books & brownies

What Is This "All Grown Up" You Speak Of?

2011-02-13T18:12:00.003-06:00

(Oh, hi there. Remember me? Yes, I'm still alive. I'm kinda like an embarrassing story from your childhood... I just keep coming back.)

So, I'm graduating high school in a few months, around the same time I turn 18.

Wait, what? EIGHTEEN?! That can't be right! Whose idea was this?

Oh... yeah.

Well, apparently turning 18=Entering adulthood. Then there's that whole "off to college" thing.
Oh, shoot.

This is a problem. I am NOT ready to be All Grown Up. Not even close. There are too many important things I have to learn how to do first! The following, most importantly.

1. Drive. That's right, I don't even have my learning permit yet. Just haven't gotten around to it. That's #1 on my to-do list for from now until August. That and graduate, obviously.

2. Talk to people. I am perfectly serious, folks. Misleading as the brilliant written eloquence you are currently witnessing can be, I am slightly on the introverted (or unsocialized) side in "real life." I can't keep up a casual conversation/small talk with strangers or recent acquaintances to save my life.

3. Order coffee. I've been drinking coffee at home and at Starbucks for a few years now and still don't quite know the difference between a cappuccino, an espresso and a latte. As unimportant as I know that truly is, I think as a college student-to be who will most likely be downing pints of the stuff in the future I should figure that out at some point.

4. Manage my time better. Fairly self-explanatory, Mom could probably elaborate on it a bit more if you're all that curious.

So you see, now matter how close I am to it biologically, I really shouldn't be classified as "grown up" until I've gotten these skills more firmly under my belt.

...any tips?

The SOTB Artfire Store

2010-10-09T19:13:00.003-05:00

You've probably heard about the independent student-run production of the film The Shadow Of The Bear. And if you haven't, you should check them out.

Well, they've wrapped up filming, and now it's time to edit. Problem is, the editing software they need is quite expensive and remember, so far everything for this film has been paid for out of the director's and actors' pockets. So some crafty, artistic fans came up with a great idea to raise money. As it turns out there's a website called Artfire that provides people with an opportunity to sell their own handmade items. So the SOTB Artfire store was born!
They have cozy scarves, handmade soap, gorgeous and unique jewelry and more! All of it is reasonably priced and it is all handmade. 100% of all profits go to the movie. I've purchased three items and am perfectly happy with them. The Celtic knot heart earrings are my new favorite pair, the cable knit scarf is great and I can't wait for a chance to wear my rose headband. So go on and check it out. You get something you like, and your money goes to help out some hard-working people finish up this great movie; it's a good deal all around!

One last thing: let's have a round of applause for the talented young ladies that put so much time and care into this. You girls rock!

Recent Randomness In The Life of Me

2010-09-27T16:37:00.002-05:00

Jack and I have been volunteering at the local Republican HQ the past few Mondays. It's kinda nice to know that we're doing something to help and it'll look great on a college app, so here I am. Yeah, I'm actually there right now. Normally I'd be working but there's a surplus of volunteers today and we only have three phones so some of us are taking shifts. Nice thing about this place? It's a short walk away from Dairy Queen and the used bookstore. Win.

*****

Speaking of volunteering, I applied to be a junior volunteer at the Institute of Texan Cultures. It looks like a ton of fun, you get to puppet shows for little kids and be in skits and stuff and be a "gallery host". Not entirely sure what that is but it sounds like fun too.

****

Baby it's cooold outsiiide! Well, cool. This morning we woke up to a beautiful 65 degree morning. I enjoyed it as much as I could but I know it's a fall-se (talk about a lame wordplay) alarm. It'll be hot again before two days are past. Nature always does this to us....teasing, taunting us with promises of fall weather in September and not letting us have it until mid-late October. :(

****

Oh. My. Gosh. We have a book called Kings and Queens For God. It's a nice book and everything, but does anyone want to explain to me why Queen Victoria is portrayed in ELIZABETHAN costume?!?!?! This irritates me in every imaginable way. I think I'll sue.

****

Anybody got a homecoming or something that I can crash? I really want an excuse to wear a pretty dress...

****

Since everybody else was flipping out about it a got myself a copy of The Hunger Games. W o w. Now I desperately want to read the next two books, but there's just one problem. I can not afford them! Keep in mind that this is new to me. I never run with the crowd where literature is concerned. I don't have to worry about buying the same thing that everybody else is buying. I usually get classics that can be either expensive or cheap. I'll just have to wait for chance to find Catching Fire at the library...

****

Moving on from books to movies, I saw Devil. It was really really good, I'm working on a review for Katie-Isms. But I've never seen a horror/thriller/whatever you want to call it movie in theaters before, so I wasn't prepared for all those terrifying trailers. I was more likely to have nightmares from the previews than the movie itself. *shudder*

Babysitting

2010-09-03T15:52:00.002-05:00

Braden took out a box of action figures and plastic bugs of all shapes and sizes...an epic battle was clearly about to take place.
On Team Braden: The Sandman and Wolverine
On Team Katie: Aang (the Avatar) and Iron Man
The Sandman attacked first, but Aang blew him away. He died (went back into the box) and was replaced by The Hulk. The Hulk, however, turned against Wolverine and suffered for it. Because there must always be a team of two, a motorcycle joined Team Braden. Wolverine took care of that too; he seemed to be picky about partners. Then along came something I cannot name, being quite ignorant of all things anime. After a couple of pathetic attempts at fighting, it curled into a ball an Aang blew it away. During all of this Iron Man had been blasting people here and there for good measure, but generally he was just enjoying the show; Aang and Wolverine clearly had things under control. Wolverine was then joined by a Transformer of some kind, which after much epic fighting, killed Iron Man.
A moment of silence for Mr. Stark, please.

Happily, someone just as excellent was there to help Aang. Twirling a blue lightsaber, Luke Skywalker joined the fight. Wolverine and Iron Man had taken out the Transformer and a dinosaur (an allosaurus, to be precise) took its place. However, on the way to battle Wolverine was accidentally killed by the dinosaurs claws (O, such bitter irony).
Then the rules were changed; teams of three were now allowed. Aang and Luke recruited a big ugly purple lizard (fire-breathing, but I hesitate to call it a dragon). Two more dinos joined the one; another allosaurus and something bigger, meaner and nameless. Aang took on the two smaller enemies and vanquished them, while Luke, ever the expert at handling big monsters, neatly skewered the big guy with his lightsaber.
The enemies were dead....but they had backup. In came a ninja, a dragon and a stormtrooper.
Intense struggle ensued. Aang bravely fought the dragon's fire with wind and water. The lizard and Luke did what they could to help, and the ninja and stormtrooper supported the dragon. Eventually, after much effort, Aang defeated the dragon. A general brawl followed between those who were left, including some fighting amongst the enemy. It didn't last long, though. By general assent, the battle concluded.

What did you do today?

Testing, testing...

2010-09-01T18:20:00.001-05:00

*taps microphone*
I heard from Ella about a way to schedule your posts ahead of time so that they're posted automatically at a certain time. So I'm testing it here, because it would be reallly helpful with Katie-Isms.

EDIT: IT WORKED!! Woohoo!
Now, my blogging friends, if you haven't heard of this before, here's how it's done.
When you're writing a post, before you publish it click on "Post Options", to the left of where you put your labels. There'll be an option that says "Post date and time". Just enter the date and time that you want it to be posted, and hit publish. It's that easy! Just make sure you've got the right time zone.

The Case For Muffins

2010-08-29T19:33:00.002-05:00

In a magical land called TrueGirls Online, there is a hot debate that's been going on for the past four years or so. Muffins...or cupcakes? I've been a loyal Muf-fan from the start. I present you now with the reasons why muffins are just so much better than cupcakes.

1. Health. Muffins are by their very nature more wholesome and much better for you than cupcakes. In times like these, who doesn't prefer the healthier choice?

2. Versatility. Cupcakes are only a dessert food. But a muffin can be enjoyed at any time of day, whenever you want! Muffins, especially mini-muffins, make great snacks, and fresh out of the oven they're a lovely breakfast. Also, cupcakes pretty much only come in as many flavors as regular cake. It boils down to three main flavors; chocolate, vanilla and yellow, with various kinds of frosting. But muffins come in too many flavors to count, and people are inventing new kinds all the time!

3. Sincerity. What do the Cupcakians usually do to promote their cause? They post pictures of gorgeously decorated cupcakes. Cupcakes with flowers, cupcakes with butterflies, cupcakes with cute faces. But what is it really? Pure aesthetics. Pretty colored frosting, often topped with an inedible decoration that you have to remove before enjoying your dessert. In short, cupcakes are shallow. They present an elegant frosting facade, but underneath they're no different from your average small piece of birthday cake. The frosting doesn't even always taste good, and often will dye your tongue nasty colors.
Muffins are plain, granted. But the point here is that they aren't presumptuous like cupcakes. What you see is what you get; they are really sincere. They long with all their muffiny hearts to be appreciated and enjoyed by you. They don't show themselves off like cupcakes... they show you their true, humble little selves and invite you to enjoy them as they are.

4. They're the original. Think about it. Why are cupcakes called cupcakes? They are cake in a cup, shaped like...muffins! Muffins were there first. Cupcakes are merely copycats; fakes; imposters. Muffins are real.

5. Well, duh! They're just plain delicious!

And be sure to check out this video on the subject.

So, I've explained the muffin cause to you...where do you stand?

Glasses!

2010-08-20T22:30:00.002-05:00

I CAN SEEEE! Everything is so much clearer! I can read the clock on the microwave now! WOOOO!

Yes, I know, the first one is awfully blurry. But T-Man is in it!

I've Been Bad...

2010-08-14T19:36:00.002-05:00

As far as blogging is concerned, anyway. :-P

So, update on life. Yes, Max is doing great. He's smiling and it's darn cute. Head over to Nine Texans for pictures. Speaking of Nine Texans, I think I'm officially a ninja now...that's me there with the sword in the header.
Are ninjas allowed to wear glasses? Because I picked out frames today! They're purple and I love them. ^_^
I have some of my senior year books. Not looking forward to American Gov't and Economy...British Lit should be fun, though. I've already read at least a third of the books. *nerd* What scares me is the 1500 word papers. It's a huge jump from the lengths of everything else I've written during high school.
I'm taking dual-credit Intro to Chem with St. Philips for the first semester, and Health with MODG in the second semester.
So yeah, cool stuff.

In the blogging world, everywhere but here is pretty fun these days. My friend Anna, who just happens to be an incredible writer, started a blog recently at Ferris Wheel The Monkey Reel, available on my sidebar. No doubt you're curious about the name. She's just a random sort of person, so she gave her blog a random sort of name, among other reasons. You can read about that in her first post. Over at Katie-Isms things have been a little slow. We had a Fairy Tale Novel Week...that was fun. And then suddenly, we didn't really have anything to do. We've posted some poems...by ourselves, being short of eagerly volunteering poets at the moment. But still, go check it out! There is some pretty cool stuff coming up soon. ;)

...er, yes, that's the end of this particular blog post.
Bye!

I Love Pixar.

2010-07-02T16:30:00.003-05:00

I have since 1996, and I always will. The thing about Pixar is that they promise you a great movie, and boy, do they deliver. They never, ever disappoint.

Toy Story 3 was no exception. A perfect blend of adventure, emotion, seriousness and hilarity is sustained throughout the movie. Everything about it is characteristic of the creativity and sense of humor of the great minds at Pixar. It's difficult to get away with a threequel, and difficult to make it as good as the first movie. But as always, Pixar succeeds at what they put their minds to.

Mom took all the kids to see it on Wednesday, except Ian. He gave a new definition to the word "lame" by staying behind. Now, this was on the same day that Eclipse came out. Hence, every single teenage girl at the theater beside me was there to swoon over warring vamps and werewolves. But I, with a two-year-old on my hip and diverse siblings making noise all around me, was there for the toys. I'd watched the video of the first one as a little kid, I had seen #2 in theaters and gosh darn it I was gonna see this one if it killed me. So I looked around at my perfectly groomed female counterparts on their way to enjoy what they liked best, hefted the purse that didn't match my shirt, lifted my chin (and my baby brother), and proudly marched in to see what I liked better. I laughed, I cried...well, almost cried. I've been called heartless for this capital offense of only almost crying when practically everyone I know full-on cried. Can I help it that very few movies can make me shed true tears? Last one was The Secret Life Of Bees. I won't lie, I was positively bawling.
But I digress.

Toy Story 3 was a little emotional for me. Andy is seventeen, I'm seventeen. I'm going to college next year. I felt like this movie meant coming full circle for me. When Ian was born in 96, I remember Mom and Dad handing the Toy Story video tape in its shiny box to Jack and I, as a "gift" from our new baby brother. Jack launched into an obsession. We still have the video from his third birthday party the year afterward, when a very excited, very cute (what happened?) little boy ripped off the wrapping paper to discover his very own Woody doll! You could pull the string and everything. "It's WOODYYY!" he exclaimed in that Minnie Mouse voice of his.

In '99, shortly after our family moved to CT, where we would live for six more years (our record for staying in one place) we went to see Toy Story 2 in theaters.

Woody and Buzz always seem to pop up at milestones in my life. Ian was born; we'd just moved; this time around, thirteen years and six kids later, I once again had a new baby brother. I joke that Max should have been born later, or the movie should have come out earlier, so he could "give" us the DVD. :)

What's left to say, but...

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!!

Randomosity

2010-06-25T17:57:00.002-05:00

I've pretty much given up on any kind of Big Worlds Post. You'll live.

Max is the cutest baby e v e r!!! And though he had a rough week last week, he's totally healthy and happy now. :) My genius nickname for him is M&M; he's little, round and sweet, and his name is MaxiMilian. ^_^

Katie and I now have a blog called Katie-Isms. You should really check it out. In fact, you should do more than check it out; you should follow it and leave lots of comments!

I'm DYING to see Toy Story 3!!! Everybody I know that has seen it sings it praises...I will not rest until I've seen it.

