100th Post :D

I don't know what to write about, but I am amazed that in my laziness, I just on my one-hundreth post. I probably should have been here a long time ago, but I sadly forget to blog many times. With all that goes on, I have so much to write about, but no time to sit down and write it!
Can you believe that Christmas-time is upon us? This is undoubtably my favorite time of the year. I am so thankful for the great sacrifice that the Lord Jesus Christ gave by coming to Earth and taking the form of a servant and dying for the sins of the whole world. I am pleased to say that I have accepted the great gift of His salvation through His pure, holy, precious blood. Have you? I pray that if you have not, that you will before it's eternally too late.
Today, I am getting my hair cut and possibly re-colored. It just depends! I'll post pictures as soon as possible!

Home at last :)

I am so happy to be home for Christmas break. I love being with my wonderful family, seeing my good old friends, and catching up with my church family. It is phenomenal how much a few months apart brings friends so much closer together. I love them with all my heart!
Last night, I was given the blessing of giving a devotional to our young people at church. I spoke with them about my greatest burden: People of all cultures and their equality in Christ. The prejudice of this world never ceases to amaze me. I'm saddened that people still look at the pigment in someone's skin, or their religion, or their struggle learning the English language and think them to be lesser men and women. I spoke to them in several languages, including French, Chinese, English, and American Sign Language. It was wonderful to see their reaction to the fact that so many people in this world cannot legally worship the Lord at all, and that we have the freedom to do that but ignore it. When was the last time that you gave someone the Gospel? In my entire life, no one has ever given me a single tract. It is sad that we aren't doing our proper job as Christians. It was a good reminder to myself, as well. I told the children, "The things on this whiteboard (It was covered in phrases of various languages about the goodness of God) are illegal in 51 countries. It is our job to make them legal everywhere." Next time you're nervous about giving the Gospel to someone you meet, remember that it might be the one person who you meet that truly wants it!

I know, I know...

It has been a LONG time since I last came on here and blogged. I get fussed at by my friends for not coming on here often enough. For this, I apologize. I am a college student who has a lot to do. Therefore, I kindly ask you to deal with it :)
What has been happening? Tons! For example:
1) My voice is still horribly messed up. I am still speaking with a British accent, and have no idea when or if it will ever go away. Thankfully, my singing voice is back to normal, if not even stronger. Praise the Lord for that! I think I would go crazy (As if I'm not already) if it was messed up as well. I am so happy that I didn't have to have surgery for it. All I could think of was the classic catastrophe, Lady Julie Andrews. I still am estatic to have my voice back!
2) I got to spend Thanksgiving in Georgia with my dear friends, the Suertefelipe family. I love them so much and am so thankful that they took me into their home.
3) I was able to be a part of The Crown College Choir's presentation of selections from Handel's Messiah. WOW! That was such a blessing! I can't wait to do it again next year.
4) I am completely finished with classes for the semester! Goodbye first semester of freshman year!!!!!
5) I am signed up for traveling groups for this summer. I pray that I will be chosen for this :)
6) I am going home next Thursday for Christmas Break! I'll be home for almost a month, and I am super excited about it! I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope you have a wonderful day,. friends!

How can I thank Him?

We serve an almighty, powerful God. I love Him every fiber of my being, for He made every part of me! We had an amazing Missions Conference here at Temple Baptist Church this week.
Several weeks ago, I lost my voice and my voice came back in a British accent. Everyone kept telling me that eventually I was going to be called to be a missionary to England, but I just brushed their comments off like dust. I had no feelings about being a missionary. To be honest, I did not want to be a missionary! What no one knew was that God was dealing in my heart about this. A couple of nights ago, the McClures showed a video presentation about their work in England and my heart became so tender. Last night, God called me to be a missionary. My burden has always been directly towards the small nation of Andorra, but my heart is even more open to the country of England now. It saddens me that a nation that was once on fire for God is now "Biblically illiterate." Please join me in prayer for this calling to be even more clear.
Also, over 50 young people publically surrendered to the mission field last night. Just continue to pray for the students here at The Crown College of the Bible!

