December recap

Christmas was wonderful.

So very, very, wonderful.  I got some awesome gifts (some of which were: new boots, LOTS of Hello Kitty things, and money), as well as some not-so awesome gifts that may or may not end up being re-gifted or swapped.

The best gift however, came in the form of a white Christmas.  I shit you not my friends, on Christmas night it snowed in my east Texas town.  It was wonderful.

Don't be fooled by the scale of that snowman.  It was only a foot tall.  Of course, all the snow is gone now, but I heard that it should snow sometime in the next few weeks around JB's birthday.  

Anyway, I've been taking advantage of the fact that some of my friends are home for Winter break and I've been spending time with a few of them.

I've also been writing letters, drinking lots of warm tea and peppermint coffee, and watching the entire Glee series with my stepmom and sister.

I didn't make any resolutions last year (that I can remember) and I probably won't make any this year.  I always get disappointed when I don't fulfill them all.  Does it count if I'm getting rid of a lot of my stuff?  When I leave for basic I will also be fully moved out of my parents house.  I've already started packing up stuff into boxes, giving stuff away (hooray for Blogger Family swaps!), and just in general minimalizing all of my belongings that aren't clothes.  Is that sort of a resolution? To move/minimalize?

Ah, well I hope everyone has a safe, happy New Year!

Still sick

Christmas has gone and passed this year and I have to say that gift wise, this Christmas was awesome.

Other wise, it's been a little crummy.

I still have the flu (the worst has past though) and my sister has come down with the chicken pox.

HOORAY.

Not really.

I have a pile of homework that I have yet to touch...

And I have no idea how everything is getting done.

On the bright side, I've started knitting! Yay!

I'm back! And tan!

Guys. If you ever get the chance you must visit Universal Studios. MUST. Before I had stepped foot onto the park I was just expecting to see Harry Potter world and be done, but honestly I think I had more fun seeing everything else than the Harry Potter part.

Even though a lot of my friends had told me in advance that the Harry Potter portion was small, you really can’t comprehend how microcosmic it is compared to everything else until you’re there to see it for yourself. That being said, if you’re a hardcore Harry Potter fan like me you’ll definitely be impressed by their attention to detail on everything. The architecture was spot on, Buckbeak was believable, and the Hogwarts castle (and talking paintings!) make you feel like you stepped into one of the films. Sadly, I wasn’t able to go inside Olivander’s because the line literally was the length of the HP park; however I did manage to squeeze into the other shops. I also managed to ride The Dragon Challenge and Flight of the Hippogriff three times each.

The Butterbeer was yummy, but it was basically just butterscotch flavored soda with a cream topping (btw, I love butterscotch flavorings). It’s $10.50 US for 12oz. in a souvenir mug, so it’s kind of one of those “one time” things. Speaking of prices, I brought $80 with me (which was less than what I brought with me to Las Vegas) and I spent about $78 and got ¼ the amount of souvenirs that I bought last year. Everything there was EXTREMLY overpriced; the quality was mid-grade. I got a t-shirt, the Butterbeer, and my friend Rebekka’s birthday gifts and that was it. Overall I’d give my HP Universal experience a 8/10. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel (which was awesome) and all of the service people were super nice. Also, in order to get to the park from the hotel you had to take a water taxi, which ran until 2am. Judge me if you want, but anything boat related I get super excited about for some odd reason…

One thing I found interesting about my stay at the park was the fact that 80% of the people there weren’t American. While I was there they had SIX Brazilian tour groups, not to mention various Europeans and Asians who were taking their vacations there as well. Oh man, I’m going to miss those beautiful, gorgeous, HOT Brazilian guys. Ah, and all of the lovely French men were appreciated as well. According to my dad, due to the fact that the American economy is worth shit right now foreigners are taking advantage of the fact that the American dollar is so low. BTW, if China buys out America I’m probably going to move to Australia or New Zealand. Just saying.

