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

DISNEY RECAP

Hi! I'm back! So...Disney World was amazing :)

Hollywood Studios: It's the kingdom where you see all the special effects stuff and very movie-related stuff. They have a show where you get to see an Indiana Jones scene acted out, complete with explosions and amazing fight scenes. It all looks so real.

I rode my first legit roller coaster (the Rockin' Roller Coaster). I got in line with my parents before I told myself what I was getting in line for. I didn't tell myself that the roller coaster went upside down until even later. It was extremely fast and extremely upside down etc.

I have decided that I was born for roller coasters and can't wait to find another one.

I saw a great Beauty and the Beast show.

We ate at this place called the 50s Diner, which is supposed to be so much fun, but I hated it. The food was okay, but our waiter was obnoxious, and the restaurant has RULES. No elbows on the table, and you have to eat all your vegetables to get dessert. -_- It was annoying.

I got my picture taken with Minnie Mouse.

I saw the coolest parades ever.

I experienced snow while wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Disney is amazing. They had a snow machine blowing the stuff from the roofs at one point. It was my own personal dream come true (which is, after all, Disney World's motto): snow when it's warm outside.

Magic Kingdom: Everybody loves Magic Kindgom :) It has Cinderella's Castle and most of the princesses and characters. It's divided into Adventure Land, Frontier Land, Liberty Square and Tomorrowland. It's so fun :D

I MET PETER PAN. :OOOOOO He looked exactly right, aside from the part where he was two inches shorter than me, but what can you expect from a kid who never grows up? I happened to be wearing green, and he complimented me on my color choice. *blush*

I rode Splash Mountain, which I remembered loving. I got soaked and it wasn't as great as I remembered. Drat XD Still fun though.

I went to a store that had M&Ms of every color and I got a pound bag of them. I chose dark teal, light teal, white and brown. They look very pretty :D

I saw Cinderella's Castle get lit up to look exactly like it's covered in ice. I have no idea how Disney is so amazing.

I got delicious pineapple ice cream.

I MET ALADDIN AND JASMINE. Okay, guys...like, I don't even know how to explain how amazing that was. "Aladdin" is my favorite Disney movie, and I loved Aladdin. Jasmine is my second favorite princess. I love, love, love, love, LOVE the whole shabang, so I had high expectations.

My expectations pale in comparison to the real thing.

I don't understand how Disney found two people who look exactly like Aladdin and Jasmine. I swear, they looked EXACTLY like their cartoon versions, and I'm a perfectionist. It only got better from there.

Those of you who have seen "Aladdin" know that Aladdin's voice is pretty distinctive. It's almost a little bit cracky, but not quite. It's just really unique. And the Aladdin I met had the same voice. The VERY. SAME. VOICE. Jasmine did too. She sounded just like Jasmine.

And I'm not done. Not only did these people look exactly right and SOUND exactly right, but they ACTED exactly right.

Most Disney characters, when you go up to meet them and get a picture with them, they say, "Hello, princess/prince, how are you doing today? I like your shirt/necklace/shoes/insert some random article you're wearing. Would you like to take a picture with me?" Then you take a picture and they tell you to have a magical day.

Not Aladdin and Jasmine.

*I walk up*

Jasmine: "Hello!"

Aladdin: *stares at my shirt and reads it:* "Santa's Favorite Brunette."

Me: "Yup."

Aladdin: *blinks and crosses his arms like Aladdin. He looks at Jasmine.* "What's a brunette?"

Jasmine: *raises her eyebrow at him*

Me: *raises eyebrows also* "It's brown hair!" *points to pigtail*

Aladdin: "Ohh...Right.....so, where are you from?"

Me: " >insert my state< "

Aladdin: "We've been there, I think." *looks at Jasmine* "Haven't we?"

Jasmine: "I think so...I don't know, we go so many places. We--"

Aladdin: "I think...if you flew the Magic Carpet back and forth, we've probably been as many places--"

Jasmine: "As Santa Claus."

Me: *raises eyebrows* "Really?"

Jasmine: "But we don't go to Canada."

Aladdin: "Way too cold."

Me: "I heard you don't go to Delaware either." (I'd been listening to them talk to other kids.)

