I'm about to clean my room. I'm disciplining myself. And I'm hoping to not only clean it, but organize it and get rid of extraneous "stuff" (which is really hard for me). Eek!

I just thought that I should mention that right now I'm using my NEW LAPTOP, given to me as an early graduation present from my amazing grandparents!!!!

So, Gma and Gpa, thank you, again!! : )

More is coming on Christmas later.

Joyeux Noël...

Welp, 12 minutes until Christmas ends.

Had a great day, and a great Christmas in general. I was able to give a lot more than usual, and I must say, it's a lot more satisfying than it seems ; ). I just really loved being with family. God has really been showing me how blessed I really am this Christmas; showing me there really is no cause to worry. Hope came 2,000 years ago! The rest is set. I'm g2g (good to go). Basically, things are a lot more simple than I think they are.

This Christmas has also been slightly emotional for me, for a few reasons. First of all, today I saw Marley and Me at the movie theater, in which I cried uncontrollably. It actually felt really good, but it was kind of embarrassing, if you can imagine. Also, one of my cousins whom I've also considered one of my best friends hasn't really been around lately. Her absence was kind of amplified during Christmastime for me. Please keep her in your prayers. Lastly, I've been extremely nostalgic lately, which should be of no surprise. I promise you, someone needs to keep me away from old pictures at all times. Me looking at old pictures is a sure way to trigger my ever-unbridled emotions even more so. Sigh. I'm spent.

San Antonio has been a good break for me. I've kind of put everything on pause and let my body catch up with my mind and just relax. It's been so nice! I love it here. I must say, though, that I can't wait 'till tomorrow after we go home; I'm taking myself out shopping! : ) I haven't really bought anything for myself in a while. I think I need to treat myself to some new clothes. I don't really go shopping much (makes when I do go special), but I always get excited about going by myself - it's good alone-time, and I can take as long as I want! No rushing or waiting (no offense to anyone who's ever been shopping with me)! Wish me luck.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night. God bless.

Okay, so I'm going to be really shallow for a few moments. Don't judge me : )

This is a list (in alphabetical order) of famous women whom I think are naturally beautiful. These women have interesting features and auras about them that I love! I'm not going to take into account moral character or personality. Like I said, I'm being shallow. And I'm okay with that for this post! : )

I love celebrating God's creation, and pointing out beautiful parts of people : ) So agree or disagree, but this is my much-deliberated list.

Amy Adams

I love the combination of eye color, skin tone, and hair color. Especially in Enchanted, Amy Adams is beautiful!

Beyonce

Man, I've always loved Beyonce. This girl glows!

Claire Danes

There is no argument about this one. The perfect Juliet.

Bethany Dillon

I saw her live Saturday night with Shane and Shane; she opened for them. I never really realized how beautiful she is until I saw her that night and listened to her talk and perform, just her and her guitar. I remember just thinking the whole time, Wow. This girl is the embodiment of natural God-given beauty intensified by her passion and love for Him! I suppose this one I'm taking a pause from being shallow : )

Eisley Girls

Me and Andrew both agree that with the combined powers of their looks and amazing voices these girls deserve a spot on this list.

Tina Fey

Tina Fey has a very intriguing face. That and her wit puts her on my top 20!

Jennifer Garner

Okay, so what is there NOT to love about J Garn? She plays a perfect Sydney in ALIAS, has amazing cheekbones, beautiful eyes, and an adorable smile with sweet dimples. Love her so much!
My fave actress by far.

Lauren Graham

I don't think a beautiful people list is complete without Lorelai Gilmore.

Katherine Heigl

The combination of her eyes and smile make her gorgeous to me!

Keira Knightley

Keira in Pride and Prejudice seals the deal.

Lucy Liu

Of course, there's GOTTA be an Asian on here! I know this is cliche, but LL rocks.

Blake Lively

I liked her a lot as Bridget in Sisterhood of Traveling Pants (prior to this whole Gossip Girl nonsense). She has this really confident look about her, and I'm always envious of any girl who is tall and has long, wavy hair : ).

Eva Longoria

How can you not think she's beautiful?

Rachel McAdams

Seriously. I don't even need to say anything.

Gwyneth Paltrow

I've always loved her; she has that earthy, really natural look about her. And Andrew's obsessed with her, so I'm forced to think she's beautiful  ; )

Molly Ringwald

This girl is classic! And is a ging (ginger). And has an awesome name. : )

Winona Ryder

She's like Keira Knightley, but I would say that she's even prettier. I think it's her eyes!

Liv Tyler

With those blue eyes, how can you not think Liv Tyler is one of the most beautiful people ever?

