~Carpe Diem~

Ten Years

2011-09-11T08:59:00.001-04:00

What can happen in ten years?

You can get your ears pierced.
You can move.
You can invent 3D movies.
You can make 10 new friends.
You can outgrow a passport.
You can learn to cook.
You can invent Facebook.
You can forget your kindergarten enemy.
You can forget how mad you were that one time.
You can forget what that shirt looked like.
You can forget the disagreement with your sister.

But there are some things you cannot forget.

September 11, 2001.

Smoke.
Fire.
Fear.
Silence.

Great, loud, looming, shocked silence.

Unity.
Tears.
Tragedy.
Unison.

Breathing.
Whispering.
Wailing.
Balking.

Grandmas calling.
Mommas crying.
Children wondering.

What happened? What was so great? So terrible? What had happened that was so big the whole world stopped to watch?

There are lots of ways to say it; each one makes your stomach clench, your mind flinch, your heart squeeze.

Nine-eleven. 9-11. September 11. The World Trade Center. The Twin Towers.

It's funny trying to remember a time before it happened. It's funny because we will never forget what happened, but we've already forgotten what it was like before.

Remember when middle-eastern people didn't look scary?
Remember when you could walk right onto an airplane without checking bags?
Remember when the word "terrorism" was foreign?
Remember when America felt like the safest place in the world?

I was seven when it happened; I barely remember those things. But I do remember. What's sad is the kids I know who don't.

The nine-year-old girl I babysit can’t remember a time before Nine-Eleven. She doesn't remember when middle-eastern people were just people. She doesn't remember not having extensive airplane security. She doesn't remember not knowing what "terrorism" is. She doesn't remember thinking that America was invincible.

It's been ten years. America is growing again, in some good directions, and in some bad, but she is growing. That's the only thing she can do. People may try to strike her down, but the values she stands for--Freedom, Equality, Bravery, Honor, Justice--will endure forever, as long as the people defend them.

And that's what we will do. No matter what happens, no matter who tries to derail us, we will stand strong for our God-given rights and for WHAT is right. We will remember not only Nine-Eleven, but everything before that, everything our founding fathers stood for.

On this anniversary of the great American tragedy, don't just remember the Twin Towers. Remember why they were destroyed, and uphold those values all the stronger.

In ten years, a lot can happen, but some things you never forget.

And some of those things you never should.

~Kendra

Guuuuuuuys?

2011-08-14T18:37:00.002-04:00

I did something last week.

Something I asked you guys about a while ago.

Ready for this?

Ipiercedmyears.

So yeah :)

~Kendra

HEY! :)

2011-07-06T11:20:00.002-04:00

Hi! :) Remember me? Kendra?

No?

...

Yeahh, this is awkward.

Anyway, hello there :) It is July 6th, which means there are 2 days until something very big happens to me. You might remember me talking about this in January, and if you don't, here's the post: Official Announcement Post.

*gives you a minute to read it*

*still giving*

Finished? Yeah, you didn't read it, did you? :P

Anyway, it basically says that I am going to Europe. I am going to Spain, France and Italy, without my family, for 19 days. That's a long time, my friends. Up until this week, I haven't been nervous whatsoever. Up until today, I've only been nervous about the plane (I've never been on one before). But now, I'm starting to get just plain old nervous in general.

19 days is a long time! Almost three weeks, in fact! I won't see my friends, my family, my dog, my bed, anyone for almost a month! What have I gotten myself into?

But the biggest part of myself is still really excited :) I'm not going to flip out and beg to get out of this like I used to do about things. I'm going to pretend I'm not nervous at all and get on the plane without a single tear. I'm going to console my mom and Lizzy and tell them I'll take pictures and notes for them and not to be sad. I'll be strong.

I'll get homesick, I know, but I'll also have a really good time. It's literally the chance of a lifetime. I can't believe I get to do this! This is so cool!

Prayers would be greatly appreciated if you ever happen to think of me during the next few weeks. I know I'll be needing them, if only for the little things.

Talk to you later! Bye!

~Kendra

P.S. I miss this...

Carpe Diem

2011-04-10T21:11:00.006-04:00

You may have noticed something (Okay, probably more than one something, but I'm talking about something specific XD):

My lack of blogging.

(Okay maybe you didn't XD But now that I've brought it to your attention...)

I love ~Carpe Diem~. Like, I think I might actually love it, like it's a person, an extension of myself. It's been a sounding board for new ideas, my journal for good times and bad, a venue for meeting some of the most amazing people, a way to document my life in fun and beautiful ways that I never would have been able to otherwise. I LOVE ~Carpe Diem~.

The name is perfect; Seize the day. Live, love, laugh, learn. To me, ~Carpe Diem~ represents growing up and changing and being excited about life. Even the templates have been happy and fresh.

So it feels kind of like my heart is breaking as I say that I think I'm finished here.

I'm so silly, I'm almost crying XD

(Dang, as I type, I'm not sure if I can go through with this.)

For some reason, there's been a distance growing between me and ~Carpe Diem~. Not a dislike, not a disinterest, just a distance. I'm growing up, but that's not quite what I mean. I've outgrown ~CD~ is more like it. I haven't matured out of it, I've grown out of it. I know that might sound like the same thing, but it isn't. Maturing would mean that I feel ~CD~ is below my thought level now, that it was cute while it lasted but I'm moving on. That is not how I feel.

I feel like ~CD~ represents a definite chapter of my life, of who I am, and that chapter is over.

Honestly (for you writers out there), it feels like I've finished a book. I'm heartbroken to leave it behind, but it's truly finished and it's time to move on. It'll always be there, and I'll reread it or maybe even work on it, but it's in the past now. I've finished it. I've out grown it and I'm ready to move on.

If I haven't made it obnoxiously obvious yet, I will now: I won't be posting on ~Carpe Diem~ anymore. I may post occasionally, but most likely it'll be memorial posts (~CD~'s birthday, MY birthday, holidays, etc.) and not a regular thing. At this point, I don't plan to ever come back to daily posting.

I love ~Carpe Diem~ dearly, and much more than anyone should love a blog, and I love all of you. I can't believe 137 people care about what I say! It's mind-boggling! Me? ME?? You want to read ME??

I've gotten really arrogant about the whole blog thing too, and I think that was what started the distance. I started caring too much about the number of followers and not enough about the real reason for blogging. I'm so sorry.

As hard as it is to make myself come to terms with this decision, I feel like it's almost been made for me. I grow up, I change, and those plain facts are out of my control. So this is goodbye. (Forget almost crying, I AM crying >.<) I honestly cannot thank you enough for being a part of this wonderful journey I've been on.

If you're interested in keeping up with me, I have something to tell you, but you need to email me: livinglovinglaughinglearning@gmail.com.

With much, much, MUCH love,
Kendra Logan

So They Say...

2011-04-01T17:19:00.001-04:00

I have a pretty good vocabulary. There aren't a lot of words that I'm unfamiliar with, and my stupid Latin background can help me figure out the rest. Most of what I know comes from reading, which I've been obsessed with since I was about 2. That's fine and everything, except for one thing:

You have to actually SAY the words in real life.

Facade ~ It's not actually pronounced fa-KADE. There's a little French thing on the C that apparently makes it an S...fa-SOD. The French would.

Vigilante ~ See this one I thought WAS French-sounding. vih-jil-AHNT. Little did I know, it's actually vih-jill-ANT-ee. Go figure.

Phoebe ~ I read a book about a girl named Phoebe when I was 8. I pronounced it POE-bee. Being 8, I didn't think about it. Then when I got to be about 13, I realized...that was little off.

Lambaste ~ I thought it rhymed with "cast." It rhymes with "paste." ...whatever.

Preface ~ It is not PRE-face. It's PREH-fiss. I hate words like this; they trick you with how simple they look, then all the sudden you find out you've been mispronouncing it since fifth grade.

Placate ~ ...yeahhh, I'm still not sure how this one goes.

Then there's the opposite problem, where I've heard a phrase all my life, but never actually seen it spelled.

You know the phrase "the whole kit and caboodle"? Until yesterday, I thought it was "kitten caboodle." Yes, I am seventeen, thanks for asking.

"For all intents and purposes." I finally saw that one written down a few months ago. Come to think of it, that makes a HECK of a lot more sense than "all intensive purposes." ...what was I thinking?

Hope this was good for a laugh, and maybe even a little bit enlightening XD

~Kendra

Life in Pink

2011-03-26T14:55:00.002-04:00

Hey! So, guess what? My sister Lizzy finally got a blog! :D It's really cute and she's super excited (as am I). Check it out!

Life in Pink

~Kendra

Kendra's Friday is Average

2011-03-21T17:06:00.003-04:00

Friday, because it was more interesting XD

Friday it was 80 degrees and I went out to tan. Somehow, I only tanned on one shoulder.

Friday I hardcore danced in the bathroom. To Celtic music.

Friday I choked on an ibuprofen tablet.

Friday I started a texting conversation, then immediately forgot and walked away from my phone for hours. Three times.

Friday I searched my entire room for my house key, only to find it was in my purse where it belongs. How weird.

Friday I realized I had an entire hour to get ready to go. I spent 45 minutes doing nothing and was pissed when I had to rush around the last 15.

Friday I had to reach waaaay up to help my "little" sister with her hair. Depressing.

I've been planning on going prom dress shopping with my friend on Saturday for weeks. Friday it occurred to me that I needed one too.

Friday I read my assigned section of "Hamlet" and was so into it that I kept going.

My Friday is average.

~Kendra

Erin go Bragh!

2011-03-17T23:18:00.001-04:00

I've been thinking about St. Patrick's Day for WEEKS now! :D I dunno why I've been so excited, it's not like we do anything special. I guess it's just an occasion to go all-out for something, and I love going all-out :D

Me and Lizzy :)

~Kendra

The Art of Questions

2011-03-14T23:14:00.003-04:00

This was inspired by one of my pastor's sermons.

In 1492, Columbus accidentally stumbled upon the Caribbean. But he didn't know that. He thought it was India. He DIED thinking it was India. He just didn't know.

In the middle ages, the people thought the world was, 6/7 water: a chunk of land with salty puddles in it. They just didn't know.

Before Copernicus, everyone thought the sun revolved around the earth. It was clearly moving around us. They were pissed at Copernicus's crazy new theory. They just didn't know.

And that was the fun of it. No one. Really. Knew.

Columbus, Copernicus, and just the ordinary people saw the world as one giant mystery waiting to be solved.

Is the earth really flat?
Who made everything?
What if the Earth were the thing revolving instead of the sun?
How do I know I'm really alive?
How do you cure the measles?
Why are babies attached to their mothers?

Questions. Endless, exciting, bewildering, dangerous, difficult questions. Who knows? No one? Alright then, I'll find out.

Just imagine. A world where you just. don't. know. Everything is new, exciting, mysterious. Like being a child, only better because you can grow up and things are still just that exciting.

Now come back. To our world, our time.

"No, it's round. Duh."
"'Science' says no one made everything, okay? Drop it."
*eyeroll* "The earth IS revolving. And so are the other seven planets."
"Hook yourself to a heart monitor if you're so concerned about whether or not you're living."
"Gah, I don't know, just get the vaccine. It doesn't matter."
"Just Google it, will you?"

We know everything now. We have Science, the Internet, and all the philosophers before us to figure things out. We've got it from here. It's all old news.

And I find that deeply troubling.

I think science is really important. It's good that we've figured things out and have vaccines and treatments. It's good that we've come so far. It wouldn't be right for us to sit around and NOT figure things out.

But...it's a little sad at the same time. All the wonder, the bright-eyed questions and thousands of little mysteries every day...they're gone. We've solved the mystery. Cracked the case. Finished the puzzle. We think there are no more questions. No more mysteries. We've resigned ourselves to contented boredom.

We've lost the beauty of Wonder and the joy of Discovery. I can't even imagine a world where people Just Don't Know. I would want to get out and discover things, find the answers, think my very own thoughts.

There's no way to go back to ignorance, and I'm not saying we should. I'm just saying that we're living in a World of Lost Mysteries, or at least that's the way we look at it. We can't forget the great art of asking questions. There are still mysteries out there, we just have to pry ourselves way from Google long enough to find them :)

So, Yesterday...

2011-03-13T15:37:00.004-04:00

The SATs went about like I expected. I'm sure I did well on the reading and writing parts, but I did poorly on the math, I know. I'm just behind where I need to be. I'm not longer completely BAD at it, just behind. And I'm slow at it. So on the first math section, I finished 7 of 10. The second section, 12 of 20. And the last section, 6 of 16. So yeah. Even if I get every one of them right, it's still gonna be baaad.

So, kinda :( But oh well.

Lunch with the "popular" girls went really well. They were nice to me, and I didn't say anything stupid or do anything really awkward-inducing. Some other friends picked me up from the restaurant at about 2:30 and we hung out doing random things. Then we saw "Red Riding Hood," which I thought was really going to be awful, but it wasn't! :O I actually enjoyed it.

I thought it was gonna be scary, too, so I was all worked up inside about it. (I do NOT do scary movies. I don't think...I've never actually SEEN one...) But, again, it wasn't. Not at all. Not even a moment of Oh-My-Gosh-This-Is-Getting-Intense. So yeah. I was surprised to find myself a tiny bit disappointed about that.

After getting up at 5:45 that morning, blowing my brains out on a test, and gallivanting around town all day, I was completely wiped out. I went to bed at 8:30 and was out by 9.

It was interesting, having a life like that. Without a license, I feel like I don't get out much. Yesterday I was gone for over 12 hours and with friends the entire time. It was quite fun. But also expensive and tiring and I've had a good day today just doing nothing :)

~Kendra

SATs

2011-03-12T06:09:00.004-05:00

I am going to take the SATs today...I'm leaving in twenty minutes...I had to get up at 5:45...I slept horribly...afterwards I'm going out to lunch with some of the more "popular" girls...

Not sure if I'm more nervous about THAT, or the SATs...

Just kidding. You know, mostly.

I'm really nervous. See, I like taking tests. I don't mind it. It's fun to me. But I'm so far behind in math that I feel there's no way I can do well. I'm not BAD at math like I used to be (I've been working hard lately), but I'm not where I need to be.

And then I'm nervous that something will just plain ol' go wrong. I'll loose a pencil. I'll tuck my hair behind my ear and get kicked out for cheating. My mind will blank. Someone tries to cheat off me. Etc. Etc. Etc.

>.<

If you wouldn't mind, prayers would be appreciated.

~Kendra

Pictures Only!

2011-03-11T18:33:00.005-05:00

Read THIS post. Then (and only then, because there is evidence you may not have seen before) vote on the respective polls to the right ;)

A tag from my great friend in real life, Camellia! Answer the following questions in pictures only!

1. Favorite food?

2. Favorite drink?

3. Favorite movie?

4. Favorite TV show?

5. Favorite book?

6. Favorite animal?

7. Favorite hobby?

8. Something that annoys you?

9. Worst hurt you've ever had?

10. Least favorite thing to do?

11. One thing you can't stand, but know you do, too?

12. Least favorite school subject?

13. If you could be anything, what would you be?

14. If you could live anywhere, where would you live?

15. What does your dream house look like?

16. What does your dream car look like?

17. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?

18. What's one thing you want to do before you die?

19. What's your dream vacation?

20. What's your biggest goal in life?

(Click to enlarge.)

I tag anyone who wants to do it! Just let me know so I can come see it! :D

~Kendra

Comment and Vote!

2011-03-08T22:50:00.003-05:00

I sound RIDICULOUS. I realize that. Like, really, really, really ridiculous. But please :D The battle is not won or lost, it's just getting worse! Pleeeeeeeeeease help us! Vote on the right, but don't forget to skim the post below! It will almost definitely change your decision.

Comment. At the very, VERY least click the button and vote.

~Kendra

Battle of the Boys

2011-03-07T22:12:00.012-05:00

NOTE: Boys, feel free to skip this post.

Also, if you are allergic to shallow, you can skip it too, because this is quite possibly going to be shallow. It's also going to be eye-candy, so stick around if that changes your mind. That is all.

Alright. So, there is an on-going fight between Camellia Dayla (and Cassidy) and me:

Who is hotter? William Moseley or Jeremy Sumpter?

Lia and Cassidy are under the impression that William Moseley is more attractive. While I totally agree that he is a big bowl of beautiful, I happen to think Jeremy wins out by a little bit. What are your opinions?

Contestant #1: WILLIAM MOSELEY
He is gorgeous. There's no doubt. He has flawless skin (although it's probably air-brushed), piercing grey eyes, and something about him that kind of screams "SMOOTHPROTECTIVETYPE."

He also has abs. Which is always nice.
And looks good when he's annoyed.
He can (almooooost) pull off long hair.
And has a strong jawline.
He (in case you didn't already know) played Peter in Narnia, one of the greatest, most crush-able guys in fiction.
He's also an older brother, and tan (a rarity among British dudes), if you want to throw him those brownie points.

When asked what religion he is, he replies (quote), "Um I do believe in God but I’m not very religious, I’m…probably Christianity."

Two worst pictures I could find (I found some baaaaad ones, but when I tried to click on them I mysteriously got the "Not Found" screen...-___-):

Basically he's an all-around good-looking guy with few (viewable) exceptions.

Contestant #2: JEREMY SUMPTER

Used to look like this...

Now he looks like this...You look at William Moseley and the words "handsome," "solid," and "good-looking" float across your mind. You look at Jeremy Sumpter and all that's left of you are the chills running down your spine and your heart beating in your wide eyes.

He has eyes that slice into you, right to your soul, carrying an aura of mystery, adventure and mischief. Something about him screams the contradictions of "fierce-gentle" and "strong-sensitive."

He had abs when he was twelve.
Manages to make smoking look hott, which is hard to do in my book.
And makes me go weak at the knees when he looks like this:
...even though I feel like a pedophile.

If you feel you haven't quite seen enough evidence, I've saved the best for last. Take adventure, mystery, intrigue, mischief, cockiness, cleverness, wit and sheer attractiveness and rolled it together, it would look exactly like the following.
Holy...guacamole. I'm trying very hard to...not go crazy over this boy.

Here's one where you can read the whole tattoo.
In case you still can't tell, it says "To die would be an awfully big adventure."

He played the role Peter Pan in the real people version and did a beautiful job in a terrible movie.

Peter Pan has always been an attractive character to me, maybe some of you share that feeling. There's something about the adventurous, mischievous cockiness that's just awesome.

He also played Justin in a movie called Cyber Seduction, which sounds dirty as heck, but is actually a Christian TV movie that does a good job of keeping it PG without sugar-coating things.

