A New Years Post

“This is a new year. A new beginning. And 

things will change.” 

― Taylor Swift

Welcome to 2013. 

A totally new year, filled with new people just waiting to meet you, places ready to be explored and new opportunities.

This year is filled with so many new roads for me. 

I'm wrapping up old journeys and starting new ones that'll last a while. 

And as excited as I am, there is always a fear of the future. 

A fear of entering something so trustingly, without understanding it fully.

A fear of the new people, places and opportunities.

So much will happen this year.

Headlining this new year, 2013, are:

-Possible Europe trips
-My first year of High School
-My 8th Grade graduation
-Mom and Dad's Holy Land trip
-Visits from my grandparents

Wishing you all a wonderful New Year and a belated Merry Christmas.

Much love,
Yuna

and yours.

German Fest 2012

Okay guys. Here goes..

I am sorry again.

But in between studying for my entrance exam, science fair and everything else, this blog post just seemed to get wedged in between everything.

So, in case you were wondering why this post date is the 28th of December, it's because I have more posts to write and I wanted to have them in a timely fashion.

So here it is, the long awaited, German Fest 2012
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German Fest (or Christkindlmarkt) is held in Chicago every year, and this year we made a big day trip down there to see it.

We decided to take the train there and back and that was loads of fun. I actually didn't have my camera until after we had left the German Fest area, so that should explain the lack of photos of German things.

This is Kiren looking outside from Dad's office on the 39th floor after returning from  Christkindlmarkt in downtown Chicago

The view from the 39th floor.

 Okay, so it wasn't the most entertaining post ever, but it is a blog post!!

Love you all!!

Until next time,
Yuna

Thanksgiving and My Birthday

So, I know that you all hate me for not uploading and slacking off on my blog, but I hope that you'll forgive me because I have so much stuff to tell you.

SO I AM SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY.

I have just lost touch with my blog in between Thanksgiving and Christmas and studying for my High School Entrance Exam. But in the next two (or maybe even three!) posts, I will chronicle everything that occured while I was absent from my blog!

So, here is the first post, THANKSGIVING and MY BIRTHDAY!!

This is Neil and Kiren eating popcorn and watching a movie on the laptop while  Mom was cleaning up. I thought they looked pretty cute, all cuddled up under the sheets!

So, Thanksgiving was held at my house this year, so we had pretty much EVERYONE at our house, which is always loads and loads of fun! The day before Thanksgiving was my birthday, so I had that to celebrate as well. 

Mom made dinner the day before Thanksgiving to celebrate my birthday, the day of Thanksgiving and the day after Thanksgiving, so she was pretty tired afterwards! 

I made my Chocolate-Nutella Macarons for my birthday, and I took a lot of mouthwatering pictures as well!

Yummy!

Nutella; The filling

The macaron shells!

The finished macarons.

A few of the macaron shells didn't come out right, so I had to eat them instead!

Here's a portion of the gang that came for my birthday:

We ate Polenta Sausage Lasagna, bruschetta and blue cheese apple salad. It was so delicious! My birthday cake was Tiramisu, my favorite!

From Neil and Kiren I got a Chicago Bulls jersey that I love!

I don't have any pictures from Thanksgiving, (Don't ask me why :) but I can assure you that it was loads and loads of fun. The turkey was perfect, and we enjoyed each other's company. 

Here are some pictures of the day after afterwards:

All of us dancing to Just Dance 3!

Neil and Tiya playing with the car downstairs.

So, I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving! Comment below on what you did!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds: Two Ways

For about 2 years now, we have had a tradition of using the seeds from the pumpkins we carved to make roasted pumpkin seeds. This year, I was a little adventurous and made up two new recipes:

The far left and right bowls are Olive Oil and Salt. The middle is the Sweet Halloween Pumpkin Seeds

Olive Oil and Salt Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

1. Rinse the seeds in water in a colander. Discard of the orang-ey pumpkin insides. 
2. Put the seeds on the baking sheet and roast in oven for 30 minutes to dry them up.
3. Remove them from the sheet and place them in a bowl. 
4. Toss with desired amount of salt and olive oil
5. Place back onto baking sheet and into the oven for 10 minutes of until golden brown.

