Animals A-Z

So, I was sitting here trying to think of soemthing intresting to talk about, when I started thinking of Omaha, (where my Grandpa is currently undergoing surgery :'( he has blood clots in his legs!!) and I was thinking of all the things I LOVE about it! And BAM! It's was the zoo! So I thought I'd talk about all the cute animals that I love (and maybe hate) that start with every letter of the alphabet. I'll look up some intresting facts about them too so we can keep it pretty intresting too!

Here we goooooo!:)

Armadillo! This one's so cute! Did you know that "armadillo" is actually Spanish, meaning "little armored one." (Aww!) They also sleep about sixteen hours a day! Beluga Whale! Since beluga whales live in northern waters, their white color helps them blend in with icebergs as camoflauge from predators:)
Camel! Actually, camels don't store water in their humps, they store it in their blood, which allows them to go several days without water. Their hump is actually a resivoir of fatty tissue. Duck! (I just copied and pasted this one, I think it's so cute!!) "Did you know ducks are very social animals and suffer if they don't have companionship. If ducks have been raised alone they start to believe that they are part of the flock that is around them. This means that if a duck is raised by a human they start to believe that they to are human."Elephant! (My personal favorite!) Even though they are the biggest mammal on land, they have excellent balance. They usually sleep standing up, and sleep between 4-5 hours a night.
Flamingo! The average lifespan for flamingos is 20-30 years. They also have few netural preditors.Giraffes! (Another personal favorite!) Baby giraffes are approximately six feet tall and 150 pounds.
Hippopotamus! (I took this as a direct quote again...) "The hippo’s yawn is not a sign of sleepiness or boredom but is actually a threat gesture, displaying long, thick, razor-sharp canine teeth, or tusks, with which it is capable of biting a small boat in half." Scary huh? Ibis! (I've actually never heard of this animal, the name just sounded cool!) It is native to Africa and Asia, and migrated to Australlia and Southeastern America.
Jaguar! "Jaguar" means "a beast that kills its prey with a single bound." Kangaroo! There are over forty speices of kangaroos. Llama! (Another personal favorite...yet another direct quote). "Llamas are very easy to train and learn new skills readily. Llamas have excellent survival skills and their thick coats help them to thrive in extreme climates." Meerkat. Meerkats are naturally immune to scorpion and snake poison. Nene (yeah, I've never heard of it either). It's actually the Hawaiian Goose, but they eat: leaves, seeds, berries and flowers of grasses, herbs and shrubs. Ostrich! Since ostriches can't fly (scientists believe this is because their wings can't support their weight) they result to using their legs. They are actually one of the fastest animals on Earth. Penguin! (This one's for my sister...another direct quote...) They eat fish and krill. They don't drink water, but eat snow. They have a gland in their nose that takes the salt out of the ocean water. They swallow ocean water when they catch fish. Quahog! (A type of clam?) Also known as cherrystone, littleneck and hard-shell clam. They have a dingy white shell about 3 to 5 inches long. Rooster! Today nearly 6.5 billion chickens are raised each year in the United States alone. Seahorse! (YAY!) Seahorses differ in color, some are orange, red, yellow, green and even grey.
Zebra stripes and spots, are two patterns that seahorses come in. Turtles! They live on every contient except Antarctica. North America contains a large variety of turtle species, but Europe contains only two species of turtle and three species of tortoise. Uromastyx spinipes! (I don't know what they are either...let's find out!) Also known as the Egyptian spiny-tailed lizard. (There's actually not a lot of cool facts about them...darn) Velvet Swimming Crab! It gets its name from the fine velvety texture of its carapace. The rear legs are flattened for swimming, but it is more typically found hiding in crevices. Wolf! There are 4-36 wolves in a pack and their territories can range from 130-13,000 km. You can tell wolves are friendly ,when they roll over and show their bellies. When they want to play, they put their paws down and wag their tail. When they want to fight, they show their fangs and start growling. When they want to stop they put their ears back and lay down. Xenopus! They are also known as African Clawed Frogs are one of the world’s most unusual amphibians. Unlike most of the world’s other amphibians, these aquatic animals are equipped with claws. They use these claws to tear apart large pieces of food. Yellow-tailed black cockatoo! is native to the south-east Australia and is the largest of the cockatoos and of Australian parrots. Zebra! Zoologists believe that the black and white stripes in zebras serve the purpose of camouflage. The color blind predators get confused between the stripes and the grass blades. Another reason is the personal identification, as the pattern of stripes in one zebra cannot exactly match the pattern of another one.

