*is muttering very loudly* white stuff...

it went and SNOWED! grrr. and it's still snowing. this means that sometime between now and tomorrow morning, i have to shovel out my long driveway (that's also crooked and a pain to back down).

last night, i had a nice surprise. i came home from work and was informed that our friends the martinis were coming over for dinner. we were doing a thanksgiving dinner again, this time at our house. thursday was at my mom's parents' house. mom and dad like to have a turkey to boil down (even though grandma and grandpa gave us the turkeys that we ate up there...) but anyway, it was nice. their middle son was on break, and joined them (junior in college), and their youngest son was there too (junior in high school). after we ate, the boys, the next two eldest of my sisters and i played nerts. i won...h3h. :-D then we played an interesting variation...set up like nerts, but you couldn't call nerts until you had played your ENTIRE deck, not just the nerts pile. that was interesting. especially since my SISTER wouldn't play the last CARD i needed even though it was right THERE in front of her FACE. *grumbles*

for those who will be asking about how adena is doing and settling in, the answer is...i really don't know. i came back from work yesterday afternoon, and she was snoring because my little sisters had worn her out. then the martinis were over. by the time they left, it was 8:40 and we still had dishes. you know how long it takes to wash 33 glasses, forks, and plates? plus 11 spoons and knives. and all the serving utensils. oh, and did i mention it was china and our good glassware? we didn't finish that unil 9:10ish. so, as far as i know, she's doing ok.

maybe another post later...i don't know.

-enna

welcome, adena!

i'm posting this a little earlier than i normally do, because i have a "theological discussion," for lack of a better term, ahead of me tonight, and i don't want to be distracted. they're not exactly fun at the best of times, and doing this while i'm doing that is not exactly a good thing for good comebacks at my Protestant friend's accusations against the Catholic Church. (yes, i know they aren't quite accusations, so don't get all-fired mad at me. it just seems sorta like that.)

so, the happy news: we are getting another dog today! *does a very little happy dance* she will be getting here about 1 or 2 this afternoon. for those who willl ask, she's a yellow lab/golden retriever cross. she's a retiring seeing eye dog. she's actually retiring somewhere between 9:00 and 11:30 this morning. mom took our good friend to the airport to go to NJ to get a new dog, and she's bringing adena back. i won't actually see either of them until about 4:30 this evening or so. i've got to go to work before they get back. i'll post some pictures of her sometime here soon.

my excitement is rather muted at this point. while i am happy that we are adopting adena, i can't help but resent her just a little. it feels like she's supposed to be a replacement for my zinn dog or something. we've had zinn for five years now, and (as stupid as this sounds) he's my baby. i took care of him right up until about a month ago. when i'm home, he follows me around. he loves people; he really loves my family; but he acts like my other half. in some ways, he is. i don't have a boyfriend - right now, i don't want a boyfriend. (and trust me, if i wanted one, i'd probably have one *mutters*) so, for now, zinn is my boyfriend. but he's not doin' so well. he's havin' trouble with his back legs.

great. now i got myself going again. later, all.

-enna

sweetness

last chance to breathe, by the group spoken, is AWESOME! the music is absolutely incredible. i could listen to this CD for several straight hours (and have done so).

sunday is the first sunday of advent...less than four weeks until Christmas.

GAH! i'm not ready yet! slow down, clocks! where did the time go?!?!?

-enna

happy thanksgiving to all!

i'm sorry i haven't posted (again). i have a good excuse for last night: we came up to my grandparents' house by Chicago and we were visiting. tuesday night - eh, nothin' happened that was all that exciting, and i was a tad bit distracted. so...i'm sorry. i shall get back to my daily posts (eventually).

anyway, happy thanksgiving! if you think that there's nothing for you to be thankful for, think on this for a while...

>be thankful when you have to park at the other end of the parking lot - the exercise is good for your health.
>be thankful when your friends irritate you about your eating and sleeping habits - it means that they care about you.
>be thankful when you can't see relatives very often - it makes time together even more precious.
>be thankful when you have loads upon loads of laundry - it means that you are more fortunate than many people and have lots of clothes. (lots of people meaning most of the world, not people in the U.S.A.)
>be thankful when there are lots of dishes to wash - you have plenty to eat.
>be thankful when your siblings won't leave you alone - they will be your greatest allies in times of need.
>be thankful when gas prices rise - you recognize the value of the local tourist activities.
>be thankful when your little sister puts her knee in your pumpkin pie - it's not going to change the taste, just the appearance.
>be thankful, even when your shape is not what you would like - in God's eyes, you are beautiful (or handsome).
>be thankful when it seems that you cannot continue and life has hit you with its worse - nothing is all bad. even when everything has changed, and you can't tell whether the change is good or bad yet, there is still something good in life! go find it! eat your favorite food; watch your favorite movie; listen to your favorite music; call your best friend. find the good things, and suddenly, life isn't nearly so overwhelming.

find joy in all the simple pleasures this thanksgiving! God bless all of you.

