Potato Chip

June 12 Can't Come Soon Enough

2009-02-28T12:08:00.004-05:00

...and that is the truth!

I am so ready to be done with high school! It's taking wayyy to long to end. I didn't think i'd ever have trouble with senioritis, but oh man...it's hit me hard since the beginning of February.

School has been overbearing. I hav

e never had so much work to do in such a short amount of time in my life. I'm very behind in calculus, struggling through physics, and pushing my way through 2 english's...oh nope! make that 3 english's (still have to finish 1st semester of this other American Literature course. 2nd Semester I've been taking at school...PTL!) not to mention bible, worldview, and all those other classes. Worldview I can pretty much relax for a while now, because I've gotten my HUGE project out of the way. Once again...PTL!

The past couple weekends have been crazy. This is my

first weekend I've actually been able to relax/sleep in . Although, most of this weekend will be spent trying to write the rough drafts of two major research papers. Ugh. Next weekend is our Dominican Republic Send-off dessert. I'm looking forward to it, I think my whole family is going to come! It's going to be great. Then I leave for the D.R. in 2 weeks. It's coming fast.

2 weekends ago I went to Harvard w/ the debate team. It was fun. I didn't debate, just kind of observed and encouraged my fellow school mates. But it was tons of fun and I really enjoyed it. It's nice to spend time with friends from school.

Our debate team (I'm all the way on the end on the right side)

Last weekend was our church's annual winter retreat or "Snow Camp" as we call it. This was my last year as a student, but maybe I can go as a chaperone in coming years. I really love this retreat, it's always really great. Our speaker was a guy named Jeff Scholl this time, and he was awesome. The praise band was great too. But the best part was being with my youth group. I love them, they are fantastic. And my youth leader is awesome too... he greatly enjoyed teasing me this year, saying "I remember when Erin was just a little freshman, and she was so small she'd get lost in the snow tubes." Mike has been my sunday school teacher since we started going to our church when I was just a wee little 7th grader. So he's seen me grow and mature over the years. Now I'm all grown up!

Here are some pictures of our retreat: (sorry the pics are backwards in order)

Our Final Group Shot

Snow shoeing on a lake. It was gorgeous. This was our 3rd year doing it!

More snowshoeing!

Snowshoeing group shot. I LOVE THIS ONE! :) (Taken by my friend Michelle)

Well, I must be off to homework land. Ugh...so much work.

-EDEE

"Every good and perfect gift is from above..."

- James 1:17

Busy as a Bee

2009-02-08T17:57:00.003-05:00

Oh boy have I been busy and swamped with homework, and it's only going to get worse.

First off, this was my last weekend of "rest" for the next few weekends. Here is the schedule for about the next month:

2/11 Dominican Republic Training Meeting!

2/13-2/17 Harvard for a Debate Tournament. I'm not debating, just going to help our debate coach keep the kids in line! Also it'll be a great experience to see all the debating!

2/20-2/22 Winter Retreat o9!!! I am SOOO excited! It's my last year and it will be great!

2/27 Going to see David Tyree of the NY Giants (He's the one who caught the football on his helmet in last year's superbowl) at my school. He's doing a book signing for his new book More Then Just a Catch

2/28 MU Basketball Game?

3/7 D.R. Send-off Desert

3/14-3/21 Dominican Trip!

So as you can see, I'm pretty booked.

Not to mention in school right now I am...

-Writing 2 research papers (one of which I have to read Tolkien's The Hobbit for)

-Have to have Pride and Prejudice (my least favorite book on this planet) read by March 3

- Getting ready to give a 45 minute presentation in Worldview

- Working on Calculus

- Lots of Physics HW

- Vocab and things

- Writing an essay on Macbeth

- Getting ready to preform a scene of macbeth with 4 of my friends

- etc.

So, I'm dying of business right now. And between all that I'm trying to learn a bit of spanish before I go the D.R., working on my Chinese, and trying to practice as much trumpet as humanly possible. THANK GOODNESS I HAVE THE LORD TO GIVE ME STRENGTH!!!

Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." -Isaiah 12:2

*ERIN*

IT ACTUALLY SNOWED! AND ACCUMULATED!

2009-02-04T20:15:00.006-05:00

So recently my friend and I were discussing the major lack-of-snow our area has been having the past few years. We were reminiscing of times when we were little, when we would get like, 2-3 feet of snow at a time!!! But lately, the past 3 or 4 years, we've only been getting around 1 inch at a time. A measly amount of snow that melts within hours of it stopping.

This is very disappointing for a bunch of 5-year-old minded 17/18 year olds. We have been DYING to go sledding, make snowmen, make snow angels, and sled some more!!!

Yesterday, our dream came true.

It started snowing about halfway on my way to school, and my the time we got to school an inch had already accumulated (this was northern NJ, which usually gets more. But in this one special case we actually got more snow than they did!) By the time my mom picked me up (she doesn't let me drive on days its snowing/raining) we had gotten like, 2-3 inches by my house. Yes, this is a very small number next to 2-3 feet, but still, 2-3 inches is a lot compared to the measly centimeter we were getting before.

So I canceled my chinese lesson (due to some fairly snowy/icy roads that I wasn't about to risk my life upon) and instead sent Brian out to risk his life driving the 4 blocks to my house. He arrived around 5:00 PM, and we got our snow gear on and delved on our adventure.

The second we got outside Brian flopped down and begun making a snow angel, I joined him seconds later. For the next hour we went sledding down the smallest hill you'd ever see (but the hill we've sledded down our whole lives) made snowmen, and went sledding some more. So here are a few pictures from the festivities:

The Back of my House...yea, the snow was coming down pretty hard. Probably not good for my camera lol.

Its Hard to see but this was our "hill". You can see the sled trail but somewhere in the darkness there is a little dip that we manage to gain some speed down.

Our 4 tiny snowmen. The big snowman ordeal wasn't working for us.

Well, I've procrastinated this Macbeth essay long enough. Off to work!

