Things to Watch

Wow! Today has been extremely full!

Work went well. Today it was just from 9-12, and was strangely exhausting. It didn't seem like I did much, but it was kind of draining. However, I didn't mess anything up, I understood everything, and I actually think I helped a lot. Yay!

David and Daniel and their family were at our house when I got home. We all went down to the lake and played around on this inflatable giganticness we recently bought. I slid down the slide (with some help. Thanks, David -_- :P). Then I decided to be a party pooper and lay around in the sun for a while XD Later we went exploring in the woods and went to our "secret" spot. We had a lot of fun :)

Then, we all went to this little pizza place before going next door to this coffee shop. Some kids that I know are in a band and they were playing.

They're good.

Personally I was like :O The lead vocalist and lead guitarist, Forest, has a great voice and he is an extremely talented musician. Their music had a cool sound. Edgy but calm, and they wrote several really good songs. I was enjoying it and it was really relaxing.

Then Forest screamed.

:O :DDDDDDDDDDDDD WOOOT! >insert shock and wow< THAT was awesome. It was even more awesome than their faces when I was like "WHOA, that one was my FAVORITE do it AGAIN!"

So yeah. Today was really great, but really tiring. And I hafta get up at 7 again tomorrow :( And work 9-4. Seven hours. *moansighsob* I like it, but I'm tired. And that's a long time. And tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful and I wanna swim in the lakeee XD Oh well. I'm making money. So...yay.

After all that ranting do you still want my summer list #5? Well, read it or not, here it comes XD

Things to Watch
1. Pulp Fiction
2. Slendie vids on Youtube (only Cavender will know what the heck I'm talking about)
3. The Blair Witch Project
4. Paranormal Activity
5. Braveheart
6. The Wind and the Lions
7. Alice in Wonderland
8. Men in Black
9. The Transformers movies
10. Push

~Kendra

Things to Stop

I have three lists for you today XD

So. I got a pedicure today.

Things about Kendra Getting a Pedicure:
1) I do not like my feet, therefore having people (especially people in the beauty business) mess with them is not fun to me.
2) I have calluses. Why? Because I actually USE my feet. So every time I get a pedicure, running in gravel is painful again for a few weeks. *sigh* XD
3) I'm not that patient. Watching someone pick around at my nails forEVER is a little bit irritating.

Things About This Particular Trip:
1) It started at 1 o'clock.
2) The lady was extremely nice and pretty talented.
3) She was also new.
4) She was also s-l-o-w.
5) By 2:30, my nails were still completely polish-less.
6) She also had a lot of fun with the fact that Lizzy is much girlier than me. There is only so much smiling and nodding a girl can do before it starts to look stiff.
7) I finally walked out of the pedicure place at 3:10--two hours and ten minutes after I'd come in.
8) My toes look kinda cool. But was it worth a good portion of my life when I was supposed to be on the computer talking to Cavender at 2:30?

Um, no comment -_-

And that was my rant for today XD I should stop complaining so much...Along with...

Things to Stop
1. Cracking my knuckles
2. Picking at my fingernails
3. Procrastinating
4. Eating randomly
5. Spending so much time on the computer
6. Cussing in my head (sad, but true)
7. Being sarcastic at the worst times (XD)
8.
9.
10.

Aaaand, once again, that's all I got XD But I did think of a few more things to add to the "Start" list:

7. Keeping my nails painted
8. Calling my friends more
9. Writing
10. Playing the guitar (Technically this should fall onto the "Things to Learn" list, but that list is full, so...More cheating! Thanks for the idea, Tunafish!)

~Kendra

P.S. I'm trying to get a job at my dance studio over the summer. I'm working tomorrow and Saturday, kind of as a trial run I think. Prayers would be appreciated! I'm extremely excited, but a little nervous. What if I get asked to do something I don't understand, or mess something up...I really don't want to ruin this XD

Things to Start

Thanks for following, Brenna!

Another good day so far :D No dog-washing or cake-baking, but I rode my bike again and did sit-ups til I couldn't anymore XD (Upper body strength: 0. Stomach muscles: not actually that bad.)

