Busy as a Bee

Happy late Thanksgiving and early Christmas. I am sorry I haven't posted in a very long time. I have been "Busy as a Bee" as you can see from my title. I went to my grandparents for Thanksgiving in Southern California (5 hours away!). It was a pretty car ride because we (my mom, sister, my dog, and I) got to drive along the ocean where it meets the hills. We spent some time with my dad's family having a soup and sandwich get-together which was lots of fun. I got to see my cousins which I hadn't seen for a long time. My cousin Taylor and I sat by the fire, roasted marshmallows and talked. It was delightful! We had Thanksgiving with my mom's parents (my grandparents) and I made a discovery. I like MASHED POTATOES! I learned that you peel the potatoes, boil them, put seasoning in them and eat them. Yummy, yummy, yummy! Up till now, I thought I hated them. I never ate them anywhere. Maybe I had made a mistake and eaten the box kind, I don't know. But my grandma's mashed potatoes were delicious! They make a pretty good mountain on your plate.

Did you know that I am good at geometry? Ok, not so much, but recently I played the part of Euclid in an historical tableau at my school. I don't really know what geometry is except for shapes. I know what a circle, square, triangle, and octagon are, but I don't really know what geometry is other than that. So, I was Euclid in the painting School of Athens and was located at the bottom right hand corner. Euclid is an old, grumpy looking, over weight, almost bald man in the painting. When I chose Euclid, I thought I was choosing the student next to him which was a young, handsome man dressed in a green cloak with brown long hair...exactly like mine. But alas, I got the old grumpy looking Euclid. So I dressed up in a dress that my Grandma Wathen made me (this dress has really been put to great use and gone a LONG way) added a toga, and put some nylons on my head so I would look bald. In the tableau, there was actually a boy who shaved his head like a monk for his part, but I would not go that far. History Day was a wonderful experience. Next year, I will be more careful who I choose!

Coming up in my next post, I will be telling you about some important changes in my life. Stay tuned. Watch your computer all hours of the day. You never know when I will post and you don't want to miss this.

I promise I'll post soon- hopefully Wednesday.

Goodbye my friends!
Gigi

Wooo Hooooo!

I did it! I finished Jane Eyre this morning in bed! Wednesday, October 19, 2012 I finished it! Ok, I'll stop tooting my own horn. Beep beep, beep beeeeep! It was a sweet ending, as sweet as it can be. It was as sad as a dead puppy at times, but at the end it showed beauty. Just when you thought that this book was going to end in tragedy, it ended in beauty. It was a wonderful book.

Jane Eyre is an amazing women. She was headstrong, had fortitude, and persevered through tragedies. Her life was filled with sadness and hardship but also the beauty of God shown through her. She never hated the people who mistreated or deceived her. Her whole life she just wanted someone to truly love her. At the end, it finally comes true and even grumpy, creepy Rochester is changed by her love for him. Jane Eyre, the book, has many good examples of "man verses self" a literary devise I am learning about in school. Mr. Rochester, St John, Mrs. Reed, all seem to be fighting themselves. Jane herself, seems to be an example of "man verses world" because she's fighting with the world that she can't control, trying to make things better for everyone else and to find someone who will love her.

The book Jane Eyre was great. I recommend this book for older readers not only because it is hard, but also because of some of the things that happened. For those who have read the book a long time ago, I encourage you to read it again. You won't be sorry.

Just as Charlotte Bronte ends the book, Jane Eyre...

"Amen, even so, come Lord Jesus."
Grace

SLO Running and slow reading

Yes, yes, I am sorry I have taken too long to write again. I am busy. Here are the things I am doing: homeschooling, fencing, reading, eating, sleeping, churching, running, beaching, singing, friendsing, and buncoing. I know, I am breaking the rules of grammar. Don't worry, I am not crazy (I don't think I am anyway, but it sounds so much more cool to keep all of the ings). So, please forgive me.

