Music that Moves Me: Look Around

"Keep on running,
Never get to feel the moment,
It's like you're sleeping,
Cause you don't take the time to take it in line,
Like a train wreck,
You're on a mission,
Tunnel vision got you blinded,
Better slow down,
Before you lose ground,
It'll happen anyway...
When you close your eyes to see the view,
You miss everything surrounding you,
Stop and just look around, get up and look around,
get up and look around, get up and look around"
Look Around-David Archuleta

For everyone who, like me, sometimes gets so caught up in the future that they forget to live in the present:



Also, I have a question: Which album cover do you like more:

The cover to his first album
Or the cover to his second album?

For those of you who aren't familiar with David Archuleta, he is a very happy smiley sweet kind of person. Until I saw the cover of his first album, I didn't know just how UNHAPPY he could look. I personally hated that album cover, just because it wasn't HIM. So I'm voting for the second one (though I'm not completely in love with his shoes or the position); just look at his smile! :D

Comment and let me know what you think! Thanks for reading,

--
"But you see, it's not me, it's not my family.
In your head, in your head they are fighting,
With their tanks and their bombs,
And their bombs and their guns.
In your head, in your head, they are crying..."


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(¸.·´¸.·*´¨) *
(¸.· Elizabeth *´¨)
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(¸.·´*

Tagged by Bleah!

Bleah Briann from With Love and Kisses tagged all Elizabeths, and since Elizabeth is my name I considered myself tagged! :D.

1. What are your favorite songs of all time?
Since it says 'of all time', I'm picking the songs that have been my favorites for a long time and still are, not my 'favorites at the moment': I Want to Break Free-Queen, Zombie-The Cranberries, Breathe Today-Flyleaf, Separate Ways-Journey, Runaway-Bon Jovi, Girl on the Moon-Foreigner

2. Have you found something you really want?
I really want a new camera… not sure what it means by 'found' though.

3. What's the funniest fact about you?
I'm not a factually funny person, I don't think… seriously can't think of anything good. I can't really burp, I tend to inhale instead, so I 'backwards burp', but that is more annoying than funny (then again, people tend to burst out laughing and say "what was THAT?!?!!" when it happens, so maybe it just sounds funny... I'll ask my friend later for a better fact.

4. Do you ever feel jealousy with your BFF, and why is that?
Yes, but not in a green eyed monster way. I envy his faith and his church family, the opportunities to spend time with his friends… that kind of stuff, but I'm more happy about it, for him, than bitter… not sure if that makes sense, but I know it's true :).

5. What was the first magazine you had and you liked so much?
I don't do magazines.

6. If you win a prize to have $100 millions, what will you buy?
A house for my mom, somewhere near whichever college I pick. A used car that has working air conditioning and, well, works in general. A new DSLR camera. I'd pay for my tuition and school books. Some other various things for my mom, and for someone else who'd probably need some help. Something special for my best friend… it'd take some serious thought, and I wouldn't post it anyway :). A book case, and my favorite books which I don't own (including the PJ and HP series). Whatever did not get spent on important things, I'd see what was worth investing in.

7. What was your craziest dream? (dream in your sleep)
It started off with me trying to fit into this safe like thing built into the brick wall of my house while playing hide and seek outside, and the trees were purple and dark. Some of the trees were mutated and had werewolf genes, and had these strange mossy growths that grew like stalagmites straight in the air. A guy I haven't seen in ages told me that guys secretly like their butts hit, while he walked by with his girlfriend (who I don't know). I could not fit inside the safe, and was laughing really hard because apparently 'I tried this last time! Duh!'.

