My cat locked me out of the house today. I went to get the mail, walked up the front steps, and grabbed the handle of the screen door. The door wouldn’t open. I knocked on the door and waited while one of my sisters came to open the door. When I stepped inside, there sat the cat, blinking at me. She had actually flipped the switch to lock the door. She was sitting on the table beside the door wearing an expression too deep and catlike for me to grasp. But I know she was laughing at me. I think it was payback for the pictures of her bath.

I'm trying to get back into regularly updating and reading blogs, so I thought I'd post an update about what the last month or so has been like.

January 16, I turned 23. That's taken some getting used to, but I've determined I like that age. :D For my birthday, my parents chipped in to help me get a digital camera. I ordered a Canon A570 IS from Amazon(after an ordeal of trying out and returning a few cameras I bought locally). I got that a week after my birthday, and absolutely love it! The day I got the camera, I also came down with a stomach virus. I got over that after a week and a day, and the day after that, I came down with the flu. Ick. Horrible stuff. That's lasted a couple of weeks, and while I'm mostly recovered, I still have a cough and I'm really tired. That's supposed to last a while though. Between all that, I haven't yet gotten to use my new camera as much as I hoped, but I do love it!

This is my favorite picture so far:



Then this is one of my cute kitty, Belle:



She's a lot happier there than in the pictures I shared earlier. :P

Oh, and latest favorite tv show is Heroes. I watched it all online during the last couple of weeks in December(hey, I was sick, and didn't feel like getting out of bed anyway). It's awesome. My favorite currently running show. :D

Most definitely not a happy cat. She's pretty good about it though, and will stand there and let my sister clean her up without much fight. She just gives out an "I will kill you look" while doing so.



One more picture. I dare you.



A little less angry after the bath, but still not happy.

I found this through ladyneferankh and wanted to join too.

songofsummer posted about keeping track of all the books you read this year, and encourages people to do so. She makes some good points regarding what we read, and I think this will be beneficial for me. I was already wanting to keep such a list, but maybe this will help keep me at it, as I planned to do the same last year, but slacked off after a while.

So if you're interested, go have a look, and let her know you'd like to be added to the list! :)

Just a short note to say Happy New Year!

I've been rather AWOL from a lot of online stuff and IM lately, and even longer on LJ. Between being sick a lot, problems with my back and wrist, and spending time with my family and doing holiday stuff, I haven't been doing much online. I hope to catch up here soon, and I'm going to make an effort to post some of my goals for the year and post updates as I work through them.

I'm rather sick right now, so still not doing much online...not doing much at all, really, except getting a lot of rest and trying to get myself healthy again. Hopefully I can get in touch with the doctor tomorrow and get on some medicine.

I hope everyone is having a great 2008 so far!

I got tagged by ladyneferankh. :D

The original questions:

1. 4 movies you can always watch:
Singin' in the Rain, Star Trek: First Contact, White Christmas, Fellowship of the Ring

2. 4 bands you can never get enough of:
Hmm...none really come to mind. :P As for singers and other music, though...Josh Groban, Nichole Nordeman, Tchiakovsky's Nutcracker Ballet, Beauty and the Beast soundtrack

3. 4 towns you lived in:
Dallas, TX; Little Rock, AR; Baton Rouge, LA; Prattville, AL;

4. 4 shows you like to watch:
Star Trek, LOST, Jericho, Monk

5. 4 websites you visit daily:
HSA, Facebook, Dilbert, my Google Reader rss feed

6. 4 favorite foods:
Peanut butter, chocolate, Caesar salad, pizza

7. 4 places you'd like to be now:
Ireland, Scotland, someplace with lots of snow, Italy


Questions added by olde_fashioned:

8. 4 songs that really move you:
I Am, Why, and Gratitude, all by Nichole Nordeman; Beauty from Pain, by Superchic[k]

9. 4 books you will always love:
Little Women; Anne of Green Gables; Lord of the Rings; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

10. 4 colors that will always be in your closet:
Blue, green, black, chocolate brown


Questions added by ladyneferankh:

11.4 authors you'll always love:
Jane Austen, C.S.Lewis, Louisa May Alcott, JRR Tolkien

12. 4 favorite actors/actresses whose talent you honestly respect:
Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, Patrick Stewart, Hugh Laurie

13.4 languages you'd love to be fluent in:
Italian! Welsh, Irish, Russian


I thought I'd continue the trend and add a few myself. :P

14.4 other countries you would like to live in:
Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Wales

15.4 skills you would like to improve:
Writing, sewing, crocheting, music(guitar, tin whistle, piano)

16.4 items that are "a few of your favorite things":
fuzzy socks, cute hats, peppermint mochas, my Audrey Hepburn purse

[Edit: I forgot to tag people!

