get on the table nearly as much.... When I'm looking. They don't try to sneak into the cabinets or fridge, which is a relief! But they do unroll toilet paper, knock over the bathroom trash can whenever they can, move every rug in the apartment that's not stapled to the floor, knock whatever they can off the desk, and try to steal human food whenever they get the chance.


But I love the little beasties.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

RANT! Aka: Paper Plate Revolution!

Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the Matthew Stevens rant. Well, what's been happening? I'll tell you WHAT, life has been happening... my problem now is, I'm not sure where to start.

1.) DISHES!
-They suck
-They smell funny
-They never seem to end
-They have friends (fruit flies)
So, in the end, dishes suck, and should be abolished! May the paper plate revolution begin!

2.)Married Life
As Laura said, we have been married for a little over a month, and I am absolutely enjoying it. She completes me. I've never been this happy in my entire life. She is the best cook ever, lemon chicken, steak tips, lasagna, pizza peppers... Man, I love her

To Be Finished...

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

One Month

As time would, life has been flying by way too fast.

Matt and I have been married one month today, and I just would like to briefly go through the craziness of this past month...

After the wedding, we came home that night, but left for North Conway the next morning. I don't really have any pictures, but I did take some video footage with the video camera we got as a wedding gift.

In North Conway, we stayed at the adventure suites. We went for the simple room (we really just wanted the jacuzzi bathtub) but for our one year anniversary we would like to go back for a weekend in one of the larger themed rooms... Probably the cave. We spent most of our time in North Conway relaxing in the hotel, but we vowed to eat only at non-chain restaurants. We ate at some place with a moose in its name, Peaches, and some other Italian restaurant. One day we did go out and walked the line of shops and we picked up a couple of sovineirs (less the traditional turtle.)

Since then, we've been adjusting to married life, trying to work out some sort of balance between work, school, together time, apartment maintenance and church. I've been promoted to full time at work, which I'm not sure yet if I like or not. Yes, every cent we can put towards school loans and saving for a house, but I find it hard to keep up with my homework and keeping the apartment clean. I already had benefits (less dental) as a part time associate, so that isn't a big deciding factor.

As far as school, I am so glad I have a two year degree, and whenever I'm watching lectures or doing homework I try to imagine my future... Five years from now, when I'd be done with school, I don't see myself wanting to work full time. In five years, I want to have children and I don't want to spend 40 hours a week away from them, especially if they're not with either Matt or myself for that time.

I don't need a BA in Accounting to stay home and raise kids or work part-time if that needs to happen to make ends meet. And I don't want to spend the rest of my time as a non-parent in front of a computer explaining to the teacher why or why not Kant would have a moral problem with sweat shops in third world countries.

Do I regret spending a lot of time getting my associates degree? Not at all. I know I would regret NOT getting it. I just don't see the practicality of me staying in school to get a BA.

As far as Matt's education, I know he would really love to get into computers, and I really want him to have a profession he loves. Where there aren't really a whole lot of small businesses left, I do see a lot of small, privately owned comuter repair shops. I would prefer putting my energy that I now put into schooling into taking on more household responsibilities so he could focus on doing whatever he needs to do to get into his chosen profession, whether it be college or a certification course or hands on experience. (Right now Matt helps out a lot with the cleaning and dishes.)

As for work, I'm still at Walmart, but not happily. I don't mind the work that I do all that much, but they're understaffed and a lot of time I have to do other jobs that require a lot of heavy lifting (one night I stocked a literal ton of sugar) and my body just can't take it. Not to mention the constant battle between management contradicting each other and themselves and just being all around unprofessional enough to scream someones name in an empty Walmart when you want to find someone. But it pays the bills, and hopefully I'll gather my courage and enough time in the very near future to do some job hunting.

As for living with Matt, I love it. Sometimes I wonder how I would go a week or two without seeing him and have it be "normal." Now I miss him even just on the days where he's working and I'm home. I just can't seem spend enough time with him (not that we don't spend a lot of time together, just that I always want more!)

And lastly, to end this obnoxiously long post, I have gotten wedding pictures!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=151851&id=599723064&l=fe18cfb439

That's the easist way for me to share them, haha!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

August 29th, 2009

Well hello all, for those that are unaware, and I doubt many of you are, we were married on August 29th, 2009! So, this is my commemorative post to all you out in internet-land to inform you of how everything went this weekend!

