Chuckle

So, why did I post a few shapes?  Well, the other day I was looking over my math work, and I got several encouraging stickers that I don't usually get.

• I can write my name
• I was the helper today
• I know my shapes

Just proving that I DO know my shapes... (me guffawing)

Pittsburgh

Last weekend my family took a trip to Pittsburgh.  I had a really pretty nice time.  Firstly we went to the Pittsburgh zoo.  Though it is a nice zoo, it wasn't extraordinary.  They had the basic animals, which are pretty fun to look at.  My favorite part was the baby elephant.  He was so stinking adorable! 

You can't really avoid end of the year school groups, I know.  I just don't like them a lot.  There are so many kids with those stupid paper form things with questions they have to answer.  That limits the fun tremendously I think.  Then they don't get to look at things as much as they would like because they are in a group of what seems to be a hundred. 

Why does everyone have to talk at once?  Because they are talking at once, they have to shout to make sure that their fellows can hear them.  So you have a group of hot and somewhat cranky small people screaming and lugging papers with grumpy chaperones and teachers staring them down with their beady eyes. 

I don't want to sound all bible clutching ankle length jean skirt on you guys here, but I am glad that I was with my family visiting the zoo than with a group of 40 or so slow moving peers in matching T shirts.  Just sayin'.

That night after dumping our belongings in our hotel and waiting for Mom to look up everything she needed to know off of her mini, we set off to do something UNPLANNED.  We went to the Hard Rock cafe!  I know this doesn't go with the overall awe inspiring coolness of the Hard Rock cafe... but this was my first time.  I had a really really really good time!  The walls are covered with things that the beautiful people used, I saw a jacket that Michael Jackson wore, drums from Kiss... and that's about it for the things I knew what they were tell you the truth.  But it was still cool.

After we ate we went outside to watch the water display.  It was "dancing" lines of shooting water, doing the "dancing" part to various music, the one we watched was old show theme songs.  It was boring after about the 3rd song, but it was still pretty to watch. 

After that, we went to this "Historical Monument" trolly box cart thing that goes about 5 miles an hour up a not so steep mountain hill thing to the top where you could get off, do whatever, then get back on and go down.  Living on the edge!!  It was cute.  Once we made it to the top, which I was thankful for because that thing had been there for like a hundred years, we went over to look at Pittsburgh.  We made our way without getting run over to this beautiful view of the city.  It was getting a little dark, but not dark enough to see all of the lights.  Cars looked like beetles and people like ants.  It was very gorgeous.

After we took in the city, we went and got some ice cream at this little store that was to me the food eating version on Sammy's.  Once again though, I thought it was cute.  Then we made it back down the slope in the hundred year old box tram thing, and drove back to our hotel.

The next morning we went to the science center.  They just added a sports center, and it was great!  They had a rock wall, a human yo yo, 2 motion simulators, and a bungee thing above a trampoline for maximum jumping satisfaction.  I had such a good time in there, two hours passed without seeming like 20 minutes.

After getting our fill of that, we had lunch and wandered around until our movie.  It was about Shackleton and how he kept all of his men alive even under the worst possible circumstances.  They all made it.  That really gives hope, I think, to hear a story like that.  Right now I'm reading Lord of the Flies, and it is easy to think that people would revert back to the animal inside of them when they were removed from the outside world.  But things like that give hope that, no, we can be good inside too.

Nature Walk

The other day before school we went to a small trail and took a nature walk.  It was nice.  Durring it I tried to take really pretty pictures, with some interesting perspective.  Here they are!-

Big Changes For Fred

Fred is my sucker mouth pleco fish I have had for about forever now.  A little bit ago, we moved over from my 30 gallon tank to my much nicer huger 50 gallon tank my mom used to have.  I have been wanting to work on this project for a while now, and finally it got around to being done.  Now Fred has a much larger domain along with all of the other tropical fish in my community.  I got a froggie, 2 platties, and some striped danios, which are all doing well so far.  I think I am going to keep my 30 gallon and transform that one into a guppy only tank. 