For all you wondering, the cake was good :D That was surprising, especially considering I sort of went a little astray with the recipe in some places...Heh :3 Come visit and I'll make it for you :D

Did you know that it's harder to start something than it is to keep something up? This is true no matter how you look at it. Physics itself proves it! When something like a cardboard is in motion across the floor, the molecules of the box and the floor more or less slide across each other. However, if you stop pushing, that gives the box molecules and the floor molecules time to settle into each other. When you start pushing the box again, you have to break their little bond to get going.

Since getting started takes such a conscious effort, I've made my third summer list...

Things to Start
1. Washing my face every morning - I mostly only do it when I have to remove my makeup. That can't be good for my skin. I'm trying to get better about this.
2. Exercising every day - I will bet you real money that I'm in worse shape than you. If you think I'm kidding, watch me ride my bike up these hills.
3. Eating more fruits and veggies - The thing is, I actually LIKE fruits and veggies. So this shouldn't be all that hard. I just need to be more deliberate in getting some at every meal.
4. Reading the Bible at night - Mornings just don't work for me.
5. Keeping my room clean - Heh. 'Nuff said.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

What happened to 6-10? I haven't thought that far yet XD Any ideas on more things I should start this summer?

~Kendra

Things to Learn

Well, today has already been an unbelievable success, and it's only 1 o'clock! My twenty-ten summer is off to a great start. Today I...

Got up at 9AM
Rode my bike
Actually ate breakfast
Gave Licky a bath
Read a bunch of "The Book Thief"

And lastly...(Are you sitting down? Sit down. Ready?)

I made a cake. From scratch. Basically by myself.

Lizzy helped me, but only with getting ingredients and holding the bowl and stuff. I actually COOKED something, and it smells amazing. I'm not sure how it'll taste yet, but it looks pretty awesome :D This brings me to my second Summer List for you...

Things to Learn
1. Cooking
2. To do a flip underwater
3. To French braide
4. To spell "blood" with my fingers (click HERE XD)
5. To use the Snowflake Method
6. To upload pictures from my camera
7. To write cursive
8. Diving
10. How to do a split

Think I can do it all? We'll see. I'm one step closer to achieving #1...I'll let you know how the cake turns out :)

~Kendra

Books to Read

And so begins my first full week of summer! The summer you're sixteen only comes once and I'm determined to have a blast--with or without my license XD Of course, before I can have a successful summer, I have to know what that looks like. So, being the overly analytical obsessive planner I am, I made six lists to bring me through this awesome twenty-ten summer. First up...

Books to Read
1. Paradise Lost
2. Witch and Wizzard
3. The God Makers
4. The Wheel of Time series
5. House of Leaves
6. MAX
7. Fang
8. The Book Thief
9. Pendragon #9
10. Pendragon #10
11. Lord of the Rings
12. Alex Cross mysteries

Technically, I'm only allowing myself 10 things per list. I cheated big time on this XD The WOT series, Lord of the Rings, and Alex Cross are all multiple books...But I love books. So I let myself cheat this time ;)

~Kendra

The Weekend

I BROKE A RECORD!

Cavender and I got to see each other two days in a row XD Never happened before. WooT!

Yesterday/last night was a Casting Crowns concert that my church went to, and Cavender came with us. Everyone met at a BBQ place beforehand, which was interesting XD

For the record, I like BBQ. But my sandwich was nasty. Every other bite had something hard or chewy or crunchy or gummy that I couldn't identify. So that grossed me out XD I'm not really a fan of food to begin with, so most of my sandwich went unconsumed.

So did Cavender's. Why?

Matt (little brother) -_-

Cavender does not like spicy food. Like, at all. (I love it, so hah XD) So Matt, being the Irritating-Yet-Completely-Lovable kid he is, decided to pour Texas Pete on Cavender's coleslaw. It just went downhill from there until I confiscated the hot sauce. Even Matt does not ignore The Look when I give it to him.

By the way, Cavender got revenge. Matt's sandwich ended up with copious amounts of Texas Pete...

The concert was good. Tenth Avenue North was there, too, which I didn't expect. I really like them. Casting Crowns is good and everything, but they're not really one of my favorite bands. I like hearing Mark Hall talk as much as I like their music. Their concerts aren't really FUN like tobyMac's are.

