Getting Better all the Time

In the last few days, I've been learning a lot about this extremely new movement. It all started with this video about Pixar that my sister came across on cartoonbrew.com, a site she recently blogged about. This led me to discover more videos that all carried the same incredible message: It does get better.
Only started in September of this year, Dan Savage started the It Gets Better Project to give LGBT teenagers hope that their future is bright, even if it doesn't seem that way right now. Hundreds of people from all over the country, gay and straight, have made these inspiring videos, and all kinds of celebrities and organizations have endorsed this project as well.
One of my best friends happens to be gay, so this site has really hit home for me. It breaks my heart to think about all the young kids out there, trying to come to terms with their sexuality while being bullied and teased at school, and in some cases even at home. !,! These teens need love and acceptance, not hate and prejudice! So what if they're a bit different? It's what makes them special. These unique, interesting, beautiful people deserve to pursue their happiness as much as we do.
History is being made with this project. It excites me to think that I can be a small part of it. ^_^ I whole-heartedly support the It Gets Better Project, and hope that you will help to spread the word too. In a way, this doesn't only apply to LGBTs, but to all people who feel lost and alone, just because they are different. Don't give up hope, my friend. It won't always be like this. Just keep on dreaming, be yourself, and remember...
It's Getting Better All The Time. ^_~

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It's the last day of November now. ~,~ It sure was a good month...

But tomorrow's the first night of Chanukah! Hurray! Plus my brother Adam's 13th birthday is on the 10th, and his Bar Mitzvah is on the 11th! Double yay! ^_^

