Friday, December 21, 2012

Christmas Vacation!

Today, I officially received my permit because I completed my 10 hours of driving. :) I'm really happy.

Christmas vacation starts tonight so I won't  be blogging for awhile. Abbey just got home from college! :D We're about to watch Elf. Tomorrow, I'm going ice skating for the first time ever.

Farewell for now! Have a merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

PERMIT!

Last night, I received a 90 on my permit test! :D I also got a 95 on my homework, and a 90 for my over all test average on the practice tests we took. I'm pretty satisfied. Billy got a 98 on his permit test. :) We can't get our permits until we drive one more time on Friday with our instructor.

Later this afternoon, I am going to Meti's house to help and have Mrs. Taylor teach me how to do Meti's and maybe Tigist's hair. I'm really excited! The Taylor's are such an awesome family! After we do hair, we are going to Bible study at the church!

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Tonight I take the test to get my permit! :D I'm pretty nervous but I'm also excited!

Last Sunday, we had a church Christmas party at the Almquist's house. It was really great! We laughed so much, ate delicious food, and sang Christmas songs and carols! Thank you for you wonderful hospitality, Almquist family!

Awhile back, we decorated the church and it snowed right as we were finishing. :)

Hot chocolate at the Road Side Cafe!

Christmas colors on my nails for the church Christmas party.
Don't forget the true meaning of CHRISTmas. :)

Monday, December 17, 2012

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Saturday morning, I went with Shannon to drop Billy off at CMCC. Shannon and I went to Heidi's for breakfast. As I was finishing my breakfast sandwich, my classmates began to show up. Shannon left and once everyone arrived, Michelle (the owner of Heidi's) told us all about her starting the restaurant. We got to ask her some questions too. She is a really sweet lady! After about an hour or so, she let us go up and order a snack/sandwich. Mr. Morrison bought them all with the discount Michelle gave us! After we had gotten all our sandwichs, we walked over to the Marriott in next to Walmart. We used their conference room to discuss what we learned from Michelle. We also talked about all the little details in starting businesses, and business names. We got dismissed 15 minutes early. I waited for Shannon and Billy to picked me up and then we drove to the movie theater!

This is what you've been waiting to read about (well, maybe), Shannon, Billy, Sean, Allison, Dan, Peter (Dan's brother) and I went to see The Hobbit. It was brilliant and hilarious! :D I really enjoyed it! It was nearly 3 hours long but I don't think the movie dragged at all. One of my favorite quotes that Gandalf said was after Bilbo wished him a good morning, "Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?. They did a really good job at the Dwarve's songs. Martin Freeman was the perfect person to play the younger Bilbo. His facial expressions, hand gestures, and the emotion he put into Bilbo were priceless.

After the movie was finished, I had to go home, get ready for work and then go to work. It was a good night at work!

Friday, December 14, 2012

Almost Finished With Drivers Ed!

I don't have much to blog about besides the fact I had Drivers Ed. class again last night. Billy and I drive with our instructor one more time on Monday. If the weather is really bad, we'll drive with him on Wednesday. Next Tuesday, we have about 2 1/2 chapters to go over and then we are taking the PERMIT TEST! I hope I pass!

Tomorrow morning, I have a YEA! field trip at Heidi's Brooklyn Deli. We're going there for an hour and then we are going to the Marriott to discuss our field trip and business names. Right after we get done class in the Marriott, Billy and Dan are going to pick me up and then we are going to the theater to see The Hobbit! :D  We're meeting Sean, Allison, and maybe a few other friends there. I'm super excited! Right after the movie I have to head home to go to work.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Non-stop Busy

Last Saturday, morning the Kidd family picked me up and we drove to the Wardwell's house for John's birthday party. Emily brought Millie and I inside. We met Mr. and Mrs. Wardwell, and Emily's friend Ruthie. Emily, Ruthie, Millie, and I "baked" a prank cake. We blew up a balloon and taped it to a cereal box and covered it in whipped cream and sprinkles. :) After we made that, we made peanut bars covered in melted chocolate. Emily made some hot chocolate and then Ruthie drove us and Emily's older sister to the Poland High School. We watched the guys play football in the rain for a little while and then we went back to the house because it was cold! Everyone that was playing football ended coming back too.

Mrs. Wardwell made some delicious macaroni and cheese with red hotdogs. After lunch the guys played Black Ops and other "shoot 'em up" video games. We had John cut the "cake" we made for him. It deflated. He thought it was funny and his friends were kind of disappointed. :) Then we brought down, by John's request, the peanut butter bars.

Mom and Dad came and picked me up soon after that. When I got home I did a few chores for Dad and then I got ready and left for work.

After work, Corrie came home with me. Millie and Kevin were sleeping over so we talked to them for awhile.

