White {Almost} Christmas

As a late Christmas present, God gave me snow. While I don't think I could survive in a constantly snowy climate, I do love seeing snow every now and then. When my weathermen were talking about a possible white Christmas, I tried my best to resist getting too excited just in case it didn't happen. But really, I was like a little kid absolutely giddy at the thought of all the snowflakes. It was so hard to hold in my squeals of anticipation.

When I woke up yesterday morning, I was hoping to see snow but was quickly disappointed as I peeked out my window. I got myself ready for church like any other Sunday morning, periodically checking outside for any wintery activity. Not long before we left for the sevice, freezing rain started to fall and the precipitation bounced around on our patio out back. And then I squealed every time I saw a little flurry of snow swirling through the air.

We bundled up and drove the two blocks to the church, meeting a very small representation of our normal congregation. Truth be told, if we lived farther than two blocks, we probably would have skipped too. It's funny, when the choir came down after their special, the crowd on the floor doubled. Haha! Why we didn't cancel like the rest of eastern North Carolina, I've no idea. But then about halfway through the service, I was kinda glad we didn't.

While at church, the mix of flurries and freezing rain had turned to all snowflakes floating from the sky and coating the ground. I tried so very hard to pay attention to dad's sermon, but often got distracted while I watched out the window in awe. It was so cool to be singing Christmas carols and praising God while our surroundings started to look like a winter wonderland. It was so beautiful!

When the service was over, I giggled like a little girl and pressed my nose to the cold sanctuary window to watch the giant flakes fall. My new friend who just came here from Seattle didn't get the big deal, but I think he was just cranky because he's bald and didn't want his head to get cold. I didn't care about my head getting cold or even my hair getting messed up, but I certainly enjoyed dancing around in the parking lot afterwards.

Here are some pics I took of the snow...

Apart from falling on my butt twice while walking on the slippery roads shown in the third pic, this was the best Christmas weekend ever.

The Livestock's Christmas

On Sunday, we had a very interesting Bible study meeting. We deviated from our studies of the Sermon on the Mount to do a special Christmas story exercise. After reading the Christmas story from Luke 2, a few of us retold the story from the perspective of certain key characters. There was a retelling concerning Mary, Joseph, and the Shepherds as anyone would expect. But I was assigned the livestock. That's right, the livestock. Here's how I think it sorta went that first Christmas night...

It was like any normal evening in that Bethlehem stable. The cows, pigs, sheep, and goats were flinging yo mama jokes across the room. Every now and then one of the cows would have the audacity to say "Your girlfriend's a heifer!" to one of the other cows. The jumpy sheep were so happy that the angry cows were in their own stalls. When the pigs weren't being obnoxious, they would ask the other animals when the food was gonna get there.

Unexpectedly, the door was opened and their owner entered with no food, but rather a couple of unfamiliar humans. As they moved sluggishly past the pigs, they snorted that these tired and sweaty people smelled worse than they did a week after their baths. The shorter of the two with the higher-pitched voice patted the heads of the shy sheep who suddenly decided they may very well like the new people who settled themselves in the corner.

They soon noticed the unusual form of the short one and some of the animals became alarmed. They asked among themselves why she was so fat. "Maybe she is sick?" a cow inquired. The pigs selfishly began asking about food for the fifteenth time that day, and then the old grumpy goat in another corner glared at the annoying swine, saying "Maybe she ate too much bacon." If only you could have heard the chorus of the animals' laughter as the pigs grunted at the joke, but to Mary and Joseph's ears it sounded of only moo's and baa's.

The stable had been calm for a while as the animals enjoyed people-watching, but then the woman started to make some less than calming noises. As she got louder, the sheep scurried as far away as possible while the cows peered out of their stalls to see what was happening. They soon regretted that. Quickly, the stable became abuzz with animal chatter, saying...

"Oh my gosh, what's happening to the woman?"

"That's not normal, is it?"

"Is she broken?"

"OH! OH GROSS! MY EYES, MY EYES!!"

"Make it stop!! MAKE IT STOP!!"

"I'll have nightmares about this for weeks!"

"Where's my food?"

"What IS that wrinkly thing?!"

"It's gross! ...but cute!! ... but gross!"

"Why are they setting it in my food trough?!?!?!"

