Occupatus sum...

You know, I'm tired of the word 'busy'. Why don't we find some other words for it?

How about...
...industrious...diligent...employed...engaged...engrossed...persevering...hustling...studious...active...?

Whatever the word, that's sure what I've felt like these past few weeks. This has been our usual week.
Monday: Handbells, mandolin and guitar lessons
Tuesday: Tennis
Wednesday: Violin lessons
 Thursday: Piano
Friday: Whew! Nothing, finally.

Add school and some distractions to that formula and voila! A recipe for... well, all those words up there. :)

Tennis is fun*. I didn't know anything about tennis before (I mean, besides that you have to hit the ball), but now I know a moderate amount. Enough to play mediocre-ly, which is not a word, by the way. Does anyone out there play tennis? Any other sport?

And I'm still learning mandolin. It's real fun (ha) too. But eighth notes are hard, and so are scales. I wonder if I'll ever become a famous mandolinist bluegrass player (my dream :)

And without further ado: pictures.

*clap, clap, clap, clap* 

Me playing the mandolin.

I've been reading Acts lately. You?

I'm also learning to crochet. So much easier than knitting!

I FINISHED ALGEBRA 1!!! Now I'm working on All The Math You'll Ever Need. Good book.

Metal stamping.

 So that's what I've been up to. What has filled your life with pizazz lately?

Grace be with you,

Abby :D






*a rather over-used word around these premises

Stamp! Stamp! Stamp!

Hey everyone! I haven't posted in-- what? Fifteen days? Now I know why you guys aren't keeping up with me. Ugh.
Anyway, it's been too long.
I've been feeling pretty busy lately, but this week I was able to do some metal stamping. I got the stamps from beaducation.com at Christmas time.

 I finished a project on Friday: making napkin rings for a certain family I know. :) My mom really wanted napkin rings that were pretty and that wouldn't get squished easily. So she set me to work on making some out of thick-ish wire and stamped charms. How do you like them?

Here are all the stamped charms. As you can see, I *ahem* made a little mistake on one of the names. I was doing so well, too! Can you find it?

Here are some finished ones.

On a napkin.

And here are some necklaces I've made.                                        

This one is interesting, because I accidentally used the Qs instead of Os.
So it says, "FAITH HQPE LQVE" Whoops. 

What are your hobbies?

Grace be with you,

Abby :D

The Mindlessly Busy Rut: A Rather Rambly Post

I understand why people aren't looking at my blog much anymore. It's because I've gotten boring. Stale, and unpredictable. That makes sense.
I wish I could have everything figured out in life. Where everything fits: Devotions, school, music, tennis. It's hard to balance all of the busy things that we have to do.
"To the left! Right! Too far! Noooooooo....." as you fall into a deep hole of busyness without any productivity. And as you try to sort it out, blogging gets left on the very bottom as I sink into a daze of mindless internet surfing.
 I think it happens to everyone. To me, that's the dreaded curse: Loss of being productive and helpful.
How do I re-balance my stack? I'm not really sure.

But here's my plan.

This idea is from Preparing to Be a Helpmeet.
Quote:
"Start today going up and down the library aisles and plan to introduce yourself to a new subject each week. Or, if you are computer-oriented, spend your time studying vital subjects rather than idly 'surfing'."
End quote


So that's what I will do, to get myself out of this mindless rut. Is there any subjects that you like that you think would be interesting? I would love it if I could get a list.

Expect to hear about the things I'm learning, as soon as I figure out what to learn.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Grace be with you,

Abby :D

a mandolin and its girl

Once there was a girl.



And she decided:

"HEY! Wouldn't it be fun to play the mandolin?"
 {but it was a few months later before her dream impulse came true}

And she got... a mandolin. 

It's so pretty, ain't it?

I believe that this color and style is called 'Starburst'.

Now the girl has lessons on Mondays. She is taught such hard concepts as strumming and tremolo. 

She soon expects to start a band and become an overnight bluegrass star. :)


Grace be with you,

Abby, the girl with the mandolin 

{A Day of Autumn}

Hello everyone. How are you on this fine day? I hope it's fine for you, because it is for me too. :)

So today I have for you a contest. It is by Autumn, and it's her birthday soon! Go wish her a happy one!
Anyway, the contest. Here is what you have to do: Answer these questions about Autumn, make a post about them, and then link up. It's a good idea to include a button too. Here it is.

