J's Blog of Whatever

Why An Ostrich?

2010-11-24T20:13:00.003-06:00

I have a headache. So it kills me not to be doing something constructive. I'll do something expressive instead.

When I smile I get this like...weird indention under my eye. It's like a misplaced dimple...Pretty cool.

I firmly believe that "follow your heart" is the dumbest common word of advice.

I can't understand accents. Just hispanic ones. Not British...not Southern...just Mexican.

I love world history. Not US history. Actually I prefer Middle Eastern history.

I always get Cocoa Butter Kiss deodorant because my Spanish name was Coco in jr high :P

I have to use spell check to spell deodorant.

I've been with Hun'r for 15 months now.

Hun'r's been with me for about that much time.

I could live without a lot of things...chapstick is not one of them.

I found out I have a fear of ostriches the other day. How? I had a dream where I was being chased...by an ostrich.

It's pronounced "LEE-tuh" not "LET-uh". And she's my bes' frann(:

I love antique cameras.

I want to learn to paint.

If you give me too many directions at once, my brain spins.

I hate sleeping. But I do it like--EVERY night DX It just takes up so much time! And I don't like dreaming.

Goodness gracious...I love red bull. And sour gummy worms.

Mom thinks I don't like change. That's not true. I don't like other people changing things for me.

I go through phases with everything. It's really unhealthy...so in general I try to avoid all things addictive. Haha XD

I want to tie dye everything.

And anything I can't tie dye I want to spray paint.

That is all.

"Giving Up"

2010-09-06T07:43:00.003-05:00

Four months ago I made one of the hardest decisions of my high school career, and that was to quit band. I was in band for 4 school years, and I was frequently acknowledged among the bandies for my insane lung power. I was loud and powerful. That's what people say when they shake their heads in the hallway ... "You were so good. Why'd you quit?"

Silly geese. I'm no "quitter". I had to do what was right for me. Band slurped up my time like spaghetti, leaving me tired and sore and in headaches. We were the best, no doubt. Winning prestigious competitions with our 80 set drill and well-respected song choice that left people in disbelief at the sound of the first note. Have you ever heard Mallaguena? It'll make your heart stop. And I can play it. But I wanted to take TV Community Productions 1st hour, so I could work in a job-like situation and get things for my resume. I wanted three electives so I could get my PE credit to graduate and still take a design class to prepare me for my career. No room for band, and my grades couldn't take the hit either.

In May I stopped eating lunch in the cafeteria. I left some stupid people behind and watched free-runners at lunch that barely interact with me. "Why aren't you socializing?" "Why'd you leave your friends?" Ha. Friends. They were probably too high to know I was even gone. I did not give up on those people. I had to do what was right for me. Surrounding myself with kids that want to get high and put me in danger. No thank you. I'll take my sobriety, you can keep your self-hatred.

That was also the month I went to see my school counselor. I asked that since I would only need 2 credits for my senior year, could I just take those classes and go home?

Nope. School policy.

You're telling me I have to wrack my brain for 8 hours when I could be working for money for college and taking early college credits? Really? I have to waste my time to make you look good. It's chill. I have a few tricks up my sleeve, all thanks to Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Google them, haha, get it?). I got online and found virtual schooling, which is banned by my state. So I went to ADE and checked out the homeschooling list, compared it to the DETC, and started making phone calls. All by myself, am I a genius or what? I found out about this thing called "Early Graduation"...I can take my senior credits during my junior year and just get my diploma in May. Still graduating, just less of a hassle. My "senior" year will be free to spend doing whatever I have to do to prepare for the Digital Arts business :) Crazy cool. Can I do it? I don't know. But I can consider it. Does that mean I'm giving up on school?

Nah.

I'm doing what's right for me.

Fundamentals to Advertising And Graphic Design

2010-02-20T08:45:00.006-06:00

2nd Period.

Mk. So I'm really starting to like Ad1. Like a lot. I learned how to make glass the other day (as a comp image, from scratch) and my teacher wants me to take her advanced course. Very sweet, no? We're working in Illustrator right now. It's cool.

Image with the circles and stuff is an illustration of how I experiment with technique. I think pretty soon I'll be able to make the art that I draw, on the computer (detailing, I'll post later). Anywho. That image of randomness is one I took and made big, added a ton of stuff, and it's gonna be my mama's desktop wallpaper ^_^. She asked for a cool one...So yah. I feel special.

The Tinker Bell was our cartoon assignment. We had to pick something animated (Mickey Mouse, Hello Kitty, etc.) and recreate it. I did Tinker Bell of course. But then I got bored and made another one where she was totally punked out. I love it :D

Laterr.

Btw. These pics were taken on my phone. Maybe I should start saving the actual images :/

Happy SAD! :D

2010-02-14T10:22:00.000-06:00

I will always refer to February 14th as SAD.

I get that like...I'm not quote "single". But. It's still Singles Awareness Day to me. ^_^

We all know that "Valentines Day" is some kind of economical scam, created for the candy industry. They used a cover up though. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a day of worship for the god Juno, who I refer to as Hera (the Greek goddess of marriage; wife of Zeus). Obviously, some random flower company picked that up and ran with it and voila! A "holiday" completely devoted to what our disastrous race calls "love". It's genius. :D Genius I tell you.

So Happy Singles Awareness Day Everyone!!!

Now. Valentines Day, to me is not a holiday. SAD is though. But I don't celebrate it...in fact...I don't celebrate many holidays. Halloweens fun for the parties, but the whole Celtic death/life thing kinda throws me off. New Years would be a lot better if I was 21--but it's cool nonetheless. And "Easter" (Pesach, as in the anniversary of passover) is pretty cool when it's celebrated right, as in minus all the pagan root and tradition. Same with Christmas. But I'm not big on presents, so Christmas is no big deal. Anniversaries make sense to me, birthdays make sense. Black History Month, not so much. And Mothers Day? Come on. Mardi Gras can BMA and 420 started in California (shocker), so if you think it's an actual holiday--well that's indicative that you celebrate it :). I used to love 4th of July, that makes sense to me. And Veterans Day--definitely makes sense. I love honoring my country :). I really don't even know what Labor Day is and I imagine I'd think it's useless if I did. Not sure why kids get out of school for Milk Day (Martin Luther King Jr Celebration) and it'd make a whole lot more sense if they got us out the day after Super Bowl. Because. Well. We all know that the Super Bowl is in fact a holiday :).

There's my two cents.

Laterr.

Second Period.

2010-02-04T21:04:00.003-06:00

So. I'm taking Fundamentals in Advertising Design. And well. It's boring. But every once in a while I make something kinda cool. I get bored a
lot...and am left to my own creations--and sometimes the assignments are pretty cool. I'll try to post stuff from time to time, and maybe even some of my Indie artsy-stuff if I feel like it. :]

<--this pic is actually taken on my mobile phone. I made the design in a random act of boredom in Adobe Illustrator. I was kinda proud simply because...well...I think it's pretty :D.

For Veterans Day we had to make a collage.

I had fun with mine ^_^.

Click the image to see it bigger-ified.

I googled myself.

2010-02-02T16:38:00.002-06:00

And. It was really sad. I found old stuff, from wayy long ago. I've been Internet-savvy since I was 7 years old. There's a lotta record of my social networking activities. I of course found my blog, vimeo, twitter, tumblr, basic stuff when I googled myself. But on the next page I saw Xanga. O_o Oh My Gosh. I had xanga! Everyone had xanga! I saw my comments and all this stuff from when I was just a little girl! I was in like, 5th grade! I even found links to the forum from that little period of time *shiver*. I sorta got addicted to an online chat site. We don't talk about it. I found old pics of me, and accounts on things I don't even remember signing up for. It was...weird. I'unno...like I've trashed a lotta my stuff from the old days, pictures and things. But what I put on the Internet is still there. It kinda hurt. But it was freakin' awesome at the same time :D. I'm not into sentimentality and all that gushy stuff...but it was weird. I could read things I had said, actual dialogue that I have no memory of whatsoever. Those little details that were my every day life and I don't even remember them...I can just see them. It. Was. Weird.

My blog's been around for like--5 years. So if I ever wanna know what I did at some random time, I can see the basic gist. But it's not pictures, it's not conversations. They're stories. Seeing a good number of years laid out on in a search engine--it's freaky.

I saw some old pictures on my facebook, which I've had since 7th grade. That's a loooong time. There were some pics from a couple years ago of Bre and I, when we were in Bella Vista. Arkansas used to be so pretty! I'd forgotten how pretty this place was! The trees, the colors, the rocks. It's not like that anymore. I had some good times too. That doesn't happen as often anymore. My friends either got into drugs, got pregnant, or just..disappeared. My best friends have of course stayed with me this whole time (Leta and Jova) and we have a blast every time we hang out, but a lot of other people have just come and gone. I don't take those crazy pictures anymore or write on my "xanga" about how cool my newest "bestie" is. It just doesn't work that way. I like how things are, I really do. But I didn't realize how much things had changed again so quickly.

So yeah. I'm that much of a geek--I don't have scrapbooks to go through. I have to google myself. Wow. :/ Hahaha.

Iced.

2010-01-30T10:27:00.002-06:00

January 28th

Entry #1

3:40 PM.

As if we didn't learn our lesson last time. One year ago, Northwest Arkansas was hit with a devastating ice storm. The crashing of trees, loss of power, and destruction of property took a toll on the entire area. You can see my post if you check my February 2009 Archives. It's scary stuff. Anywho. It just started raining about an hour or so ago. The forecast calls for half an inch to 1.25" of ice...similar to the forecast last year--which turned out to be wrong and was actually 2 inches. We did have school today. I have a headache. And it's 33 degrees outside. They're expecting sleet and freezing rain some time after 4 pm. At 10:48 am my mom texted me saying that Oklahoma City was "encased in ice", and the cold front was in Tulsa. How much longer 'til we're hit? Over.

Entry #2

8:11 PM.

Still've got a headache, so I'll be heading to bed. Right now it's sleeting and there is a thin sheet of ice glazed across the ground. They've yet to cancel school but my dad says he's not taking me even if they don't. Snow hit OKC about 5 o'clock or so, leaving a 7 hour gap between rain and snow. That's one long front. Yikes. We're next. Over and out.

January 29th

Entry #3

8:15 AM

Happy Birthday Bailey.

The ice was so beautiful last year. The way it painted the trees and created a glass image of the falling world around us. It was like portraying the dying as beautiful. But one year later, every thing's already dead and broken. You can't make that beautiful, what's dead is dead.

It doesn't look like there's much ice but I know there is. I can see snow on the ground...which I don't remember from last year. Last year the ground was just glass. With all the trees smaller and destroyed from last year, there's not much beauty. It's just...dead.

'Bout half an hour ago my mom texted me saying there's freezing rain again. We're expecting the electricity to go out soon. We already lost it once for a few seconds, I was sleeping though and didn't notice. No school today obviously. It's 25 degrees outside. A week ago, Hunter went tanning in his back yard. See the contrast here? In a matter of days this place can just...drop 40 degrees. Over.

Entry #4

4:31 PM

It started snowing about 10:30, and got hard about 11:30. My mom texted me telling me to expect 7-8 inches of snow. The power hasn't gone out yet, and Hunter doesn't think it's going to. The snow's wet, very wet--so it'll stick. This storm is a lot different than last years. The wind is insane and it's way colder this year. At this point I have no idea what's gonna happen next. I'm just glad I'm not in school. Over and out.

January 30th

Entry #5

10:23 AM

It's over. The snow stopped about midnight at 7 or more inches. Everything's white. And not icy. Just cold. We probably won't have school Monday since it's so cold, the roads won't be melted by then. We all thought we'd have an ice storm--and some people call it that. But this wasn't a storm. This was a reminder. This was a "Hey! Remember what you went through last year? Remember what it feels like to be trapped?" This was God keeping us in check, making sure we know what we have and that he has the power to take it away.

This was not a storm.
Over and out.

Argumentation.

2010-01-26T18:58:00.001-06:00

So. I have to write a research paper on a controversial subject to practice "argumentation" in my Advanced Lit class. Bleh. Pick a topic. Pick a side. Turn it in by spring break. Thanks, teacher. I always have this problem. So many people have already made decisions about what they think. Uh hello, it takes me half an hour to decide what I'm eating for breakfast--nonetheless what my opinions on politics are. On some level, that's an advantage. I'm not a daddy-quoting robot, or a rebellious walking label. Yay for breaking the cliché right? Sure. It still kinda sucks, 'cause I can justify two sides to many many things.

Kids my age are passionate about things. Andrew's writing his paper on political warfare, Justo's doing it on sexism in the school district. Some psycho in the back row thinks standardized tests are retarded--she's writing her paper on that! I can argue either side on pretty much every topic shouted out in class. And the worst part--if I did, I still wouldn't have an opinion on it.

My bio class held a debate on stem cell research. I argued against it, but every piece of information I used in that debate I could have rebutted and didn't fully agree with. Still won. I would've had the same problem had I argued for it. Either way, I didn't have an opinion--I just had information.

I took speech my freshman year, needed the credit. We had to choose a topic we were "passionate about" and persuade the class to think our way. Yay. I saw presentations on children in Africa, underage drinking, abortion. Ok. I can argue both sides of all of those. So I don't have an opinion. Is that bad? When my teacher told us we had to pick the first thing I said was "I call legalized pot!" Everyone laughed, yah, but I didn't actually do it. I don't care if pot's legal. It'd just be another way to tax you anyways. I ended up doing self-mutilation, and that it's wrong. Everyone really liked mine. I used my super pathos skills with my vivid imagery writing, threw in some statistics, and bam--A+. But come on...had I argued FOR self-mutilation they woulda shipped me off to the funny farm (not that I would).

So anyways. My point. I'm not ignorant. I'm indecisive. And I'm not gonna be the one to decide whether that's ok or not. ;)

Time to figure out a topic for my paper...

The thesis is due tomorrow.

*eye roll*

Oh, I'll Tell You How That Makes Me "Feel".

2010-01-25T18:36:00.001-06:00

Quick vent I wrote a few weeks ago. Hunter doesn't like psychology. Boo. Some people just don't understand. Finally posting. Haha. Expect random updates in the near future. K? ^_^

Psychology. Noun. The science of the mind or of mental states and processes.

I believe in psychology. Bite me. A girl without a daddy is gonna give it away to the first guy who looks twice at her. Putting up the "wet paint" sign only makes people want to touch it more. Screw someone over, betray their trust; they'll think twice before confiding in someone like you again. People are predictable. People have patterns. And people let instinct dominate their thoughts.

But I believe in exceptions. I believe in choice, and I believe in the better side of people drawing a definitive line between right and wrong.

Do I see it? Not often. Do I hope for it? You bet.

I remember having a conversation with Hunter, back in the summer.

"It's psychology." I said, referring to who knows what.

"Psychology is bullcrap." He responded, obviously set in stone in his thoughts.

"No. The practice of psychology is bullcrap. The study of psychology is not."

In studying psychology, you are provided with answers to questions about other people. This is good, because not only can you identify what's good and bad in other people, but you can see it in yourself too. Learning how to treat people, or how people react to certain things--that's important. Understanding your own mind and how it processes and makes decisions--that's crucial. Without this ability, how can you improve who you are? Hm? Psychology, when well understood and put in the hands of someone who can properly use it, is a powerful tool; one of the greatest.

But how often is psychology used correctly? How often is it's practice designed for a legitimate purpose?

Last February I talked to a professional psychologist, two in fact. And you know what they said? Not joking here.

"How does that make you feel?"

I kid you not. Here's where government funded therapy services fall through the cracks. How are you feeling? What can I do to make you feel better? How can I give you the illusion that everything's going to be ok?

See where I'm going?

Ok. Now onto real therapy. Here's the problem.

You walk in with some mentally spawned problem like OCD or mild depression, and they blow it out of proportion.

What pills can I give you? How can I keep you between independent and out of control? What can I do to make you think you're getting better?

I'll explain the real problem here in a minute.

But wait, there are serious mental problems. Chemical imbalances, things you just can't help. But there's hope right? Guess what doc says.

"Now, how does that make you feel?"

I know that nothing can be done about this, and psychologists really aren't to blame. But my problem with the practice of psychology? It's people telling people to rely on something else. Pills, another person, a stress ball, their self. Who's going to heal the wounds of your mind? Think hard.

Hello! God! He does that. But a psychologist can't tell you that. Perfectly understandable. But the patient? The patient can't tell them self? Hm. I don't buy that. If that patient takes a good look at their self, and a really good look at their spirituality; they can find comfort. Yes, take pills! Talk to someone! Do what you can, but getting better is not the universes doing, it's not a therapists magic power. It's a divine power. And when people lose that focus, and replace God with the idol of anti-depressants or a faith in a human being (a doctor), that's when hope goes out the door. And curing the mind becomes too distant to touch. "No hope". Time to make another appointment.

Wednesday Morning.

2010-01-06T09:20:00.000-06:00

First post of the new year. Well. Hello everybody :D

Leta insists I post more. Really. This is all her fault, if you're getting those annoying e-mail notifications just because I update my blog--don't blame me, find her. ^_^

So. I'll start posting real stuff pretty soon. But I'd like to just update you on what I'm doing RIGHT NOW. And basically what's going on in my life as of January 6th, 2010. (Woah...2010.)

-I'm not in school today. I was supposed to go back to school yesterday, but the roads are bad. And we have snow days here upon the sight of an inch of snow, hence laying in bed while the rest of America is in class.

-I'm still looking into attending Full Sail University in Florida, but recently I've found the Academy of Art Institutes. There's one in San Fransisco I looked at specifically; and I talked to an agent about getting some online credits within the next year or so.

-I still haven't finished that dang book I'm supposed to write. It's not really writers block, more like laziness. My book, "Using and Understanding Effective Study Habits", requires graphics and illustrations that I simply don't have the energy to produce. Oops. Oh well. I'll get around to it. My dad's business (the reason I'm writing a book in the first place) isn't even up yet. Bodligo should hit Beta within the next couple weeks, but who knows.

-Yes, I'm still with "that Hunter guy". Haha. Blane found out the other day, and my oh so distant big cousin that wants nothing to do with me all of a sudden took an interest in my life because I'm dating an 18 year old. I suppose he thinks that being involved with my life through the occasional text message will keep me from falling through the cracks. We'll see.

-With Christmas break in play, my life's just not that exciting. When school's back though I'll be back in the rhythm of a hectic schedule and stressful responsibilities. Yay :/.

Anywho. I'll post some more later.

Adios =]

Oh Nine.

2009-12-31T09:45:00.000-06:00

January 1st I didn't wake up. The first second of the new year I was hugging Morgan Hamilton, jumping around, screaming. Ha. It was at the rink. We stayed all night for the first time. Felt great. The rest of that month just kind of happened. I hung out with Leta and Jova, went to the mall. Some big stuff happened. Har-Ber lost a student and a teacher at the dawn of the year, and I watched people. I saw them hurt. It was hard but...It was real.

On January 18th I lost one of my best friends. That hurt too.
The ice storm hit at the end of the month. Jocelyn was with me for 6 days and 7 nights. The ice storm's one of those things I think about now and I'll think about 10 years from now. It was a wake up call...and I experienced fear for my friends and fear for my community. I had to live my life trapped for a small amount of time, limiting everything I had. Yet somehow...I loved every second.
Gives You Hell-All American Rejects

February 2nd was the one year anniversary of a memory I'd love to forget. I was reminded of my epiphany; and how important it is to live. To be happy. To feel real. I went to a basketball game that month...Saw a movie with my friends...normal stuff. Caught the end of the ice storm, and saw the damage that was done. The outcome of destruction. On Friday the 13th I saw Friday the 13th in theatres. It was great. ^_^ The next morning I woke up and cried. It was Tyler..he seemed to be the source of my tears quite frequently those days.
On the 21st me and Maddi went to the mall. Tyler came. I was mad at him. And I wouldn't let him buy me anything at Hot Topic XP haha. Maddi got a free sample from the coffee place. The 23rd was my band concert. The 24th I didn't go to school. The 25th I woke up and Tyler was gone. Longest day I ever lived.
How To Save A Life-The Fray

March 3rd was my first jazz band rehearsal without Tyler. I'd already made the decision not to be miserable. So I wasn't. March 6th I got married. I still have the ring.
I met Carson on March 13th. I was sitting at the table, facing him, when he reached forward and grabbed my hand. Haha. The next day I dyed my hair pink. It had been blue.
March 30th Thomas and I quit hanging out. To a few people, that's actually significant.
That month is a blur. Lots of mixed emotions. I skipped a lotta class. Drank a lotta Monster.
Cried a lot. Yelled a lot. Laughed a lot. Smiled a lot.
Right Round-Marilyn Manson

April 4th I got a taste of food service. Scary stuff man. I'ma never be a waitress. Zach had just had surgery, and missed a lotta school. I remember staying home from school one day. He told me to watch Saw so I did. April 8th I went back to the doctor for the first time since January. My knee hurt. The morning of April 11th I dreamed about Tyler for the first time. I woke up crying so freaking hard, and it took me so long to stop. Too long in fact, way too long.
Forget To Remember-Mudvayne

May 5th I wanted to drop out of band. I didn't. I met Craig Morgan 2 days later. I got X-rayed on the 21st. No diagnosis. I got my first kiss on May 24th. From Kristen White. Thanks guys. And no, I don't wanna talk about it XD. By May all I felt towards Tyler was anger. Hatred. I don't know if I was still feeling guilty then...I probably was. By then I was unreachable. If you texted me, I didn't text back. If you sat by me, I walked away. If you yelled at me, I didn't care. It wasn't even about Tyler anymore. It was about me. It was about my inability to see the world the way I had before. I had to cope with the loss of a part of myself. I know, I'ma loser. But the light at the end of the tunnel was the end of my freshman year, and I couldn't wait.
Omnia Sol-Central Jr. High Chantez Choir

June 6th Mallorie and I got our picture taken in a photo booth. The same photo booth in which I sat tracing over Carson's scar for who knows how long. I don't think those two know how much those memories mean to me. Drinking monster, shopping with friends. 5 days previous I had walked out of Central with the intention of never looking back. I trashed the energy of loss, the ghosts of tears, and the environment of people I wanted nothing to do with. I was going to make a considerable effort to start over. June 5th Mallorie and I party party partied and I even got her a little Max Greene to toy around with ^_^ hehe. 2 days later Zoie and I went to the pool, and that was when I met Hunter. 6'3", ridiculously tan, totally ripped. 3 words. Out. Of. Reach. And that was the end of that, so I thought.
On June 10th the sky turned orange. I remember standing outside and praying. Just praying. Because it was so insanely beautiful. So powerful. So amazing. And so I prayed.
I was adjusting to the realization that if I didn't keep my spirituality in check, I'd regress. And I couldn't let that happen. So I willingly decided to keep a steady, strong relationship with Christ--instead of having a light switch for when I did or didn't need him. This had been building for a few months, but the Orange Sky is what makes me think of it.
That month I basically decided that Zach LaFrance was a centimeter short of intolerable. Hahaha, we argued a LOT in June. Over everything too. Geez...lol.
Michael Jackson died on the 25th, right after Farrah Fawcet. A lotta celebrities died in a row. It was weird. O_o
I got acupuncture in June. Yah. I don't like needles anymore. Thanks Doc :).
By the end of the month, I think I had seen every single Degrassi episode. Haha...Yah...
Pretty Rave Girl-I Am XRay

July 7th Mallorie and I had a pick-i-nic at the park. Carson and Jacob came...twas awesome. I remember Carson asking me if I liked Hunter...haha...I said no XP. Weird huh? Anyways. Me, Hunter, and Zoie spent a lotta time at the pool. It was kinda our thing for a while. Eventually it was just me and Hunter. Then it was just me and Hunter at the mall. Then it was just me and Hunter on the phone, at midnight, laughing and talking and being almost borderline normal. On July 24th a certain someone linked his hand through mine, and I pulled away--not knowing why. It kinda shocked us both. And for some reason I didn't want that guy because he wasn't Hunter. Uh oh.
On July 29th I sent a message to Ryan, because I missed him so freaking bad. I still do. And yah, it hurts. But when he messaged me back I just couldn't handle really thinking about him. So I didn't send a response. That same day my Ani-Rave band fell off, having survived 54 days total, 11 in the pool, and the majority of my summer fun. Yah, I'm proud of it ^_^.
July 30 we were "looking for Murphy the Duck". Man was it fun. Me, Hunter, and Bailey went to the library, youth center, McDonalds, park, here, there. Twas great. Really truly great.
You Found Me-The Fray

