Well, as I haven't written in like, a month, I've decided to break my silence and tell you all about my Labor Day adventures up in Small Town USA. haha.

  I'm not sure if I told you that I got my permit this summer (yes, a permit at sixteen. I know, I know, my parents were kinda slow on the uptake there;)...) Which has DEFINETLY been a bit of an adventure. So if you ever come drving around "Bubble Bubble Burg" you'd better watch out! Lyssa's on the road and moving fast! haha.

  This summer has been crazy. I know I left it on kind of a depressing, selfish note with the last post and all, but really, my summer was AWESOME. While it lasted at least. I started junior year two weeks ago, and it's really been nose to the grindstone ever since. Thankfully, today I got off cuz of the holiday. Guess what IIIIII diiiiid????? HA! I drove over a HUNDRED and THIRTY miles along the highway! Not one way, lol, to and from, but still. I got three hours of driving over with and got to see a frikkin sweet ghost town while I was out and about as well! My mom took me. And actually, except for one incident where I didn't turn hard enough and ended up almost in a ditch, and one incident with a trucker trying to pass me, I did very well. Was rather proud of myself, actually. I want to do it again, driving's soooo much fun!  

  Well. In other (definetly less exciting) news, I got to see an Indian Pow-Wow in town on Saturday, which rocked. There were tourists everywhere, which didn't rock. Our town is built around a main highway through the Rocky Mountains, and people come in from all over for holdiays and weekends. Tell me... if it's called Tourist Season, why are we not allowed to shoot them? lol. Sorry. Some mountain humor for you there. Everyone up here think's it's hilarious.. you're missing out:).

  Anyway. Pow-Wow. There were all these dancers and people on the drums doing their chanting thing, and all these artists from the reservations. Oh, there was this one woman from the Apache tribe- she was drop-dead GORGEOUS. High cheekbones, proud nose, full lips, smooth black hair, and a itty-bitty waist. It was awesome. She was holding a baby on her lap, both dressed in full costume, and the baby was playing with this ornament at the end of her hair. A photographer lady I know got some amazing pictures that I wish I could show you. It was awesome. 

 Yesterday I went down into the big city for my Grandma's 80th birthday party. My mom stayed home with our dog, who doesn't do well on car trips and is kinda sick, so my boyfriend Jadon came along. Yeah, the whole trip was really quiet and generally not so awesome. Our family's very quiet and reserved. We talk about history and civil war battles and the latest article in Times magazine and my Gran's memories of her life growing up on a farm in Canada as we properly eat our (very good!) roast pork and mashed potatoes and salad on the good dishes. Then my uncle washes the dishes as my dad plays the piano and everyone else settles down to read in the living room.

  Jadon's family, however, is BIG and LOUD and just all together crazy- his uncles swap stories (one does engineer stuff for the army, the other's a policeman in San Diego, Cali), his five little brothers and sisters run all around the house, the women all bring out the casseroles and paper platesand get in each other's way in the kitchen- just a rollicking good time. So sitting with my family was definetly an experience. It is anyway. haha. We ate until we were fit to burst, then all slept in the car on the way back. Well. Excepting my dad, of course, who was driving. haha.

Sigh. Okay. It's kinda late. And as my father keeps (insistently) pointing out, I have school in the morning, and I need to go to sleep. YES, dad, I KNOW what time it is. lol

  I'll try and be better at keeping up, K? Have a great week, you guys!!

~Lyssa~

  Today is a beautiful day, but I'm not really enjoying it. All my friends have left me because they weren't willing to wait, so I'm alone in the house, listening to music and writing. I've decided that while I don't really like being left behind, today I'm in such a mood that I wouldn't have been able to enjoy myself anyway.

  We finished VBS yesterday, after five VERY long days. I did the sound board stuff, which was confusing and kinda hard because of everything we had to do to fix it after lightning struck the church and blew out most of the equipment last Sunday afternoon. (I know, crazy, huh?) But I made it through with nothing more than a repeat of VBS songs stuck never-endingly in my brain and a couple of sore muscles from helping the girls who were doing the motions to the songs every once in a while. So all in all, it wasn't too bad.

  Yesterday evening was amazing, though.. I went dancing with Jadon and Emily (who got back yesterday as well!) and had a ball (lol no pun intended). I learned how to samba and perfected my waltzing and cha-cha skills:). I love dancing with Jadon's dad, Mr. Torin, who was leading it. He's such an amazing dancer- I can just close my eyes and let myself be guided. As long as I keep to the rythym of the music, he can lead me in almost any step and I'll transition smoothly. I feel like such a princess when I'm dancing with him, and apparently I look amazing as well (or so says Jadon, but he's kinda biased, lol). I could dance forever... Oh my goodness. you have no idea how much I love it.  

  *sigh* I don't have much else to report. I may go for a run. I need to shake myself out of this mood...

~Lyssa~

I wrote this today. I'm not sure what the backstory is yet... but I like the girl character. Tell me what you think. It's a bit wierd.. but when is my writing normal? lol.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  He looked at me, a queer gleam in his eyes. “How old were you?”

  “I was eleven. He was fifteen.”

  Murphy sighed. “Jeez, I’m sorry, girl. We guys can be real idiots sometimes. What happened?”

   I looked him in the eye. “I learned to grow up. Murph, I don‘t entertain silly romantic ideals anymore. I’m not looking for love, or chemical soup, or whatever you want to call it. I live day to day. I take affection and boyfriends because it gives me at least some semblance of security and it‘s expected of me, not because I particularly enjoy it. I hook up and I break up. I‘m not what you would call an average sixteen year old.”

  “Then what are you?” He wasn’t making fun like most adults would have. I appreciated it.

