My Favorite Brother

Here are some things that Seth has said or says on a (somewhat) regular basis that just make me laugh:

(Looking through a WW1 book that I have out from the library.) "Awesome machine gun!... SweeeEEEEt... Look at these planes! This book is so awesome I could... I could just *live* in it!" Me: "Where'd you hear that?" Seth (as if it's rather obvious): "From MYSELF!"

.:.:.

You know how these days when people admit to a mistake, they say, "Oh, my bad." Well I do that a lot. "Who didn't start the dishwasher?" "My bad." "You just said the wrong name when you were talking about so-and-so." "My bad." "Weren't you going to make me breakfast this morning?" "My bad."

You get the picture.

Well, Seth has his own little spin on things. I have heard him on a couple of different occasions saying, "Why am I bad." in the same tone of voice that I say, "My bad." He's not asking a question. He's stating it. "Why am I bad." Oh, and he tries to fit it all into as little space as possible so it sounds like, "WhimeIbad." Too funny.

.:.:.

We were talking about a church in our area and mom said, "That's the church Mrs. S____ grew up in." Seth's eyes got big as he said, "Mrs. S____ grew up in a church???!!!"

.:.:.

I stood behind Seth's chair at dinner and snapped my chapstick closed right next to his ear. "Emily," he said in a whining voice.

"What?" I asked, "All I did was make a little noise. I haven't tipped your chair back, touched you, or anything! Is it my presence behind you that bothers you?"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call them presents."

Not Recommended

Twice in the last month I have seen a glowing review for the book Little Britches by Ralph Moody. One review actually highly recommended the whole series for family reading. I am here to tell you something: I would not recommend these books.

I was looking around at the library last night and just happened to stumble on Little Britches. Remembering the reviews I had so recently read, I decided to check it out. I haven't seen so much foul language in a book since I read the unedited version of The Red House Mystery. So, I don't recommend the books. If language doesn't bother you, by all means go ahead and read. It's something along the lines of Little House on the Prairie. Ralph Moody is the main character in the story of his life.

Now as a bonus topic: Do any of you have cats? Do your cats eat roses? When my grandpa got me roses for my birthday and when my Dad got roses for my mom, our cat ate them. What in the world?

YouTube Tuesday - Tortillas!

When I was at my friend Erin's house a while back, I absolutely fell in love with homemade tortillas. I'm going to try and make some this week if I can, and I thought I'd share a youtube recipe with you. =D If they're not as good as the ones Erin's mom makes... oh, well. I guess I'll keep trying.

Walk Like the Animals

There's a song in Doctor Dolittle that goes something like, "Walk with the animals, talk with the animals..." I don't know. It just happens to be what came to mind when I first saw this. [Edit: The "this" right there is a link... it's not showing up too well, though! Maybe the coloration on my computer is off... but in case yours is, too, I thought I'd mention it!]

Insane? Totally.

Cool? Absolutely!

haha I would never spend that amount of money just to be able to walk like a faun, but hey... it's a cool concept!

Anyhow... just thought I'd share. It's one of those different things that you don't see every day. =D

Wishing...

Wishing you were somehow here again
Wishing you were somehow near
Sometimes it seemed if I just dreamed
Somehow you would be here...

Too many years
Fighting back tears
Why can't the past just die?

Seven. It's the number of perfection, right? Well it's been seven years. My best friend got saved at a revival meeting at our church. I remember so many details... I remember six years ago, too. The betrayal, the heartache. You know, when you really care about someone and they betray you, it's not something you just get over. No sirreee.

C- I've thought of you every. single. day. since I lost you. I wish I could have you back as you were, but knowing that you're probably so much different now, I'm almost glad that there's no chance of reconciliation. I pray for you. I've forgiven you. I miss you.

April is the Month

I love history. A lot. A lot a lot. So it's no surprise that I'm subscribed to Wikipedia's "This Day in History" email. I get it every day and enjoy reading the headlines from hundreds of years ago. Sometimes I get frustrated because they leave stuff out... but that's besides the point. =P

Anyhow... April is a good month for things happening! You've got the liberation of major concentration camps in the 1940s... the sinking of the Titanic in 1912... the end of the American Civil War... Columbine... the beginning of the American Revolution... King Henry the VIII ascending to the throne (that's today, by the way. I mean... today a long time ago!)... Abraham Lincoln assassinated... etc etc etc

Okay... I could be writing about King Henry, but I'm not. Instead, I'm choosing another famous thing that happened on April 21.

The Red Baron!

