Taking a Break

Hey everyone. I've decided to take a one week blogger break. I've just got a lot on my mind... and I'll see y'all when I come back :). Bye for now,

Where is the Love? (and What's With All the Hate?)

Hey everyone! First off, I'd like to thank Victoria and Nahla for following (and thanks Victoria for the comment & prayer)! It was such a pleasant surprise to see that you'd found my blog worth reading, and that I'd hit the big 4-0: my blog is officially over the hill ;). Kind of exciting :D. And now, onto the reason I'm writing this post…

For quite a while now, I've been growing increasingly aggravated by the way people behave online. I'm talking about the catty insults and comments through almost every social network, from anonymous jackholes and 'friends' alike. I wasn't bothered by it on Blogger, which is why this is where I'd spend the most time online-a positive environment with people who have better things to do than flame eachother. However, even here, lately things have been rough. About a week ago, I decided to get a Formspring account, because I knew a couple people who had them and thought it sounded fun. Once I got on and made some connections, I was appalled by the things some people were being told, and deeply angered by the cowardice of anonymous 'questions' that recommend suicide and do nothing but insult and tear down their target. I haven't just seen it on one page, either-it seems to be happening all over the place! What bothers me in a very different way is when friends fight over nothing, and things get blown out of hand, because they choose to speak before they think. Recently the amazing Ayla wrote a post on this issue, and instead of me getting worked up and rambling about just how wrong it all is, I'm going to share some of her well chosen words with you.

"...this hate isn't coming from low-life spammers anymore. This is coming from people we used to be friends with.
I'm going to come out with it: WHERE IS THE LOVE? What happened to when we could all log on to Blogger and say what we wanted without people trying to shove their own beliefs down our throats? What happened to being able to stand up for our rights without being accused of, among many other things, a "satanist" "disgusting" "fat" "ugly" "putrid", or, my personal favourite (read: sarcasm) "A piece of trash"…"

"…I'm not accusing ANYBODY who I follow, have followed or who I've emailed. This is about a problem Blogger is experiencing IN GENERAL. I understand standing up for your beliefs. But does that mean you have to tear someone else's down? Aren't some of the things God teaches are patience, love, and tolerance?
Jealously, hatred, fighting - they don't impress anybody."

Read the complete post HERE, it is worth your time.

I know that I don't always make the best decisions when communicating online-the aforementioned jackholes really deeply anger me, and sometimes my words are not well chosen. Nobody is perfect. But I'm really trying to pay attention to how I treat others, in my personal and family life, as well as in online communities. I know where my weaknesses are (when I don't believe something is fair, for example, I'm quite a stubborn mule for what I see as justice and a volcano of pure fury-gotta work on how to EXPRESS those feelings in a more respectful way that people can understand). And I think something people often forget is that it isn't always what you say-it is HOW you say it. What I'm asking is that anyone reading take the time to think about the way they're acting, try and assess the way they handle situations they don't like, particularly online. This isn't going to get fixed unless we all make an effort-though I have to say you guys pretty much rock, and I haven't seen too much trouble from ya ;). Sorry for the dreary post-just needed to let some of this frustration out. Anybody sympathize?

Write Your Heart Out Wednesday: Writing (a Narration From My Patio)

Right now, I'm sitting on my screened in back patio, with our dog on my lap, drinking sweet tea. He's listening to the gossip of the neighborhood dogs, I'm surfing the web, and listening to a baseball game echoing from a local park. I'm a tiny bit overheated, likely due to the many layers of winter clothing I'm wearing out of habit, and just stuck a bug safely on the screen because the dog tried to eat it. The sky is blue, and the moon is huge and a pale pink color, sitting not far above the horizon. The pastels in the sky contrast sharply with the black silhouettes of the trees, the birds are eating from our new supposedly squirrel proof bird feeder, and the deep tones of a wind chime are softly making themselves heard. Here I sit, writing out my simple thoughts, my surroundings, sketching for those poor souls reading a vague image of the scene in which I find myself. Here I sit, writing, while I think of my grandparents deep in the south, likely sitting on their screened in porch, sipping sweet tea and eating greens grown from their garden, with Granny swatting mosquitos and Papa telling her to stop fussing about. I write and remember the last time we visited, when we spent days shelling peas on that very porch, which I had to write a poem about for school which turned out less than satisfactory, or at least I found it so. The moon is rising now, as the sun sets, and the lights are turned on over the baseball field, shining through the trees in the distance. And still here I sit, writing away, switching back and forth from a word document holding an important essay for admission to an academic society, and onenote holding this very rambling. I also spent some time writing comments on various blogs and other realms of the internet, all the while putting off that oh so important essay. While my parents went inside to watch a movie, here I sat, writing questions for a friend on formspring because I was upset with how an anonymous individual was treating them. It seems that's all I've done today, write write write… and reminisce about pleasant moments of the past, and sit in awe of God's creation, excited for the coming of spring which will be none too soon. And now the sky is black, and I am alone, with a small lamp and a laptop, the air now cold. The crickets are chirping, the baseball game is now over, the dogs are starting to quiet down. My mother comes and says goodnight-and still, outside, I sit and write.



