Things to do in the summer (without technology!)

Last summer I made a three page (with pictures) list of things that my brothers could do away from their dear, dear screens. Well, few of them noticed or cared, but I'm trying again. I thought I'd share this year's list here, too. Sorry if the formatting is wonky. Copying and pasting from Word doesn't always work as it should.

THINGS TO DO in SUMMER

 (NOT ON THE COMPUTER, IPAD, OR TELEVISION)

Play Ninja

Checkers, but with action figures for game pieces

Board games

Bake desserts

Take a nap

Make paper masks and moustaches

Origami

Learn a guitar chord

Play the piano

Backyard camping

As a superhero, save citizens from certain doom

Write cards and letters to people you haven’t seen in a while

Start a Goodwill box

Swim in the pool

Lay in front of a fan with a book

Obstacle courses

Make up a dance move

Plan a “someday” trip to your favorite country

Invent a joke

Freeze your socks

Who can come up with the craziest outfit?

Eat lunch outside

Paper plane races

Collaborative stories

Telephone Pictionary

Try a new food

Learn a new skill

Describe a color

Use Army Time and party at times like 09:09 or 11:11 or 15:15

Burst out into song

Meet your neighbors

Make your own list

Living Every Day: May

1. Pretty art, interesting words, cheese cubes
2. Great wind, Shadow forbid procrastination
3. Saw Bethany and Emma at the store
4. Tons of chips, salsa, tortillas, milk, ice cream, cake
5. Lunch at park, obstacle course
6. So close to finishing school!
7. Weather is good, watched anime
8. End of school
9. Lots of cleaning
10. Super heavy rain
11. Josh graduated. sauteed onions, ate nearly whole avocado
12. Read a lot, saw amazing movie
13. Bought a wig, took Judah in the car
14. FREE POTS AND PANS! hung out at apartments with besties
15. Cosplay shopping with Bethany
16. Cute crafts
17. Driving with windows down, warm air
18. Productive day!
19. Survived on 2 1/2 hours of sleep
20. Wig came!
21. Signed lease!
22. Spinach tortellini
23. Shakespeare at Zilker
24. Multi-colored potatoes
25. Game night at youth group
26. Computer upgrade
27. Shot a gun, good food
28. More cleaning, ~pasta~
29. Drawing cars is hard. Sunny cool and rainy
30. Taking stuff down.
31. Kim Possible!

Car practice

I had to draw a car for a panel I was working on, and it took such a long time because HOW DO I CAR?
So I decided I needed some practice, and I got some promotional materials from when we were looking for a new minivan, and a bunch of Hot Wheels from the toy bin and just sketched them. Here's the results.

It still remains HOW DO I CAR but at least I'm getting some practice.

Goals Progress

Technically, summer hasn't even started yet. But seeing as I've started my summer goals and it's nearing the end of a month, here I go.

Get a job.
Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. :(
I've yet to get any tangible results. The one I applied for online sent me an email that they didn't need me. The two that I've turned in paper applications for... I keep calling them back and they keep saying to check again next week. Who knew people took so long to review applications? When I wrote down that I could start June 12 (2 weeks ago), I thought they'd reject me because I couldn't start for a whole month. June 12 is seeming much more reasonable as a start date now, with only 2 weeks left. I applied for another place this morning.

Practice drawing every day.
Oops? I'm sure I've at least doodled most days, but as for sitting down and learning techniques... I need to GET ON THAT.

Blog 3 times a week.
Seeing as in the almost-three-weeks since I've posted that, I have 11 posts... I'm doing a-ok there.

Move to Austin.
The day approaches! I'm packing things up and paring things down.

Webcomic: 1-2 pages per week.
I regret to inform you that I have failed, sort of. The first week, I finished 30 minutes after midnight on Saturday. The second, I didn't finish until Monday or Tuesday... THIS WEEK. This being the third week, I'm making up for it by doing it early and maybe doing two panels. I have the linework done, still need to color it. Cars are glubbin' hard to draw! By the way, none of these are posted yet, because I want to update in chunks, so I may only get to update about once a month. But I'd rather do that then have readers wait for a week between each panel.

