Some Assembly Required

It's official! We really have a house, right now, as I type this.

As the title of the post says, some assembly is yet required. What you see are all of the components of our house. The bundle on the left (with the yellow-edged boards) is our walls. The bundle on the right and further back (with the green-edged boards) are our roof trusses. We even have windows.

That's the good news. Aside from delivering our house, that appears to be everything they did today. They haven't braced the basement walls for back-fill so, of course, they haven't back-filled. They also haven't put in our 2nd egress window yet. I'm hoping tomorrow they put in our egress window, brace the basement walls for back-fill, get it inspected, and back fill. I know I don't ask for much, do I?

On the brighter side, it looks like they broke ground on another house. I'm pretty sure it is the house of another couple that we have met during this adventure. If I can believe the time lines, it looks like we will have new neighbors about 3 weeks after we move in.

Ranney's Final Post

Don't worry, I am not dying, or falling of the Blogging planet, it's just that the majority of the posts I will do from now on will be else where! Please, I encourage you to go visit my blog: Ranney Days at http://ranneydays.blogspot.com/. I will try to keep up with it as much as I have this one(A LOT), but I will most likely not be encouraged to post here anymore. My blog will contain a lot of what is going on with the family that I know of, but mostly the drama that goes on at school, and a lot less of the house building process(Come here for that!).
~Rayanna~

Chinese Food

I think this may be my second post by this name, and having to do with AP:World and Chinese food, anyway, here it goes.
I don't know what it is, well yes I do. Because the Americas hadn't been found as of 600 C.E (Common Era; A.D.), that we learn all about Asian beliefs etc. so, as a result, when we learn about the river civilizations, and classical periods, and Hinduism(last week) or Buddhism(some of last week, this week(two days) and some of next week), I want Chinese food!
Next year, once we finally get into the 1700s, I'll want American food, but as of my studies, it hasn't been founded yet! I am gona be wanting a LOT of Chinese food this year- well, more than usual anyway.
Thankfully, my parents are understanding, and love me, so that's what we are having for dinner tonight! YAY!
I'll post what my fortune says, maybe, unless I forget.
Merry Christmas!! I should be on a lot during the next 2 weeks, of which we have off!
~Rayanna~

Lemonade Award Tag?

The Lemonade Award
This award comes with a few rules and here they are:
Put the logo on your blog or post. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude! Be sure to link to your nominees within your post. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

One problem: I don't know any more blogs than the one Alicia has, and she sent it to me!

~Rayanna~

Yay! The week is half over!

Well, not really, it isn't Wednesday. But, Dad, Buddy and I all have Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday off. Then we have all the next week off, but Daddy is going back to work on Monday and Tuesday. I am so excited! Christmas is 2 days away!
~Rayanna~

YAY! Thank you YAYA!

Yaya, Alicia, posted on her blog to ask her readers if they had ideas for the title of my new blog! I found one! Once it's made and everything, I'll let you know where it is, what it is, and who came up with it! I am SOO excited!
~Rayanna~

Thank you Upstate New York, Our new Super Intendant AND the Weather guy!

Long title, short subject. We had a snow day today, if you've seen the roads, you know why. Daddy came home two hours early, and I am anxiously waiting for my brain to give me a really cute phrase for my new blog's title. I hope to get that up soon.
All MY Christmas shopping is done, but I am 14, what do I really have to get? I got my dad 3 presents, which is rare because he is IMPOSSIBLE to shop for. My mom got exactly what she wanted(never mind the fact we shopped together!). My brother, my parents have handled. My old BEST Friend Christina, amazing little violin (she plays the violin very well) I found at this little shop. My BEST friend Alycia, is almost impossible... I am getting her a gift card to the movies- good movies out this time of year- 8 movies coming out on Christmas I want to see! And my BEST cousin Alicia, is getting the BEST present EVER!! I can't wait for Christmas. The P.R.I.S.M. concert went well last night, didn't get home until 11:00.
DRAMA-RAMA! There has been 8 Freshman "episodes" this year. And the 4th this week happened last night! I didn't know what the fight was about, but it affected the entire choir. DURING the second show, one girl screamed at another, their topic of choice to fight about went to all of their friends, half the freshman were against the other half of the freshman, one girl puked she was crying so hard, she went home. Mr. Faccio, a vice principal, who was enjoying the show was forced to go back to the room we were in. One girl got punched, and by the end of the night, 6 girls had In School Suspension for at least all two days of school next week, and 10 were crying. Poor Mrs. Story stressed out as it was was forced to come back and told all the freshman that if they weren't there to sing, to get out. It was a very interesting night, especially because the only freshmen that weren't in any way involved were My BEST friend Alycia and I. All the upper-classmen hate freshmen as it is. There was supposed to be an assembly after the PRISM concert tomorrow in school about all the fist fights lately between freshmen- I don't know when that is gonna happen now!
~Rayanna~

Pay for a house, get a city

When I first saw this picture, I thought it looked like a flyover view of a city.

What this really is are the forms for our basement walls. They were delivered this morning. I'm a little disappointed that they didn't set them up this afternoon, but Marianne said she saw a Water & Sewer Truck there this afternoon, so maybe they had to wait for an inspection of the sewer rough-in (the blue pipe in the picture).

On the bright side, we already have our first window.

It's not installed yet, obviously, but this is our egress window. Hey, I guess it's that much less cement they'll have to pour.

By my memory, which is flawless (it's the recall I have trouble with), this puts us a couple days behind schedule. I'm hoping tomorrow they put up the forms and pour the walls. I figure the time consuming part is the forms. Once those are up, how long can it take to pour cement? I guess these are the trials and tribulations of building a house.

I'm hoping the rest of this week, they pour the basement walls and take down the forms. We'll see where we are on the schedule when we talk to Trent, the project manager, on Friday.

Disappointment

The title is a little harsh, but I didn't make the musical. I am not depressed, just disappointed. I know some one who CANNOT project, and she made it over me. I am happy for her, although, it does sound like I'm a little jealous. Now, thinking back, I wish I hadn't complained about spending a possible 5 hours at school on Tuesday and Thursdays. I am really glad I tried out because if some one doesn't sign by their name, their part will be given away.

Now it really makes me MAD when a senior cries because they didn't get the main role which they wanted. She is the teacher's pet, and I guess it hurt her self-esteem when she got a small SPEAKING role! At least she gets to speak. Although, she shouldn't speak because all I hear is "I love you Mrs. Story, You are so amazing Mrs. Story, Can I help you do something, Can I make All states Mrs. Story? You are the best!" Uggg. Okay, maybe I am a little bitter. I am shocked. I thought my 4 1/2 minute audition went really really well, when everyone else took 8 and 1/2 minutes. I don't know. Everything just might happen for a reason.
Rayanna

Blog Overload

Because the majority of the 84 posts have been writen by me, and I mostly don't write about the family, I write about me, Dad might be kicking me off this blog. I am NOT complaining, this means that I *might* be getting my own blog. This presents a problem. I always think of the best titles for stuff when I don't need them. I NEED ideas!
This is what I got: Rayanna's Moosepaper (Came up with this one from my Moose wrapping paper. It sounds like News paper....). What do you guys think? Feel free to give me some ideas by clicking the little comments button at the bottom of this post! Thanks in advance!
~Rayanna~

Dance Party

Okay, so the dance was pretty much a waste of time. It was fun, for the first hour. I danced, i looked really great, but they played the same 8(NOT kidding) songs over and over and OVER!! I spent the remainder of the 3 hours talking to an old friend and he told me something about the cast list. Apparently, Mrs. Story (Showboat Co-director) came into the school at 8 on a dance night. There was a kid that CHASED after her (my guess is they were eager to see what part (if they got one) they got) forcing her to SPRINT to her class room! We think that the cast list went up last night. It's not on the internet, so I don't know yet. I am soooo eager to see who got the part I tried out for. I have been told that the shorter your audition is, the better you did. We'll see! I find out tomorrow! I CANNOT wait! But, I am not too excited to chase down the director. HEHE!
~Rayanna~

R. P. O. Concert

Well, R.P.O. does not mean Rest Peacefully Oranges as some may think... It stands for Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. And one would think that this concert would be in... I don't know, ROCHESTER?!?! NO! We sold over 600 $20 tickets in our Academy's auditorium. The Orchestra, I am not going to lie, was much older that 35. Then, the director, who happened to look like he just came back from his Biology classroom doing experiments, came out and he couldn't have been much older than 25. He looked like he was wearing a lab coat because in the Orchestra, Guys wore white suits, and Girls wore Black sparkly itchy looking outfits. It was hilarious. We had TWO standing ovations and the concert went well. I was personally thanked by the people in the row I had to stand and sing next to(we sang in the aisles). It was a little weird.
Winter Formal is tonight and I am really excited! I will post pictures and stuff tomorrow morning. Oh, and the cast list for Showboat has a possibility of going up Sunday night on the internet! I am soooo excited. If it doesn't go up Sunday, then it will on Monday at school.
~Rayanna~

...and so it begins

For those of you that we haven't talked to yet, we had our pre-build meeting with the project manager on Wednesday. During the meeting, we met our project manager (Trent) and went over all of the options we ordered to make sure they all made it into the prints and the job package. We also found out our address and got our dig date. They started digging yesterday!! I stopped by and took a picture in the morning, before they started.

