Oh come, all ye faithful.

I'll try and get to the Joyful and Triumphant part later. Maybe.

This has been a week of oddness. A good and bad compilation, that defines bittersweet.

First off, Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Always good. Sadly, one of my fish died. I have no idea how, or why. I woke up Saturday to find his body stuck on the filter valve. I was surprisingly sad.

Secondly, I'm sick, and the medicine to take to make me better, is far worse than the condition. It stops me from coughing, but makes my internal temperatures go wonky. Though I'm different, I can't find it within myself to enjoy feeling like my entire body is burning up from the inside out. Is that what it feels like being inside a microwave?

However, Saturday afternoon, my snake stuff came in. And then my Dad grabbed an Aquarium from Wal-Mart, and we're planning on getting my snake tomorrow. Awesomeness on a silver platter.

I'm also had something extremely painful happen last night. I woke up, and literally, every muscle in my body burned and ached. I mean every muscle. I could feel them all, legs, arms, torso, even my joints, burning in exquisite pain...Walking wasn't easy. Heck, it even masked other pain. I tripped over a cord and cut my arm, and didn't even feel it. Only way I knew is when I saw it. Neither am I a fan of the odd dreams/nightmares that accompany me on medication.

At the same time, Christmas is rapidly approaching. And so it's hard to get me down.

Like I said, oddness.

55 days...

Another late post. But this time, I really have been busy. The days before Thanksgiving were pretty full. I'll try to trim it into one post.

Tuesday my sister's boyfriend came over. Great guy, so I'm not complaining. We all had fun. I made some beer &cheese bread. Stinkin' delicious.

Wednesday was equally busy. I had to cook three batches of rolls, and I stupidly tried to make them all at the same time...each recipe made roughly 4 dozen rolls. XD It was fun, though. Also helped make pies. Then I went to bed early and got a whole two hours of sleep for Thanksgiving. ^_^

Thanksgiving was, as always, awesome. Got up early, watched the parade with my family (and my sister's boyfriend, who came over to ride with us) had an awesome breakfast of sausage rolls, fruit juice, and homemade cinnamon buns (made from one of those three batches of rolls).

Then we packed up and, after watching Santa arrive (being the harbinger of Christmas that he is), left for my Aunt's house. Where we had a semi traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Just semi, because the cranberries, were canned berries. Still fun.

Headed home after planning our Black Friday trip. For the first time in 19 years, I actually got to go. ^_^ Anyway, by the time we got home, those two hours of sleep were cathing up with my. Or actually, the lack of the other 4-5 were catching up to me. My eyes were, for some reason, swollen and itchy, so I headed to bed after tossing back some Nyquil.

Friday, Black Friday...was awesome. I woke up after four hours of sleep (a record for a holiday) and showered. My sister had on some Shelley Duvall faerie tales, so I watched them whilst the others prepared. We went and picked up my aunt, then headed toward Target and Wal-mart. Or really, Sears. My Mom and Aunt went there, my sister went to Target, and sent me to Wal-mart to get stuff. I stood in line with her for a bit though. Wearing shorts in 35 degree weather...awesome.

Wal-mart was full and looked almost apocalyptic. The idiots at Wal-Mart had let people grab junk before five, but not let them pay for it until 4:35...I have no idea. At any rate, my sister had a deal with her boss: She was going to Toy's 'r Us, and we were going to Wal-Mart. So we traded money and lists. She was going to try and get an MP3 player for us, we were going to try and get a table thing for her.

And even though it was my first Black Friday (yeah, I capitalized that.) I got sent to Wal-Mart to snatch it. A Disney Princess art table. I wandered through the barren wastes, searching for a Princess...And looking for Brad Pitt and Mel Gibson.

I saw Some lady wander by with one, and walked back in the direction she had come from. Nothing. Boogers...this was getting sticky. I refused to let the boss lady get that player and we not have a table for her. So I started praying. I wonder now if it was wrong to ask for help in finding a table...but since it was not for me, but for a little child, I really don't think so. Anyway, that lady from earlier in the blog walked past again (or maybe I walked past her again...I was kind of walking in circles by that point) and I asked here where she had found it. She told me to head to the end of the aisle, and turn left. I did so, and joy of joys, there it was. Disney, Princess version and all. I picked it up and walked away into the not-even-sunrise, sunset.

