Midterm Ballet Recital!!

Yep. Not as ballet-ish as I could wish, but not as bad as Ballet Meets the Beatles, huh? Anyway, my mom was videoing it, and she missed the first few seconds, when we started all in a lunge position with our hands above our head. We did this position in all 3 times, but you'll only see two. Trust me, you'll understand better AFTER you watch it!! ;)

I'm the blonde in solid black, I start in the very front and then I move to your far right side (the far left of the formation from our perspective).

OK -- problem fixed!

Woohoo! I'm posting in English! Sorry about that little thing, folks... I got the language stuck and then my computer locked up and I couldn't change it and.... Anyway, it's fixed now. Sorry about that!

As long as I'm posting, how 'bout some more randomness?

Let's see, it's Wednesday. That means studying, classes, and church tonight. It's a full and busy day. I'm glad I have a few minutes' peace here in the early morning. It's worth getting up at 5:00AM anyway just so I can have breakfast with my family, but I do like the early morning time when it's dark and quiet and chilly, and then the sun slowly rises in a sky of blue and pink and yellow and orange, and the birds wake up and start singing, and lights go on in your neighbors' houses and their cars start... OK, I surely wouldn't miss the neighbors' lights and cars if I could move out to the country somewhere where there weren't close neighbors. I like the solitude of no house four feet away, when you can practically shake hands between your dining room window and their bedroom window. Sometimes I just get so claustrophobic here in the city. You can't see a horizon line at all, every way you look there's just buildings and more buildings. The only sky you see is right above you or between the buildings around. And I only live in a suburb bedroom community! I can't imagine what it's like living more towards LA and all that smog and noise and concrete. I just want to go somewhere where I can see the sky for miles and miles, until it meets the ground in a horizon. Somewhere where you don't have to yell at the neighbors' dog...or yell at your own dog to stop barking before it disturbs people. Somewhere the neighbors don't rev their cars at 4:00AM, and you can't overhear their phone conversations from your window. Is that too much to ask?

Wow, that is a long paragraph. That really was random, wasn't it? I think that was a rabbit trail off a rabbit trail...which possibly came off a rabbit trail.

Anyway... I need to get going but thanks for being patient with the whole Hindu language thing. :)

ग्रीक -- वूहू??

थिस इस सो अवेसोमे। इ लव ग्रीक?

आईटी प्रोबब्ल्य दोएसं'टी मके मच सेंस बुत ओह वेल। थिस इस सो कूल!!

More Randomness

UPDATE: Mrs.Hester had a marvelous idea. I've seen other people do it and just never thought about doing it myself. From now on, on this blog I will refer to my niece and nephews by their first initials instead of by their whole names, and I will do the same for my sisters/bros-in-law. Thanks for the suggestion! :)

So after making that last non-Sunday Stills post, in which I mentioned my views on Halloween, it occurred to me that such a post, on a rather controversial issue, might be better made on my private blog, as such a post could possibly draw nasty comments. However, after a little more thought on the matter, I decided that, while I am using my private blog for most of the controversial and/or more personal posts, I am not going to stop using my public blog to state my opinions and beliefs on certain matters. So therefore, I came to the conclusion that I am not going to either erase that portion of the post or even move it to the private blog. What I believe is what I believe and I don't see any need to hide it. It's my blog, I can say what I want on it, and if you leave me a nasty comment I will simply delete it. That's what comment moderation is for. So, that being said, I am still figuring out the line to draw regarding what to post on my public blog for all to read, and what to post on my private blog for only my friends to read. You know, it's a lot harder of a line to draw than I thought it would be.

Now, I've always made a point of not posting much as far as political stuff on this blog -- except in somewhat-extreme cases where I felt a little lobbying, a little standing up for what I believe, was necessary. But the question becomes...do I continue to not post political stuff, do I post political stuff on the private blog, or do I just say, "Forget it, it's my opinion and I'm entitled to post it on my public blog"??

My sweet niece and nephews are another subject I've been debating over. Most of y'all have already seen their photos and know their names. Do I continue posting their pictures here on this blog or do I keep them strictly for the private blog, just for their safety's sake?

Questions, questions, questions. I don't have time for debating with myself like this. I gotta go study. Feel free to give me your opinion on this randomness -- you're entitled to your opinion as well! 'Course, if it's nasty, then please keep it just to your own blog.

