April 23rd 2012

          I feel so terrible that it's been so long since I've posted!!! I tried to write something last weekend, but I just got so busy GETTING MY WOHELO and stuff. It was such an awesome ceremony! An awesome week, really.
          Monday night we picked up Nate at the airport and got a room at the hotel right outside the parking lot. But since Nate had been sitting down for five hours, he wasn't really interested in going to bed right away. So we went hunting for Cosmo's, this really cool coffeehouse. The best part was that they had an amazing GF menu!! (Gluten-Free) I'm not GF, but my mom and Leo are. We hung out with our snacks playing scrabble for a few hours and it was really nice. Then we went back to the room and watched those really stupid prank'd shows that MTV shows really late at night til almost 2:00am.
          Tuesday we headed back home. Mom tried letting Nate drive, but living in Cali has turned him into a CRAZY driver!!! (Sorry Nate, if you're reading this, but it's true) So I drove the rest of the way. Once we got home, we took Nate to Dan's for dinner. You'd think this tiny town wouldn't have anything going for it, but it has got same delicious restaurants. Dan's is this amazing steakhouse, and we always get the same thing because their steak is sooo good. Except Leo, he doesn't like steak, so he gets a burger. After dinner we gave Nate the not so grand tour of our tiny town and stopped at our, admittedly, awesome park. We all played around for awhile and Nate got Leo to drop feet first into a giant mud puddle. It was pretty hilarious.
          Wednesday I had to work, that was pretty much the only reason we bothered coming back home instead of staying in town. So I went and did my thing, no big. We just kind of used Wednesday to get used to each other again. It was really nice that Nate and I weren't down each others throats like the last time we were together in the same state. Hopefully that means we can be friends or something instead of those siblings that are always fighting. Maybe. That gives me hope for Leo, maybe someday down the road we won't feel like spiting each other for fun.
          Thursday was mom and dads fifteenth anniversary, but they didn't get to see each other until late! Dad had to work and we left for town in the morning. We got to town in the early afternoon and went around running all the errands that needed running. We got Nate some dress shoes(really they were just nice sneakers, but they fit their purpose) we got Leo new shoes, mom got some new shoes. Everybody but me :( I'll live, lol. The majority of the afternoon was spent looking for the perfect gifts for my fellow Camp Fire seniors and Hope's WoHeLo gift! And we got a few other things, but I can't remember what they were. We went to mom and dad's friend's house for the night, which was nice. They have a son Nate's age who lives next door and they went and hung out for the evening. Their other son, that lives with them, is Leo's best friend, so he was occupied all night. I just popped in a Redbox and then went to bed.
          Friday mom and I split off from the boys and went to run the last last minute errands. For instance, mom needed nail supplies. Stuff like that. We couldn't check in to the hotel until 2:00pm, so we had a ton of time to kill. Sooooo, we went to Incredible Pizza! Incredible Pizza is like this pizza buffet(that makes GF pizza to order, no extra charge) that has a huge arcade! And they have daily deals you can get, like get $20 on a card and get a $10 bonus! So that's what we did. And let me tell you, we had a blast! Now, I play for tickets, so I ended up getting somewhere around 492. Since I'm not so into the prize counter, I just gave mine to my mom. She's got an account and she always saves her tickets. I don't know what she's going to spend them on, but she saves em! After we'd all had our fill of fun, we went and checked in to our hotel. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express right in the middle of town, so nothing was more than 20 minutes away! My father and Lisa got to town around 7:00pm, it was so fantastic to see them! It felt like Bennett and Winston hadn't changed at all! I helped them unpack and everything and we just chilled for a little while. then they were getting hungry, so I suggested we all go out to Village Inn!



More later, I promise! I just cannot finish right now :(

February 21st 2012

          Hey guys, I'm sorry. I know I keep promising a nice long post but I've been super busy trying to get all the details for my WoHeLo in order. I also got a letter from Antioch today stating that I have four days to complete my application by sending in my supplemental items. See, I sent those item sin two weeks ago. But lucky for me I've got a smart Mom who insisted on saving everything and putting it in my file. So I just spent the last hour scanning documents into the computer and emailing them off to Antioch. Hopefully that takes care of that. And if I don't get accepted, it's because I wasn't good enough not because of some dang technicality. I'm trying so hard not to get my hopes up. I really want to major in Psychology if I go to Antioch, but mom thinks I should go into Politics. I am pretty good at managing people and reputations. I don't know. Maybe I can minor in Psychology. Opinions??
          Today Leo had to go to town with Mom for his first ever standardized testing. And it's his worst subject. I feel kind of bad for him. But it must be done. Everyone does standardized testing at some point or another, it really isn't avoidable at this point in time.
          I had bought a Groupon for laser hair removal. I was going to get my bikini line done so I could say goodbye to awkward shower shaving at camp. But they don't have any available appointments that would work for me, so I returned it and got my $100 back. Now that money is going towards my DC conference. Mom and I counted it up, I've got my income tax coming soon, two paychecks, and two hundred in the bank. That's not enough to get the room by myself, but I just got an email stating that I am required to have a chaperone because I'm 17. Which sucks because I don't know anyone else who's going to this thing. And if I could split the cost of a room with someone, I could almost definitely afford it. I'm so thankful the board came up with the money for my flight because I can't imagine having to factor that in too.
          So I have to work this Sunday. But I have tons of meetings on Monday and Daddy has an interview in town at 10:00am. If he gets this job, we get to move back to town!!! But that's off subject right now. So Daddy's going to pick me up after work (8:00pm) and we're going straight to town. Then on Monday, I've got to do WoHeLo pictures at the park with Hope and the camp fire photographer, then I have my final board meeting, where they'll approve my WoHeLo and finalize everything, then I have my board meeting at which I'll be giving a presentation. So before I even go for my pictures, I need to print and fold 30 copies of my brochure, make sure my ceremonial attire is in order, and at some point in there I'd like to eat dinner.
          Don't let my stress fool you, I'm so freakin pumped for this! I'm ready to be done worrying about it and start celebrating! Hope and I will be presented at WoHeLoees at Camp Fire Birthday on March 3rd and I'm pretty sure we're supposed to be at the Adult Recognition Dinner. So they can fawn over us, lol! Susan says our only jobs after we get approved is to show up and look pretty! It kind of feels like we won a pageant or something! And so far I've invited all my friends, my father and Lili, my mom is flying down my big brother from California, we invited my Uncle Dean todasy when mom was on the phone with him. I hope his wife and daughters can come too, but I'd understand if they can't all come. Looks like I just might get some of my dream pictures! In your face mom! Never say never!!!
          I've only got to get 5 more hours on this last issue, and  I think it's going to be a piece of cake!
          That's all for now folks!

