Kawasaki Ninja

OH YEAH! Finally! After months and months of looking and looking and saving and saving and convincing, I finally did it. I found a bike! Ever since I was little, I have always wanted a motorcycle, well now I've got it! I never thought this day would come so please excuse me being dramatic, but it's a big deal!

There were two bikes I went to look at today. One was a 2006 lime green Kawasaki Ninja 500 and they were asking 2800 for it. The other was a 2009 black Kawasaki Ninja 250 and he wanted 3500. Now they were both overpriced and I'm guessing they knew that, but still it's kinda obnoxious. So today me and my dad went and saw both of them. The green one belonged to this really nice couple and the bike was his wife's but she just doesn't ride it anymore so they decided to get rid of it. It looked brand new! It was in really great condition, I was not expecting it to look that nice at all. Plus she pointed out the fact that because it was lime green people would be able to see you better and it would be safer, and that’s always a good thing. The only thing really wrong with it was that it had 14,000 on it, while the black one only had 1,200 on it. Miles are a bigger deal on bikes then cars too.

Now on to the black one! The guy that owned this bike was a younger guy and he was super nice too. It was in a weird location and there were bugs flying everywhere and I swallowed one and there was a dog barking at us the whole time, but whatever. This bike was nice too, it was all black but he said it had been scratched so he got it repainted and the paint matched, but it was all bumpy looking. He didn't have any of the decals on it either, which I was a little disappointed about. And he said there was something funky with the tail light, but he got it fixed somehow or something, I don't know, I wasn't really listening to him talk about that. This bike did have a smaller engine then the green one, which was good because I am a beginner. Plus this one did have fewer miles. But he did want a lot more for it. Oh I just can't decide!

I told them both I would let them know either tonight or tomorrow at the latest. I talked to my dad a while about it and we both concluded we like the green one a little better, plus it was cheaper, by about a good 600 dollars. YAY! I'm so excited! Now all I need to do is get my license! I have my permit because I have had a sporty scooter for a while, but that's been nothing but problems for me. Now I just need to get into the class ASAP! It looks like there's only one spot left so I hope I can get it!

Anyways, I hope everyone is excited for me and all my new adventures I'll have on my new Ninja 500! Look out for me on the road and don't crash into me please!

Genesis 5:32
After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Zebra Stripes

I had planned on doing this "new" a while ago, but for some reason just never got around to it. I don't know why I waited! It turned out so good!

As most of you are all well aware, my house that I currently reside in, is in fact being demolished. This has been mostly a negative situation for me, but I have found some perks. Basically I'm allowed to do whatever I want to the house since it's being torn down anyways:) What an opportunity!

So I decided to take advantage of the bathroom! Give me some zebra stripes on those dull white walls! BAM! It was done.

The bathroom really did need some spicing up! So, I added the stripes:) I started out using just interior black paint, but it was really runny so I switched to acrylic and it worked perfectly. I was just doing the outlines of all the stripes and I was going to go back and finish filling them in, but it was already taking a long time. For such a small bathroom it was becoming a lot of work! I had to call for reinforcements.

"Hey! What ru doing???!!!"
"I just ate dinner and now I'm doing my calc homework."
"Come over and help me paint!"
"Okay! I'll be there in about an hour."

What would I do without you Audrey! She came over and started filling in the stripes and we were rollin! Then we decided it was best to take a break and go get some ice cream. That's usually always the best thing to do in all situations. Well, ice cream was closed so the next best thing was frozen yogurt. I got cookies and cream with the mellow sauce and oreo crumbs and brownie bits and sprinkles. It was amazing. And Jack Jack enjoyed a little sugar free vanilla yogurt himself:)

When we got back, we realized that we were running low on paint. Oh crap. We were right next to Wal-Mart too so I could've just picked some up real quick. Now we had to be smart about it. We didn't have much to go, so I was pretty sure I'd be able to make it. Audrey got tired and decided to quit, but I stuck it out and finished! I could've stood in there forever just fixing little things, but I had to stop.

When I went back and looked at it with a fresh pair of eyes it looked really good! I'm really happy with it. Now because I did such a great job, maybe my dad won't tear the house down! Wishful thinking...

The lesson to be taken away from this new, is that even though your house might not be being demolished, don't be afraid to paint some zebra stripes on the wall! It would thrill you! And there's always more paint in the world to cover it up if you change your mind later on down the road.

Progress!

Finished!!



Psalm 89:32
then I will punish their transgression with the rodand their iniquity with stripes

REDBOX CRAZY!

Isn't Redbox just the greatest thing that has ever been invented? I don't know why it wasn't invented sooner! I must admit though, I was against it at first, just because of the fond memories of going to the video store as a child with the family. And sometimes it is hard to adjust to change, but adapting is surviving which is why I had to get used to this "Redbox."

It was hard to see the video stores closing one by one, but they refused to adapt so they had to pay the penalty. Blockbuster was the only smart one that came out with their own box that has been rather successful I am sure. I can't give all of the credit to Redbox for closing all those stores though, the major blow was Netflix. Oh how I love Netflix, for a small fee you are allowed to watch a gazillion movies and have them sent to your house as well! Who wouldn't love that? But when you want a movie right away and you don't want to just watch it on the computer or you just don't have internet(which was my case), Redbox is the way to go!

So for my Saturday "new" I had a true Redbox experience. My parents left me to watch the dogs yet again so I was stuck at my parent’s house Saturday night with no internet. Redbox here I come! I also had a couple promotion codes for 50 cents off of a Redbox movie. If you text "REDBOX" to 727272, they'll send you random promotions for a free redbox or other things:) Use it and abuse it people!