Early morning: Day 1

I stopped by for a picture on the way home from work:

Afternoon: Day 1

They dug the entire basement and got started digging the garage in just one day!

This is what things looked like this afternoon. There is not much difference from this perspective, but with no excavator in the way, you can see how much dirt they actually removed.

Afternoon: Day 2

It may not look like much, but today they finished digging the garage and poured the footers for the basement walls.
The lumps that you see covered by tarps would be our footers. They also put up our lot sign. I guess that means they are officially building our house.

If all goes according to the construction schedule, our pre-closing walk through will be February 27. We don't expect everything to go according to schedule, so we should realistically be closing in early March. The earlier in March the better. That way, we can keep this shoebox until the end of March and take our time moving stuff to the new house. That will also give us an opportunity to put up some paint before we put big, heavy furniture in front of the walls. Anyone reading this who doesn't want to help move or paint should probably not answer their phone for the entire month of March. You may want to think twice about answering the phone in April, too. :-)

Next week, they should be putting up the forms for the basement walls, pouring the concrete and might even get started putting in the first floor.

Now that they have started building our house, I should be posting pictures and commentary a lot more often. My intention right now is to stop by every day after work and take a picture of the house from roughly the same spot. That way, when they are done, I will be able to do a slide show and see a time-lapsed representation of our house going up. Thanks to my brother-in-law for the idea.

BUSY!

Okay, so you all know, I have had a busy week. It's not over yet. I did not get called back, but that doesn't mean anything, just that they want to see them again. We find out the cast list "next Monday." I don't know which Monday. That's the confusing part.
I have a concert tomorrow. The tickets were $10-$20 a piece because we have to pay each soloist $300 a song! The pressure is on. We start Rehearsal #1 at 3:40. Then, at 5:00, some kids get picked up, while others (like me) will be staying to eat there. At 7:25 is Rehearsal #2 until 7: 45 when we take the stage. Then, at 8, we go back, relax, and rehearsal #3 goes on. Then, at 8:30 we go on AGAIN. It is in Rochester, so I won't be home until 10:30. I have a fun day of school tomorrow.... Joy to behold!
~Rayanna~

I am a TAG MAGNET!

I always love filling out these "You've been tagged" things. This is one where I post 7 random things about myself. Here it goes.
1. We found out our new address today, and they are starting digging tomorrow!
2. I have seen Twilight twice. The last movie I saw that many times was long before the rising gas prices.
3. Showboat Call Backs are tomorrow (Thursday) but I may or may not be called back. But it's okay because that doesn't mean anything. It means they just want to see them again. I think I might be called back because my audition lasted 4 minutes... we'll see.
4. I have a lot of homework today.
5. I love curly fries(we had some for dinner).
6. I loved Horton Hears a Who.
7. I am not doing a movie review because it is to hard not to spill anything if I don't just tell you the Dr. Suess book.

Tryouts

Tryouts were today. Well, they were yesterday, today, and tomorrow, but I went today. There were four parts- Dance, Waiting, singing and acting.
The dance part was fun, I missed a step- my partner missed 6, the second time when we did the dance, I was perfect, my partner was... better. I don't mean to sound cocky, but I just got back from the tryouts.
Waiting- was not so great, after the dancing session, we had to get numbers- I was 46. With 10 minutes per person, it took like 5 hours. During that time I practiced, practiced, and practiced. I was pretty confident. In the play, Freshman almost NEVER make it, but that is the play. In the musical, Freshman are rare.
Singing- was exciting. It was all by my self. I walked in, handed my audition sheet where the director marks that he thinks etc. I set down my script, stood on the sticker marked on the floor and sang my heart out- for 2 minutes. I was amazed at how good I was doing, I hadn't sung out loud in a while. I was SURE I was gonna mess up. Just then, he stoped me. "Fantastic! We're done." He bellowed excitedly to me. I know it wasn't out of exhaustion from watching 45 other kids in front of me because of the look on the his face! When I was done, Mrs. Story left for a quick minute and the director asked me how I was doing. I felt like he was asking me what my name is- and I couldn't remember. I thought of saying the first thing on my mind- nerve racked with his replies. I couldn't say that! I said excited, which I was, and he seemed pleased.
Acting- They brought a very not cute senior actor in and we did our lines. I did well, even great, better than I had expected. In the rush with my song, I kinda forgot to Epractice my lines! Oops! When we were done, I shook his hand and wished them a good night and left.
I was extatic! A FRESHMAN walked in and got a FANTASTIC!! That freshman was ME!!! OMG! Mommy picked me up, and I explained. Call backs are soon, I don't really know when. If not the part of Ellie, I think I got a part. I hope!
Rayanna

Weird words of the day

These are some weird words I have thought about when we drove past a store called Peebles. These should bring you some laughs if you say them allowed.
1. Puddle (Poo-ddddle)
2. Bubble (BUB-ble)
3. Peebles (PEEE-bles)
4. Pudding (POO-DING)
5. Bumpkin (just a weird word from Hannah Montana)
6. Lilac(why is is spelled like that? Lie- lac)
7. Dunno (weird slang)

Well over due/more detailed blogging

Okay, so Monday, last week, we went to Charlotte Russe which is a store in the mall. I would almost NEVER step foot in there, but I was with my mom, and we were looking for the perfect Winter Formal dress, which we found. I also found a really cool hat! It kinda looks like a Nancy Drew hat, but it also looks like a hat I have seen on Demi Lavato, Hannah Montana, one of the Jonas brothers. That's not why I wanted it, not because of the stars having it, but because it is vintage, I make anything look good, and it was really cute. My Grandpa Gordy loves it too! I wore it to school and got stares... their jealous. ;~D I'll post a picture of the dress when I blog about the dance Saturday night.

~Rayanna~

A(n) ___________ time of year

Christmas. Usually a jolly time of year. NOT when you have a Salvation Army bell ringing in your ear every time you leave the house. I saw a commercial for them, and remembered last year... ugg. As I recall, they were low on their expectation meter, so they got cops to pull people over on the street and BEG for money! I totally understand that there are needy people that need help to have a Christmas worth living for. But come on. Really, how much of the money actually helps those who need it MOST. And how much of it really goes to the lazy sons of guns that sit on their butts while they could be working. Then the commercial just irks me because their motto is "Doing the most good." COME ON! Harassing people in the holiday isn't gonna make them feel good about dropping an extra dollar in the annoying bell ringer's red tins!
*** House Update*** We have our "Pre-construction Meeting" on the 19th. We are excited. I can't wait for our new house! It just doesn't feel like Christmas here. The presents, the dinner, the family, the time off from school, the cold, the ice, the accidents, the snow days, it all feels like Christmas, but, it just doesn't feel warm, and fuzzy, and you can't smell the cinnamon. I probably feel this way because we are still deciding where to put the Christmas tree in our shoe box.
~Rayanna~

Photo Tagged

This is a picture of Buddy, and here's the short story behind it. This picture was taken probably around last November, or maybe spring, well, it was before we decided where we wanted our new house to be. We went in to the forest, and he found a walking stick. This is not the property we decided on. However, he decided to play around and pretend that this is his "kingdom" and he is the leader, and to prove his point, he marked his territory. Boys.... I don't get it. Weird.

~Rayanna~

I have missed a whole WEEK of blogging!!!