I had these 2 big silver dollar fish my mom gave me from when she took down her old tank.  We think they were biting everybody, so they got moved to a smaller 10 gallon tank of their own.  So far they are really not taking it that well.  But you know what?  Adjust or die, and that's the truth.  Other than them, all of the other fish are doing super well.

We had to make lots of purchases for this project, new heaters, gravel and plants, but it was worth it.  I really love my new beautiful tank!

I'm a Beautiful Blogger!

Hey everybody!  I was nominated by my friend Mikayla, over at Thoughts From ME for the Beautiful Blogger award.  Firstly, thanks!  So, now I am supposed to tell you guys 7 things about me.  Well, here I go...

1. My favorite part of the zoo is definitely the aquaquarium.  I love all of the fish!
2. My hot cocoa is 2/3 hot cocoa, 1/3 milk, and a ton of whipped cream on top!
3. I think that wearing makeup to swim practice is stupid.  But that's just me...
4. I really am into painting right now.  I just compleated a self portrait yesterday!
5. My favorite songs are all from Taylor Swift.
6. What makes me feel hard core is going to Saturday practice... and getting up at 5:30 to do so. 
7. I'm going 24 loooooooooooow if not flat at golds in the 50 free.  Hey, why don't I just go a 23?  That sounds good :)

Now, I am supposed to nominate 7 people.  But, I don't have a ton of friends who all blog like I do.  Also, I don't know if my guy friends would like to be nominated for the Beautiful Blogger award.  So I'm going to give it to my

1. Mom!  You are amazing and wonderful, and your blog is great!  You are a Beautiful Blogger :)

Peek Inside My Saturday

It's  6 in the morning and it's that time again... when the stupid alarm clock in the kitchen goes off right when I'm eating, and it won't shut up!

I'm transferred from the car and mom to the truck and dad at the store.  My mom had to work so my dad took me to practice.

I get to US, and run down the pathway there and wait at the door for the floor cleaner guy to open it.

Hey Charlie!  Practice was packed, 4 people including me.  :)

Driving home.

Our party for my Dad and Aunt's birthday, they are twins but Dad is 41 and my aunt is still 39 :)

CAKE and pizza! 

New Blog Look

So, recently I got a customized background and header from HotBliggityBlog.  I love it so much!  Casey did an amazing job.  She was quick and neat with her work, and was very formal.  She did a wonderful job with my background and header.  She worked with me to get exactly what I had in mind.  Plus, her work was at a reasonable price.  I have used some of her backgrounds that she has up free on her site, and she has a TON, before too.  They are great.  So, thank you very much!

Fresh Coat

Hello!  The other day I pulled out a ratty old pair of Keds from our shoe closet (they were my mom's) and gave them a makeover.  I Sharpied them up, and they look pretty sweet.  I love them!  They might be my new favorites.  Each section has a design, and then the front has all of them.  It took me a while to do them!  But it was fun :)

Swimmer Headboard

Today I really had nothing to do, so I decided to work on a project that has been bugging me for a while now.  I have this amazing swimmer board I can hang my medals on.  The only problem with it is that the suit and cap are orange.  So today I took it down stairs and gave it a well needed paint job.  Here are the before and after shots.

Becoming Obsessed...

Here is the picture I drew of Talking Carl from the app store.  We love him!  I took this photo on my new camera... my old one sort of, umm, fell out of my hand at Quads. 

Discovering Some More Talent

My super good friend has made me a lot of posters over the past 2 years.  They are so special and mean a lot to me, I have gotten them before big meets, for my birthdays and holidays, and just as a surprise!  My walls are covered with posters that people have made for me, and I have made myself.  I have some time cuts up too (I was excited when I got the Sectional cuts :) and posters that I have collected.  But my favorite ones are those that my friend has made me, on top of knowing how much time she has put into them, they are so beautiful!  She is such a good artist.  Here are some of the ones she has made for me-

Amazing!

Oh Crab

Small post, just letting everyone know that everyone's favorite flip flops are now indeed in towl form.

