Dreams and Nectarines

   Oh, I'm sure you know this, but pray for the people in Syria... the whole situation down there. I don't know all the nitty gritty political details, but I know what I know, and it's very distressing. Pray for the feeblest, weakest, and least powerful souls down there- they need it. 

   

    People, people! My thoughts are all over the place! Lots of random and odd things have stirred up happiness in these youthful bones. First of all, I love nectarines. Last night made that love official. I was starved and weary after a long but rewarding day of doing homework, and I desperately needed something to eat. Of course, as soon as I opened the pantry and fridge doors, everything looked quite unappetizing; not like there wasn't anything in them, but what was inside really was not appealing to me. I was about to fling to fridge door closed when all of a sudden, what are my eyes blessed to be beholden unto but a tantalizingly reddish nectarine. All of a sudden, choruses of angels burst forth in the most breathtaking song, and my heart soared. I cut it up and ate it in about five seconds; let me tell you people, those were the best five seconds of that night. The very best. 

Okay, enough of the magnificent events of last night. Onto the duly  happenings of the night before last!

    If you recall, in this post I mentioned going shopping with two of my dearest compatriots; well, the poor things were also subject to me spending the night at their house. (You know I love you ;) Readers, I'm the kind of person who dreams in phases; I can go days, weeks, even MONTHS without remembering any of my dreams, or not having any at all: then there are some periods of time in which I dream much more than one should in a single night- I assume to compensate for dreams lost in the aforementioned barren phase. Then there are times where my dreams are fairly regular and remarkably strange. Two nights ago was one of those nights. This was my dream:

      I was at my delightful grandma's house with my family, and what I remember started with me standing in the hallway outside the upstairs bathroom. I was hacking incessantly! I seriously couldn't stop coughing, and it felt like something was lodged in my throat/chest area. It was really annoying and kind of painful, yet I still coughed. It seemed that my racking coughs would prove fruitless when all of a sudden the foreign body in my throat came up into my mouth!!!! I was like, what IS it?!? I was quite grossed out; as it sat there in my mouth, I evaluated the situation; it was biggish, hard, and had some things sticking out at both ends. "It's one of my vertebrae," I whispered to myself in a panic. I didn't know what to do! I went downstairs in a state of shock to my dad and the rest of my family in the kitchen. "Daddy-" I said, worriedly- "I think I just coughed up one of my vertebrae..." He kind of laughed, which bothered me- I was standing there with this thing in my mouth, and I was starting to feel queasy at the thought of what was in there. I took it out- it had some blood on it- and handed it to him. He took one look at it and laughed some more. "Well," he said, as he wiped it off and turned it right-side-up, "look at that! That's not a vertebrae!" I was flabbergasted. "It's a plastic pig!" He handed it to me, and I was awestruck. I had not indeed coughed up one of my vertebrae but a little plastic pig! (If you've ever played pig, you'll know what I'm talking about.)

(one of these little dudes)

And you know, the scary thing is, my dream really didn't seem that out of the ordinary at all until I explained it to Marcela... 

  

 Another random thing- I'm quite content doing my homework these past two days. It really is not bad at all! There sure is a lot of it, but it's interesting. Pandora is my best friend, followed closely by tea and my sweatpants. I call them my leg hugs, because they're like hugs for my legs, and I love them.

   ANOTHER thing- this was so weird. My parents and I were driving home from mass, and we were stopped behind this bus for a while- these two guys got off it, and one was wearing the average boring beige outfit, but had tied a bright red hoodie around his waist. I had this wild urge to start yelling "Vive la revolution! Vive la revolution!" at him. I associated his red hoodie with the red caps the patriots would wear during the French Revolution for some reason... overload of A Tale of Two Cities, I think. (Which of course, is the opposite of deplorable to me!) 

