I'm sorry I haven't posted since school has started. I'm sure you guys have all been on the edge of y'alls seats! : ) I guess I should give some kind of update.

School's okay. I must admit, the start of this one was better than last year's. I actually have a class with Taylor (first period History), so that's an upgrade, and a first! It's quite exciting. Eh, I'll just give a synopsis of each of my classes so far.

US History AP/Dual with Mrs. Hoover - I actually know a good handful of people in this class, so that's good. Especially Taylor and Amalie. I enjoy that a lot. And my teacher is really interesting. Andrew had her last year - when I told her that me and him were related and asked if she remembered him, she noted that he is hard to forget (with the hair and the quiet, apparently)! And that she is certain that I will probably talk more than him seeing as how it is impossible to talk less than him. She is very nice, and slightly sarcastic sometimes, which is always a plus. There is, however, a pretty heavy workload. Lots of reading. Urrrgh.

French II with Madame Wahdempfuhl - Ha, all I've learned so far is how to do "Eenie Meenie Miney Moe" in French. Well, obviously there can't be a direct translation, but France has a bunch of rhythmic nonsensical words to that tune, so...yea. It's called Am Stram Gram. hahaa. Fun to say. And we ate croissants today. !!!!! We were allowed to have as many as we want. I just got two. But I put this delicious peach spread on it...ahh. Heaven. So, I think I'll like this class. Oh, and we've listened to quite a bit of french disney songs (today was the Little Mermaid) and we watched some french music videos today, which is always entertaining. I can see this being quite a bit like last year's French class...fun, but not very productive. Which I don't mind. I mean, as much as I would LOVE to learn the French language, all my other classes are going pretty hard right now. So this one makes for a great blow-off class.

Chemistry II AP with Mrs. Boulanger - Err. Don't get me started on this teacher. This is the one I had last year for Chemistry I. and I basically swore that if I got her for Chemistry II that I'd drop out. Yet here I am. She definitely was NOT supposed to be the Chemistry II teacher! The old one, however, got moved up to central office, and so Mrs. B got promoted. Sigh. This class is pretty easy so far, just quite a bit of work. Jessie Cooke is in this class! That's neat.

Lunch - Is a nervous breakdown for me every day. They changed it to 3 lunches instead of 4 lunches. Which means there are now 1000 kids in my lunch. And I still don't really know any of them. But I found Nikki, thankfully. But still. Finding places to sit is like a heart attack. I hate the high school first-day-of-school lunch experience...and that's what every day feels like.

English III AP with Mrs. Cogburn - This is the one Andrew had last year, and he raved about her all year. I can definitely see what he means now! She is AMAZING. She's funny, really smart, and really knows how to make everything interesting. This is the longest class, thankfully. I have a few friends in here. I think it's going to be obviously quite a bit tougher from last year...but I think I'll be able to do fine.

Precalculus with Mrs. Clifton - This one's a good teacher. However, there are literally 40 people in my class right now. They are going to move quite a bit of people out soon, but still. It's ridiculous. So far the stuff is simple. It's mainly review. P.s...I sit right next to the boy that I had a crush on all through Junior High ;) I've NEVER had a class with him, much less talk to him! Eeeeeee. hahahaa. Obviously, I'm over it, so this doesn't hold nearly as much weight, but it's still squeal-worthy to me. Just for kicks.

Computer Science with Mr. Gray - First off, my first guy teacher since 5th grade. But this guy is seriously like a genious. He worked in NASA alongside astronauts that went up in space and stuff. He's worked with every kind of computer ever (he's pretty old, haha)! He moves a little fast...but I'm actually picking up on the concepts quickly. I've "programmed' three things so far! Today we made a Fuzzy. hahhahaa. I actually think this one is going to end up being one of my faves because Bree and Madi are in it and so it's really fun. A good end to the day.


So there you go. The much-anticipated re-cap.


As for tonight...I don't really want to talk about it. Basically, it was a pretty bad night. I am left completely worn out and possessing 6 dollars less than I did before for nothing. And left embarassed and degraded. Sigh. But I am going to sleep.....Sleep.....where I can dream it all away.

Well, seeing as how school is tomorrow and I have one more blog of the summer, I'm sure that this will be just a simple spill of thoughts.

But first - KidzCamp. Was amazing. Like the rest of the camps were, haha. What was most amazing was being able to spend a lot of time with the band and realizing how close we had gotten. We had this one night especially- the night before our last performance as the "original" (me, Taylor, Nathan, Jon, and Zach). We sat outside in the rocking chairs and talked long into the night...it was a slightly forced heart-to-heart, thanks to me, but everyone was pretty darn sure they were happy that I did so. It was so neat being able to remember how each of us were called and what we thought about each other at the beginning of the year (the funniest first impressions were on Nathan's part, of course, haha. and they lasted for like half the year, to be honest) and just remembering all the things we had gone through together and all the experiences we were able to experience. It was just beautiful. And then the last time we ever performed together - We played I Am Free, of course! I say of course because it was the first song we ever did together as well. Poetic, eh? It was so weird because right as I stepped on the stage I started tearing up. And so did Taylor and Zach. We were basically holding back tears the whole song, until the end when almost all of us broke down. It wasn't depressing, it was mostly funny because Nathan was going about his usual business of making us feel happier in the Nathan-way, and Jon was just being the solid one he is. We had lots of band-hugs. There was a collective "siiiiigh" that came from the group - maybe not in the audible sense, but in an emotional and mental way. I couldn't have thought of a better way to end the year, though. The kids were completely in awe of the fact that they actually got a LIVE BAND! It was so cool - they loved us! :) And we loved them. They were even better than Jr. Highers (Because of course, HS are the worst. I've always said that I like jr highers better than high schoolers. Way more fun. but the fun-factor of the kids was just impeccable)! There was a fun dance party the last night for the 5th graders...lots of free snack food for us ;), lots of Jesus, and lots of gross Rec games. I loved every minute of it. And it was such a blessing to have sweet Ryan along to share it all with us. And then- the last day, Randy and Jen took us put put golfing and to get ice cream! That was way fun. I got a hole-in-one! :) That no one saw, of course, haha. But, alas. Just a great weekend.

