Mari Mac

Sorry for all the music posts, I promise to post something else soon XD

When we went to Disney in December, we saw this amazing Celtic rock band in Epcot called Off-Kilter. I LOVED them, and we bought their CD. They're infinitely better live, though, so I couldn't really get into the CD while the memory of them was fresh in my mind. Now that the memory has (tragically XD) faded some, I'm listening to their CD and loving it, too. I definitely recommend checking them out if you like Celtic rock :) And they've got a permanent gig in Epcot (in the Canada area), so GO SEE THEM LIVE.

One of the funnest songs is called "Mari Mac" XD I love it, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to get the words down!

"Mari Mac" Lyrics
Sweet little lass and her name is Mari Mac
Make no mistake she’s the girl I’m gonna track
Lot of other fellas try to get her on her back
But I’m thinking that they’ll have to get up early

Mari and her mother look an awful lot together
In fact you hardly see the one without the other
And people often wonder if it’s Mari or her mother
Or both of them together I am courting.

Chorus
Mari Mac’s mother’s making Mari Mac marry me
My mother’s making me marry Mari Mac
Well I’m gonna marry Mari for Mari’s taking care of me
We’ll all be merry when I marry Mari Mac

Well up among the heather in the hills of Benifee
I had a bonny lass sitting on me knee
Bumble bee stung me right above me knee
Up among the heather in the hills of Benifee

Well a certain bonnie lass and me, we’re going to spend the day
Sittin among the heather in the hills of Benifee
Where all the boys and girls are making out so free
Up among the heather in the hills of Benifee

Chorus

The wedding’s on Wednesday, everything’s arranged
Soon her name will be changed to unless her mind be changed
And making the arrangements I feel I must arrange
Marriage is an awful undertaking

Sure to be a grand affair, grander than a fair
Going to be a fork and plate for every man that’s there
And I’ll be a bugger if I don’t get me share
If I don’t I’ll be very much mistaken.

Chorus

Unfortunately I can't find a good Youtube video of Off-Kilter doing this song! Here's someone else's version [click HERE :D], but I definitely prefer Off-Kilter's. (There are also a LOT of different verses to this song, so this other version might have different ones than the Off-Kilter ones I have here.)

~Kendra

P.S. I also just found out they're not on iTunes....soo....yeah >.> Sorry.

Almost Alice

Just in case you guys had luck with any of my music, here are some of my favorite songs from the "Almost Alice" album. Supposedly it's music inspired by the story of Alice in Wonderland :) I love trying to find the Alice theme XD

"Painting Flowers" ~ All Time Low


"The Poison" ~ All-American Rejects (again XD)


"Alice" ~ Avril Lavigne


"Her Name is Alice" ~ Shinedown


Maybe you'll find something new to love :D The whole CD is actually pretty worth the money I'd say. There are only a few songs that I just absolutely hate ("Tea Party," "Lobster Quadrille," and "Very Good Advice.")

~Kendra

miTunes

Hey! So, Lia gave me the idea to post some of my current favorite songs! Maybe you'll find something you like :D

"My Paper Heart" ~ All American Rejects


"Higher" ~ Taio Cruz featuring Travie McCoy


"Ghost in the Machine" ~B.o.B


"Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise" ~ The Avett Brothers (totally not my normal style, don't ask me why I love it...)


~Kendra

Non-Grape Wine: As One Wishes to Live

So, I was on Facebook the other day (who isn'? XD) and I'd been tagged in a cool activity:

1- Go to Wikipedia and hit "Random Article" (it's on the left side). The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to quotationspage.com and hit "Random Quotes" (on the left side again). The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on "the last seven days” (at the bottom this time XD Then you have to click it again on the right side). Third picture, no matter what (as long as it's appropriate), will be your album cover.

4 - Use paint or photoshop or something like that to put it all together.

5 - Tag the friends you want to do this.

I didn't think it sounded that fun, but the friend who tagged me is new-ish to Facebook, so I decided I'd do it. Here's what I got:

Isn't that awesome? It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. It also made me want to start a band XD Here are some that my friends did:

Kyle's

Cassidy's

Aaand then I decided to make a few more :)


You should try it! It's tons of fun :) If you do and you post it to your blog, leave a comment so I can come see it! :D

~Kendra

Theme Songs

Hey! I was tagged by Christian with a book tag. A couple of questions really made me think and started me on a wild goose chase:

Does your novel have a theme song?
Assign each of your main characters a theme song.

