Ladeda

Well, dad's officially home from his train trip. We went to his place a little early because of that, so we left ma's Friday after school. Spent a lovely Saturday doing nothing (that's actually what made it lovely). Dad asked me Sat night if I'd drive him to Santa Rosa Sunday to take pics of some houses (the life of a real estate agent isn't all too glamorous), 'cause he wasn't feeling good. I wasn't feeling to bad about not going until he mentioned that he'd pay me for it.

Oh dear, you poor thing....can I get you some asprin to take care of that cold?

So ya, I drove down to Santa Rosa Sunday morning. Pulled into the Burger King parking lot around 10, and went in to eat breakfast. We came back out half an hour later, only to realize that the car wouldn't start. Joyful. The rest of the day went as follows.

10:30- car wouldn't start. Dad begins pondering just what can be done to remedy the situation.

10:40- after walking around the parking lot looking for a place that sold car batteries, we run into a guy at an oil changing place that offered to give us a jump.

11:00- After many failed attempts at jumping it, the guy gives up and leaves.

11:05- an older guy from BK who had been watching our futile attempts to jump the car from the battery in the trunk (BMW's are odd cars), he informs us that you can also jump it from the front and we might have more luck that way.

11:15- Guy from the oil place comes back, having figured out the same thing that had just come to our attention. He attempts to give us another jump, but of course it doesn't work.

11:30- Guy gives up again, and leaves. Dad is on the phone for most of the duration with Carol, trying to figure out plan A's and B's and C's...

11:45- Dad calls a taxi to take us to a Kragen store down the road a couple miles.

11:55- taxi shows up.

12:10- We get to Kragen...I'm pretty sure that the driver took the long way around, to tell the truth.

12:20- We walk out of the store with a new battery and head back to BK.

12:40- Dad plugs in the new battery, and I try to turn the car on, but still no dice. Dad gives in and calls a tow truck. He is told it will take about 45 minutes.

1:30- Dad gets a call that the company has just found a tow truck to send for us. It'll be there in about 45 minutes.

2:15- Tow truck finally shows up and loads up the car to take us to the BMW dealership which is the only place that can work on it.

2:30- We get to the BMW place and hang around for a bit while dad fills out the form and drops off the keys and calls (yet another) taxi.

2:45- A turquoise Scion (the toaster car) pulls into the parking lot, and we're pretty surprised to realize it's our taxi.

3:00- We are checked into a hotel just a few minutes away, within walking distance of a few stores and a couple fast food restaurants. And there's officially nothing more to do.

We just bummed around for the rest of the day. I pretty much reached my all time high of movies watched in one day.

Anyway, we got a rental the next day and went around to go take pictures of those blasted houses. Got done 'round five ish and headed back home.

Yesterday was our Nevada County Choir Festival thing...We had our Concert choir, all of Bear River's choirs, and the choirs from the junior highs in the area. It wasn't very enjoyable on my part to have to listen to Bear River sing like the little kids...I mean, cute little kids singing all squealy is kinda cute, but once you pass about 6th grade, it's just not appealing. Aaaand that's all I'm gonna say 'bout that.

And today was Wednesday...a collab day, meaning we got to start at 8:20 instead of 7:25. It's good stuff. I got to go to school late. It was wonderful. But not really worth it. Collab days are kinda fun to get there on time and just hang around with friends for an hour before school. And, of course, finish unfinished homework...

Well I'm off. Apparently blogs have been stocking themselves up for me to read. I've gotta see if I can catch up on all of 'em.

Livin' on the edge

I have officially done something illegal. I drove without taking the driving lessons that actually validate my permit. Got to drive the whole two miles to meeting, then to Auburn (where we went shopping...woot!), then home from gosple meeting. I'm proud to say that I didn't hit a thing. =) Aren't you proud of me? I am.

Anyway, I woke up at 7:30 this morning, after dreaming that I was actually going to go to Ireland...Realized that I really really want to go, no matter how sure I am that it's not going to happen. I'll just make my friends take a whole bunch of pictures and stuff, I guess. So I got up and worked on Sierra's blanket for quite a while (looks awesome so far, btw) and got ready for meeting around 9 or so. We left at quarter after ten...meeting lasted half an hour.

