Top 12 of 2016

     This is something that I've been doing to look back at the year behind me and sum up what happened in a list. I've been doing it for a long time (okay, like four years at least). By going through my calendar I pick out on event from each month. When I'm done I have 12 things that I did in the past year that I enjoyed. So, without further ado, here is my list for 2016:

1. J & T's Wedding
     One of my cousins got married last year on New Years Day! It was really cool to get to see them joined in marriage and to see family members that I haven't seen in a long time.

2. FOCUS
     This was my last year of going to the FOCUS retreat with my church youth group, since I am no longer in high school. It was a weekend full of good memories, like not having adults in our cabin (even though we love our adult leaders, it's good to know that they trust us to not light the building on fire) and showing everyone our lovely acting/dancing talents at our last Talent Show.

3. Day trip with Mom and Grandma during Spring Break
     We took the day and drove to a town 45 minutes away for a relative's wedding shower. We also stopped by a nearby zoo that housed local species of animals, some of which I was not aware existed.

4. Day trip with one of my best friends/Jr.Sr. Banquet
     I dragged my friend to the same town I had visited the previous month for a 'cultural fair' of sorts. If you want more details I'll let you read about it on her blog (Lama-Leah). We would have stopped by the zoo again, but it was too cold.
     Jr. Sr. was a blast! It was really nice as a senior to not have to worry about making sure the whole thing came together. The juniors did a stupendous job! Overnight, they transformed the school gym into a high-class art gallery, complete with original paintings, a string quartet, and shrimp (for more see my post: An Artful Weekend).

5. Graduation
     I graduated high school! I mean, that's pretty cool, right?

6. BAK/Neighborhood Garage Sale
     What is the BAK you ask? Well, I am happy to tell you. At least me past self is. ;) For more check out a post I did about the BAK. As for the neighborhood garage sale, go here.

7. Czech Republic Trip
     Anyone who has read my blog should know everything (almost) there is to know about this trip. For those of you newcomers, I will suffice to say that this summer I went on a mission trip to the Czech Republic with my mother and two other couples from our church. We partnered with a local church and put on an English summer camp.
     For those of you curious to know more, check out the entire month of July 2016. ;)

8. Started College
     Pretty big landmark, if I do say so myself.

9. Mini-vacation to Silver Dollar City/Branson
     For a fairly detailed description of our excursion please see my post.

10. Pumpkin Patch Outing
     Just messing around with some friends, pretending to be kids in a pumpkin patch. Guess what! I wrote a post about it!

11. Attending Various Art Performances
     Because of scholarly requirements I went to more social events than I normally would have this semester. Included in this list are several plays, a concert, and touring a local house that was built by a famous architect. To hear about one of the plays go here,

12. CROSS conference 2016
     The post detailing my winter adventure out of state at a missions conference is the one just previous to this one, but I'll give you the link anyway (Fun in Indy - not the post title).

CROSS conference 2016

     Back in September I learned of an opportunity to go to a missions conference that would be held over Christmas Break. The goal of the conference is to equip and mobilize students for the missions field, similar to Urbana conferences. This conference is called CROSS and was held in Indianapolis, Indiana. Many of you know about my passion for missions and my question of whether I am a 'goer' (leaving the country as a missionary) or a 'sender' (staying to support other missionaries while living a mission-minded life), so it should not surprise you that I decided to take this opportunity.

     In order to get to the conference in time for the kick-off concert we needed to leave at a very early time in the morning. After being on the road for a few hours we stopped in a major city to pick up two other passengers. That brought out party number up to six. Two more members would join our group once we arrived in Indianapolis.

     The conference boasted several big-name speakers, David Platt and John Piper for example. In addition to attending several lectures and panel discussions through out the day (held in the auditorium pictured above) we also went to three smaller workshops on specific topics. In addition to gaining these resources for missions our group was able to build relationships - not only with each other, but with our host families. We were also able to do a little sight-seeing. This occured mostly on the culinary plane because the conference did not include meals.

     All in all, I am glad that I went. I enjoyed the experience as a whole and I learned a lot. If anyone has the chance to go to this conference, I would recommend taking it!

I immediately recognized this statue as one by Tom Otterness. 

My first visit to a Hard Rock Cafe.

Christmas Ornaments!

     Halfway through finals week I started to get an urge to make something creative. I managed to hold off my cravings a bit until finals were done, before pulling out all of the stops. In past years I have been quite successful at making beaded ornaments using beads from my paternal grandmother, so I started with that. Unfortunately, my efforts were not quite what I had hoped and I didn't make as many of the beaded ones as I had thought.

     I also made ornaments out of plastic canvas. We had some sets that were already pre-cut, so I used those up. Unfortunately, plastic canvas is a pain to cut, so once the pre-cut ones were finished I didn't make anymore out of plastic canvas. Here is a picture of one of the plastic canvas ornaments:

    The final type of ornaments I made was a bit of an experiment. I got the idea off of Pinterest and can say for certain that it works, but some modification would be helpful. First I took burned out Christmas light bulbs (about the size of a nightlight bulb) and coated half of the outside in a layer of Modge Podge.

This stuff is magic!

     After that I sprinkled glitter over the ornaments and left them to dry before going back for a coat on the other side. For some of the ornaments I painted over the outsides so they would match the glitter I was using. About halfway through I realized that I could use Elmer's glue to make a design of a different color on the bulb.

The finished product! They look great!

     The only thing I wasn't happy with how the turned out was that there wasn't a good way to fasten a hanging mechanism to the bulbs. I tried hot gluing some embroidery thread to the ends. That mostly worked, but it was a little tedious. I also tried wrapping wire around the end of the bulb and forming a hoop, but it was difficult to get the wire to stay. In the end I left most of the them unfinished. They look pretty good so I will probably save them to use as props in a Christmas photography project.

