Mmm... yummy!

I know this is not the prettiest picture I have had on here, but it is the most amazing place to go! Fruitzen is crazy delicious and always the place to go for a little evening get together of snack, whatever you choose. I always have fun when I go. When you are craving some delicious heaven in your mouth, you know where to go. I love how many flavors they have and I always try to get something new but it is hard to branch off from the one that you really like. I have found one and I try some other ones but they are not as good as the kind I like.My first experience with snow cones was a bad one. It tasted really watery because there was barely any flavor with the ice. I would rather have too much or nothing than just a little bit of flavor. So I was a little hesitant when I went to fruitzen for the first time. I could not really understand why everyone loved it so much....Now I know.
Recently I have been there a lot to enjoy the tasty treats that they offer. I usually stick to my one flavor. I just like going with a bunch of people to eat a bite of what they have to see if I will like it or not. Usually I find that most people like mine a lot but I do not really like theirs as much. I have stuck to my flavor for forever. The people there pretty much know that I will always get it :)
They have these punch cards that they punch out a spot for every snow cone you buy there. When you have ten total you can use the card to get a free snow cone. Apparently some people have been abusing these cards, by saving them up until the fall and then using all of them then. This does not allow for as much revenue to come in at that time. I do not really understand though, because those punch cards are like motivation for some people and either way they are still paying for their snow cones. Maybe they should just have like deadlines on the cards as how long you have to use them. That might solve some of the problem and then people can use them still. Apparently though they are going to try to have customer appreciation days though where snow cones might be two for one for the day. That sounds like it would make up for the loss of cards, accept that it might be terribly busy that day.Either way I love going to fruitzen. It is always a memorable experience when I go with friends. I do not think I have ever had a bad time going there. It usually makes my day. I could not imagine this upcoming summer without it!

Grad Parties :)

Since the end of school and graduation has come, so have grad parties. They are such a nice time to see your friends celebrate the end of their high school career and to see your friends again. Everyones is a little bit different and all have very good food. Of course there are the little graduation sign in books to leave a little note for the person graduating. Then there usually is such an array of pictures displayed all over. I love seeing everyones past pictures and how they have progressed. Especially the different displays. The ideas are so creative.



Since I have been going to grad parties recently, I have started to think of ideas for my own grad party. I really like having cute different food than normal. Maybe some hors d'oeuvres that I could help make with my mom. Then some punch seems to be something that everyone loves and a nice refreshing treat for the end of the year. I can not wait to start finding even more cute ideas and putting them into action. I really want a creative and nice graduation party. I also found this picture (above) of cute little graduation treats. They are so creative and different than anything I have ever seen. This year, graduation mints are the thing to have, but I want graduation chocolate hats! It would be so fun... at least to me.

So far I have been to so many and this upcoming weekend there is a ton on one day. I cannot believe how many people have parties on the Saturday after graduation. My favorite thing to try at every ones graduation is the food. Finding new recipe's and ways to make things are always fun and interesting. There was one party that I just keep remembering this amazing cheese dip. It was almost like a mexican dip of sorts but soo good. The theme of the party was kind of mexican too and the food was delicious. All of the food in fact was very delicious. And if I did not like it there was always something else there to munch on. I do not think my mom had to pay for any of my meals these past weekends and probably for a couple weekends to come. All these other parties coming up should be fun and amazing... hopefully. I just can not wait until my own grad party! And just mainly getting out of school and away from some of the people to meet new ones. Overall everything should be fun and crazy!

Gone forever?

The seniors are leaving and I feel like I will lose some of them forever. Who knows when the I'll see them next after graduation. This past year they have really grown to be good friends and some are even closer than that. I have been so greatful to be in the varsity show choir this year because I have bonded with all of them. There are not many juniors left, well girls at least. None are even very close to me, or ones that I want to be close to. Speech, the musical, and show choir have really opened my friend world up to different people outside of the stupid little clicks at our school that are still going on. They are ridiculous, and I love having friends from every circle anyways. Diverse people give you different look and view points on life. You never know who could change and impact your world.

Many of the seniors I know I just will not see this summer, just because I have never really seen them outside of a school event. There are some though that I am sure I will hang out with a lot over the summer. Especially the show choir seniors, which there are so many of them that we are losing, I will definitly keep in touch with. The bond of relationship, whether friendly or annoying, in show choir is so incredibly deep. You are with those people every week for most of the year. You have not only show choir practice but then class and just regular choirs with them.

Today is their last day and then soon we will be seniors. I can not imagine yet that we only have one more year left and then we are off to our own life and away from this highschool. I do not even see myself sitting on the senior bench every day next year, or being the oldest class in the school. It will be crazy to finally get this last year over with. But doing it without this years seniors is going to be really weird. I do not know what friends I will be with next year. I feel like all the genuinely amazing people skipped over our class and are above and below us. I know I will definitly be friends with a lot of the soon to be juniors next year. Seniors are leaving though and I will miss them and wish them the best of luck in figuring out their future ahead of them.

The Results!!

Well the show choir results were posted last friday. And let me tell you, there were a lot of tears everywhere. No one knew who was going to get in exactly. I was kind of torn for who I wanted to get in. Sophomore year I was being considered for Happiness and I really was hopeful that maybe I would get in. Our director told us that there was still seniority and that they might be considered more over me and another girl. That ended up what happened. I can understand letting a senior have the spot over me completely, since I still had two years to try to make it.

In the call backs all the returning girls from last year had a guaranteed spot. There were a bunch of sophomores in the call backs and we knew there was competition for all the other spots in every singing section. At the end there were four girls that had to go up and sing. I knew they were the ones being debated on. The returning alto girls (the three of us that made it) had to go up and sing with them together. There were a couple soon to be juniors and a couple soon to be seniors. I really liked one of the juniors and I thought she would do really good in Happiness, but again there were seniors to compete with. I was torn in the decision because I did not really want the other girls to make it that were older but I wanted seniority over the younger girls, or else it would completely counter act what I went through my sophomore year. I really was torn because I thought the year would be more enjoyable with the soon to be junior than the others. But there is always next year for her and maybe someone will drop out or he will add someone new to the group.

There was one sophomore boy that made it into Happiness this year. I do not really know this kid very well at all, but apparently a lot of the senior guys do not really like him. I have already met some of the new junior boys and know a few of the junior girls, so next year will be enjoyable hanging out with them and creating new bonds of friendship.

The group should be amazing next year. And like every year, for any results, there are always different opinions. There is so much talent this upcoming year. It is unbelievable how much our show choirs have grown. I can not wait until we start to compete next year because I know we will be amazing.

Need a job

Last year I had a seasonal spring job but this year I was not able to have one since I was busy with the musical and end of show choir season plus both of my parents moving into new houses. So I had a lot of things to do and could not really fit in a job. Now that the musical and show choir are over and summer is coming up, I would really like to get a job and have some extra cash. Yet I already am going to be doing detasselling in july so I will need to figure out a job that would let me have a month off pretty much.

