Here we go again

Hey! I don't really think there's anyone fervently checking this anymore, but this is the reason I now post. There is a group of malicious poachers settled in the savannas of Africa that have a main purpose in life to take advantage of innocent giraffes who are very cute and large. The poachers see value in animals with long necks because they assume a relationship between the giraffe's long neck and large profits, though this is entirely illogical. In order to maximize their profits and not get caught by police enforcement, coppers, or po-po, they have brought into utilization a machine so vile, so terrible, so technologically advanced and somewhat shiny (depending on what model you get because the more luster the machine has the greater it's potential wealth and possibility of crows feeling the need to thieve it, although that's aside the point), so immensely mad that they brought it into utilization. The machine emits a wave with a special frequency and amplitude that exactly taps into the brains of innocent humans who were once thinking about giraffes to make them... stop thinking about giraffes. I post this so that we can once again bring giraffes into existence. Bring them from that undefined realm of not being thought of and therefore poached to the more so defined realm of being thought of and not poached. Save their lives and their valuable tusks that would otherwise be sold for ivory. I post this for one cause and one cause alone (not counting the other causes I post this, of course). Emancipate Two Giraffes.

to all don's customers

Dear Don's customers,

-I'm sorry but I don't remember that you have been in 3 times already. I have 100+ customers a day and unless you did something memorable I won't remember when you were in last.

-The peanuts are just around the corner there.

-Yes we do sell newspapers, please don't just grab one and leave the money on the pile, we don't pay attention and see it all the time.

-Don't get in line unless you have your money with you. Check before I start ringing up your stuff.

-It's OK to leave stuff in the front if you tell us you are coming back for it.

-We are looking for the PLU number not the name of the fruit when we look for the sticker

- If its not the exact same kind of fruit don't put it in the same bag even if it is the same price

- Just because the night staff is generally teenagers it does not mean we are incompetent idiots (though sometimes we do fit in that category) give us a chance to answer your question before talking to us in your baby voice

- I'm required to ask if you have rewards card, just answer me straightly instead of sighing, giving me an annoyed look, and saying no i don't have on and i don't want one either.

-When I explain the jackpot you should listen so you know whats happening instead of asking me to explain again for you

- I'm sorry if we aren't always the cheeriest bunch, we have school, homework, tests, extra-curricular, drama, and a job. we try to put that aside when we come to work but it doesn't always work.

- When you talk to us like we are normal people it is a good thing. although we will only see each other for a few min. a small conversation is a good thing. We try but after the 50Th person in our line it gets a bit repetitive.

- If you know you cashier somehow its OK to acknowledge that. Even if you are a teacher.

- If you are buying cigarettes instead of just telling us which ones you want watch us go get them and tell us if we have the wrong ones. Most of us can't legally smoke and have no idea what you are talking about when you say Doral menthol light 100's hard pack. we are better if you give us a color to look for :)

- If you are from out of town you don't need to tell us, we probably already know if your not a regular.

- Balloons are fun but if you have a big order please don't stand and watch us blow them up it makes us self-conscience and go slower

- Don't complain if we can't use your coupon, if you read the fine print you would know why and wouldn't have tried it.

- No, we can't return it if you don't have a receipt

- We know where stuff is, if you ask we will help you find it.

- If you don't want something give to someone at the front instead of setting it in a random aisle, we get in trouble for that.

- Don't let your kids throw stuff on the ground, push everything back in the shelves and run wild around the store, this is a job for us, we have stuff to do instead of babysitting your children.

- If your kids don't ask for candy they might not get any, but have them ask nicely. We don't appreciate rudeness from someone we are about to give free candy to.

- Accounts are a great thing, don't abuse them or let your kids abuse them.

- When it's busy don't go get another item from the shelf, if its not go for it!

- If we have seen you wallet, rewards card, credit card or other identifiable object we would have called you, if we haven't called you but you think you have left it then ask for it don't demand it. we work shifts and not every bit of knowledge is passed from shift to shift, we will look for it.

- We have this awesome thing called a rain check, if its on sale and we are out we will give you one and you will get the item for the sale price, it will be OK!

- The bread we have sitting on pallets on the carts and the last register are saved for someone, they pre-ordered. Don't take their, call for your own please!

- We get trucks every Mon and Thurs. shop then if you want something that is on sale or new.

- We get Casey's stuff every morning at 6ish, the stuff on the shelf is only 1-2 days old if not from that morning, we put out everything we have, no we don't have anything fresher

- If our prices bother you don't complain to the cashier or stocker, we can't do anything about it talk to Don or Betty, they are reasonable people and you can probably work something out.

