Purple Puking Pelicans!

Hello! Sorry I haven't been posting for a while. There's been a few things going on but nothing much since I haven't been at gym :/ Co-op ended last week and I can't go back until the school I'm doing now decides to support high school. For now though I'm stuck with probably going to brick and mortar school *shudder*. I really don't know how long I'm going to last there before I go insane or pop out of frustration.

As for the whole gym thing we really need to find a new Orthopedist. Then we need an X-ray (again *shudder* I hate those little hospital gowns..) so we can see if it's healed at all. In the meantime I get to sit here texting, reading, and just in general having the free time I didn't have when I was in gym.. I see upsides and downsides to both sides but I've been doing Gym my whole life and it's so weird not being in a sweaty, smelly, chalky gym 25 hours a week.. Lol I don't know..

 School is almost finished! Woohoo! But that means that the next month and a half is really busy. I have already done my writing SOL (awaiting results) and get to do the other 4 or 5 in May. :D  Hahaha so this year I get "lucky" I end about 2-3 weeks before the public schoolers and start at the same time as them because I have to go to the brick and mortar lol So, I get a really long summer vacation.

Guess what else is coming up?........... Nope. Prom! .. Well the REACH "formal" but it's really more of a prom than formal so that's what we call it. But, I have to wear a dress.. I got this bouncy black one with a blue ribbon. It's really pretty :) Oh, and guess what else?... Mayah and Elyse are coming now! So now, Alex, Rachel, Mayah, Elyse, AJ, Allison and I are definitely going. Colton, Amberly, Grayson, and Donavan are probably coming too:) It's going to be fun.

For now I suppose that's enough so adjö!

My Tuesday's Top 10... Foods I Miss

Since I got my braces I've not been able to eat certain foods. What annoys me the most is when some one else has braces to and I have to sit there watching a food that we shouldn't be eating. But anywho, that's their and their parants' decision. So first I'm going to list the top 10 then I'll list the rest.

1. Gum
2. Caramel
3. Pizza crust
4. Peanut brittle
5. Pretzels
6. Taffy
7. Gummy candy
8. Dried fruits
9. Hard Candy
10. Corn Chips

Popcorn                                Eat with Care
Nuts                                     Carrot sticks - If they're cut into curls it's OK but no biting
Ice (chewing)                        Apples - Again, no biting but if sliced into small wedges it's fine
Corn-on-the-cob                  Hard Breads (French) - small pieces and chew carefully
Licorice                                Pizza - Small bites (.  .  .) and avoid eating the crust :.(
Fruit Cakes                          Meats - mini bites (suure) and chew carefully
Fruit Roll-Ups                      Crackers and biscuits - again small peices and chew carefully
                                            Peanut Butter - Only soft (thank goodness!!)

What they say about the Hard Foods:
"Hard Foods may do damage by bending wires, loosening cement under the brackets and bands or breaking the little brackets and tubes which have been attached."

Sticky Foods:
"Sticky Foods damage appliances by bending wires and pulling brackets or bands loose."


(Warning! Top 10 NOT in order)

My Tuesday's Top 10... Worst and Best of Valentines Day

OK. First of all, it's just another day! I'm not bitter, but I don't get the fuss.

 The Top 10...

Bests

Chocolate 

 Who doesn't love a good chocolate on Valentine's Day?  :p Every Valentine's Day my dad brings home 4 little hearts full of chocolate (Yumm!). One for each of his ladies.

Alexis (Lexi), Ashley (Swirley), Me, Drew, Trey, Emma, Jordan, Matt

Having an amazing day with the best of your friends 

 Yea so today was the best Valentine's Day that I remember. I worked on Yearbook (which is actually fun) Then went to co-op (always fun). Wrote calligraphy in art class and there were only 3 people in Yearbook today :/ Then while waiting for Amanda and Megan to get out of class, I hung out [literally (in a tree)] with Ezra (His sister is Mayah). Then Mayah, my mum, my sisters and I went to Sweet Frog (AMAZING) Then finally Mayah came home and we hung out XD LOL (This is my reason for the late post :/)

 Feeling loved and happy

"Everybody is loved by somebody, you just have to find that person and love them back"

- (As far as I know) Kaitlyn Edwards

XD

 Tamer, Shelby, Emma, Kathryn (Kermit), Sarah, Peyton, Sophie, Ashley (Swirley), Hannah (Cho)

80's night at the WISC

Watching people be happy

Ussually for me when I see someone happy, I feel happier... Well most of the time. A smile is just contagious. And you can't smile when you're not happy. So smile and be happy!

