Christmas!!!

Alright, so yeah I wanted to post on Christmas day, but things got busy...

So, on Christmas Eve, Mom, Dad, Quinn, and I went to Riverbirch Lodge for dinner. It was fun, although I swear I think it was "pick on Alexis day"...lol. We saw Maggie and her family there, then we headed out, and picking up my grandmother, went to Tanglewood to see the Festival of Lights. We had a great time...there weren't terribly many people there, so it was more relaxing than usual. Then, we dropped my grandmother back off at her house, and went home. We watched tv for a while, then we read "Twas The Night Before Christmas", put out milk and cookies, and went to bed.

The next morning, we all went out to the living room at about 9am, and opened gifts. I got a ton of stuff...lots of dvds, some lego kits, craft supplies, etc. It was great. Everyone seemed really happy with their gifts, especially Quinn, who got an iPod Touch. Then, we made lunch, and hung around until Aunt Lynne, Uncle Herb, and Granny came over for dinner. We ate a meal together, then opened gifts (I got an iTunes gift card from my aunt & uncle and some American Girl stuff from my grandmother). Then, we had apple pie and ice cream, before everyone left. We watched "A Christmas Story" before retiring to bed.

The next day (Saturday), I went over to Sylvia's house, to spend the night along with Emma and Anita. We went to the mall, had pizza, played Clue, watched SNL (the rerun of the Taylor Swift episode), talked until 4 in the morning, then got 6 hours of sleep. When we woke up, we had breakfast, then talked some more, had lunch, and then went to Carmike to see The Blind Side, which was an awesome movie! I'm either going to be dragging Dad to see it, or renting it as soon as it comes out on dvd. When I got home, I watched some football, and worked on the Sunday crossword puzzle (we still have yet to complete one...there are always a few clues we can't figure out). Then, I cleaned Ella's cage, and am now in the process of winding down for bed.

Nothing much going on this week. Dad is gonna take me out to the Wake Forest parking lot at the football stadium to do some practice driving, since he has the week off from work. We're going to the Wake vs. Richmond basketball game on New Year's Eve, and I'm planning on bringing a few friends along since our seatmates aren't going to be attending, and they're giving us their tickets. And maybe a get-together/party that night with some buds to ring in the new year...that is, if I can plan something in that short of a time span.

So, yep, that's it for now. Bye!

Shopping, Basketball, & Movies (because I can't think of a better title)

Okay, so I'm trying to post a lot more often than I had been...let's see how long it takes before I slip back into my old once-a-week posting habits.

Yesterday, my dad and I went out to do some Christmas shopping. We got a few gifts for my mom. We saw a bunch of people we knew while we were out - Lauren Kent & her dad, Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler, and Savannah Jackson.Then, we came back home, and later went out to Coppola's for dinner. Mom, Dad, & Quinn watched "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation", while I cleaned Ella's cage...(I had no interest in seeing that movie.)

Today, my mom and brother went to work at Whistlestop, and my dad and I wrapped gifts at home. As usual, we watched football, and worked on the crossword puzzle in the newspaper. Tonight, he and I are going to the Wake Forest vs. NC State basketball game, which is always fun. Sports is our father-daughter bonding thing.

And I have officially watched too many movies from the 1930's. Thanks to our decade's project, I've now been watching absolutely anything made in the 30's. So far, I've seen "It's Love I'm After", "Gone With The Wind", "Intermezzo: A Love Story", "Pygmalion", and "The Scarlet Pimpernel". Next will be "A Free Soul" and "The Petrified Forest", but I think I'll wait until after Christmas to watch them.

Lastly, I thought I'd share something for the holidays. In second grade, our class did a presentation for the parents, called The Twelve Days of Christmas...except with a twist. Instead of the classic "partridge in a pear tree" version, we used school items. Here's how the last verse went (for the sake of reading, I'm just going to put the 12th day, but we sang the whole thing..."On the first day of Christmas...", etc.)
"On the twelfth day of Christmas my teacher gave to me:
12 books to read, 11 waving rulers, 10 spelling words, 9 caps & hats, 8 glue sticks, 7 worksheets, 6 pairs of scissors, 5 book bags, 4 winter coats, 3 lunch bags, 2 math books, and a "4" on my report card."

Only a few more days until Christmas!

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

It now officially feels like the holidays to me...this snow couldn't have come at a more perfect time.

This week, I took the time to just relax. I watched some of the recorded TCM movies that I had on our DVR, and have been texting with a lot of my friends.
My parents and brother went to the midnight showing of Avatar last night. I stayed home and watched a movie by myself, and the quiet was so relaxing. Avatar was good apparently, as I thought, since it was directed by James Cameron, who directed Titanic. But, being home alone for 4 hours was just as good, if not better.
My mom's making more Santa cookies this weekend, so I'll probably be helping with that. And going to a Wake basketball game with dad on Sunday. And through all of that, and the weather, we have to find a time to go over and decorate my grandmother's Christmas tree, that we picked out last night prior to this weather system coming in.

Now, as I sit here, blinds open, looking out at the snow falling, I think. I think about the magical qualities of snow...how it makes you feel like a kid again, how when you first see it fall, you smile, how you wake up in the morning and peer out your window to see how much has fallen overnight. It truly is a magical thing...

Update: My brother officially ruins everything. He goes out in the snow when there's no one else out there, and so instead of having snowball fights or something with the other kids in our neighborhood, he goes and brushes all the pretty, already-accumulated snow off of everything - the mailbox, the cars, even the trash bins. He can't ruin the side yard, where I can't see it - he has to ruin the pretty view from my bedroom window by wiping all the snow off of everything. It really destroys the look.

Update #2: I managed to get my bro to leave the table on the back deck in peace. When the snow stops (tomorrow, I guess), I'm gonna go out and measure the snow that has accumulated on it...just to see how much snow actually fell.

70 Years Ago...

So, this week has been a little crazy. On Friday, I went over to Emma's house for a birthday party/sleepover. I had a lot of fun...eating pizza, going to Blockbuster, eating cake, watching movies, and staying up until 4 in the morning with Emma, Anita and Sylvia.
On Saturday, I watched a little tv until my grandmother came over to sit with my bro and I while my parents went to a Christmas party hosted by one of my dad's friends, our seatmates at the Wake basketball games, the Goodman's. They ended up bringing home some cream puffs and cheesecake for us, and it was delicious.
On Sunday, my dad and I watched some football, even though his fantasy team is officially out of the playoffs. We almost finished the crossword puzzle from the newspaper, and that pretty much sums up our weekend.
Yesterday, my mom went to the dentist, then over to the oral surgeon's to have a wisdom tooth pulled. Now she gets to (sort of) feel how I felt when I got mine removed...except she only had to get one pulled, and she didn't have to be put under, have stitches, etc. but I digress.
Today, we are celebrating her birthday (which btw, is today). My aunt is coming over for dinner, and then giving Mom her gift. They are also exchanging their annual "ornament exchange" ornaments (a family tradition between Mom and her sisters). So tonight promises to be a good evening.

Now, onto my reasoning for the title of this post, my new semi-obsession, Gone With The Wind, which premiered 70 years ago to the day in Atlanta, Georgia (that's 1939 for those of you who don't like math). If you haven't seen the movie, I seriously suggest you do...it's worth the length (3 and 3/4 hours). Warning: spoilers coming up, so skip the next paragraph or two if you want to read the book or see the movie and don't want to know what happens ahead of time.
Basically, it's about a young girl, (well, not really a girl...she's 16 at the beginning of the movie, 28 at the end), Scarlett O'Hara, who lives in Georgia at the start of the Civil War. She is deeply in love with her neighbor, Ashley Wilkes, but Ashley is getting married to his cousin, Melanie (weird, I know...apparently, it's tradition that the Wilkes' marry their cousins). So anyway, Scarlett, being the hard-headed woman that she is, still proclaims to Ashley that she loves him when she speaks with him alone in the library during a barbecue at his family's home. Overhearing this conversation is the rogue blockader from Charleston, Rhett Butler, who, over the course of the story, falls in love with Scarlett, who is still enamored with Ashley. Scarlett marries twice, but she never really loved either of her husbands, only marrying Charles to make Ashley jealous, and Frank for the money to pay the taxes on her family home, Tara. She marries Rhett after Frank's death, and they have a daughter, Bonnie, whom Rhett dotes on constantly. But Scarlett and Rhett's relationship soon becomes rocky when Scarlett suffers a miscarriage after falling down a flight of stairs trying to hit Rhett, and Bonnie dies when she tries to jump a tall fence with her pony. Rhett, tired of Scarlett's never-ending love for Ashley Wilkes, leaves her the night Melanie dies of a miscarriage. Upon asking what would become of her after he left, Rhett's last, and most famous words to Scarlett, are "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."
The heartbreaking story details not only the physical struggles Scarlett faces during and after the war (like working in the fields when all the slaves their family owned had been freed), but also the emotional struggles (like the deaths of both of her parents, her first two husbands, and eventually, her daughter, and sister-in-law). Over the course of the story, Scarlett grows, not only physically, but, more importantly, emotionally, and realizes that her love of Ashley was nothing more than infatuation, and that in that infatuation, had pushed away the person she really loved, Rhett. The story ends with her vowing to get Rhett back, and her famous line, "Tomorrow is another day."