Oh... wrong one. LOL ;)

This is Manfred Albrecht von Richthofen, known to most people as "The Red Baron" or "The Red Devil." He was a German pilot during the second world war and has been credited with at least 80 victories in air combat. That's pretty much a record. The only thing I don't like about this guy is that... he was working for the wrong team. Something I found interesting: "After his first confirmed victory, Richthofen ordered a silver cup engraved with the date and the type of enemy machine from a jeweller in Berlin. He continued this until he had 60 cups, by which time the supply of silver in blockaded Germany was restricted." [This is a quote from wikipedia] Hmm... maybe a bit of a pride issue or something? Anyhow... he was shot and killed on April 21.

Anyhow, the reason I'm doing this post is because I have a question: Why Red Baron? I mean... the pizza. Why would an American-based food company want to name their product after a Nazi pilot? The Nazi government was everything that Americans have fought against from the beginning.

I turned to my best friend, Google, for the answer. And I honestly didn't come up with much. But I do have an idea. Look at the Red Baron pizza box. Look at the picture beneath. Same guy? Ahm... No. As one person put it, the Pizza Baron is "substantially unlike Richthofen." So my idea is this: maybe the hero on the pizza box is called the Red Baron just to make everyone think he's invincible, but he really has nothing to do with the German pilot? LOL What do you think?

P.S. I haven't been getting many comments lately... are my posts that bad? I know I'm not taking as much time on them, but I'm trying to graduate in a few weeks, everybody! =P I don't have time to do well-thought posts!

P.P.S. Thanks to those of you who have commented! You're the best!

Youtube Tuesday - Grace

I was seven years old and I didn't really understand why my mom was so sad. I enjoyed our long drive down to Denver, but I was really bored with the whole memorial thing. So a bunch of people had died? I didn't know any of them, so I didn't really care. Mom hadn't known them either. Or Dad. Nobody I knew had ever seen these kids. So why were we wasting our time here? And then... my attitude changed. I'm still not sure which of the victims it was, but when we stopped by her memorial, I saw a stuffed animal that was the same as my favorite. Something clicked inside of me. Even though I didn't know these victims, other people did know them. The girls liked stuffed animals, reading, nail polish, etc.

Each of those pictures represented a life that had been ended by the brutal rampage of two teenage boys.

It was eleven years ago today that Columbine High School became a national headline. The murderers and the murdered are still remembered today. The grief of the loved ones who were left behind is still there, even eleven years later. But for some, the grief is mixed with the joy that they will see their child in Heaven. God's grace has helped some families to overcome the effects of the worst day of their lives.

In other portions of the country, other families have relied on God's grace in similar situations. A recent movie showed this, taking us to Pennsylvania and the Amish families affected by the school shooting that took place over three years ago.

This movie wasn't completely accurate, but what movie is? And it carries a great message of forgiveness. I'd recommend it to anybody! And... if you're even just a little bit like me, make sure you have a box of kleenex within reach. I cried from start to finish!

[Note: As far as I know, there are no plans to release this on DVD. Go here to watch the movie online. I had my grandpa record it for me. =)]

A Hodge-Podge Post

First off, the pictures I promised! =D In case you're not sure what I'm referring to, I was able to go to a banquet on the 8th. Here are some pictures from the banquet!

My amazing friend Bailey and myself

The back of my dress =D

Me

Bay, her mom, and her aunt all worked to make this happen:

Anyhow... It was a great night! Soooo much fun! And just in case you're curious: I got the dress at the thrift store for a really great price! The jacket is from JCPenney.

...:::...

Erica was gone all last week for the AACS (American Association of Christian Schools) Fine Arts Tournament. Our Bible Quizzing team took 2nd in the nation! Way to go, guys!

...:::...

I got my hair cut last Thursday. Almost 5 inches off! I'm so relieved to be able to say that I like it! If ya'll want, I can post pictures of that, too.

...:::...

On this day in history:

The Oklahoma City Bombing (1995)

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere (1775)

The Shot Heard 'Round the World (1775)

"By the rude bridge that arched the flood,

Their flag to April's breeze unfurled;

Here once the embattled farmers stood,

And fired the shot heard 'round the world."

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (1943)

Let George Do It

In my last post, I couldn't remember the name of George Valentine's radio show. It's called Let George Do It. I don't know how much ya'll care, but now you know! I also did neglect to mention a couple of shows that I enjoy. So if you're wanting a ton of shows to listen to, or if you're strange enough to want to be like me in every way (HAHAHA) here's the ones I forgot:

The Adventures of Philip Marlowe

The Adventures of Sam Spade

Challenge of the Yukon

Gunsmoke

The Lone Ranger

Nick Carter, Master Detective

Pat Novak for Hire

Richard Diamond, Private Detective

The Whistler

Please be aware that some of these shows have weird episodes that I don't care for. LOL Some of the ones from The Shadow aren't too great for falling asleep to or anything. And The Whistler is kinda far out, too. In fact, I haven't listened to it for months 'cause I hadn't found a good episode for awhile. Last note before I'm done: Richard Diamond and a couple of the other detectives tend to be a bit woman-crazy in a few episodes. Just thought I'd give you the heads-up there.