-enna

*sigh* funness and not so fun...

no school is always cool. :-D and i went to a friend's house tonight and we played various games for 3 hours. 'tis fun. :-D even if i lost every game. oh well...the various games were: the good, the bad, and the munchkin; settlers of catan with the river; nerts (ROCK ON!); and munchkin cthulu. it's always fun to do stuff like that, even if i'm not all that good.

but not so fun...we had to put our cat Jesse down tonight. something about some weird disease that i can't even remember what it's called.

-enna

i'm sorry...prepare yourself for two days' worth plus a much better mental state

for those of you who enjoy reading my new post every day, i'm sorry that i didn't post last night. it was yet another of those days. *mutters* work, however, was funnish. if work can truly be called fun. the IT pool (our affectionate name for the instructional therapy pool) was closed all day, so we had at least two guards on deck from 9-1, and after 1, we had three. :-D tis very happy.

and SOUP did fairly well last night at Mass. for those who are completely clueless as to why i just brought up food in conjunction with church, there is a very good explanation: SOUP is a music group. it's the youth music group started at my church about four years ago. SOUP stands for Singing Our Undying Praise. i'm one of the "charter members" of the group. i've been with it since we started under our old youth minister. (who got fired 2 yrs ago this coming february, but that's a delicate subject.) there's only three of us left from the original group. well, only two of us make it on a regular basis. the third shows up occasionally. anyway, as a "charter member", i'm typically songleader (i'm only NOT songleader, anymore, when the third member shows up); i sometimes play guitar sometimes (only sometimes, on songs that are very heavy on guitar, since our guitarists moved, cause then, all the other instrumentalists are singing, and they don't need my single strong voice since they got a bunch of voices that need to stop being afraid of being heard); and i play percussion some too. the percussion tends to be on the fly, if the song we are playing really feels like it requires some. our drummer graduated a few years ago, and i've played congas, shakere, tambourine, and other such instruments as occasion has demanded. i don't play the set for two reasons: one, i can't play the set, and two, i can sing and play the other stuff simultaneously. so...that was probably way more information than you ever wanted to know about SOUP, but oh well! :-D tis a happy thing, music...

last night could have been better...do you know the feeling where you KNOW that you know something, and that there is a very good answer to the arguments that you are being presented with, but you cannot remember for the life of you? i went through a stinkin' long period of that last night. and i finally have something to offer on the topic, now that i have slept. let this be something to chew on until i have a chance to explain more.

topic: Papal infallibility. the argument given me last night was that they are not infallible at all. it was said that Catholics say that they can never sin; that we believe that they can never err. permit me to return to the beginning of my explanation on infallibility, so that this might make more sense to all involved.

first off, we Catholics do NOT believe that the popes are always infallible. i'm sorry, but that's a bunch of hogwash. however, under that same token, we do believe that they are infallible. SOME of the time, not all of it. a quote from a letter to a non-Catholic friend: "Therefore, the Pope CAN make a mistake - unless he is speaking under certain conditions. these conditions are: 1) when he is speaking ex cathedra (note: this means from the Chair of St. Peter; with full papal authority; literal translation is out of the chair) and 2) manifests his intention of defining a doctrine 3) of faith or morals 4) officially binding the whole Church. At such a time, the Pope's teaching is infallible; that is, at such a time he is assisted, watched over by the Holy Spirit so that he does not use his authority and his knowledge to mislead the Church." ALL of these conditions must be met for a teaching to be made infallible!

here's an actual historical example: when the whole thing with contraception came up, and all the li'l, completely ununified Protestant churches caved in and said that it was OK, the Catholic Church met to discuss it. they looked into everything; and they were about to say that it was OK. BUT when the Pope stood up to announce this as such under all conditions said above, that is not what he said! He upheld the teaching of the sanctity of life, and to this day, the Catholic Church remains vehemently opposed to all forms of contraception, abortion, euthanasia, etc.

here's a question for all you non-Catholics: why are you so ununified? hmmm? i'll tell you: it's because you have no central authority. you say that sola scriptura, only scripture, tells you what to do in matters of faith and morals.

well then, as an example, where does it say in the Bible that divorce is OK? it doesn't! it was permitted under Moses, but when Christ came, He gave them the true teaching!

