Cookies! Duct Tape! 2009 Approacheth!

...i just wrote a bunch of stuff, then i hit the wrong button and now i'm facing a blank screen, blinding me with the empty pallor of death.
thank you computer.
ANYway, as I said in the last phantom blog that no one shall ever read for it is no more (rrrghh), Missy sends her blog to people and they read it. I send my blog to no one, and no one reads it. Behold my new method. I shall send my blogs to people and they shall read it. Thus it shall be done. (gong sound)
So, I had a really great Christmas. My family traversed to my uncle's house in New Jersey, where we just hung out with the family for a few days. It was grand. My Aunt Kelly owns a catering business and she and my cousin Ariel made like four thousand sugar cookies for decorating purposes. They also made gloriously colored frosting with which to...gloriously color...
so without further ado, behold our creations.

"Hitler" by Jacob.

"1-up" by me

"Blithering fat man" by me

"Weird Bird" by my dad

"Pooh Bear" by Ariel

"Barbara" by me

"Hitler Goomba" by me

"Bucky" by me

I'm not sure why there was a reoccuring hitler theme, but I really love the Barbara cookie. Jake ate it spitefully. Silly boy. His Hitler came out good.

I'm also quite proud of my "1-up" cookie.

I'm mainly writing this blog to put up pictures of cookies. Also to premier the sending of my blog to people via email. Comments. Would be nice.

Uh, and my family got a Wii courtesy of my grandma and my cousins who were her partners in crime/purchasing at a local walmart. We have Super Smash Brothers Brawl and Mario Kart Wii which both are awesome, flippin AWESOME!! I still can't believe we have one. Gaahah. I'm afraid the thing's gonna overheat and explode though, between me and my siblings it gets mucho playtime.

On a final note, for Christmas my brothers and I received much duct tape with which to create limitless objects. I have created my first object, a duct tape belt.

Behold.

I attatched the buckle wrong so i had to disassemble it a few times, but it's all good now. I'm probably going to let my friends attack it with sharpies.

Now, off I go to eat chicken and spend New Years Eve with Missy and Jay!

Wherever Shall I Go?

Ah, what glorious irony. It's saturday morning. I have nothing to do but the homework for my Government class that I'll probably put off until the period before it's due. Jacob's with his friends. Caleb's still asleep. My mom is off at a women's retreat. I have my lisence, and no money.
I'm free as a bird! I can go wherever I want!
...but where is there to go?
I could hang out with some friends! Except that they all live in another state. I doubt that my parents would let me run that far away from home for the second time I would ever drive independantly.
I could go to Missy's! No, she's at that retreat with my mom. Hmm. Jason's at my house, their kids are with their grandparents... maybe I could just go to their house and play their Wii alone.
I could go to wal-mart and play guitar hero! Yeah! That's cool!
.....
Hmmmmm.....
HMMMMMMMMM......
Where do people go? They go to the mall. I was there last night. I have no money.
I have no money.
I have no money.
I can't do anything without money.
I can't even fuel my car.
I need some money.
Oh! I can go get a job!
Naw, I don't have time for a job. Aiaiai!!!
I have time for a job TODAY, but I don't consistantly have time for a job what with my standard homework load. I've been getting less lately because of interspersed day off's and half days, but those are temporary.
Alright so I have no local friends, no cash, no way of acquiring any cash, nowhere to go, nothing to do.
.....
I guess I'll...do my homework....

or play FFR!!

Life Tile Please

I was tired. I just wanted to be at my house so I could curl up on my couch with a gameboy and not have to think about responsibility for a few hours, but I knew that if I wanted to finish my homework before the breaking of the next day, I 'd have to start immediately upon entering my house. I sighed as I schlepped down the bus stairs (but was careful to say thank you to the driver) and then tried not to be the last one across the street. I sat in the passenger's seat of my car, when my mom announced casually, "I called your driving instructor today, he's gonna let you use his car and you're going for your lisence on Tuesday."
My stomach echoed a red wave of nervousness throughout everything within me. No, no, no!
"Ooosh..." I breathed. I was not ready yet. So I told myself while everyone else told me that my opinion was different. "You're ready, you're just nervous." Oh. Thanks.
I was terrified. So, as I tend to deal with most stressors in life, I ignored the fact. This was Friday.