Yesterday was apparently Food Fight Day in my circle of friends. Matt sat almost right behind me at the concert, which I knew was bad news -_- I did not however expect him to shoot frozen lemonade at me through his straw. What a middle schooler XD

Cavender: "Hey, see if you can get it in her ear."

He did -_- XD Some of Cavender's nacho cheese also somehow found its way to my cheek...I could have put in on his Metallica shirt, but I didn't feel like starting World War III--with cheese anyway >:)

Today was also good. Church was good, and Cavender came home with us.

Have you ever seen these?

Kyle hadn't, so don't feel bad if you too have been so brutally sheltered and out of the loop ;P

Well. Allow me to share something with you:

They are waaaay more fun than they seem.

Call me easily amused (which I admit, I am XD), but they are freaking awesome. Cassidy and Katie (little sister) gave me some! I gave some away though, 'cause I'm nice like that XD Right now I only have a blue dog, a green turtle, a yellow sun and a purple rocket ship. Cavender has my cloud and my star.

But anyway, they are awesome. They're apparently extremely cheap, and if you're easily amused and imaginative like Cavender and me, you can enjoy yourself for long periods of time with them. I love how we think the same way. It's just really great.

Youth group was good. Dinner was good. This evening is good.

This weekend was great.

~Kendra

Shopping. Yeah, Again.

I have good news for you:

I survived yet another shopping trip.

It wasn't actually that bad. I'm starting to not dislike it. Which is not the same as liking it, mind you, I can just STAND it now.

...okay, maybe I like it a little bit. But only when it's for me. And when I have a non-cheapskate budget. And it's not one of those leave-at-9AM-get-back-at-4PM trips. Then, and only then, I kinda like it XD

I have sort of an odd sense of style sometimes, so it's weird finding clothes. I don't do plaid shorts. I dislike flowered embroidery. Puff sleeves + pink = not for me. Purple anything = not for me. Anything even hinting of "Save the Planet", "Peace and Love" or "THIS WAS RECYCLED" receives an immediate GETMEAWAYFROMTHISRACK reaction.






(The first and last YESES I actually got :D)

Not only did I find some CLOTHES I liked, but also a pair of SHOES. That is a major accomplishment for me. Why?

1) I have big feet.
2) I have long toes.
3) Kendra's big feet + Kendra's long toes = I hate my feet.

So yeah XD I found shoes. Wewt.

Long story short: I don't hate shopping...:OOOOOOOO

XD

~Kendra

tExTiNg PaRt TwO: Where do we stand?

Thanks for following, Gwyn and Kate! That's awesome :)

If you missed Part One: Intro, you can click HERE to read it.

So, before I got more into texting, I wanted to know more about how it started, and where we stand now.

Texting was originally called "SMS", or "Short Message Service". It started in 1992, when a test engineer for Airwide Solutions named Neil Papworth sent “Merry Christmas” from a computer to the phone of Richard Jarvis.

Growth was slow at first. In 1995, the average number of daily messages in America was .4. Yeah, not four. POINT four. In 2000, the average number had risen to 35. Then in 2008, the average number of monthly text messages was 357.

Now, the average number of texts sent monthly in teens is 2272. (However, if you divide that out, that's only an average of about 75 texts per day. Bad, but not THAT bad XD) The number of text messages far outweigh the number of calls, even in most adults.

But how does texting affect us? I'm gonna get to that more later in The Good and then The Bad, but I will say this: Studies and statistics show that it’s addicting and can cause focus issues when one is so constantly connected.

Bummer -_-

Not that I have to worry about any of this anymore since my texting has been suspended XD But here's an interesting piece of information for you...

Did you know it's possible to text phones without having texting? Can you say...Gmail's etexting? >:D If you want more on that, you can email me (livinglovinglaughinglearning@gmail.com) ;)

Stay tuned for Part 3: The Good.

~Kendra

Summer Lists

It's here. It's here. It's finally here! I've been waiting for this for nine months!

SUMMER.