Jasmine: "Oh no, we have been to Delaware--"

Aladdin: "Yeah, just not in the winter. We don't do snow."

Me: "But Canada is too cold all the time?"

Jasmine: "Yes. Always too cold."

Me: *grins and moves in for a picture*

*dad takes a picture*

My mom: "Kendra, you could do your Eliza hands!"

Jasmine: *looks at me* "What's Eliza hands?"

Aladdin: "Yeah, what's that?"

Me: "Well, I was in a play that's set in Siam, and I was one of the dancers, so I had to learn Siamese dancing." *does Eliza hands*

Aladdin: "Ohhhh--"

Jasmine: "Oh, that's kind of like when I hold my scarf."

Me: "Yeah!"

Jasmine: "Here, you do your Eliza hands and I'll do my hands like that too."

Aladdin: "And I'll....well, I'm just gonna stand. Like this." *crosses arms like Aladdin*

Me: *laughs* "Awesome."

*dad takes another picture*

It was...amazing. I know I didn't capture it here, but it was truly...well, magical. It really was. They were so exactly like their real characters that I left them with my head spinning and my heart flying. Some tiny part of me wondered if they might really be the REAL Aladdin and Jasmine. They way they talked, the way they acted, the way they moved...it was all absolutely right. Take your very highest expectations, create in your mind an Aladdin and Jasmine that you think couldn't possibly be out there, and the ones I met were even better than that.

Seriously.

I saw Mickey's Philhar Magic, which will always be amazing no matter how many times I see it. It's the most elaborate 3D show ever, complete with other effects like scents and water splashes and breezes.

I rode It's A Small World, which is annoying, but still somehow really cool.

I walked past a camel statue that spit.

I rode Space Mountain, which is awesome. It's a roller coast that's completely in the dark, except for a few lights that feel like/look like stars and a freaky night sky.

We had breakfast at the Grand Floridian hotel, where Alice in Wonderland, Tiger, Pooh and the Mad Hatter walk around and talk to you and stuff.

Epcot: Epcot is the kingdom where tons of different countries have their own sections. All the stores have items from that country, the people working in that section all have to be from that country, the buildings and food come from that country, etc. It's completely awesome.

I went to a store where you could taste soda from all over the world. Chinese watermelon soda is great btw. So is the stuff from Israel. And I almost got a shirt that says "Coke adds life to me."

I saw a Celtic rock band called Off-Kilter perform, and they were great.

I got a leather bracelet with studs and had it engraved with "Ember" at Epcot in the Canada section. Sorry, I know this post is long, but there's a story with this, too. I was in line to get the bracelet engraved, and in front of me where all this girls. Now, I don't mean to judge, but right away I pegged them as prissy airheads. *puts hands up* Sorry, but I did.

And I turned out to be completely right. Especially about one chick who spent the entire wait time with her head in her hands and her elbows resting on the engraving counter. Why? Because of the admittedly attractive boy running the operation. It only got better when he opened his mouth, because he was FRENCH. I never liked the French much, but I must say I do like their accents.

Anyway.

List of Questions Said Bubble-Head Girl Asked Said Attractive Boy:

1. "Are you French?" (Not a terrible question, because he did sound French, but seeing how we're in the CANADA section...)

2. "Do you live here in Disney World?" (-_- Really? Yeah, he and all the Disney workers just chug on into the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse and spend every night...)

And finally, my personal, gag-me-with-a-spoon, she-did-not-just-ask-that, let-me-turn-so-you-won't-see-me-rolling-my-eyes favorite...

3. "Do you meet lotsa pretty girls working here at Disney?" *bats eyelashes, leans forward on counter*

The poor French-Canadian boy didn't know what to do XD It was funny because I didn't know girls were actually that...THAT. I thought movies only caricatured them. But nope. Some girls are really that...just, that.

So I got up there to have my bracelet engraved after the Bubble Brains were gone. The guy, whose name was Felix, btw, asked me to write what I wanted on the bracelet on this little chart. So I did.

He started programming the engraving machine, and said (don't forget the French accent),

"Ember...Zis iz your name?"

Me: "Well...actually no. It's sort of a nickname."

Felix: "Oh."