Anyways, my grandparents were awesome and paid for Express passes that let us cut in most of the lines; however there were a few rides that you had to wait in line for despite having an Express pass. In the three days we were there my sister and I managed to ride all but three or four of the rides at the park (unfortunately Jaws was broken :( ). I’m pretty roller coaster-ed out. Also, next time I visit a theme park I’m not taking my sister. She was a mega bitch most of the time and complained and whined until she got her way despite the fact that this trip was MY senior trip from my grandparents. Also, sharing a bed with her SUCKED--- she kicks in her sleep and steals the covers. I woke up cold almost every night and had to steal back a portion of the blanket so I wouldn’t freeze (my family cranked the AC every night) and then she would kick off the remaining blankets in her sleep and blame me in the morning for stealing it. It’s so hard to not be petty around her. I seriously thought about cutting her hair in the middle of the night, but luckily I had enough self control… I’m so glad that she’s leaving for Houston in a few days.

Horrible sister aside, I did get to work on my tan while I was in Florida, and I am now a toasty golden brown. I took advantage of the weather (which was a lot nicer than Texas’) and went to the pool as often as possible. I’m so lucky that I don’t burn like the rest of my family. The worst that has ever happened to me was when I spent the entire day at a water park with my friend Hannah and I got a little pink, and peeled a little. Gross, I know.

Currently I’m trying be more interesting while writing this, but honestly I’m so tired from travelling that all I want to do right now is crash. I guess I’ll just leave you guys with these pictures.

The only thing that bothered me was the fact that at certain angles you could see palm trees surrounding Hogwarts...

The Grind

So it's the new year.

Nothing especially great happened.

I stayed in the clothes that I fell asleep in, ate steak and lobster, and cleaned out my computer registry in order to boost the speed.

It seems like this year will be great.

Also, it seems as if I might actually be getting a cellphone. Believe me, it's not of my own doing. In fact, I've been trying to avoid cellular devices like the plague, but as of late I started realizing that getting a phone would not only be practical because of all the events and clubs I'm in, but actually pretty cool on my end because it's not being funded by my dad or stepmom.

One of the main reasons I wanted to delay getting a phone is because my parents would be paying for it. Not that the concept of them providing for me is bad, I just didn't want it to be one more thing for them to hold over my head.

If I were to get in trouble, make a bad grade, or just do something they thought was stupid the first thing they would probably take away would be the phone.

No thank you. I'd rather not get something that could be taken away from me at any moment.

However, as stated above, this phone will not be bought or paid for by my dad or stepmom.

So there. A loophole.

Shop me out

After christmas shopping is the best. Why? Because everything is on sale.

Usually I'll spend $40 at Charlotte Russe and another $40 at Forever 21 and pick up a few shirts, maybe some jewelry, but after christmas?

Everything is usually half off, and I can actually leave the mall without going over $50---getting the same amount of stuff, and still have a bunch of christmas money left over to spend the next day.

My two day shopping spree in Dallas is now over, but I'm looking forward to January when I get to do more shopping.

Then I go back to studying. And school. And academic competitions.

Ugh. That reminds me. I have a literary analysis paper to work on.

Privacy please.

Again, I find myself in the same spot where I usually am.

In trouble for staying in my room, as opposed to being outside of my room, working on a new art piece, or say reading a nice book, or just trying to watch TV.

Of course I can do all three of the said above activities both in and out of my room, but I like my quiet. I like my privacy. I like keeping my things out of the chubby hands of a certain little brother.

It's hard to get this point across to my family.

There's no point in arguing. I only argue with people I don't spend time with 20 out of 24 hours a day.

Sheesh. I'm never going to get this new art piece done.

Leftovers, clutter bug

Leftovers and I have a love hate relationship. Sometimes I don't mind eating 3 day old pinwheels, but it gets to a point where I can't even remember how old some of the food is.

I keep on neglecting to eat christmas ham because 1) the oranges are just 2 feet away, and not refrigerated, and 2) I'm lazy and don't want to walk all the way to the fridge, and warm up the ham.

And it goes on like this for days. I feel guilty if I throw away food the instant a giant holiday meal has ended because so much hard work went into it, but at the same time, let's be honest: I never actually eat leftovers.

I'll pick at them, nibble here and there, but that's it. And that crap usually clutters up the fridge for a solid 2 weeks until someone gets sick of it being cluttered and finally throws it away.

There's enough clutter in my life. I'll throw away bags upon bags of stuff that it either broken, or supremely old, and I'll still have a cluttered room. 3 bags of clothes donated, and my closet is still jam packed, and I only wear half of what's actually in there.