  “Honestly? I don’t know yet. I look in the mirror and see a teenager with too-pale skin, too-big brown eyes, and too-long brown hair. Some look at me and see a pretty, well-adjusted, nice teenager who sings at church and volunteers her time at the middle school youth group, leading games. Some look at me and see a moody, intense girl who writes poetry, reads fantasy, and has a needle-sharp wit she’s not afraid to hone on your blunders. Both would be right.”

  He watched me, that look still on his face. “What if I told you I don’t see either of those?”

  I laughed, a sharp sound to my own ears. “What do you see, then?”

  “Hmm. I see a smart, charming, witty young woman who has a lively personality and a temper to match. She can turn anything you say around on you; make you think, really think, about things you never wanted to before; and has no problems making her opinion known. I see a girl who’s slightly cynical but all caring, and while she may have a sharp tongue, she knows how to really listen. That’s what I see.”

  I stared at him, for once unable to come up with anything to say.

  “Curtain call, you guys, come on!” Tim stuck his head through the green room door, and everyone inside quickly put down what they were doing, heading out to the wings for the final bows.

  I was grateful for the interruption. My eyes had chosen that moment to start watering from the air-conditioner being so close and set on high. As we walked with everyone else backstage, I used the opportunity to wipe them. I wouldn’t want Murph to think I was crying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

~Lyssa~

  This past weekend rocked my socks off, haha. Oh my goodness, I had sooo much fun!!!

  Thursday night I went with Jadon, Mike, and Melissa to see Transformers 2 at a big movie theater down in the springs. An absofreakingloutley AMAZING movie.. it was very perverted, though, so big warning about that. But we had so much fun!! Jadon got us tickets for a 7:50 showing, and we had gotten there around seven, so we walked around the parking lot for a while, just talking, then crossed the highway and went to Target. Mike and Melissa bought Skittles and Sour Patch Kids and Jadon and I bought Twizzlers. We were going to sneak them into the movie, but I had left my bag (our mode of candy transportation) in Jadon's car, so Melissa and I ran back to grab it so we could get them inside.

  Jadon had gone mudding (where you drive your car through huge mud puddles and splash your car so it gets all dirty) the day before, and while Melissa grabbed our stuff, I decided to be impish and wrote "Just Married- Leave Me Alone To Dieeeee" on the back (lol it's an inside joke). Then we ran back to the theater just in time:).

  We got out around eleven thirty, and had a total music jam on our way back up to town:)

  Friday Jadon came down to get me around lunch time, and we drove up into the boonies to meet with Tyler, Mike, and Jadon's family so we could all go canoeing. At first I thought Melissa was going to come, but it turned out that I was the only girl- and the youngest teenager, to boot:). Tyler, Jadon, and Mike are all eighteen*rolls eyes* haha.

  Tyler was the first one there, so we hung out with him for a while, just joking around and laughing. Then Mike got dropped off by his mom. I hate to say it about anyone, but she was just annoying! She kept repeating herself over and over and over, talking constantly and nagging Mike to put on sunscreen and don't scratch up her car and don't get into poison ivy and don't do anything that would make her have to come back out here and ON and ON. lol. Wow, we were all glad when she left, me especially. She kept addressing me, mostly because I was the only other gal there. Yikes..

  The boys immediately put on their swim trunks (making sure I was far away first, of course, lol) and dove into the river, which was swollen to almost four feet. It's normally like one and a half.. the current was so strong!!!

  They all wanted me to come in and join them in the water, which was freaking cold. I refused plenty of times, but they all have little sisters and my "No's" had almost no effect. They resorted to trying to pull me/ push me in, constantly faking me out, haha. Finally, when I ran out of excuses, I went back to the car and put on my extra set of clothing, then came back out and started wading into the water. Jadon, just for another laugh, went to fake me out again, and rushed at me, pretending like he was gonna shove me in. I stepped backwards with a gasp and my foot slipped on the rocks...SPLASH, in I went, spluttering and coughing! hahahaha it was GREAT. We were in stitches for minutes, lol.

  After hanging out in the water and playing splash-fights (apparently for a wimpy little sixteen year old girl, I'm pretty intense about splash fights XD) we all got out and walked a ways up stream so we could float to a small island in the middle. Tyler and Mike went the wrong way in the maze of bushes and long grass, so they ended up farther down-stream than Jadon and I, which was SUCH a good thing!! We start wading into the water, and all of a sudden I'm just caught in the current. I can't fight against it. All the guys were okay- Tyler's six foot and built like a football player, Mike's six four and wiry, and Jadon's five eleven and he's got muscles, man.  But me? A little five-four svelte ballerina? I had no chance. My feet were swept out from under me, and down the river I went! Jadon shouted for Tyler to catch me, and he reached out and got a painful grip on my arm, holding onto the reeds by the side of the river to steady himself. Mike swam down next to me and helped Tyler drag me into the shallows. Ow.

  From then on I stayed at the edges of the river, holding on to the plants growing there so I didn't get my feet swept out from under me again. The boys had somewhat of a hard time fighting the current, too, after a while, so we eventually all came back to where the cars were parked and just waded around for a while.

  Finally Jadon's family came with the canoe and some old friends, and we all had watermelon and took turns both riding down in the canoe and drving down to pick the others up just before the rapids. It was so much fun, I got so tan:).

   Around six-ish, maybe earlier, we teens left and all went to Tyler's family's campsite just a few miles up the road, Mike and Ty in one car and Jadon and I in the other. Of course there were huge mud puddles everywhere, so the guys decide to start mudding while they drive. Both cars start speeding up, Tyler's in front and Jadon and I behind him. We're both going at least sixty when Ty hits a huge puddle and slows way down, too late for Jadon to see. All of a sudden, we come up out of the mud and Tyler's Jeep is RIGHT THERE, two inches away from our front bumper, and we're still doing sixty! I scream and Jadon cranks his steering wheel to the left as Ty cranks his to the right- the collision was avoided, just barely. OH my FREAKING gosh, I was hyperventilating!!!  Jadon's Explorer locked up, and we skidded like crazy, but were able to get back on the road behind them. As soon as we could, we stopped.. the guys all looked really concerned about me, haha, I was just sitting in the front seat with my hands cupped over my mouth and nose, trying to stop hyperventilating, my eyes wide. I was so scared, I swear my heart stopped... I made them all swear to never do that to me again. We got a good laugh out of it later, but my gosh... whoo.