Natalie Wood

She's timelessly classic. Mariaaa!

Catherine Zeta-Jones

I love her skin tone, and her beauty just seems effortless. Enough said.



Honorable Mention (because Andrew is forcing me to):
Jenna Fisher

So, I gargled salt water and vinegar today, in hopes of soothing my throat ailments. It was disgusting! It burned, and the whole experience kind of reminded me of throwing up, because the concoction made my mouth salivate like nobody's business and so I spent like 5 minutes spitting everything up. Bleh. It helped a little, but my throat still feels inflamed.


In other news, playing Mafia with the fam is entertaining. "Mafia wake up. ...And then she went to sleep..."

So, to update you on my sick situation, last night I took a throat medicine in the form of a spray, though I did so skeptically. I feel a little better but my throat is still swollen three times it's size it seems. Sigh.

In other news, I think I lost my wallet. Awesome.

Anyways, I thought I'd follow the trend and do the Movie Quote thing that Ian did. Looks like fun! Though, I assure you mine will be much easier than his.

The rule is that you can't google the quote or anything; you simply leave your guesses on what the movies are in the comment thread.

Movie 1
-What do you want?
-A little more caution from you, that is no trinket you carry.
-I carry nothing.
-Indeed. I can avoid being seen if I wish, but to disappear entirely, that is a rare gift.

Movie 2
You know, there is nothing greater than deciding in your life that things maybe really are black and white! And this guy Ben, who clearly takes you for granted, who seriously takes advantage of you, is bad! And what I'm saying is good! See what I mean? You shouldn't be the substitute for anybody. This guy should be right here, right now, doing this....[kisses].

Movie 3
Person 1 - I thought you already decided on The Echoes?
Person 2 - Nah, some band in Buffalo's the Echoes. And I wasn't wild about that.
Person 3 - Let's just call us The Band You're About To Hear.
Person 4 - How about The Corvettes?
Person 2 - Is that The Corvettes, or the Chordvettes?
Person 4 - No, Corvettes, like the car.
Person 2 - Well see, I was thinking *Chord*vettes... like chords in our music.
Person 3 - [Person 6 walks in] Is that Skitch Patterson?
Person 4 - Here he is, Erie's lone beatnik.
Person 5 - How about the Tempos? Ya know, tempos?
Person 3 - Not the Tempos. I was in a band already called The Tempos, we were... terrible.
Person 4 - Hey [Person 6], weren't you the drummer for the Tempos?
Person 6 - Heard that.

Movie 4
-Forty-two is "Befriend somebody I don't like". It's a to-do list I have.
-What, like getting a new personality?
-Spend a year in the Peace Corps, make a medical discovery...
-That's ambitious.
- ...Be in two places at once, get a tattoo.
-What's number one?
-I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.

Movie 5
-Look, you're a hoops dude. Not a musical singer person. Have you ever seen Michael Crawford on a cereal box?
-Who's Michael Crawford?
-Exactly my point. He was the "Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway. Now my mom, she's seen that musical 27 times and she put Michael Crawford's picture in our refrigerator. Not on it. IN it. So my point is, if you play basketball, you'll end up on the cereal box. If you sing in musicals, you'll end up in my mom's refrigerator.
-Why would she put his picture in your refrigerator?
-I don't know, one of her crazy diet ideas. Look, I don't attempt to understand the female mind.

Movie 6
-Tell your people from this day forward, their work load has been doubled, thanks to your God. Or is it thanks... to you?

Movie 7
-It's just like Hamlet said, "To thine own self be true."
-Hamlet didn't say that.
-I think I remember Hamlet accurately.
-Well, I remember Mel Gibson accurately, and he didn't say that. That Polonius guy did.

Movie 8
-Okay, and life preservers, these... we may need. Although what are the odds of us actually hitting a lake? My money says if anything, it's gonna be a mountain.

Movie 9
Mother - Now she'll have to stay the night. Exactly as I predicted.
Father - Good grief, woman. Your skills in the art of matchmaking are positively occult.
Daughter - Though I don't think, Mama, you can reasonably take credit for making it rain.

Movie 10
-Four-and-a-half years I live wit' a buddy an' his family. I think I'm diggin' a guy's character... Boy, I'm a victim of disappointment in you.
-End ya sufferin', little man. Why dontcha just pack up ya gear an' move out?
-'Cause ya ma's hot fa me...

Movie 11
-If you had done what I ordered you to do in the first place, we all could have been spared your little "kiss of life".