On Sunday, we had a good church service. Pastor Per preached on The Mystery of Marriage. 'Twas very good! :)

After church, Millie, Kevin, and Erin, helped us help Tim and Angie move into their new house in Poland. There were quite a few people from their church, Aunt Debbie and David, and Ralph, as well. It was fantastic! Loading up the moving truck took a little while but when we unloaded at the house, it only took about a half an hour! After we finished unloading the truck, we quickly said hello to Addie and Angie and then we left. We dropped Millie and Kevin off at the Crawford's house. Erin came back to our house and we baked cookies and then left for Home Group at the Taylor's house. That was fun! We had good fellowship and a good Bible study. Mrs. Taylor and I talked about hairstyling quite a bit. She does such a good job on her children's hair. I might help her do their hair over Christmas break.

On Monday, Billy and I drove with our instructor again. We did parallel parking for the first time. I didn't do very well though. :/ Monday night, I went to YEA! class. We did a little class discussion and then we worked on our business plans in the computer lab.

Tuesday morning, I did some school in the car while Mom and I drove to Poland to visit Angie, Gabe and Addie. We helped unpack a few boxes, cleaned a few dishes, played with Gabe and Addie, and talked quite a bit with Angie. It was really enjoyable. :) Tuesday night, we had driver's ed class for three hours.

On Wednesday, I drove with my instructor while Mom rode in the back seat. We drove around Lewiston for about 2 hours. It went pretty well. It only took me one try to parallel park this time! :D At the end of my two hours, we drove to the Roadside Cafe, where Billy was waiting. Billy, Mom, and our instructor went and drove for two hours while I sat in the cafe. I ordered Mac & Cheese for lunch. It was SO good and filling! It came with two grilled pieces of bread too. I also bought myself a hot chocolate. The owner of the bakery/cafe and I talked quite a bit because business was kind of slow and I was the only one there for awhile. She was really nice! I may get a summer job there.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

12/12/12

I just wanted to post a blog post today because it's a very special day! It's the twelfth month, twelfth day of the month, and the year 2012! This is a very short blog post just to so I can prove that I lived on 12/12/12. :P It's rather silly but, I think it's cool.

I will have a much more interesting and longer blog post tomorrow! :)

Friday, December 7, 2012

The Dangers of Alcohol and Driving

Last night, our Drivers Ed. instructor played a rather depressing video. It was really sad, but very important for any driver to see.

The video started with two police officers keeping an eye out for anything bad at a gas station. They see a group of suspicious looking high schoolers waiting by a truck. A few minutes later a car pulls up next to the truck and an older looking (over 21 years old) guy comes out. The driver of the truck (18 years old) hands him some money and the older guy goes into the gas station store and buys a pack of beer for the teens. The police arrest the 21 year old guy and I think the teens may have gotten fined. I can't remember though.

In the next scene, the police never caught them at the gas station and they brought the beet home to a friend's house. They had a bunch of teens over for a party and shared the drinks. The police get a call from the neighbors of that house complaining about the loud music and possible under-aged drinking. They go and investigate. Sure enough, everyone there is a minor and was drinking alcohol. The host of the party was arrested and the rest of the teens got fined.

In the next scene, the police never caught the teens at the party. The 18 year old guy that owned the truck gives some of his friends a ride home. On their way a police officer who was on watch for drunk drivers spots them. She pulls the truck over. She can smell the alcohol in the truck when the driver rolls his window down. The driver and his friends lie to the police about drinking even though the driver is obviously drunk, and there are empty cans of beer in the truck. The police officer tests the driver for any drunk symptoms, and then arrests him. The rest of the teens may or may not have been fined.

Lastly, they show as though the police never caught them. The drunk, teen, driver continues driving. His steering gets really bad and some of the passengers start getting nervous and beg him to pull over. He doesn't and claims he's fine. Of course, they crash. The driver has a broken leg and other various injuries, the passengers all get pretty serious injuries. One girl becomes a paraplegic, a guy has to learn how to walk again and has to use a cane, as far as I know, for the rest of his life, two girls healed back to normal, and one girl (girlfriend to the guy with the cane) dies. After the driver is healed from his injuries, he gets fined a lot of money and is put in jail for 30 years for manslaughter.

Needless to say, don't drink and drive! If you do drink, find a designated driver.

We also watched a video on distracted driving. So, don't play the radio too loud. If you have a passenger in the car, let them tune the radio, answer your phone calls or texts. Pull over to eat, or apply makeup. Pull over if you and your passenger are having an emotional conversation. Keep yourself from getting distracted for driving for the protection others and yourself.

Also, if you're struggling to stay awake behind the wheel, have someone else drive or pull over and take a 20 minute nap.

It's a privilege to drive a vehicle, not a right. :) Most of this stuff is common sense so, be sensible.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Running Up and Down the Streets of Monmouth

Yesterday afternoon, Mrs. Kidd drove Billy, Millie, Kevin, Darby, Steve, John, Meredith, and I to SMASH. We got there kind of late. Pastor Sam taught us some of the Biblical story behind As You Like It. After SMASH class, I talked to Keisha and Elijah for a bit and then Amanda drove Corrie, Billy, Brenna, and I to Corrie's house.

