I remembered what else I was going to post! Tomorrow we're going to my grandma's for her annual (what else?) New Year's Day party. She's been having this party since.... well, at least since 1986, but it was established by then... not sure exactly when it started. But anyway, my favorite tradition in connection with the party is signing the New Year's tablecloth with Sharpie markers!! (Grandma demands this.) You see, that's how I know about 1986 - I remember a particular signature of hers from that year. Basically, the tablecloth serves both as a guestbook and a memento. Grandma will have to get a new tablecloth soon though.... the current one is getting pretty full!

I may actually make it to midnight this year.... interesting. Well, I had a whole nice little post about the CD I was listening to... but the computer decided to lock up as I was polishing it off, so I lost the whole of it. 'Twas about Michael Card's "Starkindler" album.... very, very good, especially if you like Celtic styles and old hymns (even older than A Mighty Fortress!). Speaking of Mighty Fortress, we sang that today in church. But, the third verse was omitted, unfortunately. To tell the whole story, you absolutely must have all four verses! Consider a rather shortened version: A mighty fortress is our God...For still our ancient foe... on Earth is not His equal.... our striving would be losing, were not the right Man on our side... and He must win the battle!... And though this world... should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us. The Prince of Darkness... we tremble not for him... for lo, his doom i

It seems so odd, that in a season of holy celebration, we become the most material of men. But enough of the philosophizing. This is a summary of my Christmas gifts, for which I am very thankful: --a pair of silver & green earrings --a battery charger & batteries --Phantom of the Opera soundtrack (with Butler & Rossum) --a pink journal --a pair of blue earrings --a notepad --a pair of cross earrings and a matching cross necklace --Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits CD --a Best Buy $20 gift card --a $100 bill --and a sewing machine . The sewing machine is an old one (my aunt, just shy of fifty, had an identical one in high school), and the cabinet used to be my great-aunt's before she died. The cabinet will have to be altered slightly for the machine to fit in (the machine has an automatic buttonholer which adds a bit of width to it), but that's nothing. I now have my very own sewing machine, which I rather think I will take to college with me.

Alrighty: Christmas break started December 18th for me. I measured, cut, sewed, ripped out seams, re-sewed, and adjusted for four days; then I sketched, wrote, colored and framed for the next day. The weekend was spent finishing up shopping, wrapping presents, and attending the Christmas Eve service. In betweentimes, like one evening when Mom was working, I read a romance I found on her bedside table. (Hey Mom, if you read this, are there any other Georgette Heyer books that I don't know about?) Christmas morning we opened our presents. I GOT PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!!!!! Now Mom and I each have our own set, but hers is the old one (with Crawford and Brightman) while mine is the new one; so we don't duplicate ourselves too much. Christmas afternoon was spent reading, pretty much. I started "How to Read a Book", by Adler/Van Doren. It's actually rather interesting! It sounds silly, as if it's intended for a young child perplexed by all the marks on his pict

You must understand, I have been filling out applications and writing essays for awhile... it's about time that I get some reward, don't you think? :-P So I got a huge packet from a college in Ohio yesterday, containing a letter of acceptance and a bunch of paperwork in case I should actually decide to attend there (which looks more than possible at this point). Now, what would be my reason for attending college? Did "my parents urge me"? Some, I guess.. but it was pretty much my decision. Is it because of "dating"? Now, where in the world would someone pay thousands of dollars a year just for a random-match dating service?? Or, was it because "I want to get out of the house"? Heh, not really. And those were real answers to that question, presented on the room/roommate preferences questionnaire.

At one point, I was requested to list the Alfred Hitchcock movies I have seen in my life. Now, I thought it would be pretty easy, but since I could only remember about five (The Birds and Psycho among them...) I looked him up in the movie book so I could get the other names. Here's what I came up with: Hitchcock... lemme think, I saw The Birds, and Saboteur and Sabotage (easily confused sometimes...), Psycho, Rear Window, Vertigo, Dial M for Murder, Foreign Correspondent, I Confess, The Man Who Knew Too Much (I think that's the one where Doris Day sings "Que Sera"), Mr. and Mrs. Smith (although that one wasn't a horror film), North by Northwest (I like Cary Grant in almost everything), Rebecca, and Suspicion. I'm sure I've seen Notorious and Strangers on a Train, but I can't remember them really well... and there was one that had something to do with pi... it was some sort of secret society... but maybe it wasn't a Hitchcock after all. My goodne

was last weekend! We got to see lots and lots of cousins! And we played lots of pool (two different games, in fact). Oh, and we exchanged gifts - but that is beside the point. :-) I suppose I owe my poor readers a list of things that I received: a battery charger and a pair of earrings!! And $100 for the college account! Ain't it niiiice? As a sidenote, some TV shows (past and present) are absolutely worthless.

