Goodbye

This is it. The big cahuna; the final destination in this long journey of blogerdom. I’m done. Its over. I’ve never felt more relived in my entire life. I have thought long and hard about what this blog will be about, space suits or football player’s butts? I have thought about how long to make it, only to the requirement or a short novel? I have even considered not writing it at all, in which I would get a bad grade so I decided to X-nay that idea. But finally I think I have settled on a topic. I am so happy I’m finished with blogging because…
…now I have more time to spend doing other things. I can go to target, I can read a book, I can clean my room, I can spend more time with my boyfriend. There are so many doors opening in front of me I don’t even know what to think. All of these thirty-minute periods of time are going to add up and I could do something great! At a total of 90 blogs I am averaging at 2700 minutes and I am determined to get that time back!
…now I will not have to worry about cramming all thirty blogs into one weekend. Because of who I am I would always leave my thirty-blog requirement till the last weekend of the term. That stressful weekend of scheduling time periods and googleing for topics of interest is gone and out of mind. Now more sleep will be achieved, fewer wrinkles will form on my face, and I will be less likely to go blind from the light of the computer.
…now will no longer have to worry about reaching my 300 word requirement, no more fluffing till I reach the perfect 300. Goodbye

(300 words exactly!)

The Things We Do.

When kids are young there’s always times in a parents day-to-day life where they just sit back and see what their child will do next. There is always something you wouldn’t expect and things are always unplanned. Just as there will always be those proud memories of their first steps and the first time they ride a bike there are also the funny memories of things you just wish could happen over and over again. In my family there have been many of these moments and I just love to share them.
My oldest brother drew perhaps has the cutest story of the bunch. This is one I’m sure every parent will want to experience. One day my mom went up stairs real quick to do something on the computer and drew was down stirs playing. When my mom came back down stairs my brother was sitting in the time-out chair looking very very guilty. My mom thought he might be feeling sick or something so she asked him if he was alright my brother responded “I umm…I pulled the cats tail so I put myself in time-out”. My mom had to run to the bathroom because she didn’t want to laugh in front of my brother. Oh what kids will do!
For my sister it was harder to think of a childhood story. She was adopted so my parents didn’t get her until she was fifteen months old. It was her very first night in America so her sleep schedule was very different from that of my parents. When it was time for my parents to go to sleep she wasn’t tired so my mom brought her into their room and just laid her down on her own stomach. Eventually she did fall asleep but In the middle of the night my mom decided to flip over and the instant she did my sister was flung at high speed off the bed. She will never let my parents forget that one.
My other brother Ethan was also adopted but this story had nothing to do with that. When my brother was about three he was up stairs playing in his room. My parents were out doing yard work, like the rest of the neighborhood and so they eventually convened at a neighbor’s house for a glass of wine. Two hours later someone asked my mom where Ethan was. She instantly ran home and up to Ethan’s room. He was there playing with his Lagos and this is what he said. “Well a little bit ago I got kinda hungry so I went down stairs but I couldn’t find you so I came back up. But its ok I wasn’t scared because I have Otis and God with me.” My mother thought that was so cute and so she went out and bought him an ice cream.
Now I saved the best story for last. When I was about two we had just gotten two new kittens. One of them was very playful and so when my mom sprinted up the stairs to do something quick Otis leaped up and bite my mom right in the tush. My mom instantly turned around and hit Otis off of her bottom just on instinct. I was standing at the bottom of the stairs when this happened and I was so angry I said “Mommy you just hit Otis! We never hit Otis!” My mother replied very coolly “You don’t bite mommy’s bottom!” About a month later we at church and the children’s service was going on. The topic was about the Ten Commandments and so they were asking all the kids what kind of rules they have at home. I instantly raised my hand and said very loudly “you don’t bite mommy’s bottom!” The whole church when quiet and my mom just started sinking to the floor. Oh the things us kids say!
(651 words)

