Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! And a side note.

Greetings my devoted readers! I hope you all had a marvelous Christmas celebrating the Child Jesus' birth, and have a joyous New Year.

As for myself, my family went to the 4:30 Mass Christmas Eve (I'll post pictures of Hannah, Danny, and I later). After that, we came home, decorated the tree, ate a marvelous dinner, sang Christmas songs, Skyped our family in CA, and then proceeded to bed.

Christmas morning: we got up around eight o'clock, it took us around three hours to open all the present, then we cleaned up the house to get ready for four friends who were coming over.

As for my Christmas presents, they were awesome! I received a lime green bowl chair (pic later), a Crucifix to go above my bed, a beautiful, long, denim skirt, a purple sweater, the Phantom of the Opera sound track, an intricate jewel box, two pairs of cute/funky socks, and a Regina Doman's book The Midnight Dancers.

One last note, I received my ACT scores. Everything is possible through God...I scored a 22! I originally needed a 21 to get into FUS. What is so remarkable about this score is that I did not really study for the test. Thank you all for your prayers...they worked! :)

Have a Happy New Year!

Happy Birthday Emmy!!!

Happy 15th birthday to my dear friend Emily/Emmy.

You are so beautiful inside and out...

You have a charming personality...

You have a smile that can light up the world...

And you make a gorgeous guy! :P Jk! (Seriously, though, Emmy. That is the one and only picture of you and me. We seriously need to take more when you come out here.)

Happy birthday again!

I hate coming up with post titles. It is such a pain.

I took the ACT. Hopefully I got a good score, even though it doesn't really matter. For those of you who don’t know or are confused, allow me to explain.

Now that I am considering the religious life, I need to make sure that I don’t have any debt that would hinder my entering an order. Therefore, I am no longer looking at attending Franciscan University, due to the large – and I mean large – debt I would incur. (For those of you who don’t know…I’m not rich. *wink*)

Hence, in the case that I am still not sure as to my vocation when I graduate, I will be attending a Community College. You can now understand why I don't need the ACT score. However, I wanted to take just in case I might need it. You always need to be prepared, because God has a sense of humor. :)

~Vicki

Winter Background and Catch-up

I thought it was about time that I changed my Thanksgiving background, seeing that it’s now December. Tell me if you have any suggestions for color changes. Do you think there is too much gray? Does it need more color? Or does it look nice and wintry?

There is nothing new over here…oh! I am taking the ACT on December 12 (the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe) – prayers would be appreciated. I have scheduled my schoolwork so that I will finish my Junior year by Christmas, and by George I’m going to do it!

Let me see…I am trying to find a way to make it down to the March of Life in Washington DC; however, I am a poor nineteen-year-old with no extra money…at least not much extra money. So, if any of you wonderful readers out there know of an affordable way to get down there, please let me know.

Nothing much is going on at the moment, although I have fun things to look forward to:
1) I might go to see a Nutcracker ballet - I’ve only been to one once and I don’t remember much, except that the king mouse’s head fell off in the middle of the dance.
2) Christmas!
3) Possibly the March for Life
4) The February retreat at the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist
5) My dear friends Rachel and Emmy coming for a week in March!!!!! (That’s the most exciting thing.)
6) The Regency Ball in March, which Rachel and Emmy will be here for.
7) The May retreat with the Sisters.
8) Going to the graduation ceremony at Seton Home Study.
9) GRADUATION IN JUNE!!!.....I hope.

So, I have the daily drudgery of life to go through, but God fills in the holes with fun that lights up my life. Praise you Jesus Christ!
God bless you all!

Happy Thanksgiving in advanced everyone! I hope your day is filled with grace, fun, family, good food, and pies. Speaking of pies, my family has eight. Two pumpkin, two chocolate pudding, two cheesecake, and two pecan. :D Farwell!

Playlist

I have finally gotten around to creating my own playlist! It is located at the bottom of my blog. There's somewhat of an order to it - but is liable to change:

1-13 Christian music/songs

14-30 Music (no words)

31-48 Songs (with words)

14 One of my favorites: Dueling Violins

15-16 Jon Schmidt

18-22 Braveheart music

23-25 Instrumental music

26-27 P&P

28 An instrumental song that I just discovered on Earwen's blog

17, 29-31 LOTR

32-34 Enya

35 Cool LOTR-ish song

36-39 Josh Groban

40-41 Taylor Swift

42-44 Favorite songs on love

45-46 John Denver

47-48 Random favs

ENJOY!

NaNoWriMo

Yello! To show my support for all of you wonderful writers out there, whom I very much admire for your writing skills, I found a picture for you. Yes, a picture. I found this picture on someone else's blog, and I thought it would adequately describe how some of you may be feeling:



Does it not? Well keep up the typing my NaNo friends, and may the Holy Spirit enlighten you! :)

I'm sorry if I killed any of you by the surprise of my last post. I couldn't resist. :P In the comment section of that post, I wrote a personal note to each of you that commented :)

Thank you all for your words of encouragement and prayers. I very much appreciate and need them. Although I am very attracted to the sisters in Ann Arbor, it's still a very big decision to dedicate your entire life to God. However, if that's God's will I know everything will be fine, and I won't regret it.

