2012...gee whiz.

You're going to read a gazillion and two posts on various blogs that show complete amazement at another year going by, so I'm not going to be repetitive. Let me just say, though, that it's like I'm climbing a cliff and I've reached a new ledge. I look down at the distance between the last ledge and this one and I see all the rocks, the handholds, the slips, the dust, etc.

This last year was pretty cool. I don't think any year is going to be absolutely perfect or ideal or stunning, but I've gotta say that it was pretty cool. Let's review.

In no particular order:

1. I turned fifteen.
2. I got my learner's permit (beating two older friends and hard on the heels of another...because that's what matters *sarcastically*)
3. I started my sophomore year of high school.
4. I took the practice pSATs.
5. I went to a Communicators for Christ Conference (highlight of the year!)
6. It's been two years (ohmygoodnesstwo?) since all the chemo/radiation that Dad went through.
7. I became an official student leader in my public speaking chapter (coolness, y'all)
8. Our turtle, Tintin, turned one!

And I'm sure there are other small things on the way.

I can't possibly imagine what this year will hold. And honestly, I really can't wait!

I am more reluctant to get back to school, however. *sigh*. It's going to be tough. *prolonged groan*.

Merry Christmas, Y'all

They say miracles don't ever happen. So when it comes time to celebrate one, they stuff it with other things--things with no meaning, no significance. Like gaudy, ribbon-bedecked wrapping paper on an empty carboard box, they manage to dance around the realness, the aliveness, the gloriousness of this special season with songs of gifts and happiness and everything being so perfect.

But there are two things that can't be danced around. We aren't perfect, and miracles happen.

Have you ever seen anything more messy, more broken, more strangled by darkness than us?

O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie, above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by...

What if they're right? What if miracles don't exist? What if nothing ever broke our deathly silence?

In that case, forget all about it. Just let us sleep, tossing uneasily, slipping back into the shadows until we stop twitching and finally let our breath die away. Let our hearts grow cold as they slow. Let death's grip tighten.

Because without a miracle, no little glimmer of light would ever shine. Nothing would bring us to life, no warmth would ever wash over us.

Funny thing is, it did.

Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light. The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

The people walking in great darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. --Isaiah 9:2

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Craziness before Christmas

Yesterday was my piano/voice recital. Please don't ask me how it went. In my opinion, it didn't go so great, but the residents at the nursing home where we performed thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. My favorite part was seeing them tapping the rhythms on the armrests of their wheelchairs and nodding their heads to the tunes. =)

I'm doing the prelude music at our church's Christmas Eve service. Which means more practicing and arranging and hectic-ness.

And I'm also making cookies. =) Gingerbread, chocolate-brown sugar-saltine cracker-butter bark, and peppermint bark I cranked out on Monday. Yesterday I made dough for sugar cookies and I'll bake them today.

Gee, I really wish I could leave you all with something entertaining or profound or interesting. But my wrists are absolutely kiiiillllliiiinnnngggg me.

Actually, pain is a pretty interesting topic. So let's see. Yesterday I had a splinter in my foot, right where I press on the piano pedals. It felt like I was stomping on a needle every single time I pressed on the pedal or walked, and at first I had no clue what it was. As soon as I discovered the tiny little fragment of wood I operated with a sewing needle. It was ridiculously hard to get that thing out!

I think I'm going to gain five pounds before New Years. So many cookies!

I love cookies. I think my favorite are my mom's lemon bars. They are addictive. I would share, but I can't. So sorry. =)

Happy Birthday!

One week exactly from Christmas Eve, I will stop in my Christmas decorating and baking and gift wrapping and say 'happy birthday' to my one-and-only sister--Kara.

How old? Seven, today.

Goodness! Less than a decade from now she'll be driving!

Okay...now I'm scared.

Go to iDream to join!

One of my favorite Christmas memories is going to my almost-relations' house on Christmas Day. You know those friends that you've known for so long that you're basically considered family? Yeah, they were like that to us. Every single Christmas Day we'd drive over to their house. They were Mexican, so we'd always have Mexican food.

Mom and Dad met while working in a Mexican restaurant, and our 'almost-relations' were the owners of the restaurant at the time. Even after they retired and Mom and Dad moved on they'd get together on Christmas for Mexican food that the restaurant once offered.

A couple years ago the 'almost-relations' moved to Florida. Obviously, we can't drive that far on Christmas Day. However, we still have Mexican food. =)

Care to share some of your Merry Memories? Take the button and check out the link to iDream at the top of the post for instructions!

Happy Birthday!

Today my brother, Erestor (so code-named on this blog), turns...wait for it...oh my goodness. Thirteen?

*stunned silence and I stare at the computer screen*

That can't be right.

Unfortunately, I really think it is right.

So, Happy Thirteenth Birthday to my little brother, my best bud, and my closest sidekick!

Wow, this was a short post.

Busy and Lazy

I wish it would actually snow once in a while! I don't think it's ever snowed on Christmas that I can remember...actually, I think last year or sometime kind of in the past there was snow on the ground, but it didn't actually snow.

Now it's just raining. And it's, like, sixty degrees out. Kinda dreary, and it makes me want a cup of hot chocolate only hot chocolate gives me headaches, and I'm not in a tea mood. So I guess I'll just have to settle with water.

You know, I really ought to be doing schoolwork.

Instead I'll make a Christmas wish list. =)

1. A Pudge Rodriguez jersey. My favorite baseball player. =)
2. Dark chocolate. I got hooked this year.
3. Hogan's Heroes. Yeah, dad says we can just get them from Netflix but it's not the same as owning them. Oh, well. Like I said, this is a wish list.
4. Um...I think that's really all I want. Aside from the usual...books. But you know, this year I haven't really read a lot. I've just been so busy, and when I'm not busy I'm lazy.

Speaking of busy (and lazy...), I had better get on and stop being the other.

Where Have I Been?

I don't know where I've been--that's why I just asked you guys that!

=)

So...I've been incredibly busy. NaNoWriMo was awesome (as usual). I reached my goal and am still writing. I think I'm at 54 thousand plus some right now, and I'm just wrapping it up. It's always so sad to say goodbye to my characters. : (

I have been incredibly busy. Oh, I already said that. My attention span has also shortened. I now sympathize with computers who too much to process and who are running out of memory space *gives the family prehistoric PC a big hug...figuratively*.

How has life been, you ask? Incredibly busy. Darn, there I go again. But at least I got my point across. I've been doing a lot with public speaking, and I've been doing a lot with history, and literature, and music, and science, and air rifle, and archery, and life, and my wrists hurt.

Can I get a shoulder to cry on here? Okay, crying might be kinda drastic. I'll just whine in your ear until you get tired of me. =)

How have y'all been? For you NaNo-ers out there, how did it go?

What I'm Thankful For This Year

1. My family. Duh. (Galdor's standing here. I patted him on the head and he punched me in the shoulder. Good thing he can't read what I'm typing!)
2. God. Okay, another 'duh' inserted here because if God wasn't here, we wouldn't be here. If God wasn't here, even if we did exist it would not be a wonderful life.
3. My friends. It's not easy being my friend, after all. I'm kind of grumpy and kind of annoying sometimes.
4. You really cool followers/readers of my blog who've stayed on even though my posts have been random and far in between!
5. Safety, or at least as much as I can have in this world.
6. A really solid education. Three cheers for my mom and dad!
7. My great-grandma, who I love talking to and who has cool stories about college and WWII.
8. Food. =)
9. The freedom to be able to say my thoughts, shoot guns, worship God, own property, and all the others.
10. Getting my learner's permit on the first try!
11. NaNoWriMo. *cue melodramatic sigh* Without it, I would never have found my wings!
12. My speech chapter. Public speaking really uncorked my bottle, so to speak. I never knew all the things I would be able to do until I gave a speech.
13. My church. I love my church because we're like one big family! Everyone knows everyone, and it's so encouraging to go to a building every week that's stuffed with friends. =)
14. Lastly, I'm thankful for the comfort of home. We're staying home for Thanksgiving and having my grandparents and a friend from church over. It's so nice to have a life. =)

And with those random thoughts, I'll leave you all with a Happy Thanksgiving!!!! ringing in your ears!