HOW TO… Make an English Baby’s Baby Formula

A little over a year ago my brother went over to Prague to teach English for a year. While he was there he met a man who was also teaching English though the same program. It turns out Rich and his wife were from Britain and they were moving to Prague for a year to be with Hannah’s parents, who were not doing well under the communist regime. My brother Drew became very good friends with Rich and Hannah and they planned to visit him back in America. However Right before their trip over Hannah got pregnant and so here they are one year later with a little English baby girl.
Once arriving at our house after a very long drive Ella, the baby, was ready for some food. Who knew there was an entire process to making an English baby a baby’s formula?
First you must wash the baby’s bottles. They must be very sterile so you have to boil them in very hot water. My mother got out a pot so Hannah could do this and fifteen minutes later all of the bottles were sterilized.
The Second step is, you have to sterilize the water being mixed in for the baby formula. When Hannah asked my mother for a Kettle none of knew how to respond. I had never seen a kettle before in my life, and when we told her we heat watch in a glass-measuring bowl in the microwave she was amazed! Who knew you could boil water without a kettle.
After the water is heated you have to put eight ounces of water in each baby bottle. We had enough water for three bottles so we filled them to the line. Another interesting thing is that a British fluid once and an American fluid ounce are slightly different. So we had to guess which line to fill the bottles up to.
Next you have to mix in the baby formula. Hanna told us we needed seven scoops of formula for each bottle. Now it was our turn to be amazed. Seven scoops is SO MUCH! As it turns out their scoop size was also much smaller than ours.
Now that the formula, the sterilized water, and the sterilized bottle have been all put together and mixed its time to cool the bottle down. You cant give a baby a bottle of boiling water so we had to put it in the fridge for a little while to cool it down.
And that’s how you make an English baby’s baby formula.

(425 words)

Junioritis

By means of the Merriam-Webster dictionary I have found that the definition of the word Senioritis is, “an ebbing of motivation and effort by school seniors as evidenced by tardiness, absences, and lower grades”. Although many juniors seem to be diagnosing themselves with premature Senioritis I think it is something much different. I believe that because so many juniors have friends leaving for college next year, the “itis” we are all experiencing is caused by sadness and longing. We are sad they are leaving; we wish they would stay, and we long to start the journey they are about to begin.
I’m different. For me the signs aren’t bad grades and absences. I’m not blowing off the idea of school or working less hard at my work. I just wish that I could have a break. I want to start something new. I want to do what the seniors get to do. They have been out for a week already. Their break started much earlier than mine. They get to enjoy a last summer with their friends and then go off and be anything they want. They get to leave and spread their wings for the first time. I want to spread my wings.
Although I know I’m not quite ready for college, I can’t wait to start my own life. To get out of where I grew up and do something completely different from what I have been doing the past twelve years of my life. This is the feeling the juniors get. Its not that we want to go to college, Its just that we don’t want our life to remain the same any longer. We are ready for a change and yet we are forced to wait another long year and watch our best friends experience that change. So I think the juniors are special. We do not share the same “itis” as the seniors do. We are our own people and w e are very different from anyone who comes before or after us. So, we should not be called that of something completely different from us. We do not have senioritis. We have something much different and it deserves to be distinguished. We have Junioritis.

(370 words)

The Good O'l Days

Back in the old days my neighborhood was crawling with little kids. Every house on the street was either for sale or exploding with young couples just starting out a family. On warm summer days all of the dads would go off to work and the moms would congregate outside. All of the kids would be out in the back yards flitting from neighbor to neighbor. We could never not be moving around. We had children of all ages. We had high school kids, who were grate for babysitting on a Saturday night, we had middle school kids, who were running around with water guns, Elementary kids, who were always playing soccer, and toddlers in the sandbox. There was always an adult outside, so our parents never worried about their little tykes running loose through the yards.
Now all of that is changing. All of the big siblings, who were in high school way back when, are now off starting families and getting jobs. The big brothers that used to be in middle school are now off away at college. Eager young adults excited about life. And the rest of us elementary kids and toddlers are still stuck in middle school and high school. Just waiting for that day we all get to leave the nest and start our own life. But even with all the hope and excitement for the future I believe most of us wish we could be living in the past.
With all of the stress of school and work I wish I were back in preschool again. Running around in my swimming suit from the first day of summer all the way up to the last. Life was good back then. Carefree. I could wake up at seven o’clock in the morning and not come home until seven at night and no one would wonder where I was or what I was doing. I could sleep over at a friend’s house watching Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, wishing with all my might I would wake up and be a princess. Anything was possible, and anything that was possible, we would do.
Oh, what a life we had back then. I would do anything to go back, and live it over again.
(375 words)

