The Name Game!

Remember in my previous post where I mention the black mare that I rode? Well, she doesn't have a name, and the owner said if I think of a good one, I should tell him. No guarantees about it being her name, though. Soooo, why don't we have a little fun with this? I'll tell you as much as I know about her.

She is a black female horse, and I don't know her age. Her former name was "Polly", and she was gifted to the owner with a buggy to pull. She is VERY gentle and has a smooth gait (riders don't bounce up and down a whole lot). She is black, but I could see some brown in her mane and tail, but that's unnoticeable if you're far away. Her fellow horse have names such as "Sissy", "Red", "Rusty", and "Lucky".

Usually I'm not too bad at naming things, but I'm still looking for that perfect name. Bear in mind that this is not my horse, so it may or may not be her eventual name. So far, I've thought of...

Oreo- Cutest, I think
Mist (Mistie) - First thought of a name when I first saw her
Midnight- Mysterious...

Have any suggestions? It doesn't matter if they're totally out of the blue, cute, wacky, meaningful, or mysterious. Send 'em in! (Please) =D

God Bless ya'll,

BANG!!!

Hope this post's title didn't startle you... But that's how I felt yesterday.

Remember just this time last week I posted about not being able to go horse riding????

Our God works in wondrous ways.

On Saturday my dad got a phone call from the person we have been trying to ride horses at his house for a while.

He asked if Monday was okay for me to come over...AND RIDE!

I just couldn't wait. But I have to admit I was wary and didn't want my hopes getting up. I told no one just in case it wouldn't happen.

But it did! We drove about fifteen minutes to his place. Once we got there, he took us inside to his kitchen (his house was very pleasant and home-ey) and we talked for some time. He asked some questions like "How much experience do you have with horses?"
Of course, "Next to nothing" was my answer.
We talked about horses some time and the ministry he has with prison inmates. After a tour of his house and a Mountain Dew, we made our way outside.

He took me over to a black mare (female) that he was given earlier in the month. It doesn't have a name, but he told me if I could think of a good name to tell him. Anyways, he got her and took her to a grooming stall, where I brushed out her mane and tail. I never knew how thick horsehair was! She kept on pulling her tail so that I couldn't brush it out, and for a while it seemed like a game. She'd pull it in and look back at me. I was sure she was silently laughing.
Oh, and I saw the horse that I had that little adventure on. He's a stallion named Rusty. I smiled a little when I saw him, but I think I'm never ever going to get on that horsie again.

It was nice outside. There were trees all around and where we were it was shady. It was pretty hot that day, so I was glad for shade. After we were done with grooming her, he took me over to the tack (gear) shed. It took a while for us to saddle her up.

I mean, I don't know much about horse terminology, and I've never actually saddled up a horse before. Plus, everything had to be done up because I'm not exactly the tallest tree in the forest, if ya get what I mean.

He taught me how to make her stop in two ways. One, pull up on the reins. If that doesn't work, then tug to the side and the horse will go in circles until it stops. And you always say "Whoa".

The rest was pretty uneventful. He has a stretch of land that goes to a fence, with bushes, trees, and a barrel in between the fence and his house. I went to the fence and back. I don't know what I was telling her, but she was kind of trotting, and I freaked. I seriously need to buy boots or something. Tennis shoes are not recommended for riding. I thought my feet were going to fall out of the stirrups! When I came back, he told me to pat her neck and say "Easy, girl!"
I also talked to her while we rode. Just nonsense, really. I was thinking of names for her, but her ears were pricked back. I think she was listening to me.

So we slowed to a walk for the rest of the ride. I weaved through the trees and branches, getting an occasional whack in the face when I got too close to the trees and a branch hit me. After a couple of rounds, he told me to take her to his back yard and pull her around. Once I went back there, she immediately started towards her pasture. I turned her around though and we went through several times.

But one time, she hit some kind of equipment and spooked. We rocketed! I panicked and pulled back. "WHOA!" That was the only time we had a little bit of trouble, but we went through again and she was fine.

