swing life away...

I've been here so long I think that its time to move
The winter's so cold summer's over too soon
let's pack our bags and settle down where palm trees grow
I've got some friends some that I hardly know
But we've had some times I wouldn't trade for the world
We chase these days down with talks of the places that we will go

We live on front porches and swing life away
We get by just fine here on minimum wage
If love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end
I won't cross these streets until you hold my hand
-Swing Life Away by Rise Against

I couldn't help it...I absolutely love this song and I had to put the lyrics on here. Everyone who reads this must download it, listen to it, and tell me what you think about it. For me, it has so much to do with what our whole team has been going through here...and honestly...I love it here guys. It can't compare to all of you at home, but this is a very different situation. I love all of the people I'm here with. There are occasional problems of course...but I'm learning from these people and they're hopefully learning from me. You know what's crazy?? I'm talking...so much! I'm opening up to people...I'm learning to love people I didn't think I'd ever like. Honestly...Belize is incredible. Just check out my photos from facebook which I'm finally adding because I have a NEW LAPTOP finally! It's so pretty : )

God doesn't seem as distant here for me...in fact He's very near : )

[drumroll please...]

Attention all who still faithfully read my not so consistent blog posts...I have news for you! I have made for myself a blog dedicated purely to my Belize trip. In case you don't know what the URL is, I will tell you now.

DAA DA DA DAAAAAAAA....

http://underthemahoganytree.blogspot.com

hurray!

So yeah. I'm going to keep that up pretty consistently. I'll put up pictures and talk about my daily life there...so yeah I hope it'll be an interesting read! You're welcome to post a comment or two, just keep in mind that most of my church congregation will have access to it too so...yeah. : P
I'm hiding this blog from my profile because I'd rather that they don't discover this one.

I like secret blogs!


Random Fact. By the time I come home from Belize, it will almost be a year since we took a lovely day trip to Wonderland! I think that is crazy. It was definitely memorable for many reasons. Any of you girls up for going again this summer?

Nope

yes I'm putting some poetry up here...some of you will get it, some of you will not. For those who are confused...mwahaha i'll never tell. Someone else probably will though.
It was just...fitting. I found it at my grade school in a poem book very very VERY randomly.



Nope

I put a piece of cantaloupe
Underneath the microscope
I saw a million strange things sleepin'
I saw a zillion weird things creepin'
I saw some green things twist and bend-
I won't eat cantaloupe again.

by: shel silverstein



AMEN TO THAT.

connect them(!)

...this is weird.
Blogger is...dead.
...and I am creating a new one. IRONIC.
but i have to. it's not my choice...
...it's for Belize. To keep people updated on my daily life there...but it depends how often I can get to a computer.
my last job...is to think of a good name for it...ideas anyone...?
...maybe someone will realize in about ten years that I've posted...it's crazy how dead blogger is...
I just have nothing to say...

dot...
dot...
dot.

Sometimes I like going back in time, and I look at some good ooold family pictures. This is what comes out of those boxes and boxes of photos...wishing, in a way, that I could go back to this.

But sometimes in real life, I do feel like I'm back here. Possibly because I'm immature...or it could be that at the odd time I just feel free to do what ever the heck I want. Things change from day to day lately...there's a lot to get used to/to get ready for/of people to somehow say goodbye to for three months. You tell me how to do it.

update (hurray!)

I hate how fast time goes in between my posts, especially when I have no new ideas. So...I'll give an update on my life.

My passport came in the mail yesterday. I don't totally hate my picture, but I don't like it. Who would like their passport photo though...we all probably look pretty scary in them.:p
I think I broke my record of how short it took me to watch the entire Pride and Prejudice mini-series. Less than 24 hours...i'm/we're insane!
It's sad enough that there's seven people playing DS at our lunch table, but it's even sadder that the rest of us are sitting there WATCHING them play.
I just may be staying at this school for almost eleven hours today.
I'm having a little Damien Rice phase right now...he's basically all I listen to.
One of the people I'm going to Belize with added me to facebook. Somehow that makes it a little more real that I'm actuall e doing this. AAAA
I witnessed a robbery. I hate it when I lose respect for people...but I can't help it when they do that.

I'm confused on many levels...

what a pointless post. at least it's not one line this time. be happy all you people who should be:p

real christmas trees are a million times better than fake ones.

Since it's been a week since I last posted, I decided...I'll post again. But, I have nothing to post about. A picture is always an easy way out, but I don't feel like doing that this time.

This week I did something I don't do often...I was rebellious! Well no not really...a little. Anyways, yeah that was a fun day. And Wednesday, and Tuesday, and every other day.

Every day of this week was good, or great. Or grood.

Today I made my Christmas list. Honestly, I put too much effort into actually making the list look nice. Yeah, I'm a scrapbooking loser, deal with it, westerhof. My problem is deciding what goes on it. For some reason this year I'm content. Which is cool. I like being content with life, or really happy with life. Either or.

Please don't mind this sad excuse for a post. All in all...I'm a ray of sunshine, just not in the mood to write. So you know what? Here's a picture. It's pretty, and it's called a morning glory. I think it's a good description of my mood right about now.

---good day sunshine---

One of the best things to feel is pure contentment. I slept in until ten o'clock today, and I didn't feel guilty about it at all. I haven't slept in that late for months...maybe not since last Christmas break. A long time ago, anyways. Then, downstairs, my sister's decorating the house, Christmas music is playing, and there's snow outside. The one thing that kind of stinks though is that I'm not at Nicole's house...baking cookies and "doing my french". Rest assured though, we're getting together again over Christmas break, girls!

I'm sick of doing French already today. And try and read French out loud. And listen to French music. If I hear another French word come out of someone's mouth by the end of today, I'll freak!

