Jokes

I keep forgetting to do #reviewsdaytuesday. Dang it.

This morning, I have been watching youtube videos. I really enjoy Mike Falzone's videos because I think they're funny. Mike Falzone reminds me of my brother to some extent.

My brother has always been funny and quick witted, and at one point in time he wanted to be a comedian. He even talked about and worked on a routine of jokes and stories for a talent show type thing at the church, but never went through with it. I pick on my brothers, particularly James for his lame jokes and annoying trumpet music, but I think they're pretty great.

I think James could easily work up some jokes and be a comedian like Mike Falzone. I like the way he posts a couple of videos a week, and I'm tempted to talk to James to see if he would like to do the same thing. He wouldn't even have to do any editing or uploading if he didn't want to. I could easily just add his channel to my account and upload it myself after I edited it if he wanted to.

I think I might talk to him about it when he gets home today, because I think it would be really cool. It wouldn't have to be that often, maybe just once a week or something. I wish he would keep a notebook of joke ideas. He's currently more obsessed with being a trumpet player than anything else.

In other news, the weather is freaking cold again, and I thought up an idea for a music video last night. Whoo! No more creative block!

-EW

The Murderous Mood Monday

Sorry I didn't blog last week. I was really tired from DNOW and I had a ton of homework to do and I was getting stuff ready for the huge garage sale that my grandma and I are having (hopefully) this week. If you're in the area, you should totally stop by since we have a ton of stuff from antique furniture and knick nacks to clothes and prom dresses and books and textbooks and toys and dishes and crystal. Its gonna be great.

I got out of bed this morning because my dog was tearing up paper. I thought it was just some random paper. But no. Nonononononononono. It was some of my favourite scrapbooking paper. I could have killed her then and there. The pack of paper was originally on the couch and had been for about a week. I just had forgotten to put it back in the box that I keep scrapbooking stuff in. I guess maybe my brother knocked it off this morning. You would think that he would pick it up. Apparently not. Jerk.

I'm really frustrated this morning. I want to punch something. Instead, I have to do chores (because I came home from a sleepover to a sink full of dirty dishes and all of the laundry hampers full of dirty clothes) because apparently I'm the only person who will do chores. Plus, I have english homework. I put Puddin' outside in her pen so that I don't have to deal with her little destructive butt, but she keeps whining. GAESILTfhawno;eurdfh nc;owaisfh;odk,.

Yes, I am in a murderous mood. Thankfully, I have the ability to control myself to the extent that nothing will die. Enjoy the sherlock meme while I go try to live my life.

-EW

DNOW 2014

OMG, you guys. I am so glad I got to spend the weekend with these kids at dnow. They're hilarious and fun to be around, but also know how to get serious and do what Christ calls them to. There were like 7 or so in my small group (9-10 grades) and more than 30 kids total. 10 of them came to know Christ/were rededicated their lives. The band that led worship was amazing (as the hart) and fun to hang around with and the guest pastor (James Patrick) was awesome also. They even came with us to missions.

When I first got there, I was unsure about the whole thing because I felt like God had just thrown me in. Of course, throwing me in is God's favourite means of reconciliation, it seems. I don't feel quite as lost and disconnected from God, and I'm certainly working to get closer to him. I wish I could do that like once a month (certainly not every weekend, because I seriously need sleep).

The only bad thing that happened was when we went to make a McDonalds run. There were four of us in the car and we got hit by another car on the way back. By God's grace, we managed to all be perfectly fine except a few bruises and aches. The car needs two doors replaced. But it could have been a lot worse.

I have a ton of homework to do, most of which is due today, so I'll talk to you tomorrow on #reviewsdaytuesday.

-EW

DNOW and Knitting

Today, I have to be up at the church at 5:30 for DNOW. And I won't come home until Sunday after church. Whoo. This means that I have to pack today. But I also have to wash dishes, do english and history homework, take the dog outside, get the mail, look up scriptures, wash clothes, and finish mentally preparing myself to be a fun and knowledgeable and reliable leader for a bunch of teenage girls.

During our outing yesterday, Sarah and I looked at guitars and decided that we both need 3/4 size ones in order to feel comfortable when playing. There was a $60 one that I was tempted to buy, but I'd rather save up a bit before I try and buy one and learn how to play it. I'd also like to have a place to put it. We also stopped by Wal-Mart and I picked up some knitting needles. So, I'm working on my second hat.

I finished the first one just as Sarah and I left for town. Its really cute and it was pretty easy. Its not perfect, but I plan to make future ones better. I wish I could knit all day today instead of knitting a few rows each time I sit down to take a break.

-EW

Best Friend Date

Today, Sarah and I are going on a mini Best Friend Date. Those are always really fun, no matter what we go and do. Today, I think we're supposed to be stopping by the guitar shop in our town because she needs to get her brother's guitar re-strung. We're also going to look around a little bit because I want to see what ukuleles and what smaller guitars they have. And we're supposed to be going out to eat also. Like fast food or something. Probably Sonic. I just like spending time with Sarah because she's one of the few human beings that actually considers me a friend.