  Anyway. We got to the campsite without further harm, and had some hamburgers with his family. Hahaha ohh another great story- so we're all drinking sodas, and Mike and Jadon both burp really loud. Tyler's like "Hey, you guys, you're in the presence of a lady." And all of a sudden I let loose with the biggest burp of my life, totally by accident! Hahahaha we were laughing sooo hard!! Woooowww.. lol.

  After dinner the guys went mudding again, and Jadon's car got so much water up in the engine that it refused to work after a while. So we all sat out there and talked until he could get it working again, and decided to go to Jadon's youth group after saying goodbye to Ty's family.

  Youth group was fun, too. They all were eating, so we had some fries with them and read out of the book of proverbs. Then all the guys (there were only three girls, including me, and like fifteen guys) went outside to play football. So Rachel and Emily S. (the other two girls, two of my best friends) took me out to their house (Rachel is married to one of Emily's four older brothers, and they live on the same property) to see their new horses!! We talked and walked around and fed the horses, then went back and watched the boys kick each other's butts, haha. It was GREAT. Jadon took me home around ten thirty, on the way we got to see a spectacular storm off on the horizon. It was the greatest day:).

  Saturday was July Fourth, so I got to sleep in and eat a really rockin' breakfast of sausage and pancakes before going down to our town's annual festival thing at the park. MM, cotton candy and music and booths galore. SOO much fun. Unfortunately, it started raining, so the fireworks were cancelled. BUT.

  July FIFTH, our town all comes out to the middle school's football field to listen to a big symphony and watch this amazing display of fireworks. The army comes out with their cannons, and at the very end, before the fireworks, the symphony plays the William Tell Overture and they shoot them off, haha. Thankfully, no storms came to rain on that parade!! 

  Mike, Melissa, Tyler, Jadon and I all met up there around six, along with Tyler's sister Tory and their friends, Brock, Key, John, and Taylor. It was so much fun. We just walked around everywhere and talked to lots of random people. We were right next to the cannons when they went off, and saw the fireworks up close. It was spectacular! I love this town:).

  Afterwards Jadon took Mike, Melissa and I out to Taco Bell, and we hung out for a bit before I had to go home, and listened to lots of metro station.. I've been addicted ever since, lol. 

  Haha so that was my weekend! I had a BLAST. How was your fourth of july weekend??

~Lyssa~

  Lots has happened in the past however many days of not-writing, lol. Wow. it's been a WHILE, hasn't it?? Gosh!

  So I went to a revival meeting on the seventeenth (a Wednesday) with Katie, Emily, and Sammi. We got a ride from our newest friend, Tyler, who graduated with Katie and Jadon in May. It was actually his dad and grandpa doing the preaching, and WOW they were amazing! It was definetly a new experience- They're southern baptists, so they did all the "hallelujahs" and "amens" in agreement to everything, haha and they called each other "brother" and "sister." I was Sister Alyssa, hehehe. Some things they said I had a bit of a hard time with, but that's just because I'm more of a liberal christian than most people. I don't think I could ever be Southern Baptist.. I was raised Presbyterian, which is almost completely opposite. But it was cool to go.

  Afterwards we all ran around with the other kids and played zombie, lol. It was so much fun!

  Friday night Jadon, Emily, Katie, Sammi, Tyler, Jesse, Donnovan, Tory (Tyler's cousin and little sister) and I were all supposed to go dancing, but it was cancelled. So Emily and Katie and I had everyone over to their house for chips and root beer floats and movies. We watched Hurcules, then went to the park and acted crazy. Haha it was so much fun.

  The next day we all went down to this indoor theme park thing called Mr. Biggs and hung out. Tyler and Jadon both brought friends of all sorts, so we were enough to fill three cars to the bursting by the time we all met up. I swear, we were at Biggs for five hours, playing all the arcade games and go-carts and miniature golf. We ate nasty pizza and ran around having a grand old time. Unfortunately, I got a migrane after lunch that kinda laid me low for a while. I took some ibeuprophen and drank caffiene, but still. Ick.

  Emily and Katie left Sunday after church. They're on the East Coast, hanging out with family. I think currenly they're somewhere in Vermont, probably having lots of fun without me, haha. Sammi's back in Denver, but I may visit her soon *crosses fingers* I hope! I've been babysitting this past week, finally, so I'm getting some cash flow. Let's hear a Woot! for Dr. Pepper and Sunflower seeds! haha. Emily also left her bright pink iPod with me, so I've been listening to all her up-beat, peppy songs. I still miss her, though.  :(      

      Wow. Today is such a pretty day, I can't waste any more of it indoors. I'll talk to you guys later!!!

~Lyssa~

.. *sigh* I'm in the strangest mood. Maybe it's from being overly tired, who knows. Last night I went to Sammi's to spend the night, and we ended up watching strange movies until three in the morning.. Only to be woken up around six by her brothers fighting and the sound of her mom's heels thumping hollowly across the floor above. Ugh.

  But we drifted back off until about nine, ate breakfast and had coffee, got dressed, and walked down to my house with little Jon (Sam's youngest brother) in tow. They veered off to do some shopping at the farmer's market and I went home to help my mom with the house work. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before but she fell and broke her foot a couple weeks ago, and with the stroke stuff it's been really hard for her recently. So I do a lot of the housework.