Write Your Heart Out Wednesday is a new weekly meme being hosted by Laurea over at Center Stage, and the topic this week was 'writing'. I'm planning on participating each week, though my posts may come a bit late depending on when I find time to write; today is a perfect example :). I hope this didn't bore you-it was actually kind of fun for me :). Anyway, if you want to participate, head on over and check out the guidelines! Until next time,

Music that Moves Me: I'm So Sick

Lately, I've been really physically sick, and I know I'm not the only one. As a result, I've been getting sickness related songs stuck in my head, including Candle by White Tie Affair and I'm So Sick by Flyleaf. So this post is for all of you who could really use some healing right about now-I feel your pain...

"I took a ride on a February morning,
Just getting over it and dealing with the mourning,
I started thinking out loud: I'm so sick and tired of being sick and tired,
My baby's flying off the edge of the road,
She's saying, "I'm so sorry about that note",
That left me all alone,
But I'm so sick and tired of being sick and tired

Somebody turn the lights on,
Somebody tell me what's wrong,
I'd be lying if I told you,
Losing you was something I could handle,
Somebody turn the lights on,
Somebody tell me how long,
All this darkness will surround you,
Cuz I'm burning for you,
Burning like a candle"

There are many different interpretations for this song, some involving coming to God after a friend/love commits suicide, and some as generic as loving someone who doesn't love you. One of the best things about music is how open to interpretation it is, how everyone can add their unique story to the same song. I, personally, tend to lean toward a suicidal theme-I think she's planning on committing suicide (or is battling severe depression), and he finds the note, and he's begging her to help him understand. It's a sad song to me, but the candle analogy and his willingness to wait on her to come around lend it a hopeful element. At least, that's what I think about it-what about you?

"I will break into your thoughts
With what's written on my heart
I will break, break

I'm so sick,
Infected with where I live
Let me live without this
Empty bliss,
Selfishness
I'm so sick
I'm so sick"

To me, this song is about being sick of the way that you, and the people around you, are living...sick of selfishness and superficiality. Standing up and telling those who refuse to listen to shut up and hear 'my screaming in your itching ears'. And I'm most definitely sick of the mindsets of so many around me, of the selfishness and the hypocrisy. This song is empowering-it slams what's wrong in your face so that you have to deal with it. I love the music, and Lacey's voice, and the lyrics (though Breathe Today is probably my favorite song from their self titled album). The video is below, but for those of you who don't like Flyleaf or Lacey's screaming, at least check out the lyrics here.



So, what makes you sick?

Live Music that Actually Moves Me

Unfortunately, in the music industry today you don't have to have talent in order to sound great in a studio recording-technology fills in the gaps. Which is why I normally hate albums that are live recordings of concerts, because they show how far the artist really falls short of their manipulated and enhanced and auto-tuned studio work. Even fairly talented bands can sound mediocre live, if the singer and/or other band mates don't have the best endurance, playing song after song. I'm not a fan of 'live' versions as a rule-but there are some bands that are too amazing to disappoint. The first concert I saw televised was Queen performing at Wembley in 1986. Obviously it wasn't brand new by the time I saw it, considering this was six years before I was born, but it was new to me when I finally did, and as a Queen fan I was completely blown away… I was absolutely glued to the TV. Freddie Mercury had the gift of moving a crowd with his charismatic personality, and in Queen's performance of Under Pressure (one of my favorites by them, along with I Want to Break Free) really displayed how he could control the crowd-before the song begins… well, just watch it ;) :

If you can do an amazing job live, then you actually have talent-which Queen, and other classic bands from that time, really did. I saw Linkin Park's concert in Madison Square Garden on TV a little while ago, and they actually did a great job-it wasn't quite as good as on their albums, but pretty darn close, and far better than I expected (and I'm a fan, believe it or not, but like I said-I don't have faith in live performances). The only current band I've heard lately and found downright amazing in their live concert recordings/videos is the one and only MUSE (INSERT FANGIRL SCREAM!)! I actually favorited their videos on YouTube-I favorited LIVE videos! Seriously though, if you haven't heard much Muse, check out this playlist of 7 of my favorite live performances and see how you like it OR this list, which is longer, and has the album versions of many of their songs. And whether you've heard them or not, check out this awesome live vid FROM…. Wembley again! The build from softer to loud, the crazy vocals and insane guitar work, followed by a beautiful piano solo, and the overall energy, COMBINED with some of my favorite lyrics ever… I love Butterflies and Hurricanes, what can I say :).