Getting Valentine's :)

I like getting Valentines mainly cuz they usually have all this candy and it's so yummy!! But if you make some for others, you might just see a smile spread across that lucky person's face :)

Worsts

 Forever Alone

Yea... That's all I have to say about that.

Plastic rose from cheap gas station

I mean come on! Seriously?! This is almost the worst thing you could get! Best way to say "I forgot about you." So stupid.

Getting dumped

HAHA! They weren't worth it were they? No! Relationships are overrated fool! Get a dog and/or a freind and you're fine. No need for anything more unless it just happens by. But give it enough time to let you know what kind of person they are.. Wow, I'm turning into a advice giving freak!

Helping friends get over getting dumped

The last picture goes with this as well. You may make them feel worse, but try to comfort them, not tell them "I told you so". You can do that after they get over it BWAHAHAHa. Lol uncalled for sorry.

Being ditched

Yea that's about how it looks. Worse than being dumped becuase if you're ditched it's by friends and they're supposed to be there when the BF/GF isn't.

Snow and Rage comics

Snow, Y U NO STICK?!?!

So on Saturday it started snowing. Why did it decide to keep us in suspension, let us forget about it, and then not stick?!  For me, if it's cold, I'd rather it snow than be frost bite inducing cold. At least then there's something to do outside instead of just sitting outside freezing our butts off. If it snows and doesn't stick though, someone must die!! Okay, maybe not seriously, but can I have a chat with Mother Nature and Jack Frost? Can they please get along? I'd like to have enough snow to throw a huge snowball at some sad passerby or build my (fail) snowman. Then, to make it worse, after it snows and doesn't stick, it's friggin cold again!! And this last time it only lasted like 2 hoursish so it was boring.  It was so pretty while it was falling at night. It started sticking and I almost got excited. Then I woke up and saw it also started melting at night. :.(

So I was bored and spent a large part of the day reading and going through funny pictures on Facebook. Not all of them are Rage but those are ussually the ones I find the funniest. I even found out that you can make your own Rage comics! Coolio Lol. Here's an example of a Rage comic

Can you seriously believe that how he grew up? WOW Neville = awesome. Here's another great funny picture about Neville & Harry Potter that's not a rage comic.

This is hysterical because you're so used to seeing Neville as shy and akward and not quite sure of himself. Here, the actor is definately in control and it's "Ron" and "Harry" that looks like dorks. :-) It's easy to get lost in funny pictures. Some of the ones posted on pages aren't funny, some of rude or crass, there's cussing in a lot of them, but then among the trash you find some gems. The thing is you have to keep your sense of humor and just click through the trash and not let it get to you. Au revoir!

Tuesday's Top 10.... Songs of last week

Happy would be 200th Birthday Charles Dickens! OK, now that I've said that, This list is not mine, I took it from http://www.top10songs.com/ . Although I would NOT consider most of these songs as top of much, I never really have top songs, books, etc., so I thought it would be fun to give my opinion.

1) What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger) by Kelly Clarkson - Music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn676-fLq7I I actually kind of like this song! Lol! On my list this would probably be #1 anyways

2) Set Fire To The Rain by Adele - Music video: Can't find one. I hate Adele! she's so...idk! she's just stupid. On my list this would be #7 if it made it at all, but since I'm mentally rearranging this one...

3) Turn Me On by David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj - Music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVw7eJ0vGfM&ob=av2e   Wow. Talk about a creepy music video... I don't really mind this song too much... I mean I don't really like Nicki Minaj at all but it's OK. On my list this would be #4

4) Good Feeling by Flo Rider - Music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OnnDqH6Wj8   It's got a good beat and flow. It feels kind of motivational - like get your butt up and go to work cuz you're awesome. Prob #3 on my list.

5) Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye ft. Kimbra - Music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UVNT4wvIGY This is a really weird song on it's own! I haven't heard it before today, which is a surprise I guess. It's got a very zoned out foggy feel to it, like he's there but not there. On my list this would be #10

6) We Found Love by Rhianna ft. Calvin Harris - Music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg00YEETFzg   I hate this song! Well, actually that may be too strong. I don't like techno songs and I think the chorus of this song is so dumb. The message in the lyrics isn't bad tho.  I also think the video is really stupid. On my list, this would be #8

7) Domino by Jessie J - Music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJtB55MaoD0 I do like this song. It has a good beat, and it's all bouncy like me. Probably # 2 on my list.

