To Quote a Favorite Musical

"Tomorrow you'll be worlds away." Les Miserables... Don't get me started. You have no idea how much I want to play Eponine. She's awesome.
That aside, tomorrow I'll be worlds away from this California home of mine. I'm pretty excited. Right now, though, I'm too tired to be excited about anything.
I heard it snowed last night. Better make sure it happens again. We had torrential rain last night as well as thunder and lightning. Kidu got soo freaked out. He came in and sat on my bed with me and Franny.
So I'll see you all soon, and we'll have some fun times!
Cheers! Happy third day of Christmas. And many more...

As the Song Goes

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas!"

I have to say that the carols that get 'Best of this Year' or "Favorite New-Found Carol' would have to be 'Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming', 'Jesus Christ the Apple Tree', and 'Nativity Carol'. Old favorites have to start of with my all-time favorite, 'Once in Royal David's City'. After that, I don't really care how the order goes. I love 'Ding Dong Merrily on High' and 'Gabriel's Message'. An amusing thing Deirdre and I did this year was tried to figure out how many carols had references to cold winters and how many names appeared in Christmas carols and wether we knew people with those names. A few that we did know people for were Jesse, Rose, Gabriel, David, Mary, Joseph, Stephen, and Regina. I really enjoyed that.

The reason why I'm posting my merry Christmas post is because, believe it or not, Christmas Eve IS ON SUNDAY! And I'll probably not have time before then. Tomorrow Deirdre, Mom, Mrs. Kelsey and Frances and I are going shopping in LA which'll be reeally fun. Can anyone who knows Bing well guess why she's not coming? Poor Bing. And then Saturday'll be one of those crazy days and so will Sunday, so this is probably my last chance.

We're closing up the show this weekend, and we're all sold out for Thursday and Saturday, and almost for Friday. Those of you who've acted in real things before: isn't it a great feeling to perform in front of a full house? I am so lucky that I don't get nervous before these things. If I did, I'd be dead.

So, Merry Christmas to you all! I love Christmas time!!!!!! Everyone go to confession on Saturday if you haven't been for a while so you can be nice and clean for Christmas. I can't wait to see you guys in a week!
P.S. Michelle, please kiss Blessed Sacrament for me. And relish Midnight Mass for me, too. I wish I could go...

The Visitation

... But not the one you normally hear about.
Here's the scoop: Deirdre, Bing, Rabic and I are storming the already stormy Washington from December 28th to the 4th of Jan. Don't everyone volunteer to host us at their houses all at once. :) My only request is that we MUST have a dance, because all you Washintonians have a few things to learn about the proper way to dance the swing. Also, I miss funking with you guys. CAnians just don't 'get' it, y'know? Plus, one of the most excellent dancers in SoCal is visiting relatives in Woodenville, so he has to come.
I can't wait to see you all. Have a great rest of Advent and eat some super delicious moist pumpkin bread like I will be doing this evening after I'm done cooking it.
Champagne and Chardonnay are cheery Christmas cheers.

Yay, Babies!

I have two birth announcements for you guys. First is of Molly Marie Schuberg, born December 1st, the third daughter of my friends the Schubergs. (they also have 6 boys). Unfortunately, Molly was born with a collapsed lung which required a transfer to another hospital. That issue is resolved now, but she has digestive problems of some sort. Mrs. Schuberg also isn't doing too well, and both are still in the hospital. Please keep both of them and the whole family in your prayers.
Also, my second youngest baby, Lucjan Sylvester is due on Monday which is horribly exciting. (name is pronounced loos-e-un) Basically, I'm just really happy that babies exist and are so adorably irresistable.
Also, go ahead and pray that Rabic feels better. He came down with stomach flu last night. Poor pumpkin. That's no fun to have. Trust me.
Anyway, happy almost second Sunday of advent. To celebrate, I want each of you to spend some time this evening sitting in your Christmas light lit room curled up with a cup of hot chocolate listening to Christmas carols. Wish I could do the same... Tonight's the second night of A Christmas Carol.
Stay happy, and make sure not to eat too many Christmas cookies! Oh, and if any of you hear "I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" on KBSG, please record it for me. Thanks.

