2011

What I learned in 2010:

That God gives and takes away, and He uses both to make us beautiful.

That pickle ice cream really needs to be improved upon.

That being popular isn't always the best thing to be.

That God gave me my talents and attributes for a reason, although I can't see it right now.

That although it's peaceful to get caught up in the little things and the moment, the more we do that the more moments and little things we miss.

That there are only 24 hours in a day, and they're gone whether or not we use them wisely.

That there's nothing really wrong with the color pink, just as there is nothing wrong with acting like a girl, because I happen to be one.

My New Year's Resolutions for 2011:

To read my Bible everyday, because I really want to get to know God better.

To be a better steward of my body, money, and time, because they belong to God, not me.

To be a better sister, daughter, and friend.

Have a Happy New Year, everyone!

Hugs & Blessings,

Izori

Christmas Aftermath and Tag

I think I've had too much sugar. How do I know? My immune system must be completely shot. I've been sick basically since Kara's birthday. And I was trying so hard not to have anything sweet today, but what did we have for breakfast? Christmas bread. Of course. Stuffed with candied fruit and sugar.

And of course, the Christmas candy is calling to me. All those lonely m'n'ms and chocolate coins... But I figure that now is probably going to be the only time in life I'll ever be happy with my weight, so I keep on plugging my ears and and avoiding going into my bedroom.

It's going to be incredibly hard getting back into schoolwork after Christmas break is over. I think I'm getting used to sitting in front of the computer lazily. However, I'm forcing myself to study biology...because...

...well, I didn't get the test done before Christmas break.

Thankfully, my dad is my biology teacher (there are definitely advantages to being home schooled) so he knows how hectic and crazy my life is, and he gives me mercy. He knows that I really don't like the stress of not meeting deadlines, so he's not worried that I won't push myself to catch up. And so here I am, while Peter and Kara and Galdor are frolicking in the basement, slaving my Christmas break away with biology terms. DNA and RNA. I'm lovin' it. Sarcasm, anyone?

Here's the tag:

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE:

tree: dogwood trees

book: 'Black as Night' at the moment.

food: Christmas bread.

day of the week: Friday

month of the year: May, September, October, November, December, June

number: I don't know.

color: all of them (as long as they're rich. I don't like pastels)

age: Fourteen?

class: Writing, music, history.

article of clothing: one of my blouses

type of shoe: my worn out clogs

instrument: piano, of course! And bagpipes

flower: I don't know.

language (not english): Elvish =)

thing to do in spare time: Write, play the piano, ponder deep matters

I tag: Anyone who loves bagpipes!

A shocker...

2010 is going! We're entering into a whole new year, the unknown. I'll be turning 15.

What. Did. I. Just. Say? Did I just say...fifteen?

Gulp.

Hugs and Blessings,

Izori

Cheese hair...

Be nippy to proceed in wisecrack of understanding, for is feud vigorous a limit not in somebody's band jiffy in era in succession comprehensiveness?

Know what I just said?

Neither do I.

You know that synonym-thing on Microsoft word? Erestor, who is now Peter, and I just have a blast with it. We were just typing random phrases, and then sobbing with laughter on my bedroom floor as the words changed. Here are some of the phrases (note that A is the original phrase, and B onward is the synonym-ed phrase)

A. attention is valuable

B. Not at give intelligence to point to in self-satisfaction of on of affiliation

C. Responsiveness is posh [I love that one!]
________
A. Whispering is illegal
B. Squashy right to be heard is forbidden.
C. Squashy unequivocal to be have the sagacity of proficient of being heard serene mechanism is apex hush-hush

_____

A. The evil mastermind of the apocalypse is insane…obviously

B. The consequential indulgent of the hours of sunshine hours of functioning elsewhere is insane…evidently

______

A. Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise

B. In close propinquity to the charity to futon and more rapidly than position to get hush-hush automobile a chap vigorous, methodical in it, and astute.

______

A. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

B. An apple emission hours defend the widespread practitioner gone!

______

A. Fish and visitors smell in three days

B. Snout in relation to and social gathering stench in three reside power

____

A. All I want for Christmas is a hippopotamus

B. Each and every one I crave for Christmas is an footing of pay packet craze

______

A. The highest number of yards in franchise history!

B. The prime enormity of together with this freedom in okay olden times

_____

A. Weirdness is valuable

B. Sinister atmosphere is exceedingly helpful [this is my absolute favorite...please don't take it, because I'm going to use it!]

____

A. Cheese curls...

B. Cheese hair…

___

A. No one will escape....MHUAHAHAHAHA

B. Rebuff introverted will be off….MHUAHAHAHAHA

_____

A. Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

B. Oh, the status of relationships insignificant is distressing…

____

A. I have you in my crushing grip.

B. I blow your own horn you in my uneasy acquire custody of.

______________________________________

Aren't they awesome? Oh, and I'm super sorry I haven't been blogging much. I've had a 2 day stomach bug and a cold (thankfully not at the same time) and I've been terribly busy. Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!

Izori

Merry Christmas

O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie;
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by:
Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

A stable isn't the most sanitary place to have a baby.