My "date" went very well last night. :) Jesus is such a gentleman. I think the hardest thing about my relationship with Christ is that I need to learn how to hear Him. It's easy to pray/talk with God, but the ability to quiet my mind and listen to what He has to say is a skill I need to develop. Thankfully, He is very patient. :)

In the hearts of Jesus and Mary,
Vicki

My Love Life

For those of you who don’t know, I am courting. Yes, I have been courting since this last Sunday, and it is so exciting! Tonight, I am going out on my first official date, too. However, I have known my beau since about…forever. He has always been there for me and never deserted. He is perfect in every sense of the word. Would you like to know who He is? His name is Jesus Christ. :) Yes, Jesus and I are courting; or to put it more seriously, I am discerning the religious life. And as I said, I am going out on my first official date tonight = I am going to Mass. I have never been so eager to attend Mass before. :)

Imagine, I may possibly be being called to marry the Son of God! How beautiful and awesome is that? I am so at peace with this discernment. I love Jesus, and I feel as if I am growing more in love with Him everyday. I feel that I am very possibly called to join the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Holy Eucharist in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Check out their website, it is very cool.

Although I may not be called to become a sister, I know that God will lead me to where I will be happiest. If he wants me to get married to someone else, he will bring that man into my life. Until that time, though, I am very happy to be where I am.

God bless you all!

Psalm 45:10-11

Hear, O daughter, consider, and incline your ear;

forget your people and your father's house;

and the king will desire your beauty.

Since he is your lord, bow to him...

Adorable

SAT Scores Are In!!!

Yes, I finally can sleep at night! :) I didn't sleep at all last night, because I kept dreaming that my score was going to be to low to get an academic scholarship to get into Franciscan. I was woken up to my mom crawling onto my bed to wake me up and saying, "Today is the day! I have your computer up, the collegeboard website up, all you have to do is enter your password." I love my mommy. :) Anyway, I threw on my robe, with heart pounding, and hurried down to my laptop. I put in my username and password, and behold! My long awaited scores.

Now, I'm going to share my scores with all of you, not because I want to brag or show off, but because I know they wouldn't have been possible without all of your prayers, and I want to thank you all by letting you in on them. To be sure, they aren't spectacular, but I'm proud of them all the same.

So...*drumroll*...my total score was a 1490.

I got an 8 on my Essay, which I am very glad about because I thought I was going to flunk that one. The way it works is that there are two graders and there score have to be the same (and the individual score ranges from 1-6 and then you add the two scores). So, that means that I got two 4's. Praise you Jesus Christ!

Thank you again everyone. I truly believe that your prayers got me this score. Love you all!

~Vicki

P.S. By the way, do you like my new profile picture? :P

Here is an update on my boring life:

1) My family has been participating in the 40 Days for Life, and every Sunday we get together with some other families and pray for an hour outside an abortion clinic. After that, we head over to either our house or one of the other family’s homes – we take turns – and play soccer or kickball, board or card games, eat dinner, and visit. So our past Sundays have been filled with prayer, games, and good wholesome time spent together as Catholic families should. Our last Sunday of this will be November 1st.

2) My grandma is arriving from California on the 31st (We haven’t seen her for over a year and a half), and will stay with us for the holidays. However, I will not be able to go with the family to pick her up from the airport, due to the fact that I am working that day.

3) My manager told me that Halloween is the one day of the year that we don’t have to wear our uniforms (*parties* nasssty uniforms precious!) in other words, we can dress up. So I am going as a (modest) gypsy. I put together a costume, but now I have to work up the courage to wear it. I don’t want to be the only one wearing a full costume, you know?

4) My sister and I are going to be attending a vocation discernment retreat on November 7-8 with the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist in Ann Arbor. I have never been there, so I am looking forward to it.

5) I am going to visit the Franciscan University of Steubenville from the 16-17 of November, and I am thoroughly looking forward to that. :D

6) I am struggling to complete an essay, that has to be recorded as well, for a scholarship, and it has to be turned in by November 1st. First place is $30,000, and it is sponsored by Veterans of Foreign Wars. This scholarship could be my ticket into FUS, so if you could please pray that I can get this turned in on time, I would appreciate it.

7) I don’t believe there is anything else that needs to be mentioned, so now that you know about the past and upcoming events in my life so far, I can rest easy that I won’t have to update for a while. ;) God bless you all!

Church Humor

With all the bad news that surrounds us every day I thought everyone could use some good, wholesome humor. Enjoy :)

LOT'S WIFE
The Sunday School teacher was describing how Lot's wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt, when little Jason interrupted, 'My Mommy looked back once while she was driving,' he announced triumphantly, 'and she turned into a telephone pole!'

GOOD SAMARITAN
A Sunday school teacher was telling her class the story of the Good Samaritan. She asked the class, 'If you saw a person lying on the roadside, all wounded and bleeding, what would you do?'
A thoughtful little girl broke the hushed silence, 'I think I'd throw up.'

DID NOAH FISH?
A Sunday school teacher asked, 'Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark?' 'No,' replied Johnny. 'How could he, with just two worms.'

HIGHER POWER
A Sunday school teacher said to her children, 'We have been learning how powerful kings and queens were in Bible times. But, there is a Higher Power. Can anybody tell me what it is?' One child blurted out, 'Aces!'

MOSES AND THE RED SEA
Nine-year-old Joey was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday School. 'Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. When he got to the Red Sea, he had his army build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across safely. Then he radioed headquarters for reinforcements. They sent bombers to blow up the bridge and all the Israelites were saved.' 'Now, Joey, is that really what your teacher taught you?' his mother asked. 'Well, no, Mom.. But, if I told it the way the teacher did, you'd never believe it!'

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD
A Sunday School teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible - Psalm 23. She gave the youngsters a month to learn the chapter. Little Rick was excited about the task - but he just couldn't remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first line. On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Ricky was so nervous. When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly, 'The Lord is my Shepherd, and that's all I need to know.'
(And isn't he right?)

