Whew!

Where has today gone? I studied. And I mean studied. I studied the phylum in kingdom Monera--Gracilicutes, Tenericutes, Firmicutes, and one that starts with M. Like, Misilicutes or something like that. Although I do know the class of Tenericutes--Mollicutes! And...

Okay. You guys probably don't want to know all about classifying bacteria. But hey! I have to memorize this for tomorrow's tests, not to mention about two zillion definitions and the five essential things bacteria need to survive. And that's just biology.

1. Biology
2. Algebra
3. History
4. Literature
5. Writing
6. Elements of Style
7. Spanish
8. Voice
9. Piano
10. Irish Tin Whistle
11. Classical Vocabulary
12. Latin
13. Speech
14. Logic
15. Government
16. Church
    

Yep. Sixteen. 10+6. Ten and six. 16.

But am I complaining? Uh...no.

I'm actually very grateful for such a...well...a thorough education. I'm very happy that my parents can teach me in this country without getting arrested. I'm happy that I have the mental capacity to memorize all my biology stuff.

We should really be grateful for--

Excuse me. I just had to go rescue four of my family members. Galdor locked them all in his room. I don't know...maybe they should have stayed there...=) jk

We should really be grateful for our education, public and home schoolers alike. Think of what a blessing it is.

Yeah, I'm saying that while I look forward with dread to Government. Hey. I never said I was going to run for president. =)

Oh, and guess what! I'm so thrilled! I'm up to chapter 4 in October's Knight! I'M SO HAPPY!! I haven't run across much writer's block, and yeah my wrists are really killing me and I need to take an ibuprofen and we're getting the remains of a hurricane here and I still have history reading to do and it's almost time for bed and I'm accompanying ballet next week...but I'm fine.

Really, I'm fine. Just a bit...

HYPER!!!! O.O

I've been wanting to do that all day. =)

I've reached a decision!

Remember that post where I asked a question (and got fourteen comments that totally made my month!)? Well, I've reached a decision.

One of my friends requested that the story with Autumn, October, and Harvest be written by her birthday. In October (as in the month).

So I'm not writing it in thirty days in November! I'm writing it in about ten in October!

The title is: October's Knight. Kind of a play on words, huh? (don't you dare say it's a pun!)

Also, I'm actually beginning to question if I should do NaNoWriMo this year. =( I'd love to, but I'm still struggling with managing my time with my load of chores and schoolwork. If I don't get things running more smoothly by October 20, I guess I won't do it this year. =/

One more thing: lately, I've been really tired and discouraged. My carpal tunnel syndrome is acting up a lot, especially in my right arm. I find it really easy to just give in and snap at my family and start scraping by on schoolwork. I got a C on my last algebra quiz, a B on my biology quiz, and I just found out that I've completely forgotten about three assignments. Then I've started getting comments galore on my blog! Thank you so much, girls (and guys!) Even though I'm really bad at replying to them, I read them ALL and I'm SOOOO grateful for them! They really make my day...or month...or year...or century...=)

Take It If You Dare

Perhaps I'll lose followers (sad, because I was hoping to get to 80 soon), or perhaps I'll gain some because people like that I stand up for my beliefs. Just to clarify: God does not hate homosexuals...but He sure does hate homosexuality! My uncle is homosexual, and I know that if God wants, He will turn him toward Him. Homosexuality is a sin. God says He hates it. He also says He hates liars and people who take bribes. The point is, we all need Christ. We all are sinners. And homosexuality is one sin that is actually upheld as 'cool' and 'unique' and 'an alternate lifestyle' in our culture.

Take it if you dare.

Piano Highlights

...when Galdor accompanies me. Ever played Bach with a 2 year old?

...when Luthien dances to a Sonatina that I'm playing.

...when Erestor grabs his guitar and we whip out a jazz/rock version of Handel.

...when I finally 'get' the phrasing technique.

...when I made up my first really cool song.

