Wanted: Some Extra Oomph for Volleyball.

Sitting here on my bed at 10:00 Wednesday night and I realize I forgot to blog yesterday and today! I can't believe I did that!
So now I'm faced with choices. What to write about? My first volleyball game of the year? The baseball game I went to Saturday? The cd I'm listening to? Choices, choices, choices.
I'll choose the first and maybe the last as well.
Sunday afternoon was the second church volleyball game of the year, my first. I really need to get back into shape for volleyball! After all that jumping and leaping and stretching I was Worn Out. And my legs hurt the next day. Guess who needs to do jumping jacks?
Soem genious thought that boys vs girls was a good idea for the first two games. I use the word 'genious' losely, because it was a girl who suggested it, and it was the girls who lost both games. For some reason, we can talk and talk and talk when NOT playing volleyball, but once the game starts we all clam up! The first game was really bad in that respect, but the second was a little better. We remembered "got it!" sometimes, but there was still an awful lot of watching the ball go by and thinking someone else would get it.
The next two games were the best, because we mixed up the teams and remembered to talk to each other. My team won both. =)

Once half the people left and we were just hitting the ball around, I got so frustrated! I've been working on my overhand serves, but since I have no net to practice with I just have to hit it as hard and as high as I can. Sunday I practiced with a net. I can get the ball within an inch or two of the top of the net, but I can't give it that extra oomph to make the ball clear the net!! SO close! *sigh* I guess I'll have to find that extra oomph somewhere before Sunday. And then that other team better look out! Just you wait ('Enry 'Iggins, just you wait.. ;)!

Sorry, but I don't have time to tell about the cd! We're at the library, then headed home, then Mom's taking me out driving! (That's your warning)

~Kiwi~

"=D =D =D =D =D" or "Look Out World, Here I Come!!!"

50TH POST!!!!

I wanted to say something before I forgot it, but am now beginning to think that it's too paltry a post for this honored position. Fifty posts. And since I've been on since Wednesday, June 11th, 2008. That makes fifty posts in 167 days. Averaging .2994 posts per day, about 2.08 per week. While Soul Skittles, for example, manages to churn out a lot more in the same amount of time.

Of course, all that was typed last Wednesday, so now my average has dropped even more. :'( I need to post more.

So, when was the last time I posted? Ah, yes, Saturday, the 22nd. What has happened since then?

Sunday (23): Nuthin. Church, as usual. I can't think of anything else.

Monday (24th): Instead of school, we cleaned some, then went to the library. I got a really stupid book that had a deceiving cover. It's called In the Shadow of the Ark, and it's about this girl, Re Jana, who travels to where Noah is building the ark. She falls in love with Ham (That sounds so funny. "Oh, I'm in love with Ham! *sigh*"), who loves her back, but he has to marry this other lady, Neeleta, because of her financial status. Re Jana's mother dies (actually, she knows she's dieing so she has her husband burn her alive to get it over with), so Re Jana's father builds her a reed gondola, as is their people's custom because they used to live by the sea and put the dead bodies in the gondola, then set fire to it and let it float out. But the mother refuses to be put in the gondola, so it just stays there. Then, after a whole lotta stuff happens, the flood starts, Re Jana's adopted brother, Put, is secreted onto the ark by Neeleta, and Ham sneaks Re Jana on, also. So long, complicated story short, Japheth's wife finds Re Jana and forces her to sacrifice some of the animals (including Noah's dove) to the old gods, hoping that then the waters will go down. No one notices that half the quail are missing, or some of the other birds. And then, it ends up that Re Jana, Put, and even their father (who floated in the gondola all that time) survive, even though they were not the Chosen People. It didn't make any sense to me, and I don't recommend it.

Tuesday (25th): Ummmmm... I made the scalloped corn for Thanksgiving dinner and stuck it in the freezer. I also discovered that I hate this kitchen. It's nice and large, yes, but the cabinets come down too low, and the counter isn't wide enough. And there's no counter next to the stove (that fact will play a role in my next adventure), so I had to keep scooting back and forth between the counter and the stove.

For supper, Mom made 'Cheesy Ham Potatoes'. The pan was sitting on the stove with a dish of corn beside it, and I was dishing up my food with my plate in one hand and the spoon in the other. Suddenly, the pan decided to scoot, and it burned my hand! Thankfully, Mom saw right away and was able to move it quickly. If there had been a counter by the stove, I could have set my plate down and avoided that mishap. >:-[

Wednesday (26th): I made a Cherry Pie for Thanksgiving. We went to our church's Thanksgiving Eve service. Oh, and I finished Grandma and Grandpa's Christmas card. Here's the front:

It's actually a bit brighter than it appears to be here. Inside, in the same font and color as the 'peace', is 'Peace on earth and goodwill to men.' That earned me $20, minus the $3.50 Mom and Dad charged me for paper and ink. $16.50. Sweet.