:)

Sunday Stills -- Fall Landscapes

So this week's challenge was Fall Landscapes. Hmmmph.

This, folks, is fall in Southern California.

I know -- no breathtaking colored leaves, no snow-capped mountains mirrored in quiet lakes. Sorry about that. You just gotta work with what you've got -- and this is what I've got. Frankly, I'd rather have the leaves and mountains...but no complaining. This is where God has me for now and I will be content here. :)

And beaches ARE pretty cool to photograph, anyhow... :)

Overdue Random Ramblings

Have you noticed that my last several posts on this blog have all been Sunday Stills??

It's a good thing I participate in Sunday Stills or else this old blog might not even get any posts at all!

Sad, huh?

But seriously, I've been soooooooooo busy lately...between work and school and life...who has time to be constantly blogging?

I went to somebody's blog the other day to discover that in three days she'd posted five times. Kind of makes me feel a little bad...makes me feel even more tired... At any rate, I'm doing good if I manage to get Sunday Stills scheduled to go up on Sunday...that's about my one post for the week...and then I'll visit everybody else's blogs, maybe drop a word on my private blog, and call it good.

Because about the only real blogging time I have these days is late at night. Like 10:00 PM. And when I have to get up at 5:00AM the next morning, I really try to be in bed by 9:30 at the VERY latest. Which means that I'm not doing much blogging anymore.

It's been a long time since I've done a Randominity-type post. I used to do them about every other week or so. Back when I did a lot of blogging. I know -- I'm waaaaaayyyy overdue for this one. But better late than never, huh?

Never fear, this is not a post saying that I'm leaving. Far from it. In fact, this is just a post wondering if ANYBODY else out there is in the same position I am in????? Somebody? Anybody?

At any rate, I have to go get ready for work. Yes I know -- work on a Saturday. It's a Halloween carnival that we're more or less required to participate in. Praise the Lord, I managed to get a spot on hayrides so that I don't have to put on a costume and I don't have to work in the haunted house. I was sooooo thankful!! I mean, y'all know that I'm a Christian, and I know Christians have varying ideas about Halloween but frankly, it's about Satan and his demons and I do not want to participate in any Halloween stuff. But hayrides? I can deal with that. (I was really hoping for pony rides but somebody else already nabbed that position) So anyway, I'm wishing y'all a very happy Saturday. And yes, I just scheduled my Sunday Stills to go up at 7:29 tomorrow morning. :)

Sunday Stills - Letter C

OK, so yesterday's Sunday Stills challenge was The Letter C. Now I know this is Monday, but I've been so outrageously busy this weekend that I didn't have time to get it up any sooner. Forgive me.

So I took a quick gander through the dictionary, and here's the Cs I came up with (not in alphabetical order):

Capitalism:


Cake:

Cat:

Sweet Skeeter, naturally.

And unnaturally.

You gotta love that face.

So sweet.

My last C is Chatting. Now this isn't exactly a photo of chatting, but it is certainly hanging out with my sisters/best friends/cousins, and we did do quite a bit of chatting. Yes this is a dogpile, yes that is me at the bottom. Any other questions?

Well there you go folks -- Sunday Stills on Monday. ;)

Sunday Stills -- Photoshop

Well, I don't have photoshop...I usually use Paint Shop Pro. And I'm not completely sure what sort of stuff is expected for this challenge, but I went into PSP and played around for a little while with the different effects...here's what I came up with. The original photo of yours truly:

And this is the negative image:

Here's a wind effect of strength 15: And strength 20:

The emboss effect is definitely one of my favorites:

Here I'm slightly pixellated...I don't remember what this effect is called, but it's kind of fun:

Not quite gray scale, this is actually isolating the red...or taking all the red out...or something like that. I don't remember exactly. Kind of interesting effect, isn't it?

And here's the original photo again, for contrast's sake. What do you think?

Well, that's about the best I can do. But y'all can go over to Sunday Stills and check out the work of all the real photoshop folks! :)

Have a blessed Lord's Day, folks!

An Award!

