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!

Silent and Praying

Quick Notes

I had some really good blogging ideas, but unfortunately I couldn't make use of them. I was completely out of it Friday and Saturday, because I had some kind of prolonged stomach bug. I really only dragged myself to church today because I had some things to practice that HAD to be done then.

I am going to be unable to blog for the next week or so, so I will wish you a Merry Christmas in advance! Don't lose sight of why we celebrate Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

Izori

P.S. Please pray for me Christmas Eve! I'm going to be playing in church, and the last time I practiced the song it didn't sound very good. Maybe it was just because I had a headache and felt like I could throw up in the next hour, or maybe it wasn't. We won't know until it's played in front of about 350 people. =)

Merry Christmas once again!

P.P.S. NatureFreak, I saw your comment asking about the snowflakes. =) I'll answer your comment as soon as I have the time, but I'm just letting you know that it hasn't slipped through the cracks.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

*O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, o come, ye, o come, ye, to Bethlehem...*

When things don't seem to be going our way...

...all you can do is get down on your knees and pray.

God never said this life would be easy. The road's straight and narrow, and sometimes it's really lonely. Sometimes you have to wonder if maybe you're on the wrong road. Everyone feels that way at least once in their lives.

It's not easy, watching everyone sprint past you to earthly life's best pleasures on a road that seem so easy. There are so many people following the 'easy road' that it's hard not to think that so many people can be wrong.

And then you just kind of reach a point where the path seems to be crumbling underneath your feet. Echoes of Psalm 23 bounce in your head, but not the part about green pastures and quiet waters--more about the valley of the shadow of death.

I have two prayer requests, and the first is for my blogging friend, Emily. You may remember her: the same Emily who had leukemia, who we've been praying for so hard for such a long time. It seemed like things were going great, but now she's back in the hospital with a headache that's growing worse. You can read her latest update HERE.

Then there's Laurea's thirteen year old cousin, Joe. He's just been diagnosed with cancer...again. Please pray for Joe.

...yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me...

Psalm 23:4

I would appreciate...

...if you all would just take a second to pray for my pet, Tintin (he's a water turtle).

For the past couple days, he hasn't been eating much of anything at all. I'll drop the food right in front of his nose, and he'll kind of look at it and then swim off. I'm hoping that it's just because he's feeling cold and sluggish, but even though he won't eat he looks so hungry. =(

I'm not quite sure what's wrong, but it's making me a bit nervous (our last six aquatic pets have died before we had them for six months).

On a lighter note, I'm finding keeping up with my word count easier than I thought it would be. Thankfully, my headaches have been pretty nonexistent and my wrists are much better! *does a happy dance*. But I'm kind of behind on speech, history, biology, and vocabulary...which isn't good.

I'm trying to think happy thoughts. =)

Come on, guys

If you haven't been reading my posts lately, read this one:

Eldarwen's dad really needs your prayers. His MS has taken a turn for the worse, and I know that our dear sister in Christ, Eldarwen, would really appreciate if you stopped by her blog and left a comment and told her you were praying. You can get to her blog, The Faithful Elven Princess, HERE.

Once again, click...

---------> HERE <----------

Curing (and Preventing) Writer's Block (and Prayer Request)

I think that somewhere there is a parasite called Writerpholia blockaea. It feeds on deadlines and ideas in a writer's brain, turning them to mush. It specifically makes its presence felt in November.

But is there no hope? *gasp*

MY FAVORITE WRITER'S BLOCK CURES:

1. Outlining your book ahead of time so that if you get stumped on a particular section you can just quickly end it and get on to another, perhaps more exciting or cool or easy to write, part.

2. Listen to music. I prefer classical, because it sets an emotion that I'm probably missing in my writing. Plus, classical is calming. As much as I like contemporary, it gives me headaches (and I already have a major headache problem)

3. Get off the computer. Seriously, the #1 cause of death of inspiration is staring at a glowing screen for hours without a break. Write a section in your notebook, play an instrument, have a tea party with your sister (or a hot-chocolate party with your brother), just don't turn on the TV. No more glowing screens!

