Conflict

I am now in a foul mood so don't mess with me. Let me just go over my day.

First, being Monday, I had Co-op. We got to watch part of The Golden Compass in Worldview class instead of the boring science lecture. AP Bio wasn't the most interesting but it's a class full of awesome girls who make it interesting! My friend Shelby stayed for lunch today which (I thought made my day) and she and I had a good conversation. Then for my study hall period, I helped a friend rehearse her monologue and went to run an errand with my mom who bought me Starbucks. Then we went home and I was there for about half an hour when Shannon called, requesting I come over to her house. I got permission and drove over there to join Shannon, Danni, Erin, Rissa and Kristin. We had a blast, dancing around her house and jumping on the trampoline. When the time came for me to leave, Shannon called my mom to ask if I could stay longer. My mom asked to talk to me and goes "Don't ever ask your friends to call us for you!" BUT I DIDN'T! Then to make it better, I walk in the door, my dad walks by and goes "Casey, stop being such an idiot." Oh, thanks father dearest. That's so helping my nonexistent self esteem. I'm already struggling with feeling ugly and unloved. Now my parents think I'm an idiot. Great.

So that was my day.

Daydreaming

Well here I am again after spending a fabulous day holed up in my room reading. I literally read for about 8 hours straight! Missed dinner while I was at it too. But it's a good book so it's worth it.

The book is Crown Duel and it's set in a medieval fantasy world. I find myself wishing I lived there. A place where you have beautiful dresses to wear every day. A place where you have servants to wash the dishes and fold your clothes for you. A place where education in refined ladies consists of learning to read and write and how to behave at Court. A place where men are of the most outstanding character. A place where there are grand balls and fine social activities every day. A place where the heroine has wonderful adventures, can get into trouble and everything still ends with happily ever after. Did I mention that she get's the guy too?

Well I guess that life can't be a fairytale and you can't live it like it is one. A girl can dream though.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! In honor of the holiday, I'm going to give you a list of things I'm thankful for! Here you go:

I'm thankful for the salvation I've received from my Lord and Savior. I'm thankful for my mom, my dad, Garrett, Gavin, Maisy, Lucy, my grandparents and extended family, Kate, Jess, Matt, Steve, Ben, Katie, Shannon, Becky, Erin, Joe, David, Kristen, Shelby and all my other friends no matter how frustrating they may be (you know who you are.) I'm thankful for my home, my laptop, my bed, my license and my two jobs. I'm thankful for the writing skills, piano playing skills and the singing skills (that some say I have) that God has given me. I'm thankful for my grey-blue eyes and my naturally curly hair. Last but not least, I'm thankful for you dear reader.

I hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving Day, filled with much turkey, potatoes and good company!

Writing

Hello again dear reader! Not much going on today either. I'm writing a short story right now that's taking FOREVER because I keep coming up with new ideas. I need to stop being so creative!! Anyway, probably going shopping with mom later. I need to find a dress for the Christmas talent show thingy. Who's idea was it that I sing anyway?!

Well, here's a poem because I can't think of anything else to write about.

Winterland

Out my window, a ground of white

The trees barren of leaves

My friends and I build a fort of snow

Getting the flakes down our sleeves

Retreating indoors, hot chocolate awaits

With marshmallows floating on top

Snuggling down we sing songs in time

To the fire’s rhythmic pop

But as night draws near, my friends must depart

To my sadness we say goodbye

Then I am alone by the fading fire

And let go a contented sigh

Have a lovely day!!

A Lazy Day

This is awesome! I've done absolutely nothing productive today! That doesn't happen very often. I woke up late, did my devotions, visited with a few friends that brought us donuts (Thank you Ms. Marci!!!), played a bunch of Christmas music on the piano and read! Now my parents are gone on their overnight to the Symphony (I'm jealous) and Grandma is coming to stay. Right now, the baby's asleep, I'm not going to fold the laundry now and I'm not going to clean up the kitchen now so I decided to blog instead!

