I read Dear Abby, an advice column in the Cedar Rapids Gazette almost daily. People often send in letters about how they found Pennies from Heaven. A penny from Heaven means that you find a penny on the ground with a significant date to it that reminds you of a person that has passed on. The date could be the year they were born or when you met them, really anything. The writers of these letters often say that finding that penny feels like a sign from the person that has died. Maybe it’s the dead person’s way of telling you that they are okay and you don’t need to worry about them.
Recently I got my first experience on finding a penny from heaven. When I was walking to my car last Monday, September 19, I came across a penny in the Kennedy parking lot. Naturally I grabbed the penny and looked at the date. The date on the penny was 1964, which happens to be the year that my mom was born which I thought was cool. When I got home I told my mom about the penny. She thought it was strange that I would find a penny from her birth year on what would have been my grandpa’s 86th birthday. My grandpa died just this past August.
My grandpa always had the ability to find four leaf clovers and my family thinks I have inherited that ability but instead of four leaf clovers I find money. We thought that maybe my grandpa put that penny on the ground for me to find because I would be the most likely to spot it.
Was it a sign from my grandpa? Maybe he is trying to tell us that he and grandma (who died last October) are ok. For now though it will be one of my lucky pennies.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Mosquitos
Mosquitos. Why are they living on earth? I often ask that question. To me they seem to be doing more harm than good so why can’t we just kill them all off? They spread diseases like malaria that kill thousands of people a year and they make people itch.
I hate mosquitos because whenever I am outside in the evening during the summer I seem to get bit by one. I am the only one in my family who mosquitos are attracted to. Experts say that mosquitos are attracted to smelly feet but I don’t think it’s true or at least I hope my feet don’t smell. I have tried everything from coating myself with bug spray to wearing long pants but they still seem to bite me somewhere. Recently over the summer my father showed me an article about how you should carry a dryer sheet around to scare off the mosquitos. I tried it out over Fourth of July and found out that it actually works. So if mosquitos are attracted to you like they are to me you should give this a try. It’s not a 100% guarantee that it will ward off mosquitos but I only found one bite rather than my normal 10.
Another question I have is why do mosquito bites itch so much. Upon writing this blog I have two bites on my back and shoulder, one on my leg, foot and neck that all are waiting to be scratched. I thought that mosquitos would have gone away for the year because of the cold but I guess they didn’t. When you scratch a mosquito bite it always gets bigger and just itches more. There are lotions that are supposed to stop the itch but I don’t really think they work that great.
I hate mosquitos because whenever I am outside in the evening during the summer I seem to get bit by one. I am the only one in my family who mosquitos are attracted to. Experts say that mosquitos are attracted to smelly feet but I don’t think it’s true or at least I hope my feet don’t smell. I have tried everything from coating myself with bug spray to wearing long pants but they still seem to bite me somewhere. Recently over the summer my father showed me an article about how you should carry a dryer sheet around to scare off the mosquitos. I tried it out over Fourth of July and found out that it actually works. So if mosquitos are attracted to you like they are to me you should give this a try. It’s not a 100% guarantee that it will ward off mosquitos but I only found one bite rather than my normal 10.
Another question I have is why do mosquito bites itch so much. Upon writing this blog I have two bites on my back and shoulder, one on my leg, foot and neck that all are waiting to be scratched. I thought that mosquitos would have gone away for the year because of the cold but I guess they didn’t. When you scratch a mosquito bite it always gets bigger and just itches more. There are lotions that are supposed to stop the itch but I don’t really think they work that great.
Gyspy's
“My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding” was a short series on TLC that showed the lives of present Gypsies living in Liverpool England. The main focus of the show was the gypsy’s weddings obviously. What made me interested in watching this show was the life style of the gypsies and how different it is compared to my own life.
A gypsy wedding is very different than what we are used to going to. The soon to be brides look forward to this day since they were little so the bigger everything is the better, especially when it comes to the dress. The brides dress is often so heavy with layers of fabric and beading that it leaves marks on their skin. The dress is also hard to walk in since it is so huge and you can see on the show that the girls have trouble getting down the aisle and sitting down. I often wonder why they would endure all this pain to feel beautiful but you soon realize that this is one of the only days that the spot light is on them.
