A picture is worth a thousand...something...something

Just a reminder- I am still hunting for ideas to name the little gray and white kitten that will be coming into my life in a couple of weeks... please let me know whatever your thoughts are (some good ones I've heard/read are: Thor, Teaspoon and Squishy, --and Genny, I actually think Murth is quite hilarious, though I don't think I will end up going with that one :) So please keep me posted with your ideas (get it?! POST-ed! because this is a BLOG! Ha ha. okay, never mind...)

Now, on with this tag- inspired by both Tamara and Genny's blogs (both of which turned out great photos for this tag! It's really gotten me quite excited to try this! And while the others I have seen- Steven's, Emily's, Kirsti's- are also fun, those two get the kudos because they were the ones that really made me want to do this)
Here goes:

1. Age on my next birthday

2. A place I'd like to travel

3. My favorite place

4. My favorite object

5. My favorite food

6. My favorite animal

7. My favorite color

8. Town where I was born

9. Town where I live

10. Name of a past pet

11. Name of a past love

12. Best friend's nickname

13. My screen name

14. My first name

15. My middle name

16. My last name

17. One of my bad habits

18. My first job

19. Name of my grandmother

20. College major

So, now you get the fun of seeing the obvious and trying to figure out the bizarre and mysterious... (I'm happy to answer any questions you may have!)

Enjoy!

Birthday Adventures

First of all, as some of you already know, in a couple of weeks, I will be getting a new kitten from my good friend, Rebecca, who lives in Iowa. She has sent me pictures of this adorable gray and white kitten, but sadly, the pictures have yet to inspire any good ideas for names. So I am soliciting your assistance. While the romantic in me likes the dramatic, beautiful names, I will concede that I now generally prefer Beckie's idea of choosing a comical or ironic name. So, whatever you come up with, please comment on this post (or e-mail me) with your name ideas (oh, the kitten, she believes, is a female kitten...)

Anyway, I know that many of you might not consider this to be an ideal way to spend a birthday, but I have never been to Turkey Run State Park. Having heard about how beautiful it is, and having practically the whole day free, I decided that I wanted to spend my birthday exploring a part of Turkey Run.

Yes, my friends, I spent my birthday hiking. And what an adventure it turned out to be. The trail Juli and I took (classified as "moderate/rugged") happened to be blocked by a tree! As we walked along the trail, occasionally hampered a little by muddy and marshy spots, we came to a point where the trail seemed to just end. We could not tell where it was supposed to go. At first we thought we just took a wrong turn. Nope. As we soon discovered, the trail had been blocked by several trees (and one big one in particular) that most likely had been blown over by the severe storms that have hit Indiana over the past month. Not to be deterred, we crawled over and under the limbs and trunks until we found the trail again... Despite the temporary mishap/setback, though, we enjoyed an absolutely lovely hike (and even managed to have absolutely lovely weather) in an absolutely lovely state park... well, see for yourself:

Hacking through the fallen brush:



The Bridges of Parke County (where Turkey Run is located):



Some of the scenery and wildlife of the park (including a tiny toad, and then an even tinier one!):

Here's a really cool moss-covered cliff:

An impressively deep, tree-lined ravine:


The tiny toad:

the tinier toad (though it's hard to tell because it's a close-up shot):

and the Lusk mansion (supposedly open for seasonal tours- it looks like those tours might actually be haunted mansion tours, with all the dirt and cobwebs hanging everywhere on the outside...):

So there's my birthday in a nutshell of photos!
(look for my google tag -or Gag, as Steven calls it- soon!)

Let us not forget...

I love our national anthem, "The Star-spangled Banner," and wish that we sang all the verses more often because they are truly powerful...
...however, it is this hymn ("America the Beautiful") that almost never fails to move me to tears.
In the midst of all the fun- all the barbecuing, the games, the fireworks-
let us remember why we celebrate.
Let us remember those who have fallen because they stood up for what they believed.
Let us remember those who have fought so that others could live in peace.
Let us remember those who have died because they loved their fellow men and believed in the greater good.
Let us remember the One who has made the freedom we enjoy today possible for all mankind.

And let us not forget that we, too, can carry on the fight for freedom, for truth and righteousness...

"...As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free..."
(Julia Ward Howe)

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for halcyon skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the enameled plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till souls wax fair as earth and air
And music-hearted sea!

