turn that frown upside down!

Yes, I just used that expression, sue me. 

I just thought I'd throw that in there for free. I found it on facebook....


If there are three things that make me happy, they are 1. The Gospel, 2. Music, specifically Men singing a Capella, and 3. Tea. Sure there are a million and three more, but those are definitely at the top. Let's start with the first.

1. The Gospel! I'm just gonna give it to ya straight. First of all God IS....Second of all, God is HOLY, aka perfect, without fault, set apart. He created us out of LOVE. We are SINNERS, aka not-perfect, full of faults, wordly. God tells us not to sin, we do it anyways. Since we sinned we can't get to God or heaven. EVER. Not by ourselves anyways. So what did God do? He knew this was gonna happen. He sent his son, JESUS. Why? Because he LOVES us. He sent his HOLY son, JESUS (I already explained holy) to DIE on the cross, a horrible death, in OUR PLACE. So that we wouldn't have to be punished for our sin. God sent his wrath on Jesus. The price had to be payed, why? Remember, God is HOLY, meaning he is JUST, and sin must be punished. If we were to have our punishment, we would die. THE END...........

NOT

 GOOD News Flash. He didn't. He punished Jesus instead, here's the best part, HE DIDNT STAY DEAD! Jesus defeated death, rose back from the grave and went back home to heaven, where he is preparing a place for us. Did you read that? A place FOR US! in HEAVEN! Where we will get to be with God FOREVER. Now if that amazing story doesn't make you want to leap for joy...I'll pray for you. :D

By GRACE we have been SAVED

2. MUSIC! specifically men singing A Capella. aka A Capella boy bands (thats for you a.) So I was on Pandora the other day listening to my Ingrid Michaelson/Jack Johnson station, just chillin along, when Straight No Chaser came on, an A Capella band of all men. It was an "I'm yours/Over the Rainbow" mash. I wanted to dance, cry, leap for joy, marry them, anything, all at once. It was so beautiful. Here's my favorite so far.

 

Wasn't that beautiful? Look them up, they do a bunch of great songs

3. Tea. when I say Tea, I'm thinking, "steaming hot cup of," not "southern sweet." For some reason there is nothing else that I enjoy as much as a good cup of tea. Ice cream is a close second. I could go on for ever but I don't want to bore you to tears. Let's just say that I'm always in the mood for tea. The reason being there are SO MANY different kinds. If I want to relax, I drink an herbal, like peppermint or chamomile. If I want a little jolt to get me moving, lemon ginger or chai, If I ate a ton of pizza and want to feel better about myself, I drink some green tea. That isn't the best part though, the best part is all the different combinations of tea.

These are teas that I bought at the Renaissance Festival. The one on the left is called Renaissance tea and the one on the right is called Tudors tea. Both use totally different herbs, from peppermint to anise (the stuff they put in pumpernickel bread!) But they are both crazy good.




Now that I consider myself a real tea drinker, I want to start making my own blends and seeig how they turn out. whatever the case, no matter what kind, hot or iced (but not super sweet), tea makes me happy, or happier at least.

If you don't have something that keeps you going when times are hard, or life is just plain boring/depressing, I suggest you find it. When I read my Bible, drink some tea, or listen to music, my life suddenly seems a lot better than I thought. :)

praises!

I have a really awesome friend. Her name is katie and this is her blog. http://www.katethegreattakesthebait.blogspot.com/.
About two weeks or so ago she started this 10,00 reasons to praise God movement which I think is really cool. I'm not going to go into detail, that's what the link is for. I just wanted to tell you all of one that has to do with my blog.

Flavors!

If there is one thing we can thank God for is flavors.Like my pastor put it, God always gives us what we need and MUCH MORE. He could just give us gray tasteless paste that has all the nutrients we need for survival, but He doesn't. He has literally given us a whole world full of all different flavors. That, my friends, is one of the biggies on my list of praises. If you have other things to praise God about (which we do! Just start with your five senses), post them on her blog! Or here, I'll do it for you! I know she'd love to read them and add them to the list. Well that's all for tonight. I'm off to drink new tea! I'll let ya know if it's any good.

