Rest in Peace <3

This post is dedicated to Walt Vlasschaert. Walt passed away December 30, 2007. He was like a grandpa to me and would always greet everyone with a big smile and a bigger hug. It's especially sad for his family but as Walt said, he had lived a long full life and he was ready to go. He knew where he was going.

PLNU Halftime Show

Earlier in the year Loma had a powderpuff football game (girls football) where they put the freshman and sophomores against the juniors and seniors. The game itself was actually really good but the halftime show was the best because there was a guy cheerleading squad that was actually LEGIT! You should watch this video... it's a slow start but it's hysterical. Seriously.
P.S. I didn't film this I found it on youtube. The guys in pink are freshman or sophomores and the guys in black are juniors and seniors.

It's business time...

Wow... finals are almost half over to me. I had my chem final Monday morning and then I have anatomy tomorrow morning and then psychology Friday morning. I love how my exams are spaced out but it also stinks because that means I go home later when I could have gone home Tuesday. But oh well... all in all it's not bad.
This is going to be really short because I need to study for anatomy. I have a voice recorder and I am going to record myself saying some notes into it and then play it while I sleep. Weird? Yes. But I wonder if it will work. :)
So my friend Janae (who lives 2 doors down) made me listen to this song yesterday called Business Time by Flight of the Concords. It's sooooo weird... but it's also really funny. You can listen here The chorus on youtube is a little annoying, it sounds better on itunes but youtube is better than nothing right? Human tetris on youtube is also really funny. :)

Good luck to all on finals! If you've already had all your finals... darn you but I hope you did well.
Good night!

Makes me cry every time...

NEWSONG
The Christmas Shoes


It was almost Christmas time, there I stood in another line
Tryin' to buy that last gift or two, not really in the Christmas mood
Standing right in front of me was a little boy waiting anxiously
Pacing 'round like little boys do
And in his hands he held a pair of shoes

His clothes were worn and old, he was dirty from head to toe
And when it came his time to pay
I couldn't believe what I heard him say

Chorus:
Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please
It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size
Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time
You see she's been sick for quite a while
And I know these shoes would make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight

He counted pennies for what seemed like years
Then the cashier said, "Son, there's not enough here"
He searched his pockets frantically
Then he turned and he looked at me
He said Mama made Christmas good at our house
Though most years she just did without
Tell me Sir, what am I going to do,
Somehow I've got to buy her these Christmas shoes

So I laid the money down, I just had to help him out
I'll never forget the look on his face when he said
Mama's gonna look so great

Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please
It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size
Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time
You see she's been sick for quite a while
And I know these shoes would make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight

Bridge:
I knew I'd caught a glimpse of heaven's love
As he thanked me and ran out
I knew that God had sent that little boy
To remind me just what Christmas is all about

So I've got this feeling...

this lovin' feelin'. Hahaha no I'm just kidding. I actually almost feel like I'm back in senior year at the very end when I didn't want to do any work at all. And I felt burnt out. Luckily I don't feel really burnt out, I just don't want to do any work! I'm getting so lazy! And it's worse than high school because I actually have a lot of time to be lazy now that volleyball is over. I start at 8:30 most mornings and I'm done by 1:20 on T-W-F. On Monday I'm done at 12 and Thursdays just suck. But I'm having major post-Thanksgiving-itis. Maybe all that tryptophan is stuck in my system in large quantities. So I'm trying step it up and finish strong.
My exam schedule is pretty nice. I wish I were done on Tuesday (which could have been a reality) but as it is I have an exam on M-W-F. Nothing on Tuesday or Thursday. So I can't really complain. And I won't! :)
As we start to make plans to see each other over Christmas break I am getting increasingly excited. I really can't wait to see you all. Be prepared for some of the biggest, most awkward hugs of your life. Be ready.
Here's something I learned in anatomy today. A lot of times when someone has a spinal injury i.e. a football player who got tackled by the Hulk, they are paralyzed. Doctors tell the patient that they don't know if the paralysis is temporary or permanent. They have to say this. When a spinal cord injury occurs that means that a lot of spinal cells are now dead, meaning they have ruptured and spilled potassium (K+) into the body. Until the body cleans up all the excess potassium there can be no action potential in the cells and therefore no movement. So the doctors have to wait for your body to clean up before they can accurately tell if someone is going to be permanently paralyzed. Isn't that cool????

It has to be said...

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

I hope you are all having a fun, happy, lovely Thanksgiving. Remember, it is a day (among many) to give thanks.

<3

No parkin' baby...

Holy moly, the past couple of weeks have been so crazy!! There has been so much going on! And I have an 8-10 page paper due on Wednesday and I have my muscle practical (where I'm responsible for knowing almost every muscle in the human body) on Tuesday. Oh yes. Fun stuff, right?
Volleyball season is also almost over. We have what could possibly be our last game of the season on Tuesday against Concordia at Concordia. We had our last home game on Saturday so it was also the day that we recognized all of the seniors on the team. I was crying and I'm only a freshman so I haven't even known these seniors for a whole year. But if you met any of them you would love them. But anyways... you have no idea who those people are so this must be intensely boring for you. :)
Has anyone else registered for their classes yet?? It was one of the most stressful things ever. I was freaking out! I had a really late registration time so what seemed like a million other freshman were able to steal that classes I wanted away from me. So I checked the classes that I wanted about a half hour before my registration time begins only to find that all of the classes I wanted were taken, the other classes were filling up fast, and that had to rearrange my entire schedule in a half hour and try to make it work while also managing to steer clear of all the professors that I knew I didn't want thanks to ratemyprofessor.com. So I was late to small group (my leader was completely fine with it, she told a tale of her own horror stories) and I registered in the beginning of my chemistry lab. Seriously, some of the people here are pretty cool. And I'm sure that there are many people at your college who are pretty cool. It's just an awesome world that God has made!!!
I had a point when I started this post but I think I lost it when I started randomly bustin out some dance moves to my iTunes. Riiiiiiight. But at least I'm not in danger of being a dead friend!
Happy Sunday everyone and have an incredible week!!!!