Speaking of movies, the trailer for Voyage of The Dawn Treader is AMAZING!! I am so psyched for this movie!! It looks like they've made some plot changes, but I can be open-minded about that, to a certain point. Costumes and sets look great...the Dawn Treader looks great...Lucy is growing up....Caspian has facial hair and it looks awful...Will Poulter is going to be fantastic as Eustace...AND I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL CHRISTMAS FOR IT TO COME OUT!!

Arg.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed this sad excuse for a post. Next one will be better, I promise. It will probably include pictures of Max. That's incentive for you to read it right there, yes?
Till then!

Two more pictures!

2010-06-12T11:34:00.002-05:00

Second one is my favorite. :) He is 7.7 pounds, 18.5 inches. He has a 9.9 APGAR score, which means he's about as healthy as he can possibly be!

Meet Max!!!

2010-06-11T20:07:00.001-05:00

Here he is!! I don't have any details yet about his size, I'll have to edit those in later.

Guilty As Charged.

2010-06-03T14:56:00.002-05:00

Looks like I lied again. Sorry, I just didn't have time to post at Worlds! But now I'm sitting happily in front of the Mac at home and will be soon posting about Worlds. For now, you can just go to Sardines In A Can to hear all the good stuff from our coach, Carol.
The second reason that I'm posting, besides begging forgiveness for my laxity, is to inform you of the fact that that other Katie has started a new blog, and you better check it out, because apparently I'm the only person that reads it, and that's no fun. So head on over to Makes Me Smile (as soon as you're done at the sardine can, of course) to enjoy all the random stuff she's been posting, including some great original poetry. :)
*Big Worlds Post* coming soon! Stay tuned...

I Lied.

2010-05-19T19:56:00.002-05:00

I know I said I'd post again from Michigan, but from the looks of things I'd say I'm still in Texas. Sorry to disappoint you.

As it turns out, I had something else to blog about! I've been wanting to, but consistently forgetting to, and was just recently reminded to tell you about Shoved To Them.

Shoved To Them is the blog of a Catholic, home schooling mom of six great kids, who also happens to be a darn good writer. She's smart, witty and full of faith. Almost every post of hers makes me smile, and often laugh as well. The rare ones that don't have me thinking and being thankful.

The Mom is a great role model for those of us girls who hope to also be moms someday. Wait, let me try that again. She's just generally a great role model for all Catholic girls, whatever may lie in their future. If everybody had her faith and sense of humor, it'd be a much nicer world.

Here's the part where I turn mercenary. She's hosting a contest for an $80 gift card, and posting about it here may give me an extra chance at it. :-D You can enter too: all you have to do is publicly follow Shoved To Them. To turn it a little more to your favor, comment on her post about it and/or post on your blog about it.

Now that you know about that contest, I might seem like a suck-up. But I meant every single word. I hope The Mom never stops blogging, because her many followers would miss her terribly.

(and I won't deny it...I hope I get that gift certificate. XD)

Worlds? What is this Worlds you speak of?

2010-05-19T18:33:00.002-05:00

You don't seriously mean to tell me that I'm leaving on Monday to go to Worlds?

Oh, wow.

We've been talking about and preparing for Worlds for a while, but it didn't fully sink in for me until a couple of days ago when we were discussing what to bring. Hearing again of the inconveniences of campus living brought back all sorts of memories...most pleasant, some not. Later we were looking at pictures from both of the high school team's previous Worlds trips. All this finally brought home for me the fact that yes, this next Monday I will climb into a car, books in hand, and embark on a road trip that will take to me to good old Michigan (having been to Michigan before and having some friends there, I feel perfectly entitled to say "good old" with it) and Worlds.

First of all, I can't wait to see MSU again. It's such a nice campus, much much bigger than the smaller size that I'm used to at UD. Michigan is a gorgeous place, and parts of the campus resemble a park.

I'm also beginning to remember things about Worlds itself. I'd forgotten exactly what it was like, and now it's all coming back. It's practically a different culture, where everyone is an OMer and pins are the preferred currency. You're surrounded by people from different countries, and although many of them speak English well, you may learn a few new words in another language.

And while we're going to have an incredible time, let us not forget the competition. This year we seem to have a pretty good shot at placing, or at least placing much higher than in previous years. I don't expect first place or anything....just like in the Olympics, there are certain countries that everybody knows will do well in certain things. The Poles? OWN the vehicle problem. However, I'm sure we'll do well, and maybe, just maybe, even get a Ranatra Fusca! Now that would be awesome. A Ranatra Fusca at the Worlds level is about as prestigious as it gets.

It looks like Worlds snuck up on me. Today I thought I had better write a list of stuff to take with me, and a long list it was. Hopefully I'll remember everything. I've been getting better at that lately, but still, a relapse could occur. While I keep my fingers crossed, I'll be looking ahead to the awesomeness that is Worlds. Next time you hear from me, I'll be in Michigan, tired but excited, trying to make you all jealous of how much fun I'm having.

See you then!

Tada!

2010-05-17T19:04:00.002-05:00

Like it? I think it was about time for a change. The background, banner and buttons may not all match like the last ones did, but hey, I'm a pretty random person, so a little randomosity won't hurt.

*Many thanks to Kayla for help with the banner! Curse photobucket and their limited selection of fonts.*

I command thee to click!

2010-05-16T15:02:00.002-05:00

I would like to introduce you to two rather wonderful young ladies of my acquaintance, Kat (aka kit-kat) and Ella. They have begun a blog called The Sound of Life, all about music. They'll be posting videos and lyrics to a variety of songs by many different artists, so if you're looking for some new music to listen to, it's the place to go. :)
Also check out Ella's personal blog, Sepia, Black, White and Other Colors of My Life.
So click, now! Both of these blogs can also be found on my sidebar.

Reading Habits Meme

2010-05-13T14:17:00.002-05:00

Do you snack while you read? If so, favourite reading snack:
Not really, unless it happens to be around Halloween or Easter and I've got chocolate that needs eating. :-D

What is your favourite drink while reading?
I don't ever drink while reading. Me with my clumsiness, risk spilling on a book? :-o

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
WHAT?! Write in a book?!?! Who wrote this?

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?
Dog-ear, every time.

Fiction, non-fiction, or both?
Fiction.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?
I prefer to finish the chapter, but I'll put it down in the middle of one if Mom or Dad seem to really need me for something...

Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?
Nope.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?
I just ignore it and keep reading. Usually I can figure it out.

What are you currently reading?
Catherine of Siena by Sigrid Undset, on and off. And I've been doing a lot of half-hearted rereading lately.

What is the last book you bought?
Er, with my own money? I think it was Enna Burning by Shannon Hale.

Are you the type of person that reads one book at a time, or can you read more than one?
Depends, usually two at a time, though. One for fun and one for school.

Do you have a favourite time/place to read?
My bed. Anytime!

Do you prefer series books or stand alones?
Both! I think I lean slightly towards series, though. If it's good, then more is definitely better!

Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?
Not that I can think of, though I have been known to bully people about Jane Austen.

How do you organize your books? (by genre, title, author's last name, etc.)
By genre, more or less.

Give in to the cuteness.

2010-04-20T19:14:00.002-05:00

You know you want to.

see more

see more

see more

see more

see more

See more at babiesmakingfaces.com!

State Finals Tournament

2010-04-19T17:59:00.004-05:00

This past Friday, Mom, Ian and I drove up to Houston (Katy, technically, but it's in the near vicinity so people simplify by saying "Houston") for Texas Odyssey of the Mind's State Finals Tournament. *insert impressive echo effect*
The night before States, many teams choose to attend a mixer at the hosting school. The mixer consists of large numbers of kids grade 3 on up partying and trading cutesy and useless doodads, usually homemade, while popular tunes are loudly played and even more loudly sung along to, pizza and drinks are served, and TX OotM merchandise (pins and t-shirts) is sold.
Sounds fun, right? Well in spite of the joy we all find in listening to 8-year-old girls singing Taylor Swift karaoke at the top of their lungs, our team chose not to attend. We went to the movies instead. Those of us that went to an earlier movie killed some time while waiting for the others' flick to end by stopping by Target to get a couple of things the team needed, and do some impulse buying.
Then we all went back to our respective hotels to rest up for the long day ahead.

April 17th dawned...we were all asleep when that happened, actually. But eventually we roused ourselves and went to do war - figuratively speaking, of course- upon our opponents. Our performance was pretty good; a couple of things didn't work the way they were supposed to but generally it went well. We got good judges, especially this one guy who absolutely l o v e d our vehicle. We did get penalized, but it was just for one teeny mistake, and they only took off three points for it.
I didn't get to watch Ian's team, but I've seen their skit before. By all accounts the judges loved it, especially one part where "Spock" gives himself the "Vulcan nerve-pinch" and knocks himself out. That got lots of laughs. :-)
I can't tell you much about spontaneous, all very confidential you know. Plus I didn't actually participate. I took the part of lowly spectator this time. Quite gladly, I wouldn't have been very much help with that particular problem. We scored nicely on it.

We were done, so we returned to the hotel, whereupon the middle-schoolers and co. proceeded to take over the swimming pools. I dropped in for a short while later when they were done. We went to dinner and then....to the awards ceremony. *cue tense, suspenseful music*

AND THE RESULTS....
*drumroll please...*

In first place for Problem 1, Division III....SA HERO TEAM B!
That's right! Us!

Later that evening, the Ranatra Fusca Award, the highest award given by Odyssey, was given to three teams. Among them, us.

So yep, we're going to Worlds. :-) Michigan State University, here we come! It'll be the third time to Worlds for Ellie and I, and the second time at MSU. It's a beautiful campus, but I swear there is no worse cafeteria food in the country.

World's is in late May, so we have about a month to plan, practice, fix what needs fixin', and find the necessary funds. Wish us luck...

Clash of what titans?

2010-04-13T17:34:00.003-05:00

Seriously, there's not a single dang titan in the whole show! I know, I know, it sounds cooler...
Clash of the Titans was a fun movie, and if you want to see it at all you should definitely see it on the big screen. Liam Neeson rocks and Hades, though evil, was way cool. The witches were spot on, and though they might seem reminiscent of Pan's Labyrinth, the eye thing IS originally from the myth. I did like some of the interpretations, and I know that Greek mythology by its very nature allows for tweaking, but:

Io shouldn't be in this movie at all. I could go into her story, but I'll save it for another time.
What happened to Hermes' winged sandals? OK, so that would have been a little weird for a movie... and where are the other Gorgons, Medusa's sisters?

And pray tell, what is up with the ending? He defeats the bad guy, makes up with daddy and gets the girl...the wrong girl! Like I said, Io doesn't have a darn thing to do with Perseus in the old story, and throughout the movie I was getting an idea of good friend/sister/guardian/teacher...not love interest! Sure, the actress is beautiful. Sure, Andromeda has a small part in the movie. But e v e r y b o d y knows the age old deal: You save the princess, you marry the princess. End of story. Doggone screenwriters.

So if you're a Greek mythology nerd/purist, don't see this movie. It'll only tick you off. If you don't care that much and you like giant scorpions and cool effects, it's worth it. If you don't have anything better to do and want to watch something fun (like me), might as well.
That's my opinion anyhow.

RIP June

2010-03-31T19:07:00.002-05:00

One of our guinea pigs died today. Mom and Dad weren't home when we found her, so we kids boxed her up and buried her. It went fairly well, and June was bid goodbye with many tears.

(the little kids knew I was going to take a picture so they arranged the flowers artistically :)

So, there was this contest...

2010-03-21T21:00:00.005-05:00

And there was this poem that I had lying around...
So I entered this contest...
Hoping for a small amount of scholarship money...

Well, no money BUT...it is going to be published in an anthology of poetry by teens titled "Of Faith and Inspiration". Of course I am very excited. I never thought I'd be able to say "Oh yeah, I'm a published poet." It's just one poem in just one book but still....pretty dang awesome! And it'll look nice on a college app.

And here it is!

The Symphony

Sound of a harp
Fairy strings
Hidden elfin choirs sing
Songs unheard by man take wing
Music of a moonlit forest

Song of colors
Drops of rain
All the heavens in a soaring refrain
For which to listen would be in vain
Music of the rainbows

Medley of smiles
Trusting eyes
A guardian angel's lullaby
A sweet little face turned up to the sky
Music of a child's innocence

Symphony of wonder
For all to hear
Song of laughter, song of tears
All creation singing clear
Music of all beauty

Adventures In Dallas

2010-02-28T19:31:00.002-06:00

Or Irving, rather. But it is called The University of Dallas.

Yes, I went to UD! Last Friday and Saturday, I found myself once again on campus, this time with a sidekick. Dad.
We were there for the Aspiring Scholars Preview. Basically you go to classes and a bunch of info sessions where you learn about the various aspects of the university, and admissions and financial aid.
The classes? WERE AWESOME! We went to history (Western Civilizations II), English (Lit Traditions IV) and drama (Shakespeare Through Music). The history class was fascinating. Great professor, he covered the 1790s in France, in fair detail, in less than an hour. I don't know much about that time period/the French Revolution so it was mostly new info for me. I didn't take notes, though...I'm not real experienced with that so I prefer to just listen. Dad (who was a history major) took three pages of notes.
English class, again, absolutely fascinating. The teacher was Father Robert Maguire, a Cistercian priest. He gave a lecture at Arete so I was more or less prepared for little things like this:

(Father points at a student) "You're daydreaming."
"Huh wha? Yes Father?"
"You were daydreaming. You were, weren't you?"
"...yeah? Yes? I was?"
"You know how I knew you were daydreaming?"
"Uh, no..."
"Wanna know how I knew?"
"..."
"I used to be an expert daydreamer."

Their class was just finishing up Moby Dick. Neither Dad nor I have ever read Moby Dick, but Father's explanation of the plot and the underlying themes was so incredibly fascinating that Dad bought the book for himself at the school's bookstore afterwards. I intend to try my hand at it this summer. I really really hope I get to be in that class someday so I can hear the classes for the rest of the book.

