getting personal.

Hey everyone.

So lately life has seemed like an uphill battle and sometimes it seems like the most beautiful blessing to ever be. I've had a lot going on lately that I don't really discuss ever, plus a lot of life stuff I've been too busy to mention, so let me give you a brief overview. 

Sometime in late winter I got accepted to both schools I applied to, and the school I didn't think I could afford gave me a hefty scholarship. So I blissfully accepted them and am going to attend St. Joseph's in Patchogue in the Fall, as a Child Study major. 

 

Sometime in  early Spring, I hurt my back very badly and was floor bound and miserable. Turns out I have a condition, but its not a big deal. 

Sometime mid spring, someone I had once been very close with and I parted ways. Which was really hard but I think for the best. 

Sometime Early summer, I went on a road trip XC. I learned a lot about the wild and why national park campgrounds are cheaper than others (no showers!) how to avoid bears and how cute baby bison are. i also learned that hospital service in Wisconsin is better than NY (seriously, I only had like an 1 hour in there and I was fixed), and not to get poison ivy on your face. I learned that medicine that says non-drowsy makes me collapse in a sleepingbeauty-esque sleep without the beauty part, and the wilderness can be more refreshing than any spa. 

Sometime mid summer, I celebrated a year and a half of being in love with my Stephen. He's wonderful without even trying.

Sometime in the past month, we (Stephen and I) adopted 2 beautiful kittens ( Darcy and Elizabeth) who live in my room!

Sometimes in the past 2 weeks, our kittens got ringworm. I'm like really really grossed out by skin issues and thats what ringworm is. So its my own little hell while we try to help the babies get better. 

Sometime in the past week I cried for 3 hours.

Sometime in the past week I laughed for 6.

Sometime in the past 2 days I was alone and scared and sad.

Sometime in the 2 days I was held and loved and safe.

Sometime today I lost control and sat in my room freaking out. 

Sometime today I cuddled my kittens and read my sister a book.

Theres good things and bad things. Life comes with them both. Sometimes the bad seems to outnumber the good, and sometimes you start looking for the awful because its been too good for to long. I think I'll be back blogging for awhile!

A lazy post.

I see: The computer screen, my stuffed giraffe Horus(named Horus because he has ginormous creepy eyes and the first thing I thought of was the all seeing eye of Horus, Egyptian mythology reference yea!), My Physics Book opened in another tab, the book I just finished, my hands on the keys, qwertyuiop.

I smell: The night air and my mother's concoction of oils. ew.

I taste: nothing, although there is a promising chocolate bar on my dresser...

I hear: Some washed up rocker singing about the same thing all rockers sing about, cars rushing past my window, tap tap tap.

I feel: the keys under my fingers, the hangnail starting, smooth legs, my shirt against my skin, the absence of my mermaid ring.

Horus thinks YOU should stop procrastinating.

Seriously Hannah you have Physics to do.

I take instructions from a stuffed giraffe. 

Help.

Now for my really exciting plans for break.

Now that I've been all annoying and deep and whatever, my other favorite part of Easter and my plans for the next 2/3 days.

I dare you to judge me/tell me you aren't doing the same thing. Also, please excuse the gross pajama's, t-shit is from 7th grade Cheer and boys sweats. Hair is compliments of an 11 hour car trip back from Ohio sitting next to a sleepy boyfriend. 

we are an Easter people

"Do not abandon yourselves to despair, for we are an Easter people and Hallelujah is our song." JPII

Every have that feeling where you're losing yourself to everything going on around you? Where you're so overwhelmed by circumstances, and people are letting you down at every turn? Ever felt like you're completely abandoned? Sometimes things are too much and we doubt they're going to ever get better. And some things aren't going to get better or go the way we want,  but we have to realize something, We are an Easter people.

But what is it to be an Easter people and what do we have to do? Its more than just remembering, "Oh yay, once upon a time a guy names Jesus rose from the dead and then the Easter bunny came." Lets play pretend. Pretend that all those problems, all that loneliness, all that guilt, all that stress, was taken away from you by someone you barely spoke to, and they dealt with it for you. Imagine they suffered for all your pain, and for all the things you've done wrong. Imagine they suffered a lot. And then imagine that they suffered so much they died for you and all those things. I'd feel a little affection towards them after that. Honestly, it'd be so sad that someone loved me that much and they died. Now imagine that 3 days later, they came back to life, to you. Since we're imagining this, imagine how happy you'd feel after that. 

Pretty happy right?