 Here I go. 

1. What is my middle name?

         Elizabeth.

2. What is my favorite movie?

         One of the Star Wars movies, right? Easy. :)

3. What (amazing) present did I receive as a surprise from my parents on my 15th birthday?

        It was either the car or the phone. I'm going to go with the car. :)

4. How long have I been home schooled?

           For... ever?

5.True or False: I am the middle child in my family.

            Well, uh... um. True.

6.Who is my favorite actress?

           Favorite actress. Not sure about that. Aw, now you're making me search! :)

7. What decorations were on my 14th birthday cake?

         There were some butterflies... and it looked like streamers. And purple words.

8. True or False: I have met my favorite actress.

        I've searched all through the archives, but I can't find anything. I'm guessing... True.

9. Have I ever been to Disney World?

          Yes.

10. Who is my favorite character from 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars'?

              Well... this is my best guess. Ahsoka Tano? And yes, I had to copy and paste that name.

11. What brand of camera do I use?

            I can't find it. *sob*  I know you want a Nikon, but I'm guessing you have a... Canon.

12. What Star Wars character is one of our cats named after?

             Yoda. I'm 99.9% sure.

13. What is my favorite soda?

          Sprite. 
           

14. What yard work chore do I enjoy?

             Ooh, ooh! Cutting grass. :)

15. What month did I get braces?

          Twas March, 2011. 

16. Last question! True or False: I have had my hair cut at chin length at one point in time.

           Yes indeedy.



Wow, that was really hard. :) But fun. So what are you waiting for? Why don't you go link up?


Grace be with you,

Abby :D

ps. i will be returning to normal posting later. much, much later, possibly. but hopefully i'll get a post cranked out tomorrow. exciting news, blogging people!

A Lizard Bited Me...

The winner of my giveaway is Autumn! Congratulations! Please leave your e-mail (or address) so I can contact you about your prize. :)

Hey everyone! Long time, no post.
Sorry, but I've been kinda busy.

 1) Mandolin. Yes, I got one! I've been taking lessons for a few weeks. It's really fun, although it makes my fingers hurt. I can stumble through play several songs: Yankee Doodle; O Susanna; Long, Long Ago; and a Colonial (colaniol? coloaneal?) Waltz.

2) Tennis. We started lessons last week. Yay! So fun! Especially when I hit the ball!

3) Stamping. No, not my feet. I've learnt me how to metal stamp! I still haven't quite got the hang of it, actually. My attempts are far from perfection. Like once I thought the Qs were Os. :P

4) Pizza. Cause that's what we're having for dinner! My mom's homemade pizza's the best. We're also having some guests for dinner. They look very delicious. Heh. Heh, heh.*evil grin*

5) Exclamation points. Without them, how could I survive? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

6) Math. YES! Today I got an A on my test and I'm four lessons away from never having to look at my Algebra 1 book again. It was sort of fun. :) *checks temperature*

7) Jesus Christ. Because He was willing to die for me, I'm more than willing to live for Him. And guess what? He died for you too. :)


Grace be with you,

Abby :D


{ps. sorry for my picture-less post. there'll be more pictures next time. promise.}

Do you see?

{via}

How can I make you see my life?
How can I show you what I do every day?
How can I make it real for you?

How do I make you see how blue the sky is every day?

How much I enjoy eating chocolate chips and peanuts?

How much I love the girls and boys that are my siblings?

How lovely the park was yesterday?

How I relish reading the stories in the Old Testament, and the advice and grace of God in the New?

How fun it is to play my new mandolin (yes, I finally got one! More on that later)?

How wonderful it is to have a working, breathing body?

How thankful I am to still have a house after last night's storms?

How I sometimes (only sometimes) like to do school?

How fun our new tennis lessons sound?

How nice it is to find new hairstyles and clothes every day?

How much your comments and opinions mean to me?

How great and awesome God is to me, and how much I love Him?


How can I show you?

How can I make you see?