Saturday, December 31, 2011

20 things to do in 2012


1. Schedule things out with the knowledge that they probably won’t happen – just to test flexibility. ;)

2. Try out a new recipe at least once a month (just twelve; can’t be that bad, right?).

3. Completely restore the backyard to its former glory (assuming it had some).

4. Get a job. (Joanne Fabrics, a barn… Joanne Fabrics…)

5. Finish writing a book.

6. Sew a medieval dress.

7. Improve guitar skills.

8. Make impossible goals and be insanely surprised that they happen.

9. Train the dog to do something other than ‘sit’.

10. Sing in public without passing out or having a zombie-moment.

11. Become a more avid blogger.

12. Memorize a Bible passage at least once a month.

13. Read a book at least once a week.

14. Perfect an Irish accent.

15. Write/video at least four skits for Purple Ninjas.

16. Talk to people that I don’t normally.

17. Write a song that isn’t stupid.

18. Spend more time studying – and do well without guessing in school.

19. Keep my areas of the house clean… and maybe areas that aren’t technically ‘mine’.

20. And… maybewearskirtsmoreoften.


~Charli Rae |Job 39:19-25|

New Year's... Not!

Ug! I'm always so behind! I'll have to do my New Year's post tomorrow (which means I won't get to it until Wednesday, at least), and then it'll be on to 11th grade and who knows how often I'll manage to remember this blog?!

Sorry. I'll calm down now. I have someone I want you to meet.



Isn't she beautiful? She doesn't have the smooth lines of my mom's, or the fancy stitches that my gramma's has, but she's the first one I can call all my own. And she's fast. Really fast. 


Not to mention I won't have to worry about running out of bobbin thread in the middle of a project.

And, speaking of projects...

With my new sewing machine (who currently does not have a name) I am embarking on Project Bucket List 12: Sew a Medieval-Style Dress.


Prepared with yards and yards of gorgeous velvety-green fabric, intricate ribbon, and a pattern I have no clue how to read...


...I might finally be able to check something off my bucket list besides going places.


~Charli Rae 
|Job 39:19-25|

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Usually I'm counting down the days 'till Christmas from 364, but, somehow, Christmas managed to sneak up on me this year. After singing carols and drinking hot cocoa with my friend on an 80+ degree night, it finally hit me around eleven thirty last night... "Omigosh, Katie! TOMORROW'S CHRISTMAS EVE!"

And that 'tomorrow' is today. It's Christmas Eve. We've been cooking all day, it seems, and in a few hours we'll head off to church for the Christmas Eve Service. Then we'll come back, watch Polar Express while normal people watch It's a Wonderful Life, then we'll open a gift or two and go to bed.

In our old house, where we lived for six-years-and-four-months, I hated sleeping on the night before Christmas. Not when my presents were taunting me just around the door! But now I like it. It might just be that I'm older. It could also very well be that, in this house, we have a fireplace, and from my bed I can see the fire. But it's probably just that I'm an insomniac and, for some reason, it's been easier the past few years to sleep on Christmas Eve. (Though last night I slept pretty good, too...)

Anyway, to end this babbling post (actually, only three paragraphs, now that I look), would you like to read a story that Alyx came up with and I wrote down years ago? If so, feel free to keep reading. If not, go ahead and ex-out of your browser - it is pretty goofy.

*Ahem*

Hello, my name is Sandy Livingston. My family and I moved to Orlando, Florida into a small neighborhood called Lake Bosse. While I was exploring the house, I tripped over a loose floorboard. A hidden staircase fell from the ceiling. I, being adventurous, climbed up slowly. There was nothing in the attic but a couple of boxes and some sort of machine in the corner. I walked over to the machine and saw a blue crystal. I picked up the crystal, realizing that it was a time machine.
“Where would you like to go?” the time machine asked.
After thinking for a moment, I answered, “The birth of Christ.”
“When you wish to come back, hold the crystal in your right hand and say ‘Take me home’.”
There was a bright flash of light and by the time I could see again, I was in the dessert. On my left there were two pal trees, and on my right was a small pool. In the distance I could see black specks. As they drew nearer, I made out a couple camels, and on them, three kings. Or they looked like kings.
They stopped in from on me. One of them said, “Who are you?”
“I’m… Sandy Livingston.”
“Where are you going?”
“Um… Bethlehem?”
“We are heading that way also. Would you like to join us?”
“Sure.”
I mounted a camel. After riding for about an hour, it had grown really dark, and the star we were following stopped above a barn.
“We are here,” the first king announced.
 We walked in and the kings gave gold, frankincense, and myrrh to a baby in a feed box.
“Um… I don’t have a gift,” I whispered to the first king. The king touched the bandana that was tied around my neck.
“This will be your gift,” he said.
I untied it and laid it across Jesus. I looked up and Mary smiled at me. I hitched a ride with the kings back to the spot I came from and watched them disappear into the distance. Then I took out the blue crystal and whispered, “Take me home.”
Another bright flash and I was back in the attic. Not a second had passed. I returned the crystal just in time to hear my mom call, “Sandy, time for dinner!”
“Coming, Mom!”
I smiled as I climbed down the stairs, pulling out a piece of straw I had taken from the barn.
~Charli Rae 
|Job 39:19-25|

