Whaddaya call 'em? Oh! Feet!

These past few weeks have certainly been adventurous, exciting, and experiences unlike anything I've ever had.

We Hendricks's are pretty famous for our bull-like health. My favorite accomplishments and bragging rights for things like "I've Never" have always been that I've never broken a bone, sprained a muscle, been hospitalized, been sick for longer than a week or worse than Chicken Pox...yadda yadda yadda. That changed all at once.

A few months ago I noticed two of my teeth were growing in the wrong direction, and we figured they were my wisdom teeth. Mom put off calling the dentist because procrastination is another thing we Hendricks's are famous for. One day, I noticed my bottom teeth, which behave quite well after 17 years of diligent care and expensive years of having all sorts of metal in my mouth, were no longer perfectly in line. Mom didn't put off calling one minute longer.

We saw the Oral Surgeon, and after a very awesome X-Ray, he showed off my disobedient four wisdom teeth, two of which were already through the gum and two which were hanging out, waiting to cause all sorts of damage.

That Friday, after a long day of not eating, I was excused from school and we saw the surgeon. Even before seeing Dr. Patino, I'd been getting rather hyped up about this whole thing. In a good way. I LOVE adventures, and unfortunately my life doesn't get many. So I figured this would be a good one...I had friends and leaders and teachers and strangers and hobos all telling me I was a fool for being excited. "Oh, Alaina, you'll look like a chipmunk!" "Oh, Alaina, you'll be in so much pain!" "Oh, Alaina, you'll get so drunk from the pain meds!" "Oh, Alaina, you won't be normal for weeks!" But I didn't believe any of them. I signed up for Babysitting that Saturday, I had full intentions of living a life rich with pudding, rest, and little to no pain.

And guess what? I WAS RIGHT. I don't remember the surgery because I was asleep, and I didn't even get remotely "drunk" from the pain meds they gave me. I got to eat all my favorite soft foods, got Bolt and finally got to watch my Superman movies, and got a free Oberwiese shake from the most awesome ex-YW leader I know. The worst part was that I had to take Advil and Penicillin all weekend.

The pain was basically nonexistent pretty soon, and my foods were getting more and more solid with each passing day. My days of Cream of Wheat breakfasts, pudding and apple sauce lunches, and mashed potato dinners were ending. Which is too bad, because that still sounds delicious.

By Friday, I was back in peak condition. Every Friday, my friend Kathy comes over and we watch Smallville for Fictional Journalism Club. Maybe I'll expound upon this someday...but anyway. Usually, Michelle and Christine try and come after track to watch Lois and Clark for more of our club. That Friday was Pigs in a Blanket Day, so we went to the store to get some ingredients and intended on eating them while watching Lois and Clark.

After they were done, we went outside to sit for just a bit. This ended up with Christine and Michelle stealing my yellow flip-flop, which ended up with Kathy and me trying to exact revenge through a "We'll have Fun and They'll have None" method. BEST kind of revenge, guys.

That ended up with All four of us using side-walk paint to paint the driveway. We were working down at the bottom of the driveway, attempting to write "Our House in the Middle of the Street". At one point, I had written a word and stood up to inspect my work. Just like the pseudo artist I am, I knew I needed to back up to get a proper look.

Unfortunately, I'm not the most coordinated of darlings, and flip-flops aren't the safest of shoes. The combination ended up with me getting the shoe caught in the curb and falling into the street. I fall a lot, and it was pretty funny. We all laughed, I got up, and kept going. My foot hurt, but why wouldn't it hurt? I just fell, after all. It always hurts to fall...you just gotta get up and keep going. WALK IT OFF. RUB SOME DIRT ON IT. That whole bit.

We finished and went inside to finally watch Lois and Clark, now that it was 8:30 and Michelle almost had to go home. I put some ice on my foot because it really did hurt, and after about twenty minutes of coming inside, I realized it still wasn't feeling much better. Christine told me that the swelling might go down by Saturday morning, but that it still would hurt. So I decided to get Mom's second opinion and texted her to look at my foot. Going up the stairs didn't seem fun.

Really, I was only concerned about whether or not I should cancel that Saturday's volunteer work. But Mom saw it and Dad saw it and suddenly we were in a whirlwind of calling doctors and nurses and touching my foot and moving my foot and such craziness, the likes I have not seen since Emily sprained her toe stubbing it.

The verdict was that it was either sprained or broken, and that I should keep it elevated. I assured all my friends I'd see the doctor Saturday, which actually didn't happen until Tuesday. I just rested at home all of Saturday, and then wobbled around church on Sunday, and then used one crutch on Monday.

It was pretty funny to see the reactions to The Amazing One-Crutched Girl! as she hobbles through the perils of Waubonsie Valley High, fighting off pain and sorrows. Meaning that I had a bow on my crutch, of course. People I've never met all gave me the "up-and-down" glance and try and hide their snickers or cringes (my foot was a lovely shade of violet by the day's end). People who I know pretty well but don't exactly party with on the weekends all did the whole "you poor baaaaby what haaaapened" ordeal. Then, you've got the friends I DO hang out with on the weekends. For the record, they all already knew what happened and that I was pretty much not in pain. So when they saw me, they just laughed.

Apparently, with one crutch I look like a)Tiny Tim b)a Grandma (which isn't hard, as that's already one of my nicknames) c)a fool. Since I apparently care for the visual comfort of my friends over my own physical comfort, I promised either two crutches or no crutches the next day. This lady, by the way, has got the right idea, but frankly, my bows were much cuter than her (probably very expensive) crutches. Anyway, I went with no crutches, and we left school to go to the doctor.