  Anyway. At about three-ish, Emily, Sammi, and Katie all came back to my place (Jon was shipped off to a friends house) and we started walking to the park. Jadon came and picked us all up half-way, and we went and swung for almost two hours, talking and laughing and singing. Then we played Cops and Robbers on the actual play set, which is this massive old wooden castle/fort thing surrounded by a four-foot fence. Sooo much fun! But Jadon had to go, so we girls set off to do our walking:).

  We went to Sonic and grabbed a peach tea, strawberry shake, popcorn chicken, motzerella sticks, and some tater tots.. *hungry much? lol* then walked back up main street to Emily and Katie's house, laughing hysterically the whole way. For some reason everything was funny to Em and Sammi, which started Katie and I off.. I swear, we looked drunk, we couldn't even walk.. hahaha my stomach hurt for ages afterwards. :)

  Tomorrow promises to be even better. We're all going to Emily's piano recital to cheer her on *GO EM!!* and then we'll hang out for a bit and have even more fun. Mwahahaha. *lol* I love it when the Samemalykates are all together again, which has been happening less and less.. When Sam and I start Junior year, it'll be way tougher. She won't be able to come up as much and we'll all be soo busy.. *Sigh*. Oh well:). Might as well enjoy this summer while it lasts:). Oh, that's such a depressing thought. Moving on.

I should probably get some sleep. I didn't get very much of it last night, and I think I'm paying for it, haha. TTFN! hehe.

~Lyssa~

Okay, two stolen tags, and BTW- I posted three new poems in "The Witching Hour" so if you wanna see them, go to my profile, scroll down, and click on my other blog:)

:::::About Me:::::

Eye Color: Brown

Hair Color: Brown:)

Favorite Color: Purple

Your Grade: 11th!

Your Style: Comfortable and clean

 :::::Can You::::::

Write with both hands? I wish!

Whistle? Yuup

Blow a bubble? haha of course

Roll your tounge in a circle? Si!

Cross your eyes? Oh yeah

 Touch your tounge to your nose? Nope

 Dance? All the time!

Stay up a whole night without sleep? Yes

Speak a different language? Bits and pieces

Impersonate someone? kinda, haha

Prank call people? on occasion

Make a card pyramid? Nope....

 Cook anything? Oh yeah! I'm good

 :::::I tag:::::

the loser reading this

FUN QUESTIONNAIRE

1. What is your middle name?  Joy

2. How big is your bed? big enough:)

3.What are you listening to right now? Hermione screaming. Anna's watching Harry Potter.

4. What are the last pair of clothes you wore from? probably walmart.

5. What was the last thing you licked? Excuse me?

6. Last person you hugged? My parents:)

7. How is the weather right now?  Cold and dreary.

8. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? Mi Madre

9. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? eyes/smile, then hands, then attitude. 

10. Favorite type of Food? Greek, Portugese, Chinese..

11. Do you want children? yes:)

12. Hair color? Brown.

13. Do you wear contacts? I wish.

14. Favorite holiday? Christmas

15. Favorite Season? Fall and Spring

16. Have you ever cried over a love lost? Oh yeah

17. Last Movie you watched? Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

18. What books are you reading? The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and I'm reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire aloud to Anna.

19. Piercings? Ears.

20. Favorite Movie? Waking Ned Devine, Benny and Joon, A Walk To Remember, The Wedding Singer

21. Favorite NFL  team? I'll go with the home team- Denver Broncos:)

22:What were you doing before this tag? Writing poems:)

25: What is your favorite drink? Dr. Pepper

26:favorite flower? Yellow Roses, White Carnations, wild-flowers.  

27. Have you ever loved someone? Yes.

29. Who would you like to see right now? Emily. And Jadon. We need to talk...

30. What color are your bedroom walls? Yellow.

31. Have you ever fired a gun? nope

32. Do you like to travel by plane?  YES!

33. Right-handed or Left-handed? Righty

34. If you could go to any place right now where would you go? Brasil. Or Ireland.

35. Are you missing someone? Yes

36. Do you have a tattoo? Not yet.

37. Do you still watch cartoons on Saturday mornings? No, we don't have television.

38. Are you hiding something from someone right now? Haha nooo...

39. Are you 18? *sigh* nope

40. What is the wallpaper on your cellphone? A picture of the inside of the Denver Collesium during Revolve Tour.

41. Are you afraid of the dark? No way.

42. Favorite hangout? The park:)

43. 3 things you can't live without? My friends, my Bible, and my writing stuff.

44. Favorite songs? OOh, too many to count...

45. What are you afraid of? Heights. And rejection

46. Are you a giver or a taker? both.

47. What are your nicknames? Lyssa

48. What is your dad's middle name? Charles

49. What do you sleep in? Pajamas.

50. Stuck on a deserted island, and can only bring one thing? A computer with internet access

51. Favorite TV commercial? The Sprint and Mac commercials

52. First thing you'll save in a fire? My family

53. What is your favorite color? purple

54. What are the things you always bring with you? Makeup, a notebook and pen, my cellphone, a book.

55. What did you want to be when you were a kid? A professional ballerina.

56. What do you usually do when the alarm turns on? Turn It Off

57. What color is your bedsheet? Sheet? White.

58. Who do you want to meet? Jesus:)

59. What do you think about before you go to bed?  Anything and everything.

 *big yawn and stretch* mmmmm good morning, fellow bloggers! I just felt like coming on here and saying hello.

  Today is a windy day, kinda cloudy, so going outside won't be much fun, unfortunately. My sister, Anna, is bringing over a friend that I really don't like- Erica, the biggest spoiled brat ever. Seriously, it's true. She was adopted from China and now her parents give her everything her little heart desires, including shopping sprees, a Wii, anything she wants for dinner, new dolls, a new computer... and both her parents are out of work. The little bugger.

  On a normal day I would walk up to Em's house, but IDK if that'll work today. *Sigh*

  Oh oh, something I wanted to share with you, it made me laugh!

   What Is Butt Dust???
 