Over the weekend, I purposed to only tell a few people that I was taking my road test on Tuesday. I thought of the shame that would come with exclaiming to the world that I was about to get my lisence, then regretfully answering the myriads of "How'd you do?"'s that would follow once I failed. I told only trusted people and notified those who I wanted prayer from. By the time Monday rolled around, I had become so nervous and jittery that I all but did away with my former precautions. "I'm taking my road test tomorrow. I'm terrified." I told anyone that was within 10 feet of me for more than two minutes. Fool... I thought on Monday afternoon. I told underclassmen, teachers, kidnergarteners, pedestrians and textbooks. "I'M TAKING MY ROAD TEST TOMORROW! I'M TERRIFIED!!!"

Tuesday morning. I had been in constant prayer since Monday morning that my nervousness would mysteriously vanish from me, that I would be calm, cool, collected, all that good stuff. I prayed that anyone who knew about this would be suddenly convicted to pray for me. I calmed right down. I got ready for the day, listening to music and resisting the urge to drink coffee (this would have caused the problem of added jitters to potential nerves in the future, and an urgent need for a bathroom break during my road test. Both undesirable side effects). The rain was coming down. Not a torrential downpouring, not a common spritz, but somewhere right in the middle. Fabulous day for a road test. I marveled at how the terror I had built up for the past couple of days wasn't bothering me anymore. I thanked God for the people who were praying for me, and I know they were. I drove my dad to the RMV where we met up with my old driving instructor from the past two summers (I've dragged this out for quite some time). He alluded to the same point. "I haven't seen you since June, you better have been driving!" "Yeah, I know!" I said with a smile. Any second now... I thought, I'm going to explode and be shaking and nervous and throwy-uppy and scared... It never happened. Praise God.
I suppose if I had been nervous, waiting for the officer to come and get me would have been the most torturous point of the whole experience. I'm glad I was calm. I'm still amazed that I was. After extensive small-talk and admiration of RMV decor, the officer told us to go to the car and get ready. She was a kind looking woman, with a voice that was frighteningly similar to the tomtom GPS system.
My driving instructor and I made our way out to the driver's ed car, where I buckled my seatbelt and adjusted my mirrors. I was unfamiliar with the basic controls of this new driver's ed vehicle, so the instructor quickly filled me in and then quizzed me. Now, in most regards, I am not a trial-and-error type of person. However, in mechanical issues such as buttons on a dashboard (or in most video games), it takes me a few go-rounds before it's hammered into my mind. I noted the locations of the windshield wiper lever, the directional signals, the headlights and what have you. They were different than my car, but I knew I'd get the hang of it after making a few mistakes... luckily, I had that opportunity before the officer got into the car.
"Alright, turn on the headlights," quizzed my elderly instructor. I activated the windshield wiper fluid.
"What the heck are you doing?!?" he exclaimed. I laughed out loud, both at my mistake and at his reaction.
"Sorry, sorry," I laughed, "I didn't mean to do that, sorry."
"You're worrying me, what did I teach you in driver's ed? Nothing?"
"I'm sorry."
"Ok. Now turn on the headlights." I turned them on. "Good," he said, "now let me see your right directional signal." I activated the high beams. "Directional!" He yelled. I hit the left directional. "Right directional!!" he yelled, becoming flustered. I really wish you could have seen these happenings, he's a comical fellow when made cross. I hit the right directional. What my instructor didn't know was that with every mistake, the correct procedure was cemented into my mind for future use. "Ayayay," he sighed, "You're worrying me, kid."
"I'm sorry."
"Alright, just pull it together when the officer gets here. Now let me see you activate the windshield wipers." I did, but as I pulled the lever down I accidentally pulled it forward, thus activating the wiper fluid again. "Don't wash the windows! It's already raining!"
"I didn't mean to!" I yelled back, but I was holding back laughter once again.
"Alright, turn 'em off," he said. I did, and in pulling the lever up, I once again pulled it forward by mistake. Winshield washer fluid dispersed.
"STOP DOING THAT!" He yelled. I was trying so hard not to laugh hysterically as I once again apologized. Now that I had thouroughly corrected every wrong avenue my mind could have taken (and thouroughly convinced my instructer that I was doomed for failure and the besmirching of his reputation), I was confident that I could pass my road test. A few awkward minutes of silence passed before the officer entered the vehicle. "When it is safe, take a right," directed officer tomtom in her soothing automated voice. When it was safe, I took a right.
The test consisted of parking uphill, parking downhill, a three point turn, reversing in a straight line, parallel parking, and hand signals. As I parked in the RMV's lot, my heart sank as I released all the nervousness I had been spared of previously. She didn't make it SOUND like I made any mistakes, but she's not supposed to tell me until now... oh boy, here it comes... ohhhhh boy... ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh boyy.... ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh boyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy...............................
"Well," she began
WELLLLL??? WELLLLLLLLLLLLLL????? WWWEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLL??????????????
"After finishing your reversing in a straight line, you forgot to signal left and check your blind spot before you pulled back into traffic."
NO! STUPID FOOL THAT I AM! WHY MUST I FAIL AT LIFE? WHY MUST I BE SUCH A FAILURE? WHYY MUST II BEEEE SOOOOO STIINNKINNNNNG....
"But that was your only mistake,"
oh?
"and based on that performance you definitely deserve a lisence in my opinion, so,"
OH MY GOSH???
"congratulations!"
OH MY GOSH!!!! OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Here you go," said officer tomtom, handing me my permit with her signature on the back.
"You did a great job, Crystal," said my driving instructor. This is definitely THE FIRST compliment I've ever received from him. "You had me worried!" he said. I thanked him, then exited the car in the pouring rain.
I practically danced back into the RMV, where my dad was meandering around the lobby awaiting my return. Our joyful reunion brought hope to the two other teenagers in the room awaiting their road test, and sighs of relief were given.
I waited in line, got my lisence, met up with my mom who showed up just as they made a mistake behind the desk.... which resulted in another hour of waiting while they corrected it. BUT!
Now I have my lisence! I drove to breakfast with my family, and I just got back. Victory is mine!!!!