At some point my best friend and his family pulled up in the driveway in a tiny-old-beat-up-clown-car and asked if I'd like a ride to the fair, but they were in a hurry, and I said yes but that I wanted one second to put on capris under my dress (which I was suddenly wearing). Oh, and the colors went back to normal and sunny instead of cartoon Halloween. I ran inside and couldn't find my closet, I was running up the staircases in my rather pink mansion of a room (all imaginary, and I don't know why PINK… ugh), then I stopped to listen for -girl I haven't seen in ages- crying. I followed the sound up a different staircase to my closet, where she was crying because a zipper wasn't working in a pale blue shiny dress she was apparently taking. I grabbed some capris and went to put them on, when I saw that I was already wearing a pair! I ran out of my room, which took an eternity within itself, and got in the car. And after that it is kind of a blur, but I remember I really really had to go to the bathroom but held it because I didn't want to get left behind. This was just one night ago…. Very strange and stressful! And funny (to me, especially because people were so OOC)

8. Why did you make a blog?
I followed several I loved, and wanted to do reviews of music and talk about what I believe… my blog has gotten a bit distracted lately, since it is an extension of myself and I'm pretty distracted right now, but I hope to refocus soon.

Now I'll tag 8 people (since there are 8 questions)...
Shaynie
Kendra
Eldarwen
Stephanie
Michelle
Camellia Day
Guin
Emma

Looking forward to seeing your answers! :D Thanks for reading everyone,

Journey album art found through google, the site kept trying to download something so I do not advice clicking the link.
Halloween Scene found here.

--
"But you see, it's not me, it's not my family.
In your head, in your head they are fighting,
With their tanks and their bombs,
And their bombs and their guns.
In your head, in your head, they are crying..."


´¨)
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(¸.·´¸.·*´¨) *
(¸.· Elizabeth *´¨)
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(¸.·´*

Vacation Log: Tuesday's X-treme Edits!

Here are four pictures I took that Tuesday that I wanted to edit, just to see what would happen!

A wave's crash, unedited:

I loved the texture in it, but wanted it to be more apparent and have more contrast in it, and this is what happened:

It looks different, that is for sure!

Here is a picture from the pool deck, which was taken when a huge cloud was overhead:

And here it is after I brightened it and then messed w/ the focus so the image looks like what it looked like to me when I first opened my eyes. Though the picture was dark, it was still BRIGHT outside!:


I took this of the inside of a bush next to my chair:

And here I went crazy with it:


And lastly, a picture of a seagull over the sea, taken at a time it was so dark you can barely see it:

And the X-treme edit:

And zoomed in some:


That is all of the edits from Tuesday! Hope you enjoyed seeing them :). Thanks for reading,

Vacation Log: Tuesday + PICS

On Tuesday Morning, this was the view:

We packed up the fishing gear and I packed a beach tote with towels and a book and some empty spray bottles so I could hit the pool if the fishing wasn't any good. Then, we walked to the beach. The sun was insanely bright:

We passed a dwarfish palm tree:

And we passed a real one:

The walkway to the beach, where you can see the gate to the pool (and if it wasn't so bright, the ocean):

Once we hit the beach:

Some of our gear, including the most awesome bucket ever with a padded seat that swivels. Oh yes:

The chair:

A small wave mid-crash. Am I the only one who can imagine a lego man surfing that mini pipeline?:

This seagull was very inquisitive, I think he really liked me. Either that, or he could smell the shrimp we were using as bait and was hungry........ nah, he totally liked me:

This little guy zoomed past, unfazed by the fact I was sitting right there:



Because we weren't catching many fish and the sun was shining bright, I grabbed the 'pool bag' (we always call it the beach bag, but we only use it for the pool, so it is kind of a misnomer for us...) and walked to the beachside pool. Once settled on the deck, I took this shot of the sky:

Then I went over to the edge of the deck which wasn't blocked by a fence and got this one which I LOVE:

And then I climbed over the fence thing to the side and walked down the stone it came out of for a bit until I reached this flower, and had to just hang on to the fence. I can't help but wonder what everyone else at the pool thought of me hopping the fence and then hanging out halfway down taking pictures of a flower while wearing a swimsuit... lol:

(as you can see, the 'inside' of the fence was blocked off by this annoying HEDGE, which is what resulted in my extreme measures)
After I slept in the sun for hours (I set the alarm on my phone to wake me up every so often, to make sure nothing had been stolen and I didn't get too burned), I headed back to where my parents were fishing. The sun began to go down, and more clouds rolled in:

I caught a fish with purple scales around its face, the final catch of the day:

