Her Morning Elegance

Amy was supposed to post a video today, but she didn't really feel like it so I eagerly took her job.I'm not sure if you all have seen this awesome stop motion music video, so I'm putting it up just in case. Enjoy!

36 Weird Facts

1. Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

2. Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.

3. There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.

4. The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.

5. A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

6. There are more chickens than people in the world.

7. Two-thirds of the world's eggplant is grown in New Jersey.

8. The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched."

9. On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament building is an American flag.

10. All of the clocks in the movie "Pulp Fiction" are stuck on 4:20.

11. No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.

12. "Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".

13. All 50 States are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill.

14. Almonds are a member of the peach family.

15. Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.

16. Maine is the only State whose name is just one syllable.

17. There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

18. The characters "Bert" and "Ernie" on Sesame Street were named after "Bert the cop" and "Ernie the taxi driver" in Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life."

19. A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

20. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

21. Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

22. In most advertisements, the time displayed on a watch is 10:10.

23. Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.

24. Los Angeles' full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula."

25. A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.

26. A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

27. A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.

28. It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.

29. The giant squid has the largest eyes in the world.

30. In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak.

31. The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.

32. Mr. Rogers is an ordained minister.

33. The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.

34. There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball.

35. "Stewardesses" is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand.

36. On average, we spend 12 years of our life watching TV.

Quotes for fun

“The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.” -Samuel Johnson

"Look at those buns. Fresh from the bakery."
-The Wedding Date

"He's dead to me. But he's still my facebook friend."
-Amy

"Just because you gave birth to me doesn't mean you can say things like that."
-Heidi to Moma

HAPPY MONDAY!

Now tell me, what could possibly be happier than a cup of coffee?  Click this link to find a fun yet accurate overview of the history of coffee:

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/coffee

Happy Monday!

(Amy, this would be especially beneficial for you to read if you plan on applying at a coffee shop!)

Distractions

a fabricated poem

scrawled across the screen;

fluffy pink slippers

tapping the floor.

outside, translucent snowflakes glide

onto the windowsill

where, once landed,

melt into a puddle of warmth.

Did you know...?

"The majority of the world’s population lives at or near sea level. Thus, most of the world’s bakers live near sea level. Thus, most of the world’s cookbooks and recipes were written near sea level. Turns out, this actually matters.

Since there is going to be a whole lotta baking going on in this next week I thought it timely to sound a warning to those of you in towns and cities at higher altitudes.Beware the air pressure. Low air pressure will result in overly bubbly batter, coarse texture, or worse… collapsing cakes!

Not only that, baking near the mountains means you’re cookies will dry out faster, and be your squares more likely to stick in the pan. Really, it’s amazing that us mountain-folk manage to appease our collective sweet-teeth at all.

When you are standing there is a column of air above you that is stacked on top of you. The weight of this air pushing down on your head is called air pressure. The higher up you go, the less air between you and the top of the atmosphere. When there is less weight to hold down the water, it will evaporate more quickly. There’s also less weight on your cake batter itself, so it can rise to greater heights.

The high altitude baker needs to compensate, and there are several options. You can give your cakes more structural stability by adding an extra egg or flour. Subtract a little bit of sugar or fat, not enough to make it healthy, but enough to change the chemistry. Add extra water to make up for the quicker evaporation, or simply take it out of the oven sooner."

(this post courtesy of http://lsned.com/)

Inspirational Quote

This is a quote from the great movie Dead Poet's Society. One of the most inspiring:

"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, "O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?" Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play *goes on* and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?"

- John Keating (Robin Williams), Dead Poet's Society

Awesome movie. Very inspiring movie. This quote is also in my facebook quotes. Yay for Robin Williams!

A Little Happy

Amy and Katie are coming home this week or at least really soon!
Plus- it's the week before Christmas! :D
The family will be together!
And then no more school for the rest of the year!
Yeeeeeeeesssssssss....

Heidi

Heidi was supposed to post today, to write something from a story to a haiku, but she has been gone all day due to the fact that she went to see Amy's concert in Minnesota. So...I thought I'd make up a short poem about Heidi!

Heidi

Meet Heidi; a caring, loving sister of mine
That has a smile that practically shines
She is very artistic and loves to create
And she tries not to turn homework in late
She's pretty cool
That dancing fool

*shrugs* Well...not my best, but I have to get to bed soon! Anyway, hope you like it Heidi!!! 8D

I'm Late, I'm Late, For A Very Important Date

Soooorrrry. I had too much to do last night (legitimate stuff of course, like homework), so I'll be posting for Wednesday today.