One thing that has to get in here: HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATE!!!! 17! She's finally caught up with me..... though not for long. :)

So I'm in the middle of one of my favorite books! Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith. I'm convinced that the author's name is a handle and I wish I could come up with something that creative. Melody Claire is my handle and that's about as creative as I get. So now if you find a book by a Melody Claire, you'll know who it is!! Don't tell my secret! Anyway, it's an awesome book about a Countess who first helps her brother win a war and then ends up marrying the next chosen King. Fabulous book! This is my fifth time reading it. hehe

Ok, song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk5uf9hva6M

Over and out!

A Good Monday.... If That's Possible

Monday! I woke up thinking that this was going to be a terrible day. Why? Because my mom was making me accompany she and the kids to a friend's house. That friend has six children all under the age of twelve. Normally they make me play dress up and doll house!! But today we played card games and watched a movie! I was so relieved!

THEN my birthday present for Kate came!! A Twilight book. Now one thing you must understand about Kate (if you don't know this already) is that she is an avid Twilight hater. So I wrapped up her present and took it to her house. One minute she's giving me the "Awww you shouldn't have! I can't believe you got me a present!" and the next minute she's giving me glare that says 'I'm going to kill you.' Oh but wait. Here's the best part! Out of my purse I pull that fantastic invention known as 'The Lighter'. Kate was on the floor in tears..... laughing. So outside we went to the fire-pit in her backyard. Oh the sound of ripping paper. Oh the smell of smoke. Oh the sight of ashes skipping gently across the breeze. Yes, we burned Twilight!! Just the pages. The binder we kept and is now the finest book on Kate's bookshelf! I felt like a pirate though. I barge into her house unannounced, burn her birthday present, seal her Dr. Pepper and walk out again. Ghastly of me I know but it was the best Monday I've ever had!

Now I must go fight off the army of Twilight fangirls and sort through my hatemail. Until next time dear reader!

GO!!

It's here! I was going to blog last night but our Internet was out. So I've gotta make up for it now.

So let me see. First the schedule I think (skip this part if you think it's boring).

Today: Hanging out at home, doing laundry, reading, blogging, taking care of baby.

Sunday: Church and then hanging at Kate's house for a movie night with the youth group. WOOT!

Monday: To be determined

Tuesday: To be determined

Wednesday: To be determined

Thursday: THANKSGIVING!! Watching the parade and then going to Grandma's for dinner.

Friday: Decorating the house for Christmas and then movie night with the Worldview class.

Saturday: To be determined

So there you have it. This week's plan and it still leaves room for me to tell you about interesting stuff that might happen during the week.

And now it's time for the random dance off of the day!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7l3G3_Npt5k

No deep thoughts today. Just dancing through life. Later!

Take Your Mark, Get Set.....

I'm almost there! I have a tiny bit of school left and then work tonight and then I'm free and easy for a whole week!! Oh the writing! Oh the reading! Oh the lazy hours spent on the Internet! I can hardly wait!

And then there's Thanksgiving! A time for stuffing yourself with turkey and potatoes and sleeping through the football game. Watching the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in your pajamas. Playing tricks on the unsuspecting cousins whom you only see once a year. Being hit by the smell of pumpkin spice as you walk through your Grandma's front door.

And THEN there's the day after Thanksgiving! The day you go into your basement and rummage through boxes for the Christmas decorations. The living-room furniture arrangement changes in order to accommodate the tree. Dad tangles with the tree lights, huffing and puffing about finding the one light on the string that will make the whole thing work. Mom gets teary eyed over the paper ornaments that her children made years ago. The kids scramble about, exclaiming over all the decorations that they haven't seen in a year. The nativity set is put up on the piano and the star goes on the tree. Christmas music fills the house and stockings grace the banister. Well, maybe that's just at my house.

Yeah, can you tell I'm excited? Well I'm off now to finish my writing homework. Laters!

