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Saturday, 24 November 2007

Currently Listening
Frank Sinatra Christmas Collection
By Frank Sinatra
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Wow! I am actually updating. I haven't touched my xanga in months! For all you avid readers out there, (haha) I apologise. This week was absolutely wonderful. Monday and Tuesday I didn't do much of anything at all, just some SAT prep work, sleeping, and reading. It's wonderful not to have so many demands on my time. I have beenn busy since August 21 when we got back from vacation, and haven't been able to rest since then. On Wednesday I took the kids in to school as usual; and instead of sitting in the library or starbucks all day doing school, I went window shopping! All the 5th avenue windows were up already so I enjoyed those. On the Today show (that day) Natasha Bedingfield was performing, and I saw her sing her new song! I like her songs, they are pretty.Then I went and saw Enchanted, the new disney movie. I thought it was really sweet, and they did a good job incorporating different styles into it. There was animation, computerization and real-life film, all rolled up in one movie. And the plot line was so cute, I had fun watching it all by myself.
Then, yesterday was Thanksgiving! Our family and a few people from church had a lovely time. The turkey was much better than last year, and the apple pie was the hit of the evening. It was a warm, cozy family time, and we were truly thankful for what we enjoy(ed). It's funny that I am never hungry for thanksgiving dinner. Somehow, cooking in the kitchen always fills me up, even though I didn't eat any of it. All the smells, and the preparing of the food makes me full!
Today Abby and I hit the mall. I got a new coat, (which is so pretty!) and a few other things. Abby got a diary and had a good time looking at everything else. It wasn't as crazily crowded as I thought it would be. We had fun. Then we came home and decorated our room for Christmas! The room is now bedecked with purple lights, red ornamental balls, a 2ft Christmas tree and candles galore. I love Christmas. It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!!!!
~Shannon

Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.
~Calvin Coolidge

Saturday, 04 August 2007

Currently Reading
War and Peace
By Leo Tolstoy
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"I quite agree with you," said the Dutchess, "and the moral of that is-- 'Be what you would seem to be'-or if you'd like it put more simply-"Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been would have appeared to them to be otherwise."

~Alice In Wonderland

Wednesday, 16 May 2007

Currently Listening
Not Too Late
By Norah Jones
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New layout!!! Thanks Liz!!!

Other than a new layout, things have been pretty busy around here. Thankfully school will be out soon! Can't wait until summer! Just to give you a quick update this is what's been going on:

I have started teaching piano! My teacher said it would be a good idea, since if I go to college for music that is what I would like to do. Collegewise, I don't really know where I am going yet. Probably a college that is nearby.
Besides looking for colleges I have been pondering (my new favorite word) whether I want to major in nursing or music. It seems that nursing would be a little more practical, but I am a little more inclined toward music. Growing up is hard., you have to make decisions all by yourself. I have trouble enough deciding regular things, let alone life-changing decision. Those are scary.

Anyway, that's a very brief update, I could've written pages but I won't, because I have school to do! Oh joy!

Quotes:

Music is the shorthand of emotion
--Leo Tolstoy

A prudent question is one-half wisdom
--Francis Bacon

I have suffered into truth.
--Homer

A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.
--C.S. Lewis

Friday, 09 February 2007

Currently Reading
100 Best-Loved Poems (Dover Thrift Editions)
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So much for daily updates! After repeated requests, I have finally gotten around to updating my poor neglected xanga. How are you all out there? Lol, my last update says that "I can't believe that Christmas is over". Well, now I can believe it. Hah! Well now you will have the oppurtunity to read about my very busy life!

A few weeks ago my dad took my brothers (Joel and Josh) and I to Chicago! Dad had to speak there and so he decided to take us along!! It was great fun. We saw some of our family there, went shopping and saw the city in general. The John Hancock building had a gorgeous view of the city, especially at night.
Here's a pic:

Then we went driving around in the city. This is the picture I am most proud of. The moon above the Sears tower:

Here's another pic of the sears tower, from down below in the car:

Then on the way back I looked out of the airplane's window and saw that the waves on Lake Michigan looked really cool! So I took a pic of that too:

For the first time in a long time I felt like a tourist lol. It was so nice to get away and get two days of school off! I had planned to finish three books in that long weekend but I only finished one. As usual, my eyes think my brain can read faster than it actually can. It was a very dense book though, it was called "I Never Promised you a Rose Garden" by Anne Greenburg. I wouldn't recommend it for light reading, it was quite disturbing.

School is....school. Yesterday I had to dissect a cow's heart, and a few weeks ago, a cows eye. The funny thing is that I actually like doing these experiments. Not in a weird, morbid way, believe me! I just find it really interesting to learn about the body foing these things. Alot of people think it's gross, but I am not particularly bothered by it.