Then I stood in line for awhile. An hour, probably. They opened up like twenty minutes before five, though. So it was all good. Mission: Complete.

So I walked that out to the car and then went to Target to see if I could help my sister. The line at Target, even though it had opened several minutes before, was...long. The entire length of the storefront. It took me another five minutes to get into the store, and my sister was at the front with what she'd needed to get from the Electronic line. So we walked back out to the car, then back into Target. The DVD players my Mom wanted me to grab had sold out, as had Psych season 3.

This was at 5:15. Fifteen minutes after the store had opened, it was just as bad as Wal-Mart. At any rate, she grabbed some of the $4 dollar DVD's, some of the cheap T-shirts, and a blanket of sorts, and we went and stood in line for half-an-hour. Then we went to Wal-Mart, which looked even more apocalyptic now. Schnap. Bought some cheap DVD's and a toy for a different little child she knows.

After that, we went back to Target. Which was even more insane now. Sun was starting to rise, though. She had to find some more DVD's that Wal-Mart had lacked. She also found Psych season 3, so I'm eternally grateful.

Then we saw the line stretched back to the end of the store. I was...unhappy. But then we called our aunt and found out she was checking out. XD So we handed her our stuff and got out in five minutes. YESHNESS.

After that, it was to Home Depot, which wasn't bad at all. Got some poinsettias, and I bought a knife and Leatherman tool as my family gift. I'll probably pick up some orange soda's to go with that.

Back at the car, I opened up my candy corn flavored Dots. This isn't related to black Friday...they were just nasty.

We left out and headed to Guitar Center. Which was still closed. It was 8 in the morning by now, so that's further proof I'm a musician by heart. Late sleepers.

So we went to Bass Pro. I've never been before, so it was pretty awesome. They had a several thousand gallon fish tank, which was very impressive. They had lake fish in there (Bass, Crappie, and even some Gar) at a size that I would've been happy to catch out on the big...greenish-blue/brown, depending on which lake I'm at. I had a lot of fun there.

Then it was to Family Christian bookstores. Didn't buy anything. I like Lifeway better.

Then back to guitar center. Where I was sorely tempted to spend every penny I have. I didn't...I REALLY wanted to. Of course, since every penny I have totals up to about thirty dollars...it wouldn't have got me much. :D

Afterwords, we hit the mall. I wandered about Sears for a bit, but I drew the line when they went into Victoria's Secret...No. I walked the mall holding their bags.

Then, wonder of wonders, we went to On the Border, a local Mexican restaurant that has the best fish Taco's I've ever tasted. I even talked my sister into trading one of her grilled fish tacos for one of my beer battered ones. Delicious, amigo.

Found out that the boss lady hadn't been able to get that player. I'm cool with that. TRU is the worst store to go to on Black Friday, I'm told.

By this time I was fed on Fish tacos, and quite tired. We went to Big lots, Sports Authority, and Petsmart before heading home, though. Stopped by Sonic and got an Ocean Water slush. My legs were killing my. Or really, just my shins. I didn't know my shin could even hurt.

We got home, and asked my Dad to get pizza. Neither I, nor my Mum, wanted to cook. My sister was going out shopping again...I'm not even sure she's human.

We got home at 2:15 or so. Oddly, we'd left the house at 2:00 Am. XD I asked my Mom "Wake me up when September ends" and collapsed onto my bed. I still wasn't feeling that great. Fell asleep at 3:30, then woke up at five for tasty pizza. Then I went back to bed at probably six...I don't quite remember. Woke up again at 1:00 Am, meaning I've had a full nights sleep before my normal bed time.

So here I am now Eleanor, writing this note to you in case the war leaves me but a corpse among the others.

I'm also munching cold pizza and sipping orange soda. Black Friday rocks hard.

