A Very Snowy (Blizzard-y) Hodgepodge

It's not snowing yet, but it will be. I don't really plan on having work tomorrow (I'm writing this post on Tuesday). The sad note is that our snow blower is not here with us, so who will be shoveling the long driveway? Bro # 1 and I!!!!!! GRRRR!!! Well if you have five feet of snow or no snow, you can always join me and Joyce from This Side of the Pond with the Wednesday Hodgepodge! Have a wonderful day, and keep warm if you have any snow!!

Snowy Update!! It's beyond snow filled, bleh! So please enjoy my puppy, Max, who is currently part of the snow ;)

1. Every January 1st since 1976 Lake Superior University has published a list of words they'd like to see banished from the Queen's English. Words may be banished due to mis-use, over-use or just general uselessness and they receive over 1000 nominations. Here are the fourteen words/phrases they'd like to see banished in 2011-viral, epic, fail, wow factor, a-ha moment, back story, BFF, man up, refudiate, Mama Grizzlies, The American People, facebook/google when used as verbs, I'm just sayin', and Live life to the fullest.

What word or phrase would you like to see banished from our everyday vocabulary in 2011? You can choose one from the 'official list' or you can get creative and come up with your own.

I was reading through every reason on under BFF, the woman goes, "These chicks" Okay, that should be banished!! Even chicks, should be banished, unless we're referring to the animal, which I don't think we are, but it gets very confusing for a girl like me (no I'm not blond!) Another word that I would love to be banished would be "Because" in the use of an answer. When I ask why, I don't want the answer "because", because you're not giving me an answer!

2. Do you consider opportunity something that comes to you or something you create for yourself?

Depends on the opportunity, sometimes it's the work of you, but then there are sometimes when unsee-able forces get involved and create a huge opportunity. For example, being able to work at the library. I think it was my working for going to volunteer, but it was God's working for making me go to the specific library and having me go at that time and have me get the job and all of that :)

3. Since we're all eating healthy this month, ahem, what's included in your favorite salad? Is there dressing?

In my post on January 1st, I wrote about this Carlton Salad that I had at the Cheesecake Factory that was oh so heavenly!! The Carlton Salad, which is romaine lettuce, feta cheese, avocado, cranberries, pears, oranges, and pecans all tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette (it does have chicken, but I ordered it without the chicken). Another salad I love is from Perk on Main, in Durham, CT. It's called Katie's Classic, it has baby greens, dried cranberries, feta cheese, caramelized pecans, and balsamic vinegarette (wow, they're almost the same). Both are very very very very good :)

4. The fourth Monday in January is said to be Blue Monday...aka the most depressing day of the year. The date was calculated using many factors including weather, debt level, time since Christmas, time since we've failed at our new year resolutions, low motivation and feeling a need to take action. Do you get the blues this time of year and if so what is something you do to lift your spirits?

Not usually, mainly because I'm too busy! You can't be depressed and watch a two year old, work, go to school, and work at the horse barn. It just doesn't work. If I am depressed any of the items that I just listed will cheer me up :)

5. Do you wear a watch? Any other everyday jewelry essentials?

No I don't wear a watch, unless you count my cell phone in my pocket ;) I always have three bracelets on my left wrist and two on my right :D I have my "I read banned books" bracelet, my "Monty" bracelet, and a friendship bracelet made by my friend Kat on my left wrist, and then I have two silly bandz, one's a moose and the other is a bear from my friend Krista, and I sometimes have a hair band on my right wrist :)

6. What is something useful you learned in high school?

So far, I've learned how amazing astronomy is - - - I absolutely love that part of science. Also, that make sure you remember every little detail about one section because they will ask every question possible on that section, then you may forget about it ;)

7. Do you use an accountant when completing and filing your income tax returns or do you attempt to muddle through all by yourself?

Nope :) This is going to be the first year I actually will have to file taxes, because I have a job, but because I'm a minor they go on my parents taxes, so technically my mother will be doing the taxes :)

8. Insert your own random thought here.

So I just saw this video, and let me tell you. This play is absolutely amazing!! It is so funny, and I love the look on the other team. It's pretty funny!

Cae

Hello 2011, Goodbye 2010

This weekend and holiday season has been very very very VERY busy!! I'm sitting her writing this blog post, tired beyond belief, because I just got back from babysitting. Yes, it's a little past midnight, but whatever ;) So I really need this key on my laptop, don't you think?

So I'm not like this, while I'm writing this blog post

Okay, so my weekend you ask?

We'll start on Wednesday, I was at work and finished working at 3:00. Mom then picked me up and we drove down to CT, so I can go to the Cheesecake Factory and see Yogi Bear in West Hartford with my old Girl Scout troop :) I got a Carlton Salad, without chicken, which was the best salad I've ever had! I had a Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake, which was really good also :) Now, our waitress was the slowest waitress known to man. We got seated around 11:45, and we didn't leave by 1:14 and we didn't even eat our cheesecake, we had to order it to go!

Yogi Bear, was the cutest movie ever! I absolutely loved it!! Having it in 3D was pretty awesome also, but I still don't like the whole fact of having to pay the extra $2 for 3D, but it was worth it!!

When I got home from the whole day with my troop, we had a respite for the weekend. Her name is N, and she's really awesome!

Friday!!!



New Years Eve, which in my mind means PARTAYYYYY!! Okay, so my party consisted of burning potstickers, drinking sparkaling cider, sitting above the garage watching Dick Clark's Rockin New Years Eve, and feel bad for not having a party to attend. Yeah, that's a nice wonderful night, don't ya think? Well N and I spent the night watching TV, talking, and drinking.

