Reflections

Moving Blogs!

2006-05-15T12:36:00.000-10:00

Tara's visits always mean new and better computer programs, and this time she introduced me to Wordpress. I'm movin' my blog, so go here from now on! Note- it's still under construction, but the posts are there. I just need to get some time to edit the extra stuff in it.

Big Island!

2006-04-26T19:24:00.000-10:00

Okay, I lied. I don't really have anything interesting to write about after Easter. Just that I had to get up reeeeeeally early to do a song in sign language with Arlene, Megan, pretty much all of the moms -including my own- and Mom's friend Sally. Fun fun fun... The only new thing I have to report is that Mom, Dad, and I are headed to the Big Island tomorrow, yay! We're gonna be gone from tomorrow (at the crack of dawn, I might add) until Monday night. So I'll blog again when I get back, and I'll have a lot more interesting things to write about. ^.^

Sunshine Knives

2006-04-08T14:11:00.000-10:00

I wasn't sure what to call this post, so I just called it the first thing that came to mind: sunshine knives. Just kidding, there actually is a reason for that. I was putting the dishes away in the kitchen, and it struck me what a ridiculously large amount of knives we have. I put away like six, and there's still a whole wooden block with more. We have sixteen knives, and that's not counting case knives and butter knives. *Questionable eyes* Heh, bet you're wondering about the whole *Questionable eyes* thing. It's a Laura-ism. We were talking about something, not sure what, and someone must've done something suspicious because the next thing she typed was: *Questionable eyes*. I cracked up when I saw it, and I was like, "What in the world? What are questionable eyes?" S'pose it was one of those 'you had to be there' moments, because it doesn't sound that funny when I type it. Sunshine! And lots of it. It really hasn't rained much since like last week, so Mom and Dad went for a drive around the island. I was like, "No thanks, I think I'll stick around here." I'm enjoying my nice, alone, stay-at-home, sunny Saturday today, and I'm in no mood for driving today. Grr, I'm such a weenie when it comes to depressing endings. I finally got my hands on and read Inkspell, the sequel to Inkheart. Such a good book, but I found myself trying not to cry at the ending. I've always thought that I'm not that bad when it comes to sad book endings, but apparently that isn't the case. I stopped myself, though, and groaned at my emotional... ness. (That isn't even a word, is it?) *Mutters* Stupid hormones. Ooh, I finally got a copy of Chronicles of Narnia! I've seen it twice since Tuesday when Mom picked it up for me at Wal Mart. I LOVE that movie. =) Well, there's really not much else to tell. It's been a rather uneventful few weeks since I last posted, and I guess I'll have more to tell after Easter.

Rain, Rain...

2006-03-23T22:30:00.000-10:00

It's pouring. And by pouring, I mean continuous, driving sheets of rain pelting our island of O'ahu. It's been doing this at least once a day for the last... month? Month and a half? I've lost count. Mom heard on the news that the rainfall on Kaua'i in the last thirty days was 120 inches of rain. One-HUNDRED and twenty inches of rain! It's no wonder that dams are breaking there, and that there's ridiculous flooding both there and here on the windward side. But guess what? I can't get enough of the rain. Everyone else is like, "MAKE IT STOP!" But me? I love it. Love getting wet, even when we're going places (hey, I won't melt or freeze in this weather!). Ooh, and we've actually had real thunderstorms here. Not those dinky little winter storms we had before, but real, boomin' thunderstorms that make the power flicker. Not so good when I'd like to be on the Internet, but hey, there's always writing, blogging, editing, Painting (with a capital P for the program Paint), and changing settings to do... minus the Net and the power cord, as I found out last night. Better doing non-Net stuff than blowing up a compy chock full of information and stories that should be backed up, but haven't been recently because I can't find my USB drive. Ah well, I'll find it eventually... and THEN I'll do my backing-up! Heh, this has nothing to do with anything, especially rain, but lately I've discovered the joys of double braids. Mom's been braiding my hair right before I go to bed or go places, and it's done wonders for the knots that always seem to find their way into it during the night. Double braids make me feel more comfortable, and they also give me something to tug when I'm bored. And, if pulled in the right way, they make great neck-cracking handles. Who knew that my unruly hair could be calmed by something as simple as braids...? And for the latest on the book report, I've almost finished Unspoken, and I'm now working on rereading both Mossflower by B.J. and The Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis. On top of that, I've taken out a book from the library called Operation Red Jericho. Yes, I know, I'm probably taking too much on at once, but there are so many books to read, as well as reread, and so little time!

Hellos, Goodbyes, and Reading of All Sorts

2006-03-19T17:06:00.000-10:00

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The best simply because I loved having Marvin, Winnie, Jan, Cathy, Carrie, and especially Trisha visiting with us, and also being able to share our island with them. When people from Pennsylvania visit, it's like having a little piece of home with us here. There was lots and lots of driving around, but for the most part it was fantastic! The worst was the duo of goodbyes said today. Not one, but two. Only a short while ago, I parted with Trisha and her family at the airport, but luckily my crazy hormones agreed with me and I didn't cry. I thought I might, though, especially since Kelsea (from church and youth group) said her final goodbyes today after a lunch with our small group and almost got me to crying. That was really sad because I might never see her again (she's moving to Texas with her aunt). Kelsea was the life of our small group, so it'll be very strange without her. On a lighter note, I finished both Eldest and High Rhulain, both excellent books. The latter is now my favorite of the Redwall series because I think that Brian Jacques' books keep getting better and better. Now I'm working on Unspoken by Francine Rivers. It's a book about Bathsheba, and it's very interesting so far. Revival started this morning, so we're off for church in an hour and a half. Mom tells me we'll be having spaghetti for dinner, yay!

2006-03-09T20:16:00.000-10:00

(Wow, I did all that work on the Famine post and no one commented...?) Not much new stuff to report here. I went to a high school SAT essay prep class with Mom today in Kailua, but that's about the only thing I've done this week. Educational as it was, the teacher doing it was very entertaining. Ooh, look at me experimenting with sentence structure! Just don't think that made much sense, and I don't feel like fixing it... ah well. Um... finally got the sequal to Eragon from the library! It's called Eldest, and it's fantastic so far. I'm a bit more than halfway through. I suppose the next book on my list is High Rhulain, the next of the Redwall series. After that, I'll get Inkspell from the library as well, which is the sequel to Inkheart. Tons of sequalism going on here. I s'pose this post is going to be very short because I just can't think of anything else to say. Tomorrow, Marv and Winnie and their daughter are coming, and Trisha, her mom, and Carrie on Monday, so we'll be pretty busy next week. No doubt I'll have something interesting to write about then.