Dropped off an older lady at her house, rather than make her son come out to get her, stopped by home for lunch, and set out again for Auburn where we ran by Styles For Less looking for some clothes for Steph. She walked out with a very cute dress and a jacket. I held two bags containing two sweaters, two tank tops, a pair of boots, a duster, and a pair of jeans. So we tried Ross. She managed to find a pair of jeans, two dresses and a sweater. I got two more dresses and a t-shirt. I almost got two t-shirts, but decided that I should restrain myself a little bit. It was a whole bunch of fun.

Gosple meeting was great. John Vandenburg showed up for some reason and spoke for the second half of the meeting. I love how he speaks. I could honestly listen to him for hours. I was pretty disappointed when we had to walk out of there. Except that I got to drive. That made it a little better.

Anyway, Laura's coming over tomorrow. Pretty excited. I asked ma if she could bring her bro too, but she vetoed that. I think she got the idea that things would be exciting enough with just the two of us. Anyway, we're gonna make cookies and cinnamon rolls. If we have time, maybe danishes. I dunno. They take time.

Found a new book recently, reviewed by the Barton clan...called Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl. Good book. Read it now. =)

List

This is mom's fault. She told me to. And good little girl that I am, I couldn't refuse. =) (did I get any brownie points there ma?)


My Favorite Things

-Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens (You saw that coming right?)
-Finding things that have been lost for ages (such as money, certain David Lanz books, and articles of clothing)
-Getting comments on my blog
-People asking me to sit by them on the bus (yes I know that sounds conceited, but it makes me feel special, so get over it =P)
-Staying home all day with nothing to do and planning out exactly what you're NOT gonna do all day.
-Doing unexpected things for people
-Heated mattress pads (aMAZing)
-Rain
-Walking in the rain
-Getting to wear my cute "cold weather" outfits when it's raining. =)
-Chinese food
-Talking about nothing with people who don't care that you're talking about nothing (that would be why Sierra and I have hour long conversations...)
-Getting messages in my Truth Box on MySpace
-Actually being witty once in a while (doesn't happen much)
-Finding a really good sale on clothes that are actually worth buying
-Getting my homework done on a day that it actually gets checked (which isn't very often...kinda makes me wonder why I do homework at all, honestly)
-Going to tons and tons of conventions every year (I made it to five this year, plus 3 special meetings in a row! I'm pretty much saint-like as of now)


Methinks that's it. Happy ma? =)

Just call me gimpy.

Thursday we did all sorts of aerobic-y stuff in aerobics...including weights and all that jazz. I woke up yesterday fully expecting to be sore, but myuch to my surprise, I wasn't. Then, later in that very same day, we played wiffle ball. A game in which I squng a plastic bat about 4 times, and ran through the bases once. Well this morning, I woke up and I'm definitely incredibly sore. Apparently my body hasn't realized that it was supposed to be sore YESterday. It's just a little behind I guess.

Anyway, today was the first day of our four-day weekend. I still haven't changed out of my PJs, and I honestly don't intend to until tomorrow morning when I actually have to. I spent the majority of my day sitting in a recliner crocheting. I managed to get a ton done, but seeing as this particular project was supposed to be a birthday present from back in August, I can't really feel good about that...it's already waaay late. But it looks really really really cool so far. I shall post a pic of it when I'm finished. I highly recommend looking forward to that...it shall be a momentous occasion. =)

Elections

I promise, I'm not turning into one of those people who rant and rave about anything Obama/McCain, but there have been some things that just bugged me.

So I was checking my MySpace, since I have extra time this morning (yay for collaboration days!)and I was reading through the bulletins from yesterday that were posted after I went to bed, and, I kid you not, 80% of them were related to Obama's win. Some people were moaning and groaning about it, and others, well, you can guess that there was a little bit of gloating...

So I almost posted a bulletin telling 'em all to "shuddup", but I figured it would be safer to do it on here, where only a fraction of them will actually be able to read it.

Yup, I can definitely claim to a few common sense genes. Once in a while.

So as for my "Shuddup" rant, here goes.

