A good thing about 18:

I am now allowed to buy duct tape from Wal-Mart! YES!!

At least that's what Caleb told me.

An ode to duct tape, the heart and soul (well... er... sort of...) of an Irish dancer:

O wondrous duct tape!
What a beautiful thing.
Black and shiny
Goes with green.
Its dark, smooth surface
Has a stunning sheen.
Especially when stuck on
Niall or Colin
(those are my hardshoes
if you were wonderin'!)

O faithful duct tape!
You never fail
To keep my feet
From flailing in the air
And doing somersaults
On a cement stage
Is not very great...
So thank you, duct tape.


*Takes a bow* Thank you, thank you, everyone. That was a work of art... probably the best poem I ever wrote... or not....

I wonder if anyone besides Sara reads this anymore. I just did an ASTOUNDING job of keeping my readers, didn't I, by not writing for a month! EVERYONE COME BAAAAACK!!!! Hmmm... if you come back I might have some chocolate... or not... but you'll never know until I see your comments! ;D

By the way, see those links on the side, over to the right? That say Sara's blog, Lora's blog, and Caleb's blog? Click on them. They're cool.

Wow, it's been a long time since the last post!

I've just been so busy, it's absolutely insane. I want this school year to be OVER but then I DON'T! It will be nice to have some time to breathe, but this is my last year being homeschooled and I need to enjoy it. And I'll miss dancing, since that's over for the summer after the recital. But right now it just seems like I have to take it a day at a time. Get through the many different things going on each day enjoying it as much as I can. If I think even as much as a week or two ahead, I get overwhelmed with all that's going on. Graduation and class stuff, church, dance, choir, loads of school, and all the fun parties and things going on with this or that circle of friends. All VERY good things, but when I hardly have an ounce of spare time it's a little overwhelming.

Well, as of two days ago, I'm 18. Officially an "adult." I thought it would be better than it is! Yesterday and today I've been having a hard time with it. I'm growing up, and frankly, I don't want to. I think I told you all recently that I don't get upset anymore about growing up? Well, that was a big fat lie, even if I believed it myself then! Of course, I still know that nothing's the last time I'll be young; I'm certain that Heaven will hold better than that. But that only makes me long for Heaven more.

Everything's been so busy I haven't had time to plan a party. On my birthday, after coming home from seeing my friends in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe play, we had a small family celebration. They sang me Happy Birthday, gave me a few really nice things, and I blew out the candle on my little chocolate cupcake. It was very nice, and I was really happy. I still miss my friends though. Maybe I'll do something in June or sometime (as that would be the first chance available!).

16 was a nice age. It seems like only a day ago, but then I had 2 years of highschool left! Seeing the big homeschool choir's recital last night really brought that home for me. It was only the second time I'd seen their spring recital. I remember the first time, when I was 16. I went with Sara and Eric and on the way home Sara and I could not stop talking about how good they were and how we were SO going to be in that choir!! I was determined to be in it the next year, but I was too busy. It would have had to have been a choice between that or dance, and you all know which one I would choose!! Sara joined it last fall though, and I can at least go see her in it! I think it's awesome. I wish I had enough time to do both that and dance. I wish I had enough time to do a million different things really... but God's got in under control, and where I am is where He's called me to be. I can be confident that whatever other good things there are out there that I missed doing, it wasn't God's plan for me, and it wouldn't have worked out.

I am going to be in the OU choir next fall, though. I don't believe it will take up so much time. Yay!

AAUUGGGHH!!! College!! Scary... being 18 is scary enough.

Some good verses for today:

Jeremiah 29:11-14b
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. I will be found by you,' declares the Lord."

Philippians 4:6-7
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, with prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Isaiah 41:13
"For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you."

Psalm 46:10
"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

Rev. 21:4
"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

Prayer is good!

Hey guys. Well, you know my great grandma that I was telling you about, the one who was really sick? Well, she died today a few hours ago. She's definitely in a better place! I'm sort of weird, I've never cried at funerals or when a relative dies (although, I haven't had any close relatives or friends die, in which case I'd probably be crying!). I mean, they're in a much better place than I could imagine, and I'll see them again. I know when I die, I'd want everyone to celebrate because I'd be in a better place. I'd probably be in Heaven dancing, and I'd want them to join in.