So I go to Redbox with the intent of just getting one, which would only be 50cent, but I decide to get another because then it'll only be a dollar 50. And then I get carried away. I walk away from Redbox with five movies. That's right people, five. I don't know why, I was just in a movie watching mood! But I was embarrassed if anyone saw me leaving with that many movies in my hands.

It was about ten in the p.m. when I started them, well maybe nine 30. Needless to say, I went to bed pretty late:) The first movie I don't even want to say the name, it was probably the most depressing movie of my life. At the end I just felt so empty inside. It was about how a couple fell in love and then got divorced. Seriously.

Then I watched Vanilla Sky, the one with Tom Cruise. It was pretty weird! It definitely got the wheels turning in my head. It had a good concept and good cast and was well put together. I recommend it. Get ready for the weirdness though!

Then I watched Roommates. Yeah, I fell asleep on this one but I had definitely seen enough anyways. I do not recommend this movie. It was weird and stupid.

The next day I finished it up with Step Up 3. It makes me want to dance so bad! The story line was pretty good but the dancing was amazing! The way these people were moving was just blowing my mind! They were all truly talented! So if you like dance movies, this one is good.

Now I did have one more movie, Stone, but my trusty beau Jacob told me not to watch it because it had a lot of bad stuff in it! Thanks for protecting my mind honey buns:)

Anyways, I really enjoyed this experience, I don't know if I'll do it again, but I enjoyed it! It was also embarrassing to return that many movies to the box the next day. Nothing beats a great movie night!

1 Samuel 6:11
And they put the ark of the LORD on the cart and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors.

If you're having trouble adapting to the Redbox, watch this video and it will help you to understand it a little better:)

Coconut Water

Well my Friday night was a good one:) I hung out with my favorite Abby! And it was because of her that I found my "new"!

We were just shopping around, and she suggested TJ Max. We went in and started looking in the aisle with a lot of random stuff. The kind of stuff that you can't get around here like organic nut mix crap or fig bars(really nasty) or weird cookies, etc. Well, I had heard of this coconut water before, but you can only get it at specialty stores up north. Lucky me I stumbled upon it! It was in like a juice box type of thing and called something with a "K" but I forget. Anyways, it was pure coconut water, nothing added to it at all. I had to try! Everyone needs to try, even if you've never been trapped on an island.

Well I tried it. I'll probably never try it again unless I'm actually trapped on a deserted island, but as least I tried it. It was definitely pure! You could taste the gunk in it. I made everyone else try it too, they didn't like it either but they were all glad the tried it!

Hebrews 10:22
let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Well this was pretty random, but I agreed to it.

My best friend Audrey and I hadn't seen each other in a while because we both have been so busy, but we finally just started hanging out with each other again. So she invited me to go see this random play at this random school at a random time. But she knew a girl in it and the school was right next to our school, so it wasn't all that random, I just like to be dramatic sometimes:) But really, it was a little random, but I wanted to spend time with her so I went.

It was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. They made that into a play? That's a little weird, but I suppose it should be good. I can always use a little more of the C.S. man in my life.

The play was good. It's what I had expected from a high school, you know how that goes:) But there was this one person that I thought was a boy the whole first act, and during intermission I was informed that I was in fact wrong. It blew my mind a little bit! She was the dwarf that was the queen's little right hand man and she was fat looking and had a beard, so I just assumed she was a guy! She played the part so well. She was all scratching herself and rough lookin, it was so weird how much of a guy she looked.

But my favorite parts of the play were before every scene, Audrey's friend would come out and do a little ballet dance thing and she was so good! So graceful and beautiful! I loved it. Overall the play was pretty good, a little awkward at points, but I really expected nothing less.

Oh! I also did another new! You know how people always are puttin up cones on the road because there’s "construction"(really they just park there junk there) going on and you can't get down that road? Don't you ever just wanna run over some cones? I know I do. So I did! It felt really good. Audrey didn't understand why I did it, but it just needed to be done. Someone has got to do it, if I hadn't someone else would have.


Genesis 49:9
Judah is a lion’s cub;from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lionand as a lioness; who dares rouse him?

These guys knew it needed to be done.

Ready to be Insane!

Well today was the day I truly went insane! Meaning I started my workout Insanity today! And it truly was.

All it was today, was the fitness test so I can see how out of shape I am to begin with. Well let me just tell you, I was still sweating like none other. It was literally dripping off my body, and this was only the fitness test and not a real workout! Oh my, what am I getting myself into.

There were about 8 different exercises that I had to do, and you have to do as many reps of each as you can. The first one was switch kicks, then powers jacks, power knees, power jumps, globe jumps, suicide jumps, push-up jacks and low plank oblique. I didn't do too bad for my first time, I'm not terribly out of shape. But I have never sweat so much in my whole life. Maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it really was just rollin off of me. And this was only the fit test! Great, I'm definitely in for it.

I am just so ready to get in shape! I am ready to go INSANE!

1 Samuel 21:13
So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard.

Insanity and God

Don't be fooled by the title, I'm not calling God insane, although he is insanely amazing. I am merely combining my past two days of "news" because I didn't write yesterday, I was extremely tired and went to bed early.

Anyways, my "new" for yesterday was something I had gotten in the mail! Oh I just love getting things in the mail! Nothing beats good old fashion snail mail. Anywho, what I got in the mail was the product of a long awaited resolution on the part of EBay.