I don't know.... almost every time I get on here, my mind immediately goes blank and I have nothing to say - even though I could come up with five things before breakfast that I wanted to post here. Oh well.... I owe my cousin a letter. In fact, it is completely written, but I am also sending her a fingering chart and an essay of mine. One of which was supposed to be copied yesterday, and one of which needs to be printed out. My fingers are freezing. And we've had snow on the ground for the past 2 days. Amazing! My bro and my dad finally put up the tree yesterday!

Yup. Received one acceptance letter in the mail today!

As I said, I sent in two applications last Monday. I'm working on a third now; nearly done with it. If you care to read a 500-word essay on me-my-interests-and-my-goals-in-life, just visit my College Letters blog post that contains it. I based it on my bedroom door, of all things! My fingers are freezing. And I adore alliteration. You might find a few sets in that college application essay.

...though it may be good for the soul, occasionally. I apologize for any inadvertently odd comments I may make today. You see, I had sinus troubles at five o'clock this morning which did not abate till about eight-thirty. Therefore I lost sleep, and am not quite in my right mind. Although, how I could be enough in my right mind to think of this, I will never know...

Have you ever heard that song by Abba called "Dancing Queen"? Anyway, there's something about being 17 years old in there.... which is the reason I'm posting. I am officially 17, as of the month of November. (Cannot let the actual date slip out!) I got some really nice black boots for my birthday! Well, actually I stood in line for over an hour to get them, but I didn't pay for them with my money. These boots were on sale on Black Friday - as I had been hoping they would be - so I convinced Mom to get them as a birthday present. As I said, they're really nice boots: probably a three-inch heel, and the top is just below my knee. Dad calls them "go-go" boots. I really like them. :-) Grandma and Grandpa (set one) gave me some hairthings (purple, of course) and some bath things; set two gave me money with which I renewed my AAA membership. Very nice! Oh yes, I finally finished The Farm . Had some good description, but it was very sloooooooowww.

That's what I ask every time someone brings the mail in. Half the time I get some letter from some college. Occasionally I get a letter from one of my pen-pals. (Now I owe one a letter...) About one week a year I get a birthday card. But about every Monday, the WORLD Magazine comes, which I invariably devour before the week is out. And, of course, there is the weekly local paper... and the weekend newspapers... *smile*

The local theatre (theatre as in a place where you go see spectacular productions acted by troupes) hosts a Christmas singalong every year about this time, so we went again. It was soooo much fun. First a local high school choir sang, and their bell choir played one song ( very beautiful). Then the organist came out and played; after the intermission, the MC and three of his buddies did some barbershop songs (absolutely great) and his daughter sang (she's also good). Then came the singalong part. We sang several old favorites. One irritation: a couple old ladies in the front of us jabbered constantly. We moved seats during the intermission. And, wouldn't you know it, they left while the MC's daughter was signing - not after or between songs, but right during the song. And it ended just a few seconds later.... can't people learn some theatre etiquette? Such as waiting till the end of a song to quietly exit the theatre? Well anyway... between the MC's daug

...that I wanted to post about this week. Providing, of course, that I can remember them. 1. WE HAD OUR FIRST SERVICE IN THE NEW SANCTUARY!!!!! CAN YOU TELL I'M SO HAPPY? CAN YOU TELL THAT I LOVE THE NEW SOUND BOOTH? (That is, I am one of the sound booth personnel, though we never call ourselves that normally. Therefore, I really like having lots more control over the sound & lights. The speakers in the foyer are cool too. Now for the video...) 2. We went to see Pirates II on Monday at the dollar theater where it's 50 cents on Mondays. :-) Take it or leave it. I would like to see the concluding movie, however. At least, I now understand the meaning of two RI sigs quoting Sparrow about a jar of dirt and a "thump-thump". 3. oh well, I can't remember what exactly the third point was. I'll insert something else then... oh yes, here's an interesting web conversation concerning the elderly and writing, with a sidenote on the proper location of ov