What, you ask, is 'Butt dust'?  Read
On and you'll discover the joy in it!  These have to be original and
Genuine. No adult is this creative!!
 
 
JACK (age 3) was watching his Mom
Breast-feeding his new baby sister. After a while he asked: 'Mom why have
You got two? Is one for hot and one for cold milk?'
 
 
MELANIE (age 5) asked her Granny how old she
was. Granny replied she was so old she didn't remember any more. Melanie
said, 'If you don't remember you must look in the back of your panties.
Mine say five to six.'

 
STEVEN (age 3) hugged and kissed his Mom good
Night. 'I love you so much that when you die I'm going to bury you
Outside my bedroom window.'
 
 
BRITTANY  (age 4) had an ear ache and wanted
a pain killer. She tried in vain to take the lid off the bottle. Seeing her
frustration, her Mom explained it was a child-proof cap and she'd have to
open it for her. Eyes wide with wonder, the little girl asked: 'How does it
know it's me?'
 

SUSAN (age 4) was drinking juice when she got
The hiccups. 'Please don't give me this juice again,' she said,
'It makes my teeth cough.'
 
DJ (age 4) stepped onto the bathroom scale
And asked: 'How much do I cost?'
 
 
CLINTON  (age 5) was in his bedroom looking
worried When his Mom asked what was troubling him, he replied, 'I don't
know what'll happen with this bed when I get married. How will my wife fit
in it?'
 
 
MARC (age 4) was engrossed in a young couple
That were hugging and kissing in a restaurant. Without taking his eyes off them,
He asked his dad: 'Why is he whispering in her mouth?'
 
 
TAMMY (age 4) was with her mother when they
Met an elderly, rather wrinkled woman her Mom knew. Tammy looked at her for a
While and then asked, 'Why doesn't your skin fit your face?'
 
 
JAMES (age 4) was listening to a Bible story.
His dad read: 'The man named   Lot  was warned to take his wife and flee out
Of the city but his wife looked back and was turned to salt.' Concerned,
James asked: 'What happened to the flea?'
 
The Sermon I think this Mom will never forget
 
This particular Sunday sermon...'Dear
Lord,' the minister began, with arms extended toward heaven and a rapturous
look on his upturned face. 'Without you, we are but dust...' He would
have continued but at that moment my very obedient daughter who was listening
leaned over to me and asked quite audibly in her shrill little four year old
girl voice, 'Mom, what is butt dust?'

Lol hope you enjoyed that. I did. Haha. Man, I've got nothing else to say... It'll come to me later:)

~Lyssa~

How many of you have seen the Sprint commercial where the boy is sending this girl picture texts from wherever he is, all over the world? The end always gets me, haha- her phone buzzes and she looks at it- it's a picture of her:). He's back! They run to each other and hug:) *Collective AWWH*

  The song in that commercial has been playing in my head for the past week, so I decided to find out what it is and who exactly wrote it. The guy has a wierd name but an amazing voice, and the lyrics rock, so I just had to share them! Happy summer:)

 Landon Pigg-Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop

I think that possibly
Maybe I'm falling for you
Yes
There's a chance that I've fallen quite hard over you

I've seen the paths that your eyes wander down
I want to come too

I think that possibly
Maybe I'm falling for you

No one understands me quite like you do
Through all of the shadowy corners of me

I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop I love so much
All of the while I never knew

I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop I love so much
All of the while I never knew

I think that possibly
Maybe I'm falling for you
Yes
There's a chance that I've fallen quite hard over you

I've seen the waters that make your eyes shine
Now I'm shining too

Because
Oh
Because I've fallen quite hard over you

If I didn't know you I'd rather not know
If I couldn't have you I'd rather be alone

I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop I love so much
All of the while I never knew

I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop I love so much
All of the while I never knew

All of the while
All of the while it was you
You
You
You

...

~Lyssa~

  Today was the first real breath of summer we've had in a while. It makes me slightly nostalgic.. all today I was remembering things from my past, glimpses of laughter and candy and fireworks and lemonade and rain..

  How interesting it is to me that yet another year is almost past. How quickly time flies, isn't it true? It was around this time last year that I was getting ready to go to Brasil.. When we had the Lifeskills graduation party at Jadon's house, the first time I'd ever been there, and the entire Lifeskills class ran around all day, looking at the cabins his parents run and going into the hangar they use for storage, Jadon's hand warm and solid in mine. And then that night, when Mom and I went to Wal-mart and she had her stroke. When was that? So long ago..

  Sammi's been away for a year, too. She left last May, ran away from her mother and ended up in Denver with her dad, so far from us. And in July it will have been a solid year since Jadon and I broke up on such painful terms, only to now start over so happily:).     

  So many memories:). Getting out of the car, three or more years ago, in Denver and looking up at Orion's belt, the only stars I could find in the lights from the city. It didn't rain that much back there. Up here it rains all the time during the summer- the skies seeming to clear only on the Fourth and Fifth of July, just for our celebrations. Oh my. The fifth of July... last year... woah.

  Anyway. Up here in the mountains you can see so clearly at night, all the millions of stars. They seem three-dimentional, some closer some farther away. I love it. I never want to leave here, never.

  Summers always remind me of bare feet, haha, and pointy grass, and sunburns, and swimming, and movie theaters. A time of running free, being yourself, hanging out with friends, laughing and dancing in the rain.

  *sigh* well. I just had to share my summer mood with you all... My currently non existent readers, haha. It'll take some time to build back up my audience, I suppose, after dissappearing for so long. Oh well:). I made a new friend, her name is Childish, and I think I'll leave a comment on her blog, which just happens to rock:). You should check it out, eh? Do us both a favor.

  Well, it's late, and.. oh, shoot, I was supposed to take my pills like half an hour ago. Dang!!