"For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." - Romans 1:20

*ERIN*

P.S. Oh! Here is a funny joke I heard from our speaker in chapel at school today, Charlie Campbell. Christian's will appreciate this, atheists, not so much.

In a 3rd Grade Classroom:

Teacher: I am an atheist. Class, how many of you are atheists?

Most of the class, wanting to be like their teacher, raise their hands. All except one girl, Lucy.

Teacher: Lucy, why aren't you raising your hand?

Lucy: Because I'm not an atheist.

Teacher: Then what are you?

Lucy: I am a christian.

Teacher: Well, what makes you a christian?

Lucy: Well, I've learned about Jesus my whole life, and my mom is a christian and my dad is a christian.

Teacher: Ok. But what if you didn't grow up knowing Jesus? What if your mom was a moron and your dad was a moron? Then what would you be?

Lucy: I'd be an atheist.

haha...i thought it was pretty funny. Ok, I gtg. Night!

Midterms

2009-01-21T21:41:00.006-05:00

I know I haven't posted in a while, but this one must be short, I've got studying to do!

It's midterm week at good ol' TCS. Unfortunately, I'm not exempt from any this time (Not even bible!!!). I came really close to a few, but I just didn't make the cut. Oh well.

Today I took the worldview midterm. It was quite difficult. It was all essays, ranging anywhere from one simple sentence to 5-7 paragraphs. I used 9 sheets of paper and my hand is still cramped up. I'm pretty sure I've contracted carpel tunnel syndrome. Oh well. I think I did OK, not sure though.

Tomorrow I have British Literature then Bible. Bible should be easy, Brit Lit...we'll see how it goes. Apparently it's all supposed to be multiple choice, so should be pretty easy. I have to thank my buddy Eric again though. Right as I was getting off my exit on the GSP to my house today I realized that I had left my British Lit notebook AND book back at school in my locker. Not about to drive another hour back (not to mention the school would probably be closed by then), I called Eric and told him what happened. Bless his soul, he scanned all his quizzes and tests and sent them to me via email! So I had everything I needed to study. W/out that boy I'd probably fail tomorrows mid-term.

Friday is physics. I'm not looking forward to that one. In fact, lets just leave that one as it is.

Oh, as I'm sure everyone in the country, and probably the world knows, yesterday was a very historic event! The first African American president was sworn into office. Now, most know that I was very against this president getting into office, and a big advocate of McCain...but now that the election is over I'm not going to say anything, I'm just going to sit back and see how it all plays out. Who knows, maybe Obama will be better then we thought! (or worse *cough cough*) But all I'm going to do from this day forth is pray that Obama will seek God when making his decisions.

And since yesterday was the inauguration, we got to watch it during lunch and 5th period!!! A bunch of my friends and I got together and watched it, it was so much fun. We had a blast! The audio worked ok, but the video kept skipping. So whenever Obama's face was frozen on the screen everyone would jump out of their seats in front of the screen to get their picture "with the president". Here are some results of that:

Some of my friends w/ Obama

Me and the Prez!

Ok, I need to get back to studying now! I'll try & update again tomorrow.

"We love because he first loved us." - 1 John 4:19

***EDEE***

P.S. Oh yea, please pray for my dad. He's really sick with the flu! My mom already had it, so pray that I don't catch it! I'm staying farrrr away from them!

The Year 2008 In Review

2009-01-01T11:35:00.011-05:00

I was going to type my own review of 2008 thing, but I thought it would get to wordy and ramble off to nowhere land as usual with my writing. So I decided to do one of these very myspace-ish surveys. So here we go:

A REVIEW OF 2008 IN SURVEY FORM

1. What Did you do in 2008 that you've never done before?

Hmm... I was going to say started a blog but that isn't true. But I have never kept up with a blog like I have this one. Also, I've never given a presentation in school without being nervous, and I did this year! There are probably a lot of things I've never done that I have done this year. Like, I've raised money for a mission trip! Never done that before!

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I honestly don't remember if I made any last year, and I probably won't make any for this year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Not that I know of...

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Yes actually. A really good friend of mine, Hannah died on February 10, 2008. But she left me with something I'll never forget: F.R.O.G - Fully Rely on God.

5. What countries did you visit?

None. Never left the ol' states.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?

Good health lol. And after I graduate high school in June I'd like to have a little R&R time. I haven't had any relaxing time that I wasn't worrying about HW in to long. I'd also like to get a job when I go to college.

7. What date from 2008 will remain etched in your memory and why?

Well, two dates really. First would be February 10, as I said before, the day Hannah died. And second would be April 30, my 17th birthday and they day I got my license!!! Oh! Three actually!!!! June....June 12th I think maybe. Oh dear I forget the exact date but the day I got my puppy Louis!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Only a few people may understand this, but getting over my fear of being out and in public after being sick for a year. It took me a while to get over the fear of being sick in public, but I've gotten over and now I'm back at school and getting back on stage with my trumpet! PRAISE THE LORD!

9. What was your biggest failure?

Slacking off on work. I probably could've put more effort forward. And denting the front of my dad's BMW. Oops. Sorry Dad.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Ha! Where do I begin?! Well, my illness finally subsided after the diagnosis of Celiac disease. And my shoulder of course and knees are always in pain, though not really an "injury" per say, because I didn't really hurt anything. And then my wrist had surgery, which wasn't an injury either really just a tiny cyst that was sitting on a nerve. But i've had my fair share of colds and coughs and flu as well.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Well...material objects? My rock band and my mario kart for Wii. But non-material wise, paying $600 of my way to the Dominican Republic. That was a great thing to buy. =)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

My friends. Especially my friend Heather, who called me promptly everyday at 3:05 PM after school was over last year to see how I was doing. And who now that I'm back in school continues to be my best friend. I love ya heather!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Well, for one a few friends I'm not going to name. But also just some of the younger kids in my school, especially middle schoolers. I can only hope they will grow out of it. And also some adults of our nation. To many moms and dads are trying to be "teenagers" and their kids friends instead of parents. Kids may say they like that, but in the long run I would appreciate having parents being parents rather then parents being friends.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Towards my Dominican trip.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

RIOT NIGHT AND SPIRIT WEEK!!! Oh man, I missed that last year. Also, getting my license and my puppy. Great things to look forward to.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?