1.) It was very x 1000 busy!
2.) It was quite fun, from the party the night before, to the day of, everything went fantastic.
3.) The ceremony went quite smoothly, and with the ambiance of dimmed lights some even said that it was quite "romantic", which was our theme all along!
4.) The reception went well, and thank you all for those that attended!
5.) No. Conway was a blast, Adventure Suites were great, we had a fun time there!
6.) We are now home, spending time with our babies, Cathryn and Cloud, our two female kittens, and relaxing from a very busy weekend!

Thank you all for your prayers, we love you all!
Matthew and Laura Stevens

Saturday, August 15, 2009

So many endings, so many beginnings.

I can't even begin to explain the emotions that I am feeling. I'm officially no longer living with my parents. It's kind of scary. I suppose every older teenager looks forward to this day, as I have, and now that it's here, I don't know how to feel about it.

I'm kind of a quitter. There are a lot of things I started, but I quit because I got too scared. There were three or four times when I started looking for jobs and/or apartments around the area I'm living in now, but I chickened out. This time, I wasn't scared. I finally felt like it was the right time to move. (kinda don't really have a choice at this point, but I still had peace about moving/marriage/all that jazz)

So, consider this a toast to all the lasts:
The last day at my first job;
my last day at augusta walmart;
my last day living with my parents;
etc.

And a toast to all the firsts and firsts to come:
the first time I'm living on my own;
The first time I'm responsible for my own bills;
The first time I'm living less than 95 miles from Matt;
And soon enough, the first time I will cleave to someone other than my parents.

I graduated high school, and didn't feel any older.
I started college and working non-stop, and didn't feel any older.
I turned 18, and was immediately responsible by law for any actions I were to take, felt the same.
I got a college degree, and still felt the same.
But the day I got engaged, I felt like I was becoming an adult.
And that's what I am. It's a weird feeling, with emotions I can't begin to explain.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Forget the pictures

So,

an update post, with a lack of pictures.

I have had three, yes three bridal showers.

One with the bridal party, one in New Jersey with my Jersey family, and a Jack and Jill party with some church buddies.

Matt and I have gotten an apartment and have moved most of our stuff in. I move in on Saturday, and Matt joins me after the wedding.

I have transferred my job with Walmart to Sanford, ME. I will be working as an overnight receiver. It's not the best job or the best hours, but my pay rate goes up for working overnight and I can be with Matthew more (and since hes the one with the primary income at this point in time, it works well.)

My dress is completely altered and ready to be worn :)

My new budget for the apartment and that stage of my life is up to date and right where it should be

We have all the furniture for our apartment, less a few odds and ends and dressers.

We have two honeymoons booked: one right after the wedding at the Adventure Suites in Conway NH for two nights. The second will be the first week in February, and we are taking a week long cruise to the Western Caribbean!

And while any day God gives me life is a blessing, circumstances have made life exceptionally exciting these past few weeks, and I am looking forward to what life has in store for Matt and I especially these next few months, but altogether for many years to come!

Friday, July 10, 2009

Printer Woes!

I think I had a dream that I had posted this post, and maybe that's why my posting is behind. Because subconsciously, I had thought I already posted!

Anyway, so after already procrastinating on the invitations, I finally go to print them out, and my printer keeps giving me this bogus "out of paper" error. It's a bogus error because I did have paper in the printer. So I call up customer service, but because my printer is a year and a half old, it's no longer under warranty. (Keep in mind, I hardly use it. Like, under a dozen times I've printed from in in the past year and a half.)

So they give me my options:
Pay a bunch of money to have them diagnose it, additional fees apply if I have it sent in to be repaired.
Pay a larger bunch of money and I can have all my problems for three months diagnosed (or something like that)

I could pay the first amount twice, and get a brand new printer. Plus, I needed one ASAP 'cause my invitations were already late. SO -- my mom gives me an early bridal shower gift: a new printer! YAY!

I'm all excited, I set it up right away and test it out... Only to have it give me an "out of paper" error.

[pause for dramatic effect.]