A hearty thank you to all who took time to pray for me today!!

n2m, u?

The title of my blog derives to the common AIM response to the ever general "Whats up?"
I tire of this response, so I shall deliver this one instead.

You: Hey, whats up?




Me:














I got a flipping CANINE COMPANION!!! My long awaited friend is 2 years old, extremely laid back, very obedient, and has been christened "Luigi".


I am thouroughly enjoying my senior year of high school, with the exception of the looming thoughts of graduation separation from my friends. Other than that, it's really great. I've kept busy doing lots of homework. As you can see, I'm faithful to take notes in class,





























and my typing skills are being put to good use in the new computer lab.

I'm taking a class this year called "The Christian Home". Last year, my classmates were each given 2 options for the next year's classes: Physics, or The Christian Home. Given the extremely intimidating nature of Physics, most of them opted for The Christian Home as a way to avoid difficulty. I definitely did not want to take Physics, but I can honestly say that I chose to take The Christian Home because I really wanted to take that class. And it is my favorite class that I have right now. Not because it's decidedly "easier" than my other classes, but because it's proving to be very useful. I will, at some point in life, be a co-founder of a "Christian Home", thus I find the class to be applicable. Some of my classmates don't enjoy the class as much as I do. However, I am seriously enjoying it.

In The Christian Home, we are currently working on a project that we will also get credit for in our Consumer Math class. The point of the project is to learn how much goes into planning a wedding, and to attempt to plan a hypothetical wedding (to a non hypothetical classmate) on a budget of $10,000. This sounds like a reasonable amount of money to get the job done. Then again, I know very little about wedding planning.

I was assigned to a humorous partner who slipped a paper ring on my finger while the project was being assigned. A volunteer who happened to be in the room at the moment handed out random "ring making" materials to the rest of my classmates, who found this to be a funny idea and wanted to copy it. Thus, other rings were made. And hence, my partner made a new ring (and an earring consisting of a bent up paperclip, 3 beads, and a unicorn) to 1up them.

*insert mario 1-up sound here*

Well being the scatterbrained little girl that I am, I took off my ring for 2 seconds the following morning and forgot to put it back on. And being the never-pass-up-humor type of person my hypothetical fiance is, I heard about it all day. Especially since I was the bearer of the original creative thought that was the Christian Home Wedding Project Engagement Ring, and every other girl in my class was wearing theirs.
Note to self: when you get engaged for real, do not take off your ring.

Outside of school, I've been able to spend a decent amount of time with my friends regularly seeing as I now spend every monday night at Kay's house (SICKKKK) so I can go to her youth group, which incidently consists of my close friends. This is a pretty awesome addition to my final year of high school. I'm gonna miss them like craziness and I'm not even willing to tap into that rant at present...

And lets see... I'm listening to the new Relient K album because they are my favorite. I also got a free Hellogoodbye shirt because I ordered one, they sent the wrong one, then told me i could keep the wrong one as they sent the right one. Free. Shirt.