I found a video that someone had shared on facebook today about siblings. So, I thought I would share it and tag my brother. But when I went to tag my brother, there was no way for him to be tagged. So I looked it up. And he deleted me from his friends on facebook. Because he's a little jerkface. Why, I don't know, but I sent him a friend request because I like the ability to see what he's doing when he's on the internet. And its not like I tag him in EVERYTHING or post on his wall all the time or send him game requests. Like, we barely interact online. And I'm not nearly as annoying with my posts as some of the people he's friends with. I don't know what his deal is.

In other news, yesterday I started teaching myself how to knit. With pencils though, because I don't have any knitting needles. I might be able to get some while we're out and about today. Maybe not. Anyway, I'm making a red beanie type hat. Its not going to be perfect, so I'll probably not sell it. Just keep it for myself like I have with some of my other "first" projects. I would like to make some socks at some point, but that will take some learning before I can do that.

-EW

DNOW and Being Shamed

I found out yesterday that I am going to spend this weekend at DNOW. Its a weekend retreat type thing that our church does for kids in the youth group. They stay at the homes of people in the church and spend time doing service projects and learning about being more Christ-like. Its like a mini church camp thing. I'm supposed to be a group leader, which means I get to be kind of like a mentor and friend and role model for these teenage girls that will be in my group. I've never really done anything like this, so I'm kinda scared.

God knows what he's doing though. Maybe I'll learn something or affect someone in a positive way. I feel a bit like Moses being told to go talk to Pharoah. I don't know how to speak well or relate to my audience. I wasn't a normal kid and I'm not perfect. But I'll go if he tells me to go.

My mom did the whole shaming thing yesterday. You know, the one where she asks me what homework I have due today and then segways into how she "wonders when I'll start actually cleaning the house". I hate it. Its not like I don't do anything while I'm at home. I wash clothes every day. Yesterday I spent a long time getting rid of clothes and folding clothes. And I've been washing dishes and cleaning house pretty much every other day. She's never satisfied. And no one else in the house helps except maybe washing a single load of clothes when they need a specific clothing item or taking out the trash once in a while. Heck, I'm practically the only one who takes the dog out. And she always does this right before I'll be going away or doing something that will prevent me from being at home all the time. GAH. I love my mother, she just drives me crazy sometimes.

I have to go rush through homework so that I can wash the sink full of dishes and sweep the floors and clean up the living room and fold all the clothes and shove them into the tiny closets and put up things that have no place to go in the tiny house that we live in . I hate life sometimes.

-EW

#ReviewsdayTuesday "This Star Won't Go Out"

One of the last youtube videos posted by the vlogbrothers talked about them starting this reviewsday tuesday thing where everyone reviews a book on tuesday and tags it with "reviewsdaytuesday" on whatever platform they use. I figure that now is a good of a time as any to do this, so today I'm reviewing "This Star Won't Go Out".

I bought this book basically the day that it came out thanks to my kindle. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have read it yet since I don't get the chance to go to a bookstore very often. There was a lot of built up hype around this because it is a very unique book about/by a person who is very special to the Nerdfighter community, Esther Earl. I don't want to tell all of her story because you should totally read the book, plus you can visit tswgo.org for more information.

I know that I've talked about this book and Esther before, so I won't go into an extreme amount of detail. Esther was a teenage girl who had cancer and passed away several years ago. TSWGO started out as an organization in her memory/honor that helps families of sick children be able to afford to be with their kids. A few months ago, they released a book of the same name that tells the story of Esther.

The book is uniquely compiled in that it contains an introduction by her friend and favourite author (and my favourite author too), John Green. Then, her friends and family wrote/answered questions about Esther and their part in the whole thing. These various segments are scattered throughout the book in between journal entries and poems and drawings and pictures of Esther. It really was a beautiful book to read.

The only things that I didn't like were kind of things that couldn't be fixed. I really wished that it was longer. But there is only so much about someone's life that you can know. I also think that it could have been designed better for the kindle. There were times that I really hated reading on the kindle because the pictures were hard to see and I couldn't really zoom in. Lastly, I wish that I could have met Esther. Like, I just feel like she would be someone that I look up to, and in a way, she is.

If you do read this book, which you totally should, prepare to cry. There were times that I felt myself tearing up and I don't hardly cry at books and movies. Also, prepare to be ready to conquer the world and make a difference as soon as you set it down. Like, that was the first thing that I wanted to do. I felt like because Esther was such a great person and I could relate to her in so many ways, I could suddenly do anything. Or, almost like I needed to do something to change the way the world was. So, for starters, I put up some products on my online store that I will donate part of the proceeds to TSWGO (lizardbreath.storenvy.com).

-EW