My mom wants me to work at the grocery store close to us because I can pretty much walk there from my moms and it is inbetween my moms and my dads house so not out of the way. The people I know that work there do not really like it and like any job you have to work your way up to get to the position you want and I am not even sure if I would like that position if I got there. So I have been thinking that working at a daycare would be kind of fun and they have really good hours that I could find pleasing. I think I am going to look into working at the one down the street from my moms. Hopefully they have flexible hours so I could get off the month I need off.


I applied to the daycare a couple days ago. They did not have any openings available at the moment but they said that I could be a sub to call when they need people. I told them that way completely fine. And if I do good and there is a job opening they could consider me to fill it. It is a pretty nice way to find out who really is good to hire. This could still allow me to do detasselling in the summer and maybe keep my job through the next school year. I would really like to work there since it is close and kids seem to be light hearted and entertaining every day. I think it would be a job I would actually want to go work at every day. Hopefully they will call me to sub and eventually I could work there more.

decisions...decisions

Now that everyone is moved in with boxes laid everywhere, there are decorating decisions to be made. I especially enjoy helping to pick out things now that I am older and have opinions and ideas of my own to share about the house. We first moved into my moms house which was nice not to help with decisions of paint, design, and furniture with two houses at once.

For my own rooms I have really had to hurry to make ideas and decisions fast about what I wanted. I have already figured out what I am doing in my room at my moms house and have an idea for my dads. I knew I wanted a bright color because both my parents like neutrals with some bold but not really the type I want to incorporate into my room. I found this really cute and sophisticated bed set at Bed Bath and Beyond. My mom had a coupon so I got this black almost a suede jean material with tan and silver waves on it. Then I decided I wanted to accent it with turquise blue and purple pillows and walls. I finally picked out the right blue and purple to go well together in the basement, but we have not really done anything yet to start painting.

At my dads house, my little brother and I have looked for bedding but I can not really find it. Both of the sets are at Bed Bath and Beyond. I found mine online but I can not find it at the store. Then my little brother saw a picture at the store, but there are not any sets there of it and when I looked online I could not find anything. I do not know if we are going to be able to find them for our rooms or if we should just look for some new bedding sets. We have pulled up the carpets everywhere and have painted the living room and the hallway. Now we need our bed sets to paint the walls to our rooms, so we need to find some soon. I do get my own bathroom at my dads house, which I have never had before. Usually I have to share it with my two brothers, who are not the cleanest. Plus it is mine to decorate the way I want.

I can not wait until everything comes together and is finished in both houses. Right now I feel kind of messy and bland with only white walls at my moms and a completely unfinished room and bathroom at my dads.

The sun will come out tomorrow!

Well it's another sun in the sky picture but it fits. I just know summer is coming soon. I can not wait to have no school and just have time to run free!

I have not really had quality friend time (like movie night, sleep over, bonfires...etc.) in a long time. Now that we are just moving into our new house things are still going to be hectic with unpacking. I just can not wait until summer when most of that stuff will be done and I can go to the pool, movies, park, or even just a friends house.

But now we're moved in to my mothers house!! New decorating and ideas and environment. Everything is taking a lot of time and thinking, but eventually it will all come together and be Magnificent! Things are confusing already, because I am being bugged to unpack my things yet some of it is going to my dads house and then I do not have my shelving units in my closet yet. Then I want to paint the walls so I do not want a lot of clutter to just pack up again....annnddd I also do not want all my things just out in the open in this room. I would rather have them hidden in baskets or bins or something!

Well I am still excited though to have a completely new room and new house to come home to. I really am excited to be involved in it all too! This summer I think will be more enjoyable to have people over because we have the really nice, big, trendy basement and then a pool/ping-pong table in the other room...annddd my room is right there too. Everything will be sweet, plus the deck in the back is perfect to tan on and I've never had that before.

I think my dad gets to move into his house on the sixth? or maybe the eighth? I can not really remember which it is, but soon I will start to have to help him out with things around his house too. I think he needs more help because he does not have the family support system around like my mom does, and I do not want him to get lonely and sad. So I will definitly have to focus more of my love and attention on my dad to help him out in his move.

I love getting these new houses and rooms. The environment is completely new and I am really starting to like it. I can not wait till summer though when I can actually enjoy it a little more.

All Over :(

The musical finished up this weekend. I am really sad now because I have grown so close with the people in the cast. I used to see them every day after school for at least a couple hours and now I barely ever see them. They are such great people and we all have been there for each other through the whole musical process. Every one of them are amazing people and I do not think we have had any drama or conflict between any of us. Of course we get annoyd but we still love be hang out with each other. I will be super sad when the seniors actually leave. I wont be in any more productions with them since they are going off to bigger and better things next year.

This past week was really hectic. My family has to move out of the house this week and I was busy trying to get school work done and go to every minute of musical. We had our performance this past weekend and they all went really well. I felt proud of every one of them. I now have a virus, probably just from everything going on. I started to have a sore throat on the Saturday performances. I went to the doctors and found out that I somehow have swimmers ears and an inflamed throat. I feel so drained from the musical and packing and trying to still have fun and enjoy the friends I have from musical all at the same time. It has been worth it though. I think that every one in the cast did an amazing job and really prooved they deserved their role. I am going to miss performing the musical because it is so much fun. My mom got a DVD of the performance so at least I can relive the experience. So many people were so nice for coming. Some people even came more than one night and really showed all of us in the cast how much they appreciated our performance. Even though it was a lot of hard work I am going to miss going to practice every day and hanging out with the people I got to know on a deeper level. Hopefully lots of us will be in the same activities next year so we can keep our amazing relationships going. I think we all need to have a musical get together and stay in touch over the summer.

Slumdog Millionaire

After hearing about how great this movie was and how many awards it got, I could not wait to watch it. I finally watched the movie in the car and the way back from Colorado. The little talking that happened in the beginning of the movie was in subtitles. I did not really know what the movie was about since I had not realy seen any previews for it or heard people talk about what actually happens in the movie.

The movie was so different from many other movies in our culture. People could kind of relate to the who wants to be a millionaire part because we have that in our country. It starts off as him getting beat up to answer how he cheated. Then it starts to show you flash backs of why they are asking him this question and beating him up. As you see them go through the tape, he explains how he knows each answer to the questions asked. They were life experiences for him. It starts off when he was young and goes through the life he lived as he grew up in the slums. People who lived in the slums were called slumdogs. When he shows the answer to each question you learn how he lived his life, and how these different experiences have gotten him to where he is. He had a hard childhood, by losing a home and his own mother. Him and his brother stuck together even though he bossed him around. He was kind of a bully and ends up being on the bad guy side to get ahead, which he does.

