hurry up christmas break

The three weeks between Thanksgiving holidays and Christmas break are quite possibly the longest part of the year. If you think about it, Thanksgiving is really just a cruel joke. Having a book, two papers, and test preparation work to do over a holiday is nothing to be thankful for. Instead of relishing every bite of turkey and apple pie, I found myself stressing about all the work i still had to accomplish before school started again. Whats even worse, is that a whole week of exams lies between me and yummy christmas cookies and sleep. Maybe this year i can make it through the next 21 days without pulling my hair out. but its doubtful.

STRESS and baking gingerbread cookies in August

School has officially started. Besides the fact that i now have a permanent commitment every day from eight o'clock to three fifteen, my stress level has sky rocketed. Going into my junior year, I expected an increase in the work load and even geared up for a little stress. Never in my life could i have prepared for the shock this year has brought to my life. I really am not just complaining, but i spend every spare second i have studying, doing homework, or practicing voice or piano. Personally, I feel that teachers do not understand the amount of time their classes require. If every teacher expects you to do a 'reasonable' hour of work, that ends up being seven hours of homework. Up until this year that situation has never actually happened, but now I find myself up till at least midnight every night. Sleep just doesn't really happen for me anymore. I have no social life any more whatsoever. My stress level is pretty much dangerous. Consider this scenario (which happens quite frequently for me) , I wake up in the mornings and the first thing that passes through my head is....'i can't wait till i can go back to sleep tonight'. I am a typical teenager and typical teenagers do not crave sleep over a social life. Now, switching gears completely. I baked gingerbread cookies last night (in August!). I was totally excited about this project, but it didn't turn out so good. Part of the fun of baking gingerbread cookies is the Christmasy spirit that goes along with the baking. Obviously, in August, i was not really in the Christmas spirit at all. While the baking project was for school, I still was looking forward to it. My hopes of fun were ultimately crushed! How fitting. This added to my stress level. Plus, what teacher really wont let you ice and red hot gingerbread cookies just because it isn't legit 'colonial'?

well hello there..again

Well hello there again everybody. It has been an immensely long time since I wrote a blog, obviously. Unfortunately, the reason for writing this blog is not an overwhelmingly joyful reason. School has officially begun and homework is now part of my daily agenda. In pondering what to write about in this particular entry, it seemed like a good idea to fill you in about my weekend. To start off, almost every Friday my family and I eat out for dinner. After a long week for all of us, unwinding at a restaurant and enjoying some family fellowship is usually a perfect way to spend an evening. But, this particular Friday no one’s taste buds seemed to agree whatsoever. I was in the mood for pizza, my sister, burgers, my mom, Chinese, and my dad, barbeque. This is a recipe for disaster. So after loading into the car, we drove down Zebulon road weighing out the pros and cons of every possible restaurant in Macon. (Which is a slim few) We landed on barbeque. The next morning I cleaned my room, bathroom, and did laundry, until it was time to go to study group. I continued to spend the rest of my Saturday studying and analyzing Plato in the Barnes and Noble café area with five helpless friends. My weekend finally had a high point on Sunday morning. I went to Cracker Barrel and ate pancakes and bacon with my mom and sister. Afterwards, I enjoyed going to church and spending time reading the Bible, singing songs, and spending time catching up with friends. Well, this brings us to Sunday afternoon, and I find myself still reading Plato, writing a journalism blog, and dreading 7 a.m. tomorrow morning. It will be here before I know it so I am going to wrap this up.

Here come Exams!!!!!!

Life is really not fair at all! This past weekend my sister returned home from college completely stress free and done with her exams. But, as for me; I spent the weekend attempting to study for an AP test and exams with little success. While I was cramming information about the Industrial Revolution and Frederick William IV, my mother and sister were snuggled up eating peanut m and ms and watching White Christmas. Do you realize how hard it is to concentrate when you can constantly hear bits and pieces of a movie from upstairs? It is a constant struggle within your brain to figure out what is happening on the screen while you know you should be studying. Also, over the weekend when my family was running holiday gift errands I was forced to stay at home and “study”. This really just turned out to be mindlessly reading over pages and pages of notes but not absorbing any information. To make things worse I had a cold. Soon this will all be over though. Today is the last full day of school in 2009. What an exhilarating thought. I’ve managed to make it through exams for four years, but this year seems especially difficult. Whether I want it to occur or not, I will be taking exams Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings so I better just do what I attempted to do unsuccessfully all weekend. STUDY!!!!

Christmas!!!!:)

The Christmas season is officially here. Crisp, cool weather, a general feeling of merriness, and of course the yummy seasonal goodies make this time of the year one of my favorites. The feeling you get when you walk into a store prior to Christmas is truly unique. Sometimes there are overwhelming masses of people vying for the early morning sales. While other times when you walk into a decorated boutique and smell a pine scented candle, you feel complete peace and serenity as you peruse the store. One of the new politically correct trends that bothers me is the phrase, "happy holidays" The fact that someone could be offended by something as innocent and simple as the phrase, Merry Christmas, is repulsive. I try to avoid this topic, because it just kinda ruins the mood of the general Christmasy spirit. Visiting a live drive through nativity, singing Christmas carols, and attending our youth PJ's and Carols gathering are just a few of the special events of the season that I enjoy.

The 2009 CMAs

Last night, Taylor Swift was the undeserving recepient of four awards at the Country Music Awards award show. Although I am a huge fan of Taylor and her recent album, Fearless, last night her two performances just could not compare to those of Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley, and Carrie Underwood. "Forever and Always" was unbelieveble and "Fifteen" was so off key. The nineteen year old superstar sensation has incredible song writing skills and a charming "bubbly" personality, but her voice is simply not good. People really need to realize that being gorgeous and witty and a talented at writing songs does not make you fabulous. Its really just disturbing to think that so many people could be in denial about her vocal ability. I am not saying that I know everything there is to know about vocal ability, but i do know that she is not at the same level as Carrie Underwood or Martina McBride or lots of other previous country stars. Just listen to her album and then listen to her live. She sounds completely different!!! She is way off pitch! Like i said, Taylor writes some of the best songs i have heard, but the vocals aren't there. Really. Do you really think Taylor Swift is Entertainer of the Year material? I dont, but thats just my opinion. Overall the award show was fabulous. Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood served as superb hosts, and the performences were a step up from last years. I also was very happy to see Lady Antebellum rewarded for their excellent work. Too bad the main point of the show, the awards, were screwed up!

Thoughts....

After reading an article about the "separation of church and state" in a public high school I feel the need to express my opinions. I believe that any individual should have the right to express themselves through any measure whether it be religious or something else. I can understand the need to obey laws, but not being able to paint signs with Bible verses at football games is too over the top. I admire the cheerleaders at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High for having the courage and convictions to try to include religious aspects at school events. Apparently the crowds that came to the games liked their efforts since they joined in by wearing shirts and making their own Bible verse signs. I grew up saying the pledge of allegiance which includes God's name and praying at school functions. Someone that feels the need to make such a big deal about including God in school functions seems really ridiculous.