Yes I stayed up all night and accomplished it :D

Saturday aka today! The first day of 2011, I just want to state that I'm so glad that 2010 is over, my life all last year was an emotional rollercoaster, and man did I want to get off!!! So I had a babysitting job Saturday night to watched H, the cutest boy possible!! So I wathced him until 11pm and his parents gave me a car ride home, and now I'm writing this blog post practically asleep on the laptop.

The only thing that is keeping me up right now would be this (just infront of my laptop).

So good riddance to 2010 and hello 2011!!

Cae

Waking Mom and Dad Up

Every child dreams of getting up at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning, waking thier parents up, and then ripping open the presents! The 25 days before Christmas, the average child plots on how to wake their parents up, should it just be the simple "Mom, wake up" or should it be as compleax as making breakfast and bringing it up to them to wake them up!

Yesterday I topped every plan that a teenager could even plan on doing. Well on Christmas Eve, I stated that I wanted to open the presents up the second everyone was up, or when the first person was up! My mom said that it would be after eight, and I grumbled, but whatever. Dad then said "When you get up at 6:30, you can clean out the wood stove, start a fire in it, start the coffee, start the fire in the living room, and then start the bacon for breakfast. That should keep you busy until eight or nine." I grumbled again, what teen wants to do all of that? Being the nice daughter I am, and the fact that it was Christmas morning. I got up and started on the wood stove. I cleanned out the stove, and then I started the new one. Brought some wood in, and it was all good. I then started the coffee, that was easy, no big deal. Then came the building a fire in the living room. So I started on the fire in the living room, all was going well, and I was running ahead of schedule! It was only 7:45/8!! So I did everything, put the paper and cardboard under and around the wood, and light the paper. All of a sudden I noticed smoke coming, and I didn't think anything of it.

Well, not until the smoke alarm started blaring "WARNING SMOKE, WARNING SMOKE, EVACUATE, EVACUATE, WARNING SMOKE, EVACUATE" in my head I went "Oh crap! I forgot to open the flue" so I open the flue, the fire wasn't that big or that hot, so I quickly open the flue and started with all of the windows, then I realized that my parents are now up - - - Oops, there goes my plan of letting them sleep in. So Mom comes running down, the dog in tow (freaking out), and my father making his way slowly down. Well, we eventually got the whole fire alarm to stop blaring and waking the whole neighborhood up, and we started our Chrismtas morning!

Please note that this was not planned; Bro #1 stayed in his bed knowing that everything was alright; and Cathy, from the foster company we work with. said we had to test the smoke alarms, so I did it for her :)

All in all, that is the best way to wake your parents up on Christmas morning :)

Cae

The English Cae

The other day I was thinking about how weird it would be if I were to live in America on an English schedule, that way I would be able to talk to all of my English friends in their normal time, but how would I be able to make this work in America. So I calculated it out yesterday. I would follow my normal routine, but just back it up a couple hours. All of the timing for this portion will be in EST.

1:00am Wake up

7:00am Eat Lunch & go to work*

12:00pm Get home from work*

1:00pm Start dinner

5:00pm Go to bed

*The issue that I run into, going to work is the fact that we are in America, so I would have to go to work at noon and come home at 5 in EST.

Now to translate my schedule into GMT, and this is what you would get.

6:00am Wake up

12:00pm Eat lunch & go to work

5:00pm Get home from work

6:00pm Start Dinner

10:00pm Go to bed

Make this schedule can go with my December 32nd idea ;) Or maybe I could just move to London, I think the latter is the easier of the two.

Cae

Riddle

I turn polar bears white
and I will make you cry.
I make guys have to pee
and girls comb their hair.
I make celebrities look stupid
and normal people look like celebrities.
I turn pancakes brown
and make your champagne bubble.
If you squeeze me, I'll pop.
If you look at me, you'll pop.
Can you guess the riddle?

Mom did I sign myself up for this?

Well you all know I'm a Girl Scout, so I'm done selling cookies, and I'm waiting to hear when I'll be picking them up, I was sending emails to our cookie moms last night, but then we get a phone call from Trish, saying that no one from our troop showed up, so guess who had to go? You're right ME and my MOM! Mom and I have been doing cookies forever, I kind of even got her to be the Service Unit Cookie Mom, so we get there and mom and I are loading the 60 cases of Girl Scout cookies into my dad's truck. We get home and unload them, while mom and I are unloaded I looked at mom and asked "Please tell me that I didn't sign myself up for this?", she started laughing. I just finsihed organizing all the cookies for the girls in my girl scout troop, who will be coming throughout this weekend, so I can get these 60 cases of Girl Scout Cookies out of my house!!!

I never though I would be helping out with cookies again, but I guess I thought wrong. Now only if parents would return my phone calls. Well I'll be happier after I get all of these cookies out of my house!

With Lots of Love
~Dear Daughter ♥

"Writing a Book"

Okay, so whenever Z comes over and watches me on the laptop, I type quickly and sometimes long emails or blogs, so yesterday morning he came over to me and said his line "Are you writing another book?", I looked at Z and replied "Nope, I'm writing a blog", Z look at me and just asked, more stated "Aren't blogs supposed to be a couple lines not like a book?", I told him nope, and I'll show him one of my favorite blogs and that he'll see how much he writes, compared to my poor little blogs. He waited and I showed him 2nd Cup of Coffee. Lid put up a blog that was longer than mine (Thanks Lid for that, you backed my story up). Z looked at it and said "oh God, they are long, maybe she wrote a shorter one before this one." I said, no she didn't the one before it was her Random Dozen, Z didn't believe me so we went through the Random Dozen. It was so cute, but I owe a thank you to Lid.

Thanks Lid, for making me (the big sister) correct again :)

For those readers that haven't read 2nd Cup of Coffee, go click where ever I wrote 2nd Cup of Coffee and enjoy :)

Lots of Love,
C ♥