(Jesus said,) "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.' But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery." (Matthew 5:31-32 NAB)

The Pharisees approached and asked, "Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?" They were testing him. He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?" They replied, "Moses permitted him to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her." But Jesus told them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother [and be joined to his wife], and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate." In the house the disciples again questioned him about this. He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery." (Mark 10:2-12 NAB)

yet time after time, you see Protestants get divorced and remarried. what happened to sola scriptura? it doesn't sound like you are following the Bible to me!

and with sola scriptura, you interpret the Bible under your own steam, so to speak. you open the Bible, you see what it says, you say what it means for you. and you wonder why protestants can't agree on anything! each person is going to interpret the Scriptures differently! before luther decided that he didn't like some of the Church's teachings and its leaders, there was one Church. but when luther left, and began interpreting the Bible on his own, look at what happened! today, there's 3000+ different Protestant denominations. heck, a serial murderer could read a passage in the Bible and say that it wanted him to go kill a bunch of people. your (you being Protestants) lack of central authority is what causes you to be so divided! you say that the Holy Spirit will guide you...it doesn't look like you are listening to its guidance very well to me. new denominations are a dime a dozen. the teachings seem similar on top, but have many fundamental differences. heck, you can go to two different churches within the same Protestant denomination and there's differences! but I can go to church in chicago, san diego, new york, mexico city, rome, paris, abu dhabi, beijing, sydney, or st. petersburg, and the teachings will be the same. the language may be different, but the Church is universal; i know that, when i walk into a Catholic church, i am home, regardless of where i am.

and that goes deeper than just the teachings being the same. that goes deeper than papal authority or apostolic succession. when i walk into a Catholic church, i am in the presence of God Himself. when trying to explain this last night (while being continually interrupted, i might add), a Protestant friend said, and i quote: "it comes down to the ritual aspect of the catholic service. Something that is very....different. even i, as a protestant, found it to be kinda kewl, even if i dont believe in all the doctrine." the ritual is something that does set the Church apart, i will admit that. but within this "ritual aspect" that was spoken of, there is so much more! Christ is truly present in the building! He comes down for us to be our spiritual nourishment. He IS the Eucharist! it is HIS Body and HIS Blood that we consume during the Mass! it is HIS Body that is reposed within the tabernacle!

and for all you "sola scriptura" people, you are probably all quite mad with me right now. "it's merely symbolism; Christ isn't in that li'l piece of bread!" "Christ is WITH the bread; and He's not there after communion." *chuckles* allow me to direct your attention towards John's Gospel. this is a long passage, so bear with me, please. i did shorten it some. for the complete version, read John, chapter 6.

So they said to him, "What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" So Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
So they said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst..."
The Jews murmured about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven," and they said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Stop murmuring among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day...Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will rais him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him..."
Then many of his disciples who were listening said, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?" Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, "Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe." Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father."
As a result of this, many [of] his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. (John 6:30-35, 41-44, 47-56, 60-66 NAB)

another passage:

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins." (Matthew 26:26-28 NAB)

some of you sola scriptura people think that Catholics don't follow the Bible and take it literally...we take it more literally than you do! Christ specifically said, "This is my body," not "This is a symbol of my body" or "This is with my body"..."This IS my body." and if you persist in saying that He was merely speaking symbolically, take a look at the first passage! the Jews didn't think He was speaking symbolically; they knew that He was speaking the truth! they just couldn't accept it. it is only by a miracle of God that the bread and wine do not change appearances to reflect their substance. transubstantiation...the substance of the bread and wine truly do change to the Body and Blood of Christ.

proof, bwah hah hah hah...in the eighth century, a priest was saying a Mass. he doubted the words that he was saying; he doubted the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. as he said the words of consecration, the bread and wine actually changed to flesh and blood! much, much later, in the 1970s, scientists did tests on the flesh and blood. the Flesh is human heart tissue, and the Blood is blood type AB, as is the Flesh. now, get this...the Flesh and Blood are alive...the enzymes within the Flesh and Blood are the same as they are within your body or mine. mind you, this miracle took place more than 1200 years before the scientists ever performed any of the testing.

don't believe me? check these out, or google lanciano:
http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/lanciano.html
http://www.miraclerosarymission.org/lanciano.html
http://www.trosch.org/inx/lanciano.html
http://www.zenit.org/article-12933?l=english

i think that's enough theological discussion for now. i might return to theology later. i may only be 17, and may not know all of the Church's teachings yet, but i intend to continue to learn everything i can.

-enna

:P

today wasn't much better. i bombed my part in our guitar concert today, and with all of what has been going on, PLUS that, PLUS the fact that mom said that we are moving as soon as possible, PLUS a bunch of mental turmoil, i was not exactly cheerful. there are days when i just want to go back to bed and restart the day. today was one of them. and i have a feeling that tomorrow will be, too. X_X

-enna

feeling thwacked in the head and not all that great...

ugh. ugh ugh ugh UGH!! a friend is in the hospital, my uncle has a 20% chance of survival, i have a headache, it started snowing today, and I JUST WANNA STOP LIFE!!

ok, start back at the beginning, girl. *takes a deep breath* ok, slowing down now...

a person from our Catholic homeschool group is in the hospital. she had an aneurysm. she is now in a coma, and if she comes out of it, the prognosis isn't good.

