by the Mall Diva

…just another service he offers.

Ahh, the Crooked Spoon. We were hungry after a long hike. My feet were tired. My mom, sister, and I had left my father at the bar down the street to watch the game end. Sitting at our table, I tried not to fall asleep. We perused our menus and decided what we wanted. There were only a few people in the restaurant.

We didn’t have to wait too long before my father walked in. He seemed to be in a rather jovial mood. We ordered our food and then he shared his story of the man who had “played football before” and the other who was giving himself a pedicure at the bar. *Shudder* Anyway, after a while our appetizer came. It was goat-cheese-and-spinach dip (sounds great, no?) with pita bread. Our pita bread ran out before our dip did. We asked for more pitas, but that took forever, so we were eating the dip with our forks. When our bread finally came, there pretty much wasn’t any dip left…except what my dad had scooped onto his plate earlier. My mom tried to take some, which resulted in my dad getting territorial. Like an animal. Actually, like an ape. “Ooh ooh ooh!” (How do you spell what an ape says, anyways?)

My mom was taken aback, but my sister and I started laughing. She should have told us not to encourage him, because he kept it up all through dinner- playing with his food, beating his chest and scratching his butt like monkeys do. Well, maybe he didn’t really go that far; but whatever. He was scaring the other customers, alright? Because by this time, the restaurant was full. I saw the people behind my dad glance over a couple times, wondering what the heck was going on. I just kept laughing. I was tired, it was funny! We were really starting to wonder just how many beers he’d actually had beforehand.

That is one family vacation memory I will not forget. I’m scarred for life. Darwin would be so proud.

bookmark to:
best casino sites ussoboba casino free slot playbetmgm online casino

Hey, peeps! I may have been silent, but I AM alive, and did indeed have a birthday. Many thanks to the people who noticed and even posted: Uncle Ben and Dan Stover (such as it was).

It’s been a big year. I had my first anniversary at the salon on July 8, and things have been going well. When I tell people what I did on my birthday, they tell me that I’m really an adult now. Want to know what I did? I worked.

I went to work at 9 on that icky-looking Saturday morning with three appointments on my book. Within the first hour, the first two had cancelled. So. It was my birthday, I was stuck at work with nothing to do, and I had left my book at home. Arrgh!

My boss came in at 10 and felt so bad for me, she let me foil her first client. Yay! I had something fun to do! She went to Caribou to get a coffee and was gone for longer than normal. When she came back, I was lamenting to my client about the dissolving of my day and she said “Don’t you have faith that you’ll get some clients?” Mostly I thought she was just teasing me about my name. Soon after that, my third client cancelled. Yup, that made my faith real strong.

A while later the two ladies who own the bakery just down from us came in. One needed her hair colored, and they had brought me a cake!
*Sniff sniff* That’s why my boss was taking forever!! She wasn’t just buying coffee, she was pulling clients out of the bakery- cake and all! And it was a good cake. Then a few minutes later, Will from Caribou came in with a big fat cup of some hot, sugary, syrupy, coffee drink! Guess what I had for lunch?

I felt so loved. And after that, I felt like a small neurotic dog on speed.

That night, we had dinner at Olive Garden and then my family came over, bearing gifts. And my loving mother had also baked me a cake. Not a bad birthday at all.

bookmark to:

“In the world it is called tolerance
but in hell it is called despair.
The sin that believes in nothing,
cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing,
enjoys nothing, finds purpose in nothing,
lives for nothing
but remains alive because there is
nothing which it would die for.”

~Dorothy Sayers

bookmark to:

I just read an article about a study that shows religion is good for kids:

“John Bartkowski, a Mississippi State University sociologist, and his colleagues asked parents and teachers of more than 16,000 kids, most of them first-graders, to rate how much self-control they believed the kids had, how often they exhibited poor or unhappy behavior and how well they respected and worked with their peers.”

I stopped reading after a couple of paragraphs just to throw in my un-biased 2 cents worth of pre-conceived notions. First of all, I think that the word “religion” is sort of a cop-out for people who don’t feel that they need The Relationship. Religion is just the kind of nicey-nice safe sounding generalization that one can throw into a conversation to make themselves feel like a good person while sneakily getting away with not really beieving in anything. It’s also kind of similar to how people use the word “spiritual” or “spirituality”. Sure, one can claim an experience as “religious” or “spiritual” and then write it off, thinking that they’ve done their duty or filled their goodness quota; but if it never reached their heart or renewed their mind or made them strive after reconciliation with the One who gave them life- what is it good for? That’s right- absolutely nothing. Onward…

“The researchers compared these scores to how frequently the children’s parents said they attended worship services, talked about religion with their child and argued about religion in the home. The kids whose parents regualarly attended religious services — especially when both parents did so frequently — and talked with their kids about religion were rated by both parents and teachers as having better self-control, social skills and approaches to learning than kids with non-religious parents.”

I think it comes down to faith. The “religious” parents believe in something, and put that faith into action by going to church with their families (and hopefully not just attending, but actually getting involved somehow) and also discussing what it is that they’re learning, and how it applies to their lives.