If time is short, skip the next paragraph and go straight to the story. Today, my sister was assigned to write a narrative first-person story starting with the sentence "Carl Williams slowly backed farther into the shadows." (Oddly enough, I have a relative somewhere named Carl Williams, though I've only seen him once I think. But that is beside the point.) After a bit of trying to figure out exactly what writing in the first person meant (she'd rather write it in third person, methinks), she spent quite a while writing the following page-and-a-half single-spaced handwritten short story. Why You Shouldn't Live In an Apartment Carl Williams slowly backed farther into the shadows. He saw a glimpse of something, he wasn't sure what it was but he definatly had [an] impression of evil. He had nowhere to run except back to his apartment room and he wasn't going to do that because he knew his bed, complete with sheets, was going to engulf him. Whatever it w

If you happen to have a good library system near you (or one that just can't get rid of old TV shows), check out an episode of "The Avengers" with Patrick MacNee and Diana Rigg. They're great. If you happen to have been reading my blog for more than a year (thus you visited the old KB blog), you might remember this time capsule post . I didn't actually do it, but my sis did, and it actually worked! She got the e-mail last weekend. And while I'm at it, I must resurrect a quote from one of my favorite movies: The world is so full of a number of things I'm sure we should all be happy as... but are we? No! Definitely no! Positively no! Decidedly no! Huh-uh. Short people have long faces and long people have short faces. Big people have little humor and little people have no humor at all. And in the words of that immortal bard-- Samuel J. Snodgrass-- as he was about to be led to the guillotine-- make 'em laugh! Can you even guess the movie?

Yes, and I'm well! And I'm not too busy this afternoon! Mom is off singing some Tom Leher (Lehr? Laihr? Lair????) songs to my brother ("about a maid I'll sing a song, sing ricketyticketytin..." and "poisoning pidgeons in the park" and other such hilarities), my sis is reading another Mary Roberts Rinehart book, and Dad is working. Apparently if you're into mysteries, MRR is a good author, although her books are a bit difficult to track down. The InterLibrary Loan system is PERFECT for such authors... I am nearly finished with the C.S. Lewis book I was working on this Tuesday; I do recommend it and all other C.S. Lewis books! Dad found me a Rich Mullins tape at a Goodwill store this week. It's copyrighted from before I was born, but it seems to play just fine! And since I actually own a good tape player, I can play it to my heart's content (providing that I don't disturb my sister's reading). Such is contentment. And, I suppose

Boy, have I been neglectful! Anyway, I've gone on two more college visits - one about three or three and a half hours away, and one pretty close (not quite commuter distance, but very close to it). They were both fun - at the close one, I saw one of my 4-H friends entirely by accident. :-) I just read most of a "Just So Story" to my little neighbor (she's about ten years younger than I am), and I could hardly keep from laughing! Try "How the first letter was written" and you'll see what I mean. hmmmmmmmmmmm...... tomorrow's a homeschool group meeting... OH NOW I REMEMBER! To excerpt an e-mail I sent to my grandma: "Yesterday (Election Day) I worked at --- Township Precinct B & C as a tech assistant! (In --- County, of course.) I had to get up at 4:45 so I could get to the church where the polls were by 5:30 A.M. I helped set up the new voting machines, and I took care of the machines throughout the day (cleaning the touchscreens, troub

But do I care? Miss Aleshia of the RI said it was gross . Crushed beetles in your strawberry yogurt! But really, don't we eat animals anyway? Isn't that what we're supposed to do?