I haven't been able to find Jeremy Sumpter commenting on his faith, but his role in Cyber Seduction leads me to believe he is a Christian. However since he doesn't mention it in any interviews, it leaves me wondering.

Two worst pictures I could find (btw, I've seen his movies and he never looks bad for a second, although admittedly these are pretttttty bad):
Basically he makes you want to run after him wherever he's going (as soon as your knees recover their stability), even though he's got a few bad shots out there.

Well there you have it, folks! The strong, handsome older brother of William Moseley, or the cocky, mysterious portrayer of Peter Pan.

Which do you find more attractive? Comment! None of this "I don't have time" or "Plenty of other people will" or "She'll never know I didn't" stuff! I have a page number tracker and I'm not afraid to use it ;) Drop a line and end this feud between friends!

~Kendra

Mari Mac

2011-03-07T13:56:00.004-05:00

Sorry for all the music posts, I promise to post something else soon XD

When we went to Disney in December, we saw this amazing Celtic rock band in Epcot called Off-Kilter. I LOVED them, and we bought their CD. They're infinitely better live, though, so I couldn't really get into the CD while the memory of them was fresh in my mind. Now that the memory has (tragically XD) faded some, I'm listening to their CD and loving it, too. I definitely recommend checking them out if you like Celtic rock :) And they've got a permanent gig in Epcot (in the Canada area), so GO SEE THEM LIVE.

One of the funnest songs is called "Mari Mac" XD I love it, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to get the words down!

"Mari Mac" Lyrics
Sweet little lass and her name is Mari Mac
Make no mistake she’s the girl I’m gonna track
Lot of other fellas try to get her on her back
But I’m thinking that they’ll have to get up early

Mari and her mother look an awful lot together
In fact you hardly see the one without the other
And people often wonder if it’s Mari or her mother
Or both of them together I am courting.

Chorus
Mari Mac’s mother’s making Mari Mac marry me
My mother’s making me marry Mari Mac
Well I’m gonna marry Mari for Mari’s taking care of me
We’ll all be merry when I marry Mari Mac

Well up among the heather in the hills of Benifee
I had a bonny lass sitting on me knee
Bumble bee stung me right above me knee
Up among the heather in the hills of Benifee

Well a certain bonnie lass and me, we’re going to spend the day
Sittin among the heather in the hills of Benifee
Where all the boys and girls are making out so free
Up among the heather in the hills of Benifee

Chorus

The wedding’s on Wednesday, everything’s arranged
Soon her name will be changed to unless her mind be changed
And making the arrangements I feel I must arrange
Marriage is an awful undertaking

Sure to be a grand affair, grander than a fair
Going to be a fork and plate for every man that’s there
And I’ll be a bugger if I don’t get me share
If I don’t I’ll be very much mistaken.

Chorus

Unfortunately I can't find a good Youtube video of Off-Kilter doing this song! Here's someone else's version [click HERE :D], but I definitely prefer Off-Kilter's. (There are also a LOT of different verses to this song, so this other version might have different ones than the Off-Kilter ones I have here.)

~Kendra

P.S. I also just found out they're not on iTunes....soo....yeah >.> Sorry.

Almost Alice

2011-03-07T10:01:00.000-05:00

Just in case you guys had luck with any of my music, here are some of my favorite songs from the "Almost Alice" album. Supposedly it's music inspired by the story of Alice in Wonderland :) I love trying to find the Alice theme XD

"Painting Flowers" ~ All Time Low

"The Poison" ~ All-American Rejects (again XD)

"Alice" ~ Avril Lavigne

"Her Name is Alice" ~ Shinedown

Maybe you'll find something new to love :D The whole CD is actually pretty worth the money I'd say. There are only a few songs that I just absolutely hate ("Tea Party," "Lobster Quadrille," and "Very Good Advice.")

~Kendra

A Knight's Tale

2011-03-02T22:26:00.004-05:00

Soo. Has anyone seen "A Knight's Tale" with Heath Ledger? :D
Cassidy is reading this right now and laughing at me. And now she's laughing harder. Am I right? XD Just kidding. Ish.

Cassidy gave me about four movies a couple of weeks ago that she's talked about and thought I might like. So far I've watched 3 of them and I've loved every single one. But today we tackled "A Knight's Tale." It's about a peasant guy (Heath Ledger) who decides to enter a jousting tournament. Back then that was for NOBLE PEOPLE ONLY, NO PEASANTS ALLOWED, so he had to be sneaky.

I freaking loved it. Wanna know why? Because it was unpredictable. I ACTUALLY had no idea what was going to happen, and that's weird for me. Normally I'm like "Lemme guess: this is gonna happen. Oh look. It did." That was not the case. I got really into the movie.

Also, Heath Ledger's character (William) is exactly the kind of guy I want to marry. Seriously. Just watch it. He also happens to embody what true southern boys are like. I just loved him.

The only thing was that I hate the girl. (She's not even pretty. Look, click here.) But it's mostly to be expected; I usually hate the girl characters, or at least don't like them. (Eowyn, Arwen, Arya, Meggie, Buttercup, Uhura, Elizabeth Swan, Trinity, Bella Swan, etc. = ugh.) The girl in "A Knight's Tale" is just...I honestly don't like her personality. I don't think she goes well with William's character, I don't agree with her ideals and morals, and she just...she annoys me. But it's okay, 'cause the rest of the movie I LOVE XD

Long story short, please watch "A Knight's Tale" so I can talk about it with you.

Because seriously, how can you not want to look at this for a couple of hours? ;)

~Kendra

miTunes

2011-02-28T21:35:00.003-05:00

Hey! So, Lia gave me the idea to post some of my current favorite songs! Maybe you'll find something you like :D

"My Paper Heart" ~ All American Rejects

"Higher" ~ Taio Cruz featuring Travie McCoy

"Ghost in the Machine" ~B.o.B

"Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise" ~ The Avett Brothers (totally not my normal style, don't ask me why I love it...)

~Kendra

[Carpe Liber]

2011-02-27T23:15:00.002-05:00

Well, I decided to do it! There might not be tons of interest, but I've decided to start a blog for book reviews :) I plan to post around twice a week, and the reviews will ALWAYS be under 500 words. I'm really excited :D The first review goes up tomorrow! Check it out!

http://carpeliberi.blogspot.com/

~Kendra

Books

2011-02-25T11:05:00.001-05:00

There are different kinds of snobs out there, as my friend Cassidy pointed out. You have clothes snobs ("Anything from Goodwill is automatically garbage."), water snobs ("Bottled only, thank you."), movie snobs ("The character development was a little slow, and I thought the script was weak."), clique snobs ("Oh, she's really into artsy stuff, soo..."), etc. You can be a snob of just about anything. One (of many XD) thing I'm a snob about?

Books.

I love reading. My first word was "book." I used to follow my mom around the house when I was two, holding up a book and asking her to please read it to me.

When I was little, my mom picked out my books. She always picked really good ones, classics or ones that were by well-known authors. When I got to be ten or so, I wanted to pick my own books. My mom was fine with that. It was then that I realized something:

Not all books are actually good.

It was a strange revelation to realize that a book doesn't have to be well-written with well-developed characters, a tight plot, and good vocabulary to get published.

I haven't changed much in my expectations for books since then, except maybe I've gotten even "snobbier" XD I'm sure that keeps me from finding as much stuff that I absolutely love, but I think that's a fine. I'd rather know what a really good book is when I find it than think everything I read is amazing.

I don't mean to sound really arrogant here, although I'm sure I probably do :-/ Anyway, I'm thinking about doing book reviews every once in a while, maybe even starting a separate blog for it. Would any of you be interested in that? If you don't mind, leave a comment and let me know!

~Kendra

Disney Disguise

2011-02-24T11:17:00.009-05:00

Hey, y'all! As my awesome friend Lia pointed out, I'm finally having my birthday party this Saturday! I haven't really had an actual birthday party since I was fourteen, so I'm excited :D I'm also excited because I think the party theme is just awesome, if I do say so myself:

Disney Disguise.

Oh yes. It's a costume party! Everyone dresses up like their favorite classic Disney character! (Well, it doesn't HAVE to be your FAVORITE, and it doesn't have to be a princess. Pirates of the Caribbean or the Incredibles works too :D) There will be games for each princess and a dinner made up of food from all the different countries where the princesses live :)

Do I really need to even tell you who I'm going to be? Just in case you haven't looked at my profile...

I'm going to be Belle!

While Aladdin might still be my favorite Disney movie, you gotta admit that Beauty and the Beast is the best love story out there, and I happen to be a lot like Belle. The only challenge was finding a costume.

I decided right away that I didn't want the yellow dress, you know, the one she wears to the ball or whatever. It's gorgeous, but I wanted to be Belle when she's just her plain ol' self in the blue dress.

I could have ordered a costume. If I happened to have EIGHTY-NINE DOLLARS JUST LYING AROUND XD Which I do not. So I did not. But yesterday rolled around and I still just had some sketchy ideas about how to make a Belle costume, and I was beginning to worry that I would have the worst costume of all--at my own party.

But, like the last-minute heroes they are, my mom and Lizzy went to Goodwill last night while I was at dance and found a couple of things.

I won't tell you how amazing it is, because that might ruin the surprise when I post pictures later ;) But needless to say, OH MY GOSH I LOVE IT IT'S PERFECT IT'S SO AWESOME--

*clears throat*

So yeah. My party is Saturday, and I'm totally psyched.

~Kendra

Homeschooled vs. Homeschooler

2011-02-22T11:40:00.003-05:00

Someone I know put this on Facebook today XD I love it. Best homeschooler vid I've seen so far. There are a lot of people who try to do this, but it's usually a little...er..."homeschooler" XD Hope you like it.

~Kendra

I Was Stumbling Today, And...

2011-02-19T16:30:00.001-05:00

...look what I found! Click on it for a bigger version.

{Stumble.com}

~Kendra

Perfecto

2011-02-18T17:21:00.004-05:00

Today, it is 74 degrees. The air is warm, the sky is blue, the breeze is gentle. It's a perfect day :D Absolutely perfect.

Things That Make Today Amazing:
1. The weather is warm.
2. It's FRIDAY.
3. It's the first monthly Family Fun Night at my church.
4. There was a little raccoon on our back deck (second story) this morning. Second time, same little furry offender. Sometimes my dog Licorice freaks him out and he ends up "treed" on the porch railing. Cute as freakin' button and not rabid. He's curled up in the V of a tree about 30 yards from the house as I type.
5. My insane friend Kirsten is coming to Family Fun Night and to spend the night :D

This pretty much describes our friendship.

So, until later, EVERYONE HAVE A GREAT DAY/HOPE YOU HAD ONE!

~Kendra

If You're Pushed for Time, Just Read the Italic Portion at the End

2011-02-15T23:28:00.005-05:00

Wow, I've been terrible at posting. Like, really awful.

My birthday was great, I got four new books and the movie "Brigadoon." The books I got are "The Forest of Hands and Teeth," "Tex," "Incarceron" and "Across the Universe." I've read "Forest" and "Tex" and I'm on "Incarceron." I plan on posting some review-esque posts soon :)

I used to LOVE the movie "Brigadoon" when I was really little and we haven't been able to find it for years and years. We watched it the night of my birthday and it was really sweet :) Some lines and especially some songs brought back waves of childhood memories. The dancing in the movie is really great, too. I guess I was too little to appreciate that when I was five XD

Last Friday was the Father-Daughter Sweetheart Dance. It was basically like prom only with better music and dads instead of awkward guys. I had a blast :D Pictures possibly soon, my friend's dad took them and they haven't appeared on Facebook yet...

Yesterday, in case you don't know, was Valentine's Day :D I had a good one. We went out to dinner as a family + my grandma. The restaurant was actually the same one my dad and I had gone to before the Father-Daughter Dance. We saw the same cute waiter :3 He told me to have a good night. That may or may not have MADE my night...

I got to drive home :) Yes, in case I never officially said so, I got my permit :) I plan to post more on that later also...

So basically my life has been fine. Up until tonight. When something devastating happened (don't get too upset, I suppose I'm probably being a little melodramatic). First, a little back story.

Have you ever heard of the show Happy Days? If you haven't, you should watch it, because it's genius. It's set in the 50s and 60s and it's about this teenager named Richie and his friends. My personal favorite character is Fonzie, the greaser who's a shocking blend of freaking TOUGH and surprisingly profound.

Anyway, I started watching Happy Days every night at 10 o'clock around Thanksgiving when I was going through some internal crap XD It was so hilarious and fun and took my mind off things. I watched the two episodes and went to bed neatly at 11 o'clock. I went to bed happy and laughing over some of the lines.

If I was having a bad day, it was okay because I could watch Happy Days at 10 o'clock.
If I was stressed about school, I could make it through because I could watch Happy Days at 10 o'clock.
If I was struggling with what to do about something, there was a chance that I'd find wisdom in Happy Days at 10 o'clock.

Happy Days was something happy, something constant, something perfect and reliable that I could count on every night to make every day happy. Lately I've actually said during the day, "I'm so excited--Happy Days comes on tonight!"

XD I know, I'm a complete dork. But a happy one. This evening was great because I was looking forward to my daily dose of Fonzie and my close-second-favorite ChaChi. Good ol' reliable 10 o'clock rolled around and--

Holy mother of feathered cow gerbils. No Happy Days.

Yes. You read that right. No. Happy. Days. The show does not come on at good ol' reliable 10 o'clock, just in time for me to go to bed neatly at 11. No Fonzie. No ChaChi. No wisdom. No laughter. No happiness. Nothing to get me through the day or cheer me up.

I realize that it is only a TV show. I realize that it is not the end of the world. I realize that I really need to get a life outside of watching actors who are now pushing 50 years old IRL. But when I read "Next: Family Ties" I died a little inside. I am way more devastated than I should be.

I thought I could never hate Michael J. Fox.

I was wrong.

~Kendra

Lizzy: Before and After

2011-02-09T23:29:00.003-05:00

So, my sister Lizzy has had braces for THREE AND A HALF YEARS. That's kind of a while. Since she was, like, eleven. And guess what?

Yeah. She got them off today, after one terribly disappointing false alarm (thanks a lot, Mr. Orthodontist). I know people who have gotten their braces off, and to be honest, I hardly noticed. I mean, I thought something was a little different maybe, but it wasn't like "OH WOW."

Well. Lizzy's After is OH WOW. She looks so different! She is beautiful, her teeth are beautiful, and honestly she looks about two years older. People are gonna think we're just friends instead of older-sister-younger-sister. OR maybe they'll think she's OLDER... O_O That'd be...weird. But she IS taller than me.

*...frowns...*

ANYWAY XD Wanna see?

Before...

After...

I just can't get used to that new face XD :D

~Kendra

Well, Folks, It's That Time of Year Again...

2011-02-06T22:28:00.004-05:00

No, not the Super Bowl -_- My BIRTHDAY.

I have a little over 12 hours left of being sixteen.

Sixteen was good. In fact, it was pretty great. I went to the beach with a bunch of friends, went to prom for the first time, vacationed in Florida, almost had a boyfriend, read all the Harry Potter books, got accepted to go to Europe, and finally got my permit! Not a bad year, not a bad year at all :)

However. I am completely ready and eager to leave sweet sixteen behind. I'm excited for my birthday. I mean, I'm actually smiling and happy and bouncy and waiting for the clock to get to tomorrow. To be perfectly honest, I don't remember EVER feeling excited about my birthday before. I'm usually anxious and apprehensive and totally paranoid that I won't enjoy it enough. This year, I'm just plain excited. Old-fashioned excited. Little-kid excited.

My birthday's tomorrow.
My birthday's tomorrow.
My BIRTHDAY'S tomorrow!

Yippee :D

I have it all planned out so that I have NO SCHOOL WORK to do! Tomorrow is all mine. I will be "sexy seventeen" and it's going to be freaking AWESOME.

Gosh, a whole day. Whatever will I do with my aging self? :D

~Kendra

Praises and Prayers

2011-02-02T23:17:00.003-05:00

Praise: I got my permit! YESSS :) It was a little more complicated and irritating than we thought (we ended up not having all the paperwork, etc.), so I just got it yesterday. I missed 2 questions XD Oh well. I drove to class today, which was fun, even though it was kind of nerve-wracking.

Prayers: I know 10 people who are sick. There is a horrible thing going around. Stuffy nose, runny nose, sore throat, sneezing, coughing, chest pain, and a high fever in my sister's case. See, Lizzy is an amazing sport. She plows through life and gives 100% no matter what. She has to be feeling like death warmed over to show it, and, well, she's showing it.

I haven't seen her like this in years. At least. It makes me want to take all the sickness and just go through it myself, and I mean that. (Normally I'm a selfish little snitch, so it's different this time, lol...XD) My mom is even thinking about taking her to the doctor, something she hardly ever does.

Anyway, I don't want to sound annoying, because I know there are WAY worse things than a bad cold/virus thing, but any prayers for my sister (and all the other sick people) would be wonderful.

~Kendra

Peep

2011-02-02T09:42:00.000-05:00

~Kendra

Finally. Maybe.

2011-01-27T13:52:00.002-05:00

You might remember when I took driver's ed.
You might remember when this guy lost my certificate.
You might remember when the Department of Non-Public Education messed up our paperwork.
You might remember that we had to order my birth certificate because we couldn't find it.
You might remember that it took 8 weeks to arrive.

Nearly two years later than normal, I'm going to get my driver's permit today. Theoretically. I'm hesitant to even say anything because I'm really, really, really, really, really, REALLY afraid I might fail. Like, legitimately.

*sigh* We'll see. Prayers wouldn't be out of order :)

~Kendra

Famous Inboxes: Gandalf

2011-01-26T09:06:00.000-05:00

After finding Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas in Fangorn Forest, Gandalf takes the battle for Middle Earth to Rohan. Here he frees King Theoden from the evil influence of Saruman and the lovelorn Grima Wormtongue. He then checks his email.

~Kendra

Official Announcement Post

2011-01-25T10:59:00.000-05:00

Some of you may already know this. I've known about it for months. But see, an announcement this amazing deserves a proper post. And I'm just now in the mood to do that.

I love languages. I love foreign music. I love learning. I love different cultures. I love traveling.

Have you ever heard of People to People? It's a student ambassador program. The idea is that we can create peace and cultural understanding by getting to know the people and letting them know us. Real unity won't come from Government to Government, it'll come from People to People.

