Good Morning Baltimore!!

Technically, it's goodbye Baltimore.  Yesterday we got back after a weekend in Maryland.  I needed to see the Andy Warhol exhibit that was at the BMA (Baltimore Museum of Art) so we took a trip this Thanksgiving break.  Andy Warhol is amazing.  It was so fascinating to see some of his final works before he passed (mysteriously after a routine gall bladder procedure).  He was such an interesting artist and I wonder what was going through his mind as he chose to do the different things that he did.  He did a lot of screen-printing, by he also used paints, among other things.  I think that it is so interesting that he applied paint with a mop.  A mop!!  Who would think to do something like that (someone with creativity)?

We didn't just go to the BMA for two days.  We also attended the science museum.  They had a special exhibit on collecting treasure and life aboard a ship.  There were pirates and famous sinkings.  Their feature was the SS Republic and how the machine, named Zeus, was able to retrieve different artifacts.  If you wanted to, you could try to retrieve coins with a little mechanical arm that was able to lift them up using a little suction cup at the end.  One could also experience the winds of a hurricane.  You step into a large tube and the wind picks up.  It went up to 78.7 miles per hour.

The final museum that we attended was the I Spy museum.  This where we looked at how the creator [insert name here] created his brilliant I spy scenes and photographs.  Some of the scenes were even in the exhibit.  It was fascinating.

Behind the wheel...

Well, not yet.  But I am allowed to be now, as long as I have an adult in the car and its between any daylight hour.  I got my permit today!!!  Talk about a nerve-racking experience.  I wasn't too nervous walking in, but after we checked in and received our number, I started to freak.  I was sitting there, absorbing every last piece of information I could from my manual before it was my turn.  Every time the little robotic voice would come over the loud speaker and say "now serving number..." I felt my heart thud against my rib cage.  My little sister would say, "its not you," and my mom would tell me to calm down.  Eventually though, it was me.  I took an extremely easy vision test and my photograph was taken.  They then told be to go down to computer 4 and it was time.  37 days 17 hours and 46 minutes after I was eligible for my permit, I got it.  My mom let me drive the car in the neighborhood.  I did alright (I hope).  After I got home, my father had fun entertaining me with stories about children crashing and totaling their parents' car.  Something new to worry about...

A very merry unbirthday...

It's Halloween!! 

Last year, everyone in my family dressed up like the characters from Ramalama Bang Bang, the dance from So You Think You Can Dance, by Wade Robson (the best choreographer ever).  We looked amazing, if I do say so myself, all decked out in our layers of lace and ruffles.

 

This year, we needed to live up to expectations.  The chosen theme this year: Alice in Wonderland.  My father was Tweedle-Dumb, my little sister

was the White Rabbit, my mother was the Mad Hatter, and I was Alice.  Instead of tomb stone in the front yard, we had our verry own tea table; situated with tea cups and plates and tea pots and and little goodies.  We had birds and skulls and burning candles. 

We even had our very own chicken cat.

A'maize'ing Corn Festival

Happy Birthday Henrico!!  October 14, 2010, Henrico kicked off its 400 year anniversary.  Of course, when we got there, the awesome Henrico High School marching band was in full swing.  There were several activities to do and things to see, as would have been done in the 1860's.  There was shoe making, corn husk dolls, natural dying, thread spinning, and candle dipping :).  There were also performers, Native American dances and talks about medicine and tobacco, Virginia's crash crop.  One of my favorite things was the candle dipping You got a piece of string attacked to a stick and you had to dip it in wax one layer at a time.  You would dip it in, walk around and dip it again, and agin, and agin.  I dipped in 30 times (I counted).  The candles actually look pretty cool.

My Homecoming Gown

Last week was my schools homecoming dance.  I went to my friend Aditi's house to get ready at around 4:00.  We did hair and makeup, got dressed and, of course, took pictures.  Once we were all ready, we went to another one of my friend Emily's house where we took more pictures and ate dinner: baked ziti, and salad.  For dessert we had a devil cake, which would haunt me for hours to come.  At 7:45, we were off.  We got to the dance shortly after it started.  Everyone looked so sharp.  I love seeing everybody all dressed up and out of the regular drab of the regular school day.  Slowly people started trickling in.  I started having a funny feeling.  I was checking my blood sugars every so often, which diagnosed the funny feeling.  I was high.  My blood sugars were in the 500s.  If I had been at home, I would have just corrected and checked again later, so that's what I did.  I checked three more times (all of which were in the same ballpark) before my meter stopped registering.  I was above 600.  My meter doesn't go above 600, it simply says HIGH.  I called my mom, who said to call the paramedics.  I probably gave poor Aditi a heart attack.  Sorry Dee!! From there, things happened fast.  A paramedic came in and started asking me my personal stuff.  Then there was a long discussion about which hospital to go to.  This one was closer, but that one has 24 hour pediatricians.  We ended up going to Saint Mary's, my regular hospital.  The one with 24 hour pediatrician services.  Before I knew it, we were in the ambulance and I was getting IV stabbed into my arm.  And then we were at the hospital.  I have to say, riding in the gurney was a lot of fun.  Then I was in a hospital room and nurses were coming and going, checking my vitals and blood sugar and other things I really didn't have the concentration to keep track of.  Three hours and 1000 mL of fluids later, we were on the drive home.  The problem ended up being a bent cannula so the insulin I put in for the cake didn't end up going through.  Devil cake.

School

Started school this week.  Yesterday actually.  This was the beginning of my final year of the MYP (Middle Years Program).  After today, I've met almost all my teachers.  I change electives second semester (from art to drama) and I have yet to meet that teacher.  The teahcers I have met are great.  I have a couple of sarcastic teachers, which I love.  It keeps the class interesting.  I already knew five out of my seven teachers.  One of them was my homeroom teacher last year.  Another was the sponser of a club I was apart of.  Two of my teachers I had last year.  My gym teacher taught our gym class half the time last year in a sort of joined class. 

It is kind of strange going to the different classes.  I like my schedule from last year and I keep feeling like I should be going to those classes.  I keep thinking I'm going to the wrong place when I attend my new classes, but I'll eventually adjust (I hope!!). 

  

Carter Mountain

We all went to Carter Mountain yesterday.  We were mainly hoping for peaches, but we figured that we could see which apples were ripe. 

We usually don't go so early in the season.  We like to go in October when the Fuji apples are ripe.  Fuji apples are my favorite and they taste REALLY good as applesauce.  Last year we went to the mountain twice and each time we brought home three and four bags full of apples.

Soon after we got there, we heard the the peach crop wasn't promising, so we ended up purchasing peaches at the market instead of actually picking them.  We did, however, pick a few Gala apples.  We managed to find about five good ones.  All of the apples we picked look fantastic on the bottom, but the tops and insides were all rotted in. 

Best part of this trip were the apple cider donuts.  They are heavenly.  We bought half a dozen.  They're almost gone now.

I am so looking forward to the next trip up the mountain in October!!

Just For Fun

I've created this blog just for fun.  I want to post anything and everything here.  My posts will include art projects, school life, fashion, day trips, interesting facts and so much more.  This is not my first blog, but I want to remain more faithful to this blog than the past one.
I often blog hop for inspiration and different ideas.  Now that I have my own blog, I hope to be one that is sought after by others for inspiration and ideas.