... no parkin' on the dance floor!

Fiiyuh!

SO currently there are over 10 wildfires blazing crazily in the San Diego County. At least 3 of them are out of control. It's super scary to see them, Candyce and I watched CNN and saw the fire in Irvine. It's really horrible because over 90 no 112 nope 150+ members of faculty and staff have been affected by the evacuations and I know for a fact that some students here have already lost their house. We don't have classes tomorrow, but it's hard to enjoy when I know that so many people are suffering.

Please pray for everyone affected by the fire!

Problems and Pain

Not my problems or pains... but this is an excerpt from what we have been reading in psychology class. It's pretty awesome.

"Life is difficult.
This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult- once we truly understand and accept it- then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.
Most do not fully see this truth that life is difficult. Instead they moan more or less incessantly, noisily or subtly, about the enormity of their problems, their burdens, and their difficulties as if life were generally easy, as if life should be easy. They voice their belief, noisily or subtly, that their difficulties represent a unique kind of affliction that should not be and that has somehow been especially visited upon them, or else upon their families, their tribe, their class, their nation, their race or even their species, and not upon others. I know about this moaning because I have done my share.
Life is a series of problems. Do we want to moan about them or solve them? Do we want to teach our children to solve them?"
The Road Less Traveled 9 (pg 15) by M. Scott Peck, M.D.

I like it. But yeah, I've definitely been there before. But tackling your problem head on (with God's guidance of course and some friend talk-age) seems to be the best way to go.
And I'm listening to some Grey's Anatomy songs. They are BOMB.COM!!!!!!

Life in SD

So I don't want to become a dead friend so here's a funny Will Ferrell video. Skip ahead to about 7:27... that's the funny Spartan skit. I don't know what the beginning skit is.


I do have things to say but I don't have time for a long update. So just know that I miss you all and I hope you are having fun!

You might want to rethink that Dungeon and Dragon club. You might turn into this guy... :P

SATURDAY

Well this short week is finally over. It was only a four day school week but it felt so darn long!! All of my classes seemed to drag on and on and on and on and oooooonnnn...
But it was still a surprisingly fun week.
Yesterday I had my first test. I was so freaked out!!! I totally forgot about it until WEDNESDAY so I was studying like crazy. And now after the test I have no idea how I did. The short answer section was a piece of cake but the multiple choice was a bit iffy. It could go either way...
And today is a HUGE GAME AGAINST CONCORDIA!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOT!!! I know I definitely won't play in this game but I am still so so so excited!!! They are #2 in our division and we are now ranked #6. Our coach said that we are now rated higher than we have been for the past six years. It's awesome. Volleyball is going pretty well. Yesterday was a rough day for me, one of those days where you are just off and it's hard to figure out why. But I have gotten some playing time so I'm not complaining. When we played Hope I played libero for the entire match and I also played against Madonna (a freaking huge team). So at least I get some playing time.
And my parents, Luke, Livi, Tay, my Grammy, and Kevin are all coming down to SD for the match today. That's going to be a lot of fun. The match starts at 3pm... pretty soon!
The past couple of weeks have been rough being away from home and all of you guys... but I think I'm really settling in here. And I'm praying for all of you that everything is going well for all of you. :)
<3

Time

I cannot believe how fast time can seem to go. So much of the day is spent studying. But don't worry, you can usually fit in a nice movie if you want a break. Or go running or something.
I don't really have time to do a nice long post right now since I have to study some more for anatomy but I was really proud of this. We had a tournament in Salt Lake City on Friday and Saturday and I got to play. The school's photographer was there taking pictures and I was on the school's website!! So I'm excited about that and I wanted to tell you guys. I already told my Mom and Dad. :) It was labeled "Jillian Doornbos with a perfect pass."


And a couple of the girls on my hall are already in the nursing program (they are sophomores) and they have had some really good advice. They came around tonight and wanted to practice doing an examination on me and Candyce. It was cool!
I miss you all.

Pictures

Well... I did promise some pictures. AND I have some!

View from my room

View from the bathroom

First building on my schedule

The first classroom

Walking back from class

View from gym

Well... classes are going pretty good so far. I have some hard classes, some hard teachers, and some easy classes and easy teachers. I feel like I've been at Loma for months. But I was really really overwhelmed the first and second day. It just felt like everything was crashing down on me, especially since I had to get the assignments I will miss on Thurs. and Fri. But all in all... it's not bad at all.
And for all you Calvin girls... its only like 4 months till Christmas!!!
Love you all.

Official Move-In Day

After Kevin, Sarah, Dan, and Kristen departed (THANKS YOU GUYS FOR COMING TO SEE ME! :) I found myself to be inexplicably sad. I felt like crying... but I have no idea why I was sad. So I popped in my "Feel Good" CD by Dan Kim. The music was very good Dan. I enjoyed it a lot. But somehow, I felt a little bit sadder as I was listening. But by the end of the CD I was back to feeling good. So I guess it really is the "Feel Good" CD. Sweeeeet.
So today I helped people move in, went to my own check-in and got my sweet photo id taken, and picked up my books. They were over 5oo bucks. Used books. And I still have to get 2 more. I would encourage you all to buy your books online from a reliable source like amazon or cheapbooks. Seriously. That's what I'm going to do next semester.
Anyways I don't have much time... it's getting late and my eyes are falling closed. But I am having fun here even though I do miss you all. <3

I'm writing this from...

my dorm room in San Diego! Yep, it is way official. I'm here at Point Loma for the 07/08 school year. It feels like I'm just at camp for the week and that I will be home soon.
I can't post pictures yet since I don't have the software on my laptop yet. So I will post pictures as soon as I get that. I have to go now... see you guys later!!!!!

