At the Risk of being Yelled At...

Jessie, I absolutely love this picture!!!
And it's so pretty I wanted to share it with the rest of the world...
On the off chance that more than you, Grandma, and Beth read my blog, that is.
It just makes me think of candy and ice cream and birthday cakes...
YAY!!!
This is a happy picture, and I would like to thank you for posting it, sister, mine!!

In other news...
I haven't done laundry in ages, and it's just been brought to my attention that we are leaving for Florida in less than...three days?? I can't count right now...
I told Mom why should I bother as I'll just be wearing a swimsuit, right?
That didn't fly...
But a girl can dream, right?

I'm both excited and absolutely dreading Florida...
Why, you may ask??
I don't like planes. I don't like car-rides to and from airports. I don't like the instant heat when I walk outside. And I especially don't like going somewhere far from home when I have nineteen days, give or take, until I'm leaving home permanently...
Ouch time...
But I can do it, it's all right, and if I have to stay up for hours on end, my laundry WILL GET DONE!!
I hope...

We're having a family day tomorrow, to open presents since Dad isn't joining us down south--lucky!!--and we're watching movies all day...
Fun, fun...
I just LOVE being lazy and doing nothing where there are a MILLION things to do...

And yes, that was sarcastic.
I'm okay.
I just need to breathe a little...
And find a few more boxes to pack stuff in...got any on hand?

New favorite song...

'Cagayake GIRLS!'

chatting now
gachi de kashimashi never ending girls' talk
shuugyou chaimu made matenai
chikoku wa shite mo soutai wa non non non!
seiippai study after school

dokidoki ga tomannai furusurottoru na nounai
kibou - yokubou - bonnou ribon kakete housou
neta dossari mochiyori new type version uchikomi
danshi kinsei no purichou koi tsuzutta nikkichou

sukaato take 2 cm tsumetara tobu yo
kinou yori tooku ototoi yori okutaabu takaku

jumping now
gachi de uruwashi never ending girls' life
hibi maji raibu dashi matta nashi
hayaokishite mo hayane wa non non non!
meippai shouting wasshoi
gachi de subarashi never ending girls' song
gogo tiitaimu ni wa motte koi
kataomoi demo gyokusai de here we go!
utaeba shining after school

fuwafuwa ikiteru sei? jiken bakkashi eburidei
bibun sekibun wa tsuishi toubun ren'ai wa chuushi
nijigenme ni wa naku yo yojigen dashi ibukuro
yaba, tsui ni genkaichou ueito kaita maru hichou

maegami 3 mm kittara mieta
touan masshiro demo mirai ga barairo nara yoku ne?

chatting now
gachi de kashimashi never ending girls' talk
shuugyou chaimu made matenai
chikoku wa shite mo soutai wa non non non!
seiippai study enjoi
gachi de subarashi never ending girls' song
gogo tiitaimu ni wa motte koi
katayaburi na koodo demo here we go!
utaeba shining after school

eien ni ruupu suru
saizu down up down up
demo kibun itsudemo
up up up & up
atsumaru dake de waraeru nante
utau dake de shiawase nante
...kanari chikyuu ni yasashii eko jan

jumping now
gachi de uruwashi never ending girls' life
hibi maji raibu dashi matta nashi
hayaokishite mo hayane wa non non non!
meippai shouting wasshoi
gachi de subarashi never ending girls' song
gogo tiitaimu ni wa motte koi
kataomoi demo gyokusai de here we go!
utaeba shining after school

so
shining shiner shinyest
girls be ambitious & shine
shining shiner shinyest
girls be ambitious & shine
shining shiner shinyest
girls be ambitious & shine
shining shiner shinyest
girls be ambitious & shine
shining shiner shinyest
girls be ambitious & shine
shining shiner shinyest
girls be ambitious & shine

Don't ask what it all means, because I'm not quite sure off-hand...
But it's stuck in my head, and I really don't mind, because it's just so bouncy and that's exactly what I need right now...

I made another mix last night with this song...

Why?

The title says it all...

"Because it's just SOOOO much better in Japanese..."

Sometimes, I think it really is...

