X-Tennis

Extreme tennis. Ever played?

Extreme tennis is where you use more than one tennis court and don't use the regular nets as the actual net. Where I went to high school there are two sets of three courts and a high fence separates each set. There's also a fence surrounding the area of all six courts. Alright, so if there are four/six players, two/three spread out on each side of the fence, utilizing three courts. The 'net' is the high fence. It's really brilliant, I promise. There aren't a lot of rules; the number of bounces the ball takes and whether it's played 'in' the lines don't matter. Just volley the ball (or balls for an extra challenge!) back and forth over the 'net' and make up objectives as you go or see how long you can keep the ball in the air. Make it your own!

Way fun.

Gertie

'Turning away from the privileged world of the "eminent Vicotrians," Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) explored, mapped, and excavated the world of the Arabs. Recruited by British intelligence during World War I, she played a crucial role in obtaining the loyalty of Arab leaders, and her connections and information provided the brains to match T.E. Lawrence's brawn. After the war, she played a major role in creating the modern Middle East and was, at the time, considered the most powerful woman in the British Empire.'

The above is a backcover description of the book Desert Queen, a biography of Gertrude Bell. My mom bought it for me last year and I decided to reread it. It's a great book. While I was reading it (on the way to Utah last fall, mostly), I found myself thinking, 'Uh! That's what I want to do! That's where I want to work! Those are the kind of people I want to meet! No fair!' Of course, my path of life has taken a turn from back then, but still. I found myself really coming to admire Gertrude. She was an amazing woman, especially for her time of living and the society she was raised in. Her life was truly one grandiose adventure. Magnificent, magnificent woman.

Guitar Hero

Guitar Hero [III].
It rocks my world.
Really.

I think my brother got it for his birthday last year... ? That sounds right. Today he decided to go out and buy the Aerosmith version. Brilliant.

The best part of it all is that my dad likes to play GH. So, so cool. Honestly.

Kids

I love children.
I really do.
Even though sometimes I try to convince myself that I really don't.
You see, youth I never have a problem with.
But children? Sometimes I find that my patience wears thin when I'm around them.
I get frustrated. Irritated. Yadda, yadda, yadda.
God knows how many times I've said or thought, 'I'm never having kids!'

Such a lie.

This morning in Sunday school I let the kids (kindergarteners and first-graders) have some free time before we started. Holy cow. They are so precious. I happened to have my camera with me (a practice I am trying to exercise more and more these days) and decided to take a few shots. Nothing special. But I thought I'd share one today.

Utah

I miss Salt Lake City.
I miss University of Utah's campus.
I miss the mountains.
I miss Cru.
I miss The Mount.
I miss Ute-Nited.
I miss riding on TRAX.
I miss Darcy.
I miss Katie.
I miss Tiffany.
I miss Brittany.
I miss Kastin.
I miss Matt.
I miss Landon.
I miss Ross.
I miss Spencer.
I miss Zach.
And many more, mind you.

I miss Utah.

Scrapers

We finished painting the houses yesterday, so the Mid-Hi teams were sent downtown to Trinity United Methodist Church. There, we were to scrape paint off of metal staircases and railings, which turned out to be incredibly difficult.

Unfortunately/Fortunately (it truly depends on your point of view) early in the day, one of the girls was sitting near me and somehow accidentally scraped my back with her scraper... and it felt amazing. [We're still unsure of how it all happened - it was such a blur.] So paintscrapers turn out to be really excellent back scratchers. If you've ever had your head massaged/rubbed, it feels like that... but on your back. Yeah. It's not just like a regular ol' backscratching session. It's more relaxing. Soothing.

Thus, I don't think I need to say how much time was spent in backscratching chains.

It. was. epic.

Marbles

The owner of one of the houses we've been working on used to be a worker for the city. He cleaned and repaired the streets and sidewalks for a good forty years or so. During those years he often found many children's marbles and, in finding them, kept them! He wanted to give all of us workers one marble.

How awesome is that?

[Mine is clear and orange. Definitely the coolest.]

Mid-Hi

So this morning I went over to the church to see if Phil (the youth pastor) needed any help on one of the mission teams. Because of the flooding here in Cedar Rapids, the annual Des Moines trip for the Mid-Hi was cancelled; the Senior-Hi decided to stay and do flood relief work here instead of going to Minnesota. Also because of the flooding, one of the youth projects that was supposed to happen in June was cancelled - Paint by Neighbors - so that is what the Mid-Hi has been doing this week.