So as you know, I am really trying to get into shape for that Tough Mudder thing that I am doing, and I do very well when I have a video or something to tell me exactly what to do. So I decided to buy something. I had done P90X for a while and that was okay, but I wasn't positive about it. I had heard of this other workout called Insanity that was supposed to be really good too, plus you didn't need extra things either like weights or pull up bars or anything, which was a plus. The workouts are supposed to be shorter too which I liked because P90X workouts were always an hour long and they just get old and I would get tired of them.

So I decided the best decision would be to put my pennies together to buy Insanity for about 50 bucks. The name on eBay looked a little sketchy but I decided to buy from them anyways because they had a good rating and the lowest price. I guess no one really trusted them, but I decided to give them a chance. Well, I shouldn't have.

After I paid for it, they took it off eBay saying they didn't have it anymore and couldn't send it to me. What a bunch of big fat scammers! Now I had to open a case on eBay for them to refund me my money. Well they never contacted me and so I had to appeal the case to the next level. Great. I feel like I always have to deal with this kind of dumb stuff.

I checked the other day and eBay had sent me a message that they fixed everything and I would be getting a full refund! Well that was nice but I had still wanted Insanity, but I guess it was for the best. But when I got home that day, there it was! I was so excited and I opened it right away, but I had to go to work so I took it with me. I read the nutritional booklet there and I'm really excited about it! I'm so glad it decided to show up at my house! We shall see how I do!

My new for today was nice and very much needed. I spent more time then usual with God, and It was so nice. I'm going to be diving deeper into my devolutions and I'm excited!

There's a little schedule at the back of my Bible that gives me a plan to read through the Bible in a year. So here I go! I'm diving in, I'm going deep, in over my head I wanna be! (Going way back in the day on that one, thank you Steven Curtis Chapman)

Anyways, I want to have a good summer even though I'm working all the time and I get frustrated. But I am working on my attitude and it's going to be great summer! I'm going to figure things out for my next step in my life, I'm excited to see what God has to show me:)

Jeremiah 29:11 

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  

P.S. This is what I'll look like when I'm done;)

The Blue Stinkin Angels

Well I don't think Lynchburg was prepared for the amount of people coming to see these "Blue Angels." This town is just not big enough.

All week, all I heard was Blue Angels this and Blue Angels that. I got so sick of it. I was not planning on going to see the Blue Angels, mostly out of spite. And because I don't have any money.

Everyone just kept freaking out about them, I didn't get it. Well, today was the first show and I didn't go, but I could see them really well from my house, and I get it now. It was really exciting! I mean even on the way home while I was just driving and minding my own business, they flew right across the horizon in front of me, it was amazing!

I was standing outside looking up for a while, but then I decided to get on the roof! That sounded like a great idea because I wanted to get as close as possible. When I was trying to get out the window, I couldn't get the screen open so I thought and the house is getting demolished anyways so I decided not to think too hard about it and just break the screen open. It worked out pretty good.

When I got out there the roof was freakin hot! But! I was prepared with a towel to sit on. The show was so good! It was so weird just getting so excited about these planes doing tricks, I felt like a little kid. They got so close to me, that I could read what was on the planes! Now all I want to do is meet these Blue Angels! I want to tell them they all did a good job. It's the first they've been back in two years after a couple of them crashed and died. I guess that's another reason why it was such a big deal.

My favorite trick that I saw was how they all were in a circle, nose diving down straight to the ground and then they leveled out in all different directions. They're doing another show tomorrow, but I'm working so I can't go:/ I know it's so sad, at first I didn't care at all, but seeing them today changed everything. Oh well, I'd probably faint when I got there anyways like the 200 other people did today. And that's not an exaggeration. It was on the news. And another thing about our local news, for some really weird reason they decided the best people to interview for the air show story was two little boys and an old fat man that didn't have a shirt on. What the world? Why would think that they are the best candidates for a story like this? Weirdness.

So anyways, my “new” today was getting on my roof and watching the Blue Angels, even though I didn't technically see the real show, it was good. Maybe tomorrow my new will be meeting these nice young Blue Angels, who knows!

Just some of them, not too hard on the eyes;)

Psalm 91:11
For he will command his angels concerning youto guard you in all your ways.

Outsourced

This will just about ruin anyone's day. This "new" definitely ruined mine.

So I had this dumb bill that was literally from last summer that I had thought I had already taken care of, but apparently I had not. It was a card from the Gap. I don't even remember what I had gotten from there, all I knew was I owed them a lot more then what my clothes were worth. First off, I thought I had taken care of it in the store, but that was a big No. They are so tricky.

So for about a year it was accumulating late fees, the notices were sent to my parents house so I never took care of it. Well now it was up to the debt collectors to get me to pay now haha. So I endeavored on a journey to pay my bill and I have never been so frustrating with anything like this in my life.

I started out by calling Gap. The first two times I called I told my information to the machine thing and then they said everyone was busy and hung up on me. When I finally got a hold of someone I explained my situation and she said, "Okay, we have a different department handling this." So she transferred me. Then a guy answered and I gave him my information and he said a different people were taking care of it and he gave me the number to call. So I call this place and I had to give my information to another guy that I could barely understand! He couldn't understand me either. I kept telling him my social and he didn't know what I was saying! I mean really. If you're going to talk to the english, you've got to speak and understand it! I know I was speaking clearly too, because I always make it a point to talk slow and clear to these people anyways.