August 8th everything between me and Hunter changed. That day we went to the mall with Mallorie and Logan, and when Logan fell for me--it hit us all hard. Mallorie was mad mad mad, feeling slightly betrayed and disappointed. Hunter was mad mad mad, feeling jealous and played. And I was mad mad mad because everyone was in such a crabby mood! haha XP The next morning, Hunter told me he liked me. So Mallorie and I created the caterpillar in my stomach, since I was incapable of butterflies. His name was Mickey, and his goal was to become a butterfly. I dyed my hair blonde on August 12th O_O. A NORMAL color! Things went about as usual; pool, mall, movies, you know. On August 14th I started talking to Thomas again. Which was weird. He noticed I'd changed, and pointed out every thing about me that was different. Then I told him about Hunter. Oh wow, the look on his face. ^_^ Hunter came over on the 17th. He gave me our friendship bracelet, which has our favorite colors. Black, pink, blue, and green. And maybe that's when I decided. We were together. Maybe it was a week before, maybe it was later. We don't know, but that bracelet meant something to me. Something big. That day I ran up to Mallorie, "Mickey's in a cocoon." She squealed, of course. School started August 19th, and I went camping for the FIRST time that weekend. I watched the sun set on the lake and listened to Brandi talk into the dark hours of night. I even learned how to jet ski :D. August 28th was the all night skate, and the first time Hunter held my hand. That night was amazing. He dropped me off at 7 the next morning, and came over a few hours later. Twas weird...being without him. August 31st he put a sign out in his front yard. "Hi Jo". ... :)
You and Me-Lifehouse

September 9th I was starting to feel the pressure. 2 hour Tuesday, sectionals, early morning practice, football games, apush, biology, boyfriend, reading, writing, chores, friends, this, that, the other thing. It was only a few weeks into school! Ahhh! Hunter and I started walking at the park some nights. The 14th he told me he loved me. I laughed and said "No you don't!" haha...Wow... September 19th was Rosh Hashanah, a Jewish holiday. I celebrated with Ms Kathy, Stephanie, Ms Judy, and their families. I felt like I was part of a family. Which is weird...Everyone talked and ate and laughed and got ALONG O_O. Very unusual for me. At one point, we were observing a Jewish custom and we threw a bunch of rocks into the pool, symbolizing throwing away our sins. Kinda like saying "I'm sorry", in depth. And I liked it. A lot.
Call To Arms-Angels and Airwaves

October 10th I was with Hunter. That was becoming very normal. He spent many Saturdays at my house. And we'd hang out after school sometimes and on Sundays as well. The next day we went to the mall. Freaky. We saw a lot of memories from when we were just friends, and it was weird. Sears, Abercrombie, Joe Boxer. Haha. Very surreal. The 1st quarter ended somewhere around the 21st, and upon seeing my report card I realized that this wasn't freshman year anymore. Grace period was over, and I wasn't getting any pity grades this go around. I started making up my grades, trying harder, studying even. It was weird. I mean the last time I'd actually cared about school in the least bit was...well...February. I spent Halloween in Siloam Springs. We won the Northwest Arkansas Marching Invitational :). After so many hours invested in that show, it felt good. It was an amazing release to be named Champion out of the best high school bands in the region. We got our skittle <3>Hate Me-Blue October

November 11th was Veterans Day, and I didn't get to do anything patriotic-y. Maybe for a second there, I missed Central. They always had a really good Veterans Day program. Maybe I missed it. ...Ew. The next day I saw Mr. Watson, my history teacher from 8th grade; he needed my help and I provided. It was amazing, and maybe for just a moment there I missed Central. Again. That weekend I met Olivia when I went to Leta's house. She. Was. Cool. Man did we have fun. I learned how to toss a flag that day ^_^. On November 24th Hunter and I weren't at our best. The next day we hashed out some anger in his room and decided to go to the park to cool off. Within minutes of being there, I'd convinced him to show me his macho skiz-ills. By...jumping off a 12 foot pole. I thought he'd land it. He had to right? I was proved wrong when he fell head first into the ground. Stop moving. Completely non-responsive. Me, being an idiot, called to him. Told him to get up, quit being stupid. I told him how stupid he was, and I texted Carson. I jumped the fence and sat by Hunter. Pale, hardly moving. I saw him breathe, and 20 minutes later we were on his couch. He couldn't remember a thing, and we chalked it off to a mild concussion; leaving him headaches for the weeks following. Did you see the missing part? Yah. He never broke up with me ;].
Fireflies-Owl City

December 12th was Taylor's 19th birthday. Scary stuff. The Saturday previous Har-Ber had won State Championships in football and cheerleading. Yah, my school is COOL. December 11th I dressed like a gilttery pirate, and went to a party for the first time in a long time. Megan and I pretended we were in a "movie", and that everyone was going to get killed at the end. It was absolutely amazing. I went to Branson on the 18th, saw the lights, rode Wildfire for the FIRST time :). It was great. The first surreal feeling I'd had in a while. And not the rollercoaster, I mean being in SDC with my best friends. It felt really good. By this time I was peace with everything. I'd had to take a good look at who my friends are, what my priorities were, and how I needed to keep myself in check. I didn't hate Tyler, my grades were getting better, I got rid of the not so good friends in my life, I even grew enough balls to message Ryan back. Some people think 2009 is the worst thing that ever happened to me; not even close. It's one of the better things. Yah it was hard. But. So worth it :). Anyways. The last day of 2009 was Hunter's 18th birthday. So I went to dinner with him, and stayed all night at the rink.
January 1st, I won't wake up. Bring it on 2010.
Heart Attack-Low Vs Diamond

"Disaster Area"

2009-02-03T16:47:00.008-06:00

I saw the text. I did. I read it. I knew it.
But I didn't understand it. I thought it was...an expression. It couldn't really mean anything, could it?
"we're in a state of emergency"
...Oh.

Close your eyes. Imagine you're cold, you're scared, you're in pitch black nothingness. There's crashing...heavy, thick crashing sounds, trees are falling everywhere...ice is shattering...And there's no escape from it.
None.
That's how Northwest Arkansas felt Tuesday night...January 27th, and for the following days and the following nights. Fun right?
It all started when we got out of school on Monday early because of a little ice...Ooh scary! Yah...No. Jocelyn came home with me. I thought having no school the next day was iffy, and we'd be going back soon. Then our power went out the next morning. Uh oh. It wasn't too bad, I had Jocelyn to hang out with. We walked outside and it was one of the most beautiful things imaginable. The ground looked like crystals. The trees were frozen, and everything was blue...My favorite color. Icicles sparkled against the gray sky. It was great.

But then a few hours later you could hear ice hitting the windows. And trees falling. It was loud..scary. And that's how it was. For 2 and a half days. Yay.
I kept texting my friends, checking to see if they were all right, and they did the same with me. But unfortunately not everyone was as safe as I was. Some had trees fall on their cars, houses, and even themselves. No one could drive on the roads, because if the ice didn't kill them...the trees would. It was scary to go outside...even for a minute.
Me and Jocelyn kept ourselves entertained. We played games and took pictures. We ended up not having school for the rest of the week. And before we knew it...Jocelyn had been with me for 7 days and 6 nights. It was great ^_^.
It was surreal when we finally got out of the house. Trees in the middle of the road, houses abolished. We found out people had been taking shelter at the high school, in the gym. Hotels were booked full of the locals. And everything outside just looked...dead. As if knowing what was happening outside wasn't bad enough...we had to see it.
It was a good experience. I think everyone learned something from it. Whether to appreciate what they have or just a brief removal from their superficial lives. I just...hope it never happens again.

2009. Woah.

2009-01-05T20:46:00.000-06:00

So. =]
Roller City was the bomb.com. Not even joking. I spent New Years at the rink, and stayed the whole night there, from 7 to 7. I went with my friend Morgan.
I noticed that when we got there so many kids would come up to Morgan and hug her, people I didn't know. So I confronted her and asked her how she knew all these people and she responded by saying..
"Trust me, by the end of the night...You'll know everybody."
I didn't quite get what she meant...
But by the end of the night, or the full 12 hours, I understood the rink. I understood the people. And I understood the community they built for themselves. Basically, it didn't matter who you were at school, at home, anywhere. Because everyone fit in there.
Everyone was accepted.

This is how 2009 became.
I was sitting at a table with Morgan and my new friends, the people you can just be meeting one minute and share your secrets with the next, and we were eating pizza. I checked the time and made a point to say something along the lines of "It's 5 minutes til 2009, nobody's even noticing." Because no one was paying attention.
So a little later we hear "20 SECONDS YOU GUYS" and the whooooole rink freaks out, like they forgot it was New Years Eve. Which we had.
So all at once we all jumped up and ran to the middle of the skating floor and stared at the giant screen that had the ball drop projected. The whole rink was counting down the clock.
We screamed 10, then 9, and kept counting.
After we screamed 1 and shouted and jumped and whatever, I hugged Morgan and acted like a total idiot. Balloons fell from the ceiling. My phone was vibrating like CRAZY with text messages from multiple people, wishing me a happy new year.

Holy crap. 2009.

It felt so...surreal. This was happening.

Later we drank Monsters and danced under the disco ball. Me and Morgan talked for hours and hours. Some kids a year or two younger than us hung around and practically worshipped the ground Morgan and I walked on, and we let them. It was so much fun. These guys flirted with us and used the "yawn" technique and all that cheesy stuff. It was hilarious.
Morgan did our makeup and we walked around and danced around and...had fun =].
We watched part of Cloverfield, but didn't finish.
We watched everyone try to limbo, and we'd scream "FAIL" and "EPIC FAIL" when they fell. Because it was fun. Everyone was having so much fun. It was definitely the ideal atmosphere to bring in the new year.

I still don't have any New Years Resolutions.
And I'm not planning on it.
I'm just...gonna have fun.
2009 will be good.
I'll make sure of it =].

Bring It On 2009

2008-12-31T18:19:00.001-06:00

So. This is it, huh? 2008 is coming to an end.
I wish I could say I'd be "sad to say goodbye to 08" and stuff. But I'm ready to say I survived it. 2008 was not that great of a year for me. Summer was...amazing beyond imagination. But I was very very sick the first part of 2008, and many of my 08 memories aren't that great. I'm definitely ready to move on to what 09 has in store.

i want you to know that when surveys ask me where I was New Years 08, all I can say is I was watching Kyle XY. For a while, that was all I did haha. But for New Years 09, I'm going to be screaming and laughing and skating with my friends at the rink, I'll welcome the new year openly with a kickoff to remember. And I'm proud to say that.

Reflections.
I'll always remember this summer. Summer 08 is so unforgettable. Between band camp, film camp, and talking to my (new) friends until 3 in the morning, summer brought a lot of smiles and happiness. I've made some good friends this year, really good ones. I'm confident that I've made good choices in friends, and that they're actually in it for the long run. I used to not have that confidence. I look forward to lunch now, because of the people I sit with. I text people and hang out with them on the weekends, and we laugh and we have fun. I used to not have that either, not in the beginning of 08. But now I'm getting that, and I'd very much like to keep it.

The future.
Everyone has the..."New Years Resolutions" right? Well. I'll list em, and put them on here when I think of them. I'm ready for summer 09, and definitely the start of my next school year. I'm excited for what's coming at my new school, really excited. That's definitely something to look forward to. I don't have any resolutions yet, but does anyone really keep them? I'll just aim to be a better person, how bout that? ^_^

I hate it when friends tell friends "I don't like you anymore, because you changed." I always think "How is that a bad thing?" Change is part of growing up. You have to find yourself, right? I want to change. But in a good way. Change as in, learn more, see more, and do new things. Ya know. Change.
I'm not supporting Obama when I say this.
But in 2009, I'm hoping for change.

I want to keep the memories of 2008, good and bad.
They're important. Even though I hurt a lot, I learned so much. I'm wayy more mature and stuff. Hehe. But really, I don't regret a single thing from this year. There's not one thing I look back on and say "I wish that didn't happen". Because everything happens for a reason. And it's made me, well...me, because of it.

Well...I'm not sure how to conclude this. But I guess with...
BRING IT ON 09
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

Goodbye California

2008-12-31T08:40:00.004-06:00

Well here we are. It's New Years Eve, we're so close to 2009. Ever since...August I've been saying "Oh I'll do a conclusion to my California posts and then on New Years Eve I'll do a conclusion to the year 2008 and be able to start over in 09." That hasn't exactly worked out. I've putting off and putting off my conclusion to California. I don't know why, maybe I'm just lazy or maybe there's some psychological reason a very expensive therapist will be explaining to me in 10 years. Who knows. So maybe just maaaaybe...I can fit them both into one day.

California.
I love how when I'm taking a survey and it says "Ever been arrested?" I can say "almost", honestly.
I love how every time I see a picture of Jamba Juice or someone mentions it, I smile like craaaazy.
I love how I can walk into Best Buy, walk by a random camera, and give you a full on synopsis of what it can do.
I love it ^_^

I remember when we were at camp me, Ryan, and Siddhi were saying how we'd go back to school and have story upon story to tell of our experiences. I've told maybe...what...3 people?

Going to California was the best experience of the year, maybe even my life (so far).
I constantly recall the little memories and stories of what happened.
They're almost too special to explain to someone, because they're not going to see the significance the way I do.

Like when me and Ryan were in the lab at night and my chair collapsed and I fell into the green screen, hit my head on the wall, and laughed all the way down to the ground.
Or when me and Ryan would badmouth our counselor behind his back!
And the time we all got seperated and tried looking for each other and Ryan jumped out from the staircase and scared us.
I'll never forget how me and Ryan would be in the lab and hear voices and keys jingling by the door, and footsteps too, and he'd yell "Come in!" and nothing would happen. So we'd walk to the door, open it, and see nothing within walking distance of the lab.
It was also amazingly cool when I forgot my name tag and had to sneak into the cafeteria just in time for the fire alarm to go off and clear the entire building, because the kitchen caught fire.
And me and Ben would play this game where we'd throw a...I don't remember, some kind of ball like a basketball or something, at each other. And played a game where we kept throwing it back and forth and had to think of a random word each time we threw it.
I will never ever forget falling off the Indo Board.
I will never ever forget the cosmos, and how they wore underwear outside of their body and all the computer kids thought they were SO weird.
And oh yeah.
I will never ever forget the beach there.
;]

We like the cars, the cars that go boom.

Post 1: California Babee
Post 2: Where's Ben?
Post 3: Misplaced
Post 4: Misplaced P.2

Post 5: Misplaced P.3

Final: Goodbye California

Misplaced? Part 3.

2008-08-17T10:49:00.000-05:00

Gotta love Southern California.
Gorgeous beaches, an unbelievable atmosphere, and handcuffs with my name written on em. :]
Post 1: California Babee♥
Post 2: Where's Ben?
Post 3: Misplaced
Post 4: Misplaced P.2
•••
Recap: Over $4000 worth of equipment goes missing all of a sudden, Jamba Juice is awesome, and oh yah they kinda sorta think I did it. :/
•••
○Thurs. 5:20ish PM○
“So hand it over.”
Me and Ryan were FREAKED out. This summer had taken one heck of a weird turn over the course of three days.
“Look, you guys know I don’t want to believe you did it, I really don’t, but seriously if you guys have it please just give it back and we can forget this ever happened.”
We totally understood her position, I mean I would’ve suspected me too if I didn’t know me that well AND I had no alibi AND I was the last one left alone in that class…But…I didn’t know how to explain to her that I didn’t do it.
She was getting angry, perfectly understandable. She made a few phone calls and left. Me and Ryan went outside, we definitely needed AIR. This was getting weird.
○○○
A few minutes after our meeting with Margaret I was starting to unfreak a bit. Me and Ben were playing with a soccer ball and Ryan was playing frisbee. Everything was totally normal. Until Ryan came up to me and told me to look to my right…

○Thurs. 6:00ish PM○
I looked to my right. Two police officers were walking behind Margaret. You know those dramatic scenes in books and whatever where they try to explain what it’s like to feel your heart skip a beat, your blood turn completely cold, your stomach leap into your throat, and that infamous deathly shiver that crawls through your spine? …I would try to describe it, but it felt a lot scarier. Lol!
○○○
They questioned Ryan for a long time. The cop they assigned to “interrogate” me was nice, and he didn’t question me very much. We conversed a lot very casually actually. Towards the end he asked me who I thought it was. That’s not a question I wanted to answer. It could have been any of the 4 of us, we each had our own little story that could’ve easily made any one of us the culprit. I told him straight up that the only people I knew 100% that didn’t do it was myself and Ryan. Cuz I saw him come out of the bathroom that day and I knew that he didn’t go back to the classroom after I left.
I asked him who he thought it was.
And I didn’t like his answer.

○Thurs. 7:00ish PM○
“I guess we’re not going to the lab today huh?”
“I doubt it.”
Ok, we had pretty much hit freak-out mode. Me and Ryan walked into our rooms at the same time and walked out at the same time with our hands full of food. I wasn’t hungry at all, but in such a situation only Famous Amos cookies could make things better. :]]
The counselor kept telling us it had to be Nick. But it couldn’t be, we watched him. We saw the whole thing happen, and there was no way he could’ve taken it. We had a lot of respect for Nick, and we trusted him.
It didn’t help that the counselor was calling his friends telling them that I did it…Hahaha.

○Friday Morning○
“Did they find the guy?”
“What do you guys think?”
○○○
When we finally got to the classroom we updated Siddhi on everything that happened. For the first part of the day we were all on edge. Who do you trust?
We came to a conclusion…it HAD to be one of us. The camera was there the whole time we were gone, we had proof. But between the time of us arriving and us leaving the camera just…disappeared. That doesn’t JUST happen. But we wished so badly that it did.
Everyone was a suspect, including Margaret, but the four of us insisted on believing each other. The police officer had told me he thought it was Nick, but he caught himself by saying “Oh but it could be anybody.” And we KNEW it couldn’t be Nick.

○Friday Afternoon○
Ryan’s dad was questioned by the police.
And so was my mom.
Despite all the interruptions, we still finished our video.
We had gotten used to being followed by police cars everywhere we went.
And the entire La Jolla police department knew our names.
We all said goodbye and left campus. Left film camp.
But we never solved the mystery.
But voices still carry on the story.
Some say it was Ryan and me, that we had worked together and ended up selling the camera and splitting the money before leaving the state.
Some say Siddhi did it, and told her parents she won it at a “raffle”, which her sister had mentioned previously throughout the week.
Some say Nick did it, and that he left with a camera and came back with just the empty bag.
I wonder if one day we’ll really find out who it was. But I don’t know if I want to.
The UCSD campus will probably carry that story for a few years, because the disappearance was so bizarre. But will they ever know what really happened?

Misplaced? Part 2.

2008-08-15T09:46:00.001-05:00

So 10 ten days in California.
A relaxing vacation, stress-free, perfectly tranquil. …Not so much ;]
Post 1: California Babee♥
Post 2: Where's Ben?
Post 3: Misplaced
•••
Recap: A camera bag, a microphone, and a camera battery can’t just disappear into thin air.
So of course, us being the film geeks we are, set up security cameras.
•••
○Thurs. 12:00 PM○
The cameras were set up perfectly around the room. It was a simple setup really, something we all knew how to do. If any motion was detected in the room, the cameras would automatically come on and start recording. We hid them well, so no one would
seem them if they were to come in. The only people on campus that knew about this were the four of us. So we went to lunch.

○Thurs. 12:20 PM○
We were watching from the roof at this point, waiting for Nick to get back. A bus came by, and a man with a nametag walked out. He went out of his way to walk up by the classrooms, and peered in suspiciously. We could tell he worked for the campus. So access to a key couldn’t be too far off right? He saw Ryan and turned and walked away. So any chance we had of catching him in whatever act he was planning, wouldn’t pan out.
…Unless our thief had already been there.

○Thurs. 12:30 PM○
Nick came back and we raced to tell him what we saw. We went into the classroom and told him everything. We checked the security cameras, nothing. Nobody had taken anything, we checked everywhere. So we had to tell Margaret what we saw, it had to be a sure thing. But first, we should reward ourselves with Jamba Juice. :]]

○Thurs. 4:00ish PM○
We set up security cameras again. No one had ever stolen anything this late, so there wasn’t too much stress on the situation. But you know, we had to be cautious. So we went halfway across campus to get the deliciously amazing Jamba Juice. Yummm.

○Thurs. 4:30ish PM○
We came back to the classroom. I love Jamba Juice.
Nothing was stolen. I love Jamba Juice.
And we checked the security cameras, no one came in and the equipment was directly in front of them the whole time. I LOVE JAMBA JUICE.

○Thurs. 4:50 PM○
Nick had to head out early. He took a camera bag but halfway to his car he decided to leave it in the hands of the campus security. So he brought it back. Shortly after, Siddhi’s mom showed up. She was running all around the room trying to find her firewire. She bent down to put something in her backpack, and left.

○Thurs. 5:00ish PM○
Margaret came in to get the camera and realized it wasn’t in the bag. Oh well no big deal. She said James probably had it, a secretary-like person that holds our stuff for us so it doesn’t get stolen. She left. Me and Ryan were the last ones in there.
--
A few minutes later Ryan went to the bathroom. I was pretty much alone. Then I decided to leave and started to head to dinner, and Ryan was alone. But we met up at dinner and everything was ok. …Right?

○Thurs. 5:20ish PM○
I was hanging out with Ben while Ryan was playing frisbee outside. Margaret came in and asked to speak with me. I came into the living room and Ryan was there with Margaret. He looked really serious. And she started speaking.
“Ok you guys. A camera bag with a microphone goes missing, ok no big deal. Just a prank. A camera battery? Not as funny, but still a good prank. But when a $4000 camera goes missing it’s not funny anymore. So hand it over.”

••I’ll update some more later. Leave your two cents in a comment please :]]••

Misplaced? Part One.

2008-08-10T12:11:00.001-05:00

California is so amazing.
I loved it there so much, but some pretty weird things happened… ;]
Post 1: California Babee♥
Post 2: Where's Ben?
•••
DMA, Digital Media Academy.
Exactly. Digital MEDIA Academy. As in they generally carry expensive equipment for MEDIA purposes.
So the equipment generally includes things like
○A camera bag--$50
○Camera Battery--$50
○Shmancy Pants Microphone--$250
And in most circumstances, considering it IS film camp, they have
○Professional Video Camera--$3500
Hm…
•••
Here’s a quick rundown of who’s who.
Margaret-Camp Coordinator
Ryan P.-Counselor
Nick-Teacher.
Ryan-Student.
Syddhi-Student.
Got that? Good. They are great people. For 6 days, those are the people I talked to, helped out, learned from, and confided in…Wait a sec…
•••

○Mon. 12:00 PM○
Every day we had lunch at 12. Ryan, Siddhi, and I would go down to the caf, a simple 5 minute walk, and Nick would go to his car and get food because he’s a teacher, he can do whatever he wants. So we left, locked the door behind us, and went on our way. 20-30 minutes later we came back, and everything was perfectly fine. We came in, sat down, just your average film camp. Haha. Yah right.

○Tues. 12:00 PM○
The four of us locked up and went to lunch. I had pizza by the way. Hehe. About 12:20 Ryan, Siddhi, and I came back and went to the roof and waited for Nick to get back. Margaret was walking by so we asked her to unlock the door for us, and she let us in.
Going about our own business we realized that we couldn’t find the camera bag.
...The camera bag with the microphone in it. So we figured oh well, Nick probably left it in his car or something. When Nick walked in the door we asked where the camera bag was. He told us it was right where we left it…but that spot was empty.

○Wed. 12:00 PM○
We had told Margaret about the camera bag, and she said it was just misplaced, we’ll find it. So again we went to lunch. Ryan, Siddhi, and I came back about 12:20ish and Margaret unlocked the door. The last person who had been in that classroom was the four of us and Ryan P. One of us went to turn the camera on and found that the battery was missing. Just…gone. First thought, it fell out. …Nope. Second thought, somebody put it in the camera bag. Oh wait…that’s not possible. Third thought, it’s been snatched. Nick came back and the four of us tore the room apart. No battery. Somebody was playing a prank on us. In a room of mega-expensive computers and high tech EVERYTHING what would someone want with a battery and a microphone? So, Ryan and I, Ryan having had personal issues with this person, suspected it was the counselor. It had to be, he could’ve easily snatched the battery and left. He was notorious for pranks like this. So of course, we’re film geeks right? We put up security cameras for the next day. ;]

••This post is getting long, so I’ll update this story some more later on another post. Leave a comment as to what you think so far. :]]••

Where's Ben?