Once upon a time, a guy names Jesus died for our sins and for our salvation and then he CAME BACK to us because he never leaves us to deal with things alone. As an Easter people, we are to live with that type of joy.  We are not alone, we are not abandoned! Jesus died for us and heals our brokeness, shouldn't we celebrate?

Because after all, we are an Easter people, and Hallelujah is our song.

Happy Easter.

Military brat

April is the month of the military child.

Parents often worry that they didn't make the right decisions for their children, that they let their lives get in  the way of their child's. They often try to either change those decisions, their whole lives to make a "suitable" and "normal" life for their kids. However, sometimes they can't. This results in people's pity, which is not so much pity as a subtle way to insult and sneer and give unwanted advice to grown men and women. As a child raised in a constantly moving, military, catholic, homeschooled home, I have become accustomed to people's pity. I've been asked the questions they try to veil in innocent curiosity, but are really meant to evaluate me, and make sure I am "adjusted" and not being tortured by the irregular life that I ended up with.

When I was younger and realized that my life was different from normal kids, it honestly was difficult at times. Being uprooted, making new friends, Dad being gone, family being far away, settling in just to leave again, being DIFFERENT. Its hard at 8 years old to understand that you're leaving your home and your friends to go somewhere new, somewhere foreign. Yet you do. Sometimes, this was a blessing. As I got older, I became less "different" and more "special".

My years as a military brat gave me adventures I will always have. They made me who I am today, and taught me more than I would have learned if I had had a "normal" life. I don't feel like I haven't adjusted to society, like I'm a freak of nature just because I haven't had my friends here since 1st grade. I don't feel like I don't have a home after being constantly uprooted. Home is where the heart is. Its where my family lives, where my bed is, wherever I can smile and laugh and be happy. Because of the moving, I learned how to make good friends quickly. So there's another issue taken care of. I never had to change schools because of the homeschooling, and because of the homeschooling I never lacked for friends or social skills.

I'm a well adjusted social teenager whose going places and accomplishing things, and I was a military brat. So before you go and pity those poor military families, realize that we are strong because of this, and thats a strength you can learn no where else.

Semper Fi.

10 Things I want My Sisters To Know

10 Things I Want My Sisters To Know:

• Brains will always beat out beauty. People will pay a lot more attention to you if you can discuss more than lengthening mascara vs. curling.
• You do not need to be a damsel in distress just because you are a feminine princess. You can be a strong capable, smart and attractive woman in pink dress and heels too.
• Don't complain about boys and how you'll never have a boyfriend. Seriously, its not attractive. Also, you should not be “with” someone unless you find someone worth being with. Try to only date guys you could see yourself marrying.
• If you have something to say to someone, say it. Don't be fake to people. Trust people, but be careful with your secrets. Don't let disappointments make you jaded.
• Never sacrifice your identity because people make fun of you. If you like reading, read. If you like going to Church, go to church. If you like to make rainbow cake while tap-dancing and reciting bad poetry, do it when I'm not home. Enjoy being a dork. Don't let anyone ever take that away from you. (On a side note, never sacrifice your identity just to get a guy to like you. He should like the whole package, including the parts of you that are not so attractive.)
• You are beautiful no matter what. Makeup or no, sweatpants or ballgown, a mess or put together, happy or sad. You are more than what you look like, and the value of you is so much more than what other people can see. Always know that.
• Making mistakes in life is okay, but don't let making mistakes be all you do.
• The only person's expectations you have to live up to is your own, and if you do the best you can, I'm so proud of you.
• You should never compromise your morals. Believe what you believe and do not let anyone take that away from you, and don't lower your standards just because everyone else does, or says its okay. You know its not.
• You are loved no matter what. No matter how much you mess up I will always be here, and God is always on your side.

For I know the plans I have for you.

Today I'm at my the school my mom teaches at. There are a ton of little kids here, from like 13 down to the two little newborns sitting in their car seats. One little one, whose probably around 2ish, has these great shoes that squeak as she runs. I can hear her with my headphones in, and I can hear her mother chasing after her. In the past hour she's been chased out of the bathroom twice, down the hall more times than I can count, and out of the quiet room even more. Her little squeaking shoes always let her mom know where she is, and always seem to ruin her plans of diving headfirst into the toilet for a swim..

