Take Your Mark, Get Set...

I really feel like I'm getting ready to run a race right now. My weekend is looming ahead with so many good things..... but there's so many of them! So while I rant, here's a song for you to listen to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X361HzXTVt0

Today I'm writing my essay for Lit. Class and then work at 3. Nothing unusual about that. Tomorrow the fun starts!

I'm going to Shannon's about 11 so her sister can do my hair for prom. Then we'll probably hang out a little bit before coming back to my house to do makeup at 3. I'm assuming quite a few girls will join us here and we'll all head out together to take pictures with our escorts someplace before going to prom. We won't get back until 12:30ish probably and all us girls are spending the night at Shannon's so you know we'll be up until the early hours of the morning, loopy as a roller-coaster.

Saturday I'll get home and most likely SLEEP! Then I'm babysitting my favorite kids in the evening! :D That means I'll be home late (I feel so old driving around by myself in the dark) to get in some more sleep.

Sunday, church in the morning as usual. Right after church, I'm off to work at the B&B with Matt. Making beds for most the afternoon before I finally get to come home and chill.

Phew! I'm tired already! But I'm looking forward to it.

I hope you have a lovely weekend dear reader! Until next time!

Spiders

Goodness! It's only 10 in the morning and oh the adventures I've already had! Let me fill you in. This morning I was headed toward the shower when I found a daddy-long-leg spider in my bathtub.

You must understand, I hate spiders. Especially daddy-long-legs. I can't kill them myself either.

This being the case, I found it necessary to scream bloody murder and pin myself against the wall. My heroic brother quickly came to my rescue and disposed of the spider for me. (Thank you Gavin!) Later I heard my mom ask him about what happened and he told her about the spider. She laughed at me! YOU try killing a big hairy creature with eight legs! It isn't natural!!! Don't mock me.

So there you have it. I may post again later if I have anything else to talk about, meaning something besides my pointless ramblings.

Until next time!

Smiles

Smile! Why? Because I order you to! I'm in quite a good mood today and I think everyone should be in a good mood with me! Frowns aren't allowed. I forbid it.

It's sunshiny outside, the birds are singing, there's two weeks of school left, and prom is on Friday! Yeah! Give me one reason not to smile! What? You can't find one? Well no wonder! There isn't one! SMILE!

I've been listening to Amy Grant almost all day and I figured I'd share another of my favorites with you. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbfzWfdzN8A

Hope you had a great day dear reader! Until next time!

Senior Power!

Seniors up up and away! Only three weeks left of school, two Co-ops and thirty two days until graduation!!!!! *Cue little happy dance* I WILL SURVIVE! Heh, I just have to keep telling myself that.

So today I actually felt like a senior! I've gone through this whole semester not really getting any special privileges at Co-op, nothing to say "Ha ha! I get to do this and you don't! Well.... not yet." Until today! First of all, I got a phenomenal grade on my last Bio test and now that we're done with the book, our teacher decided not to give us any homework at all for the next three weeks! So, for my last few weeks I'll be working on my Worldview, Lit. and Comp. classes. Thrilling right?

Ok now to the good stuff. Since we didn't have any homework for Bio and since it was raining, the designated photographer for our Co-op (the amazing Ms. Tabitha) took us during Bio class to get our senior pictures taken. You know, the ones where you wear the robes and do the High School Musical jumps and stuff. It was fun! Then when we got back to Co-op, all us seniors ("all us" meaning the four of us) decided we were going to go out to lunch. And the amazing part: the mom's let us! THEN in drama, we almost got through the whole play! Best rehearsal ever so far! I can't wait to perform it!

After Co-op, my Grandma took me shopping for some odds and ends. I love spending time with my Grandma! She's awesome. So, when we got home, I folded laundry while watching The Count of Monte Cristo with my siblings.

All in all, a wonderful day! Until next time!

On Fire

Hello once again all my dear readers! Oh my goodness. I doubt many of you had as amazing a weekend as I did!!! It was completely AWESOME! But what could be better than spending an entire weekend fellowshipping with other Christians, talking about God, worshiping God and encountering God?!

Two big thoughts that stand out from my millions of thoughts this weekend. One is a quote from the speaker, Jeremy Kingsly. "We don't read the Bible to finish. We read the Bible to change." Wow! This guy was a great speaker and so wise (as you can see)! Thought number two was more personal. This weekend, I was reminded how I need to put God first in my life over everything else. Being a senior and almost done with school, I've put some other things ahead of Him and that isn't right. So once again, giving God his rightful place in my life, first above everything else.