Dear sweet LeAnna didn't pick me for the giveaway :( but she did tag me for an award :) so I forgive her. :P (in case you didn't pick up on the sarcasm, that was a joke -- just thought I'd clarify) Anyway, the award is the Honest Scrap. And LeAnna, you're right, it does sound like an expletive if you say it without enunciating all the consonents. Oh, and Sara also tagged me for it. I don't think I've ever been double-tagged. :)

So here's what you're supposed to do:

1) Say thanks and give a link to the one who gave you the award.
2) Share 10 honest things about yourself.
3) Present this award to 9 other fantastically brilliant blogs of content or design, or peeps that have encouraged you.
4) Tell those 9 people they've been awarded and make sure they're informed of these guidelines.

My ten HONEST things:

1. I don't lie. Which makes this slightly unnecessary. (It's just a fun game, B -- just enjoy it. Hmm, 'just enjoy it'...that sounds like a slogan for something... Then on the other hand, I might not want to know what it would be a slogan for.) Which brings me to my next point.

2. I'm easily distracted. No, not ADHD, just easily distracted. In my family, we call it 'there goes a fly'...because the slightest little thing can distract and redirect the thoughts. Like the pretty red and green plaid Christmas ribbon sitting on my desk. There went a fly.

3. When I love, I love wholeheartedly. I love my parents and my grandparents (including my adopted grandparents) and my adopted sisters and brothers-in-law and niece and nephews and ALLLLLLLLL my friends. Once you're my friend, you're my friend forever and I love you with all my heart. And pretty much everybody who will be reading this post is my friend, and I love you.

4. I'm a little protective of those whom I love. You better not ever say anything bad about my friends or family, let alone hurt them in any way. It's not as bad as it used to be when I was quite a bit younger. Now I can usually keep a little calmer, and just breathe threats from between clenched teeth...instead of letting fists fly...but you better believe I'll still use the fists if necessary. I get mad a little too easily when somebody I love is involved. Guess I'll be a bear of a mama, huh?

5. When I get really mad -- and I mean REALLY mad, not just sorta angry -- my face gets very red, I sweat, my body tenses and my fists clench in readiness, and my vision gets very blurry. Whatever happens, I usually remember only small snapshots later on. Like the fight I got in when I was 12. But that's a whole 'nother story. The point is that when I truly lose my temper, which has only happened about two or three times in my life, I tend to react physically.

6. I love babies, and I love kids. I don't always like kids, but I do love kids. Ya know, kids can get awfully bratty sometimes. You know what I mean. And if you don't, if you're signed into my private blog, go read the post I made there. If you aren't, just imagine yourself working at a daycare with nearly thirty kids and there's absolutely NOTHING you can do to them. Frustrating. But I do love kids. But I tend to love babies more. I know -- weird point to make right after telling how I get mad easily. There went a fly.

7. I used to have really.short.hair. It was a bit of a teenage rebellion. There's a lot of background to this, a lot of the story behind it that I haven't told and probably won't tell on my public blog, but one of these days I will probably tell it on my private blog.
8. Here goes another fly. Y'all probably know by now about my adopted sisters, brothers-in-law, niece and nephew. But did y'all know about my adopted Lebanese grandparents? They have known both my parents for MANY years, and they stood in for my dad's parents at my mom and dad's wedding. What? You didn't know that my dad was an orphan? Yep. But no, that's not one of my honest points, because that's my dad's story, not mine. Anyway, I call them Jiddo (shih-doo) and Tata (tay-tuh), which mean Grandfather and Grandmother. They are very dear to me and I love them very much (but then you already knew that from point 3). I would've put this photo in my Happiness Is... post except that it didn't get taken until this past Saturday when I was in Phoenix.

9. Y'all know I'm a Christian, but you may not know that specifically, I belong to an independent, fundamental Baptist church. Now, I have a lot of friends reading this that are also Baptist, and some that are not. Frankly, I'm not going to say that one denomination is necessarily better than another. You have to find for yourself a local church that fits with what the Bible says. For me, that's a local Baptist church. That doesn't mean that another denomination somewhere else isn't also following God's Word in what they say and do. I have an uncle who is a Methodist minister, and another uncle who is a Calvary Chapel pastor. We may not always agree about everything, but in the most important things we completely concur, and I know they are going to heaven despite our disagreements on nonimportant matters.

