Grace- How to Be a Good Guy

In order to be a proper good guy, or gal, one must read the proper materials. I recommend all classic detective books, and read the whole way through. Stopping halfway can be discouraging to amateur good guys.

One must also watch the proper shows. MacGyver is an excellent one for good guys to watch, pay close attention to how he gets out of dangerous situations. This may save your life someday. And if you just want a feel good movie, something with romance, excitement, and music, Roy Rogers is a classic. Plus Roy always gets the girl, you gotta love that.

When investigating the crime scene, look for anything that the bad guys have left behind. A handkerchief, ring, or business cards can be excellent leads. I do however advise that you leave certain items alone, such as tissues, socks, and band aids. You cannot expect bad guys to have good hygiene. A bottle of hand disinfectant is a must for any good guy.

Always carry a fingerprint kit. Forgetful bad guys will have left their gloves in the car, and this can be a huge advantage to all good guys. When going over a crime scene look at everything, and hope that your criminal has not done his homework. Crazy things such as signing into their Facebook accounts or leaving a trail of candy wrappers fit into this category.

Here is a list of all the essential items a good guy must have.

• A notebook. Write down everything.
• Rope or handcuffs, several pairs if possible.
• A confident air. You can intimidate cowardly bad guys when this is used properly.
• A whistle. If you are not lucky enough to be a girl with an ear splitting scream, you will need something to attract attention that goes beyond your deep voice.
• Disguises. Casual clothing, dirty tennis shoes, or a Granny costume have been the most useful.
• Lots of handy martial arts moves to get a bad guy down.
• Fingerprinting kit.
• Disinfectant.
• Plastic baggies.
• Snoopy toothbrush.
• Good guy hang out. Attics, rooms over the garage, or secret dwellings underneath mansions are the choice hang outs at the moment. Fill them with all of the latest spy and detective gadgets.
• A follow-the-getaway vehicle. Taxis are the good guy vehicle of choice right now. Be sure that you have your lines memorize, as this will make or break your good guy career. Go running up to a waiting cab, smartly jump into the back seat, and then with a straight pointer finger say, "Follow that car!"

Now, when things go awry and you happen to be captured by the bad guy, don't panic. Gain as much time as possible. Keep talking and try to give the police time to arrive and rescue you.

Try to get the bad guy to boast about his evil deeds. keep asking questions, try to butter them up. This will make negotiating much easier. And besides, pride comes before a fall, it's not like they haven't already sinned.

Now when you are trying to keep the bad guy talking, here are the proper threats, questions, and statements that you must use.

• "You won't get away with this!" This displays confidence and faith. Just be sure that you really have a back up plan, we don't want to tell lies if possible.
• "Wait, tell me how you did..." Bad guys are known for big egos, so use them to your advantage. Even if their boasting makes you want to barf, it is better than loosing your neck.
• "The police will be here any minute." Unfortunately for good guys, this is true only about 25% of the time. But just pray that you are lucky and are one of the favored.
• "You really seem like a nice person. I bet you really don't want to rob the..." This should only be used on softer bad guys. If you have a tough nut to crack, this can only make things worse. But be sure that you are persuasive, pull out things that touch their hearts. Examples, childhood memories, puppies, their mother, chocolate chip cookies.

So there you have it, a crash course on how to be a good guy.

Excitment!

I am about to open a conversation about excitement. Good excitement, Bad excitement, and horribly, scarily, amazingly, ugly excitement. You know the kind, the difference between, a sweet little kid dreaming of Disney land and a 500 pound man tripping over a puppy because he was excitingly running towards his hotdog. Ugly.

My sister is coming over for about two months! Wooh. Just wanted to inform you guys, that's pretty much the only exciting thing that is happening. I am doing VBS at wellspring like Lydia and Celina, it's super fun (even though I am an ASSISTANT Crew Leader, which means you do nothing).

But something I will "blog" about as blogging goes that tends to be random. What is this obsession with school, it's like everyone I talk to is excited about the new school year! My mom is talking to me about college (Come on mom, it's summer still!), which is craziness! you can't even go to Walmart without seeing advertisement for School supplies! It's not even August yet!

So my question to you all is why? Why must there be horribly ugly and just plain bad excitment? Why can't we all just consider the people that want to hold on to their fifteenth summer for as long as this little red-head can? WHY oh WHY, must we even THINK about it.. I won't say the word.. It's because of your influences that I had a nightmare about going to school in the end of July and crying in the bathroom! Goodness gracious!

This has been "The Good the Bad, and the (walmart) Ugly".
Bekah

Grace- Jar Cakes

This is such a cute and creative idea! I got the link from a lady on Twitter.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1J8O1N/iammommy.typepad.com/i_am_baker/2011/07/meal-for-family-in-need.html

Grace- Set Apart Girl

I found this link through another blog I follow. Read all that they have available online, it is really good!

http://www.setapartgirl.com/home.html

Lydia, summer

Hi,
Well it has been a slow summer for me. This Monday my sister and I are going to be helping out at a local VBS. It is a week long thing from 9-11am. I am usually Faith's assistant, but this year they needed more crew leaders for the Pre-school age group so I am helping with them. (I am excited to be working with you Celina!) Anyway I would kind of like you to pray that everything goes well and that I can handle my group ok.
It has been such a hot summer! My sister wanted to be in water so much she went to Wal-Mart to buy a little blow up pool. At least we could cool off. I have been having garden troubles as well. You see I have planted flowers in my garden for 2 or 3 years and pretty much only weeds come up! So I planted some this year in April and the same thing happened! So today I went with my dad to get some flowers (we share an interest in gardening and landscaping) not seeds and we are going to plant them this evening when it is cooler. These should grow because they are not seeds they have already matured some :).
This Wednesday, the 20th, my brother and sister-inlaw are coming and staying till Monday I think. We are all going to a wedding on Saturday. Faith and I are the gift attendants. We will get to go to Branson and see a show and go out to dinner. It should be a fun time!
This is what has been going on in my life! Thanks for reading!
~Lydia

