30 Day Challenge - Day 22: First Ten Shuffled Songs

Put your playlist on Shuffle and list the first ten songs that play...

"My Father's Father" by The Civil Wars ~ actually, i recently added some of their songs to 'try them out'.  so far i kinda like them, although all their songs are sad or sad-sounding.

"When the Sand Runs Out" by Rascall Flatts ~ great song. very inspirational.

"What Hurts the Most" by Boyce Avenue ~ (cover of rascall flatts song) another great song, although it's very sad and i generally listen to the original when i'm already sad and feel the need to cry.  the original of this song made me cry the first twenty times at least.  i love this cover artist, too, so i have all their songs that i already have the original of.


"This and That is Life" by David Choi ~ another new artist i've found.  like a lot of his more acoustic and 'happy about life' songs, and a few of his love songs.  this one would probably fall under the 'happy about life' category.

"Skyscraper" by Demi Lovato ~ this is the only song by her i've actually heard, but i like how it's about rising above those who try to hurt you.

"Birds of a Feather" by The Civil Wars ~ love this one!  it's pretty much a sarcastic love song: the boy and the girl practically despise each other, but they can't live without each other.  nothing and nobody could ever break them up because they're so close - but they're also so close that they are both keenly aware of the other's every fault.  it's the kind of song i'd listen to if i were married whenever i got kick-him-out-of-the-house mad, because that's pretty much how the speakers feel, yet they still realize how much they love and need each other.

"Forever and Ever" by He Is We ~ *sigh* another beautiful love song.  i have several of those.  this one's about a girl who is totally in love with a guy.  they were together for a while, then she left him.  now she's realizing she just can't live without him, and she's 'giving you my forever and ever.'  it makes me think of weddings.  weddings always make me happy.  :)

"If You Told Me To" by Hunter Hayes ~ about a boy who wants to love a girl, and is telling her how he wants to be everything for her, but only if she tells him to.  a guy telling a girl all the amazing ways he'd love her, and then asking her permission to love her like that?  soooo perfect <3

"Something More" by Sugarland ~ honestly, i didn't pay much attention to the point of this song when i added it.  i just like how it says 'there's gotta be something more' than your average working american's life - because i want *my* life to be more and mean more than the average working american life.  i want to be more thankful and helpful and just make the world a better place.  this song reminds me of that kind of thinking and makes me happier and inspired to keep trying to find that meaningful life.  (although, now that i've actually looked up the lyrics, it seems the song's more about having fun than helping others.  but the chorus could go both ways, and that's the part i like.)

"Only Hope" by Mandy Moore ~ what girl has ever heard of this movie and *not* loved this song?  love the movie, love the book, love the music - well, some of it - love the *love story*.  a walk to remember: [spoiler alert!!] bad boy meets pastor's daughter, is stuck working with her for punishment, falls in love, starts to shape up.  turns out she has cancer, she pushes him away not wanting to hate God for tearing them apart, but he sticks by her through everything.  he even marries her (! <3) and they enjoy an amazing summer, 'full of more love than most people know in a lifetime,' before she passes.  then the bad boy we started with goes on to medical school and lives an incredible life because of the angelic girl who shared her inspirational love with the least likely person.

30 Day Challenge - Day 21: A Movie No One Would Suspect You Love

Oh my.  This one's pretty easy.  Only those who hang out with me a lot know this, but I love Disney movies.  I'm not talking the cartoons, although I love my Tangled and Beauty and the Beast.  Not the more grown-up movies, either, although many of those are amazing.  (Alice In Wonderland, Pirates of the Carribbean, etc.  NoIAmNotAJohnnyDeppCrushGirlEw.)  I'm talking those cheesy flicks with at least one song-and-dance routine each and boyishly cute leading guys.  Yup, Disney CHANNEL movies tailor-made for preteen girls, mostly.

My first favorite Disney-Channel-flick is StarStruck, and lots of people know that.  But very few people know my second favorite is Prom.  See, I'm the kind of person whom one would expect to bash prom with a logical speech.  And I've actually done that more than once.  I won't start now, because then I'll never finish this post.

But as logical as prom-hate is to me, I love that movie.  Maybe I'll love it forever.  Probably I'll grow out of it.  Until then, I will continue to get frustrated by Brandon; feel for Lucas; scream at Lloyd that I'll go with him; grin like a maniac at Rolo's girlfriend 'issue'; pity Mei and Justin for falling prey to the number one relationship parasite (lack of communication); cheer for Jordan; and most importantly, adore Nova+Jesse.

Yup.  I'm corny.

Hunger Games Havoc

As everyone who's anyone knows, the Hunger Games are huge right now - they're the latest craze. I shared some of my thoughts on the controversial series here. (Side note: why is every popular series also so controversial? Food for thought.) Today I'd like to share some posts by two of my favorite bloggers - one being Bailey (yay!) and the other being AnnaKate. As some of you know, *my* HG post was a guest post for AnnaKate, and she has also guest posted at my blog before. She has the most amazing HG blog posts - some are fun, some are thoughtful, but all are just pure awesome.


An Open Letter to the Christian Media - AnnaKate's thoughts on all the negativity coming from Christians concerning this series

May the Odds Be Ever In Your Favor - a movie review (spoiler alert)

Gale vs. Peeta - AnnaKate, a fellow member of Team Peeta, and her friend Natalie of Team Gale, list actual reasons -both appareance and character related - for each leading male from the series

Gale, Katniss, and Peeta - a less romance-oriented and more relationship-oriented discussion of the triangle, also from AnnaKate

And last but not least: Bailey's To Read or Not To Read.