And this one is Knights of Cydonia-one of my favorite live performances, with the vocals, energy… this crowd was seriously moving, and the 'no one's going to take me alive...' part is epic :D

They aren't afraid to improvise and mix things up, and sometimes veer away from the recorded version, but it still sounds absolutely amazing and of studio quality, because they're just. that. good. I really could sit here and embed every single live video I can find, but I won't-instead, if you're interested, you can find all of my personal favorites, live and not live, Muse and not Muse, in one place-on my YouTube Channel.
Well, that's a couple of my favorite artists when it comes to live recordings-what are some of yours? Do you like live versions better, or do you avoid them? Let me know what you all think! And for those who commented on the Life is Sweet post-I have now replied in the comments section, so check it out :). A huge thanks to Angela for following-those of you who, unlike me, are capable of cooking, really should check out her blog, Recipes from my mom-it is a great cooking blog, and straightforward and easy to understand, so I have it marked as a favorite just in case I get brave someday soon and decide to try and cook something(I'm thinking about her Chicken Acapulco-it looks like something my mom would love). Thanks everyone for reading, and commenting, and being generally awesome people who I like to consider friends-you make blogging fun :D. Until next time,


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(¸.· Elizabeth *´¨)
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Urgent Prayer Request

Please read this post, and please... please pray:

"I usually don't come to you with these kinds of things, but this is rather important. I'm also sorry to stray from my "draught (draft) month" but I have a prayer request. And please -- don't just ignore this because you don't believe in prayer.

I have an uncle... he's my grandma's, daughter's husband. So he's considered, I guess and in-law in our family. Anyway... he's always been one of my favorite uncles. He has two daughters but they're both busy into different things, and I'm one of the oldest grandchildren, so whenever I go over he likes to show me his guns. I must admit I don't find it appealing, but I think it's absolutely adorable how much he likes his. We also watch movies together sometimes... he likes scary and adventure type movies.
I remember one time I was awefully upset because someone had hurt my feelings. I was crying, and crying -- he brought my downstrairs and we ate ice cream and watched some girly movie. (notice this was only about a year ago so I was 15 not itty bitty or anything) Sometimes late at night we'll eat pizza bites together, and he doesn't share his snacks with anyone.

Moving on...

He wasn't feeling very good a few weeks ago so he went to the doctor. The doctors were thinking that he had lung cancer but wasn't sure, everyone was hoping and praying that it was something else. Something much less severe.

Tonight we found out that he has stage 4 cancer... and may only have a few months left to live.

Please realize I might have some of these facts wrong as I wasn't explained anything... I just hear bits and peices here and there. But when my grandma says "Bleah, you need to be praying" I know somethings very wrong, because she doesn't usually bring things up to me like that.

Please pray for him -- this is very serious, and I must admit I've never really experienced something like this except once about 4 years ago... and even then it was a bit far off and away for my mind to understand. I'm a little bit shaken and still a little bit distant. When bad things happen I tend to seperate myself. I'm a little emotional, and I'm a cryer. So I try to keep myself at a safe enough view that I don't get "hurt" by it... or whatever.

Anyway, just pray. Please... keep him in your prayers. You're welcome to ask your parents, aunts, uncles... grandparents, siblings, anyone to pray too. The bible says "when to or more are gathered in my name..." and there are 310 people following this blog.

So pray. "

Please, do. And if you do, you can head on over and let Bleah know that one more voice is being raised to God on behalf of her uncle. I'll respond to your (wonderful) comments in my next post, which will probably come tomorrow or Wednesday. In the meantime, I wish you all well... thank you for reading and praying...

Life is Sweet :)

I'm finally joining up with the Life is Sweet meme over at Shilah, a monthly post of ten things that are making your life sweet! Truth be told, there's a lot going on right now that I'm not happy about, but what a perfect time for me to refocus on the (insanely)positive?