UNANSWERED PRAYER
The preacher's 5 year-old daughter noticed that her father always paused and bowed his head for a moment before starting his sermon. One day, she asked him why. 'Well, Honey,' he began, proud that his daughter was so observant of his messages. I'm asking the Lord to help me preach a good sermon.' With the brutal honesty of kids, she asked 'How come He doesn't answer it?'

UNTIMELY ANSWERED PRAYER
During the minister's prayer one Sunday, there was a loud whistle from one of the back pews. Tommy's mother was horrified. She pinched him into silence and, after church, asked, 'Tommy, whatever made you do such a thing?' Tommy answered, soberly, 'I asked God to teach me to whistle, and He did!'

TIME TO PRAY
A pastor asked a little boy if he said his prayers every night.
'Yes, sir,' the boy replied.
'And, do you always say them in the morning, too?' the pastor asked.
'No sir,' the boy replied. 'I ain't scared in the day time.'

ALL MEN / ALL GIRLS
When my daughter,Kelli, said her bedtime prayers, she would bless every family member, every friend, and every animal (current and past). For several weeks, after we had finished the nightly prayer, Kelli would say, 'And all girls.' This soon became part of her nightly routine, to include this closing. My curiosity got the best of me and I asked her, 'Kelli, why do you always add
the part about all girls?' Her response, 'Because everybody always finish their prayers by saying 'All Men'!'

SAY A PRAYER
Little Johnny and his family were having Sunday dinner at his Grandmother's house. Everyone was seated around the table as the food was being served. When Little Johnny received his plate, he started eating right away.
'Johnny! Please wait until we say our prayer..' said his mother.
'I don't need to,' the boy replied.
'Of course, you do,' his mother insisted.
'We always say a prayer before eating at our house.'
'That's at our house,' Johnny explained. 'But this is Grandma's house and she knows how to cook!'

BEING THANKFUL
A Rabbi said to a precocious six-year-old boy, 'So your mother says your
prayers for you each night? That's very commendable. What does she say?'
The little boy replied sadly, 'Thank God he's in bed!

I survived the SAT!!!

Details later, but I get my results on the 29th of this month. Thank you all for the prayers!!!

Update and thank you

Hello everyone. Thank you all so much for your many encouraging words, prayers, and tips. I really appreciate them. Keep up the prayers, the test is Saturday at 7:45 AM.

Here is cheerful update: I took a practice, timed SAT test yesterday from the SAT book my mom bought to help me prepare (and it is really good), and guess what I scored? I scored a 1510! You only need 1000 to get into FUS, and 1200 to get a academic scholarship. Isn't God good? :) It really gave more confidence to take the real SAT.

Thank you all again from your helpful comments!

P.S. Tini/Justine - Hannah considers you her friend. ;)

I did it!

At long last, and after much dreaming and writing, I have submitted my application to the Franciscan University of Steubenville! Now all that is left to do is have Seton send them my school transcripts, and send them my SAT scores.

Speaking of my SAT, could I ask for everyone’s prayers? I am scheduled to take the SAT on October 10^th and I am really nervous about it. You see, I took the PSAT in 2006 and I did below average; mostly because I was only half way through Algebra at the time, and hadn’t had any Geometry yet. Since then I have done Pre-Algebra, Algebra I and II, but I am only at the beginning of Geometry = Nervousness. I think I’ll do pretty well on the reading and writing portions; although, the 25 minute essay scares the heck out of me.

So, if everyone could please pray that I get a good enough score to get into FUS, I would really appreciate it. Also, if you have any tips on taking the test please leave a comment and let me know! Thanks.

Laurie...

…is Catholic?

I am currently writing three essays for Literature on Louisa May Alcott’s book, Little Women. You are given four types of essays to pick from, and you may choose three of them. I selected Character Sketch, Theme, and Morality essays. Now, I am sure all of you are familiar with this book and its well loved characters; however, I am a little confused about the religion of one of them, Theodore Laurence, more commonly known as, Laurie or Teddy.

On page 388, Laurie is in Europe and it says that he “went out to hear High Mass at Saint Stefan’s….” The only “High Mass” I know of is a Catholic Mass. What puzzles me is that if Laurie is Catholic, and the March family Protestant – Mr. March was a pastor – why did Amy marry him? I mean, usually people of different religions didn’t get married back then. On the other hand, did Laurie go to the Mass simply because that was the “thing” that rich people did when they were in Europe, because the churches are so old and historical?

Any thoughts?

LOTR Songs and lyrics

Sorry this isn't that great of quality; I couldn't find a better one. :(



Lyrics:
Hey! Ho! To the bottle I go.
To heal my heart and drown my woe.
Rain may fall and wind may blow,
But there still be many miles to go.

Sweet is the sound of the pouring rain,
And the stream that falls from hill to plain.
Better than rain or rippling brook...
Is a mug of beer inside this Took!


Okay, this one isn't in the movie, but it's hilarious!

Lyrics:
A long time ago, way back in history,
when all there was to drink was nothin but cups of tea.
Along came a man by the name of Charlie Mops,
and he invented a wonderful drink and he made it out of hops.

He must have been an admiral a sultan or a king,
and to his praises we shall always sing.
Look what he has done for us he's filled us up with cheer!
Lord bless Charlie Mops, the man who invented beer beer beer
tiddly beer beer beer.

The Curtis bar, the James' Pub, the Hole in the Wall as well
one thing you can be sure of, its Charlie's beer they sell
so all ye lads a lasses at eleven O'clock ye stop
for five short seconds, remember Charlie Mops

Sorry to interrupt LOTR Week...

...but this needs mentioning.

