Vacation Day 2

Second day of vacation and what did we do?

NOTHING. And it was great.

Actually, we did spend quite a bit of time on the beach, but other than that we mostly just sat around. We really love vacation! Here are some pictures from today...

This is the boardwalk that takes us over the sand dunes onto the beach. Just on the other side of this hill is the ocean!

There was an adorable 3-month-old puppy that a couple was walking on the beach. He was having fun barking at everything. When the water got close to him he ran away - I think because it was so cold!

It was a really nice day! This morning was warm but it got much cloudier and cooler this afternoon and evening. We just hung out and were lazy all day. Love it!

Vacation!

My family and I are vacationing in the Outer Banks for a week! We drove down to Avon, NC, today and have been spending the afternoon and evening relaxing and enjoying each other's company.






To get out to Avon we had to drive on this long road and it felt like we were driving to the ends of the earth! There was nothing around for miles except sand and vegetation and blue sky.

It worked out really well when we got here because the house we rented wasn't guaranteed to be ready until 6. We arrived shortly before 4 and were able to get the house right away and get settled and head to the beach!






The house we're staying in is really nice. It has four bedrooms and three bathrooms (one more bathroom than we have at home!), a great room, a dining room, a kitchen, a sunroom, a deck/balcony, outside showers, grill, wifi, TVs in every bedroom, a PS2...the list goes on. The picture is taken from the driveway. We have to go up the steps to get to the front door. Underneath is where the showers, etc., are. Behind the house is the beach!







Between the house and the beach itself are sand dunes where grass and other vegetation has grown. There's a boardwalk going up and over the dune so we can get to the beach fairly easily. But we're not allowed to be on the dunes at all, as you can see.

We spent quite a bit of time on the beach today, just walking and collecting shells. There was a dead shark on the beach that was kind of cool but also gross. There is a lighthouse further down the coast that I'd like to go see if we have the chance. We could see the light tonight, but it was too far away to really see the lighthouse itself. We mostly just hung out and took it easy. We played some ping pong tonight on the dining room table (haha!), some of us worked on a puzzle, and some of us (me) got online to blog, etc.

Tomorrow maybe we will fly a kite and/or throw a Frisbee, but we're not making any definite plans. It is vacation, after all.

To see more pictures, go to my TwitPic account, which is updated throughout the day. Or you can also see my Facebook pics, which are different but usually updated at the end of the day. Follow me, my sister Tonya, and my sister Kristin on Twitter to receive more updates.

A conversation in class...

Laura (to Rich): I saw you walking to class this morning and I thought about stopping to give you a ride...but I just kept driving...

Other girl: That's horrible! Why did you say that out loud?

Rich: Thanks...

A.J.: I did that one time when I saw Rich walking in the rain. But I decided not to give him a ride. I didn't want to get my car wet.

Laura: Well, I have picked up Rich on the side of the road before.

Nicole: Now it sounds like he's homeless!

Rich: It just gets worse and worse!


..............

It amused me. ^_^

Life changes quickly...

Each day goes by and it doesn't matter whether the individual day feels long or short, when I look back over the time that has passed, it seems that it has gone by so fast. This has been the case since the beginning of the year. Time has flown by. Some weeks feel long and some feel short - and when I am looking ahead, it seems that time will never pass. But then it does and I feel like maybe I have whiplash because it went so fast!

Things have been happening, on a small scale and on a larger scale as well.

Spring break has come and gone, and of course it didn't feel long enough. I've been keeping up well in my classes and not procrastinating (too much!), which is a bad habit of mine when it comes to school and homework. In fact, one of my classes finished before spring break started, and the other will stop meeting next week. Those are my journalism classes. I have three literature classes that will last until the end of the semester...

And then I graduate!

I got my cap and gown, even though I'm not walking, because I didn't have to pay extra for them. I also got my portrait taken, but I'm not buying the prints from this company because they are WAY to expensive.

The reason I'm not walking is that my family and our neighbors (who are like our adopted grandparents) are going to the Outer Banks and will get back on the day of the commencement ceremony. I'm really excited! We rented a beach house and everything. I've never been there, so it should be a lot of fun. It'll definitely be nice to get away for a while. My sisters and I and some friends are also planning a trip to Florida later in the summer, and I'm super excited about that, as well. I hope it works out!