Sweet Halloween Pumpkin Seeds

1. Rinse the seeds in water in a colander. Discard of the orang-ey pumpkin insides. 
2. Put the seeds on the baking sheet and roast in oven for 30 minutes to dry them up.
3. Remove them from the sheet and place them in a bowl. 
4. Toss with a little bit of water, and desired amounts of cinnamon, brown sugar and raw sugar
5. Place back onto baking sheet and into the oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

It's That Time of Year Again: Halloween

So, it seems like the Halloween season is creeping up on us again!!

There is so much to tell you guys!

First order of business: volleyball

The volleyball season ended with a bang this Thursday.

Our team, the Redhawks, placed first in our FVCC 8th grade division, losing only on game during the regular season. We have been in first place for 4 years in a row!!

Second order of business: Halloween costumes

This year I went as a nerd, just using some of the cute things that I have in my closet.

I used my white sweater, plaid skirt, knee-high socks and mom's shoes. (I'm not wearing the socks in the costume.)

Kiren is a witch and Neil is a ninja. I'll have pictures of them for you after trick or treating.

Third order of business: Pumpkin Carvings

We carved our pumpkins today!!

My cat pumpkin

I did a cat, Neil did a scary face and Kiren did ghosts.


Otherwise, not much this week.
Here are some pictures:

Frozen grapes have always been my favorite treats. You just freeze and then eat! Neil  had added water to them, and I thought they looked cool. What do you guys think??

Just store bought pound cake, chocolate sauce and some raspberries. Yum!!!
 

Macaroons and Some Pictures.......

Okay so, just a warning....

***This is an about-anything-and-everything kind of post. Please do not be alarmed by the lack of organization***

So, some time ago I made chocolate-nutella macarons. I LOVE macarons. They are so pretty and petite and colorful.

What macarons supposedly will look like.

I learned that macarons are very hard to make. As in, I made one plate of macarons in about 4 hours.

I also learned that when trying out a recipe for the first time, only make one batch.

And I also learned that eggs should be kept in a bowl so that they don't roll off the counter and break.

Yeah. Not my most successful dessert yet...

The biggest challenge was to make the almond powder.
The almonds had to be LITERALLY powdered, so that took us almost an hour and a half.

This is a recipe to make macarons, but not the one that I used.

Macaron Batter
1 cup (100 gr) powdered sugar
½ cup powdered almonds (about 2 ounces, 50 gr, sliced almonds, pulverized)
3 tablespoons (25 gr) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
5 tablespoons (65 gr) granulated sugar

Chocolate Filling
½ cup (125 ml) heavy cream
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
4 ounces (120 gr) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon (15 gr) butter, cut into small pieces

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready.

Grind together the powdered sugar with the almond powder and cocoa so there are no lumps; use a blender or food processor since almond meal that you buy isn’t quite fine enough.

In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. While whipping, beat in the granulated sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.

Carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you’re alone).

Pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1-inch (3 cm) circles (about 1 tablespoon each of batter), evenly spaced one-inch (3 cm) apart.

Rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten themacarons, then bake them for 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.

To make the chocolate filling:

Heat the cream in a small saucepan with the corn syrup. When the cream just begins to boil at the edges, remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit one minute, then stir until smooth. Stir in the pieces of butter. Let cool completely before using.

Assembly

Spread a bit of batter on the inside of the macarons then sandwich them together. (You can pipe the filling it, but I prefer to spread it by hand; it’s more fun, I think.)

I also tend to overfill them so you may or may not use all the filling.

Let them stand at least one day before serving, to meld the flavors.

Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or freeze. If you freeze them, defrost them in the unopened container, to avoid condensation which will make the macarons soggy.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I ended up using nutella as my filling to make my macarons.
The finished product.

Not as pretty as I would have wished, but they tasted AMAZING!!

