Blogging?

It's ten-thirty, which is late by my standards. But I've been doing a lot of thinking today, and I needed a place to vent.

What is blogging, anyways? I started this blog a few years ago with the thought of just having a place to...write. But I feel like maybe blogs have a different meaning? Something more significant, less trivial?

I've been going around reading some blogs today, and they're meaningful, colorful, and full of personality. I think maybe that's something I could work on...

What does blogging mean to you?

Weather Blues

I'm not sure if I'm in a time warp that took me to March or April, because if you look outside, it's NOT January 2nd. Exactly a year ago, we had 3ft. of snow on the ground, and bone-chilling weather. Is this God's way of telling us that this year won't be that great? I don't know if I can survive the winter without snow. It's funny, because usually in January, I start to hate the snow. I guess you never know how much you love something...until it's missing.

Speaking of missing things....I don't miss school. Ten days of break couldn't have felt better. So on this last day of break, I have to endure Mother Nature's gloom and orchestra rehearsal after a whole load of career drama from the VYOA (Vermont Youth Orchestra Association). My conductor just left, and I don't know if I'm happy or sad. I mean, he was probably one of the most brilliant musicians I have ever met, and it's not like his experience lacked. But, I don't know, I just don't feel like he got through to us; he wasn't able to communicate his ideas to us, and it was just...frustrating. But, hey, it's a New Year--a new start. Let's see how that goes.

In my last post, I briefly said something about the Penguin Plunge. What's that, you ask? So, in mid-February (peak winter, I may add), a ton of ambitious Vermonters jump into Lake Champlain. Yes, we are crazy, but we're also fundraising for the Special Olympics of Vermont, which is an incredible cause. So if you're feeling sympathetic today, donate! My goal is $500, and I'm completely determined to reach it. Click here to donate.

Like I said in my last post, I have NO resolutions. Usually I just forget about them, so they deem themselves useless. But here are a few that I'm considering:

1. Write more.
2. Get more involved.
3. Focus on my music.

They're not too bad, right? Pragmatic, reachable goals? And after all, those are the things I love to do...so why not?

It's a new year; it's a new start. Happy New Year, everyone! May you all have a joyous & prosperous new year.

Happy New Year's Eve!

Two years already and I've only posted....25 times? Yet, I still promise you every post that I'll post more often, that I'll change, but nope...nope...I haven't changed. I would tell you that my New Year's Resolution is to post more, but let's face it--I never come through with any of my resolutions.

Last year, the only resolution I remember making is that I will complete my novel. Let's just say that it didn't work out...
This year, I have come to a conclusion:
no more resolutions. It's all for the best, really. I mean, I won't be disappointing myself, and I won't be making you any promises that I can't keep!

But I promise I'll keep this one short.
1.) Because I'm lazy.
2.)Because you should donate to my Penguin Plunge page (which I'll talk about in my next post)
3.) Because there's too much to say.
4.) Because you should read my Young Writer's Project blog.
5.) Because there are at least three deliciously scrumptious cakes in the oven downstairs.
6.) Because it's New Year's Eve.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

My Life and Yours

I really need to learn how to maintain regularity with my blog posts. Funny thing is that all I ever do is write. I'm just remiss to log on to Blogger and post.

I've gotten accustomed to writing monster blog posts, so beware my readers. Maybe we should start off by catching up on each others lives.

Guess what--I'm a middle school graduate! It's about time, really. Sixth grade doesn't seem like yesterday, and I'm not going to feign my sorrow for leaving middle school. Because truth be told--I'm ecstatic! I was truly ready for high school from September. But now I have the very difficult--and annual--task of entertaining myself this summer. Let's see how that goes.

Before I say anything else, I just want to put out there that Lee Dewyze won American Idol (a couple of months late on that note). That's right--it's our third Nickelback sound-a-like in a row. David Cook (David Archuleta should have won.), Kris Allen (Adam Lambert deserved it), and now Lee Dewyze.(I didn't really care who won. They were all bad.)

I went on a cruise in late April! All around the Southern Caribbean--plus Puerto Rico. You'd be surprised how much the ravers lie about these places. Yes, there's a lot of unique beauty, but the poverty levels are higher than you could think. St. Maarten had to be our favorite, though. Beautiful when it came to aesthetics, but I think what lured us the most was the shopping. Jewelry, Watches, Clothes, everything. And that's where we went a little crazy.

You know, I love cruises because everyone gets to do whatever they want. Mom takes a dance class, Dad goes to the gym, kids hang out by the pool--it's a free for all. I took three dance classes. Cha-Cha, Tango, and Salsa. Tango was my favorite because it was the easiest. But salsa was the most riveting. I've always dreamed of movin' and groovin' like those famous dancers--and then when I took this class I realized that that was a mere dream.