No school. No tests. No exams. No papers. No projects. No timelines. No modules. No notes. No rough drafts. No final drafts. No vocabulary. No lab write-ups. No flashcards. No stress! My life is complete XD

Well, almost. I just need a mode of transportation and the rest of the world to get out of school XD And texting would be nice...But for now, I'm in paradise :D

But just because I don't have school doesn't mean I can't be productive. I just get to be productive in the areas that interest me now! How? I got one word for you:

Lists.

I love lists. I make lists things to do. I make lists of things to pack. I make lists of things to remember. I make lists of things to wear. I make lists of things I hate. I make lists of things I love. I make lists of lists.

Okay, I'm not quite THAT bad.

But I get organized through lists. It's how I think. So when I want to make sure to accomplish some awesome things over the summer, where do I turn?

Kendra's List of Summer Lists
1. Books to Read
2. Movies to Watch
3. Places to Go
4. Things to Learn
5. Things to Start
6. Things to Stop
7. Things to Try

Lists are tangible reminders of what you want to accomplish. Sometimes just putting something in writing can give you some motivation. What do you want to do this summer? Make a list :D

I'll post my own summer lists later, starting on Sunday, my first full week of awesome.

~Kendra

Prom and Pictures

For me, prom was one of those rare nights that I don't know how to post about. Usually words are my little minions, but sometimes they just fail me XD

My awesome friends Meredith, Stacey and Jessica came over at 4pm to help me get ready, seeing as how I'm a little challenged in this area...Lacking in self-confidence if nothing else XD Mer curled my hair, Jessica did my nails, and Stacey hung out and was her wonderful self :D Despite getting a late start on preparations, we were ready only about five minutes after Cavender showed up.

*Daddy and Lizzy take pictures and stuff*
*Daddy takes Sa--Cavender and me to Olive Garden to meet friends (Emma, and Tori and Tim)*
*apparently Olive Garden wouldn't take reservations*
*we find out the wait is 40 minutes long*
*we end up at Macaroni Grill XD*

Dinner was good, both funness and foodness wise XD We didn't get to the prom until 8:15, which was really fine considering there wasn't anything to miss.

Those of you who know me know that it takes me a ridiculously long time to warm up to situations. I usually end up getting loose about the time something ends -_- That was almost the case at prom. I'm honestly not an extremely awkward person. I feel incredibly awkward a lot, but I can usually hide most of it. It usually comes out as arrogance or irritability.

I knew more people at prom than I thought I would, but Cavender actually knew more. Go figure, "my" prom and he knew a ton of people XD I mostly hung out with Emma at the beginning. She's awesome XD We got into dancing towards the end. I have a confession to make:

I am decidedly very white XD

The prom just got better the longer we were there. I ended up having a freaking epic blast. We also learned "hardcore dancing" which was lols. And fun. Even though I'm pretty sure I didn't do it right XD Cavender and I also did a teensie bit of non-legit slow dancing, at which I failed even though there was nothing even to fail at.

(Cavender: "You put your hand on my shoulder."
Me: "What? I know. It is on your shoulder."
Cavender: "No, like--"
Me: *changes hand position*
Cavender: "No. Here--"
Me: *changes hand position again*
Cavender: "No. HERE."
Me: *changes again*
Cavender: "Your arm needs to be on top of--*fixes hand/arm position* There."
Me: "Oh. Heh...sorry..."

>.< Nothing like wounded pride to bring you back down to earth, right? XD)

Long story short, prom was one of those nights I wish would never end. I honestly had no intention of staying the whole time, but we did. It was like my mom said to me and Daddy the other day,

"I don't know that you really want to go to prom. I think you just want to buy a dress and do your hair and makeup and take pictures and have Cavender and then change into shorts and y'all watch Alias all night."

Me: "...maaaaaaybe...>.>"

So yeah. I had fun. So much fun. Cavender FTW :)

Wait, what's that? You want to see pictures? XD Okay. Here they are. Captions on the bottom.
The AMAZING :D:D:D Crew, left to right: Mer, (me), Stacey, Jessica.
Hair...Hair and nails...Nails...The name of the polish? Gun metal >:D I would."You're gonna paint my toenails? You really want to? Okay..."Hairspray...All done :DWooT! The dress!Shoes...
Me.
Me and Cavender.
Tori and Tim.
Me and Emma putting our shoes back on XD
Emma and me in the masks :)
Me, Cavender, Emma, Tim, Tori.