So after practically yelling my numbers to him he said he couldn't help me. Go figure. He gave me the number to this other place I had to call. Oh my word, I had such a headache. This was getting so ridiculous! Well anyways, I called this number and they transferred me yet again! And then I finally was talking to the guy who could help me. He was a foreign guy too. His name was Garnish or Garish or something like that. Anyways he told me I had a bill of $114 I had to pay. Well I told him my situation and how I was trying to get it lowered because I didn't know I had this bill and how I moved and stuff.
"Okay well because of your hardships you have to pay $96," he said.
"Well is there anything else I can do to try and lower it? Talk to anyone else to try and figure it out?" says I.
"Okay, Okay hold on let me talk to my manager."
I'm pretty sure he just put me on hold and waited there staring at it for a minute.
"Okay because of your hardships you can pay $85" he said. I felt like I was bartering with him.
"Um okay that's fine I guess," says I. But I didn't have any checks with me, so I would have to call him back a little later. I told him a time I would call but I was on my way to work and he called me instead. Very persistent. So I gave him all my information and everything was taken care of. Finally.

It's so frustrating trying to do all this kind of stuff, it's taught me my lesson of staying on top of things better that's for sure! Those outsource people make me so sad too, I wonder if they even like doing all that junk. They always sound like machines to me. The only thing that makes me feel a little better about it all is the show "Outsource", I hope they're all like that in real life:)

This was is what I imagine Garnish/Garish to look like:)

Genesis 23:4
"I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight."

Car Sleeping

My "new" today was an accomplishment.

Almost every week I drive with my dad up to Pennsylvania, it's about a three and a half hour drive. I'll usually be the one to drive up there and we start at about 8:30pm and we get there about 11:30 or midnight and then I have to wake up at four or five to make it back in time for school or work.

Well tonight we were going to drive half and half and he was going to start. Well as soon as we hit the road I am out like a light. Even with him blaring his book on tape and talking on the phone like five times.

He decided to drive the whole way too! God bless him. I didn't wake up till we got there, it was amazing:)

Psalm 64:6
They search out injustice,saying, "We have accomplished a diligent search."For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep!

Movie Loner

I did my "new" today on something I feel totally uncomfortable doing, but I just wanted to try it.

I used to work at a restaurant being a hostess, and I always felt so bad for the people who would come in and eat by themselves. It just so sad to watch even if they just don't care at all! Now I didn't go to a restaurant and eat by myself, not that gutsy, but I did do something similar. I went to a movie by myself. I've never done it before just for the same restaurant reason, it's just sad.

I have always just thought it was weird to go see a movie by yourself when you can just go rent one and watch it at home and probably be more comfortable. But I thought I would give it a try.

So tonight I went to the late movie of "Just Go With It" with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. Now this movie had gotten super bad ratings, and that's pretty much why I hadn't seen it yet, but I decided to give it a shot. I got there a few minutes late which was good because I didn't really want people to see I was walking in to see a movie by myself anyways. And of course I sit in front the loudest people in the theatre, plus they kept kicking my seat. But it was alright, it was okay, I mean it wasn't like I had a huge headache or anything, oh wait, yes actually I did.

The movie overall wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either. Adam Sandler tends to play the same part in every movie, hard on the outside but then turns into a big pile of mush by the end of the movie, or just mush the whole time. And Jennifer Aniston is just so beautiful and I don't think she will ever change. She tends to play the same character too, but I just love her!

So seeing a movie by myself. It was interesting. Um, not terrible, not great, it was okay. I probably won't venture out to do it again, but I don't think I'll be totally against it either. I think I'll always feel a little weird about it, but I’m not going to let it stop me from living the life:)

John 16:32
Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.

Geocaching

Today's "new" was one I have been wanting to do for a while now! It was a true adventure!

Okay, so have you ever heard of Geocaching? It's really neat! It's this thing were people kinda hide "buried treasure" if you will. People hide things in random places, like in parks or on the side of the road and you can go search for them! Some are bigger than others and you can look at the different descriptions on the website. All you have to do is put in your zip and it shows you the closest ones that are around.

I couldn't go alone and my friend Luke was in town, so we decided to go on an adventure. I had looked up some geocache earlier in the day and I had seen that there was one in Wyndhurst, which was the little pleasentville spot in Lynchburg.  So we decided this would be our first spot to look. He downloaded the app on his phone and it was a pretty neat app. It showed the compass and the map so see how close you were. The hint it gave was that it was in the middle bush. There is a main round about in the neighborhood and it took us to that spot and we found it pretty easy! I wasn’t sure how great these hiding places were going to be, but this one was pretty easy.

It was in a little container so there wasn't room for much and there really wasn’t anything in there, just some business cards and a punch card for Mr. Goodies which still needed about ten more punches before you could get anything free. What a rip. We didn't take anything out of that one.

We then decided to go to the park mainly because we figured there would be a lot around there and because Luke had never been. I know right? Don't ask me... When we get there, we picked one to follow and started through the trails. We had Jack Jack with us too which was probably a mistake, he was pretty much just going crazy with excitement. It was like he knew we were going to find some buried treasure. And we also found out soon that whoever was holding the phone with the compass on it just got really excited and just started running without really thinking about it.

We finally got to where it was supposed to be, and we just could not find it at all! It was really frustrating and I hate giving up, so we searched around there for a while. Still nothing. The hint said something like "look down and don't be afraid to put your hands in dark places." Well there were several spots like under tree root and stuff, but we couldn't find it. So sad. So we decided to move on.