Population: Tire

Hmm. Four days. Or four daze, as is more likely with me. I'd like to say I'd been busy, but the fact is, I haven't. I had a doctor appointment today, and woke up to see the clock face reading two hours past my appointment.

Oddly enough, I didn't care. :D It was an eye doctor, and while I dislike eye doc's less than general practitioners, I still don't like them.

Anyway, the only real astounding thing about it was that my parents let me sleep through it. Then I found out it had been rescheduled to February. I'm not complaining. I'm hoping to have a job by then.

Sunday I gave a small concert to my family. I did terrible. That month of practice I skipped really hurt my Christmas carol ability. It wasn't my fault I skipped it either. My sister was going crazy hearing them played, and frankly, nothing ruins Halloween like Christmas carols.

Any rate, hands got shaky, lost my place in my music...badness. It was like my hands went numb and forget there places...Therein lies another step to playing music for a living: Stage fright.

I'm sure there is some stupid law that goes along with it though. IE: I'm not afraid of heights, but I cannot for the life of me climb a ladder. Can't wait to find out what the law is for stage fright. Maybe I have to play in a mask, or while drinking a slushee.

To be honest, God helped me out a bit. I stopped playing and prayed, and my hands got much less shaky. Awesomeness, and I'm very thankful. But...I'm going to practice more.

Oh! and tonight I made Buffalo wings for dinner. ^_^

Long time, Long time.

Bah. Computer died. I had to reboot it, and then I installed Linux. Which I loved. Ubuntu rocks.

But. I needed Windows functionality on several things. MP3 players for one. Getting my Wii connected to the net is another. So for now, I'm stuck using "The Man's" system. I'm not going to complain as it's nice to have a functional computer.

I am going through a semi moral dilemma though. More a mental, semi-dilemma. If that makes sense. Revolving, ironically enough, on what I ask for, for Christmas.

It's a matter of staying true to what I have always been, or changing it up.

Schnap. What do you know? That solved it. In the immortal words of one Matthew Theissan, "Who I am hates who I've been".

Thanks for the help. ^_^

A lung? Sure! I've got two!

For some reason, during the winter and Spring, I get coughing attacks. The normal, not breathing, throat hurting, hack up a lung or five. I'm not complaining much, because I know worse things can happen. But it get's old being unable to sleep because I'm scooping my innards off the floor and trying to replace them. XD

Hmm...not much else going on. Room is ready for the snake I'm hoping to get. I may have finally discovered how to brew good white tea. Tends to get bitter on you if you don't watch it.

Later. May the Porsche be with you.

HYPER PUDDING PUNCH ATTACK!

I learned that move in a street fight in downtown Tokyo. I'm not really allowed to talk about it. :D

I looked at some Black Friday ads today...I couldn't really help myself. :D It's part of tradition, I guess. Most of the women members of my family go out shopping on that day. Eat lunch out, have a great time. I look at the ads, and sleep late. :) Fun time.

I wonder if I'm giving in to greed or consumerism, and maybe in some ways, I am. But in most, I don't think so. I don't drool over what's in the ads...in fact, I'm not even asking for anything off of them this year. The X-Box and 6 games would've been instant sale last year, but I've changed a bit. Trying to get my focus off gaming so much and onto music and, more importantly, God.

Can't buy God from those Ads. Not even the Lifeway one. :D And the guitar center ad was phail. So I'm not in any danger. XD I'm hoping and praying to keep my focus on the real reason for this season. Or upcoming season, if you're not an absolute nuthead like me.

Later, and God bless.

*Insert song reference or quip*

I discovered several shocking things today:

1) Christmas is only 42 days away.

2) Pillows cost $12 at my local Wal-Mart.

Really?!?! Twelve bucks for a bag stuffed with polyester padding? My last pillow cost Five. It's...about that many years old too. XD That's why I decided to replace it. But that's a bit much. So I'm going on to my standby model: Wadding up a blanket.

Christmas? Man, that's always good. I've got to find gifts for people, but I'd enjoy Christmas sans gifts. It's just...well, the most wonderful time of the year. Though cliche`, words like magical and wonderful describe the scent that permeates the air this time of year.

