Spring has sprung!!!

Happy Resurrection Day!!! I love this time of year. Springtime is my favorite because it is a time of renewal and rebirth. It seems as if the world resets itself and begins anew. I always get the feeling I can begin again. That all the mistakes I have made in the previous twelve months can be atoned for and rectified. It is a time to reflect on the awesome sacrifice my Lord Jesus made for me. It is a time to renew my faith and strengthen my brothers and sisters in Christ. I love spring!

March 20th was the official first day of spring. Here in the Panhandle, it was a beautiful day. I was taking my dog, Jigsaw, for a walk around our property. We have on our property some fruit trees. We have a couple of bruce plums (which were developed by someone I am related to) and a peach tree. Jig and I were walking past one of the plum trees when I noticed it was in bloom. It was so pretty I decided to get my camera and take a picture. One thing lead to another and I found myself looking for any sign of spring. So long story short, I took lots of pics I wanted to share. Unfortunately, I can't add them all to this blog but if you visit www.myspace.com/poet826, you can see the album. It's titled Spring.

Well, today is Easter and I am sick as a dog. I have a headache, upset stomach, sore throat, cough and dizziness. I missed church this morning which made me very sad. I had a really cute outfit I had gotten to wear today and I didn't get to. I did get up and eat dinner with my family, but I had to retire to my room almost immediately because I wear out quickly. I am hoping whatever is wrong with me will pass soon. I am supposed to sub on Wednesday and Friday.

Pray for me to recover soon. Also pray for my emotional well being. I have had a rough couple of days and have been staving off a depression. I am okay today but it seems to have become a day to day thing. I am praying for a resolution soon. That's it for now. Thanks for reading.

Addendum: The Gift

I remembered something I wanted to share. We found out today that one of my cousins is pregnant with their second child. We are very excited for her and her husband. It is wonderful to have new additions to the family.

The extraordinary thing about it, though, is my mom knew my cousin was pregnant 3 weeks ago. You may think she just knew because she could tell by looking at her, but what you may not know is my cousin lives 6 hours away so we don't see them very often. My mom seems to have an uncanny knack for knowing when family members are pregnant without any reason for knowing. Once or twice, she has known before the mother did! She has done this with all my cousins. It is an amazing gift. I look forward to the day when I am pregnant and she just knows! Thanks for reading...again.

Jeans, gravity and leprechauns...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! If you want to learn the history of this day in a fun and humorous way, check out the Veggietales DVD, Sumo of the Opera. There is a St. Paddie's Day story on it. I find it rather interesting and amusing.

A friend asked me the other day if I had a favorite pair of jeans. At that time, I did not. There is a pair I wear often, but that is because they fit and they are not too long. But that has changed. I have found my new favorite jeans. I got them on the clearance rack at Target. They are Mossimo vintage jeans. They have that I-have-worn-these-for-years look. They fit me perfectly and look good on me. So here is a picture of me in my new fav jeans.


If you are wondering, I am leaning on my dilapidated '88 Buick Riviera. It hasn't been driven in years because all the tires are flat, the transmission and the battery are shot, and the front passenger side fender is smashed. It was my first car and I loved it until my dad trashed it. It had a touchscreen and leather seats that you could flip over to velour. It was a 25th anniversary edition and had all kinds of bells and whistles. I miss that car. *sigh*

Well, enough reminiscing. I am really enjoying subbing. I just never know what will happen from day to day. I love walking down the hall and hearing children say "Hi!" as they wave at me. The downside is I am never guaranteed to have work and in the summer, they will not need me. I think I am going to sub until the summer and then begin seriously looking for something more permanent and that pays more. I really do want to move out and I can't do that as sub.

I received the Oh, Gravity! album by Switchfoot today. I have listened to it about 50 million times. There is one song in particular that I am in love with. It is called Yesterdays. It is sad, but it is a beautiful ballad about a friend who has died. I also really like the songs Amateur Lovers and Awakening. I would recommend this album to anyone.

Well, that is about all I have say today. Thanks for reading.

A leap of randomness...

Today is February 29th. This day only comes around every four years. I decided I really needed to post something today just because I will not get this chance again until I am 30. So in honor of the weirdest day in four years, here is some randomness.

I have decided to stay in Amarillo. I am looking into getting an internship and today I added myself to the sub list at school so I will probably start getting more calls to sub. I also got my first sub check. I was surprised. I am making more than I thought I was so I am definitely going to try to get more calls.

My family eats alot of popcorn. So much so, Mom buys it in bulk at Sam's. I have one of these empty boxes in my room because my room is in various stages of being packed. I noticed the other day on the side of the box it says, "100% whole grain popcorn." Okay, now I don't grow popcorn and I wouldn't want to tell someone how to do their busines, but isn't it impossible to have less than 100% whole grain popcorn? Wouldn't that ruin the physics of how the popcorn pops? It struck me as rather absurd that they even put that on the box.

In some of my previous posts, it may have come off that I don't like Amarillo. This is simply not true. Amarillo is my hometown and will always have a special place in my heart where ever I may live. So to make it up to the great city, I am going to list 10 things I love about Amarillo.

1. It is the largest city in the Panhandle.
2. It is mentioned in books, T.V. shows, movies and songs numerous time.
3. It is home of the free 72 oz. steak.
4. It is home to the Cadillac Ranch.
5. Most of my family lives here.
6. On the outskirts, you can see for miles in any direction on a clear day.
7. We have a professional hockey team, the Amarillo Gorillas.
8. We have random signs around town that are entertaining and thought provoking.
9. The name means "yellow."
10. We have more restaurants than anywhere else I have ever been and we are always building new ones.