4. Get outside for some fresh air. Aerobic exercising, like a short sprint or dancing, really works for me.

(the following I got from my friend)

5. Write down 12 ideas that might come next in your book. Don't stop, even if the third one sounds really awesome. 12 seemed an awful lot for me, so I shortened it to seven. It still worked. And don't not write down an idea, even if it sounds crazy. I wasn't going to write down one of the ideas, because it sounded very cliche, but it ended up that idea was the one I used (combined with another one).

6. Ask yourself 'What would happen if...'. Again, let your mind wander, and don't discard the crazy ideas.

7. At least look at the part that you left off writing. A lot of times, I think I have writer's block because I haven't had any new brainstorms. Actually, if I can just look over the chapter that I got stuck on, I get inspired a lot of times.

8. Pray. It works better then anything! And also read your Bible. If you're working on a book that has a revolution against an evil king, read about Gideon or maybe David. If you're writing about a good king that's fighting down an evil revolution, read about David and his rebellious son. If you're writing an allegory, obviously read all over the Bible!

These next two are on prevention.

9. Don't skip writing; get yourself to at least read over the chapter you're working on once a day. I suppose sometimes it can't be helped, but when you skip when you could have written (even just a paragraph) you start finding more excuses. Stuff like, 'Well, I didn't write yesterday, so it wouldn't hurt to skip today, too," or "This hasn't been the longest period of time I didn't write, and it won't be until a week! I'm doing fine," can be easier to listen to if you haven't gotten yourself on a writing roll.

10. Keep it sloppy, especially if you're on your first draft. First drafts are supposed to be messy. If they aren't there's something wrong! If you're stuck on a short few sentences that are so boring you don't know what to write, just go ahead and mess them up. You can go back later and fix them.

Finally, a post that I wrote about this kind of thing a while ago.

It's so often that you hear someone tell you to keep on going if you find yourself in a writing rut. If a sentence, paragraph, whole chapter, etc. seems awkward, just don't worry about it and move on. This has been repeated so often that you (or I, at least) assume that this advice goes for all times.

But does it?

I have found more than once that deleting whole pages of awkward writing has taken care of the 'bothered perfectionist writer's block'. But does that mean that once I write a single awkward word, I can feel free to go heavy on the backspace button?

Not necessarily. In fact, not at all!

My theory is that the backspace method works if your plot is getting awkward. If your prose is getting awkward, then I would agree with popular advice (if you're on the 1st draft)--work past it, and then sweat about it.

Awkward prose, at the most, will just keep on nagging your mind that you have to go back and fix it. But that's okay. You can fix it later, and in the meantime make sure it doesn't get in the way of your writing. However, awkward plot not only nags you, but it will most likely begin to lead the rest of your book into the mire of awkwardness.

What are your thoughts?

And lastly, my prayer request. Remember those headaches I had in the spring? Well, they're back. I really thought they had gone away for good. But now I've been taking ibuprofen for about two weeks now...and they're not going away. I really hope nothing is wrong. I'm wondering if it's stress.

On top of that, my wrists are...*sigh*...really reminding me that it's a fallen world we live in. My left hand especially is really hurting on top close to my thumb. My carpal tunnel syndrome is getting worse and worse as I continue to do schoolwork, and I can't be taking little orange ibuprofen pills forever! I haven't been able to practice piano much because my left hand hurts if I stretch the thumb out. I can still type though. =) What I'm really worried about is my CTS and NaNoWriMo.

Please pray for those two things for me. I would SO appreciate it.

Thanks, and God bless!

Operation: Combat! {URGENT}

Talk about brilliant ideas! Squeaks at HIDDEN DOORWAYS is starting something called Operation: Combat.

I am sure a lot of you follow Emily's blog. She's a beautiful Christian teen with leukemia.



She will be going through a bone marrow transplant. This includes chemo and radiation to destroy her bone marrow so she can get a transplant from her new baby sister.

Sounds painful?

Yeah.

Emily desperately needs your prayers, everyone.

I remember when my dad had cancer. Seriously, guys, it was hard and I wasn't even the person with the cancer. I remember watching my dad choke down every meal, even though food absolutely revolted him. I remember when we had to give up our dream of living on a farm because dad didn't want to leave mom with a bigger mortgage to pay if he died. He still has a scar on his neck from the operations, which also severed some nerves in his face. I would have meltdowns in my room every day, and muscles in my face and arms would just randomly twitch because of the stress. Cancer is life-shattering for a daughter of someone with cancer, believe me. How much more is it if you actually have cancer?