After all the boring doctor stuff with the nurse who didn't like my purple foot, the scale that didn't like the way I measure myself, and the swine-flu boy who didn't like his mask, we went to outpatient. The X-Ray people said we'd get a call in 1-2 days, gave us a CD, and we headed home. When we got there and looked at my AWESOME X-Ray (so much cooler than the ones on TV, if I say so myself. My foot dun good.), it took about five minutes for the doctors to call back. Fastest 1-2 days ever!

Turns out, I have a fracture on my fifth metatarsal. I'd been walking around on a broken foot all weekend and half the week. AWESOME.

Wednesday I went to school with the proper amount of crutches and switched out the ribbons for some colorful scarves. My friend Sarah was super eager to be my crutch buddy, as she would get to leave all her classes early and come to them all late. By the end of the day, BOTH of us were praying I'd get a boot.

Our prayers were heard! I went to the orthopedic doctor today and after a few rousing games of "I Spy" and "20 Questions" with Mother Dear, I got fitted into my clunky peg-leg of a boot.

The worst part is going to be not driving. I really, really love driving...especailly being able to drive. I can't even go to FTEA. It also makes going down stairs very interesting.

(See, Mom? I can totally wear heels with my boot. Rose McGowan did!)

But that's just one more adventure, I guess.

"Part of Your World" can be found in The Little Mermaid

It's May! That gorgeous Holiday (MHU)

It's another Monday, so more that means more MONDAY HOLIDAY UPDATES! (are you getting the boomy announcer voice in your head yet?)

Unfortunately (yes, I know you're all broken hearted), this is the fifth week of April, and Holiday Insights is just off enough to not have a holiday posted for this week. Shame, really!

And they're not improving their record with Today's holidays, either. I found out from a board of Graphic Designers I like to spy and read on that today is actually National Graphic Design Day! HOW AMAZING IS THAT?!? A holiday, just for my dream profession! And Holiday Insights didn't even mention it.I kind of even feel like I've been celebrating it well, as I've been working on my sister's wedding announcement and tweaking it closer to perfection. How apt.

I recommend you start preparing for Tuesday's holiday ASAP, as it is definitely up there on the list of romantic unpopular holidays. Tomorrow is both Great Poetry Reading Day as well as Kiss Your Mate Day. Awwww! So, gentlemen, make sure you read your lovely lady some poetry and then bestow upon her a kiss. Hopefully last Thursday was a good Take a Chance Day for those of the single sort so you can celebrate today. But remember! No kissing until you're married, and only for a few very chaste seconds! (says the girl who has neither been kissed nor knows anyone she'd actually want to)

Wednesday is looking absolutely lovely for me. Even if you don't have anyone to celebrate Tuesday with, I'm sure you'll LOVE celebrating Shrimp Scampi Day! You can go out to Keywester (that's like a delicious version of Red Lobster for all you floundering in confusion) for a plate of perfectly prepared shrimp, make your own (I've heard it's quite easy!), have California Pizza Kitchen's delicious (but oniony) Shrimp Scampi Pizza, or bum some scampi off a friend. But make sure you enjoy them!

And for those of you who don't love seafood quite so much...well...looks like more for the rest of us.

Thursday is a plethora of fun. First of all, it's National Honesty Day, which is AMAZING. Who WOULDN'T love a day of nothing but honesty? Sounds like the perfect day to spend some time in Washington.

Ironically, Thursday is also Hairstyle Appreciation Day, a lovely day to toss your tresses and get loved right back by the masses. Remember that your lady friends sometimes spend hours on their hair, and more and more gentlemen are taking their time as well, so if you see a good 'do, tell that lovely stranger or wonderful friend that ya think that thurr hair looks purdy!

Now, bear in mind that these two days should live in perfect cohabitation...so...keep Thumper in mind. If you can't say anything nice, don't say nothing at all.

Friday is exciting. It's the ~First day of May~ which means a lot of things! The most important being that now this schedule gets an intermission to hear this week's celebration!

The first week of May is Nurse's week, which is also apt for my foot condition. My foot is purple, guys. And the nurse called not fifteen minutes ago...she certainly deserves a week celebration! As do all the wonderful nurses! They get kind of short-handed with this whole "Friday and Saturday count as the first week" garbage, so make sure you make a big deal about it being Nurses' Week this weekend to make up for it.

Friday is actually host to five holidays, and they're ALL legit (I consider legit to be when Holiday Insights actually knows who made it, or if the President gave it his golden seal of approval). So buckle up, because you'd better be celebrating Astronomy Day, Mother Goose Day, Loyalty Day, and Save the Rhinoceros Day this May Day.

You can start the morning by promising your kids, friends, parents, and pets, and any small children you meet that you're going to celebrate ALL FIVE holidays. Before you go on your way to work, school, and other boring things, run around the maypole a few times with some shiny ribbon.

Then, when you get home, make sure you head out to the zoo and look at some Rhinos eat some hay. Make one of those plastic rhinos that cost about $5 and thusly donate to help replenish that hay you just watched buddy-boy eat.

When you get home that evening, find a small child and read them a Mother Goose Story. No Aesop's fables- just good ole' Mother Goose. I personally suggest "Puss in Boots"; it's my favorite. Not the Zorro-tastic Cat with Antonio Banderas' voice (though he's a favorite of mine, too), the story I read at Oma's house. I never get over how crafty that darn cat is!