I Hope I Make It

At the end of every school year all of the choir kids go through a series of auditions. We have auditions for concert choir, Happiness, chamber choir, moonlight, and all of the other none varsity choirs. There’s so much stress put on us right in the midst of finals and saying goodbye to the seniors, sometimes it hard to manage everything at once.
After we all found out which showchoir we were put in it was time for chamber choir and moonlight callbacks. I was very nervous for these auditions because these are the two hardest singing groups to get into. Last year I made it into chamber choir but this year it is a whole new playing field. More freshmen were called back than ever and there was some extraordinary talent at both auditions.
Moonlight is the jazz group at my high school. They do more rhythmic and harmonized songs. Also they are smaller than chamber choir. Moonlight has 16 people in it. Four to each singing part and when they perform all sixteen members have microphones and stand in a half circle and sing. Sometimes they use a band and sometimes they have a person in the group beat box or have multiple people singing the background music.
Chamber choir is very different. Chamber is our choir of choral singers. We do very traditional music and some fun young music also. Unlike moonlight there is no fixed number for chamber choir. Some times it’s as small as eighteen and sometimes its as big as thirty two. In the winter chamber choir does Christmas music and we get to go around and carol at old folks homes and at parties. Chamber choir is a very fun choir to be in.
The auditions for theses two choirs were also very much different. The moonlight auditions was much smaller than the chamber audition. Also we obviously sang very different music selections for both auditions.
At the moonlight audition we sang a very jazzy song and they would just grab about eight random people to pull up and see how they sounded together. You got to sing multiple times with multiple people and everyone did very well.
At the Chamber audition we sang a very traditional piece. It was very pretty but not very fun to sing. At this audition we only got to sing twice. Once with an octet and once when they split the students in half and had each half sing. Both are very different and I am so nervous to find out who will make up the two new groups.

(432 words)

G+P=FUN

During this time of the year the thought in all high school students minds is ‘How can I possibly get to all of my friends graduation parties!?’. Well, unfortunately, If you are anything like me, then there is no possible way to squeeze them all in. However there is a process that is guaranteed to make you more successful than you otherwise would be.

The first choice you must make before planning out your daily route is picking a grad party buddy! You can have one or three or five but make sure your group isn’t too big because you want to make sure you have chances to talk to everyone at every party and aren’t confined to a group. Also decide who the designated driver will be for you weekend(s) so you don’t have to worry about transportation when your trying to get from party to party.

Once you have found your party buddies it is time to start getting prepared for your all you can eat journey. Collect the date and time for all of your friends parties. Weather it’s by facebook or by mail the most important thing is to make sure you have an invite for all the parties you are planning on attending.

After you have gathered all of the dates and times for parties it is time to start organizing. On an Excel document or in a table on word make columns for Name, Time, Date, and Address. Depending on how many days you are attending grad parties is how many separate tables you will need. Have one for each day and order the parties by time within each table.

Now that you have established all of the dates and times and days you have to find out how to get to each house. Although GPS’s are good it always takes time to plug in the address. Depending on how many parties you are attending this time might be very important to your schedule. I would suggest either map questing or making sure ahead of time you know where all of the streets of the parties are.

Now that you have your days all planned out you are ready to go! Just make sure that your getting to all of your good friends parties and if time goes past too quickly don’t be afraid to make necessary cuts. Remember people wont die just because you couldn’t make it to their party.
(407 words)

DEBORAH

My mother’s hairstyles can be classified into five main groups. There’s the Short hair, the Long hair, the Brunette style, the Blond look, and her SURPRISE category. Every month she gets a new style and she never ceases to surprise me.

My mothers dream hairstyle is long hair. Of course her idea of long hair is just around shoulder length so its not technically long! She loves the look of long hair but she insists that it doesn’t look good on her so she very rarely goes for this look. However she has tried this look a few times over the years but usually would cut it short right after she reached the length she wanted. I will never understand!

My mother’s next style is short. She almost always has short hair, but no worries she mixes it up. Most of the time her hair is about 2 inches long but sometimes she gets crazy and does 2 ½ inches! WOW your really mixing it up mom!

Whenever my mom gets a new hair cut people always comment on the color. Some times it blond, sometimes its brown, sometimes it has a tint of red, but mostly its brown. Lately my mothers go to color is brown. Don’t get me wrong, she always finds a way to spice the color up, but really? Brown? What a poopy color!

Back in the olden days when blonds really did have more fun, my mother always had bleach blond hair! Lately there has been less and less blond but she still trys to throw it in every once in a while. And of course she always finds ways to have fun!

The fifth category my mothers hair falls into is the surprise me category! Believe it or not but sometimes Deborah gets a little funky. Not only will she combine two of the categories, but sometimes she combines all four! Like one time she had her hair longish in the front and it got shorter in the back, it was brown with blond highlights! Getting fancy! Lately though her favorite hairstyle seems to combine three of the groups. Usually her hair is short, brown, with blond streaks. Currently all of her hair is brown except for her bangs, which are a beachy blond. Now that’s hip!

 Not only will Deborah combine the categories, but she also enjoys mixing up the texture of her hair. Sometimes it will lay flat but others she will have it all spiked up. Also sometimes in the back instead of laying it down ward she will sweep the hair to the side!

