Sunny Days

SUNNY DAYS ARE AWESOME.

I just never realise how starved for sun I am in the winters until the sun actually comes along and I can't get enough of it.

In other news! Michelle makes pretty graphic descriptions. Even I got a little sick reading that, and I already knew all about it. Because I'm such an amazing, awesome, considerate, wonderful (read: pushover) sister, I'm going to go to Target after school to buy her a body pillow. BUT she promised to pay me back for it, so it's really not so bad as all that. I'm going to hold you to that, Michelle. Just because you're an invalid doesn't mean you can order me around. Well, it does, but really. I've got to put my foot down somewhere.

This week in choir I came upon the novel idea of count-singing. I mean, I've counted through sections of piano pieces before with Nettie, but never actually counted while singing at the normal pace. Usually it goes something like this: "One-and-two-and-threeee, and-three-four-one-two-three-four-and-ooooone, and-four-and, and-three-and-fooour." Looks confusing, right? IT IS.

-Amy

Braces

So, I got braces today, and I'm going to give you a step by step.

So I don't know if any of you guys are like me, in that even though everyone you know who has had braces was in so much pain, you kind of think that you theres a chance that you won't be. Well, I thought that. About everything.

Maybe braces really won't hurt.

Maybe I won't have to have them for more than a year.

Maybe I won't have to have rubber bands for more than a year.

Maybe they will knock me out for the whole thing.

Maybe I won't get sores.

Well, I'll tell you what. I was wrong. Big time.

So I get up in the morning, seven o'clock, and its still dark. When I got out of the shower, it was still dark. DEPRESSING. So I get in the place, and I go into this little room, and they give me these yellow-orange safety glasses so that the ultra-violet light wouldn't hurt my eyes.

Then they cleaned my teach with a lot of strange substances that make your gag reflex kick in, and then they have to spread it around with that little thing that vibrates, and it hits your tooth in such a way that it makes the nerve do something weird that really hurts.

Then they gave me this cheek-stretcher thing, and its hooked up to this little thing that is like a cradle for your tongue, and its connected to this thing that is really loud and constantly sucking your mouth dry.

Then, while those things are in, they put you're brackets in, after messing around with the glue and toothpaste for a while.

They put these two "turbo brackets" on the back of my two top front teeth. They are like little metal things that stick out horizontally so my bottom teeth rest on them when I bite down. Currently they are the only contact in my mouth.

And they give me a lisp.

Then I get the weird tongue holder backer and the cheek stretcher out.

Then they get this curved needle and they get all of the glue out from the 'contacts' which is, I'm guessing, the place where one tooth touches the next. Then, when they couldn't get all of that off, they had to get this -

(don't forget, throughout this whole time, they are constantly taking that little water sprayer, and the mouth sucker and doing the dentists work)

-needle thing that spins like a thousand turns per second, and they had to scrape my teeth with it. It was the worst part, because every once and a while they would touch my gums, and it really hurt and made them bleed, just because of the friction of the needle.

Not to mention it made my teeth-nerve thing go again.

And it smelled like burning rubber.

And I thought it was going to start a fire in my mouth.

And it got all the plaque of my teeth, and it made them look gray, and there are these two teeth that don't have brackets on them, that they didn't get the plaque off of, and they look very nice, but they all look gross together.

then they put the wire in. And then they put the rubber bands in. And then they left me out on the cold street to endure my pain in the cold.

No, they didn't actually throw me out, but they did let me go, and then I came home and thought about how it would be nice if someone would host a pity party for me. =) Any volenteers?

JK.

Hang in there, people who's lives are awesome because you don't have to get braces.

-Michelle.

Considering March

This month is "Consider Christianity" month.

?

Yeah, so, everyone, consider Christianity.

Just consider it.

Take it if you like.

Today, the 23rd is national puppy day.

I like puppies. Theres this basset hound cocker spaniel mix that one of our neighbors has. IT. IS. ADORABLE.

He looks exactly like this except with longer (not much) cocker spaniel hair that is dark brown and kind of wavy.

Tomorrow is kick butt day. Heh.

This month is optimism month, so everyone be optimistic, also.

Along with that, its also "Expand girls horizons in science and engineering"

I'll tell you what I learned this month, and it has to do with science AND engineering.

