BOO!

Happy Halloween!

(And no, this isn't our pumpkin. I just thought it was cute. I found the picture here. But I will put up a picture of ours soon. They are pretty cute, too.)

150 Things

The object of this list is to highlight the things that you have done.

Feel free to borrow this and complete it on your blog.

Got this from Laney.


01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing--but only on a traversing wall
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke-horribly I might add
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert"
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge--no, but I drove over it
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Humorous writing

Emily wrote this for her Literature class. A word of explanation: They had studied Benjamin Franklin, who often wrote under pseudonyms. Their assignment was to create a pseudonym of their own and write a letter to the editor.


Character Description

Fiona Fretter: Fiona worries about everything (as you can probably tell). Every little thing bothers her and in her book, everything matters, no matter how minute. She is also accusatory toward the people that she believes are behind the problem.



To my kind Editor,

I have several matters of deep and precise concern to present to you. Some of the important issues of this community are being ignored and overlooked. Our mayor and city council members do not take these problems seriously and their lack of attentiveness contributes to the serious nature of these matters. So, I am forced to take action and present these devastating and otherwise depressing concerns to you.

For instance, someone with a sharp pencil could turn around and poke your eye out. Then we would have a bunch of blind people running around and bumping into each other! Another concern is that road construction workers could get run over with a bulldozer because they didn’t look both ways. I feel that flattened construction workers would not look very appealing to visitors to our fair city.

Leaves are a big, messy problem, as well. People could hide in big piles of leaves and jump out and mug you. Hair brushes can be used as weapons. Someone could knock you over the head with one and kidnap you.

All of these potential hazards need to be addressed. Therefore, the police force needs to be drastically increased. We need more officers on the force for traffic and to deter criminal activity.

Signed,
Fiona Fretter

Haiku by Anna, written for her poetry class. These were topics that she chose on her own. My favorite is Redwoods.


Sharks

Lurking to find food
Sharks swimming fast and rapid
Its teeth piercing sharp





Redwoods

Trees that reach the sky
Branches reaching for heaven
Beautiful tall trees






Wind

Moving through the trees
The wind blowing in my face
Goes every way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Emily is taking a class in Early American Literature. Her assignment last week was to write an infomercial for a product that would have been available during the time period they were studying (1700's). Here is what she wrote.

Do you dread getting into bed? Do your sheets feel like ice? Here is the solution! Introducing the newest way to go to sleep warm and toasty!

You’ve seen bed warmers before, but never like this. This extraordinary piece of work is hand-crafted of the finest copper. With its intricate designs, it also makes an exquisite decoration when not in use. Now equipped with a new, longer wooden handle, in your choice of oak or cherry.

Just simply take your hot coals from the evening meal and put them in the bed warmer. Place the bed warmer between the sheets for five to ten minutes. After the time is up, remove the bed warmer and dump the coals in the fireplace. Then, jump into your now-warm sheets.

This amazing device is usually 5 shillings. Now, we will sell it to you for just three shillings. If you order today, we’ll throw in a free brass candle snuffer. Get yours today, exclusively at a general store near you!