8) Sexy and I Know It by LMFAO - Music video: viewer discretion advised http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyx6JDQCslE&ob=av3e&oref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fresults%3Fsearch_query%3DSexy%2Band%2Bi%2Bknow%2Bit%26oq%3DSexy%2Band%2Bi%2Bknow%2Bit%26aq%3Df%26aqi%3D%26aql%3D%26gs_sm%3De%26gs_upl%3D14857l20069l0l20238l18l18l0l14l0l0l388l885l2-2.1l3l0&has_verified=1 *shudder*. I totally liked this song until I saw the video. Then I had nightmares. I still like the song tho. I work out...
9) Titanium by David Guetta ft. Sia - Music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adxwkbn2Et8  Another song I've only just heard today. Not bad overall and the vocalist has an interesting voice. Kinda catchy. On my list it would be #5

10) Rack City by Tyga - Music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE3yia1AJeQ  This song is really stupid too. All it really says is "Rack city b*tch. Rack, Rack city b*tch." I mean seriously?? On my list it would probably be #9

Gymnastics primer

          I talk a lot about gymnastics. Not only am I passionate about it, I've been doing gymnastics for 11 years so I think about it all the time. I realize not everyone feels this way or may understand what I say sometimes. For those of you who don't - I give you this post.

          So just for starters, gymnastics has been part of my life since I was about 2yo. At that point my mum just needed something to get me to stop climbing the counters.. She brought me to a "Mommy and Me" class in Suwanee, Georgia. I apparently took an interest in it because I've been doing it ever since. Well at least up until now. I have an injury called Spondylosis (look up sprondylosis gymnastics on google). But that's not what I came to talk about.

            Gymnastics is like a tree with many many branches. The first two branches are men's gymnastics, and women's gymnastics. Men's gymnastics then branches off into artistic gymnastics, acrobatic gymnastics, and tumbling and trampoline. Women's gymnastics includes all of those and another branch called rhythmic gymnastics. I'm female, and I do artistic gymnastics. That's what I'm going to explain. I may or may not come back to the others on another day.

Artistic gymnastics- I've spent the better portion of my week, up to 25 hours each week, just in practice for artistic gymnastics. Then competitions on weekends. Of course when you first start you don't go 25 hours a week, you have to work up to that. This branch includes four events for women, Uneven Bars, Balance Beam, Floor Exercise, and Vault. Bars is my personal favourite. Women use a set of double bars, officially called Uneven Parallel Bars. Generally we just call it "bars." I actually love this event and I'm really good at it.

This is a picture of a basic set of bars. It probably doesn't look to intimidating for you when they are just sitting there, but when your about to do your routine at a meet, no matter what level, it's pretty darn scary.. Here's a link to a level 9 gymnast, she is doing a basic routine for her level and has good form. Note that she uses both the high and low bar and transfers between them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouuHWvEm28k&feature=related This next video is a Level 4 gymnast, which is the first competitive level. This is the most basic routine a gymnast will do. This girl has excellent form. She only uses the low bar. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_Gm372dUk8 These girls make their routines look easy to perform, but it takes HOURS to practice, and pratcice is not always easy or safe. Many injuries can occur. You can bang something, break something or twist something. It can happen from incorrectly performing a skill, or just because you made a small miscalculation. Once I was doing giants (when you swing in a straight line all the way around the high bar- Think sword fighting scene in Princess Bride), I hit my foot on the low bar and it was a big bloody mess. Ended up losing a toenail.  

On to beam. Sometimes I love this event, usually I hate it. Well, sometimes I hate doing beam myself, but I always love watching a good beam routine. The beam looks a little something like this:

This is possibly THE scariest event. It's about 4 feet off the ground, 3 inches wide, and 16 feet long. Standing or walking on it is not hard. The hard part is turning - full turns especially, leaping, and tumbling.  Here's a video link of a level 9 at practice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5qqKrnYiv8     This video is one of my routines as a level 4 at the state meet a few years ago: 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2t3nMyMlzU Notice the difference between the two in skill levels. As a level 4 there are only a few half turns, a hand stand, some small leaps - absolutely zero tumbling. The upper levels have tumbling. This is what makes beam scary. I cannot tell you how many times I have fallen off that beam doing back handsprings. Thankfully my worst injury is a bump on the head, some beam burns and possibly a small crack in my shin - it bruised like mad and hurt for a while, but we never thought it was broken...