Spring is here, and I'm definitely ready for it. We've had so major snowfalls since mid-December. I don't mind snow, but that's A LOT of it, and everything gets shut down and I can't get out to go anywhere (work or school) when there's that much snow.

I'm still working at Ukrop's, which has now changed hands and will eventually be called Martin's. Seems like Martin's will be a nice place to work, too. We'll see. I still only work there 1 day a week and work at New York Grill most of the rest of the time that I'm not in class. New managers came in to work in December and they are AWESOME.

On a bigger scale...things are changing very rapidly politically. The health care bill has been signed into law, BUT Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and some others are suing the federal government, essentially for breaking the law. Then there's all this hooplah with the militia group in Michigan which just happened to call itself "Christian," so of course the media is having a grand old time with that. All of it just makes me angry to think about.

Next week is Empty Holster Protest Week. I wish the VCU branch of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus was more active. April 12th is the 2nd Amendment March in Richmond and the 15th is the second annual Tea Party. I'm pretty excited about all these events and will probably write articles about them.

Speaking of my articles, check out my other blog, A Little Bit of Everything, to see what I've written. I've done quite a bit lately.

Writing this blog post is a better use of my time than this class. We're supposed to be talking about Sir Gawain and the Green Knight but...we spent 30 minutes talking about the possibility of football at VCU. My teacher for this class always rambles about totally unrelated stuff.

Movie class tonight! We're going to watch Romeo and Juliet, the old version. Hopefully it's interesting or I might just fall asleep!

Evolution

All my grammar teacher wanted to teach this morning, before reviewing for our exam, was evolution. So I decided to rant about it.

It always amazes me how hard people are willing to work, how much they are willing to twist their logic, and how far they are willing to stretch in order to shove God out of the picture. When they do, they end up with a confusing argument that makes no sense when you pick it apart logically.

I'm a lazy person. I don't want to have to do any more thinking than necessary. If I have to sit for hours and give myself a headache and throughly befuddle my brain to try to understand what you're saying - most likely I'm going to give up on it. That's how I feel about evolution. It just doesn't make sense to me. I'm not trying to be close-minded, that's just the way it is. Creation is SO much easier to believe - it all makes sense and fits together neatly with time lines, etc. Not to mention it's more interesting! Evolution is demeaning, weird, gross...whatever.

My teacher was trying to explain why all languages seem to have a common ancestor, and the fact that people all seem to be descended from one small group of humans. To me, that's easy! God created us and gave us the ability to speak - He's also the one Who gave the variety of languages at the Tower of Babel. Of course languages are all going to be similar. God created Adam and Eve, and everyone on earth is descended from those two people. It all falls into place, it's easy to believe, there are no holes, no stretching for excuses and trying to figure things out for hours until your brain is twisted in knots - it's all RIGHT THERE. When trying to explain it WITHOUT God, however, it's unbelievably confusing, there are holes, you have to work really hard to come up with excuses and then it just sounds...dumb?

If someone else wants to believe evolution, whatever. That's their prerogative. If they want to discuss it with me, that's fine. I'm willing to talk about it and discuss it. I'm willing to listen to their beliefs. I don't necessarily hold it against someone if they hold to evolution. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs.

BUT.

When you try to shove that belief down my throat, especially when you have no REAL evidence to support it, THEN I have a problem. I respect that you have a right to believe whatever you want. The LEAST you can do is respect that same right for me. If you want to discuss evolution with me, fine - be willing to accept that I'm going to disagree and want to discuss creation right back.

I believe in creation for the simple reason that God said that's what happened. And since God can't lie it's obviously true!

And, like I said, it's a LOT easier to believe for a simpleminded person like myself.

Boredom

Ever have a class when your teacher talks about stuff that's relevant to the class, but is obviously not going to be on the exam and isn't particularly interesting? That's what's happening to me right now.

I was having a hard time paying attention anyway, but now it's even worse. It doesn't help that I'm tired.