Switch-A-Roo

Tonight Sarah and I pulled a switch-a-too on Dan and Kevin and took THEM out on a date. We traveled to LA and proceeded to have a great time. It was pretty awesome. And I would like to add that I won a game of bowling. One out of two isn't bad if I say so myself. Happy 2 month Kevin!! :)
H-PIDDY!!
EGGPLANT!! :)
Anyways, I can't believe I am leaving on Monday. It's so darn soon!! I still haven't tested myself to see if I can run a mile in under 8 minutes! We have to be able to do that. That's a little scary to be honest. Oh dear...
Well, at a certain point in the evening I almost started crying because I suddenly realized how much I was going to miss everyone. Really guys and gals, you are the BEST. I'm having a goodbye party on Aug. 5th at my house at 3. Come.
Okay enough sad stuff. Here's some funny youTube videos. The first one is another HP rap... not as good as the first one but still funny. The second one is from Reno911. It's funnier if you watch Reno911. But still funny now.

HP Rap



Reno911 Groping Course

Manic Mondays

So... this is my first post that is being written from my bed! Meaning that I am using my laptop in my bed right now to go on the internet. I love having a laptop. It's nice and little. However since I am trying to set it all up I have had to call the people in India about 3 times. In one day. That's a little embarassing but it's no big deal. As long as my computer works well I will call as many times as I need to.
So today was really really fun. I was woken up around 9am by a phone call by Debra, my counselor at PL, which was interesting. I was going to just ignore the call but then I saw the 619 area code and I couldn't ignore it. The lesson is: if you call me early in the morning and I haven't had enough sleep (at least 5 hours) I probably won't answer. Just don't be offended. I'll call you back later when my mind will actually function. There are a few exceptions to the rule. Those exceptions are my Mom, Dad, or God.
Anyways. Then....... I found out that I will need to put ALL of my songs from my iPod on my laptop manually. Lucky lucky me. You really don't want to know the details. It's not that interesting and it includes me not being very smart.
My (half)sister was over that day (and the previous night) so we talked a little bit. I worked on my songs for a long long time. And talked to a man in India for a while. It's so hard to understand the accent over the phone. He had to repeat everything twice. AND he couldn't tell me what a router looked like. Geez!
And I just found out that my registration is being blocked until I can fax in my immunization records so I had to run to my old doctor's office to sign for them. Sadly, they didn't have my MMP record so I have to find that somehow. And SOON. Otherwise bad things will happen. Obviously.
Then I saw Hairspray with Sarah for the second time. It was amazing! Even better the second time since I knew the songs much much better. It was so good. I know a lot of people will disagree for various reasons but they are all wrong. It is amazing. All the actors and actresses are awesome. :) I highly recommend it. Then we went back to Sarah's house and waited for Kevin and Dan and Wes and Kristen. They took forever. Darn them! :) We were getting antsy waiting.
We all went to youth group and played a painful game of soccer. I don't remember who won, but Dan got NAILED by the soccer ball so many times it was hilarious. He would fall to the ground in his girl pants and we would all (obviously) laugh. Good times.
Then we all went back to Sarah's house and laughed at some funny things on YouTube. And now I'm home... calling India and putting CDs on my iTunes.
Sorry this post jumps around so much. At this time my mind isn't working enough to make it into a cohesive flowing post. Have fun ladies and gents.
I LEAVE ON MONDAY SO WE BETTER ALL HANG OUT.
POOL PARTY AT MY HOUSE ON AUG. 5TH... LATER ON IN THE DAY.
SAVE THE DATE!

Listening to:
I'll Take You There by The Staple Singers
AND
The entire Hairspray Soundtrack

An Update

Currently listening to: "Put Your Records On" by Corinne Bailey Rae. It is such a great song, puts you in a good mood.

I'm back from MN. It was really really fun. I had forgotten how much fun those volleyball trips are. The team is so close it feels like you are there with a big family. I will really miss my teammates... and even my crazy coach. She sent us an email filled with advice for us, since she is now allowed to be "more than your mean club coach". She made a speech to us and the parents and in it she said she was grateful to the parents for putting up with someone who made their kids "feel like crap a lot of times". The funny thing is that I am so grateful to her. She wasn't my friend, she was my coach. A great coach.

I leave for Colorado soon. July 21st to be exact... after the Harry Potter party of course! That will be pretty cool. Speaking of Harry Potter we (Me, Sarah, Dan, and Nori) just saw the new movie last night/this morning. It was a good movie even if it did differ from the books a lot. Harry Potter is hard to mess up. It was definitely better than the Chamber of Secrets movie which was so boring I fell asleep. We had a lot of fun waiting in line doing Sudoku, talking, and listening to Dan be like a gay Dr. Phil. But it's okay Dan... we trust you.

I just got a new camera and I am having a lot of fun taking pictures with the cool color accent feature that Canon has. I'll put some photos up at the end of this post. It's a fun thing to do. I took Maggie May out for a walk today with my camera strapped to me. Lots of fun. There are so many beautiful things out there that I drive past everyday without really noticing them.

I have a dentist appointment on Friday. We are going to have to continue our monthly chat, right Sarah? "So, have you been flossing?"

Guilty look, fingers crossed behind the back, "Uh, yeeessss."

"This isn't like talking on the phone. I can see your fingers."

:)

I have been working like a madwoman getting all of my college stuff straightened out. I think I have called Loma every single day this week. They know my name. Me and Nancy are getting to be pretty tight. Sweet foo.