And the smell of corporate greed...but that's a sad thing. Not what Christmas is about. Or it shouldn't be. People do seem more generous this time of year. For the most part. Everyone has met that obsessed mother trying to get her whiny child the latest toy At any cost (including decking you across the face).

But you meet people who give, if for no other reason then someone needs it. Mom's and Dad's that love their children. You can see it in their eyes. Little kids giving stuff to other little kids. Eggnog.

It's stinking amazing. It often get's overlooked thanks to the news spreading only the bad stories. But it's there; I've seen it.

Tell me tomorrorw has come.

With open arms.

Need to find a way to get rid of Pond snails. Over running my fish tank.

Started out as only two, that hitched a ride on my Anacharis. Which is dead now, so it wasn't even worth it.

Moral of the story? A surprisingly good one: Just because something starts out small, doesn't mean it can't lead to really bad things. Or just because badness, though small, inhabits your ecosystem, it doesn't mean you should just tolerate it. It can grow out of control wildly fast. Probably one of the reasons the Bible tells us to not let evil exist among us (1st Thes 5: 22) .

If you add in the fact that the plant is dead now, you get that even though the bad stuff came with something good, when the good left, the bad remained.

Something I thought up, and decided to try and remember.

Also, treat your aquatic plants for snails and then quarantine them. -_-

Neon light inside you shines...

Would it be inappropriate to get a huge glowing sign reading "I don't mind talk about politics or the end times, just the COMPLETELY LAME AND UNTRUE CHAIN E-MAILS YOU GUYS TALK ABOUT, BELIEVING THEY ARE TRUE"?

Because I think I need one. Talking about those "topics" is pariah around me, because several people I know think I get angry, and can't handle it. In reality, I got angry and couldn't handle the lies so easily quoted and believed. So now I'm believed to be sensitive about those...things. And I didn't yell or anything, just got quiet and sat there...quietly. I think my own Mummy talked about how I "disliked" them. *shakes head*

Honestly, I shouldn't be complaining; now I don't have to listen to it. It just irks me to know the reason why I don't have to listen to it. It's close to "tolkey tolkey--schnap, here he comes--whisper whisper *fear* whisper".

:(

And so I'm unhappy even when I win. I also may be experiencing an allergic reaction to a mango...fun.

As the darkness grows stronger

"Luke! Don't give in to your hatred!"

Or...something like that. I'm pretty tired now. And so sleep represents the dark side which I have to resist. For various reasons that bother me on a mental level. Irk, really.

Fun day though. Went to a craft fair, then Best Buy. I found some shweet guitar strings at Best Buy, So they were buy'd. In doing this, I found out that one of my local BB's has a guitar accessory selection equal to or better than my local Guitar Center. I doubt they'd have skull knobs though. /metal

I'm going to go resist the dark side by munching some candy and tea.

Fight on for Strongbadia!!!!!!

Woo...I've just spent the last few days (or maybe a week...I forget) watching all 205 SBemails. Quite a...not at all a feat. Sitting in front of my computer laughing isn't that hard.

I have so many quotes buzzing around in my head at the moment, though. It's like someone threw a cheeseburger and pile dirty laundry inside a volcano and waited for evolution to happen. I think some scientists did that actually. At any rate, here are a few favorites:

"You may have seen my fist in a movie earlier this year. It's called: "Bloody pulp: the shockingly realistic story of your face in five seconds."

"Thankfully, they require you to turn off your bazooka's during the movie. Or else all my movie going experiences would end in smoldering crater fashion."

"If burglars break into my house, I've found that sprinkling cinnamon on my face and talking all sleepy usually throws them off."

And finally:

"Explain to me how killing them would not ruin there date?"

Hmm...now I can get back to other things. Probably. I do enjoy a good SB cartoon. XD

Forever is a place...

In heaven, yes. But we've probably all had that feeling of "When will this end?" And so forever...is a place.

Admittedly not as epic as heaven...Meh.

Hmm...today, I think I'll chat a bit about love. Not the stuff I see in magazines, or on the TV...But real love. Or maybe I'll break out a real post about pudding...no, love.

