Lol. I can't really take you guys around the world, but I can do something to that effect.

Now that my IB art class has been in session for two weeks (yes, I started school on August 12th DD: ) we've been exploring some new styles of art and mediums. I'm doing a self portrait for school and i really want to practice skin, but I don't want to use famous people, so I was hoping you guys would let me use some of you Deviant ID's or any pics of you that you'd be willing to let me draw. I don't expect you to decide right away, I'll be uploading my self portrait soon and you can decide then.

So, where does the trip around the world come in? Well, the IB program wants to make sure that our books are not graded by someone that knows us and that a variety of teachers will have an imput on our grading. So if I draw you in my sketch book, your portriat would go on a free trip to several countries around the world.

I would really appreciate any pictures that you guys are willing to share. I'll post them on DA if you'd like to see or I can keep them a secret if you're the more bashful type. don't worry about being unphotogenic, cuz I'll be the first one t tell you that I take the worst pictures. You can post them here on DA or send them to me at DelightsJazzieDoll@yahoo.com. Just make sure I know its you or I probab;y won't open it. ^_^

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on another note, I spent an amazing summer in the east cost. We went all over Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and even spent some time in New York. I saw a ton of cool things and have some pictures that I need to post. Not like dweeby pics of poo stuffs, but some cool pics of the inside of Eastern state Penitentuary and things that I'm hoping will be interesting to look at.

School's a little wierd this year. I have two AP classes, 2 IB classes, and 2 normal classes. I dropped out of AP Calculus for IB Math and Spanish 3 for an ROP computer class. I was happy with dropping spanish, but I wanted Animal Science. I was planning to go into UC Davis, but I'm not sure now. does anyone know about any vet jobs that pay well besides the surgeon itself?

Sorry about all the typos, I'm in a hurry so I'll fix them later.

Summer:

Summer's finally here and everyone seems to be really excited about all the things they can do now that school's out. THe only problem is that our school schedule is all messed up, so our summer is about 6 weeks long. At the last possible moment, I found out I have summer homework. I don't mind it though cuz we will be reading a book for AP US history by the name of "Founding Brothers". I've developed an interest in history over the last year, so I'm actually looking forward to reading it.

The Myth?:

Just curious, what do you guys think California is like? I heard that some of you think we go to school in bikinis and that all the girls are beach blonde. And apparently several Europeans are under the impression that American schools are like High School Musical. >.<

Highlights of 10th grade:

This year has been really interesting. A drug dog pulled weed out of my folder (I almost had a heart attack cuz I didn't know they planted it there. ). I actually passed trigonometry AND pre-calculus with A's (that shocked everyone). My Spanish class spontaneously broke into a chorus of Chop Suey (Okay, I admit that was kinda like High School Musical). I found out that my best friend might be moving away over the summer (she'll still be in SoCa, so we'll keep in touch). Special congrats to my graduating beaners who are going on to college!

Budget Cuts, pink slips, and Arnold Schwarzenegger:

Yeah, so California's had some major impacts due to the budget cuts. The funny thing us that many of these cuts are heavily affecting us students who are still unable to vote. Our schools lost $6 billion (I need to check that) and we will be feeling the pinch. I believe that bussing to and from school will no longer be available or will now have a fee attached. We will no longer have a set of books for home, which means that not only will the students have to walk, but they will have to lug around 6 heavy textbooks. We lost many of our electives, sports, and clubs.

Many teachers received pink slips then had them recently recalled. They will have jobs but the pay may not be the same and they may have to work in a different area. Hmm...so now that they have been graciously given back their jobs they can't complain about being underpaid, lack of supplies, ect. Sounds like a clever government ploy to me, but I don't have that much info on it.

I wrote a letter to the governator for a school project. While I was researching I realized how messed up the world is. Did you know that Manchuria Unit 731 is being written out of Japanese schools? For those who don't know, it's basically the Japanese version of the Holocaust. Many people in the US don't even know about it. It was only briefly mentioned in my textbook. I also researched World hunger. I found out that the motive behind the US's aid to the hungry is often based on personal goals. Promotion of the free market or something like that.

Finally, the bad news followed by the good news:

The bad news is that I've been busy with work around home and I dunno what my summer homework is going to be like, so I can't gaurentee alot of upcoming deviations.

The good news is that I'm going to have IB art for the next two years, so I'll be uploading more during the school year. I'm not sure what we will be doing in art class, so you may see a new variety of deviations coming up this next school year.

¡ s ʇ u ɐ ı ʌ ǝ p o ן ן ǝ ɥ

Yesterday my aunt found a baby sparrow out in the front yard. It was hopping around in the grass, but it still wasn't old enough to fly. My cats have been known to get a hold of them in the past, so she brought it inside the house.