Corrie and I walked down to the Monmouth library. We worked on my Drivers Ed. Motorist Handbook and Study Guide questions and answers until 5:55pm. I didn't get to finish them but Drivers Ed. class was in five minutes so Corrie and I quickly printed the questions and answers I had already done, then ran as fast as we could in the cold to Corrie's house! We walked inside the house and Billy obviously didn't know what time it was, so I told him. It was 6:02pm and Drivers Ed. class is supposed to start at 6pm. So, Mr. Donahue quickly drove us to the school. Thank goodness, Dwight (our instructor) wasn't upset that we were late, and he wasn't upset that I didn't finish my homework in time and said I could finish and bring it in tomorrow! Whew! In class, we went over the rules of rotaries,  changing lanes, passing, the different ways of parking and pulling out, and we learned about road rage too.

After class, Billy and I jogged to the Donahue's house while we waited for Dad to pick us up. Jolie had made some delicious pizza that we got to enjoy while Darryl told us about the things we should apply from Drivers Ed. He was being really funny. Once Dad picked us up, Mr. Donahue and Dad talked a little and then we drove home.

Random fact: This is my 200th post!

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Driving!

Taking a week off of Facebook really helped me manage my time.  I'm not quite as stressed as I was. :) Because Driver's Ed is so time consuming, I still didn't get to read as much of the Motorist hand book as I wanted to. I was hoping to read about 12 pages a day so I wouldn't be reading like 60 pages in one day. With a little help of some procrastination (mostly lack of time), it turns out that I'll have to read about 60 pages today and tomorrow before Driver's Ed class, and answer the questions after each "Part". I think I'll be reading the Motorist book for most of the day today. :/

Last Friday, Billy and I drove for the first time! Our instructor had us drive in back roads of Monmouth, a little bit of Greene, and in the residential (not so much the city part) area of Lewiston we practiced basic left and right turns.

Friday night, I went into work at 6pm. Kaitlyn and Michaela had me work upstairs while they dealt downstairs. There were a bunch of people downstairs!

On Saturday morning, there were a lot of dirty dishes in the kitchen so I worked on cleaning them until Mom came home, and then we drove to the church to decorate it. When we got there, Ginny was waiting for us, and then Jessie arrived, soon after Jessie, the Crawford's showed up. :) Connor, Mr. Crawford, Gavin, and I decorated the railings outside while snowed. It was wicked cold but I loved the snow falling! Everyone else focused on the indoor decorations, although Ginny and Jessie put red and silver bows outside. :) The church looks extra pretty now. :)

After we finished decorating the church, Billy, (Mrs. Crawford picked him and Garrett up from class at CMCC) Mom, and I went home, had lunch, and then I worked on outlining my business plan a little. I went to work at 5pm. Corrie and I manned the upstairs while Kaitlyn and Michaela were downstairs again. Around 8:30, Michaela and I were allowed to leave. Corrie and Kaitlyn had to stay until around 10:15pm. Kaitlyn gave Corrie a ride to my house and then Corrie and I talked until her Dad picked her up. :)

On Sunday, Pastor Per preached on The Structure of Marriage. It was, yet, another good sermon. :) This Sunday, we also got to sing a few Christmas songs, such as, Joy To The World, El Shaddai, and Mrs. Kidd and Mrs. Almquist sang O Come, Emmanual during communion. It. Was. Beautiful. We also sang In Christ Alone which is sung all year round but still good around Christmas time.

After church, we had Kyle, Millie, Kevin, and Grace come over to hang until Prayer Meeting at 6pm. :) I cooked some rice and kielbasa and Billy fried some vegetables for lunch. :) Millie, Billy, Kevin, and Kyle played Four Player Chess and Risk most of the afternoon. Shannon, Gracie, and I set up the Christmas tree (its fake). I also baked some molasses cookies and Gracie helped me dish them out. :)

We had a HUGE turn out for Prayer Meeting! It seemed like almost the entire church showed up! 'Twas really great!

Monday morning, Billy and I drove again! This time we drove in Augusta. We practiced changing lanes, driving on the highway and the round-a-bout and such. The "Question of the Day" was "Which lane do you want to be in?". It was pretty fun, scary, and cool!

After we got home from driving, I ate  little bit of food, answered a Drivers Ed. question or two and then I got ready to go to YEA! class. The majority of the class we focused on the SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It's really good analysis to do before you start a business and a constant analysis to do while you run your business. We partnered up with some one in the class and did a SWOT analysis on each other's businesses. I partnered with Sam because our businesses are somewhat similar. After about 5-7 minutes we each took turns going up in front of the class and listed off our own SWOT analysis and then the rest of the class added to it. It was really beneficial. :) Zoe brought in a sample of gluten free brownies. They were really delicious! :D

This morning The Piano Guys posted a new video. It's beautiful.