Thursday, December 31, 2009

My Many Books of 2009

So this year is finally ending...and the world shall be mine! MWAHAHAHAHA! not. alright, so I met my goal of 100 novels this year. I'm really happy about that and I actually passed it by one book! So if anyone is curious on what I read this year, I've been keeping track of all the books I've read in 2009. Enjoy! And oh yeah, Happy New Year!

January
1. The Burning Bridge by John Flanagan
2. The Riddle by Alison Croggon
3. The Icebound Land by John Flanagan
4. The Battle for Skania by John Flanagan
5. Pretties by Scott Weterfeld
6. Dragon Sword and Wind Child by Noriko Ogiwora
7. Wolf Tower by Tanith Lee
8. Specials by Scott Westerfeld
9. In Freedom’s Cause by G.A. Henty
10. Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

February
11. Breath by Donna Jo Napoli
12. Extras by Scott Westerfeld
13. The Sorcerer of the North by John Flanagan
14. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
15. The Merchant of Death D.J. MacHale
16. Escape from Memory by Margaret Peterson Haddix
17. Fly by Night by Frances Haidinge
18. Scarlet Moon by Debbie Viguie
19. Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix

March
20. M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman
21. The Safe-keeper’s Secret by Sharon Shinn
22. In the Belly of the Bloodhound by L.A. Meyer
23. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
24. Lost City of Faar by D.J. MacHale
25. The Rumplestiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde
26. To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
27. The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
28. Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix

April
29. The Never War by D.J. MacHale
30. Among the Imposters by Margaret Peterson Haddix
31. Babylonne by Catherine Jinks
32. Among the Betrayed by Margaret Peterson Haddix
33. Among the Barons by Margaret Peterson Haddix
34. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
35. Among the Brave Margaret Peterson Haddix
36.The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
37. Among the Enemy by Margaret Peterson Haddix
38. The bones of Makaidos by Bryan Davis
39. Among the FreeMargaret Peterson Haddix
40. Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce

May
41. The Underneath by Kathi Appelt
42.The Soldiers of Halla by D.J. MacHale
43. Maximum Ride: Max by James Patterson
44. Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate
45. Lincoln’s Dreams by Connie Willis
46. The Lake House by James Patterson
47. Mississippi Jack by L.A. Meyer

June
48. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
49. Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements
50 Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
51. Things Hoped for by Andrew Clemnts
52. Blood Secret by Ksthryn Lasky
53. The Akltenaten Adventure by P. B. Kerr
54. Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander
55. Burning Up by Caroline B. Cooney
56. Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
57. Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
58. Belle by Cameron Dokey
59. The Blue Djinn of Babylon by P.B. Kerr
60. For Young Women Only by Shaunti Feldhann and Lisa A. Rice
61. The Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
62. Standard Hero Behavior by John David Anderson

July
63. Vanish by Tom Pawlik
64. The Cobra King of Kathumandu by P.B. Kerr
65. The Day of the Djinn Warriors by P.B. Kerr
66. The Divide by Elizabeth Kay
67. The Enclave by Karen Hancock
68. Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
69. Wild Orchid by Cameron Dokey
70. Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn

August
71. The Singing by Alison Croggon
72. Sunlight and Shadow by Cameron Dokey
73. The Rule of Won by Stefan Petrucha
74. The Siege of Macindaw by John Flanagan
75. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
76. My Bonny Light Horseman by L. A. Meyer
77. East by Edith Pattou
78. The Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson Haddix

September
79. Sent by Margaret Peterson Haddix
80. Leonardo’s Shadow by Christopher Grey
81. Tiger Moon by Antonia Michaelis
82. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
83. Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale

October
84. Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones
85. House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
86. Syren by Angie Sage
87. Daniel X: Watch The Skies by James Patterson
88. Cart and Cwidder by Diana Wynne Jones
89. The Islands of the Blessed by Nancy Farmer
90. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

November
91. Drowned Ammet by Diane Wynne Jones
92. Eye of the Forest by P.B. Kerr
93. Spell Coats by Diane Wynne Jones
94. The Crown of Dalemark by Diane Wynne Jones
95. Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz

December
96. The Dreamwalker’s Child by Steve Voake
97. Tamar by Mal Peet
98. Isle of Swords by Wayne Thomas Batson
99. Storm Thief by Chris Wooding
100. Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones
101. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Friday, December 25, 2009

Christmas Just Ain't Christmas Without the Ones You Love

This is probably one of the dullest Christmases I can remember. On Monday, my mom flew to Maryland to help out a sick friend and she was flying back on Christmas eve. Well, due to snow, she got stuck in Dallas TX. Luckily, my dad has friends in Dallas who were able to pick her up and take her back to their place until the next morning (which would be today). The Lubbock airport is still out of commission apparently, so as I'm writing this, my mom is on a plane to Amarillo. She's going to rent a car and drive to Lubbock which is a straight shot south to pick up our car which is still in the airport parking and then drive home. We should see her sometime this afternoon or evening.

It's kind of sad without mom around for Christmas. The tree is dark and all the presents are still under it. I think everyone in my family will be very happy when mom gets back home. it just isn't christmas without her.

So, I'm here to wish you guys a Merry Christmas and telling you to give your Family and extra hug. =)

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Mellow Holiday and Book Dilemma

Done with Christmas shopping! And I didn't do it all at Wal*mart. HA!

