Game!

So I've given up on the ski retreat blog. See Alex's blog if you want a full-length update. Basically, we had a blast. No injuries, lots of great worship, fabulous skiing. OH. And Katie and I had the hottest ski instructor alive. His name was Mitch, and he helped our ski instructor Lynn last year, and when we found out we had him again, you could imagine how excited we were, hahaa. I miss him. He was very nice to look at, even under all the ski gear ;)


Soooo my friend Allie told me about this blog-game thing. Basically, here's how it works:

Rules:

1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.

2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

3. People who are tagged write their own blog post about their eight things and include these rules.

4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged and that they should read your blog.



As you might have guessed, I've been tagged! She texted me this tonight, and I am very excited to post this! Here we goooo. I'll tag my fellow bloggers, but I don't know if they'll actually do it, haha. Pretty much, I'm just listing the first 8 things that pop into my head. Allrighty:



1) I hate bananas (and yes, I did have to sing "Hollaback Girl" quietly in order to spell bananas). I know they're really good for you, but I've disliked them ever since I was little. There's this picture of me when I was like five, with bananas on my plate, and from my face one would think that my parents were holding me at gunpoint. That's how much I hate them.

2) I am addicted to hoodies and sweatpants. I seriously don't know why people don't wear them all the time. If it were possible, that's all I would wear. No joke.

3) I am a huge, yet organized, pack rat. I have such a hard time throwing things away, because for me, little things have such huge memories. For instance, Phil gave me, Hannah, and Katie candy when we gave him this "love letter" we wrote in seventh grade (if you didn't go to VI last Wednesday...don't ask). He gave me some gum. And you know what? I still have it. Even though I save everything, my chaos is quite organized and clean.

4) I sing in the shower. All the time. And I don't mean sing...I should say belt.

5) I have a different voice when I talk to strangers or adults, especially on the phone. My voice gets super high and I get all peppy and polite. My family makes fun of me for it to no end.

6) I am a band geek. And proud of it. Band is my dysfunctional family. And Cogo is...well, nevermind.

7) I can type without looking at any part of the computer. That includes the screen and keyboard. Sorry, that seems a bit random, but I'm typing my English research paper, and I just noticed that. And after all, these are random facts.

8) I am beyond gullible. Like...beyond. Think of a joke you tell a gullible person. Guaranteed that I've been told it, and fallen for it. These jokes include my personal favorite, which goes like this:
Cruel person: "Look Annie, gullible is written on the ceiling/in the sky!" (choose whichever, I've fallen for both.)
Naive Annie: "SERIOUSLY??"
Cruel person: "...."


Soo there are eight random facts! Hope you enjoyed them, hahaa. Doubtful.

Okay now I have to "tag" people. I guess I'll just do my fellow bloggers? So, Katie, Drew, Trey (yeah right, haha), and Alex, you have to play the game now too. Yayy! =)

Well, that's all for now, kiddos. I have to finish my research paper rough draft for English. It's just thrilling.

Much loooove,
<3 Gaburo

Ski Retreat '08!

SKI RETREAT '08!

Update coming soon!

Update

I hope everyone had a great holiday!

I really don't have that much to report. I went to Washington DC for a few days after Christmas, and that was very fun =) The first picture is a candid of my mom at the Washington Monument (it was very windy, that's why her hair is crazy, haha), and the second one is at the Lincoln Memorial (I zoomed in on his head).

Life is busy and school is insane. Mariemont's exams are this week, unfortunately. Then a week later we have SKI RETREAT! I'm very excited. If you haven't signed up yet, I really would. There's still available spots, and this is definitely a trip you don't want to miss. Even if you can't ski that well (like me), it's still a really fun time. If you want, you don't have to ski at all, there are always non-skiers hanging out at the lodge. You don't want to miss this trip, it's SO much fun.

Okay, that's about it for me. Like I said, I don't have much to post about. I hope everyone has a fantastic week and good luck on your exams if you haven't taken them yet.

Much love,

<3 Annie

Photography Boredom

Hey kids. I'm extremely bored in Photography class, soo I thought I'd show you some pretty pictures. Yayy.



I took this one looking up a telephone pole:

This is a little angel statue I found in my grandma's garden.

I thought he was cute:

My sister and I went walking and I loved the color

of the leaves in front of her:

So obviously I didn't take this one but I cropped

and edited it. I'm a very vicious go-cart driver =)

I just realized that Julia is in all of these pictures

except for 2 hahaa. Oh well, here's one when we

got bored looking for Christmas trees. Whenever

I look at this I laugh =)

I was totally going to put some Elevation pictures that I took off the website and edited, but the computer won't let meee. Ohh well. Back to class now.