Notice I put "volleyball" in the title...this is simply because volleyball is amazing and is, all spiritual aspects aside, quite possibly my favorite part of summer! KOTB, Beach in the Box...AMAZING. I had so much fun. BITB is like my favorite event of the summer. And THEN there was Throwdown! Which was also amazing- and a great idea on the office's part. The after-party idea was awesome and the food idea, of course, was genius ;)


I guess this is my last chance to reiterate all the accolades I've given to this summer. It exceeded a thousand times past my expectations, and I learned way more than I thought I'd learn. Everything was perfect. and Beautiful. I could not have thought of a better summer than this. God is amazing. People are amazing. My family is amazing. Speaking of, we just had an almost hour-long prayer time that was just incredible. Half of us ended up in tears ;) (wooop! Always has to happen), and every word of it was sincere, and it just brought us all together a little more. I feel more prepared for the year now. I am so blessed with an amazing siblings and the best parents in the world.


Year of the Family, indeed.
and Year of the Church, as Jeremy noted this morning.

And, as my dad said...Year of Our God.


On Christ the Solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

Alright, I didn't really have time yesterday to post, so...

HS Camp - Copper Mountain, CO
Okay. I don't even know where to BEGIN. How about the 24 hour bus ride. It's a scary concept, I know...but I was amongst some pretty cool people and had a "sleeping pill" in hand, so I was okay. I won't go into too many details about any of this camp experience, by the way (since I know that my parents are probably worried just imagining the possible longevity of this one). Mostly because I won't be able to remember all of them. Anyways...I guess I should start out with my team- GOLDEN CORRAL! I liked my team a lot. For the most part. When I say that, it's not because of the people at all....but the team times could have been better in my opinion. There was this one night that made me feel really uncomfortable. I won't go into it too much, but basically it seemed there were some slight misconceptions about worship and I ended up feeling like I need to worship I certain way outwardly. Athletically, we were pretty good, but we never made the top 6. That's how my teams always are, ha. Good, but not GREAT. But anyways. What I really want to talk about is two other things: What I learned and Copper Mountain. I'll start with what I learned. Well, going into camp I kind of had this idea that I was going to learn a certain thing. I had gone into it with many fears (surprise, surprise) about a certain number of things and my life was getting pretty unorganized and too "comfort-zoney" because of it. In the metaphorical "room" of my mind, there were a bunch of things on the walls, clothes everywhere...I couldn't even SLEEP in it (and I'm actually being literal as well as metaphorical, haha. My room was a complete disaster at this point). To continue the room analogy, a day before camp I tore down everything from my actual walls. It was really refreshing. Anyways, at camp one night I talked with Allison for a long time...and then I came to this realization. However refreshed I may feel coming away from camp...I'm still going home to a messy room. Because of course, just because I took everything down from my walls doesn't mean the floor wasn't still messy, if not messier because the things that were formerly on my walls were then on the floor or on my bed or couch. That's definitely a danger of camp- going away feeling completely renewed, but then going home to what you had left behind and probably forgot about as you went to camp. It doesn't clean itself up. I guess just to parallel specific to me, there had definitely been a lot of a "renewed" feeling and a lot of realizations, as there always are....but whenever I got home, the same thoughts that had attacked me then will continue to attack me when I returned. They won't just go away. Anyways...I definitely did NOT learn what I expected to learn. At least not in the way I thought I would. Oddly enough, I learned about worship. I didn't really realize it at the time, but whenever I was telling my mom and dad about camp, I realized that "worship" would be the most general term to describe it. See...my problem wasn't that I had all these fears and internal problems or whatever...it's that I was focusing on myself in the first place. I was just completely looking at me and thinking about how "messed up" I was in my mind and just feeling sorry for myself and feeling like I failed again and again and again. That's not only selfish but in the exact opposite place mentally God intended us to be. I remember just sitting there one of the nights whenever Andrew was leading worship. I remember being still. And knowing that He is God. Like it says in that one verse. It was like...all the sudden I realized that I hadn't taken any time to just focus on God, much less place Him in a higher place than me. THAT'S what worship is, I thought. I mean, I had certainly heard it. But I had never really known it. Worship isn't about raising your hands or kneeling or clapping or even singing. Those things could come if you feel led, but they aren't necessary. And Mr. Stuart talked about this all today in the creative arts conference meeting. I don't know. It was just amazing to me because I, in that moment and during that night, was able to worship in the truest way I ever had. I was able to unknowingly have a mental peace I hadn't known for months. I just don't even know how to describe everything that I learned and the depth of it...but God just revealed Himself to me in ways He never had before. And in the simplest way.
    Second- Copper Mountain! I don't have room or time to describe everything that happened, but I got the see my first VERY TOP of a mountain ever. It was a journey I was able to experience with close friends, and it was amazing. It was one of the best feelings ever. Gosh, I wish I could just type on and on and on and on about HS camp. About how poetic and perfect it was to be around mountains. As I was going up to the top I kept thinking about so many analogies that were completely precise and obvious. It was like a painting. It was beautiful. And it all spoke to me in ways I can't even describe. Definitely the best camp I've been to yet.

