Hum.
I know I was supposed to have blogged already this week, but I don't really feel like I have anything noteworthy to say. I know I do: we went and spent the weekend at a friend's house, and went to another friend's graduation party, but I'm not really in a writing mood right now.

~Kiwi~

Picitatures (aka "pictures")

Double hibiscus bloom

A birthday card I made for my friend....Guess what her name is! =D

Sorry, but that's all I've got time for. We've got bible study tonight, and I need to go eat. As delicious  as the snacks I'm taking are (Secret Family Recipe Fudge and Dutch Apple Bread...Mmmmmmm...), I don't think anyone would approve of me eating ALL of it! 

Toodle-oo

~Kiwi~

P.S. I stuck up some more pictures on my photoblog! Check it out:
www.kiwi-and-her-pictures.blogspot.com

I haven't got a title for this one...

Hello, peoples.

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. On Sunday we almost didn't have volleyball. The two guys who normally set it up and tell everyone where to be and when to be there, weren't going to be there. So I went over and asked Alex if he knew anything about volleyball that day. He did all the conferencing and I just showed up. Dad brought the boys along to play with a family from church who were having a picnic. So dad played, too, and he's pretty good. It was a good day for me; I served first for my team in every game, but only my first serve went wild! After that I scored at least 2 points every time I served. :) It made me happeh.

My teams only won one game out of 6, but that wasn't for lack of trying! I dove more on Sunday than ever before. And I really think I'm better than I used to be.

Monday we went down to IA to clean house. Oh. My. Goodness. It was a MESS! The kitchen had crumbs and food all over the counters, food left in the fridge, caramel corn in a sticky little pile by the wall....At some point in time, a feather pillow ripped open in the master bedroom, adding feathers to the pizza crusts, socks, and doggie mess on the floor....Baby medicine and dog mess in the baby's room....Piles of crumpled-up newspaper and dog..stuff in the basement, along with dirty laundry and the dogs' blankets......Oh. It was awful. I have never loved rubber gloves so much in my life. I'll have to ask Mom about putting a few pictures of it on here.

But we got it cleaned, with the help of Avalon, Catfreak, & their sisters, my Grandpa, and my friend Megan, who I hadn't seen in 10 months!! I'm so glad we have good friends.

Tuesday we cleaned house more. I surprised another friend, which was so much fun! she had no clue I was going to be there! so we hung out for several hours, cleaning house, goofing off....

Today I haven't been doing anything of importance. I watched "Chisum" starring John Wayne. As soon as I get around to it, I'll put reviews of that and "Bye Bye Birdie" on my Old Movie Blog. It was a decent movie, although it seemed that the tv station cut it.

So that's what's happening, in a nutshell.

I finished another card front on Sunday. Here's a pic:

It belongs to the same series of cards as that Zinnia one. I think the third card will be a pink rose, perhaps, because that means "friendship."

Hm.
I'm playing a lot of the multiplayer games on www.gamesgames.com. If you ever join the site, my player name is thatKiwigirl.

My friend Avalon and my other friend Catfreak want me to re-introduce them to y'all. Go check out their blogs! They don't have much on them *ahem* but with a bit of encouragement... I'd suggest going to Avalon's first post, because she started a mystery story there. BUT she needs to CONTINUE the STORY because she just LEFT US HANGING there...Perhaps we should comment blitz her again.

okay, I have nothing left to say, except remember that the Feelin' Feminine Challenge starts this Monday!

Baibaiz

~Kiwi~

hola, folks!

Hello. I just noticed that it had been a few days since I last posted, so I decided to post again. :D

Today, Sis and I are going to the mall with Short Stuff, J. Shrimp, and KK. Mom and Dad are in IA, sorting stuff out about our other house. The people living there now are moving out on Sunday, so we have to go down Sunday afternoon/Monday morning to clean the house before it's put back on the market. *sigh* I don't like cleaning house after us, much less people I don't even know! I hope they leave it neat.

Saturday's wedding was pretty. The bride & bridesmaids had pretty dresses....You know how some bridesmaid's dresses couldn't be worn anywhere else, no matter how much people say "oh, you could wear that many other places"? These you could wear to church. They were nice, but not terribly fancy.

They didn't decorate the church much, just some flowers around the candles and on the reserved front rows. Julie's colors were blue and yellow. My friend Short Stuff made the cake. I hope she puts up a picture of it! We didn't get to go to the reception, so I didn't get to see it. :(

Our neighbors invited us over to a cookout in their front yard. It's the thought that counts. It was very nice of them to invite us, but it was so.....boring....! Everyone there was 40 or so, and they all knew each other, but we didn't. Most of the half hour spent there was listening to other's conversations. I wish I could have gone to the reception instead. There was food and cake and dancing, and even a double rainbow! *doublesigh*

On Sunday we had Kris and her sister over for lunch and volleyball. It was impromptu, which made it all the more fun!

Volleyball was okay, but I'm never going 3 weeks without playing volleyball again! I wasn't at my best. And then we had extra players, so we rotated into the serving spot. That doesn't work for me. I can't just leave the game, then come back 5-10 minutes later and serve well.

By the way, does anyone know a polite way to say "Andy (or fill in any name) that was my ball! Go play in your own 'zone' and let me play in mine!"? Because saying it that way sounds mean, but sometimes it needs to be said!

Yesterday I hung around for a while, then Sis and I went to the church ballgame. 'We' won two out of three games! I wish I was good at baseball, but I hate batting. I'm not good enough to hit consistently, and I feel silly standing there, striking out! My catching isn't too bad, and I love running. Need to work on my aim some. I think I'll just stick to volleyball.