Floor is usually considered the easiest event, and also the most creative. Gymnasts have just as long on the floor as they do on beam, but because there is music and a wider/safer space to work with you can be more creative. Each level has different requirements. Levels 4-6 are kind of boring. These are compulsory levels and in each event every gymnast does the same routine. The parents go crazy at meets listening to the same music for four hours straight. It's like the song that never ends, it just goes on and on my friend, some people started singing - oh sorry. Actually that's a good point - NO lyrics or human noises in floor routine music. Score and instruments only. The floor is springy, it's a wooden platform with massive springs under it, another wooden platform, followed by foam and carpet. Upper levels require gymnasts to have some part of their routine low on the ground - some of these carpets smell absolutely disgusting. *shudder*

I got really distracted trying to find a floor routine video. Sucked into the youtube void... It's one reason  my blog is late. Here's a  level 8 gymnast from my friend Char's gym. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C-gW3ANUSc&feature=related    Returning to the lowest level, here's a well done Level 4 routine. The level of tumbling, the time and the dance all increases as you go up. The level 4 routine is, if I remember correctly, just under a minute, while an optional (level 7-10) routine can be no more than 1:30 and no less than 1:00. There's one element of floor that I lack - grace. There needs to be a balance of grace and power in a good routine, and I lean more towards power. Off the floor and in real life I'm such a klutz.

Last but not least, vault. Way back in the day men and women used the pommel horse to vault, we (the women) just turned it sideways. Now we have a vaulting table. Lucky us. On this event, the goal is to push yourself off the table using your hands. In upper levels there's flipping involved. Right now level 4 vaults onto a foam mat. They don't go over it, they just jump on a spring board into a handstand on the mat and fall on the mat flat on your back. Basic and boring. Levels 5 and 6 do a simple vault (called a handspring) over the table. It looks like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9Ge-CaPWtU . Level 7 can add a slight variation called a half on and or a half off, but most coaches keep the gymnast doing the basic boring vault until level 8. Then the gymnasts are kind of split between those that do a Yerchencko - a vault that begins with a round off onto the springboard then a back handsrping onto the table, adding many things to the second flight portion, or those who do a Tsukahara (Tsuk) entry. A Tsuk is a half on, and then at minimum a back tuck off. You can add tucks and twists to it. I was learning a Yurchencko, but I really don't like them, I have enough problems with my feet that I was worried about landing wrong on the board. I can stick a Tsuk no problem. Vaults are really hard for parents to video - they are usually placed in odd locations at competitions and happen so quickly that it's easy to miss. I couldn't find a good video of an upper level vault to show you, they all had different issues. At competition each gymnast gets two vaults. The higher scoring vault is the one that is recorded.  

Scoring is highly subjective. There is a code of points that all judges use, and it tells basic deductions, but the problem is that some items are listed as deductions "up to" a set ammount. So for split legs in a bar routine you may get a deduction of "up to .20" each time it happens. There are a lot of elements that also have degree elements and the judges have to assume that you did or did not make that degree (ex - a 180 split leap) as they are watching your routine. USAG levels 4-10 use a 10.00 scoring system. Really it should be called a 9.995 scoring system since they're not allowed to give out 10's.  Levels 4-6 are compulsory, every girl does the same routine on every event. Level 7-10 are optional levels, the girls have a set list of requirements and get to use their imagination and creativity to come up with routines. Well, the coaches get to use their imagination and creativity to make a routine for the girls.  College, eliete and Olympic gymnastics use a different scoring system where the gymnast recieves 2 scores - one for technical ability and one for artistic presentation, then those scores are added together. Awards are given for individual events and then for All Around, which is the combination of all four of your scores.

My Tuesday's Top Ten... Shows

Hey! Before I started, I wanted to state a weird fact that I might mention a few times. About a year ago we got cancelled our cable service. Well we cancelled it about three years ago, but the cable company didn't fully disconnect it until a year ago when we had them out for an internet issue.  For about 2 years we had "some" channels. Now we just use Netflix, Hulu, or something of the sort. Without further ado, here are my favourite television shows.

1) America's Got Talent/Britain's Got Talent - Every summer, my family and I watch this. It's really cool but sometimes disturbing... Summary: People with extraordinary, amazing, just plain weird, all or none of the above talents audition in different places in either the U.S or Britain ( It's also in other countries). At each audition, there are three judges. The act has 3 min to perform, if the judges don't like the act, they hit a button to make a buzzer go off and an X to be lit above the stage. At the end of each act the judges critique them and say whether they liked the act or not. If the person on the stage has less than three X's, they might be able to move on to the next round. If they have three X's, then the judges may or may not critique them and they go home.