:) Hope y'all had a zillionth as much fun reading this as I had last night :)

~Kendra

Prom...

...was extremely fun. I had a really good night :) :) More details tomorrow :)

~Kendra

Prom Preparation

So, I'm an intelligent person. Not gonna lie. I'm talented in some areas, like writing, dancing, and (supposedly) singing. I'm good with kids, I can get them to listen to me. I'm a good debater (when I'm ready). I read fast, learn quickly, and think on my feet.

But there is something about hair and makeup that spells F-A-I-L to me.

My mom and Lizzy and I left the house early before my dance class and bought me some more makeup. (Apparently eyeshadow from Claire's just doesn't cut it anymore XD) We got good stuff, including a little set of eye makeup. With instructions. WooT XD

I actually DO have good taste in clothes and makeup, I'm just never sure how to do it. I can tell you what I want my face to look like, but getting it there...That's something else.

Usually I don't really plan or practice getting ready that much. I always intend to, but it always ends up that we have to leave in fifteen minutes and I'm putting myself together for the first time. My mom strongly suggested I practice with the makeup, so I did last night.

Yay, for instructions. And yay for labels. And yay for--holy crap, my face looks bad.

To put it nicely, the directions did not speak to me. Kyle is my witness -_-

No wonder people can major in cosmetics. There is some definite skill to be had. Skill I apparently lack. Who would have thought that simple instruction like "Blend" could be so...not simple?

So I started over, ditching the directions entirely, and experimented. I used common sense and not too much creativity XD It looked fine. I was pretty pleased with how it all came out. I practiced it again today and it was even a little better. Hallelujah.

Today I decided to brave the world of hair. It went worse than the makeup XD I have an awesome friend coming over on Saturday who has promised to help me :) Yay for friends.

Yay for moms who buy new makeup even thought it's not cheap.
Yay for makeup experimentations.
Yay for "Blending" fails.
Yay for hair.
Yay for prom.
Yay for Cavender :)

~Kendra

tExTiNg PaRt OnE: Intro

Some of you may know that I have a cell phone. Some more of you may know that it is a red LG Shine that hates me. Even more of you might know that I like to text. Very few of you know that I lost this privilege yesterday.

Why? My parents don't want me texting too much. They feel like it's unhealthy, it fragments your brain, and distracts from who you are with right now. I admit, those are valid points. I started out only having 200 texts a month. That's like 3 texts, counting both sending and receiving, per day.

The average American teenager sends about 80 a day. So yeah, 200 a month did not work for me at all.

My parents eventually agreed that 200 was kind of a conservative number, and moved me to the 1500 plan, as long as I promised only to use 600 of them.

This month's cell bill just came up.

I sent over 1600.

*sigh*

Now, when you look at the statistics, that's not unreasonable. On average, teens send and receive 2272 a month. So really, I'm not that bad.

BUT. That's not the point. The point is that I didn't follow through with my part of the plan. My parents weren't going to let me have texting at all, but they decided that 200 was okay. I blew it big time there, costing them a lot of money. We renegotiated, and I was allowed to send 600. Well, I blew it again. As much as I really think I can stay within the limit, I'm not gonna get another chance, at least for a while.

I stand firm that 600 texts a month isn't a lot, and even 1600 isn't too many. My grades have been okay, and texting has not been interfering with my family life. However, as an aspiring lawyer and one who values justice over mercy, I can see exactly why I lost texting. It was fair. No, it was more than fair. I got three shots and blew them all. Maybe I'll have better luck in a few months :)

Stay tuned for Texting Part Two: Where Do We Stand?

~Kendra

Audition Results

Well, the cast list for "The King and I" has been posted. I really wanted to play Eliza, the main character in the ballet portion. Of course, this is only my second play, there were several good dancers and the audition instructor had me doing the part of the Angel the whole time, so I knew what to expect when the list was published.

Which is why it shocked me so much when I got Eliza.

I was so shocked when I saw my name next to Eliza. I gasped, jumped out of the chair and covered my mouth XD A pretty cliche reaction, but the truth all the same. Lizzy asked me what was wrong and I told her I was Eliza. She was thrilled for me. I then ran upstairs to share the news with my parents.