Me: "My name is Kendra."

Felix: *laughs and looks at me* "Iz not even close!"

Me: *lols* "No...I'm actually a writer, and Ember is a character of mine."

Felix: "Ah."

*he works on the bracelet for a few seconds*

"What iz it zat you write?"

Me: "Well, mostly fantasy...One of my stories is set in a Celtic/Scottish setting, so this bracelet was sort of perfect for 'Ember.'"

Felix: "Ah." *finishes bracelet* "Well, good luck to you. Have a magical day!"

Me: "Thanks, you too."

My dad as we walked away: "He talked to you a lot. And you didn't even have to ask if he saw lots of pretty girls."

Lols XD

I finally met Belle!

I saw fireworks like you've never seen before. They were so loud and so HUGE and so MANY and FAST and BEAUTIFUL and all synced up with music and other lights...You can't explain something like that. It was so incredible...My mouth was open for the entire thing, and I am NOTTTTTTT easily impressed, y'all. I'm really not.

In the Italy section, we ate genuine Italian food and had a genuine Italian waitress, who was so cool.

In Morocco, there was a belly dancer. (Don't freak out, it was perfectly kid-friendly; she had plenty of clothes on.)

Animal Kingdom: Animal Kingdom is what it sounds like. It's actually one of my favorite kingdoms. It has safaris and all kinds of animal-related stuff.

I saw tons of African animals a few feet away in an open-windowed safari van.

I saw this guy who walked around with a guitar and made up songs about people he saw. He was incredible! He'd ask a kid what his name was, and create a whole song about him as he sang! He never stuttered or paused and all his lyrics rhymed. It was very cool.

I saw the Festival of the Lion King, which is great.

Our Disney Dining Plan got us 1 Sit Down Meal, 1 Quick Service Meal, and 1 Snack every day. The meals all include entrees and sides and desserts. Good grief; I've never eaten as much as I did this past week in my whole life.

Basically, this vacation was incredible. It's impossible to be too old for Disney. No one ever grows up THAT much, and if they do, they need to have that fixed as soon as possible! I love Disney World, and I can't wait to go back :)

~Kendra

P.S. I dunno if you've made it this far, but if you have and you're still reading (XD), I'd like to announce that I think I'd like a new Christmas header this year. I still love the beautiful one Bethany made me last year, but I switched backgrounds and I don't know that it fits as well. If you'd like to help me out, that'd be great. I'm no good at that stuff XD

P.P.S. My Christmas Countdown will start tomorrow! I'm so excited!!!!

GUESS WHERE I'M GOING?

I'm doing something great tomorrow. And the next day, and the next day, and the next day until Thursday. You may already know what it is (and I honestly can't remember if I've mentioned it before), but I'm going to give hints. Ready?

Happiness.

Got it? No? -_- Okay.

JOY. And WONDER.

Yet? No?

Here's a big one: four parks.

...not yet?

Fun, excitement, memories, characters.

Anything? UGH!

WISHES AND MAGIC AND DREAMS COMING TRUE. DO YOU HAVE IT NOW? :DDDDDDDDD

I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Disney World might possibly be my favorite place in the whole wide world aside from...um...nah, it's my favorite place. Wishes, dreams come true, magic, wonder, rides, excitement, fun, memories, characters, PETER FREAKING PAN, rides, food, shows, ALADDIN AND JASMINE, songs and parades and stories and being a kid again and imagination and castles and pirates and shops and BELLE and happiness and happy workers and little kids and Splash Mountain and mermaids and lions and kings and kings that are lions and staying in a Disney resort for the first time and swimming in Disney pools with fake ziggurats and wild animals.

Disney World. Possibly the happiest, most fun, memorable, adorable, creative, perfect place in the world.

Me, tomorrow, Disney.

I am one happy camper.

OMG :D

~Kendra

Summer Travels

Ah, traveling. It's what some peoples' summer is all about. Some people like to use summer as a time to relax and just enjoy the things we miss during the school year. My family is in the middle. We don't travel much, but we try to get in a good vacation and a little get-away somewhere among the long hot months.