At this point, I'm freaking out. It wasn't even the same brand printer (after non-quality printers plus lousy customer service, I changed brands.) The only thing I can think of is that it HAS to be me, but at least I could return this one! So I read the instructions carefully again "place paper to the far right." I look, and it's placed to what I had originally, in my haste, determined to be the "right" side. Well, the right side was the wrong side, and I had placed it to the left!

Mission Invitations: Complete.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Oh, how the posts pile up.

I have about 4 different post topics, and everytime I was like "Oh, I could blog about that!" another thing happened and in the little sense of order I have, I felt the need to write them chronologically.

And yes, I'm taking up a whole post to post this pre-post warning.

Friday, June 19, 2009

For the love of BLOG!

Ah,

while I had imagined I would blog more now than ever before, I find myself with nothing to blog about. I haven't taken out my camera in months, probably out of spite. Yes, I love being able to carry around my point and shoot, but I find myself wanting something with a little more creative flexibility, although I know nothing of the sort is in my near future.

At my Aunt's wedding in.. 2002 (?), she had a disposable camera at every table. Alas, they were underused, so I took it upon myself to use up the remaining pictures on the cameras. Probably a couple hundred pictures. I never saw those pictures, but from then on I had dreamed of photography. I went out, and bought a decent digital camera, for the time. This was when digital was just emerging as a common item for one to own, and I was the first out of everyone I knew to have one. This lasted for about a year, then digital became REALLY popular around just about everyone I knew. And EVERYONE was interested in photography. For what became a lack of uniqueness, I backed out of photography.

While being a really good professional photographer would have its benefits, I know that's not in my future, but would still like to learn some decent skills so that I can take pictures of my own kids the way I want without paying like, a million dollars a session, which would refrain from me taking my kids to get their pictures taken which would result in me having mediocre pictures. Run on sentence much? (And yes, I responded to a run on sentence with a sentence fragment.)

And this, my friends, is why I haven't blogged. Because I have no pictures. Because my childhood dreams were crushed. Just kidding. But this is blogging, right? Letting the words form from my mind to my fingers to the keyboard to the screen.

Woah. Form from. Say that ten times fast.

P.S. I totally picked the title for this blog before I even knew what I was (not) writing about. It totally fits though :)

Monday, May 18, 2009

Life...

Hey all!

Its the weird guy that the girl seems to talk about all the time. Lets see, where to start, I really miss her, this new job schedule really doesn't give us much time together, pray God opens doors for both of us so we can be together more often, especially after the wedding, I couldn't imagine barely seeing her. Last Monday, 5/11/09 I had a sleep apnea test, well, I was supposed to, until I passed out and had a seizure. I bring this up for two reasons, one not all of you knew about that, secondly, a week from tomorrow (5/26/09 at 8:30pm) I redo the test, with more trained staff, pray God keeps me calm, and we don't have a repeat attack. Finally, to close our this session of the random guy rant I leave you with a new song I just wrote, please leave your opinion of these lyrics:

Your love is raining over me
It splashes like a river, it renews me
Your love is like a raging fire
it ignites my soul forever, it consumes me
Your love helps me to grow
like an evergreen, it strengthens me
Your love is like the sun in the sky
its my ray of hope, and my song

Compassionate Lord
Teach me Your Word
So I may flourish in Your Kingdom
Compassionate Lord
Lend me Your Word
So I can influence the nations
Compassionate Lord
Show me Your Word
So I can forgive myself
When I fail

Love never stops pursuing
Love persists even when others resist
Love is an action, my motivation
Love is a language, and i'm gonna scream it out loud

Friday, May 15, 2009

Booked!

I am excited to announce that school is OUT FOR THE SUMMER!

But my workload has yet increased. I stared a second job on 5/5 and have been working 45+ hours a week the past two weeks. It's exhausting. I will never understand how people can regularly work 60 hours per week.

Sheesh. I thought I had more to talk about. Oh, here:

I found out today that approximately 30,000 Americans per year experience what is called "Anesthesia Awareness." While they are "under anesthesia" they are somewhat aware of what is going on, ranging from just remembering a few words uttered during surgery to a complete recollection! As in, the patient was completely aware of what was going on while they were being operated on, but they are paralyzed from the anesthesia.