Some Good Tunes

I have absolutely no interesting thoughts today and since my day is going to be normal, there's nothing to report. So instead of giving you a long drawn out blog post that would put you to sleep, here's some stuff for you to dance to! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d2iSqXWTns

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpxkCu8Ri9c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_UxB5CCNU0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkMBVbEUd7o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkf95onRgcc

A Real Princess

Where do I start? There's so many things running through my mind right now. I'll try to catch them and put them here as best I can.

It started last night when I was watching TV with my family and a commercial came on about some makeup product or something. The girl it displayed was thin, elegant and gorgeous and I found myself feeling inferior (again). I didn't have her pin straight hair. I'm not the size of a pencil. I'm not as pretty as she was. Those were my thoughts as I fell asleep.

This morning, I was reading Psalm 45 and my eyes fell on this. "The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord." verse 11. It hit me that God thinks I'm beautiful! All this time I've gone around thinking so low of myself and He was right there, trying to show me differently. He thinks my unruly hair is lovely. He thinks I'm elegant. He loves me just the way I am. What more could a girl ask for?!

So while the world tells you that you have to be unbelievably skinny with a perfect face and perfect hair to be beautiful, I can prove them wrong. That girl on the TV probably doesn't feel like much of a princess because it's all artificial. But I can be the real princess because my Father is the King of Kings!

I hope at least some of that made sense. Well, those are my ramblings for today. Farewell dear reader.

Decisions, decisions

Here I am again and I find myself facing a very important decision. I have to choose between two doors. What are behind those doors you ask? Well let's take a look.

Behind Door Number One: After I graduate, I go to Ivy Tech as planned and get a degree in Interior Design.

Behind Door Number Two: After I graduate, I go to Brazil for six months or so to teach at the International School down there. When I come back, I work and then start college the next fall.

So you see, this is big. Going to Brazil would be amazing but it also means I put off college for a year. I don't know. I'm praying a lot about it right now and if you are a Christian, dear reader, I would appreciate your prayers as well. I really hope God gives me some red flashing lights in one direction or the other because I'm not picking any doors until then.

As for me, I'm feeling kinda lonely today. Can't say why but I'll get over it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tKcTIshuwQ

Now it's off to research Lou Gehrig's Disease. Hope you have a wonderful day.

Rings, Hobbits and Second Breakfast

Suilaid! That's hello in elvish. Guess what! I've been watching The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring! I love those movies! Here's a couple funny videos that relate to LotR:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE-1RPDqJAY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yqVD0swvWU

Sorry, I couldn't resist. :)

Ok now to be serious. One thing I love about The Lord of the Rings is how Tolkien put parallels to us and God in it. And better still, it isn't as obvious as the one's in Narnia so it makes you think!! Here's one I like.

Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.

This is so true! I look at our world and think "Why did this have to happen? Why is everything so bad?" when I should be thinking "Sure, this is pretty bad but I don't have to worry about it. Just take it one step at a time and let God handle the rest." Here's another one.

Gandalf: There is only one Lord of the Ring and he does not share power.

Again, truest truth ever truthened out by a truthful source! (quote by David Moraes) Now I'm not sure which lord Gandalf would be talking about in Middle Earth but I know that here, it undoubtedly refers to God. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and he doesn't share power, whatever we may think. I don't know about you but to me, that is oh so encouraging!

Well those are my thoughts for today. My weekend was pretty boring so I have nothing else to report. Navaer!

Superstitious?

I woke up this morning and realized that today is Friday the 13th. Any of you readers superstitious? Well here's a song for you about superstition. Ladies and gentlemen, the great Stevie Wonder!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OJsYwLs7yE

I've had a pretty good day for it being Friday the 13th. This morning I was talking to my dad about college and CLEP tests. He started researching some stuff and decided that I don't have to take the CLEP tests!!! *cue music*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnHksDFHTQI

Don't you know what this means? It means that I don't have to study for any more generic tests after the SAT!!!! My life just got a whole lot brighter! On top of that, it's only noon and I'm already done with school! AND my family is all gone for most of the day! My mom probably won't be home until just before I need to leave for work. That's about two hours! So what shall I do? Read? Write? Watch a movie? Hmmm... maybe a little of everything. Tonight after work is our missions thing at church. So when I leave, I won't be home for a while. But I'll be with Kate so it's all good!