Eventually, maybe thirty minutes to an hour later, we unsaddled her and I put her back in the pasture. She was pretty hungry or just wanted to irk me because she kept on trying to eat grass. Horse are strong, powerful animals. It took me a long time and I felt like a circus clown. I had to reach up to take off her rope I had used to lead her. It was hard, and that was one time that I wish I was taller. I had to jump up and reach behind her ears. Oh well, I hope that practice will help as time goes on.

We all got into our van, and went just a block away to another pasture. He showed me some of his other horses. He has three donkeys and five horses, including the one I rode and the one who took me on that wild ride.

He told me there's two horse he will trust with me. One is the one I rode, and another is a beautiful three-year old buckskin named "Sissy". She's smaller than the black mare.

I was just a little bit frightened by the horses this time, and I hope to shake it off really soon. A little bit of fear is okay, I mean, if you don't watch just a little bit you could be foolhardy. But I think I was a little to apprehensive. The donkeys spooked me the most. This little snowball-colored and textured jenny (young female donkey) kept on following me!
Of course, when I later told my family, they had a laugh over it... *grins*

After that we headed home, and I had a promise of more horse riding this Saturday. Yes, this coming Saturday. I'm so excited!!! Only FOUR more days! Eep! I hope that I'm hooked onto horses for life.

I can finally say that I've had one of my dreams come true!

God Bless,

Randomness Friday

It's my 128th post! Can you believe it???? And... my blogoversary is in 32 days! My first! It's hard to believe I've only been doing this thing for less than a year. It's been amazing!

~~

I cannot WAIT for summer. Warm weather, sunny days... And no school!
Okay, don't get me wrong. It's cool to learn new stuff every day, meet new peoples, and get new supplies. But it's also nice to have a break, even if it's two and a half months long. There are bright, sunny days ahead... and it's not even officially summer yet!

~~

I've posted a lot this month, have I not? *sighs* Sorry. I'll do better in June.

~~

I discovered this song the other day, and I L-O-V-E it! Here are the amazing lyrics...

"MORE BEAUTIFUL YOU"
Jonny Diaz

♥
Little girl fourteen flipping through a magazine
Says she wants to look that way
But her hair isn’t straight her body isn’t fake
And she’s always felt overweight

Well little girl fourteen I wish that you could see
That beauty is within your heart
And you were made with such care your skin your body and your hair
Are perfect just the way they are

CHORUS:
There could never be a more beautiful you
Don’t buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you

Little girl twenty-one the things that you’ve already done
Anything to get ahead
And you say you’ve got a man but he’s got another plan
Only wants what you will do instead

Well little girl twenty-one you never thought that this would come
You starve yourself to play the part
But I can promise you there’s a man whose love is true
And he’ll treat you like the jewel you are

So turn around you’re not too far
To back away be who you are
To change your path go another way
It’s not too late you can be saved
If you feel depressed with past regrets
The shameful nights hope to forget
Can disappear they can all be washed away
By the one who’s strong can right your wrongs
Can rid your fears dry all your tears
And change the way you look at this big world
He will take your dark distorted view
And with His light He will show you truth
And again you’ll see through the eyes of a little girl
♥

Whatcha think?

God Bless,

Horse Happenings...

It turns out that my horse riding possibility has gone again. The owner of the horses got sick, so we told him it would be fine to not go. Of course I was a teensy bit disappointed, but I totally understand. I mean, who wants to ride a horse much less even go outside when you don't feel well?

The horse dream is still alive though, though it might take a week or two to get on one. What is so bad is that I can't find a place to give me lessons. My mom wants to find a place where they teach, but we looked everywhere and couldn't find a single place near our home. But we live about five minutes from the city, so we're in kind of a foresty area. You'd think there'd be at least one place, but oh well. *shrugs* I'll stick to books, figures, posters, and other stuff right now until God either tells me horse riding isn't a thing I should do or shows me a way.

Just have to wait, I guess.

