I'm still alive....barely.

**sobs hysterically**
Life is so terribly cruel and unfair! Oh, why me?! I'm in the depths of despair. "I shall never love again..."(no, wait, that doesn't apply.) Dad and Jimmy are leaving tonight for San Francisco, where they will visit our good friends the Frone family, play volleyball, go ice skating, and enjoy all manner of wholesome entertainment....and I'm not coming! *sniffles* It's all because I still have to pass my CHSPE...the math section. Ugh. Between the hours of 9:00 p.m. tonight until 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning, I will be throwing myself a pity party. Please come, as I would appreciate your support through this very difficult time.



In other not-so-tragic news...



Em and I spent the day together last Saturday, and we got a little bored. What better way to pass the time than to take some romantic, victorianesque portraits? I'm no good behind the camera, but Em seemed to think that I had some potential in front of it. WARNING: If you are not particularly partial to romantic, victorianesque portrait pictures... don't keep reading. It's for your own good. :) I shan't be held responsible for convulsions, acute upper airway obstruction, headaches, nausea, or any other unpleasentries that might occur when some people view sappy, girly pictures without first mentally preparing themselves for the trauma ahead.

Now that I've gotten rid of most of the gentlemen readers, if not all, ladies you may proceed. Thanks, Em, for all of these lovely shots.
I love the lighting, it was gorgeous. Look at me go! I managed to look pensive.



Em told me to play with my hair...so I did. I like it. :) (Not my hair, silly, the picture.)

Yes, I'm TOTALLY thinking about something with chocolate. Or cheesecake. Or both.

Just sitting. It was such a beautiful windy day. :)

Em managed to get me looking kind of melancholic. I normally don't suffer from melancholy...hyperactivity, yes...but not melancholy.

Don't mess with me. ..." I'll do you in, I'll do your family in, I'll do your whole lineage in...your whole race! Wait, no, scratch that...that's too many people. " lol. I forget where that's from.

Ah yes. And here we come to...the pout. You've no idea how many spankings I've gotten myself out of, and into, with this face. Dad's an old softie...but Mom's tough as nails. :P

It took forever to get my hair out of my face. "Quick! Take a picture! The wind's not blowing it all over my lip gloss!!!"

This picture is hysterical... Em probably told me to do something dramatic...

Me: "What? No way!" And, before I could arrange my features into something less dorky, she snapped this picture.

This is all the posing I can do...plop my chin into my palm. For the life of me I can't understand those pictures where the girl is smelling a rose and getting that faraway look in her eyes, as if the mists of time have suddenly parted; the fragrance helping her remember someone long forgotten. PUH-LEASE! There's a reason those photos aren't popular anymore. Even girls started feeling nauseous...to say nothing of all the guys in the ICU. All that sap is quite unnecessary. Penny for my thoughts.

My pout...again. I'm telling you I've been working on perfecting this for years. *cough* Needs more work.

And this is a picture of...wait...Jimmy and RICKY?! How did th-- Oh, yes...Ricky and Jimmy had nothing better to do, so they came around to our little corner of the park, and proceeded to become insufferably annoying versions of their exceedingly annoying selves. Photographic art does not thrive under the scrutiny of two..eh..."punks" who can't appreciate it.

Heehee...I'm such a dork. :)

Ahh....the wind blowing through my hair, the sun shining...how incredibly egotistic of me to post all these great pictures of me on my blog.

I had to do a couple of silly ones...there's only so much emotion a girl can muster up before having a nervous breakdown. The reason I don't have my glasses on, is because they transition. Apparently, Victorian dresses and sunglasses don't go together all that well.

I asked Em a question....and she answered with some funny response that I didn't quite believe...and then I made the above "real" face. I have trouble smiling genuinely in pictures. Normally, I look like I'm suffering from severe indigestion. Em's great. Hire her...she can make anyone look good. ~My ever loving brother voices his opinion~ "But Lo, you DO look like you have indigestion!" *He giggle-snorts out of the room*

Ooh....dramatic. I like that angle...notice how it looks like I don't have a double chin? Em's a genius.

So that was Saturday...and I've run out of things to say. And, of course, I'm still devastated over the fact that can't go see my friends.

~a pause of about 5 minutes ensues as Lois throws a hissy fit over the injustice of it all~

*blows nose hard*

I'll get over it...maybe. Just *sniffs* come to my party.

A day in the life of a jean-yus.

Oh, I know. I'm good, I'm really good.



