Looking Back and Looking Forward

Dos mil diez.
Deus mille dix.
Twenty-eleven.
Two-thousand ten.

It's been a year, which is hard to believe. Last year, I had just come off the best Christmas in the entire world with stronger friendships and a million inside jokes. 2009 was, in a word, epic, and lots happened. Last year, I wrote:

"You know what, 2009 was great. It was full of everything a year should be. I loved it. It was an amazing year for me. But 2010 can be great, too. My New Year's Resolution?

Stop being afraid of the future. Stop living in the past.

Just because something was great, doesn't mean greater doesn't exist.

2010 is going to be great. That's not a hope. That's a fact.

Because (not to quote Hannah Montana) life's what you make it.

So, let's Carpe Diem, people."

Wasn't I cool? I don't mean that in a conceited way, I just realize what a great outlook I had. Somehow, in 2010 I lost some of that.

2010 has been really different. It's been quieter sort of, full of growing up and learning (often the hard way). I've made some unexpected friends and lost some unexpected friends. I've worked harder in school and started to like shopping.

2010 hasn't been fireworks and joy, it's been moonlight and understanding.

Twenty-ten was interesting and enlightening, but I can't say that I will miss it. I'm more eager to see what twenty-eleven holds than I am to hold onto twenty-ten, and I think that's a good thing.

Tonight, I'm having the first New Year's Eve party I've ever thrown. I think it'll be great :) Scratch that, I *know* it'll be great. We'll eat popcorn and drink sparkling grape juice and play games and watch the ball drop in Times Square. We'll be with each other.

Life is about living, loving, laughing and learning. In 2011, I plan to remember and do those things to 100% of my ability, and then I *know* the year will be great.

Who's with me? Let's live, love, laugh and learn together. Let's Carep Diem, y'all :)

~Kendra

Accio New Post!

I read "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" over the summer because I figured it was a cultural thing and I needed to. It was cartoony ("Muggles"? Really?) and childish (Minerva McGonagall? Please.) and I couldn't see why anyone would like the books.

I felt obligated to read "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" after that because my friend wanted me to. It wasn't really better, although I was at least used to the stupid lingo.

Then I read through "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." I actually liked that one. I liked Sirius. I read over phrases like "Let's use Polyjuice Potion" and "Try Summoning it" without thinking.

I started "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and couldn't do it. It was mind-numbingly boring and I quit, finished trying. Who cares THAT MUCH about Quidditch??

Two months later, I forced myself to try "Goblet of Fire" again. After the beginning, I got into it. It was...great?? I got sort of into it, in a way.

I wanted to read the next one, so I read "Harry Potter and the Order Phoenix." ...I really liked it a lot. The book didn't even start out boring, though Harry was a whiny git at first. The whole thing was becoming surprisingly interesting and extremely complex. I was delighted at how insignificant things started to fit together so perfectly.

I devoured "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" in like two and a half days. I laughed at Ron, marveled at Hermione and cringed at Harry. It was second nature to summon things (Accio!) and I registered the complicated fighting scenes (Stupify! Protego! Petrificus Totalus!) without difficulty.\
I eagerly read and savored "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." I cried. It was intense and realistic. It felt like I was watching my friends right before my eyes. I knew their histories. I knew their styles. I had watched them grow up for seven years.

I finished the series, including one of the most satisfying epilogues I've read, on Christmas Day (really the day after; it was 12:46). I never intended to like Harry Potter. And I'm not sure why I do. It IS cartoony at times, and I'm not sure that it's exceptionally well-written. But...for some reason, I DO like them. I like them very much. And I'm sad they're over.

I know a lot of you are very anti-Harry Potter. Whatever. I was too. But there's a lot to appreciate in them besides witchcraft and wizardry. There's mystery and humor and realism and morals and great quotes and strong characters and enough creativity for half the Renaissance period.

Stop judging the books before you read them. I was just as guilty as y'all are; I condemned them too (and I still wouldn't NECESSARILY recommend them for impressionable little kids). But I now stand on the issue of HP where I do with the dread T series:

If you haven't read them, don't judge them. (Ah ah ah, no buts. Stop it. Stop--STOPIT. Shush.) It's just as bad as calling a cheerleader stupid or a homeschooler unsocial or a nerd creepy.

That is all.

~Kendra

Christmas Story

I wrote this last year for Christmas. I read over it, and while I might do it a little differently now, I decided to keep it...for now. Maybe I'll start revising it a little every year or something, to see how my writing style and perspective changes...dang...that's a good idea...why do I always have those late at night...