"Eucharistic adoration, perpetual or not, is a doctrinal, theological, and spiritual step backward, not forward" (Fr. McBrien, Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame).
This contradicts Church teaching.
Protest Father McBrien's statement on Eucharistic Adoration.
For example, St. Peter Julian Eymard wrote:
"The solemn cult of exposition [adoration] is necessary in order to awaken the dormant faith of so many good people who no longer know Jesus Christ, because they no longer know that he is their Neighbor, their Friend, their God.
"Society is dying because it no longer has a center of truth and love, and no family life; individuals isolate themselves, turn in on themselves, want to be self-sufficient; the breakup of society is imminent.
"But society will be reborn, full of vigor when we all join and unite around our Emmanuel. Communication among thinkers naturally will take place, guided by the truth. The bonds of true and strong friendship will be renewed under the influence of one love; the beautiful days of the cenacle will return; the feast of the great King, God's family feast."
Father McBrien's statement is a tragic sign of things gone wrong at Notre Dame.
But this won't stop us from doing Eucharistic adoration. In fact, to help you offer a holy hour of reparation for this statement, please use this amazing meditation:
One Hour Meditation: Be Still and Know I am God.
And to unite pious prayer with effective action, please send Father McBrien a respectful and clear message: "retract and apologize!"
Sign the petition.

Thank you for being a true adorer and crusader for Our Eucharistic Lord.

GOLLUM FINDS OUT THE TERRIBLE TRUTH

by Danny M.

Edited by Vicki M.

Gollum bit off the finger Frodo, thus obtaining the ring, and began to rejoice in his victory. Meanwhile, Sam revived from being unconscious, only to see Gollum with the ring, and Frodo on the ground with his finger bleeding away. Sam stood up, drew his sword, and said in his cracking, weary voice, "Drop the ring Gollum! You horrible filthy hunk o' C-," he was interrupted by Frodo who yelled in warning, "Sam! No Sam. Not that way."

Gollum heard these words and was very much disturbed. He looked at himself and saw the ugly skin, his feet ugly and dirty, standing on the beautiful dirt. What was Sam going to say before he was interrupted?

"You filthy what?" Gollum said losing interest in the golden ring that was finally his.

"Sam, don't," said Frodo. However, Sam's hate for Gollum was too great; so, before Frodo could stop him, he blurted out, "You’re nothin’ but a hunk o' CGI!"

Gollum began whirling around glancing frantically at himself and crying, "What precious?! No! Nooooooo! Not us! Impossible! Nooooooo!"

Frodo was so upset at what Sam had done, that he yelled, "Gollum! It's alright! Look at this bitten off finger! It's all CGI gunk! All residents of Middle-Earth are part CGI!"

Sam heard this and was shocked. He examined himself, from his curly, messed up hair to his filthy feet. He looked at his clothes. He looked at his face in the reflection of his sword.

"I am not!" he said stubbornly. Frodo sighed and put his good hand on his head. Gollum however was made even madder.

"No! Fat, stupid hobbit isn't! Oh, no. But poor Sméagol! We're a hunk of CGI, precious! AAAAAAAH!" With this, Gollum fell backwards into the lava with the ring, and all lived happily ever after. Except for Gollum, that is.

The End

Some favorites.....

.....from the extended editions:

Happy Birthday to Bilbo and Frodo!!!!!!

Welcome Hobbits, Men, Elves, and Dwarves!!! Let the Week of Middle Earth festivites begin!!!Join me in celebrating their birthday by:
1) Reading the chapter "A Long Expected Party" from the Fellowship of the Ring
2) Sing Happy Birthday to them
3) If you want...make a cake, or another treat to celebrate!

Three cheers for Frodo and Bilbo! Long may their memory live!
HIP HIP HOORAY!
HIP HIP HOORAY!!
HIP HIP HOORAY!!!

And confound it all I can't find one clip of Bilbo's birthday without it being altered! >:( Does anyone know of a unaltered clip of Bilbo's b-day? Since I don't have one, I will post some pictures:

And in case anyone is intersested, I got my background from this really cool blog that I found. Here is the link: http://simplyblogitbackgrounds.blogspot.com/

Urgent Action Needed!

Before I post anything related to LOTR Week, I must bring this to your attention:

Please ask Father Jenkins at Notre Dame to drop the charges against 88 pro-life advocates who face up to one year in jail and thousands of dollars in fines.

Sign the "Drop the Charges" petition

The 88 outspoken pro-lifers peacefully walked onto Notre Dame's campus in May to be the voice of the unborn -- when pro-abortion president Obama was honored there – and were arrested for trespassing.

Among those arrested were Fr. Norman Weslin, several nuns, Norma McCorvey, the "Jane Roe" of Roe v. Wade, and Ambassador Alan Keyes.

Lifesitenews.com reports: "While witnesses say pro-Obama protesters were allowed to roam free, the arrested individuals were singled out for displaying any pro-life message -- including slogans on the sanctity of life, photographs of aborted children, a large wooden cross, and images of Mary."

The double standard is rather shocking, isn't it?

You see, the University of Notre Dame, as the original complainant, has the choice to drop the charges pending against the 88 pro-lifers.

So kindly ask Notre Dame to drop the charges – sign here

Your signature is very important right now because, according to reports, the president of the University of Notre Dame "has repeatedly refused to seek such leniency or even answer the pro-lifers' requests for dialogue." (Lifesitenews.com: 09-04-09)

If you have any comments, please send them along.

Until next time, thank you very much for joining this urgent petition and feel free to pass it along, post it on Facebook, on blogs, and help get the word out.

This is outrages and embarrassing that a Catholic University is arresting pro-life supporters!!! It just blows me away. Let's do what we can to help those arrested, and show our disapproval. Please send in your petition (even if you aren't a Catholic) and pass this along, for the sake of life! Thank you.

First Lord of the Rings Week ever...