Dining Room Remodeling

     For the first time in my remembrance my immediate family hosted Thanksgiving at our home. This was not the first time we had hosted a large gathering of family members, however. So thankfully we knew what to do. The furniture in the living room was rearranged to fit two large folding tables. Thanksgiving was a success, but after the festivities things didn't go back to normal.

     For a long time my mother had wanted to repaint the dining room. This time she took action and chose a color. Our dining room would go from white with a yellow accent wall and popcorn ceiling to gray with a smooth ceiling. Also, the curtains would be replaced.

     Instead of moving the furniture back in the living room we moved the dining table and all of the furniture from the dining room into the living room. Tarps were put down so Dad could remove the popcorn ceiling and Mom could start painting.

All ready to go!

     A week later the room was done and the new curtains were hung up!

     Next on the decor to-do list: Put up the Christmas tree!

"I love it!" - Mom

The curtains are black, with a white sheer layer.

Firebird Anthology (Parts II and III)

     It has been a while since I have posted something about books. Part of this is because I have not had the time to read due to the combination of school and work (which I seem to be surviving so far). Recently, however, I was able to go to the library, my favorite place to get new books.

    I have a method that I often employ in searching for new titles. Starting at the section of authors whose last names start with 'A' I scan the titles and book bindings for something that catches my eye. If it looks interesting I will pull it out and read the summary to gather more information. You would be surprised how much you can tell about a book by it's cover! Usually I only cover one shelf of books per visit, so each time I come back I gradually progress through the library (usually the teen fiction section). The only hard part is remembering where I left off!

     On my most recent trip to the library I picked up a fantasy and sci-fi anthology of short stories called Firebird. I was very pleased with my discovery because fantasy/sci-fi is my favorite genre and the stories are the perfect length to read one or two (or three or four) before bed. Apparently there are three volumes in the anthology, though I was only able to check out the second and third.

     I very much enjoyed reading these anthologies. They were a refreshing break from my usual form of book matter, novels. Most of the stories were enjoyable and fun to read. There were a few, however, that were a bit strange. Still, I would recommend this series of anthologies to anyone who is looking for a good sci-fi/fantasy read!

Comedy and Confusion

     I had the honor and joy of seeing Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors performed by a fortnight ago (I waited two weeks just so I could use that phrase). For those of you not familiar with the Comedy of Errors, here is a short synopsis to provide some clarity:

The city of Ephesus is at war with Syracuse. Anyone from Syracuse who illegally comes to Ephesus must either pay a fine or forfeit his life. Egeon, a merchant from Syracuse, faces this predicament. He tells Duke Solinus that he is in Ephesus searching for his son. When his twin sons and their twin servants were but babies Egeon and his wife were separated in a ship wreck, each with a set of twins. Supposing his wife and other son to be dead Egeon names his surviving son and the servant after the ones he lost. He is now looking for his remaining son, whom he has not seen for several years.

Unbeknownst to him both of his sons are alive and well and in the town of Ephesus. To make matters worse, neither knows that the other exists. Confusion ensues when the brothers and servants are repeatedly mistaken for the other. 

     My main emotional response for this play was puzzlement. According to the director’s notes in the playbook they, “sought to be true to Shakespearean sensibilities, not by way of historical accuracy in costuming and such but rather with respect to the desire to be funny and relevant to our particular audience and the embracing of theatricality.” This meant that while they did change the costumes and add a few modern references, much of the language was still kept the same. This, combined with the content of the play itself (where two twin brothers and their twin servants repeatedly get mistaken for the other) left me in a state of mild confusion.

     Even though the meaning of the words were hard to make out, the actors did a good job of portraying what they meant through voice inflection and body language, so I was not completely lost. The play is a Shakespearean comedy, in that no one dies, but it was also a comedy in the modern sense. While tense at times the situations the twin brothers unknowingly put the other in were comical and much hilarity ensued through out the course of the play. I also felt relief, at the end of the play, when the two sets of twins were reunited and all the confusion was made clear.

Why I Am Going to Vote (And You Should Too)

     Election day is fast approaching and the decision of who to vote for (or to even vote at all) is a huge predicament for our country. People who do no side directly with a specific candidate wonder, "Who do I vote for?" and "Do I even vote?" I am a staunch believer in voting. Now that I am above the age limit I consider it a privilege, right, and honor-bound duty to help decide who stands as head over the United States of America.

     As of now,  I am having difficulty choosing a candidate to vote for. Some are so torn over this conflict that they have decided not to vote at all. However, I cannot do that. Not voting means that I don't have a say in who is in charge of our nation. It implies that I don't want to vote and that I don't care what happens. But, I do care what happens! Being of the younger generation especially, I will have to deal with whatever decisions the President makes that will affect our country for years to come. So I must vote!

     However, the issue escalates; who do I vote for? I mentioned that I am having a hard time choosing which candidate (among the main two) to vote for. This problem would be solved if I sided directly with either of them or with a third part candidate, but I don't. And I can't in good conscience vote for a third part candidate, because that vote would only hinder one of the main candidates and the third party candidate would have no chance to win the office (sorry Mr. Johnson, it ain't gonna happen this year). So, I believe that I should put my vote where it will do the most damage, as it were.

     I must vote for one of the two candidates, or the other, and vote I shall! As soon as I figure out who to vote for.....

     But the presidential election is no the only election being hashed out on the ballots. Voting for the state and city government representatives and leaders is just as important. So, when November 8 finally rolls around I will be voting not just for the president, but for every position I can.

     I would also encourage you to vote. I do not care what party you are from or which candidate you are going to vote for (or the other government officials). This is our right and duty as Americans and we should honor it!

#voterpride