Read one woman's experience here.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

This is me as of recently.

Chelsea (11:21:52 PM): you seem to over think.
Chelsea(11:21:53 PM): Life

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Updates

After a longer-than-normal feeling week, I had an exciting Saturday. My Davids Bridal appointment went from three bridesmaids and a flowergirl, to five bridesmaids and a flower girl. We got a dress picked out (of course, we find the most expensive one...)

Easter was typical. Church, dinner, sleep, bloody nose... Okay, maybe the last one wasn't so typical, but whatever ;).

That night Matt and I watched "Seven Pounds" with my parents. I liked the movie, Matt did not. It wasn't a perfect analogy, but it definitely had some parallels to the Easter story. It's funny how that was the netflix movie that was sent to us, and we watched it that Easter. I won't tell you how it relates for spoiler reasons.

Matt and I just basically had an awesome time Sunday night after the movie and Monday morning before I had to go to work. After being so busy almost every weekend this year, I forgot how fun it can be to just hang out and talk and laugh.

Refreshing :)

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

two things




Two things I knew were inevitable happened within the past two days.

I got sick (after months of saying I hadn't been sick since last march, I knew it had to come)

And Tiger had to be put down. He was somewhere between the ages of 11-14. I've been noticing recently how "old" he has become. Walking slower, sleeping more, being more cuddly instead of playful... I did think that he would last until after I got married, but I knew that his end was coming soon.

He came inside this morning (he was outside all night) crying and not moving, and panting like a dog does (tongue out, drool and all) and so we petted him and comforted him and the rest of my family went to work and I went back to bed. He'd cry once or twice an hour, but then around 9:30am he just wouldn't stop crying so I rushed him to the vet where they told us he most likely had a blood clot blocking the blood flow to his back legs which is very painful. The last successful surgery was 16 years ago and because of his age they recommended he be put down.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Long, yet busy, weekend.

So last weekend started on Wednesday. A long weekend is always nice, but it also usually means I'm not working much, as is the case. Anyway, to start, we had a birthday party, a funeral, and an ordination to go to this weekend, not to mention a list of other things!

Which we only completed about half the stuff on our list.

We managed to go shopping! We haven't done that in a while, but it needed to be done. Also, Matt and his parents moved last weekend, so there was quite a bit of stuff still left in Matt's old apartment. A lot of which wasn't his. So we went through everything, packed up everything we needed, and will hopefully be moving the stuff into storage.... In May? (Every weekend in April is booked solid!)

Here's the only interesting picture I took: Tim's birthday cake!


Props to PA for the whipped cream "smokestack."

Sunday, March 22, 2009

This is basically my lifesong right now.

Don't laugh:

I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart

Where?

Down in my heart!

Where?

Down in my heart!

I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart

Down in my heart to stay



And I'm so happy

So very happy

I've got the love of Jesus in my heart

Down in my heart

And I'm so happy

So very happy

I've got the love of Jesus in my heart.



I've got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus

Down in my heart

Where?

Down in my heart!

Where?

Down in my heart!

I've got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus

Down in my heart

Where?

Down in my heart to stay.



And I'm so happy

So very happy

I've got the love of Jesus in my heart

Down in my heart

And I'm so happy

So very happy

I've got the love of Jesus in my heart.



I've got the peace that passes understanding

Way down in the depths of my heart!

Where?

Down in the depths of my heart!

Where?

Down in the depths of my heart!

I've got the peace that passes understanding

Way down in the depths of my heart!

Down in my heart to stay


Thursday, March 19, 2009

Dress

CHECK!

I'm making cake right now, because I wanted cake... And I wanted to try out a frosting recipe. I don't have enough butter, so there's going to be some margarine in it... (I would use shortening, but the shortening we have is old and tastes funny. It's ruined any other frosting I've tried to make with it)

And then VN this weekend! I'm so unprepared!

Test tonight! I'm so unprepared (but I'm working on that tonight)

And the weekend after next I'm making a cake for Tim's birthday party! I'm confident about it and nervous at the same time. Luckily, it's vacation week so I'll have lots of time to make it properly while Matt's at work (which is when I usually catch up on homework)

I love using (parenthesis) ...

