I'm reading this book called "What you didn't learn from your parents about Christianity."
The book itself doesn't seem to be too amazing but this quote was in it and I liked it.


"The dearest friend on earth is a mere shadow compared to Jesus Christ."
-Oswald Chambers

Well this is the piece I did today. As usual it looks better in person, that and not only did the camera kill some of it's brilliancy, but when I sprayed the piece with fixative, it killed it more.








Julia and I are listening to Hanson's "The Walk" album. It is so good. she an I decided the other day that we really missed Hanson and fell like a hug part of us is lost without them. Hahaha so we gave there last album a listen, let me tell you we LOVE IT!!!
We keep saying "this is so good", "I like this album" and many other such thoughts as we listen to it.
Hanson always delivers.
:]


Merry Christmas!!!!

I'm not sure how I feel about the last week.

Every time I sit to blog I realize how much I prefere telling stories and talking about whats going on rather then writing it or typing it. I have had a pretty crazy last week.
I went to open gym with some friends. After we went to a Chinese restaurant that reminded us of the restaurant in the movie "Christmas story". We contemplated getting the duck.
I spent $20 to see a play that I ended up cleaning up for two hours after, at least I got to be a part of the brute squad with Anthony. But I basically paid to work. I also met two of the VonTrapp girls. I found them to be quite agreeable.
Then I got lost 3 times on my way back from West Chicago at 1 in the morning.
I worked a birthday party where the kid only wanted to play in the pit, so for an hour and a half I watched this kid and his 4 friends just jump in the pit.
I went on a day date with my sister and niece and nephew. Had a late night snow ball fight with Ania. She and I also walked to the park to swing in the snow.
Watched too much Americas Next Top Model for one day. Then spent 4 long hours watching a movie about the Jackson family.
Today I made a pastel piece of a Celtic cemetery. It isn't as creepy as it sounds. I will put up a pic once I take a good one. I'm spending today and tomorrow with family.

This is one of the greatest things ever! How ridiculous would it be to actually learn these languages?
I think it is so very cool though.
I love Tolkien. If I could hang out with anyone living or dead, I would easily pick Tolkien.
Love his work so much.
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Languages-of-Tolkiens-Middle-earth/Ruth-S-Noel/e/9780395291306/?itm=38&usri=j+r+r++tolkien

Oh man! This makes me happy!

Just finished the Violin pieces for my sister. I still have to mount the ink one but that is pretty easy. The hard part is done now.
Never again am I going to make one of these strip (ink) pieces. I don't care how nicely someone asks me.

I am the gypsy rover..

If this is not the cutest thing ever, I'm not sure what is





Lilly was laying on my bed today drawing. :]

Lilly is so cute. She has great taste. She likes Celtic and Irish music. Today she and I were listening to Bluegrass. One time in the car a Simon and Garfunkle song came on and she informed me that it was her favorite song. This girl has great taste.
:D


Today I was playing some Christmas songs on my mandolin. After hearing "Oh Come oh come Emmanuel", my dad said he thought the song may have been written just for the mandolin. It sounds beautiful.

I'm trying to finish up an ink piece which is part of a two piece project I started for my sister back around Easter. It will be finished by Christmas.


Other news:
I found out today that there are gypsies in Hinckley. Yes, gypsies. They are breaking into and robbing houses. Weird. You would think they would be easy to pinpoint in a town this small.
I can only think about a video we watched at Vineyard Cafe a few weeks ago. In the video they showed a whole Gypsy community in which missionaries had come in and God had totally impacted these gypsies lives. God moved them to the point that these people who are the poorest of poor took up an offering to help "poor" people.
God does incredible things.

oh yeah

I took some pics of Honey in her cute harness, and Natty just being cute.






This is Kind of seductive..:P
haha









I guess I am now the creepy dog lady.ha

Oh what a night. :]

Amber and I decided that we are going to live in Wheaton for a summer in the future. So we got together and made a gingerbread replica of our Wheaton house. What a great night, It matched perfectly with most of the rest of the day. My morning was so stressful but thanks to my friend Suzie having my back it ended well. We had our first missions trip meeting today. I am so very excited for this trip. I can't wait to see what sort of things God does before, during, and after this trip.

I know that He is totally going to meet us there and do incredible things. We would all appreciate all the prayer we can get as we prepare to go, while we are there and once we are home.
I think I may start fasting and praying for this trip once a week.

Here are some pics of our "Wheaton House".

It's begining to look a lot like Christmas.

How do I even sum up today??
Today Ania and I had made plans to do some christmas shopping. We wanted to get out early. I have not been able to get up early lately at all. I'm not even kidding. Getting up before 10 is quite a feat for me. So I set 3 alarms for myself. An 8:30, 9, and 9:30.
I turned off the first one once it went off, the same with the second. Then Ania called my house so my mom called to me to come get the phone. I was up then.

I got my work done and headed to Ania's.
Shopping was a great time. I had alittle trouble accomplishing my goal though. I was all over the place today, as Niels would say" You are such a Ferret".
It was the funniest thing. I would go into a store to look for a gift for my dad, next thing I know I was on my way to the dressing room with an arm full of clothes, then we would get back on track and 3 minutes later we somehow had found our way to the shoes or something like that. After stopping at 3 stores I got into the car and realized that I hadn't bought any gifts yet.
It only got more intense as the day went on. At one point I was driving and I made a comment to Ania about how I thought I had spit my gum out at least twice yet I was still chewing it.
Then we were walking into Jewel to get dog food. We were almost in the store when I realized I was holding a cup. I was like "why am I holding a cup? I don't remember grabbing it.
Then Ania was like "I thought you threw that cup away already."

