New Years and Milestones

Soooo 2012 is practically a day away (I'm starting this post at 11:30... so by the time I finish, it *will* be a day away!). I really don't know what to think about it. I think right now my brain is scrambled with several different thoughts/feelings about the upcoming year:

1. Where the heck has the year GONE?! I'm still pondering over what happened to 2010, which vanished into thin air yesterday. It seems like only a few hours ago I was chatting with a really good friend of mine on Skype for three hours to see him into 2011... (good times). :)
2. I'm going to be OLD this year. Ok, maybe not *old*, but I'll be what society considers an "adult." Old enough to vote, old enough to date a 35 year old... (Just kidding, mom). But the whole idea of being an adult weirds me out. What happened to being 10? 10 was a good age...
3. I'm going to graduate this year! :O *brain freezes* Think happy thoughts.... think happy thoughts...
4. The world is going to end this year.

*Kaboooooom!* Heheh, it's kind of easy to want to freak out over all the "end of the world" predictions. I wonder what December 2oth of next year is going to be like, with everyone thinking they have one day to live. People are going to do some pretty crazy things. But... we don't know the day or the time, no matter how much we want to try and predict it. :P

So yeah.

There are a lot of things I'd like to accomplish this year, too.

• Fix our sewing machine and finally get some use out of it! (Maybe I should learn how to sew, while I'm at it...)
• Try cooking more
• Read my Bible more
• Graduate
• Meet more people
• Get my driver's license!!!
• Get a job
• Get a tattoo of a skull on my face (once again, kidding :)
• Continue working on ASL and get this whole "college" thing figured out...

Aside from the milestones for *me* that I mentioned, Kyla will be a teenager this upcoming year, Khloe will be a decade, and Kianna will turn one, just to mention a few of them. It's so freaky for me... I don't do well with change. I'm the kind of person who can get emotionally attached to a t-shirt. So when bigger things change... well, you can imagine.

There are some milestones going on over here already.

What am I talking about?

Oh, nothing... only the fact that my baby sister is a GENIUS!

She's sitting up already! She's 3 months old. O_o

We couldn't believe it! My sister is a freak of nature. :P

She's not sitting up all the time or anything, but if you sit her up, she can sit there for quite a while. :D

I don't think we have anything extra-special planned for New Year's Eve... just the usual staying-up-till-midnight-banging-pots-and-pans-drinking-apple-cider thing. :D It's still gonna be great!

Music is the shorthand of emotion.

(Title quote by Leo Tolstoy)

I love how music is like a camera-- it takes "snapshots" of your feelings. Time travel isn't possible (yet... that I know of... O_O), but when we listen to a song, it's probably the closest you can get to going back in time to different seasons, how you were feeling and what was happening when you listened to it before (probably one of the reasons why Taylor Swift is really popular... :)

In short, I love music. I love listening to it, I love playing it.

My taste in music has changed quite a bit throughout the years. I went from just listening to whatever my Mom listened to on the radio (at that time, 80's music, 80's music, and more 80's music...);To really girly, Disney-channel pop music; then I think it was R&B for a while; then Rock/Alternative. Now I pretty much like a little bit of everything. :) Here are ten of my favorites (in no particular order):

He is We

"Merrily we fall out of line

out of line

I'd fall anywhere with you

I'm by your side..."

~I Wouldn't Mind

They're sort of like if you put summer in a bomb and light it off in every one of their songs. Their songs are so much fun to listen to!

And not only are they fun to listen to, but their lyrics are pretty good. I'd say their most beautiful lyrics are a toss-up between the song quoted above, and their song "His Name."

But anyway, if you haven't heard them, you MUST. It's not a recommendation, it's an order. I know where you live.

Adele

"Right under my feet there's air made of bricks

Pulls me down, turns me weak for you

I find myself repeating like a broken tune

and I'm forever excusing your intentions..."

~Melt My Heart to Stone

I think practically everyone has heard of Adele. There are two different kinds of people: Those who want to strangle her until she no longer has the use of her vocal cords (*clears throat* You know who you are...), and those who think her music is freaking TIMELESS.

I'm of the latter. :)

Her voice definitely stands out among the many auto-tuned pop stars, and I'm glad she's as popular as she is.

Casting Crowns

"I am a flower quickly fading

Here today and gone tomorrow

A wave tossed in the ocean

A vapor in the wind

Still you here me when I'm calling

Lord, you catch me when I'm falling

And you've told me who I am

I am yours."