'Twas mildly annoying. I sat between a girl named Kelsey and a boy, Evan, during one of the games. There was one conversation 'loop' going on from Kelsey on down the bleachers away from me, and another 'loop' starting with Evan and headed away. So I was kind of stuck between two 'loops.' It wasn't all bad, I guess, but sometimes when I came in at the end of an interesting-sounding conversation, or I couldn't really break into a conversation....

Okay, I'll leave you with a few pictures:

That's the oil painting I did a month or two ago.

Here are the outside and inside of my latest card, the one I was talking about in my last post.

Front:

Inside:
(I know it's sloping downhill here, but in the actual card it is straightened and done in 'stairstep' style.)

Last, but not least, is the painting I did for the Downhere tee-shirt contest. I ended up not actually getting to put it on a tee shirt because of lack of time. Instead, I just did the postcard entry, with that on the postcard. Across the sun is supposed to be "Hope is Rising," but I didn't put it straight onto the painting. I just added it digitally.

Oh, I almost forgot.
I'm thinking of doing the "Feeling Feminine Challenge" next week, just for the fun of it. I don't think that skirts are always more modest than pants (it all depends on the skirt or pair of pants itself and where you're wearing it to), but I have noticed how I act differently (different?) when wearing a skirt. I will wear pants for volleyball, though, because in my opinion they're more practical. Would anyone care to join me? We can blog about it together, and post pictures!

Maybe some of the girls who live nearby? *coughShortStuffJShrimpKKLadyFlorimelcough* :D

So, that's what I'm up to. :) What about you-all? What are you doing? Does anyone have an answer to my volleyball-related question?

See ya!

~Kiwi~

paintings

Here's a quick picture of my latest painting project:

In Victorian times, different flowers had different meanings. The pink rose, for example, meant "friendship," while the Pansy meant "loving thoughts." Here I sketched out a zinnia, then filled it in with color. The zinnia means "thoughts of friends," and (hopefully) will be in my next card!
~Kiwi~

(to view it better, click it.)

100th post!!!!!!!!

On a blogger's 100th post, it is customary to post 100 random things about yourself. Here's my 100 things. I hope you don't get too bored!

