After Recreation

I'm home--yippee!! I can reconnect with the outside world again. So you want to know about Recreation? All right, I guess I can spare some time.

The Recreation Center was at an abandoned school (not dilapidated and battered--we cleaned it), and we had no AC. Instead, we had gigundo fans that were like, 30 in. in diameter. I used that to dry my hair after my short shower =} The girl's room was really large--they were all classrooms. We had clotheslines to hang up swimsuits and towels. Gosh, I guess I'm really NOT used to sleeping on an air mattress!! It was so warm at night that I just slept with no covers, and freezing in the morning.

The worship services were so wickedawesomecool; we jumped up and down and sang along to "Jumping in the House of God," which was to the beat of Peanut Butter Jelly Time with the dancing banana in the video. (which by the way, my counselor [who dyed his hair purple and shaved it off so now he has a purple scalp] dressed up in a banana suit and danced around in it at the last worship service during that song!!) X3 On Monday night, we went out to go to Fun Depot, an arcade/go-cart/laser tag center. Let me tell you--I love speeding and crashing!! (Not in real life, that stuff is fatal and illegal)

Our family that we worked for consisted of 3 girls (ages 7,4, and 1) and a husband and wife. The children were sent to the DSS, the Department of Social Services, because of their living condition and other things. They had open sewage, and a lopsided deck. Our youth group dug 270 freaking feet of 4 ditches, each 1 foot wide and 18 inches deep. If I see another mattock, shovel, or sledge hammer, I'm gonna scream!! On Friday we finally installed the pipes. (sweat, sweat) that was really strenuous. . . .we also put a cool seal on their trailer roof since it was all the way out in the sun, and repaired the deck. Sorry to disappoint you guys, but the only power tool (an electric saw) was used by an adult DX

Wednesday was when we all took a day off and went white water rafting. We did class 1-4 white waters, not above. At one of the stops, we climbed up some big rocks and jumped into the water below (no more than about 10 ft., I guess). There were a whole bunch of yellow monarch butterflies; they were beautiful. I wonder what attracted them there. . . When our raft was going down a 4 ft. drop, my friend somehow managed to stick both arms and legs up in the air and almost fall off the edge! Meanwhile I had put my paddle against her back to push her back onto the raft. I'm (finger quotes) such a life saver (finger quotes)!! I had a really good experience on that, plus my biceps got a workout (; (although the guide told us to use our body when we paddled. . .oh well!) Then the youth group went to the Mellow Mushroom for dinner. Man, their pizza is ah-mazing!

We also went by Walmart on Thursday evening. Youth leader had to pick up a perscription for someone, so some people tagged along. One of the guys got a brilliant idea to buy us all cheap water guns, and when we got back to the Recreation Center, we ran around and squirted each other ^_^ It was a blast!! By the way, if you haven't noticed, I've been guiding you through my trip in chronological order. I hate jumping around. Friday was the last day to work, so we all pushed ourselves until we got it done. By then, we only had 20 min. to get back before dinner started, so we had to take showers afterwards (ew) DX Just so you know, we woke up at 6:00 every morning, and began working at 8:00 after breakfast and worship. So if you do the math, from 8:00 to 4:00 pm, that's 7 hrs of work, excluding the one lunch hour in between.

I had a really great experience, and this isn't corny: our youth group really did learn to work together and bond and and show Christ's ways to the family we helped. Recreation was dirty and gross, sure, but with it came fun and hard work. That's all for now, folks, so peace out!

*yawn*,

<><><>Kristen

Recreation

Ni Hao everyone (Monica: ni lo.)! Today I'm off with the youth group to go on our mission trip, called Recreation (as you can already infer from the title). I think I mentioned it in my Vacation post over a week ago, but I'm not sure. We will be rebuilding homes and renovating, we might even use power tools. I call the chain saw!! Just kidding--that thing would probably be controlling me rather than vise versa. But I definitely can't wait to white water raft on Wednesday. . . .I've never done it before. I'm totally up for it! And let me tell you, I am bringing ZERO makeup. I mean, I'll probably rub it off from perspiration on my t-shirt, so what's the point? The only "makeup" I'm carrying is SPF 30 chapstick.