A couple of years ago, P2P invited me to go to Japan. My parents didn't think twice before saying, "No." Last year, I was invited to go to Ireland. Ireland, you guys. My favorite. My parents at least looked at it before saying "no." This year, I got a third invitation to go to Spain, France and Italy. Spain and Italy are in the top 3 places I want to go. I wanted to go so much when I saw the invitation, but I didn't even bring it up. I knew what the answer would be.

My parents saw it lying on the counter eventually. I admitted that yeah, I really wished I could go.

They said, "Okay."

The next thing I know, I'm at an orientation meeting with hundreds of other highschool kids, listening to a fun, polished lady talk about the benefits of the program, and P2P alumni share their amazing experiences.

Unfortunately, not everyone can go on the trip. The invitation goes out to lots of kids and some show up at the meeting, and some don't. From there, if you still want to go, you sign up for an interview process. Out of the hundreds of kids, only FORTY will be chosen.

Believe it or not, I'm one of the lucky forty.

Guys. I'm going to Europe. I'm going to EEEEEEEUUUUUURRRRRROOOOOOPPPPPPEEEEE. I'm going to lie on a beach in Spain. I'm going to have real croissants in France. I'm going to see the ancient Roman ruins with my very own eyes.

Can you believe this, you guys? I mean, really... I'm going to Europe. I'm going to be traveling, learning, broadening my horizons, stepping out of my comfort zone, being an ambassador to the world :) This is the most incredible opportunity I think I've ever had and I'm going capere every diem.

~Kendra

[Pointless Post]

2011-01-24T16:35:00.004-05:00

Hellooo! So, I was bored today and got to looking at collage software online. I downloaded Shape Collage and had some fun with it :)

I don't know why the "ShapeCollage.com" is so much bigger on Lizzy's. That's really annoying. I know this is a pretty pointless post, but I felt like posting anyway :) Hope you're doing great!

~Kendra

Two Dead Boys Poem

2011-01-19T21:50:00.006-05:00

Early one morning, late one night.
Two dead boys got up to fight.
Back to back they faced each other.
Drew their swords, and shot each other.
The deaf policeman heard the noise
And came and shot the two dead boys.
If you don't believe this lie is true,
Go ask the blind man, he saw it too.

My dad used to recite that poem to me when I was little :) I loved it and it recently came back to mind.

It's kind of awesome, isn't it?

~Kendra

Non-Grape Wine: As One Wishes to Live

2011-01-14T16:04:00.008-05:00

So, I was on Facebook the other day (who isn'? XD) and I'd been tagged in a cool activity:

1- Go to Wikipedia and hit "Random Article" (it's on the left side). The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to quotationspage.com and hit "Random Quotes" (on the left side again). The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on "the last seven days” (at the bottom this time XD Then you have to click it again on the right side). Third picture, no matter what (as long as it's appropriate), will be your album cover.

4 - Use paint or photoshop or something like that to put it all together.

5 - Tag the friends you want to do this.

I didn't think it sounded that fun, but the friend who tagged me is new-ish to Facebook, so I decided I'd do it. Here's what I got:

Isn't that awesome? It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. It also made me want to start a band XD Here are some that my friends did:

Kyle's

Cassidy's

Aaand then I decided to make a few more :)

You should try it! It's tons of fun :) If you do and you post it to your blog, leave a comment so I can come see it! :D

~Kendra

Theme Songs

2011-01-12T16:12:00.009-05:00

Hey! I was tagged by Christian with a book tag. A couple of questions really made me think and started me on a wild goose chase:

Does your novel have a theme song?
Assign each of your main characters a theme song.

Wow. How awesome is that? "The Mirror" already had a theme song in my mind, Lux Aeterna by Clint Mansell. But the second question was a little harder to answer.

I went straight to Youtube and started listening to X-Ray Dog's stuff. Do you know who/what that is? I didn't. I mean, I'd listened to it before and I knew that it was great for this sort of thing, but I didn't know what it actually was. Turns out X-Ray Dog is like a company in California that does theme music for movies. Perfect.

Those of you who know me can testify that me + an idea + picky-ness = laaaate night. I was up til 1AM last night listening to tons and tons of X-Ray Dog, search for something that embodied the four characters I'd chosen as my mains.

Finally, out out absolutely nowhere, Darren's song hit me full force. My eyes widened, my mouth fell open, and I clicked quickly to the tab playing the song. "Fight for Glory." And that was Darren's song.

Darren ~ Fight for Glory by X-Ray Dog

I looked some more, sifting through this and that, trying to ignore the fact that it was 12:48AM. I was losing hope fast when Paige's song found me. It was a great moment of "Oh my gosh...this is it..."

Paige ~ Truth and Lies by X-Ray Dog

(I've always thought that Decode by Paramore fits her too, MUCH better than it fits Bella and Edward, for whom it was written.)

I scrambled through more and more music, dismissing some and listening to others. Eventually, something that sounded a bit like Narcissa came to my attention.

Narcissa ~ Flight of Dreams by X-Ray Dog

(And yes, that is also Luna Lovegood.)

I'm not completely satisfied with Narcissa's. It's definitely very good and very close, and it might grow on me, but as of now it doesn't quite fit her. She's quieter and less...funny. Somehow the music makes her sound like a hilarious and fun character. And, I mean, she is, but in a quieter, almost weaker way actually.

Luken

Ah, Luken. The last song to find. Luken may be my favorite character. I'm not sure. He's tall and brooding and mysterious, BUT he's not dark. He's arrogant, determined and strong, with streaks of sadness and desperation.

And I have not been able to find a song like that.

So...heh...I'm not going to ask you to help me out or anything...BUT...if you had spare time...or new an arrogantdeterminedsaddesperate song, I'd love to hear about it :3 Keeping in mind the other three and their style, suggestions would be EXTREMELY appreciated :) I hate it when I start something I can't finish.

So, with that, I'm off to paw through some more X-Ray Dog in search of Luken :)

~Kendra

Lessons of Snow

2011-01-10T17:27:00.007-05:00

Today has been a Monday: slow and somewhat unproductive. It hasn't really been unpleasant though. I've had a good day, I just hope that tomorrow won't suck because of the things I didn't get done XD

We aren't reading a play in Shakespeare for a couple of weeks. Instead, we're focusing more on the poetry part of the class. That's fine by me. The only thing is, the assignments feel really restrictive. Lots of times they'll inspire me to write something I really like, but then I just have to do it over because it's not "an alliterative poem with the same number of accented syllables in each line" or something.

Oh well. It DOES force me to write, which is really good. I need that, even though I'm doing a lot better with writing now that I'm not so stressed.

Anyway, after that boring rant, here's one of the poems I wrote today. I'm using it for my "euphony" poem (I have to write cacophony tomorrow).

Lessons of Snow

Whirring, swirling falls the snow.
Tiny drops of feather-light lace
Twinkling flakes of playful cold
Wander down with innocent grace.

The world is peaceful, calm and still.
The snow seems warm despite the chill
As people stop to smile and say
"I hoped that it might snow today!"

Hot cocoa calls as flurries float.
The snow flakes settle on the grass.
Dizzy and friendly they come now.
You never know how long they'll last.

Some people say they don't like snow.
It tells them when they can come and go.
But as for me, I like the flurries.
We miss so much in our great hurries.

The snow falls at whatever pace
And sweeps the world in dusty white.
It shows us how nice life can be
When we go the pace God says is right.

~Kendra

The Godfather

2011-01-09T21:24:00.003-05:00

I watched "The Godfather" today. I've just been feeling in the mood to watch it lately. Maybe it was the references in "You've Got Mail." I dunno.

For those of you who don't know, it's a movie about gangs, basically. But at the same time, that is SO NOT what it's about. It's about family. It's about loyalty, honor and justice. The kind of loyalty those people stick to is incredible, and admirable. You stick up for you family, pay your debts, keep your promises and treat each other with respect. (There is a certain "or else" feeling to it, but that's beside the point XD)

Gangs are bad. I know. Killing is bad. Yes. Blackmail is wrong. It is. But if friends and family could show each other the same loyalty required in the Corleone family...wow. It would be incredible. You'd always have someone to go to, someone to talk to, someone to take your side. You'd never be alone.

"The Godfather" is one of my favorite movies. It's intense, it's a little violent (okay, so it's rated R), and calling it "lighthearted" would be about as accurate as calling Edward and Bella's relationship "healthy," but I love it. I really love it. It fills me with a fierce loyalty for my family, a passion for justice, and a will to plan carefully (along with an overwhelming desire for brothers, of course).

The point is, I think "The Godfather" is definitely a movie to see, so long as you can handle it, and the basic principles are ones that we can all draw from.

~Kendra

What's Up With Me

2011-01-07T14:10:00.006-05:00

So. Hey :)

I've been thinking and evaluating and struggling with some things lately. Some of it's academic, some of it's personal, and some of it's creative. This year, you know, my goal is to be more myself. To become more the person I feel like I'm supposed to be. Lately I've been feeling like I have to choose between being myself and keeping up with certain aspects of school.

God has blessed me with two facets to my personality: academic and creative. Normally, they coexist fine, but more and more, I've been feeling like they...well...can't.

I can keep up with my school work. I can do great. I can be a model student and get straight A's and tell you everything you want to know about Nietzsche and his Ubermensch, but when I sit down to write, I've got nothing. Nothing.

For a while I dismissed it as a phase. Writer's block. Um, really LONG writer's block...a year and half's worth of writer's block, and getting worse every day...

In 2008, I read 40 books. In 2009, I read 39 books. In 2010, I read 20. Counting school books.

I stopped journaling. I stopped wanting to call my best friend. I got about eight colds in six months. I started putting on an act 24/7 of being the same Happy Healthy Fun Creative Kendra I've always been. I wasn't really very happy anymore, but I figured hey, I was making good grades and that's what counts.

I was beginning to think that I'd have to make a choice, and I knew I had already decided. Writing is who I am, reading is what keeps me going, but it's not what the world (or my parents, I thought) cares about. I can't even tell you the number of times my mom has told me to "stop working on my story and get back to my schoolwork."

Eventually I could do that for myself, and a little too well. I stopped writing because I didn't have time. I figured I could pick it up sometime when I did.

But guys, it doesn't work that way. You use it, or you lose it. I was losing it and I didn't know what to do. I made time for writing, but the words wouldn't come because I was so stressed out about what I SHOULD be doing. Even when I had legitimate "free-time," all I could do was veg out in front of the TV or click around on the internet because books didn't interest me, my words wouldn't come. I resigned myself to giving up creativity, and although it felt like cutting off my right arm, I was already halfway there.

When this year started, I knew I needed to do something. I was becoming dangerously angry and jealous of the homeschooled friends who had time just to enjoy being alive. I would read blogs and want to tear my hair out, thinking "Why can't I be her/him?" I was doing well in school, but completely miserable and losing myself in the sea of dates, atoms, charts, conjugations and theorems.

Good grades definitely count. Especially when you're (please excuse the potential arrogance) really blessed in the intelligence area and are 150% dedicated to getting into Wake Forest University. Good grades do count. A lot.

But is the syllabus more important than my soul?

I always thought homeschooling was about doing what was right for you, not about teaching to test or squeezing you into a system. I know God wants me to do my best and stretch my mind, but at what expense? I don't think he wants me to sacrifice my creative side for my academic side. I think there's a way for them to work together...maybe? Hopefully?

I finally breached the subject with my parents a few days ago. I tried to explain how I feel. Honestly, I didn't expect a great reaction. I expected something along the lines of, "Kendra, you're just being lazy because you're struggling in subjects that don't come naturally to you. Stop daydreaming and hit the books and everything will clear up soon."

But that didn't happen. My parents listened to me and took me seriously. We didn't argue and we actually understood each other.

That conversation definitely goes in the top three Must-Have-Been-God moments of my life.

We arrived at a pretty simple solution:

- We're ordering an algebra curriculum on DVD that I can do every day.
- I'm postponing chemistry until this summer. Without a background in algebra 2, chemistry is borderline impossible.

It doesn't sound like much, does it? But the way I feel is a 180 degree turn-around. I used to sleep until 10 o'clock because waking up was just too stressful and depressing. I used to write a total of 0 words a week. I used to be frustrated and didn't get alone with my parents very well.

It's been four days and I've gotten up earlier, feeling excited and so much full of ME. I've written more in my notebooks than I did all of last summer. I like my parents.

I just feel good. I feel like I'm enjoying life. I feel like I might try to do chemistry today just because I feel like I can.

I know this was a really long post, and possibly not something you're interested in, but I just felt like posting about it. I guess I sort of want insight. Do you think I did the right thing? I feel good, but every once in a while a shadow falls across me and I wonder if I should have just kept things the way they were and tried harder...

Comments are great... :)

~Kendra

Resolution

2011-01-02T13:41:00.007-05:00

Happy Second Day of Twenty-Eleven! How was your first day? Did you notice the date?

1.1.11

I thought that was pretty sweet, but then again, I'm easily amused.

This year, I have a lot of little resolutions, but in general, my goal is very simple (and not particularly original): be myself.

I go through ups and downs in "being myself." 2010 was not an especially good year for being myself. It's not that I lied or was fake or tried to be someone I wasn't, it's just that...I was being the wrong parts of myself and not looking at the big picture.

Of course, 2010 was also just a growing year. I might not have been completely myself, but I did a lot of experimenting and learning and stretching. I learned what works for me and what I'm like and where my limits are.

You know, when I think about like this, 2010 really wasn't that bad. I'm not upset to say goodbye, but it actually wasn't a bad year. I had lots of Firsts (and several Onlys) and discovered that I love eyeliner, hate chemistry and can, in fact, tolerate guys screaming in movies (which will come in handy with the Harry Potter movies, I think).

Long story short, while I wasn't as successful at being ME in 2010, I did make a lot of discoveries about who I am that should help me become more the person God wants me to be in 2011 :)

More on that later.

~Kendra

Pictures of the Part-ayy

2011-01-01T14:27:00.005-05:00

The party.
Was.
Fun XD

Starring...

Lizzy

Brianna

Lia

Me, Kendra

aaaaand Ellie!

Group shot!

Food...

Fun...
(Katie and Cassidy also came for a little while :D)

And more XD

I love my friends. Happy New Year.

~Kendra

Looking Back and Looking Forward

2010-12-31T18:05:00.002-05:00

Dos mil diez.
Deus mille dix.
Twenty-eleven.
Two-thousand ten.

It's been a year, which is hard to believe. Last year, I had just come off the best Christmas in the entire world with stronger friendships and a million inside jokes. 2009 was, in a word, epic, and lots happened. Last year, I wrote:

"You know what, 2009 was great. It was full of everything a year should be. I loved it. It was an amazing year for me. But 2010 can be great, too. My New Year's Resolution?

Stop being afraid of the future. Stop living in the past.

Just because something was great, doesn't mean greater doesn't exist.

2010 is going to be great. That's not a hope. That's a fact.

Because (not to quote Hannah Montana) life's what you make it.

So, let's Carpe Diem, people."

Wasn't I cool? I don't mean that in a conceited way, I just realize what a great outlook I had. Somehow, in 2010 I lost some of that.

2010 has been really different. It's been quieter sort of, full of growing up and learning (often the hard way). I've made some unexpected friends and lost some unexpected friends. I've worked harder in school and started to like shopping.

2010 hasn't been fireworks and joy, it's been moonlight and understanding.

Twenty-ten was interesting and enlightening, but I can't say that I will miss it. I'm more eager to see what twenty-eleven holds than I am to hold onto twenty-ten, and I think that's a good thing.

Tonight, I'm having the first New Year's Eve party I've ever thrown. I think it'll be great :) Scratch that, I *know* it'll be great. We'll eat popcorn and drink sparkling grape juice and play games and watch the ball drop in Times Square. We'll be with each other.

Life is about living, loving, laughing and learning. In 2011, I plan to remember and do those things to 100% of my ability, and then I *know* the year will be great.

Who's with me? Let's live, love, laugh and learn together. Let's Carep Diem, y'all :)

~Kendra

Accio New Post!

2010-12-28T22:35:00.005-05:00

I read "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" over the summer because I figured it was a cultural thing and I needed to. It was cartoony ("Muggles"? Really?) and childish (Minerva McGonagall? Please.) and I couldn't see why anyone would like the books.

I felt obligated to read "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" after that because my friend wanted me to. It wasn't really better, although I was at least used to the stupid lingo.

Then I read through "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." I actually liked that one. I liked Sirius. I read over phrases like "Let's use Polyjuice Potion" and "Try Summoning it" without thinking.

I started "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and couldn't do it. It was mind-numbingly boring and I quit, finished trying. Who cares THAT MUCH about Quidditch??

Two months later, I forced myself to try "Goblet of Fire" again. After the beginning, I got into it. It was...great?? I got sort of into it, in a way.

I wanted to read the next one, so I read "Harry Potter and the Order Phoenix." ...I really liked it a lot. The book didn't even start out boring, though Harry was a whiny git at first. The whole thing was becoming surprisingly interesting and extremely complex. I was delighted at how insignificant things started to fit together so perfectly.

I devoured "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" in like two and a half days. I laughed at Ron, marveled at Hermione and cringed at Harry. It was second nature to summon things (Accio!) and I registered the complicated fighting scenes (Stupify! Protego! Petrificus Totalus!) without difficulty.\
I eagerly read and savored "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." I cried. It was intense and realistic. It felt like I was watching my friends right before my eyes. I knew their histories. I knew their styles. I had watched them grow up for seven years.

I finished the series, including one of the most satisfying epilogues I've read, on Christmas Day (really the day after; it was 12:46). I never intended to like Harry Potter. And I'm not sure why I do. It IS cartoony at times, and I'm not sure that it's exceptionally well-written. But...for some reason, I DO like them. I like them very much. And I'm sad they're over.

I know a lot of you are very anti-Harry Potter. Whatever. I was too. But there's a lot to appreciate in them besides witchcraft and wizardry. There's mystery and humor and realism and morals and great quotes and strong characters and enough creativity for half the Renaissance period.

Stop judging the books before you read them. I was just as guilty as y'all are; I condemned them too (and I still wouldn't NECESSARILY recommend them for impressionable little kids). But I now stand on the issue of HP where I do with the dread T series:

If you haven't read them, don't judge them. (Ah ah ah, no buts. Stop it. Stop--STOPIT. Shush.) It's just as bad as calling a cheerleader stupid or a homeschooler unsocial or a nerd creepy.

That is all.

~Kendra

Christmas Story

2010-12-24T11:31:00.000-05:00

I wrote this last year for Christmas. I read over it, and while I might do it a little differently now, I decided to keep it...for now. Maybe I'll start revising it a little every year or something, to see how my writing style and perspective changes...dang...that's a good idea...why do I always have those late at night...