The chatter died down as the little human looked around at all the animals. Silence fell upon them and chills went down each of their spines when they realized this was something special. This was not a normal mini human. This... this was their Creator. The one who painted the spots on the cows, carefully designed the pigs' twisty tails, and formed the legs of the frolicking sheep. Even the grumpy old goat had to fight off tears of joy as he came face to face with God himself. Their only regret was that they couldn't follow him home and see what He was here to do.

I've no idea what went through the minds of those animals that night, but it is certainly fun to imagine. In all seriousness, please remember that Christmas isn't about Santa, food, and presents. It's about remembering God's gift to us - Salvation through Jesus. Merry Christmas, my friends!

Happy Birthday To Me

Today is my birthday!!! I have turned 22 years old, and I'm expecting gray hairs and wrinkles to show up any minute now. As soon as I'm done typing this post, I'm going to do some online research for good canes. Preferably pink sparkly ones.

I've never been a fan of huge birthday parties, and nowadays I'm a little suspicious that big parties are nothing more than a scam to get as much stuff as possible from people you may or may not really care about. When I worked at a local ice cream shop, I would help with birthday parties where the honored kid would invite everyone they know and end up with a mountain of presents they couldn't even fit into the car. And many of these weren't cheap! Instead, I prefer to have my birthday with just my family.

Since I like small simple outings with my family, we went to Texas Steakhouse and had a delicious lunch. When I was stuffed full of chicken, potato, rolls, and salad, I went to work as normal but had to battle against my body's desire for hibernation. Although the fight wasn't as difficult as it would have been because my family gave me a bag of chocolate. I love my family.

Since I did some redecorating in my room, I got an early birthday present of a pretty shelf and gorgeous candle holder. It's so pretty and goes well with the Charleston pictures I have on display on the adjacent wall. Lookit!

I have never understood the tradition of cake for a birthday. In fact, I've never really understood cake to begin with. It looks super cute if done right, but it's somewhat of a disappointment to me. Sure, it looks like you're getting a huge slice of cake, but the dessert is so full of air! As soon as you get it in your mouth, it deflates as it hits saliva and gets pressured by your jaw. It promises to happify you but then disappears once it's out of your sight! Cake is nothing but lies!

But really, why have cake, when you can have brownies like I did tonight! Brownies that have just been pulled from the oven and are still hot to the touch. Brownies that are crowned by a bar of Hershey's chocolate that soon melts down the sides like wax on a candle. Brownies surrounded by freezing vanilla ice cream that creates a delicious moat around the chocolate castle. When the warm brownie, melted chocolate, and cold ice cream are on your tongue together, it's like a moment of heaven on earth. God bless my sweet mommy for making this for my birthday dessert. I did already say that I love my family, right?

So yeah, I like birthdays. I should have these more often.

Oh The Laughter!

Yesterday, my family embarked on an all-day trip to visit my grandad in Chesapeake Virginia. It was a great visit with him as we got to simply chit chat for a couple hours. But for a moment, we all had the scare of our lives as the fire alarm sounded in the super snazzy assisted living facility. Poor Grace had just got into the hallway bathroom and the alarms started the moment she flipped the "Occupied" switch. She had a hard time stumbling back out of the bathroom because the flashing lights had temporarily blinded her. I would be lying if I said I didn't laugh a little.

As opposed to Grace's discombobulation, Sam immediately went into action in the midst of the lights and annoying noises in Grandad's apartment. Being the awesome sister that she is, she grabbed my jacket and scarf and headed out of the room to investigate. As the residents told her the fire plan was that they all stay in their rooms, the giant metal hallway doors that segment the complex closed. For a moment she feared she was trapped and death was near, and she decided that if her life depended on it she would jump out of the apartment's window. She's watched enough Burn Notice to know how to do it properly.

Fortunately the whole ordeal was just a false alarm which made a good laugh among the more lighthearted residents. But really, this wouldn't have been a successful family trip if there wasn't laughter every 15 minutes. In nearly every trip, I've found myself doubled over in my seat trying to catch my breath multiple times. One of my favorite memories happened on a trip like this almost three years ago. At the time we had XM radio in our minivan and we were listening to Jeff Foxworthy on the Comedy channel. For the life of me I can't remember what he was talking about because I think my subconscious blocked it. But all six of us were painfully laughing and crying, and even dad was laughing so hard he turned cherry red and had to pull the car over on the side of that skinny rural road. For 10 minutes we continued to laugh as our sides and bellies screamed in protest.

