who says trampolines are for kids

friend v. family

From passive observation over the years I believe that most people either prefer the company of their family or the company of their friends. I know a lot of people that love doing stuff as a family and their family members are their best friends. But, I also know a whole lot of people that will do anything to avoid family in order to hang out with friends, their friends are pretty much their livelihood. The vast majority of the people I've ever met swing one way or the other. While I have a lot of respect for people that can be completely friendly and can do everything with their family, I'm personally a friend person. Though I believe that there are people that enjoy their family and friends exactly equally, they are few and far between. Just like people who only hang out with family or only hang out with friends are also few and far between. It's not to say that family people don't love the company of their piers, or friend people don't enjoy their family from time to time. But, I believe that if people were asked which they prefer, most people could answer one or the other

irony

animator v. animation 1

animator v. animation 2

sea world and cars and planes?

- Shamu Cruisers were created by St. Louis-based Craftsman Industries. Based off the 2001 Volkswagen Beetle, there was a pod of six that traveled around the country as part of SeaWorld's Shamu Across America Tour back in April 2003.

- Fiberglass molders, machine and body-shop experts, painters, airbrush artists, graphic artists, decal applicators and mechanics all worked to make each Shamu Cruiser.

- Each fiberglass tail weighs 45 pounds; the dorsal fin weighs 9 pounds. Solid aluminum rods connect them to the body of the car and the hatchback and doors remain fully functional.

apparently there's 2 of these things flying around. They're 737 southwest planes

top 10 best demodivator

it's hard to read: "when birds fly in the right formation. They need only exert half the effort even in nature teamwork results in collective laziness"

Shamu and college

As of now I'm pretty sure I want to major in animal science and/or Agriculture. And I'm fairly certain that I'll minor in tech theater because I have an interest in that also. I've been thinking that if I do major in animal science and magically do get to work at Sea World I'm going to get some kind of masters in marine biology while I'm down there in Florida. Because lets be honest you don't see any 60 year olds flying off of Shamu's nose or running around with a sea lion. It also works out well because when I did visit sea world a few years back the person who I was talking to said that the park paid for a good amount (if not all) of your college education if you were working full or part time. I'll probably pursue some kind of marine biology job in the keys studying sharks or fish after that. Granted I'm very realistic and realize that I'll probably change my mind next week and probably change it again 100 times before I actually decide on what I want to do with my life, but for now I'm gonna fantasize about this.

FELIZ NAVIDAD!

I hope everyone has a great Christmas. :)

I wish I was creative and knew something about technology

So I get into this annoying routine, which I think the vast majority of us do, of sometimes caring about working out and sometimes really not caring. At the moment I care, mainly because I wanna get good at rock climbing and be able to be a strong swimmer. Sometime this summer I'm gonna make it my goal to be able to swim under water the whole length of the pool. I don't really know why, it's just something I've always wanted to do ever since I was a kid.

fun pic

I had to post this when I saw this picture

the days are getting longer!

I was just told that yesterday was the shortest day of the year. Now I have something nature wise to pay attention to other than the balmy 8 degree weather.

I miss disney world

sledding

I came to the conclusion a while ago that you can't be too old to go sledding. Even though you think of little kids when you think of sledding, I know a lot of college kids who go sledding all the time in the winter. So I'm going to go buy myself a sled and even if I look like an idiot b/c I'm alone, I will go sledding next time it snows.

demotivator: wishes

I very sadly could not find the motivational that this cat one was making fun of, but I believe it was persistence or something of that nature


more amazing demodivators: despair.com

the circle of role models

In my worldviews class the other day we had to do group project, my group did the topic of friendship (I don't know how it applies to worldviews). During our presentation we somehow came to the topic that most, if not all, of us have someone who we look to for advice and otherwise. Most of the people in my class had an older sibling that they look up to as a mentor of sorts. I personally have a youth group leader who helps out a lot with my issues. But I seemed to be the only one in the class who has a direct influence on little kids. I basically work with mostly 7-13 year olds, their minds are sponges and they basically follow me around all day. Though they don't ask me for the answers to life I know that they pick up on anything I say. It's kinda weird to remember when I was little and anyone of any significant age difference was so cool, and I recently wondered if that's what my 10 year old shadow thinks. Either way it's kinda fun to see the circle of: little kid soaks up everything I say- I look for advice from my youth leader- she probably looks for advice from someone- and so on.