O beautiful for pilgrims feet,
Whose stem impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till paths be wrought through
wilds of thought
By pilgrim foot and knee!

O beautiful for glory-tale
Of liberating strife
When once and twice,
for man's avail
Men lavished precious life!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till nobler men keep once again
Thy whiter jubilee!

-Katherine Lee Bates

Tag!

Okay, folks- I'm so sorry it's been so long- I had actually intended to post this tag at the beginning of the month instead of the end, but sadly, I got sidetracked by my very busy summer (more on that later), and have only had sporadic access to the internet until now.

But enough with excuses... on with the post!



TAG!
(I'm it!)

The idea: Answer the questions.
The catch: Use only one word (a challenge for someone as verbose as I am)
Here goes...

1. Where is your cell phone? Table
2. Your hair? Thin
3. Work? Never-ending
4. Your father? Spiritual
5. Your favorite thing? Writing

6. Your dream last night? Forgotten
7. Your favorite drink? Kool-aid

8. Your dream car? Flying
9. The room you're in? Lit
10. Your fears? Spiders
11. What do you want to be in 10 years? Fulfilled
12. Who did you hang out with last night? Roomie
13. What you're not good at? Math
14. Muffin? Yummy
15. One of your wish list items? Games

16. Where you grew up? Columbia
17. Last thing you did? Reminisce
18. What are you wearing? Cotton
19. What aren't you wearing? Burlap
20. Your pet? Missing :(
21. Your computer? Returned
22. Your life? Unplanned
23. Your mood? Thoughtful
24. Missing? Brain
25. What are you thinking about right now? Potter

26. Your car/truck? Blue
27. Your summer? Busy
28. Your relationship status? Family
29. Your favorite color? Green

30. When was the last time you really laughed with meaning? Awhile
31. When was the last time you cried? Today
32. School? Done!!!
33. Least favorite weather? Muggy
34. Favorite Soup? Tomato

35. Favorite Movie? Many

Summer Movie Kickoff!

What a fantastic way to begin the Summer Movie Season! Despite the lack of continuous sleep that I try to get on weeknights, I have no regrets for taking the time to watch this movie at midnight. It was definitely worth the wait, and has certainly whetted my anticipation for the next one, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, set to be released in two years...
For the sake of those who have not yet seen it, I will keep this post brief and only mention a few noteworthy items:

-Prince Caspian (played by Ben Barnes) is a talented hottie


-There are some fantastic fight sequences (Among others, Peter, Edmund, and even Susan prove they can kick butt, and then some!)



-There is not enough of Edmund. (Skandar Keynes does such a fantastic job with his role, you, too, may be left with wanting to see more of him...)



That is all for now. If you haven't seen it yet, buy tickets and go see it now!

Mother, so tender and kind and true...

... I love you!




To this darling child who grew up to become an amazing mother who somehow--despite stress, hardship, fights, flooded basements, picky eaters, hormonal teens, and many other obstacles--managed to raise a pretty amazing family. Here's to you, Mom. You are one incredible woman. I love you!

what about this idea?

So, after a fantastic chat with Steven last week about various and sundry gospel topics, I am proposing an idea. Actually, I had already thought about doing this, but wasn't sure how to bring it about. I enjoy having discussions about the gospel, especially when we can dig deeper into our own understanding of doctrines and principles. Sadly, these conversations do not come up very often. As much as I have thoughts, inspirations, and questions as I read the scriptures or other materials, I find that I often do not get a chance to voice those ideas and feelings, outside of writing them down in my own version of the "small plates." Far too often, our schedules are such that talking on the phone isn't often feasible, and we rarely get a chance to visit with each other in person. That being said, I have thought that possibly having a blog or some such spot devoted to sharing these kinds of ideas might be a way of entwining our spiritual understanding together.

But here is the deal. I realize that we are all busy people. I realize that many of us don't have a lot of time to post, let alone respond to posts. So if you're thinking, it's a nice idea, but I really don't see it working out, let me know now. If, however, you think that you could and would totally get behind such an idea, talk to me and we'll see about setting it up. I think we could even do it to where everybody in the family is a "contributor" so that I'm not the only one posting thoughts and questions...

Please, I know I'm not the most visited blog out there, but please give me some feedback so I know if it's worth it to proceed or not...

(just one more day until the weekend... I hope I make it!)