It may have been the same trip, I don't quite remember, but once we had a little fun with a Starbucks employee. We pulled up to the drive through and were greeted with a happy male voice saying "If you can guess my name, your order is free!" Dad guessed George but then the guy said we were wrong and that his name was Anthony. We then gave our order and got our ridiculously overpriced gourmet coffee at the window. But just for gigglez, we went back to the drive through and was greeted with the same guessing game. Dad said "Your name is Anthony" and the poor shocked fella stuck his head out of the window and tried to figure out what was going on. Laughing, my dad confessed we'd already been through but just wanted to mess with him. We all waved as we left the drive though and now almost every time I hear the name "Anthony" I have to fight not to laugh.

Our trip yesterday seemed especially full of puns and laughter. During our delicious lunch with Grandad, we all ate until we couldn't stuff another fry in our faces. When asked about dessert, Grace rubbed her belly and said "There's no more room in my inn." I had no idea what she was talking about until the Christmas story reference hit me about 15 seconds later as I laughed and confessed "I just now got that." Then the rest of my table enjoyed laughing at me.

During most of the ride there, I was able to look out the window and see yesterday's snow covering the ground. It was so pretty. And then I finally got to play with some when we stopped at Grandad's place. As we were eating at the Italian restaurant, I held the Parmesan shaker and said "It looks like snow!" Sam immediately took a picture of the shaker and posted in on her Facebook saying "No Mandy, this is a Parmesan container, not a snow globe." I would have tried shaking it, but then that would've had the urge to lick it off the table that's just unsanitary. Here's a pic of my little snow globe friend...

On our way home, we passed a field of cows. One of them was running and it struck Sam funny, so she imitated it complete with totally un-cow-like sound effects and awkward arm motions. I love Sam, but for a moment she looked mentally challenged. She claims she was imitating the cow who appeared to her as mentally challenged, but I don't believe her. Challenged or not, her funny face and unusual antics made her sisters erupt in laughter and a chorus of "DO IT AGAIN!"

During this laughing fit, tears freely rolled down my cheeks and I used tissue after tissue to soak it all up. Innocent and curious, Sam looked at me and asked, "Is your mascara running?" I laughed even harder as I replied "Better go catch it!" It's a wonder that I was able to speak clearly enough for my fellow passengers to understand and appreciate my joke enough to continue their own laughing fits.

While I am very talented at speaking while laughing like a maniac, Lindy still needs tons of practice. At one point in the trip, she was trying to whisper something to Grace but would only get a few words in to her statement before her increasing laughing transformed it into a jumble of incomprehensible noises. The she tried to explain to all of us what she was trying to say, but again got a few words in before her laughing and wheezing dominated her statement that was never completed. She tried a couple more times with no success apart from making us all laugh.

We've all been stuck behind bad smelling trucks, but yesterday we were stuck behind one that smelled of a particularly foul bodily function. I can't say exactly what it smelled like because mom said I couldn't say that on the interwebz, but I think you all get what I'm talking about. At first I thought maybe it was just me that smelled it, but then the next second I heard a Sam sniff. We all looked at each other with inquisitive and accusing eyes, until I saw Grace's face twist in reaction to what she smelled and my silent accusations turned to very loud laughter. Then one by one, we said "Wasn't me!" No one claimed it, so we're blaming it on the mentally challenged cow.

I could go on and on about other things said and done on Carroll car trips but I'm afraid that if I keep typing, my laughter will induce pain on my belly and sides again. Then when I start whining about how my body hurts, I fear that I'll flash back to last night when my adorable mommy defended her slow driving style saying "Fast people should thank me for getting in their way so I slow them down and keep them from getting tickets!" ... Oh, the pain!!!

Lookit The Fishies!

Instead of getting a new TV or game console for the family for Christmas this year, we're taking several mini families trips in our area. We've already done a big expensive dinner together which is super rare. Still on our calendars are the bowling trip and the movie trip, but today we did our trip to the Aquarium in Pine Knoll Shores. It's been years since we've walked through the fish filled building, but it was nice to walk through with all the Christmas trees up and the lights all over the place. Even the big brass critter structures had Santa hats. It was adorable.

Although my phone has a good camera on it, I wish I had a professional one to take some really great pictures. But here are a few things I saw that I thought were cool...

This is an albino baby loggerhead turtle discovered on our beach a few months back. Since I'm in the media, I heard about it the day after they found the cute little thing. I was so glad to get to see him after hearing so much. Since he's unable to survive in the wild, he's going to live a long spoiled life in the aquarium.