I learned that you cant expand the atmosphere (to access the planets easier.) because bad stuff will happen. Like 2012.

I'm proud of that bit of knowledge, and you should be too, or you would all be dead.

HA!

Have fun tomorrow!

-Michelle

Facebook Etiquette

If you aren't already doing facebook, then the chances are...you are doing it. How many people are there in the world? 350 Million do facebook. Bleck. I mean, its not THAT great, you just get to look at a bunch of conversations that have nothing to do with you, and witness breakups (along with 100+ other people) and family arguments. Not to mention get on bad terms with all of your friends friends that you have never met.

Facebook, they say, is the legal way to stalk people. Well, the rumors are true. Its really easy to stalk people! All you have to do is -

Wait.

Haha.

Facebook is also the legal (and mostly un-judged) way to boast about what you are doing or what you have bought or who you are dating, or how you are going on a trip to Hawaii.

Michelle Sullivan just got a new MP3 player.

Michelle Sullivan loves her new car.

Michelle Sullivan plays the drums.

FACEBOOK ETIQUETTE (Amy didn't even know how to spell that, and she knows how to spell everything! I had to look it up! without knowing how to spell it. I got skillz)

I'm here to tell you all about facebook not-to-do's, here to stop your friends from thinking you are emo.

(For everyone here who is friends with me on facebook, you don't have to point out that I am guilty of every one of these, I know.)

1. Don't Hint Your Emotional State Using Song Lyrics. EEEMMOOO ELLMMOO!

Michelle Sullivan City of delusion.

Michelle Sullivan Two is better than one.

Michelle Sullivan Live like you're dying

Michelle Sullivan I'm only gonna break your heart

2. Don't leave people wondering.

Michelle Sullivan Oh that hurt!

Michelle Sullivan I'm never doing THAT again,

Michelle Sullivan Well that just ruined my day!

3. Don't have one word status's? Ok, whoever made this list (not me, I'm serous) must, like, never have status's, beside the every once and a while ones like,

Michelle Sullivan just ate cornflakes for breakfast.

That follows all the rules, but only one problem. ITS COMPLETELY BORING! I'm not saying that the only interesting status's are the ones that (1) are song lyrics (2) leave you hanging, or (3) are one word, but no one wants to know that you ate cornflakes. I'm making a fourth etiquette rule.

4. Don't say something stupid that no one cares about.

Michelle Sullivan just ate cornflakes for breakfast.

Michelle Sullivan is typing her status

Michelle Sullivan just had a baby.

Ha! I got you on that last one!

Have fun with this.

-Michelle

Back To School

However non-awesome it is to go back to the middle of a semester after a week of break, today has been as good as it could be. The sun is shining, the snow is melting, I listened to Gorillaz on the way here, choir is looking up after the first stressful performance, and I have a CHAI LATTE. That's right, folks. A delicious chai latte with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top of the frothy goodness.

Plus, last night we had Karen over and watched The Emperor's New Groove, which goes down in the annals of my childhood as One of the Most Quotable Movies Ever Made (It's tied with A Series of Unfortunate Events).

"Just think of it as you're being let go. That your life's going in a different direction. That your body is part of a permanent outplacement."
"Hey, that's kind of like what he said to you when you got fired."
"I know. It's called a cruel irony. Like my dependence on you."

-Amy

Corset part 1, & Has It Really Been Ten Days?

Despicable! Absolutely terrible. To make up for the utter irresponsibility of this, I shall make post With Pictures! Because those are the best.

Over spring break I decided that it's been too long since I've sewn anything. The reason for this is that I'm really quite a mediocre seamstress, and I chronically cut corners while sewing. Because of this, I'm always dissatisfied with the end result. Anyway. I forgot all that a week ago, and decided to make a Regency-era corset. I would never wear such a thing in normal life, so at least I don't have to feel too bad about it if things go terribly wrong. I used the Mantua Maker pattern 1810-3, and began cutting and sewing immediately with fabrics I happened to have lying around. All I've got to say is it's a good thing there's more than one seamstress in this family, because I soon found that my old '60s Singer machine was completely out of order. Instead I used Angela's Necchi, which works just fine but sounds like a jackhammer. Here's the first layer, which will be the interlining:

The lighting's not all that fantastic, so if you can't tell, it's reddish-maroon cotton that I got from Elise for my birthday around a year and half ago, I think. It's quite thin, but I had a thicker canvas-type fabric for the lining, which will be taking most of the brunt of the corsety strain:

The next and last layer, which will be the outside of the corset and (hopefully) the most aesthetically pleasing, I cut from a slightly stretchy length of striped fabric that I found at the very bottom of my trunk. Don't ask me what sort of fabric it is, because I don't know. I'm fairly sure that Mom bought it a few years ago with curtains for the Jamshack in mind. I had the vague idea that I would be able to make all the stripes line up on the corset so they would look good and I would feel fulfilled as a seamstress to have made them all even, but of course it didn't work out that way at all. Mostly because the side and back pieces had to be cut diagonally to the grain. I had a tearful hour or so where I tried to make it work, and recut a few pieces, but in the end it was really a lost cause all along. I thought about finding some other cover fabric, but I like the way this fabric looks, and when it came right down to it I didn't really want to deal with it any more. The end result of that layer:

The stripes are faint enough anyway, right? Right?

So, feeling wonderful at all my accomplishments, I pinned all the pieces together so I could baste them and get all the bias tape to cover up the loose ends. Of course it didn't end up working like that. Somehow in all my frenzied sewing, I must have been using different seam allowances or something. Probably because Angela's machine doesn't have a line for 5/8 inch and Mom's does. Anyway, the interlining turned out way too small when I pinned them all together.

For some reason I couldn't get this picture to rotate and stay rotated, so sorry. As you can see, the interlining's way too small, and it's by nearly an inch all round. How did this happen?! I'll have to redo that whole layer. All those hand-sewn gussets, all my toiling, gone to waste... *sob*

Anyway! Pictures will be posted when I'm finished, or nearly, or whenever I decide the Next Stage needs photographing. Until then, let me entertain you with a picture of a snowman I made today in the several inches of snow that fell last night.

His name is Hank.

-Amy

Spring Weather.

So here in the middle-west, most of the time when it turns a season on the calander, its been that season weather-wise for months. This winter/spring was a little different.

Strangely, after a few weeks of promising spring ish weather during the beginning of March, it snowed more than four inches. SNOWED.

Let me let that sink in for a bit.

And guuuess what? It just happened to happen on the first day of spring!

Ohh irony.

Yesterday we (Amy, Elise and myself) went to Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It was just about the best thing ever.

We went to the Palace on the Plaza. That place is amazing too. There weren't really any other white people, and all the black people were awesome. I'm so jealous. Being white is SOO over rated. When we got out of the movie it was snowing, and there were like five people standing next to the window freaking out, and this one girl started singing a Christmas song. It was cute.

When we got back to the house I had the whole basement to myself, and I was so bored that I just got on facebook and stared at the screen with Mor Mors glasses. It was pretty fun, but anything can get boring if you're doing it for a half an hour.

Then I found out the terrible thing.

My Sansa Clip, that i have had for something like two years, Volume down button is broken. OOOh the sorrow!

Then we went to Costco and I was being bitter about how the only MP3s they sold there were Ipods, and so I ate some meat and cheese thing they were handing out. At first it was like the best thing I had ever had, and then it started tasting REALLY bad. I had to wash my mouth out with coffee it was so bad. Turns out it was tilapia. The fish. The fish that smells. When I smelled it I didn't think it was going to taste like that! If you have ever smelled tilapia but never tasted it, here is my advice: DON'T! It tastes JUST like it smells. TERRIBLE.

So thats whats been happening. Meep.

-Michelle

Writing at its worst. Or best?

So on my Everything, Everywhere post I was being really under the weather about writing.

Well, heres some news. I still am.

Writing for me, in any form, is kind of like watching Hannah Montana or Wizards of Waverly Place. Its really dumb. But really addicting, for some reason that is not apparent.

Today the NaNoWriMo site sent me an email. Off season. They aren't supposed to do that. It like thinking about school while you're on summer break. or doing school while you're on spring break.