2008-08-07T07:55:00.001-05:00

Here’s a the jist, this is my second post about my San Diego trip, if you want to read my first post on the subject “California Babee♥”, then Click Here.
•••
I’m going to walk you through a series of events that made my stay at UCSD…interesting…to say in the least.

○Wed. 5:30 P.M.○
Seven of us from the floor, excluding Jacob, walked down to the beach because it was really nice outside. It was really fun. And Ben was with us the whole time. We got back a little after 6 and some of the boys went out to play frisbee. Of course, I sat on a table and watched them. It was really cool, we did this almost every night anyways so nothing out of the ordinary right?

○Wed. 7:30 P.M.○
From 7-10 every night the computer labs were open for anyone who wanted to work on their project. So every night Ryan and I would go there to hang out and work and watch MadTv hehe. But this time Ryan was still playing frisbee so I went inside to get my stuff before we left. I saw Jacob at the dorms and asked where his roommate Ben was, because he wasn’t outside playing frisbee. He told me that Ben had come into the dorm a little after 6, grabbed something off his desk, and left without saying a word. I didn’t think much of it, curfew was 10 so wherever he was didn’t really matter. I left with Ryan and we were at the computer lab moments later.

○Wed. 9:30 P.M.○
Ryan and I got bored so decided to come back early. We walked in on a room of 4 guys. Jacob was asleep, and Ryan and I had just arrived. Of course I noticed and asked where Ben was. Everybody sat up and realized “OMG nobody’s seen Ben in hours.” Our counselor just told us not to worry he’ll be back by ten.

○Wed. 10:00 P.M.○
“Ok here’s the map of the campus. Don’t go too far. Jordan, you and Ryan stay together. We’re splitting up.”

○Wed. 10:10 P.M.○
Me and Ryan were down by the library, about half a mile away from the dorms. ..Screaming Ben’s name. We got a phone call telling us to come back. So we did.

○Wed. 10:20 P.M.○
“Ok you guys, this is getting serious. We’re splitting up again.”
…You’d be amazed how warped your mind gets when you think of the worst case scenario for one of these situations.
Me and Ryan went down to look by Muir College.

○Wed. 10:30ish P.M.○
It was getting cold. It was dark. Me and Ryan were walking a different route calling Bens name. Nothing. It was kind of fun, like an adventure. But…we had no idea what was going on. At one point, we were crossing the street and three white vans floored it and charged right at us, driving zig zag all through the road. It was so weird, we ran to the other side of the road as fast as we could and watched the vans keep driving, and driving, and driving. We called our counselor. No sign of Ben.

○Wed. 10:45 P.M.○
“Ryan, what if Ben is…”
“Dead?”
“Wo.”
We got back to the dorms and headed over to where the cops were stationed. We had to describe him and everything. He asked if any of us had a picture. Then I remembered at the beach I was filming Ryan try to walk down a cliff and Ben walked into my shot. So we sat there and played my video until Ben came into the screen. The cops left. And Margaret, the camp coordinator, was making calls left and right.

○Wed. 11:00 P.M.○
Ryan went and grabbed more food, and I got probably my 5th water bottle in an hour. That’s what freaking out does to ya. We had stopped looking for Ben, that was the police’s business now.
*BANGING ON MY DOOR*
“They found Ben!”
…False alarm.

○Wed. 11:30 P.M○.
Ben walked in the door. We all just stared.
He looked straight at us and said “Hi.”
The counselor asked where he had been.
He shrugged, “On a walk.”
…On a five and half hour walk.
A five and half hour walk that got him a ride back to the dorms in a police car.
Guess where they found him.
Muir College.

California Babee♥

2008-08-05T11:08:00.000-05:00

Sorry the update took so long. But I’ve finally decided how I’m going to explain my San Diego trip. It will take more than one post, but trust me it’s worth it. :]]
•••
Anyways, at the beginning of my stay I was with relatives I had never met. Scary huh? Not really, they were so amazing. My cousin Jillian is so nice and she’s really cool to talk to. And of course I had other cousins I had never met that I really liked talking to. After a long visit at my cousin Gerrit’s house my mom asked me what I thought of my California family as opposed to my family here and I flat out said “I like them better.” Hehe.
That Saturday I went to a beach for the FIRST time. Wow. Just wow. When I finally get out of here, I’m moving somewhere where there is a beach. Every time a wave came it would move me, literally, the sand would carry me back and forth and it was so much fun.
Also while I was in Cali, I stayed at UCSD for 6 days. Here’s the basic facts.

○It was film camp, so I was surrounded by kids that knew their way around a computer and could define the most complex camera’s top to bottom. It was amazing :]]

○Well…video production isn’t exactly popular with girls. So on a floor with 7 guys, I was the only girl. I got my own bathroom time and I had to watch 7 guys gape at Chelsie Hightower on So You Think You Can Dance night…Wow.

○I went to a beach. Sorta…We had to stand on a cliff and look down, but it was so beautiful that I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere but above it.

○My main friend there’s name was Ryan. We hung out all the time. So it was really awesome.

○I discovered the beauty of “Jamba Juice” while I was there. Oh. My. Gosh. =o.

○…All the police on campus know my name.
•••
So film camp was way more than I expected.
6 of the best days of my life. :] I loved it.
Well there a lot of mini-stories that I’ll post off and on for the remainder of the summer.
So keep checking back, I promise this stuff won’t bore you.
I got more out of my SoCal experience than you can even imagine ;]

Well Hello Summer♥

2008-06-10T16:07:00.000-05:00

Summer break 08 began at 3:52 p.m. on May 30th, 2008.
Hehe, awesome, huh?? But I have to admit I guess I kinda sorta miss school. But hey, school’s cool…usually. Anyways, so far I haven’t done much but some pretty sweet stuff here and there. But the fun stuff is next month!! :D

July 6-11th::Woo hoo! Band camp! That’s right, I get to spend a week at the University again and play mah trumpeta!!

July 17-26th::OMG! I’m going to San Diego!! How awesome is THAT?!?! Disney land, great weather, relatives I’ve never met, and CaLiFoRnIa!!

July 21-25th::Ok THIS is cool! I get to go this Digital Media Academy at UCSD (University of California San Diego, heck yah I’m getting a t-shirt) and do video production for 5 days straight! Is that not freakin sweet?!

And then of course random stuff throughout the summer which will be awesome too!!
So I hope everyone’s been enjoying their summer so far and totally makes the best of the rest of it!

Secrets...

2008-04-05T20:32:00.000-05:00

Remember the ever-loved game of telephone from second grade?
Where you would tell your friend something, and it would move down the line of eager little 8 year olds until the message got completely mixed up?
I wonder if I knew then what I know now about “secrets”, would I have thought of that game as a mere ploy to convince the noisy students to whisper and giggle and have fun quietly, or simply a foreshadowing of the future: involving a little bit of giggling, and a whole lot of mix-up?
•••
Somehow, amongst the human gene it is inevitable that teenage girls (and pretty much all girls in fact) have to know secrets. It doesn’t matter if they get it or not, they have to know. Why? No real reason. It’s just this compulsive necessity to gossip and be able to say (although rarely said in this day and age) “I know something you don’t know! Nanner-nanner-boo-boo!”. Honestly, the information can have no use to them, but they HAVE to know.
So when you tell someone a secret, somebody knows that there is a secret. They have to have to have to find out, and when they do, someone else has to has to has to find out. Pretty soon this secret has spread so far, that even though it accomplishes nothing to the spreader of the secret, everybody knows. Then, it is no longer a secret. But where does that leave the subject of the alleged secret?
•••
Cindy has a HUGE crush on Bobby. (This is totally fictional by the way.) So she acts a little different around him and his friends. When Daisy sees this, she realizes that she has to know Cindy’s secret. Pretty soon, Daisy has bugged it out of Cindy and starts telling everyone. Pretty soon, even though it’s not their business, everyone knows that Cindy likes Bobby. Including…Bobby.
•••
But the present day Cindy has a bigger secret. And it’s not something little like that. Present day Cindy has a secret that could ruin her life. And present day Cindy tells whoever my hypothetical character in this story is. And I’ll tell you right now, some secrets should be kept. But what about Daisy’s secret? Daisy and Bobby are each holding a secret from each other that the other one should know that my hypothetical character knows. But if my hypothetical character tells one of them one of the secrets, we’re all screwed. But if my hypothetical character doesn’t…bad things could happen.
Bad…things.
•••
The other day I was telling my “Daisy” that “The best secret you can keep, is that you have a secret.” If no one knows that you have a secret, then they can’t know what it is.
…But what happens when someone finds out?
And worse…What happens if they don’t?

Ceramic Dogs

2008-03-26T19:07:00.001-05:00

The other day I took a walk around the cul-de-sac and ran a bit along my street. Well, basic stuff, totally normal. I walked past a house and it their front yard was a dog. I watched it for a while and realized that it didn’t so much as look at me. It didn’t move, it didn’t budge. And strangely I had never seen it before. I began to wonder if maybe it wasn’t real, but it has such realistic features there is no way that it could not be alive. Right? So after a while I came to the conclusion that okay, it’s a ceramic dog. But seriously? A ceramic dog that is so real looking it’s creepy in your front yard 24/7? You’re kidding me…Well obviously not. As I thought about it, if I passed a dog that looked that real in a store, would I stop and buy it? Why would I? What purpose would that bring to me?It’s slightly creepy and quite misleading.

Pros:
Well maybe people would mistake it as real and believe that it was a guard dog. Then maybe they would be less likely to attempt to break in to your house. Perhaps if runaway cats walked by and saw it they would be too scared to go further and they’d run back to their homes, saving the owner any time and worry said cat’s temporary disappearance would have cost them.
Hmm…I’m yet to be convinced.

Cons:
Um, it’s creepy. Every time I’d pull into my driveway I would think some stray dog was on my porch.
People would probably think I abused the “dog” if I left it outside overnight.
And if I brought it in to avoid suspicion…It’d be weird.
If I had a real dog inside the house he would probably get quite suspicious…

So what are your opinions on ceramic dogs? Totally weird or well-behaved monuments?
Let me know people!

"The Night's Storm"

2008-03-24T19:14:00.006-05:00

Wow. I wrote a song! A two minute long song! Haha woooow. I like branching out and trying new things.
So here's the lowdown.
•••
I used GarageBand to link music and edit the audio clips in the rhythms and notes that I pleased.
BUT I personally wrote FROM SCRATCH the flute and trumpet parts. :D
I feel proud of myself!
It begins and ends with rain and a storm, so I called it...
The Night's Storm...A composition by J. tehe!
•••
It doesn't have lyrics because of the changes in tempo and all around song modifications throughout the piece. Sort of like a (Gasp! You guessed it!) STORM! Haha.
I put it in a video because I could not think of a way to put straight music on here. lol
I really hope you enjoy the piece, I put a lot of work into it!
...I tried to make it a ringtone buuuuut. Well the rain in it sounded fuzzy and it made it sound weird on my phone. Oopsies!
Anyways, please feel free to comment and criticize however you like. I know it's not the best, it's my first full song lol. But I'd love to hear some opinions!
Who knows, I might make another one!!

((And don't give me graphic credits, I got that part from Windows Media Player. lol))

Semester Blues

2008-03-23T14:56:00.000-05:00

I have to say I am extremely glad that the 3rd 9wks is over. It seems like each 9wks of the school year has its own little magic to it. Have you noticed?
•••
1st ½ of 1st Semester:
Everything is new, and everyone is in a good mood. People are exploring and recollecting their summer memories and making up for lost time with friends. Everything is too new for drama.
2nd ½ of 1st Semester:
The classes generally get a little harder and angst rises in the stress of the coming semester finals. Drama is mildly starting to bubble, but not too much. But most kids by this time have figured out their favorite teachers, easiest routes to class, and the crowd that they feel comfortable hanging out with.
•••
And then there is the 1st half of the 2nd semester. By this time, relationships and friendships that were bound to crumble eventually have been destroyed. By this time, everyone is sick of school and ready for summer. But it’s too far away for them to actually have the joy of looking forward to anything. And it seems like some of the worst things happen in the 3rd 9wks. People change, which isn’t always a bad thing, but sometimes bad stuff happens. The 3rd 9wks is drama central, and pretty much boring as to cool events. Football season is over and there’s no place or time for students to just hang around. It’s quite depressing to see people subject to this time of confusion. I’ve always noticed that the most tears are shed during the 3rd 9wks. I guess it’s just a simple branch of psychology and observation. I never freak out or dramatize my life, but it’s all around me. Weird…
•••
And the last half of the last semester…
Everyone is normal again and excited for summer. And somehow everyone is just livelier. :D
•••
So those of you who have suffered from TNSD (third nine-weeks stress disorder), I do hope that you can overcome your semester blues and enjoy life, living it to the fullest!
Happy Easter!
Have a great school year!

The Sheepskin Bear in the Pouring Rain

2008-03-18T21:25:00.000-05:00

Ok, so today I woke up around my usually time. 6:30-7:00 a.m. We went by and picked up Jocelyn around 9:40ish. Well, nothing new because Jocelyn is with us all the time. So Jocelyn, my mom, my sister, and I went to the nail salon, Kohls, and Abuelo’s. Totally normal places right? Well, it’s been pouring down rain here where I live and it’s been coming down HARD. So far we’ve gotten 6 inches, and they are expecting more over the next couple of days. Here’s the deal.
The four of us go to Sam’s club for meat, totally normal. And by the time we’re done we’re running out into the pouring rain trying to protect a $50 sheepskin rug. Why? Because we’re cool like that!
Jocelyn saw a sheepskin rug that looked like a teddy bear for like 50 bucks, and wanted it because it was so soft. So that’s what she bought! But, in fear that it would get ruined, it took the protection of Jocelyn and I as well as our jackets to keep it dry. And you can’t imagine the intriguing looks we got from people passing by…
And that’s the excitement of my day!
And by the way, Jocelyn named her rug.
…It’s name is Petey. Yes, Petey.

Remember When...

2008-03-17T21:34:00.001-05:00

I was talking to my friend Olivia today and we were remembering all these crazy things from like 2 or 3 years ago. Insane, right? Except it was hilarious!
So I thought I’d do a “remember when” game post, and list a ton of funny stuff I remember, that you readers will find interesting too. So here’s the game, I list 5 “Remember When”s, and then if you have a blog or myspace or whatever, you do it to. Sound good enough?
•••
1. Remember when…
Me and Olivia put make-up all over our face like crazy for our Ebay video? And we thought that fingernail polish would make our faces look all the more better? So when we realized that fingernail polish shouldn’t be applied to skin, and that was the source of the burning in our face, we started freaking out and rubbing acetone all over? That was great!
2. Remember when…
Me and Sara would come in at “recess” in 5th grade and play card games with like 5 other kids in the class room? On our way there, we’d spin in the halls and do kuh-razy things just for fun, remember? That was AHmazing!!
3. Remember when…
Me and Jocelyn thought that my keyboard was haunted in 6th grade? Just because it would play itself when we left the room? Remember the night we wouldn’t go to sleep because it scared us? And remember when we figured out why it did that, and we laughed our heads off? That was sooo funny!!
4. Remember when…
Me, Leta, and Jova went down to the woods far from my house? And when we walked past a falling tree that Jova “accidentally” pushed MORE? And how it almost smushed me and Leta, but we couldn’t stop laughing? Because it was that cool!
5. Remember when…
Us four anonymous girls ruled the 4th grade? When we started a “singing group” and sang every day at recess on the big lava slide? And when we had a fan club? And we were always together, and nothing could tear us apart? And we laughed and hung out on the blue monkey bars every day, and talked about everything? Because we were best friends…
:D
•••
The past is great, I’m gonna make the future just as memorable!!!
Will post more soon!

Psychic Squirrels of Spring

2008-03-16T14:29:00.001-05:00

…Say that ten times fast.
Well, it is in fact the time of year that the birds chirp and school is out for 9 days straight, allowing children and teachers to enjoy a sense of freedom and parents to pull their hair out because said children (and in some rare circumstances teachers) are bugging them to go to the mall or buy them something pretty because they aren’t at school, and have nothing else to do.
Does this mean that the alleged spring break is not a time of fun but a time of boredom?
Maybe not…But it is a lie!
It’s not even spring!
And yet, many people go on vacation or enjoy themselves at home being, as shocking as this sounds, the opposite of bored on spring break.
Which isn’t even SPRING!
•••
So we’re in the car after getting Chinese food. And my sister said something along the lines of “Well it’s spring not winter!”. And technically, although it is spring break, we are still in winter. My mom and I corrected her and she’s like “Well why didn’t they have spring break in the spring?” I told her it was because of the squirrel in the ground that didn’t want the cold time to end. Immediately I was corrected that the “squirrel” was a groundhog. A groundhog! What the heck is that?! So, apparently the groundhog did or didn’t see his shadow and poof! Spring break takes place during winter? I asked my mom and she said, “No. The groundhog predicted 6 more weeks of winter!” (Oh yes, that makes sooooo much more sense!)
So I said…
“Wo! So it’s a PSYCHIC SQUIRREL?”
And again I was bombarded for my inaccuracy, it’s a freakin’ “groundhog.” Lol
When I got home, I wanted to know more about this “psychic squirrel.”
Where do I go?
Wikipedia, duh!
•••
Well spring break is interesting this year. I’ll be fairly bored without school but there are some interesting things planned. I guess we’ll just have to see. :D
•••
AH HA!
Proof!
Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated in United States and Canada on February 2. In weather lore, if a groundhog, also known as a woodchuck, marmot, or ground squirrel, emerges from its burrow on this day and fails to see its shadow because the weather is cloudy, winter will soon end. If the groundhog sees its shadow, it will return into its burrow, and the winter will continue for 6 more weeks.
Wait…wait…WAIT!
Back it up, did I see ground SQUIRREL?!
Yes…yes I did.
•••
So, if you are ever wondering why it is that you have spring break in the winter.
Blame the psychic squirrels of spring.
Yes. Blame them.

Reasons

2008-02-26T18:37:00.000-06:00

How often do we realize the little things we do? Whether you have a reason or not, you always have some little quirk. Maybe you always prefer purple eye shadow over green. You don’t realize it, but it’s really because your childhood role model always wore purple eye shadow. Maybe it’s a stupid reason to some, but it make perfect sense to your subconscious. Maybe you fell off your bike when you were younger and saw some gore unimaginable for your young eyes. Next thing you know, you get queasy every time you play “Operation.” Your reasoning as to why you prefer Monopoly might not make sense to some, but it does to you. I am a very forgetful person. Very… Not only that, but I am notorious for forgetting to sign and return permission slips and stuff at school. After a while I realized that if I put these notes in my band folder, where I keep my sheet music, I’d remember them. I didn’t really know why, but I finally found the reason. The most important thing in my every day life is music, playing the trumpet. You can’t forget what you pour your greatest efforts and accomplishments into. People don’t realize the little things that effect day-to-day lifestyles. But it means something. The strangest things could effect you the most.
…Hmm…So what is the reasoning behind my keeping a blog of completely random thoughts for three years straight? Nah, that’s another day.

5 Facts (You didn't know!)

2008-02-23T20:57:00.001-06:00

•••
Ok, so the newest VLog game is 5 Facts. I don’t have a vlog. (Hm..Maybe I should get one…) But for the time being, I don’t so I am playing the game on a regular blog.
Five Facts you don’t know about me:
◘Fact ONE:
I tend to keep strange items for long periods of time.
I have a spoon I got from Sonic when I was like 6, and it changes colors when the temperature changes. Weird, yah!
◘Fact TWO:
I went to a crazy psychopath private school for 7 years straight.
It was this crazy border-line Amish freak of nature school that practically lived to brainwash kids. *twitch*
◘Fact THREE:
Every year, without really realizing it, I adapt to a research of something totally random and repeatedly find information on it just for fun.
4th grade: The 1920s
5th grade: Loch Ness Monster
6th grade: Amphetamines
7th grade: Medical Examiners
And so on and so on.
◘Fact FOUR:
I have strange ways of keeping my change.
When I was younger I was afraid that if I put all of my change in one spot and I forgot where that was, then I’d lose all my money at once. So for years, I would scatter my change in totally various places around my room. In picture frames, jewelry boxes, clocks, etc. And one day my dad was upstairs and opened some random thing and was like “Hey, here’s 5 dollars.” And he looked somewhere else and found another three, and then 6, and 2, and whatever. So he was like “J, you have money EVERYWHERE.” And since then I’ve kept it in 3 specific places. I won’t tell you where, but none of them are a piggy bank and one of them has to do with a water bottle…
◘Fact FIVE:
I have a very extensive collection of business cards.
When I was younger, I realized that I didn’t “collect” anything, but I was always swiping business cards everywhere I went. So I got a business card holder and 6 years later VOILA! I have a ton of business cards and I never have to use a phone book!
•••
Well, that’s all for today. Bye!

And the stars are shining...

2008-02-22T19:25:00.001-06:00

Hmmm…It seems like nobody I know is happy. The girl on my right, her boyfriend’s about an inch away from leaving her for her best friend. That one kid nobody notices down the hall is trying to forget his past. A girl’s facebook status expresses her loneliness, emptiness. It’s quite depressing. So this is my facebook status:
“((hmm...it seems like nobodys happy right now...everyones sad...I'm not sad, so I'm gonna smile and maybe...just maybe everyone else will too! :D)).”
I wonder if that will work…
•••
Ok, so here’s a small update.
~Disease is going around. I kinda sorta have a cold. But I can’t complain, Bailey just recovered from Pneumonia.
~Nothing is happening right now, I doubt many people will read this post in the first place. Haha.
~Chinese food sounds pretty good right now.
~People keep painting our house, it’s pretty cool. Mom says it will help us sell it. I want to move, I want change. Average is boring, everyday occurrences get old. Across town is fine, across country: even better. California? Take me away! Florida? I’ll go pack. China? No thanks, I’ll stay here.
-I heard a new song the other day, I heard it again today. I really like it…-
•••
It’s called The Glass Parade by the Cary Brothers. Youtube it, it’s a good song.
•••
Thanks for reading!
Cherry Popsicle
the.one.and.only.

So Where's It Gonna End??

2008-02-16T11:32:00.000-06:00

I know I’ve posted about similar things to this before, but this is just weird.
Read the article below found here..
◘◘◘
In a move possibly more fitting to a plot in Stephen King’s "Pet Sematary," a Korean company plans to offer animal lovers the chance to "bring back" their dead companions through cloning, the Guardian reported.
RNL Bio on Friday announced it would work with Seoul National University scientists, who created the first cloned canine, "Snuppy," to offer customers a re-creation of their deceased pet for $150,000.
The company received its first order from a California woman seeking to clone a dead pit bull that saved her life from an attack by another dog, the Guardian reported.
In working on Bernann McKunney’s request, scientists were to use preserved ear tissue from the dog and said the chance of success is around 25 percent.
◘◘◘
I’m sorry, but that’s just weird. I know that our technology is way more advanced than we already think it is, but can’t these people find something better for it? We don’t have a cure for cancer but they’re spending $150,000 on cloning a dog. God didn’t create it, so why do these people think that it’s their job? Bad things could definitely come out of this. What if the dog can carry deadly diseases or something? I’m not saying stem cell research and all that is wrong, because we should definitely explore these things. But come on, how many lives is preserving ear tissue gonna save?
Opinions please?
Any other information on this research is very welcome.
Thank you for reading!

Look Around...

2008-02-12T20:49:00.000-06:00

You know what I hate? In teenage world, a girl’s best friend tells her she doesn’t like her shirt and all of a sudden the world is in flames. The couple that have been together for a whole 2 hours breaks up and everyone else in the universe is at fault. OMG, Prissy McPreppypants just broke her nail, let’s cry our eyes out because we have nothing better to do.
◘◘◘
Yesterday somebody I know got in a smidglewidgle of trouble and I heard her specifically say “Everyone hates me.” I didn’t say anything to her but I should have. I know a girl whose mother killed herself when the girl was 6, and she found the body. I know somebody who was the daughter of an alcoholic, and he once locked her out of the house, for hours and hours. Anywhere you go someone is starving or suffering. And all Prissy McPreppypants can think about is her $200 acrylic nail. I have a great life; basically everything goes pretty stinking well. Just because sometimes I get a little stuck up doesn’t mean I don’t care. I’ve never said that I hate my life, because I have no reason to. It makes me mad when people say they “hate their life”. A friend of mine lost her brother when she was six years old, and she is a cancer patient. Never does she complain about her life. Someone who actually has reason to be mad told me that looking on the bright side of thinking and looking forward keeps her positive, and she loves every minute of living. Cool, huh? Yeah, she is. Any takers on telling Prissy McPreppypants?
◘◘◘
Anyways, that’s my rant for the day.
Didn’t have much else to say.
Thanks for reading!