After several minutes of fawning over the little darling, we decided to put it in our bird cage with an older cockatiel. It's a large cage set outside next to a nectarine tree. We thought he'd be happy there and the cockatiel would have some new company.

This morning we were watching the sparrows drink out of the dogs water bowl, and my aunt noticed that there were a couple of sparrows hanging around the bird cage. Coincidence? I thought so. I doubted that it was the parents. I figured that the sparrows noticed another bird was in the cage and were checking it out.

Well, these sparrows were refusing to leave the cage. They would fly over and cling to the outside where the baby was. Then the baby would sit with his mouth open and the parents would feed him through the bars! I couldn't believe it!

Maybe I'm just physced because I saw it myself, but it was amazing to think that they were able to care for their child even though we had moved him to the back yard andput him in a cage. We really wanted to give him back to his parents, but we can't possibly reach the nest, and we don't think that they'll like the fact that we touched him.

"Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it." Matthew 10:29 NLT (If God cares so much about even the sparrows, how much more must he care for you and me? *Feels loved*)

Oh yeah, sorry if I talk alot, I either won't say anything or I'll say too much. So...I'm working on that problem.
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UPDATE: For those curious as to what became of the little birdie we found...

The parents never quit hanging around the cage. Every day they would fly around the outside and the little bird kept practicing from the inside.

After about a week of this, me and my mom thought that he looked strong enough to be released. As soon as my mom opened the cage door and backed away, he shot out of the cage. He didn't seem to have any problems flying, so I'm sure he'll be okay.

Okay guys, I can't keep up with the messages. apparently my Male Torso practice has been really popular lately and I have things going on with school and home and just stress in general. Sooo....if I don't answer somments right away, then this is a sorry in advance.

I can't wait until school gets out! This summer I'm planning to get my driving permit. I dunno where I will drive to. Honestly, I have no where to go...

Sorry about all the journals. This should be the last one for a while.

I spent summer vacation with my family. My grandpa was a master sergeant of something or another, so he was able to get us some camping spots at the military beach. I wasn't exactly excited.

Our living quarters were cramped. They were designed for a maximum of four people and we had five. I had to sleep on the kitchen/dining room/ living room floor on an air mattress. I was constantly sweeping because my little cousin and brother were trekking sand in the house and they never seemed to stop eating so I was always washing dishes.

It was okay though, cuz I needed to keep my mind busy. If I didn't do anything my mind would wander back to depressing thoughts. I hate feeling depressed. It also gave my mom a well deserved break. I wish I could help her out more at home, but school work takes up a majority of my time.

I've never been too fond of the beach. I like being around the coast and the water, but the beach is always windy and cold when I go. I was only able to wear my bathing suit once and I never actually went in the water.

I tried to get a tan on Wednesday, and it didn't work out too well. I look a little darker but you can hardly see the tan lines. Then I went outside on Thursday and it was freezing. My nose was running and I was sure that I was going to get sick, so I covered myself from head to toe in warm clothing (jeans, longsleeve shirt, jacket w/ the hood up, hat, ect). My feet were the only thing that weren't covered and I burried them in the sand to keep them warm. And guess what. I got a sunburn. I have no idea how that worked out, but I thought it was pretty interesting.

Another interesting thing I came across was the fact that mosquitos are out to get me. I'm not sure what you want to call them. Giant mosquitos, mosquito eaters, mosquito hawks, spiders with wings, Crane fly, [link]

I honestly don't care what it is, I call it the demon bug and we are enemies!

Me and the demon bugs have never gotten along, but lately I've rediscovered my fear of them. I killed one in the house a while ago and it fell to the floor. The room was dark, so I wasn't sure where it went. I was afraid that it was still crawling around on the floor, so I pulled my feet up onto the chair I was sitting on. No one else was home and I sat stranded in the dark for about an hour until my parents came home. My mom laughed at my lost puppy expression then picked it up and chased me around the house with it. ;_;

Then I went to the ranch and the demon bugs were swarming along the entrance to the trail and in the barn, which is where we spend most of our time. They would come out of nowhere and whack me in the face. No one else had this problem. 0.o I was afraid to talk while riding because I thought I might eat one.

When we went to the beach one found it's way into our little house. I was the first one to see it and it targeted me! It flew off the roof and came straight at me! It, just like all the other demon bugs, made sure to come toward my face. no matter how many times I swatted at it, it wouldn't go away, so I just covered my eyes and told my mom to make it go away. She was nice that time.

On the last night, the little monsters gave me a wonderful goodbye. I had made sure to stay inside and that there was no way for them to get in, but they still did. I was talking to my cousin and it was the the roof. I just pointed up and screamed "KILL IT!". XDD My little cousin had to save me.

