And the winner is...

As you may know, Trev and I have been competing at everything. The main competition was with our blogs. Whoever could post the most in the month of December won. Clearly, I came out on top. I finished the month with three more than he had. There was some talk on his blog about guys being better and being able to "run with the big dogs". Now that we have cleared up that it was all garbage...we can continue on with our lives. (I am sure all two of you reading this were highly concerned with this issue)
This brings me to my next issue...Now that I have proven a point, my blogging may not be as often. I know you are torn up inside and broken hearted that I will not post as much. I have confidence that you will make it.
Oh yeah, welcome to 2009.

Amy Kuney

this may be one of my favorite songs now. love it
check her out!

This past year

~My grandma asked the whole family to write a letter to her of what went on in their life this past year. This is what I came up with.

The Journeys of a Young Woman.
By Amanda Berry
I was finishing up my schooling at this place that was like a prison. I could not wait for the chance to be able to run free in the fields with the wind blowing in my hair. I would spend the next few months of my life without a care in the world. I spent my days joyously laboring at a place of worship across town. These days were some of the best in my life. I had a loyal companion named Emily during the warmer months of the year. But nothing gold can stay and I had to prepare for my escape to the corn fields of Illinois. My father was off gathering in Mexico but luckily made it back in time to bid me farewell. Saying goodbye to my loved ones was not an easy thing. I knew that this season in my life was done and the next was beginning. I had no idea what would await me when I arrived in that foreign land of Lincoln. Across the country my only companion was Chelsea and the smell of route 66. Finally we had arrived at my new home. There were many other people there that were just like me. The next few day of my life were the longest but went by the fastest. I was mingling with the other newcomers and enjoying life on my own. Classes began and the work piled up. At times I did not know if I would survive these strenuous conditions. I knew that I could not give up. The joyous times with my new comrades got me through these tough days. In the nights, the people would play games and sometimes I was invited to join. Oh how I loved to play with the others. We often traveled to a place of dance and song. This became one of my favorite things to do. Soon the weather began to change and I began to prepare for the frigid weather. In this time of the season, there was a young man that struck my fancy. After much thought, he became my boyfriend. I feel like this was a wise decision for me at this point in my life. In the colder months, I found it hard to keep warm. Luckily my place of sleep was kept warm. Surely I would not have survived without the warmth of my room. The common place of eating was delightful at first. Into the colder months, my roommate and I sought out food from other places. Food was scarce for a while. Our stock of top ramen and popcorn was running low. After I joined in with my roommate, we were able to make the big trek to Wal Mart and replenish our rations in our room. Autumn, my roommate, is such a lovely girl. I am fortunate to have such a loyal and kind friend. My family sent for me over the holiday season. I was so happy to be able to join with them once again. It had been so long since I left them. The last 12 months of my journey in life were filled with joyous as well as sad times. I am thankful for them all and am glad to be me.

change

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
-Robert Frost

that feeling

"I want to draw something that means something to someone. You know, I want to draw blind faith, or a fading summer, or just a moment of clarity. It's like when you go and see a really great band, live for the first time and, you know, and nobody's saying it, but everybody's thinking it, we have something to believe in again. I want to draw that feeling, but I can't. And if I can't be great at it then I don't want to ruin it. It's too important to me."

Yellow

Look at the stars
Look how they shine for you
And everything you do
Yeah, they were all yellow

I came along
I wrote a song for you
And all the things you do
And it was called yellow

So then I took my turn
Oh what a thing to have done
And it was all yellow

Your skin
Oh yeah, your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
You know, you know I love you so
You know I love you so

I swam across
I jumped across for you
Oh what a thing to do

Cos you were all yellow
I drew a line
I drew a line for you
Oh what a thing to do
And it was all yellow

Your skin
Oh yeah your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
And you know for you
I'd bleed myself dry for you
I'd bleed myself dry

It's true, look how they shine for you
Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine for
Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine

Look at the stars
Look how they shine for you
And all the things that you do

I think that a song can mean different things to different people. It just depends on where they are in life. I have always thought that this song is a love song. The color yellow shines with optimism, enlightenment, and happiness. Yellow can carry the promise of a positive future. He says how the stars shine for her and the things she does. I think that he uses stars because there will always be stars, and always be his love for her. He is so in love with who she is, that everything is yellow, or filled with happiness.
Sometimes yellow is the color represented for sacrifice. In this song, he explains how he would do anything for the one he loves. He even says that he would bleed himself dry for her. This could mean that she is sick (possibly kidney failure= body literally turning yellow) and needs him...im not really sure. Either way, it is about how he would sacrifice everything for her. Everything about their love is yellow and he would do anything to see her shine.
Some say that "I drew a line for you" is a reference to drugs. However, I think that it is about boundaries and drawing a line to separate the things that he used to do before her.

drawing

I used to be really good at drawing. I could come up with things to draw so easily. In the past I could just sit and draw for hours. These past few months I have hit a drawing slump. I sit and think for a long time on what to draw and come up with nothing. When I finally figure out what to draw, it turns out terrible in the end. Maybe that is why I have been a little tense. Who knows. It would be great if my creative drawing talent would come back. Just sayin.

temper tantrums

Today Lee Coate told this story about dealing with his kids when they throw tantrums. Many times parents spank their children or use other methods of immediate punishment. He used to use a very creative but awesome way of letting his kids know that he was seriously mad about their behavior. He would pick them up and place them in the bath (fully clothed) and then turn on the water. A minute or two later the kid would be completely quiet and no longer throwing a fit. BRILLIANT! I love this for some reason. Way better than spanking or what not.

love them

Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) - Beyonce
the lyrics to this one are just so funny. I love it.

