Bella in the Snow

Can you imagine how it would be to see snow for the first time? I can't imagine. I mean, if looking at it still blows me away after living in a place where it's this frikkin cold for 6 months out of the year how would it look to someone who lives in like, Florida? I think they would find it so beautiful.

    That reminds me of Twilight. She(Bella) saw snow for the 1st time and she wasn't impressed with it. That can't be right. I don't think anyone could see snow for the first time and just say, "Oh. It just looks like a cotton ball. Nothing cool about that."
    Come off it Bella!!!!! It's frozen stuff FALLING FROM THE SKY.

Wow!!! More white cottony stuff.....no big deal.

How to Deal?

So lately I've been dealing with death a lot.
Not in the sense that family members or people especially close to me have died. It's just that people connected to me have had people die. And it breaks my heart for them, it scares and confuses me. How would I ever deal with that? And how do you make them feel better? It's not like anyone can have the magic words to make your world go right again. Because the world is seen in a new way, it has taken from you.
     My friend knew this guy who was only 21. He died in his sleep and they don't know what of. I'm not saying she was super close to him, but he was there in her life. She thought he was funny and goofy....and she never expected him to be gone. It's so horrible how the little things like that can make us think....what would we do if we lost a friend? A parent? A sibling or even a neighbor?
     I think death might be the thing I'm most afraid of. Not for myself(well, not that much) but for the people around me. Because I can expect all sorts of bad things in life. They are going to come and knock me down, scar me and change me. But most problems can be fixed. Death can't be "fixed". It's too permanent, like a thorn that constantly aches under your skin.
     Some might say we shouldn't be sad when people die. Some may have been taken from their suffering, it was God's timing...God's plan. Well, yes it was God's plan. That doesn't mean I have to understand it right away, does it? That doesn't mean I  have to jump up and down with joy that a person has been ripped from my life.
      And I'm not yelling at anyone who can accept change and grief like that. I understand that maybe it's better for them. The fact that they have that much courage and faith amazes me. I'm just being honest when I say there is no way I could act like that, and that sometimes I hate death. That it has to happen and screw with so many people. I mean, we are human. We react in human ways.
      With grief, with anger, or solitude, or confusion or fear. What really scares us is that there is no way to avoid death.
       You can hide form a car wreck by not driving, you can keep yourself from getting hurt in a relationship by not dating or numbing yourself to love and emotion. but death is the ultimate force of change. And there is no way to stop change, to keep things the same as you like them.

The Moon Nation vs. the Squeegee

So lately the presidential campaigns have been getting a lot of attention. Newt G.(because I'm not going to try to spell his last name, I just know it reminds me of the Grinch) has been saying a lot about moving to the moon and making it a state....
Now, I'm no going to call him crazy for talking about this- though it does sound crazy when you first hear it. But then, haven't the "the unimaginable" always been thought crazy by men? The fact that we could even get men to the moon,the telephone,those crazy clothes in the 80's....all of them were incredible to mankind.
But you see,that is exactly the problem. This generation doesn't really care about things like that. These days "inventions" are the newest versions of the apple ipod or that squeegee rag they show on late night commercials.
It might be said that the historical value of making the moon a state would be a draw. But hello! History is in the making everyday as you read the cover of "People". So many teenagers or young adults care more about knowing what the current state of Demi Moore than our country.
America for the most part just wants to know who can give them the most. More money,less taxes...I can't say I know everything or even a lot about political stuff,but I do know the American people want to know they will be taken care of more than the moon.
But no matter what,I'll be voting republican this November,even if it means creating a setting for "The Jetsons". It might be called narrow -minded to not even consider a different party. After all,I am supposed to "become me own person" and "come up with my own opinions". Well. As soon as democrats stop killing babies I'm sure I'll give it some thought. Even then,it probably wouldn't happen. I don't really believe in somewhat-socialism. Socialists always seem to be really crazy and shoot their girlfriends.

Winter Jam (And no. It's not Jelly made of a Christmas Tree)

So a couple of nights ago I went to Winter Jam. I'm not going to talk about the bands, because I only liked about 3. I'm going to tell you about y actually winter Jam Experience.
The doors open at 4:45. Due to the fact that we were at McDonalds at this time, we weren't exactly first in line. At about 5:00 we were still(all 20 of us in a 17 passenger van. Very warm. No need for the heaters...) on our way. When we finally got there at about 5:15 and waited in a huge line huddled together for about 15 minutes. The bands started playing while we were still in line, so we missed about 20 minutes, which really annoyed me actually. Why can't they wait until the doors have been open at least an hour?
     After we got inside, we found 2 other people who had been there since noon, but instead of going to find seats they waited for us.
      ????????????
      I don't understand that at all. Due to the fact that everything was un-organized, we ended up splitting into 3 groups(and not even on purpose. The crowds there are insane). After walking around in a circle for about 20 minutes and finding no 2 seats together, we finally reverted to doing something "illegal(which, we found out later, the other groups did too. 8 of them climbed up on this table and just sat there until they got yelled at. But, hey, it's a random table. of course people are going to sit on it). There were some seats taped off as restricted. No one was sitting there. So we just took them.
      They were seats behind the stage. And I know that might sound kind of sucky, but we were really close to the bands and we got to watch them walk on and off stage. Plus you know that time at a concert when a slower song is playing and it's all black and people get out there phone? It was sooooo beautiful I wish I had a picture. Behind the stage is the best place for a view like that.
       It's funny to think that when our parents were kids/teenager/young adults, you would take out a lighter at the concert. I have no idea what that looked like, but I don't think it could have ever been as pretty as cell phones. As my friend Chelsea said, it's like being at a concert in space.
        Anyway..... After the pretty cell-phone display, we noticed that a lot of people were doing the same thing as we did(going into restricted seating). The good thing about this, it made us feel less-guilty. The bad thing, it got us noticed. Some old guy(and I'm really only calling him that because I'm still bitter that he made us move) came and told us we had to leave. And we did.
        60 seconds later, another group had moved into those seats.
        So then we walked around some more, and found another restricted area. But we ended up not staying, and on my way out the yellow tape wrapped around my leg, "catching me in the act".
        We ended up at the very top of the arena. At the very top not even sitting on chairs, but leaning against the wall. I went with a few other people and we went down to the ground floor and just sat there for a while. Then we went all the way back up to the top(fighting our way through the crowds. again.)only to sit there for one performance(Sanctus Real) and then go back down to the ground floor to watch "Skillet".
         And omigosh am I glad we did. Up til then I hadn't REALLY liked any of the bands. But Skillet always put on the best performances.
        It started a violin and cello player in these white robes. There were these spooky, distorted shadows behind them and they moved all jerky playing their instruments. It's was really cool. Then in the 1st songs, there were these blasts of fire behind them. We could feel it all the way to the back of the room, I don;t know how they could be 3 feet from it.