Dear Blogging Friends,
I, once again, am very sorry for my lack of communication with you! I have been super busy.
First of all, you will be very pleased to hear that my voice is fully recovered! Apparently, I did not tear a vocal cord but a blood vessel in my vocal folds popped. How gross is that?!?! But, thankfully, after much fear of having to have vocal surgery, my voice is back and stronger than ever! The only strange thing is that it came back with a British accent. No lie. I have not used my original voice in over a week! Haha I sound British! I love it!!!! My doctor said it might last a few weeks and might stay permanently.
Second, this week is MIDTERMS!!!!! An evil word, I know.
I just want to say how much I love being here at Crown. I have amazing friends and really great classes. God is working so much in my life. I cannot believe that my first semester is half-way over already!

It's that time of year again...

The time of year I lose my voice, I mean. I can not stand this! I am a classically trained singer who has a very weak voice, and it enjoys giving out on me randomly. The other night, we all went to the Powell High School football game. (Which, of course, the Powell Panthers won!) and I tore one of my vocal cords screaming like a maniac. What was I screaming at? Not the game. Not the game at all. No. I tore a vocal cord cheering for the band's drumline. Those guys were beast!!! We all had a great time, but now, I have no voice. My friends are all taking turns playing "Mum" or "Dad" and slapping me if I try to speak, interpreting my sign language, and forcing me to drink horrible things such as Salt and Sodawater. (Trust me, it works like a mad person, but it is so disgusting!) I despise drinking it!!!!!!!!
Please pray that my voice will return quickly and that I will have the patience to try not to rush it, therefore damaging it further!

The Saltwater Beach

Sang so loudly that people thought you had headphones in?
Laughed so much that tears came streaming down your face?
Cried so hard that you laughed?
Spoke in ASL just because you could?
Wonder why we're all here and then understand?
Fell in love with love?
Hurt yourself with an inanimate object?
Had such a bad day that you would do it all over again just to see where or how you went wrong?
Spun in a circle until you almost passed out just to see if you would get dizzy?
Hugged a random stranger?
Gave someone you had never met a high five?
Wore a silly band ring that looks like a hippo?
Blogged until you ran out of things to blog about?
I HAVE!

Pure Epicness

Sitting here in the Great Hall with my Crown bestie (aslcollegegirl.blogspot.com) speaking in ASL for two reasons... 1) We're awesome like that; 2) We're too lazy to open our mouths and speak!

38 Chapters down... Eleven to go!

For those of you who aren't freshman here at Crown, I am talking about the book of Genesis. We have to read it by next Wednesday, and I am finished with all but eleven chapters! I am falling in love with Genesis. I never realized how interesting it is! Did you know that in just the first eleven chapters, not only do you learn the basics of Israel's history, but you learn two thousand years worth of it? It's amazing! I am so disappointed that I did not fall in love with Genesis before now! If you've never fully jumped straight into Genesis and read the Bible from the very beginning, I recommend you start NOW!

Well, just to let you know, fellow Bloggers, I ADORE being here at Crown. It is so great, and everything's a new adventure. Every day, I go down a new road, one that has never been traveled, one step closer to my goal. Just yesterday and this morning, we had our annual college retreat. The Lord has been moving, and I am so grateful for Pastor Sexton and the vision that God gave him for the founding of this great school.
I joined The Temple Baptist Church on Sunday, the 22nd, and it is already starting to feel like home!
Choir is my newest and greatest happiness! The beautiful songs we sing simply amaze me, and I am shocked how easy it has been to just hop on in! Soon, we'll start studying for a great event called Knoxville Remembers, an annual event in rememberance of Semptember 11, 2001. Please pray for us as well as all of the family of the victims from that tragic day. After this, we'll get to work on memorizing ten selections from Handel's Messiah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Words cannot describe how much I love that!
Have a wonderful day, dear Bloggers! I love you!

Crown at Last!!!!!

Yesterday, I moved into the Dorm 18 at Crown! It is so exciting! I have three adorable roomies, Allison, Lori, and Ashley. All I can say is that they are going to give me a huge southern accent, probably by the end of the week! This morning was my first choir practice. I'm a soprano and I'm in the third row. I am SOOOOOOOOO excited about school!