Happy holidays!

Greek gods; The Beginning

Before we went on break, we were studying Greek Mythology.  Here is a summary of the story of the beginning of the earth and the Greek gods.

Well... in the beginning when things were just floating around up popped Mother Earth and then her husband, Uranus, the sky.  When they had children, first were the Cyclops, the 100 headed and armed people, and then, strong Titans, 6 girls and 6 boys.  Uranus wasn't happy or proud of the monsters he fathered, so he threw the Cyclops and the 100 headed and armed people into Tartarus, the deepest darkest pit in the world. 

Mother Earth was mad at Uranus because of what he did to her beloved children, so she asked the youngest and boldest of all the Titans, Cronus, to go and fight him.  Cronus did, and defeated his father.  But instead of freeing the monsters as Mother earth intended, he left them in Tartarus and became the new ruler of the Universe.  He got married to Rhea and when his wife started to have children, he was scared that one of them would overthrow him like he did to his father.  So he ate all of his kids.  After several kids, his wife tricked him into eating a rock dressed in baby clothes when he asked for the child.  She rushed off her newest baby, Zeus, to the island of Crete, where nymphs looked after him. 

When he was grown up, Cronus's wife tricked him into drinking a poison that made him very sick.  So sick that he threw up all of the gods he had swallowed.  Because they were gods they survived in Cronus's belly and grew to be full size.  Out came Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Hestia, and Demeter.  They fought against Cronus for years before Zeus had an idea.  He let free the monsters from Tartarus and they gladly sided with Zeus.  Finally, they over threw Cronus and Zeus became the new lord of all the world and gods.

SpongeBob Monopoly

I was playing Monopoly with my little brother the other day and was totally getting wooped up by the 8 year old!
Now, usually I rule.  And he used to get very upset, very upset.  Like, he would go storm to his room and cry it off.  I wasn't being cruel either!

So we play a little differently, let some of the rules slide and make up our own.  Like, we can buy things with no money, just write down an IOU for later.  We would also trade properties for others, and trade them to get out of the hole a hotel can create when you land on it over and over and over and over and...

Also, we always start with $500 in the middle, and whenever you have to pay a tax or hit a space or money not related to other players, we throw it in the Kitty.  When you hit the Free Parking space, you get the jackpot.  Whenever someone gets it, we throw in $500 again.

So- I usually win because I am smart.  I buy good spaces.  And Duncs... well lets just say he buys what he likes.  We always play the Spongebob version.  I get the dark blue spaces (Spongebob's pineapple and the KK) and the transportation spaces.  I also pick up odds and ends, good spaces and try get the set.

But Duncan buys the purple and light blue spaces (Patrick's rock, weenie hut jr., somthing else, the Chum Bucket, and Plankton's lab) 

As the game goes on, Duncan racks in the money by hitting Parking place at LEAST 10 times.  He buys Krusty Krab's (hotels) and I slowly die and burn.  He has so many 500s that I ran out, and had to write a $6000 slip to go with his still abundant supply.  This went on forever!  I would owe him, like 1500, and he would feel sorry for me and let me get away with a property for like 500 when I hit Patrick's rock.  Finally I gave up and for the first time, mortgaged my properties (gasp!) to pay it off.

I ended with a "Well, I ran out of money, good job Duncan!  Good game!"  Which I hope was convincing 'cause it sure as heck wasn't.  That little boy.  He humbly accepts my congrats, and says "Yeah, it was fun."  Then runs out to tell Mason that, "I BEAT AMBER!!!!"  Mmmm hmmmm, I see how he is.

Amazibooks

Hello!  I just started a multi-writer blog all about book reviews!  I did the first post about one of my favorite books, The House of the Scorpion.  Check it out here.

Pumpkins!

Hello!  I hope everyone had a fun, spooky, treat filled great time this Halloween!  I did!  Friday we carved our pumpkins.  We have skipped out for the last few years, (we don't let our parents forget it) so I was very excited!  Here are the pictures we took-