Nostalgia

I am feeling rather nostalgic today. In fact, I get that way very often. You want things to go back to the way they were and remember what you looked like and what you felt. Hmmm I wonder if the Pevensies ever felt that way? Or Polly or Diggory or... you get the picture. I just went back to some of my earliest posts and remembered what things were like then. Before El and I went to school together, when Vi was still here (*sniff*), when I didn't have to put up with half of this good for nothing high school drama. (Not drama club!!! That is perfectly good for something!)

Comment if you remember when...

Whatnot

So I type in 'VDT' into Google Images, hoping I might come across some good photos for the blog. Well, apparently VDT is really the correct posture you're supposed to use while sitting at the computer... Is Aslan trying to send me a message? Well, let's just say I sat up a little bit straighter after that one.


Alrighty then! I am getting rather pumped for Voyage of the Dawn Treader about now, even though we still have to wait like 11 months or something like that. The first part of Deathly Hallows will be out in July, so I'm a little disappointed that Narnia isn't coming out sooner. But I guess where Harry Potter has cool effects, it is going to take some time to make a giant ship and figure out how to animate a giant sea monster and a giant dragon and a bunch of other giant stuff. I do hope that VDT goes over well... I was a little disappointed with Disney for dropping the franchise, but I guess they weren't happy with the turn-out for Caspian so they spent their money elsewhere. Like 'Starstruck'. Biiiig step up... (That stupid Staaarstruuuck song is still stuck in my head! DIE!) Don't get me wrong! I'm a big Disney fan. But there's a little twinge in my heart still. Anyhow, VDT is in production and hopefully it'll make tons o' green so that we can come back and see The Silver Chair as soon as possible.


I wish I had time to write a longer post, but I must depart for church.

"A lady of Narnia must learn to give all she has, even if it hurts."

Blogger-break...?

OK, so I know I've sort of taken a very, very, very long Blogger break... ALRIGHT! I GOT A FACEBOOK AND NOW I'M DISTRACTED! For all the time I waste on my Dad's computer, you'd think I'd actually check this thing once in awhile... Hmmm... Anyhow!

I am getting super pumped for VDT!!! Too bad we have to wait a full year. ) : Both HP's will have come out by then! Speaking of movies, I also really want to see 'Sherlock Holmes' and 'The Princess and the Frog'. I know: polar opposites. But I love Sherlock Holmes mysteries and I grew up with Disney princesses so I desperately want to go to both! (Off topic... sorry.)

Winter break is here, so you'd think that I would be completely and totally free. Not so! Cheering for wrestling matches, delivering Christmas gift baskets with my mum, attempting to get ready for Christmas: my hands are full! BUT on the bright side, if the good Lord allows, I will hopefully see El and her family over New Year's. According to her cousin, I had better come and hang out or else it will be as "boring" as every other year. I don't see how that can be, especially if you load Elwen up on sugar, but alas... ( :

Alrighty well, I don't have very much time as of right now, so perhaps more later? Maybe I can come up with something that's remotely intellectual...

"A lady of Narnia must keep her head held high, even when most people would kill to see her fall."

PS- I still miss Vi. ) :

Why Hope? yHope!

I just had the most amazing weekend of my life. I am so happy right now... This Friday, a little after cheerleading yearbook pics, my parents, HoHo and I set out on a 3 hour drive to NEW YORK!!!

Why were we off on such a journey? Well, we were invited to join a group of young kids/adults (yHope) on an NYC retreat-esque thing. They were driving all the way up from BOSTON (aka The Home of the Enemy! LOL) and staying at a Jesuit retreat house. Let me tell you: these guys were just amazing.