- Please don't come in with 5 min left and start your weekly grocery shopping. We don't want to stay after 10 we have been there for hours before.

- We will help you reach things if you ask nicely and not demand, we will even look in the back for you

- This is an after school job for most of us, we are tired not lazy

- Call us by name is makes us want to help you, that is why we wear name tags, and if you do chances are we will try to remember you name and call you by it too.

Sincerely

A girl who likes her job and wished people could read her mind and be civil

P.S. didn't mean to rant but I felt the need to vent! feel free to comment if you need to vent about whatever kind of work you do too! :)

Moving On

Tomorrow (as you all know) I will be leaving for college. Now this is the goal of all students to get through those long, long days of classroom lectures and billions of worksheets and fun classmate groups. And yeah I will admit that I am super duper excited for college and all the new opportunities, but I never thought I would ever question going. I know gasp! Now, and this is the part where anyone reading this will feel loved, I only question going because I won't have anyone I got to know with me. Sure I will meet plenty of new people, but it will never ever be the same. And yes I get to come back every 4 months. Which means I am only gone about 2/3 of the year, but nonetheless you all have made it harder for me to want to leave. I am so angry at you guys for being this amazing!!!! But actually, I will be fine, and I love you all. Continue to post, so I can somewhat stay connected. Have a great year, and you will hear from me!

Haiti

i just got back from haiti! i was there for 2 weeks and fell in love with the people there! they have soo little but they are so joyful because they have God in their lives. i saw so many horrible things there. people living on dirt floors with thatched roofs and still so happy. children that are bloated with red hair because of malnutrition and still so happy. people who own one shirt and one pair of pants and mismatched shoes and still so happy. the kids during kids camped just wanted to be loved on and thats all they needed. the youth during youth camp getting up at 4 in the morning to sing praises. everyone dancing because they are so filled with the holy spirit. i also saw and heard things that you can't really imagine in the states. saw voodoo alters, heard from a former witch doctor, saw a girl get a demon cast out of her. all so real but also impossible to imagine in sioux county let alone orange city. about 50 people came to know Christ during the 2 weeks i was there and many more recommitted their lives.

i saw mountains and valleys and caves and trees and animals that are all so beautiful that i don't know how you can't believe in God. a language barrier that seemed almost none existant at times. so many little things that God did that could only be God things as well as some big! kristies mom died while we were there. the beginning of the second week. so she and her family and vali and wreni left and so it was our youth group and the local haitian youth group and the translators led the youth conference. with little to no planning and a language barrier that was very obvious at that time. so many awesome things happened there with 40 people giving their lives to christ in just that 4-5 day time. so many things that could have gone wrong went right.

planning in haiti is impossible that is something we were told from the beginning. that only became a reality that second week when jean jean and kristie and family left. there were suppost to be crafts and games with the youth and it really turned more into a free time to try and hang out with them even though there was a language barrier. there were culteral differences that didn't make much sense to us americans.

through all of these differences you don't have to try to see God working. during my devo times in the morning i couldn't help but wonder why i couldn't see God working in the states. sure there are those obvious times of God things but never as much as in Haiti. during one of my devos times i found a ton of awesome verses that just kept telling my that i need to ask God and be intentional about seeing his works. then i looked at my usual quiet time at home with God. generally it consisted of 15-20 min of reading scripture in the morning with maybe 5 min in prayer and thats if i even remembered to have a quiet time. compared to the devo time we set aside in haiti. from 6:00 to 7:00ish or till breakfast was ready (on haitian time that usually meant closer to 7:30 or 8) most of that time spent in prayer for the people i was around and the place i was in. No wonder i felt closer to God. i was being so much more intentional and was really enjoying my devo time.

the day after that hit me was the day that one girl had a demon in her and cast it out during the youth conference. that was a big struggle for me bc i realized that satan and demons were real but i didn't like to picture them in orange city. our youth group had a great talk about what happened that night and how powerful satan really is and how in orange city we don't like to think about him, we like to imagine that he isn't real at all and has no effect on us, how we act, and the people around us.

a few days after this we talked with Price who is a former witch doctor. voodoo is basically devil worship, witch doctors are kind of like our pastors. they pray to the demons and bring curses upon people when they are paid for it. the first week i was there we had talked to him too but it hadn't really hit me that it was a real religion. after the demon being cast out i paid atttention when he talked. he said explained what he did as a witch doctor and how he lived his life. people would come to him to put curses on people, or have demons come into people. he also talked about they made people into "zombies" it was all very creepy and strange but also very real. the most amazing thing he told us was that whenever he came in contact with a true christian not a fake christian he couldn't do anything in worshiping the devil anymore. he couldn't call demons. the demons that were there had no power and that he couldn't curse or touch with any sort of voodoo a true christian. that was so cool! my mind kept wandering to the last bible study we had about demons an the devil and what leah had said about cj saying at some point in your life you will have some sort of demonic experience and it made me so excited to realize that bc i'm a true christian not a fake the devil can't touch me without Gods approval and God cares for me and won't let any harm come to me!