First off, I tag my new friend, windandtherain. I look forward to getting to know you better! :) Also, just4friends and blackswans. Sorry if any of you have done this already and I missed it! I'm still catching up on everyone.]

Now I'm singing the song My Favorite Things. It is a great song though! :D

And hooray for LJ autosave!! Firefox just randomly shut down on me, and I was worried I lost all this. It was so nice to have it still here when I got back!

I'm finally able to type more again, and it's so good to be catching up online! I've missed talking to people and keeping up places. I'm slowly catching up on my friends page, and hope to start posting more again.

I've missed you, LJ.

And I need to update my userpics, replacing the fall ones with winter and Christmas.

Edit: Yay! New Christmassy userpics. :D Isn't the widdle snowman adorable? :D

Edit 2: I love this new snowman layout! So cute! :D

There's a quote that says, "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans." We can plan so much, but sometimes, our planning just doesn't coincide with our circumstances.

I planned to be much more diligent about blogging this month, to write a novel(or at least start one) in a month, to work on crocheting and finish up Christmas gifts and making cards before December, and to work more on web and graphic design and make some blog templates and advance my skills. A bit ambitious, but I was going to try. Another quote says, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." Okay, a bit inaccurate, considering the moon is closer than the stars are, but that's beside the point. I wanted to make the most of my time by working toward all those goals. I figured even if I didn't accomplish them, if I at least tried, I would get a lot done and have a rather productive month.

Did I mention that our plans don't always work out? Mine certainly didn't. That tendinitis has still been being a pain, quite literally, and typing irritates it faster than anything else. So I've done little typing, and when I have been typing, it's been to catch up on correspondence or do things I had to get done. Pretty much everything I planned to do needed my hand, which hasn't been so cooperative. Though I can crochet some, which is nice. That doesn't bother my hand nearly as much as typing does.

This is the longest thing I've typed in some time, and my hand is starting to rebel, so I should probably stop. My hand is slowly improving, I think, but I still need to rest it a lot.

With today being Veteran's Day, I've been thinking a lot about our troops and the sacrifice our soldiers make and have made in the past to win and preserve our freedom. I've been going through old family photos and finding all the pictures we have of various family members who have been in the military. We should keep in mind all the soldiers that are currently overseas, and keep them in our prayers.




Writing soldiers is a good way to show our appreciation. They love to hear from people, to know we haven't forgotten them and are thinking of them and praying for them. Anysoldier.com is a great site that gives you addresses at which you can write various men and women in the service. With Christmas coming up, especially, cards and packages would be greatly appreciated.

I wanted to post this separately from the last post, but I got my own domain! I put my blog on a subdomain of that, and need to decide what to do with the home page. I want to reinstall Photoshop Elements and make a new layout soon. I haven't reinstalled everything yet from when I erased the hard drive recently. Most of what's there right now is stuff I've posted here too, but I plan on expanding the site soon.

I'd like to write more, both about this and for GreaThings, and I need to catch up on comments and my friend page, but I have a splitting headache which I'm trying to keep from becoming a migraine, as well as a lot of dizziness right now. I've been fighting that off and on the last few days. So I think I'll go rest and watch a movie and see if that helps.

As I was going to sleep last night, I realized I never posted yesterday's entry.

Things to be grateful for which begin with an R:

Redemption
Roses
Rain
Relatives

Then this is one of our favorite hymns, and is a beautiful reminder of some of the things the Lord has given us:

For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies;
For the love which from our birth,
Over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the wonder of each hour,
Of the day and of the night;
Hill and vale and tree and flow'r,
Sun and moon, and stars of light;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of ear and eye,
For the heart and mind's delight;
For the mystic harmony,
Linking sense to sound and sight;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child;
Friends on Earth and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

You can read more verses here.

First post for GreaThings! If you don't know what I'm talking about, read my last post. :P And feel free to join in!

I think I'll share a song or poem a day relating to gratitude and thanks and blessings, either for the next two weeks, or until I run out of ideas. Whichever comes first. :) I'm not sure if I'll follow the list of ideas given in the last post the whole time, but for lack of a better idea at the moment, I'll start off that way at least.

Various blessings that begin with G:

God's mercy and grace and love for us. That encompasses so many things, and almost seems too broad, but it certainly belongs at the top of the list.

Godly parents. Definitely a blessing and something to be grateful for! One of my friends from HSA wrote a wonderful article on this for the latest issue of Home School Digest. If you get the magazine, read Developing a Heart of Gratitude Towards Our Parents, by Emilie Cianciola. A wonderful read.

Great friends. I've been so blessed this past year with wonderful friends...all of whom I met online! It's been a tremendous blessing, and I'd never had so many wonderful friendships before.