Daughters of the American Revolution

2008-02-09T16:48:00.001-06:00

I was entered in a regional writing contest for the DAR, to write an espionage of a spy during the American Revolution. I recently found out that I placed 2nd amongst my peers in my school and the schools around me. Today was the assembly where I recieved my award. I don't know if it was all that great, but here it is. 999 words exactly. (1,000 was the limit.)

Through the Eyes of a Patriot

Sweat is dripping down my face, hot and muddy sweat it is. Tears have been shed, as well as blood. But that is over now, no more I say. I suppose you want to know more about such a circumstance. You don’t, I warn you. For you shan’t accept this information as a reality nor a truth in itself whatsoever. This is a dangerous life, but it determines our future. I must use my abilities to spy and report countless dangers and threats, for it is my duty. I am a crucial addition to our mission, but I am only one person. Perhaps I should go further into detail.
For my mission I must have a code name. It is quite unique, in fact I have never heard such a name before it was granted to me. My men call me Snake, for I must have agility and speed. What I do is crucial for our war. We are fighting for a better world, a better humanity. They call this the American Revolution. I call it sacrifice. Great Britain has been controlling us for quite some time now and I refuse to further endure such hardship. I dream of one day having independence in this land, our land. We are treated as nothing here, and I hate it. I spit on the ground the mind controlling British tread. They sicken me, and our country does not deserve that.
As I said, I am only one person. I have a group of men who help me search and find information for our leaders. We call ourselves the Eyes of Destiny, for we see a better future and we are the ones to establish that. There are five of us, but we have connection to other defenders like ourselves. Without each other, there would be more deaths and hardships to such extents of terror our own eyes can not yet imagine. This is why we are all needed.
I became a spy to help my country, to establish justice. I also did it in the right of republicanism. We shall have independence in ourselves, and an organization of government at that. It is also because I watched warriors fall. I saw the screams, not heard but saw them, in the eyes of those in terror. I watched men fall apart emotionally because of this trauma, this stress, this horror. I watched men be murdered, and I saw the color drain from their face. That is not who we are to become, and I had to make sure of it. Holding the blood of someone else in the palms of your hand is the worst nightmare of them all. If you could save lives by risking yours, wouldn’t you? That’s what I do.
I saved a life once. I remember it as clear as day, though I see little of that now. I and another of the Eyes of Destiny went to spy on the loyalists. We hid behind their grounds and watched. Carefully we watched. I didn’t blink for hours. I didn’t drop one of my senses. I didn’t move. I barely breathed. A loyalist turned around towards us, though he couldn’t see us. I saw fear in his eyes, a cold reflection of vulnerability. For a second I almost pitied him, just a bit. I didn’t though; I held my ground and showed no emotion. My partner finally lost it, he ran down behind him. Out of sight but still in hearing distance he listened. But he was too close, and he leaned forward just enough to make a leaf release noise and fall. The loyalist instantly turned around and started to shoot aimlessly. My partner dove into a ditch, but by then more loyalists were on his tail. I had to do something, I threw a rock in an opposite direction to shake some leaves and snap a twig. Half ran the other way, but some still looked for the culprit at the scene. I ran fast but quietly behind them. I had to be bait. I rolled their wagon down the hill, just a couple pushes was all it took. It did, and the remaining loyalists followed trying to catch their food. When I found my friend, he had been shot. When I got to him, all bloody, I felt his pain. I bandaged him up a bit before carrying him to our camp. He lived, painfully but successfully. Similar events happened after that. But I continued to find information from the Brits. I was often able to steal letters to take back. I could’ve saved a whole army, but I wouldn’t know.
On one day, after I had been making maps and routes for my men to follow I went out myself. I told no one, left no trail behind. I went to one of their spy refuges, and there I found what I shall never forget. Inside, there was a man tied to the wall, his face in a twisted fear. They were questioning one of our men. I had to do something, but what? I ran around to another side of their refuge and started a fire, which caught on the tent. A minute later I heard a scream and the loyalists ran out leaving the victim behind. I knew I had little time so I ran in quickly and freed him. But we were caught in the fire, our only escape was a small hole where the fire had not yet reached. We crawled out, right onto enemy territory. They knew I was a spy, and they captured me. They beat me, they questioned me, and eventually decided to kill me. But first they locked me up. I’ve been locked up, writing this to whomever is willing to read. I only fear that my destiny has failed. But what am I to know? I’m just a spy in the American Revolution, and I have saved lives. I suppose that mine is but a sacrifice.

Well, that's the essay. I was entered in 3 contests for the DAR, VFW, and another that I can't remember...But I happened to place 1st at state in the one that I can't remember. The assembly for that award is in March and I will recieve a savings bond, medal, and some other things I don't yet know about. I will let you know when the time comes and maybe post it here.

Thanks guys!

History Day

2008-01-26T08:51:00.000-06:00

For the past 6 months, in my AP Social Studies class, we have been forewarned of the infamous NHD...National History Day...

Here's how it works:
You chose a topic that relates to the theme of the year (Conflict and Compromise). You find out how you're gonna do it. You have the option of a historical paper, exhibit, web site, or a documentary. Cool, huh? Anyways you go to a competition and compete against your classmates. If you place in the top 4, you go to regionals. If you go to regionals and place in the top 3 you go to state, and if you place in the top 2 in state you take a beautiful trip to DC and test your skills at how well you place in National.

Here's what I did:
I chose to do the history of forensic science. (Yes, I hate history so much I do my project on science...*cough: nerd*) I called it "History Behind the Tape: Conflicts and Compromises in the Development of Forensic Science". Catchy, eh? Anyways, I did a (gasp!) documentary. Shocker, I know. I included dramatization, video overlay, voice overs, SFX, VFX, the whole nine yards. All by myself, the only assistance was my sister holding up my script. I wrote it, I filmed it, I edited it, burned it, everything. I went to the school competition.

The next day Watson (my teacher) sent me the results.

First place.

I'm going to regionals.

Luv,
((~CP~))

BTW: If you wanna see the 7 and a half minute long video shoot me an e-mail, I'll make sure you see it. :D

Happy Bday Blog!!!

2008-01-04T09:46:00.000-06:00

Today is the 3 year anniversary of my blog "J's Blog of Whatever". I have kept consistent with this domain for exactly 3 years. I know that in the pastI have messed up on my blog, but I have also done my part to make my posts easy to read as well as entertaining.
What I really like about having a blog is just having something of mine that people can read. Whether it's something funny that they laugh at or something intelligient that they can ponder for days on end, it's still J's Blog of Whatever.

This year, for my blog, I promise to post more often, post what you guys want, and post the truth. I don't think I have ever not posted the truth, but that's beside the point.

Thanks you guys, you are all great!

(By the way this is my 223rd blog post!)

Fear Factor Finally Finished

2007-12-10T07:11:00.000-06:00

When my friend Nicole was last here from Nebraska, we filmed each other eating Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. Finally, I got an editing program to pull through and TADA!
Here it is!
My 3rd Youtube video! Woohoo!

Youtube Link:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nbOG5ZZjAPI
My Youtube Profile:
http://youtube.com/profile?user=littlemissjbird

Penny For Your Thoughts?

2007-12-09T09:25:00.000-06:00

Sometimes, in my unusually useful moments of boredom, I google completely random things.
You would be amazed what I find on the Internet by just thinking completely random thoughts and typing it in. Is that weird or is it useful?

Just now I typed into my google toolbar "What's in a penny?". I found a history of pennies and I learned that they are mostly made of Zinc. But on a website I visited there was a link that said "Can a penny dropped from a tall building kill you?". Of course, being the curious and bored person that I am, I clicked the link. It said that it would probably just sting a pedestrian. (Referring to being dropped off the top of the Empire State Building.) But then I googled the question exactly and found that it could in fact hit your head hard enough to knock you out or kill you. Of course I didn't know which was correct so I kept googling.
One website said only if your mouth is open and you choke. But I wonder if it wouldn't be the equivalent of choking but similar to shooting a bullet through your mouth. After a few sites and some strange idiots, I found that Mythbusters did an episode on it. Of course, I had know idea about this when I googled "What's in a penny?". I searched for Mythbusters on google.

Well, I couldn't find that one specifically so I am still left with the question "Can a penny dropped from the Empire State Building kill you?". But I think that the better question is, in fact, "Who in their right mind is going to go to the top of the Empire State Building to drop a penny?"
Time to google!

'Tis the Season to be...Watching My Fall Shows...Or Not

2007-12-08T07:54:00.000-06:00

So I finally am into the fall shows. I prefer my summer shows but this year I am really getting into my usuals and some new. But of course, come Christmas time they're all GONE!
Oh well, the producers and actors and yadayada need a break and I don't know the other reasons. But hey, that's how it is.
So here is what I'm into right now.

Bionic Woman:
Wow, Bionic Woman has done good thus far. I am surprised because I kept thinking it wouldn't last long but it is in fact holding strong. Bionic Woman is picking up where the last one left off. After Sarah's death, she is rebuilt and brought into this tv show where she causes a car wreck similar to her own to a certain Jamie Somers. Jamie was built by her boyfriend who was mysteriously killed. Now Jamie must work with the government in fighting crime while keeping her teenage sister in oblivion to try to raise her as a normal kid.

Ghost Whisperer:
Of course, one of my favorites. It's in it's 3rd season and I am really liking the scary turn it's finally made. A girl who sees ghosts is faced with the trials and tribulations in crossing over lost souls, but has met her match when her alleged brother shows up and tries to put an end to everything she has done by sending them his way, which could endanger the people, the dead, and the Gordon family. I love it!

Heroes:
First of all I have not been watching the second season of Heroes while it's been on I've been watching the first. I finished the first season of Heroes and wow I loved it so much! Come a marathon I will program my good friend TiVo and watch season 2. Heroes, save the cheerleader, save the world.

There are more, I just can't think of them right now.

Also, there are some shows that haven't been being cancelled. I am in love with Fashionably Late with Stacy London. I am, I admit, a What Not To Wear fan and I love Stacy's show. The interviews, the shredder, it's all good every Friday night.

Well I just thought I would share my thoughts with you, maybe you can catch a marathon or watch them online and get into some great shows too. If you also like these shows, I would love to hear what you think about them!

George Costanza, Dip Your Chip Freely!

2007-11-18T08:40:00.000-06:00

Timmy was scientifically proved wrong!
Everybody remembers the infamous Seinfeld moment, when George Castanza was scolded for “double dipping”. The act of taking a chip, dipping, biting, and putting the chip back into the dip after having bitten off of it is the act of “double dipping”.
I was shocked when I turned on the news yesterday morning, November 15th, and found that “double dipping” is not bad, for it does not spread any excess bacteria. All these years of striving not to double dip, have in fact been a waste of my energy. And Costanza, for you, you can now dip freely.
Click here to read the scene!

Well, this amazing discovery was aired on November 15, 2007, my moms birthday. The date will always hold the significance of her birth and double-dipping being allowed.

My Dad’s birthday was the 17th.

So happy birthday to you both, and George Costanza: Dip your chip freely!

Lo and Behold--Bad Timing...

2007-11-13T19:24:00.000-06:00

If you are one of those people where everything falls into place at just the right time and life is joyful and stress-free, I greatly despise you and I will commit to believing that you do not exist. Two scenarios, one unhappy J…

Poor Birkleigh:
My doggy, Birkleigh, has had some unfortunate experiences befall him recently. In a trip to the groomer (and he has been seeing groomers for, o you know, only 3 years) the groomer in using a dull blade or having inexperience burned him where it “hurts”. It is a terrible razor burn and demands extensive treatment and care. This all, of course, occurs on Friday, the day before we leave on vacation. Oh yes, that groomer has lost our service.

I’m Sorry, Tryouts are When?:
In band, we have All-Region tryouts, which have their own set of music and dates and such. We use this music (taking a combination of two songs and 2 scales) for a tryout that will determine which band and which chair we will be in next semester. It is a huge deal! There are 3 bands of different levels. It will determine what songs you play in Concert Contest, what chair you will be, whether or not you will march, how many concerts you perform, et cetera et cetera… Huge deal, easy score, right? Wrong.
Just last week, in marching at the stadium, my lips became very very chapped. No big deal, right? And again my friend, wrong. It became so severe that my lips are now extremely swollen and there are huge cuts all inside my mouth, making it very hard to play high notes and to control my dynamics. And oh yeah, tryouts are tomorrow…

Feel my pain? Leave a comment!

What it's like from the Marching Band Stands

2007-11-04T07:42:00.000-06:00

I am a 2nd year trumpet player. I have won awards for my playing and I can officially say “This one time at band camp…” because I went to a Band Camp. But before last Thursday I had never marched on a field, or played in the stands at a football game. But I did. It was amazingly fun and I loved every minute of it.

When you walk in, it’s all the same as a football stadium. But when you go behind the stadium to the truck with all the band instruments, every one is wearing your shoes, your “snazzy” jacket, and your tuxedo pants for uniform. And even though these people look familiar, they’re not. So you cross the bleachers, up some stairs, and in direct view of everyone in the stadium, you sit on cold icky bleachers. I found my bands trumpet players, who were in fact, as lost as I was. We eventually got split up and I was mixed with another band, though familiar with the people not the music. I had to learn a few songs and sight read a bit, but it turned out OK. We talked a lot in between songs and we had to learn these little chant thingies and different movements to accompany certain songs. I had lots of fun up in the stands with the people whom I had met only once or twice that shared my interests.

At halftime we went onto the field, got into position. I swear, a drum major is a scream metal lead singer in disguise. Attention. That’s what she says. We hold up our instruments. We play, we play well. Even with the wind blowing our instruments back and the cold air trying to block our air passage, we played. And it was fun. And I wondered what the people in the stands were thinking. I still do, but maybe when we walked back to the truck to put away our instruments and kids came up to people telling them how great the band was, I put two and two together.

The Summer's Conclusion, Including Cake!

2007-08-19T09:08:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my birthday and I enjoyed it very much. Very simple, a few friends came over, and I had some great ♥ cake ♥ and great presents. School starts tomorrow so having the two occasions so close was a little strange but usually August 18th is the start of school, so you do the math.

I got a cool vampire book and some accesories (no hairnets) and a few cool gift cards. More presents are coming because my grandma will be bringing by some goodies soon because she was out of town on my birthday.

I really enjoyed it and I thank my mommy and daddy for making it happen. :D

The Secret Behind Hairnets?

2007-08-08T19:59:00.000-05:00

In a world where lunches are served by day, mysteries roam by nightfall or worse...summer vacation...

Walking through Sam's with my mom a question popped into my head. What do lunch ladies do during the summer? I saw some ladies in hairnets giving samples at the store. Were they lunch ladies? I really did want to know the truth beneath the lunch ladies. Did they find summer lunch jobs? Do they wear hairnets at home? It's a very intriguing matter, but I have a theory that could change the world. MWAH HA HA!!!

It's the last day of school. The lunch lady looks down at her watch which reads 2:30 pm. It's time to leave. She hops into her lunch-ladyish car and drives home. From home she calls a mysterious number on her mysterious cell phone. She then opens her bedside drawer, pushes her inhaler aside and picks up a fake ID, one of around 20 various types. She slips the ID into her purse and pulls out...
A LADLE!
She presses a red button and immediately a silent helicopter lands on her roof. She opens a drawer full of multi-colored hairnets and picks up a black one, placing it on her head. She then runs into a closet, crawls through a secret passageway, climbs up a ladder, opens a safe, pulls out a spatula shaped key, types in a series of numbers into a keypad and falls through a trap door. From there she climbs some stairs and ends up on the roof. She hops in the helicopter, flies to DC, cooks for the President (better food than she's ever served to any student body), and discusses "plans". She then goes undercover as a retired lunch lady and reports to Area 51 for further instructions. From there, no one knows what will happen. It's all kitchen confidential...

Ok, so maybe I can't prove it but it's possible!!!
But some yet to be answered questions:

Do you have to be a certain age to be a lunch lady?
If a lunch lady gets a job waiting at a restaurant, is it likely that she will wear a hairnet?
Do they get to choose a certain color of hair net?
Do lunch ladies actually get paid during the summer, or is that a myth?
Are lunch ladies allowed to take their kitchen utensils home?
Do they have to go to a special "lunch lady" class before they can work at a school?
Does the government hire ladies to spy on the youth of America to report statistics and behavior analysis data by going undercover as kitchen help?
If a man cooks for students at a school is he a male lunch lady?

These questions haunt me...But don't worry, I'll have a new obsession next week!

It's Coming...

2007-08-06T13:47:00.000-05:00

In the past 3 months I have had my share of laughs, my freedom (ok almost), and all I really need in a summer. I’ve spent some time at the pool, hung out with some great friends, and experienced the most awesome camp I have ever gone to and will ever go to. Throughout the summer I have had things to look forward to, none of which including school. Now that the excitement is gone and I’ve had my break I’m ready for school. Even though I have AIM and Facebook and a cell phone, I miss my friends. I miss having classes and eating bad lunch food (well only a little). I am ready to go back to school and I’m excited. School starts August 20th (yes 2 days after my birthday) and I can enjoy a new year in a new school.

But I don’t know how I can possibly stay away from Ryleigh everyday until 4:30.

~J

Band Camp

2007-08-02T08:01:00.000-05:00

Well I must apologize for taking so long to update, but band camp was the COOLEST!
Sunday:
I got all my stuff into the room and tried out for placement. I then found out that I had never received the music they were supposed to give me and I had to sight read all of it (and I stink at sight reading). So my tryout wasn’t very good.

Monday:
Well we found out I had made it into 7th band (2nd to last) so that’s pretty good considering I didn’t know my music or which lines to play. On Monday Christine and I didn’t have to eat alone because we found our friends Philip and Tanner.
Band Camp was similar to school. Everything was scheduled and different schedules depended on your tryout. I didn’t have any classes with my friends except for one with Tanner. My schedule:
Master Class: This was a class just for an individual instrument, so I only practiced with trumpets and we didn’t practice concert music, but good techniques to use and I really enjoyed that class.
Break
Practice: Where we learned our songs as one full band.
Sectionals: Where we reported to University classrooms and practiced in our sections (with concert music) so I was with French Horns, Trombones, Tubas, Baritones, and Euphonium.
Lunch: If you have ever attended the U of A you know how cool the Student Union is. Yes, lunch was that good.
Fran Kick: Fran Kick (yes a guys name) is a motivational speaker for young adults. So everyday he did this cooperation thing (which had nothing to do with band) to teach us how to work together and have fun and he used lots of metaphors.
Following that was more sectionals and practices.
And yet I didn’t believe I had had enough trumpet playing! It was simply not enough!
And this cycle repeated every day.

Tuesday and Wednesday
We did the same routine and little things happened.
*Finding glowing stickers on my ceiling.
*Being late for class in the soaking rain.
*Getting confused *cough:lost* on campus.
*Eating delicious pizza.
*Playing on inflatables during free time.
*Stealing Dedricks shoe.

Thursday
We practiced really hard on Thursday and I was able to put the new breathing technique I learned in Master class a lot. You take in a huge breath and then suck in a little bit 3 times to increase your lung capacity and your tone will be fuller and breath lasts a lot longer!
At the end of the day was the dance and of course, I just went with a group not with a date. It was Christine, Tanner, Philip, Dedrick, and I. First we just talked and hung around and ate lots of ice cream. Then we played Go Fish (losers, that’s us) and then we played BS. After that we got bored and watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in another room. When that was over we made it back to the dance in time to see Dedrick trip in the conga line and the whole line fall. Then we did the Time Warp and after all the songs it ended and everybody left. We said our goodbyes and hugged each other because it was the end and there were no more classes.

Friday
On Friday was the concert at the Walton Arts Center. Our band played and every one was dressed up and I had to say goodbye to some friends I had made there over the past week. It was really sad and none of us wanted to go home. But I didn’t go home yet, I went to Shogun and Game Exchange. Woohoo!!!

And that is my conclusion, an awesome time at band camp. I can’t wait to go back!

Upcoming Events, Previous Events, And Our Vents!

2007-07-07T08:16:00.000-05:00

Upcoming Events:
You will not hear from me from tomorrow through the 14th due to cricumstances issued around my U of A band camp. Which will be so awesome! Anyways I will not post until I get back but afterwards I will tell you about it.

Previous Events:
~
Patrick and Pam
My cousins, Patrick and Pam, came from Lousiana to visit us the other day. They were staying with our grandma but the second day they hung out with us for hours. Patrick and Pam rock! It's fun to talk to them and they're all around cool. We played Wii and Guitar Hero and DDR and everything and it was so much fun! Patrick ate a vomit jelly bean! We have a ton, but no one every ate one! Pam drove me home (from Grandmas) in her silver Mustang GT (my dream car). I wish they could have stayed longer!
~
Korah, Hannah, Zach, and Seth
My mom's friend Mrs. Patti has 4 kids named (take a wild guess!) Korah, Hannah, Zach, and Seth. Korah and Zach are close to my age and Hannah and Seth are close to Bailey's age. Usually we just have Korah and Hannah over because they've been our friends forever but yesterday their brothers came too. They mainly played video games. Korah and Hannah jumped on the trampoline and we were on the computer alot. While devising a prank call all of them were upstairs with us and it was so funny because we were all doing different voices and thinking of different versions of dialogue. Mrs. Patti was with my mom the whole time and they talked alot, so we hardly noticed they were there.
I wish they all could have stayed longer, we had a lot of fun and I hardly ever get to see Korah.

Our Vents
We had to get new air conditionding in the house and it keeps messing up so it's been terrible. It is good sometimes and then not others. Well, that's all!

Goomba Impersonators Are On Weed

2007-07-04T09:05:00.001-05:00

As many of you may know, I have a younger sister. Here's the thing, we play Mario together alot. Yesterday we were playing Super Mario Sunshine and in a minigame there were these strange creatures. If you play Mario you know what a Goomba is. The book identified these things as Goombas but they didn't look like the real thing so I called them "Goomba impersonators". Well, these impersonators would walk off a ledge and "die" so Mario always won. Because of this, Bailey claimed that they were on weed. I didn't know she knew what weed was!
So I asked her, "Do you know what weed is?"
"Yeah! It's alcohol!"
"No Bailey..."
"Oh, that's right! Weed is a type of beer! They're drunk Goombas!"

Yes, that is my sister...

The Treacherous Voyage to...The Basement!

2007-06-29T07:15:00.000-05:00

In order to work off a new camera my dad bought for me I have to whatever ginormous "chores" he tells me. Ones that I usually would not do because if you know me, I do a lot of day-to-day chores. Well here is the story of the basement...My first destination.

Keaton is under this too, for my dad ordered him a camera also.

Downstairs is my mom's office, yes it's in the basement. She does her sewing and working down there. On each side there is a door. Keep in mind, this is underground.
On the North side of her office, in the closet, past the many clothes and keepsakes, is a door. It's a short door, shorter than me and that says a lot. When you duck down and go through that door, you are in the midst of storage and dirt. It is the cave. The room left unfinished from years ago.

On the South side of her office is a door that leads into an almost finished room that we call "the gym". There are weights in it, and so much more. The air hockey table had a mountain of junk. You could barely see the floor. And it smelled horrible. I was at an art thing when Keaton started and he was moving things around. We had to rearrange shelves and clean, dispose, or store all excess items. It took quite a few hours. Keaton took an old dirty blanket with dead spiders and itchy dirt and threw it at me. But don't worry I got back at him later...
After all was done we showered and went to Buffalo Wild Wings, where Keaton (gasp!) had never been! Our family is simply obsessed with it.

Two days later Aunt Cindy came over, and while we were having tons of fun playing Mario Party 8 (on the Wii) the doorbell rang. Dad brought in two boxes and I saw that one read JVC. The camera I ordered! The other was Keatons. I'm surprised it came in so early!
The camera is cool but I still have to wait for it to finish charging! Then I'm gonna have fun!

J

By the way, I did get Keaton back. He put his hat on and it was soaking wet, so when he pulled it off there was mousse in it. But too late, it already all over his head and he had already been sprayed with perfume!

Nothing New, This is only a post.

2007-06-18T16:12:00.000-05:00

I take this time to share my opinions on previous post subjects and other situations that have occured..

Post: Summer is HERE!!! (link: click here)
I am halfway through my first session of art class. Today I signed up for a class called Clock Works where design (YAY!) and building (BOOM BOOM! WOOHOO! jk) are used to create...Clocks! Shocker, I know.