I just sort of placed myself on the Mid-Hi team because I didn't have any work boots, basically. Plus I love working with Mid-Hi, so it was what I wanted to do! But you know, as we head out to the work sites, I look around me and realize that I don't know these middle schoolers. It's a new group and I wonder how this could have happened so suddenly. I felt old. I'm 19, for goodness' sake! I start to worry about not being connected with these kids since I've not been around the youth group for the past couple of years. But I love working with Mid-Hi and I was determined to not let the fact that I don't know these kids bring me down.

Fortunately, my worries started to dissipate once we got to the houses the group has been working on. All it takes is some introductions, encouragement to get started and a little chit-chat and song-singing while we work to get in my Mid-Hi mode. Soon I'm practically one of them and I'm in my element, both with the kids and the painting. Bliss.

India

Just throwing this out there for future thought and whatnot: I want to go to India. For missions, I mean.

I'm reading this amazing book titled Revolution in World Missions by K.P. Yohannan. It is truly rocking my world. I haven't gotten very far yet because I've been picking it up and putting it down all day, but man oh man! Tomorrow after I get home from helping with the youth group missions I plan on sitting down and reading the rest of it. I'm a quick reader, it'll only take about an hour. Which is good, because I'll probably be super tired after tomorrow's day.

But seriously. I'll have to write more about the actual book later and do some reflection on it.

Family

You have no idea how much I love my family.

I laughed so much tonight, my stomach is still hurting.

But I don't mind.
Not a bit.

Lazy Days

The following picture depicts what part of a summer day in the life of Natalie consists of.


















I was just sitting here, deciding what to write about, when I looked over and saw this image. So I figured, 'Why not write about it? Three cheers.'

Now, I don't sit in my room and read all day, every day. But when that sounds more appealing than doing anything else, I've got all I need. A new stack-up of books to read, a bottle of nice, cold water, my cell phone, and the fan that my friend Chongkai brought back from China for me. Which yes, I do use - and it's way nice, because my room gets really warm in the summer. Thanks, Chongkai! Nice to know that it's not just sitting in my room looking pretty, eh?

I had just finished reading a few books a couple days ago and hadn't picked out anything new, so I went downstairs to the library to do so. I came back upstairs with Washington Square by Henry James, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and a compilation of world mythology by various authors. I've never read Washington Square and I'm one of those seemingly few people who enjoyed Great Expectations, so I'm reading it again. As for the world mythology book, I've read a few of the tales in it before, but most of them I have not. It should be an interesting read.

After some morning and early afternoon yardwork and helping out in the kitchen at my church for the mission crews' meals, I should like to think that I'll return home to do some reading and turn the remainder of the day into a lazy day. Complete with sitting on the porch (even if it is unfinished) and sipping iced tea (even if it is not good ol' fashioned southern sweet tea).

I can't wait.

TroSno

Tropical Sno is totally groovy.
Tropical Sno is totally scrumptious.

Tropical Sno is the way to go.

Tropical Sno is shaved ice.
You know.
Sno cones.

The most ingenius summertime treat ever imagined and created.

Bahama Mama is a personal favorite of mine.
Mango.
Passionfruit.
Pink Lemonade.
It sounds ridiculous, but my tastebuds tell me differently.

Flowers

Today my dad and I went out to look at flowers. Kind of late in the season to be doing so, but we thought we'd check what's available at this point in time anyway. There were a lot of different types, both of annuals and perennials. Zinnias, gernaiums, hibiscus, azaleas, marigolds, meadow sage, baby's breath, wormwood, yarrow, cone flowers, goldenrods, knockout roses. The list goes on. Oh man.

We have to make sure that the plants we use are unliked by deer, otherwise they will eat everything they come across. Usually the stronger the smell, the less likely they are to find it delectable. Ha.

I'm really enjoying talking it all out with my dad. It's nice to spend more time with him and talk what seems to be more often. I wouldn't trade our chats or times together for the world.

Weeding

I spent most of my day cleaning up our step-garden along the side (well, it's like the front to most people) of our house and clearing one of the paths in our backyard garden areas. I worked for a good five or six hours, but it looks like I spent maybe an hour or so on each. And there's still so much to do! I just did a general weeding of each area. I have to still go back and do the nit-picky things such as getting all the rhizome roots - which are ridiculously difficult to completely get out of the ground - and whatnot.

My hands hurt. My fingers hurt. My fingernails hurt.
But it's a good hurt, because I accomplished something and each area looks just that much nicer. ... Even if I did forget to cut back those daisies [like my mom said to] and instead cleanly plucked them completely from their abode of soil.