Now, unlike this little beastie, we don't have squeaky shoes which allow someone to run after us and make sure we're okay and not swimming in the toilet. So we get to go our own way, and if we do something wrong we don't get chased out by a watchful eyes. Because of this, we sometimes get to go toilet diving, or do something that seems awesome in theory but we know we shouldn't do. Sometimes, God says, "don't dive in the toilet!" and we feel like a teenager whose mom tells them they can't go to that party. We feel like He's taking away the fun and ruining our lives. Other times, things are overwhelming and too much for us to handle, it feels like we have to do it alone no matter how large and ridiculous the task. Our lives aren't simply laid out for us, and that is often when we start to feel alone, and we wish for a pair of squeaky shoes that can lead us into something happy and good.

In Jeremiah (29:11) it says, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Remember the mom and the little girl with the squeaky shoes? Well her mom wasn't trying to be awful and ruin her toilet diving adventures. She was trying to make sure that she could have a future and a hope for a life without squeaking shoes. God is like that mother sometimes. Sometimes things don't work out for a REASON. You keep trying and trying and trying and you know what? Sometimes that's not the future you're meant to have. 

HAIKU

I'm actually
infatuated with the
art of a haiku.

but for reals.

I wrote a nice one:

It is so lovely
to fall in love with someone
as lovely as you. 


that is my meager offering. i also wrote a post on the purpose of life and whatnot but I doubt you guys want to see that.

@!)!@ or as it also goes by, 2012.

First post of 2012! Lets say a lot of prayers for a good year. There is so much that could be excellent this year! Good Clothes, Good friends, Good times, Lots of smiles, lots to be thankful for. Also, just shooting out a prayer request for myself because I really need prayers right now for reasons I'm not going into at the moment.I hope you all had an a amazing New Years and Christmas.

Chins up loves.

you are worth more

Just so you know, you are going to get so much more than what you have now one day. One day you will be so much more than you are. You will one day find someone who loves you for everything you are, and until you find someone who can’t be without you, don’t settle. Adoring someone is not love, and when you finally realize that you’ll be closer to being happy. You are worth effort, time, love, happiness. Things DO get better. There is a light at the end of this tunnel. We do not exist to be sad, and one day, there will be happiness again. Do not give up hope in a better future. Make the better future happen.


Its a New Year soon. A New Beginning. Keep looking for the light, and pray. I don't care if you believe in God, maybe one day you will, and then you'll find the love you need, the purpose you desire, and the life you've only dreamed of.

To all the beautiful people:

So basically to everyone. This is a note about what Hannah has come to really honestly understand this weekend. Which is a lot for one weekend.This is all stuff I knew, but I finally understand.
On Friday: I learned that people are difficult sometimes, but you need to work with them. I learned that some people are not always kind. I learned that you can't always understand people, but the best you can do is try. I learned that when raising money, have an actual good cause and catch the individual's attention because a lot of people simply assume someone else will take care of it (thats called the bystander effect!) I also learned that sometimes the best way to be there for people is to let them know you care, then let them deal.
On Saturday: I learned that you cannot actually fix all awkward situations, you do not have to like everyone, and you should never grow up to the point where you can't call people out for being awful. Also, its okay to love people and let them know what they mean to you. Its necessary. Its real, its important. Also, not everyone  is like you. Thats okay.
On Sunday: This is kind of a big one for me since I've always believed this, but it just gets more and more important. Each person has value. Each person deserves a chance to live, to experience love in this world. Especially people who are different, who need more attention, who have special needs. They do not lose their dignity as a person because they have an extra chromosome, or because they can't see, or because they have difficulty in social situations. They may be difficult, they might not always seem like a heavenly blessing because they're stubborn, or annoying, or throwing fits, or more than you think you can handle, but they still are blessings.

"Do not forget that there are many children. many women, many men in this world who do not have what you have, and make sure that you love them, too, until it hurts." Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

this has been a rant

Hello lovelies! Today I'd like  to abandon any ideas of eloquence and rant about something. So here goes.

I really like clothes. And fashion. I'm that person who reads all those horribly written articles for pictures and tips and summaries of shows.  I'm the person who says, OH, that color is SO IN this year(tangerine tango is actually the color in so you'll know if i'm lying). I may dress pretty boring but I  still love crazy stuff. ANYWAY the issue I'm having is with everything in the fashion and beauty industry being so hard on women!

Okay, so you need us to buy your products. But is there another way to do that than bashing us for not being thin enough or pretty enough or having too short hair? Every other blog post or article talks about how "no one will know how many pieces of pumpkin pie you ate!" Why does it matter how much pie I eat? Why should I limit myself to fit into your ugly and unflattering dress, and then feel bad when I don't? I understand that we buy the dress, and we should be healthy, but the general rule of thumb for "good enough" to other women is being a size 4 or under, while statistics say that that most women in America are on average a size 12.

