2011 #3 - Overall

sorry, that was a lame joke.

well, 2011 definitely exceeded my expectations. I was very hesitant about letting go of 2010 because it was such a great year. But 2011 ended up being just as good, and better in some respects. I did a lot of growing this year, and God took me to new places I never thought I'd be. 2011 brought a lot of changes, some good, and some bad. After this year, some things will never be the same. People change, situations change, and you have to learn not to hold them back, or to even want to. it's part of life; you'll never move forward if you don't change. That's a big thing I've learned. I used to be dead set against change, but it really is healthy.

I am ready for 2012, because I just like the idea of a fresh start, even though a fresh start can happen this very second. A new year just makes a seemingly thicker wall between the present and the past, if you ask me. It's all in my head, I know. Anyway, here's to a great year. I hope everyone knows that even if you blew it in 2011, which I did, many times, you can always start over. There's always a new day, there's always forgiveness. But don't wait.

JGL JGL JGL

some of you may remember my Joseph Gordon-Levitt post from last year, although I don't know why I think anyone's reading. I've mostly been blogging to amuse myself anyway.

ANYWAY. A couple good friends on facebook have posted this video of him and zooey singing a song, I'm guessing they wrote? I DIDN'T KNOW HE SANG AND PLAYED GUITAR TOO. That makes him even more perfect. 

*ahem*

oh and zooey's lovely, too, as always!

2011 #2 - top 10

Top 10 moments/events of 2011!

Wow, this ain't gonna be easy. I'll probably be working on this post for a while and changing/rearranging. I'm excited to see what the final product's gonna be!

10. the first "the dwelling" service! great day. eating at fuji with the band, then getting to play on stage, and everyone being so welcoming--it was fun. I think all the dwelling services can go in the number 10 slot.

9. when a couple guys from our youth band and a few of us from our school band went and played at a church and ate at an awesome japanese place after--it was a fun trip!

8. visiting my cousins, they love us, and we love them! saying goodbye was so sad, though.

7. the worship team christmas party when jordan was dressed up as santa, he was hilarious, and I realized I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time. it was a fun night, and I forgot about school for awhile, which was nice.

6. when I went snow tubing with the youth! it was very fun, I got to hang out with dalton, reagan, and madi! I still remember some funny stuff from mcdonalds! "is she NAKED??" madi freaked out but the lady was just wearing an orange shirt that looked like skin color. hahaha. 

5. that one day where our church had a cookout and we played soccer…it was just a good day :)

4. here's a combination one -- the first band practices of the 5th/6th grade ministry band, the youth band, and the sunday morning band. they were all great!

3. the day I went rock climbing and swimming with the youth--the rock climbing was strenuous and it was burning hot in there, so naturally we couldn't wait until we could go swimming. once we did, my friend jon-jon and I were having a water treading contest, and I'm pretty sure we didn't stop for about 45 minutes. so much pain. we called a truce. then, I got to partake in a fun jam session with some friends from the band. I played an organ for the first time, but it was one of those electric ones so it was basically like a piano.

2. the day at high school retreat when I played piano and sang worship songs for 2 hours and lost my voice--pretty self-explanatory. I was on that piano for probably half of the trip, if not more.

1. the night God rocked my world--we were in the "small room" and during worship, the band was playing "How He Loves" and I was just worshiping, then our (former) worship leader and a lady named julie both were talking about God's amazing love, and I just started crying. it was awesome because I caught just the smallest glimpse of His love for us. 

Alright, tomorrow will be the last!

2011 #1 - month by month

WOW. I can't believe this year is already OVER! I can still remember with all five senses this time last year. I mean wow. I'm amazed at how fast this year went by. I could say 'wow' a few more times, but I'll spare you.

I did 4 end-of-year posts last year [changes/month by month/top 10 moments/recap], and I'm not really sure how many I'll do this year. I'm thinking 3 or 4.

Here's a month by month recap of 2011--the best and worst of each month:

January

• that evil book project for comp & research that kept me feeling stressed for weeks until it's over. it feels so good to talk about it now that it's over! muahaha.
• I got my restricted license! I was SO worried about it, but I passed the driver's test and I'm so glad I did, because this year would've been a lot different if I wouldn't have been able to drive myself places!
• ah yes, this was the month of what I called Christmas Break Part Deux--when it snowed one night and we were out for a week. it was GREAT. I loved it and barked at all the kids who were complaining about being home.
• oh. the month where I found out some bad news that made me hate a state (even more than I already did) and be sad a lot.
• the month where I wrote one of my favorite songs "Out of My Hands" where I did the best job I've ever done of expressing my feelings in a song.
• this was also when we played Jeopardy in youth and when the sound booth became my second home!

February 

• this was the month when I started leading the 5th-6th grade ministry praise band, which ironically doesn't have any 5th or 6th graders in it. but it's really fun, although frustrating when the sound system decides to somehow mess up every time we play.
• apparently I went to winter jam in february! I remember it vaguely. I loved getting to see david crowder band live.
• one of the coolest nights ever happened in february--during worship in youth God showed me just a glimpse of how amazing His love is and I was crying like a baby. it was amazing.

March

• my birthday! it was simple, as usual, but it was really awesome because one of my favorite families in the world surprised me by coming to my family get-together. it was so special.
• I participated in the Tomorrow Song project. it ended up being another of my favorite songs I've written.
• the Forget You chemistry project! (you can watch here)

April (apparently a jam-packed month)

• ugh I'll never forget that one video I watched that made me wanna puke.
• the sophomore sleepover! it was really fun, and I hope we do a junior sleepover.
• ooh the week I named Freak Week was in april. I remember walking into Ms. K's class for study hall on that Tuesday and she was like "Lee, are you ok?" I lied and said yeah, but I was about to lose it. it was just a stressful week, but obviously it was all ok eventually!
• oh and I got my braces off this month--BIG deal haha
• this was the month the youth moved from the small room back to the big room. I was very upset about this because I loved the small room and how it brought us all together. I got over it, but I still have hopes of going back in there :)
• this was also the month I finally started playing in the youth band! I'm so glad I did. I love it.
• and last, but not least, this was the first time our school praise band played at my church. it went amazing, and no one messed up except me when I started playing the 4th song instead of the 3rd. it was bad. and I hate thinking about it, so I'll stop.