The 30-Hour-Famine

2006-03-03T01:24:00.000-10:00

Most of you who read my blog regularly know that 30-Hour-Famine was this past weekend. For those of you who donated, I'm pleased to tell you that the total I raised was $400! (Mom and Dad pitched in quite a bit, actually.) We actually weren't anything close to making our rather large goal, so Peter, our youth leader, unfortunately isn't coloring his hair. But the weekend we spent at the church was so much fun! The first thing I should explain is that we each had certain 'disabilities' that we had to put on during the tribe activities, for example, wearing a backpack to represent fatigue, an eyepatch to represent blindness, or a bandana to represent AIDS. I ended up with a backpack full of water bottles, which made a few of the activities quite interesting. So, knowing that, I think it'll be easier to explain it using the rather loose schedule in the packet they gave us: Friday, February 24, 6:30 PM ~ Sign in: This was basically the time in which people came in, recieved an informational packet -along with a card that told us which African child we 'were', what sort of 'disability' we had to do, and what tribe we belonged to-, and got chased around by Kelsea with a camera. 6:45 PM ~ Orientation, Prayer, Overview of the Famine: This was exactly what it sounds like... 7:00 ~ Dinner Devotional: Basically the meal devotions were just the 'food for thought' sort of things where they talked about the happenings in Africa and related them to the Bible and the Famine. There wasn't a meal to go with them, so you donors didn't donate in vain. =) 7:45 ~ Tribe Activity- The Most Masaai: This was fun; we separated into our tribes and created a costume for our 'chief' out of material, face paint, feathers, beads, shells, and string. The people in my group were Kelsea, Allen, Elizabeth, and Daniel, and Elizabeth was elected the leader. Our tribe came in second place out of three, which wasn't bad. 8:30 ~ Juice Break: We drank Gatorade like crazy. There was cooler after cooler of the stuff, and I think each of us must've had at least four bottles. This particular juice break was rather cruel because the adults put out all this candy and junk food that we had to pass on our way to the cooler, grr. 9:00 ~ Tribe Activity- 15 Miles: For this activity, we had to walk on a wooden plank about as wide as a foot (the appendage, not the measurment, unfortunately) from one end to the other without falling off. Easy stuff, right? That's what we thought before they told us that there had to be at least two people on the bridge at all times. It was hard enough trying to balance with a large backpack full of water bottles, but it was insanely hard trying to go around or over people on a six-inch plank... It was about fifteen minutes later that we figured out that it didn't have to be the same two people on the bridge, and that we could've just had two people step on and off at the same time. 9:30 ~ Tribe Activity- AIDS Outbreak: This was just a version of musical chairs with African music with the aim to simulate how AIDS attacks a village, and how it ends up being the survival of the fittest. I lost, of course- I'd like to see you try to play musical chairs with a large backpack on. =) But the fact that Elizabeth won by a very cool move made me feel infinitely better. 10:00 ~ Free Time: Actually, not really. The free time started at like 10:45 because some of the stuff took a little longer than expected. It was fun though, and Tia, Angie, and I had a great time playing Fluxx for an hour. 11:45 ~ Get Ready for Bed: Yep, 'cause it was lights out at 12:00. No one actually went to sleep until like 12:30 except Angie (who, might I add, has a thing for rolling in her sleep... we ended up practically sharing my sleeping bag most of the night because she kept flopping on me... lol). Saturday, February 25, 7:25 AM ~ Wake-up Time: Actually, we were supposed to wake up at 8:00, but someone *cough*Kelsea*cough* slammed the door about seven times in a row just to wake us all up... But we who like sleep attacked her with our pillows in Peter's office, and so got our half-awake revenge. 8:30 ~ Breakfast Devotional: We talked about the "Do Not Worry" passage in Matthew about how we're not supposed to worry about clothes and food and stuff because God's already got it taken care of. 9:00 ~ Tribe Activity- Capture the Survival Flag: Ever played Capture the Flag in broad daylight? It involves a lot less hiding of the flags, and more tactics and running. Allen and I, since we both had backpacks, were the guards. I have to say that it was very satisfying to tag Mark over and over, since he was the only one who kept running over and trying to steal our water. See, there were three teams, and three survival items; a plank of wood representing shelter; a bottle of water representing, well, water; and a bag of trail mix, which represented food. Our team won because Kelsea was very fast, and very good at taking advantage of distraction, and also because I'm just so good at guarding things... =) 10:00 ~ Juice Break: After that game, we needed a juice break. We were hot and tired, and getting especially hungry after running on an empty stomach. I think at that point I must've been at my fourth bottle, though I'm not quite sure. 10:15 ~ Canned Food Scavenger Hunt: In other words, door-to-door begging for cans in the nearby housing development. It was supervised by one of the adults, of course, and was a lot more fun than I expected it to be. And just for the record, our team collected the most cans... or the most Spam and Vienna Sausages, anyway. (What is it with Hawaii and Spam, anyway...?) 12:00 PM~ Lunch Devotional: Another devotional, though I forgot to write notes for this one. Oops. =) 12:30 ~ Work Project: For this, each team had to build a bookshelf for the church. This only took an hour, so we ended up with like 3 and a half hours of free time, most of which I spend playing DDR on the projector in the youth room. Tia and I especially had a blast. We played for about two hours straight, and the best part was that we were pretty close ability-wise. She's actually a lot better than I am, but I can at least keep up with her. We had fun with one of the songs- Japan something, I think it was... Anyway, we were laughing at it because it involved a lot of weird noises, like some guy on it going "yoi-yoi-oi-oi!" at different parts through it. And after we both got tired, Kelsea came in, and she and I tried it sitting down, which was one of the weirdest things I think I've ever done. But yep, it was one of the best parts of the Famine for the DDR junkies. 5:00 ~ Tribe Finale: We basically recapped the week and discussed all of the events, what our favorites were, what we learned, and that sort of thing. We did one last tribe activity where our teams bartered for survival cards. See, every time a tribe would win something, they'd get a different kind of survival cards. Our team got four, and one of the other teams got four too, and the last got nothing. So our team ended up giving two of our cards to the losing team because we felt bad for them, and other team had the same idea. It was funny because the losing team actually ended up winning. 6:00 ~ Break-Fast!: Ah, one of the best parts of the weekend. The way they did it was that the winning team got a table with everything on it and chairs and stuff; the team in the middle got one of those tables where you sit on the floor with Wheat Thins, soup, and apple juice; and our team, the losing team, got a tablecloth on the floor with water and this unimix nastiness that was a mixture of cornbread, beans, sugar, and something else... the texture closely resembled that of sand, actually. We were pretty bummed at first and just watched the other people eat, but the people from the middle table felt sorry for us and gave us some soup and stuff. After they did that, the other table joined in and gave us some stuff. After a while, the adults let up and let us go to the buffet thing and get all the food we wanted. Actually, our team got to go first because we won the canned food drive, so everything worked out in the end. I've only ever tasted that good of sandwiches before one other time, and that was at the Famine I went to like three years ago at Laura's church. 7:00 ~ All Pau!: I'm assuming that meant we could all go home, because we did anyway. =) Ah, such a fun weekend! We all had such a great time.

Rants, Rants, and More Rants

2006-03-02T21:28:00.000-10:00

It has been raining insane amounts lately. Most of windward O'ahu (that's the east side for you mainlanders) is under at least a foot of water. My parents and I have been watching the news, and we're amazed at the amount of rain that's covering the island. Heh, there was even a guy on the news that was surfing along Kamehameha Highway, pulled by a truck. o_0 Lucky for us that we live in Mililani, where it's only been raining on and off. It's a bit soggy, but definitely not unbearable. I've got a cold. I've been getting it for about a week, but it's been at its worst since Tuesday. Sniffles and coughs galore, and breathing through my mouth at night.. in other words, the normal cold. I keep hoping it'll disappear, but no luck so far. Gosh, I'd forgotten how bothersome a simple cold can be! Okay, enough cold ranting, and time for some good news. I think I've got enough money to buy a new PS2! Mom and I have been babysitting this little 3-but-almost-4-year-old kid from our church a bit last week and this week. His name is Elijah, and he's cute... But he doubles as both the reason I'd like a little sibling, and also why I don't want one. Pretty obedient most of the time, but once you get him started on a game, he never quits. Mom says that's kids in general, which serves as one of my many reasons for never having one. He's adorable, though, from his squeaky little kid voice to his strange attatchment to me. I was just thinking last night as I went to bed that he wouldn't be a bad little brother to have around... but then I talked myself out of that idea. Sorry for going off a bit... The point of this paragraph was to tell you that Grace pays reeeeally well for watching Elijah. By reeeeally well, I mean $20 a day for watching him from around 8:00 to 2:30. That's $80 just for the four days we had him. Definitely makes it worth it. Um... I guess I'd better go do my homework, especially since it's 1:23 AM and the only thing I've done so far is Spanish and English. Looks like I'm in for some work.

A Rather Late Blog

2006-02-17T14:24:00.000-10:00

Um, I haven't blogged in a while, have I? I sort of forgot about blogs this past month. Not that I've been terribly busy, but I just didn't think about it. Georgiana and Bill were here two weeks ago. We had a terrific time with them doing all of the touristy things. Georgiana's enthusiasm about what we did was, as Mom described it, 'refreshing'. Even when it rained, she sincerely loved it, and you could tell. I feel like we got to know Bill a lot better too, because he opened up to us a lot more. He likes to joke a lot, something I never would have guessed about him. =) They were here for my fifteenth birthday, and actually, that was one of the days it rained. I love rain, though, so we drove up to North Shore a bit, went back to Dole for some fresh coconut, returned home to play Mille Bornes for a few hours, and we finished the day at the Spaghetti Factory for a birthday dinner (with free ice cream because they forced me to be sung to). One day when they were here, North Shore had the best surfing waves it'd seen in twenty-five years (or so Mom heard); the waves must've been thirty feet high at the Pipeline! We got some awesome pictures of the surfers and of the waves crashing onto the shore. It was amazing! I got to sleep in my room for a whole six days, just long enough for me to mess it up completely before Paster John and Karen came. =) We're also seeing a side of them I've never seen before. Pastor John likes to joke a lot, again something I never would have guessed about him. We went to a luau last night with them, and they both enjoyed it quite a bit. Oh yeah, my PS2 broke. Stupid me, I tripped over the controller cord and almost knocked the system off of the shelf, but luckily I saved it, or so I thought. Turns out that it jarred something inside the box, so now it won't spin the discs anymore. Ugh, I'm going through Amplitude withdrawl! Dad talked to some guy at Game Stop, and he said that it costs $50 just to have someone look at a PS2, and would probably end up being cheaper for us to buy a brand new one. Anyone got any suggestions as to how to fix it...? Sorry this isn't the best written post. It's rushed because right now I'm supposed to be doing school and Mom'll be calling any minute to ask how far I've gotten. I just took a break to blog because I knew I'd forget later.