Right now, it's off to figure out some lunch. When do I ever get a whole pizza to myself?! :D Laters!

Heavenly Music

Ok I'm officially procrastinating now. I'm supposed to be doing my Biology outline but I had some muse to blog so I need to get that out first.

This morning I was reading Psalms 42 and a part of verse 8 says "At night his song is with me." That got me thinking, God has a song! I wonder what it sounds like? I know it's unlike anything we've ever heard, being His music. I imagine it's soft and sweet, rolling and flowing like the gentle roll of the waves on the sea. Maybe it sounds something like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-Xm7s9eGxU

I can't wait to hear God's song someday! In the meantime, here is another good song that makes me smile.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeBHslEB3v8

You lucky reader. Two songs in one day! But I should be getting back to my Biology homework now. Until tomorrow.

A Miracle

Hello everyone! I'm not dead! I am alive and all in one piece! Yesterday took me on quite a roller-coaster though. I woke up and immediately told my mom about my mistake (thank goodness my dad was at a breakfast meeting). She was very surprised but just told me to e-mail him. So that's what I did. A few hours later, he called my mom to tell her about his meeting and didn't even ask to talk to me! After she hung up, my mom told me that he seemed fine. My mistake was inconvenient and expensive but not life-threatening. When he got home, he just smiled at me and said "Well, everybody makes mistakes. We'll just sign you up for another date." So here I am, alive and well and taking it in January.

During the hours between my e-mail and his phone call, I wrote up my will. So I could die any day now and lots of people would benefit. Thought I'd share it with you. Here it is:

The Last Will and Testament of Casey Ruble

First, Kate gets all my books and my three posters of France. Garrett gets my laptop, my digital camera, my stereo and my room. Shannon gets the money in my checking account to by fish and my imaginary pet dinosaur Rover. Jess gets my copy of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The money in my savings account will do a few things. First, take some out to repaint my room for Garrett. The rest should be split in half. Half will go to Garrett for college and the other half will go to Living Streams Community Church for any needs there. Maisy can keep any clothes of mine she likes (she will grow into them). Gavin gets my coin collection and Lucy gets my stuffed animals. All my other possessions can be divided up between family and friends, given away, sold or whatever my family decides to do with them.

So there you have it! I can now die in peace. At the moment though, I'm off to eat lunch. So I'll say goodbye with a wave and a song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkSwF42cOm8

My Last Goodbye

Okay so remember what I said about the SAT not being that important compared to other things? Well now it certainly isn't. I found out that due to some mix up, I missed my SAT date. It was supposed to be last Saturday. You can probably imagine what will happen now. That's right. My dad is going to eat me alive. And you are all invited to my funeral. So, here's where I say goodbye. God bless and keep you all!

Singing Like an Angel and Dancing Like the Devil

I am one happy girl! My boss loves me and gave me an extra day to work because she likes having me there!! Also one of the biggest things this week (drum roll please)............... I GOT THE CHRISTMAS MIME FIGURED OUT! And it's all totally God's doing. His inspiration all the way. So I am a very happy girl and here is a song all about it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Worz1tf1Dc8

Just Like Vincent

Hello again! I find myself done with homework and it's only Friday afternoon! Might as well blog. :)

The other day I was reading Psalms 39 and verse 6 says that man is but a phantom. The things the world thinks are important will soon pass away. Think about it! Good grades, nice job, college degree, amazing SAT scores, not of it matters!! Now I'm not saying that I'm going to go drop it all because it is the world and we live here so I should do my best at those things too, but it got me thinking. What really matters in this life? After a while, I came to the conclusion that it all boils down to people. And not just people but also making disciples of them! Jesus came to earth to teach, preach and save us from our sins. Before he went into heaven he said "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matt. 28:19-20) You know that children's song 'I'm in the Lord's Army'? Well it's true! God has recruited us to bring people to him. THAT is what is important!