  

      Peace, people! Have a splendid evening :) 

  

Seasons

Oh, people. I wish I could have taken a picture of it, taken a video, something- and I wish it could capture the beauty I saw today! But unfortunately that's quite impossible. This part of the year always stirs up a pleasant and overall happy disposition that's only unique to this time of year; an anticipation and thrilling sense of excitement that is awakened by the cool September breezes and the turning leaves. And today, as I was looking out the window while my friend was driving through town, I was beholden unto nature in all its glory. It was about 6:00, so the sun was just starting to go down in the sky... Gosh, it was seriously beautiful. It seemed like everything was glowing, and I couldn't stop myself from smiling. I didn't want to sit there with a dorky grin on my face, so I had to practice the art of inconspicuousness; but I was like, YAY! The season is changing, people, and I'm EXCITED. And once I saw the beauty in nature, I could see it in every passing pedestrian, and in every home we passed by; I could feel the love in the world, and it.was.awesome.

BRING ON FALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

Oh, and I got some Eiffel Tower earrings with two of my best friends and sisters that I'm quite excited about, in addition to the changing season... hard to see their full glory in this grainy and out-of-focus picture, but there it is. Okay, I'm going to bed. My contacts are DRY.

School and Crossing the Delaware

SO- today was a really good day. I just got my first Chemistry and Economics assignments which are due on the first day of school-Monday; though I grumbled when I first saw the daunting list of reading assignments and questions and more reading with some MORE questions, I realized I'll be fine. The thing that was the most intimidating wasn't necessarily those assignments, but the reality that the schoolyear is looming. It's HERE. I start a three-day-a-week ballet routine tomorrow. Summer is fading with each passing day; another season over, another year steadily approaching its conclusion. Everything in life approaches an end- the seasons constantly change, we get older, time passes. That thought really scares me; our time on this earth is so short, when contrasted to eternity- I worry that I won't make the best choice I could when I'm faced with something really important, I worry that my life won't end up the way I always wanted it to, I worry that my relationship with God will never be as good as it should be- but amidst all this uncertainty, God's overwhelming mercy and unwavering love are right there. Even if I don't see it. Even if I doubt it's there. He is my anchor. He holds me to what is good and true and beautiful; and His power is so much bigger than my problems. Here's an awesome quote from St. Faustina:

Worry is useless. As Padre Pio said, "Pray, hope, and don't worry. Worry is useless." And when you don't worry, you're so FREEE!!!!! :) And even if the thought of the schoolyear (or whatever it is you might be worrying about) seems to big, too scary, too unknown for you to handle, remember God is bigger, He is more powerful, and he knows what we don't. Nothing is impossible for Him, even if it might seem like it is for us. 

Now, on a less... ah... deep note, I had some great fun with K Dawg playing around in the creek in the woods at my grandparent's house today.... I swiped the back of my jeans on something muddy and fungi-laden, sooo.... that resulted in some crazy happiness. Nah, it ain't that bad. I do hope it comes off in the wash though... Us two geniuses took some great videos that told the epic story of us, two tradesmen, crossing the Delaware river to find items to trade with the Indians in the Americas. Of course, we were in Michigan, but that wasn't PART of the Americas... it's only IN the Americas. Oh, and the only thing we ate for two whole stinking (no pun intended) weeks was wild skunk. Hopefully K Dawg will put the video on the Vortex (aka Facebook) real soonlike. Keep yer eyes peeled ;)

Wonderful

Life is seriously beautiful.

It can be so hard to see through the sludge that the world throws at us sometimes; even day to day monotony can blur the vision of your soul. Sometimes that blindness can overtake you, and make you think that life isn't as wonderful as you once thought it was- but never believe that cunning little voice. 

Life is so much more wonderful than we could ever imagine. But sadly, some people go through the entirety of their life and never fully realize that. You're made for a purpose that is out of this world- literally! You were made from love for love, in a world created by Love itself. Every laugh, comfy chair, hug, ray of sunlight penetrating the stained glass windows in a beautiful church- experiencing these things is one of the ways in which the God of the Universe expresses His infinite and undying love for you. He gives you millions of flowers every day, and loves you through the people in your life. It's so easy to become critical and negative about the people God has given you, and everyone will, but it's so freeing to focus off of their flaws; because God loves us through every person we encounter, we should try so hard to love Him by loving them. 