Overall, it's a wonderful story. In celebration of the 70th anniversary, TCM (Turner Classic Movies) is showing the movie on tv at 8:00pm tonight, followed by a "Making of a Legend" segment, describing the making of the movie. (I'm DVRing/recording both, even though I'm probably going to be receiving the DVD for Christmas.) And if you like the movie, I would really suggest reading the book. As always, the book goes into much more detail than the movie. Don't be afraid of the length (1,037 pages), since it's such an easy read. But the movie is an easy alternative...I mean , you can't go wrong with Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland, and Leslie Howard in the leading roles. A great story of love and loss, Gone With The Wind is truly a classic.

Dirty Santa Party & The Rockettes

So the day finally came. I was planning on sleeping in until close to 10, but I ended up waking up around 9 cuz Aaron texted me. And it wasn't until 10:30 that I told him that I needed to stop texting so I could get some stuff done for the party. When my mom came home from work, we started working on the food. We made quite a bit of stuff, including a double batch of canolli dip. I got dressed in my new red dress from Deb with silver sequin flats, a choker, and a bracelet.
Sylvia arrived first, followed by Anita. Then, everyone came in a rush, with Ryan and Maggie coming later. We chatted, snacked on food, and laughed so hard. Some of us went downstairs to let Ella out, but it wasn't worth it since she was scared of everyone.
Then, the fun began. We went upstairs, squeezed all 12 of us into the living room, and began the game of Dirty Santa. Here's who ended up with what:
Me: Best Buy gift card
Anita: Bath and body set
Emma: Books
Chelsea: Amani beads
Alicia: Olivia the Pig & gloves
Maggie: Starbucks gift card
Sylvia: iTunes gift card
Ryan: Target gift card
Patrick: Chocolate
Aaron: Rubix 360
Robyn: Snowglobe
Elizabeth: Dove necklace (but it got lost, so I gave her one of the extra gifts I had bought)
So, then we all chatted for the last hour or so, took a group picture, and everyone left. I had so much fun!

Today, we didn't do much. We ended up relaxing for the day. Then, we went to the LJVM Coliseum for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. It was an awesome show! It started out with Santa and his reindeer, then went to a shortened version of the Nutcracker, which was adorable! Among the other performances was the "Christmas in New York" segment where all of the Rockettes get on a bus, and they take you on a tour of NYC, through a combination of the computerized backdrop and the spinning of the bus, which makes you feel like you're really there. The costumes were amazing throughout the whole show...I loved the richness of the colors during the nativity scene, and the shimmer of the last costume for the Rockettes. One of the funniest parts of the evening was that the people who bought floor seats got sprayed with confetti and streamers - there was a guard/security guy right in front of the stage that had fake snow all over his head and shoulders during one scene! The whole show was incredible to watch...I wish I could go to NYC and see the performance at Radio City Music Hall; it would just make the experience so much more festive. But, this performance was wonderful for the time being.

On the agenda for tomorrow...not that much. Probably watching football, but other than that, idk.

Party Prep

This week is going to be very tiring...I can tell already.

Our long weekend was spent putting up decorations, cleaning, and painting (my dad took care of the last one). We basically have been doing party prep for the past few days, but it's nice to have things clean and tidy.
So today, we rearranged the furniture in our basement, which I guess really isn't a basement since it isn't really separate from the house. But anyway, we put our couch, which had previously been in the living room, down there, since my aunt got a new couch and gave us her old one, which was practically brand new. Then, we moved the air hockey table out, because instead of being used for its intended purpose, it's been used as a collection table, where all our junk ends up. We moved around the chairs, and vacuumed. Then, we dropped my dad's leaf blower off to get it fixed, and picked up lunch from Taco Bell. I ended up in my room in a futile attempt to finish cleaning my room, and was interrupted by my mom asking if I wanted to head to the mall. We needed to see if Deb had any more of my dress in the same size because the strap had been sewn on wrong. They didn't, so my mom will be sewing it prior to the party on Friday. We went next door to the Shoe Dept. and I found a cute pair of silver sequin flats that I'm planning on wearing with my dress. Then, we went to Sears, and my mom bought a new lamp base for our living room. On our way home, we stopped at AC Moore to get a ribbon bow for the wreath on the front door.
I've been playing with Ella, and watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Shrek the Halls, then transitioning to football. My dad won his fantasy game this week!

Alright, so that's my day. And really that's what I'm going to be doing all week, too. But it will all pay off on Friday!

Thanksgiving & Today's Stuff

This year we went to my aunt & uncle's as always for Thanksgiving. We had the traditional turkey, stuffing, cranberries, veggies, pie, etc. We talked about anything and everything there was to talk about - the gym, my drivers ed, cars, latest news, etc. I had a really great time.

Today, we started decorating the house for the holidays. The tree actually went up the night before (Thanksgiving night) but we did pretty much everything else today. We brought down our two humongous nutcrackers that I swear are as tall as I am, the garland for the staircase, a few light-up villages, my personal mini-tree for my bedroom, and lots of other stuff. I was really exhausted afterward, and ended up eating our own Thanksgiving meal since my mom likes to make our own turkey & stuffing to have around the house for sandwiches and leftovers. Plus, we all think it tastes better. Then, we re-watched Merry Madagascar, which was just as funny the second time around, and watched some of the other things that we had DVRed from this week. Then, my mom and I made some more pink ribbons for Dad for work, and then said goodnight.

This week is going to be crazy. With the party coming up this Friday, I'm gonna have a lot of stuff to do, including shopping, cleaning, making food, and last minute touches. And with my dad on a business trip the last part of the week, that means that all the lights on the house have to get put up prior to his leaving, since he won't be back until the night of the party. So, I'm trying not to freak out right now...lol.

The Holidays Are Approaching...

This week has been very fun overall. Except for driver's ed, that is.

So besides having driver's ed this past Monday through Friday for 3 hours each day, I haven't been doing much. I went to see Sylvia perform in "Ask Any Girl" at Reagan yesterday, and Emma and I sat together. And Quinn's snake bit him yesterday, not badly, but still news-worthy in my opinion. My mom, brother, aunt and I went to the Whimsical Women craft show this morning. I didn't buy anything, but it was fun just to go and look around. Then, the four of us had lunch at Coppola's. I'm now at home, but will be leaving in about half an hour to go to Whistlestop until 7:00pm.

So I finally started thinking about how fast time had flown. I mean, it's already less than a week until Thanksgiving! And then only a few weeks after that is Christmas and New Year's. I'm trying to get into the holiday spirit by listening to 99.5 WMAG, and I think it's been helping. I'm also in the midst of planning a holiday party for some of my friends from middle school whom I haven't talked to or seen in months. I'm trying to get the invitations sent this weekend.
I really can't wait to set up the decorations. I love putting up the tree (artificial one, but it's pre-lit, so it's easier) in the living room, as well as the small white one that goes in my room. And all the other decorations that we have...and we have a lot of them! My dad is gonna put the lights on the house this weekend, I think.

I finish my in-class portion of driver's ed this coming Tuesday. The person from the DMV is coming on Monday to do the vision tests for all of us, which has now dwindled to maybe 25 students because of behavior and attendance issues. I can't wait to be done with it - it breaks up my day just enough that I can't get anything done.

Alright, so that's my life right now...

What A Week!

This week has been all too tiring for me.

So, this Tuesday marked my first day of Driver's Ed class. It was just okay. I saw one person I knew, Courtney, one of my friends when I was in elementary school. The second day of class (which was Thursday because of Veteran's Day) was better, except that we were crammed into this tiny classroom (btw, there's 40-50 people in our class) because of a baby shower that was going on in the cafeteria, our normal meeting place. And I met two other people that I knew, Katie and Ciara, also from my old elementary school. And today (Friday) was better than the first two - 1) We weren't crammed in a tiny classroom and 2) I sat with Courtney, and (get this!) another girl whom I had been friends with at Gibson, Rachael.

Today, I went to another Wake basketball game. They played some school called Oral Roberts, and I really don't have a clue whether ORU is a high-ranking team or not - I really don't keep up with the standings. It was pretty fun, until about the end of the first half, when some family (it looked like a mother, father, their two sons and a friend of the younger son) sat down in the seats in front of us (idk why they came in so late). And I feel bad for saying this, but they were kinda annoying. They mom had on a leg wrap/brace and was constantly shifting it around or taking off/putting on the thing, and the older son had some sort of mental disability because he was constantly bobbing back and forth (he was sitting in front of me, and I swear I couldn't concentrate on the game because of his bobbing, which I know wasn't his fault, since he probably can't control it, but it was still annoying just the same, and I do realize I'm being mean, so I'm going to say "I'm sorry" right now to make up for it). But Wake won, so it was fun.