So I scheduled another college visit... not to the same college, of course; this one's totally different. (Well, it's private and conservative, so maybe not totally . But very.) I'm writing an article on Condi Rice. Thus, I am reading her biography. And ergo, I will be Googling her. Maybe.... maybe I'll just look for a Wikipedia article on her. And follow whatever links it lists. I'm supposed to enter a couple essay contests by November 1st. One of which is the Voice of Democracy contest, sponsored by the VFW. At least it's simply a 3-5 minute speech on "Freedom's Challenge" (broadness of the topic is intentional to allow for freedom of interpretation). I think I'll narrow the topic to the necessity of an informed electorate. And I may have to narrow it down.... The other essay contest is Guideposts' "Sweet 16 Challenge" or whatever it's called. Up to 1,600 words on a true event that was memorable or changed my life

That's a line from Hook (that movie with Robin Williams as Peter Pan). Very appropriate, however - since it's been snowing off and on for... three hours? four? (No accumulation, though. That can be good or bad, depending on whether you're a ten-year-old boy or a thirty-year-old one.) It's our first snow! And it's not even November yet!!

Hah! Believe it or not, I made my first college visit last Monday. Saw most of the campus - which is very pretty. There are trees all over the place, and a large pond sits smack-dab in the middle of it all. The buildings are pretty too, in a late 1800s / early 1900s style (to match the original one or two, which have obviously been renovated). Hmmm.... what else? First I stopped at the admissions office (of course), then the bookstore, where I got a free T-shirt. (I rather like it - it's longer than most of my others.) I got to talk to the journalism prof, which was great. Learned a lot about the journalism program there - it sounded rather good! After the chat, we toured the campus, and saw inside several of the buildings. The science building is the newest - with a glass elevator too. From there we checked out the time capsule (with an interesting sound experiment there!). Looked through the freshman girls' dorm - its rooms are teeeeeny , and it's not even ai

Honestly! I've just been busy... last month, a computer crashed where my mom works, so some stuff has been different and Mom's been doing stuff here at home. Plus I went on vacation to visit my cousins (well, actually we all did, but this is my blog after all) and visited a college on the way back. 'Twas an interesting college visit; got to tour the campus and lots of the buildings, and talked to the journalism prof, and got a free tee. First college visit ever for me. Today was good. Sang "A Mighty Fortress" in church. I love that song... A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing! Our helper he, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing - for still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe. His wrath and power are great, and - armed with cruel hate - on earth is not His equal! Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing - were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God's on choosing. Dost ask who that may be? C

Well, I discussed DDR a bit with my sis last night, and I decided that, instead of the songs that DDR currently has, it should have songs from Abba, the Beach Boys, and selected other songs that have a good beat. Then I could sing along to the songs! Wouldn't that be fun? Although I might pass out from dancing and singing at the same time, with hardly any breathing... maybe that's not such a good idea. :-P

On Saturday, I had my first chance to see what Dance Dance Revolution is. Yep. First. It's fine. Sorta fun. MUCH MUCH MUCH better than anything else in that arcade.... .....can you tell that I dislike arcades?

I got recruitment info from Harvard and Princeton . No joke. Links point to posts on my College Letters blog.

Something interesting from the message board that I moderate..... Gal on a message board , in a questioning thread: What are you? (ex....loved) in six words or less. Me: Christian bohemian with penchant for hats. Next question: have you any idea what that said? Guy on said message board: Yup! (you are somebody who tries to follow the teachings and examples of Jesus Christ, who does not live according to the conventions of society, (or is from Bohemia) with a strong liking for things that cover your head, worn for protection from the weather or as a fashion accessory. i understand it quite well. )

The flags are at full mast... the music has stopped... the footage is back in storage... the moment of silence is over... but our memories are still there.

Now, let this be a lesson to you. Never take the games on the back of the cereal box seriously. On to the point. On the back of Cap'n Crunch's Peanut Butter Crunch, there is a Canadian (he's holding up a sign; that's how I know his nationality) who's missing his front tooth and is wearing a musher's cap. Now what kind of stereotype is that? (And why do I spend my time examining the back of the cereal box? Have the "Nutrition Facts" gotten too predictable?) Also, I've been getting college letters galore .... and I just took a very long end-of-book chemistry test yesterday.... and I'm two-thirds of the way through Democracy in America! And I helped bury Sadie yesterday.