I do believe in...

Fairies????? Okay, maybe they aren't real, but that isn't really the point is it?


              It's about time I share with you the best book I've read, movie I've seen, and idea I've heard. EVER. The book? Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie. The movie? Peter Pan, Well honestly I like the one with Jeremy Sumpter and Jason Isaacs the best. The idea? That it is possible to never grow up.

 

poster for the play I saw

I wasn't really  fan of Peter Pan (ha, that rhymed) until I saw the movie "Finding Neverland" which is the story of how Barrie came to write Peter Pan. I read the book because of the movie and loved it. Then I saw the movie Peter Pan (2003) and was hooked. (Oh man, I promise I'm not doing it on purpose). I've even seen it as a play, the way it was originally written. I've wondered why it didn't attract me when I was younger, and I figure it's because little kids don't care as much about growing up, and they don't think about it. So when a "grown up" or someone in the process, like me, hears a story of someone who never grew up, it fascinates them. Nowadays I feel like I'm growing up too fast, that life is coming at me and I have to be "responsible." However, Peter Pan isn't just about never growing up, to me it's about keeping the inner kid in you forever. At least, I think that's what Barrie meant it to be. Sure that sounds a little cliché, but when you think about it, how cool is that? Being a responsible adult, but still having fun like a kid. That means when you go "out" with your grown up friends, all responsible with the paying and the driving, you can still catch fireflies when you come home and admire them. It means taking notice of the little things in life and enjoying them, like a ladybug crawling on your window while you're paying the bills or when your friend accidentally makes a funny face (because now that we are all grown up, we aren't supposed to make silly faces on purpose). So when I say there aren't really fairies, that's the grown up in me talking, but that doesn't mean you can't pretend they exist. Peter's life was one big pretend, it's part of being a kid. There is something sad about Peter Pan, and the "narrator" mentions it in the book. It's the fact that Peter never grows up, so he will never experience all that comes with it, like family. Oh he has the lost boys, and they're grand, but even they grow up and leave Neverland. Peter has the bliss of forgetting those he loses, but when we look at it, it's quite tragic, no father or future sons. So take heart! It's not all bad growing up, it's just part of the fun. Just don't forget you can still  have fun while it's happening. J. M. Barrie and Wendy Darling did. Now I'm a huge fan. I've read the book several times, have the movie practically memorized, and thanks to my good friend Taylor, have an awesome "lost boys" shirt. When I think of England, I think of the Darlings, when I go to cubbies, of course the Lost Boys come to mind,  when walk in the walk the woods, I think of Neverland. So go ahead, enjoy whatever stage of life you're in, they all have their moments, but don't be like a fairy and only have room for one moment/feeling at a time.

 

eh...

Three posts in one night!? give me some butter cuz I'm on a roll...(that was for you Leslie, nice and cheesy).

There I was, wasting my time away on twitter and facebook...-- Sad, I know, right? However after a day of trapezing through the Serengeti, or rather, the Serenbe woods for three hours, I think I deserve some lounge time. More on that story later...-- and I saw this status "Earth without art is just 'eh'..." Isn't that the coolest thing ever? Well I have a lot of friends who accidentally take that saying to heart.One such friend is Naomi. She is always creating stuff and turning old stuff into new, more awesome stuff. For my birthday last year she made me the red piece on the right, for my birthday this year she drew me a picture of a bird which is so pretty. Then she randomly gave me the white piece on the left because she "knew I would appreciate it." She even has a scar still from making the red one. Not only is she artistic, but she thinks OUTSIDE the box. You may ask, aren't all artistic people "outside the box" thinkers? Not really. While most artists create things that are beautiful and breathtaking, it's the none "boxed in" people that truly do the extraordinary stuff. For example, great photographers have an eye for things that should be captured, and they have amazing cameras to do so. Some photographers can do it with simple cameras, that's impressive. Anyways, Naomi of course, doesn't have a normal camera, she has a Holga which leaks in light to give the pictures weird but cool light streaks, and it has to use film. I thought that was cool. Well I hope that phrase has inspired you to create art with whatever. Paint, pictures, music, food, etc. That way the non-artisans like me can enjoy it. hehe

 Those are the kinda combinations she normally wears. Something simple with something crazy. Like today she wore a simple white t tucked into checkered shorts.