Well, looks like I'm off to a great start, huh?

;-;

Rain Appreciation Post

I am in awe! Here in central Texas, we've had a REAL rainy spring. We didn't have any really hot days until May, and the water tables are up! I've seen so many thunderstorm predictions on my weather app (probably at least one each week I checked)... half the time it doesn't actually rain, but it HAS rained a lot. I'm just repeating myself, but as a person who likes rain and lives in a place threatened by drought, it is a happy occurence.

Shooting a gun and eating good food

So my memorial day went something like this:
I got up in the morning and ate food and spent some time on the computer.

Then I went with Josh and my dad to the shooting range and I shot a gun for the first time.

I am the one who is not a grown man. Photo by Josh.

Dad thought that the .22 wasn't loud enough that we'd need earplugs or anything yet, but the second shot made my ear ring and sound buzzy and it's still not quite back to normal (I wore the earmuff things after that). I didn't shoot the pistol. Didn't want to. That one was much louder and we all wore hearing protection for it.

All those actiony poses in the movies probably aren't practical for shooting real guns. And you're not supposed to rest your finger on the trigger until you're aiming at something you're willing to destroy, but it's hard to remember that when all you've shot before is nerf guns. >__<

ANYWAY that's it for the guns. Put a badge on my Texan sash and let me move on. What's next, cowboy boots? Haha. (I wasn't born in Texas so I have to prove my loyalty.)

We went home and prepared food and I was on the computer more and THE FOOD WAS SO GOOD and there was a lot. There were roasted veggies and ears of corn and I had a veggie burger with a bunch of fixings including bacon.
(my vegitarianism is mostly based on health and personal preference so I don't feel a betrayal of myself when I eat bacon once in a while, but I feel like I'm betraying other vegetarians... sigh)
There was also avocado and I was probably the only one who would eat it, but I was just so done eating. It took a bit to eat my ear of corn and I put my jalapeno away for later (turns out it had chicken in it and was wrapped in bacon... knew about the bacon, but I ended up just eating the jalapeno and a tiny bit of the bacon). Anyway, yeah.
More computer (I finished last week's panel... finally...) and then I mixed up the avocado with some lime juice and salt and ate it on tortillas at around 9:30 at night.
And then got back on the computer.

I should probably clean up and sleep. I've been on the computer enough.

Late to Leave

My time in the High School Youth Group is drawing to a close.
"Wait, high school?" you say. "During the school year all you could blog about was college!"
Yes. . . . . . . . . . .
It's been a habit. I hold onto things (groups) longer than I need to, and I always have one excuse or another.
When I was a youngling and we went to our current church for the first time, I was scared to be in the 5&6 grade class all alone. So I stayed behind in the 3&4 grade class with my brother. I think I ended up in the right class during sixth grade, but when it was time for me to go to Jr high, I was a little young for my grade and the kids program was starting this new and hilarious (at the time) curriculum. So half the time I worked with two year olds and the other half I went to KIDMO.
After spending my shortened time in Jr high, I stayed a year longer, under the guise of "staying with the people my age" which really meant a certain person my age. Ahem. I'm still glad I stayed back though. Pretty sure that was the year Peggy and Emma and Bethany and I really started hanging out.
And finally I made it to the high school group. Spent some great and awesome times in it. And eventually, it was time to go once again. A year ago. But I'd stay through the summer of course. Oh and then the whole next year, too, because the college group was a night I wasn't in town, and I was still technically young enough for the high school group, and besides, my parents needed me to drive Justin and Kelsey...

Heh.
I think I'm in a good place now, though. Holding back at each transition has made it very easy to let go a year later, because then I really feel like I'm growing out of it. I'm ready to leave and it's not painful.

ON TO REAL LIFE AND POSSIBLY DILLY-DALLYING IN THE COLLEGE GROUP

Something that made me laugh out loud

I was looking over this modesty survey site that has guys respond to whether something is a "stumbling block" or not. It's pretty conservative... I don't want to go into modesty topics right now, so I won't, and I'm not extremely clothes oriented so I'm probably not the right person to ask anyway.
But that's not the point of this post. I was just about to the end of the questions, starting to get a little annoyed and ready to be done when I saw this... it made me laugh so I thought I'd share.

