Recently, I read a quote from the wise and insightful Bro. Dwayne Schafer.
"Change comes in frequent, determined attempts."
The idea that all is not lost on the first failing, or even the second , or the third, or the tenth attempt has given me a renewed motivation to continue to strive for the changes that I know are necessary in my life. This simple little quote speaks volumes of encouragement to me.
How about you?
Friday, January 22, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
I want to be an English Teacher.....
Something I came across doing some online research for an art project.
Funny metaphors used in high school essays
Just in case you need some writing inspiration. Every year, English teachers from across the USA can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers across the country. Here are last year’s winners:
1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.
2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.
3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.
4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli, and he was room temperature Canadian beef.
5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.
6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.
7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.
8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife’s infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.
9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t.
10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.
11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you’re on vacation in anothercity and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30
12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.
13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.
14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.
15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan’s teeth.
16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.
17. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River.
18. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.
19. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.
20. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.
21. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.
22. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.
23. The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.
24. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.
25. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.
I wish I could laugh that hard everyday.
Funny metaphors used in high school essays
Just in case you need some writing inspiration. Every year, English teachers from across the USA can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers across the country. Here are last year’s winners:
1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.
2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.
3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.
4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli, and he was room temperature Canadian beef.
5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.
6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.
7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.
8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife’s infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.
9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t.
10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.
11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you’re on vacation in anothercity and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30
12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.
13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.
14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.
15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan’s teeth.
16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.
17. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River.
18. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.
19. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.
20. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.
21. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.
22. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.
23. The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.
24. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.
25. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.
I wish I could laugh that hard everyday.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
a wonderful christmas time
the midterm is done.
finally, christmas break!
(i still have my work cut-out for me with formal planning and such--more on that later...)
but for now, to celebrate:
merry movies!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
SHUT UP!!!!
I woke up today at 7:29, on my own, WITHOUT an annoying alarm clock going off at 6:00.
...So it's actually set on Al Green...and that's kind of fun...but still. ;) (thankful for Saturdays.)
anyway, the main point:
I am thankful for those first moments in the morning, when you wake up on your own.
The sun is streaming through the windows, you're listening to the gentle whir of the fan, lying there all cozy and warm in your bed, but the tip of your nose is chilly.
I have found that it's in this peaceful time, (if undisturbed) that some of my best thinking is done. Best prayer time, and best solution finding time. It's incredible.
good morning, and happy thanksgiving week!
Friday, November 20, 2009
My Dearest Friends
I am passionately thankful for my friends.
Young and old.
Relatives and pretend relatives.
I'm thankful for friends that tell you how something you did changed their day, or made them feel warm and happy inside. I'm thankful for friends that make you feel all warm and happy inside. I'm thankful for friends that make you cry.
but cry with you.
I'm SO thankful,
for these PEOPLE.
aah!! Thank you, Lord.
It makes the struggles of this life infinitely easier.
It's why we drive miles and miles to church meetings and singing schools as often as we can, even though gas is expensive and there's tons of stuff we should be doing at home.
All so we can worship, and grow, and learn to praise God in song with kindred spirits:
This crazy group of kids trying to be an example of the believers.*
So we can hold one another up.
So we can be together.
For all of you that I've been a terrible friend to, and completely neglected over the past months or even years, I'm sorry.
I love you All, and thank YOU for your love and friendship.
Thank you girls, for being sincere, loving, and comforting. Thank you for being beautiful, elegant, and modest. Intelligent and wise. Crazy and fun. Helpful and kind, always. Thank you for being understanding, forgiving, and loyal.
Thank you gentlemen, for always being gentlemen even when the world tells you it's archaic, wimpy, and cliche. Thank you for being respectful, humble, and Godly. Thanks for being bold and courageous. Thanks for being hilarious ALL the time. Thank you for all being crazy handsome and fun. ;)
"You may value the friendships of youth and of age,
And select for my comrades the noble and sage;
But the friends that most cheer me on life's rugged road
Are the friends of my Master-the children of God."
-House of the Lord, vs. 3
Because I haven't said it enough,
I'm thankful for you.