Just a few short minutes ago, I was listening to some calming music, talking to one of my best friends with whom I haven't talked in a short while, sitting in a squishy chair, relaxing and thinking about my day tomorrow. Meeting two amazing sisters with MY sister for tea, school shopping, going to Mass with a pair of siblings I love with a big part of my heart... and all of a sudden, I was struck with an almost overwhelming feeling of happiness. I knew that God was and is so present, so active in my life- even when I don't realize it and when I'm having trouble trusting that He is. No matter what mood I'm in, how I look, how many friends I have, He loves me with every drop of his Blood; in understanding the fact that I will never grasp the breadth of His love, I was very humbled, but also filled to overflowing with a deep sense of joy, and I was filled with awe not only for my life but for LIFE. God so loved the world that He gave His only Son to live, love, bleed, and die for us. Honestly, the thought that Jesus experienced life just like the rest of us is amazing; he can identify with teenagers and young adults, because he was one. When we feel like no one REALLY understands how we're feeling, he does. Not only because he's God, but because he lived this life, too. So wherever you're at, don't get caught up in whatever circumstances you're in- remember you're immeasurably loved, and that God finds YOU worthy to be a part of the gift of life- which is so overwhelmingly wonderful. 

I thought this was beautiful- not the exact quote, but I read something like this somewhere: 

"The cross turn thorns into roses."

Some of my Favorite Things (Numero Tre)

3. My FAMILY!!!
 This should be number one, I don't know why I didn't think of that sooner.... but alas.
For those of you who don't know, my family is absolutely insane. And by insane, I mean literally. Let's see... my lovely sister who's two years older than me and about five inches shorter (yes, she absolutely LOVES that ;) and I do not communicate using normal language most of the time. Usually it goes like this: I go into the kitchen in the morning to observe my family eating breakfast and take a gander at the unappetizing cereal adorning the shelves of the pantry. (yes I hate cereal, and no I do not eat breakfast; I know, naughty me) I see my sister eating said cereal; I cringe. We make eye contact; I mutter "Neffie!" (I absolutely never call her by her real name, unless I'm mad OR sleep deprived.) And she'll usually make a strange guttural noise. This continues for as long as I chose to linger uselessly in the kitchen, and as we go about our lives during the day, communication between the two of us consists of about 40% of actual English speaking, and about 60% of deranged faces and gave woman noises.
   As for my parents, for the most part I quite appreciate their sense of humor. And their stellar use of electronics. My dad is totally fine, but my darling mother makes some great typos which are autocorrected to things of wondrous hilarity. For instance, just the other day she was texting my sister, telling her that my dad would pick her up from work and that he would bring me. This is what she meant to say: "Will bring BB too." Well, this is what my sister reads: "Will bring Bob too." Pretty funny, but the best part was when my mom was relaying this story to me and started laughing like the world was going to end tomorrow. Since that day, she has taken to calling me Bob, and I have taken to calling her Marley.
   Something about my dad... we have this awesome hug that the two of us do; since I'm only about two inches shorter than him, my poor neck is usually strained to high heaven, but still. Here's how it goes: my left arm is totally limp, and in one fluid motion he grabs it and flings it, in all it's limp  glory, into a hug. Trust me, this looks pretty hilarious when it happens. And it only works with my dad! No one else :D
   Since there's just four of us, we're all quite close; my sister and I are always together. When we were little, people would ask us all the time if we were twins; much to my sister's dismay, we would dress in matching or coordinating clothes for Mass and Christmas pictures, furthering people's assumptions that we were twins. Once we staged out of that, I started growing, so we were about the same height; ain't nothin' changed in the twin inquiries. Then I surpassed her, and we both started getting older, so now it's either, "so you're the graduate, right....?" at me, and my sister has to clarify from five inches below, poor thing =P but it's pretty funny, I have to say-people assume that I'm her and she's me so often that we both answer to each other's name by now. She's my little big sister, and I'm her big little sister :) She is one awesome young lady, people- when she leaves for college (THIS WEEK!!!!!!!) half of me will be gone :( But she shall continue to be in my prayers when she's not living at home anymore!!! I ask all of you to pray for her, if you remember; college is a big transition, and I shall miss her so :( And though one of the Fabulous Four Boyds will be gone, the Fabulous Four Boyds we shall always remain!