~Who Am I

These guys are hands-down my favorite Christian band. They're not your typical Christian band, either. Their lyrics are so real. Their songs deal with real problems we face as individuals and as a Church, and their lyrics are flawless. <3

Tenth Avenue North

"...this is not about what you've done

But what's been done for you

This is not about where you've been

But where your brokenness brings you to

This is not about what you feel

But what He felt to forgive you

And what He felt to make you loved..."

~You Are More

My *second* favorite Christian band. :) These guys are here to remind us how forgiving God really is. Sometimes when we make mistakes, we forget that God isn't like us, and we start to worry that He's going to give up on us because we keep making the same mistakes. Tenth Avenue North's songs sing out God's true love for us. :)

Coldplay

"Look at the stars, look how they shine for you

And all the things you do

Yeah, they were all yellow..."

~Yellow

These guys are legit. (Normally I hate it when people use that word, but Coldplay is deserving of the title). People get so funny about Coldplay because they change up their style sometimes; I think their style over the years has covered a lot of different sounds, each of them uniquely awesome with Chris Martin's distinctive voice. Sometimes their lyrics are literal, other times metaphoric, but they're all wonderfully written. (Also... don't you LOVE this picture? It's so cool!)

Taylor Swift

"This night is flawless, don't you let it go

I'm wonderstruck, dancing all the way home

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

I was enchanted to meet you..."

~Enchanted

I was on Facebook's "Pieces of flair" page and ran across one that said, "In love? There's a Taylor Swift song for that." And it's true. Whether you dream of one day falling in love, or if you're actually *in* love, Taylor Swift has a song for just about everyone. She writes about the good, the bad, and the ugly of love, and I just love her! (Yup, I was going for how many times I can say the word "love" in one paragraph...) :P

Paramore

"This is how we dance when

When they try to take us down

This is what will be, oh glory..."

~Let the Flames Begin

On my iPod, Paramore is responsible for the songs I rock out to. :) Haley Williams has such a beautiful voice and an amazing (seemingly inhuman!) vocal range. Their music is full of energy and it just makes you want to jump on your bed, bang your head, dance like a dork, or all of the above. :P

Parachute

"She, she is the words that I can't find

How can the only thing that's killing me

Make me feel so alive?

And I couldn't speak

I couldn't breathe to save my life

All of my chances swim like sinking ships

This time, it's it

I'll drown or make her mine"

~She

Parachute is a recent discovery of mine, and once I heard most of their songs I had to buy their album. :D As you can see from the lyrics posted from the song "She" (one of my favs by them), their songs are so sweet. These guys know how to write music.

Owl City

"Tell me again was it love at first sight

When I walked by and you caught my eye

Didn't you know love could shine this bright?

Well, smile because you're the deer in the headlights."

~Deer in the Headlights

I normally hate this genre of music. I'm not a fan of anything that sounds electronic-- but Adam Young here is my only exception. :D I just love this guy! Sometimes his songs are kind of random. O_o But most of his lyrics are fun, witty and occasionally just make you want to go "Awww..."

They're pretty catchy too, especially "Umbrella Beach," "Deer in the Headlights," "Hot Air Balloon," and "Galaxies."

He's also a Christian, and writes some pretty awesome Christian songs, as well. Check out "Galaxies," "Tidal Wave," and "Meteor Shower."

Ingrid Michaelson

"If you are falling, then I will catch you

You need a light, I'll find a match

'Cause I love the way you say good morning

And you take me the way I am."

~The Way I am

Last and certainly not least is Ingrid Michaelson. I've loved her song "The Way I am" since I heard it like, 2 years ago, but I've recently looked up more of her songs and just love them! Her voice is unique, old-fashioned and sometimes haunting; Her lyrics are cute, fun and clever. She's just awesome!

So now you know. Those are my all-time favorite bands/artists. :)

You mess with them, you mess with me. hahahaha

But seriously. :P

Honorable mentions:

Nevershoutnever, A Rocket to the Moon, Mayday Parade, Third Day, The Script, Sara Bareilles, OneRepublic, Kina Grannis, Hey Monday, Hellogoodbye, Colbie Caillat, and random songs on the radio

My "Little Problem"...

I'm proud to say that I've never really been one to waste money. I'm pretty practical when it comes to money, and when I have to spend it, I really think it through before I actually buy things (with the occasional exception of buying a useless trinket or two...).

That said, my frivolity is expressed in a different way:

I am a time waster.

A shameful, shameful time waster.

I spend it like I have time to burn; And... most of the time I don't. I pretty much hand it away.