It was a good day, though. Pretty humid - just the way I like it. Blue skies. There was a nice breeze now and then. I'm glad it didn't start raining until the evening - and I certainly hope it doesn't rain tomorrow, because I have more weeding to do!

Mitch

Mitch Hedberg:
Comedic genius.
Selfish idiot.

Take your pick.

Hedberg was one of those funny guys who was really into substance abuse and ended up overdosing. Go figure.

I know this is kind of a negatively-toned post. I apologize.

But seriously. Hedberg was definitely hilarious. One-liners, wordplay. Non-sequiturs. His style was kind of unconventional. Interesting delivery. The way he spoke was unique, you could say. A lot of people said he was always stoned during performances, but he said that was never the case.

I'm sorry that he's not around anymore. Supposedly Comedy Central produced a cd with new Mitch Hedberg material that had never been released or performed. I think it came out in early June... ? I'll have to look into that. Anyway, check him out if you haven't heard any of his stuff.

'My apartment is infested with koala bears. It's the cutest infestation ever. Way better than cockroaches. When I turn on the light a bunch of koala bears scatter. And I don't want 'em to, you know? I'm like, 'Hey... hold on, fellas. Let me hold one of you. ... Feed you a leaf.' Why do koala bears... they're so cute... why do they have to be so far away from me? We need to ship a few over. And I will apprehend one. And hold 'em. Alright. And pat it on the back of its head.'

Oh brother...

My brother is back from Japan! Wes spent four weeks overseas on a school trip to apply what he's learned in Japanese and to learn whatever he could. He spent two weeks in Okinawa in a homestay and went to school with his host student at their school, which is a sister school to Wesley's high school. It's cool, because every year in February/March a group of kids from Okinawa come over to our high school and do a homestay. We've hosted a student for the past three years, and Wes stayed with the student we hosted last year, Masachika. Really cool kid. Anyway, after those two weeks the students went over to the mainland and toured different cities and such.

I missed Wes. He's my buddy! So I'm really glad he's home, safe and sound.

Plus now he'll be here to shuck corn with me when need be.

Inys

Inys is one of the first graders in my Sunday School class that I teach. He is, by far, the cutest kid I've ever had in one of my classes. He is also, however, the most talkative child I've ever had in a class - or at least one of them. But he's really not disruptive. He doesn't run around or stir up trouble and commotion. He's simply a little chatterbox! Too cute. I may have to keep tabs on some things he says and post them. It's like watching 'Kids Say the Darndest Things' sometimes!

Bracelets

I'm pretty sure making friendship bracelets is one of my favorite things to do in the entire world.
Pretty sure.

Aw, shucks!

I really love to shuck corn that my family's going to eat for dinner.

I really hate to shuck corn that my family's going to eat for dinner without my brother.

Imagination

You know, I think people lose touch with their imagination as they grow older, and that's a darn shame.

"Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive - it's such an interesting world. It wouldn't be half so interesting if we know all about everything, would it? There'd be no scope for imagination then, would there?"

This quote comes from the book Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, which I've recently picked off from one of the 'kid shelves' in my family's library. I'm thoroughly enjoying it, even though I've read it more than a handful of times in the past. I know I'm still practically a kid myself. I think - or at least truly hope - that I'll be one of those adults who's a 'kid at heart' all their life. Anne ('Ann spelled with an e', mind you!) really makes me want to get in touch with that so-called younger, kid self. Use my imagination. Make believe. Whatever you want to call it, I miss it. There's no reason why we should have to take ourselves so seriously all the time. There's no reason why we shouldn't be able to put our heads in the clouds once in a while.

Find a grove in the woods and reign over your castle and kingdom.
Find a playground from which your pirate ship can take sail.
Find a stone wall so you can survey the land and protect it from intruders.
Get out and do. Explore. Pretend. Have fun!

O-

I have type O negative blood. So does my mom. So does my sister.

My brother and dad have type A positive blood.

They like to say it's 'A+#1' blood.
Eeeeeeyeah. A plus number one. Right.
Weirdos.

I mean, everybody knows that type O negative is the coolest blood type of them all.
Plain and simple.

Fireflies

I love fireflies. I think they're way cool, seriously. Did you know that there are no fireflies west of central Kansas? Well, and from that point in the states north and south of Kansas, obviously. But yeah. No fireflies for the west. No fireflies for Utah. Which is too bad. I said something about fireflies to Darcy once and she said, "What are fireflies?" I just about freaked out, because she's never seen a firefly. Ever!

Birthday

Today was my dad's birthday.

Fan.tas.tic!