Once you've charmed the small child, you and your buddies can head outside. It should be dark by now- if not, learn some patience and learn to spend more time at the zoo. You can watch the stars, ponder on your eternal nature, and look for some comets. Maybe even a floating Mufasa head or two. And if you find your sky is too polluted by lights, I suggest visiting a local Planetarium. Did you know Illinois only has twelve, one of which is at WVHS, just seven minutes away? Maybe THAT local is a bit hard for a lot of people, but I still suggest trying. I'll have you know that 2009 is also the International Year of Astronomy, so all the more reason to look for a planetarium.

Now it's about time to head to bed. Gather your kids, friends, parents, and pets, and that poor small child you frightened this morning. Tell them of your celebrations and rejoice! You were LOYAL on top of all of those amazing Friday/May Day activities. You kept your promise!

I know you're probably going to be burnt out from all that fun Friday, so Saturday is going to be quite welcome. Get your favorite newspaper (local or not) and sit down on a rug, because today is World Press Freedom Day. And Lumpy Rug Day. That first holiday kind of kicks the second one's trash (why would you want to celebrate a lumpy rug?), so I suggest making a point to read some fine journalism. Other than A Missalanius Life, as fine quality as my journalism is.

Sunday is Renewal Day, which reminds me of Easter. But it has nothing to do with Easter. However, since it is Sunday, I do suggest remembering the Renewal of life that He brought to us. You can also renew your nails, your hairdo, your pantries...whatever suits you for a mentally cleansing and renewing Sunday. And Papaya would eat me alive if I didn't mention it's also Bird Day, which was started by Animal Rights Activists who don't like caged birds. They should talk to my dad- he says the only place for Papi is her cage.

Now, I know this is already a long holiday post and you're all ready to hop up and give some graphic designers some appreciation, love, and money. Especially the seventeen-year-old, 5'3", high-school attending, crippled, aspiring graphic designers. But just one moment!

May is also---

Date Your Mate Month (This is something to keep in mind especially if Tuesday didn't go so well...or if it went really well)
National Barbecue Month (I think ours still has the cover on it)
National Bike Month (I guess that means I should pull it off the garage ceiling and see if I can still ride it after these past few years...the expression "just like riding a bike" has to mean something, right?)
National Blood Pressure Month (Woot.)
National Hamburger Month (Woot!)
National Photograph Month (This should make Moms everywhere happy. I mean that seriously if they're the one behind the camera, sarcastically if they're in front of it.)
National Recommitment Month (How wonderful for the First Sunday to be Renewal day!)
National Salad Month (It's Blood Pressure Month AND Hamburger month...I guess we need SOME kind of balance)
and Older Americans Month (I'll refrain from the jokes here, I guess. :P)

"The Lusty Month Of May" can be found in Camelot

So Classic and Classy, We're Not talking Lassie

I finally finished my family letter yesterday. Very late, mind you. But, after a lot of nagging from Dad I finally got around to it.

I really do like writing my family letter once I'm doing it. Gives me a chance to remember my past, and that part is getting easier with my life journal on the same computer I write the letter on. Thank heavens for blogs!

So I usually end up rereading the entirety of my last six months of entries, which makes the process even longer than it should be. Especially since I just write shoddy little rhymes that take no time to come up with, it should take no time at all.

So, I decided I'd put my letter up on my blog, even though I guess you guys can read it in the Hendricks Herald. Plus, I'm going to interlace a little comic I drew about the process, based mostly on the truth.

If you're like Uncle Jim and it never hit you that Sami doesn't actually write my letters, it's based completely on the truth.

With no further ado.... Sami!

---

This year I decided to be “fashionably late” and put reason behind the phrase.
“Fashionably” is my middle name, and tardiness is the newest craze.
I wasn’t going to write at all and join the WGA.
A dog as old and splendid as me shouldn’t be coerced to write without pay.
But apparently unions have ‘human rights’ that only apply to bipeds
And that last strike they had ended awhile ago, so we don’t want to cause more dread.

I thought I’d try the quitting game anyway; see how ‘Laina complained.
She said, “Aight, we won’t write one,” but Dad didn’t see the same.
Now, I may be the prettiest, smartest, and cutest member of the household
But when Dad says “WRITE”, this dog never needs to be twice-told.
She’s currently complaining about some “wisdom teeth” that make it “hard to write”,
But I get gross spray stuff on my teeth every day and I don’t (always) put up a fight.

This past half-year hasn’t even really been that great.
Alaina’s a junior now, so school has mostly filled her plate.
She really likes this “AP Art History” class she takes at school.
The stuff she tells us over…and over…about is pretty cool.
Her other classes are pretty fun, with Genetics, French, and other stuff.
She’s getting used to the homework load, so it isn’t always as rough.

Something interesting finally happened during school with a “Lock-Down”.
Some kid brought a fake gun to school, and WV really went to town.
The kids stayed cooped in a corner for five hours while the cops searched the school.
I hear they brought K-9 units in, which must have made it really cool.
They were all okay and nobody got hurt, but what a wasted day!
At least Alaina has another story she can now say.

She finished off her computer graphics class and is now in “Drawing One”.
Alaina thinks she’s all artsty and stuff, which I guess is pretty fun.
She really loves it and can’t wait for her artsy schedule next year.
It’s good it’s mostly art classes, because Seniors are lazy, I hear.
I wouldn’t know anything about that; nothing at all, of course.
Until Mommy starts buying ‘senior food’, I’m as young and hip as a horse.

