Sunflowers For All

My friend Michaela tagged me for the Sunflower Blog Award. I haven't blogged on here in quite a while, and I thought this would be a fun way to get back in the swing of things. So, here goes. First, 11 random fact about myself.

#1 - I really dislike writing with pencils. And most pens for that matter. My favorite kind of pens to write with are gel pens. I guess because it's the most similar to writing with a nib pen and a bottle of ink.

#2 - I love acorns. In fact, I've been a bit hoardishly collecting them this fall. No worries, I DO have plans to do something with them.

#3 - My favorite mug right now is one I got from my brother last Christmas; it was made somewhere in Africa (I think?) and it has a little fish on the inside. That fish is just darling!

#4 - I really love books written by E.D.E.N. Southworth. Good, thrilling, 19th-century novels! The Hidden Hand, Ishmael, and Self-raised are three of my favorites.

#5 - I also have a love a dictionaries. I don't often go in them (ah, the convenience of Google), but big books full of words just make me happy!

#6 - I have always been enchanted with Winnie the Pooh. In fact, I still have a little Tigger plush next to my bed, and two of my favorite gifts from Stephen a few years ago were vintage copies of Winnie The Pooh and The House at Pooh Corners.

#7 - I have a love-hate relationship with roosters. I LOVE decorations with roosters on them (well, most of them....some are just tacky). But, I've learned that REAL roosters can be awfully frustrating - especially the one at work that is constantly escaping the coop.

#8 - I got to play the character of Pretzel Gretel at work last weekend. I even dressed as a pretzel! A light brown under skirt for the soft, chewy inside. A dark brown looped up into by belt for the crunchy, twisty outside. A yellow neck-scarf for the mustard, and a white head-scarf for the salt! Oh, and I twisted by hair into a pretzel bun in the back.

#9 - I have a really hard time throwing away fabric. You just never know when you might need that random piece! But, I've found a good system for keeping at least my scrap stash under decent control. Anything that is big enough to cut out pieces for quilts is an instant keep. Anything smaller gets cut into 1/2 strips for making rag rugs. Anything too small for that I can throw out without hesitation, because there really isn't much more to be done with it.

#10 - I take pictures of and dry a few flowers from every bouquet that Stephen gives me. It's just a tradition that I started the first time he gave me flowers, and I've kept it up ever since. Someday I hope to do something with all those dried flowers and pictures.

#11 - Last year, I found somewhere between ten and fifteen four-leaf clovers at work. This year - none. Oh well, I guess that much luck in one year covers me for the next few years.

Now, 11 questions from Michaela!

What is something you’ve collected over the years?
 Snapple bottles! I really love glass bottles, and Snapples were always a special treat from Stephen. I think I have close to 30 now.


What is one dream, whether big or little, that you’ve had? 
 To own a hobby farm. I love the idea of growing a lot of fruits and vegetables, and I would also like to own chickens, goats, and maybe pigs and alpacas.

What is your favorite poem? 
That's hard. I'm sure there are quite a few that I loved when I read them, but I'm not very good at remembering them. I guess the ones that really stick out are the ones from Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. So many lovely, ridiculous poems.

What is a piece of wise advice that your parents have given you?
It's hard to pin-point it down to one, but here's one that comes to mind right now. You're not always going to FEEL ready to do new things or move onto new times of life, but sometimes you just have to do it even if you're terrified, and you'll learn as you go! 


Are you named after anyone in your family tree?
No; I was supposed to be, but my name is still just as special. See, right before I was born, my dad went to Arizona for a job. The couple he stayed with were Allison and Staci. He came home and told my mom that he wanted to name me after them!

Would you consider using any of your ancestors’ names for your children? 
I might. I want to use the name Clara, and I'm pretty sure that's a family name.

Pepsi or Coke?
Neither. The only sodas that I like are root beer, mountain dew, and sprite. But mostly root beer.


Who is one of your heroes from the past?
 This is also a hard question. I was always very interested in Corrie ten Boom. But, I tend to move from person to person; I learn all about one person, and then I'm ready to move onto a new one.

What state would you most want to visit?
Texas? I've heard a lot of mixed reviews about it, and I want to see it for myself. But honestly, I think all the states have something awesome in them, so I would say states where my friends are!

If you could live in a world from a book what would it be?
 Narnia! Or, does England count as a "world"? A lot of my favorite books are set in England. It would also be fun to visit Wonderland, but I think I would go bonkers if I had to live there.

What is your favorite Bible verse?
Two of my favorite passages are Psalm 27:13-14 and Romans 4:18-21. But there are so many more!


Lastly, 11 questions for anyone who wants to join in on the fun.