Movie 12
-"No Jews or Dogs Allowed." Why do all the shops say, "No Jews Allowed"?
-Oh, that. "Not Allowed" signs are the latest trend! The other day, I was in a shop with my friend the kangaroo, but their sign said, "No Kangaroos Allowed," and I said to my friend, "Well, what can I do? They don't allow kangaroos."
-Why doesn't our shop have a "Not Allowed" sign?
-Well, tomorrow, we'll put one up. We won't let in anything we don't like. What don't you like?
-Spiders.
-Good. I don't like Visigoths. Tomorrow, we'll get sign: "No Spiders or Visigoths Allowed."

Movie 13
-I'm so sorry.
-For what? This? I've gotten out of worse scrapes than this. Can't thing of anything right now, but...
-It would've been better if we never met. None of this would've happened.
-Look at me. I'd rather die tomorrow than live a hundred years without knowing you.
-I can't leave you.
-You never will. No matter what happens to me, I'll always be with you, forever.

Movie 14
-I'm free. I'm free. Quick. Quick, wish for something outrageous. Say, "I-I want the Nile." Wish for the Nile. Try that.
-Uh, I wish for the Nile.
-No way!
-Oh, does that feels good!

Movie 15
-Listen closely. I'd like to help you but I can't. I'd like to tell you to take a copy of your policy to Norma Wilcox on... Norma Wilcox, W-I-L-C-O-X... on the third floor, but I can't. I also do not advise you to fill out and file a WS2475 form with our legal department on the second floor. I would not expect someone to get back to you quickly to resolve the matter. I'd like to help, but there's nothing I can do.

So, I don't know if any of you knew this, but I kind of have this disease. It's called I only get sick on holidays :P.

Seriously, I get sick at the most inconvenient times. July 4th of 5th or 6th grade, got sick and threw up 7 times. Stayed inside all night watching That Thing You Do. Two years ago I got incredibly sick on Christmas Day. Got sick Spring Break when we went skiing. Etc.

Bleh. My mom made a good point; I think that I've just been so busy lately that my body just decided to shut down. And so now I'm switching from being really cold to really hot, and my throat is sore and my ears hurt. I better not be sick Christmas Eve!


Besides that, though, being here in San Antonio is awesome! I always love the good ol' SA. Just saw Twilight with mom, Aunt Kim, Beth, and Coulter. That was entertaining. Been relaxing : ). It's been nice so far!

I'll try to keep up with the posts this week. But I make no guarantees :)

10. I've officially been accepted to all the schools I applied for. And Southwestern offered me like half of tuition! Of course, it still costs a fortune. And I'm not going there. But I was still excited.
9. Andrew came home today!
8. I bought the People magazine special "HSM3 Behind the Scenes" collector's edition. Good call. It's awesome, and reminds me why I like HSM so much.
7. I'm almost done watching all the ALIAS seasons all the way through for the third time (the first three seasons have been watched probably two or three more times in addition before I got fourth and fifth)! All I need is the last season. Can't wait 'till Ian comes home so we can finish it off!
6. I got my Calculus test from many moons ago back yesterday, and it was one that I seriously thought that I failed. Like, after I took it I almost started crying at lunch. And when she was passing out the tests I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Of course, it turns out that I got a 94 on it! BOOYA! Look at me and my bad self! : ) Shows me not to worry. haaa.
5. Yesterday was Blake and Jermy's birthday, and today is Daddy's! I love birthdays. And I'm really excited for Hido's tomorrow with the whole family! It's going to be great. As much as I don't like oriental food, the experience of a Japanese (?) restaurant every 4 months or so is fun. I love rice!
4. Christmas is in 9 days. Seriously, man! How crazy is that?
3. I haven't quite died yet of being cold. But, I'm telling you, I've come close. I must say, I forget how much I dislike cold weather until I experience it. Sometimes I just think to myself, How in the world could it physically get any colder? And then I remember that in other places of the world it's below 0. And then my mind blows and just thinking about it makes my body temperature drop. In winter I'm in a constant state of being cold. Even now; no matter where I am or whether or not the heat is on, I'm cold. And it's miserable : (. But...I'm pushing through. All I want to know is how the alleged "Global Warming" plays into this equation. Sigh. Summer, you aren't too far away...
2. Band practice was really funny on Monday. I can't explain why, but everyone was in a tense/slightly "off" mood, or at least from my perspective. This doesn't sound good, but it made for some really funny things. To me, at least. We spent like half an hour on this one part of this one song because I was singing this one part half a beat too early. Or something. In any case, I love the band, and I'm glad that we have the Christmas party this Saturday!  : ) It's going to be GREAT.
1. I have to make, like, a thousand dozen desserts this week. I'm excited. I love to bake! And Taylor's birthday party is on Friday : ). Another chance for me to whip out my reindeer feet sweater!