Post: Not Your Every Day Decision (link: click here)
As you can tell this is a frustrating matter. I have had people ask if certain people (ones that a post like this would bother, I will not give names) read the post. To clear things up, I don't know and I don't care. It's my blog, my opinions. It's not a crime to talk about my cousins latest stupidity stunt. He's a great guy and I never said he wasn't!
~
Also, you might like to know (to my dismay) he is still engaged. Nope, hasn't called it off yet. I also met his finacee (finally!) and I can't stand her. It's not that I'm close minded or frustrated by her, it's that I didn't like her. She didn't say a word to me when I talked to her and she's just not very nice! Just thought you might like to know.

Post: Wow...The End (link: click here)
I do miss my friends already very much. In fact, I have had hardly any contact with them. (Ahem...) I am glad it's summer but I miss school. I keep thinking "O! When see Jane Doe at school on Monday I'll tell them--" but that's not gonna happen. It's frustrating, sad, but yet...
I'M GLAD IT'S SUMMER!

Update: Computer News!
Okay, remember how my computer would always mess up and I had to suffer for it? And my gmail and youtube accounts were not accessible through my computer? And how I know how to clean my computer and fix everything because I am (sigh) the computer whiz but couldn't?
No more! No more I say! I have a new CPU with a clean, wiped, empty harddrive! Of course I transferred over many files and downloaded my old programs. But this one is cleaner, newer, and...
I got a flat screen monitor with it!

Leta and Jova

2007-06-15T23:42:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been taking art classes and next week is the last week. Leta and Jova came over yesterday and they are staying until tomorrow. So far we've found interesting information about my cousins upcoming marriage, watched horror movies (with a few laughs) and a new bottle of hair bye for tomorrow. Strawberry blonde!

We met at Acamabaro for lunch before coming to my house. I don't get to see Leta and Jova a lot because they live so far away. Their little sister, Beya, also came over to play with my sister Bailey.

We watched:
The Grudge
Now we HAVE to watch Grudge 2 and we can not wait until Grudge 3 comes out...O yes, a third!
The Fog
This movie was so good. It wasn't "scary" but it was suspenseful and some of the effects were a little disturbing. We enjoyed it.

Well, I don't have much time but I thought I would do a quick update. Have a great summer!

WARNING: Health for a Price!

2007-06-07T13:19:00.000-05:00

Wow...the information below is just weird. As seen in one of my previous posts, my cat died from contaminated food. The same contamination was in food given to chickens that poisoned them and then served to us, poisoning people. Scientists (also in a previous post) are trying to clone cows. How safe will that be? Is our "safety" actually killing us and other animals? Is sanitaion going to end lives? Read below!

Leptospirosis: This incident happened recently in North Texas.
A woman went boating one Sunday taking with her some cans of coke which
she put into the refrigerator of the boat. On Monday she was taken to the
hospital and placed in the Intensive Care Unit. She died on Wednesday.
The autopsy concluded she died of Leptospirosis. This was traced to the
can of coke she drank from, not using a glass. Tests showed that the can
was infected by dried rat urine and hence the disease Leptospirosis
Rat urine contains toxic and deathly substances. It is highly
recommended to thoroughly wash the upper part of Soda cans before drinking
out of
them. The cans are typically stocked in warehouses and transported
straight to the shops without being cleaned.
A study at NYCU showed that the tops of soda cans are more contaminated
than public toilets (i.e).. full of germs and bacteria. So wash them with
water before putting them to the mouth to avoid any kind of fatal
accident.

Is being "healthy" really worth it?

My opinion on it:
The government goes to treacherous measures to "protect" us and this shows that other people are just as bad. I am not a liberal tree hugging idiot and I don't agree with many of those people (cough: Al Gore) but we are definitely at risk. Being "safe" has a price.

Are you willing to take the risk?

This information has been confirmed, visit: http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/raturine.asp

Summer is HERE!!!

2007-06-06T16:17:00.000-05:00

Yes, that time has come! I am ready for summer fun!
So far, I have only gone swimming twice but I plan much more fun in the sun.

Hopefully I can see a lot of my friends that don’t go to my school because summer is one of the few times of year I can see them.

I have to do a project this summer to be accepted into the AP English course I want and it is a lot easier than last summers.

This summer I am taking two art classes and band camp. I will also be babysitting quite a bit and while my neighbors are gone I have been assigned to take care of their cat and fish.

I have a fairly busy summer but it won’t stop me from posting on my blog.
What are your plans for the summer? Leave me a comment!

J

Wow...The End

2007-06-01T21:07:00.000-05:00

School is a huge part of my life. Even though it’s hard, I couldn’t ask for better teachers, better friends, or a better school. This past year has been so perfect! As I mature, I get closer to my friends and learn more respect for my school. I am so glad I was able to experience so much learning and entertainment in 2007.

Today was the last day of school. We had no work, no responsibility. We were able to enjoy this last year before going on to a new level of education. I am ready, but it’s hard to see my friends leave or just not see them for three months. Are you ready for summer?

In this year, I’ve made great friends. I’ve gotten closer to old ones and befriended new ones. Each one of my acquaintances placed a special part of my heart and I will never forget any of them, no matter what happens. I made wise choices in choosing friends and I am proud of myself as well as them. I learned from my friends and they learned from me. Because of them, I believe I have improved myself tremendously.

My teachers were absolutely amazing. I learned about character from each of my teachers. Every one of my subjects was taught in a way I could understand and I am thankful for that. I hope that I am granted with this gift for the years to come.

In my future, I hope to see my friends more. Those that are leaving I hope not to lose touch and those that are staying I hope not to lose. As for my teachers, I will never forget them or what they gave me. I hope to visit them and stay up to date with their conditions.

Old teachers and friends still have a place in my heart from long ago and I am so glad. I hope the many opportunities I was given this year are under the same circumstances.

Thank you guys so much!
I will never lose you!
Please don’t forget me and stay in touch!I love you, thanks for sticking with me.

~J

Telegram for You People

2007-05-31T20:00:00.000-05:00

Dear You People STOP
I am easily annoyed STOP Many things get on my nerves STOP I especially can’t stand repetitive noises, sounds, et cetera STOP
I would very much like to know what annoys you STOP If possible give me an obvious example without maybe pointing out straight forward what it is you can’t stand STOP

Other things that annoy me include: (STOP?)
Annoying humor that is funny but after a while gets really irritating after being mentioned over and over. (Hmm...STOP)
When people randomly throw strange objects made of strange material at my face.
When the little curvy red line under the “wrong” words remains unattended to.
How people, when not even being stared at, shout “What’re you looking at?”
How Ryleigh whines and whimpers just for attention, not because of danger or fear.
And most importantly, I must share...
When my mother calls me, not by my name or species, but refers to me as “You People”
After you have read this and maybe even laughed or become annoyed yourself STOP Please leave a comment telling me how you feel STOP I’ll be glad to read it STOP

Have a nice day
Don’t STOP reading!

"Anne of Green Gables"

2007-05-28T15:15:00.000-05:00

Taking you back to long ago on Prince Edward Island...
J STYLE!!!

Yesterday, I was invited to go see my friend Morgans play. She was in a production you've probably heard of called "Anne of Green Gables." It's a marvelous play based on a remarkable series of books that Morgan adores. She got the part of Priscilla "Prissy" Andrews, a beautiful, but snobby, character lacking intellect who falls in love with the school teacher. Prissy is very opposite of Morgan's character, but she portrayed her very well.
Her cousins, Bekkah and Rylee, who are so fun, also got parts as sunday school children.

If you haven't read the book, seen the movie, or watched the play, then it's likely that you don't what it's about. It's about a young orphan girl, Anne (with an e) Shirley who is invited to live with a family in a house called Green Gables. Although the family asked for a boy, they grow to love Anne just the same. In the play, Anne experiences fright in losing her best friend, saving a girls life, and living with the trauma of what happens to her "father". Within all this she has happy times of singing, attending school, and feeling accepted into a new home. It was a very good play and I highly recommend all of you to find a premiere near you or even try out the book or movie.

In the play that I saw, the acting was very good. Prissy Andrews was portrayed by Morgan and she did a fabulous job. If you hear anything about someone screaming "GO PRISSY!" it wasn't me, I know nothing about it, and it had nothing to do with the person typing on this blog biting her bottom lip nervously in terror only imagined by one who could commit such a crime and escape with but the terribly clear memory.
Anne was played very well, although I have seen better I am not one to critique. Josie was portrayed with great character and emotion.
Mrs. Lynde was highly entertaining and absolutely hilarious.
It was a great play and I am glad to have had the chance to see it.

♥ J

Not Your Every Day Decision

2007-05-26T09:30:00.000-05:00

As I sit here in my chair with hiccups typing the words I hope many will soon read I think about the events in the soon future. I have a planner that says "J's '07 Planner" with pink polka dots and inside I find many events. Parties, camps, classes, and a graduation. Today, I will be attending the graduation of my cousin, Blane.
Now, let me tell you something about Blane.
He's a teenage boy who's been raised knowing only what's in front of his nose. The only job oppurtunity he sees is the one destined for him at the company his father owns. The only education oppurtunity is the poor private school he's attended all his life. And the only marriage oppurtunity is the one offered right when he graduates so that he can no longer live in fear of never meeting another girl he could fall in love with after high school.
Of course, being the sheltered teen he his, he took this chance and proposed and will be wed in August to a beautiful (and short) young woman named Lisa. I have never met Lisa, for she and Blane have been a couple only about a year, maybe almost two.
Here's the thing, I think that Blane is pulling an idiot stunt. He's in such a rush to marry anybody that common sense doesn't matter. He has hardly any money and he's willing to pay for two people in a house. He has no good reason to get married this year. He's going back where he started. Not knowing any other oppurtunities.
If you or a relative has experienced this (*cough*insane) leave a comment, I want to hear your opinion.
I know that somebody will probably disagree with me, please share your thoughts.

Sideways???

2007-05-17T19:21:00.000-05:00

A good friend of mine and I were talking today. She said,
"What's up?"
and I said
"The sky."
and she said
"No, the ceiling."
and I pointed out that in Antarctica up was down. She pondered this for a while and concluded with a nod of the head. As we continued our conversation we thought deeply about how up is down in Antarctica but they don't realize it. The blood doesn't rush to their head in Antarctica because of gravity pulling them down which is up on the globe but down when standing in Antarctica, which is at the bottom of the Earth. Can upside down and right side up be the same thing at the same time?
We kept talking and she pointed out that we are not upside down or right side up.
"We're...sideways!" was her conclusion.
Which is true and yet up is still up and not out or sideways. She then said that it was west. This couldn't exactly be true because the depth of space probably does not have the same latitude. If it did then there would be an east west and a west west. Unless it wasn't north, south, east, or west, it was actually...
SIDEWAYS!

Can you consider that logic? I find it more amusing than scientific.

It actually, in a slightly comical sense, is a metaphor for life. It's west to some, up to most, sideways to others. Not everything is how it seems, and not everything you are told or what you consider to be true is reality. Sometimes you just have to look outside of the box...
Maybe even...
Looking sideways?

J ♥

An Apology, an Update, and a Girl with a Plan

2007-05-14T17:32:00.000-05:00

Apology
You missed me! I know you did!
Ok, first of all I am so sorry! I completely abandoned my readers and I am sorry for that. I have reasons (ahem, excuses) and I know some of you are shaking your head in disappointment but they are very, umm...reasonable...???
My computer is really (nice word, please?) retarded. The Internet was painfully messed up and I could not log on to gmail or blogger. I was unable to use the Internet for an extended period of time also.
Oops!

An Update
~First of all-
As you probably know, if you read yesterday's post, our cat Spenser has been put down due to terrible circumstances. Read the post for more information and the vets sympathy.
~Also-
I am a trumpet player and I love it so much it really has a huge place in my heart, and I went to a Solo and Ensemble to play a Solo. The score of 1 was the best and the score of 5 was the worst. 1 and 2 got medals. I played a solo entitled Dance Song and got a 1! Now I have a blue medal hanging on my wall.
~O yes, there is more-
I am chewing gum at this moment. Oh yes, I am that COOL! Believe it.

A Girl with a Plan
That's me! No, I'm definitely not self absorbed!
I plan to update much much more with reasonable posts (shorten them? maybe...) and I hope to give you guys reason to check my blog every day.
Summer is coming (tear) and I will miss my friends terribly but I will update more. Also, I'll be going to band camp for 4 days and I'll write down a blog entry on a piece of paper every day and post it when I get back. But that is much later.
COMING SOON!!!
More pics on da picture blog! O yeah, I've made a commitment and I will stick to it. Sorry I've completely ignored it. If you happened to forgot it, it is www.jbirdpics.blogspot.com!!!
Luv you guys!

By the way, the french fries at school are muchas better!!!

~J<♥>

A Recent Loss

2007-03-14T20:52:00.000-05:00

My family and I have recently suffered a terrible loss. Our cat, Spenser, was having stomach troubles for an excessive amount of time. He was losing weight and was very sick. Mom took him to the vet, but doubted bringing him back. The vet delivered some terrible news. Spenser was suffering with stomach cancer and had to be put down.
A few days later, still in our grief, we watched the news and encountered a terrible sight. There had been an animal food recall with terrible toxins in it, fatal. Spenser's was one of those brands. He was getting old so we switched his food, what was supposed to help him only hurt him. When that kindly glow disappeared from his loving eyes we knew it was bad and now he's gone. It's hard, but everything happens for a reason.
The vet sent us a card following the experience:

Thinking of you,

I'm so sorry you had to say goodbye to Spenser. You gave him a long and happy life. Most cats don't love 17 years, much less get to spend that time with a family that loves them. I know you will miss him tremendously.

May your heart be healed, knowing that no pet received more love than you gave to yours.

Deepest sympathy on your loss of Spenser,
Sincerely,

Dr. Viki

Thanks for stickin with me guys.

Blood Moon

2007-03-02T16:44:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow at 5:21 in CST, the moon will go under the earth’s shadow. For these three hours it will be a bright red color. Blood red.
The reason I’m including this in my post is because I find it fascinating enough to tell you about it. It is a science and I want you to know about all of the science you have missed out on because I have not been able to update.

Bailey was sick for a while with the stomach bug...Ew...

Morgan came over last weekend and we ate jelly beans in our coke and messed with the camera.

The fries at school were good for a while, now they are nasty again.

I’m trying to read 6 books this weekend. I really want to read “Go Ask Alice” about a girl on drugs.

I’ll try to update more often now that I can.

I love you guys!
Thanks for sticking with me. MwAh mWaH!

My "Excuse", My News, and My Life

2007-02-20T20:46:00.000-06:00

This is not at an excuse, it's a well developed explanation.
I am so sorry I have not updated in a bazillion years. I have a perfectly logically but annoying reason. First, I was having trouble getting "new blogger" so I just ignored it but it wouldno't let me. It kept saying "switch now" and all that and then it started limiting my remaining time to update. I did so but it was having issues, so I put it off. I couldn't update so I tried again and I edged my way around the problem by choosing an alternate answer in a certain situation. I was logged into the new blogger but when I logged out I couldn't log back in! Every time I logged in with the "new blogger" it would take me back to the blogger homepage and everytime I logged into the old blogger it said I was supposed to use the new blogger account. It's still not fixed. I am reporting this through my mom's computer which I had no choice but to use. Sorry if it'll be a while until I update again. Luckily, Mom thinks she knows how to fix it. When, that is the question.

This is My News, the stuff I have not been able to tell you lately.
Grandpa is feeling much better and should be getting back to normal. My cat, Spenser, on the other hand has developed an unidentified illness. Being 17 years of age we don't expect his health to be wonderful but lately his food has been coming out both ways unpleasantly. We have been giving him medicines and he got better but now he is getting worse. Please pray for my kitty! There is a possiblity that he will have to be put down so that he does not suffer.
As for other medical issues I will alert you when I can.

This is about My Life, also what I have been unable to inform you of.
Morgan should be coming over Friday and if possible I'll update about it. My passion for graphic design continues. I am enjoying my Police Sketch Artist pack and Crime Lab kit, very realistic but not a career choice. My favorite TV show has not changed it's still Bones. I don't care what any of you say Gilmore Girls is too girly you can't pay me to watch it, stop trying. I'm not exactly average when it comes to my interests. I've finally created a monster out my sister, she is watching Ghost Whisperer now, I kid you not. That's all I can think of.

...
Well thanks for putting up with me you guys! I'll update as soon as I can! Have a good one!

Honor Band, School's Out, Medical Update, and Hello!

2007-02-01T08:45:00.000-06:00

Honor Band
We tried out with our scales. We didn’t know that only 14 out of 40 trumpet players were going to make it. Honor Band. All days kids would be running through the hall. “Did you make it? Did you make it?”
“J!”
“Yeah.”
“Did you make it?”
I remembered coming in that day, wanting the results. He would have them posted on the wall. There was nothing. Our director had to wait another day for the results. The next day I walked up to the big sheet of yellow paper. People would do one of two things.
1) Run away in joy telling all of their friends the result.
Or 2) Quietly walk away in frustration, choking back tears in irreparable dismay.
Me? I traced my finger down the list looking at every name. I was option number one.

Schools Out
I was in keyboarding typing away (shocker, isn’t it?) when they started announcing kids to leave. School wasn’t let out yet but I knew what was happening. Morgan came running down the hall and stopped me in my tracks. “It’s snowing!” I looked out a window and I could see nothing but white! It was snowing. After lunch I went to my AP Math and took my seat. Mrs. Harrison knew we were leaving so she talked with us the entire time. Mom called Jocelyn to tell her she was a few minutes away. We left 30 minutes later. No school today!

Medical Update
Hey guys! As you know my grandpa has been struggling in his health. He is back in the hospital due to an infection. We don’t know where and otherwise it wouldn’t be serious, but it is to an 80 year old man with lymph node cancer and pulmonary embolism. Please pray for him.

Hello!
I am sorry I haven’t updated much. I really do apologize. Olivia got a new blog if you want to check it out http://www.volleygurrl.blogspot.com/. She would really appreciate that!
Thank you!
How are you guys doing? Anything to say about this post? Leave a comment!

Importance vs. Ambition

2007-01-23T17:10:00.000-06:00

Opinions are very strong and discussion can break it. Arguments can defeat it, but approval can build it. Opinion is a person’s view on something. Their thoughts, criticism and compliments are what make their opinion. Opinion of one’s self can be modesty, or humbleness, or something different what teens today call “bragging”.
Opinion is very strong on certain subjects. As of now my eyes are open to a certain subject that happens to be at school. English, Language, Grammar, whatever your school calls it, it is the study of the English language and it is a class that many take at school from a young age to 12th grade and sometimes farther. Importance, to some, is a very big part of English. To others, importance takes no part in English whatsoever. For instance, I find English very important and an interesting class. Mrs. Harrison, my AP Math teacher says otherwise. She defines English as “stupid” (she doesn’t really hide things, she’s really...outgoing) and she sees no point in it. She thinks that if goose is geese then moose should be meese. Yes this was part of the lesson today, don’t ask. Geometry, grammar, same difference. You’ll love this, my AP English teacher is her best friend. Funny, I know but back to our subject. Importance in English is an opinion.
Ambition is because of opinion. There is a difference. I know a girl whose ambition is to become a famous author. This is the girl who is considered very talented even though she is somewhat big headed. She sees ambition more than importance. Her ambition feeds off of joy and entertainment more than importance. She likes writing and she thinks she good at it so she brags and ignores the importance. So, she does not really listen in class but rather shows off to the teacher, who has actually told us that said student is a little too full of herself. For example, this is excerpt from her book “Castle” not published but recently written:
I nod.
“This is Ben Van Tassel” Jasper pointed to the man.
She switches between past tense and present tense off and on throughout the book without warning, they’re not even flashbacks. This would not be acceptable in legal documents or proper business filing. But she believes she is a good reader and won’t take advice. Her talent is shown here:
I stare blankly at him, not believing him.
“But that’s...that’s not possible.” I stutter.
She uses descriptive writing correctly and it very proud of it. I’m not saying it’s wrong to be proud, but taking advantage of ambition and ignoring importance isn’t the best trait. Another friend of mine at my school is the opposite. She takes pride in her writing but always has intentions of improvement and takes whatever advice she can with her self criticism as well as others. English is important in the real world but the entertainment of writing and reading is good too as long you understand the importance. What brought me to think of this? If you still want to know scroll up and read this post again. Importance and ambition are in every subject and they go along with opinion and if you’re smart you realize that.

Will post more soon!

Medical Issues Continued: What You've Been Waiting For

2007-01-20T14:22:00.000-06:00

Well, how is life for everybody? Sorry I haven’t posted I haven’t had much to say. I do have some updates on the recent medical issues I have previously explained.

Grandpa Ted:
He was supposed to be released from the hospital today but certain things are preventing him from going home so he will be kept until at least Monday as far as we know. He is doing better though and he’s functioning fine. He has had quite a good amount of visitors so he is pleased with his new gifts. LOL! Thank you for your prayers!

Bailey:
Her eye, as you probably know, was in very severe condition. Her only day of school was Friday because of her inability to focus, read, and all that. She had to wear a contact lens for a day and was given special glasses to darken everything. She has been through many tests and has seen an ophthalmologist quite a few times. After this weekend they will probably give her steroids for her eye but they have been putting it off because she’s a kid. She’s doing pretty good though but it hurts her sometimes.

Well, that’s all. We’re still not sure about the other cases.
So what’s up with you guys? Really not much here. Will post more soon. ~J

Yet Another Medical Issue

2007-01-15T10:34:00.000-06:00

This time our medical mishap is on my sister, Bailey. Yesterday while looking in the mirror she poked her eye. Of course you're thinking it's no big deal. It caused her so much pain that she could barely open her other eye. She took a nap for 3 hours and woke up still in excrutiating pain. She later suffered so much that the pain caused her to throw up. She went to bed early and when she woke up this morning she could not see at all through that eye because of the pain. Mom had read that in this case if the problem was not solved over a 12 hour period she was to take Bailey to the doctor. She took Bailey at 9:30 because the appointment was at 10. I've been here alone and I just recieved a call. Bailey can not go to school or participate in any activities involving that eye. The doctor studied her eye and what happened was she scractched her pupil. When I was five I got a papercut on my eye, scratching my cornea. Bailey's is far worse. Her cornea and pupil are causing her very much pain. Please pray for her also.
Thank you!

Medical Issues

2007-01-13T16:29:00.000-06:00

Well, the rain is starting to come down hard. 90% precipitation is expected for the next few days. Guess what, they’re expecting ice...Lots of ice.

Well, sorry I haven’t updated in a while. I’ve just been busy. Plus nothing truly exciting has happened to me. Since school started that’s all that has really happened. There have been some medical problems I have witnessed though.

Today my Grandpa was taken to the hospital because he was having trouble breathing. This is the same Grandpa who is almost 80 years old and is currently fighting his third round of cancer. They took some blood and he’ll be out of the hospital soon. His white blood cell count was low due to his chemotherapy. It’s really not too serious. He’s actually doing very well and he has been very healthy during chemo. His doctors told him he would become very sick on certain nights and he did not experience that at all. That’s very good.

My Mom’s friend, Mrs. Patti, who lives in a different state and has known my mom for 27 years, is also having some problems. She went to the doctor and they thought that she had breast cancer. It was a very serious issue and then they found out that it wasn’t cancer at all. They are still not sure what it is. They are running tests, so please pray for her!

Yet another issue I have seen actually takes place at my school. A boy from my gym class named Skylar went to the doctor before Christmas and was told that he had a tumor in his hip. I heard this from coach who asked us all to pray for him. Skylar returned a few days later and I stopped him in the hall to clarify what I knew. After certain tests they found that it was not a tumor, something very different. He had been hit in his side, so his brain thought that his bone was broken so it tried to heal it. Because that was not the case, a new bone began to form onto his hip bone. Next week he is going in for a CT scan and soon he will have to have surgery on it that will leave him in pain many days following. Please pray for him also.

Well, as you can see these people aren’t the happiest campers. Please pray for them, I am. Thank you!

Hannah's House

2007-01-07T09:01:00.000-06:00

I came home with my Crime Lab kit Friday around 2:00. I was so excited to get to working with it so I started it. I began to fill out a criminal profile for Bailey. I inspected everything and read about it in my manual to learn it’s use. I didn’t want to start a case yet, just get the basics. It’s not a real crime lab, it’s for teens and it’s very realistic. Then I remembered something even more fun than my caution tape or dusting powder. I was going to Hannah’s house overnight! It was going to be fun, I knew it! I ran into the bathroom and slid some play make-up into my bag. I had gotten it when I was 7 and the colors are so out there it’s only for dress-up. LOL! I sat downstairs and watched my Mom play the Wii until the phone rang and we went outside. In the car, Hannah sat in the front with her mom. Ashley, being only 5 years of age was waiting for her friend Katie who had not yet been picked up. Amber, the non-stop giggling 9 year old sat in the back by her friend Hannah-Grace. Six girls, no big deal right? Right?