Here is one of my favorite worship songs that came to me today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfLkx9GfCrY

One last thing. We had family night tonight and, because of our meager turnout, the directer Mrs. Matson and I were discussing some other ways to get people to come. Well, I think a summer middle school lock-in is in the works!!! That's right! Pizza, movies, games, worship, the whole shabang. I'm so ready for summer!!

Well, that's all I have for you today. I hope that your Monday goes well! Until next time!

Really Quick

Well, I've finished my homework and I'm all packed, ready to hurry up and wait. We don't leave until 4ish so I figured I'd post really quick.

It's raining and it made me think of this song!

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

Sadly, that's all I have for you. Have a great day dear reader!

Earth Day

Happy Earth Day! Today (like every day), we should be worshiping the Creator instead of the creation. How I wish people would understand the amazing gift of salvation they are offered but turn down. They're missing out big time.

I think I spent too much of today lost in my imaginary Irish village. I didn't have that much homework and got it all done by lunch so I decided to do a bit of writing. Writing accompanied by some Irish music of course!

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

I got quite a bit done too! I came away feeling very productive and ready to move to Ireland. Anyone want to join me?

Well, I'm looking forward to a weekend retreat at Taylor University this weekend. I'll bring back stories of adventure on Sunday. Have a lovely weekend dear reader!

Title Anyone?

I don't really have a title for today's post. It wasn't a bad day but it wasn't abnormally good either. I got lots of homework done, made some prom decisions, went to work and babysat at church. I also got a letter from IUPUI saying I was eligible for a huge loan. Ha! As if! I plan on paying for college with whatever grants I may get and my own hard earned cash thank you very much. Oh! And I feel much better today than yesterday! So, there's my day for you.

Now for an awesome song!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcOZ6xFxJqg

Until next time!

Unclean! Unclean!

Yeah, you guessed it. I'm sick. Stuffed nose, achy limbs, pounding head, the whole package. However, I got quite a bit of homework done today surprisingly enough. A whole weeks worth of worldview and that was before lunch! Then my mom banished me to the couch for the afternoon and I got to watch the four remaining hours of Pride and Prejudice that I hadn't finished yet. Pure ecstasy! For four hours, I was drowned in the world of Lizzy Bennet and her life. Casey didn't exist. It made me sad when it ended. Just to share a bit of my imaginary world with you, here's the P&P theme!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1xlIZsS6sY

So, I actually had a deep thought today! Yeah I know! Alert the presses! Casey's thinking! Anyhoo, it all came from something I heard. "The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all." I think this is true. I would say that there are times when we need to be cautious, but if we were cautious about every single little tiny thing, we'd never get anywhere with life! Think about it! Sometimes the best things you do come from stepping outside your comfort zone. Ok, well maybe that's just me. But still, that was my ponderings for today.

Other highlight of my day, I got an e-mail from my dad pretty much just saying that I was beautiful inside and out. I haven't heard him say that in a long time (in any form) and it made me cry. Yeah yeah, I know, I'm a wimp. But I don't care. It really did make my day.

Well, I think that's it. Until next time!

Loverly Day

Hear that? That was my contented sigh. I had a great day today! It made me happy because one, it was a good day (duh!) and two, it gave me something to post! So here I go!

First, I woke up and found out that we had fresh pineapple for breakfast! Let me explain. We NEVER have fresh fruit for breakfast. It's always cereal or toast or eggs or something of the sort. So that was a real treat!

The next good thing, I practically got to sleep through worldview class! We were watching a video (with the lights off) and my mom, being sick, wasn't the most...... attentive teacher. We also got out fifteen minutes early so Shelby and I could go practice our song.

Then came Biology! Everyone give a big cheer for the best class of the day! Why you ask? Because we got to dissect our fetal pig today!!!!! :D I won't give any details for the sake of some of my readers but it will suffice to say that today made taking the entire class worthwhile. It was so cool!!! Ok, moving on now.

For lunch, our speaker for graduation (one of my good grown up friends) came to have lunch with us seniors. We had a nice chat and lunch was good and Ms. Marci (the teacher coordinating graduation) brought us chocolate. Yum!

Next period was study hall. First, I got to miss the first half hour because I had to go practice my solo with Ms. Beth. When I did get to "class", I was able to finish the book I've been trying to finish for forever! Fabulous book too! Passion And Purity by Elisabeth Elliot. I HIGHLY recommend it.

Drama came next. It wasn't the most fun class ever (an hour and a half of pure uninterrupted blocking) but we were really productive. We practiced the Finale a couple times and then blocked the rest of the show! I also discovered that we'll be performing the show first at SWIDN (See What I Did Night) and then the rest of the Co-op stuff after a short intermission. So I guess Ms. Kathy is expecting a large turn out for the play because she wants us to invite pretty much everyone we know. My only problem, I know a lot of people!