1. I know and can sing many many songs. Most of the songs played on Air1 and K-love in 2008 I know by heart.
2. I love to read. (P.G. Wodehouse, Shannon Hale, Christopher Paolini…)
3. I have been home schooled since birth.
4. I’m going to graduate in ’010!
5. I am hopelessly addicted to blogging.
6. As I write this, I’m listening to “Protest to Praise” by Downhere.
7. I simply adore biking.
8. I’m contemplating getting a bug-shield for my bike.
9. I nearly had a bike crash earlier today.
10. One of my favorite hobbies is painting.
11. My “Old Movie Blog” is fun to do research for!
12. I have met 15 famous people: Daniel Kirkley, Jason Gray, Jason Germain, Marc Martel, Glenn Lavender, Jaime Jamgochian, Lanae Hale. Brian, ’Nirva, Gabe, and Tedde from the Diverse City Band, and Hawk Nelson.
13. Concerts are great fun to attend!
14. But I’ve only been to three: Newsboys, Bethlehem Skyline Tour concert, Winter Jam ’09.
15. I don’t have a boyfriend, and don’t really see a need for one right now.
16. I really need to build up my “Artiste’s imagination”
17. No, I don’t have Facebook, Myspace or Twitter.
18. I should be doing chemistry right now.
19. I love to run, but I haven’t got any endurance.
20. My name doesn’t actually have a ‘k’ or ‘w’ in it.
21. “Rockstars need money,” and so do I.
22. I really really really want to see Paul Colman in July!!
23. I have one of the starring roles in The Play.
24. I used to sleepwalk on occasion. Who knows if I still do so…
25. I have two brothers and one sister.
26. I know at least the choruses to 80+ Newsboys songs. By heart.
27. I was ecstatic to get a letter from my friend the other day. AND it had a picture of her in it!!
28. Writing 100 Random Things about me is harder than I originally thought!
29. Sometimes I (randomly) burst into a (random) song.
30. I used to have a sheep that I showed at the fair. Her name was Mandy, and then she had a lamb named Freddy. I still have a 3rd place ribbon that Freddy won…
31. I was in 4-H once, but didn’t like it.
32. My sister and I are NOT twins!!
33. I like having my nails brightly painted.
34. I recently memorized the first stanza of “What is so Rare as a Day in June?” by James Russell Lowell.
35. I prefer geometry to chemistry.
36. I am quickly running out of things to say.
37. I really really really want to enter Downhere’s tee-shirt contest!!! Really!
38. I don’t get to wear pj’s to school. Horrible, isn’t it? :-P
39. I have a stuffed turtle.
40. Flip-flops rate higher with me than tennis shoes.
41. I have never broken a bone. (Of my own, that is…)
42. Volleyball is amazingly fun!
43. I do a lot of diving in volleyball.
44. I have 6 cds: the Newsboys’ GO, Thrive, In The Hands of God and the ITHOG EP. Michael W. Smith’s Live the Life, and Avalon’s Testify to Love.
45. My dresser top is always a mess ‘cause it’s my “catch-all.” But more on that later.
46. I can’t believe I accidentally skipped this one!
47. I love the Newsboys’ Going Public cd.
48. I want a new pair of shoes.
49. I can’t wait for consistently warm weather.
50. I have a “Zits” cartoon taped to my door that describes me perfectly! I’ll have to give y’all a pic of it sometime.
51. I cannot brain today. I have the dumb.
52. Sadly, I appear to be the “Teasable Type.”
53. Colors are cool!
54. I don’t like washing dishes.
55. My occupation? Dishwasher, scullery maid, bathroom scrubber. Oh, and most-of-the-time student.
56. My plan for this summer is to stay as active as possible. That means bike rides, volleyball, double Dutch jump rope, anything else that’ll keep me moving!
57. This has been 57 random things already!
58. One of my friends ‘owes’ me $31.64 already. It’s a long story…
59. I went horseback riding once in Tennessee in ’06.
60. Skip-bo is a good card game.
61. I don’t play any instruments.
62. I accidentally skipped #s 46-49! Oops!
63. Hopefully I’ll be able to hand out awards to my faithful blogreaders soon…
64. I learned that it is possible to start a Twitter account with a fake email.
65. But I either deleted the account or forgot the password. I forgot the password, anyway. The account may still be there. *runs off to check* Nope, it’s still there! www.twitter.com/kiwidafruit. No updates, though. Unfortunately, I can't get in to delete it because of the forgotten password.
66. I luuuuuuuv my digital camera! (Thanks, grandma & grandpa!!)
67. I have been hit in the face by the ball in the following sports: soccer, baseball, dodgeball, and basketball.
68. I have been knocked down in the following sports: dodgeball, soccer, basketball, football (LET IT BE KNOWN: I was not playing football voluntarily. It was entirely against my will that I was standing out there in that field, watching everyone else know what to do!), tag, and, as of Sunday, volleyball.
69. I used to be quite accident and injury prone.
70. I enjoy beading earrings, necklaces, and bracelets, but haven’t been ‘inspired’ to do so lately.
71. Writing is fun, but not ‘on demand’ writing.
72. Geometry was so much better than chemistry!
73. I like the game Bomber Penguin. (Skittles, you'd like it! give it a try.)
74. I just found two cool videos of Marc Martel that I'll have to post soon!
75. I am ¾ of the way done with this thing!!
76. My toenails are pink right now.
77. I want to visit my great-grandma (and Skittles!) in Florida!
78. Have you ever played ‘Pit’? I have.
79. I am 17 years old, 2 months, 2 weeks, and 5 days old.
80. I want my own email address. (Hinthinthint)
81. Blogger frustrates me!
82. I like music videos.
83. I want to make a music video to “Praying for Sunny Days” by Hyper Static Union.
84. Catchphrase is a good game to play with friends, especially when it gets rowdy!
85. I’m going to give 25 points to whoever reads all of this!
86. I think I’ve been on blogger for about one year.
87. I just read through a year’s worth of my life in my diary.
88. I have had one of my watercolors sold at an art auction.
89. I want to see Dagmar soon ‘cause I have a s’prise for her…
90. My room is a wee little bit messy right now.
91. I had no school today.
92. My middle name is Elizabeth.
93. My hair, after being twisted up in a bun for 24+ hours, looks really odd!
94. I am/Praying for sunny days to return to me…..
95. I don’t have a best friend…I have about 20!
96. If you looked at my dresser right now, you would find: 3 porcelain dolls, a crystal bell, four cds, a Willow Creek angel, a little-bitty doll, five glass bottles, perfume, Mary Kay product, four ponytail holders, an IOU note (from my friend, now worth $31.64), a library card, four barrettes, two pairs of earrings, a cd insert, two batteries, song lyrics, bangle bracelets, two necklaces, flattened-out foil from a blue Easter crunch-bunny, a ring case, bookmark, a radio, and $1.33 in small change. I hope you found that fascinating!
97. Three houses ago, ‘Punzel and I chased the landlord’s cows around. (I was 6-7)
98. I have a signed Newsboys poster with a large, long haired hole in it…;D
99. I am very very very distantly related to Dan’l Boone. I think.
100. I survived my first 100 Random Things post!! Hallelujah!

Okay, I'm going to make the rest of this brief. I owe a big thanks to Dagmar and Matt, because they got me started in blogging and have answered numerous questions about it.
Thanks to Mom & Dad, for letting me get a blog.
Thanks to everyone who reads this blog and comments.
A smaller 'thank you' to the people who read this but don't comment. Comment if you want to get a big thank you.
And thanks to my followers, just for following.
Basically: THANKS ALL Y'ALL TO EV'RYONE WHO READS THIS!

So long, readers!
~Kiwi~

Maybe You Could Help--Monday

I need some help. Firstly with the titles. Which are boring. Secondly, last Autumn, when we first moved in, there were this little, nasty, black gnats all over my window. The holes in my screen are just big enough for the little buggers to get through. Well, with the warm weather and all, they are BACK!!!! And in full force, too! So, what do I do to keep them away? I'd appreciate it if y'all could tell me what to do about them. Fifteen blogger points to whoever can come up with something that works!


So this is what we've been doing this past week:

Monday and Tuesday: I believe we just did school. If I did anything else, it must not have been important!


Wednesday, I had Bible study at our friends house. It was also Avalon's birthday, so I did a Happy Birthday post for her. I think I'll have to mark down all my blogger-friends' birthdays, so I can do it for all of them.
We stood around afterwards, talking, and gazing at Noah's "Itouch....Udon't" as he checked to see who shared our birthdays. I don't think he checked mine. >:-[ We're working on a scoring system. Jumbo Shrimp had an Emperor born, but then two Kings died, canceling out the Emperor. I think she ended up in the 'negatives.'


