The Good Triumphs

Today definitely had it's ups and downs. Most people typically want bad news before the good news, so I'm going to tell you bad news first. Well, actually I'm just going to vent before I talk about good things!

Bad/Vent Session:
Today was really just a "get on Kirstin's nerves day" at work. It was fine in the morning, but then someone started talking to me about how I flirt a lot with a guy at work because we were joking around one day. Alright, I joke around with EVERYONE. I don't like this guy as any more than a friend, and I treat him the same as I treat everyone else, including the other guys I work with. It really just irked me, because I really try not to flirt with anyone as a rule, because I don't want anyone to be led on. I've been down that road before, and it doesn't end well!

THEN a person I work with was getting on my case about how I wasn't filling the ice containers the right way. Like there's a specific way to fill them!! It got on my nerves, but I just brushed it off like a joke. So I was just like, "It's just ice, it's not like it's important!" And he was like, "You're not important!" Ohhhhh, boy! That made me so angry. I wanted to say something really really mean back, but I just went in the back and ignored him. Ugh, even thinking about it makes me mad.

Good News:
Today work went by REALLY fast. It was the quickest day I've ever worked there. It's like I would look at the clock expecting it to just be like 30 minutes later, but it would actually be 2 hours since I last looked at it!

Some people who come through the drive-thru are really really nice. There's this older lady who comes through a lot, and she's always the sweetest thing even if I do something wrong. She always makes my day! Then there's this other dude who is about 20 years old who comes through almost every day and he ALWAYS asks for ketchup. We always laugh because I remember his ketchup addiction. Today he didn't want any, but I automatically put some in the bag and we just cracked up laughing! He's another one of my favorites! :D

After work I went to the Rivergate mall, and got my favorite drink in the world! It's from Gloria Jeans coffee and it's got cookie in it. It is AMAZING! :D It made my day a billion times better! Then I went home and bought a pair of red TOMS off of the internet. :)

All in all, today was actually a pretty good day, other than the few bad parts. But hey, whaddya expect?

- Kirstin

A Post.

Poor Tuna...why must she be the only one who writes on this blog anymore? Here's an update from mwah.

SO MUCH HAS CHANGED SINCE I LAST POSTED!!! For real, ya'll! For starters, I got engaged. Crazy, right? Trust me, it's hard for myself to believe. Ryan and I got engaged back in November, and it was AMAZING. It will definitely be forever one of the best days of my life.

Of course, getting engaged came with a whole new list of things that need to be added into life, such as house hunting, good jobs, serious planning, extreme money saving, and more. As if that isn't enough, now I've suddenly found my way into a CNA test in a few weeks, and I've got yet another COMPASS test to take next month for LPN school.

Let me tell you; Life is getting hectic. After a lifetime of nothing happening, or even just the past year being filled with taking it slow, this year has started off with a bang and EVERYTHING is happening all at once. I need a house, I want to get married, I'm studying for two different tests, I'm fixing to be working another job, with the aid of my parents I'm looking into how to become eligible to purchase a home, and I'm praying everything works out. It's so stressful!

Sometimes I feel like my brain is just going to burst, and then I won't have to worry about any of this. Here's just so much that needs to be done, and I'm scared that I either won't get it all done, or I'll make a mistake that will ruin everything. It's just so hard to keep everything straight and to keep a cool head about it all.

So there you have it. That's my much needed blog post.

-Luna

Resolution

So I know that new years resolutions might be kinda stupid sometimes, but I'm going to make two that I'm going to try my best to keep. From now on I'm going to start loving myself for who I am, and have good self-esteem (but not so much that I'm full of myself or anything), no matter what stupid or embarrassing things I might do, no matter if anyone makes fun of me, no matter if anyone says I'm not pretty, no matter what. I'm not perfect, and I'm going to be happy about that. That's the way God made me, and I am perfect in his eyes. Even though I may not see it most of the time, God does, so I am happy with the way He made me. I'm also going to try to make sure I don't make anyone feel like I did. I'm going to try to make sure what I say doesn't make them feel bad about themselves, I'll need a little help with this since I like to joke a lot and don't realize that what I said might have hurt someone until after I say it, even if I don't mean it. I've come to realize that I do this a lot sometimes. And if I do say something and realize it might have hurt someone, I'm going to apologize. I have a hard time apologizing sometimes, but I don't want to be like that anymore. I don't want anyone to feel like I did. I want people to love themselves and not be brought down by other people, especially me. And I will try with all the power in me to keep these resolutions.

~Tonya

Family time?

So, I haven't ranted in a while, and let me tell you now this is going to be rant city right now. So, don't feel obligated to read this, I just need to get it out....