As forest Gump would say, Deborah’s hair is like a box of chocolate, you never know what your gonna get. 

(454 words)

The NERVE!

For the past year my sister has been planning her wedding. Although there have been many mishaps and accidents leading up to her big day the one that sticks out by far as the biggest pain in our asses are the bridesmaids my sister picked for her wedding party. These bridesmaids have been doing the compleate opposite of what is to be expected of them and I only hope I can learn from my sisters biggest mistake.

Operation Bridesmaid Dresses

A good Bridesmaid must wear whatever it is the bride picks out for her for the wedding. This means that there will be no wining and nagging to the bride or other bridesmaids about how much they dislike the dress. It is the brides big day, not yours! However, apparently my sister’s bridesmaids did not know of this rule, because they have been giving us every reason of why they don’t like the bridesmaids dresses my sister has picked out. There is no respect for the bride’s choices at all. When my sister said she wanted short dresses for her bridesmaids, the three girls instantly felt the need to tell her how much they hate their legs and how they refuse to wear a short dress in the wedding. Then after my sister was polite enough to pick out a completely different floor length dress for them to wear they decided they didn’t like that dress either because it showed their guts too much! This is how we landed on dress number 3. With the fabric stretching to the floor and rouching around the middle to hide oversized stomachs they are still complaining. This is NOT how a bridesmaid should act.

Operation Do What Your Told

A good Bridesmaid should do whatever they can to keep the brides life stress free up to the wedding. They should offer to help set up for showers, run out to pick up a forgotten item, and be kind and gentle when trying to say the hair style picked for the wedding makes the bride look like a moose. However, similarly to the bridesmaid dress fiasco the case of these three bridesmaids is completely different then what you would expect. The first thing one bridesmaid did after having her dress bought and altered, was threaten to quit the bridal party. She was upset because her little sister (whom my sister had met maybe 5 times over the years) was not being invited to the wedding. She then decided to call my sister and yell at her for not having proper “wedding etiquette”. I’m sorry, but seriously??? The next thing one of the other brides maids did was tell my sister she HAD to wear her hair half up and half down because she looked funny with her hair all done up. My sister has worn her hair up for every dance all through high school and every formal event prior. So you’re choosing now to tell her that her favorite kind of hairstyle makes her head look funny? These girls are just ridiculous.

(509 words)

The NERVE! part 2

Operation Bachelorette Party

The last thing a Bridesmaid must do is plan a Bachelorette party fit to the brides taste. They must ask her what she wants and make sure to carry out their plans in a semi secretive way as to not give away all the party surprises. If the party isn’t going to be fun for the Bride, then what’s the point? When meeting with my sister about the party they were told that she wanted a formal sophisticated bachelorette party. She wanted all of her cousins there and she wanted things for her younger sister (me) and the adults attending the party, to do before going bar hopping that night. Upon hearing this, the girls agreed, but after heading into party planning things got ugly. Because I am the maid of honor my sister gave me the party-planning crown. I decided to host a cocktail party at my house prior to dinner at Zins. Although they agreed to this they seem to think that the bar hopping that night will be used for getting completely smashed and raunchy! They also insist on disagreeing with all of the cocktail party choices my sister and me decided on and long story short, they are doing the complete opposite of what they should. What a shocker!

These bridesmaids have gone crazy and are doing nothing of what would be expected of them. My sister and I often wish we could go back and choose three different people to be her lovely bridesmaids. People who did all they could to help and who were always kind and polite to everyone. However this is not possible and the very people who are supposed to be her best friends are forcing my sister to tears. This is defiantly not how bridesmaids should act, and if I had it my way I would change the date and time of the wedding and get three new bridesmaids to fill their spots.

(326 words)