Wow, 2010 is almost coming to an end. *sad*... But it's okay, because it has been such a wonderfully awesome year! If anything, this year has proven to me, beyond a doubt, that it is getting better all the time. I don't know how on earth I'm going to top it... but I'm sure 2011 will find a way. ^_^

~~~~~

Edit: How about tonight's Glee episode, huh?! This show honestly just gets better and better!!! LOL!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so thankful for a lot of things this year...

Yesterday I wrote and published an EXPLOSION of new posts in honor of the many random things I'm thankful for. Just because I felt like it. You don't have to read everything I've written; this is honestly just for me.

In case you happen to get lost in my sea of thankfulness, I will throw you a lifesaver in the form of a table of contents, as shown below. ^_~
1: Bruno Mars
2: Glee
3: Anime/Manga
4: Books
5: Food
6: Autumn
7: My family
8: My friends

And last, but never least, I'm thankful for... Jacoby Nielsen ^_~

I'm thankful for... (last, but never least)Jacoby Nielsen ^_~

Here is a good friend, right here. You see that face? This is the face of one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. I've known this person for nearly 2 years, and he still continues to surprise me with how sweet he is. ^_^

Some time after I'd came home from the vegetarian potluck with my family, I heard the phone ring. It was Jacoby! My friend had called me during his work break to wish me a Happy Thanksgiving! The last time I got a call from him was on my birthday, so this was totally out of the blue for me. That is just the kind of person Jacoby is. ^_^

There are so many things that we have in common, so many things that we've shared. Even though I've never met him, face to face (he lives all the way in Utah while I live in Florida), he is one of the closest friends I've ever had. I am so, very thankful to have a person like him in my life.

Happy Thanksgiving, Jacoby! ^_~

I'm thankful for... (8)My Friends ^_^

I think it is largely thanks to these 2 websites here that I found and have a big majority of my friends. I have met so many wonderful people online! It is simply too amazing for words! ^_^

Nearly two years ago, James Dashner, in all of his awesomeness, inspired me to start my own blog. It's been quite a journey for me. I'm so happy to have had so many people to share it with. ^_^ I've come into contact with scores of friendly, interesting, like-minded Bloggers, and I've managed to get more than a dozen people to follow my "majikal" antics and adventures.

There are really only several people that I can truly call friends, though. I follow these people closely, they follow me. I always try to comment on their latest posts, and sometimes I get comments from them. Not that often nowadays, though... but don't worry, you are all still my friends! ^_~

I got started on Facebook just half a year ago, when I came home from my Taglit Israel trip. I made soooo many friends in those 10 days!!! ^_^ This site seemed to be the only way I'd be able to keep in touch with these awesome people. Sadly, I don't talk to these people very much anymore, except when one of them has a birthday or something. ~,~

But on the bright sight, I have connected with lots of other people this way! My family, people from my Toastmaster club, fellow beach bums, friends I know from blogging, even Cashflow players that I really hit it off with! Last night, I sent a message to ALL of my Facebook friends, wishing them a Happy Thanksgiving. This was a little experiment of mine, to see how many of my friends will wish me the same. At least a dozen people replied this message, and a few even commented my status or wrote on my Wall. So it looks like my experiment was a success! ^_~

I don't know... years before I used these sites, sometimes I felt like I didn't have any real friends. I just had my family and people I could call... acquaintances. I was a pretty shy little girl. Sometimes I'm still a bit shy, but my online persona has allowed me to be outgoing, bubbly and friendly, so I've made lots of friends that have helped me grow as a person. So this is a collective thanks to everyone. ^_^

Coming up next, I give very special thanks to a very special someone... ^_~

I'm thankful for... (7)My Family ^_^

I love every member of my family soooo much! I'm thankful every day of my life that I'm related to these people, but on a day like today, I feel even more appreciative.

I have the best parents in the world, I have a twin sister as one of my closest friends, and I have a younger brother who rocks! We are such a tight unit, the 5 of us. There simply aren't enough words to describe my love for these people. I could have been born into any family in the world, but I was born into this one, and for that I am forever grateful. ^_^

I'm thankful for... (6)Autumn ^_^

This is my favorite season for many reasons. It gets slightly cooler, the air smells different and special, and all the best holidays (plus some birthdays) take place around this time of year! ^_^

First there is my twin Annette's and my birthday, September 7th, to start things off. Then October 3rd, my mom's birthday. Next Halloween comes around, and we get all dressed up and everyone's in a happy, scary mood! After that it's Thanksgiving, where everyone is thankful and eats a lot. Also, it turns out that my favorite author, James Dashner's, birthday happens to be on November 26th, which hovers very close around Thanksgiving. (Last year it was the same exact day as Thanksgiving, so I thought it would be the same case this year. It is actually today, the day after Thanksgiving. =P) Finally, even though I would consider December to be strictly a winter month, there is technically still one more day that is special to me which falls within, well, Fall. That's my younger brother, Adam's, birthday, December 10th. Thanks for being born, bro. ^_~

Autumn, Fall, the Red Season... no matter what you call it, this 3 month span of time (from mid-September to mid-December) rocks hard. I am so thankful for it!

I'm thankful for... (5)Food! ^_^

Of course, you've gotta be thankful for food, especially on a day like Thanksgiving. ^_^