Wait for it...

You guys are never going to guess in a thousand years what happened to me today.

Oh, by the way, NaNoWriMo's going pretty well. There have been days where I haven't written at all, but I've always managed to catch up. I'm liking my book, and as I write the plot is turning out even better than I expected. But this is the first year that I haven't wrote a book in a little series I was writing. This year the setting and plot and characters are completely brand new. It's kind of like going on vacation for a little bit, if you know what I mean. Fun, exciting, but in the end you get home and you sigh in relief.

I've also developed a knack for long, run on paragraphs. And omitting contractions and that little dash that sometimes connects words.

But anyway...

Guess what I did today!

I GOT MY LEARNER'S PERMIT!!!!!

It's almost surreal. And it's kinda sad too. I mean, there's something about now being lawfully able to get behind the wheel and control this huge hunk of metal that drives childhood right out of you. =(

Anyway, that's really all for now. I just wanted to share that huge milestone with you guys.

How has NaNo been with anyone else?

Aargh. I give up.

Yes, I came back. I think it took me less than two weeks to really start missing you all. I miss sharing things here, just getting stuff out of my brain. So, here I am.

Not that you'll see too much of me, because NaNoWriMo starts...tomorrow. AAAAAAHHHH!

That was a shriek of pure joy. Pure joy, y'all. I am so excited for November, because it's the month that I can actually live like a crazy person and get pep-talks for it (plus a novel in the bargain).

The only problem I'm anticipating is...*sigh*...life. I have a ton of things to do with school work alone (mainly public speaking), but I've heard that the busier you are the funner NaNoWriMo is.

So November is the month of frost and orange-yellow-red-brown trees and Thanksgiving and crazy writers. It is the best month of the year.

By the way, you all should have totally seen the frost this morning. It was this gorgeous white, and then the trees were all orange and red, and the sky was this light frozen blue, and some of the houses had smoke coming out of the chimneys.

I love November.

Is anyone else doing NaNoWriMo?

Izori

Decision

I have made a decision. (duh).

I'm going to take a break--return date yet to be decided--from this blog. I'm not sure when the break's going to end, but I can almost guarantee it's going to be a month...at least.

You see, life is really great right now. But it's so busy that I can't keep up a posting commitment with this blog. Blogging is not fun if it's forced, and lately that's what my posts have been. Forced. Because I have to say something before too much time passes.

I'll still be posting on Anecdote and Traveling Tales, because I know that there's enough people involved with those other two blogs so that if I really can't post every other day, they'll pick up the slack until I can devote more time.

Don't worry. I'll probably be back. Just without having to worry about keeping up with things on here, my mind will hopefully be a little freer.

Hope to see y'all soon,

Izori

Define A Good Day

Different people mean different things when they say, "I've had a good day". Sometimes they mean that they got a lot done. Or they made a new friend. Or they felt happy. Or they had a really fun time.

I guess today was a really good day, but not by any of the definitions above.

I went to church.

The funny thing about your church family is that you're often drawn together by a sad event--a tragic loss, in this case--that effects you all. That's when you really know that you have a unifying bond in Christ: when something happens you all turn to Him together.

So that's what I mean when I say that today was a good day. A couple people were called home to Jesus, and the rest of us who remain behind are faced with really mixed feelings. Like, sadness at the loss but joy because they don't have to experience any more of this paradoxical, mixed-up world. Or like crying in a pew but not feeling embarrassed because practically half of the congregation is doing the same thing.

For me, a good day is when I feel a little closer to God.

Izori

3 Tips on How to Survive an Extremely Busy School Year

This is especially geared toward anyone who's making a school-adjustment, like if you're a high schooler for the first time. I can give you a personal testimony by pointing out my freshman year--goodness, what a nightmare. Okay, in some ways it was fun, but in other ways...let's just say the tips I'm giving y'all are from bitter experience.

#1. Organize yourself as soon as possible. When you're making an education leap, all of a sudden this stack of textbooks is thrown in your face and you find yourself splashing around in the deep end of the pool. With your crowded schedule swimming around in your head, you need to get it in a form that you can remember it painlessly. A list might work best for you--maybe a to-do list of all your commitments for the day (or week). Or perhaps a full-fledged schedule is best.

This is what I like to do for schedules. First, I take a piece of paper and draw a line horizontal-wise. Next, I add notches on that line for however many hours I need schedule-ized in that day. Usually I have a 15 hour schedule from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM. Then, over the notches that signify the hours, I write the commitment for that time. It's probably not the most common schedule outline, but I like it because it's easy to read and not very confusing. And if I say something is not confusing, you can believe it. =)

Anyway, finding a way to organize your events is crucial--crucial with a capital C--to getting through a crazy school year.

#2. Prioritize all your activities to get the most out of your day. Honestly, there are just some days where you have so much to do you just need to sit back and think about what's most important. A general rule of prioritization is to figure out which one needs to be completed first. Say that you're really stressed about an upcoming math test, but you also have a Spanish test that's due two days before. You may feel the strong urge to plunge into your math test because it's really wearing on your nerves, but the wisest thing to do is focus on the closest thing at hand. If you try to do everything out of order, you're just going to end up going absolutely bonkers before three weeks have gone by. Trust me.

#3. Don't push yourself past your limit. Yes, we've all heard about how young Benjamin Franklin spent hours up at night studying and hardly ate anything...but not all of us are Benjamin Franklin. If you wear yourself down trying to check things off your schedule without taking care of yourself, you are going to crash and burn and dissolve into flames. It's a huge temptation to stay up until midnight studying really hard. But what's better for you--a late night of study or an alert and active mind after a good night's sleep? This was a huge mistake that I made in my freshman year. I am not a science person, and my gigantic biology textbook with the towering stack of flashcards to memorize daunted me severely. I spent many a late night grinding down my brain trying to push through each lesson. In the morning (as my family can testify) I was a real grump. My worst days were the ones following late study nights. Do not make that same mistake.

I hope this helps you all, particularly those who might be overwhelmed at this new school year.

See ya round!

Izori

EDIT: You know when you make a post draft and then you finish it and publish it, it automatically is posted back on the date that you made the draft? [does that sentence make sense?] Well, that's what I did. Sorry for any confusion!

Things Change

It's kind of mind-boggling to think of how my past self had no idea what my future self would do, but now my present self is my future self and is looking back on my past self and remembering the expectations I had.

Can't believe how silly my ideas were back when I was twelve. PSATs and driving permits were scary, foggy, and definitely far into the future. College seemed like an ocean away. High school was for the big girls.

I read through some old journals of mine a couple months ago and could only laugh at them. Back then, I thought I was really mature. Some entries were just phrases that I jotted down to remember the day and others were me waxing poetic and thinking blissfully how important my words sounded.

Now I'm remembering back when I was five or so. I was watching Nickelodeon on TV and Mom went and changed the channel to the weather. I asked her why she wasn't watching the kid-sy little cartoons, and she said they didn't interest her. Then I remember saying, "When I get old, I'll always be interested in Nickelodeon!". Or something like that.

Needless to say, I don't watch Nickelodeon anymore.

If the seasons represented stages of human life, autumn would be the older years. The years when all your children are grown and you realize your life is more than halfway through. Everything is kind of cozy and settled and you've found your place in life, but at the same time everything's dying and you're sad.

Hmmm. Reading over this post, I get the impression it's kind of rambling.