A feeding bin--cold and covered with animal slobber--doesn't make the best crib.

Shepherds were the only ones who came to welcome Christ. Not the cute little children with the clean lambs and smiling, adorable faces. These shepherds were like today's garbage men--rough and dirty.

All around, life milled in the crowded city. Pickpockets wove in and out of the crowd. Blindly, everyone went on, not knowing that if they could have only stopped to peek into a dirty stable, they would have seen a miracle that the world had never seen before.

But that's who Christ came to save. The blind, the selfish, the doomed for death.

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

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.--Isaiah 9:6

Have a blessed and merry Christmas!

Izori

Excerpt from my NaNo 2010 Book! And NatureFreak's Answer

...You shouldn’t have taught me the sneaking bits of the art of assassination, Daelier, Kate told her master silently as she searched for a reasonable toehold in the stone walls of the palace. The lessons on being silent, blending in with the motions and rhythm of the surrounds, and staying to places where people don’t look echoed in Kate’s head as she wormed down the wall. She was about ten feet off the ground when she let go and dropped, silently landing in a crouching position...

___ ___ ___
I know I haven't been posting writing stuff on this blog very much anymore, but that's because I have another writing blog! Click here -->Traveling Tales<--to get to my writing blog, which I share with iGirl!

(You want to give me a Christmas present? Visit the blog and follow! Yes, Merry Christmas to you, too)

=)

Izori

P.S. NatureFreak, I am so sorry I couldn't get back to you before. I got the snowflakes from the blog of the lady who designed my blog! At the bottom of my sidebar, there is a button for 'My Designer Girl'. Click on that, and then you have reached Awel Prince's designing blog. Then go to her 'Tutorials' page. It's the very last tutorial, I believe. It's a simple HTML code.

Pictures! Awful Pictures! Wanna See? [scheduled post]

This is our creek frozen over. When it really gets frozen, I can jump on it and it won't even chip!


This is our street when it's snowing.


A cardinal on our sombrero-birdfeeder. =)


Our street when it's raining, which it usually is on Christmas.


A picture of a Christmas light, showing how jiggly my hand truly is. And for someone who competes in air rifle, too...


Another ornament.


The sunset around here from our car (with another random car, too)


A nearby battlefield that we visit quite often.


Same place.


The sunset from behind our neighbor's lovely and decorated house.


A gift. =) I like this one.


Snow and our woods.



These are all from last year.

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...*

Cranberry Bread

I got up at 7:oo AM today. *gasp* I know, I'm such an early riser. =) That's also the same time that Galdor (who might be called Joseph by the end of the poll on the sidebar) wakes up. Yeah. I wake up at the same time as my two year old brother.

Why did I drag myself out of bed before the crack of dawn? To bake, of course. Cranberry bread. =) For my piano & voice teacher, because I can't stand not giving people Christmas presents.

So, just as I had gotten out the bowls, Galdor comes stumping down the stairs. He sits down and watches me for a while, and then he pulls up a chair to help me.

Yeah, fat lot of help a two year old is in a kitchen! Eh, Galdor?

[he agrees with me]

The eggs went in a bit early, I must say. And he ate a good deal of my cranberries because he thought they were grapes. That kid actually liked them!

After a short spell of being banished for throwing my measuring cups, he came back in time to help me lick the bowls and spatulas clean.

Seems like in this house I get help with everything I do.

Love ya, Galdor!

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

Angels...

I just had a really good book idea (I seem to be getting a good deal of them lately). It's for Christmas. :o) (Please don't copy my idea, because I really would love to write it. Thank you!)

This is what it involves.

1. Angels
2. Snow
3. Two kids
4. Random time traveling
5. The meaning of Christmas

It's turning into something like 'A Christmas Carol' as I'm planning it in my head. I've always wanted to write something Christmas-y with meaning, and I think I've finally found it! I don't think it'll be ready for this Christmas though, but maybe the next year.

I am going to be SUPER busy the weeks before Christmas! Thankfully, I have presents for Mom, Luthien, Dad and Galdor. I think I know what I'm getting Erestor, but I'm not 100% sure. The hard thing is that Luthien and Erestor have birthdays right around Christmas, so I have to find two gifts.

I'd tell you what I have for everyone, but I think Mom and Erestor read my blog from time to time, so it will have to remain...confidential...for now *evil snicker*.

Random Writing Tip: Hide your pens. Evil ice-pixies are lurking outside, and they love drinking ink. Then they start squirming their way into your story and creating havoc! They're frosty. They're dangerous. They love ink. So hide your pens!

One last thing. I think I will change my siblings' names from Erestor, Luthien, and Galdor to other code names more pronounceable and easy to remember. So I'll have polls and descriptions of them on my sidebar. Please vote! Do it if you love me! Do it if you don't want my heart to break from lack of votes! Do it...uh, just do it.

Looking forward to Christmas,

Izori

A Special Birthday and the Name Guessing!

Today I would like to wish a very Happy 12th Birthday to my brother Erestor! His friend came over today, and we went out to Foster's Grill[e?]. Then we had cream puffs. =)

Now, about the name guessing!