Here's some fun facts about music:

The first recorded use of the flute, clarinet, oboe, and trumpet was in ancient Egypt.

Only one person walked with Mozart's coffin from the church to the cemetery where Mozart was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave.

Mendelssohn left the score for his A Midsummer Night's Dream overture in a cab, and was able to rewrite every note from memory.

Yeeaaaahhh, that's all I got. Sorry this post is late, short, and sucks. Next week I'll be on the ball. Happy winter, guys.

Thursday

Visit this website:


http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Entertainment/Feel-Good-Video-of-The-Week-Laughing-Baby.html

It shows the only good things about babies...


*

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village, though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

It's Snowing!

It's snowing! In Hartford! Yes indeed, it snowed two to three inches of snow last night, and it is still snowing! It's not packing snow; on the contrary the snow is the light powder kind, which is why it is not a Snow Day and Heidi, Kelly, and I still have school. Ah, well. I'm just glad that it finally snowed!

I thought the first snow in December is something to be happy about, and that it why I'm sharing it with you this morning! :D

A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol ~ A poem by Lilly

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Is very popular this time of year
Indeed; over the years and years
People have made movies and plays of different versions
Of the popular book
With Barbies and Muppets and real people
I find the Muppets
To be the best.


This was written because today I watched half of the Muppet's Christmas Carol and also saw a play with Daddy, Heidi, and Kelly which was another version of A Christmas Carol. It was okay, but Muppets make everything so much better! ^^

Hitler Videos ;)

I couldn't choose between them, so I included them both. If you watch both, watch them in order. :)

Wednesday's Post

Fun Facts about Snow!


What Is Snow?

When water freezes inside clouds, ice crystals form. Ice crystals are crystals that have formed around tiny bits of dirt that have been carried up into the atmosphere by the wind. The ice crystals join together creating snow flakes. Once the flakes are heavy enough they fall to the ground as snow. Each snowflake is made up of from 2 to about 200 separate crystals. In addition to a normal snow fall, snow can drift to the ground lightly as flurries, fall heavily as a snowstorm, or pile up quickly by being blown by strong winds in a blizzard.


What Color Is Snow?

Believe it or not, snow is actually clear/transparent. Snow appears white because the crystals act as prisms, breaking up the light of the sun into the entire spectrum of color. The human eye is unable to handle that kind of sensory overload. Therefore, we see the snow as white or sometimes blue. The color of snow can depend on the environment in which you live. Some snowflakes look like they are pink. If you live in a place where your soil is red, snow is pink. The red dust blows into the clouds, discoloring the snow.


How Big Is A Snowflake?

Most snowflakes are less than one-half inch across. The largest snowflake recorded was fifteen inches in diameter. All snowflakes have six sides and no two snowflakes are alike.


How Many Snowflake Shapes Are There?

Scientists think that there are five different shapes of snow crystals. A long needle shape, hollow column that is shaped like a six-sided prism, thin and flat six-sided plates, six-pointed stars and intricate dendrites.


What Makes The Different Shapes?

The shape that a snow crystal will take depends on the temperature at which it was formed. When the temperature is around 32°F to 25°F thin six-sides plates are formed. At 25°F to 21°F long needle shapes are formed. At 21°F to 14°F hallow columns are formed. At 14°F to 10°F six-point stars are formed. At 10°F to 3°F dendrites are formed. The colder it is outside, the smaller the snowflakes that fall. The fluffiest snow falls at temperatures around 15°F. (from http://www.spfdbus.com/christmas/snow_facts.htm)


Other Random Factoids:

1. In the early 1900s, skiers created their own terminology to describe types of snow, including the terms "fluffy snow," "powder snow," and "sticky snow." Later, the terminology expanded to include descriptive terms such as "champagne powder," "corduroy," and "mashed potatoes."

2. Practically every location in the United States has seen snowfall. Even most portions of southern Florida have seen a few snow flurries.

3. Snow kills hundreds of people in the United States each year. The primary snow-related deaths are from traffic accidents, overexertion, and exposure, but deaths from avalanches have been steadily increasing. (from http://nsidc.org/snow)


(Hi Everyone! Sorry my post was late... but I hope that cute little kitties make up for it!!!!)

A quote from a pretty hilarious book:

I am currently reading a fantastic book called The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I'm sure you've heard of it, or at least the movie that combines the five books in the series. There are so many things in the book that make me laugh, but since I can only have one quote, I'll have to only post one of them..