May

• I believe this was the month of the royal wedding? I don't know. I watched some of it, but I don't understand all the hype.
• Just a side note, just looking at my journal from May, I was so in tune with the Lord. I need to get back on that.
• The first time I ever witnessed a wedding proposal in person. it was SO sweet. the sweetest thing I've ever seen.

June

• ooh this month was a roller coaster, I do recall.
• the first "the dwelling" service!
• our night of worship in the youth
• when I got my mac!!!
• when I started my first babysitting job that lasted all summer

July

• when I started the handful of sporadic voice lessons I've taken
• included a few sad days I remember well
• the first time I led a worship song!

August

• refuge beach retreat!
• probably the most awful thing that's ever happened to me, a fire ant attack that made my foot swell up for like 3 days
• cross country camp where I ran the most and hardest of my life
• when I had a Job moment with God haha, something I'm not likely to forget
• when I got a tumblr for a little while
• the beginning of a new season that ended up being very healthy

September

• highschool retreat!!! best one yet in my opinion! (I'll elaborate on it in my next post)
• the first time I watched the Notebook. I used to make fun of girls who went on and on about it, but it really is freaking sad.
• PR'd in cross country and won a race!
• the first time I led a song at school (see you at the pole)

October

• when I regrettably started playing words with friends
• the annual halloween party!
• when I got hit in the face really hard with a stick! I'll probably never forget that.
• when I started using spotify!

November

• that really fun shopping day with alex and kaitlyn!
• when I joined the "big" worship team at my church--soooo awesome, I love it!
• when our combination school and church band played at that random baptist church, such a fun time.

December

• the worship team christmas parties! fun times.
• our youth christmas party
• our church christmas production
• the end of a season and beginning of another short one
• our trailer park christmas party for the kids!
• well tomorrow will be the first time I played bass on stage...I'm excited for that!

Yep, so this year was quite eventful! Next post will be top 10 moments of the year, which will be difficult.

christmas cookies!!!!

^want!
no, I didn't make these. but I wish I did because I'd be eating them now.

:[

:)

hello again; Dear _______: 7th edition

hi! I do realize I haven't blogged in a couple months. at first I just went on my tumblr and blogged, but then I decided to get off of there because it wasn't very good for me; just the stuff I was seeing on there a lot.

so anyway, the new year is coming up, which means it's nearing the time of my end-of-the-year blog post, which I LOVE doing. so I'm back, and what better way to come back than with another round of Dear_______? hehe.

1st edition//2nd edition//3rd edition//4th[lyrical]edition//5th edition//6th edition

Dear 1: haha it's amazing how much has changed over the past year. you're one of my best friends now. you're hilarious and I don't know what my life would be like without you!

Dear 2: you have a beautiful voice, and I can't wait to see/hear you lead more songs in the future. you're gonna do great!

Dear 3: thanks for the opportunity you gave me and the help you've given me. you're a truly awesome person.

Dear 4: oh dear. I really don't know what to say. I'm kinda freaking out right now because I'm not ready for what's about to happen. I thought at first that I wouldn't be able to wait until the day, but now I'm almost dreading it. I don't know what's gonna happen, but it'll probably just go back to how it was or worse, so phooey.

Dear 5: dude. what on earth were you thinking? why would you even talk to me in the first place if you were gonna just decide to stop talking to me 2 months later? it makes no sense. did you think about how it would make ME feel? obviously not. i don't understand you, and it's such a shame because we could've at least been friends. you're so stinkin awesome, but too bad because now you've lost all my respect. i wish you would change my mind, but you don't care.

Dear 6: I hope everything's going ok. I hope you get better soon.

Dear 7: at least you attempt to keep in touch...

Dear 8: I like how we're finally to where we talk like normal friends haha. you're really cool, and I like talking to you!

Dear 9: thank you for always being encouraging and supportive. you're becoming a great leader!

Dear 10: kentucky mushroom!

a year ago!

When I was transferring all my old blog posts to my tumblr I happened upon this post and I was amazed at all the list items that actually happened. and honestly, most of that was kinda randomly made up and I didn't think most of the stuff would happen. but it did. I would encourage you to write out goals for yourself...I think speaking things or at least writing them down increases the chance of them happening. anyway, here's the list from last year and my commentary on each "goal"!

• I'd like to be able to drive well and safely and to be able to pass my driver's test first time around. -yes! I did it. I was so worried about driving at first but now I obviously love it and it's one of my favorite things about being a teenager.
• it would be great to play in praise band, and I want to play guitar at church. hopefully it'll work out. -haha it's funny that this time last year I hadn't even played yet and we've already played like 3 times this year. I finally was able to get back into praise band as you saw in later posts that year. and I did get into the band at church in april of this year! I love it SO much. SO MUCH.
• cross country season has been great so far, so I'm hoping to get even better as it progresses. -yep, I did get better. I PR'd for the first time since '07 and I even won a race (it was within our little division though but still). this season is actually going pretty good too.
• I need to see switchfoot again! -hmm I don't think I have since then. I just started heavily listening to them again a couple weeks ago. I just had a very long switchfoot slump so I don't know when I'll get to see them again.
• I need to see relient k and not be sick! -nope :(
• I need to see needtobreathe for the first time! -ahh I can't wait til their next album but sadly I didn't see them.
• I need to see _____. heheh. -oh. well that person and all hopes of seeing them were violently destroyed literally 18 days after I wrote that post. but I'm ok with it, I actually moved on pretty fast so it's all good!
• I'd like to write more songs. I love writing songs. -oh heck yes! I wish I knew how many songs I had on that exact day but I know for sure I've written at least 30 since then if I start counting from the "30 Day Challenge Song" I wrote when I finished the challenge. 30's a lot...for me anyway.
• I want to work on becoming a better person. I'm still lazy/self-centered. I may not seem it all the time, but I'm pretty sure I am. -drastic change. I still fail every day and I need an infinite amount of grace, but I've been much more selfless this year.
• I want a good camera because I want to be a good photographer. -nope. heh! I haven't even used my camera in a while because I've been spending most of my spare time with music. but I wanna get back into photography or whatever that amateur stuff is I do ;)
• I'd like to get a job. -I kinda did that. I had a regular babysitting thing going during the summer...well I made money, but technically that wasn't a real job I guess. so that's a no.
• I want a mac. -TYPING ON IT AS WE SPEAK. I love this thing dude. haha when I first got it I would spend HOURS at a time on garageband. 
• I want to get better and better at graphic making. -ehhh I think I did get better, but I slacked off on it and I haven't made anything in awhile.
• I have to go back to san diego. it may not happen in the next 365 days, but it needs to happen. -nope.
• I wanna meet or remeet some boardies! :) -I don't think I did that.
• and last but not least, I want my relationship with God to get even better. -heck yes it did! I want people to have what I have and He's really been telling me to spread the word more, so I'm working on that.