Whose line is it anyway: themed restaurant

amen finals are done!

finally the semester is over and finals are done with. Unfortunately I won't be able to celebrate Christmas break by sleeping in tomorrow, I'll be working at 8 but it doesn't bother me that much. But I did find time to make a gingerbread house a little while ago. It was more work than I expected and it took about 3/4 of the tube of icing to get the thing to stick together. So that's about it I don't have anything thoughtful for now.

never have liked being politically correct

here's my thing I'm one of those people who says merry Christmas...not happy holidays. I was just thinking that if it weren't for Christmas this time of year would just be miserable and cold and nobody would think anything about it. The only reason anybody pays attention to december is because of Christmas. Think about it Chanukah (that's the real way of spelling it) and Kwanzaa aren't the ones bringing in millions of dollars for the stores and causing people to put up lights on their houses. My theory is that if it weren't for Christmas than students wouldn't get off for 2-4 weeks in the middle of the school year. It's my guess that at the most we would have a few days off for the end of the semester, but other than that everyone would go back to work as usual. So I feel that it is my duty to say screw political correctness-- MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

(I would like to let you know that I have nothing against the other holidays I think they're really cool. One of my closest friends is Jewish, I went to her really cool Bat Mitzvah several years ago)

rudolphi

wicked and bubbles

fun quote of the day courtesy of wicked the musical: "What have you been doing other than riding around on that stinky old thing" "Well we can't all come and go by bubble"

the boredom of boredom

Why is it that we get bored? We all get bored quite frequently it's just a matter of life. If you stop and think about it we were literally built to do stuff, we've got strong arms, legs, and thumbs to keep our self busy physically and the most advanced brain of any living thing on the planet to do stuff with mentally. Many people pick up a hobby naturally if there's little do whether that be piecing together puzzles or building a shed in the back yard. That's why for the longest time before TV became such a big part of culture people loved to read or play outside, because it is stimulation and work. We get bored and restless b/c we were hardwired to do stuff. Aside from when I'm with my friends, I'm happiest when I'm working outside either digging up a new flower bed or working with the little kids and ponies at the barn. Unfortunately work is often seen as being annoying, this is because much of the time we are forced to do work that we don't love doing. I personally love working with animals, others may love working at a bank it's all the way we were individually made. It's my theory that if we were able to do the work we loved (though this is unrealistic in many situations) we would love work again.

[title of show]

gotta love friends

"tell me your friends and I'll tell you who you are"--though I don't fully agree with this saying I do like it a lot. I believe that we easily pick up mannerisms from our friends because often times they're the people we spend the most time with. I don't really wanna go into detail about personality traits that you pick up from them at the moment, just random little things. For example: one of my friends that I've spent a lot of time with for the past few years talks a lot with her hands. Now when I'm talking, or especially when I'm trying to explain things I talk just as much with my hands. One of the more humerus examples is that whenever I'm standing still-weather that be waiting in line or talking with friends I sway--don't ask why because I don't know it's just something I've always done. Now whenever I talk to one my youth group leaders she also sways, especially when talking to me. Granted there's a whole negative side to the issue of picking up traits from friends but that's another conversation for another day

I get to cut down my own christmas tree

usually we just put up a fake christmas tree and call it a day but this year we decided to go for a real one also. Since I already put up the tree about a week ago we kept that one but decided to get a real one too. We drove an hour out and back to get this cool miniature-ish tree today. It was kinda fun because I've never gone to cut down my own tree but we did it. It's pretty cool looking even though the point is not in the center of the tree (I say that it gives the tree personality). Plus the thing was only $22, so basically a steal consitering the prices of lots and fakes. But the other cool thing is that it's decorated completly differently from our fake tree. The fake tree has multi colored lights with random newish ornaments like garfield the cat (from when me and my brothers were little), some other plastic ones, and a lot of candy canes. The real one has strings of white and red lights and is decorated with little silver bells and bows on the top to make it look less...special cause of its off centered point. So there ya go-that's all I got to say for today--have a good rest of the day

go steelers

POWERISERS!!!

that's rediculi!

there's nothing like using made up words in daily conversation. Probably one of my favorite words was introduced to me when I was working at the kennal (sadly I don't work there anymore) at 9 at night when I was talking with another one of the employees. Her made up word was 'reducli'. Honestly it's a really fun word to say, it's even more fun to see people's reactions cause some get it right away and others...not so much. So there you go that's my immature moment of the week.