Today I had lots of fun, because I went to a vegetarian potluck with my family. We've done that for a few years now, and it always gets better than the previous one. There is soooo much great food to be had at a potluck like that.

How thankful I am that I'm not one of those people who go to bed hungry. I know there are others out there who are not nearly so fortunate. ~,~

Really, I'm just thankful for food in general. I'm glad that I'm a person who loves to eat and, no matter how much I stuff myself (even on certain holidays), still stay my ideal weight. ^_^ I'm grateful that I have a mom who makes wonderful meals, and that certain foods, like pizza, pasta, cucumbers, grapefruits, oatmeal, carrot cake, ice-cream, pumpkin pie and many more, exist in the world. ^_^

I'm thankful for... (4)Books! ^_^

What would the world be like without books??? A very sad place indeed. I'm incredibly thankful that libraries, bookstores exist, and that I have read all the books I have in my life. I learned to read as early as 3, and even then, I loved to read! Of course, I'd have to give a lot of credit to J. K. Rowling, who wrote the best-selling series that got me addicted to fiction novels forever! Long live Harry Potter! ^_^ Of course, I don't only like fiction novels. I am also a huge fan of poetry books, short story compilations, and autobiographies of my favorite heroes. And maybe some well-written non-fictions...

I have read hundreds and hundreds of books in my life! I'm glad that I used to keep a few lists of what I read in the past. Sometimes just looking at the title of a book I read long ago is enough to make me remember the plot and the characters and everything I loved about a particular adventure. I loved keeping my Book Club blog for the almost 2 years that I did. It was really fun for me to review the books I read and share my feelings of them with the world.

I also love meeting the people who have written my favorite books!!! Author events are so much fun! I am so thankful that I have been so fortunate to have met/ come into contact with several famous authors in my life! I love shaking their hands, getting their autograph, asking them questions, and just thinking to myself "OMG! I am actually in the presence of (fill-in-the-blank)!!!"

In addition, I'm so glad that I've met a few awesome authors online. I've emailed them, seen their blogs, sometimes even just had them comment on my blog, which is a huge honor. I'm talking about James Dashner, J. Scott Savage, Laura Bingham, Kaza Kingsley, Aprilynne Pike (well, at least her husband commented) and (even though he's not an official author yet, I still have lots of faith in him) Graham "Chops" Bradley. ^_~ I'm a huge fan of your work, man. I just know you'll be published and famous someday.

I love imagining that I, too, will someday write my own book(s) and publish it/them. It is one of my big dreams, my highest goal in life. I want to be an author, and turn out books of poetry, or short stories, or works of fiction that everyone will love... One day, I will. You'll see. ^_~

I'm thankful for... (3)Anime/Manga ^_^

There is just something about this art/animation style that is completely awesome! I enjoy putting up these kind of pictures in my blog posts. Very often on my blog, when I'm trying to express how I'm feeling or what I'm doing, I type "anime girl" in the Google Image search box. Just sifting through all the results, trying to find the girl who will best represent me... it is so much fun for me! ^_^

But I don't just like anime and manga for my blog purposes. I love ALL of Hayao Miyazaki's movies (he is a master storyteller, like Disney was!) and in the last couple years I've become attracted to graphic and manga novels, like the Cirque Du Freak series.

Really, I just love the way the characters look in this style, and if it's really well done, how these characters act! I don't know how the Japanese came up with this look, but they sure hit a winner. It's beautiful, it's very realistic while staying cartoony, and even adults love this stuff! (In Japan, grown-ups as well as young people read manga novels! What a culture!)

I'm thankful for... (2)Glee! ^_^

I'm soooo thankful that this show is on TV! It is just incredible! ^_^ There really isn't much I can say about Glee that I haven't already. In a speedy 2 months, this show has become close to my heart like no other program has done before. Not Simpsons, not SNL, not Seinfeld... not any show I can think of!

I love that this show isn't a sitcom, so it is without a god-awful laughtrack and lame jokes. I love that the background or transition music is just Acapella singers going "ba-ooh-ba-ooh-ba", or "doo-doo-doo-doo" or any of that stuff! It is so catchy! It's like those funny popping sounds that are in Seinfeld. I love how even though the characters are a little cliche on the surface, you find out that inside, they are actually very sensitive, feeling individuals who have hopes and dreams of their own. But most of all, I LOVE the music! ^_^

On Tuesday, I gave my 6th Toastmaster speech, titled "Give Glee a Chance." I've been incredibly hesitant about posting this video up, because I didn't do as good a job of it as I'd hoped to. ~,~ I messed up in a couple places. I was really nervous, for some reason! But on the whole, I think you will enjoy the content, and I do show some confidence for a majority of the video. ^_^ Despite everything, I would still call this my best speech ever. Check it out. ^_~

I'm thankful for... (1)Bruno Mars ^_^

I would say that Bruno Mars has become one of my top favorite musical artists this year. I love him!!! I never thought that I would say it, but he is someone who can actually rival Michael Jackson. ^_^ He's talented, funny, sweet, and ever so cute! I love every one of his songs; they're very catchy, the lyrics are always so poetic, and I could listen to them over and over if I could.

I like this video a lot! This is like meeting Bruno! ^_^

I don't know how I missed it, but he came up with a new music video a few days ago! It is very good! I love this song... but it's pretty sad at the end. !,!
This is pretty neat too. The Making of. ^_^

Glee 2:8 ~ FurtLike/ Not like