Why?

I am such a clutter bug. Oh well. At least you can see the floor in my room, however you can't see the walls because of all the shelves of stuff in there. OMIGAWD.

Best Christmas Ever

Yes. This has been the best haul so far!

And the best part is, it's not over yet! I still have one more Christmas to go!

Now, before I go off rambling on all of my presents, I just want to stop myself and mention the bad before the good.

I went over and spent part of Christmas day with my mom. Worst idea ever. This last trip pretty much re-affirmed the fact that I don't ever want to go to her house again. If I meet with my mom, it will not be in her environment, it will be in one of my choosing. Christmas over there sucked.

However Christmas at my dad's, and later at my grandparents' was awesome. I pretty much got everything I wanted, and then some.

I received all sorts of fancy art supplies, and a much needed brush bucket, and a portfolio for all of my art. And I also got a cool little sewing machine! Now I can finally sew 24/7!

And since we're traveling this Christmas a bunch of my family just gave me gift cards and money!!

SHOPPING IN DALLAS FTW!

I got a lot of other things, but I'm too lazy to type that much, and I'm sure you guys would rather tell me what an awesome Christmas you had.

New Agenda

Well, my parents have set new rules.

Computer for 1 hour, then I'm off, then I can get back on after 4 hours.  Bah, oh well.  I have about 30 minutes left on the computer and by golly I'm spending it blogging.

I noticed people doing posts on Valentine's day and how it went, mine was mediocre and consisted of getting fattening sweets from beloved friends and family, and cute stuffed animals and roses.

I gave all the milk chocolate I got from my friends to my parents, and they gobbled it up, and I gave the roses I got to my grandma and she thought they were pretty.  I got an awkward val-o-gram (rose w/ message) from the debate pres. aka Jacob.  The only thing that made it worse than actually getting one from him is the fact that when I put it down in my world geo. class some friends of mine read the message before I did because I had to deliver the rest of the val-o-grams.  I am forever embarrassed.  Luckily they couldn't read his jumbled signature (thank god!) and I got off with some mild teasing and winks as to who the mystery note person was.  I hate Jacob for that.

Sadly, art club didn't make too big of a profit off of val-o-grams because some members didn't pay for roses like they were supposed to, so we came up short.  Looks like there won't be an art club trip this year.  Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I have an art competition this weekend!  WOOT!  Not to mention it's at a really nice school!

Christmas Hangover

What I wouldn't do for an ice pack right now.

Gosh, all I can find in my freezer is Steak, Wild Hog, and frozen juice and pedialite popsicles.  If a member of PETA ever saw my freezer they would probably think that my family is nothing but a pack of red meat eating savages.

Last night I went to my mother's house and it wasn't so bad.  I got some money, and things that I will probably never use, but overall at least I didn't leave fighting with my mom like I usually do.  I tried talking my mom into donating some money for Debate camp, but she basically shot me down saying that my dad has an endless supply of money coming out of his ass.

Oh well, when I'm successful and 60 minutes comes by to interview me, she will not be one of the people that I thank for being there and supporting me.

UGH. Last night I didn't even get to sleep until 2am, and I woke up at 1:35pm.  My head is pounding like the Dickens.  I hate feeling like this.  My head hurts and everything is fuzzy, but I guess this is what happens when it's the day after Christmas.

To make it a little better I've been reading the Anderson Cooper book that I got for Christmas, and I must say it's quite good.  He's not the type of writer that takes half a book to give a message, he's one that tells you up front: this is what I'm trying to say.

Also, Bill Maher has been helping me feel better also.  He's so funny, and at times very contradicting.  B recently suggested that I have a thing for middle aged guys that are into news and politics, but I simply explained to him that if I could find a guy my age that was funny and into that kind of stuff then I wouldn't have to hang on every word that Bill Maher and Anderson Cooper mutter.

Until that day, I'll probably seem like a total creep that's into middle aged comedians and CNN anchor men.  Really, I'm not.  I just like smart guys.  Really.

Anyways, hopefully I'll be able to get some shopping done before all the after holiday sales wrap up.  I'm craving new items and I want them on sale!