Well, that's mostly because there has been NOTHING going on! Well, okay, we did do stuff, but nothing particularly note-worthy.
Monday- Long, it was Monday. We went to the mall, and I got a dress for Winter formal, a Nancy Drew hat, Showboat the Musical on DVD
Tuesday- I stayed afterschool to learn the songs for Showboat and had a blast!
Wednesday- I learned some of the dances and more about the characters in Showboat. Again, I had a great time!
Thursday- I got an email from my newspaper editor, she wants me to come back, when I quit a MONTH ago!
Friday-Today, longest day of the week, I've heard that Ghost Whisperer is new, I don't know if it is. I'll watch it and tell you later. Test in AP that I studied until 12:00 A.M. for. It was super easy.
Rayanna

Total Kodak Moment

Sorry, no pictures allowed in school. But, this is an embarrasing story I am about to share that I am sure will make you laugh.
Okay, so I was on my way to Math, and I saw this kid I've know since the 3rd grade. We have never really been friends, unless the whole "Can I borrow your pencil?" "Sure." "Wanna be best friends." kind of thing. Yes, kids did that in my 3rd grade class anyway. So, to the story. You know those moments, like in Mean Girls, where everyone is staring at the new girl, and she trips? Well, it wasn't really like that. He was looking at me, and no, I didn't trip, he walked into a locker. I quickly looked away so he couldn't see me laughing. It was quite hilarious. And for once, I didn't trip over my self! The funny part is, I didn't even look my greatest either!
Rayanna

Busy Busy Busy

The cousins left yesterday.
Friday night, we went to see BOLT: The BORING super dog. I don't know how it happened that I saw the best movie ever, and the worst in the same day.... Anyway, I give Bolt a 2, the lowest rating ever. It was funny, but mostly predictable. It's about a dog,(duh,) that runs away, meets some... different characters, and from the word "predictable," I am sure you can guess what happens. Total waste of two hours. BORING! And no, I am not biased since I saw my favorite movie in the same day.
Rayanna

I haven't posted in a whole day! OH NO!

I am horribly addicted to reading New Moon, the second book in the Twilight series. Time has managed to slip away faster than ever with the cousins here. We didn't go see Twilight again yet. I am anxiously waiting for 1:00 to come, then we are leaving to see it, for my second time. It should be fun.
I feel very antisocial because I am reading so much and time is passing quickly. I have also figured out why I don't read too much. I get inspired. A little too much. I am gonna try to write a book, I will most likely fail, like always, but I figure if a Morman mom can write a New York Times Best seller in 3 months, I could write one in a couple years... I guess. I have an idea for a story, and I have been DYING to write. I do not wish to share, just yet anyway.
Wish me luck!
~Rayanna~

Chiropractor and other random stuff

Today, I went to my very first Chiropractor appointment! It was weird. I felt better, a little uncomfortable, but not in pain. It didn't fix my stomach problems, however, but it might not take effect until tomorrow.
I finished the Twilight book last night at midnight.... My cousins are here from NC. I am going to see Twilight for the second time tonight.
Rayanna

Twilight:the book

Despite it's uneventful, bland writing(grammatically), I CANNOT put it down. It is so addictive. It's the first book I've read in a while, and grammatically, I am so bored with it. I am regretting seeing the movie first, as well. Now that I have seen the movie, It's almost like the book is backwards and upside down to me. I started it when I wrote about the movie, of which, I still feel the same way, in fact, I feel stronger about it. Now, I am on page 307. I am so addicted, it is still in my hands!
~Rayanna~

Not Just dirt anymore!

We officially have a fire hydrant. A real, metal, shiny, red fire hydrant. Even Pete is excited to get out of our postage stamp town house and have a new place to Whizz!
For those of you who have not visited the town house in a while, I have to mention, it has taken a year but we have officially outgrown it. John had to step into the closet to change his mind. He found a bathroom.
I am not sure if it is the knowing our time here is becoming short or our patience getting short but there is a lot of grumbling. John grumbles when he smashes his toe on the excessive amounts of furniture. Rayanna grumbles when Buddy is anywhere near her. Yes that is all the time. Buddy grumbles when he can't find one of his toys because something has been set on top of it. I think even the animals are taking turns in the kitchen getting something to eat. Me well lets just say I do not make beans for John anymore.
I am so happy that my brother, his wife and three children are coming. After spending 12 hours in a minivan they will just be glad to be here. Untill Rob smashes his toe. I think we will need to spend a lot of time at my moms. I wish I was in the house so they could come and be comfortable.
John has banned me from Craig's list as we have no more room to put anything. Man he takes the fun out of everything. I am not even sure where to put the Christmas tree.
Needless to say I am happy about a damn fire hydrant. We officially have roads (no street signs) and we are supposed to be meeting with the builder at the end of the month. We are waiting on the permits from the town. John says he is going to get me a basement for Christmas. They better get moving or he will be shoveling. Well gotta go buy cheese and tohkey for my five year old niece. For those of you who do not understand a North Carolina accent that means turkey.

My Dream World

I wouldn't all be M&Ms and Homework free passes, although those would be bountiful.
In my world, there would be no politics to fight over, but a good government.
Everyone would get a chance to be fed and educated.
There would be a social division, but by choice- educated vs. uneducated.
There would be no pain caused by dentists, doctors, or accidents that weren't your fault.
Everyone would know about current events, at least in their area.
And most of all, there would be NO undeserving parents, or ungrateful children.
I know that most of these are impossible, actually, all of them are, that's why it's my dream world.
Oh, and I would be an extremely talented movie star- like Alexis Bledel!
~Rayanna~

Twiglight Movie Review- November

This movie is off the charts good. This is an infintity rated movie. I have never watched a movie that made me shake, let alone one that made me shake until this very moment, fifteen minutes after my ride home. I went to see this magnificent movie with Alica, at YaYaStuff. I expect she will be doing a movie review as well.
Bella, a social out cast at her new school, is as pale as a ghost. Edward, is an outcast, and has been a vampire since 1918. Edward, unfortunatly, is not a "hot" as the book describes. Bella falls in love with Edward, and learns about him, and his family. This forbidden love, written my Stephenie Meyer, is one that you will never forget. This forbidden love, brings danger to Bella, and everyone around her. There is nothing to spill. I have spoiled nothing for you. This is a movie, that you will be begging for more, that will make you come back to the movie theater, just to see that their love will not go away. I have not read the book, Alicia has shared with me the details I missed. I'll admit, questionable girls were excited about this, and saw it Thursday at midnight. I would go back to the movie theater again and again, and I have never felt this way about a movie, at least not one that I didn't want to see in the begining. It is an intense, thrilling, romantic, suspensful, beautifully directed moive. The PG-13 rating should NOT keep you from taking your young children. I found this is a cross between Juno, Moonlight, and I am Legend, just in action. I love this movie. There will never be another movie that touches me enough to give such a high rating. It is worth $100,000,000,000. Just for one viewing. I strongly reccomend it.
~Rayanna~

No,

I love your blog, Alicia! This is a good time to thank all my blog readers for putting up with my nonsense, complaining, and high school topics! Happy Almost Thanksgiving!

~Rayanna~

Showboat!

My high-school musical is Showboat! I have no idea what the musical is about, but I am trying out in two weeks. I am nervous because I have to have a southern accent, and I don't have one, yet, Freshman almost never get cast, and it seems like almost every character gets kissed in the musical. Good thing the High school doesn't do real kisses! I am so excited! I had a great time in last year's musical: Alice in Wonderland and I am hoping this will turn out the same! The rehearsals are demanding with 3:15-4 on Monday through Friday, depending on character, and mandatory Tuesday and Thursday 7:30-9, but my skills I learned last year will help me Tune in to the blog next month to find out if I've made it!
~Rayanna~

This is hard. Topic: Ghost Whisperer

This is hard, to talk about a show, that people might not have seen yet, and not spoil it. I will try my hardest.
During school, I talk to my teachers, they are good listeners, and they watch Ghost Whisperer. Now, despite my bad experience with a teacher last year who watched the show, It's not my fault she has good taste in TV but bad taste in behavior towards kind students (Not just me).
Okay, so a member of the cast was killed two weeks ago. Then, last week's episode was straightening out the cast member's killer, it was mainly a filler-episode* and was quite off topic. Now, things can't get much worse for Melinda (the show's main character) who is dealing with the loss of a loved one. This episode can't get much worse than last week's, so I am quite excited yet again.
* an episode that just filled in minor cracks in the story, mostly a waste of a much anticipated show.
~Rayanna~

Death of A Freshman Writer

I know I am a good writer, otherwise, you wouldn't be reading this. I will not stop writing. Just stop writing for the newspaper. I have sent in my last article for the paper. What is the point if all I do is waste my time and never get published. Editors aren't supposed to write articles- conflict of interest. Well, I looked through the paper that came out yesterday, guess what! ALL EDITORS! One contributer. When you beg for people to write for the paper almost daily on the PA system, but don't publish ANY freshman articles, how seriesously are we supposed to take you? I have quit writing for the newspaper. It won't make a difference on my resume, and it is just like homework-where you can't put ANY of your own thoughts into it.
On a lighter note, we have a half day tomorrow, and the funny part is, I have study halls for 1/2 the time at school. Or is that 1/4 of the time? I don't know. I have 2/4 of the 4 classes I have tomorrow are study halls. SWEET. With nothing to do, not much.
~Rayanna~

I am a big girl.