And Kevin comes back extremely soon!!!!! So, as you can imagine, I'm pretty happy. :)

"Don't waste your life in doubts and fears: spend yourself on the work before you, well assured that the right performance of this hour's duties will be the best preparation for the hours or ages that follow it."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill

Fifteen percent concentrated power of will

Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain

And a hundred percent reason to remember the name.
"Remember the Name" by Fort Minor

My 9 Names... yeah I was bored after practice today... :)
1.Name: Jillian

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first 4 letters of real name plus izzle.) Jillizzle

3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (fav color and animal) Yellow Cat

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (your middle name and street you live on) Alexandria Stanbridge

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name.) Dooji (hahaha I like that one)

6. YOUR SUPERHERO NAME: (Your 2nd favorite color, and random thing) Pink Candy

7. YOUR ARABIC NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, 1st letter of your middle name, 2nd letter of your moms maiden name, 3rd letter of you dads middle name, 1st letter of a siblings first name, and last letter of your moms middle name) Ioaacon

8. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (Parents middle names) Micheal VanHorsen

9. YOUR GOTH NAME: (black, and the name of one of your pets) Black Maggie

In other more interesting news I leave Sunday morning for Minneapolis, MN for JO's. Yay! It's gonna be tight. Crazy, since my team is a little loco, but so much fun. I actually do have more to say but my mom needs the computer so I will post a little later. Bye!!!!!

So I said to myself...

Why not do a crazy thing and post BEFORE I start getting all these dead blog warnings? It's a pretty good idea if I do say so myself.

So the first days of summer have been pretty lazy (with the exception of the awesome go-kart racing yesterday) and already I can feel myself settling down and getting comfortable in summer. Luckily I made myself promise that this summer wouldn't be too lazy, that I would still stay on top of things. And there is a lot to do.

My dad built a cool treehouse/clubhouse thing. The twins put around 10 pillows, three blankets, and a sleeping bag in there so I decided to sit up there for about four hours and finish a book my mom got me for graduation. It's called "The Last Summer (of You & Me)" by Ann Brashares, the same woman who wrote the Traveling Pants books. And this book was really good too. I think it was much better than the pants books but in a different way. It was all about moving forward, to not be afraid of the future. The message wasn't said in the traditional way either, you could just see it through the characters, etc. I would recommend it.

My graduation gift from my parents is going to be a laptop, and it will be a mac (apple). If anybody has some COMPELLING reason why that would not be a good thing then tell me because I would like to know. :)

Some pictures of the cozy nest:

Graduation

I started this post a couple of days ago... I'm not going to edit it, just keep movin forward.

So. Today was the last day of high school. And if I'm being completely honest here... it didn't feel different than any other day. Sure, we messed around in class WAY more and took a million pictures but it still felt like we would be coming back to school next Monday. I expected to cry and I didn't. Again, honestly it feels like we have school on Monday.
But there is a difference because we DON'T have school Monday. We don't have any more chances in high school. This chapter of our lives is coming to a close and it's time to reflect on what we have done and what we want to do. Not only what we want to do... but what God wants us to do. Shouldn't they be one and the same?

Now high school is over. I would like to say I feel sad... but it was so nice to wake up at 11am today! It was SWEET! Really, with no school we have time to hang out with all of our friends together, not in a room with a dozen other people.

In other related news I have found a dress for graduation and Shiloh and I did do some sweet sunbathing today. I think I was too white for it to do anything but it was still fun. And now for some pictures.

Bible class ROCKED!

AP English ALSO rocked!

even if Mrs. Terhorst was a little forgetful.

Lunch Bunch '07!

It's official.

And pretty exciting.

:) :) :)

The Last Weeks.

These are the last weeks of our senior year. Holy moly people!! I don't want to go any further and start crying so I will simply say that I will miss all of you!! I'm talking mainly to the people out of state of course. The rest of us will HAVE to hang out.
Anyways.
I had a volleyball tournament on Saturday that was a lot of fun and very tiring at the same time. My scary coach Melissa (seriously, we are all scared of her) wasn't there so it was our day to have some fun!! We did really well in pool play and in play-offs. We lost to Mizuno even though we KILLED them 25-15 the last time we played them. Our team is growing so much closer, it's amazing to look back and see how far we have all come together. We had to write anonomous notes about each player and turn it into our coach. She put a packet together for each person with all of the notes about them in it and gave it to us a couple of days ago. Just reading the note from coach and seeing the things your teammates write about you... it's such an emotional experience.
I can't really gather all of my thoughts up at the moment to create a decent post, but I knew I had to say something or else I would become a dead blogger. And that cannot happen!!! NEVER!!!!

CUCHARA DE ORO FOREVER!!!!

JSB 2007!!!

Hey y'all. How much fun was JSB!? It was awesome!
Unfortunately my mom seems to have a problem with picture taking so most of my photos are blurry. I'm depending on you guys for some photos!!

Two of the coolest people.

AKA Kevin and me. :)

The Boutonniere Battle.

I lost.

I stole this one from Stina.

The coolest girls ever!!

Seriously.

My Cat

Well! All I can say about the volleyball canoe trip was that it was very fun but also very unfun. I have a ton of stories I will tell tomorrow; I need to use major hand gestures. But I will say that NO I did not fall out of the canoe. Whew. That is a huge relief. It would almost be worse to have to come home and tell everyone that I fell out of a canoe. I would never hear the end of it. People still tease me about leaving my car running sophomore year.
Anyways, my cat is really stupid. I don't understand cats. When i got home he (Milo) came running up to me. Later I went to sit down in the computer chair and he was laying there. So I start to gently move him and the freaking cat bites me! Ow! So I muzzle him with one hand, pick up the fat cat with the other hand, and sit down and put him on my lap. He gave me a major dirty look (I can understand cat expressions) and ran off. About two minutes later he comes out of nowhere and jumps on my lap. He has now been on my lap for about 30 minutes. First he rubbed his head against my chest and now he is grooming himself. What is going on in that tiny brain??! (This was a pretty cool story, I realize. :)
I sure don't understand cat language but I am pretty good at this language.