If you're thinking of a vacation, and you can't come up with any ideas, go on a cruise. Really. What's better than traveling to a multitude of islands in a week, live on a boat, and gorge on loads of food at any time. The dinners are just fantastic. I'm always looking for an excuse to dress up, and that was it. Just trust me, the whole family will love it.

I'll try to post more--can't promise.

Life In the Past Month

Arghh. How long has it been since I've written anything? Yet, I've been writing-obsessed lately! Anyways, sounds like Punxsutawney Phil was wrong when he predicted six more weeks of winter, because now that I look outside and see the mud along with 50 degree weather, I highly doubt this is what we call winter.

I'll be sailing away on Royal Caribbean in April--a vacation that seems years away. It's my third cruise and the longest one I've ever taken--let's see how that goes. Right now, I'm doing absolutely nothing. Sure, I've had a few violin lessons here and there and I've written a few successful pieces, but other than that, I'm just an average teen who spends all her precious time with her electronics--is that bad?

My new craze is American Idol. My nightly routine on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays--at 8 or 9 (depending on when it starts) I sit down with a piping hot cup of tea, an intriguing novel (during the commercials), and my undivided attention for the singers. Well, let's just say the good singers. That narrows it down to---practically nobody. I'm pretty sure that this is the first time nobody's popped out at me yet. Last year, it was Adam Lambert; the year before: America's favorite Archie, who, in my opinion, deserved the title much more than David Cook. It's not that I mind David Cook--I don't--but he's just eh. This year I'm mainly rooting for Aaron Kelly, Crystal Bowersox, and Big Mike. Once Simon leaves next year, there's really no point at all for watching AI.

Speaking of intriguing novels--read any good books lately? I'm glued to Jodi Picoult, Sophie Kinsella, and--my favorite--Nicholas Sparks. I'm in the middle of The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult, and I'm addicted.

I've been following the blog Underneath the Turban. Oh god--I don't think I've ever laughed so much while reading something before. The poor guy shares his name with the AI contestant, Tim Urban. http://timurban.blogspot.com/ Go read it. The guy has a way with words.

I watched the Oscars. Nice, I guess. Not much more to say, really. My favorite part of the Oscars is the dresses. I have a little notepad in the back of my mind; making footnotes about each dress and comparing them to the vague images I have from last year.
Meryl Streep-A
Penelope Cruz-A++
Miley Cyrus-C
Amanda Seyfried-A
Cameron Diaz-A+
Mo'Nique-B-
Maggie Gyllenhaal-D
Tina Fey-B

I have no life.

All for now. This is the longest post I've ever written. Wow. :-)

Late Night Urge

It's kind of weird how the human mind is. Last night, at like 11:30, I suddenly had the urge to write. It was crazy, like my fingers were typing away without any warning. I ended up writing four, or five different pieces. It didn't vanish this morning either. Here I am, typing away about my writing. It's not like the pieces are that well thought out either. I write about the weirdest topics--trust me. Gosh, I guess my mind is just at its best late at night :)

Best Place Ever

Don't you just love Vermont? Christmas, New Years--all that has passed, and now we're just dreading the adjustment back to the regular routine. Thankfully, the snow has saved us. Weather Channel says there's currently 28.5 inches of snow in South Burlington, which is the greatest amount in the whole of Vermont. It's considered the snowstorm of the century. My glass door is piled up with about two and a half feet of snow. Oh dear. My dogs seem to enjoy swimming through it, but now it'll just be a pain to clean it. Oh well, this is just too amazing to care about that.
Happy Snow!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy one year anniversary to this blog, which was started on December 30, 2008. It's gone a long way since then...well, kind of.

Happy Holidays

Dear Readers,

I want to wish you a Merry Christmas--or to those of you who resent that phrase---Happy Holidays! I hope you have a great holiday and get to spend it with your friends and family.

Crazy Goal...

So, I've been working on something for the past few months. To my surprise, it's gotten really far, but it's a bit of an---unrealistic goal, some people may say. I've been attempting to write a book. Yes, I know---crazy. I have a plot line set up and everything. I was inspired by the famous NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I would never try to write a novel in a month, but I think I might be able to pull this one off. I'm really into it, too! I set up time everyday to write, but I barely get anywhere. It's not the best plot and the best idea, but oh well. If I want to be a writer, then I guess this is something I have to do.