I woke up today, at the ungodly hour of 8:00 in the morning. A good half hour before I usually wake up. Still in my jammies, I made sure to greet Jimmy with an especially breathy good morning as we sat down to breakfast. He gagged his way over to the other side of the table. Mom had made hot dogs, and I added a few onions to mine because my breath needed some freshening up. Mom and the kidders were already hard at work in the office. They had started their day an hour before, and were already done with several subjects. I stifled the wave of guilt that suddenly welled up. After all, if one's family is given to diligence, one can hardly blame oneself for their faults. I heard Katie enthusiastically answer one of Mom's questions. It was obvious she had been applying herself. I shook my head. Where had I gone wrong? After breakfast, I brushed my teeth. Jimmy nearly fell over himself with relief and gratitude. And on to History. Today's topic: " The Colonization of New France. " Or, if you prefer, " The Frenchies take over the Midwest while the Brits have their backs turned ."(Hmm, people who find this humour offensive could sue me, since I'm neither French nor British.) I pretended to be interested in the exploits of a certain Monsieur Jacques Cartier. He prided himself in leading the expedition that led to the discovery of the St. Lawrence River. It was hardly much of an accomplishment, in my opinion. The Indians around there knew the area like the back of their hands and yet some pompous french popinjay comes along and is given full credit for stumbling across a body of water. Why, everybody would have discovered it eventually! They didn't have to make such a fuss about him. Anyway, moving on...history depresses me.

I've always intensely disliked math, but just recently I've discovered why. It's because we've always done Abeka Math. Whatever they pay those guys to come up with Abeka curriculum it's too much. They twist their words to throw you off, and make up ridiculous equations, basically doing their level best to make the lesson as confusing as mathematically possible; so that if, by some miracle, you happen to understand their explanation, you would never be able to practically apply it to the lesson. One of Mom's friends gave us a book that has been a total breath of fresh air. I don't think I've ever loved algebra as much as I do now. The instructions are clear, concise, and accurate. And, when I plug in the equation...it works! Who'd 'a thunk it? We've started chemistry this year. One of the first things I've learned is that in modern scientific usage weight and mass are fundamentally different. Weight measures how strongly gravity pulls on matter. Mass is an intrinsic part of matter. Although really, the weight and mass of objects that are close to the earth's surface are pretty much the same.

Still awake? Good, good. I had chicken salad for lunch. We make ours with celery, bell peppers, cayenne, and sometimes homemade mayo. I think its better than yours. :-P And we even had cookies for dessert. Jealous much? I thought so. In literature we usually read a poem. They're tragic. Tragically written. I have very little respect for poetry. I mean, yeah, some poetry can be really good... but for the most part its just nonsense that leaves some poor soul grasping at thin air for a small semblance of meaning or logic. Observe:
"Thou Fancy! who hast ruled me through Infancy's days,
Young offspring of fancy, 'tis time we should part; Then rise on the gale this last of my lays, "-- I'm sorry...this is too painful. I can't continue. And some people actually read this on purpose! Supposedly this Lord Byron dude is very popular... *cough* Was...

Sometimes, if I'm feeling creatively inclined, I'll work on one of the stories that I have to send my writing instructor. My last assignment was a little late. I thought he took it rather well.

"Dear Lois,

Of course I understand the lateness of this assignment, but be careful. I've hired a motorcycle gang to harass any of my students who turn in their assignments late, and they don't understand much of anything. They're all midgets, so they aren't really a motorcycle gang--they're more of a motor scooter gang--and it's true that being so short means that they can't do a lot of damage, but if the next assignment is late, one night you're going to be awakened by a rapping on your door, and your house is going to look like a two-foot tornado went through. You're going to have bruises on your knees for weeks.

These guys are mean; they're ugly--Vito and the vertically challenged Vipers, they're called.
You've been warned."

Funny guy, huh?
Anyway, I'll leave you with my verse from Proverbs for today. Verse 26.
"Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. "

Fishes

I. Love. This. Picture. It's hilarious. Look at Dad's face. If you've been anywhere near my Dad, you'd know what his life's passion is. Fishing. And, of course, giving a detailed account of his knowledgeable prowess in all matters concerning cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates of the superclass Pisces. My father, fisherman extraordinaire. Hahahaha! The expression on Jonathan's face. And Mr. Iorga, ever the stoic. :-P
Dontcha just love ice cream socials?

Ice cream brings out the best in everybody.


P.S. Oh, hey look in the back...Jonathan S. seems to be describing some kind of aquatic animal as well. Fascinating.

I'm bored, therefore I post.

