Smoothies

I don't know about the rest of the world.... But the heat has finally hit my part of the US of A and BOY is it awful. I hate the heat. I've been trying to keep myself cool so after church today I drank a large glass of chilled juice.
Then I broke out our new smoothie maker and after briefly glancing over the instructions... I washed it out (as told) and made myself and my family smoothies!
The recipe is as follows:

1 cup of grapes
1 orange
1 banana ("I like bananas, bananas are good.")
1 cup of strawberries
1 cup of ice cubes.

Then mix it all up and eat it! Makes three largish medium smoothies - perfect to cool you off on a hot day.... Until you run out of smoothie.

To go along with my smoothie, I pulled out Doctor Who which I really should have sent back to Netflix a few weeks ago.... But I just can't! It's all "The Doctor Dances" fault! It's my favorite episode so far and I've seen it 4 times I think....
Anyway, I was watching the four episodes on the disk (which were "The Long Game" which has Simon Pegg in it! He plays Thompson and Reepicheep and Scotty!! As in, Star Trek Scotty! In the new movies. Other episodes include, "Father's Day" another favorite episode of mine.... "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" <---- Has some of the best quotes ever).

"Don't drop the banana!"
"Why?"
"It's a good source of potassium!"

I've taken a break now, even though I'm only half through "The Empty Child." I've taken a break to finish watching 1995 Pride and Prejudice which we started before we went camping and never finished.... I love it.
"Oh Mr. Bennet! Are we to be murdered in our beds?!?!?!?!?!!" You gotta love Mrs. Bennet.

Anyway, this Sunday really has been a day of rest. Yesterday I went swimming in my friend's pool and since I haven't been swimming for a looooong time I was exhausted today. The 90 degree weather also makes it easier to sit back and relax..... Hateful, isn't it?

I was also looking through the Vancouver Sun books and found out that I have to read 28 books before I get to the one I really want to read!! Sigh.... Oh well. I might skip Anne of Green Gables since I read it recently. It's no. 4 in the list....
Gaaahhhh.... I need to find a fan to lie in front of.
So long farewell! I hope you are cooler than I am.

Just for Grama! (and new notebooks!)

This is just for you Grama:

We went to Walmart and found these great notebooks for $1 each in clearance!

The second one is a "color me in" notebook. Soon I will have to grab my markers and color in the picture! This takes "scribbling in my homework" to a whole new level.
We also bought to folders that I can color in.
This one (houses = adorable! They remind me of Holland, where Grama says the houses are near together) :

And this one!

Speech bubbles! How fun! I'm already filling them with quotes from Star Trek, Monty Python, StarGate, Sherlock Holmes, Tintin.... you name it! And I have a few Bible verses planned and some from Lord of the Rings.... I hope there is enough room for Doctor Who quotes (once I watch more of the series)!
I'm thinking of coloring the background blue or red or yellow.... Hmmmm....

Speaking of coloring.... This is hanging on our garage-into-the-house door:

Hmmmm, how did that get there? I have a feeling that Gandalf had something to do with it....

And who's party is it? Mine! =D Don't worry, I won't be disappearing with any magic rings. I doubt I'll even get to say a speech..... Oh well. I'm not inviting half the Shire (just the two friends I have known for the longest time) so I doubt I will have to go through the bother of saying, "I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve." Hey, that's a good quote for my folders!

Anyway, I will be having a Tintin themed birthday party on Thursday and that's all you are going to find out until after the party. Mwahahahahaaaa.....

Have a great week!



Happy 4th of July!

Happy Independence Day everyone!

Take a moment to contemplate how much freedom has been won for us. But never forget that freedom is NEVER free.

Freedom is not Free

By Abbey

6/28/12

(Written for the ceremony where I received my dog tags.)

If there is one thing that I have learned in the history class I just completed, it is that freedom is NEVER free. Whether it be a free sample of food or the freedom of a nation, someone is always paying the price.

In an age where we rely on our government to supply our every need and want, I have to ask, what is wrong with us?

Our Founding Fathers fought and died for the freedoms we enjoy today. They shut themselves up in a hot room during the summer months to bring us our Constitution.

The Civil War was a war fought about freedom.

During World War 1, men were "privileged to spend their blood for the principles that gave the United States of America birth and happiness," as President Woodrow Wilson said.

If we had not joined World War 2, who knows what foreign occupation we would be under now.

Thomas Paine said, "If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace."

So much blood was spilled to bring us so much freedom. Why, then, do we not show our gratitude?

I recently returned from a long historical trip with my mother. We went to such places as Boston; Philadelphia, the birthplace of America; and Washington DC.

Over and over again in these places I witnessed children disrespecting the very places where our freedom was won.

They did care that they were standing in the very room where the Declaration of Independence AND Constitution were signed. They did not care they were holding the exact handrail George Washington did as he ascended to his bed every night. They did not care to learn the history of our nation and the Constitution which has made us who we are.

Is this the future our Founding Fathers intended for us? A nation of people who don't care about anything important, just so long as the government is taking care of them?

What happened to, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

What happened to, "We the people."

Our freedoms are slipping away. If we want a change, we must make it ourselves, not rely on others to do it. I am willing to die for my freedom if it comes down to it. What are YOU willing to do?

My debt of honor is to educate myself and others of that very point: that freedom is never free.

It's not the best thing ever written, but I didn't have much time to edit it as I wrote it about an hour before the ceremony!

But it nicely fits my thoughts together in a coherent way.

Right now my family and I are watching live footage from Washington DC where they are having a big 4th of July celebration. And we're watching it on our new TV! Our old one had something wrong with it and had annoying lines on the top of the screen... So now we have a new TV. And we bought a blu-ray player so I can FINALLY watch the Tintin DVD special features!!!! =D

To quote my mother, "I feel like such a loser.... Everyone else is at the store to shop for 4th of July BBQ supplies... We're here to buy BBQ supplies, but not for a party."

So yes, we are not attending any big parties. We probably won't even see any fireworks. O.o Unless we climb on the roof.

Is it strange that I can remember EXACTLY what I was doing last year on 4th of July? My mom and I were visiting my grandparents. They were at a party while Mom and I stayed at their house and watched StarGate SG-1. If you think I have a good memory now, just wait for what I tell you next. I can remember which episode we were watching!! People, it's a 10 season show! I remember the most random and strange things. I can remember these two guy's Bdays from my church because I saw their Bdays mentioned in the bulletin once a long time ago.

Anyway, not the point. The point is that I was watching the SG-1 episode where Sha're's son was visiting and Daniel Jackson has this whole elaborate vision of himself taking over the world.

I also remember pausing this particular episode to look outside and catch a glimpse of fireworks.
I wonder if I will remember this particular 4th of July? Probably, because I'm blogging about it. :P

Anyway... I don't really have anything else to say, except HAPPY 4th OF JULY! =D