The younger brother had a girl that they became close with until a man caught her and started using her to dance and get money. The brother has always looked for her because he loves her and can never forget about her. The older brother is working for the man that caught her though and wants to keep his job and the good life he has. He goes against his younger brother though. The entire movie is so incredible and it was like nothing I have ever seen before. It was a long movie but every moment had something new and added to a different part in the story. There is a soundtrack out to the the movie. The songs are so good. I have been listening to them all the time lately. This movie was amazing and I can see why it recieved so many awards.

Only the beginning...

The musical performance days have started! Yesterday we got all day of school off to perform the previews for school and do our first complete performance for some senior citizens. The previews went completely better than I had expected. You kind of think that the kids in highschool might be a tough audience but most of them enjoyed the little preview performance and were laughing and getting all the funny parts.

The previews each lasted for thirty minutes (give or take) and we all got to say our intros but then only four people got to sing their song. There just wasn't that much time and we didn't want to give away the whole show. I really think that this year so many people will want to come to watch this musical because they know they actually will enjoy it. And it wont just be to go see their friend(s).

After the previews the chorus got to leave but the principals had to stay to review parts in the show that were recently changed and needed work on to remember correctly. We really did not want to be there because we wanted as much time as we could to mess around and go to lunch, but we all knew that we needed that review. Most of the principals ended up going to Panera for lunch...which was very delicious. We got back at noon and got ready for the senior citizen show. They started coming in an hour and a half early. They were really early so we moved our start time to twenty minutes earlier. The show went really well I thought. The parts we did review...we messed up on, but it was not terrible and it gives us something to improve. It seemed a little weird to say/do some of the things in the show for older people because they might not take to it as easily. There were parts though that younger people would not get that they laughed at right away. It was completely a different show and all of them were so accepting and pleased when we met them after the show.

Then all the principals got time off before five to go do what we pleased. Most of us took a delightful trip to fruitzen. I was upset though because I left my card at home that day :( After that, all of the group pretty much went to target to get gifts for their "secret" buddy. Mostly everyone got cheap little random gifts. Later when we were in practice we had a little session where you guessed who had you and then that person would say some good things about you, the the circle would say things about you too if they wanted. It turned in to a twenty minute things for each person. We only have a two hour practice scheduled so we went way over and eventually I just had to leave.

The show has been going great and I cannot wait until tonight to really make it even better. I have gained so many friends through this entire process and I am soo happy that I decided to try out for the musical this year. Four more performances to go!!!

delicious fruitzen = warm weather!

Fruitzen is like the place to go. When you are craving some delicious heaven in your mouth, you know where to go. I love how many flavors they have and I always try to get something new but it is hard to branch off from the one that you really like. I have found one and I try some other ones but they are not as good as the kind I like.

My first experience with snow cones was a bad one. It tasted really watery because there was barely any flavor with the ice. I would rather have too much or nothing than just a little bit of flavor. So I was a little hesitant when I went to fruitzen for the first time. I could not really understand why everyone loved it so much....Now I know.

Recently I have been there a lot to enjoy the tasty treats that they offer. I usually stick to my one flavor. I just like going with a bunch of people to eat a bite of what they have to see if I will like it or not. Usually I find that most people like mine a lot but I do not really like theirs as much.

They have these punch cards that they punch out a spot for every snow cone you buy there. When you have ten total you can use the card to get a free snow cone. Apparently some people have been abusing these cards, by saving them up until the fall and then using all of them then. This does not allow for as much revenue to come in at that time. I do not really understand though, because those punch cards are like motivation for some people and either way they are still paying for their snow cones. Maybe they should just have like deadlines on the cards as how long you have to use them. That might solve some of the problem and then people can use them still. Apparently though they are going to try to have customer appreciation days though where snow cones might be two for one for the day. That sounds like it would make up for the loss of cards, accept that it might be terribly busy that day.

Either way I love going to fruitzen. It is always a memorable experience when I go with friends. I do not think I have ever had a bad time going there. It usually makes my day.

I want it!

Ever since one of my friends made a song on their mac I have been convinced that I want one. We used to use them all the time in elementary school but with less advanced systems. My mother thinks that I wont be able to switch over from using windows to using the systems on the mac. I am really good at figuring new technology out though and I also have some people that could help if I did need help. I really love the options that the mac has. There are different tools but they pretty much work the same as the tools on Windows do. I also like that on the macbook, you can use the tool garage band. There is a camera built in to the book. Also you can record music through the macbook. I love music and having the option to create my own music would be so neat and fun. I love to make things up and just mess around. This is one of the major reasons why I really want a macbook. I feel like I love the style an design of their technology too.

I have been trying to talk about mac computers with my friends who know about them or have and use them. The friends that do not have the mac really seem to want one. They think it seems really cool to have a built in camera and sound system in there. They are also all musical people who probably enjoy that feature the most. Working with garage band seems to be the fun thing to do in our music group. There are so many fun tools and items to use on these computers. I would love to have a macbook to use instead of the one I have now. The only thing is that they are expensive. I think it would be worth it though if I could get one. I really am starting to love to experiment with music, and I really wish that I could get a macbook because I think it has the feature to make it easier along with just using it as a normal fast working computer.

I hope to have time to get a job soon so I can start saving up money to get a computer. Maybe I could ask for some help from my parents for Christmas too. It would be so nice to get one. I would still be happy keep the computer I have now, but I feel like getting a mac would be new, sleek, and very convenient to use new tools.

Vocal Tryouts

The other day we had vocal tryouts for choirs next year. The day of class was pretty much a free day except that you could tryout for the choirs if you wanted to during some point of the period. When the time came I really had no idea what I was going to sing. I was not really worried about finding a song. I went out in the line in the hallway waiting to tryout without even knowing what song I was going to sing. When I got in line I started to think of what I could sing. A lot of people were doing their songs from their voice lessons or from just a solo, but I did not really want to sing any of those songs. I kept thinking and asking people for what I should sing, but I do not really think anyone cared because they were busy worrying about their own audition, which I can completely understand.

I asked one of my senior friends earlier what I should sing and she told me I should sing a Sara Barielles or Brooke Fraser song. Since I could not really find any other song that I really felt like singing I started to think of different songs from those two people that I could quickly figure out since I listen to them all the time. I could not think of how the songs went though. Its only the time when you really need to remember that you suddenly have a brain fart. This is what happened to me. So quickly I went back into the classroom and asked if anyone had an ipod. One person said asked what I wanted to listen to and looked it up on their phone quick. I listened to the song and just decided to sing it. The song was Shadowfeet by Brooke Fraser. I went back in line and sang the song when it was my turn to audition. I thought it went really well and I made a good decision to sing that song because it made me feel satisfied with my performance.

I love just singing any song by Sara Barielles or Brooke Fraser. Their music is so intriguing to me and I would have to say they are high on the list of artists that I look up to. Anyone who likes one of these artists will most likely find the other enjoyable.

...whoa

I just realized today that next week is show week. I am going to be soo swamped and have to make up school over top of the school that I am already trying to make up. It is exciting to think that everything we have been working on is going to pay off next week. Pretty much the entire week is going to be filled with the musical.