Heartbreak Part 2 (a.k.a. New Beginnings)

So, a little update on me...

I feel great! :)

Here's what happened:

After I wrote my last post, I felt really bad, and called him. And you wanna know what he said? He couldn't and wouldn't take me back. After I got it through my system, my best friend came over before show choir practice and she made me feel really good! We goofed around and put on a bunch of my old dance costumes and we went to practice in them. When we got there, I got a bunch of hugs from friends, and I started to feel really good. The next day I woke up, I felt amazing, a complete one-eighty! I guess I realized that I really don't need a guy (even though I loved him) to make me whole. I feel great getting to talk to everyone I want, and not worrying about what he won't like (because he really didn't like a lot of things...like me having guy friends). I feel happy, and I'm going to do what make ME happy from now on.

I still haven't put everything of his/what he gave me in a box (which I'm planning on doing this weekend with my best friend Mirandasaurus) but, I don't feel like I need it. I'm not going to throw it away, because that's shallow. Someday I'll be able to look back on our relationship and think about the good times we did have together, and maybe I'll be happy. But, for right now, I'm moving on. I have an idea of who I might ask to WPA, and I think it'll be lots of fun (it'll be my first dance without him, and I'm okay with it!)

Anyway, thought I'd clarify. I'd actually delete the last post, but I need the words for our requirement (thanks to our favorite AP Lang teacher...)

:)

Heartbreak

I'm not going to go into a lot of detail, but me and my boyfriend of two years, three months, and ten days (yeah, long time, I know) broke up. I haven't dated a lot of guys (and of those, none were serious), but he was special. We're pretty much polar opposites, he's quite, I'm loud, he has a couple close friends, and I try to be friends with anyone, he did one thing through high school which took up one say after school, I do three or four different things, and am constantly busy. We started dating when he was a senior and I was a freshman. It's kind of weird how we met (and started talking)...through our best friends (I liked his best friend, and my best friend liked him). We both went into our relationship, not very seriously, but as time went by we realized how well we worked together.
He never tried in school, and neither did I. Except that I got all A's and he got B's, C's, and D's. Learning came very naturally to me. I encouraged him to really work for something in life, because the road he was traveling down was not going to get him anywhere. He listened to me. He attended a community college and majored in nursing, something he really enjoyed. He struggled in his classes, but was able to maintain a 3.0.
It was hard for both of us with him at a different school, and only getting to see each other once or twice a week. We made it work. We talked every night on the phone, and that was good enough for us.
Soon after we started dating, I started loosing friends. I wanted to spend all my time with him. He's was sweet and nice and sympathetic, and basically treated me like a princess. I began to take everything for granted. In the first six months, there was a guy who gave me lots of attention, and I liked it. I began talking to him, and the line between friends and (...I don't know what you'd call it...) friendlier (?) became a little hazy. This was the first bad thing that happened that we made it through.
He's always had trust and emotional attactment issues, and sometimes I found our relationship overwhelming. I'd always wonder what it'd be like to date another guy. Sometimes I found myself noticing other guys, but never enough to want to break up with him. I loved him. (I still love him).
We broke up yesterday because our differences were becoming too much for the two of us...we actually broke up last week and I realized I was making a huge mistake. I was just getting to frustrated and too tired of giving him more chances. Yesterday, he was the one to do it. He removed me as a friend on Facebook, and told me not to call him...I still have all our pictures and I slept with the stuffed animals he bought me. I don't know if I want to move on. He was my first love.
Yesterday, before we broke up, my dad talked to me about our realtionship. He liked my boyfriend and said that he just didn't think I was happy as I could be. I didn't think I was either. He really put things into perspective for me. So, I called my boyfriend, and things ended, not badly, but not good either. He doesn't want me to call him, because he can't deal with it. I keep wanting to talk to him and tell him to take me back (for the second time...he said he wouldn't take me back the second time). Even though it's been a day, I keep feeling like I should've waited it through. I'm not going to say what I was going to wait through, but I knew things could get better.
I think I'm a coward, and I think I'm going to be the happiest with him. I will wait and see if there's any boys who make me forget about him, but somehow I doubt it. He gave me a $260 necklace after we'd been dating for two months (for Christmas) and a $150 ring for our one year and $200 earrings for our two year. I still have them. He has my Harry Potter book, and a bunch of other things I gave him. I have his dad's old cell phone batery and two of his old sweatshirts. I still have all our pictures up on my bookshelf.
I really think this is a huge mistake. My dad said that he never pictured me with one guy, espically so seriously and commited at the age of sixteen. He's twenty (I know it sounds bad, but it's really not, anyone who's seen us together can vouch for me) and he's ready for a commited realtionship and to get married. I didn't think I was. I mean, I did for a long time, but just recently I was beginning to question it. Now, I don't...It's too late though. He won't answer if I call, and probably won't take me back if I beg. I think I'm gonna wait a while and see if I'm happy, but I think I'll always be the happiest with him. I know, I know, there's other fish in the sea, and I know I'm too young for commitment.
Him and me have been through so much that no one could understand it except for us. Even if I told them everything, it's something you just "get." Something you get when you're in love. As stupid as it is (and I know it is) he planned his future around me, and I, him. I don't think it was stupid, because we both really thought we were going to end up together, I hope we still might. Everyone's telling me "It's okay" and to "Just wait awhile" and that "Things will get better." But I don't feel like they will. I know, I KNOW! It's only been a day! I know! But I feel empty and in shock. I didn't even cry until today. Usually, I'll go home and call him, and we'll talk about our day. Today, I can't go home and call him. I wish I could, but I can't.
There's so many things I told him wrong, and I wish I could tell him that, but it's not possible. I told him to call me someday...I hope he does. I really think I want to spend the rest of my life with him. And it took loosing him twice for me to realize it. I wish I could tell him all of it, but he probably couldn't handle everything that happened.