So, I decided to try what Danielle did in her latest post and guess who would best play certain people in my life in a movie about me.

(By the way, I will stand by all of her choices. I'm saying this because I don't want to have to put them all here. These are more additions to hers).

I am not very good at this, and it has taken me a long time to think of these. I still haven't figured out anyone worthy enough to play mom or dad...ideas?

For me: I was reminded that a lot of people think that I look like Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Of course, I only wish this was true ;). But for the sake of having someone play me, I will pick her. I think that judging by her performance in Seinfeld as Elaine she could play up some of my quirks : ) But of course, I'm talking about Julia Louis-Dreyfus like 25 years ago. Because she's well into her forties by now. This is the youngest-looking picture I found...



This next one is my favorite. Blake would DEFINITELY be played by Fred Savage, the early years (the one in The Princess Bride). This looks SO much like Blake it's unreal!



I'll stick with Danielle's choice of Adam Goldberg as Andrew.



Bethany would be played by Georgie Henley (Lucy from Chronicles of Narnia) in four years.



I'll do a cute movie couple for Mama and Papa like Danielle did. Brenda Blethyn and Donald Sutherland from Pride and Prejudice : ) Sorry, this is the only picture I could find of them together. hahaa.



Taylor is Ashley Leggat. Mos' Def!



Bree is Corrinne Bailey Ray. And I don't even care that she's not an actress. They look so much alike!



I'll stick with Danielle's decision, again, about Ally as Amber Tamblyn.



Amanda Atkinson would be played by Amanda Bynes (more for personality and shared name than looks).




Welp, I tried my hand at it, and this is as good as I could do. I thought about many people in my life, and thought about the limited number of actors/actresses I'm aware of, and not many matches came up. This is not something I'm good at. But it was a fun hour and a half quest. Anyone one want to help?

Edit:
Mom and Dad are now (per their request) officially Lauren Graham and Scott Patterson of Gilmore Girls (Lorelai and Luke). : )


Zach would be played by Lucas Grabeel from HSM...



Riley by Cole Sprouse from Suite Life of Zak and Cody (in three or four years)...



Chino would be played by Rick Yune (who was Tamazaki in ALIAS Fourth Season), because he's cool and Asian...


Katie Walton by Kate Bosworth...



Kyle by, OF COURSE, none other than Matt Dallas, Kyle XY! hahaa :)



Erin Nally by Catherine Zeta-Jones...they don't look very much alike when you look at them, but I really like C Z-J and I think that they have a similar type of beauty. If that makes sense.



And while Danielle said that I should be played by Alexis Bledel, I think that Bledel would more accurately be cast as Candace Ward. Like, seriously. On GG Alexis reminds me so much of Candace; more the way that she looks and talks than acts, of course. : )



If someone can think of a good example of an actor who could adequately play Trey Weise, you are very good at this. I must say thinking of who would play him has been the hardest for me.

It's getting harder and harder to be a Christian and stand up for what I believe in in a world that believes in tolerance and "open-mindedness".

Lord, turn their hearts to You. All the people around me at my school who look at Christians and say that they are self-righteous or foolish for believing in the absolute Truth and authority of the Bible. I pray that You would show them Yourself and reveal Your grace and love in a graceless and loveless world. May Christians not compromise their faith or settle. May we not be satisfied by the things of this world; may we continue to only be satisfied with You and only draw wisdom from You. Give me the courage to be a witness to those around me even if I am ridiculed for it. Amen.

...make bathroom experiences longer and more frustrating.

I dread when I go into an updated or "high-tech" bathroom. All the sudden a simple task turns into a complicated quest. Not convinced? Let me spell it out for you. I think that you will come to find that you whole-heartedly agree...

Stage One:The Disposal
This is the stage where you, um, go to the bathroom. That's not the difficult part. The difficulty comes when it comes time to flush. You reach to flush. There's nothing there! You stand up and search it out. Do I press a button? Is there a sensor somewhere? Does it just flush by itself every 5 minutes? Case and point, this adds approximately 5-10 more seconds to the bathroom routine. Of course, it just flushes on its own. How it knows to flush, no one knows. But I can't tell you how many times I've stood there for 15-20 seconds in anticipation. I vote for the lever!