The Hail Mary

Icelandic:
Heil sért þú, María, full náðar, Drottinn er með þér, blessuð ert þú meðal kvenna, og blessaður er ávöxtur lífs þíns, Jesús. Heilaga María, Guðsmóðir, bið þú fyrir oss syndugum mönnum nú og á dauðastundu vorri. Amen.

I'm really feeling my heritage with that one...

Tok Pisin (Pidgin English):
Ave, Maria, yu pulap long grasia. Lord, i stap long yu. Ol i onaim yu moa long ol meri, na ol i onaim Jisas, Em Pikinini bilong bel bilong yu. Santu Maria, Mama bilong God, pre bilong helpim mipela manmeri bilong sin, nau na long taim milpela i dai. Amen.

And that one just rocks...

Cheyenne:
Ave Maria, zenanosheamaesz Maheo zevissevata zeshivatamaet zeoxextohevoxzheeo, na ninanoshivatama nihevetoxeszexaet Jesus. Sana maria Maheo heeshk, nixaona-otshemen havsivevo-e-tastovez, hezeze namaxoost nanastonan. Enahaan.

Just look at that! Man, these people sure as heck know how to pray to their Mother! Jeepers.

Enjoyed those ones? Check out the sidebar for many more!

P.S. Happy 4 freakin' months! Gosh.

The Way it SHOULD Be

Did you know that nothing in the world gives me more pleasure than having eleven people being crammed around our eight person table? And sitting around in the AM eating breakfast yakking about nothing and just having a grand time with the people you love the most in the world? That's the way it should be...

And that's the way it is. Cowee finally got here on Thursday at eleven thirty (four and a half hours late), because United just decided to reseat him. Claire got in at eight thirty (Deirdre and I got to the little tiny airport and sat around for an hour and a half in the cold), and then we just drove everywhere in Santa Barbara and stopped in at In-N-Out and Taco Bell and finally went back to the airport to get Cowee. And then we spent all day yesterday at TAC. And then we got Iain home as well! I love my family...

So, Happy Thanksgiving! I love you guys, and I'm praying for you!
Love and Indigestion,
Sheiler

Now do you deny it?

Bow Down

I feel like I need some love and respect. I basically just spent my whole evening doing Latin quizzes on the computer to send to my TA. I'm exhausted and my back and neck are killing me, and so I need someone to show me that I'm appreciated. And a chiropractor. Because otherwise I'll just go cry myself to sleep. Mmm... Sleep. That sounds like a really good idea.
Having fun. Playing tennis. Tell you all about my crazy life and crazy Saturday after the day itself. Until then, enjoy your milkshakes.
... I can't even think of the words I want to use. It's like the thesaurus in my mind suddenly disappeared. Don't you hate it when half your mind dissipates? (ooh! I remembered a word!)
*snore*

Three Months!

Hey, y'all! It's been exactly three months today since Deirdre and I got here... And boy, are they ever a good three months. It's gone by so fast, and it seems like almost forever since I last saw everyone. Wow.
Also, a very happy birthday to Mr. Curtis! We love you!
And... according to Deirdre, I got stung by a bee. I think it's just a thorn, but she begs to differ. Numero uno, if you go by Deirdz, or else it's just numero zero.
Cheers, guys!

Our first visitor!

*ahem* Sheila told me to give you a blog entry because she is debating Arpins with Louie. He's paired me up with Andrew. I met Jack today and he's pretty cool. I really want to play him at tennis. I love the Bernhofts new house & yard! It totally rocks. It was super great to see them all again. Ojai is super cute and their having an Ojai Day tomorrow. We're going. We're also going to class tomorrow and then there's a girls' group and eventually we're going to go to the beach with Cuckoo. (Don't ask about her name) Then on Sunday there's a dance and that should be pretty rad. I'm super confused about all the people down here but I know that there's a heck of a lot of them and I guess I'll eventually sort them all out. Emma- we have to start our own blog soon! I'm about to do it without you but you waited for me so I'll wait for you. Welcome home Rome party! Deirdre's playing Shei's Bruch and Sheila dropped the dishwasher (he he) and she's humming along. Yes, Ojai is awesome, and I can totally understand why they love it here. I do too! Wuv to all my girly friends. I love you Bing! Especially when you brush my hair and hug me :) Seeyalater Seattlites and such.~Meechy the Avenged

Dun-dun-dun...