So there is all the randomness I can think of today. Happy Leap Day and thanks for reading.

All I ever needed to know I learned in kindergarten...

I subbed in a kindergarten class today. It was a lot of fun. Of course, the class I subbed in is team taught so I was really just there for crowd control and to get some things done that the teachers have fallen behind on. I made play dough and laminated things. I put together a book that the children had written and illustrated. I helped them make “fossils” and checked their math papers.

But my favorite thing was when I went to the other room and supervised free play time. I sat and watched the boys and girls as they played their various games. One little boy sat by himself and happily colored a paper crown. Most of them played house. They pretended they were in a restaurant for dogs. I saw more that one little girl pretend to have serious conversations on the play telephone.

As I sat and watched them play, I realized how much I really want children. I think I would be a good mom. I am so ready to get married and start a family. It is one of the prayers I pray the most. God knows my desires and I believe He wouldn’t give me such desires if He wasn’t planning on fulfilling them. All I have to do is have faith that God will provide and wait for Him to do so.

Tonight I am going to go to the youth group and see how I interact with the teens. The student minister is considering making me an intern. I will go tonight and Sunday morning to see how I like it. It doesn’t pay very well (what internship does?) so I wouldn’t be able to move out as quickly as I would like. I am going to see how tonight and Sunday go, but I am really leaning towards the “grown up” thing so I can move out.

I ask that you be praying for me as I decide whether to accept the internship (if things go well) or if I should try to find more gainful employment. I have tasted independence when I moved to Alabama and I really want that again, but again I want to do what God wants me to do. So say a little pray for me and thanks for reading.

Well, that was gross...

Every once and a while, I make an error in judgment. I think I do this to prove to myself that I am not as perfect as I think I am. What terrible thing have I done you ask? Wouldn’t you like to know! You probably really do so I will tell you.

I went and saw Sweeney Todd. Why, you ask? Two words: Johnny Depp. Of course, there were several things about the movie that should have thrown up red flags. The fact that the word “demon” appears in the title. Or maybe the R rating it was given. Combined with the fact that Tim Burton directed it and Johnny Depp starred in it should have had every warning sign in my head blaring my eardrums out. But how could I resist the chance to see Johnny Depp sing?

And sing he does as he slits the throats of innocent men who have only come to get a simple shave only to end up in Mrs. Lovett’s meat pies. If you were really planning on seeing the movie and hadn’t yet, then I just ruined it for you. Sorry. If you don’t want to know any more about the movie, quit reading, turn off your computer and come back for the next installment of my adventures.

Alright, if you are still reading, I assume you have either seen the movie or don’t want to see the movie and need ample evidence for not seeing it. It was a bloody movie. I don’t like bloody, gory movies. The blood in this movie, though, resembled temper paint which made it funny in a sadistic and creepy way. I will admit I did close my eyes a few times when I knew he was about to do something violent. Of course, that was probably all he and various other characters did for the last 45 minutes of a too long movie.

Another thing that bothered me was Johnny Depp dies. When I go to see a movie that has one my favorite actors in it, I expect them to make it to the end of the movie. I mean it is the least they could do for luring me to spend money on something I may not otherwise have spent it on. Of course, in this case it was only $1.50.

So there you have it, a case in point that I do have lapses in judgment. I would not recommend anyone go see this movie. Even if you really want to hear Johnny Depp sing. Thanks for reading.

And the beat goes on....

Today, I was a beatnik. I even read some of my poetry. The fourth and fifth grade classes at the school that I sub for invited me to take part in their Beatnik Poetry Café. I have read in their class before so I guess they like my work enough to want to hear more.

I got to dress up. I love to dress up. I was really sad when we stopped celebrating Halloween when I was in the third grade. I don’t often have a good excuse to dress up. But today I dressed up like a beatnik. There are pictures of me somewhere; I just have to wait until I receive them. I promise you will see me dressed up as a beatnik, Miah, but you may be disappointed.

It was really fun. They had put the desks together and put little table cloths on them. It looked like a little café. They even had bongos and a beat machine. They served cappuccino, hot chocolate, iced tea and cookies. (I had hot chocolate and a sugar cookie.) I think the kids liked the poem I had picked out for them. I actually felt kind of bad. I had started writing a poem specifically for them but it just wasn’t right so I couldn’t present it. Below is the poem I read to them. Anonymous, I think you will enjoy this one much better than the last one.

Without You, I Am Human

I am weak-minded and ignorant.
I have sought wisdom from my own resources.
Always, failing, I move ahead to the past left behind.
I reach for myself when faced with a choice.
There, I find nothing, yet drown in it.
God, you remind me of your strength.
Now, you allow me to comprehend the sights before me.
Revealing my love for you, the gossamer floors of my mind collapse.
Reminding me,
Without you, I am human.

I wrote this when I was a summer missionary in Memphis, TN. I wrote a lot of poems that summer. It was a life changing experience.

So everything else is going pretty well. I have applied for a youth internship at my church, but I haven’t heard anything about it yet. If that doesn’t work out, I will start looking for another job. I am so ready to have a place of my own. I am ready to move out again, maybe not quite as far as Alabama, though that would totally rock.

Subbing has made me nostalgic. I usually only sub in the afternoons so I get there about recess time. When it is really cold outside, like it has been the last couple of days, the kids play inside. So I would go to the room and watch them play. I remember the days when I could make up stories, play games and be a kid. Ah, those were the days. It also stirs the maternal instinct in me. That keeps getting stronger the older I get.

Well that is about all I can think of for now. I will post those pics as soon as I get them. Thanks for reading.