-------------------------------------------------

So, my new hobby is photography, and I wanted to share some of my pictures

Passion Iced Tea, my favorite Starbucks drink. I bought the tea bags at Walmart and then added ice to it to turn it into iced tea. (Kudos to Sophie for the recipe and idea!)

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On a completely different note, check out my new theme and background!!!

I liked the liveliness of the original theme, but it was too cluttered for me. I like this theme because it just shows snippets of each post.

Please let me know if the font I am using is too small.

And if the theme comes up looking blank, refresh your page until you see the red poppies.

Love,
Yuna

As Summer Subsides and Fall Begins

Fall has to be one of my favorite seasons.

The colors are just gorgeous, the weather is brisk, and it signals that my birthday is just around the corner.

Since we got our new camera, I have been a little obsessed with taking pictures. 

But then again, who wouldn't?

With all the pretty falling leaves and colors, every time I'm outside I feel like I need to keep the memories. Tomorrow I'm going to rake up the leaves in our yard and take some action shots of Kiren and Neil jumping in. 

So, bask in the change of scenery and take in a breath of fresh air.

Summer

Vacationing,Sunny

Swimming, Traveling, Relaxing

Outdoors, Golden, Bonfires, Colorful

Raking, Changing, Falling

Brisk, Chilly

Fall

Letter to 11 Year Old Me

So....
Here I am once again to write a letter. You all must think that I am obsessed with letters or something....

But I don't know exactly what is to come, but I know that I have soooo much advice that I would give to myself if I could.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Yuna,

So I know that you probably want to crumple this paper into a ball and throw it in the garbage right now because you think you know everything in the world.

But please don't, because you definitely don't know a fourth of the things in the world. And I probably don't either. But I know a lot more than you do.

You are in either 5th or 6th grade right now. You probably have Mrs.W or Mrs.Y. They are really amazing teachers. Next year you will get that laptop that you really wanted. And you will get a kindle fire. You'll get a new classmate, who you won't like at first. Don't be afraid to join volleyball. It'll seem scary at first, but it's so much fun.

You'll get a lot closer to your classmates. There will only be 16 of you in 7th grade. They will be your school family.

Cherish your time with your friends. They will become like your family.

I wish that I could tell you that your best friend is sitting 3 seats away from you in homeroom.

Don't forget your book report at home. And when Mrs.Y asks you to bring in the box of rice, tell mom as soon as you get home.

Don't skip studying for a test so that you can 'wing it'. Don't get involved with things you don't have to be involved in. Water your sunflower plant everyday.

I wanted to tell you that it will all turn out okay in the end. That through the crazy fights and that left-out feelings you will end up happy in the end. You may end up not popular or not beautiful or anything else.

You will be happy. And that's the important thing.

Love you,

Yuna

Back Again...

Hey guys!

Wow, things have been really busy over here!! So school had been pretty mellow, but after school activities are all over the place. I have volleyball practice once or twice a week, and two games a week. Neil had soccer practice once a week, a game once a week, and will start basketball January of next year. Kiren has joined gymnastics once a week and she is also doing piano once a week. We all seem to be caught up in different activities at different times.

This season our volleyball team is 5-1, so we are off to a great start. One of our teammates broke her hand at volleyball practice, so we are all hoping for her to come back before the season ends. We have about 12 games left, not including tournaments.

How are all of you guys doing?? I am really looking forwards to November this because it is a really busy moth for all of us. I an running a school-wide fundraiser for two weeks, then it's my birthday, and then it is Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday of the year.

So as you all have noticed I am a slacker.

Yeah, I don't post once a day. Or once a week. Or once every other week. And sometimes not even every month.

Yesterday I got an inspiring phone call though (My inspiration, you know who you are)

And it reminded me that I have some amazing people behind me that are always waiting for me to post.

And I love you guys.

India.....Over....

Once again, I am sitting on my couch, bored out of my mind. India came to a bittersweet close, and now school has started. Life is back to normal, leaving us with pictures and memories to remind us of our amazing times in India.

