Written in the Stars

I realize it's been almost a week since last I posted, and for this I apologize. Life has been one crazy tango lately (and not having an Internet connection didn't help).
So. Major points of awesomeness from the past week:

*This song:

(Don't ask me why. But I love it.)

*Camping with my Redheaded could-be sister and having adventures trying to get a small red ball out of a tree... with the help of friendly neighboring trailer park-goers.
*My growing team :)
*Psych
*Tantrum-inducing conversations
*Long conversations with people I haven't really talked to in a long time
*New BLING!
*Taking care of tons of stressful things and therefore not being stressed anymore!
*Unexpected yet pleasant surprises :)
*Carrot cake and skipping
*Junk food, junk food and more junk food.

*Seeing the stars... REALLY seeing the stars :)

*Pictures pictures pictures!!!

INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT:
Be careful what you wish for, cause you'll probably get it, and in threefold. Or more.
But if you do get it, enjoy it. :)

Prospects

You know what I love? <3 Having something to look forward to.
MY LIST OF THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO:
1. Pictures on Tuesday
2. Camping with another Redhead this weekend
3. Group date
4. Summer
5. (Hopefully) getting a job, and therefore having money
6. The Grand Canyon
7. My sister moving in a block away :D
8. Everything else good in life

What's on your list?

It's the End of the World As We Know It

May 21, 2011. Didn't someone say the world was supposed to end today? *Cue end of the world...*
(End of the world, you're late!)
Oh well. We've still got lots to live for! Like summertime. Camping. Friends and fun! Senior year (for me). College. LIFE.
You know what I love? Long walks/talks with your best friend on a warm night. :) Exercise! Also really cute guys. (What can I say? I'm a girl!) BIG BAGS OF CLOTHES. And s'mores. And stalking said cute guys on Facebook. Not that I actually do that or anything, right...? *cough.*

I already basically listed the good things of today, so I'll jump straight to our
INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT:
Most of the shadows in this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Longest Day

I have a fun game. It's called IMAGINE WITH ME. Wanna play? Okay. Here's how it works: I'll give you a scenario and you imagine what it would be like to be in it. Ready? Okay.
IMAGINE WITH ME that you have to wake up early this morning. (With me so far? Moving on.) You wake up early and you eat a good, healthy breakfast before heading out. (Healthy=a donut and some scrambled eggs.) Guess what you get to do today? YOU, lucky ducky, get to take an AP English Literature & Composition test at 7:30 in the a.m. THEN, when that ends at 11:30, you get to run up five flights of stairs to take an IB German test at noon. When that gets out 20 minutes after school did, you get to run down said five flights of stairs, down the street to school, and into Dance Company auditions five minutes after it's started. YAY! Two hours later, you finally get to go home and relax. :) SOUND LIKE A FUN DAY?
...I didn't think so. I totally rocked at the musical theater portion of dance auditions though! Zero to Hero, baby. Just like that. *snap*
I'm actually just really proud of myself for surviving today. The best part is that now I never have to worry about German ever again! Kind of. I have to pass the class and everything, but the real point of the class is taking the test, and it's OVER! Don't get me wrong, I love the German language. Just not that class.
So. Good parts of today:
*TESTS OVER
*awesome audition
*family movie time
*sister singing/bonding time
*tic tacs, pen clicks, coughing (answers)
*DID I MENTION THAT THE TESTS ARE OVER?
*donuts

So I guess the world is supposed to end tomorrow, so... I'll see y'all later?

INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT:
A world that can produce the Taj Mahal, William Shakespeare, and striped toothpaste can't be all bad.
-One, Two, Three

Optimismus (aka optimism)

Dear Blog Readers,
I changed the name of my blog. Just in case you didn't notice.

The inspiration I wanted when I was originally naming my blog FINALLY came to me, so there you have it:
Optimismus (German; optimism)
Yes. I do speak German. Kind of. I should be fluent by now, but I'm really not.

I figured since all my posts are about being all happy and stuff, this was a pretty good title. Plus, it sounds impressive since it's a different language. I hope. For now, the address will remain the same to avoid confusion. Yay!

STORY TIME
Once upon a time, there was a magical place where it never rained.
The End

(Holes. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?)
It rained a lot today!!! And it was cold. And slightly depressing. But OPTIMISMUS, right? So... at least there will be flowers and rainbows and not-droughts for a while :)

Speaking of rain... (I know I post a lot of videos, but... I promise this one is worth it)

Funniest music video EVER. Especially since I think it's supposed to be serious.

Good things about today:
*Homework done on time!
*Finally figured out how to change the font color on the blog title (don't judge, I was excited)
*White Rabbit candy
*Site-specific choreography (refleeeeeeections!)
*Oatmeal cookies (tastes like Grandpa L.'s house)
*Lemonade

INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT:
You are awesome!