K, so now all I gotta do is wait around for Christmas to happen. December has passed by so fast I can't believe it. I find myself in less holiday spirits than the years before. I think it's part of the 'growing up' factor where things seem more dull and old. Where excitement doesn't run as high and the presents are no longer tempting you to pick them up and shake them. It's sad, kind of, loosing that. But I don't think I mind terribly.

So I'm looking at the calender and thinking. "It can't be that close already?!?!" Apparently it is.

I Am up to 98 novels this year. I thought for sure I would have read over 100 by now. I guess not. After June, my reading kind of went down hill for two reasons: I didn't have enough time to read and there wasn't anything I wanted to read. It's hard being picky about books. I think that I might make it to 100 books by New Years if I try hard. I just need to find two other books to read...

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Painting Problems and Unfinished Shopping

Well I did it. I went and started to teach my friend and my sister how to paint with oil. it's a good thing neither of them care very much about being professional painters, because I am certainly not one myself. I've only painted with oil a total of four times in my life, not including the painting I'm doing right now as an example for my two students. We're all painting at the same time and I'm painting a picture to show them what to do, which is a little bit easier than telling them. I still feel like I'm making it all up as I go along, which I am. I never know what a painting or sketch is going to look like until it's done.

Unfortunately, I'm absolutely horrible at leaving my paintings unfinished. We ran out of time Monday, so we couldn't finish our paintings. We will be able to finish them next Monday, but me, being the person I am, couldn't help it and ended up painting more on my canvas anyway. it's not finished, but most of the background is complete. I hope Rebekah and Rachel will forgive me for this. I couldn't help myself! it's sitting there screaming at me wanting to be painted and there's this huge white spot where the child and dog are supposed to be. so annoying!

I have a small canvas I might paint today to keep me from touching the other. Or, I might be too busy Christmas shopping to touch either. I hope the latter is the case. I haven't done any shopping and should probably get to it soon. Even so, I only have 50 bucks to burn this year. that means that whether my family likes it or not, I'm going to have to be a cheap Santa. Maybe it's a good thing the only store around here is Wal*Mart.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Introduction to My Darkside: Mwahahaha!!!! Not.

Sometimes I wonder why the villains never win. I mean, good will always triumph over evil and all that jazz, but they always get to have the most fun! or it seems like it. And have you ever noticed that the villain is more powerful than the hero? For me, the best part about writing is that I can be the villain, but not suffer the consequences. Mwahahahahaha!

alright, enough with the jokes, but seriously, i always have more fun writing the villain than my heroes. I think it's the whole playing with fire bit. it's thrilling. It also gives my characters more to react to, which means more story and everyone's happy!

Speaking of which, Dare is turning into quite a monster. I really jumped into a world that I know nothing about and it is going to take me forever during my second draft to get rid of all the half written shadows and murky background. I'm thinking that as December rolls around, I'm going to shelf Dare for a while and get back to Starshard. I can practically hear Pihm and Aleu (not to mention Tessa, Olivia and David from an earlier book) shouting at me telling me that I have a story that needs to be finished. Make that two stories. I'm still on my second draft of No Light Without Shadow. But after Dare, I am about ready to slip into the familiar world I've created and sink my teeth back into that story. To bad I'm only 70% done with Dare. Sigh.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Llama Has No Issue with Intruding Personal Space


Not much going on. We are now boarding llamas for a while and one of them won't leave me alone. she has gotten it into her head that whenever she sees me, she is going to come with in two inches of my face and snort. I've worked with horses before, so I'm used to large creatures in a close proximity to me, but a horse never got right in my face. Usually they keep a respectable distance. It just goes to show you llamas are not like horses and, if they are rather bold a curious like Sugar, they no problem with standing nose to nose with you. It feels like the tables have been turned on me. usually the animals are a little skittish around me at first, but I'm finding that I'm actually the one being skittish. I have no idea what to expect from this kind of animal and it puts me on edge. So if you ever want to know what a skittish cat, dog, or horse feels like, just get in a pen with an over curious llama. I must admit, I do prefer them to cows.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

More NaNoWriMo freak out

Oh bother NaNoWriMo! it seems to be about all I can think about these days! grrr! From the way my story is starting to shape up in my head, it's going to be a little darker than what I usually write. No. I take that back. I seem to be good at writing a little dark. I'm thinking about my short stories for writer's class here. At any rate, this story is NOT going to be for little kids.

It's a good thing I switched to the adult version of NaNoWriMo. I'm still going to be posting on the young writer's one though. I had people from both networks that wanted to be buddies with me. so that's why I have two accounts. Same username, same novel, different word count. yikes! I have to write 50k! that means about...1666 words a day! that's four pages!

Another thing that's going to bug me about this is that I'm pretty sure this story would work better in 3rd person. THAT is ok since I write in 3rd all the time. However, my main character is named D1R5. yeah. so that means sift key D, number 1, sift key R, number 5. CONSTANTLY!

Bother. I make these things too hard for myself.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

In which my ghost does the writing for me

Bother, bother, bother. I rather like that word, don't you?

School is picking up slightly, which is good, co-op is less stressful, which is good, NaNoWriMo doesn't start until November, which is bad, I have a huge zit over my eyebrow, which is bad and I'm completely bored to death at the moment, which is bad. Yes, it is the ghost of Kye who sits here writing these words. I told you, I am bored to DEATH.

Actually, not so much, just bored enough to sit here and tell you that nothing is going on. I might go steal the game controller from my brother for a bit. How lazy of me! I do have a nice book I could be reading, but I usually read at night because otherwise I'm constantly bombarded with interruptions! I HATE being interrupted.