So this is Squeak's idea. During the time when Emily will be in the hospital, we can pray and fast for her. Click HERE to get to Squeak's post on Operation: Combat. I just talked to my mom, and I will be skipping dessert and occasionally some lunches.



Please, please, please, if you want to make a difference in Emily's life, join Operation: Combat. As Philippians 4 says, "The Lord is near". I know that this will encourage her.

I know that at least some of you will do this.

Update on our Lovely Blogging Friend

Igirl is doing better! Here is a comment from the gal in person!

Thanks Izori, you are sweet we are pretty sure that there won't be any eye sight loss or anything, but I'll need to do suppression therapy and stuff for about six months after this is over.

Please pray that she'll continue to heal quickly!

Oh, and here is the link to her blog, idream (click on the word). I wanted to put it on the original prayer request, but my computer was giving me grief and I really just wanted to post it quick so you girls (and guys) could start praying.

Also, another very minor prayer request: we're starting up soccer tomorrow. Please pray that there are no injuries or emergencies, and please also pray that everything runs smoothly (it's usually hectic the first day of soccer). Another quick thing: please pray that we'll get homeschool under control. We're really disorganized.

Thank you!

EDIT: That is, click HERE to get to idream. I'm so sorry--I forgot to put the link above!

Urgent Prayer Request

Please pray for igirl! She has cold sores in her cornea, and she's in a lot of pain. It's at a point where they're not sure if she'll have permanent damage. As in, losing her sight.

Please, please, PLEASE bring this to our Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ tore the veil so we could speak to God, so let's exercise our freedom. Prayer works!

We love you, igirl! I hope you get better really soon.

What's New

Where did summer go? No, seriously. Did it all drain down a hole? I feel like I haven't accomplished anything over the summer, except deteriorate my health. On Tuesday, I'm leaving for my grandparents' house at the beach with Erestor and Luthien.

Oh boy. Ultra-processed, 3,000 calorie, high fructose corn syrup loaded food with extra bleach (yes...white bread), no naps, out in the sun every day, with grandparents who spoil us rotten. =) =/ =(

And then schoolwork.

I'm starting high school. I can't believe it. The point of no return, and I can't even slam on the breaks.

I'll be a freshman.

DID I JUST SAY FRESHMAN?!?! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!

Yes, for fourteen years I've been waiting for this. Now that it's come I really want to go back to 5th grade. And I thought division was hard? How about algebra?!

So. Dad got the results of his PET-scan, and I'm happy to say that, for now, the cancer has not returned! *sighs in relief*

Before I go (I probably won't get to post tomorrow), I would like to ask an important prayer request. For the last past week, I've been having a ongoing headache-bordering-on-migraine. Part of it is because I had a cold, but now I'm over my cold and it's still there. I hope it's nothing serious...=/ Please pray that it will go away for good (forever!) before vacation on Tuesday through Saturday. I've had problems with headaches for months. Hope it's not Lyme's Disease after all.

See you soon, guys!

Izori

Count Your Blessings! (100 Blessings)

Go check out Olive Tree's fantastic idea!

1. I have been saved by faith, through grace, and I am made in God's image!
2. I just took my last Vitamin D pill, and it appears to have fixed my health problems! Praise God! =)
3. Good doctors who spotted my ailments in time to put a screeching halt to them.
4. A super family.
5. Blessings to count!
6. Tolerable health
7. Protection from snakes
8. Never a broken bone!
9. Naturally thick hair
10. A great-grandmother
11. Edifying, uplifting friends
12. Music
13. Talents
14. A voice to praise God with
15. Good food
16. The use of my arm
17. My angel sibling (even though that's covered in 'A super family')
18. A good camera
19. That we are able to witness to a neighbor
20. That there's forgiveness
21. My dad's recovery from cancer
22. Prayer
23. An imagination
24. VBS (Vacation Bible School)
25. My job as a piano teacher.

Those were my first twenty five for this week. What a cool idea, Olive Tree!

