What Smoothness Wants To Be When It Grows Up.

New pics on flickr

2006-05-29T22:11:00.000-04:00

Prom, wedding, and grilling....

When you're fightin' the current, you forget how to live....

2006-05-12T15:59:00.000-04:00

Hey guys, (even though no one is reading this anymore)
Remember those days when we blogged EVERY day!? sometimes twice a day...... anyways, no one reads anyones blog anymore so i can write whatever I want......blah blah blah.

The new Goo Goo Dolls CD is the BEST ever! This may sound ridiculous but I haven’t listened to the radio in my car for about 2 and half weeks, ever since I bought the CD. It's that good. It doesn't get old. Hey, do you guys ever think that it's weird that when bread goes stale it gets harder but when like, crackers go stale they get softer?

Oh yeah, and I got another job and I'm loving it. No, no, no I didn't quit the wonderful coffee shop, I'm just working two jobs, barista at La Vita and hostess at Merlion, a new Singapore(ian?) restaurant. It is tres good. So are the strawberries at Jeans. Go pick them........

I have a really bad cough and my voice sounds weird and I'm going prom dress shopping tomorrow, and I'm going to Busch Gardens next weekend with the whole extended family, which is gonna be bangin'! and there's gonna be a few new pics on my flickr.

peace, joy, happiness, self-control.

Freedom! Forever!

2006-03-14T19:28:00.000-05:00

Your hope is fading faster than mine tonight
So let me take your burden for a while
I am here for you, broken in every way
In the company of Christ, blessed Savior

Let me hold you
Let me pray for you
We are wounded, wounded healers

I will open up my heart and the weakness hiding there
And the kindness of the Lord we will share

-Wounded Healers, Glassbyrd

Hey kids, thought it was time for an update, since it has been a while. Um, I'll start where my last post left off with the SAT. I have since received my scores and did fairly well, like at least get into UNC-CH scores, but am taking it again April 1 (no joke) to try and do a little better as I'd like to go to UVA and higher scores would be preferable.
Also since my last post I have started both playing on my own soccer team and coaching a 10-11 year-olds team. Yes, my spring schedule is a wee bit packed, but if anyone ever wants to see some semi-bad soccer playing, feel free to come watch either team. If you'd like an update on 1v.1 basketball tournaments at school, I have won my first bracket slot and will advance on to the next round to be played sometime next week. I don't plan on making it farther than that though, as I am scheduled to go up against the girl's coach. Don't ask me how that worked out.

Oh, I've tasted a little piece of heaven these last few days. 80 degrees and breezy is where I'd like to stay for the rest of my life. Or 65 with windows open, fan on, and cool blue cotton sheets is where I'd like to sleep for the rest of my life. It has been a good past couple of days. This weather just makes you feel more whole, cleaner, like anything and everything could blow right through you. I love summer for its freedom, but I just love spring.
Speaking of spring...it's official, Rach A. and I are going to Florida for Spring break! She and I will fly down to Tampa, April 17 and stay with her sister for about a week. I'm so excited...I love the beach and I love flying...both in one trip are almost more than I can handle!..but i'll try.

I want to stand on a mountain top for all eternity.

Fun, fun, fun......

2006-01-27T21:51:00.000-05:00

Hey kids, guess what! I'm taking the SAT tomorrow..... Prayers would be good and are appreciated!

One long weekend with way too much excitement.....

2006-01-16T16:40:00.000-05:00

Ahh, yes I'm back in the blogging community after more than a months absence. I'm sure it would have been longer but the events of my three-day weekend were too "good" not to be shared.
Where to start.... I guess LOST is to blame for some of this.... As previously stated, Joanna got me a wee bit addicted to LOST over Christmas break so we decided to have a LOST watching night on Sunday after youth group. All went well until Joanna backs into a curb just outside of Grace Church parking lot and promptly becomes the proud recipient of her first flat tire. Long story short, we had plenty of car jacks to go around but nothing to get her lug nuts off with...darn lug nuts, bigger than on our cars..... So naturally, we put The Killers in Nikki stereo, crank the volume, and waited in the cold to be rescued. And we were, almost simultaneously by both Jo's John and my bro, Jonathan. I took pictures, good to have documentation.. Check the Flickr *Coming Soon*

.....Well, I thought it was a wee bit exciting.... and we learned so much about changing tires and making sure Joanna has all the right equipment and we even discovered a cup holder that she didn't know she had!

Anyhow, After 7 hours of watching LOST at Jo's and then getting up to go to piano, I was quite ready to call it a weekend by the time I was pulling into my driveway at about 12:45 this afternoon. Unfortunately, the old scary psychotic man who's been staking out our house had other plans in mind. Now, let me preface this by saying that my young sister Joanna had on four other occasions, while walking the dog, seen a strange car parked across from our field and an even stranger man quickly snapping pictures of the property before being spotted and then promptly driving away. Anyways, back to the present day story....As previously stated, we had just pulled into the driveway and were checking the mail, when I saw this same guy, different car, performing his usual mysterious business. As soon as he saw us, of course, he threw the car in reverse and took off down a side street. Being a wee bit sleep deprived and feeling a little too heroic after watching a great bad-guy-capture-scene in LOST, I got the bright idea to follow this psycho dude to where ever he may lead us. And he did lead us, in a loop, practically right where we had started. O well, so he knew he was being followed, at least we had the license plate number and car description. I planned to let it go and head back home. Unfortunately, just as I was deciding to "let him go" the man pulls over on the side of the road to let us pass and then pulls out behind us. This made me a little nervous, so I decided not to go home, just see what this guy had in mind. So I headed for Chapel Hill, planning to go to my Dad's office. Bad news was this man turned after us on to Jones Ferry, not a mile from our house. If he truly had wanted to go this way to town from where he was sitting at our house he would have taken the straight shot down Jones Ferry and not the four mile round-about loop that had brought us back to square one. I was a little uneasy, to say the least, at this point so put some Shane and Shane in the CD player and took off down the road while trying to call my Dad. Dad's response? "Come straight to my office, don't go home. I'll follow you guys home to check things out and then you guys need to find something to do away from the house for the rest of the afternoon." What an adventure! Anyways, everything seemed alright, but that's just for now.....I'll keep you guys up to date on anymore happenings around here.....

Really, really hope that I'll be able to sleep tonight.

I'll see you kids later and don't forget to lock your doors.....

2005-12-11T21:58:00.000-05:00

"Fact is, Nikki doesn't want to be in a relationship with someone who's immature and I don't want to be in a relationship with someone who's not Nikki"
-Saving Grace (Great movie...what a sweet line)
Americans have reached a new all time low ! Click here

Poem time!

I took a walk a winter day
I passed houses and their grounds
The saddest thing 'long my way
wrapped these houses 'round

T'was unused porches that made me frown
Stale, alone and old
Desolate as the chilling sky
no warmth to offer from the cold

Like a holiday tree, decorated
but shepherding no gifts
all of these unhappy porches
came certainly well-equipped

All the right chairs, in all the right colors
pushed against opposite walls
Grills in a range of choices
and bright, painted railings

Occasionally, a table resides
the focal point, to be sure
telling an elusioned audience
tales of long past summers

Steaks were grilled, laughter shared
sunsets watched in awe
But now the wind has driven us back
and the cold keeps us at bay
I trundle on, unaware
of a warmer, more useful day.

Christmas is coming. Baby Jesus is going to be born!

Pray for me kids, I've been smashing my fingers in doors...

"We all need a way to fall down"

2005-11-27T13:24:00.000-05:00

Well, kids. After our holiday traipsing across the country, I like nothing better than my own bed. Which I can finally have now, as all family, extended and otherwise, has departed.
Thanksgiving was a wagon-load of fun. We drove up to Charlotte to visit one family of cousins (one family containing seven cousins) always a good time with them. Since there is nine of them in one family, they have one of those big 15-seater vans so we all piled in and headed out to the frisbee golf course. I have never played before, much less learned to throw a frisbee properly so it was an interesting first experience. I believe we have one somewhere around here on UNC..I'll have to check that out. Anyways, it was fun, and after much original trailblazing and two tie-breakers, Cousin Emily, Cousin Adam and I were indeed victorious. Dinner was yummy and football game afterwards as well. After coming home that night, we drove up to Virginia for the weekend to visit more family...blah, blah, blah....Very tired. It felt a wee bit like Christmas, even helped my grandparents put up their fake tree (I hate fake trees). In fact, I realized that this year is the first time, in a long time, that I've been really excited about Christmas time. I love Christmas time!
Anyways....check out the pics on flickr and more coming later, maybe.
Hey, guess what...I taught math class today...it is harder than it looks.....not math, but teaching. Some people just don't shut up....

And now, Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is in You.
Psalm 39:7

"She just goes stumbling through her memories, starring out onto Grey Street"

2005-11-13T21:58:00.000-05:00

Chili is the food of gods! Yum! Hey, guess what, it's the middle of November, and this afternoon, it was 80 degrees outside. Mmm, I love it but chili is a welcome side effect of decreasing temperatures.
I've recently found myself staying up until ungodly hours at night and doodling on a piece of poster board. It's actually turned out quite nice with the exceptions of the headaches I wake up with the next morning from the sharpie marker fumes trapped in my room. Took me a couple days to pinpoint the problem, kinda amusing. Oh well, sometimes I'm not the brightest bulb in the box. I put some pics on my flickr if you want to see my masterpiece....
The other day I was slowly cruising through New Hope Commons parking lot, fully intending to run straight into Wal(star)Mart and simply pick up some Comet cleaner for my mom, when the large illustrious sign of Dicks Sporting Goods caught my eye in a new light. It suddenly dawned on me that I could skip Wal-Mart shopping and instead try on soccer cleats! So I did for quiet a bit of time and it makes me smile to think about. I cannot wait until spring soccer season starts!
Tonight I drove home with all the windows down. It feels so great to do that, on a November night, no less, and hear the traffic cones swooshing by like waves breaking under a great ocean liner. And go under adjacent stoplights alternately blinking yellow and red, signaling the late hour. And look at the sky, oh it's pretty.
G’night.
May you all have a blessed week!

November, november...

2005-11-01T17:02:00.000-05:00

I love the way my cat melts in my arms. I love the look on people's face when I hand them hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and a star drawn with chocolate syrup. I love the way silver catches the sun and plays it across the steering wheel as I'm driving. I love the way writing relaxes me to sleep. I hate waking up cold, early in the morning. I love being awake in the early morning. I like being alone, with myself. I like men with guns. I want to marry a policeman...:)
I read a book over the past two weeks that took me in like a book hasn't done in like three years, or so. All the Pretty Horses....so good...so good....It's incredibly well written, so you feel exactly what the protagonist is feeling. Ahh, so good....
I went to Jo's house tonight. Her and me and Mark made some spaghetti (with, lots and lots of meat...:) and piled on the couch to watch....Last of the Mohicans...don't ask. In the words of Jo "this is the second worst movie ever made".
We drove Mark home and then guess who drove the stick shift back????Huh??? wha? Me? Yes, me. I drove it on the road! On the road! I'm so proud...I only stalled out once and that was just in a parking lot!! ZDing..three cheers for me...whoa..I wrote "Zding" thats so cool....I'm so cool....

oh, ok, kids. Been dealing with some weird fear issues recently. Not like "Oh, I'm anxious about the future or whatever" but like actually real physical fear of like people and bad things. Like driving home at night alone (Thank you Joanna for telling me about all the space in minivans) or taking the trash out after work behind the building, or being in my house, alone, even in broad day light....yeah, nothing to get bent out of shape over but it is abnormal. So, I know the basics, but if you guys know of any especially calming and good bible verses and what-not, they'd be appreciated.
Peace, children.