So 7 out of 16. that's not horrible. I need to make another list for the next 365 days and see what happens!

back...

So I decided I'd keep the tumblr for just reblogging stuff and posting random stuff like twitter-esque updates and just using it for random tumblr things. I'll keep this blog for actual text posts. I hope that actually made sense.

Anyway I'm mostly making this decision because I'm posting something tomorrow I'm really excited about.

Awwwrighty I'll see ya then.

Oh also I'm thinking about making a new layout if I ever get free time again. hokay done.

peace out!

http://waitingtoland.tumblr.com/
is where I'll be from now on. so I'll see you there! thanks for reading.

f-r-e-e that spells free

credit report dot com ba-by

randoms:

-now that I think about it, this summer was one of the longer ones in my mind. it didn't seem as short as most summers do even though they're all the same length

-I think when I go to college I wanna go to a completely new city, maybe state

-we ran out of s'mores pop tarts and we need s'more...

-it's hard to wake up at 6 for me, no matter how early I go to bed

-I wanna try to write a song today or something when I get back from school

-but I need to read stuff so idk

-I'm thinking about getting a tumblr but I wanna know if there's a way to transfer all the posts from here or not...

-ok bye

amaz-a-zing

What a crazy week. It was so great, though. So so so so great. yes. I went to the beach with my youth group and we had a BLAST. definitely one of my favorite weeks ever.
but
this was my foot on tuesday

I was attacked by mean fire ants and had some kind of allergic reaction. but the amazing part was that 2 days later I went to cross country camp and ran the best I have ever run...God is amazing right? last time I checked, gigantic allergic feet can't run very well, but I was healed just in time. sweet. I mean the very morning and during the bus ride to camp I was still in pain and it was still swollen, but by the time we got there and ran I was fine.

I've just had so much to thank God for lately, I hope my attitude stays this way, because it's a heck of a lot more fun than being a whiner about everything. yay

I hate packing

I really do.

But it's ok because I'm pretty much done and as long as I remember my pillow tomorrow I'll be in good shape. My pillow is what I most often forget on trips.

Well, I'm just not in the best of moods right now, but I would like to ask for prayers for my youth ministry's beach retreat. Pray for wisdom and patience for the leaders and pray for courage and maturity for the kids. Thanks a bunch.

I feel all stressed and yeah pray that it stops. mostly because I just ran like 4 hours ago and I have to again in the morning, then I have to run early while at the beach because I don't wanna lose any in-shapeness, and also other things are getting to me but it's gonna be ok, yes it is!

whew

ok

it'sgonnabeokit'sgonnabeokit'sgonnabeokit'sgonnabeokit'sgonnabeokit'sgonnabeokit'sgonnabeokit'sgonnabeokit'sgonnabeokit'sgonnabeokit'sgonnabeokit'sgonnabeokit'sgonnabeokit'sgonnabeokit'sgonnabeokit'sgonnabeokyesyesitis(:

GPOY

see more Failbook

one day you'll have to let it go, you'll have to let it go

wooooo I don't really know what I'm gonna write about...I just felt like posting something...

and tonight I have Innocent by Our Lady Peace in my head.

and a lot of other things in my head.

a huge bell?

Hiya. my throat kinda hurts. 


AHH I'm watching Matilda, and the song "Send Me on My Way" by Rusted Root just came on. I know how to play it on guitar! it's such a happy song.


oh speaking of guitar, I changed my strings yesterday on my guitar that I play at home, and I cleaned it all up and lowered the action myself and felt very accomplished. it was fun.


ok so do the lines "sayin ayo, gotta let go" from Dynamite and "that you're less than, less than perfect" from that Pink song not have the same melody? you'd think that someone would realize it...I'm like such a music snob sometimes. I almost always notice when songs sound alike, and I like pointing it out. music snob, I'm telling you.


and now for another entry from Top 5 Worst Worship Songs because it's just funny to me.


5. I Will Not Forget You
I love Waterdeep. I think they are original and fun and somehow still serious and they usually move me in worship like nothing else. Here's the thing--I can't stand when songwriters want to use a word or phrase, then realize that using said phrase would mess up the rhythm of the song, but instead of rethinking the phrase, they add a word. In this case, the word is 'huge'. (As in, "a huge bell I ring"). I usually remain silent on this line or risk bursting into an inappropriate display of worship laughter.

unpunctuated lowercase random bits of random

it rained when it was sunny today

i love my mac <3

school is much too close

why has everything i've been watching lately been about people leaving

God is so awesome and above everything and so loving and we're so unworthy and just wow

why is it july already

the wheel of fortune sketch on so random is really funny

i love music

i love music

i love music

friday was one of the funnest days i've had in a while

i'm 75% done with summer reading

i'm excited for wednesday

i'm excited for thursday

i'm excited for friday

ok

LOL

I was reading this and it cracked me up. It's ok to laugh at worship songs, it really is. I still will worship God to these songs, hopefully without losing my focus and laughing, but it was just extremely amusing to read. especially song #4...

4. Trading My Sorrows 

Please don't kill me. I know that a lot of people love this song, particularly the actions (oh my goodness, don't get me started on action songs). This might be a little picky, but what am I if not detail-oriented? The bridge of this song includes the line "Though the sorrow may last for the night" and the music hits on each word in 'last for the night' in such a way that makes me think of hip-shaking. As in: Though the sorrow may last (stick hip out to right) for (to left)the (to right) night (to left). Get it? Anecdote--I was in a worship setting with my friend Marty and we were singing this song. We get to this part of the song, and, I kid you not, Marty does the hip thing. Completely his idea. I almost crapped my pants.

brb I just died

hahaha please hold off on that

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Astounding Products!

welcome to Astounding Products! the part of this blog where I recommend stuff (not always actual "products" that I really like that you should check out too!