The next one was pretty close, a little farther down the trail and it was supposed to be near the disc golf course next to the muggles that play there. The hint said it was at the base of the tree. Well I'm pretty sure we found the right tree because there was a big hole underneath it that would have been perfect, but there was nothing there. Bummer! I was getting really disappointed. Were most of them like this where they say where they're supposed to be but nothing is there? We moved on.

Now I don't want to give away where this one was because I don't want you to find it just cause I said it and not because you went geoccaching! But this one was fairly easy to find, and I will tell you it was behind a sign. There wasn't much in there either, a sillyband and some more buisness card things and a Foodlion MVP card, which I did take:) I put a little keychain in there to replace it, it says "I Brake for Chocolate." There was also a little log notebook where you could put the date and your account name. Some people take this thing real serious! But I was excited about finding that one.

Then we decided to see what we could find downtown near the trail next to the James River. On our way there Luke was looking at his phone because some nearby locations automatically update and he got a little over excited. "Oh my gosh! Pull over! Pull over now!" Well I certainly did and nearly jacked up my car in the process. I looked at him and he just said "I didn't know you were going to pull over like that," and looked away and said I could keep driving. Oh gosh.

So we were about downtown and his phone was uploading the nearby spots, but there didn't seem to be anything that interesting and it started to rain so we decided to start heading back. When we were closer to my house, there were a couple that popped up on his phone that looked interesting, so we decided to give it another try.

It was near this random park/pond thing that I never knew existed, but apparently other people knew about it because there were a lot out fishing. It was all pretty open until a line and trees and brush started into the "forest" (I put that in quotation marks because it wasn't all that big to be qualified as one). And that’s where Luke went straight running for and disappeared in a second! As soon as I caught up and jumped through the brush, it was all pretty spacious and pretty in fact.

Well Luke kept running because he had the compass/phone in his hands and ran clear past it. The clue said "this will stump you," and it did for a second because even Luke has his foot up on the thing and didn't even realize it. He found it though:) there wasn't anything real interesting in there, but we left a mix CD of all the songs you thought you could live without!

There was another one close by so I got the compass/phone this time and of course started running:) We started smelling something a little bit “strange” in the air, but we just shrugged our shoulders and kept moving on. I was the one that found this one and there was no hint:) It was in a hollowed tree and we did take something from this one. A little plastic Albert Einstein bobble head. What a find! I wonder what this baby is going to be worth in about 20 years or so.

This "new" was a lot of fun and I will definitely be doing in again! I want to find some for real treasure next time though! And I also want to hid my own geocache somewhere too and there's going to be some good junk up in there too, you can be sure of it!

Deuteronomy 4:29
But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Tough Mudder

I am so SIKED! Guess what I did for my "new" today? I officially registered for the Tough Mudder!

It's going to be so crazy! Running through mud and fire and electricity! It's basically just an extreme ten mile obstacle course. It's designed by British Special forces to test all around strength, stamina, mental grit and camaraderie. I have never done anything like this in my entire life so I absolutely cannot wait to say that I did it!

Today was pretty much the first day I didn't have to do ANYTHING! And that's basically what I did, nothing. And then I registered for this awesome race and worked out hard core. I did a bunch of stuff with weights and abs and then I went for a run. It was raining so it was perfect! Rain just makes it all so much better. I went for about five miles, so it was a good run, and I felt good afterwards. I just really want to prepare myself for this thing, I want to be ripped and I want to finish with a great time!

And the best part about it is that my sisters are going to do it with me too! I have convinced them:) The house girls are going to kick some butt! Even though I'm technically the only house girl, they had to go off and got married. I know right, what's up with that? Anyways, we are going to do amazing and when we finish we get free tattoos of "Tough Mudder" on us! Well maybe we won't, but other people will and I might watch! On the website it says that only seventy something percent of people finish, I want us to be the first girls to cross that finish line! I am setting the standard:)

 

Philippians 4:13 

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

A Week of News

I am going to get back on the ball friends! I promise. I am done with school for the summer! Whoot Whoot! And so in this post I am going to go through the past week and update you on all of my “news.” Are you excited?? Well you certainly should be! Okay, here goes…



Monday

Monday, Monday, every week you come and every week everyone just hates you. How does that feel Monday? That’s pretty sad, but I’m sure there are some people out there that love you! Well, maybe just like you…Anyways, so it’s Monday and I decide that it is time to go grocery shopping, and that means a trip to the parents’ houseJ It was a pretty successful trip too; I got a good amount of things for the week, and a couple little snacks. When I left the house I was ready to do my new.

There is a Finks Jewelry store I had been to a long time ago to fix a ring of mine. Next door to the Finks is a place called the Columns. Let’s just say you’ve got to be rich to go in there. Well, since I’m not rich, and nowhere near it, so I shall pretendJ I walk in there and this nice man greets me right away, he is very sweet. The sign said they closed at 5 and it was a little passed, but he said they had a customer there that was going to be a while so I could browse around if I wanted. I did want! Their clothes were so cute! They were expensive too, oh my word. But all I wanted to do was try them all on! And oh my goodness, there was just the cutest purse I have ever seen! It was a small purse that was round and had a hard casing and on it was an old fashioned telephone with the little wire and it was all sequency and everything, it was adorable. There was another one that was like an ocean theme and it had fish on it and an octopus. I want to say they were over two hundred dollars each. I know right? The jewelry they had there was amazing too! It was all huge stuff which is what I loveJ The coats were adorable and everything was just so well made!