Stage Two: The Faucet
Next, you have to figure out how to get the water to turn on. There's usually several sinks to choose from, and you never know which one is going to decide to work. You try one. Of course, you don't really  know how to "try" it; all you can do is wave your hand under the faucet and hope it will magically turn on. You end up looking like an idiot and change sinks. This process could happen anywhere from 1 to 3 or 4 times (especially in fancy movie theater bathrooms). You FINALLY get to a sink that works. You put your hand under it, and it turns on. Sadly, this phase adds on average a minute to the bathroom routine. What happened to just twisting a knob or pushing/pulling a lever in one swoop?

Stage Three: The Soap
Okay, so you've gotten the faucet on, and you're feeling pretty good about the automation of this hand-washing system. But now you have to reach for soap. So the faucet turns off, of course, as your hands go to reach under the soap. The same basic thing happens with the soap dispenser that happens with the faucet. So that process is repeated, along with having to get the faucet back on. I've found that those automated faucets are pretty finicky. In any case, this stage adds from 10-15 more seconds.

Stage Four: The Washing
This one is, for me, the most frustrating. You have your soap, and, if you're lucky, you have the water running over your hands. But of course you don't want to just wash all the soap off, so you have to pull your hands away from the water to rub it in to your skin a little, turning off the water. So now you have to get the water back on. You succeed, and you start to wash your hands. You're feeling pretty good about yourself, because you believe that you're starting to figure out how to trigger the water because you think you know where the sensor is. But then your hands shift even the slightest HAIR and the water turns off.This happens repeatedly until you are satisfied with the cleanliness of your hands, or until you give up on the faucet. Whichever comes first. Of course, the longevity of this phase slightly depends on how long you usually take to wash your hands. Think about it this way: if the amount of time that you take to wash your hands on a normally functioning faucet is on the x-axis and the amount of time it takes on an automatic faucet is the y-axis, the graph increases exponentially by a factor of approximately 1.5. But this is just an estimation. This phase can last for a long time; anywhere from 20 seconds to a minute in a half, I'd say.

The Final Stage: Drying Your Hands
This stage is definitely the stage that I hate the most in this setting, and I'll tell you why. Automatic hand-dryers can come in two forms: the much-hated but "eco-friendly" blow-dryer box thing or the motion-sensor paper towel dispenser. Both of which are evil, in my opinion. So basically this stage can go either way; neither of which are good. Let me spell it out...

• The Eco-Friendly Air Dryer. This usually takes 30 or 40 seconds, without a doubt. Anyone who has used one of these (which is everyone) knows why; it's THE most inefficient way to dry your hands! Your hands are soaking wet, and you stick them under this metal box (which sometimes comes on when you don't want it to if you are careful, if it's double automatic and comes on when you put your hands under it, or anywhere within a 10 inch radius. If only the automatic faucet could be so sensitive...). So basically now you are essentially waiting for the water to roll off your hands, evaporate, or simply dry up. It's a long and frustrating process. And LOUD. Not only do your hands feel disgustingly warm and dry when you get done, but there is no getting out of this one. There are usually no other options, and nobody wants wet hands. So unless you feel comfortable just wiping them on your pants (which I am not), you are stuck for the next 40 or so seconds.
  
• The Motion-Sensor Disposer. Don't EVEN get me started on this one! When I first saw this I was very fascinated by the idea, as I think most people were. It was clever, fun, and very inventive. But now it's just annoying. I'm one of those people who like using 3-4 sheets of paper towels to dry my hands (I need them to be completely dry). So you go up, and a similar process like the one with the faucet happens. You have to wave your hand in front of the sensor several times and wait for that little red light to come on. A sheet comes out, and it's like 5 inches long. You need more. So you wave your hand in front of it again. But there is a 5-second delay because the red light is still on and it needs a few seconds to "reset". You can see how much this can go on for. This easily adds 30 seconds to your bathroom routine.

My English teacher just told us that if we don't turn in any magazine money on Monday that we're going to have prom at Whataburger.

..."Or maybe even Sonic".

Right now I'm in English class, and there are things that I need to remember. So I figured that blogging them would be a good idea : ).

Man, right now I don't feel all too well. This morning I was FREEZING. I immediately put on my black puffy coat, and I haven't taken it off all day. I look like a freak, but I'm warm! Except I have a headache and feel warm in a fever-ish way. It's not all too pleasant. Tonight at Chick-fil-A I'm going to have to work outside for drive-thru from 6-8. Man oh man...

Personal reminders:
-Give parents letter for National Merit Recognition invitation; Jan 12 at 7 pm.
-Give counselor's office scholarship notifications
-Do Calculus homework

-NHS Meeting!!!!

English is eerie right now. I'm in this daze, sitting on the floor with a laptop. "My Girl" is playing loudly. I'm experiencing a nightmare with a Mo-town soundtrack.