Every other time I've been here, the octopus has been hiding in a corner taking a nap. But today he was swimming around giving us a show! He moved all over the tank and stretched his tentacles from one side to the other. For the first time in all my years going to this place, he finally let me take a decent picture.

I love Jellyfishies. As long as their behind glass and not wrapped around my legs, of course. Every time I see them, I think of the movie Finding Nemo. Honestly, I'm surprised it took me until this point to think of the movie! That tells me I need to watch it again. Jellyman!

I can't remember what this one is called, but it cracked me up. It looks so sad and disapproving! I made fun of it, and then it looked all the more disapproving. I love it.

Since we're in a big fishing community, the Aquarium featured many fish that are often caught by our fisherman. They had a tank of Bluefish, and I wanted to take one home and fry it up. As if my mouth wasn't watering enough, they sold fish cookbooks in the gift shop. Is it just me or is it a little weird that they're selling cookbooks at an Aquarium?

There were a couple places at the Aquarium that we sat at for about 10 minutes just watching the animals. One of the otters was having a blast making laps in the pool and annoying his sleeping friends. He was a bit of a show off really. He proved he could swim upside down, but that doesn't mean he has to do it 20 times, ya know? We also sat for a while in front of the giant shipwreck exhibit filled with sharks, loggerhead turtles, and other fishies. It was a very relaxing view, even though the sharp teeth on the sharks kinda freaked me out.

Looking at all the critters, I was amazed at God's creativity and originality. Our little Aquarium houses only a very tiny portion of what God has made and it blows my mind that there are things at the bottom of the ocean that we haven't even discovered yet. But what amazes me even more is that He made all of this and still cares for me. Like, wow.

Going to Narnia! BRB!

In excited anticipation of seeing the new Chronicles of Narnia film "Voyage of the Dawn Treader", I have read the book and I've been reading a few articles online about it. I was shocked recently when I read that the movie was going to stray significantly from the book. I was a little furious at first because who in their right mind would mess with a C. S. Lewis classic and my favoritest Narnia novel?! Oh no they didn't!!! But upon further study, I'm ok with it.

In the book, Prince Caspian is on a voyage to find his father's friends who were sent away during his evil uncle's reign. The search takes him and his crew along with Lucy, Edmund, and their obnoxious cousin Eustace far beyond Narnian maps and into small adventures at each island stop. Although I greatly enjoyed the book, it is a somewhat weak plot line, no offense to my beloved Lewis. According to this article, they are taking some aspects of another Narnia book "The Silver Chair" to make a better story.

While the book's plot line made the story a little slow with no real sense of urgency, I think this change will add more excitement which will help the story work better as a film. Also, this may be an attempt to incorporate as much from the series as possible because I don't think they're planning on making another Narnia movie. It would be awesome to see each of the books acted out on screen, but I don't know that the franchise will survive without the Penvensies who have only small parts if any in the rest of the series. Sure, Lewis fans like me would still hit the theaters, but the remainder of the Narnia books differ greatly from the films already done so I don't know that they would be nearly as successful.

I'm a little curious as to how they merge these two stories together into one movie, but I'm still childishly giddy about seeing this new adaption. The VotDT 1989 mini series on BBC was cool at the time I guess, but the "special effects" need a serious update and I'm glad I get to see it done. Such a book deserves an awesome movie, especially when you can have the voice of Liam Neeson as Alsan. James Earl Jones would make a great Aslan too, but I would make the mistake of calling him Mufasa too often. And we can't have that.

Tangled!

I absolutely loved this movie. I loved it so much that I still would have loved it even if my beloved Zachary Levi was not the voice of one of the main characters. And that's saying a lot. For the past three months I had been planning and looking forward to seeing "Tangled" today, and right before the movie started, I realized I would be devastated if the flick wasn't up to my standards of awesomeness. But for the first time in a very long time, Disney did not let me down.

In this interesting rendition of the classic princess story, our heroine with long magical hair is grounded... for life. For Rapunzel's entire life she was fascinated by the glowing lanterns that float through the sky on her birthday each year, which were really released in honor of her, the missing princess of the kingdom. When the thief Flynn climbs the tower to escape his angry fellow thieves, he is convinced to take Rapunzel out of the tower to see the glowing lanterns. After her brief episode of hilarious bipolarism as she tries to decide between leaving or returning to her tower, she embarks on a journey that changes her life and the lives of everyone she meets.