...starting September 22 - Bilbo & Frodo's birthdays. See Lady Rose's blog for details!

What can I say?

I am extremely blessed and grateful to have so many wonderful friends. :) Thank you all so much! Thank you to all who posted on my blog, left comments, mailed letters, emailed letters for Hannah to print out, sent words of wisdom, and all the spiritual bouquets. I enjoyed reading every single one of them so much; however, I felt so unworthy of all the compliments and descriptions people gave of me. I was very moved, and they totally made my birthday.

I intend to post pictures of all my birthday gifts (all of them apparel) soon. I won’t be able to post them this week, though, because there is a huge Arts and Crafts Show this weekend where I work. I am working Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. So, maybe next week, I will post them. :)

I must run. I have school work to get to. God bless you all, and thank you again.

In the hearts of Jesus and Mary,

Vicki

Happy Birthday

Dear Vicki,

The rest of the Dominick's hope you have a happy birthday, too! Enjoy your day!

God Bless,
Mr. and Mrs. D, Rebecca, Timmy, Mary Rose and Anthony (aka the Phantom)

Happy Birthday Vicki!!!!

When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares. ~Henri Nouwen

What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies. ~Aristotle

A friend knows the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails.
~Donna Roberts

Friends are relatives you make for yourself. ~Eustache Deschamps

A true friend is one who thinks you are a good egg even if you are half-cracked.
~Author Unknown

A friend accepts us as we are yet helps us to be what we should. ~Author Unknown

Friendship isn't a big thing - it's a million little things. ~Author Unknown

~

Dear Vicki, you are all of these things and more. I am so blessed to have you as a friend and "sister". ;) Love ya girl!

~

A good friend will come an visit you in jail, but a true friend will be sitting there next to you saying, "Man, that was FUN!"


=)

With Love,

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Auntie!! I hope your day is/was absolutely awesome! You're amazing and I love you!!!!!! <3

~Ella~

Happy 19th Birthday Vicki

">


love,

Megan/Moses/Kathleen/Miss Kitty(cat)von Gibbs!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday!

My Dear Vicki,
I wanted let you know how much I love you! You are the best friend anyone could ever have! and I am so thankful I know you! I love you so much that after you came to the lake house to visit us I missed you soooooooooooo much I cried after we said goodbye! and I also cried leaving you at camp! which I must say is something I never do! I love you sooooo much! and I wish everyone in the world could know you! For those who do know you they are very blest people, and I hope they know that to!

Love,
your "daughter"
~Yaviel/Resa

From Rachel H.

Everyone who knows Vicki can attest to the following 19 virtues that she has displayed throughout her 19 years:

Vicki is always CARING. Whether your dog dies, or you are struggling with school, Vicki is always there with a shoulder to cry on and a soothing voice to say, “It’s gonna be alright!”

Vicki is always SMILING. I have never once seen here without a smile on her face and hug for me!!! J

Vicki is always WISE. When life throws you a hard question Vicki’s right there to back you up…..Her wisdom is a sign of her mature 19 years!

Vicki is BEAUTIFUL. I think it’s her smile; it seems to radiate her face and makes her such a joy to behold.

Vicki is PATIENT. She can always wait to do school! :P

Vicki is CHARITBLE. I have never heard her say a mean thing about anyone, even if they were mean to her.

Vicki is DETERMINED. She’ll lick that old research report or die trying!!!

Vicki is GENEROUS. She would rather go halves with you than have it to herself.

Vicki is FUNNY. She is always joking or adding those cute smiley faces to her e-mails.

Vicki is SMART. She is always providing answers to my research report whenever I have a question.

Vicki is a LORD OF THE RINGS FANTIC. We both cry through “Return of the King”. ;’( It’s a girl thing!

Vicki is a BEAUTIFUL PRIATE. She is still working on me to see “Pirates of the Caribbean .”

Vicki is a NATURAL NARNIAN. She was the perfect choice for King Caspian’s bride. And she reigns with fairness too!

Vicki is an ENTHUSICASTIC READER. Except when it comes to “Lord of the Rings”. I think we can safely count 2 “no” votes there.

Vicki is an ARDENT WORKER. She’ll get the job done right!!!

Vicki is an EXCELLENT BABYSITTER. She loves little kids!

Vicki is a SAINT. She loves God with her whole heart and soul. (can I do a BA on you??? *wink*)
Vicki is a ROLE MODEL. I want to be just like Vicki when I grow up!!!

Vicki is a FRIEND. No matter what she’ll stick by your side through thick and thin, day in and day out. Even when you’re feeling like no one cares about you….Your all wrong, because Vicki is only a phone call away from telling you how much she cares. :)

I LOVE YOU VICKI!!!! HAPPY 19TH BIRTHDAY!!! And although it’s YOUR birthday you’ve given everyone the PRESENT of your friendship. What more do I want??? :) :)

All my love,

Ray J :) :)

Distortion of Beauty

New Experience

I'm posting from work! No really. I am posting from work, while I am on my break. I have 18 minutes left, and I thought I would say hi to you all. :D One of my fellow employees let me borrow her laptop which is almost the exact same one as mine. Kind of random, but oh well. Talk to you all later, I must finish me lunch. (Yes I am eating lunch at 4:09 in the afternoon.)
~Vicki

Scientific Reason and Proof

Okay, this is one of the most wonderful clips I have ever seen. It is in Spanish, but it has English subtitles. If you are not Catholic, I would like to invite and encourage you to watch it just so that you can have a better understanding of what we - as Catholics - believe.