I am a big girl, I am a big girl, I will not complain... I'll try not to complain, I WILL complain!
My article, once again, did not get published in the school paper. I am about to quit. It takes too much time, and I won't make a single difference in my resume.
My stomach hurts once again. Yesterday, I had almost no pain all day, then I had an ultrasound to see if they could find out what was wrong with me. It came out clear. Which means, I will have to get blood drawn, if the pain doesn't go away. It hasn't. My doctor is an IDIOT!! He asks me the same questions they asked me the last time I went in, which is two days ago lately, understandable, whatever! But then, when I told him that I was not happy with knowing I might* have to get blood drawn, he tells me that I am 1 out of 2 people out of like, 700 kids between the ages of 12-21 that are afraid of needles. HOW IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER? So, I told him that I am NOT afraid of needles, it's the pain I HATE! It is like he has never seen me before, and I have had him since I was four! The nurses, except one, are IDIOTS! They are rude, and obnoxious, and NEW! Everyone in that office is NEW! No one knows what they are doing. Needless to say, we are switching doctors as soon as my stomach problems go away.
*Most likely
~Rayanna(aka the big girl who complains)~

Canada

For those of you who do not know, for some reason, I like Canada, mostly because I have seen it twice, but have never set foot on it, and they have awesome bacon(even if it is just ham). Anyway, last night, I had a dream. It involved a tour bus going to Canada, with all of my 9th grade friends (they're some good people). The driver, is the guy from the Extreme Makeover:Home Edition. I asked him why he was driving our bus to Canada, instead of a normal bus driver, and his reply was "There was a dent in the limo." I replied to that insane statement with "Okay, so why are you driving US?" He said that he had a show they were filming in the next week, their bus wasn't big enough (for those of you who haven't seen this show, they place a bus in front of the finished house), and the bus driver who was supposed to drive us paid him 10 dollars to just "go." Then... the weirdest thing happened... guess what it was.... I WOKE UP!!
Rayanna

There would be a Movie Review here, but...

Okay, so for those of you who do not know, I have been undergoing some stomach issues. It's not contagious, but I am also VERY VERY tired. It feels like I have fallen asleep whenever we spend "family together-ness" time. Well, there would be a movie review of Kung Fu Panda, or Incredible Hulk, but, when the power went out last night, it was 6:30, I was tired and I didn't want to watch Incredible Hulk. I feel asleep at my Grandma's house, then, at 10:30, we went home and decided to watch Kung Fu Panda. I heard horrible reviews about Kung Fu Panda, I wanted to watch it, but I feel asleep 10 minutes into it. Dad says that Icredible Hulk was good, and Kung Fu Panda was funny and awsome. Incredible Hulk, I rated a 2, from what he said, and Kung Fu Panda a 4.5, because it was funny. Funny movies rock.

Really uneventful

I have nothing of much sense to post in one post so, here's what you missed if you don't live in our house....
1. The have paved our development, which means they can really start working now, but they are back working on a sidewalk for another development by us.
2. I had a paper due in English on Thursday about a personal topic. I wrote about Piper's first day home.
3. My English teacher says I am smart enough to be a senior... thanks... but I'll pass! LOL!
4. I have been to the doctors' office TWICE this week, and I HATE doctors. I have been experience some extreme, random stomach pain.
5. I am forced to put certain commas into my papers for English, and now I am putting them in whenever I write! AH!
6. High school is stressful
7. Cat fight in school Friday morning, EVERYBODY knew about it by lunch.
8. I think we are watching a movie tonight
9. Stay tuned next week to find out what I think about my first AP world project grade.
10. My grade average is 94.08!
11. Look for a movie review next week
Rayanna

November (a.k.a. Month of many movie reviews)

It is true, as it stands, there will be many movie reviews this month.
Today's is... GET SMART.
Get Smart has an extremely slow rising action. However, that doesn't mean it was a terrible begining, it is quite important.
The movie involves secret agents who are forced to work together and don't like it, but they do get the job done. This movie goes from a snoozer to an edge-of-your-seat exciting action/drama movie. I rate this movie a 4, which I believe is the highest rated movie since Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. But of course, these movies only have one thing in common. Watch it to find out! Its only an 1 1/2 hours! What do you have to lose?
~Rayanna~

Somehow, I missed Friday

Okay, so Friday was good. I can't really remember what we did, but we did watch Ghost Whisperer. We watch this show every Friday, it is sort of a family ritual. This episode was very depressing, despite the fact that we knew what was going to happen. This weeks episode: we found out the missing shadow... I am NOT telling you who....

Jonas Sodas

Okay, so yes, they are called "Jones Sodas," but doesn't "Jonas Sodas" sound SOO much better? Well anyway, we had the sodas a LONG time ago, just about the time we started this blog, maybe before. It was 10:00 at night and we got them for a change in beverages. There is a total of 48 grams of sugar PER SERVING in those things, and you could so tell when we drank them. We were at Target and saw these 'Jones Sodas Carbinated Candies,' and because they were on sale, we bought some. Wow! They are SOUR!! The sodas were NOT that sour! The vanilla candies tasted like astrunaut ice cream. This was a weird experience that I thought you would like to know about that just because its on sale, DOESN'T mean you have to buy it.
Rayanna

When sisters are a decade apart

I went over to my best friends house, who is one of 4 girls, her younger sister, is a decade away from her. I would find it difficult to have a 4 year old running around the house 24-7. But, she had come to live with it. Tonight, at her birthday(attendants: Me), the girls (and I, sometimes) played basket ball like in an arcade. It was so funny to have my friend giving her sister points to make her win, while I was pointing it out, and her goin "Shh." I had a wonderful time tonight at the party.
Rayanna
P.S. Oh MY GOD it is getting cold! And, in AP on Friday, I learned that Christianity originated from Judism. Kind of ironic, with the Holocaust isn't it?

I've been picked...eww.

7 random things about me:



1. I love writing for my school newspaper-despite the stress when my article doesn't get published...

2. I LOVE "Family Together-ness" nights.

3. I LOVE having perfect friends.

4. I HATE having tests with NO warning-even if I do get a 100 on them.

5. I HATE not getting big papers back within the week they are due.

6. I don't like it very much when people take my stuff.

7. I HATE it when people pick at themselves because they think there is something wrong with them when they are perfect just the way they are.

Random Political Thoughts from a 14 year old

There was many near-fist-fight debates today about presidential elections.
There was the "GO OBAMA"s, the "Obama's a terrorist!"s, the "Vote Nator and say 'the heck with it!'"s, the "Vote McCain, he was a P.O.W." and etc. Oh, my god. I am SOOO happy that all this political (insert word of choice is here) is OVER!! Society is pulled apart person by person, and it's not fun.
How come there is Donkey for Democrat (REALLY bad choice...) and the elephants for republicans, but NOTHING for the Independents?!?
Politics is choosing the lesser of 2 (or more on Super Tuesday's case) evils.
Too much drama this close to the holidays!
Why do the presidents change in late January?!?
Why do the polls take so long?
That's all I got for my random political thoughts...love ya guys!
Rayanna

Back pain (a.k.a. OUCH)

Okay, so even with today's day and age, we have even heavier backpacks. Dad and I were talking, and he said, in high school, he only needed 3 SMALL binders!
"How is that even possible," I asked.
"Folders," he says... FOLDERS!
For today's classes, you need AT LEAST 5 binders(Math, science, English, Social Studies, Foreign Language)!! AND folders- at least 4! The composition notebooks that we only use 5 pages of, pencils, paper, pens, highlighters, 5 pound textbooks, and it all HAS to go back and forth!!! Not that we don't need pens, paper, highlighters, and pencils, but come ON! They keep buying these text book on CD dealy-os, but they NEVER work! So we, young, little students, suffer severe back and shoulder pain with the back and forth of the supplies. Then, our doctors can't give us medication to deal with this pain, no, we'd get too used to it, and get an ulcer, and DIE! Oh, please! And you would think the pain would go away, or get better, and it does, on a weekend- by Sunday! Just in time for the pain to start all over again and worse this time! I liked it in kindergarten, when we had cubbies, to keep our pencils, paper, 1 folder, and an agenda. I'm sorry for my little rampage. In case you don't know, or don't care, or are having a blond moment, I don't deal with pain well, AT ALL. But when a 30-something year old picks up a 14 year-old's back pack and darn near falls over, that is a problem!
~Rayanna~

What's up with movies these days?

Okay, so there are SOOOOO many re-dos of movies lately! Prom Night, pretty much every mix-it-up disney movie, etc. What the Heck!!! It's the same with games! It's all been done, new theme or not... and who needs over 10000 different types of Monopoly? GEEZ!