Besides fencing, I have been running. On the same day even! It's not just running by myself. I am running with a few middle schoolers and high schoolers at SLOCA. We are getting a team ready so that hopefully next year, we will be able to compete. Our runs are 2 miles that take us through Cal Poly, SLO. It is exciting running through the college because there is lots to see. I don't really think about college very much except for culinary school, so it is interesting being there. My dad is the coach and he is a very good one. Weirdly enough, I am not the last/slowest runner, unless I get a cramp. THEY HURT! It's embarrassing in front of college students to be as slow as a turtle, so my goal is to be in the middle of the pack.

I am 100 pages from finishing Jane Eyre. For those who know Jane Eyre, as a friend, I am at the part where she is a school teacher for St. Johns School. I have passed some of the scariest and saddest parts of the book. I wish she could have married Mr. Rochester---ooops I am giving away too much! It's sad but true. Ok, I have a friend who is reading Jane Eyre too and she needs to get a move on. We are planning to watch the movie together with our moms when we are finished, but she is a slow poke. (She isn't even from SLO!) So this is my nice way of saying to my friend, "Move it!". I am prepared to use force or violence as Mr. Rochester would say. In the book he says to Jane, "Listen to me or I will try violence!" Mr. Rochester is creepy and weird, and I will try to not follow in his footsteps. I highly doubt I will, but dear friend "read on, read on!"

This Wednesday is my Grandma Gogo's birthday and I want to wish her a happy birthday- blog style. SO..."HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA GOGO! Thank you Grandma for being there when I need you, celebrating with me all of the good things that happen, praying for me, and for making delicious ribs. Three cheers for Grandma! GO!GO!GO! (Make sure Grandpa Gogo makes you a cake! Probably on the barbeque since that's what he knows how to use.)

A Bientot (See you soon),
Gigi

Bed, Bread, and Jane Eyre

So, today we are going to go in alphabetical order, starting with bed. Last night, I got a queen sized bed. Bye bye to the twin! My sister gets bunk beds now, so when friends or family come over, we have more room. The queen sized bed will make the grandmas happy too and maybe they will come and stay more often. A queen sized bed made me sleep better last night except for the fact that I am scared that there may be bed bugs. I got the bed from a neighbor and I'm sure that it is clean, but I'm still kinda scared about it. I saw a very frightening TV show about it. Who wants bed bugs crawling in their ears? YUCK. I'm hoping Christmas comes quickly because the bed isn't all that cute. Right now, it has a quilt on it with no dust ruffle or matching pillows. Boys would say "So what!", but it's not so what. I want things to look nice and not kinda nice or sorta nice, but really nice. I guess I COULD be happy with some matching pillows. Honestly, I would really like it to have a red canopy, a white dust ruffle, a red comforter, and white pillows. If that's too much, I would really just like a canopy. My mom had one when she was my age and I want to follow in her footsteps. Wink, wink (ok, maybe that's not so sincere.) I just really want the canopy. Maybe the grandmas could team up on that?

Now to bread. I helped my mom make my first bread today. We made homemade yeast buns. We like to eat these with honey and butter or use them for sandwiches. I thought it was fun, but you have to be a little daring in the middle of it. You have to pour a sticky mess of batter on the counter and use the paddles to mix it with the flour. Right now it's rising and then we will cut it into sections to make the rolls. My mom likes to weigh each bun to make sure that they are all the same. (It's a great math lesson in disguise!) When my dad and sister come home, our house will smell, not heavenly, but super heavenly! Tonight we are going to have hot turkey sandwiches on them. Turkey is nice, but honey is even better. Oh well!