I hope that was funny to someone other than just me!

ANOTHER mod podge project!

I've had this plain board for forever that I use to set cups and plates and that manner of thing on so that I have a flat surface on my carpet (who needs tables? Floors for the win) But I've been using Mod Podge so much lately (wait and see), I decided it didn't need to be plain anymore.

The flowers are a painting from a calendar of paintings that I was given, but I made my own calendar, so it went into the craft paper bin. The vine/flower thing is made out of borders from the same calendar.
It's interesting to me how half of it is now traditional painterly and the other half looks more "cute-modern," if that's a thing. However, I think they go together all right. And now I have a pretty place to set my cups.

Style File, Stale Fail: Saturday Event Edition

I discovered another outfit that I like!

In the style file:

It's a super simple outfit--my favorite orange shorts, and a simple black t-shirt... plus a scarf looped short, because I'm going to a friend's graduation this evening so I wanted to be a little less thrown-together.
In the end, I liked the effect, and it's a really basic outfit, so it could be done with different colors and styles of shorts and t-shirts and scarves... well, I only have one scarf, but whatever.
As for shoes, I'd wear flip-flops with it if I liked those, or sandals if I had any/was fashionable at all, but I'll probably end up wearing knee socks and tennis shoes or converse as usual.

The Making of Cute Things

Today I made some cute stuff. Or, at least modified things I already had. Now you can see them!

First off, a sewing kit. My iPod came in this clear plastic box that I knew I wouldn't ever put it back in, even for transport, so I had been saving it for the perfect thing (I keep containers because I like containers, ok?). Today I discovered what that perfect thing is.

I won't be able to take a sewing machine with me when I move. No more spur-of-the-moment plushies, I guess. But I didn't want to be stranded with no way to repair a loose seam or something!

Okay, enough talking. Let's look at what I made!

Cute, right?

Inside are a few basics, including a small spool of relatively neutral thread, a seam ripper (I disposed of its cap because it wouldn't fit otherwise and was cracked anyway), some pen shaped mini scissor things, and a gum package I got from Jody at church. It's just the right size for a little bag of spare buttons and a quick repair kit from a hotel, plus an extra needle I took from our extensive stash.
In addition to all that I have safety pins.  A lot of safety pins.

contents

The picture on the gum package

Once everything was in it, I needed a way to keep it shut, as it had no latch or anything, so I velcro-ed a ribbon to the bottom and tied a bow. I need to work on my bow-tying, probably...

What's next? Well, I did a lot of organizing and then decided I needed to label my filing... things. I think they're magazine holders. Whatever.

 It should be obvious what I did there. I glued paper to a thing. I had fun designing them, though.

I was in the labeling mood and wanted to use up some cute paper cups I had, so I also made this:

quarters only!

I don't even chew gum. But the point is saving quarters. c:
Basically what I did there was put a label on one cup and cut another one in half for a sort of matching but easily removable lid.

Next I made a label for a journal I got a while back:

errands and groceries (weekly)

The tall book seemed perfect for lists, and since it has bicycles on it, the use obviously must have something to do with going around town. I don't know at this point whether it will be mainly for me or whether my housemates will want to use it as a sort of collaboration grocery/errand list, but I'm sure it will be used one way or the other.

Bonus: a thing I made a couple weeks ago... a tissue box cover!

I really liked the wrapping paper, and all the cheap tissue boxes are boring. I had a large birthday card from last year made of posterboard that I had on my wall all year, but it was sort of unwieldy and I couldn't keep it forever, so I re-purposed it. I just made a slightly bigger box out of that, wrapped it in the paper, and constructed a way to keep the tissue box from falling out of the bottom. Voila! Bright and pretty (and orange!) tissue dispenser made out of birthday wishes. Instant pick-me-up? Well... wouldn't go that far. But I like it.

Awesome times + God provides

So yesterday, me an mah gurlz went to sign a lease for our apartment!