Now for the first song, and in keeping with the G theme, I thought I'd share one of my favorites by Nichole Nordeman, Gratitude. A wonderful reminder that we should be grateful and find blessings in whatever God sends us, whether or not it's what we wanted or thought was best. This would definitely go on the list of my top five favorite songs.

Send some rain, would You send some rain?
'Cause the earth is dry and needs to drink again
And the sun is high and we are sinking in the shade
Would You send a cloud, thunder long and loud?
Let the sky grow black and send some mercy down
Surely You can see that we are thirsty and afraid
But maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to thirst for You
How to bless the very sun that warms our face
If You never send us rain

Daily bread, give us daily bread
Bless our bodies, keep our children fed
Fill our cups, then fill them up again tonight
Wrap us up and warm us through
Tucked away beneath our sturdy roofs
Let us slumber safe from danger's view this time
Or maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
A lesson learned to hunger after You
That a starry sky offers a better view if no roof is overhead
And if we never taste that bread

Oh, the differences that often are between
Everything we want and what we really need

So grant us peace, Jesus, grant us peace
Move our hearts to hear a single beat
Between alibis and enemies tonight
Or maybe not, not today
Peace might be another world away
And if that's the case . . .

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to trust in You
That we are blessed beyond what we could ever dream
In abundance or in need
And if You never grant us peace

But Jesus, would You please . . .

Oh give thanks to the Lord , for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! - Psalm 118:29

This is an idea started by sourceofjoy, who also created this lovely banner. :) I thought I'd post the announcement and participate here, as well as the other places. I think it's a great way to remember God's blessings, and to realize just how much we have to be thankful for! I already posted it at my blog and plan on participating there too. So here's the blurb she wrote up about it:


Thanksgiving is just around the corner: a holiday minimized by the world, crammed into the pre-Christmas whirlwind like an half-apologetic, almost forgotten nod to tradition. Gratitude is so out of style these days that many people don't celebrate Thanksgiving at all -- and all they have left is "Turkey Day."

But those of us who know Jesus have so much to be thankful for -- and we know the One who has given us "every good and perfect gift"! Thanksgiving is both a privilege and a command, and there's something extra special about publicly praising God together.

So here's a challenge to each of you: will you join me in purposefully, publicly thanking God for specific blessings for these two weeks leading up to Thanksgiving day? It will help you build habits of intentionally counting your blessings, and we'll all be encouraged as we're reminded of the great goodness of our Father.

The idea is to not only personally thank God for these Great Things, but to tell others and proclaim what God has done. This can be done online through daily blog posts, podcasts, group emails, Facebook status messages, and so on. Offline, it's a great discussion starter for family devotions or around the supper table. Consider sharing a testimony of thankfulness with other believers during fellowship times, write a note or pick up the phone, or strike up a conversation with anyone God brings your way. Just ask, "What are you thanking God for this Thanksgiving?"

"Give Him the glory,
GREAT THINGS He hath done!"

With so many blessings, it can be tough to know where to start. It's most important to share whatever God brings to your attention in a given day, but here's a list of daily ideas that may be helpful:

Nov. 08 - G (blessings starting with this letter)
Nov. 09 - R ( " )
Nov. 10 - scriptures that have been a special blessing this year
Nov. 11 - E
Nov. 12 - A
Nov. 13 - answered prayers and miracles
Nov. 14 - T
Nov. 15 - H
Nov. 16 - difficult experiences you're now thankful for
Nov. 17 - I
Nov. 18 - N
Nov. 19 - special lessons God has taught you this year
Nov. 20 - G
Nov. 21 - S
Nov. 22 - Thanksgiving Day!

I posted this over at HSA and thought I'd post it here as well:

How much would you put up with in books or movies? I'll tolerate a bit, but there are times so much is wrong and all they care about is having a good story, and that rather ruins it for me. For instance, a WWII movie where some of the uniforms used wouldn't have been worn for another 15 years, where they have people in the OSS before it was even formed, where they have songs that weren't even released yet being sung, etc. Or a Civil War movie where people aren't acting appropriately for the time period, historical facts are all messed up, etc. When a movie is just full of things that were wrong/didn't happen at the time, I get fed up and find it too hard to enjoy the movie.

With something like Pirates of the Caribbean, I can overlook it more. That was meant to have fantasy elements, so it's not as bad, I don't think. But when something is trying to be passed off as "a WWII movie" or something set during the Civil War or whatever, I think people should do what they can to make it as accurate as possible. Also with writing. I've seen people on a writing forum who basically don't care if they get historical facts right. "So what if they didn't wear crinolines for 20 more years? I want my characters wearing them and want it set in this era."