So, for my New Year's resolution, my goal is to finish this book and polish it up. Wish me good luck... :/

I'm So Off Schedule

Last week, I was thinking of how Christmas is approaching and how I still had my Christmas shopping to do. That is, until I realized that Christmas was MUCH sooner than I thought. So, I got all my Christmas shopping done last week, and this week I had the same thought about Christmas. Then I realized that it was December 18, and Christmas was on December 25. I haven't ever been this off schedule before, especially with Christmas (my favorite holiday!). And even more than that, I can't believe 2010 is already here; well almost: thirteen more days to go. Well, I better go do some more Christmas preparing. Merry (almost) X-Mas and Happy Holidays!

December. Already?

Is it really December already? I looked at the calendar yesterday, and seriously thought something was wrong with my eyes. Has the year really gone by so quickly? I mean, we just celebrated New Years. And then my birthday, which is in April, just happened. We were just starting the school year, too. But then again, we say that every year. Last year, we were shocked that 2008 had cruised by, and this year, we'll be saying the same thing on December 31st.

But, look outside. Does it really look like December to you? I don't recall December having weather in the 40s and NO SNOW.

Well, anyways. It's the holiday season, which is probably the most exciting time of the year! Or at least to me, it is. We'll have so much fun during the holidays and before we know it, it'll be 2010. Then 2011, and then 2012. *Sigh*

Well, on the up side the school year is a third way through, and we're getting closer to those warm days, which, I guess, is good.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day. Now I fully understand why people are always saying that Thanksgiving is the best holiday and Thanksgiving is the time to stuff yourself. At a Thanksgiving Dinner we got invited to, I was looking at the table and honestly, I thought to myself this isn't that much food! Boy, was I wrong. I just couldn't resist going back and forth and back and forth from the table for more helpings. Before I knew it, I was done with food. And I mean DONE. I couldn't move an inch. That is, until dessert arrived. An array of pies laid out on the counter. I asked myself about a hundred times if I should go for it; my conscience said no, but I said yes. I dug in, a piece of pie on my plate AND a scoop of vanilla ice cream. And now, it's 9:50. It's been 7 hours since I've eaten and I don't think I can stand the word food anymore.

New Moon

One word. AMAZING. It was so good, to my surprise. Much better than Twilight, with very little of Edward Boring Cullen, and lots of Jacob! The acting was slightly better, though Bella's acting was still terrible. There was a lot more action, which really kept it exciting. The setting for the Volturi scene was beautiful! It was perfect, and almost like Stephanie Meyer described it.
On the down side though, the ending was NOT good. I won't ruin it for those of you who haven't watched it yet, but just warning you that you should be prepared to be disappointed. There's a lot of Bella's whining, and it's much worse than in Twilight, FYI. Jessica, Bella's friend, is a lot more annoying, but we all know that from the book. And Mike is just a bit creepier. The Volturi are interesting, however Dakota Fanning definitely didn't deserve the part as Jane.

Just a few ups and downs, but on the whole, the movie is actually really good. I definitely recommend it. Be prepared to flinch during a few parts; it can get intense.

Julie/Julia Project

I just finished reading Julie and Julia by Julie Powell. As crazy as the story is, it's actually very inspirational. For those of you who don't know the story, it's about a woman named Julie Powell (written by Julie Powell) who is suffering from a mid-life crisis. To get through it, she decides to cook through the book of the famous French chef, Julia Child. The book is based on her experiences throughout that one year of cooking unique and bizarre foods--from special crepes to chicken kidneys. She actually publicized the "Julie/Julia Project" by blogging about it, and it was her readers who kept her going.

I wonder what it would be like to cook through a cookbook. Maybe, when I'm having a mid-life crisis someday, I'll attempt it (though I can't promise successful results) and I'll blog about it.

Long Time..

Jeez. It's been a while since I've posted. Well, as it's November, summer's long over. It's been a warm month, though. No snow--yet. I was at rehearsals for the play Our Town by Thornton Wilder today, and I was thinking that we just started practicing about a month ago. Now, we're more than half way through. It's amazing.

Vermont :)

Ahh..
I love Vermont. It's probably the only state--other than Alaska where the majority of the population consists of grizzly bears--where you can go somewhere and know 85% of the people there. We have our little "hangout" which happens to be Al's. You know those movies and t.v. shows where there's always a little hangout, usually a diner, where everyone would be like "Hey Bob!" when you walk in? Well, Al's is pretty much like that! Vermont would be perfect if only we had some nice weather once in a while; rather than this dull rainy season.

Summer Vacation!

Summer vacation is finally here! Hot days in the pool with nothing to do! Happy Summer!

Swine Flu...