my uncle has prostate cancer. he had surgery yesterday, and they discovered that the cancer HAS spread. like i said, 20% chance of him living a year.

i have a headache because i had to work for five hours in a hot, humid environment and i pretty well bombed the first hour and fifteen minutes of guitar practice today.

i don't want it to snow! i want it to wait until i have nothing up so that i can enjoy a good snowball fight with my friends. then again, i have no time...

and sometimes, i just want to take life with my hands and make it stop, or at least slow down. i'm moving quickly towards the halfway point of my junior year of high school, and i really don't feel ready. for the SAT, the ACT, college, being on my own, moving...any of it. you take your pick. i just want to stop life at happy times in my life. but, alas, i cannot. so i just have to hope that there are many good times in my future. it doesn't seem like i have many right now.

but, as a russian author once said, "man is born to live, not to prepare for life."

-enna

I WANT MY HEAD BACK ALREADY!!

nothing in my life is very interesting right now. well, except maybe for the fact that i have a guitar concert and drama performance on friday. and the guitar part is totally going to bomb (at least i'm going to). drama...eh, i get to be loud, and that's what counts. ;) but seriously, nothing going on in my life is interesting, and nothing in my head is worth sharing.

that was a pretty stupid post...

-enna

who says that the Bible is useless?

i found one really awesome passage in Sirach while i was reading it for my Bible study class. it's Sirach 22:25-26. "I will not be ashamed to protect a friend, and I will not hide from him; but if some harm should happen to me because of him, whoever hears of it will beware of him." (RSV) another translation is, "From a friend in need of support no one need hide in shame; but from him who brings harm to his friend all will stand aloof who hear of it." (NAB) personally, i prefer the first translation. it really struck me when i was reading it, especially with the mess of my head. this passage just seemed to fit my current time in life. whoever says that the Bible is a bunch of hogwash and has no relevant passages obviously hasn't read it.

-enna

awesome muzik

i'm borrowing G3 LIVE from a friend. it's three guitarists (joe satriani, steve vai, and john petrucci) and is just 108 minutes of AWESOMENESS!!! honestly, this is some great guitar playing. i really wish i could play like these guys, but alas and alack, i'm not there yet. i probably won't get there for a while, either. and i like my acoustic guitar. electric is cool to listen to, but i've grown rather attached to mine. but this is something that, if you like guitar, you should look into finding and listening to. or any of those artists' CDs. they are just incredible.

also (from the same friend), i am borrowing day of fire. i'm not sure whether this is their debut CD or i just haven't found the actual title of the CD. it's a great CD. i'm really enjoying it.

with all this music, i'm havin' a blast...at least musically. X_X

-enna

funness (is that a word? oh well...)

i had a wonderful girl's weekend this weekend. well...it was supposed to be a weekend...it ended up only being saturday night through early this afternoon. :P i had to work friday night and saturday afternoon. then i went and got lost on the way there after work and was late to Mass. *mutters* google's directions didn't mention that when i had to turn, airport road was called country club road. so i missed the stupid turn. *mutters again* oh well. i had fun. after church, we stuffed our faces with red beans and rice. later, after my rather unsuccessful attempt at hacking into their wireless internet (i'm not all that great at figuring out passwords), we had pumpkin pie squares with ice cream and went online. after i received yet ANOTHER lecture on the importance of food, we watched the first half of pride and prejudice, A&E version. we were going to finish it, but we didn't even finish the first disc until 2 AM. so...we put it off. actually, after we stopped watching the movie, it was rather impressive. usually, about that time, we start repeating conversations we've already had. we didn't do that. although, i was informed that, after i was pretty well unconscious (about 3:30 AM), i kept talking. that sorta worries me...although she said she doesn't remember any of it. neither of us was entirely awake.

but then i woke up at 7. and i couldn't go back to sleep. so after ten unsuccessful minutes of trying to go back to sleep, i poked renwen awake. we were pretty lazy for a while (think the next two hours), then ate breakfast, did dishes, and went over to her neighbor's house. (she was dogsitting.) we finished pride and prejudice, then went over to their property. they are building a house out in the country. i had to leave at 3 to go to a staff meeting. pbbbt. little sleep and josh don't mix. although it was nice that we ended up not having to get in the water. we finished early, then i came home.

i needed that weekend...badly.

-enna

*HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN!!!!* repost

here's that other post that (for some weird reason) won't let comments be posted.

-enna

YES!!! I CAN SWIM FREESTYLE AGAIN!!!! *is ecstatic* i'm not so happy with being able to swim butterfly again, but hey...at least i won't get whopped in the face anymore while everyone else is doing butterfly or free and i'm doing breaststroke. that hurts.

sorry, i was just really happy. :D

-enna

*mutters*

i can't figure what is goin' on with blogger...i can't figure out how to let people post comments on some of my posts. so i shall repost them. one at a time. so you millions of people (hah, yah right...) can post comments.



