The Sequel to the Vacuum series.

Introducing: The CD Player of Sauron. My luck with electronics couldn't possibly be worse. Sometimes I think my pride in my Irish heritage gives me opposite luck. Or maybe the person who came up with "the luck o' the Irish" was being sarcastic, 'cause frankly, they don't seem very lucky to me.

So yes, before I explain the problem I will confess that I still own a CD player, despite the advent of iPods and their docks which were supposed to replace CD players, not to mention alarm clocks and decorative sculptures. I will also remind you that I don't own an iPod, (I have a Creative "Zen" MP3 player) which is why I don't own one of those nifty weird-shaped-alarm-clock-iPod-dock things that would make my life complete.

Whenever I listen to CD's in my outdated, miserable CD player, I now have to tolerate hic-up-jumps in the music. They have become so frequent that I really wouldn't have cared if the stupid player would just completely break and stop playing music. I removed the CDs and took the casing off, stripped half the screws, observed nothing fixable, dusted it out (how does dust get in there anyway?) and tried to put the casing back on. I nearly ruined the antenna, but that's okay, because I tried to play a CD (I honestly can't believe it still worked at all) and the hiccuping was worse. So much worse in fact, that I have completely given it up.

Oh, woe is me...

~Lizzie

Inconvenient vanity.

I got my braces off a little more than two years ago (wow, doesn't seem that long) and I went to the dentist with my newly straightened pearly whites only to have him mention "Now with a little whitening treatment..." Yeah. His sales pitch almost worked. I mean, no way could I afford his "one hour" treatment that was guaranteed to make my teeth blindingly white. But after that I was no longer satisfied. Who wants to have wonderful straight teeth (after two and a half years of pain getting them) and only have everyone notice that they're not-so-perfectly white? I got whitening toothpaste, I brushed with hydrogen peroxide and used a whitening mouth wash. Then I finally caved and spent $20 on a box of white-strips. And yes, even as I'm typing I'm wearing those little pieces of plastic that are guaranteed to make my teeth blindingly white... for a year. And then you need another box. It wouldn't be so bad they were at least comfortable. But they slide all around, the "gel" (which feels like goo) seems to get everywhere BUT on my teeth, and I have to wear them over and over... for the rest of my life? Yet, after having this conversation with myself again and again, here I am, frozen with my tongue in an awkward position, finally having the strips plastered to my teeth in the proper position, waiting for my 30 minutes to be up so I can go throw the strips out, rinse, and examine my teeth for any signs of hygienic whiteness.

~Lizzie

Mice, ideas and new-found goodies.

I think I will go in reverse order of the title so that thoughts of the rodent and the idea won't obscure the yumminess of the cream cheese brownies I've discovered. No, I'm not taking credit for the recipe, only for finding it on the internet. :P

Here's the recipe from one of my favorite recipe sites, "Joy of Baking" - Cream Cheese Brownies (link). Theirs look better than mine I think, but I can never get my food to look like a piece of art. That's Sarah's specialty. I've made three batches of these brownies so far, and the first time they came out of the pan very well without the aluminum foil (we try not to use aluminum foil in baking because it cooks into the food); I just buttered it very well. For some reason though, the second two batches didn't work out so well. They stuck pretty badly. I'm blaming it on the strange sugar I had to use. It refused to dissolve and made the batter very wet and sticky. We've really enjoyed these brownies though (even the sticky ones with crunchy sugar). This is the first time I've made something where I ask if anyone wants some and even my parents say "Yes!" with hopeful eagerness.

And as for my idea, I've been thinking about doing a review blog. I really enjoy reviewing books and movies, and I get criticized for posting my reviews on my own blog, so I figured if I start a blog for that purpose it'll be better accepted. And then, if it ever happens to be big enough that it could actually be a job (with which I could somehow extract money from people), that would be nice. Probably not though, with the current economy. So anyway, I will be thinking on that. And if anyone is interested in being a writer, just send me a sample review. ;)

I hate mice. It's like my cat knows this and intentionally catches and brings into the house more mice than is natural for any cat. She even takes up the slack for our other two cats who are remarkably less interested in small animals. She doesn't look malicious, does she?

*sigh* So just a few minutes ago she came inside a dropped a mouse and then went back outside. We have our broom/trashcan/scream method all worked out. Except this time we were trying to decide if we should let Shadow (the kitty with kidney problems) have a fresh... treat. *gag* And Mom was holding the broom on top of him while we tried to decide to sweep him into the trashcan or somehow let Shadow eat him without him running all over the house... and decided on the the trashcan, but apparently the mouse had already smothered. *shudder* *cough* *shudder*

*grimace* So... I can't leave you with that... ... I bought a new purse today.

It was on sale, and I just couldn't resist. I really like it. :P

~Lizzie

Well, I was going to call this....

something about the obligatory New Year post, but then I realized that that's Daddy's most recent title. So now I have the beginning of the sentence as my title, which is infinitely more boring, but whatever.