v.s. Surgery #2

At the end of my last appointment with Dr. Kalberg I was told to come in once I got my braces off to get my second surgery. I accepted that and went on my way. Then after I got may braces off we called to make an appointment and Dr. Kalberg had retired!!! My mother got so angry she went in and complained and he said he would come back to do my second surgery. They didn’t know for sure if I would need the surgery or not so they told me to come in so they could take a look. Turns out I did need it and they informed right then and there that I was getting my surgery right then! I was so scared I had no time to prepare myself!
After seeing them bring in a tray with three very big needles on it I think I went into panic. I started breathing very deeply and I was so nervous but I didn’t want to let it show because then I know it would have been so much worse. I was very sad I didn’t have my I-pod with me this time but nonetheless they had to do the surgery. The second they started bringing the needles to my mouth I griped my arms and stomach and literally began to shake. I am terrified of needles and not having the time to prepare myself made it that much harder to bear. Yet again after three shots I was ready to go.
Very similarly to the first surgery after I was numbed I don’t really remember anything. I do know that they cut a piece of skin from the top of my mouth and put it on my lower gums. Unlike the first time I didn’t have to get my tissue sliced and but I did still need stitches on my gums. Different than the first surgery was the way they stitched my gums. The first time they just stitched it on the front. This time however, they stitched the front and through the teeth to the back of my jaw. I can now feel the stitches on the back of my teeth unlike last time. Also different from the last time I didn’t get a band-aid for the roof of my mouth. Because I have a retainer it will act as a band-aid to prevent infection but like last time I will have to get my bottom band-aid changed after a week.
Very different from my first surgery this recovery has been a breeze. I went back to school right after they finished and I have been going ever since. I also am not in any pain at all. I can eat solid food as long as I don’t bite into it, I can fall asleep the second my head touches the pillow, and I have only had to ice my jaw once. Life is good. However unlike before the band-aid on my gums will not stay on. I had the first one on for 2 days before it came loose and had to be replaced. Then just two hours after it was replaced the replacement came loose! However unlike the first time I am not going to tell anyone of my replacement band-aid coming loose. I think my mom would kill me.
Over all I think my experience has been very good. I have a very good doctor and an extremely sweet nurse. I have pain meds that work like charm and help me sleep. Plus I have amazing friends backing me up 100% of the way. I could not have asked for a better experience, however I cannot wait for it all to be over. Once I have free range of my mouth I tell you I will be a very happy women.

(638 words)

Surgery #1 v.s.

A few months ago I went to the orthodontist and I was told I needed to go see peritonitis as soon as possible. The gums in the front of my jaw had been hurting and apparently this wasn’t a good thing. During my appointment I was told I had a receding gum line and that the sensitive parts of my teeth that were supposed to be covered up were not. Also they informed me that if I didn’t get surgery on my mouth it was very likely that the roots of my front bottom teeth would pop out of my gums and that would not be good thing.
Because of my busy schedule and the peritonitis offices busy work schedule it was very difficult for me to get an appointment for my surgery. My mom had been calling time after time to schedule a time but it never seemed to work. Finally completely out of the blue the peritonitis called and said they had an open slot the next morning at eight. My mother told me when I got home that night from showchoir practice and let me tell you I was very nervous!
When I went in for the surgery Dr. Kalberg was very calm and comforting but still I managed to cry my eyes out before they even touched my mouth. Before they started the surgery I decided I would listen to my I-pod and close my eyes for the entire procedure. I did not want to see what they were doing in my mouth. The first thing they did was numb my entire bottom lip and the right side of the roof of my mouth. It took three shots of Novocain and a lot of squinting of my eyes before my mouth was sufficiently numbed.
After I was numbed, to be completely honest I’m not entirely sure what happened. I know they sliced all of the connecting tissue between my lip and my gums. I know they cut a piece of skin off the top of my mouth and then they put it down on the tooth and used dissolvable stitches to hold it on. After everything was stitched up: roof of my mouth, gums, and the connecting tissue, they put on band-aids. I had one on my gums and one on the roof of my mouth. I had to keep each on for a week and when I went back they took off the one on the roof of my mouth but put a new band-aid on my gums.
The healing processes for my first surgery was quite monotonous. All I could do was lay on the couch miserably rolling around in pain. When I was sore we would use the blender to make ice, which molded perfectly to my face, when I was hungry I sipped smoothies from a spoon, when I was tired I tried, fruitlessly, to sleep. I felt horrendous for two weeks and people brought me balloons, coffee, roses, and pumpkin juice. I ate only liquids for two whole months. What a joy my first surgery was.
(515 words)

The Invisible Wall

                I decided to read The Invisible Wall because my friend Sara recommended it to me. Also the title was very intriguing and after I read about what the book was about I knew I would be interested. This book was challenging for a few reasons. One reason this book was confusing was because the setting was in a foreign country. Another reason was that there were words in this reading that I didn’t know the meaning to. The last reason this book was challenging was because I personally find it difficult to read about discrimination. However, this book was very good and I would defiantly recommend it to others.

                Reading a book that takes place in a foreign county is always a challenge for me. I constantly find myself getting confused over names, streets, and the like. This book was no different. Although many of the names were pretty distinguished it was still hard to navigate around the town in my head. It helped that the book took place in England and not in a country that speaks a totally foreign language, but it was still difficult to understand where everything was taking place. Also in this book there is a “invisible wall” going down the middle of the street. There were Jews on one side and everyone else on the other. Towards the beginning of the book it was hard to remember which side was for the Jews and with which street names and which side was for the Christians.