2005-10-17T21:47:00.000-04:00

"And I sing for grace for by grace He lets me sing"
-Shane and Shane

"Rain just left it's smell on me"

2005-10-11T15:43:00.000-04:00

"Mostly I just like to watch-
I took in the peace I got-
Oh I'd like to watch the world from the tops of trees"

Jason Harrod burned me a CD for my b-day, and I'm absolutely loving it! It's a mix; got some Nick Drake, Danielle Howle, Waterboys among others....probably names you guys have never heard of but I like them.
First quarter is drawing to a close and it is apparent with the copious amount of homework and numerous wrap-up projects that are due. IRP!! Almost done....
Today I went home for lunch...it was nice to get away from school and it's surrounding scenery for 1/2 an hour in the middle of the day. And we had chemistry outside...the whole setup....tables, chairs, small portable whiteboard...good times....
Studied at Pageant Station...again, I say, Go! Go there! I love it, you'll love it! Tea, tea...iced tea...
Joanna and I switched our dancing night. We're gonna East Coast on Wednesdays now! I'm so very happy, it's what I'd have rather been doing since the beginning...
Scott told me today that guppies were "prolific", quite literally....
I woke up Sunday morning to "Rule Britannia" playing on the stereo downstairs at a volume level likely to have awakened the neighbors. This is my dad's form of entertainment. It was both a horrifying and confusing experience for me. Just thought I'd share. Not a good way to start your day.
Anyways, if you're an angry person or prone to be anxious read Psalm 39. And if you're still anxious, read the first part of Psalm 37:3.
Fo shizzle....
As the original coiner of this phrase....leave some love...:)

:)

2005-10-03T16:03:00.000-04:00

This weekend..hmmmm...fall retreat...it was good. Very good, very different. Can't really explain it very well but it was surprising. It was the year of pranks, as well. Ahh, yes, as never has been done in fourth dimension history, the girls pranked the boys. Indeed and actually, the girls pranked the girls which is equally as abnormal. Good times, my friends, good times. I wasn't really involved but I did get to guard the cabin after the attack on the males and that's a story in and of itself.
ok, kids. Here's the deal. As my birthday is occuring tomorrow on the wonderous day of the fourth of october, I'm having a little get together, in two parts. Nothing crazy, just some hang-out time, I guess. I think I'm thinking Jo's house at like 4ish saturday to watch a movie or something and then on to my house for dinner at 7ish and maybe some pyro activities, as the discussion is going. If you would like to come to either, any or none of the above, feel free. Just let me know in advance if you're gonna stop by for dinner as to be assured that there will be food for you....:)
but, yeah, spread the word, whoever wants to come can come...so, come....

Mae in September...it is still september

2005-09-26T22:25:00.000-04:00

It's been pretty warm around here recently. But it's just me, everywhere I go, I'm just so hot (please no cute, funny or derogatory side comments) I think I'm sick, sore throat and headache, just general not-well feeling. I think I have a fever.
Did you guys know that a curmudgeon is a dirty, crusty old man? My thanks to co-worker, Beth for introducing me to that word. And Mr. Bryan is using on the vocab test Friday. *Ding* Did he say extra credit?..:) ok, I know it sounds like I'm just rattling but I really do have something on my mind. But, at the risk of offending various people, I'll keep it to myself.....or at least not publish it for access through the world wide web.....
I will see the cool kids at the Fall Retreat, friday...
Ask me about "the play" sometime.
Go drink blackberry-flavored iced tea at Pageant Station on Main and the corner of Franklin. It will make your taste buds happy!

"It's not magic, it's just shiny"

2005-09-20T16:51:00.000-04:00

Saw The Brothers Grimm on Saturday and I did so very much like it. I was a little jumpy watching it but I think I'm prone to be like that at the least amount of "suspense". Great movie, great movie.
hey, if anyone wants to join us, some people are gonna go see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on The Lawn at the Lumina, friday night....another odd but good movie....
Hehe...my b-day's two weeks from today! Yay! and I want a castle in Ireland and a pretty brown pony and your mom...:)
Cheers* Have a good week...!

Stargazing and swing dancing....

2005-09-08T22:14:00.000-04:00

Hey kids, look outside. It's amazing. I think I should no longer be allowed to drive home from work on nights like these. I found myself looking up at the sky more than I was looking at the road. When I got home I just sat in my car and the sky was so clear and the air was just a wee bit cold, like, just telling you that it's September. I watched this plane climb across my piece of sky, with it's little flashing lights and I suddenly felt very, very small. But in a good way, like a "Holy cow! The earth is big and God's even bigger and I'm a lot smaller" kinda way.......
uh huh...He's bigger than my homework to, which must be done....
oh, kids, swing dancing....fun, fun, so much fun. Joanna, I'm sure will do a much better job of describing the details, so I'll leave it at that. We do need more leaders though...as in more guys...so guys, come swing dance...:)

Barista Offi-ci-al...

2005-08-30T22:28:00.000-04:00

Heck, yes, my friends. I have crossed the line of trained to trainer....yep, yep. Two new girls just hired at the coffee shop. Been there about two weeks and I was thus christened with the privilege of working with each of them twice this week. Just me and them...closing....Closing the shop by myself....practically.....tonight was the first time....it was kinda scary but it felt good....hope nothing went wrong but I guess I'll find out Thursday......
hey, I have a chemistry test tomorrow....:(

A trip into the past....

2005-08-28T15:48:00.000-04:00

But not so distant past. I spent this afternoon cleaning out the eves in my room and wow...is there a lot of crap in them..... I found my pencil box from 7th grade and this canvas case/bag thing full of notes and comments and general scribbled things....haha, it was quite a trip to read all the things I used to think about certain people...namely... Orlando Bloom...:) I apologize, I really do, but these things happen. I also found my old English notebook and came across a wee bit of writing I had done. Not sure exactly what I was talking about but I thought it sounded kinda interesting...anyways....here is:

And I ask each one, silent, alone:
"Are you still mine?"
Is my sorrow a sorrow to you,
my death a death?
And what has happened?
What has this silence done?
What deep loathe has awakened?
A loathing passion to live
to constantly be in want and need
to never stop searching and struggling.
To give up the fight
is to become complacent with the untruth
To bury this squalor of existence
is to allow the essential
to go unaddressed.

Enjoy.

I'm in mommy-mode....

2005-08-19T20:11:00.000-04:00

Hehe...yes, indeed. I've been having quite the time playing almost full-time mother to a 2 and 4 year old....boys, no less. Love the weird, different attention I get trying to run errands with the cutest little two-year-old ever, who, in the words of Rachel, looks like me...:) Lots of comments along the lines of how cute or well-behaved my "son" is....first day I got tired of telling people he wasn't mine so I stopped correcting them and just switched the ring on my hand to try and stop getting dirty looks from old ladies...I kid you not. It's A LOT of work but well worth it and actually fun most of the time. Who knew kids needed so much stuff just to leave the house...
Jo, babe, pulled our table down from the upstairs of the cabin...we need to finish that. I am currently working a puzzle on top of it, and it is a most relaxing thing to do when you are home alone....listening to some good music...ahh, yes, good times.
Ok, kids, that's all I have time for...gonna go find more end pieces...

2005-08-11T18:44:00.000-04:00

hmm....very tired. Ten hours of babysitting almost everyday this week and almost everyday next week. Should be fun....uh huh...Good money though. Tomorrow will be 7 hours of little children and 8 hours of coffee making. Going out of town again this weekend to my favorite place in the whole world during the summer. My grandfather's house on the Chesapeake Bay in Matthews, VA. Very close to Yorktown, very pretty, very wet....:) mmm.... good, good memories of kayaking and coves and crabs.....actually, it's pretty much my favorite place the whole year 'round.....

oh! new shoes! yay.......

Pet sitting anyone?

2005-08-02T23:12:00.000-04:00

hey, I know I just posted but it's my right.
So going out of town, right? Well, we have some animals...mainly just one that needs to be taken care of...the spaztic dog charlie. If anyone feels like coming out to our house like Friday night, two or three times Saturday and a couple times on Sunday to walk him and nuture his little heart.... my mom will pay....i don't know...money? fudge? ok....Jo, if ya had your license.....

I fell down the stairs yesterday......

2005-08-02T10:37:00.000-04:00

I did, for real. Sock feet and hardwood stairs. I'm a little sore.
Today is my Dad's birthday...I'm gonna take him out to lunch...but where?
Going to Virginia on Friday...visit some family...downtown Historic Richmond is the prettiest city in America on a warm summer evening.....Then we're gonna head up to Charlottesville...home of UVA (I'd love to go to school there) and Old Rag...a five-mile hike up a mountain. But not any ordinary hike. Almost all of it is on-your-hands-and-knees climbing over, under, around and through rocks kinda hike. We did it last year...very interesting experience. My mom swears she's never going back. I'll take pictures so you kids can see.........
ok....
ok.....
ok...
ok....

Time for a new post....

2005-07-24T10:40:00.000-04:00

Ok, I'll make it short and sweet because I don't have very much to say......
Drove 4 hours to the mountains on Friday to go swimming at one of our favorite spots only to find the road washed out about five miles from the trail head. Unbelievable, the gravel raod we had to take for an hour to get to the last part... Pictures on flickr coming soon....other than that, life has been unexciting.....everyone's gone except for Nikki and Rach...and there's nothing to do....

2005-07-12T22:10:00.000-04:00

I figured it's been awhile so I should post...at least about something. Just not sure what there is to post about.
Oh, sweet, we got DSL, finally. Which means this page loaded in about 1/100th of the time it would have normally taken, which also encouraged me to go ahead and post...:)
Hmm, Work continues to be fun (last day at Lowes is tomorrow...yay!), life continues to be crazy and strangely unpredictable and yet God continues to be faithful. Been working on preparing for bible study on Thursday and I can't tell you what a blessing it is to put this much time into these verses and all the awesome stuff I'm getting out of it! Everyone should try it....they really should.
I'm laying on the floor with the laptop on my stomach, the fan quietly and peacefully humming above me....
wow, I really have nothing to say....except, I'm exhausted. I'm going to bed.

-------> HI <--------

2005-07-07T22:51:00.000-04:00

Snap.... My dad has decided to get rid of some his guitars. He says he'll keep three or four for himself, and give one of our choice to each of us but after that he's selling the rest...probably just on Ebay, but if any of you are possibly interested.... anyways, my problem is....yeah, so he's given me the choice between an Alvarez, two Blueridges and a Hohner...yeah, not like, extremely nice, top of the line but I cannot make an educated decision because....well, I'm not educated.
If anyone has any profound opinions, I would appreciate it....

Some thoughts....

2005-07-02T12:04:00.001-04:00

Ya know, I was thinking. It's really weird how change effects us, or at least how it affects me. I guess it comes from a difficulty to trust but I find myself in crappy situations and not wanting out simply because it would be unfamiliar. Making any sense?
Anyways, such thoughts were brought on because on this fair morning I officially turned my two-weeks notice in at Lowes. That's right. I hate that job with a burning, fiery passion(as many of you may know) but as I walked back to the car afterwards I wasn't as happy as I thought I'd be.....don't get me wrong, I AM happy, just unsure. I thought I'd be working both jobs through the middle of August but a family I used to babysit for, who moved to Africa, will be back in town at the end of July and have asked me to babysit part to full time. That's darn good money. It's still weird. I'm not sure exactly what I've been asking God for over the past few months, but He's blessed me and taken care of me in ways I never expected.
Wow, I know none of this probably makes sense to any of you but it works in my head.....just thought I'd share.

2005-07-02T12:04:00.000-04:00

Concert anyone?

2005-06-29T09:06:00.000-04:00

Ok, looks like I have an extra ticket to the Lovedrug concert tonight.....thanks bunches, Jo. Anyone interested?
Oh, by the way, work last night was so much fun. I love it, love it,love it! Yay!

I thought about blogging and now I have.......