* "...In word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."
Young and old.
Relatives and pretend relatives.
I'm thankful for friends that tell you how something you did changed their day, or made them feel warm and happy inside. I'm thankful for friends that make you feel all warm and happy inside. I'm thankful for friends that make you cry.
but cry with you.
I'm SO thankful,
for these PEOPLE.
aah!! Thank you, Lord.
It makes the struggles of this life infinitely easier.
It's why we drive miles and miles to church meetings and singing schools as often as we can, even though gas is expensive and there's tons of stuff we should be doing at home.
All so we can worship, and grow, and learn to praise God in song with kindred spirits:
This crazy group of kids trying to be an example of the believers.*
So we can hold one another up.
So we can be together.
For all of you that I've been a terrible friend to, and completely neglected over the past months or even years, I'm sorry.
I love you All, and thank YOU for your love and friendship.
Thank you girls, for being sincere, loving, and comforting. Thank you for being beautiful, elegant, and modest. Intelligent and wise. Crazy and fun. Helpful and kind, always. Thank you for being understanding, forgiving, and loyal.
Thank you gentlemen, for always being gentlemen even when the world tells you it's archaic, wimpy, and cliche. Thank you for being respectful, humble, and Godly. Thanks for being bold and courageous. Thanks for being hilarious ALL the time. Thank you for all being crazy handsome and fun. ;)
"You may value the friendships of youth and of age,
And select for my comrades the noble and sage;
But the friends that most cheer me on life's rugged road
Are the friends of my Master-the children of God."
-House of the Lord, vs. 3
Because I haven't said it enough,
I'm thankful for you.
* "...In word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."
Thursday, November 19, 2009
This Evening
I took a walk and saw an angel in the clouds. Glory.
The Scientist played the moment i walked back into my room. Thanks, Coldplay.
I'm thankful for the little blessings.
Thanksgiving is one week away. Let the countdown begin!
What are you thankful for?
The Scientist played the moment i walked back into my room. Thanks, Coldplay.
I'm thankful for the little blessings.
Thanksgiving is one week away. Let the countdown begin!
What are you thankful for?
/mj
Monday, November 9, 2009
"City of Black & White"
My First go with a film camera set on manual. These were my favorites.
Darn the computer for making them extra blurry, but i kinda like it.
(a few of them turned out a little blurry to start with) ;)
My goal for next time is to get more contrast. help?? (que Maggie.)
I love black and white film, don't you?
(The Coldplay one might be my favorite favorite even though it really is blurry.)
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
"I'm not a real girl. I'm just Mary-John"
I'm tired. I'm sleepy. I'm tired of seeing this country go to pot. Let's do something about it. no, really. it's time.
I've been rude to my family lately.
I haven't shaved my legs in days...
I haven't taken off this nail polish...and i hate and abhor chipped fingernail polish.
There are people in our country trying to use our tax dollars to pay for the killing of our babies.
Sometimes I wish Facebook would disappear. Just run away...explore a new life, taking over some other society. (yet, who happens to be logged in right this minute??)
I'm not behind in school...yet. Tomorrow- Defensive driving course with Whitney. all day. Thursday, Friday, & Saturday- Working at Christmas Village. gag.
Senior Pictures: another thing still on the checklist.
Guess which teeth are still in my mouth and shouldn't be? ...oh wise ones...
How come I NEVER get to the rest of the stuff on my To Do list?
I feel like NOTHING I do am I doing a complete and thorough job, to the best of my abilities. I feel rushed in everything.
I'm feeling overwhelmed. I don't want to just get-by. Will I ever get to things like painting my closet doors and working on my stories from years ago? Finish every single piece of art work that i never finished? (there are many.)
What things could i accomplish if I managed my time more wisely? I don't want my life to fly by... and me think oneday...but there were so many things i never did. I never accomplished anything! because i was... lazy??
But it's alright.
I'm NOT behind in school.
I have a home and a family. that's all that matters.
My desire to get in the Word increases daily. I love how the more you read, the more you truly want to.
Thank you Lord for apologies. and forgiveness.
I am thankful for nail polish.
