Amy

Trips are Booked

I am oozing with excitement! My spring break trip is officially booked!  We got the plain tickets last night!  Alright, so it is not that exciting, if you really think of it.  I fly out to Arizona every year.  However, with this snow knowing Arizona is coming is some what peaceful.  I just keep thinking of that warm weather.  I already have suits planned for those long days at the pool.  Relaxing in that Arizona heat, with the palms and the cacti, there is nothing better that that.  I can’t amagine spending spring break any other way!  I know it may seem a long ways away to most, but I could care less.  I like to plan ahead.  Spring break shopping starts the minute spring clothes come out!  I am hitting the mall today with my friends, sunglasses are at the top of my list.  Of course, I also look forward to visiting my family over the break.  I am thrilled to see my sister, she goes to college in Arizona.  I have not seen her since Christmas, and we are very close.  My aunt, step-uncle, and cousins live there too.  This will be the first time I get to see my cousin’s new adorable baby, Deanna!  When I travel to AZ, I stay at my grandparents.  They go to Arizona in the spring and summer.  It is the best part of the year there, around 102 degrees every day.  Around 107 when it is full blast summer time!  Arizona is like my second home.  I can’t wait to get out of this horrid, snowy Virginia.  I will most likely move to Arizona or California the minute I am out of high school.

California is the the second part of my traveling news!  Here is some real excitement! I have only been to California once before.  I remeber the most massive strawberries, and fields of flowers.  However, I only stayed for about three days.  My dream vacations was way to short.  Luckily, I have another set of plane tickets waiting for me!  This summer I get to stay in L.A. for a whole week.  My aunt and uncle moved out there last year, and we are going to visit!  I love my Aunt Rita and Uncle Brian.  They are so much fun!  When they heard we wanted to visit, theys started planning the perfect L.A. trip.  I am thrilled! 

The last of my summer trips will be up to Boston, then to Maine.  I have never been to Maine, so I do not  know what to expect.  However, my parents tell me it is beautiful.  They lived in Rhode Island before I was born.  I went there to visit colleges with my family, but thats about it.  We are going up to visit old neighbors.  It should be an interesting tip.  Places I have never been, to visit people I don’t know.  Should be fun.

Vanilla Vs. Cookies and Cream

Crunch, crunch, crunch,

Cars trample the snow.

Fluffy vanilla is compacted,

No longer fresh and new.

The scenery soon changes,

It’s so different from before.

Soft, fluffy, vanilla is gone,

something else lines the streets.

Flaky cookies and cream,

crusted on every dirt spotted tire.

Character Sketch

            Her friends call her quirky.  Her family thinks she is different sometimes too.  However, she is loved by all.  Kelly has a personality all her own.  Her caring and kind ways make her the perfect sister, and her spunky attitude is fun too.  I describe her as, “silly and weird, in a good way.”  She brings excitement to everything, because you never know what she will do next.

            Kelly has a song for every mood.  Her brightly colored iPod explodes with sound.  Her car’s radio does too, when she turns the volume all the way up.  She is always out and about when she returns home from Arizona State.  “I am not just going to sit around bored,” is her favorite motto.  However, her iPod makes the perfect friend when she is stuck indoors.  She has screechy and loud music for letting anger out, and happy tunes for cheery days.  Her choppy brown hair flings around as she dances to the music in her room.  We recently surprised her by painting it neon green to match her vivid personality. “Are you sure it is not too loud?  What if she hates it?  She may not be able to sleep, it is so bright,” my mom worried.  But I knew it would be perfect, and it was.

             “I work at a movie theater,” Kelly tells new friends.  She is extremely proud of her job, and makes it known.  My dad calls Regal Cinemas, ‘her second home”.  When her shift is over, she picks any theater and watches. I tell everyone, “It is the perfect fit for her.”  Her love of movies has been apparent for years.  She has so many favorites, and she loves to watch them over and over.  “I can’t believe she only wants movies,” exclaims my grandmother. She fills Kelly’s Christmas stocking with tons of movies.  Kelly makes a new list every year.  Her favorite movies are just as different as her favorite songs.  Kelly’s theory is, “I like to mix it up.”  She loves chick flicks, horror, and action.  This is perfect because she can easily find all her favorites at thrift shops or on eBay. Kelly can always find a deal! She calls me to say, “I got all 8 seasons for 5 dollars.”  I can’t help but laugh at her excitement over the little things.  Her enthusiasm is exhilarating.