2) Phineas and Ferb - I first saw this in Disney World when I was there with my gymnastics team for a competition. It was on in the hotel room while we were doing hair and my room mate loved it. I was shortly hooked.  I don't know why we like it but it's really cool. Summary: Phineas and Ferb are brothers living in the Tri-State area. They are always inventing stuff and their annoying sister, Candace, always trys to bust them without succeeding. Meanwhile their pet, Perry ("He's a platypus, he doesn't do much") is a secret agent and his nemesis is the evil Dr. Doofinsmirtz. Every time Phineas and Ferb invent or make something, Doof makes an evil "inator" and plots to take over the Tri-State area. Perry busts into Doof's lair and stops him, but not before the "inator" ruins Phineas and Ferb's invention before their mum can see. In the end both Candace and Doof's plans have been ruined.

3) Invader Zim - I just recently started watching this show. My friend Mayah watches this and whenever somebody asks why she wears something that has Gir (The robot/dog) on it or something of the sort, I answer "Because it's cool! Why else would she be wearing it?". Summary: Zim is an alien soldier from the planet Irk. The planet Irk is going through their 2nd invasion on the universe. The first one did not quite work because when they recruited Zim, he took the military machine and almost destroyed Irk, therefore, Zim was banished. In this second invasion, Zim "quit" being banished and begged the Tallests ( On Irk, leadership is given to the tallest. In this case there are two of them) if he could be given a second chance. The Tallests tried to make something up to get Zim out of the way. They sent him to somewhere they thought might be a planet along with Gir, a robot made of scraps therefore not working properly, hoping he would die along the way. However, he did not die along the way nor did he not find anything. What he found was our planet, Earth. Ever since he landed he has been trying to destroy our planet while a boy named Dib Membrane, knowing Zim's secret, trys to stop him.

4) Psych - When I go to my other friend, Ashley's, house in the afternoons she usually has this on. It's kind of like other investigation shows but cooler because the dude (on the right in the picture) is psychic!!! Summary:  Hmm - I just summed it up. If you've seen investigation shows you get it. There's a crime, they have to figure it out before the show is over and catch the bad guy. It's on Netflix too.

5) Biggest Loser - When my family still had cable, this used to be our family night show on Tuesday's. This and America's Got Talent are the only "reality" shows we would watch. Summary: People who are (really) overweight and want to change their life and lose weight apply for the show and the chance to go to the Biggest Loser Ranch and work out with the trainers. Sometimes the cast has to go through a trial in their hometown before they can go to "The Ranch". At the Ranch they train with world class trainers and learn how to change their diet, figure out what caused them to get so out of shape in the first place and make a positive change in their lives. Every week, they will have a challenge and whoever comes in first gets a prize, usually immunity. There are usually 18 weeks to the show, on week 9 the remaining contestents get a makeover to see how pretty they are now and another month, they are sent home to see how they will do on their own. At the end the person who stayed on the Ranch and lost the most weight, wins some amount of money and all go home. Some seasons have a lot of drama with the cast and other seasons everyone is so nice and encouraging to each other.

6) NCIS - (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) - Another crime show my friend Ashley got me started on. Or maybe it was her dad.... Summary - No psychic here, but their "spin" is that they investigate crimes that happen in the Navy & the Marine Corps. There's the usual weekly crime to be investigated and a complicated back story about a bigger crime.

7) Beavis and Butthead - I haven't actually watched this whole show - just clips on you tube. Stupid show but it's really funny. This is mum's fault. She made a joke that referenced the show and I went and looked it up. Summary: Two dumb boys act in completely idioic ways that are hilarious to watch. They are definately not the brightest crayons in the box and I'm pretty sure drug use (not shown) is involved. It was shown on MTV when mum was in Jr. High.

8) Garfield - This started as a comic strip then became animated. When I was a bit younger I checked out all the Garfield comics I could from the library, they're funny. Summary - Garfield is a cat with a love for lasagna and being lazy. His owner, Jon, is always frustrated at him for being lazy or tearing up the curtains or eating all the lasagna. Jon is a bit oblivious to what really goes on. There's also a dog, Odie, who lives with them. He reminds me of my dog a lot; just a really playful stupid dog who you can't help but love.

9) 10 Things I Hate About You - TV show that is a spin off from a movie that is adapted from Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. Summary - two high school/early college aged sisters live with their dad. Bianca, the younger sister, is pretty and popular and wants to date and do all the usual teenage high school stuff. Kat, the older sister, is also pretty, but could really care less about conventional behavior and would rather not date. Dad, who in the movie is an OB/GYN is constantly telling the girls about the horrors of dating, the preverted minds of teenage boys and that he doesn't want to deliver his girls babies. He uses Kat's dislike for conformity to enforce the rule that Bianca can't date until Kat does. This is where the title comes into play. Bianca hates Kat becuase she can't convince her to "be normal." The sisters work things out and each sort of ends up dating. The show is both funny and serious at different times, tackling many dating scenarios.  I'll warn you, even though it airs on ABC Family, there are some curse words in both the movie & the show.