Give Everybody Nice Sweaters

Happy Song of the Day: You and I (Ingrid Michaelson)

(I can totally play this on the ukulele, just BY the way.)

Don't you just love those days where it's pouring rain and about 12 degrees outside? In late May? Yeah? Me too. So much for straightening my hair.

Ingrid Michaelson, if you hadn't already noticed, is keeping me going right now. She is definitely at the top of my "I LOVE YOU SO MUCH" list currently. Also on that list are zebra-striped Snuggies, muddy buddies (Chex cereal covered in chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar), good books, and new dresses. Also my gladiator sandals, which I can wear now without freezing! ...Except not when it rains and is cold, like today. Oh well.

Good things of today:
*unexpected nap
*BBQ chicken
*a game plan for life
*sunburn going away!

INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT:
When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile.

The Silver Lining

It's definitely been one of those days. You know, those days where you run into people and stuff even more than usual, you can't seem to wake yourself up, and even the easiest tasks seem to take FOREVER. Call it stress, sleep deprivation, or a combination thereof. Whatever it is, it is no fun.
I guess I've accidentally decided to dedicate this blog to seeing the silver lining in everything... Hmm. Maybe I'll consider a name change. Thoughts? Anyway, I suppose now is the time where I should list off the good things that happened today and say something inspirational to brighten the day of whoever actually reads this blog. So.
GOOD THINGS ABOUT TODAY:
* New dress :) At least I felt pretty to some extent while feeling crummy.
* Long, heartfelt conversations (long overdue)
* House to myself for a bit to play the piano as badly as I wanted to and not bother anyone
* One, Two, Three. Wonderful movie.
* Finishing the Hunger Games series
* Ramen

INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT:
Life may bring you lots of rain, but rain will make the flowers grow.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

You may have noticed the new look I've got going here. (That is, of course, in reference to the new background of le lucky ducky.) Yes, it did take me forever to compile the photos to create the new backdrop, but yes it was worth it.
Why, you might ask, is there a large picture of Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz filling up the upper corner? Well, I'll tell you.

STORY TIME
Once upon a time, I was an adorable little child (what happened?) who spent most days at my grandparents' house while my family was off doing exciting things. It was around the time I could breathe that I guess I decided it would be a good idea to watch "The Wizard of Oz" at least once every day. (This, of course, resulted in a great fear of any wind, from a breezy breeze to a gusty gust.) So I've definitely seen that movie at least 3,000 times and I love it as much today as I did then (although now I can handle windy days without crying).

*side note: I use parentheses a lot. Sorry.

Anyway, it's pretty much my favorite movie and I love the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." It reminds me that even though it might be pouring rain right now, that sometime the rainbow will appear and just over the rainbow are good things waiting to happen.
So now matter how bad life may seem now, just hang on, stay strong, and before you know it...
"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore!"

Saved for a Rainy Day

Okay, so it isn't actually raining right now. But it was before. So today is officially a rainy day. What better occasion to take a leaf out of a gnome's book and name a few of my favorite things?

Some things I am thankful for today:

*Thrift stores. I went into one today with a $20 bill and came out with two dresses, a belt, and $7 left over. And, might I add, the dresses are Adorable. With a capital A.

*Ingrid Michaelson, and finding new songs of hers on my iTunes that I didn't know I had. Favorite song of the day: Everybody

*Disney movies

*Good friends who buy me Mexican food when I have a crummy day.

*Sisters and the giggles they induce

*Memories

*Ace bandages

*The hope of maybe, just MAYBE getting a job.

*Shimmery eye shadow

*Accomplishing a goal

*Lotion with aloe vera for a pair of badly sunburned legs (and what will one day be an awesome tan line due to the aforementioned Ace bandage)

*The smell of rain and freshly cut grass

*Pictures

and, last but not least...
*Bedtime

It's good to know that even when life sucks, there's still so much to be thankful for.

Post from Last Night

I was very very VERY angered last night when I went to write my nightly post and Blogger informed me that I couldn't, so sorry. GRR. So I decided to be smart for once and write down what I wanted to say so I could remember tonight :) Hooray! So here is last night's post:

Passion
I believe that everyone has a passion. Some people like to write out their passions. Some sing them. Some compose them into beautiful melodies and harmonies that, when presented correctly, can become the passion of another. Every passion has a language. My language is dance.
Now, I really don't want to sound like one of those stereotypical drill-team girls whose every Facebook status is about dance blah blah blah. I think of dance not as a showy sport, but as an art form and a language. Through dance, I can express myself in ways words never could.
I've honestly never had a professional dance lesson. The only sort of training I have ever had is my high school dance class, but I guess I was dancing before I could even really walk because it just feels so natural. I've been told I'm graceful... which is funny, because I'm usually the clumsiest person I know. :)
There is something about getting a compliment on your passion that makes you light up and feel like a million bucks. I don't know, but I feel like someone can compliment my hair and not really mean it, but when they compliment my dancing... it's always sincere.
So I guess the moral of this story is to find your passion and... do something inspirational with it. I have no idea. Good luck.