Song Lyrics

As I was getting my comments done, I stumble across Mariah’s newest posts. She wrote some song lyrics to her favorite song.  They were good lyrics, the kind that make you think.  Mariah explained that the  song made her think of summer, ice cream, and warm weather.  All the important necessities of a good summer day.  I realized how insane music is.  How songs can brighten your day, or get you through a bad one.  Songs are loud and fun, or calm and cool.  Sometimes I can remember the first time I have heard a song. That just seems wierd.  I don’t always have the best memory, so that really is wierd.  Songs don’t just relate to memories.  I think of seasons, or even people!  I have plenty of “Caroline” or “Kelly” songs, from cds they burned just for me.  Or if I sing along to a song with someone, or dance to it, I remember the person and the song.  And if someone sets a song as their ringtone, that is their song forever!  My friend Emily Galzerano is obsessed with her iTouch.  There are so many “Emily” songs.  She would have a favorite song almost every week when we carpooled for dance.  Those songs would be stuck in my head forever, but that’s Emily.  Just like some songs are movies. I love movie sound tracks.  Movie theme songs will forever be attached to the movie, and the person I watched it with. Songs are united to movies, people, season, and me.

January 14th

          Today is January 14th.  My first blog of 2010!  New years was fun for me, with my friends and my sister.  But back to today.  I am sitting in study hall. Mr. Palanzi is in charge of my study hall class, so we do not have to be quiet.  I sit here with Olivia, my new friend.  She is rambling on about how I should write a whole blog on her.  I thought about it, maybe some other day I will.  Olivia and I have almost the exact same schedule.  Except when she has German and I have Spanish.  I end up learning German too, because I help her study.  With so many of the same classes, there is always something we can study together.  We normally work on math homework first, with Kyley too.  We all have first block Math with Mr. Marchio, and I actually enjoy it.  In my opinion, Geometry is easier that Algebra.  I am way more of a math person than science or history.  Kyley was just explaining how her dog eats her pens as she walked in the door.  Kyley brought me a cookie from her locker! Yummy! I love chocolate chip cookies.  Kyley made them herself with one of those big Costco tubs of dough.  I think they are good, Olivia tastes something wierd, and is now trying to “pin point the flavor.”  I believe she is just trying to talk Kyley into giving her another cookie.  I know you normally write haikus about nature, but who cares?  Olivia just read me her haiku about spaghetti. So here goes it:

Chocolate chip cookies,

A super yummy gift,

Given by Kyley.

Preparing For Christmas

          Christmas is rolling in with the chilly winter winds.  This means my house is extremely busy!  It is like I am caught in a whirl wind of red and green!  At my house, there is way more to do that just hang stockings! 

          Our Christmas tree is finally completed! Last year we decided to buy a fake, already lighted, tree.  It is a lot easier, and it looks very real! All you need is a couple pine scented candles! However, it still takes just as long to decorate. We have tons and tons of ornaments. And even when all of those are hung, we still have to perfectly wrap the shimmering white garland evenly around the tree.  The end result is just beautiful.  It is not Christmas until you can see the lighted tree threw the window in front of our home!

          After Christmas decor, there arepiles of shopping. My head just keeps spinning between all the online gifts and trips to the mall.  It seems the process of wrapping and shopping never ends! Next, Is the continuous baking. Just last night I completed three dozen white chocolate chip cookies. And I could only eat two!  The rest are swept away to the neighborhood cookie exchanges, but you just have to deal.  These are the necessities of making Christmas time exactly right!

Snow without a Snow Day

          I think this past Saturday was one of the first days I was not excited to see snow!  My first reaction to the fluffy white snow fall was a happy one of course.  I love seeing the streets covered in white.  It is so calm, peaceful, and beautiful. However, if you remember, this first snow started quite early. Well I got to see it from the beginning!

          This weekend was not just the weekend of the first real snow of the season.  I also got confirmed on this past winter Saturday.  I woke up very early.  It took a while for me to get ready, since I had to share with my visiting grandparents.  However, must of my hard work was useless.  The minute I got outside my shoes, dress, and hair were white like the rest of the outdoors!  By the time we processed into the new St. Theresa church, I was freezing.  My shoes were soaked and my hair drenched!

           I could complain for days.  Why did it have to snow this Saturday? However,  it is hard to not love those chilly, winter days.  The glistening, sparkling snow was beautiful. Even thought I wish it had waited for only another couple days.  What fun is snow without a snow day?

8 Line Poem

Spilling a Secret

I am a new bird, an un-hatched egg.

Ready to explode and crack open,

Fighting to peep out and see the light.

I am the lightning bugs flying in the dark,

Flashing, and bringing excitement.

I am the flow of the ocean,

Mixing, moving, and churning.

Then everything flows out with the tide.

First Haiku

White covers the town
Rays weave through the old shimmer
Fresh blooming greens grow

Blue skys turn to gray
Gusts of winter chills roll in
Cold breezes whistle

Thanksgiving at OBX

          Thanksgiving really makes me think.  I always try to remeber every single thing I should be thankful for! I am reminded of a lot of the amazing things in my life.  If only I could remember these year round, not just on this special holiday.  However, I will admit, these are not the only thoughts I ponder on around Thanksgiving.  I love thinking about turkey, stuffing, and what family I will get to see.  This year I am going to my grandparent’s house in the Outer Banks.  My aunt, uncle, and cousin will also be tagging along.  I can’t think of anything better to do then spend a long Thanksgiving weekend with my family at the beach! I can’t wait!