The story alone was excellent, filled with plot twists, cute songs, suspense, and action sequences. No explosions, but that's ok. Although, the graphic design was beautiful and appeared just as one would imagine their own fairy tale land. There were happy endings all around for everyone but the bad lady who met her end quite deservedly. The once selfish Flynn became Rapunzel's hero at the end of the film, bravely risking his life for the chance at her freedom. She made him a better man. *sniffle*

Apart from the overall amazingness of the story and the presence of my Hollywood crush, there were several other little things about the movie that I adored. One of those things is Pascal. This little chameleon has bit a 'tude and isn't afraid to show it. The ratio of cute to humor to attitude is perfect for this minuscule but necessary character. It has the most adorable smile, but has also mastered the most intimidating of stares. There's no way the little critter can take somebody down, but that look would make anyone think that maybe it could. Now just look at it and tell me you didn't *squee* because it's not the cutest thing Disney has ever created...

Another thing I loved about the movie was the color. Now let me explain. In the last Disney animated flick "The Princess and the Frog", the coloring was mostly dark shades and I didn't like it. Personally, I don't enjoy movies that are full of darker colors because it's generally not as visually happifying. I also didn't like the fact that they killed my favorite firefly, but that's another topic altogether. In "Tangled" however, the coloring was much brighter and vibrant and therefore happier to me. Even when the setting was at night, Disney still somehow managed to insert enough color in the scene to maintain the feel of my ideal fairy tale world. And just in case you're wondering, no, they did not kill my favorite chameleon.

The movie kept me giggling, "awwwww"-ing, and laughing out loud. Probably too out loud. I was so giddy after leaving the crowded theater that I will buy it when it comes out on DVD. Now I won't divulge any more details about the movie, so grab your son, daughter, niece, or nephew and go see it for yourself. If you don't have any of those, then steal a kid from church or something. That is unless you're totally cool with going to see a kid's movie by yourself and getting weird looks from the cashiers. Even if you do, it's absolutely worth it.

My Worst Nightmare

After the epic night-long battle that tested my army's skill more than any prior fight, I ascended to the top of the mountain in exhausted triumph. The bright sunrise we feared we would not live to see glistened on my sweaty skin and blood-stained armor as I raised the royal sword above my head. With my long hair and cape flowing behind me in the wind, I screamed a cry of victory that echoed through the valley. I smiled faintly as it was answered by the cheers of the many brave and faithful men who fought the difficult battle by my side. We stared evil and death in the face, and we had won. With our last few ounces of strength before sleep claimed our war-torn bodies, we raised our cans of Mountain Dew to the sky and drank deeply in celebration. But then I remembered...

"NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

And then I woke up.

Three times that I have remembered in the last few months, my awesome dreams have ended in me having soda, the very drink I vowed to quit for an entire year. The stories orchestrated by my strange subconscious, that I sadly now cannot recall, came to a surprising and sudden end as my real emotions took control and I thought I had partaken of my favorite carbonated beverage before the proper time. While still asleep, I would become so upset I didn't make it to my New Year's Even goal that it would force me to wake up.To date, I have gone eleven months without a single sip of soda. I have soundly defeated the physical and mental need for soda, but it continues to haunt my dreams. It's just not fair, I tell you. I do not understand it!

Honestly, I never thought I'd make it this far. As with any other silly New Year's resolution, I thought I would have broken it by February. But surprisingly, it was my addiction to caffeine that was broken instead of the resolution and I've been going strong for almost the entire year. Right now, I am 30 days away from having a Mountain Dew and I'm more excited about completing a New Year's resolution than actually having the soda. I've got a case of Mountain Dew Throwback chillin' in the fridge in the garage, and it's not calling my name like I expected it to. Although to be completely truthful, it's been sitting out there since July and I often forget about it, haha!

I've been thoroughly warned that when I finally have soda again, my stomach probably won't like it, especially if I try to down multiple cans. They are more than likely correct, so I'll have a bottle of fruity Tums on hand just in case. I'm really wanting the end of December to get here soon, but not so that I can enjoy the deliciousness of soda again. I just don't want to have to deal with those nightmare-ish dream killers anymore. Who knows how many medieval princes, Mr. Darcy's, or Zachary Levi's I could have kissed had I not been so rudely interrupted?! Dang soda.