This may sound strange, but Bohemian Rhapsody. LOL! Not because it has anything to do with 2008, but because its the song that my friends and I have had stuck in our heads for like, the ENTIRE YEAR!!!! Because seriously, it has NOTHING to do with 2008.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. Happier or Sadder: Happier!!!

ii. Thinner or Fatter: Fatter. Hurray!

iii. Richer or Poorer: Richer. Yay allowance!

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

My american literature course. So I could've been done by now. And I also wish I would've read my bible more often, that's something I'd like to work on this year.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Goofing off...procrastinating. (oops...thats what I'm doing right now!!! DARN IT!)

20. How did you spend Christmas?

Same way we always do. At home, in our PJs. Relaxing. =)

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?

nope. well, yes actually. I fell in love with my little doggie. Can't get enough of him!!!

22. How many one night stands?

NONE!!!

23. What was your favorite TV program?

Hmm...I have quite a few. This year I've fallen in love with Grey's Anatomy and M*A*S*H. They have to be 2 of my favorites. And then of course my usual: HOUSE, ER, The Office, 30 Rock, 24, All Creatures Great and Small, and Northern Exposure. (Those last two, like M*A*S*H, are older shows we have the complete seasons of)

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

Hate is a really strong word. There are a lot of people I have lost respect for, but don't hate.

25. What was the best book you read?

Ah, this is a hard one for me. I'm trying to remember which books I read this year!!!

Well, one book I currently AM reading and started reading in 2008, which is now one of my favorites, is How Now Shall We Live by Charles Colson. Then of course, the best book I read every year is the bible. Hmm...I'll have to get back to you on this one. I can't remember which books I read this year. OH! Now I remember!!! I read The Lord of the Rings Trilogy for the second or third time. Those continue to be some of my favorite books and I highly recommend them to everyone I meet, as well as The Hobbit also by J.R.R Tolkien. My mom and I read The Hobbit together when I was in 6th grade and we both loved it!!!

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?

This may sound sad coming from such a Beatles/60s classic rock music lover as me, but for the first time this year I started listening to The Rolling Stones and Queen (yea, I know thats not 60s, its 80s...). But I am completely in love with both of them now and have added them to my car playlist as WELL as The Dropkick Murphys, which was another musical discovery of mine.

27. What did you want and get?

A macbook!!! =)

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

Hmm... It's a tie. Dark Knight and Iron Man.

29. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?

On my birthday I went and got my license, dropped my mom off at home, and then went and picked up my buddy Brian. We then proceeded to visit every park in our town, and then we went back to my house for dinner. (I forget what we had, I'm thinking hotdogs...thats what we always have on my birthday). Then I dropped Brian off and went to youth group. It was an all around good birthday. It was the first day I got to drive by myself! I turned 17.

30. What one thing would've made our year immeasurably more satisfying?

Not being sick.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?

Haha! Fashion?! What is fashion anyway? Most of 2008 for me was spent in either jeans and hoodies or sweat pants and t-shirts. Well, mostly because I was sick. But towards the end of the year I've smarted up my look a bit.

32. What kept you sane?

GOD!!!! With a little help from the discovery channel and crosswords. =) And of course music always pays its contribution.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

CHRISTIAN BALE!!!! and Gerard Butler.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

Hmm... thats hard to say. All the political issues were very important this year, but probably the economy and the war. As well as the right to life and marriage laws.

35. Who did you miss?

All my csehy friends. All my timothy friends. Heather especially. But now I get to see her every morning Mon-Fri!!! (unless of course one of us skips school) ;)

36. Who was the best new person you met?

Mr. Fennelly. ^_^ Greatest teacher who doesn't really teach me anything I've ever had. =P

37. Tell us the valuable life lesson you've learned in 2008.

I'm going to change this question a little bit, to what GOD has taught me in 2008. In 2008, God taught me that I need to take myself down a notch. That I need to stop trying to do everything myself and fix everything on my own, and let him do it. I've probably posted this verse before, but this pretty much sums up what he taught me this year:

"Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." - James 4: 9-10

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Laugh when your eyes are burning
Smile when your heart is filled with pain
Sigh as you brush away your sorrow
Make a vow that it's not gonna happen again

It's not right in one life too much rain

You know the wheels keep turning
Why do the tears run down your face?
We used to hide away our feelings
But for now tell yourself it won't happen again

It's not right in one life too much rain

It's too much for anyone
Too hard for anyone
Who wants a happy and peaceful life
You've gotta learn to laugh

Smile when you're spinning round and round
Sigh as you think about tomorrow
Make a vow that your gonna be happy again

It's all right in your life no more rain

It's too much for anyone
Too hard for anyone
Who wants a happy and peaceful life
You've gotta learn to laugh

Too Much Rain by Paul McCartney

Happy New Year to everyone and God Bless!!!

Erin <><

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

2008-12-25T19:35:00.003-05:00

Merry Christmas! What a blessed day! The day we get to celebrate the birth of our one and only savior, Jesus Christ!!! But unfortunately... most people don't celebrate the true meaning of christmas. They pretty much do it just for the giving and receiving part.

Sure, we have all these great movies (i.e. A Christmas Carol) with all these great stories on the "true meaning of christmas", that being of course the birth of Christ. But what I have observed is that people watch these movies, say "Yea, that was a great movie," and then shrug it off and go back to celebrating christmas the way they always have. This greatly saddens me.

This is the first year I bought all my family's christmas presents with my own money. In previous years, I had kinda mooched off mom and dad to buy my sister's gifts, but I found when paying for things myself, I got more satisfaction out of it and I didn't just pick "anything" for them. (I wouldn't want to waste my money on something they wouldn't really appreciate)

This was also my first Christmas in which I had my license, and could therefore go shopping ALL BY MYSELF!!! (Most of my friends live up north so they couldn't really drive down to shop with me, and my one friend who does live by me is not exactly the shopping type.) Anyway, as I was walking through the mall and picking out gifts for various family members, I couldn't help but hear what people around me were saying, or observe the way people acted.