Once we got to Hannah’s house, Katie and Ashley went to some other room and Amber and Hannah-Grace came into Hannah’s room. Not good. They had “Littlest Pet Shop” all over her bed. They didn’t stay long, needless to say. Hannah and I plotted our move as I showed her the make-up. We were going to get them good. We had pizza for dinner and brownies later on. Ashley and Katie were telling us “Valentines” stories (remember they’re only 5 and 6) because they didn’t like scary stories. We let them and we listened and Katie started rubbing her eye, and then complained about it hurting. Hannah’s mom took her temperature and she had a fever. She sat on the couch with her eyes zoned out until her mom came and picked her up and took her home. It was really sad that Katie had to leave because it was her first time going there. Ashley was upset but she still wanted to sleep in the front room with Amber and Hannah-Grace like a sleepover. By 11 we had eaten 3 big bowls of popcorn and we were done. Hannah had turned off her light and only the pink lamp revealed light. Around midnight I showed Hannah a funny car trick. Before you can read this (their reaction) you have to see it! It’s hilarious! Click Here!

Anyways, I showed Hannah and she wasn’t disturbed, she liked it! And being my friend, much like me, she had to scare Amber and Hannah-Grace. I know what you’re thinking, how could we do that to 9 year olds? They’re very mature for their age. LOL! It was so funny! We called them into Hannah’s room and Hannah-Grace sat down in the chair and Amber, close to the screen. I wouldn’t have approved this had I known it but Hannah told Amber that it changed colors but you had to be really close to the screen and speaker. Hannah and I ran out and peeked through the door to watch. As the car got closer to the bush Hannah-Grace went “It’s a trick cover your ears!” and she dove to the ground. Amber thought she was crazy, she wanted to see it change colors. The zombie popped out a screamed and Amber jumped back two feet with a look on her face that presented terror, shock, and huh? She was ok though. It didn’t scare her that bad. Not too bad....Not, well just keep reading.

They stayed in the room with us and all four of us talked. Hannah and I sat by the window on the bed. Maya, Hannah’s Doberman is a sweet, sweet dog that loves to be included. She likes to sometimes jump against the window sill and it makes a noise. Hannah and I stared out the window. I started joking with her “Hannah, stop making that we know it’s you.” She knew what I was doing “I’m not making it, there isn’t even on there!” Amber was getting scared so she looked. She jumped back! She wasn’t joking. She said she saw the green hand. I did too. Only Amber thought Hannah was doing it and I knew she wasn’t. Hannah revealed to have nothing behind her back. I knew what it was. Somehow the sky was green, don’t ask, and it had made a reflection looking like a green light on the slide. Knowing us, we weren’t going to tell them that. Hannah leaned in towards the window. “Do you hear that?” Amber dove to the ground and under the covers. I pretended to hear it too. Then as if on cue, Maya jumped up against the window making a BOOM screech noise. It scared them so bad. Eventually we all fell asleep. But it wasn’t over...

Hannah’s alarm started playing “Some People Change” and we woke up, but let it play a while. I love the music video to that song. Anyways, we looked at the clock and it was 6:20. I grabbed the make-up. We snuck into the front room and opened the case. We got Hannah-Grace on her forehead and it looked like a bruise. Amber had red streaks down the side of her cheek and blue eyelids. We got them in other places but it came off because they slept for another hour or two. When they realized it Hannah-Grace freaked about getting zits and Amber didn’t care.

We were on IM a lot and we outside some and it was really fun. I’m glad I got to go over to Hannah’s house. We talked a lot and had a great time. Thank you Hannah!

My Band Concert!

2007-01-04T19:16:00.000-06:00

I don’t think I ever got around to telling you about my band concert. We had been practicing for a very long time and we knew the music perfectly. So that Thursday night we all went to the High School and sat in our seats.
I play trumpet so I was positioned towards the back, second to last row. As fourth chair I was closer to the audience than most but that doesn’t mean they could see me. As many advantages as there are to being short, there are just as many disadvantages.
We started off with our conductor speaking. He made a funny joke that everyone found hilarious. He said, “Remember when these kids first came home with their instrument. I believe it sounded a little bit like this.” And we all made a horrid noise, playing random notes that scared Mr. Donnell even. Then he said “’Hey Mom! That was Mary Had A Little Lamb!’”. It was funny! Then we went into First Christmas March. Then Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree. Following that were instrument solos. I was Up On the Housetop. Then the entire band played a different version of Up On The Housetop. After that the curtain closed and all lights went out. Mr. Donnel started talking about how our next piece was Rudolph but we really couldn’t understand him enough to play him well. Then the curtains slowly opened to reveal hundreds of red blinking lights. The lights came on gently and it was just dim enough for us to read our music. We began playing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer as our final piece.
It was really great. We have a DVD of it which is pretty cool. There are I believe 6 different camera angles so it’s fancy. Haha!
Well, that’s it. I told you I would tell you about the concert I just never got around to it.

ShOpPiNg with Leta, Jova, and Beya

2007-01-03T08:06:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we went shopping with my friend, Leta. I have known Leta since I was a wittle bitty baby. We were in school together for 7 years and we are still friends. She and her sisters, Beya and Jova are good friends of mine too. Yesterday we all met up at the mall and greeted each other after a long time of being many many miles away. We were going to go to Claire’s, it was our top priority because Leta had to get something for Ashley. Well, we passed Claire’s on accident and didn’t turn back and found ourselves smelling perfumes in Dillard’s. We were there for a long time and then it was 11:00 already so we headed back to the food court. We decided we didn’t want to eat in the food court so we went to a Chinese restaurant. I got shrimp fried rice, Leta got a Triple Delight and I ate her broccoli, Jova got something with bamboo and water chestnuts, and Bailey and Beya got something with beef. Then we decided to go back to the mall so we did so. We had to go to Claire’s, we had to! We passed Claire’s and went into Charlotte Russe for half an hour. I was making fun of plastic shoes while Leta took forever to find a top. Then we decided we would go to Dillard’s because someone had to go to the bathroom. Then we passed Wet Seal and Leta and I insisted on going in. I looked at jewelry and Leta looked at tops. Then we went to Dillard’s, still no Claire’s. During this point and time somewhere in there I got many calls from Lisa (ahem...) bugging me just to say hi. It was actually pretty funny. Well, we all went into Bath and Body Works because I love that store and Bailey got some kids perfume and Leta got this awesome hazelnut candle. I loved it! Well, after Dillard’s we went to Abercrombie and Mom called my cell. Chenille, being a puppy, can’t be left home for long so we had to go home. My mother, being so nice, let us get snacks first! Yay! Bailey and Beya got Dippin Dots, Leta, Beya, and I got cookies! Not just any cookies, two MnM cookies with cream in the middle. Yum! Jova went to Frullati and got a smoothie. We had to go home and we remembered something. Claire’s! So went to Claire’s and found something for Ashley. Leta hadn’t bought me a Christmas present yet so she had me pick out some earrings. I got these long earrings about 3/3.5 inches long with green stars at the bottom. I love them! Well, we had forgotten my favorite store. The “In Honor of Leta and Jordan” store, as it should be called. But no, they had to call it something stupid like “Romancing the Stone”! I love that place! No matter what it’s called. After that we left and came here.

Once we got here we all played Bailey’s DDR. Then we played the Wii. I beat Jova, Leta, and Beya on Tennis. Leta and I almost killed ourselves trying to beat each other in boxing. Beya, the real life softball champion, couldn’t even get a single in baseball. But it was fun. We all talked and played and had fun. It was really cool getting to see them, I hope I can again soon.

Updates and Cows...Moo

2007-01-02T07:49:00.000-06:00

Hey guys! What do you think of my new layout? I found the design at another website but it was all pretty much one color. Boring! But I liked the setup of it so I downloaded it and edited it. The header is one of my own designs and all of the colors were placed accordingly my moi. I wanted to try something new for the new year!

Anyways, my Christmas break is going great between the Wii and Chenille, who by the way is still fluffy and adorable. She’s getting big though, they say in about a month she’ll be full grown. I don’t want that, she’s cute now! LOL

That’s an update, now this has been bugging me.: Does anyone see reason in cloning cows? It’s “healthy” and all and we’ll have more cows, they’ll just be artificial. It prevents Mad Cow Disease, that’s good, but still. Hello! Health problem alert! It’s not real! Someone could do real damage with that. And what’s wrong with our cows now. I bet Bessy isn’t too excited about being replaced with some fake being run by our “loyal and honest” government. Besides, I’d rather eat meat and drink milk from cows that God gave me. Just saying. I understand the prevention of Mad Cow Disease, but do they have to make new cows? There should be another alternative, don’t you agree?
I don’t want to eat a clone, do you?

Well, I really have nothing else to say. Just thought I’d update you a bit.

Happy New Year to All !!!

2007-01-01T07:42:00.000-06:00

~Happy New Year! It’s the start of 2007! Another year that is guaranteed to be filled with laughter, smiles, tears, tragedy, and a test of faith. God is bringing us a year of surprise and lessons to be learned. I’m excited, and I’m ready. Are you?
Here are some of my NY Resolutions:

Think of resolutions for next year.
Win some kind of reward that can show my achievements and help my self-confidence.
Learn some new techniques in my design.
Pay more attention and help out more.
Keep in touch with my friends better, they’re really great and I can’t let them go.
Get 1st chair! In Trumpet!
Figure out how to bowl straight on the Wii...I’m almost as bad on that as I am in real life.
Try more foods, I’m very picky.
Include God in my life even more than I am now.
Conquer my bizarre fear of opossums. EeEeWwWw!
Post on here more often and not forget about you guys! You know I love you!

Well those are my goals. What are your plans for the Big 07? Comment and Lemme know!

~ Happy New Year! Welcome to 2007! ~

The Christmas Update

2006-12-31T21:53:00.000-06:00

Sorry I haven’t updated, Here is the Scoop!

Christmas Day
Bailey and I woke up early, of course and went downstairs. We waited for Grandma and when she finally got here we started opening presents. I got socks! Lots of socks! And a multicolor aroma-therapeutic air freshener thing. I got other cool stuff too. Bailey got a cool Fuzzy color thing that wooden and when you color all the pieces it becomes and real object that stands up. Hers resembles a flower pot, it’s really cool. But what Mom got is super cool.

Mom’s 2nd Present
“You have to open this one now.” Dad told mom.
The big box sat on the table and only Dad knew what it was. Mom lifted the side of the box that was facing me but she didn’t look. I was the first to see it. The side lifted up and I saw “Wii”. I knew what it was. I drew in a huge breath and Mom opened the rest of the present. It was so exciting! We have the Wii! The Wii! The Wii that came out on November 19th. The Wii that we were not going to get until after Christmas. The Wii that is now downstairs in my living room with 2 Wii remotes and 2 Nunchucks. The Wii that we all love. That Wii.

The Games
We have, of course, Wii Sports which is so cool. My character is named Jbirdii (yes I know the ii as in wii thing at the end is cheesy but I like it!). My person has wavy light brown hair, dark eyebrows. Yes my dyed hair is even in animations. I have glasses and a beauty mark. LOL! We also have...Drumroll please.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess! Oh yeah! It’s so similar to Ocarina of Time it’s not funny. It’s an awesome game. They made Epona really beautiful in this one.

Arrival
Around the time between 10 and 12 everyone came. Grandpa Ted and his girlfriend who we call Grandma Wanda. Aunt Cindy and Uncle Dane. Their son Blane and their daughter Brandi who’s son is Keaton. His sister Lexi and their Dad, Adam. Along with Dad, Mom, Bailey and I as well as Grandma who had arrived earlier that morning.

The Food
The food...one of the best parts of Christmas beside the celebration of our Savior’s birth. There was turkey and ham. Dad made his Oreo bon bons and Grandma Wanda brought broccoli cheese dip. This is funny. There are pickles, Tabasco pickles, not spicy but really good, and then there’s Habanero pickles. The spiciest things I’ve ever had. They are so good. Blane, Keaton, and I were sitting in the living room eating. Blane ate a Habanero pickle and almost started sweating. He found it quite tasteful and he enjoyed it. So do I but too many is painful. Keaton didn’t want one because he’s not a big spicy eater. Finally, Blane convinced him to and my brilliant cousin Keaton took a large one and stuck it in his mouth whole and ate it. The spice overwhelmed him and he kept breathing, still without losing his manly strength and courage he did not show pain but for the next 15 minutes he drank more water and ate more rolls than I’ve ever seen.

More Presents
We opened more presents and messed with each others. Blane and Keaton enjoyed my books. I had gotten Ripleys 3, and Optical Illusions book, and book called the Weird 100, (yes its for people like me who read about Loch ness Monster and Big Foot) and a Mythbusters book. It was really fun.

Conclusion
Christmas was great. We all got together and celebrated and got to see each other. We ate food, talked, and had fun. It’s a great time of year. What did you do with your family? Leave a comment!

Christmas!

2006-12-25T06:18:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas!
Santa came last night and brought me presents!
It's early and my sister and I just woke up. We'll let you know how Chenilles first Christmas goes!

I'm back! With a post about your teeth!

2006-12-23T07:33:00.000-06:00

Hey guys! Sorry I haven’t updated. This is something I decided to post about because it has intrigued me for a while now. Enjoy!

All your life you have (hopefully) been told to brush your teeth twice a day for 2+ minutes. You probably even had that little sand timer from the dentist. At one point in your life, you questioned this strange ritual. The answer as to why you brushed your teeth was to prevent tooth decay (cavities), gum disease like gingivitis, and the horrible bad breath. What if the answer was to prevent heart disease, heart attack, and stroke? Well, it is!
Isn’t that weird? It’s sounds like a bunch of bologna but it’s not! My mom saw it on the news so I started researching it. You know how if you don’t brush your teeth well and all you get gum disease? Evidently, the gum disease can lead to heart problems! The oral bacteria gets in your blood stream and SHA-BAM! There you have it, it’s in your heart!
They also say that the build up of plaque can cause the arteries to swell, putting you at a higher risk! Isn’t that weird? But amazing!
Hey—here is a website I found on it:
Click Here!

What do you have to say on behalf of this new discovery? Leave a comment!

A little addition:
My IE is finally back to normal. So sorry about that guys! I’ll try to post a lot to catch up but that might be hard with the business of Christmas! It’s going to be at our house like every year. I’ll post about it. What are you guys and gals doing for Christmas?

I haven't forgotten you!

2006-12-11T17:48:00.000-06:00

I am very sorry I haven't been posting frequently. The reason for this is my Internet. It's been constantly failing. Not just my connection, but IE and I don't know why. It's still not fixed, and I don't know what to do. I am currently typing from my Mom's computer. Well, here is an update.

Right now, my mom is very sick so please keep her in your prayers.
I was entered in a state wide writing competition that might or might not get me into nationals.
Chenille is doing great and she can now walk down full flights of stairs.
Last Thursday was my band concert which I will tell you all about when I can post freely.
This weekend I will be at a friends house celebrating her birthday.
I am very excited for Christmas!

Since I have enough time I will tell you something cool.

When you look under our Christmas tree, you see an assortment of wrapping paper with Santa and Christmas symbols ranging within the colors of red and green. But, towards the back are 3 that stand out. There is a small one that is gold with a delicate bow, professionally wrapped. Beside it sits a white package of slightly larger size with the same bow, also professionally wrapped, unlike all others. Beside that one is a larger present in white wrapping with the same bow, professionally wrapped. We have been told the following:
They are not named, so we will not find out whos is whos until Christmas morning.
Dad bought them for Mom, Bailey, and I.
They were expensive.
We have no idea where they were from or what they are and most importantly, which one is mine?

Well, I'm out of time so I'll post more when my computer works right. Anyone else ready for Christmas? Got any mysterious presents you're dying to know about?

11.19—Technology’s Change

2006-11-19T13:35:00.000-06:00

If you walk into a store, you see little Pac-Man controllers that hook up to your television. Not too long ago, no one had those. They were only at arcades, airports, etc. and the graphics were poor. Frogger was a name many were familiar with because it was the only video game that existed to them. Now, kids don’t know of Frogger. Why? Donkey Kong, Zelda, Halo, Barbie Secret Agent. All on multiple gaming systems. I remember the Dreamstation . I had a gameboy when I was 5, something not expected in the near future close to the times of Frogger and Pac-Man. A couple years ago, I remember someone was talking about technology growing. Eye-toy had come out, which was the closest human-virtual interaction we expected to get anytime soon. I had used eye-toy like programs on my computer since I was 7 using a webcam. But it was still the poor graphics and not a lot of freedom. Last year, the PSP and the Nintendo DS came out, a huge hit. Years before everyone was excited about the gamecube. Yes, I knew about all of these. You’re reading the blog of a girl who’s been playing RPG since kindergarten.
The X-Box was huge when it came out, as was the the PS2. Everyone had forgotten the N64 I had had as a younger child. Technology is growing and growing. Here’s proof.
2 days ago, the PS3 that everyone has been waiting for was released. Cool and all, but there’s something else. As of today, technology to the public is changed forever. The WII, a Nintendo gaming system was released to the public. What is it?
Does it have a controller? Yes. Does it hook up to your television? Yes. What is it? What people didn’t expect for years to come is the powerful technology of the WII. You hold the controller in your hands and your character is coordinated to do what you do. In sword fight on Twilight Princess, if you swing, Link swings. There have been things like this but not exactly. There were some baseball games where you swung the bat and it hit the ball on the screen. This is so much better. It’s amazing. And there are so many games with so many possibilities!
The WII is a change of our society. Turns out, we’re more advanced than we thought we were.
Are you getting it?

The Update on Chenille

2006-10-26T20:40:00.000-05:00

Well, we have had Chenille for over a week and she is doing so well! She’s adorable and we love her! She is still itty-bitty! Her knowledge is extraordinary! We have learned that it is a shih-tzu thing, even though they all have different yet fun personalities.

Katy’s Discovery:
Well, we had had her for a week and Katy, my totally awesome neighbor, had not yet seen her. That’s strange because Katy usually knows everything, but she has been so busy and without time lately. Remember how Jocelyn guessed "dog" before we saw Chenille? Well...
I called Katy to ask her to meet me outside. She always gets outside before I do and she waits at the garage door. I stepped in the garage with Chenille in my arms. I opened the garage door slightly, only about 8 inches off the ground. The light peeked through and Katy’s black crocs stared at me from under the door. “I have a new friend!” I said. “What is it, a dog?” Katy asked, almost sarcastic. I put Chenille under the door and let her walk out. Katy shrieked in fear and then in excitement. I saw Chenille lift off the ground as I heard Katy’s “Awww!”. I opened the door the rest of the way. Katy was hugging her with the widest mouth I’ve ever seen and huge eyes screaming excitement. She thought she was so cute! We played with her for about half an hour just talking and loving the dog. She later told me that at first she thought it was a rat! That’s what I thought too! After about a second she realized it was a black and white shih-tzu that can fit into a size 4 shoe.

The Other Dogs Reactions:
When we first got her, Birkleigh was scared of her, avoiding her as if he were a week squirrel fearing the creatures of it’s habitat hidden in a backyard. As the days went by, he smelled her more and touched noses with her in her time of loneliness. Just like Birkleigh, she could find entertainment anywhere so that her solitary was scarce but occasional. Now, they wrestle and chase like the best of friends.
Ryleigh, since the first day, has taken on a motherly role, highly unusual. Our little fainting goat who cowers at his shadow was the little dog’s shield and guide. Ryleigh, being a standard size rat terrier, is not used to smaller things or female things for that matter. He would not let her wander too far and always inspected her and watched over her.
Toby has talked to her (in the doggy talk way) but mainly ignored her. He protects her but from afar. A big strong man like Toby shouldn’t show his sensitive side, unless being given a belly-rub by Sissy (that’s me!).

What She Knows
She is a brilliant dog! The second day of her being here she already knew where her bed was! If she got tired, she knew exactly where to go! That’s not very common in dogs. Birkleigh was like that too, but we didn’t see his early signs of brilliance because we did not get him until he was 12 weeks old. Chenille knows where her food and water bowl is and she understands the purpose of grass and why certain reasons for it’s existence replace the carpet. She seldom has accidents. We keep her mainly on the tile, of course. She’s getting along well and really loves her home. I’ll keep you updated.

Strange Names: What Would You Say?

2006-10-24T16:19:00.000-05:00

There are some cities with such weird names! Have you ever noticed? Everyone is used to Springfield and Oak Grove and stuff like that. But some are strangely unique!

One is particular is a place called Flippin, Arkansas. I am not joking! If you happen to live there, I hope I am not offending you! I think it would be cool to live there so I could say, “Yeah, I live in Flippin, Arkansas!”
When you think about it, there are some funny things you can say if you live there.
These are some I thought of.

You order an item off a 1-800 number: “Is your address still in Flippin Arkansas?

“I go to the Flippin High School down the road.”

“Everyone loves the Flippin Bank”.

“Did you read the Flippin Newspaper this morning?”

Those are just a few that you can’t help but wonder... Another town with a strange name is Moose Jaw, Canada. That’s just weird.

“Hey, I came here from Moose Jaw, where you from?”

“I was looking for a house in east Moose Jaw!”

I’ve also heard about a Go Home in Ontario, Canada.

You walk in for a job interview. “Well, I was born in Go Home.”

Wow, wouldn’t it be weird being homeschooled in Go Home?

I was telling Mr. Ken about this blog post, and he told me about Buck Snort, Tennessee! Can you believe that?

“And the contest winner is...Jane Doe! From Buck Snort!”

“The weather is bringing us cloudy skies in Buck Snort!”

I wonder if these names have a foreign origin or if they mean something to the person who named them. Everyone knows of the city Quebec, it was in your history book when you were kid! It’s not always specified as a city given a French name that when put into English is “where the river narrows”. It sounds so calming and beautiful when you think of it like that. Is there beauty to Moose Jaw? It must have had some sort of background. Like Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Baton means baton or stick and rouge means red. When the French came to Louisiana, the Indians offered them a red stick as a sign of peace. Is it the same for Moose Jaw and Buck Snort? And what about Go Home? Is there a logical explanation for that or is it just something off the top of someone’s head? I find this stuff very interesting. With Flippin, well use your own imagination. That’s just too many possibilities. When you really think about it, most of these names were actually thought out due to creativity and logic. And hey, to each his own!

Well, these are my thoughts. I thought it would be cool to do something different like that. Hope you enjoyed it!
Know any strange names of your own?
Comment me and let me know!

Jocelyn Comes Over Part Two: The Big Surprise

2006-10-22T13:18:00.000-05:00

We walked outside and Mom sat on the ground, grinning a huge smile you couldn’t help but smile back at. What was that beside her? Eeewww! It was some sort of black and white rat! No, that’s not it. What had Jocelyn said?

We stood in the kitchen. What was the surprise? “Maybe it’s a new dog!” Jocelyn said. As if that would happen.

Amazingly, there stood a 6-week old shih-tzu. She stiffed around happily as we all gaped in amazement. None of us had expected it! Well, Jocelyn had but it was a joke.
Later, Jocelyn, Bailey, the dog, and I sat on the trampoline thinking of a name. Well, Birkleigh is short for Birkenstock, named after a popular shoe being sold and in style for decades. Shoes, handbags, anything designer and fancy was in our mind. Jocelyn wanted to name her Louis Vuitton, I don’t think so! LOL! As we continued thinking, we got really creative. I think it would be really cool if she had been a boy because we could have named it Dooney! Do you get it? Dooney and Burke, or Dooney and Birk? Corny, but cute. Eventually, we thought of a really good name. Prada! Jocelyn and I love the name Prada, and it fits her “all eyes on me” personality that all shih-tzus share. Her silky black fur gave her the Prada attitude. Dad liked the name, but he wanted better. Darn... We played with our little puppy until Jocelyn left.

That night, Mom, Dad, and I sat in the kitchen with her and discussed names. We have different taste in names, I learned. Prada, Jazzy, and B’jorn, (yes, my designer shoe theme), are quite different from Camille, Smidgen, and Java. When naming off pointless words that could be used as pet names, I happened to mention “Chenille”. Mom and Dad liked it! The third time this has happened, too! My sarcasm named a pet. Birkleigh Birkenstock and Spiffy (Hannah’s cat) were named that way. I liked it a bit, it was ok. What about my designer name? But wait... One of my suggestions for a name was Coco Chanel. Chanel, Chenille, Chenel, Chenille. Hmm...