I have made up most of my test that I think I needed to make up. But I am sure that there are plenty that I have missed and did not know that I had. So I will be scrambling just to make up those tests. Somehow I will have to make them up around the busy musical next week. I might just wait until the week after the musical then I can stay after school and use my sixth hour to make everything up. But right now doing this is kind of hard with having musical everyday after school until at least six if not longer. Then the sixth hour I do have off every other day I am currently practicing my solo ensemble pieces with the piano player from our school.

There is just soo much to get done and it is starting to get overwhelming, but I am so excited at the same time for the musical that it kind of balances the worry I have over the make-up work for school and trying to pack in time for moving out. I kind of like packing sometimes anyway though because I run into things that I forgot I had or that bring up old memories. It also feels good to clean out a lot of things from my entire random collection of stuff. I feel like I am always trying to save things just in case I will need them in the future, but the reality is that it takes up so much room and I probably will never remember I even have it. I really cannot wait to get into my moms new house. I am going to get to just make everything new and a change from what it has been.

Soon the musical will come up and be over with. Then I will probably feel bored and wont know what to do so I am just going to live in the moment of excitement and fury.

Chorus Line Camp :)

This past weekend we had our five hour rehearsal scheduled with our choreographer who got back in town. We all got there and it always feels kind of weird when you practice on a weekend or not a school day. We had the chorus there for the first couple hours, which flew by very fast. I have never worked on something and had time fly that quickly. Then the chorus got to leave and we worked on principal work and pretty much just went through the show. Our director used this time to start pulling each of us out to work individually on our parts. After about another hour we were all done with the principal work and were ready to go. We all wanted to leave but not even half of us had done our work with our director. Soon we had the idea to just do it next week during night rehearsals instead of waiting till our time then. We were so happy when he let us do that because we thought he might not like the idea very much. I was so happy to leave because fruitzen was open that day. Pretty much all of us left and got snow cones... which were amazing. It was the best rehearsal I have ever been to. Probably because it was scheduled to go until six and we pretty much got out of there a little more than two hours early. And then on top of that fruitzen was open, which everyone loves to go to so we were all in a wonderful mood. It is amazing how much you bond with the musical people. I have been around them every day for pretty much 4 hours at least. And I am not quite fed up with them, but I am sure that time has yet to come.

The tech crew came in the other day and did all the lighting. It is soo cool and really makes the show. Now I feel like it does not feel right when the lighting is not on. This week orchestra is joining us and will make for another challenge but it should be really good and start to really feel like a legit show. This rehearsal tonight shall be another frustrating one. I hope these next two weeks everything will really come together and start to be a really amazing show. I want it to be soo good because I know we have the potential for it to be that way.

Packing

My family only has a little over a week left (nine days actually) to pack up everything and get it out of our house so the people who bought it can move in. It is a lot of work, especially when you have to put things in boxes that do not really fit together.

So far all I have attempted are books and papers, which do not really frustrate me that much so I can pretty much just throw them in a box and they will fit pretty nicely. I have musical every week day though from now till next Saturday. That is exactly all the time we have until we have to be out of the house, so I really do not know when I am going to be able to pack up a lot of my stuff. I will maybe have to hardcore pack this weekend, but knowing me I will get off subject and want to go do something else.

My dad and little brother have been furiously packing though. There are so many boxes in the front room of our house. I feel like they have only made a dent in what we have to pack though, but at least it is going somewhere. My mom is out of town this week because she is visiting her sister/my aunt for the week and babysitting her kids while they are on their spring break. If she were here she would be freaking out and worrying about packing all the time because that is just the way she is. I am glad my brother and dad packed this weekend because it will make my mom feel a lot better. Hopefully I can get a bigger dent in my room soon, or else she will turn her worrying to me and start to bother me about it. Then if I do not get to it she will just start doing whatever kind of packing she wants in my room. I think the best would be for me to pack my things so I know where they all are and I wont be confused later. That way I can also clean and get rid of things in the same process and then we do not have to take that stuff with us.

Well hopefully we get the house all packed up in time, and I can find some time really soon to get the packing done that I need to get done. It is starting to be more of a reality that we are actually moving now, since things are starting to empty out and the pile of boxes in the front room are growing.

Ze musicale

Our musical this year is A Chorus Line! I personally had never heard of it before. But now I am really getting to know it up close and personal. We have been practicing pretty much every day after school. Especially the principals... I made the part of Diana Morales.

Rehearsals are starting to become pretty intense. The week after we found out the results we had a week long dance session pretty much. All the dances were learned for the musical in this week since our choreographer was in town from New York. She came in and taught the opening number and the closing with all of the chorus. Then with just the principals she taught the numbers inbetween and the individual parts of choreography. We have been working on our parts pretty intensely especially the numbers with all the chorus in them. Working on those have started to get a little boring since we have done them sooo many times.

My favorite time is when there are just principals there. The dance numbers are not as heavy and it is a little easier to stay interested though I do like to mess around and have fun. I can be focused but I hate being focused when someone tells me to be. I can work just as hard when I am having fun. I think when it all starts coming together it will be more exciting to perform our parts. This musical is going to be so fun to do though. I really can not wait until performance week when my life will be surrounded by this musical. It will be hard to keep up with school work but it is going to be so much fun just hanging with the cast all day.

The last two weeks are going to be pure madness. We have practices from 3-6 and then 6:30-9. The parents are going to bring us dinner every night in the thirty minutes we have. We are not allowed to even leave the school during that time. Somehow I am going to have to get my homework done during those nights. Hopefully I can make it through and not really have terrible grades at the end. I already am still trying to make-up work from missing days around spring break. I really hope I wont have another bad term like I did winter term. Overall though this musical should be worth all the hard work. I think it is a great cast with lots of talent and it should be an amazing show.

Houses

Our house has been sold! It is weird to actually have our house sold. We have been trying for a year now but it has taken forever. It has not even been a week yet and both of my parents have found houses to get (they got divorced).

On Friday my dad had to leave with my little brother to go to a soccer tournament. Before he left though he found a house that was newly listed in his price range on the market and put an offer down on it. He put down some payment deal to said that he is actually considering buying the house and he wont back out. Then this weekend while both of them were gone my mom and I looked at some houses for her. She went through 17 house just on Saturday alone. Then me and her looked for house on Sunday morning. She ended up looking through a total of 22 houses all together. But today when we were looking through houses we went through the house that my dad put a payment on. For some reason the lady still had an open house, which me and mom my thought sounded suspicious. The lady is selling the house herself through iowahomesforsale. When we went in the house she was showing other people around it like no one had even put an offer down on it and it was still up for sale. Apparently my mom told me she went back through and asked the lady if there had been any offers on it and she said that she had had three offers on the house and was waiting till Monday to accept one. Doesn't that sound a little sleazy and like she is cheating these people. My dad clearly thought that his offer was accepted and he had a house. My little brother even started planning out where his room was going to be and where the t.v. was going to go. This lady obviously is cheating these people out and in the end it probably will benefit her, but it still does not make it right. If my dad was home this weekend he could have been looking at other houses if he knew that this lady did not want his offer. It just seems cheap and completely unprofessional. I really hope he ends up getting the house and is not just played by this rude lady.