We watched Howl's Moving Castle again last night (in English this time) Not that bad, but Howl's voice in English is absolutely horrible and Calcifer sounds like Mike Wasosky from Monsters inc.

That's all. ta ta

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

School Slumps and Nanowrimo

Well it's October now, but my school hasn't improved any. I was hoping my last year of high school would go better than it has. I feel soooo far behind and my motivation is like, not there. I'm not sure if it ever was...I'd really like to stop going to CBS on Tuesdays because then I'd be able to do more school. It's not like I'm learning anything there anyway.

I signed up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) yesterday. My username is Annaldi and my story is called Dare. I wrote a summary and designed a cover for it, but beyond that I have no idea what it's about. I guess I have October to think about considering I don't actually have to start writing it until November. I've never done it before so I decided to do 4ooo words instead of 5ooo words. That roughly means about 133 words a day which I think I can do quite easily. I hope so anyway.

Monday, September 28, 2009

September:Just My Luck

I've been feeling kind of cursed this month. For about the first half, the sleep I got was very poor, and then I ran out of stuff to read, which made things even worse. I had about a week's break (if you can call it that) somewhere in the middle only to have things go wrong again. Like Piczo deciding to reformat everything, getting like, no school done and hating all of my subjects this year, not being able to finish my pant/skirt, the car dying twice, not being able to go to the corn maze, nightmares about co-op, our only working computer's motherboard going kaput, and me having to stuff those envelopes for the High School reunion photos twice since the first time I put the pictures in the envelopes there wasn't enough packing and actually, It took me a while even to order the freaking prints cuz the kiosk was acting stupid.

One good thing is that I got my own computer now. I finally got enough money to do it. So now my sister can't kick me off anymore. HA! and I finished that Story for Writer's group. Seriously, the end of last week was looking pretty good. Which is great since that was the hardest most hexed week all month. (Minus the seasonal allergy sore throat I get, and the fact that iTunes is giving me ****.)

This morning, however, I woke up and my left eye was swollen. I seem to have an allergic reaction to some kind of bug. The last time I got bit, it was right under my nose. My whole upper lip swelled. And now, it's by my eye. It's puffy and looks horrible! Of course it doesn't hurt and it does not effect my vision in the least so THAT's a good thing. I've been holding a teabag to my eye on and off all morning since the black tea is supposed to help with the swelling or something. Funny, September used to be my favorite month. Not anymore.

Monday, September 21, 2009

no post in forever

uh, not much going on. not really. nothing worth talking about. I KNOW I haven't been here in forever. It's kind of slipped to the back of my shelf with school and everything.

Right now, I'm reading Howl's Moving Castle and am liking it so far.

Gosh I need to go to bed. I'm having a hard time keeping my eyes open as I speak. I'll let you know if something interesting happens.

Friday, August 28, 2009

school blues

It's back to school for me and I am not liking it. I'm having a hard time finding any motivation to do anything and I've been tired all week. I hope that as the year goes by It'll get better. Another problem is that I'm a senior and so I'm trying to cram everything I haven't already learned into this year so I can graduate without having major gaps in my education. *pulls hair* AAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHH! At the moment, I'm supposed to be doing yet ANOTHER report on the civil war, but I'm having the hardest time making myself do that. it's even an effort to do this. I'm bored, but I don't want to do anything to change that, which is pathetic. I'm just going to have to hope my mood changes sometime soon...

Saturday, August 15, 2009

A Week With Ruth

Beginning with Thursday, August 6th: We left the house early to go to Albuquerque to pick Ruth up. It was a four hour drive just to get there and I drove for one an a half hours. I swear Ruth was one of the last people to get off that plane! We went to the zoo afterwords, then came home. Another four hours of driving, and then just before bed, Ruth, Rachel and I watched Howl's Moving Castle. in Japanese for the sake of authenticity. I must say I'm glad. we could have watched it in the dubbed over English version, but then the mouths wouldn't have matched. and that really bugs me when the voice doesn't match the mouth.

Friday, August 7th: To celebrate Tax free weekend, Ruth and I went to our little mall in Clovis where the food court consists of pizza or Chinese food. We both bought stuff. I like not having to add tax to my purchases.

Saturday, August 8th: Went to Ute Lake, swam out to the little island in choppy water and got a slight case of hypothermia. Fun. Never doing that again. We didn't have a boat or anything!

Sunday, August 9th: We didn't really do anything Sunday.Went to the video store and rented Mononoke and the first X-man movie. I've already seen X-man, but Rachel hasn't and she's been bugging my dad for ever asking if we could rent it. So that is what we watched Sunday night. it took us a long time to watch X-man because Abby wasn't aloud to see it, so we had to pause it every time she walked into the room. very annoying.

Monday, August 10th: At this point, but Ruth and were too tired to really do anything. We were still trying to regain energy we used at the lake. We did go to osasis state park with Haley and Brandy that morning and came back and took a nap. Having nothing to do with our afternoon, we surfed the web and were actually able to find the whole movie Totoro online and we watched that. It was definitely geared for a younger audience, but it was hilarious. And then we watched Kiki's delivery service before bed. Online. Our day was very relaxed.

Tuesday, August 11th: It was my parent's anniversary, so they went to dinner and we stayed home. We watched Spirited Away in the living room and Abby watched it with us, but again, we had put it in Japanese, so there was no end of her questions. "What's that? What are they doing? What's going on? Are her parents really turned into Pigs?" Ruth and I also played with Ruth's web cam changing our voices and what not.