                Another reason this book was confusing was because there were some words that I didn’t know. Words like chiefly, garn, cheder, and qualms, I have never seen before. Some of the words, such as cheder, are English and so we don’t usually speak them in the United States. When I found a word I didn’t know I would have to look it up in the dictionary because most of the time I needed to know the meaning of the word in order to understand what was happening. Also a lot of the foreign words I found were mean names that Christian people would call the Jews.

            The third reason I found this book challenging was because I strongly disprove of discrimination. I don’t believe anyone should be discriminated against for any reason, not even religion. I sometimes found myself tearing up because of how mean the Christian people were being to the Jews. I don’t understand how people can think it is right to be mean to others just because of a certain characteristic they posses. It doesn’t make sense to me so I have a hard time reading about it without getting angry or sad.

            Even with the challenges this book presents I still found it to be a very good read. I really enjoyed reading this book and I would defiantly recommend it to anyone looking for a good new book to nestle into the couch with. This book was great and I never wanted to stop reading.

(501 words)

Know-It-All

I decided to read Know-It-All because Mizzay said she had read another book similar to this one by the same author, and thought it was a very enjoyable read. This book was very challenging for only a couple reasons. For one, there were some very interesting facts in this book I would die to remember, and secondly this book was very repetitive and long. For the first time, I would not recommend this book to my friends. Although it was very interesting, it just wasn’t very fun to read.

                This book was organized in chapters by the letters from the alphabet and because of this the book read as just fact after fact in each chapter. The hardest part of reading this book was trying to remember some of these fun facts. For one, abalone, a type of snail, has five separate holes for excreting waste. Another fun fact is that for a Pueblo Indian woman to get a divorce, all she would have to do is place her husbands moccasins on the doorstep and SHABAM! They are divorced! There were many things I would try to do to remember some of the facts like re-reading things over and over multiple times, and dog tagging the page of a fun fact so I could go back and refer to it whenever I wanted.

                This book was very repetitive. Every chapter was a letter from the alphabet and then in each chapter there would be word after word starting with that letter. Although this was a big part of the repetitiveness another contributor was the pattern in which the author wrote. The Jacobs would write his chapters so it was word, fact, word, fact, and then a personal story relating the word back to his life. Although some of the stories were quite funny and some of the facts were defiantly worth remembering, it still became just too much the same all the time. This repetitiveness caused the book to get old very fast and I found myself beginning to get bored in the H chapter.

                Although the first challenge of this book was a fun one to overcome the second was in charge of making or breaking the book. Unfortunately it broke it and I would not consider recommending this book to anyone unless they simply needed to look up the definition of a word. Over all I am partially happy to have read this book because now I know fun facts that no one else does. Also I’m happy I have experienced a new kind of book because I know now that I don’t need to read another like it.

(441 words)

The Power of Song

I believe in the power of song. Singing makes it possible to create magic in people’s lives.

I believe singing is magical when it can make people feel. As a performer, if you sing a song that makes people cry, not because of the lyrics, not because of the band, but because of the sheer beauty of the sound, and the emotion and tone quality of every shimmering note, you have made magic. The ability to make people feel that happiness and bliss all from just a sound. As an audience member, there is no greater joy than to be able to listen to a singer who can place the goose bumps on your arms and the tears in your eyes.

I believe singing is magical when it can bring people hope. Back in the day when there were slaves in the United States, the African Americans of our nation needed hope. Without hope there would have been no drive, and without drive there would still be slavery today. The music sang by the slaves gave them the courage to go on. Without song as their refuge, they wouldn’t have accomplished a fraction of what they did in their quest to end slavery.

I believe singing is magical when it can make the impossible possible. In the bible there is a story of Jesus helping a blind man see. Just as Jesus gave sight to the blind, singers can give sound to the deaf. When a singer uses their instrument the right way they find that they can make magic. I have heard stories of people who sing to the deaf. This may sound funny because what’s the point in singing to someone who can’t hear. But if sang correctly, like a bat, sometimes the deaf are able to feel the sound waves of a singers voice. Although very different from actually hearing a song, the vibrations of the voice can still be detected, and to a person who cannot hear anything remotely close to sound, this is close enough.

 (340 words)

The colors of my life

Red:

When I think of the color red I think of my boyfriend Jon. His favorite color is red so every time I see the color it’s a nice reminder of how lucky I am. Red is also the color of a heart. So in a sense red makes me think of love. But more often then not when I see the color red I think of blood. I must say I am not a fan of the color red.