They wanted to tell me all about Script Frenzy, which is an April thing. They wanted 20,000 or so people to write 100 pages of a movie script or play. ONE HUNDRED PAGES! Thats really long! There are like five hundred words in a page, so you do the math. Lots of words.

The part of me thats annoyed at myself that I get on Facebook more than five times a day is telling me to do this. Theres no way I'm going to make 100 pages, but so what, its worth the try.

Support would be cool.

Oh, side note about world presidency: I've decided that there will be no such thing as copyrights or patents. Pirating will be legal.

I know what you're thinking, "What about all those bands and actors and directors and people that patent their nothingness? Will they go hungry, Michelle?"

"No, they won't."

Heres the plan. So you know how when people speed and they get a ticket and they have to pay the fee or fine ore whatever it is, or when they just do anything and they have to pay the government ? Well, instead of that money going to the government, the money will go to the homeless bands that are getting their music pirated (and yes, the directors and the such and such and so and so). So, when someone pirates, they no longer need to feel guilty about it (only 3% of piraters regret it. 5% feel guilty. Keep in mind that 97% of facts with %s are made up on the spot. Just sayin') and everyone will be happy!

-Michelle

Mid-West Connections

internet provider. Provider. Provide. Give.

Yes.

Learn how to do it.

Lists Are A Pick-Me-Up

Here are a few things that take a good day and make it into a bad day:

The weather starts out sunny and warm and then turns cold and dreary
Being late to class
Not being prepared for a performance that's - oh, is that tonight?
A bad comedian with a really loud microphone in the cafeteria
Dr. Teal being disappointed in us
Dr. Teal going all quiet, which is when you know that in just a moment she's going to tell us that we obviously don't care a rat's ass about what we're singing because we're doing a really crappy job. True story. Excuse the French.

Here are a few things that can be done to hopefully alleviate some of the awfulness:

Sing as well as you are possibly able to sing so that maybe some of the anger will be diverted away from your section of singers
Dress For Success
Smile often. You don't usually notice it, but when you smile at someone, they almost always will smile back
Get your music in order, for goodness' sake!
Got to French class and bask in the blessedly tranquil learning environment
Eddie Izzard. Enough said.

-Amy

P.S. Apologies for the short and slightly depressing post. When tonight's concert is over with, all will be good again. Promise.

Everything, Everywhere.

First, for Kaitlyn, I'm going to say, to everyone that needs to hear it (AKA everyone) that internet talking, such as chat, or wall posting, or IM is not for the every day "hey," "Hey," "Whats up?" "Nothing, you?" "Same," kind of conversations, but are for things that are worth bothering someone about.

Do you really want to bother someone to ask then "Whats up," when you know they have also been on Facebook for the last three hours, and have taken just as many quizzes as you, and are just as bored as you? You shouldn't unless you really have some colossal news.

For instance, today I had to quickly open a chat box with Kaitlyn because I had to ask her if she though my "catch the chinchilla thats out back" plans were all good.

So for the sake of everyones time (and a lot of other things) , go a little deeper and try a little harder.

Any-who, Today I read one of Elise's blog posts, and I want to post something about it.

Writing is not as cool as everyone makes it out to be. Today its all about blogging and novel-ing and texting and English papers and creative criticism and reviews and fanfic and journaling.

But after you get sucked into them, you realize that they aren't all they were said to be, and finally you get to this point where you start tacking pictures of Rick Riordan and JK Rowling and CS lewis on your walls in hope that one day you will get you're books published and made into movies. Or you blog posts published because, what the heck, this is the 21st century, or even you're fan fic published, (yeah, all you fan ficers, "Mr. Darcy," and "Sense and Sensibility and Sea monsters" and "Pride and Prejudice and zombies" were not hits. They were just written by rebellious teenagers who finally did the math and found out that the books really were fifty years old, and they though the names sounded cool. Let me tell you, books like that where the titles just work I'm guessing that the title usually comes first. The plot and everything else comes after.)

Its pretty terrible. Thats why I have a huge dry erase board in my room for drawing pictures in bright red. "To excite agitation" and I also have five awesome movie posters, because thinking about movies is always good when you're feeling down about writing.

Playing games is good too. Shoots and ladders.