I am also waiting patiently for a usb cable that connects to my new cell phone (which is super). I got a sony ericsson z750a, pictured here:

I love this thang.

















I accidentally threw it across my room upon my first morning with it. Yes, it is possible to ACCIDENTALLY project something across a room. I use my phone as an alarm clock. Thirty seconds after consciousness has BEGUN to flood back to me is not my most coordinated time of day. After turning off the alarm, I closed my phone and attempted to place it back upon my windowsill. Attempted. At this, the phone slipped out of my hand at the most precise moment of arm rotary; the point in rotation where it could develop the most velocity in mid air. Thus, I accidentally threw my one-day-new cell phone across my bedroom. It landed in a soft spot on my computer case, which was covered in assorted electronic chargers. My phone landed within the 6 inch circumference of space in my room where it would NOT have shattered upon impact. I literally said thank you to God aloud. What a silly thing, but He's still looking out for me. Thank God He does, too.

But yes, about the cord. I ordered it. I waited a week and a half. It finally came. I was ecstatic. It was wrong. It didn't plug in.
....
So my mom ordered the correct one off the internet. A week ago.

So I am still waiting. asjdfl;akfjasldfasdfalsd.
patiently.


And that's about all thats new for me! I should start sending this to people...

FIRSHT DAYA SCHOOL!

Today was the first day of school! Hip hip hizzah!!
I had been apart from all my friends this summer (by my own admission, withdrawing into the deep, dark, damp forests of Maine for at least 4 weeks). I got to go and hang out with my best of buddies, Kayleigh, when I got home from Maine for a few days so we could say that we had spent SOME time together during the summer. I went to her youth group and got to see my other valued friends which was also quite nice.
And today, I got to return to my stomping ground of three years, emerging at the top of the food chain. Yes, I am a senior in a small private school.
Hear. Me. Roar.
Also, I am now the only one of my clan attending my school, as my siblings will now be homeschooled. I will miss seeing their flowing manes bounce about my hallways, but I wish them the best.
Anyhow, I was aptly thrilled to be in my circle of friends again. Walking into a room and seeing a group of familiar faces light up at my entry was possibly the highlight of my year so far. I've been seriously blessed with the friends I've made at this school, I'm going to miss them when I leave them all.... ANYWAY!
Being a senior (with a vast majority of my friends belonging to a lower grade) seems pretty good so far in the way of lunch. As most of my classmates can drive (I am the youngest in my class, thus I cannot yet drive alone) and have acquired the senior privilege of off-campus lunch, almost every one of them took advantage of it on this fine day. Since they were gone, they have yet to find out that another senior privilege that has been lovingly bestowed upon us 2009'ers is the right to be first in the lunchline. I didn't know this was going to be put into effect myself, until I sat among my underclassmen friends, waiting to be told to fetch lunch. The teacher in charge then stated that this year, seniors would get in line before underclassmen.
Boo, ya.
Seeing as the rest of my fellow seniors were out acquiring fast food which they would have little time to consume by the time they returned, the teacher might as well have said "Crystal, please arise and be fed with chicken nuggets and fries, unhindered by the inconvenience of standing in line. Go on now, the rest of the school will just watch you until you come out."
And that they did. With baited breath and a growling gut. I didn't make them wait long. I'm not evil. And plus, I didn't want to be finished with my food long before my friends even returned to the table. I stalled so that we could eat at somewhat the same pace.
I don't really want to go out to lunch with my class, so I hope this becomes a trend.

Also, I got my favorite teacher for two blocks, every day.
I know this is going to be an awesome year, and I'll work to see the good in every day and enjoy every second of it. After all, it is the end of life as I know it and another fine excuse to say farewell to all I've grown accustomed to.
Might as well enjoy it while it lasts.