JH Camp - Victory Camp!
Man, to write about high school and jr high camp in the same post! I'll try. Too much.
Well, this one, in a word, was amazing. Just to be able to relax a little more than I was able to at High school camp and to be station leaders for the Amazing Race and for the Burrito relay, and then, my favorite, REC STAFF! Boundary Ball, baby. The love I felt from the teams (you can say all you want, but I know in my heart it was real), the extra free time the band got to experience because of a lovely thing called "team time", the food, the late nights...being a leader for the first time! I loved all of it. And leading worship was awesome. I felt like we took it to a new level. And just grew closer and closer and closer. The first night there were some troubles in the worship set...but I felt like the rest of the nights were a lot better. It was all just so fun, though! Having the junior highers more excited than they've ever been, Trey Thames, waterslides...the hardest movie trivia game I've ever played, the stuffed buffalo, setting and resetting a stage for the 30000 time during summer...aaaaahh. Nathan and his hilarious woodshop anecdotes (Nubs and Tubs!), running with daddy, the rocking chairs!!! I really want to go back. Siigh. God made our band stronger than before (though there were a few conflicts during and after...we came out in the end twice the band we were) and worked in the jr highers, from what I could see. Trey Thames did a really good job at teaching. It was just all-around a tight experience.

More on KidzCamp tomorrow. I'm going to bed.

Alright, I'll start the summer reminiscing with the first big event - MY SIXTEENTH!!! This was definitely a great start to a great summer. I got to be with family in San Antonio (minus Shannon and Andrew) and wake up to a "petit-dejeuner de francais" (french breakfast), open gifts, and eat mexican food and cereal! It was PERFECT. So much more than I expected.

THEN, on my actual birthday (June 20:), which was a Wednesday, me and the fam were going to go to Pappasitos to have a mini-celebration thingie. So, I walk in, to the back, and all the sudden I see this long table, and I see Andrew at the front of it with his head in his hands, looking up at me. I am very confused, when all the sudden I hear, "SURPRIIISE!" after like 5 seconds. I scream, I'm assuming, after another 2 or 3 seconds when I finally realize that my parents put on a little surprise birthday party pour MOI! At PAPPASITOS! woop woop :) So I decide to sit in the middle and start munching on queso and chips, of course. Anyways, yada yada...I got some really really really thoughtful gifts from people. Seriously, the best gifts I've ever received. And the best birthday ever. It was simply amazing.

THEN, I got to go play music with friends and play beach volleyball at beach in the box! It was glorious. Me, Taylor, Jessie, Andrew, Kyle, and Brad were the last 6 people there, and we played boys vs girls. The boys won, for whatever reason (humph!), but the girls were completely putting it all out there! We fought hard. We ended up in the sand most of the time, and it took us like a minute to get up, hahaa. Anyways, so after that, there were some funny things said and we all got a good laugh, but then...sigh. Okay, so I got brownies from a friend, and I was a doofus and left them on the ground (they had seran wrap on top....but still. Not my brightest moment) by my stuff. So I went to go pick them up and go to Andrew's car. It's like, 11:30, and really dark. And so we are in the car. All the sudden, my legs start itching. Like, really itching. And so I turn on the light, and one of my biggest fears are realized. I HAVE ANTS ALL OVER MY LEGS AND FEET. And so of course, I scream, jump out of the car, and spend about 5 minutes screaming and slapping myself everywhere, as anyone would have done had they been in my position. Andrew yells at me because there are ants in his car, and then realize that the source is the brownies, and so he throws them out of the car. hahaaa. Anyways, so my legs are like twice their normal size in some places. Sigh. All I have to say is, one of the substances critical to my survival in the next week was definitely stick liquid anti-itch Benadryl.  I counted, and I had about 20 ant bites all together. Urrrgh.

AND THEN!!
Like a week in a half later, I got to have another little shin-dig at Johnny and Sheila's house! It's really cute. It's the first time i've seen it since they moved. It was really nice seeing them and being with them because I hadn't seen them since Christmas :/ They are two of the most generous people I know. The whole thing was very relaxing and fun. The perfect way to bring a close to all the festivities.

So, all in all, it was a great sixteenth birthday. More than I had ever dreamed it would be!

Stay tuned for a HS AYCE post tomorrow.

Yesterday I looked through my prayer/thoughts journal for the summer...and I must say, God has completely blessed me this summer. It was really neat to see everything He's done and the prayers He's answered and how faithful He's been. That in of itself is awesome. Plus, just being reminded of all that I've had the privilege of doing and all the people I've had the honor of being with...has completely made this summer without doubt the best summer ever. I'll post more on it in detail as the end of this week approaches, but I just wanted to post a general post about how awesome these past three months have been.