Happy Friday the Thirteenth! It rained really hard today during class, and we all went out and frolicked all over the yard and wanted to jump in the pool and stuff. It was great. I really enjoy it when it rains really hard. Not surprisingly, it's all sunny again already. California... I went for a walk after it stopped raining up to the tennis courts and it smelled even better than usual. And there were a whole bunch of people I knew playing tennis-y games. It was fun to watch.
Anyway, my advice for the day is to go to Adoration. If you can find a church that has it... Thomas Aquinas Church (not the college, the Church) has it from Thursday AM to Sat. AM every week. I should make better use of it than I do. Also, go practice the viola. It's always good advice.
Enjoy your Friday the Thirteenth cookies. And maybe a birthday cake for a friend of mine who was born on a Friday the Thirteenth... *wink, wink* I love you, Claire.

Rain

Happy October!
And, while we're at it, happy birthday, Cowee.
And happy life-chain Sunday.
So what way could Mother Nature better celebrate all these things than raining? First time I've seen it in three months. I'm actually really apathetic about it, unlike Bing and Rabic and Mom who were dying for the rain. It's good, though, because it'll help the fire be extinguished, and it'll show that we're actually serious about being pro-life.
To celebrate, I'm making:

Crisscross Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup shortening (may substitute butter)
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. brown sugar (packed)
1 C. PB
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. milk
1 1/2 C. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 375. Use 2 ungreased baking sheets.
Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Beat in PB, and then the egg, vanilla, and milk. Stir together the flour, salt, BP and B. Soda; stir into the dough,
Place on baking sheets leaving 2 inches between the balls of dough. Flatten each ball crisscross fashion with a fork dipped in flour. Bake for 10-20 min, or until very lightly browned on top.

Enjoy the holidays and the rain, people! And have a merry and exuberant October.

Whew, What a Weekend

Evacuations really aren't that bad, especially not when you aren't being evacuated but you get five college people at your house for days... Lots of fun, food, cleaning and sleep deprivation.
If only I could make some serious z's.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...


*Note the three different pronunciations of W in the title.*

NOTICE:

EDITED NOTICE:
From now on, the words "God bless" are being removed from this blog. This is done because it is an incomplete sentence, and since some of us appreciate the English Language enough not to violate it so cruelly and frequently, it is intollerable. See comment number seven for more details. It does not mean that I am banning God from this blog, because this blog is about my life and God is my life.
Thank you, good night.

Awana 2005 Go Light Your World

Melissa Warren, here we come!

Smoke= Plan Quasher

Imagine this picture with me: It's Saturday night, and you've just come back from Santa Barbara. You and your sister are imagining a great day at the beach the next day. You are planning on going to 7:30 Mass and then playing tennis for a few hours and heading to the beach to spend the afternoon. Also imagine that the beach is a great place to spend the afternoon. It's so much fun. You just hang out, freeze in the surf, boogie-board, and warm up again in the sand. Continue imagining: So, you wake up the next morning only to find that The Fire is smoking all the way over in Ojai and Ventura. Ventura's where the beach is. There's a thin layer of ash everywhere, and there are warnings not to leave the house. There's ugly smoke like a thick layer of brownish clouds above you. If you go outside, your throat hurts. There go your Sunday plans...
On the bright side, I had a fun weekend. Football and car washes, you name it. Kind of a bad way to end it, though. Enjoy the out-doors for me today, guys. Appreciate it. That's not a request.

This is Geraldine

Deirdre had a fight with an avocado the other day. The avocado won.

If you come to visit, you can see her scar.

She didn't even get an ER bracelet from the Ojai Hospital. She would be the first one to make a use of that facility...