So here are a few observations I made on my shopping trip to the mall:

Children. Children are so spoiled rotten today. Now I'm not saying I'm perfect; I admit I've thrown a few tantrums when I didn't get what I wanted in the past. But walking through the mall, I saw kids throwing tantrums and parents just GIVING IN!!! Like, they'd rather shut their kid up from making a scene then raise their kid properly. I saw tons of mom's talking on their blue-tooth, not paying a bit of attention, just letting their children pick any thing off the shelves and buying it for them. How is that even fun for the kids? To know what they are getting for Christmas? I'm 17 years old, and I still enjoy being surprised on Christmas morning.
Teenagers. Ugh, so many teenagers!!! Walking around, trying to act cool, making stupid jokes and comments. And their mouths!!! UGH!!! If there is anything I absolutely hate it is cursing. Not only is cursing a completely UNcool thing to do (contrary to popular belief, of course), but it makes those doing it look completely unintelligible. I mean seriously, how does the F work increase your vocabulary??? These teens just walked around the whole place complaining about what gifts they had to buy for friends/family, talking about how "smashed" they had gotten the night before, and gossiping about others. It really makes me ill.
Adults/Parents. What has happened to parents? My father and I were shopping together last week for my teachers, and as we were walking I saw this couple walking by, and the mom was telling her little son (he could not have been more then 5 years old) to hold her hand. The little boy proceeded to throw a tantrum and refused to hold his mothers hand. As we continued walking, another couple walked by. The husband/boyfriend/whatever was in full "rapper attire" (i.e. Big huge cross chain, baggy pants with boxers hanging out, overly large t-shirt, yankees *UGH!!!* hat tilted on the head) and the mom was all primped up and striding like she was the ruler of the world. By her side was a little boy about the same age as the other one...only one thing was different. This little boy was reaching for his mothers hand, TRYING to hold her hand, yet this mother just kept slapping it away. After seeing these two stark contrasts, I quickly grabbed my dad's hand and said "Daddy, I'll always hold your hand."

These are a few of MANY observations I made while on my shopping excursions. The whole ordeal just greatly saddened me, but I'm not going to let it ruin my day of celebration in my Savior. So, Merry Christmas everyone, and Happy Birthday Jesus!!!! YOU ARE MY ALL IN ALL!!!

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

-Isaiah 9:6

(isn't it amazing how such a great Christmas verse about Christ's birth is found in Isaiah? In the Old Testament!?!)

*EDEE*

AWESOME MOON AND CLOUDS!!!

2008-12-12T22:35:00.003-05:00

My friend Brian came over tonight and we were taking the dogs out when we noticed how awesome the moon and the clouds looked. So I ran inside to grab the camera and we managed to get some great pictures!!!! Check them out!!!

Trying to figure out what setting to use...

Found the right one! What an awesome moon!

Just a little closer...

Amazing clouds surrounding a bright moon!

What an awesome sight! God's creation is beautiful!!!

"I see the moon and the moon sees me,
God bless the moon, And God bless me."

Sinus Infections and Deceit

2008-12-04T14:42:00.003-05:00

So...turns out I have a sinus infection. Well, it could be worse!

Now, because of this sinus infection, I have missed 3 more days of school. Mom FORCED me to stay home Tuesday. I was all dressed and ready to go to school, and then I was sitting at the counter eating my cereal and my mom said "Erin, you look horrible. You need to stay home today." The rest of the day I was miserable with a terrible sore throat. I tossed and turned all night that night and decided the next morning I had to go see the doctor. When I woke up Wednesday morning my sore throat was gone, but my head was pounding and my nose was all clogged up. Its a little better today but not much. My doctor put me on the Rhinocort stuff, its a kind of nasal steroid. When he told me it was a sinus infection he looked all concerned and told me he doesn't like prescribing me medicine because it will mess with my already messed up stomach. So he gave me the rhinocort but also prescribed me this z-pack thing, but he said that is only if the rhinocort doesn't work. My doctor is pretty cool. He wrote me out of school for the last 3 days, so now I have "exused" absences. ^_^

Today I was supposed to be giving a presentation in bible class on what the proverbs say about deceit. I'm still working on the presentation right now. It's really hard!!! At least I know that If I do go to school tomorrow I won't have to give my presentation because I'm missing bible tomorrow (we have a band trip). But I am trying to get it done anyhow. It is a really hard topic though! We have to use examples from our lives and stuff and I don't know what kind of examples from my life have to do with deceit!!! I'm just not a deceitful person I guess....

Every kid got a different topic. When my mom saw the list of topics my mom said "Geez! He gave you the hardest one and the shortest ammount of time to work on it!" I've had since the friday before thanksgiving, but over thanksgiving break I was sick between having my wisdom teeth out and a sore throat. And then all this week I've been sick with a sinus infection. You know how when your nose is clogged so is your brain! I keep getting distracted or zoning out. Just like right now, I should be working on my project.

Anyway...off I go to do some more work. Today is my friend Eric's birthday. I'm sad I'm not at school to celebrate it with him. =( So here is my little shout out: HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY ERIC MURPHY!!!

I'll leave you with one of the proverbs I'll be using in my presentation:

"Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread."
- Proverbs 30:7-8

***EDEE***

P.S. Here are some pictures I've taken this week:

Cosette and Louis. It's Louie's 1st Christmas!!!

I love my kids <3

Cozy on Louie and her new bed.

Thank God For Puppies!

2008-11-26T08:17:00.004-05:00

Oh how I love my little doggies. Cosette and Louis Napoleon are the best two little friends to have around when you aren't feeling good...well, sometimes anyway. But yesterday was one of those times. When my mouth was hurting and I was lying in bed, who came and snuggled into me? That's right, Louis!!!