Lethargy

2006-01-18T15:50:00.000-10:00

Right now, I doubt anyone in our house could feel sleepier. It's in the mid-80s in here, but right now it feels like 90 degrees. Uncle Ed is snoring a little on our futon couch, Mom and Aunt Sharon are watching M*A*S*H, Jessie and Jeff are doing something in my/Aunt Sharon's and Uncle Ed's room, and here I am, blogging away like I haven't (and should have) done for a week. Not much to report here... We've been doing the touristy stuff with everyone, or rather, they've been doing it without me while I stay home in most cases. I like the daily solitude, actually, because I can get things done on my own time and not on anyone else's. I can get on the Internet and play Nintendo at regular intervals and still get my work done on time, a fact that Mom has not yet come to realize... or at least support. And there's the matter of being able to sing to my music without feeling like an idiot. So, for lack of things to write about, I'll list a few books I've read recently: ~Dragonspell and Dragonquest, both by Donita K. Paul ~The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas ~Fantastic Four, by Peter David (what a name!) I actually haven't finished the last two, but I'm in the progress. All four are very cool- maybe I'll give them reviews when I feel like writing again, or maybe when it stops being so blasted hot. Guess I shouldn't complain, though, since the rest of you are freezing your bums off, but you'd all be experiencing the unpleasant sensation of thawing anyway. Don't have much else to say, so I guess that's it. 'Til later, folks, and here's to the hope that I come out of my mental doldrums soon.

Random Favorites

2006-01-09T15:32:00.000-10:00

I got bored during church and wrote a whole list of some of my random favorite stuff. (Yes, I know, bad me, but it was fun!) Here are a few of my favorite things: Entertainment TV Show: M*A*S*H Movies: Pirates of the Caribbean, Chronicles of Narnia, Legend of Zorro, Goblet of Fire, The Return of the King PS2 Games: Amplitude, Katamari Damacy, Lego Star Wars, Dragon Ball Z GameCube Games: Zelda- The Windwaker, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Gameboy Games: Zelda- The Minish Cap, Tetris, WarioWare Computer Game: The Sims2 University Card Games: Mille Bournes, Fluxx, Apples to Apples, Imaginiff Books: Inkheart, Redwall series, Harry Potter series, Lord of the Rings, Dragonspell, Dragonquest, Eragon, Ivanhoe, Robin Hood Web Sites: Xauror (www.nero.xauror.com), Legend of the Green Dragon (www.mmorpg.enhog.us), my Blog (www.mewgirl14blog.blogspot.com), my character site for Xauror (www.freewebs.com/leah_lovegood), Google (you should know that one) Screennames: Leah Lovegood, ferrrret face Poems: Jabberwocky, Walking Through the Woods On a Winter Evening, Ode to Gandalf (or whatever that poem in The Fellowship of the Ring is called) Material Possessions Piece of Jewelry: My sister-sister-sister ring Shirt: My Jars of Clay shirt Pants: Any pair of comfy p.j. pants Shoes: Black and white flip-flops Necklace: My Aslan necklace Photo: Our whole family at Tara and Dave's wedding Stuffed Animals: Soft (my big blue bunny), Osito (my small, soft llama hair bear), Cairo (my small lion), my ferret stuffed animal (doesn't have a name yet due to lack of creativity on my part) CDs: Pirates of the Caribbean Soundtrack, Chronicles of Narnia Soundtrack, Aladdin Soundtrack, Series of Unfortunate Events Soundtrack, Beach Boys Mix Food Related Food Groups: Pasta, any mexican food w/o ground beef, onions, or tomatoes, pizza Breakfast Food: Belgian waffles, pancakes, hash browns, scrambled eggs Lunch Food: Lipton Extra Noodle Soup Dinner Food: Spaghetti, turkey Restaurant: Spaghetti Factory Fruit: Pineapple Vegetable: Potatoes (preferably mashed or baked) Soda: Mountain Dew Pitch Black Other Favorites Church: Blue Rock, of course Town: Waynesboro (believe it or not...) Thing About Myself: My imagination Colors: Silver, purple, black, blue Things to Write or Read About: Robin Hood, adventure stories, fantasy, dragons, pirates School Subject: English Time of Day: That time from late afternoon to dusk Time of Night: Any part of it where I get to stay up alone Sport: Quidditch (I know, I'm a dork), snowboarding Mythical Animals: Dragon, phoenix Holiday: Thanksgiving Productive Hobbies: Writing, crafting, reading Unproductive Hobbies: Playing card games, playing video games, watching M*A*S*H, watching movies Heroes: Robin Hood, Link, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Dar, Kale Allerion, Saphira, Aslan, Peter Pevinsie, Susan Pevinsie, Harry Potter Villains: Voldemort, White Witch, Front-de-Boeuf, Invader Zim, Risto, Capricorn Quality in a Person: Sense of humor Stores: GameStop, WalMart If you have any more ideas for some favorite stuff, let me know in the comment thing. You people need to comment more anyways.

Family and Stuff

2006-01-07T21:19:00.000-10:00

Right now, I'm sitting at home alone eating a fine dinner of turkey and mashed potatoes with a glass of red wine, and I'm also wondering where the time since December the Fifteenth has gone. It seems like only a week ago that Mom, Dad, and I were waiting excitedly at the airport for Tara, Melissa, and Dave to walk through the entry gate, when in reality it has been three weeks and two days since then. To use an old adage, "Time flies when you're having fun." So true, so true. I have to admit that I either come close to tears or actually cry when people leave, but that's only to be expected from a hormonally challenged teenager, right? Still, I feel like such a baby when I still can't handle a simple goodbye. I hate goodbyes. Everyone's here now. It's interesting; we've never had this many people in this tiny little apartment before. My cousins Jessie and Shawn, along with Jessie's fiance, Jeff, are sleeping in the living room/ dining room. Aunt Sharon and Uncle Ed are sleeping in my room, and I'm sleeping in Mom and Dad's room. It's crowded. And Mom and Dad snore. But it's only temporary, and we never get to see them. Heh, and another plus is that they looooove Mt. Dew, which means that there'll have to be a steady supply at all times. Whoo! But seriously, it's really good to see them. I'm being shooed, so I guess I'll go read my new book, Dragonquest by Donita K. Paul. Good book, good series. Anyways... see ya. (And the fine dinner and wine are actually a TV dinner and carbonated apple-grape juice in a wine glass, but you probably figured that out already.)

Post-Christmas Euphoria

2005-12-26T13:04:00.000-10:00

I'm sitting on one of our cool orange armchairs, watching Dave play my new Mission Impossible game for the PS2, and blogging on my very own, brand new, slightly used laptop! That's right folks, I got a laptop for Christmas! It's a sweet black IBM ThinkPad that Mom and Dad got for me on eBay. I've been wanting my own computer for a while, but I never actually thought I'd get one! Everyone was leading me to believe I'd be getting an iPod. I didn't really want one (I am fine with CDs anyway), but since I thought I was getting one, I started to get excited about it. Tara had brought my laptop, and she told me it was her new one. She let me install a few of my games and some programs and stuff onto it, and she let me use it while Mom was on hers. I had no idea it was actually mine! So Christmas morning, we opened our presents with me expecting an iPod. Well, turns out they made me look under my matress for my final present, and I was like, "Ooh, iPod!" but then it was really heavy, and it turned out to be "Tara's" computer. Yay! Now Mom's all gung-ho about me uninstalling every single thing of mine from her computer, but I can't find the Sims2 disc, so it'll take me a while. But anyway... I also got some other stuff for Christmas, including a really cool ferret stuffed animal (which happens to look quite a bit like Lady), Mission Impossible and Dragon Ball Z Budokai 2 for PS2, Sims2 University (which I actually bought for myself for $14 but Mom wouldn't let me install on her computer for now obvious reasons), Because of Winn Dixie, fuzzy pajamas, The Wizard of Oz, a small lucky cat bank, Sharpie markers, and a very helpful Spanish chart. We went to Barber's Point yesterday after church and present opening, and Dave and I got in the water. There were a lot of waves, but they were terrible for boogie-boarding because there were too many and they didn't have any power. There were also rocks all along the bottom that gave Dave and me quite a few knee scrapes and stubbed toes. We ended up just floating in the water until the waves pushed us to shore and getting out and reading. Well, actually Dave was doing Sudoku puzzles from a book I got him for Christmas. He was engrossed for the whole of yesterday, and he was up to seven completed last time I checked. I find that amazing, because I wouldn't have the patience for something that tedious and math-related. What a whiz! We're going on a sunset dinner cruise tonight, so I'll have to let you know about that. Looks like it's going to be on a pretty big boat, so it'll be fun, hopefully. I've been eating Christmas food and cookies like crazy, and everyone has been telling me how fat I'm going to get, but I obviously don't give a care. I'll watch what I eat later, but right now I'm on vacation and I don't care! I love cookies and turkey and fudge and cranberry sauce and all the other Christmas food. Yay Christmas food! This is turning out to be a really, really long blog, but that's okay! I've got a lot to say. But I have to get ready to go to the Dole Plantation, so I guess I'll update later. Merry Christmas!