Shakespeare Through Music was also taught by someone I recognized from Arete. Dr. Dupree is a truly remarkable fellow. He plays I don't know how many musical instruments...his areas of expertise could probably span half of the curriculum...he speaks at least 8 languages and a couple of ancient ones.
The class was on "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (woo! something I'm familiar with!), and we listened to parts of a recording of a performance with incidental music and cue music. I think it was mostly, actually it might have been all, Mendelssohn's work. Of course, I recognized the wedding song. EVERYBODY has heard that. I loved how you could really tell the difference between, for example, the fairy themes and the players' themes. We did hear some of the dialogue, and I've decided that the mechanics should always be played with Cockney accents.

After all that began the various information sessions. The welcome speeches, the admission counselor panel. Fun stuff like that. We ended the day with a taste of student life; ice cream and a movie with the Society of Physics Students. The SPS consists of about a dozen people, who were joined by one or two friends and us. This particular event was not on the list of recommended fun stuff for the ASAPers, but Dad and I found out about via posters. It was quite fun, actually. The ice cream was being made right there: with liquid nitrogen. They are all science majors, after all. The movie? None other than "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure". You gotta admit, it's nice after a long day of classes and information to just sit back and laugh at some sheer stupidity. It's especially funny because, for instance, everyone there had studied Socrates, so this little piece of dialogue:

Bill: "The only thing I know is that I know nothing." *puzzled face*

Ted: ......That's us, dude!

Probably got the most laughs for the whole movie out of the UDers.

Saturday dawned, and started with an info session about spiritual life at UD. The spiritual director talked all about the Catholic aspects of it, and how open it is, and how she tries to make sure everyone, no matter their creed, get's to the church they need to go to. There's even a group there that call themselves the "Protestant Posse" who arrange for rides to nearby Protestant churches. :-D They do encourage everybody to go to Mass and they have RCIA for folks considering conversion.
And then- dundundun! -The Test. The Aspiring Scholars Award Program test (usually abbreviated to the ASAP). It was one hour questions, one hour essay. The whole idea of the test is to give you a sample of what they study in their Core Curriculum, and pretty much to test your UD compatibility. Good scores also happen to earn scholarship money. Other benefits of taking the ASAP are that when you apply to UD, you don't have to pay the application fee and one letter of recommendation is waived. I'm not sure if this is a benefit or not, but the essay you write for the test becomes you application essay.
It wasn't too bad. It was hard, certainly, since it consists of college work and we were all just lowly high school juniors. My essay could have been better, could have been worse. :-/ The really sad part of all this? I don't get to find out how I did on the test until I get accepted to UD.
*sigh*

After the test was a session about the Rome semester. Which is amazing. I'm not going to get into all of that right now but if anyone wants to hear more about it (or anything else about UD) they can email or FB me and I'll gladly rave about it all. Then a goodbye talk, then we all filled out a survey about the weekend. For doing that we got free t-shirts, win! After that, lunch and a special meeting for all the homeschoolers with the homeschool admission counselor. Dad and I hung around for a little while after that, went up in the Tower and drove back home.

Why Austen Is Different

2010-02-25T09:30:00.003-06:00

Last night my friend Rosemary (over at A True Word and The Daily Painting, to be found on my blogroll) and I had an interesting conversation via Facebook chat.
She had figured out why she loved Jane Austen. I realized I had never thought of that! What exactly is it that makes Jane Austen's writing special?
She went on to say that, unlike so many couples in fiction and even real life, Austen always gives good reasons as to why her characters love each other. They CHOOSE to love each other. The reader can clearly see why they work as a couple, why they're good for each other and can help each other. Unlike in so many things today, where it's often just "Hey, I'm good-looking, you're good-looking, I feel good when I'm around you, let's see how long this lasts before we get tired of each other." It's all about the physical. In Austen's books, people tend to talk things out first. Then they get married, usually at the end of the book, and there's nary a kiss in the whole story. Nothing wrong with kissing, but those people were smarter about it than we are now. They knew it was more important to get to know each other.

Thank you, Jane dear, for writing about sensible people who know, more or less, what it's about. And thanks Rosemary for bringing this to my attention.

I Don't Feel Like Giving This Post A Real Title. Deal with it.

2010-02-23T20:40:00.003-06:00

Where to start?
Well, Grandma is here! She came just yesterday. Today all the girls went out, and everybody but me got their hair cut while I went to Beall's on the other end of the plaza, and thanks to Grandma I now have two cute new tops to take to UD with me!
Oh, UD? I'm going there this weekend with Dad! SO excited! It's for the Aspiring Scholars Preview (preview, preview....). We get to go to classes, talk to professors and the folks at admissions, and Saturday morning there's a special test for all the students. It's a sampling of some of the texts used in the Core Curriculum, and a good score could mean scholarship money. :-D Did I mention that I'm SUPER excited? I miss UD and can't WAIT to be back on campus!
The part of this post you were waiting for: BABY NEWS.
Mom and baby are both quite healthy, and Mom and Dad have more or less decided on Maximilian as a name. Works for me, I think Max is a cute name. :)

OM is crazy right now. Regionals is coming up and things are getting down to the wire. Our vehicle has decided not to work, so for Regionals things will be a tad primitive. We're probably gonna push it. We're pretty much guaranteed to get past Regionals so we'll fix it up before State and it'll be awesome...if it works.

Stay tuned for a post about the weekend at UD! I will post soon after I get home!

Long time, no post!

2010-01-30T22:04:00.002-06:00

Hey there!
So...recent life. Almost done with algebra! WOOT!
And today was a TKD tournament! I placed fifth in forms (and tied with somebody! which means that you perform a different form and get judged again) and first in weapons! And participated in a group musical form, just for demo, not competition. Way fun! We were great, it could have been a leetle tighter but it was pretty darn good for just one practice. :-P
Jack placed first in forms and second in sparring. His sparring group was really tough and he only just got his sparring gear this week, so that is REALLY good.
Maybe tomorrow I'll think of something interesting to post. But the clock reminds me that the dishes should have been done a while ago, and sleep is sort of important too. Tata for now!

St. Conleth's Catholic Heritage Association

2010-01-09T17:20:00.004-06:00

I have been asked to tell you all about a journal called CHRISTVS REGNAT ("Christ the King"- that "v" is actually a "u", by the way. That's how Latin is if you want to be really accurate ;), specifically the latest issue. Go here to read about it.

CHRISTVS REGNAT is a journal, with two issues a year, run by members of St. Conleth's Catholic Heritage Association, all the way in Ireland! They are a group working for a "...restoration of the Liturgy in conformity with its nature and with the Latin tradition."* They link to several other blogs and websites that promote the Latin tradition, such as the FSSP. Be sure to check out their blog (linked to above) and the journal. I read that blog post that tells about some of the articles and it looks really interesting!

*Quote from "Aims of St. Conleth's Catholic Heritage Association".

Wisteria...

2010-01-09T16:45:00.003-06:00

The return to school and regular life has left less oppurtunities for painting, but I did some today. Last time I practiced I learned how to use the scruffy brush and the liner brush.

Today, I put those two to use and used a worksheet in the book to create what is supposed to be wisteria on vines...

...resulting in this. Try to ignore all the purple stuff on the side that doesn't look connected to anything. I didn't like this picture so I used the paper to do some practicing before trying again:

This is a bit better, but I'm very unhappy with the curliques. They are ugly and too thick...I need a lot more practice with that brush. Overall, though, I like this one. I'm rather proud of the vines, for some reason.

Stay tuned for more from the aspiring artist!

Take your usual kid-versus-ruthless-pirate story...

2010-01-06T19:54:00.005-06:00

Add time travel, Nazis, spies, creepy parrots, cute little girls, the middle of one war, the eve of another, a kidnapped dog, missing children, well-loved historical leaders, and what you have is Nick of Time by Ted Bell.

This book was nothing like what I thought it'd be. But I absolutely loved it. It really does have all of the above in it, plus exploring themes of courage and heroism.

Nick is a twelve-year-old boy who lives on Greybeard Island, the smallest of the four islands in the English Channel. It's 1939 and though many deny it, war is brewing. Nick discovers that his father has been secretly gathering crucial information for Mr. Winston Churchill, keeping track of every German vessel that passes their little island, even though the government still believes that Germany is a friendly nation. This, of course, means that his father is involved in the most exciting occupation of- spying!! He's thrilled. Until he meets a fellow named Billy Blood. This Blood guy has a pretty terrifying companion by the name of Snake Eye, and an evil parrot named Bones. Billy Blood is very interested in a sea chest that Nick and his little sister Kate discovered. Nick has no idea what's in the chest, probably jewels or gold. He gets out of there fast and resolves to hide the chest from Blood and find out what's inside. But the next day, his beloved dog Jip is gone: captured by Blood.

Following is a series of exciting events that lead to the discovery of a time-machine, and the knowledge that Billy Blood is a pirate (a traitor of England in the war with Napoleon, to be precise) who uses another, identical time machine to travel across centuries kidnapping children and holding them for ransom. Nick and his friends embark on a huge adventure, he in one century with old Gunner and the mysterious Lord Hawke, fighting Blood, and his sister in 1939 outsmarting a Nazi captain and a German SS agent with her new friend, Hobbes.

Nick of Time is an absolute blast. Action-filled and suspenseful, it's an adventure book like no other. I only have two complaints against this book.

We didn't see enough of Billy Blood. He's a great villain and I wish there'd been more scenes with him in them. We only really meet him twice, and he'd be far more effective as a bad guy if he showed up in person more often.

Ted Bell has an odd way of switching suddenly from one person's perspective to another's. One minute you're reading about what Nick is thinking and seeing; then Lord Hawke; then Hobbes, with not so much as a break in paragraph to separate them.

That's it, though. Otherwise it's a fantastic book, great fun and a nice break from what I usually read.

So put down your vampire book and grab a copy of Nick of Time. You might think, "I outgrew the boy-fighting-pirates-and-the-like stories a long time ago". Pfft. Trust me. So did I.

Just read it, OK?

Well, would ya look at that?

2010-01-01T16:39:00.003-06:00

It's 2010!

*fireworks*

The New Year snuck up on me once again. I didn't fully realize it until the 30th, when I looked at my calendar and thought, "Wait a minute...tomorrow is New Year's Eve!!"
My family celebrated by setting off fireworks in the backyard and watching The Return of the King.

While I'm here, I'll tell you all something new and exciting. My good friend Rosemary has started two blogs, one about paintings and one about poems! Be sure to check out The Daily Painting and A True Word.

So, Happy New Year!! Hope it's a good one. :-)

Makin' Progress!

2009-12-28T18:45:00.003-06:00

So I've been practicing...

And today I painted my first whole flower! How exciting!!

AND another one!!

I don't know what kind of flowers these are supposed to be. I didn't draw them out of the book, I just kind of made them up as I went along. So if you were planning on commenting, forget about being realistic.

So there you go, Grandma! Your first real paintings from me!

First Attempts

2009-12-26T19:32:00.003-06:00

Merry Christmas, y'all! Hope everybody is having a great one!

I know you're all just dying to know what was under the tree for me, but the only ones slightly interesting to any of you are two: painting stuff and a book. The book I'll get to in another post, after I'm finished. For now I'll just point you over to the new addition on my booklist: Offerings by Tina Johnson.

Anybody ever used to watch the One Stoke Painting show with Donna Dewberry? I always thought it would be fun to try but I forgot about it, until yesterday when I got a whole bunch of paint, brushes, and instructions from Grandma. I started painting today and I'll be posting pictures of my progress (which is likely to be slow) on here. To start off,

This is pretty much everything I accomplished today, except for a few other beginning leaves. I managed one decent leaf and several epic fails of what are supposed to be petals. :-P There's one OK one in the lower left corner.
That's all for now! Artsy people, don't change that channel...

Normal

2009-12-11T16:24:00.005-06:00

*sigh* I do love December. Christmas, cookies and cold weather I can count on.

Life is normal...for me. If you don't call trying to keep up with algebra and geometry at the same time and spending your Mondays gluing Cheerios onto a "tree" made out of cans and duct tape or watching YouTube videos of Rube Goldberg machines created by crazy smart Japanese college kids normal, that's OK. Few people would.

Yes, math is still my nemesis...it plots against me constantly, devising ways to slow me down. The fact that I have to share my geometry book with my brother doesn't help.

And yes, I'm doing OM again. Someday I might tell you more about it, but I can't right now...very confidential, you see.

So my non-normal life is progressing normally. Mom is pregnant again and thankfully, this time around it looks as though things will be normal...no home IVs or anything, at least. Oh yes, the last two babies caused quite a lot of trouble and stress...where such things are concerned, I'm much happier if they're normal.
(Baby is due in June, btw.)

Christmas is coming upon us again...the material side of it began to scare up money starting around Halloween, as normal. Many people are ignoring the other side of it, as normal. Oh, well. I can be all Charlie Brown about Christmas some other time.

That's all I have to say for today. Go be normal, or abnormal, depending on your standards for such. As for me, I have to go print out some papers and then no doubt wash some dishes. *sigh*

That's all, folks!

Can you believe it?

2009-11-19T15:53:00.004-06:00

It's been ten whole years since I met the Real Katie's family! Yep, on a day in November, 1999 (a darn cold day too, as I remember) we met at Wolfe Park (the awesomest wooden playground ever built, period). We can't remember the exact date, though.

Back in June, a few days before my birthday, I wrote this, essay, I suppose you could call it, about the whole ten years thing. We met in November but I turned 16 in June, and it was the number that made me really realize just how long it had been and that triggered all the nostalgia. So I wrote this lovely piece on non-literature about it. Katie cried about it and put it on her blog so some of you wonderful people may have alreay read it.
Anyways....here 'tis.

Ten Years

This week I'll turn sixteen. Apparently that's a big milestone. In most states, you can start driving when you're sixteen; you can get a job; you start looking at colleges and planning for the future. For some reason, it's more of a big deal for girls than it is for boys. I guess it's like a modern-day coming-out....our new version of "You're a lady now".

That's all well and good. But what I'm thinking about as I begin my seventeenth year in this world and tack a different number onto myself is "ten years". Ten years since I was six. That's a great age to be. Some fairly momentous things happened to me when I was six.

I moved to another state, leaving behind my church, school, friends and beloved kindergarten teacher.