I can only imagine what my parents were thinking because they were outside by a fire and all they could see was my little cousin jumping around and beating something with a book accompanied by my terrified girl squeals. By the way, the book he used was a Bible commentary that my dad left out. I gave it the name 'demon bug' because I thought he was using a Bible and it wouldn't die. now that I think about it, I shouldn't have let him use the Bible to kill a bug, but I was panicking and lacking rational thought.

I dunno if anyone remembers, but my 16th b-day was back in February. Due to the fact that I got sick, was loaded with school work, Cahsee prep, and depression, I still hadn't really celebrated it. So we decided to celebrate it at the beach. Sadly, we realized that we had neither a baking pan nor an oven. We didn't even have measuring cups or a whisk. So We had fun trying to improvise. I ended up cooking the cake in a pot on the stove. It worked, but the bottom of the cake was burnt. We didn't have candles either, so they stuck a huge match, the ones with a really long stick, right in the middle of the cake. It was too windy to keep the match lit, so I just pretended to blow it out. not exactly the way I imagined my 16th birthday cake, but it was just as well. I now have a story to tell my grandkids when I'm old and wrinkly.

Finally I'll wrap up my story with my favorite part. The beach was amazing at night. I really wanted it to rain or get foggy, but I think we left just before any of that happened. Anyways, I loved the beach at night because there was no light besides that of the fire, but the moon was really bright. The most amazing part was gazing out at the waves at night. The water was black, but the moon's silvery light reflected off the tops of the waves as they broke and crashed along the shore. When the tide was right, usually late at night, the waves would lift the rocks and drag them across each other. You could hear the waves rolling the rocks along the shore. The sound is hard to describe, but I would say that it sounded alot like thunder. I thought that was absolutely fascinating, but I'm weird like that.

Thanks to all of my fellow deviants for putting up with my freaky emotions. The last few months have been confusing and the last week has been especially hard, so I'm behind on everything. I have over 250 messages, so please forgive me for all the late 'thanks for the faves' and replies.

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter!
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Something I can relate to:

4 out of 3 people have trouble with fractions.

An incredibly dumb idea:

The inflatable dart board. It comes with patches in case you accidently poke a hole in it. 0.o

Something to think about:

Work like you don't need the money.
Dance like no one's watching.
Love like you've never been hurt.

(Easier said than done?)

Last night the someone told me that they thought it was too hard to uphold my Christian values.

Then I thought to myself, "Oh yeah. That's right, isn't it? You're a Christian."

So I finally turned to the one person who had been right from the start. God.

I've always been a Christian. I've always known of God's existence and his love for me, but I often took things into my own hands.

I knew some of the risks involved in getting in to a relationship. I turned to God in the beginning, I knew big decisions needed thought and guidance. The passage I read said something like "this is not the one I have chosen for you".

If I knew he was always right, why didn't I listen?

The answer is simple. I didn't want to listen.

I took things into my own hands. Chose my own path. As a human I often think I know better, but I never do.

So last night I cracked my bible back open. As I read I realized that my quote held true.

It still hurts to look back, It's tough to look forward, but now I know I'll never be alone when I look beside me.

"...And I'll always be with you, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:20 (The Bible is a book full of promises! ^_^)

God had persued his relationship with me. He endured horrible torture. He had the flesh ripped from his body. He was beaten. He was wounded, both inside and out. He didn't even let death stop him. He loved me that much.

He did all that and I never saw it for what it was worth. He waited all of these years for me to come to him and you wanna know what the best part is? He knows my every fault. My every flaw. Every mistake that I have ever made and ever will make. Knowing all of this, he still loves me more than I'll ever know.

I'm so flawed that I hold no value. I have abosolutely no worth. But he died for me as if had value. As if I had worth.

Have you ever heard the story about the shepherd that broke the lambs leg in order to keep it from wandering off? Well, not only was my leg broken, but I squirmed around on the foor for a while before realizing that God will pick me up. He'll carry me on his shoulders until I can walk again. Then I simply need to follow him. Trust in his guidance. He'll protect me from all harm.

I guess sometimes you have to make a mistake in order to learn from it. If God has someone out there for me, then I will wait, but right now I think he needs me to focus on myself.

God gives and takes away. We may not understand it, but it's always for our good. I think what he took away in my last experience was to bring my attention back to him.

I sat in my room and prayed aloud. I felt crazy talking to my walls. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I ended up doing both simutaneously.

So, as I've said, I've finally found it.

Do you know what I've found?

The place to rest my heart.

It's broken and scarred. Full of fear and pain. But he will care for it. No matter how many times I mess up, he'll still be there waiting for me with his arms wide open. Just like he always was.

The gaping hole in my heart no longer bleeds. He'll help the wounds heal. I'll ask God for the courage to open myself back up. He can do anything and he will take care of me. I just need to have the faith.

He made me. Crafted me with his own hands. Washed away my stains. He gave me worth. He gave me a reason to live. As long as I'm alive I'll give him my all. I love him that much. I never thought I could say that again.