Lonely and confused...
that's how I feel...and I feel like I'm going to feel like that for a long, long time.


I still love him...and I think I always will...

shuffle...

So, we're gonna do something kind of fun here today kids! It's called I put my iPod on shuffle and type about the songs that come up. It's gonna be lots of fun because we all know I have good taste in music, and it's very wide-variety! And to make it even more fun, let's make up some rules: (1) I cannot in anyway skip over a song out of (a) embarrassment or (b) stupidity (both about the same thing). (2) I will have to type about something the whole time the song's playing...so we may go off on a tanget! (3) I also will have to stop typing the second the song's done. So, we may be left hanging with what I was about to say!

So let the shuffling begin!! (By the way, for everyone's amusement, I have 1737 songs on here, and I just got a lot of new music that I still haven't listened to all of it, so we'll get to have some more fun!)



1. Show Me The Way by Styx. Well, not one of their best songs, we sang this my freshman year for show choir (the main reason it's on here). But, my mom is a HUGE Styx fan, so I gave them another chance, and they actually have some really good songs...I think they're still together? I think my mother went to see them a few years back (actually that may have been 10 years ago...just kidding!) I also love the singer's voice, I'm not sure which singer it is, I know they have two guys who sing lead...actually come to think of it, I don't really know a lot about Styx...maybe I should've researched before I did this...I guess some of us aren't that smart. Now I'm running out of things to say...only 34 seconds left...I don't really like how the song ends though, I don't like a lot of songs that end

2. Come To Me by Jesse McCartney. This brings back memories! I listened to this cd the whole time I was in Walt Disney World the summer between sixth and seventh grade. All the songs on this cd make me think of summer...that's probably why. That was the first and only time I've ever been there. We went there when my dad came home from Iraq as a family-bonding/we-really-need-a-break/we've-never-really-had-a-vacation-thing. I really like Jesse McCartney's music, I've always loved all of his music, though I haven't heard much of his new stuff! He has a beautiful voice too.