I hand it to the TV

Oh, yes. We have Netflix, so they have full seasons of "The Office," "Dr. Who," and "Myth Busters." Not to mention all those movies... movies upon movies, upon movies, upon movies... Needless to say, I'm hooked on Netflix.

I shell it out to the computer

This is probably the worst for me, because if Netflix fails, I could watch TV AND be on the computer, thanks to Youtube and Hulu. :P

Then there's always the infamous Facebook... don't even get me started.

Surprisingly, though, I don't spend humongous amounts of time on Facebook at once. Instead, I have the habit of popping on really quick, responding to whatever messages/notifications I may have, then popping off. Sounds good, right? The only flaw with this, is that now I get this compulsive urge to stop whatever I'm doing and "pop" onto Facebook "real quick..." So I "pop" several times throughout the day. Ugh.

...and the biggest waste of internet time is in the form of things like this:

Oh, hilarious, time-wasting internet memes... How I love you.

I wish I knew how to quit you. <3

...And when I'm not wasting time on screens, I'm off whittling away time staring thoughtfully into the abyss

Buuut, while I may look like this guy to concerned onlookers, the inside of my brain is filled with perplexing questions and BRILLIANT epiphanies... and sometimes stuff like this

So... I guess my only argument on this time-waster is that I'm at least using my brain...

So, while other people may struggle with breaking their piggy banks over a pair of Giorgio Armani sunglasses or a shiny pair of Jimmy Choos, I loaf on the couch and waste the one thing you can't really earn more of. Kinda sucks when you put it that way. :P

I'm trying to get better. I understand that God blessed us all with time on this earth, and it's better spent doing the things He wants us to. There are soooo many things I'd rather be doing with my time, other than knowing the latest meme jokes or what happened on the newest episode of "The Office," so I'm going to try and spend my time wisely.

Ironically though, it took me about an hour to write this.

2 Birthdays

I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas!!!

Mine was pretty good. :)

It started out just about the same as it always does... people groggily stumbling down the stairs for our annual picture on the staircase.

My Grandparents came out to watch us open presents.

...And yes, despite the fact that we had to leave a couple waffles out for Santa because we didn't have time to make cookies, he still came. ;)

...And as far as the presents go, I didn't do too bad this year. ;) (THANKS EVERYONE!)

I got the coolest leather-bound Bible, NKJV, with silver pages (this is what it looks like from the outside...)

A couple of my favorite movies ("Sherlock Holmes," and "27 Dresses."), 5 new diaries to indulge my writing addiction, and this little baby riiiight here:

It's amazing. :D

Also... Kyla got me this for my Secret Santa gift:

I totally love her music the more I listen to her. :D Her voice is so cool!

Ok, my bragging is over with. :D

After present-opening we had a HUUUUGE brunch, and then we went to my grandparents' house. :)

And my mom's cousin James came to visit, too.

...and, as the title suggested, our family celebrated 2 birthdays yesterday.

I think you can guess who the first person's birthday was... ;)

But the second birthday was my sister, Karissa's.

She turned FIFTEEN yesterday. O_o I still find that really weird, since I still vividly remember this:

Also, it seemed like yesterday *I* was fifteen. Pretty soon I'll be all old, covered in wrinkles and sitting in a creaky old rocking chair in some retirement home, fighting with my roommate over a game of checkers........

But I'm getting ahead of myself. :P

She had a good birthday. :) She got her greenbean casserole for dinner (her favorite), and...

She got a cellphone.

I'm not sure, but I think she likes it... ;)

So yeah. Christmas/Karissa's birthday= Awesome. :D

Also... If you've made it to the end of this post, I commend you. :P

^Those cheeks. O_O

Christmas must be something more...

Christmas is only 2 days away!!! I'm so excited!

Have you ever noticed that Christmas day is caught in a time warp? For me, Christmas is always the same: I wake up exhausted due to lack of sleep the night before to all my sisters excitedly waiting for my parents to get up, we take our annual picture on the staircase, tear into presents, have a HUGE dinner, visit with grandparents, read books by the fireplace... <3

It doesn't matter what else has changed in your life and how old you are... around Christmas time every reverts to 8 year olds. :) Everyone tosses and turns in their beds on Christmas Eve, parents and kids alike can't wait to get a tree, drink hot chocolate, go sledding (I know I'd be excited to go sledding... if we had snow where I live...) :P And at 17, I still try to feel up my presents to see if I can guess what it is.