Tchau,

~Lyssa~

  Well, well, well. It's good to be blogging again. Summer is now here, graduation's over (Ahh, I'm a Junior!), and as of now I'm sitting at home holding an ice pack to my cheek- tuesday I underwent oral surgery to remove four wisdom teeth, one impacted molar, and the piece of skin connecting my top lip to my upper gums. Sooo I'm basically swollen beyond all belief and have nothing better to do than read, write, and watch movies. Oh yeah, and eat lots of yummy ice cream and pudding and ramen. MMM.

  Hopefully, if I can remember, I'll blog more often now. As you can see I haven't written a post in almost three months, and my last one was a very confusing tag.. hmm, that one didn't come out properly at all. Oh well. Summer's here, and it's time to revamp, refresh, and renew:). Unless, of course, I get that job I've been wanting... Sixteen is plenty old enough for one of those, wouldn't you say? :)

      Ahh. This week has been eventful, I must say. Saturday Em and Katie (who's now graduated from high school! People are growing up so fast!) drove down to pick up Sammi and bring her up here for a weekend of laughter, graduation parties, Starbucks, cute boys, and-unfortunately- rain. But we had a wonderful time anyway:)

  Katie's graduation ceremony was Sunday afternoon around four, so after church we all went up and cooked, cleaned, and decorated in our pretty dresses while waiting for the masses to arive. Two hundred people in all- and all for only four homeschool graduates (Tyler, Harrison, Jadon and Katie)! Jadon set me up doing the DVD slideshows of all the graduates lives on his funky new computer, two of which I botched horribly and he had to come down off the stage to help me with. That wasn't embarrassing at all.. haha. Afterwards we devoted our time to eating mexican food and cocolate cake, running around barefoot (stupid heels, lol), flirting with all the cute guys (mostly Tyler, who can do a wicked sweet impersonation of Captian Jack Sparrow, has bright green eyes, and loves to laugh), and pretending to be spies with the little kids, sneaking around the church on tiptoe with our hands held like guns and our dresses swishing horribly. I don't reccomend dresses for spy missions, by the way. They're awful when running and ducking/rolling, lol.    

      When everyone had mostly left and the adults cleaned up, Jadon, Katie, Sammi, Em and I all went out to the van and sat inside, talking and laughing very loudly. We all agreed to go up to the Lodge (kind of a retreat center where we girls would be sleeping that night) and hang out, maybe watch a few movies, before Jadon had to go home.

  So Katie and Em went to their house for sleepover stuff with their parents and grandparents, and Jadon took Sammi and I down to my house in his Ford "Exploder" to grab my stuff. Then he drove us over to Em's house where she and Katie were waiting to be picked up so Sam could grab her crap too (she only came with Jadon and I to chaperone, lol) before we all went up to the Lodge. That wasn't a confusing sentence at all. haha

  As we all drove up in Jadon's stick-shift Explorer, we turned on tobyMac and sang as loudly as we could, Jadon included, and screamed a lot. hahaha I'm pretty sure the people in the cars around us thought we were crazy! I was sitting shotgun, and Jadon kept swerving on the back roads just to make me scream.. funny story, so we're almost to the Lodge, which is up in the National Forest and thus far away from civilization, when Jadon takes a curve very quickly and I ask him in a slightly worried voice to please try and not kill me. In response he moves the steering wheel back and forth quickly, making all of us girls scream, just as a car turns around a corner ahead, facing us. He stops and says "I hope that wasn't a police car.."
  Of course, what was it? A police car. We all wigged out, but thankfully the guy behind the wheel kept on drving. haha close call!!!  

  Now I know there are those of you reading this, thinking "Why are you going up to a remote retreat center in the middle of the night to watch movies with a boy!?" Well, don't fear! The most strict, don't-mess-with-me, keep- your-hands-two-feet-apart-at-all times asian woman on the planet, Ms. Rhonda, and her very prim and proper daughter, April, were already up there, getting stuff ready for the Memorial day picnic the next day. We were only allowed to watch a movie that was PG or under, and she was in the next room the whole time. (happily, though, that didn't stop Jadon from holding my hand most of the movie, hehe).

   Sam wanted to watch the Island, but as that's somewhat a thriller/horror movie, she got vetoed and we all watched Finding Neverland instead... an interesting choice. All us girls were crying by the end. It was a great ending to a great day.

  The next morning we all woke up bright and early (try around eleven) and helped out with the Memorial day thingimabobber. Once again, it rained periodically, so not many people came up. That was just fine with us. We watched more movies and Sam, Emily and I all went for a walk after lunch that stretched into two hours. Unfortunately after that I had to go home, but it was worth it all the way. Such a great weekend:)         

  Tuesday wasn't such a great day- that was my oral surgery day, which I'm still recovering from. But let me tell you people, pain pills are amazing.. my mom calls them "I don't care" medicine, and it's very true:).

  Well, I should probably go rest. Taking a shower today would be a good thing as well, haha. So toodles! I shall write more as often as I can:).

Au Revoir,

 ~Lyssa~ 

. Put your music player of choice on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. Write the song name down.
4. Tag 5 friends.
5. Voila! Enjoy.


IF SOMEONE SAYS “IS THIS OKAY” YOU SAY?
The Christmas Wish-John Denver and the Muppets

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?

Breathe Today-Flyleaf

Hmm. Let's see...are you the stereotypical homeschooler? Or are you a public school robot? Let's find, out, shall we?

Growing up/now
[X] Own/have owned a denim jumper
[X] You were at least 13 when you got your first "trendy" haircut
[X] Everything in your closet at some time was referred to as modest
[] You do/have tucked things in that shouldn't be tucked in
[] You have been a member of at least 3 co-ops
[] You were a true 16 and never been kissed
[] Your mom drives a van of some sort
[] You have at least one childhood picture where you, your mom, and all your siblings matched
[] You are/were/will be a PSEO Student
[X] At some point in your life you were more comfortable with adults than kids your own age.
[X] Have studied ways to defend your beliefs, debate, and/or create laws
[] Used super conservative Abeka curriculum.