Now, seeing that I began to think about the people I know (and this brings me to my title). I have so many different friends and all are like a different color. Jess would definitely be bright pink with her spunky personality and happy-go-lucky attitude. Kate is kind of a mix of the dark blue of wisdom and the neon yellow of spontaneity. Shannon is a mix of the different shades of green; happy, sad, perky but always relaxing. Ben is orange, seemingly harmless before POW, he surprises you in some way. Rachel is definitely fiery red, throwing her whole being into whatever she does. My friends Katie and Becky are probably blue, very calm and collected all the time no matter what. Matt is......... well, Matt is clear (no offense buddy). My life is the canvas and my friends are the colors. They are all special in their own way and I wouldn't leave them out of the masterpiece for anything. If you think about it, my life turns out looking like a painting by Vincent Van Gogh!

Since God gave me all these special people, I need to make sure I give them the attention they deserve and not get distracted by the things that don't matter. I started asking myself, if God came back tomorrow, would he be pleased with how I'd lived my life? Oh how I want to hear the words "Well done my good and faithful servant."

Now I'm going to do something I haven't done before. I'm going to give you a challenge, dear reader. I'm going to ask that you take a big step back, look down at your life and weed out the things that aren't important. Make a mental note of them so in the future, you can prioritize your life by God's standards, not by the world's.

Well, those are my ramblings for today. Have a lovely weekend!

A Light

Yes! I see it! There's a light! A light at the end of the tunnel! That light is called Fall Break that'll be here in three more weeks! And then three more weeks until Christmas break! And then I'll be half done with my senior year! Wow, lots of exclamation points.

So another week gone by. It went almost exactly as I told you it would. Work went well. I did spend the night at Kate's which was awesome fun! We watched 'Confessions of a Shopoholic' and 'Tess of The Durbervilles'. Complete opposites but both good movies. As always, we came up with a handful of new inside jokes. "PROTECT YOUR TUBA!" hahaha Good times. Saturday we slept in until lunch and then baked cookies. Snickerdoodles, yummy! Then I sat at home watching movies and stealing my little siblings Halloween candy. Call me a couch potato if you wish. Sunday was lovely! Church went well and we had lots of girls come shopping afterwards! Me, Kate, Steph, Karie, Ali, Jessica Greene, Leslie and Joyce. What a party! Then I went home and watched more movies with the family.

Yesterday we had Co-op which was the usual. I don't like going. Come on graduation! In the evening, I went with Angie to clean at the B&B again. We were brainstorming ideas for names for the rooms and here's what we came up with: Elizabeth's Room, Isabelle's Room, Caroline's Room and Lillian's Room. I think it's great! Makes it personal to say "You're staying in Isabelle's Room." Also, we solved our Blank Wall problem. Angie has a piano sitting in her bedroom so we're gonna move that out and put some stuff on it to make it look pretty. It should work nicely! But I have to stop my interior designing brain now.

Alright, so we're caught up to this week's schedule. Today is the usual stay at home and do school. And I have a cold! Blech. Tomorrow is Maisy's birthday! I have school, work and then we're going to Small Group at church. Thursday is Jess's birthday! Again I have school and work. Friday is no one's birthday that I know of and again I have school and work. Seeing a pattern? I haven't a clue what I'm doing Saturday but knowing my family and friends, I'll end up doing something or other. Sunday is church and then to work at the B&B with Matt. Maybe we'll get him to move the piano? Hmmmm.....

Well that's pretty much it. Personal stuff going on but I won't record it here for all the Internet to see. Until next time then.

Oh! By the way, in case you didn't know... ITS NOVEMBER!!!