*sigh* here goes...

my friends keep saying that i need to post about my weekend. specifically, saturday. twas interesting, i'll grant them that, but personally, i like interesting weekends that DON'T involve me nearly passing out. but maybe that's just me.i had my typical friday (busy). nothing interesting, unusual, or out of the ordinary.saturday on the other hand...woke up way earlier than i wanted. i hadn't gotten to sleep until sometime close to midnight, and woke up at 5. i had tried to get to bed earlier so i could get decent sleep before the swim meet, but it obviously didn't work well. i spent a very BORING morning with my running-around sisters. i dropped off the youngest 2 at the mithrandirs house for the duration of the swim meet (there shall never be a time that i want to babysit during a meet) and picked up finwe who was quite willing to get out of the house while they were there. ;) at the swim meet, things got bad. warmups got pushed back an extra 15 minutes. after warmups, i was hyperventilating; my heart rate was too fast; and these were putting me close to blacking out. it took more than half an hour for me to semi-recover from that. X_X ick. after each of my three events (at the very end of the meet -- of course :P) i would start hyperventilating again. overall, not my favorite swim meet.but it just got worse from there! i went to pick up my little sisters (after the swim meet ended 3 hours late, at 7 instead of 4), and came close to passing out again. this recovery period took a lot longer though...we ended up leaving the mithrandirs' about 9:30.what caused this? lack of calories. i hadn't eaten anything all day. after they forced me to eat some saltines, i started feeling much better. even so, by the time we got home, i was exhausted. BUT the babysitter who was supposed to be there at 10 didn't get here until 12:30. i didn't get to sleep until 1, and woke up at 6...now is it easier to understand why i did NOT like my weekend?-enna

the final essay

for this semester, anyway. the score on this one shocked me...i got four 6s and a combined score of 10.5 out of 12.

-enna

We most resent in others the very flaws which we possess.
In the book Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, Elizabeth shows this statement clearly. She resents Mr. Darcy's pride, which keeps him from interacting with the people of Meryton in a civil manner. However, her own pride prevents her from accepting his civilities when he first offers them.
Continuing to examine this outstanding piece of literature, it is possible to find more examples with Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. She resents his prejudice towards people of lower class than his, yet does not see how her own prejudice blinds her to the good he does until the very end of the story.
This trait is not just found in literature. It is also prevalent within our own lives. I can be a very stubborn person, and very opinionated. I often find myself resenting these very traits in others.
Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are excellent examples of resenting our flaws in other people, yet they are not the only culprits. We only need to examine our own lives to recognize this fact.

who is she?

who is that girl in the mirror? i happened to be walking by the mirror in my room earlier, and had to stop and look again. "who's that in my clothes?" i'm not the same person i used to be, that's for sure. i didn't even recognize myself. in a way, it's almost sad...i really don't know myself all that well. i know some of my friends better than i know myself. i can recognize my friends out of the corner of my eye better than i can recognize myself.

who is she? i think she's me...

-enna

HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN!!!

YES!!! I CAN SWIM FREESTYLE AGAIN!!!! *is ecstatic* i'm not so happy with being able to swim butterfly again, but hey...at least i won't get whopped in the face anymore while everyone else is doing butterfly or free and i'm doing breaststroke. that hurts.

sorry, i was just really happy. :D

-enna

*sighs* here goes...

my friends keep saying that i need to post about my weekend. specifically, saturday. twas interesting, i'll grant them that, but personally, i like interesting weekends that DON'T involve me nearly passing out. but maybe that's just me.

i had my typical friday (busy). nothing interesting, unusual, or out of the ordinary.

saturday on the other hand...
woke up way earlier than i wanted. i hadn't gotten to sleep until sometime close to midnight, and woke up at 5. i had tried to get to bed earlier so i could get decent sleep before the swim meet, but it obviously didn't work well. i spent a very BORING morning with my running-around sisters. i dropped off the youngest 2 at the mithrandirs house for the duration of the swim meet (there shall never be a time that i want to babysit during a meet) and picked up finwe who was quite willing to get out of the house while they were there. ;) at the swim meet, things got bad. warmups got pushed back an extra 15 minutes. after warmups, i was hyperventilating; my heart rate was too fast; and these were putting me close to blacking out. it took more than half an hour for me to semi-recover from that. X_X ick. after each of my three events (at the very end of the meet -- of course :P) i would start hyperventilating again. overall, not my favorite swim meet.
but it just got worse from there! i went to pick up my little sisters (after the swim meet ended 3 hours late, at 7 instead of 4), and came close to passing out again. this recovery period took a lot longer though...we ended up leaving the mithrandirs' about 9:30.
what caused this? lack of calories. i hadn't eaten anything all day. after they forced me to eat some saltines, i started feeling much better. even so, by the time we got home, i was exhausted. BUT the babysitter who was supposed to be there at 10 didn't get here until 12:30. i didn't get to sleep until 1, and woke up at 6...

now is it easier to understand why i did NOT like my weekend?