Out of Touch on Purpose

I've found, over the last few weeks, that I know nothing about life that goes on around me...
One sister has a boyfriend who we've talked about less times than I can count on one hand, in the month and a half she's been dating him. Are they doing well? I assume so, but I don't know.
My older brother moved into his new apartment sometime in the last week, and I didn't really register that fact until today. I haven't probably spoken to him in at least two weeks. Is he doing well? I honestly hope so, but I don't know.
Am I repeating myself? Let's try something different...
There is a girl in my church that I've become a bit of friends with, and we've chatted during Bible study and such, and I just found out that she's not quite eighteen, though I thought she was at least twenty-one. And I discovered she's been home-schooled, and is not in college, as I thought she was. So I wonder, what have we been talking about that I didn't know this before? Well...God, men and chocolate...not bad things, but still. No intimacy, at least not on my part, and I have to wonder, is this lack my fault? Am I really that out of touch that she doesn't see the point in telling me other things about her? Or did she tell and I'm that out of touch that I didn't realize?
Or look at another aspect, members of my family--cousins, aunts, uncles, grand-parents, etc--are going through things, good and bad, that I have no awareness of. I feel ignorant and stupid, because no one tells me, but then, as with my church friend, perhaps they did and I'm just out of touch, off in my own world...
It just seems I'm the last to know about everything, from births to deaths.
And I think it might be because I don't show initial interest. But then I think, also, why should I have to make the first move? Why do I have to call first or email or send a text message or whatever? Why can't people come to me?
I just feel so out of touch...and I know, half the time--more than half--I do it on purpose. If I don't get close, you can't hurt me when you stop talking to me, and heck, I'm moving a million miles across the country anyway, so why should I care in the first place what's going on outside of me if I'm just leaving it behind?
But the double-edged sword cuts right through me when you tell her that you found someone you like before me, or him that you just got accepted to the school of your dreams, and I'm out of the loop, broken and bleeding on the sidewalk just because I was bored with main traffic and can't figure out how to zip back in...talk about your mixed metaphors, haha...
I'm sure Mom would tell me it's just a matter of balance.
(Seems everything is with me)
But I'm awful dizzy lately and am more likely to fall on my face than walk a straight line...
How do I do it?
Any ideas?

Where I'm Going To...

Climate for Billings, Montana

Average Temperature for Billings, Montana
Month Low High
Jan 15.1°F 32.8°F
Feb 20.1°F 39.5°F
Mar 26.4°F 47.6°F
Apr 34.7°F 57.5°F
May 44.0°F 67.4°F
Jun 52.5°F 78.0°F
Jul 58.3°F 85.8°F
Aug 57.3°F 84.5°F
Sept 47.1°F 71.8°F
Oct 37.2°F 58.9°F
Nov 25.6°F 42.7°F
Dec 17.7°F 34.5°F

Billings's coldest month is January when the average temperature overnight is 15.1°F. In July, the warmest month, the average day time temperature rises to 85.8°F.

Average Rainfall for Billings, Montana
Month Precipitation
Jan 0.81in.
Feb 0.57in.
Mar 1.12in.
Apr 1.74in.
May 2.48in.
Jun 1.89in.
Jul 1.28in.
Aug 0.85in.
Sept 1.34in.
Oct 1.26in.
Nov 0.75in.
Dec 0.67in.

The driest month in Billings is February with 0.57 inches of precipitation, and with 2.48 inches May is the wettest month.

Percentage of Sunshine Hours for Billings, Montana
Month Sunshine Hours
Jan 47%
Feb 53%
Mar 61%
Apr 60%
May 61%
Jun 64%
Jul 76%
Aug 75%
Sept 68%
Oct 61%
Nov 46%
Dec 45%

Sunshine hours refers to the amount sunshine there is during the hours of daylight. A higher percentage means there is more sunshine through the day and a lower percentage will indicate that it is probably cloudier. Sunshine hours are important when you are planning your vacation.

Well, I'm not vacationing...
But at least I've got a feel how cold it'll be...
And I noticed there's a lot of rain in May, no way finals will be happy, haha...
Average-wise, at least...

PLEASE BE AVERAGE!!

"I kind of have a split personality on this, I'm a morning guy.. if night guy doesn't stay up too late... but invariably night guy stays up way too late, which ruins morning guy's day."
from Air1's Sean (of Sean & Mandy), asked what favorite time of day is

God help me stay positive...