These next few weeks are my travel weeks. Tonight, my younger sister Lizzy and I pack our bags full of basketball shorts, grubby T-shirts, lots of socks, a pair of sneakers, and an air mattress. What are we doing? YOUTH MISSION TRIP!

It happens every year. Some of you may even remember me going last year. Well this year, our church recently bought a new building! It's the perfect thing for our church, a real God thing. However, because it was so important to purchase the building, there hasn't been a lot of funding toward the youth mission trip.

So instead of packing it in a car and driving 6 or 8 hours, my youth group is doing the stay-cation version of a mission trip. We're packing our bags, same as usual, and meeting at the church for a lock-in. But this year we'll stay at the church. We're going to work on the building, work at our local food pantry, do some work on a farm, help at a battered woman's shelter, and stuff like that, all in our community. This idea came together really at the last minute. Another God thing for sure.

The day after the mission trip, my family and my "brothers'" family are leaving for Sanibel, Florida! Vacation time! WooT WooT! It's gonna be pretty awesome. Lizzy and I have been saving our pennies for this vacation for months. I'm super excited :D

The only downside to all this awesome is the blogging factor. *tragic sigh, violins play* I don't expect to be blogging very much, if even at all, until we get back from Sanibel on August 10th (Happy Birthday, Cavender XD). I might post once or twice, but I'm not sure what the computer and internet situations will be in Sanibel.

So, until the 10th, adios, sayonara, arrivederci, au revoir, fare thee well, GOODBYE! :D Prayers, especially for this youth mission week, would be greatly appreciated. Let's hope we can really make a difference in peoples' lives for Christ.

~Kendra

Virtual Vacation

I may take a vacation from blogging , at least from "real" posts. I might still do some tags or awards, but I'm going to give blogging a rest. I still love it, and I'll come back soon, but I don't have a lot of fun stuff to say lately. I mean, I know I've had a couple of "good" posts, but for the most part it's been complaints or nothing. And like all moms say, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." XD

I guess this is just a heads up; don't expect anything great XD I'm going to say that I'll be back for Easter for sure.

Hope everyone is having a good week!

It's...Okay To Be Back

We're home! I would say it's good to be back, but, well...vacation is pretty awesome, and I really still love my old house, so coming home was kind of...a downer :(


Brighter side: Vacation was pretty good! We stayed a whole extra day so that I could swim. Aw! I was so happy that my family would do that for me. It was great. There were some truly hilarious people that hung out at the pool. I laughed out loud several times. There was one family with two little boys, an older boy, mom, dad, grandma and grandpa. They were really something :) Southern and...not the most well-mannered family ever ;) Still, they weren't really obnoxious, and they were pretty funny. Their hotel room was on the third floor, overlooking the pool. They kept leaving stuff out on the balcony to let it dry, and it would fall off the railing. Once they yelled down at my mom and dad to get a flip flop for them, but mostly they just kept coming down and getting the fallen item and going back up. Once, I saw them spying on me with bonoculars. Lols! The older boy seemed like the most polite of them all. He was definitely in the redneck category, but he was considerate and seemed nice, too.


Uh-oh side: My mom almost lost all her favorite jewelry! When we decided to stay another night, that was fine with the hotel people, but we had to switch rooms. She accidentally left her jewelry in the drawer of the first room we stayed in. We didn't notice until this morning when we were packing up. She knew she'd left it in the drawer of the first room, so we called the front desk and they checked it out. It wasn't in the drawer, and it wasn't in the lost and found. OH NO! Well, after a few minutes of tragedy and panicking, it turns up in the lost and found after all. The maid had put the jewelry case and stuff in a grocery bag, so the lady looking through the lost and found hadn't recognized it from the description. Go figure.


Redder side: I got sunburned in my new bathing suit! I used to never wear stuff like the one I'm wearing this year, so my chest, like never saw the light of day. Apparently, when your skin isn't used to any sun at all, exposing it to the intense rays of the beach sun is a bad idea with only SPF 6 on. I have lobster chest. Ouch.


Specialer side: It's picture day! I would upload a photo from our trip, but the camera is dead, and anyway, I'm not good at that kind of stuff, lol! So, here's something else instead:



Not exactly what you think of when someone says "beach", but it's pretty, so, whatever ;)


Familiar side: We're going to watch National Treasure tonight! Always a favorite.