I am pleased to say that the day was an overall success. I got some gifts. I got a frame for my sketch. (Honey stepped on the glass for the original frame and broke it)
I got Honey a harness, which is so adorable. I also got to play with a little English Bulldog puppy in a pet store. Cutest thing ever.

Then I went to Ania's and hung out for a little while. While I was there I told Ania that I wanted to see some treasures. That I felt like she should randomly hand me a box of treasures to look through. So she brought out some shoe boxes of pictures. It was great to see pics form the last few years of me living here. It was also so funny to see pics of people from years back before I knew them. I opened one envelope of pictures and pulled out the stack to come face to face with a pic of Anthony R. close up with basically an afro. I about died laughing.

The rest of my night isn't really worth talking about.
I'm off to snuggle my bull dog. :]
Missions Trip meeting tomorrow.

Good night.

I'm trying to make a move completely away from Facebook and on to this blog.
These are the quotes I had as my favorites on my facebook; Just thought I would share them.

"Note to self: Google Death Star."

"Life is a hypocrite If I can't live it the way it moves me."
-Christopher Fry

"Shared laughter creates a bond of friendships. When people laugh together, they cease to be young and old, teacher and pupils, worker and boss. They become a single group of human beings."
- W. Lee Grant

"We are perishing for want of wonder, not for want of wonders." -G.K. Chesterton-


History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.
-Winston Churchill


Its not the critic who counts,
not the man who points out how that strong man stumbles,
or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly...who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best know in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who never know neither victory nor defeat.
-Teddy Roosevelt


"As unto the bow the cord is, so unto the man is woman:
Though she bends him, she obeys him;
Though she draws him , yet she follows;
Useless each without the other"
H.W. Longfellow


If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.
-J.R.R Tolkien

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.
-Albert Einstein

i see that you like to chew..how about chewing- ON MY FIST!!
-Kung Fu panda

Don't you know the golden rule?
Those who have the gold, make all the rules.
-Aladdin


I'm almost a great uncle too....My nephew is 11.
-Mikey


" I'm gonna have 6 boys, It's gonna be like Malcolm in the middle meets George of the Jungle." -me


"Aunt Hanna, Turkey got hit by a car. He's dead. He is in the garbage now"
-Lilly

Little gymnast- "Miss Hanna, What's you last name?"
me-"Guess"
Jenny- "it's something you drink in the morning....well you probably don't drink it but your parents probably do."
Little gymnast- "Is your last name alcohol?"

Ania while watching Band of Brothers-
"I would take that liquor to the concentration camps and be like "Drink up me hearties!"'

"I wanna be a caboose when I grow-up" -Meredith

:]




-Enjoy-

Currently listening to: Day Old Hate by City in Colour

Ha! wow! I guess you don't never realize how much people do really care about what is going on in your life. Technology has made communication so easy, with calling and texting and email. The funny thing is that even though things are so easy it is still too hard for some people. I went through and deleted over half of my facebook friends. Basically I deleted people who I never talk to or I hardly know, as well as people who I text or call rather than talk to them on facebook.
I didn't really think that many people would notice. I had one friend email me and tell me that she missed facebook stalking me, considering she is the greatest girl ever I added her again. :]
Then I got people requesting to be my friend again. Like people who when I see in person they don't even say hi to me usually or if they do that is the total extent of our conversation. That or people who seriously never talk to me on facebook.

I just find it funny. We care so much about what people are doing but we don't actually want to be a part of their lives.

Random thought: That is as lame as people who talk about God and how much they love him and they go to church and what not yet they don't want to be a part of what He is doing.
Crazy...



I just finished organizing more photos then you can shake a stick at. I feel like I did something. Even if I didn't organize them that well.
Tomorrow Ania and I are going Christmas shopping. Should be quite a day..
Good night. :]

I really just want to go play out in the snow right now.

It's 1 in the morning.
I was really hoping to be in bed hours ago.
Today on my way home from work I slid off the road and into a ditch. Stupid snow storm. It just made me mad because classes should have been canceled, but they weren't. SO I not only went off the road on my way home but I had to go 15 mph all the way home. It took me over an hour to get home. It was ridiculous.
For good news. I just finished a sketch for my niece.
I'm really happy with how it turned out.
I sketched Honey weeks ago and I did Lilly tonight. I like what I did tonight the best.
I hope she loves it.





What do you think?
It looks better in person I can assure you of that.



PS. The snow is beautiful and I wish I could be out playing in it right now.

Just found this pic that Ania took in Blarney, Ireland. Not sure why I just noticed it now. I'm glad I did though.

Thought I should share.

I can not wait for Christmas. I have so many projects to finish before then though, not to mention a whole lot of school. Oh man. Maybe I should sleep at night so I can get up at a reasonable hour and get stuff done. I just really appreciate the quiet uninterrupted time.

Other news, I went through my facebook friends and deleted all the people whole I don't really know, or that I never talk to, and those whole I seldom talk to them via facebook because I text them or actually call them like normal human beings should.
I'm not sure if I feel good about it or not.
One good thing is that I got rid of the like two people I actually facebook stalked. HOORAY!!!!




My new nephew is so handsome. I love him so much.

I have a blog so I can avoid being one of those drama queen facebook girls

It's days like this, that I find no comfort for my restless soul.

I have these dreams from time to time. Sometimes it is a few times a week and sometimes its is farther in between.
These dreams are good, I wake up smiling and feeling incredibly happy. Then after I am awake for a little while I slowly realize that everything I just felt or experienced in my dream never happened and isn't real. Then I get terribly upset. I feel restless and not content in any way.
It has been like this for over a year. For part of the year, the dreams seemed more realistic, but now they are so off.

It seems that the bad dreams I have come true, but the good ones don't.
Sometimes I envy people who sleep and don't remember dreaming at all. A dream is only as good as it's contents.
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