10. Whew! One more. Let me see.... Ah, I know one. I hate math. High school algebra and geometry was really, really tough. I have NEVER liked math...except Venn diagrams. Don't ask me why, I have absolutely no idea, but the Venn diagram part of statistics I have always liked. Everything else -- nope. If it takes more brain power than 2+2=4 and 5x2=10, I don't really like it.


OK, so now for the really fun part (cue sound: evil laugh) mwa ha ha ha!! My tagees. Nine of them, to be exact. Now the problem with getting tagged by a friend...who knows all your other friends...is that it makes it very hard to tag anyone that hasn't already been tagged by said friend. Ya know what I mean? Now, if any of you do not want to play the game and do the tag, that's OK. I'll just hate you forever. Or maybe I'll forgive you at some point. Seriously, though, if you don't want to do it, I really will understand.

So here we go:

1. Quilted Snail -- because she's my aunt and, per point 3, I love her.

2. Broken Y Ranch -- because she's my friend and...just read point 3 again, OK?

3. A&MD Ranch -- a good bloggie friend. I think you've read point 3 enough times now.

4. Forever Student -- another good bloggie friend. Point 3.

5. Just Chicken Sittin' -- a new bloggie friend. You know which point.

Now, because I'm running out of friends that have public blogs, that LeAnna hasn't already tagged, I'm going to tag a few private blogs. Sorry, guys.

6. Madame Polka -- go for it, girly!

7. Oreo Avalanche -- enjoy!

8. Texan Gal -- have fun!

9. Let Us Read God's Word Together -- can't wait to read what you say! :)

OK, folks -- go out there and have a MARVELOUS Jesus day! :)

Sunday Stills --- Happiness Is...

Today's Sunday Stills challenge is "Happiness Is..." Well, the problem is that there is SOOOOOO much that I could put for this. It's driving me crazy having to pick and choose just a few. As it was I ended up with 21 photos and that's not even half of what all I'd LIKE to put. Matter of fact, I'm not even going to worry about whether these photos are really good, I'm just going to put what I love. So here we go:

Me and my pretty mama:

And my handsome Daddy:

And the love that my pretty mama and my handsome daddy have for each other:

My dear papa, bless his heart.

Aunt S and Uncle J.

Aunt M.

Sister H and brother-in-law F (pre-nephew J, this was at the Fourth of July party)

Momanette, aka Aunt M (I don't have a good photo of Uncle J, so just imagine him)

My sweet sisters/best friends/cousins:

This little girl can melt my heart with a smile:
Especially when she says "Aunt B" and it comes out "Ah P" (she was trying to share her chocolate pudding -- is that precious or what???)

This little man is so dear to my heart:

I love them both so much. I love my other nephew as well, but I have yet to get a chance to actually photograph him, and it's cheating to post photos for Sunday Stills that YOU didn't take (aaargh!!)

My beautiful Casey-dog.

And, of course, Skeeter the brat-cat.

Being around horses, touching horses, riding horses...

Taking photos of places I enjoy.

And simply photographing God's awesome creations.

(no, I didn't do it, but somebody did and I thought it was cute!)

And just being me, exactly who God created me to be.

Finally, for those of us who know our Lord, we know that true joy comes only from Him, from being in a right relationship with Him and being in fellowship with Him.

I could go on and on with the photos...many more friends and family, and other examples of things that I love, that make me happy. But it's most important to make God happy. If you don't know how to do that, please talk to me or to somebody else who knows the true Savior of mankind. Don't put it off any longer, please. This is eternity we're talking about.

Workin' Girl

Well, Manes and Tails started back up on Saturday, which is GREAT!! I'm lovin' it! 'Course, it's been a few months since I've been all day on my feet in my boots...got a blister on my left heel...and of course the temperature had to be one of the warmest days in the last few weeks, 105 degrees!! It was nasty walking in circles. Since it was just the first day, all we worked on was learning to lead the horse, then mounting and dismounting, and balancing while riding bareback. So we led the horses in circles around and around and around...under the hot sun...with a blister on my heel...and no cold water anywhere, only nasty hot tap water... It was wonderful to be back. :)


This, by the way, was not taken Saturday, this was from August, in the end of Project Noah (summer camp).

If you're signed in to my private blog, be sure to read my post there about my other job! I just got a new job in an after-school daycare for elementary kids. Funny how the Lord keeps putting me in child-care kind of jobs. I wonder if He's trying to tell me something??