A Family Reunited!

Welp, I'm in Arkansas once again. My grandparents moved down here the year my sister was born and ever since we have journeyed the 14 hours south every Christmastime.

This is the first time since my parents were married that all 3 of my mom's siblings, their spouses, and my grandparents have been in the same house! Well, all accept my dad who unfortunately couldn't make it.

Usually for Christmas, Grandpa & Grandma spoil us with all sorts of presents and clothing. This year, however we're doing things a little differently. Since all of us are together this year, we thought getting presents for everybody would be too big of a hassle, so we're doing a gift exchange where all of us only bring one gift.

Of course, this works out great for almost everybody. My aunts and uncles didn't want to get a bunch of gifts--or have to buy one for everybody. As a "kid" I wouldn't be expected to get gifts for all my aunts and uncles, but of course would feel obligated with them all in the same house. Besides, Christmastime is about celbrating Christ--not about opening a myriad of presents. I personally don't mind at all.

Unfortunately, for my 14 year old sister, this plan is rather a let down. She expected to be pampered once again my our doting grandma. Instead she gets one "universal" "generic" gift,  "not to exceed the cost of $25".

On the bright side, even if she doesn't recieve something to her tastes (ie. A teapot.) She is still surrounded by loving family. Theres also gifts waiting at home in Minnesota which we'll open when we return.

I write all of this in the future tense because we will be having our Christmas meal and gift exchange later today. Until then, I am SERIOUSLY enjoying this wonderful rest and relaxation! :)

A (Mundane) Day, in the (Mad) Life

Hey guys. 

You're probably wondering....what exactly do I DO all day?? I mean, c'mon ya slacker. Not going to school? 

Well no. Here's whats up:

I Can Do All Things...

...through Christ who gives me strength.

And honestly, He must be giving me lots of strength right now because I hardly feel phased or crushed as my semester at home readily approaches.

It reminds me of the song "I am...persecuted not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed. I am blessed beyond the curse for his promise will endure,  and his joy's gonna be my strength"

What's interesting is that whenever I'm down, verses pop into my head--and I don't mean Bible verses. Song verses!! One that repeatedly comes back is a kid's song I sang in Sunday school & VBS all those years ago and had all but forgotten until last summer, when, again I was having money and school troubles.

"My God is so great, so strong & so mighty there's nothing my God cannot do!"

Wow. So, basically this fall I just need to trust in Him and His plan for my life.

Plus, in order to not be even more optimistic I'm writing a post a day over on my friend Hannah's blog The Daily Blah about what makes each day great. I'll link to those in this post once I write them :)

(8/27/2013 Side Note: I added a Daily Blah page over on the right hand side. Click on it for links to my posts and to read what the Daily Blah is all about)

And So it Goes...

August 9th. School starts in 2 weeks and I....I am not going back.

It pains me to write that, and it pains me to think about it, but..I cannot go back.

To be honest, I have never had the complete certainty that what I was doing was absolutely correct, or that the next semester I'd be going back. There's always been that nagging feeling that what if...what if...its not God's will.

To be a 19 year old college student who is not completely sure about her path in life is not unusual. To be a 19 year old college student who is taking a semester off to get it figured out is by no means unheard of but...it feels so wrong.

I want to see my people!  I want to take the classes I signed up for. Intro to Conducting? Linguistics? HECK YES. There wasnt a single class on my schedule that I wasn't excited for.

And yet, I cannot go back.

You see, it's not just an issue of becoming sure of my life path, a huge part of it is money. I guess I'd better spill the beans now.

My family is in debt. We have another house that for seven years we have been trying to sell or rent, but unexpected things keep pushing us in the wrong direction. That house was supposed to be sold to pay off our current house, but now we owe on both of them.

Our family, naturally, has an aversion to debt. Basically, I'm doing this college thing with no debt or not at all. That's hard.

I have been working at a machine shop for about a month now, and let me tell you...it's not fun. However, I do get $10  an hour and about 40 of those hours per week...plus I have a weekend job at Chipotle. It's tiring, but rewarding. That's for sure.

This fall, I will continue part time at the machine shop and fill the gaps with work at Chipotle. Hopefully by January I will have enough...

Thank you everyone who has been praying for me. I can't thank you enough.