A plane is on its way to Houston when a blonde in economy class gets up and moves to the first class section and sits down. The flight attendant watches her do this and asks to see her ticket. She then tells the blonde that she paid for economy class and that she will have to sit in the back.

The blonde replies, "I'm blond, I'm beautiful, I'm going to Houston and I'm staying right here."

The flight attendant goes into the cockpit and tells the pilot and the co-pilot that there is a blonde sitting in first class that belongs in economy and won't move back to her seat. The co-pilot goes back to the blonde and tried to explain that because she only paid for economy she will have to leave and return to her seat.

The blonde replies, "I'm blonde, I'm beautiful, I'm going to Houston and I'm staying right here."

The co-pilot tells the pilot that he probably should have the police waiting when they land to arrest this blonde woman who won't listen to reason.

The pilot says, "You say she is a blonde? I'll handle this. I'm married to a blonde. I speak blonde."

He goes back to the blonde and whispers in her ear, and she says - - -

"Oh, I'm sorry." And she gets up and goes back to her seat in economy.

The flight attendant and co-pilot are amazed and asked him what he said to make her move without any fuss.

I told her, "First class isn't going to Houston ."

Canoes and Camping

Well, Spring Break is coming to an end. It is all very sad, especially since I still haven't started any of my homework. If I even have homework. I am leaving in about an hour to go on the volleyball retreat with the rest of the Point Loma volleyball team. We are going to the Colorado River and we will canoe down it for three days. I return to San Diego around 10pm on Sunday night, meaning I will get home at around 12am Monday morning. At school I will either be extremely crabby or extremely hyper, either way watch out. :)
I would like to say to all of the mission trippers I hope your trips went well, I was praying for all of you. And to the people who stayed home (like me) hopefully that also went well and you are ready to start school with renewed vigor!! No more procrastinating! Right?

I know, I know. Wrong.

See you guys on Monday!!! <3

P.S. Please pray that no one gets hurt on this trip. I can already see myself falling out of the canoe...

Have you seen my tires???

Can I just say that things have been going amazingly well? Hopefull I don't jinx myself here...
But things have been going really well with the exception of a stupid english test. Yesterday I had an appointment with Debbie (my hair person) and we had a fun time just talking while she cut my hair. She is pregnant!!! That is amazing news! She and her husband have been trying for 10 years, and it finally just happened without any medicinal interference! Prayers would be awesome for her right now. And I cut 3-4 inches of my hair off. Which feels great.
And, as of last Friday, I have a cool date to JSB! Woot! Kevin asked me while we were all leaving Spoons in the cutest way ever. And I'm happy I didn't get a parking ticket. ;) And I actually already found my dress. Normally I start shopping a week or so before the dance, but my volleyball tournament ended early one day so my mom and I decided to shop. It's a little too hard to explain, but it's really pretty (obviously). =D
Since I am extremely bored and I would like to put off my letter to the president for as long as possible, here is a lovely survey stolen from Kevin.

-Prologue-

1. Where did you take your default pic?
At Sequoia, right before we went snowshoeing up a HUGE mountain.

2. Exactly what are you wearing right now?
Old volleyball pants, cami

3. What is your current problem?
The knot in my left shoulder. It hurts!

4. What makes you most happy?
My family and my awesome friends

5. What's the name of the song that you're listening to?
City of Blinding Lights by U2

7. Do you like MTV?
Noooo

8. Name something that annoys you about people:
Making fun of others, ignorance

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Chapter 1
YOU

1. Nickname(s):
J, JJ, J-Dogg, HOMESLICE

2. eye color:
blue

..........................................................................................................

Chapter 2:
FAMILY

1. Do you live with your parent(s)?
Yes

2. Do you get along with your parent(s)?
Oh yes.

3. Are your parents married/separated/divorced?
Married <3

4. Do you have any Siblings?
An older sister Nicole, and a younger brother, Luke, and sister, Livi

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Chapter 3:
FAVORITE

1. Ice Cream:
Mint Chocolate Chip/ Chocolate Malted Crunch

2. season?
Spring

3.Color(s):
Yellow

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Chapter 4:

DO YOU-

1. Write on your hand?
Sometimes

2. Call people back?
Usually

3. Believe in love?
Oh yes. <3
"Love is a many splendid thing, love lifts us up where we belong!"
-Elephant Love Medley (Moulin Rouge)

4. Sleep on a certain side of the bed?
Usually the right side

5. Any mental health issues?
Nope, although I'm sure there are some who would disagree

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Chapter 5:

Have You...

1. Broken a bone?
Never

2. Had physical therapy?
Once

3. Gotten stitches?
Yep, one time in my pinky toe

4. Taken painkillers?
Si

5. Gone SCUBA diving or snorkeling?
Snorkeling in Tahiti. A HUGE stingray stuck to me.

6. Been stung by a bee?
At Catalina on a Girl Scout trip

7. Thrown up at a doctors office?
No

8. Sworn in front of your parents?
NO

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Chapter 6:

Who/What was the last...

1. Movie you saw in the movie theatres?
Catch and Release, I think. I can't really remember.

2. Person to text you?
Sarah

3. Person who called you?
My Daddy

4. Person to tackle you?
My brother. He went down.

5. Thing you touched?
My hair

6. Thing you ate?
Cornbread

7. Thing you said?
"Our prom theme should be 'Booty!'"

8. Had a detention?
Freshman year. Mr. Rinks. Grrrrrr...

That was some fun procrastinating. :)
See y'all tomorrow! Last day of school before Spring Break!

Days go by...

Oh man. Sometimes I think that my case of Senioritits isn't that bad. It was only until 5am this morning that I woke up and realized I hadn't done my english essay. Eeeek. That was a rude awakening. So I did manage to get my essay done. I have to say, Ms. Admiraal letting me go to the library during bible did help. :D We were just filling out our review sheet anyways.
And we now know where JSB is! I am so excited! The last dance... it will be completely awesome and fun. And it will be really great if......... I find the right JSB dress.... right? ;)
So the Senior Play is starting now and practices are starting up! I get to be Ann, the peasant girl with purple feet. Come on, I know you want to see that. Purple feet? There's nothing cooler.