All curled up by his mommy's feet. What a handsome boy!
My and Louis, he was lying on my chest but looked up just in time for the picture. Excuse my appearance...I was in bed most of the day!

Also, today my sister Kim, my Brother-in-law Lawrence, Lawrence's daughter Autumn, my nephew Caiden, and Kim's friend Bernie are all coming up from Virginia for thanksgiving! This means our guest room will need to be occupied, so I offered to have Louie's crate in my room. I was a bit worried to tell you the truth, because recently Louis has been barking in his crate for up to an hour each night before falling asleep...and I was NOT Looking forwad to that. BUT WHAT A GOOD BOY I HAVE! As soon as my daddy put him in his crate last night he fell fast asleep. Maybe it was the comfort of knowing his mommy was in the room with him. Who knows?

Anyway, my teeth are feeling a bit better today, but still not great. I was feeling kind of nauseous last night and I still am a little this morning, but not as severly. For breakfast I tried having some soggy rice chex, but they probably weren't as soggy as they should have been. Oh well...

I have a lot of homework to do today. I want to get started on my bible project due Thursday (I have to teach 15 min of class. *gulp* My teacher gave us each a topic and we have to relate proverbs to the topic...mine is Deciet. I have not idea what i'm going to do with that...) and I have to read Macbeth for British Literature. I also have a TON of calculus to catch up, as well as history and english. So much work, so little time.

Maybe you'll hear from me later, not sure yet.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." - Matthew 11:28 ~*EDEE*~

P.S. Spent a little more time on Picnik yesterday, here are the results of that!:

Me and Heather!

My Nephew Caiden...what a cutie!

Me as a baby...just as it says, I haven't changed a bit. ^_^

Bye Bye Wisdom Teeth and Seniors 09!

2008-11-25T12:24:00.008-05:00

So, yesterday, I got all 4 of my wisdom teeth removed. I was a bit nervous at first, but my dad's friend is an oral surgeon so he did it, and it went just fine. I woke up to a mouth full of gauze but I was pretty a-ok. I must admit, I don't remember much of the ride home, but since then I've been alright, just in a bit of pain. But thats ok cuz my doctor prescribed me some Vicodin. =) Jokingly my mom said, "Don't get addicted to it! We don't want to have a Dr. House walking around here!" My response "Just get me a cane and a case of the grouchies and I am set!" But no, really, I'm not worried about getting addicted to that stuff. I have to stay lying down when I take it because it makes me dizzy when I walk around.

In other news:
Friday Night was our High School's annual "Riot Night"...which most may know as a battle of the classes. At our school each year the classes get to pick their own color and theme (seniors have first choice of color) and we have to make a t-shirt, banner, cheer, and a verse that go along with that theme. Our theme was "Unmask Yourself", basically meaning take off the mask that you put on to blend with the world and repent to the Lord, showing your true self. I don't quite remember our verse, but our banner and t-shirt were awesome, as well as our cheer. I will post a video of our cheer as soon as I can, but for some reason It won't load on my computer, so i'll have to get it off my mom's. (She has an apple, therefore her computer is 10000x more function then my dinky old dell). But in the meantime, here is our banner(s) and t-shirts (you can see the verse on the back of the t-shirt):

Freshmen Year Banner...1st Year of 1st Place in Banner Competition!

This Year's Banner...1st Place for the 4th Year in a Row!

Here is the Front Design on our T-shirt. Sorry it's a little blurry =\

And the design on the back. The Verse Says: "But we all, with unveiled faces, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." - 2 Corinthians 3:18

As for the other classes:

Juniors: Olympics - Navy Blue
Sophomores: Survivor - Green
Freshmen: Dark Knight - Purple (They wanted to be black, but we got 1st choice)

We took 1st place in the banner, cheer, and t-shirt. I can't remember all the events we won, but I know we won the refrigerator box race! (That was the one event I took place in!!!)

It was SUCH a fun night, as was the whole week. It was spirit week the whole week of Riot Night, so each day was a different theme, as follows (I put what I wore/represented):

Monday - Ethnic Pride (Ireland and Germany!)
Tuesday - Hat Day (Various Hats... I mostly wore my moose hat but I also wore my sox world championship hat, my regular sox hat, my "elmer fudd" hat, and my tricorner hat I got in williamsburg).
Wednesday - Sports Day (Trot Nixon 2004 World Series Jersey, Red Sox sweatshirt, Red Sox world championship 2007 tshirt, and red sox world champs 2007 hat)
Thursday - Clash Day (Various clashing things...)
Friday - Class Colors Day (BLACK!!!!)

I'll post one picture from each day so you can get the idea of things:

My Best Friend Heather and I on Ethnic Pride Day (See...I wore my Ireland hooded sweatshirt and underneath I wore a long sleeve black waffle shirt, on top of that a red polo shirt, and on top of that a yellow shirt to make the black red and yellow german colors. Oh yea! Heather represented England if you can see the flag on her shirt)
I took a lot of pics on hat day but this was one of my favorites. Thats me w/ my favorite teacher (even though I don't have ANY classes with him...he teaches 9th and 11th grade bible) Mr. Fennelly!!! We are always in a bit of a rivalry cuz he is a HUGE yankees fan...bleh!
Heather and I on Sports Jersey day.

My friend John and I on clash day. I was wearing his hat in this picture. It was a red sox cooperstown hat from 1931!!!! SWEET!!!!
My friend Andrea and I on Riot Night. Heather managed to get herself in the picture too. =P

Overall it was the best week of my senior year so far. I had TONS of fun...and it was a nice relaxing week before getting my wisdom teeth pulled. Anyway, I'm lying in bed but I need to get some homework done, so I'm going to go read history. I'll be updating more maybe today or this week...since I'll be in bed quite a bit ;)

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love." - John 15:9

*EDEE*

P.S. There is this site called Picnik where you can edit photos easily for free. (There are a few premium features that cost you $24.95 a year...but the non-premium free ones are just as good!) Here are some photos from spirit week I edited on there...they came out awesome! Expect more soon!

