Hey all!  I'm back!  Did you miss me?  Normally I would have put a winky face there, but I'm trying to break the habit.  Let me know in the comments whether you like it when bloggers use "emoticons".  Don't worry, you won't hurt my feelings.  Ahhhh!  I almost did it again!
     So I thought I would kind of update you on life right now for me... sound good?  Well, I'm not very busy right now and I kind of wish I was.  I've been trying to find some hobbies that I can actually invest myself in and not just spend all of my time online.  I've been drawing, playing basketball, writing, and readingish.... I almost did it again... I almost put a smiley face... this is really bad...
     Anyways, I have been trying to keep busy with that, but it's been hard to make my life structured like I want it to be.  This is a good point for a fun fact about me-
Fun Fact- I love to know exactly when where and how I am doing things.  I really like routines.  I like making lists and getting things accomplished and I'm a huge perfectionist.  Sometimes not as much as I should be with school though...
     I just realized how much I use smiley faces.  I was tempted to put like 4 in the last 3 paragraphs... nope not doing it.
     I'm going to be working on some new ideas for the blog such as post series' and ways to make it better.  I hope to have more pictures because I know you all love those.  Who knows, photography could become one of the new hobbies I try to pick up!
     Some of you inquired about my story on FanFiction.  It's going very well, thank you!  Here is the link, but I wouldn't suggest reading it unless you have read the Hunger Games books or watched the movies, otherwise you'll be completely lost.  That's another thing, recently I have become a Hunger Games fanatic!  It feels great to be a fan girl... I finally understand it now.
     I will be putting the next installment of BeYOUtiful up this week.  I know you can't wait!
     I want to hear your thoughts in the comments please.  What do you think would help improve my blog?  What kind of posts have you always wanted me to do?  What kind of posts that I do are your favorite?  Any comments or suggestions will be gladly taken!  Please make them constructive.
     Please remember that the deadline for the blog party is May 21st.  It would really help me though if you got in as soon as you could.  Please don't back out on things or send them in late.  I will not accept late submissions.  I know it sounds harsh, but you all have known about this for quite a while.
     I'm glad to be back and hope to hear from you all really soon!  Comment away!

My Life... At Christmas!

     So it's Christmas Eve today!  I thought I might catch you girls up on what's going on for me at "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year";).  So today, we might go sledding and that would be pretty awesome.  I don't think I'll ever be too old for sledding.:)  Tonight we will be going to our church's Christmas Eve service.
      I think it's great that we have a service today at our church.  It helps me to remember the real reason for Christmas.  We all need to be thankful for Jesus' birthday and remember that it is His day and not our own.
     After the service my family and I will be having our Christmas party.  And opening presents (grin).
     On Christmas day, we will be celebrating Christmas with my Dad's side of the family.  All of them are supposed to be there, which is a pretty great accomplishment because we have 21 family members in 3 different states.  Super excited!!!!
     We have some unique Christmas traditions with that side of the family I thought I might share.  My Grandma prepares a feast (literally) and it's so amazing every year because she is such a good cook!  Each family member has his or her own stocking.  Other family members fill the stocking with presents, but you don't know who gave you what, (which is perfect for joke presents):).  The presents can be as small as a candy bar.
     Grandma has a mini tree in her front doorway that has a card on it for every family member, that also contains a little Christmas fun money.
     This year we're trying something extra too.  Every family brings a number of ten dollar gift cards equivalent to the number of people in their immediate family. family and we will play a game to see who gets what gift card.  I'm looking forward to trying it out!
     On the 26th, we will be travelling to my Gram and Gramp's house.  They live like 6 or 7 hours (depends on how many bathroom breaks lol) away.  We will either be having Christmas with them and my Mom's brother's family on that night, or Sunday night.  We have the traditional Christmas, which is also LOADS of fun!
     I'm also super nervous excited for the Bears vs. Packers game on Sunday.  I'm a HUGE Bears fan and Packers are our rivals.  If we win we go to the playoffs, if we lose, the Packers go to the playoffs.  Talk about pressure!
     I have a little point for you all to take away.  I came up with this and I think it is a pretty valid point.  When people say "Don't sing Christian Christmas songs, don't say Merry Christmas, don't put up a nativity because it offends people!"  Just say "This is a Christian holiday.  It's the offended people who are celebrating OUR holiday.  You don't see anyone saying "Oh Hanukkah!  Jews, don't use your traditions, because we don't want you to offend people."  No.  It is the American people who have taken our holiday, Christ's holiday, and commercialized it for their own profit.  When people say those things, remember, it is not an American holiday, it is a Christian holiday.  In fact, it is a holiday celebrating the birth of the best person in the world, Jesus.  Remember that this CHRISTmas.

   

Braces...School...God...Sleep...Thinking?

     I get my braces off tomorrow!  YAY!!!!!  I'm so excited!!!!!  Hopefully 5 years of dental work will pay off :)
     I just can't believe what a change junior high is to high school.  Now if you're tired of hearing me say this, I'm sorry.  School is just so HUGE in my life right now.  Sometimes it seems like a trap that I'm stuck in.  I can't escape from it.  There is so much work!
      I have been having a hard time keeping God at the head of my life.  My focus has shifted, and not in the right direction.  Don't get me wrong, school is very important, but nothing is more important than God.
     I have grown to like sleeping, it has become a refuge for me.  That leads to another problem, oversleeping.;)  But really, I love sleep now because it is a way to escape all of my responsibilities and just THINK.
     Do you ever do that?  Just think?  I love thinking!  It's a way that I can regenerate myself.  Thought are special, so cherish them.
     Should I do more of these rambling posts???  Do you like it???  Let me know in the comments.:)