God Bless,

Bloggy Spotlight O' May!

I hope the title hinted at something...

This month's spotlight?

SarahO'G!!!

Sarah blog, Purely Myself, is total awesomeness. Be sure to stop by!

Congrats, Sarah!

Be on the lookout, ya'll! Your blog might be next!

Randomness Friday!

Guilty as charged.

Someone *cough* me! *cough* has not posted on her blog for a whole, entire week! (Pardon the redundancy)

Many apologies! I hope to get more posts the coming week.

So, since I've missed a week, I have lots to tell!!!

~~~

School is ending! I have no word to describe the emotion! The last week has been a week of exams, tests, quizzes, and essays, so I had almost no time for anything but school and studying! But something I'm happy to say is that my fear made the tests seem like mountains, when they were really little bumps in the road. Isn't that funny?

~~~

Tomorrow I'ma going horse riding! Yep! For real, and AT LAST! I cannot wait! My dad finally called the man who goes to my church and set up a time. Of course, I need to work to earn it, but I think it's worth it. Several people think that I'll lose my love of horse once I need to clean up after them, but I think I'll make it.

We'll see tomorrow, and I'll be sure to blog about it on Monday!

~~

Lil' Sis is doing great. You would've thought that she has lived with us forever, except the tiny issue of her speaking another language. She's learning more and more English every day, though!

~~

Does anyone know how to put videos on an iPod? I just got a used one, and it's 3rd generation. The iTunes Store isn't working on my computer for some reason, but everything else is fine. I want to find some music videos and see how good the video quality is...

~~

GREEN an' PURPLE ROCK!

Wow... That was really random.

~~

Tae Kwon Do has been going well lately. Nothing too extreme, so it's all good. My next test will be for the 2nd degree black belt, and, depending on how much I work, I'll test this year... Sometime. The hard this is writing an essay and making up my own variations on self-defense techniques.

It's just like school! Auuuuugh!

~~

Writing is also going well. I'm working on editing TC, and a lot of your constructive comments are helping a lot. New ideas are just flooding my mind every day! Interesting, but most of them are inspired by songs. "Fearless" by Building429. "Beautiful Tonight" Krystal Meyers. "Here With Me" MercyMe. "Ignition" TobyMac. Those are just a few that have helped me develop some of the characters.
~~

I haven't read any new books lately, which is sad. I'm hoping to discover some more at my library. (It rocks. They have Christian fiction!) Or just buy some. Anyone have any book suggestions?

~~

Well, See ya'll Monday!

God Bless,

Randomness Friday!

Okay, peoplez! School is winding down for the year, and I only have ONE WEEK left! How about you? It's been a great school year, but I'm glad about summer break. One sad thing is, I won't have the same joy of Friday! Every day of summer is like a weekend! One thing on my mind now is the EOI tests. You may know it in other terms, but basically, it's the final exam. Gotta look forward to that!

The weird thing is, I spend all school year looking forward to summer break, but when it comes around, I sooooo miss school!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Freebies...who doesn't love them? Especially free music? Well, I've had a lot of fun recently searching up cool Christian artists who are giving away some tracks. All of these sites are safe. I've downloaded three of them myself, and the last one I had already bought.

The following info was attained from the Air1 Music Blog...

Fireflight is giving free download of their hit "Unbreakable" and Thousand Foot Crutch is giving away their song "Bring Me To Life"

Everyday Sunday is letting people download their song, "Best Night Of Our Lives", at no cost!

Lanae' Hale is letting people download her hit, "Back and Forth" This song is my favorite right now, and I had bought it before the free download was available, but it was so worth it. I highly recommend this song!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I know who you really want to hear about...

Lil' Sis!

She's doing great and really adjusting with us. She absolutely loves jumping on our old trampoline, watching "Dora the Explorer", and singing the first line of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". She pronounces it as "Pinkle, Pinkle, little 'tar lei!" which is absolutely cute.
We took her to Sunday School two weeks ago, and she acted as if she'd been going there all her life! A little shy when you first meet her, but she warms up to people soon.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Did anyone watch the Kentucky Derby? It's a HUGE horse race for 3 yr. old horses, as far as I know. It was televised, so I plopped down on the couch and watched in amazement.