10)Good Eats- I've watched this show for as long as I can remember. Alton Brown is awesome!! Summary - Chef Alton Brown takes a food or food group each week and tells people how to cook it, where it came from and interesting facts about it. That kind of makes it sound boring, but the way that he goes about makes it really cool. Here's what Foodnetwork says about the show "

Pop culture, comedy, and plain good eating: Host Alton Brown explores the origins of ingredients, decodes culinary customs and presents food and equipment trends. Punctuated by unusual interludes, simple preparations and unconventional discussions, he'll bring you food in its finest and funniest form."

By the way, sorry this isn't on Tuesday, I couldn't finish it before 10pm. Also, these shows are not in order!!

Volunteering

My sisters and I spend Black Friday every year at Jamestown Settlement's "Food & Feasts". Sometimes mom & I will venture out in the wee hours of the morning, but in general we prefer to walk off our turkey dinner at Jamestown and avoid the crowds. The whole premise of the themed weekend is how people in the 17th & 18th century would celebrate. The interpreters make a lot of yummy food, they butcher a pig (off site) and dress it's carcass (on site) and visitors get to do more food type things than the usual pounding of corn at the Powhatan village. We've helped chop vegetables and herbs for sausage and head cheese, mix ingrediants for dishes - did you know that Chicken Fricasse made the old way uses two POUNDS of butter?

This past Black Friday we were again at the Food & Feasts in Jamestown. At one point during the day, sometime very close to lunch my stomach informed me, we were near the platform in the back corner where the musket demonstration is. There was one interpreter with the musket and another sitting on the platform enjoying his lunch. The rope keeping us a safe distance away is about 10 feet away. My stomach protested at the unfairness of his eating lunch when I hadn't yet. The interpreter heard it. The man had a sense of humor and ruthlessly began to tease me about my lack of food. He said "I'd love to share with you. Well no I wouldn't. But even if I did want to share with you, you'd have to be a volunteer or an employee." I don't know if he expected my answer or not, but I asked where to sign up and the conversation took a turn away from the mouth-watering food he was eating with just a knife and describing to me.

I learned that Jamestown and Yorktown do take younger volunteers. I don't think I've seen any kids there, but who am I to argue with a man holding a knife? I've looked into volunteering at Colonial WIlliamsburg. It's for ages 11-16. Recently my mom emailed for more information. They recruit volunteers at a recruitment fair in January of every year, but they aren't having one this year - not enough turn over from last year. Not to mention that you have to live in Williamsburg, James City County, or the Bruton district of York. Technically I'm out of luck. I'm in York, but not Bruton.

Wanting to volunteer at a museum is not new for me. Ever since I was 7, I've wanted to volunteer. I asked when I could volunteer at the Virginia Living Museum and they said I had to be 11. I came back when I turned 11 to ask if I could again. They said "No. Unfortunately, our rules have changed. You now have to be 13." We checked again (didn't ask, just looked on the site) a few months ago and it said that I had to be 15 or I could do a family volunteering at age 11. I found that quite stupid so I'm waiting until I'm 15 or apply somewhere else. I guess they don't really want younger volunteers. They have a pretty big age gap of "lack of things to do" for 10-15 yo. Their day camps stop at 5th grade and you can't even be a helper at day camp unless you are 15. :/

Today we were at Yorktown Victory Center. In the winter you're not allowed to explore the camp and farm by yourself. I guess they cut back staffing like Colonial Williamsburg does. We had two really nice and informative interpreters, one for each the camp and the farm. When we returned to the warmth of the museum, my sisters went off to finish exploring and I stayed behind to talk to them about volunteering at Yorktown. Sam didn't have much information, but she did know that they had some teenagers and she gave me the name and email of the volunteer service coordinator. Sam said I should let her know if I was interested in outside costumed work or just inside answering questions. So I just sent the volunteer service coordinator an email telling her that I would like to know some more information on the volunteering. Hope it goes well *crosses fingers*