But some good news is that my mom found a house this morning and the offer was accepted through an actual reality company so it seems more legit and real than my dads acceptance. The only thing is that the house is like a couple streets away from where my dad wants to live. So it would be kind of weird living that close even though they are divorced. Oh well, I guess I will have to see how it goes.

Marriott

The Monday after we got back from break we had a performance right away at the Marriott Hotel for some business people. It was supposed to be a banquet I think to reward their "good/hardworking" employees. We had to be there a little bit after school so we could get ready and set up for the performance.

Most of the guys went into the big banquet room and helped set up the risers while the girls did their hair in the other room we were all getting ready in. All of a sudden I hear that one of our guys has cut their finger pretty badly. My mom was helping him out because she teaches a first aid and cpr class for the venture crew that I am in. Apparently he sliced his finger on the riser and it was cut really deep. It was bandaged up and no one really sent him to get stitches even though he needed them. I think he was just trying to make it through the performance first.

It is time for us to perform and we go out on stage and stand in our positions. A reverend says a funny little prayer and sits down in front. Now everyone is going through the buffet line at the back of the room while we are starting to perform so it is a little weird. And then everyone else is eating at the round tables in front of us. We start our show and it is going pretty good other than the awkwardness. As we get to our ballad we start off and we all seem really out of breath. Who knows if it was the room that was hard to breath in or none of us just did not really have as much adreneline as we usually do but you could tell it was a little rough. During the beginning, which is a really quiet time, the reverends phones goes off. He takes it out of his pocket and just looks to see whos calling...not even silencing it. After a couple seconds the reverend, who is in the front and center table by the way, opens up his phone and starts talking. It was sooo distracting and weird. I think he might be suffering from mental issues though, so I have to give him a little bit of a break.
During the middle of the ballad the guys finger has now bled through the bandage and is making a little pool on the stage of blood. He has a little five person solo part in the next song but right after the ballad he has to leave to go get stitches. So now we have an awkward situation to perform at in the first place, with a distracting phone conversation, and a leaking cut finger on stage.

....it was quite a performance.

Dog Sledding :)

Over Spring break I went to Colorado as you might know. There we got to go dog sledding. I was so excited because the time before this when I went to Colorado we went and it was the most memorable time there for me. When I was there this time with a lot of the people that did not really know what dog sledding was like I kept getting really excited over it and I am pretty sure they all thought I was going over board but I did not care. They finally understood when we went why I was acting that way.

We went to the same exact place that we had gone the time before. We arrived there and filled out forms then got all of the gear we needed and put everything on so we were ready to go. Soon our instructors came in and took us outside to the dog teams. Our group was split up into six and four because there are only six people allowed for each group. I was in the group of four and we had two other people from another group join us. We got to our dog teams and the group we came with all took a picture with the lead dogs. Then we soon met the dogs on our team and learned a little bit about them. There are eight dogs on the teams that pulled us. First off on our team was the two boys. The rest of us sat in a two bench sled thing that was being pulled by the snowmobile that the instructor was driving. Each bench sat about two and maybe three if you squeezed. The dogs are taught to follow the snowmobile so our instructor took off, yelled a command, and then the dogs took off.

Dog sledding it not the fastest thing in the world especially when they had been on the same trails day after day so they get bored. The people on the sled were going at a more leisurely pace then one might think. The instructor started to make new trails for the dogs to be interested and pay attention more. This just meant a bumpier ride for those on the sled behind the snow mobile though. It was fun for me but maybe not for the people that did not have things covering their face.

Soon enough it was my turn and I went by myself first with no one sittting in the seat area. He asked me if I wanted to go the easy way or the hard way and I told him the easy for this first time.... sooo he went the hard. Well I have gone dogsledding before but I was no where near an expert. He took me down and path where the corner takes a hard steep right and then quickly a hard steep left. Well luckily I got the first corner down without hitting the trees on my right. But then there was too much slack in the line that attached the dogs to the sled and dumb me forgets how to break at the moment we try to go around the second quick turn to the left. The dog were going so fast and got the turn but the sled did not and whiplashed out to the right taking me in the same direction. I pretty much launched off of the sled and to the snow. It was fun that I fell but I kind of wanted to have a re-do and prove that I could do it. And just my luck too, the other six from our group had just crossed the trail across from us and saw me launch off the sled. One of them even got a picture.

Moving on to another exciting part of the trail ride was when a little boy in our group who was one of the additions rode on the dog sled. He was probably in elementary school or middle school. He was so light and little though, so he got to ride a lot so the dogs could pull him easier and we could cover more ground. Our instructor unexpectedly led us up this crazy little snow ramp thing. It is hard to describe but it didn't feel like we should make it over but somehow we always did. Well the dogs get excited to go up it and the instructor takes us up then we looked back and see the dogs come over and then soon the sled.... but with no little boy. Then we circle around and the dogs follow so the boy quick jumps back on the sled. Again we go over another one of those crazy little ramps and this time we all think the little boy might make it because we can see him on the sled coming up... but then the sled flicks over that quick hill and launches the boy up. It was sooo crazy, he did like a superman in the air. That was the talk of the day for me.

The entire experience was sooo much more amazing the second time than the first. I think it was a little bit more adventurous too. I loved dog sledding and I wish I could do it more often because it is so incredibly fun and enjoyable.

Wild Horse Saloon

The night we found out our results for show choir performance we all got ready and went out to the Wild Horse Saloon. Here we had dinner and learned a line dance with a bunch of the other show choir kids that were there. It seemed like it would be such a great time for all of us. The night was full of food, people, music, and dancing... what more could you ask for? There was a guy that came out and kind of looked like Keith Urban :) Well I was at the front of the stage with others from our group just dancing and having a good time. It was kind of one of those times where I didn't really care what people thought and I was just letting the music and experience take me over. I had this feeling once he started to change to a little older classic songs that he was going to play "my song" (when I sang the solo for Don't Stop Believin'). Everyone usually freaks out when that song comes on. Usually I don't really care to sing along since I feel like everyone does not really hear me anyways since they are singing. It never really felt like "my song" until that night when the guitar started to play the intro. My whole group freaked out and started attention towards me and one of my friends lifted me up in a hug for a second. The singer obviously knew that I had sung it or somehow that song was really important to me since he was watching it right in front of him. For some reason though I just started tearing up with all these emotions. I let it all go and just sang my heart out along to the song with everyone else. I did not care about anything around me, it was just me and that song. Then on the chorus the singer let me singing one of the belting parts.... It probably wasn't that good though because I was still pretty much letting the tears flow but oh well :/ Then I still remember when he was singing another part he looked down at me and winked. I loved it! I loved the entire feeling of that time on the dance floor. It felt like the best night of my life! The feelings I get when I remember that night are great. It really is one of those "priceless" moments that I never will forget.