Izori

P.S. For all you amazing commenters who have been honoring me with your typed words these last past months, I am so sorry I haven't replied to any of you. Blogger is no longer predominant in my life, but I just want to tell you how much I appreciate your comments even though I don't always acknowledge them. Thanks so much! =)

Alphabetical About Me

This is perfect! It's so organized. =)

A. Age: Fifteen and almost 1/2

B. Bed size: I'm not sure. My bed is very tall, though. I have to jump into it. Actually, when I first got it I had to get a running start, but now I just fling myself into the air.

C. Chore that you hate: Washing windows.

D. Dogs: I love them, I petsit them, and I've never owned any of them.

E. Essential start to your day: Coffee. Self-explanatory.

F. Favorite Color: I really like all of them at different occasions.

G. Gold or Silver? I usually prefer silver.

H. Height: 5'7". I consider it the best height. ;)

I. Instruments you play: Piano and Irish tin whistle. I used to play recorder when I was, like, 6.

J. Job title: Student, I guess.

K. Kids: I consider them a blessing from the Lord (yes, even my own siblings...)

L. Live: On planet Earth.

M. Mother's name: I can guarantee you it is not Oliver.

N. Nicknames: Izori. =)

O. Overnight hospital stays: I think I stayed in the hospital for a week or so when I was born because of a lot of complications (like a paralyzed arm, thank you very much oh-so-helpful nurse)

P. Pet peeves: I hate it when you look at a turn lane and all the turn signals are blinking out of sync. It bugs me so badly.

Q. Quote from a movie tv show: "I...see...nothing!"--Sergeant Schultz from Hogans Heroes. =)

R. Right or Left handed: Right, with some lefty tendencies.

S. Siblings: Three. Peter, Kara, and Galdor.

T. Time you wake up: Seven or so.

U. Underwear?: And we are...moving on!

V. Vegetable you hate: Eggplant and zucchini. They squeak.

W. What makes you run late? : Life. Not being able to find my shoes. All the stuff I have to haul with me everywhere.

X. X-rays you've had: Mostly on my teeth.

Y. Yummy food that you make: Mac 'n' Cheese, pot roast, cake without dairy, eggs, or nuts, and stuffed eggs.

Z. Zoo Animal: I've always enjoyed the big cats. I love cats.

I got this off of Treble Clef.

Izori

*Ka-Chunk!*

That was the sound of me falling asleep on my bedroom floor on Thursday.

So yeah, my new blog-theme is supposed to be less complaining/whiny/boring. I guess I'll just try to pull a moral out of this somehow, because morals make a lot of things important.

I am propping my eyelids open in the afternoons for the first time in my life. I am drinking coffee in the morning and being absolutely zonked at night for the first time in my life. I am feeling very old for the first time in my life.

Wednesday went by like that. Do you ever get that feeling when days just zip past and you feel like you were so busy but accomplished absolutely nothing? Yeah, well Wednesday was one of those days.

But it was busy for a reason. No, I didn't get the schoolwork done that I wanted to, and no, I wasn't bright and peppy at the end of the day, but I didn't waste my time. I cooked dinner, I played soccer, I taught piano, and I had fun with my friends. I ate lots of dessert (always makes the day worthwhile...=), laughed a lot, and collapsed into bed at 10:30.

Not every day will be an efficient, goal-meeting, professionally-scheduled day. There will be times when your plans and schedules go out the window with a whoosh.

On Wednesday, I had been planning to do a lot. History, geometry, cleaning...and I ended up bumping that all to Thursday (by the way, I eventually bumped it to Friday because Thursday was one of those days, too).

So I guess the moral of my story is that the best days aren't scheduled.

What a moral. =)

Izori

I'm Back!

So, as you can see there's a lot of changes!

First of all (something you might have noticed right away) is that I renamed my blog. Now, even though some people do that every three months or so and there's nothing wrong with it, I've never liked changing my blog's name unless I was really tired of the old one. This new name is a bit more to the point.

I've also redone the tabs, so check those out as well!

Finally, I chose an autumn theme for the blog. Red and orange are some of my favorite colors. =) Ya like it?

I still might be posting only once a week or so, but I'll make an effort to put greater meaning in my posts!

Izori

Announcement--Blog Under Construction

Hey, y'all! This is just a super short post to say that my blog will be temporarily private so I can do some work on it. I'm going to try and do some re-arranging, as well as a re-focus. Lately, I've noticed a pattern of me-centered, boring posts, and I don't want that to happen. I started this blog to be encouraging to writers. Now I have a writing blog with iGirl, but I still want this place to be encouraging. So when this blog opens again (hopefully by next Saturday at the very latest) I hope it'll be a much better place.

Until then,

Izori

9-11: We Won't Forget

I cannot believe it all happened ten years ago. To me, it feels like it was just last week that my mom came running into the family room with the awful news.

I was only five, but I can remember things crystal clear. I've always wondered why my memory marked the event, because at the time I wasn't even aware of how horrible everything was. The images of the billowing smoke and the American flags among the rubble have been seared into my brain, even though I didn't even know what it all meant as I saw them on the TV.

So this is just one of a million posts that you'll see today as everyone drops their memories into the collective bucket. But I honestly think there can never be enough posts about this stuff.

Please send up a prayer or two for all those affected by 9-11.

Izori

Stating the Obvious Here

This is just a confirmation of the evidence. School and work has kicked into full swing, so I am going to tell you right now that you won't see a lot of me this school year. To make a long story short...I am busy. Very, very, busy. So if you hear from me once a week, consider yourself lucky. Very, very, lucky.

This is also an apology, of sorts. I haven't posted anything that matters in a long while. I was thinking back as to how my blog used to be so fun to do, how many blogs I visited regularly and enjoyed, and it's not like that anymore. So, even if I wasn't so crazy busy, I would be taking a long break anyway.

See ya around!

Izori

Izori the Sophomore

I. Cannot. Believe. It.

Me--a sophomore. Wow.

So, how has school been going for me so far? Actually, so far I'm lovin' it.

Geometry is a piece of cake, and I'm saying that even though I know those words will come back to haunt me further into the year.

History (and literature, and government, and art) is Egyptian, which is a synonym for 'fascinating'.

Science...well, I'm teaching myself, so it can't be anything other than awesome. It's pure freedom, y'all.

Spanish is super easy for now. Mainly I've been reviewing my verbs like the teacher's-pet I am. =)

I've always considered fall to be relaxing after summer, but I haven't been sure why. I mean, what exactly does make summer so un-relaxing? Well, after much deep and philosophical thought, I produced a theorem that might explain the whole phenomenon.

I am a very regular person. That is, I like regularity and consistancy in my schedule. A summer schedule is anything but regular and consistant. I mean, who calls rushing around like chickens with their heads cut off (as my mom so compassionately puts it) consistant?

This also ties in with my love for scheduling. I make lists obsessively. I schedule obsessively. I consider it one of my forms of relaxing (aside from parking on the couch and watching baseball). So whenever fall swings around, I get to have a consistant schedule that I draw up myself!

I hope there's scheduling in heaven.

Yeah, so that's my rambling theorem for why fall is so relaxing compared to summer. That's enough deep thinking for today, folks!

Izori

You Might Think I'm Crazy.

It's okay if you do, because I do to.

*gulp* Here comes the confession.

Are you ready?

Okay.

Am I ready?

Yes.

Are you ready, Maethar?

I think you're right. You are crazy.

Ignoring Maethar, is everybody ready?

Okay, here it goes.

Ican'twaitforschooltostart.

*gasp*! There it was. I said: "I can't wait for school to start".

I organized the three bookshelves in my room, I prepared all the bags I carry my school supplies around in, and I've sharpened all my pencils. I've scheduled, I've cleaned, and I've determined I am going to make the most of my sophomore year. I've even--here it comes!--looked at my geometry books with anticipation.