TTFN!

"I Walk Alone"

Sorry for double-posting, but I felt that my last post really wasn't too great, so I decided to quick crank out something else. hehe This post isn't anything marvelous, either. But here it is!

So far as teenagers go today, I'm pretty strange. In some things, I'm definitely not alone. In other things, like today's topic, I think I'm one in a million. I've only met one other person who is like me in this respect (in my age group, that is). So... what is this thing that separates me from pretty much every other teenage girl I know? Radio. Like... 1930s, '40s, and '50s radio. I love it!

Whether I'm bored during the day, can't sleep at night, or have a long wait for something, old-time radio is one of my favorite cures. What's great is that most of these shows are available as free podcasts on iTunes or are somewhere in the vast realm of the world wide web. If you're interested in these old programs, I'd suggest checking out one of the following:

Box 13

Dragnet

I Was a Communist for the F. B. I.

Boston Blackie

Casey, Crime Photographer

There are lots of other radio shows out there. Those just happen to be some of my (current) favorites! I also listen to The Shadow; Barry Craig, Confidential Investigator; Jeff Regan, Investigator; The Adventures of Philip Marlowe; Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar; Rocky Fortune; Broadway is my Beat; Have Gun, Will Travel; and... what is the name of that show with the main character named George Valentine? I can't remember! But that's a good one, too. It's nagging me that there's another one, but I guess that's a good enough list for now. You should really look into it so I won't be alone any more. hehe

And since most of you probably won't know this, I'll tell you: The title of this post comes from one of my favorite shows, I Was a Communist for the F. B. I. At the end of every episode, Matt Cvetic (voiced by Dana Andrews) says, "As a communist for the F. B. I., I walk alone." In both the radio show and real life, Mr. Cvetic wasn't allowed to tell anyone (including his family) that he worked for the F. B. I. Because of this, everyone thought that he actually was a communist. This estranged him from some of his family and his wife divorced him. =( It's really sad to think about, so I'm glad that in the radio program Matt isn't married and his family only comes in on occasion. Anyhow... Enough said on that. I don't want to bore you to tears.

As an interesting side note: I was looking up Casey, Crime Photographer the other day and I found this very interesting quote about the 1950's attempt at a TV show: "The cast of Crime Photographer didn’t go down fighting. They took off for the hills. [The show] was so bad that it was never re-run, and that’s saying something when you recall the caliber of television programs in those days." =-O

The Elusive Cinnamon Rolls (via the Elusive Remote)

I have a sweet tooth. It induces me to bake cookies, coffee cakes, banana bread, etc etc etc. One of my all time favorite sweets are cinnamon rolls. Yummmm!!! I have a really great recipe for cinnamon rolls, but it has one major flaw: it takes a lot of time. So when I was watching America's Test Kitchen and saw their recipe for quick and easy cinnamon buns, I knew I had to give it a try. So this afternoon I plugged the DVD in and got ready to write down (type, actually) the recipe. But there was a problem. Once I got to the main menu of the DVD, I was stuck. The black remote was missing. And (you guessed it!) the black remote is the one that I need to get the DVD on the right track. I thought of just hitting 'play' and letting it play through to the recipe. That didn't work. It just kept replaying the same BBQ recipe. Nice.

What's a girl to do? I started with the chair. I felt down both sides and the back. I tipped the chair forward to look under it. No remote. I moved on to the love seat. Side one. Nada. Side two. Nada. The back. Still nothing. I put up both foot rests and looked under the love seat. [Side note: there was an incredible amount of tissues to be found in each of these locations.... =P] Still no remote. Time to do the couch. I gave it a thorough going-over, but to no avail. So I picked up the laptop and went to the America's Test Kitchen website. I found the recipe and clicked on it. Guess what???!!! For $45 a year I could look at any recipe I wanted to! Are. you. kidding? Sorry, but I'll just do without my cinnamon rolls. =(

But wait! There's more! LOL We decided to actually pull the love seat out. And there was the remote. I watched the recipe, typed it up, printed it, and made some cinnamon rolls. And they were pretty good, I think. My dad says I need to make the easy ones and the hard ones at the same time so he can do a side-by-side comparison to tell me which he likes better. =P

Okay, sad story here, peeps. This happened on... Wednesday. I've worked on this post eight times since Wednesday afternoon in order to get this far. And I feel like the story has lost some of it's potential due to the spread-outness of the putting it together. Sorry if it's the worst post in the history of my blog, but at least it's a post! *sigh*

Until next time! (Next time, next time!) [Bonus points to anyone who can guess what TV commercial and what book/movie I have referred to in this post. hehehe]

Two Choices on the Shelf...