"So, There Was This Teenage Girl" by Kendra Logan, December 2009

So, there was this teenage girl.

She was a good Christian. She was kind and gentle and loved God (she was probably really fun, too, because all real Christians are! XD). She was also a virgin, and her name was Mary.

(Fun Fact #1: "virgin" in the Greek can sometimes just mean "young girl", but in this case, it means, you know, an actual virgin ;D)

Mary was engaged to this great guy named Joseph, who was also a good Christian. He was pretty awesome actually. Really fun, caring, Christian, even brave. They were pretty excited about getting married.

But then God just had to throw a curve ball.

One night, an angel suddenly appears to Mary. *freak out* And the angel said, "Do not be afraid" first.

(Fun Fact #2: We don't know much about angels, but we know one thing for darn sure: they are scary. Every time someone sees an angel, they're panicking so much the angel has to calm them down. Haha, I can see the angels getting impatient now, "*rolls eyes* GOOD GRIEF, WOULD YOU GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF? Oh, I mean DO NOT BE AFRAID.")

So, back to Mary and the angel. The angel says, "God is so proud of you! You're doing great!"

...

...thanks...

Guess what? You are pregnant."

*blink*

O.O

Imagine how Mary must have felt. I know I would have been absolutely panicking. I mean, I wouldn't have doubted it or anything--if an Angel of the Lord says you're pregnant, you're pregnant--but I would have been really scared. And I wonder if Mary was afraid she had done something wrong, you know? I mean, I would have been like, "OH MY GOSH, is there something I've...er...missed..."

The angel went on.

"You are to name the child Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

>insert awkward silence<>insert awkward, ANNOYED silence<

Joseph: "Okay...well, you see, my wife is pregnant, and the baby is expected any day now. Isn't there anything you can do?"

The innkeeper directs Mary and Joseph to the stable.

I'm not even gonna go into what Mary must have been thinking at this point. But anyway, Mary and Joseph head on over to the stable and try to get as comfortable as they can.

(Fun fact #4: most of you probably already know this, but back in the day, stables weren't little barns like we have now. They were usually caves!)

So, Mary goes into labor, and now we will graciously switch over to what is happening with the shepherds.

Now, let's get something straight about shepherds. They weren't really considered important. They were kind of like today's garbage men. You need 'em, you'd miss 'em if they were gone, but it's not exactly what every kids dreams of becoming or anything. For the shepherds to be the first ones God had told (aside from the baby's parents) was definitely ironic to say the least.

That's another thing I love about God: he's got a great sense of humor.

And here comes the part we all know. Say it with me now ;)

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'"

Then tons more angels joined them and sang praises to God!

So, with that, the shepherds decided to go and see what the angels had been talking about. And they went into Bethlehem and found the stable, and WHOA! There *is* a little baby here, just like the angels said! (Shocker, right? ;D)

I can only imagine what Mary was thinking now. I'm sure she was overjoyed with Jesus, and I really don't think she minded having random shepherd guys show up at her "doorstep". I do think she might have been a little frightened, though. I mean, having your first child is supposed to be MONUMENTAL already, so imagine the huge burden it would be to have the SON OF GOD. The random shepherds showing up was probably a whole 'nother level of eye-opening to Mary. She was holding the Son of God in her arms, only a few hours old, and already he was drawing people to himself.

It’s a beautiful story, is it not? It has everything a good story should: love, adventure, realism, excitement, irony, and even a little baby. But not just any little baby.

The baby that grew up and saved my life.

But that's another story ;)

~Kendra

Christmas Dollhouse 2010!

2010-12-20T14:18:00.009-05:00

Maybe you remember from last year, the Logan tradition of Christmas Dollhouse? Well, here are pictures from this year :D

{.captions on the bottom.}

I have a lot of people...

Lizzy's house in progress...

Momma's house in progress...

My house in progress...

Lizzy's finished house...

Momma's living room...

My finished house...

My parents' room..

My little girl's room...

My living room...

My kitchen...

The Parade! :D

We made muffins. And then pretended they were dollhouse cakes :D

Cake on my kitchen table...hehe :D

My parents enjoying their cake...

My family on Christmas Day!

~Kendra

Less is More

2010-12-14T23:25:00.002-05:00

I'm really not a good blogger right now, am I? I think the countdown may not work very well for me this year. When I feel like I have to post EVERYDAY, it makes me procrastinate if I miss a day. I feel like I get "behind" in what ought to be a fun activity. I think that by planning to post less, I'll actually post more.

I'm so weird.

Also, Rachel B is having a cool guest-blogging thing over at Thoughts of A KleeWyck, in which I happen to be participating XD My post should go up tomorrow, so check it out! (And don't stop there, haha, her blog is really neat :D)

~Kendra

13 Things and a Semi-Guest writer

2010-12-13T22:36:00.003-05:00

I hate thinking up names for those blog posts, don't you? Gah. Anyway, my writing style will be hugely different from the awesome female writer you're used to reading from. I'm Kendra's friend from Utah that you may have heard of multiple times, named Jordan. Kendra's currently SWAMPED with Homework, so asked me to make a blog post. The post may be somewhat below your standards for the blog though, so just bear with me. :D

Also: I was in a rather odd mood when I wrote this. You'll see. Keep reading.

13 THINGS

1Rudolph the Red-nosed reindeer. Aside from him having a biological lightbulb built into his nasal passages, he's (obviously) a reindeer, so gets to pull Santa's sleigh. YAY!

Dasher: His name sounds like a razor product built specifically for the holidays. "Buy the new Gilette Dasher for just $12.99 at your nearest Walmart and get the shave your wife can appreciate on Christmas Eve! Only at Walmart!"

Prancer: There's a ballerina reindeer, apparently. Prancer, his name reminds me of a sword for some reason. o_O

Dancer: I do ballroom dance, and I know Kendra does hip-hop, so we can both kinda relate to this Reindeer's name. Maybe he does latin or standard while he's flying? *shrugs* Something to think about.

5 Vixen: Okay, seriously, anyone getting twilight vibes here? Vixen makes me think of vampires. Also, vice is the opposite of virtue, so makes for an interesting name of a pet of a beloved fat jolly guy that sneaks into your house and eats your food.

Donald: Aha! So apparently the duck has a second job to sneak into the north pole and dress up as a reindeer every so often. Apparently he does quite the job, since Walt Disney never noticed him sneaking off of the pages and walking away.

Cupid: Honestly there are just too many lame jokes I could make about Cupid. Why name a Reindeer after one though? I mean, really, he already has his own holiday. Going after the inspiration of Donald, he apparently slips away and metamorphs into some sort of fairy tale 4 year old with a bow that makes people fall in love.

At this point, I googled the song lyrics and realized there isn't one named Donald. *facepalm*

Comet: Best name here, in my opinion. If I were Santa, I would've named the reindeer after the places where he gets more cookies.

#OTHER REINDEER NAMES

Being a frequent user of twitter, pardon me if I let some hashtags sneak into the post. >_>

Snowball: Wouldn't that be a fitting name? He could have a huge annual snowball fight with the penguins when the visit whichever pole they inhabit. I mean, the scientists can use the company and maybe some more fun.

10 Jolly: If you can have one named Prancer and another named Dancer, why not a mindset? Jolly should go around as a backup and make positive on all the most nefarious situations.

Food: Santa's favorite snarky little Reindeer, he usually hangs out with his cousin, Jerald McGreggor and cooks things like hot chocolate in the kitchen with dear old Mrs. Claus.

Timothy: That dear little boy in that classic tale actually walked all the way to Santa Claus's summer house in the Bahamas after a hobo burnt his crutch. Jerald McGreggor and dear Timothy are planning revenge on said hobo.

13 Jerald McGreggor, Food's cousin, often times is the most left out of the backup-reindeer team. After Rudolph joined the team, Santa said he didn't want to put another spot on ther already over-crowded sleigh. Jerald stayed back in the kitchen and poured the hot cocoa when Food told him so and spent the rest of the time concocting odd plans with Timothy to get back at that hobo.

Yeah, it was random, it was odd, but hopefully I made someone laugh. Enjoy Christmas and remember the story of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, being born in a manger. Spread the holiday cheer and remember Kendra's swamped position and maybe send her some chocolate. :D

-Jordan, Kendra's odd friend from Utah.

Christmas Movies

2010-12-09T18:49:00.002-05:00

Hello again! Tomorrow Cassidy and I see "Voyage of the Dawn Treader!" If you've already seen it, don't spoil anything :P

17 Christmas Movies*
1. White Christmas
2. Miracle on 34th Street
3. It's a Wonderful Life
4. Home Alone
5. The Santa Clause
6. Elf
7. A Christmas Story
8. A Christmas Carol
9. I'll Be Home For Christmas
10. Jack Frost
11. Jingle All the Way
12. The Nightmare Before Christmas
13. The Polar Express
14. Unaccompanied Minors
15. Beauty and the Beast: Enchanted Christmas
16. Christmas With the Kranks
17. Deck the Halls

*Note: Just because we listed these, doesn't mean we think they're great XD

~Kendra

Jingle Bells

2010-12-08T14:12:00.003-05:00

Cassidy is here :D She's spending two nights with me and we're gonna go see the third Narnia movie, "Voyage of the Dawn Treader." :D We're excited. And she's going to help me think of 18 Somethings to do for the Christmas Countdown.

...right, Cass? XD

...15 minutes later...

"Daddy? Can you help us think of 18 Christmas things to do for my blog?"

"Songs."

"...thank you."

Christmas Songs (our favorites are in green):
1. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
2. What Child Is This?
3. Joy to the World
4. Angels We Have Heard on High
5. O Come O Come Emmanuel (Casting Crowns instrumental version)
6. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (courtesy of Lizzy)
7. We Three Kings
8. Carol of the Bells (this is actually a Celtic Woman version)
9. Winder Wonderland (Lizzy again) (Cassidy: "Wonderland is one word." Me: "..right.")
10. O Holy Night
11. Holy Emmanuel (can't find a Youtube video for it :-/)
12. Bethlehem Town
13. In the Bleak Midwinter (-_- can't find this one either)
14. In Like a Lion (Always Winter Never Christmas)
15. Do You Here What I Here?
16. Jesus Light of the World
17. Jingle Bells
18. We Wish You a Merry Christmas

:D There you go.

~Kendra

19 Days...

2010-12-07T13:28:00.007-05:00

You're driving down the road. It's dark and cold outside, the trees are bare and you can feel the chill through the windows. Headlights. Streetlights. Shadows. Charcoal clouds. Uphill. Downhill. Around the corner--

Bam. Christmas lights.

1. The tasteful...
2.
3. The not-so-much...
4.
5. Your next door neighbors...

6. 7. The traditional...

8. The abstract...

9. The townhouses...
10.
11. The monuments...
12.
13. The fresh...

14. The tacky...

15. The themed...

16.
17. The unique...

18. The bright...19. The Kendra's Room XD
~Kendra

Vrolijk Kerstfeest!

2010-12-06T15:23:00.013-05:00

*wince*

Sorry. You know why. And if you don't, NEVER MIND! I DID NOTHING WRONG. >.> :D

*clears throat*

The Christmas Countdown will begin after these short messages.

Pictures From Disney:

Minnie!

Pooh and Piglet, in case you didn't know ;)

The Osborn Family Light Show or something. It was pretty amazing. The whole Disney street's worth of buildings were like this.

Splash Mountain...got a little more soaked than planned!

Peter Pan! Not the best picture, sorry. It's hard to take pictures when you're so into watching everything! (Lizzy took most of these, btw, and my dad took some. I didn't take ANY XD)

Aladdin and Jasmine!!!!!!!!!! Pictures cannot even capture this.

Cinderella's Castle (Daddy: "Why is it called Cinderella's castle? Isn't it the Prince's?" Me: "...the Prince doesn't do the decorating.")

Cinderella's Castle at night!

Lizzy finally got her picture with Chip and Dale, her favorite :)

Me and Belle--finally! She looks pretty much like Belle in this picture, but overall, she was actually the least accurate in appearance and personality. I was disappointed XD

Waiting in line for the African Safari! This is the only picture from Animal Kingdom that's uploaded so far, but Lizzy has more to come, so maybe I'll post some more later.

The pool at our resort.

Unnecessary Conclusion Clarification: Disney was amazing.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The Christmas Countdown begins NOW!

Guess what, folks? ONLY 20 DAYS TIL CHRISTMAS! Dude, how'd it come on that fast??? It honestly feels like six months ago I was doing this Countdown thing. The next 20 days are sure to go by all too fast. We all know the solution to that, though, right?

Carpe diem, of course.

How to Say "Merry Christmas" in 20 Different Languages!

1. Italian: Buon Natale!
2. Mandarin (Chinese): Kung His Hsin Nien Bing Chu Shen Tan!
3. Croatian: Sretan Bozic!
4. Farsi (the Persian language): Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad!
5. Dutch: Vrolijk Kerstfeest!
6. Filipino: Maligayang Pasko!
7. French: Joyeux Noël!
8. Elvish (not sure how there's an elvish word for "Christmas," but whatever XD): Isusarad 'elir!
9. Greek: Kala Christouyenna!
10. Faroese (spoken around Denmark): Gledhilig jol og eydnurikt nyggjar!
11. Portuguese: Feliz Natal!
12. German: Fröhliche Weihnachten!
13. Russian: Pozdravlyenie s Rozjdyestvom i s Novym Godom!
14. Maori (the Polynesian people of New Zealand: Meri Kirihimete!
15. Spanish: Feliz Navidad!
16. Iraqi: Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah!
17. Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr!
18. Irish: Nollaig Shona Dhuit!
19. Breton (a Celtic language spoken in Brittany): Nedeleg laouen na bloavezh mat!
20. Danish: Glædelig Jul!

~Kendra

:O

2010-12-04T12:35:00.001-05:00

*scream*

omgy'all.it'ssnowing.holywow.it'ssnowing.

~Kendra

DISNEY RECAP

2010-12-03T18:15:00.007-05:00

Hi! I'm back! So...Disney World was amazing :)

Hollywood Studios: It's the kingdom where you see all the special effects stuff and very movie-related stuff. They have a show where you get to see an Indiana Jones scene acted out, complete with explosions and amazing fight scenes. It all looks so real.

I rode my first legit roller coaster (the Rockin' Roller Coaster). I got in line with my parents before I told myself what I was getting in line for. I didn't tell myself that the roller coaster went upside down until even later. It was extremely fast and extremely upside down etc.

I have decided that I was born for roller coasters and can't wait to find another one.

I saw a great Beauty and the Beast show.

We ate at this place called the 50s Diner, which is supposed to be so much fun, but I hated it. The food was okay, but our waiter was obnoxious, and the restaurant has RULES. No elbows on the table, and you have to eat all your vegetables to get dessert. -_- It was annoying.

I got my picture taken with Minnie Mouse.

I saw the coolest parades ever.

I experienced snow while wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Disney is amazing. They had a snow machine blowing the stuff from the roofs at one point. It was my own personal dream come true (which is, after all, Disney World's motto): snow when it's warm outside.

Magic Kingdom: Everybody loves Magic Kindgom :) It has Cinderella's Castle and most of the princesses and characters. It's divided into Adventure Land, Frontier Land, Liberty Square and Tomorrowland. It's so fun :D

I MET PETER PAN. :OOOOOO He looked exactly right, aside from the part where he was two inches shorter than me, but what can you expect from a kid who never grows up? I happened to be wearing green, and he complimented me on my color choice. *blush*

I rode Splash Mountain, which I remembered loving. I got soaked and it wasn't as great as I remembered. Drat XD Still fun though.

I went to a store that had M&Ms of every color and I got a pound bag of them. I chose dark teal, light teal, white and brown. They look very pretty :D

I saw Cinderella's Castle get lit up to look exactly like it's covered in ice. I have no idea how Disney is so amazing.

I got delicious pineapple ice cream.

I MET ALADDIN AND JASMINE. Okay, guys...like, I don't even know how to explain how amazing that was. "Aladdin" is my favorite Disney movie, and I loved Aladdin. Jasmine is my second favorite princess. I love, love, love, love, LOVE the whole shabang, so I had high expectations.

My expectations pale in comparison to the real thing.

I don't understand how Disney found two people who look exactly like Aladdin and Jasmine. I swear, they looked EXACTLY like their cartoon versions, and I'm a perfectionist. It only got better from there.

Those of you who have seen "Aladdin" know that Aladdin's voice is pretty distinctive. It's almost a little bit cracky, but not quite. It's just really unique. And the Aladdin I met had the same voice. The VERY. SAME. VOICE. Jasmine did too. She sounded just like Jasmine.

And I'm not done. Not only did these people look exactly right and SOUND exactly right, but they ACTED exactly right.

Most Disney characters, when you go up to meet them and get a picture with them, they say, "Hello, princess/prince, how are you doing today? I like your shirt/necklace/shoes/insert some random article you're wearing. Would you like to take a picture with me?" Then you take a picture and they tell you to have a magical day.

Not Aladdin and Jasmine.

*I walk up*

Jasmine: "Hello!"

Aladdin: *stares at my shirt and reads it:* "Santa's Favorite Brunette."

Me: "Yup."

Aladdin: *blinks and crosses his arms like Aladdin. He looks at Jasmine.* "What's a brunette?"

Jasmine: *raises her eyebrow at him*

Me: *raises eyebrows also* "It's brown hair!" *points to pigtail*

Aladdin: "Ohh...Right.....so, where are you from?"

Me: " >insert my state< "

Aladdin: "We've been there, I think." *looks at Jasmine* "Haven't we?"

Jasmine: "I think so...I don't know, we go so many places. We--"

Aladdin: "I think...if you flew the Magic Carpet back and forth, we've probably been as many places--"

Jasmine: "As Santa Claus."

Me: *raises eyebrows* "Really?"

Jasmine: "But we don't go to Canada."

Aladdin: "Way too cold."

Me: "I heard you don't go to Delaware either." (I'd been listening to them talk to other kids.)

Jasmine: "Oh no, we have been to Delaware--"

Aladdin: "Yeah, just not in the winter. We don't do snow."

Me: "But Canada is too cold all the time?"

Jasmine: "Yes. Always too cold."

Me: *grins and moves in for a picture*

*dad takes a picture*

My mom: "Kendra, you could do your Eliza hands!"

Jasmine: *looks at me* "What's Eliza hands?"

Aladdin: "Yeah, what's that?"

Me: "Well, I was in a play that's set in Siam, and I was one of the dancers, so I had to learn Siamese dancing." *does Eliza hands*

Aladdin: "Ohhhh--"

Jasmine: "Oh, that's kind of like when I hold my scarf."