Fuze! this stuff is delicious!! it's basically like propel, but I like this better. it's all natural, I believe, and it's mostly water with 5% juice. It's fruity and delicious, and the kind I have is 20 calories per bottle and 100% dv of Vitamin C, maybe 200% actually because 100% was for just one serving.
Try it!

Spicy Nacho Doritos! Oh my goodness, these are so addicting! These are definitely not 20 calories per bag and probably don't have any nutritional benefits, but they're just really good, and you should eat some!

Supreme 90 Day System! Now this works pretty good! Tom can be annoying, though. Saying "a couple more" when you have 10 left, and making you think you're done when you have 20 minutes left isn't fun the first time, but anyway. It's basically your cheaper rip off of P90X... I'm sure they got most if not all of their exercises from P90X. I'm doing these dvds just to complement my running and I can definitely tell a difference in my abs, back, and arms. I think I would see even better results if I did the whole protein/clean eating thing with it, but yeah. I would definitely recommend this plus running for anyone trying to get in shape!

Pandora! One of the best things ever! You can create radio stations based on a genre, artist, or even a favorite song. Pandora will give you a stream of awesome music and you can thumbs-up or thumbs-down them, and even click "I'm tired of this track" and they won't play it for a certain amount of time. The best part is that it's free, so why not?

The Voice! Probably my new favorite show... it's awesomeness. It comes on NBC on tuesdays and wednesdays at 9 maybe? or maybe it's tuesday at 9 and wednesday at 8. I think that's it...I never pay attention, plus I miss it half the time so I just watch the reruns on E!. anyway, there's only 2 weeks left, which stinks. but watch it and then watch next year too!







I hope you enjoyed the first edition of Astounding Products! see you next time!

free day

today was a rough day, but it was my free day of the week so I got to make a new layout.
shout out to Color Scheme Designer 3, Nova who introduced me to it, and this texture because I've used it a billion times!

I know, I know

yeah my blog looks stupid right now, but I promise I'll make it look better on a day where I'm not extremely busy or going places 2 hours earlier than I'm supposed to. I can probably do it Thursday...so be back then. Until now you may want to check out some blogs on my stalk list who actually have it together. go!

Bush's Baked Beans!

Last week my family went to dollywood for the bajillionth time, and this time we decided to visit the Bush's Beans visitor center, and let me tell you, it's dang awesome! if you're ever in Chestnut Hill, TN (near Pigeon Forge) go there! it's one of my favorite places I've ever been. they have a general store, (a lot like Cracker Barrell's general store, if you've ever been there) a museum, and a cafe. The museum was really cool, the first thing we did was go to the bathroom, and dude, they have the nicest bathroom I have ever seen in my life. Then we watched a couple videos that were well-made, then we went through the museum. all the graphics and stuff were very nice and attractive, and there was plenty of stuff in there that would interest almost anyone. there was a lot of stuff for the kids--including a coloring station where you can draw on plain paper or color coloring sheets. Something very cool they also had was a photo booth where you take a picture in front of a green screen and then pick your background (about 4 to choose from and they're all bean-related). They'll print out up to 4 for you, free of charge. They might charge once the place gets more popular, but it'll probably be a dollar per print, not bad.

The cafe was great, too! The food was unbelievably cheap! About half the price of Olive Garden (my wallet is still sore from the last time I went there) and of course they have beans on the menu. They also have a bunch of different sandwiches including philly cheesesteak, grilled cheese, burgers, and BLTs. The servers were very friendly and fast!

So if you're ever in east tennessee, go there. The end!

freaking!

I'm not having a good day. bad mood + headache + lots of stuff to do = mega bad mood!
but I hate when people complain a lot so I'll stop for your sake. bye! I'm actually in a weird bad mood, like I'm mad but I can be happy too. but I still have a headache. bye.

Sophomore No More

I forgot to mention...the last day of school was wednesday! woohoo! I love all this free time I've had, and it's only the 2nd day of "summer" (it rained today). I was scrolling through my blog and happened to notice my "sophomore goal" list and I was like...I love lists, so I wanna make a "Sophomore Highlights" kinda thing. so here I go. It's gonna take me forever to remember stuff.

• using a mac for the first time ever, and then ending up using one almost every day
• finally beating my best time in cross country
• when I stopped wearing my state ring(s) because I realized they were no longer my biggest accomplishment
• that night at church when God rocked my world!
• how I was freaking out the first couple days of geometry cause I didn't get it, but ended up loving the subject
• when allison and I laughed for like 10 minutes straight about that lunchbox in mr. boyd's room!
• the B day stairs!
• the "forget you" chemistry project! you can watch here
• coach arp's class in general...he's an awesome teacher!
• passing my drivers test...cause I was pretty sure I wouldn't. hahaha.
• playing piano at chapel and getting better at it
• sorta leading a praise band at church
• finally being in the youth band!!
• "I take picture of you!!!"
• wearing my vintage/tacky bell bottoms in public by accident
• Slender Man!!!! hahahaha
• Chad, Chad, Chaddy Chad Chad!
• being in PE with kathy...it's much easier to be one of the least athletic people in a PE class when you have someone to go through it with you! we had a pretty good attitude about it, I must say!
• me and kristin's weird sense of humour..."do they just burn everything when they get done making movies?"..."laura lynn batteries"
• Christmas Break part deux aka the time it snowed on Sunday and we were out all week
• the Christmas play even though all the rehearsals were stressful
• the camping trip!!!!!
• just spending a large amount of time at church, I truly love that place
• finally getting my braces off!
• being on kathy's "campaign committee" and watching her win!!
• not dying on may 21st
• making new friends at church
• the time in chapel when the praise band was "lee & the teachers"
• ballenger's mountain biking story "I have a wife, he has a wife...we have wives!" I was dying it was so funny
• "awesomissimo" and "awesomusoppotamus"
• the Tomorrow Song project thingy
• the sophomore girls sleepover!
• just...driving! I love it.
• starting to realize what God has in store for me!!

so I'd say it's been an eventful school year! I'll see ya.

Doomsday!

So the world was s'posed to end today right? I heard that at 6 PM in every time zone there was gonna be an earthquake or something and once all the earthquakes happened, the world would be gone or something like that. Then I heard the rapture was today and the real end of the world would be 6 months from now. ok... well it's 8:42 and I'm still here. And I know I'm going to heaven, and I know that no one but God knows when the rapture's gonna be so that was a load of poppycock!