One day and six hours until we'll be on our way! We'll be leaving very early Saturday morning to head up to Georgia. It should be a great 12 hour drive of dancing to the Glee soundtrack, possibly drinking some Oogave (Soda made with agave nectar), and chilling with my brother! Tonight the two of us went to a GREAT vegan resturaunt in Dallas called "Spiral Diner and Bakery". It was so amazing!!!!! If you're in the Dallas area and want a place to eat, go there!
Well I'm not sure when I'll be back on, so goodbye for now, Bloggers!

Georgia on my mind... Followed shortly by Tennessee :)

Can you believe it? Ten days until I leave for Georgia! I am so excited to be going there, even if it is for a short trip. I miss Georgia so much! It was my home for eleven years, the place of my childhood, and simply one of my favorite places to be. The pure beauty of that state overwhelms me. I love the rolling hills, the beautiful mountains, and the glorious sunrises! My little cup of joy is overflowing!!!! It has been over three years since I was home, and I am about to start going crazy!
Well, we are almost finished packing. All of my things are labled, stacked in the music parlor, and ready to be put in the hatch of my car! All that is left to be bought is a few more tops and some larger items (Ironing board, etc.) that can be bought when we get to Tennessee. SOOOOO EXCITED!

Dear Bloggers,
Please excuse me for my abscence! I've been so busy getting ready for school (Yes, in only 19 days!!!) and now we have company over from Lousiana. I can't beleive how soon we will be leaving for Crown! I am so excited!!!!!!! Yes, this is a short, pointless blog entry, but I do not care!
Caitlyn

Where to begin? We have been so busy! I can't imagine that in only 36 and 1/2 days, we will be on our way up to Georgia for a week followed by CROWN!!!!! We have been running here and there shopping for dorm supplies, and today Mum and I started shopping for clothes. So far, we have bought three new shirts, as well as a new bag for my laptop! It's really nice to be getting everything ready! I love Crow, and I can't wait until I get there!

I have an appointment with my new optometrist tomorrow, and hopefully I will only need some reading glasses.

Crown Shopping!

I just got back from my first Mummy-Daughter college dorm supply shopping trip! With only one month and 27 days until we leave for Crown, I am becoming more and more anxious to leave. First we went to Anna's Linens and bought a nice mattress pad and a mattress topper. this is EXTREMELY important for adequate comfort. School would be really bad if I couldn't sleep, so I am prepared with a comfy mattress topper and my Advocare Nighttime Recovery! Next, we went to Ross and we bought a hot pink and grey container to hold my shampoo, conditioner, hair products, soaps, razors, and my blow dryer and straightener. (I have very thick and curly hair, so these are not even optional. lol) This will make it easy to store in a pantry or closet so I don't have a problem with trying to find everything I need in the dark.
Next, we went to Target and went bedding crazy! lol We bought a hot pink comforter with white polkie dots. We also bought a decorative round pillow that is white with pink, green, turquoise, and aqua polkie dots, so we bought a set of pink sheets and a set of aqua sheets. We next bought a pink towel set and an aqua towel set. I am just so excited about school!!!!!!!! I absolutely love The Crown College of the Bible!

In less than two months, I will be at home in Georgia. Words can not express how much I have missed "The Peach State"! My family moved to the Atlanta area when I was only three years old, and we lived there until after I turned fourteen. I absolutely love Georgia! While we're home, I would like to get to spend some time with my old friends, including some that I haven't seen in years.
After a few days in Georgia, we'll be on our way to Tennessee!!!!!! I am estatic about starting school. I feel so blessed to have been accepted in one of the best Baptist colleges in the country! At times, two months seems so long, and at others, it feels as if I should be leaving in the morning. I can't wait until we can start shopping for my dorm stuff; you know, bedding, a good coffee pot, all that jazz. This might sound extremely boring to some people, but it sounds sooooo fun to me!