An average lifestyle of a Gypsy girl goes like this: you take care of your younger brothers and sisters (they often have big families) and you clean the house. The girls usually leave school around the age of 14 to help their moms at home taking care of the household. Starting around the age of 16 gypsy girls get married sometimes only meeting their husband to be a couple of times before the wedding. After marriage a gypsy wife’s life revolves around cleaning the camper they live in and having children. They are not allowed to have an outside job. On one episode the fiancé bought a camper as a gift to his wife but wouldn’t allow it to be shown on T.V. because his future wife had not cleaned it yet. He could not do it because that was woman’s work. The girl’s lives are confined to making the husband happy.
I always feel bad for these girls because it never really seems that they enjoy their life from what I experienced on T.V. They look forward to their wedding their whole life but seem very sad on the actual day of the wedding. The gypsy girls live with their parents until they are married rarely going out alone and very few hold a job before they are married. They never experience life on their own. For me, I think it would be very difficult living like this seeing all these things that women can do now and realizing you can’t experience it because of the life style you live in.
Homecoming
I have gone to Homecoming every year since I have been at Kennedy and often see some interesting things going on. So here are some tips on how to have a good Homecoming experience.
First of all the type of dress girls wear. I have seen some pretty interesting dresses and often question if it was really supposed to be a shirt. If you feel the need to wear a dress that is so skin tight that you can barely move in it and is so short you can’t bend down without showing something then please rethink about going out. Nobody wants to see any of that and we often feel embarrassed for you. If you think the only way you can attract a boy is to wear outfits like that then you need to set your priorities a little bit higher. Another thing that bothers me is strapless dresses. If you have to pull up your dress every time you move then maybe you should find a new dress that fits better or get some straps. We have made up a new dance move that goes like this: pull the dress up, dance, pull the dress up, dance. This is not an attractive move.
Enjoy yourself. Whether you are going with a date or a group of friends make the most of the time you have and have fun.
Dance. Don’t stand in a circle looking awkward at one another; you didn’t pay eight dollars for something you could do anytime for free. Even if you are a bad dancer nobody is paying attention and it’s too dark to really notice what you are doing. Also there are probably worst dancers out on the dance floor than you.
Last but not least take pictures. You want to be able to look back years from now and remember what you wore to the dance and who you went with. It also will trigger some good memories that you experienced that year.
My Weird Rituals... Part Two
I wonder if everybody has certain clothing that they wear on a game day that they believe makes them do better in that game or meet. I know I do. I use to not believe in wearing certain clothing would bring you good luck so I never really considered what I wore before a big game or meet. Now though, I have changed my mind and have what I call lucky clothing consisting of a shirt, shorts, socks and hair.
My shirt that I wear is a bright neon yellowish green shirt that says Hoover Running Club on the front and It’s a Big Day on the back. I never went to Hoover but my track and cross country coach Mel, got us these shirts because she is in charge of the club. I really like that shirt so I wear it every time, if it’s clean, before my race.
Now on to my shorts. They are just black shorts with green on the sides and a yellowish greenish line along the bottom of them. Again they were purchased by Coach Mel.
The last piece of clothing item is my socks. My socks are white running socks with a thick pink strip in the middle and on the edge of them. They are the only clothing item of my lucky wear that was not purchased by my coach but they really do give me good luck.
My hair is probably the most important lucky item because it truly does give me good luck. I usually have a mini French braid on the long the front which connects to my pony tail.
These lucky things that I have just make me feel secured. I think to myself I have all my lucky gear on there is no reason to do bad.
My shirt that I wear is a bright neon yellowish green shirt that says Hoover Running Club on the front and It’s a Big Day on the back. I never went to Hoover but my track and cross country coach Mel, got us these shirts because she is in charge of the club. I really like that shirt so I wear it every time, if it’s clean, before my race.
