Happy Leap Day!

Cue leap frog party.

im lovin.

there's a party always going on in my house. sometimes, its the pets.

this is twister. once, i tried to say puppy in an english accent, but it came out as poopy.

the nickname stuck, so now i call him poo. (he still loves me)

this is a real rabbit. he is fifteen pounds. his name is buster.

the many faces of poo <3 

my life according to videos.

                                                                                     

 we have random competions around the house.  today was who can take one step on the rug in the

living room,jump, and touch the doorframe

 into the sunroom..

practicing instraments.. loudness..

my sister, being awesome.



maggie dru serenades me.

and everyone is in love with justin bieber.

prep.

i am getting ready for prom, therefore, i am in charge of t-shirt design.  the theme is "under the sea" here are my ideas:

feed-back?

challenge of challenges

this is called the cinnamon challenge.  it is where you are supposed to swallow a teaspoon of cinnamon without choking. it is really difficult, to the point where it is near impossible. 

i have tried for the passed hour to upload the video of my friends and i doing it..
i will try later. i am tired.

for a special person

This post is dedicated to my father.  It's his birthday today, and I wanted to tell a few little stories about us. 
My dad and I have identical personalities. Here are a few examples:

•  We both get easily annoyed. 
• My dad and I can sense when the other is annoyed.  Its seriously a problem.  Someone can do pretty much anything and we will know that the other is cringing inside. 
• loud nose-blowing
• unecessary yawning
• loud breathing
• children who don't know how to walk quietly
• loud drinking/ swallowing
• coughing
• loud gum chewers
• sniffling
• sneezing
• people driving slow
• people who ride the bumper
• bad driviers in general
• unclassy people who don't know adjectives, so they just keep saying swear words every other second.

This list could go on and on.

•  We both can live on little sleep. 
• On multiple occasions my dad and I have gone out shopping at midnight.  On a school night! We have gone to walmart for random crap, food, CDs, movies..
• We went to the midnight sale of the Harry Potter books at Barns N Noble.  There was supposed to be this system in which how people were to recieve their book.  You were assigned a wristband at the time of your arrival.  Its color and number indicated what time you were allowed to purchase your book.  If we would of follwed the rules, we would of gotten out of there at four in the morning, so I played dumb and kept my wristband arm behind my back, and got in the "platinum purchaser" line.  (they were the people who had been at Barns N Noble for hours, waiting)  I got the book within five minutes, and we were out.  I thought I was so bad, being the little sixth grader that I was.
• We both love learning. 
• Math and science, my grades greatly depend on my father's assistance.  He is so incredibly smart. We will sit on my floor in my room and help me memorize concept after concept the night before a test (and into the early morning). He doesn't seem bothered by it, even if it means I cut three to four hours into his sleep.  I have no idea what I am going to do in college..

Oh, and this is our song.  Yes, we have a song, don't judge. It is from when I was little, we would dance.

Ok. I am tired, I will write more tomorrow.

double thoughts..

      double win.  I was sitting in class today filling out my schedule for my senior year.  Yes, I said senior year.  Anyways, my friend finished early, so she started filling out college applications.  WOAH WOAH WOAH. I am still a kid.  It is unfathomable that in less than two years I will be attending a school far, far away from this lovely place I call home.  I can't believe that my time is almost up at my parents' place. 

     It seems like only moments ago Spencer and I were playing basketball in our pajamas (Spencer's being Buzz Lightyear, mine with pink flowers) in the kitchen on Kirkwood in Iowa City.  It seems like seconds ago that my dad was filming me dance dreadfully on the orange carpet in the basement of the duplex on Friendship Street.  It seems like its only been days since my favorite thing to do was jumping on the trampoline behind the house on Douglas.  Oh, and minutes since the snow days in Lost Meadows when we would have to pave a path with empty water drums just to get our sleds down the hill.  It seems only moments that we lived so simply, but I didn't know the difference.  I almost wish I could go back and realize how blessed I was.  I had no idea how simply beautiful my life was; no worries, no stress, no obligations. 

     I can't comprehend that sometime in the too-near future I will be starting a new story on my own.  I will be looking back saying, "I remember when I was in high school, we always wore insert awkward style trend here"  And also, it is unimaginable that it is possible I could be a wife (wait, what) in less than five years, and then the love cycle begins again. 

     I can't wait to be a poor college wife who lives on $15 a month and doesn't mind because I will be blinded by love, excitement, and new adventures.

xooxox. ehemm

post vday.

Love always exsists, even after valentine's day..