9 to 5

wtf

being that I live in the stl I'm use to people who don't know how to drive, but I just encountered probably the most random dangerous non drunk driver I've ever encountered. When I'm coming home from riding my horse I have to take a windy road which sometimes has deer on it. Well I'm behind another car-thank god I wasn't tailing it- and he would literally slam on his breaks out of nowhere. The first time he went from 35 to 20 in a ridiculously short amount of time. I gave him the benefit of the doubt b/c there might have been a deer even though I saw no sign of one. About 30 seconds later he did it again, by this time I'm kinda pissed. The third and final time I was about 6 feet away from rearending him. Out of nowhere he's going 35 mph and randomly STOPS. So I slammed on my breaks feeling the oh so pleasent feeling of the automatic break pump thing the makes it feel like you're skidding on rocks. They just sat there for probably 10 seconds, just sat there. There were absolutly no deer around he just stopped. Finally I pulled into another neighborhood just so I wouldn't have to be so close behind him, when I pulled back out I didn't see him anywhere. So my basic moral of the story DON'T BE STUPID AND STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD

finals

the ever so hated finals week is coming up next week. Like all other students from 9th grade to well into college I can't stand finals. Plus this year I have absolutely no motivation to do well on them. It also seems that whenever When I actually decide to study for them it seems that everything that has been in my room for years all of a sudden becomes interesting and takes any attention that I may have on studying away from it. So that's my rant/thought of the day

as promised

I'm actually kinda proud of this one b/c most of the pics that I attempt to make creative aren't creative

the whole setup is kinda simple but I think the LEDs don't look too horrible with the white

you can see the tree from outside

christmas light update

so I put up my christmas stuff today including the lights. I tried but could not figure out how to hand make a light tree so I gave up on that endeavor. But I decided decorate in LED and white lights. LED because they save a whole lot of energy and in moderation they don't look that bad. I frequently pass a house in one neighborhood decorated in strictly LEDs and it doesn't exactly look the best, for some reason its kinda darkish unlike the bright small bulbs we're use to. So I decided to pair them with white lights because colored and LED don't mix well. I will take pics tomorrow and put them up if I have time

virtal bubble wrap

proof of my immaturity level-check this out

it's amazing how one comment can make you smile. Usually when people post on my facebook they're responding to something or something of that nature. One of my youth group leaders simply said 'hi pretty girl' I don't know why but it made me smile. Because she didn't need to write anything, she just felt like it and that makes me happy. I guess I'll never underestimate the power of a simple compliment. :)

my lack of climbing skills

So recently I've been starting to rock climb at my gym, it seems to be the only form of exercise that I actually enjoy. I took a class on belaying, so now I know how to belay the only problem is that I have nobody to belay with so I generally stick with the self belays. I realized that I'm very bad at rock climbing given that in no way am I 6' 3'' with lanky arms and legs, plus I lack any upper body strength. Aside from my forearms hurting after about 4 walls it's a lot of fun. I'm proud b/c the other day I conquered my first wall that had a small overhang, it wasn't easy but it made me happy. The only complaint that I have with the self belays is the little kids. One of the employees was telling me that if a kid is 90 lbs or under (and believe me there's way too many of them) they can literally just palm their way up the walls. Apparently they had to tie a rope to the back of a 35 lb girls harness before she could climb a wall because once she would get up the self belay wouldn't let her down. So maybe if I practice a lot, in a few years I might try bouldering, though it's unlikely.