2005-06-26T22:10:00.000-04:00

Yes, the beach and back again. So much has happened in the past week... New job, trip to my favorite place in the whole world, and my bestest, bestest buddy came home from a far away land...:) Most sorely missed.
I guess I shall relay bits and pieces of my trip, for your enjoyment.
We begin on Wednesday evening. Jonathan and I both had had to work that day so we were to drive up separate that night after the family had left the same morning. All begins well, I'm driving, and Jonathan's directing. We arrive in Burlington, stop to buy cherries, and then continue on our way. We are enjoying a fairly pleasant conversation about him and his friend, Kim, who is a girl. And is his friend.....yes, his friend that's a girl....*wink* *wink*.... Anyways, she lives up towards Charlotte and he has taken many a trip to see her during the summer when they are apart. At this point, we have been driving for well over an hour, when suddenly, Jonathan realizes that he had quite inadvertently been driving west on I-40 (towards Charlotte) and away from the beach. Seems the boy got a little absent-mindedly confused at exactly what our destination was. So I ask "So, have we even started this trip yet?" And I quote "No, Catherine. We have not only gone nowhere, we have gone negative-nowhere."
Needless to say, we did not arrive at the beach house until about 1 that morning where we watched some 007 before going to bed.
The following days were fun, of course. Got a little browner and a little saltier. Went walking on the beach every night except for last night. We were watching a movie with dinner and when it ended at about 11 we decided to go head on down for our last walk. So we grabbed the flashlights and I got about two feet from the boardwalk onto the beach when a foot-long ghost crab decided to cross my foot. I was not a happy camper. In fact, I don't think I've ever been unhappier in my life. After that I just stood on the boardwalk having decided it was close enough to the ocean and it's wildlife for me.
I don't know what it is, but there is something so terrifyingly vast about the ocean that just makes you feel a wee bit closer to God. Oh, and there is nothing like seeing lighthouse beams cut through a humid, foggy night.
It's good to be back though, I missed you guys. But not as much as I missed my Jo for the past three weeks. Pow-wow time.
It's been real. Really real...:)
Ehh, Lovedrug on Wednesday. You kids should come.

Tidings of Joy

2005-06-22T17:31:00.000-04:00

God is so gracious. I'm sorry, kids, I should be getting ready to leave but I just got a phone call and I'm so happy I had to share it with someone....so I will share it with the World Wide Web......
*tear*....
I got a job! I different one, a non hateful one, a non-organic kitty litter one! I'm gonna be a barista at La Vita Dolce in Southern Village. Training next Tuesday evening......holy cow, time to turn in my two weeks notice at Lowes Foods!!! Oh what a happy day, happy, happy day! You kids will have to come visit me.....ok, must pull myself away, 3 and a half hour drive ahead of me. See you kids sometime next week......

oh, God is so good..........

uh..?

2005-06-20T22:46:00.000-04:00

"Women's Group" at my church, tomorrow night, we are going to....the rodeo. I kid you not. I'm gonna wear my cowboy hat and I'll take pictures. This should be quite the experience. Oh, yeah, and guess what! I just found out, like yesterday....well, no, today...that we rented a house on Bald Head Island and will be spending Thursday through Sunday there. Heck, I get off of work and everything!I shall keep everyone pictorially up-to-date on my flickr account. I'm so psyched! I can upload photos without fear!
Go look, new pics....

The Aftermath '05

2005-06-19T14:08:00.000-04:00

War Cry 2005...my second...come,gone,lives in our memories. It was very different this year but I really liked the approach that was taken. It wasn't the emotional hype that I remember it being last year, but more of time of JOY. I don't think I can remember a time that I found that much joy and contentment and peace from worship. I guess what kind of tends to happen to us is that during worship we always expect to get something out of it. Not in a bad way, just bear with me here. I know I've always gone expecting some revelation of healing or calming or braking but I don't know if I've ever gone into worship desiring only to glorify and praise. Craziness when that actually happened. It gives you a whole new perspective on life...but that’s a different story for a different time.
However, here is a story, for now, for your varied entertainment. I shall title it... Getting home after War Cry '05.
So here's the original plan: After War Cry, my sis and I ride with the Armstrong’s to the church where we are to meet Ben who will kindly take us the rest of the way home. We must first stop at another persons house and trade cars at the Armstrong’s and he must first stop at Fuller's to get the car checked out. All goes well until Rach drops us off at the church around 5:15 and no one is there. My mom expected us home at 4:30 to help with house work for the 100+ people showing up at our house at 6 for a wedding reception. That's the first problem. The second problem is that the cell phone is dead, the church is locked, and Rach has to eat dinner and be at work in fifteen minutes. So we dump our stuff on the sidewalk and Rachel plans to call my mom and Ben as soon as she gets to Sips just to keep everyone up to date on what’s going on. Rach leaves and Carolyn and I are left sitting in the shade in front of the church doors contemplating our certain demise when we arrive home after reception stuff has started. 5 min pass, 10 min pass, 15 min pass, 20 min pass.....we talk and watch cars go by wondering how much my mum is flipping out at the time. So we have basically no plan of action, no way to call anyone and not quite sure where anyone is when this police car pulls in the circle around the church. We sit at the door and I kinda stare at it for awhile, partly because I'm not really willing to except what’s happening and partly because I've seen way too many COPS shows and am not quite sure how to approach the cop without endangering myself...:) Anyways, the guy is really nice, shorts were way too short, but it's all good. He explains that he must do his civic duty and make sure we wind up where we are supposed to. He offers me the phone to call home and I do so. The line is busy. I try some other numbers and can't get anyone. Meanwhile the cop calls "Base 3", asks what church we are sitting at, and tells then explains what’s going on into his walkie-talkie thing. I'm feeling just a wee bit awkward and weirded out. And the line is still busy....so I stand there and look at the guy for awhile and then he asks if he needs to take us home. Yeah right. This is the picture running through my head. It is after six, people are already at our house and the last thing my mom needs is to a)not know where we have been for the past two hours and then b)have us pull up in a police car with a hundred people standing in the yard...... I dialed home again and she answered. And flipped out. She didn't quite understand the whole part about the police man showing up by himself and so she flipped out more. I still can't quite believe this is all happening. Anyways, we get home fine by way of one of our friends who were headed to the house. Thanks again anyways, Ben, I understand you needed to get your car looked at and stuff. Everything's cool now, so I guess it's all good just a little weird.
And my house was weird. I leave for 5 days and suddenly we have window trim, stuff is painted, the bathroom door actually shuts and latches properly, and a stone walkway got put in. And the house is clean! Kinda cool.
Anyways, for those of you who have actually made it this far reading this post, I appreciate it and am almost done.
I finally put pictures on my flickr account (well, I'm working on it, they're uploading) so go check them out. I'm just not sure how to tell you how to go check them out but I know you guys are smart and can figure it out. The pics are the contents of a time capsule I buried in 1997. I was a wee nine years of age and it was a project for a writing class I was taking with Discovery at the Bible Church. The deal was that we were supposed to dig it up in 2000. I remember every Christmas after that I had to check over and over again exactly what year we were headed into because I could not wait to dig that thing up again. As the gods of irony would have it, January 1 2000 comes around and I bundle up and head outside with my shovel and high expectations. I never found it that year.....Nor the years after...(You can now pause to wipe away that tear).... I now know I was digging about 6 inches too far to the left, My mom was so angry with the way we tore up the yard...:) My sister just found it this afternoon. When she told me, she said my reaction looked like a little kid's....haha, that's awesome. Basically everything has to do with the fact that we were building our house at the time and I was really into making puzzles and the rope swing my Dad had just made us.....:)I'm getting just a little bit nostalgic; I think I need to stop.
Oh yeah, pic of red door, brick steps... good times.
Peace out.
Oh, kids, Over The Rhine is some good music....

A little house work....

2005-06-10T17:06:00.000-04:00

Our porch has no front steps. As one can tell from the above photo,

they are being bricked. It is actually quite fun, climbing up and down

the porch post in order to gain access to our front door. Speaking of

front door, it is now painted red! I discovered it this morning and

have since grown very fond of the color in contrast to the rest of the

house. I shall take a picture to show the world as soon as the steps

are done and the door given a second coat.

I know, short post, but not much has been happening...... War Cry

dance, finding a new job, community service hours at school,

work......matching shorts with Rach :).....my summer is off to a slow

start, and that probably won't change much.

time for work......

Oh sweet, sweet sorrow......

2005-06-03T16:40:00.000-04:00

So, kids, it's official. School is over. Half of my high school career is finished, which is sad because I have another half in front of me. 10th grade, sophomore doors were closed behind me as I finished the essay on my last exam. English, in fact, it was. All essay. 800 words. I had no paper on which to write my essay so I used some that I found in the trash. That's not as ghetto as it might sound at first. But, go ahead, laugh for a moment in the space between that statement and my explanation.*********************** (*= space)
Ok, what actually happened was that Scott threw away his English book (that we needed for the exam) along with his notebooks when we cleaned out our lockers. So he's in the hall about 5 min. after the test was supposed to start, rifling through the trash cans, and I was wondering around in the hall looking for paper when our paths crossed. He implored me for help and I presented my lack-of-paper dilemma. Eventually, after getting past the 4-month-old lunch tupperware, graded lab reports and various other sundry items, we find his notebook, with precious book and precious unused paper inside. Both problems solved, and I hardly had to get my hands dirty....well...hardly......
So test done and we receive the joyous news that "Field Day" has been cancelled for the High School due to inclement weather! Oh, but wait, there was a twinge of pain at all the people I would never see again. For them, this was indeed their last day at Woods Charter School (I have at least 360 more) namely Joanna Joy Cutrara.... will never fill that seat next to me in English class and scrawl "notes" with me in NiaS or All quiet.... or a scrap piece of paper....or my arm, for that matter. Never again will she smear water on a blue-penned masterpiece while pow-wowing (much to the annoyance of others) about train wrecks and trees, yelling and other....stuff.....never again will we be separated in science class so we may only stare across the room to mouth things at each other at the risk of sure wrath. No more will I wait for her at her locker as she places and replaces and moves and situates books in her book bag from her locker... No more will we leave each other at 3:06 (shortly after the impending call from her mother) to go home and find our "happy places" without each other......;)
Babydoll, I hope you read this before you leave the country and go into exile (I bought you a phone card, so you better use it!) I'm not sure how I'm going to make it through the days next year.... people are so boring.... well, maybe Barret will keep it interesting.....anyways....yeah, all of this is to say....you owe me $14 which I will need to pay me car insurance, before you leave.
Oh, quick story....I love the kids I baby-sit on Thursday nights over at the Bible Church..... They have so much character......last night they had me read the story of Moses so we all got situated, with our snack and listening caps on and all that good stuff. So I start reading "ok, this is the story of Baby Moses...." when one of the 5 year-olds shrieks in delight. "That's my favorite part! Read it again!" ....."OK....Baby Moses-" "Again!!!".... "Baby Moses-?" "Again!!!"
Needless to say, this continued for about five minutes until they lost interest in reading altogether so we never got very far......Then we decided to act like animals and every kid started roaring and making various noises so I ask
"Elise, what are you?"
"I'm a tiger"
"Emma-Grace, what are you?"
"I'm a lion"
"William, what are you?"
"I'm a bear"
"Excuse me, Catherine?"
"Yes? What are you, Gillian?"
"I am a princess"
Wow, I don't know....maybe you just had to be there.
We even do the "Late Show" and they ask for it every week, by name.....

ok, well, gots to go.... My brother gonna take my sisters and I out for some dinner and bowling so that should be fun.....
See you kids later,
Catherine

:)

2005-05-28T10:47:00.000-04:00

Nikki's our new big/little sister!!!!

Baby Pics and............ Alyssa

2005-05-21T21:26:00.000-04:00

Ok, lookin through the family albums and found this classic example

of how I spent most of my early years...... That's my tongue in my mouth, by the way,

and check out those eyebrows........

And thanks to all of you who think I look like a boy........

2005-05-21T21:20:00.000-04:00

I was cool even from an early age..............

2005-05-21T21:19:00.000-04:00

This is the ONLY baby pic of me in which my mouth is not open......

2005-05-21T21:15:00.000-04:00

Yep.... Alyssa is cool.........