Speaking of those giant, scary, horrible, and awfully smelly equines,
Alaina started this “volunteer” thing she’s at on Saturday morning-times.
She goes to “FTEA” where she works with horses for handicap kids.
It’s a good idea and I’m proud of my girl, but I think they’ve all flipped their lids.
Apparently nobody is sane enough to realize how big horses are.
Animals and pets are supposed to be little, not the size of a compact car!
They should take a note from my book- I fit in my mommy’s arms.
Those monsters are so ginormous, they have to live on farms.

Alaina and her friends right now are really into Superman.
This is finally something teenagery that I can understand.
He lives a double-life and is more awesome than you first think,
He has super-strength, can really fly, and gets around in just a blink.
Plus he’s pretty, charming, and humble with a heart of gold.
The Man of Steel is basically a human-Sami…or so I’ve been told.
She and her friends come home each Friday and watch Smallville on TV
Even though they all know the show is as horrible as it can be.
But afterwards, they finish off with some vintage “Lois and Clark”.
A lady in the ward let her borrow the series, which really makes me bark!

Since I’m talking about big guys who are cooler than you’d anticipate,
I should tell you about my other girl’s guy, James the Noble and Great.
He’s REALLY BIG and I’m not just saying that because I’m only eight pounds.
He also likes opera and law and Emily, so he’s awesome all around.
James is really funny, and I think he fits in quite well.
We’re all a little crazy here, if you couldn’t tell.
Emily is marrying him this summer, which makes this the second year in a row. **
Now with only bachelorettes Alaina and me, we’ve got one wedding to go!
(Hopefully, that won’t be any time in the near future.
I’ve met Alaina’s guy friends and their too scary for me, for sure.)

Now, it wouldn’t be fair to my littlest girl to not mention all of her woes.
She’s a junior, which means college stress is beginning to show.
Alaina’s looking at too many schools, and always gets scared what to do.
I think she’ll be fine, since she’s already taken not one ACT, but two!
The first one she got a 31, which is good or something, I hear.
The other one we don’t know about, but she hopes the score is near.
Don’t ask her which school she’s picking because nobody knows and everyone asks.
But once she’s out of my house, I won’t have to do anymore writing tasks!

And in case you were curious about that fish I mentioned six months ago,
Fernando’s still alive and happy, watching his bubbles blow.
I talk to him sometimes to see if he ever gets lonely;
All the fish friends we bring him keep dying, so he’s the one and only.
But Fernando gets what I’ve understood for the past thirteen years-
When you’re the smallest, smartest, and cutest, you’ve got no reason for fears.

I guess that applies to everyone…me, the bird, the teenager.
We may seem like we’ve got so many difficulties, chaffing under our fur.
But we’ve got friends and family to help us along the way.
And with some peppers, steak, and French fries, every bad morning becomes a great day.

Before I finish this letter off, Alaina’s blog deserves a plug.
She writes about her life on there, and there’s a picture of my lovely mug.
Although she doesn’t keep up religiously, she’s starting to be quite faithful.
If you know my girl, you know she loves to talk, so there’s really quite an eyeful.
That’s http://www.missalainius.blogspot.com/ if you weren’t aware.
But now you are! So go read up on my girly on the internet!
And when you visit, bring me cookies- bribing the WGA isn’t illegal yet.


Love from Sami, with help from Alaina

---

My sincerest apologies to Dad for both drawing him so horribly (with these silly comics I tend to just go with my roughest, very first sketch) and for being the horrible teenager I illustrated myself to be in real life, too.

**Mom pointed out this sounds an awful lot like I don't know my own brother's wedding date. Don't worry. I do. SAMI just forgot....mmmhmm.

"Perfect Isn't Easy" can be found in Disney's Oliver and Company

I'm still Free, Take a Chance on Me (MHU)

It's MONDAY AGAIN.

Which means it's time for another set of MONDAY HOLIDAY UPDATES!

This is also the fourth week of April, which means it's National Karaoke Week! So you can pull out that expensive machine you used for probably three or four parties your whole life and actually USE IT! Or, you can risk going to a Karaoke bar, but who knows- it could be awfully crowded since it's Karaoke Week and all. And obviously, everybody knows that.

Today starts out the week with some ~really great holidays~. Not only is it Look-Alike Day (which means I guess I should dress up like Velma, since I'm hearing more and more each passing day that I look like her), it's also Volunteer Appreciation Day! This is a day I can appreciate, since I'm a Volunteer and all. And if you don't volunteer often, you'd better start today. It's a great (if not rather cheater-ish) idea to start volunteering on the day you get recognition.

Tuesday is an excellent holiday if you're a Kindergartener, are raising a kindergartener, or know a kindergartener. Because it's Kindergarten Day! This has got to be as exciting as 100 Day for the little ones. Also, there ought to be a Junior Day. We get enough stress with ACTs and APs and PSAEs and SATs and other horrible acronyms, you'd think we deserve a holiday more than our finger-painting youngin's.

Wednesday is another great holiday if you go to Elementary School...specifically if you're a girl...specifically if you're a girl scout because today is Girl Scout Leader Day! Even the Capitol Building has honored Girl Scout Leaders on April 22nd historically, so I hope none of you are grumbling about this day. AND if you have no idea how to honor Girl Scout Leaders today, it also happens to be National Jelly Bean Day. So why not kill two birds with one stone and honor your Girl Scout Leader with some honorary Jelly Beans? I'm sure there's a badge in it somewhere for you.