We have 4 dogs. Toblerone (Toby), Shamos O’Ryleigh, Birkleigh Birkenstock, and Coco Chenille. We love them with all our hearts! Thank you for reading about this wonderful experience!

Chenille is so cute! See pictures of her at www.jbirdpics.blogspot.com!

Jocelyn Comes Over

2006-10-15T09:22:00.000-05:00

Friday
Jocelyn and I carpool every day of the week because of her Mom’s job. My mom drives us in the morning, and her mom takes us home after school. Jocelyn’s mom picked us up and we drove by Jocelyn’s house to get her stuff. We drove to my house and were greeted by my three dogs. We dumped our stuff upstairs and immediately went to the computer room. Jocelyn and I love the unexplained, so we got all of our mysterious books and started researching the Internet! We were looking at pictures that were believed to be “El Chupacabra”. They were creepy! Jocelyn and I got really freaked out, and on some of them she would dive out of the seat and put her head on the ground. She would scream and cover her eyes, and she made me check some websites before her so that nothing would freak her out. There was this one picture that was a cheesy drawing. We clicked it and it was boring but then it started moving! Needless to say we screamed our heads off. LOL!
We had pizza for dinner .
We watched “Skeleton Key” which is a totally awesome movie I totally recommend! Jocelyn loved it to. We had the lights turned off to make it scarier! Even though it wasn’t that scary. It’s a brilliant mind game of suspense and excitement.
We went to bed around 10:30.
But it was Friday the 13th. Something was still missing. 10:48.
“Jocelyn! We forgot something!”
We went into the bathroom, no light on. Ok, ok, Jocelyn insisted we took a flash light, but it was on it’s head so there was barely any light. We held hands and stared in the mirror. “Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary!”
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
Nothing. “Goodnight.”

Saturday
We woke up and had cinnamon rolls for breakfast! YUM! We played air hockey and kind of relaxed. We played on the computer a lot. We went to websites for stores and shops. Jocelyn is the kind of girl who looks at the $148 camis! LOL! I just kind of sat there, she was enjoying herself. I did like some stuff though. We had pizza for lunch and Bailey baked these delicious Reese’s brownies. Ok, well they were stir and microwave but they were good! Jocelyn really liked them. When we were upstairs, Dad called us down. We walked downstairs.
“You guys gotta see this!”

To Be Continued...

Branson!

2006-10-11T17:37:00.000-05:00

Hey guys! Sorry I haven’t updated!
Well, last weekend we went to Branson!
Since I can’t explain every detail, I hit some highlights.

There was no school on Friday due to teacher meetings, so it we were there for some of Thursday and 3 whole days.

The first thing we did was eat at Joe’s Crab Shack. I got a shirt! It was so good! I had shrimp and some of my Mom’s crab which was delicious! Then, we watched a little bit of Branson Landing.

The next day, I was sucked into a maze with no way out! Every where I turned there was a horrible disgusting sign that said “vf”. Yes, I had to shop! This is where the creepy music plays. We covered almost an entire outlet mall. From cooking to underwear I saw it all. Bleechh! Luckily, I threw away my boredom and we drove to Celebration City!

We entered and Bailey was quite nervous. It was her first amusement park since Disney World a couple years ago. But that was too harsh for her. Needless to say, she rode no real rides. Only a couple kiddie rides. Of course, I rode the merry-go-round with her. Even though I’m tough and strong! LOL!
We did water rides and roller coasters. I love Thunderbolt! But Mom didn’t like it because of the jerk at the end. It’s so fast and the corkscrews only make it better! Wildcat is awesome too! The tilt-a-whirl was down and that broke my heart. Sniff...
We were there for a few hours. We would have stayed longer but Dad, Grandma, and Bail were bored. They’re wimps! SsHh! But I have to support Grandma because she is so awesome for doing the Orbiter. That was awesome! Mom and I could have gone on forever!
Dad actually won some monkeys for Bail and I. And you’ll never guess what he won for Mom.
A large glass box stretched down to a wall. Dad moved the handle and the claw went to the back, towards the giant dragon Mom fell in love with. He caught it and started bringing it towards the box. It was going to fall, we knew it. But we were excited. It came closer and closer, but it slipped. Wait! It was hanging on! By his ginormous foot! It fell into the box and Mom got her prize! All thanks to Dad.

The next day was SVC day! We started off eating. I got a huge cinnamon roll. I love Silver Dollar! We took a lot of pictures! Mom and I rode a lot of rides. Thunderation rocks! And I absolutely loved the swings that made you fly, even though it was a really easy ride. Of course, we rode the classic Fire In The Hole. No doubt. And my personal favorite, Thunderation! I’m crazy for wooden roller coasters. They’re so unexpecting and you really feel it in your stomach which is so fun! We rode a ton of rides. And Bailey loved the petting zoo. She was very interested in the bunnies while I was playing with the goats. They’re so cute! But no fainting goats, so sad... LOL! I also thought the old-time school was interesting. While Mom and I were flying in the air, Dad got us more monkeys!

Well, that’s our trip. We went to other restaurants and stores, but those are the highlights.

Will post more soon!

Livi Comes Over

2006-09-23T21:40:00.000-05:00

We’re Home!
Olivia and I hopped into the car and went to her house. She went to get her overnight bag and then headed home. We came in and she greeted the dogs. We took our stuff upstairs and decided to chill. She played my piano and I played her flute.

Don’t You Remember Me?
Keaton does not know Livi’s cell number, so we called him from there.
“Hi this is Jennifer Baker, I know you.” Keaton desperately tried to explain that she had the wrong number and when she explained, “Third grade, Mrs. Nesbitt’s class.” He decided to believe her. He told her he didn’t remember her and she started “crying hysterically” and she hung up. From the same number “Marrisa”, that’s me, called explaining “Jennifer’s” depression and grief. Jennifer was in the background crying “Why, Keaton? Why?” She had explained that she had loved him since she met him. Marissa told him that Jennifer loved him and she went on and on about her. When they hung up, Keaton called me. He asked if I remembered a Jennifer Baker. I questioned him and he told me the story. Later he found out that Olivia was at my house and he put 2 and 2 together. We also called Lisa with a similar story, but Olivia was “Braden, Jin Jin’s friend.” We told Lisa pretty quickly.

Air Hockey
After Bailey left for Emilie’s house, Liv and I went downstairs to play air hockey. We turned up the volume on Mom’s PC and we played air hockey! I started off winning with a breeze, but Liv ended up beating me. We played a few rounds with the puck quantity ranging from 1 to 3. Yes, we did get hurt. I can’t play air hockey and not make the puck fly. I hit it so hard it got lost behind some jars on a high shelf. I got it back though. Livi hit me a few times but it didn’t hurt. It would go right past us and we would open our mouths wide in amazement.

Ebay
Liv and I love the song “eBay” by Weird Al. We decided to make a music video for that song. It started out where Olivia made an appointment with a therapist who was me. I dressed the part. Her character was fairly secret about her reasons for therapy. When she told the therapist she had an obsession, I asked her what it was with. She stared off into space. Her vision is the Ebay song. It starts out where she’s getting everything on eBay and it doesn’t matter. It is synchronized to the hilarious song, of course. As it goes on, the shoppers start acting differently, obsessing over eBay and dressing strangely and acting strangely. It’s very funny. At the end of the song, Olivia comes out of her vision. The therapist gets her attention and Olivia replies with, “Actually, I think I just solved my problem, thank you for your time.” She leaves the room with the therapist very confused. During the song, they had a snowglobe where the words “A rare mint snow globe” occur. When the therapist picks up the pillow, she finds the snowglobe used during the song, and that ends the video.
We began the video that night and continued the next morning.

Night
We stayed up until 12 or 12:30, doing random stuff on the computer and talking. We also played with my “Stringin’ It”, a light show reflecting on a white string creating a multicolored spinning light effect. It is awesome! And Olivia loved it!

Morning
We woke up and had cinnamon rolls for breakfast. We played air hockey, played on the computer, yadayadayada. Bailey was still at Emile’s birthday party and not to be home until noon.

Something Wasn’t Right
Liv and I played air hockey and then went outside on the trampoline. That didn’t last long. We went into Mom’s office to wash our hands. I took a step onto the rug in the bathroom. Eeww... Chills ran through my foot and the cold swept past my veins. The water bubbled up around my foot, trying to swallow it whole. My foot sank into the freezing wet rug. I jumped, my foot was dripping. I edged around to wash my hands, even in a state like that I had to feel clean. Liv and I ran upstairs to get Mom. When she came down, she was startled. Only the rug. The sink wasn’t leaking, not the toilet either. I went to get Dad. He looked in the cave (read the middle paragraph) and found a whole section flooded. The storm yesterday consisted of rain and hail, and it had gotten into a vent that led into the cave. The water had soaked through and soaked the rug in the bathroom. Dad had ti suck it out.

The Last Bit
Liv stayed until 6:15. We had lunch from Sonic and we had spent most of the day working on the video which will turn out great. We talked a lot and had lots of fun.
I am so glad Olvia got to come over! I had an awesome time. I can’t wait until she comes again.

Raccoons: Are they More Devious than We Thought?

2006-09-21T19:35:00.000-05:00

Yes, yes, and yes!
I’ve known this story all my life, but it was brought up in conversation the other day so I thought I’d put it on my blog.

My mom and my cousin Brandi (5 years younger) were at Aunt Cindy’s house. Aunt Cindy is Brandi’s mom. Mom was about 13 and Brandi about 8. Aunt Cindy had a demented raccoon that was stranger than she thought. It cornered my mom and Brandi in a room, threatening them for hours until they could defend themselves well enough to get out. Uncle Dane, being a redneck, decided to freeze it. Yes, freeze it to death. They threw it in a big freezer for 2 days. When they opened the door the raccoon hopped out, still evil. Raccoons, fur, not that big of a deal. So, Uncle Dane decided to shoot it. He took it out back with a his gun and shot it, where the raccoon fell into the pond behind for a drown of doom, not to come back again. Right?
Wrong! The next day, it was sitting on the porch, a little bit of dried blood on it. A look of demonic ideas reflecting in his eyes. Hanging out like a raccoon. Nothing abnormal about his behavior. Yes, I am dead serious. Eventually, Dane shot at it and it ran into the woods, where raccoons belong. Never seen again by Aunt Cindy or her family. We don’t know about anyone else...

My point, raccoons are not to be kept in a house under human possession. They are wild and apparently reluctant to leave. Now that I’ve scared the living daylights out of you and you are convinced that raccoons are demons, I bid you good day.
Will post more soon.

The Bee Sting Shot

2006-09-16T07:53:00.000-05:00

“This will feel like a bee sting...” I wasn’t scared, but I was wondering if I should be. The needle slowly came closer to my skin. What had I seen so far? Blood, cotton balls, needles. I wasn’t scared... Why was everyone panicking? I could hear my heart beat. What if I had it? Positive...The word of the day. The needle was getting closer. Bee sting? In English, the girl came back stunned. Mosquito bite. Carefully aimed towards my right arm. My arm was pale, the needle was cold. Was it touching me yet? I couldn’t tell. Sideways, it seemed. I flinched. Why?

Anyone who had attended the school last year had to have it. It was just a shot. The principal had explained it to us at orientation. I had had one in 1st grade, but I didn’t remember it at all. Tuberculosis...I had read about it. A disease in the lungs, possibly fatal. The TB test they had called it. A vaccination injecting tuberculosis into your blood stream. A couple days later they would check it. If there was a spot, they would be positive. A possibility of catching tuberculosis. They all knew though, and they would stop it. I never realized how many kids hated needles. They were scared. I didn’t think much of it. I had heard it was less than half as bad as getting your ears pierced. A lot of people had to be tested. They called them down by homerooms. When walking through the hall, all anyone heard was “Does it hurt?”. The question everyone was asking. I was in English class. There were four of us, and we didn’t talk about it. We didn’t want to. Jordan, Hannah, Philip, and I. We were writing and talking. We tried, but we couldn’t avoid it. Who had it? There were rumors. Were they true? News travels fast. They called my homeroom teacher. I went to the band room. I guess the nurses office was too small. I received a sheet of paper and they told me to get in a line. They filled out my name and information and sent me to a nurse.
She prepared the vaccination. She wet my arm down with something on a cotton ball. Cold, I didn’t care. Shots don’t hurt, having TB does. What would happen if...
“This will feel like a bee sting.” What kind of supportive “Oh yeah it will be easy” statement is that? I’ve been stung by a bee, it’s not the best thing in the world. The needle came closer, did my life depend on this needle? This sharp, shiny needle? Positive...the word of the day. Who was positive? I flinched. For half a second, it did feel like a bee sting. But then it was over and I hardly remembered it. That easy, but was I positive? Bbrrr...It was cold all of a sudden. No pain, just a little blood. She handed me a cotton ball, ewww... I didn’t keep it long. I handed another form into someone and went to 2nd period.

Positive...The word of the day. It had been a couple days since the shot. Who was positive? Walking through the halls, the whispers told secrets. Three people so far. The question is will we have to take it again? I got in line, pretty confident. Three people so far. Would there officially be four when I left the room? No, I doubt it... Probably not. The nurse took one look at my arm and handed me a note. I walked out and read the note...Negative. Three people so far. I promise, they can stop it before it happens. That test will save three people. All for half a second of a bee sting.

Test Drive

2006-09-09T16:55:00.000-05:00

The Ridgeline
Dad has had the same old Honda Accord for a long long time. He has been wanting a Honda Ridgeline so we decided to put it to the test. Dad and I went to the Honda place to check it out and test drive. We pulled in a looked at all the Ridgelines parked beside each other. There was a deep red one, a bright white one and a few other colors. The one that stood out was the gorgeous gunmetal grey. We studied the car inside and out before we took it for a ride. The man that helped us was very kind and not the least bit pushy or rushed. We got in the car and started driving. It was smooth like the Pilot. The rear-view mirror had a compass on it and it was so cool. There was lots of room and everything was shiny and clean. All of the controls seemed so high-tech and cool. Dad drove with me in the passenger seat and the man in the back. We went up and down a hill which was really cool. We passed Grandma Judy’s house and we zoomed past a golf course. It wasn’t bumpy or anything like that, it was smooth sailing. Dad and I kept on playing with the moon roof. Open and close, open and close!

Extra Time
Before we left we checked out the S2000s. We sat it them and pretended we were driving. We checked out the seats and the controls and everything. It was really cool. I like the red the best. Yellow just didn’t seem to fit it right. We looked through some Ridgeline brochures and went on our merry way.

Mustang Magic
Oh yeah! We drove over to the Ford place because it was close to the Honda place. I’m really big on mustangs. They’re so cool. We acted like we were planning to buy one even though all we wanted was a ride. We chose a ‘stang and the guy went to get gas. During that time Dad took a picture of me in one of the really nice mustangs. We wandered around admiring the beauty. I don’t like Ford, but I love mustangs. The guy came back in the gorgeous black mustang, glistening in the light. Brand new 05 GT that wouldn’t stop saying my name. “J, you got shotgun.” It had a wonderful voice. I had to get in the back so that Dad could be the passenger while the guy drove. The black ‘stang started up, taking a huge breath before the beginning of his journey. Everyone got settled in and we drove down the road as the man explained some of the nicer features of the car. Eventually, we pulled over and switched places. I got into the passenger seat, Dad was in the drivers seat, and the man was in the back. We went up and down some hills, listening to the faint hum of the car. It was intense, yet relaxing. Exciting, yet calming. Everything in the front seat was fancy. From the air conditioners to the CD drive. The car would calmly come to a stop, and then fly into a faster gear when starting again. We eventually pulled into the parking lot of the Ford place, and we got out. We looked at the engine a bit and then left.

It was an awesome day.

2 Reviews

2006-09-04T08:05:00.000-05:00

I just finished a book called "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" by Stephen King. Yesterday, I watched a movie called "Red Eye". Now I will tell you what I think of these and I will summarize and let you make the decision of taking my opinions to heart or simply reading for entertainment never to take them seriously therefore disappointing me and tuning out the world of suspense forever leaving your life dull and without adventure. Have a nice day.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
Stephen King is an amzing writer, and this is an excellent book of his.
The story starts out with a wonderful 9-year-old girl without a wonderful family. Although they love her very much, her parents are divorced and her dad is a daily drunk. He is kind and fair but it hurts Trisha that her dad punishes himself in such a way. Her mother is constantly in arguements with Pete, Trisha's brother. Yet, Trisha is a happy girl with a very smart mind and a compassion for Tom Gordon, a famous baseball player for the Red Sox. When hiking in the woods, Trisha get's tired of her mother and brother's constant bickering and wanders off to do some business. When she finishes, she turns around to find the trail but it is nowhere in sight. The book tells about her adventures in the woods. The good, the bad, the pretty, the scary. From falling down a cliff to touching a butterfly this book is full of adventure and suspense. She tries to follow a stream to safety but bad things start to follow her. Something is making noises in the woods. Something is watching her every move. Something will do whatever it can to get what it wants. Something wants Trisha McFarland.

Red Eye
Wes Craven is an amazing director. This movie is not his average blood and gore. Actually, it lacks that. But it is made up for with suspense. This riveting tale will chill you and thrill you and glue you to your seat. Lisa goes on a plane to go back home after flying to Texas for a funeral, but ends up with much more. The man right next to her thousands of feet in the air wants something and he won't leave er alone until he has it. Much of the suspense takes place on the plane but the rest is on the ground where there are no witnesses. Jack is after a certain family and he needs Lisa to get to them. He threatens her father and it turns into much more. Three people know the truth, Lisa, Jack, and a little girl on the plane. It's a story of brilliance and threat, hiding and finding, and edge-of-your-seat suspense.

Conclusion
I highly recommend both of these thrillers.

School So Far

2006-09-03T14:01:00.000-05:00

Here are some stories about how school has been.

Day 1--Yes, I'm Lost
School had been going pretty good so far. Most of my friends were not in my classes but I did see them off and on. It was 4th period and my schedule said Art. So I had to find the art room. It said room 313 so I went looking in the 300's. I was walking through the hall but wait, no room 313. I asked a teacher and he said that there was no room 313. Did that mean my art class didn't exist? I thought about going to the office and getting my schedule changed when I decided to give it another chance. Mrs. Krueger was on of my teachers last year and she was a pre-algebra teacher this year. She moved grades, but she was still in the same school. I went to go and ask her if she knew of room 313. I couldn't find her in her room, so I turned into a different hall way. This hall was bigger and it had bathrooms, but it was way in the back of the school, almost unnoticed. I walked in and stopped. There stood one of those fake walls you can put up that are about a foot away from the ceiling. Attached to the wall was a sheet of paper hanging by some tape. It read, "Art--Mrs. Hatch Room 313". Don't ask, I'm not quite sure myself...

Day 3--Getting Better
Wednesday was the day I was actually understanding everything. I was able to get to my classes, and I was developing ways not to be late. I began to memorize some of my friends schedules so that I would know when to meet them and what time. Jocelyn and I carpooled like we always do, so that was a good time for me to see her. I see Paxton before Gym and after Gym, and I see Olivia and Jocelyn before Art. Sometimes I see Paxton in the library because she is a librarian 1st period, which is my English class. I figured all of this stuff out and became pretty organized.

Day 10--I Have a Perfectly Good Reason for...Oh boy, cutting class.
Yep, I cut class. Just hear me out though! LOL! It was art, completely uncontrollable. A horrible group of kids bent on demolition of Room 313. Even though it's technically not a room. Throwing things and yelling and screaming with the famous Substitute Teacher as captive.
Half an hour I put up with it, and that's how long it took me to realize I was sick of it. The teacher couldn't control the class and I couldn't sit in my own seat because of all the commotion running into my table.I had finished my work and the girl next to me said "I wish we could just leave." I smiled and told her I would. She would never dare do something like that, so she stared at me with her mouth wide open as I gathered my stuff and left the classroom, or would it be classhall? Never mind that. I literally got up and walked out of class. Of course, the sub didn't notice and neither did anyone else. Wait, where would I go? Of course... Remember Mrs. Krueger? Well, she is Jocelyn and Jordan's (not me, my close personal friend) teacher. I walked down the hall and into Mrs. Krueger's room, said "Hi" to Mrs. Krueger, and sat down beside Jocelyn. She had finished her work so we were talking and Jordan came over and started talking too. It was really cool. That is my perfectly good reason for cutting class.

Hanging Out with Olivia

2006-08-20T20:26:00.000-05:00

Livi’s House
Around noon today, Olivia and I were chatting on Google Talk. She asked if I wanted to come over and I said yes. It was fine with Mom and Dad and fine with her Mom and Dad. My mom and Olivia’s mom talked with the background music of Zach’s trumpet when we got there. Olivia and I just hung out around the house waiting to go swimming. Eventually, the doorbell rang. It was Kyle, a friend of Olivia who lives nearby to her. Kyle hung out and we all talked and stuff. We were all kind of bored. Drake, Olivia’s 5 year old brother, kept following us because I am his “girlfriend”. I will tell you now I had absolutely no say in this. The first time I spent the night at Olivia’s, I became his “Sweetie Tweetie”. It was very odd. Like I said, we were all very bored. When Kyle started singing I’d had enough. I was glad that Mrs. Vicki called us so that we could go to the pool. Kyle went home and Olivia, Dane, Drake, and myself got in the car.

The Pool
We went to a local public pool in Olivia’s community. Olivia and I went into the deepest end, of course. Sadly, it wasn’t that deep. It was only 5 feet so we could stand up perfectly. Although, it was somewhat convenient for handstands, front flips, back flips, et cetera. We experimented with jumping in and different ways we could do it. Smack!
Yep, that’s right. At one certain point, I saw Drake in the 5 foot area, bouncing up and down, gasping for breath. I swam over to get him to an edge. For a five year old, he is a good swimmer, so this surprised me. I called Olivia and she came to. He was bouncing up and down and when he finally fell under I arrived. I pulled him up and held him. He was crying or shaking with fear. I asked him if he was ok. He giggled. I had fallen into his trap. He now had me. He held onto me wanting me to swim with him. Dane, seven years old, was coming towards Drake. I told Drake to play with Dane so I went to Olivia. We discussed phobias and how weird some of them are. She was shocked that there is a fear of teenagers. So was I when I read it. We talked and talked and swam and swam. Eventually, it was time to leave. I had been with Olivia for 5 hours and they had gone by too quickly.

Aunt Cindy Day!

2006-08-17T16:26:00.000-05:00

Her Arrival
Mom and Bailey were at Sonic, preparing to go see Grandma as I waited for Aunt Cindy. I let all of the dogs out except for Ryleigh, and I sat down and watched Frasier. About 20 minutes into the episode, the doorbell rang. I let Aunt Cindy in and Ryleigh greeted her. He ran around and around the couch in order to express his excitement. I let Aunt Cindy see my room, now decorated in the cool colors (blue, green, and purple.) She thought it was, well, cool! We then headed off.

Breakfast
In her sparkly purple Nissan, she asked me if I had had breakfast or not. She laughed when I answered with pepperoni and crackers. We decided to go to Cracker Barrel. She had a big breakfast with biscuits and gravy, grits, bacon, and much more. Not being very hungry, I settled for an order of biscuits and gravy with a little bit of bacon. Our food came very quickly and we ate and talked. Aunt Cindy teaches at a private school in a different town. Because of this, I hardly ever see her. We ended up talking for 15 minutes after finishing our food. We just sat there and talked with our plates completely empty. After a while we headed off again.

The Mall
We drove to the mall and wandered around. First was Payless Shoe Store. I watched her try on shoes and I complemented her. I didn't want any new shoes. Next we went to Claire's. We were looking for some orange earrings to match her new orange skirt. We looked around and didn't find anything. Then we went to Kirkland's and looked at the old-fashioned phones, which we really cool! We felt some of the fuzzy pillows and just walked around. We looked at the Chinese dresses and Chinese fans in Orient Sky. We later went to one of my favorite stores, Romancing the Stone. We looked at all of the marvelous lamps and hermit crabs. We also played with the rainsticks. Whenever you turn them upside down, all of the beads go down creating a rain-like sound. It sounded so cool! Because my birthday is tomorrow, Aunt Cindy let me pick out one thing in Romancing the Stone, and she'd buy it for me. I picked a little 6" tall lamp thingy. It's a little Chinese-like stand lamp. I chose a blue one with 6 swirls on each side. It is awesome! We played with the hermit crabs. I liked the big ones! We then left and got in the car to leave.