My Dear Sister: Hannah/Lizzy

Okay, if you read my sister's blog you will find that she has done a couple of.......well let me say, rather flattering posts on me. So, I thought it was about time that I did one on her; she deserves it. However, before I reveal what a unique sister I have, I want to make a few things clear. I am not all that Hannah cracks me up to be! She makes me seem like this absolutely loverly person that is totally fun, has all these incredible talents, and is an almost perfect angel……WRONG! I am far from perfect, and I don’t even think my talents are that many or great. She recently wrote that I don’t brag about my talents, I must refute that. I have a tendency to want attention, so I will try to emphasize the talents that I think I have. That is only one example, but I just want you guys to know what I really am like in case I ever meet you. Now, on to Hannah!

Hannah. What a subject to write on. Let me begin off by saying that I am eternally blest to have such a sister. I have several “adopted” sisters whom I dearly love, but none of them are as dear to me as Hannah. She knows me inside and out, which can be kind of annoying at times, yet helpful. She described me as some one that has many friends around; however, if you really know Hannah, guaranteed you will prefer her over me. “Why?” you may ask yourself. Well, it’s because……..she is sooooo funny!!!! As I live and breath, Hannah is a born comedian. She takes the simplest thing or situation and has my whole family rolling on the floor laughing. For example, my dad and I were playing this game called “Buzzword,” (while Hannah and I were cleaning up the kitchen) in which he would read off a clue or description off a card and I would have to guess what the answer is. So, the clue was, “Ravishingly beautiful” and before I could even guess, Hannah swung around from the cabinet where she had been putting a dish away, and with her arms open wide, and a big grin, she exclaimed, “Moi!” The kitchen erupted in laughter. It was so funny, and the timing was so perfect! If you need cheering up, Hannah is the one for you!

As for Hannah’s looks…she’s gorgeous. Hannah is beautiful inside and out. She has blue eyes with dark eyelashes and eyebrows (which are stunning), her hair is the perfect thickness, soft, and a blonde brown, and she has the most beautiful smile. I wish I had her smile it’s just so…..perfect! LOL. As for her inner beauty, Hannah is a very Godly young woman. She is kind, considerate of others, helpful, optimistic, and a number of other things. She, in many ways, is more mature than I am (which is rather embarrassing to admit).

Also, if you know Hannah and you want to be on good terms with her………be a lover of Star Wars. SW are Hannah’s absolute favorite movies. I mean, I like SW, but she is a SW nut!!! In addition to SW, she loves The Great Race, starring Jack Lemon, Tony Curtis, and Natalie Wood; Hogan’s Heroes; and she also adores the Muppets. Her favorite Muppet character is Gonzo.

You see, that is the thing about Hannah, she loves crazy, wacky, and weird stuff! She even owns a pair of cherry red sneakers; however, she also loves style. It drives me crazy, that I can go through our whole wardrobe and come up with what I think is a cute outfit, and she always manages to look classier, prettier, and more stylish than me! This girl has taste. I’ve made her my official style advisor….with the exception of earrings. We differ very much in our tastes of earrings. She loves big, sparkly, flashy ones. I prefer smaller, yet pretty ones.

Did I also mention that she is an artist? Oh yes, Hannah is the second Michelangelo!! Well…almost anyway. Her favorite thing to draw is faces, and she is quite good at them. She is a pure genius.

Hannah has bad taste in men. I’m serious. We will be watching a movie, and practically every time she will point to the main bad guy and LIKE him. Without fail! Her favorite bad guy is Ian Howe from National Treasure. She loves that guy. Here are her words (she was doing this in a funny, sing-song voice), “Ian’s so cute! Ian’s so hot! Ian’s got long hair! Ian’s got accent! Ian’s got brains. Ian’s got car. Ian’s got money!” *rolls eyes* Hannah is an awesome girl, she just can’t get it through her head that bad guys are BAD! And her favorite animated bad guy is Honest John from Pinocchio.

Lastly, don’t play a strategic game with Hannah. She will whoop ya! Hannah has a natural sneaky mind, and I’ve seen her even beat my dad at strategic games (which is saying a lot because my dad wins every game he plays without fail).

Well, that about rounds it up. There is so much to write about my wonderful sis, but this post is long enough. I love you Hannah!!!

~Vicki

Interesting article on Yahoo

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon is reviewing the use of Facebook and other social networking sites on its computers with an eye toward setting rules on how to protect against possible security risks.

Click here for the rest.

Quote to ponder on

"A house divided against itself cannot stand."
~Abraham Lincoln

(Hmmm.....kind of sounds familiar. With all the fighting, arguing, and bickering over President Obama's actions and speeches, it made me think of this quote. My mom says that she has never seen such controversy over a President because of the outrageous things he says and does. What do you guys think? Do you think our nation is headed for division, similar to the Civil War maybe?)

One post before bed:

Okay, if you want it you can have it. :) I was awarded by Jare and Lib; thanks guys!!!

Back to normal...

...sort of. Pirate week has come and gone; I apologize for not posting more, but I warned you all that that might happen. ;) As I said I am backing out of the blog world and the Internet on the whole. Oh, don't worry I won't completely disappear. I will most likely stick to email the most. I have also left the Fairy Tale Novel Forum. I am doing this for personal reasons but the largest reason is that I need to finish school. I have half my junior year and my whole senior year to complete by next June. So, I really can't have that many distractions.

I want to thank all the people who have recently become followers of my blog. I never thought I would make it to 21 followers!!! Sorry, to be mostly leaving right after you joined. But I promise to post something every once in a while.

For all of you who guessed at how I posted this post, I scheduled a post. Lady Rose guessed it.

Well, until the next post.......Drink up me hearties yo ho!!!! ;)

Caption It!!!

Okay mates, Oi know Oi posted this boody good thin' last year, but.........this is ME blog and Oi can do what OI want on it, savvy!?!?! ;)

Let the Week of Piracy begin!!!!