Yes, Obama won. McCain lovers, stop whining. There's nothing you can do about it now. (There never really WAS anything to do about it, actually. It's not like you could run in and change all the votes around...) Obama people, yes, your guy won. Have your little moment of victory and then (ahem) "shuddup"! I am thoroughly fed up with listening to everyone's different views on everything, especially when those views are apparently the only thing that's even worth listening to, according to the mouth that's spewing them out at a rapid pace. Granted, there are a couple people who I actually enjoy talking with about this kind of thing, but they're few and far between, so I'd much rather just not. So McCain's old. Who cares? That means he's got more all-around experience than a lot of people. Obama's a smooth talker. Whether or not that's a good thing, we'll just have to wait and see, don'tcha think?

There's no point in fretting about what's gonna happen with Obama in the White House. What will happen, will happen, and there's nothing we do that's going to change the decisions he makes. So then what if he ends up like Bush? With people hating him for a decision we all thought was good in the first place but ended up not as beneficial as we thought? Everyone will automatically forget that it was them that voted him into office and that they all worshipped the ground he walked on while he was running (no pun intended).

Anyway, we'll just see what happens.

(How's that for anti-climatic?)

Some days are stupid days

If only for the reason that I myself act stupidly. And today was one of those days. But oddly enough, I was only completely stupid once. But I've been thinking about how stupid of a stupid moment it was.

Anyway, I blame it on the fact that I didn't dress down for P.E. I met up with Joe (the only guy currently enrolled in 6th period Aerobics) as he came out of choir, and we walked to the girl's locker room, where I ran inside to ask Rhoden where we were going that day. (The wrestling gym where we normally go is being taken over by Freshmen for the time being. psh) Turned out, it was in the gym right next to the locker room, so I went out and informed Joe, and we very joyously walked the ten feet to the door (neither of us had been looking forward to going to the Ali Gym much). It was locked, so we stood outside and talked a bit, and then, he had to go and ask for my number. And, wuss that I am, I couldn't even come up with a good excuse NOT to give it to him! (I almost claimed to have forgotten, but again, I'm a wuss. I just can't do that to people. Gah.) So I typed it into his phone and, as is courtesy, gave him my phone to do the same. But I'm kinda thinking he got the wrong idea. So now I feel bad.

Anyway, aside from that, I had a pretty good day. Sat next to Kevin upon his request on the way home. It was a rare occurance...normally I sit with Laura, who happens to be his sis. I kinda blew up at a guy who sat behind us who kept messing with Kevin (he may be a Freshman, but he's MY freshman! lol). I almost called him a pedofile but settled for homo. He's just a creepy dude. And then Kevin asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I realized that I have no idea. I think I might just tell people (at school anyway) to make me cards. I feel bad getting Christmas presents from people I'm not related to.

Anyway, I got home and messed around on the puter for a bit. Showed Laura some really funny Jeff Foxworthy clips. And Achmed. It amazes me how many people haven't heard of him! And now I'm writing this. So I'm gonna head now. But you gotta watch this clip. It's pretty much hysterical.

I'm grumpy.

And I hate being grumpy. It makes me grumpier. And the worst part is, I don't even have a reason to be grumpy. I actually sang that song from the Oklahoma musical called "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" as I walked to the bus stop, even though it was cloudy, and hardly morning, considering the sun hadn't even started coming up.

Anyway, the only things I can think of that could've made me grumpy were

-Loftis and his "teaching"...honestly, lawyers shouldn't be allowed to teach anything.
-Clarissa and her incessant whiny voice asking me over and over again to help her with math problems that I hadn't even gotten to and then complaining when I couldn't. And then coming back for more help.
-Mr. Hoover and his fourth grade teaching methods. And this idiotic book called Into the Wild that I pretty much finished forever ago, but the class is only half-way done, so I'm not allowed to read my own book while they read.
-It was cloudy all day, but it didn't rain, which is always frustrating.
-I had a headache (but I'm pretty sure it was caused by Clarissa's voice. It's shrill. Kinda makes you wanna kill yourself.)

These are things that I encounter most days, but somehow, it made me really grumpy. And I'm having a hard time not being grumpy. And I still have homework to do. That's not helping at all. I kinda sorta want to just stay home tomorrow and sleep, but then I'd get all behind with assignments and I'd have to explain to everyone why I wasn't at school, and of course, sleeping in isn't a very good excuse, so I'd have to fancify it every time someone asked. I just don't have the energy for that.