Wednesday, August 12th: We watched falling stars stretched out on a blanket in the back yard. very peaceful.

Thursday: August 13th: Sent Ruth back home. Boo hoo. I think that is the longest time I've ever spent with one of my friends. You know, one on one like. I'm pleased to announce we did NOT get tired of each other. our week was very relaxed, filled with talking and comfortable silences. I don't seem to do silence very well with people, but with Ruth it works. We've known each other so long anyway that it didn't really matter if we talked or not.

Yesterday, we went to Clovis and I spent the evening painting. I'm trying to get ready for the fair. So now, I have one oil painting I want to enter, but I also want to do a sketch and a pen and ink. I just need to figure out what I want to draw...

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Broken Arm and a Black Cat Personality


It seems that the smallest of us, fell first. Abby, my youngest sister, fell out of the only tree in our yard and broke both bones in her lower left forearm. Right now, she's got a splint on, and she'll get it casted tomorrow. Not one of us kids have broken anything until now. Broken bones aren't really that big of a deal, but when not one of your siblings, including yourself have managed not to break anything, it puts a whole new level on things.


That's not the only interesting thing. We're picking up Ruth on Thursday, and I wanted to go back to Ute Lake with her this weekend. But with Abby's arm in a cast, that might not happen, seeing as she can't get it wet. Mom would have to stay home with her and my permit won't let me drive anywhere with someone who isn't family. I did ask Sarah if we could go up there again and I'm waiting for a response. this whole thing has made August the most interesting month so far. It makes me wonder what my week with Ruth is going to be like. One thing my friends never have to worry about is having nothing to do when I'm around. I seem to carry adventure with me wherever I go. something ALWAYS happens when you fit me in with at least one of my friends. examples:


Haley: broken Dune Buggy

Stephanie: car getting stuck in sandy shoulder

Sarah and Rebekah: Lost keys.

none of this is my fault! but I feel that just my presence has something to do with it. Call me a Black Cat if you wish, but at least my friends are never bored. =)


Sunday, July 26, 2009

Sunburn and Missing Car Keys

Yesterday morning, mom wakes me up at six, me and my sister get dressed, grab a bite to eat and head out the door. We arrive at our friend's house, load up in Sarah's car, and begin our adventure. which meant two hours of driving to a little pond in the middle of the desert. Well, actually, it IS the second largest lake in this state. We reach Ute Lake without miss-hap and spend a few happy hours hiking, not counting the time I lost my footing and my knee slammed into a cactus.

A little before noon, we head back to the car and drive around to the other site of the lake where we stripped down to our swimsuits, inflated the boat (which took about an hour to fill) and jump in the lake, get stuck in cat-tails, capsize our raft, and slowly and pitifully row to the island in the center of the lake. Once there, we fished for crawl fish and swam around in the shallow water. We also flipped the boat upside down and stretched out on the smooth surface. Bliss.

It wasn't until we got back to the car things started to go wrong. Sarah: "Rebekah, where are the keys?"

Rebekah: "I don't know, I thought you put them somewhere."

Sarah: "I did, they were in the bag attached the raft..."

Yeah, we lost the keys...in the middle of the lake. To make matters worse, I had left my cell phone at home and both Sarah's and Rebekah's cell phones were dead. Sarah and I walked to the ranger's station to find a phone and Rachel and Rebekah stayed with the car. The ranger said our story was the second best he's ever heard and gave us his phone. Sarah's parents weren't home. Her grandparents weren't home. We went back to the car and the ranger came by and hour later so we could try again and we finally managed to reach somebody. Nearly three hours later, Sarah's dad shows up with the extra keys and we head home.

It wasn't until I actually reached my own house that I realized how sun burned I was. Rachel looks even worse than I do, and today, we still feel pretty bad, but not as sore as yesterday.

So there you have it, another adventurous day in the life of me. P.S. This post probubly sucked cuz I'm writing it while I'm half asleep. I apologize.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Birthday Begins with a Runaway Horse

Happy Birthday to me! it was yesterday actually, But oh well.

You know that horse that lives in the field next to us? I found out that his name was George of all things. He’s not the only horse in that Field and actually, one of his friends, Pie, got out and was meandering around our house looking for a way back into the field. Dumb horse. We borrowed a lead rope and a halter from one of the people down the road. I managed to slip it over Pie’s head, but the horse didn’t want to leave the fence and remained stationary for forty five minutes! That meant that I had to stand there for forty five minutes, trying to coax Pie into going down the road so we could get him back in his field. Mom was calling the branding inspector to try and figure out who owns Pie, because we didn’t know who owned the field next to us and didn’t have the guy’s number.

The funny thing was that I eventually got Pie moving and no sooner did we start walking than the guy who owns Pie drives up in his truck! Talk about timing. He didn’t even know Pie had gotten out, so that means my mother hadn’t managed to reach him. We have his number now in case it happens again.

It could be just me, but I don’t really like spending my birthday in the hot 95 degree weather with a horse that won’t move.

I painted yesterday evening and finished my seccond ever oil painting. Haley texted me later and said it was a good thing I hadn't gone to youth group that night or I would have had to do the birthday dance. No way as anyone going to make me do that stupid dance.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Bonita Park


Sorry I haven't posted in a while. you see, I haven't been feeling tip-top of late. I have this horrible cold. I don't get sick a lot so when I do it's absolutely paralyzing.