A horse named "Mine that Bird" won! Interesting name, huh?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I best be off!

God Bless,

Fiction Fix: Love Your Neighbor!

The following story was inspired by several times I've helped out at a homeless shelter my church volunteers at once a month. It's an amazing experience, and, though there are several differences between Tiffany and me, what she feels towards the end is exactly how I feel when I'm there, so it's not necessarily "fiction" in some ways.
It's an amazing experience, and a great way to reach out to your community.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Love Your Neighbor!
by Prism

Tiffany slumped in the passenger seat of her mother’s old green sedan and glared at the various buildings as she and her older brother, Matt, cruised down Pickens Avenue.

“I still don’t get why I have to go!” she huffed. “You know, Matt, you’ve changed. You used to be so cool, and you stayed out of my way. Now you’re, like, dad number two, always bossing me around and getting mom and dad to make me do stuff with you!”

Matt glanced at her with a “haven’t-we-talked-about-this-a-million-times?” look.

“The Bible tells us to help out those who don’t have everything we do, Tiff. Jesus helped all sorts of people, both rich and poor. Not only will the people at the homeless shelter be befitted by the food we’ll be serving them today, but you will discover the joy of giving and learn to be thankful for what you have.”

She grimaced and examined her mauve manicure. “Matt, you sound ninety, not nineteen. Besides, I could have done that stuff at a movie with Jessica. I’d be overjoyed to just hand over the money to that poor teenager with a terrible fashion sense that’s always behind the ticket counter.”

Matt put on his signal and made a left turn. “We’re almost there.” He glanced at the rearview mirror, and then back at Tiffany.

“You know, I’m not the only one who’s changed. When you were thirteen, we used to help at VBS and other outings. You just loved helping out with the kids!” He nodded to a red brick building. “Here we are.”

“That’s the place? That…that…dump?!”

He turned off the ignition and faced her, his dark eyebrows turned downward, and his green eyes practically shooting sparks. “How would you feel if you lost everything- our house, your oh-so-fashionable clothes, and your family? Do you really think people like Jessica would be hanging out with you? Do you think you’d be loved when you lose everything that makes you the “popular” girl in school?”

“Of course I would!”

“No, I really don’t think so, Tiffany. We have been blessed with so much, and last summer taught me a lot about how blinded we are to those who need encouragement. Remember that puppy you found once, lost and neglected?”

“Of course! That poor thing was shivering in the rain, and I could see his ribs-”

“But we found his owners, and you discovered that he had been lost for a whole month! Remember how happy he was when he saw his owners? Well, these people have been lost all of their life. They need a meal, an encouraging word or smile, and hope. They are in desperate need of a Savior. You need to show them His love.”

Tiffany sighed and tucked her hair behind her ears. “Okay.”

He opened the door. “Let’s get this party started!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tiffany grimaced as she pulled on plastic gloves. “These things sure are comfy.”

The younger girl next to her, Lindsey, smiled. “You get used to them after a while. The worst part is pulling them off.”

Mrs. Patterson, Lindsey’s mother and head of the shelter, breezed in through the double doors and address Lindsey and Tiffany.

“You girls need to head out. We are pretty crowded in this kitchen, and we’re short of servers. Tiffany, is that right?”

After Tiffany nodded, Mrs. Patterson continued, “Your brother is already out there, so you’ll have someone you know. My daughter would be more than happy to show you the ropes.”

“Come on!” Lindsey’s blue eyes shone. “This is going to be so much fun!”

Tiffany soon found herself with both Lindsey and Matt, as they showed her how to get the food and take it out.