What a great trip! i may never be able to go back (though i would really love to) but i won't ever forget thoses lessons i learned during my 2 weeks there

History Lessons

Saint Basil’s Cathedral

            Today I went to Google to Google something as normal and I say that there was a different design on the website today. Today Google is honoring Saint Basil’s Cathedral. It is the 450^th birthday of the cathedral. I of course clicked on the picture to see what it was all about. And I started to read some interesting thins about this historic building. So I have decided to share it with you!

            Saint Basil’s Cathedral was constructed in 1561. It was hugely different from the architecture of the day. This Cathedral has 9 different domes that are all very brightly colored. It also has 2 spires. The inspiration for this church is unknown, but many guesses have been made. One such guess is that the architect’s inspiration came form the book of Revelation. There is a description of Heaven in the book that uses bright colors and this where the various colors came from.

“

And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

”

      

This building is a very unique building. If you ever find yourself in the Red Square in Moscow, Russia make sure to check it out! Enjoy the colors and its wonderful rich history!

 Nancy

Weekend

How can one not love the weekend? It is so unpredictable and so much fun (unless, of course, you have to work). Here's a little peak into mine.

So, Saturday I decided to spend some time with my dysfunctional family. Mother Amando drove as father Drew poked her and messed with the radio. Twin brother Trev-Bot sat in the back with younger sister Young Driezy, and Jo (aka, Oops) sat next to me as we knit. As our parents fought, our pet TomTom led us to Sioux Falls safely somehow and we enjoyed a lovely morning at the zoo. After eating an economical sack lunch, mother decided we should to go the Washington Pavilion because the zoo was so small and we were done with it. We got to the pavilion and saw two Imax movies that scared the crap out of Oops and nauseated me, but it was fun. After spending the afternoon there, we decided to pull a sweet little prank on our pals Ginny and Jon Bon Jovi, and I think they quite enjoyed it. ;)

After a long day, we headed to little sis Young Driezy's house and watched little Harry Potter and friends in their first year at Hogwarts. I left early due to exhaustion. On the way home, I realized I had twin Trev-Bot's water bottle and decided to hold it hostage in my car until he feeds me music of the Owl City sort.

On Sunday I worked at the lovely Quizno's, and of course the Sunday we only have two people working a huge crowd decides they want toasty sandwiches. Yay for me. After a busy day until three, I headed home to read some Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and ended up finishing it. This is my conclusion of the book.

I

LOVE

SEVERUS

SNAPE.

And yes, he was my favorite from the beginning. I almost cried on page 658, but I manged to keep my eyes dry. All in all, a wonderful weekend.

And yes, Jo, like the rest of us admitted into the Circle of Knitting, you are a granny, and no one cares. ;)

Am I a Granny..?

Today I dug out my moms knitting bag. Yes, there was once a time that she attempted knitting, and failed. Lucky for me, though, I got her:

• T-pins
• circular needles
• patterns
• stitch book
• a few new pairs of needles
• some things that I don't know what they are OR what they do (but I WILL find out!)

I started a hat today! i can only wonder to myself as I knit my little blue hat.. am I a granny..? More importantly, do I care? :)

So I'm gonna remove the title image. And using our suggestions (add color, bold title, etc.), we can revise and edit it (sorry more writer than artist). Would anyone like to volunteer to draw the final draft? It must be in thin Sharpie marker, or the scanner will not read the image properly. You're going to want to make sure you have colored Sharpie markers as well. Let me know if you think of anything else I need to add to this post.

babysitting

so tonight i babysat a different family then i normally do. the father works with my dad and bought my night of babysitting from the haiti auction. when i got there, there was pizza and their father (kenton) gave me instructions for the night. the usual not to many snack, they can play with the neighbor kids, heres a movie thing. he said they don't watch to much tv but since they are home schooled i expected a few different things from what i had grown up with. so we watch dumbo, play a board game, play frisbee, jump on their trampoline, watch some brady bunch (on dvd of course), and do some art stuff. their parents come home and ask me how the night went. compared to what i'm used to babysitting it was marvelous! there was the small sibling spats of what game to play or what thing to do first outside but nowhere near what i'm used to for fighting! so when i get home i'm confused to get a call from their mom saying the youngest (caroline) wants to talk to me. when she gets on the phone she adamantly apologizes for being mean to me even after i assure her she was fine and not mean at all! i didn't know what to say when she first apologized! now the kids i'm used def. aren't horrible kids but they are brother and sister that are used to getting their way! these 2 girls i babysat are home schooled together and got along with each other just fine! i sure was surprised by that call and it got me thinking why aren't all kids home schooled and as perfect as these were! i mean if the sibling spat and occasionally going out of turn is being mean this world is a horrible place!