Last weekend was spent at Bonita Park in Ruidoso NM. The first vacation my family has had in nigh a year. It was a father retreat and the dads could bring their families. We were in the middle of the mountains so we had thin air, no Internet and no cell service. I met a few new great people, but it took two days before any of us had the guts to meet one another. Shayna was the first. She has a voice that sort of reminds me of Amanda Bynes. Shayna is apparently in love with Rodeo and Cows. I can't stand cows. She's very friendly and easy to talk to.


Then there's Scott and David. They're best friends and it turns out that I know David from before. We helped his family move into their new house about a year ago. David can be conversation for both of you so it's pretty easy to relax around him. As far as Scott goes, I didn't really talk to him much because him and Rachel were basicly stuck together like glue for most of the long weekend. David kept coming up with ways to break them up.


Andy, I believe will grow up to be some kind of inventor or engineer. He was making some possible plans for a hovercraft of some sort and the drawings were phenomenal! Truth be told, I didn't understand half of what was on the graph paper, but I know that the guy's got talent.


of course, when you do get a bunch of teens together, you get trouble. not bad trouble, but we did go a little crazy. I must say it's weird to play on a play-scape that is way too small. there was one that sat on top of a hill. Andy kept saying that it looks a lot smaller when you get closer. which was true.


So after a long four-day weekend of human foosball, Cheetos wars, getting lost in the mountains, and Scott being eaten by bears (or so David claims), you can imagine how tired I was and still am. Thankfully, this cold didn't really begin to manifest until we got back. I don't know what I would have done if I'd had to blow my nose every few minutes in the middle of the mountains.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Visit in August

Independence day has come and gone, leaving me with lack of sleep and deaf by fireworks. Fire works on the 3rd, fireworks on the 4th fireworks on the 5th. I've had enough fireworks to last me a year.

Right now, I am half watching the Tale of Despereaux because the TV is about twenty feet from where I am standing and it's hard not to look at the TV when it's in the same room as you. That movie is nothing like the book.

Yesterday, My mom booked airline tickets for one of my friends. She's coming to visit me in August. YAY! It'll be nice having someone come here for a change instead of always going there to visit. Can't wait to see her.

I'm tired.

Time for Dinner.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Bye Y'all!

Just got back from a sleepover at Haley's and as usual, we were up late talking...two thirty AM. Now I'm feeling that late bed time and if I can, I'm going to go right back to bed when I finish typing this.

Abby just finished listening to a book called A Dog Called Kitty. Mom picked it out for her. I never get boy and dog books anymore because most of the time they don't end happily. this was no exception. Abby comes running in, crying because the dog died. I think I should be the one picking the books out from now on. It's happened before. When I was little, Mom got me a book called Stone Fox. The dog died. I don't think Mom means to get books with sad endings, I think it just happens. I know quite a few books that Abby will enjoy, so I'm going to look into getting those.

this has nothing to do with anything, but I hate the word "fixin'" like, "I'm fixin' to go to the store." or "They're fixin' to have a baby." I also have a hard time with "deal." like instead of saying "I'll put the pencil in your little deal (meaning bag) here, and you're all set!" I don't like Y'all. I can't stand y'all! Its not a word I tell you, NOT A WORD! I've lived here for two years now and I still wince at all the little weird things people say around here. I don't think I'll ever get used to the High Planes.

Sunday, June 28, 2009


My weekend has been filled with lots of laughs, sweat, sunscreen, and sleeping in tents too small for four girls.


Thursday:So we went to pick of Stephanie for a sleep over and we met by the TX border. (she lives in TX and I don't) my mom decided to do a quick turn around on a side dirt road so she could just pull out of there and head home. big mistake. the road was more dirt than sand and we got stuck in the sandy shoulder. we must have been there for twenty minutes trying to get the suburban out of the sand bank! eventually, a guy passing by in a pick up truck stopped and we hooked up to his truck and he pulled us out. I looked over at Steph, who was standing next to me and said, "note to self, never try to turn around in a dirt road when there is a drive way fifty feet away." because there was a drive way about fifty feet from where we got stuck.


Friday: We went to Oasis State Park, but before going, we had to pick up my three little girl cousins. Mom handed them the sunscreen and Amber, who's five, managed to get some in her eye. Mom, being the good first aid person she is, pulled over to the side of the road and flushed Amber's eye. We had fun at Oasis and Steph, Rosey and I went up on the dunes. it was really hot so we were glad when we left. the same afternoon, we headed back to Stephanie's house and met Lizzie there. We spent the afternoon swimming in the pool and hanging out in Steph's room playing LIFE.


I got to watch the West Side Story for the first time and I didn't think much of it. Tony: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, but there was a knife in my hand and I somehow managed to kill your brother!" Maria: "Oh...well, it doesn't matter, I still love you. Will you marry me?" Seriously, the girl needs to get a life! Actually, every one in the movie needed to get a life. what is the point of fighting for turf that doesn't even really belong to you accomplish anyway?


Now about that tent...Seriously, the tent is about five by seven. all of us, Lizzie, Steph, Rosey and I are over five feet tall. we slept with our feet to the door on top of one sleeping bag as padding and a bunch of throw blankets for covers. the ground was uneven and so I found that my feet were slightly higher than my head! There was also the street light blinding me from one angle and the porch light blinding me from another. I swear I was sleeping on rocks and if you slept between two girls that like to move and talk in their sleep, you might have a hard time sleeping too! I don't think I got much sleep Friday night. Don't get me wrong, I had a lot of fun, but I sleep like my dad, which means that in order to actually get a good night's sleep, I have to have quiet, darkness, and something comfortable behind my back. I ended up going inside to get an extra blanket to cover my head and another one to go underneath me for more padding.