“Just think of each person as Jesus. You’d do your best for Him, right? So look past their past or what they may be like and just reach out.” Lindsey shrugged. “I was here once, with my mom. We were so hungry and cold, but I’ll never forget the lady who came and gave me a teddy bear and a fleece blanket. She invited us to come here, and that’s where we were both saved. We both made sacrifices, and my mom worked so hard! We knew that God had helped my mom get a great job and a nice house. It was really hard, and we felt like we were fighting the tide, but we made it, together. You can even pretend every person here is my mom and me a couple of years ago, I mean, if you want.”

“I can do that.” Tiffany firmed her chin and plunged into the crowd, balancing two plates in her hand.

The next hour passed like a minute. She was swept away with the hearts of her comrades and the ones they were serving. One elderly man was so thankful, that he sang a song just for all of the workers. She spent some time talking to a woman with a little toddler, and took them to the back room with tons of clothes. With her fashion expertise, she was able to pull together an outfit that looked amazing and really brought out her eyes.

Tiffany chatted and laughed with Lindsey as they passed out cookies and drinks. Matt and she exchanged winks and smiles several times. All of the love in that one building made Tiffany feel as if her heart would burst!

By the time they had finished stacking the chairs and sweeping the floor, she was really tried, but satisfied.

Matt put an arm around her shoulders and led her to where he had parked the car. “Okay, tell me, did you like it or what?”

Tiffany smiled. “All of the workers are amazing, and the people who came had stories that made my heart break! Lindsey isn’t that bad, and I found out she goes to my high school, even if she’s in a different grade. I’ll have to search for her!”

Matt laughed. “A simple ‘yes’ would have sufficed.”

“I do have a question, though…”

“Yeah?”

“When’s the next time we’re going?”

God Bless,

Cinco De Mayo

I got this in an e-mail a long time ago, and since today is the 5th of May, I thought you may want to read this article.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A little bit of unknown history...


Most people don't know that back in 1912, Hellmann's mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York.

This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico. But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York. The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever
lost.

The officials of Mexico, who were crazy about
mayonnaise, and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day.

The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course, as Sinko De Mayo.

*innocent look* WHAT??? You expected something educational from me?

=D

God Bless,

India, Through My Eyes- Part Second

Ah, the Taj Mahal... It is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is made out of white marble, and has semi-precious stone inlaid in its walls. It is a grave for a king and his favorite wife. The facts could go on and on... Yet all I cared about was staring at those huge arches and glittering flowers, made out of those semiprecious stones and think of the people who had walked here, before me.

I have to say I learned a lot of history the day we went because a tour guide was with us, but I wish we didn't have one. It would have been so fun to explore it by myself, with my thoughts.

Shall I start from the beginning?

It was four in the morning, and still pitch black outside. My family and second cousin waited outside for a car we had hired for the day. It was actually cold where I was at that time, in Delhi, India's capital, and I stood there, waiting and shivering. At last the car came, and we all piled inside. That car acted like a clown car. It was really, really, crammed, and we drove five hours to get to Agra.

You may be asking why there were no ways to get there like planes and trains. Well, there are trains, but the Indian trains aren't exactly the best. I went on a train when I was about five or so, so I do not remember a thing. I just know from what I've seen on TV or read that they are crowded and not too clean.

It was surprising to me, but we all survived the trip alive. It felt so good to finally get out of the crowded car and stretch my legs. And the prospect of viewing the Taj Mahal awaited!

We were met by a guide who took us to the Taj. We had to walk quite a bit, and that stroll was hard with a toddler who had already gone through a very long car ride. It would be a hard day with Lil' Sis with us. She was still getting attached and bonded with the rest of her family, so she wanted to say in my mom's arms and go nowhere else, probably in fear of losing her.

We bought tickets (they are higher for foreigners, lower for Indians, and even lower for people who can speak Hindi, the local and national language) They gave us a water bottle and shoe cover, since shoes aren't allowed in the Taj Mahal.

There was a courtyard leading to the Taj, along with many gates. I could see the top of the Taj, and I deflated a bit. It looked smaller than I had imagined! But we went through a building that was kind of an inbetween, and I saw it! The Taj Mahal!