From Left To Right: (Back) Me, Eric, (Middle) Andrea, Heather, (Front) Dylan's Hat, Ms. Heaton...EVERYONES FAVORITE BIOLOGY TEACHER! Even though none of us take bio...except dyland. But u can only see his hat =P
Here is that pic of Mr. Fennelly and I. I cropped it so that it is just us and made it look like a drawing. =) I really like the way it turned out

Day 7 of the Killer Headache

2008-11-08T16:23:00.002-05:00

Ok...so I have had the worst, most atrocious headache known to mankind...FOR THE PAST 7 DAYS!!!! Its been on and off, never in the same spot, so it hasn't really worried me, but it is getting kind of annoying. Thank goodness today it has not been as bad. Hopefully it'll be gone by tomorrow.

Anyway...so what have I been up to lately?

Well, right now, working on a giant load of school work. I've been sick with another cold flu thing this week so I wasn't able to get a lot of homework done over the week. So can you take a guess what I have to do this weekend? Yes...homework. Also, if I don't get it done mom says I can't go to debate practice on tuesday, which I REALLY NEED TO DO! I am competing in my first tournament on Saturday, so I really need practice.

In other news, I finally got to meet my friend Eric's sister Becky this week. She is really cool, she flies an F18 Super Hornet for the Navy!!! Totally cool! It was really nice to meet her. She told some pretty cool flying stories, and we had fun talking to her at lunch. So wednesday was a good day. ^_^

Anyway...like I said, I have a lot of HW, just wanted to update a little bit.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9

-EDEE-

Get Out There and VOTE!

2008-11-04T21:12:00.004-05:00

GET OUT THERE AND VOTE PEOPLE! YOUR FREEDOM DEPENDS ON IT!!!

Busy as a Bee

2008-11-02T16:57:00.005-05:00

I'm very sorry I have not updated in quite some time, but I am very, very busy. School has been taking over my life...not to mention other extra-curricular activities, and my nephew caiden has been visiting this week.

I'd like to start off by saying, Congrats Phillies! I'm really glad they won. It was well deserved.

Anyway, like I said, Caiden is visiting. He's been so darn cute. He's all smiles. Of course, like most 3-year-olds, he has his moments. Like last night, he refused to sit in his booster seat. We've been letting him sit on the chair like a big boy, but we finally realized that he is just too short for the table and he is all squirmy when he isn't in his booster seat. So when we told him he had to he threw a tantrum. So we put him in time out. Problem solved, after thinking it over for a while, he decided that booster seat was better then time out.

Yesterday I took him to the park. My sister was a little nervous because I had never driven with him alone in the car before, but it was fine. I drove EXTRA safely. He had so much fun at the park and I got some really great pictures!

So Happy at the Park!

"I'm Ironman!"

He Loved going down the big slide.

Wooooah!

He was such a good little boy! I hope I can do it again sometime soon.

Anyway, I have a lot of math, history, english, and vocab to finish up. So I might update a bit more later. I just got a new camera (its a Nikon D90) so I've been taking a lot of pics! So there is so much more to add!!!

*EDEE*

"We love because he first loved us." - 1 John 4:19

Wow...How Do They Do It?

2008-10-17T07:08:00.007-04:00

Last night's game held the fate of the Red Sox. I was so pumped to watch it, I had seen this situation before. Behind in the series 1-3, if the Sox lost it would be the end of the season for them. I got all comfy on the couch with my trusty red sox hat on and my little puppy curled up next to me. I WAS READY!

Then it started. In the first inning Dice-K gave up a homer, putting the Rays on the board 2-0. It only got worse from there. By the middle of the 7th it was 7-0, with little hope for the Red Sox. So I turned the TV off. I couldn't bare to watch it anymore. It was just to painful.

Then, at 5:00 AM this morning, I was in and out of sleep. I kept dreaming about the Red Sox losing. I could hear the sportscaster saying "And for the first time ever the Red Sox have lost a series at home". It was painful. So I kind of shook myself awake and began feeling around my nightstand until I found my cellphone. (I have ESPN updates on my phone. It's free!!! ^_^) As the updater opened the little fact thing on the bottom was something about Evan Longoria's homerun record. I thought, "Oh great...they lost." And then...

...the opening page came up. And the headline read "J.D. Drew's hits save the game".

My heart stopped. I quickly got myself to the Red Sox clubhouse page only to find that in the last 3 innings of the game, the Red Sox rallied themselves up to win the game 8-7. I don't know how they do it. They are just so amazing. And I love them!!!!

So that was my happy moment for the day. No school for me today, I have some sort of virus. My throat is really scratchy and my nose is kinda runny =\

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." -Proverbs 3:5,6

*EDEE*

A Mix I made

2008-10-13T16:22:00.003-04:00

Ok...this is dorky. I made a mix on this really cool website I found of all my favorite songs off of Rock Band. So...enjoy!

-EDEE-

Update: I'm really sorry some of these songs have curses in them. They don't in the rock band version (obviously) so I really didn't realize they would be in the real versions. Stupid me...shoulda listened to all the songs before posting them. So far the only song I know with a lot of curses in it is Creep by Radiohead. Sorry about that. Just skip that one for now. If there are anymore I'll let you know.

Oh, How I love my Red Sox (^_^)

2008-10-11T16:38:00.006-04:00

Oh man, I really do. Last night my boys beat the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 in the opener of the series. I can't tell you how happy this made me. Seriously, there is something about that team that makes any bad day of mine turn into a good day.

Now let me tell you, and some of you will probably say, "Oh that is so stupid" or "She is crazy", but I believe that God made me a Red Sox fan for a reason, and that they won the 2007 world series last year for a reason: For me. Now, I don't mean that the red sox were down in the dug out going, "We're going to do this for Erin! This world series is for her!" I mean that last October, when I was as sick as I had ever been in my life, the Red Sox made me the happiest girl on earth. (Please don't get me wrong here, I don't mean to say that God couldn't lift up my spirits but the Red Sox could, I'm saying God lifted up my spirits through the Red Sox.)