Saturday: Not much happened. We went home and I spent yesterday afternoon reading. I hadn't read for two days and was behind. I still have a lot of books waiting for my attention. like, The Jellicoe Road, Vanish, The Enclave, Standard Hero Behaviour, Wild Orchard and the Blue Djinn of Babylon. All of them I am borrowing and all of them need to go back soon.


I spent a good part of the evening reading For Young Women Only. It's a book on how guys think. I'm pretty glad I read it. I think I understand my brother a little bit better now. And I know why that one guy in the supermarket keeps staring at me.


Sunday: well, It's only 10:30 AM, so I'm not sure what is going to happen today.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Zavy

Well, Zavy's bone scan came back normal so now it's back to the drawing board as far as figuring out what is making him sick. please continue to pray for the return of his health.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Praying for Zavey


Did some highway driving today. Driving at 60 some mph is a little alarming and I kept wanting to slow down. I'm very comfortable with driving 40 or 50 mph and going faster just makes me nervous. It always makes me wonder why so many teens can't wait to get their driver's licence. For me, it's like, I'm doing this because I have to not because I want to. I'm scared to death I'm going to get hit!


My cousin Xavier might have cancer. They're doing a bone scan this afternoon. The poor kid has had so many other medical issues already. It doesn't seem fair that he should be so sick all the time. I know that I would greatly appreciate it if you guys would pray for him. He needs all the prayers and miracles he can get.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Karaoke

It was karaoke time at the library today. I had to be the brave one and sing first. I HATE singing karaoke for the reason that the music is distorted and you can't ever seem to reach the right notes. most of the songs were 80's. we just stumbled through it. at one point, Hannah C. (not me) and Katie were trying to sing "girl's just wanna have fun, and this black guy comes in and starts singing it! it was really funny. Actually, he sounded better than any of us. To put it in a nut shell, we sang bad, ate cookies, and had fun.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

In which I deal with ill-trained animals.


I came accross this quote this morning and thought it spoke volumes: Easy reading is damn hard writing. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne. Isn’t that just the truth?!?! It’s so hard to write and it takes so long, but you can read a book that may have taken someone years to write in just a few hours! It really isn’t fair. But I guess life isn't fair so...


I am riding horses again! Two actually. These people we know have horses, but never ride them, so it is now my job it exercise them. Fun right? Well it would be better if they were trained. These horses have been mostly pasture horses for most of their lives and they hate the saddle or anything to do with horse tack. Rosie, the younger of the two, is so skittish about the saddle, that it takes me forever to get one on her. Get this, she doesn’t know what “trot” is. I try to get her to go faster than a walk and she spooks. Very annoying. Nathan helped me exercise the horses the other day, but there is no way I am letting him ride Rosie. I pray every time climb into that saddle that I’m not going to get thrown. It's times like these when I am very glad for my four and a half years of horse training.


The other horse is named Breezy. She’s more laid back and doesn't spook like Rosie, but she is stubborn! It’s nearly impossible to get her out and away from her pen. It takes two to saddle her because she dances around a lot and won’t let you tighten the girth! I pray for patience with these creatures. I almost think it would be better not to ride at all then to ride these two ill-trained animals.


The first time I was out on them, I was wearing a black tank top. I forgot sunscreen. I came back very burned. it was just my shoulders though. the part the tank didn't cover. but my shoulders and nose always burn the worst, but my nose was shaded by the helmet, so no damage done there. I've worn regular T-shirts since.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Bug Bites, Walkers, Miss-kicks, and a Yucca


So--you know, I start my posts with "so" a lot....as I was saying, we took Cheyenne to the vet's yesterday afternoon because she's got bites or stings all over her face. she was running a high fever and her face was a little puffy. they kept her over night just to make sure she was ok. she is. we just got her back this morning.


that wasn't the only thing that happened yesterday. We were in front of Hastings because I was going in to look for new earbuds. you know those walkers that have the seat/bench thing on them? well, there was this 93 year old lady and another old couple and the 93 year old lady was using the walker like a wheel chair. well, it hit a bump and collapsed in on itself and send the old lady flying backwards against the pavement, hitting her head and putting a deep long gash in her right leg. my mom flew out of the car to help set her back up and then flew back to the car to get one of our towels out of the back and dashed back over to try and stop the bleeding. my mom does not like blood. the lady's leg was gushing blood. mom said it was like pouring water out of a water bottle or something. some guy ran into Hastings and called 911 and there was a police officer there. I don't know what happened to the lady after the ambulance came and got her. I think she was ok, but she did loose a lot of blood.


When we got back from Clovis, Nathan made this dummy out of clothes and propped him up on the couch. the dummy was holding an air-soft gun. I, being stupid, thought it would be funny to knock the head off the dummy and so I kicked it...and hit the gun instead of the head. I was in flip flops, so my toes weren't protected, and I messed up the toe on my right foot. it's not broken, but it looks pretty nasty. I knocked the scope off the gun and sent the horrid plastic thing hurtling across the room.


Then after dinner, Haley came over saying that one of her dogs got hold of the book I lent her and chewed it all up. She's going to get me a replacement, so that's fine with me.


