A Message from Ohio

Hello everyone! I'm at the library in Minerva, Ohio. I can't make this too long since we're only allowed 30 minutes. Chritine and I have been having tons of fun. We finished a totally awesome fort made out of big sticks and hay. We got to visit her grandparents and we saw Harry Potter 6. I was majorly impressed! It was awesometastic! Tonight we're going to the Carol County fair for rides and greasy food! Anyway, best wishes to everyone! oh, and comment! I want to know whats going on in yalls life...

Belated Anniversary Post

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of this blog! I was inspired by my friend indigo who's blog was made on the same day. And so...to celebrate my blog and all who read it, I'm going on a quest to post some of the coolest links I can find!

Harry Potter Moving Pictures

This tutorial will tell you how to make a moving picture, just like all the photos and portraits at Hogwarts!

Burda Style

If you've ever even dabbled in sewing this is the site for you. Buy and print patterns or simply learn from the many how-tos. Also get lots of inspiration from other people's work. Perfect from beginners to experts!

Site Meter

Track the number of people visiting your blog or site every day with easy to understand statistics and lots of useful features.

Lost Button Studio

A really cool blog with awesome crafts and recipes.

Spirit Cloth

The little blurb says it all:

"it seems i might be able to communicate something through cloth making. i hope so. this blog is a personal journey into gift giving and story cloth. one step at a time. and diversions along the way."

Blurb

A site that allows you to design your own book. Just download the software (it only takes a few minutes) Prices start at 4.99 but the hardcover, full color book is about $22. Check it out!

Writers on Writing

A complete archive of tons of articles written by authors about writing. They are fascinating...read them!

Apple Movie Trailers

Apple has movie trailers for every new movie! In HD, too!

This one has been mentioned several times, but it's awesome so:

Seeds of Imagination Game

Plant a seed and type encouraging words to make it grow. It's one of the only games I go back to again and again not only for fun, but for the simple beauty of the site and for inspiration. VERY CALMING...

Well thats all for now! I hope this blog will continue for many years! *holds up glass of sparkling grape juice* To Blogging! :D

How to Properly Look Forward to Something

" Me being overly excited"

It doesn't happen often, but sometimes life confronts us with something we can look forward to. Be it a long awaited chance for a vacation or a reunion with an old friend, these exciting events give us something to think about in our spare time. In this post I will give you a step-by-step guide on how to look forward to things in a way that leaves you in a good mood for days on end.

Step One: Find something to look forward to. It doesn't have to be an extremely important event but it helps if it's something big or out of the ordinary.

Step two: As part of your daily routine begin thinking about your event. (As an example we will use mine which is that next week I'm flying to Ohio to visit my friend on her farm.)I try to think about my trip at least twice a day. Whenever I have a free moment, such as when I'm laying in bed before I go to sleep or when or when I'm feeling lazy in the afternoon, I travel to Ohio in my mind. I see my friend's face and I imagine all the fun things we're going to do together.

Step three: Create a countdown. Figure out how many days are left until the fun begins. In the evening you can cross it off and and say to yourself, "Only ___ days left!"

Step four: Plan and Prepare. One of my favorite parts of going on trips is packing. I make a master list of everything I need and check things off as I go along. Since I'm flying by myself for the first time I read a lot about how to handle going on a plane alone.I also learned about ways to get over my fear of turbulence and bought peppermints to settle my stomach, just in case.

Step five: Brag! It's ok to talk to friends and family about your special event. Just be careful not to rub it in their faces too much or you may have a grudge (or several) to deal with!

Step six: If you are sick with anticipation and can't keep yourself from bouncing up and down in excitement, you can figure out the specifics of how to make time "go faster." Should you do things faster? Like working harder on a project and finishing dinner in 15 minutes? Don't choke! Or should you draw everything out? This usually works best if your event is only a day or so away so that you won't be changing the speed at which you do things for weeks on end.

Step seven: Enjoy yourself. These steps don't have to be followed exactly, but if you do most of them you are bound to have almost as fun looking forward to an event as you are when it actually comes. And when it does come, take in every minute of it! :)

Well, thats all for now, but thanks for reading! If you have any more suggestions on how to look forward to things please comment.

In the Tank: It's a Girl! (I think..)

Well, ladies and gentlemen, just the other day I found a tiny little baby guppy in our fish tank.To keep it out of harms way we put it in a measuring cup that hangs into the water from the side of the tank. i haven't decided on a name for it yet... if you have any ideas, please comment!

I say and you think....

The first one I got off of a website and the second one I made up myself.

Hockey ::  game
Twirling :: skirt
Montreal ::alabama  
Better ::  good
New :: paper  
Rally :: cheerleaders 
Stanley :: higgins 
USB :: cable 
Scouted :: dog 
Cough :: hurt  

computer:: cord

banana:: bandana

lamp::bright

Mary::Poppins

understand::not really

write::poetry

dog::loyal

random::fun

From Kaki to Wacky!

 Ever since school ended I'v been in denial about wearing kaki. To tell you the truth, i don't want to see anything kaki for the rest of my life! So, my mom and I decided to do something about it! Yesterday we took a pair of kaki pants, put them in blue dye and miraculously changed them from kaki to wacky! Lol. I know its cheesy but whatever. Instead of using traditional tie-dye we did something called Low-water Immersion Dyeing. For a tutorial click here.

Also check out Dharma Trading Company for dyes, and all kinds of clothing to dye.

In the Fish Tank: New Residents!

(left to right)Jenna,Toni,Alexander,Eve

After the unfortunate death of my carnival gold fish my tank sat vacant. The friendly humming of the filter was gone, and no light fell through its glass walls. Until, that is, today. My neighbor generously offered to give me some of her guppies and now my tank has four beautiful residents. See picture above. I found a website with the most popular fish names on it, along with their meanings. Here is what i've decided to name them:

Alexander: meaning "defender of mankind," dark grey and white with bright orange fins and tail

Eve: meaning "life," dark grey and white with an orange tail that has dark specks on it

Toni:meaning "priceless," mostly white with iridescent specks and a double tail

Jenna:meaning "smooth and white,"all white

Even though I'm being very optimistic in this post, I know that fish keeping is hard. In the professional fish care world deaths are common place. Hopefully I will have better luck and these fish will live long and happy lives.