A few weeks ago I went to Carnegie Hall!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was amazing. My mom and I heard a Schummann symphony arranged by Mahler, and then we heard Mahler's 5th. Mahler's fifth held my attention much more than the former. I haven't really listened to that many symphonies but this one was amazing. It was very...ah it's hard to describe but I haven't heard anything like it before. It was pretty amazing. If I decide to go for music, one day my goal is to play in Carnegie Hall. Which will probably never happen, but I can't help envisioning myself there.

Here it is:

That friday some of my friends and I went to a RelientK concert!! It was well-worth the three-hour long wait in line to get a good viewpoint.
Can you see the windy-coldness showing in our faces?

Itwas amazing!!!!!!!!!!!! That was the first rock concert I have everbeen to and it was so great, I loved it. In the beginning we were inthe mosh pit, but later on we got so squished one of us fell down andalmost got trampled on so we moved to the outer rim. We still had loadsof fun. My throat was sore for the next two days, because we screamedthe whole time!! That was the most fun I had had in a long time.

Here are some pics:

Then last Saturday the we went to see Remaining Time in Battle of the Bands. They were the best there! The judges were just to blind to see it.

I did take my camera but forgot that I had it. Joel got a really cool pic though:

It's kind of blurry but if you look closely you can see that Jim (the one in the middle) is in the air. Great pic Joel!!

Anyway. You are now caught up on all the things that I have been doing for the past few months.
This past week was amazing! I got all of my schoolwork handed in on time and even had time to spare!! On Monday it was freezing cold, and then on Tuesday it went up to 80 degrees!!!! Brittany and I did our schoolwork outside, it was so nice. Then on Wednesday I did my school, and then got on my bike and rode to the library. It was so great!! I love the library. Of course I got way too many books out, as usual. Whenever a break comes up ( like the next two weeks) I get about 12-13 books out of the library assuming that I will read them. Then they just sit there on my desk and I only read about two-three of them. Hopefully, I will read a few more books than that over spring break. :D Next week we are going to look at a college in Pennsylvania that I am considering. I do not promise an update because I don't know how soon I will be able to give one. I will try to comment you all back though.

That's all for now!

Quotes:

Excerpt--

HAIL to thee, blithe spirit!
Bird thou never wert,
That from heaven, or near it,
Pourest thy full heart
In profuse strains of unpremeditated art.	5

Higher still and higher
From the earth thou springest,
Like a cloud of fire
The blue deep thou wingest,
And singing still dost soar, and soaring ever singest.	10

In the golden lightning
Of the sunken sun,
O'er which clouds are bright'ning,
Thou dost float and run,
Like an unbodied joy whose race is just begun.	15

The pale purple even
Melts around thy flight;
Like a star of heaven
In the broad daylight,
Thou art unseen, but yet I hear thy shrill delight—	20

--To a Skylark by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Fear not for the future, weep not for the past.
--Percy Bysshe Shelley

Heard melodies are sweet,
but those unheard, Are sweeter;
therefore, ye soft pipes, play on.
--John Keats

A thing of beauty is a joy forever
--Joh Keats

Friday, 12 January 2007

Currently Listening
The Open Door
By Evanescence
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Happy New Year Everybody!!!!!!!!
I can't believe Christmas is over. Oh well, Just have to wait until December again I guess.
The big thing going on for me right now is that I got an mP3 player and ....a LaPtOp!!!!!! Yay!!!! Now I can get on the computer whenever I want without worrying about whether the twins need to get on for school or whether the signal will work. Yes!!!!!!!! Now all of you will be happy out there will be hearing alot more updates from me and will be receiving lots more comments from me. Everyone likes that.
I never realised there were so many fun things to do on the internet! You can listen to music, watch videos and read books! Internet is amazing!
Winter is not my favorite time of the year because everything is dead. A few days ago however there were buds on the trees in Brooklyn Botanic Garden! Amazing! It has been such a warm winter! During the Christmas/New Years Break the twins and I went ice-skating and as we were walking in we saw crocuses coming up!! It was like an early early sign of spring! Yay! The downside however is that our spring will not be as Springy and sudden as usual. Oh well, a gradual spring is just fine for me.
New Layout!! How do you like it? The background pic is by John William Waterhouse, an artist who did many paintings and of whom I have a calendar. I think I will switch the pictures every month.
My new profile pic is one of me with bangs.
Well That's all for now!
I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show.
~Andrew Wyeth
O, wind,
If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
~Percy Bysshe Shelley
Spring, summer, and fall fill us with hope; winter alone reminds us of the human condition.
~Mignon McLaughlin
One kind word can warm three winter months.
~Japanese Proverb