#1 - What is one book that you would recommend everyone reads?
#2 - Which piece of clothing that you own is your favorite, and why?
#3 - Do you play an instrument?
#4 - What is your favorite household chore?
#5 - What is one of your favorite hobbies?
#6 - Do you prefer plain colored or patterned socks?
#7 - If you were to re-do your bedroom, what colors/theme would you choose?
#8 - If you could have anything you wanted for dinner and dessert tonight, what would you pick?
#9 - What is your favorite ride at an amusement park?
#10 - What is one of your favorite movies?
#11 - If you could instantly be fluent in any language, which would you choose?

If you do choose to participate, please leave a comment with the link to your blog so that I can see your answers, too! Have fun, everybody!

A Good Reminder

I was reading Jeremiah 13 yesterday, and it struck me. This is what it says:

      "1 Thus saith the LORD unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water. 2 So I got a girdle according to the word of the LORD, and put it on my loins. 3 And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, 4 Take the girdle that thou hast got , which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock. 5 So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me. 6 And it came to pass after many days, that the LORD said unto me, Arise , go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there. 7 Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing. 8 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 9 Thus saith the LORD, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem."

     It struck me because that is probably one of the oddest things that God could have told Jeremiah to do. Jeremiah probably didn't understand why God wanted him to do it, or what the purpose was; it's possible that he didn't want to do it at all. But Jeremiah had faith, and obeyed God. What happened in the end? God used it to teach Jeremiah, to give him a first hand experience; so that when Jeremiah went to the Israelites and told them that God was going to judge them, he really knew what he was talking about.

     God does that in our lives, too. There are many times when I wonder, "Why, God? Why did that happen? Why are you making me do this?" But if I would just have faith like Jeremiah to obey and move on, what amazing things could God teach me? This was a good reminder that no matter how odd, crazy, painful, or hard a situation is, God is always working in it.

My Wonderful Second Family

 Here is a picture of my wonderful second family from the farm =)

Back row, from left to right:
     Mrs. Phillips, me, Ben Phillips (youngest son), Callie (oldest daughter, now married), Addie (Callie's daughter).
Front row, from left to right:
    Aaron Phillips (oldest son), Mr. Phillips

It's So Irregular!!!

On Saturday night, Cati and some friends and I went to Color Me Mine in Webster for their pajama night. Six of us spent 3 1/2 hours there, squished around a four-person table! I can't post pictures of some of the things we made, since they are presents, but here are some "safe" pictures =)

"No lace, no lace, Mrs. Bennett, I beg of you!"

Wow, okay, so it has been way too long since I last wrote on here. Where to start? Why, at the beginning, of course! Haha, anyways....
On the 3rd of March, my parents and I went to Florida for a week. It was so warm and sunny!! I even got a tan! We went to Disney almost everyday; all but Friday. We did Animal Kingdom the first day...it was so cool! I loved how when we went from Africa to Asia, it really seemed like we had changed countries. I also loved the Kilimanjaro Safari. Mom and I went on Expedition Everest for the first time...it was very fun the way that you go backwards, too!
The next day we went to Disney's Hollywood Studios. It was my first time and I really loved it. My favorite "ride" was the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. The Great Movie Ride and the Muppet's 3D film were also fun. We went to the Disney Animation Studio there and learned how to draw Dale. It was very fun, and relaxing.
On Friday, we went to the Holy Land Experience in the afternoon and Downtown Disney at night. The Holy Land was interesting, but there wasn't tons to do. My favorite part was the Scriptorium. It was about an hour walk-through of the writing and preserving of the Bible. You went through 14 scenes like Ancient Egypt, a monastery, Johann Guttenburg's printing press, and John Bunyon's prison cell.
Saturday, we did the front half of Epcot, Future World. I have to say that it was rather boring. The rides were interesting, but there weren't many. We tried Soarin'; it was so incredibly fun! We also did Turtle Talk with Crush (from Finding Nemo), Test Track and a few others.
Sunday was Magic Kingdom, and it was so much better than I remembered it to be. I got to meet Peter Pan, and saw a street show with Jack Sparrow! We did Thunder Mountain Railroad, It's A Small World, Pirates Of The Carribean, and many more! I loved the Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor, and Mickey's Philharmagic. We, of course, stayed to watch the fireworks
On our last day, Monday, we did the World Show Case in Epcot. That was wonderful. My favorite was Morocco, although I did also love England and Mexico. We did the boat ride both in Norway and Mexico. I bought paper laterns in Japan, and a set of 12 postcards - one from each country. All in all I had a wonderful!
Right, now I am watching the six-hour Pride and Prejudice while I get work done. Mr. Bennett was the inspiration for the title. He said that line, one of my favorites, right as I started this. I just finished reading the book The Visitor by Lori Wick, which is set in England in the same time period as P&P, and Lori used many character names and even some circumstances from Jane Austen's books.
Today is my best friend's birthday. She is 15. I "met" and started writing to her right after she turned 9. I am ever reminded how quickly time flies, and how close my own 15th birthday is! Only 33 days!!!
Well, I believe that is all!