Now on to my shorts. They are just black shorts with green on the sides and a yellowish greenish line along the bottom of them. Again they were purchased by Coach Mel.
The last piece of clothing item is my socks. My socks are white running socks with a thick pink strip in the middle and on the edge of them. They are the only clothing item of my lucky wear that was not purchased by my coach but they really do give me good luck.
My hair is probably the most important lucky item because it truly does give me good luck. I usually have a mini French braid on the long the front which connects to my pony tail.
These lucky things that I have just make me feel secured. I think to myself I have all my lucky gear on there is no reason to do bad.
Toddlers and Tiara's
The TLC network has always had some very out of the ordinary TV shows maybe that is why it is called the Learning Channel. One show on the network that has been in the spotlight lately is “Toddlers and Tiaras”. The show is about little girls and beauty pageants. I, myself watch this show every Wednesday night at 9 p.m. What I like most about this show is probably how the moms act, it always makes me laugh.
Recently though, people have been criticizing the show about how the pageant moms are treating their little girls. Many believe that the moms are making their kids grow up too fast. For example in one episode I watched, the mother of Eden Wood, a pageant star, gave Eden her “special drink” to help her perform better. When the camera zoomed to the can you could tell that it was a Red Bull even though they blurred the label out. What I want to know is who would give their six year old child a drink that can be dangerous due to the high caffeine.
Another thing that bothers me is how the mothers give their daughters spray tans. The mothers believe that you can’t win a glitz pageant without a spray tan. By doing this they are teaching their children that unless they are tan they are not pretty. These girls are going to grow up going to tanning booths every week and could eventually get skin cancer. It seems the mothers are reinforcing the idea that being pretty is the only thing that matters.
Recently Peoples magazine did in article about “Toddlers and Tiaras” and one of the sections show the average cost of a glitz pageant. Entering a pageant alone cost around $1,000. Then you have to add in the cost of the dress, the hair piece, nails, and tan and usually they get some kind of facial. This all adds up to more than $3,000. Remember this is just one pageant and they have to do it all over again for the next one they enter. I wonder if this money could be better spent on a future college education for these girls.
Even though I don’t particularly agree with the ideas that the moms have I still enjoy watching the show and will probably watch it until they take it off air. In fact “Toddler and Tiaras” is one of the highest rated shows on TLC. I guess we all are fascinated with what people will do for fame.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Who Wouldn't Want A Red Headed Baby?
Recently my mom told me she seen a clip on Good Morning America about the banning of sperm carrying the gene for red hair. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2011/09/19/worlds-biggest-sperm-bank-shows-redheads-to-the-door/. Cyros International, the largest sperm bank in the world, stated that sperm carrying the red haired gene were not in demand so they would not accept them anymore. Parents just don’t want a red haired baby.
Speaking as a ginger person myself I was offended by this and do not understand why Cyros would ban red headed genes. There are many perks of having red hair. First you stand out in the crowd because most people are blond or brunette making your red hair easy to pick out. Second of all you always get compliments about how beautiful your hair color is and how other people wished they had hair like yours. There are some negative effects of having red hair though. Most redheads have fair skin so they are prone to sun burning easily. There is also the old cliché that red heads have a fiery temper.
On the other hand red headed guys may have more of a problem with their hair. Growing up with red hair as a boy like my dad you often get bullied because of the color, like being called “carrot top”. Also you don’t see any of the top 100 sexiest men alive having red hair.
Ginger people are endangered in the world with only 2% of the population with natural red hair. More people in the United States have PH. D.’s, which is at 3%, than red hair. Some scientists even believe that red hair could possibly go extinct in the future because it is a recessive gene.
On a side note, I would understand why people might not want a red headed child because they would more likely stand out. But, since parents want their children to stand out by giving them weird names red hair is an easy solution. Then they won’t have to go through their lives having to spell their names.
One thing for sure is that sperm with the red hair gene is still in big demand in Ireland. At least in Ireland they don’t discriminate against you because of your hair color.