2005-05-18T21:44:00.000-04:00

There it is! The beautiful cow heart we dissected in biology today. I'm

terribly sorry to those squemish in stomach when it comes to this kind

of thing........but that, my friend, is flipping cool! This is only the

top view, aorta, autrioles and such, I wish I had a better picture but

I just don't have time to upload it.........

More to come later, kids.... I gots to go.......

Whale Spout!!!!!!

2005-05-18T17:47:00.000-04:00

2005-05-18T17:44:00.000-04:00

This is a before and after pic of my puppy dog. Before and after

haircut, that is.........

I'll have more about the heart we dissected today as soon as the pics

upload........maybe tonight

maybe tomorrow........

Mmm, strawberries and cream for breakfast......

2005-05-15T12:45:00.000-04:00

Ok, kids…. I know it’s been awhile but this week has been kinda busy. Let’s see, Monday was our AP exam and it went better than I thought it would. Easier than all our practice exams so maybe I’m feeling pretty good about how I did….. Only July will tell…… Tuesday was normal except at work where some guy in his 20’s or so wound up coming through my line 3 times in the space of ten minutes and during the last time gave me his business card and told me to call him……geez, yeah right…….the actual story is pretty funny, in fact, ask me sometime if you want to hear…….rest of the week…. Blah, blah, blah…… and Friday I had five inches cut off my hair…. It started out as just getting it trimmed and then it turned into maybe a couple more inches and a couple more inches…..AHHHH that’s almost half a foot!!!! It feels really short but my family swears it doesn’t look very short…….mmmm……..I’d stick a picture up here but I just don’t ever look right in pictures.
I’m like obsessed with taking people’s blood pressure…. This lady came and talked to us on Wednesday during AP class and taught us how and Ms. Bartone let me take the sphygmomanometer home and it’s awesome…….so, if anyone’s unsure of theirs and they’d like to know what their blood pressure is, I’d be happy to help you out.
This weekend my bro came home and brought all of his crap with him, of course. There were carloads of stuff in the foyer, landing, on the porch, in the car, more in the dorm……. I didn’t know a)he had that much stuff and b) how it all fit in his dorm room in the first place…. With a roommate no less………..
So Saturday we have all these people coming over for my mom’s graduation and she’s flipping out and it’s not good…… I went to bed on Friday night sometime in the wee hours of the morning and was then promptly ripped out of bed at 6:30 that same morning to “finish house cleaning”…… the day progressed worse as time became crunched and the blankets in my window seat still weren’t folded! Oh dear….. the actual graduation went alright. It was in Carmichael Gym near the soccer fields and it was a bit warm inside and long….. but it was all good…….and we saw this lady with the tallest hair I’ve ever seen so I took a picture of it but made it look like I was just taking a picture of Jonathan…..I’m so awesome……I came to the conclusion that if you’re a guy, nursing would be the best field to go into because out of the 200-some people that graduated from Nursing school yesterday, only 5 of them were male. That is a killer ratio!
We had dinner at our house and the Wolfes came over so all the non-adult people watched Napoleon Dynamite upstairs in my sisters room and Emily and I were laying on the trundle bed and I fell asleep…..it was a long exhausting weekend, happy for my mum but glad it’s over…. Oh yes, and now I have a recital this afternoon and my bro’s not playing with me cause he’s leaving for Rockbridge early and all this good stuff…..*sigh* I want to go to camp……
Well, looking forward to our last real week at school this coming week. After that, the schedule’s weird and exams and……….stuff.
Wish me luck this afternoon!

The problem with the problem page.........

2005-05-08T20:06:00.000-04:00

Ahh, ahh, ahh.... this weekend.....
good, bad, stressful ...
My buddy Jules is staying with me for the weekend while her parents are in England....she is presently walking around eating pretzel sticks..blahh...I hate pretzels! Except Katie's Pretzels... those are so good.....
Bekah and Donald are married.... Yay! Friday night was fun, good times....
Saturday morning I watched 3-5 year olds playing soccer.... They were so cute....mmm...I guess the rest of this weekend was spent "studying" for tomorrow morning's exam, listening to Third Eye Blind and going to my little sisters play..... it was pretty funny at times.. I picked up on some lines that could be used at opportune moments in the future...:)
Church tonight was interesting... I played in a wittle bit of the service and it was not very awesome... i wasn't nervous but it was a mess anyways... in my own opinion.
Guess what kids! Next weekend is going to be a very crazy one for me. My mother is graduating from two years of nursing school on Saturday which means I will yet again miss youth group. I will also be kicked out of my room for a night or two and clean house until.... well... until the house is clean... and deal with many, many people in our little home for the weekend.....I'm really not looking forward to it, but maybe things won't be as bad as I think they could be.... I then have a piano recital on Sunday (maybe everyone will have gone home by then....) at which my bro has decided to accompany me with his beautimus violin playing skills ("girls only like guys with great skills").... that should be very interesting....
Well, dog's about to die so I need to take him out and then cram in some last minute studying..... If any of you guys think about it tomorrow, I'm sure Jo, Rachel O and I would appreciate your prayers concerning our biology exam tomorrow....
peace out
Catherine

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/

2005-05-03T15:43:00.000-04:00

I want you to know that you know that you know
They say disappointment
takes self-control
like songs scrawled on napkins
stuffed in bedroom drawers
I want my words
to say so much more
I want my shoes tied tighter
so I can walk farther
I want the sun that prickles my skin
to be the water I can't feel
sliding down my swollen throat
Good tears
We all need them from time to time
I hope my life has a receipt
cause I need to return it

Yay... a poem... par moi. I actually started that in history class while Mr. Temple was talking about smoking or something... I don't know, I think it had to do with Plymouth colony....
Today was boring... my Jo had an AP test so I only saw her for like ten minutes total at school. When I got in my car, however, to go home, I made a horrible discovery.... My car smells really bad... I don't know, it's like you take the family van... been through four kids and many a road trip.... leave all the dropped fries and dirt from shoes... add some sun and heat and time.... and.. well.... it smells kinda bad.... Gonna have to take care of this.... like Febreze time or something.....
*DING* I have a recital on the 16th so I think I'll go practice cause we all know I need it.....
*cough* (thanks Jo, for the expression) my throat hurts... I sound a wee bit odd today......
See you kids later....
Catherine

A Haiku

2005-04-30T23:23:00.000-04:00

His name was Quincy
A Bostonian Asian kid
He had a rat tail

*snaps*
oh, and I didn't even have to contemplate life to the surface of a pond to come up with that one.
I am awesome!

"Just to see you.. I'd give you anything, I'd give you anything, I'd give you anything"

2005-04-27T16:14:00.000-04:00

Mmm…. I’m listening to Brand New and it is brand new to me and it is pretty…. Ahhh…. censorship music……
Hey, I have a quote for today… which is a never and this is a first for me!
“That is straight-up hood. You know you’re white when you put a spoiler on a shopping cart”
-Jorge Gamboa 4/26/05
Oh my…. My life is crazy……
So I started making a list of things I like and things I dislike and it’s actually pretty amusing at points when I go back and read it……BEHOLD!!! An excerpt……

Like
Wet paper towels ~ Damp hair ~ Chewing on things ~ Warm, rainy days ~ Sleeping late in the dark~ Light cotton sheets~ summer nights~ third eye blind~ open windows~ comforters~ The smell of Bounce dryer sheets and ground coffee in paper bags~ Friday afternoons~ Cherries~ Cucumbers~ Empty houses~ sandwiches~ animal crackers~ writing with mechanical pencils……

Dislike
My pen running out~ Organic kitty litter and flax seed cereal~ chickens~ ducks~ geese~ ostriches~ hamsters~ Gerbils~ Guinea pigs~ Lasagna~ Play dough~ Ham~ Very Chocolate Ice Cream~ The color yellow~ canvas bags~ Psycho people~ Rocky Horror Picture Show~ potato chips~ getting my hair wet~ things that prick you~ very small dogs~ ladybugs~ Centipedes~ school~ zucchini~ animal cookies~ blue pens…….

That’s just a bit kids…. I’ll keep you up to date…..
Holy Cow! I think I’m late for work…… work, I forgot to add that to my dislikes……
Peace out…….

a tear of Joy

2005-04-25T22:48:00.000-04:00

Ok, I guess I feel thus inclined to post after it was practically promised on my dear Jo’s blog……
Hmm…. Six period… wow, things like this are the only reason I survive this school….
So we had our dear friend Ben Phillip’s, with short, red, sought-after hair, complete biology notes from his class that was AP. The first thing I noticed was the abstract doodles of swords and circle weaving things and “help me, I’m losing consciousness” scrawled on the side of said notes. However when flipping through, in depth, much to our delight…. We discover raps about chromosomes and the cell cycle and mitosis and meiosis….. So indeed….. Nikki breaks it down (dancing that is) and Jo raps the whole thing, complete with black, ghetto hand motions……go figure……..:)

Its been a long time coming........

2005-04-12T17:17:00.000-04:00

Oh there are so many connotations to that title......
However, you, my children shall only hear of one: The skillful way that Joanna and I silently carry on conversations in English class.
So, kids, we're reading this book: All Quiet on the Western Front (ewww, that reminds me, I have an IRP to be working on......) anyways, lucky for us, my father purchased me a copy so I didn't have to use the school's copies. This means it's mine, I can do whatever I want with it and write whatever I want in it......excellent. So, the awesome idea, which was mine, was for Jo and I to write back and forth in said book during "class discussion and reading" time. It’s absolutely brilliant! Which ever way it is, reading the notes we’ve written or writing new ones, it always looks like we’re either making notes of what dear Mr. Bryan is discussing in the text or following along with him when he’s reading. I would post some excerpts but I think they’re all a little too sketch…I did say I’d blog about it so there it is……
Interesting day, don’t have many feelings. I went home at lunch because I wasn’t feeling very well but it’s ok now, I’ll live.
Peace out
Catherine

<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>That looks like a police line.....

2005-04-11T21:06:00.000-04:00

I'm ADD......

Nothing to do
nowhere to go
no one to turn to
you can't make it ok
i have no thoughts
but I'm still distracted

it's ok kids, I'm alright..... just chillin.... I tend to be a bit of a drama queen... it helps me cope....
I love my Joanna Joy, she's knows it. She better know it..... don't forget WarCry stuff, please....
thank you....
hmmm, i found some pretty blue flowers on my windshield today....:)

And I've joined the ranks of the oppressed.......

2005-04-10T21:49:00.000-04:00

ok, so today was a beautiful, lovely spring Sunday.... it was off to a good start. Spent the night at Rach's, went to church, scratched on a styrofoam cup and had lunch at the Loop. Oh what an interesting thought process I have...it was something like...oh look, everyone is heading to Duke Gardens. I'm supposed to be home in 15 minutes and it takes me 25 from where I am. What the heck, the parents aren't home and as long as i get my sisters to church tonight on time, we're all good. I'll just go ahead and call to give them the low down so no one will be worried and everything will be all good. Just to be safe, I'll be home by 4:30 leaving me plenty of time.
Wow, yeah, at 4:30 I was still standing in said gardens (45 min from my dear home) contemplating death by geese and walking off the face of the western world......I then piddled around some more in the parking lot and it was just overall a situation I knew could not end well..... I got home at 5:30.... My daddy was there.....It was a very long, quiet ride to church....which by the way, I forgot starts at 5:30 and not 6... That was also an interesting service...good sermon...didn't sway my parents......
So kids, I'm not sure how long I'll be grounded because "I have to discuss it with your father" at the least, I'm just grounded from coffee with Heather on Tuesday...at the most, I'm grounded for a week, including youth group........I would like to restate that I do realise this was a dumb, stupid, irresponsible decision on my part......:(
Apple Chill? Am I grounded through that? Anyone planning on going?

well, besides that, it was a good weekend.....

$6 or more

2005-04-09T11:21:00.000-04:00

JO, you owe me money!!!

HOW 'BOUT THEM HEELS!!!!??????