Another AP World Story

It seems this class is the most fun, and it keeps me entertained...very entertained. A long time ago, my friend said that my teacher (which is also her teacher) never laughed. She also said that all she said that ALL she cares about is geography- of which I strongly disagree (with both). But, she she made a demonstration with her pretending to be at the chalkboard and pointing at something saying "Geography, geography, geography, and geography is why we have... Geography...." I was sitting in class the other day and that came back to me... I started laughing- good thing she didn't notice! Then, today, I was thinking about the INCREDIBLES movie, and noticed how she looked like, well, Edna, then I remembered the "Go fight, WIN!" and at that moment, she smiled. I laughed again. She doesn't actually look like Edna, that's a little harsh, I will draw her and you'll see! Happy Halloween!
~Rayanna~

Aww...maaaannnn....I've been "Boo-ed"

I haven't been the good kind of "boo-ed" like Boo and Sully in Monsters INC. Nooooooo. I have been Blog "Boo-ed." You know, I always STUNK at Tag when I was little... and now.... Actually, last year, we learned how to play Dutch Duck- Duck Goose, when we sit in four rows with the 1st person of each row sitting knee by knee. You say "Con" or some other word and con means go with the tagger, the other word means to run the other way around as the tagger, and the last one to sit is out. It's really fun... especially when you don't listen to the directions and purposly go the other way than what you call.... Anyways...

~Rayanna~

HOUSE!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAY!!

I am extremely excited to report, we are getting PAVED! Yes, we paid our deposit yesterday, and we are getting our road paved by the end of November! Which means... we'll have to move again in like, 4 months!!!!! WOOO HOOO! After almost a year in waiting, we were wondering if we could wait(There have been very many jokes about taking a spoon/shovel and digging out are basement our selves over the last couple of months :D)! WHOO HOO! By the summer, we will be moved in, and settled, and happy, and not in a postage-stamp(apartment) and we will have an awesome PAINTING PARTY!! YAY YAY YAY!!! Whoo HOO!
~Rayanna~

AP Test Anxiety- OVER!

Well, in the days creeping up to my test day, I was freaking out! I even had PANIC ATTACKS!! Well, it was two weeks ago. The panic attacks quickly stopped- especially after I got my test back today! Each of the two sections were worth 50% of this unit exam grade. I got a 42/50 on the multiple choice and I got that part, then I carefully looked through that essay... I got a 6/9, which sounds bad, but the average was a 4.5/9! Together, I got an 80(out of 100)! And the average for the overall test was a 70! I was freaking out!!! I don't really know why I got panic attacks, I really haven't have them before, and I wasn't THAT freaked out! Weird, what your big pink brain can do to you....

Drawing....

Okay, so I am NOT talented in the artistic ability of drawing... well, at least not as talented as I would like to be. And of course, when I decide I want to draw something, I always start with the hardest thing- a person. But I have finally found a way to draw and hide my drawing insecurities! For example, I drew a person, with a pumpkin for a head, and the hands in the pockets of the pants! There is a fellow blogger who's art work I LOVE and I have always wanted to draw like a cartoonist, or a caricaturist. I am one of those people who doesn't believe in the "Take a picture, it'll last longer..." physic. I take the harder, rockier road, and draw it... it gives me a chance to put my personality into it.

~Rayanna~

Yay!

Today was the third day of the school year where I didn't have more than 3 homework questions! Now I am lazy, and I don't want to do those 3 questions! Good thing I have two study halls tomorrow... :~D

"With age, comes responsibility..." and all that JAZZ!

Now that I am getting older, I am learning new things(big surprise right?)! Like the quote above from Spiderman only not quite. More like, Monster's INC. when Randall calls Mike a 'cretant' and Mike says "First of all, it's 'Cretan,' if you're gonna threaten me, do it properly." A Cretan, are the people of the island Crete, which is below Athens. It is because of AP World, that I now fully understand this quote. There are many quotes in Hercules, which I hated when I was younger because I could not understand it, that I can know understand. (YAY!)

~Rayanna~

I have been 'friendship tagged.' Have you?

I can practically hear all of your jealousy. Okay so here are the questions so I can deserve this friendship award.

1. Do you have the same friends since childhood? The only reason I can answer this question is because people change in high school. NO WAY IN BEEEP!! One of my friends has branched out, one of my old friends has adopted questionable behavior, and another is just... well... different. But the good news is... I do have at least one fantastic friend who had stood by me, and one's all I need.

2. What do you value most about your friends? Their opinion and their lack of judgement on me.
3. Are your friends sounding boards? When I need them, most of them are there. I guess it's one of those "It'll come with age..." things!

4. What is your favorite activity to share with friends? Talk, act crazy, go to movies and go to lunch on the lake.

Another October Movie Review

I really haven't noticed how many movies I watch a month, until I started doing these movie reviews, and I don't usually do the movies I see on TV regularly. Anyway here's another one for this month!

This month's (2nd) Movie Review is... Nim's Island!

Originally, I had no interest in seeing this movie. I thought it was going to be a movie that kids 8 and under would love and never stop talking about (Like Finding Nemo which I love), but it actually wasn't, and I give this movie a 3 star rating.
Nim's Island is about a little girl, who lives with her father on a remote island in the middle of the ocean. Her father is a marine bioligist and how they even survive with his pay, I don't know. Nim loves to read books about a heroic, main character, and after something happens to her father, she calls on her favorite character for help. Then she figures out that her hero is just fiction and that the writer of her favorite books is a complete failure. See the movie to find out what happens!
~Rayanna~

Craigslist

Mom LOVES Craigslist! Craigslist is basically Ebay-without taxes. You post things you want to sell, and wait for responses, then you meet up with the person to exchange. It's really cool, we just bought a sectional for really cheap, but as a result, it gets smaller and smaller in this postage stamp we call an apartment. There is everything from jobs, to treadmills listed! The possibilities are endless of stuff you could find there!

Fantastic Friday

Wow, finally Friday! WOOO HOO! Ghost Whisperer is on tonight!

Happy Wednesday!

You know, I should probably be doing my CANNON news article, but I am procrasting. My article is about procrastination.... wow, I just realized the irony of that sentence. Wow. Okay, I have to work on that now!

Happy Columbus day!

I don't get why we even get today off, but we do. I was bored, all day, except when I was doing my homework. Today is also Paddington Bear's 50th birthday. Columbus discovered SOUTH America! Not North America! I like school, so this is torture for me every year, and it throws my whole week out of whack! What they should do, is take Columbus day, which is not a national holiday that is recognized by most companies as a reason to have a day off, and Veterans day, which is not recognized by most companies ethier, and make it one holiday observation day where everyone gets they day off. We could call it Columbus's Veterans day, or Paddington's Veterans day, or ColumVeterbusans day, or something!
~Rayanna~

October Movie Review *Never a spoiler*

This month's Movie Review is on Beverly Hills Chihuahua. I went to go see it today with my girlfriends and we had a great time (see post below). It has been rated #1 Comedy of the year and I would have to agree with top 10, not #1. My favorite movie so far has been Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. I give this movie a 3 star rating.
For 10 minutes of the movie, they are in Beverly Hills, where they live, then for the entire rest of the movie, they are in a whole different country! There is a really big star who's dog is her baby, designer clothes, manicures, pedicures, massages, the whole nine yards. Then, the star can't take her baby with her on a far away business trip, so her niece is tricked into watching her, with a schedule full of dog birthday parties, and beauty appointments. Then in the other country, the dog gets lost. It is really pretty good, the music selection is PERFECT for the movie and is in all the right places. It's not a musical, but there is a lot of music. Pretty good movie all in all, not horrible(I don't think I have seen a horrible movie in forever!), not FANTASTIC(Like RV, Enchanted, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, etc.)
~Rayanna~

Birthday Party F.B.F.O.!

Okay, so every birthday, I have a party, a 'Girls' Night Out' if you will. F.B.F.O means For Best Friends Only- and I didn't make it up! Its usually only 3-5 girls who are my best friends. Although, it's never at night, but anyway, we usually go to lunch and movie. From the movie review above, you probably should know what movie! We picked up everyone, and had Wendy's lunch by Canandaigua Lake(one of my favorite places in Canandaigua), we talked, ate and played with the toys from the girls' lunches. We were done early, so we went to PETCO, and looked at the fish, and I picked out a really cute collar for Piper. We went to go see the movie, (see movie review above) and then we dropped them all off at their houses. It was a beautiful day and fun was had by all!
~Rayanna~

School Newspaper Article #1

Okay, so both Buddy and I are in the Newspaper club at our schools. We, at the high school, are apparently cursed at having the looonnngggeeessstt break between issues. To fix this, we are getting new ideas to write as soon as we fix our last story. Well I finished my first story; here it is.