I took a picture of my dad standing out in the surf just as a seagull passed by him, and after zooming WAY in on the image you can see how cool it looks (though it is really low res, sorry about that):

Since it was really late and the fish weren't biting and it started raining, we headed back to the room. I looked in a mirror and was in shock about how DARK my skin was (I'm normally a pale-face, despite the fact that I'm part Cherokee. Not fair):

I don't know about you guys, but that is REALLY dark for me! After we got back, I got dressed (you can see my shirt in the above shot) and headed to the activities center to get wifi while my mom hit the hot tub. It was already black outside. All in all, it was a LONG day in the sun, and mostly fun :). Hope you enjoyed reading, and sorry about the delay!


--
"But you see, it's not me, it's not my family.
In your head, in your head they are fighting,
With their tanks and their bombs,
And their bombs and their guns.
In your head, in your head, they are crying..."


´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨)*´¨)
(¸.·´¸.·*´¨) *
(¸.· Elizabeth *´¨)
¸.·´ ¸.·*´¨) *
(¸.·´*

The Past Week + Peanut (a puppy) + A Prayer Request

Last Friday I worked again for the first time in almost two weeks, which was strange. The club is now a five dollar foot long, which is just crazy considering how expensive the meats are. There were a couple new menu items and new shirts and new buttons on the register, so I was asking more questions than I like, but eventually I think I got caught up. Glad to be working again :D.

Saturday I took the SAT! I'm nervous about sending my scores, since I don't know what they are. I'm trying to find a way around that at the moment. Other than not finishing the essay part for the third stinkin' time, I think I did alright.

Sunday I worked again, and Monday night when I got out of the shower my mom, who had just come home from work, knocked on the bathroom door and asked me to open it. I said I wasn't decent and she said to open the door, and I knew something was definitely up. She normally just breaks in. We have a sliding door. But anyway, I opened it and what did I see? The face of a miniature Doxen puppy. I didn't say anything because I was in shock, then later I asked "Can it walk?" because it wasn't walking and its legs are just so tiny! Then I asked my mom "So, what's the story?", wondering if it was a rescue or someone she knew was selling puppies or what. And she said "What do you mean, 'what's the story'? I bought a dog!" and walked off XD. As of now, his name is Peanut. And he is way too cute :). I ended up on puppy duty Monday night, and I blocked off the corner of the fireplace room with a table and the kennel(with newspaper) and a footstool, then slept on the floor with the baby. He kept trying to eat me, including my hair, but eventually got under the blanket with me and we fell asleep.

Tuesday I finally mailed my application for finalist standing in the National Merit Scholarship competition! My essay was pathetic, but at least I got it done :). The wonderful teacher who wrote my letter of recommendation for it signed the form, and it was finally COMPLETE :D. Went to Spanish class and learned about RADICAL stem changes. My teacher said RADICAL at least 27 times, trying to make sure we understood just how RADICAL a change it was. "o-ue is RADICAL. RADICAL stem changes. Do you understand what I'm saying? It is RADICAL! Not ordinary stem changes, RADICAL!!!". I ended up laughing XD. After class, went to the mall and mailed the magical envelope with the application inside. And it was the last day within the deadline too… cut that one close!

Wednesday in Physics I ran down a hallway and was supposed to knock a bag of beans out of the teachers hand. I hit it on my arm, and my arm turned red and a little welty. I hit it a teeny bit harder than I should've :D lol. I also dropped a bag of beans when I passed him, and that one burst open all over the place… so maybe I was just moving a mite too fast… though I wasn't really RUNNING, you know? World History was interesting enough, talked about Greece and then Rome, both of which I was actually interested in. I didn't fall asleep in class :).

Today, Thursday, I didn't work! I've been doing homework all day, and I've finally got each vacation picture from Tuesday saved as a draft, and am almost done working on moving them into one post. Some of my favorite pictures from the vacation are of my family and myself, but I won't be posting those, so not ALL of my favorites will be shared. But most will be :). I've also gotten to play with the puppy some today :D. It is CRAZY!

