Juliet Tans

(I should hope it would be obvious that she's not tanning though.) Her hair is just drying. I braided her hair, knotted it up and then wet it down, hoping that it will dry curly.
She's also sporting an all new outfit. I made her skirt a little while ago but I only just sewed in the ends. I also decided I like the skirt better with the purl side out. The tank top was made just yesterday though. I hope you can tell the pink blotch on the shirt is a heart (I didn't do the colorwork very well).

I made up the patterns for the shirt and skirt myself (I didn't writr them out either, I just made them up as I went). The shirt is made of leftover yarn (the green is from the striped dress) and the skirt is made from some leftover Noro Kureyon.
By the way, I've noticed a trend in her wardrobe. (sandals, dress, skirt, tank, swim-suit) She's very summery! I kind of like that though. When I let her hair out and see the results, I'll post again. Adios!

"If We Shadows Have Offended..."

Van Antwerp drama club presents easy-to-understand Shakespeare in "A Midsummer Night's Midterm"
"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind." — If you ever had difficulty understanding Shakespeare then VA Middle School’s production of "A Midsummer Night’s Midterm" is for you. This year, VA’s drama club, with guidance from English teachers Heather L. and Lauren K., is presenting “A Midsummer Night’s Midterm” on Thursday and Friday, April 26-27 at 7 p.m. The play is about four girls who are studying for their midterms on William Shakespeare's famous play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” when the story literally begins to unfold before them. This play within a play is insightful and funny as the girls comment on Shakespeare's language, his characterization of women and men and even his relevance to today's world. The original language is retained but abbreviated for this play, with the students interpreting the more difficult passages.

Taken from our school website (with edits by me to protect identity and to correct grammar). There was a photo with it but I think it would be like stealing to take it from the website like that.
The play was a hit. At least it was yesterday. I assume tonight’s performance is ending just now. Why aren't I there? Because I went home from school early today, because I'm sick. I'm not going to focus on my awful cold though, I'm going to focus on last night's excellent (and very fun) performance. Kate and I got there at six (we came straight from crew) to help set up. At first, there were only a few people there and we started to get them costumed and made-up but soon, everyone was there and we needed all hands on deck to get ready. The chaos made it really fun though. First, we would have the actors put on their costumes, then we would style hair (all of the girls and some of the boys) and put make up on everyone. A lot of the boys were reluctant at first (Kate had to force Jordan to let her straighten his hair and most of the boys didn't want to wear lipstick) but they got over it. Look at Ethan!

(He was Oberon, King of the Faeries) I was actually helpful when it came to putting on makeup! (I did a brief stage-makeup class at theater camp) Who knew I was capable of such feats! I got to put on most of Amy's makeup, before Gabby stepped in to put on her eye shadow.

The Court looked fabulous (even though Joey had a sock crisis the other day) and performed very well. I am really very proud of them.

Even though I only got to see the play from backstage (I was a prompter), I know you were all amazing. Even though you were nervous, you had nothing to be nervous about and the play was really great. Once again, drama club= love. One more thing before I go...

"If we shadows have offended, think but this and all is mended.
That you have but slumbered here, while these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme, no more yielding than a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend. If you pardon, we will mend.
And as I am an honest Puck, if we have unearned luck.
Now escape the serpent’s tongue, we will make amends ere long.
Else the Puck a liar call, so good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends, and Robin shall restore amends."

A Guide to Table-Topping

How to:

• Convince a friend to kneel down on the ground behind someone.
  
• They kneel, creating a "table-top" with their back.
  
• You push them and they fall down in to the grass.

How Not to be Table-Topped:

• Pay attention! Some people are very obvious but some are very stealthy. Every so often, kick your leg up or swing your arm behind you. If you get worried, turn around! Some people like to look at the shadows behind them.
  
• Don't table-top or orchestrate a table-top. no one will care about table-topping you.

Guidelines and Suggestions:

• Only push down a friend, someone you hardly know will get mad, a good friend won't.
  
• No table-topping a girl in a skirt, not cool.
  
• Plan ahead. It's always good to be prepared.
  
• Only table-top outside. Table-topping when inside (even on a mat) hurts and takes the fun out of everything. Why would you want to do that?
  
• Only table-top if you don't mind being table-topped. It doesn't matter if you're the table-top or the one who pushes, you will be table-topped back.
  
• Accept being table-topped. Even the most alert will be tricked at some point.
  
• Don't be cocky about you're table-topping skills, even if you have awesome skills, you will be table-topped.
  
• When it's a nice day and you know you'll be going outside, you may want to wear dark colors or clothes that aren't special to you. Don't complain when you stain your favorite shirt with mud, it's your fault for not thinking ahead.
  
• Always remember, table-topping is fun!If you're not having fun, something is wrong and you should stop.