Teacher Contract Negotiations

By Rayanna Chambers

Our teachers work under a contract between the school district and the teachers' union. The teachers' union is the Canandaigua Teachers Association (CTA). The teachers' contract determines many things, like how much a teacher gets paid for a salary, how long they have to work a day, salaries, absences and leaves, and how many classes they have to teach. Many adults from the district administrators, CTA (Canandaigua Teachers Association) negotiators, and sometimes members of the board of education get together with teachers to negotiate the next contract. However, the board of education doesn't get involved until the end when they have to approve everything. To gain some insight into this process, Mrs. Birx, the school's CTA leader helped with an interview.
"This has nothing to do with '10-year," Mrs. Birx said when she began. Negotiations for the year of the expiration date usually begin that Fall. The current contract ends on June 30th 2009. Most of the contracts last for three years, but they have been known to last for one. Since they have to start the process over again at the end of the contract, they negotiate it for as long as possible.
"The Teachers' number of hours of work a week is negotiable, but right now, they have to work 7 ½ hours a day for 186 days," she stated. The contracts remain the same across the board. All teachers get the same salary to start with if they have the same education. This brings up issues when teachers coach or advise clubs, because they get a stipend.
"[The average pay for brand-new teachers] who only have a Bachelor's degree is $37, 300 for a base for negotiation, but for teachers with a Master's degree, the starting price for negotiation is $39,350," she affirmed after looking at a chart.
Teachers have to stay until 2:55 everyday, but they do not have to stay until 3:30 with kids, and they won't get paid extra if they do.
She ended with: "due to our [U.S.A.'s] economic state, it will be difficult to negotiate anything easily."

Kinda boring, I know. Writting for your school newspaper isn't all sunshine, rainbows, and puppies!
~Rayanna~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEST PAL!! (/COUSIN!!)

AAAHHH 1...2...3...4...! Haaapppy Happy Birthday from all of us to you... WE LOVE YOU!!!! Happy Birthday!

~Pixie, Pete, and Piper's people/Rayanna~

Another Volleyball Player in the Family

For those of you who weren't aware, Buddy came home from the second day of school and decided that he wanted to go out for the Modified Volleyball team. I have to say that is probably right up there as one of the happiest moments of my life as a father.

The first practice was a little rough, but things have smoothed out since then. Except for a couple boys on the team who think they are better than they really are, Buddy is really enjoying it.

One of the moms is a pretty decent photographer and has been taking pictures of the team. She took a team picture that probably looks better than what Stegall's does. She also took a bunch of pictures of the Modified boys' practice with the varsity team. Buddy is in quite a few of the pictures, including an action shot of him serving. (The pic of him is in the middle of the second row of pictures.)

If anyone local is interested in seeing Buddy play, there are 4 home games left.
Wednesday 10/8 vs. North Rose-Wolcott
Tuesday 10/14 vs. Midlakes
Friday 10/17 vs. Sodus
Wednesday 10/22 vs. Wayne
All home games are in the Middle School gym and start at 4:15.

There are also away games at each of those schools, if anyone is interested. Just give us a call and we will give you details.

When Chinese for dinner and AP World Mix

Well, I was doing my AP World homework and I had been for at least an hour and as you can see from the title, we had Chinese for dinner tonight, and we had fortune cookies. **Note: If you go pick Chinese food, and you are only part of the people eating, make sure you talk about the other people in your eating party so you can ALL get fortune cookies!** Anyway, I always pick the fortune cookie farthest away and to the left, I don't know, maybe it's a little bit of OCD poking out in me..... I bit off a corner, pulled out the paper and ate the rest of it. I flipped over the fortune to check the lucky numbers. Mine was in it! I flipped it back over, and it said: Take some time and really listen to your own inner wisdom. So, I thought My inner wisdom is telling me "You are tired, go to bed." But, I couldn't, I had homework to do. (Boo!) Why are all the children in China starving? Because all the Chinese resturants are here and they give you enough food in one dish to feed a 3rd world country! I did my homework and just finished. Still hungry too! Just a little tid bit of my high school life I thought I'd share with y'all.

~Rayanna~

WOOO HOOOO!

Ahhh, October, the month of birthdays. In my immediate family, their all gemini's- except me! In our whole family... it's a different story!!!
My Grandma S, me, my best friend(over age 21)/my cousin Alicia, and her baby angel, Flicka.
Anyway, my family birthday party is tomorrow... and I am SOO excited!! I know I am not supposed to be SOOO exited about my party, but I think for the first time since my birth, we don't have to spend a day preparing!!!!
That's all I got!
Love you guys!
~Rayanna~

Women's Choir

For Women's Choir, we have vocal lessons, to help us with hitting the high notes. And in a link that I have put at the bottom of this post, the high notes are not even NEAR some of the high points that we have to hit. Check it out, yes, it's in a different language. I don't know if it's italian or latin, or what, but it sounds cool. We won't have concerts or anything (thank GOD...) but, I get to sing it... it's... fun. It really is. (really)
~Rayanna~
Follow this link! You WON'T be sorry, unless the volume on your computer is toooo high!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvQ8mFoqVss

Fall Has Officially Begun

Fall has officially begun, not just because it is September 23rd, necessarily, but because of Piper. I have had my baby kitty Piper for two years, I know everything there is to know about her. I know that she likes to check gravity (she knocks stuff off of the tables with her paw), she loves chicken and will get a chicken wing as big as her head and walk away with it in her mouth, she loves any kind of fish, and she thinks she's a person. When she was a itty-bitty baby, she used to sleep in my bed and lick my hair(unlike Pixie who EATS it, but that's a different story), but now she doesn't do that. She doesn't even come into my room in the summer, that's when Pixie takes over my bed, and pukes on it (Yep, that happened last night). But, during the fall and winter months, she comes into my room and begs me to pet her, then retires to the foot of my bed and continues to lick the window. I don't know if it's because it's cold, or it tastes good to her, or she wants to eat the leaves/snow, or what, but this is the strangest thing I have ever heard of (with the exception of my dad's old cat who went to the bathroom on the toilet!)! I love her so much, and everyone says she's a retard, but I love her, even when she won't let me go to sleep because she is rubbing her head on my chin the night before a day full of tests and quizzes.

~Rayanna~

Just so you know:

The bee did sting me in that major vein, but I didn't die. I don't even have a cold, actually, my slight sneeze went away! Yay! Like I say, just so you know!
~Rayanna~

BEE population- Down one more!

Bees are aggressive this time of year. Last summer, I don't know if they still are, but last summer, they were complaining that the bee population is depleting. Well, no would give a CRAP if bees didn't have something to do with the 90% of our diet that they do, but they do, so we care, well maybe you care, but I DON'T. Well, anyway, enough blabbing. I haven't been stung by a bee in like 6 years, and as time goes on, I think that it hurt less and less as it did. Well, I got stung today, and it HURT! I was screaming in the Grocery store parking lot. I was carrying a bag, and it hitched a ride. I didn't have a problem with that, they work hard, they should be able to do that, until they sting you. I didn't know it was there, but I put the bag in the car, and the bee stung me. I jerked my had away as fast as humanly possible and it was stunned. It fell (with style) to the ground and laid there, I don't think the bee was smart enough to know that we could kill it if it didn't fly away. My dad stomped on it, and killed it (hints the title). We got into the car and rushed over to my grandparents' house- which is closer to the grocery store than ours, and I got some ice. But it tingled, it stung, and the pain was unbelievable. It hurts worse than a booster shot, or a tetness shot the next hour, it hurts more than breaking you arm, and I know all of these by experience. It still hurts and it was TWO hours ago! Even with two aspirin in my system it hurts just as much as it did before. It got me HARD. It bled, but not enough for a band-aid. The red drop of blood disappeared an hour ago, and it's like it never happened, except for the pain.... Why do bee stings never even scab? The stinger didn't get stuck- THANK GOD! I would have died! And it always helps that it was on my ring finger, right into my vein that goes from my finger to my heart, so it hurts all the way to my elbow. Sorry this post is soo long for a freakin' bee sting, but I thought it was important.... Then my mom worries why I said she's never getting more than one grand baby from me when I cry for half an hour over a bee sting....

ALWAYS be careful what you wish for!

Due to my recent complaining, I got more posts, which I thought was great... until I read them. I'm a whiny little brat, according to one of my post-ers. So, ALWAYS be careful what you wish for!
Love you people!
~Rayanna~

Hey, you people!

I have told you that you need to comment so that we know that you are checking the blog, its NOT a test! Just post what YOU think, you won't be judged(except maybe by us), we want to know! Get your lazy bum finger and click "comments" type a word, or two, or a sentence, or a couple of sentences, fill in if you want to be anonymous, or a person with an email, click POST A COMMENT and you are done! It really ISN'T that hard! Next time, I am calling you out my name! (du, du, du, du, DUM!)
Love you people!
~Rayanna~

September Movie Review *Not a spoiler!*

This month's Movie Review is on Cloverfield, with a PG-13 rating and at a run time of 85 minutes. I found Cloverfield to be similar to the Giant Ant movies of the 50s, or The Blair Witch Project. It looked similar to an ant too! It was an okay movie, I give it 3 stars. The movie goes from a previous movie the main character made with his girlfriend, and a movie he is making to document a friend's social gathering. That's all I can really give away without really giving anything important away! I would only reccoment this movie to people who would really like to kill an hour and twenty five minutes or really liked the aforementioned movies--wierdos.
~Rayanna~

Mondays are HORRIBLE!