...however we discovered that we were supposed to make an appointment, and we hadn't. So we scheduled it for a week later and just hung out all evening instead.

We saw where Bethany and Peggy have been living, ate some foods, took some walks, etc. It was super fun! I think I'm really going to enjoy living there. There are lots of trees, there's wifi at the pool, there's chickens, there's an herb garden, there's Peggy's whole family pretty much... and there's a FREE STUFF TABLE!

We were walking to hang out at the pool when Peggy quickly ushered us back out through the gate. It seemed to me like she had seen an authority and we were in a place we weren't supposed to be (though that was a ridiculous proposition as we were breaking no rules), but it turned out that Peggy had spotted something through a window, so we went around to the free table, and there were three saucepans and two skillets there. WHAAAT?
So cool. We snatched them up. It was a gift from God, no joke. We were all pretty much in awe. I had been saying to Emma a couple weeks ago that we needed a small saucepan and a smaller skillet pan, and there they were. Completely free. And in pretty good condition, too.

It got me thinking about how God has provided for us all along the line. We got our applications and all that started in time, because when my family dropped off our cosign form, there were only about 3 left... that would be available in August!
The staff is being really helpful.
It's a BEAUTIFUL place to live.
It's relatively convenient and I won't need a car to get to places I need to go.
Peggy's family is already there so we won't be stranded all alone.
Thank you God! So much blessing~~~

After that dish miracle we hung out at the pool more.

Having been inside an apartment (not ours, specifically), I know what size to expect, more, and I'm pretty confident that there will not be room for my desk. With a book case and both Emma's and my beds, we will have enough stuff in our room already, I think!
The kitchen is pretty small, but we can make stuff work. I think we're skipping the microwave and going for a toaster oven instead, as it's more useful.

We've decided that the kotatsu (which I need to get Dad to help me build) would be our coffee table. It makes sense, as kotatsus are floor tables and this is western culture... but everyone's pretty excited about tables with heaters in them, especially Peggy and Bethany (they get cold a lot.)

I'm so excited to just pack all my stuff in boxes already. Goodness. I know I don't need to yet, though.
I'm also even more determined now to leave things behind that I don't need. Those apartments will seem small if there are four people with too much stuff. XD

Also, we saw our future home from the outside! We have a yard! (sort of) There is a big rock in the middle and of course we have to share it with the neighbors, but there's this lovely patch of grass just in front of our building. And plenty of porch space for bikes... We even have an upstairs apartment which means BALCONY! The only downer is that it looks like our balcony is adjacent to our neighbors'... which basically means we share one and there's a divider down the middle. Could be awkward. Hope the neighbors are cool.

Like me.

Blood Mystery Part II

In this post last month I related a strange mystery of a blood spot that appeared on my bed, rather large, on new sheets, and definitely not from me!

Well, the blood is back, still creepy and mysterious. No, not in the same spot. Now that would REALLY be frightening. This time, there were just a few dark red-brown drips in my bathroom--one down the wall near the toilet paper, and two on the cabinet. There were three or four smaller spots on my cabinet/countertop, and one spot that was thin or spread out and not quite a centimeter across. (Until I found the other spots, I mistook it for nail polish or something.)

I'm confident it's blood, as it cleaned up with water into the same brown-red color and had the same metallic smell as last time. I didn't take pictures (again!!??).

Still no theories, nothing that seems plausible. So of course my imagination has suggestions for me:

small animal murder/wounds (is there domestic violence among secret critters in my house?!?)

lame attempt by the devil to scare me (not working, not scared, haha)

siblings somehow getting blood on my stuff?? (doesn't seem very likely)


I'm pretty confident that I have nothing to do with these bloods.

The Secret of Kells

Wow.
W O W.

I saw a gifset on tumblr that looked really cool and interesting, so I looked up the movie.
It's called The Secret of Kells, and it's basically about this small village and monestary where they're building a wall to keep out the enemy who is destroying everything, basically, so the kid, Brendan, has never seen the outside. One day he goes to the woods and meets an unordinary girl (Aisling).