Not Doing Homework

It's the best! But only when you have a good reason to not be doing it, which I had. I talked to Angela on the phone today for almost an hour instead of studying for my French test, which I'm pretty sure I'm going to ace anyway (French is the only thing I ace in).

Michelle and I went to see Alice in Wonderland on Friday. Watching it and listening to the opinions afterwards made me realise that when it comes to movies I'm really pretty passive. In another, earlier time, I might have griped about how inaccurate the movie was to the book, and how lame it is that Johnny Depp is the star of like every Tim Burton movie ever. But honestly, I went there to be entertained. I was entertained. It was the same way with Percy Jackson, and all the Harry Potter movies. They're tons of fun, who cares about being close to the book? I read the books, they were good, but the movies are something else entirely. And as for the actual movie, it was quite well done. Admittedly, I would have liked anything that was better-done than the original Alice in Wonderland, which remains one of the worst movies I've ever seen.

Even though we saw the movie in a tiny cinema in a backwater town, they happened to be showing it in 3-D (only in Harrisonville are tickets to a 3-D movie hardly $8). I decided that I'd much rather watch movies the normal way. It was the same way with Avatar - the 3-D was distracting and it hurt my eyes trying to focus on several things that appeared to be at different distances but were really all on a flat plane. Three dimensions is cool in real life and cool on screen for about the first ten minutes. After that it's a bit of a drag. Sorry to be so prudish.

-Amy

Mermaids and movies

Well I'm completely pooped because last night we watched HP6 and Signs (after that I had to skibble into my bed with all the lights on and try not to think about how Amy and Elise were probably going to come up and scare me, and even though I would know it was them, I couldn't bring myself to bring my head above the covers, or who was walking around down stairs after midnight turning on and off lights) and then I got up and went to church (without eating the pancakes that Elise "forgot" to make me) and then we came back and we went to go check out if the pig that was supposed to have her babies yet was in labor. She wasn't. She probably still isn't. Then we went to the creek with our capes and we walked around and got cramps in our feet from the cold water, and then we dug up a rocking horse (the ones on the big frame with the springs and such. Not the actual wooden ones that your grandma had) on the shore. It went so deep down, and we all got really muddy. And then I found the scull of some small headed horned animal. It was creepsters. Then we came back to the house and we looked at the pig again. And then we helped mom with yard work, and then we looked at the pig again, and now I'm completely pooped, and really cold.

ANYWHO

Mermaids.

A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head and torso and the tail of a fish. Mermaids have a broad representation in folklore, literature and popular culture (yes, that includes The Little Mermaid)\

Interesting? Good.

Have a goodish dayio!

-Michelle

For those of you who aren't interested in boring book reviews (the book was boring, not the review. Just thought I'd clear that up so Amy doesn't start crying and stuff like that.) I have more amazing things to tell you all about!

Like the fact that I'm getting spacers tomorrow!

Or the fact that I just found out that Logan Lerman is possibly playing Spiderman/Peter Parker in the fourth Spiderman?

Or that Rachel McAdams is going to play the villain?

Some people need to learn how to make money the right way. Instead of making a fourth Spiderman they could be making a second Percy Jackson! Eh? Eh? Sound good?

Wizards.

A magician, mage, sorcerer or a wizard in fiction is someone who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources. Magicians are common figures in works of fantasy, such as fantasy literature and role-playing games. They draw on a history of such people in mythology, legends, and folklore.

A wizards accessories are a wand, a pointy hat, a robe, a crystal ball, a smoke maker, a big book, a cauldron, a white beard, a staff, and a little white rabbit.

When I think of a wizard, first I think of Dumbledore, old or new.

Does Harry look short? He is. Does Dumbledore look really big and tall? He is. Its not just the picture.

Then I think of this show Merlin with Colin Morgan and Bradley James. Its a pretty good show, but I'm expecting it to get canceled any day. Its very repetitive.

Arthur in the armor. Merlin in the middle.

Then I think of those pictures of the wizards that you see in those old Aesop's Fable's books that have a billion amazing drawings, or perhaps an illustrated Lord of the Rings.
Then I think of the movie The Sword in the Stone which is an old Disney classic.

Thats merlin in the blue, BTW, and theres Aurthur in the red.

The age difference of Merlin and Aurthur in the show and the movie is very significant, but we try to overlook it.