Here they are, ten things that are sweetening up my little corner of the universe:

1. My mom, for trying her hardest to make things work, and helping me stay sane, and even making me LAUGH. She had it rough this past week, and it was one of the most stressful weeks I've had in a while, but Sunday we agreed to completely take the day off, and do nothing productive-so we took turns with our Zelda: Twilight Princess accounts on the Wii we got for Christmas! We walked each other through stuff and it was awesome fun seeing my mom using the Wiimote as a sword xD. Plus, it was great seeing the ties to the 64 Ocarina of Time (the 64 is the only other console I've owned). Best Sunday I've had in ages. Slashing creatures of darkness and goblins and shooting down monsters and using force fields… now THAT is therapy! (note to HG fans: I named my character Finnick, and whenever I see his name want to cry… WHY HIM?!?!?)

Bottom line: even though we don't always agree, and definitely have our problems, my mom totally rocks...

and really loves to fish!

2. Music: It's in every beat of my heart and makes me dance like a complete moron. Plus, I got some free music off of Purevolume.com's list of Top Unsigned Bands of 2010, and a lot of it is pretty awesome! AND, my mom found my MP3 player under my dad's bed after many months of me trying to live without it, but both of my pairs of earbuds had been broken for even longer than my mp3 player was missing. I tried them out for the heck of it(after digging them out of a junk drawer), and one of them is now working just fine! I can finally use my little baby! YAY :D.

3. Our puppy, Peanut, turned around in a circle five times before settling on my lap. He's actually sleeping in the sun right now, warming up after a bath. Cute little booger. If only he had better bladder control when excited…

4. Wonderful people: My siblings, friends I've known for years(thanks Ali and Henry for letting me dump on you-and sorry I've been such a storm cloud lately), and the amazing people I've been fortunate enough to get to know through blogger. This really is an online community, and it feels great to be a part of it. For all of you, thanks for being awesome and all the support! Your comments really bring me joy-I may be biased, but I personally think I have the best followers ever :D.

5. Do Nothing For 2 Minutes. Jan posted this site on her blog, and it was much needed during a stressful night of homework and applications. It's on my favorites now-thank you!

6. Finishing the Honors College Application for the current college of my choice! I was struggling with the essay, because I wrote one I was actually really proud of, but it was too long. The sucker had to be 2,000 characters, and that's including spaces and punctuation! After removing about 500 characters through tedious rephrasing and punctuating, it was still a little over 100 characters over, and I had my sister look at it and help me shorten it. She. was. a. lifesaver. (edit-I found out that I've been accepted into the Honors College! YES!)

7. Moonlight Path lotion from Bath & Body Works. My FAVORITE fragrance :D (though I normally don't use 'smelly stuff', this accursed cold is drying out my skin, and it just smells sooo good. And you hafta love the new label :D).

8. Things sweetening other people's lives; my sister's brilliant grades, Laurea getting an interview for entrance to a great highschool, Kendra getting her permit, etc! I'm really happy for all of the happiness in YOUR lives, and hope you know that :).

9. Closure-I made a difficult VERY difficult phone call a couple days ago, and even though I didn't hear what I wanted to, I'm still very glad I called. I think I'll do a post on it in the semi-distant future-if I get the chance, I'll definitely tell you guys :).

10. ….and, for my FINAL bit of sweetness…. I received word I'm a National Merit Finalist :). Thank you God…. Thank you, thank you, thank you… This means I get the financial aid I needed-housing for four years-from my current college of choice-also, as a Finalist, that means I'm entered for a National Merit Scholarship, but even if I don't get one, the title is a HUGE blessing as it is. I can hardly comprehend what a huge blessing this is-it is just too big for my little brain...

...and I'm adding one more-a combination of my mom and music: she bought me LUNGS, the Florence and the Machine album that I've been listening to online since Leanna's post on it a while back!!!


Plus, she half bought it because she loves it herself-when she heard me listening she asked two questions: Do we own that? and Why don't we own that?!?! I wasn't going to spend the money, but I'm sure glad she did! :D Thanks momma!

Phew... you know what? Taking the time to write out these blessings, especially the college related ones, has helped me to feel more at peace. Just sitting here, I feel... like I have a slightly altered view of my world, in a good way :). If any of you want to do it as well, comment and let me know, and head on over to Shilah to link up (clicking the button up top is the simplest way to find the posts, in my opinion) :). Wishing you all the sweetest things life has to offer,


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(¸.· Elizabeth *´¨)
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The places from which I got pictures of...
Link
Link Fishing
Moonlight Path
LUNGS Album Art