"So, There Was This Teenage Girl" by Kendra Logan, December 2009

So, there was this teenage girl.

She was a good Christian. She was kind and gentle and loved God (she was probably really fun, too, because all real Christians are! XD). She was also a virgin, and her name was Mary.

(Fun Fact #1: "virgin" in the Greek can sometimes just mean "young girl", but in this case, it means, you know, an actual virgin ;D)

Mary was engaged to this great guy named Joseph, who was also a good Christian. He was pretty awesome actually. Really fun, caring, Christian, even brave. They were pretty excited about getting married.

But then God just had to throw a curve ball.

One night, an angel suddenly appears to Mary. *freak out* And the angel said, "Do not be afraid" first.

(Fun Fact #2: We don't know much about angels, but we know one thing for darn sure: they are scary. Every time someone sees an angel, they're panicking so much the angel has to calm them down. Haha, I can see the angels getting impatient now, "*rolls eyes* GOOD GRIEF, WOULD YOU GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF? Oh, I mean DO NOT BE AFRAID.")

So, back to Mary and the angel. The angel says, "God is so proud of you! You're doing great!"

...

...thanks...

Guess what? You are pregnant."

*blink*

O.O

Imagine how Mary must have felt. I know I would have been absolutely panicking. I mean, I wouldn't have doubted it or anything--if an Angel of the Lord says you're pregnant, you're pregnant--but I would have been really scared. And I wonder if Mary was afraid she had done something wrong, you know? I mean, I would have been like, "OH MY GOSH, is there something I've...er...missed..."

The angel went on.

"You are to name the child Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

>insert awkward silence<>insert awkward, ANNOYED silence<

Joseph: "Okay...well, you see, my wife is pregnant, and the baby is expected any day now. Isn't there anything you can do?"

The innkeeper directs Mary and Joseph to the stable.

I'm not even gonna go into what Mary must have been thinking at this point. But anyway, Mary and Joseph head on over to the stable and try to get as comfortable as they can.

(Fun fact #4: most of you probably already know this, but back in the day, stables weren't little barns like we have now. They were usually caves!)

So, Mary goes into labor, and now we will graciously switch over to what is happening with the shepherds.

Now, let's get something straight about shepherds. They weren't really considered important. They were kind of like today's garbage men. You need 'em, you'd miss 'em if they were gone, but it's not exactly what every kids dreams of becoming or anything. For the shepherds to be the first ones God had told (aside from the baby's parents) was definitely ironic to say the least.

That's another thing I love about God: he's got a great sense of humor.

And here comes the part we all know. Say it with me now ;)

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'"

Then tons more angels joined them and sang praises to God!

So, with that, the shepherds decided to go and see what the angels had been talking about. And they went into Bethlehem and found the stable, and WHOA! There *is* a little baby here, just like the angels said! (Shocker, right? ;D)

I can only imagine what Mary was thinking now. I'm sure she was overjoyed with Jesus, and I really don't think she minded having random shepherd guys show up at her "doorstep". I do think she might have been a little frightened, though. I mean, having your first child is supposed to be MONUMENTAL already, so imagine the huge burden it would be to have the SON OF GOD. The random shepherds showing up was probably a whole 'nother level of eye-opening to Mary. She was holding the Son of God in her arms, only a few hours old, and already he was drawing people to himself.

It’s a beautiful story, is it not? It has everything a good story should: love, adventure, realism, excitement, irony, and even a little baby. But not just any little baby.

The baby that grew up and saved my life.

But that's another story ;)

~Kendra

Christmas Dollhouse 2010!

Maybe you remember from last year, the Logan tradition of Christmas Dollhouse? Well, here are pictures from this year :D

{.captions on the bottom.}

I have a lot of people...

Lizzy's house in progress...

Momma's house in progress...

My house in progress...

Lizzy's finished house...

Momma's living room...

My finished house...

My parents' room..

My little girl's room...

My living room...

My kitchen...

The Parade! :D

We made muffins. And then pretended they were dollhouse cakes :D

Cake on my kitchen table...hehe :D

My parents enjoying their cake...

My family on Christmas Day!

~Kendra

Less is More

I'm really not a good blogger right now, am I? I think the countdown may not work very well for me this year. When I feel like I have to post EVERYDAY, it makes me procrastinate if I miss a day. I feel like I get "behind" in what ought to be a fun activity. I think that by planning to post less, I'll actually post more.

I'm so weird.