Jane Eyre! I am reading the fiction classic Jane Eyre. My dad had to find it for me in the adult section of the library. Shocking, since it says it's a children's book. I guess the library doesn't think so. I guess children in 1847 were better readers than they are now. Random thoughts run through my head like natives sometimes. Everyone has that, right? Hopefully for me, I'm not the only one. I wonder if I'm crazy...oh, back to the topic. (Sorry!) So I was randomly thinking about Jane Eyre and I asked my mom if I could read it. She said it was a chunky sad book, but she agreed I could read it if I finished the entire story since there is redemption at the end. My mom loves the book and has seen all of the movie editions (I think). My dad doesn't get why she has to see every single re-version of the movie. She thinks they are all better than the last one, but my dad somehow didn't let her see the last version. Mystery? yes. Coincidence, NO! My dad is sneaky sneaky. When I finish the book, my mom will get what she wants. She will get to see the newest movie. I will too! Yipppeee! Girls win, girls rule! Hmmmm, lets see if my dad notices this. Does he actually read my blog like he says he does? We will see. Detective Gracie is on the case. My last thought about Jane Eyre is that it does seem kinda dark. I am hoping to finish the book soon so that I will get to the redemptive part. It's the kinda book that you have to force yourself to read at the beginning because it's hard. I'm really not lying,it is HARD. But, I will carry on to the end!

If my moms computer decides that it's a lucky day, you will get to see pictures. If not, I hope that we can add them later. Sorry about the missing picture from my last post. They were ready to go, but it just kept telling us that they were loading. I'm concluding with a blessing instead of a curse this week. I hope that it actually comes true for you.

May you eat fresh, delicious warm bread until your heart's content!

Gracie

Exercising the brain, snoozing and other homeschooling thoughts

Today I had a wonderful time doing math. Math isn't always easy while you are homeschooling. Occasionally my teachers (Mrs. Wright, mom, and dad), think that I am part Einstein. You should look at my math (see picture!). A genuis could do it in 10 seconds flat, but I am nowhere near that. I am learning about factors and multiples with large numbers. They take a lot of time and get confusing and take a whole lot of exercising of my brain. It's like a marathon going on in my brain. "What is the lowest multiple of 12,10,and 6?" "What are the factors of this or that?" It's like the biggest workout for my brain! Will I even have a brain left after all of this workout? By the end of the year will the blood have disintegrated my brain and I'll be left with a brain the size of a pea? Or will I have an enormous brain, like big bulging muscles, from all of this working out? I'll go with option number 2. I will have to remind myself that I am choosing this option. I'm hoping that it will make a difference when I don't feel like trying.

Now about snoozing. It wasn't me who was snoozing. I have been up since the crack of dawn (not really), but I have been working hard. My dog, on the other hand, decided last night to stay up and party in her kennel. Therefore, she has been snoozing all morning. Sleep, sleep, sleep with an occasional ear push up is all she does. Later, she may perk up and expect us to take her to the dog park. No way, Jose. Why does she get to sleep in when she wants to and I don't? Don't tell me that it's because she is a dog and I am a person. What's the point of having a dog if they don't do anything? I guess she is cute and cuddly occassionaly. But that's not the point. She loves to bask in the sun and sleep while I am slaving away, basking in my misery. Are dogs heartless? Of course they aren't, but sometimes it seems like it. Just like people. Dogs are sweet animals when they want to be. How are they supposed to know when it is the right time? When they were pups, perhaps they did too many math problems and their brain disintegrated to the size of a pea. That's my excuse for all of dogkind. But no more excuses. I want her to get up and at least patrol the house, maybe even do a little of my math for me. Dogs would get more treats if they did math or homework for their owners. Don't they know this?

It was great hearing from so many of my old blogging friends. I've missed you dearly. Why would someone blog without any followers? Thank you for being one of my followers? I'll try to post another recipe soon. My mom has been thinking about all things pumpkin, so that is a hint about my next recipe. Say hello to the pumpkin! I personally hate pumpkin seeds but that's another story. I'll save that one for Halloween.

May the Red Plague rid us all of math!
Gracie

PS I twisted a curse from the Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt for my closing.

PSS If you haven't read that book, you must! It will become a family favorite.

My blogs new name and lemons!