...when I played 'Caro Mio Ben' and it actually sounded good.

...when I played Sonatina for a ballerina.

...when I work on a duet with one of my piano students.

...when I think about how awesome music is.

Ever had moments like these?

Tagged by Elrania!

When can you remember laughing the hardest?
Well, there was one particular time with igirl...=)

What is one thing you're exited about for tomorrow?
I get to see my friends.

How many posters are in your bedroom?
None

What is one place you'd rather be right now?
At the beach... during a storm...at night. It's the best.

What can you smell right now?
Burnt pizza.

Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?
A friend. =)

What is the corniest movie you've ever seen?
Uh...I don't know.

If you could choose one food to live off the rest of your life, never mind nutrition, what would it be?
Hush puppies, pickles, and donuts. Deep fry, baby! =)

Where are you going next?
Into the kitchen.

I tag:

Anyone who loves studying history!

Outlining Characters

It's very simple. All you have to do is think up what exactly you'll need to know about your character, and then you write it down. It comes in handy, especially if you have a hard time remembering the eye color of your character (like I do). You can keep it in front of you when you write, so when you have to look something up about your character you don't have to go skimming all the way back through your work.

Some things to get into an outline: general information, like their full name, age, etc; appearance, as in height, build, eye color, hair color; personality, such as faults, weaknesses, good qualities, strengths, reactions, so on.

An outline can be anything from basic to extensive. On this post, I'll post a template for a more basic outline. To show you what you might fill in, I'll make up a random character.

GENERAL
name: Susanna Smith
age: 17
book they appear in: Candle in a Dark Time

APPEARANCE
height: 5'7"
build: tall, slim, long, delicate
posture: arrow straight
hair color: light blond
eye color: dark brown

PERSONALITY
faults and weaknesses: timidity, insecurity
good qualities and strengths: gentleness, humbleness, trustworthy
one word sum-up: quiet
reactions to loss: quiet turmoil
reactions to emergencies: panic, fear
reactions to surprise: edginess
reactions to a love confession: shock, joy
reactions to embarrassment: humiliation, shyness

MISCELLANEOUS
family: father and brother Herbert (20) in WWII, mother and Susanna in city, youngest sister Bridgett (age 11) in the country
Living in: London, England
occupation: student
famous connection: uncle and cousins in Underground
notes: secretly begins to work in the Underground, with mother's permission runs away to Norway to assist there.

Susanna Smith is (c) by me, by the way. I'm planning to write a book about her sometime. However, feel free to use my outline as an example! Here it is, not filled out, so that you don't have to copy and delete the stuff I put in the first one:


GENERAL
name:
age:
book they appear in:

APPEARANCE
height:
build:
posture:
hair color:
eye color:

PERSONALITY
faults and weaknesses:
good qualities and strengths:
one word sum-up:
reactions to loss:
reactions to emergencies:
reactions to surprise:
reactions to a love confession:
reactions to embarrassment:

MISCELLANEOUS
family:
Living in:
occupation:
famous connection:
notes:

Also, for every character an outline can have different information. While Susanna Smith doesn't have a sword (she has a gun sometime in the book), for another character you might want to have information on the sword name, appearance, type, etc.

Have fun outlining your characters! For me, it's a cool activity in which I actually think about how I want to portray my character. It's a good way to figure out where you're going with your character, how you want others to see him/her, and so on. It's like having a chat with them. =)

I Wish I Could Find My Head

I left it on the counter before I did my biology, and now I can't find it! I think someone moved it somewhere else. It's a weird feeling, not having a head. It's hard to see, for one thing. And I need to find it sometime soon because I'm going to soccer soon and I need my head to head the ball. Right?

Okay, you guys probably think my head really isn't detachable, right?

Well, if you think that, you're right. But I feel like it is sometimes.

I kind of wish I had a robot who did all my schoolwork for me and then just transferred all the information into my head.

I'm being really silly, I know. But after all that schoolwork I really need to do something fun.