And today I had my first feeling of "hey, I'm kinda popular". Well, not really, but kinda. Why? Well, I was talking with Aaron on my cell (btw, I'm glad you like the blog!) and got a text from Sylvia at the same time. And in the process, I completely stopped talking with Aaron so I could look at my phone to see what it was (sorry Aaron!). So, of course, I thought "well, this must be what it's like to be really popular". But, yeah...okay, that was stupid.

Okay, it's like, 1:15 am now, so I'm gonna stop right here. And there's really not all that much more to say, so bye for now!

Long Post

I think I've been kinda lazy about posting...but better now than never I guess.

Okay, so let me start where I left off...Patrick's Halloween party. It was interesting to say the least. Music, candy, movies, etc. all add up to a pretty good night. Except for the fact that I couldn't fit through the basement door with my wings on...I had to pull them to my sides every time I went in or out.

Halloween was fun... we really don't get a lot of trick-or-treaters down in our neighborhood, so we decided that we weren't giving out candy. So while my mom and brother went out, my dad and I watched TV and played with Ella like any other Saturday night.

Wednesday, we went on our first field trip as homeschoolers - to the NC Zoo in Asheboro. We had quite a bit of fun. We walked to basically every exhibit that was open, had lunch, and walked some more before catching the shuttle back to the parking lot.

And on Thursday, I went to the opening Wake Forest men's basketball game at the Joel Coliseum. My dad and I met our seat-mates, the Goodmans, at Applebee's for dinner, then we drove to the game. And although it was only an exhibition game, it was fun - we have better seats than the previous years we had gone (instead of being in the top level corner section, we're in the top level middle section, right around half court). I saw Will P. as we were leaving, and I think I saw Chandler B. as we were coming in.

Friday, we went to Kohl's to look for a coat for me. I found one, although it's not a very good one (it's unlined, so it's really itchy if you have to wear short sleeves under it). But at least I have something other than my huge hoodie. We were looking through the holiday displays there when we happened upon the Hallmark ornaments display. We found one that was modeled after the "leg lamp" from the movie A Christmas Story (maybe it's "The" instead of "A", I'm not sure.... We bought that one, but we also saw one from the same movie that had Ralphie dressed in the pink bunny outfit...lol.)

So yesterday and today I was at Whistlestop with mom. Saturdays are more interesting... I made lots of ribbons/bows for wrapping gifts, probably the most I've made in one weekend. Boring, but whatever.

Oh, and I start driver's ed on Tuesday. I have to take it at North Forsyth since that's my district school. It goes for two weeks of in-class stuff, then three days of in-car after it. My dad's gonna let me drive around at my elementary school parking lot (right up the road from my house) before I do the in-car stuff, which should be very interesting...

And now for my random thing of the week: I watched a 1937 screwball comedy this week called "It's Love I'm After". It was pretty funny, not the funniest thing I've ever seen, but it had its scenes where you couldn't stop laughing.

So, yep, that's my post for today...

Football, Costume, & Whistlestop

So Friday, I went to the Reagan/West game with Sylvia. Aaron S. came with us, and we met up with Chelsea J. and Natalie (who was on the West dance team) once we got to the stadium. We randomly went from the West stands to the Reagan stands about 4 or 5 times, then finally settled into some seats on the Reagan side for halftime and stayed there for the remainder of the game. (We somehow ended up sitting a row behind Mr. Stamp.) So, as usual, Sylvia forgot her glasses, so none of us ended up watching the game. The final score was Reagan - 11, West - 28.

On Saturday, my mom, dad, brother, and I went to Spirit Halloween to get costumes. My brother needed one for Halloween, I needed one for the party. My brother decided on a knight, and I got a honey bee costume, which consists of a strapless dress, wings, and a headband, that I will be pairing with black leggings and either black boots or black heeled shoes. I went to Whistlstop with mom afterwards, which was pretty boring, except for making curl-ribbon bow-thingys for wrapping gifts. When we got home, I cleaned Ella's cage, and we rented The Brothers Bloom from our "Movies On Demand" channel. The plot line itself was boring, and the only funny things that happened were things randomly blowing up or people saying random things. So overall, don't watch The Brothers Bloom; it is a waste of your time.

Today, mom and Quinn went to Whistlestop, while dad went to a Wake soccer game to do some things for Komen. So I stayed at home and wound up finishing some of the school work that I didn't get a chance to do on Friday and just laying around. I found this cool thing on history.com, called "This Day In History" that categorizes past events (that happened on that day) by General Interest, Civil War, Sports, Crime, etc. Today, in 1764, John Adams married Abigail Smith, and in 1881, Pablo Picasso was born.

So, onto my activities for the first part of the week...
Tomorrow, I want to get my school work done early so I can work on this foam haunted house craft set that I bought at Michael's. Then, I'm gonna watch some football with my dad, along with The Big Bang Theory, which if you have never seen, I seriously suggest you watch.
Tuesday, I'm not gonna be doing much. Maybe some cleaning...
And on Wednesday, I'm going to Patrick's Halloween party, which should be fun.

Alright, I'm done for the night...bye!

Busy Week

Tonight I attended the production of "The Long View" at Mt. Tabor. Among the cast members were Maggie, Alicia, Sarah, and Sofia. It was a really neat play - I loved the way they gave the cast their own time onstage by themselves. Then, we stuck around and watched the production of "Doubt". What a change from "The Long View"! They went from the semi-emotional, large-cast production to the (okay, I'm at a loss of words to describe it), small-cast production in the same night. "Doubt", unfortunately, was pretty boring, and it was a real let-down, considering that it has a fairly good storyline. I need to see the movie version now...

So, all of a sudden, I'm busy. Here's my schedule:
Friday - Reagan/West football game with Sylvia, Aaron S., Chelsea J., Natalie, etc.
Saturday - Whistlestop with mom
Sunday - Watching football with dad (which I know really isn't busy, but whatever)
Wednesday - Halloween party at Patrick M.'s house, which I need to buy a costume for...idk what I'm gonna be able to find last-minute like this...

A New Book

I'm gonna start with a story. For the longest time, my brother has been complaining about how his iPod won't work. He says that he can't get it to turn on - the screen always stays black. We've asked him constantly if he's put his iPod into its dock so it can charge, but he always says no, and reminds us that he thinks it's charged. So, tonight, I decided to work on it. Turns out, it wasn't charged at all. I can't wait to tell him in the morning!

Alright, so other than that, I've been doing practically nothing. The only semi-interesting thing was reading The Lost Symbol (509 pages in 3 days). This was the first Dan Brown novel I've read, even though I've seen the movie versions of both The DaVinci Code and Angels & Demons. And actually, I like his writing - fast-paced, short chapters that span a total of about 12 hours in the characters' lives, with lots of twists and turns. Overall, the book was good; the ending was the only part I didn't enjoy since it had too much explanation of what the "lost symbol" really was. And the fact that the spine of the book jacket gave away the ending location...but I liked the way the story was written - it gave me lots of information as well, especially about things like the history of the Capital Building. Did you know that there was once a statue of George Washington dressed as Zeus inside? Or that there is a labyrinth of tunnels underneath the building itself? And there's this thing called Noetic Science that scientists are studying. They think that the human mind can affect physical matter, as well as some other crazy things, like that humans have a soul, and it can be weighed. I don't know if any of this is true, but it's some pretty cool stuff to think about, if you ask me.

This whole week has been pretty boring, probably cuz of the rain and the overall gloominess. Nothing but a trip to Costco and 3 hours wasted trying to find a coat at the mall in a total of five days. But, life goes on...

Reagan Football Night #2

Tonight I went to the Reagan vs. Tabor game with Sylvia. And I was amazed at how many people I saw from Hanes - Patrick M., Matthew, McKenzie, Gunnar, Neel, Richard, Warren, Sarah, Sherman, Amanda, Sofia, Mr. Talbert, and Mr. Marckel. So I had lots of fun, even though Reagan lost 27 to 0 (and no, I didn't make a mistake, that is a zero...).

Here are some things I learned tonight:
- Do not let Patrick tie your shoelaces together - you will never get them undone, unless he unties them himself. (This didn't happen to me, but I still learned something from it.)
- Sylvia is still failing at being over "him", even though she says she doesn't like him anymore.
- And I can text and walk at the same time, something that I seemed to have been failing at until now.

Tomorrow, dad's fraternity brother & his family, who came down from Maryland for Wake Forest's homecoming, are coming over for breakfast, then mom and I are going to Whistlestop for the 2:30 to 7:00 shift.

Yep, so I'm pretty tired right now...didn't really feel like writing a lot, but whatever.