Colorado!!!

Spring break was also filled with going to Colorado, specifically Keystone. I went with my venture crew. The leader has a condo up there that ten of us all stayed in. It was another realllllly long car ride over there.... even longer than driving to Nashville. Once we got there we bought our lift tickets and food for the week at a local grocery store. As soon as we had arrived at the condo everyone put everything away and the new guys explored the condo. I had already been to this place before a couple years ago along with one of the other guys too so I did not need to look around.

The next morning my ski boots were not fitting so I had to go to the local sporting goods store to get some while everyone else started off their skiing/snowboarding sessions. I finally found some and went over to the slopes when we all met for lunch. From there I got to ski, but soon my boots were starting to bother me, which was not good at all. That night we went back to the ski place and just got some incerts which were supposed to help support my foot and move it so it did not hurt as bad. Mostly they told me though that I was supposed to wear them a lot to have them settle to my foot.

The next couple of days we went to the slopes again. The first two days had snowy weather which was good for the slopes but made it cold and hard to see when you went down the hill. The last day we went though was sooo beautiful. It was a nice ending to skiing. By that day my shin was hurting from an old bruise and just wearing the new boots in general all the time. But to take a break our leader took some of us snow tubing. It was a lot of fun since I never really knew exactly what it was and how it worked. I kind of wish I was not wearing ski boots though because you are not allowed to go down with anyone else since the boots are dangerous to others if they get hit. You go down this section out part of a hill, like a big slide kind of. Then you have to walk to the belt that takes you and your tube back up. I thought I could just figure it out and did not need any help, but I was wrong... I ended up almost falling backwards because I was not leaning forwards enough. Luckily there was a helper guy that was on his way up right after me that pretty much caught me from falling backwards. I felt really dumb. Either way it was still fun though. That Saturday was our rest day pretty much. We cleaned in the morning before we went back home and then went dog sledding and had a nice dinner out before returning home the next day.

Nashville!!!

Nashville was such a great experience. It was so much more than what I was expecting. I did not really have a good experience when I went on another kind of trip the spring break before that, so I was so glad that it had surpassed my expectations.

First there was a tremendously long bus ride there, but.... oh well. I pretty much slept most of it away anyways. When we got there we stayed at this amazingly huge hotel. It is the biggest hotel I have ever stayed in. There was like a jungle type area in the middle with a gondola ride going around the center. In the middle of these places were little shops and gifts places to go enjoy on free time. At the beginning of the trip everyone was in awe of the hotel, the city, and the time we were about to have. But soon everyone was switched into show choir mode. We had to go that night we got there to watch other groups. They ranged from middle schools all the way up to varsity groups. All of the groups were good and had different styles. There was one middle school group that just blew everyone away. They had sooooo much fun. There was a little red head in the group that I had caught my eye from the beginning and then I find out that he has the funnest solo later in the show. He had everyone laughing, clapping, and enjoying themselves. It was so powerful to see the entire auditorium in an uproar over this little boy and this middle school group. I loved it, and that is the show I remember most out of all the show choirs.

We performed the next day and found out that we had made it into finals which was exciting. That Friday night we went to the mall and Dave and Busters. It was kind of a relaxing evening before we had to perform the next morning. Then Saturday we perform our show and come to find out that we only make fifth. A lot of us were so upset and just started getting mad in general and taking it out on other people. I thought it was a little ridiculous. I mean we had beat lots of others out of finals. Yeah, we had been going pretty strong but things happen. I just really wanted to enjoy the experience for what it was and not dwell on the fact that it could have been better if we would have gotten a different placing. Oh well. I'm still glad we got to experience how it felt to perform on that stage in the Grand Ole Opry. The sound was so amazing. I kind of wish we had listened to our own show from the back of the theatre, but that would be kind of hard to do and perform at the same time. This experience was soo fun and great.

Spring Break!!!

This spring break has come up pretty fast. Actually the entire school year has gone by pretty fast I think. Maybe not the school day or week itself but... Well I just really love breaks. The worst part is going back to school after they are over. This spring break though I have a full schedule. The Thursday before our show choir group leaves at 3 in the morning to head for Nashville, Tennessee. From there we come back that Sunday. After that I have Monday free then Tuesday at 6 in the morning I get to leave again to go to Colorado with Venture Crew 2000 that I am also in. I do not get back until the Sunday before break at about 9. I have no idea when I am going to be able to do my homework in between all of that. And I know that my teachers will give it because obviously breaks are when homework should be done. Plus I will have to make-up those first two day that I will be gone.

This spring break should be very exciting though despite all the homework I will have to worry about. I can not wait to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. The stage I have heard is amazing to sing and dance on. I think the experience will be unforgettable. There is a spot on the stage that is a part of the old stage. It is a different color of wood and kind of out of place. This spot is supposed to be like lucky or something like that. Many famous people have stood on that very spot in the floor. A lot of people in the group really want to stand there. And those that have that kind of a spot onstage are so excited and think it will be destiny or something when they stand there. I can kind of see the excitement peice but I really think a lot of people have stood there and never been really famous so I really do not believe that part of it. The experience will just be amazing in general though singing there on the stage.

I really can not wait for this spring break. Hopefully all the hecticness and stressfullness can get behind me and I can concentrate on having an amazing experience spending time with friends in a new place and just having so much fun!!!

Fired Up!

Movies are always enjoyable to go see. Fired Up! looked like just another girly cheerleading movie, but I had a feeling that it wasn't going to be like that. I loved the spunky personality the movie seemed to have to it. Through out the entire movie there was always an energy running through it. The home cheer team really have a quirky feel before the two guys come along and all of a sudden tremendous improvement starts to happen. You can tell that this movie is really supposed to make you laugh with the dramatic things that happen. Every scene had something funny to enjoy.

It starts out with these two guys who are big football stars at their school. They want to get all the ladies though and they don't get that by running around and tackling men on the football field. Soon they think up an idea to join the cheerleading team. They are strong guys that could really benefit the team. One of them has a prodigy sister who helps them with cheers and tricks. In the summer instead of going to a grueling football training camp they go to the cheer camp. Here they meet all the other teams that are training and competing against them. The team at their school has never really been anything amazing but with these new additional guys on their team they start to become something. Just like any movie there is always a rival team to beat. The way they are presented though gives you something to laugh at even though they seem better then the team that you want to root for.

This movie was a very enjoyable movie and kept me laughing. The main guys are really where it all revolves around. Their characters are entertaining to see interact with one another. Also the main cheerleading team all have their silly characters within them. I think this would be one of those movies that would be easy to watch again because you can always pick up on new funny things that you did not see the first time around. There are many little things that are slipped into different scenes in the movie. The two guys stay with a bunch of other guys and one of them starts to have a connection with another cheer guy living there. He just thinks it is a great friendship but soon comes to find out that the cheer guy is actually thinking that they have another kind of connection.

