Christmas Time is Here!

We have finally reached my favorite time of year! Christmas fills me with the most amazing feeling, and I wouldn't trade that "Christmas Cheer" for anything in the world. I love how everyone is so much happier when it comes to the holidays. People spend more time going out of their way to help people out, and give gifts to one another. Even the snow is great around Christmas time. Snuggling up in a warm blanket with hot cocoa, and watching all the wonderful holiday season movies. One of my favorites is called "Holiday Inn." It has great music, and is one of the cheesiest movies you have ever watched. I don't care though, because it puts me in the Christmas mood, and makes me cheery. Christmas music seems to make all the bad things of the world go away, because it is so catchy and fun. 

Our house is already filled with every decoration possible. We wake up bright and early on the day after Thanksgiving to take out all of the things we haven't seen since the year before. There is garland with berries and pine cones down all the banisters, and along the hearths. Poinsettia flowers are in every space possible, and then holly berries are everywhere! Each window has a wreath with two candles beneath it, so at night all you can see are the lights on the house, and the candles. We also have little singing penguins, and snowmen that burst into song every time you press the button. I love being in my house around Christmas time, because it always smells like cinnamon, and there is just a warm cheer in the air. 

I know all of this sounds incredibly cheesy and over the top, but I really do enjoy the holiday time of year. It always ends up being so short, and so I try to make the most of it while it is here. Our family does a Sub-for-Santa family each year for a family in need. We also like to do the "12 days of Christmas." For a family that lives near us. Christmas makes me realize all the things that I have, and how blessed we truly are to live where we live.

Something that I thought was really funny was this "Blizzard of the Century" that was supposed to be coming our way. The news reporters made it sound like it truly was going to be the end of the world, and it obviously wasn't. There was a blizzard today that was just as bad, or maybe even worse than the one on Tuesday. They canceled almost every school activity possible. Even at the end of school, Mr. Davis came onto the intercom to tell us that we needed to get home and out of the building as soon as possible. I was so excited to be inside and watch the snow land on the ground, and then by about 6:00 it was over. Oh well, I guess it will be a good memory to have. 

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving...Right Around the Corner!

It is so sad that Thanksgiving is so often overlooked, because it is a great holiday. I am usually one of the people that skips over it, and moves right on to Christmas. This year I realized that Thanksgiving is a really great time, and I have a lot to be thankful for.

Every year at my house, we do what we call a "Thankful Pumpkin." During the month of November we write down what we are thankful for, and then proceed to put the papers in a porcelain pumpkin. The week of Thanksgiving we draw them out of the pumpkin, and read them. This is a great tradition at our house, and I hope it continues.

Another tradition that we have been doing for two years running is that we have a "Pie Night." Most of you know that by the end of dinner on Thanksgiving you're just too full to fit pie in. We thought it would be clever to have a night where we invite over all of our neighbors to have pie on Thanksgiving Eve. Everyone brings a pie to share, and we have a lot of fun. The bad part about it is that we have to deliver all of the fliers to people's houses...miserable. We had to do it tonight in the below freezing weather! I sure hope it will be worth it in the end.  

We usually go over to my grandma and grandpa's house for Thanksgiving, but this year they are going to be gone in St. George. All my cousins are leaving too since my grandparents aren't going to be here. We thought it would be fun to have some people from our neighborhood over. We have a lady that's from Guam, and so she is going to bring some dishes that originated there. It should be a fun Thanksgiving, because it's different than what we usually do.

This past weekend I was in our school's Dinner Theater. It was everything Shakespeare, and it was an absolute blast. During all of the practices I started to think that it wouldn't be worth it, and man was I wrong! My part was Kate from "The Taming of the Shrew." I had a ton of fun with it, and loved to get into character. We were required to talk in our British accents for all three shows. Once the shows were over it was really hard to get out of the habit. I made some really great memories, and I am really glad I got the chance to experience it.

Another great thing about it is now i understand a lot more Shakespeare. We were able to learn about a variety of different plays that Shakespeare wrote, and it was actually interesting. It's really cool when you finally understand a certain line or phrase. His language is so different from ours today, but I loved learning about it. I am really happy I was given the opportunity to participate in this great show!

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving break! Then after that comes Christmas!

Harry Potter...Can't Wait!