By the way, would you guys please pray for VBS? There are several kids in particular you could pray about. Two or three have really bad food allergies, so if everyone could pray that none of them has a reaction, that would be great. Also, there are some kids who are not Christians, so praying that their classmates and teachers (and food staff!) can reach out and witness to them.

Oh, one more prayer request! Our movie is starting to slide downhill. We are all seriously stuck for ideas, and we're not entirely convinced it's the best use of our time. Please pray that we can make a final decision about it.

Thank you! Seriously, it would take such a load off my mind if you guys prayed.

Izori

Please Pray for Emily

There's someone you should meet. She's a fairly new blogger, and a Christian. Her name is Emily, and she has leukemia.

I thought I had reasons to complain. Month long headaches, CTS...but certainly not cancer. As I was reading Emily's blog, I was swept away by her uncomplaining, optimistic attitude. This sister in Christ has become one of my newest inspirations.

Everyone, please drop by Emily's blog. You can click on the 'Please Pray for Emily' button at the top of my sidebar to get there. Please take just a minute to encourage Emily in her battle with leukemia. I'm sure she'd really appreciate it.

Thank you!

Izori

Prayer Request/Praise

We got the results from the CT scan! Apparently, the scan points toward the lump on dad's foot being a cyst, but it's not 100% certain. So they're going to remove it. Praise God that it looks to just be something harmless, and pray that the surgery will go well! I don't quite know when the surgery, is, though.

Thanks!

Izori

Two Things

First of all, please pray for Eldarwen's dad! He is unresponsive and in the hospital. I know this is got to be so hard for their family. Please pray for his health and for the rest of the family to deal with this. Read the original post HERE.

Secondly, Olive Tree's contest ended, and I didn't win. Well, that was kinda expected, so no big deal. Thank you so much, Olive Tree, for having such a fun contest! And now I'm going to head over to the Awel Prince's lovely blog, Inspired Designs Studio, to pick out a new blog look from the free stuff section. Hope you like the new look! Awel Prince's designs are wonderful!

Izori

Before I leave...

...I shall try tying up a few loose ends.

Seeing as we're leaving tomorrow, I'll be closing down the poll just after I publish this post. Sorry if you didn't get to vote. It looks like that y'all are going to be seeing a tidbit of...my NaNoWriMo Novel! (that, by the way, is in the process of being graciously edited by one of my BFFs, Catherine Morland). If 'Mystery Book!' would have been picked, you guys would be reading an excerpt from either the book that I just started, or my book that has all the fairy tales blended together into a retelling (and that will be edited by Liz' (my piano student) older sister).

Also, the poll for my blog background has expired, and it looks like that I need to change back to my old layout. Well...I got some 'editations' for you. I'm not going to change it quite yet because I have entered Olive Tree's lovely little give-away for a new background. If I don't win, I suppose I'll change it back...for a little while...

Has anyone else been watching the World Cup? You should see our TV; I decorated it with home-made banners for the U.S. Yes, most Americans may not be known for their soccer skills, but we are known for our patriotic-ness! (Er...everyone but Mr. Bow-and-apologize-for-our-existence-to-all-foreign-powers) I was shocked when we tied with England in our first game! We and Catherine Morland's family battled it out, afterward. =) I watched the North Korea vs. Brazil game today. I LOOOOOOOOOOVE soccer!

Well, I'll have to start packing soon. Have a great few days, everyone!

Izori

EDIT: Oh, I forgot! Thanks for praying about my Vitamin D deficiency! My month-long headache cleared up the day after taking my first pill (the pills are so pretty! They're like transparent emeralds), and the top of my wrists have been hardly hurting at all! Unfortunately, my Carpal Tunnel Syndrome has been acting up from forgetting to wear the braces, writing, playing the piano, and basically living.

Guess what's coming up!

That's right, summer! I"m really looking forward to it, particularly because, for basically the first time ever, I won't have to do school work through the summer! All I basically have to do is complete Latin, but we're right on track for everything else.

That's probably the only downside to home schooling: if we aren't careful, we get really off track because we don't have a rigid schedule. However, not being tied down to the public school year has way more ups then downs, including being able to vacation when no one else can. =) We can also take sporadic weeks off, like we did during Dad's cancer treatment.