Thursday I worked on a totally annoying painting that WILL NOT come out correctly. I've tried three times. The first one looked good in my head, but not on paper, so I took the element that DID look good and put it on the second sheet. It didn't look good. So then I tried a third time, and yet again it doesn't look right. I didn't give up, but it is set aside for a good, long while.
At 1:00, JS and Kirsten picked me up and we went ice skating! It was so much fun! It was homeschool skate afternoon, and I got to request which station was to be played, so I picked the Christian station with fewer commercials. We heard ITHOG and another song I haven't heard in forever: "My Deliverer" by the Ragamuffin Band. Love those two!
Skating was so much fun....I fell only once, and even then it was more of a slide than a fall....we danced the Virginia Reel on skates and played Crack-the-Whip. Friend of Narnia was there, and Kirsten, and Jumbo Shrimp.
I had a grand time, even though I now have a rawish spot on my ankle from the skate rubbing.


Friday was 'Jordan's Thirteenth birthday....turning thirteen on Friday the Thirteenth....:D Bad luck. He started the "seven years of insanity" period common to teenage boys. (not all, mind you. Just many. Don't get angry at me, Matt!) Also, the entire family entered the "seven years famine"........I'll leave y'all to figure that out..... ;D


Saturday it was warm and nice so (if I remember correctly) we got together with some friends. Ah, yes, we were out in the back yard, saying goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa G. when Monkey said "There's some people waving to us from the street!!" So I thought he meant just some of the kids that live back there. It was actually JS, Kirsten, and two other friends, Alena and Elizabeth. So we went back there and rode around. I would tell you the name of the street, 'cos it's kinda cool, but I googled it and the correct one came right up. Rats.
Monkey rode with us back there, but then we struck out on our own. Alena and Elizabeth's older bro showed up, which was good as I was having bike troubles. We had to put my chain on twice, and then Nathan got it to stay on. Now it just makes a slight grinding sound....and it's stuck in low gear. So I have to pedal really hard to go anywhere. It's tiring to do anything on it!
I want to get the Jolly Green Giant fixed.....(here's a link to a picture of a bike like it.....here's another....and this one's pretty close. My bike is brighter and has the handlebars like the last pic, only green. Anywho.)
Drat. I forgot to call the bike repair shop today. Again. There's always tomorrow.....


Sunday Mom and Dad were at membership classes at church from 1--4.
My Grandma M. was over for the weekend. She came on Sunday afternoon, and she left today. We played a few rounds of Rummy, Uno, and Checkers together.

Monday (the day this was supposed to be posted) I did an agonizing amount of schoolwork, and was finally released (thanks, Mom) and went to the park to hang out with JS and Kirsten. Know what's awesome? There were quite a few people there and......I heard not a swear word. Neat, isn't it?
And then yesterday evening Grandma and I took a walk together around the block. Our neighbors (the ones who's garage lights are on half the night and shine in my window and keep me awake) across the back lot were out and said 'hi.' Grandma thought that was so nice of them, because I said we hadn't met any of them. She also found several houses that she said (jokingly) she should buy, since they're so close by!
I don't think I've really taken the time to actually look at many of the houses in the neighborhood! There are some really nice, pretty ones that I never really noticed. I'll have to take another walk sometime soon.

Today, our friend Anna came over and we did facials. She's starting out in Mary Kay. It was cool and weird at the same time. I don't think I've ever put on eyeshadow and mascara before! Okay, maybe the eyeshadow, but not properly. We got a few good pics that I'll have to put on here.
And I went to the park again. It was sunny with a high of about 75. sweet.

Now, Soul Skittles wants me to make a big production out of this, so..... drum roll pu-lease........ Miss Skittles, I would like to present to you an over-sized check for....... FIVE (5) blogger points!!!! Yay!!! *streamers, balloons, and confetti!!* Three cheers for Skittles!!
She found the Song of the Day when no one else did! I thought it would be too obvious, but it wasn't. The song was Thrive by the Newsboys. Go see if you can find it. (but no points if you do now.)

In reply to the some of the comments left on my last post....

Judi: Yes, I should....I have a post started, but I just never get around to finishing it. I'll work on it! Yes, I've been on your blog lately, I've just been reeeeaaaally bad at commenting. Sorry! I'll head on over as soon as I get a chance.

JON MEYERS: Hi, nice to know you're still reading this! Sure, I'll write an obituary for it. What's it's name? Oh, and I saw a pic of Savannah on your sister's blog! She's so cute! I can't wait to see her in June!

Zoe: Shame on you for laughing at Everett's untimely demise! ;D Yeah, you should have heard Mom and Dad's reactions.

Skittles: I'M NOT FURGETTIN' ANYTHING! *subtracts five points from Skittles' point thingy because of impatientness on Skittles' part* JK.

guitargirl: Thanks! I will, but it won't be entirely finished for about a year. It's a once-monthly ladies quilting bible study, and there are twelve blocks. You do the math.
No, I'm using the machine. Yeah, it's slightly lazy, but....
Yes, I'm turning 17 on Monday. My counter-that-you-cannot-find is up above this post, below the video. I moved it there so that it would be rather prominent....apparently not! :D

Alayne: I saw that you're following me. Thanks! Do you have a blog? Might I ask how you found me?

And that's all I have time for today. I'll be seeing y'all later. tomorrow, probably.
Have a good day, y'all!

