Fair day #2

We went back to the fair with several friends to see the 10th Avenue North and Jeremy Camp concert. We got to the fair about 2, got some food, then the guys wanted to check out a crumpled SUV. We all admired Sarah's art entry. Then we went to the bike show. Unfortunately, the schedule was printed wrong, so we killed an hour going to the Village of Yesteryear, and then went back to the bike show. After the bike show, we went over to the expo building for the Dazzling Mills Family show. It wasn't quite time for the show, so we walked around and looked at the exhibits in the Expo center.

The show was great!


Vic eating a fried pickle.



They're homeschoolers! Our entirely homeschooled group screamed and cheered when this was announced, drawing the comment from Mr. Mills that "Well, THAT'S not obvious!"

After the Dazzling Mills Family, we went to ride some rides. About half the group wanted to ride Fireball, so we all got in line, and then they closed the ride. A few people rode the only real roller coaster. And then we had to split. Because of a very important Hawks baseball game, half of our group had to leave. The rest of us went to the concert.

The concert was AWESOME! The end.

After the concert we rode the ferris wheel...

From the top!

From the ferris wheel, I took a picture of the ride next on our list: the swings!

Sarah and Jessica, in their seats...

Yep, I took my camera! I like this shot, too...

Then we headed home, exhausted. So much fun! I love the fair.

~Lizzie

Introducing!

Two nameless models. If you remember the sewing business that my friend Kara and I tried to start last year, this is the booster attempt with a focus on: doll clothes.


They are pictured here with our first two attempts. Kara's is the peach dress, and mine is the maroon. They won 3rd and 2nd place in the state fair, respectively.

The red head came with a name already (I hate that) and it is NOT staying. "Stacey" is so "Barbie" when it comes to dolls.

I love her red hair, and green eyes, but her face is plain (she reminds me of an early American Girl doll, and for all their popularity I've never thought that they were very nice dolls) and her coloring unfortunately unrealistic for a red head. The pricing for this doll was MUCH better than American Girl prices (very cheap with the coupon), though, so I am happy with her.

The Madame Alexander dolls I found while researching on the internet. Her vinyl upper body is nice for lower neckline and thin-strap tops, as seen in the picture.


I was very excited to find that they are sometimes available at Costco beginning in October for the holiday season. However, over the phone, Costco informed us that they would not be carrying them this year. The next week, Mom surprised me with her after a trip to Costco! The employee was apparently mistaken.

Her skin is beautifully creamy, her eyes a rich chocolate and her hair is unbelievably silky. She also has the ability to tilt her head, as well as looking up and down (like my Elsie doll). American Girl and the Springfield collection dolls (my red head) can only turn their heads from side to side. Amazingly enough, she was also fairly inexpensive (much, much less than American Girl!)

Suggestions for names are quite welcome! I'm thinking of Flanna for the red head and Rowena for the brunette...

~Lizzie

Fair day #1!

My family went to the fair this past Friday. We're usually the type who arrive at the fair at 9:30 or 10am, and stay all day. This time, we didn't make it there until 2, but we still stayed for the fireworks. And I took a grand total of 4 very blurry pictures while we were waiting to ride the ferris wheel.

First we checked out all our family entries... various 2nds, 3rds, 4ths, 5ths and Honorable Mentions were awarded to some. In between checking entries, we got some corn on the cob... it's tradition. Anyway, the last entry we got to was my doll dress ... it got 2nd... even though it was the only one in the catagory... apparently the judges didn't think it was good enough for a first, even if it was the only one... I found that pretty funny! And kinda sad...

After we checked all the entries we went to take our traditional picture on the invisible bench. Then we went and rode rides, ate our traditional gyros at John the Greek, and rode more rides... David got me to go on Freak Out (I think that's what it's called...) with him this year, and it was actually pretty fun! There's also a new swings ride! Instead of the swings just going in a circle, you went around AND up really high (I'm not explaining it very well). It was pretty neat.

Then we walked around the Expo center... mostly because it was so COLD outside, but Sarah and I enjoyed seeing all the animals... I especially enjoyed seeing the calves, chicks, ducklings and I think they were baby miniature donkeys... they were all cute, anyway. After that, we rode the ferris wheel and froze... it was so cold up high, whenever the ferris wheel got to the bottom it felt warm.

Then we got some hot cider and hung around the "Heritage Circle" watching the blacksmith and sitting by the tobacco barn fires while we waited for the fire works. About 15 minutes before the fireworks went off, we went through gate 8 before they closed it for the fireworks and settled into our traditional fireworks watching spot. We watch from the parking lot just out side the gate, and then try and get to our car and get out before the crowd of "after fireworks" leavers start leaving.

It was so much fun. I always enjoy going to the fair. The bad part is Sarah picked up a cold, and I've got a little bit of something too... I'm not coughing as much as she is though, I just don't feel very energetic, and I have a scratchy feeling in my throat.

Hopefully we will recover quickly, because we're supposed to be going back to the fair this Friday to see the 10th Avenue North and Jeremy Camp concert with some of our friends...