I'm heading up to Texoma, TX today to work at the Texoma Baptist Youth Camp. This Bible camp was becoming extremely liberal, and numbers of campers were dropping significantly, so the group that owned it gave the whole camp over to Crown. What a blessing to Crown! This gives teenagers in the Southwest region a great Bible camp to go to without going all the way to Tennessee. It also gives the Crown Southwest students a camp to work at in the summers. They've needed some extra hands to finish up the small things before camp starts on Monday, so we're headed up there to probably paint! I'm excited to see my Crown friends that are working up there this summer! Please pray for this camp and for Crown.

This post is here to simply tell you that in 2 MONTHS AND 5 1/2 DAYS, I'LL BE ON MY WAY TO CROWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Calm in the Chaos

Recently, several things have occured in our lives that are far from ordinary. It seems that every day, something comes up that puts a damper on our view. For example, a few weeks ago, my father had to have a heart cath, something that none of us expected. Did I expect my father to have to have two stints put in? Definiatly not. Did the Lord bring our family through it? Of course He did. I am so happy to say that my God is still on the throne. He is still in control! Many other circumstances (that will remain unspoken) have dragged my spirit down, but I am estatic that the Lord Jesus Christ picks me up and carries me along when I need Him most.
Sometimes, heavy burdens seem to weigh us down; it is as if the whole universe has been placed onto your shoulders. Sadly, so many people miss the fact that God wil not let anything happen that is not in His perfect will. The devil can not touch a single hair on my head (And trust me when I say there are many on there!) without asking permission from the God who made him. I'm so glad to know this!

I apologize for my absence; I just got back from a LONG trip to Louisiana. It only actually lasted six days, but it seemed a LOT longer. Haha
Well, last night, I recieved my Crown College orientation booklet via e-mail. This makes me even more excited to go than I already was. In 2 months and 10 days, we will be leaving for a week in Georgia before heading up to Crown!!!!!!!!!! Man, I have waited for this since my freshman year, and it is finally happening! Praise the Lord! I am so excited to see what God has planned for me at Crown!

Happy Birthday to ME!

Well, it's official. I am legally an adult! Saturday was my eighteenth birthday, and the curse is broken. For some reason, every birthday I have had since I turned thirteen has been ruined by something. Thankfully, nothing went wrong this time! In fact, we had a great day. In the morning, Mum and I went to go pick up Daddy from the hospital. (He had to stay overnight after having two stints put in due to a blockage near his heart.) I am praising the Lord that he is feeling better and was even able to go to work today. Next, Mum and I went to our favorite nail salon and had some pampering time! After Mani-Pedi time with Mum, we went back home. When my brother, Casey, came home from work, he gave me a new Sarah Brightman CD and a Freddi Fish game. Freddi Fish is a little lame kid's computer game, but I love them! They bring back great memories and made me laugh. No one else would have ever bought me something like that; haha my brother's awesome! Next, I went to Blockbuster and bought my final birthday gift from my parents: THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON 2 DISC SPECIAL EDITION! Ahhhhh words cannot describe how much I love the Twilight Saga. The books and movies are amazing.
It was a very amazing birthday!

Last night, I attended the graduation for Crown Southwest and Norris Seminary. (Crown Southwest is a branch of The Crown College of the Bible that was opened a few years ago here in Dallas.) Our friends, Jordan and Kara (who we call Kay-Ruh) graduated last night. I'm so proud of them. They will be getting married in August of this year. I'm so excited for them.
After we went to the graduation, we went to Don Pablo's Mexican restaurant in Fort Worth. That place is AMAZING!!! The Smiths and Taylor went with us, and we all had tons of fun! My mum and Miss Jonna got the waiters to sing "Happy Birthday" for me and my brother, Casey. He turned 23 last Wednesday and this Saturday will be my 18th birthday. YIPPY!!! Oh, do you know how heavy real sombrerros are? man, they are extremely heavy! It was so much fun.
Tonight, our teen group will be going to Cassie's Fro-Yo for a special treat during class. I love that place!