Total: 5

[X] You use big words that most adults could not use in conversation.
[X] You can use the words sublime, epiphany, and cognicent correctly. (I can use an infinite amount more than three.)
[X] You have a favorite word. (Is this a joke? I have a favorite WEEKLY word.)
[ ] You have an understanding of Latin root words and how to use them
[X] People from the outside world are referred to as "public schoolers" (have you ever noticed that they refer to us as "home schoolers"?)
[X]You or one of your siblings knits. (CHROCHETS. get it right!!!)
[X] You laugh at the decline in literacy in America. ("Ha ha, stupid public schoolers! They don't read anything but Twilight!!")
[X] You score constantly higher than "public schoolers" on standardized tests. ( "ha ha, stupid public schoolers!" Need more be said?)
[X] You have no concept of cafeteria food
[X] Family vacations are/ can be referred to as "Field Trips"
[X] Traveling on said vacations have included stopping at historical site markers along the way ("Oh, gosh, Mom...a giant fossilized crocidile skull. Like I haven't seen a million of THOSE every leg of this trip.")
[ ] You have never been in a public elementary school, middle school, or high school during regular school hours
[ ] You have gone to or been involved in a homeschool convention

Total so far: 15

[X] You read books on a regular basis ( Television is for people with short attention spans who cannot formulate opinions on their own easily.)
[X] You have taken part in a political protest
[X] You were a Pride and Prejudice fan before the movie
[X] You were a Lord of the Rings fan prior to the movie
[X] You were a Chronicles of Narnia fan before the movie.
[X] You speak a language other than English. (Does incomprehensible sarcasm count as a language?)
[X] You dream of dating characters from books instead of celebrities.

Total so far: 22

It has been assumed that you:
[ ] Have won many spelling bees
[] Have no social life (What, and the mindless conformity of public schoolers can be considered a social life?)
[] Have no friends of the opposite gender
[X] Are outstandingly smart ( what homeschooler isn't?!?)
[] Are extremely inept (Inept, as in, inept at being anything other than amazing?)
[] Only listen to classical music
[X] Play piano or the violin
[] Do not own a pair of trendy jeans.
[] Have no knowledge of drugs or alcohol
[] Don't date, only court.
[] Have never been to a "party" (Yay, what fun—drunk crackheads throwing up on Mom's new sofa!)
[] Know no other beliefs other than what your family believes (As opposed to, say, swallowing any theory that is shoved down your throat by the media and your friends?)

~Tag 25 people in this and have them do it too.

Let's start it off with, are you available?
Yep.

What school does the last person you kissed attend?
Bubble Bubble Burg High

Is there someone you don't ever want to be out of your life?
Of course there is!

Are you happy? 

Yeah, sure. We'll go with that.  

Are you really happy or are you just saying that?
 I'm not bawling or anything, so sure.  

Where did you get your last bruise from?
Jesse's shoe... lol loong story

Does the last person you kissed care about you?
Currently? nuh uh. (The feeling is mutual, don't worry.)

Have you ever thought you were gonna die?
Umm, yeah, actually. I almost drowned when I was four or five.  

How do you feel about smoking?
Yuck.  

What is something someone said to you today that made you smile?
Well... i'm not sure anyone said anything particular. I smiled at Anna cuz she's so cute.. she likes a little boy and is all dressed up today cause she's gonna see him tonight:)

Have you ever recieved a D/F on your report card?
Nope. I don't get a report card. but even if I did, no.

What are you currently hearing right now?
"You're doing fine, Oklahoma! Oklahoma, O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A, Oklahoma!!" haha from the musical- can you guess?- Oklahoma!  

Is it hard for you to get over someone?
Sometimes. Depends on the person.  

If you married the last person you texted, what would your last name be?
Berlant. Creepy

Were you happy when you woke up today?
Pretty much:)

Do you keep a planner?
Nope. I'm the most disorganized person in the world! 

What kind of mood are you in today?
A dancing mood. Maybe it's the "watermelon" sweater I'm wearing... bright pink and green stripes always make me want to dance around

What was the first thing you did when you woke up?
Looked at my cell phone to see what time it was 

What were you doing at 8 this morning?
Slowly waking up

Have you talked to a complete jerk today?
Not today, no.

Do you love the last person you called?
Totally, she's my best friend and soul sister:)

Whats a fact about the last person who text messaged you?
Shes an incredibly amazing person and I love her to death:)

Last person you text messaged?
Sammi

Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?
Never. Ew ew and triple ew!

What were you doing 30 min ago?
Eating homemade quesadillas. Mm.  

Honestly, who was the last person to tell you that they love you?
My momma.

Will this weekend be a good one?
No, prolly not. I hate valentine's day... or, more fittingly, "Thanks for reminding me I'm single" day.   

Have you ever worn the opposite sex' s clothing?
Just hoodies

What's on your schedule for tomorrow?
Enrichment, babysitting, and hopefully some Facebooking.   

Where did you last drive to?
Wal-Mart

How late did you stay up last night and why?
10 ish? Maybe later? Because I was on a writing binge, FINALLY.

Do you miss anyone?
Mmmhmm

Who was the last person you rode in the car with that was under 21?
Katie and Sammi

Do you have curly hair?
More wavy than curly 

What should you be doing right now?
Chrocheting. I really need to get this blanket done. 

What' s the last piercing you got?
My ears when I was twelve

Are you mad at anyone right now?
He-who-must-not-be-named-in-my-presence

Whats the 8th text message in your phone say?
"Talk about timing o.0"

What kind of phone do you have?
Motorola

Did you see the movie Twilight?
Don't want to. Eugh.   

What is bothering you right now?
Life. And stupid, idiotic boys.  