I can be happy now.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
My Turquoise Chair
This was my chair....my turquoise chair. I saw it, I loved it, it was mine. I went to get my chair today. It was gone. And I am sad. To my chair.....
Introduction to Painting
Project one: Still Life (From Life)
A-
Project Two: Still Life (Photograph)
Project requirements- still life using fruits and vegetables that represnt a marriage.
not graded yetSunday, October 4, 2009
Grace and Providence
Almighty King! whose wondrous hand
Supports the weight of sea and land;
Whose grace is such a boundless store,
No heart shall break that sighs for more;
Thy Providence supplies my food,
And tis' thy blessing makes it good;
My soul is nourished by thy word,
Let soul and body praise the LORD.
My streams of outward comfort came
From him, who built this earthly frame;
Whate'er I want his bounty gives,
By whom my soul for ever lives.
Either his hand preserves from pain,
Or, if I feel it, heals again;
From Satan's malice sheilds my breast,
Or overrules it for the best.
Forgive the song that falls so low
Beneath the gratitude I owe!
It means thy praise, however poor,
An angel's song can do no more.
- William Cowper
Supports the weight of sea and land;
Whose grace is such a boundless store,
No heart shall break that sighs for more;
Thy Providence supplies my food,
And tis' thy blessing makes it good;
My soul is nourished by thy word,
Let soul and body praise the LORD.
My streams of outward comfort came
From him, who built this earthly frame;
Whate'er I want his bounty gives,
By whom my soul for ever lives.
Either his hand preserves from pain,
Or, if I feel it, heals again;
From Satan's malice sheilds my breast,
Or overrules it for the best.
Forgive the song that falls so low
Beneath the gratitude I owe!
It means thy praise, however poor,
An angel's song can do no more.
- William Cowper
Friday, October 2, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Haste Makes.... Waves?
I put a pot of water on the stove to boil for pasta,
then reached for my crock of sea salt.
It was empty.
I found a new package of sea salt in the cabinet, left the crock open to refill,
and turned to grab a knife and open the package.
I quickly sliced open the package, turned back to the stove, and in my usual
trying-to-do-too-many-things-at-once-suppertime-haste,
I poured the entire package of salt into the pot of boiling water!
As I turned to pour the salty water into the sink, Brett and Morgan walked in.
Apprising the situation and trying to offer support, Brett said,
"Now you've got sea-water!"
To which Morgan quipped,
"Go ahead and make some waves!"
I put a pot of water on the stove to boil for pasta,
then reached for my crock of sea salt.
It was empty.
I found a new package of sea salt in the cabinet, left the crock open to refill,
and turned to grab a knife and open the package.
I quickly sliced open the package, turned back to the stove, and in my usual
trying-to-do-too-many-things-at-once-suppertime-haste,
I poured the entire package of salt into the pot of boiling water!
As I turned to pour the salty water into the sink, Brett and Morgan walked in.
Apprising the situation and trying to offer support, Brett said,
"Now you've got sea-water!"
To which Morgan quipped,
"Go ahead and make some waves!"
Friday, September 18, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Adventures in Art School
"The Dancing Monkey"
episode one
Monday in my Digital Media class my professor was apologizing for the boring subject matter that was on the agenda for the day. He continued onto wish that he could just have a "dancing monkey" come in everyday and entertain us but sooner or later we were going to have to actually cover some material. At this point in his ramble the girl behind me (*mj- sky) jokingly offered to bring her "dancing monkey" to the following class.
The professor's eyes lit up as he exclaimed, "I have one"!
He ran from the room to return a few moments later with....
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
Senior year is finally here...
While we were away at singing schools, parties, and lake weekends, the summer just sort of slipped past. It was a beautiful summer, full and happy. It's saying goodbye now. A light breeze has a appeared, the smell of fall is here, and the spirit of football, no doubt is wide-spread throughout the south.
hey fall.
The fact that I am a senior is scary, scary to me. This is my last year of high school, my last year of school at home. At the same time, I can't help be excited about all that is coming. Please pray for me that I will know where God is leading me.
love to you all!
(image courtesy of google)
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