Last night, I went to what would have been my last choir concert in public school. I was reminded of my ife before my family decided to finish my education through home schooling. It was so nice to see my choir friends and receive long awaited hugs from them, but it felt so strange to be there. I realized how much I missed them, but I still have no regrets about homeschooling. I believe it was a great decision, no matter what some of my public school friends think. A few of them (although they didn't look down on it) did not understand my decision to homeschool. It's just not the "normal" thing to them. When you know a lot of people who homeschool, it seems as normal as going to public or private schools, but in the city, it is thought to be weird.
Another thing my friends at public school don't seem to understand is the decision I made in tenth grade to not wear pants. I am probably the only person who many of them have ever met who doesn't wear pants. Even now when I go back to my old stomping grounds, I get strange looks from them. Even when I see my old friends, it is as if they forgot what it looks like to see someone wearing modest clothes. It makes me laugh, actually. I am not offended by their looks; it just makes me remember how feminist our world is. Of course, I am all for equal rights for women, but I am not a feminist. I am a young lady who wants to please the Lord by my actions and wardrobe. I am extremely proud of this!!!
I am so proud of my choir friends, especially the ACCAPELLA seniors. Congratulations guys; I love you! You are my ONLY regret for leaving public school. I miss you and hope to see you again soon!

Cassie's FroYo

I would like to write a review for a great place that opened in Grapevine, TX recently. If you are ever in the DFW area, make sure to take a trip to Cassie's Frozen Yogurt on Main Street in Grapevine. This self-serve FroYo place is very lovely to visit and the yogurt itself is delightful! I have only been to Cassie's twice, but I will recommend it to anyone! The employees are very kind and helpful, and the environment is VIBRANT! I love all of the neon colors on the walls. In addition to the several flavor options, there's a great topping bar, complete with your favorite candies and fruit. My favorite treat from Cassie's is a cup of Yellow Cake Batter yogurt topped with Mango, chocolate chip cookie dough pieces, pineapple, Oreo crumbles, and some jimmies. (For those of you who don't use random British terminology on a daily basis, "Jimmies" are sprinkles!)
Drop in to Cassie's next time you're in Grapevine!

"The Indigo Notebook"

The other day, I mentioned a book that I read recently, and I would like to take a few minutes to review it. Laura Resau's "The Indigo Notebook" follows the life of a young teenage girl, Zeeta, and her flighty mother. Every year, Zeeta's lived in a different country and writes information about the lives of those around her in a different colored notebook. Shortly after moving to Ecuador, Zeeta meets Wendell, a Otavaleno (I apologize for the spelling. It will not allow me to put the accent.) teenager who was adopted as a baby by an American family. Zeeta and Wendell set out on the adventure to find his birth parents. Meanwhile, Zeeta's mother, Layla, falls head over heels for Jeff Ryan, the ultimate "Handsome Magazine Dad" that Zeeta has always dreamt of. Will this new relationship cause Zeeta and Layla to move back to the States with Jeff? Will they abandon their lifestyle? Does Wendell discover the mystery behind his birth parents? I strongly recommend you check this book out and see for yourself. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! I would give it 4 1/2 stars out of five.

I don't know if I have ever said this on my blog, but I have insomnia. It takes me hours to fall asleep some nights, and when I finally do fall asleep, I have extremely strange dreams. I believe that this is why I love to write. Everything I write down in my stories have occured in my dreams. It is amazing how it is all connected! In seventh and eighth grades, I had severe pains in my abdomen and had to have two surgeries and countless doctor visits. I would wake up in the middle of the night because of this pain or wouldn't be able to fall asleep because of the pain. I believe this is why I now am an insomniac! It was around eighth grade when I fell in love with writing stories. How is it that this is all connected?

Have you ever had a fabulous idea, but no inspiration? I had the amazing desire to write a novel, as I often have, but I seem to be lacking the inspiration needed for said novel. So far, we have a girl named Elizabeth Rose who lives with her adoptive family near London at their newly purchased old estate. One day while exploring, she finds a crest engraved onto a tile with a group of words in Finnish. She determines to discover the meaning behind these words and will eventually find herself in a magical land far different from her own. In this far distant world, she will learn of her biological family who abandoned her on the day of her birth. But, sadly, I can not find a way to get this story going.
Have any of you ever had a trouble with writer's block, whoever you may be? Is anyone even out there? Please comment... it will truly help me! Even if no one is reading this, blogging in strangely therapuedic for me. It's a way for me to express myself without the fear of being rejected. Putting all of my thoughts out for commentarry, not holding back anything. The freedom to express yourself in whichever way you see neccessary.