Psalm 101:1

El Resto de su Vida

School seems to be going by so fast. It's so crazy to think about. We have about 86 more days left in the school year, including weekends and holidays. (I got that number from Stina). It's so exciting but I am starting to feel nervous for the first time. I mean, it's college and I won't get to see all my cool friends anymore. And I hope I didn't make the wrong college choice. I firmly believe that your college experience is only what you make it and that there is no wrong college choice; but I still am feeling the butterflies.
I got an email from the coach at UCSC a couple of days ago informing me that I was her top recruit for the 2007 year (I'm pretty sure they say that for everyone) and it made me think. What if I had chosen UCSC? Would I have liked it better? Will I not like Point Loma? Oh goodness, what am I going to do with my life???
But I would prefer to not think about that right now.
Today was another day for Golden Spoon with Jenny, Shi, and Stina. It was so yummy. And youth group tonight. Apparently we are cooking, which should be fun. I'm sure I'll throw something at someone, and vice versa. Then it's off to the gym (with Shiloh?). Oh boy.
There are so many upcoming events to be excited about.
I have volleyball practice soon. And the senior play starts soon! I'm Ann and I have purple feet because I smash grapes all day. :) And then JSB is coming up. JSB could be super fun. Really fun, especially if
And then school is over! ):(:

CCHSAD

I'm doing government right now. Government projects are not very fun, to put it mildly. I have a story about COMPusa vs Circuit City, but for now I want to share an email my Grams sent me.

SCHOOL ANSWERING MACHINE

This is the message that the Pacific Palisades High School staff voted unanimously to record on their school telephone answering machine. This is the actual answering machine message for the school. This came about because they implemented a policy requiring students and parents to be responsible for their children's absences and missing homework. The school and teachers are being sued by parents who want their children's failing grades changed to passing grades - even though those children were absent 15-30 times during the semester and did not complete enough schoolwork to pass their classes.

The outgoing message:

"Hello! You have reached the automated answering service of your school. In order to assist you in connecting to the right staff member, please listen to all the options before making a selection:
* To lie about why your child is absent - Press 1
* To make excuses for why your child did not do his work- Press 2
* To complain about what we do - Press 3
* To swear at staff members - Press 4
* To ask why you didn't get information that was already enclosed in your newsletter and several flyers mailed to you - Press 5
* If you want us to raise your child - Press 6
* If you want to reach out and touch, slap or hit someone -Press 7
* To request another teacher, for the third time this year -Press 8
* To complain about bus transportation - Press 9
* To complain about school lunches - Press 0

* If you realize this is the real world and your child must be accountable and responsible for his/her own behavior, class work, homework and that it's not the teachers' fault for your child's lack of effort: Hang up and have a nice day!

*If you want this in Spanish, you must be in the wrong country."

The Truth
This voice mail message never actually appeared on any high school voice mail system in Pacific Palisades, California, but the written version of it was created as a humorous and sarcastic response to an actual controversy at one of the schools.
In 2002 there was conflict between parents and school authorities at Pacific Palisades Charter High School over an attendance policy.The school is a part of Palisades Charter Schools, which operate under the Los Angeles Unified School District, but independently.The school tried to crack down on absences by deciding that any unexcused absences of ten or more days per tem would result in automatic failure for the student.A result was that during the first term of 2002, more than a hundred students who had otherwise passing grades were flunked because of absences and tardies. The parents cried foul. They said they had not know about the policy and some threatened to take the issue to court.Then the Los Angeles Unified School District got into the fray by saying that since the attendance policy had not been cleared with them, the failing grades would have to be set aside. The school disagreed, saying it had the privilege of operating autonomously because of being a charter school. In the midst of that, someone created the fictional answering machine message, which has circulated ever since as a monument of what teachers and administrators would like to be able to say to some parents.

Awkward moments...

Awkward moments are so frequent. I find them hysterical, usually hours later. Anyways yesterday I went to St. Mary's for a TB and drug test so I could be cleared to volunteer there. So I go into the employment testing place (yes, I realize I am not an employee) and right away the awkward sets in. I filled out a little form and a doctor guy came up to me and handed me a cup with a thick black line really near the bottom. That's nice. Here's our convo.

Doc- Okay, here you go, just make sure to fill up to the black line.
Me- Wait... what?
Doc- To the black line.
**silence**
At this moment I was thinking that there was no way I could do that. The black line was like a centimeter from the bottom of the cup.
Doc- You know, over the black line.
Me- Ooooh, I thought you meant under the... but it's so... I was... Okay.

Oh wow. Fun times.
And at the moment I do not have a computer. We are redoing the kitchen (and the living room) and so my dad had to knock down the half wall we have separating the living room from the den. So the computer obviously had to be moved and there is no place to set it up at the moment. AND we were just given our first government project and I'm doing a PowerPoint. The joys of government and construction.
There has been a lot of talk about lent. Should you give up something, what should you give up, giving up stuff is weird... etc. I usually give up something every year, and this year it was picking my face. It is a big problem for me. But anyways I gave it up because everytime I do that it hurts my integumentary system. (woot for anatomy!) And after all, God created me in his image and by doing that to my face I am harming my temple. And now everytime I reach for my face I tell myself to stop. So I stop and think about what God has blessed me with. Great family and friends, food, shelter... just everything! I think lent is about putting everything into perspective. You could give up tv and use the free time to seriously study your bible but it wouldn't mean anything if you went back to your old ways as soon as lent was over and stopped reading your bible. Lent can be a way to finally get into that habit of reading your bible since you don't have the tv or your myspace to distract you. Giving up something for lent can be completely useless or a good way to grow closer to God, and that decision is up to the individual. Just so you know, I'm not against people who don't "give up" anything.
And now it is time for me to go. It's time for my fourth chocolate chocolate-chip cookie. :)
And tomorrow I have a volleyball tournament! We are ranked #1 in the 18's division tomorrow! Yay! And tomorrow we play on court A1. Sweeeet!