I hope this friendly little guide will be helpfull in all future table-topping exploits. Adios!

OOTP Trailer

A new, high-def version of the trailer from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix came out today at nine o'clock. It's great. I can't wait for the movie. I love Mugglenet, they always keep me up to date on Harry Potter.

You Are Now Leaving OZ. Reality Straight Ahead.

On Wednesday, I woke up at 5:20 to go on our annual chorus trip to NYC. Kate’s mom drove Kate, Nick and me. We hung around for a bit and then boarded the bus to New York. Kate and I sat behind Ted and Nick and in front of Megan and Denise. They were in front of Emily and Katie and they were in front of Emily and Chetna. I wasn't feeling tired at that point, just excited to be going. Why was I so incredibly pumped so early in the morning? Because our final destination was to see my favorite musical ever. The first one I obsessed over, the first one I got in to and the one that I (out of all of my friends) was the first to know about: Wicked.
But, of course, we didn't go to see it right off. First, we went to a bunch of stores chosen by our chaperones. We had picked partners beforehand and had been sorted in to groups. My group was made up of Kate and I, Jacky and Chetna, the K twins Kelan and Evan, Michael H. and Colin. Luckily, our group got to hang out with Nick, Ted, and Ethan's group almost the entire time.
Our groups went to the NBC store (where I bought a magnet with Dwight Schrute on it!), Radio City Music Hall (where we met a Rockette),

St. Patrick’s Cathedral (where the cathedral rule of "No Pictures Allowed" was broken),

and lunch. Right before the show, we went to the M&Ms store.
I would not be exaggerating at all if I said that that store is a gift from the gods. Even Kate the chocolate hater bought something there! I think she enjoyed herself.
The best part was the walls of different colored M&Ms.

When Kate and I saw the first one, we were impressed, but it didn't end there.


I bought a small bag of the 22 color mix. Finally, we walked to the main event.

I was allowed to take a picture of the set before it started but obviously, none were allowed during the performance.

Just looking at that, I was already impressed. Once it started, Kate and I were mouthing all of the words and moving our heads around. Defying Gravity was life changing. When I got up after that, I was breathing heavily, my heart was pounding, and my legs were shaking. I took awhile to calm down. Amazing, that's all I can say. I have to leave for school now. Adios! (I will spell-check this later)

Edit: Spell checked!
Edit 2: I spelled "Edit" right this time.

The Long Overdue Knitting Post

My Seaberry Shell has been coming along. I should have been keeping you updated on it because there have been several developments on it.
1) While trying to finish the front, I ran out of yarn and mom had to order six more balls from WEBS. While waiting for them to arrive, I did not knit at all.

2) The reinforcement yarn arrived and I finished the front up very quickly.

3) I started the back, the knitting isn't as interesting because it's the border and then straight stockinette but it's still moving pretty quickly. I'm not taking pictures of it though because it's honestly very boring to look at.
I also knit up a cute little skirt for Juliet (my Knitted Babe). It's knit from the same yarn that I used to knit my wristlets.

Now all she needs is a matching top and shoes! I braided her hair to see if it would curl. I keep forgetting to wet it down to make it stay though. Adios!

"Away to Athens!

Three and three, we'll hold a feast. Come Hippolyta"

No, I'm not going to Athens (that would be fun though). I'm just quoting the play we're doing for Drama Club "A Midsummer Night's Midterm." The play is about four people reading the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for a test. They witness the characters acting out the play and they make comments throughout. It's a fun play to do but sadly, I'm not acting in it, I'm student directing. That means I'm basically in control of a group of actors. In this play, there are five groups: The Lovers, The Court, The Faeries, The Players, and The Students.

I direct The Court. It's made up of Theseus (the Duke of Athens, played by Michael H.), Hippolyta (Queen off the Amazons, played by Amy), Egeus (father of Hermia, one of the lovers, played by Joey) and Philostrate (servant to Theseus, played by Jude). We pwn.
This is the set.

It's split in to three parts, the forest on the left, the arbor in the center, and the castle on the right. We had an optional practice yesterday from nine to one. It was really fun and it was great because I got to stay for the whole time (I usually have to leave practices early to go to crew) and everyone was there. We ran lines, ran lines with British accents (which, as Michael pointed out, sounded more Australian), went through all of Act 2, and we did some pretty great dancing. We even got through everything without laughing or repeating the lines that everyone knows!
(Here's a picture of all of us acting out our favorite, "But soft! What nymphs are these?")

Drama club=love. Adios!

p.s. Forgot to wish Kate Happy Birthday! (even though it was yesterday and I sang to her in person) I will give her the present and card at crew today. I hope she likes it!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to mi hermanito, Noah. May the cake I made (and we decorated) be delicious and may your presents bring you joy. Nine is a great age. Adios!