Grace- Summer Book Reading List

• Anne of Green Gables Series: L.M Montgomery
• The Story Girl: L.M. Montgomery
• Love Come's Softly Series: Janette Oke
• Summer of the Monkeys: Wilson Rawls
• Nancy Drew: Caroline Keene
• Hardy Boys: Franklin W. Dixon
• Happy Hollisters: Jerry West
• Captains Courageous: Rudyard Kipling
• Pride and Prejudice: Jane Austen
• Sense and Sensibility: Jane Austen
• Emma: Jane Austen
• Around the World in 80 Days: Jules Vernes
• Little Women: Louisa May Alcott
• Little Men: Louisa May Alcott
• Jo's Boys: Louisa May Alcott
• Jack and Jill: Louisa May Alcott
• An Old Fashioned Girl: Louisa May Alcott

Are there any books that you would suggest?

Grace- How to Be a Criminal

In order for one to become a proper criminal, one must first read the proper materials. I recommend books like Nancy Drew, just stop before you reach the end, the endings can be depressing for beginner criminals.

One must also watch the proper shows. MacGyver is a handy show for anyone, good guy or bad, and a few old espionage movies won't hurt a bit. Just be sure that you don't leave any incriminating evidence behind like the bad guys in the movies do. Such as a handkerchief, business card, or ring.

Another good idea is to always wear gloves, no matter what you are doing. Gloves are absolutely essential to your crime career. They prevent your fingerprints from being traced.

Also always cover your tracks. There have been amateur criminals who have regretted their sloppiness in that area. For example, signing into your Facebook account at the house you are breaking into, and then leaving before you sign out is generally discouraged. Just ask ole Brilliant Bob how that turned out for him.

Another example is of the Turner Twins, these bright guys robbed a convenience store and then left a trail of candy wrappers right up to their apartment! Terrible crime flaws!

Here is a list of essential items that all good criminals must have.

• An evil sardonic laugh.
• A ski hat to pull over your face.
• 16 pairs of leather gloves.
• Handcuffs or rope.
• A getaway car that is always kept running. I recommend a black sedan, it is the vehicle of criminal choice right now.
• Black boots.
• Plenty of flips and turns to throw the good guys off.
• Disguises, loud clothing and too much makeup always do the trick of melting into the crowd.
• A villain lair. The base of operations. You can go high end and try somewhere in New York, or go all out as a villain and stay low end, sewers and green smoke are essential to this.

Now, one must also know how to talk when being interrogated by the person you have just captured and are trying to get rid of. First of all, they will try to stall you in order to gain time, be aware of this and don't let it slow you down. Leave the situation as FAST as possible!

They will also try to get you to boast about your evil deeds. Pride comes before a fall, do not let them lead you into sin. This is evidence that can be used against you.

Now when conversation is absolutely necessary, here is how you should respond to all common threats, accusations, and statements.

1. "You won't get away with this!" This is a childish and immature comment, it exemplifies and overdose of confidence, and can be distracting. Stay on target.
2. "Wait, tell me how you did..." Look them in the eye and respond, "My apologies, I am very busy and cannot stick around to tell you. Good day." (It is vital that we criminals stay polite, that will make us more popular with the public.)
3. "The police will be here any minute" This is true only about 25% of the time, but just in case you happen to be in the unlucky percent, exit and make a getaway immediately!
4. "You really seem like a nice person, I bet you really don't want to rob the..." Plug your ears, emotions can be very flighty.

So there you have it, a crash course on how to be a criminal.

Jessica~Blog

Hey gals!

Here is the link to the blog

http://jma5.blogspot.com

Grace- Modesty Survey

Hi gals!

I am guessing that most of you have heard of the Rebelution blog. If you have not, well, then you just must still be living in the Stone Age. ;) JK

Several years ago they ran a modesty survey where girls submitted questions about what guys thought was modest. Then the guys responded.

The results are just incredible, and encouraging! These responses came from guys that were schooled in different ways, have different church backgrounds, and were different ages.

Sometimes we gals who try to dress modestly can get discouraged. I mean, do people really notice that we are trying to be appropriate? Do they even care?

Oh yes they do! In fact, most of the answers point to the fact that guys respect a modest girl more than an immodest one, and that they totally appreciate their Sisters in Christ who try to make it easier for them to walk in a godly way.

But maybe you have more specific questions about modesty. What do guys think of perfume? How about jeans? Is there a specific attitude that they find distracting and improper?

Just about any question you have, it's there. Go ahead and read!

http://www.therebelution.com/modestysurvey/browse

Lydia, new design

Well....Here is my new design!

Lydia

Celina, Pictures

I did my nails to day here are some pics, My lovely friend Jessica gave me this nail pen it is WONDERFUL!!!!!!


Here are some pictures from my Birthday party

Me and Jessica "kissing" Rebekah on the way back home
Me and Rebekah
Grace and I
Jessica and I
Olivia and I
Lydia and I
Jessica is at the top then Lydia is in the Green and Olivia is in Purple On the bottom Rebekah is on the left the me then Grace
Us being goffy
Us being Beautiful :) as Usual

Us in front of our lake house

Grace- Sendin' You to My Blog

http://blog.gracegidman.com/2011/07/stand-up/

Jessica

Okay, Lydia! You're up :)

Grace- The Fourth of July

http://www.incourage.me/2011/07/family-fun-july-4th-traditions.html