-enna

Learning is failure

i'm really being brave here.

-enna

October 24, 2008
Word Length: 272
TOPIC: Learning starts with failure; the first failure is the beginning of education.
Most students protest at the statement, “Learning starts with failure; the first failure is the beginning of education.” I am not most students. I agree with this statement. I have seen its truth in my own life.
I used to go to a public elementary school. I learned quickly. I should say, I learned quickly from my mistakes. One does not know that her p or d is backwards if she is not told. Her failure, and my failures, are mistakes from which we could learn the truth, and also the proper way to do activities like writing.
I grew, as does every other child. In sixth grade, I was removed from the school system to be homeschooled. I learned even more rapidly, for I was not held back by twenty other kids. When I was in eighth grade, I took the SAT for the first time. On account of the fact that I learned so quickly, my mother needed to understand what I needed to know before entering college. She made me take a test she knew I would fail; my failure was, in fact, necessary for me to continue to learn. The next year, she did the same thing. I took the ACT at 15 years of age. Once again, I was set up for failure so that I could learn.
Learning is a series of failures. I could not learn to write properly until my failure was revealed and corrected. I had to place myself in a position to fail so that I could learn. So I failed. Now I shall rise to greater levels than were ever possible.

A Woman's Question and weekend update postponed

this is a poem by lena lathrop that i found while reading i kissed dating goodbye. it is a good poem, and poses a challenge for all men to accept...if they dare.

i shall not be posting about my weekend until it is a little farther away. the memory of almost passing out is still a little too close for comfort.

g'nite!

-enna


A Woman’s Question
By Lena Lathrop

Do you know you have asked for the costliest thing
Ever made by the Hand above?
A woman’s heart, and a woman’s life—
And a woman’s wonderful love.

Do you know you have asked for this priceless thing
As a child might ask for a toy?
Demanding what others have died to win,
With the reckless dash of a boy.

You have written my lesson of duty out,
Manlike, you have questioned me.
Now stand at the bars of my woman’s soul
Until I shall question thee.

You require your mutton shall always be hot,
Your socks and your shirt be whole;
I require your heart be true as God’s stars
And as pure as His heaven your soul.

You require a cook for your mutton and beef,
I require a far greater thing;
A seamstress you’re wanting for socks and shirts—
I look for a man and a king.


A king for the beautiful realm called Home,
And a man that his Maker, God,
Shall look upon as He did on the first
And say: “It is very good.”

I am fair and young, but the rose may fade
From this soft young cheek one day;
Will you love me then ’mid the falling leaves,
As you did ’mong the blossoms of May?

Is your heart an ocean so strong and true,
I may launch my all on its tide?
A loving woman finds heaven or hell
On the day she is made a bride.

I require all things that are grand and true,
All things that a man should be;
If you give this all, I would stake my life
To be all you demand of me.

If you cannot be this, a laundress and cook
You can hire and little to pay;
But a woman’s heart and a woman’s life
Are not to be won that way.

Public opinion essay

hey all,

here's yet another essay for you. this one is a rewrite of one that i had done the week previously.

-enna

October 24, 2008
TOPIC: Public opinion is the best judge of what is right and what is wrong.

Public opinion is highly valued, but it is not the best judge of who is right and who is wrong.
Within my family of five children, my parents have set rules. Dreaded by my four younger sisters are rules such as, "Don't run in the house!" and "Take a bath." All five of us join in with the multitude of children who dislike the rule, "Go to bed!" Public opinion within my home is strongly against the parental guidelines, and believes them unnecessary. However, when my sisters get older, they will understand, as I do, the value of cleanliness, safety, and being well-rested. In my family, public opinion was incorrect, and a bad judge of right and wrong.
In an election year, such as the one we are going through now, public opinion about presidential candidates is very divided. The president who is elected, however, is not always the best choice to lead the country. Richard Nixon was impeached. George W. Bush has an incredibly low approval rating. The public tends to forget that they elected these men into office. Voters are proving that public opinion is fickle, and not to be trusted.
Public opinion is not a good judge of right and wrong. Children dislike rules until they realize the reasons behind the rules. Voters turn against men they elected almost immediately after their inauguration. Something that changes its mind so easily is not trustworthy.

who knows what

my head is all mixed up again. well, not again...it's still mixed up from LAST friday night. i swear, i want some decent sleep!

oh well. happier note: disciple's new CD, southern hospitality, is great. i like the entire thing, but especially the first two tracks and (i think) number 8, whatever that song is. i have a tendency to just stick the CD in my CD player, and listen wherever i am. the case tends to stay in one place.

anyway, gnite!