You know how you can always tell who the favorites are? Well it's not me. Why is it that I'm always the one who seems to do something wrong? Even when I'm not doing anything! People wonder why I don't like going to Indiana to see my dad's side of the family...and this is why. It's like I can't get rid of the child persona that I was labled with when I was 11. My Grandmother is a control freak and I'm always the one who seems to mess up her style...or to say I'm the only one who gets stuff said to her about it. I like to do things at my own pace, and apparently it doesn't quite work with my grandmother's. I'm freakin 18. I'm freakin in college, but apparently I can't be trusted not to mess something up by my grandparents. I always try to mind my own business when I'm here. I don't like to talk very much. I keep to myself drawing, reading, etc. Yet I'm always the one who does something. Can you tell me how that's possible?! Cuz I sure cant. Times like these I wish I was more outspoken. Not that I don't love my dad's side of the family, and not that I don't know that they love me, and maybe it's because I only see them once a year...I don't know. I just hate that I'm the ONLY one who feels like I can't do anything around here. Like I'll always be the 11 year old kid who gets in trouble for doing something I didn't even mean to do. I wish I could just hole up somewhere....

Again sorry for ranting....You're a good friend if you actually read all of this.

~Tonya

Kiss Me (The song...don't really kiss me.)

Was bored tonight, had to get out my energy in some way. Here's the outcome.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4syc-aW3hz4

Yes, I'm aware that I'm singing quietly. I have a semi-sore throat, so that's my excuse.

P.S. - This is like the only song I know on the uke, because I really love this song and I listened to it a lot as a kid. Seriously, a LOT!

Re-do??

Okay, so I know I haven't posted in forever and a day. I'm surprised I haven't been kicked off yet haha! BUT, I need opinions. I am thinking about re-doing my own personal blog. Making a whole new one since I haven't posted on my other one in FOREVER!!! This time I would try to post on it as often as I can. What do you think? Should I do it or no? Would anyone read it if I posted?

Need. Encouragement. Now.

Well, to be honest, I've just really been down in the dumps lately. I don't really have any excuse to be, I just haven't really felt that great. It's mainly just this way when I'm at home, because my friends always make me cheerful, but it's like the moment I get home, all happiness exits and I just feel horrible. I keep getting to the point of tears over nothing, and I basically am just moping around my room most of the time.

I mean, I've been this way before, but the fact that it's lasted more than a couple of days really sucks. Just say a prayer for me when you can.

-Kirstin

What's New With Puma

1. I'm such a huge klutz. I wonder why God intended for me to have such trouble doing everyday normal things. I fall down the stairs on a regular basis, I run into things, I trip over nothing, I hit my head on our ceiling beams, etc. Take tonight for example.

I was at the park. My brother, my boyfriend, and myself were standing outside of my car, preparing to say our farewells. As Jesse and Ryan were standing off to the side saying goodbye, I took that time to straighten back up my reclined driver's seat. Dummy me leaned in much too far and pulled the lever, thus making the seat swing up FAST and smacking me hard right in the shnoz!

It hurt sooo bad, and I honestly thought my nose was bleeding. It's still throbbing at this very moment, and it's been more than 2 hours since I was whacked! Point of this random story? Don't be me.

2. This week is going to be super busy, and I'm looking forward to all of it except for Wednesday. That morning, I will be taking a COMPASS test in Hartsville to see if I can get into LPN classes this January. I am SO SUPER NERVOUS! If ya'll could pray that I somehow manage to get through that test alive and do well, I would greatly appreciate it. I think I'll go study some more after this...

3. I have a $10 iTunes gift card that I have yet to use, because I haven't got a clue as to which songs I want! I mean, sure, there's about a thousand and one that I WANT, but which ones are the ones I need to have right this minute? Choices, choices...Maybe some Nevershoutnever? A little Buddy Holly? Some Jason Mraz, perhaps?

4. I have decided to decorate my computer monitor with all of my old theater tickets. It's pretty sweet looking, not going to lie. In order for me to completely cover the sides though, I'm going to have to go watch some more movies. Sigh. What an expensive decoration!

Adios! -A

Life, and All It's Rad Happenings

Christian friends are the bomb.

It's pretty much the most awesome thing ever to be able to talk to other people about God, what He's been teaching you, and stuff like that. This summer has been so amazing because our youth group is so much closer, and I learn way more stuff at church than I did before. We've gotten to the point where we are actually sharing what God is doing in our lives, and it's SO COOL! I love that almost all of our conversation consists of Godly things. The other stuff we talk about seems so petty and useless, that it honestly bores me and makes me want to leave.

God is so incredibly amazing. 'Nuff said.

-Kirstin

A Blog of Gratitude

God is so good.

That's really all I can think whenever I think about the youth group at my church. Lately, we've all been growing so much in the Lord and as friends, and it just makes me so happy.