In one way, I can't believe summer is almost over. In another way, I get excited when I sense autumn in the air.

So I'm enjoying summer until it's completely gone, and then I'll enjoy fall until it's completely gone to.

I never thought I'd say this, but looking at my school books all in a row on my book shelf makes my heart skip a beat.

Okay, Maethar. You're right. I am crazy.

Izori

Earth Shaking

I have had my first earth quake experience!

I was upstairs in my room, reading an Agatha Christie book (surprise, surprise) at almost 2:00. Without warning, the house started...well, I'm really struggling to find the right word to describe it. Jumping? Shaking? Rattling? I guess what I really think of is 'jarring', which is an adjective, not a verb. It's hard to say exactly how it felt, but it was kind of like being in a dream. You know, when there's something happening that seemed completely random.

For about five or ten seconds I had no clue what was going on. Then my mind flashed to how all the mess in Japan started, and I threw my book down and rushed into the hallway.

Everyone downstairs was just as confused as I was. Our mortar-and-pestle fell off the stove with a crash, and that didn't really add much clarity to the situation.

Then, just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. Mom flicked on the radio just as Galdor began to cry in his room and Dad rushed up from the basement.

The earthquake left us with this 'whoa' feeling. When you're in an earthquake you really don't have any control over what's happening. It's not like other emergencies that I've been in, when you can do something to make it stop. You simply aren't in control.

But I suppose I'll seize the opportunity of an otherwise quiet day and tell you what's been happenin' around here.

So. Let's rewind back to Thursday.

Have anyone ever heard of Institute for Cultural Communicators? It's an organization that trains young people to be effective public speakers, with the main objective to be able to talk about your faith. Every year, they tour around the US giving Communicator for Christ Conferences.

That's where we were Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. To tell you what happened each specific day would take too much time because each day was absolutely jam-packed, so I'll just tell you my thoughts about it.

• It was one of the highlights of my summer. I learned so much and was so encouraged to speak out about my faith more and to be friendly and conversational.
  
• It really made me think on the power of communication. For example, I'm one of those people who, if I'm having a bad day, can hide it if I really want to. When I'm around my friends, I'm usually bubbly or happy or cheerful on those days, but when I'm with my family I become a real bear. But what am I communicating to my family when I do that? That I don't care about how they feel?
  
• I SOOOO admire the interns. The interns are teens who have graduated from the curriculum and are the ones touring in the conference. They teach all the labs, organize the activities, and do other things like that. They are all so fun to be around. Seriously, they really make an effort to have conversations with everyone in attendance.
  
• It was really busy. We were getting up at 6:00-ish in the morning and coming home at 10:30-ish at night. I was running on caffeine for a little there. =) Yes, it was very exhausting, but it was definitely worth it.
• You should go sometime. It was fun, encouraging, and I made a lot of friends.

And now the summer is almost gone and school will be starting. Autumn is definitely in the air today. It's so sad in a beautiful way. *sniff*. Only authors and poets would ever say that.

Izori

I'm Still Here!

Long story short, very busy but very epic and awesome weekend! I wish I had more time to tell y'all about stuff, but I'll have to save it for later this week. Basically, I've been doing a lot--a LOT--of public speaking. But it was sooooooo fun! =)

This was basically a pointless update, the point of which to be not pointless but to inform that it was meant for the point of pointing out that I'm still here. Thus the title.

Izori

My Speculative Bucket List

Number 1. Run the Marine Corps Marathon. [wow. I'm setting the dial to 'pretty much impossible' and we're only on number one!]

Number 2. Hike the Appalachian Trail. [biggie. That thing takes about 6 months to hike. I'm going to do it with Peter. Spending 6 months with Peter...hmmm...we'll see if my sanity survives this one]

Number 3. Sell gelato. [finally something easy!]

Number 4. Earn my 'Expert' certificate in air-rifle. [it's the goal of every air-rifle shooter in our club. A worthy aspiration indeed, and a tough one at that.]

Number 5. Read the complete Bible. [benefits--countless!]

Number 6. Memorize one book of the Bible. [already started on 1 Peter!]

Number 7. Finish my first NaNoWriMo book. [it's been almost three years since I wrote it and I'm still planning on rewriting the thing. Again. Just call me the re-writin' queen!]

Number 8. Build myself a winning streak of 10 years on NaNoWriMo. [2 years down and 8 to go!]

Number 9. Ride the biggest roller coaster in the world. [this might take a while, seeing as I'm not even sure what it is.]

Number 10. Win a scholarship. [this would be great for college!]

And that's the first draft of my bucket list. Seeing as I'm Izori the Rewritin' Queen, I'll probably be happy with this thing on draft number #2,346.

Picky makes perfect, you know. ;)

Izori

P.S. Thanks for the prayers, iGirl! =)

Really Really Really Really Stressed

A sample of my thoughts lately:

"...I really need to stop wasting time and go research stuff for the debate thingy 'cause that's just in a couple weeks, and if I don't get this speech done in time I'm going to be so embarrassed, and I have to schedule my makeup piano lesson before it's too late, and I really need to research my debate papers because I have no clue what I'm supposed to do otherwise, and I really didn't need to eat that cookie...or that ice cream cone...and I kinda feel blah, and I need to exercise but I can't because I think I damaged a muscle in my oblique and if I strain it I'll really injure myself, but I really have to get the debate stuff done but..."

Yes, that is what the inside of my brain looks like. Let me unpack this and pour it into a sympathetic ear.

Number 1. You may have noticed that the word 'debate' popped up several times in my jumbled thoughts. In a couple weeks...scratch that... in about a week and a half...I'm going to participate in a Communicators for Christ conference. I have some homework, and most of it's easy. An interp, a current event...stuff like that. Well, there's one part that really has me stressed, and that is the debate homework. I need to find four source articles over all, and so far I've found a grand total of one. 1. Uno. I am the kind of person that stresses and stresses and stresses (as you may have guessed). In fact, I'm stressing so much that I'm restraining my muscle, which leads me to...

Number 2. I strained a muscle in my oblique, I think. (the oblique is basically my core) I would not know that terminology unless two prominent baseball players on my favorite baseball team damaged theirs. It took a pretty long while for one to return back to the game, and the other is looking for surgery. As you can see, I really don't want to damage my poor oblique by any exercise, but now I'm getting into...

Number 3. I was recently on vacation. At my grandparents house. Where I ate junk food for a solid week. And I am desperately in need of exercise. But, because of my above oblique, I can't run. I can't do crunches. I haven't tried lifting weights yet. All I can do is sit around the house. It's really getting to me because, for a little while, I was actually pretty happy with my appearance. Something like this has happened before, and it took me about a year to work back to where I started from. It really drives me nuts. Thankfully, I've become a bit older and wiser over the last year or so, so it doesn't absolutely devastate me. But of course all the rest of my friends are pretty slim, and I have never considered myself slim. If I don't dwell on it, it doesn't bother me, but when I do I'm miserable. That is why I am moving on.

You know, it feels really good to dump myself out like this once in a while. If you've stuck with this kind of whiny post up to these words, thanks for reading. Lots of hugs. =)

Izori

Confessions of a Bored Neat Freak

Today I...

...cleaned my room.

...did ten pages of fractions for review.

...scheduled a planning appointment.

...dried the dishes.

...swept and mopped the kitchen floor.

...put away groceries.

...unloaded the dishwasher.

...cleaned the bathroom.

...broke up two fights.

...cleaned the living room

and

...wrote a book review.

And then I was bored for the rest of the morning.

;)

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

Running Journey

Picture a grumpy, groggy thirteen year old running in the bleak winter suburbs in freezing weather at 6:00 in the morning. She dragged herself out of her cozy bed to force her body into repetitive drudgery because she felt overweight and lazy. To her, running was something you did when you had done something wrong--like eating too many cookies. Running was a punishment, a boring and unenjoyable chore.