2005-04-05T11:22:00.000-04:00

*GASP* It's been almost a week since last i posted!! This will be short because i'm in art and am supposed to be looking up watercolor paintings but who needs those anyways? my watercolors always look more than slightly retarded most of the time... So who is NCAA CHAMPION???? Yes children, thats right! I spent a bit of time on franklin street last night after the game and am almost (almost) convinced to actually apply to UNC when the time comes. My throat's a bit sore, but i did enjoy hanging out of the window of the car and hollering with people on the road at 1am. i actually got a couple police men to answer me back! anyways......oh, yeah, haha, this is kinda interesting...... i recieved two marriage proposals at work last night.... ask me about it sometime if you really want to know.......:)
bell rang..... i must depart.......
i'm in a good mood....... leave some lovin'!
Catherine

Its a Monk and Dominos night......

2005-03-31T15:10:00.000-05:00

Hmmm, spring break means Monk, disc 4 season 3, and Dominos pizza..... Yesterday was nice and warm and nice. Lunch with the children, a walk on the quad and through the arboretum (oy, we "knot-nowed" on the grass there, turned a few heads) had some good talks, movie with Rach and Sips for poker night. It was a full day and when I got home and was walking up to the door, it was slightly damp, like it was gonna rain and perfectly warm and it smelled just exactly like summertime! Ahhh, that’s the problem with Spring Break, it's like a little taste of summer with two months of school left. Taunting, tantalizing and taunting.... wow, how 'bout those adjectives.....
I wrote a biology essay this morning, halfway done with History and French.....yes, come Sunday night homework, it shouldn't be too, too bad....
Pay day is tomorrow!! And it is desperately needed... it just doubles the fun.... every Friday being payday!!! Yay!
I think I’ll go make a collage or read Parenting magazines or something…..: )
Ok, see you guys tomorrow
catherine

"It's a long way from my thoughts to what I'll say"

2005-03-27T23:50:00.000-05:00

"In the Italian countryside, cheese makers are like rock stars...."
Yeah I saw a commercial with that phrase in it.... I thought it was kinda funny......
So I've meant to blog for days but something always comes up at just the opportune moment.... Wow, it has been awhile...... where should I begin?
So I'm on Spring Break which is sweet....uhh, lets see... went to Southpoint on Friday and saw Hitch with a friend of mine. It was pretty funny, and well worth it. Saturday was depressing, work and then looking for clothes.....sometimes I hate shopping. I did decide to look in Time After Time as suggested by both Jo and Ray and was pleasantly surprised. I like it. A lot. Sunday was Easter and was off to a bad start. My mom always gets a wee bit too stressed out when there are a bunch of people coming over that she must cook for. I guess there were about 20 people here including 7-8 of my bro's college buddies....... o wow. I wound up sitting at the table with them to enjoy my Easter dinner and was in for quite a shock. Let me say, I thought that as soon as I got out of high school, humor, maturity level and dinner table conversation topics would change. As in get better. No, it doesn't get better, in fact, it doesn't change except they use bigger words. Yes, conversation ranged from child birth, the Little Mermaid, the scariest Disney villain, to the best Disney Love song(complete with solo performances on three separate occasions)how one of the guys could make himself look more like a lion, an argument about getting a degree in growing hair and a political discussion of the dynamics of Machiavelli. I felt more and less smart, at the same time, by the end of that discussion......Wow, after church that evening we went home and my mom was studying and told us to find something quiet to do. So, since we had no school the next day, we put in Napoleon Dynamite and forced my dad to watch it with us. He thought it was dumb but enjoyed it anyways. He said some movies are made with the point being pointlessness but this movie was pointless and that wasn't the point. Don't ask, I think I understood.
Ahhh, this morning I didn't get up until 12:30, not like I lay in bed and didn't get out until 12:30, but like I didn't wake up until then. I don't think I realized how truly drained I've been over the past few weeks. And I'm already tired and I haven't even been awake for a full 9 hours.
OK, time for me to stop wasting time..... You kids make sure you're drinking fly water and staying cool.

The French have no word for driveway? They must not be drinking "fly water"...

2005-03-23T22:11:00.000-05:00

Where do French people park their cars at home if they have no driveways? And what do they walk to their houses with without sidewalks? This lack of vocabulary will, I’m afraid, keep me from finishing my homework… What a shame…..
So the only thing exciting that happened in school today, concerning me, you can read about on Jo’s blog. Feel free to comment here though. I’m not really that violent…..most of the time……
Work today was pretty slow and boring but slightly amusing. Had these two black guys, younger 20’s, come through my line towards the end of the evening. They were buying beer, so I asked to see some ID. “Uh, I left it at home….but I’m old enough… just let me have it, ok?” “Sorry, I can’t sell you this unless you show me some ID” So the other guy pipes up “Are you drinking age?” “No, I’m not” Huh… so the guy miracuasly produces his drivers license. Its valid so I’m finishing up the transaction when one of them asked “So exactly how old are you?” Why do you care? “I’m not drinking age” “17-18?” “Almost” The other guys looks at me, jaw drops, “What, only 16? Girl, whatcha been doing to get so fly? Musta been drinking some fly water or something” Oh, its late, I smile and thank them…..it always happens at least once in a night…. Always has to be some kid who has nothing better to do on a weeknight than to go buy beer and hit on the 11 years-younger-than-you cashier girl…….this is my lot in life.
Who drinks “fly water”?????? Who comes up with this stuff????
Oh well, work is getting better, at least I’m making friends with people my own age….
Hey, tomorrow is my favorite service out of the whole year. Maundy Thurday, night Jesus took the first, last supper. It gets a little more real to me every year. Just to let you know, Jo, the service doesn’t start until 7. If that doesn’t conflict with Netherlands trip meeting and you want to, you can hop on over, bet we can give you a ride home too. Just a thought….
Ok, shower time…dude, I totally thought of something in the shower last night and now I forgot it… o well, these things happen…..
Peace…
Catherine
oh, by the way, it was brought to my attention that next friday is final four. Terribly sorry kids, but this is one of the few weekends that, since my mom is in school, she will allow me to have people over. If some of you are really that attached to the b-ball game, I understand. Just let me know at some point.

Momma always told me .....Life is like a piece of lasagna

2005-03-22T18:36:00.000-05:00

I hate lasagna. It’s really what I have against the meat part. It’s always too sour or too sweet and not what normal meat should taste like. That's what I had for lunch today. Jo ate it. *Excerpt from this morning's freewrite* "Life is like a piece of lasagna. The meat, the stuff that life's made of, is often too sour to swallow, or too sweet to savor" Yep, those are some deep thoughts kids. I'm feeling more and more ADD in class these days. Sad how skilled I am at looking like I'm paying attention and absorbing when really all I'm doing is making note of how some letters look deformed when written on the board. It's a focus problem and spring break couldn't come at a better time.
Speaking of breaks..... How is next Friday (April 1) looking for everyone? Maybe a little soccer (we got space) dinner and Napoleon Dynamite? I feel justified doing this at my house because it’s a lot closer than the O’Neal’s for most of you. If enough people are interested, I'll get some details sent out soon.
Oh, ok, almost forgot... this is kinda interesting.... So at my church between announcements and worship, there's a, umm, I don't know what to call it..."musical interlude"? Just to allow people a peaceful time to focus and get ready for worship. Anyways, one of the worship leaders asked me to put something together to play April 10. Ok, fine, all you awesomely skilled musicians out there, this is no big deal... but for me, its pretty cool, new thing, ya know? Anyways, I was thinking about what to play, ya know, just some chord progressions or something and I sat down at the piano last night and started playing lovedrug. So my dad gets involved and is telling me like when to switch something up or make it a little different, but overall, it sounded alright. Like "musical interlude" alright. Yep, indeed, I think I’ll be playing a modified version of a lovedrug song, in church, come April 10. Exciting stuff.

Ok, I have a french book to create and write and....oh yeah! New dryer sheets to try out! No more static!
peace...out...yeah...

A p.s.... does grace do a Maunday Thursday service? I'm thinking I'll be going to the Bible Church's if not, if anyone wants to join me, feel free... thursday night

Mmmm...:)..its raining...ahh, yum...

2005-03-20T19:54:00.000-05:00

The composition of a post

2005-03-20T19:08:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I was looking through my pictures from the spring retreat and I realized that
a) I had taken none but two of all of them and b) sadly, there were no good ones... there were two pretty interesting ones though, but I’m not gonna post either because it's not worth it.... the first one Ray took and it was of fuller playing with his nipples and looking up the field and the other one Jo took of ben and george too, playing with his bellybutton... don't ask..... instead I decided to post a picture of what happens to honey when you keep it past its expiration date. The jar in the back is the color honey is supposed to be……..
anyways…. Mmmm… spring retreat (dangit, I keep trying to call it the fall retreat) was good. Much needed, too much to be said. Saturday night, worship, it was like I was happy for the first time in as long as I could remember. Not the kind of happiness where you’re like “oh, I just want to curl up and be warm and be happy cause I’m happy” no, it was like I just wanted to smile and look around and not think anything and just bask in the joy…. Oh, so refreshing….. got some really good encouragement and confirmation… ya know, people see a lot more about you than you would expect… it’s like you’re trying to hide behind something you didn’t even know existed and someone calls you out and you step back and go whoa, how did you see that? Craziness…….
Athletic ness, that’s my new word or two…..and Microsoft word totally recognized it….
Oh dear, my spastic dog is gonna die if I don’t walk him now....and I can put off my last two essays no longer.
peace out kids

We go playground...

2005-03-16T21:58:00.000-05:00

Terribly sorry kids. This won't be a long post. My mum's out of town and I just had a bit of an emotional breakdown when she called a little bit ago and asked me how school was. I have so much work to do... I'm gonna go sit in our new, warm laundry room and listen to the dryer and write 8 AP biology essays......

"That's the problem. At the moment, nothing comes to mind"

2005-03-12T23:02:00.000-05:00

Hmm… so very tired…. It’s been a slow, draining week. I am really looking forward to the retreat next weekend. It’s been awhile, where should I begin?
Thursday night I went to Intervarsity with my brother. It was a belated birthday present along with dinner afterwards. They had it in Forrest Theater just for something different even though it was about 35 degrees outside and they didn’t end until about 8:00. I was trying to park and almost hit someone when I was backing up. Literally like the kid put his hand on my car in a effort to jump out of the way in time…dumb kid, it was his fault… funny thing is, he came up and started talking to me shortly before the meeting and I was introducing myself and was like “ uhhh, no, I’m not a student here, I’m Jonathan’s sister and I’m the one that almost hit you….” He was kinda like…ohhh….. Anyways, Jonathan was leading worship and it went really well. The speaker, Kevin Hass from Newport News Virginia (I’ve practically grown up there, kids) spoke on evangelism…. But not the generic evangelism talk… he had a lot of energy and different angles I hadn’t thought of. Afterwards we headed over to McAllister’s, where, believe it or not, I have never eaten at before. I really like that place though and I’ll take it any day over “Japanese Express”……
Friday was depressing, but it happens. We ended the night with parmesan chicken (one of my favorites) and second season, third DVD of Monk. Saturday, I’m so sorry I missed Bekah and Donald’s wedding shower. I’m sure it was fun and good, I wish I could have been there. Instead I was working for 6 hours and it was exhausting. My grandparents are here from Richmond so we skipped youth group tonight. Instead they took us to dinner at Red Hot and Blue in Chapel Hill which has since been turned into “Jim’s Famous Bar-B-Que” Let me tell you something… I’m not going back…. It was a really weird kind of experience…. First, the background music was some kind of upbeat oldies jazzy stuff that was bearable, but just barely. Hmm, then it abruptly changed to “Who let the dogs out?” Uhhh, yeah… needless to say, it was above interesting…. Wow, my siblings and I then proceeded to spend the car ride home quoting Napoleon Dynamite. That is the dumbest, best movie I’ve ever seen….I’m thinking first weekend in April, people are gonna have to come over here and have some dinner and some Napoleon Dynamite watching... yes, lets keep that in mind….
Ok, tired, tired, tired…. Oh yeah… one more thing... tomorrow is the first day that Grace community Church will be meeting in our new location which would be Hillsong Baptist Church on Culbreth road across from Mt. Carmel Church Rd. It starts at 5:30 in the evening, I’m running projection for the first time in my life… it should be interesting, you kids should come sometime when you have nothing better to do on a Sunday evening……
Man am I going to bed…
Peace out you guys….
Catherine
Oh, we have a new washer and dryer and I have to give you this bit of info... where as our old one used 66 gallons of water for each load, the new one uses 6 gallons of water per load and you can't hear it... Yay!