Tomorrow, Friday, I'm working again :). The local highschool is having a football game, and we should be really busy! I haven't worked game night before, and am excited/nervous. We'll see if I can 'handle it' ;). I didn't get but three days this week, and am hoping to get more next week. I miss my customers!

LAST NOTE: My Aunt just found out that her husband has lymphoma. Please, those of you who pray, pray for him, and for her. She has been through so much, and only married him last year. I'd never seen her so happy, and it kills me that she is in pain again. Thank you for any thoughts and prayers.

Until next time I get to catch my breath and TYPE,

--
"But you see, it's not me, it's not my family.
In your head, in your head they are fighting,
With their tanks and their bombs,
And their bombs and their guns.
In your head, in your head, they are crying..."


´¨)
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(¸.·´¸.·*´¨) *
(¸.· Elizabeth *´¨)
¸.·´ ¸.·*´¨) *
(¸.·´*

Music that Moves Me: Welcome to the Masquerade

"We've got the fire, who's got the matches?
Take a look around at the sea of masks
Come one, come all, welcome to the grand ball
Where the strong run for cover and the weak stand tall

I'm not one to scatter ashes
But there's some things that melt the plastic
Try and dig down deeper if you can

I'm not afraid, I'm not ashamed
I'm not to blame, welcome to the masquerade
I'm not ashamed, I'm not afraid
I'm not okay, welcome to the masquerade
Welcome to the masquerade"
Welcome to the Masquerade-Thousand Foot Krutch

I absolutely love this song. For all the people who feel surrounded by masks, and those who know they're wearing one. I used to pretend to be okay when I wasn't, full on fake happy, and now I'm not hiding anything. I'm not spilling my life's story to everyone who asks how I am, but I can still be honest about how I feel :). And the fact that I've chosen to be free from that act actually makes me free to feel happy for real sometimes :D. I love "the strong run for cover and the weak stand tall", because it is so true to my life. This whole song rings true. I hope you enjoy it, and let me know what you think either way!

Thanks for reading people, and sorry for my horribly inconsisent posting. Life comes at you fast...

--
"But you see, it's not me, it's not my family.
In your head, in your head they are fighting,
With their tanks and their bombs,
And their bombs and their guns.
In your head, in your head, they are crying..."


´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨)*´¨)
(¸.·´¸.·*´¨) *
(¸.· Elizabeth *´¨)
¸.·´ ¸.·*´¨) *
(¸.·´*

Music that Moves Me: Keep Passing the Open Windows

"Do you know how it feels when you don't have a friend
Without a job and no money to spend?
You're a stranger
All you think about is suicide
One of these days you're gonna lose the fight
You'd better keep out of danger - yeah!
That same old feeling just keeps burning deep inside
Keep telling yourself it's gonna be the end
Oh get yourself together
Things are looking better everyday

Just believe - just keep passing the open windows
Just believe - just keep passing the open windows

This is the only life for me
Surround myself around my own fantasy
You just gotta be strong and believe in yourself
Forget all the sadness 'cause love is all you need
Love is all you need"
Keep Passing the Open Windows-Queen

I've been at that point, where all I wanted was to die. Almost caused that to happen, too. But He stopped me, and I was mad about it for a long while, then eventually grateful. I just have to believe that I can make it through this. And now I know, more than ever before, that I am loved. And that makes all the difference in the world :). I will make it, I just need to refocus and find some direction. Work hard and not waste the opportunities I've been given. I just have to be strong and believe in myself, forget all the sadness, because love is all I need...

P.S. My dad has made it so that my laptop doesn't get Internet at night. I haven't figured out the exact hours yet, but I know it doesn't work at 10:49pm, and am worried he has made it so it doesn't work at 10pm, which is way too early for someone who works the morning/afternoon shift and then does homework and is nocturnal. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to post this sooner, I didn't realize that he had done that until I'd tried Wednesday and Thursday nights to get on here and post, and it wasn't working, and I pumped my mom for information. Not having Internet is not cool.

Thanks for reading,

--
"But you see, it's not me, it's not my family.
In your head, in your head they are fighting,
With their tanks and their bombs,
And their bombs and their guns.
In your head, in your head, they are crying..."