'ello mates! Captain Coon Sparrow 'ere! Oi welcome all of ye bloody cockroaches to this week of fun and games....piorate fashion to be sure. Oi must warn ye that Oi'm currently goin' to be backin' out of the blog world due to personal reasons, so if Oi don't give ye a daily post, ye 'ave me 'umblest apologies. So......let the fun begin!!!! Join me mates Captian Fox Turner

and Elizabeth Swann

Aaarrrgh!!!!

I'M HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

I'm at the Airport!!!

Yes! I am at the airport!!! There are girls from camp all over the place!! Eek! I'm so excited to meet up with everyone after a whole year!!!

*looks at everyone's utterly confused faces that clearly say, "How are you posting from the airport?"*

Oh pardon me for not explaining. I'm not posting from the airport, even though I am at the airport, but I can still tell you what is going on at the airport without posting it, even though I am posting, savvy?

*looks at everyone's befuddles faces*

Am I not brilliant?!

*no response*

Well, I'll leave it up to your imaginations as to how I got to post this right now at the airport, without actually posting it. And if you have a blog it shouldn't be too hard. ;)

~Vicki

P.S. Happy 4th of July y'all!!!!!

Countdown

ONE DAY TILL CAMP!!!!.............

Countdown

Two days till camp...........

Countdown

Three days till camp...........

A story of Love! Romance! and Denial! gasp!

Countdown

Four days till camp..........

The Chocolate Calculator.

This is so weird, and it works everytime!!!!! Try it out; it's so much fun! :D

1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to have chocolate (more than once but less than 10).

2. Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold).

3. Add 5.

4. Multiply it by 50 -- I'll wait while you get the calculator...

5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1759 .
If you haven't, add 1758.

6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.

You should have a three digit number (unless your # was 10.)

The first digit of this was your original number
(i.e., how many times you want to have chocolate each week).

The next two numbers are

YOUR AGE! (Oh YES, it is!!!!!)

THIS IS THE ONLY YEAR (2009) IT WILL EVER WORK.

Countdown

Five days till camp.............

5 Quick Takes Saturday - Vol 1

~1~

Okay, Rose was complaining that nobody does this with her, so I'm giving it a shot. To quote Rose: "...simply post about 5 random things on your blog every Saturday. They can be silly
things, serious things, educational things, whatever! The handy dandy "schedule post" feature even allows you to write your post on, say Thursday and have it show up on Saturday if you won't be around to post it on Saturday morning. Now you have no excuse." Well, I could come up with a lot of excuses, but never mind that now.

~2~

Today I am working five hours, and then as soon as I get off, I am getting rushed to a wedding reception. I'm missing the wedding (*is very upset*) but I'm making it to the reception (*is cheered up*).

~3~

I have four tiers done on my skirt so far, and I've got two more tiers, the two waist bands, and the zipper to go! It's exahsting to do the tiers, becuase they get bigger as you get down to the bottom ones. I'm using McCall's M5812:

Sorry the pic isn't better.

~4~

I'm working on a school essay on The Merchant of Venice. I'm actually starting to like it, because now I know what's going on in the play (thanks to Cliffs Notes). It is a persuasive essay on te Jewish villian, Shylock. The assignment said: "How is Shylock guilty of the deadly sins of avarice, envy, and wrath?" Also, I took a Biology test yesterday and scored a 96%!!!! :D That gives me an A for the third quarter. *is very happy*

~5~

Hmm......what to write last? Uh......Oh! Camp is in exactly ONE week!!!! Did you hear that people!??! ONE WEEK TILL CAMP!!!!! I can't wait!!!!!

Lots of Pictures

Here are some pictures that I just uploaded to my comp:

These are pics of the skirt I am frantically trying to sew before camp.

These are pics from Binder Park Zoo that we went to on Mother's Day:

A giraffe trying to get crackers with an oddly long tongue.

This a pic of the cutest and most lovable looking Chinese Panda in the world!!! I just wanted to cuddle him, he was so sweet looking!

This is Gaby shooting Danny's compound bow

Our cat Tigger

Hannah shooting the recurve bow. She looks somewhat Elvish, no?


A very cute picture of Gaby that I just had to post. :)

Okay, this is an extremely bad pic of me with Danny's Elvish ears on and a messed up Robin Hood hat.

My bro Tony imitating Gollum. He looks just like, no? Hehehe! He is so bony it is unbelievable!

A pic that I like of Danny as he is riding MY bike.

Okay, this last picture is not for the faint of heart, or tree huggers.

This is a pic of humongous raccoon my dad shot at 2:30 in the morning, in the barn where our chickens are.

Cool, huh?

Tata,

Vicki

Announcement!!!

We will be holding our Second Annual Pirates Blog Week July 13^th to July 19!!!!!!!!

Last year, Lady Rose, Lizzy/Hannah, and myself came up with the idea (due to being very into Pirates of the Caribbean at the time) to have a Pirate blog week to commemorate the five year anniversary of Pirates of the Caribbean coming to theaters. To view what we all did last year, check out July 28^th to August 3^rd on any of our blogs. Be sure to check out my first Pirate post; it’s got an awesome Dance Challenge done to the music of Pirates of the Caribbean.

This year, we would like to invite anyone who is a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean to join in!!! What it involves:

A) You give your blog a new look, which means changing the background, the colors, and title if you wish.

B) Every day do at least one post on something piratical, such as last year we did caption it competitions for Pirates of the Caribbean pictures, video clips of the movie, pirate stories that we wrote, ect.