P.S. - I added the "Quote" SnapOn! I didn't initially because I didn't have many quotes, but one of the gifts I got from a friend for my birthday was a pretty journal with the Eiffel tower on the front that for some reason I felt needed to be a quotes journal, so for two months I've gathered 60+ quotes from movies, books, songs, people, etc. that I've been writing down, and that I just today typed up to the quotes section of Bloo. And there's many more pages to fill!

Well, I was asked by Andrew to post on this because I had informed him that I had listened to Jeff Buckley's Grace album all the way through for the first time the other day, and I wrote down my responses on paper. I have been hesitant to post because I can only think of two people who would care, much less know what I'm talking about, but whatever...

I must say, I was in a trance while listening to this the whole time. I did nothing but either sit there, look at the lyrics to each song as I listened (I'm visual, haaa), or write my first impression of each song. Also, I'm not exactly sure how much this makes sense to even me. But we'll see. And it's very short and to the point (probably for the best).

So, without further ado- exactly as written...

Jeff Buckley - Grace Album
First listen!

"Mojo Pin" - haunting, sad, tragic...poetic
"Grace" - more haunting, beautiful melody - happy and sad. AMAZING voice.
"Last Goodbye" - bittersweet, lyrical, grander
"Lilac Wine" - drunk, melodic, rhythmic - ballad-esque
"So Real" - like he's being pulled in but doesn't fully want to; minor - tortured
"Hallelujah" - 'nuff said. (I already am in love with this song and didn't need to remind myself of my opinion)
"Lover, You Should Have Come Over" - tortured b/c he wants her back; desire...pretty and soulful
"Corpus Christi Carol" -pretty - poetic
"Eternal Life" - more rock-ish, angrier
"Dream Brother" - pleaful - angry. sad

Alright. A music list. A real one. Right now.

Some of My Favorite Albums Ever (Notice, not my Favorite Artists ever. the two lists would be slightly if not greatly different. This list holds artists with an interesting distinction because I usually don't listen to full albums, just random songs. So these are the ones that I listen to straight through, usually know all the words to, and have obsessed over at one point or another)...in alphabetical order!

-Ben Folds - Ben Folds Live: West Australian Symphony Orchestra
Ben Folds is pretty much my new obsession. And has been all summer. This one is just genius. The combination of his mad piano skills and WASO's orchestral prowess is just amazing. I like all of them, but some of my favorite songs on this one include "Zak and Sara", "Annie Waits", "Not the Same", "Narcolepsy", and "The Luckiest".

-Caedmon's Call - 40 Acres (And I know someone's going to want to say that their self-titled album is better...I'll just say that it very well may be but this is the only one of their albums that I've ever listened to in it's entirety, and was the first CC album I ever listened to, so naturally I fell in love with it easier.)
Caedmon's Call is just all-around amazing. The lyrics, the musical arrangements, the vocals...I just love them. Some of my faves on this one are "Shifting Sand", "Faith My Eyes", "Table for Two", "Petrified Heart", and "Daring Daylight Escape".

-Chris Thile - Not All Who Wander are Lost and Deceiver
I picked two of his because they are both so different. NAWWL is strictly instrumental while Deceiver is mostly lyrical. Every single song in NAWWL is beautifully crafted and shows his talent along with the talent of some of his favorite musical partners. Deceiver has more of an edge to it in my opinion. Some of my favorite ones on this one include "The Wrong Idea" (okay, this is a MUST listen-to. Seriously. Right now.) and "I'm Nowhere and You're Everything", along with, of course, "The Believer". Chris Thile is one of my favorite musical geniuses, no doubt (he's of Nickel Creek, by the way!).

-DC Talk - Jesus Freak
Okay, what DC Talk lover, whether former or as of the present, can't say that this one is one of their favorites? It's just classic. It was the peak of their career, and revolutionized Christian music in some ways, if you ask me. With the ever-famous "Jesus Freak", the vulnerable "What if I Stumble" and the musically and vocally amazing "Day By Day" (and yes I know they didn't write this one) with "Minds Eye" and "In the Light"...you just can't go wrong! I will forever love DC Talk and this CD.

-Derek Webb - The House Show
If you love Caedmon's Call, you'll love this one. I got this a couple months ago, not even knowing that it existed until then, and was NOT disappointed. It's an acoustic show, where Derek Webb plays some CC - "Faith My Eyes" and "This World" - and even a Bob Dylan cover ("Every Grain of Sand"), along with his stuff, obviously. One of my favorite songs of his ("Lover") is done beautifully on here. Another one of my faves that I  hadn't heard until this CD was "Dance".

-Eisley - Room Noises
Ah, yes. Whimsical. Every song on this one is beautiful. I haven't heard their new CD yet unfortunately, but I don't know if I'll be able to love it as much as this one. There's just something about the first one you fall in love with...a deeper connection. But, I won't know until until I hear the new one. Anyways, some of my favorites are "Memories", "Golly Sandra", "Lost at Sea", "Plenty of Paper", "Brightly Wound", and, OF COURSE, "Trolleywood". And yes- I realize I just named over half the album :) But, it's just that good! And sooo addicting, might I add. Any of these songs get put in your head all too easily, whether you like them or not.