I'll be honest; I think of myself as a mediocre Christian, and that's not how I want to be at all. I want to be on fire for Him always, but that's not an easy thing to do when there are so many distractions going on in the world. That's why I love how my youth group has suddenly had this spark set in their hearts and minds. A spark to become a better group as a whole and to do more to share His love with others.

My friends have no idea how much they help me with life. Guys, thank you.

Love, A.

This is a random post.

Today, I want people to feel good about themselves. I want to hear positive comments, pleasant ideas, and joyful feedback.

I want to hear happy stories, sunshine-y thoughts, and spiritual uplifting.

I want to make today an extraordinary day like God intended it to be.

Make the most of today, my friends; Do something inspiring. ♥

-A.

A Restless Evil

James 3:3-9

"3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. ⁴ Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. ⁵ Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶ The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. ⁷ All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, ⁸ but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹ With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness."

"No human being can tame the tongue." That is so extremely true, especially in this day and age! All the time, we're so surrounded by harshness and gossip, that it's tough to guard your tongue. I have a MAJOR problem with keeping my mouth shut. Sometimes I'll just be talking and nonchalantly say something rude to someone, without even thinking about it first. Most of the time, it doesn't even bother me. I didn't even realize how bad it had gotten until the about a month or two ago. When I realized how I could be totally rude, and not care a bit, I felt so convicted. Since then, I've been trying to talk less and less, and to actually think about what I'm going to say.

I guess with learning to guard your mouth, an easy way to get better at it is to practice around your family. I don't know about you, but sometimes I am so mean to my family. But I don't want to be one person at home and a different person with my friends. I've seen people do that and I don't want to live my life that way. If I can be all nice and sweet to my friends, then I can try being just as nice and sweet to my family, even though it's kind of tough at first.

I'm going to ask for your help in this, more than just praying for me. For all of my friends who read this, please just help me in this area. If you hear me say something rude to someone or about someone, PLEASE say something to me about it!

Basically, I was just rambling in the above. Sorry about that! But yeah, that's my two cents for the day!

Kirstin

My God is Mighty to Save

Basically, I've been failing at keeping up with my blogs. I've been so stinking busy this summer, which is a blessing, but it has it's rough moments.

If I could say one thing that I really want to say right now, it's this. God has really been working in me this summer! He still has a lot of work to do with me, but my thought process has changed so much in these past two months! This whole entire summer has been such a blessing! With going to the AMAZING Totally His Youth Conference, having the S.P.L.A.S.H. thing last week, and just a bunch of other awesome stuff, it's like life couldn't get much better!

In a week and a half, I'm going to Grace Baptists church camp! I'm going to be a CIT (Counselor In Training), and I couldn't be more excited/freaked out! It's definitely going to be a good learning experience. I'll have to lead at least one devotion with the 8 girls in my cabin, and I'm so excited about it, if not a little nervous. I hope I can be a good influence in these girls' lives, and that I can be a blessing to them! Pray for me, please!

Well I'm off to bed to hopefully sleep off the sickness I recently acquired!

Kirstin

SPLASH!!

So i'm at our SPLASH retreat at our church. I am having so much fun it's insane! We just got back from our mission project for this morning. We are having backyard bible club for the kids, and let me tell you, they are so stinking cute!! ^•^ we only had 3 today though. Yesterday my team went door to door trying to raise money for crisis pegnancy center. It's really interesting sometimes to see how people treat you and how they live. It helped me come out of my shell and get used to talking to people I don't know. I love our college team. They are so funny! But since I haven't posted in a while I thought I'd tell you about SPLASH. I hope God works in our lives and helps us grow more in Him. So that's all I have to say. If anything awesome happens I'll be sure to post about it!


~WonTon~.

(by the way that is my nw nickname dubbed by David Dooley)

I don't know why you say goodbye...

Farewells...why must they be so bittersweet?

Why must amazing days spent with loved ones end on such sad notes?

Who decided that saying "goodbye" was the right thing to do?

Couldn't we all just say, "Until next time, which will be very soon."?

Or maybe even, "I love you! Don't leave."?

Is it so crazy to wish that great times with family and close friends could be saved and copied, so that they may be relived another day?

*sigh* Oh, how I hate saying farewell...

-A.

And so, I shall post.

I am under the impression that if anyone is cool enough to click on the following WORD, they will be able to receive a small insight into the epic awesomeness that was today.

If anyone chooses to disagree with the above opinion, they will forever be known as "noobs".

That is all.

-A.

(P.S. PLEASE edit and upload all of those videos, Tuna Baboona!)

Sun, Fun, and...Puns?