Wow. How awesome is that? "The Mirror" already had a theme song in my mind, Lux Aeterna by Clint Mansell. But the second question was a little harder to answer.

I went straight to Youtube and started listening to X-Ray Dog's stuff. Do you know who/what that is? I didn't. I mean, I'd listened to it before and I knew that it was great for this sort of thing, but I didn't know what it actually was. Turns out X-Ray Dog is like a company in California that does theme music for movies. Perfect.

Those of you who know me can testify that me + an idea + picky-ness = laaaate night. I was up til 1AM last night listening to tons and tons of X-Ray Dog, search for something that embodied the four characters I'd chosen as my mains.

Finally, out out absolutely nowhere, Darren's song hit me full force. My eyes widened, my mouth fell open, and I clicked quickly to the tab playing the song. "Fight for Glory." And that was Darren's song.

Darren ~ Fight for Glory by X-Ray Dog

I looked some more, sifting through this and that, trying to ignore the fact that it was 12:48AM. I was losing hope fast when Paige's song found me. It was a great moment of "Oh my gosh...this is it..."

Paige ~ Truth and Lies by X-Ray Dog

(I've always thought that Decode by Paramore fits her too, MUCH better than it fits Bella and Edward, for whom it was written.)

I scrambled through more and more music, dismissing some and listening to others. Eventually, something that sounded a bit like Narcissa came to my attention.

Narcissa ~ Flight of Dreams by X-Ray Dog

(And yes, that is also Luna Lovegood.)

I'm not completely satisfied with Narcissa's. It's definitely very good and very close, and it might grow on me, but as of now it doesn't quite fit her. She's quieter and less...funny. Somehow the music makes her sound like a hilarious and fun character. And, I mean, she is, but in a quieter, almost weaker way actually.

Luken

Ah, Luken. The last song to find. Luken may be my favorite character. I'm not sure. He's tall and brooding and mysterious, BUT he's not dark. He's arrogant, determined and strong, with streaks of sadness and desperation.

And I have not been able to find a song like that.

So...heh...I'm not going to ask you to help me out or anything...BUT...if you had spare time...or new an arrogantdeterminedsaddesperate song, I'd love to hear about it :3 Keeping in mind the other three and their style, suggestions would be EXTREMELY appreciated :) I hate it when I start something I can't finish.

So, with that, I'm off to paw through some more X-Ray Dog in search of Luken :)

~Kendra

Happy Thanksgiving!

(EDIT: .......it didn't work.......so I'm posting it really quick now before I have to go.)

I don't know if I'll have time to post on Thanksgiving ("today"), so I'm gonna use the auto-post thing. So, technically, I'm writing this when it's not Thanksgiving, but you'll READ it on Thanksgiving... XD

But don't worry; sometime soon, I'll post about what happened today.

I hope you're having/had a great Thanksgiving!

Girls' "Word Names" I Made Up
451. Peace
452. Survivor
453. Rumor
454. River
455. Tally
456. Trust
457. Every
458. Legend
459. Soul
460. Story
461. Lyric
462. Atlantic
463. Props
464. Amaze
465. Ocean
466. Anime
467. Memory
468. Lake
469. Lymrick
470. Echo

Things I'm Thankful For
471. Words
472. Talents
473. Writing
474. Freedom
475. Books
476. Family
477. Friends
478. Friends that are more like family
479. Straighteners
480. Internet
481. Education
482. Dance
483. Laughter
484. Music
485. Teachers
486. Advice
486. Friends that can drive
487. Food
488. Licky (my doggie :D)
489. Eyeliner (I really am...)
490. Razors (See above.)
491. Heat
492. Philosophy class/Philosophers
493. Languages
494. The chance to go to Europe this summer
495. My blog
496. My camera
497. My iPod
498. Thinking/Opinions
499. Challenges

500. The God who made all 499 other things possible.

~Kendra

~Sad Songs~

When I was little, I hated sad songs.

And when I say "hate," I mean "LEGIT. HATRED." If I heard the first note of "Christmas Shoes" on the radio, it was off before the sound had time to register with anyone else. Just about any country sound was taboo, and the general category of Sad Love Songs was banned from my presence.

It's not that I was a controlling little devil (although maybe I was), I just couldn't deal with sad songs. My heart would start to get smaller and tighter and my throat would squeeze and I'd feel warm wetness in the back of my eyes and an uncontrollable need to curl up and die would overtake me.