Some of my Favorite Things (Numero Due)

2. Stringed instruments.

I harbor a deep affection in my soul for stringed instruments. Can I play a stringed instrument? Absolutely not. But I do listen to others playing them! I have a special spot in my heart for the cello, though. Even if I never learn how to play it, I want to have one someday, so I can at least LOOK at it. There's quite a variety of the circumstances in which I listen to strings; there are the legendary classics, like Chopin's cello sonata, a lovely Bach prelude, the cello version of Lizst's Liebestraum, and perhaps my favorite being Rachmaninoff's cello sonata, Schubert's Ave Maria for strings, Dvorak's romance for piano and violin.... the list goes on and on. (Oh, and Shostakovich's Waltz no. 2 :) Some of my favorite songs of the more contemporary era have some sort of strings incorporated into them- Lana del Rey, as I have mentioned before, has strings in lots of her songs, which I seriously LOVE. It adds so much depth to her songs, it's crazy.
    Here is Rachmaninoff's cello sonata (performed by Yo Yo Ma). This is a song I listen to in the after-midnight hours when I'm studying- everything is dark except for my lamp and my computer screen, it's usually cold enough to snuggle up in a blanket, I'm kind of stressed out, I'm concentrating, and wondering how I'm going to survive- and this song makes all my worries seem so distant, causes time to freeze, and for six minutes, it feels like I'm the only person on this earth; it's just me, Rachmaninoff's cello sonata, and the world. It's splendid :)
    So that was the classical example of wonderful string music; as for modern music that I love with strings? Heck, there's even a Depeche Mode song with them! It's called One Caress... the lyrics are pretty cheesy, but the music is awesome. Not really what you usually hear from Depeche Mode, either. And of course, there's the aforementioned LOVELY Lana del Rey- a multitude of her songs feature strings, including Blue Jeans and Carmen (two of my total favorites!) and the classic Video Games, to name just a few. Check em out, if you're a Lana fan! If you don't really go for her, I totally understand; not everyone does. But the music is seriously fantastic :)

Some of my Favorite Things (Numero uno)

Okay, so I'm going to, in a series of mini-posts, introduce to you a little listy of some of my absolute favorite things of all time. The below item on this list is a specimen of superior of awesomeness. Enjoy!

1. Roses. 

I love flowers of all kinds, but I have to say, my absolute favorites are roses- there's seriously nothing better than big, full, deep red ones. Not only are they terribly romantic, (and by romantic I mean in the authentic sense of the word.... if you know what I'm talking about, you'll know what I mean. Romantic in a kind of mysterious and alluring and beautiful way... hard to explain) but they're also terribly underrated. I mean that red roses so overrated that they don't get the appreciation they deserve most of the time. They've been reduced to being commonplace... oh, sinful. 

      I had an interesting experience with a red rose once... actually a whole bunch of them. It was at school one day; I had started a novena to St. Therese the day before, and I had heard that she sometimes gives actual roses to those who pray to her.... I thought that was AWESOME not only because a saint giving someone a rose is seriously mind-blowing, but because roses are my faves :) This rose-giving phenomenon was on my mind as I was taking out the trash for my end-of-the-schoolday job, and as I flung the trash bag swollen with used paper towels and other garbage paraphernalia into the dumpster, something bright and clean caught my eye- oh, rarity-! and I took a closer look. To my utter astonishment, there was a large cluster of strikingly beautiful and startlingly fresh red roses. Needless to say, my jaw was on the grass in an instant, and I grabbed one. Their aroma was in the air, even around the dumpster. To this day, the head of the rose is on my dresser; dried, but still perfectly bright red. I've dried other red roses, and none of them have retained the same brightness as my St. Therese rose :)

Enjoy your day, and eat some candy.