~~~~~*spoiler alert!*~~~~~

If you haven't seen the new episode of Glee yet,

do NOT read this post!

You have been warned!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LIKE:

• Carol Burnett. ^_^ I love her, she is such a great and funny actress. I think she was well cast as Sue Sylvester's mom. They sound a lot alike.
• Artie, Mike and Sam standing up against Kurt's bully, Dave Karofsky (hard name to remember 0,o) and putting up a good fight. That was really epic! Sam got a black eye and Artie fell down in his wheel chair! I wonder how many times they had to do that scene... lol
• Carol singing that song with Jane Lynch. That was a nice moment. This is the first time I've heard Sue sing on Glee! (Jane sang the "Glee theme song" in her monologue on SNL, but that doesn't count.)
• Dave getting expelled from school. At least temporarily. He deserved it.
• Finn standing up for Rachel against Santana. That's a good boyfriend for you.
• Bruno Mars' song "Marry You". I knew this would be in the episode, but it was still fun, and I think New Directions did a decent job of covering it. I just love singing along to Bruno Mars! ^_^
• Kurt's dad's speech to Finn's mom at the wedding. That was soooo sweet! !_! Very romantic and straight from the heart. You can tell that he honestly was in love with Finn's mom. They'll be so happy together. ^_^

NOT LIKE:

• Kurt's over-the-top reaction to being the wedding planner for his dad and Finn's mom. I'm sorry, but that was just too gay of him. (How on earth could he plan weddings since the age of 2? I groaned inwardly when he said that. ~,~)
• Sue... marry... herself?! What is she, crazy?! No, it's the writers who are crazy. This doesn't happen in real life! It is just too bizarre! (I was thankful, though, that Carol Burnett was sane enough to agree with me.)
• The Glee girls (Rachel, Quinn, Brittany and Tina) not including Santana or Mercedes in their meeting when they plan for their football boyfriends to tell Dave to knock it off with bullying Kurt. That was slightly mean of them. I mean, yeah, they didn't have football boyfriends, but couldn't they still be included?
• The totally untraditional wedding ceremony. Kurt's dad and Finn's mom very rudely interrupt the pastor when he's asking "Do you...". I mean, what was he even there for?! They didn't need him!

LIKE/ NOT LIKE

(I can't decide whether I like these plot points or not. They're just... strange.)

• Sue being a good, responsible principal? She's supposed to be evil! I wanted her to go all Umbridge on the school. Then again, I was glad she listened to Kurt's troubles about Dave bullying him. She really seemed like she wanted to help him. So Sue does have a heart for these kids... which makes me very suspicious. O,o And then she willingly resigns as principal in the end?! So she can keep a watch on the bully Dave? I mean, I did wish that she'd somehow stop being principal, but... Sue doesn't just give up power! Why is she doing this??? Ahh, so confused... ~,~
• Sam "proposing" to Quinn with a promise ring. Yeah, it was awful sweet of him, but... slow it down, dude! You haven't known her for that long; how can you love her enough to want to marry her?? I thought it was a very strange plot point, but for some reason, I couldn't put this in my NOT LIKE list. It was... sweet, I guess. =P
• Kurt teaching his dad and Finn how to dance. Just because it again makes Kurt a little stereotypically gay. Still, I thought it was a pretty funny scene. And boy, I haven't seen an episode where his dad blows up about someone teasing Kurt's gayness before! O,o What a dad!
• Finn singing Bruno Mars' "Just the way you are" to Kurt, and then voluntarily dancing with him. It was unexpected, and a bit out of character for Finn. But it was incredibly sweet and selfless of him, and like I said, I love singing along to Bruno. I don't care about the circumstances under which it is sung. Anyway, I could tell that it made Kurt soooo happy. ^_^ His face simply lit up, just like it did when Blaine sang to him. Kurt used to have some sort of crush on Finn, so it must have meant a lot. And now they're brothers... very interesting relationship. O_o
• Kurt is leaving William McKinley High School?! For Dalton Academy? NOOOOOOO!!!!! He can't do that! I know he's scared of Karofsky (he doesn't stay expelled. Curse you, student board!) and now he'll be able to hang out with Blaine (♥) in peace, but how can he run away like that? !,! Now he's going to be in the Warblers' Glee club, competing against New Directions! That's just... not right! But it does make for an awesome cliff-hanger! (We all have a love/hate relationship with cliff-hangers, am I right? ^_~)

~~~~~~~~~~

Generally, I would say that I disliked the first third of this episode, felt better about the second third, and then loved the final third! ^_^ Sometimes I would cringe at this story's goofiness, but then I'd see examples of incredible writing and acting. I give "Furt" a grade of A-.

That concludes my first critical review of a Glee episode! I thought since this was episode #30, I'd post something special in honor of it. I hope you enjoyed my very thorough critique! ^_^ What are your opinions? (Don't be shy. ^_~)

Writing is like a sandcastle

This morning I happened to find this blog post, titled "Writing is Like..." I thought it was pretty inspirational. Not just the content of the post, but also the commenters' own interpretations of the question. Pondering the prompt myself, I came up with my own clever analogy. I actually surprised myself with what I ended up writing!

~~~

Writing is like building a sandcastle. You gather a whole bunch of ideas and mix and pack them together, modeling them to your desire. Then you take a step back at your work and realize that some parts need to be taken away, or added to it. It is gritty and dirty work, and maybe the tide will wash it away, but you don't care. You're doing this simply for the joy of creation.

People passing by may stop to look at your castle. Maybe they'll admire it and say "Wow, you're an artist. Nice work." Or maybe they'll look down on it and say "You call that a castle? *scoff* I've seen better."

You can have friends help you with your castle, but really, it is your creation.