I heard "Christmas Shoes" ONCE and spent that entire Christmas alternately crying in my room because I thought my mother was going to die. True story.

Now, I love sad songs.

I buy them on iTunes, search them out on my iPod, have playlists for them, put them on in the car. My sister hates me for it, but I figure she'll come around eventually like I did.

Instead of sad songs ruining my day (or possibly my ENTIRE CHRISTMAS SEASON) the way they used to, they fill my soul. Isn't that weird way to say it? But it's true. Something inside me swells with emotion until I think I might burst. The truth and tragedy resonate with me. Sad songs inspire me to write with passion; they pull my emotions together into a breathtaking bundle. They make me feel something beautiful.

I'm not sure when the change happened, or why. I've always been a very emotional person. I don't mean that I cry a lot or am a drama queen. I actually don't cry very often and I pride myself on dry humor.

I mean that when I'm happy, the whole world is beautiful and alive and nothing can stop me. When I'm sad, everything I am dips into a well of despair filled to the top with all the misfortune and cruelty in the world. When I'm angry, everything is tinged in red and channels of passion course through my veins, giving me strength to make a change.

I feel everything strongly. No matter what the emotion is, I am all over it. Full-force, completely, nothing halfway about it.

I think when I was little, I was afraid of my emotions. I knew how powerful my sadness was, so I ran from it, blocked it out, avoided it at all cost. Somewhere along the line, I began to realize how beautiful emotions are. The stronger they are, the more potential for beauty, for inspiration. Not to say that emotions should control you--you must be sure that YOU are in control of THEM--but that you shouldn't fear them.

You miss 100% of the shots you never take. No pain, no gain. The bigger the risk, the bigger the success. You can never win unless you're willing to try.