Horoscope & Recap

Okay, so today my horoscope on the Road Runner homepage is: "You’re shocked – in a good way – at something new that feels really wonderful. It’s a good day to spread the word and make sure that your people are as open to the big change as you are." I guess the first part is true...kinda.
Anyway, yesterday I went to Whistlestop with my mom. It wasn't all that interesting, so I won't go into detail. But, long story short, Sylvia finally "remembered" what she was supposed to remember, thanks to Shannon. And I feel pretty happy about it.
Then, we went to the mall. My mom and I were both looking for purses; she found one, but I didn't. We also stopped at Godiva to get some truffles and biscuits. When we got home, I cleaned Ella's cage, and we watched SNL until it ended at 1:00am.

Today, I've been really lazy. I woke up late, then washed the dishes. I've been watching football, both with and without my dad, who has been cutting the grass, weed-whacking, and blowing leaves today. I don't really know what I'm doing tonight, but I'm pretty sure it will be more of the same lazy stuff, probably more football and playing with Ella.

UPDATE: We had pizza dinner with my grandmother tonight. Now that I'm home, I'll probably do some of that lazy stuff mentioned above.

Friday Night Football Fun

So this week has been fairly uneventful.
On Thursday, my brother and I got our pictures taken for photo sculptures, which was fun. I wore my bright blue skinny corduroys, the black, blue, green, & yellow blouse I got from Deb, and my multi-colored Converse. My brother wore black pants and a blue t-shirt with a silver and black design.
Today, my mom took my brother and I to Target, since Quinn wanted to look at some of toys, and she wanted to look for a soap dispenser. We came home, I took a vocabulary test, then worked on a math lesson and my answers for a short story, "The Real Thing" by Henry James, which is part of my Language Arts stuff.
Then, I got ready for the Reagan homecoming game against Carrboro. My mom dropped me off at Sylvia's. Aaron S. was already there, and we chatted for a few minutes before leaving for the game. We bought our tickets, entered, and got seats. Sylvia's friend, Andrew joined us, and after halftime, Nicholas came over. We had a lot of fun trying to teach Sylvia how the game of football worked, which was hard because she had left her glasses at home, so she and I shared my pair of specs. Unfortunately, Reagan lost 21 to 17, but I had a great time anyway. When the game was over, we stayed to watch the marching band perform, then were picked up and taken back to Sylvia's house. My mom picked me up, drove me home, and we watched the Jay Leno show that they had taped this evening.
Right now, I'm streaming 105.7 radio live on my laptop, using my iPod earbuds so I don't disturb my bro in the next room. My dad has to leave at 4:30 in the morning to go to Charlotte to watch the Race for the Cure that the affiliate down there is holding tomorrow. My mom, bro, aunt, and I are going to go to Enchanted Cottage, the scrapbooking store, since they're having a sale.

Friends = Fun

So this entry will be short, but whatever...

So today, I woke up at around 10:30, and after showering and whatnot, my mom took my brother and I out to run errands. We stopped at Walgreen's, the grocery store, and ate at Zoe's. Then, we came home to find that my order from Justice had arrived (the mailman had somehow stuffed the huge bag into our mailbox). I absolutely love the colored skinny corduroys, but I'm returning the jacket because after trying it on, it was too big. My mom said that I could order the next size down if I wanted to, but I don't think I will since I probably won't wear it, as I can't decide whether I like the way the leather (okay, "pleather") sits when I put it on.
But anyway, then I poked around on the computer for a while, before getting ready to go over to Reagan for a volleyball game that Sylvia had invited me to. At the game, we bought raffle tickets, chatted, and watched the games. One of my raffle tickets won, and my prize was a laptop bag/carrier with a mug and mousepad, which wasn't the best prize for a fourteen-year-old girl, but at least I won something. Sylvia and I both wished that our numbers would have been called for the money game, where one-dollar bills are spread all over half of the court, and the person that gets called gets ten seconds to pick up as many as they can - they get to keep what they pick up! So anyway, I saw a few people from Hanes, including Sylvia (duh), Thomas B., Jenny, and Sarah. I also saw one of my friends from elementary school, Caitlin. I had so much fun - and I might be going to Reagan's homecoming game next Friday with Sylvia, too!

Fall Rant Session

Note to readers: I felt like ranting today, so please excuse my bad mood...

Yep, it's autumn now...I'm not happy about it. My reasons?

The fair - I've never been a fan of going to the fair. I don't like going on the rides (I've never liked rides), so what's the point in going? My parents answer would be: a nice night out together as a family, but all that ever happens is that we walk around, my brother goes on the funhouse mazes, we get something to eat, which is always a disaster because my brother never speaks up if he wants something, so we end up walking all the way back to where we were to get what he wants. Then, we play maybe two games on the midway, grab cotton candy on the way out, and head for the parking lot. So, yes, I hate the fair...

Halloween - Another thing I hate...I haven't been out trick-or-treating in years. We go out, walk the neighborhood, where maybe half the houses are handing out candy, and then walk all the way back home. Not fun, especially with my little bro and mom (who won't even let me ride my bike farther than the next street over by myself). So my Halloween consists of staying at home with my dad.

The only good things about fall are the NFL and Wake Forest basketball games, which I guess balance out the bad things...

Okay, rant's over...sorry but I needed that!

A Good Week

I'm feeling very good right now - this is why:

1) I've survived 5 full days of post-operative stuff, with little to no pain at all. I've been off the pain medication for a few days, which means I only have to take the antibiotics three times a day until the prescription runs out. And I am almost fully back to eating solid food, and (this is the unfortunate part) can put my retainers back in.

2) I'm back into my nightly reading schedule (well, except for tonight and last night). My mom took Quinn and I to Barnes and Noble last week to buy one book apiece for independent reading. I chose the adult version of a book I had bought at the Hanes book fair and read on the way back from my aunt's baby shower in April - Manhunt by James L. Swanson. When I read the kids version, it was a little too "kiddie" for me, so I had been wanting to read the adult book for a while. [It's about the manhunt for John WIlkes Booth.]

3) I went with my mom to Whistlestop again today, and had a lot of fun. We picked up Chick-Fil-A on the way over to eat in the backroom at the store. The coolest thing that happened was that a lady came in and bought two of the huge stuffed animals - a lion and a horse. We hardly ever get to ring up any of the large animals, so this was a rare occasion. My mom told me later tonight that she had planned on reading Gone With The Wind next, but she decided to bring another book to the store because "it was too heavy" to bring in her purse, which is weird because when I was reading it, I brought it to the store one Saturday...

4) My mom bought Dan Brown's new book, The Lost Symbol, today while she and Quinn were at Target. She gave it to me to read first, since she still had a large stack of books she had to read before she could get to it. Then I realized that even though I've seen both The DaVinci Code and Angels & Demons movies, I've never read the books, so this will be my first Dan Brown novel. But I have to finish my other book first.

5) I took my very first homeschool test on Friday - and I got a 100! It was on the first Wordly Wise lesson, which is similar to the workbook we did for Mrs. Edge in 6th grade during homeroom. This week will mark the real start for me because this week I didn't do anything because of the surgery.

6) I ordered some new fall clothes from Justice today. They were having a 40% off special if you placed your order online, so since I was looking into some of the more expensive items, we jumped at the savings. So I ordered three pairs of skinny corduroys - one each in orange, blue, and purple - and a black "pleather" motorcycle jacket that has this really cool diagonal zipper across the front. And I just realized that I need to ask my dad if he can take me over to the Deacon Shop at the mall so I can get a Wake Forest shirt - he got tickets for the men's basketball this season, which we passed on last year, due to the fact that it wasn't a necessity with my dad out of work.

So I'm having a good week...

Oh, and I was thinking that I really should have a name for my blog, not just "Lexi's Blog." Does anyone have any suggestions?

An Interesting Day

Okay, so I'm gonna make this a short post because I'm not going into all the details. I'm just too tired to explain it all...

So today, I woke up at 7:45 and left the house at 8:45. Mom signed the consent form when we got to Dr. Peoples' office, then I went back to one of the rooms. They hooked up various things, like heart monitors, IV stuff, and a blood pressure cuff. They gave me oxygen through a nose mask, then changed it to laughing gas, while Dr. Peoples found a blood vessel for the IV, which he sprayed with a solution that makes your arm feel cold (he calls it "penguin pee"), then sticks the needle in. And then, I was out.
I woke up with all the instruments taken off me, and gauze in my mouth. The nurse led me out to the car, and Mom drove me home. I slept for a couple of hours, then came out and had applesauce and water, then my antibiotic and pain medications. Then, I helped Mom finish the puzzle we had been working on, before coming back into my room. I think I'm going to watch the premiere of Leno tonight, that is, if I can stay up for it, which I think I'll be able to do.

So, in conclusion, I'm okay right now. The pain-killer medication is working, and somehow, I'm not drowsy...but we'll see how it goes later.