~Kiwi da Fruit

Blah Blah Blah, Yackety Yack Yack Yack, Yammer Yammer......(aka "Another Boring Post That Few Shall Actually Read")

That's an encouraging title, isn't it? I should rename it. I'll try to make it sound exciting, and make you want to read it b'cuz it looks interesting, and then squash your hopes with yet another dry, boring post. :D Yes, it would be mean and misleading, but last time I checked, it's a Free Blogosphere, people! If you got a problem wi' dat, you'll just have ta deal wid it!

Note to those who may not have read my blog before and may be slightly scared by that first paragraph: Don't worry, I'm just in a slightly stinky mood, which doesn't happen often. Continue reading and relax.

Someone (who shall remain anonymous, but she commented in the last post) told me that the 'Guess the Song' game was too hard. I admit, I tried to make it difficult, but I suppose other people just don't know their songs well enough to sing them all the way through and pick out the obscure phrases I used. So, you peeps have two choices:

1: Go back and try to figure out the songs, or

2: Wait for my next post, where I shall post slightly more well-known phrases from the same songs, but if you guess there you'll only get half the points.

3: (I know, I said 2 choices, but I changed my mind!) Just don't play.

Whatever you want. "The Reader is *Almost* Always Right!" is my motto.

We have passed the 100 comment mark in our Comment Blitz of Avalon, but methinks we are all getting bored with it. I know I'm starting to. Isn't that an awful thing? Getting tired of a movement you started? It's like.......*tries to come up with a good example*.........Skittles getting tired of watching Monk. Now that would be sad. (I know, that's not a perfect example, but I can't think of anything else.) I might start copying the comments from earlier this Blitz and re-using them on the same post. Can't you imagine Avalon's surprise when she sees two- or three-hundred comments?? I'd want to be there to see her face. *hopes Avalon is not reading this*

A Sudden Awful Thought: what if this doesn't work??? What if she is desensitized to the horrors of our Blitz??? What can we possibly think up that's worse? Hmm. Perchance, if our little Blitz fails (I wonder, what does 'fail' actually mean? C'mon, Kommander Kiwifruit never fails! If she failed, she wouldn't be Kommander Kiwifruit. She'd be Private Kiwifruit in charge of bathroom-floor-scrubbing-with-toothbrush! Have faith in me!.......and pray that it's not misplaced. ;P'), I will ask y'all for suggestions.

ho hum.

I have finished my cards! Not officially, 'cuz I haven't printed any out yet, but they're finished! Now, on to my next painting project, and then............(the following is to be said in a 'CHARGE!!!'-like manner) ETSY!!!!! And then (hopefully).......MONEY!!!! And then.......STUFF MONEY CAN BUY!!!!!! Like cds, tee shirts, concerts, dvds, ipods, cameras, COMPUTERS, cruises, cruises in the Bahamas, cruises to Hawaii, cruises in the Mediterranean, cruises to the Rockies, cruises, music cruises, etc, etc, etc.

Anywho. I need to print one out to send to my Great-Grandma, who sent me a Christmas present, and to whom I have not yet sent a thank-you card. I started out designing a thank-you card to send her but got sidetracked. I'll have to send her one of these to show that I really was doing something of importance, not ungrateful.

We went Kite Flying on Tuesday. We have a two-handled (trick) kite, which I like immeasurably better than the plain ole one-stringed kite. And yesterday it was calmer but we still flew the trick kite. It was perfect yesterday (except, Rapunzel says, for the cold weather, the this, the that, and all the rest.), so calm and peaceful. The kite, instead of shooting up into the air when released, just sauntered up slowly and calmly. It was a lot easier to control, so I could do 'swoopties' to either side with it, or even loopdeloops.

Today 12-yr-old-bro and I, Kirsten, Jumbo Shrimp, and their brother went into the woods for a while and practised punching each other. That needs a little explanation, I think. Punching as in faux-punches. For movies. 'Tis fun. I got to beat Kirsten up several times. :D We were working on shoulder-punches today. Next up, punches-to-the-nose. >:0D (<- evil-smiley-face with swollen nose)

Now, I'm going to announce a new nickname for 12-yr-old-bro. This one actually makes sense and will stick for a while. Jordan. Have any of you ever seen the Bernie Mac Show?

If you haven't and want to, be forewarned: you have to pick and choose the episodes carefully, and then keep your finger ready on the mute button.

Jordan is a lot like my brother. A Lot like my brother. (Or is my brother a lot like Jordan?.........)

Mom is making me end my post now, so goodbye.

~Kiwi~

P.S. Duncan Phillips has a blog!! And he likes LOST, too!!! Smart person. He's all the smarter if he can explain to me what's happening (in LOST). I'm LOST. :D

For Lack of a Better Subject....For Lack of Any Subject, actually

I have many subjects for this blogpost.

For one thing, y'all are doing awesomely well on the Comment Blitz! We're up to 74 comments.....in a mere week! Owan and Judi, you people are totally fantastic! I loved the recycling of comments, Owan, and Judi's spelling out of that (difficult yet popular) word 'Post!!!' was good. Keep it up! We are already near to breaking the record.

Um. Drat. I had most of a post written out on paper, but have lost the paper. Hmph.
I have been tagged by a Friend of Narnia, so I suppose I'll do that.

1.YOUR REAL NAME: Kiwi Elizabeth Fruit (Note: Kiwi Elizabeth Fruit is not quite my real name, but it'll work, won't it?)