If you run from your feelings, you'll never know just how beautiful they can be.
~~~~~~~~~
[Due to miscounting on my part, I'm going to have to do more than 30 Things a day for the next three days, because I want to end on Thanksgiving :)]

Questions (all originals, btw XD):
361. When witnesses are asked if they will tell the whole truth in court, what happens if they say no?
362. How do British schools teach about the Revolutionary War?
363. Do Mexicans think about Spain the way Americans think about England?
364. Why do only guys go bald?
365. How important does a person have to be before they're "assassinated" and not just "murdered"?
366. How were cuss words invented?
366. Do other countries celebrate Thanksgiving?
368. Why is it now more of a girl thing to have long hair? I mean, originally, guys AND girls did.
369. What is the big deal with those nerdy glasses this days?
370. Why is it that when I try to think of them, all the awesome questions I have go away?

RANDOM FACTS
371. Saturday mail delivery in Canada was eliminated by Canada Post on February 1, 1969!
372. In Tokyo, a bicycle is faster than a car for most trips of less than 50 minutes!
373. There are 18 different animal shapes in the Animal Crackers cookie zoo!
374. Should there be a crash, Prince Charles and Prince William never travel on the same airplane as a precaution!
375. Your body is creating and killing 15 million red blood cells per second!
376. The king of hearts is the only king without a moustache on a standard playing card!
377. There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos!
378. There is one slot machine in Las Vegas for every eight inhabitants!
379. Every day 20 banks are robbed. The average take is $2,500!
380. The most popular first name in the world is Muhammad!


Answer to the "How Well Do You Know Me" Quiz:
381. B
382. A
383. D
384. A
385. A
386. C
387. D
388. A
389. B
390. There were only 9 questions... :3

Most Visited Sites on My Computer
391. Yahoo!
392. Gmail
393. Blogger
394. Facebook
395. Google
396. Youtube
397. Wikipedia
398. Stumble
399. Fandango
400. Twitter

~KeNdRa

Yesterday's Post :3

Oopsy.

Top 10 Most Played on My iPod:
211. Fireflies - Owl City
212. Going Under - Evanescence
213. Papercut - Linkin Park
214. Bring Me to Life - Evanescence
215. Call Me - Shinedown
216. Here I Am - Bryan Adams
217. Whispers in the Dark - Skillet
218. Comatose - Skillet
219. I Never Wanted - As I Lay Dying
220. Forsaken - As I Lay Dying

Top 10 Recently Played on My iPod:
221. Breaking the Habit - Linkin Park
222. Forsaken - As I Lay Dying
223. I Never Wanted - As I Lay Dying
224. Alice - Avril Lavigne
225. Going Under - Evanescence
226. Bring Me to Life - Evanescence
227. In Transit - Mark Hoppus
228. Lux Aeterna - Clint Mansell
229. Rawkfist - Thousand Foot Crutch
230. Dry Bones - Gungor

Favorite Artists:
231. Relient K
232. Linkin Park
233. As I Lay Dying
234. Evanescence
235. Skillet
236. Shinedown
237. tobyMac
238. Gungor
239. Michael W. Smith (only when he's NOT singing XD So, like the "Freedom" CD)
240. Globus

~Kendra

Childhood Choices

When I was little, I wanted to be a famous singer (as well as the first woman president, an orphanage keeper, and an artist). The "famous" part was very important. I would bring CDs of songs I wanted to sing to church. After the service, I would play the CD through the sound system and use the microphones to live my dream.

I stared a singing group called Triple G (God's Girls Group) and made sign-up sheets for it and put them on the Information Desk at church. Members of the group came and went a lot, mostly due to the fact that I was what you might call a Bossy Little Snit at times XD

Although I wasn't singing to God for the right reasons, I learned a lot through all that. I learned that you can't treat people like crap and expect them to do what you say. I learned that true friends are the ones that will still love you even when you're being a jerk. I learned that not ALL grown-ups take people 2ft. shorter than them as a joke. I learned how to make things happen and persevere. I learned a lot of good Christian artists.

I recently rediscovered my #1 favorite artist of my Triple G club years: Rebecca St. James.

I must admit that even as a very strange child, I had pretty good taste in music. When I decided to go back listen to some of the "Transform" CD, I was prepared to be underwhelmed. But I still love some of the songs! They remind me of awesome times, and the sound is really cool. "Reborn", "One" and "Lean On" are still my favorites.

I also discovered that I freaking love Rebecca St. James' sense of style. Dude. I really picked a good singer to look up to.

~Kendra

Enthusiam & AILD

I’ve been crazy this week. Just really pumped about everything, really WILD. Everything I do recently, I get really into. Like right now, I’m really into this music. Like, I can’t even explain it. I’ve always *liked* music, and even lately liked it more, but right now, I love it. I love it so much.

As I Lay Dying is blasting through my M&M earbuds at a volume that may do permanent damage, and I could not be happier. I love this. I love this so much. It makes me feel better than good, it makes me feel alive (irony ftw) and happy and pumped and wild.

And like I have to be able to do this.

I need to be able to play guitar like that. I need to be able to scream. And you know what?