Finally, you'll stand back and find that your project is complete. It is perfect; nothing more can be added or taken away. You smile with the feeling of accomplishment.

And you know that the next time you go to the beach, you'll be doing the very same thing and loving every minute of it. ^_^
~~~
I'd like to continue this chain and ask my readers this question: what is writing like for you?

Long live HP...

Incredible. This movie, to quote the Harry of "A Very Potter Musical", was TOTALLY AWESOME! ^_^ I consider it to be the very best of all the films that came before it. There were great funny parts, the acting was fantastic, the scary parts were absolutely thrilling, and the story was extremely true to the book. Seriously, sometimes it felt like the book had honestly come to life! I don't want to spoil anything, but I'm sure hard-core Harry Potter fans will have either seen it at midnight last night, or will see it very soon, so there will be nothing to spoil. ^_~

I actually wanted to see it at midnight, very much! But we figured it would be a mob scene at the theater. You know, because it's HARRY FREAKIN' POTTER! It was okay, though. When we saw it this afternoon today, there were very few people in the theater, like 20 besides my siblings and I! We were able to get perfect seats in the middle. ^_^ I loved that!

Last night our internet connection stopped working. I was slightly alarmed, because I thought this would mean I wouldn't be able to blog about seeing Deathly Hallows. !,! But as you can see, we fortunately got the internet back. So yay, no worries! ^_^

On TV I saw a short excerpt from the classic Chuck Jones cartoon of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." ^_^ I love this old holiday special. It is the only show about Christmas that I don't mind watching every year, because this cartoon gets the message right. The Whos down in Whoville know that the "true" meaning of Christmas isn't presents or decorations or trappings. It's about getting together and singing and being happy with what you have.

Besides that, the grinch himself is really funny! ^_^

Good night! Until next time...

Book Review: Skinny *Witch

This is officially the first book review I'm posting off of my book blog, which I have decided not to update anymore. That's because I don't feel like reviewing every single book I read, just the really good ones that I feel must be recommended. I talked about Scorch Trials a couple weeks ago, but I wouldn't call that an official review. This is.

So without further ado, I present... da da ta-DAAAH!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Book Review: Skinny *Witch

*Since I have an image of the cover right here [>>>] it is pretty obvious that I wrote the title wrong. This is because I, personally, am uncomfortable with cursing, even when I'm writing. So this is my way of working around that. Hey, it's only one letter off. Trust me; despite this book's actual title, it is fantastic, and you will want to keep reading this review. ^_~

As the subtitle says, this book is meant to be "A no-nonsense, tough-love guide for savvy girls who want to stop eating *klunk and start looking fabulous!" This book is all that it promises and more.

*Once again, I changed this word because I don't like using curse-words. =P The word I'm using instead is a reference to a term used in James Dashner's "Maze Runner" books. lol. ^_~

I started reading this non-fiction book on the high recommendation of my mom and twin sister. It is a very quick read, written with clever and sharp humor, but with a very serious and important message that I knew backwards and forwards already. That message is this: BE A VEGETARIAN!!! It is way healthier for you, you will stop being sick and fat, and you'll be saving the lives of countless animals in addition to making a greener environment.

There are quite a few curse words sprinkled in this book, but this is only so it can drive the point home for the reader. You have to use your head when it comes to your eating habits. Every day of your life, YOU control what goes into your body. You can choose to eat junk, or you can choose to eat the right stuff. You must look at the ingredients on the package and make educated decisions for your health. This book is a kick-in-the-pants for people who need to be told this.

These authors are not ordering you to go on a diet and give up the things you love to eat. They just simply giving it to you straight. Certain foods will slowly poison you, and other foods will vitalize you and give you the nutrition you need. After that, it is your own decision to make. Your life, your body.

Seriously though, though I am a very happy vegetarian and know most of this stuff already, I still learned a great deal from this book. There are separate chapters for the "evils" of junk food, sugar, dairy products, and meat. I'm not kidding here, I was freaked out by some of the facts I learned. Especially in the chapter called "You are what you eat"...

If you don't read anything else from this book, you HAVE to read that chapter. It has true horror stories of what goes on in the factories that slaughter the animals that become our meat. Actual people who work/used to work in these places talk about what their job entails them to do: murder hundreds upon hundreds of innocent creatures every single day! !,! Honestly, you will be shocked! You will also be horribly grossed out when you find out what really goes into your meat, milk, cheese, eggs and other such items.