The animation is so cool and different. It's really engaging and almost surreal. Geometric shapes make you look at everyday things in a different way, and while I'm not the biggest fan of the way the people are drawn, it hardly matters. You're constantly questioning your perspective and the scenery is always surprising. I'm pretty sure it's largely based off of the art in illuminated manuscripts, as a hand-illustrated book is actually a key point of the whole film.

Not how you'd usually draw a forest clearing, right?

The pinnacle of the movie for me was when the kid battled a monster using chalk lines. I mean, WOW. (I don't think that's really a spoiler, but sorry if it is.) It's got a lot of sadness and maybe an impending sense of futility, but also a lot of beauty and some hope. This is the first movie I've seen in a good long while where the actual art of the thing kept me engaged the whole time.

Gorgeous. And animated.

I mean. Please. It's on hulu. You can watch it right now from your computer free and legally. You have no excuse (except for if you're planning to do something that you believe trumps a beautiful movie, like going to an event or something, in which case, watch it later).

Images are obviously from the movie (or illustrations of it from gkids.com). Not claiming any copyrights. Please don't sue me or something. c:

Currently

WELCOME to a new regular (I hope) feature on my blog! It's hardly an original idea, but it's a good and persistent one. So here's the stuff I'm currently up to.

Reading

Sasameke

I picked up this manga at the library because I liked the cover art. It's pretty thick for a manga, as in it's three times the size. I haven't gotten very far. Reading before bed usually means falling asleep.
Basically, it's about a boy who used to play soccer and now feels pressured to play again (it's unclear whether he actually doesn't like it anymore or is just pretending). The girl on the cover seems to be almost a sort of delinquent (beating people up, anyway). I'm really unsure what direction the story is going, but the art is pretty so I'm going to keep reading.

Listening to
I've mostly been listening to playlists recently, it seems. I haven't downloaded anything new in a while. I've just been shuffling. The "listening to" section probably won't be the highlight of these sorts of posts. I'm no connoisseur of beats. Maybe if you guys petition Bethany, she'll do a feature on her blog. She's all about the musics.

Watching

Lovely Complex

Lovely Complex is a HILARIOUS anime about a tall girl and a short boy who just can't find love. Might they be a perfect match? NO WAY, they'd tell you (in perfect unison). They're just stuck as an unfortunate comedy duo who like to get the best out of life. The visual gags as well as the jokes actually make me laugh out loud, so GO WATCH IT. I've probably seen this series two or three times already, but I keep coming back to it, 'cause it's so good.

Kimi Ni Todoke

Kimi Ni Todoke is a sweet anime about an introverted girl who is learning to open up to the world. Unfortunately, Sawako's looks and mannerisms remind her classmates of a ghost from a famous horror film! It's really heartwarming to watch Sawako make friends slowly but surely, and I have to admit I relate to her in a few ways. It's rare to see an introverted main character. I've read the manga up to a point, but I'm still going through the anime for the first time. It can be pretty fluffy and cheesy, but it's oh-so-cute.

Well, that's all for now, but I'll probably do different categories when I make these posts, just depending on what's up.

Summer Goals

With the conclusion of school year goals, here are some new goals for the summertime!

I'll be taking more classes, but here's the big pressure goal:

Get a job.

I'm hoping for Hobby Lobby, but I'll have to take whatever I can get. I hope that there's still room after all those college students and high school students got summer jobs. I want to work as much as possible so that I can pay as much of my own rent as I can. And get some stuff saved up so that when classes start, I can cut back on hours.

Practice drawing every day.

By this, I mean more than just doodling. Whether it's from a book, or from a video or tutorial online, I want to consciously WORK on my craft. Things like perspective for backgrounds, clothing folds, proportion, posing...

Blog three times a week.

This goal is totally attainable, because since January 2012, I've only had two months with less than twelve posts. However, I hope that they are quality (aka stories, "articles" or interesting themed posts) rather than random brain dumps that only mean anything to me and my good friends (those will still happen though, I guarantee it). I just want to be consistent. c:

Move to Austin.

