Highlights from Rochester

Once upon a time, a young lass by the name of Schmonnie went to visit her sister, another young lass, by the name of Bangel (pronounced "bagel," but very nasally, much like portuguese).
This visit was a fabulous visit, where much fun was had.

Some highlights:

Buying peanuts for the poor, hungry security guard at the airport

I must seem trustworthy...

Seeing Bangel

Seeing Bangel flip out when Schmonnie threw a stuffed squirrel at her (please be kind to animals)

...how I wish I had a picture....

Schmonnie got stuck in a beaver suit

They were H20 Heroes...and probably still are, but just can't reveal their dual identities so act "retired." (Yeah, right)

Sitting in a very hot car in the middle of a rain storm

Beating the other passengers on the plane on the in-flight trivia.

Might I add that I am a record holder...

Finding a street that rhymes with my name

Sitting on a plane while my brother complains he needs to vomit

What a joyous moment for he, me and the passenger who wishes she did not have the seat next to us

Maybe we don't want to be found... - A Fine Frenzy

One time I found buttons on the inside of my shirt and thought I put it on inside out. But no, there are just buttons on the inside of my shirt. I call them my "back-up buttons." 

She has back-up buttons too.

A Dose of Irony

Orthoepy is the study of correct pronunciation.

It's like riding a bike!

Sometimes I think of things that will make great blog posts and then I forget. SAD DAY for everyone.

So these comments are not the ones I forgot and am now remembering. They are other thoughts. Just FYI.

You know how people say something is like riding a bike?
Usually this is referring to not forgetting how to ride it, right?
Well first off, I don't ride bikes much, but when I get on one I still feel confident and comfortable.
So today, when I say something is like riding a bike, I mean it in the sense that when you don't do that thing for awhile, you still feel confident and comfortable when you do pick it up again. Maybe it's the same thing.
That said, this, unfortunately does NOT occur for me when I

1) speak in front of people
2) confront spiders

Situation 1:
When I lived in Germany I had a lot of experience speaking in front of people. I had to relatively often at church, and I had to very often at school. We had oral presentations in a good chunk of my classes (TOK, German, English, are the ones that stand out), plus, I took Drama, so was in front of people, out of my comfort zone, a lot. And for the IB in English, part of our final exam was an oral commentary so we would practice that to death. Speaking became a pretty regular thing for me.
Now, in Utah, I don't have to speak in church too often, I sometimes have to give presentations in classes, but it is all far less often. Now, in Utah, whenever I have to speak/present again I get SO NERVOUS. It's ridiculous. It's not like riding a bike.

Situation 2:
Confronting spiders (or any creepy, crawly, nasty, better-off-dead creature). There was a summer when I stayed at home with my parents in our recently completed basement bedroom. Somehow, that room came with all kinds of bugs. It got to the point where I was killing at least one a day. They really like my company, I guess. But I killed them so often that I eventually skipped the screaming step and just grabbed whatever and smashed the critter. I moved to a third-floor apartment, where the presence of bugs was far less prevalent. Unfortunately, I recently confronted a spider and realized, I include the screaming stage again.

NOT like riding a bike.

More childhood...

I must add another tidbit to my childhood reminiscing post. I just recently rediscovered "Faerie Tale Theater." I used to watch it when I was little, and have memories of going to the library to get the videos. It is cheesy, full of famous people, jokes I didn't get as a kid, and awesome costumes.

New words!!

They are adding new words to the dictionary. Oh what fun.

Things I miss most about my childhood

1. This little gem.

I'm convinced that those kids on the box are my brother and I. And this precious candid moment was stolen to advertise the best toy ever. I'm ok with that.

2. Peter and Jane books

My brother and I played Indians too. That's probably us again, actually.

3. Making forts

This was not created by my brother or me. Ours were far better thanks to his architecture skills, though I didn't know what that meant at the time. At the time I just thought ours were better because he was cool.

4. Playing Dress-Up

This is REAL dress-up guys. None of that princess junk (well, I did that too, and I liked it...)

5. Polly Pocket

Not to brag, but I had a pretty impressive collection. Then they came out with the bigger Polly with the rubber clothes. I think I played with those until the 7th grade.

6. Playmobil

If you didn't get the impression that I played with my brother a lot, you...are probably hopeless when it comes to all things educational. Very well. I did. Seeing as he would rather eat slugs than play Polly Pockets, I spent a good deal of time playing with Playmobil and Legos. More Playmobil because they had princesses and stuff. And it's just cooler, and it's headquartered in Germany.
PS You see that house-looking bit? It has a trap door :)

PPS I really do think I look a lot like Jane.