Thursday, March 12, 2009

I've always wondered...

"no news is good news."

Does that mean that news in itself is bad,

or that not hearing any news is a good thing!

P.S. my "a" key has something stuck underneath it. I have to click it twice most times to get it to work :(

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

woah!

Today I came home from tutoring a student to finding 20-30 turkeys 10 feet away staring at me!

Friday, March 6, 2009

We Have a Date!

August 29th, 2009 =D

I also got some invitations today,
A photo album for myself and two for our parents,
and some nifty ribbon for favors.

We've also got a DJ and Photographer picked out, we just need to sign contracts.
We also have a reception hall booked, and a chapel location.
I'm going with my mom for my dress on the 15th,
and bridesmaid dresses sometime in April.
And we know someone who will probably make our cake when we ask.
If they decline, we have a backup.


I'd say we're doing pretty good.

Monday, March 2, 2009

I am so blessed.



If I'm complaining about anything, I'm just being stupid.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

In the past 3 hours...

I have looked at 23 different photographers websites.

The one I would have chosen in a heartbeat due to quality and price is booked on the day that will probably be my wedding.

How many other top choices will be booked?! I need to set a date NOW! lol

Out of those 23 I've picked 10 top contenders, of which 7 I can really choose from (due to booking and pricing.) And I don't know the availability of any of those photographers and I don't know the prices for 5 out of those seven.

I have a feeling this photographer picking thing isn't going to be easy.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Oh, the Irony!

In the "about us" over in the side you'll read that although Matt and I knew each other and were friends prior to Camp Agassiz, it's right after camp that we really got to know each other. What you don't know (and what Matt didn't know until today) is a dream that I had at camp. It's so funny to look back now.

It was maybe the second day of camp, and Matt had been really busy thus far and we didn't really hang out that much, but that night I had a dream that we were at that camp, and his dad married us! There were some other things, I don't really remember the dream that well now, but I DO remember what I thought of when I woke up: "What am I crazy, Matt and I would never get married! Heck, I probably wouldn't date him even if he asked!"

... Two weeks later, our relationship started.
... Two years later, our wedding planning begins!

Oh, the irony.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

: D

Matt and I have had a lovely weekend so far!

We haven't really done anything special, but we've just been enjoying being with each other.

Tomorrow we're going to be calling a few possible reception places. Hopefully we'll have a date soon enough!

Yay! I've been so giddy this weekend!

Friday, February 20, 2009

Mother of Pearl!

Or my mother's pearls...

They can and will be repaired! Yay!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

My Favorites

Pastor Anthony (Matt's dad) took some pictures of us the day after Valentines Day -- Here are my favorites.



Wednesday, February 18, 2009

The Story

So, if you didn't already know or didn't guess from the two previous posts,

MATT AND I ARE GETTING MARRIED!

Yep. And you all want to know how he did it. Well. I've had a couple requests.

The night before Valentines Day Matt asked if I wanted to get up early to see the sunset (yes, he said sunset, but I still said OK.) And so at 6:42 we rushed all the way there because Matt was convinced we wouldn't make it there in time for the sunrise (which is SO unlike him). We went to the top of Garrison Hill Tower in Dover, NH (you can see the picture in the previous post) and watched the sunrise! Shortly after the sun was fully up this is what my memory retained as far as conversation:

Matt: *says something sappy*
Me: You're a sap!
Matt *responds with something about how I love that he's a sap*
Me: *Says something about love or whatever*
Matt: More than you know *get's down on one knee* Will you marry me?
Me: ....
Me: You're a sap!
Me: *nods head, hug, smile*
Matt: I'm glad you said yes!
Me: What would you have done if i said 'no?!'
Matt: I would have jumped off the tower (which is like 6 stories)

And before you ask: I was half-way surprised. I was reserved about expecting it, but I had a few tip-offs.