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

And Creative Juices Flow... sorta...

{random new idea... don't know if i'll continue it... your thoughts?}


“Liadyn, get out of the pantry!” said the cook.

“Liadyn, get out from beneath the stairs!” said the butler.
“Liadyn, get out of the barn!” said the groom.
“Liadyn, get out!” said her father.
So out she went. Not permanently, of course. In fact, she only went down the street to the blacksmith’s shop and returned just after nightfall. But Liadyn had always been a wild child, and her absence caused such an uproar in the house that the staff promised, if she ever came back, to treat her much more carefully. And Liadyn despised it. She was babied, given everything she wanted, spoken to as if she was an infant, everything was done for her, and worst of all, she was no longer permitted to leave the house without an escort. Sometimes it was the butler, sometimes it was the groom - on rare occasions it was the cook and rarer still it was her father or eldest brother. But if she was allowed her choice, she always chose the aged gardener, for he never wanted to walk far, and when she wanted to go to the blacksmith’s, he complied, for there were places to sit.
And so Liadyn grew up, with the ability to do nothing and the longing to do everything. She could never help with supper - no, the cook would make sure it arrived at the table on time. She could never help with the cleaning - the butler was far too meticulous and was afraid of anything breaking. She could never help get her horse ready - when the groom brought him out, he was already immaculately brushed and saddled. And she certainly never, ever helped her father with his work. The only thing she could do was stoke a fire and pound out rings on an anvil, but if the household knew she could do that, surely they would take that away, as well.
As she grew, Liadyn slowly underwent a transformation - she was no longer a wild child. She became more thoughtful, quiet. But she always wished she had fought harder to keep herself the way she was; interesting. She was not an only child, nor was she the eldest or youngest. She was the fifth of eight children, sharing light brown curls with six of them and pale green eyes with three, and in the area of other similarities, she was perhaps the most unremarkable. But by being upbeat and energetic, she stood out. And now, sixteen years old, she was by far the most boring.
That was why she was beyond surprised when her older sister, Haizea’s, friend convinced Haizea to bring Liadyn along to a tournament in the city. “What kind of tournament?” Liadyn asked, but all she got was a degrading look and a, “This is why I don’t take you to things. And by the way, if you tell Dad where we’re going, I’ll kill you.”
Liadyn did not feel the least bit frightened, but she kept quiet anyway. She rarely ever got to sneak out, and this time she had a sibling in on it. So she shrugged off the threat and on a light cloak and followed her sister out the window and down the street.


And then it jumps right into the story. What do you think? Is the description too long? Does the wording seem funky anywhere?

~Charli Rae 
|Job 39:19-25|

Monday, December 5, 2011

*Your Dreams...Come...True...*


Yesterday we spent the whole afternoon at Magic Kingdom and the evening at Epcot. Hence the matching shirts, Cinderella's castle in the background, and very messy hair (thank you, roller-coasters.)



We went on Thunder Mountain (of course), then tried something that I haven't done since... well, long before I could actually drive. Needless to say I did much better this time.


I got a picture of my dad, too - he had been looking around for me and his expression was fantastic when he found me... but the picture looks a lot less blurry on the camera screen.



We actually did the Haunted Mansion first (it was a bit of a letdown; it didn't make me jump once!). On this one, very strange, occasion, going through the line was actually more entertaining than the ride itself.
First there was a ghost horse...



Then there was a piano...



And though many of the tombstones were laugh-worthy, this one hit me hard. I never got the chance to apologize to the people behind us in line, though...



Then we went off to Epcot, where it was dark and, quite frankly, I forgot to take pictures. But it was fun. Now, thanks to the ride Soarin', I really want to go hang-gliding over a mountain. Or the ocean. Or the desert, it really doesn't matter.

Anyway, to conclude I'd just like to say that I enjoy random vacations so much more than vacations with reasons.

~Charli Rae 
|Job 39:19-25|

PS{and better yet, i beat ben to this post! ;)}