Although, really, I don't know why I bother. :)

The McIntires had me over last weekend. It was a total blast, and I would post more about it, except Sarah hasn't gotten the pictures up yet. *COUGH* (Isn't it wonderful when you can blame your laziness on other people?) Apparently, Jonathan and I had the same bright(I use the word loosely) ideas as kids that got us into tons of trouble. Perhaps this stems from that fact that both Jonathan and I are ENTP's and are the first-born. Our childhood was eerily similar, although Jonathon had more toned down versions of my ideas. Do I care to elaborate? Not particularly. Suffice it to say that it had something to do with bell peppers, mud, flinging, a fence, and neighbors yards. Feel free to ask me about it sometime when I'm at my leisure.
Anyway it was the most fun I've had for a while....and that's saying something. BTW, all of you doubters out there (you know who you are) I went to Target...and didn't buy anything!!! Not one solitary thing! And I even had a gift card. So there! (It's my blog. I reserve the right to occasionally post things that make me feel good about myself...however few and far between they are. If you don't like it you can leave. :) )

I'm not looking forward to starting harder math problems. Yuck.
I am looking forward to driving. Hello freedom! (Well, as much freedom as can be attained with a responsible adult riding shotgun.) It's a crying shame I don't know any irresponsible adults.
Laugh, twas a joke. Or don't laugh, it's not like I can hear you anyway. My, my, Lois...where's all this cynicism coming from?? I dunno. Don't you ever get like that for no reason, and then start randomly babbling away on your very public blog? Oops. Good thing it's my blog...and not yours.
I suppose it has something to do with the fact that Summer is rapidly drawing to a close and I have a whole 'nother 9 months of responsibility, accountability, and punctuality to look forward to. Torture. Yes, I know I need to grow up, but Jonathon said people like us are the "fun type" anyway, and NOTHING is fun about school. Except for, maybe, those moments when you've been studying hard and you have a light bulb moment as suddenly you figure out how to solve the problem. Otherwise, it's not fun. :-)

Oh, yes, I may as well mention that I'm more than a teeny bit jealous that my "cousins" are up visiting my aunt and uncle in Big Sky Montana, and quite possibly riding horses, while I am not. I am, however, happy that they got to go. That's as much christian spirit and brotherly love as I can wring out tonight, in my present mood.

Come to think of it, the Lord knows how I'm feeling about everything, and He knows that the best possible situation that I could be in, is the one He's placed me in now. Oh, how often we aren't thankful, content, and happy. It really is something I need to work on. To be content. And really, after such a blessed, fantastic weekend, what am I complaining about. Really, I'm ashamed of myself for moping for no reason. Thank you, Lord, for family, friends, and wonderful weekends to remind us of how your love constantly surrounds us, even when we're thankless and don't deserve it.

Oh, and Daddy would really appreciate your prayers...despite his best efforts, he's caught the flu. We don't know if its from us, or from somewhere else, but he's sick. We're all praying that he gets over it very soon.

Baby's First Fever

*cough* *cough*
On three....everyone feel sorry for me. 1...2....I'm getting over the flu. Yesterday, I was running a temperature of 102. I've never had a fever before, so this bug sure was a doozy. I don't usually get hit this hard. I've never had a migraine headache before, and now I know why, its awful!!! It's like there's this little man inside your skull and his sole purpose for two days is to pound your skull into pudding. Actually all of us were sick, and running pretty high temperatures. Marky got up to 104 before Mom decided that was high enough and dunked him in a tub of cold water. You should hear him parading around the house now that its over and done with, like a fox with two fat pullets in his mouth.
(Glancing at the thermometer that's sticking out of my mouth.)
"102, huh? Not too shabby, but that's nothing...I got up to 104." He waggles his eyebrows at me, pats me sympathetically....and goes off to give some other poor sufferer grief.

Dad is really scared that he'll catch it....It's pretty funny. I didn't think it was possible to eat so much garlic and not wilt everything around you. (For the record, we've been trying to steer clear of Dad just in case.) If he does catch it after all, I will have lost all faith in the healing powers of garlic.

I discovered something new while I was sick. Advil does nothing to relieve pain....neither does Tylenol. (The commercials lie.) I was just desperate enough to try Motrin, but Mom didn't let me because I refused to eat anything. In the end, NyQuil saved my life. For two days all I had was 5 doses of NyQuil, vanilla ice-cream(Breyers), and blueberries. It worked like a charm.

I got my Chspe results today. Naturally, I flunked Math, that came as no surprise at all. I passed my Writing Test with a 5.0 score, which nearly made up for my failing Math. And, I was a little surprised that I passed reading as well...that was great because I didn't really read through a lot of the questions before I answered them. Now I'm looking forward to taking it again in two months. :P Lord willing, I won't fail again.