2.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME (mother and fathers middle names): Carol Keith

3.NASCAR NAME (first name of your mother's dad, father's dad): Robert Loran

4.STAR WARS NAME (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name): Fruki (Cool! That'll be my next blogger-name)

5.DETECTIVE NAME(favorite color, favorite animal): Black Horse

6.SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, town where you were born): Elizabeth Moline

7.SUPERHERO NAME (2nd fav color, fav drink, add "THE" to the beginning): the Red Mountain Dew (a.k.a. "Code Red" Mountain Dew! That worked out really well.)

8.FLY NAME (first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name): Kiit

9.ROCK STAR NAME (current pets name, current street name): Angus Rink (Computers count as pets, don't they? and Rink is a former address. Yes, I cheat. Boo hoo.)

10.YOUR GANGSTA NAME (first 3 letters of real name plus izzle): Kiwizzle
So yup. Those are my multiple names. :D Another pointless tag.

How about some 'guess the song'? Another rather 'pointless' game, but kind of fun to do...if you're good with contemporary Christian music.

The Rules:
1. Guess the Title of the Song, the Artist(s), and the Album.
2. You are not allowed to look up anything on the Internet, your personal files, or your ipod, or your mp3 player. Your only resources are your memory or someone else's memory. (Oh, and your computer's memory is off-limits!)
3. Five points for correct song title, five for correct artist, five for correct album.
4. Follow all the rules!!!

Got the rules down? Okay, let's go!

1. I'll guard your heart. With quiet words I'll lead you in.

2. Back to the first love I ever knew!

3. I’ve never lied. Well, I guess I’ve told a few.

4. I'm so blue, so blue

5. But I could never live in a yurt on a diet of Mongolian barbecue

6. Haunted by each heartbreak and mistake, I've let weigh me down

7. Sometimes I still never see when perfect opportunities come my way

8. And that's everything you've ever needed and it's all you've got

9. I know I was wrong and I've made some mistakes

10. Where's your treasure, where's your hope if you get the world and lose your soul?

11. But I know what you meant to say instead was really that you wanted us to run away

12. It’s for the poor, the broken and the meek, it’s for the ones who look a lot like you and me

13. You're always good, always good to me.

14. It's not living if you don't reach for the sky

15. Lift up your head my dear friend this tunnel does have an end
Goodbye, and good luck.

Um. There wuz something more I wanted to say. Drat. Again.
I finished a new set of cards! Now I must scan them, design the card, and they'll be ready to print and sell once I get an Etsy set up.

Oh, yeah! The mini-survey I conducted! Here're the results in no particular order:

Adam Agee:
1. espn
2. grand cayman, cayman islands
3. hoo hoo

Skittles:
1. Chocolate!!
2. Greece
3. NIGHT CRICKET!!!

Blueh:
1. Fun weakness? newsboys. ALL THINGS NEWSBOYS.
2. NEW ZEALAND. :D That's where my best friend is. :D
3. I'm both! A night AND morning person! :D If I had the stamina, I'd stay up for a full 24 hours. Which I've only done ONCE. :P

Guitargirl:
1- I'm gonna have to go with Blueh on this one; newsboys :-)
2- Concerts
3- I'm not sure. I can actually be a grouch anytime; it doesn't have to just be in the morning or night ;)

Judi:
1: Music..I have 150 cds..and still not enough..
2: There's this little walk way outside my youth building at church that I just LOVE to take walks on in the morning..I could go back and forth..so while it's not Italy or anything..it's a pretty place..
3: Night person..absolutely..I'm a creature of the night :-)

Owan:
#1 That would be Down Under the Big Top. ;)
#2 I want to go everywhere. I want to tour America and Canada and visit the British Commonwealth, mainly. Also Russia and France.
#3 I'm a afternoon person, I think.

Matt:
1. Music. That shouldn't shock anyone. :D
2. Umm, I don't know.
3. Night owl. Definitely

Pooky's Girl:
1. Candy that does not contain chocolate.
2. Home (ie, Iowa).
3. Night owl to the extreme. Of course, having insomnia does not help things...

Kirsten:
1. Coffee with chocolate creamer (It's so satisfying).
2. Peninsula State Park, Door County, Wisconsin.
3. Night Owl.

Friend of Narnia:
1. Chocolate
2. Bear Mountain, New York! (or anywhere in the mountains in NY, for that matter)
3. Night owl!!! Tina and Emmie and I were up till 2AM after you guys left on Monday! ;D And that's it. So we have no morning peeps reading this? That's good. Morning people annoy me when they get up early and wake me. Mom says it'll serve me right if I married a morning person. Okay, that is now a requirement: any boyfriend of mine must be a night owl! :D

What else? My friend, Jumbo Shrimp, has joined our community! I'll let y'all jump on over to her blog, if you want. She has a good poem by Shel Silverstein on right now. Hi Jumbo Shrimp!
I wish that Blogger had the same sort of deal as Juno. They (Juno) say that if you refer a friend to Juno, you get $30. Well, my friends Avalon, Catfreak, Kirsten, and Jumbo Shrimp have all been inspired by Yours Truly to join, I should get....*does some math*........$120!
Um, yes. I'm running out of things to say. Oh, Avalon and Catfreak: email me with the email addresses you use for blogging, and I can invite y'all to join a blog I created for us! We can use it like Myspace or Facebook, only just with us. (sorry to leave the rest of y'all out. :)

And methinks that's about it. Boy, can this post get any boringer?

Official Apology:
I apologize for all the boringness on this post. I apologize for the extreme lack of news on this post. I apologize for making you fall asleep during this post. I apologize for anything offensive in this post, unless I meant to offend you. I apologize for taking nigh a week to post this. I apologize for anything else you can think of.