I thought I would tell you about my new blog name. It seems only fair. Why is the new name "The Cute Girl Who Pokes"? I earned that name with blood, guts, and glory. Too bad, I actually didn't. It would make such a nice story. Here is the real story. I was at a fencing tournament a few years ago, and I was stretching out with my mom. One of the other fencers walked up to me and said "I wish I had my mom to help me stretch". We talked a little bit and then she said "Hey, you are cute and small and I am going to squash you like a fly!" Then I said, "I am cute, but I poke." So she dubbed me, "The Cute Girl Who Pokes". Dunh dunh dunh! That's how it all came about. By the way she was kinda right. I almost beat her, but then her sword had a technical difficulty and she ended up with a longer sword. No fair!

Do you see the picture of me? Of course you do! This week I am going to make lavender lemonade for my class. I went to a concert and while I was there, I had a popsicle that was a lavender lemonade flavor. I liked it so much, I thought I must learn how to make it myself. So that is what I did. I only really like the best of the best, so I have to have fresh lemons and fresh lavender. Luckily, both are easy to find in my neighborhood. My mom and I went searching for lemons. At first, it wasn't going so well. Then we found a tree covered in lemons but the people who lived there weren't home to ask if we could pick them. Then I asked a neighbor who was outside, about the lemons and he showed me a better lemon tree in the backyard of a vacationing home he was taking care of. Could you imagine that forging could be so easy and fun? I think I saved a lot of money by just asking. Now, we are headed to San Luis Obispo (SLO) to forge for lavender. It's everywhere so I don't think anyone will mind if we take a few here and there. Below you will find my recipe for making the lavender lemonade. It is my first original recipe and I hope you like it too.

Gracie


Lavender Lemonade

To make the syrup:
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
8 heads of lavender

1 cup of fresh lemon juice.
3 cups of cold water and ice to taste

Boil water then add sugar. When dissolved add lavender. Steep for 10 minutes. Take out the lavender. I like to save this super sweet delicious treat to suck on like candy. YUM! Combine remaining ingredients and pour over ice. Drink it up and enjoy!

P.S. Be careful not to drink too much lemonade because it takes the enamel off of your teeth. I learned that from my uncle who is a dentist. Thanks Uncle Scott! (Scott Wathen DDS in case you need a great dentist!)

New Beginnings

I'm back! I know there is no excuse, but a lot has happened since last December. Shall I fill you in on a few of the details? First you should know that we have done a bit of moving. The details are kinda boring but here is the exciting stuff. We moved from Denver to Austin in January and then in July we moved to the Golden State (California baby!). Morro Bay is my hometown now.

Morro Bay is a very interesting place to live. My town has its own pet rock, great cafe's (Top Dog), a good library, and great neighborhoods. Our new house is a perfect house for my family and it is so close to the ocean that I can walk there. I have my own room! From my balcony, I can see a little window of the ocean and it is breathtaking when the sun is going down. We even have fun neighbors. Morro Bay seems to be a pretty safe place to live.

Last week was my first day of school. I say first day, because I will only be going there two days a week and I homeschool the rest of the week...yipeee! On Friday, I had a fabulous bonfire at the beach with all my new school/church friends. I enjoyed the night thoroughly except when I got hit in the head with a sand ball!! The nerve of those boys! I am excited about school and the kind of year it is going to be.

Another good part about my new life is that I am back into fencing. I have a fabulous fencing club that I joined. They have good equipment and the people are as nice as fencers could be. You see, fencers can't be too soft or else they will end up being loosers.

So here is the deal with my new blog. I'm still reading, so you are still going to see new books listed at the top but you might not see as many because I am now reading harder books because 5th grade is in middle school and there won't be any real quickies (for the chickies). So instead, you may hear about my cooking. As part of my homeschooling, I will be cooking with my mom 2 days a week. Forget the old brownie mix, I will be making things from scratch. One of my favorite things to do is ride my bike to the farmers market, so I will be sharing glorious foods for your eyes to feast on. Sorry I can't give your stomach any, I'm planning on eating it myself. I also will be writing about fencing which I am sure you will enjoy. Lastly, you will be hearing a lot about my dream to go to France which I am hoping to do next year as an exchange student.

Again, I'm sorry for not writing for the last few months. I hope my new and improved blog will make up for it. Don't forget to leave a comment, pretty please with sugar and lavender on top.

Gigi