Living the busy Life

Now that school has started back up for the year, it's back to busy-ness! Back to homework, back to less sleep, and back to trying to get everything done in what seems like a much shorter 24 hours. With jobs, school, and trying to have fun with friends and family, it seems like there's no time for anything else. All that laundry and house cleaning building up, just waiting until you finally have a free moment.

I know that many people have had full time jobs and gone to school full time, and have been successful at both. However, I'm just hoping that I can at least make it through this semester. I'm not even working full time, but it seems like I work all the time. I will be trying to do the best I can to achieve all A's this semester and keep my job.

Also, now that school has started, it's back to the volunteering regularly and doing things with Phi Theta Kappa. I'm so excited about getting started with all of our projects. Helping the community, our environment, and our school, feels so good. It's not just volunteer work, it's a whole lot of fun. Going out and picking up trash or cleaning some one's yard is actually really fun when you're with your friends.

Well, good luck to everybody as school starts again. I hope you all stay ahead of the game, and don't get bogged down in all the busy-ness.

It's getting to be that time of year again. School's almost out, the kids are getting anxious, not to mention the adults. And everything seems to go by faster, now that there's no snow to hinder our plans.

For me, there's only 15 days left of school. I'm really excited too. It's just too bad that these 15 days will be filled to the gills with homework, speeches, tests, and lots of memorization.

Once summer comes I will be really happy. Being outside all the time, instead of cooped up inside. I love to read, but you can only read so long and then you have to get moving. I'm really looking forward to riding my bike, swimming, even just sitting outside. Unfortunately, there's also the bad part of summer. The extremely hot weather, tornado season, and eventually school again.

This Thanksgiving break was one of my favorite holidays ever. After getting stuffed on turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and pie on Thursday, I had a great weekend. With a Thanksgiving dinner, with 15 people it was hectic in the house, but everyone got to eat. It was a great meal, and we had a lot to look foreward to, shopping on Friday. This Thanksgiving was the first time that I have ever gone shopping on black Friday. I didn't get up at 2:30 in the morning like some people, but I did get up at 4:00. We went to Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, and Shopko. There were some really great sales, and really long lines. Not just to get in the stores, but to check out too. At Shopko, we stood in line for 45 minutes just to check out. The line went all the way around the store! I don't think that I will be shopping on the day after Thanksgiving again.

On Saturday my family and I were going to see Wicked, the musical. We spent half the day walking around The Mall of America, looking at all the cool stores. The we took the light train to the theatre. That was a really cool experience, because I have never been on a light train before. The play itself was really good, just as good as when I saw it in New York. I found myself singing along with all of the songs. In New York, we went to a workshop and learned the moves to one of the dances. As I watched the play, I thought, " That dance is way more difficult, than they make it look." I know that they're professionals, but those dances are still difficult. I can't wait to go and see it again one day. I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving

This week we are celabrating a holiday dedicated to giving thanks. Many people will be traveling to share this time with family, and some will be at home hosting dinner. One thing we all have in common, is whether we acknowledge it or not, we all have something to be thankful for. Some people are bursting with thankfulness, and some are not. Yet, most everyone celebrates this day for giving thanks.
This Thanksgiving I am going to my Aunt and Uncle's house for dinner. It is going to be a lot of fun. We're going to have Wii bowling tournaments, and a lot of different games. But, at the end of the day, we're still going to be thankful, thankful for the time that we got to spend together.
Then on Friday we are going shopping, on Black Friday. What are we thinkging? The after Thanksgiving sales are crazy, and this will be my first time shopping them. I used to think that it would be a lot of fun, but the past few years a lot of people have gotten hurt, so now I'm not so sure. It will be very interesting. On Saturday I am going to the Off Broadway musical, Wicked. This will be the second time that I have seen this musical. I'm excited to compare the Off Broadway, and Broadway musicals. I'm sure they're not too different, but I'm still really excited, and my mom and sister have a chance to see it too. I think I'm more excited for them than I am for me.
This Thanksgiving I have a lot to be thankful for. Like the fact that I am able to go to college, in order to get a better education. And that I have a roof over my head and food in my belly, and a family who cares about me. It is at this time of year that all the food drives are starting up. So that people less fortunate than me can have a good Thanksgiving meal. I am thankful for the opportunity to help them, because someday I might be one of those people. You can never tell what will happen in the future, but it wouldn't hurt to start planning today. I hope that everybody has a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving Day!

New York

This past March I was able to go to New York with my high school band and choir. We fund raised for three years and were finally able to go on this trip. We left on a Monday after school, then the next day after 18 hours on a cramped bus, we were finally there. We were able to visit the Rockerfeller center, Madison Square Gardens, Ground Zero, Midevel Times, Wicked, The Blue Man Group, and the Statue of Libery and Ellis Island.