An evening spent looking for washing machines

2005-03-09T21:19:00.000-05:00

Have you guys ever noticed that we take the word "washing machine" and make it into "washa machine"? I wasn't even sure how to spell it at first (though that may not come as much of a shock to some of you) Anyways, yes, indeed... we had a family outing to Lowes Hardware to find a new washer and dryer for the addition to the house my dad is finishing up. Wow, it was just like old times.... its unbelievable how many memories, good and bad, that I have of Lowes and Home Depot in my younger years. You kids have to understand though, this is not where I chose to spend the better part of my childhood, it was rather instead a staple of my life, where I was forced to live every weekend while we were building our house. There is so much to be decided about a house... ahhh... paint, plumbing, hardware, carpet, lighting.... toilets.... oh wow, the list goes on and on. So, naturally, being the brilliant children that I and my siblings were (in no reference to my pee story) we found numerous ways of entertaining ourselves at the expense of Lowes and often to the embarrassment of my parents. Here, as follows are all the entertaining things one can find to do in a hardware store when you are 8-9 years old.....

1. Sit on every toilet that isn't stuck up on a wall.
2. Find the doorbell isle and ring them all until people stop looking at you.....or your mother finds you....
3. Open every washer, dryer, dishwasher, cabinet, and refrigerator and see which ones you can stuff your little sister in.
4. Find the huge hanging carpet rolls and hang yourself over them until you are in danger of falling off or getting dizzy or getting spanked.
5. Find those little wooden samples of counter colors and take one of each of the blue ones. Do this with paint samples too.
6. Practice test every riding lawn mower in the isle.
7. Run in between the huge, hanging rugs after feeling every single freaking carpet sample with in our reach.
8. Hang out in the wood isle just to smell the place.
9. Derby race all the rolling office chairs down the main isle until you impede some old lady’s crossing time.
10. Lounge in the bathtubs until you get enough weird looks to make even a 7 year old rethink their actions.
11. Find the mirror isle and have a little alone time....

Oh wow, the funny thing is, almost all of these things resulted in us getting punished somehow... oh, yeah, and my dad got us all these little tool belt apron thingies and our own set of tools with which to help him. Man, I wore that thing everywhere..... oh, good times...good, good times....
And we still haven't found a washer......

'Night.

Tuesday Evening Masterpiece Theater

2005-03-09T01:28:00.000-05:00

An excerpt from this morning's freewrite:
".....a little less confused, maybe I'm just processing. Yes, I'm working things out in my mind. I'm one of those slower computers maybe, not an older model, but just one which has too much stuff uploading all at once. I need to take each file, break it down, and run it through to check for viruses before printing out the final copy"
Yep, so that was how I spent my day...processing....I figured out that pow-wows are just mouthpieces for the constant processing that goes on in my head ( Jo, this would be why I talk about the same things over and over until the point that you want to slap me) So, since Jo wasn't at school today, as she was sick, I had no one to process out loud with and so therefore kept it to myself. This made the day a slow, easy, out-of-it, but protected kind of day. Anyways, then I went home and it was boring, boring, boring, boring, until Fuller decided that he has nothing to do so he comes over and I tried to make espresso, but it kinda didn't work, but... we sat in my kitchen and talked and it was good and much needed....something out of the norm....
Me mum took me out to dinner tonight and it was good but then she made me go grocery shopping with her which meant I would have to see everyone at work, but it was alright, I guess....
Wow, my dad told me last night that it was all that cooked squash they feed me as a baby that made my eyes turn blue... hmmmm
Ahhh, my homework is done and I'm working on quite a bad headache so I think I'll call it a night and maybe get some decent sleep.
And, so, in the words of Kip..."peace out"
Catherine

2005-03-08T22:30:00.000-05:00

Jo really liked this pic so I decided to put it up..... hmm, for those
of you that don't know, this is our baby.....for three long months
we've slaved over this piece of furniture.... our art project.... our
blue, arabesque table...

2005-03-08T22:09:00.000-05:00

"Ahh, I'm freehanding.......it is so free of hand" I know its the back
of us, and you kinda can't tell, but in this picture I'm completly
proud of myself, for the awesome freehanding I'm doing, and Jo is
looking at it like something just slapped her.... wow, I like this
picture.

2005-03-08T22:04:00.000-05:00

So, this is an awesome picture of Jo and I painting our illustrious

blue table. I love the fact that Joanna looks so irratated with the

thing........

Mmm… Of frozen pizza and good tea…..

2005-03-03T21:00:00.000-05:00

Yeah, last night was crazy, I had so much work to do. The weird thing is, I went to bed with very little of it done but in every class today, I turned in completed assignments. Funny how homework just happens..... Didn't get to sleep till very late and then had trouble sleeping, partly because I was freezing cold, because both my windows were open (not to my knowledge) and partly because I must sleep on my side but when I tried, I felt unbalanced or something, like I was gonna fall over.I was seriously laying there like "what am I doing? I feel like I'm about to crumple over like a rag doll or something." I finally achieved equilibrium by falling asleep with my arm around a small pillow....hey, whatever floats my boat....
I checked out Sips last night, for the first time, with Heather Fuller. I like the shop a lot, atmosphere, layout, all those good things. Had an excellent time just talking with her. Had a lot of things that were good to get off my mind. And I found out that people actually don’t mind listening to my issues….yeah….that’s one of my problems…. The fear of burdening other people with stuff I’m dealing with….Anyways, that was such a blessing for me and I really appreciated her taking the time to do that.
Jo, Mr. Durham was pissed today. We have got to finish our table or something before grades are supposed to be turned in. That would entail finishing it tomorrow. Do you even have paint at your house?
I swear I’m cursed when it comes to getting anywhere on time. So, I talked too long after school with Jo and people so I was horribly late for my piano lesson. Get on the road and I get behind some guy going at least 42 miles under the speed limit. So I’m yelling “Get off the road, you fossil!” and he finally turns off only for me to then wind up behind a stupid school bus for the rest of the 10 miles. My teacher is so gracious though.
Yeah, for once in my life I don’t have any homework tonight. I might do something constructive with my time…..maybe I’ll make some paper boxes or something……….yeah, or something…. Well, it’s my Dad’s night to do dinner, so that means frozen pizza………
Ciao everyone,
Catherine
Oh yeah, I was thinking about the inner workings of a three to four-year-old mind today and was reminded of my own childhood and obvious clear headedness, even at a young age... Yes, that's right kids, when I was four years old I noticed that my parents had a bathroom in their room while, strangly, mine was lacking of this necessary facility. So, being the awesome problem solver that I was at the time, I reasoned that it was only fair that I have a bathroom in my room as well. I didn't think my parents would fly with this idea, so I took matters into my own hands and proceeded to pee on the carpet, in a corner, for the next few weeks. Yes, my mom didn't figure this out for a bit, but finally did after all the comments that guests, who had the ill-fate of using my room, made about the odd smell. My mom moved my bed over my pre-said and prefered corner, and just like a little puppy dog, I stopped.
Just thought I'd let you guys know because I'm in the mood for sharing embarrassing childhood mistakes.....I'm sure everyone has made them....... and please don't forget that I was only about four at the time.....long time ago....

I have work to do?

2005-03-01T22:01:00.000-05:00

I have 20 AP biology worksheets due tomorrow that I looked at and then put down.... why am I blogging then, you may ask? Well, as previously stated, I put them down. And I cannot find ANYTHING (please feel the wrath of my CAPS)about basic, stupid, roots.....Ben, you were supposed to give us your biology notes if you could ever find them....did you ever find them? Holy Crap, I want to kill someone out of my frustration.....Ok, how does one go from an innocent internet search about runner roots to detailed directions on how to grow marijuana? It happens, my friends, oh it happens.
Ok, I apoligize. This is like a freewrite of indignation, of fury, of ire, of wrath.... gone horribly wrong.... Jo, hun, are ya with me in saying that you never want to hear the word individuality, again? dude, I must have written "individual" or some form of it at least 68 times in the space of 100 min........die, die, die, die, die......

ok, double post

2005-02-28T22:19:00.000-05:00

ok, I know, second post of the night but I just looked at Ben's blog
for the first time in a while and that airport picture was very
familiar cause I've looked out the same window, just a month later.
This was the picture that Rachel and I took in that same place, just a
different angle. Anyways, it was cool, brought back good memories......i know,boring, but it was our only glimpse into amsterdam....

No, I'm being good......mmm, its so good.......

2005-02-28T19:06:00.000-05:00

"Joanna, I don't think you understand the epicsigtifany....."......I just made up that word, like 5 min. ago. Dude, its beautiful, and I'm gonna use it. Maybe I'll define it.....maybe later....

ok, moving onwards. Today was not bad, not exceptionally good either. Its kinda cool though because I'm happy for the first time in a long, long time. It's like some measure of joy has been restored in my life as a foundation and now little things make me happy, like they used to. Hard to explain, some of you may understand, but over the past two months or so, I've felt like some of my childlikeness (is that a word?) has been taken. Actually a lot of it was taken. Not in the sense that "oh yeah, I'm growing up and maturing and not acting like a little kid anymore" No, it was the good part of child in me. The trust, and simple joy, the forgetting.....the forgiving....of a little kid was gone. I felt abandoned...children don't get abandoned without it affecting them. It was hard for me to go through everyday with nothing but more fear and hurt to look forward to. All of this is to say that I see some hope now. I didn't ask to be happy, all I wanted was some joy and contentness again. So, yeah, I'm getting it. And it's bringing all that trust and rest and happiness with it. I knew God had a reason for everything it just took me some time to beleive what I was telling myself. He's cool, come through again....He's probably wondering if I'll ever figure out that He does that everytime......oh and thank you, by the way.

On a lighter note... I like Keane... i'd actually been listening to them before i knew it was them, so it was much to my shock and joy that the noise coming out of my stereo was music that I had already labeled as "good".

WOW, I had an interesting fight with the grill tonight. It won, and I'm never touching it again. Ok, first of all, you have to understand that I'm not very fond of fire or its counterparts....like to the point that when I was 7 and I heard talk of a fire in a ditch a mile from our house, I planted myself under my parents bed for 2 hours. Like to the point that I was 12 before I would stand actually outside of the house instead of inside to watch fireworks.... I don't like lighting candles,hot stoves or boyscouts with a campfire and bug spray.... anyways....
This is obviously a God-given fear, because it just kept my hair from getting burned off. So I was lighting the grill (you guys, that very statement strikes fear into my heart) and we just got a new one and no one bothered to tell me that it works differently. So where as on our old one, you turn ALL the knobs to open all the gas valves, on this new one you are only supposed to turn ONE of the six knobs on. As previously stated, no one told me. I turned them all on. I then went to push the ignitor, thought for a moment, decided to duck and move as far away from the grill as possible, because naturally I feared them. I then used a stick to press the ignitor and almost died as I watched in horror as a huge explosion take place right where my head was moments ago....... I will now go boil my hotdog instead..........
Bye you guys, and please remember to never stick me in charge of a cook-out.
*Moi

A winter weather forcast????