"Now it is such a bizarrely improbable coincidence that anything so mind-bogglingly useful could have evolved purely by chance that some thinkers have chosen to see it as a final and clinching proof of the non-existence of God.

"The argument goes something like this: 'I refuse to prove that I exist,' says God, 'for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing.'

"'But,' says Man, 'the Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn't it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED.'

"'Oh dear,' says God, 'I hadn't thought of that,' and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic.

"'Oh, that was easy,' says Man, and for an encore goes on to prove that black is white and gets himself killed on the next pedestrian crossing."

=)

GOOD NEWS - It's a new week and you can start fresh!

Happy Monday everyone!

It's STILL Sunday! Which means I can post :)

Happy Saturday, Pals.

The day after Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving dinner

Everyone full from last night...

Always room for pie!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Turkey Day everybody! Here's a short stop motion to enjoy! ;)

Le Jour de L'action de Grace

I think it would be "false pretenses", if you will, if this blog did not include some French once in a while. So, along with some history on Thanksgiving (because who really remembers what they were taught about the Indians and Pilgrims back in Elementary school?), I will be doling out a little holiday-oriented French vocabulary! :)

THE HISTORY OF THANKSGIVING:

THE PILGRIMS
A pilgrim is someone who journeys, usually a far distance, to a place as an act of religious devotion. In this case, the pilgrims were Puritans who were being repressed from practicing their religion. They ventured forth on the Mayflower in order to make a better life where they could worship freely. Thanksgiving, to them, meant a religious holiday of giving thanks to God, usually given to fasting- not feasting.

WHERE THE HOLIDAY CAME FROM
Our current tradition combines this Puritan tradition of giving thanks, and European as well as Native American traditions of celebrating a good harvest. We celebrate a Thanksgiving after the 1621 harvest celebration the Pilgrims had in Massachusetts, sometime between September 21 and November 11 and was three days long (agreeing with European harvest festivals). During the American Revolution, a national holiday of thanksgiving was suggested to the Continental Congress, and by the mid-1800s, many states -starting with New York- had adopted the custom. It was Franklin D. Roosevelt who, in 1939, proposed the holiday should be celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.

THE FOOD
Nowadays, the traditional food associated with Thanksgiving is turkey, pumpkin pie, and mashed potatoes. Other common dishes served include stuffing, gravy, pecan pie, and cranberry sauce. The original harvest included a very different menu; historians suggest the pilgrims and indians supped over seafood (yep! like cod, eel, lobster, and oysters), nuts (chestnuts, acorns, and walnuts), venison (deer meat), indian corn, raw pumpkin, other vegetables, and different kinds of wild fowl (yes, turkey included). They ate many different kinds of meats. But pies and cranberry sauce? Nope.

WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE
As far as the buildings, the pilgrims had only built seven houses, a common meeting place, and three storehouses for food and supplies. In preparation for the meals, one person would be assigned to sit for a period of hours to make sure the meat was cooked evenly over the spit (meat was commonly roasted). As for their dress, the pilgrims wore earthy tones of green, brown, gray, black, and beige. The women also wore violets, reds, and blues. The buckles we usually imagine they wore didn't even come into style until decades later. The Natives they celebrated with were of the Wampanoag tribe, along with their leader, Massasoit. The two communities ate both together separately over the few days of celebration, dining both indoors and outdoors at one time. Between meals, there was singing and dancing, as well as games.

Of course, even if the Pilgrims did not consider their meal a thanksgiving, they did give thanks. And when you're enjoying bountiful food with friends and family, how can you not be thankful?

And now, some French vocabulary ;)

Pilgrims - les pèlerins (lay peh-ler-eh)
Indians - les Indiens (lay in-dyen)
settler - un colonisateur (uh coh-lohn-ees-ah-tur)
feast - un festin (uh fest-eh)
thankful - reconnaissant (reck-on-ay-sahnt)
harvest - la récolte (lah ray-colt)

pumpkin pie - la tarte à la citrouille (lah tart ah lah sit-troo-ee)
stuffing - la farce (la farss)
turkey - la dinde (lah deend)

Thank you very much - Merci beaucoup (mare-see boh-coo)

Tuesday's Quote

"I'm going to knit a blanket!

"I'm going to organize my desk drawers!"

"I promise I'll start volunteering more!"

"I'll send you that email as soon as I get home!"

Stop talking.
Start acting.


If not now, when?

