DAY 12

Day 12- How you found out about Tumblr and why you made one

hmmm well seeing that I don't have a Tumblr I'll apply it to Blogger. I didn't have a particular reason to choose this particular blog, but I wanted to have a blog to put my ideas, dreams, hopes, thoughts, frustrations, fears, etc. all out there in the great abyss of the internet... it's not really about how many people read my blog, if I can even safely say "people" indeed follow my blog regularly lol. but there's no rules. No standards.

Just raw Maria.

Although as of late there have been restrictions because I am now in full time ministry. it's not like I used to post inappropriate things. That's not what I'm talking about. But people have apparently read my blog and looked way into phrases and took them the wrong way in turn making my life more complicated for me than necessary. So I learned from it and am now being more careful in what I post. Somethings are better left unsaid, or just simply prayed or journaled.

(cue tangent)

I'm not going to withdraw and put on a front that I'm always happy. Joy is so different from happiness, which is fleeting. I want people to see that I am not some super hero that can't feel pain, or someone who is void of bad days. Yes, I am a Christian, but with that comes trials. Feelings of inadequacy, fear, doubt, etc. are very natural and very human and shouldn't be hidden for the sake of appearances. in every account in the bible, even the most mighty men and women of God experienced some sort of failing, insecurity, weakness, etc. And God used that to be strong through them. And we have those stories to apply them to our lives. Yes they are anointed men and women of God and their stories are the inspired word of God, but we can most certainly apply those principles to our lives today. or else what is the point of the Bible? A history book? when God told Paul that His strength is perfected through his weaknesses, He wasn't just saying that to Paul. He was saying it to all of us. We are all his children. We are called. And we can't do it on our own strength.

ok I'm done... that was just on my mind.

but back to the question of the day? I blog because it's a release for me and it's fun to look back on the progression of my writing and the things I've gone through

DAY 11

Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends

we all look so young... lol I miss you guys...

lol oh high school

DAY 10

Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad

hmmm... well honestly this is a tough one for me because I have different bands for different seasons of my life that pertain to these emotions, experiences, etc.. I'm not even going to attempt to delve into individual songs, so I'll attempt bands.

Happy: Hillsong, Angels and Airwaves, Avery Pkwy, The Classic Crime, Colbie Cailat, Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, Early States, Eisley, Mayday Parade, Frank Sinatra, Michael Buble, Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz, Kari Jobe, Leeland, Muse, Never the less, Phil Wickham , Tenth Avenue North, This Beautiful Republic,

Sad: Evans Blue, Nickleback, Breaking Benjamin, Anberlin, Yellow Card, Mae, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Brightwood, Soundtracks, City and Colour, Dashboard Confessional, Explosions in the Sky, Goo Goo Dolls, The Rocket Summer, Taylor Swift, Secondhand Serenade, Sigur Ros, Snow Patrol, 30 Seconds to Mars

Bored: Hip Hop usually, The top hits on the radio, Jars of Clay, Switchfoot, Reliant K, Akissforjersey, The Almost, Cartel, Coldplay, Copeland, Death Cab for Cutie, Emery, Frou Frou, Hans Zimmer, Iron and Wine, John Mayer, The Sequence, Simple Plan

Hyped: Linkin Park, Jesus Culture, For Today, All Time Low, Hit the Lights, Boys Like Girls, Fireflight, Flyleaf, Forever the Sickest Kids, Our Last Night, Paramore, Red, Sanctus Reel, Saosin, Sleeping Giant, Story of the year, Underoath, The Veronicas, We Came as Romans

Mad: August Burns Red, Corpus Christi, The Devil Wears Prada, Evanescence, Rihanna, Eminem, My Chemical Romance, As I Lay Dying, My Children My Bride, Gwen Stacey, 30 Seconds to Mars

I know I listed some twice. Just depends on the songs within the band. aanndd I'm sure I'm forgetting a ton but there you go!