If I don't post before, everyone have a WONDERFUL HOLIDAY!

I love you!

<3 Mexican (It's an addition to the nick-name list. Ask Dustin for an explanation.)

Thanksgiving and such

Hello darlingss! Yeahh it's definitely been way too long since I've updated, my bad.

So how has everyone been? I hope you've all been well, I know I have. I just got back from New York City/New Jersey. The above picture is of a guy I saw dancing in Central Park. I was trying to post it later in my blog, but it wouldn't let me. But he was so funny/cute that I had to take a picture. Anywayy, so we went to visit my grandparents and spent Thanksgiving with them, and that was very fun. Other than the few times a year I see my grandparents, I never see my dad's side of the family. Actually, the last time they saw me was when I was twelve. So I got the typical freak-out when they realized that my sisters and I had actually grown up quite a bit. You know what I'm talking about, the whole typical "OH MY LORD YOU'RE SO TALL, WHEN DID YOU GROW UP?". Personally, I found it weird that I've changed so much and I don't even notice it. But it was kinda funny to see them all flip out, haha. But overall my thanksgiving was good. My aunt happens to be an amazing cook, so the food was wonderful =]

So the day after Thanksgiving we went to New York City. I've probly never seen so many people in my entire life, no joke. It was absolutely insane, but I had a great time =]

We took this train into the city that landed in the train station right below Ground Zero (where the World Trade Centers used to be). Pretty much, you get off the train and go up some stairs and bam, there's this gaping hole in the ground where the World Trade Centers were. Right now it's this massive construction site, because they're constructing this huge building that's going to be called the Freedom Tower. I saw a picture of it, and it's going to be a really pretty building. It'll also serve as a memorial to 9/11. But the whole experience was kind of sad. I hadn't been to New York since after the towers fell. In fact, I was there almost exactly a month before the whole thing happened (there's actually this mildly-creepy picture of me and my sisters on top of the Empire State building with the World Trade Center towers in the background). But my visit really allowed me to get a perspective on what happened. I mean, those towers were absolutely massive, (if they were like any of the other building in NYC then they were crazy tall) and it's not like they were the only things damaged. The whole train station directly below it was completely crushed, and this huge wall under the towers that kept out the Hudson River was also cracked and there was apparently a lot of flooding. Not to mention that the buildings all around it must have been greatly damaged too. It was just sort of a wake up call to how insane that day (and the day's after) must have been. Because for me, 9/11 didn't really affect me. Our principal told us about a plane crash, and he used big words that my little 4th grade brain couldn't really comprehend. Then I went home and I was totally confused/surprised because my mom knew about the plane crash too! I definitely didn't grasp the magnitude of the whole situation for a long time. I didn't know anyone who died or was even affiliated with the situation except this old man who I had met a couple of times that lost his son. I mean yeah, my grandma watched the whole thing from the airport across the river, but that was as close to 9/11 as I ever got. It wasn't till this past weekend that I realized how horrific that whole thing must have been.

But don't get me wrong, my trip was extremely fun. Naturally, I went shopping, haha. New York City is crazy every day, but on Black Friday it happens to be downright insane...so that was eventful, but fun. We also went to see Mary Poppins on Broadway, which was absolutely AMAZING. We were right up front and ahhhhhh it was sooo fabulous. Mary actually flew into the audience, and in this one part, Bert walked on the ceiling, it was sweeet.=]

The next day, my little sister insisted on going ice-skating, and you can imagine how thrilled I was. If you saw me at Broomball, you know how incredibly skilled I am on skates (riiiight). So that was really funny, and I imagined I look oh-so-graceful, as usual.

Well I hope you all are doing well and school/life is greattt.

I love you!

- -Annie <3

No title?

This is the exact one year anniversary of my blog! Ahh! How weird is that? So much has gone on and changed since October 22, 2006. I went back and read my first blog, and it was just like...whoaa, I'm definitely different now. You know what I mean? It's so funny how quickly time passes and how immensely things change in just 365 days. I mean it feels like yesterday that I just came to VI and now I'm already halfway done with my six years at this ministry. Scary much? Oh well. This year has been amazing, and I know it's only going to get better.