Fired Up! was a really funny movie. It was one of those movies to just sit back and enjoy the hilarious humor put into it. Even though it kind of seems like a chic cheerleading movie, there was plenty of masculine humor. I do think this movie was more geared toward the younger crowd though and not really a family movie.

Blogging

Blogging has been something I have done a lot lately. It has been a requirement for a class. Sometimes it feels like something I have to force myself to do and other times I enjoy getting my different opinions out on things. When we first started out our blogs, there was supposed to be a point of interest that we focused our blogs on. Mine started out to be music, movies, and turned in to adding books also. As I have looked at other peoples blogs and have talked with them, they have pretty much dropped their focus topic and blogged about whatever comes to mind. I have sort of adopted those ideas in my blog. I try to stay focused around my music life or things I have done pertaining to the subjects. When I first was trying to think of subjects I did not know what was appropriate or best for readers. I am also involved in shooting sports, which is another big part of my life, but I did not know how well people would take it or want to even read about it. I decided that the subjects I am writing about now would be the best choice and I would not have to worry about others reactions.

Since music is a big focus in my life, that is really what I can talk most about or find things to write about easiest. I have choir, chamber choir, show choir, speech (musical theatre), and now the musical that are all what I am a part of. Working around all of these events is hard enough to blog, but it also gives me something to blog about. Rather than try to come up with something every day. I can just write about the new things that have occured from my busy schedule. I think being involved in the thing you are blogging about helps a lot, since you can have something new to bring up more often then trying to come up with random ideas in your head.

Stiff...the rest

I did not really get to writing the middle section of the book at all, but I will just include a little bit of it in this part. I finally finished the book Stiff for my AP bio class. All the book reports are written and turned in and I feel soo relieved. The middle section of this book was not as interesting to me or at least memorable. I can mostly remember the end, and that is probably mostly because it was the most recent thing I read from the book.

As I finished the book, it kept me interested all the way though. I thought when I first got this assignment that I would have to read some boring book about really confusing ideas that I would not be able to understand. This book has proved my thinking wrong. I can stay interested and actually understand the concepts and things that cadavers were used for. The very little that I don't understand is explained in a very easy way.

One of the chapters is about how bodies were medical uses at one point in time. Old men would donate their lives and eat nothing but honey. Then once they would die their bodies would be put in a stone coffin and filled with even more honey. The bodies would sit in this honey coffin for about 100 years. They would then be taken out and used as an ointment on injuries. I wonder if it actually even worked because it sounds pretty ridiculous.

The book also talked about what heads and minds go through when they are disconnected from the body. There were scientists that would take heads straight from the old fashioned guillotine to their labs to experiment on. They would flow blood or electrical currents through them to see if they were still able to make movements or thoughts. They also tried to do head or body transplants. Some were able to survive for a little bit of time, but most died from rejection of the new part.

This book overall has been very interesting all the way through. I do not think that there was a chapter that did not capture me into reading it. There were some facts and experiences that kind of got tedious to read even though it was appealing.

Taken

For my birthday I wanted a cute little night out... and that's what I got. I ended up going to the movie Taken. I had not really seen many advertisements for it on T.V. and I did not even know who the actors were, but what I had heard about the story line really interested me. I ended up going to see the movie on a Thursday night with barely anyone in the movie theatre. I thought the movie was incredibly good. I love action but in a certain way and this movie was exactly on.

Liam Neeson I have never seen in movies before and I also had not seen really any of the other characters in any movie before. Neeson did an incredible job at playing his character. I thought it was so riviting how the story line went along. I was always captivated at every moment in the movie. The beginning was the only part that was not that interesting. It was just setting up the story and character relationships/backgrounds. Neeson's character was trying to find his daughter that had been taken. His job that he had in the government had first taken him from being a good father to his daughter, but now it helps get her back. I have always loved and watched actions movie since I was little. Living in a house with two brothers...action movies is pretty much what we always watched. This has to be my favorite one so far. In most movies you see the good guy give the bad guy a break and not kill him, which usually ends up turning on them. This movie, Neeson's character had no mercy and pretty much killed everyone in his way. It was amazing because he could go into a room and kill everyone there, even if they had a gun and he did not. You could really tell that his training was excellent and even though he was retired, he could still use his skills to the fullest to get his daughter back. Even when France's inside men turned on him, he still did what he had to do to find where she was.

Taken was an amazing movie to watch. I loved every minute of it. I will definitly have to buy the movie when it comes out on DVD. If you really like action and a kickass movie, you should definitly try this one out.

In the beginning

In my younger years I started off getting into music from Discovery Choir. I remember I was so nervous to try out for the group, since I did not know what to expect. I ended up making it for a couple of years in a row. We would practice different songs as a huge group then sing them with the symphony for friends and family at the Paramount. Discovery Choir really made me feel like I was a part of something. Through Discovery Choir I tried out for a "lost child" spot in the opera Hansel and Gretel that was going to be a production. I ended up making it with some other kids from the choir. This way also another new experience that I never though I would have had when I was younger. This created my love of the music world.

The schedule for the opera, was the most rigorous I had ever experienced at that age. We practiced a lot every week, yet the practices were fun and I started to make even more new friends. It was kind of fun to play out the parts of the "lost children" yet I still was not quite sure of what to do yet at that age. I did not quite get the acting part... only the singing. As it started to get closer and closer to performance time, it became more exciting. I really loved the feeling of creating the costume and look and putting the entire show together. Performances were so fun. We all got to hang out in the green room below the stage and just play little quiet games with our newfound friends. We were not really on stage for a great amount of time, so the rest was for us to just hang out and do whatever. Even though the role was not very important, it still made us all feel like we were a part of something.

Mall Cop

When I saw the preview for this movie, I just knew I had to see it. I got in trouble when trying to find the picture for this movie, but I think it is pretty worth it. Personally I think Kevin James is so funny and I watch him all the time on King of Queens. This was the first movie I wanted to see above the rest when I had the opportunity to go to one. As the movie started out you get the background story behind Kevin James's character, Paul Blart. He lives with his daughter of an immigrant wife who left him when she got citizenship and his mom who takes care of his every need. When the movie starts off you see him excelling, when he is training to be in the police force. Except he has sleep apnea and will fall asleep from his diabetes. This leads him into the career of being a mall cop.

He is very dedicated to his job. There is a girl in the mall that sells hair at a kiosk. Blart is trying to get out into the dating world again, so he goes over and starts talking to her. Their friendly exchanges soon end when he has competition from other men working in the mall. He soon gets a new guy that shadows him around the mall to be a mall cop. He tries to show him the ways of the job, but he soon finds that he actually does not really have anyway to stop people from doing what they want to do. People do not really find him threatening.