I started homeschooling.

I started a new life in a new place, and made new friends.

Friends. The first ones I met were Katie and Sarah. Our moms met online, and found out that they each had a daughter aged six, named Katie, and both homeschooled. It was then discovered that that other Katie had a little sister named Sarah. My middle name was Sara! These remarkable coincidences led to a friendship that's still going today. Ten years later. Katie and Sarah were always my best friends. They were family to me, and I'm pretty sure I was family to them. Their house was my second home. Often over the years my mom would be on the phone with their mom. Then she'd turn to me and say,"Katie, do you want to go sleep over at Katie's house?" You can imagine my answer. "OK, get your stuff together. Stacey is gonna pick you up in a few minutes."

Boy, did we have fun. We've almost never argued, that I can remember. Of course, it wasn't constantly happiness and light. Sarah and I had a funny little "enmity" (take note of the quotation marks) for a year or two. We made up eventually. Katie and I almost never fought. We insulted each other at times and did or said things the other didn't like and gotten on each other's nerves...but within my memory we've never had an out-and-out fight. Just because our names were the same didn't mean we weren't different in some ways. For example, I was never allowed to read the Harry Potter books or watch the movies, although as I got older the restrictions on the movies were somewhat relaxed. Katie and Sarah were crazy about them. I tolerated their ravings, and they in turn put up with my Nancy Drew obsession. One thing we have always had in common, however, is our love of reading. We're all book-eaters...let us out of your sight and you can expect at least one of us to have our nose in a good book. Over the years we've lent each other books, recommended books, and obsessed over books. I remember once when I lent one to Katie and she didn't return it for a year.

Ah, remembrance.....I'm quickly turning sentimental. Please bear with me while I take a leisurely stroll down memory lane...

The Katie Sarah Katie Sara Detective Agency: Timeless. We never did solve any mysteries, but the theme song with dance sure was fun!

Henchman Bob! Need I say more?

Remember when Benny was born? He's 5 and a half now!

Penny Lane Players.... Katie and I were the cutest water fairies ever!

"Katie, Sarah....I think you guys are sleeping over.

"HOLY SMOKEY THE CAT!"

Sarah's big line in Cymbeline: "Aye."

The Sarah-Jack joke....still bouncing around.

The list goes on....

On my wall is a picture of Katie dipping me when we were eight or nine. The jumper that I'm wearing in that picture now belongs to my eight year old sister. Crazy how time goes by, isn't it? More than three years ago my family moved again; all the way to Texas. It hurt to leave when I had been there for six years- the longest my family had stayed anyplace.* Now, looking back, I'm glad we moved. The Lone Star State is a great place to live, and I've made great friends here and had some crazy fun experiences that would never have happened had my family remained in CT. Of course, our friendship continued. Sometime this fall it will have been ten years since the chilly, blustery day when we met. I've always been closest to Katie since we're much closer in age (BFF, girly!) but today I'm thinking of the crazy, laughing, carefree trio that would be called to dinner with "Katie-Sarah-Katie-Sara! Get down here!" and have at least two sleepovers a week during the summer.

So here's to ten years: may the next decade be even better.

Love, KK

*No, we're not military. My dad's in the grocery business, and let me tell you, it's almost as bad.

Latest from the greatest

2009-11-09T10:44:00.004-06:00

I've been listening to new music from two of my favorite artists; Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood.
Taylor released her second album, Fearless, almost a year ago, and just recently released a platinum version of the same. I'm not gonna buy the whole thing because it's about $16.00 on iTunes and has a bunch of music videos on it, which take too long to download and that I'd probably only watch once or twice anyways. But it also has several new songs, and a piano version of a song from the original album, "Forever and Always" (yes, the song she wrote about Joe Jonas). It's beautiful; the original version is upbeat, and Taylor's singing is angry and accusing. This is slow, with entirely different instrumentals, and Taylor fills her voice with sadness and regret. Amazing what different emotions can be put into a song when sung and played differently. I bought that, and two new songs: "The Other Side of the Door" and "Come In With The Rain," both great songs.

Carrie has just recently come out with her third album, Play On. Again, I haven't bought the whole album...I tend to just buy the songs that I think I'll like. And I really, really like what I did buy. Previous to the album release, I got two singles, "Cowboy Casanova" and "Mama's Song".
"Cowboy Casanova" is great fun, fast-paced with great music and vocals. "Mama's Song" is much more simple and sweet, a reassuring song to the mother of the bride- "He is good, so good, and he treats your little girl like a real man should." I should probably consider playing this at my wedding, to counter the song "Slipping Through My Fingers" that Mom might want to play. :-P
The other day I bought four songs from the new CD. "Change", "Temporary Home" (a rare song reminding us that our real home is in heaven), "What Can I Say" (featuring Sons of Sylvia), and the title track, "Play On". Every song is great and worth listening to and buying. My favorite right now is "What Can I Say". I've never heard of Sons of Sylvia but the guy's voice is pretty good and the song is so pretty. :)

Such are my current adventures in musicland. Next up, adventures in reading!

OK, so...

2009-11-04T16:02:00.002-06:00

I seem to have trouble dividing my computer time between FB, Blogger, TGO and other. Basically I either spend a ton of time on FB and TGO, or Blogger and TGO. :-P Plus YouTube and gazing longingly at medieval dresses and such.

So, what has happened since my last fantabulous post? Let's see...oh yes! Ellie and I took the PSAT. It was strangely non-stressful. Except for the part about getting up in the wee hours o' the morning, it was almost....fun. A much better experience than last time, which some of you may recall reading about last year in this post. Very odd. Anyways, I'm pretty confident about my scores, even for the math sections. The reading sections weren't very hard, the math was OK and I know I did far better than the last time I took this thing (and easier than the math in the practice tests), and the writing skills section at the end was so ridiculously easy! Honestly, is this test for highschoolers or 7th graders?

Mom and Dad went on a fantastic trip to Salzburg, AUSTRIA (without me. *sad face*). While they were gone my cousin Sara came to help hold things down at the ranch. We only had four kids to take care of and things went remarkably well. When the parents came back from their marvelous vacation, they seemed almost surprised and definitely quite pleased that the house was so nice and clean. Cleaner than usual, as a matter of fact. They passed out everybody's souvenirs soon after arrival and my wonderful new Austrian belongings ARE: A gorgeous shawl! A beautiful antique holy card, and a postcard with a picture of the very gazebo that was used for the "Sixteen Going On Seventeen" scene from Sound of Music. *jumps up and down like an obsessed fangirl*

Grandma came here last Wednesday and shall be leaving tomorrow. Hence, she was here for Halloween (which, in our little corner of the world, is very very very different from how it is in her neighborhood up in NJ). It was fun; I was gypsy! Daddy called me Stevie Nicks...explanation? Jack wore his Scream mask, Ian wore BDUs, a bulletproof vest and carried a huge Nerf gun (a realistic-ish looking one), Gracie was an Olympic medalist (my idea!) Emma was a ballerina, Ben was Darth Vader and Lucy was a very cute bumblebee. Tristan wore no costume, because why would he need one? He's The Cutest Baby In The Whole Wide World, 24/7. So you see, no costume needed. He takes his cuteness with him everywhere.

Last night Jacky recieved a long-awaited award at CAP, the Billy Mitchell award. It's more or less the CAP equivalent of Eagle Scout, except better because CAP totally owns Boy Scouts. :-P
There were speeches and then they pinned the thingy on his shoulders and then we all ate pizza and cake while standing around socializing. Today was tae kwon do, which Grandma also attended and found quite interesting and, hopefully, impressive.

And guess what? I'm finally starting the 11th grade!!! The reasons why I haven't started until November are a long and somewhat humiliating story, so let's not go there. But yes, I'm excited, and resolute that this year will not be like the last two. Wish me luck. Next summer we begin applying to colleges. *gulp* UD, here I really hope I come!

P.S.
I forgot to mention that Grandma bought me all the books on my "want to read list" there on the sidebar. All except the Princess Bride because we already have that and Grace just won't let me have it. Anywho, I've finished all of them except Out of the Silent Planet, which I am working on now. Inkdeath= Awesome! Mr. Darcy's Diary= AMAZING!! Till We Have Faces= Very very good, of course! You can't really go wrong with C.S. Lewis. <3

When in boredom...

2009-10-10T20:08:00.002-05:00

Watch videos like these.

Return of the King is a long movie. To save yourself the time, why not just watch this?

Who knew that our friend Inigo Montoya had a lightsaber? (Note: The Inigo Montoya video is rated PG for violence and brief language.)

How to survive an alien attack.

If you thought that wedding entrance dance was awesome...

2009-10-10T15:51:00.002-05:00

...watch this. Personally I prefer this one.

Don't you just love cold weather?

2009-10-10T12:53:00.004-05:00

No, seriously. I'm not being sarcastic. I really and truly love it when it's cold out. Cozy clothes, hot chocolate, fire in the fireplace, yummy pumpkin bread and baking lots and lots of cookies, snuggling down under two blankets at night....yes, fall and winter are indeed my favorite seasons.
Technically fall starts in September. Yeah, right. Weather-wise, fall didn't start here until yesterday when it all of a lovely sudden turned chilly! Now, according to my amateur guess, it's around 58 out there. So awesome! Emma, Grace, Lucy and Ben are all playing outside right now in long-sleeved shirts and coats and I have just finished drinking a cup of tea. Yayeth! The only thing though, is up in New England where I used to live, fall trees are beautiful. Here, they are...not. The leaves don't change until late in the season, and they mostly just turn brown or yellowish, and fall right off after a couple of days. I miss the pretty reds and gold, unlike some lucky people like Serendipity over at Musings And Antics, who also wrote about fall recently. Oh yes, and no snow in the winter, although if we're lucky some things might get iced up. Eh. You can't have everything. I'll stop complaining now.

Still, though, I'm so happy that it finally feels like autumn! \^o^/

For homeschoolers who've heard "Wicked":

2009-10-08T20:55:00.006-05:00

Because everyone knows that homeschoolers are unsocialized, here is a parody of "Popular" from Wicked about a girl who desperately wants to be.....well, popular.

Whenever I see someone more socialized than I

And let's face it -who isn't
More socialized than I?-

My tender heart tends to start to weep

And when somebody calls me a dork

Sometimes it drives me quite berserk

But I know, I know

Exactly what they mean.

And even in my case

[pause]

With dreams that some might say it's nuts to chase

Don't worry

I'm determined to succeed

School kids, take heed!

For yes, indeed

I

Will

Be

Popular
I'm gonna be popular

I'll make use of the proper ploys

When I talk to boys

Silly ways to flirt and flounce

[ew]

I'll learn 'bout what shoes to wear

How to fix my hair

Everything that they say counts to be

Popular
I want to popular!

I'll "hang" with the right cohorts

I'll be good a sports

Know the slang I'm supposed to know

Better start, think

I've got a pretty long way to go.

I'm tired of being called a nerd so verily*
Because I read Shakespeare voluntarily
Whoever heard of enjoying history
I have been enlightened
Now it is no mystery
The reasons that I'm not

Popular
But soon I'll be popular
And then I know that you will see
A brand new me
Instead of dreary who I am
(Not "are")
There's nothing that can stop me
From becoming popular
Laa laa, laa laa!
I'm gonna become popular!

Ever since the first grade
I've had no friends
I am so unloved
History books remind me that
I should think of
Celebrated heads of state
Or 'specially great communicators
Did they have brains or knowledge?

Don't make me laugh!
They were popular!
Duh.
It's all about popular
It's not about aptitude
It's the way you're viewed
So it's very shrewd to be
Very very popular
Unlike me.

And if you don't believe
I have it in me
To be more socialized

Sit down and watch me do it!
You're not gonna believe your eyes!

Laa laa, laa laa!
You may be popular,
But not as popular as
I will be!

*I know, this line makes very little sense. I needed something to rhyme with "voluntarily". Suggestions?

My latest obsession...

2009-10-03T13:25:00.002-05:00

Wicked!! OK, so I've never seen the show nor have I read the book. But I've heard the music and watched some of the songs on youtube! That counts for something, doesn't it? I mean seriously. If I've been singing "Popular" in the shower I think that's fairly significant.
In fact, I'm listening to Popular right now!
"And though you protest your disinterest, I know clandestinely...you're gonna grin and bear it! Your newfound popularity!" And the "real thing" as seen by myself on youtube (cheap, I know but it's the best I can do at the moment :-P) is soooo much better than the soundtrack.
And "Defying Gravity"? Ah-ma-zing. Same about the soundtrack.

So if you care to find me, look to the Western sky! As someone told me lately, everyone deserves a chance to fly!

One of the reasons I love Texas

2009-09-30T16:43:00.006-05:00

There's always something awesome going on in the sky. We get the prettiest sunsets and the most amazing cloud formations. Hence, ever since I got my camera back in June I've had this obsession with taking pictures of the sky. Enjoy!

Please ignore the ugly half-finished building with the crane on top.

Staring straight up past the trees over-hanging my driveway.

This was just last night, and looking in the other direction we have:

And then the night before that we had this one:

When I first ran outside to see it it was almost all vivid pink and purple and really and truly looked like a painting. I ran in to get my camera and this is what it looked like when I came back out. Crazy how fast these things change.

Edit: The words aren't cooperating. Just pretend that each caption is next to the picture below. Doggone blog settings *walks away mumbling*

Walker, go home!

2009-09-27T19:43:00.002-05:00

And stay there!

This silly dog named Walker who lives approximately two miles down the road found his way to our house about a week ago and keeps coming! The first time we just though, "Oh another stray dog." There was an address on his tag so Mom found his owners' number and called. They came and got him, and guess who showed up at our door again that morning?
He just keeps coming back! "You're not our dog!!" is quickly becoming the most often said thing in our household. The problem is that his family is gone all day on the weekdays. So he comes here where there are a bunch of kids who just loooooove dogs like him. He's a sweet dog and a good boy, but HE'S NOT OURS!!!! We don't feed him anything or give him water (can't encourage him to stay) but still he comes back. Again and again and again! His owners are trying to sell their house so eventually he'll move with them and we won't see him anymore. We'll probably kind of miss him, he is such a nice dog. But seriously, Walker!

