I Had My Bellybutton Surgically Removed

So my family has a "game" of sorts, where we'll randomly poke each other in the stomach, and if we hit the bellybutton, it's like extra points. My sister and I were playing with our cousins, and a poking war began, mostly the other three girls against me. When I tried poking one of my cousins' bellybutton though, she turned to me and stated: "I don't have a bellybutton. I had surgery and got it removed."
I love the way kids think. They really do say the darndest things.

Rock-A-Bye Baby

I just love having a baby fall asleep while I'm holding them. It's so relaxing, having them snuggle into you. Of course, it's also a real workout. Especially if the little darling will fuss the second you sit down or try to put them in their crib.
The baby girl I just babysat loves to be held. And she loves to be moving while you're holding her. So I was walking around the house and talking to her. No, I'm not completely crazy - she was talking to me too. She's actually very talkative and was able to hold up her end of the conversation with a lot of "hey"s and some mostly incoherent babbling. It was really, really fun. Until she started getting super tired. Then she went completely rag doll on me, flopping all over the place. So I got to keep walking around, trying to keep her from flipping over in my arms, and not being able to stop or sit down. But even though it was tiring, I loved it. Every time she thought I was going to put her down, she grabbed me as tight and she could and cuddled her face into me.
It helps that I'm a major pushover when it comes to really little kids. =)

Following Our True Leader

Today at church there was a very interesting message that's completely relevant to today. It really made me think, so I thought I'd share.

Pretend you're playing follow the leader. Are you going to follow the leader and flap your wings like they are?

Or are you going to sit in a recliner, saying "I'm flapping my wings in my heart."?

Now pretend you're playing Simon says. When Simon says "Go clean your room," are you going to come back and say "I memorized what you said. I'm even going to have some friends over and we're going to study what it would be like to clean my room."?

You can laugh, but follow the leader and simon says are a lot like listening to God. You can't just act in your heart, or memorize what He says. You need to do what He says, and follow His will.

Racial Profiling: Animal Edition

Did you know that a pigeon can be a spy? And can be arrested? Yeah, neither did I.

But here you go. A spy pigeon. Oh, the things you learn in Spanish class. [Not Spanish, of course.]

Jolly On A Good Day

Why do I have so much fun hanging out with kids younger than me? I'm talking just a few years younger (like 3 or 4), but still. It's like they don't have so much to worry about, so they can just have fun more. Sometimes in high school, stuff just gets to you. That's especially when I'd rather pretend to jump back a few years, act like I'm not really a high schooler. It's nice to take a break from growing up for a bit.

This weekend alone I had a ton of fun with a 5th grader, a 7th grader, and two 8th graders. I still love my friends, and loved being able to party with them, but it definitely didn't hurt having more people to talk to.

And here are some random facts from my weekend:

1) My best friend has a tae kwon do medal. She's never taken tae kwon do. And apparently she never looked at this medal she won in 3rd grade... at a science fair.

2) My friends say the funniest things. It's good to laugh. =D

3) A Walk To Remember is a good movie.

4) Three-headed moat monsters and envelopes with eyes are fun conversation starters.

5) Jolly is a bird. On a bad day, he looks kind of like a snow ball with a beak.

6) Albert is the coolest mug ornament you'll ever meet.

Giggling Solves Everything

Awana is the best. My sparkies really love me! I got to sign one girl's "friendship book" today, and another girl gave me a "friendship pin" to put on my shoelace that she made at girl scouts. I also got to laugh with a boy with an amazing indian/ninja headband and made new friends from another room. Even one person who's usually a pain was incredible today, and somehow managed to make me feel better. =)

That, plus my amazing friends, made up for a pretty terrible day. I couldn't stop laughing after awana, and ended up sitting on the floor for awhile just trying to stop. One friend sang a hilarious song to me, which made me laugh harder. Then my mom started tickling me, and soon most of my friends had joined in, and I was once again on the floor, laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. I helped my friend make her brother blush. I chased some of my younger friends to give them the "cheese touch." I waved like a crazy person across the games circle. I got a million hugs. And I got to smile all night.

I couldn't ask for better people to love me.

*Hysterical Laughing* ... I Fell

Yes, basketball is a full-contact sport. Yes, that means people are going to get hurt. No, that doesn't make it any less fun. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure my basketball team has the most fun when there is more contact. It gives us more incentive I guess. You elbow me in the throat, I won't have any problems smacking that ball out of your hands later (speaking from personal experience here... it hurts to swallow...). And just an extra note - don't get my girls mad. We fight back. 'Nuf said.

So NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) ends tonight. And I'm nowhere near done with the story I was hoping to use. In a life as crazy as mine, I guess it's just too much to ask for 50,000 words in 30 days. I'm still writing it though, even if it's not for something in particular. Instead, I'm going to post a chapter a day on my other blog, Doodles Are the Window To the Soul. Check it out! Comment!