Speaking as a ginger person myself I was offended by this and do not understand why Cyros would ban red headed genes. There are many perks of having red hair. First you stand out in the crowd because most people are blond or brunette making your red hair easy to pick out. Second of all you always get compliments about how beautiful your hair color is and how other people wished they had hair like yours. There are some negative effects of having red hair though. Most redheads have fair skin so they are prone to sun burning easily. There is also the old cliché that red heads have a fiery temper.
On the other hand red headed guys may have more of a problem with their hair. Growing up with red hair as a boy like my dad you often get bullied because of the color, like being called “carrot top”. Also you don’t see any of the top 100 sexiest men alive having red hair.
Ginger people are endangered in the world with only 2% of the population with natural red hair. More people in the United States have PH. D.’s, which is at 3%, than red hair. Some scientists even believe that red hair could possibly go extinct in the future because it is a recessive gene.
On a side note, I would understand why people might not want a red headed child because they would more likely stand out. But, since parents want their children to stand out by giving them weird names red hair is an easy solution. Then they won’t have to go through their lives having to spell their names.
One thing for sure is that sperm with the red hair gene is still in big demand in Ireland. At least in Ireland they don’t discriminate against you because of your hair color.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Victory
There is an old saying that goes something like “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat”. Well last year I experienced the agony of defeat. I was injured for most of track and cross country season which put a damper on my racing. This year though, I was able to feel the thrill of victory by winning my first JV race.
I always pictured going across the finish line first would be great and you would be feeling happy and full of extra energy. What I experienced was not quite that. Yes, I was really happy and excited after I finished but I didn’t think of any of that during the race.
When I realized that I was leading the race, I didn’t want to slow down and let the other runners catch me but I was getting really tired and wanted it to end. I kept going though because I wanted to win. In the last 200 yards all I could think about was when is this going to be over. Actually it felt more like an extra mile than 200 yards. On top of it all the finish line was uphill so it made the ending so much longer and a lot tougher. One thing that helped me get to the end was the cheering because even if the crowd wasn’t cheering for you, it always makes me go faster. Once I crossed that finish line I let out a huge sigh of relief knowing that I had won the race.
Even though the race was really hard and I was tired afterwards, nobody could take away the pride I felt by winning my first race, even if it was JV. All the work and practice that I have done has paid off and I hope I can improve my time as the season progresses.
Homecoming Fever
Are you going to homecoming this Friday? What does your dress look like? Who are you going with? Are you going to the game? These are some of the questions you've been hearing for the past week going down the halls. Everybody is excited for homecoming whether you will admit it or not.
We all have different things that we look forward to, whether it's the game, the dance, or the getting ready for it. My favorite part of Homecoming would have to be getting ready and buying the dress. I love dressing up and I always want to look at dresses in the store even if I don't have any reason to buy one. So when Homecoming comes, I am always excited to go dress shopping, hoping to find the perfect dress.
Dress shopping always takes at least a day maybe even more to find that dress you want. You travel to all these different stores trying on billions of dress, then saying you don't like any of them and want the one you tried on 3 hours ago so you have to go back to the first store and buy it. Then what about your shoes, you need new ones to go with your dress. For me, I don't really care about the shoes I am wearing because once you get to the dance you usually take them off, so it's not as important as the dress is. Next you have to decide on the accessories like what necklace, earrings and bracelets you are going to wear with your dress.
Now, once the day of the dance arrives it takes another couple of hours to get ready. You have to decide on your hair, straight or curly, down or up and be sure your nails are polished. Basically make sure everything is perfect and then you're ready to go, but not before a billion photos are taken to capture the moment.
All this preparation going in for a four hour dance where the lights are off and it's super hot. It is definitely worth going through the whole process though. I think everybody should experience a high school dance before they graduate. It's part of the whole high school experience that you have to have before you go off to college.
We all have different things that we look forward to, whether it's the game, the dance, or the getting ready for it. My favorite part of Homecoming would have to be getting ready and buying the dress. I love dressing up and I always want to look at dresses in the store even if I don't have any reason to buy one. So when Homecoming comes, I am always excited to go dress shopping, hoping to find the perfect dress.