´¨)
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(¸.·´¸.·*´¨) *
(¸.· Elizabeth *´¨)
¸.·´ ¸.·*´¨) *
(¸.·´*

Pics coming soon!

I'm so sorry I didn't post my Vacation Log and pictures yesterday night, I made a responsible decision to put my homework before updating my blog and picking pictures out, and I still got a grand total of 30 minutes of sleep (15 minutes on purpose, 15 minutes on accident which caused me to be running late for school). I was hoping to meet up with my best friend today after my World History class and before Physics lab, where we did this potato cannon firing for an experiment. Unfortunately it didn't happen, the timing was bad, and then the experiment took a really long time and after that my mom wanted to go home (she drove me because we'd never been to this area before, and it was an hour away, and the car I drive isn't dependable). Still frustrated we didn't get to hang out :/. Another time, though :).
The potato cannon was surprisingly powerful, and LOUD! We timed the potatoes from cannon to impact on the ground, and measured how far they went, and the angles they were shot from. We're going to calculate initial velocities and perform all sorts of fun physics-related-analysis, see what all we can learn with that information :). Yes, I'm enjoying physics... deal with it ;). Today was really long, with leaving the house late at 7:30am and not coming home till 4pm. I'm working on picking out the best of the best picture-wise right now (let's say I took 17 pictures of a bird, which one doesn't look quite as bad? Delete-delete-delete...). I'll just do a combo picture post for last Tuesday and Wednesday. I'll catch up when I can, and I'm seriously working on it! When you take four hundred pictures in two days, it can be tough to manage the sorting process :). Thanks for bearing with me,

--
"But you see, it's not me, it's not my family.
In your head, in your head they are fighting,
With their tanks and their bombs,
And their bombs and their guns.
In your head, in your head, they are crying..."


´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨)*´¨)
(¸.·´¸.·*´¨) *
(¸.· Elizabeth *´¨)
¸.·´ ¸.·*´¨) *
(¸.·´*

Vacation Log: Monday + Nightshade Giveaway

First off, Kari over at A Good Addiction is giving away an ARC of Nightshade by Andrea Cremer:

Is that cover striking or what? I've read only positive reviews of this book, but haven't read it yet myself. Just thought maybe one of my followers was wanting to get their hands on this like I am, so I decided to give ya'll a heads up :).
Last Monday I woke up with a full on sinus headache and it hurt to move, so when my parents went fishing, I didn't join them. I stayed in the room, eating and watching tv. Then, it started raining really bad, then wind and thunder and lightning, and I was getting worried. I called my mom's cell several times and didn't get an answer, then the door to the room opened and my parents stood there absolutely dripping. After it stopped pouring rain, it remained dark and cloudy. Here is a pic from our balcony:

Tomorrow, you'll see plenty of pictures, because the sun was shinin' and we hit the beach, and this time I had my camera :D!!!


--
"But you see, it's not me, it's not my family.
In your head, in your head they are fighting,
With their tanks and their bombs,
And their bombs and their guns.
In your head, in your head, they are crying..."


´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨)*´¨)
(¸.·´¸.·*´¨) *
(¸.· Elizabeth *´¨)
¸.·´ ¸.·*´¨) *
(¸.·´*

Vacation Log: Sunday (A day spent waiting in Walmart)