Thursday (Thanksgiving, the 27th): We drove three hours back to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Iowa for Thanksgiving. I LOVE the smell of turkey! And I love Thanksgiving meals. And we had PIE, four kinds of it. Cherry, Pumpkin, Apple, and Pecan. I'm sorely tempted to re-post my PIE post, but instead I'll just put that link up.

We watched about six and a half hours of Newhart. WGN was playing a marathon of it. I like Newhart! My sister said that afterwards, I was starting to sound like Stephanie! I think that's bad....

Friday (28th): We left Grandma and Grandpa's house after lunch, and stopped by Borders book store so Rapunzel could get a book. I had hoped to run into a friend or two there, but nope. Then, Dad drove until we crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois, and then he pulled over and (here's the good part) they let me drive!!! It went well. I had to pass a tractor *shiver* and only one person passed me. I need to work on my turns a bit more, because the other two drivers in the car who kept telling me what to do and distracting me, so I couldn't concentrate. I will name no names, but they're my parents. I like driving. :) I drove all the way from the Iowa/Illinois border to an unnamed little town near the Illinois/Cheeseland border--about two hours of driving. :) Driving is fun.

Saturday (29th): We carried, dragged, lugged, and hauled boxes into the basement from the garage. Big whoop. Quite entertaining.

After lunch, TOO (my new nickname for my twelve-year-old brother. The Odd One.) informed me that some friends had been walking by on the street behind the empty lot behind our house, and invited us to go explore the woods by the park with them. TOO left about five minutes before I could, and it was agreed that we'd meet at the park. I arrived, but no TOO, no friends, nobody. Long story short, they weren't at the friends' house, where I checked next, so I went back to the park and found them then. While we were back in the woods, we started construction on a 'fort' or 'hideout' or whatever you want to call it. I think I'll suggest calling it 'The Stronghold' or 'The Keep' (the safest part of a castle) instead of 'The Fort'. The Fort sounds more like some little hideout a kid would build, while The Stronghold sounds better to me. It's sort of a hexagonal structure. Starting at the west corner and going counter-clockwise, it's pine tree, tall-skinny-unknown tree, tall-skinny-unknown tree, pine tree again, another unknown forked tree, another unknown forked tree, then back to the first pine tree.

Sunday (30th): I woke up around seven-thirty and it was unnaturally dark. Looking out my window, I found the problem. Snow. Probably about an inch and a half? I don't know. Then while we were in church, it all melted. It was snowing hard most of the way through the service but not sticking. Then we came home, ate, cleaned, and a new friend (who just happens to live about five minutes away) came over and we watched Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in The Road to Morocco. We were going to watch The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, but that VHS tape wouldn't work. The library needs to start replacing VHSs with DVDs. We made hot chocolate (hint: add dried coffee creamer to the chocolate mix. Hazelnut is good. Or, if you put milk in it also, replace some of the milk with coffee creamer. It makes it even better.), and as we watched the movie about three inches of snow fell.

Monday (1st): I did my school work, which involved watching Amazing Grace for history. I really like that movie! We saw it in the theater either the day it came out, or soon after.

I finished a scarf I have been knitting since late October. It's taller than Monkey by quite a bit, and almost as tall as TOO, who's just over five feet. It's long enough for me to wrap around my neck twice and above my eyes 1 1/2 times! Sort of like the scarf Randy Parker's mom put on him in A Christmas Story. Then, we called up our friends and went out into the woods again. You would not believe (okay, maybe some of you would....Dagmar and Matt) how different the woods look when they're covered in snow! Two of the pine trees we had used as landmarks were unrecognizable, as they were bent over with snow--all the way over! We got more work done on the Stronghold. Saw deer tracks. Heard voices in the woods. Saw strange footprints in the snow. Heard something that sounded like a cross between yip-yap dogs, birds, and a group of wild indians. Picked up two trees. (they're about twelve-twenty feet in length, and they're the tall, skinny ones without many branches. The trees fall over, sit there on the ground for who knows how long, then we pick them up and prop them against things.) So far, all the walls have framework, now what we need to do is weave other sticks in with the big branches and logs.

Tuesday (today, 2nd): I finished my work quickly, except my STUPID LITERATURE where they ask me DUMB QUESTIONS that I don't have answers for. Dad gave us ice cream after lunch. I started serious work on our Christmas card for the year. No picture of that yet, not until it has already been sent out.

I'm planning on going tramping again today. There's not really much else to do. Read, computer, television, paint, wait impatiently for the Fourteenth of December. I need more exercise. Oh, that's something to do! I'll look up the My-ville ice skating arena and see when they let us mortals who are not prodigies at skating in. Perchance after Christmas we can go skating.

Now, I have a tag to do, but I'm going to save that until tomorrow. If I post it now, I won't have anything to post tomorrow, will I?

Goodbye. I'll try not to freeze.

~Kiwi da Fruit

P.S. I sat down and figured out that I have only recieved ummm.... three letters here at this address. I have about ten friends who promised they would write to me, and still have not. It makes me very unhappy, very unhappy indeed. Please write to me, Dagmar, Avalon, Catfreak, Miranda, Abbie, Rachel, Avalonandcatfreakssisters! I miss you! Write soon!!