Well, I'm getting dizzy again, so adieu, fair reader, adieu.

Happenings

Little siblings are too cute....sometimes. :)

Katie, running the appeal she was going to give to Mom by me: "Lo, you've heard about that explanation about taste buds, right?"
"Uhh, what 'explanation'?"
"Well, little kids taste buds are different than adults....the more older you grow your taste buds change, when you're younger your taste buds are the same. So, the more older you are, the more wrong your taste buds are, and the more younger you are, the more your taste buds are right. See, that's why Moms like zucchini, and kids don't."

You learn something new every day. :)

Also, Dad just got me some test materials for the DMV Learner's Permit Test. Yay! So, I'll be studying for that sometime next month.


Beware: TEEN DRIVER!

The CHSPE

Dun da duuuun.

Well, I'll tell you straight out, I haven't a prayer of passing the Math section. Somehow, I'd gotten the strange idea that it would've been easier. I mean, what are the odds that out of seventy kids and eight different tests, I'd get one of the hardest?? And Jimmy... JIMMY!, Mathematical Genius summa cum laude, gets one of the easiest tests. *groans* Life is not at all fair.

Oh, it started out beautifully, I grant you. I created a simply smashing essay. Five exquisitely cohesive paragraphs, including a thesis that brought tears to my eyes because of its sheer perfection. I had written my entire outline in ten minutes, thinking I was set. But, by the time it was finished, one hour and ten minutes had elapsed. Jimmy was giving me dirty looks the entire time...I knew he wanted to tell me to hurry up, but I could hardly just botch up my last two paragraphs when the rest of the essay was so inspiring. (Talking risked disqualification. ) It was a persuasive essay that we were to "send to the City Council" suggesting one improvement or change that would better the community. I thought up this brilliant idea of having a once-a-week Family Activity Day, hosted by any one of the city's parks. Families participate in various recreational activities, grow in harmony, and meet new people, drawing the community closer together. Naturally, I concluded with the rousing "A stronger family results in a stronger community, which contributes to a more united America--bla bla bla. " Really, it was quite good.

Rachel had told me previously that she and Andrew had to write about the same topic. Jimmy followed Drew's example and wrote about planting trees. He figured that if he was going to play the part of a rabid Californian environmentalist, he'd go all out. So, he devoted an entire paragraph to explaining the global benefit of a community's efforts to reduce their "carbon footprint" on the earth, going green, and other such rubbish. The EPA would've hired him on the spot, had he used his essay as a resume.

Ah well, back to me. I glanced at the clock. First mistake. Then, I turned to the Mathematics Sub-test. Second mistake. It took me at least an hour to work through forty or so problems, until I realized that my essay would be worthless if I didn't pass the rest of the Language Sub-test. The sad thing was, given enough time, I could have finished. I just didn't have enough practice doing quadratic equations, and figuring out distance between coordinates. I should have studied harder, so really it was my fault. There were also some probability/geometry problems in there that really had me stumped. I finally felt understood what those poor little ants feel when I go outside and drown them in a flood of Raid. I gave up and moved on to Language.

That was pretty easy, but its no fun working against the clock. Reading was actually a difficult section for me, and one of the most stressful. I took my time doing Language, but that left barely an hour to answer around fifty questions for the Reading Sub-test. Oh joy. I mean, I consider myself a pretty fast reader, but there was no way I could read all the poems, stories, and articles and answer everything. But the Lord was gracious, and I finished everything. Towards the end, though, I was bubbling in what seemed to be the most logical answer, and barely skimming the article.

(Ex.)In the paragraph above, who is the author attempting to portray the character as?

a) A hero

b) A dimwit

c) A well-intentioned old man

d) An elephant

c) The Villian

Ehh, well, d) appears to be the most logical answer to my jellied brain. Yep, gotta be d).

By the way, do yourself a favor, and don't try to figure out the system by looking back on your previous answers and trying to find a pattern. It doesn't work. There is no pattern. Drop it. I win this argument, hands down. In fact, I will mop the floor with you.

Thankfully I finished with time to spare, 30 seconds to be exact; leaving just enough time for me to bubble in the rest of my math answers as C. Who knows, maybe I got lucky and beat the system. ;)

In all seriousness, the Lord knows, and if He wants me to pass...I'll pass. I'm glad it's over, and, even if I don't pass...I can take it again in October. Summer Vacation, here I come!!!

"Casting ALL your care upon Him, for He cares for you." - 1 Peter 5:7