I get that thats a little bit...sad? that we've let ourselves grow so much. But still. Rather than continually marketing clothes that seriously compliment no existing human bodies, why are we not making pretty clothes for people who are actually self-conscious about their bodies without being terrible to them. All clothes marketed to women are said to "hide an unflattering tummy" or "hid your arms" "hide too big calves" "camouflage uneven cleavage" WHY ARE WE ENCOURAGED TO HIDE?

Look, not all people look like Victoria Secret Models(who, by the way, don't actually eat. They sometimes drink protein shakes. sometimes.). People are all differently beautiful, each in their unique way and they should not be encouraged to hide things as if they are not good enough. My midsection holds most of the organs keeping me alive, why should I care if my pie settles there? Would the extra holiday fat offend you?

Teach people to accept who they are. Make clothes that make people comfortable with who they are. Not clothes that make us uncomfortable and upset. rant ended.

I'm thankful for:

Leaves that look like flames

Houses with red doors

my favorite pen

the color of my grammie’s eyes

the shape of my mother’s

dresses that swish

little black shoes

My sisters’ smiles

My boyfriend’s hands.

My dad’s laugh

My brothers nerdiness

nicely done nails

warm coats

hot chocolate

hugs

friendly people

photo albums

comfy jeans

Bikes

hula hoops

pumpkin pies

interesting belts

adoptive family members

leather boots

good books

old things

a clean home

a messy room

nose dimples

laugh lines

Being catholic

exciting news

friends

fresh air

sun sets and sun rises

cute hats

baby smiles

love

life

faith

laughter.

But monster's aren't real, right?

I sleep with the closet door closed. It has to be closed or I can't sleep.

I sleep with my bedroom door closed. It has to be closed or I cant sleep.

I sleep under a blanket at all times. All of me under it, including my face, or I can't sleep.

But monsters aren't real, thats just a story told to children to scare them into staying in bed.

Right?

One night I let my foot out of the blanket, just to see. 

I imagined (I think) a giant spider crawling all over it, up to my face, coming to sink its teeth into my-

I woke up crying, and put my foot back someplace safer, shaking under my blankets.

But monsters aren't real, right?

One night, I left my closet door open by accident.

I kept imaging the clothes as people, coming to get me, a monster to scare me, ready to scream-

I screamed and shut the door. I watched it the rest of the night.

But monsters aren't real, right?

Dark thoughts for a kid but the dark inspires them.

We do not fear the dark, but what is in it.

But monsters aren't real, right?

(an obnoxiously weird poem from a girl whose afraid to say she's afraid of the dark. and whats in it.)

I'm possible.

Sometimes you're called to suffer for the Lord. Sometimes you need to simply smile and try to get on with life. Sometimes that seems impossible, but NOTHING is impossible! Except perhaps turning into a chicken. Or becoming the President of the USA if you're born in Uzbekistan. But things like being happy, facing people who are terrible, doing things that might make you uncomfortable, or even really scary things, like saying no, standing up for someone or your beliefs, or (at least for me some days) simply getting out of bed and facing the world, are possible.

Impossible
I'm possible.
AND I SHALL FINISH MY COLLEGE APPS LIKE ASAP

LIKE MY PROJECT?

unpopular and fearless clarification.

” I’m catholic, but I don’t agree with their stance on gays!” “I’m catholic, but I don’t believe in their stance on sex!” 

Okay, so could you stop being ignorant for two seconds and LOOK UP WHAT WE BELIEVE AND WHY.

Gays: As Catholics, we love and accept EVERYONE. If you’re judging people and not loving them and respecting their human dignity in any way, its YOU who are not living your faith. We love the gay people. We don’t love gay sex. We don’t love any sex unless its inside a marriage, which we define as between a man and a woman. If i was to go have sex with a guy outside of marriage, I’d be in trouble too. Unfortunately, if you’re gay, you may feel like a life of celibacy is stifling. BUT ITS NOT. God will give you different blessings and gifts besides sex. You just have to pray. 

Sex: As I said before, Sex is great INSIDE marriage. In fact, JPII in the theology of the body talks a lot about how we’re made for it. but you have to pay attention to the fact that sex is a gift of self, which you can only truly give to your spouse after your wedding. otherwise its not a gift of self, its not about love, its about desires that you feel the need to have met. So you’re using the other person. In marriages, sex is only pure if it comes as a gift of self and from a real deep love. So, stop having sex outside marriage and then saying its okay to receive communion and not feel bad about it because its a mortal sin.  