Yeah, okay, this one is definitely happening. It's still a goal though! I'm so glad that everything has pulled through! Thanks to all our parents, and I'm especially thankful to my dad for co-signing since I'm poor. I WILL WORK HARD AND CONTRIBUTE WHAT I CAN.

Webcomic, one to two pages a week. 

I really hope I can do more, but who knows. I'll link to it once I have more pages up. Right now there's nothing to keep you reading...

I could make a million more goals, but let's not be so ambitious we burn out, huh?

School Year Goals Evaluation

At the beginning of the school year, I set some goals.

Seeing as the school year for me pretty much ended yesterday, it's probably time to see how I did.

When it comes to wisdom, knowledge, learning, academics, etc, I'd like to (prepare yourself) MANAGE MY TIME WELL SO THAT I CAN SUCCEED IN MY CLASSES AND WORK WITHOUT GOING ABSOLUTELY INSANE.

Well, I certainly did succeed in my classes. The only deadline I missed, I think, was one to two discussion boards. While I did feel absolutely tuckered out due to school at some points in both semesters, I think my time management was adequate. Goal achieved!

When it comes to stature, health, etc... well, I can maintain, even if I don't grow! I'll try to CONTINUE EATING AS MANY HEALTHY FOODS AS POSSIBLE AND EXERCISE REGULARLY AND CUT BACK EVEN MORE ON PROCESSED FOODS.

I don't remember if I was taking care of my own lunches and breakfasts by the time I wrote this, but I have been usually fending for myself for those meals these past two semesters, and packing lunches, not buying them. I've definitely had some weak points, but as a general rule I think I'm improving. One lovely example of this is that we had some chocolate and marshmallow cereal, which I gave in to the temptation of. I got a small amount (not a whole bowl.) I finished it, but it tasted... chemically. Almost reminiscent of air freshener. It was weird. And then the next two days I had a weird stomachache... probably not related, but a good excuse to not eat that again. I love it when I eat something unhealthy and realize it's NOT WORTH IT and then next time I can say "nope." On my way to good things.

When it comes to favor with God... ...I'm really bad at consciously putting Him first. So my goal is to PURPOSEFULLY BRING THINGS TO GOD THROUGHOUT THE DAY.

Hmmmm. I feel like I forgot about this specific goal... I don't even know what to make of my spiritual life right now. I still believe, and all that, not doubting or anything, but everything about God keeps feeling far and removed. I should be more persistent in my prayer, I think, which was part of what this goal was about. I should be persistent to the point of being annoying, like that parable about the widow and the judge. I need to really pursue God and more importantly open myself to Him pursuing me which he's ALREADY DOING EVEN and I don't know why my head feels so full. Progress negligible. Goal continues.

Pray for me, alright? Moving on to the next one:

I'd like to HAVE MORE GENUINE LOVE FOR PEOPLE AND TREAT THEM IN THE WAY JESUS WOULD.

I think I succeeded, maybe? This is so open ended that it's hard to tell. It's not as tangible as, for example, meeting deadlines. Well, I'm sure I did not treat people perfectly, but I don't think I've had problems with wanting to avoid people... you may have read of my many odd stranger encounters this semester. I still kind of have that anti-social vibe, I think... but I've been more open to strangers in this past semester, it would seem. Related side story: one stranger I never told y'all blogreaders about is this tall black guy who often got off the bus and passed the table I frequented with his portfolio and all that. The weird thing was he talked to me like he already knew me. Once asked if we had taken an art class together. At first I thought it was strange, but I guess I warmed up to him. I might be getting better at talking to strangers or people in general. But I'm still an introvert and probably always will be. However, I don't have to be socially awkward for the rest of my days... I DUNNO but God seems to have been giving me lots of practice this last semester so pretty good progress towards goal.

And there we go. School goals. Overall grade, C+ maybe. Mostly because I'm so clueless when it comes to the most important goal. :\ I like to think that I know it all, but man, I am soooo small and clueless when it comes to God. I just. -sigh- Good thing salvation comes by Jesus and not by how much we know or think we know about God. We would all be doomed, even the pastors. I'm sure. Our heads are just so tiny... I know I'm going off on a tangent. Sorry. This post was about goals. Better stop now. Once again, pray for me, friendos.
-waves and recedes into distance-

Bloglovin

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Hey BETHANY, hey EMMA!