knitting=bribery

so today i had the miraculous experience of getting to babysit (my usual kids) but not having to give any time outs! usually Tierney is the the instigator of events that need a time out to fix so i was wondering why she was behaving so nicely today of all days. then i realized it. i was knitting when she was playing nicely with herself and/or gavin. she knew the scarf i was knitting was for her. she also quickly figured out that if she was naughty i stopped knitting and read if i was angry or punished her. neither of these options were ideal for her because she wanted the scarf as soon as possible. so even when i said we should go play outside since it was getting beautiful she knew that would mean i wasn't knitting, so she said she was going to go play with her friend Eden down the street. she even put off going to the pool! that is big for a 5 year old! so in retrospect she definitely knew that playing nice and not bothering me got herself a scarf, also she was playing with me to get something she wanted but overall i'm okay with that because it meant i got a day of peace and relative quiet (for babysitting a 5,7, and 12 year old) and i realized (rather quickly i might add) that she was doing this and now, in turn, i have a totally new weapon to use when she misbehaves! :)

American Stuborness at Its Finest

So just today my family, Laura, and I went to Perkin's by Okoboji for lunch. The place was pretty packed since it is the 4th of July. We finally got a table in back. Laura starts to go towards her chair, but our table is close to another table. Laura accidentally bumps an upside down babychair you find in restaurants with a babyseat in it. The seat with the baby in it slides down and hits the ground. Everyone is silent, but the baby is fine because the seat doesn't tip over. In fact when they put the seat back up there, the baby is just smiling. So Laura apologizes, and we all sit down and order and eat. When the family at the table next to us leaves, the mother does the exact same thing. The family tells the waitress that these babychairs are not safe to set babyseats in (so basically they were complaining and making a moderate scene about it). As they leave, I look at the upside down seat and notice a circle with a slash through the picture of a babyseat in an upside down babychair.

Add on part #3

Olivia studies the photograph carefully when she notices a sign behind the man and piano.
"James, look isn't that the club Mom said Grandma would sing at and got her nickname Moyra? The Orchid Lounge?"
James quickly snatches the photograph and lookes at the grainy image of the sign.
"Yeah, it is. I remember when Grandma stopped there once to say hello to her friend Violet Stimpler. The place is so old now I think they are gonna sell it to a travel agency."
"Do you think Violet would know who this man is?"
"Well Grandma said she was going to visit Mrs. Trelya. We could walk over to see her."
So Olivia and James quickly gathered the letter and photograph and sprinted up the steps. Suddenly, they collided with Grandma as she was walking towards the door.
"James! Olivia! What is all the fuss?" questioned Grandma.
"Uh, nothing. Just playing tag," Olivia responded quickly. She slapped James's shoulder. "Tag you're it!"
"Alright, you two be careful. I am going over to Lyda Trelya's house if you need me."
"Don't worry Grandma. We will be fine," answered James.
Grandma reaches over to Olivia and James to hug and notices a piece of paper in Olivia's hand.
"Sweetheart, what is that in your hand?"
"Oh just a...a..." Olivia turns her head to James. James glances around the room and answers, "That is just Olivia's drawing of your cat Willy."
"Oh can I see Olivia?"
"No it isn't finished yet," Olivia gasps quickly, "Grandma, aren't you going to be late?"
"Goodness! Look at the time! You are absolutely right. I will be back in an hour. Have fun!"
Grandma grabs her purse and shawl and walks out the door leaving Olivia and James to relax.
"That was so close James! I don't know if we should go anymore. This is a private letter to Grandma. Maybe we aren't suppose to know."
"Olivia, she is our Grandma, and we deserve to know who this guy is. Maybe he was an old husband or just a friend. It won't hurt. Besides we already know this much, why not know the rest?"
"Oh alright, but we have to be back before Grandma comes home."
"Don't worry an hour will be plenty of time."
So the two opened the door and strolled down the road knowing that once they knew the truth there was no going back.

Story part #2

I love this idea! so here is my addition to the story. Of course i made it turn in to a love story/mystery! Enjoy!