Dear Sheila,

I love you and your Norwegian fish dishes. Please be mine forever more.

Love,
Clyde Hastywell

Hurray for Saint Anthony!

Today I was cleaning out the car, and was feeling generally discouraged about life, because it was hot, and I was peeved. Then Mom came out and said, "Sheila, guess what I found!", and I had no idea what it could be. It turned out that it was my viola music which I'd spent long, hard, frustrated afternoons scouring boxes for and pleading to Saint Anthony to find. I'd even put a reward of a cake made for whoever found it... Anyway, as you can well imagine, it made my day. I'd spent almost 4 weeks looking for it, and then, the day before my orchestra audition, Mom found it. I was ecstatic. And extremely grateful to Saint Anthony for finding.

And then I got this sweater from LLBean that I've wanted for over a year. It's the best sweater I've ever worn.

And then I went boogie-boarding with the Melleins, and that was great too. I'm so happy.

Editors note: This post has been entirely positive, and I didn't say anything about how the water got turned off again this morning because Deirdre and my sink was leaking... Aren't you proud of me?

Another Editors Note: St. Anthony is a candidate for my confirmation saint. I'll write more about him later.

My life in general

Life has not been all that exciting. It's been getting ready for school, etc., and swimming and reading and writing and looking through boxes frustratedly for four of my school books and my viola music. (Saint Anthony....) Until this morning, that is...

I was awakened at 8:30, which is way too early unless I'm going to Mass. Especially because I was up reading until past 1:30 last night. Anyway, so Mom comes in and says to me and Deirdre, "Get up and help Iain move boxes out of the garage." Or something to that effect. I, being the sunny, morning person that I am, rolled over and attempted to go back to sleep while fending off questions about where important books are, etc. Note the word "attempted", dear readers. Anyway, I got up and walked into the garage which had about an inch of water covering almost the entire floor. The garage is currently storage for books and tools and such like, all still in boxes. We had water all over the floor yesterday because of a leaky pipe, but that all got straightened out with the usual, ginormous plumber's fee. So, I was dismayed to see that our water filtration system was spewing water everywhere. (As my Great-Grandfather would say, (and this is a modified version so as not to shock you all) "A story isn't worth telling if it isn't worth embellishing.") So, we desperately moved sopping wet boxes out of the garage and into the nice, 85 degree sunshine. I practically slipped several times, and I was cleaning up some cards that had gotten wet when this black spider clambered across my hand. Those of you who even remotely know me know that I have a zero-tolerance spider policy. So I flipped out, etc. and Iain and Deirdre had less major flip-outs at me. It was not a good morning. Note that it's 9:25 as I post this. I would normally be getting up about this time, or later, but only earlier if I were at Mass right now. *sigh* Oh, and did I mention that this is the third time in as many days that our water has had to be turned off? And that Dad left yesterday for a medical conference and he's not going to be home until Sunday?

Anyway, not everything in life has been as rotten as our pipes and garage. We went to the beach on Monday, and I discovered that boogey-boarding is easy and way fun. Way easier than body-surfing, which I tried last time I went to the beach. I've only been twice, which for having been here three and a half weeks, is pretty rediculously pathetic. I love the beach, though. And we went with this really great, Catholic family whom I love. We're probably *hopefully* going again with them tomorrow, and I might just make myself learn to surf. I'll keep you posted.

Bing started at TAC on Tuesday, (she got there on Thursday, though, for orientation, etc.). She seems to be doing well, but is quite sorely missed by all the family. And when I go to set the table... It's just really confusing. But she's having a really good time, and meeting great people. The campus is pretty, and she's totally in love with the campus, which helps.

Anyway, I have to go find wet books and dry them, so "I'll see you next time." I'm praying for you all. As Mr. Sims would say, "God love you!" :)

Provocative...

"I dedicate this post to Claire Russell." ~Deirdre

Blue, white, orange, green, red, blue, orange, green, clear, white, red.

Guess what this sequence of colours is taken from, and win the grande prize!

Following Trends...

The recent trends among bloggers seems to be posting great quotes. So, I decided that a few of my own favorites were in order.