And all you other little kiddos too.

As some of you may know, blogger's feed thing has been driving me crazy, not showing me stuff my friends post. So I set out to find an RSS reader. Then I remembered Kelli had recommended something, so I went and checked it out.

"Bloglovin" is a service where you sign up and then add your blogs, plain and simple. I've yet to see if it will pull through, but it looks promising.

And I had to make a post with that link in it to "claim" my blog. Clever. I have to advertise them to fully optimize their service. I see what they did there. o_O

So in conclusion, I may be recommending this service if all goes well. See ya!

Oh, what to do?

I heard cicadas earlier, and it made me want to watch some summer themed anime episode.

But I also want to work on drawing.

And I also want to read Sherlock Holmes!

I have free time, so I could do any of those things.

I think what I'm going to do is watch some anime first. After all, my Japanese final is tomorrow, and while I've studied enough to be confident, hearing some Japanese can always help, riiiiiiiight?

8D

I hope I remember to read and draw later, though.

Also, be on the lookout for school year goal wrap up and summer goal setting posts. Wheee!~ The school year is almost over!

A quote

The first hope in our inventory must be the hope that love is going to have the last word. 

Arnold Toynbee, quoted by Martin Luther King Jr.

Things that have been fun and not so fun lately

Fun:
Youth group/Food.
We had a "hot topics" night at youth group where we could ask hard questions to a pastor (our pastor, but we had visitors too, yay!). That was fun and I ate too much chips and salsa and we brought home a bunch of stuff. Tortillas, milk, garlic/cilantro salsa, citrus green tea, tortilla chips...

Retro Gaming!
There were nearby garage sales and the bros got themselves a game cube and four Legend of Zelda games. All the slots on Ocarina of time are filled, but I might try my hand at the two original ones or Majora's Mask sometime. The only downside to this new game system is that I had to mediate several fights over it already, and I don't think I handled it very well.

Scribblenauts.
I've played Scribblenauts a couple times with my bro. It can be pretty fun, but honestly it's more fun to do with someone where you're taking the keyboard when you think of something. Our text is broken on it, so we actually can't read anything; we just spawn objects and hope they work.

Obstacle courses.
I was in charge today, so we went to the late service at church and afterwards we went to the park. We ate sandwiches (wrapped in thin cloths, not plastic baggies!!) and fruit cups, and made up an obstacle course and timed everybody. Goodness! What fun you can have NOT ON THE COMPUTER! We stayed until small children came and wanted to use our course like the playground it was.

Day off.
This hasn't happened yet, but I get a day off from going to class, so hopefully I can spend that time at home doing fun stuff, once I'm done studying. 


Not fun:
Revision.
I've been revising my creative writing pieces for the final portfolio, and finding them SO unsatisfying! I don't usually feel bad about something I just spill out, but if I have to go back to it and make it... professional, clean-cut, I guess... that is so difficult. I think I really thrive on writing quick, witty, goofy silliness, but I do need to learn how to clean up my work if I'm going to publish any of it. So that's been difficult.

Fights.
Judah said today that "we only argue because we love each other." Which in a way is sooooort of true, but at the same time, only vaguely. Yes, my brothers are able to fight with each other because they're close. But the REASON they fight is because of selfishness. Because they want the longer or the first or the biggest, or at least want everyone else to "suffer" as much as they have to. Usually I try to stay out and let their spats settle down by themselves, because life isn't fair and I don't like getting involved in stupid arguments. Sometimes I have to intervene, and I try not to favor one side, so that usually ends up in everyone being unhappy. It's just annoying. Ugh.

Driving.
Still don't really like it. But I still drive even though Justin has his license now, this morning for example. Mom's probably more comfortable with that just because I've been driving longer, and I do feel more comfortable being in control myself, but I am pretty excited to be done with driving for the most part soon. Public transportation, look alive!