Sorry, I wasn't planning on whining and complaining when I started writing. That's just what's on my mind right now and I'm not sure what else to talk about at the moment.

I have to work later. I just want to go home and sleep. -.-

The Future

When trying to make decisions for my future, I generally look to my past experiences, when applicable. Even if it's not exactly the same kind of situation, there are things that I can learn from and principles I can apply.

As I prepare to graduate from college this spring, however, I feel as if I am starting completely from scratch. It's not that the slate has been wiped clean - more like I've been handed a completely new slate. This seems strange to me since the last few years of my life were to prepare me for the moment when I enter "the real world" (which is always pronounced with emphasis in a deep voice) and proceed to live my life. College is supposed to get you ready for your career and the rest of your life. I don't feel ready. Not in that sense anyway. Obviously the Lord is in control and I'm ready for anything in that way. But when I think past graduation I see nothing but a void. For so long (all my life really) things have been planned out. Even if the plans didn't always work exactly as I thought they would, there was still a structure and a plan. After graduation...what is there? A job? What job? What else is there?

It's times like these when I realize how amazingly thankful I am that the Lord is in control of my life and that He's given me incredible parents who will always be there for me, and my wonderful sisters and the rest of my family and friends. I know things will be okay and will work out. I may not know how, but I know that they will, and for now that's good enough.

23rd birthday and such

Sunday was my 23rd birthday! Some friends came over, along with my adopted grandparents, to celebrate with me.







Overall it was a quiet birthday, but very nice. My Grandma Sue in Florida sent me a little bean-filled Chucky doll as a gag gift. I HATE CHUCKY. At least she put some thought into it, though - she usually just goes to Dollar Tree. My parents got me a karaoke machine, Tonya and Naomi got me karaoke CDs, Kristin got me Speed Racer (the movie), Gramma got me a $25 Regal gift card (w00t w00t!), adopted grandparents got me a bracelet, and my friends that came gave me some money.

This is the second, and last, week of my intersession grammar class. I'm neither excited nor disappointed.

Lately I've found that I'm pretty much just taking things as they come, a day at a time. There are things I get excited about (like my birthday) but overall it's just whatever happens, happens. I don't feel apathetic about it, that's not it. I'm not sure what causes me to feel this way. Maybe because I know that the Lord's in control and this world will pass away. We've been studying eschatology (end times) lately and it's really making me think about things differently. But more on that later, maybe.

Tonya is getting her wisdom teeth out today. Poor thing. I feel bad for her.

2010

Happy new year, ladies and gentlemen.

I would love to have something inspirational and great to write, something that could be quoted throughout the year and even in years to come.

But I'm too tired.

So for now I'll just say that 2009 was a great year. It had it's down sides, but something good came out of them. I've grown a lot spiritually, and I realize more than ever before that I have a lot more growing left to do. I think the more I grow, the more I realize that. I was able to go to New Hampshire for the first time in years with my mom and sisters, and I went to the 9/12 March in DC in September. Both of those are events worth remembering, along with all the other smaller events I was involved with. I finished up the first half of my senior year at VCU, I got over my fear of driving a stick shift, and went camping in the snow. I lost a friend that I thought was one of my closest friends because of a difference of opinion; I was reminded how much that hurts, how difficult it can be to stand up for what I believe. I've had to reassess how important certain things are to me and what I'm willing to compromise on.

The list goes on and on and on. I guess the point is that each year (each day, each minute) is a gift from God and shouldn't be taken lightly. Even when something happens that seems to be bad, God is working it all for my good.

The future, as a rule, terrifies me. But that's when I look at it just through my own eyes and my own perception. When I rest in the Lord and remember that He is sovereign, suddenly it seems a whole lot brighter and I'm excited to see what He will do with my life. I'm not naive, I know it won't be easy. However, I will make it through because the Lord is on my side. If He is for me, who can be against me?

In conclusion, I'm eagerly awaiting whatever 2010 brings my way. Life's not always easy - usually it's not - but it's almost never boring. I have my family and my friends and, above all, my Heavenly Father.

2010 will be a good year.