BRILLIANCE is My Middle Name

Actually, I have no middle name. My bes' frien' can tell you that, after spending a good 10 minutes guessing at least one name for every letter of the alphabet.
"UGH. Will you at least tell me the first letter??"
"Nope."
"Why not?!"
"I can't!"
"WHY???"
"Because I have no middle name!"
"..."

I felt a bit bad afterwards, because he was sick and slightly loopy... but it was really funny. :)

STORY TIME
Once upon a time, I fell asleep like I usually do, under a large pile of blankets with my favorite stuffed monkey, George, and my Birthday Cow right by my head. Then I woke up in the middle of the night holding and hugging my cow like a four-year-old and it made me really happy and then I fell asleep again and then I had a great day. :)
THE END

Must...Keep...Reading...

Reading these days is going downhill. It seems that no one reads for fun anymore, and when they do it's only because Edward is soooooo dreamy or Harry just HAS to find that wand. (Wait, this part wasn't in the movie!) My point being, too many people only read what's popular, and only because it IS popular. (Who's Mark Twain again? He's the biology teacher in Twilight, right?) The fact that there is a whole section dedicated to "Teen Paranormal Romance" in Barnes & Noble makes me want to gag and cry simultaneously.
Well, I heard about this new series of books called the Hunger Games. Everyone was ecstatic when the final book in the trilogy came out over the summer and I decided then that I would never read these books. My mind was made up when my sister gave me a short 45-minute summary of the plot and I wanted to go cry in a corner because it sounded so depressing.
Lo and behold, a few months later GUESS what book shows up on a list for an IB-related class? Yup. The Hunger Games. Of course, this happens at the same time the books show up at our house. Le sigh. Now I have to read them.
OH MY GOODNESS. They're actually really... really... really good. As in, I started the first one Sunday afternoon and practically had to hide it from myself to get any sleep that night, then first thing in my first class on Monday, it was out. Needless to say, the minute I got home the second one came out and has barely been put down since. Now my sister needs to finish the last one so I don't have to wait for it tomorrow.
I definitely recommend them to anyone and everyone. Just do me one favor. Do not turn this into another Twilight nightmare... A good book turned into a scary obsession. Please.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a book to finish. :)

Note to Self:

Dear Self,
Please remember to write a blog post today.
Sincerely,
Me.

...Well, that kinda failed.

M is for the Many Things She Gave Me...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! To all mothers out there, thank you for being awesome! :) In honor of the day, I have a poem to share with you:

M is for the many things she gave me
O is for the other things she gave me
T is for the thousands of things she gave me
H is for the hundreds of things she gave me
E is for everything she gave me
R is for the rest of the things she gave me.

Put it all together and it spells "MOTHER"
...a word that means a lot of things to me.

Just Cause

So it's very late and I'm tired, but I can't miss another day (even though technically it is Sunday by now and I have missed Saturday), so I'll just say that Anti-Prom/Prom was awesome fun and you should all be jealous that I had more fun than you.
:)
That is all.

I am ashamed. :/

I feel terrible. I missed posting yesterday. Not that anyone probably noticed, but my goal was to post every day, even if it was something short and pointless.
Bruddah has just commanded me to stop whatever I'm doing and BLOG. Beat ya to it, Brud. :)
So, to make up for my lack of post yesterday, I'll make today's post extra long and extra exciting.
...probably not actually. But still. It is in spirit.
IN OTHER NEWS, tomorrow is prom. *Yay!* Originally, Bruddah and I had the ingenious plan to not actually go to prom, but to party it up at an amusement park all day. Kind of an anti-prom thing. Of course, we ended up changing our minds halfway (because of special circumstances that arose abruptly), so now we get to party it up at said amusement park for HALF of the day, then go to prom afterwards. So go to our anti-prom... and then to prom. Go figure. Should be fun though!
IN OTHER OTHER NEWS, I done did take that nasty IB math test, and I didn't die! I didn't even cry. I was so proud of myself. I did try to leave my phone in the testing room... but then my brain caught up with me and made me go back and get it.
"You'll thank me for it later."
"When have I EVER thanked you later?"
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
(Correct answer: Monk.)

Well, I'm tired and grumpy so I think I'll leave it at that. I know, really exciting. 'Tis my life.