G-hands and Beach Cabins

2005-12-19T20:23:00.000-10:00

I found out I have G-hands. In otherwords, when I blow a certain way (with my hands cupped and thumbs slightly apart), it comes out in the note G. Whee! Tara and Dave are here, and we went to the beach from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning. It was teriffic, except we all got funky tans. My right cheek, chin, and right arm were all red, but now it's just a funky tan. Tara and Mel have lines on their arms for some reason, and Dave's nose got burned. I don't think Mom or Dad got burned at all. They just laid out in the sun and tanned and stuff while the four of us 'kids' were either boogie-boarding or playing frisbee in the ocean. So much fun! We spent today just hanging out and playing cards and stuff. Tara, Mom, and Dave were going to go to the Arizona Memorial, but Dave got sick, so we decided to stay home. It was a really good day, actually. We did exactly what I love to do- stay home, play cards, get on the internet, and play PS2. Tomorrow we're going to the Hale Koa to stay for two nights, and then we're going to hike Diamond Head, so I won't be on the internet during that time period. If I don't get to say so before the 25th, Merry Christmas!

3...2...1... SIBLINGS!

2005-12-15T20:39:00.000-10:00

Ladies and gentlemen, one hour until touchdown!

[Absence of a creative title]

2005-12-13T19:29:00.000-10:00

(Not feeling my creative-est tonight.) Homeschooling has helped me discover quite a few things about myself. First of all, I am generally not a motivated person when it comes to school. Second of all, there are rare times that I am very motivated, and want to do as much school as I possibly can. This afternoon was one of those times. I have no idea why, but I just wanted to spend the whole day on school. Which brings me to the third thing I learned; my motivation doesn't last very long. It evaporated within a few hours, and left me wondering what in the world had posessed me. Hey, I saw the pigs again today. I actually saw their whole bodies this time! They're dark brown and about the size of a beagle. I'm going to find out what they are when I find the motivation. Lately I've been stuck in this rut of blah-ness. Yesterday, I was in a terrible mood until last night, and I'm at a loss for what caused it. Today I was in a better mood, if only because I had a better attitude about school. Hehe, I actually got a 95% on my math test, something I haven't done since the beginning of the school year. Can't wait until Dave, Melissa, and Tara come! It's only about 49 and 1/2 hours away!

Pigs, Pearl Harbor, and Pork Chops

2005-12-08T10:21:00.000-10:00

We have pigs in our backyard. Yup, a couple of brown pigs were nosing around in the bushes behind a fence beside the sidewalk in our backyard. I was doing school in my room when Mom ran in and was like, "Leah, come here, quick!" So I dumped my stuff from my lap onto the foot of the bed and hurried into Mom and Dad's room to see whatever it was she wanted me to see. We listened, and there was some rustling and grunting from outside, and a few minutes later, a snout popped out of the bushes and then disappeared again. Pigs in Hawaii... who knew? Yesterday was Pearl Harbor Rememberance Day. At around 7:00 A.M. these really loud jets flew all over the island in tribute to the peope who died that day. I was asleep then, of course, so I had no idea why the planes were flying so low. It really didn't occur to me what day it was until Mom said something as she was watching the news. There were all these tributes and ceremonies going on. Pretty neat. Yesterday I discovered that I don't like pork chops. Or mustard sauce. Yep.

Discovery

2005-11-30T16:17:00.000-10:00

I've discovered the best thing ever- Peppermint Hot Chocolate from Starbucks! It's absolutely heavenly! You have to try it!

Blah

2005-11-29T11:18:00.000-10:00

Went to a luau last night. It was pretty cool, but I don't think it's as fun when you know what's going to happen down to the jokes they're going to tell and the songs they're going to sing. At least I didn't feel bad going to the bathroom in the middle of a song I don't particularly like. =) But there's two parts I never get tired of- the excellent food and the fire dancing guy. He is the epitome of coolness. Seriously. I caught the whole thing on our camera. I'd put it here, but a) I have no idea how, and b) it would ruin the coolness of it for those who will be going to that luau. Not much else has been going on other than me staying home while the rents and Grampy go do stuff around the island. Right now they're going to the airport to see if they can upgrade Grandpa's plane seat or something like that. I'm staying home, as usual. I like being home, and I hate going out and doing pointless errands. Plus it's quieter and I can do -or not do- my homework in peace. Ugh, homework. Lately I haven't had the willpower to do anything concerning school. All I want to do is lay around and do nothing. But I can't take time off school because I'm going to when Dave, Melissa, and Tara come. Just got my science book in the mail yesterday, so that means lots and lots of science to make up for last month. Whohoo. I've been in a blah mood a lot of the time recently. I just don't care about anything. Hopefully this will go away soon.

Me + Mountain Dew + Chocolate Fondue = Run, You!

2005-11-26T01:08:00.000-10:00

Yep. I've had WAY too much sugar today. First a Mt. Dew Code Red, then we went to a Japanese seafood restaurant that had a seafood buffet (which was pretty good, actually) and -get this- a chocolate fountain. It was one of those fancy mini fountains, but instead of water flowing in it, it had melted chocolate! I was officially in heaven. I must've dipped like at least 10 different fruits in it. And this chocolate wasn't your ordinary milk chocolate. This stuff was the good stuff; dark and creamy. Mmm! (I apoligize for the no doubt growling stomach you now have.) I'm in a descriptive mood. Chocolate excites me. Okay, off the subject of chocolate. The hula dance show thing was neat, but it was about the same as the luau is. I actually like the food at the luau a lot better, and the show, too. The only real difference is that the host guy was more annoying and the tables were indoors and up closer. Thanksgiving was nothing short of awesome! My friend Arlene (she's the one who has really reached out to me and included me in her circle of friends) and her family from church invited a whole bunch of people who don't have any family in Hawaii to eat Thanksgiving dinner with them. We went, and I think there were about 10 families there. It was so much fun just to hang out and chat with girls my own age, along with Arlene's older brother George who likes to hang out with his sister's friends for some reason. He's like a male version of Kristi, and he cracks me up. Anyway, the food was delicious. You know how it's the Hawaiian tradition to cook a pig underground for several days for luaus and stuff, right? (If you don't, oh well, you do now!) Well, instead of cooking a pig underground, Arlene's family cooked their turkey underground. I've seriously never had such good, tender, juicy turkey! I think I must be hungry or something; I'm putting way too much detail into the food descriptions. o_0 Yeah, I have a few new friends from church. That church is really awesome. Really. So here's short descriptions of some of the girls and guys at church that are either in the girls' Bible study or in youth group: Arlene- She's my age, and probably my closest friend here. She's the one who introduced me to everyone, and who has been patiently putting up with me following her around like a stray puppy on Sundays and Wednesdays. She's homeschooled, too, so hopefully that'll be good for doing stuff together on weekdays in the future. Kelsey- Heh, I get a real kick out of Kelsey. She's hilarious. She's very extroverted, and reminds me a lot of someone I know... *cough*Tara*cough* Megan- Don't really know her that well, but from what I gather, she's really involved in the church. She does sign language every couple of weeks or so during the praise and worship. I also gather that she and Arlene are really close friends. Elizabeth- Again, don't know her very well, but from what I've seen, she's really nice and seems to be friends with everyone. Tia- She's a little younger than me, I think. She seems really nice as well, but again, I'd say we were more aquaintences at this point. I'm hoping that'll change, though. Angela- She's the same age as Tia, and the two of them seem to be very good friends at the least. I know Angela a little better because we babysat some kids for some of the moms in Mom's Bible study class together. Daniel- I don't know him very well, but he hangs out with Arlene a lot, so I'm getting to know him. He's very friendly and has been very nice to me. George- He's Arlene's older brother. I'm guessing him to be around 17 or 18, because he has a job and he's really tall. George cracks me up. Umm, I think that's all for now. I can't think anymore. My brain hurts because it's like 3:00 A.M. I stayed up late just because I felt like it, and because Fridays are the only days I get to stay up past 10. Wow, my paragraphs are getting steadily worse as I'm getting steadily less coherant. I'm using words like "really nice" more and more. I usually try to avoid those words at all costs, but I'm slipping in my sleepishness. (I was going to insert a cool word there, but I can barely think of it, much less spell it!) I'm rambling, so I'm thinking it would be a good idea to sleep now. Tootles!