GO HOME!!!!!!

Funny Picture

2009-09-26T17:32:00.004-05:00

Hello, I was going to post about all sorts of things but it seems that they all flew out of my head, leaving a sad blank. To make up for this epic failure of a blog post, here is a picture of my family's dog, Murphy, that my sister took.

Slideshow

2009-09-19T14:38:00.001-05:00

My Trip To CT

http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y11/kmomto6/Smilies%20for%20Katie/?action=view&current=52c6f5b5.pbw

100TH POST!!!

2009-09-14T20:46:00.003-05:00

Yay!
The original purpose of this post was to show of some photo-editing that I've been doing, but then I saw that it was going to be the 100th post so I just had to mention it.
So moving on....voila!

You would have to have been there.

Pictureses!!!

2009-09-12T16:34:00.002-05:00

Since we just got faster internet, I shall now post some pictures from my trip to CT! Ta-da!

Twirly dress!

Sarah and were trying to make it look like we were eating our cameras...or something like that....

Posing for the camera.

As the lovely lady emerges from the fitting rooms, overjoyed at finding the dress to be perfect!

The quilt of extreme wonderfulness!

Rawr.

Katie: Gosh Katie I love your sunglasses!

Sarah: I'm a creeper!

That's it for now, more coming later!

It's....

2009-09-11T19:02:00.002-05:00

RAINING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, where I live, that's a big deal! It's been super-dry around here lately but for the past week or so we've been getting the occasional lovely shower. It's raining right now as I type. Earlier I went out there for a while, goofed off in the rain and came in soaking! So now I'm dressed in cozy PJs and oh, it feels so good.

Seriously funny

2009-09-10T23:56:00.002-05:00

Now tell me it isn't hilarious. Really, I laugh every time I see it. I "lol" for real. I have no idea why it's so funny but even now I'm watching it and giggling.

It's that time of year again!

2009-09-08T17:20:00.002-05:00

Ah, the beginning of the school year! It just started today in our house. For everyone but me, that is. I'm still working on finishing last year (cough) and preparing for the PSAT. Sooooo I won't officially start school until mid-October. This should be a good year, though. It better be. It's my junior year, the most important in highschool, so I have to well (and do everything) if I want future college applications to look good. At least I know history will be fun. Medieval history/lit! Yayyy! My other subjects shall be algebra 2 (blech), biology, Spanish, and....what for religion? I think it's some kind of Bible studies. Church history, maybe? That would mix well with the medieval stuff. I guess we'll see. But hey, it's actually not that much! The Spanish is easy, very easy compared to Latin with all of its blasted verb endings and little words with a hundred different meanings and uses... the history will be enjoyable. Biology will be tough (science has never been my strong point). But the religion shouldn't be too bad. That leaves my old friend, algebra. Well....can't be too horrible... right?

Contest!!

2009-09-07T15:35:00.001-05:00

The infamous Katies are having a contest! The prize....a lovely bookmark! Go to our blog to enter!

Gotta love 'em

2009-09-07T15:14:00.002-05:00

This is a list of Chuck Norris jokes, compiled by my brother. Some of them are actually funny. Enjoy.

1.When Chuck Norris does push-ups, he doesn't push himself up...he pushes the
world down.
2.When the boogey-man goes to sleep, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.
3.Some people wear Superman pajamas. Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas.
4.The great wall of China was built to keep out Chuck Norris.....it
failed miserably.
5.Chuck Norris won Connect Four in three moves.
6.Chuck Norris counted to infinity twice.
7.Chuck Norris has already been to Mars. That's why there are no sign
of life there.
8.Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, saying that Law and Order are
trademarked names for his left and right arms.
9. Chuck Norris kicked Neo out of Zion, now Neo is "The Two."
10. Chuck Norris does not hunt because the word "hunt" infers the
probability of failure, Chuck Norris goes killing.
11. Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door.
12. Chuck Norris doesn't breathe, he holds air hostage.
13. Chuck Norris once kicked a horse in the chin; it's decendants
today are known as giraffes.
14. Chuck Norris can set ants on fire with a magnifying glass.....at night.
15. China was once bordering the United States. That was until Chuck
Norris roundhouse kicked the commies across the planet.
16. When Chuck Norris had surgery the anesthesia was applied to the doctors.
17. Chuck Norris broke the land speed record on a kiddie bike with no wheels.
18. There is no such thing as tornadoes, Chuck Norris just hates trailer parks.
19. If there were a nuclear war only two things would survive:
cockroaches and Chuck Norris.
20. President Truman dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshoma when he had
the choice to simply send Chuck Norris. Truman chose the bomb because
it was more "Humane."

Makeover!

2009-09-06T23:12:00.002-05:00

As you may have noticed, I've given my blog a makeover! Why? Because I'm a girl and that's what we do. :-P My only problem with it is that the doggone header is too small. I shall, however, do my best to make it fit. I may have to get someone else (probably The "Real" Katie :-P) to do it. hm...

Golly gee!

2009-09-05T17:39:00.001-05:00

I just realized that yesterday was the first anniversary of my blog! Yayyy!

I know, I know.

2009-08-14T12:20:00.002-05:00

I'm a bad blogger. A thousand apologies. There's a draft I keep meaning to finish and post all about my adventures in UD but I never seem to get to it. One word, folks: Facebook.
But I'm here now! So don't give up on me! Stay tuned....

Concerning UD

2009-08-03T15:15:00.006-05:00

Alright, I know it's late, but here it is. The account of my two weeks at the University of Dallas. Voila!

When I got back from UD, Dad asked me if it (the overall experience) scared me away from college or made we want to go. Definitely the latter! The best thing was the 'sense of community' people are always talking about. Because all 23 of us lived in the same dorm (guys and girls were on different floors and were not allowed into each other's hallways), and because we did most everything together, by the end of the first week we were pretty much a big, slightly insane and often quite loud family. Part of it may be how we teamed up against some chemistry students who were staying in the dorm next to ours. I won't give you all the details of the chemistry vs. philosophy war, but it was intense. "Power to the ninja philosophers!" said a piece of paper that Julanne made and taped on the wall of the common area.

Another good thing about UD....nice dorms! Wayyy better than the ones the OM team stayed in in Maryland. We didn't have private bathrooms, but the one everybody used was clean and decent, and we had a sink and mirror in our rooms so we didn't have to walk down the hall to brush our teeth etc. Bedrooms were fair-sized, and were occupied by two or three people each. The common area had a living room area with a TV, DVD player and VCR (yes, we watched quite a few movies in our free time). There was a foosball table, tables and chairs, and a full-sized kitchen complete with snacks and goodies! And the cafeteria food was actually not too bad. There was even a soft-serve ice-cream dispenser! Which, of course, I used almost daily.

And as for the actual program, you know, all the academic stuff ; it was great! All of our lecturers were great and unique, every one. After a lecture in the morning, everybody broke off into groups for seminars. My seminar director was Mrs. Andrea Diduch, a major in politics. The seminars were always interesting, though I didn't say much during them. Some people talk more than others and I was perfectly happy to sit back and listen to the smarter, more opinionated people (anybody who went to Arete who might be reading this probably knows which people I'm talking about :) discuss things.

We also had two field trips: one to Fort Worth and one to Dallas. At FW we went to the Kimball Art Museum and then were let loose on downtown. My roomate (who is from Fort Worth) did a very smart thing by taking me to chocolate shop, thus putting herself forever in my good favor. We browsed around in Barnes & Noble for a while and (here's the kicker) went to see HP. Yes, yes, I know. I, who never read, showed interest in or was allowed to read the books, and had put up with my BFF's HP obsession for heaven knows how long paid money (nine dollars, to be exact. ridiculous) to voluntarily see a Harry Potter movie. Don't hurt me, Katie! Everybody else was going to see it and it's not like I hate HP or anything. I like it, it's entertaining and fun and after all, how could I be best friends with a self-proclaimed Harry Potter nut and not get rubbed off on at least a little? Anyways, cool movie.

The next day we went to Dallas and the art museum there, which was really fun. I go crazy over the ancient Greco-Roman stuff, of which there was plenty. Not to mention an enormous Byzantine mosaic! COOL! No, I'm not a nerd, not at all. Oh, and the Egyptian stuff! They have a real mummy! I was looking at it and I thought it was just the case until I looked at the bottom end of it where part of the top had been cut off and there were feet sticking out! AWESOME, RIGHT?! It was pretty small, actually. Shorter than me. I don't recall reading whether it was a man or a woman. Anyways, the museum was really neat and then after that we went to uptown Dallas. I got a book at Borders and walked around with Julanne and Elizabeth, checking out shops and meeting possums (there's more to that, maybe some other time). After about 3 hours of that we all piled back into the bus - and almost left Kelly behind in the Borders. From there we went to Shakespeare In The Park, which at that time was doing the Taming Of The Shrew, which, as you may recall, we had read. It was very well done and a lot of fun, although I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for family viewing.

Over the second week we each had to write a paper for a presentation at the end of the week. My first reaction to this: Eek! The paper was supposed to be on any topic which we had studied there or were going to study there that we found interesting. I wrote about Aristotle's great-souled man. I won't go into any detail about it, because I don't know how many of my readers have read Aristotle and would know at all what I'm talking about. Anywho, I wrote the paper and my presentation went fairly well. Presenters were grouped by topic the best they possibly could. The other papers of my group had virtually nothing to do with each other; we were the misfits. :-) The presentations worked like this:

The group/panel of presenters sits at a table at the front of the auditorium and takes turns reading their papers to the audience.
Each presentation gets about ten minutes.
Five minute period for questions among the panel.
Five minute period for questions from the audience.

Everybody did a great job with their papers and there were some very interesting topics thrown about.
The last day arrived! Oh no! Presentations in the morning, and we were more or less left to our own devices for the rest of the day (I never thought that an hour or two of free time sounded so good!). Around 4:00 we girls started getting pretty for the big dinner and dance that were to close the program. We all went up to a special dining room on the second floor of the university center, above the cafeteria. There we sat down at tables and, after speeches by Mrs. Smith and Dr. Cowan and getting our certificates, we ate a delicious catered dinner, followed by my favorite! Tiramisu! Yay! We took lots of pictures of ourselves.....with our seminar groups....the guys doing a pyramid, or trying.....Charlies Angels....
Then we went downstairs and downstairs again into the...*assumes deep scary voice* RATHSKELLER!!!!! Also known as the basement. :-P There we danced the night away, having a blast. Gradually, we all went back to the dorm and the party continued in a different way. Have you ever stood in a living room and tried to hit a water-football around like a volleyball with some verrrry enthusiastic players? Serious fun. Later we somehow started a pillow fight with the boys that somewhat resembled the battle of Thermopylae. It was fun until they started spraying Axe everywhere. Arrrgghh. Ridiculous little boys in the guise of philosophical teens, every one of them.

Saturday dawned bright and fair, and one by one, everybody left. Right now it's hard to believe it was just a little more than a month ago that I said goodbye to them.....although someday I'll be saying, "Has it been a whole year?" and then "Has it been ten years?"

And when that happens....... REUNION!!!!!! Oh yeah.

A Quick Check-In

2009-07-16T17:51:00.002-05:00

Greetings! I am at the University of Dallas! I've been here since Sunday and I'm having a GREAT time. There's this huge paper that I have to write which will definitely be something of an adventure....but anywho, things are going wonderfully. All the other kids are fantastic and there's already some inside jokes. Muahahaha. Tonight we're going to read the Taming of the Shrew...out loud! Can't wait!

I have to go, someone else is waiting for the computer. Tata for now!

Two days!

2009-07-10T09:25:00.001-05:00

In two more days I leave for UD! Yaaaayy!

I bet you can't guess what I'm about to say!

2009-07-04T12:46:00.002-05:00

HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!!!!!!
God bless Americaaaaa, land that I looove! Stand beside her, and guide her, through the night with a light from aboove!
I guess that more or less says it all. Have a fantastic day, complete with fireworks, sparklers, family and friends! We're going to our friends' annual 4th party, where there will be a potluck, fireworks, and general hanging out and laughing and having fun.

Happy Birthday to the U.S.A.!
(Jack insists that I add the fact that it is America's 233rd birthday.)

Starting to get ready

2009-06-26T20:29:00.002-05:00

Today we (finally) recieved stuff in the mail from the University of Dallas. You might remember that several months ago I applied to attend a summer program there, and was accepted. With the acceptance letter came a bunch of information about financial stuff, registration, etc. Then today we got another packet of info containing an agenda for the program, packing suggestions, where to get the reading materials, and so on and so forth.

Now that I have a more real idea of what it's going to be like, I'm getting pretty excited. It's going to fun, interesting, and new. It's basically going to be two weeks of a Catholic, liberal arts college; exactly what I want when I actually do go to college. I'm going to try to finish all the reading before I go, except maybe a few poems. Some of the stuff I've got to read includes The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, Oedipus Rex, or, Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Revelation by Flannery O'Connor, Plato's Republic (fun fun fun!) and the like.

So yep, can't wait to go to UD. The next couple of weeks before going will be interesting...I'll be very busy getting regular schoolwork done and preparing for the "college preporatory seminar". But still, I love the time right before you go on a trip somewhere, deciding what to bring and packing and agonizing over not forgetting anything and all that. There's an Anne of Green Gables quote that I can't quite recall where she says that the anticipation is almost as good as the actual event. I think I'll go find it and post it.....did I mention that I love Anne of Green Gables, the whole series?
How's that for randomness?

New Blog Award!

2009-06-20T15:23:00.002-05:00

I have made a brand new blog award. Behold!

*applause*
Alrighty, I am awarding this to:
The Real Katie
Serendipity
Nine (+) Texans
Turwethiel Merilwen

Meet Larry!