~Lizzie

Please don't bring your issues to my pity party...

Many times, when I am frustrated with something, I will try to comfort myself with the thought that someday, *I* will do it differently! My children will always be obedient, my kitchen always clean and organized and my household will flow like a merry fairy-tale...

Hahaha.

If I can't be patient now, having my own kids won't make it easier. Maybe my future home won't have the same irritations that I face now, but there will still be things to test my character. If I am not content now, there is no reason I will be content later. I will always be looking toward the future, waiting for that moment when every piece in my world falls into place...

And it finally sank into my head. Years of hearing that you must be content in all things, and it took 18 years for me to get it. But I think that I can truthfully say that I got it now! That does NOT mean that I am always content, but now, rather than wallowing in my pity party and wistfully dreaming of that "perfect" future, I remind myself that where I am now is a part of His plan, and I am meant to learn from my current circumstances.

And really, what do I have to not be content about? It's not as if my circumstances are very difficult! God has taken care of my family. We are all together, we have a house with running water, food to eat, clothes to wear, two cars, a grand piano and several Bibles. When I remember all that I have, and what some in this world do not have, I am ashamed that I could ever be discontent.

"Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content." Philippians 4:11

~Lizzie

Successful cinnamon rolls!

Or, at least, I think they are. =P


They still don't look like an advertisement, but I'm just happy that somehow, they turned nice and fluffy this time, and I made the icing a little runnier so it spread and soaked better. I also piled on the sugar, butter and cinnamon... so much that there is a gooey layer of syrupy sugar-cinnamon-butter in the bottom of the pan...

I'm satisfied. =D

~Lizzie

Doll dress

My friend Kara and I made doll dresses to enter in the state fair. This is mine, on my doll, Elsie.

I couldn't get the lighting right... so I have two versions.
The washed out version:

The fuzzy, yellow version:

Maybe between the two you can get an idea what it really looks like. =P

Details:

Full length shot:

I had a lot of fun sewing this dress! We threw them together pretty last minute, so now I'm eager to do another doll dress with more planning and more care.

~Lizzie

Shocking and Malicious Distortion of Classic Literature #2

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. Oh, creatures of the deep, slay me before I read the first word and save me from my misery.

Oh, wait. I don't have to read it! Never mind.

There should be a law against tacking Jane Austen's name onto any contortion of her writing.

All that is needed now is a very elaborate eye-roll and a disgusted sigh.

~Lizzie

Romans 15:30-33

Mr. Henderson's sermon in church yesterday was on Romans 15:30-33:
"³⁰ Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me, ³¹ that I may be delivered from those in Judea who do not believe, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, ³² that I may come to you with joy by the will of God, and may be refreshed together with you. ³³ Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen."

And one of the points Mr. Henderson made that stuck out to me was that Paul was begging his fellow believers to pray for him, and these were people that he didn't even know.

I don't know that I've ever begged someone to pray for me... I didn't need to beg though, because so far in my life, all I've had to do was ask. =P But I guess maybe Paul was begging because he was communicating through writing instead of in person, and since you can't see the person's responding in letter writing you want to impress your point more emphatically...?

Well, I have decided to beg for prayer for myself. If you've been reading my blog for at least a year then you've probably seen some of my posts where I rant, moan and whine about how confused I am and how I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing with myself. It seems like every time I come up with a plan, I find a flaw, or I get scared, or I change my mind. The number of plans I have adopted for a mere day or two are too numerous to count.

The problem, I think, is that my main goal is to eventually get married. I don't know when that will be (if ever), so I'm trying to find some way of making money so that I can support myself if need be. Since I took piano lessons for 9 years, and devoted a good deal of time and work into becoming a proficient pianist, the most obvious option is something involving piano. I really enjoy teaching... I have a few beginner students that I am teaching out of my home.

So, assuming that I will do something with teaching piano, the next obvious step would normally be going to college for piano pedagogy. My problems with college are that I have no desire to learn all the extra required things (like math, science, psychology or other things that colleges may require for degrees) or to spend 4 years of my life learning all of that when I could be teaching for those 4 years. Nor do I wish to leave my family.

However, I know that I lack the ability to teach students any more advanced than beginners, and I wouldn't want to have such a limitation on myself forever. As of yet, all my students have left me before they got close to intermediate level (and maybe that says something about my teaching skills...) and right now I am restricting my advertising to beginners.

My plan for this year (as I've mentioned recently) is taking up lessons again myself (I stopped for a year) and "apprenticing" with my new piano teacher to learn from her how to teach better. Today was the first day that I did the apprenticing, so I'm not sure how it will continue to work out, but today I taught two early intermediate students without her supervision, and I was hoping that she would be supervising and more of teaching me to teach than just giving me a student and saying, "Okay, go." So I'll see how that goes...

But as to future plans, I have begun reconsidering college. Meredith is a good option because it's so close that I could commute, but I don't want to have to do all the non-piano/music things that Meredith requires for a degree. Campbell (as far as I can tell from their websites) requires less non-music classes for a degree, but is just far enough that I would need to live on campus (but could come home on weekends).