Finally we got home and my poor mother beelined for the couch. While she slept, I helped my dad make dinner. He finally got to try out his deep fryer on the fish. It was pretty good too! So, while frying fish, we listened to Harry Connick Jr. and talked about graduation and stuff.

After dinner, I cleaned up (as usual) and then Gavin and I ran to get ice cream for everybody. I treated because I still had spending money left over from Gatlinburg. So, while we ate, we just sat around the living room, talking and being together. What a great way to end an awesome day!

Oh! Before I go. Do you like the new background? I thought it quite pretty and sophisticated. :)

Well, I think that's everything. Until next time!

Back With Vengeance

That's right! Casey's back in town! Be afraid. Be very afraid. Why? Because now she can continue to write pointless blog posts that ramble on and on and on and put her readers to sleep! Muahahahaaa!

Ok enough of that. So you're probably wondering where I've been. You aren't the only ones (apologies to all those whom I forgot to inform I was leaving). I've been on spring break in Gatlinburg! Tramping the Smokey Mountains baby! It was WONDERFUL!!! A whole week to unplug and just be. Hakuna matata and all that good stuff.

Let me give you the week on fast-forward. Picture this: driving, hiking, exploring, eating mint oreos, driving, playing pool with dad and Garrett (I won several times out of sheer luck), reading, more driving, taking pictures, hanging with the fam, more driving...

The soundtrack of the week was 'The Last Of The Mohicans'. It was perfect! Driving along the mountainous roads, I half expected an Indian to come bounding across the road, war paint, tomahawk and all. I was a little disappointed when it didn't happen.

My favorite quote of the week: "We're the Ruble's. We don't see wildlife." Compliments of my lovely mother. It will have to suffice to say that there is history behind that. :)

I also discovered a new artist whom I like very much! Ladies and gentleman, say hello to NeverShoutNever:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnr0iVnZFQ8

Oh yes! The picture above is one I took myself in the Smokey Mountain National Park. Heh, I kinda got carried away with pictures of water.

And now I have to go fold some laundry. Only a couple hundred mounds so it shouldn't take long. Have a lovely evening dear reader! Until next time!

Down With Procrastination!

Please don't hurt me for the title of this post! You must understand, I am an expert at procrastination. I have perfected that art. But today I'm feeling oh so productive! Here's why.

I FINISHED MY SENIOR BOARD!! :D I've been told it takes DAYS but I got it done in a few hours! The picture above is a shot of my beautiful creation. And yes, I did it all by myself. No help from my mom or anyone. I'm so ahead of the game right now, it's inconceivable!

I was told I needed to get off Hello Dolly so here's some Beatles instead!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwmtNk_Yb2Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OvAQYI9idQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_3TK0TARZ0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_csEEI4PFE

Oh! If you will think back and remember my post about dancing (posted on April 1). Well, I think it's started a comment debate. I love my friends! ;)

Until next time!

Dreary Day

Do you ever get tired of the clouds? I do. It was beautiful for days and I think it spoiled me. But the rain has really turned things green! Seriously! I look outside and the grass is so green and the leaves are appearing and there's flowers on the trees out my front window! And there's no sound more cheery than the sound of birds harmonizing with the drops of rain.

On the bright side, I've been so productive this week that I am done with school as of..... oh.... now! :D So, I'm going to make blueberry cobbler for a friend of mine, go to work at Zion and then crash singing lessons at the Redden's! I can't wait to see Shannon and Danni and Keenan and Hannah and Amanda! How I miss them all!

Tomorrow I'll probably complete the list of chores that I feel is in my future. I also want to do some of my senior stuff like put together my senior table (aka my ME table) and write my speech for graduation. Then I'm working at Zion as usual and then I'm home all weekend with absolutely nothing to do! Oh the possibilities.

Here's a song for you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7qSgTFsGCU

I'm on a Hello Dolly spree if you couldn't tell. :) Until next time!

Content

Well, let me tell you, I have had quite an evening. But my whole day has been wonderful! First, it was absolutely gorgeous outside today! THEN I was quite productive with my homework. And last but certainly not least, my dad took me to Beef And Boards tonight for my late Christmas present! In case you're wondering, Beef And Boards is a dinner theater. We saw 'Hello Dolly' and it was absolutely positively splendid!

Favorite line: "Oh of course I've seen many girls. But today I talked to one!"

Favorite song: Well I couldn't pick only one because they're all good! So here's one of my top favs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2WvM4FANzw

*sigh* So there you have it. A great day and now I'm exhausted. Sleep well dear reader, wherever you are.