Anywhoo, yay for procrastination. For anyone in AP Euro, they will totally and completely understand me when I say that I don't want to start my notes for this evening. I mean, yeah I like history, but when I'm all unfocused like this, notetaking usually doesn't come easily, if you get my drift.

Soo what's been going on? Hmm, since September 29th (my last update), a lot. I went to homecoming with Taylor and a whole big group of people. Loots of fun there =) My friends and I have a hard time staying quiet, and we laugh a lot (probably too much, but oh well), and these two things thus lead to a fantabulous time being had by all. Two words: Caliente Fork.

School's been good. Everything is relatively easily, except for Chemistry. I have a lower grade in that than in my AP class, which totally doesn't make sense. Troller and I are taking the same class, actually. We made a bet that he beat me on the last quiz. Proud to say that I beat him by one point, hahaa. Drew: I'm still expecting my 5 bucks! To make another pointless connection, my lab partner in that class is the guy in the JD and Turk picture on Drew's blog, named Amir. Not that you care, hahaha.


So...now I'm deciding to break away from the generic school update. If you're someone who actually reads my blog (and I know that's a very small number), then you'll notice that there's someone commenting on mine named Allie. Don't be alarmed, she's not some creepy stalker, hahah. She's actually one of my really good friends that I met at camp a few years ago. Our friendship is kind of a weird story, so I thought I'd clue you in. Not to mention she talked about me in her blog, so I felt obliged to return the favor =) . Anywhoo, we met at this camp called Camp Crosley in the middle of nowhere in Indiana. I went there for three years, and absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, lack of time and the fact that I'm getting to be too old kept me from going back every summer. So I didn't really talk to her much the whole week, but we exchanged numbers and stuff, like everyone does at the end of camp, when you're all saying goodbye. And we kept in touch, surprisingly. Actually, I'm very happy to report that we have stayed awesome friends to this day. Did I mention that I don't have a myspace or facebook? So the only way we could communicate was through AIM and phone. But I'm proud to say that we haven't seen each other for two and half years, and still are really good friends. We talk every day, actually. She's the only other camp person that I'm still friends with besides my friend Paige. You all have met her when she came to visit last year. It's funny though, I must have encountered 50+ girls at my many years at various camps, and I've only managed to stay in contact with two. It's also strange that I've lost touch with people who live in Cincinnati, yet not with someone who lives five hours away. Ironic? It's so funny, but really pathetic and sad, how easily someone important to you can totally fall out of your life if you let them.

So I guess I should really get moving on Euro, haha. But first, I'm pulling an Acheson-move and leaving you guys with a quote. Allie actually gave it to me on the back of a little card that had her phone number and stuff on it.



I would be true, for there are those who trust me;
I would be pure, for there are those who care;
I would be strong, for there is much to suffer;
I would be brave, for there is much to dare;
I would be friend to all- the foe, the friendless;
I would be giving, forget the gift;
I would be humble, for I know my weakness;
I would look up and laugh and love and lift.



I <3 youu
- - Annie

Photography, Lock-In, SYATP, etc.

Soo here's what I'm doing in photography. We have a free assignment, and I made this picture look funky. The people in the picture are three of my friends from my MFuge crew. Basically, Adobe Photoshop is my new best friend. My friend and I played with it all bell Friday, haha. It's pretty cool, you can make pictures look like drawings (i.e. watercolor, different kinds of sketches, etc), make them black and white, change the contrast of colors(which is what I did to the above picture), and pretty much do ANYTHING you want to.



Anywhoo, I just realized its been four weeks since I last posted. Drew has been nagging me about my lack to update, but frankly I don't have that much to update about. School and cheerleading basically control my life (what else is new?). VI-wise, things are going great. Student Leadership is going great. Last Wednesday, we all presented our ministries. My personal favorite (besides Newsletter, naturally) was definitely Nikko and Angie's dance for their ministry, SOC (Serving Our Community). The whole dance thing is kind of a joke from SL Retreat, because it became Nikko's signature that weekend. He and Audrey performed it one night (complete with Audrey's AMAZING 'fro), and I basically died, it makes me laugh so hard every time. But anyway, Nikko taught it to Angie and they performed it on Wednesday, it was so awesome :) I also liked the Boy Band video, it was extremely hilarious. See Drew's blog for the actual video. But of course, my favorite was DEFINITELY Newsletter. Katie and I came up with this concept for our presentation that day in Band. It's the Newsletter's slogan/name thingy, and it's called Gossip for God. Get it? Like, gossip spreads really quickly and people are really eager to share and tell it. Soo that's what we were hoping we'd do with Newsletter, you know, spread God like people tend to spread gossip. Not to mention that "Gossip for God" has a nice ring to it. It really rolls off the tongue, don't you think? Haha :) We made pretty shirts (Katie and I had T-shirts, and we bought Dustin a tiny wife-beater, hahah), and had a great skit. If you missed our presentation, I'm very sorry. You basically missed the best five minutes that you will ever experience in your entire life. Not to mention, Katie totally fell flat on her face on her way up to the stage. Classic.