Yep. So that was how I first entered the world of running.

I really, really, really hated it.

Maybe it was because I remembered how effortless maintaining my weight and fitness had been. The time when I could sprint a 5-K and eat dessert without gaining an ounce was still fairly recent when I first started running. Suddenly, I foresaw a life of counting every calorie, working out at the gym every day, and worrying about what would happen if I ate a cookie.

Now picture a fifteen year old, laughing her head off with her brother, pounding down a rocky path and thoroughly enjoying herself. The sky's above her, flowers and grass are below her, and the creek she's grown up swimming in is beside her. Her goal is to run that whole path. She completes it.

That was today.

What happened? What changed? I really don't have a clue. Maybe it's because I happened to grow up between the ages of thirteen and fifteen. I think I realized that you can still be an awesome person and not be model skinny. Anyway, running is definitely not a burdensome chore anymore.

Now, running's a privilege.

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

Muy Caliente

When we were driving this afternoon in the car [in the car? Really? I thought it was in a space ship?], I happen to glance up at our thermostat. You'll never guess what it read.

107 degrees F

*insert jaw-drop*

Suffice it to say that the weather is code-red here. I was supposed to shoot muzzle-loaders tonight, but who wants to stand in a field with the sun blazing down upon you in code-red weather? Not I, that's for sure.

Ugh. I feel like I am melting.

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

Rare Deep Post

It's really weird thinking of how much I changed over 15 years. I see old baby photos, and the only thing that's really stayed the same is my eye color. When I was rummaging through a box hidden away in my closet, I came across a bunch of old things I had forgotten about. An old blanket, a photo album...even my hospital wrist-band from when I was born. What's more, it's a bit creepy thinking that I'm halfway to thirty years old.

And I'm also looking forward and realizing how much freedom I'll have when I'm grown up. Maybe I'll buy a sailboat and spend a couple years just sailing around the coast. And I've always wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail with Peter.

Now, I'm at the time of my life that defines who I'll be when I'm an adult. Now's the time to act if I want to be a professional soccer player, or a musician, or a writer, or really anything. It's at these defining moments when one finds oneself with the most unanswered questions...

...like, "God, what on earth do you want me to do with myself? What's my calling?" or "Do I really feel like I'm on the right path? Did I make a wrong turn?" or "What am I turning myself into?" or "Who do people see me as? What do I mean to people around me?"

Sometimes the thing I want to do most is write. Other times I have this incredible urge to be an adventurer. Then, of course, I've always just wanted to have a quiet life tucked away in the country and spend my days baking pies and growing peaches. Or maybe I'd live in a city somewhere.

We just visited Tangier Island, a remote little island-town off the coast. It's quaint, lonely, gorgeous, and isolated, and I really considered living there when I grow up. But then again, it didn't feel as if it belonged. There weren't any real trees, and I love a place with trees that really belong there. Not just transplanted little scrawny things that you find in just-developed subdivisions.

And then we also saw Charleston. If you've ever been to downtown Charleston, you know how picturesque it is. It's so...I don't know...Southern, I guess, with all the palmettos and fried chicken and shrimp and grits. While we were there, I absolutely fell in love with it. But it's so hot and muggy that I really don't think I'd like to live there.

And of course there's Boston and Cape Cod...I would really enjoy staying there. Cranberry bogs, the ocean, all that history, nice summers...but I'd really miss the South.

I guess after rambling about all those different places that I really like home best. Hey, there's no place like home.

Okay, looking over this post I realized how much this strayed. This was more like uncollected thoughts that I happened to catch. Thanks for reading!

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

Boredom is the Mother of Invention

To say I'm bored is probably an over-statement. To say that I have a lot more free time than I'm used to is pretty accurate, however. Needless to say, my soaring ambitions of working through a huge list of literature and finishing writing several books have been realized to be...quite insane. My summer now consists of roaming around from project to project in happy bliss. Was that redundant?

It's amazing what you can do with common household items.

Project #1--Tying white buttons onto a red thread to create a very pretty but useless string of buttons. White buttons. I found a plethora of white buttons just lying on the ground and my creative instinct immediately jumped on them. My hoarding instinct immediately forced me to begin picking them up. Once I had got them, I had no clue what to do with them. And one afternoon last week, when I found myself with nothing to do, I began to string them onto a red thread. I'm still figuring out what to do with it.

Project #2--Creating a trash can dedicated to used tissues. Being the eternal optimist, I took advantage of my recent cold to make something creative. I have an empty tissue box and several cough drop wrappers, and I am planning to combine the two to come up with a...well, a tissue box decorated with cough drop wrappers. (if you're looking at me oddly, you're having the same reaction as my mom did). But really! It's perfect for me, because I'm always throwing used tissues on my bedroom floor. Having a trash can (a decorated trash can) just for used tissues would really be helpful.

Project #3--Re-attaching a head to an otherwise lovely rocking-horse. Right now, the headless rocking horse is in my closet. She's this amazing light green, with (hand painted, I believe) roses all over her. Her name is Rosie, obviously. Now that all of us kids have moved past the rocking horse stage, I'm going to put her head back on her and sell her on e-bay for money. =) No, for chocolate.

Yum. Chocolate.

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

I Sound Dreadful

( a wildflower from last summer)

I have a cold. A very nasty cold.

How can you be cold in the middle of July? Don't ask me! Ask my brother, who so graciously shared this contagious illness with me.

With me, whenever I get a cold I lose my voice. It did not help that I spent all afternoon yesterday instructing new archers, because that means I was saying something the whole entire time. (Things like: "Point the arrow the other way, please" and "You know, it works better if you hold the bow the other way").

So now I can barely speak, and when I do I sound completely awful.

On a lighter note, we went to a Nationals game today! It was so awesome actually seeing the players on the field instead of watching them on television (too bad Pudge Rodriguez didn't play today...he's my favorite player).

I'm sorry that this post was barely worth the clicking over. Nothing deep, profound, entertaining, or enlightening. But that's basically how my summer's been. Just a lot of relaxing until I hit my sophomore year.

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

Happy 4th of July!

Belated, of course. We were out of town, having our Family Olympics and Independence Day celebration with two grandparents, one uncle, one aunt, and three cousins. All together, that's seven kids in one house. Five of those are age six and under. It's just Peter and I who are the solitary mature, dignified, wise children.

So, how much does independence mean to us? In our cushioned lives, it's pretty easy to forget that freedom comes at a price. We tend to spend a lot of time grumbling at our politicians without taking time to be thankful that we have the right to speak up.

Three cheers for freedom, y'all!

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

Growing Up

I'm fifteen now. Earning money for a car, applying for college scholarships, taking on jobs, pondering what on earth I'm going to do with myself, getting more mature as I deal with things, accepting responsibility...those just scratch the surface in a long list of changes in my life as I grow.

Those are all pretty important, even life-changing things. You'd think those would be the ones I notice the most.

But do you know the number one thing that tells me I'm growing up?

My parents let me stay up later.

So, you thought this might be a deep, profound post? Yeah, right. You've been with me long enough to know almost everything ends in something strange/silly/random.

But it's really true. Lately, I've noticed that my mom and dad don't get after me as much about staying up late. Bedtime used to be at officially 9 PM, and until recently that was pretty enforced (except for certain occasions, like really exciting baseball games). And for the rest of my siblings, not much has changed in that department.

My parents never said, "Okay, Izori, because you're fifteen you get to stay up later." It just kind of happened that they began to give me more choice as to when I go to sleep.

*sniff* It's a sign of growing up.

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

P.S. Could you guys pray for me? Today I'm babysitting from mid-morning to almost evening, and I'm a bit nervous. Both of the kids I'm watching are really sweet, but I haven't babysat for that long of a time. As a matter of fact, this is my second time actually babysitting. All those other times have been watching my siblings or watching someone who I know well enough to be a sibling (and those don't count).