Right now, I’m convinced that I could.

Maybe I can, maybe I’m fooling myself. But there’s only one way to find out, right? And I intend to find out.

Our selfishness consumes us
Until the whole world is not enough
Forgive the day that I erased your name
For it's the memory of me that will decay.
~ "Forsaken" by As I Lay Dying

I've seen my world change
And then go back to where it came.
~ "I Never Wanted" by As I Lay Dying

~KeNDra

Dance, Dance

Well, the old philosophy of
"Bad rehearsal, good performance"

has been proven...

CORRECT!

Things That Went Wrong at Rehearsal:
1) I messed up some foot work in dance #1, Razzle Dazzle.
2) The spacing wasn't great on Razzle Dazzle.
3) I work a short-sleeved leotard for the tap dance, which we were supposed to, but no one else did, so I looked weird.
4) I couldn't find my black capri pants for the tap dance. I had to wear my shorts that were part of another costume!
5) I did the wrong number of fouette turns in my ballet dance! It was really obvious.
6) I had a few wardrobe issues.
7) I almost forgot the end bow thing for my tap dance.

Yeah :( But...

The recital was great! I messed up a bit in once dance, but other than that, I have to say it wasn't bad at all :) I had SO much FUN! I love my dances :) My makeup was even fine! And I changed my hair three times and nothing horrible happened :) Also...

I DID MY SPLIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! First time ever going all the way down. Can you believe it?? I felt myself hit the ground and kind of looked down, shocked. After the dance, I ran back into the dressing room to do it again. Could it be true? It was! A year and a half of training ends in a perfect victory! Yay!

I also had awesome people come watch me! David, Daniel, their parents, Cassidy, Brianna, my family, my grandma and Cavender! Yay! Most of them had never seen me dance before, and it was really important to me that I do as close to perfectly as I could :)

Dance songs (all of them were cut to fit the time frame):
1. Jazz: Razzle Dazzle (different version)
2. Tap: The tap dance was a cappella!
3. Ballet: Dance, Dance
4. Jazz/hip-hop: Bad Romance (WARNING: suggestive lyrics and language. The language was edited for the dance.)
5. Finale: Thriller! (We did the dance, too :D The Youtube vid won't load for me, so I'm going to cross my fingers that it's a good one, lol XD)

[Captions on the bottom]
Bad Romance poses + Razzle Dazzle costumes = ...this XD (I'm far right, and my face looks weirddd >.>)

Guess which one is me? The one with the dorky leotard and shorts, that's which one! >.< XD
I'm on the far right. With the gray, white and black tie-dyed tights.
Woo! :) I'm front and center, with the same gray, black and white tie-dyed tights.

Good weekend, awful ending. But I'm not gonna think about that :) The dance recital went great, and that's what I'll remember :)

~Kendra

Little Things

Today has been one of those "little things" days. You know, those days when nothing exciting happens, but you smiled enough to call it a good day.

Last night (which was really today), I fell asleep listening to music.
I slept until almost 11:30 this morning :)
I remembered my dreams enough to write them down.
I had delicious pasta for lunch.
I laid on the beach in the sun and listened to music and read for two hours :) :)
My dog surprised me with a visit to the beach too.
I wore no sunscreen and didn't burn at all.
My summer freckles are coming out. (I never understood why girls in books complain about freckles so much. Maybe I ought to hate my freckles too, but I don't. I've always liked them:))
I drank orange juice with ice in it. I love that.
I had yummy hot dogs and seasoned fries for dinner.
I ate two cupcakes :D
I acted out a Bible story with my scattered collection of animal bands.
I sat out on the screened-in porch and journaled.
I talked to Cavender for a tiny bit, which was an awesome surprise. (He's grounded.)
I watched the end of My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

What a great day :) Sometimes the little things make all the difference, we just have to be careful not to miss them.

Carpe diem :)

~Kendra

Narcissism At Its Longest

So, I'm late >.< Awel Prince is having a blog-party-give-away thing and I loved the questions. Unfortunately I'm too late to enter the giveaway, but I really want to answer the questions. Hope that's okay!

**I'm having trouble with links not working, so sorry about naming your blog and not linking back to it :(**

1) What's your all time favorite blog/blogger? Yikes! Picking favorites is terrible >.< To name a few...Rear Window, The Word Crafter, Teen Justice, One Sparkling Star and My Life's Graffiti.

2) How do you personally define forgiveness?
Forgiveness is when you finally banish your hard feelings toward someone and can genuinely love them in Christ.

3) What object of your possession has the most sentimental value in your eyes?
I'm a really sentimental person; I have a lot of little things that mean a lot.

4) What song do you consider your personal theme song?
Hmm, Relient K has a ton of great songs that really resonate with me at different times. Up and Up, Best Thing, and Must Have Done Something Right come to mind with my life right now.

5) Do the opinions of others about you really matter to you?
It depends. Actually, no. It doesn't. Yes, they matter to me. I'm pretty much always either trying to make a good impression, or shock people >:D