Summer = more time for food.

Drum roll please........... It's what you've all been waiting for! FOOD!!!!!!!!! Yum. I have many passions in life, Jesus Christ, hot tea, skittles, fiction, music, and FOOD. Those are just a few. I love how flavors can be mixed and match, and that's not just food. I'm talking about biking outside on a beautiful day while listening to Enya; or laughing like crazy with a nerdy blonde or cool redhead; being dominican in a southern culture; eating chicken with sweet potato; putting coconut in my coffee or lemon in my ginger tea. Flavors are all around us, colors, food, music, people. I suppose that's why I started this blog. I want people to see them, to enjoy them, to learn to mix them up and not be scared to try new things. Let me tell ya, I'm afraid of quite a few things, heights for one, and rabid platypuses (platypi?). What I'm not afraid of is trying new things, and yes, often I have to admit it wasn't that great of an idea but hey, at least I tried it! Did you know that dipping fresh tortilla chips in your coke is quite tasty? Sydney would say I am actually quite the opposite when it comes to clothes, and that's a part of life too, so I guess I'm not a pro at trying EVERYTHING, but I'm working on it. Anyways, this summer I am determined to try as many new things as possible. So far so good, I even reintroduced a few oldies to myself.

 

I went to Newk's for the first time with Alyssa and Katie and man was it good. I'll be returning there. They specialize in Soup, Salad and Sandwiches and have other stuff as well. I had some Italian sandwich that I can't remember the name of, but it was so good. The salami and cheese with the Italian sauce was so...spicy in the sense of spices, not hot. I was already half-way done before I remembered to take a picture.....sorry, it's hard remembering about my blog when my mouth is going having a sensation party.

I went to Starbucks an awful lot. It probably has to do with the fact that I have a rewards card AND a couple weeks ago frapps were HALF OFF!!!!! I tried two new ones that they had. One was Mocha Cookie Crumble. It was like an extra chocolatey mocha. However the second one stole the menu. It's called Coconut Mocha Frappuccino. If I cld be would pick a drink for heaven this would be it. Obviously, it has coffee, chocolate, and coconut. IT IS SO GOOD. If you haven't tried one, go do it! Even, if you don't like coconut that much, if you don't like coffee, what are you doing at starbucks? I suppose their tea is good... If you don't like chocolate, what are you doing on this planet? just kidding!!!!! but seriously...?

 

My dad passes by a farmers market on his way homes and mom asked him to stop by once to get some stuff. THIS is the tomato he found, it was huge! it filled an entire bowl when cut up and served enough for ten tacos. It was well used.

Alright, last one. ROLY POLY. It's a wrap place. They have hot and cold wraps and the choices are endless! I have already taken three friends there. On particular wrap worth mentioning had avocados and a mango chutney in it. That,with the turkey, lettuce,cheese, and other seasonings was amazing, in the words of a friend "that mango chutney left a stain on my heart" and I'll always remember it.

knock knock... Who's there?