3. Pennyroyal Tea by Nirvana (the one from "Unpulgged in New York"). I really didn't like this song much until just resently...I especially like this version the most! Actually, this song is still rated four stars on my iPod...There I just chaged it! :) One thing I really like about Nirvana (well, more like Kurt Cobain) are the lyrics. You can tell the difference between the songs he spent hours writing lyrics for, and the ones that jsut came to him as a "let's just make this song, because I thought of it!" (Now, they're appuladding him...do I keep writing? Now they're talking...I'm gonna stop

4. Metting tom Riddle by John Williams (this is from the Harry Potter and the Camber of Secrets soundtrack). Okay, if anyone knows me well, or at least has been in my room, you know I was Harry Potter obssessed (and still am). I have a bookshelf (not just a shelf but a WHOLE bookshelf) dedicated to all my Harry Potter collections. I have books, magazines, newspaper articles, dolls, legos (I was a very Harry Potter obssessed child...I'm kind of freaking myself out right now, this seems really creepy. I'm not actually that weird!!), a WAND my grandpa made for me (it actually works! Haha, just kidding).

5. (Don't Fear) The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult. If you've never heard of this band, this actually their most famous song. I think it's still rated as one of the best rock songs ever. I really like this song, and the rest of their stuff. This is one of the newer songs I've just gotten, and I haven't listened to their whole cd, but I've really liked what i've heard so far. The cool thing about this song, is that they have a guitarist who can SHREAD and halfway through the song, it gets all slow and quiet, and he just starts wailing. The cool thing about it, though is that the guys singing sound sooo chill and relaxed and the guitar completely contradicts it. I think what someone told me about this song is the Grim Reaper is what they mean by it, meaning "Don't fear death" which I think is a cool way to

6. I Know Where I've Been by Queen Latifah. This song is actually from "Hairspray" and I really like it. I love Queen Latifah's voice, she's such a good singer! I love her in this movie. I've never seen it on Broadway (I plan on seeing it one day though!) but I LOVE the movie. I think the whole movie has such a good message. Here's a fact for you: Did you know this was actually a movie first, in black and white (I think it was black and white) and in the movie the mom was played by a man (hence John Travolta) and later became a musical. I love how this song sounds very gospel-ly which fits perfectly for the point in the movie where it shows up, and it's just so perfect

7. Too Much by Elvis Presley. Okay, we all love The King. I basically love all his songs, and all of them make me think of my dad, and my grandpa (my dad's dad) and where my dad grew up in southern Iowa. Why? I don't know I think it's because we'd always listen to Elvis on our ways to visit my Grandparents (along with the "Grease" soundtrack and The Bee Gees). All three of them make me think of that.

8. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John. Probably my favoriest song by him!!! I love, love, LOOOOOOVE this song. (My next two favorites after this though, are "Pinball Wizard" and "Island Girl") Anyway, let's just say that I would worship the ground Elton John walked on. He's a musical genius, and I love all his music. It's all so meaningful, and none of his songs sound the same. I love how every single one of his songs sounds so different and cool, but the second his song comes on you know right away it's him! I just love it!

9. Happy Birthday Princess! by Jodi Benton. Okay, first of all this song rocks because Ariel sings it (and we all know how I feel about her :D!) But acutally, at my dance studio, if you're on a competing troupe, you can be a teacher's assistant, you get a free dance class. Me and my sister both do this, (it's my sister's first year doing it) and this her little girl's song. Haha! You all know you love this song! Haha, I'm laughing at the thought of anyone reading

10. Fading Like A Flower by Roxette. I actually have only four songs by these guys, and I think this is my favorite one by them. They're you're typical 80's one boy-one girl band that actually totally rock. They sang the orginal "Listen to Your Heart" (you know that song that everyone loved when we were in like sixth grade?) I don't really know what to say about these guys, except that I love their songs. Here's a tanget for you: I really think I was born in the wrong time era. I definately should've been born in the 40's so I could've experinced all the good music (well the 20's and 30's would've been pretty cool too).

11. One Jump Ahead by Brad Kane. Okay if you didn't know this yet, I'm Disney-obssessed (yeah, along with Harry Potter). I seriously watch one Disney movie a week, usually "Aladdin" or "Beauty and the Beast." But my favorite Disney song is "Prince Ali" from Aladdin. (GOTTA LOVE IT!)