--"Dude! You got a tattoo!
-"So do you, dude! Dude, what does my tattoo say?
--"Sweet!" What about mine?
-"Dude!" What does mine say?
--"Sweet!" What about mine?
-"Dude!" What does mine say?
;)

Did you say candy?

So who else is totally pumped for Valentine's Day?!?!?!?!

-.-
o.O
-.- 'zzzz
O.O

I crack myself up. This is just a quick post before I head off to volleyball practice. I will be carrying around a large bag of candy tomorrow. Please, take [many] large handfuls because if you don't I will end up with a huge bag of candy tomorrow night.

And you know what happens when candy and I collide...

Houston?

The past couple of days have been so much fun, I can't even begin to describe them. Seriously. Every single day I am filled with so many thoughts, so many different ideas that I want to share on my blog but it seems that once I sit down to my keyboard they have all leaked out of my mind or they have creeped into some dark crevice of my mind where there is no way to find them.
Monday
-This was actually a pretty crappy day. It was, after all, a Monday. Plus I had homework in just about every class (all seven of them) and three hours of volleyball practice at Ocean View HS, twenty minutes away. But the day before Monday was good. I had a game on Sunday at Gahr and Aurora and Michelle (the coaches at PL) came to watch. And I played well, thank goodness.
Tuesday
-Wow! This day started out really crappy too! Well, maybe because I only got a few hours of sleep Monday night. That could have something to do with it. But by the end it was a good day. I took my first cycling class ever at the Cypress gym with Shi and Kristen. That was amazing, afterwards I felt tired and energized at the same time. I also felt like all my angry/sad emotions had vanished. That was nice.
Wednesday
-This day started good. Chapel is such a great way to start the day. And the McNair man was pretty entertaining even if my ears were still throbbing from the vocalist before him. I got my Senior Lunch permission slip and found out that I will be missing periods 1-5 sometime soon. That is always nice. I also forgot about a dentist appointment I had after school. Oooops. :)
Thursday - TODAY
-Anatomy was tons of fun today. That sensory lab is a lot of fun to do, trying to find the spot where your partner poked you on your neck can be very entertaining. Spanish was also very fun, it was fun on Wednesday too. That class is getting better...
And after school we went to Golden Spoon for some yummy raspberry yogurt with brownie. (bits of glass muffin... :D) Then Shi and I went to the gym again for a super quick arm workout. Then Shi, Justine, Jenny, Stina, and I went to Incredible Burger which was incredible. "Should I get the spaghetti or the enchilada?" "Get the en-cheeee-lah-dah Jenny. En-chee-lah-dah." And then we went to the basketball game and were joined by Rebekah, Sarah, and Tina. I have found that Tina makes a very comfortable backrest. Yay for Tina!
Tomorrow is Senior Lunch Day! Yay!!!!
Sorry this post is so list-y. I have been thinking about some things (like God, love, and college) but don't have anything specific to say. Nothing I can remember anyways.

Lock it up! No YOU lock it up!

I can't put together a post that makes sense right now.

Second semester is going to be a lot of work.

College is starting to make me nervous.

Yay for meatball sandwiches!

All you need is your own imagination
So use it that's what it's for.
Go inside, for your finest inspiration
Your dreams will open the door.
Vogue by Madonna

So long, they tried to tell you that you don't belong.
So, I guess we'll have to prove them wrong.
Pretty soon we'll hear them sing a long.
Last Call by Mae

Hitch the Guardian and Release

Tomorrow morning when I want breakfast I am going to have to walk through the twin's room, through my parents bathroom, through the den, outside into the cold and run my freezing self through the garage to the kitchen. That's the only way to get to the kitchen now since we are renovating our kitchen. I got to help knock down walls which was a great way to let loose some aggression. Something about swinging a huge metal hammer into a wall... it's just cool. :) I'll post some pictures later when I take some.
Anyways my Dad and I watched The Guardian last night and it was super super good. I cried a little. I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it, but if you haven't seen it I highly recommend it. If you want to borrow it, I have it and I would be more than happy to lend it to you. And at 4:15 Shi, Rebekah, Kristen, and I saw Catch and Release which was completely different than The Guardian but just as good. It doesn't hurt that the leading men were (are) adorable. What I don't understand however is why people (unmarried people) are always having sex in movies. Knock it off! Geez.

Catch and Release The Guardian

Duuuuuuuuude

Edit: A- on my calculus exam! Missed 11 points. :)
---
Congratulations Seniors, first semester is finally over! Now the challenge will be keeping Senioritis from come (or from taking over completely). I did well in all my finals, anywhere from an A to a B+, except in physics where I got a C+. What the heck? I thought I aced that sucker.
Yesterday to celebrate the end of the first semester we all went to Hof's Hut (Rebekah :), Jenny, Stina, Shi, Ester, Jim, Kristen, Sarah, and me). It was so much fun. We had straw-wrapper fights and I [tried] to throw some over to the next booth at Hannah and two other people. They thought it was Jim and retaliated by throwing some unopened jelly packs at him. And then they told our waiter it was his birthday so Jim was treated to a lovely mini chocolate cake that looked delicious.
And TODAY a bunch of us went to Manhattan Beach to have some fun. First at Stina's house we saw Mr. Dejager (what a cutie!). Then we ate a Deli Boys and played Frisbee on the beach, and laughed at Shiloh trying to play frisbee on the beach. ;) We also went shopping! And I actually bought a really pretty green shirt and I can't wait to wear it somewhere. Yay!
And Shiloh and I went to the Cypress gym tonight! That gym is really nice, much nicer than the one right next to my house. That was fun for me, and hopefully fun for Shi. How's the butt feeling Shi? Wait... which butt? Hahahaha... that came from something stupid that I said.
Anyways, yay for second semester!! Good luck to everyone and have a fantastic weekend!
Philippians 1:3

24?