Dress shopping always takes at least a day maybe even more to find that dress you want. You travel to all these different stores trying on billions of dress, then saying you don't like any of them and want the one you tried on 3 hours ago so you have to go back to the first store and buy it. Then what about your shoes, you need new ones to go with your dress. For me, I don't really care about the shoes I am wearing because once you get to the dance you usually take them off, so it's not as important as the dress is. Next you have to decide on the accessories like what necklace, earrings and bracelets you are going to wear with your dress.
Now, once the day of the dance arrives it takes another couple of hours to get ready. You have to decide on your hair, straight or curly, down or up and be sure your nails are polished. Basically make sure everything is perfect and then you're ready to go, but not before a billion photos are taken to capture the moment.
All this preparation going in for a four hour dance where the lights are off and it's super hot. It is definitely worth going through the whole process though. I think everybody should experience a high school dance before they graduate. It's part of the whole high school experience that you have to have before you go off to college.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
My Wierd Rituals
It is quite common that athletes have superstitions or rituals that they do before a big day, like a song they have to listen to, lucky socks or they have to get ready in certain way.
I have these "rituals" that I have to do before I run a race either in cross country, track or one that is set up by the city. I believe that if these "rituals" have not been filled then I will have a bad race and not hit the time I wanted.
My "rituals" usually start the day before the meet. When I get home from school I work out with my Pilates DVD. This is one ritual that I will probably never change because it has been proven by me that when I do Pilates the day before I always run better in my race than when I didn’t.
My second "ritual" is what I have for supper the night before a race. I always have some kind of pasta whether it’s spaghetti or chicken and noodles. For the sauce I have what I call my special sauce. It’s a locally made pasta sauce that I first tasted at the farmers market named Galassi Pasta Sauce. Then for the side I have steamed broccoli with ketchup. Some people may think it is gross but trust me it is delicious. For dessert I use to have to have some kind of lemon like lemon pudding, pie or bars. That started last spring during track season when I had my best time in an 800 race and the day before I had a slice of lemon pie. Now I have been considering having something with apples for desert, even better if they are off our tree since I improved my time last Tuesday and I had apple crisp for desert.
My eating “rituals” begin again about an hour before I race. I usually have a raison bagel with peanut butter (lots of it) and peanuts on top. Delicious! I use to eat sport beans, which are basically jelly beans but they are supposed to give you "more" energy. I am thinking of changing that though because they don’t seem to be working for me.
These routines that I do before a race can change depending on if I got a better time without them or not. Like the sports beans for example, I didn’t take them one meet and I got the best time I had all year. I know these sound a little weird and my family has put up with my eating habits but at least I am not wearing the same dirty socks all season like some athletes do.
I have these "rituals" that I have to do before I run a race either in cross country, track or one that is set up by the city. I believe that if these "rituals" have not been filled then I will have a bad race and not hit the time I wanted.
My "rituals" usually start the day before the meet. When I get home from school I work out with my Pilates DVD. This is one ritual that I will probably never change because it has been proven by me that when I do Pilates the day before I always run better in my race than when I didn’t.
My second "ritual" is what I have for supper the night before a race. I always have some kind of pasta whether it’s spaghetti or chicken and noodles. For the sauce I have what I call my special sauce. It’s a locally made pasta sauce that I first tasted at the farmers market named Galassi Pasta Sauce. Then for the side I have steamed broccoli with ketchup. Some people may think it is gross but trust me it is delicious. For dessert I use to have to have some kind of lemon like lemon pudding, pie or bars. That started last spring during track season when I had my best time in an 800 race and the day before I had a slice of lemon pie. Now I have been considering having something with apples for desert, even better if they are off our tree since I improved my time last Tuesday and I had apple crisp for desert.
My eating “rituals” begin again about an hour before I race. I usually have a raison bagel with peanut butter (lots of it) and peanuts on top. Delicious! I use to eat sport beans, which are basically jelly beans but they are supposed to give you "more" energy. I am thinking of changing that though because they don’t seem to be working for me.
