Today was a Good Day

Yes, you heard me right: today was a good day!  Being productive makes me feel good. I woke up early and cleaned my bathroom.  Mom, my brother and I ran a few errands and I read The Consequences of Ideas and The Roar on the Other Side in the car to Mom.  I finished all of my Philosophy homework :) Poetry is still a work in progress, but I got a lot accomplished.  I had an assignment to go to the grocery store and study the fruits and vegetables.  It was really fun actually.  Poetry is my favorite subject.  Although, I’m definitely not a master poet, I enjoy trying to be poetic.  It is such a beautiful way to write/talk.  I look forward to learning more about it.  Tonight, I went to play bingo at a nursing home with my youth group.  It was so much fun!  They loooove them some Bingo, let me tell you!  It's intense!  Most of the night, I hung out with this one lady: she had difficulty reading the numbers, so I had to point to her which ones she could put a chip on.  She was as sweet as could be.  One time, I pointed to a number and she grabbed my arm and kissed it and told me how she hadn’t played Bingo in forever and how she was going to quit after this round.  Well, she played the entire night :)  I hope we go back soon.  The family was all together when I got home due to some out-of-town company.  So I enjoyed being with everyone and I did my Latin homework.  Now, I am exhausted, but I’m going to try to do a little more homework.  I’m getting really worried about getting it all done before Tuesday. 

Oh hey! I finally uploaded those pictures that you have been awaiting in anticipation :)

So, scary story:

I was wandering around outside when I came across this big guy.  First reaction is to scream. Second is "Dang, I need my camera!" Third, "Ooh, look at this ladybug." (Maybe I'm ADD afterall) I ran and got my camera and by the time I got back the spider had jumped down to the bottom of his web and was spinning what I am almost positive is that poor ladybug I saw a moment earlier.  It was fascinating, but horrifying at the same time.

This is his underside.  Check out that web.  Spider webs are spectacular. 

Zoomed out so you can really see how BIG he was.  Out here on the farm, we see some big spiders, but this one... he is like the macdaddy of all spiders.

Moving on to more pleasant thoughts, so I don't dream of humongous spiders eating me tonight...

Couldn't fit the whole quote, but isn't it pretty :) 

Hay bales (in this case, sloppy mounds of hay): one of my most favorite things about a farm.

Black&white version.

"What is that?" you may ask.  The answer is, a wooden, bench, swing; a place I find much peace. It is a great place to think, pray, acknowledge God's creation... As I was sitting there, I decided to take this picture because I liked how the screws looked. When I edited it, I added these words which are oh, so relevant. (Scroll down)

  I rest here deep in thought and prayer.  My heart is weary, Lord, I lay it down before you.  I hear a whisper in the wind, "Be still, and know that I am God," and it dries my tears.  I will sit here and wait, in awe of Your beauty and magnificent creation, worshipping you all the while. (My attempt at being poetic)...

This is from Wesley's Covenant Prayer.  I made a powerpoint of the whole thing for church, so I will post it on Sunday. It's beautiful. 

I totally just used blogging to procrastinate and now it is very late.  I'm off to bed! Goodnight and have a good Saturday!

Surrender Your Dreams

Lyrics from "Surrender" by Barlowgirl.

Surrender your dreams to God and let His plan unravel in your life. He will take care of you.

Refreshing Music

Hi everyone :)
It's been a while since I've posted and that's makes me sad.  I do believe last time I posted I was ciked about Harry Potter.  Well, let me just tell you what I thought about it.  IF you have read the book, it will not be HALF as good.  It is very anticlimactic and they took out so many AWESOME scenes in the book. So, I was a bit disappointed, but now that I'm forgetting how much I didn't like it, I want to see it again and hopefully it will be better the second time.  Since I'm talking about HP, check out this song: Harry Potter Theme - Incredible Piano Solo by Jarrod Radnich

Last night I went to see Jon Schmidt in concert with my piano teacher, Michelle, and a friend, Carol (who runs the music store).   Oh, I loved it! It was EXACTLY what I needed.  A very nice refreshing experience.  Jon Schmidt is a pianist (in case you haven't figured that out yet).  Here are some of my favorites of his:
Michael Meets Mozart - Jon Schmidt I wanted him to play this one so bad! I love it!!!! Make sure you watch this one instead of just have it playing in the background.
Love Story Meets Viva la Vida - Jon Schmidt  He played this one last night. Amazing! He had to use a soundtrack for all the other instruments though.
Tribute (Rose-Anne's Song) - Jon Schmidt  This one was written for his sister who passed away when he was 19.  She taught him a lot on the piano and he looked up to her a great deal. Last night, he ended the concert with this song, the piano un-miced.  It was incredible.  It starts out sad, but transitions into happiness as if he has been reunited with her. 

Last, but not least, this is a picture that I edited last night.  I'm really loving black backgrounds...

Enjoy the music above... It's so refreshing, relaxing, inspiring and all that good stuff.  Just close your eyes, take a deep breath and let the melody wash over you.  :)

When Bored, BLOG!

Tonight is the magical midnight premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2! I am SO excited!  My friends are coming over to watch Part 1 beforehand.  I'm sad that it is almost over, but I can't wait to see it!  So, right now, as you can tell, I am really bored.  Yesterday during my "really bored" part of the day, I edited a lot of pictures of flowers that I have not posted on here yet.  And now, I am going to share them :) There is one in particular that I cannot wait for you to see! Here goes!

Something about this picture just fascinates me.  I have it saved as "The Living Among The Dead".  I strongly believe that people who are alive in Christ have to mix with the ones who are without Christ (dead).  We can't separate ourselves because if we did then the dead wouldn't know how to become alive. So that's what this picture makes me think about.

I took this one a long time ago.  I wish it was bigger because the detail is extraordinary.  And in case you're wondering what it is, I am happy to inform you that it is merely a weed with morning dew on it. Sometimes it's the "ugly" things that are extremely beautiful. 
"A weed is but an unloved flower." ~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Orange.

Pink (:

POP of color!

Black and white effect.

Love this picture both ways.

Purplely-blue.

Once again, I am kind of fascinated with dead things.  Sounds weird, I know.  But there are so many beautiful dead things.  Like that dead sunflower, or this shriveled up flower.  It's such a quiet, disguised beauty.

Daddy picked a sunflower, Mom put it in an awesome vase and placed it in a blue tray.  Perfect.

Favorite.

Haha, this was one of my weird photographer moments.  I was at Belks with John, my boyfriend, and made him stand there while I took pictures of this tree outside Belk haha.

Beautiful autumn picture.  Sunlight is perfect. Color is beautiful.

Does anyone know what these are?

Vintage look.

White & Yellow

Dandelion.  I can't remember if I've already showed you this one or not..

Remember that one in particular that I couldn't wait to show you? Well, this is it.  The before and after.  I added the "after" again below so you could see it bigger.

Breath-taking.  I just love everything about it. I want to frame it.

"What a desolate place would be a world without a flower! It would be a face without a smile, a feast without a welcome. Are not flowers the stars of the earth, and are not our stars the flowers of the heaven." ~  A.J. Balfour

"If seeds in the black earth can turn into such beautiful roses, what might not the heart of man become in its long journey toward the stars?"  ~ G.K. Chesterton

That's all folks! ;)