Mondays have always been bad. You want to sleep in, you don't want to go to school/work. But you have too. It has been debated to have four day weekends, which they are doing in Monroe County. But you still feel like it's just like Monday worse. They are the WORST day of the week, they always have been, they always will be, that's just how it is. Friday, the whole house slept in so we were late to school, my flip-flop broke in the middle of 5th period, and even though my dad was working from home, I wasn't gonna make him come bring me a pair of shoes for half the day. So, I walked around with one shoe off, and one on. When asked the question "Why don't you just take off your other shoe?" I would reply "Because, it's against the rules to go barefoot through the school, so I figure if I wear one of the shoes, I am breaking the rules, but I am not breaking the rules." Then they either walk away completely confused, or think I am a lunatic, either way, they walked away. My feet didn't get stepped on, and I didn't get glass in my foot from the walk home because my dad came to pick me up from the bus stop. *Thank you Daddy!* I doubted it could get any worse than that. Today, (Monday) the morning was great, fantastic, I had my homework done, I had two study halls, I got my homework done, I studied for upcoming tests, etc. Mrs. Story made me laugh, all was great. My best friend and I sat in the back so that I could study for the tests I had after lunch, all was great. I went to AP World History, Quiz #1. It was fairly easy, I don't think I failed, but I don't expect a 100. Pretty fair. I didn't get that much homework. Nice and Easy. Then Algebra, I have never been to FANTASTIC at math as I have say, Social Studies, but enough to get me an upper A+ and a smile on my face. Good enough, until Quiz #2. The questions were on stuff we barely knew/remembered, she teaches us like kindergartners instead of freshmen, confusing us. I had 3 or 4 questions left when the bell rang. No big deal, it was all done. I got the first two in a minute. The last two took a little more. She told me to just pick one! That it wouldn't matter, she was pushing me, stressing me out. I was about to cry. I stayed after for like two minutes. NO BIG DEAL. I grabbed the last thing I needed out of my locker and left for the bus. It had left! I walked into the Main Office and politely asked if they could ask one bus to come back on their way out. My bus does, but they said they couldn't do it. I knew they could, but they were to lazy to pick up the phone. I was really gonna cry. My best friend texted me "Where are you? Did you stay after?" She rides my bus and she was worried. I called my dad. He couldn't do anything, and I knew he couldn't. I needed his comfort. I decided to walk all the way to the Middle School with my sore feet and back. I watched my brother warm up. I was bored. I didn't want to be at school, I was to stressed out. I was gonna kill somebody. I needed to get out. My mom called me and asked what had happened and if I wanted my grandfather to pick me up. I didn't want to inconvenience him, so I put my phone away. I was bored. I called her back. She called him, he picked me up, I did my homework, and for the FIRST time since the last day of summer, I had "free time" on a week day! MAGIC! I think my AP teacher gave us too much homework to see if anyone would crack and leave the class before we really got anywhere. I don't know, just another day in a busy High school freshman girl's life. ~Rayanna~

Weekends ROCK!!!!

Before, I thought weekends were awesome, because everyone was together and we didn't HAVE to do anything. But now, I think they are the most fantastic, wonderful things in the world! When you deserve something, it is sooo much better!! Yes, I have homework, and a lot of it, but I am doing it tomorrow and enjoying the kick-off to this AMAZING weekend!
~Rayanna~

High School Movies

Now being in high school, I watch high school related movies, like I always have. But now, I realize, that high school is NOT really like that. For example the movie Matilda, it came out when I was going into 3rd grade. In the school I go to, the Kindergarten- 5th grade classes are all in the same building in different parts, and if you were in 1st grade, you NEVER went into the next two zones, not even for lunch. I saw this movie, and I was suddenly terrified of going into a different part of the school because the principal would be mean to me... I was fine. I went to school, and I lived. It was exactly the same, except the teachers and the material being covered. Then I watched Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen then I worried about how the kids would act in Middle School. Again, I was fine. Those movies are different because they came out in the summers before the following grade, however, the next one didn't. Now I am in the last new school before I graduate and I have already started high school. Now to my point... last night we watched Drillbit Taylor cute movie, weird, but cute. There were kids shoved into lockers, kids beaten up, ... etc. and this was me in the whole movie "WHERE THE HECK is this principal??" In the whole movie, you only get to see him ONCE!!! I saw my Principal at LEAST 89 times the 1st and 2nd days of schools, fixing things that kids have done, like getting into fights, etc. I realized that high school is NEVER like this!
I wonder what movie will come out when I'm about to go to college....

High school... Day 2

Okay, high school, not great, not bad. It is a LOT harder than I thought it would be! Of course, I do have Living Environment HONORS and AP World History 9. We have had INTENSE homework on the FIRST DAY!!! I kind of expected it, but today, two of my teachers, yes TWO gave us the homework, but didn't make it clear. For example: My AP World History teacher said we have to read this story, take notes and hand it in on Monday. Pretty easy. Right?? Well, then she handed out the packet featuring the story. 28 (and a half)pages!!!! Okay, I'm really not happy, I'll do it, I'm not happy, but I'm a good student! What can I do? Then she tells us that we ONLY have to read the prologue. I didn't look at it... I figured it was about half the packet. NO BIG DEAL! I'll knock that off in an hour- tops! Then I got home... oh no. Yeah, the WHOLE packet is the prologue! ON THE WEEKEND!!!!! I have English homework, Math homework, and Social studies... I don't care so much about the weekend, but it's a lot. I'm not looking for simpathy, I just missed everybody's emails and stuff because I was doing homework ALL NIGHT LONG yesterday!!!!!
~Rayanna~

Spare Comments?... Please?

We are in the process of getting FEEDJIT, which is a service that shows where people who read your blog come from! However, the ONLY people (or person, rather) that comment, is Alicia. It only takes a second or two, and you don't have to comment EVERY SINGLE TIME. It would help us now how many people, and who is reading the blog. Common courtesey is the only rule! Thanks in advance!
~Rayanna~

Cedar Point

On Friday, around 4 we got in the car and drove for about 4 and 1/2 hours to Sandusky, Ohio! Sandusky, is the home of Cedar Point(aka Rollercoaster capital of the world!) and is right on Lake Erie. Cedar Point is home of 72 rides, 17 of which are rollercoasters. This is why they are the rollercoaster capital of the world. They have also been voted BEST AMUSEMENT PARK IN THE WORLD! (Not by us, by some big, important rollercoaster people.) We went on all of the rollercoasters except one, that broke down when we were in line for half an hour the last day there. :( I also learned that because it is such a big amusement park, that they can charge 6 and 1/2 times the price of any item of what it would be anywhere else outside the park(ie: a hand-held fan- you figure its worth 3 bucks including batteries. Actual price, 6.99 excluding batteries.) Any way, fun was had by all. We drove back and had hotdogs for dinner before 11:00.
~Rayanna~

Summer fading into... school!

Hello, my favorite blog readers. Now, anyone who has ever been or had a kid who has been at school, you should know that you have to got to the 'see the school and get a hold of it before you come for classes' meeting, the 'open house,' and every other meeting for that sort of thing. The first one was last night for me. There was giggles from friends that haven't seen each other in 8 weeks. Excitement and fear filled the air. So many students, and so little space! I fixed my schedule, walked my classes, put all of my stuff in my locker, and we went home. It was fun, but it was also scary, new kids, upperclassmen, ect. I am SOOO excited!!
~Rayanna~

Still more Darien Lake

As the girl child said in a previous post, we went to Darien Lake Amusement Park last Saturday. A great time seemed to be had by all, but I am still ticked about one thing: the last 2 times I have graced Darien Lake with my presence and my dollars, the "Ride of Steel" (formerly known as "Superman: Ride of Steel") was not working! I guess it's a good thing we are going to Cedar Point, the Mecca of roller coaster enthusiasts (17 roller coasters and counting)!