Good gravy, am I the only one who posts anymore? -_-

Well, if anybody is even going to read this then I shall let you know that I have been having a great summer so far! I thought it would be super boring and that I'd have nothing to do, but every day this week I have hung out with at least one of my friends. So this summer hadn't been nearly as dreadful as I imagined!

On Monday I'm going to EIG! :D For those of you who are completely oblivious as to what EIG is, it is a week-long youth conference. It's basically like a camp, though, because it's not all just listening to sermons. From what I know, we get to play sports and swim and stuff, as well as listen to sermons. I'm SO excited! :D I get to go with a lot of UCA people, so I'll get to spend time with them! :D *rejoices*

In other news, my kitten is being so stinkin' annoying right now because she won't stop attacking my toes! It tickles, then hurts, then tickles again. I don't know if I should kick her away or just cuddle her!

In OTHER news, I went to hillbilly days today with Amanda and Tonya. Some...INTERESTING things happened, and now my night is kind of blah. I'm really bored and not tired, so it'll probably take forever for me to fall asleep.

I'm going to try to make fabric roses now. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Sweet lullaby dreams,
Kirstin

Peace

I don't know why, but I keep having this feeling that something GREAT is going to happen soon. Call it my optimistic nature, but I'm never THIS optimistic! I keep randomly getting butterflies when I'm not thinking about ANYTHING butterfly-worthy, and I'm a lot happier at times when I have no reason to be happy. I feel like everything is working out for me, even though nothing has happened.

I guess this is what true peace feels like.

-Kirstin:D

The Unemployed

Everyone is getting jobs, it seems. I mean, Tonya has had a job for forever and now she has two jobs, Amanda has had one for a couple of months, Ryan has had a job for a couple of months, Jesse is starting on Sunday (or Saturday, I forgot which), David got a job, Chelsea got a job, and people at church are looking for jobs. Dude, this summer is going to be poop. My main hangout peeps have jobs, so they aren't going to have much time at all to hang out. *depression face* Way to make me feel left out, guys. On the days that you all are working, I'm going to be sitting at home by myself with NOTHING to do.

I know what you're thinking. "Well if she'd get a job, then she wouldn't be complaining about it." I would if I could.

Hey, guess what? VBS is next week! :D For anyone reading this who doesn't go to our church, from 4:30-7:30 is the teenagers VBS. It's SO AWESOME! We usually do these awesome games every night, and we do messy games too! :D You should come if you can! It's at First Baptist Church of Lafayette! :D

-Kirstin:D

AHHHHH!

Since the other two authors of this blog are ALSO graduating tomorrow (er...today, considering it's 1 AM), then I can trust that they are as nervous/excited/sad/crazilyemotional as I am!

Today was awesome, even though my emotions were everywhere! Today was my last full day of being a highschooler. Today was the last time I sang with the choir as a part of it.

I feel so grown up...and I'm not sure that I like it. Of course, I'm only 16, so I'm not THAT grown up.

I really really really really REALLY hope that Mr. Counts will let me come back and help with choir or drama or SOMETHING next year! If he does, I will be so tremendously happy, because I will still get to see my AMAZING friends at UCA! It would be SUPAH weird though, 'cause if I do help with choir, then I will be teaching a few kids older than me. O_O Whoa.

Anyways, this is probably my last blog post as a high school student. No longer will I be "Kirstin the Senior". Imma be "Kirstin the ALUMNI BABAY!" Yes, you have to call me that. Be sure to add the "BABAY", because it creates the whole effect.

*sigh* If you could have seen my emotions the whole day, I would probably be put in a mental institution. No lie. First, I was SUPER excited and totally pumped about graduating! Then, I got kinda caught up in the "I'm going to miss you SO MUCH!" phase. Then at rehearsal I was getting the nervousness feel. Then I was excited, then back to nervous, then I totally forgot about everything because I was watching a movie. THEN, oh my gosh, about an hour-ish ago, I was reading my yearbook autographs/paragraphs for like the tenth time, and I started crying. -_- I'm still kind of in that mood where I don't know if I should just bawl my eyes out or if I should just go to bed.

For those of you who are going to be at graduation tomorrow, be prepared to see tears, because they will be falling from this girl's eyes. I hope other people cry though, because it will make me feel better about crying. So, if you're reading this before my graduation....DON'T BE AFRAID TO CRY! I'm going to try my very best not to look at anybody while I'm talking, because I know if I do, I'll break down.

I'm so nervous about my speech. I'm hoping that as long as I have it written down, then I'll be able to get through it without crying. I'll already be majorly choked up from Dad talking and from the previous Senior's families! But that's the downsides of being next to last.

If I start crying, there's no "give me a moment", that just will not work for me. If I start, there's no way that I'm going to say anymore.

Okay, enough of this rambling nonsense. I'm going to bed. PRAY FOR ME!

Lots of love from the highschooler,
Kirstin