Me: "Yeah!"

Jasmine: "Here, you do your Eliza hands and I'll do my hands like that too."

Aladdin: "And I'll....well, I'm just gonna stand. Like this." *crosses arms like Aladdin*

Me: *laughs* "Awesome."

*dad takes another picture*

It was...amazing. I know I didn't capture it here, but it was truly...well, magical. It really was. They were so exactly like their real characters that I left them with my head spinning and my heart flying. Some tiny part of me wondered if they might really be the REAL Aladdin and Jasmine. They way they talked, the way they acted, the way they moved...it was all absolutely right. Take your very highest expectations, create in your mind an Aladdin and Jasmine that you think couldn't possibly be out there, and the ones I met were even better than that.

Seriously.

I saw Mickey's Philhar Magic, which will always be amazing no matter how many times I see it. It's the most elaborate 3D show ever, complete with other effects like scents and water splashes and breezes.

I rode It's A Small World, which is annoying, but still somehow really cool.

I walked past a camel statue that spit.

I rode Space Mountain, which is awesome. It's a roller coast that's completely in the dark, except for a few lights that feel like/look like stars and a freaky night sky.

We had breakfast at the Grand Floridian hotel, where Alice in Wonderland, Tiger, Pooh and the Mad Hatter walk around and talk to you and stuff.

Epcot: Epcot is the kingdom where tons of different countries have their own sections. All the stores have items from that country, the people working in that section all have to be from that country, the buildings and food come from that country, etc. It's completely awesome.

I went to a store where you could taste soda from all over the world. Chinese watermelon soda is great btw. So is the stuff from Israel. And I almost got a shirt that says "Coke adds life to me."

I saw a Celtic rock band called Off-Kilter perform, and they were great.

I got a leather bracelet with studs and had it engraved with "Ember" at Epcot in the Canada section. Sorry, I know this post is long, but there's a story with this, too. I was in line to get the bracelet engraved, and in front of me where all this girls. Now, I don't mean to judge, but right away I pegged them as prissy airheads. *puts hands up* Sorry, but I did.

And I turned out to be completely right. Especially about one chick who spent the entire wait time with her head in her hands and her elbows resting on the engraving counter. Why? Because of the admittedly attractive boy running the operation. It only got better when he opened his mouth, because he was FRENCH. I never liked the French much, but I must say I do like their accents.

Anyway.

List of Questions Said Bubble-Head Girl Asked Said Attractive Boy:

1. "Are you French?" (Not a terrible question, because he did sound French, but seeing how we're in the CANADA section...)

2. "Do you live here in Disney World?" (-_- Really? Yeah, he and all the Disney workers just chug on into the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse and spend every night...)

And finally, my personal, gag-me-with-a-spoon, she-did-not-just-ask-that, let-me-turn-so-you-won't-see-me-rolling-my-eyes favorite...

3. "Do you meet lotsa pretty girls working here at Disney?" *bats eyelashes, leans forward on counter*

The poor French-Canadian boy didn't know what to do XD It was funny because I didn't know girls were actually that...THAT. I thought movies only caricatured them. But nope. Some girls are really that...just, that.

So I got up there to have my bracelet engraved after the Bubble Brains were gone. The guy, whose name was Felix, btw, asked me to write what I wanted on the bracelet on this little chart. So I did.

He started programming the engraving machine, and said (don't forget the French accent),

"Ember...Zis iz your name?"

Me: "Well...actually no. It's sort of a nickname."

Felix: "Oh."

Me: "My name is Kendra."

Felix: *laughs and looks at me* "Iz not even close!"

Me: *lols* "No...I'm actually a writer, and Ember is a character of mine."

Felix: "Ah."

*he works on the bracelet for a few seconds*

"What iz it zat you write?"

Me: "Well, mostly fantasy...One of my stories is set in a Celtic/Scottish setting, so this bracelet was sort of perfect for 'Ember.'"

Felix: "Ah." *finishes bracelet* "Well, good luck to you. Have a magical day!"

Me: "Thanks, you too."

My dad as we walked away: "He talked to you a lot. And you didn't even have to ask if he saw lots of pretty girls."

Lols XD

I finally met Belle!

I saw fireworks like you've never seen before. They were so loud and so HUGE and so MANY and FAST and BEAUTIFUL and all synced up with music and other lights...You can't explain something like that. It was so incredible...My mouth was open for the entire thing, and I am NOTTTTTTT easily impressed, y'all. I'm really not.

In the Italy section, we ate genuine Italian food and had a genuine Italian waitress, who was so cool.

In Morocco, there was a belly dancer. (Don't freak out, it was perfectly kid-friendly; she had plenty of clothes on.)

Animal Kingdom: Animal Kingdom is what it sounds like. It's actually one of my favorite kingdoms. It has safaris and all kinds of animal-related stuff.

I saw tons of African animals a few feet away in an open-windowed safari van.

I saw this guy who walked around with a guitar and made up songs about people he saw. He was incredible! He'd ask a kid what his name was, and create a whole song about him as he sang! He never stuttered or paused and all his lyrics rhymed. It was very cool.

I saw the Festival of the Lion King, which is great.

Our Disney Dining Plan got us 1 Sit Down Meal, 1 Quick Service Meal, and 1 Snack every day. The meals all include entrees and sides and desserts. Good grief; I've never eaten as much as I did this past week in my whole life.

Basically, this vacation was incredible. It's impossible to be too old for Disney. No one ever grows up THAT much, and if they do, they need to have that fixed as soon as possible! I love Disney World, and I can't wait to go back :)

~Kendra

P.S. I dunno if you've made it this far, but if you have and you're still reading (XD), I'd like to announce that I think I'd like a new Christmas header this year. I still love the beautiful one Bethany made me last year, but I switched backgrounds and I don't know that it fits as well. If you'd like to help me out, that'd be great. I'm no good at that stuff XD

P.P.S. My Christmas Countdown will start tomorrow! I'm so excited!!!!

GUESS WHERE I'M GOING?

2010-11-26T22:28:00.015-05:00

I'm doing something great tomorrow. And the next day, and the next day, and the next day until Thursday. You may already know what it is (and I honestly can't remember if I've mentioned it before), but I'm going to give hints. Ready?

Happiness.

Got it? No? -_- Okay.

JOY. And WONDER.

Yet? No?

Here's a big one: four parks.

...not yet?

Fun, excitement, memories, characters.

Anything? UGH!

WISHES AND MAGIC AND DREAMS COMING TRUE. DO YOU HAVE IT NOW? :DDDDDDDDD

I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Disney World might possibly be my favorite place in the whole wide world aside from...um...nah, it's my favorite place. Wishes, dreams come true, magic, wonder, rides, excitement, fun, memories, characters, PETER FREAKING PAN, rides, food, shows, ALADDIN AND JASMINE, songs and parades and stories and being a kid again and imagination and castles and pirates and shops and BELLE and happiness and happy workers and little kids and Splash Mountain and mermaids and lions and kings and kings that are lions and staying in a Disney resort for the first time and swimming in Disney pools with fake ziggurats and wild animals.

Disney World. Possibly the happiest, most fun, memorable, adorable, creative, perfect place in the world.

Me, tomorrow, Disney.

I am one happy camper.

OMG :D

~Kendra

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T22:00:00.001-05:00

(EDIT: .......it didn't work.......so I'm posting it really quick now before I have to go.)

I don't know if I'll have time to post on Thanksgiving ("today"), so I'm gonna use the auto-post thing. So, technically, I'm writing this when it's not Thanksgiving, but you'll READ it on Thanksgiving... XD

But don't worry; sometime soon, I'll post about what happened today.

I hope you're having/had a great Thanksgiving!

Girls' "Word Names" I Made Up
451. Peace
452. Survivor
453. Rumor
454. River
455. Tally
456. Trust
457. Every
458. Legend
459. Soul
460. Story
461. Lyric
462. Atlantic
463. Props
464. Amaze
465. Ocean
466. Anime
467. Memory
468. Lake
469. Lymrick
470. Echo

Things I'm Thankful For
471. Words
472. Talents
473. Writing
474. Freedom
475. Books
476. Family
477. Friends
478. Friends that are more like family
479. Straighteners
480. Internet
481. Education
482. Dance
483. Laughter
484. Music
485. Teachers
486. Advice
486. Friends that can drive
487. Food
488. Licky (my doggie :D)
489. Eyeliner (I really am...)
490. Razors (See above.)
491. Heat
492. Philosophy class/Philosophers
493. Languages
494. The chance to go to Europe this summer
495. My blog
496. My camera
497. My iPod
498. Thinking/Opinions
499. Challenges

500. The God who made all 499 other things possible.

~Kendra

NaMeS

2010-11-24T16:34:00.002-05:00

Well, today has been sort of depressing for some reason. I really have no idea why. It should have been great. My first day of freedom, the day before Thanksgiving. But for some reason, I just haven't felt like doing anything today.

I read for like an hour and a half, which should have been fun, but it just felt like laziness and procrastination.

I took my chemistry exam, which was actually pretty good. I DID feel good having gotten it out of the way.

I watched TV with my sister, but the shows were all boring.

I practiced this song on the piano, but I didn't feel like I got anywhere with it.

I folded my clothes, but it took way longer than it should have.

And now it's five o'clock and I still have to clean the bathroom, sweep the porches, and empty the trash. I also have dance tonight. I extremely don't feel like going, even though I know I should (and will).

Today has been a depressing disappointment, and I haven't the slightest idea why. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. As some of you might know, I'm really paranoid about having good holidays. They sort of scare me (as does my birthday) because I'm always afraid I won't make the best of them and then they're GONE for a whole YEAR. As a result of the worrying, I sometimes end up spoiling the special days for myself.

-_- *sigh* Tomorrow will be better. It has to be.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Favorite Boys' Names
401. Joshua
402. Caleb
403. Cole/Kole
404. Drew
405. Jayden
406. Alexander
407. Everett
408. Seth
409. Aaron
410. Daniel

Favorite Girls' Names
411. Khloe
412. Kyrie
413. Juliet
414. Riley
415. Raegan
416. Lauryn
417. Alazne
418. Adrianna
419. Maris
420. Piper

Futuristic Girls' Names I "Made Up"
421. Kaelie
422. Polaris
423. Eris
424. Neveah
425. Enigami
426. Bracy
427. Bree
428. Elle
429. Rakelle
430. Raeven

Futuristic Boys' Names I "Made Up"
431. Castor
432. Apollo
433. Xizon (I pronounce it "kai-zohn")
434. Jaxon
435. Blaise
436. Polar
437. Sol
438. Alecks
439. Luken
440. Rowan

Boys' "Word Names" I Made Up
441. Rex
442. Pilot
443. Polar
444. Ankst
445. Nano
446. Shade
447. Blaze
448. Pagan
449. Voltage
450. Next

(Girls' Word Names tomorrow.)

~Kendra

~Sad Songs~

2010-11-23T18:02:00.004-05:00

When I was little, I hated sad songs.

And when I say "hate," I mean "LEGIT. HATRED." If I heard the first note of "Christmas Shoes" on the radio, it was off before the sound had time to register with anyone else. Just about any country sound was taboo, and the general category of Sad Love Songs was banned from my presence.

It's not that I was a controlling little devil (although maybe I was), I just couldn't deal with sad songs. My heart would start to get smaller and tighter and my throat would squeeze and I'd feel warm wetness in the back of my eyes and an uncontrollable need to curl up and die would overtake me.

I heard "Christmas Shoes" ONCE and spent that entire Christmas alternately crying in my room because I thought my mother was going to die. True story.

Now, I love sad songs.

I buy them on iTunes, search them out on my iPod, have playlists for them, put them on in the car. My sister hates me for it, but I figure she'll come around eventually like I did.

Instead of sad songs ruining my day (or possibly my ENTIRE CHRISTMAS SEASON) the way they used to, they fill my soul. Isn't that weird way to say it? But it's true. Something inside me swells with emotion until I think I might burst. The truth and tragedy resonate with me. Sad songs inspire me to write with passion; they pull my emotions together into a breathtaking bundle. They make me feel something beautiful.

I'm not sure when the change happened, or why. I've always been a very emotional person. I don't mean that I cry a lot or am a drama queen. I actually don't cry very often and I pride myself on dry humor.

I mean that when I'm happy, the whole world is beautiful and alive and nothing can stop me. When I'm sad, everything I am dips into a well of despair filled to the top with all the misfortune and cruelty in the world. When I'm angry, everything is tinged in red and channels of passion course through my veins, giving me strength to make a change.

I feel everything strongly. No matter what the emotion is, I am all over it. Full-force, completely, nothing halfway about it.

I think when I was little, I was afraid of my emotions. I knew how powerful my sadness was, so I ran from it, blocked it out, avoided it at all cost. Somewhere along the line, I began to realize how beautiful emotions are. The stronger they are, the more potential for beauty, for inspiration. Not to say that emotions should control you--you must be sure that YOU are in control of THEM--but that you shouldn't fear them.

You miss 100% of the shots you never take. No pain, no gain. The bigger the risk, the bigger the success. You can never win unless you're willing to try.