These parents realize that there is something bigger than themselves in this world, that they are not the be all and end all, that they are being held responsible for their actions, and that they had better live accordingly. If this is indeed what they believe, than a big part of the actions they are responsible for are their children. In the case of my own parents with me and my sister, they are responsible to “raise us up in the way we should go…”, ultimately teaching us that there is Someone bigger than us, that we are not our own, that we are on this earth for a purpose (not our own purposes), and that we, too, are being held responsible for our actions. We are ultimately here to glorify the Lord, not ourselves. It might not sound appealing, but I have seen examples of both, and I know Who I would rather glorify.

Are the non-religious parents giving their kids anything to live for — besides themselves? I’m not saying they don’t want what’s best for their kids, but what do they really have that they can give them? Money can’t buy love or salvation. Maybe they let their kids do anything they want. Sure, it sounds like more fun — and it probably is; but only for a little while. There is nothing fulfilling or satisfying about living for yourself. I know that lots of people trick themselves into thinking there is, while turning a blind eye to the wretched emptiness of their own soul.

At this point you might be wondering what this has to do with the study at all. Actually, it’s everything. What I believe in has an effect on every single thing in my life, from my attitude and my friends to my grades and habits. I am definitely not perfect in any way, shape or form; but why try for something impossible? I would rather strive for excellence — which I know is attainable — in my job, in school, and in my life.

bookmark to:

This weekend I watched a movie that Princess FlickerFeather let me borrow called “Howl’s Moving Castle”. It is an anime by Hayao Miyazaki that’s based on the book by Diana Wynne Jones. I haven’t really watched much anime aside from the Pokemon craze that hit my school back in 5th or 6th grade, but I liked this movie. It was pretty entertaining. Howl himself is very vain, and at one point he proclaims:

“I give up. I see no reason to go on living if I can’t be beautiful.”
Heehee! I’d recommend it.

I also just finished a book that Princess FlickerFeather(again) let me borrow. See, she’s the one that’s big into movies and books, and she tells me what to read or see, because I really don’t pay that much attention. I haven’t been to the library in forever. Anyway! The book is called “Kissing Adrien”, and its by Siri L. Mitchell. It takes place in France, and its romantic and hilarious! Its the kind of book that I didn’t want to end, but the end was wonderful, so its okay.

And now for something completely different! (Hi, Carol!)

Monday nights are practice nights for the little drama that PFF and I are putting together. Tonight was no different; we drove to church and practiced with about ten other kids. It’s going really well, btw. Anyway, in my car I have this little stuffed elephant with really long arms and legs- you know, the kind with velcro on the feet so that you can hang it around your neck. His name is Winston, and he usually hangs on the armrests between the front seats. Well, tonight after practice I came out and got in my car and something was wrong. Winston was sitting on my steering wheel, his arms wrapped around it to keep him on; his beady little eyes looking at me. It freaked me out. What kind of crazy person would scare a little girl with her own stuffed elephant?? At least they didn’t cut his head off and send it to me.

At this point I know you’re all probably incredibly worried about my safety, but it’s alright, I figured out who did it. And it’s the kind of person that likes to play with other people’s minds like a drunk kitten. I bet you can guess, too.

bookmark to:

…So therefore, I must write.

I’m sitting in my pajamas on the couch listening to my sister practicing a new language. She can speak it pretty fast, and I can only make out some of the words; but for the most part it sounds like this: “buckbuck buck BUUUCK, buck buckbuck buck buck.” I’m not sure what it means. Maybe she’s turning into a chicken.

I’m also watching the bird tear apart an old newspaper we rolled up and stuck in her cage. She’s crazy about it. All day she chews on it. In the morning when my mom takes the blanket off her cage, she’s already tearing away. There’s now newspaper confetti all over the floor.

I have today off, but my cousin is coming over for a foil. She’s been blonde for a few years, but last time we put in some lowlights and it turned out gorgeous. We’re going to do it again today. It’s also my day to cook, and after that, Tiger Lilly and I have to go to practice a drama that Princess FlickerFeather is putting together and I am assistant director of. It’s to a song by Third Day called “Thief”, and it’s about the thief that was on the cross next to Jesus who ended up in Paradise. Bet you can’t guess when that one’s going to be performed!

So anyway, I’ll see y’all at Keeg’s a week from Thursday!

bookmark to:

Hi guys! I know it’s been a long time; my dad never misses a chance to remind me. Life around here has been hectic lately, and I really don’t think I have anything to write about anyway, but he doesn’t buy it.

Hmmm…What can I talk about?

We (okay, I mean my dad) went out and bought our Christmas tree last Saturday. Tonight it was finally put in it’s stand. We probably won’t decorate it for another week or so. Poor thing, it must feel neglected. I’m sure the tree-huggers will be after us soon.

So, I’ve been doing some Christmas shopping recently, and I’m very proud of myself. My favorite store this year for gifts is the Bibelot Shop, which is actually just across the street and half a block from Keegan’s. By the way, I will be at Keegan’s this Thursday, because I know that all of you have missed me so much.

And in other news, I have temporarily put the wrist sweaters away because of extremely freezing temperatures. Yes, that’s right. All you wristsweataphobes can breathe easy. Now I have real mittens, the kind where the top flips up and velcroes to the back so fingers are free! Yay!

See you at Keegan’s!

bookmark to: