(Please tell me you know that Fresh Prince reference)

Here’s where you can keep up with me (and 300 of my closest friends) this week.

www.riverstonesummercamp.blogspot.com.

Love ya, mean it.

That’s what you’re gonna think come August.

Let me just lay down a little fact for you- I’ll be sleeping in my own bed 7 nights in July. Yeah, that’s nuts.

Luckily, I have friends staying at my house, so at least my couch won’t think I’ve left forever.

The week has been so good. So interesting. So life-changing. I know you’re thinking, “You know what I like about Annie’s writing? She over-dramatizes everything. Life-changing? Yeah right. But sweet.”

But seriously. As of last Sunday, I decided to go to the Riverstone Summer Camp. If you don’t know, it’s pretty much the most amazing camp ever. I’ve been going every year (except 2000) since I was in 6th grade. I’ve been a camper, a college counselor, an adult counselor, and a member of the leadership team. Being that I’ve taken some time off from youth, I thought I wasn’t going to camp. Through a series of God-moves, all that changed last week and our youth minister gave me a counselor spot. I’m thrilled.

I can’t even tell you. It’s official- I love youth ministry. I appreciate what the Lord took me through the last few months and I wouldn’t change anything. But I’m praying and hoping that the door continues to open for me to continue hanging out with high school students.

We have a blog for camp. It rules. Check it out HERE. We’ll (and by “we’ll”, I mean “I’ll”) be updating it daily. Can you believe that is what the leadership team asked me to do? Run a blog? Another opportunity to say “Don’t mind if I do.”.

Do you need to know what I’ve purchased so far for camp?
- 6 fake mustaches
- a gold and silver paisley vest for Jarrett Watkins
- a pair of cowboy boots with the name “Annie” in gold on the inside- from Goodwill. ( Yes, it’s nasty to have my feet in someone else’s boots, but how do you turn down boots with your own NAME in them? Come on, you would have done the same thing. It’s called providence. Look it up.)
- a leopard print moo-moo
-feathered high heels

And yes, I will wear all of those- except the vest and mustaches. Those are for Jarrett. That is only the BEGINNING of the good times at camp. Did I even mention that I’m in the dunk tank at the carnival on Wednesday night? Yeah, I’m gonna be talking some big trash.

So check the camp blog for pictures, etc. starting on Sunday. (I probably won’t be able to blog here.)

So, that’s what’s up with me. I have been writing….just not blogging. Working on these talks for Scotland have taken up ALL of my extra time and more. So all my typing has gone to Microsoft Word. I’m sure you’ve survived.

I’ll blog as much as I can this month, but have grace with me. And read some of my blog buddies over there on the right. They’re awesome. So are BigMama and BooMama. My two new favs.

The Lord has me in Hebrews 11. Check it out. Faith. It’s brave and beautiful.

I read a quote that my friend Emma had on her website–

“God’s grace- too graphic for words”

Think on THAT for a while. It’s deep. And true.

If this doesn’t make you laugh outloud, I worry for you.

The more you watch it, the better it gets.

And by the way, he’s not afraid. He’s trying to intimidate you.

Someone emailed me last week complaining about the lack of daily blogs. So sue me for being popular. My friend James (who is a serious famous person) says it’s “the burden of being a big deal”. Don’t I know it.

(I’m totally kidding here. Sometimes I forget that y’all don’t all know me personally so you may think I’m literally this into myself. I’m not. I’m not self-absorbed. I’m funny. It’s 2 totally different things.)

But in the previously mentioned email, my friend (we’ll just call her “J-Lo” for privacy reasons…okay, fine, it really is Jennifer Lopez) gave me a list of things she’s like to see me blog about. So I will address those here to the best of my ability. Italics are her words, regular print are my responses.

ideas to write about…

J-Lo, let’s hope some of my well educated friends chime in through comments and help a sister out with this one. I think I got the sofa question under control, but I know thoughts on truth are a dime a dozen in this blogosphere. So bring it, folks.

And sorry about how things ended with Ben Affleck. But congrats on Marc Anthony- y’all look real happy together.

As I’m sitting here working on Scotland stuff, I thought I’d take a break and bring you into the moment. What are my must-haves when I’m writing? Well, let me tell you.

1) It must either be SILENT or there is one channel on iTunes radio called “Whisperings: Solo Piano Radio” that is really quite lovely, so that is playing right now. (which the announcer just said that Whisperings is coming to ATL live and in concert. Would they mind if I brought my laptop?)

2) My Bible, though if truth be told, I usually end up using biblegateway.com. Let’s just be honest- it is a lot easier to search a word and then cut and paste. Is there a term for that? Oh yeah…. lazy.

3) Multiple journals. There’s some good fodder to run with in there. Don’t worry, names are changed for the sake of the guilty and innocent. I’m usually both.

4) My cell phone. Come on. I still gotta talk to folks.

5) Fruit. Don’t ask why, just embrace it. Today, pineapple chunks are the snack of choice.

6) Natural light. Lamps are for the birds as long as the sun is up. Believe you me, it is not easy to write by moonlight, so lights will be used within the next couple of hours. I feel like the sun is white and the lamps are yellow. That is probably wrong, but it’s how I feel and I believe in validating my feelings, okay?

7) A pen. I don’t have a good reason why, I just know that about an hour ago I said outloud, “Ah! Where’s my pen?” and then I went downstairs and got it. I still haven’t even used it, but I feel better on the inside.

So, there’s that.

I saw Evan Almighty today with my friend Kathleen. GO SEE THIS MOVIE. It’s good. Real good. Why?

1) Steve Carell as Evan. (aka Noah)

2) Lorelai Gilmore as Joan, his wife. And really, couldn’t they have come up with a better name? I called her Allison in my head- Ally for short. (I don’t care if think that is weird because I already know it is.)

3) Morgan Freeman as GOD. I wanted to hug him. (Probably because the #1 I’m looking forward to is hugging Him.)

If that wasn’t enough, the whole theme of trusting God even when you have no idea why, and losing things for that, and redemption in that, was beautiful to watch. It made me totally reexamine Noah and the sacrifices he made and the questions I hope he asked.

Enough. Back to Scotland writing. Thanks for being my “study break”, for lack of a better word. Pray for me, friends.

If you don’t know that reference, that’s okay. You’re probably a better person than me. It’s from a movie I will not endorse on here, but call me if you want to throw some quotes back and forth. Brad? You up for it?

On my friend Shannon’s website, I am being featured each month as a 20-something who is trying to live their dream. My first interview was today. You can read it here.

The main reason I’m telling you all this is that I think the more people who read about my hopes and dreams to be become a writer/speaker, the more motivated I’ll be to actually keep doing something about it.

Shannon is a HUGE inspiration to me. And a great friend. I met her through an interview I was asked to do for Radiant Magazine’s website. So it’s funny to me that the tables have turned and now SHE’S the one interviewing and I’m the answer-er. To talk to her and bounce my ideas off her, to listen to someone who is already a HUGE success in the ministry I want to join is a GREAT blessing that came out of nowhere. Funny how that seems to happen.

So each month I’ll be linking you to Shannon’s website because #1- I want Shannon to get lots of hits on her blog (because she rules mucho) and #2- I want tons of unnecessary pressure to write.

Keep praying for Scotland. I’m writing my talks now and it has been a complete challenge. Hallelujah- the higher and harder the mountain to climb, the louder I’ll yell at the top!!

Isaiah 40:9
You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain….. lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!”

Study: Sand causes more beach deaths than sharks

Since 1985, at least 20 children and young adults in the United States have died in beach or backyard sand submersions. And at least eight others died in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, according to a letter from the doctors published in this week’s issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

Among them was Matthew Gauruder, who died from a collapse at an after-prom beach party in Westerly, R.I., in May 2001. The 17-year-old was playing football with friends when he jumped for a pass and fell backward into an eight-foot-deep hole someone had dug earlier.

Would-be rescuers made the problem worse by caving in more sand as they tried to approach him. People at the scene said he may have been buried 15 minutes, said his mother, Mavis.

“People have no conception of how dangerous this is,” she said, in an interview this week.

Sand hole collapses occur horrifyingly fast, said Dr. Bradley Maron of Harvard Medical School, the report’s lead author.

“Typically, victims became completely submerged in the sand when the walls of the hole unexpectedly collapsed, leaving virtually no evidence of the hole or location of the victim,” wrote Maron, an internal medicine resident.

Maron, a former lifeguard, became interested in the topic in the summer of 1998. He was vacationing with his family on Martha’s Vineyard when he and his father, Minnesota cardiologist Dr. Barry Maron, saw a lifeguard responding to a collapse that engulfed an 8-year-old girl.

The girl survived, thanks to a dramatic rescue. But it left a big impression on Maron, who’s spent years tracking — and writing about — similar incidents.

“It’s been almost like a vendetta for him,” said Dennis Arnold, who runs the beach patrol in the Martha’s Vineyard community of Edgartown and was Maron’s boss that summer.

People naturally worry about splashier threats, like shark attacks. However, the Marons’ research found there were 16 sand hole or tunnel deaths in the U.S. from 1990-2006 compared with 12 fatal shark for the same period, according to University of Florida statistics.

And Bradley Maron thinks the sand-related deaths are less well-documented than shark attacks.

Yeah right, sharks, you think I’m gonna fall for that? “The sand is too dangerous. Get in the water.” You are cunning. You are a decent writer. But you have not fooled me.

I can’t wait until I get to say things like this on a regular basis:
“No, honey, you can’t wear that. It’s not a dress. It’s a picture.”
(Danielle, on the phone to me, talking to a child that was over playing with Ashlin)
I laughed outloud. Long time.

I’m really diggin’ Mat Kearney right now. Another singer/songwriter. These jokers are a dime a dozen. And that’s a dime that I’m willing to spend.