6) Do you ever make up words?
OH MY GOSH YES. My family--no joke--made a dictionary for all our made up words. We are insane.

7) Off the top of your head, do you know what your middle name means? (You can look it up though! :)
Uh. Marielle. Something about the sea. *looks it up* Ah. Awesome. "Star of the sea."

8) What's is something that never fails to make you smile?
Cavender.

9) What person has touched your heart the most?
Hmm, in what way?

10) Give a scene in a book where you really understood what the author was trying to convey.
I'm sure there have been scenes like that, but nothing will come to mind.

11) What do you think of HTML? Is it the ENEMY or your friend?
Uh...I have no knowledge on this subject whatsoever.

12) What person comments the most consistently on your blog?
Hmm. I feel like it's a pretty good balance actually.

13) Who is your personal hero/heroine (fiction or real, or both)? Why?
My dance teacher. She is so amazing. I want to be just like her when I grow up.

14) Are you curious or are you satisfied knowing that "that's just the way it is"?
Wow, anyone who knows me knows that "just because" is one of the most frustrating things you can say to me.

15)List the your top 5 favorite songs. Do they have anything in common? Why do you love them?
They're not necessarily in order here...1) Call Me by Shinedown, just because I love the song. 2) Forsaken by As I Lay Dying, I love the lyrics and the sound, and it makes me feel awesome. 3) Painting Flowers by All Time Low, I think it was a clever take on Alice in Wonderland. And I just like the song. 4) Treasure by Flyleaf, I love the lyrics. For some reason it gives me chills. 5) Numb by Linkin Park, again, love the lyrics. And I love Linkin Park. Ugh, it kills me to only pick 5 XD I have sooo manyyy and for different moods, times, reasons.

16) Do you ever get into arguments with...your characters? (that's if you write a book :). And if you don't write, do you think you would?
I do, yeah, and not just about the stories they're in. Paige Walt argues with me all the time, but mostly about my own choices. "Kendra, what are you thinking? Don't say that, try this..." etc.

17) While reading a book or watching a movie, were you ever blown away by an unexpected plot twist? What was it and how did you react?
Inkspell and the Mortal Instruments come to mind.

18) What's your personal opinion of i-designs? (orignal, I know, but I really want to know! :)
Hmm, I'm not sure what this is talking about actually...

19) What's your favorite color combinations?
Blue and green in all variations.

20) What's your favorite comic book series?
I have never read a comic book in my life to be honest.

21) What is the oldest book you've read? How old was it? (By old, I mean, like antique books...the manuscript doesn't have to be old, just the copy of it. :)
Oh, hmm...I'm not sure. Our books are all in good condition, so it's hard to tell how old they are. We have an old LotR box set though.

22) What character in any movie or book, would you say is the MOST like you?
Well, Belle from Beauty in the Beast is always freakishly like me. Betsy from the Betsy-Tacy books is also amazingly similar to myself. Even the events of her life mirror mine! It's crazy!

23) If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Hmm. I'd just be nicer. I don't feel like I'm a very nice person. I feel like I'm selfish and greedy and mean more often than not.

24) As a child, what was one thing that always frightened you? This could be something real or imagined! :)
Being out of control. Any way, shape or form was my biggest fear.

25) What's your life motto?
Carpe diem, of course.

26) As you're sitting in café, you're given a note: "It's in your best interests to meet me at 7 P.M. tonight, alone, at Pine and 4th." How would you react?
I'd go to Pine and 4th, of course! 'Course I don't know if I'd go alone. No one ever does and it always turns out awesome anyway XD Plus if I got a creepy note like that and didn't tell anyone, I know of a few people who would be ticked XD

27) Name seven of your favorite books.
Ugh. This is too hard. Mortal Instruments, Farsala Trilogy (those are six books together) and...Sophie's World.

28) Name your absolute favorite font (you can have more than one though)!
I don't have one.

29) Have you ever cried over...a book or a movie?
Uh, duh XD

30) What's something that's brought you so much comfort?
Books. Books, books, books.

31) Describe what you would call a perfect moment.
I'll know it when it happens.

32) What's the fastest you've ever read?
Hmm, I read Brisingr in two days.

33) What's your favorite book/movie genre?
Books, fantasy. Movies, action.

34) Do you say one word a lot just because of the way it sounds? If so, what's the word?
Hmm...actually, no XD

35) What's something you thought you'd hate, but ended up loving?
Root Beer.

36)Do you prefer British or American spellings of words (ex: the British favourite to the American favorite)
I do not have a preference. Although British spellings seem to have unnecessary letters, and I dislike unnecessary things.

37) List a few of your favorite names.
:O Oh my gosh, I was doing this just today. And I was having a lotttt of trouble. Here's what I got:
Boys:
1) Matthew
2) Jordan
3) Seth
4) Ryder
5) Everett
6) Cole
7) Drew
8) Jayden

