Be thou exalted over my reputation

A friend shared this video on facebook a while back, and I really really like it. Not much more to say--watch it!
Oh, and I'm posting this instead of a QOTM. I've been super busy lately, and don't have the time or energy to go find quotes now. Toodles, Lauren

Pink diaries are out of style. Unless you have one.

Lately, I've been journaling. This has been an interesting experience, as I've never really been very into the whole  journal thing before. Yes, I've had journals in the past, but I never kept it up for more than a week or two tops.
The last few months of journaling have really changed my perspective. For me, it's not about the writing everything that has happened each day, or super-deep thoughts that I just have to get out. It's about keeping a clear head. Almost everyone has had fights, good laughs, odd conversations, fun movie nights, old friends, new friends, crushes, drama, trips to cool places, the like.

For me, the best way to evaluate what is as well as what should be important in my life is to write about it. Some things are very silly. For example, the paragraph I took up congratulating myself on finally getting up enough nerve to ask a guy I have a crush on....to be my friend on  facebook. Yeah, that's right. True story. Other things are serious-- prayers to God; questions about how I should really be living. It is therapeutic.

The main point: journaling has been good for me. It probably would be helpful for a lot of people. It doesn't have to be about recording every detail that has happened in life. It doesn't have to be deep poetic thoughts. It's about being able to gain perspective. Saying "that is where I was, this is where I am." Being able to see that the blessings will always be able to out weigh the trials.

So, I guess all I can say now is if you don't journal, give it a try.

This is all.
Cheers,
Lauren

D.C. Trip

Hey all, I know that I told you that I would post about the D.C. trip soon after I got back. But that obviously didn't happen. So, instead of gushing about it and giving all the details three months late, I thought I'd just give a basic synopsis.

We left home Sunday, November 28th around 4:00pm. The first part of our trip was to Fulton, Missouri - approximately 5 1/2 hours away. The next morning we took a tour of the William Woods University campus, and looked at the down-town area. It was really awesome. I really really want to go to William Woods University. Plus, down-town Fulton reminds me of Rogers, Fayetteville, and Springdale all mixed up, so I think it could easily feel like home.

After we left Fulton, we headed to D.C. by way of awesome cousins in Harmony, Indiana. Lots of fun, although we only got to stay the night. The next morning, we ate a great home-cooked breakfast and drove the rest of the way to D.C. -- a ten hour trip. We listened to music, and a Mitford book on tape, did school, and slept. I enjoyed it quite a lot.

We spent three nights at another cousin's house just out side of the D.C. area, and got to go into town every day. We got in a lot of sight-seeing visiting Gallaudet University, National Right to Life HQ, Fords theater, Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, the

Capitol, Library of Congress, National Archives Building, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial,
Vietnam Memorial, and the Smithsonian Museum of American History. My favorite by far was the Library of Congress.

Friday night we stayed at the Gaylord National Hotel. The Oireachtas was the next day, and it was amazing. I danced in three figures, or group dances. Our girls eight hand placed twelfth, so we stayed around for the awards ceremony (five hours later than we were originally expecting to leave,) and got to receive medals on stage. Although it was really neat to get to stay I, being me, stressed out way too much about losing so much time, and probably didn't get as psyched up as I otherwise would have. Looking back though, the whole week was one colossal ball of amazingness.

This is all.

Cheerio,

Lauren

♥ snow.

 

The snowflakes are falling by ones and by twos; 

There’s snow on my jacket, and snow on my shoes;

There’s snow on the bushes, and snow on the trees—

It’s snowing on everything now, if you please.

Leroy F. Jackson

quotes of last month...yeah, i'm late.

I checked a quotes book out of the library for some inspiration for a speech i'm writing, and thought I'd just use it for this month's QOTM. Enjoy.

Most of us like a person who comes right out and says what he thinks - especially when he thinks like we do.

God doesn't call us to be successful. He calls us to be faithful.

When we let God guide, He will provide.

If you can't be content with what you have recieved, be thankful for what you have escaped.

A man gave a woman his seat on the bus; she fainted. When she revived, she thanked him; he fainted.

We cannot all be great, but we can attach ourselves to a great cause.

A good leader inspires men to have confidence in him; a great leader inspires them to have confidence in themselves.

Great minds have purposes; others have wishes.

When you feel dog-tired, at night, it may be because you growled and grumbled all day.