I love my dad.
A lot.
A lot.
A lot.

Water

Water is fantastic.
Delecious.
Exquisite.
Refreshing.
Delightful.
Tonic.
Invigorating.
Delectable.
Salubrious.

I couldn't tell you how much water I drank today.
Well.
I could.
But it's a horrifyingly large amount.
So I don't want to tell you how much water I drank today.

Yet even after drinking so much, I still love it. I can't get enough of it!

Reading

I've been reading a lot lately. Mostly 'reruns' of books I've already read, but I like to read a book at least twice before I decide if I truly enjoy it or not. And by reading it more than once, I'm able to pick up on things I may have missed or acquire a better understanding of something that I hadn't gotten the first time through.

I've always liked to read. My mom says I basically taught myself to read. I can remember my kindergarten teacher allowing me to read to the class for storytime. I like all genres of writing. I know for a fact that quite a lot of my friends only like to read fictional stories. But I enjoy both non-fiction and fiction. I like biographies. Essays. Plays. Poetry. There are very few pieces of writing that I have read and not liked. I think I'm simply able to see what is good in each piece. What was well-written. Well-described. Well-explained. Well-imagined. I think that people are often quick to point out errors and flaws and what they didn't like about things (I'm not talking just about books and writing); trust me, I'll be the first to admit that I do the same. But I try to focus on the positive points as much as possible.

Books.
Good.
Reading.
Good.
Do it.

Softball

I miss softball. A lot. I haven't played for a good four years. But I really miss it. It's not like I was that good when I played - it's just that I think if I had really cared about it more and been willing to truly work hard, I really could have gone somewhere with it. I let a lousy coach make me so upset about playing, and soon found myself thinking that it was no longer fun. What was I to expect? I wasn't in Y ball anymore. At the time, it was a big deal to me, to play on the high school team. Hm. In my opinion, I'm a power-hitter. I have a good arm. I'm a lousy catch with flies, not going to lie. But I really do think I could have been more than just good.

I'd love to find a good bat and buy a bunch of balls, go to a diamond and just hit softball after softball after softball. Honestly, that sounds so amazing right now.

Stuck

I've found that I usually have at least one song stuck in my head for quite some time every... single... day. It gets to be kind of ridiculous. Oh! Especially if I don't even really know the song, except for maybe one or two lines, or the chorus. Holy cow, that drives me insane! Sometimes I don't mind if the song is stuck in my head - I mean, if I really like it or it's kind of different or unique.

The summer between tenth and eleventh grade I had one song playing constantly in my head. But for some reason, I never tired of it and it never annoyed me. It was 'Again I Go Unnoticed' by Dashboard Confessional. Man oh man, I loved that song. I distinctly remember singing it while painting Jesus' garage. That's right. Jesus. ... Except this Jesus was a man from Mexico who could speak next to no English. I was in Des Moines on the mid-hi mission trip as a shepherd (a high school leader) and we were working on Jesus and his family's house/garage. Anyway! I distinctly remember singing it while painting Jesus' garage, and one of the adult leaders, Ryan Solomon, heard me singing it. Later that evening when we were back at the church we always stay at, he started playing it on his guitar after worship! Made my entire summer.

So when it's things like that, songs that I simply really enjoy and know in and out, I don't mind so much.

But when it's two lines of 'Good Morning Baltimore' from the Hairspray soundtrack, I don't enjoy it all that much.

Although today it was the chorus of 'Seasons in the Sun.' Ohhh yeah. It was a good day...

Home Again

Well, my mom and I returned home to Cedar Rapids tonight.

It's good to be back.
Really good.

Don't get me wrong, I greatly enjoyed spending time with Jessica, Eric and Jack, but there's nothing like setting foot in my parent's house and just relishing in that wondrous feeling of being home. It's simply... quite nice.

TLC

I think I have watched enough shows on TLC - namely episodes of 10 Years Younger, What Not to Wear and Bringing Home Baby - to last me a lifetime. I'm not about to tell my sister that I'm tired of them, though, because it's her house... she's the one who just had a baby... and it's not like there's anything I really want to watch.

But seriously.

I can't take it any more!

Yikes!

I know I'm behind by a few days; while in Des Moines visiting my sister, brother-in-law and nephew (!) their internet was down for awhile. I'm going to try and catch up this evening.

Happy Fourth of July!

Freedom's pretty sweet.

......

Yikes!, Part Two:

Gah, I decided to be lame and use this as one of my catch-up posts. So yes, I wrote it on the fourth, but am pretending I wrote it on the first. Sue me.