Blue:

When I think of blue I can’t help but think about the sky. Those lovely days when there’s not a cloud in sight and you’re out walking around in the sun. I also think of the ocean and how broad and vast it is. When I think of the ocean I feel like life has so many possibilities. The color blue is always nice. If however it is navy blue I think of the night sky. I think of lying out under the stars with someone I love and care about. I think about how long it would take to count every star in the sky.

Yellow:

            When I think of yellow I see my mom. That’s her favorite color and it fits cause yellow is such a happy color and she always seems to be in a happy go lucky mood. Yellow also makes me think of the sun. I wonder how so much light can all come from the same place. Radiating over and warming everything below. I also think of baby chicks. I see them popping out of their eggs so ready to join the world.

Green:

            When I think of green I think of life, of the earth and all the trees and plants. Hostas somehow always come to mind. I also find myself thinking of grass and the plants ability to never stop growing even after the plant is always being knocked down. It always just pops back up again.

White:

            White makes me think of cleanliness, of heaven and of an empty sheet of paper. Like a new chapter waiting to be written. White also makes me think of clouds and how they are always so light and fluffy looking. Like cotton candy in the sky.

Black:

            When I think of black I think of a big dark hole. Like a well that has no bottom, going straight though the earth out past china and into the sky. But always dark. I think of sleep and all the colors I see behind my eye lids and how they always end up turning back to black.

The colors of my life

(437 words)

We Did It!

In my life I have been a lot of things, but this is my first, and probably my last, time I will ever be a national champion. After Happiness Inc, the varsity show choir at Kennedy High School, won nationals down in Nashville, Tennessee, the feelings going through me were crazy. I was happy, proud, excited, and even sad. This is what being a national champion means to me.

Being a national champion means that I along with the rest of my show choir have worked our butts off! It means that we have had the longest season ever stretching from July all the way to March. It means we never gave up and kept on trying to improve our show. We pushed the bounds of happiness up and over the sights we saw at the beginning of our season. Before it began, we only dreamed of the possibility to be national champions. Now that dream is a reality and we are all so happy for it.

Being in show choir is like having a second family. Being a national champion makes me proud of all my friends and makes me so happy for the years to come when we will reminisce about the glory days in Happiness Inc. This year we worked so hard and we managed to make it farther than any other Happiness group has gone before us. Being in Happiness Inc. of 2012 school year makes me proud to be a Kennedy student and it means that I have given my energy and attention over to something that is worth more than anything else they can offer us students in high school. It means we made life time friends, memories, records that other groups to follow us will strive to reach.

Being a national champion makes me sad. Now knowing that our season is over, we will forever miss the times and memories we have shared in 2012. Being in Happiness means that we will always have a connection to the people in our group, and even though were all sad that it's over, it will remain to be a “Happi” memory that none of us will soon forget. Knowing that half our group will be leaving at the end of this year makes us all sad. Nervous and excited, for us and them, to continue on knowing forever that we were the group that made it farther than any other happiness group had. Knowing that we made a bond that can never be broken.

Being a national champion makes me excited for next year. Although all the juniors will miss the leaving class, we are still so excited to see how the group will hold in next years season. We're excited to go back out with our heads held high knowing that we are one of the best. Knowing that it wasn’t easy to get to where we are now. We are excited to welcome all the new members who are lucky enough to achieve their goal and be a part of Happiness, Inc. next year. We are excited to go back out and work our butts off yet again trying to reach beyond the triumphs we reached this year

            Over all, we have had a GREAT season. Better than any of us hoped for, and better than anyone was expecting. We have pushed the limits and now our name is one being said across the nation. We ended up on top, and now it's time to bask in the glory of our accomplishments. We did it, Happiness Inc. We did what no one thought we could do. We bounced back up when we fell and worked harder than any group at Kennedy has worked before. We did it. And that’s what it means to be a national champion.

(631 words)

Vera v.s. Coach part 2

Accessories:

            When choosing between accessories my answer is clear. Vera Bradley has a very low selection of accessories. In fact, when clicking on the Accessories button on their page all that comes up is lap top cases and cosmetic bags, and in my opinion these are not accessories at all! However when clicking on the Coach Accessories button a wide variety of hats, scarves, fragrances, key chains, and pet accessories pops up! Now that’s what I call accessories! So my clear choice is Coach!

Luggage:

            Under this category there is no competition! Literally! Coach doesn’t even have a travel or Luggage section on their web page! How can this be? Coach lovers must go on vacation sometimes! However Vera has multiple duffels, rolling luggage, dopp kits, luggage tags, and backpacks that make travel so much more fun and colorfully organized! So obviously my luggage allegiance is pledged to Vera! For now and forever more!