I was so happy that my sister and I were accepted into the group. Everyone was great. Luke, who is 27, has a wife and kids and will be going to his 4th World Youth Day. (I hope I can see him there!) Marie is joining a convent in Spain, so hopefully our WYD group can make a short stop at their convent so I can visit her. (Starting in October, I can only send her letters.) And Kristen is going to be performing a play in our area soon! They were all so great, so inspiring. Natalia, Maria, Marie, Daniela, Louis, Tom, Luke, Angelique, Kateri, Kristen, and Fr. Mike were all so wonderful. We walked the streets of New York, praying along the way. Before we got a slice of pizza and were able to 'frolic in the park', the sisters at the book store even gave us homemade lemon cookies!!! When the whole thing was over, we ordered a massive amount of Chinese food and played riddle games. Mass was even more amazing: Luke on guitar (Van Wagner + Uncle Bill + Chris Winger + T. Daddy = LUKE!), Angelique in charge (music director person)... It was midnight by the time we finally retreated to our hotel. And Sunday morning!!! Two of my best friends in the entire world, Ashley and Janine, came up to visit with us and introduced me to a girl named Kayla. I was overwhelmed, we were having such a great time. It was so hard to leave. And as everyone from the Boston yHope group drove away, there was Marie, STILL taking pictures of us in the car.

I could cry it was all so wonderful. I laughed a lot, too. "Take the pebble from my hand, grasshopper..." "OKAY! MICKEY MICKEY MICKEY MOOOUUUSSSEEE!!!" Thank God for this kids.

Finally, please pray for a young guy named Louis. His family is here illegally technically, they are from Columbia and came to America because of their alcoholic father. He wants to become a priest, but he has no Social Security number and can't get into college. If they try and become citizens, they may be deported for entering illegally in the first place. PLEASE PRAY FOR HIM AND HIS FAMILY, DANIELA AND HIS MOTHER. They need His grace.

"A lady of Narnia must try desperately not to cry while driving away from the best weekend of her life."

Current State of Union

1. I am now a high school girl!!! ("Yesterday we were girls, today, we're high school girls.") And I'm actually liking this. Taylor Swift's 'Fifteen' was running through my head all of first day, but I made it out alive. Better than alive: happy! (Monty Python... anybody get it? I think I'll take a walk now... LOL) Chorus is the definite highlight. Last period of the day + singing + awesome peeps = CHORUS. Between singing to my heart's content as well as chilling with the coolest and sweetest people on Earth (El, Jenn, Benji, Shane, Quinn, The Other Steven, and Hannah), I'm pretty happy. Just thought you'd like to know.

2. The Gentle is going nowhere. I need inspiration. Any takers?

3. Just one question: why can't we bang out Narnian movies FASTER!? VDT is ages away!!! Gimme a trailer, a poster, a television commerical, outrageous and pathetic Legos products, anything!!!

4. My El-radar (I think Elwen knows what I mean) is getting crazy accurate. I can even sense the people around her. When her cousins were in town, I knew before she even told me. Perhaps its cuz we share a brain???

5. New section: Anna's picks! Here's what I recommend for you to enjoy this week.
a) 'Falling Down' by Selena Gomez & The Scene (New album Sept. 29! Yessss!)
b) 'Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince' by J.K. Rowling (Brush up before the movie.)
c) On The Waterfront (Awesome movie... A good old classic. Great morals.)
I just felt like sharing. "I mix my meats! Gotta problem with that?"

6. Miley Cyrus is stalking me. I need Big Rob.

7) I have nothing much else to say today, nothing Narnian really... Anyways, comment and keep me company!!!

"A lady of Narnia must resist the urge to kiss up to seniors. ( ;"

Not All That Narnian...

"I don't wanna be afraid, I wanna wake up feeling beautiful today, and know that I'm okay cuz everyone's perfect in unusual ways. You see I just wanna believe in me."

- 'Believe In Me' by Demi Lovato

That song sometimes brings me to tears. If you listen to the full song, the lyrics and the tune perfectly describe how I feel about myself and the world. I find that it is a very inspiring and hopeful song that always makes me feel better.

If I could change the world in any small way, I would try and help people have a better view of themselves, mainly because I think of myself so poorly. Elwen knows more than anyone that I complain about myself a lot. Emma, too. But it is pretty difficult to have a healthy self-esteem when everything around you is perfection (or almost perfection).

As I always say, "The reason that girls have it harder than guys is because they have to look good for boys, other girls, and themselves." There's a lot of pressure. Not just the media, although that is a huge part of it. Part of my problem is that the people that surround me are all 'practically perfect in every way'.