If you run from your feelings, you'll never know just how beautiful they can be.
~~~~~~~~~
[Due to miscounting on my part, I'm going to have to do more than 30 Things a day for the next three days, because I want to end on Thanksgiving :)]

Questions (all originals, btw XD):
361. When witnesses are asked if they will tell the whole truth in court, what happens if they say no?
362. How do British schools teach about the Revolutionary War?
363. Do Mexicans think about Spain the way Americans think about England?
364. Why do only guys go bald?
365. How important does a person have to be before they're "assassinated" and not just "murdered"?
366. How were cuss words invented?
366. Do other countries celebrate Thanksgiving?
368. Why is it now more of a girl thing to have long hair? I mean, originally, guys AND girls did.
369. What is the big deal with those nerdy glasses this days?
370. Why is it that when I try to think of them, all the awesome questions I have go away?

RANDOM FACTS
371. Saturday mail delivery in Canada was eliminated by Canada Post on February 1, 1969!
372. In Tokyo, a bicycle is faster than a car for most trips of less than 50 minutes!
373. There are 18 different animal shapes in the Animal Crackers cookie zoo!
374. Should there be a crash, Prince Charles and Prince William never travel on the same airplane as a precaution!
375. Your body is creating and killing 15 million red blood cells per second!
376. The king of hearts is the only king without a moustache on a standard playing card!
377. There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos!
378. There is one slot machine in Las Vegas for every eight inhabitants!
379. Every day 20 banks are robbed. The average take is $2,500!
380. The most popular first name in the world is Muhammad!

Answer to the "How Well Do You Know Me" Quiz:
381. B
382. A
383. D
384. A
385. A
386. C
387. D
388. A
389. B
390. There were only 9 questions... :3

Most Visited Sites on My Computer
391. Yahoo!
392. Gmail
393. Blogger
394. Facebook
395. Google
396. Youtube
397. Wikipedia
398. Stumble
399. Fandango
400. Twitter

~KeNdRa

So, Kirsten's Over...

2010-11-22T23:26:00.003-05:00

I'm here with my friend Kirsten. She is cohosting my 500 Anniversary Celebration! :D

30 Random Things Kirsten and I Thought of For This List:
331. This week is "Change Your Picture to a Cartoon Character" on Facebook. We highly recommend DOING IT.
332. "Not you, WESLEY, you're a RRRRABBIT for heaven's sake."
333. "A GGGGGREAT ANIMAL."
334. We played dress up today.
335. We took exams today.
336. Kirsten failed an exam. (NOTE FROM STEPHANIE: She BARELY failed. Two points, and it was a freaking hard test, and she knew a ton of it when we looked at it after the fact.)
337. She likes animals.
338. She's allergic to aspirin and sulfa.
339. She's obsessed with my purple hippo named Happy.
340. We did crazy makeup today.
341. Facebook chat is annoying.
342. I love red peppers, Kirsten thinks they're gross.
343. And blecky.
344. We like the song "G6." Like, a lot.
345. Also, "Low." And we can dance to it.
346. I had ramen today.
347. Raw AND regular.
348. We watched "The Devil Wears Prada" for the first time, and it was good.
349. Kirsten, as you know, works at Subway.
350. She just now freaked out that I had told you guys that. She called me a stalker. I am deeply wounded and offended at such vicious name-calling.
351. Kirsten: "The truth hurts."
352. This list is rambling.
353. I had it all planned out that I would end this list thing on Thursday, Thanksgiving, but I feel like I may have misjudged that a little...seeing how it's like three days away and I'm still 150 to go...
354. I'm wearing my sock monkey footies.
355. We're going to go watch "The Swan Princess" til our eyes fall out in a minute.
356. We're going to a lunch tomorrow for a grade we're not in to have food we don't like (chili). It'll be great :D
357. I'm going to Disney on Saturday.
358. I hope I'll get a ton of school done before then, because we have a ton of assignments to do, and I want to actually have a break...
359. We want to go see "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" at midnight >:D
360. My cartoon character is Belle; Kirsten's is RUFUSSSSSS.

~Kendra

o_o \>//stress\\
2010-11-21T22:25:00.003-05:00
20 Things History Class Has Taught Me This Week
301. I hold my breath when I’m stressed.
302. “Sovereignty” is hard to spell.
303. It is completely possible—and not uncommon—to fight for the right thing in the wrong way.
304. Making 56 billion typos every 6 words makes me want to scream.
305. I love Wikipedia.
306. Politicians have always been this way.
307. The computer screen starts to hurt your eyes after 3 hours.
308. I still don’t like Lincoln that much.
309. It is the “Gadsden” Purchase, not the “Gadson.”
310. I seriously do love Wikipedia.
311. Cranberry Sierra Mist in a wine glass is really good.
312. I am really OCD.
313. I can actually work really hard when I try :O
314. What the Ostend Manifesto is.
315. I might marry Wikipedia.
316. I love computers.
317. Facebook is only distracting if you let it be.
318. Food holds even less of my attention when I’m stressed or busy.
319. I can successfully condense 52 of material into 6.
320. All things are possible with God.

Things I Think Are Stupid:
321. The law that you must wear a seat belt. That’s MY business. If I want to get killed in a car wreck, the government should let me. As long as I’m not hurting anyone else, let me make my own choices.
322. “Food may be hot after heating” warnings on microwavable lunches. Gee, it’ll be hot after heating? I pity the fool who needs that reminder.
323. When middle schoolers try to make everything into an innuendo because they think it’s cool. I have nothing against a good “That’s what she said” every now and then, but when you stretch “Ring Around a Rosy” to mean something bad, you’ve gone too far.
324. Professional wrestling. It’s staged. That’s lame.
325. Serving green beans without a slotted spoon.
326. People who don’t believe in Peter Pan (;P)
327. Weak fingernails.
328. Those strings on corn that get stuck in your teeth.
329. Hangnails.
330. Running out of things to say (which I obviously am…>.>)

~Kendra

P.S. This time tomorrow, I will be a free girl until January. (Well, not exactly, but freER :D)

P.P.S. If you click on this post, it'll take you to another version of this post.

And I have no clue why or how I did it... >.>

Quotes and Pictures

2010-11-20T22:33:00.013-05:00

How does England teach about the Revolutionary War? I've always been curious. Anyone know?

Quotes By People You May Have Heard Of:
271. "We confess our little faults to persuade people that we have no large ones."
- Francois de La Rochefoucauld
272. "Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it."
- George Orwell
273. “If you have not done things worthy of being written about, at least write things worthy of being read.” –Giacomo Cassanova
274. “Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind.” Shakespeare
275. "The best liar is he who makes the smallest amount of lying go the longest way."
- Samuel Butler
276. "Anyone who can handle a needle convincingly can make us see a thread which is not there."
- E. H. Gombrich
277. "Charm is a way of getting the answer yes without asking a clear question."
- Albert Camus
278. "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."
- Napoleon Bonaparte
279. “I made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it short.” - Blaise Pascal
280. “If you think education is expensive, try Ignorance.”
- Andy McIntyre

Quotes By People You Probably Haven't Heard of:
281. “Food is just there to give your sauce a little texture.” – Mr. Leon
282. “Mineral makeup? Isn’t that like putting dirt on your face?” – my daddy
283. “He’s so old he remembers when Dr. Pepper was in medical school.” – also my daddy
284. (in regard to how long an essay has to be) “Follow the skirt rule: long enough to cover the subject but short enough to make it interesting.” – my mom :)
285. If you run when it gets slick, you’ll only fall through the ice. – Me
286. (talking about chemistry and the boiling point of substances) “Boiling water’s like being pregnant. You can’t be sort of pregnant, and water can’t only be sort of boiling.” – my mom again XD
287. “I did what my mom would call ‘spill water everywhere’, but I actually just got a little on the floor.” – Sam
288. (my youth leader’s 8-year-old daughter had just told her she probably wouldn’t win the lottery) “Probably not. In fact, I’m 600% more likely to be struck by lightning.” – my youth leader
289. “My quizzes are like tests. My tests are like exams. My exams are like Hell.” – a teacher at this private school near me
290. Let’s play Oscar the Grouch. You win. – Me XD

Pictures That Fascinate Me:

291.She's story material, is she not?

292. Eyes fascinate me.

293. I have no idea why this is so intriguing to me.

294. Meet Lila from my book "The Mirror."

295. I'm still not 100% sure what this is...

296. It's like another planet...

297. He's kinda cool. Not THAT cool, but I was running out of pictures XD

298. Very cool.

299. This is what your insides look like when you're excited and nervous.

300. Possibly one of my favorite pictures of all time. There is a story in this picture, I'm sure of it.

~Kendra

Today's Post :D

2010-11-19T17:12:00.006-05:00

The past couple of days have been somewhat of a pleasant surprise. Instead of having four days to get my school work done, this final week of school this semester is only TWO days.

Nothing like having your work load doubled and your time to do it cut in half, right?

I didn't think it'd be that bad until I started looking at all the stuff I had to do yesterday...XD It looks pretty bad.

But having to buckle down and work has actually made me buckle down and work. Weird how that works, isn't it? I actually did school yesterday night, which basically never happens. I usually get sick of everything and quit around 4 o'clock.

Today, I got up at a good time and really hit the books. I've been working steadily since 9 o'clock (so 7 hours, 'cause I took about an hour for lunch etc.). I'm still not where my schedule says I should be, but realistically, I'm doing great.

I'm planning to get up tomorrow like it's a normal school day and work until the Wake Forest game.

Did you catch that? WAKE. FOREST. GAME.

My awesome friend Kirsten invited me and my dad to go with her and her dad :D I'm extremely excited and having fun thinking up ways to show team spirit. At the risk of sounding hopelessly girly, I'll tell you that I have it all planned to wear my gold and black eyeliner...

Ways to Get Away from Pushy Salespeople (from Consumer Reports magazine XD):
241. Say you're just looking. Most likely they won't want to waste their time on you.
242. Be decisive. Either tell them you're ready to check out, or that you'll look on your own and let them know if you have a question.
243. Say you're comparison shopping. You'll seem like a savvy shopper not easily impressed by slick talk.
244. Use body language. Don't smile or make eye contact.
245. Be direct. If a salesperson is being rude, ask them if they're having a rough day. It'll make them check their behavior.
246. Go elsewhere.
247. Give a canned answer. When a salesperson asks you one of those right-out-of-a-book questions ("Would you like to save a hundred dollars today?"), give them an out-of-a-book answer--or two or three ("No thank you, excuse me, goodbye.").
248. Develop "the look." You know what I mean. The look of hitting the mall with a toddler. A cross between exasperation and madness.
249. Ask for a business card.
(there were only 9 suggestions, so the following comes straight from me XD)
250. Ask ridiculous and slightly annoying questions. (Do you know who first invented the fork? Are the toilets for sale by any chance? Can you direct me to the book on liger metabolism?)

Stories I've Started:
251. Cammie and Cousins
252. The Girl and the Ring
253. The Fire Fairy stories
254. The Mirror
255. A Tale of Ethnoc
256. Dream Come True
257. Desirae Mayes
258. Tunder
259. The Magic Ring
260. Vega

Poems I've Written:
261. Twins
262. My Guy
263. To Baffle the Bilious Bureaucracy
264. Broken Heart Summer
265. Kings and Dragons
266. Lines
267. Colors
268 The Globe and the Map
269. The Elven Lady’s Plea
270. 50 Word Friday

~Kendra

Yesterday's Post :3

2010-11-19T11:12:00.003-05:00

Oopsy.

Top 10 Most Played on My iPod:
211. Fireflies - Owl City
212. Going Under - Evanescence
213. Papercut - Linkin Park
214. Bring Me to Life - Evanescence
215. Call Me - Shinedown
216. Here I Am - Bryan Adams
217. Whispers in the Dark - Skillet
218. Comatose - Skillet
219. I Never Wanted - As I Lay Dying
220. Forsaken - As I Lay Dying

Top 10 Recently Played on My iPod:
221. Breaking the Habit - Linkin Park
222. Forsaken - As I Lay Dying
223. I Never Wanted - As I Lay Dying
224. Alice - Avril Lavigne
225. Going Under - Evanescence
226. Bring Me to Life - Evanescence
227. In Transit - Mark Hoppus
228. Lux Aeterna - Clint Mansell
229. Rawkfist - Thousand Foot Crutch
230. Dry Bones - Gungor

Favorite Artists:
231. Relient K
232. Linkin Park
233. As I Lay Dying
234. Evanescence
235. Skillet
236. Shinedown
237. tobyMac
238. Gungor
239. Michael W. Smith (only when he's NOT singing XD So, like the "Freedom" CD)
240. Globus

~Kendra

Ballet and Babies

2010-11-17T21:53:00.007-05:00

I am not usually a superstitious person. I am a self-proclaimed realist with OCCASIONAL tendencies towards being a hopeless romantic. But I am not usually superstitious.

Tonight was dance class :D I love dance, and I love my teacher. She's so sarcastic, and hilarious. She's 28. We learn a lot of strange, random things from her. She tells us about having kids and the things to look for in a house and celebrity crushes and she gives us advice on boys.

So today, we got started talking about babies. (Boys, don't panic. This is not going to be that bad XD) And apparently, there's an old wives' tale where you have someone else dangle a necklace over your wrist and wait. After a few seconds, the necklace will start to sway in a pattern that will tell you the gender of your first child. Then the necklace will stop, and if you'll have more kids, it'll keep going and tell you the rest of them.

In my head: "Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight."

But, all the dance teachers at the studio have tried it. There are like 12 of them. And the necklace has never been wrong. Ever. And it'll give the same person the same thing every time. So. Hm.

Well, being the easily amused and distracted bunch we are, Adrianna yanks off her necklace and we decide to test it on each one of us.

It's freaky watching the necklace at work. It just sits there, then it suddenly starts to sway. If it sways parallel to your arm (towards your wrist and then back to your body), it represents a boy. If it sways horizontally, it's a girl. If it sways in a circle, that means twins. Then it'll sway to tell you if your twins are boys, girls, one of each, yada yada yada.

It was intense. All of us holding our breath, watching the necklace tell each girl what she was going to have. My friend Susanna was so into it. (But then again, Susanna gets really into everything XD) She almost cried when she "saw" her kids.

All the girls went. I was the only one left. (Dramatic, right?) I was slightly torn, because I've always said I wanted to be surprised, but I figured what the heck. I held out my wrist.

As some of y'all might know, I'm very adamant about having a boy first. I've always mourned the fact that I don't have an older brother, so it's really important to me that none of my kids have that issue. Preferably, I want boy, girl, boy, girl. Like really bad.

I watch the necklace dangling over my wrist. It just sat there.

That was awful. No kids?? At all?? D:

But then it started swaying. My heart started pounding. What was it? What would it be?

A BOY!! It was a boy! Everyone cheered for me XD They know how much I want that.

The necklace stopped, then started again. It was a girl! How amazing was that? I was thrilled. Then...

Another boy.

Freaking wow.

After that, it was done. Apparently I'm only having three children (boy, girl, boy). But WOW, three out of four is NOT BAD AT ALL. XD

Normally I'd just roll my eyes at this crap, but...if it's never been wrong...and it's consistent...hmmm? ;)

Note: Here's the killer though. It's the male that determines the sex of your baby. So...technically, your babies' gender is NO WHERE inside you, girls. But hey. It's worth a shot, right? XD
~~~~~~~~~~
My Favorite Books
181. The Mortal Instruments trilogy
182. The Farsala trilogy
183. The Inheritance cycle
184. The Uglies series
185. The Da Vinci Code
186. Inkheart
187. A Morbid Taste for Bones
188. The Maximum Ride books
189. Sophie’s World
190. The Princess Bride

Things that Scare Me
191. Rock climbing
192. Being alone in dark, sketchy parts of town
193. Heights
194. Losing people
195. Being out of control
196. Drowning
197. Arachnids (spiders and scorpions >.<) 198. Being unprepared 199. Crazy people (like, actually mental XD) 200. GOING crazy Things About Clothes
201. I hate pointy-toed shoes.
202. Skinny jeans only work on girls.
203. There’s a line between “mini-skirt” and “is that a belt?”
204. Dresses don’t have to be girly.
205. I’ve worn white shoes after Labor Day.
206. High-water pants are hideous.
207. Make sure your shirts aren’t see-through.
208. White socks with black/brown shoes will never be okay.
209. Hot pink and red are supposed to be okay together these days. Well, they’re not.
210. Knock-off shoes are not a bad thing. If they look the same, who cares? Now you can spend those 40 extra bucks on something else.

~Kendra

Exploring the Forbidden Halls

2010-11-16T15:57:00.009-05:00

Today, I went to class with the rest of my family. At my "school," preschool through 10th grade meets on Tuesdays, and my lonely little class of juniors meets on Wednesday. Normally, I stay home on Tuesdays, but I decided to go hang out around the school today. Sometimes my friends will drop by, and some of the "lowerclassmen" are pretty cool anyway XD

Sure enough, some of my friends showed up, and we even ended up going to Subway where our friend works for lunch. We got back from lunch at about 2 o'clock: math class time. Some kids don't take that math class, including Daniel S, so Amanda and I hung out with him until school was over.

We were bored and unsupervised, so we decided to explore. The school building is massive, and most of it's not even being used. There are lots of stairs and complicated hallways that connect and turn and end and lead to random double doors that lead to MORE hallways and stairs. It can be confusing when you're not used to it, but we mostly know our way around.

We went to the elementary school wing and reminisced for a while, went to the office and dodged the scary administration people, poked around in the vending area. On our way back, we decided to go through what I like to call the "Forbidden Hallway."

I don't know that it's actually forbidden, and I don't say that out loud, but it has a great ring to it, doesn't it? It really looks like a Forbidden Hallway.

For one thing, it's unfinished. The floor is some kind of black stuff that looks like it's been scratched up. For another thing, it's really long. You walk through the double doors and you're met with a long, dark hallway that ends in another set of doors waaaaay off in the distance. On either side of the hall, there are empty doors, offering all sorts of ghouls. It's perfectly quiet, but the echo is unbelievable. It's like you can hear every breath bounce off the walls. It's also frigid.

It's dark, lonely, long, cold, creepy, and full of echos. I pretty much love it. I wonder if they'll ever finish it?

So Amanda and Daniel S and I hung out there for a while, poking in the classrooms (the group of scarecrow children nearly gave us a heart attack), whispering, listening to our footsteps change sounds as they bounced down the hall.

After a while we explored the quiet upper floors we'd never had a chance to as kids.

It was a pretty cool afternoon. I like just chilling with my friends. Not even doing anything. Just being with them is fun.

Things About Blogging...
151. It’s like my online journal.
152. I never feel alone.
153. I love finding people with common interests.
154. You guys cheer me up!
155. Decorating ~CD~ helps get me into the spirit of things.
156. Blogging made me realize how much I love Christmas!
157. I hate word verifications on blog comments.
158. I promise never to put hidden auto-start music on my blog XD
159. Getting followers used to be really important to me.
160. Now I just like being myself and meeting great people :)

20 Random Things About Me:
161. I cannot stand the word “chick” when referring to a girl. It’s degrading. Unless, you're using it in a degrading way on purpose, and then, of course, you picked the right word XD
162. I’m allergic to peanuts.
163. I love to run, but I’m out of shape so it sucks.
164. I hate ravioli.
165. I have a serious fear of food poisoning and tapeworms.
166. The closer to and more comfortable I am with you, the more sarcastic and “mean” I can be. I think this is because if I feel safe with you, I feel like I don’t have to worry about you starting to hate me when I’m a brat…or something twisted like that.
167. My hair is naturally this weird, ugly, half-curly thing.
168. I live next to a lake. I can walk to it :D
169. I love Bojangles.
170. I have very eclectic taste in music.
171. I love As I Lay Dying.
172. I love learning.
173. Hilari Bell is the writer I think I admire the most (for her writing, I don’t know anything about her as a person).
174. I take random pictures of myself when I’m bored. And it makes me feel vain when I think about it.
175. I’m TERRIBLE at buying gifts.
176. I hate the shows Suite Life of Zack and Cody and Suite Life on Deck.
177. I write lots of unsent letters.
178. I dislike wearing sunglasses. They make me feel like a diva.
179. Begging is just not my style.
180. Watching people spit out their toothpaste (or even seeing myself do it) disgusts me beyond belief.

~Kendra

Culture Honor and the Civil War

2010-11-15T16:53:00.005-05:00

I have a essay due on Wednesday. Anything from chapters 7-9 of my history book, which covers the years up to the Civil War, and the Civil War. I've chosen to do my paper on why the south decided to fight.

You may say the reason for fighting was slavery, and I agree in part, but I think there's a lot more to it than that. Sure, the south wanted to keep its slaves, but I don't think that was the root issue or why most southerners fought.

"Why are you fighting this war?" Union troops asked a captured southern soldier.
"Because you're down here," the soldier replied.

I believe that most southern soldiers fought not to keep their slaves, but out of loyalty, out of cultural honor. Someone challenges you, invades your land and threatens your way of life. If you are a southerner, what do you do?

Fight, obviously.

I'm against slavery. I hope everyone reading this knows that! It's unchristian, unfair and wrong. But if I had been a boy during the time of the Civil War? I would have fought for the Confederacy, no doubt.

It's difficult to explain my feelings, but I think a lot of my southern friends can understand. There's something that runs deep, really deep in southerners; something that makes us fight for our family and friends; something that rears up when someone attacks our character; something that will not stand by and let our land be taken.

Whatever "that" is, I think, was a bigger reason for fighting than slavery. But what is "it"?

That's what I've decided to write my paper on.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Southerners Are...
121. Extremely competitive
122. Naturally rebellious
123. Intensely patriotic
124. Fiercely independent
125. Passionately loyal
126. Steadfastly honorable
127. Impressively good shots
128. Unfailingly polite
129. Proudly territorial
130. Always charming ;)

Strange/Crazy Things I've Done (thanks, Izori!)
131. Ride cross-legged on the top of a pickup truck.
132. Wear two kinds of eyeliner at once
133. Go out in public in my Wacky Tacky Day attire (It was for school, and I decided not to change so I could see all the weird looks it would get me.)
134. Wink at a random guy at the fair (He ran into a prize tent >.> My bad.).
135. Go up to a random guy and ask if he tried to figure girls out.
136. Ask the man who works the counter at the bowling alley if he could please blow up my ball, I thought it was flat.
137. Challenge a friend to a heated debate at a Christmas party
138. Feed the dog in the snow without shoes on
139. Fall off a cliff in the dark
140. Be a boot for Halloween.

Things I Stand For
141. God
142. Freedom
143. The right to speak freely
144. Equality
145. The right to bear arms
146. Justice
147. The right to challenge the government
148. Individuality
149. My country
150. And, of course, southern honor XD

~Kendra

"I'm southern and proud of it. I think all southerners are. I mean, if you're not proud of it, you're not really southern."

Proof of Depth

2010-11-14T16:21:00.007-05:00

I feel like I've been talking/posting a lot about hot guys lately. I mean, just look at my Celebrity Crushes list a couple of posts back. Jeremy Sumpter, Hayden Christensen and Michael J. Fox have been in daily conversation for about a week now. Their characters have been elevated in my mind. I was starting to feel terrifyingly shallow.

Then I watched "Troy" last night.

Ever seen it? Well, it's about, um, Troy. The ancient city. And their war against the Greeks. It has Brad Pitt (ehh) and Orlando Bloom (wowowmakesmylist). Trojan prince Paris (Orlando Bloom) kidnaps the Greek queen, Helen. The Greek king calls upon this unbelievable warrior named Achilles (Brad Pitt) to help the Greeks defeat the Trojans.

It was a fairly good movie; not AMAZING in my humble opinion, but fairly entertaining. It definitely elicited some emotional responses from me (actually only one: anger). There's only one real man in the entire movie, and the others make me so sick I wish they'd all get run through.

Orlando Bloom plays just such a sickening man.