I will not be posting for a week, but I may tell you guys all about it on Saturday when I get back. Questions to think about/answer: Have you ever been white water rafting? Been hurt by a power tool (if you have, don't go into detail if you post it because all I will do is upchuck)? If you belong to a church, what kinds of mission trips did you go on? How many suitcases did you end up using? I need to go get my shoes on to leave--pray for my youth group and I as we prepare to help the folks out there!

Jai Jen,
<><><>Kristen

Whoopee. I Got Tagged.

As you can see, Cassidy has tagged me with these questions. Oh, and here's the tag thingy:

Dang it. I can't copy and paste it. . .URRGH now I have to type it all out. . . .

1. Be extremely beautiful or extremely intelligent? That's easy. Extremely intelligent.
2. Go without brushing your teeth for a year, or without brushing your hair? WITHOUT BRUSHING MY HAIR!!!! Ugh. . . .just the thought of not brushing my teeth makes me want to puke.
3. Be rich or famous? Rich. I don't want the paparazzi all over me. If I were rich, I could invest in a security system to keep them out.
4. Have an amazing shoe or makeup collection? Well, considering I LOVE both, I'm just gonna have to choose "or". XP
5. Be able to sing or dance? Sing. There are many reasons why I am not in Chorus. Or in dance class, either. I quit that a long time ago.
6. Be stranded on a desert island or a desert? Desert. As long as I'm on land, I'm good.
7. Have a computer or TV? Duh, COMPUTER!! Besides, with a computer, I can watch TV shows on there. And I hardly ever watch TV, anyway.
8. Wear spots or stripes for the rest of your life? Stripes.
9. Drink out of a teacup, or a mug? Teehee. . . .teacup (;
10. Receive a box of chocolates or a bouquet of flowers? Flowers are pretty, buuuutt, I'd have to say chocolates. For obvious reasons!
11. Hug or kiss from someone you love? Kiss. Not telling who. . . .
12. Wear converse or stilettos? Stilettos. But not for an entire day. I just love how fancy they look, and my mom won't let me buy myself a pair!!
13. Meet Johnny Depp or Robert Pattinson? Neither. I want nothing to do with either of them.
14. Faerie or mermaid? Faerie. I want to fly and/or skydive someday!!!
15. Cup of coffee or tea? I hate tea. And coffee is so overrated. . . .Juice please!! x3
16. Pink nails or blue nails? Blue. But pink isn't that bad. . . .it all depends on what shade for each color! I wouldn't go with something so mundane like "pink or blue," but rather "rose or turquoise."
17. Live somewhere sunny, or somewhere cold? Sunny. 'Nuf said.
18. Have an amazing house or car? I know nothing about cars except that they are dangerous, kill the environment, etc., so I'd go with house.
19. Be kind or funny? Sometimes when I crack a joke, you only hear crickets. So kind would be a little easier.
20. Eat sweets or cake? I can't believe they just asked me that. . . .sweets. Cuz cake IS a sweet, baby!!
21. Hold a tarantula or snake? EEEEEWWW NEITHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've already petted a tarantula. I'm telling ya, they may be soft as a kitten, but they are nasty little critters. Same goes for you, snake!!
22. Wear a necklace or a ring? Necklace.
23. Laugh or smile? Laugh, because then I could smile. Laughing without smiling is extremely hard. . . .
24. Be hated or be a hater? Considering we're all haters, whether we like it or not, I'd rather be hated. Being a hater can get you in A LOT of trouble! Always be on the defense, guys.
25. Wear pearls or beads? Neither. I like chains and studs and gemstones more.
26. If you had to choose, would you rather lose your sight or hearing? I really need both to play my music and draw and all that, but I'd rather loose hearing because then I could see what I'm drawing or what notes I'm blowing through the bell of my trumpet.
27. Have lots of money or friends? Friends.
28. Love or be loved? I'd love, because then most people would love me since I loved them back.

Phew (wipes forehead pretentiously)! That was too much. Here are the people I will tag: Monica, Mizz Ali, and, well, I don't feel like tagging anyone else. So now you two are stuck with the burden of a long post HA!!