Thursday is this week's fantastically romantic holiday. It is, in fact, Lover's Day! A wonderful time to call your lover boy and say "Come here, lover boy". And if he doesn't answer, I'd simply say, "Baby, oh Baby, My sweet Baby, you're the one!" Of course, your lover very well might be a girl, in which case I do not suggest quoting those lyrics as she'll probably get offended.

Now, maybe you're a lovely single citizen like myself. No reason to fear Lover's Day, for today is ALSO Take A Chance Day! So, I highly suggest celebrating Take a Chance Day first, and if that works out great, celebrate Lover's Day this afternoon!

If it doesn't work out quite so hot, maybe National Zucchini Bread Day is better suited for you anyway.

Now, Friday is really a holiday I can get behind. It's Pigs-in-a-Blanket Day! There are two types of Pigs-in-a-Blankets...the sticky kind in the morning with Sausage and Pancakes which can get awfully rushed (and who likes Sausage, anyway? Not me!) or the delicious kind with Pilsbury Crescent Rolls and the sizzly, buttery hot dogs all lined up and neatly cooked in the oven. What a DELICOUS, easy, and fun (how apt for Friday!) dinner decision. :) Besides, look at that picture. It's so Americana, I bet it's a form of treason not to have some Pigs in a Blanket this Friday!

For closet (or not so closet) zooology nerds like myself, Saturday is wonderfully exciting. It's World Penguin Day! Now, World Penguin Day should not be confused with Penguin Awareness Day on January 20th, as World Penguin Day celebrates the time when Penguins migrate northward. I, unfortunately, won't be able to see any penguins on Saturday. And since we don't own that March of the Penguins movie and I don't intend on buying it, if Animal Channel isn't playing any of those really cool Sealion vs. Penguin Documentaries, I'll just have to settle with celebrating by wearing black and white. Maybe making a few jokes about penguins falling down the stairs or being "red all over". Or is that newspapers?

My friend Michelle (who likes Mondays and sits by me in Art) would like Sunday, because Sunday is Hug an Australian Day! Michelle is Australian, you see. But doesn't have an accent because she never actually lived there...but if you know anyone who is Australian, make sure you hug them today. Especially if they do have the accent...because really, wouldn't you want to hug them anyway with that accent?

Mmmm....

Perhaps you were wondering how my missing four teeth are doing! I fully intend on explaining how my surgery went and how my post-op life is going, but that adventure has yet to conclude. So, I promise, you'll hear all the ~exciting details~ about that LATER. :D

Take a Chance, which I highly suggest for singing on Thursday, can be found by Abba

All the Doubts that Fill my Mind

Today I finished another project in Drawing I.

Yeah, you probably didn't know I'm even in Drawing I. It's not like I ever post anything artsty anymore...but then again, it's not like I was ever on time with my Computer Graphics posts.

Well, I figured I wouldn't be able to show you guys my stuff from these real-media classes, because we're not working with computers and image hosting sites. Plus, unlike elementary school, they don't let you take home your projects to put on the refrigerators. I guess they think things like "contests" and "portfolios" and "grades" and "hallway displays" are more important than attempting to get huge projects to fit on a non-magnetic fridge. What punks.

So far, we've done pencil-drawing drills as well as two large projects- the shoes (still-life) and my lighthouse (from photo). After we finished our black-and-white large projects, our next goal was to delve into the realm of colour. I LOVE COLOUR.

however

I didn't know how to color. Really, it seems like it would be intrinsic, for someone who claims to be a budding artist. I can color on the computer, but that's working with controlled opacities, infinite colors to chose from, and best of all- an undo button! Computer art is awesome.

So this project was just to copy a close-up colored image onto an 8x8" board with colored pencils. And Mrs. Thrush didn't really show us "how" to color...so I still wasn't very happy.

She encouraged us to buy Prismacolors, the best colored pencils money can buy! Actually. That's arguable. Some people say Drewent are better, but I have a Drewent graphite pencil and I hate it....so my unexperianced opinion is in favor of Prismacolors. I didn't want to really start the project until I had them, so Michelle (my dear friend who, besides liking Mondays, is also in my Art Class) had to deal with me freaking out about not knowing how to color for a few days.

When Mom and I finally went to buy some, she was lovely enough to invest in the 24 pack of Premier pencils. It's practically $2 a pencil, but....I think it was worth it. While we were there, I flipped through a how-to-color book.

The book raised some lovely points that I decided to try and use...mostly using light colors first, then layering the darker ones...utilizing contrasting colors to their maximum potential, and using lighter colors to blend the wax.

GUYS DID YOU KNOW COLORED PENCILS ARE WAX? I didn't. Until Mrs. Thrush said so. It BLEW MY MIND. They're just grown-up crayons, really! And the funniest part is that the more expensive and soft they are, the more they feel like crayons. hahahhaha

Anyway....so I followed the book's advice and it didn't take me long to get over my fear of inability. And guess what?

I'm actually not that bad. I'm kind of good. I finished today, and while the finished board doesn't look exactly like the original (Michelle says it looks better), it's very saturated and doesn't have many white specks showing through. It looks pretty dang realistic from far away, too. A LOT of that has to do with the lovely pencils we bought, because Prismacolors are softer, which makes them easy to lay-down for high saturation and blendability.

But years ago, when I was still drawing for the Lion King site (If you haven't heard about that...you will...I'm sure) with colored pencils because I didn't have any good computer programs, I found a quote that I remembered today. I was curious if I should invest in some select colors of Prismacolors, so I was reading through comments artists gave people who were posing similar questions.