Analyzing

Easter wasn't terribly exciting. It was nice though. We had an egg-hunt and we had a nice Easter dinner (with some soupy lemon meringue pie) but not much else happened. So, I'll just talk about google analytics for a while.
When I signed up, I figured I would get some basic stuff, how many hits a day, individual visitors and maybe data on new and returning visitors but there's so much more that I can look at! Where my visitors come from (I have a visitor in the UK!), what network or browser they're using, how nice of a computer they use, how long they were there, how many pages they read, what they're actually reading, and what language they're reading it in (I have a visitor who uses Spanish!). I'm definitely not disappointed with these results. Adios!

Dying and Fighting

That certainly makes this post sound violent, doesn't it. I don't feel like writing all that much so I'll just put up this pictures, they should explain the title.

The Albany River Rats won their game against the Bridgeport Tigers after overtime and a shoot-out. More later, perhaps tomorrow. Adios.

Sucky the Fish

I very nearly sent this e-mail to Kate but decided to post it here instead so more people can help me out.
Tep,
Mom and I went to the aquarium today and got some new fish. I named one of them Sucky because he is a sucker-fish (the kind that sucks the crap from the tank walls). Here's a picture of Sucky (he's sucking on the tube):

Now I don't know want to name the others (Don't even think about suggesting poopy, crappy s---y etc. because mom and dad already have suggested those and it's not funny. I know you're probably thinking it anyway though and chuckling to yourself because of your cleverness.). They're very pretty fish called cardinals. They're a type of tetra with bright red tails and a glowing blue stripe. Here's a picture of them:

So, please help me name them, I would appreciate it!

em
Adios!
p.s. We're dying eggs today. Check this post on Knitting Iris out for some cool egg pictures and links to similar posts.

Comemos duraznos nunca.

Thursday
The entire grade went to a play called "It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues" which, appropriately enough, was about the origins of blues. There was only a six-person cast telling the story through well-known blues songs. It starts with an African tribal chant, then goes to slaves/share-croppers in the south, then it moves to spirituals in a southern church and finally, a club in south-side Chicago. It was really interesting and fun.
At the beginning, all of us tried to get seats in the front row but only Eric, Kate, Kyle, Michael, Lucas and I made it quick enough. Soon after we sat down, Michael said to me "I think that they're going to ask someone to come up on stage in this play and I have a feeling it's going to be one of us." His prediction was a good one because besides our school, there were several groups of senior citizens there and not many other people! Her turned out to be right, there was a lot of audience participation and I got to dance on-stage! Everyone kept smiling and laughing at me and making fun of me after that but I really enjoted it. The best audience participant in my opinion was a senior citizen who was offered a solo and shook her head "no." If looks could kill... Adios!

p.s. 333rd post, that's half of "De number of de beast!"

EDIT: I just set up a tracking device for the site (it will count the hits that I get in several diferent ways). I hope I won't be disappointed!

MC ROVE!

No time for a normal post now (I will do a real post later today) but there's something I want you all to see. Click here if you want to see a politician make a fool of himself.
I tried to send it to everyone but my e-mail is being fussy. Until later, Adios!

The Saga Begins

No, I'm not talking about the "Weird Al" Yankovick song, I'm talking about the saga of Elmo escaping from the house yesterday. When mom and I were coming in from guitar lessons yesterday, he dashed through mom's legs and escaped under the porch. As usual, we chased him out from under the porch and he ran out front, once there, he got away again and under the porch. This happened the same way again but he escaped under the porch and didn't come out.
By this time, it was probably about one and I estimate he had gotten out at about 12:45.
We put out some food (which mom had just bought from PetSmart because of the cat food scandal), laid on our bellies to see under the porch, shook around the treats container, hosed down the porch to get him wet (which didn't work at all), and even made mi hermanito go under the porch with a flash-light but it eventually came down to waiting. Mi hermanito and I sat around or the Adirondack chairs with our books and a packet of cat treats between us, reading and waiting for him to come out. There were tears, but we were ok. After a while, mi hermanito went inside and dad went for a run and I went back outside to read and to wait. After a while, I saw him out of the corner of my eye. I got up, he seemed a little scared so I moved slowly. I thought he was about to run but I came closer. He walked a few steps away under a table that we take the top off of during the winter (it's glass). I stopped, and calmly grabbed him through the top. He came inside without a fight.
I checked the clock when I came in and it read 4:15. Elmo was under the porch (probably sleeping) for about three and a half hours! I'm glad to have him back inside.
Anyway, these pictures are some of my favorites of Elmo. Some are cute, some are silly, and one is oddly regal. Here's another favorite (very silly).

You've gotta love cats.

Happy April Fools Day! Adios!