my friend sent me this

for good

I know that there's still 30 or so days left of this year but I felt the need to reflect on 2008. arguably the most eventful year of my life
-dislocated my hip (yup it hurt like no other)
-self reflection (thanks to the walking deep thought allie)
-sprained ankle (I tripped...cause I'm graceful like that)
so yeah it's been an...interesting year, definitely one I won't forget easily

page pic

i thought i'd explain the picture of the two horses that's next to the posts. The horse on the left is mine, his name is Toby and I love him dearly. I believe I took this sometime last winter with my phone. He is turned out in one paddock and was socializing with the pony in the other paddock. Their way of saying 'hi' is by breathing into each others noses...i don't know why. Toby is a 12 year old thoroughbred, he raced for 2 years of his life but only got 3 grand so he is now a hunter horse. Fun fact: his grandfather was Seattle Slew. Maybe I'll explain what being a hunter means later. But there you go, the story behind the pic.

budweiser clydesdale commercial

christmas lights

since I was about 12 or so I've been decorating my house for christmas. It's a job I rather enjoy, unlike most people I don't mind standing on a latter hanging lights in the 25 degree weather. The only problem is that there's only so much you can do with 3 small bushes and 4 small columns. I finally succeeded in figuring out how to hang lights around the windows last year, and I really want to do something cool this year.
I'm thinking of buying pvc pipe from home depot and making a box out of it (like the ones you learned how to draw in 6th grade) and zip tying tube lights to them to make them look like presents. I'm the kind of person who will see something really cool, but have no idea how to emulate it. This year I think I'm going to attempt to hand make a 'tree' of lights where it looks like a christmas tree by having about 15 or so strands of lights anchored into the ground meeting at a point about 6 or 7 feet tall. It'll probably be a failed attempt, but maybe it'll work. I'll put pics up after I decorate which will be around the first week of december.

coca cola polar bears

careers

I'm at a very annoying crossroad and I'll be at it for the next few years. I have to choose a major in the next year or two, though I have ideal majors that I want I know that it's unrealistic to major in all of them. The frustrating thing about my interests is that I'm interested in extraordinarily different things. Career wise I wish to either be a landscape artist, physical therapist, and yes the childish dream of... training dolphins. The sad part about it is that I would ideally love to work for Sea World and work with marine mammals my whole life. All of my youth group leaders always say in sermons that we were meant to do what we were built to do (aka. what you're most interested in), which for me is working with animals. The only problem is that my 'dream job' doesn't exactly pay the bills. I'm the kind of person who would be willing to work two jobs, but that's easy to say now. Don't get me wrong I would really like the other jobs, but I love animals and love to take care of them more. Unfortunately, I think that realistically it will come down to the matter of money, which upsets me the most. I'll probably end up being a physical therapist, but who knows maybe in 10 years I'll be jumping off the nose of a killer whale.

ADD

It's not rare to hear me say 'I'm really ADD right now' even though I'm aware that I don't have ADD. I came to the conclusion several months ago that I am simply a severe procrastinator and if something bores me I find something else to distract me; basically I'm lazy not ADD. A friend and I were talking today about how ridiculously misdiagnosed ADD is, especially in kids. It seems that adults have forgotten that forcing a kid to sit through an hour long church service without any entertainment or making them sit still at a desk for 7 hours is against the very nature of a little kid. Kids are meant to run around and be active, thats why every grade school kid loves recess. People forget that kids simply don't have the mental capacity to sit still, it's not their fault it's the way every human being is hardwired. They can't help it but be restless, but according to doctors today they all have ADD.

I distinctly remember my mom bringing at least 3 coloring books and a bag full of markers and colored pencils to church every week when I was little. I would sit in the back of the church service drawing away having the time of my life, going unnoticed to everyone. My mom realized that I was a kid, not a miniature college kid who's expected to sit quietly during presentations. I would put my money on the fact that if teachers could teach an interactive class, outside or just walking around the class, and kids could have roller chairs the epidemic of 'ADD' would be drastically reduced.

turkey day is looming

thanksgiving has always been like a mini family reunion for my family over the years. The problem is that like many others, I am under the belief that my relatives are crazy. There will be a total of 14 people at my parents house this week....now you see my dilemma. I don't mind my relatives in small doses and one family at a time, but the whole group is a different story. It's safe to say that I'm planning on spending a lot of time at the gym rock wall and 'running errands' where I plan on hanging out with friends.