These two ladies seem to hold many of the same opinions and feelings in regard to this series and the general Christian world's reaction to it. I felt I'd rather share their words with you than to rewrite the ideas myself. Enjoy!

30 Day Challenge: Day 20 - A Hobby of Yours

Well, as you lovely readers know, I write - and read.  A lot.  I write stories and poems and occasionally song lyrics.  I share my opinions on several of the books I've read, and I've written a sort of lesson on reviewing books for those who want to start.

Also, I babysit.  I tried crochet.  I know how to play guitar, although I don't practice much.  Obviously I blog.  I used to do ballet and volleyball, as well as piano.

What about you, my lovely readers?  What are some of your hobbies?  I'm pretty sure some of you do things more interesting and enthusiastic than my typical teen-blogger stuff.

1 Corinthians 11:15

My (mostly)strawberry-(just slightly)blond hair is my favorite feature.  I would say it's my best, but there are people reading this who would disagree.  So we'll stick with "favorite."

I recently received a postcard in the mail.  That in itself is not exactly a big deal... except this was my Locks of Love donor recognition postcard!

Actually, it was my second LOL postcard.  I have donated hair on two occasions - once right before I moved to Oki, when I donated 13 inches.  (People, that is a crazy lot of hair.  I had what was left turned into a layered bob that was *so* not right for my face shape.)  This time, I donated 12 inches - still a ton of hair - and had much better results.  For one, I grew it out longer beforehand so I would have more to work with after the cut.  Also, I did a lot of internet surfing to find the perfect cut for my hair type and color, face shape, and morning styling time.

Before:

After:

Now I guess I'll just let it keep growing until I donate again!  I mean, I've been "growing it out" practically all my life - why stop now?  Besides, my hair is a really unique color that a ton of women pay hundreds of dollars to get with color treatments.  (Or so my hairdressers have told me.)  Since I'm blessed enough to have it naturally, I figure the hairpiece recipients at LOL would be happy to have it too.

Have you ever donated something unique - like hair! - to a charity?

30 Day Challenge: Day 19 - A Talent of Yours

Source: Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I like parties.  I enjoy going to parties and hosting parties, but in my opinion, the fun actually starts weeks before invitations are received.

The planning - that's what gets my blood flowing and brings a smile to my face.  Yes, planning a party is stressful - but it's a good kind of stress.  It's like the stress of being the star in the school play.  It's like the stress of preparing for volleyball tryouts.  It's a fun stress.


There are so many aspects of planning a party.  I like to make lists to start out: guests, food, decorations, activities, music/movies/entertainment, invitations, and favors.  I always, always, always have a theme - that's what makes the planning fun - and write down any and all ideas that go with that theme.  Often I list, narrow down, finalize, and throw out multiple themes before actually choosing one and running with it.  I've thought up a 70's-themed party and a spa day that never came to be.  But I've also planned a successful board-game themed party for my little brother and a fun Alice In Wonderland Sweet Sixteen Unbirthday for myself.

A Tangled/Rapunzel party I planned for two preschool sisters.

Planning a party really isn't that hard.  All it takes is a theme - a favorite movie, book, activity, or color.  Most of my own parties come from movies or movie characters the guest of honor loves, like Rapunzel from Tangled.  My own sweet sixteen came from my love of the new Alice In Wonderland movie.  My brother's party was inspired by Jumanji and a board-game party featured in a magazine.

Time eras make great themes, too.  Victorian teas, 70's-themed sleepovers, and Wild West birthday parties can all be lots of fun.  Keep in mind the number and age of guests, where you're having the party, and the type of party: all-day, an afternoon, a sleepover.

Once you have a theme, all you really need is Google.  Just type in your theme (example: Tangled Rapunzel party) and list all the ideas you find that would work for your party.  Make sure to bookmark any tutorials or photos you might need later.  Narrow your lists down to one invitation, a few activities, one or two 'entertainment' ideas, a few favors if you want them, and a reasonable amount of food and decorations.

Now you're ready to actually get started.  Most of my parties are very DIY - and, yes, you can tell that many things are homemade.  But it saves money and makes the party more fun and personal for me.  Make a list of everything you'll make and another of everything you'll buy.  Then make a separate list of the supplies you'll need for homemade stuff.  I generally make everything over the course of a two weeks, working in the evenings before bed.  Often I play a movie or an audiobook on my computer while I work, although some more involved projects may require your full attention (and/or Internet help.)

If your party involves a lot of people, you may want to recruit some friends to help prepare.  The first thing you should focus on is the invites, so you can send them out a couple weeks in advance.  Once everything is made or purchased, make a schedule for the party.  It doesn't have to be set in stone - just some basic ideas of when things need to happen to ensure you get to do everything you have planned.  Plan to arrive at the party location early enough to set up the food, decorations, and anything else that needs setting-up.  Again, a few friends will make this go a lot faster.

When the guests arrive, relax and enjoy your party!  Make sure someone's around with a camera so you'll have photos of the party.  Try to follow your schedule, but don't stress if problems arise.  Remember, parties are intended for having fun!

P.S. This post recently showed up in my inbox, and I thought parents planning parties for their children would appreciate the child-specific tips. :)