Darien Lake

Lately, there have been quite a few deaths of STUPID people at amusement parks- particularly- Six Flags Amusement Parks all over the country-by the roller coasters. But, it's not their fault, people are stupid. For example- a kid was decapitated by a roller coaster when he was retrieving his hat-despite the signs telling not to. $20 hat or your life??? I chose- LEAVE THE HAT THERE!!!!
Now the reason I put this in the blog, is to prove my point in a previous blog, and we went to Darien Lake Yesterday, which used to be a 6 flags park. The roller coasters were fast, dangerous if you were where you weren't supposed to be... but no signs of death around.... Just really sore feet!
-Rayanna-

Renaissance

Today, we went to the Renaissance Festival- for a family day trip. There were funny shows, amazing characters, cool shops, and Caricature. Caricature is a cartoon drawing, made to look like you as anything you want... usually these are pretty expensive, but here they weren't! So, because I have been wanting one done forever, I got one done! I had to wait ONE HOUR in line, 10 minutes for the guy to draw it, and 20 minutes to color it, but it was worth it. They drew (and colored) me as "Rayanna: The Moose Elf Queen." They have been doing this all over since early 1990(!!!)... and he had NEVER drawn a moose in a Caricature before! He looked at me funny when I told him what I wanted, but he told me why after I got it! It is AMAZING!!!! I LOVE it, and it was sooo worth it.
Oh yeah... and stuff not about me... we had a ton of fun, until we got mini concussions by (NO JOKE) ICE CUBE sized hail!!!!!!! You could see everybody at the fair in the little shops for shelter, and it was silent- except from the screams of the stupid people not in shelter getting concussions!
-Rayanna-

School...FINALLY!

My mom says she's never met a kid like me.... I HATE summer, not because it's hot, sticky, and it's eight weeks off, but because it's boring to just hang around the house, not learn anything, and forget the stuff you just learned.
I would rather have it, so that instead of a whole eight weeks of summer, we had something like, I don't know.... yes I do! 3 day weekends!!!!! Even with school all year round (I'm not that crazy!) the 3 day weekends would make it worth it or at least closer.
But of course, I am also one of those kids that:

1. has fantastic grades
2. would NEVER even think of skipping school
3. has friends at school
4. is intelligent

I have never, and will never see the other side of the opinion if you don't POST A COMMENT!!

**Oh, and something my mom doesn't know-- her mother was the same way!**

-Rayanna-

Pipes! Yay!

Finally, the long awaited pipes are going in. They have dug the storm run-off (pond) and have begun puting the extremely large manhole piping into the ground. There are (some-what) new green pipes that are we guess are the sewage pipes down by the pond, but more inland, that keep slowly disapearing. Plus, two days ago, the blue water pipes arrived and are slowly moving from the road. This is exciting- mostly because we have been wating since this past november- but because we are that much closer to them actually building!
You see, first they put all the pipes for the begining in, then the electrical, then the road, then they start building the house!
-Rayanna-

August Movie Review *Not a spoiler*

Will Smith as Hancock,is a superhero who's actions have consequences in the real world, goes from a man with powers to a man who knows how to use those powers. I give this movie a three star rating.
Having forgotten his name, he goes by Hancock- after being asked for his "John Hancock." He was "born" on an alien planet where the alien is built with one pair. Whenever he finds the one for him, they both lose their powers and become vulnerable to fatal wounds.
This is an good movie for more mature families with older children due to it's PG-13 rating- plus it is rather short at only 93 minutes.
One of the reasons I found this movie not as good as the last, is that it was almost like it was a sequel, and that if you didn't see the first movie, you won't get it. Although, eventually, you do get the information.
~Rayanna~

Gas Price$

Now gas hasn't really shot up much in a few weeks, believe it or not! But it is still expensive, and there are still complaints. People have skipped out on going on vacation supposedly because of gas prices as a main cause. However, people are still going out all the time. In fact, if anything, they are going out MORE than ever! I don't get it... people are stupid.

People are stupid, and they like to complain A LOT! ~original quote by Rayanna

-Rayanna-

The Great Escape!!!

Marianne and I got back from our anniversary weekend celebration, both very tired and just generally worn out. As a rule, with several exceptions, I would rather have the windows open than run the air conditioning, so I proceeded to turn off the a/c and open all of the windows in the house. I figure we only get about 3 months of weather in Upstate NY that we can open the windows, so I am going to take advantage of every day that I can.

Marianne decided to go upstairs and lie down for a while. I planned to do the same after posting my morning golf score and checking the latest batch of humorous emails from my father.

Well, here I sit, in the front window, merrily clicking away at emails and golf-handicap sites. All of a sudden, I realize the house is too quiet. Then I hear the all-too-familiar jingle-jingle of Pete's collar and dog tags. He's outside the front of the townhouse!! He's merrily sniffing and marking his way across the neighborhood. My thoughts immediately run to, "How in the heck did he get out? Did he tear through a screen?" I then noticed exactly how he got out. Apparently, when I opened the sliding glass door off the dining room, I failed to close the screen door. (Boy, I must be tired!)

I headed to the dining room to rectify my error. When I looked outside, I saw this calico colored fur ball looking up at me from the edge of the patio. Great! It's a mass escape! I was just beginning to assess how I was going to corral Pixie into the house when I see a chubby gray fuzz ball come trotting up behind her. Piper! She pranced past Pixie and up the stairs into the house. Well, that's a good start: one down, two to go.

The look on Pixie's face was one of pure terror. I don't know if she was terrified by the fact that she was outside or if she thought she was in trouble. Either way, the look was priceless. I called her, gently, and she apparently realized that the best plan of action was to get inside and pronto! I guess I just reaped the benefits of having indoor cats. They really don't want to be outside...at least not for any length of time. That was easy: two down and the most difficult one to go.

I followed the cats back in the house and closed the screen door securely this time. I put on my shoes and proceeded to chase Pete around the neighborhood. I really think he likes this game. That makes one of us. Usually, when I get close to catching Pete, I try to grab him by the collar. That usually results in several near-misses. (Shouldn't they be called 'near-hits'? I don't know.) I was tired and didn't want to play this game any longer, so I was playing No More Mr. Nice Dad. He stopped a little too long at one of his favorite lamp posts, so I seized the opportunity to grab his big, fluffy tail. That worked! He tried to pull away once, but didn't like that very much. He decided to sit still while I got a grip on his collar. The walk home was, thankfully, uneventful.

Once everyone was safely back inside, I sat down and assessed the situation. The best I can come up with is this: Pete realized he had a path of escape, so decided to follow it. The cats tend to hang out by the back door (that's where the litter boxes are...and not too far from food and water) so they saw him leave. The cats really love their dog, though they won't admit it, so I think they decided to follow him and see what he was up to. I really don't know if this was a joint decision, or Pixie decided to follow him and Piper figured she'd follow along out of curiosity. I guess we'll never know. As Pete headed around the west end of the townhouses, I think it entered the cat's minds that they were no longer in familiar territory and decided to head back.

It's kind of funny how life teaches you little lessons. Sometimes, life stomps you real good when you screw up. Other times, it just throws a minor inconvenience at you at an inopportune time. I would rate this incident as one of the latter. Okay, I get it. From now on, I need to make sure that I have all of the screens in place if I am going to open up the house for ventilation.

Upgrades

Rayanna was very patient while we sat at Ryan homes for three hours. She never ceases to amaze me. She was definitely more patient than I. John did most of the preliminary work. Man, am I thankful for that! I more or less got to sit there and cringe. I believe I now have a few more wrinkles.

We now will have nine foot ceilings, taller cupbaords, a two foot wider garage with an external garage door, ceiling fan in the master bedroom, an egress window in the basement, an 8x4 front porch with columns, laundry room on the second floor, an extra window so I can see the woods better, a couple more outlets, full bath rough-in for the basement, upgraded master shower, and a white vanity for the kids bath. It doesn't sound like much. After reading Rayanna's post, I smiled. The window was one of the cheapest things. We are at $10,000 in upgrades...just like that.

To add insult to injury, the security system guy called while we were there. Believe it or not, that was reasonable. If we owe you money, you should have called Saturday. Apparently, we were handing it out.

At the end of our meeting, she tells us we need to meet with the woman for flooring and picking out cabinets. At this point, I am thinking we get slippers so we don't get slivers and skip all the flooring. Of course, Ryan homes in their ultimate wisdom on upgrade pricing and not passing their "bulk pricing" on to the customers would probably gives us $20 back. Well I guess that won't even cover the cost of the slippers.

The Saga of Building a House (cont.)

Today was the day. Today we had to make up exactly what we wanted in our house NOW to be set in stone (not literally). It was the first time I realized that everything costs money nowadays! Holy Gs! I mean really, if we put a window in, won't that save YOU money? You spend money on the tons of hours in labor, wood for the structure, the insulation, the siding, and the possible fixtures(electric sockets, lights, etc.), but instead, for you to just pay for the labor, the wood, and the glass for that section of the house and WE have to pay you $500 per window?!? I don't get it, I really don't and that's just the beginning of it! This is why there are so many homeless people out on the street! PLUS they buy everything in bulk, so really they probably spent a total of $100 on the glass and wood. Then there are the complaints about the housing market going up, telling you that it's harder to sell your home then to buy one! I don't get it!
~Rayanna~