Her Name is Ursu-bleuhhg

My entire freshman year was an absolute blast, but the most exciting thing was definitely "music theory bootcamp". When I first heard about it I was completely nervous and scared, but it proved to be thought-provoking, hilarious, and, of course, memorable.

Music Theory Boot Camp (MTBC) was a 3 day long adventure at the beginning of the school year where music theory students wrote an opera and a conjoined composition. To try to explain it here would be like trying to fit a giraffe into my sock drawer, but I'll give it a whirl.
There were about 20 students there, including 5 counselors (one of which I hope to be in a couple of months!) For our opera we made up an absurd plotline and then put it to well known music. Our main character woke up to the tune of "Jesus Loves Me", became depressed to the tune of "Carmina Burana" and went on his first date, waltzing away to "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy". You can't buy this stuff, folks. It's priceless.

For our conjoined composition, we each wrote 8 measures of music and then mashed them together into what became one giant orchestration of awesomeness. Turns out we had an avid drum player, 3 violinists, 4 pianists, and a few awesome singers in our midst. What started out as a drab hymn sounding piece (with a bunch of conservative Lutherans dare you ask for something different?) quickly turned into an Irish jig with an upbeat first section, slow but somber middle section and a instrument and chorous filled ending.

Yep. I will NEVER forget those 3 days.

It's a Jungle Out There.

*diaclaimer! Written as a Scholarship App*

The other day I was camped out on the couch, mindlessly watching commercials when I noticed something odd. A good chunk of the
commercials were not for products but for the station itself.

"Watch THIS show!" They screamed. "Coming up next!" They hollered.

*insert deep hoarse voice here* "And now....coming up....you won't want to miss the world-shattering event that will leave you STUNNED"

Give me a break. Most of the time these ads are more annoying than the actual commercials. What, did they think I was going to get bored and switch off the TV before my show was over?

For what reason are TV stations advertising for themselves? Is it because of the increased usage of DVR and Netflix that less people are buying the spots for ads? Is it because they hope to draw more people to their station for shows that are so enticing that people don't prerecord them?

Even with more and more people using DVR I don't think it will necessarily cut into TV advertising revenue; I do, however believe it will (or already has) change its nature.

TV advertisers are going to cater to the people who actually watch their shows. For instance, Life Alert isn't going to advertise during some risquè program, and 5 Hour Energy is probably going to stay away from traditionally "gram and gramps" shows (like, say, the Wheel of Fortune). That said, to some extent this smart advertising has always existed.

There is also a large group of viewers who do not have DVR, and even more who have it but prefer to watch live. I know from personal experience that I like to sit down and watch whatever's on TV, or if a show I like is coming up, I prefer to watch it right away and not record it. I can only assume that others feel the same way.

There are also shows that, while they can be recorded and played back later, the majority of the audience will want to watch live. These shows, such as season finales or sports games (most notably the Super Bowl) will probably have more advertisements. These type of shows also have noticeably better commercials because advertisers pay more money to have their spots. If only all shows had Super Bowl commercials.

Well...

I HAVE noticed that advertisers have started to get much more creative with their ads to draw viewers in. I've got my popcorn. Bring it on, commercials. Bring. It. On.

The 50s Ideal

Settling down with a good book is something I haven't done in a looooong time. I'm so enchanted by the adorable idea of a young lady curled up in a window seat sipping tea and reading a book, while she is sheltered from the stormy weather outside. I absolutely LOVE that picture. It gives me tinglies. :)

Oh, im a romantic at heart, I know that. I don't,  however, know who crafted that picture or why it is in my head, but I want it to be me. I want to be the girl who dresses up in tea length skirts with a nice sweater and has her friends over for some coffee  and a Bible study.

I want to be the girl who has one man and one man only: her Christian husband who reads the Bible with her and has daily devotions with her. The girl who faithfully attends church every Sunday and smiles cheerfully at everyone from underneath her pink hat. The girl whose wardrobe may not be the biggest or the fanciest, but at least it's practical and modest, with a couple of dresses reserved for Sunday best.

I want to be the girl, no, woman, who lives for Jesus every day of her life. Who loves others as Christ loves her with a forgiving, gracious, and unassuming heart.

My mom always said I grew up in the wrong era, that, at heart I'm from the 50s. Maybe I should go back to the 50s.

Or maybe I can just be that girl now.

Proverbs 31:10 and 30
A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies....charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.