2009-06-20T14:40:00.004-05:00

This little fellow shows up whenever my hand touches pen to paper. Most of the time, anyway. Larry makes up most of my doodling, when I'm not drawing little hearts or stars or filling in corners.
Isn't he expressive? I love drawing Larry because you can make a bunch of the same faces, add different eyebrows to all of them, and voila! you end up with a lot of different expressions. Angry, surprised, annoyed, puppy-eyes. Except on that last one I added some tears, which didn't turn out too well. :-P

That's my artistic-ness for the day! :-D

Still slightly obsessed

2009-06-19T21:09:00.006-05:00

As I type I'm listening to "Belle" from Disney's Beauty and the Beast. I'm singing along to practically every word, even Gaston's part. I actually just bought this song, as well as "A Whole New World" from Aladdin, another B&B song, and "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid. Could it be that I never really grew out of these movies?
Of COURSE I didn't! I'm a GIRL! I like princesses and romance and pretty music. Duh.
Oh no! The song ended. Excuse me while I go play it again.
Edit: ooh ooh! The other Beauty and the Beast song finished downloading! Yay! Listening to it now....

At last...

2009-06-17T14:27:00.003-05:00

I have my room all to myself. Not that I don't like sharing it with my best friend and my cousin (who is also my godsister). But I have begun to wonder what my floor looks like without blankets and pillows everywhere.

Yep, The Real Katie came for a surprise visit, arriving on my birthday and leaving this last Saturday. Even though the surprise didn't quite go as planned, it was pretty much amazing. Here's what I mean about the surprise. The day she was supposed to come, I was sitting in the living room and Mom was in the office with door open, talking to Katie on the phone. I overheard her say, "OK, honey, Christopher [that would be Daddy] will meet you right outside security so you don't have to wait at the curb or anything."
I'm not stupid. I figured it out immediately. My lower jaw probably went clear through the foundation of our house, it dropped so.
And they had been planning this for months! And whenever Katie and I talked, I would ask if she had found "any cheap flights" to come and visit and she'd say, "Oh, well we're thinking I might come in August or something..." and I totally fell for it. That's my thespian friend. :-P

On the day before Katie's last day here, Ceci came. At least I knew about that one ahead of time. And we had a lot of fun too. I almost never get to see her, or any other family members on my dad's side, for that matter.
I even got Katie and Ceci for one whole day. As mom put it, I was "In my glory....with both my BFF and my godsister". Unfortunately, Katie and I were both sick to our stomachs on that day, but hey, it could be worse....I guess....
Last night Mom, Ceci and I had a fun girls' night out. We walked around downtown San Antonio, checked out some shops, ate dinner on the Riverwalk, had ice cream, and walked past the Alamo. To which Ceci's reaction was, "Omygosh it's so tiny!" Which makes sense. It does seem pathetically small when you hold it up to all the postcards and movies and history books that tell you the story (Remember the Alamo! Just had to say that).
Katie left on Saturday, and Ceci left today. I've been sharing my room for two straight weeks now, so I think I'll go remove the makeshift bed and clean up a bit. Sound good? Good.

OH and did I mention that Ceci taught me how to play Love Story on the piano? Up to the first chorus, anyways. Aawwesooome!

CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE

2009-06-17T14:14:00.002-05:00

CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE

PUPPIES!!!!!

No pictures at present, there are some in my camera that will be downloaded at some point. Anyways, the story behind my obssessive raving is that Mom was driving down the highway this morning on her way to pick me up from TKD (ooh, I tested today! Got my gold belt. Anyways. Moving on.) and she saw three dogs walking along the side of the road. One mom and two puppies. The mommy dog was far two skinny and she her babies were just walkin' along the highway, probably minutes away from becoming roadkill. Mom saw that the mom looked starved and was obviously still nursing so she stopped the van and loaded in all three woofies.
So I'm at TKD, hanging around, waiting for my ever-late mother to come pick me up. The teacher, another student and one of the moms are talking. My mom pulls up, holds a small black puppy out the window, and says, "Anybody want a dog?"

We brought them home- each of us holding a puppy on our lap -and the kids went crazy over them. We had to leave soon after that to take my cousin/godsister Ceci to the airport so we left them home with Gracie, who gave them some food.

Mom left about hour ago to take them to the vet to have them looked at, just to make sure they're healthy and everything. Then I think...*think* we're going to deposit them in our neighbors' backyard until we can find homes for them.
So let me say this one more time.

Those puppies are

ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*sigh* I think I'm in love.

Party Pictures!

2009-06-08T09:11:00.003-05:00

Pictures from my sa-weeeeet sixteen!

Another taggy thingy!

2009-06-03T13:46:00.002-05:00

From Vicki.

NARNIA VS. MIDDLE-EARTH!

Gimli vs. Trumpkin? Oh dear.....um..... Trumpkin.

Gandalf vs. Professor Cornelius? Gandalf!

The White Witch vs. Saruman? White Witch. Note that I am making this decision based on who I think is more evil.

Gandalf vs. Aslan? Aslan. Although Gandalf is still amazing!

Aragorn vs. Aslan? Aslan again. I do love Aragorn, but I love Aslan more. :P

Narnia vs. Middle-earth? If I had to pick one of them to live in.....Narnia. I'm more familiar with it. :)

Prince Caspian vs. Frodo? Ooooh.....Caspian.

Susan vs. Arwen? Susan

Edmund vs. Merry? Edmund! Yay!

Lucy vs. Pippin? Again I side with the Pevensies. Pippin is great, but Lucy's cuter.

Peter vs. Haldir? I don't know Haldir all that well...so Peter. Although his ego problems tick me off at times, he's not so bad underneath. He is the High King, after all.

The Dancing Lawn vs. Lothlorien? Lothlorien

Centaurs vs. Elves? It's a draw.

Peter's sword vs. Anduril? Anduril

Susan's magic bow and arrows vs. Legolas's bow of the Galadhrim? can't I have both?

Wargs vs. Werewolves? Werewolves.....wargs are bigger and uglier.

Orcs vs. Hags? Hags.....way more scary. (That's a good thing.)

The White Witche's castle vs. the Tower of Barad-dur? The Castle

Gryphons vs. Eagles? Gryphons.

Uruk-hai or Telemarines? Telmarines

Catapults or Oliphaunts? Oliphaunts

Cair Paravel or Rivendell? Cair Paravel!

What to post about?

2009-05-30T12:57:00.002-05:00

Hm. What's new and interesting in my life that is worth posting about? *ponders*
Oh yeah! My birthday! 'Tis next week. I'm going to have a sa-weet party with all or most of my buddies. We're going to Indian food for dinner and brownie sundaes for dessert. Awesome, no?

Something else of incredible import has reminded me of itself. THE JUNIOR SHAKESPEAREANS MACBETH OPENING NIGHT WAS LAST NIGHT!!!! I'm not in it and I don't get to see it (since I live approx. 2000 miles away from where it is taking place) but I'm uber excited anyways! Macbeth is such a fantastic play and I know that the folks up in CT are doing a great job! How do I know that? Because last year they did A Midsummer Night's Dream AND Romeo and Juliet and I saw them perform both. If they can do those two plays at once- and they did it very well- then Macbeth is going to be a smashing hit. My friends Katie and Sarah are playing witches and ooooh now I'm starting to get jealous. *sniff* Let us move on to another subject.

The story that I'm writing is coming along, and HAS NO TITLE!!!!! I can not for the life of me think of a good title for it and I'm going out of my mind. Gah! *sigh* I'm thinking of writing a Narnia fanfic about Edmund. I think that his short period of being a traitor must have had some kind of impact on his life, even though he more than made up for it later. Besides, didn't Aslan say, at the end of PC when it became known that Peter and Susan weren't coming back, "They have learned everything they can from this world"? Well, what did Edmund get out of his time in Narnia? How did his experiences there carry over into his regular life in England? I'm interested, so I think I will write a story to find out. Why did I pick Edmund? Because Peter's lessons from Narnia are kind of obvious ("Be a good leader and CONTROL YOUR EGO!!"), Susan forgets Narnia and Lucy....well, maybe after I finish with Ed I'll start on Lucy. :)
I finished Polgara the Sorceress....I have now read all twelve books of the twelve book cycle consisting of The Belgariad (5 books), The Malloreon (5 books), Belgarath the Sorcerer and Polgara the Sorcerss. Very good books....rather racy in parts, but usually it's fine if you just skip over a couple paragraphs. They're up there with Narnia and the Anne of Green Gables series as some of my all-time favorite books.

Speaking of books, there is one particular book that I would like to recommend. It's called All For The Love Of Mothers: Memoirs of Catholic Midwife, by Lisbeth Burger. I'll have a review up on the Katie and Katie Blog soon. Be sure to check it out!

Voila!

2009-05-23T16:34:00.001-05:00

Lyrics from "Life's Too Short" by Kellie Pickler.

Having Fun With CAP

2009-05-19T15:08:00.002-05:00

On Friday night Mom, Jack, Ian and I went to their CAP squadron's dining-out. A dining-out is basically Air Force-speak for having a nice dinner out. There is a head table where the important people sit, a Mess President and a Vice. There are also toasts, rules and grogging.
Ah, the grog. I will not go into detail about the contents of the grog, but it is a nasty drink and if you break a rule you have to drink a cup of it. After drinking it you are supposed to hold it upside down over your head to prove that you drank all of it. Boy, did everyone have fun with grogging. To grog someone, you have to make a point of order- in rhyme. The accused may make a defense, and that also has to rhyme. Several times, the Vice thought that the grog wasn't enough, so the chosen cadets did some other things. For instance, Jack and several others did the can-can while singing the YMCA song with "Pilgrim!" inserted after every "Y-M-C-A!" to serve as a John Wayne impression. That's the great thing about the dining-out: it's formal, but there is some goofing off. :-D After the meal, we all went outside for a very interesting wind tunnel demonstration where we learned about drag and lift and wind vortexes and all that fun stuff. Then we headed back in and a speech was given by a Mr. Snedeker who I actually met before the meal started. Mr. Snedeker is a retired Air Force colonel and a former Spaatz cadet (the Spaatz is the highest award given by the Civil Air Patrol and very, very few people recieve it). He went to the Air Force Acadamy and he's flown a lot of different kinds of planes. He's also just a very nice person. His speech was about how the Civil Air Patrol affected his life, and how if it weren't for the CAP he never would have done all the things he did. He gave encouragement and helpful advice to all the cadets there. After the speech, he was awarded the honorary rank of Cadet General. Then he gave Cadet Lt. Col. Castriotta a certificate appointing him to the Academy.
It was a very fun night, and if they ever do it again I will definitely go. I'll post some pictures when the Internet is going a little faster on this computer.

Vote for Pedro!

2009-05-19T13:43:00.003-05:00

Yep, I finally saw Napoleon Dynamite.
So.
Darn.
Funny.

My friend told me that the first time you watch it you just think, "This is so stupid....what's the point?" but then it grows on you the second time and you start to see why it's so funny. I laughed the first time. Could there be something wrong with me? Anyways, my assessment of the movie:
Kip is pathetic.
But his girlfriend is funny.
Uncle Rico is a creep.
Starla is played by a man.
Rex Kwon Do is lame.
Deb is cute.
Pedro is too old for highschool.
Napoleon.....is Napoleon. The one and only.

Hilarious.

2009-05-13T18:07:00.002-05:00

If you like LOTR, you must read this.
http://www.apricotpie.com/kestrel/if-middle-earth-entered-the-21st-century

I didn't get all of it because I didn't read all the books...but all the same. Really, really, funny.

Soon I will post something that isn't a meme or a link or anything. Probably about books and life in general.

Narnia is the best.

2009-05-12T09:17:00.002-05:00

Period.

Just wanted to say that. Because I have been tagged by Serendipity to do the following Narnia lovers quiz. *ahem*

NARNIA~Favorites

~Fav. Narnia Book? The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (so they had better do a good job with the movie or I'll sue!)

Fav. Character? Reepicheep, Mr. Tumnus, the professor, the Pevensies (of course), Mr. Beaver, Bree, etc...

Fav. Pevensie? Edmund or Lucy

King or Queen (of Narnia)? the first king and queen (cabby and wife), Lucy, Edmund, Caspian

Fav. Talking Animal? REEPICHEEP, Bree, Mr. Beaver

Fav. Gift from Father Christmas? Lucy's vial

Fav. Weapon? Su's bow and arrows

Fav. Antagonist? The White Witch

Fav. "added scene" in movies? White Witch scene in PC.

Fav outfit (in movie)? Susan's purple outfit in PC, all the Telmarine costumes, Ed's girl coat. :-P

Fav. Line or quote from book or movie? Er...the whole thing?

~DO YOU LIKE BETTER?~

Mr. or Mrs. Beaver? both

Orieus or Glenstorm? All centaurs are awesome!

Peter or Edmund? Edmund

Susan or Lucy? Lucy! Susan's great too but she forgets Narnia in the end. :(

Jadis or Miraz? Jadis

Jill or Eustace? ... Both!

Drinian or Rynelf? Drinian

Reepicheep or Trufflehunter? Reepicheep! Although I love Trufflehunter as well. I just love Reepicheep more. XD

Trumpkin or Nikabrik? Trumpkin!

Polly or Digory? Polly

Bree or Hwin? Both!

Aravis or Shasta? Oh, probably Aravis. Although Shasta has his good points and he does rather remind me of Garion.....but that's another story....

Rilian or Tirian? Tirian

Coriakin (the magician) or Ramandu (the star)? Coriakin....I think

Did you read this? Did you understand it all? Have you read all the books, seen both movies? Yes?
Then you have been tagged.

new avvies....

2009-05-08T19:20:00.002-05:00

Just made these today:

This is a picture Mom took several years ago of a lighthouse on the island where we used to go on vacation every year.

I made this one for a friend who loves knitting (like totally fo' realz).

Should've Said No

2009-05-04T15:27:00.003-05:00

Starting a meme! Found this on a forum and decided to do it here. :-P Sometimes you get really funny answers!

Put your iTunes or iPod on shuffle.
Put the name of each song in as an answer to the following questions.

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
White Horse

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
So Small

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Teardrops On My Guitar

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Wandering Child

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again (that's depressing...)

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Andalasia

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
1985 (hahaha!)

WHAT IS 2+2?
Just A Dream (I LOOOOVE the number 4!)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Beyond The Sea

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
I Feel Bad (hehehe....)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Ellsworth (That is saaaad....)