So I thought I'd come ask all you about it and get y'all's opinion on historical accuracy in fiction, though this post is quite a bit longer than I intended. :P Do you care if a film or book is historically accurate? Does it really matter all that much? Why or why not?

A followup on my last post, telling a bit about the show Jericho.

It's set in Jericho, Kansas, a small town where everyone knows everyone, everybody shops from the same little general store, and they rely on the crops from the farms on the outskirts. As people are going about their daily lives, they begin to see something is seriously wrong. Off in the distant sky. seemingly over Denver, there looms a giant mushroom cloud. Power goes out, all communication goes down, and they're cut off from the rest of the world with no knowledge of what happened to Denver. Was it an accident? Was it attacked? If it was attacked, who did it and did they bomb anywhere else? Is the rest of the country still there? Was the radiation close enough to kill the citizens of Jericho? How will they all survive? What happened?

Superb acting and characters, especially Hawkins and the Greens, and the story is amazing. It's something that's so relevant, because we really wonder if and when something like this will happen. Seeing the news about New Orleans after Katrina gave us a glimpse of human nature after a disaster. Something of this magnitude would magnify that tremendously. The story is so real and possible that it's a bit scary. Yet that realness and possibility is part of what makes it so intriguing. When will something of this magnitude happen, and what would it really be like? How would we respond? What would it take to survive? Seeing such things played out in the lives of these characters really draws a person into the show, and makes you wonder. It's very clean as well, which is a rarity nowadays.

I had never seen the show Jericho before, but my mom had seen part of it and liked it. So this week, we've been watching it online, and I just finished the last episode. Ah! I can't believe that had canceled it! Thankfully, due to a huge fan outcry and petitioning, CBS renewed the series. :D They made a seven-episode second season, and have yet to announce when it will air. Hopefully soon, and hopefully to be followed by more episodes. Anyway, if you haven't seen the show before, I would highly recommend watching it on cbs.com. It's awesome. One of the best shows ever.

While giving my hand a rest(I'm typing one-handedly), I'm going to back up my computer files to our external hard drive and do a system restore on my computer. That will include re-partitioning my hard drive and installing Ubuntu(a Linux distribution) to dual boot with Windows XP. I'll be able to install the new version of Ubuntu then too! They released it last week, but due to their server lag and my computer issues and work I needed to do in Windows, I haven't installed it yet.

Backing up my files shouldn't take too long. Most of my pictures are backed up, except one or two smaller folders, because I've been backing them up pretty regularly. Most of my music is backed up already too, so this should go pretty quickly, I would think.

I'm about to watch Meet the Robinsons while working on all this. It looks good. Netflix is great about getting out new releases. If you have one at the top of your list, they ship it the day before it's released so that you get it on the actual release date.

In other randomness, I want to make my own mood icon set soon. I haven't decided yet what theme to use, though I've considered either LOST, Disney, Lord of the Rings, Narnia, or classic movies. Or maybe a LOTR/Narnia mix.

This really cracks me up:



I've watched various Disney songs in other languages before, and I love hearing how the different languages sound, but those little mouse voices singing Hebrew...I just find it hilarious.

The weather is absolutely gorgeous! It finally actually feels like fall here! It's 60 degrees and pretty windy, and just loverly. Wonderful weather. :D

I should be resting my hand instead of typing. I had some stuff to finish up on the computer, but now that I've finished that, I need to give my hand a break from typing for a couple of days, hard as that may be. I'm still sick too, coughing more and with more congestion in my chest that doesn't want to go away. I'm not sure how all this is going to affect my novel-writing, because I haven't done as much prep work as I hoped to due to being sick and having this hand problem, and I don't know if I'll be able to type enough by next week to start on my writing. I'm going to try though, and keep researching and planning, and I plan on at least giving it a try, whether or not I get it all done in a month.

Oh well. The beautiful weather has me cheerful! Weather like this always cheers me up. :D

I've been up late with my asthma a lot lately, and still don't feel like going to bed. Lying down makes it worse. Also, I've been having a lot of problems with a pinched nerve or something, hurting in my back, and down into my shoulder, wrist, and hand. It started up when I spent a couple of hours sitting on the living room floor with my laptop last week, apparently working at an angle my hand didn't like. Now I can't use my right hand much without it hurting. So I decided I should stop using it for a bit and give it time to get better, and put a brace on it about half an hour ago. Shortly after, my arm started itching where the brace was, so I took off the brace and had red blotches on my arm, to which I applied lotion. It got a lot worse though, and I have to be careful with hives and such, as they can bother the lungs, worsen my asthma. So I just had to take a Benadryl. At 3am. I'll be doing well to be awake again by 3pm.

(I really shouldn't be typing now, considering I'm giving my arm a rest)