2005-02-27T21:17:00.000-05:00

Well, I have some history to finish up, but I thought I’d make a quick post since it’s been awhile. Jo likes lists but I like bullet points so I’ll use those to sum up my thoughts……

*God is cool
*No, like really, freaking cool
*Church tonight was good (Guess what! I'm Daddy's little girl)
*I'm now a member of Carrboro Community Church (actually it's recently been changed to Grace Community Church.....sorry guys...)
*This has opened a new chapter in my life that I'm ready to stop fighting God on and actually work with Him instead.
*I was horribly sick on Friday
*I felt better Saturday
*Jo better have gotten me a T-shirt
*I miss my Joanna Joy
*I watched Monk today with my family
*I ate my daddy's raisin bread french toast for breakfast
*I delicatly crafted paper boxes for 4 hours for my sister to put stuff in
*I wanted to go to Armadillo Grill tonight for dinner, like normal after church.
*Instead we went to Wendy's.
*I like mandrin (sp?) oranges.
*I need to convince my mom to let me go on the spring retreat.
*I'm going to go watch my daddy's Bluegrass Jam tomorrow night. I'll let you know how much fun that was....actually, I think it will be fun in case you think I'm being sarcastic.
*I took a picture of my dog, which is really cute, but I don't have time to upload it.
*Maybe tomorrow.
*I'm going to Sips with Heather Fuller on Wednesday for some chatting. It will be good.
*Please snow so I don’t have to finish my IRP.

G'night kids.
Catherine

PS. Bullet points are just an excuse to make a really long run-on sentence.

Leaves...

2005-02-23T16:45:00.000-05:00

This is a close up of the delicate chocolate leaves. No, I don't have issues, this is my new toy.....

2005-02-23T16:33:00.000-05:00

This is the cake I built last night. It is beautiful. Those are white chocolate leaves delicatly crafted par moi.
OK, must go to work now, Oh, so my sister normally babysits with me on thursday evenings at 7 at the Chapel Hill Bible Church but she's sick so I gotta find someone else.... Kim? Rach? anyone......?

2005-02-22T21:58:00.000-05:00

Ok

Kids, I did it. Yes I did it. It brings a tear to my eye, but my dream

is now a reality. I have posted my first picture, all by myself. Ok,

about this lovely picture. There is my mirror so painstakingly put up (

notice you can't see any holes though they are there) There is my

keyboard, which, may I add, I built the thing it rests upon. Kinda

rustic but it also kinda goes with the rest of the house (for those of

you who don't know, we have a log home) Hanging from my ceiling fan are

the cherries that my dear Rachel Armstrong gave to me to put in my car

which my mom will not allow, as she thinks they are a distraction (only

to some, mainly, other drives. Me? I can handle my cherries.) Hmm, you

can't tell in this pic, I thought you could, but my stereo is behind

me, facing the mirror and it is playing Lovedrug. (No, I have not

abused this into an obsession...uhhhh.... nevermind) Ok, I thought a

paragraph that long was appropriate for that milestone. However, moving

on......

Today, I built a cake. It is for one of my friends whose birthday is

tomorrow and I'd love to post a picture, but it is still cooling ( You

guys will eventually hate this, and in fact, stop reading my blog

because soon there will be a photographic history to every bit of my

life until the newness of this ability wears off. I'm like a little

kid, so easy to please)

See you kids later,

Catherine

Why can't I post a picture?

2005-02-21T21:38:00.000-05:00

http://www.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=20507045/PictureID=445492378/t_=11478228
http://www.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=20507045/PictureID=445492378/t_=11478228

I feel so incompetent. I tried, for an hour to post a picture on my blog. I have failed, the above was my last attempt, and it didn't work. I was so happy because I finished my room and I wanted to allow everyone to see my beautiful double panel mirror that was quite a trip trying to put up. So, to hang anything in drywall, you have to find the studs behind it to hammer the nails into. So I looked for the studs and hammered the nail in where I thought it was. I was wrong, so I moved over a couple cm and hammered the nail in again. I was wrong again. This process continued until I had a foot-long line of holes across my wall. So I eventually found the studs and hung the mirror but I still had these holes in my wall. So, I grabbed my sisters kneaded
erasure, filled in the holes and then painted over them. I'm ghetto, but I'm awesome and it worked and no one can tell. I just wish you guys could see it. O well, my blog may remain forever pictureless.

Oh,happy sigh and it's raining......

2005-02-20T22:42:00.000-05:00

So today was fairly boring and normal until I ran up to the store for my mom and ran into one of my co-workers. Ok, first of all, I'd like to establish that this kid is 25 years old, knows that I'm only a sophomore in high school and is just a wee bit too friendly. So first he asks me what I did on Valentine's Day (trying to figure out if I'm single?....)when he recieved the appropriate answer out of me, he then asks for my phone number... so I dance around the issue and I quess he sensed my hesitation because he then began to justify himself. And I quote..."I mean, I just wanna hang out sometime, like not a date or anything, I wouldn't sneak that in on you. I mean I don't wanna git which you or nothin', well, not yet anyways.......its just that you're so fly" uhhh....? Do I wear a sign around my neck that says " Hey! I'm nine years younger than you. Lets get together." No...I don't. You guys, I need help. This is a tad bit scary.
Anyways, so church was alright and then dinner afterwards, we went to Franklin St. and I discovered I had never been taught to parallel park.I tried, failed, drove around for another 10 min. and then parked in some Rosemary lot illegally, went and found my brother and he then schooled me on the basics.uhh,yeah.... still not sure i could do it.....
WOW...Catherine likes Lovedrug.... I know everyone likes Spiders but I'm really liking number 5 and 7. Wow, like really liking. And they have fairly simple piano parts which I could figure out if someone knew the guitar chords to either of those because i can't find them online or anything. Yeah, speaking of piano, I fiddled around on mine for like an hour or so yesterday and accidently "composed" something so last night I sat down to put words to my composision and got half way, couldn't think anymore so I drew a blue heart and some dots on my stomach and then finished the song.(No, I'm not ADD or ADHD). Yeah so that was my day pretty much. No school tomorrow but I must work on IRPs and stuff anyways....
Fell asleep to some beautiful music last night... I think I may do it again...
Catherine

So i almost hit my first biker today-10 points!

2005-02-19T16:28:00.000-05:00

Ok, sorry I haven’t been up-to-date but at least I’m not in danger of over-blogging. This past week has not been bad. School is always a drag but some measure of joy has been restored in my life. Situations are gradually smoothing themselves over and those people who aren’t, don’t matter.
Heather and Leslie’s last night was fun. (Sweetpea, you know I didn’t mean what I said and I still love you with a fiery passion) I think I really needed something like that after the past couple of weeks.
Today was fairly uneventful, it basically involved a little bit of house cleaning, more work on the driveway and trying to do something with my room. I went up to the PTA thrift shop in carrboro to see if I could find a bookshelf or a superman shirt. Know of anywhere I could find either of those? Anyways, I wound up bringing home a double panel framed mirror that about 3' by 5'. Hmmm, now how do I stick this on my wall? Excellent question but it looked awesome and it wasn't badly priced. It will work in my room, when I'm done with this "redoing" you kids will have to come over and see it.
ok, youth group tonight hopefully will be good, and I'll see most of you there.
-Moi
Oh, I forgot to tell you about my beer arm. Ok, this is the fact that my right arm muscle is noticably larger than my left due to the beer I lift out of carts constantly 2 days a week. Not a bad thing, but I'm afraid it might start looking a wee bit odd.

Oh, ok, does anyone want a cat? We've had one hanging out at our house for the past few days and we already have enough indoor animals and my mom doesn't want an outdoor cat in the interest of the birds, but it's kinda sad and it's hungry and it won't go away..... someone take it please!

Do I even have muscles there?

2005-02-16T00:44:00.000-05:00

Yeah, today was alright. and it wasn't. Jo wasn't at school so of course it was pointless to be at school...hmmm... except for that time i got distracted...now that was worth it... (that was all for you, babydoll) Came home right after school which was great and awesome and never happens because I'm always doing something after school. Anyways, I've had some weird motivations going on lately. Alot of them are good, like all the things that I used to be motivated in and haven't recently. Like school. Maybe this is connected to the word I got on the ski retreat and my pool is finally being unclogged. So, but it's not just schoolwork, it's other things like.... well.... The other day, I got this urge to do something constructive with my afternoons, but not just anything, some sort of physical labor. Yes, so I spent a good two hours or so this afternoon shoveling gravel to fill the potholes in our driveway. I had no idea I had these muscules in my back. I do now. Yes, I definitly know now. O well, I kinda enjoy that kind of thing(Jo can tell you, I once chopped,by hand, and stacked a tree that had fallen across our driveway.) it's really the sense of accomplishment, but it's more about paying my car insurance. And it's because my brother used to be the one to do these things and he's not here anymore and maybe I've always tried to prove to my dad that I am as useful as he. I am. And sore. More tomorrow.
I then completed my afternoon with a brisk drive to the park to exercise my dog which was a new and enlightening experience for both me and him. I'll think I'll do it again on Thursday.
I'm also re-doing my room. Not drastically, but just enough to make it a little more inviting. Spent a good deal of US History today drwing floorplans,I mean, who needs to know about Hitler anyways?
Finished my homework. I feel so accomplished. And sore. I'll tell you about my "beer arm" tomorrow. Right now, I must find that back massager.
'Night, Kids.
Catherine

Google is so useful.

2005-02-14T23:47:00.000-05:00

Just wondering, have you guys ever had one of those frustrating times when you realise you forgot to brush your hair before you got in the shower which means you will have to brush it afterwards, when it's wet, and therefore it just won't curl the way it normally does when you sleep? One of life's little tragidies if you ask me. I just might not wake up like this tomorrow.
I thought I'd give you uneducated kids a history on Valentines Day since that is what today is though many of us could care less. That, and after the last post, I have nothing else to write about. The following is not in my own words.

Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270.During the days that Valentine was imprisoned, he fell in love with the blind daughter of his jailer. His love for her, and his great faith, managed to miraculously heal her from her blindness before his death. Before he was taken to his death, he signed a farewell message to her, "From your Valentine." The phrase has been used on his day ever since.

Hmmm.... I guess then it would be more appropriate to send dead roses, since this actually the day he died. O well, there are so many things we mix up...

Some interesting Valentine's Traditions. Again, these are not in my own words.

***In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.

***If you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside, you will also know how many children you will have.

***Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry, As you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off. (I wonder how many people will actually do this...)

ahh, yes, all this talk has made me recall my most infamous pick-up line. "When I was little, my favorite crayon in the whole box was the blizzard blue one. Now, why am I thinking of this? Oh, yeah, your eyes, they're blizzard blue". Yes, I know it's sad but someone did actually say that to me at some point during my young years. It was one of those eyebrow raising moments.....I stayed smooth though.
Wow, my dad just told me that "he too was hot in high school before he stopped wearing sweaters in the summer".
Ya know, it's just been one of those nights.
And I paid my first bill.
Ok, now you're straight and enlightened. You are quite welcome.
Catherine
P.S. I like you because you don't sweat much for a fat girl and you're pretty fly for a white guy. :) <3

Sometimes you can't make it on your own.