I had an extensive to-do list for summer, including brushing up on my Russian and being more fluent in sign language. And there were some things even more ambitious than that! Then I decided that this summer I'm not going to be stressed out. I might not get as many things accomplished, but at least I won't feel like a spread a mile wide and an inch deep.

Here is my drastically toned down summer to-do list:

1. Completely finish and publish my NaNoWriMo novel.
2. Finish Latin.
3. Be able to run 4 miles.
4. Get my Vitamin D level up to normal.
5. Become a better swimmer (I'm a good swimmer, but not a fast one)
6. Become better friends with Luthien.
7. Practice soccer every day.
8. Cut down on sugar intake.
9. Read my Bible every single day.
10. Choreograph to 'The Butterfly' by Mairead Nesbitt
11. Relax and have fun!

And my before summer to-do list:

1. Finish the script for my friends (ha-ha, that's funny).
2. Do a good Gollum imitation (I'm actually good at that already)
3. Finish my school work

Yes, not a very long list.

Stuff that didn't make these lists were things like work more on two other novels and improving my foreign language skills. However, I still want to improve my sign language.

Well...now that I've made known my goals, I might want to start working on them. Like finishing my school work.

Can't wait 'till summer!



Izori

P.S. Thanks everyone for praying! I'm am 100% better now, and my mom, who had it on Sunday/Monday, is better too. Erestor has caught it now. Please pray for him, and also that no one else will catch the stomach bug. Galdor would be absolutely miserable if he had it!

Thanks!

Prayer Request

Ugh. I am absolutely miserable. My stomach started hurting yesterday (Tuesday) night, and it progressed until I threw up at about 11:00 PM. I threw up at about 3 AM after that, and I still feel pretty bad. Please pray that I feel better, especially because tomorrow's my 14th birthday and I really don't want to be sick then. If you could also pray that I won't get grumpy and take it out on my family, that would be super awesome.

You know, watching a cooking show didn't really help. We were watching the Nationals lose to the Cardinals (that was kinda funny when Niger Morgan lost his glove, even though it cost us two runs =) and our go-to channel was, as usual, Food Network. Usually I really like watching stuff such as Iron Chef, Ace of Cakes (it's hilarious, although sometimes it can get kind of weird), although I honestly think that Unwrapped is boring. But anyway, Chefs vs. City was on, with the two main chefs facing Duff and Geoff from Ace of Cakes. I was rooting for Duff and Geoff =)

Well, in this episode of Chefs vs. City, they had to go cook an ostrich egg sunny side up, and then they had to eat a whole, hard-boiled ostrich egg. That's equal to 24 chicken eggs. It was disgusting, and it completely ruined my appetite and caused my stomach to feel even worse. =(

You know, actually I do feel a bit better then last night. I've taken ginger, which I think helped. And when I usually get stomach bugs they only last half a day or so. I think this one's starting to go away.

Unfortunately, this means I'll be missing soccer. At least it wasn't a game day or something. And I also don't have to do schoolwork! Lol.

This is nothing compared to about five years ago, though. It was Sunday, the day when our family was going to become members of our church. During Sunday School, I started to feel really nauseous. And then, right in the middle of a hymn, I threw up. All over my poor mom. Erestor basically scooted over to the next pew. =) But I was completely miserable.

And then I got the flu when I was 3. Oh man. That was...horrible *shudders*. I still vividly remember throwing up into my tomato soup.

Not to mention the 3 day stomach bug Mom, Erestor, and I caught once. That actually wasn't too bad.

Well, I should probably get off the computer now. Sorry if I ruined everyone's appetites! lol.

Izori

Great News!

We just got the results for my Lyme Disease/Vitamin D test, and it came back negetave for Lyme! However, my Vitamin D level is kind of low. I'm glad about these results because it should be really easy to cure.

Thanks for praying!

Izori

Prayer Request

Hi! Later today I'm going to the doctor's to be tested for Lyme Disease and Vitamin D deficiency. I have never had anything done like this before, so I'm really nervous. Please pray that I get good results and that I'll be fairly calm.

Thanks!

Izori