So I have a new layout! I had to make a writing portfolio last week and I made graphics for it to make it look all nice and personalized and that was the theme I used for it. So I just piggybacked off of it.

Man I'm feeling so uninspired lately in my blog writing and song writing. It stinks man!

And now, I say farewell.

Mythbusters!

I love that show. It's a good show.

This school week has been 80% pointless...we've mostly watched movies. I laid on the floor for approximately 160 minutes of my school day. But that's fine with me! 1 full day left next week, 3 exams, and I'm out!

Quote:
Me: I'm left-handed so when I write, my hand drags across the poster and it gets all smeared.
Jonah: Then why don't you write that way? (right to left)
Me: Cause I'm not arabic??

Ok I don't feel like typing any more, so bye!

Fancy a sandwich? It's a fancy sandwich.

This week has been a real good week. It's been tough at the same time. But still, a good week.

Random junk from this week:

1. Kathy: How could he be so happy after lying to his wife?
Eric: Clearly you don't understand marriage.

2.

3. I love the people in my youth band that I now play in. they're great people.

4. "I just bought a small white russian for $1.50!" -me (white russian is apparently a shaved ice flavor. who knew?)

5.

6. "You must take these cheeses!!!" -kristin and 1 Samuel 17:18

7. Today I discovered I really like this song.

8. "no song is impossible for Lee, no song is impossible, no song is impossible for Lee, she holds the notes in her hands!" (tune of "Healer" by hillsong) -Jordan, Emily, & Matt hahah I enjoyed that.

9. I just watched Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and oh my land!!! how can you watch that and not be blown AWAY by the truth in it?? I mean wow. the last 10 minutes were just. wow. ok.

10. bye

Cleft, the boy chin wonder!

I used to watch Fairly Oddparents allll the time. and today I was putting ketchup on my plate and it reminded me of:

hahaha. that show is hilarious! I need to start watching it again. oh, childhood!

New Seasons

Awwwww. The Suite Life on Deck had its series finale tonight. So sad. I decided that I'm gonna cry when I graduate. duh. It's gonna be sad. goodbyes are not fun! Summer's awesome, but it's definitely bittersweet, especially now that I'm getting older and more of my friends are graduating. :(

Ok, new update on softball/baseball in PE. I hit a single and made it to first, and then I eventually made it home!!!! giant step for me. and the second time I batted, I made it to first again, but I didn't get to make it to second because the next batter got the 3rd out. but still. awesome.

After the Suite Life ended, I watched the special preview of that new show A.N.T. Farm. It was ok. Obviously it was in its first-episode-terrible-acting-phase, but it has potential I guess. it was kind of cliche, though. Pretty predictable...right when the blonde girl set foot in the music room I knew she was gonna say something about Chyna sitting in her chair. I believe that same thing happened in Max Keeble's Big Move? And they need to work on sound issues...it's obvious that Chyna's violin and guitar and singing are tracks and not live, of course. and she sounds autotuned. Who autotunes an 11 year old? And come on, Disney, can you please please PLEASE make another show like Lizzie McGuire? about normal people? thanks.

I think that's about it.

Baby Steps, Baaaaaaby Steps.

First, a couple funny tidbits from the past couple days:

1. "If you watch Saw backwards, it is a truly amazing and touching story about one man providing countless limbs for the disabled." [source]
2. Tweet from @TWITTERWHALE on Easter: "So everybody is a Christian today on Facebook, huh?" [source]
3. *swing* "AHHHH!" -Kathy
4. "It's gotta be CRUNK!" -also Kathy

So we're playing softball in PE, and basically I'm the one of the least athletic people on the planet. Today's the second day we've played an actual game(ish) and my at-bat milestone was hitting a foul ball into Allison's knee. Last time my bat never made contact with the ball. So yeah. My next goal is to hit a fair ball, and my next goal is to make it to first base. So we'll see how it goes. I'll possibly keep you updated.

Uhhh I guess that's it. Bye!

20 Questions

I'm in a question-y mood. so here's some random questions that you probably can't answer, but if you can, feel free to do so.

1. Why is my summer becoming so scheduled already?
2. Why is Snoop Dogg so creepy to me?
3. Why has this year gone by so fast?
4. Why am I so lazy with my running now?
5. Why do they say to wear your retainer for 3 months?
6. Why aren't the newer iCarly episodes as funny as the older ones?
7. Why did I get so much actual school work done this week?
8. Why was I in such a bad mood yesterday?
9. Why was this past week so great?
10. Why is prom such a big deal?
11. Am I gonna go to prom next year?
12. Who would I even go with?
13. How many actual days of school are left?
14. Are my parents gonna let me skip the last day?
15. Why do I love music so much?
16. Are they gonna make any more Sonny With a Chance episodes?
17. Is this week gonna be an easy week at school?
18. Am I gonna fail the baseball/softball skills test in PE?
19. Hm, should I go make myself an ice cream cone?
20. Is anyone reading at this point?

Hey again. ok, I'm done for the day. I think I will go make myself an ice cream cone. see ya!

Possibly the Most Powerful Song Ever

Dude man. This song is so amazing. I don't know how many times I've heard it...my old church used to do a drama with this, I saw it performed live at WinterJam a couple months ago, and I saw a drama to this at my school literally 5 times within 2 days, and it still gets me every time.


He is risen and reigning!!! Happy Easter!

Freak Week and a Cool Website

Quote of the week:


Background info: my english teacher writes "AWK" next to lines in her students' essays that she finds to be awkward...


"That's not awk!...it's...norm!!" -Eric


I love Eric! Haha notice how he says about half the quotes I post on here :D

My friend Kristin just introduced me to a new website that's super addictive! It's called That Can Be My Next Tweet. it's kind of a mouthful, but whatever! You put in your twitter username and they make "your next tweet" based on all your past tweets. It doesn't post it to your twitter or anything unless you click "post this tweet" so don't worry about that. And it takes like less than a second to generate tweets, so you can make bunches. Sometimes the tweets don't make any sense, but they're funny, ok? Heheh.


Some favorites:


Happy for tuesday! Stop living in that is brett favre always small, tiny bricks make a great present.


Great and take away. my driver's test today is greener on my problem? watched the doritos commercial!