Who the heck is Fabio?

As one of my friends said today... We need a day off to recover from break. There's just something about the Monday after having an entire week off that is tiring. But today actually wasn't too bad. I got to see my school friends - always a bonus. I laughed. A lot. I played basketball. I wrote more of my story. I watched tv, which I almost never do. And by doing that I learned a lot of things. Fabio is some model who was popular a couple decades ago for doing pictures for romancey type things. Now he just has long hair and looks a little ridiculous. I also got to ooh and ahh over celebrity wedding dresses. Yes, I am such a girl. And proud of it.

But that's all for tonight! I must get back to my story... It's addicting...

Lewi's Not Wearing Any Pants

Christmas shopping is insane. And there are so many ridiculous things out there! I've now seen:

- a doggie pampering set (complete with shampoo, conditioner, and a deodorizing spray)

- a million and a half vampire romance novels. It's crazy how one series gets popular, so everyone else and their mother starts writing the same thing.

- a baby sock monkey and care book. Don't get me wrong, I love sock monkeys! I wouldn't mind owning more. This was just funny to see. Especially since my dad told me later: "If I buy you another sock monkey, you're going to have to get a book to tell you how to take care of it too!" So of course I showed him the book, and he laughed for about an entire minute.

- and some other stuff too, that I just can't remember at the moment...

But I'm pretty sure that even the most obscure gift idea could be found at Sam's Club or Walmart during the Christmas shopping season. Except apparently practical things, like a mixer bowl. Sometimes I really don't understand the people who run these stores.

Oh, and before anyone starts worrying, Lewi is my dog. He never wears pants. [Please notice above picture... This is me and Lewi. He is not wearing pants.] But my dad likes singing Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" with his own lyrics... "Bad Dog Pants." I think he could make a whole book of his parody lyrics that he comes up with off the top of his head. Usually while we're driving around town with the radio turned up really loud. But anyway, after singing this song about dogs and pants, he felt the need to point out that our dog wasn't wearing any. And that's just an example of what's considered normal conversation at our house. Dinner conversations tend to be even more interesting. I'm sure I'll have plenty to write about in the future on those. =)

Do you get internet coffee at an internet cafe?

What a gorgeous day!!!!!!!!

My family and I went snowboarding (well, Madel and I went boarding; my dad and stepmom ski) today, and it was so much fun! Now we're all exhausted though, and I'm sure we're going to be sore tomorrow.... But it was definitely worth the pain! I don't know why, but there's something exhilarating about going downhill super fast with snow flying in your face. Adrenaline rush? Oh yeah. =)

I also learned a lot of new, not very useful information.

1) You can ski at night. Yep! They put out a ton of lights all over the slopes. It looks really pretty, but those people have to be crazy; it must be freezing after it gets dark! My dad thought it was weird that I didn't already know this, but hey, I'm new to this whole skiing thing.

2) A school in a Colorado mountain town that usually has a ton of snow shouldn't have a tiger as a mascot. That's a tropical cat! They could at least go for snow leopard... or polar bear... or penguin...

3) The Snow Cats that groom the slopes are apparently either chasing Snow Mice or running from Snow Dogs. We couldn't decide which.

4) Doing heel-side turns really hurts your calves. And since I fall whenever I try toe-side turns, I was on my heels most of the day... and my calves hurt like crazy.

And you know you're really tired when you're falling asleep as you're typing... So now I shall go drink my tea and sleep as long as I possibly can.

Well, there's a first time for everything...

I'm not sure why I'm doing this... I guess it's just kind of fun to write out my thoughts. I don't really care if anybody reads this. If you want to, props to you. =)

Now on to my thoughts on random subjects...

Isn't it crazy how Thanksgiving was just yesterday, and already it feels completely different? Now you drive down the street and there are Christmas trees in windows, Christmas lights all over houses, and Christmas music on every radio station. It seems like everyone's already forgotten the food and fun we enjoyed just yesterday.

My friends and I have a Thanksgiving day tradition: all the kids get together and come up with a play to put on for the adults, and the adults get to do commercials during the intermissions. Our first year was interesting, to say the least. The six of us made a "time machine" out of a giant cardboard box, and we used it to travel back in time to the first Thanksgiving... which we decided was in 1980-something. Thankfully, our facts (and acting skills) have only gotten better over time. Even though we don't have much to work with, we've put on some pretty decent, and definitely funny, plays. And I can always guarantee we'll have fun doing it.

Christmas is fun too, but it's just not the same. So, bring on the snow and gingerbread, but don't forget the turkey and memories we made yesterday.