-enna

another essay

here's another essay. i'd tell you my score on it, but i haven't turned it in yet. ;)

cheers.

-enna

November 3, 2008
Word Length: 221
TOPIC: It is better to be underrated by people than to be overrated by them.
It is better to be underrated by people than to be overrated by them. Both of them are compliments, but to be overrated can be embarrassing.
When someone thinks that you have abilities beyond what you truly have, it’s a compliment. For example, I have been told that I look older than I actually am. This is a compliment, to some extent. If I was fifty and someone gave me the same compliment, I would be extremely embarrassed and self-conscious. To be overrated is not always a good thing.
If you are underrated, however, it is possible to give someone a happy surprise when you reveal a talent or ability that they had not previously known about. In the book Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey, the heroine, Lessa, is able to save Pern with an ability previously unknown to any being other than the dragons. If it had been assumed by the others within Benden Weyr, a community of dragons and their riders, that Lessa had this gift, and she had not, it would have been disastrous for Pern.
To be underrated is usually not as much of a compliment as being overrated. However, if a life or many lives are held in the balance, an underrated person can save all those in peril with a previously unknown gift, talent, or ability.

i dunno if i'll be posting...

my parents are going out of town for the weekend, and my insane weekend begins tomorrow morning. my parents are going to chicago for a conference that goes from friday to sunday, and my grandmother is coming over to babysit (since i'm not comfortable with the whole overnight thing). HOWEVER, she has a wedding on saturday. so she's leaving saturday morning. at 12:30, all five of us leave. i drop off the two youngest (6 and 4) at the mithrandir's house, pick up a friend, and head to a swim meet. after the swim meet, i get my sisters back, give back the friend, and go home. at 10ish, a friend from church is coming to spend the night with us. she leaves in the morning, and i take all four of my younger sisters to church. thank goodness for sunday school...

after that, we come home, eat, and they play until mom and dad get home. i don't know if i'll be posting because (especially saturday) i'll be exhausted from this insanity.

hope you are plenty confused! ;)

-enna

i shall be brave...

i'm gonna do something that's probably kind of stupid, but heck...this can't hurt me too bad. *knocks on wood* i'm gonna post an essay that i wrote for a SAT/ACT writing prep class. it's the one from my second week, and it's really sorta my favorite. just as a note...we write these essays in 25 minutes. this essay got three fives and a four.

cheers.

-enna

September 19, 2008
Word Length: 332
TOPIC: Each crisis is an opportunity in disguise.
Each person must face a point of crisis in their lives at least once. Some people hate crisis and avoid it at all costs. While these people are going through a crisis, others avoid them at all costs. Other people take advantage of crises. These people see crises as opportunities in disguise; opportunities to grow, to learn, and to live more fully.
Each crisis is a fresh opportunity to grow, maybe not physically, but mentally and spiritually. It makes us face what has been, and what could be. The original thirteen British colonies were independent of each other and fought among themselves. However, when England began to oppress them, they saw in that crisis an opportunity to grow. As is well known, their willingness to grow from a crisis changed the course of history.
Learning opportunities also exist in a crisis. If a little child touches a hot stove, he will get burnt. He will scream and cry and make a big fuss. However, he is not likely to touch the stove ever again intentionally. He has learned from this crisis in his life.
Every life is difficult. No person alive can honestly say, “My life is always easy. It’s never hard.” Crises are hard. This is an indubitable fact. Actually, if you think about it, a life is determined by how the person handles crises. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the president during the Great Depression and World War II. His terms were full of crises, from the Depression to the war to his personal battle with polio. Today, Americans remember how he saw opportunity in those crises and pulled the country through them, making the U.S.A. a better place for Americans.
A crisis is a blessing in disguise. It is a chance to grow, like the American colonies did in the 1700s. It is an opportunity to grow, like the little child and the stove. It is a chance to live a life that others will look back upon and admire.

*sighs*

i'm sorry if my posts have been a tad bit boring lately. i haven't been able to concentrate very well at all recently. i really don't even have a good post idea for today. my brain is spinning around and around and around in circles. sure, i can concentrate on schoolwork (good thing too...we used the bunsen burner today in chemistry) and other things which require concentration (driving), but when i finish, my brain begins to whirl again.

thank goodness for the movie fireproof. this was much worse before...but since i watched it last night, it's calmed down. some. hey, it's given me a level of improvement, which i really appreciate, but i'd like the whirling to just go away and stay away. but it's not likely to happen today...or tomorrow...

sorry for my rant.