The thing is, I think of teaching piano as a temporary option. I am hoping and praying that God's will is to fulfill my deepest desire of being a wife and mother, and if I teach piano after I get married, it probably won't be much. So if it is God's will for me to get married, should I spend 4 years going to school for piano? What if I end up getting married right out of college and don't use my expensive education for anything besides teaching my own children? But then, what if I never get married and my only support is teaching piano lessons for the rest of my life? Wouldn't it be better to go to college and be a skilled teacher so that I can support myself more easily if I'm a confirmed old maid?

So, to condense all that, my prayer requests are:
For God's continued guidance
For Him to give me wisdom
For me to have joy and contentment no matter where I am
For His will to be worked in my life (hopefully including a husband and family ;) )
And through wherever my life path takes me, that He will shape my character and use me to His glory.

Thank you for praying for me!

~Lizzie

Oh, beautiful weather!

I love every season, but I always feel most excited about the season that is just beginning! I think God planned them perfectly so that when fall is here, I'm exactly ready for it... summer is neither too long nor too short. And then fall with its cool breezes, warm sun, falling leaves smoothly segues into winter, with freezing weather making the perfect condition to sit inside under a warm afghan by the fire with a book and a cup of hot chocolate or hot tea. About the time you're tired of being stuck inside, spring brings cheerful birds and fresh, cool mornings, with lovely flowers and new life. And then summer is back: gardens, summer flowers, swimming, cold lemonade and breezy moonlit walks...

I think I would be perfectly happy in a cozy little house in the middle of lots of land, with my own garden, and no reason to leave every day. My life is so crazy, sometimes I wonder if maybe I should be enjoying home life more... taking care of a garden, hanging clothes out on a clothesline, baking all the things it seems I never have time for, cleaning, sewing, playing piano just for fun, reading... but with my previously mentioned schedule, I hardly have time to get all the other work done.

On Monday, I have to go to my lesson, and help teach. That takes all afternoon. In the morning, I have to eat breakfast, do schoolwork, eat lunch and leave. And I don't have enough time to finish my schoolwork. I leave from my lesson, pick up Sarah at band, go home, help fix supper, eat, try to finish schoolwork and go to bed.

On Tuesday, I have to get up, eat breakfast, do school ("school" includes practice piano) and leave for swimming. We eat "lunch" at about 4 in the afternoon when we get home (starving!) and then Sarah and I leave for dance and theatre. We get home around 8 and eat supper. This past Tuesday, our director decided to spring auditions on us, so I have 4 days left now to prepare a song and monologue for audition. And I don't even know what character I would like to try out for!

On Wednesday, I get up, eat breakfast, do school and leave for swimming and water polo. Again, we eat "lunch" after swimming when we get home around 4. Then I have a few hours to do school, help fix supper and eat before we leave for our Wednesday night prayer meeting (Radical Wednesday). We leave at 7, and don't usually get home until 10... sometimes 11.

On Thursday, I get up, eat breakfast (is this redundant yet?), do school and leave for swimming. We eat when we get home at 4. Sometimes I take Sarah to band and we don't get home until 6. Then we help fix supper, eat and I usually waste the rest of the evening because by Thursday, I'm so exhausted that I don't even want to think about doing something productive (sad to say...).

On Friday, I get up, clean my room, eat breakfast, and clean the living room and foyer in preparation for my piano students. I have a student that comes at 10:30am. Then I practice piano, help fix lunch, work on school or cleaning my room (or the monologue, song and character analysis that I STILL HAVEN'T DONE!!! Ahhhhhhh!!) and on the first Friday of every month I have my "once-a-month" students at 3 and 3:30. (That's today, so right now I'm home by myself, because Mom took the boys to basketball practice, and Sarah went with them. Daddy's at work.) On the days when I don't have afternoon students, I usually take the boys to basketball practice. They get home around 4. (Hmm... we seem to get home at 4 a lot...) Then I have the rest of the afternoon to clean, work on school, practice or whatever I need to do. Fix supper, eat, usually watch some TV, and go to bed.

Saturdays don't really have a schedule, but there's usually something that we have to do around the house, or maybe shopping that needs to be done. I like to sew or do some fun baking or "deep" cleaning where I clean out junk that I somehow collect like a magnet.

On Sundays we usually stay home and do the bare minimum of work and relax. If we don't, the next week is even more stressful and hectic than the last week. You can only go, go, go for so long before you explode, crash and burn.

So if you noticed, I have a lot that I should be doing right now instead of writing this blog post. It's sometimes so overwhelming that I just shove it all aside and do something useless, like writing this post... it actually helps, because it organizes my thoughts and gives me a break so that I don't go completely insane.

And then I take a few minutes to wish that I could have a homey life ("wash day," "baking day," "cleaning day"...) sigh, and then go do SOMETHING that I need to do. I'm trying to keep ahead, and I think I'm doomed to be behind... behind in what is the variable. =\

Let the usefulness now resume...

~Lizzie