Last night was the infamous Lock-In. I got their late along with all of the Mariemont Band after our football game vs. Indian Hill (we pounded to a pulp...62-0. It was just sad, really). The whole night was very fun, I was introduced to Family Guy, to which I had been previously prejudiced. But now I find it absolutely hilarious, hahha. I guess I kinda fell asleep, because one minute twenty people were watching it, and then the next thingI know basically all of them are gone and I'm completely dead asleep, along with Drew (who, by the way, snores. But apparently I do too, but supposedly it's kind of like a whimpering snore. I've officially been dubbed "Ga'snore'ay" along with the multiple other nicknames), and Aimee, Peggy, and Hannah are watching this sappy movie called The Ultimate Gift. I watched the first twenty minutes, then fell asleep again and woke up for the last twenty. I was very confused, but overall, I really liked the movie. It's all about this guy named Jason who gets this inheritance from his dead grandfather whom he hated, but in order to get it, he has to do all of these tasks and thus recieve several different "gifts", such as the gift of work, problems, family, love, etc. Despite the fact that it was a bit cheesy, I thought it portrayed a really good message, despite the fact that it had a horribly sad (but satisfying) ending. For anyone in my English class, it reminds me freakishly of that one story we're reading, One Thousand Dollars by O. Henry



Anyway, after the movie, Maddie insisted that I come to the basement to see this dance-off. So I'm like...uhh okay? But once I got down there, I was so glad I came. Seriously, I have probably never laughed so hard in my entire life. There were several groups: "The Super Models" (my sister, Olivia, and Robby); "The Asians and Caucasians",(Nikko and his posse) "The Four Gays" (Zach, Emmett, Alec, and Oliver) and this one other group consisting of Alexis, Karyn, and Grace. Pretty much, the groups would pick a song to do, and they'd choreograph that, but then they'd also have to do an "improv" song picked out by Maddie and Audrey. It was absolutely hilarious. Let me just be the first to say that junior high boys can shake it way more than I ever thought possible, or ever wanted to see. And Karyn has the most amazing neck-bobbing thing EVER :) And Nick's group was actually hardcore, they were really good. No comment on Julia's group...let's just say that as her older sister, I did NOT want to see her move like that. But they were still good, haha.




But overall, the Lock-In was extremely fun, despite the fact that I had to get up this morning and cheer at another football game against Indian Hill (at which we got clobbered...again). I think I was running on this false energy source, because on normal circumstances there would have been no way I could function, much less jump around, on less than two hours of sleep. But, by some miracle of God, I made it through my game, and then came home to sleep for five hours :)



Well I think that's about it for me. Like I said, nothing really noteworthy to post about.


OH WAIT.


I almost forgot about See You At The Pole! It took place on this previous Wednesday. Last year I kind of slept through it (oops), so I made it my goal this year to actually get up and go. I was expecting ten, maybe 15 people. And I was also expecting all VI people. I am very happy to say that I was proved extremely erroneous in my presumptions. Get this, Mariemont had 41 PEOPLE show up! And there were people from all different groups at school. People from different youth groups (especially SonRise; I got to see some of their youth staff that I hadn't seen since July, it was exciting), and people that I had absolutely no idea even beleived in God! Our SYATP wasn't fancy, it wasn't anything out-of-the-ordinary, but it was seriously extremely impacting. Just to know that all of the people that showed up are not afraid to show their dedication to Christ at Mariemont High School. It made me feel so much better, like I wasn't in this all on my own, you know? So pretty much, Mariemont's SYATP was absolutely amazing, with the biggest number I've ever seen. And do you know what's weird? I found that that simple action, just praying around a flag pole before school, made my day ten million times better! Thanks to everyone who came :)


Okay, now I swear I'm done. I hope everyone is doing okay in school, and in life in general. See you crazy kids tomorrow.


Love you tonssss,
<3 Gaburray