On an unrelated note, I loved yesterday...everything. Even ddr was fun. Not that I wasn't expecting it to be, I just kind of knew I would stink at it. Anyways, it was really fun. I've got an awesome video of Eska doing ddr...if I knew how to put it on my blog, it would be up here. And walking to Tim's is always a good time, guys. Even if someone has a car next year, I'd still almost prefer to walk. J-walking is always exciting! Also, a word of advice to all you out there...it isn't smart to be buying frostys at this time of year. (Lenore...) The only thing to do is get a coffee just before you leave so that you don't freeze to death before you get back to the school.

The concert was even fun, especially jazz band. We basically ruled the concert guys. I've never had so much fun playing baritone sax before. I'm definitely in jazz band next year...everyone should join! Oh, but the one part of the concert...when someone stole my chair (*ahem!* LENORE) and I'm stuck up there holding my instrument while everyone else is sitting down. It was mortifying for a good ten seconds. Other than that incident, the concert was good.

All in all, I enjoyed this week a lot. Really good times.

cloud nine

Have you ever stopped to watch the clouds move across the sky? Well, I did today. And it was really cool to watch. They move so slow that you can't move at all in order to actually see them move. It's almost like time stops. It would be cool to stop time during some of the best moments of my life and just revel in the moment for a while. And then when I'm finished...


...time starts again. I know that so many times in my life I've told myself, "Stop...and just enjoy the moment, because you'll look back later on and wish you could relive it." But it never seems to work.

Here's an example. Every year my family goes camping, and it's one of my favourite times of the year, because it's just me and my family, and a whole week to do absolutely nothing but spend time with them. Every so often during that week I tell myself to just stop and enjoy it...breathe it all in, so that I can experience the same thing again once I'm back home. No matter how many times I try, I never get the same effect I was hoping for. It all just ends up as memories, which of course isn't a bad thing.

"God gave us memories that we might have roses in December." ~J.M. Barrie

once in a lifetime right here

"It sucks living in Georgetown."

"Georgetown is the bomb!"

"Yeah it'd be nice if it blew up"

couldn't forget this one. Fast thinking there john...

thinking out loud

Every so often I think about something really hard and then it seems like I was thinking out loud, and I wonder if anyone heard me. It's a weird feeling, like everyone knows what I was thinking...but then I realize I'm just insane. I don't talk to myself though. Cause then I'd have problems.

Yeah there's my sad excuse for a post everyone! Hope you like it!!!

I added a picture, just for kicks. It looks really warped, which is why I like it.

good way to end the day

sometimes I wish FPFHF could happen everyday

philosophy #3592

Yes, here it is. A real post on my blog that will have actual meaning!

I'm assuming you all remember Mr. Kooy, who now is the youth leader/pastor at my church. This morning he preached the sermon, and I got something out of it, which I am going to share. It's an activity guys, be excited! This is what he said to us (in a nutshell)

Think to yourself: What are ten particular sins that I've committed this past week? (Try and remember some...because we all sin)


Hard, isn't it? At least, I found it hard. It's supposed to be difficult.

Then, think of something somebody did to you that offended you, or something that you'd consider a sin. Something like that.


That doesn't take long, does it?


And there's the point of the sermon. Or one of them. We're really good at pointing out other peoples' faults, but we can't pinpoint our own. It's basically the lesson in the Bible of removing the plank from your own eye before you start thinking about removing the speck from someone else's.

gimme an S--L--A--C--K--E--R--S!!! what's that spell?

"ok guys, we'll watch the next one after it finishes loading...um...just take a five minute break"

a five minute break from watching movies...yeah ok. so that's what you guys do in video block!


the best part about this picture is steve on the right

ummmm john?

they popped their collars and everything

aw kathleen and I...a very nice picture!

jonathan's brand new display pic!

totally retro

so since everyone's been posting pictures...I'm following the trend. I came upon some good old grade nine band trip pictures, and just had to share them with all of you. I can't believe how young we all look!!!


So here's me and Tara in front of a floral clock at Niagara Falls...and we only knew eachother from badminton!


We're so dutch...we get a picture taken "inside a photo booth"...in a sense. ha and Lenore's reflection


aww Kathleen and Abram! I don't think I even knew you guys when I took that picture, but I knew your names. Crazy how things change in a year!


I heart this picture...I hate it when siblings leave TD, but it was awesome having Suze around for my first year...I don't know what I would have done if she wasn't there!


HA john...that was an awesome mini-golfing game, guys...but the go-karting was awesome(r)


...aaand last but not least, Brent. I was probably as tall as you here, and at one point i was taller, but yeah. not anymore, that's for sure!

I'm feeling nostalgic today. If anyone else has pictures from this trip I'd love to see them...or any pictures from grade nine, actually!

WHO WROTE THAT FLIPPING NOTE

"so do they all die in this one then?"

"yeah"

"what happens in the next sixteen movies?"

"they're about the fossils"

It's curious how times like these bring us closer together.

Love you, Jo!

The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.

Psalm 9:10

I'm a mess of emotions. I've tried a dozen times to word this post right, and for now I'm settling on a verse from the Bible, because those words are the only ones that come out right.

I wish it never happened, but it's life, and it's a bumpy road. We'll all get through it together.

title goes here

I've decided to change this post. It was probably a little too much to the point. I did it too quick because I've got too much on my mind (Math, French, Physics, Art...everything basically). I'm taking a quick break from my math homework just to say that last night was awesome!, for lack of a better word. I don't feel like describing it because most of the people who will actually read this post all probably went. But it was also a sort of bittersweet day too, and you all know why.

So the party was a great chance to get away from stress for a few hours, but it doesn't make it go away.

Darn. Maybe next time.

**Oh, and Eska and Tara, we've got to set a date when we can go play some serious mailbox baseball...