One lady said, "If you're a bad artist, it doesn't matter if you're drawing with Crayolas or Prismascolors. It's not like switching from Paint to Photoshop; the art tools aren't going to change your abilities at all. If you can't draw with Crayolas, you can't draw with Prismacolors, and if you CAN draw with Prismacolors, you're already pretty good to begin with." Or, a much more concise quote from Ice Princess, "The computer doesn't make the jumps for you." (Regarding Casey's computer that helped her friends chart their progress in skating jumps. What, you don't have the movie memorized? Never even saw it? Blasphemy!)

So, even though I don't have any proof for you...today I just got another ego-boost. :)

Mostly because two weeks ago, I would have told you I couldn't color at all. And now? Dang, I'm ready for the next project ASAP!


"Reach" can be found by Caleigh Peters on the Ice Princess Soundtrack

Like a Week that's Only Mondays (MHU)

Today is MONDAY, which means a lot of things!

Today probably isn't your favorite day of the week...especially if you're Garfield. Frankly, I don't get why he hates Mondays so much...it's not like he has to go to school or work or anything. The only difference would be that Jon goes to school or work, and Garfield hates Jon, so it should be a good thing.

It also may be your favorite day of the week, if you're my friend Michelle.

You're probably not too excited to start the week, because everyday seems like the same. You wake up, you go to school/work, you watch your television show and say some words, you go to bed and start over. Monday marks the end of the weekend, the two-day break from the monotony.

Monday is also (supposed to be) Family Home Evening, and you very well may not have any ideas.

WELL! I want to help change that with MONDAY HOLIDAY UPDATES. I'm not promising your life will become daisies and cures for the common cold because of these MONDAY HOLIDAY UPDATES, but maybe you'll giggle and maybe you'll remember a few of them, and maybe each day will seem a little more ~unique~. By the way, MONDAY HOLIDAY UPDATES is supposed to be said in a loud, echoey announcer voice. Kudos if you did that mentally like I do when I read caps-lock.

Before I start out, since this is the flagship week, I figure I should give you a heads-up. I love these stupid bizarre holidays nobody cares about. I'm getting all my information from one of my favorite websites, Holiday Insights. You can check each holiday's legitimacy on that website, because I trust them a lot. Besides, it won't kill you to celebrate a holiday that doesn't really exist. Unless you live in some horrible death version of Holiday Trivia Jepopardy!, but I don't think many of you do. Holiday Insights lists each bizarre holiday they can find for each day, so the vast majority of days have multiple holidays. I'm probably only going to tell you about my favorite one(s), so don't feel like these are the only ones that exist. There's a holiday for about everything!

To begin, this week is Read a Road Map Week! So put away your GPS's, close down your Google Maps, and hone your 8th Grade Map-Reading-Unit skillz. Or you can pretend that GPS's and Google Maps count as Road Maps...whichever makes you feel less Garfieldish.

Today is Scrabble Day, which should be wonderfully suitable for those without Family Home Evening ideas! I'm very excited to celebrate this lovely holiday, because I'm actually not horrible at Scrabble. Who knows, I might even WIN or something!

(By the way, I'm using this pictures because 1)It's a French Ad 2)It's 50's painterly style which I love without being pin-up, and 3)I want to point out that if Brune was spelled the américaine way as Brunette, she'd totally cream Blondie's score)

Today is also Dyngus Day, a Polish Holiday also known as "Wet Easter Monday" where girls and boys run around in giant water fights. Scrabble beats water-fights any cold day in April.

Tuesday is so random, I feel like I should tell you EACH holiday listed. It's 1)Ex-Spouse Day (doesn't apply to me at all, thank heavens! That would be awkward at age 17.) 2)Look Up at the Sky Day (AHHH that's so stupid it's AMAZING) 3)National Pecan Day 4)Reach as High as You Can Day (because looking up at the sky is very inspirational and makes people want to GRAB IT) annnnnd 5)International Moment of Laughter Day. That last one is the best of ALL. I love to laugh, and International Moment of Laughter Day just encourages you to make every moment one of laughter. What a beautiful goal!

Wednesday is Titanic Remembrance Day. It's also Rubber Eraser Day, but I feel like it'd be rude to not mention the Titanic because that's pretty important stuff. It's like ignoring Pearl Harbor Day because it's also National Cotton Candy Day. They should move National Cotton Candy Day because that sounds pretty sweet (no pun intended...okay maybe a little) and I wouldn't want to celebrate Pearl Harbor Day by eating cotton candy in the middle of December.

Thursday is, among other things, National High Five Day. This one has a website and everything! I'm so excited. I love High-Fives. Plus, they have a pretty cool history, if you look it up. In my book, High-Fives (also known as Hi-5's when they're feeling gangsta) are second only to fist bumps, and that's debatable. So let's spread the high-fivin' love!

Also, I used this picture because this trick is practically fool-proof and often overlooked. Don't find yourself missing ANY high-fives this Thursday. You'll look pretty stupid. Remember to look at the elbows! (and also, the article I snagged it from was pretty awesome in general.)

Friday is Blah, Blah, Blah Day as well as Cheeseball Day. Blah, Blah, Blah day sounds cool until you find out it's for the purpose of finishing those things people nag you to do. Like a mini-spring cleaning, but for your life. However, I don't like cheeseballs (Not the soft nutty cheeseball, nor the fatty airy snack food- which is strange, because I love that gross cheese-in-a-can AND cheeto puffs) so I felt it was very worth mentioning.

ALSO VERY IMPORTANT is that fact that on Friday I'M GETTING MY WISDOM TEETH OUT. Woohoo!! I probably won't be this excited when I'm in pain, but right now, it seems like an ~awesome adventure~! Also seems cooler than either of the Friday holiday choices.