-Michelle

Belated

Belated, now there's a descriptive word. Most particularly descriptive to me. For instance, over a week ago I finished Dune and promised to post a review of it the following day, but I didn't. Actually I forgot all about it. I have in fact read two books since I finished Dune. Lucky for you, I still remember it, which is more than I can say of some books that I've read more than once. It's called selective memory, and it's a curse.

So, Dune. Ever since I started reading science fiction, about two and a half years ago, I've been hearing about Dune. Authors sing Frank Herbert's praises, and dedicated sci-fi fans declare it's attributes from the internet's metaphorical mountaintops. So I went in expecting great things. It's always bad to have high expectations, I know, but I couldn't help it. If so many people love Dune, it's got to be good, right?

Well the answer to that question is no. I gave a little leeway in the beginning, thinking Mr. Herbert was just setting up the plot and the strangeness would die down after a while, but it never did. I was unsettled for the entire first half of the book and couldn't figure out why until I realised that the characters were like aliens - so little about them resembled human beings that there was no way to relate to anyone, and therefore no way to get into and enjoy the story. The problem with us humans is that we don't want to hear about non-humans and their emotions, because we simply can't understand them and don't care to try because it vexes us. even so, it might have been more involving if the characters weren't actually supposed to be humans.

Anyway, on to specifics. For the main character, we have Paul, who is a product of selective breeding, the Kwisatz Haderach, Muad'Dib, The Chosen One, etc., a fifteen-year-old boy who has been prepared for a life of leadership by his mother. His emotions and thought processes are so high, lofty, and intense that one can't help but be overwhelmed by Frank Herbert's astonishing and exhaustive use of adjectives in the descriptions of them. Mere humans are pawns, peasants, mindless parasites compared to him. He leads the Fremen, who are a race of people who live on a desert planet and survive with very little water, and we're led to believe that part of the process of him becoming such a great leader was his sudden procurement of the ability to see the future through a combination of willpower and drugs. Did I hear that right? Somehow, yes. In any case, because he can do whatever he wants, Paul has a son by the time he's sixteen. The son is killed a year later, and though I certainly looked hard for it, I found absolutely no grief from Paul for this son that he supposedly loved. Either he's got some serious seventeen-and-already-a-dad issues, or the last semblance of humanity just flew out his ear.

Wash, rinse, repeat with every single character, to some degree or other. It's hard to read a book where at least four of the main protagonists are complete Mary Sues.

But on to other things. One of the only reasons that I kept reading Dune is because of the amazing amount of worldbuilding that Herbert did. I always have looked at those sort of people in awe. You know, the ones who build three languages and six races and twenty religions and a caste system and geographical features and make sure all the rivers are in the right places in relation to the mountains. Frank Herbert is that sort of person. His description of Arrakis, the desert planet that most of the book takes place on, was really involved and interesting, as was the way he described the huge sandworms, and how the people made stillsuits to recycle bodily moisture so that they could survive on so little water. And the appendices! They were the most interesting of all. I found the one about terraforming especially interesting, because it seemed like Frank Herbert had done all the research and quite a bit of gardening himself in the making of it. He also talked about how the beginning of space travel had such a drastic effect on religion and how leaders all over the world coped with it. It was extremely engrossing.

In short, Dune began with a terrific premise and then was executed badly. It's a shame, really. I had an argument about it with Joseph already. He's a big fan.

-Amy

Cold Weather and Phoenixes

The urge to change into cutoffs and a t-shirt, go out and jump on the trampoline and play German Spotlight is starting to get a little overwhelming. The other day dad told me that it was "nice" outside. I got super excited and ran out the front door only to jump back inside, close the door, and stare at the thermometer that is across from the door on the edge of the porch. Yeah, 40s is really "nice". Really "nice"that its the second of march and its still late November early December weather. Its "nice" that this has been going on for four or more months now.

I have never gotten more bored of the house than I have this winter, but I'm sure by the time summer comes around I'm going to be sitting on top of the vent eating an ice pop and reading books about snow and ice and thinking about how I really would like to lick an icicle off of a building, because ice pops and such just don't do the trick, and how our newly organic lawn that refuses to turn brown for anything (even three weeks under the snow) is so misleading, because when its unbearably hot or unbearably cold, I use the color of the grass as a thermometer.