Plus, I've had some choices I've had to make--earning more money and accepting more responsibility vs. keeping my schedule available and keeping previous commitments.

If you could pray that nothing will go wrong today and that I'll be able to make decisions with wisdom, that would be awesome. Thanks!

Random and Rats

All this school year, everything was rush, rush, rush and busy, busy, busy. Activities every day, running around like crazy (or, 'like chickens with our heads cut off', as my mother so gracefully and compassionately expresses it), and all the while wishing it was summer so that I could have a break.

Now that it's summer, I've been lying around the house, sitting upstairs in my room, and wishing that I had something to do. Folks, I spend my days tidying up the house now! It's the symptom of a person who outwardly is relaxed and laid back but inwardly yearns for a life of adventure...or at least something to do.

So what have I been up to lately?

Well, right now I have a rat in my room.

Yes, you read that right. He's very cute, and he loves to be pet. He also loves cheese, and his name is Reepicheep.

Do not fear. He's in a cage. Sheesh, why is everyone so paranoid about rats?! I'm simply pet-sitting for my brother's friend, who owns this certain rat.

I think I'm the only 15 year old girl I know that has a rat in her room.

I've also been shooting arrows at humongous circular targets and blasting away with an air-rifle at some rectangular ones. Not to mention babysitting, dogsitting, and rabbitsitting. And ratsitting.

By way of conversation, does anyone else watch Hogan's Heroes?

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

The Freedom of Summer

Mom let me sleep in as long as I wanted to on Monday. Ahhh...bliss.

I got to stay up and watch an incredible comeback by the Nationals last night because I don't have to get up early in the morning anymore.

I have all the time I need to write. And guess what! I actually wrote! I'm starting my book with Ehra in it all over again...for the hundredth time. The plot has changed...for the hundredth time. I'm super happy with it...for the first time. I wrote 1,000+ words yesterday, and it felt absolutely great!

I'm working on college scholarships. I'm going to be a high school sophomore next year, but it's best to start early.

I apologize for such a random, unconnected, boring post. When I think of something substantial, you shall be the first to know.

Here. Have a picture!

(featuring my hand and some strawberries that I grew)

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

My dad is really awesome. He's an assistant baseball coach. Sunday school teacher. Patent examiner. Former scientist. Home-schooling dad. Two-time cancer survivor. Cook (he's grilling on the deck at the moment). Science teacher.

And, most importantly, dad to four kids!

I don't see why we have more days dedicated to dads.

Hugs & Blessings (and Happy Father's Day!)

Izori

Laptops and Writers Block

In case you haven't noticed, I've been having a huge case of writers block. This has been very frequent of late, and at first I had absolutely no clue as to why I was catching it so often.

I think I have the reason now. It's technology.

You see, I am much more of an ink-and-paper writer than a glowing-screen person. I'm still trying to figure out exactly why, but there's something about a computer that de-inspires me.

I used to do all of my book-writing in notebooks with a pen. However, that changed when I first participated in NaNoWriMo, because it's just so much easier if you type your story for word-count purposes. And then, to lead me further away from good ol' paper, my laptop came.

I love my laptop. It's so convenient, and for many things it makes my life so much easier. Thus, I began to write every single story on it, and I hardly ever used a notebook.

That was also when my writers block began to really plague me. Why? I have some theories.

1. Too many distractions, like the internet.
2. Too many excuses, like not feeling like turning on my laptop.
3. Too many glowing screens, sapping my energy like parasites, lulling me into a hypnotic trance---okay, I'll stop.

Anyway, whatever it was I noticed a definite connection with the above and my writers block. So that means...

I've returned to good, old-fashioned paper and ink. There's something about the solidness of the words going down, as opposed to the instantly-deletable symbols on a screen.

What do you guys like to write on?

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

Lazy Summer Days =)

I wish I had something interesting or amusing to post, but I really do not. Nothing has been that interesting around here.

I really should be doing algebra right now. But honestly, who can do schoolwork when it's almost summer?! I've been so lazy I haven't even been writing in my books.

This has really been more of an update to let you all know that I haven't forgotten you.

To see more interesting things, here are two other blogs that I post on: Traveling Tales and Anecdote. Go check them out!

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

It Worked, Y'all

I am proud to say that I tricked myself into posting again. Worked like duct tape.

I have a [temporary] pet! On Monday (right after we returned from our grueling ten-day vacation) I swung by and picked up my friend's rabbit. He is now up in my room, and let me tell y'all something.

He is one hyper rabbit.

Have you ever heard of a hyper rabbit?

Now you have, because this little dude has more energy than my three year old brother. You see, his favorite toy is a cardboard tunnel. How much can you do with a cardboard tunnel?

1. Hop around it in circles very rapidly.
2. Climb on top of it and fall off.
3. Rush through it at mad speeds.
4. Try to balance it on your head.
5. Tip it on its side and then knock it over.
6. Push it around and bang it against the cage.

And much, much more. In the day, I describe it as cute. At night [when I am trying to sleep], I describe it as noisy.

I don't know. Maybe I'm used to shy rabbits that glue themselves to the back of their cage and stare at you. But Blaze [that's his name, folks] is not shy. In the least.

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

I Am Tricking Myself

I know my posts have been extremely sparse. As a matter of fact, I haven't been spending much time at all on the computer lately. However, there's a good explanation. Not many of you know this, or even may have guessed this (because I don't announce sensitive data on the internet and I scheduled some posts), but I just went on a ten day vacation.

It was super cool. Super cool.

So, first we went down to North Carolina to visit all of Dad's immediate family. It was fun, but pretty unremarkable except for the fact that I got the world's worst sunburn on my shoulders.

Next, we drove to Atlanta! We went with my aunt and uncle (we hadn't seen them in years) to the Georgia Aquarium.

Folks, that aquarium is awesome. They have whale sharks, and beluga whales, and a manta ray that does back flips. It was completely incredible. I wish I could show you pictures, but I didn't have a chance to download them.

Then we went to Augusta to spend time with more family. Once again, pretty uneventful. There were seven kids in one house, the vast majority aged six and under. And yes, it's a bit of a stretch to call that uneventful.

Last, we went to Charleston, which was my absolute favorite part of the trip (although seeing family we hadn't seen in so long was really cool). We walked around, enjoying the magnificent old neighborhoods, and drank lots of soda and ate ice cream. We saw Fort Sumter and the USS Yorktown (a WWII aircraft carrier--so much fun).

After ten days of living out of suitcases and hopping from house to hotel to house to hotel, I am happy to announce that we all made it home alive, safe, sane, happy, tired, and still on speaking terms with one another.

Once again, I have some pretty cool pictures I would love to show you but I haven't had a chance to get them onto my computer. Sorry!

One last thing, which was really the main point of the post before I decided to talk about our vacation, is that I am going to take a blogging break. Lately, I haven't been taking a huge interest in it, and posts have been coming harder to me. I have some posts scheduled on my writing blog with iGirl (too lazy to link up to it here, but if you go to my profile you'll find it pretty easily), but I will not be writing new ones until I return from my blogging break.

There's another side to this, however. Last time I took a blogging break, I had been facing the same challenge of disinterest. But as soon as I announced my break post ideas flew in thick and fast. So, by doing this I'm hoping to trick myself into getting back into blogging.

Don't be surprised if I come back tomorrow. Also don't be surprised if I don't blog for a month.

I apologize for a rambling post like this one, but the summer isn't for sitting in front of the computer. I shall return!

Izori

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.





He makes me lie down in green pastures,





he leads me beside quiet waters,





he restores my soul.





He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.





Even though I walk trough the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,





For you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.





You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.





Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,





And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.