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Man, I Feel Like A Woman (rofl!)

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Video Killed the Radio Star (oh-uh-oh!)

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
My Angel (omm! that's the best one so far. love you too, Mom!)

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Journey to the Cemetery (that's not good...)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Since You Been Gone

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
The Sky and the Dawn and the Sun (meteorology forevah!)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Get Out of This Town (shh!)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
That's Where It Is

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Invisible

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Si Volvieras A Mi (translation, anybody?)

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Don't Forget to Remember Me

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Kyrie (not)

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Storybook Ending (aren't they usually happy?)

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
At the Ceili

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
The Wexford Carol (???)

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Enchanted Suite (maybe take off the 'e' and add an 'or'?)

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
The Voice (maybe get a nice soprano voice....)

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Maybe (Annie) :(

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Should've Said No

If you read this, you have been tagged. :-P

hyperrr!

2009-05-02T18:11:00.003-05:00

I have officially decided that the phrase "...is the best thing since sliced bread" is ridiculous. From now on I will be saying that such and such is "the best thing since the invention of the printing press".

I went looking for School of Rock avvies and probably the best one I found was this:

Hehehehe. That whole movie is hilarious. It's a little disturbing at some parts but most of it is really really funny. I recommend it if you ever feel like watching something totally mindless. Just watch out for language.

Got my yellow belt! yay me! It is, however, the same color as a French's mustard container. Can't wait to get my gold belt.

To a very special little man...

2009-05-02T17:23:00.002-05:00

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY TRISTAN!!

Whew! A whole year? WOW.

I remember him coming home. He was a week old and none of his big brothers and sisters had seen him yet, due to his being in the NICU for 7 days. Now he was all better and finally home. We rushed outside and crowded around the car. I looked through the window and my first thought was, "He looks like he's too small for the carseat!" He spent the rest of the day being held, sleeping most of the time, or fussing.

Right now he's walking around with a tuft of hair sticking straight up on top of his head. He's making cute noises and exploring the pantry. Gotta get him out of there....nothing is safe!

Tonight we eat brownies and celebrate! Happy Birthday, T-Bird!

So, do you grow flowers?

2009-04-23T20:13:00.003-05:00

(That's sort of an inside joke. Consider it an awkward silence-filler.)

So, quick update on life.

Grandma is here!

Mom, Dad, and Tristan are leaving tomorrow for Washington/Idaho. They're going to my cousin's wedding (the first of my cousins to marry) and my grandparents' anniversary party. While they're gone, Jack, Ian and Emma are all going to various friends' houses.

I'm testing next week for my yellow belt (TKD).

I'm writing a short story and might just finish it!

Tristan is officially walking. *gasp*

Mom cut Ben's hair. Doesn't sound very significant, but it is. Oh, it is! You see, if we let his hair get long enough it starts to curl. So up until yesterday he had nice hair right on the verge of curling adorably. Then Mom said, "Let's cut your hair, Benny. Do you want it really short?"
Yes, he wanted it really short, "just like cousin Gabriel" (who is in the Air Force).

She positively sheared him. The kid's so close to bald we've started calling him Charlie Brown.

Oh, thou curls! Where hast thou gone to?
Oh, thou mother! How canst thou live with thy guilt?
For to shear so sweet and lovable a head
Is crime worthy of such punishment
As oft is dreaded by the boldest
Of criminals!

(Did I mention that I've tackled another Shakespeare play? Julius Caesar this time, for school. I can almost guarantee you that by the time I've finished it, I'll find some reason to say "Et tu, Brute?" in a blog post. :-P)

Crafts by Katie and Emalee

2009-04-20T15:35:00.002-05:00

The Real Katie and her friend Emalee have started a business selling the cool crafty stuff they make. Go them! I always wanted to do something like that.
So go check it out! They've only just started it so there isn't a lot of stuff yet, but there will be! I will definitely be buying something in the not-too-distant future.

Best of luck, girls!

Fish and Rose!!

2009-04-15T10:41:00.005-05:00

Arg. Can't make it any smaller. Click on it to see the whole thing.

They're smarter than we think.

2009-04-15T10:36:00.001-05:00

Ben got mad at Emma.
Emma's hands flew to her face and she wailed. He didn't hurt her half as badly as you might think by the way she was crying. Emma has, shall we say, a flair for the dramatic? Anyway, I took Benny aside and began to scold. In my extreme sternness I ordered that he apologize.
"Are you sorry for hurting Emma?"
"Um....hehe....um.....yes...?"
"Are you going to go tell her that you're sorry?"

*Ben thinks for a minute*

"What happens if I say no?"

2009-04-12T21:39:00.002-05:00

HAPPY EASTER!!

So simple!

2009-04-06T19:33:00.003-05:00

I was talking to my friend yesterday about the evolution theory. Neither of us believe it, of course. She told me that when she's talking to other people about it - people who believe it - she asks them, "If we're descended from monkeys, why are there still monkeys here?"
She said they usually take a while to think of an answer.

I don't know why, but this never occurred to me before. It's so simple! People just have to be stubborn. "I don't want to admit that there's a God, so let's think of ways to debunk Christianity by taking apart the story of creation," they say. They start with the Big Bang.
Nothing.
Nothing suddenly explodes.
Now there are various substances floating around which then become
Everything.

Makes sense to me!
First of all, the human mind can't comprehend nothingness. It can comprehend darkness, but darkness is simply the absence of light. The reason we can't comprehend nothingness is because there was always God. Check that: there always IS God. Time doesn't exist for Him. We say He always was, is, and will be, but He often refers to Himself only in the present tense. The name He gave Himself to the Hebrews in the Old Testament was "I AM".
How'd I get on this subject again? Oh yes. Big Bang.
So you see? God was there. God is there. So where did the Big Bang come from? Now one might say, "God made the Big Bang happen." OK, let's think on that for a minute. I don't know exactly how the Bang is supposed to have worked, but somehow that doesn't sound right. Possible, I suppose....but what's the point? If we take as a given that God was always there and He created the world, why would we have the account of creation in Genesis that is clearly not the Big Bang, if He used the Bang? Why would it have taken this long for people to realize the true story of the world's beginnings?

OK, I think that takes care of creation. Moving on to evolution.
There are some kinds of evolution that can be accepted. It is true that over years and years, certain animals have changed to adapt to their surroundings. But that is change in body only. Man has a soul. Qualities of the soul are free will, the use of reason, a conscience, and an advanced intellect by which we can use what we already know to discern that which we don't. How can these things be gained through evolution? People in a sound state of mind know the difference between right and wrong. Monkeys and other beasts of the earth don't. They don't need to. There really isn't right and wrong for them. There is simply survival and instinct. It makes no sense to think that simple animals can evolve to have the same kind of mind and soul we have.
Now, Fr. Laux brings up a possibility that is definitely to be considered. What if God shaped Adam by evolving him from an animal, and when the man's body was finished, God then breathed into him a soul (and all that other stuff). It would explain all the similarities in skulls and skeletal set-up (and my little brother's monkey-like behavior). This is a compromise the Church is willing to accept; it does not oppose any doctrine.
Why would God do it that way? Not a clue. But, you've all heard it before: The Lord works in mysterious ways.
Then again, there's the question my friend brought up... now I'm confusing myself... you, dear reader, can take it from here.

Well, this has been fun. I didn't even plan on posting all that. I was going to stop with "It's so simple!" but the train of thought kept chugging on and I was enjoying myself far too much to slow down. I hope it isn't too randomly thrown about. I wasn't really trying to write a formal essay, although sometime I probably will....

sigh

2009-04-06T19:27:00.003-05:00

An ice cream truck passed by about half an hour ago. Didn't quite catch that? Let me say it again.

ICE.
CREAM.
TRUCK.

We N-E-V-E-R see the ice cream truck around here. It comes approximately twice a year.
And the best part?
It's Lent. And not just Lent, but Holy Week. Most penitential time of the year. Which is great.

It's just really sad that the ice cream truck had to come, of all times, during Holy Week.
:'-(

Sisterhood Award

2009-04-02T09:24:00.003-05:00

I have been awarded the Sisterhood Award!

By, guess who? My very own...... MOM!! Thank you Mom!

Now passing this on to.....

Katie! My BFF since 1st grade and constant partner in crime, we've always known that we're twins separated at birth. I want to be her when I grow up. Here ya go, sistah!

Serendipity! A great Catholic girl who's into acting and fairytales. I don't know if you read my blog, Serendipity, but you should know me from all the comments. :-D

Bridget and Lantaaaa! The random and profound evil twins! You guys are so great and you make people smile. Hugs!

books!! (well sorry if it's a lame title, it's all I could come up with!)

2009-03-28T16:56:00.003-05:00

Grace's birthday was a couple days ago. As it is Lent, we skipped cake and ice cream (we'll have that on Sunday) but she did get to unwrap her presents from various relatives not including Mom and Dad's (also being saved for tomorrow). A couple pretty necklace charms and a chain to put them on from Grandma D., and from everyone else...BOOKS! Here's the list:

The Princess Bride (*shriek* I'm DYING to read it and Grace won't let me. meanie.)
Dragonspell and Dragonquest (first two of a Christian fantasy series. I'm reading Dragonspell-with Grace's permission. It's not bad.)
The Neverending Story (*sings* the neverending stoooooryyyyy.....)
The Last Unicorn

The last two, I hear, are much better then their respective movies. Neverending Story 2= f-r-e-a-k-y. Apparently the book contains the plots for both movies and more. I peeked through it - under birthday girl's supervision - and I think I'll have to read that one too.

As you probably noticed, they're all fantasy, a genre she only recently learned to love. Before she read only horse novels (Black Stallion, Black Beauty, etc.), nature field guides and abridged classics such as 20,000 Leagues and Robin Hood. She got The Chronicles of Prydain for Christmas and absolutely loved them. Then Mom and I nudged her into reading The Belgarion by David Eddings. I'm a die-hard fan of those books and managed to pull Grace along with me.

So then for her birthday she requested fantasy books. And got them. She's very happy with them all and started reading the Last Unicorn right away. During her My Little Pony phase she loved that movie. Of late, she has scorned such a childish (and freaky...I'm telling you, it should be rated PG-13 for overall scary-ness. a kids' cartoon. seriously) film. But now she likes fantasy and it isn't a silly cartoon anymore, it's an intriguing book.

And as she unwrapped those books, oh how my hands itched to grab one- specifically a particular book concerning a beautiful farm girl and a man in black- and run away to read it. But Grace refuses to let me read it. Why? It's one of my all-time favorite movies, that never fails to make me laugh and I like it more every time I watch it. She even threatened to hide it.
"I'm going to put it in my secret vault!"
"You have a secret vault? Dude, I want a secret vault!"

*sigh* Buttercup, Westley, Inigo and all those other fantastic, lovable, hilarious characters will just have to wait.

Of Ellie, cameras and artistic attempts

2009-03-20T17:41:00.003-05:00

The other day, who should be in the newspaper but our dear friend Ellie! Yes, because this Sunday she is going to be a featured soloist with the San Antonio Symphony. She is an AMAZING pianist and we are all very excited and proud. Mom, Emma, Grace and I are all going to the concert. Can't wait! I was going to dig up the article for you but 'tisn't working. I'll post it later.

I'm thinking of buying a camera. *strokes chin meditatively* If anybody has a suggestion for a good, affordable camera (emphasis on the "affordable"), please comment and tell me about it. Danke!

I am so artistic, really. Poems, avatars, doodles.... because photo-editing and computer graphics are really a modern art form and anybody who says doodling isn't art is being absolutely ridiculous. And poetry is considered artistic, right? At least, I thought so....anyways, back to the photo-editing, lookie at my latest avatar!

It is a bit big, sometime I'll shrink it a little.
The saying on it isn't mine, I saw it on a shirt at a homeschool event. Awesome, right? Can you read it OK?

TTFN!

Frick and Frack

2009-03-17T19:45:00.003-05:00

Hello again! I'm posting for two reasons: 1. I just had to so I could use my pretty signature again! 2. I wanted to show you a poem that I finished yesterday. It's about our lovable pets Murphy the dog and Pumpkin the cat, whom Mom has nicknamed "Frick and Frack". Voila!

The cat came along with a purr in his throat,
Quietly padding about.
The dog came along with a friendly sniff,
Wanting his breakfast, no doubt.
Suddenly the cat leaped and bit the dog's ear
Whereupon the dog gave a yelp.
Said I to the cat, "Hey, no dirty fighting!"
But to the dog I offered no help.

Soon the cat found himself caught by the tail
And ungracefully yanked around.
He freed himself hastily and ran for the stair
But the dog was quick to gain ground.
The two of them raced throughout the house;
The cat's quick patter, the dog's thundering gait;
Stopping occasionally to tussle and fight
Before again taking up the chase.

I suppose they would be an alarming sight;
A stranger would watch in dismay.
But I enjoy their wild fights
For I know it's just best friends at play.
Eventually the fight abates
And away stalks the dignified cat.
The dog looks and me with victory in his eyes
And receives a friendly pat.

siggy!

2009-03-14T17:27:00.002-05:00

Yay! I got an awesome new signature! Thank you to Katie for giving me the idea and telling me how to get it here! Isn't it pertyful?

rrrrandomnessss.....

2009-03-14T14:28:00.004-05:00

Well, hello! My original readers have probably noticed that my blog is now public. Newcomers, welcome! When you tire of my ramblings (which could happen very quickly) scroll down until you see "Other blogs to check out" and read those blogs instead. :-)

Anyways....hm.... not much is new in my life except that Tristan is starting to walk (!!!) and I have begun taking TKD (thats cool people talk for tae kwon do). It's quite fun, and Jack is considering doing it as well after school ends.

I'm starting to think about my sweet sixteen (which is in June). Ideas, anybody? Nothing very expensive, just something extra fun to do with all my friends. It has to include Chinese food and possibly a sleepover. hmm....