Sleepless in Hawaii

2005-11-22T18:57:00.000-10:00

I haven't really had a good night's sleep in three nights. My ceiling fan broke, so it's either lay sleeplessly in the stuffiness of my room, or turn on an obnoxiously loud floor fan that blows the posters off of my wall. Ugh. Dad's going to put a new ceiling fan in soon, so that'll be nice. And hopefully tonight will be better because I'm so tired. I've been doubling a lot on school in the hopes of getting a lot done so I won't have to do any while Tara and Dave and Melissa are here for Christmas. It's tough, though, and math just keeps getting harder. I think it's amazing that no matter how much math you learn, it still gets harder. (I think another math session is in order, Dave.) We got my Civics book in the mail the other day too, so I'm doing double of that as well. Went to see the Goblet of Fire on Sunday with Dad. I thought the people who made the movie did a great job picking and choosing which scenes to cut and which not to. I was a little disappointed that they didn't put the Quidditch World Cup scene in, but there was enough to spark my imagination with how it looked. The only thing that particularly annoyed me was the Death Eaters' outfits. I thought the pointy hats looked retarded and very not scary. But all in all, The Goblet of Fire is my favorite Harry Potter Movie yet. Since Grandpa's here, we'll be doing all of the touristy things that don't involve being out in the heat or walking a lot. That doesn't leave much, but we've found things to do. We went on a sunset dinner cruise on the coast of Waikiki on Saturday night, and Wednesday night we're going to a hula dance show at the Hale Koa. Then, on Monday, we're going to a luau. It's kind of fun to go and do all of the touristy stuff again. I'd never been on the sunset cruise before, and I've never been to the dance show, so new things for Leah. Guess that's it. Mom and Dad are going to bed now (at 9 o' clock!), so I am being kicked off of the lappy.

Normality Squared

2005-11-14T20:35:00.000-10:00

Well, everything is pretty much back to normal. Got me a new purse (which I always carry with me and never leave in the car) and ordered some new CDs online that should arrive any day now. In the meantime, I'm getting pretty tired of listening to Aladdin and Veggie Tales. School has been very... time-consuming. Math is okay right now since I know what I'm doing, but it takes so long! I spent such a long time on it today. Too long, in fact, because I can't hear the words 'function' or 'absolute' without immediately thinking math! and getting a mental image of a graph. Nothing much has been going on, but Grandpa's coming tomorrow, so that'll change. We'll be goin to all of the touristy stuff that doesn't involve a lot of walking or heat while he's here, which means a lot of drives around the island and a couple of luaus. I'm hoping to get Mom to take me to the arcade tomorrow before he comes for a round of DDR, but the prospects are looking ever bleaker. Oh, who else can't wait for November 18th?! I am soooo excited for the Goblet of Fire to come out!!! For all of you who can't wait until the movie, check this out. It's the Amazing Bouncing Ferret scene, the best thing that's ever happened to Draco Malfoy! Okay, enough Harry Potter dorkiness from me. Just so you know, I'm not really in a writing mood tonight, but I thought that I should let you guys know that things are going better. Hopefully I'll be in a writing mood next time, but 'til then...

The Stupidest Thing Ever

2005-11-04T20:59:00.000-10:00

Guess what? Mom and Dad and I spent a great day driving around the island, and we spend the afternoon sitting by the ocean and watching the waves. Sounds like a perfect day, right? I suppose it was, but the evening was the part where everything went wrong. So we went to a beach in Waianae, one that was literally at the end of the paved road and had very few people there. (We'd heard all these stories about the locals not liking us- Howies is what they call us tourists and visitors- but we didn't really care.) We were just watching the waves and having a great time. We watched the sunset until it went behind some clouds. Contented, we headed back to our rental car, dusted off our feet, and left. I noticed that our cooler had spilled on the floor, and that our trash bag was on the opposite side, but I didn't think anything of it. We were almost home when Mom noticed that her bag was missing. We didn't worry about it, figuring it was in the back seat. Well, it wasn't. We got home and searched the entire car, but it wasn't there. We also noticed that our beach bag had spilled all over the trunk. Then it hit me. "Oh my gosh," I yelled, "where's my purse!?" It wasn't there, and neither were my CDs, my science and civics books (along with all my civics work from the beginning of the year to now), or Mom's bag. Suddenly everything made sense. We'd been robbed. Some idiot[s] broke into our car and stole all of my CDs, Mom's bag, and my purse, which had about $30 and my military I.D. card. Mom had to call our landlady, Winnie, because our house keys and our other car key was in her bag. Now we have to get our locks on both changed, because our house keys had our address on them. We called the police and they sent someone over to ask us what happened, but he just said that things like that happen all the time, and that we shouldn't have left our valuables in the car in the first place, and that there's not much chance of us getting them back. Mom and Dad say we're lucky because they didn't steal the car, they didn't steal Mom's wedding rings (which were in the glove compartment), they didn't steal our two cell phones (which were laying out in the open), and I didn't bring my other CDs, which they most certainly would have stolen. But still... Right now it's very hard to believe that we're lucky. I can't ever remember being this furious and feeling this helpless at the same time. I just can't believe it. And, get this, they even stooped as low as to steal Mom's quilting book, and Dad's dollar bill that was between the seats in the cup holder place. They just don't get any lamer than that.

Back to Paradise (Haha to you, Mainlander!)

2005-10-25T20:50:00.000-10:00

So we're back in beautiful, sunny, warm Hawaii. It's been weird adjusting to all the warmth when we were having 40 degree weather back in PA. I also hear it's supposed to snow there in the near future. Haha! ...Okay, I'm done teasing you now. But just maybe if I tell you all about how nice and warm it is here you'll either get really annoyed and want to come throttle me, or you'll come for a peaceful visit soonish. Either way works for me. =) I know I said I'd post more often, but you know how I am... But really, I have been busy the last five weeks. Mom and I went back to PA to visit for four weeks (we spent one at Myrtle Beach with Bill and Georgiana) and we were super busy. I spent every spare minute with one or more of my friends, most often Laura since we both had a lot of time on our hands being homeschooled and we live five minutes away from each other. I did spend some time on the internet, but it didn't really occur to me to blog until now. Anyways, it was a great month, filled with lots of people visiting and fun. I actually enjoyed the crisp fall weather, partly because I just like fall, and partly because I have a strange attraction to wearing sweaters. I think I'll make sure to blog more often in the future to annoy you with tales of how wonderful Hawaii is. Maybe I'll convince you that you need to come... mwa ha ha ha!

2005-09-12T21:41:00.000-10:00

This is an avatar that I want to use from now on. =)

Stuff to Say

2005-09-08T09:45:00.000-10:00

So I've started homeschooling, and it's been great for the most part. I say "the most part" because the only thing Mom can't help me with is math, but that's the thing I need help with the most. The rest is going quite nicely, or at least by school standards. I've had kind of a crappy start today, though. Yesterday's work didn't go very well. I ended up missing a lot of questions and things that I knew because I was really tired. Mom's been attempting to adjust our schedule to a more Pennsylvania-ish time by making all three of us go to bed earlier and get up earlier. It's making me really tired because I just can't change my sleeping schedule cold turkey. Oh well, Mom and I are heading back to Starbucks today. We'll stay there for a couple of hours and do some school. Afterwards, we'll meet Dad at the pool on base for some swimming time. That pool is seriously the biggest pool I've ever seen or been in! It's twice the size of an Olympic-sized pool, and 15 feet deep! And the diving boards are the highest I've ever seen, too! It'll be lots of fun.

2005-09-07T09:39:00.000-10:00

It's a small me! (I need to post this on my blog before getting it on another site... it's the only way I know how to do it.)