I'll be honest, I know I can dance. I'm not pulling false modesty there, I'm a pretty good dancer. But I just knew that someone else would be better, and better suited to the part. I was hoping for Eliza, but not really expecting her.

I just can't believe it. I'm so excited.

If you want to see what I'll be doing, here is the ballet on Youtube.

Part I
Part II

Thank you so, so, SO much for all your prayers! I know they helped!

~Kendra

Book Tag! (Way Better Post Than That Last One XD)

Yeah, I'm posting twice in the same day. But I figure that's okay for the following reasons:

1. I haven't been posting much lately, so this will compensate a little.
2. I have some awesome news (3 actually) to share.
3. I forgot to thank some new followers :O
4. I got tagged by Silver Angel!

First things first, thanks for following, duck_sister, Marissa, Silver Angel, and Jennoula2009! Wow! :D (Sorry I couldn't find links for duck_sister and Jenn!)

Now, awesome newses XD

I FOUND MY MOOD RING!!!!!! :O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O I had totally given up, but it turned up in a notebook case! I do not remember putting it in there. Am I the luckiest person in the world, or what? ;) Another Fortuna Kendrae.

Awesome news #2: I GOT A CALL BACK FOR DANCE IN "THE KING AND I"!!!!! YAY! :O :D I think Cavender is coming with me, so he'll get to see me either sink or swim, lol XD Hopefully I'll swim. And gracefully XD

News #3: I'm on Facebook. There's a little gadget on the right...scroll down. Keep scrolling. Keep--yeah, there. Add me :D

Okay, now for the awesome tag from Silver Angel (whose blog I like. Check it out.):

Rules: 8 books you'd like to live in (mine aren't in order) and why, then tag 8 people! Easy ;)

Book 1: "Eragon". Sorry, but Alagaesia is awesome. And because it's necessary to continue the story. You know the green dragon appearing in the fourth book? Yeah, I'm the Rider. Oh yes.

Book 2: "Lord of the Rings". Surely this doesn't need a Why?? *sigh* If you must know, it's because I think Tolkien was one of the greatest fantasy geniuses on the earth. His world is so complete, it's hard to believe it doesn't really exist. Every race has its own back story, its own legends, its own customs and ways of life. It's just so rich with detail, and I'd love to meet the Hobbits :) Elves, too, but I do love the Hobbits.

Book 3: "The Chronicles of Narnia". Tolkien was a genius, but Narnia holds an irreplaceable spot in my heart. My friends and I once thought we had actually found Narnia in the backyard of my school. I'm not so sure we were wrong...Talking trees, knights in shining armor and wolves have to mean something, right??

Book 4: "The Mirror". Is it egotistical and/or cheating to want to visit my own book? I want to know that I got my characters right, and I'm sure there's a lot I'd have to see to describe accurately. And I wanna meet Luken rlybad.

Book 5: "Peter Pan". Never land is right up there with Narnia. No lie. And Peter Pan is freaking awesome.

Book 6: "The Farsala Trilogy". Really cool books. Kinda hard to explain, but awesome.

Book 7: "Sophie's World". That is such an epic book. It is truly something. Like philosophy, mystery, suspense, fantasy and education wrapped up in one. It is so cool. You have to read it some time in your life. Really, it's so eye-opening and AWESOME.

Book 8: "Uglies series". It's set in the future. Scott Westerfield has an incredible mind for technology. It would be so cool to use some of the gadgets first-hand. And the problems introduced in their world are very interesting.

Thanks for the tag, Silver Angel! That was fun!

I tag...
Bleah
duck_sister
Marissa
Tay in Real Life
Kailyn
Breanne
Katie G.
Avalon

~Kendra

P.S. I know it's too late to do the blog parade Bekah was having, but the questions are so fun. Would it be okay if I did them in a tag sometime?