Girls:
1) Khloe
2) Avery
3) Juliet
4) Lauryn
5) Raegan

38) What is your favorite movie?
I love The Matrix. But I also love Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. And the Bourne movies...

39) Imagine you're writing a story, and one of your characters keeps something buried in a box where no one will find it. What's in the box and what's its significance?
It's obviously meant to be a secret.

40) Was this boring? (be honest! :)
Nope. I love fill-outs.

If you wanna do it, that's cool with me :)

~Kendra

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

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

Musical Roots

I must be bipolar XD But this is going to be a happy post. Know why?

I FINALLY DECIDED ON A MUSIC LECTURE IDEA. AND I FREAKING LOVE IT.

The assignment: Pick three different styles of music and analyze and compare them.

Deciding was my biggest hurdle. I couldn't settle on anything. I thought of doing three things that I thought would have nothing in common like Classical, country and death metal. I really wanted to do, like, subgenres of metal. Lots of people (especially the people in my class) think it all sounds the same. I thought it would be really interesting and fun to analyze some different types. Unfortunately, my teacher and most of my classmates would hate that -_- Also, to do the idea justice, I felt like I'd need more time than I had.

Then my mom had the idea to take three kinds of music that built on each other. I liked that idea, but I still didn't know what to pick...

(The project is due Tuesday by the way. We've had all semester to work on it. Heh.)

I began researching stuff like "music family tree" and "roots of music" and "music genome project". I was coming up blank and getting more frustrated by the second. Finally, I'd had it with the whole thing. I decided to pray. I probably should had done that earlier, but I'm never sure how much time God wants to spend on my petty little academic issues...

Anyway, while I was asking God for suggestions (XD), I got an idea.

"What if I take Classical music, trace that through, like, Stravinsky, and then...I wonder if there's a kind of metal that comes from that..."

I did some research. There is a direct line from Classical, to Neo-Classical (Stravinsky), to Neo-Classical metal.

How. Perfect. Is. That.

I actually kinda screamed for happiness. (No one was home, so it was okay XD) I spent the next two hours completely fascinated and excited about my project. This stuff is so fascinating, people! Oh my gosh! I can't remember the last time I enjoyed school so much! I might do this in my spare time!

I got a little sidetracked with my keyboard, though. I do not play the keyboard, but before long I had "Happy Birthday", "What Child Is This?" and some of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" figured out. I was really excited :D

My dad says I have all this natural music talent. I'm not sure. I don't think I'm particularly gifted, but maybe. *shrug* It's interesting me more and more for sure.

And guess what? I'mma have another ring soon. So yay.

*doesn'tgrindoesn'tgrindoesn'tgri--okay, GRINS*

I'm really thrilled about the music lecture. I can't even tell you how excited I am. I'm just really pumped :D :D :D

~Kendra

If I Were...

A fill-out I got from Cassie...

If I were a gemstone, I'd be tiger's eye.
If I were a scent, I'd be midnight pomegranate.
If I were a pair of shoes, I'd be black converses.
If I were weather, I'd be a thunderstorm (only not a scary one...hard to explain XD).
If I were a facial expression, I'd be one eyebrow raised.
If I were a car, I'd be this (which I believe to be a Lamborghini):
If I were a time of day, I'd be twilight.
If I were a month, I'd be July.
If I were a place, I'd be Sorayoni.
If I were a liquid, I'd be Coke.
If I were a taste, I'd be sour (like the gummy worms :D).
If I were a sea animal, I'd be a sea anemone.
If I were a food, I'd be Cheez-Its.
If I were a color, I'd be teal. Or silver.
If I were a musical instrument, I'd be a guitar.
If I were a flower, I'd be an orchid.
If I were a song, I'd be Lux Aeterna.
If I were a planet, I'd be Saturn.
If I were a object, I'd be a journal.
If I were a fruit, I'd be blueberries.
If I were a sound, I'd be scatting. Just kidding XD I'd be laughter.
If I were a day of the week, I'd be Tuesday.

~Kendra

Bad Memories vs. Good Ones

Why are bad things always easier to remember than good?

I actually thought of this question while riding home from dance tonight. We have this tape-and-wire (technical, I know) thing that lets you play your iPod through the car speakers. Well, the wire is apparently getting old. Half the time the music doesn't come out of the speakers on the right side of the car, and when it does, it breaks up. Static and funny noises are an added bonus. To get your music to play at all you have to contort the wire into uncomfortable positions and HOLD IT THERE.

And then it sometimes still won't play -_-

Sorry. Tangent. But that really does have something to do with the fact that BAD is easier to remember than GOOD.

How? Well, now I can hardly remember what it was like to be able to just LISTEN to my iPod in the car. No wire-jiggling. No iPod-throwing. No wondering if that's really part of the song. All I know is that now, it SUCKS.

We do that a lot, you know, with lots of different things.