-The Format - Interventions and Lullabies
For some reason I listened to this CD when I was like in 8th grade or something, and listened to it over and over and over again without even thinking about it and memorized the words without even realizing it. It was then when I noticed how much I loved it! My love of the Format pretty much only goes as far as this CD, - I haven't listened to any of their new stuff - but for some reason I just really really like this one. There's the classic, happy "The First Single", and then toe-tapping "Wait Wait Wait" and slightly bitter "Tie the Rope", with acoustic "On Your Porch", along with other faves such as "Sore Thumb", "Let's Make this Moment a Crime" and "A Save Situation". This is another where I can't say that I don't dislike any of the songs. It has me hooked when I listen to it and usually gets stuck in my head from time to time. Love it.

-Gavin Degraw - Chariot: Stripped
Okay, don't judge me. I've never heard the Chariot un-stripped album...but this one is pretty much just him and the piano and a little percussion...and it's sooo good! He's so good at piano, and for some reason, though his voice is a little obnoxious, there's something about it that I love. I can't say that I like all the songs on the album, but my favorites include "Anyway, (Nice to Meet You)", "Crush", "I Don't Wanna Be" (DUH!), and "Meaning".

-Glen Phillips - Winter Pays for Summer
Mkay, GP is just plan tight. I found out about him because of his affiliation with Nickel Creek- they've collaborated a lot. Though their only named collaboration was their one CD - they call themselves the Mutual Admiration Society - I've heard a lot of their live stuff off of the internet and such, and it's good. I mostly love GP's live stuff, but I don't have a live CD of his, so this one is the one I'm going to feature. I love pretty much all the songs on there, but the ones I'll mention will be "Thankful", "Finally Fading", "True", "Simple", and "Easier". One of the appeals of this guy that I've noticed is that he has like a wife and kids and stuff. I'm sure that a lot of people that I listen to are the same (though this is one of the only ones I'm aware of for whatever reason), but then again there are a lot that aren't. It's just nice knowing that the songs he writes aren't about some one-night stand he had or about the torture of unrequited love (not like the hardcore ones - I'm talking about the shallow, impulsive ones with lyrics almost comparable to James Blunt's "You're Beautiful"), but that they are about true love experienced between life partners. It kind of carries more weight in my opinion.

-Imogen Heap - Speak For Yourself
This is the CD that I'm pretty sure got her famous, with the amazing "Hide and Seek". In any case, I love this girl and the music she makes. She's so innovative in some of the stuff she does, if you ask me, and she does almost all of it by herself, like in her house and stuff. It's pretty cool. Some of my favorite songs off this one besides "Hide and Seek" are "Goodnight and Go", "Daylight Robbery", and "The Walk".

-Jennifer Knapp - Kansas
Oh my goodness. I will never get over this CD. Or Jennifer Knapp. She has the deepest lyrics of any Christian woman songwriter that I've ever heard, and one of the best voices too. Every song on this one carries a lot of lyrical value, though they sound simple. I'm tempted to just talk about each of the songs, but I'll stick to "Prelude (Faithful to Me)" which is short, but a great opener; classic and timeless "Undo Me" that has the best bass part I've ever heard - so fun to play!; "Trinity", which speaks so much truth straight from the Bible; "His Grace is Sufficient", which pretty much convicts me every time I listen to it; "Martyrs and Thieves"; fun "Romans"; "Refine Me" - one of the best quiet prayer songs to God I've heard; and of course, "Hold Me Now". Love every minute of this CD.

-Moulin Rouge Soundtrack
Okay...I fell in love with it before I even saw the movie. And before I knew that it was stinking Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman!! Who would have known that their voices would, first off, be so beautiful in the first place, much less blended amazingly when they sang together? I sure never would have known. In any case, some of my favorites from this one are, of course ;), "Lady Marmalade", along with "Come What May", "One Day I'll Fly Away", and "Your Song". THE favorite HAS to be "Elephant Love Medley". One of the most entertaining, fun-to-sing duets I've heard. Love it all!

-Nickel Creek - This Side (though I'd willingly post about all three!)
I've heard a lot of people argue that Why Should the Fire Die? is Nickel Creek's best album - which I respect them for the same, because I love all of them almost equally -, but This Side was my first love...I just can't argue against this one being my favorite. It's an easy choose that way. I still remember the very first Nickel Creek song I ever heard - the opener to This Side, "Smoothie Song", which is still my favorite instrumentals of all time. I owe all of my utmost thanks to my cousin Hannah. She had talked about this amazing band she saw at ACL over the weekend, and plopped in the CD as we were hanging out on the dock at the lake house in Dallas one Thanksgiving. I remember waiting a long time during the song, waiting for it to turn into a song. It took me a while to figure out that the first one was instrumental and that the first two songs are different ones. In any case...the rest of the story wrote itself! I fell in love with This Side. It's hard to name just a few songs that I call favorites on this one...but I'll try. Besides "Smoothie Song" which leads right into one of my favorites, "Spit on a Stranger"...there's "Speak", which is on my top 5 NC songs ever; classic "This Side"; poetic "Green and Gray"; haunting "Seven Wonders"; fast and fun "Beauty and the Mess"; sad "Sabra Girl"; and clever "Young" - probably on my top 7 favorite NC songs. I could post a 4000 word post about this album alone, but this will have to do. In any case, I know every musical change and word to every song on this CD...it must be loooove.