I mean, people are always asking me, "How did you get to be a red sox fan anyway?" and I never had an answer. It's true. I've lived in NJ my whole life, and I had only been to Boston once in June of 2004 (when I first became a fan...and don't give me that "oh you just became a fan because they won the world series" junk. I became a fan early in the 2004 season and had absolutely NO WAY of knowing that they were going to go as far as winning the world series). There was no real good explanation for why I was a fan, I just kinda liked them. But then last year I discovered the reason.

I remember it. I was sitting on the couch with my mom and dad and we were watching the Red Sox/Indians game. Now, this was a rare sight because my parents NEVER watch baseball (now they do. I've gotten them both to be red sox fans, my mom more then my dad. But my dad actually took me to a game, so thats when he became a fan.), but they had decided to watch with me that night because I had a particullarly bad day where I really wasn't feeling well and all I wanted to do was watch the Red Sox game. Well, that was the night that J.D. Drew hit a grand slam, helping the Red Sox win the game. I remember jumping up in the air, completely forgetting I was sick, and just feeling better then ever.

From that point on I always tell people that I'm a red sox fan because thats what God wanted me to be. Just for that one moment. They have gone above and beyond what I expected them to do when I first became a fan. I'm just madly in love with those red sox.

In August, I got to go see my first game with my dad when the played the Texas Rangers, winning 10-0. Here are some pictures of that:

Dad and I at the game, I believe that's Jason Bay up to bat behind us! (^_^)

Two of my favorite players, J.D. Drew (7) and Dustin Pedroia (15)

Dusty @ Bat!

David Ortiz!

Pitching ace Dice-K Matsuzaka in front of the Green Monster score board

Anyway, I just wanted to share that with ya'll. Sorry to those of you who don't like the sox, you are really missing out. ;)

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." - James 1: 2,3

~*EDEE*~

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Now playing: The Jimi Hendrix Experience - All Along The Watchtower
via FoxyTunes

2008-10-05T14:34:00.006-04:00

Sorry, it has been forever since I've updated. I have been extremely busy with school, church, homework, physical therapy, chinese, etc. So don't expect me to be posting every day, but perhaps I will try a little harder to update.

So let me give you a brief summary of what I've been doing since September 26, when I last updated. I'll just stick to the important stuff though, not like, a day-to-day explanation of what I was doing (mostly because I can't remember every single thing I did).

So, September 30, which was a Tuesday, my senior class got to go to Princeton to take candid pictures around the campus for our yearbook. Every year they do this with the senior class, and it is a lot of fun. We got to Princeton around 9:45-10:00ish and spent til around 11:30 taking candid pictures. Then from 11:30-1:15 we got to go off with our friends and do whatever we wanted. It was sooo much fun! Here are a few of my favorite pics I took:

Me up on this wall next to this statue. It was a really scary climb!

My friends Heather and Eric decided to climb up too!
Haha we were taking pictures in this fountain and Heather kept splashing and getting me wet!

Anyway, that was all really fun. Then yesterday I got to the SATs. (-_-) I hate the SATs. 4 hours sitting in a classroom taking a test is entirely to long! It wore me out for the rest of the day.

Well, that all thats really happened to tell you the truth, that I can remember anyway. I'll update more often from now on so you can get a little more insight on my day to day life. Anyway, I have a lot of homework to do. Plus I have to leave in 2 hours to go pick up my friend Andrea because we have a meeting at school tonight for our D.R missions trip! I'm excited to go to the D.R....not that excited about going to school on a sunday night. But, you gotta make sacrifices every now and then.

I'll update later, maybe even tomorrow.

"And he said: 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.'" -Matthew 18:3-6

-EDEE-

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Now playing: Paul McCartney - Too Many People
via FoxyTunes

A Good, but Long Day

2008-09-26T21:46:00.005-04:00

Today was a pretty darn good day, but it felt like it dragged on FOREVER. I was glad to be in bed tonight knowing that the day was over.

It was pouring when I woke up, but after about 9:00 A.M the rain had died down to almost nothing. =\ So I dragged my rain coat to school for no reason, ugh. My moms response to that was, "Well, because you brought your rain coat it didn't rain. So if you didn't bring it it would've rained."

Anyway, best class of the day today: Worldview

You know, I really like worldview. It's a great class. I had expected it to be a boring class that I would just DREAD...but I'm pretty sure its my favorite class now. We're reading How Now Shall We Live by Charles Colson, a book that I believe everyone should read. When I saw it my first thought was, "Oh geez, a nice big book that I can painfully make my way through," but now it's like, my favorite book.

Anyway, overall I felt really good today. Went to P.T (physical therapy) at 4:30 which was good. Felt kinda lazy today, but I got a better workout then wednesday because I was feeling better today. However, I think I'm developing the cold flu thing. It comes on and off, keep getting sore throats and stuffy noses.

Well, I'm going to bed. I am falling asleep as I type. G'nite!

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Listen, my sons to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching. They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck."
-Proverbs 1:7-9

*EDEE*

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Now playing: The Beatles - This Boy
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Praise God!

2008-09-24T21:06:00.005-04:00

God is Good! I woke up this morning and felt good enough to go to school, hooray! I know, most kids would say, "Ugh...I don't want to go to school," but we should be appreciative of our education! Think of all those kids who can't go to school. Who don't even have schools or they can't go to school because they need to stay home and work to support their family!!! This is why I don't take school for granted.

School seemed to go by really fast today. I have band first period, which always seems to fly by quickly, but even bible went quick! Computer Apps was ridiculously easy...all we did was make a table and add clip art to some article. Oh yea, and we underlined a few words...ooooh so hard. So, pretty much the rest of the period I played minesweeper and talked to my best friend Heather. It was pretty great.