12. Right On Time by Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I actually don't like this song. I really love the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, except for their attempted rap songs (they make me want to hurt myself). This is from their album "Californication" which I love almost every song on it (all except this song and "Get On Top".

13. Stand Alone by Bob Marley. (Wow all my new music is coming up now!) This isn't one of my favorite Bob Marley songs, but he doesn't have many bad ones! I actually have listened to this song one time before this, and it's not that bad, it's just slower, and I think I kind of like his more upbeat songs better...except for "400 Years"--love it! His music makes me so relaxed

14. Orpheus In The Underworld - Can-Can by Offenbach. Yes, I do have classical music on my iPod, get over it. I actually have the more entertaining/famous songs. Ones anyone would recognize (hence, the Can-Can). By the way, they actually did a can-can dance to this version on So You Think You Can Dance, so I'm not a

15. All'improvviso Amore by Josh Groban. I love, love LOVE this song, I actually think if I ever teach dance after I graduate, I'd teach a dance to this song. It's one of those songs where you don't need to understand the words to enjoy it. The singing is beautiful (like it always is with Josh Groban) the music is beautiful (he has a whole orchestra backing him up) and the text (even though it's Italian, and I don't understand a word of it) is beautiful. I don't know the whole thing is just amazing! In the words of "Glee": "He is an angel sent from heaven to deliver platinum records onto us." Funny part is that it's actually true.

Snow Days are Stupid!!

As you all my know very well, that since we live in the middle of for-saken Iowa (espeically Ceday Rapids) that we have the most random and crazy weather that changes every two seconds. Because of this we get a lot of snow days. Some schools (the smart ones) build snow days into their calanders knowing that at least a week's worth of snowdays are coming. Unfortunatly, for you and I, our school system isn't that smart. MAYBE building in two days (that's if we're really lucky). Seeing that the last three years I've been attending this school we've had at least a week (probably more) each year of snow days. You'd think that after a couple years of this occurance they might've started the school year sooner (ending it earlier for the enjoyment of everyone) and having a few built in make-up snow days here and there. But NO! they do not. Why? Because frankly, no matter how hard the school system tries they'd like to think that one day the world will turn back to the way it was back in the "good ol' days" which never really even existed.
See, if I was put in charge of our school system there would be so many changes (good ones I might add) and the first one would be that the school year would start the third week of August, have seven built-in make-up snow days (the last seven days of the school year) and it would be all nice and wonderful because people would be soooo much happier.


The end.

I rule.

Yes....

Being Sick

MONDAY
So, right now I'm really, really sick, and I really, really need to blog and I really, really don't want to do it, because I feel like CRAP! My eyes have been watering all day, especially my right eye (ask anyone who saw me...especially our favorite AP Lang teacher) how miserable I was. Who knwe the common cold could suck so much? I was fine at work last night (even though I was completly congested and still felt horrible) because I was walking around and playing with the kids (keeping my hand sanitized everytime I coughed, blowed my nose, or touched my eyes...of course) and cleaning up...making sure I was active. Then! I come to school, and just sit around AAAAAAAALL day! And what happens? Everything just sits there and you feel horrible! I had to get up pretty much, every five minutes and blow my nose and get everything from just sitting there making me feel bad.



TUESDAY
So then I come home and my mother tells me to take these zinc tablets, because they're supposed to help fight it off better, and I think it's actually working! Then my dad has NyQuill and DayQuill which work like charms! And I actually realized that if you don't think about your eyes watering, and how completly miserable you feel, you actually feel half-way decent! But, back to the NyQuill...my dad had me take it, because it keeps everything at bay while you sleep, and you sleep like a baby! And guess what, I think I had the best sleep I've had since the summer. I fell asleep within 30 minutes of taking it (so I slept from 9:30-6:00...the longest I've slept since the summer). It was the most amazing thing I've ever experinced!



WEDNESDAY
I actually look half-way decent today! My eyes have stopped watering, and as long as I take DayQuill, I feel like a human-being! I had a horrible night last night (beside the point...some of you may know what I'm talking about) and I took NyQuill and fell asleep the second my head hit the pillow...I was EXAUGHSTED.

THURSDAY
I actually think I feel okay today, a little stuffy nose, but nothing too terribly horrible. I think I might live!