-The Prince of Egypt Soundtrack
SO AMAZING!!! This is one of my favorite animated movies, and mostly because of the music. Especially with Hebrew in "Deliver Us" (POWERFUL) and "When You Believe" (inspirational : )...one of the most beautiful languages, especially to be sung. I also love dearly "Through Heavens Eyes"...mostly for the "Lai lai lai lai lee-lai lai..."

-Relient K - Two Lefts Don't Make a Right
Ahh, another "first love" default. One that I'll never get over, as I slightly explained three posts ago. It's just so clever, so lyrical, so musically respectable. Their peak, if you ask me. I don't know any RK fan that doesn't love this one at LEAST better than most. Some of my favorites - "Falling Out", "Forward Motion", "College Kids", "Hoopes I Did it Again", "Over Thinking", and "Jefferson Aero Plane".

-Wicked Soundtrack
Okay, seriously. Who DOESN'T like the Wicked music? So much talent, so much cleverness, so many melodic aspects...it's just completely amazing. Some of my favorites are "The Wizard and I"; "Popular" and "What is this Feeling?" (of course); then "Dancing Through Life", and "As Long as You're Mine". THE favorite, however, is without doubt "Defying Gravity". It's the very heart and soul of the musical.



Whew!

Feel free to agree, disagree, or - even better - comment some of YOUR favorite albums!

ROOM
is
CLEAN

with 1/4 in storage either under my bed or in closet, 2/5 thrown away, the rest accessible...

phew.

Whew...this past week or so has been...crazy. A lot of emotions, a lot of thoughts, a lot of worries...a lot of bad attitude on my part. The crazy thing is God's been doing so much regardless of what state I'm in. It's reminded me of how He's always going to be glorified. It's been quite humbling...Him being able to work through me even when I don't really realize it. I've also been able to feel really encouraged through other people and such, even though lately I've been feeling kind of lonely for some reason. Man, I've learned so much this summer. I've learned a lot about worship and about His nature. And about people. This has been the summer of blessings, if you ask me. I'll probably post a detailed post of the highlights of my summer before school.

Man, I'm just so nervous about school. I've been worrying myself sick. I've realized that I basically only have 4 actual friends at school. Which seems weird because I have a sufficient amount of friends outside of school...but for some reason I can't connect with people in my school. I think I've figured out why - I'm just plain not interested in shallow relationships. And for some reason whenever I look around in my classes all I see is surface-y friendships and small talk. Both of which I HATE. I don't know. My goal for this year is to make some good friends- not just acquaintances. Further, though, I'm afraid of my "social life", or lack of one. I mean, I have church...but besides that, I don't do anything because every once in a while I want to actually be the one to be invited to something, because I'm pretty much the "planner"...so if I don't plan, nothing happens. Er at least that's what I feel like. It's been so weird to see Andrew be the social butterfly all the sudden, when he used to be like anti-social. It probably has to do with him having a license :P But, ya know. And then when I am around him and his friends or whatever I feel like a little tag-along and that Andrew doesn't like me around him. Which, haha, I perfectly understand. It's not like I like Beth with me everywhere. In any case...I want to drive ASAP so I can actually do things. And then there's band. I reallly hope that we become close and that we are able to be unified. I connected some with Katie and Amanda playing LOTR Trivial Pursuit at the girls lock-in ;) So there's a step! Hahaa. They are neat people. And then we are having a band party on Friday! Which is extremely exciting. Party at Mr. Rick's!

Whew...a lot to think about. But a lot to be thankful for. And a LOT to work on. And a lot to be excited rather than nervous about. A lot of attitude adjustment needed. Just a lot.

Okay. This was going to be a "music lists" post...but I'm not cut out for it. Not right now at least. It makes me too nervous! And I'll tell you why.