C) Last but not least, give your self a pirate name! We all chose characters from the movies, but turned them into our own. You may choose a character from the movies, or simply create your own pirate name. I’ll list the characters that are already taken from the movie, who took them, and what they turned them into:

Captain Jack Sparrow/Vicki(me)/Captain Coon Sparrow

William Turner/Rose/Captain Fox Turner

Elizabeth Swann/Lizzy/Elizabeth Swann

Captain Barbossa/Danny (might be joinign us this year)/Captain Wolfgang Barbossa

If you are going to be participating, please leave a comment, with your pirate name, to let me know.

*looks happy*

The Other Katie kindly awarded me this cool looking award. *big grin* I have never seen the movie Kung Fu Panda, but I still like the award. ;) thanks Katie dear!

I herby award:
Rose
Lizzy/Hannah
Earwen

This looked fun and interesting......

This list of the Top 100 Pro-Catholic movies is from the National Catholic Register. I've bolded the ones that I've seen, which total the amount of.............31. :( I thought I had seen all the good movies. Well, see if you can beat my score! :D

1. The Passion of the Christ (2004) (I only watch that one once a year on Good Friday. It is such an awesome reminder of what Christ did for us.)

2. The Sound of Music (1965)

3. A Man For All Seasons (1966)

4. The Song of Bernadette (1943)

5. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

6. The Ten Commandments (1956)

7. The Scarlet and the Black (1983)

8. Jesus of Nazareth (1977)

9. Schindler’s List (1993)

10. The Bells of St Mary’s (1945) (I love this one!)

11. Thérèse (2004) (Not a favorite; way too sad. I found it....depressing.)

12. Braveheart (1995) (Mel Gibson movies rock! I wish he was a better Catholic, poor guy.)

13. The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima

14. The Mission (1986)

15. Lilies of the Field (1963) (Great movie and a must watch. We watch it at Easter time every year.)

16. The Miracle of Marcelino (1955) (A very sweet movie that I would recommend for all, especially young kids.)

17. Les Miserables (1998)

18. The Quiet Man (1952) (Family favorite, and a timeless classic.)

19. Ben Hur (1959)

20. Rudy (1993) (Based on the true story of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger. Sean Astin (eeek!!) does a beautiful job as Rudy. A wee bit too much cuss words and swearing, but an awesome movie.)

21. The Robe (1953) (I don't really like the movie, but the book was good.)

22. Return to Me (2000)

23. We Were Soldiers (2002)

24. Becket (1964)

25. Going My Way (1944)

26. Romero (1989)

27. Sister Act (1992) (One word: Hilarious!)

28. Pope John Paul II (1984)

29. Jonah: a Veggie Tales Movie (2002)

30. Shoes of the Fisherman (1986)

31. Brideshead Revisited (1981)

32. The Keys of the Kingdom (1944)

33. On the Waterfront (1954)

34. I Confess (1953)

35. Boys Town (1938) (An excellent Spencer Tracy film, where he portrays a the priest Fr. Flanagan.Also stars Mickey Rooney. Another pro-Catholic, Tracy movie I would like to recommend Captains Courageous, which is one of me all time favorites.)

36. Molokai: the Story of Father Damien (1999)

37. Quo Vadis (1951)

38. The Trouble With Angels (1956)

39. Babette’s Feast (1987)

40. The Rookie (2002)

41. The Reluctant Saint (1962)

42. One Man’s Hero (1999)

43. Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972)

44. The Exorcist (1973)

45. Dead Man Walking (1995)

46. Joan of Arc (1948)

47. The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)

48. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

49. Angels In the Outfield (1951) (Haven't seen this one in a looong time!)

50. Moonstruck (1987) (ROTFL! I didn't think this one would be on here, but I love it!! It does have some bed scenes you kinda have to skip through, but a hilarious movie of an Italian family in NY.)

51. The Miracle Maker: the Story of Jesus (2000)

52. Henry V (1989)

53. Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)

54. Entertaining Angels: the Dorothy Day Story (1996)

55. Knute Rockne: All American (1940)

56. The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)

57. The Singing Nun (1966)

58. Marty (1955)

59. Monsieur Vincent (1948)

60. The Assisi Underground (1985)

61. Au Revoir Les Infants (1987)

62. Come to the Stable (1949)

63. Diary of a Country Priest (1951)

64. In This House of Brede (1975)

65. The Jeweller’s Shop (1988)

66. The Miracle of the Bells (1948)

67. The Fighting Sullivans (1944)

68. The Fourth Wiseman (1985) (Kinda boreing)

69. The Juggler of Notre Dame (1970)

70. Barabbas (1962)

71. King of Kings (1961)

72. Francis of Assisi (1961)

73. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1937)

74. The Decalogue (1987)

75. The Gospel According to Saint Matthew (1966)

76. Angels With Dirty Faces (1938)

77. The Fugitive (1947)

78. The Longest Day (1962) (*shrieks* Love, love, love this movie!! It is filled with numerous top movie stars, and is based on the Americans invasion of Germany in WWII.)

79. Thérèse (1986)

80. The Gospel of John (2003)

81. A.D. (1985)

82. Faustyna (1995)

83. The Son (2002)

84. Francesco (1989)

85. The Flowers of St. Francis (1950)

86. Brother Orchid (1940)

87. Demetrius and the Gladiators

88. Nazarin (1958)

89. The Silver Chalice (1954)

90. When In Rome (1952)

91. Not of This World (1999)

92. Open City (1945)

93. 3 Godfathers (1948)

94. Don Bosco (1988)

95. Abraham (1994)

96. The Detective (1954)

97. The Hoodlum Saint (1946)

98. The Sign of the Cross (1932)

99. The Wrong Man (1956)

100. Padre On Horseback (1977)