avast!!

arr, matey! today be ye "national talk like a pirate day!" if ye scallywags wish to speak as a pirate, ye must plunder this site to be one of us! enjoy the high seas, ye ones. gar!!!

hilarious

i'm so gonna have to try this. a few curse words for those that are offended. but hilarious.

to my jewish peeps

Birthdays

okay, here go birthday wishes for the last week:

my nephew, Killian Rudd, on august 17. Happy Birthday, little guy, even though you can't even read yet!

my brother-in-law, Joshua Rudd, on august 22. (i hope that's right) Happy Birthday, brother!!

my best friend, Abbey Bowman, on august 23. Happy Birthday, my good friend! Hope life is treating you well!

update

so, summer is nearing a close and it's been keeping me fairly busy. swim lessons are in full swing, and only a couple more weeks are left for the season. then we take about a 2 month hiatus until the new rec center is opened. after it's built, mind you. i've still got a couple of private lessons i'll be doing, but things are slowing down as we near the end of our busy season.

since i haven't heard back from the ad agency i interviewed with, i'm assuming i didn't et the job. it really sucks. i really do want a full-time job, but i know i don't want to sit in a cube all day long. and while i enjoy teaching/managing swim lessons, i don't think i want to be doing that the rest of my life.

on a few happy notes, i finished with counseling. some of you may remember i started on a journey back in october of 2005. here is where it all came clear to me. i have been going to counseling for a few months now and my counselor said she thought we were finished. of course i'm not always happy, and of course i still miss my mom, but i've learned how to cope and process in a healthy, God-directed way. so that is exciting.

a friend of mine has agreed to disciple me and i'm super excited about that. we're still setting up our first time and what all we will be going over, but this is such an answer to prayer. see, i had asked a woman i knew a few years ago if she would disciple me, and because of things going on in her life, it just wasn't the right time. i was a little discouraged, but i knew it wasn't anything personal. however, i haven't asked anyone since. maybe i was afraid i'd be told no again, or maybe i just gave up too soon. but God put it on my heart, and i asked, being okay with whatever the answer would be. we both prayed about it and now we are on our way.

more good news, my friend sharon and i are leading worship out in tyler on sunday. we used to lead worship together in our college group and in out worship band, philippi. we are both really excited. this is something else i've been praying about, an opportunity to lead worship somewhere again, whether as the lead worshipper or just a part of a team. well, i get to do both. we are trading off leading out. i can't really describe it, but it just feels so good and right to be doing this again. like she and i are supposed to be doing this.

i've also been doing a little more photography. my bro-in-law went to prom with a friend a couple months ago, so i took my gear over and we did pictures in the house. i also am taking my youngest bro-in-law's senior pictures. we finally got around to do one shoot, during the week it wasn't raining here and we were both available. i'm also going to be taking more pictures of the hill family. we haven't scheduled that yet, though. "special k" is already 7 months old. i can't believe it. we need some updated pictures of him. and i'll also be scouting locations and taking pictures for my production company's upcoming film. i really want to save up for a better still camera. but i also want to save up for a video camera, too. decisions, decisions.

well, that's about it for now. more to come later!

one of my favorite bands EVER

so the goo goo dolls have a new song out. it's from transformers. i love these guys. josh and i hope to go see them at the end of august, but we're not sure if we can afford it. i've wanted to see them live for a loooooong time. eventually. *sigh* enjoy the video!

in memoriam

i wanted to take some time today and thank all the veterans and current military men and women for what you've done and what you do. whether you believe in the causes you fight for or not, you still serve our country. sometimes i take for granted how blessed i am to live in america. sure, it has it's problems, but i live in a country where i can practice my faith freely, where i don't have to be afraid to say the name Jesus, where i can worship my Maker publicly and not in secret. thanks to those who made that possible and to those who continue to fight for us. my prayers and thanks.

random factoids

so i was checking out a really cool blog i found, kpinion, and i commented and was asked these five questions by kpinion. here are my answers:

1. If you were stranded on a tropical island and found a crate with a life time supply of one food item, what would that item be? (keep in mind you will most likely be eating this item day in and day out until your rescue)

chocolate chip granola bars. though if asked this at some other point in time, it would probably be different. i figure granola bars are somewhat healthy and i could still get my chocolate fix

2. What is the playlist of your all time favorite album culled from any and all artists and genres?

gosh, this one will take me forever!! just a few, in random order(i have such a wealth of musical knowledge i have to sift through, here!)

name - goo goo dolls
take my life - third day
worlds apart - jars of clay
superstition - stevie wonder
sailing - christopher cross
someone like you - van morrison
i love to tell the story - hymn with extra chorus by me
come away - nickel and dime
obsession - david crowder* band
for what it's worth - buffalo springfield
i believe - blessid union of souls
refine me - jennifer knapp
by your side - sade
standing outside a broken phone booth with money in my hand - primitive radio gods

that's the album at this current time. i love music and have a music library over 100gb, so it's a little hard to whittle it all down to just one album. let's say this is disc one, disc two to come later...


3. Describe yourself in five words.

spunky
unique
caring
faithful
growing


4. What is something about yourself that you find individualistic and you love it?

i go back and forth on this, but i would have to say my voice. most people who hear me sing tell me i have such a unique voice and that i don't sound like anybody they've ever heard before. trust me, i'm no whitney or mariah, i don't have that kind of power, but i think i can have a lot of passion in my voice. right now i'm in a period where i really do like my voice

5. What is a "most embarrasing moment" that you tell with pride?

i don't really seem to remember getting embarrassed too much. this didn't really embarrass me but i fell down the stairs at my high school graduation. not full-out smack-your-face-on-the-floor kind of fall, but more in the my-shoe-caught-on-the-cable-on-the-steps-that-really-shoulda-been-taped-
inside-the-step-so-i-lost-my-balance-but-was-able-to-recover kind of fall. i still love to tell that story, it always makes me laugh!


so there you go! now for the rest of the game.

1. leave me a comment saying, “interview me.” (or any comment at all; they tend to make my day)
2. i will comment/e-mail you with 5 questions of my choosing.
3. you then have to include your answers in an update of your blog. or if you don't have a blog, get one; they're all over.
4. you will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. when others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions. and thus the cycle continues.

have fun!!

i said this while totally trying to be serious...

"i've always heard the expression 'like duck off a water's back'"

what a way to switch around words accidentally. josh and i had a good laugh about this one. again, i was totally trying to be serious.

thank you gregory and the hawk

so i can't really stand beyonce, but this is fantastic. by the way, if anyone wants to buy me their album, it's on itunes.