We wanted to make these cute treats, so we did.

I mustache you a question.

Will you be my valentine?

if you can't grow a mustache, have a personality that is cool enough to have one.

post number 43.

Today I changed from my winter-y look (dark hair) to a spring-y look (blonde)

I'm back to my real hair color. <3

I was going to post a picture, but then I was washing my face with this old face scrub thing and my skin broke out in an allergic reaction.  I will spare you the horror, and post a picture tomorrow <3.

Feels good to be a blonde, even though we are "stupid", blondes have more fun ;).

be my.. valentine.

So on this very special day in mid- February when love is the number one thing on peoples' minds, what do I do?  I babysit.  Blake and Bennett.  Oh how I love those boys.  Anyways.  I put Blake to bed, and so it was just Bennett and I. 

We were coloring, and drawing hearts, and Bennett looks up and says: who's yo valentwine? 

And I responded with a sad, "no one.. " 

He then cheered me up with a "I'll be your valentwine!"

So today, I being 17, got a valentine, who is 4 who couldn't be sweeter.

Also, another quick story.  My sister, Claire who is in kindergarten, came home from school today.  I asked her what she did in school, knowing that it was valentine's day party time.  She casually said, oh, well, um, Charlie and I danced... and then we got married. 

Oh good, my little five year old sister has more love than I do on V-Day.

here's a cute song to brighten your day.

cupid's gotcha.

It is Ellie's last year of valentine exchanges. 

 :( 

We had to go all out. 

what's gone down.

in cronological order:

• school lock-down
• boys basketball
• ACT
• TWIRP

Ok, now I know what you are thinking.  SCHOOL LOCKDOWN!? TELL ME EVERY DETAIL.  And I wish I could, but for the sake of my safety, I probably shouldn't say much.  All I will say is even though you might think that no one is paying attention to your Twitter account, people do, and they take it seriously.  It effects everyone.

Way to go DV boys!!! We played Dell Rapids on Friday night.  The Dell's boys are supposed to be #1 in the state.  We kept up with their score the whole night (aka I was jumping, screaming, and cheering.. kinda lost my voice). At the last minute of the game, we pulled away and beat them by 8! 60-68.  Best game of my life.



For the past monthish I have been preparing for the test of my life.  I got up at 6:30 in the morning, and left at 7:15.  So I am driving along, heading towards West High, and up creeps the 7:30 morning train.  Awesome.  Luckly, my friend Ben Cork, was caught with me. 



With the train, we were still on time to the dreaded test.  We sat and strained our minds from 8:30 to 1pm. 

To top it all off, what do I do?  I go to a dance.  Remember this?  Yeah, the dance was tonight.

 

We started our date off with pictures at my house, followed by dinner at Iron Hill at the mall.  We had to wait 45 minutes for a table, so we walked around trying to pass the time. 

I have to say, the food was terrific!  Then headed to get fro-yo at peachwave.  The dance was from 9-11. (It was entertaining, but I am getting bored with this post, so I will talk more details later this week).

xoxoxoxoxo

What is real?

What is true, and what’s not?  This generation is growing up with technology in their hands. It has only been a couple of years of prime social networking, yet most high school students have managed to be a part of at least one network.  Some high school students sit for hours creeping on friends and waiting for exciting information to pop up.

“I am constantly on Twitter; I tweet all day,” said Kylee Meier (14).  “[If I deleted my Twitter account] I would suffer from withdrawals.”

Phones, computers, iPods; these electronics assist students express themselves through social media.  Facebook and Twitter are the most common of the social media sites. These sites allow anyone to constantly change their statuses via phones, upload pictures and scroll through information posted by friends.

What does “Facebook Official” actually mean?  Some people suppose that if the relationship isn’t posted on Facebook, it’s not official.  Others are the more traditional type; believing that relationships can be sustained without the whole social media community’s knowledge. 

“You are letting your entire social network contacts know your personal business when you post that you are in a relationship,” said Jennifer Havlik a reading teacher. 

I decided to test this theory, to see what kind of reaction I would get if I changed my relationship status.  Hesitantly, I navigated through the confusing layout of Facebook and changed my relationship status from “single” to “in a relationship”.  Within a mere ten minutes, I had responses.  I was flooded with texts and questions in my inbox from distanced family and friends who were trying to get the inside scoop.  Unfortunately, I had no exciting news, but what I realized is that I had no idea that so many people are constantly watching and waiting for something exciting to pop up on their news feed.  It almost scares me that so many people see every move I make on Facebook. 