Goodbye.
~Kiwi the boring Fruit~

P.S. I just remembered! Skittles awarded me!!

Isn't it lovely? It's my first blog award. I loves my blog award. :)

There are some rules for this:
* Put the logo on your blog or post.
* Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude
* Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
* Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
* Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award
Here are the blogs I nominate:
Jumbo Shrimp
Kirsten
HMS Avalon
Catfreak
Owan
Guitargirl
Dagmar
Matt
Heather
Judi
Zoe

Okay, now that really is everything I have to say at the moment. G'day, mates!

There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place...

Well, I'm home again, after that long, grueling-yet-incredibly-fun-filled week of VBS. Sorry it took so long to post again. This past week has been full of nothing. Has it already been more than a week?? Almost two weeks??? How time flies. This is a quick overview of what happened:


The theme (I don't know if I mentioned this already or not) was sort of 'tropical island-ish', with lots of flowers, leis, and surfboards. Mike, Justin, and I led the 3rd & 4th graders together for the week. Most of the kids were fairly easy to control, except for a pair of brothers and one kid I'll call James. James tried to eat part of his plastic lei, his name tag, two pieces of paper, and his Styrofoam cup. Mom says we should have just let him do so, a bit of paper wouldn't hurt him, but it was distracting the other kids, especially the part with the lei. One little boy tried to eat the school glue, but I got it away from him in time.

Just a quick summary: twelve kids in one day (our record) was hard to handle. A total of fifteen kids showed up, but not all on the same day. One bag of ice was used (headache), three band aids (all on the same kid), three broken flip-flops (one broken on purpose by James), four worn-out leaders (by the end of the first day!), five craft projects left behind and never claimed, six songs and their motions to memorize in five days, ten towels left behind for leaders to remember (after water games on the second and fourth days), and about twenty billion papers, crafts, and other things for the kids to forget and the leaders to remember (we finally came up with a solution; put all papers and craft projects in the 'homeroom' for the kids to pick up when their parents come and get them.)! But would I do it all over again? Of course! The only thing I would have rather done that week is move. Yes, I would have done a few things differently, but I would love to go do that again.



So what's new with my life now, you ask. I'll try to boil down the answer to one word, but I don't know how well that will work. Here goes!

Nothing.

Well, that was easier than I expected! But it's true, nothing much is happening now. Last Friday, we all went to our friends' house for lunch and to spend the afternoon. We went bike riding together with three bikes. There were four of us. Rapunzel and Hotshot (we all have nicknames) each rode a bike, and then Cobra and I rode the third. It is new and has pegs on the back so a second person can ride. First I tried pedaling while Cobra rode on the back, but the seat was too low and the handlebars too high for me to ride comfortably. So we switched places, which worked really well. However, she got tired of pedaling after a while. She stopped the bike and I tried to dismount. It didn't work--well. I did get off, but, let's just say it wasn't very graceful. Have you ever been walking along, when all of a sudden your foot turns? Like, instead of stepping on the bottom of your foot, you suddenly step on the side of your foot, and in doing so, trip? That's what happens to me all the time, and that's what happened then. I was wearing flip-flops, so two of my toes got half the skin scraped off, and I had to wear an ankle brace for the next three days. But it's almost back to normal now. :-)



PAINTING NEWS:

I'm working on a Christmas card idea which involves a pine tree with two cardinals in it, in front of a snowing, dark grey-blue sky, with snow on the ground, and a wide border around it. But it needs something more. I'm not sure what, but it needs something. And I need to decide on a color for the border. I tried red, but that distracts too much. And the painting itself needs more detail work. With more detail, I might be able to get away with a red border, w/out it distracting. Suggestions, anyone? I'll put a pic of it on here once I get a satisfactory practice one done.



Here are the results of the poll on Chicken Little characters: Kirby (the little alien) was the favorite with four votes. Chicken Little, Fish Out of Water, Runt, and None of the Above tied for second place with three votes a piece. In third (with two votes) are Abby Duck, Turkey Lurkey, and Morcupine Porcupine. Buck Cluck only landed one vote, and Foxy Loxy and Melvin (Kirby's dad) completely lost. I liked Chicken Little (of course), Fish Out of Water, Kirby, and Morcupine Porcupine best.



Okay, that's all for now, folks! Adios!

~Kiwifruit

Card ideas/VBS next week!

Hello, all you people out there somewhere! What are you doing today? Other than reading my blog, of course. :)

I don't really have anything 'specially interesting planned for today. Probably just more sitting around reading, playing on the computer, and watching TV.

Last night at about 10:30 I was lying there in my bed, trying to sleep, when an interesting Christmas card idea popped into my head. So I, naturally, had to get up and draw it out so I don't lose it in the night and be out of one good card. I fumbled around until I found some paper and a pen, then sat on the corner of my sister's bed and sketched it by the dim light of an across-the-street street lamp. I think that with a bit of polishing up, I could make it into a really good card. And then, if I find at least one more idea that would go with it, I could sell a nice, hand painted set of cards. And then I need to come up with some more to go with the snowman one I did for our family's card last year. What could I do that would go with a snowman? Or should I do four similar snowman cards? The snowman I've got done already is in front of a dark, dark, dark, dusky, grey-blue sky with snowflakes falling. He has a red and green scarf on, and a matching hat. On the snow beside him is a little cardinal. Around it all is a thick golden border.