But anyway, we'll be heading up sometime this week for the funeral, I'm not sure when. I think the funeral might be on Saturday, though, which wouldn't be good because then we'd be missing the last troupe Saturday practice before some big performances. I have this fear that I wouldn't be able to be in those performances because of missing it, and that would be awful, at least for Hannah and me. But you know what? God will work it all out, so I don't have to worry. I can at least be thankful that we won't be going to Missouri DURING those performances! Thank you, Lord, for Your perfect plan. Hmm... that reminds me of a certain verse in Jeremiah that happens to be one of my favorites. ;)

At least I've been practicing a lot. Today I spent two hours practicing. Fun. Actually, what's strange is that for me it IS fun. And I always feel so much better after practicing. Whenever I go a day without practicing, or at least stretching, I feel like a couch potato!

So, back to my main topic, we would really appreciate your prayers this week! Thanks. I'll get back to y'all with more details about when we'll be gone.

Personality tests and all that fun stuff

Hiya! Hmm... that's sounds sort of like I'm doing karate or something. HiYA!!!

Hmm... insanity is kicking in. Anyway, just for fun, I thought I'd share with you my results to two personality tests. You will probably be bored, but since you probably are anyway with all my long posts I figured it wouldn't hurt my situation any more than it already is. :D

#1: The DISC test — our church's favorite, have you noticed? I swear I've done it at least 5 times. In Plasma, in shepherding groups, you name it. I've always gotten pretty much the same thing: I'm a C/S. Haha, not too surprising. For those of you who don't know what it is, DISC stands for 4 different personality types: Dominant/Direct/Driver, Influential/Interactive, Steady/Supportive, and Cautious/Critiquer. The words aren't great descriptions. Here's how I describe them:
D: The take-control, outspoken, agressive, leader type. Tends to dominate in a room.
I: Tends to be popular, "in," talkative, wears feelings on sleeve. A people-person.
S: Gentle, willing, soft-spoken, sympathetic, emotional.
C: Thinkers. Analytical, perfectionists, logical, modest, respectful, restrained, idealistic.

I scored:

D: 0
I: 4
S: 8
C: 12

Lol, no D's. No surprise there. Here's the summary (take it with a grain of salt—half of it isn't true of me at all!):

Cautious/Steady

"As a Cautious/Steady person you are systematic and precise. You follow rules and procedures. You are very conscientious. You are extremely careful in your attention to detail and accuracy. You want your life and surroundings to be stable and predictable. You are most comfortable with a defined plan of action. You want to know all the rules and/or facts pertaining to the job and how the job is evaluated. You take small risks only if the data proves your decision is sound. Normally, you don't take risks at all. You excel in any area requiring facts, research, consistent work habits, and analysis. You become a specialist in your field. As a Cautious/Steady person you like to know what's going on, and not be surprised. Your judgment of others is based on your rules, the person's accomplishments, and whether or not they allow you to remain in a stable environment. You evaluate yourself by what you do, and not who you are. You need to hear sincere compliments from people you trust.

"As a Cautious/Steady perosn you are indirect, somewhat controlling but can be supportive. You are more task than people oriented. You appear shy or reserved. Your life is very neat and organized. Generally speaking, you get along well with others. You are good natured, due to the influence of the Steady. You may be so caught up in a cause that you neglect your family. Your drive causes you to be stressed out much of the time. You need to learn to relax."

Lol... so that is NOT that true of me. A lot of it is, and a lot of it isn't. I do like good surprises. I don't evaluate other people based on their whether or not they allow me to remain in a stable environment. That's kind of weird. No one would fit that bill all the time. The whole second paragraph is not true for the most part, except that to some I'm shy and reserved and I do tend to get along with others. I would NEVER get so caught up in a cause that I neglected my family!!! And I'm not stressed out too much of the time.

On the other hand, they were very right when they said that tend to I evaluate myself by what I do, and not by who I am. And I'm not a risk-taker, and I'm analytical and a perfectionist, definitely. I think I must have just enough of the "I" mixed in to balance out a bunch of the stuff they were saying I was supposed to have.


The other test, really quick: I'm not sure what it's called, but I came out with a more accurate description, I think. In this one, I'm an ISFJ which stands for Introversion/Sensing/Feeling/Judging.

You could be any combination of the four choices of extravert or introvert, sensing or intuition, thinking or feeling, and judging or perceiving.

Here's my "type":

ISFJ

"Quiet, friendly, responsible, and conscientious. Committed and steady in meeting their obligations. Thorough, painstaking, and accurate. Loyal, considerate, notice and remember specifics about people who are important to them, concerned with how others feel. Strive to create an orderly and harmonious environment at work and at home."

Actually, I can't think of anything there that doesn't fit my personality!

So, if any of y'all have done any of these tests, I want to hear what you are!! I have some papers that you can borrow if you want to do them.