Saturday is International Juggler's Day. That is pretty awesome....if you know how to juggle. I don't. So instead I'll celebrate "Pet Owner Independance Day" which is a lovely confusing sentance in its own right, but Saturday I'll be too busy whining about my mouth and eating pudding to care. Perhaps you're supposed to celebrate by being independant and ignoring your pets all day, but that seems pretty high on the jerky list, so I doubt it.

Also, next Sunday is National Garlic Day. And that's the only holiday listed...so looks like I know what day not to plan a social gathering of close contact on. :)

"Without Love" can be found in Hairspray!

He's got High, Apple Pie in the Sky, Hopes

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!!

My fantastic father is turning half-a-century old today, and he's lived to see over a fifth of the years of history of the United States of America. I thought I'd help him out to remember some of the things from his first few years of existance-

Dwight Eisenhower was president of the newly Fourty-Nine United States of America when my Dad was born. There were still segregation laws, no televised presidential debates, we still liked Cuba, and residents of Washington D.C. couldn't vote for president. Stamps cost $.04, a gallon of gas was a quarter with a loaf of bread just a nickel less, and movie tickets were $1.

Audrey Hepburn was alive at the same time as Dad, and she released her favorite film of her entire career, The Nun's Story. So was Elvis, Carl Jung, and Eleanor Roosevelt. So was Frank Lloyd Webber...but only for one day. He's been dead fifty years tomorrow.

Before Dad was born, nothing had ever crashed into or landed on the moon. Since he's been alive, fourty-six* things have crashed, twenty-one* things have landed, and a few have returned to Earth. There were no women priests, no pantyhose, no Wal-Marts, James Bond had no movies, no colour in newspapers, and Barbie was brand new- not to mention single.

Dad is older than the Guggenheim, the St. Lawrence Seaway , Six Flags, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, To Kill a Mockingbird, Catch-22, The Twilight Zone, The Incredible Hulk, and Spiderman.

It's true...the world has been vastly improved in this last half-century. But not only in convenience, entertainment, and politics. For the last fifty years, Robert Hendricks has been around to be a friend, a senior principle consultant, a teacher, a missionary, a bishop, a brother, a husband, a son, a father, and an example.

And that may be one of the best improvents yet.

"High Hopes" was introduced by Frank Sinatra in the 1959 film "A Hole in the Head"

**specifically, the source lists debris left on moon. These numbers may be inaccurate as they do not account for any instances where all traces have been removed.

You and Your White Horse

(my apologies...this is already really long, and then half-way through the spacing gives up on it. Sorry!)
In Winfield, IL, there's a lovely little barn full of lovely not-so-little horses called "FTEA": Friends for Therapeutic Equine Activities. As a horse-riding facility specifically for disabled (whether mentally, physically, or both) children, all the people who work there and all the horses who serve are probably some of the nicest of either sort you'll meet. Some of them are experienced with horses, others with the disabled, and some are just looking to help because we believe in this cause. Bob told me today that he can remember a four-year-old he used to help get up on her big horse, and she's now 28. It's a great little community, even with our poor facilities and limited resources.

Today was my fourth week volunteering at FTEA. My first week was spent cleaning tack (that's the horse's bridle and reins. Yup, I sure know my lingo!), so this was my third week with the horses. Unlike most volunteers who've gone to horse school or rode as a kid or got that pony for their 5th birthday, I'm not the best with horses. My experience is limited to nose-to-butt horse rides on vacations.

And today my lack of experience was just seeping out all over the place! My first responsibility was to get Cherry out of the field and groom and tack her. Bob helped me get Cherry out of the field, which meant he did all the work. I'm fine with that, really. By the way, the fields today were DISGUSTING! The mud was about two feet deep where you can sink in, and Cherry was just loving it. She was filthy!

Grooming her wasn't a problem...except for the whole absolutely filthy thing making it a million times longer process than usual. See her lovely coat sheen here? Nyeah...you could hardly tell she was red with all that mud. But I finished her (finally) and had to tack her. I never feel 100% confident with my saddle placements, but nobody ever fixes it so I guess I do it okay. I put on her bridle, but it didn't seem quite right so I got one of the other volunteers to check for me. Turns out it was upside-down and inside-out AND I had forgotten a piece. Sheesh!

Once Cherry was finally done up correctly, I was asked to lead Tobey to get his kicks out or whatever you say. I haven't led a horse before, so I thought that'd be pretty fun. I was just walking him around and the instructors kept wondering what was going on...there were fewer volunteers than usual and no riders at all yet. Finally, one rider showed up, so he got his horse, Peppy, and I kept leading Tobey around the track. Carrie was leading her horse, but after a bit put him away. I didn't wanna be the weirdo with the horse and no rider for an hour, so Carrie helped me put Tobey away, too.

Usually, putting the horses in their stalls is a piece of cake, and Tobey's a pretty good guy. But for whatever reason, after we put him in his stall and removed his lead-line, he tried to bolt. AND he ran smack into Peppy and his rider! Luckily, Carrie and I were right there to grab the reins. I'm not sure if I can completely blame that on me because Carrie was there, and she's sharp...she would have mentioned if I'd done something wrong. But still! There was ONE rider today, and the ONE horse I'm leading decides to be a jerk and bolt when the rider's right there? Yeah, that doesn't look to good on anybody.