And Now It's Over

Last day of school today! Kinda weird... this year both dragged horrendously and went too fast. It only dragged on because of my impatience. When you're waiting for days to come they always come slower. However this year definitely seemed to zoom by quicker than last year did. And this last day of school wasn't as dramatic for me as it was last year when I wasn't sure I was returning to my school because this year I know that I am going back. Plenty of tearful goodbyes were exchanged (along with parting hugs), and I didn't partake in many because most of my friends will be there next year and I'll probably see them numerous times over the summer. It made me pretty happy, actually.
I just love the friends God has given me for this stage of life, they're just so flippin' awesome! It's one thing to be part of a group of people that you hang out with so you don't feel awkward, but it's another thing to be a part of a group of people that honestly cares about you. That's what makes the difference. I have low tolerance for meaningless acquaintences, and I rarely pursue them. Sometimes that's misconstrued as being "cliquey", but rest assured I do not belong to any cliques. What on earth kind of clique could I possibly fit into anyway??
I'm too nerdy to be a prep, too stupid to be a nerd, too happy to be an emo, too anti-conformist to be a goody goody, too rule conscious to be a punk, the list goes on. But this isn't a complaint. Sure, these strange qualities of mine sometimes doom me to be the odd one out in most social circles (which is pretty much why I can't stand summer camp...), but they allow me to have all kinds of different friends. Good friends, not just acquaintances in my cliquey circle.
Just look at some of my closest friends. We're all so different from each other. We do things the same sometimes, that just comes with the territory when you hang out with people. You become like who you hang out with, which is why the Bible tells us that evil company corrupts good habits. But we aren't just mindless robots who turn into identical grey blobs, we have really differing personalities. The underlying common denominator between us is Jesus Christ, because we all love Him. That's a pretty cool trait to have in common. No matter who your friends are, even if you have NOTHING else in common, you can have that in common and it could be the basis for an awesome friendship. And those are the friendships that last.
I really hope I'm still friends with these people years from now.
And that I'll be able to get out of my basement this summer to chill with them.

Whine whine whine.

It is HOT. It is HUMID. Yuck, blah, pooh.

Of Winter, Spring, Headholes, and Heaven

Ah, spring. Blue skies, green leaves, and the annual injury before baseball season.

I'm all for blue skies and grean leaves, and I hope you won't all shoot me for saying something this "atrocious", but for some reason I have loved winter more this year than in any prior year. I have ALWAYS adored winter, and I think the 2.5 years that I spent living in sunny Florida had some effect on my appreciation for it. I was not built for warm weather. Much less hot weather. Winter hasn't always been my favorite, but snow has always held a certain magic and joy for me. This year, I really appreciated winter. Like I REALLY, really appreciated it. It was just a sweet winter. Missy, if you comment this blog, don't reference this part ok? Hahaha...

Anyway, why am I blogging about winter yet again? Well, I'm uploading a video to youtube and I'm killing time because it takes FOR! EV! ER! to upload. And I had some things to share on winter and spring.

I suppose I'll cease my winter praise. I do so adore winter though...

Spring, once you get past the mud season (depressing...), is quite lovely itself. Now that all the leaves are a decent size and flowering trees are in bloom, everything just looks alive and well. I love the color green. Everything is just about as green as it'll get, so it's purty sick. Spring represents new things, right? Righto! Well as far as NEW things go, my room is now newly arranged and colored [but that's oldish news]. Also, I cut my hair shorter on Friday. Or rather, my mother did. By shorter, I mean SHORTER. I've only had it this short twice before, once in second grade and then in fifth grade. Both of those times, my hair was straight. When I turned 12, my hair turned curly. I kid thee not. So this is an entirely new look for me. I like it now, I was a bit skeptical upon my first meeting with the new me in the bathroom mirror. I definitely like it now though. Though I do prefer having long hair. But this had to be done, I'm cutting out all the brown dye that I poisoned my hair with a few months back so that I can dye it red again. Hooray!! And then I'll grow it out long again because that's how I like it.

Also, I got a new piercing in my ear. I got the cartiledge on my right ear pierced with a barbel which is a 16 gage hole, just a little bigger than a typical earring hole.

Observe.

this picture strikes me as gross. But yeah there's the piercing. magnificent, ain't it?

Now in the midst of all this nonsense, while I was waiting for that picture to upload, my father burst through my bedroom door to tell me that one of the most incredible women of God I've ever been priviledged to know is on her way to heaven right now. She's dying of cancer, and she's about an hour and a half away, so as I type this my dad is speeding down there to try to say goodbye. She apparently requested that he come visit her before she leaves. I wanted to go too, but my dad doesn't know what time he'll be back or how I'll be able to handle watching someone I care about pass out of this feeble life. Hardcore stuff, huh?

What an amazing woman! If I was Jesus, I'd want her home too. I can't wait to see her again. She will have one blinged out crown to cast. I love her so much.

I was going to blog more nonsense but I don't think I can do that right now, I've been shifted into seriousness pretty abruptly.

I'll blog later! Praise God for such a beautiful life.