Oh, lee! when I left my brain haha Today was clearly the first pitch. Now let's go rangers!!


Ouch, ouch, annnnnd OUCH. git a mr. clean magic eraser for my weeks. This week was a poptart? Do it.

I've had it so I can't even get any of embarrassing and ever will donate $1 for my day around man! I do!


For loving us when we can't wait. ok, monday, you can turn into 80's movie marathons.


They'll extend the science channel. Chad, chad, chaddy chad chad! I will be transformed!


Hahah that was alot of favorites, but they're just so funny. if you have a twitter or know someone with a twitter, put your or their username in it!


So freak week.
This week has just been a stressssfullllll week. Rahhhh. But I don't feel like talking about it cause I'm in a good mood thanks to my "next tweets". So I won't talk about it! Today has been a good day, though! Yes.
 
It's Good Friday, after all.
 
Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God.
1 Peter 3:18

Soul Surfer/Sophomore/SparkNotes Love

Last night was super fun! We had a sophomore girls sleepover. We watched Soul Surfer, and I'm not gonna spoil it, but it was a really good movie! We were like all crying, it was great. We also watched some scary movie called "House of Fears". I never ever watch scary movies, but dude it's so much fun to watch them with a bunch of friends! Laughing, screaming, hiding under the covers, etc. So much fun. :)

Ok, so for an english project I have to read The Count of Monte Cristo and do all this stuff with it. That's not even the bad part. The bad part is that we have the most terribly abridged version EVER. it's so confusing. I got to the halfway point today, and I felt like I was missing something. So I went on sparknotes to see if it could help me understand it better, and DUDE!!!! What the heck puffin classics??? They left out some of the most important things! Like the fact that Danglars and Fernand framed Edmond, the part where he finds the treasure, and not to mention the part where he GETS to freaking MONTE CRISTO!!! how on EARTH can you leave that out?? It's in the TITLE! gracious.

But hey, it's almost the end of the school year. then it'll be summertime. Just to clarify, it is not summertime right now. what? who said that?

OK BYE.

Headachesheadachesheadaches

Random post comin' up!

my head hurts!

but other than that, today was a purty good day! it's freaking BEAUTIFUL outside! I washed/waxed "my" car. it was fun.

I'm thinking about taking voice lessons this summer...I love singing and I wanna be able to sing better/louder. we'll see what happens.

WHY DID I WATCH THAT IT CAUSED 1/2 OF MY HEADACHE D:

we got some fudge from dollywood and I finished it today. it was soooo good. I love fudge!

I don't wanna go back to school monday...spring break was way too rainy and short.

I'm wearing my new awesome boots tomorrow. yay!

I really wanna do something after church tomorrow. I so have spring fever. I shall be texting Alex about that later!

I feel like writing a song, so I'm gonna go attempt that now.

bye!

Tomorrow's Song

I wrote a song today...called "Tomorrow's Song". Why? Because Jon Foreman tweeted last night or today or something telling everyone to write a song within the same 24 hours called "Tomorrow's Song". Sweet. Here's mine!

Here's a rough recording, and lyrics are below.

Tomorrow's Song
Written by Lee Steele

Verse 1
Tonight my song is out of key
Tonight I've lost my melody
Buried beneath the waves
Of yesterday
Dying to be remade
When daylight breaks
Oh, when daylight breaks

Chorus
I'll sing tomorrow's song
Let yesterday be gone
I'll sing tomorrow's song
Tomorrow's song

I'll sing tomorrow's wrongs
Tomorrow's flights and falls
I'll sing tomorrow's song
Tomorrow's song

Verse 2
You've lost yourself behind the pain
Your thoughts are filled with past mistakes
Reminding you always
Of what you hate
Let go of yesterday
It's not too late
When daylight breaks

Chorus (2)
We'll sing tomorrow's song
Let yesterday be gone
We'll sing tomorrow's song
Tomorrow's song

We'll sing tomorrow's wrongs
Tomorrow's flights and falls
I'll sing tomorrow's song
Tomorrow's song

Bridge
Let go of yesterday
Let tomorrow take its place
A brand new song to sing
A brand new you to be

Chorus 2

Time for Change!

It's ti-i-i-ime for cha-a-ange!

I know I just changed the layout, but I'm gonna change it again sometime soon. Cause to me my blog is so boring and dreary-looking that even I don't feel like reading it. not cool! So stay tuned for COLORS.

Other stuff is changing too, but I'm not in a big typing mood at the moment, plus I don't feel like sharing. hehehe *didn't learn anything from kindergarten*

Funny quote!...

He was all...*jumps up & down and smiles*!!! -Alex

Ehehehe!

ya'll, this is so funny. :) just wait for it.

Impending Face Explosion!

I got some weirdo cold/sinus thing going on. It basicly feels like my face is gonna explode. But it's ok. It's not like my birthday's tomorrow or anything. Oh wait, it is!

Anyway, this week was interesting.

A couple quotes:

"NO! No input!!!" -Eric [when the computer got unhooked from the projector--it was hilarious!]

Allison: If you only knew Ellason!
Ballenger: What elephant?

hahahah. funny stuff.

Wednesday was a great day because we made ice cream in chemistry class. The awesome way with ziplock bags and ice and whatnot. It was SO good. 394893209037190x better than ice cream you buy at walmart or wherever. I'm gonna make it at home when I get bored sometimes.

Dude, I can't believe I'm gonna be 16 tomorrow. Time just needs to chill out.

Well bye!

Love Wins?

This is a follow up to my last post about the promo video for Rob Bell's upcoming book release, Love Wins.

Disclaimer: I haven't read the book yet, and I'm really not making any judgements on the book itself; this is just about the video promo. If and when I read the book, I'll have a whole separate thing about it.

My Bible teacher showed us the video today. I didn't even have to bring it up, I should've known he would! Anyway, he had some GREAT insight on it. He asked the class what we thought of it, and a couple people were like "it was cool" and "it was like BAM!" haha. I said "it kind of sounded like he was doubting himself. Like when he said "Jesus saves us from God"? I'm not sure what he meant by that, and I've never heard it put that way..." and my teacher said, "That sounds to me like a man who beats his wife, drives her to the hospital and says 'look, I saved you!'" I LOVED that by the way. A boy brought up that Rob could've meant Jesus saved us from God's wrath in which case Rob just needs to be careful how he words things.