James quickly opened up the envelope. Olivia started to yell. “James that is not our envelope we should not being reading Grandma’s things!”

“What does it matter! This thing looks like it hasn’t been touched in year. Apparently it isn’t important because otherwise it wouldn’t be in this ugly old thing.”

James and Olivia both looked down at what was in James’s hands. In his hand James was holding and old photograph and a wrinkled old piece of paper that had a love letter written on it. James’s face creased into a disgusted look. He almost dropped to paper but Olivia who was a hopeless romantic snatched it out of his hands. She scanned the letter for names and clues.

The letter was addressed to someone named Rose. At the end it was signed by a man named Henry. The letter was written in beautiful cursive. It looked as though the paper was stained with tears. Olivia read through the letter as fast as she could. After she read it she almost broke into tears.

The letter was written to the woman, Rose. It explained why the man, Henry, would be leaving. It was written so well that Olivia felt like she was in a different world when she read it. After she came back to reality James was still standing there looking disgusted.

“What is wrong with you? This letter is one of the sweetest things I have ever read and all you can do is stand there looking stupid,” said Olivia.

“That is super gross! Grandma’s name is Rose, Olivia,” responded James. “That letter was written to Grandma.”

“Oh, well, I still don’t see why that is bad. Grandma is entitled to have a life right?” asked Olivia.

They both sat there in silence thinking about a time where their Grandma was in love with a man named Henry. James took the picture from Olivia’s hand and studied it. The man in the picture was young and handsome. He was standing in a dimly light club next to the very piano that was in the room with them.

“I wonder who this man is…” said James.  

Random Add-on Story! Part One

Ever get it where you want to blog but don't know what to blog about? I get that a lot, so I thought of this pretty awesome idea of having an add-on story. If you want to participate, just title a post Add-on Story Part (#). Feel free to add and delete characters and twist the plot in crazy directions! That's what it's here for. So, without further a-doo, Part One!

It had been an extremely warm and muggy summer afternoon, and twins James and Olivia Brown had tried everything to stay cool at their grandmother Moyra's un-air conditioned home. The two swam in the creek which had warmed in the summer heat and made lemonade, but the ice couldn't even keep it cold. Finally they had the idea to go down to the very scary basement where they never wanted to play. However, it was the only cool place in the whole house. James and Olivia grabbed their comic books and magazines as they headed down the creaky old staircase.

Once at the bottom of the stairs, James found the chain for the single bulbed light and pulled. A dim, yellow light shown on the cement walls and floors as well as on the ancient yellowing washer and dryer. At the left end of the room, Olivia spotted an old door.

"What do you suppose is in there?" she asked her brother.

"I don't know. Maybe some old furniture? Hopefully some couches we can sit on and some decent lighting," James replied, making his way towards the door. However, what they saw inside the room wasn't at all what they had expected. The only item in the room was an old upright piano that had been painted a sickly lime green color many years ago.

"Why would Grandma keep an old piano down here?" asked James. Olivia shrugged as she made her way towards it. She pressed her finger down on an A, but nothing came out. Confused, she opened the piano, but instead of finding the usual contents of a piano, there was nothing inside. Nothing but an old envelope.

Oooo! Suspense! Someone take part two!

The Ultimate Question

So Virginia, I have now realized that your though bubble does include a canoe. Now to explain why I didn't see that was because I thought it was a broom with wings. (If you can't tell, I enjoy Harry Potter very much.) But then I remembered that you don't really like Harry Potter, so why would you be thinking of that! Which led to wonder why you don't like probably one of the greatest series ever writen! So the ulitmate question is: Virginia, why do you not enjoy Harry Potter, a well written and non-teenish book?

random!

i just realized that I'm going to miss more babysitting time because on wed i have a dentist! wow what a week! then I'm going to go on vacation for a while (till the 4th) and then i have a week and then go to Haiti! I'm super excited! i also decided to include that more people should post because i really enjoy reading what you people write (even if its super random or "bad") so ya write stuff! also if you have any skirts that go below the knee that you don't wear anymore that would look really nice on Haitians you should give them to me :)

Risefest

so here i am sitting at "rise fest" (I'm actually sitting in my dad's secretary's office) I'm kinda wishing that i wasn't here because the sound of the bass of the band playing on the practice field is giving me a headache (remember i am inside) and i thought that i would announce to the world that the bag that Malea picked out for me when she and my mom were shopping is too small (she is going to read this over my shoulder soon and its an never ending joke:) i also thought that i should say that babysitting this next week is going to be super fun (not that is always isn't) because i will only have 1 child to "sit" on! so we can do whatever we want without arguments and such things :) even though i can easily see her getting a time out because she argued with me on something she shouldn't have... o well :) i will also miss about 2 hrs of babysitting because of our Clari sectional which will rock because we prolly wont actually do anything... :) except maybe eat some delicious food Lindsey has made (used magic spells to make) which does make me happy (Lindsey if you read this u better know i am expecting something amazing from you!)