Part of me is thinking...I'm not qualified to make any executive decisions on the bests artists or the bests lyricists or anything, because I have found that I do not branch out musically as much as some, such as our friend Andrew. It's not that I don't like stuff; I'm pretty easy to please musically...I just have no idea how anyone can listen to so much music. I know it's a shame, but I couldn't tell you but 3 Bob Dylan songs, and I haven't listened to probably more than half of the Beatles' songs (which, in my defense, there are a LOT of). But you know what? I realized, Gosh darnit, these are my opinions! Andrew reminded me today that music is subjective. Who cares if I'm not as well-listened (haha, I didn't know what else to say. Compare to "well-read") as others? (Oh, but by the way, I always love a good healthy argument, and I value your opinion just as much as I love sharing mine. So feel free to agree/disagree with me anytime.) Sure, there's going to be the occasional pretentious music snob who will scoff at my taste, but I can't let that get in the way of me revealing my true self through lists! But, there it is- it DOES get in the way. I tried making a list...and when I got past the first one, which was an obvious one and a safe one to start with, my mind went BLANK. And then I started getting nervous. I feel bound by the numbers that lists require. First, second, third, fourth...ahhh! I mean, even though I always say before, "This is strictly in order of thought, not importance, blah blah blah...", I still can't get past the "listiness" of the list. Sigh. I don't know. I hold in highest regard musically good music with poetically good lyrics, but I'm also a girl and enjoy songs that make no sense/are trying too hard, but have a good beat and melody. I also just like really clever lyrics...and those don't always take the form of Loudon Wainwright III (though I do love him and his lyrics dearly!). Perfect example- I love the album Two Lefts Don't Make a Right by Relient K. If I were to throw the fact out that I like even just Relient K's old stuff to an "Indie music sage" I would get snubbed or something. I mean, Relient K is all mainstream now and (not that the two correlate) I don't really enjoy their new stuff as much- though I do respect their talent-, but for some reason, since I first listened to it Christmas Eve of 2003, I haven't ever been able to stop loving TLDMR! I know every word to every song, and "Jefferson Aeroplane" is probably on my top 15 favorite songs EVER. I can't get over the sharp, clever lyrics in each of the songs and the grand musical talent. And I don't think that anyone could dislike "Hoopes I Did it Again". I don't know. I guess I just hate the general, world-wide feeling of feeling like you have to like what other people like. I find myself a lot of times thinking hard about whether or not I'm supposed to like a band or a song. It's very sad. I mean, I LOVE "LOVE SHACK"! I LOVE Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway album! I LOVE French music! I HATE Hellogoodbye and Fall Out Boy! I LOVE Gavin Degraw! I LOVE Beyonce!! For the most part, my love for Nickel Creek, Ben Folds and Caedmon's Call definitely supercedes that of the previously mentioned, but I still have places in my heart for them. I like stuff Andrew plays in his car, though I rarely know what it is. But then again I don't always like the stuff he plays in his car. I like Broadway music and Disney songs and will sing them until my lungs collapse. I don't like rap, but I love dancing to songs that have a good beat... which sometimes includes rap, as long as it's not overly dirty. And mmm, I LOVE "Lady Marmalade". For that matter, the whole Moulin Rouge soundtrack. Allison and I dance to "Yeah!" 'till our legs give out. I would not be able to listen to more than one or two Sigur Ros or Explosions in the Sky songs at a time. I like Coldplay, though apparently it's a disgrace to do so nowadays? I STILL love dcTalk and Point of Grace. If I don't like someone's voice it takes a while to get past it, so I at that point put no effort into trying to like an artist after the fact. I hate having to acquire tastes for things. Ska music such as Five Iron Frenzy is fun. I love Eisley, no matter how many times my dad tries to make me think that all their songs are the same by saying, "Is this whimsical?" when we listen to one of their songs (cough...). I like "Mmmbop" by Hanson. I like the Format. I love Imogen Heap and Regina Spektor, though ReSpekt had to grow on me. I love most 80's music. I've NEVER listened to Muse. I don't even know what kind of category of music they fall under. I've only barely listened to White Stripes, though I am fully aware that they are all the rage and several people who's opinion I value enjoy them greatly. Nickel Creek is without dispute my favorite group. I love Patty Griffin, but I like Jennifer Knapp's Kansas album more than I like PG's 3 albums I own combined. I like Pavement's "Gold Soundz" a lot, but I haven't listened to any more of their stuff. I love R.E.M. From what I've heard, I really like Wilco and Ryan Adams and Jeff Buckley and more artists that Andrew holds in highest regard, but we have so much of their music in our music library that I wouldn't know where to start. Same with R.E.M., now that I think about it. I like High School Musical. For the music, of course. I will never stop liking Sinead O'Connor's "No Man's Woman". I like Glen Phillips and Alanis Morissette. I like Switchfoot's The Beautiful Letdown album. "Peace Train" and "All Flowers in Time" are on my top 15 songs. I like Hot Hot Heat's "Goodnight" and JoJo's "Too Little, Too Late". I know all the words to "Crazy in Love" and "Irreplaceable" (refer back to my confession of Beyonce obsession). And what girl can't confess to knowing all the words to Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten"? I know I can't!



My point is, I could never tell the blogosphere all that.

...At least not in a list.

Urgh. I feel like I'm watching a scary movie. I feel like I'm sitting in a cozy chair, tranced by a happy moment, when all the sudden I hear the music. You know, the music they have in suspenseful moments...the choppy low notes banged on the piano followed by some fast high-pitched orchestral melodies.  All the sudden I shift positions into a more braced and alert posture, hands gripping the armrests. Things proceed as they were, but I just KNOW that something scary is coming soon. Something is about to jump out, someone's about to pop up...something "unexpected" is going to happen. Even though it is so expected. By everyone. But everyone is scared anyway. Even moreso scared before the fact than when it inevitably will happen. Sometimes you close your eyes. Then.....


AH!




School's coming in two weeks. And I'm terrified! I definitely hear the music. Sigh.

New!
I made a new category called "In My Strong Opinion". : ) I think that one is a lot more self-explainatory than the others, haha.

I've not done a post of this kind yet, obviously. So this should be interesting. I don't know where I'm going to go with it. I must say, the true inspiration for this one is my brotha, Andrew. I value his opinion, but am now inclined to share mine. If you know me well...you definitely know that opinions are one of my favorite things about life. And I certainly love to share mine with others. And I also definitely like hearing other peoples' opinions but equally dislike it when people act like they have none.

This is all off the top of my head, and most likely not in any particular order, though I suppose order of thought says something about the importance of each of these. But who knows.