By der way, Thanks for the comment, Rachel!

I Drove Today!

Just a quick little note to keep Miss Judi satisfied. ;-P
We had a load of junk that we took to the dump today, so guess who drove! It was my first time on the road, and let me tell you, fifty-five miles/hour is a LOT faster when it's you behind the wheel! My brother, who comments with the name 'Asdef' so I'll call him that, rode along, and it wasn't bad enough that I was rather a little freaked, he had to whimper and squeal too. I'm not taking him along next time. He's too distracting.
After we went to the dump, Dad had me drive out west of town to Avalon and Catfreaks' place, so I could show off my new skills and get a bit of practise driving on gravel. That was better, because the road was deserted and I could drive at a more comfortable pace--about thirty-five to forty. Unfortunately, they have cats and a dog, which made it even more frightening trying to avoid hitting one. I think I killed a butterfly, but thankfully, that was it. A moment of silence for the poor butterfly, please.

Okay, that's enough. So I still find driving fun, but it is just a little nerve-racking. We need to find a nice, large, yellow magnet that says, in black letters, "WARNING: STUDENT DRIVER". Dad said maybe we should get some flashing yellow lights to put on top while we're at it.

I packed up all my paint supplies yesterday. :-( I miss them. Hopefully, I'll get a good enough sized room to put my paint table in.

Well, my friends, that's all I have to say at the moment. Comment away! By this time, a week and a day hence, we will be either unloading the u-haul or done with that and on to organizing the boxes at the new house. See ya!
~Kiwifruit

I got my permit, I got my permit!!!

I got my permit, I got my permit, I got my permit!!! And I got to drive our big ol' green Astrovan! In the rain! I love driving! It's so fun! Slightly scary, though, because I'm in control of this big, two ton monster, but still fun! I answered thirty out of thirty-five questions correctly. Rapunzel drove to town because she just needs a little more driving time before she gets her licence, and Mom was asking her what she would do if she started to hydroplane, and I'm glad she did, because there was a question on the test about what to do when you start to hydroplane. And I wouldn't have know what was the right answer if they hadn't discussed it. And my picture didn't turn out too bad, although it definitely isn't the best of me. And my brothers don't know it yet, because they're at my grandparent's house today. so we're going to scare them to death next time we have to go somewhere and I get in the driver's seat instead of Mom or Rapunzel. *evil little snicker* I just hope they don't read this until I can do that.
I can't wait to go driving again!! It's sooooo much fun. Of course, I was just in an empty parking lot, not trying to deal with traffic or anything. I did have to look out for light poles. And I managed several smooth stops, without whiplash, which even Rapunzel sometimes has trouble with, and she's been driving for two years now!
I can't wait to drive more! Watch out, y'all, the roads (and sidewalks) are no longer safe! I don't know where some of you live, but I assure you, NO-WHERE IN AMERICA IS SAFE ANYMORE!!! I'M DRIVIN'!! >:-D
~Kiwifruit

I've been tagged!

Judi tagged me, and now I have to answer all these questions:

I am: a Strange Person

I think: in circles. And drive everybody nuts!

I know: loads of useless information, and almost as much useful information

I have: imagination.

I (almost*) wish: I didn't have to move.

I hate: rasins, olives, mushrooms and fungus of any kind, leaving friends, poorly written books, going up and talking to people I don't know, and goons at the park.

I miss: my great-grandma.

I fear: my sister's driving! (jk!)

I feel: exuberant.

I hear: my brother talking.

I smell: corn chips.

I crave: pecan pie.

I search: for the right words.

I wonder: about my friends.

I regret: very few important things. Just a few dumb little mistakes I've made.

I love: painting, being with friends, movies, watching my beloved Cubbies cream other baseball teams, playing games, laughing, having a good time.

I am not: a boring person.

I believe: everything will be right someday.

I dance: ALL the time! But mostly alone in my room with the door closed.

I sing: along with the radio every day.

I cry: at the end of sad movies if they weren't made to be tear-jerkers. Then I don't cry.

I don't always: obey quickly.

I fight: on occasion. Okay, slightly more often than that, but rarely an all out, knock-down, drag-out fight.

I write: in my diary, on my blog, and sometimes a story. And a lot of school assignments.

I win: at Pounce and Trouble.

I lose: my mind sometimes.

I never: go out on dates.

I always: clean the house. (ugh.)

I confuse: other people when my sister and I dress alike. I love doing that! We've even confused good friends!

I listen: to K-love and Air 1 and Newsboys. All the time.

I can usually be found: on the computer, watching tv, playing with friends, or plugged into my radio.

I am scared: of some of the creeps around town.

I need: my driver's permit!!

I am happy about: moving. Sort of.

I imagine: meeting the Newsboys.
*I added the 'almost'.

Okay, I don't know how many people I have to tag, or many people to tag, so I'll say Dagmar and Zoe and anyone who wants to. Dagmar and Zoe: you don't have to do this if you don't want to.
I have a really important post that I'll put up tonight, so keep watch!
~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