Meet the Stanhopes!

As many of you know, I don't play many video games. In fact, I only play one - Sims 3. Sims allows you to create people, build their homes, and run their lives. I have a super sweet Sims family I'd like to introduce you to.

Jeremy

Jeremy is the founding father of the Stanhope family. He is the only one I actually created from scratch, although he was much younger then. Jeremy is the Star News Anchor of Sunset Valley, and takes home quite a bit of cash. In the early days, his boss, Cyclone, was dating his wife, Ayesha, but he fought hard to win her over. In the end, Cyclone became his nemesis and later died of 'old age'. Jeremy has completed his life goal of becoming a Star News Anchor and is enjoying being with his family and building up their home.

Ayesha

Ayesha is Jeremy's loving wife whom he has enjoyed many years with. Ayesha is Sunset Valley's Emperor of Evil and runs a lot of those horrible schemes around town, including taking over the military base. Ayesha does a lot of side jobs to gain extra cash. While not working her night shifts, she is a loving grandmother who cares for her grandchildren while her children are away. She has completed her life goal of mastering the logic and athletic skills.

Nikolas

Nikolas is the only child of Jeremy and Ayesha. He is a trauma surgeon at Sacred Spleen Memorial Hospital in Sunset Valley. He works nights and is on call a lot, so he is extremely tired. Nikolas has not yet completed his life goal of mastering three different skills. In his free time, Nikolas loves to paint and has just completed a brilliant quality painting of a lighthouse.

Alissa

Alissa is married to Nikolas and does not get along with her mother-in-law Ayesha very well at all. Alissa wants the perfect garden with eight perfect quality plants and has yet to complete this wish. She currently is a Carnivorous Plant Tender. Alissa has also become famous by accident and currently is a 3/5 star celebrity. She gets discounts on meals and has been publicly disgraced once. After gaining a star or two, Alissa has decided to make this her other goal in life.

Eliza

Eliza is the first born child of Nikolas and Alissa. She currently attends school, but she also enjoys being outdoors and talking to her grandmother Ayesha who basically raised her. Eliza doesn't know what she wants to do with her life yet, but she does have a knack for inventing new ideas.

Christopher

Last but not least is little baby Christopher, the second child of Nikolas and Alissa. Currently Christopher just sits in his crib all day and cries when something is wrong. One day his parents hope he will stop going in his pants and perhaps take up the piano.

Well, those are my Sims! Also, I have officially called the yellow fish, and his name is Cina. ^_^

Fish Drama

Alright so I have noticed a distinct problem in fish naming. So far, Jenananananna and myself have our own fish, but Leigh and Jo have accidentally claimed the black fish as theirs. Now Jo you used a comment, no one reads comments except the person who posted. Leigh on the other hand wrote it in a post, so who gets the fish?

Please let us know to solve this problem, and remember to name your own!

say yes to the dress

so as i'm watching say yes to the dress i'm wondering where they find the people to put on this show. more than just the brides tho the mothers are also very ridiculous if not more so than the brides. they pick out the weirdest dresses and say the daughter has to love it... then the mother will admit that they don't know their daughter as well as they once did... when the daughter isn't there to hear it... and really who had $6000 to spend on a wedding dress they will wear one time. i mean if i had an extra $6000 i would buy o idk a car or pay the bills or maybe even put it in savings so i'm not broke in the future. but na lets just spend it on a dress that will be out of fashion in 10 yrs and you will be made fun of by your children for wearing. just save your money people!

Yummy!!!!

In the world there are many flightless birds, but no of them as useful and tasty as the chicken. Chicken. Just saying the word makes my stomach rumble. Chicken is so delicious and juicy and amazing. Chicken is like a wonder food. It is versatile, that you can basically eat chicken with everything. Chicken is good cooked all different ways. From frying to grilling to roasting to broiling. Chicken is used in so many other ways too! People eat it with waffles! They make hot dogs out of chicken! (which is super gross btws) But generally chicken is AWESOME!