You will not be sorry that you read this book (so long as you don't mind some of the language, that is ^,~). Of course, by the title, it is clear that the intended audience for this book is female. But all this valuable advice goes for both genders, without even saying. Still, I found out that a couple years after publishing "Skinny *Witch" and having it become a best-seller, these authors came out with a companion book for men. You can see the title right here anyway, so I don't even need to say it. ^_~ Enjoy!

Brrrrrrrrrrr!

What gives, Mother Nature?! Just 2 days ago the weather was fine and warm in the 80s (degrees, that is). Then yesterday the temperature dropped between 70 and 60. That made for a really nice walking day. No clouds at all in the perfect blue sky, and it felt nice to be a little bundled up (emphasis on little).

And now it is 52 degrees! So cold!!! My siblings and I barely wanted to get out of bed this morning! *shivers uncontrollably* Hopefully none of us will get sick from this sudden and extreme swing in temperature.

Maybe I should write a poem about this... that's how strongly I feel about this cold!!!

How freezing is it in your part of the world, reader?

Day after Halloween

No more costumes, no more candy (we didn't have too much, just the right amount, which we finished last night), and no more parties. Today was a pretty normal day. ^_^

I finally got to see "The Karate Kid"! It was a really good movie! ^_^ Jaden Smith was soooo cute, and such an awesome actor! I can't help but be reminded of his father in his little expressions and his attitude. He's 12 now, but I bet he's going to be a heart-throb when he grows up. lol ^_^ The film itself was really great too. Great story, great action, China was beautiful and I liked his interactions with the Chinese girl, his romantic interest. Plus there was Jackie Chan and all the Kung Fu. ^_^ What a cool teacher he was.
(Just a question though. Isn't this supposed to be the Karate Kid? Why was Chan teaching Jaden Kung Fu, not Karate? That's just not right. 0,o)
On the DVD was an awesome music video where Justin Bieber sings and Jayden raps! (Again, just like his dad. He's got skills!) It is a really good song, and it was cool to see them perform together.

Then there is this music video, which I also saw today. I loved the song already, but when combined with this story... it's even more inspiring. Just watch. ^_~

Mwah-ha-ha-hah!

I hope everyone's Halloween was full of candy, laughs, surprises, costume appreciation, and awesome fun! Mine certainly was. ^_^

Pretty much this whole weekend has been a blast. On Friday, my mom and Adam invited Annette and I to come to their home-school costume party, which was quite fun. Then last night, the night of Halloween, we went to the annual party at our Town Center (we've gone every year for ages), which has costume contests for age categories and booths with kiddy games where you win candy. Adam, as the Mad Hatter from the new Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland, won second place in his category. See the comparison:

Incredibly similar, huh? ^_^

This year for Halloween, my twin was Grouch Marx, our favorite of the Marx brothers. He's probably before your time, but he's the one who had a big black mustache, a cigar, and the sharpest wit you ever saw.

Meanwhile, I was my very own character. Like no one you would know from a particular movie or TV show. I wanted to be something... scary for Halloween this year. I've been a mermaid, a hula girl, a princess, a mime, a hippie and lots of other creative and cool-looking characters, but I've never had a real Halloween-ish costume.

But this year, I changed that. ^_^ Mwah-ha-ha-hah!!!

I was... a Mad Scientist! Behold my evil!

There is no contest. This was my favorite costume for Halloween EVER! Remember how I found the crazy x-ray glasses with my Grandma? I used those! My mom found this wonderful white "lab coat", and I painted it myself with blood and slime (red and green paint =P), even though it looked really beautiful and I didn't want to ruin it at first. I put up my hair all crazy, we sewed a pipe-cleaner spider onto my shoulder to make me look more creepy, I wore yellow rubber gloves, and I filled a beaker with green liquid for a prop.

Before we got to the home-school party on Friday, I wrote this poem about my costume, which I loved so much. And on Halloween, I got my siblings to help me put together a short film, where I recite the poem and act it out. I think it is really cool and I hope I will get to show it to you soon. ^_^

At the Town Center, Annette and I volunteered to help out at a couple of the game booths for the first time ever. For years we'd simply enjoyed the party. This time, we saw what the party looked like before people came, when the party was hopping, and after everyone left.

It was a lot of work, but I had so much fun. ^_^ Working with the kids, encouraging them to win the game, and seeing their smiles as I gave them candy, was all the payment I needed. Plus I think I got a lot of impressed looks for my costume, which made me really happy. Neither Annette nor I won the contest for our age group, but that was okay with me. I still had the best Halloween ever. ^_^