I found the exact purse on Ebay!

I went into the other aisle and they had really cute fancy t-shirt type of things and they were over seventy for one. But then I went to the other side of the store and there was this headband I almost got. It was $16, something I could afford! It was really cute too, it was black and had a peacock feather on it. But I put it back down and I would just have to think about it. That man worker was walking around and trying to find stuff for the customer they were helping out. From what I heard, she was going on vacation and needed clothes for the occasion, wow so hard! He had picked up this really fabulous hat that was huge! It had a birds nest on it, it was pretty amazing. I saw her put it on and she liked it but she thought it was a little big and decided against it. It was so fun watching them try and dress this lady. I had such a great time trying to act like I could fit in there. Maybe my next “new” will be to become independently wealthy and be able to actually belong there.


Tuesday

On to Tuesday! Well this “new” was very different and made me a little uncomfortable. If you are a woman, you have most likely experienced something like this. Everyone knows what Mary Kay is. Its good make up that is sold by have little show and tells at people’s houses like a sales person. Well I’ve done this several times. You have a group of girls at your house and then a Mary Kay girl comes in and demonstrates everything and you get to put makeup on and stuff. But at the end you feel like you have to buy something even if you really don’t want anything. It’s kind of annoying. But I was invited to one of these things tonight by my friend Briea, but it was a little different. She was one of these Mary Kay girls and invited me to one of their little meeting things. It was a little weird because I didn’t really know what I was getting into.
After the head lady talked for a little bit we split up and a small group of us went into a little room and Briea was going to be in charge and practice on us. Well there was also this other lady there that was in charge and going to help Briea out and talk a lot. I don’t remember her name, let’s just call her Suzie. Well Suzie didn’t even know who I was, but after we had sat down at the table she was standing behind me and started talking and she was like rubbing my shoulders at the same time, it was really strange, I couldn’t help but furrow my eye brows and the girls across the table were laughing at me because I was just really confused as to why she was rubbing my shoulders. But I’m also not denying the fact that it felt good.

And then Briea started and we cleansed our faces, but only half our face so we could see the difference! So I washed half my face and then put the primer on. Briea was doing a good job but Suzie just kept interrupting her and stuff, I know she was just trying to help but it was just getting on my nerves. And then we put our foundation on and blush. I felt like the whole time all I wanted to do was put on eye makeup but Suzie said we weren’t going to do that tonight. Boo Suzie!

And then the even more uncomfortable part happened. After we finished everything, the Suzie lady was going to demonstrate how to actually sell the stuff to the customers one on one. And I was the victim.
“So Jenny, if money was no object, what would you just love to have?” she started.
“Um I would get the spoiled brat collection,” I said, which meant pretty much everything, the cleansing stuff, the foundation junk and blush and eye stuff.
“Oh, okay, well seriously now is there anything you would like to buy?”
“Um, no.” says I.
“And why not?”
“Because I don’t have any money”
“Well you are a college student I understand that, but can we get you started with the cleansing set and you can start from there and then build yourself up? It’s a $58 value.”
“Um, no I can’t, I don’t have any money,” says I.
“Okay, okay well how would you like to get stuff for free?”
“Yeah give me some free stuff!” I said.
“Now all you have to do to get free stuff is host a party and get people to buy things, is that something you think you want to do? “ she keeps asking.
“Um, see, pretty much all the people that would probably come have already left for the summer and my mom and sisters have already done Mary Kay many times, so I don’t think they would want to do it.”
“But you know if you’re a mom and your daughter is hosting a party you would come and buy things.”
“Yeah but, um I just don’t think so,” I just don’t know how else to say it! And this whole time she is just smiling and nodding her head. She was so dang good, it was so frustrating! She was grilling me so hard. I just didn’t want to get anything! Geez Louis. Then she finally stopped after I said I’d think about it and stuff.

Afterwards Briea was just like “Oh my word I’m sorry she did that to you! I’m never going to be like that with people, too much pressure.” Thank you Briea! It was just so weird. “But doesn’t your face feel good? Well half of it at least?” And I had to admit, it really did! It felt like I had a little face lift on that side or Botox. So if I ever want any Mary Kay ever, I’ll just ask Briea and hopefully never see that Suzie ever again.


Wednesday

Here we go Wednesday! Now I had recently decided to do the most awesome amazing obstacle course thing ever! Its called the Tough Mudder and it’s a ten mile obstacle course of running through mud and jumping off stuff and going through fire and stuff that electrocutes you, it’s going to be amazing. Anyways that’s why I’ve been starting to run again and work out, I’m training for this thing!

Well this morning I decided to spice up my run a little bit, I was going to take Ziggy with me, my brother’s black lab. I’d never run with a dog before and I thought it would be fun! Ziggy should’ve been good to run with too because he has got a lot of energy and he would be able to keep up with me. Well before we ran I had to get him in my car first to get to where we were going. Oh my word that was an adventure in and of itself; his big huge tail could barely fit in my tiny little car. I feel like I almost crashed twice before we finally got there.