Anyway, we're headed up to a Halloween get together at the Fleck's tomorrow night. Should be fun. And there will be sugar. (I know this, 'cause we're providing it =])So I'm gonna go finish homework now. And I'm gonna make brownies. Maybe they'll cheer me up.

Yup...just the thought is making me happy already!

Well, I hope mom lets me. I just made a batch the other day...

Geeze. This time it's been Shawna bugging me to blog, which is just stupid. She's in Montana! She pretty much isn't allowed to bug me anymore! Grr. =P

Well, this is the first week back from Fall Break. Half of it was spent at Dads, but Thursday after my cello lesson we went down to the Cruz's for a while. It ended up being until Sunday evening after we got back from Fresno Special Mtg. (my third, btw. That on top of the five conventions I had this year leaves me feelin' pretty angelic =]) It was a lot of fun. Steph had a blast taking care of Baby Ruben (Julie sure enjoyed it too. She's had enough changing diapers to last her a lifetime) and entertaining Vanessa, who's now, very proudly, 3 and a half. Marlissa and I hung out a bit, playing the piano and reading books and making pumkin bread and cleaning the kitchen (only to have it messed up five minutes later by rampaging kids). Saturday was Julie's birthday, so Alicia and Steph made a cake by a recipie that Julie had set out on the counter after saying very pointedly that it was a very good recipie. I personally think that too many years of living with young kids will leave a person without the ability to hint subtly. It's probably best to just say what you mean straight out and not have to worry about whether they understood your inference or not. Of course, that might be a problem either way, but still...

As a side note, I now officially have two Aunt Julie's. The one mentioned above is the second as of last week. For some reason, every time I said her name I would put an "Aunt" before it, automatically thinking of the origional Aunt Julie in Montana. After a day or two of constantly correcting myself, I just decided to call her Aunt. It's just easier. She didn't mind, and technically, she's a step-aunt, so it's all good. =)

So now we're back at school. It's insanely dumb. I have gotten waay too used to sleeping in, so now I keep feeling like I'm way behind. Which is definitely not the case. I go to bed pretty early. Anyway.

Made brownies last night. They were scrumptious. Now they're gone. It's odd how food disappears faster with only three of us at home than it did with five or six. Some part of me wants to say that it's because of Kirstyn following us around as we ate accusing us of adding poundage to our posteriors, but I probably shouldn't. She might come back and start doing it again. =)

Got a new guy in our aerobics class. He just switched in from the seventh period aerobics. Feel kinda bad for him, 'cause he's the only guy in there. Except the TA's. But they spent their time doing backflips onto big squishy foam blocks. Hmm.

I'm officially not going to Ireland. Those of you who have been on MySpace would actually know that. I've decided to save my money for a car and the trip to Ireland that mom wants to take in a couple years to go over for convention. I figured it would be a little wiser to stay home.

Anyway, I'm off now. Even though I've got nothing to do.

Well, I have been officially reprimanded by my mother for that last post of mine, and I'm sure to get another tounge lashing the next time Sierra gets on the computer too, so I should prolly do a decently lengthed post.

Well, It's the second day of fall break and boredom already ensues. Sunday was Sacramento's special meeting, which was cool, because there were people there from the other field that I hadn't seen in pretty much ages. (That would be the Cruz's) So I made plans with Julie Cruz to be kidnapped sometime this week for boredom's sake. I think that little event is planned to happen Thursday after my cello lesson.

Today and yesterday, I've been working out in the yard, blowing leaves, stacking wood, and generally making my muscle-less arms really sore while setting to work with a pair of clippers. I managed to scare myself pretty badly as I was trimming up some vines that had somehow made it over the fence. I was almost done, so I was trying to hurry it up a bit and I was just hacking through at it, when I realized I had just unearthed a pretty large wasp nest. Red alert...abandon post...mmk, run. So I almost did...and then I realized I was standing right in front of a wood pile. So I almost tripped. But I didn't. I just hastened in a very un-graceful fashion. Anyway, I didn't get myself stung. Good stuff.

So tomorrow is my music lesson...not really sure what to expect from it...so we'll see. Thursday is my cello lesson. It'll be interesting to try and fit that thing into Dad's dinky car. Oh well.

Anyway, I think that's gonna be the end of this post, 'cause I've got a headache that isn't really being helped by staring at a computer. So ta for now. =)

Ok fine...

Here ya go Sierra. I posted.

=)