10 Things I Really Love Right Now
1. Former Band. I can't really say that the old jr-high band exists anymore because today was our last Sunday : /. I didn't realize until the end of this summer how close we had gotten and how much we were completely unified in the truest sense of the word as the year came full-circle. God blessed me so much by allowing me to be a part of that amazing group of people. Outspoken, sarcastic, but caring Zach; Indifferent, kind, and outgoing Taylor (bff!!); Weird, different, but amazing Nathan; Crazy, leader-like, and responsible Riley; and last, but certainly not least- Solid, dependable, and loving Jon. To be able to become so close with such an awesome group of people has been a blessing.
2. Mint chocolate chip ice cream
3. SUMMER
4. Hot weather
5. Solitaire. you have no idea how many nights I've spent playing Solitaire for hours. It's gotten me through a lot!  : )
6. The Edenfields. Especially miss Ryan. She's so sweet. It still hasn't really hit me that they will be gone. But I'm really excited to hear about what they are going to be doing and stuff. Being at KidzCamp with Ryan and talking the night away with her and Taylor that first night reminded me of why I love her so much. And how much I'm going to miss her :/
7. Chapstick
8. DVR. No, seriously. I'm not the biggest TV person, but I might have to start becoming one! I haven't gotten much chance to sit down by myself and enjoy the pleasures of cable and stuff fully, but the times I have have been amazing. It still baffles me how I can just record anything I want. Lately I've recorded and watched quite a few Gilmore Girls episodes. Mmmmmm...
9. Interpretive dance. You may think I'm kidding, but it's one of my favorite things to do! Now, I'm not really a good dancer, but I love to dance to music, especially interpretively, any chance I get.
10. Taking pictures. I can't believe I hadn't thought of this one 'till number 10. I don't know how, but somehow at a Jeremy Camp Concert/Astros game with the band and Rikki and Kevin I took 250 pictures. Most of them don't mean anything, of course. But I just loooove my camera and taking pictures with it. If you know me you know this. I usually have my camera with me. I've always felt an intriguing, deep connection to taking pictures (especially of people)...though I'm not sure why. I know it sounds weird, but whatev.

10 Things I Really DO NOT Love Right Now
1. I don't think I even have to say this, and it pains me to even THINK of it... but the fact that school's in two weeks.
2. Food. Weird, I know, but I've eaten SOO much- from the Astros game, IHOP afterward, Taco Milagro, Edenfield desert thingie...my stomach is so angry at me right now. And the thought of food makes me want to puke.
3. Chapped Lips
4. I'm still really angry about the cellphone issue from June. If you haven't heard me spiel about it yet, I'll give you the short version. I've had my wonderful cellphone for over a year, and I love it, but it's time to get a new one. And so I found the perfect one. There's always only one that I find that I can see myself using. And so it was 50 dollars, which I was perfectly prepared to pay for, but when I got to the t-mobile thing they said that I "didn't qualify for the mail-in rebate", so it would have been 130 dollars or something ridiculous...so obviously, I declined the offer. And I don't understand why I didn't qualify, because I qualifed last year. ...whatev.
5. Coffee and tea
6. People obsessed with themselves...but who does?
7. Blake ate all the Trix. 'Nuff said.
8. My room. Disaster area. It's been messy and unbearable literally all summer. I haven't slept in my bed in months. I'm determined this week to get it under control...but it's going to take a lot. I'm scared!
9. The Astros. and Baseball in general. The 'Stros got my hopes up last night (and I even had some SPIRIT!), only to let us all down with one stinking out to go.
10. What would a "dislikes list" be without a spot for awkward moments?


Maybe later I'll do another list that has to do with music. Who knows.
Hope you've learned a thing or two about me!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My dad figured out a way to recover the pictures!!!!!!

You have no idea how ECSTATIC I am right now.




The last time I remember being this happy is when Michael Vaughn returned onto ALIAS in the 5th season after having supposedly died.

okay. 650 pictures mysteriously got deleted off my camera before they got to the computer. KOTB, Jr High camp, KidzCamp...

And if you know anything about me, you know that I love taking pictures and regard them as worth more than a lot of things.

I have no idea what happened. One minute I was looking at them, the next they were all gone.


NO words.

This is a little out-of-the-bloo...but I...REALLY...want to cry. And for no particular reason. Don't get me wrong, everything is awesome right now...but have you ever just wanted to cry? For nothing at all? I feel like I haven't cried in months. I mean really cried. Girls will relate to this, boys probably won't. But whatever. I just need that release. I feel like I haven't been able to cry about things that I really want to cry about (such as the Edenfields moving...though that may be due to the fact that it hasn't even hit me yet), and it makes me feel so cold and dead. I know this sounds like a line from an emo song, but crying makes me feel alive. I mean that in the truest sense. I'm sure everyone else subconsciensly feels the same, too. Emotions are a gift from God, I believe. Jesus wept! In any case, it just feels really weird because I used to be the definition of a basket-case. And the past couple months have been less and less that way. Which is, of course, a good thing...but ya know.

To make my point, I need a good cry. But I don't know how to get one. So if you have any ideas let me know. : )

Mmm...KidzCamp tomorrow! : ) I am quite excited, though I'm afraid I don't know what to expect. That's what makes it fun, though.


This week has been very busy. Scholars (which is a euphemism for gag yourself)...church...Bethie's birthday!... etc. But, whatev. Summer is still in full-swing.


Alright, I don't really have anything else to say. Besides I really don't like packing. And I have to do that right now. And I'm reeeeeeeeeally tired...