Now, if anyone wants more clarification on the faith and why we believe things on these issues, shoot me a message. 

Thoughts on dating as a Catholic Teen:

Okay. Here's a little background to this post. I'm Catholic(which, if you want, I'll clarify in comments). I believe in modesty, chastity, and putting my faith first. I'm 16 almost 17 and I've been dating for almost 1 1/2 years(in some form or another, it didn't start really counting until last year.

Anyway. I know a lot of parents are very against their children dating. They have rules like "not until you're 16!" "no dating until after college!" Or, as my parents joke, "No dating until you're 25!"(I set that rule myself as a 5 year old, since 25 was clearly the best number). Personally, I think these limits and rules against dating a terrible idea.

My parents used to say 16 is when I could start dating. My mother and I were always close though, and when a boy asked my to be his girlfriend when I was 14 ( seriously, no one just dates anymore!) and I said yes, she didn't break a sweat. Well, she might have, but she coped with it by being closer with me. She knew what was going on, so she trusted me. Turns out I didn't like the boy that much after a few months. But thats not the point of the story! the point is, she trusted me to let me make my own decisions and learn from them. I learned to be more particular about who I date. Another boyfriend taught me to not pretend to be someone I'm not. Another, the wrong type of guy to date and how to handle bad situations. Another, that I can't fix everyone. These seem negative, but they are not if you deal with them positively. I have learned more about myself and how to handle myself through dating than I would have otherwise. Also, dating is for discernment, for getting to find the right person, or for figuring out if marriage is your calling at all.

But darlings, this is about being a CATHOLIC teenager dating. And as a girl, do you know how hard it is to find nice catholic boys with personalities? It's basically impossible. You have to look really hard, and most of them end up going to the seminary, or being ugly( not to be shallow, but when you're 16 it kind of matters) or something ridiculous. And boys who are not nice Catholic boys? You worry whether they're going to accept you with your faith, or whether they're going to pressure you into being impure, or not understand why you can't usually hang out on Sundays. And boys, will it be really masculine for me to be at Adoration a lot? Will she still think i'm hot even though I'm an altar server? Does she expect me to be pushier? Honestly, it can be very stressful. But here's the thing guys/girls, if your faith is first in your life, the right people will find you. People who may not necessarily believe the same as you will respect your dedication. It might even be attractive to them.

Look, don't think that you HAVE to have a boyfriend/girlfriend. Don't think you HAVE to even be interested right now. Don't break your parent's rules, DO discuss with them if you meet someone. The thing is, dating is great when you're a teenager. Its fun, and you learn. But never be anything but yourself. Don't feel self conscious telling your "bad boy" boyfriend that you have Mass on Sunday and can't chill. Don't tell your girlfriend that you don't actually wanna go to Adoration, but your mom is making you. Don't make your faith something to be ashamed of. Invite them to come too! My boyfriend of almost a year now is also Catholic( score!) and I go to Masses he serves at, he goes to ones I sing at. He comes to pray the rosary with my family. We go to Holy Hour at the seminary. Its okay for me to say, look, I don't want to do anything physical, and for him to say, thank God, me neither. Its okay to do whatever, because we're ourselves.

Its hard, but keep a hold on your faith. Keep a hold of your morals, and your self. Say no sometimes, be careful, have fun. Make sure you learn. Be good( your future husband will thank you for this)!Just be you. It'll all work out how God plans.

Essay for Ryan.

 “Get out of my dreams!” A little kid with dark hair and braces had come up to me and yelled this at me. He started to get frustrated, and be mad about how I was in his dream and he couldn't get me out, and I had better stay away tonight or else. I apologized, slightly amused and concered. Not really sure why this had happened, I went over to my mom and she explained that that was Ryan Barret. Over the next few weeks, I kind of got used to him coming up and telling me this every once in awhile, it was a little annoying and strange, but I had 2 little brothers, so it wasn’t really that out of the ordinary. While this was going on, he became friends with my brother, Hank.

Honestly, since Hank was about 8, I haven’t ever seen him much happier than those few short months after he and Ryan became friends. Since the two were in the same age group, and did the same stuff, things worked out well. I got a break from Hank, and then he came home and was happy. They played with legos, or joked around or something, I never knew what they did and Hank honestly never really talked about it afterwards, and I don't know if anyone asked him, in an effort not to hurt his feelings. I doubt such an easy and perfect friendship as theirs will ever be replicated.