Once again, I apollogize for the lack of blog posts. Our computer has been ridiculously retarded, but my laptop came in via the UPS man yesterday!!! So, this is my first official blog post from my very own laptop!
I'm proud to announce that in 14 days, I will be eighteen years old, and in 3 months and 5 days, I will be on my way to Georgia for a week of vacation before heading up to college. I am so excited to be at college! The Crown College of the Bible sounds like a great, wonderful adventure! Of course I know that it will not all be fun and games, but it sounds like it will be so much fun!
I am still battling with severe Writer's block, and I hope that having my laptop handy at all time will help with this. By the time you can get across the house and switch users on the home computer, you have lost all inspiration that you had. So, thankfully, I can now just walk across my room and start typing whenever the Muse decends. (Of course this is an illustration. I do not and never have believed in Greek mythology! Hahaha...)
This morning, Mummy and I attended our church's Mother/Daughter banquet. We heard a great lesson about Ruth and Naomi. It's amazing how their relationship changed all of history. If it weren't for Naomi's faith being shown to Ruth, Ruth would never have married Boaz and eventually become King David's gentile grandmother. Of course, David was the ancestor of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of Naomi and Ruth, we gentiles are able to recieve Christ and have a home in heaven. Also, we were reminded that "Ruth" means "gracious". Take time to remember what it means to be ruthless. NEVER be ruthless.
So what has been happening? Not much besides preparing for Crown. Hahaha! And doing a whole lot of reading. I am beginning to recognize the faces (and even names) of all of my local librarians, and I think they think that I am crazy because I am there so much. My rule has always been "Stop whenever you can not fit anymore books in your black and white polkie-dot tote," but recently I keep, um, breaking the rule. I probably should either get a bigger tote or just have two totes! I just read a great book that I would reccomend to anyone. It's called "The Indigo Notebook". Also, I am currently reading a book called "Set in Stone". I don't remember either of the authors names, but they are awesome!
I hope you all have a great day! Oh, and a wonderful Mother's Day for any readers who happen to be blessed with children!
Caitlyn Mae

Well I haven't blogged in exactly one month, and I have been missing it! What has been happening?
First, I GOT MY FIRST CAR!!!!!!!! Unfortuantely, I can not add photos of it at this time, but I will soon. It's a blue 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander, fondly named Dory. I love my little car! It is just perfect for a young college student, and I praise God for leting us get a good deal on it!
Also, we have fully decided to go to the Independant Baptist Friends International conference at Temple Baptist Church in Powell, Tennessee. I'm super excited!!!! As well as my parents and myself, my good friend Taylor is coming with us! I don't think that I have ever been this anxious about anything in my whole life!!!! This conference will have a ton of fantastic men of God preaching as well as men and women giving day sessions. I ask you all to pray for those who are speaking as well for the attendes to have open hearts. Please pray for us as we drive up there. We leave as soon as Taylor gets out of school on April 9th, and will get there late on April 10th. It is a 17 hour drive, so we need to be allert. (Probably not a big challenge with Tay and me. lol)

Today is my fourth "veggiversary" or anniversary of being a vegetarian. I can not believe that it has already been four years since I decided to give up the consumption of meat! At times, it seems that I gave it up just a couple of days ago, and then at other times, I feel as if I have been a vegetarian for about ten years!

Last's Night Mexican Feast!!!

I used to HATE Mexican food, and now I absolutely love it. My brother says that I am actually Mexican and that they found me as a baby on the side of the road. (Since I have video proof that says otherwise, I doubt it. lol) Last night, our family had Mexican Lasagna, Fiesta Corn Salad, and some pretty awesome guacamole. (Don't wanna toot my own horn, but why not!) I thought I would share these lovely recipes with my fellow bloggers!