I won't spoil what he does for anyone who hasn't seen the movie, but he does the #1 most cowardly thing I've ever seen a man do in a movie. I actually jumped off the couch with a shocked, "WHAT?!" (My dad can attest.) I hated that Prince Paris with a passion. (Okay, so I strongly disliked his guts for the three-hour span of the movie.)

BUT. Something good came out of all that. I had proof for myself that I was not becoming entirely shallow XD I can honestly say that Orlando Bloom's gorgeous face meant nothing to me when paired with his character's despicable personality. And that was a relief.

Things I Love (there are 30, so only one category today :D):
91. Happy Days (the TV show)
92. Cheez-Its
93. Eyeliner
94. Reading
95. Indian (Bollywood, not Native American) culture
96. Writing
97. Dancing
98. Music
99. “Aladdin”
100. Peter Pan
101. Awesome guy characters
102. That 70s Show (Don’t judge me ;P)
103. Emo makeup
104. Green
105. Ice cream
106. Fonzie
107. Greek culture
108. Making people look twice
109. Puns
110. Music in a minor key
111. Rice Krispy Treats
112. Christmas
113. Summer
114. Egyptian Culture
115. Eyes
116. Brothers
117. Winking
118. Car trips
119. Disney World
120. Going barefoot

~Kendra

Concerning Guys and Girls...

2010-11-13T17:45:00.003-05:00

Hellooo! Today was great! I had some crazy friends over for a sleepover last night, and today we went and worked at Cassidy's ranch as a youth project. I rode on the top of a pick-up truck back and forth on the bumpy road (which I think feels a lot like riding on an elephant would), shoveled a lot of horse manure, and got to see a guy's foot actually gush blood (not gonna lie, it kinda reminded me of the Black Knight in "Monty Python"). All in all, a very exciting day.

Now I know you're all very interested in my Dos and Don'ts for Guys, as well as the About Girls category, so without further adieu...

Don'ts for Guys:
61. Don't let your hair get too long.
62. Don't wear skinny jeans.
63. Don't be girly.
64. Don't part your hair (if you follow the first "rule," this shouldn't be a problem XD)
65. Don't let yourself or people you care about be pushed around.
66. Don't lie.
67. Don't be disrespectful.
68. Don't be so nervous!
69. Don't cuss.
70. Don't go too long without shaving.

Dos for Guys:
71. Do hold doors for girls.
72. Do give hugs.
73. Do make people laugh.
74. Do like guy stuff.
75. Do know *something* about sports.
76. Do be yourself.
77. Do try in school.
78. Do persevere.
79. Do read (at least occasionally).
80. Do be on time.

About Girls...
81. We like it when guys call/text/talk to us first.
82. We're tough. But not ALL the time.
83. It will bother us when you forget something we’ve told you, even though we know guys are pitiful.
84. Even if we know you like/love us, if you stop showing it, we’ll think you’ve stopped meaning it.
85. Tell us when we look nice, but don’t tell us that ALL THE TIME, or it loses its meaning.
86. Sometimes we tell you that you win even when you lose.
87. Sometimes we tell you that you lose even when you win.
88. We’re complicated, but it makes us feel good when you try to figure us out.
89. It’s annoying when you try to interpret our secret girl eye-conversations. If we wanted you to know, we’d say it out loud.
90. Flowers will always be cute.

~Kendra ;)

Kendra's 500 Continues!

2010-11-12T15:57:00.004-05:00

In honor of ~CD~ turning two, and my 500th post, I'm doing 500 different things spread over a week or so. Get ready for 30 more things...

I Wish...
31. I had an older brother.
32. I had a license.
33. I had a smaller nose.
34. I could read minds.
35. I could control minds (haha, just kidding XD Ish).
36. Jeremy Sumpter lived next door.
37. I had started my 500 things earlier.
38. I'd paid more attention in school my whole life.
39. Crayons would never get dull.
40. I had a bigger family.

10 Celebrity Crushes!
41. ****Jere my Su mpter**** (<--depending on where you click, there are 3 pictures there XD) 42. ***Hayden Christensen*** (He has one of those smiles that you have to smile back to because your insides are melting.)
43. **Drew Roy**
44. *Michael J. Fox*
45. Alex Pettyfer (<--two pictures in there, too XD)
46. Jesse McCartney
47. Cameron Bright
48. William Moseley
49. Orlando Bloom
50. Shane West

Favorite Movies
51. Aladdin
52. Peter Pan
53. Beauty and the Beast
54. The Bourne movies
55. Braveheart
56. The Sting
57. The Oceans movies
58. The Matrix
59. Pirates of the Caribbean
60. 17 Again

Stay tuned for Dos and Don'ts for Guys, as well as About Girls tomorrow! :D

~Kendra

Kendra's 500 Begins!

2010-11-12T00:06:00.006-05:00

*FANFARE PLAYS*

WOOOOOT! Can you believe it?? ~Carpe Diem!~ is two years old! It's a toddler! It's speaking in full sentences! Soon it should hit the terrible twos...um...great...

But it's also the 500th Post Celebration!!!

Do you know what this means?????questionmark?

I gotta post 500 of something. I'll spend hours and hours trying to figure out things that would hold your attention and interest you and not seem narcissistic.

And then you won't actually READ all 500 things anyway...>.>

SO.

I got to thinking.

What if I milked this a little? What if I spread my 500 things over the course of a couple of weeks? Give it to you in pieces that wouldn't require you to pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee, buckle down and stay glued to my blog for an hour and a half?

I figured, that might be nice.

I've put my 500 things into convenient little bundles of 10. I have 50 different categories of awesome, so what if I post, say, 3 a day for a little while?

Yes, I realize this would have been better if I'd had a COUNTDOWN to my 500th post instead of STARTING this at the big five-oh-oh, but hey, good ideas can come better late than never, right? :D

Also, this smaller-bits-at-a-time idea is NOT a result of Kendra waiting until 11:12 at night to think of 500 freaking things.

I hope you're not mad :( I honestly do have 355 things already. Only about 150 to think of.

Anyway, without further adeu, the first 3 categories in Kendra's 500...

*drumroll* (<-- Does that hurt your eyes? 'Cause it hurts my eyes.)

Things I Am
1. Friendly
2. Stubborn
3. Ambitious
4. Persuasive
5. A writer
6. Unique
7. Confusing
8. Complicated
9. A screw-up
10. A Christian

Things I'm Not
11. A jealous person
12. A fake
13. Dull
14. Wishy-washy
15. A touchy-feely person
16. A Justin Bieber fan
17. A Justin Bieber hater
18. Quiet
19. Stupid
20. Normal

I Plan On...
21. Going to Wake Forest
22. Majoring in political science
23. Minoring in philosophy
24. Getting married
25. Having kids
26. Writing
27. Arguing
28. Staying up late
29. Making mistakes
30. Living for God

Hopefully, I'll see you next time, when Kendra's 500 continues!

Blog Birthday?? :O

2010-11-08T15:30:00.004-05:00

This is post 499. The next time I post, it'll be in celebration!

But guess what I also realized today? Thursday, the 11th, will be ~Carpe Diem~'s TWO-YEAR-OLD BIRTHDAY! :O

Last year I completely missed my blog's birthday. And I felt horrible. This year, the birthday might be swallowed up in the big 500 post. Unless...

I just put the posts together :) I'm planning to dedicate 100 things to ~Carpe Diem~, and the other 400...you'll have to wait and see!

~Kendra

How Well Do You Know Me?

2010-11-06T14:29:00.005-04:00

Y'all have really good ideas for the 500 post celebration! I'm definitely gonna use those...If you have more, comment! :D

So, I made this quiz on Facebook, but it looks like it got messed up -_- I tried the link, and it's wrong...Or something. 15 minutes of my life I'll never get back.

So, at the risk of sounding narcissistic, I'm going to post it here XD If you feel like taking it, leave a comment :) I'll let you know how you did. It's pretty hard, so I won't be offended if you get a lot incorrect, haha XD

1) What was the first Linkin Park song I ever heard?
a. In the End
b. Papercut
c. New Divide
d. Breaking the Habit

2) What's something unusual that I like?
a. Nightmares
b. Hiccups
c. Brussel sprouts
d. Ruffles

3) Who are my two favorite presidents?
a. Washington and Reagan
b. Jefferson and Lincoln
c. Washington and Lincoln
d. Jefferson and Reagan

4) What upsets me the most?
a. Being lied to
b. People being late
c. People spreading rumors
d. Getting a bad grade

5) Where do I want to go to college?
a. Wake Forest
b. William and Mary
c. Somewhere in Florida!
d. Highpoint

6) What have I written the most of (completed)?
a. Stories
b. Short stories
c. Poems
d. Songs

7) If I were going to dye my hair, what color would I dye it?
a. Black
b. I'd try blonde, but it probably wouldn't work.
c. I'd get highlights.
d. Reddish brown

8) What's my favorite sport to watch?
a. Soccer
b. Basketball
c. Football
d. Tennis

9) What is my hair like naturally?
a. It's basically straight.
b. Wavy, neither curly or straight. Ugh.
c. Curly -_-
d. Frizzy.

I had ten questions on the Facebook one, but now I can't remember them all! Oh well XD

~Kendra

Four Ninety-Seven...

2010-11-04T13:59:00.002-04:00

This post, this one right here, is post 497. Four hundred ninety-seven. Cuatrocientos noventa y siete. Yup.

So, that's only three posts away from the Big 500! Can you believe it?? I missed the Big 400, but I'm determined not to miss 500. This needs to be awesome...epic...legit.

Unfortunately, I've been...let's just say "less than the most active blogger" lately. My posts are beginning to be few and far between, and my activity on other blogs, frankly, sucks. (I do read your blogs, I promise, I just suck at commenting these days.) I'm trying to fix that.

But the point is that it makes a big celebration kind of hard. I'm not particularly in touch with the blogosphere right now. I feel out of practice as far as being the fun and funny blogger I used to be. I'd like to get back to my old self with the Big 500, but it needs to get started with a bang.

Basically, this post has been a grossly extended version of this simple question:

What should I do to celebrate ~Carpe Diem~'s five hundredth post?

I like things that make sense, so maybe five hundred of something. Five hundred questions, five hundred facts about writing, five hundred quotes, five hundred...somethings.

Any ideas? I know I'm asking you to please comment when I've been terrible at doing that myself, but...please? :3

I'll see you again soon--promise.

~Kendra

Tag!

2010-11-01T15:03:00.002-04:00

I've been tagged! This one is kind of fun. I answer 8 questions from the person that tagged me, then I come up with 8 new questions and tag people. Those people will answer my questions, then make up 8 of their own.

1. What is your biggest pet peeve? People who are wrong and refuse to admit/understand that XD
2. Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out? Well, tucked in a the bottom, but not on the sides or anything, lol :)
3. Do you think it's okay for guys to wear pink? Only if they are blonde.
4. Where would you bury hidden treasure if you had some? What’s the point of hiding it if I’m going to tell you where it is? ;P

5. Do you have any magazine subscriptions? Um…Well, my sister and I get Discovery Kids, I think.
6. What's your song of the week? Oh, hmm… Right now, I'm in love with "What I've Done" by the String Quartet. It's a tribute to good ol' LP. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTo1tKavRHQ
7. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper? A week ago exactly. I wrote a letter to my sponsored child in Cambodia.
8. What country would you like to visit? Ireland, France, Spain, Italy and Greece. And I’m going to three of those places this summer!!

Now I make up 8 questions...

1. What was your first word?
2. What are two facts about you that seem to contradict each other?
3. If you could play any instrument, what would it be?
4. Do you know more than one language? If you do, what is it? If you don't, what language would you like to learn?
5. Do you like to travel?
6. Are you an open person?
7. What is your favorite season?
8.8. In ten years, where do you see yourself?

I'll tag...
1. Laura
2. Camilia
3. Rachel B
4. Elizabeth
5. Amanda
6. KnightWing

If you guys don't like doing these, that's cool :) I know everyone is pretty busy this time of year!

~Kendra

Washington DC!

2010-10-26T10:03:00.003-04:00

Maybe you remember last year, my class went on a 10th grade trip to Washington? Well, we're going again. We are in 11th grade. We're not supposed to go. But, as usual, my class has decided that we are the best class in the world and are therefore allowed to participate in trips for any grade we've been through XD

It's kind of hilarious actually. You should see us crash 8th chili day...

Anyway, we're going to DC :) Today. I'm extremely excited. It's not supposed to rain EVERY DAY or be FREEZING every day, so that's a plus. Also, I don't have the worst sore throat ever this year. YAYAYAY.

The history will mean a lot more this year, too, since I'm taking American History. I'm actually excited about the history itself and not just spending time with some of my best friends.

I might post while I'm gone, but I dunno :)

Be back Saturday! Expect pictures!

~Kendra

P.S. The picture of Evil Inc. to the right is not how I feel about Washington or anything, I just wanted something with a big building/monument XD Just thought I'd clear that up.

Fall

2010-10-25T11:32:00.004-04:00

It always surprises me the day I look out my window and leaves cover the ground.
I guess somewhere in the back of my mind I think the seasons will wait for me to give them the go-ahead before they change. Like they won't keep going unless I'm ready. Like I can pause right here and catch up before the season switches.
Every year it seems to surprise me that it doesn't work that way.

~Kendra

Second Person Singular

2010-10-21T16:53:00.005-04:00

Have you ever written notes to yourself? Just any kind of notes. Letters to yourself in the future, or story ideas in second person?

I've written letters to myself in the future. When I was thirteen, I wrote a note to myself to read when I was sixteen.

There's something really great about doing that. When you read the note, you're more than just reminded of how you used to be; it's like hearing from a different person. It's like who you are now is completely different from who you were then. It's like seeing yourself from another person's point of view; and who hasn't wished they could do that at one time or another?

Today, I was jotting down ideas for a story that popped into my head. I found myself writing sort of TO myself. Saying things like "this is where you put in the weird stuff that'll happen" and "you don't know why yet, but she decides to keep it a secret." I just replaced all the "I"s with "you"s, and the difference was strange.

When I read back over my notes, the ideas felt different. Just the simple word change transformed my scrambled thoughts from "just something I wrote down" to "someone's fascinating ideas." When I my words were talking to me instead of being an extension of me, I was able to look at the thoughts more objectively.

It's hard to see yourself as others see you. But if I write to myself, when I read it over, it feels like someone telling me about their story, not me reading my own stuff. And it's like seeing myself as a separate person.

I probably sound a little crazy right now, but you should try it. Write a letter to yourself to read in a month, a year, or ten years. Talk to the "Future You" like a separate person. Or write down a story idea substituting the word "you" for the word "I." I think you'll see what I mean.

Who knew second person singular could be so exciting?

~Kendra

I'm Posting... :3

2010-10-12T16:03:00.004-04:00

I'm sorry I haven't been posting! *sigh* I don't have any especially good reasons besides the old favorite:

I've just been busy.

But I really have XD I've been feeling behind ever since the trip to Great Wolf, and then Wednesday-Friday, I was out of town at a conference. It was really awesome and definitely worth it (I'll probably be posting about it at some point), but I'm back to treading water in school. Gah.

I'm especially behind in math, which sucks. At least I'm getting it though, right? Usually I just keep up with the pace, ignoring my issues. This year I'm actually slowing down to learn the concepts. So...that's good...right?

Tomorrow I have a Family Tree project due. In Spanish XD It's pretty fun, but a little complicated. I'm not sure which labels to put and how to show all the relationships. I also wanted to make the poster look like an actual tree, but there's not really room for a leafy outline and trunk at this point...

So yeah. My life has not been boring lately, I'm just telling you the boring PARTS because telling the exciting parts would take a lot more time, and I still have philosophy and Shakespeare to tackle...not to mention babysitting tonight...Although you really can't call it babysitting when Matt is now FOUR-FREAKING-TEEN and Katie's almost twelve.

That's kind of scary.

>.>

*stops ranting*

~Kendra

P.S. If you want to, check out this blog. It's...sort of hard to explain. But I like it XD Check it out: A Crossroads of Rhyme and Reason.

Aaron Asked...

2010-10-03T20:32:00.004-04:00

We all know what my hair looked like straightened and unstraightened before, but...what the heck does it look like now?

I was just as curious as KnightWing (who needs to post more TJ just btw :P), so when I took a shower for the first time after my haircut, I took a couple of pictures for you XD

First out of the shower...

As it's drying...

The poofy finished product! XD

I foresee much straightening in my future! Lols XD

~Kendra

I'm in Love

2010-09-30T14:49:00.003-04:00

Aaah! I did it! I got side bangs! And about two inches off, and more layers. And guess what?

Oh. You read the title?

Well, fine, yes :P I LOVE IT. It's my new favorite hair cut :D

Captions on the bottom.

Before I straightened my "old" hair.

After I straightened my "old" hair.

MY NEW HAIR!

~Kendra

Hair Cut

2010-09-30T11:03:00.005-04:00

Okay. So, some of you might remember what happened last time I got my hair cut. Just reading that post makes me shudder. I've only recently gotten to where I like the length of my hair. Yeah, a 10-minute hair cut took me six months to recover from.

And today, I have an appointment. Hair cut.

I used to be terrified of getting my hair cut, then I loved it, then that little disaster in February happened and now I'm terrified again. Even more than usual this time, because--guess what?

I'm going to get side bangs.

I think.

I know it's a little late to be having second thoughts. My appointment is in--LESS THAN TWO HOURS? D: But yeah. Side bangs. I think.

I think I'd look fine with them, and I've always wanted to try it. But at the same time, so much could go wrong. Soooooooooooooo much.

They could be infinitely annoying. Whenever I dance, they might fly in my face. Whenever I get sweaty, my hair gets curly, and is there anything worse-looking than a piece of hair two inches long going out of control around your eyes? NO. They could also just get in my eyes all the freaking time. During school, when I'm writing, when I'm talking to people, just living life in general.

I'd have to keep them straightened. All the time. No exceptions. My hair isn't the kind of hair that will be okay with side bangs unless it's straightened. True, straightening side bands takes all of three seconds, but I'll eventually totally fry that little piece of hair. And it might look weird to have ONLY my side bangs straightened, which means I'll ALWAYS have to straighten ALL of my hair. Which definitely takes a lot more than three seconds.

I could look really bad with them. That's completely possible. It could draw attention to my big nose. (That's something my February Disaster did. With short hair, you just see this face and then the NOSE and then...yeah, it's bad). This is a fear I just thought of. And it's now a big fear. I have a big nose. Don't try to tell me otherwise. Sometimes it's not so bad, but certain things I do to my hair make it a lot worse. What if this is one of those things?