Apparel:

            This category is just pathetic! Coach has an assortment of coats and jackets and that’s it! Not T-shirts or jeans, no tank tops or underwear! Coats and jackets is all they have to offer! But this offer is better than the one given by Vera for there is no apparel on that web page. Vera has nothing to wear on your body. Period. Not even jackets!

School:

            Another Clear win for Vera. When looking at all the school options coming from her end you end up with laptop cases, dopp kits, pens, laundry bags, coffee mugs, blankets, picture frames, everything you could possibly need when getting ready to go off to college! Coach however is no comparison. All they have to offer is a dinky lap top case. LAME! How am I supposed to carry my laundry home in a laptop case! Selection is much too stingy!

Men:

            The final category discussed on this blog is men. When browsing through Vera I see nothing manly enough to make it into a guy’s wish list! So unfortunately I must say that Vera looses this one. Coach has a variety of shoes and bags for men. Not to mention phadoras, key chains, wallets, and belts. So the win for the Men category goes to Coach!

(368 words)

Vera v.s. Coach

When someone asks me my two favorite brand names I have no problem finding my answer. It would defiantly be Vera Bradley and Coach! But I don’t know if I could say which I like better. I like them both for different reasons!

Shoes:

            When I think of shoes I defiantly like coach better! Coach has a very wide variety of shoes such as boots, high tops, heels, exc.! The list goes on and on! Almost any style of shoe you could possibly want you can get in any color! Vera however only has flip flops! Although flip flops are great in the summer I really only wear them when going to the pool or beach! I, not being one to take a visit to the pool very often, find myself standing strong with Coach on this one.

Bags:

When it comes to bags, totes and clutches alike it is a very tough decision. I would probably have to say though that I prefer Vera bags. There are so many styles and patterns there are probably millions of combinations that could be made to personalize a bag to my style. I being a softy for options have to choose Vera. Coach though does have very good bags! I myself have quite a few purses and clutches at home. But the patterns aren’t as exciting and the variety just isn’t as broad. So Vera it is!

Sunglasses:

Although I don’t own Coach or Vera sunglasses I would have to say I am a Vera sunglasses fan. Most Coach sunglasses are quite big and chunky and I am much more a sleek sunglasses fan. I did come very close to buying a pair of Coach sunglasses once but now looking back and comparing them to the Vera sunglasses I want now I simply couldn’t go any way but Vera! The bold patterns and thin-rimmed glasses frames sore far above that of the chunky rimmed Coach sunglasses.

 (324 words)

Floaters, Sinkers, and Skidders

Growing up in a family like mine you learn a lot of very different things. You may be thinking, yea so what my family knows fun facts too! But trust me! My family is especially knowledgeable on any topic most would think to be odd! One of my mothers favorite thing to talk about is Poop! She is a health freak so when she learned that you can use poop to gauge how healthy you are she dove right in!

Poop can be classified into three groups. There are the floaters, the sinkers, and the skidders! Now you may be thinking, floaters?..skidders? Well no worries! In due time you will be a poop expert!

Most people eat meat during every meal, every day! They think to themselves, well protein is good for you! So they just go right on eating. Animal after animal. Well im here to tell you your poop disagrees! Too much protein is not good for you! Have you ever looked in the toilet after taking a nice steamer and noticed its position in the water? No? well im here to tell you that it probably ALWAYS sinks down to the bottom of the toilet! this my friends is not good! When your poop sinks down to the bottom of the toilet it almost always means you have consumed too much protein! Protein is good to some extent but too much is just no good! Don’t belive me? Ask your poop!

The next kind of poop you may have is a skidder! Now when you think about skids they really aren’t a good thing! Weather its breaking to fast in your car or falling down on the cement, skids are never a good thing! Well my friend’s skids in the toilet are no different! When your deuce leaves skid marks while exiting the Lou it means you have eaten too much sugar! We all know sugar is bad for us so why do we continue to stuff ourselves will unhealthy sugary snacks? Well let me tell ya your poop wishes you would stop! Nothing ruins a good bowel movement more than looking down to find that your unhealthy life style is affecting your poop!

Now the most uncommon type of poop! A floater! If I had to guess I would think that right about now your thinking, wait a minute, my poop has never floated! Well to be honest most peoples don’t! But that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing! If you drop the kids off at the poop and you notice that they float, then that means you have been eating food that has a good balance of everything in it! Not too much protein, not too much sugar, just the perfect balanced diet! So floaters are good!

 So next time you pop a squat on the john take a looksy after wards to see how healthy you really are! And remember “Floaters” good! “Sinkers” and “Skidders” bad!

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