-enna

fireproof and KJ-52

movie and music review time! ;) tonight we went to see the movie fireproof. it was a good movie, and (since the two don't have to be coinciding) i liked it. this is the kind of thing i want to do: movies with a message that truly hits home. for those who don't know, fireproof is about a marriage in trouble. even if you aren't married, this is a good movie that touches on themes of Christianity, what love truly is, commitment, and vows. the vows made in marriage aren't just words; they are a covenant with the person whom you are marrying. even if you aren't married (like me), this is a movie that still touches your heart and soul. i know it did for me.

now, for music. a friend lent me KJ-52, behind the musik. it's an excellent CD, and very long...i'm pretty sure that it's over 70 minutes long. in this case, quantity does not bring down the quality. i really enjoyed listening to it. even if i didn't finish the CD until this morning. ;)

tonight shall be fairly short. so g'nite to you!

-enna

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present for you today...

The Journey, a story about one young girl against a centuries-old foe. yes, i have published my first book! this is one i wrote in a day a year ago this Thanksgiving. it's not as good as it could be (or as long), but it's not so horrible that you can't enjoy the read. i'm not sure what this says about me or my writing, but when i read this story (and some other things that i have written), i will get so absorbed that i don't even realize that i wrote it. if it's something i haven't looked at in a while, i'll reread it before i continue work, and when i reach the end of what i have written, i'm bummed, cause i want to know what happens next! not sure if that means my stories are so good they can fool their author, or that i'm so biased that i can immerse myself in just about anything. ;)

a description:
Enna is a slave in a remote Southern village. She stands out from the rest of the light-haired population, with her raven-black hair. When her world is turned upside down by the arrival of a stranger, will Enna have the courage to do what is right, and confront the Witch? Or will the Witch cover the land in winter forever?





cheers!

-enna

new book has been published

this isn't one of the Zephanaian Chronicles, but it IS my first book. ;) The Journey is available for purchase from lulu.com and other online bookstores.

a description:
Enna is a slave in a remote Southern village. She stands out from the rest of the light-haired population, with her raven-black hair. When her world is turned upside down by the arrival of a stranger, will Enna have the courage to do what is right, and confront the Witch? Or will the Witch cover the land in winter forever?




the book costs $12.48.

-enna

happy nights!

happy daylight savings time! don't forget (as i did) to change your clocks. i looked at the clock (after reading for a while) and panicked, because we were supposed to leave for church in 20 minutes. i was laying in bed being a lazy bum. i jumped up and started running around, getting ready, and my mother stuck her head in my door.
MOM: "we aren't leaving yet."
ME: "we aren't?
MOM: "no. your clock is wrong."
ME: "it is?"
MOM: "it's daylight savings time."
ME: "OOOOOH"
i'm not the most cognitive when i was just recently immersed in a good book. granted, i didn't like said book, but you have got to say that when a book you don't like manages to capture your attention like this one did mine, it's good. i actually was rereading the end - i read really fast, and missed a lot of stuff. as to why i didn't like it...well, let's just say i prefer books where there's action, and then (MAYBE) there's a little romance on the side, NOT books where the plot centers around a romance and everything else spins off that.

g'day...i might post later...it depends on how lazy i am today after church. ;)

-enna

i'm a bloody chicken...

i'm just a bloody chicken, let's leave it at that. i'm not very normal, so it kinda makes sense that i'm scared stiff of stuff that (it seems) normal people aren't frightened of confronting or stating. whether it makes sense or not, it's fact.

oh well...happier topics exist than my chicken-ness. thankfully! :D our Catholic homeschool group had its All Saints Day party today. no one could figure me out. let's see if you can...if you attended, keep your mouth shut, or i shall haunt you for the rest of your days.
clue 1: she was martyred in Rome in 361 A.D.
clue 2: her veneration used to spread throughout germany, spain, and italy, but has been consolidated to her basilica in Rome since 1969.
clue 3: a fellow Christian buried her with her mother and sister, who had also been martyred, and a church was later founded on the site.

can you figure it? i'll say later in the post... see if you can catch it. ;)

anyway, we did the "Saint Who?" contest first. for those who don't understand, kids and teens (and sometimes parents) dress up as different saints and bring three clues about said saint. then, everyone takes turns getting up and reading the clues. it tests your knowledge of the saints. it's fun. then we ate. i was hungry. i demolished a full plate of spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, and a section of a sub sandwich within 10 minutes and went back for dessert. then dad did his "family feud" thing. we played 3 games of it. i had a team comprised of my two youngest sisters and their adult helpers, renwen, and Lily. there were three teams. each team played two games. my team won both ours. :D then my dad somehow ended up teaching a tango lesson. i THINK (possibly) it was because my mom was showing us the steps and needed her partner. so she dragged him over, and we ended up with a tango lesson. renwen informed me that i'm a natural dancer and she isn't. i'm not sure i'm surprised...i have a very hard time resisting the call of the dance floor. i suppose you could say i'm a dance-aholic. i don't get to dance much, so when i do, i go all out.

all in all, a very enjoyable evening.

all right...here's my saint. i was St. Bibiana, also known as Viviana. very little is known about her other than what was included in my clues. which was why no one was able to guess. ;)

good night.

-enna