Also, Rachel B is having a cool guest-blogging thing over at Thoughts of A KleeWyck, in which I happen to be participating XD My post should go up tomorrow, so check it out! (And don't stop there, haha, her blog is really neat :D)

~Kendra

13 Things and a Semi-Guest writer

I hate thinking up names for those blog posts, don't you? Gah. Anyway, my writing style will be hugely different from the awesome female writer you're used to reading from. I'm Kendra's friend from Utah that you may have heard of multiple times, named Jordan. Kendra's currently SWAMPED with Homework, so asked me to make a blog post. The post may be somewhat below your standards for the blog though, so just bear with me. :D

Also: I was in a rather odd mood when I wrote this. You'll see. Keep reading.

13 THINGS

1Rudolph the Red-nosed reindeer. Aside from him having a biological lightbulb built into his nasal passages, he's (obviously) a reindeer, so gets to pull Santa's sleigh. YAY!

Dasher: His name sounds like a razor product built specifically for the holidays. "Buy the new Gilette Dasher for just $12.99 at your nearest Walmart and get the shave your wife can appreciate on Christmas Eve! Only at Walmart!"

Prancer: There's a ballerina reindeer, apparently. Prancer, his name reminds me of a sword for some reason. o_O

Dancer: I do ballroom dance, and I know Kendra does hip-hop, so we can both kinda relate to this Reindeer's name. Maybe he does latin or standard while he's flying? *shrugs* Something to think about.

5 Vixen: Okay, seriously, anyone getting twilight vibes here? Vixen makes me think of vampires. Also, vice is the opposite of virtue, so makes for an interesting name of a pet of a beloved fat jolly guy that sneaks into your house and eats your food.

Donald: Aha! So apparently the duck has a second job to sneak into the north pole and dress up as a reindeer every so often. Apparently he does quite the job, since Walt Disney never noticed him sneaking off of the pages and walking away.

Cupid: Honestly there are just too many lame jokes I could make about Cupid. Why name a Reindeer after one though? I mean, really, he already has his own holiday. Going after the inspiration of Donald, he apparently slips away and metamorphs into some sort of fairy tale 4 year old with a bow that makes people fall in love.

At this point, I googled the song lyrics and realized there isn't one named Donald. *facepalm*

Comet: Best name here, in my opinion. If I were Santa, I would've named the reindeer after the places where he gets more cookies.

#OTHER REINDEER NAMES

Being a frequent user of twitter, pardon me if I let some hashtags sneak into the post. >_>

Snowball: Wouldn't that be a fitting name? He could have a huge annual snowball fight with the penguins when the visit whichever pole they inhabit. I mean, the scientists can use the company and maybe some more fun.

10 Jolly: If you can have one named Prancer and another named Dancer, why not a mindset? Jolly should go around as a backup and make positive on all the most nefarious situations.

Food: Santa's favorite snarky little Reindeer, he usually hangs out with his cousin, Jerald McGreggor and cooks things like hot chocolate in the kitchen with dear old Mrs. Claus.

Timothy: That dear little boy in that classic tale actually walked all the way to Santa Claus's summer house in the Bahamas after a hobo burnt his crutch. Jerald McGreggor and dear Timothy are planning revenge on said hobo.

13 Jerald McGreggor, Food's cousin, often times is the most left out of the backup-reindeer team. After Rudolph joined the team, Santa said he didn't want to put another spot on ther already over-crowded sleigh. Jerald stayed back in the kitchen and poured the hot cocoa when Food told him so and spent the rest of the time concocting odd plans with Timothy to get back at that hobo.

Yeah, it was random, it was odd, but hopefully I made someone laugh. Enjoy Christmas and remember the story of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, being born in a manger. Spread the holiday cheer and remember Kendra's swamped position and maybe send her some chocolate. :D

-Jordan, Kendra's odd friend from Utah.

Christmas Movies

Hello again! Tomorrow Cassidy and I see "Voyage of the Dawn Treader!" If you've already seen it, don't spoil anything :P

17 Christmas Movies*
1. White Christmas
2. Miracle on 34th Street
3. It's a Wonderful Life
4. Home Alone
5. The Santa Clause
6. Elf
7. A Christmas Story
8. A Christmas Carol
9. I'll Be Home For Christmas
10. Jack Frost
11. Jingle All the Way
12. The Nightmare Before Christmas
13. The Polar Express
14. Unaccompanied Minors
15. Beauty and the Beast: Enchanted Christmas
16. Christmas With the Kranks
17. Deck the Halls

*Note: Just because we listed these, doesn't mean we think they're great XD

~Kendra

Jingle Bells

Cassidy is here :D She's spending two nights with me and we're gonna go see the third Narnia movie, "Voyage of the Dawn Treader." :D We're excited. And she's going to help me think of 18 Somethings to do for the Christmas Countdown.

