Sun? Is that you?

So, this winter has been exceptionally frigid. Apparently it has something to do with the polar vortex. Now normally I can handle cold pretty well, I'd actually rather be cold than hot, but I don't think that anyone likes to wait at a bus stop when it is -12 degrees Fahrenheit!

But today was lovely, it was 50 something degrees in the afternoon and Mom and I could actually go without coats! Sadly we had to run errands in town and didn't get to be outside for very long. (We did however buy me a new coat and an Easter dress, so that makes up for it!) But we took advantage of the weather when we got home, sitting on the porch with our books. It was wonderful! And most of next week is supposed to be just as warm, if not warmer!

Oh! I almost forgot! Look at my new shoes! they were delivered yesterday, after a few ordering complications.

They are from Tigerbear Republik, a small company based in China, I believe. These shoes have amazing details, and they are super comfortable! The interior has sugar skull fabric in it! The soles are orange, I just forgot to photograph them.

Well, my flute isn't going to practice itself!

Snowy Days

Last night it started snowing, just little flurries but enough to see in the street lamps. Then the call came that they had canceled school for today, Mom and I did a victory dance, much to Dad's amusement. When I got up this morning there was quite a lot of snow already, maybe five inches. It kept snowing for most of the day, creating some really quite beautiful scenes.

 (All of these photos are from last year, I didn't have any photos from today/this year. This year it looks kind of like those photos, maybe a little less deep, though I'm not quite sure, as I haven't been out of the house yet.)
Mom and I spent today watching movies and baking homemade "Oreos". We plan to spend some time tomorrow organizing our basement and scrap booking. And maybe, if we're feeling adventurous, we'll go outside and play. but we will definitely be bringing Muddy (our dog) inside, even though, being the spoiled dog she is, she has a huge house with heated carpet!

Around four or five this evening, the call came that school was canceled for tomorrow as well!
I know that many people don't care for the snow, and I don't if I have to go anywhere, but when there is a lot of snow and we can just stay home, I really love the snow. It is beautiful and magical.
So tell me, how much snow have you had this winter? How do you feel about snow? What are your favorite snow day activities?

I'm Back!

Hello guys, I'm back! I'm sorry for the gap, I discovered Doctor Who and have only recently emerged from the time vortex. Or something like that, but we'll go with that. I know that I've tried (and failed) to write this blog twice before. ( a fact I'm not proud of) So I'm not promising a lot, I'm a 7th grade girl. I have homework and other stuff that will come before this blog. But I'll try to post approximately once a week.
So today to get started I'll do a little updating: I'm now 13 and in 7th grade at Prairie Hills Middle School.

I love theater, and was involved with my school's drama club this past fall. Over the summer I took horseback riding lessons and loved them!

I got to ride a lovely mare named Fanny, and she was wonderfully patient!

Last spring I participated in Product Fair, a fair for students in the gifted program. My project was about my ancestry, my great-great grandmother wrote a book so that her decendents would know where we came from. Her family left their homeland when she was not much older than I am! It was truly fascinating!

Last September, when the state fair came to town, I got to ride a camel!

And I also got a henna tattoo!

Both experiences were wonderful!

This next photo is what I wore when we went out to eat for my birthday:

And this is my dog Muddy's favorite place in the world, on my beanbag chair, with my comforter, with her favorite toy:

Okay, I think that's about it for tonight. I do have school in the morning after all.  Sorry for all the pictures, I wanted to make sure I didn't forget anything. Thanks for sticking with me, dear readers!

Steamy!

You guys! Guess what I am! I ...(pausing for dramaticleness...) Am a fashion designer! Well, at least for today. I get to explain what steampunk is, to the colorguard costume designers. So I looked up pictures and explained a lot! I present it to them this afternoon. And right after I'm done with that, I am being picked up by my Grandma and I get to help wrangle kittens for their first check-up. The good thing is that while they are mousers they are only like, 10 weeks old and very cuddly! And on a completely random note, the other day at a friend's softball game my camera died! I'm lucky I have a memory card so I didn't lose everything. The other day Mom bought me a new watch because my other one finally died. This one is waterproof up to 165 feet below the surface and has like five other features! So yesterday I wore it to the pool and was timing my friends with the stopwatch feature! This watch rocks! All I hoped for was a cheap one so I could tell what time it is! And then I got this one! YAY!! Oh, and by the way, ya know how long my hair was? ...(crickets)... I got it cut and donated it to charity! well, I'd better go play with the rat before I smell like kittens!

Elephant Project

So I have this little toy elephant calf, and the other day I had an idea... I would take it with me (Along with my camera of course!) when I went somewhere, and take pictures of the elephant in poses. My elephant still needs a name and a makeover. (hello spray paint!, and plastic jewels!) And speaking of going places, today Dad, Mom and I went to Wilson Lake and Mushroom Rock. Here Mom and I are beside Wilson Lake:

Bad day to wear a skirt on my part. (It was VEERRY windy!) Here I am on top of really big boulder:

And here I am on top of another big rock:

(I just love that outfit:), kinda' quirky!) And here is Mushroom Rock itself:

I'll have more photos next time, after I empty out the media card on my camera. They will probably be random and date back to Christmas. Don't you just love me and my random photos? :)

Snakes Alive!

So the other day, mom and I were in the garden and suddenly we spotted at least seven snakes poking their little heads out of the railroad ties that border our garden. Mom freaked out! It was so funny! OOH! And while we're on the subject of snakes, once I was face to face with a black mamba! Well,I guess it was behind glass but still. It was in a whole building full of snakes, lizards and bugs in tanks. I've even had a few pet snakes, most of them caught around my house or out at my dad's shop. this is a garden dwelling garter snake:

Well, I have an erupting model volcano to build, so (Sigh!!) Bye for now!

I Have Weird Pets!

OK, my dog Muddy just swallowed a drumstick, whole! She didn't even chew! This morning was city dog registration, Muddy freaked out! She doesn't like strangers, or needles, and especially not strangers with needles!

I believe I said in my last post that I would share some rodent pictures, so here they are!

The one in front is Nikki.(Isn't she pretty?) The one in the back is Maggie.(deceased) Nikki's favorite thing to do when I get her out of her cage, is to sit on one of my shoulders in my hair.

So on a slightly connected note, I am in the gifted program. So every year I do this thing called product fair, and this year my theme is fancy (domestocated) rats as pets. I made a movie and some posters! Usually we all give speeches in front of a audiance of parents, other family members, and teachers. We are judged on how well we present our topic of choice, but this year we are eliminating the speeches. Making it a talk to people as they go by sort-of thing!