Think about it when ever someone asks what some sort of meat tastes like the common response is chicken. Now I know some people say that’s because chicken is versatile and no one really knows what it tastes like. But really that’s a load of crap! Everyone says stuff tastes like chicken because they want everything to taste like chicken. Like honestly can you think of anything better than chicken? Oh how do snake taste… well it probably tastes like crap but people still eat it cause everyone says it tastes like chicken! I personally would not eat snake except people keep saying it tastes like chicken, so of course I want to eat because there is a possibility that something out there can be as good as chicken. ( Which is probably not true because chicken is so freaking good!) So next time you want to eat ostrich or some obscure animal, and you ask someone how it taste. Please remember that nothing can really taste as good as chicken! Nothing will ever take the place of this wonder food in our hearts. Some may say milk or eggs are the best for you because they are complete something or others and have a whole but-load of good crap in them and blah blah blah blah. But remember nothing and when I say nothing I mean absolutely nothing! NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!! Will ever be as good a chicken!   

We thank you chicken for being the best flightless bird ever created!

fish!

after much questioning and long deliberation i have decided to end the suspense and tell you all that my fish is named Charlie! :)

What do you think?

Since I never see any of you, I decided to just put up the idea I had for the header and just get your opinion that way. If we decide to go a different route, I'll just take it back down again. So let me know what you think. This is really just a first draft. I was thinking that if we really like it we can have Trev or someone else who can draw better than me redraw it. So just comment your opinions!
-Virginia

my car

i cleaned out my car today... i found a lot of stuff!

16 socks, 2 puppets, 2 band shows music, 1 band shows sets, 1 band warm up book, 1 clari fingering chart, 1 ball, 1 pair of flip flops, various sheets of paper from band, speech and church, 1 calculator, 1 eraser, multiple writing utensils, 1 hair brush, 1 empty cracker jack box, 3 empty pop cans, 1 head band, 2 water bottles, 4 wind shield scrappers, 12 jackpot tickets, 1 set chip, various food wrappers, 1 umbrella, 1 remote control, 1 pair of wooden shoes, 1 tupperware container, 1 chair, 1 blanket, 3 notebooks, 1 folder, 1 hush heart, 2 ride tickets, 1 time magazine, and 1 pair of capris.

wondering...

so i'm sitting on my computer wondering... then i stop and realize i'm not actually wondering about anything but yet i'm sitting at my computer deep in thought! how is this possible? if you are staring at the computer thinking about things then you stop to realize what you were thinking about and you realize you were actually thinking about nothing then does that mean most of the time when you feel like you are thinking about things that are very important you are actually thinking about nothing? so that everything that is really important is actually nothing and totally meaningless?? :) just a thought... i think i've been around small children to much today... thats all! happy monday! (do i remind you of a certain english teacher??;)

Of Black Cherries and Skeins

So, I tend to get a lot of crap about practicing my clarinet. She's a ten year old Yamaha 650, and her name is Black Cherry. We're very close. Recently I had her tuned up, and she sounds more beautiful than ever before. However, people just don't understand our relationship. They think I'm crazy for liking a beautiful, black, hollowed out stick. And yes, I do like my beautiful, black, hollowed out stick. Why you may ask? Imagine this. There's a basketball player who's okay and wants to go to play in college, so besides team practices, she shoots hoops on her own. Same thing, only she doesn't get picked on. So if not for me, be nice for Black Cherry.

Also, I believe that most of you know that I have become an old lady and learned how to knit. I also learned some terminology, such as a skein. Now, when asking the origin of the word, everyone thought I was crazy to want to know. But here you have it.

Skein comes from the Old English word skayne in the 1400's, which derived from the Old French word escaigne which has an unknown origin, so it was probably made up by those French people.

So there you have it.

And I would like the black fish and I will name him Severus.

my first post!

soo it being a sunday i decided it was a great day for my first post ever! not that it being a sunday had anything to do with why i'm posting, more than anything i just don't feel like doing anything and this is a great thing to do when i'm not wanting to do anything!

so i was thinking about our vacation thats coming up in a few days... we are going to wisconsin... is there anything in wisconsin? i don't think so either... well in a few day i'm going to be in wisconsin so you should come and visit me before i die of being with my family, continuously, for days on end. also i have no idea what my picture should be so if you have suggestions tell them to me and i will take them all into consideration along with who you are, if i like you, and if you owe me money. then i will make a final decision and probably never acknowledge who gave me the idea/picture.

to end this post i would like to make it known that i have put dibs on the purple fish! have a great sunday/fathers day!

A Solar Eclipse

So in the lastest news stories a solar eclipse happened today (June 15, 2011). This is the first in about 11 years. Some mindless people in America complain that us Americans never got to see the eclipse. According to sources, it was seen in South America and the Eastern Hemisphere. Apparently, we have been robbed of an unfair oppurtunity. Nature has given Americans another topic to complain about and discuss although it really doesn't matter. But why would we think logically, right?