Sorry I haven't done the food post. It will come eventually. I can't WAIT until I get a smart phone, then I'll blog about food the second I finish eating it. So far my summer has been pretty awesome. Mostly enjoying the stuff God's made. :D This next month will be interesting now that all my friends in highschool will be out too. Speaking of which, I thought I was done with finals, apparently I'm not. We had my friend Anna stay at our house for about 5 days this past weekend, the week before finals. Anna is just like my sister Leslie, procrastinator and easily distracted. So that's pretty much all they did. Fun right? :P Well I suppose the weekend had its moments, like wrestling over a phone and too much coffee. Anyways I've been thinking a lot about how people always want to go OUT to hang out. That's pretty much what I've been doing, and now I am super poor. Why can't people just go to each other's houses? I know that for the one whose house we are at may not have AS much fun, but they still will. Personally, I think they should get over it. IT's not like the group will ALWAYS be at your house, at least if everyone else pitches in too. Having everyone come to your house one night instead of going and spending twenty dollars, eating, drinking starbucks, going bowling, the movies, or the like, will be just as fun and sometimes even more fun. People are usually more comfortable inside a good friend's house than out in public anyways. While going out and doing all those things is fun, it gets OLD and expensive. So next time you want to hang out and are either broke or can't think of where to go, man up, tidy up the living room and invite everyone over! It'll be fun. Things that always end up being done at my house are random dancing, popcorn adventures, coffee disasters, drink spillage, movie out of nowhere  and youtube video watching, pool(the game, not swimming) beasting, crazy picture taking and walking expeditions, even in the dark or rain. I know that I usually have had the most fun in someone's house, and usually it's because everyone relaxes a little bit more than usual. Bring back the age of "calling" on people and sit down and have a cup of coffee or tea that YOU made, or raid the fridge of all the food YOUR parents made. Switch it up a bit and you might be pleasantly surprised. Here are adventures I've had at other people's houses :)

 

 

 

This one was taken in the dominican republic. down there it is super common for people to have "hang outs" in their houses, there is always someone's house to go to after church or events. I believe this is one of the main reasons that the Dominican people are so close and friendly. Once you've been in someone's house, you know them a lot better.

Racing at a slow pace

Hello? Anybody there? Thanks if you are. I haven't posted in two whopping weeks and I can't believe how much stuff I've done since then. Well it is summer I suppose, and that was my plan wasn't it? Well I've followed it so far, overwhelmingly so. Since I figure you guys don't want to hear a detailed account of every tiny moment, I'll just share some highlights and pictures. As you can guess, food is one of my passions, so it comes up a lot. Hopefully this won't get too long. Also nothing is in chroniogical order, which brings me to my first point. I FINALLY saw the avengers, it only took my two weeks to finally see it, it was great. I don;t have a favorite part, it was chock full of quotable moments. and it was quite cheesy but in a good way. Personally I love cheesy stuff, without it life would be plain crackers...(get it?). Um...anywhoo my mom surprised me by wanting to watch it on MOTHER's day at 9:55pm, that's right P.M. I suppose we're all full of surprises. Speaking of Moms, it wouldn't do me any good to not mention mine since yesterday was mother's day. Can I just say my mother is amazing? God gave me the best mother I could never even imagine to ask for. Her love for Christ and character towards us is so overwhelming. I just hope someday I can be a mother half as good as her. Unfortunately I'm not the best daughter and didn't do much for the day except clean, but I have things planned for this week. Who says we can only appreciate our mothers on mother's day? I'd say we do it whenever and wherever we can. Oh great, another resolution for the list. Well I need them or I'd never keep them...
 Well thinking clearly now I've decided to do separate posts since it will be waaaaaaay too much to read in one. Here's some random stuff from this summer with more to come.

  

See this amazingly cute little guy? yes, it's a bad picture, but its so cute. Well my sister is having another one! I'm hoping for twins but that probably won't happen. We'll find out on friday, she's having her first ultrasound then. I'll be SURE to let ya know.

Went bowling with Katie and Alyssa, I got a FOUL, yes, a foul, bowling. F for FAIL. I stepped over the line on accident.

Um, I don't know what that is? My ostrich face?

Speaking of faces, my friend Anna and I made up a long time ago a emoticon for the "cool face." You know, the sideways pursed lips. It was :V which is more like a duck but we used it anyway, last night she found this :Y. Much better don't you think? Well you should use it, it will make you a cooler texter.