Then She said they got their dune buggy fixed and wanted to know if I wanted to go for a spin. We did laps around our four acre property, running into the fields behind and between us. it was really fun. Haley was going a little too fast at times and ran us up onto the bank on the other side of the road at one point. I reminded her that she better not kill me or land me in the hospital because we sure as hell can't pay for it. she replied cheekily that neither could they. on our third or forth lap, Haley took out a Yucca on one of the turns and swerved to hit another one and hit our fence instead. it's one of those pole and wire fences, so it wasn't hurt, and neither were we, but when the buggy hit the fence, it kept going and snapped the front left wheel clean off! it snapped the bolts! Haley's reaction? "Oh S**t." She had a reason for her language let me tell you. I'm not sure how long it is going to get that dune buggy fixed this time. For my part, I was too busy laughing to be of much help. I told Haley this was punishment for taking out a yucca.


So that was my day yesterday. one piece of bad luck after another. What a crazy world.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Broken Earphones and more Driver's ED


my mom had me drive from my house to the movie theater in town. I did do it, mostly. I refused to cross the highway in front of ENMU. I'm not ready to drive on busy roads yet. luckily, there is a back way to get to the movie theater without having to travel on busy roads. I do NOT like driving next to semis. It's kind of funny, this this book I'm reading, Blood Secret, there's this girl named Jerry and her great aunt just tosses her the keys and tells her to drive home. she's 14 and hasn't driven before. I'm really glad my mom didn't do that to me.


My earbuds, the really good ones I've had for three or four years, broke yesterday. the right ear stopped working and then the left ear. now THAT pisses me off. they don't even make this kind anymore. they were really nice and blocked virtually all the excess noise around and kept the music inside the earphones so if you were sitting next to someone with them on, they couldn't hear a thing even if you turned it up. AND NOW THE FARTING THINGS ARE BROKEN!!!!!!!!!!! I feel foolish getting worked up over this issue, but I am REALLY mad about it.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Five Minute Warning

This morning, I was woken up out of a dead sleep by my cellphone going off. I threw off the covers and scrambled out of bed, glancing at the clock briefly as I did. 7:00 AM. who could be calling me at 7:00 AM? I figured it was some telemarketer. The caller ID read Haley. I picked it up. "Hello?" fighting to keep sleep out of my voice.

It turned out that Haley was coming over for breakfast and I hadn't known about it. she was calling to tell us that she was going to come over in a few minutes. she just lives across the field from us...and I'd just gotten out of bed!!! AAAAAAAAAAH!

This was the second fastest time I'd gotten dressed and ready for the day. (the first had been the time I had to go to church and dad had forgotten to wake me up until he was walking out the door.) I managed to get dressed, make my bed, brush and straighten my hair (I'd gone to bed with it wet and it was sticking out at weird angles this morning) and I even managed to touch up a little bit as far as makeup. all under five minutes. That doesn't mean I was awake at breakfast. no. my body was up, but my mind was still in bed.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Mommy, I Don't Want to Grow Up


I remember when I was three years old and we were living at Camp Lone Star in Texas. mom and I were walking home from the cafeteria and I said "Mommy, I don't want to grow up." Her response in my memory is very fuzzy. after all, I was only three. I think it was something like "Don't worry sweet heart, you don't have to yet" but I'm not sure. but my statement rings clear as a bell to me. I remember where I was standing and which T shirt my mom was wearing. "Mommy, I don't want to grow up."


Now I'm finding myself thinking the same thing. I don't want to grow up. I've never EVER been big on the idea. It's scary. I only have one year left of High School and People are asking me what college I want to go to. I have absolutely no idea. I certainly don't have the money for it. I'm thinking about getting a job (that does not involve working at a cash register or fast food) I want to do something I enjoy, but it's hard to say what that something is. I see all my old friends growing up and I have to remind myself that life goes on even when I'm not around. I'm not READY for life to go on. I wish it would stop for a minute and let me catch up. It's moving way too fast and not fast enough all at the same time. I'm not even sure why I'm just sitting here spouting! Why does life have to be so hard? Not to mention stressful. Right now the only thing I'm sure of is that when I do grow up and leave the house I won't have to sit and listen to my sibs fight all the time. Now THAT is someting I can look forward to.


Thursday, June 4, 2009

Sandy Shoes


Yesterday my family, Haley (our neighbor) and her little sister went to Oasis state park. The lake there is man made and is about three times the size of the city pool. you want to go camping in trailers because the places they have for tents are coated with gravel. not very comfy. oh and you can't light fires because it's too dry and the brush surrounding everything might catch fire.


there are these large sand dunes that make a sort of bowl. they are very fun to climb on and Haley, my brother and the other guys took advantage of that. they took off their shoes and ran up and down the dunes. Haley wanted me to run down screaming like a maniac and to take off my shoes also. I didn't want to. it wasn't until she started piling sand on top of my shoes and grabbed my arm and literally pulled me down that I actually complied. the sand felt good. like beach sand. but there was no water to go with it. I miss the ocean.


we built several sand castles and pits and I built a sand dinosaur that nearly got stepped on three times. we were caked with sand when we were done and headed back to the main park. Unfortunately, Haley's little sister Kinzie forgot her cell phone so the two of us had to walk BACK to the dunes to look for it. we did find it...under three inches of sand.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Dream Bothers

If something bothers me, I tend to dream about it. like when all of a sudden, Alli stopped calling me and all the texts I sent her got sent back and she completely disappeared off the face of the cyberworld, I wanted to know what was going on! but how could I find out if she wasn't contacting me? it was nearly a month before I found out she'd basicly been banned from technology for reasons I won't share. But during that time when I didn't know what was going on, I had three different dreams about asking Alli why she wasn't contacting me. The first she just ignored me, the second, I was walking down the sidewalk with Steph and we berried a pumpkin in front of a church and Alli came to help, but avoided any questions and the third, she was just about to tell me when all of a sudden someone got murdered.