Tuesday's Top 10... Rights of Readers

I found this top 10 on the back of one of the many books my mum borrowed from the library. The name of the book is "The Rights of the Reader" by Daniel Pennac, translated by Sarah Adams. The top 10 is his, but the descriptions are mine.
1) The Right Not To Read - Honestly? I don't see why some people don't like books. My mum doesn't care whether I read or don't read but I read any and all books I can get my hands on. OK, well almost any and all. If I have to read for school, I'm most likely to argue for this Right. But... I have to read it if I want a good grade. Bleck
2) The Right To Skip - Everyone does this every once and a while. We come to this really boring description, a repeat of information, or just a part that we don't feel up to reading, and we skip to a part that seems to be more interesting. Don't deny it, you've had to do it at least once.
3) The Right Not To Finish A Book - Those times when the book just kinda sucks. My mum's rule is 4 chapters, and if you still don't like it, put it away and find a different world to disappear into. That's a good chance to get to know the book right? I think so.
4) The Right To Read It Again - When you get a good book read it and then just have to read it again. I have several series that I've read quite a few times. About a month ago, I finished reading the Harry Potter series for the 5th or 6th time. Again, the only time I don't like re-reading a book, is when your reading it again for school. Like the Odyssey & the Illiad. These have been in my curriculum every year for the last four years in either History, Lit or Mythology. I really don't need to read it again. Lol
5) The Right To Read Anything - Brain candy. Comics. Graphic Novels. Great Books. Classics. Pop Culture. Sparkly Vampires. Fairy Tales. Kid books. Autobiographies. Biographies. Some really are better than others, but sometimes you need a bit of twaddle, a bit of a mindless escape. It's like turning on Elmo's World. lala la la, lala la la....the vapid look crosses your face and you're not really reading, but you're not involved in the real world either. And that's okay. Other times you just really want a well written story with depth and interesting characters, no sparkly vampires allowed.
6) The Right To Mistake A Book For Real Life - When you read a book that has really good imagery, sometimes you will take it seriously and you'll tell someone and they tell you that it's not real and your like "Really? The book was really convincing though....You sure?" And then sometimes you'll have nightmares about it and then you think you see it the next day at school. *shivers* And sometimes an idea is so realistic that it really could happen and you find yourself wondering about a world like that. I read a book a few years ago, a series actually, about an alternate world right here where third children were outlawed and in hiding. Seems crazy right? But the author was pretty convincing.
7) The Right To Read Anywhere - Anywhere? I don't really agree, what if I take my book to a concert. Yea, that's a fantastic decision. Oh or even better, a lecture! I mean come on! You can't just take your book anywhere. There are times and places for reading. To be fair though, the author describes finding hidden ways and places to read, he doesn't suggest being rude.
8) The Right To Dip In - To pick the book up and start reading anywhere. Well I'm fine with it. I mean it might ruin the book but, your choice. I think this is better suited to books  you've already read. Maybe I don't want to re-read the first chapter where we're told who Harry is, maybe I just want to get him on the train, or in Diagon Alley, or to the wind swept island where Hagrid gives Dudley a pig tail, or further in the adventure. You get the idea. Sometimes parts of the book speak to you louder than others and you just want to visit for a short time.
9) The Right To Read Out Loud - Reading out loud sometimes helps you to understand the book. Sometimes it just puts more character in the characters! I read to my sisters when I get the chance, I don't like to, but I do it anyways. They like it and I like getting the chance to share the characters, plots, loves and many other things with them. It's also okay to mumble to yourself while reading in the car. Really, it is.
10) The Right To Be Quiet - I dont't have to talk about the book I just read. I don't have to answer comprehension questions about it. I get to savor the book for myself. I'll talk about it when, and if, I'm ready.

Rainy days

Rain, rain, go away, come again some other day. Maybe when it's warmer and I'm not forced to stay indoors. Cold rain is just bleh. All you want to do is wear sweat pants and curl up with a book and some chai. mmmm chai. And during cold rain, the rents are always on you about homework and chores. But during a warm rain shower you can go outside and smell the fresh earth. Better still, you can play capture the flag and jump in puddles having fun. No worries about homework or chores, just fun.

                                                                             

At least rainy days - hot or cold- also mean hot food and movie night. Fun family movie, soft warm jammies and chai. mmmm chai. Wait... did I say that already? Oh well. I think that the best store chai comes from Wawa. You fill the whatever size drink you get about 2/3rds of the way with the chai, the littlest amount of vanilla cappuccino you can get, and fill the rest with the vanilla creamer. Yumm! (Only a dollar (any size) for a limited time only *nudge, nudge* :D What do YOU like to do on rainy days?