...right, Cass? XD

...15 minutes later...

"Daddy? Can you help us think of 18 Christmas things to do for my blog?"

"Songs."

"...thank you."

Christmas Songs (our favorites are in green):
1. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
2. What Child Is This?
3. Joy to the World
4. Angels We Have Heard on High
5. O Come O Come Emmanuel (Casting Crowns instrumental version)
6. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (courtesy of Lizzy)
7. We Three Kings
8. Carol of the Bells (this is actually a Celtic Woman version)
9. Winder Wonderland (Lizzy again) (Cassidy: "Wonderland is one word." Me: "..right.")
10. O Holy Night
11. Holy Emmanuel (can't find a Youtube video for it :-/)
12. Bethlehem Town
13. In the Bleak Midwinter (-_- can't find this one either)
14. In Like a Lion (Always Winter Never Christmas)
15. Do You Here What I Here?
16. Jesus Light of the World
17. Jingle Bells
18. We Wish You a Merry Christmas

:D There you go.

~Kendra

19 Days...

You're driving down the road. It's dark and cold outside, the trees are bare and you can feel the chill through the windows. Headlights. Streetlights. Shadows. Charcoal clouds. Uphill. Downhill. Around the corner--

Bam. Christmas lights.

1. The tasteful...
2.
3. The not-so-much...
4.
5. Your next door neighbors...

6. 7. The traditional...

8. The abstract...

9. The townhouses...
10.
11. The monuments...
12.
13. The fresh...

14. The tacky...

15. The themed...

16.
17. The unique...

18. The bright...19. The Kendra's Room XD
~Kendra

Vrolijk Kerstfeest!

*wince*

Sorry. You know why. And if you don't, NEVER MIND! I DID NOTHING WRONG. >.> :D

*clears throat*

The Christmas Countdown will begin after these short messages.

Pictures From Disney:

Minnie!

Pooh and Piglet, in case you didn't know ;)

The Osborn Family Light Show or something. It was pretty amazing. The whole Disney street's worth of buildings were like this.

Splash Mountain...got a little more soaked than planned!

Peter Pan! Not the best picture, sorry. It's hard to take pictures when you're so into watching everything! (Lizzy took most of these, btw, and my dad took some. I didn't take ANY XD)

Aladdin and Jasmine!!!!!!!!!! Pictures cannot even capture this.

Cinderella's Castle (Daddy: "Why is it called Cinderella's castle? Isn't it the Prince's?" Me: "...the Prince doesn't do the decorating.")

Cinderella's Castle at night!

Lizzy finally got her picture with Chip and Dale, her favorite :)

Me and Belle--finally! She looks pretty much like Belle in this picture, but overall, she was actually the least accurate in appearance and personality. I was disappointed XD

Waiting in line for the African Safari! This is the only picture from Animal Kingdom that's uploaded so far, but Lizzy has more to come, so maybe I'll post some more later.

The pool at our resort.

Unnecessary Conclusion Clarification: Disney was amazing.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The Christmas Countdown begins NOW!

Guess what, folks? ONLY 20 DAYS TIL CHRISTMAS! Dude, how'd it come on that fast??? It honestly feels like six months ago I was doing this Countdown thing. The next 20 days are sure to go by all too fast. We all know the solution to that, though, right?

Carpe diem, of course.

How to Say "Merry Christmas" in 20 Different Languages!

1. Italian: Buon Natale!
2. Mandarin (Chinese): Kung His Hsin Nien Bing Chu Shen Tan!
3. Croatian: Sretan Bozic!
4. Farsi (the Persian language): Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad!
5. Dutch: Vrolijk Kerstfeest!
6. Filipino: Maligayang Pasko!
7. French: Joyeux Noël!
8. Elvish (not sure how there's an elvish word for "Christmas," but whatever XD): Isusarad 'elir!
9. Greek: Kala Christouyenna!
10. Faroese (spoken around Denmark): Gledhilig jol og eydnurikt nyggjar!
11. Portuguese: Feliz Natal!
12. German: Fröhliche Weihnachten!
13. Russian: Pozdravlyenie s Rozjdyestvom i s Novym Godom!
14. Maori (the Polynesian people of New Zealand: Meri Kirihimete!
15. Spanish: Feliz Navidad!
16. Iraqi: Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah!
17. Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr!
18. Irish: Nollaig Shona Dhuit!
19. Breton (a Celtic language spoken in Brittany): Nedeleg laouen na bloavezh mat!
20. Danish: Glædelig Jul!

~Kendra