Yesterday

2005-08-30T18:45:00.000-10:00

So I started school yesterday. Mom and I followed through with our plan and we went to Starbucks. But it was a rather ditzy day, and here's why: 1) Mom and I both left the house with no money. 2) I had a sticker on the back of my pants (that I've also worn before and no one bothered telling me) that someone told me about in Jamba Juice. 3) It rained and Mom had brought her good shoes. 4) On the way home, Mom turned onto the interstate that's right before the turn to our neighborhood. One problem; she was going the wrong way. 5) Mom nearly locked us out of the car. 6) I locked us out of the house, leaving the keys on the counter. Interesting day. The Starbucks portion of it was awesome, though. I spent the morning with my homework, a blueberry muffin, and a very large banana berry smoothie. Mom read the newspaper and wrote a few letters. Today we just stayed home and did nothing. We were going to go to the pool, but it was too dreary.

2005-08-30T10:30:00.000-10:00

It's me and my second cousin, Kiera!

Normality

2005-08-25T09:07:00.000-10:00

I've finally gotten myself into somewhat of a routine. And I have to say, it feels great! These past few days since I've written have been pleasant ones with Mom. We've been just hanging out, going to the pool, going to the library and commissary. I think Monday I'll start school. Mom and I have this plan, where for the first day we're going to stop at Jamba Juice (a local smoothie place... mmm!) and then we'll go to Starbucks and sit and do school. It'll be a nice way to start the school year. Well, that's it, I guess. I'll attempt to update every few days or so.

Life

2005-08-20T10:34:00.000-10:00

Not much going on right now, actually. Yesterday, Mom, Dad, and I spent most of the day at home, just on the computer or reading, or, in my case, playing Lego Star Wars. It was a perfect day for me, but I think my parents were going stir-crazy. Therefore, today we are going to any yard sales we can find that are still open at 11 o' clock in the morning. And after that we're just going to drive around the island and look at things. There's some food festival going on, so I suppose we'll go taste food. I think it'll be kind of a long day. I like to be lazy, but I'll have to get used to running around more often.

Changes

2005-08-18T17:36:00.000-10:00

Changes. What better way to title this part of my life. People say change is good, but sometimes I wonder if they're right. So I guess if you're reading this, you must know that my parents and I have moved to Hawaii. I'm so lucky to be here, I know, but that doesn't make leaving my friends and family behind any easier. I haven't made any friends yet, and that just makes it harder. And speaking of friends, I'm not even sure I want new friends. I'm perfectly happy with the wonderful friends I already have, and I never want to grow apart from them. Aside from that, I've been having a great time here. Two of Mom's friends and one of mine were here last week, and we spent the majority of it running around doing touristy stuff around the island. I love living on an island and being no more than an hour's drive away from several beaches. I love the opportunities to do things here, as well as the rich culture and vast diversity among the people, both locals and tourists. As for me, well, I'm somewhere inbetween local and tourist. I like to get souveniers and stuff, but I also like to see the other side of Hawaii. We live in Mililani on O'ahu for the next six months. It's smack in the middle of the island, look it up sometime on the internet or something. I miss you all, and I hope to talk to you soon. Meanwhile, keep checking this blog. I'll try to update at least once a week, hopefully every couple of days.

Life is Crazy

2005-06-20T19:37:00.000-10:00

My life is slow at the moment, but I will soon be launched into the busiest, most changing part of my life. This summer, as most of you know, will be jam-packed with stuff to do from July to August. Okay, so I guess I should say what I've been doing recently. The past couple of weeks, I've been doing much of nothing. Since school got out, I've been enjoying being a night owl and rotting my brains with tons of video games. But don't worry; I haven't been completely vegetating. I've been working on a story as well. It's taking me forever, but it's about 27 pages at the moment, so I've gotten a fair bit done. I've been reading quite a bit too. Here's a list of books I like and have been reading: ~Harry Potter Series: I used to boycott these books under the impression that it was evil witchcraft, but I have been convinced otherwise. I find these books to be fascinating, and I couldn't put them down until I had finished the entire series. I'm considering re-reading them. ~Warriors Series: I've only read the first book, but I liked it a lot. It's about these clans of wild cats living in the woods and fighting each other for food and territory. I know, I know, it sounds really weird. But I liked the first book a lot, and I'm hoping to go to the library tomorrow for the others. ~Redwall Series: I sure like series, huh? I'd been working on this series for a while, from October to April. And since I'm done, I've been doing a bit of re-reading since then. Brian Jacques is releasing his new book in August, and I'm so excited. So now you know what I've been up to. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now. Not because I have too much to do at the moment, but because of all the changes. I'm about to embark on a twisting, changing road this summer, one that will lead me to places I've never been before. I'm a little nervous, but with God's help, anything's possible, right?

Something For You To Do

2005-04-06T14:06:00.000-10:00

Okay, here's the deal. Tara, my sister, needs some feedback on a site she might be working on for her job. It's www.painfullyobvious.com. Check it out, and comment on it, please. It's pretty neat, and targeted to teens. See if there's anything that could be added, changed, and all that good stuff. Thanks in advance. =)

Spring Feva

2005-04-05T13:08:00.000-10:00

I love spring! Well, I love spring weather! Actually, spring is a bit too busy for my taste. I'm lazy, what else can I say? There's always a science project to do, the state tests are always to be taken, spring cleaning is to be done, and to top it all off, I've got allergies. But hey, the weather is gorgeous! Speaking of science projects, mine is finally done! It has to do with the energy content in roasted and non-roasted peanuts. It was pretty fun to do, considering that I got to torch the peanut with a candle lighter. And I found out today that I won third place in our county science fair! First time ever! Our state tests are this week. They wouldn't be so bad if they weren't an hour per section, two sections a day (one math, one reading). I was so stiff today after I got up from the first section. I read a whole book today, too. Which reminds me, I'll need another one by tomorrow. Easter was terrific! Melissa and I drove up to Tara's house (a ten hour trip, but we managed to entertain ourselves for that long) for the weekend. We had tons of fun! Mostly we just stayed at her house, but that in itself was very cool. We also went to a play, and afterwards made Indian food. It was cashew chicken, and it turned out great! I've been coming down with a severe case of spring fever lately. The weather is just so nice, and it makes me want to go swimming, or biking, or jumping on a trampoline. I can only do two of those things, though, because my knees hit the handle bars when I try to ride my bike (aside from the fact that it has two flat tires), and no pools are open. Laura has a friend with a trampoline, so I'm set for that! I need to invite myself over sometime. =) Enjoy the spring weather, folks!

I Finally Decided to Update!

2005-03-23T08:31:00.000-10:00

Sheesh. I never write as often as I say I will. I need to get it together and write more! So, I'm home from school on Easter break. Yay! Of course, Mom left me a list of stuff to do. And of course, I'm waiting 'till the last minute to do it. Actually, I'm supposed to be baking Grandpa a cake 'cause it's his birthday on Friday (happy birthday Grandpa!), but I can't seem to find the beater. Mom doesn't know where it is either, so that's definitely not good. But I suppose we'll find it eventually. As some of you may know, Mom isn't going to Hawaii like she planned. They didn't need Daddy there and are sending him home Friday night. =) Mel and I had already planned to take a road trip to Tara's for Easter, and we're not about to cancel it! I can't wait to see Tara and Dave again! As for school, I'm doin' about the same as I was last time I posted about school. I hate it, but there's not much I can do about that. A good point, though, is that I'm in music now, which is always fun. Mrs. Wenerd is a trip. Tara, Mel, you guys remember her, right? If she was hyper, bouncy, and rather... eccentric... when you were in school, she hasn't changed a bit. =) Quiz is really fun this year. Trisha, Laura, and I always have so much fun being together. Marvin put me and Laura against each other last time, and we were having so much fun being competitive. By the way, we're studying Matthew. This time, I have chapter 26. It's pretty easy 'cause I know the story. I'm having fun being lazy. Later today, Mom, Grandpa, Mel, and I are going to the Texas Roadhouse for dinner. =p I don't nessecarily like their food or atmosphere, but hey, it's Grandpa's birthday, not mine. Anyway, it will be fun to be together. I had better get a move on the stuff that Mom left me to do if I have any hopes of playing GameCube before she gets home. I should have another post by next week, because I'll have plenty to say about Tara's!

Nerd

2005-01-18T16:25:00.000-10:00

I just wanted to show you guys this. It's awesome! I'm a nerd!