Our group was just talking about the show 24 and I saw an article in the "news" about the show and the war on terrorism. I didn't really get it since I don't watch the show, but I thought it was interesting anyways.
24/Terrorism Article

And my "grandma" just had surgery to try and remove all of the cancer (she has breast cancer). Unfortunately more of her lymph nodes were affected than they had originally thought. The surgery was pretty extensive but she should be coming home tomorrow and starting chemo soon. Prayers would be much appreciated.

Screw the Cavaliers

Okay, Carpe Diem stays. It just sums up everything I believe so well. Not the sex stuff (duh) but that life is an amazing gift and is too precious to waste.
However I am wasting time RIGHT NOW. This post is happening because I am desperately trying to think of something to do so I don't have to study. I'm even thinking about cleaning my room. **gasp** I know, I know. It's just crazy. Monday is AP English and Physics, Tuesday is Economics and Spanish, Wednesday is Environmental Science, and Friday is Calculus.
Right now I wish I could just eat the papers and have them memorized. It could be a different form of osmosis. I could eat them with some water and the water could take the ink and lead and transfer it to my brain. Now you really know how much I don't want to study.
Anyways I took my little cousin to church with me today. My parents and the twins are in Palm Springs so it was just us. It was fun, she behaved herself and she didn't even fall asleep. The message was about relationships and how we have to put in the effort and take the risk. At your funeral, your family won't want to focus on the material possessions you accumulated. They will most likely want to focus on two things: the quality of your character and the quality of your relationships. That's what it comes down to. It definitely made me think about my own relationships with my friends and family. During my first years at Valley I wasn't willing to risk getting hurt. I didn't want to really be myself or make really close friends because I was afraid to let people in. I knew from experience that those closest to you can turn against you way too fast. But halfway through junior year I think God woke me up. I can't shut myself away, people need other people to talk to. It's a fact. I still like to be by myself and read a good book, but now it is just as much fun to be with those that I love. I love my friends! You guys are awesome.

Much love and luck on finals. We can all pass math!!!!!!!!!!

Carpe Diem?

First of all... today was awesome. I'll post later as to why, but I have to say that I'm thinking about changing my blog name. Carpe Diem. Those of you in AP English, think about the poems we are reading right now. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about they were written by men who were trying to tell women that we are all going to die soon, so carpe diem! and sleep with them.
Not exactly the point I'm trying to make.
Anyways, it will probably come from a John Donne poem, and I know I have you tense with anticipation. Whatever you do, just remember to breathe. Breathe in... breathe out.

Children of Men

EDIT:
Today (Tuesday) I answered the door in my pink cookie pajama pants, a blue flannel pajama top with doggies on it, and my monkey slippers. Yes, I know I have style.
It was actually pretty fun. Reminds me of my grocery-shopping-in-pajamas days. Which was only a week or two ago.

---------

Today was such a great day! I had a volleyball tournament in San Diego (where the temperature was a crisp 24 degrees) on Saturday and Sunday. So today was great because I was able to sleep in until 9:06 am. It was amazing! I think I set some kind of sleeping in record. Today was also much better than Sunday. On Sunday I was wayyy thankful for chicken pie dinners and 30 minute music sweeps.

But today I woke up and found chocolate milk in our fridge! Right then I knew that Monday was officially a "good day". Then I washed my soon-to-not-be-mine Trooper and taped two FOR SALE signs in it and drove it to the gym parking lot. All of you who go to the 24 Hour Fitness on Bellflower and Spring can drop by and say hello. I'm going tomorrow. Let's have a party!

Speaking of parties, Sarah, Stina, Shi, Kristen, and I had a party today. Everyone else missed out. We saw Children of Men and then went to Starbuck's and chit-chatted. AND I found out that Mrs. Fieldhouse is pregnant!!!! YAY!!!!! I'm super super super excited for her. She has one big hug coming.

I'm in a reflective mood right now. You would think that having said that I would share some profound thought I have had. But I won't.

But I am excited for Tuesday!! Let's all wake up on the right side of the bed tomorrow. By the grace of God we RISE!

Listen to this: This is My World - Darius Rucker

Da Beach

It's amazing. It feels as though the days are moving slow and fast at the same time. Craziness.
Anyways. My vacation with the family was fun. We went to Sequoia and stayed at the Sequoia-Montecito Lodge and it was a lot of fun. The first night we were there we stayed in a cabin with NO HEATER. Yes I have many good stories about the cold... but I'd much rather tell them in person. It's just better. Let me just say we had one wood burning stove (that took forever to heat up) and the temperature was about 10 degrees F.
But the people there were amazing and very friendly. It feels like one big family there. Many nights I was able to go downstairs to the lodge and sit by the fire and read while games were going on. AND a lot of the staff were very cute. And they were all from different parts of the world. Very cool.
Christmas was also awesome. I'm spoiled (I know that) and it was a spoiled day. I snuck into bed with my parents on Christmas Eve. Actually I didn't sneak in. It's tradition.
Here's some photos of Sequoia.



And amazingly I climbed up that mountain in snowshoes. I also X-C skied and snowboarded. And yes I fell a lot. Not only on my bottom but pretty much everywhere. It was awesome.
And I have some other cool pictures. Mostly of scenery, but there is one good one of our (my mom and me) snowy smackdown. :) Pictures
Isn't it amazing how cool nature is? It sounds a little corny I suppose, but it's true.
Happy New Year y'all!