I have recently realized that I really enjoy the Harry Potter movies! I've only read the first three books, and half of the fourth one but they're so good. The reason I stopped reading them is because they scared me to death. I would have nightmares, and it just never turned out too good. The fourth one got dark pretty suddenly, so I decided I might try reading them at a later date. The part I thought was scary was when Harry has the dream at the very beginning about Voldemort. It's been three years since I put that book down, and I have yet to pick it back up. Maybe when I don't have any books that I need to be reading.

Something that I thought was very interesting about Harry Potter is that the name Voldemort actually has some meaning to it. The root volde means jump in French, and mort means death. This means that Voldemort was able to jump over death.

The movie comes out this next week on Thursday night, and I am so excited. My friend and I are going to the premiere at 12:01 at Tinseltown. Yesterday we watched the sixth one to get ourselves ready and excited for the seventh movie. The only bad thing is that I have to go to school the next day, because I can't miss math.

I'm a little bit of a wimp when it comes to scary movies, so I'm hoping I don't get too creeped out. Even the sixth one makes me a little nervous, especially all the Death Eaters. The end of the sixth one tricks you into liking Malfoy. It makes you feel so bad for him that he doesn't really have a choice, and that he has to kill Dumbledore or else he'll be killed by Voldemort.

It's so funny to watch the first movies, and see how little all the actors are. Especially the three main characters. They all still have their baby chub, and by the end of the series they're all grown up. I think the producers did a great job with picking the cast, and they seem to resemble my imaginary characters from when I was reading the book. I just wish that the first Dumbledore wouldn't have died, because I don't like the new one as much. It's funny that a lot of the people that act in these movies probably won't be in any others, because they will only be thought of as playing that certain character. This will definitely be true with Harry and Ron.

It is my goal for the end of this school year to finish up the series. I feel a little stupid going to the premieres, and loving them so much, but not even reading them. My sister is a little obsessed, and she has read each of them more than once. I vividly remember the night that she read the seventh book the night it came out. She stayed up all night, and at about 3:00 in the morning she came in to my room to ask if I would come and sleep in her room. She asked me because she was really scared, and so I went in there half asleep. Then a few hours later I woke up to the sound of her crying. She was sobbing, and she said, "This is the most amazing book, but it is so sad!" I laughed a little, and then went back to sleep. I really hope that I will be able to read the rest of them, so that I can experience the magic!

Honors English at a Glance

So far, I have really enjoyed Honors English throughout the year. Sometimes I procrastinate, and wait to do my blog and discussion question as I am doing now. I liked reading The Chosen, because it probably isn't the kind of book I would usually read. I thought the way Reb Saunders raised his son Danny was definitely not the best way, but that was what was required to become that kind of Rabbi. Reuven was a great character, and was very admirable. Even though Danny was different he was interesting. I thought Reuven's father, who was also a Rabbi was the most kind and peaceful character throughout the whole book. 

The writing contest was fun, because I got the opportunity to write a poem about tennis. It was mainly about how together we can rely on each other to win this match. Even though it was a tad cheesy, I had a good time writing it. 

This term I have decided to enter two writing contests, and just read one book. Last term I had trouble finishing up the book in time. I am super excited to read Pride and Prejudice, because it is my mom's favorite book. She has wanted me to read it for a while, and I have somehow never got around to it. The movie is great, and I just hope the book can be close to that good. Mr. Darcy is about as grumpy as they come, but throughout the story he has a change of heart. The writing contests are easier for me, because they don't take up as much time. I would maybe like to write a fictional story this time, because they are more challenging for me. I have figured out that my mind is pretty pathetic when it comes to making things up and imagination. I really need to work on  that, because a lot of times I need ideas and I come up with nothing.

So my piano teacher has to get surgery, and so I don't have to take piano again until January. Usually, I never practice and my teacher is frustrated with me each week. Now that I am not forced to practice I actually enjoy it . I like to just sit down, and start thumbing through books and plunking out the notes. Knowing myself, right when my lessons start up again I won't have this desire to practice anymore. I did however get asked to play a solo for my church at the end of November. Since it is after Thanksgiving, I figured I could play a Christmas song. I have decided to play "What Child is This?." I've practiced the song quite a bit, and I should be ready in time. 

This weekend I stayed overnight with my sister at BYU, and she basically told me that I am going to be impossible to live with. I sure hope I can change some habits by then, or else I'm going to be in big trouble with my roommates. The college atmosphere is so much different than Junior High. It's really funny to see how much people grow up, and do better in school because they have to pay for it.