So you see, I'm a bit petrified about my appointment. And I know most of you are in school, but if you're not and you happen to be reading this, please, please leave me your thoughts.

I think I'm going to get them. I've always wanted to try them, and after all, hair grows back. But I'm soo nervous, and if you think I shouldn't, I'll definitely reconsider...

I just need help XD

~Kendra

Awards!

2010-09-20T16:16:00.008-04:00

Thanks to Bleah Briann for making the awards for the Scavenger Hunt! Take the one that applies to you, I'm trusting y'all :)

First Place:
Second Place:
Third Place:
Participation Award for Hunters:
Participation Award for Hosts:

Thanks for playing, everyone!

Also, I'm going to Great Wolf Lodge tomorrow and won't be back until Friday :) I'm hoping this time will be better than when I went in March XD That wasn't much fun.

~Kendra

"The Clockwork Angel"

2010-09-19T19:30:00.004-04:00

Hellooo everyone! I hope everyone has had a pleasant week and weekend :D

The Scavenger Hunt is officially over! Only three people won :P Congratulations to...

Third Place: Tragedy101!
Second Place: Noelle!
First Place: Elizabeth!

Yay! I should have awards for you today, but I don't have them yet. Give me until tomorrow if you would :)

By the way, you know my obsession with (the amazing, hilarious, awesome, witty, clever, sarcastic, arrogant, extremely attractive) Jace? And the trilogy he lives in called "The Mortal Instruments?"

Well.

Cassandra Clare has started a new trilogy that happens hundreds of years before "Mortal Instruments." I've been wanting book one, "The Clockwork Angel" for months. I got it yesterday at Sam's (that's like Costco)!

It.

Is.

Great.

I'm only about a third of the way done, but it's great! I'm not completely in love with the characters yet, but that's only because I'm not finished. They're great. Cassandra Clare did a great job of creating a new story and new characters. I would have been tempted to make my hero and heroine just like Jace and Clary, even if by accident. The main guy, Will, is witty like Jace, but he's completely his own character, too.

I've also laughed out loud about 10 times already. I pretty much NEVER laugh out loud at books. I mean, inside I might be rolling, and I might grin or chuckle, but Cassandra Clare always has me giggling out loud and re-reading paragraphs just because they're hilarious.

Seriously, I'd read this book for Henry alone.

And he's not even the cockycutefunnyguy of the story.

~Kendra

A Little Life Update

2010-09-16T18:40:00.003-04:00

I think the Scavenger Hunt is going off pretty well! So far, only two people have completed the Hunt though! All you Hunters better get a move on before Saturday rolls around and the Hunt is over! Thanks so much to everyone for participating :) It means a lot to me, and I hope you had fun!
~~~~~~~~~
Wow, that was a lot of exclamation points XD

Life's been interesting lately, but good. Very good. I was right about Junior Year being awesome. Honestly, school isn't bad at all. Last year was HORRIBLE, but this year is kind of...not. The only thing giving me trouble is chemistry, and I'm planning on understanding that...in the near future XD

American History was starting to be a living nightmare, but my teacher had a talk with us yesterday and explained that we were all taking too many notes. (At least some of us were XD I'm pretty sure some people haven't taken ANY XD) She told us how to outline the chapters less heavily, and so far it's going better.

I absolutely LOVE Spanish. Languages come sort of naturally to me, and Cassidy loves Spanish too, so we talk about it allllll the time :D It's great.

Shakespeare. Was. A. Genius. Oh my gosh! I love his writing! The way he phrased things was so perfect! So witty and ironic and funny. The subtleties in his writing are absolutely brilliant. I love this class.

I also have poetry, which is tacked onto Shakespeare. I didn't really do my poetry assignments until last week because I forgot about them. We're using the book "The Roar On the Other Side." The exercises are so cool. Basically, it's just learning how to write better and be creative, but I get SCHOOL CREDIT FOR IT :D It's helping me get over my seemingly-chronic writer's block too.

Math is...not bad. Not bad at all. One might even say good. One MIGHT even say that with tutoring and actual effort, I love math. One MIGHT say that. Not saying it's me.....I don't love math, I hate it......right......Oh crap XD I like it this year. All my years of profound hatred gone to waste... *sigh*

Philosophy is the love of my life, has been since 9th grade. It's awesome. I love my class, too. We're deep thinkers. I get more out of this class than possibly anything else.

This year my class is getting along really well. Normally, you have Group A and Group B. Group A appears to think themselves too good to associate with Group B, thereby removing themselves from the class whenever possible. Group B rolls their eyes and thinks Group A needs to get a life and stop treating people like dirt.

This year, there is only one group. There is no Us and Them, no A and B, no Good and Evil. We're just a class. We're just all friends. I absolutely love us this way. We haven't been like this since 8th grade. I know there's a lot of growing up going around. Personally, I decided I was just as much part of the problem as anyone. I was guilty of being conceited and exclusive too, so I decided to change that. I'm definitely not saying I'm responsible for the great class dynamics, just that I've been paying more attention to how I act this year.

And...Cavender might be coming to church this Sunday. I really want to see him. It's been a while.

~Kendra

GO!!!!!!!

2010-09-11T21:48:00.007-04:00

***LATEST NEWS: Clue #11 has been put up! Happy hunting!***

The Scavenger Hunt starts now!!

All you awesome Hunters get going! Put on your detective caps and find which blog comes next! The first clue issssssss...

"All silver and green, find this Elvish theme."

Now, check out these blogs and figure out which one fits this description...

A Collection of Reflections

A Selection of Varied Topics

The View Through These Eyes

Thoughts of A KleeWyck

Katie's Pixels

Good luck! You have til the end of the week. Special prize for the one who completes it first.

~Kendra

GET SET...

2010-09-11T19:42:00.002-04:00

THE SCAVENGER HUNT BEGINS TOMORROW! :D If you're a Host, you should have (*cough* finally *cough*) gotten an email from me with your clue. If you didn't receive the email, leave me a comment and I'll resend it.

Don't forget not to post your clues until tomorrow. I forgot to say that in the email, so if you put it up early, don't feel bad :) My fault for forgetting to tell you.

Anyway, Hunters, GET SET, for tomorrow we GO! :D

~Kendra

On Your Mark...

2010-09-09T16:16:00.002-04:00

Who's ready for the Scavenger Hunt?? :D I am! If you don't know what that is, click HERE! The people we have, the more fun it'll be!

Hunters can "sign up" as late as Saturday, but I'm not taking Hosts anymore, just because I'm afraid I won't have time to make your clue. Hosts, be checking your emails :D I'll be sending the Clues within the next couple of days.

On a side note, would you guys mind praying for me about chemistry? I know that's weird, and pretty insignificant, but I'm really stressed. I have a test next week and I'm completely lost.

~Kendra

The Great Pumpkin Shortage

2010-09-06T17:05:00.010-04:00

So, "our" grocery store is Lowes Foods. We've watched the check-out guys grow up (Derek, you're awesome), learned to like the store brands, and know where everything is. I love Lowes Foods. But today, they deeply wounded and disappointed us.

Just kidding.

XD

They didn't have canned pumpkin! What in the world! It's September, it's practically fall, time to get out your orange-and-brown-themed napkins and apple cider and pecans and CANNED PUMPKIN. Stores break out Christmas stuff before you're finished eating the last of the Thanksgiving turkey. WHEREISTHEPUMPKIN?

*clears throat*

We opted to try our local grocery store, which is also awesome. I even wanted a job there this summer, but they were not hiring, even though multiple friends of mine mysteriously began working there... Do I count this against their awesome? Nope. They know our names and where we go to church and that I play soccer at the rec center. They were sure to have canned pumpkin.

They did not.

Has there been some pumpkin virus that's wiped out all those lovely orange gourds? Did the factory workers go on strike until someone addresses the issue of pumpkin cruelty? Did the aliens steal it all?

Reality check: None of the above.

Basically, it rained a lot in Illinois last year, which is bad for pumpkin-growing. Even worse, Illinois is where 95% of America's pumpkins come from. Although the pumpkin weather is okay now, apparently you have to wait for the pumpkins to get ready before they can be canned. We're still waiting.

Ergo, no canned pumpkin in stores. Like, at all.

It's supposed to be back soon, but I wish it would hurry up. I love pumpkin scones and gingerbread cake.

In the meantime, you can apparently use butternut squash as a substitute.

Who knew?

~Kendra

Childhood Choices

2010-09-05T14:56:00.005-04:00

When I was little, I wanted to be a famous singer (as well as the first woman president, an orphanage keeper, and an artist). The "famous" part was very important. I would bring CDs of songs I wanted to sing to church. After the service, I would play the CD through the sound system and use the microphones to live my dream.

I stared a singing group called Triple G (God's Girls Group) and made sign-up sheets for it and put them on the Information Desk at church. Members of the group came and went a lot, mostly due to the fact that I was what you might call a Bossy Little Snit at times XD

Although I wasn't singing to God for the right reasons, I learned a lot through all that. I learned that you can't treat people like crap and expect them to do what you say. I learned that true friends are the ones that will still love you even when you're being a jerk. I learned that not ALL grown-ups take people 2ft. shorter than them as a joke. I learned how to make things happen and persevere. I learned a lot of good Christian artists.

I recently rediscovered my #1 favorite artist of my Triple G club years: Rebecca St. James.

I must admit that even as a very strange child, I had pretty good taste in music. When I decided to go back listen to some of the "Transform" CD, I was prepared to be underwhelmed. But I still love some of the songs! They remind me of awesome times, and the sound is really cool. "Reborn", "One" and "Lean On" are still my favorites.

I also discovered that I freaking love Rebecca St. James' sense of style. Dude. I really picked a good singer to look up to.

~Kendra

Amazing

2010-09-04T15:57:00.003-04:00

Today the sun is bright and clear, the trees are green and rustling in the wind, the sky is blue and cloudless, the air is warm with a hint of fall chill. My family ate lunch on the screen porch with the breeze blowing lightly. Then we went out to the front yard. I laid in the driveway in the sun with my dog beside me. I walked in the bed of smooth rocks next door. I sat on the rocking bench with my mom and watched my sister scooter and laughed at my awesomely funny dad.

Today was pretty much amazing.

~Kendra

Hosts and Hunters

2010-09-03T14:38:00.007-04:00

Today I wrote the entire rough draft of my big American history research paper! Yay! It's not due until Wednesday, and I've already done the hardest part. It is safe to say that I am very proud of myself. Colonial architecture in light of different cultures turned out to be really interesting. And I've never been the slightest bit interested in architecture before. Cool :D

Okay, so I'm trying to be organized about the Scavenger Hunt, and I don't want to miss anyone, so bear with me. Will you please read this, and let me know of any errors?

Blog Hosts:
1. Izori - Evening Stars
2. Elizabeth - A Collection of Reflections
3. Bleah Briann - With Love and Kisses
4. Levi - With the Setting Sun
5. Katie G - Playing for Him AND Katie's Pixels
6. Tunafish - The View Through These Eyes
7. Emily Ann - (:My World:)
8. Rachel B - Thoughts of a KleeWyck
9. Sarah - Caliginosity
10. Emma - Summer Girl
11. Bethany - A Selection of Varied Topics

Blog Hunters:
1. Bethany
2. Elizabeth
3. Emma
4. Katie G
5. Tunafish

If you want to be a Host or Hunter and your name isn't on the list please, pleeeeeeease let me know! Just a simple comment to indicate Host, Hunter, or both, please.

The deadline for blog hosts is Sunday. Hunters can continue to "sign up" as late as next Saturday.

This is going to be lots of fun! And I've recently added one little bit to this...

If you post about the Hunt on your blog, along with a link back to THIS post, there will be an extra clue (and therefore possible award) for you! WooT! Just make sure to leave me a comment telling me that you posted so I can add you to the special list XD

Normally I frown upon heavy blog advertising, and asking people to do it, but I think the Hunt will be a lot more fun if we can get lots of people involved.

This is gonna be awesome XD :D

~Kendra

More on the Hunt!

2010-09-02T15:10:00.003-04:00

Hey, y'all! It sounds like some people are interested in the Blog Scavenger Hunt! Awesome! The start date I'm thinking about is September 12th, about ten days from today.

If you missed the post where I introduced the idea, you can click HERE, or read this next paragraph XD

The Blog Scavenger Hunt will be a fun way to get traffic on your blog, win awards, and flex your detective skills. On September 12th, I'll publish a list of blogs where clues will be hidden, as well as some "decoy" blogs. I'll give Clue #1, and the great quest to find Clue #2 on a blog from the list begins. Once you find Clue #2, the detective work continues as you search the list to find Clue #3...

Rules for Hunters:
1. Be sure to find the Clues in order!
2. It'll be more fun if you don't tell anyone which Clue is on which blog :)

Rules for Participating Blogs:
1. Don't forget to put your Clue somewhere on your blog on the 12th! (I'll be sending them to you sometime next week.) You can "hide" it anywhere on your homepage (the sidebar, your posts, your header, etc.), just make sure it's on your homepage and doesn't require any clicking around to find :)

So far, there are nine bloggers who'd like clues hidden on their blogs. There's room for more if anyone is interested :)

Now we need Hunters! Bloggers with participating blogs are welcome to play too (or not play), but I think this will be even more fun with lots of people. Spread the word! If you want, posting about this would be great. The more people we have, the more fun it'll be!!

Please leave a comment if you want to play!

~Kendra

Unwanted Days

2010-08-31T22:19:00.005-04:00

Well. Today has just not been good.

I was lonely.
I was distracted.
I felt very unwanted.

And realized something awful:

I'm trying my best at chemistry. And I'm still honestly confused.

This may sound arrogant, but I've never struggled in a school subject for any reason other than pure laziness. Sure, physical science and biology had their kick-my-butt moments, but that was because I'd gotten behind and shirked the work.

I'm completely caught up in chemistry. I've actually been putting in the time these first two weeks of school.

Yeah, only two weeks and I'm like O_o

*sigh* I don't know what to do. At least I'm actually trying. That oughta count for something in the end, right?

I wish the other parts of my life worked that way.

~Kendra

A Not-Too-Bad-for-a-Monday Day

2010-08-30T19:16:00.004-04:00

Hey! Please note THIS post :D It's about a Blog Scavenger Hunt. I think it'll be pretty awesome. We already have seven awesome bloggers who want their blogs to be part of the scavenger hunt!

If you want to be a part of the hunt, but just want to play, not have your blog involved, that's perfectly cool too! Leave a comment anywhere with a question or a comment and I'll add you to the growing list! I'm excited, y'all :)
~~~~~~~~~
Today, I worked mostly on American history, and philosophy. This is the first real history class I've had since elementary school, and it's amazing. The book I'm reading looks like this:
Seriously, that's it. A Patriot's History. It's actually that huge. It starts a little before Columbus discovered America, and delves deep into the details of our history. It's so well documented and researched that even the critics can't say anything against it. I think it should be a history textbook for everyone in the US. It's an amazing history education.

Philosophy is really cool. I loved it more than anything in 9th grade (if you've been following a while, you may remember MY EPIC POST on it), and I love it all over again this year. I think the book we read in 9th grade, Sophie's World was more interesting and explained things MUCH better though. I'm glad I had Sophie's World first, or I might not enjoy this philosophy class very much.

Every week in philosophy class, one of the students has to lead the discussion. Explain the chapter, ask philosophical questions, get the class involved. The catch? The teacher doesn't tell you who's gonna lead the discussion until about 4 seconds before you have to lead it. You just have to be prepared for it every week.

This week, I prepared MAJORLY. I worked on this thing almost all day. Aristotle is my faaaaaaavorite philosopher, and we studied him this week. I want to lead the discussion sooo badly, but I guess we'll just have to see what happens on Wednesday...

~Kendra

Blog Scavenger Hunt!

2010-08-29T18:55:00.005-04:00

So, I was just thinking the other day, and I had an interesting (and kind of awesome) idea. Guess what it is?

*looks disappointed* Oh. You read the title, huh?

Okay yeah. A blog scavenger hunt.

Picture this: If you want your blog to participate, tell me! I'll compile a list of the blogs, and then I'll publish the list, along with a clue leading to the first blog.

Lemme pick on Sam from One Sparkling Star. Let's say Clue #1 is "This blog is sparkly, and home of the first clue. Go find this blog, full of book reviews!"

To participate, you'd search the list of participating blogs and find the one that fits the description. Then (hypothetically, Sam has agreed to participate, haha), you go to Sam's blog and somewhere is the next clue, leading to another participating blog.

Once I get a list of all the blogs that want to participate, I'll start making up the clues. Then I can send the clues to the appropriate blogs and the blog author can post them anywhere on their home page, ready to be found :)

I'm sure awards would be involved somewhere... ;)

Of course, you'd need to make sure to find the clues in order :) Probably we'd just go with the honesty system there.

So what do you think? I think it'd be a fun game, and a good way to get lots of blog traffic.

Anyone interested? If you are at all, leave me a comment! You don't have to commit to it or anything, but questions, feedback...who's interested? Let me know! :)

~Kendra

Would you, please? :D

2010-08-26T13:28:00.003-04:00

Hey! Will you do this survey really quick? I think it's about 8 questions. There's really no reason in particular except that I really want to know what you think of ~Carpe Diem~!

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

Junior Year: Week 1

2010-08-23T21:43:00.004-04:00

~ Spanish
~ Shakespeare
~ Poetry
~ American History
~ Chemistry
~ Philosophy
~ Logic
~ Algebra

So far, Junior year is okay :) I'm hoping to bridge the Gap of the Cliques once and for all this year. You might think I've got my work cut out for me (and...well, maybe I do), but anything's possible.

I wanna try and not get behind or put off my work. So far, I'm doing pretty well, but today was pretty bad. I got a late start and couldn't seem to get motivated. Some personal stuff is giving me a lot of trouble lately. But hey, I am living and learning. (The laughing and loving are the hard parts right now.)

I made a sign in Spanish this afternoon, inviting my family to watch "Gone with the Wind" with me tonight. At least Momma and Daddy showed up :D I really do like that movie, even though it's a total downer. It's a really interesting story. Scarlet o'Hera fascinates me, Rhett Butler amuses me, Melanie Hamilton amazes me and Ashley Wilkes just disgusts me, but it's interesting, especially along with my American History class.

Other News
I missed soccer sign-ups for the first time in nine years.
At least dance starts in a couple of weeks.

I haven't felt that good today for some reason. Just generally pretty down about things and lacking the energetic motivation I had last week and through the weekend. I'm really stressed out. Hopefully things will be better tomorrow.

~Kendra