Written side: That random scene for "The Mirror" is going really nicely! I can't wait till I figure out what to do with it...lol!


Hmm...I know there was something I was going to say...Oh well. Must not have been very important otherwise I'd have remembered, right? Let's hope.

Carpe diem!

Chillaxin' with Chicken Noodle

Hala!

We're at a different hotel now, and it's much nicer. Not that Pawpaw's motel was gross or something, this is just better. The beds are (thankfully) bigger. Lizzy is a bed hog and I will be glad to have more room. Love you, sis :D

We went to a church that my mom's friend goes to. It was pretty cool. The music was good, but I like our church band better. This church had lights and stuff, though.

I sat out and roasted by the pool again today. No new tan to speak of. Well, okay, maybe a little now that I actually LOOK at my legs.

We're right on the beach. I mean, the hotel is, I'm not on the beach right now, but I sure plan to be. Being at the beach always gets my creativity going. I'll think of a million things to write, but none of it has anything to do with "The Mirror", unfortunately.

I wrote some more of The Random Scene yesterday, and it went really well. Some things that I've had in mind and some lines that I've had in mind for a long time came into play. I really want to put the scene in the book, but I have no clue where...or when...or how to get to that point in the story...*sigh* Such is the life of a writer. Lol ;)

Tonight is supposed to be a low-key evening. We're heating up chicken-noodle soup and just chilling. YAY! I hate it on vacation if we're just GOING GOING GOING all the time. Vacation is about relaxing, isn't it?

Tomorrow I plan to take a walk on the beach. Alone. Possibly I'll take my note-book along. I don't know. There're so many people on the beach. We pretty much only ever come to the beach in the off-season. I've actually never been to the beach in the summer, much less on a weekend. It is CROWDED! And not even particularly crowded, my mom says. But I'll feel weird walking around with note-book if everyone is staring at me. And I'll have to worry about looking cute/pretty. How annoying is that, I ask you? I know boys aren't supposed to notice much, but sometimes I wish they were all blind. I look fine in a bathing suit, I guess, but I always feel like they're *staring* at me. It's irritating, not to mention uncomfortable. Well, at least it is when I'm trying to write something or just relax.

Okaaaaaay. I'll get off this odd and slightly awkward subject now.

That's about all I have to say for now, I guess. Oh, today is God Day.

This is going to be short: Look around you. Everything is so complex and beautiful. How could this have just happened? I'm just saying. Everything is so...intricate that it *couldn't* just happen.

It couldn't.

God is awesome, people!

~Kendra

That's Just the Way I Write

I can't post for very long; my mom said as soon as she comes back from visiting my grandpa in the lobby, I have to get off. Grrr.

It's been a fun day mostly. The parents went to a one day practicum, so Lizzy and I had the motel room to ourselves all day. We went to breakfast with Pawpaw and then went by Wal-Mart to get something for him. When we got back, the maid still hadn't come to clean up our room and stuff, and we didn't want to be in her way, so we just put on bathing suits and went out to sit by the pool (well, Lizzy swam. I...can't right now).

That was at 10:45. The maid didn't come until 1:00. Yeah, we were sitting by the pool waiting and ROASTING for over two hours. Lol, it was okay, though. Really, really, hot, but hopefully I got tanner or something...HAHAHA, I WISH. Lol :)

I wrote a scene of "Creepy" (I mean, "The Mirror". I still mess that up sometimes), but I have no idea what it is or where it goes. Yeah, I know, that's weird, but I do that sometimes. Er, I mean, it just happens. I'll get an idea that has nothing to do with what's going on in the book, and I just have to write it.

The scene I wrote is of Darren and Paige and they're in a beautiful field near a cottage. They're staying at the cottage with...some person that's taking care of them. I didn't think about that yet. Paige thinks the view is gorgeous, and Darren whole-heartedly agrees. Then, he starts up a deep converstation about where they want to spend their future, Sorayoni, or Earth.

I haven't finished writing it yet, so I don't know how it turns out. I usually don't know that kind of stuff until the character says it. It's kind of an inefficient way of writing, I guess, but it feels more real to me when the characters do the talking and I just write it down.