Gatlinburg Trip

So we spent a total of a day and a half in Gatlinburg, TN. We arrived just after noon on Sunday, parked at the hotel, then walked down the road to have lunch. We ended up eating at the Bubba Gump's right on the corner, and it was really yummy. And the restaurant itself was pretty cool, too. They had all sorts of Forrest Gump stuff on the walls, and the waitresses asked you trivia questions about the movie (I really need to see that movie again...I didn't know the answers to over half the questions our waitress asked!). So after lunch, we played a round of mini-golf at the Black Light course, a 9-hole, indoor one which was full of black lights, making the underwater theme look even cooler. And like half the songs they played were from The Little Mermaid, so I made a fool of myself (but had fun) singing along with every song. Then, we played one of the outdoor courses, walked around, went in some shops, then turned around, and walked back up the road by the stream. We got close to our hotel, and then decided to try the skylift, a chairlift that goes up the side of the mountain. It was really neat and relaxing. We went back to our hotel, watched a little TV, then went to dinner at one of the restaurants along the main road. We played another round of golf, then got funnel cake and headed back to the hotel for the night.
On Monday morning, we had breakfast at the Log Cabin Pancake House, then went out and played at Circus golf, which was really cool because you played with 3-D glasses on, so everything looked weird. Then, we went through the mirror maze, which was hilarious, because my parents didn't quite understand the concept of "look for the mirror that doesn't have your reflection", so my brother and I finished in no time flat. Then, we played at Treasure Quest golf. We messed around with the palm reading machines along the outskirts of the course - I got "lucky in love" on the one I tried. So then, we went up the space needle, which was really neat, before heading back to the hotel to get our car and leave town.
I had lots of fun, and as for our family mini-golf tournament, I won for the second year in a row!

Today, I worked on my school stuff, then Mom took me over to the drugstore to get my prescriptions filled for the surgery on Monday. And now, I'm downstairs, letting Ella run around, while I prepare to watch the opening kickoff of the NFL regular season. My dad's doing fantasy football again this year, which I'm so excited for...

First Day of School

Okay, so today was my first official day of high school! Yesterday, we got all our workbooks, textbooks, and notebooks together. And, after running errands, which included a dentist visit for my mom, a stop at Barnes & Noble for some books, and a trip to Costco (where we talked with Mrs. Wheeler), we started our lessons.

So what kinds of things am I doing? Wordly Wise (which is like the thing in 6th grade we did in the morning - learning words & their definitions, with fill-in-the-blank type activities), geometry, economics, American literature (reading books by Hemingway, Crane, and Steinbeck), short stories, poetry (Dickinson, Poe, etc.), Spanish, learning about checking accounts, and I don't really know yet what for science.

Today was pretty easy, except for geometry, which took a little while to figure out (and the fact that I couldn't remember how to do roots on the calculator for the warm-up questions). But anyway, a good day overall...

Oh, and my outfit:
- black t-shirt with neon (pink, yellow, orange, & purple) peace signs
- denim shorts
- black sandals

Gatlinburg trip post coming soon!

Impromptu Trip

Okay, so let me start with the fact that I'm leaving on an impromptu trip in less than 12 hours. My parents somehow decided that we needed to just go somewhere, so all of a sudden, my brother brings up mini-golf in our conversation tonight, being that my dad had taken us over to the driving range (for those of you not well-educated in golf terminology, it's a place where you hit/"drive" golf balls for distance, not play the whole course...okay, bad description. Look it up if you want.) So anyway, my brother brings it up, and my dad pulls out this huge stack of print-outs from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, which somehow has about as many mini-golf places as Myrtle Beach. And so that is where I'll be Sunday and Monday, and I'll be back on Monday night.

So I guess I'll recap my day for you... My dad took my brother and I to the driving range, and after hitting golf balls for about an hour, my hands were so raw. My left hand especially... But anyway, after that, I went with my mom to Whistlestop from 2:30 to 7:00. When we got home, we watched The Sound of Music, which was on at the time, not only because it's a cute movie, but because we wanted to see if we could recognize anything from our day in Salzburg, Austria, during the Europe trip last summer. Then, I cleaned Ella's cage, bought some songs on iTunes, and am now at the computer simultaneously using Blogger and Facebook.

And I've realized that everything for me revolves around the 14th of September, the day of my surgery. I can't even say, "Oh I can't wait for the premiere of "Flash Forward" on the 24th..." because I'm still thinking of the 14th... But the good thing about the whole thing is that I get to basically boss my brother around for a few days after, when I'll be tired enough to stay in bed most of the day, and Quinn will have to get stuff for me!

Killer Recap [For You Scaredy-Cats Out There]

SPOILER ALERT!!! DO NOT READ THIS POST UNLESS YOU PLAN ON NOT READING THE BOOK!

So this is the basics for Killer by Sara Shepard. I found this on yahoo answers or something. Short, but to-the-point.

Emily broke up with Isaac because his mom hated her, and when she told Isaac he didn't believe her.
Spencer met with her "real mom" in New York City and wanted to move there so she contacted her "real mom's" real estate agent and paid for her new apartment and when she got to New York it didn't exist, so the whole thing was a scam.
Aria was avoiding her mom's boyfriend Xavier and started seeing Jason DiLaurentis but "A" lead her to his house pretending to be him and he wasn’t there when he got home he freaked out and sent her away. Later she found out that he used to go to a mental institute called the Radley.
Hannah was competing with her stepsister, Kate, for Mike Montgomery, Aria's brother.
The four girls told Wilden about where they had found Isaac's dead body and when they showed him he wasn't there then they got messages from Ian. Spencer talked to him online and he told her that Wilden and Jason DiLaurentis killed Ali. After they found out, someone in the woods set Spencer's barn on fire while they were in it, and they escaped. Aria was on her way back through the woods with Ali's flag piece that she stole in 6th grade; she heard someone cry for help in the woods, and she helped them, and when all four girls were away from the barn together the person that Aria had helped took off their hood, and when they looked at the person it was Ali.

Not the best, most detailed summary, but I figure it's good enough for those of you who won't read it for whatever reason. If you want more, just read the book - it's not all that scary! I promise!

Oriental Trip, Surgery, & Books

I really should have posted this a long time ago, but oh well.

Oriental was so fun! Thanks for giving me something to look forward to at the end of a pretty boring summer. Anyway, kayaking, sailing, biking, and shopping with you guys was so fun! I posted the pics on Facebook - I'll try to figure out how to share them with those of you not on Facebook.

Okay, so Tuesday I went to the oral surgeon for my consultation appointment. Dr. Peoples is really nice. So anyway, the official date for the surgery is Monday Sept. 14th at 9:30am. And I'm not all that scared about the actual procedure, just more about the recovery, but it should all be fine.

I reached my goal of reading 8 books over the summer! Yesterday I finished the last Jeff Shaara book I ordered, then read Death by Denim in about two and a half hours. I think I'm gonna start reading Gone With The Wind in a few days.

Killer summary coming in a few days, since I know some of you are too scared to read the book...the next one in the series, Heartless, doesn't come out until January 2010!

Weekend Stuff

I was at the toystore all day on Saturday (10am to 7pm). I'm getting the hang of using the register now. And so that was a pretty boring day.

Shannon, Elizabeth, and Robyn came over on Sunday. We went to the mall, listened to music, filled out some questionnaires in my "Coke or Pepsi" book, played with Ella, and went to dinner at Chili's.

In the morning, we had waffles, then Robyn left. Shannon and Lizzie came to the pool with me for a few hours, then we came home and had a late lunch before dropping them off at their houses. And I realized how tiring being a host can be - I came home and took a nap afterward.

Then today I went to the orthodontist, where I got my retainers, which actually aren't all that bad, except for the fact that I talk weird with them in. My mom and I went over to the pool for a few hours, and I got burned pretty bad, which was kinda my goal, since the only way I get tanned is to let a sunburn fade into a tan. I've been on the computer (on and off) for the rest of the day, along with doing some reading. My bike came yesterday, so my dad put it together today, but I haven't been able to test it out because of the rain. I also got my t-shirt and earrings, although I may have to send one of the pairs back for a new one cuz the post on one of the nickel ones is way off-center.

So that's pretty much it for today.

Lots of Random Stuff

So today's post is random stuff from the past week or so...

Movies - My mom and I rented Confessions of a Shopaholic a few days ago because she had read the book (I had not, but I wanted to see it anyway). It was really cute and pretty funny, too. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for some laughs...

Books - Just finished my sixth book of the summer, Rise to Rebellion by Jeff Shaara. I enjoyed it a lot; I'm glad they included a woman's perspective (Abigail Adams), as I was getting too used to the male point of view, a basic theme in any Shaara novel (duh!). This book is the first in a two-part series, Rise to Rebellion covering March 1770 to mid-July 1776, The Glorious Cause covering August 1776 to November 1783. And as you've probably guessed, I'm beginning the second book today.