***

We NEVER Lock Our Knees, We NEVER Lock Our Hips

Hooray for choir concerts!
Have you ever noticed how most choir concerts are kind of boring if you're not the one singing? Just a thought.
So I got up to sing my bit with the wonderful choir I belong to, and before we even started SINGING (my sister is quick to point out that "it's always the sopranos!"), I started feeling like I was going to pass out. Here is a brief review of my thought process:
**Oh no! I feel funny... what if I pass out? Are my knees locked? No... Are my hips locked? No... Do I feel lightheaded? Not really... my legs are just really stiff and kinda shaky. Why is that? Should I take my heels off? No, I'll just trip over them later if I do. PERSON NEXT TO ME, STOP MOVING! You're rocking the risers! Okay, only three songs left. I can do this. Knee lock check... hip lock check... Knee lock check...**
That was what I was doing the whole time I was singing. Good thing I know all the songs well enough that I don't have to really think about them to sing them. :/ Although I was definitely the only soprano singing at one point, so of course I freaked out and stopped, but by that time all the other sopranos had realized that they were supposed to come in when I did, so I think I win points of some kind.
After the concert, my mom asked me why I didn't smile more and why I looked so stiff. Well, Mom, let me tell you...

Ke$ha was an IB Student, You Know.

Ahh, May. For some people it means spring! Summer is just around the corner, school is almost out, and flip-flops are acceptable to wear in public again. (Hooray!) But for a handful of LUCKY DUCKY students, it means... *dun dun duuuuuun* AP/IB testing.
'Scuse me while I die a little inside.
True, if you pass an AP test, it saves you a lot of money later on. Everyone loves money. Everyone also loves sleep. Or at least I do. Not that I ever get any sleep, though, because I'm always doing homework/studying for my AP/IB tests. Which is very lame, in my opinion.
I'm not exactly sure what IB does for you, but it must save a lot of money or no one would do it. Did you know that Ke$ha was a full IB student? Look where it got her! ...oh, yeah. Not really... anywhere. Hmm. Well hopefully the rest of us go farther with our IB diplomas. Assuming we all get one, which may or may not actually happen, seeing as how we all have our big standard level math test tomorrow. Ick.
Ah, well. That's all I really have to say, and I guess you're supposed to get a lot of sleep before a test or something, so...
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

We're in the 21st Century. Everything is Sideways.

Have you ever noticed how everything we do or say has an abbreviation and/or a symbol that goes with it?
For example:
I :* 'd my boyfriend because I <3 him and he makes me :).
(No, I didn't actually kiss my boyfriend. I don't have a boyfriend. :P) (<---- SEE! Another symbol!)
The next time you have a conversation with your friend via chat or text, pay attention to how many smiley faces you use. Also to how many times you say "haha," "lol," or "indeed." DO NOT OVERUSE THE WORD "INDEED." PLEASE.
In the profound words of my Bruddah, "We're in the 21st century. Everything is sideways."

Moral of the story: SMILE.
:D
:)
:]
^^
XD
:}
:P


...and here, have a waffle <( ^ ^ )>#

Je t'aime ♥

Every girl (and some guys too!) likes a good love story. Many of them are fairytales, some of them are real, and some of them just seem too good to be real. We all heard about, followed, and woke up early to watch the royal wedding this week. That falls into the category of "Real, But Like a Fairytale." Come on, she's the princess now! Which may not actually be a fairytale future, but for one day she had the fairytale every girl dreams of, complete with the crown and the real-and-true Prince Charming.
Some of my personal favorite love stories aren't real, but they're just too cute to ignore. The story of Allie and Noah from "The Notebook." Every Michael Buble song ever. "P.S. I Love You." WESTLEY AND BUTTERCUP. Shall I go on?
What makes a really good love story? Is it love at first sight? Or is it love developing from a completely different relationship? Is it happily ever after, or is it working to make your love better and stronger than any other person's love? Some of the best and truest love stories are of regular people with dedication and passion enough to enable true love. What is true love? Love that may not be bumpless, but that always comes out of the bumps smoothly.
My favorite love story (of the week) comes from Disney's recent movie, "The Princess and the Frog." No, it is not Tiana and Naveen, although theirs is a cute story as well. It is, of course, that of Raymond and Evangeline. Yes, I have definitely listened to his song to her at least 62 times today, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. This is the important part, so I'm going to put it in all caps. I BELIEVE THAT EVERY WOMAN DESERVES TO BE LOVED BY A MAN AS MUCH AS EVANGELINE IS LOVED BY RAY. That is unconditional love right there. He may or may not know that it will never work out, but HE LOVES HER ANYWAY. And then IT WORKS OUT. True love really does conquer all.
But honestly, I think every woman, in her own special way, can light up the sky. J'adore Evangeline.
Remember that, guys.