Chapel went by quick to, the kids who went to Belize over the summer for a missions trip just did a slide show and talked about their experience, so that was great. The rest of the day went by fast to, it was just over all a good school day.

Physical Therapy (PT) was not as fun. I have a bit of a hurt shoulder (I didn't actually do anything to it. I hurt it like, 3 years ago snowboarding but that shouldn't still be bothering me. It started acting up 2 years ago right when I was trying out for softball, so I think that could have caused it to flare up or something. Either that or its Delaney Syndrome*. ) and an achey knee that my Physical therapist Sharon has been working on for quite some time. I usually enjoy working out, but this afternoon I just wasn't feeling that good still so I just tried to take it easy and pull through.

But overall, its been a pretty good day. Looking forward to tomorrow, debate club meeting! (^_^) yea, i know, that was really dorky. BUT I LIKE DEBATE! ITS FUN!

Oh, please pray for Darren LeBlanc, his wife Misty went up to be with Jesus last night after a long battle with brain cancer. Please just keep Darren and his daughter Olivia in your prayers.

"And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you suffered a little while will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen."
-1 Peter 5: 10,11

~ERIN~

*Delaney Syndrome: My sisters, my father, and I always have had horrible physical aches and pains, sometimes with no explanation (i.e my shoulder), so jokingly my PTherapist and I call it "Delaney Syndrome"

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Now playing: Various Artists - Shout to the Lord (Idol Gives Back Performance)
via FoxyTunes

Still Sick

2008-09-23T10:55:00.003-04:00

Well, so much for going to school yesterday afternoon.

I started to get ready to go again, and then I just couldn't. My stomach was killing me and I just didn't have the energy. I ended up sitting on the couch with my mom reading history. It was actually really great, and we took some ADORABLE pictures of our toy poodles, Cosette (5 years) and Louis Napoleon (6 months). Here are a preview of those pictures:

Top: Cosette (brown) is finally letting her little brother (black) to snuggle up to her
Bottom: Louis taking a nap

But it ended up being a pretty OK evening. We went to target after reading history to get Lays Stax (they are my favorite gluten-free potato chips! They are the only mainstream potato chips I've found that are made on completely gluten free equipment! The regular lays chips are not guaranteed to be gluten free). Target is the only place we've been able to find them but they only had 3 cans yesterday!!!! So my mom is going to write the grocery stores in our area and tell them they need to order some for me, either that or we will order them online. They are so good I'm addicted. But we also got some other stuff...heres what else we bought:

I got 4 pair of star wars ankle socks (they were in the $1 bins and I thought they were awesome)
A darth vader light up yo-yo (also in the $1 bins)
Some "The Office" magnets
A pair of knock off converse
My mom got some magnetic to-do lists
Birthday cards for my nephew Caiden (he just turned 3!)
Batman slippers for Caiden (to go with his batman action figure we bougth him)
A bunch of Batman birthday stuff (cups, plates, etc.)

When we got back I wasn't feeling well, and I didn't feel well all night last night. I had horrible stabbing stomach pains, so I ended up sleeping on the bathroom floor (I didn't really feel like I was going to throw up, but sometimes sleeping there when I'm sick just makes me feel better), and this morning I woke up and still didn't feel well. Anytime I seemed to eat something my stomach would begin hurting.

Well...we ended up going to my school about an hour or two ago to go get my books I need, so I need to get going on that school work. Can't afford to be behind!!!

Oh, and Praise God! I just ate a bunch of those Stax I told you about, and for the first time since sunday night, my stomach isn't hurting after eating! HE IS SO GOOD TO ME!!!

"Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy."
- Psalm 28:6

-EDEE-

P.S. Please Pray for Misty LeBlanc (click link to learn why)

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Now playing: Paul McCartney - Jenny Wren
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Let the Rambling Begin

2008-09-22T09:55:00.005-04:00

So here I am, starting yet ANOTHER blog. I've tried to make many other blogs before, but I either have lost interest in writing them or don't even know what to write about! So after looking over a lot of other peoples blogs, I decided I would just use this blog to tell about my days and stuff, and hope to find some peoples interest.

So today. Well, its only 10:00 AM right now, so I haven't had much of a day yet. I woke up to my alarm (it's my phone alarm, and it plays Tessie by the Dropkick Murphys if you want to know) at 5:45 AM and pressed the snooze three times until 6:00 AM. I got up, started to eat my breakfast, and then began to feel awfully sick.

Here is where I should probably tell you some key facts about myself:

I have Celiac Disease (which is a gluten-intolerance for those of you who don't know)
I am lactose intolerant
I am a bit sensitive to corn
I was sick for all of last year (about august 2007 - may 2008) until i was diagnosed with celiac diease (since on the gluten-free diet I have gotten better)

Well, last night my dad and I went to the Houlihan's near us and silly me forgot to tell them, first that they needed to be very careful not to cook my food near other food that has wheat in it, and second that i was lactose intolerant. So I'm pretty sure they may have been butter on my brocolli last night, hence the sickness this morning.

But I'm starting to feel better. My mom is downstairs making me white rice (I always eat white rice when I'm sick...it makes me feel better) so pretty soon I'm going to go down there and eat some and then probably head out to school. My school is an hour away (I know...a long way to go to a school. But it's a christian school and I love it!) so I should get going as soon as I can. But i'm still sort of waiting to feel 100%, but that probably wont happen so when I get to about 85% I'll go...which will be soon cuz I'm at about 80% right now.

But it's ok that i missed a bit this morning....I mean, all I have 1st period is band (I play the trumpet) and second period I have Bible...which is important, but I can get the notes from one of my friends. Then 3rd I have study hall (^_^) and then 4th I have british literature. Oh geez I have a vocab quiz in that class today...oh well. I can take it during my 5th period study hall if I make it by then (which I think I will.)

But so thats how my days gone so far. I've just been laying in bed this morning...watched the end of the Mighty Ducks 2 and listening to my ipod right now. I love music.

"Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song."
-Psalm 95:2

~EDEE~

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Now playing: The Rolling Stones - Dear Doctor
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