Once Tobey was calmed and put away, Carrie told me to pick which horse from the next lesson to get next to groom and tack from the field. I picked Chief because he's a very distinctive looking fellow and I knew I couldn't fulfill my horrible fear of bringing in the wrong horse. I betcha I'm gonna do that someday. Won't THAT be fun.

(Chief doesn't have a picture on the FTEA website, which is a shame, because he's beautiful. He's basically your cliched horse for the Native Americans to ride on in those silly movies...hence the name.)

He's also quite the gentleman, and when I came up to get him, he was perfectly happy to stand there. I was fiddling and messing with his working halter (quick bit of lingo again! The working halter is what you put on the horse to get it from the field to the stall for grooming. After the horse is ready to go, the working halter is replaced with the halter and bridle, which are two separate pieces.) for a very long time and it wasn't working at allll. Now, if Bob had let me put the halter on Cherry earlier, I could have learned how to do it right. Since that wasn't the case, I figured I'd go get another one in a bigger size and ask someone to quickly remind me how to put it on, so I left Chief to leave the field.

Like I said, Chief is a gentleman. He knows his way around the process, and he started following me without his lead-line on...it was actually pretty funny. I was telling him to back up so I could leave, when Carrie saw me having troubles. She sent Lily to help. Lily told me the size was indeed a little wrong...it was too big. I had been trying to put the halter on UPSIDE-DOWN againnn. I didn't tell Lily that, by the way. In my defense, there's a thingy on the working halter that looks an awful lot like a different thingy on the bridle. So I 'd been putting the thingy on the working halter behind the ears, where it goes on the bridle, when it actually should have been under his face. Way to go, self.

I was grooming Chief in his stall, which was going lovely until I got to the hooves. Guys, cleaning a horses' hooves is probably the worst part of the entire process ever. The physical strain is horrible, the horses don't exactly like it, they've been walking around in mud, muck, and who knows what else, and they never like to hold their hoof steady in your hand. Often, they don't lift it up at all. Chief did NOT want his back hooves cleaned. I was squatting there, looking like the idiot I'd been all day, when these chickies came in to tack him. Which they did. Really fast. Then they led him out! And I hadn't even done his back hooves!

But it was time for the 11:00 lesson, and it's not like dirty hooves were gonna kill him, so I went to get my next task. Since I wasn't doing anything that lesson, Carrie let me pick the next horse for the next lesson to get out. By this time, with all the blunders I'd been making, I was a little surprised they weren't just being all "go sit in a corner and stop ruining our horses". I decided to take out Marshmallow because he's a big, white horse and there was no way I was going to take the wrong horse out. Marshie is BIG, and so it was a bit harder to get his working halter on at first, but I got it on and we tromped through the mud to his stall. He was up to his knees in mud (not to mention in quite a few places all over his body) and I was trying my best not to match him.

Grooming him took awhile because he had spots of really dried-on mud, but it wasn't bad. He stood patiently, eating his salt-lick and occasionally whipping his tail. Probably the most patient horse I'd worked with that day.

I got down to his hoofs and he was absolutely agreeable. Picked up his feet right when I first "asked", and they were ridiculously easy to clean, considering all the mud he was standing in. While I was cleaning his hoofs, Dee and Carrie mentioned what a good mood Marshie was in. I hadn't met Dee before today, because she really just helps every once in awhile. She really knows her stuff, though, and has been helping out at FTEA for awhile. She comes for "spa days", when she cleans the horses' faces with a warm, wet rag. They love it!

I was on his third hoof when Dee came by again. She said that since Marshie was in such a good mood today (I had no idea what she was talking about, besides the fact that he was patient. But most of these horses are angels anyway.) she wanted to wash his face. I let her in and she told me how Marshmallow is usually such a pain, and sometimes he doesn't even like his spa day. She was sure that since he was being so nice to me, he'd let her clean his face. He didn't.

She left to go work with some other horses, and I finished up with Marshie. Dee further explained how Marshie is usually a real jerk and likes to tease his timid workers. He snaps, stomps, and sometimes even makes to kick and he's very difficult to work with. She told me I must be "really experienced with horses" and "a very confident worker" for him to like me so much. Neither of which are exactly phrases I'd apply to myself in this or any millennium....but what a compliment!

Dee had me help her with cleaning out some stalls real fast before I went to help Carrie finish up grooming Flower, the pony. Then when the 11:00 was over, I was in charge of bringing Marshie in to get tacked. Dee told me a bit more that Marshie really did like me, and that she could tell I was very good with horses. Crazy lady. ;) After a bit, everyone had left to start lunch (which I don't stay for), and I was almost done with Marshmallow's tacking. By the way, I did that PERFECTLY for the first time.

I felt pretty good, considering how sucky of a volunteer I'd been all day. The toughest horse in the lot liked me! I can't put a bridle on Cherry or clean Chief's feet, but Marshmallow lets me do all that perfectly!

Even on a week that I didn't get to work with any students and especially on a week when I was feeling so inept, I've come out of this activity feeling elated. It's tiring work (at least I didn't fall asleep in the shower this week!) and always very dirty, and it's never quite what I expect. But I'm learning new things about people, horses, and myself every week. Today, I learned that I never suck quite as much as I think. That I apparently have confidence in my skills with this work, and I need to learn to find that confidence and use it. Marshie can see it, and he didn't think I was gonna mess up. And you know what? I didn't.

Maybe for the majority of the group, Marshie isn't the angel horse. But for me, he was the angel I needed. That big, old, grumpy horse was exactly what I needed to remember I'm just new, and I've got lots to learn- but I can do it. One week at a time.

"White Horse" can be found by Taylor Swift