I joined the volleyball team last week, hoping to try something new, and I love it. For all you kids out there, don't be like me and be scared to try a sport, because you WILL regret it. (Trust me..) I am trying to get back into the swing of things back at school. We started on Tuesday. I remember when I made dinner for our '100 Days Till The India Trip' celebration. Right now Neil, Kiren, and Dad are trying to fix something behind the t.v., mom is doing something in the kitchen, and I am sitting on the couch writing this blog post to all of you..

I really had this amazing idea for the 'summer of fun' but time just seemed to slip away from me. On the first day of school we had to write a letter to ourselves that we will get back when we graduate from 8th grade. That reminded me about my letter to my 23 year old self. So, without further adue, my letter.


Hi!

How are you? Do you still write stories? Did you finish your last one? How many new ones have you started? Are you published? How did volleyball go? Did you continue till High School? Is it still fun? Do you still play? How was high school? Did you go to Carmel? Did you get the scholarship? Was it fun? Are you in college right now? What University do you go to? Is it big? Do you like it? What are you studying to be? Do you still blog? How was 8th grade? What dress did you wear to graduation and the 8th grade dinner dance? Did your bangs grow out eventually? Is your hair short or long? Is it curly, wavy or straight? Who are your best friends? How often do you see mom, dad and Neil and Kiren? Do they still live in Illinois? Whatever it is, just remember that I'm proud of you. I know you have gone far.

                                                                                              Love,
                                                                                                   Me ( or you, or I, whatever)

Well, Duh!!

Wow, I think I forgot to let you know how my Science Fair ended! I went to the State Science Fair that was held in Champagne-Urbana and won the bronze medal! Thank you all for your support. It was loads of fun and I am looking forwards to doing it again next year!

Hello From India: Wedding and Communion

Hi! Its been a while since I posted last, but just wait until you hear what we've been doing!

The wedding was loads of fun. It was held at a gorgeous beach hotel that was loads of fun for everyone. Mom and Dad arrived on the morning of the 29th and they are leaving on Tuesday the 17th. We took some family pictures ( yes. The whole family. But I have to admit that we took about 40 pictures but not even one of them had everyone smiling and looking at the camera.) 

After that was Kiren's First Holy Communion. I made a surprise video for her which she loved. She was so happy to see everyone there. Here are some pics:

The kiddos dancing at the Communion.

Hello From India!!

Hi everyone! Our plane ride was loads of fun. We went on Etihad airlines. All of our seats had tv screens on the back, so we constantly had things to do. I watched Kung Foo Panda, Madagascar, Journey 2 and I listened to music. The food was good. They gave us ice cream to eat, but I was asleep and mine melted! We had a quick stop in Abu Dhabi before flying the final 4 hours. When we reached India we whizzed through immigration and met Amachi and Thatha. There were 3 things that I realized when we stepped out of the airport. 1. It was crowded. 2. It was loud. 3. It was boiling. Not exactly the most exciting mix. India is really hot most of the time, but we all still are jet-lagged so we spent the hottest time ( 1 p.m.- 5p.m. ) sleeping. So far we have only left the house 7 or 8 times. Neil, Kiren, Riyana, and Tiyasha are loving and and getting ready to go to the pool. We will leave for Bangalore in a few days. I am looking forwards to the wedding and communion. Hope everyone is doing fine. I just redid the layout to my blog to give it a summer-y vibe. Bye!

Coming up: Bangalore Trip and Letter to 23 year old me 

Summer of Fun: Bucket List

This is my bucket list, or list of things that I want to do. Some of these will be accomplished in the Summer, but others won't.

