HARK! I'm BACK!

FINALLY you may say. After all this preaching to you guys about how you should get in the habit of posting regularly. Hypocrisy really. :).

Well, with the spring hurry with concerts and such, I report that I indeed have survived. Our choir concert was last night (soon to be posted on YouTube) and we have been busy with other spring stuffy. I have been in constant denial about school, neglecting my homework consistently until Thursday night and still slacking on the job (for those of you who do not know this, I go to a once a week school -- on Fridays ). And people wonder why I fall asleep in math class. Hehehe....
I promise to write more soon but for now....I NEED SLEEP!
Pardon my *cough cough* abruptness.
Aloha till --- tomorrow???

Spring--almost here...

Well, spring is almost here. Slowly but surely the grass is starting to grow and the buds are turning to leaves. As everything comes back to life, spring fever is itching at me. I want to go outside. I want to feel the fresh air. I'm sick and tired of school. I want to be free. So, yesterday I went outside and took a few pictures. Here they are . . .

Buds on our tree outside.

Tulips, barely springing out of the ground.

Kodiak in the grass, watching me in the tree, taking the picture of the buds.

Strong and mighty Sasha sitting straight for me. It rained/snowed today and she and Kodiak are covered in mud now. I'm glad I got the shot of clean Kody and Sasha :).

A Winning Title...

Because I have a lot to write but have little time, here is my winning submission from the PBS Storymakers contest. Enjoy!


The Dumpling


In the middle of our land, a single cabin made out of logs we cut down near the creek, sits comfortably. During the day, when the winds rustle in the grass, prairie dust drifts through cracks in our walls like snow. It doesn’t matter much how many times Pa stuffs the walls with rags; the dust still finds its way into the cabin and into our clothes. Sometimes I wonder why Pa decided to take us into the middle of nowhere. When I ask him, he shrugs and says that he prefers the open sky to crowded streets. Some days I agree with him and I try to set my mind to thinking that way too. But, one way or another, I find myself wondering if it’d been better if we’d stayed in Massachusetts. Perhaps if Pa hadn’t brought us out here Ma would still make breakfast in the morning instead of lying sick in her bed. I try to accept that it’s my duty to tend to the cabin instead of plowing with the men. After all, Ma’s sick and Pa claims he’d still leave me here, even if she was well, to learn how to run a home. Sometimes though, it gets awful lonesome out here with nobody for company but the wind.


Ma’s dreadfully sick. As the days pass she gets gradually worse. I’m pretty sure she will die any day. It’s mighty lonesome now and she’s still alive. Barely. I wish I knew what was ailing her so I could make her feel better. The responsibility that she’ll leave me with is overwhelming. I’ve only held the reins for a short time and I’m not doing very well. Making chicken and dumplings for the men always seemed simple when she did it. When I try, the dumplings end up scorched and as black as the coal I fill the stove with. Pa and Jeremy have a healthy appetite but when they see those dumplings, I can see they don’t fancy them much. Yeah, Ma’s illness is real stubborn. I keep trying to get Ma to start moving around, but she just sweats and lies there. Rumor has it typhus is going around. Maybe that’s what she’s got.


Ma started acting real funny today. It scared me enough to go run and find Pa. When I told him she was panting real hard he didn’t even finish listening to me. He jumped on his horse and rode off towards the cabin. Jeremy and I had to run behind him. By the time we reached the cabin Pa was already inside, but told us to leave straight away. I obeyed him despite my eagerness to see Ma. I’m plain positive she’ll die. I keep praying that Pa will let me say goodbye before she leaves us. Every time I hear her speak, I am worried that I won’t get to kiss her before she goes. Then again, her yelling means she’s still here. I don’t know why she keeps doing it though. Maybe she’s reluctant to go and leave the men in my care; she must’ve tasted my dumplings.

Pa finally came out and beckoned for me to come to him. He looked pale. Ma must be gone already. His face stayed emotionless as he stepped back into the cabin. I walked behind him and began to cry. I had really wanted to say goodbye to Ma. She was in her bed, very still, her back to me. I could hardly breathe. Tears came so fast that I was gulping for air. Leaning over, I stooped and kissed her white forehead. I glanced at her face and my heart stopped. Her eyes were open. Beside her lay a perfect dumpling of a baby, complete with a head of golden fuzz. Suddenly it all made sense. Ma squeezed my hand and smiled for the first time in months. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Well Ma, I only have one thing to say. You sure make one heck of a dumpling.”



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I hope this doesn't bore you, but I suppose it's better than nothing :).

Hawaii. . .

So I mentioned that I'd get some Hawaii pictures in. Well, I actually am holding to my promise even though there's not as many as I'd hope they would send. But here goes...

Here's a picture of the sandy beaches of Maui. I've never even seen a palm tree that's not in a picture before!

Okay, now I'm jealous. This is the garden in the Honolulu airport. I can't even imagine what it must have looked like in real life!

Well, like I said before, not many pictures. But for now this was my blogs "little bite" of Hawaii.

And the snow hits again...

Yesterday was as close to a summer day as we have gotten since ...well, summer itself with a high of 74 degrees. It was wonderful. We went for a picnic and played on the playground until we almost died of exhaustion. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day.

Unfortunately, when we woke up this morning, the snow had arrived once again, despite the soaring heat the day before.

The forecast is 3-6 inches. Not enough to build snowmen from but enough to have to clear the driveway. Ugh.

The ironic thing was that yesterday I (jokingly) mentioned that it would be fun to be snowed in from going to church. Turns out my jest wasn't far off the actual happenings.

The dogs have a love-hate relationship with the snow. They love it...for ten minutes, and then whine to get back in to warmth. Then whine to get back out. Then whine to get back in. You get the point.

I'm hoping for it to stick for a day or two then vanish with the rest of winter. Easter is early this year. I'm really hoping it doesn't snow that day. Finding Easter eggs in the snow won't be any fun.

So, while my parents enjoy the warm beaches of Hawaii, those of us left behind must get through another dreary, snowy, wintery day.

Sigh.

A Busy Month...

So, to begin, apologies for the long break from blogging. As the title of this post says, it was a very busy month. My parents are going to Hawaii in a few days and we are going to be babysat by our adopted grandparents (who, dare I mention it, happen to be near to 80 years old). Hehe. Then my mom and I (barely) managed to pull off a surprise birthday party for my dad's 40th. Plus the entertainment (which, in itself, made us lose hours of sleep) which included "Ian take the Wheelchair" (Truly "Jesus take the wheel") "Where is my sight?" A song about losing hair, memory, sight, hearing, and youth itself (based off of the song "Where are you Christmas?") and a hit program based off of the ancient TV show "To Tell the Truth." It was a blast but it's taken us about a week to recover from late night planning while dad was snoozing.

On top of that all my spare time was spent doing homework (despite my desperate pleas, the teachers DUMPED us with it). Then we joined a show choir and they have us two nights of the week. All this to say, bear with me, I will be posting more frequently as the homework lightens up. I am hoping to get a few posts in while my parents are gone (ya right!) to catch up on some stuff. I will be back!!!

Posting a comment...

Hello All,


I really love recieving feedback and (until now) my comment section has not been working! But, now that it is working here's the step-by-step guide of how to do it (my parents are in Hawaii, what else do I have to do?):




1. Beneath the post there is a thing that says "0 comments" or "50 comments" or how ever many there are. . .



2. click on that....



3. It should come to a new page where you can post a comment.....



4. Voila! See, very easy....

P.S. My parents are sending pictures from Hawaii via email today or tomorrow...I am planning on doing a post about it so stay in touch!