Peace out y'all,

<><><>Kristen

VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY I'M FINALLY FRRREEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry. Mild outburst of celebration there. Well, my apologies for not blogging the day school was immediately out, but as soon as I got home my family and I were headed straight to "the lake." That's right, I put quotes around it for a reason because we all call it "the lake." Not telling the specific name since I don't want you to know where I live (;

So my summer plans go like this: at the end of June, the youth group is doing this thing called "Recreation," where we go to a certain part of the state that is in really bad shape, and help rebuild and clean up homes that desperately need it. We do that for 1 week. After that, I go back to the la--I mean "the lake," then I go straight to PA to visit some old friends. I seriously cannot wait for that; I haven't been up there since exactly 1 year ago! Yes-- June 13th of 2009 was when I moved to where I am now. Anyway, after that I go to the beach for 1 week, then Music Camp for 1 week, and FINALLY, my birthday!!! I really cannot wait to turn ___ (no age specified).

Then in August, right before school starts again, I have *marching band camp* can't wait for that either. . . .even though we will be doing grueling training for the whole day. From what my sister told me, this is what it sounds like. (sweat, sweat) my summer will be really hectic, but I will be doing things that I enjoy, since this is stuff I could never pull off during the school year (dude, do you not know how many unexcused absences that could give me?! I hate doing mini vacations during that time because then I'd have too much make-up work.) Dx

Tell me what your summer plans are, if you're comfortable with doing so.
Jai Jen!! <><><>Kristen

PS: I finally got the first 3 St. Dragon Girl volumes in the mail!! (yippee)

My Drawings

So as you guys can already tell, this blog post is based around my most recent drawings. I drew this title page for my friend Monica, since she loves manga and anime. I also love it. I drew it in shoujo the best I could with notebook paper and a sharpie, all freehand. Now, I may have copied some ideas, but I would never duplicate a mangaka's art! This took me about a week, even for only one page (heh heh. . .if I were a mangaka, then my drawing would probably be done waaay past the due date. . .T_T)!! But it was worth it, and when I gave it to my friend, she seemed happy.

Hope you guys enjoy it too, and let me know if I can improve it in any way (just don't be mean about it, because I'll be honest, I don't take harsh criticism very well)! And just an FYI, you may have to crane your neck a teeny bit due to the fact that I couldn't figure out how to rotate it. Dx

This is the entire page.

This is my friend in a full Japanese-style school uniform, even though I added a bit of my style here and there to jazz it up (; And notice the sparkly detail in the background! If you are wondering what the Chinese characters say, it means "Shen Ming Nuan," or "Bright light." I went to this website http://mandarintools.com/chinesename.html to find out what her English name meant in Chinese; it came up with the zodiac year, meaning, pronunciation, and characters. From there, I just copied the characters onto paper in a bold form.

Heehee--this is her freaking out (which she doesn't do often. . . .that's mainly my reaction whenever she tells me something big ^__^)

She swims, so I added a few drops of water and snorkeling goggles. That's right, strike a pose, girl!

Ooohh, dramatic! Notice the blue aura.

Please remember to comment, and thanks for reading this!

Jai Jen,

<><><>Kristen

Awards

Yaaayy!!! I finally got an award!! Well, I was nominated for one. If I'm not doing this right, someone tell me please! Oh, and thank you Cassidy--I have long awaited something like this >P I will nominate these people for these awards: Monica (enchanted 1996 or lovelyxday), Kaitlyn, and LeahPeah! Thanks for following my blog, and keep posting! Here's what you have to do for the YELLOW one:

• Thank the person who gave it to you (Kristen, in case you don't know my name. Which you have no excuse not to know, given that it's all over the blog!!!)
• Give this award to 3 crackalackin' blogs of your choice
• List 5 of your favorite websites: (these are MY favorites)
  

1. http://www.blogger.com/


2. http://www.weeworld.com/


3. http://www.onemanga.com/


4. http://www.k-kristenskorner.blogspot.com/


5. http://www.sanrio.com/

All you have to do to get the WHITE one is nominate 4 people/blogs. These are my nominees:

1. SilentOrchestra
2. Kaitlyn (is it ok to repeat people?? I only have 8 Followers to choose from!!)
3. Chelsea
4. Good Girls and Geeks aka Bonnie Rue (even though she doesn't follow my blog, I follow hers! You should seriously check out her designs and creations!!)

*Just an FYI, this is kind of like an email forward, except it's way cooler and has no spam.

Here are my awards:



A little late for this one (the yellow one) since it was in May, but I couldn't post it last night since I had to go to bed.

Please spread the word about this blog to some of your other Followers; I need some more Followers too!

Jai Jen,

<><><>Kristen