My new favorite thing, you ask? Well, alright, I’ll tell. It’s the RELEVANT MAGAZINE PODCAST. Totally free on iTunes and worth every penny. (Ha- I’m crackin’ myself up tonight) But seriously, it is HILARIOUS. I mean, I laugh outloud with tears each week. Trust me. Just go download last week’s and I promise you’ll be hooked as soon as Cara talks about a bird pooping in her slushy. That’s comedy, people. And they have great musicians, stories, etc. So not only do they make me laugh, they make me think. I love hearing new musicians that they recommend.

And if you have never entered the world of podcasts until now, I’ll just go ahead and say “you’re welcome”. It’s that good. Search on iTunes and you’ll quickly get lost in the deep sea that is podcasts. Who else do I listen to, you ask? Well, Donald Miller, Rob Bell (insert grain of salt here), Passion07, Radiant Magazine, and Paste Magazine. All enjoyable.

Oh yeah, little side note, no biggie, I’m just kind of a big deal. Many thanks to my friend Shannon for asking me to do this. Interview coming soon.

And I don’t know why I’m feeling so random AND giving, but have you seen these pictures yet?

What? You’ve never seen a raccoon canoe? Well, your loss.

Aww…that’s sweet. Justin beckoned the raccoon so they could canoe side by side.

Oh Justin, you are a tricky little devil. A race when the raccoon thought you were befriending him? Disgusting. And can’t you tell that raccoon only has a wooden spoon? He has no chance against your wooden swan and fireplace shovel.

Yeah, this is not a great blog. I fully recognize that. Funny? Probably. Pointless? Somewhat. But things have just been SO serious and lifey (is that a word?) and deep that I had to let the rest of my brain puke tonight. Though I do feel like I’ve exposed you to some good things (Shannon’s website, for example), overall, you are probably hardly smarter than when you started reading.

And for that, I’m sorry and I take the full responsibility.

It’s a lot of things.

Yes. It happened today. I had my 10,000th hit on this blog. I know what you are thinking and yes, probably 7,000 of those are my mother. I fully understand that.

None the less, it is exciting to think that 10,000 times someone has read something I have written. For an author-in-the-making-hopefully (my long subtitle to my name), it’s a joy.

Thank you for reading. Especially you in Florida- you are faithful and I do not know you. 2 cool things.

In honor of you (all of you, not just the Floridians), I wanted to list 10,000 things that you may not know about me. But, that is a ridiculous thing to do and it would guarantee a complete halt to all readership. So instead, I’ll list 10 things. Seriously. Here we go.

1) I hate sharks. In a deep, meaningful way. They are people eaters. I love the beach. The ocean is beautiful. But in it is housed an Annie-killer and I try to stay away from anything with that title as much as possible.

2) I drink orange juice with lots of pulp. It’s just better that way. Tatum would say “chunky”, but it’s not. It’s pulpy. Fibrous. Thick. So delicious. Too bad I finished off my carton this morning because my mouth is watering right now just typing about it.

3) I don’t do laundry on Sundays. I wish I could say it was a religious/Sabbath decision, but it wasn’t. It was a decision I made as a result of an almost panic attack I had once thinking my life was like the movie “Groundhog Day”. So I’ll wash and dry and fold any other day. Not Sunday.

4) My favorite member of NSYNC was Chris Kirkpatrick. Though Justin Timberlake is very cute, Chris was always funny. Funny boys win my heart every time.

5) Yes. I loved NSYNC. In college. And no. I am not ashamed of that.

6) I am always reading more than one book. Maybe it’s the small percent of ADD in me, but one book gets boring. Presently I’m reading March and my Rachael Ray magazine and finishing Praise Habit by David Crowder.

7) Magic tricks boggle my mind. I consider myself pretty intelligent, but magic never stops amazing me. I can not ever figure out a trick. I have a friend who is a magician and he can do the simplest trick, a 10 year old can explain it to me, and I still won’t have ever figured it out by myself. (See, Candace, I just admitted I’m a little slow when it comes to card tricks and disappearing coins. Sometimes people DO say bad things about themselves in blogs.)

I have a terrible sense of direction. My mom says I have to marry someone that is a mapmaker- that’s how bad it is. Many people agree that I need a GPS system. That’s sad when people say that stuff about you without you saying it first. I get lost often. I usually leave 10-20 minutes before the average person when I’m going somewhere new just in case I get lost. Because, as previously stated, I usually do. On the flip side, I give EXCELLENT directions because it takes a lot of detail to get me anywhere, so I give a lot of details.

9) I can’t pick a favorite color. I used to say blue, then green, then yellow for a while. It changes so often that I really feel that it would be untrue to tell someone that ” _____ is my favorite color” because really, it’s probably just the color I’m looking at right then. But to say all that makes me seem shallow and uncommitted. So when people ask, I usually say purple. And that’s a flat out lie.

10) When I get to heaven, I hope I get to wear jeans. I love jeans.

So, there you go. And while you’re out blog hopping, check out some of my links- so many of my dear friends are joining the blogosphere and it’s really fun. And most of them actually have things of worth to say.

Love to you, my 10,000 page loaders.