I read so many blogs, notes, statuses, that are so full of depression or anger or self-pity, and I'm trying really hard not to do that, because it annoys me so much to read it, so how hypocritical that I make others read it from me?
But at the same time, not all of life is rosy, and sometimes it just plain sucks, and if I'm trying to be honest, wouldn't it be hypocritical, too, to deny that part of life's existence?
But also, I'm trying to find the good in the bad, so perhaps, a little of A, a little of B...
For instance...

I work three to five evenings a week, baby-sitting for my girlfriend Irina, and her two children, David and Anita. David is three, Anita is seventeen months, and at times, they can both be a handful. Also, the pay really isn't that great.
BUT...
I feel my parenting skills are improving, and I really want to be an expert on my kids--dream big! :)
I AM getting paid, so even the little bit I get is still good.
Plus, I'm learning Russian, and even if it's only little things, like telling them to 'Be good' or 'Eat' or asking 'What,' it's still pretty awesome, and I love it.

Someone very close to me told me he hated me last week. Completely out of the blue, and unexpected, and it was like a break-up all over again, except worse, because we're so much closer than a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship.
BUT...
The next day, he apologized, reaffirmed that he loves me more than I can imagine, and we bonded over his favorite television show, and I think, because of this little hiccup, we just might be closer than ever.

I visited my friend Marissa at her school in St Cloud, and it seems every time I go there, we have to watch the dumbest movies--'College' and 'Knocked Up' to name a few--and there's no staying in for dinner, so I have to spend my hard-earned cash instead of saving it, because, hey, a girl's gotta eat, right?
BUT...
I always have a lot of fun when I visit, even with the dumb movies.
I'm meeting new people, being sociable, which is hard for me, but I'm learning.
And if I spend a little money, well, the whole fact of being in college makes everyone on the verge of broke, so it's never a fancy restaurant anyway.

Sometimes it's so hard to find the good in the bad, especially while the bad is happening, and I can't always see it, even after...
But I really don't want to be a negative person, and I don't want to become bitter and angry like I see so many of my friends becoming...

God help me stay positive...

Brushing up on my French...

Some of you may or may not know I have a little obsession with foreign languages...
(Mostly cuz they sound so much better than ours!!)
Haha, but seriously, I collect almost anything that's not in English, from candy wrappers to CDs, and everything in between. And one of the things I've been meaning to get is Disney's Beauty and the Beast...or 'La Belle et la Bete.' I saw it in my French class way back during my sophomore year, and while the English version does have a French language track, it's just not quite right without the French titles and credits as well. So I've been looking for it, and I found it...only it's 45,00 euros, which is over sixty American dollars...Christmas present maybe? But I can't afford it for myself, not when I need extra cash for school this spring. So, looking on, I discover that Disney has French versions of quite a few princess movies...one being 'La Belle au Bois Dormant' or, my favorite, Sleeping Beauty. And a heck of a lot cheaper...it'll arrive in about a week, delivered from France as it is, and I just can't wait...it's Christmas early for me! :)

And speaking of Christmas, first, it's snowing!! And sticking, too, it looks like, so YAY!!! I love snow...or at least the picture. Guaranteed I won't go out in it, but it's just not December, not Christmas, without snow...
(How do you handle it Grandma??)
Though on that note, I should say, I'm going to visit my grandparents down in Florida over the holiday, for the first time in years...I think the last time I went was Liberty's first Christmas, but I can't really remember that far back...
But, if there's no snow, at least I will have family with me, and that's what it's all about, right? Fellowship and all that jazz...
Love it!

Another special Christmas occasion, there is a Ladies' Tea tomorrow morning at my church. It's an annual get-together, ladies of all ages, and there's a little shopping from ladies in the church, crafts and such, and there's music and teachings, and it's just a lot of fun--plus the men have to serve us, which is nice! ;) This year, however, Mom forgot to purchase the tickets, and so we figured we'd have to pass this year. Only, we both volunteered to help set up, myself yesterday, Mom today, and the lady in charge told Mom that OF COURSE WE SAVED A SPOT FOR YOU!
We volunteer for everything, see, and we go to everything as well, so they assumed we'd want to be there this year as well, and it just slipped our minds...
I love my church!
(And now I'm wondering how I'll get along without them??)

Reading back over this, I notice how there are reminders--for myself, at least--of things not-so-cheerful in each of these things, but I kind of like keeping things on a positive note...
Especially since one of the Things N-S-C is already taken care of...
You just can't be sad during the Christmas season, really...

Hope all's well for the rest of you, love you all, have a great weekend!!