People often talk about how special and wonderful special needs(autistic, down syndrome, the like) children are. This is true, they're a blessing. They're also stubborn, awkward, a little rude, and they make people uncomfortable, and no matter how much you say you think they're a blessing, it doesn't mean they're perfect. I remember Ryan saying things that didn't make sense and getting upset. I remember one time, my friend and I were in the basement of a friends house and he locked us down there. We yelled for him for 10 minutes to unlock it, uttering all the threats we could think of, and all he did was laugh. After he let us freak out for awhile, he unlocked the door. I'm not saying he was malicious, quite the opposite, this is a boy who would say Mass with sugar cookies all over the house, and play his guitar and sing loudly, and never forget to pray for the boys choir and his friends in it, and who would be kind to babies even though he didn't always get that he had to be gentle with them. I'm just saying that he was a challenge, but the challenge was worth it.

After Ryan's death, we, the teenagers had a lot of problems with guilt. We had loved him, obviously, but we had not loved him enough, or as he deserved to be loved. We had not treated him as we thought he now deserved, for people generally regret their actions after the opportunity to right them is gone. I felt like I had failed as an individual for not appreciating him for all his quirks, for not trying to understand him and just getting frustrated over stupid things. I'm not going to lie and say I instantly started appreciating people and understanding everything they did because of this. I'm not going to say I instantly remembered only the times when Ryan was sweet. I'm also not going to lie and say that Ryan is my only reason for changing and I became instantly and awesome human being. Thats an insult to him, to lie about that. He's affected a lot of people all at different levels and still changes people's hearts today through prayer and his story.

I still work on patience and understanding with kids. I still strive to improve and enjoy people while they're here with me. I still am not always kind and pleasant and appreciative. This makes it sound like I haven't changed at all, which is not the case. I try now, I pray more. I ask Ryan for help with my brother, the Autistic kids in CYO track, for help accepting people for who they are. I ask Ryan for courage to sing confidently at Mass. As time goes on, I'll probably become a better and better person. I pray that Ryan will forgive me for not being able to show him the love he deserved, and that he will ask God to grant me the grace to show other people the love they need.

( I had to write an Essay on a person who has made an impact on my life. For some reason, I felt the need to write about Ryan, who has changed so many lives. Sorry I haven't blogged for awhile)

Summary of my experience at WYD

My WYD experience was, and will be one of the best I could ever have in my life. I feel like God has gotten to sink into the cracks of myself, addressed and soothed my fears and issues, and healed me in ways I can't describe. I feel truly blessed to have gotten to go on this trip and represent my Parish and country, and I feel so on fire with the Holy Spirit, I want to share this with everyone, and come to a deeper understanding myself. This adventure has had a profound effect on me, and I don't want to be the same as I was before, not at all.

P.S, there are three candles lit in Madrid, each with different intentions. Each of these to be prayed for by the people of Madrid, Spain, left there to be taken care of by a universal and powerful God. One of these candles is for you, who read about my trip, and for whoever has listened to me talk about it. Let God fill up your broken spaces, and set you on fire with love for Him, and the whole entire world.

Days 8/9 WYD

August 22nd


This is a quick recap of the day because I'm exhausted:

• 9AM breakfast
• 10 Nap
• 11 Mass
• 12, Mcdonalds for lunch
• 1-7:30, Shopping, tour of St. Isidore's(an incorruptable saint!) 
• 7:30-8:30 Dinner at a restaurant at the plaza. 
• 10:30, icecream run ( I ate an entire pint of Hagendaaz strawberry cheesecake, I have no shame.)
• 12-1, dance party, nbd.

August 23d, last full day


Late night, early morning, Viva Espana!
Breakfast was quick, then a 20 minute Mass, then we met up with another group to finally go to the PRADO! Three tricky ticket terminals later ( say that 5 times fast!) we hopped on and off the Metro, and got in line for the Prado. The wait that at first seemed like it'd take forever went fast. I got in for free(WOOHOO MILITARY ID!) We saw beautiful original artwork by Rubens, Raphael, and a lot of other famous artists, Sculptures, a cloister, lunch. Then we went for icecream/cathedral hopping. We visited Madrid's old cathedral(beautiful) and its new one(strange).

At this point we were all half asleep, and Jessie and I could barely walk because of our legs, and we're hungry. Last Metro trip, then 15 minute walk to this place called Gino's. I had a pizza, it was amazing. Nom. then Hotel, packing, hanging out.