~Psalm 23

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

Random

For once, I think I'm going to have a free summer! In the past summers of my life, we've always had to catch up on one subject. History, math, grammar, Latin...something.

This summer looks like it'll be different. At last. No, let me say that louder. AT LAST!!! YES!!!

I'm so excited that I can't help talking about summer--therefore my last posts have been all about it. Let's talk about some other less-used subject.

Brown. I am a very brown person--my hair is brown, my eyes are brown...even part of my name contains that color! (I'll let you guys try and figure that out). Actually, one of my mom's nicknames when she was a kid was Brownie. Is it coincidental that my all-time favorite dessert is brownies? And my room is painted a light shade of brown...stone brown, to be precise.

I know that I'm rambling, but I've been trying to get back into the habit of blogging. We shall part now...for the present.

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

Summer Plans

(Thank you all for your lovely, amazing, meaningful comments! They were very encouraging to me!)

Summer is approaching at lightning speed! It's amazing to think December is in almost half a year. Nearly six months until the Christmas season. Oh, man. I'm making my head spin.

Even though I'm already counting down the days until Christmas (not quite literally), I realized that I have almost no definite summer plans. Yeah, there's the family vacations and the county fair and stuff like that, but I haven't established any goals...yet.

What better time to change that than right now?

Izori's Summer Goals:

According to spell-check, 'Izori's' is a misspelled word. Spell-check, you are ignorant indeed.
Er...let's try that again.

Izori's Summer Goals:

1. Write! Write! Write! Write! Although I know that this is shooting for the moon (hey, if I miss I'll land among the stars...or something sappy like that), I would love to finish Healing, my extremely long-term project, as well as finish rewriting my NaNoWriMo book. That's going to take a whole summer in itself, I think!

2. Finish my Church History. I have to finish reading Light Force, co-authored by Brother Andrew (amazing book, by the way, and I totally suggest it) and discuss it with Mom.

3. Blog. I have been horrendous at blogging of late! It's shameful! I used to post at least once a day, and now I consider myself lucky...I mean, blessed...if I can even cram in one post a week! Hopefully, that's going to change over the summer.

4. Really study my Bible. I would love to use this summer to grow spiritually, because I feel as if I've been neglecting my time with God this year. And honestly, there's a huge difference in my attitude if I make a habit of praying, reading my Bible, and giving thanks to the Lord. It's the difference between depressed and joyful.

5. Write lots of letters! I have about three pen-pals, two of which I've never met (one of which is a little boy in a different country). During the school year I let their letters sit for...well, a very long while before I get around to answering them. But I'm going to change that! I promise!

Hmmm...I'm sure I'll think of more, but those are all the summer goals I can pull out of my head right now.

What are your plans for the summer?

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

Today...

...is the birthday of someone I am particularly close to.

No one is entirely sure of what time she was born. "Sometime between lunch and dinner," her dad says. (good grief--he can remember the number, cost, and kind of pizza that he ordered to celebrate, but he can't remember when his eldest daughter was born).

Eyewitnesses later recounted that she was born with one arm paralyzed. Her grandma remembers being careful not to bump the gazillion tubes sticking into her granddaughters arm when she held her for the first time.

She has spent the majority of her life on the thin line between country and suburb, and she thinks she likes the country better.

She's not particularly gifted, not particularly beautiful, and not always particularly nice, but she's a daughter of God and so she's a princess.

Over two years ago, she started this blog.

Happy 15th Birthday to...

...me.

=)

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

P.S. So, apparently the world's supposed to end tomorrow. To be frank, I really take the Bible seriously when it says that no one knows when Jesus will come back. That's why we always have to be ready, because we'll never know until He's here. Maybe it will end Saturday, maybe it won't. Whatever happens, it'll be because God willed it and not because we predicted it. But I must say, if it does, then it'll be perfect timing! I always wanted to at least make it to 15! =)

Measly Little Thoughts

I really wanted to wait until I had something remotely interesting to post, but nothing is coming to mind. Sorry that this will be so pointless, trivial, and boring. I'm just going to write out all that comes to mind and try to make it interesting.

1. It's been thunderstorming here. I absolutely loooove thunderstorms, but sometimes they're a bit scary. Last night the sky was this weird green/yellow/black. Awesome, but a bit concerning.

2. I actually wrote in my book! I cannot believe it! It's been, like, a month since I actually made the effort to plunk my behind in a chair and write.

>.< Those two measly things are the only things that come to mind right now. *sigh* It's very hard to write inspiring things when your mind is absolutely stuffed with biology and algebra.

One last thing before I go: my question. Would you guys (gals...) like it if I started putting some pictures into my posts?

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

The Final Charge *dramatic music*

The end of the school year is approaching, and with it comes the inevitable race! The suspense, the drama! The anxiety, the grueling work! The home-stretch!

*sigh* I really do not want to have to do math and biology in the summer, but unless I do some serious work it looks like I'll have to. I did fractional exponents until I was dizzy last week. Seriously, I was dizzy.

I'm sorry for such a short post, but it'll have to do until I can write something more substantial. How is everyone else doing with school? Excited for summer?

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

A Stunning Revelation

A week ago, I was solemnly peering into a mirror. I do most of my deep thinking as I peer into mirrors; there's just something about looking at my mortal husk and examining the soul that will long outlast it. It inspires me.

Anyway, I had a revelation as I looked at my mortal husk. The revelation?

"Hey! That's me!"

Okay, guys. I know it's really strange, but I have never thought of myself using my real name. All these years, I've mentally called myself something else. I have no clue what I do call myself.

And so, as I looked at myself in the mirror, I suddenly realized that my name is [insert my real name]. I had never really realized it before.

Now I have something to mull over. What is my name for myself?

Yes. That's my deep revelation for the day. I am actually named [insert real name].

It's amazing.

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

Random Happiness

Things that have made me happy this week are...

...that I got to talk to one of my most beloved characters for the first time in a very long while. I've known her since she was fourteen and I was twelve. Now I'm fourteen and she's nineteen. *sniff* They grow up fast. Over twice as fast as I am.

...that my soccer coach spent a lot of time with me and some others troubleshooting our troubles with shooting.

...that I finally got to go for a nice little run today before lunch. Man, I needed it after all that Easter candy.

...that I got to have a long chat with God on the aforementioned run. It's so nice to get to talk to Him, and I don't do it nearly enough.

...that I'm on a fairly good track with school. Biology and math are my two biggest concerns right now, but I think they're under control.

...that my speech chapter performed at a nursing home on Tuesday and it went awesomely. Seriously, I was pretty frightened that it wouldn't work out. I did an interpretation of Winnie the Pooh, I was the spider in 'The Very Busy Spider' (super easy because I have absolutely no lines in that one), and I was the talking servant in an interpretation of The Prodigal Son. All in all, a lot of things to memorize. But it went very well.

...that I got to spend a lot of time with a friend of mine that I haven't seen very much this last month.

...that we had a good time with my Great-Grandma, who visited us this week.

...that I actually managed to blog. It's amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

Tomorrow Is Easter

While we're caught up in the Easter egg hunts and munching our chocolate bunnies, let's not forget why we really celebrate Easter. No, it's not for the big, giant bunny. It's not for the chocolate.

It's because Someone loved us so much that He not only tolerated our existence--as we took every opportunity to insult and defy Him--but He died for us. He died, and God piled all our guilt on Him.

Jesus didn't do anything wrong. Think of something that was so unjust that it just made you sick. Well, it's ten times worse than that. It's like someone being falsely accused of a horrible crime while the real criminal gets off completely free, even benefits.

Please remember that Jesus not only died, but He came back to life so that we can live a new life free of guilt. Happy Easter!

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

You'd Think I Wasn't On Spring Break...