Bucket List

• Wear a t-shirt that says life and hand out lemons on the street
• Yell 'PIKA PIKA' before someone sneezes
• Learn how to say I love you in 10 languages
• Go snorkling in the Great Barrier Reef
• See my best friend for 10 days in a row
• Go to a wedding and do a dance
• Write and publish a book
• Sit courtside at a Bulls v. Heat playoff game (a must)
• Wear mismatched socks
• Go to a major sporting event
• Throw a huge party and invite every single one of my friends
• Complete my summer of fun!
• Swim with dolphins
• Spend a whole day eating junk food without feeling guilty
• Tell someone the story of my life- without sparing any details
• Send a message in a bottle
• Plan a fake wedding
• Make a motto for myself and follow it
• Sleep under the stars
• Go to Carnival in Rio
• Find a job I love
• Make a bowl of peeled, seedless grapes
• Ski a black diamond
• Make a family tree
• Reflect on my biggest weakness and find ways that is my biggest strength
• Skydive
• Write a thank you letter every day for a whole year
• Own a cupcake bakery
• Learn to do a flip on a trampoline
• Win a contest
• Walk along the Great Wall of China
• Build a real tree house
• Have a huge closet
• Mentor someone
• Make a diffrerence

Summer Of Fun: Kick-off Post

With only 10 days left till the India trip time is flying! Everyone is soooo busy with packing (which hasn't been done yet for our family), cleaning, and getting ready. School ended on Friday, so now I have more time to do things like keep up with my blog!! I am so excited and soo ready to go. So to start off and keep me occupied, I'll start my summer of fun!!

Summer of Fun Posts

• Letter to 23 year old me
• Write my life list
• Do the "what makes me.." list
• Things you should know about me if we're gonna be friends
• Akward and Awsome
• Blog at least once every week (or so) in India
• And whatever else comes to mind!

I'll keep you posted on everything new! (Pun totally intended!)

Why I Love Blogging

1. It helps me keep in touch.
Since I don't have a Facebook, my blog helps me communicate with my family. They know what we are up to, and they can comment and let me know what they are up to as well.

2. I Forget Things
I forget everything. Mom tells me something downstairs, and when I go upstairs to do it, I forget what I came upsatairs to do.

3.I Can be Crazy.
I can talk about the most random things on this blog, and I never have to worry about you guys making 'She's crazy' faces at me. At least I don't think you do......

4.I can preserve memories
When I turn 50 years old, and my memories are blurred up (trust me, I can't remember what I ate for breakfast this morning. There is no possible way that I will remember ANYTHING by the time I turn 50.) I will have something to look at to remind me of all my memories. And when I'm laying in bed, all sick and bedridden, I'll have something to show my children and grandchildren.

5.I love to share my passions with you.
Sometimes I read a quote and I get so excited and want to change my life and work really hard and change the world and excetra, excetra. Now, when I blog something, not only am I doing it for myself, I'm being held accountable by all of you.

6.It makes me happy.
I love it when I get views, or comments. It makes me so happy to see that the work I put into writing doesn't go unnoticed.


But most of all, thank you for giving me something to blog about.

Rohan's Baptism

Over the weekend, we all went to Rohan's baptism. Rohan is just around 6 months old, and he is the sweetest, most smiley baby I have ever met. I haven't seen him cry yet. After the baptism, we went to the reception, which was held at a building with a FAB-ulous view. So we had to have a photo shoot.



Later, when the party was winding down, Neil and his buddy Kenneth had some fun with the ceiling decor. Doesn't he look handsome??

I'm ______ Because

I saw this on a blog that I love to read, so I decided to try it.

Here goes.......

I'm wierd because....
I can’t sleep with a top sheet.
I’m scared of cats and their sharp nails.
I don’t eat the crust of pizza.
I drink from over 10 glasses a day.
I start my shopping in the sales section of every store, and most times I never leave.
I would rather watch an entire season in 3 nights on DVD than watch a show weekly.
I do a happy dance when I get a package in the mail.
I like to read a single book over and over.
I hate seafood.
I would rather be freezing cold than burning hot.
I love it when people play with my hair.
I like to straighten out the shelves at the store while mom shops.
I hate trying out clothes.
I love frozen corn and ice.
I could probably live on mashed potatoes.
I can't stand the sound of a wiffle ball hitting the floor.
I have to sleep with the door to my room completley open.
I like to buy cheap earrings, even though they give me rashes.
When I'm nervous I tap my pencil.
I hate the smell of flowers.
I'm addicted to stickers.
I check my blog constantly.
I never remember to charge anything.
I forget and lose things constantly. Seriously. Thank god my head is attached to my head or I would have already lost that too.
If I've spelled something wrong on a list or stick note, I have to rewrite it.
I keep every single letter or postcard that I get
I
I can't drink warm water.
I have way too many notebooks, planners, and colorful things.