Wordless Wednesday


Monday, February 16, 2009

Valentines Day

6:00am...............Wake up
6:20am...............Leave for Garrison Hill Tower
6:42am...............Watch the sunrise
6:44am...............Say "Yes"
7:00am...............Buy batteries for my camera
7:30am...............Get directions to the train station
7:45am...............Get breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts
8:00am...............Leave for Boston
10:00am............Arrive at the Boston Museum of Science
10:15am.............Check out some really awesome butterflies!
10:30am.............Look at some really cool exhibits
11:30am.............Watch "Fly Me to the Moon" in 3D
12:00pm............Explore the rest of the exhibits
1:15pm...............Discover I lost my camera
1:20pm...............Find a really cool guy looking for someone who lost a camera :D
2:00pm..............Watch some street performers do some break dancing
2:15pm...............Eat an early dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe
3:00pm..............Get car-sick on the subway and head home!

Happy Post #200! Pictures to come!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

My Favorite Story

Let me try and actually write this in story form, and not the ramble on type of writing that I tend to use in the blog...

I love staying out late during the early summer; even though the sun is gone, it's warmth still remains. If I could chose the weather, I would make every night like that night. I would always sleep under the stars.

That's just what I did that summer night. I slept under the stars with my two best friends. Now, I could lie to you. I could tell you that this was the perfect summer night: clear as Crystal with every star plainly shining back at us. But that would be a lie.

The only weather related perfection about that night was the temperature. Just maybe it was those pesky clouds blocking our view that was incubating Central Maine, keeping it at that perfect 68 degree weather all night long. However, that was not our focus that night. We talked of God, creation, and just how small we felt next to the distant stars that we could not see. If only the clouds would part, if just for a minute, so that we could see their magnificent beauty, we said.

We talked of some other things as well. Nothing I can remember, I suppose we talked of boys and church and school (and all the drama that comes with being a teenager). But the conversation was not what makes this my favorite story. We whispered and giggled, every so often hearing my brother talk to his computer in the house some 3 dozen feet away. During these mundane moments, a miracle happened.

No one was raised from the dead, no fatal illnesses were cured. No one trekked across the surface of the pool, and no one slayed a giant with a single stone. But God gave us an everyday sized miracle, just for us. The rest of the world probably did not notice, and the rest of the world probably did not care. The rest of the world was not looking, but we were. We watched as the clouds parted. They did not part completely; but a perfect circle had formed directly above where we lay. God exposed to us His glory, along with the moon and the stars that we so longed to look at that warm summer night. And then it was over.

As quickly as the clouds parted, they swept back together revealing only a dim glow where the moon reflected the sun's light behind the clouds. It was okay though; It was enough. The brief glimpse, the perfect circle... I suppose that if the clouds completely dissipated, this would not be my favorite story. That night the Red Sea parted for us; typical teenage girls living a life that seemed so mundane. What I know now is that there is no such thing as a mundane life.

My faith is the reason I know there was a miracle that night, and it is the miracle that night that keeps my faith alive. That's why this is my favorite story.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Nothing Interesting

Things have been carrying on as usual.

Class.
Homework.
Lack of (but some) work.
Dance Classes.

I find myself being more intolerant of intolerance. I'm a hypocrite.

Classes seem to be assigning more work than ever, but I'm not working very much, so it is very much handle-able.

I HAVE NOT BEEN SICK! I think I'm the only one left in the US. All of my family and all of Matt's family (including Matt) has been sick except for me. I haven't been sick since last March.

Boredd

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Boogie Down

I don't remember whether or not I mentioned my Christmas gift to Matt... But anyway, it was dance lessons.

I told my mom, and she was thrilled (she's always wanted to take dance lessons, but my dad doesn't want to)

I told my co-workers, and they thought I was nuts! They were convinced that Matt would hate it. They laughed even harder when I told them we would probably be taking salsa. It was then that I really started to worry that he might not like my gift!

Although practicing times come few and far in between because we only see each other on the weekends when we have lessons anyway, I'd say they've been really fun! We've only had two lessons, since one was cancelled due to snow, but we're really learning a lot -- enough that it's fun to dance! Yay salsa (& meringue and bachata)!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

A Whole Lot of Nothing

Life has been passing on as normal. Nothing to blog about.

All I can say is that I'm transforming into a geek. We just got netflix, and I've been watching Heroes on my computer. Matt has always loved it, but I couldn't get it on my TV. The storyline is basically the same as X-men, but as the name suggests, all of the non-villain characters have an inherent urge to be a hero.

I've been cooking like crazy!