First off, don't let me make you all feel guilty on not commenting on certain posts. I know that everyone is terrifyingly busy, including myself. I am guilty of not commenting because I don't have the time, too. =)

Okay, NOW we can go to the name guessing. Here are all the guesses so far:

1. Brandy
2. Jenny/Jenine/Jennifer
3. Carly
4. Angela (a couple of them)
5. Emma (a couple of those too, I believe)
6. Sarah
7. Nichole

No one has guessed my name so far. Noelle, Angela actually is another 'alias' (...evil laugh...) for me. My mom and dad don't let me show my name on the internet at all, not just this blog. Smart guess, though! And I love the name Angela. :o)

And I really love the names you imagine me by! Some of my favorite names are among your guesses--Nichole, Emma, Angela, Jennifer, Sarah.

Another question:

Do you want me to change the names that I have given my siblings, Erestor, Luthien, and Galdor? Someone has told me that they're kind of confusing. I would love to hear everyone's opinion!

And thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU so much for the comments on the last post! I love comments. =) They make my day/week/month/year/century!

Oh, and I am so sorry to foil your evil plans, igirl. *innocent smile*

And now I'm off to study for my completely wonderful, amazing, fun, Spanish test that is such a blessing to me! Adios, everyone, and a good night to all and to all a good night! Or whatever.

Starting Over

Before I begin, I have to apologize for completely missing Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, which was yesterday. I cannot believe I did that, seeing as I was studying that in history! Let's all take a moment to pray for our courageous soldiers who fight and pay the price so we can all be free.

Now...last post, I asked you all a question, and I am going to pretend that every reader gave me their opinion. In reality, it was only my BBFF (best blogging friend forever) igirl who did, but that's okay. Maybe everyone else didn't have the time, and I'm completely sympathetic to you. I'm just being sarcastic because I have a raging headache, so don't mind me. *smiles and winces in pain*

Anyway, she gave me some very good advice, so I am going to start over again. I'm definitely still going to post some writing-related things on this blog, but it's going to be a bit more about yours truly...like I'm sure you all want to hear about me. I think I get igirl's point; a lot of writing tips isn't very personal. Now that we have Traveling Tales, I don't really need to get my writing advice out on this blog.

So. I have another question, just out of my crazy curiosity. Have you ever tried to guess my real first name? Tried to picture me dancing with a turtle? Ignore that last one--that's just my headache talking. What do you think is my real name?

Anyway, I'd be interested in your answer. =) Of course, I won't tell you if you get my name right, because I'm not allowed. Oh, and igirl, it's not fair if you do it because you DO know my name! :o)

That question has another reason than just curiosity. I really would like to know if you guys can guess my real name because you're not supposed to know my real name, and if you guys were able to guess my real name...I'd have to change something around. If your average, teenage, normal blogger could guess my name, a stalker could probably guess a lot more. Sorry to scare anyone there. I'm not really paranoid, it's just that I want to be sure.

I don't think you'll be able to guess, anyway. =)

Oh! That reminds me. Which smiley face do you like better?

a. =)

b. :)

c. :o)

d. :-)

e. :]

God Bless, and Merry 8th of December!

The Inevitable Question

There's something I must ask everyone.

Is there anything you want to be improved on this blog?

Comment away, and be serious. Am I posting not enough? Too often? How do you like the content of my posts? The overall 'feel' of the blog? Whatever you want to be changed, please, PLEASE let me know.

I want to make my blog the best place, and the best way I can think of doing that is asking my readers questions.

Attention, Por favor!

I have an announcement!

*trumpets and drum rolls*

Igirl and I have started another blog, called Traveling Tales. To put it basically, it's all about writing! You even have to opportunity to have your own stories appear on it. We're hoping to make it really awesome, and one of the keys to awesome blogs is...

...FOLLOWERS!

That's right! Please, check out Traveling Tales by clicking HERE! It's just getting started, but igirl and I are hoping to make it a great blog. =)

Thanks! (and sorry if this post was really akin to a sales pitch)

Reading Tip

Do you have a genre that you read exclusively? Like, fantasy or romance? Then take this piece of advice...stop reading it.

After a while, reading one genre can become boring. Predictable. Flavorless. Cliche. The genre starts to feel bland.

If you can identify with that, then mix up your genres. If you always read fantasy, try murder mysteries. Switch romance with sci-fi. It really helps.

I'm a'back, in all my crazy glory...

I'm playing 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring' for our Christmas Eve service at our church. I have, oh, a few weeks to learn it perfectly (including the chords for when I fade into the background a bit) and to be able to play it alongside a guitar. Major stress? You bet.

You know, I really wanted a quiet Christmas this year.

One where I can just flop down underneath the Christmas tree and watch the halos around the lights, and then suddenly remember that Jesus came. So then I'd shout 'HALLELUJAH!' and then watch the angel on the tree give me a really odd look.

You guys are probably giving me odd looks right now too.

Random Question:

Which pseudonym (or pen name) do you prefer: Heaven Silverring or Yors Trooly?