A Piece of My Life Just for You

2005-01-13T15:00:00.000-10:00

It's been quite a while since I've written. Sorry folks, but I'm just so busy! Today is one of the few and far between days where I have no homework. So, I'll take advantage of this. School. The very word makes me want to hurl. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the idiots who ruin it for everyone else. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. Everyone has to deal with idiots sooner or later, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating. I feel... overwhelmed with two things; 1)their stupidity 2)teachers giving projects all at once. For English, I have a paper due tomorrow that MUST be typed in class. Wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have a 7 page story (and counting). Next Friday, I have an essay due for the same class. TV tune-in. I have to write a pointless essay on either why I don't watch TV, how the news affects me, or something else that I forget. Like how often do I get time to watch TV, so I think I'll do the "why I don't" essay. For Social Studies, I'm doing a project on Nellie Bly for National History Day. It's going to be an exhibit with a backboard, like a science fair one, only cooler. In case you don't know, Nellie Bly is this chick who helped change the view of women in Pittsburg as one of the first female journalists who actually wrote about something other than fashion and girly stuff. She did her stuff in the late 1800's and early 1900's. I think she was a Muckraker, too. She traveled around the world in 72 days, beating the non-existent record in that book, the 80 days one. Pretty interesting stuff. But there's all the extra stuff, like the annotated bibliography (had no idea what this was before this project), research journal, and process paper. That's due on my birthday. Lucky me. And, to top it all off, I have a sewing project to do in four school days. I'm making a cute white cat, and while others are almost done, or at least have a project resembling what they're making, I have half a head with no eyes, mouth, or nose.Part of the reason I have next to nothing done in 6 days is because of one of the idiots I mentioned earlier. The other part is that no matter what I do, I make at least 10 mistakes a period. Like, for instance, forgetting to put the presser foot down and having loops on the back of the cat's head. I stayed after school to work on it today, but I'll have to stay tomorrow, too. It was so quiet, though. I could actually hear myself think. If school were like that all the time, I would absolutely love it. Life can be tough, huh? Enough about school. My stomach is starting to hurt. Apart from school, I have been busy with quiz, piano lessons, and Wednesday night youth group at Laura's church. Piano and quiz have been going normally; not much variety in that department. But church is a different story. It's so fun! There's always a variety. One night we drove to hagerstown to play underground church. We split up into groups and we were supposed to be able to find our way into a warehouse-the secret church-they had rented out. But, the warehouse people forgot to leave the doors unlocked. So, instead of being massively awesome, the game itself turned out massively lame. But, once we outran (more like outwalked) the "guards" and got into the substitute church, we had a blast just talking, drinking caffinated soda at 9 o'clock, drinking hot cocoa, and eating all the doritos and oreos we could stuff into our mouths. Very fun night. And, the 30 Hour Famine is coming up in February sometime. I went last year, and it was one of the most fun 30 hours of my life! I won't go into too much detail, seeing as how this is too long already. But I look forward to the next one. Lately, I've discovered my love of three things. 1) poetry 2)writing 3)Redwall books. I love writing and poetry, and at points throught the day, I find myself narrating what I'm doing out loud, and in past tense. I know, I know, it's really weird. But it does help my writing. Try it sometime. It works. About the Redwall books, I love to read them so much! They take me to their little world of people-like animals. With animals, there's more of a variety in the characters, and they are really adventure books disguised as fantasy. Ferrets are evil, though, and that's the only part I don't like. I've read 15 out of 17 of Brian Jacques books since October. I just need to visit the library and get the two newest ones, Loamhedge and Rakkety Tam. Terrific series. I highly recommend them. I'm so excited I can barely hold it in. Tara and Dave got engaged! At first, when Mom screamed it across the house, I couldn't believe it. I couldn't imagine crazy Tara being engaged. It seems kinda weird, those two. Tara is loud and outspoken. Dave is quiet and calm. Two opposites so made for each other seems odd, but they couldn't be more perfect. I can't wait for the wedding. I'll be the Junior Maid of Honor! First time I've ever been in a wedding. I always wanted a brother, and now I'll have one, the best I could imagine having. Tara and Dave, since I know you'll be reading this, I love you guys. I'm so excited for you, even though I didn't do a good job of communicating it on the phone. I can't wait to see you! There's so much to say to everyone who will be reading this, but most of what I didn't say would be better told in person. It's easier to do sound effects that way. I promise I'll write more often than I have been. Love ya!

Of Tara and Dave, Poems, and Cookies

2004-10-24T17:53:00.000-10:00

Tara and Dave came home last weekend for Dad's birthday, and we had a blast. It was a great weekend, and the house was lovably loud. Dave's two friends came and stayed the night, too. They were very friendly people, and it was fun to have them here as well. It was hard to say goodbye, but no one could cry between laughing fits. Tara decided to make us laugh by hugging Mom and fake sobbing very loudly in the Uno's parking lot. It was hilarious! I thought it was fitting that we ended our great weekend laughing. I went to Dana's birthday party on Friday at the YMCA. It was great, and Laura, her friend Kimmy, and I had a lot of fun together. Dana's ten now. I can hardly believe it! I feel old. Nothing much is going on at school except for a mock election and the fundraiser kick off. I am reading the Redwall books, and I happen to think they're fantastic! I've read Mossflower and Redwall so far. As for poetry, it just ended and I think that I'm the only one who isn't glad it's over. No one in my class seemed to like it much. Tara, you asked for poems, and I don't remember that many of mine. There are like four, but I only remember one of them. I'll post the others once we get our papers back. My Colors At home I'm electric lime, Vivacious and crazy, Loving life and living out, Craving attention like chocolate. But at school I'm passive blue, Shy and softspoken, Quiet and withdrawn in studies, Wanting no attention. That was my first one. It was also the shortest, so that's why I remembered it. Well, I gotta go to bed now. I'm really tired. Incredibly long week.

My Classes

2004-09-28T17:29:00.000-10:00

Using the scale I used last post, here's how I would currently rate my classes: Science: I am not very fond of science right now. We're doing biology, and studying trees. We already did this in third grade, so I find the whole unit very boring and very unappealing to me. ~~4~~ Reading: I love reading, basically because, well, I love to read! ~~10~~ English: It's really easy right now. We're learning about pronouns. How fun! ~~7~~ American Cultures: We haven't done much except Chapter 1 Section 1 of the book and a quiz. But I like history. ~~7~~ Math: I think Algebra is alright, but my teacher gives an enormus amount of homework! she gives like 30 to 50 problems a night! ~~7~~ Gym: Ick. Pure ick. I hate soccer, and that happens to be what we're doing. ~~3~~ Health: Ah, the traditional tobbacco drills. How exciting. ~~3~~ Study Hall: Gotta love the free period to do anything quietly. ~~10~~ Industrial Arts: It's a lot better than last year, that's for sure. We're making candle holders out of wood. I am scared to death of the automatic machines, but all in all it's been pretty good so far (for I.A.). ~~61/2~~ Poetry: I really, really like poetry. I write poems about my ferret and about other things on my computer sometimes. ~~9~~ Band: It's fun, but the band this year can't control themselves. I sit up front, and it's no fun to hear a whistle blowing very loudly and shrilly in your ear. ~~6 1/2~~ Jazz Band: I suspect it will be more fun when I can actually play my music. ~~7~~ Chorus: Chorus is always fun with Mrs. Wenerd. ~~8~~ Team Time Study Hall: Ah, yes. The study hall for yelling at doofus kids who can't handle a half hour of silence at the end of the day. ~~6~~ Well, there they are. I'll update this when something else is going on.

Teacher Time

2004-09-24T10:39:00.000-10:00

So, since you guys probably want to hear how school is going, here's a run-down of my teachers and my ratings for them (ratings go from 1 to 10. 1 being the worst, 10 being the best.) : Science/S.T.S./my homeroom: Mrs. Stanalonis (or Mrs. Serre, as she preferrs)- She's very nice, and not very organized. I hate science right now, but I like her. ~~8~~ Reading: Mrs. Wishard- I love her. She is awesome! ~~10~~ English/poetry: Mr. Mahaffy- He's a very tall, football player kind of guy. Contrary to popular opinion, (and all those horror stories about him giving pushups for forgetting your homework) he is very nice, and is even a Christian! He's just a little strict (and intimidating at first), that's all. ~~9~~ American Cultures/geograpy: Mr. Donahoe- He's kind of hard on hearing, pretty funny, and born and raised city boy (from D.C.) . ~~8~~ Math/probability: Mrs. Wynkoop- I enjoy her a lot. She is extremely nice and tolerant to her algebra students, but math 8 students beware. She believes we can have more freedom than the math 8 students because we show more maturity and responsibility. Which, for the most part is true. ~~9~~ Health: Mr. Eisenhuth- He's all right, but I hate health, so I'm kind of prejudiced toward him. ~~6 1/2~~ Gym: Mrs. Haas- What a name! She is pretty nice, but again, I'm sort of prejudiced. ~~7~~ Industrial Arts: Mr. McNew- I hate this class so much. I am scared to death of the power tools other than the automatic drill, which couldn't hurt a fly. He is alright, I guess, but not friendly and too much straight to the point. ~~4 1/2~~ Band/jazz band: Mr. Thorpe- He's very cool. He's also very relaxed about my playing the piano for the most part. (Did I mention that I now play piano in the Jazz Band?) ~~8 1/2~~ Chorus/showstoppers: Mrs. Wenerd- Boy, is she a trip. She's really... erm... energetic, and she has this great accent. I think it has a hint of New York, and she likes to purse her lips together when she speaks. (I play the piano for chorus now, too.) She is great. ~~9 1/2~~ Let me know how you feel about this, and maybe I'll use the rating system again to rate my classes. But until I get comments, I'm not blogging. So I suggest you get commenting.