Reading over at "Life as me" I was confronted with a question I had no answer to, and to which "Wow you're odd" wouldn't work (I usually apply that last one to anything involving politics or TV shows). Le question, vas "I believe that man was designed to have a lifelong female partner. Which makes sense, if you read Genesis. My question is...why?"

Pause a moment, if you would. The scientifical answer would be that it's chemical's in the brain, and complex emotions, and that humans needed a way to procreate. That's...odd. And though possibly a small part of the answer, not the real answer.

So I diggidy diggidy dug, and here is what I found. Plenty of times in the bible does God refer to Jerusalem (The redeemed church) as His bride.

Isaiah 54: 5, for one:

For your husband is your Maker—
His name is Yahweh of Hosts—
and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
He is called the God of all the earth.

And who can forget the awesome coming of Jerusalem as the bride in revelation 21?


Then one of the seven angels, who had held the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues, came and spoke with me: "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." He then carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God."

Christ, of course, is the lamb. Pointed out earlier in Revelation. The holy city is the redeemed church.

Finally, with much red faced-ness, I 'll flip over to Song of Songs. Or maybe not. I may or may not have taped those pages together. :D

Place me like a seal over your heart,
like a seal on your arm.
For love is as strong as death,
its jealousy as enduring as the grave.
Love flashes like fire,
the brightest kind of flame.

That's in chapter 8, verse 6. It's also apparent that very few relationships are as close as that of husband and wife. Song of Songs makes that abundantly clear...But so do many other parts of the Bible. Take a look at Genesis 2:23-24:

And the man said:
This one, at last, is bone of my bone,
and flesh of my flesh;
this one will be called woman,
for she was taken from man.

This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.

True enough, many people take that as meaning only physical relationships. But it's not.

What am I trying to get across here? Well, so far we've seen that:

The relationship between husband and wife is extremely deep. Enough to leave your home for.

That love is extremely strong. That really has no point in this conversation, it's just an awesome thing. XD

That the husband is the wife's hero, and savior. I didn't write out any verses on that, but passages in Isaiah, the book of Hosea, Revelation, Song of Songs, and even the Book of Ruth illustrate this. I've got them, just trying to trim the length of this post.

What I'm trying to say is, since love comes from God, love between man and women is, in a small way, showing how God's love works. Demonstrating it for humanity to see on a small scale, everyday.

All those things: The husband being the savior, having a relationship that your willing to leave everything behind for, the fact that love is so strong...that all points to God. God saving the church and Bride in Revelation, God saving his "wife" (the church) from certain destruction (later on in Isaiah). God, willing to go to all lengths for our love, even to the point of dying for us...

Anyway, that's my answer. That the love between a husband and wife is in a small way, demonstrating God's love throughout history.

Mmm...could've just said that and spared everyone the long and painful post.

Nice. Drop a comment for questions, railing against, or...well, comments. Or if you want those other verses I talked about. I hope any of that made sense.

You'd know the truth if these walls could sing.

More inanimate objects singing, eh?

YOU KNOW IT! \m/. >_< .\m/ Because that's cool. And realistic.

Funny word, that. People want me to be a realist, but also an optimist. I think this is odd, because realistically, a man can't come back from the dead after three days. People can't be healed by a single touch. And for SURE a guy didn't go riding to heaven in a flaming chariot.

It's just not realistic. Or is it? Who am I to trust: The God who was never began, and Who has no end, or some random people who won't make it to 130 years old?

That's an easy decision. Much like asking if I want a burrito. The answer is always...huh, I lost track of where I was going with that.

Of course, I suppose I can't go wandering around with my head in the clouds all my life. Or so I've been told. Frankly, this hasn't been much of a problem so far. Frankly X2, I'm not sure how I even am. But let's spin over to my realistic side. Or not. That'd get dangeresque.

Hmm...I'm talking entirely too cavalier right now. I have no idea where this is coming from, but noting the warning in my heart, I'll likely regret it if I went any further.

Point is, God loves you/me/us/everyone. He did rise from the grave, He did heal many people...and that, I think, is enough.

That's what I call realistic. And AWESOME.