These routines that I do before a race can change depending on if I got a better time without them or not. Like the sports beans for example, I didn’t take them one meet and I got the best time I had all year. I know these sound a little weird and my family has put up with my eating habits but at least I am not wearing the same dirty socks all season like some athletes do.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Bad Days...
We all dread these days but everyone has them once in awhile. These are the kind of days where everything that could go wrong went wrong and your wondering when the day will be over. Well I had one of those bad days last Thursday, September 9.
It all started that moring when I got up. I was making my usual breakfast of oatmeal earlier than I normally do because I wanted to get to school a little earlier that day. Well, I guess I must have ate my breakfast slower than usual because I didn't have any extra time than I normally do. The next thing I did was read my horoscope which I do everyday. I should have seen it as a warning that the day was going to go horribly wrong because they predicted the day as a 5 out of 10 but I didnt think anything of it. I left for school the time I normally do but then a couple of blocks away I realized I only had mascara on one eye. How that happened I have no idea. So I had to drive back to my house and fix it. When I left again, there was a car accident on Glasss Road so traffic was backed up. What would normally be a 10 minute drive to school now took almost a half hour. By the time I finally made it to school, I was late. Then during first hour I had to write a DBQ for AP US history. Though I already knew we would be doing this, I still dreaded writing it. Going on to second hour, we got our quiz back in Adv. Pre Calc and I found out that I didn't answer 3 whole questions. I don't remember them being on the test in the first place, even though Mr. Herkelmen reminded us to do all the questions.
The rest of the day was okay after that except that I didn't really get the essay question we had to do for this class, AP. Lang but I didn't have any major problems. After school I had a cross country meet and I didn't run the time I wanted. The meet ended late and I still had a ton of homework to do. When I tried to print phamplets for a project I was working on I found that the changes I had made the night before did not save on the computer. I had to start all over again, which took me most of the night. I didn't get to bed till late, which is not good because sleep is very vitial to me. So that was my bad day, thank goodness that it only lasted that one day and not Friday. too.
When I look back at it now, I think it was kind of funny how all those things happen to me on that single day. The one good thing that I got out of it was that I found a penny. A small shiny spot on an otherwise terrible day.
It all started that moring when I got up. I was making my usual breakfast of oatmeal earlier than I normally do because I wanted to get to school a little earlier that day. Well, I guess I must have ate my breakfast slower than usual because I didn't have any extra time than I normally do. The next thing I did was read my horoscope which I do everyday. I should have seen it as a warning that the day was going to go horribly wrong because they predicted the day as a 5 out of 10 but I didnt think anything of it. I left for school the time I normally do but then a couple of blocks away I realized I only had mascara on one eye. How that happened I have no idea. So I had to drive back to my house and fix it. When I left again, there was a car accident on Glasss Road so traffic was backed up. What would normally be a 10 minute drive to school now took almost a half hour. By the time I finally made it to school, I was late. Then during first hour I had to write a DBQ for AP US history. Though I already knew we would be doing this, I still dreaded writing it. Going on to second hour, we got our quiz back in Adv. Pre Calc and I found out that I didn't answer 3 whole questions. I don't remember them being on the test in the first place, even though Mr. Herkelmen reminded us to do all the questions.
The rest of the day was okay after that except that I didn't really get the essay question we had to do for this class, AP. Lang but I didn't have any major problems. After school I had a cross country meet and I didn't run the time I wanted. The meet ended late and I still had a ton of homework to do. When I tried to print phamplets for a project I was working on I found that the changes I had made the night before did not save on the computer. I had to start all over again, which took me most of the night. I didn't get to bed till late, which is not good because sleep is very vitial to me. So that was my bad day, thank goodness that it only lasted that one day and not Friday. too.
When I look back at it now, I think it was kind of funny how all those things happen to me on that single day. The one good thing that I got out of it was that I found a penny. A small shiny spot on an otherwise terrible day.
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