Shopping - So I've been trying to limit my purchasing for the time being. However, this week was not one of those weeks. I ended up ordering a t-shirt from thinkgeek.com (check it out - it has some really cool stuff!). Anyway, the shirt has a design for the "rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock game", featured in the tv show, The Big Bang Theory, which I LOVE! And then I found some earrings on another website (Sorry Maggie, but I had to get some!) - they're mini-coin earrings. I got the penny ones and the nickel ones, but they had all different kinds, like Buffalo nickels, Indian-head pennies, Kennedy half-dollars, etc. all 3/8 inch in diameter. And I bought a new bike cuz when I went to see if my old one would still work, it was a tad too small. So I found a really cool blue cruiser-style one on walmart.com for only 80 dollars, and I only had to pay half (plus half of shipping) so I only spent 50 dollars. But it won't be here until between Mon. and Thurs. of next week...

Weekend Activities - So my mom is working all day at Whistlestop on Saturday, while my dad goes up to Danville (don't know if my bro's going or not). Then, Robyn, Shannon, and Elizabeth are coming over Sunday to spend the night. So I imagine we'll be going to the pool, to the mall, renting a movie, something like that. Then an orthodontist appointment on Tuesday, where I'll be getting my retainers...

Yep, so that's basically it...

Life is Crazy

So for those of you who did not already read this somewhere else (Facebook, Dancing in the Rain, etc.), this is what happened today:
I went to the orthodontist and had my braces taken off. I love my new smile, but for the time being, I've been scaring myself when I look in the mirror cuz I'm not used to it yet. But anyway, the braces came off, they polished the glue off my teeth, they made molds for retainers, and they took an x-ray. And when they looked at the x-ray, they found that my wisdom teeth (which for whatever reason my orthodontist said: "You have the wisdom teeth of a 24-year-old, not a 14-year-old.") are growing in kinda sideways, which is going to push up against my molars, and thus crowding my front teeth together and erasing the work from two different sets of braces. So I'm going to have to see an oral surgeon, who is probably going to have to remove my wisdom teeth in the very near future. This of course is freaking me out - I've never been "under the knife" before, and neither have I been drugged enough to be put to sleep while it happens. So right now, I'm really scared about that because I assume time is of the essence, meaning that it's going to happen pretty soon, depending on what the oral surgeon (Dr. Peoples, I think) decides.

In other, less scary, news, i just ordered a new bike from Walmart. It's a "24 inch", meaning the wheels are 24 inches in diameter, "cruiser style" bike. It's, of course, blue, with white fenders. The reason I love it is because it has coaster brakes (the ones where if you try to pedal in reverse, it brakes) cuz I have issues with the handlebar brake systems. So it should be here by the end of next week - I can't wait!

Cumberland, Caverns, & Crazy Street Names

Okay, let me pick back up where I stopped in my last post.
I went to Dave & Buster's on Monday at the Providence Place Mall in Providence, RI. It was so much fun - I had parmesan chicken alfredo, which was yummy, then played in the game room with my dad and brother (my mom was helping back at my aunt's house). I played a lot on the Cyclone game, which is the one where the light goes around and you try to press the button and make the light stop in between the two bars. I won it 5 times, which gets you, depending on the machine, up to 300 tickets. With our combined total of about 5,000 tickets, I got a teddy bear and a pair of black shorts with the pink "D&B" logo on them. Later that night, we had burgers and watched Push, which was really neat.
We left Cumberland, RI the next day, stopping at Roadside America in the afternoon. It was great to see it again because the first time I went, I was too young to read the brochure telling what style the house was, or what this building was modeled after, or how long it took to handpaint the stained glass windows for the church. We drove further up the road until we got into Virginia, where we stopped at a town called New Market, which was the site of a battle in the Civil War. We ate dinner at this diner called the Southern Kitchen, where they had little jukeboxes mounted to the walls by each of the booths, which my dad tried out (I think he played "Soul Man"). At the hotel, I got a Shenandoah Valley t-shirt, blue, of course, which was really soft. And being that it was the site of a Civil War battle, the street names were: Cadet Rd., Congress St., Dixie Ln., Stuart St., Stonewall St., Lee St., Confederate St..
So this morning, we went to Luray Caverns, which was really neat. We took a self-guided audio tour through the mile-and-a-quarter section of the cavern. I loved it! Then, we spent the next 4.5 hours in the car, and we finally got home at around 5:00. We just had Chinese food for dinner, and now I'm really exhausted...

My Trip So Far

So I'm at my aunt's right now on her computer since my phone won't let me see the whole page at once cuz it's such a small screen. But anyway, I've been having lots of fun!
The drive up was not that bad, although we did hit traffic in Pennsylvania (I think). We moved like nine miles in just over an hour, the reason being that a truck tipped over. I figured out that we were driving the same way (maybe the same highway) that everyone else went through on the field trip. I saw all kinds of signs for Civil War stuff - Stonewall Jackson's headquarters, Harpers Ferry, Antietam, and Gettysburg.
Spending time with my three cousins (all boys - the oldest is a year younger than me) was so cool. I went to Blake's baseball game, and they won! I watched a Yankees game with Brian, and Adam and I talked non-stop. Their friend, Michael, was staying over, and he was pretty nice. And of course, my aunt and uncle were awesome.
Now, I'm at our other stop on this trip - my aunt and uncle's place in Rhode Island. Their new baby, Ava, is so adorable! (Their place is about three hours away from my aunt's in New York.) We're going to have dinner in a little while, then tomorrow we may go to Dave & Buster's, a game room/restaurant place similar to Wilson's from the sixth grade field trip.
Anyway, I'm really tired right now - I've been staying up pretty late these past few nights and have been getting up early, too. Don't know if I'll post tomorrow or not; it will depend on what we're doing and if I get any free time. Adios!

Pre-Trip Post

So I'm leaving in about six hours (so when you read this, I'll already be on the road). I'm still not totally packed - I need to put all my essentials for the car into a tote bag. And pack my toiletries and my pool stuff (both my aunts have pools close by) and feed Ella before I leave. I'm taking lots of magazines, as well as a 600-page book, an iPod, my Nintendo DS and a portable DVD player, which I know sounds like a lot, but when you consider that I'll be in the car 28 hours round-trip, it doesn't seem as bad.

In other news, my dad got a job, after being out of work for over a year and a half. His new position is the events coordinator for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. We went out to dinner at Applebee's tonight, supposedly because my dad didn't want to dirty the dishes and have to wash them before we left. So we get our food, and he says, "We're not just here so we don't have to wash dishes later. I got a job and figured we should celebrate." And it was surprise to all of us - even my mom didn't know. Apparently the lady who was doing the interviews called this morning and said he had been unanimously approved by the board he had been interviewed in front of only a few days ago. So we're all in good spirits tonight for that reason.

Anyway, just thought I'd post something before I left. I may use the computer at my aunt's house to post something, or I may see if I can do it through my phone. I'll see you guys when I get back!

Trip Info & Other News

Okay, so as I promised, here's the details of the trip:
Friday - leave home at around 7 am, drive 10.5+ hours to NY (my aunt, uncle, and their three boys), get in around 7 pm
Saturday - at their house
Sunday - leave for RI in the morning, a 3.5 hour drive from NY, arrive in the early afternoon
Monday - with my aunt, uncle, and their new baby
Tuesday - leave RI, drive about halfway back to Winston, stop and spend the night in a hotel
Wednesday - drive the rest of the way home [We'll be stopping at Roadside America on the way back; I don't know whether it will be Tues. or Wed.]

I won't have my laptop with me, as I really won't need it. I will have my cell phone though, so feel free to call or text me whenever. I'll probably be updating Facebook, as I can easily access it on my phone, so check there for updates on where I am, what I'm doing, etc.

In other news, I went to the orthodontist a few days ago, as an "emergency" appointment. I had been biting down on some stupid contraption they put in on my bottom front brackets, so they removed it. I can't wait for August 4th - I may get them off then! [Okay, I'm too excited - anything can happen...]

New clothes - I bought two new pairs of sandals, since I had practically worn out the ones I had been wearing (they were actually from last summer). One pair is black, the other is white with multi-colored dots. And I'm waiting on a shirt to arrive from Forever 21 (scheduled to be delivered tomorrow [Thursday]), which I'm using as a pajama top; I bought shorts at Deb to wear with them. And I finally bought some denim shorts - yep, I finally fit into a size zero! I was so tired of shopping for shorts in the kids section, cuz I hate all the designs they put on them.

So anyway, I'll probably post something tomorrow night before I leave, but for now, that's all I have to say...