Photos cannot get the full beauty of that place. It really stood out behind the blue sky, and I would comment about the waterways leading to it, but, unfortunately, it was under repair, so all the pictures we took didn't capture the full beauty of the place. It wasn't pure white, and that's to expected. Anything on this earth breaks down, all things head towards becoming dust. The Taj has been hurt by pollution and damage, and the people of Agra are doing their best to fix it. The reason we had to walk was because no cars or motorbikes are allowed at a certain limit, to preserve the Taj. That's probably also the reason there are no planes.

We took a few pictures of us all in front of the Taj, but I really wanted to get closer. I wanted to see what the Taj looks like on the side that's not pictured most. What did the back of that building look like?

There were two identical buildings on either side of the Taj Mahal. They were a red color, and pretty big. I regret that I was not able to look around those buildings, due to time constraints and Lil' Sis. But that's okay, I suppose. By the time we had finished touring the Taj, we were all burning hot and pretty tired.

It took a while for us to get to the base of it. I could see the ancient script on the sides, the flowery designs, and the crescent and ball on top, which represented the Hindu and Islam religions.

There were people who kept shoes, because, as I mentioned before, there are no shoes allowed in the Taj. We had been given only one shoe cover, so we all decided that my dad should wear it. Why? I don't know, but it ended up that way.

We left our shoes with him, and headed up the stairs to get in.
Little did I know the pain awaiting me...

It was about midday, and the sun was shining at full force. It was extremely hot, and I should have thought of the fact that the stone leading to the Taj would take in that heat.

Have you ever walked on hot sand? Well, you know how I felt. Twas like stepping on tacks! If you had an audio only of me, it would have been-

"Ooooh!"
"Ouch!"
*groan*

Please, if you ever go to the Taj, wear tennis shoes with socks, okay? =D

There were people all around, but for some reason, I just don't remember any sound. Like a gigantic off-white giant, the Taj Mahal loomed over me. I was ready to go in. (And get out of the unbearable heat)

Our guide showed us all sorts of details about the handicraft and reasons why the Taj is so highly regarded. I mean, they built all of it without the technology we have today! No cranes or lifts, only hands and tools that would be considered nothing big today!

No photography is allowed inside, and it was so, incredibly crowded, so my trip inside was a blur. The inside isn't that big, or didn't seem too big. I think they blocked off a lot of rooms.

The work in there with the semi-precious stones was unforgettable, though! It was so intricate and I can't imagine how much work must have gone into it!

It was dim inside of the Taj, and much cooler. It was a teensy bit interesting that I was actually in a grave- a king and queen's grave! I was creeped out or anything, and that was mostly because of the crowd. I was actually more worried about staying with my family than looking around. I felt so bad, but I had to push my way through a crowd to get to them!

After a daring escape out of the interior of the building, I finally got to see what I wanted to see. The back of the Taj Mahal!

Was I in for a surprise. The guide had mentioned it earlier that the Taj Mahal was perfectly symmetrical, but I hadn't fully realized it. The back looked exactly like the front! The only different was that the back faced a river and fields. I could see children playing on the river way, way below us.

We took some time to recover, and I sat on one of the long windowsills. We drank a LOT of water, and I think I drained a bottle or two, which is a lot for me. Once we were ready, we packed up everything and got ready for the hot walk back.

After getting our shoes back and paying the man for keeping them safe, we walked through the gardens a little bit. There were all kinds of trees and brushes. Pink flowers were everywhere! It took a long time to get back, but we finally made it to where we had started and piled into the car again.

That wasn't the end of my day, but it was the end of my Taj visit. Wasn't really as magical as I had envisioned, but I wouldn't have missed it!

(I know today was supposed to be Randomness Friday, but I thought you might enjoy reading about the Taj more. RF's will continue as normal next week. I also added some new songs to my playlist! Feel free to continue posting comments! I'm loving them!!!)

God Bless,