Are you easily scared by horror/thriller films?
haha I love thriller movies! 

Who were the last people you were at the movies with?
My family 

Do you regret anything you've done lately?
Yeah. I regret talking to he-who-must-not-be-named BIG time.  

Could you date someone taller than you?
lol at my height, everyone I date is taller than me!  'Specially up here.

Next time you will go to the doctor?
Hopefully not for a while   

Is there a person of the opposite sex who means a lot to you?
Yeah. My best guy friend, Jesse. He's like one of the only decent males in this town 

When's your next vacation?
We don't take vacations.

Does a kiss make you feel better?
it depends on my day and who's doin the kissin  

Do you start the water before you get in the shower or when you get in?
Before

Do you have secrets that no one knows?
Yeah, who doesn't?

~Lyssa~ 

5 random facts about myself:

1. I have a bunk bed... I wanted it so bad when I was a kid, but now... eh. I just want a normal bed again. 

2. I'm in the middle of reading Mere Christianity by C.S Lewis, and I love it!! Seriously, give it a try! 

3. I hate the color lime green, but I want a lime green Volkswagon Beetle. Isn't that just weird?

4. I know all the library staff by name.. and they all know me by name, too. We're buddies:)

5. I'll be performing a dance that I coreographed with my best friend this Saturday. 

5 weird things about myself:

1. I talk to inanimate objects all the time

2. At one point I wanted to become Messianic Jewish.. kinda funny, huh?

3. I am the type of girl who can watch all the horror movies she wants and never get scared, but scream at the top of my lungs when the toast pops out of the toaster right behind me.   

4. I have a silver ring with a red stone set in it that is permanently placed on the ring finger of my right hand. I seriously haven't taken it off since '07.    

5. I seem to have a pirate look going for me.. I wear bandannas and large hoop earrings all the time. Actually, I currently have ten+ bandannas in my room somewhere, one for every color and variation of the rainbow. 

5 things on my desk:

1. Obviously, my computer's moniter

2. Lots of computer games and random CDs

3. Our family's printer

4. A stack of tapes

5. And some random figurines that look as if they haven't been dusted in years. Haha

5 of your best friends:

1. Emily

2. Sammi

3. Jesse

4. Katie

5. Dylan

5 things you love to do:

1. Sing at the top of my lungs

2. Discover-slash-make up new words

3. Walk around town with my friends

4. Write!

5. Dance my heart out to any random song that happens to be playing:)

5 people you tagged:

You,

you,

you,

you,

and

YOU!

 hehe

Favorite Food: I love greek, and chinese, and thai, and my mom's homemade chicken noodle soup. MM.

Favorite Dessert: My mom's cocolate cinnamon cake.

Favorite Book: New Moon, Lock and Key, This Lullaby, Rakkety Tam, anything Robin McKinley.

Favorite Parent: Mah mommy:)

Favorite Website: *shh* Facebook!

Favorite Season: I like the summer, especially up here.

Favorite Month: June

Favorite Fruit: Apples. mmm

Favorite Room in the House: I guess maybe my room.

Favorite T.V. Show: House, Fringe, and Everybody Loves Raymond. That guy is hilarious!

Favorite Continent: South America, so far.

Favorite Time of Day: Late afternoon.

Favorite Person: Emily:)

Favorite Instrument: Fiddle, harp, and irish flute.

Favorite Kind of Music: I looove country!

Favorite Movie: Waking Ned Devine. It's british humor, don't ask..

Favorite Subject: Lit and History

Favorite Holiday: Christmas!

I tag.............................................. YOU!!!!

  Welllll.... haha guess what day it is?? I'm so excited! I know it's just an age, but still, being sixteen is a big deal. You can do things you never did before... like drive cars, date, audition for American Idol... lol among other things.

  Today was a good day. I woke up early in my newly clean room (it feels great to have it clean again!) and lay in bed for a good half hour, reading. Then I decided to go up and make breakfast for the family- mm, pancakes!- and did some studying until about lunch time. 

Haha okay, so my mom was making my cake, which is an amazing concoction of cocoa powder, sugar, and cinnamon, among other things, haha. I was up in the shower and suddenly heard both my mom and my sister scream! So I dried off as quickly as I could, put on my robe, and came running to see what was wrong... As soon as I turned the corner, I almost choked on the cocoa powder still floating in the air! Mom was trying to open the stubborn container, pulled a bit too hard.... and bang! It exploded EVERYWHERE!!! Just when we thought we had cleaned it up, we would move something... and there was more cocoa! haha it's hilarious looking back at it but wasn't so funny at the time.. oh gosh! lolololol.

After lunch, Em and I went to show off our dancing skills for the ladies at the Pregnancy center. They're holding a Mother-Daughter abstinance rally the weekend after next, and wanted to see me dance. I dragged Em along to dance this Israeli Folk Dance with me that we both knew and they loved it so much that they've recruited us to dance a different one at the beginning of the Rally. I'm sooo excited! Yay!!!

Ooh, ooh, in other news... I'm going to camp!!!!!! WHOOHOO!!!!! haha. Not for REAL for real, but still. It's camp. I'm gonna be a junior staffer.. working in the kitchens... cleaning rooms... etc. Basically whatever I'm told to do. I and like seven other junior staffers will be doin it together... I'm excited:) It's gonna be great! I'll be gone from Friday to Saturday, so I'll be sure and tell you how it goes.

Lol anywho. After smelling the roast cook all day and that wonderful cake bake, I was RAVENOUS. So we literally stuffed ourselves at dinner... and then the best part of birthdays- the presents!!

I got a skein of yarn, a new notebook and pen, the book Breaking Dawn, AND Fiddler on the Roof! Awesome!!!

Haha okay so my dad's giving me the evil eye, so I gotta get off. But I'll write again soon! Sorry for neglecting so badly!!         

Tchau!!!

~Lyssa~