What I Did Today

So this is what I did today...
Went to Enchanted Cottage (scrapbooking store) with my mom and brother - my mom was looking for some embellishments for a scrapbook she's making for my new cousin, I bought some stickers and some Little Mermaid paper and stickers cuz I want to do a page using some of the pics Sylvia posted on Facebook.
Had lunch at North Point Grill (again, with my mom and bro). Ordered the fried flounder, as usual, and it was good.
Went to Carmike to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I'd never read the book, but I had a good idea of what was happening. Good movie overall, just a little longer than it needed to be...
Got home and watched Night at the Museum on tv, which even after I've seen it 4 or 5 times, is still as funny as it was when I first saw it. (Can't wait for the second one to come out on DVD cuz I'm definitely buying it, along with the first one...)

It has been really quiet at the house this week. My mom's been at work (except for today), dad's doing some construction work for a friend of his, and my bro's been staying up all night and sleeping through the day - although he's asleep right now cuz my parents made him stay up all day so he could get back into his normal sleep cycle for our trip to NY and RI on Friday. [More about the trip in the next post I decide to write either tomorrow (Wed.) night or during the day on Thurs.]

Randomness!

Just got back from the mall - I had so much fun. Sylvia makes it so funny! So I had lunch at the food court, and as usual, Chick-Fil-A was good. The only other thing I bought was a mint chocolate chip truffle from Godiva, which is weird for me because I can usually find something to buy at the mall. But I'll be going back with my mom on Thurs. because I need shorts and a set of pjs.
As for the rest of my day, I've been updating my Facebook account and listening to music. I think I may read a little today - I started Killer (the sixth Pretty Little Liars book) last night. I'm glad it's only 350 pages and in large print, as I just read 612 pages of small font in only 4 days... haha, that shows how much I've been doing (or haven't been doing) this summer. I think this is the most I've read in one summer, and it's only been about a month and a half!
So anyway, I'm going to see my new cousin in a little over a week - we're going to stop in New York to see my aunt, uncle, and three of my cousins (all boys) before heading up to Rhode Island to see my aunt, uncle, and their new baby girl. I think we're going to stop at Roadside America on the way back, which, for those of you who don't know, is a roadside attraction where they have a whole mini town set up and there are moving things like trains and ski lifts and every half hour or so, they dim the lights and you watch all the lights in the town fade, while listening to patriotic music. It's a really neat place (I've been there once before).
But for now, I'm at home just about all the time, bored, but always seeming to find something to do...

Early Riser

My first thought this morning at 7:45 was "why did I wake up this early"? And of course, I don't have an answer because logic would tell me that since I stayed up until 1:30 am, I should wake up when I normally do, around 11 am. But whatever...
The past week has been extremely boring. My only highlight was finishing a 355-page book in 4 days, something I don't think I've ever done before. My mom is supposed to take me to Kohl's tomorrow - I need another pair of shorts, as well as a new set of pajamas, since I've been wearing my longsleeve set for way too long.
Nothing much else to write about...my mom is going over to Whistlestop to man the store, my brother's going with her, and my dad is going golfing with my uncle and some of my uncle's friends later today. Then we're all heading to my aunt & uncle's house for a cookout tonight.
So yeah, I'm kinda bored...obviously.

Happy Independence Day!

For most of my life, I never fully understood what Independence Day meant. Yes, I knew the basics: it’s the day the Declaration of Independence was signed, therefore giving the people of the United States of America the right to be free of English rule, and thus starting the American Revolution. But until this year, this all-important holiday didn’t mean all that much to me, as I never understood the circumstances under which this declaration was signed. This type of rebellion could have been considered treason, and each of the men in that building, the Pennsylvania State House, could have been arrested for it. But these men had the courage to sign it anyway, not only for themselves, their people and their new country, but for future generations as well.
I often wonder whether or not our Founding Fathers speculated about where their country would be in the next decade, century, etc. (if they even thought it would last that long), what kind of inventions would make daily life a little easier, what kinds of scenery would be present, and more importantly, what ideas and values would be supported by the people then?
I think about whether people like Ben Franklin or John Adams or Thomas Jefferson would be happy about the way we live our lives today – whether they would be smiling or frowning on us. I like to think of them having a “Mona Lisa” like expression, where you can’t exactly tell if it’s either one. They probably love the way we constantly try to make things better, faster, more efficient. But they may frown on the way we can be too lazy at some times, letting our inventions do the work for us, losing valuable skills along the way.
I think of the sheer coincidence that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the only signers of the Declaration of Independence to become Presidents of the United States, both died on July 4, 1826 – the 50th anniversary of the signing. This day is significant in so many ways, and I’m glad to see that it is important to so many others around this country.
So before you pick up your plate or go out to the parade or light sparklers tonight, think about the real meaning of Independence Day, not just the family, friends, food and fireworks, but the brave men in that chamber in Philadelphia, who have given us a country free of tyranny and full of hope. Give thanks to those men who had the courage to sign that document that ensures “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” for all. Happy Independence Day!

I'm Bored...

So this is what I've been doing the past few days...
Went to the pool a few times this week & ended up getting sunburned pretty bad (and it still hasn't gone away!). And I've been working on painting a flowerpot-holder for my aunt (for any of you who saw it at school, it was the pink and yellow wood crate-like thing). But other than that, the guys are in Danville for the weekend, so my mom and I went to dinner at Bernardin's as a special treat. I had the clam chowder, fettucini alfredo with chicken and a banana walnut tartlet for dessert - it was all really yummy! When we got home, we watched Taken, as I had told my mom that it was definitely worth seeing. And today my mom is working at Whistlestop Toy Station, covering for both her co-worker and her co-worker's brother, who are both at the beach. She's working the whole day, which is from 10 am to 7 pm, so I went with her to keep her company. (I'm posting this from the computer in the back room...). I've been reading some new magazines that I bought at Walgreen's last night, a total of three (Quizfest, Twist and Seventeen). I think we may be going to Chili's for dinner, but until then, I've been eating nutella on crackers and drinking water, although I could go next door to Subway and get a soda. But anyways, I can't wait to go home and just relax - preferably before the guys get back on Sunday...

Update: Braces

Unfortunately, I did not have them removed yesterday. The orthodontist decided that I was going to be put back on rubber bands for a month and have this wire thing put on the first few bottom teeth. From what I can assume, the rubber bands are for tweaking the overbite and the wire contraption is for tilting my front bottom teeth back so that they don't hit against my front top teeth. And for the past 24 hours, my teeth have hurt really bad and I'm hoping that they will stop hurting by tomorrow, as my mom and I are going to Bernardin's for dinner, a special treat she had talked about for a while; we were going to go while you guys were on the field trip, but we had to pass on it because of my aunt's baby shower. (The guys will be in Danville for the weekend.)
So my next appointment is August 2nd, at which point I may finally get them off. But until then, we wait...

Summer!

Okay, so now that I've taken a whole week to catch up on sleep (not really!), I can now keep up with my blog. And if you know anything about me, you know that this will be in a nice little organized list...

Last Week of School
Thanks to everyone for making this year so fun! Getting together before the party and after the ceremony were really cool - I loved spending time with you guys! This year, my strategy for yearbook signing was to only get the signatures of my closest friends (a word to the wise - that never works out, because even when I had carefully hidden my yearbook in my bag, I couldn't help pulling it out when someone asked if I could sign theirs). But anyways, I was surprised that I didn't cry at all that day, even when everyone was crying at the top of the stairs to the gym.

Summer!
Yes! But as usual, there's not all that much to do. I've been going over to my aunt's pool, in an attempt to turn my ghost-white skin into something a little darker. But being that I burn easily, I've been putting on SPF 8, which even at a low level, keeps me from a good tan.
My first real adventure of vacation was when I went to Robyn's house to spend the night this Saturday, along with Shannon and Elizabeth. We ended up going to the mall, where I got a bracelet, necklace and 3 pairs of earrings (all red, white & blue) from Claire's. Then we went up to Deb, and after Shannon spent forever trying on jeans, we left to walk back through JC Penny's to be picked up. We still had about half an hour left, when all of a sudden, Shannon realized that she left her Claire's bag (she had gotten sunglasses) in the dressing room at Deb. So we rushed back and found it, and since we still had about 20 minutes left, I looked around and found this cute blouse. So I tried it on and to my surprise, it fit! So I bought it, realizing that I really need to shop with friends, instead of having my mom take me to the mall. So when we got back to the house, after a stop at Harris Teeter to rent a red-box movie, we watched Bride Wars (which I had already seen) and after the movie was done, we had pizza from Burke Street (which was really good). We then clowned around on the computer, listening to music. And of course, what happens when you put the language arts nerd with the history nerd? Well, Robyn was playing on her piano, and of course it was a really sad piece, so I was reminded of the part in The Killer Angels (and the more detailed account in Gods and Generals) where Hancock and Armistead are by the piano, while Mira Hancock plays "Kathleen Malvourneen". So I'm like "Robyn, we should figure out how to play that song!" and so we get on the computer and try and find sheet music for it, but we found one for a different instrument, so Robyn said she would try and figure it out on the piano later. So we watched Taken, and I loved it! And by then, it was midnight, so we retired upstairs, where we sat and played "two truths and a lie" and gossiped. In the morning, we had waffles and watched part of a Tom Hanks movie that was playing on TV.