Yesterday evening some the homeschoolers got together for a STAND meeting. STAND is a student-led division of the Genocide Intervention Network. Find out if there's a chapter near you! Anyways, we are the first ever homeschool chapter. Yay us! Although there are several genocides taking place in the world right now (including abortion, although it's rarely thought of that way), we mostly want to focus on Darfur for the time being. Yesterday we made plans for a garage sale to raise funds and got an update on how things are going in Sudan right now. 16 aid agencies have been kicked out and now approximately one million Darfuris are now without necessities like food, water, and medical care. To read about the genocide in Darfur, what's been going on there for the past few years and what's happening now, go to http://standnow.org/learn/conflicts/darfur

Well.... that's all I can think of to post right now.
Toodles!
Katie :-)

Narnia - Christian Themes = !!!!!

2009-03-12T16:55:00.002-05:00

DISCLAIMER: I did not write this. I found it on Serendipity's blog who found it on thelionscall.com

A few years back it was believed that HarperCollins, publishers of the Narnia books, meant to rewrite them and remove all evidence of Christian allegory. This was not true, but it does makes one think: What would the stories be like without the Christian influence?Here's my attempt:

Once there were four children whose names were Peter--oh, wait, he was a disciple. Keys to the kingdom and all that. Well, then: Once there were four children whose names were Percy, Susan--oops, that name's based on the Biblical Susanna. And wasn't there a Santa Lucia, too? So: Once there were four children whose names were Percy, Sybil, Edmund, and Lana. Moving right along, these four kids entered a magical land via armoire. There they became involved in an epic struggle of good versus evil--oh, wait, there's no such thing as absolutes. No one is all evil. The Witch is just misunderstood. She probably had an unhappy childhood. Oh, and we can't keep calling her the Witch. The implies censure. We'll call her pagan--no, that might remind people that there's an opposite to paganism, such as religion. Ah! We'll call her a Child of Nature. So, these four kids join forces with the local inhabitants and try to overthrow the Witch--er, Child of Nature (despite her very stable and mutually beneficial reign.) However, lacking any true leadership (That would mean Him, and we certainly can't include Him.), the children and other rebels soon are turned into overlarge paperweights. Huh, well, that won't sell. Let's try this: We'll include Him, but only after a fashion. So, the children go to meet Aslan and Edmund is rescued. Then Nature Girl comes to claim the traitor, according to ancient law. Aslan, not being a type of Christ, cannot die and be resurrected, so he has to give Edmund back, to fulfill the law. Nature Girl kills Edmund (but he had it coming, after all), and the four thrones are never filled. No, no. That won't do. Well, how about this: Nature Girl comes to claim Edmund, and Aslan says, "No, that's just tough. You can't have him. I don't have to honor the law my old man put into Narnia years ago."--wait, that implies creation. Can't have that. Aha!: The Witch, er, Child of Nature, comes for Edmund, and Aslan eats her (So what if it was supposed to be a parley? Getting to eat your enemies during a truce is one of the beauties of situational ethics.). Everybody else lives happily ever after, including the wolves, hags, efreets, etc. who are shown the error of their ways and reintegrated into society. The four children, not satisfied with the concept of "divine right of kings," hold elections to see who will be the new president of Narnia. Some dwarf, who was never given fair opportunity for advancement in Nature Girl's regime, gets the job. The kids go back through the wardrobe. Book sales plummet.
The End.

Discussing Theology With Ben and Emma

2009-03-12T15:59:00.005-05:00

A couple weeks ago or so:

Mom and I are in the kitchen. Dinner is almost ready, and a few people are already seated at the table. This is what we hear.

*********

Ben (age 5): How come Jesus doesn't look like God?
Emma (age 8): Jesus IS God! Besides, no one knows what God looks like.
Ben: I know what He looks like!

(discussion continues for a minute or two until I hear:)

Emma (exasperated): Ben, God is in HEAVEN. People don't sit up there and sketch him!

I got in!

2009-03-05T19:35:00.002-06:00

I've been accepted to a very cool summer program at the University of Dallas! WOOO!! I spent half the winter getting the application together, and have been waiting all of February to hear from them. Eventually we couldn't take it anymore so Mom emailed someone and they replied saying that they had the letter all ready to send except for such-and-such persons signature, and "I don't want to spoil the surprise, but Katie is going to have a very exciting summer!"
Well, surprise spoiled- I was reading over Mom's shoulder (normally this is considered impolite but this was obviously different). I'm so excited!

I am Jo March!

2009-01-24T17:15:00.002-06:00

Kind of surprising.

Jo March
Josephine March, from Little Women, is a tomboy who loves writing, acting, and her family. She dreams of seeing the world and publishing her book.
Which Classic Heroine are You?

It obviously wasn't an Austen heroines-only quiz, and I didn't know what " www.thequizzery.com http:>
Speaking of, I just read Little Women. Not an abridged version for 8-year-olds like I did a long long time ago. No, I finally read the real book and it is one the best books EVER. If everyone read it (as well as the Anne of Green Gables books and The Chronicles of Narnia) the world would be a better place. I'm being perfectly serious. Wonderful, sweet, amazing book. If you haven't read it, go find a copy and do so. Now. Sometime I'll post and compare it to the movie, because just now there are dishes to be done and cookies to be baked.
Fare thee well!
Which Classic Heroine are You?

It obviously wasn't an Austen heroines-only quiz, and I didn't know what " www.thequizzery.com http:>

You know you live in TX if..

2009-01-24T16:32:00.002-06:00

Anybody there? Well....anyways...
Yesterday Jack and I were watching Jeopardy. Up came a clue that went something like this:
"It's the most popular stolen car in West Virginia and Texas."
Jack and I immediately said, in bored tones, "pickup truck". Here is what happened on TV:
Contestant #1: What is an SUV?
Alex: No.
Contestant #2: What is a tractor?
Alex: No
By this point Jack and I are no longer disinterested but are screaming at the television, "IT'S PICKUP TRUCK!!! DUH!"
Contestant #3: What is a truck?
Alex: Be more specicfic.
Contestant #3: What is a flatbed truck?
Me and Jack: HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW THIS! PICKUP TRUCK YOU--! and here I am afraid we started calling names.
Alex: No. The kind of truck I was looking for was a--
Me and Jack: PICK. UP.
Alex (smiling. apparently amused): --pickup truck. Bob, your turn.

Seriously. It's the most obvious thing in the world. Right guys? Those people were so oblivious. I almost pitied them.

Oh, this just came to mind. You'll laugh. There was an ad on TV a few days ago for some late night show. "Such-and-such takes two Hooters girls on a tour of the inauguration!" Whats-his-face is in DC with two girls, he points at something and says "...which president?"
One of the girls promptly replies...
"Harrison Ford!"

New story!

2009-01-13T20:54:00.004-06:00

Remember that story Grace wrote (The Demon Scarab)?
Well, apparently inspired by the fantasy series we've both been reading and some make-believe game she made up on the spot when goofing off with Benny's plastic sword and armor set, she is now writing a fantasy tale entitled Cranwreath. Enjoy!

Cranwreath
Chapter One
Lysendar's Journey

Once upon a time, far across the Sea of Infinity, in the faraway land of Dalsone, there was a country called Cranwreath. And east of Cranwreath were the Demon Hills, where lay the kingdom of the villainous Delbrum, Lord of Darkness and Evil. South of the Demon Hills was Lysendar Meadow. Lysendar was a white horse with a golden mane that knew all the secrets of good, evil and even how to take complete control of Dalsone. There was only one way to make him reveal anything: he had to be captured and asked to speak by someone who was fearless of Lysendar and his deathly stare. Which was not an easy task, for Lysendar was stronger than fifty men, swifter than any trained horse and much too smart for halters and ropes. And Lysendar did not speak Horse nor any language of man, but actually mumbled and huffed in an old language once used for ancient spells now forgotten. In the Demon Hills Delbrum had sent his soldiers to set traps around Lysendar Meadow. It had been two weeks when Posgar, Delbrums chief war leader, returned with eleven soldiers. As Posgar strode into the hall Delbrum frantically started asking questions. "Did you set the traps? Where are the others?" "We were overtaken by the fire lizards," answered Posgar. "You fool!" The booming voice of Delbrum made Posgar flinch. "I told you to cross the river not go through the forest!" Delbrum scolded angrily. Though fire lizards are only a few feet long, their sharp teeth, fire breath and ability to fly makes them far from dangerous. Deon, the griffin, had been watching from a large hole in the stone wall meant to be a window. After hearing this he swiftly took off back to Cranwreath. He had no trouble getting through the Demon Hills but as soon as he was above Fire Lizard Forest the small dragons were after him. There were three. The first one sped directly at Deon. Noticing the pursuer, Deon struck out with his talons. The fire lizard gave a harsh cry, then fell to the ground like a stone. The two others stood in the air a moment. At every breath they let out, a puff of smoke escaped the gaping jaws. Suddenly Deon sped straight downward toward a large rock in a clearing in the forest. The fire lizards followed, just inches from the tip of Deon's tail. The griffin was about to hit the rock when he turned and flew toward the sky. The fire lizards crashed into the rock. One was dead and the other with a large gash in it's head was moaning in pain. Seeing that there were no others, Deon started on his journey again. Soon he was over Lysendar Meadow. Below there was no sign of the white horse. What had once been a fair plain had become more of a battlefield. The bloodstained field lay silent in the oncoming dusk.

Days later in Cranwreath the young princess Alexandra had been waiting for her friend Deon. She walked quickly out of the front door of the palace and frowned at the snoring guard with his back against the wall. "Get up!" she said, smacking him on the shoulder.

Shadow of the Bear- MOVIE!

2009-01-07T11:17:00.002-06:00

OK so I read all of the Fairy Tale Novels, the first of which is called "The Shadow of the Bear" and it is amazing. I knew about this before reading it, but now that I have read it I am especially excited... there is a student film being made of the book! YAAAAY! And Elena, who is directing it, just posted the first trailer on the official movie blog. It's about as amazing as a 35 second teaser trailer could possibly be!
http://theshadowofthebear.blogspot.com/
Go to the blog and watch it. There are also lots of pictures so be sure to scroll down!
YAAYY I'm excited! All the actors are perfect!

YAYYYYY!

2008-12-25T16:35:00.003-06:00

Merry Christmas! And a merry one it is! Everyone is happy with their gifts, especially the big family present....
A Wii!!!!!!
I'm soooo excited, and not just about the Wii. What's a video game to a good book?
Because the first thing I opened (besides dumping out my stocking) was the long coveted Fairy Tale Novels series!!! *jumps up and down ecstatically*
It's a day for exclamation points!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know it's annoying. Cut me some slack; it's Christmas!
!!!!!!!!!!!!
I also got a $50 gift card for Ross
A pretty brown shawl/scarf thing which I loooovvvee and will wear it forever
And ever.
Earringses!
A pertyful tote bag
A radio/clock/iPod speaker!!!! The radio part has crummy reception because I can't find the blasted antenna which is supposed to be on there somewhere. Oh well. It's got this cool remote that controls the tuning and the volume and play and pause and everything! aahh!(!!)

All the gifts I gave to people seem to be a success. Mom likes her ornament, Dad enjoyed the Gummi Bears, Hannah likes the bookmark and Katie still hasn't read the book but she will, and she'll love it and re-read it and re-re-read it and so on.... Sarah had better like it too. :P

SOOO now that I'm done raving about my Christmas presents you can get off my blog and go enjoy yours.

Feliz Navidad!
Merry Christmas!
I'm too lazy to look it up in 5 other languages. Oh well!

Wishin' You the Best!
-A Very Happy and Book-Crazy Katie

P.S.
WAIT!!! I forgot something.... the toothbrush! How could I? Yes, I got a toothbrush! But sadly it (unlike Ben's) does not play 2 minutes of Indiana Jones themed music :(
You can go now. :-D

My Beloved Reader(s)!

2008-12-24T17:09:00.002-06:00

You thought I was going to say "Merry Christmas" didn't you? Aha! I know everything. Says who Santa's got a crystal ball, or elf spies? OK, so he does. But when they fail who do you think he comes to? Yeah. That's right. But don't worry, I already put in a good word for ya'll with Kris. Except Katie. (I'll explain some other time)

So, when Christmas rolls around, my sisters, our friends and I go caroling! People seem to like it. Nobody's covered their ears yet, anyway. Because it's South Texas, we always sing "Feliz Navidad". :-D Along with the traditional carols like "Rudolph," "Silent Night," "Jingle Bells," and "Away In A Manger," on which the little kids get a solo for the first verse.

There's a house in our neighborhood that, when all lit up, would absobloominlutely (my new favorite word!) blow your mind. There are at least fifty trees with lights wrapped around the trunk, 7 or 8 of those smaller "trees" that are just lights strung down from a pole, one BIG one, and innumerable light-up decorations, from snowmen, to a Christmas train, to lit-up characters from the old Rudolph movie. There's a sign (or two) that says "Santa's Workshop" and on the front porch and enormous throne (this things has gotta be 4 feet wide, arm to arm) where on Saturday nights the creator of this LED masterpiece dons his beard and suit and the kids of the neighborhood go see him. He gives out candy canes and sells food for a charity. We carolers stopped there (how could we not?) and sang for "Santa" (who no, was not dressed up as such). We sand a song we hadn't done yet; "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town". Aren't we so clever and cute? He loved it and said "Hold on, I'm gonna go grab my camera. I want to take a picture of you all." He pulled out the chair, us three older girls sat on it (we actually fit!) and everyone else posed around it. "Great!" he said. "By the time you guys get home, this picture will be on my website, lavernialights.com."
"Yay! We're famous!"
Then he gave us a bag with 10 or so boxes of candy canes in it, saying that he had tons. Wowww...
So, you want to see the picture? You're dying to see the picture. There's no use denying it.
Tada!

From left to right:
Emma (my sister), Grace (my sister), me, Kainah and Becca (Kainah's the older one), Hannah, and Levi.
Go to lavernialights.com to see his website.

Mi familia is going to Midnight Mass tonight/tomorrow so I need to go make sure I have everything ready.

Now I'll say it!

May you receive and give such gifts,
As can't be found under a tree,
May the Little Babe bless you with the shining ornaments,
Of hope, faith and sweet charity.
Merriest of Christmases!
God bless!

-Katie :)