"Where there is no love, put love, and there you shall find it."
~St. John of the Cross

"Without the burden of afflictions, it is impossible to reach the height of grace. The gifts of grace increase as the struggles increase."
~St. Rose of Lima

"If you are who you should be, you will set the world ablaze!"
~Pope John Paul II (If you didn't know that, you should be shot)

"Beware! To touch these wires is instant death. Anyone found doing so will be prosecuted."
~Anonymous Railroad Station Sign

"Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours."
~Yogi Berra

"I have been told that Wagner's music is better than it sounds."
~Bill Nye

"If I could drop dead right now, I'd be the happiest man alive."
~Samuel Goldwyn.

I have way too many more, but those are probably the ones I identify best with. Especially the second to last. Now, if I could find one that said the same about Debussy...

By Popular Demand

You asked for it, guys.

It's hot here, and the pool feels great when it's way over 95 degrees. I've been swimming all afternoon. It's wonderful.

Anyway, God bless you all. Enjoy the nice, mild Washington weather for me. I'll *enjoy* the heat for you.

The Breakfast Nook.

Michelle told me to post, so I decided to be an obedient person and do it.

This is a view of our Breakfast Nook in our kitchen. See, isn't it pretty? I think you guys should all come visit us so you can see it in person. A good opportunity for doing this would be next May(ish). I'm probably getting confirmed, (more details later), and several of you will be dead if you don't come. Also, I'll probably ask at a later date who you vote for for Confirmation Saint for me. I have several Saints to choose from, so once I've narrowed them down a bit, I'll let you know.

God bless you guys! I'm praying for all of you.

Mountains at last!

At last is right. The mountain views I've been hearing about for such a long time have finally emerged. It's been pretty gray ever since Deirdre and I got here last Saturday; Bing tells us we brought the Washington weather with us. But California is proving itself worthy of the adjective 'sunny'. Today it got up above 85, which felt surprisingly wonderful. The mountains are covered in live pines or something, and they look more like large hills to me than anything else. They are called the "Topa Topa Mountains", which I think is the most rediculous name for a mountain range ever. I haven't yet seen the so-called "Pink Moment", which apparently only occurs when there are enough clouds in the West and the sun shines through them creating a pink haziness sort of thing all around Ojai. The two first impressions I got of California were when we were flying into Burbank and in the car ride on the way home. I looked out of the plane window, and the first thing out of my mouth was, "Woah. That's a LOT of pools!" I'm dead serious, there's a pool in almost every backyard. (Including our own.) The second was that there are palm trees everywhere. Everywhere. It's like the state tree, flower, bush, bird, igloo, and everything else. I never knew there were more than maybe two varieties of palm trees, but I was mistaken. I can't count how many different species I've seen without using my toes! Crazy...
Anyway, our house is pretty nice, but it's no where near as nice as the yard and pool. The pool/hot tub are so cool. The hot tub flows into the pool most of the time, in two mini waterfall things. The pool is shaped sort of like an 8, and gets about 7-8 feet deep. I love it. We have 3 and a half acres, with gorgeous landscaping and tons of pretty flowers. I'm still trying to decide which flower gets the "favorite" prize. I really like the willow tree outside Deirdre's and my door/window. It's really cool. But you don't have to take my word for it. Come visit us and find out for yourself. :)
I should go see if the brownies are done cooking (yumm...), so until next time, God bless you! I love *most* of you guys. ;)

A New Blog, A New Home

I finally got around to creating my own blog! The reason I did so is because I felt like it would be a good idea to keep you guys up to date on what's shaking in southern California. I hope you all enjoy it.

So far, our sojourn in CA hasn't really sunk in. I still feel like we're here on vacation (still being after two days...), but I think that this move is going to be quite a good thing for all involved. We had a party at the house last night, which about 80 people came to. I enjoyed myself, and there are a LOT of Catholic Homeschoolers here. They all seem to be amusing, friendly people, which gives me hope that this whole thing "Ain't been in vain for nothin'."

I'll get more up here when I have the time. Until then, God bless you all!