Bad Days & Dreams on Hold

I've been having some pretty bad days since mid November. That's when my back started hurting and I found out I have a cracked vertabrae. Which means I have to take a break from gymnastics. For an unknown ammount of time. The orthopedist "isn't concerned" about the crack. The new one anyways. My old Ortho would have been concerned. But he doesn't take our insurance anymore. So I'm stuck with Mr. "If it hurts, don't do it." Ummm - pretty much everything hurts, can you please take another x-ray and give me some idea of recovery time?

There are some pretty bad things about this back injury. The first of course is that, well, my back is broke. Fun. But what that means is that my life, at least as I know it and have known it for the last 11 years is on hold. I've been doing gymnastics 26 hours a week for the last two years, 22 hours a week for the 2 years before that, 20 hours a week for the previous 2 years, 16 hours a week the year before that and 8 hours, for a few years but I started at 1 then 2 hours a week. Now, I'm at ZERO hours. What am I supposed to do with my time? My body is going crazy. So my season is over. I've competed once this season and my coach had me scratch an event so I don't have my state score, and the state meet is in March. I don't have time - assuming my back heals- to train and compete to earn a qualifying score to go to state. That's it, I'm done this year. No gymnastics for who knows how long. Probably no gymnastics camp. But the worst, the really worst, is that without gymnastics, I have to find another way to get to Cirque Du Soliel. 

So, I'm taking some dance classes - little to no impact on my back- while waiting for someone to stop pressing the pause button on my life.

My Top 10 Foods

1. Burritos- no, I'm not talking about Taco Bell - ick! I'm talking about a warm 10 inch flour tortilla with pinto & black beans covered with cheddar cheese & fresh pico de gallo. Yeah, I know - where's the beef right? Not really a fan of meat in my burritos. Or lettuce. weird right?

2. Dark Chocolate - this is the good stuff. I like my cocoa ratio around 80-85%. Darker than that & I can only eat a little, less than that and I've wasted my money. Once you've had good dark chocolate you can't go back to milk chocolate.

3. Banana Bread - Ohmygod, my house smells so good right now. Mom just pulled some banana bread out of the oven. I can't wait to dig into a slice. Confession - sometimes I refuse to eat bananas just so they get to the point where I *have* to make banana bread.

4. Yakisoba noodles -This was my first exposure to Japanese food and chopsticks when I was like 2 or 3. The noodles are like spaghetti noodles, but better becuase they actually taste like something. You can use soba noodles in lots of things like stir fry, soup, or noodle dishes. Yakisoba is a noodle dish with a sweet tangy sauce and vegetables. Best part is slurping it off the chopsticks.

5. Steak - Guilty pleasure. This is something my dad and I get when we go out. No one else in the family will eat it. Dad got a gift certificate to Outback for Christmas - can you say "Daddy, I love you!"? lol I forsee a dinner out in my future....

6. Lemon Pound Cake - tastes best with a mocha frappacino from Starbucks. I wonder if it would taste good on it's own? It's got a great balance of sweet & lemon, but the lemon isn't so sour that it's overpowering.

7. Black bean soup  - I've had this a few places and a few different ways. Honestly? The best is semi homemade. Grab a carton of Trader Joe's Cuban Style Black Bean Soup (it's in a box), add a can of black beans and simmer. Serve with a spoonful of pico de gallo and some shredded cheese. I won't object to some Trader Joe's corn chips with it either.

8. Brownies - with ice cream, without ice cream, but definately without frosting or nuts. Why do people do that to brownies? I like a slightly fudgey texture - not cakey to fall apart but not really gooey & gross. Definately a dark chocolate kind. I'm thinking Gheradeli's.

9. Ham -My dad's mom, we call her Gammy, she makes the best ham at home if you're looking for a meal. Mom doesn't cook ham, probably couldn't do it right, so I won't ask her what the secret is. I know it has something to do with pineapple juice, cherries, brown sugar and I think Coke? But if you're looking for deli ham for a sandwhich - FireHouse Subs is the place to go.

10. Pretzel Bread - Personally I like the pretzel rolls from Trader Joe's. They're huge and the slightly salty flavor is just right. I like fresh warm soft pretzels also, especially with cinnamon sugar, but there's such a difference in the pretzel places that I'm always wary. There's this place in Williamsburg by Kidsburg that's really gross. I don't remember the name of it, but I'm not sure how they stay in business. On the other hand, one of the pretzel places in the mall is passable and the other is good. Can't remember which is which so it's always a guessing game. If you're ever in Disney World and get reservations to Le Cellier in Canada (Epcot) - the warm pretzel sticks they serve before a meal are amazing. Save room for the steak though.