Let's see... I cannot think of a single one of my friends who is not beautiful/handsome. I have never had a crush on any of my guy friends, but they are all good looking. Don't get me started on my girl friends. Elwen is probably the prettiest girl in our class. Think about it. Emma is a stick-skinny, fashionable, and very pretty girl. Calli is drop dead gorgeous, and I think that her older sister Elise is the most beautiful girl I have ever met. Sara is multi-talented, fun, and pretty. Ashley and Janine, who are both so amazingly beautiful that I'm surprised they like me, Rose, who's not only an amazing actress, singer, and fashionista, but is super cute, Anna Marie and Gracia, who are sooooooooooo pretty. And my own sister, too. I'm surrounded by these people all the time, and they're all nice, good people with talents and outstanding qualities and good looks and good grades. Then there's me. I sometimes wonder how these people got stuck with me. Inside and out, I figure that I am not good enough to deserve all of these girls/guys. I am not smart enough, not thin enough, not funny enough, not pretty enough, not brave enough, not this, that, etc.

But I have to wake myself up once and awhile. I am smart: I'm an honor student. (Hehe... Doigel...) I am smart: I made El's Dad pull over, made Mikayla H. snort while laughing, and have created most of my family's inside jokes. I don't know about thin... LOL. I am at the very least somewhat pretty, because I have been told before. And I am brave enough: I stood up for friends when no one else would (6th grade of EVIL). Unless I have a month and can whip up some Polyjuice Potion (more Harry Potter, sorry), I am still going to be me today, tomorrow, and for the rest of my life. So I had better make the best of it.

(Note: Check out http://www.dove.us/#/features/videos/default.aspx[cp-documentid=8354359]/ and watch 'Under Pressure' followed by 'Evolution'. Both were real eye-openers. And listen to 'Believe in Me'. And buy me some chocolate.)

"A lady of Narnia must try and not lose her mind when she is stuck in a super small van for 6 stinkin' hours!!!"

A Montage

TOMORROW NIGHT IS HIGH SCHOOL ORIENTATION! I think I'm going to die... The seniors are going to beat me up, Elwen. Here is a montage of what's going on in my brain.

"Does anyone realize how hard it was to resist those Narnian bookmarks at the gift shop? It was very hard. Very, very hard. And Susan's, like, was so awesome, and Peter's was, like, also awesome. Ed's was okay... Lu's wasn't very nicely done... WHY THE HECK IS THE WHITE WITCH HERE!? WHAT DID SHE EVER DO FOR ANYONE? I'll be sleeping with the television, sleeping with the television, sleeping with the television onnnnnn... I like ice cream bars. I liked the 50's. Lauryn has a Twitter. Sweet. Yes, Janine and I are both hopeless romantics! I'm not alone! OMG, free postcards! I'll write one to Bob, my imaginary friend from Toledo. 'Dear Bob...' I don't like that guy either, Mom. He's pretty biased. The youth group is using my cake idea!!! I won't be there, I'll be off being cool with Ash, Janine, Rose, Jean Marie, Sean, hopefully Bobby and Ikaika, Jess... What was I talking about again? I'm failing in school, I'm losing my friends, I'm making my family lose their minds, don't wanna eat, don't wanna sleep... Ron the Marshmellow Man is my new BFF. I've learned you can dance and still look tough any-waaaay... AKA, the Ode to Neville. My back still hurts. I feel old. NO, GRAMMY, THAT'S MY TWENTY DOLLAR BILL! I named my guitars Joel and Neil. Joel is dead, Neil is practically disabled. Oh wait... Its almost high school time... I feal weak... Why is the room spinning? Am I in heaven or just a jelly filled donut? Oh man, nobody but HoHo knows what I'm talking about. I liked going on that hike. Dad was Moses and HoHo and I had Wizard Wars. Well, kind of. There was too much chlorine in the pool. School, right... Bad... Anyways, those fries at the park were soooo awesome, although the guy behind me ordered fries, 2 hot dogs, and pizza. My parents are stalking me to Europe. Awesome! What? School in a week? You've got to be kidding me!"

Anyways, as you can see my brain is jumbled with many thoughts. Tempting pointless merchandise, getting stuck in the same stupid Boy Boat, love of food, inside jokes, and food. Elwen: can you believe how close we are to school? I'm getting nervous. As I always say: "Who needs a hug?" (Or, "You're dead. You need a hug.") Please help me!!!

"A lady of Narnia must be very careful with the waffle maker. Veryyyy careful..."