Graduate. Or blog. It's kinda coming down to that. I've found more and more of my time being spent doing schoolwork. I haven't even read a fictional book for... over a week now, actually. Some of you are thinking, "So?" But for me that's a big deal. Because I read. All the time.

Okay, so I'm still on facebook. Maybe more than is necessary. But that's kinda slowing down, too. And did I mention that I haven't blogged in ... forever? Or that I have five posts started that I never finished and published?

I have a lot to get done, peeps. Prayers would be mucho appreciando. In the mean time, here are some measures I have been or will be taking in order to get everything done.

• Cutting reading time waaaaaay back
• Cutting back on facebook time
• Limiting use of youtube (come on, guys! Stop posting all of those awesome vids!)
• Deleting blog subscriptions to cut down on Google Reader time
• Putting my novels on hold (the finishing touches on The Looking Glass and the first draft on another nameless novel)

Any other ideas? I'm not feeling drastic enough to completely abstain from fb and youtube and blogger and blogs and tv and books, etc etc etc... But if I don't do something differently now, I'll have to be harder on myself later.

Anyhow. I'm going to try to keep blogging, but we'll see what happens.

Until next time, I remain your (unfaithful) bloggity buddy,

Emily Rose

P.S. Graduation is May 28th.

Youtube Tuesday - Reversed!

This has been going around facebook, but I never looked at it until today. I thought it was worth sharing!

Don't Forget!

Only a couple more days to enter this awesome giveaway! =D Don't forget to stop by!

http://contentinchrist34.blogspot.com/2010/04/finally-my-200th-post-giveaway.html

An Awesome Giveaway!

My new-found friend, Lindsay, is having a giveaway! I'd encourage you to go over and enter... even though YOUR entering will decrease my chances of winning. LOL

Lindsay, I've tried a few times to enter your giveaway, but for whatever reason I'm getting an error whenever I try to comment. =( I'll try again tomorrow, but in the event that it doesn't work, is there any way you can enter me for me? hehe

TTFN!

Sorry

Sorry I haven't been around much lately. I especially apologize to my dear friend Kyrstin. She has been absolutely amazing and so encouraging by commenting when I DO post. I'll try to be around more this week... we'll see what happens, though. In the mean time, here are a few random things about my life right now.

.::. I just reached the halfway point in algebra. After years of struggling, this is a major success for me. It's only 2 months 'til graduation, though... so please pray that the last half will go smoothly!

.::. I am going to a banquet on Thursday night... pictures will come, I promise! It's a FORMAL! Woo-hooo!!! I am majorly beyond excited. I have this really awesome dress that has been made modest with the help of a really awesome jacket. The whole outfit and everything has been made possible by my kindred spirit Bailey, and my totally-beyond-wonderful parents. =D

.::. My sister is going to Bob Jones University for the AACS competition. She leaves on Sunday morning and I will miss her sorely until her return on Friday. *cries* If any of you can drop by or anything, please come cheer me up! =D

.::. I just remembered that I never posted this one post that I was planning on posting, so I think I'll go do that now! LOL

My World

"What?! Another one?! Girlie, you have problems!"

Just another day for me. Another reaction that I blow off because... Hey, this is my world. And no, I don't have problems. Anyhow... it's the third or seventh time I've heard this exclamation in the past few weeks. Why? Because I'm hoping to meet another friend in person. Most of you guys have never seen me. You're my blog buddies, forum friends, and chat room chums.

I've done this before. It's awesome! Someone steps away from the flatness of the computer screen and becomes living, breathing, huggable flesh. A voice, a laugh, a reality that I never knew. It's so much fun to hang out "for real" with people you have come to love in cyberspace. It's funny. I can know ev.ry.thing about a person, but meeting them in person ads a whole new dimension to them. The things I know become more personal.

When I was younger I had pretty much no friends my age. When I was allowed to get email and a blog, the world opened it's arms to me and I was able to meet people like me from all over the world. So these, my cyber friends, are the first friends I had. And getting to meet them is awesome for me. My church friends all grew up together, don't blog, and have a hard time (for the most part) getting their mind around why I keep mentioning people I've never "met", why I'm trying to plan a trip to go see someone I've never seen before, and why friends are spending money to fly all the way to Colorado... to "meet" me for the first time. But for me... this is my life. And I love it!