Sunday morning we had to call the maintenance people again and see if they could fix the AC in our room. More stuff got moved to the cold room out of the hot room, and I got a shower and got dressed so me and daddy could head to Wal-Mart and get my fishing license (we'd had to call my sister to get my social, because the card was hidden and not with us). It. Took. Forever. My dad was running around asking for someone to come to Sporting Goods to get a fishing license (it is a pain in the butt process), and we stood there for about 30 minutes, with no one helping us. Several people said "I'll get somebody to help you", and we heard it over the intercom that we needed help three times, but no one showed up.
Eventually my dad went and asked the man at the tire station if he knew who we should ask, and the tire guy said "I'll get somebody" and started making phone calls. He was very insistent; "These people have been waiting over 25 minutes, somebody needs to get down here now!", and eventually people did. Three people. Who argued about how to do it. And treated us like crap, and were entirely unapologetic, and all of them (even the nice tire guy) hated this one dude who was at the keyboard of the computer. The good thing that came of this nightmarish morning was while I was waiting, I worked on memorizing my social. And now I know it :). This bitty who came to help us asked my birthday, and before I finished saying a single word asked for my driver's license instead. I pulled it out and she snatched it, then she stared at it for a couple minutes, and eventually she said 'there it is!' and typed in my birthday. What the heck was that about?!?!? I understand if she needs proof, but her snappin' and snatchin' was unnecessary. Since I work with the public at my job, I'm a customer service critic and have high standards, but even by my dad's significantly lower standards what we went through today was ridiculous. I'm not a Walmart hater, I actually really like my local one, but the one by our place at the beach:

When we got back, we moved all of the stuff from the cold room back into the hot room which wasn't hot anymore :D. After dumping it all in our room, we hit the beach and started fishing. I forgot my camera, so I didn't get any pictures that day(sorry!). I didn't catch a single fish, but did bring in a couple crabs who were eating my bait :-P. And I had crabs crawling around on my feet, so momma called me a crab magnet. After a long day fishing, we headed back to the room and watched The Amazing Race followed by Undercover Boss…. Which once again, I'm watching now :D. I'm sorry about the lack of pictures, so here's another couple shots of the cute little frog!


Have any of YOU ever had a horrible customer service experience you want to vent about? Anyway, thank you all so much for reading and commenting!

--
"But you see, it's not me, it's not my family.
In your head, in your head they are fighting,
With their tanks and their bombs,
And their bombs and their guns.
In your head, in your head, they are crying..."


´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨)*´¨)
(¸.·´¸.·*´¨) *
(¸.· Elizabeth *´¨)
¸.·´ ¸.·*´¨) *
(¸.·´*

Vacation Log: Saturday

The morning started off really rough, with some family disagreements about stupid stuff that had nothing to do with packing, which is what we needed to get done. Thankfully, with some serious effort to get along, things started to go a little smoother. We started packing up, and then I noticed a small frog on top of the car! It was adorable, and of course I whipped out my camera (the one that got punch spilled on it at prom last year :-P). I got some decent pictures, because this little sucker could POSE:

Is he adorable or what!?!?
I also read The Noah Confessions during the ride, and slept a lot :). The book actually had a LOT more depth and darkness than I was expecting, and for such a thin book contained some interesting character development and some really heavy issues (including handling guilt, class differences, and complex family struggles that go back years). In the middle of a very intense scene my mom said "For goodness sakes don't look so panicked!!! It is just a stupid book…." I might have nodded at her, I can't remember! I think I'll post a complete review on it later, it has some interesting strengths and weaknesses :). The weather was, once again, beautiful. I took a lot of mediocre pictures of the sky, but I won't bore you with them here...just the one ;)

Also on the way, we stopped to get fishing licenses, and since little ol' me didn't know her social(I know I need to know it, okay?) I didn't get mine :-P. When we arrived at our room, it was 80 degrees, and we ended up having to sleep in another room because the maintenance people couldn't work on the AC until morning. I went ahead and got in my pj's, then just walked over to the other room with my toiletry case and a pillow. I took this one from the balcony of 'our room', aka, 'the hot room'.

I watched two episodes of....

(this picture from here)
Yes, NCIS, before bed :D. And I'm actually watching it now... lol. Abby is da bomb. Tomorrow I'll post more on the vacation, which was sunny and rainy; the weather has been so bipolar... which means I HAVE to say goodbye with a song along those lines....

Thanks for reading, and thanks for commenting!

--
"But you see, it's not me, it's not my family.
In your head, in your head they are fighting,
With their tanks and their bombs,
And their bombs and their guns.
In your head, in your head, they are crying..."


´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨)*´¨)
(¸.·´¸.·*´¨) *
(¸.· Elizabeth *´¨)
¸.·´ ¸.·*´¨) *
(¸.·´*