Hello world,
this is my first post. no one will probably ever read it but thats cool. As the picture you will see by my name i have chosen a sea dragon. These creature are beautiful and majestic. They are posibily on of the most amazing things i have ever seen. I love sea dragons with the pasion of one thousand firy suns. My heart over follows with love for these creatures and their beauty. There is nothing else in the universe that i could possibly love more then a sea dragon.

I would now like to share some facts about the sea dragon.
~Sea dragons are also called leafy sea dragons but its offical name is phycodurus eques.
~Leafy sea dragons do not use their leafy protrusions to move they use a dorsel fin and pectoral fin that are almost invisible and casue it to look like floating seaweed.
~These wounderful creatures are found on the southern and western coasts of Austrilia.
~They grow to be about 20 to 24 cm in length
~There is only one recording of sucessfully sea draong reproduction. This was in the Tennessee Aqurium in Chattanooga, Tennessee

Now that you have attained useful information about the leafy sea dragon, I beg you to help protect them. Leafy sea dragons are in dranger. They are daily threatened by collectors who come to capture them. They can not protect themselves becasue they swim at a glacial pace. They can not wrap their tales around things to keep them steady. Please help protect these august and grand creatures. If you happen to be strolling down a beach in Austrilia and you see a sea dragon help it back into the water. If you know of any colector please turn them in. These wonderful, marvelous beings deserve more them we are giving them. They desevred to be loved and cared for. They deserve our attention and help. Sea dragons are living creatures, too. Ther are not just some piece of sea weed to be ignored. Please, I am begging you, I am practically on my knees here, please help these majestic and beautiful creature.

Hipster Movement Gains Popularity; Loses Effect

By Art Ickle

MINNEAPOLIS-

The unique anti-culture movement, basing itself on separating itself from mainstream society, has, to this point in time, prided itself in being... well, different. Some go so far as to do the exact opposite of what pop culture dictates as cool, such as donning, in most extreme cases, fanny packs, furry hats, and ugly sweaters- all at the same time*.

Recently, many of the styles and beliefs of the members of this self-initiated society have attracted attention. On May 16, the annual Hipster International 3.2187 K Run** brought in 7,500 applicants. This is possibly a new record, considering last year's turn out was less than 100.

"We aren't sure what we're going to do," says hardcore hipster Fred Fahlstedt. "We must be losing our touch."

The movement is concerned with the future of... itself. As it gains ground, it loses it at the same rate.

"If we become popular, we're going to have to start a mainstream movement to counteract the new mainstream hipster movement. That way we can duck out of the coming pop culture," said Fahlstedt.

Many fellow hipsters believe the same as Fahlstedt, but are simultaneously attempting to keep their motives secret from the crowd of newcomers. One thing's for sure: the skinny-jean-wearing, indie-music listening, original crowd will keep moving on. But not too fast, like the mainstream society; just nice and slow.

*This is not to say that any of those items are bad. People won't mob you and inflict you injury until you take it off. It's not that bad. And I've never seen anyone wear this all together.

**I assume they are impartial to the metric system- this is equivalent to two miles.

This article is actually completely fake. Just so you know. I also have nothing against hipsters.

The Turquoise One is Mine

Well, I decided that I needed to get my own first blog post on this blog. Does this surprise anyone? No because I always have something to say whether people want to listen or not. Blogging really does remind me of Facebook except only the very elite get to see my thoughts. Which those thoughts can be everywhere. But one idea you all must know, in the fish tank there is a turquoise fish. I helped pick his color and he is mine. His name is Alfonzo. So you can pick any other fish to name or admire, but just remember the turquoise one is mine.

My First Post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Hey Everyone!

This is my first post! Surprise! I know you didn't expect it. I know I didn't! Except I did. I guess I lied.

I've never been a part of a blog before. It's because I... well, I don't know why. It's just a thing I've never done. Just like bungee jumping. And shoplifting. And eating baked Alaska. And visiting Alaska. And other cold places like Antarctica. And understanding FreeCell.

You know, this blog thing is just awesome. It's like a journal, but everybody in the world looks at it. They have to, right? It's like something that everyone in the world looks at? Like the typed version of a PA system!

You know what's a fun time? Playing Mario Kart.

So, considering this is my first blog, I should

Ok, I'm back! Man, that was good chicken! Nobody does it like McDonald's, I'll tell you.

What should I write about? Hmm... let's write about dragons. Dragons are my favorite!

Did you know that dragons originated in... well, I don't actually know. Never mind.

Hey Guys???? GUESS WHAT?

It's my first blog post!

:D