I still have yet to figure out how we're going to fit 14 people in the house. Being the overachievers that they are, my parents bought 2 blow up matresses and way to many bags of chips and sodas. So I guess we'll see what this turkey day brings. All I have to say is thank god i don't have to share my room with anybody.

cool whip

whose line is it anyway

random facts

The 57 on Heinz ketchup bottles represents the number of varieties of pickles the company once had.

the most common name in the world is Mohammed.

Karoke means "empty orchestra" in Japanese.

The Eisenhower interstate system requires that one mile in every five must be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies.

It would take 11 Empire State Buildings, stacked one on top of the other, to measure the Gulf of Mexico at its deepest point.

Each of the suits on a deck of cards represents the four major pillars of the economy in the middle ages: heart represented the Church, spades represented the military, clubs represented agriculture, and diamonds represented the merchant class.

The names of the two stone lions in front of the New York Public Library are Patience and Fortitude. They were named by then-mayor Fiorello LaGuardia.

The sound of E.T. walking was made by someone squishing her hands in jelly.

A skunk's smell can be detected by a human a mile away.

Elephants are the only mammals that can't jump.

American car horns beep in the tone of F.

The citrus soda 7-UP was created in 1929; "7" was selected because the original containers were 7 ounces. "UP" indicated the direction of the bubbles.

Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors

middleschoolers

the other day I was a leader at a middle school youth group lock in. It's called 'The Zone' and was at a local rec center. I noticed how happy and non stressed a lot of middle school kids are, as opposed to the average high school kid. They don't think that running around or dancing to a song may potentially be 'uncool' they simply love to have fun. They spent a couple of hours in the pool and didn't care about getting their hair wet or something that the typical high schooler would worrry about, they just dove in and enjoyed the waterslide. I also noticed how vastly different their sense of humor was from my own piers. The smallest thing made them laugh, another leader's shoes made a squeeking sound and they cracked up. They're a lot of fun to hang out with b/c they're old enough to have an intelligent conversation with but young enough to enjoy a game of kickball.

gotta love mascots

found this somewhere

The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dsenot mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

can he jump him?

a video my youth group made a while ago

horse ears

"you know horses ears are connected directly to whatever it is that they're thinking. Because they're not saying to themselves "Ok now I'm going to put my ears forward-now I'm gonna put them back" You can tell exactly what they're thinking about just by lookin' at their ears"
-a horse owner at my barn

av

random observation: have you ever noticed that when an event that involves any technology at all and everything goes smoothly nobody notices the techies (or av crew depending on place). But if a video isn't working or there's feedback than EVERYONE notices them. From personal experience there's nothing more annoying than a 800 people staring at you because someone on stage tripped over a cable and now their mike isn't working.

fin n feather

a few weekends ago I went on my youth groups annual fall retreat. As I expected it was a lot of fun, especially since my favorite people in the world were going also. The camp that we go to is in the middle of the woods, and the perfect place for scary games. The first night everyone had to find one of the kids who was 'missing' and save him from the 'killer,' one of the leaders made a great video about some murderer who was running around. Either way it was fun b/c everyone was given a glowstick and sent off to go and look for the 'missing' kid. I didn't participate b/c I sprained my ankle a month ago and it's still not 100% and I decided that running around on uneven gravel, sticks, and hills at 11:30 at night wasn't a very good idea. So me and a few leaders hung out by the bonfire while we watched dozens of glow sticks moving from across the lake. I have to say there's nothing like knowing that someone with a chain saw is planted strategically in the woods and hearing about 8 screams when he revs it up.