It's only after four days of school-work-less freedom that I finally sit down and give attention to my poor, neglected blog. I'm fighting a huge bout of writer's block. It's super serious. I really need to have a chat with Ehra, but I just can't focus my attention on her. As for Maethar, he's in the kitchen eating leftovers out of the fridge. Put down that pudding, you greedy character! Whoever heard of a fat knight?

I'm not fat, I'm not greedy, and I am a knight!

And...I'm an author. Your author.

Well, I have the sword.

*icily stares* My good chap, have you ever heard the saying 'the pen is mightier than the sword'?

Well...I'm the one that has to drag Ehra out of her predicament with the wraiths because you were too lazy!

Don't be silly. I couldn't do it anyhow. You're the character. I'm the author. Put down the pudding.

No.

Yes.

No.

Yes!

NO!!

Uh...fine. If you put down the pudding, I'll write tomorrow.

On my story?

*sighes* Yes. Your story.

If you've ever felt that I'm too hard on Maethar, you've never had to deal with him. Sheesh, for a noble and valiant knight who volunteered (hear that? Volunteered!) to save a lady in distress with risk to life and limb, he's pretty annoying.

So, besides arguing with my characters, what else have I been doing?

Sewing. Eating. Playing soccer. Watching hockey. (Capitols won on double overtime! Yes!!). Watching baseball. Playing spider solitaire on the computer. Cleaning. More sewing. Going to bed late. Being lazy.

How has life been for you guys?

Izori

Yes, I am still here

Life has been B-U-S-Y! I'm at a complete loss what to post, but I at least wanted to let y'all know that I have not been abducted by aliens.

I have, however, been abducted by school work. Perhaps it'll return me to earth for spring break. Please, biology! I beg of you... just one last glimpse of my life!

Writing...has not been going...at all. I am honestly and completely stuck. I don't have time to think, let alone hop into another world! I feel terrible to my characters for just ditching them like this, but I talk with them sometimes. They're doing fine. Not too happy at me for leaving them where I last left them. Maethar really does not like being stuck in the forest at night looking for Ehra with creepy wraith-thingies trying to murder him.

See you round!

Izori

Happy April Fool's Day

I was going to play a pretty good prank on you all, but I decided I wouldn't be so mean. Instead, I read blogs and thought about nothing, staring into the depths of my hot chocolate.

So, how has writing been going? Very well, thanks for asking. I wrote some on my book that has been going on for...over two years, I think (rewrites, life, writers block, and so on have contributed to the time span). And then I wrote some more on my rewrite of my first NaNoWriMo book, which is actually going on really well. All of the complicated plots and relationships and stuff in that book are like a plate of spaghetti, but I'm slowly untangling it. It's changed a lot from the spur-of-the-moment novel I scraped out two Novembers ago. *sniff* They grow up so fast...

And lately I've been having a lot of inspiration for stories. There's one about a futuristic ballet class in an orphanage. I really like that one. But I want to write poetry so I can post it on Anecdote. Unfortunately, I have been very un-poetic lately.

To put it precisely, I have not only been un-poetic but klutzy. Klutzy enough to fall into the creek (taking Kara in with me), and klutzy enough to whack my knuckles or break my toes on every corner in the house. Maybe I'm hitting a growth-spurt after a long drought of not growing at all.

Plus, I've been working. I've been babysitting at the grueling hour of 7:30 AM, and then accompanying some kids to the bus stop at 8:30. And let me tell you: you need a lot of energy to deal with the kids at the bus stop. The two girls that I walk up there are both very polite, innocent young ladies, but some of the other kids there are real...hmmm, how shall I phrase this. I'm pretty sure you know what I mean.

Finally, I have been very sickly of late. Maybe it's just spring allergies, but today I am completely wiped out. I actually curled up to take a nap on the couch. And I never take naps unless I'm sick.

What's more, now that it's finally spring, the weather has behaved like winter! We actually had snow sometime recently (I can't remember exactly when).

So. Happy April Fool's Day, everyone!

Izori

Life Has Been Very Quiet

I used to think of Thursday as my whirlwind day, zipping from piano to voice to back home for biology lab and back again to accompany voice and ballet...now I sit quietly at home and start to miss that feeling of doing so many things for different people.

I used to be completely frazzled at the thought of an event coming up where I had to prepare three speeches...and then I got them all written up in one day and I'm pleasantly surprised at how easy they were.

It seems like life has slowly started to wind down for me, and part of me is very happy for the break. Unfortunately, a lot of the winding down has been due to strange and unexplained cancellations.

I kind of have a furtive feeling that this is the calm before a very huge storm, so I'm taking the opportunity to take a lot of deep breaths.

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

Construction Finished!

So, what do you think? I'm actually astonished it worked out this well, not that I was doing anything too terribly risky (it's just one of those blogger template thingies). But I can assure you that I am extremely technologically challenged and I had no clue how to get the old background off. I'm still not quite sure how I did it.

Life has been rather quiet of late. Know that feeling where you're so, so busy and stressed and you fling yourself at your work with pessimistic thoughts of rushed-ness only to find that after a day of hard work you suddenly have the rest of the week super easy? Yeah, that's how my week has been.

Peter is off with his grandpa doing yard-work (when he's gone the house gets very quiet). As soon as Mom puts Galdor and Kara down for their nap/quiet-time she'll take me out to Starbucks to have our Government discussion. You know life is good when you do school at Starbucks.

Unfortunately, the weather has not been matching this otherwise relaxing week. Thunderstorms on Monday and raining and chilly most other days. Why did the amazing spring weather have to come when I was too busy to enjoy it?

Oh, and Mom's begun to plot my torture for next year. Oops! Excuse that slip. I meant school for next year.

(I'm just kidding. I really like school.)

So that's been my life. How are you guys? And tell me honestly what you think of the new design. I might change my profile picture as well. What would you think of that?

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

Blog Closed For Construction

So, I've decided to finally re-do my blog design. Awel Prince--Ara--did an amazing job on the last design, but all good things must come to an end. Have half a clue to what I'm doing. Might take a couple days.

It Makes Me Want To Exercise!

The weather is absolutely beautiful here. It's that kind of weather--after you're completely sick of dingy, muddy snow and frost--and then everything suddenly starts getting very strawberry-like.

Okay, I know I just called the weather 'strawberry-like'. But if you have ever been strawberry picking in spring at morning time and you take a bite of a strawberry that's been growing in the sun, then you'll know what I mean.

Yes, and spring reminds me of soccer, which reminds me I dearly need to exercise! I'm an on-and-off runner, but I actually do like to run. Maybe later I'll force Peter to go out for a jog with me. Or maybe Kara.

The bad thing about this weather is that it makes me only want to exercise. I don't even feel like writing right now. That's part of the reason why I haven't been blogging too much lately.

Random conversational question for my dear commenters: What's your favorite form of exercise?

Silent and Praying

Blogging for Two Years and Four Days

(Okay, so I missed my blog's two year anniversary. It completely flew my mind)

I've changed a lot over the past two years. So has my blog. It started out as my 'writing blog' that I posted my stories on. It slowly grew into a 'writing tip blog', went through three titles, and eventually turned into what it is now. I had some blogging flops...some silliness, more silliness, deep thoughts...more deep thoughts, some obsessions, ...some 'wow' moments...

Those things may seem pretty unconnected, but my life has been moving forward. Pretty quickly. 'Quickly' as in hold on to your hats and scream for dear life.

There are somethings that I have experienced on blogger, like friends and encouragement, and there are things I have (thankfully) not experienced on blogger, such as nasty anonymous comments.

I feel incredibly ancient typing this, but I remember way back in the days when tags and awards were practically everywhere, everyone seemed to be elven princesses (or princes, or warriors), and everyone talked about Lord of the Rings. Now it's different.

But I'm happy to say that blogging has been a fun and enjoyable chapter of my life. Happy 2nd Anniversary, blog!

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori