Yeah, I'm still alive

No, I haven't disappeared, I promise. It's just the mid-summer vacation doldrums, where you don't really feel like doing anything... especially after coming back from Hawaii, I'm having a harder time motivating myself to do stuff, which is quite unlike me. I've been productive this week though. I finished The Crucible, and dreadfully must now write the report this weekend to keep on my summer schedule. Something that discovered yesterday made me a little bit mire excited to go back to school. I was looking under the course descriptions for the IB classes, and for history it looks like we're going to focus on three main areas: WWII, The Cold War, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Those are like my most favorite time periods of history, no joke. But it's subject to change, so I'm hoping that it doesn't. Anyways enough about school. No one wants to talk about that.


So I'm trying to scour my house in an attempt to find my dad's old Polaroid camera. You know, the one that you take a picture with, and then it prints out the picture on a small white square of paper. You have to wait a couple minutes for the pic to fully develop, but the results are nice. I used to play with that camera all the time when I was younger, but ever since we moved I can't seem to find it. I just thought it would be really cool to use it again. Providing I could find some film for the ancient thing, I would love to take it to school and do like a documentary of a day and then post it all in a scrapbook. Ah well. I can't even find the darned thing. I'm sure it's still in a box somewhere. At least I know it's in the house.


Now my Photoshop picture of the week is going to be replaced (just for this post!) by some beautiful pics representing my summer vacation. Kylie asked us to show what we're doing this summer, so here are a few pics from my trip to Hawaii.



The Battleship Missouri, at Pearl Harbor. It's right next to the Arizona Memorial, and the ship itself is massive. This is the ship where the world leaders signed the document that ended World War II.










A gorgeous picture on the island of Oahu, near Diamondhead, overlooking the blue water. -->



A couple of sea turtles on the Black Sand Beach on the island of Hawaii. Aren't they adorable?









Pretty palm trees at the Hilton hotel on Hawaii. -->








That's just a snapshot, because I have so many more pictures that I would have loved to share. Ah well. Hope you all are enjoying your summer!

Later,
-N

Now I need something else to wrap my life around

I just got home from seeing Harry Potter. Again.

I saw it for the first time at the midnight premiere, and I must say that it was spectacular. It deserved more than 3 1/2 stars. I really liked Professor McGonagall, because Maggie Smith is my hero, and Molly Weasley was legit (not my daughter you BITCH). I have to admit that I have a huge thing for Ron Weasley, which is embarrassing but inevitable.

WE WAITED SIX HOURS TO GET INTO THE MOVIE. SO WORTH IT.

At the premiere, we got 3D glasses THAT LOOKED LIKE HARRY POTTER GLASSES.

AHHH. LIFE HAS BEEN MADE.

This week, along with seeing the latest movie twice, I have seen two previous Harry Potter movies, beat the Harry Potter Years 1-4 video game, completed the story on the Order of the Phoenix game, finished the Harry Potter series, and watched an hour long press conference with about fifteen of the members of the cast and crew.

Yeah.

I'm THAT girl.

I am also drawing an epic Harry Potter picture in my official book of drawings. Like a boss.

Okay, I gotta go play more Harry Potter video games. Maybe I'll wear my Harry Potter glasses to help me get in the mood.

Song of the Week ---> Teeth by Lady Gaga

Katie ---> out. MWAH.

I am home!

Today is Wednesday. And I am home!!! Hooray! I am currently writing a very short book and I would tell you more about it except it is a surprise for someone and therefore I cannot reveal anything. But it is a dumb and cute little book. Teeheehee. OhMyGod I JUST REMEMBERED SOMETHING. But sorry I can't tell you because it is also a surprise for someone... :( I'm being annoying I'll tell you guys all next week or the week after or the week after or something like that.
I need to bike down to the store but my dad went out and I forgot to get money and therefore I cannot go to the store because I do not have money. Bah.
New Jersey is interesting. I enjoy being with my cousins most of the time and we usually have a blast. And I miss Mo Nicky.
So a while ago we were doing that thing where we say what a person reminds of us, and I can't remember if I did that or not. But I have nothing better to do, so I will do (or redo) that now. And I'll mix it with Katie's thing she just posted about missing people (in daily order).
Cailyn - Camelbacks. Scott's. Malfoy. :) I miss English class where you never payed attention and distracted me... or when you were in history and I was in religion and you would IM me. And your high pitched noises. And your high shoes. And I miss our fun adventures and I am very excited to have another one soon :D
Kylie - Rainbows. Mona. Mac & Cheese. Dumb phones. Poetry. I really miss dissecting poetry. That was kind of wonderful. And I miss being very unproductive chem buddies :) And I'm really excited to go to the island.
Punky - Whales. Whales, whales, whales. I MISS THE WHALES. And that religion class. So. Much. And your random comments and faces in class, they crack me up all the time.
Nathalia - Evil cat stroking. Late night giggle fits. RFL. I miss those giggle fits and our RFL meetings (which we never got anything done if you weren't there hahaha).
Katie - RFL. Soccer. Baking. HARRY POTTER. Deep stuff. I miss talking about whatever we feel like NAMELY HARRY POTTER BECAUSE IT IS THE COOLEST. And I miss all your AVPM references. Like a lot. And just hanging out because it is always awesome. And I miss having classes with you, because I NEVER DO so that should change.

Alright, that's all folks.
Oh, here's a joke Nicky really enjoys.
*knock knock*
Who's there?
*I DUNNO*

Wow, good one right? He said that one way to much. But that's okay.

Anyway,
Ciao.
Ellen :)

The Title is Unimportant

I am bored. The only friends I have seen this whole summer are the ones I see constantly because everyone else is out of contact or out of town. I MISS YOU GUYS.

Cailyn ---> I miss your therapy sessions and your spontaneity and your ability to ALWAYS make me laugh.

Kylie ---> I miss how we can have fun doing ANYTHING (even convincing children that we are ancient Romans).

Ellen ---> I miss playing sports with you and talking about art with you and Harry Potter shenanigans with you (5 more days ohjesushfdkjsahfa).

Catherine ---> I miss being alphabetical with you and how you can randomly go from the calmest girl I know to the craziest girl I know.

Nathalia ---> I miss copying your history notes (you're my Hermione) and having lengthy discussions in ceramics class with you.

All in all, this summer is proving to be fairly average. I got burned like hell on 4th of July (who doesn't). I've been at home with Megan, sometimes a friend drives over, sometimes I go to a friend's house, but that's about it. On the bright side, I have soccer three times a week, so I can sit on my ass all day and still manage to feel fit and productive. Awesome.

As always, I realize that, yeah, I miss school. I miss having to think. I freaking love math class and I actually miss the math part of math. (I especially miss our class though, because I loved the people so much KYLIE AND CATHERINE). We better kick the shit out of AP Calc this year.

I miss art class like hell, but I'll have another one next year (HL art baby!) and that will be exciting and enriching.

I will not miss chemistry class but I will miss Ms. Hinkley AS A PERSON.

I will miss Mr. Shoemaker but NOT the history class. History next year should be wonderfully enthralling, though.

I don't miss Geraghty's class, that was a drag. I will, however, miss Geraghty's awkward transitions and his love for his subject, because, while it was quite funny, it is also extremely wonderful to have a teacher that is so dedicated.

I will not miss Theology class. Gay marriage is not a moral debate. End of story.

Song of the Week ---> Ready to Go by Panic at the Disco
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xDf-_8KvGM

PS: If I dropped the F-bomb... oops. I went back and censored this but I might have missed something... XD

Katie ---> out. MWAH.

Just posting because i have nothing better to do/TGIF

Short post today

I miss you all a lot. Usually summers are when i totally forget about school and everything, but this summer I've found that I actually miss school a lot more than usual. I miss taking Katie's graph paper in math, and lunches with the lost children in Feet's office, and drastically warping the meaning of poems in English class with Ellen and Menbere and Lindsay, and staying up till 3 AM on gtalk sorting out my life, falling asleep in spanish, speed walks with Clarice during fitness, skipping 10 minutes of each B block with Rachel, Bea, Christina, Amy, Aeva, Catherine, and Rio to eat, the Anomia club, tombstones with Cailyn (lucky), deep sea dino hunting plans and the Jesus graph in math, MY BESTIES AMY AND ANNA!, soooo many more things. can't wait to see what Jr. year brings :)

oh and who has seen the last friday night music video? hahahha i love it.

so I found these...

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW7rciJ0pfU&feature=player_embedded (CC is the most adorable person ever. just saying.)

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0AyTuPOkw8&feature=player_embedded (no words.)

3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I3GCe8psFg&NR=1 (i love him.)

that's all for now :)

love you all

Kylie.

Obsessions

Well, not obsessions, but things I'm really into right now:
My Little Pony
The Bachelorette (JP ftw)
My nails (yay they aren't all short and gross)
VIGGO MORTENSON!

short post. computers about to die.
sorry.
check out mom's blog, she has a new challenge thing going on :)
http://www.islandfever44.blogspot.com/

love you all! bye!

I love people.

I love people. Oh my gosh, I don't even know why, but I love meeting new people and like artsy weird people and such. I just got home from the Gay Pride Parade in Seattle and it was so amazing! I love how a community can just come together and support a cause like that. We met people there, like this really nice gay couple... the guys were so funny! Ahhhhh. So much goodness.

Also, that relationship I mentioned? eeehhhh. I realized that it wasn't what I thought and that I wasn't really who I thought I was... if that makes any sense...

I am officially going to visit Maddie! YAY! OFFICIAL!

Song of the week ---> Edge of Glory by Lady Gaga

Katie ---> out. MWAH.

It's Fabulous Friday!

Ok, so technically the days of the week don't matter anymore, because it's summer and all the days blur together, but for me, this Friday is exciting. That is because it's the Friday before my vacation! Woohoo! I'm getting so pumped about going, you don't even know. Time to ditch this sorry summer weather buh-bye!

Also, today is my first day of tutoring (someone else, as in I tutor others) so wish me luck! Out of curiosity, who's going to be working this summer?

Anyways, I guess people have been listing goals for this summer. I'm going to try and list some of mine here:

*Have an awesome vacation!

*Read lots of books, including several in Spanish. I really want to read Don Quixote if I have the time! I'm going to read "En El Tiempo de las Mariposas" by Julia Alvarez, which has been reviewed as a really good book, although the type I swear is size 9 font. No joke. But I'm going to give it my best shot.

*Workout more and improve my upper body strength. Needed for TKD especially since I made it onto the new competition team.

*See most of the amazing movies coming out this summer. Seriously, there are a lot of them.

*Hang out with my peeps!

*Do a summer photography project and take lots of pics to then print and frame to put up in a corner of my room.

*Complete Red Dead Redemption (an X-Box game :P )


I feel sure I'll get inspired throughout the summer and add more to this list.

Photoshop pic of the week time: it's a shot of the Seattle waterfront pier restaurant. I basically sharped the image and amped up the colors. I really loved how the red, yellow, and green popped out on a rather dreary Seattle day.




Have a great weekend!

-N

P.S. - Did you notice that I didn't capitalize "Summer" throughout the post? Hehe, I am so very sneaky ;)

Hello today is Wednesday and I actually remembered to post

Wow, see subject line. Hi guys! Tomorrow I am going to New Jersey. I will see my family. And the beach. And maybe the sun, if I'm lucky. It's predicted to rain and thunder right now... bah humbug So how's all y'all's summers? I'm playing some summer lacrosse, which reminds me I need to email my coach, but it's super fun. Nothing intense like Kelly, Lindsay, and Nicole's team, but still fun. Good to be doing something, yeah? I was inspired by Cailyn, so here is a list of things I am doing this summer.
DOING FOR SURE
1. laxing
2. going to the East Coast and hanging with family
a. New Jersey
i. BEACH
b. Maine
i. RANDOM STUFF
3. hanging out with friends!
4. island! with Kylie and Cailyn, the big kahoonas :)
a. hopefully with Amy too, but I dunno if this will actually happen
5. saving money to buy a car because neither of my parents will do the honors

WANT TO DO:
1. MEET SOME PEOPLE.
2. Go camping!

Yeah, that's my list/s. Do you think my WTD list is accomplishable? Let me know! Also let me know if you have suggestions on how best I can meet lots of people.

So there we go. Not sure I'll post while in NJ, we shall have to see.
ENJOY YOUR SUMMERS. Text/call me too! First week in NJ is just me, mi madre, and my grandparents... so feel free to say hi.
Ciao & Cheers,
Ellen :)

OH PS: Guess what?!?! I rode a dinosaur yesterday :D
Oh, PPS: that list is supposed to have indents and stuff... but the blog doesn't post that way. So, just to clarify, the "a." would be indented after the # and the "i." indented after the "a." and so on. Ciao. Again.

so apparently I've turned into that weird one who only wears one earring... :D

and I know this because...I AM only wearing one earring...and following this "trend", i've started getting new earrings, jewelry and stuff, things that I haven't...had the courage(?) to wear before because they are so different and more statement-y than what is normal I guess.

Example? I just got this, and I'm hoping it comes soon, so I can decide if I want to keep getting things similar to it.... and that is the major change for me this summer.  woohoo...!!

As for what I'm doing this summer, I suppose I shall make a list...because that's how i feel like doing it right now [read: It's probably easiest].

• I will be going to work for the Matrix...for four days. (<- hahaha, that's not a real job)
• I will be going on my mission trip to Brooklyn
• I have a class at UW for two weeks
• I have two technology lessons to teach
• I will go to the midnight premier of Harry Potter 7: Part 2 (and this is extra special because it will be the first time I go to a midnight premier of a movie ^.^ )
• I will go hang out with Kurtie and Ellen up at the island...with hashbrowns...and tubeworms.
• I'm hanging out with Ellen and we shall go to Scotts, and get heels. 
• I'm hanging out with Kurtie again, and possibly Catherine at Bell-Square for our (not-so-bi-)annual shopping trip, and we will eat red mango.
• I am going to Quebec, Montreal, and possibly visiting my extended family in Cali.  

AND, I haven't even started my summer homework.  i think this is the most im doing in the summer...since....a very long time. I'll actually have things to talk about!!! :D 

I passed the driver's ed pseudo-test thing...and I now know that you can completely FAIL at the maneuvers and still pass...heh

oh, and in case you didn't already know, I got braces, and and look weird.  Picture for laughs? ... i refuse.

 

Home!

I just got back from Disney World! It was so hot there, I loved it. I'm tan now. I made friends with a lot of little kids cause I am a social person who cannot talk to people at least 10 years younger than me, apparently.

I WENT TO HARRY POTTER WORLD.

And I drank butterbeer and bought a sweatshirt and I rode rides and I got the shit scared out of me by some giant metal spiders.

So much goodness.

It's so cold here. And it's so warm there. It makes me sad.

I made myself a blanket fort to sleep in because I slept on the bottom bunk of the bunk bed.

So much goodness there too.

I MISS YOU GUYS.

Song of the week ---> Rainy Day by Coldplay

Katie ---> out. MWAH.

All Things Bright and Beautiful

Hey Everyone.

Sorry for not posting last Friday. I went to work with my dad last friday at Microsoft, and kind of had a daddy-daughter day, which was fun :) so that kind of distracted me from posting.

But today is another Friday. So I think I'll explain the title of the post. It's in honor of Owl City's new album titled "All Things Bright and Beautiful". It's such a cool, new direction for Owl City, but obviously still includes the foundations in which Owl City established itself, with fun synth pop and mesmerizing beats. All in all, it's a perfect summer album - there are so many upbeat, happy songs on this record. You should all definitely check it out. My favorite songs are "Plant Life", "Alligator Sky" (I prefer the non-rap version at the moment, but both are cool), and "The Yacht Club". Adam Young is truly an amazing artist.

To follow Kylie's request of documenting my summer... well, I don't really have any exciting pictures. Mostly I've been staying home, chillaxin'. Doing lots of Photoshop experimentation, reading books, playing video games, going to Tae Kwon Do. You know, the usual. However, today I did go to the doctor because I've been having weird knee pains, and apparently I over-exerted my knee through various activities. So now I need to see a physical therapist. Fun :|

What I'm really excited for is in a week and a half, I'll be leaving for Hawaii! I'll be gone until July 8th, so no promises on posting. I'll try to remember, and maybe post from my phone. But there's a 3 hour time difference, so if I posted at night after 9, then it would technically be Satuday here... hmmmm.

Ok, I think it's time for the Photoshop picture of the week. Like I said, I've been experimenting with stuff. Mostly trying to do HDR pictures and working with the Orton effect. Both are very cool, and I've learned a lot. I know some other programs, like Picnic, allow you to use an Orton effect filter, but I like actually recreating the effect in Photoshop because a) it's more fun to do it yourself and b) you get a greater control of the effect and you can really taper the effect to the image you are working on. So like for this pic, I didn't over use the effect - I used just enough to add a slight blur/dreamy quality. And I think it works - I especially love the way the trees look.



Hope you all are having a fabulous summer!

-N

Highway Unicorn

I love that song.

I love her whole album.

I LOVE GAGA.

So how is everyone's Summer? Mine's pretty good so far :) It's only been a week, but regardless.

This is going to  be a short post because I don't have anything to write about.

So this happened today:

LOVE YOU ALL!

-Kylie

So I'm posting late tonight...

...because tomorrow I'll be in Disney World!!!

Woooo!

I cannot wait. I am going to act like a 5 year old. Cool.

This is going to be so excited. My god.

So today, I drew this cool dancer thing, but there was so much charcoal on it that I had to keep wiping my hands on my legs, so my legs got COVERED in charcoal.

I also have a scar and some bruises on my leg from playing bad(ass)mitton. Really? That's like the least cool way to get scars and bruises. It's like the least intense sport there is. But I slid on my knee to hit the birdie, and I did that to my leg and took out a chuck of grass from Jennifer's lawn AND scored a point. So it looked cool at least. Battle wounds. Always a good story.

Today was the first soccer practice (pre-season, gotta love it!) It felt so good to start playing again. It's really awesome to do something you've grown up with and has become an important part of your life after not doing it for months. It's like peeing after you've had to go for the past five hours. Except not as weird. (Everybody does it, so it's not really that gross, guys!)

Well, I gotta go. I woke up 12 1/2 hours ago, but I have an early wake up tomorrow so I need to sleep! Plus, I gotta wake up early all vacation. That's how the Larsons do Disney, and we do it right! We have this program that makes us a schedule so we can avoid the lines. It's so cool.

Song of the Week ---> Government Hookup by Lady Gaga

Katie ---> out. MWAH.

Summer is off to a pretty good start....

HEY!

Summer has been GREAT so far. I'm so excited to hang out with a whole bunch of you this summer :)

Uhh...okay...so right now, I think I'm having an allergic reaction- to a cat. *cough cough, Kylie* I'M WEARING THE TECH SWEATSHIRT AND I THINK IT HAS CAT HAIR ON IT CUZ IM COUGHING AND SNEEZING AND WHEEZING. -.- i should put the thing in the wash.

Anyways, what is everyone's plans for the summer? Today, I'm planning on going to Barnes and Nobles to get some books. I haven't read in FOREVER so I'm soooo excited to do that. Oh, and I have my Philippines trip next week. That should be realllly fun...and hot. Oh darn, that means I can't post for two weeks (sorry people).

