A lady brought these daffodils to our church for during the service, and I guess because we’re the pastor’s family, we got to bring them home and enjoy them afterwards. I’m not normally the biggest fan of yellow, but these were so exquisitely vibrant, I just had to take over 100 pictures of them (don’t worry, I’m only sharing six of them, not all 100!) the few days until they started wilting and at least try to capture exactly how they looked! I don’t think I was completely sucessful in getting quite the right yellowness, unfortunately. (I’m sorry one of them is sideways…and you can click on them to make them bigger if you want.)

My family and I will be starting on the two-day drive for my oldest brother’s wedding in a week from tomorrow (and there’s still so much to do!!). It’ll be the first time since we moved nearly two and a half years ago that I will have been back to my hometown. I’ve had the song “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell stuck in my head for whatever reason, and the last verse as sung by Hayley Westenra seems fitting since some people who had always been there aren’t any more, and the ones who are still there are doubtless changed:

“Now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads
They say I’ve changed
Well something’s lost but something’s gained
In living every day”

1. Put your iPod (itunes) on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag 10 friends who might enjoy doing this as well as the person you got this from (or not )

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Be Still My Soul

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Valse Frontenac                 Whatever that’s supposed to mean

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
O Mar                                   Ditto

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
From the Word Go

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Big Ol’ Truck

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Seasons of Love

WHAT IS 2+2?
Under the Umbrella

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
To Aslan’s Camp

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Turtle Dove

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
I Am A Girl from the Suirside

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Fanfare to Joy

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Somebody Run                   haha

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Jam with Men of Worth

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
The Benedy Glen

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
O Come, O Come Emmanuel

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Onward Christian Soldiers        You got that right!

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
The Jug of Punch

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
American Horizons

WHAT’S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Willoughby                    lol

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Take My Life and Let it Be

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Green Pastures

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Ar Eirinn

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Give Me Your Eyes

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Heal the Children               is that a yes or a no?

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
You’re the Only Good Thing, I Fall to Pieces, Adios Amigos (Medley)

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
When the Roll is Called Up Yonder

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
The Battle of Kinsale: Before the Battle             that works

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Sidh Beag and Sidh Mor

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
The Scotsman’s Kilt           lolol!!

I love to read, and it’s very rarely that I go anywhere without a book (or more, depending on the length of time that I’ll be away from home). I’m one of those readers who has multiple books started at any given time.

Generally what you’ll always find in my “currently reading” section of my bookshelf is my Bible, a classic, and at least one nonfiction, often a biography.

Here’s a picture of myself and what books I currently have bookmarks in:

The ESV Bible was a birthday gift from my brother. In addition to other Old and New Testament readings, I have read the book of Psalms once this year and have started again. I didn’t realize until this year (thanks to an episode of the daily Revive Our Hearts radio program) that it can be read in a single month by reading five psalms daily.

Dave Ramsey’s “Total Money Makeover” has been a quick and informative read. It’s been interesting seeing what good money habits I already have, and what areas I need to work on. As a daughter at home, much of it doesn’t apply to me yet (and some of it hopefully never will!), for instance, I have never had any of the debt that so many people work so hard to get rid of.

I’ve been slowly digesting “How to Read a Book” since December or January, and learning a lot from it.

Then there’s a delightful 124 year old book in remarkably well kept condition, just a simple YA story.

“Parents and Children: the Role of the Parent in the Education of the Child” by Charlotte Mason, the great English educator of the early 20th century, is at some parts just plain common sense. Yet it is a good reminder and handbook of parents’ duties in the training up of the next generation of strong Christians. I don’t know as I agree 100% with Miss Mason’s philosophies, but there is no denying the role her insights have had on the homeschooling movement.

And last but not least, for many months – years actually – some work or other by Charles Dickens has constantly found its way into my Currently Reading section. At this moment in time, in my chronological reading through the entire major works of Dickens, “Dombey and Son” is the current story whose pages I have been engrossed in for several weeks now. I am amazed at seeing how someone who can start off his fiction book writing career with the likes of something as wonderful as “Pickwick Papers” can improve in character development, an increased number of intertwined plot lines, and overall writing style!

And there’s a (rather lengthy ) summary of the books I’m currently reading, as of March 11th, 2009! If you would like to see the different books that I read throughout the year, I started a 2009 Book List which I will hopefully keep updated.

After a few weeks of seeing the ground, it got covered again in snow!! I unfortunately didn’t get any pictures of it, yet anyway, but it’s been melting whenever it’s not been snowing, so I may not be able to. But my older brother did get some video from his house of the snow this morning!

I just got a new laptop, and it came with a webcam, so of course my little brothers had to help me try it out! Here’s the result:

Nearly every night whenever I’m in my room on my computer or intent upon my reading, my 6 year old brother creeps down the stairs into my room to try to scare me when he says, “Goodnight!!” to me. And every night, I hear him as he not-so-stealthily comes.  Every night, that is, except tonight.

It wasn’t until he was right next to me and yelled his, “Goodnight!!” that I knew he was there this time – and I jumped! Finally, his practice paid off. He must have told our three year old brother, because just now, like the little copycat he occasionally is, he too was careful to make sure I wasn’t aware of his presence until he was by my side, when he said, “Goodnight!!”

…………..

I wrote this draft sometime in 2008, and for whatever reason, never published it until now. The funny thing is that though it’s been several months since their first sucess, my little brothers still never tire of trying to scare me whenever they see an opportunity to do so. Though they have been disappointed many times, it must be worth it when they sometimes get the thrill of seeing me jump. They are now very skilled at getting next to me without making very much noise at all. It has become such a habit with them that they get visibly distressed when it comes time to say goodnight and I’m not somewhere where they can sneak up on me.

My little brothers absolutely love the movie Cars. Being boys, they played with cars very often before seeing it but not quite in the way they do now, with talking, racing cars.

A few days ago, I overheard the following:

“What is a pit crew?”

“Oh, it’s a crew that gives people pits.”