And no, I did not pick this picture of her just because she's
doing the "L" backwards. I think it's cute!

        I never really get that excited about music. I mean, I like it, I dance to it, I know the words.... But there is something about going to a concert and it being so loud and the people right there....it just makes it that much more amazing and you can't help screaming, you can't help not caring that your ears can't hear anything less than a ringing noise for hours.
        After Skillet was done(and I didn't even begin to tell you how cool their whole concert was)we met out in the parking lot and I had to hear my friend go on and on and on about Jen Ledger. And I agree, she is very pretty. But can I go on and on and on about how amazing that dude form Thor looks without getting a glare? No, I can't.

Cats with Helmets On

So today I don't really have anything to talk about. I was thinking about talking about cats. Not for any reason, just because for some reason I was thinking about them today(most likely because my dog, Jasper, knows the word "cat" because a black and white one keeps coming into out yard because she let her kittens get loose a couple of weeks ago and my sister's friend kept one. Needless to say, whenever we say the word "cat" he runs to the wondow and starts barking. Lately we say that word a lot just to tease him.)
    As you can see I have nothing to say about cats.... :P
   Now I want to show you some pictures of some very smart-looking cats:

Key-lime Kitty

Now these two deserve some kind of scholarship. They look smart like those monkeys who can operate spaceships or whatever......

First Date Book Review

First Date
                    By Krista McGee

This book is basically chic-lit gone Esther-story. Addy is chosen to go on a reality Tv show called "The Book of Love" and try to win a prom date with none other than the president's son. Through this story, she must try to find the confidence to speak about God.
   The reality TV show didn't seem...twisted enough. There were no fights, no ones's words were turned from an innocent statement to a mean jab. It seemed to clean for a reality TV show. And I get that this is a Christian book and it wouldn't be the best idea to fill ever page with millions of cuss words and innuendos, still, if she was setting it in a reality TV show it should have been a bit more harsh.
    Then there was Addy.  At some times her character didn't seem quite believable. Yes, she is a serious, smart and responsible Christian girl. But that doesn't automatically add up to no makeup, no cares about looks, and little to no knowledge about anything not contained in a text book. I mean, c'mon. She is stil a girl who wants to look nice, would occasionally happen to glance at the bold, yellow letters on the front of tabloids, and would be just a tinsy bit excited about being on TV. sometimes it just really gets to me how characters in Christian books seem so predictably- and unrealistically-  the same. At least she succumbs to some girl-like tendencies and "falls for" Jonathan-the president's son-before accually knowing him.
   The part about talking about God is a lso a bit unrealistic. She reads the Bible, goes to a Christian school, and acts totally different than everyone else; yet she can't even admit it to her room mate until the end of the book. And when she does finally "come out with is" to Jonathan and Hank-the selfish and God-hating director of the show-the outcome is a bit corny. But it does show a valubale point, and how she connects with her parents-missionaries who died years before- even after they are gone is really sweet.
    Despite the tings I've complained about, I still really liked the book! It was sweet and sincere, and I loved the insane character of Kara.
  

Smitten Book Review

Smitten by:
                   Colleen Coble
                 Kristen Billerbeck
                    Diann Hunt
               and Denise Hunter

"Smitten" by Colleen Coble, Kristen Billerbeck, Diann hunt and denise Hunter is the story of four friends finding love and saving their small hometown of Smitten, Vermont. It was really cool getting to read four different stories all about the same people in the same setting. The characters are introduced as friends, so you get to know them before you read their story. By the time you get to their part of the book, you can guess what they will do.
Since the book is basically four conjoined novellas, I felt that sometimes the back story was crammed in. The story would be progressing normally and suddenly a condensed paragraph about a characters past would be thrown in with too much or too little information. Also, sometimes the issues they were dealing with didn't seem to affect them as much as they should have, and some seemed to be solved overnight.
But I relly did like them a lot. Seeing four different authors work together with their differences and still managing to fit it all together really well was cool. Plus I think because they knew each other's characters so well, you were able to better understand the characters.
Colleen Coble did a great job of not writing one of her normal, "thriller books". You got to see one of her characters not being stalked or afraid of being killed, just happy in life.
Kristin Billerbeck really captured her character Julia's emotions as an uptight, confident-yet-afraid person. Plus she is really funny.
Diann Hunt and Denise Hunter both have lighter, more sentimental writing styles, but just as compelling.
All together the stories come form one very cute, sweet story. The characters are fully known by the end of the book throgh their friendships, dreams and love.