It's that kind of joy and excitement that makes people wonder what Christmas really means. There are some people who like to go all out with big decorations, presents, Santa, etc. There are other people who have a better appreciation for Christmas, but pay more attention to what the movies tell us about the "True meaning of Christmas": "Christmas means something different to everybody." "Christmas is about giving." "Christmas is about loving the people around you and being with family." "Christmas is about what's in your heart...." Whereas some of these are *close*, they're missing a very important mark. They're missing the source.

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this." ~Isaiah 9:6-7

It's because of Jesus that Christmas is so amazing. He was put on this earth to die for our sins, giving us the ultimate Christmas gift: A relationship with our creator. It's from this we can be giving and loving during Christmas. If we have Him in our heart, then the feeling of Christmas follows (it may sound a bit cheesy, but it's TRUE!) :)

But... yeah. :) In the next couple of days I'll be addressing cards, hanging out with family and pondering what's in that strange box under the tree... so I probably won't blog 'till after Christmas. ;) Until then, everyone have an amazing Christmas!

You so cute!

Awww, why hewwo dere, wittle bwog viewers! Aren't you da cutest ting I ever seen?! Wook at you! You so cute! Yes you are! Oooh, *gasp* is dat a smile?! Did I make you smile? Wook at dat smile, it's so cute! Ooh, I'ma try it again. BOO! Nothing? BOO! How bout now? I'ma gonna gitchu... you better run, shnookums! I just love you, yes I do!

At this point you may be thinking one of three things:

1. Where is she going with this?
2. Somebody escaped from the madhouse...
3. Why is she talking to me in babyspeak?

If you were thinking 3, you were on the right track! (Ok, 2 might be pretty close, too...)

It's hit me a few different times when yammering on to Kianna in the same weird babble as the above that people sound absolutely insane when talking to babies. We've all gotten used to it, because everyone talks to babies the same way; but next time you catch yourself or somebody else talking to a baby, try paying attention to how funny they look. It's hilarious!

What's even more hilarious is how it must look to babies. Here they are, new to the world and unsure of how it works, and there are these weird, freakish giants who like to hover over their faces and speak jibberish. Everywhere they go, complete strangers come up to them with their faces pulled back into the toothiest grin they could muster, poke their bellies, pinch their cheeks, tickle their feet...

Imagine if we never outgrew that. O_o What if in one generation all parents and adults spoke to babies/toddlers in babyspeak and never stopped? Then those babies and toddlers grew up babbling in baby gibberish. Then once they were grown and had their own kids, they naturally spoke to them in the same gibberish they grew up on. Then, we'd have adults who talk like this:

At work: "You a good wittle worker, yes you are! You so pwoductive, I'ma give you a raise!"

In relationships: "Aww, you so pwetty! I wuv you, darlin! You wanna marry me? You do?! Yaaaay!"

When they pull you over: "Hewwo, wittle guy... I saw your wittle car go VROOOM! Looks like you need a speeding ticket! Here woo go!"

People are saying that "Text speak" is slowly killing the English language. Although I really can't stand people shortening words/not using correct grammar and punctuation, I'm thinking it could always be worse. We could always talk to each other the way we talk to babies. O_O

Allow me to introduce myself...

If you are reading this, then you are reading a monumental moment in history; for here on this day, I am writing the blog post to begin all legendary blog posts. This is where it allllll starts.

...Or not. Chances are, you're probably reading this because I told you about it or because you're reaaalllly bored and have been browsing blogs for hours (get up! Go outside! DO something with your life!). I'm not sure how many viewers I'm going to get, but I'm really hoping this takes off. I love to write and needed a project, so here we are. :)

Welcome to my blog!!!

If you don't know me, I'm Kaylee Beutler (otherwise known as "Kay.") (To the right, holding "Moono." Isn't "Yo Gabba Gabba" AWESOME?!?!)

Here's me with my sisters (from left to right: Khloe, Kyla holding Katie, Karissa, and Karly). And, since all of our names start with K, some of our common nicknames include, "Kat...Ky...Khlo... HEY YOU!"

We like to keep people on their toes. :P

My Mom, and my newest baby sister, Kianna...

...aaand my dad with Kianna (as you can see, it's hard getting a picture of all of us at once).

So there you have it. We're one of those "weird" families with "like, a bajillion kids." ;) It's hectic, it's loud, it's borderline insanity over here sometimes, but I love it. My family likes to keep things interesting.

As for me, I shoot people.

I also like driving my family members insane with playing the piano and learning ASL (which I'm having a great time with!)

I'm 17 years old, I'm a senior, I volunteer at a horse stable, love music and the color orange.

(And I'm beginning to sound like an intro for a Miss America contestant...) :P

Hello. I'm Kaylee. Nice to meet you. :)