I’m a bad friend because…
I am terrible at returning phone calls and emails.
I get so caught up in my own things that I don't see the needs of others.
When I'm mad at someone I don't talk to them first.
I keep my anger bottled up, and sometimes I explode.
I forget things.
I always say what I’m thinking.

I’m a good friend because…
I want to see those I love succeed.
I love and cherish friendship.
You can show up at my house at midnight to talk about your bad day.
I’m not afraid to get silly and slap happy.
I'm a good listner.
I can talk on the phone with you for hours on end.
I always say what I’m thinking.

I’m sad because…
I wish all my family lived closer.
I too often get consumed with guilt.
I sometimes let little things get in the way of the big picture.
I need to be better at letting things roll off my back.
I've got big dreams to fufill.

I’m happy because…
I'm alive and healthy.
I'm going to India and Canada soon.
I'm going to see all of my family.
I love my friends.
Football pre-season starts in August.
I have lots to look forward to.
I've got big dreams to fufill.

Share 3 "I'm ____ because" statements of yours in the comments!!

Easter 2012

This Easter was alot of fun. Yesterday I set up an Easter egg hunt ouside for the kids. Neil won one of the special prizes. Everone got these really cut cookies from a bakery near our house. Today I was bored so Neil, Kiren and I made a chain that counts down the days to India (fyi we are on day 66.) Every day has a good deed and every ten days there is a piece of candy.

Sorry that it is on the side. I can't turn it.

Hope everone had a great Easter!!

Spring Break

As soon as spring break started, it seemed like the winter weather came back. It got a lot chillier over the weekend, so we are all cooped up indoors. This spring break is mostly prime time to shop for clothes for  India. This week has been fairly boring, but it allows us to catch up on things I've been slacking on. Like my blog. How have your weeks been going?

Ciao,
Yuna

Heat Wave!!

Spring has finally arrived, and with it, a completley new set of temperatures. It is very hot over here, which is very unusual for spring here in Illinois. Here are two poems for you the first is a gmeral poem:

Spring

Flowy, Breezy, Nice and Easy

Winter gone, but Summer Still Arriving

Green Grass, Flower Buds, April Showers

Warm, Warmer, Warmest

Spring Has Arrived

The next poem is a little different. It focuses on two opposites instead of one particular thing.

Winter

Cold, Dark

Wet, Depressing, Bare

Snowy Days, Rainy Days

Grassy, Warm, Bright

Hot, Sunny

Summer

Yay!!

I know I have been neglecting to write recently, but I have great news to share with all of you!
I qualified for the Regional Science Fair in January. The fair was today. I had lots of fun and made many new friends. I got judged 4 times by my main judges, special judges, and even parents who wanted to know more about my project. There were almost 600 people there, but me and my 3 friends were chosen to go to the State Competition. To qualify for state, we all got scores higher than 103. We will all hopefully be going to Champagne, Illinois in May for the competition. I almost got a perfect score!!

Thank you all so much for believing in me! Your prayers and love are all greatly apprectiated!

Long Time No Post...........

Hi everyone! It's been a long time since I posted last! This week we did our standardized testing and it has been pretty easygoing. We are planning  a traditional 8th grade dinner dance, and mom is doing the goodie bags, so she has been very busy as well. We reached 100 days till the India trip on Monday!! Other than that, it's realllly boring over here.


This week I have been spending extra time with my story, so I decided to let you read the first paragraph:

My name used to be Annika Luisa Matthews.