Mexican Lasagna:

• 1 pd. flour tortillas (We live in Dallas, so there are a lot of Mexican markets nearby. We can get fresh, homemade tortillas for really cheap!!!!!!)
• 1 package of veggie ground (or 1 lb. ground beef for you meat heads out there)
• 1 cup mild salsa
• 1 10 oz can enchilada sauce
• 1 pk. taco seasoning mix
• 1 16oz carton of cottage cheese (small curd)
• 1 can black beans
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (Mexican style)

-Brown veggie ground/ground beef and drain. Stir in black beans, salsa, enchilada sauce, and taco seasoning mix. Simmer and stir.

-In a seperate bowl, combine cottaes cheese, eggs and oregano.

-Line pan (9*13 inch) with tortillas.

-Top with half of bean mixture, and add all of cottage cheese mix. Add more tortillas, then rest of bean mixture.

-Top with shredded cheese.

-Bake 30-35 minuts in 375 degree (F) oven.

Fiesta Corn Salad:

• 3 (16 oz) cans whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 large diced yellow onion
• 1 diced bell pepper
• 2 cups diced fresh tomato
• 1 small can chopped green chilli peppers
• 8 oz. package softened cream cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

-In a large salad bowl, mix chili peppers with softened cream cheese. Stir in drained corn.

-Fold all remaining ingredients.

-Put in refrigerator for 2 or 3 hours before serving.

Guacamole:

• 4-5 medium, ripe Haas avocados, peeled and pitted
• 4 diced Roma tomatoes
• 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp. sea salt

-In a large bowl, mash all ingredients together until well combined. (So simple but SOOOOOOOOO good!)

It was a lot of fun making my lasagna and guacamole. Daddy made the corn salad and Mummy made a lasagna with meat for the rest of the family. These items are sure to be a huge success!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why, you ask, am I screaming? Well, yesterday, a very important phone call came to my house. It was Mr. Jullian Evans, the Dean of Students at The Crown College of the Bible, etc. and so forth. He was calling to tell us that I GOT INTO CROWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is soooooooooooo exciting! I didn't really have any doubts that I would get in, but waiting for an acceptance letter or call is EXTREMELY testing. About a week ago, I talked to a young man named Charlie who works in the Crown admissions office for a while. He called to see if I had any questions about the school and to help me figure out exactly what I would be facing while at college. As I have put on here before, I feel God wants me to be an elementary music teacher. This puts together two of my passions: music and working with children. Charlie and I figured out that I would be a education major with a emphasis on music. At the end of my schooling, I will take a test that will let me become qualified to teach music at any school in the country, public and private. I can't wait for August to get here!!!! Hopefully, my family will be heading up to Powell, TN this April for a week long Bible conference. If we don't go to that, August will feel even FARTHER away than it already does. Usually, about six months doesn't seem that too long, but right now, it feels like a lifetime! I am trying extremely hard to be patient, but it is very difficult! Nothing has ever felt "more right" than the decision to go to Crown. I love that school and the people who are a part of it more than I can say! It's so hard to explain why I love that school as much as I do, but I can't help it!!!! lol

February Already????

Wow... where did the month of January go? It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating Christmas, and now the stores are full of Valentines cards and ridicuously oversized teddy bears! What has been happening in my life? Well, as I said a few weeks ago, I began to take Advocare vitamins. My whole family has been making changes in our daily food choices, and we have all lost some weight. I'm not sure how much weight I've lost exactly, but I am fitting in clothes that I couldn't fit in just a year ago! It is such a blessing to see results this quickly. I encourage you all to take these products. Yes, you have to work for results and change the way you eat and think, but if you are too lazy to do that, you probably don't really care about your health!
I'm still waiting on my acceptance letter from Crown. I hope it gets here soon!

The Big Day....