I've been having dreams about talking to my pen pal about the drawing I sent her. It was of her, but it wasn't really her likeness. it was more of a impression of personality. My brother got a call from her brother and my picture came up in the conversation. he didn't like the picture at all and said it didn't look anything like Jen. well, it really wasn't supposed too! I haven't been able to communicate that with Jen or her brother and it's been bothering me. Last night I dreamed I was explaining why I drew the picture the way I did.

I think this is also why I dream about loosing teeth and going to the dentist.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Fun in the Park and Cotton Candy

There was this thing in the city park last night. it was like the all saints festivals we had at our old church in the fall with small carnival games, bands playing, food, and way too many people. I went for the soul reason of getting cotton candy. pretty stupid I know, but I like the stuff and carnivals and festivals are the only time I get any. Everything was loud loud loud. I caught a few of my friends, including Jodi and Haley. I had fun taunting Haley because I had the next book in the series we're both reading and she doesn't. The evening went pretty well, there was too many people for my taste, but I was there for the cotton candy remember? I won two stuffed animals, an elephant and a TY beanie buddy.

I'm working on a new book idea called Step into side ways. I'm going to finish the first chapter and post it on my website later. it plays with dimensions. I guess that's all for now.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Driver's Ed Nightmare



So it's my second real day at the actual driving part of Driver's Ed. Tuesday, mom took me out to an empty church parking lot and we went through all the gears, knobs, switches, blind spots, void areas and all that good stuff, then I drove around the parking lot getting used to the feel of the car, learning how to gradually start and stop, pull up to a curb, and remember to look everywhere all at once so I don't hit anything. it's a lot to remember. didn't do anything Wednesday.


Today, the parking lot was not enough for my mom. she drove across the street into the local cemetery! (btw, this is the main entrance to the actual cemetery I drove in) the road that runs through there is like, only big enough for one car, both sides are shouldered by trees and the path is like a maze. short turns and a lot of twists. this is only my second time behind the wheel people! I am WAY ahead of my text book. I had to turn a few sharp turns, and back up. I have to avoid a car that was parked right in the middle of the path and avoid hitting a water spicket and a grave stone all at the same time while remembering to check my mirrors and all that other driving goodness. wanna talk a about stressful? Hopefully she would make me do that again tomorrow. I'm quite content with empty parking lots right now.

Looking around though (you can do that too while driving) I felt a pang of sadness at all of those dead people. there's even a section for new born babies that had died. rows of dead babies and young children. it's just...sad.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

the rain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it rained last night. no, correction, we had a hurricane in New Mexico! that's what it felt like anyway. in some parts of the yard, the water was around two feet deep! it rained for what seemed like forever, but It only lasted 30 minutes or so. I like rain, no matter how much or how little it is. We went for a walk after it stopped, the dogs loved it.


Monday, May 25, 2009

Wrong

I am not feeling good today. I am not feeling sick, more just...not good. I don't know how to say it. I just feel...wrong. cut off? restless? lonely? down? not sure. Wrong.

We have knobs back on our doors. that's good.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

locked doors

mom was painting the hallway that's just outside us kid's bedroom doors. she was also painting the doors so they would match the trim. to paint the doors, she had to take of the door knobs. yeah. so the door knobs were off, but the rest of the door mechanism was still in the door. along comes Abby. she shuts the door. (that happened Friday night I might add) she can't get out of the bathroom and mom and dad are on a walk and I sure can't figure out how to get the door open. well, dad managed to get her out and that was that.

next morning, way to early, Rachel locks herself in the bathroom. the bathroom is right across from my room. there were a lot of "SHHHHHH! WE'RE GOING TO WAKE UP HANNAH!" and "DON'T TALK SO LOUD!" so how was I going to sleep through that?!?! dad got smart and took the little door thing out of the door so now we have a big gaping hole in the bathroom door and we had to stuff a towel in it for privacy's sake. I don't think we'll get the knobs back in until Monday or tuesday. Lovely.

on the bright side, it'd been raining for the last few days. Wonderful rain!

Friday, May 22, 2009

God Bless You


I let my brother and his friend borrow my camera because they wanted to make a movie. they consist of mostly running and screaming. the footage is bouncy and you get a lot of shots of feet and dirt. I guess boys will be boys. dirty and noisy


did you ever wonder why people say "God bless you! " when you sneeze? this is a question my brother asked me this morning at the breakfast table. It started in Rome during the reign of Pope Gregory the Great. It was thought that if you sneezed, your soul left your body and left a spot where evil spirits could enter. and the only way to get it the soul back in would be if someone quickly "Blessed you." It was this and also that Roman citizens feared sneezing was a sign that a plague was about to hit their city because they thought that sneezing was a sure sign of sickness. Pope Gregory started the use of the phrase "God bless you" to shield sneezers from any ill effects. Both from the plague and the evil spirits entering the body. I think that's as silly as people in the 17th century not taking a bath because it would make them more volerable to sickness! Where do people come up with this stuff?!?!?


And by the way, "gesundheit"(being just as popular as "Bless you") is a German word that literally means "health." the roots for 'gesundheit' are similar to that of "Bless You".
I'm not sure why I'm talking about this...