So I start to stretch and then I wrap his leash around my hand like fifty time because it’s so long and then we finally start to run. He was confused at first as to what exactly we were doing and I just thought it was probably a mistake right away. He was all over the place and would not run and kept zigzagging all over and was trying to stand still. Finally I stopped running and turned around to yell at him, but then I understood. He had to poop. He had to poop so bad while I was pulling him along to try and get him to go it had already come out of him on the sidewalk. There was a little trail of turds behind us. I started laughing, but he certainly wasn’t. After he was done we started running again, and he knew what to do. But he could only keep up with me for about a half mile, he was so out of shape. So I was basically pulling him for about four miles and he was totally wiped after that! He was so done it was so funny. But I kept encouraging him and I think he enjoyed himself. Even though I was pulling him most of the time, I will probably do it again because he should be in shape at his age, he’s only two. He will be my new projectJ

Thursday

Oh Thursday! What great day you were to me! My “new” for Thursday was definitely an answer to prayer, I needed it so bad. It all was thanks to Hillcats.

I was working and I had three boxes. My first box got SO much beer and food it wasn’t even funny and I was so happy because a lot of beer means a lot of tip! My next box was a little birthday party for a little boy turning seven, and his dad who was in charge was just about the cutest dentist I have ever seen. I just might have to switch dentists! He was pretty young and he was wearing a bowtie! A BOWTIE! Can you get much cuter then that?! And he was nowhere near on the verge of suicide either! He was a very happy dentist. Anyways they had gotten a buffet which was an automatic $20 in my pocket, plus whatever more he gives to me. My third box was a huge box, but almost the whole night there were only two girls in there waiting for everyone else to get there, but they weren’t coming. But they ordered different platter things when everyone did get there. And then everyone did finally show up and they all ordered food and ice cream helmets for everyone, now that’s a lot of scooping!

So basically the whole night, I did not stop running up and down the stairs, not one break. But I’m okay with that because that means everything goes pretty fast and I’ll probably be making a good tip and boy was I right! My “new” for this day was making my record in tips! I was so excited! I know it’s a little inappropriate to brag about how much I exactly made but I don’t care! I made $165. I was so proud of myself, I was exhausted but it was worth itJ And then I drove to Pennsylvania that night. Oh it was a long day, but thank you God for that money!

  Friday

And it’s Friday, Friday, but I ain’t gettin down on Friday. I had too much workL  No fun fun fun for me (thanks to Rebecca Black for that little reference;). It’s the last day of my Biology online class and I must say, this wasn’t the easiest class ever. Mostly because I really did not want to do the work for it. If I had done the work and quizzes well, it would have been no problem, but I was just not feelin’ this class at all. But my “new” for this day was something I thought I would never be able to do ever!

As I stated before, I just was not feelin’ this class, so I would never really study for the quizzes ever and just take them. Well, I had never been so close to failing a class in my whole life. It was not looking good for me! I needed to be serious about these last three quizzes. So I actually studied for them which was a new for me, and an even bigger new was that it actually paid off! I got a 100% on my first quiz that I took! I was so proud of myself! And then I got nineties on the other two. I never thought in a million years I would be able to get a 100% on one of those quizzes. So needless to say, I passed the class! Not with flying colors, but I was able to pass which is fine by meJ and no I do not care to share the exact grade I got; thank you very much!

Saturday

Saturday Saturday, woe is me! I did something bad on Saturday. I am a bridesmaid in my friend Megan’s wedding and she had her bridal shower that day. Well I thought it was at night, but…it wasn’t. It was at 1:30 and I was at work until 3! This was not good. I’m such a bad bridesmaid! I was so mad at myself I couldn’t believe it! So I would just like to make a public apology to Megan, for being such an aweful bridesmaid! I am making a commitment to you right here, right now that I will be there for you and do whatever you need from me until through the day of your wedding! It’s going to be bangin! You are going to be the most beautiful bride!

Sunday

Sunday! Technically the first day of the week, but everyone pretty much just considers you to be the last. I did two “news” today and they were both amazing!

Well first of all, I went to this church called Blue Ridge this morning, and all I can say is amazing. I went because I heard they were having baptisms there and they were supposed to be really good, so my family and I decide to go. I cannot express to you how much all of those people were just so genuine and on fire for God! You could literally watch their lives changing, and hearing their testimonies; all I wanted to do was cry the whole time. And what made it more special was how the pastor didn’t baptize them, each person had two people with them to baptize them, people that had a huge influence on his or her life. We watching father baptize son, best friend baptize best friend, wife baptize husband; I get filled up just thinking about it. Just to see the life and growth that this church has was just so amazing!

For my second “new” I finally got to see the new Jane Eyre in Roanoke tonight! I went to the Grandin Theatre because it wasn’t showing in the regular theatre. I got to go with my mum and we got popcorn and drinks, we were set! The theatre we were in was a little small, but it wasn’t terrible. The movie was so good! I absolutely loved it! Jane Eyre is just so amazing, if you have not seen it, you are seriously missing out big time! but i have to say, my favorite version is still the one that Master peice theatre did.

If I ever get a bunny, I am naming it Mr. Rotchester, even if it’s a girl.

And there ends my wonderful week of News! Thank you for reading, and goodnight and God bless!



Genesis 2:2
And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

That was Quite the Sermon

So, I'm not bashing Thomas Road, don't get me wrong, I like them very much! But that sermon on Sunday was just… something else.

So it was Mother's Day, one of the greatest holidays of the year! (I know I'll think so when I am a mom so I'll just start that thinking process now) I decide to go to church with my mom even though I preferred to go to a different church. But it was Mother’s day. We walk in Thomas Road and they hand us chocolate roses! Well how sweet Thomas Road! Thank you!

We walk in and sit down and they're doing that whole thing where they ask who the oldest mother is, the mother with the most children, and so on. We all sing some songs, which was really nice, the music there is always good. And then the sermon starts.