My Daybook: Week 9

Date: 4.10.10
Starting time: 4:53pm
Mood: uninspired
Outside my window: sunny and leafy :D
I'm thinking: about fire fairies
I'm reading: kind of nothing
I'm listening to: the old computer hum
I'm wearing: navy basketball shorts and a brown T-shirt
Yesterday, I: did school
I'm excited for: Cavender might come over tomorrow
I'm sad because: I have school on Monday.
I'm hungry for: nothing
The song stuck inside my head is: "Comatose" by Skillet
I want: to do well in school
I love: warm weather
I loathe: school
This week, my goal is: get done with school
Ending time: 5:55pm

~Kendra

Food for Thought

"If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view--until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." ~ Atticus Finch, "To Kill A Mocking Bird"

People talk about being judgmental a lot, but I'm starting to think it's one of those lessons you have to figure out for yourself. I can talk until I'm blue in the face about not judging, but you have to learn it for yourself.

Things that you swore never to do, say, think, feel, wear, or forget, you will. Don't be so quick to judge people for what they do. You don't know the half of it. You don't know what's going on with them. You don't know how they feel. Someday when you do, you might feel pretty silly for stereotyping them or writing them off.

Of course, there are boundaries to this. There are some things that are never okay, no matter what the situation. However, it may turn out that things you thought were black and white actually aren't.

Think about it.

~Kendra

P.S. Check out Levi's blog, With the Setting Sun. His writing style is cool, and he's got great thoughts.

Prom Dresses!

Thanks for following, Messed One and Steven!

So, guess what?

I went shopping today.

More or less voluntarily.

For a dress.

A prom dress.

:)

I'm going to the prom.

Yeah, me. I'm actually going to a prom. I didn't plan to do that until I was a senior. Put if off as long as possible, because I'd feel awkward and...I can't dance.

Okay, so that's not completely true in two ways. 1) I can dance, just not ballroom dance and 2) I don't actually know if I "can't", because I've just never learned.

So why am I braving the world of fancy dresses, makeup, hair and dancing now?

It's Cavender's fault XD

I know I won't be able to get away with talking about dress shopping without posting some pictures, so here goes. (You can thank my wonderful little sister Lizzy for these.) Comments are under the pictures.

This was okay. The beading on the straps isn't really my thing (it continues down the back and I didn't like it). Also, it's cut really low in the back and that goes against the dress code, not to mention my comfort zone.

This dress was too expensive to buy, but I wanted to try it on because it looked like a "fire fairy costume" to me :) I had to try it on, just for the memories it evoked.

Yeah, this just looks like I'm wearing a mermaid tail XD

I actually really liked this one (and it was cheap XD), but it was too big :-/ I'm leaning against the wall keeping the straps up higher XD

I really liked this one. It's my second favorite. I love, love, LOVE the skirt on it. It's the kind of dress that I could twirl in for hours :) The main problem was that it's black. I really didn't want a black dress, but I almost bought it anyway.

This one just didn't really call to me XD It was like, "Ehh."

This one was absolutely hideous on the hanger and before the sash was tied, but it wasn't too bad when it was fully put on. It's growing on me even now, but the seaming on the chest is weird...yeahh...XD

And last but not least, the winner :) This is the dress I got. I feel good in it. I just liked it the best :)

We shopped for like an hour and a half. Shopping tires me out like nothing else. I can dance for two hours and fifteen minutes, or play soccer for an hour and a half, or run around outside all day, but an hour of shopping is like *instant energy fail* XD

Hope you liked seeing my wonderfully girly-fail self in a prom dress XD Good night all!

~Kendra

White Hearts

Thanks for following, Tay, Ruthie (although I was sure you were already following...O.o I'm loosing it XD) and Hanner! New followers shock me. But they delight me, too, so it's okay XD

So far the poll it telling me that y'all want...

- About my life [Seriously? I'm so boring XD]
- Creative stuff [*gets out thinking cap*]
- Funny stuff [I'm not funny :D]

Then it's a three-way tie between My writing, Thought-provoking posts and My thoughts and opinions. Y'all are clearly not in this for the intellectual aspect.

JUST KIDDING. I luv you guys XD

Well, today was...interesting.

I only have about three more weeks of school left, which is great and everything, but it means we're closing in on finals--FAST. I have plenty to do to get ready, let's just say that. I'm so much looking forward to being done, though. I can't even remember the last time I was so ready to be finished with school. I used to like school. This year, I've kind of hated it all year :-/ So yeah. Lots of finals coming up, and a Lincoln-Douglas debate, which is so overwhelming that I don't even want to explain it >.<

We dissected a sheep's heart today. It was white. I guess I know that it's just the blood that makes a heart red, but that still surprised me.