I hope everyone has a safe, but SUPER FUN summer!!!!

:)

WE WE WE SO EXCITED / first day of summer

Happy first day of no classes everyone! Summer '11 here we come!

My day yesterday:
1/2 day at school, sushi and a movie with Anna and Catherine (find your inner peace. inner piece of what?), popcorn, thai food, and tic-tac-toe with Catherine and Emilee, then at 11:00, skyping with Stefanie for 2 hours while she watched the scream ("HE'S GUNNA STAB HER. HE'S GUNNA STA- he stabbed her. awwww damn. you better run girl! you better run! WHY ARE YOU GOING UP STAIRS! THAT'S DUMB BRO! YOU GUNNA DIE! oh look, she died." )

Yeah, that was pretty fun.
-----
Plans for today include: cleaning my room.
and that is all.
I think I'll go buy myself a veggie burger at Scotts once I finish.
motivation motivation motivation.
-----
I am so excited for Thursday when Jane and I go up to the island.
-----
Nathalia: I LOVE YOU. that video was pretty much the cutest and nicest thing I have seen! te amo, chica!
-----
I should go get a start on my room. wish me luck :)
-----
Love you all to hogwarts and back (get it, because it is an unmeasurable amount of distance?),
Kylie
-----
Idea: So does pretty much everyone have a camera? Try semi-documenting your summer. then upload your favorites. It'll make our daily blog posts more colorful :)

Something Fast.

there.  I wrote it nathalia.  it look exactly 6 seconds.... :D

here's a picture

I feel like this is me.

--Muchas Smoochas (15 seconds)

Katie is happy

I'm so happy.

School is out (almost).

I've spent the entire weekend at the beach or watching House. Season two, episode 15 so far.

This show is rally emotional and dramatic.

I am in a relationship! It says so on Facebook! That's so exciting!

We spent the day together in Kirkland... the place of happenings.

I feel like Taylor Swift in one of her happy teenage love songs where everything is perfect in the world. Honestly, I'm so happy right now.

***

I hate it when people post things as their status that are really dramatic and emotional and CLEARLY targeted at someone. It's so awkward and it looks like they're just asking for attention.

***

I am so excited to not be in school anymore. I am going to bake and paint and draw and watch House and sleep in till 10:00 or 11:00 and NOT DO HOMEWORK (mostly).

YEAAH SON.

Song of the Week ---> Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Katie ---> out. MWAH.

Glory

Today is a glorious day. It was the last full day of school - yay! We're almost Juniors, chicas :O

Also, today is really warm and sunny. So the weather is glorious too. I know some people who might have gotten a bit sunburnt in all the frenzy of the outdoor activities. It was fun just lounging around the HS area for a couple hours. Very relaxing. As a matter of fact, I think we should all go outside and soak up the sun. So this will be a shorter post.

So what did you all think about the yearbook this year? Leave a comment. I thought it was cool, and I liked the layout/style of the book. One small thing I had issues with was the obvious Photoshopping. There are wayyy better ways to extract people from images without leaving out chunks of let's say, their heads. Or to make it look less obvious. Sigh. I can't wait to take yearbook by storm senior year! Speaking of Photoshop... it's time for the Photoshop picture of the week!

This week's pic was of a rock I found on the beach on Blake Island during the class trip. The rock has like a little heart engraving in it. I added a zoom filter for dramatic effect and emphasis on the rock.




Have a fabulous weekend everyone, and I'll see you Monday for our last day of school!

-N

I hate dumb ASS triangles

Teehee do you get my pun? I feel clever. So basically, studying for math. Yup, 'nuff said. Let's take a quick moment to pray that I don't totally botch this test.
And now a moment of silence, for all those poor problems that I do screw up.
Thank you for your support. Now I got to go finish cracking this math thing.
Ciao.
Ellen :)