That's pretty much all that's happened today except me FREEZING in the motel room. My mom and Lizzy like it FREEZING, so that's how it is. If I suddenly stop typing, it's because my fingers have frozen and fallen off.

Well, today is Carpe Noctem day, and if I were home, I'd be typing out a post on Evolution right now. Unfortunately, I left my notes at home. (Yes, I outline my "Carpe Noctem: Evolution" posts. Yes, I am that nerdy.)

So, without further ado, I will just say CARPE DIEM and let you go do that. TTYL!

~Kendra

P.S. Ooh, also, I'm trying to think of what Darren should want to be when he grows up. So, any people reading this of the male persuasion, give me your ideas. You don't have to know Darren to think of them, just say all the stuff you've ever wanted to be so I can take it into consideration. Also, you have until midnight tonight to memorize the theme song to a kid's TV show. Get busy.

CHALLENGE! And Vacation-ness

Hola! This is Kendra Logan live from a motel on vacation!

The drive was like five hours yesterday, so that wasn't too fun, but I've had a pretty good time so far. My grandpa is awesome. We got here at around eight last night and went to eat at Elizabeth's Pizza.

Okay, I have some things to say about THAT :) You know those books that I've been talking about lately ("The Mortal Instruments" trilogy)? Well, the Elizabeth's looked just like this little diner from the books, and the hostess looked EXACTLY!!!! like the main character! We found out her name, but it wasn't Clarissa/Clary, it was Ashley.

Also, when I was craning my neck for a look at the hostess, a busboy saw me and was like, "Oh, are you looking for your server?" It was really sweet. *blink* Nevermind. He was just sweet. And kind of cute :)

After dinner, we came home and watched some TV. The hilarious movie "Get Smart" was on, so we watched that until a little after 11:30pm. Then I turned it off and went to sleep. I woke up and was wide awake at 2:30am, though, so that was annoying. I went back to sleep at 3:03am. (I remember these things, lol.)

I didn't eat breakfast this morning...no, yeah, I did. I ate a piece of my mom's zucchini bread that we brought. It's really good. We hung around the room until 11:30 and then we went out to eat with my grandpa 'cause it's his birthday. We went to the K&W Cafeteria and one of the waitress ladies told him "happy birthday" in Chinese. It was cool.

Then, we went to Great Outdoor Provision because my dad is interesting in buying a kyak that you can paddle with your feet. (They're cool.) Then we bought him a belt at Stein Mart because he forgot his at home.

Then we came back to the motel and did the pool until like 4:30pm. Then I came in and got on the computer and checked email, facebook, and read all the blog posts people have written since Wednesday. Then, we went to eat dinner. It was at a really good seafood place, but I wasn't hungry so I just got a baked potatoe, which was really good! Then, we went to Baskin Robbins and got ice cream. I got lemon sorbet and it was REALLY GOOD.

Then, my pocketbook strap broke on me -_-

We decided to go to the mall. So we poked around for a little while, and got some stuff at Bath & Body Works. Then, my mom went with Lizzy to look in Claire's, while Daddy offered to take me to Belk to see if we could find me a new pocketbook. (He can be so sweet and thoughtful sometimes.) Pawpaw (my grandpa, obviously, lol) opted to go with us.

On the way to Belk, I saw this little store called Ping's Tibet. The clothes in the window were really...weird. One looked like a wedding dress with weird ruffles and a fur cape. A shirt looked like a Japanese kimono. I turned to Daddy and was like, "Can we go in there just really quick? If we don't have time that's okay, I don't really think I'm gonna buy anything." Daddy said it was okay, though, so we went into the store.

It was so cool! All the stuff was handmade and Ping (the owner of the store) goes to Tibet and brings back all the stuff. The Tibetians have this thing with yaks the store guy (Matt; leave it to my dad to befriend the salesguy ;)) said. He showed us pictures of Tibet and Tibetians and a yak that Ping brought back (the pictures, not the yak, lol). I ended up buying this cool silver ring with a little black jewel.

Just in case you didn't know, rings are my thing. Now you know what to get me for my birthday! :D Just kidding.