Creative stuff.

Eat dinner with your left hand.

How's THAT for creative? Actually, it's not. I got it from Kyle. XD

Well, I'm really kind of distracted and not much of a poster today XD I'll talk to y'all later :)
P.S. Cavender's ankle isn't broken, it's sprained. Keep praying :)

People Pleasers vs. Fixers

My sister is a people pleaser. I have never been a people pleaser. I've always been sadly selfish and not easily guilted into things. However, there is a not-so-distance cousin of the PP that I'd like to introduce to you:

The Fixer.

A Fixer is different from a PP. A people pleaser tries to please everyone at once. They do what they're asked, and spread themselves too thin. Fixers are the Type A version of that.

Fixers are out to, well, fix everything. They feel like they should be able to do everything themselves, and not only solve their own problems, but yours as well. While people pleasers feel unhappy when the people around them are irritated, Fixers just get frustrated--more often than not at themselves.

I'm a Fixer. I like to play supergirl. I'm mostly good at it, or at least I used to be. Not as much anymore.

Now, this is usually the point where I would turn this post around and tell you that being a PP or a Fixer is not the way to go. I would normally tell you that it's just exhausting and unrealistic. You can't please everyone. A smart leader doesn't please everyone, they just decide who they need to please. You also can't fix everything. You can only change yourself, not other people, and some things will just plain have to wait for God's timing.

This is usually where I'd say that, but I'm too ticked off that I can't Fix everything to turn this into a lesson.

Oh, wait...

P.S. Please pray for Cavender's ankle. It's sprained, or maybe broken.

My Daybook: Week 8

Thanks for following Samarah and Kailyn! Y'all made me smile :D

So, I know I just did a Daybook a few days ago, but it's Saturday, I want to post, I can't think of anything good, and I want to get back on track. So, here it is :D

Date: Tuesday, April 3, 2010
Starting time: 7:26pm
Mood: serious
Outside my window: light and the trees have green buds coming out :D
I'm thinking: I think too much XD
I'm reading: "The Hobbit"
I'm listening to: "Immortal" by Evanescence
I'm wearing: basketball shorts, a T-shirt, and a sweatshirt
Yesterday, I: went to the cold lake with Brianna and this other family
I'm excited for: Easter is tomorrow.
I'm sad because: not really sad.
I'm hungry for: nothing
The song stuck inside my head is: "Immortal", 'cause it's playing.
I want: omniscience
I love: warm weather, for one thing.
I loathe: hmmm....school.
This week, my goal is: get through school.
Ending time: 7:34pm

~Kendra

Hairband Wars

First of all, thanks LanguageTimothy for following! YAY!

Okay, I have some hard news. I've been taking kind of a break from my everyday blogging routine, and it's been really nice. I know I said I was coming back for Easter, but I really feel like my time would be better spent focusing on school, church, and writing right now. So, as hard as it is to say, this is goodbye. I love you all, I've loved bloggin--

Okay, April Fool's already. People were starting to tear up. So yeah XD Hah. Got you. Anyway...

So, Cavender came over today :)

We hung out downstairs and had epic wars. Like with pillows and hairbands. (He thinks that he won, so if it comes up, play along so you don't hurt his feelings ;P) Then we went to down the lake with Lizzy and Licky the Awesome Dog. After going to the cabana and to Matt and Katie's beach, we came back and I made Kool-Aid (black cherry, and, okay, I put in a TINY bit too much water and sugar, but it turned out just fine XD). Then we watched Phineas and Ferb, then ate hot dogs, and then he had to leave :( *cue violin music* XD

Other than that, today was not all that great. I'm being very unproductive in the academic area, which is probably going to end up making my Monday a living Heck. Oh well. I won't think about that right now. Tomorrow is going to be SUPER PRODUCTIVE...

It's also supposed to be 85 degrees and my friend Brianna is sleeping over and we're going to blow up this huge inflatable thing and go to the lake :D