School, Home, and Other Things...

2004-09-14T12:56:00.000-10:00

Okay, so it's been a while since I last posted. I've just been too busy. School has started, but it stinks to be caged in classrooms all day! I would much rather have it be summer so I can swim, do stuff with my friends, and stay up late with Melissa. But hey, summer is so short, and it's gone now... Speaking of summer, I don't believe I've told you guys about Myrtle Beach. For me, it was definitly one of the best weeks of my summer. We went to the beach, of course, had seafood (believe it or not, I ate squid and loved it!), and did many other things together. We got to see Georgiana and Bill, and that was great! But my favorite part of all was just being together as a family. That doesn't happen very often, and when it does, it's really special. (And I count Georgiana and Bill as part of my family, too.) School is pretty fun. I am in 8th grade and I like it so far. My teachers are all really nice, but my english teacher is a little scary. He's 6'2'', 305 lbs, and very strict. But I guess I don't mind that so much. I get to eat lunch with my 7th grade friend, Trisha. I have also made a couple of new friends. I am in band and I might be playing piano for the jazz band. I might also quit the oboe and start playing chimes and bells with the percussionists. Please comment on what you think of that... I don't know what to do yet. I am also going to play piano for the 8th grade chorus. I just auditioned for Show Stoppers today. I was in it last year, and it was a ton of fun. It's basically singing, dancing, and smiling. Lots and lots of smiling. For those of you who don't know, my Uncle Rick was in a boogie-boarding accident. He's fine, but needs an operation in a couple of weeks. For now, he has to wear this really hot neck brace, and he can't drive anywhere. So Melissa and I have been taking him places regularly. Which is alright with me because she picks me up from school like every other day. =) Uncle Rick got a new ferret, Sam, to ease his boredom. He is soooooo adorable! As of now, he's 10 weeks old and growing like a weed (a very, very cute weed). He adores Lady, but she thinks he is too little and annoying. He'll jump on her and try to get her to play, but if she's not in the mood she'll first push him away, then hiss at him. But they do play, and it's so cool to watch them wrestle. Well, I guess that's it! I'll try to keep posting.

My Life During Summer Vacation 2

2004-07-30T07:10:00.000-10:00

So... I haven't posted in a while because not much has happened. I'm going through the most boring part of the summer. My mom is visiting her sister in Idaho, and Dad is working in Alabama. Mel and I are crew leaders in vacation bible school this week. I also have to do the skits and I am very nervous about tonight. The theme is SonGames, where it's like the Olympics, only kid style. So in the skits I am a peppy gymnast, and my teammates from "Smallvania" are a runner with an attitude (Katie) and a strong but rather babyish weight-lifter (you wouldn't know him). I have to act like a peppy cheerleader, but that's not so hard. The trouble is that I am gymnastically challenged. But that's alright. The worse I do, the more the kids will laugh. It's all in fun, I guess. This week (in the day) has been very boring. I had much of nothing to do. I did nothing the whole week until Katie came over. We got in the hot tub, and watched Mulan. We had a great time. Yesterday, we went to the pool with Laura and her family... Let's just say that didn't go as well as I had hoped. The pool was awesome, but I couldn't get in. I had had some stomach trouble and couldn't get in. I got really burned because came thinking I was getting in. I don't get burned if I'm in the water. But since I wasn't in, and had no sunblock, my back burned. My face burned a little, too. It wasn't one of my better days. I enjoyed spending time with my friends, though. Tomorrow, Mel and I leave for Tara's house. This will be a fun weekend. We get to stay at her house until Wednesday, when we all (including Tara and Dave) head home. We will get about 4 hours of sleep, then we will head for Myrtle Beach. We have friends who live there and we will stay with them for about a week. It will be awesome, and I hope my burn heals by then so I can get burned some more! =) I'll post more when I get back!

Camp, Huntington, and Other Things

2004-07-03T04:37:00.000-10:00

Hey! I haven't gotten the time to write for a while! The reasons behind that are the fact that I went to Huntington quiz finals with my quiz team, and right after that, I went to camp. Huntington was awesome. Our team was hoping for us to either win beautifully, or lose desperately. On one hand, a total victory. On the other hand, awful loss, but a 13 foot swimming pool. Lucky for us, we were completely blown away by the other teams, and got in 8th place. Not so bad, right? There were only 8 teams! But we all enjoyed the pool. I got to stay in a dorm with Laura and Trisha. That was awesome! We had a ton of fun. The day I got back, I went to camp. It was a blast! I just got back yesterday. I had a really sweet counseler named Karen, and got the most mail of anyone in camp. I think what happened is that my mom told her friend Georgiana to mail me. Georgiana told her friend I was having a mail contest (not true) and her friend got her whole family and her friends to write me. I was the only person who averaged about 10 letters a day! Everything about my summer has been a blast so far. Can't wait to do more fun stuff!

Busiest Week Ever!

2004-06-22T15:42:00.000-10:00

This next week and a half will be the busiest week in my entire summer! On Friday, my quiz team is going to the nationals in IN, so that will be tiring. Then, the day I get back, I'm going to camp for six days! To top it off, I will have to go to WV the day I get back from camp! Whew! As soon as I get home, I will flop on my bed and sleep for days! Lol. Tomorrow, Melissa and I are going to Hershey Park! It's going to be an awesome day with just me and my sis. Wish me luck with my crazy week!

Day of Horror

2004-06-14T09:36:00.000-10:00

Today is the day of horror! I have spent the majority of my day just cleaning my room, and now I have to sort all of my junk! I'm such a pack rat! I just took a break while Mom and Melissa are out running errands... And to top it all off, I'm sick with allergies and a cold! YUCK!

Laughs

2004-06-12T14:32:00.000-10:00

My weekend was nothing short of awesome! I went to Laura's house and spent the night. I had a blast! We got in her pool twice, went shopping, and I even brought my ferret. At about 4:30ish, Laura and I came home, and now we are chatting on the internet (made possible by our new cable internet)! We kinda went weird when she spilled her water. The minute it spilled, we burst out laughing until we couldn't breathe, then we collapsed on the kitchen floor. That incident pretty much sums up my weekend!

My Life During Summer Vacation 1

2004-06-11T10:01:00.000-10:00

Well, I have been helping Mom out at her school (packing, errands, covering and such), and lazing around a lot. I am about to go to Laura's house, so I better make this short!

My Life At The Moment

2004-06-07T09:44:00.000-10:00

Well, today was field day. I really had a blast (other than the facts I jammed my finger, had a horrible stomachache, and had no friends in basketball). I had basketball in the morning and swimming in the afternoon. It was just a crazy, fun-filled day with my pals. The water at the pool was ridiculously cold, though. It was like swimming through a pool of ice cubes! As of now the bird is alive and in the care of the Gifts. Tomorrow is the last day of school! Amber and Brenna (two of my school buds) are coming home with me on the bus after our whole 2 hours of school. I will miss 7th grade, but I am glad for the long break. I need it!

Rescue Mission

2004-06-04T11:49:00.000-10:00

Laura, Katie, and I found a baby bird in my front yard. It was going to be attacked by its mother or a cat, the poor thing. So we rescued it and successfully fed it 1/4 of a worm. We then put it under a bush and went on our merry way. Yay. Hope it lives. We've done our part.

It's me!

2004-06-04T10:17:00.000-10:00

Hey there! I'm mewgirl14 and I am 13! 14 is my favorite number. I love cats and ferrets. I have a ferret named Lady and she is adorable. She can always make me laugh. My family consists of Mom, Dad, my 2 older sisters: Tara and Melissa, my Uncle Rick, my Grandpa, and my ferret. My best friends are Dana, Katie, Kristi, Lady, Laura, and Trisha. My hobbies include spending time with my sisters (when they're around), talking on AOL, playing the computer, playing the Nintendo 64, spending time with my friends, playing with my ferret, spending time with my family, crocheting, and much more. I love all animals. I just thought I'd mention that.