When you're starving in the desert, it's hard to remember feeling full and refreshed. But once you're out of the desert, you sure as heck remember how hellish it was to be there.

When you have a broken heart, you swear that it wasn't worth all the good times you had. And then later when you're feeling better, you still swear that getting close to people is a bad idea.

When you're out of shape, you can't remember how good it felt to be able to run a mile flat out. But then when you finally get back into shape, you remember clearly how horrid it felt to sit on the couch all day.

Sometimes the healthy remembrance of the bad is a good thing. It keeps us from loosing sight of where we've come from, and why we stopped/starting doing things differently. But then sometimes it just makes us pessimistic.

The point of this post isn't to say that remembering bad more clearly is better or worse, it's just to point it out. And to ask why.

Why do you think people remember bad things better than good things? Or do you ever agree that we do?

~Kendra

My Daybook: Week 6

Date: Saturday February 27, 2010
Starting time: 5:00pm
Mood: moody
Outside my window: wintery, but kind of light and I can see the grass, so yay :D
I'm thinking: I wish it were summer.
I'm reading: "Witch and Wizard" and "Inkheart" for fun. "Father Brown Mysteries" for school.
I'm listening to: "Forsaken" by As I Lay Dying (<3)
I'm wearing: my favorite sweatpants :D And my Mulan shirt. And my sweatshirt that I wear a lot...
Yesterday, I: did NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTHING and then went to eat at JP Looney's.
I'm excited for: Cavender's coming to church tomorrow, and my friend's birthday party is tomorrow :D
I'm sad because: I'm a'ight :D
I'm hungry for: Heh, funny story...I forgot to eat today :D But I'm not all that hungry...whatever. I can be hungry for anything XD
The song stuck inside my head is: "Forsaken." Because I'm listening to it. Oh, never mind. It's "Call Me" by Shinedown now :D
I want: As cliche and artsy as it sounds, to find myself...
I love: working hard. (I actually do. I forgot...)
I loathe: how I never write anymore
This week, my goal is: I want to say that my goal is to get back to the way I used to be. But a goal is supposed to be something you think you can reach, isn't it?
Ending time: 5:07pm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today was good, despite the melancholy undertone this post has. I woke up badly, though:

Me: *sleeping peacefully...wait...what's that noise...who's standing by my bed??*
Daddy: "Hey. It's 10 o'clock. What time did you want me to wake you up?"
Me: -________- "It's a Saturday."
Daddy: "Yes."
Me: "I want to sleep until I wake up myself."
Daddy: "Okay." *leaves*

Only now I'm wide awake -_- Greaaat.

XD

So, that sucked.

An hour and a half later, I got up. We were supposed to clean today. I despise cleaning. I hate it. Mostly because I draaaaaaag it out and it takes me all day and I've still done basically NOTHING.

But today was different. I got up, and...went into extreme cleaning mode. I cleaned my room, the bathroom, the upstairs bathroom, the school room, did laundry, and did my regular chores in two and a half hours.

:O

It. Felt. Great. I love working hard, I think I really do, I just...I have no idea why I just DON'T. It made me think creative thoughts. It made me feel more like ME than I've felt in a freaking LONG TIME. It was weird. But awesome. I dunno. But I loved cleaning today XD

I did forget to eat, though. I just got into cleaning mode, and skipped breakfast. Well, and lunch. I had some chips like an hour ago, though, but now I feel like I lost a challenge -__- I was gonna try to make it til dinner, but I was like *shrug* "I'll just eat a chip." And now I feel like I lost...Lols XD I'm strange :D

Anyway, I just read "Inkheart" for a while, and now here I am. First time on the computer all day. WooT :D

Haha, I don't have much to add. Today was basically just cleaning XD But it was good. And I felt like the old ME. That was awesome. So, all in all, a very nice day :D

~Kendra

Day Five On This Alien Cloud of Joy

It's not like I don't feel the sad/crappy/annoying/suckish things that happen, it's just like they roll off because I have better reasons to be happy.

School is going fine. Nothing to report there.

Writing is nonexistent. But I'll get inspired sooner or later.

Family is a'ight, which is basically as good as it gets XD

Sickness is getting better. Now my throat just hurts, but I think it's from coughing. I got sick of being sick yesterday and decided I'd be done with it today. So far so good. I've scheduled myself to be 150% back to normal by Saturday at the latest, lol :D

Guess what happened Monday? ELLIE (bff :D) TURNED SWEET SIXTEEN!!!!!!! WooT! :D

Music: I'm swimming in glorious iTunes cash from my birthday :D And I want more music. But I'm being really picky and I can't find anything I want. I dunno. Any suggestions? In general, I have really eclectic taste in music. However, I don't do country, Disney stars trying to sound sexy, or praise-and-worship type stuff (like, I don't really enjoy Michael W. Smith, lol). So...lol, if you're dying to help me out, I need music XD

Other awesomeness: Cavender is coming to church on Sunday :) And then he's coming to my house, then to a friend's birthday party with me. Awesome.

That's all. kBai.

~Kendra