Day 9

Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days

Well last night was our first Press Forward back to school night. I was in charge of putting it all together. I was so nervous cause I've never put on a church service by myself before. I had my friend, Rev. Stephen Dela Cruz come out as the guest speaker. I directed a skit that the youth performed in. I also put together a youth worship team. We practiced for hours... But as much as I tried to do, I had to just put the rest in God's hands. In retrospect I'm realizing the things I could have improved on. But that will ALWAYS be the case. I learned a lot about what I'm capable of and that no matter what you try to plan, sometimes plans go out the window and you just gotta roll with it. You gotta do all you can and leave the rest in God's hands. And every single youth responded to the altar call. I was so amazed to see them hungry for God. That was the whole point of the night, to empower them and challenge them as they start the new school year. So I'm proud of that. Might not be that spectacular to others, but it was huge for me! :)

DAY 8

Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why

hmmm for the month of September there's a lot to do.

School is back in session so one of my goals is to be there for my youth ( go to their sports games, events, etc.)

I'm planning a See You After the Pole Rally with the amazing Ryan Popineau so that's definitely a goal to get the word out to the whole county and make it a wonderful night

and I want to get on top of my bills again and make my budget work

aannndd I'd like to start working on my songs again

Day 7

Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you

so many people came to mind... like my family, my best friend Pauline, and so many other people that I admire and have greatly impacted my life... but this person, these arms, have been my refuge more times than I can count. And is worth honoring in this post

Day 6

Day 06- Favorite super hero and why

I'm not someone that is super gun-ho about a particular super hero. But if I had to choose one I would choose spider man. My brother and I both loved him growing up. My brother even went to the first showing of the first spiderman movie in a full costume. Parents brought their kids up to him asking for autographs thinking he was hired by the theater lol...

Day 5

Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to

Summer of my sophomore year I went on a missions trip to inland Jamaica. But for a few days at the beginning and end of the trip we got to feel like pampered tourists haha the water was so clear, the locals were so friendly (sometimes too friendly!), and people had so much joy with so little. It was really humbling!

DAY 4:

Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have

I really wish I didn't pick off my mascara at the end of each day. I wish I took it off with makeup remover the way I'm supposed to. I've been doing this since I was 16 as a nervous habit. Even when there's no mascara I continue to pick and play with my eyelashes. I'm always so ashamed with some fall out and you can literally see gaps :( one day I'll quit!! haha

DAY 3

Day 03- A picture of you and your friends

I miss days like these...

DAY 2

Day 2: the meaning behind your blog name

That Italian Girl... pretty self explanatory. I really loved the 60's series, "That Girl".
So I altered it as That Italian Girl. I'm very proud of that part of me, that I can find my family's name at Ellis Island when they came to America from Italy. And I always made sure my friends knew I was proud of it as well. And a lot of them would introduce me as such. They were even proud to have an Italian in the mix ;)

I also wanted to invoke a sense of the common man. That I'm just a girl when it's the end of the day. I'm still human. And I'm another person adding their thoughts and dreams to the abyss that is the internet.

DAY 1

ok so I'm doing this 30 day survey I thought was pretty cool

Day 1: A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself

this pic was taken a few weeks ago at TNT's :)

15 facts:

1) I'm half Italian/ half European mut (british/scottish/swedish/irish/dutch/french)

2) I hate mayonnaise, stereo types, and wasting time

3) I love kids, irish spring soap, and sitting down with a good book or magazine

4) I always try to go to a movie by myself at least once every couple of weeks

5) I seem to involuntarily tilt my head back and close my eyes when i hear gorgeous music

6) I write my own music/sing/play piano

7) I'm a full time youth/worship pastor @ Lakeport Christian Center

8) I've been waking up around 5:30 lately just in time to see the orange sunrise over the lake out my window.

9) I live alone and I'm not scared; always thought I would be

10) I'm thankful for the things that transform me and make me a better person: change, trials, even suffering, brokenness. True beauty only comes through pain first.

11) I am absolutely determined to go skydiving within the next year

12) I've been to Jamaica and I want to go back

13) I'm a total Daddy's girl

14) I love to write

15) I love taking pictures for other people