Steak Bits,
Bacon Wrapped appetizers,
Mystery Bread...

Check out www.thepioneerwoman.com/cooking for those recipes, plus a bunch more that I'm determined to try someday.

I think I'll make Banana Split Pie/Cake/Whatever the heck it is later :)

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

12 hours too late.

My first class was on Tuesday at 7, so Tuesday afternoon I patiently wait for 6:45 to roll around so I can go into the classroom... Except, when I go to my class, I see that the schedule has nothing posted for this time slot in this classroom. So I check my schedule online, and funny enough (not at the time) my class was scheduled for Tuesday at 7... AM.

Yeah. I dropped the class. Instead I have a class on Thursday, and yes, it's 7pm this time. I double checked. I'm hoping to have a Mon-Fri day job soon, so a class that early in the morning wouldn't work. Luckily I found a class I needed that still had all the requirements I was looking for: It was needed for my degree, started after 5pm, and was ITV, so if I have to relocate during the semester, I won't have to drop the class or travel to take the class.

Wow, I'm a boring writer. I can be funny in person, really!

Bunny Suicides?!

Apparently there is a book called "Bunny Suicides" in which 100 different bunnies find different ways to commit suicide. The article can be found here.

This book is in a school library? This book exists?! My small town school suffered from 4 or 5 student/former student suicides in like a year and a half. That might not sound like a lot to people from larger schools, but my senior class had like 80 students. I'm pretty positive that this book isn't going to help prevent any suicides, but from the looks of it, it appears to mock this tragedy.

What's worse, is when I voted on the reader opinion poll that the book should be banned, only 34% of readers agreed with me. I really can't believe that this book is actually in a place where a 13 year old could easily get it and laugh about it.

I'm sorry, but humor and suicide should not mix.

P.S. Here are some comics from the book. Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way about how awful this really is, but I'm gonna warn you that they're semi-graphic. Ex: A bunny using a corkscrew on his head.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Ahh, Relaxation.

I'm enjoying the calm before the storm. 2 weeks after classes ended I was still quite busy, with Christmas and New Years and all. Although, I definitely liked the holiday stress more than the finals stress. I had two days off in a row this week, and I did absolutely nothing! I sat in front of the TV, worked with pictures on my computer, and started reading a book.

Alas, classes once again start up on Tuesday. I'm not sure how ready I am. But this whole sitting around doing nothing thing is getting old faster than I thought it was.



In more interesting news... (at least more interesting to me..)

I was setting up Valentines day decorations, cheap gifts, and classroom handouts at work a week or so ago, and I was just amazed by the... "Cheapness" of it all. Cardboard heart cutouts, sweetheart candies, and heart shaped cookie cutters... I'm really starting to "develop" a style, so to say, and that is not it. Decorating with paper and glitter just doesn't appease me [I just looked at my New Years post... Decorating MYSELF with paper and glitter is OK. Just not my house]. And then I got to thinking about the whole gift giving scene that comes along with valentines day... Matt's more into it, but I would rather just go out on a date.

Anyway, down to the point.... I brought up the idea to him of (in lieu of giving each other presents) we each save up a little money and take a day trip to Boston! Boston isn't my first choice of somewhere to travel, but it's the only place that's really close enough to go without having to spend the night somewhere.

I wanna take the train there, for two reasons...
1: It's just more FUN!
2: I hated driving through Boston when I had to, and if Matt was driving I'd have a heart attack (I already get nervous enough when he drives through Portsmouth!)
And we'll go out to eat while we're there...
And maybe go to the Museum of Science? I really don't know what Boston has to offer..


Any ideas?

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Picture woes

I am currently in the process of uploading all my pictures onto the web. Just in case my computer peters out and the backup CD's i've burned get lost in a house fire... Or something of the sort.

Let's just say, when you have about 3GB of pictures on your PC, there is a LOT of uploading to do. and a lot of praying that you won't have to pay to upgrade with that many pictures!

Festivities is RIGHT

Family resemblance?

we nuts.

No, wait... Karen's nuts!

Two cameras. Both flashed at the same time.

Matt the model

There she is with that tongue!

Chelsea played "princesses" with Hailey, and was therefore: her best friend.

Happy 2009!