“I think as a society we become more desensitized and more unsocial because of social networks.  Because people aren’t even face to face, not even calls. It’s just texts and writing on peoples’ walls,” said Havlik.

This proposes another problem teachers face at Dakota Valley is students are turning final drafted papers that are written in short hand, or “texting language”. 

“It is destroying the whole concept of capitalization.  People are getting more comfortable talking online.  Their grammar skills are not used, and some students will turn in assignments similar to what they would say over Facebook.  It complicates things when I want a developed, thought-out paragraph.  It is a skill that is being lost,” said English teacher, Kim Bacon. 

With all of these technological gadgets today, it is easy to get lost in the excitement of it all.  However, think about how our generation is going to be remembered.  Don’t make us be thought of as the generation who sat on the computer and didn’t know how to write a sentence in correct form.  If we can only express ourselves over texts and instant messages, then what is our children’s generation going to be like? What will we teach them?

alert.

Went to the basketball game today. Popcorn machine went mad, resulting in the fire alarm going off.  The entire crowd and teams were rushed out of the building into the cold. We stood for 20 minutes outside waiting for the signal to come back in.  I slightly enjoyed watching my fellow peers freeze. It was entertaining.

yep. that is my brother's face.

Pretty sure half of the people are on their phones "tweeting" about this experience. 

funniest part of the night:

these kids were in the shower when the alarm went off. Abby (left) came outside in a towel. 

what a beautiful day.

we're not scared.

(its a quote from one of my favorite children's books: We're Going on a Bear Hunt.)

I'm doing this thing called the egg project.  I have to make them stand out with lighting and backgrounds.  I really liked how some of them turned out.   

This one was not taken outside, but I really like the contrast and the tone of the picture.  

in review

I couldn't stop thinking about this book all day! I just wanted to go home, curl up in my hammock, and step into my fantasy world in Catching Fire.  Here is my book review for the school newspaper.

The first book of The Hunger Games series starts with a girl named Katniss Everdeen.  She lives in the 12^th District of Panem.  Panem is the new United States (after an uprising, the United States falls and the new country Panem forms.)  Panem is extremely dictatorship, with the Capitol having all the power. 

Katniss is tough, hardworking, and determined to keep her family alive.   Katniss lives with her mother and younger sister, Prim.  After her father died in a mine accident, Katniss hunts in the woods with her best friend, Gale, so she can feed her family.  She is a fantastic archer, and Gale is handy with traps.   Together, they make an incredible team. 

                Every year the Capital of Panem hosts the Hunger Games.  It is an event that requires every district to provide one girl and boy between the ages of 12 to 18 to fight to the death in the Hunger Games arena.  The fight between the teenagers is broadcasted live throughout the whole country, and is mandatory that every citizen watches their friends, or sometimes family kill and be killed.  The games are a way to entertain the Capitol citizens, and at the same time, it keeps the Districts from starting an uprising. 

                When the dreaded day comes around to draw names of the tributes, Katniss is soothing her sister reassuring that her name will not be drawn.  However, Prim’s name is called.  Katniss knows that if Prim goes to the games, she will never see her again.  Katniss spontaneously cries out that she will volunteer to take her sister’s place.  After the emotional moments of Prim being pried off of Katniss by Gale, the boy’s name is called.  His name is Peeta Mellark. 

                After the train ride to the Capital, Katniss and Peeta are trained along with the other twenty-two teenagers who were chosen.  They are prettied up, fed well, and treated like celebrities.  After a week of intense preparation for their soon-to-be deaths, the kids are thrown into the arena; eight are killed brutally in the first twenty minutes.

The games continue on with twists and surprises that are difficult to describe unless you have already read The Hunger Games.  I strongly suggest this trilogy: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay.  It is a book out of the normality of typical futuristic novels. I must warn, it can get pretty graphic in the descriptions of how some of the tributes die, but by the time they die, you want them to anyways. 

 I loved The Hunger Games.  It has something for everyone; action, romance, and entertainment for any age, gender, or personality. I gave up a few nights of sleep just to see what would happen next.  It took me off guard; I had no idea what to expect next.  Its plot is wonderfully creative with results that never crossed my mind.  The movie comes out March 23, 2012, I can guarantee that I will be there school night or not.  I give these series 6 out of 5 stars.  Yes, it is that good.

wishing

I love people who can play the guitar.  I idolize them for the patience of learning, the pain of sore fingertips after a long day of practicing, but mostly for sticking with it.  They definately will benefit from their time put in.