I lived in a big brown house on the corner of Oak Street and Acorn Boulevard.

I used to have a big family. I used to have a mom, a dad, an older sister named Annalisia, the little twins Nate and Eve, and the new baby Genevieve Lea.

 I used to go to St. John’s junior high.

I used to never be afraid.

But I’m different now.

But I’ll never forget that day that my life changed forever.

Ever.



What did you think? I know it's very vauge, but I don't want it to give too much away. Comment with any suggestions!!

Interview

Hi everyone! I am going to be trying out some thing new this and next week. From today till next Friday I will be interviewing 4 or so people about different things. Every few days you will get a new interview to read. The best way of learning is through others experiences! Here is the first interview:

Q & A with Rianna

Rianna is my best friend and recently moved to Florida. These aren't her exact words because I dit up a little bit before I turned it in for a homework assignment.

How did it feel moving to a new school?

It was hard to find all my classes but it got really easy and now I love this school. I have a lot of friends and amazing teachers.

Did you make friends easily?

I met new friends on my first day and still have a strong friendly relationship with all of them.

What was different from your old school?

The thing that was different from my old school was that you were allowed to use your phones at lunch time and we have less homework now.

What was the most different: Florida or the new school? Why?

Florida was way more different than Chicago because Florida is warmer than Chicago and in Miami it
barley ever snows. School wasn’t as different because it really didn’t differ from my old school.

What is your favorite part of your house?

My own bedroom and my own bathroom in my room. It is my favorite thing because in the old house
I did not have my own bathroom so I had to share with my brother. In this house I have my own
bathroom and I don't have to share it. Yayy for me!!

What is your favorite part of your neighborhood? Why?

My favorite part of the neighborhood is the people because they are really nice and helpful.

What do you have as a remembrance of us?

I have the scrapbook you made me and photos we took in Chicago of our last days there. I also have
your picture on my desk at home.

Can you describe the houses in your neighborhood?

The houses are humongous and beautiful. I love them sooo much! I love to just walk around the
neighborhood and look at them.

What is the most exciting thing about Florida?

All the people and the shops and MALLS!!!!!!!!!!

What do you miss from Chicago? Why?

I miss my friends and cousins.

Where do you go for fun and recreation?

The malls. It is amazing how many malls they have. You can never get bored of the shops. Ever. I also
babysit our neighbor’s twins. Every Friday, after school ends, all the kids in school go to the Coldstone by the school. It is really fun to see everyone there. The pool in my backyard is almost done, so that is also another place where I would go for fun.

Has your family ever moved before this?

I have never moved in my life before this, so this was a really big change for me.

What have you learned from this experience?

I’ve realized that I’m capable of picking up and moving all of a sudden. I never thought I would be able to do it, but I’ve realized that even though I miss all of you, I am adjusting to life over here well too.

Thanks Rianna!!

Skiing

Long time no blog!

This weekend we went to Cascade Mountain, a really amazing ski resort. We arrived Saturday morning and skied the whole day. My neck is really sore from all the fun!! We stayed overnight at a hotel and ate breakfast there. Now we are all back home. I did all but one of the green hills (easiest), two blue hills (harder), and 1 black diamond (hardest). I ended up getting stuck and having to scoot down one of the blue hills on my bottom. It was really funny. How was your weekends?

Sleepover!!

All of us in the tent.

Our b-e-a-utiful nails. Mine are all pink, Kareena's are pink and silver, and Reha wanted a different color for each finger.

A full picture of the tent. Sorry about the phone pictures.

On Saturday our friends Kareena and Reha came over for a sleepover. I did all their nails, and we made a tent out of blankets and chairs ( it's going to take a long time to clean up!). We ate popcorn and candy in the tent while we watched Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. It was lots of fun! We ended up sleeping in the tent yesterday night. I made waffles for everyone today morning and we are heading to Ikea soon. Hope all of your long weekends were great! I got my story-writing notebook back, so I am starting to type it up. I'm hoping to be done with it within the next few months!