(P.S. I totally made that poster, it's hanging above my desk! heh heh heh)

Something Happy

When I'm sad I stop being sad and instead think of how awesome I am. That always makes me happy.

:) Enjoy your Monday.

Happy Sunday!

Better late then never! I honestly thought someone else was going to post today, but that's okay. I'll just spread the Lilly Love! So ladies, just make sure you remember your day to post!

Tee hee hee...

Garfield?

Have a great Saturday, ma sisters!

Just a poem I wrote in study hall one day.

He loves me,
He loves me not.
He loves me,
He loves me not.

I could go and pick off every single petal,
Of every single flower,
And he would still love me not.

Petal One:
You love him,
He loves you.
The feelings are fresh and new.

Petal Two:
The words slip out of your mouth.
Things get awkward.
He doesn't look at you.
He keeps his distance.

Petal Three:
You make up,
Talk things through.
You love him,
He loves you.

Petal Four:
It doesn't work out.
Your love is no more.
You love him,
He loves you not.

Nothing Else Matters

Performed by Apocalyptica

If I could clone myself 3 times, this is the first thing I would do! hah!

Facts about sleep you probably didn't know...

1. The record for the longest period without sleep is over 18 days. This person experienced hallucinations, blurred vision, slurred speech and memory lapses.

2. It is almost impossible to tell if someone is really awake without medical supervision. People can have naps with their eyes open and not even know it.

3. Elephants lie down during REM sleep, but sleep standing up during non-REM sleep.

4. What is commonly known as the the “natural alarm clock” which allows people to wake up when they want, is caused by the stress hormone adrenocorticotropin.

5. The tiny rays of light from a digital alarm clock can actually be enough to disrupt your sleep cycle.

6. On average humans sleep about three hours less than other primates.

7. Ducks are able to balance the need for sleep and survival by keeping one half of the brain

awake and other half in sleep mode.

8. Most of what we know about sleep we’ve learned in the past 25 years.

9. It has been suggested that the availability of the internet is one of the major influences of sleep distractions.

10. Studies suggest that women need up to an hour's extra sleep a night compared to men.

11.The average person sleeps for a total of six years in their whole life.

12.Everyone dreams 5 to 6 times a night; we just never remember dreams unless they're vivid enough.

Sweet Dreams ;D

A Lilly and Heidi moment

The following was said one night a few days ago when Lilly and I were in my room very early in the morning. I don't remember now, but there was something about making a wish:

Heidi: "Why, did you wish for something else?"
Lilly: "No."
H: "Good, then we're on the same page."
L: "Same page, different book."

Have a great Tuesday dudes!
*
By the way... Like you guys volunteered, Lilly will be doing Wednesday first, Amy will be doing Thursday first, and Kelly will be doing Friday first (I came up with that theme with her in mind anyway)

Monday's Happy Thought

Love your friends and family with your entire being. They are the most important part of your life!

The good thing about family is that we'll always have each other. And how can you not be happy about that?

Hope you all had a great Monday!

"I Suppose You're All Wondering Why I Called You Here Tonight..."

It's not because one of us in this room is a murderer.

It's because a few days ago, Lilly suggested (after seizing our attention with a picture of a monstrously huge cat) that we all start a blog together. And, bamboozled as we were by the proportions of such a ginormous (by the way, I hear that's a real word now. Yeah, in the dictionary and everything!) feline, we agreed. Well, the time has come to make good on our words, ladies.

I was a bit excited... so I got right to setting everything up- and everything is up for possible changes (I just needed a title and template in order to have a blog, you see). And everything that follows is up for debate, and I NEED to know what you guys think, okay? FEEDBACK!

Since there are five of us, and seven days in a week, I figured it would get a bit confusing trying to have everyone post equally everyday so here are my thoughts:
We each post one weekday a week. This way, weekends can be spent freely, having fun and partaking in tomfoolery. If the weekend is the only time you find time to write, however, you can certainly schedule your posts to post on the right day.

Now days! I think each day should have a theme. Like-
Monday: something happy
Tuesday: a quote or passage from a book, person, or movie
Wednesday: something new- a lesson, a fun factoid, or an interesting news article
Thrusday: a video- any kind!
Friday: creative writing of some kind- a story or poem, made-up or from your life

We'll rotate so that we each get to do one post for each theme... so, if I posted one week on Monday, then the next week I would post on Tuesday, and if Lilly posted on Friday, she would post on the following Monday (so the person who ends the first week begins the next one). And we'd keep going like that!

What do you guys think? Suggestions? Questions? :)