The mall gets shut down early when a group takes over the mall. Blart is in a video game store at the time this happens so he does not know what kind of the threat the mall is under. The police come outside and try to handle the situation, but Blart stays inside and tries to be a hero. He is left to defend the mall and hostages from the bad men that have taken over the mall for their own good.

Mall Cop has many funny twists in it. Kevin James really brings humor to his character and makes the movie most enjoyable. This movie shows how an average person can make a difference. I think this movie can really appeal to anyone of any age. I really enjoyed going and seeing this movie. It kept me laughing the whole time and wanting to see it again.

TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY

I recently finished the book Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. I did not really expect anything in particular, I just thought it sounded pretty good. It is on the New York Times Best Seller list. This book had an interesting layout to it and it was really appealing to me. It kept me interested and wanting to get to the end the entire time. The way the characters were described or weren't kept me always curious of who they really were. How do you really know how your actions affect people?

In my class we are starting a project where we do a analysis on a book. Most likely it is supposed to be non-fiction so you can do research alongside it. I have not really found a non-fiction book but this book really interested me and I thought I could do a good report on it even though it is not non-fiction. I talked to my teacher a bit about doing this book for the report and I think if I keep in touch with him so I can stay on topic, this project can be really interesting and turn out well.

The cassette tapes were from a girl at school who had committed suicide. They go through all the reasons that have caused her to end her own life. As one of the kids at school listens and experiences all of her emotions and thoughts you are along for the ride to experience them too. The things she goes through has a snowball effect that keep making how she feels worse and worse. The event itself might be bearable, but each one keeps building and building on each other.

Personally I never think that ending your own life is the answer to anything. It does not solve the problem, it is only an ending point. I am sure there are lots of emotions and thoughts that roll through your head if you are suicidal. I wonder if those that have succeeded at it have had regrets when it happens. Are they really happy to end their life rather than live it? Who knows what someones exact reasons are for doing it. No one can really go through what those people feel, but I really think just doing an extra something for any person every day can really make the lives of those better. Reaching out to a new and different someone can maybe surprise you as to an interesting character you can connect with. You don't even have to be a good person to ease the lives of someone who could potentially be one of those considering suicide. Any little thing could help.

mmm...movies

Hmmm movies can be a jolly ole time....or a bad one. To me they seem to come out in spurts of good and bad. I wonder if there is a "movie season" like there is seasons for fruits. There are times when there is just nothing out in the movie theatres. If I am with friends and we want something to do, usually watching a movie with some popcorn is mostly a good idea. Not when there is not even a good one out to watch.

The times when there are just a bunch of good movies out is the best. Even though finding time to go out and watch all of them can sometimes be impossible, and you would have to resort to just renting or buying them later. Another good thing when watching movies, is seeing the full preview before the movie for upcoming ones. Sometimes watching the previews from TV can be entirely different then the ones you see in the theatres.

Going to the movies can be quite an event. There are always options on who to take and how many to go with. I think having the right people for a particular movie is the best. I am not really a fan of having a big group go. It is nice to be with all of your friends but not if you only talk to a couple of who you sit by.

Even though you might be a pleaser and want to just watch what anyone else wants to make them happy, it should really be essential to get your pick to your mood. It really makes the experience and night a more memorable one since everything can be geared to how you feel. Comedies are usually what I love to go and see. I am not really a scary movie girl. It is not that they scare me, even though I will jump if something loud and fast comes up, but since I am not usually scared I just think the movie is not as good. Most of them can seem pretty ridiculous to me.

Movies can make for a cute date or just a relaxed night with your friends. The best thing to do is to take advantage of the good movies when they are out in theatres to really cherish the experience. Then you can rent when there are not interesting movies out.

Those were the days...

There are certain things that can remind you of moments or things in your life. Whether these are good or bad memories they can be strong in your mind. I usually have this experience but mostly they are related differently. The strongest memories that stay in my mind are usually linked to the music I listen to at the time or that the memory reminds me of.

When I took my trip to Alaska with my Venture crew I listened to Sara Barielles pretty much the entire trip. I am sure the people I was on the trip with were sick of hearing me sing the songs over and over again. I would sing her song Love Song and Gravity. Now everytime I hear either of those songs I am reminded of my incredibly amazing trip to Alaska and it brings back good memories.

Since about a little more than a year ago I have had some pretty shocking impactful things that have happened to me in my life. It was really hard to deal with and I would be lying if I said I was not still dealing with those issues. I usually am a person to hide my emotions and feelings when I think it would better other people not to know. I like my problems to be my problems only and not really share them with others. Yet, this is exactly the problem when trying to get over something that is troubling you. My escape to let things out was through listening to certain pieces of music. I would listen to Warm Whispers by Missy Higgins and just cry all my sad or mad feelings out. It was the best release for me.

About every summer I have playlists of songs that I pretty much listen to all summer long. Each summer I have memories with each set of songs. I relate back to either good times or the bad. Along with the summer memories, some of those songs have memories with friends. Mainly my best friend gives me songs that I can relate to her. She is always singing songs or giving me new ones to listen to. We usually try to exchange the best new songs that we can whenever we can.

I love having memories linked to songs, especially good ones. This way whenever I want to relive the moment, whether good or bad, I can just by turning on my iPod. Music is the best way to express in any way.

Ohh the technology

Technology has started to take over our lives. Everyone has something, whether it be a cell phone, iPod, laptop, or handheld video game. Now the new Wii has come out and I have to admit I love it along with the rest. Technology always gives me something to do when I am bored. I can always text or call a friend, listen to music, write an email, or play an intense game of Tetris.

The only way to keep your life from revolved around a screen is to broaden your hobbies. I also love to read, sketch, paint by numbers (silly, I know), piano, guitar, and I also shoot guns, which is more of a sport though. Just having multiple things to turn to is so much better for your brain. I also like to mix things up a bit which is nice. Recently I have tried to do some calligraphy which turns out pretty cool and is not that hard to learn. The worst time and the most common to use a lot of technology for kids, is in the summer time when we have all that free time. It is easy to get sucked into watching tv or playing a video game all day long. This is the essential time to use that free time to spend it outside though.

I am not saying to quit using any form of technology. I think people just need to broaden their options of things to do, instead of always turning to a video game or computer. My brother went to the army right out of highschool. This is when I started to write letters. I think it feels more sentimental and memorable then a phone call. The person will always have the letters to look back on whenever they feel fit. I now try to write my brother as much as I can since he does not have a phone number that we can call. Recently I got a letter from my six year old cousin who lives in Minnesota. Her parents sent me and my little brother the letter she wrote along with personalized stationary for both of us to write back to her. Now I am trying to write to her as often as I can. It really means a lot to me that she even thought to write to me and ask me how my life has been going. I only want her to having that caring feeling too.

Technology does not have to be what your entire life revolves around. So the next time your bored and want to watch tv maybe sit down and write to someone you care about even if they live close.