Jonathan, the senor pastor wasn't there so Dr. Elmer Towns was stepping in for him. (If you don't know who that is, you live under a rock and you need to follow the link.) But Jonathan had still told him what to preach on, "Finding a Job." Oh my word. Really? Finding a job as a sermon topic? On Mother's Day?? What in the world. I just looked at my dad and he gave me the same look back.

I know how to find a job. Last year I had four jobs. Now I have two. Why was he talking about this? I don't know, I guess someone REALLY needed to know how to find a job that day. All I know is I have never heard such a sermon in my whole life. But for what it's worth, he did present it well and he can always crack me up just by standing there.

I ate my chocolate rose the whole time, it was great.


Acts 2:14
[ Peter’s Sermon at Pentecost ] But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.

Coconut Latte

Okay so I know I posted this once already, but it somehow got deleted and I have no idea why! So I will have to try and remember what exactly I had written. I apologize.

This is for my last Saturday's "new."(I know I’m way behind, it’s so bad) So I just had a lot going on that day. It was finals week and I had a project due. Well the only place I can ever get anything done is the quiet study room at school, you can seriously drop a pin up in there and everyone turns around and gives you the stink eye.

It's the only place I can seriously get stuff done because I have ADD. I'm convinced I have it. I swear. I promise. See? I'm doing it right now! Getting distracted from what I'm really supposed to be writing about. I just don't know what else it could be.

Anyways, so as soon as I get to school, all I want to do is lay my head down and take a nap. Oh gosh. How am I going to get anything done? I need coffee. It’s the only solution. But the coffee place downstairs was closed for some dumb reason I don't even know. So I had to go all the way to Starbucks.

When I got up to the front, I decided to take a shot in the dark and ask if they had coconut, I didn't think they would because they usually just carry the basic flavors, but they had it! It's my favorite! I was so happy:) I think they just have it for the summer time though. Anyways I ordered a coconut latte and she even put coconut shavings on it, which was probably a mistake because I kept trying to get a good taste of the drink, but I had all this junk in my mouth at the same time. (side not- check out the happy hour Starbuck's is doing! On;y until tommorrow!)

Overall it was a very good drink! I would get it again! I still prefer Muse coffee to Starbucks though because they seem to have more fun with their coffee and mix things up like "Monkey Bait", or "Red Tea Party," both of which are great drinks. Starbucks is just a little more basic and unchanging, which is good, but sometimes I need a little coco and nut in my life;)


Song of Solomon 6:11
She I went down to the nut orchardto look at the blossoms of the valley, to see whether the vines had budded,whether the pomegranates were in bloom.

Never Trust Craigslist

Such a scary experience! My new for Friday was one of the strangest I've ever had!

So Friday, I'm looking on Craigslist, and I look under the stuff listed as Free just to see if I can find anything good. Well I did stumble upon something, a free TV! Some people have some crap and they just don't feel like moving it or hauling away so they'll put it on Craigslist to get people to come and get it.

Well this lady was preggers and she was moving and she didn't wanna mess with her TV, so she had it out in front of her house for anyone to come pick it up. I will! I will! The directions to her house aren't that difficult and it isn't that far away. So off I go, to find a new free TV!

I'm on my way, I make a couple of turns and I don't really know where I am. The last turn is on this street called Roundabout Hill. Well first off, it isn't paved at all which is a little sketchy, and then I am trying to get my car up the loose gravel hill and it was not easy! It was super bumpy and gravel was going everywhere and I even had to switch from 2nd gear to 1st. Then I actually made it! I was relieved.

Then I had to actually find the house. The number was 122. I kept passing all these weird numbers that were in no order at all. Like 310 then 224 then 350. And all the houses looked weird and run down.Then I got to were the road technically ended and someone's driveway started. I nearly slammed on my breaks. The entrance to the driveway had all these scary signs! "KEEP OUT", "DEAD END", "NO TRESPASSING". and then there was one that said "GO AWAY, WARNING! OLD HERMIT WITH SCOPE", and then it had a butt tally of 16! It was so scary! I turned right around, after I took a picture:)

And then I was trying to bust my butt on outta there and all these dogs came out of no where and surrounded my car! They were barking and weren't letting me go! I had to inch my way out and then I hit the gas and they were still chasing after me! And then I had to go back down that hill, but it wasn't as difficult as going up.

Welp, I didn't find a TV. Or even the house for that matter. Craigslist is super sketchy. I was just expecting some creepy old man to pop up out of no where and drag me back to his house by my hair. I won't ever do that "new" again.


Job 33:16
then he opens the ears of menand terrifies them with warnings,

Finished Tree!

I'm done! I'm done! For today's "new" I'm finally done! I've worked and had my room in shambles and I'm finally done.

I'm very happy with the finished product, things can always look better but I'm happy with how it turned out. If you have no idea what I am talking about, that means you haven't read some previous posts of mine. Well let me give you a brief summary. So my Dad is demolishing the house I am living in to expand his business, I know selfish right? So now I feel like I can do anything I want to this house because is getting torn down.

So I saw this picture in a magazine of this salon that was real earthy and organic looking and they had this tree on the wall that was made out of scrapes of wood and it looked awesome! "I can do that!" I had thought out loud. And I did:)

I had a couple of better angles but they wouldn't load for some reason. Awesome huh? Enjoy! Let me know if you want me to build on on your wall:) I'm always willing!

Genesis 1:11
And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth." And it was so.