Live Your Life - T.I. and Rihanna
love it!
best part is:
Now everybody watchin what I do
Come walk in my shoes
And see the way that I'm livin if you really want to
I got my mind on my money and I'm not goin nowhere
So keep on gettin yo paper(ah ah)
And keep on climbin
Look in the mirror
And keep on shinin
Til the game end
Til the clock stop
We gon' post up on the top spot
Livin' the life, the life

children

Yesterday my friend Kori and I had to babysit some kids at a Christmas party. It was so funny to see them interact with each other. They would start playing together for a while, then about halfway through the night they introduced themselves. It was just so cute. Its funny how they can play together for hours without knowing anything about the other kid. This is so different from the way grown ups act. For adults, trust has to be established before "playing". I wonder why that is?
Just thought it was interesting.

i just really want to

The summer heat takes all the glamour out of having long hair, since it feels sweaty on our necks—and blow drying becomes a gut-wrenching chore. But how many of us would actually shave it all off like Mena Suvari (above)? The cut is for her new movie Garden of Eden, but still, that takes some serious bravery! Natalie Portman(right) looks beautiful with her head buzzed. This is something that I have always wanted to do. So much less work. I have to wait till summer or at least spring break to do it. It would grow back so fast and wigs would be fun. One day I could have red hair, black the next, and blonde after that. It would be so awesome. Trev would kill me, but Im sure he would get over it. Would you shave your head?

christmas competition

So the Christmas present competition is over. The

exchange happened and it was great. Trevor got me tickets to go see Dierks Bentley and Brad Paisley in January!!! I can't wait. It is going to be so much fun. If there was a competition between presents, he totally won. If you like country music, you should check them

out!
Best Christmas present.

Good job babe.

My Teams

NFL- San Fransisco 49ers: I have always been a loyal fan of them. My cousins got me into them.
New Orleans Saints: Mike Hass(above) was wide receiver for Oregon State and I love him. He now plays for the saints and is roomies with Reggie Bush.
I also really like the chargers because Philip Rivers is a stud.
Soccer- LA Galaxy of course.
MLB- San Fransisco Giants: I am their loyal fan too. Ill stick with them through thick and thin.
College sports (any and all)- Oregon State University Beavers. I love this school so much. I am forever a beaver.
Hockey- I dont really have a team but I usually root for the team with the less lame mascot. The mapleleafs? really? No, I dont think so.

Emily Johnson

This birthday shout out goes to my good friend Emily Johnson.

Christmas Competition

Getting presents for people is always a competition. Depending on how much you spent or what kind of present it is. I think that with all presents there should be a rule that the person receiving it gets to ask 10 questions. Like the game 20 questions, except that is too many... so 10. Trevor is not cooperating with this idea. Oh well...i suppose I can wait like a good girl.

Its too cold

No one likes a complainer. However, lately I find myself complaining constantly about the weather. I just feel like I have not been warm...like seriously warm...since October.
So here is my average day of freezing to death...
wake up and get out of bed into my cold room.
get out of the shower into another cold room.
travel outside to classes and to eat..in the freezing cold.
sit in my classes where it is generally cold.
then participate in some more cold activities.
and finally go to bed where it is fairly cold outside of my covers.

ok so now I am officially done complaining about the cold.

funny in a not funny way

So here is my story of the day.
I was in the library studying for finals and almost missed my final. So here I am, running across campus in the ice and sliding everywhere. Not good. People thought it was so funny. They should really have a class on how to walk in the snow/ice.
After my finals are all done for the day, I had to go to the DMV to get some things done. Unfortunately my car was frozen over. My doors were frozen shut and it took a while to pry them open. I first opened my passenger door and tried to open the drivers door from the inside. I ended up breaking off the door handle. Now I have to roll down my window and open the drivers door from the outside. Neat. I should probably invest in a scraper for my car. I did not have one, so I spent a good deal of time scraping ice off my windows with a pen. Not smart. Once I get my car finally open, I travel to the dmv. They are closed.

Fear Factors

All negative behavior is motivated by fear. Fear can cause us to miss out on so many great things and can hold you back from achieving greatness.
-fear of being poor
-fear of not being capable
-fear of failure
-fear of speaking (public)
-fear of not being in control
-fear of loneliness
-fear of past
-fear of rejection
-fear of the unknown
-fear of death

The Bible only tells us two things that we are supposed to fear-- 1. God 2. Nothing.
This week I challenge you to figure out what you are afraid of and then work on it.
But courage is not the absence of fear. Its acknowledging it and trusting in God for the strength to do it anyways.

I Am Second

I am Second is a movement where significance in life is a shared value among people of all kinds. Actors. Athletes. Musicians. Business leaders. Your next-door neighbor. People just like you. Their authentic stories on here provide insight into dealing with typical struggles of everyday living. You'll meet people who overcame destructive lifestyles. Plus you'll discover those who have tried to go it alone and have failed, yet still found a life full of hope, peace and fulfillment.

On this website you will find answers to tough life questions, connect with live people, watch peoples stories (American Idol contestant Jason Castro is one), learn about who is first, and how you can become second.
CHECK IT OUT!!!

I AM SECOND

SNL

I love this skit so much. Here is just a part of it.
Anyone want to learn it with me?