I'm sure you've all heard of the swine flu--ehhh---H1N1 virus. Thankfully it hasn't spread around VT yet, except that one case up north. Not only is it taking over the minds of many worried people, it's taken over the Internet and the news! Everywhere I go I see headlines "H1N1 Virus Warning." "Swine Flu Case" and so on...
I finally read an article that made sense. The article said that people shouldn't worry so much about the swine flu because the world will face (and has faced) many more dilemmas like this, and we'll make it through! I agree, and I'm sure other people do too!

Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there! I hope your family treated you to a wonderful breakfast/lunch/brunch this morning and I hope you received many flowers and treats.

Sam

Yesterday was my dog's 4th birthday. The one on the right, Sam. The day we went to see him was probably one of the longest days I have ever had. The directions said it would take 2 hours to get to Northeast Kingdom. Boy, were they wrong! FOUR HOURS. First off, we had absolutely no signal, and second, we got lost. When we finally stopped at the house which we assumed was the right one, we were told that we were on the other side of the mountain. So, driving to the "correct" side of the mountain took half and hour, and by the time we got there, I had no patience to carefully pick out a puppy. Out of 8 puppies, only two were male, so that narrowed it down. "King," the so-called "alpha male" was a heavy, and gorgeous dog. Unfortunately for us, he was a loner. That left Sambo, the energetic puppy named after his dad. It worked out perfectly for us, and coincidentally, we had chosen the name Sam. So that was it; we chose him, signed some papers, and left with excitement, anxious for the day we got to pick him up. That day came soon; three days after we moved to our new house. Sam walked in like e was already part of the family. He fit in perfectly too; ready to eat anything (and I mean ANYTHING) and staying by our side. Two years later, his brother, Wookie (on the left) stepped into our lives. He was a handful. But luckily, he also fit in to our family. And now we have one big family. It's true what they say about dogs; man's best friend.

Ahh!!

Look outside, Vermonters! Do you see it? RAIN!!! It was beaaaaaaautiful this morning and then it started pouring!!! I felt the sprinkle of water this morning while I was shooting hoops (I had some pretty good luck too!). Fortunately, I lovvvvve thunderstorms so it was to my benefit that around 3, thunder erupted and lightning struck. I love Vermont!!!

Beautiful Day

Ahh, look out the window Vermonters. It's a gorgeous sunny day! I spent the whole day outside and it was so nice to see my neighbors in their yards! Unfortunately, next week it goes back to typical Vermont weather. Looking forward to summer!!!

17 Again Review

The hottest new movie out is probably 17 Again, starring former Disney star, Zac Efron! Popular high school senior, Mike O'Donnell is the star. He's the captain of the basketball team and has a beautiful girlfriend, Scarlett. On the day of the big game, and when the scouts are there, Mike gives everything up just to be with his pregnant girlfriend. Twenty years later, his life is a mess. Scarlett has filed a divorce and he moves in with his wealthy techy friend, Ned, who is a bit of a wacko. His job in the pharmaceutical area is the same and his relationship with his kids is nonexistent. When fate gives him a second chance, Mike transforms into the young teenager he used to be. His task is to realize how fortunate he is to have a wonderful wife and two kids. Now, he just has to win them back.
The beginning started out much like HSM 3, with Zac Efron on the court in a white jersey and shorts. It moved on to a suspenseful scene with Scarlett on the sidelines. I didn’t expect him to give up his dream but ended up being surprised by his decision.
Of course, his future was predictable. What I didn’t expect was Ned, his best friend, to be a software genius and a multi-millionaire.
Many surprising events occurred as the audience discovered that teenage Mike and adult Scarlett started to become friends and when Maggie developed a small crush on teenage Mike. However, the audience was certain that Mike would become the most popular boy at his school once again.
I don’t want to spoil the ending for you, so I must say that you should watch it while it’s still out in the theaters.
This movie was sweet and entertaining, but still a bit dull and predictable at parts. The acting was surprisingly excellent, but the story was not. There’s actually another movie called 17 Again, based on two adults becoming teenagers, so when I heard the title of this movie, I was a bit confused. I give this movie a four out of five.

Movie Review

I'm glad everyone's voting on whether they liked the movie "Twilight" or not. I personally didn't like it. The actors were inexperienced and the movie was not very exciting; actually, more of boring!

Bonjour!

Read a piece that I submitted to the local Vermont writing association and keep up with my Young Writers Project blog to see all my writing!

http://www.youngwritersproject.org/blog/1003

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope that your year is filled with joy, happiness, and success!

Happy {Almost} New Year!

My first day on my blog! I'm so excited! Tomorrow will be the last day of the year; onto 2009!