I was sincerely touched by all the tearful farewells on my leaving post. It's so nice to know I was missed. I must contribute so much with my half-unreadable posts and unnecessarily lengthy words. The people on Facebook were equally distressed by my absence. :P

I actually have a whole bunch of posts that I wrote while I was off, but I'm not sure if I'm going to post them or not. *glances expectantly over crowd of readers* *readers respond with thunderous silence* I guess I won't.

Well, if you're still reading, you're now going to get a summary of what I learned from 2008, so this is your chance to run. The exits are located to the top right, top left and top center of this page. They are not lit with bright red "Exit" signs, so proceed with caution. Beware the hole in the floor.

Okay, now I'll be serious. To be honest, 2008 wasn't a great year for me. I spent most of the year in chronic depression and confusion. My faith in God was challenged, everything that made my world secure seemed to crumble, and most of my memories have to do with the most complete sadness I've ever felt. And it seems silly for me to say this, because no one I knew died. Not even our little cat (who had kidney failure). There was really nothing awful; technically I should have had a great year.

It's hard for me to say if it was just my attitude, or if it was maybe some sort of spiritual attack, but whichever it was, I learned a lot of things that made this one of the most meaningful years of my life so far, even if it wasn't packed with fun and pleasure. My faith was challenged, but now it's stronger, I am closer to God for the loss of my worldly security, and through the sadness, God has given my His joy.

I guess I'm finally escaping the horrible teenage years. I'll be 18 this summer, legally an adult, but not able to drink, and older than I've ever been before. I'm going to graduate, but not legally... don't worry, I'll graduate legally next year. I just decided that since I'll finish out this school year 17, that I may as well do another year and graduate at 18 (but then I'll be almost 19...) Yes, it's confusing. If you don't get it, please don't read that paragraph again.

Happy New Year everyone!

~Lizzie

ilazy-blog

So I did this on Facebook, then I saw Jessica did it on her blog..... so why not?? :D This is sooo my type of blogging. ;)

Step 1: Put your iPod on shuffle

Step 2: Post the first line from the first 20 songs that play no matter how embarrassing
Step 3: Bold over the songs that someone guesses correctly
Step 4: Looking up the lyrics on any search engine is totally cheating and that's not cool. (I trust you guys. :P)

1. She turns like the ocean she tells no emotion

2. Stoplights breakdown we cry last try worlds collide time to decide

3. Ill-M-I, Ill-M-I, Ill-M-I, Ill-M-I and you Illuminati comin' thru - I'll-M-I - tobyMac

4. There's a fracture in the color bar in the back seat of a parked car

5. She never slows down she doesn't know why but - Stand in the Rain - Superchic[k]

6. When he was seeing her you could see he had his doubts

7. I walked the line leave it all behind I've been waiting forever - Everything You Ever Wanted - Hawk Nelson

8. If weakness is a wound that no one wants to speak of then "cool" is just how far we have to fall - I'm not Alright - Sanctus Real

9. I'm a brand new man, I'm a conscious man I'm a man who's burnin' for you - Burn for you - tobyMac

10. I just wasted ten seconds of your life - Crayons can Melt on Us for all I Care - Relient K

11. I found You in the most unlikely way really it was You who found me - Remembering You - Steven Curtis Chapman

12. I know you keep a journal and every page in rippled - Atmosphere - tobyMac

13. Rain falls outside I think the sky must know whats happening tonight

14. Everyone I know needs love like drugs

15. There's a cross on the side of the road where a mother lost a son - We Live - Superchic[k]

16. You got me feeling so fly there ain't a day that goes by - Feelin' so Fly - tobyMac

17. I'm as eloquent as an elephant I'm as headstrong as the Mighty King Kong - Eloquent - Sanctus Real

18. You're in a better place, I've heard a thousand times

19. I hope it snows this week, a snow flake on your cheek

20. I made you promises a thousand times, I tried to hear from heaven

So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!

*happy sigh* I love that part of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. And only that part. But don't worry, this isn't another review post.

I'm actually saying that I'm taking a break from blogging until the New Year. So Merry Christmas everyone, and Happy New Year!! See you in 2009!! Ahhhh!!!

~Lizzie

MI2

Well, Jessica, I think you would have liked Tom Cruise's hair. It was kinda long, and very shiny and swishy.

Mission Impossible 2 was ridiculous. Note to self: when Daddy says a movie is awful, it really is. However, the reverse is not always true... think 2001 Space Odyssey. If you haven't seen it, DON'T!

I don't think it's even worth going through everything that was lame about MI2. It was a good movie to watch in the middle of the night when you're exhausted. Just be sure that there's someone really hyper to wake you up for the action parts.

And if anyone has seen it, we should do a spoof where everyone attempts to rip a mask off of everyone else's faces before they speak. It's like, the secret handshake. Directions: grab cheek or hair and pull. But don't pull too hard, in case it isn't a mask.

~Lizzie