even if you don't like cats you gotta admit that its cute

fail blog

deep conversations

Why is it that we rarely have deep thought and emotion wrenching conversations? Here's my naive opinion on the subject. We are told to have fun, enjoy life, and forget about all problems. While there's nothing wrong with enjoying life, I personally love live very much, this mentality drowns out any possibility of being real and honest with yourself. If we forget about our problems they're just gonna come back up sooner or later and bite us in the ass. Someone who I respect very much said a few weeks ago that "If you don't deal with your crap, than your crap is gonna deal with you." A few of my friends have tried to dispute this statement, but I find it very true. Secondly, we are all so use to having lighthearted conversations about the newest pop star or where we went this last weekend that 'deep' conversations are very uncomfortable and foreign to us. The shame is that anyone who is willing to ask thought provoking questions are hard to find. I found one earlier this summer, and even though the conversation about my past and why I do what I do was the most uncomfortable and emotion wrenching one I've ever had, I haven't regretted it for a second. I wish there were more people in our lives that we could fully trust, that could ask "What is the most painful thing that has happened to you?" and not mean it in an 'I broke my arm once' kind of way.

optical illusions

optical illusion dragon

a printable copy can be found here
you can choose from blue, red, and green-they're really cool

free hugs campaign

hugs

here's random parts of an article that i found, because I heard somewhere that hugs are good for people.

Hugs provide immeasurable support, agrees international trauma expert, author and psychiatrist Paul Valent. “They signify that the person is not alone, and that there is goodness and a future.”
Hugs – pure, human touch – are essential for health and life, and research proves it. In one study by a scientific centre devoted to exploring the effects of touch on health, the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine in the US, infants who received a 15-minute massage twice a week cried less, gained more weight and showed greater sociability than those who didn’t receive the massages.

Another study, at the University of Virginia School of Nursing, in 1999, found that pain and anxiety in the elderly was significantly reduced when they received therapeutic touch, while in 2005, University of North Carolina researchers reported that women had lower blood pressure after hugging their partners.

The motivation to be loved and appreciated is so pervasive that it has been called a fundamental human need, say researchers, with individuals who frequently give and receive affection having higher levels of self-esteem and confidence.

Father Chris Riley, founder of Youth Off The Streets, a charity that supports homeless and drug-addicted young adults, is a believer in the power of the hug, especially for young people. “Hugs and touch are vitally important for young people to grow into human beings who are not threatened by the world,” he says.

Melbourne-based marriage celebrant Jennifer Floyd, who sees a lot of hugs in her work, says: “A hug can say so much – thank you, I love you, I care, it’s okay, it’s great to see you, I’ll miss you, I’m here, we’re one – and all of it wordlessly. But the coolness or reticence of a hug which comes from one who’s not entirely comfortable with giving them (or receiving them) also says a lot.”

Children need hugs desperately, she says. But so do grown-ups and even pets. “We should hug humans and animals!” she says.

Whether a dog or cat actually benefits from a hug is hard to prove, but numerous international studies show that humans get something out of having and hugging a pet, including lower blood pressure and lessened anxiety.

the whole article is here it's a pretty cool article.

i'm so glad that the elections are over

so I did my patriotic duty of voting earlier. For my first election it was surprisingly less complicated than I had imagined, aside from the annoying campaigners who were surrounding the sidewalk using their little 10 year old kids as campaign tools. Either way it was fun using the electronic ballot even though the recipt thing on the left was very distracting. No matter who wins I'm just glad that my tv will go back to being campaign ad free. Who knows maybe I'll get my free starbucks coffee later.

two horses

this is a story that my piano teacher emailed me one time. i don't know if it's real or who wrote it but i've always liked it

Just up the road from my home is a field,

with two horses in it.

From a distance, each looks like every other horse.

But if you stop your car, or are walking by,

you will notice something quite amazing.

Looking into the eyes of one horse will

disclose that he is blind.

His owner has chosen not to have him put down,

but has made a good home for him.

This alone is amazing.

If nearby and listening,

you will hear the sound of a bell.

Looking around for the source of the sound,

you will see that it comes from the

smaller horse in the field.

Attached to her halter is a small bell.

It lets her blind friend know where she is,

so he can follow her.

As you stand and watch these two friends,

you'll see how she is always checking on him,

and that he will listen for her bell and then

slowly walk to where she is, trusting that she

will not lead him astray. When she returns to the

shelter of the barn each evening, she stops

occasionally and looks back, making sure her

friend isn't too far behind to hear the bell.

Good friends are like this .

You don't always see them,

but you know they are always there.

"Be kinder than necessary,

for everyone you meet is

fighting some kind of battle".

i was thinking what i would make as a first post and i think this is quite appropriate