On Sunday, Rapunzel and I are going up to a friend's house in L---, IL to help out with our old church's VBS program (we moved from there five years ago). It'll be our fourth year in a row helping with VBS. It's been neat watching the kids grow up. The first year I helped with the preschoolers, then spent the last two years with the 1st and 2nd graders, and this year my friend (her name is Miranda) signed me up to work with the 3rd & 4th graders. In 2006 I was run ragged, chasing after the kids. One's middle name must have been Trouble, he was so trying. On the next-to-last day, right at the end while we were standing in the sanctuary singing, I turned around and didn't see Mr. Trouble anywhere, so two of the other leaders and I were searching all over the place trying to find him. It turned out that his mom had come and gotten him, but nobody figured that out until we had been searching for quite a while. There needs to be some kind of check-out system to check out all the kids from 4th grade and down. Last year two of the boys didn't want to wear name tags, and the problem with that was that they look so much alike that it was hard to tell them apart. I have one of their tags, and it's torn, dirty, chewed a little bit, and mutilated! Oh well, I still love doing it! This year I might bring a magic marker and just write the names right on the little boys' foreheads! Hey, that is a good idea....
Does anyone have tips on how to keep name tags on little boys without writing them on their foreheads or threatening them? JK! I don't threaten them unless it's to tell them to 'behave or I'll separate' them.


I'll post again tomorrow or Sunday (if I have the time), and maybe during the week. It depends on things. See y'all later! (wait, X that. Write y'all later!)

~Kiwifruit

New Paint

Today we went out, since it was so hot and sticky and boring sitting around the house all day, and looked for a couple of letterboxes. We found the first in a pretty park overlooking the Mississippi river and Buffalo Bill Cody's childhood home site. It would have been a very nice place for a picnic; cross that out, it is a good place for a picnic, just not on a hot, sticky, buggish day like this was. Then we looked for another one at a welcome center, but it was no-where to be found. The instructions said that it was "under the porch behind the lattice on the south-west corner of the porch. The instructions lied.
Afterwards I tried to convince Mom to take us to the courthouse in the county I was born in (wouldn't you love to know where it is!) so we could get my birth certificate so that next time we're in C______ I can take the test and get my permit. She didn't want to go there, so who knows when I'll actually get my driver's permit! Instead, we went to an office products store and I got fiver new colors of paint. The store is more of an art supply place than an office supplier, but that's what they call it. Anywho, I got Winsor & Newton's Cotman Water Colours in Burnt Umber (my last tube has some sort of mold or something in it and leaves little black flecks in the paint), Lamp Black, Cobalt Blue (my tube of that is also diseased), Prussian Blue, and Permanent Rose. At least four, if not all five, of those colors are to be used in my butterfly project. I'll leave y'all to figure out which ones. Mom was quite shocked at the expense of paint. Just those five little .27 ounce tubes cost just over $18! No wonder you hear about 'starving artists'! It's not because they can't sell their art, it's because they have to spend so much of the proceeds on buying more paint! And that also explains why good paintings are soooo expensive.
Actually, after I finish my butterflies, I might fix up some Christmas card ideas I have and find a way to sell cards. Last year I designed and painted our family Christmas card.
Today we went to Hobby Lobby so Mom could look at pictures to possibly put in the kitchen. I browsed through some of the posters they have, and have designed a room around them. It's to have a sand colored floor (or maybe actual sand poured on there, although that would be really hard on the wood) and a beach-themed mural (painted by Yours Truly, Moi) on one wall. The other three will be light brown, or better yet, bamboo painted on! The windows will have light, billowy white curtains and shades that, when pulled down, show water and sky and possibly another of those huts that you see in commercials for the Bahamas. And last, but not least, the bamboo walls will have the pictures hung on them. Pictures of beaches and beach chairs and surfers. Paintings of palm trees and sailboats. *long sigh* Once I get a chance to use my oil paints I'll try a palm tree or two.
Sorry for the long fantasy, it just looks so nice in my mind. It would be really cool if I could actually do that.
"Anything else?" She asks Herself.
"Not that I can think of. Can you think of anything else?" Herself asks She.
She replies with "Nope!"
"Then we're done here. See y'all later!" Herself finishes.
I'll write again later, after I've gotten at least one of the three butterflies finished. See ya later!
~Kiwifruit

Behold my First Post!

So. What shall this First Post be about? How about some of my ideas for this blog? Here they are.

1. An art blog. I can share my paintings and what I'm working on at the moment.
2. An art/my life blog. That's probably what this will be. That way it gives me a little bit of flexibility in what I want to write.
3. An anything-that-comes-to-mind blog. Just totally random weirdness.

I think I will go with #2. In which case, I'd better get started on something important, rather than just rambling on.

Today I feel artistic, but un-inspired. Once I'm done with this I'll go out to my art table (it's on our porch) and work on something. I've come up with two stained glass style painting ideas. The first is a yellow, red, and orange tulip on a dark grey-green background, and the second is a white and yellow daisy with a dark purple background. If I could just find a third flower to do, then I could paint a set of three. I think I'll go ahead and paint at least the tulip today. Does anyone have a suggestion for the third flower? It has to be something simple, because the other two are.

Today is nice and cool, not hot or rainy like it has been lately. When I'm done painting maybe I'll go for a bike ride.
My poor little brother has been sick for the past two days with a fever. He was just fine yesterday afternoon, but now he's not feeling very good. I hope none of the rest of us come down with it!

Well, if I'm to go paint I should do it now while my brothers are busy and won't bother me. Thanks for reading my blog!
~Kiwifruit