The main part of the discussion, though, was about Rob saying "But what kind of God is that, that we would need to be rescued from this God? How could that God ever be good? How could that God ever be trusted? And how could that ever be Good News?" My teacher set up a scenario. We're in a courtroom. Say I kill someone. Judge (God) says, "Did you kill this person?" I plead guilty. Judge: "You're sentenced to life in prison." Jesus: "Don't punish her, I'll take her punishment." This is what happens. What Rob is implying is that a loving God would never sentence millions of people to death.

Well look at this:
"Did you kill this person?"
“Yes."
“Oh, ok. Well you can go free and keep on doing whatever you were doing.”

Is that loving? Is that anything like the character of God? No! God is a just judge (Psalm 145:17). Besides, if He just let everyone go free, what would be the point of missions? What would be the point of Jesus? The whole thing just crumbles if you go Universalist.

The reality is: God is Holy (1 Peter 1:16 and countless other verses). Holiness: separation from everything profane and defiling; and at the same time, it is dedication to everything holy and pure (Spirit Filled Life Bible 171). See, sinners are literally separated from God. Way back when sin entered into the world, the world became cursed. Adam and Eve and their children and everyone who was to be born from then on were cursed. Sin nature took over. We are born sinful beings. God can’t even look at us because of His holiness. It was impossible for us to be with God. That’s why Jesus comes into the picture. He had to take the punishment for us. When Jesus was up on that cross with all of the world's sin upon Him, darkness covered the earth, and Jesus asks God why He has forsaken Him. (Matthew 27:45-46). But once the sacrifice was made, there was a way! (John 14:6). Once we accept the gift of Jesus’ sacrifice, we are born again. God sees us holy. That’s love. That. is. LOVE.

So that is why a loving God sends people to hell. It’s impossible for something unholy to coexist with something that is holy. Hell is a place of eternal separation from God.

Does that make sense now?

I just went off on a huge tangent. I’m pretty sure I’ve never used 2 Bibles and a concordance to write a blog post, but I quite enjoyed it. I should do this again.

Now back to the book. I still don’t know if Rob Bell is a Universalist. He could’ve just spoken without thinking in that video and the book explains sort of what I just explained. I don’t know though. I can’t know until I read it. Either way, just pray for him during this. If anything, pray that he’ll see his error and somehow offer an explanation or something.
Thanks for reading!

Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover...or Video Promo

Today America is freaking out about Rob Bell. Apparently he has a new book coming out, and by the video promo he posted, it looks like he might be taking on some Universalist (theological doctrine that all human beings will eventually be saved) beliefs. Now, this is just the promo. Not the book yet. So we don't really know.

I'm thinking I may read this book when it comes out, but I'm not sure if I'm prepared to go that deep into it. I just learned about Universalism this year. But I might run it by my Bible teacher and see what he says.

Some thoughts from Justin Taylor...

Here is HarperCollins’s description of his next book, Love Wins: Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.


Fans flock to his Facebook page, his NOOMA videos have been viewed by millions, and his Sunday sermons are attended by 10,000 parishioners—with a downloadable podcast reaching 50,000 more. An electrifying, unconventional pastor whom Time magazine calls “a singular rock star in the church world,” Rob Bell is the most vibrant, central religious leader of the millennial generation. Now, in Love Wins: Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, Bell addresses one of the most controversial issues of faith—the afterlife—arguing that a loving God would never sentence human souls to eternal suffering. With searing insight, Bell puts hell on trial, and his message is decidedly optimistic—eternal life doesn’t start when we die; it starts right now. And ultimately, Love Wins.


I haven’t seen the book yet and was hesitant to say something based on the publisher’s description (which usually isn’t written by the author). But this video from Bell himself shows that he is moving farther and farther away from anything resembling biblical Christianity:

LOVE WINS. from Rob Bell on Vimeo.

So yeah. I don't think it's right to jump to conclusions. People should at least wait and read the book before they go all accusatory. I really hope that they're all wrong. I've seen Rob Bell's videos and they've really made me think and have helped me grow. Any thoughts?

Heck Yeah!

One of my favorite things in life is when I discover an awesome song by just having my ipod on shuffle. I have over 2000 songs on there, and obviously I haven't listened to every single song yet. Most of the ones I haven't listened to are the ones I downloaded from NoiseTrade (totally legal, yo!) or Hear it First or bands that just feel like giving away their music for free!

anyway, today's discovery was "In the Valley of the Dying Sun" by House of Heroes. I believe I downloaded their album from Amazon for like 3 bucks or something way back when, and I might've listened to it once while I was doing other stuff, so obviously I barely remembered anything. But today I found this gem, and it is a beauty.

This Week

This week was a great week! 'cept monday, but that's cool.

Quotes:
"Is that Paul McCartney & the Eagles?" -Eric
2 problems with this one. #1 should be obvious, and #2, we were listening to a Guns & Roses song. poor Eric!

"There's a cougar in the bathroom...but not that kind." -Blake


"I'm more tired than an 18-wheeler." -Me
I tweeted it, but apparently it wasn't as funny as I thought it was. no one's @relplied me in over a month. not that I care or anything. I also thought I made it up, but I just googled it and someone beat me to it last October. bummer! I did tell people in Bible class today and they appreciated it!

there wasn't really anymore funny stuff that I can think of now. ah well!

my blog has been so boring lately! fah!

bye!

Failbook

This site is gold. Here's some snippets. I love the word snippet. "anywayys"...

see more Failbook

see more Failbook

…”LOL” does NOT mean “lots of love.”

see more Failbook

see more Failbook

see more Failbook

see more Failbook

see more Failbook

see more Failbook

"I don't speak Texan!"

hahaha. Winter Jam last night was great!! Pictures will come at some point. Maybe tomorrow.

David Crowder Band was the best. I got their new album there for $5. I'm listening now. It's one of those that's gonna have to grow on me. Cause when I already know a couple songs off an album, when I actually listen to the whole thing, it's weird. Like I don't like any other songs until the 2nd or 3rd time I listen. I'm just weird in general, so this shouldn't be surprising.

I love how my facebook page has basically turned into a radio station! haha. I love music, so I've been posting some of my favorite songs on there every couple days. I wonder if people actually listen to them. If they don't, then whatever!

ok, I'm really tired. I don't know what I'm gonna do next, but it'll probably be far away from this computer.