Other news: I have a new cousin! Ava Marie Chiarello was born on June 18...the pictures of her are so cute! I can't wait to meet her later this summer!

And on Wednesday, I'll probably get my braces taken off! The orthodontist scheduled me for it, so if the teeth have settled right in the back, I won't have braces the next time you see me...

Just Writing...

So today was interesting. Ooh I feel like a recap! (so typical!)
Spanish - read chapters 1 and 2 out loud, did the worksheets that go with it
PLTW - didn't do anything, played around on the Inventor program and West Point Bridge Designer
History - worked on a new EOC review packet (ugh, I can't wait to get it over with tomorrow!)
Lunch - sat with Elizabeth B., Shannon, Will, Robyn, and Sam, it was good to sit with other people for a change (not that I don't like who I normally sit with!)
Science - worked on the project, I accidentally touched the hot glue gun while it was super hot and now I have a stupid blister on my finger
Language Arts - stupid essay stuff, I can't believe Mrs. Allman is seriously making us do that after a week of EOC's and other end of year stuff
Math - reviewed for the Algebra EOC, but I had to leave early because I had to get a wire cut at the orthodontist

Went to the pool, and I'm going to a jewelry show in about half an hour. When I get back, I have to study (haha Ms. Vasili would love me for saying that) for the EOC's and work on my essay for LA.

Recap of Past Week

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but oh well. The last few weeks have been both fun and boring. Last weekend, I went to the mall and got accessories for my graduation party outfit. We watched Seven Pounds later that evening, which we really liked. On Sunday, I spent over four hours watching Gettysburg, just because I wanted to see it. And albeit way too long, it was a good movie. I realized that the guy who plays Joshua L. Chamberlain is Jeff Daniels, the guy from not only The Five People You Meet in Heaven and Because of Winn Dixie, but The Crossing as well, where he played George Washington. My fave part was the battle at Little Round Top, but that's just my opinion (and actually, that was my favorite part in the book too).
EOG's were really boring. Mr. Bennett wasn't as fun of an administrator as I thought he'd be and our proctor, Mrs. Aves (who I know from the Europe trip last summer) seemed like she really didn't know what she was doing. And then I got a cold and missed two days of school...I went and found a costume for the decades project at the Little Theater, which I didn't like at first, but it's slowly growing on me. So my list of things to do this weekend (and yay, it's 3 days long!): decades project (presenting on Wednesday), canvas for art class, a little bit of math...I think that's it.
Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Ugh...School

So I get back to school today after being out Friday and Monday and then not going on the trip, only to find that:
1) the Killer Angels quiz had been moved to Wednesday,
2) we had already started researching for the decades project, and
3) I still have to do the trip booklet, even though I didn't go. And of course, not being here all of last week, I didn't get the packet until today. I'm asking Mr. Holbrook tomorrow if I can turn it in on Friday.

So now my week is going to be extra busy, with the La Carreta trip tomorrow, Little Mermaid viewing party on Wednesday, orthodontist appointment on Thursday, etc. I can't believe EOG's are next week! Wow, this year has gone by so fast!

Monday

So I sat around my grandparent's house last night, listening to my grandmother, my mom and two of my aunts trying to convince my cousin that she should go to either St. John's or Niagara University because she received full 4-year scholarships at each of them. But of course Katie has her heart set on Bob Jones University (in SC, near Furman University), a Christian college with a bad reputation. So all night, I was listening to screaming from both sides of the equation. And I think I'm siding against Katie.
We're going to Niagara On The Lake at one-ish today. It's a cute little town with lots of shops and restaurants, so I'll be having fun while you guys are in school. Oh and have fun on the field trip tomorrow. I'll be texting you!

Away From Home

So I finally got my laptop hooked up at my grandparent's house. We were having issues with the wireless router, but it's all good now.
Here's what I've been doing for the past few days.
Thursday - Got on the road about 4 pm, ate dinner ate Shoney's (I had fish & chips), got a hotel at around 10:30 pm.
Friday - Had chocolate chip mini-muffins for breakfast, got to Buffalo at noon, ate at Frank's (I had beef on weck, kinda like a northern version of a roast beef sandwich), helped my grandmother with favors for the baby shower, and watched Gran Torino, which was neat.
Saturday - went my aunt's baby shower, then came back and had dinner with my aunt/uncle, grandparents, my mom, my uncle, one of my cousins and one of my other aunts. We had pizza from this place called Grasso's, which was pretty good.

And now I'm sitting here, half-watching professional bowling, typing this entry and my notes from history class. I think we're going to try to get together with my cousins, Sarah and Julia, for dinner, a movie, or a mall trip. It's nice being away from my dad and brother for a little while, but I miss Ella!

Background Choices

So I’m thinking about changing the background of my blog, but I’m having trouble deciding. I’m trying to find something that fits me, but I’d like your opinion as well, since you’re the ones who visit the page and will see it all the time. Here is the list of my options. Please take a look and leave a comment telling me your favorite(s). I was online for hours narrowing it down so you only had to look at nine of them.

Hearts and Hearts Teal
Incredible Butterflies
Love Hearts
Flowers Bloom
Scratchy Hearts
Butterfly Princess
One Word Frees Us
Music Is My Life
Splatter Pattern

Thanks,
Alexis

I Love Fridays!

Some really short, really random thoughts that I've decided to post...

So today being Good Friday and all gave me a chance to catch up on sleep and just relax. Haven't done much of the four things I have to do this weekend, but I'll prolly start reading Killer Angels tonight. Oh and I did start my take-home test for math yesterday, so yeah.
I checked my friends' blogs, and I got the chance to read some of the posts I had missed either because I didn't check or hadn't been following their blogs at the time. I had fun reminiscing about the Wake Forest library field trip (after reading Maggie and Sylvia's entries).
I've officially decided that I have a music obsession. Every time I log on to my laptop, I turn my iPod on.
I dyed Easter eggs with my brother today. Although I don't believe in the Easter bunny anymore and really didn't feel like dyeing eggs, my mom convinced me to do it for my brother's sake (yes, he stills believes in the Easter bunny, Santa Clause, etc.). But I had some fun using a crayon to write or draw stuff on to my eggs before dyeing them.
I love stormy weather! I don't know what it is about thunder and lightning, but it's so exciting to me.
Oh and I got my order from Justice! I got this really cute blue dress, which kinda reminds me of the stuff Taylor Swift would wear. I also got a green shrug and a pink bandeau top (fyi, the ones that tie around your neck, where the strings are attached from the front). And I got a freebie! I don't know whether it was a packaging mistake or if Justice is just giving stuff away, but I got this dark blue shirt with a white cartoon dog on it, and it was in my size, so I kept it. Ha!
I'm thinking about changing my background for my blog, and I've got it narrowed down to about ten options, so hopefully I'll have decided by tomorrow. I was on pyzam.com for about 2.5 hours looking around for a good background!
I've still got to take Ella out tonight, and I hope she doesn't start chewing on the walls and furniture again. But she's cute, so she gets away with it. I absolutely love her! I did a two-page spread of her in my poetry journal, with pictures and a really long story about my decision, her name (Chinderella) and just how cute she is! I hope Mrs. Allman likes it!
I never got to post that I read Mitch Albom's For One More Day. It was so good! I actually stayed up until 1:00 am this past Sunday (yes, a school night) reading it. It only took about 2 hours to read and was well worth it. Kinda makes you rethink your whole purpose in life. On another note, I'm in between books right now, but I think I'm going to read Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan next. I love her books, like I Know What You Did Last Summer and Killing Mr. Griffin. But for now, I'm rereading some of The Death Collector, just because I loved it so much!
And I've officially decided that I'm a history freak. This year's class has been so much fun, and it has really opened my eyes to all the neat things that have happened in this country. (For those of you who didn't know already, I'm not going on the DC trip. And no, it wasn't my parents' decision. It was mine. I honestly didn't want another Florida Keys type packet and note-writing experience. Sitting on a battlefield and listening to lectures didn't seem that fun to me. Plus, since my parents are home-schooling us next year, when my brother learns US history, we'll prolly take a trip to DC. We've already been to Philly, Jamestown, Yorktown and Williamsburg, so we're covered with the exception of DC and a promised Monticello trip.)
I've got an orthodontist appointment scheduled for the 24th, and I kinda hope I'll get my braces taken off. But I'm sure it won't happen, since the nurse (at my last visit) said that it would be like 2 or 3 more visits, but the past two times I've been there, they haven't done anything but change the rubber chain like they normally do. No wires changed, no rubber bands/elastics, no extra contraptions put in my mouth, nothing. So I'm secretly hoping that Friday the 24th will be the day.

Wow, I wrote a lot. Sorry! OMG! It's raining again! Yay!