Starbucks
They just built a Starbucks near the mall. Aunt Cindy and I decided to go. We drove over there and ordered our stuff. I ordered a Mocha Frappucino Espresso Brownie. Aunt Cindy also got a Mocha Frappucino. In order to pay she practically had to dig up the top of her purse, leaving her car keys on the counter. She paid the man and we sat down in some comfy orange chairs as we drank our frappucinos and I ate my brownie. We talked on and on as we drank. After about 10 minutes we got up and went to the car. We got in and sat down as Aunt Cindy rummaged through her purse. She kept digging and eventually told me she couldn't find her keys! We were in trouble! She sent me back into Starbucks to look. I looked around the chairs we sat in and the end table that Aunt Cindy had set her purse on. I started to wonder if maybe she had them in her pocket. I could see her through the window as she searched her purse inside and out. I remembered her paying the guy and setting the keys down. Had she put them back in her purse? No! I could see them! They hadn't been taken or lost. I grabbed them and ran out the door. We got in the car, now with the air conditioning on, and drove off. We talked the whole time and eventually arrived at my house. I thanked her for everything and she left. I went inside and greeted my dogs. Eventually, Mom and Bail came home and I began this post.

Fainting Goats

2006-08-15T07:59:00.000-05:00


Here they are! If you've met Ryleigh, you know what I'm talking about! Read the post below.

The Fainting Goat Among Me

2006-08-14T15:46:00.000-05:00

Many people have heard of the Tennessee Fainting Goats. If you haven’t, click here or here. Fainting goats are remarkable creatures. When they become excited or scared, all of they’re muscles stiffen up and they immediately fall over. They say that even the excitement related to meals can cause this. Or if a passerby honks their horn. It’s a fascinating occurrence and it’s absolutely hilarious. It doesn’t hurt them or effect them physically or mentally. It’s just funny to watch.
Ryleigh’s nickname is “Fainting Goat” because he does the same thing. He’s not the brightest crayon in the box, so when he gets scared or excited he falls over instead of running away. He looks just like a Tennessee Fainting Goat. It’s almost scary how much he looks like the goats based on his position. He falls over and becomes really stiff just like the fainting goats. I swear he gains ten pounds every time he “faints” because he becomes so tight!
Sometimes, at night if he doesn’t want to go outside before bed he falls over and tightens up and I have to carry him outside. If it takes a while, I tell Mom that he fainted.

Super Busy

2006-07-30T08:48:00.000-05:00

Heads Up:
Mom went to Oklahoma City for OESD (Oklahoma Embroidery Supply and Design) for a few days. For those of you who live in a box, OESD is three days of sewing, from simple embroidery to hi-tech computer/sewing machine programs. She left on Wednesday and came back yesterday. While she was gone, we decided to replace the carpets and tile in the house. The best part was she had absolutely no idea.
Mom had already picked out the carpet and tile, but Dad told her it wouldn’t be ready until November. In this post I will take you through our experiences behind the scenes as well as Mom’s reaction.

Day 1
We waited for Mom to get far away because we did not want her to turn around and figure out our plan. She had left a day early which was an advantage to us. Dad told her to call when she got into Tulsa. Close to that time, we went to Sam’s Club for a dolly. Of course, we got some food and sweets. Haha! We went to the car and got ready to leave. One small problem. How were we going to fit a dolly in a Honda Accord as well as a driver and two other people? We experimented and it never would fit. We had to compromise. Dad had to fold over some seats and Bailey had to sit in the front seat with me. We went home very crowded. When we got there, I took pictures of shelves in the front room so that I would know how to put everything back. We started moving things out of the house. I had to squeeze in a large amount of laundry because we wouldn’t be able to run the washer and dryer after it had been moved into the garage. After a while we knew it had to get intense. Dad moved the front room TV out and I had to untangle all of the wires, take them out of the TV, and wrap them around the speaker which they belonged to. I did all the tech stuff. In Mom’s room, I had to do this with the game systems as well as the cable box and the DVR. Bailey did little things because she’s younger but she was a great help. The stuff we didn’t want to do even though it was small, she did. I was called “The Tech” and Bailey was “The Janitor”. We were proud, too! Eventually everything was out of the house and into the garage. Well, not everything. Just stuff from the kitchen, the front room, Mom’s room, her bathroom, and Dad’s office bathroom.

Day 2
Bailey and I had to be stuck in Mom’s office (the basement) for the whole day. Thursday was the day of carpet and tile. Bailey and I brought a large container full of stuff like pepperoni, books, crackers, ibuprofen, band-aids, and chocolate! When we were down there we were constantly hearing bangs and clangs. We could hear the saws as if they were right beside us. I actually lifted up a ceiling tile once to see if they could see us. LOL! I knew they wouldn’t be able to but it sounded like they were coming through the floor! I stepped outside about half an hour in, and saw my Dad’s recliner on the deck. Looking around there was also the couch and the refrigerator. The TV had been unhooked and the Internet connection was down. I worked on my AP report and played Bailey’s DS. I also drew some Star Ocean characters which came out very well. Around 6, Dad called us upstairs. Rain was pouring down on the furniture. We brought it in and dried it of. The recliner was leather so it was easy. The couch had to dry almost naturally. The men were still working but the house was looking great. We had Wendy’s at 9:30, which was around the time they finished up.

Day 3
We got up and got to work. The carpet was beautiful. It felt good to. It wasn’t soft like the other carpet. It was a burgundy tan mix kind of color. The kitchen tile has a little bit of cushion and it has some tan and white. We had to move everything back in. Again, I was the tech and Bailey was the janitor. I had to hook up the front room TV with speakers, DVR, cable box, and the whole nine yards. It’s amazing how much copper hurts! I went back and forth between the front room and Mom and Dad’s room, hooking stuff up and plugging stuff in. Finding the right cords and knowing every coax took forever. But it was finally paid off when the TVs worked on the first try. So I didn’t mess up! Dad and his friend Lyn moved everything into the house. It looked amazing. Grandma picked us up and we spent the night with her. This was because she was taking us to Terra Studios to get Mom and Dad’s anniversary present! I had been planning it a long time and Mom’s arrival was the perfect time. Even though their anniversary is August 1st.

Mom’s Reaction
Bailey and I wrapped up the present and wrote stuff on the bag like “I love you!” and “You’re the awesomest!”. Haha! We left the present upstairs and we stood in the kitchen. Dad brought Mom in blindfolded. He had told her we has a surprise for her. She thought he meant a welcome sign or something. He opened her eyes. A big “O” formed Mom’s mouth.
“You guys replaced the tile!” She squeaked.
“That’s not all...”
She turned and saw the carpet. An even bigger “O”.
“O my gosh!!!”
We led her through the house. She couldn’t believe it. She was amazed.
When she calmed down Bailey and I brought the present. They brought the box out of the bag and opened it. Out came two little bluebirds on a little blue stand with words at the bottom. They said:
“Two little bluebirds know for sure
Your love is deep and perfectly pure.”

Visiting Grandma Judy

2006-07-15T18:17:00.000-05:00

Friday
Grandma's House
On Friday, I went over to Grandma's house. I visit her every once in a while and it's always fun. When I got there, we decided that we would go somewhere special for dinner. I thought of Cafe Rue Orleans and she agreed. There I had the Crawfish dinner and she had the Shrimp dinner. After dinner we came home and had ice cream with hot fudge. She was looking at my blog and thought it was really cool. She was also amazed that I can get money off of those ads at the bottom (hint hint!). Out of nowhere she sat up and said, "I want a blog!". Grandma is quite "in tune" with the technical world, so I understood. I set it up for her and she chose her background and all that jazz. She started on her post and typed out four sentences. Now she's stuck. She thought about it over night and didn't know what she wanted to put on there. She looked at other blogs and found out what you put on a blog, anything! She still couldn't think of anything else that would good for an introduction. She knew what she would put on future posts, but not on this one. Since she couldn't think of anything else, we saved it as a draft and watched The Forgotten. She liked it, and I always have! We went to bed at 11, which was when the movie ended.
Saturday
Grandma's House
I woke up the next morning and Grandma made eggs, bacon, and toast. We ate and did crossword puzzles from the newspaper. I took my shower and then we put our make-up. It takes her much longer than it takes me! LOL! I've never met anyone with that much make-up. Not that I know of at least, LOL! When we were ready we got in the car and started driving. We drove for a long while until we arrived at a remarkable place. Terra Studios!
Terra:The Bluebirds
Outside were all the glass bluebirds set up in an orderly fashion. We went into the building and found beautiful glass pieces shaped into birds, eggs, and wind chimes! Multiple colors of glass shaped to perfection. We walked into the next room which was even more amazing. A set up of bluebirds was the centerpiece of the room. Around it were shelves full of blue birds. Red ones, pink ones, green ones, and of course blue ones! Big birds, small birds, cowboy birds! The most amazing part was the window! Through the window was a furnace. Moments later, appeared a man. He took a metal rod and slid the tip of into the furnace. When he pulled it out, a bright ball of orange glow stood on it. Melted glass! He pulled out these pinchers and began to shape the glass. A green shine began to appear as the bird took form. He pulled out the tail and hung it upside-down for it to dry. He did this multiple times, creating blue bird after blue bird. We looked around at some of the birds in the store. Some were angels, bunnies, and apples. A bunnybird, that's a funny word! We left the building and crossed the street.
Terra: The Pottery
We walked up to see a beautiful stone mosaic with a waterfall pouring through. Grandma took my picture with it and a few other things. There were statues and a really cool bathroom. This was only the "Welcome" area. We hadn't even gone into the building. We walked along and saw huge mosaics just standing in the middle of nowhere. This one in particular had colorful fireballs tall and wide dancing across the cement. We walked and saw something amazing! A little house without walls, but bluebirds filling the shelves in a neat and beautiful order. Grandma took my picture in it and I took hers. We walked up and saw another little waterfall! Beside it was a little miniature house with a miniature door and miniature stairs. We walked out of this little area and walked into some woods. In the middle was a giant waterfall! Mosaic walls were places throughout the park. Little benches with clay people on them scattered throughout. Grandma and I were the only ones there! We walked around a little bit, and Grandma called me over. "Loch Ness Monster!" I cried in excitement. There was a little creek and in it was a Loch Ness Monster going into a giant gnomes mouth. Little people were working around the creek. It was so cute! We walked around and gazed at the bluebird mosaics and others. We walked out, and went intside. You'd think we'd had so much fun out there we wouldn't have fun in the building. Yeah right!
Terra: The Pottery House
We walked in and looked around the shop. Little pieces of blue glass created a scene across the floor . For some strange reason the room reminded me of Norway. The exciting part of the room was the cave. I could have lived there. I find that blue darkness relaxing. There was a pretty waterfall in one of the corners. There was a somewhat secret passageway into a little room. I went in and found a chair curving into the ceiling with it's jewels. The wall was dark blue with sunlight shining through, creating stars. There was a moon that glowed in the darkness. We took some pictures and left the cave. We looked around and saw all the pretty vases and gnomes.
Terra: The Bluebird House Again
We went back to the Bluebird House to buy some stuff. Mom's kitchen has an apple theme so I decided to get her a green glass apple. For Bailey, who loves rabbits, we got a little pink glass rabbit. Dad got a glass egg with a little bit of blue at the top. I got the original bluebird!
Grandma's House: Back Home
After eating burgers we went to Grandma's house. We had been taking notes in the car, so we filled out her profile and she finished her first post! It was published to her blog and now you are welcome to visit it by clicking here!

Highlights, Hair Dyes, and Fake Nails! Oh My!

2006-07-13T08:26:00.000-05:00

Day 1--July 9th
After church we came home and prepared for the highlights. We thought that my hair would have to be dry to have it done. Nope! I ran to the bathroom and got the squirt bottle. Mom sprayed all around my head to dampen it. It was freezing cold, therefore I thought she had soaked it! I sat at the bar and mixed the dye, bringing thoughts of delicious vanilla icing to my mind. When it was ready, Mom took the brush and started streaking my hair. If you look at the pictures Bailey took of me in this state, you will see that there are trails of white foam sinking into my brown hair. It was required to sit for a while, so in that time we decided to do nails! As the clocked ticked away, we filed down the real nails and glued on the fake ones! When we got close to the end, I was looking at Bailey. OW! Pain suddenly seared through my ring finger and then seemed to disappear. Mom's finger had been glued to my real nail and she had yanked it off. We continued with Mom's nail gluing and my watchful eye. When finished, we went to the sink and washed my hair with Garnier Fructis shampoo, and the Garnier Nutrisse conditioner that had come with the product. My hair was all tangled on my head, so Bailey took my picture, which I didn't mind. I did mind that she took multiple pictures of my head in the sink. Waste of memory if you ask me. After everything was finished we looked at my dry hair. Wo! Wo! Wo! Bright golden streaks swallowed the top of my head and ran down. It was shiny and brassy, and did not go well with my dark brown hair. It had to be fixed. We put some Red Glaze on it hoping that it would take away the spark. Well...

Day 2--July 11th
On the tenth, we had gone to Target and gotten some light brown hair-dye. A Latte color, as it was called. Our plan was that it would lighten my brown hair, so that the blonde would stick out so much. Also, it would lighten the highlights just enough so that it was blonde and not brassy. We went home, and on the 11th we tried it. Mom helped me dye my hair and then she dyed hers. The moment of truth would be for the both of us. She had first put the dye on the bottom layers, without highlights, let it set, and later put the dye lightly on the highlights which were on top of my head. While I sat, waiting and reading, the time went by and so did Mom's dye. Eventually I washed my hair, and she washed hers. We found that both of them came out great! So I have highlights and slightly lighter hair, and Mom has red hair! Again!

A Visit From Relatives

2006-07-08T08:39:00.000-05:00

On Thursday night, we went to Grandma Judy's house. She had made delicious crawfish etouffe, rice, and bread. When we arrived, Aunt Jean and Uncle Jim were there and they greeted us. Gary, Nancy's husband was there. We had only see him once which was at the '03 Family Reunion. We shook hands and looked for Nancy. She popped out of nowhere and walked up to me. "What is it I should say? Oh! My how much you've grown!". She then walked over to Bailey and did the same thing. We laughed and everyone went into their separate areas. Little groups of people scattered across the living room. I observed them and listened to their conversations. I then went over to check out my Grandma's new flat screen monitor. We then ate the crawfish. The nine of use were split up into 2 tables. After dinner, Bailey and I got some ice cream with hot fudge, while everyone else decided to chat away. I went over to the computer to show Gary my blogs. He thought they were cool. I showed him each of my pets from my picture blog. I gave him my blog address and he promises to look at it when he gets home. He traveled far to get here. We went to the table and we talked about what kind of TV shows we watch. Turns out we have a lot in common. I am not a chick flick girl. We found that we both watch things like "I Shouldn't Be Alive" and stuff like that. He thought it was weird that I like Stephen King. He recommended a Stephen King book that he really thinks I should read. We talked for a long time. Later, we talked about foods that we eat. Bailey wants to be a chef, so that's how the conversation started. We discussed vegetables and fruit and baked potatoes. He told me that his son works at McDonalds, which I thought was kind of cool. Later, when it got a little dark, Gary, Dad, and I went outside. Gary and Nancy have a trailer that they use when they travel. When they travel, they're gone for about two weeks, so they need it. He let me look inside. I had been in Katy's trailer a few times, and they're kind of different, yet a lot alike. The bed was above the driver's seat, which I thought was really cool. There was also one in the back by the miniature bathroom. Bailey came in and Gary and I told her that the bathroom was huge, so she went in. She was so confused because a toilet the size of a basketball is not "big" to her. That was funny. Eventually, we went inside and told everyone goodbye. We hugged everyone and then headed home. We got home at 9:30.

Friday and Saturday

2006-07-02T13:46:00.000-05:00

Friday
Aunt Cindy
Aunt Cindy's birthday was May 16th. We have been unable to celebrate it considering the fact that we have been super busy with VBS (Vacation Bible School), Art Class, and ya-da-ya-da-ya-da. On Friday, the 23rd, we were able to do something special for her. We took her to Shanghai, a Chinese Restaurant, and ate. I forgot what everyone ordered, but we all enjoyed it. Afterwards, we went to Panera. Yum! I ordered an I.C. Mocha, and Bailey ordered an I.C. Caramel. Aunt Cindy had a coffee and a delicious Bear's Claw. Of course, I got a bite of it. She let me have a few sips of her coffee because mine was freezing and it made me cold. Yet, I still loved my drink. Mom got an I.C Cappucino Chip which was very good. We were at Panera for a while, drinking and eating. Bailey and had split a "Very Chocolate Brownie", which I almost forgot about because it was gone before Aunt Cindy and Mom got to the table. We're quick, as you can see. After Panera, we went to the Jewelry and Handbag Warehouse, where Aunt Cindy bought me these beautiful earrings. They hang down, and at the bottom they hold a clear square with a sparkly circle above it. We looked around there and later went to Wally World. After that we went home and Aunt Cindy got her car. We followed her back to her house. Why, you ask?

Keaton
We followed Aunt Cindy home and got Keaton, my cousin who lives directly in front of Aunt Cindy. He is her daughter's son. It was around 3:00 and he had been ready for about 3 hours. We took him back to our house and we hung out. I showed him some things I had done on the computer and some videos from Google Videos. We watched some music videos and some funny videos people had posted. We enjoyed the lady who was "fed up with all of the diet coke and mentos experiments" and did it herself, using herself. Using graphic programs, the woman blew up at the end of the video. It was actually very funny. Keaton and I went outside and jumped on the trampoline, that of which he has a great obsession. We did our cool tricks and jumped and talked. We had pizza for dinner, and later we had some fun. Keaton just recently got a cell phone. There are some girls who like to bug him and flirt with him. Bethany called, and we decided to have some fun. We had been watching Budweiser commercials on the Internet for the past couple of hours. We screamed "WHASSUP!" into his speaker phone and scared her to death. Eventually, we got a couple Oreos and went to bed.

Saturday
Keaton
On Saturday, I woke up and played on the computer for a while. Keaton, of course, slept in. After breakfast, which was Krispy Kreme, we got dressed and went outside. This time, we took the camera and took pictures of each other in the air and doing flips and stuff. I even got a picture of him attempting a back flip. You don't want to know. Some of them came out really cool. Throughout the day we went back and forth between Budweiser commercials the trampoline. Around 4 or 5, Brandi (Keaton's Mom) came to our house to pick him up. While Mom and Brandi talked, we took Lexi outside and jumped on the trampoline. She is the best 4-year-old jumper I have ever met. I have only met two, but that's beside the point! She would bounce us and make us go "really high". She enjoyed it. When it was time for them to leave, we asked Brandi if Keaton could stay another night. She said yes! He spent the night, and the next morning we went to breakfast at Golden Corral. Later, Brandi took him home around 1:00.

Hey!
Thank you for reading. I am so sorry I have not been posting as frequently as I should. I have been extremely busy and what you just read is the least of it.
Will post more soon!
And remember...
WHASSUP!

Update!

2006-06-13T14:00:00.000-05:00

Strange Story
I always have a glass of water with me. I really like my Tobasco glass because it's easy to carry around and stuff. Around 7 or 8 the other night, I decided to refill my cup. I put it in the place outside the freezer where water and ice comes out. I pressed the button and ice shot down into my glass. I stand there for a few seconds with only the noise of the machine. Bam! Ice starts flying out, shooting across the floor. How? Ow! What's that? One color stands out from the white of the glass, freezer, and ice. Red. The top of my hand was bleeding just a little. How? Glass was shooting onto the floor. I looked at my glass. There was a large chunk of it missing and ice was coming out through there. I stopped the ice and cleaned up my hand and the floor. It was kind of odd, I think. Somehow the ice broke my glass. My favorite one too!

Coming Up!
Tonight I have a meeting with my church. I will be helping out at VBS as a runner and possibly a baby-sitter person. LOL! I'll tell you about the meeting and VBS when the time comes. Also, I've been taking computer lessons with Rusty down the street. I might have one today, I'm not sure. Art class is next week, as well as VBS. Paint in the mornin', Bible in the evenin'. I'll keep you guys updated if anything else pops up.
Will post more soon!

Olivia's Arrival

2006-06-08T07:57:00.000-05:00

Olivia...
Let's see what I can yank out from my memory...

Last Friday, at 2:00 I drove over to Olivia's house.
Of course, I rang the doorbell, and the door magically opened. That's what you would have thought. In a heartbeat, Olivia was at her bag full of who knows what. We went outside and towards the car, leaving Olivia's strange brother Zach, staring out the door, soon to be home alone.
We drove off and across town with little talk, and only the trees to accompany us. Olivia is very shy, so she didn't say much. Not even to yours truly! She's very quiet. There might have been a sentence here and there, but hey, it's Olivia!
We pulled into the garage and got out with her stuff. I had noticed that her bag was bright pink with funky green letters spelling her name. Inside the house, she became acquainted with our dogs. Of course, she was scared of Toby, the big dog. I think he's a good dog. She was also a little scared of Ryleigh, AKA: Least Threatening! But, of course, she eventually got over it. She had made it clear that she liked Birkleigh. She would run around with him chasing her feet, only to stop at the first glance of Toby in the room.
Oh well... We went upstairs and she explored my room and bunk bed. I let Bailey show Olivia her room as well as her huge, and I mean HUGE, closet. It leaves everyone with a dropped jaw. They don't believe you could fit a bed in there until they see it. I led Olivia into the computer room, where I am right now, and showed her my computer. She sat in my second seat as I showed her random things. My blog, her blog, which she never updates, my graphics, gmail, incredimail.
Oh, by the way, she got gmail and now we can chat on google talk. Isn't it great?! Yes, it is.
Anyways, we went back and forth between the computer room and my room. For dinner, we had delicious salmon patties, along with baked potato and corn on the cob. After that, we continued our back forth run between the computer and my room. We kept ourselves very entertained. At 10:30, we went to bed. I know, we're wimps, but we woke up at 6. In the morning, we mainly played my keyboard and played with the dogs. Breakfast was cinnamon rolls covered in icing. After breakfast, we brushed our teeth and got dressed and went outside. There, we jumped on the trampoline and took pictures of each other in the air. It's hilarious! We did flips and stuff to make the pictures interesting, and they are as interesting as you can get with 2 girls, a trampoline, and a Kodak. We played volleyball, and jumped, and played with the dogs, and stuff like that. We went inside and I let Olivia use my program to make some designs. They're very cool. Click here to see them.
Just before lunch, around 12 o'clock, we had an idea. I pulled out the camera and microphone and interviewed her. She wanted me to and we had no idea what this was going to turn into. We were excited. I asked her really stupid questions and she gave really stupid answers. Every once in a while she'd break into a spice girls song. After about 7 minutes, her chair fell over. Don't ask... She was laughing so hard she couldn't get up. I had to pause the camera and pick her up. I had an idea. To the camera, I said, "Olivia, let's prepare your performance. One second please." I turned off the camera and ran into the bathroom. I told Olivia my plan and she agreed. 15 minutes later we walked downstairs with my camera. "Mom, will you take our picture?" Dad walked into the room and screamed. We posed and the camera flashed. In the picture, two girls had their arms out and their mouths open. The girl on the left was a blonde, with a visor that read "Angel", a Hawaiian necklace thing, and a white scarf. She had two "beauty marks" made of mascara, blue eye shadow circling all around her eyes, way to much blush, and the word LIVI written across her forehead. She had lipstick on, and much more. The girl beside her was a brunette with a pink, fuzzy head band on top of her head. She had a pink boa around her neck, which matched her pink and purple outfit. She had two "beauty marks" made of mascara, blue, purple, and green eye shadow, and different colors of blush flooding her cheeks. She had stray marks of eye shadows in random areas of her face, creating a creepy yet funny look of surprise. We walked upstairs and turned on the camera for our big performance. We danced on the bed singing Wannabe by the Spice Girls. It's scary...
The interview ended, and we ate lunch. Olivia took a shower so that she wouldn't freak out her mom, and I washed my face, planning to shower after Olivia left. We just hung out and talked until 4:30, when Olivia's mom picked her up.
As you can see, I had a very exciting and interesting weekend.

Sorry...We're Closed!

2006-06-07T10:25:00.000-05:00

No, my blog is not closed! I could never quit! It is Friend Week that is over. I know, there were not very many people and I didn't post everyday. There were a few minor setbacks... Olivia spent the night last Friday, and I had a class with Rusty yesterday. Also, there has been some issues with logging into my blogger account. Don't ask.
Thank you for putting up with me...
Now it's time to tell you what you've missed...
Will post more soon!