Yesterday, Mummy and I filled out my application for The Crown College of the Bible. Every time she clicked the "Next" button, her stomach flipped and I got even more excited. She was sad because I am her baby and no parent is ever fully ready to send their baby off to college, especially when that college is a 17 hour drive away from home. my mom and I are extremely close so I know that this will be hard for both of us. Even though it will be hard, I am still SOOOOOOO excited about going to Crown in the Fall. I just wish that this year would go by quickly! Tommorrow, I am bringing three reccomendation forms to church. One has to be filled out by my pastor and the other two have to be filled out by general friends that are not related to me. I will probably have my youth director fill out one and and I'm not sure about the other one. I might get the couple that is over our junior high program to fill it out. I will ask them to send it in on Monday if possible, because Crown can not do anything with my application until they recieve the reccomendation forms. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Oh, also, last night I dreamed that I was at Crown for registration and dorm assignments. LOL I must be excited about it!

Okay.....

I think that I need to make a daily schedule. If I do not have a schedule, I will not be able to focus and get everything accomplished as planned. With meals, I will put what I can eat.

The Daily Schedule of HRH Caitlyn Mae

• 7 AM - Wake up, do morning hygiene regimen, and do morning devotions.
• 8 AM - Make and eat breakfast. (2 bread, 1 protein, 1 fruit, 1 fat, 1 milk)
• 8:30 AM - Walk with the Leslie Sansome Walk Away the Pounds 2 or 3 mile video
• 9 AM - Clean the kitchen, bedroom, and do regular chores.
• 10 AM - Practice the piano
• 10:30 AM - Work on my blog and my novel, "My Own Meadow"
• 11 AM - Do whatever else I can do to be productive!
• 12 PM - Make and eat lunch. (2 breads, 2 proteins, 1 vegetable, 1 fat)
• 1 PM - 5 PM - Dependant on the day
• 5:30 - Help Mummy start dinner
• 6:30 - Eat Dinner with my family. (2 proteins, 1 bread, 1 vegetable, 1 fruit, 1 fat)

I am very excited about this meal plan. It is going to have to be a lifestyle change, but I know that I can do it! I plan on using this blog as a source of encouragement for myself. I feel that if I put my thoughts out there I will be able to stick to them easier.

AdvoCare, Day 1....

Okay, so I started my vitamins today. I took three CorePlex pills this morning and then later put the powder from three Carb-ease capsules into a small glass of apple cider and took them. Here is what I've learned today: When putting a powder into a cold liquid to take it, NEVER LET IT SIT THERE! Drink it as fast as possible or else a bunch of the powder will form on the bottom of the glass and taste horrible! The drink itself was okay, but when I got to the bottom, I h ad to force myself not to vomit. I think it will be a lot better in a hot tea or even a glass of warm water. Over all, my first day of this was pretty easy.

New Years...... GOALS!

Don't you hate when you can't think of anything in your life that is blog worthy? I haven't been feeling well enough to do any good baking (plus it would be disgusting for a sick person to even step into a kitchen) and I haven't really picked up a new hobby. (We'll I've gotten back into crochet, but that's not all that interesting.) What should I do? This year that has just begun marks a new chapter in my life's journal (My life's blog, if you will) and I truly need to become more interesting. I sadly failed at all of the goals that I set at the beginning of 2009, but I beleive that this year will be different. As I have mentioned before, this fall I will be starting college at The Crown College of the Bible in Powell, Tennessee (Thankfully, most people just call it Crown or conversations would be a lot longer there.). This year, I am not making a plan that by the end of next year I will be ashamed of. I have decided to set a period of eight months for my goals to be fulfilled. In August, I leave for Crown and I would like to be a LOT slimmer. I also would like to be more "put together". I have a bad habit of not caring what condition my room is in and not being very prim and proper, and I am becoming fed up with it. My room is now clean and it looks RATHER nice. I plan on keeping it that way for a long, long time.
Today I started taking AdvoCare vitamins as part of my weight loss plan. I am taking their "CorePlex" pills three times a day. Unfortuantly, the pills in their packs are not completely vegetarian, so I cannot take them. I will, though, be able to take a pill called "Carb-ease". Although this is in a gelatin capsule, I will be able to take it apart and sprinkle the vitamin powder into food making it completly vegetarian. My goal for now is to be 3 or 4 dress sizes smaller by the day I leave for Crown in August. That seems like a very good goal for me at this time. Please pray that I will stick to this plan!