2005-02-13T17:15:00.000-05:00

When you’re experiencing some sort of massive hurt many people turn to and are comforted by the unfathomable love of God. They truly visualize Him as that Father, with open arms that are so warm and they wrap around you like an electric blanket on a February school night when you don’t want to be anywhere else but in bed. He’s the comfort that comes at the time when you are between waking and sleeping in the most comfortable, relaxed, covered state. In His “love state” God is most comprehensible. We can compare Him to any and everything that has ever offered us comfort, peace, or affection because He is the author of everything of this sort. However, God has just shown me a different kind of comfort and that is from His justice.
God is just. I f he wasn’t there would be no need for Jesus to stand in the gap. In the words of one of my favorite hymns, Before the Throne of God Above, “Because the sinless Savoir died, my sinful soul is counted free, for God the Just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me.” There had to be a scapegoat, this is not an issue that could have been dropped. Someone had to take the blame. It makes things right…….right? The very nature of God is to right things. But we are so wrong. Thus the paradox of “a love of justice” vs. “an unjust love”. As I said before, God’s love is unfathomable. If it was fathomable we could just grab a handful, stick it in our pocket, and forget about it. It would make it within human conception and would therefore represent our own capacity to love the same way which would get us absolutely nowhere because what would then be the point of Jesus? Therefore, God’s love can’t be grasped, for a very good reason. But what’s the deal with love and justice? You can’t really combine them both, right? Wrong. And right. No, our capacity to love and our understanding of justice can’t be combined. However, God’s love and God’s justice can it’s perfectly represented in Jesus. God was just enough to create a scapegoat, but that same scapegoat was the one he created because He loved us so much.
I think too often we focus on the love of God as a comfort in horrible situations instead of His justice as a comfort in horrible situations. Don’t you think God sees that hurt? Of course you know that but what you picture is the sadness in His eyes and gentle compassion. True, true, no doubt. But do you see that other look? That one says “yeah, you’ve been wounded and it’s wrong and I see the wrong, I’ll make it right”. God will make it right! He doesn’t say “suck it up and move on”, He says “This is wrong, I’ll suck it up, and we’ll move on”. Ya know He’s protecting you? Not like “a circle of angels to keep you from falling out of a tree” but like “Hey! That is mine that you are messing with”. Sure the tables can be turned if you’re in the wrong, then He’ll be just with you. But that’s not what I’m addressing. I’m talking about His “love justice”. This is compassion at its height. Yeah, you want to be more compassionate? Start by not only showing love but some justice too. You know how it is, when you are wrongly accused and punished but your mom says “yeah, I know you were wronged and it hurts”. In some sense, being punished no longer matters because it didn’t take away knowing right. I feel like I need about 60 disclaimers about being angry and whining about how life isn’t fair, but that’s not the kind of justice I’m talking about. That’s human justice and labeled and discounted as such because we can’t see the big picture.
So, you know when something happens and you lie awake at night because it haunts you and you try to draw comfort from phrases like “it’s God’s will” or “God’s teaching me something”. So be it, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t gather you up and look upon your adversaries with a just (but no less loving) eye. Even Jesus was angered, outwardly showed it, about wrongdoings. God is not always passive in his compassion. It doesn’t always involve comfort from just being rocked in grace on a rainy afternoon. It involves a fire of righteous anger. God is angry. He has displayed it. Are you not angered out of love when you see your kid brother getting picked on? Kids, it is the same thing! Someone is picking on Daddy’s little girl (or guy) and it makes Him mad! Yeah, it does. God can be mad for you. But even as He’s seething, He still becomes that quiet corner in a dark room where His hand catches all of your tears. So rock with Him. Listen to his heart beat with pride for you, His, who did the right thing. Yeah, He has time to hold you right now but later on…… He has some unfinished business to take care of.

OK, wow, I wrote that last night and some of it I don’t even remember putting down on paper. Anyways, it’s for me but I think it’s not just for me.
Catherine

So you wanna be a blogstar?

2005-02-12T20:14:00.000-05:00

Ok, I really don't feel like writing, actually the only thing I feel like doing is sleeping. Not going to youth group tonight because after working today and this crazy past week, I really need to stay home and just do nothing. Ahh, I have a papercut...., thanks Jo......
Party last night was cool, its always good to spend an evening with the people I love.

Wow, yeah, this past week was probably the most draining,both physically and emotionally, (but not spiritually)that I've had in a long time... maybe ever....actually yeah.....ever.Actually, yeah, I think Fuller said it best in his post "interesting to say the least".
So, if anyone has an opening in their prayer time, I'm really needing some guidence, joy, clarity, and contentness. Hmmm, I think i'm having trouble trusting too. I'm most certainly learning my lessons but I need to start trusting that they're all worth learning, or at least in the way I'm learning them.
Listening to the new U2 Cd right now, but there's really only a few songs that i'm liking.
OK, anyways kids, gonna go do something I guess..... nap.....mmmmm....

It's been awhile, but I'm back....

2005-02-07T21:16:00.000-05:00

So today was not the greatest. Had an AP biology test and then went home early cause I wasn't feeling at all like I could make it through the rest of the day. I did get all my homework done and managed to fix dinner so I do feel kinda accomplished.
I haven't posted in a couple days but I did want to comment on saturday night. One of the most refreshing nights I've had in awhile at youth group. It was pretty cool, God spoke to me twice in two different ways He never has before. One of the times was when we did that sit-down-and-write thing. I thought I'd go ahead and throw it out there partly because I'm not sure what to make of it and partly because I do, if that makes any sense. It does start out kind of depressing, and I apoligize, but it was like I was having a conversation with Him, right there on the paper totally not from my mind. After awhile, it became pretty apparent that one part was God talking and one part was me answering. I think you'll be able to figure out which voice is His and which is mine. Ok, enough intro. Here it is:

-So this is a love song to no one, for no one to hear. Because no one can taste this like you do.
So this is how you always find me.
-No this is how you make me.
-No, this is where you meet me.
-No, this is how you make me feel.
-So this is the street where you’re broken.
-Yep, this is the place I weep.
-It’s kinda dark.
-Yeah, the light’s not very deep.
-What’s that streetlamp?
-I only know what the broken window is for.
-Is it warm inside?
-It was, but it leaked out.
-What’s replacing it?
-Cold.
-Are you cold, child?
-Yeah, maybe a little.
-Hmmm?
-Well, maybe a lot. Actually, I am cold.
-Where’s your coat?
-I thought you took it. Wait, it was here. Have I lost it?
-No. It’s there.
-Where?
-Right here. Here.
-Wait and keep talking.
-Why?
-It’s getting warmer.
-It is only the streetlamp. It won’t last.
-No. It’s already faded.
-Then why are you chained to it’s post?
-I don’t know.
-Are you cold, child?
-Hmmm?
-Are you cold?
-Yes.
-Can you sleep in the dark?
-That’s the only way I know how to sleep.
-Would you like another cover?
-No, this one’s safe.
-Why is there blood on your shirt?
-It’s not mine. Why is there blood on your hands?
-It’s not mine.
-Is it mine?
-Yes.
-I’m cold.
-I know.
-This cover is too dry.
-Would you like another cover?
-No, this one’s still safe.
-The lamp has been relit.
-It was always lit. I just missed it for a second.
-You were cold.
-My lamp went out.
-No, it was lit.
-No, it was burning under something.
-I know.
-It wants to rain.
-Why do you like rain? Why do you like blue?
-They are your blessings for me.
-Are they?
-I know you exist.
-I know.
-Rain and blue are your calling card.
-I left them on your doorstep.
-I found them when I opened the door.
-I left them on the back.
-I was not expecting that. I always go to the front.
-I know.
-The front has a brick staircase. It’s cold.
-Like you.
-The back is warmer. It is enclosed and it is lighted.
-It is not like the streetlamp.
-It’s purer.
-Are you cold?
-Yes.
-Would you like another cover?
-No.
-Do you like that one?
-You gave it to me.
-No.
-What?
-No.

yeah, so there it is. I'd be curious to see what you guys think.
oh, just a side note.... ALOT of prayer in the next 24 hours about whether or not I'm supposed to go on the Netherlands trip would be more than appreciated.
Catherine

Wha....????

2005-02-05T03:43:00.000-05:00

Holy cow!.... type in blogger.blogspot.com ahhh, some kind of weird cult....

Anyways, moving on......
Today I painted a table blue... and it is the shiznit! I guess it should be since it took us 45 minutes of mixing paint for a certain picky,picky someone to become happy with the final shade of blue..... and now her perfect shade is all over her pants.....probably not coming out, sweet pea......

Had to beg off work for next Friday and there was no saving face.... I'd like to say thanks to my brother who agreed to take my "shift" for me...... it was a hot guy last time who took my spot and this time its my brother but, it is all good......

So i watched Napoleon Dynamite again this afternoon. Its always better the second time through but it was sad and different not watching it with all the cool people that were on the bus the first time I saw it. Yeah, I was like the only one laughing and I looked around and felt kind of stupid.... o well, it was worth it.

Saw a play tonight, "Into the Woods" with my friend Nikki. It was excellent, really worth seeing, though I think I'm always up to seeing a play because I love theater. Very twisted but amusing and possibly a little "risqué". General consensus .... I loved it....

Wait, what!!??? Hannah Dell is already pregnant? uhhhhhh...... wow, exciting and beautiful and shocking and beautiful.......
I'm going to bed because I must awake at some ungodly hour to drive to Raleigh for our last piano rehearsal before the thing on Sunday... ahhh only one more day! wish me luck guys.... uhhh, yeah.... a 12 hand, 3 piano duet will take alot of prayers...:)
See you on the flip side, which to some of you means I'll see you tomorrow night, and to others....it means something else....0:)
~Catherine

An uneventful but draining day.......

2005-02-04T00:54:00.000-05:00

I'd like to start by saying thank you to Michael Fuller for being kind enough to post some awesome yet slightly skewed pics of some cool people. To anyone that is wondering, in the profile pic, the one in the back is me, the one in the foreground is Jo..... just a heads up.....

Ok, so today was wet, but its all good, I like rain, I just don't like cold. But, I dealt with it in the run between the car and the school building....Fell asleep in biology until Ms. B. yelled "Joanna" across the room. Nah, I was paying attention actually.... Had piano lessons after school. It went ok, but my competition thing on this Sunday is freaking me out cause I don't know if I'm ready... oh well, prayers would be good but I'll let you guys know how it turns out.
Tonight was my sister's b-day so we did the usual steak and presents and cake and stuff. I gave her Napoleon Dynamite just so I'd have an excuse to watch it whenever my heart desires. Got an AP Biology test tomorrow so I need to finish my next thirty pages of reading.
Talk to you kids later......

Pictures of totally awesome people

2005-02-03T14:07:00.000-05:00

So here are some pictures of my beautiful Jo and me... and of course the coolest person in the world, Michael! These were from some random night about 2 months ago and we went picture crazy(there are lots more). And a picture of Michael after I put all kinds of stuff all over his head....Aren't we all so HOT HOT HOT?????? yes... we are

Master of all keys!

2005-02-02T23:18:00.000-05:00

Basketball practice was excellent by far, got some energy out and my good,good friend Zadee and I beasted our other teammates during scrimage with our sweet new play. There is actually no brain work invovled but with skillz like ours, brain work is rarely needed, the awesomeness just happens.
Ok, I just made a run back up to school, praying that the cleaning lady was still there and could provide access my locker. I have history and math due tomorrow that I knew I couldn’t pull off in a lunchtime, and I had left both books at school. I got there and all except one door was locked and all the lights were off. This one door is right next to my locker and it was incredibly frustrating to practically see my books but not have access to then. Oh, but wait, the door was open! SWEET!!! Homework tonight….. I made a quick run through the school to see who was still there at 7:30 at night and there was no one in that building. It was creepy but a blessing at the same time…. Just goes to show, God has the Master Key to EVERY door in this world!
FYI, today I'm feeling like a real comformer. I have comformed to those with blogs and have created my own, I was also introduced to Mutemath today (thank you Jo,darling) and am totally hooked. Oh, also got hooked on The Urban Sophisticates, but cannot get hold of a copy for myself and I've been instructed not to burn it. Someone please help me.......

*DING* I cleaned my room! My room is clean!

I'm falling off my chair.....

2005-02-02T14:43:00.000-05:00

I'm identifying fungi right now. Well, I'm supposed to be.... Yes, I'm in Biology currently and have only 15 minutes left before freedom....ahhh...sweet freedom. Anyways, then it's off to basketball practice and on home. As previously mentioned, I don't have time nowto post anything profound, but I will update everyone when I find the time. By the way, today was day three of mine and Joanna's "walking club".....20 minutes to eat lunch and then 20 minutes to walk.... not bad for a 45 minutes....

There are firsts for everything....

2005-02-01T14:22:00.000-05:00

Ok, at the force and prodding of my dear friend and spooning buddy, Jo, (http://itooamuntranslatable.blogspot.com) I have created a blog so I can post on hers and am also now creating my first post. Yeah, I'm actually in art class, *wink,wink* right now but my motivation kinda fell through the cracks. I will talk to you kids later because i should go do something........