The Rockerfeller Center was really cool. We got the grand tour, and even learned how the stages worked. We got to see what it was like to have enough money for a balcony seat, equipped with a kitchenette. ANd while we were there Aretha Franklin was supposed to be there practicing! How cool! When we got to the bathrooms, most of us were taking pictures instead. The bathroom there is huge. It had a sitting room, a make-up room, a bathroom, and a washroom. My whole house could have fit inside this bathroom. It was also very intricat, with painting on the walls of women throughout the ages. We even got to interview and take pictures with a Rockette!

When we went to Ground Zero, it was a very special experience. There is an area where you can see into Ground Zero, but you don't really see much. My friends and I went into the World Financial Building across the street. We were able to go up to the second floor and see into Ground Zero. Even though I didn't know anyone personally who was lost on 9/11 it was still very emotional. We were all crying by the time we left 20 minutes later.

We went to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island by boat, I suppose the only way you can get there. Seeing the Statue of Liberty in person was so cool. In the movies the Statue always looks a lot smaller than it actually is. Then we went to Ellis Island. There are so many artifacts from when it was still open. It is fascinating to learn what happened to all of those people, it is sad too when you think about it. All of the tests these people were put through when they got to America, how horrible it must have been to arrive here and then have to hop on another ship and go back. But, the people who passed inspection had to go through a lot in order to stay. There were so many rooms, filled with facts, and beds, wheelchairs, eating utensils, and other things that these people used so many years ago.

Midevel Times was a lot of fun. Even though it smelled really bad

because of all of the horses, it was still a lot of fun. We got to watch a really funny and somewhat serious show. We had to cheer for "our" knight. And we had to eat with our hands. We got soup, half a chicken, and a dessert. By the end of dinner, I was very glad that I didn't have to eat with my hands all the time. Here is the Prince and Princess, along with the fanfare trumpeters. Those guys were awsome, I can't play like that when I play my trumpet.

The part of the trip that I liked the most was going to Wicked, we even got to go to a special workshop and learn some of the dances that they do in the musical. I'd heard a lot of people talking about Wicked, but never really looked into it. I found it very enjoyable. It was a lot of fun and, a great experience. I could watch Wicked over and over and still enjoy it. My whole trip was a lot of fun and I would go back anytime. But, I would never live there, way too much traffic and noise for me. But I had a good time.

Snow

Snow is angelic, snow is a delight.

Especially when falling all day and all night.

It fills the ground, it fills the sky.

Children love it, but why?

Children play, and children show,

all the delight they find in snow.

Today the snow started falling at about 10:30. I really love to watch the snow fall, because it is so peaceful. A lot of adults that I know don't like snow that much. Mostly because of the driving conditions when it's around. Even though I have never driven in the winter, and I don't think that it will be fun, I am still happy that the snow is starting to arrive. Soon, all over the area we will begin to see children bundled up, with only their eyes showing, to go out and play in the snow. A child sees many delightful ways the snow can entertain.


Snowmen and women will be constructed in many front and back yards. As you go past school playgrounds, you will see large snowballs, lined up to make the biggest fort. You'll see snow angels dotting the ground. All of these show how much children love snow, even though they'll come in with runny noses, and cold hands. Only to expect a cup of hot cocoa or hot apple cider. That is what I look forward to most as a kid, the hot chocolate!
I hope that everyone has fun in the snow, but is also safe and mostly warm.

Winter

The leaves have fallen off the trees, and are laying on the sidewalks and roads. This seems almost impossible knowing that just a week or two ago they were just starting to fall. The weather is starting to grow colder and colder, and soon we will be hobbling around bundled up against the snow and the cold. I love winter, but sometimes it can be a big downer.
The reason I love winter is because you can go out into the snow, and almost forget the business of the world around you. When I go outside to play with my sister, I end up making snow angels. After a few minutes, I am just laying there. Listening to everything around me. It sounds so peaceful, I almost wish I could just stay there forever. Too bad I can't, otherwise I'll freeze.
There are some unpleasant things about winter too. The most unpleasant is the shoveling. All that back-breaking work. When you don't have a snow-blower you have to rely on your shovel, and that can take forever. Another unpleasant aspect is the driving in it. I have only had my driver's license since August, so this will be my first winter driving with the snow. I am a little nervous about all the way to LaCrosse from Sparta, but I will learn to live with it and learn to drive more carefully. Even though these are unpleasant, I still really like winter, and am excited to see it come.