Bye!

"Is This the Sham-Wow?"

hahaha. please check out the Watch This page. my friends mallory and jonah showed me this yesterday and it's great. I can do the "wouldja look at that?" perfectly according to them. hahah. "is this the sham-wow?" is my favorite line.

this week has been awesometastic.

and I don't feel like blogging right now.

so bye!

Dawwwww

source

Dear _______: 6th edition

1st edition//2nd edition//3rd edition//4th[lyrical]edition//5th edition

hahah I LOVE doing this! in case you couldn't tell.

Dear 1: you are awesome. one of the best guitar players I know, yo.

Dear 2: you are also awesome. I respect drummers because I'm a terrible drummer. I need to learn at some point. but anyway, you rock!

Dear 3: I love you!!! I always enjoy helping you out :)

Dear 4: I hope you get better reallllly soon cause we need to go to winterjam together!! And because I just want you to feel better in general!

Dear 5: I enjoy being hated with you. it's fun. not really. but this will end...maybe!

Dear 6: I hope you let me have some input when I ask you about something tuesday! just giving you a heads up even though you don't read this and you wouldn't know this was to you anyway!

Dear 7 and 8: ugh! could you be less jerky maybe? thanks.

Dear 9: just when I thought I might wanna be your friend, you prove that you're even more of a yerka-faca than I originally thought! I hope you realize it.

Dear 10: once again...

wow. I don't even know what to say! besides I think you're amazing. I know you're amazing! and you probably don't think of me that way, and it's frustrating. but you can't make someone like you. and it kills me every time I think about the fact that you're gonna be out of my life pretty soon here. well continue being amazing, ok? I know you're gonna do great things!

source

Dear 11: I like that you read my blog. you're really cool! I love texting you. but we haven't texted in awhile so I'm gonna text you soon. haha.

Dear 12 and 13: you two are really nice. thank you for being my new friends this school year! I love talking to you guys.

The End!

"I LOVE SANDWICHES!"

So tonight I achieved my last goal on my "Sophomore Goal List". woohoo!

Man this week has been the busiest week that I can remember! Craziness. That's why I haven't blogged in awhile. I've had almost zero free time this week. But now I have some, so yay! But right now I'm extremely tired, so I might go to bed soon.

I really don't know what I'm saying anymore because I'm kind of freaking out right now. It's weird. And no I won't explain. So onto the end!

A few quotes I remember from this week:
"And Magua jumped over the great divide, which is apparently just a big gap..." -Blake
"My mom took french class...all she remembers is 'redneck' and 'shut up'!" -Carly
"Ms. K, do you tweeter?" -Eric
"I LOVE SANDWICHES!" -Me/Carly

Bye!

A La Casa De Roja!

Just in case you were wondering about the weirdo "red house" references, just go on over to my Watch This page and you'll understand. it's just so catchy!

Remember how I was all "I'm gonna put quotes on here" I still will, but there weren't any that really stood out this week!

Anyway, I'm adding a new page on here. It's called Unrecognized Talent and it's based on my last post. Every once in awhile I'll put a new flickr photo and if you like it, click it, thus giving the photographer more views. Better yet, if you have a flickr account, comment! You know how much you love views and comments, flicker-ers.

I just like making other people feel good :) haha.

Man, I heard something awesome the other day. My health teacher was talking about marriage and stuff and she was like "This is what I believe. God made Eve from Adam's rib. He made her just for him. So I'm convinced that God made someone out there just for me." I was like. Blown away. That's awesome. So there is someone that God made just for me. Isn't that exciting? Very. Very exciting :) Just hold on, folks. Life is a whirlwind and you can't control a whirlwind. Only God can.

My new life verse:
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. -Proverbs 19:21

It's so dern easy to try to plan out your life yourself, isn't it? And it's so easy to worry about how things are gonna turn out. But I'm starting to learn that neither of those things are what I'm supposed to do.
 
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” -Psalm 46:10

At the redddd house!

hang your clothes up jimmy, originally uploaded by hi_five photography.

so I hate how there are great photos on flickr, but only the "famous" flickr people get views, comments, and favorites. this picture, in my opinion, is AWESOME. but when I happened upon it, I was viewer number 2. what up. so if you think this picture is cool, click it! share it! people deserve applause for awesome stuff they do! rah!

that is all.

for now.

Cut your hair short, then walk through an airport

...then you can dream of destinations. Man relient k is awesome. awesome I say.

so today I finished "Out of My Hands"! I counted and it's my 46th song. woo! I wish I liked all of my songs as much as the "good ones". The "good ones" are an elite group of my songs that I actually would play for people. the others are ones that are not quality songs. Most of them were my earliest ones, though, so that makes sense.

They're calling for wintery weather again. nooooo! not tonight! Cause tomorrow's wednesday, and wednesday is like my favorite day! I don't wanna miss church, so snow and ice and whatever else, stay in the sky! thank you.

Today I noticed that I had 2,006 tweets and I was like what?? I missed the 2,000 mark! then I looked back to see what my 2,000th tweet was and it was "Treadmills are heavy." nice, lee. real nice. "Thank you...CATHERINE obvious!" "wait, is it catherine obvious or captain obvious?" ahhh ian.

bye!

Sweet Sixteen!

not me! but Alex!!! yay happy birthday!!! she's awesome. and she's gonna have a great 16th year!

so yeah! I have school today....first time I've had school on a monday since december 13th. weeeird.

see you cats later!

Tutorial Time Part 3? I think?

MUAHAHA I have broken blogger's font barrier!

although it doesn't seem threatening in such a girly frilly font. anyway, alex was expressing her dislike of blogger's font choices, and I was being all HTMLy and figured out how to put whatever font you feel like!

so tutorial time! I can't remember how many of these I've done, so I'm gonna go with this being the third one.

btw, you can click these pictures if you can't see what they say to make them bigger.
Step 1: Get your new post ready.

Step 2: Type something!

Step 3: Now you could be realllly HTMLy and just type out the code for a font, but I found this easier. Change it to "Georgia" or whatever font, but just do georgia, ok?

Step 4: Switch over to the "Edit HTML" tab.

Step 5: Highlight "Georgia" and replace it with the name of your font of choice! [except comic sans, por favor] Make sure you type it in exactly.

Step 6: Switch back over, and wah-lah!

the end!