Craving Adventure

Have you ever had the urge to go find adventure? You get so tired of the everyday and suddenly, you really want to go do something interesting. Well, that's how I'm feeling right now. My current craving: hiking. How I want to go walk in God's beautiful world! In the woods especially. I might have to push for a trip to Turkey Run soon.

Until then, I'm going to don my skirts and sing this song that's been stuck in my head for a while.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVA3jgpgIY8

So, I was ridiculously productive today! I got two essays written, one for Lit. and one for Comp. Then one of my fellow employees at Zion messaged me, asking me to cover for her for the afternoon since she got sick. So to work I went, to watch four kids for about two hours. When I got home and after cleaning up from dinner, I watched A Philadelphia Story, my next Lit. movie. Then I put baby to bed and waited for my parents to get home from their date.

As you can see, I had a fair day today. Until next time!

Happy Easter!

"Why do you look for the living among the dead?" This is what the angel asked the women who came to Jesus' tomb on the third day. They found the stone had rolled away and the tomb was completely empty!

I was thinking, in all other religions around the world, they have all had great leaders. Buddhists followed Buddha (a dead man). Muslims followed Muhammad (a dead man). Hindus followed Gandhi (a dead man). We Christians follow Jesus, A LIVING MAN! It reminds me of a line from the movie Night At The Museum: Battle Of The Smithsonian. The pharaoh guy comes to life and when he first meets Larry Daily, his first few lines are "I am Khamun Rah and I have COME BACK TO LIFE!" It makes me laugh. But then I think, Jesus really did! He defeated even death and is waiting at the right hand of God to come back and take us all home with him! What an amazing God we serve!!!

Happy Easter!

Nazi Zombies And Barn Dances

Well, I had the last mime practice this morning. They all did fairly well too! Now it's in God's hands(as if it wasn't before, HA!). So, I have to be at church tomorrow morning at 7:15..... which means I have to leave my house at 6:45..... which means I have to get up at 5:45. Yeah, I'll definitely be going to bed early tonight.

Anyway, after practice, I took all the kids to lunch. Then we sat in the church parking lot, waiting for their parents to pick them up while listening to different stuff off of Garrett's iPod. When we got home, I played some video games with Gavin. We played Call Of Duty: World At War. The first level we played was a battle against Nazi zombies. Let me just say, it was pretty creepy but it was awesome! Then we battled against regular living Nazis and the Japs. It was fun! Gavin owned me as usual but it was nice to spend some time with him. After a while though, Garrett wanted to play so guess who got kicked off? Yeah, me. So I decided to go be a girl again and watch the rest of Anne Of Green Gables. Since I was close to the end, I started Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. Here's my favorite song from that movie!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOqB-m00eus

I'm not that far into it yet but I had to come down to get the laundry and I figured while I was waiting for the dryer to finish, I would come blog. Now I'm going to go watch the rest of it. Until next time!

Sunshine and Daffodils

I wonder, dear reader, if the weather where you are has been as nice as where I live! Sunshine for four days straight! Warm temperatures that everyone welcomes with much enthusiasm and a cool breeze to make my bedroom curtains flutter. Our daffodils are in full bloom and gorgeous! I absolutely love daffodils! So happy and cheerful, bobbing their yellow heads in the breeze.

It seems strange that today can be so beautiful when it's today we mourn our Savior's death on the cross.

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke poem and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. Matt. 27:50-52

A dark dark day filled with whips, thorns, nails, blood and Jesus' anguished cries. And all for me! Maybe the sunshine today is God's reminder of what's to come. Resurrection day is just around the corner and then we will all celebrate Jesus' triumph over death! His sacrifice made our salvation possible, if we only believe in him. And if we accept him, we are washed white as snow! There is no better gift in all the world!

Until next time!

Dancing

So, I've been having this ongoing argument with a friend of mine about dancing. I obviously love dancing and admire any guy who does too. He, however, doesn't like dancing and thinks any man who does is "a loser". The issue? He is basing his opinion on the one time he was forced to dance. So I'm curious as to your opinion, my dear reader. Do you think that his one dance is enough to support his dislike? Or, should he give it another chance?

Dancing can reveal all the mystery that music conceals. ~Charles Baudelaire

I am a dancer. I believe that we learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living.... In each it is the performance of a dedicated precise set of acts, physical or intellectual, from which comes shape of achievement, a sense of one's being, a satisfaction of spirit. One becomes in some area an athlete of God. ~Martha Graham

Dance is a delicate balance between perfection and beauty. ~Author Unknown

We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance. ~Japanese Proverb

And one of my favorites:

Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels. ~Faith Whittlesey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdyqmN5cnRQ

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrTTWXZiLf0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ezy50aY6Bg

Until next time!