January 20th, 2012

           FIRST! Thank you Miss Aqua for reminding me to post! I would've procrastinated far longer without you! Can't wait for June!!
          Alright, alright. I know I've been slacking!! I'd like to say it's because I've been busy, but not really. Just slacking lol. BUT now I know why I really joined the National Youth Advisory Cabinet...they give me excuses to use glitter!!! We're each getting a quilt square in the mail and we get to decorate them however we want!! I'm probably using too many exclamation points, but I can't find it in myself to care. Exclamation points are like glitter...addictive. My poor friends don't share my opinions, so I don't get my glitter out as often as I really want too.           

          YAC's also got me thinking of idea's for Absolutely Incredible Kids Day. See, we have got really great incentive.  Our president, Lauren, came up with this 'master list' and for every YAC deed we do, we get a point. At the end of three months or so, she'll tally the points and send the winner a Camp Fire surprise! At last check I was tied for first. Take that Owen :P 

           In other news, I still haven't heard back on whether or not I got the travel/room/board scholarship for the Grad Nation Conference. It's driving me crazy! Because Camp Fire birthday is in March and I really need to know if I'll be in town for it because WoHeLo'ees are honored there, and it's my year! Of course, the summit is a huge deal and way more important; not that I wouldn't miss sticking a pie in Scouts face. That's another thing, At birthday, the WoHeLo'ees get to stick pies in the faces of people that get voted on all day. Scout usually gets one. 

          I was feeling kind of lost on my last WoHeLo issue, so I called up Swan* at the Camp Fire office for some advice. Now, she's in the middle of switching jobs, so I know she's super busy. Still at the CF office, just different responsibilities. Which is why I was so grateful to her for spending 35-40 minutes on the phone with me brainstorming. Of course, now I have a lot of work to do, but I'm happy for it. Because otherwise, all my hours for this issue would be blogging. Not that I have a problem with that, but the panel may raise a few eyebrows when I'm trying to get everything approved. I'm going to put together a whole 'curriculum' for a presentation on the benefits of homeschooling. I'm going to make a tri-fold brochure to give out for our kinesthetic learners. A power point for the visual learners; and of course my own notes for the auditory learners. My goal is to have something anyone can pick up, read through once, and deliver easily.

          I finally watched Footloose last night! It was amazing! I can't believe it took me that long to realize that Kevin Bacon and I are destined to be together? Lol, jk...mostly. Now I want to see the new one; just for a compare/contrast kind of thing. I think my favorite part is Ren trying to teach Willard to dance. Ren's face=perfect. 

          I guess one good thing about our new town is that everything is in walking distance. Compared to our old town where you may be able to walk somewhere, you just don't feel safe doing it. Leo and I go to the library all the time, sometimes we stop at Dairy Queen(that's another bonus, we didn't have a DQ back home). DQ and Sonic have the BEST banana splits ever! No one else has clued in on putting pineapples on ice cream yet!

          I have a board meeting and Leo has a CF meeting on Monday evening and on Tuesday, we're going to a good friends good-bye party. She's been a huge mentor to me, so I'm sad to see her moving away. But I know it's a great opportunity for her. I just hope she can come back in April for my WoHeLo, but I'll understand if she can't.

          I'm getting more and more excited for April! My dad and stepmom, Lili, are bringing my little brothers from Louisiana to come see me! Since I'm homeschooled, mom and I decided to make this my graduation. We're renting a room after the ceremony for my whole CF group to have dinner with our families. And either the day before or after, my whole family is going out for dinner. If you're one of my close friends, you know how much that means to me. One of my mom's friends is pretty handy with a camera, so I'm hoping he'll be there so I can get some quality pics with my whole family together. Oh! That reminds me! My big brother in CA is probably coming too! It feels surreal to think of all four of my brothers and all four of my parents in one place for ME! 

          While I'm in town on Mon/Tues I have a meeting with my homeschooling consultant so I can let her know how things are progressing; and of course invite her to Grand Council Fire. I also really want to stop at Old Navy because I need khaki pants for work on Thursday! I'm so excited to start!

          Toodles for now! I've run out of steam and it's almost time for dinner (Mom's meatloaf and baked potatoes...be jealous)

*name has been changed