We DID actually end up going to Belk to look for a pocketbook. I ended up getting one!!! It's awesome, and I'm pretty sure it's, like, a really in-style brand. Can you believe it? I bought something FASHIONABLE! I'm so bad at that. Anyway, I don't remember the brand and I'm too lazy to get up and look (lol), but it's got like a giraffe print and the strap and trim are pink and it's leather. It's big, but it doesn't LOOK big. I can EASILY fit all my junk in it, and I have TONS of room left over!! There's a pocke down the middle that I can perfectly fit, get this, A BOOK! How great is that?

So, this brings us to where I am now, watching Phineas and Ferb and typing this. So far, vacation is pretty good. Thanks for reading this ridiculously long and rambling post.

Oh, wait, a Challenge! AND, I have a proposition:

No one does my challenges, so maybe let's try some incentive. Every time you complete a challenge, you get an award to put on your blog. Get five awards and I'll...advertise your blog on my blog super convincingly for a week.

*sigh* I'm not good at this. Just do the challenge and tell me about it.

CHALLENGE: Memorize the lyrics to a kid's show theme song. Arthur, Phineas and Ferb, Dora Explorer, you get the idea.

So, carpe diem! DO THE CHALLENGE.

~Kendra

P.S. I'm typing on Daddy's laptop and he doesn't have my signature code saved on here, so you have to put up with that boring thing.

"Stargirl" and Vacation Heads Up

Well, the temporary Jace obsession is fading fast, so there's good news for you ;) He's still awesome and everything, and the books are very good, but you don't have to worry about any more Jace pictures or quotes, I don't think.

Although, since this IS Quote Day, I'll probably post one of his quotes anyway, but that will be the end most likely.

I woke up at ten o'clock today. Ah, there's nothing like sleeping late, then looking out the window and seeing it's sunny, warm, and breezy outside. I ate two Pop-Tarts, finished reading a book called "Stargirl", and then got on here to resume my life as a computer nerd. We might be going to the lake later today, though, so I'll get out then :)

I just want to say a little about "Stargirl". It's written by Jerry Spinelli. (He's written other stuff, but the only other thing I've read, I think, is "Loser".) I really like "Stargirl". It's not one of my favorite books necessarily, but it's provocative and well-written, even if the style is a little odd. I'll post what it says on the back of the book:

"She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitter shadow of an elf owl. We did not know what to make of her. In our minds we tried to pin her to a corkboard like a butterfly, but the pin merely went through and away she flew."

Stargirl is a very interesting character, and the whole book is just like one eye-opening experience after another. It makes you think about things in a whole new way. It's a really strange book, but I would recommend it to anyone. It's relatively small, only 186 pages long. I could probably read it in a day, but it's pretty good reading.

I'm going on vacation tomorrow, to the beach! Yay! My grandpa lives really close to the beach and he works at a hotel. We're going to stay at the hotel and be with him some, too, because his brithday is the 10th.

I really like my grandpa. He's fun and always looks for the good things in life. He's funny, but not on purpose. He's terrible with directions, which makes for some hilarious stories. He's always so put-together. He wears nice business suits and seems like the kind of person you can ask things and depend on. Everyone likes him. He's easy to get along with, is considerate and kind, and a good worker. He's an awesome grandpa and I love him a lot.

I'll be gone until Tuesday, but my dad is bringing his laptop along and the hotel has WiFi, so I might be able to post. I don't know for sure. We'll see.

I haven't written "Mirror" in a little while. Hmm. I'm in another block. This time it's because I don't know where I'm going with this. I don't know what I want to happen for sure, or how to end it. I have several possible endings, all of them good, but I don't know which one to chose. Oh well; I guess I'll figure it out eventually, right? Hm.

Thanks for reading this jumble of odd thoughts! I hope your day is going well!

OH! I almost forgot! It's Quote Day! But I don't I'll do a Jace quote after all. I think I'll do a Stargirl quote:

"And...I see. I hear. But not with my eyes and ears. I'm not outside my world anymore, and I'm not really inside it either. The thing is, there's no dfference anymore between me and the universe. The boundary is gone. I am it and it is me. I am a stone, a cactus thorn. I am rain. I like that most of all, being rain."