"Hey look, the grass is so lush and green, I bet its really nice out there!" walks outside - runs back in, "BURNING BRICKS! MY FEET ARE BURNT OFF! OH THE PAIN!" And then I will go on with my week not going outside a single time and glaring at the deceiving grass whenever I get the chance.

And the cold is just as bad.

Sometimes I go out and lounge in the hot tub for a couple of unbearable minutes. Every time I get in the tub of hot, my body goes though a series of uncomfortable waves of pain. Ten uncomfortable waves, to be exact:

First, I have to change into my swimsuit, which is not only cold, but also tight and if that doesn't snap me out of my laziness, the next step will, after I get my towel.

Second, I dash out to the tub, taking my towel with me, and if I'm really feeling cold, I'll skip the 'put on some shoes' stage so I can get in the tub faster. I open the lid and run back inside where I grumble about how I should have put on shoes, and try to get up the nerve to run out again.

Third, I run out again and jump in the tub.

Fourth. I jump out of the tub faster than light, because going from 30 below degrees to 104 degrees is never fun. And then I have to put my tow in and wiggle it around, while my body begins to shiver again, and I wonder if it was really all that bad jumping in the water at once.

Fifth, I submerge myself slowly, soon before my hair freezes.

Sixth, I sit in the hot steaminess for about five seconds before I decide to get my head wet again, which always turns out to be a bad idea, no matter how fun it may seem.

Seventh. Hot again. I jump out of the tub and run around the snow and possibly roll around, but usually only if there is someone there to dare me to do it.

Eighth. I jump back in and my whole body, but mostly my feet, begins to sting like the dickens, as my grandmother says, and I try to take the pain silently, while I gripe about how my hair is freezing, and it doesn't feel good, no matter how cool spiked hair looks. theres just no reward.

Nine. I get hot again and I lift my feet out of the water and grab some snow to munch on. Its about at this point that our dog comes along and starts licking out of the water, and occasionally one of our cats, who usually falls in after getting a little too curious.

Ten. Then I get out (my feet freezing in the process) and I drip water all around the house because it just happens that my room is on the complete other side of the house.

My life is so hard.

Anyway, enough of moping! Is Magical March! (march madness can get a little life) and today is the day to tell everyone something amazing and interesting about PHOENIXES! Like Fawkes!

The Phoenix is a mythical sacred fire bird that originated in ancient Phoenician mythology. It was also in Chinese mythology, Egyptian religion and later Greek mythology.

Somebody unimportant describes the phoenix:

"It was of the size of an eagle, but its eyes were as mild and tender as those of the eagle are fierce and threatening. Its beak was the color of a rose, and seemed to resemble. Its neck resembled al the colors of the rainbow, but more brilliant and lively. A thousand shades of gold glistening on its plimage. Its feet seemed a mixture of purple and silver, and its tail of those beautiful birds which were afterwards fixed to the car of Juno (Aphrodite, the most beautiful of the gods) did not come near the beauty of its tail."

Interesting? Good.

-Michelle

Magical March!

Magical Me!

So February is sadly over, and with it ends Favorite Thing February. But it also means the start of a new challenge. MAGICAL MARCH!

Magical March is something like Favorite Thing February, but instead of random amazing things, I will tell you all about magical beasts and such.

So today, being the first day of March (the best month of the year is over, I'll be in half-hibernation mode the rest of the year.) I found that it is indeed the day to give everyone an extensive knowledge on unicorns.

An unicorn (from latin unus 'one' and cornu 'horn') is a mythological creature. Though the modern popular image of the unicorn is sometimes that of a horse differing only in the horn oh its forehead, the traditional unicorn also has a billy-goat beard, a lions tail, and cloven hooves - these distinguish it from a horse. Marianna Mayer has observed "The unicorn is the only fabulous beast that does not seem to have been conceived out of human fears. In even the earliest references he is fierce yet good, selfless yet solitary, but always mysteriously beautiful. He could be captured only by unfair means, and his single horn was said to neutralize poison."

I've found that its proper to say an unicorn rather than a unicorn. Like an historical event.

I don't get it either.

Thats English for you.

-Michelle