Our family cat died last night. Sadie had this bad habit of sitting under the van and napping.... and she's getting old. (7 or 8 years, we figure. Not exactly sure.) She's always been able to scramble out of the way of the moving tires before, but she was too slow this time. Poor girl - she was really nice, and loved us like a dog would! "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die..." It was getting to be her time. She wasn't as playful as she used to be, poor thing, and just seemed to be feeling old. (Yeah, I know 7 or 8 years isn't very old! But she was an outdoor cat, and they seem to have shorter lifespans.) Oh well. Now to see if the cat shelter has any extra kittens. I wish I had a picture uploaded here somewhere... she was pretty. I actually drew her for my pastels class this past winter.

...except college stuff. That's what I've been doing for awhile... trying to decide what characteristics I'd like most, figuring out when to schedule visits (will have to be in Nov. but not before!), receiving umpteen college letters... But yesterday my family painted the front doors and washed & waxed the three vehicles. (One van for Mom, one nice Taurus wagon for Dad, one old - like, 16 years old - wagon for me. Station wagon, that is.) Oh, and I helped paint the garage steps on Saturday. Cars and Lady in the Water (that's the newest Shyamalan) are at the dollar theater! And I have fifteen cinemabucks to spend. That's.... like, up to six movies for my whole family. (Matinees are half-price, I think.)

Am I crazy or what? I've just started a blog for my college letters ! Why in the world would I want to do that? I've already got my general blog, and my special blog for my poems ... Well anyway, could you pwetty pweeze check it out? What if I promise not to start any more blogs for three months? :-P

I'm reading "Democracy in America". It's hard... even though it's abridged. I mean, I know all the words, but the sentences are somewhat complex so I have to read them over to fully grasp what he's saying. It's very, very good though. I got a letter from the Mayor of Chicago yesterday. Can you guess why? Oh all right I'll tell you... since you're just dying to know. :-P Apparently he promotes St. Xavier University officially. 'Tis a Catholic college out in Chicago, and my dad says the mayor's Catholic, so it makes sense I guess. I got another college letter today. This must be the... fifth? fourth? something like that, different college that I've never heard of, but happens to be a rather well-known selective college. Anyhow, this one was from Smith College. Never heard of it, but it's a "women's liberal arts college." I wonder how much emphasis is on "liberal"? And what is the idea behind trying to subver

Some other interesting quotes, which I ran out of time for on Thursday: "The heart of man is like a musical instrument and may be played upon by the Holy Spirit, by an evil spirit or by the spirit of man himself. Religious emotions are very much the same, no matter who the player may be.... The nun who kneels 'breathless with adoration' before an image of the Virgin is having a genuine religious experience. She feels love, awe and reverence, all enjoyable emotions, as certainly as if she were adoring God. The mystical experiences of Hindus and Sufis cannot be brushed aside as mere pretense. Niether dare we dismiss the high religious flights of spiritists and other occultists as imagination. These may have and sometimes do have genuine encounters with something or someone beyond themselves. In the same manner Christians are sometimes led into emotional experiences that are beyond their power to comprehend.... The big test is, what has this done to my relationship

I recently finished a book-compilation of A.W. Tozer's 52 best chapters.... and, really, Tozer is the best author I've read in awhile. He just opens my eyes to what God's saying in His Word, and he's brilliant besides, although by this time, he's somewhat dated (but sometimes prophetic). A few interesting quotes: "No one with a due regard for the wisdom of God would argue that there is anything wrong with laughter, since humor is a legitimate component of our complex nature. Lacking a sense of humor we fall that much short of healthy humanity. But.... some things lie outside the field of pure humor. No reverent Christian, for instance, finds death funny, nor birth nor love. No Spirit-filled man can bring himself to laugh at the Holy Scriptures, or the Church which Christ purchased with His own blood, or prayer or righteousness or human grief or pain. And surely no one who has been in the presence of God could ever laugh at a story involving the Deity.

Welcome to my parlor, said the spider to the fly..... Or not. This doesn't look like a parlor, you don't seem to buzz like a fly, and I certainly don't have eight legs. But welcome anyway. Pull up that chair! How do you like my new house? Have a cup o' tea. Why don't you help me build a sugar cube hut, while you're at it?

I don't know. I really like this layout, but... I've had a blog for a year and a half already, and I'd just leave that one, with all its archives etc, and start a whole new one. I'd have to re-learn blogging, almost. And I'd probably lose a good many readers....