Joys of Getting It All Together

Today is the day. Valentine's Banquet. Which means after school I get to rush around like a chicken without a head to get everything I need to get done done, which I am sure I will continue to think of more things as the day progresses. Right now, the main thing I need to get done is getting all the balloons filled with helium. I don't know how many balloons will need to be filled, but I am making Cole help me. Hopefully they have all the food they need. I just had to call my mom to tell me what was written on a sticky note that was what John was supposed to bring and forgot what he signed up for. Ah, the joys.

Also, The girls lost last night. They play again tonight. But I don't have to be there. So it's okay. They play Saturday only if they win tonight. There is almost supposed to be a blizzard and I have to take my ACT tomorrow. I hope very much so that I will be able to make it. Or else I will be really sad.

I don't have anything else to say, but I feel like a scattered mess.

Decorating, Writing and Not Hiding in Cars

I shampooed my hair twice this morning. On accident. I couldn't remember shampooing my hair the first time, actually, I couldn't remember putting the shampoo in my hand the second time. I was really confused. Then I conditioned.

We decorated for the Valentine's Banquet last night. I hope it all looks alright. I don't know how good I am at decorating. However, Steph did tell me that it was fun watching me run around and be all in charge and that I will make an awesome decorating-for-my-kids'-birthday-parties mom. As for pictures, I feel that pictures are silly. Okay, you see, we take pictures for couples/whoever wants to get them and print them out and sell them to them for a dollar. I don't ever know what to do for a background and I don't really like being like, "Okay, picture on three, 1...2...3" while usually whoever is assisting me does nothing. I would like to just pass off pictures to someone else, but there really is no one else, so I can't do that. So I must take the pictures anyway. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy taking pictures, but I am usually never happy with the background and wish that the pictures could just be better. Maybe this year since Krista and Heidi didn't like my background idea and came up with another one, it will be better. I am told to stop stressing out about it.

By the way, if you are my friend, please don't ever hide in my car to scare me. I will scream so loud and yes, it will probably be funny to whoever is watching, but I will not find it funny. I will be angry and will want to punch you in the belly. And yes, that would probably also be funny for you to see, but I will not find any of it funny. I don't like screaming and I enjoy being scared even less. So, don't do it. Or I will get you back and I don't want to have to resort to that.

I had my English class yesterday and my professor was like, "Annie, what's a sentence that begins with because?" And I am sure I could have thought of many sentences, but I am like, "I don't know." So he continues, apparently unphased that I am stupid, "Because I don't know..." Then Charles finished the sentence, and for him I am grateful. I enjoy my English class at the college, but I will be honest, I often feel stupider than everyone else. Everyone else seems to have the ability to form all these sentences and describe things perfectly. I usually leave that class feeling two things: in a hurry (since I have to hurry to get to my first period class at the high school) and stupid. I am probably the stupidest person in that class. I can't even think of a different word for stupid. Ha, ha... I kind of suck at life, according to April. You see, if you didn't know, I was like the writer in my class. Everyone knew that I wrote poems and my stories in my English classes always got a 98 or 99, because no teacher wanted to give me a perfect. I know that is making me sound conceited, but really, I always wanted to be an author when I grew up, ever since 1st grade. I have always wanted to be an excellent writer and now here I feel stupid, but maybe that's good. Maybe this class is getting me out of my comfort zone so real growth can happen.

I am going to Jamestown today, because we have girl's basketball Districts. I don't know who we play, but we leave town at 4:15. We don't play until like 8:15, which is the last game. I think we will have a little time to spare when we get there. And by a little, I mean we will have like two and a half if not three hours. But, luckily, Erin is filling in for me tomorrow, because of the Valentine's Banquet, but she does book for the guys, so she knows how to and I grateful that she can fill in for me. Ah, well, today will be over soon enough. I have a test first hour today, Algebra II. Ha, ha. Well, I guess I better go start the day...

February, Decorating and Car Crashes

"When February rolls around I'll roll my eyes
Turn a cold shoulder to these even colder skies
And by the fire my heart it heaves a sigh
For the green grass waiting on the other side"
-Relient K, In Like a Lion (Always Winter)

So pretty much today is the day for decorating for the Valentine's Banquet. I am not trying to think about it too much, but I wish I could find someway to organize all my thoughts so I could make some sort of game plan. I find a make many "game plans" in my mind. Like, I am going to do this, then dot this, then this, and so on.

I haven't gotten rid of all the Christmas songs on my ipod. I thought I had, but one just tried to play. I refuse to listen to Christmas songs after December. I refuse. I will find this song and remove it from my playlist.

I almost go into a car accident today. Actually, since it's snowed, I can't remember the last time I have been driving and haven't almost got into a car accident. I don't think that's safe. I really do think of stop signs as yields, until someone else is at the stop sign, then I am usually driving too fast to safely stop in time. But nope, they keep driving, even though I will clearly drive into them. One time I was trying to stop and my car did a U-turn, completely, and me, left without any control. Someone want to take me out on ice and let me lose control so I can have the experience and know what to do if it really happened? Pastor told my mom that I should learn, but odds are slim that he will actually teach me. If anyone is willing, they can be my friend. Anyway, I keep getting in almost accidents. Just wait, I actually will one of these days. By the way, with the stop signs being like yields, I cannot slow down at all for actual yields. I am so not a safe or good winter driver. But I still love to drive. I think it's in my blood (my dad is a truck driver and low life, but hopefully that's not in my blood).

My mind will go back to thinking about decorations now. Maybe I can come up with a mental game plan during Chemistry, since I clearly do not pay attention in Chemistry. I'm kidding... kind of.

Frozen

Happy Super Tuesday

-Annie

Winners, Losers, and Valentine's

I actually watched the entire Super Bowl on Sunday with my mother. I was happy; I wanted the Giants to win. Ha, ha. It was a fun time of my mother and me yelling at the TV. We made picks in U.S. History and only like four or something people said that the Giants would win. That adds to the happy. I also correctly picked the MVP. I was way off on the timeout thing though as well as the amount of whatever those running yards are called.

Of course, after the Super Bowl ended, my mother and I started talking about happiness. My English professor made us write a journal entry about what we thought it takes to be happy. He pointed out how most of the time our happiness depends on someone else's sadness. Like, the Giants winning is great, but that means there also has to be a loser, and you can be sure that Patriots aren't nearly as happy. I am sure that there are times when everyone can be happy about something, but I will admit more often that not our happiness comes from someone else's sadness. Our victories can only come with someone's defeat. I want to be like Paul and learn to be content no matter the situation. I realize that Paul went through a whole lot more than I probably ever will. I want to find something to be happy about no matter the situation. Or perhaps I just really want true joy.

Our youth group's Valentine's Day Banquet is coming up. I am in charge of decorations. I really hope that everything will work out. I really hope the tablecloths don't look as cheap as they are. My mom and I are going to have to go to the church after school today to start trying things out. And to start tracing the banner thing I made for the bulletin board (Jeremy already put it on an overhead, now we just have to trace it out) which will probably take a while because my hand cramps up incredibility easy. I sure how it will look pretty. I still need another string of rope lights. If anyone has them... fork them over, we will give them back after it's over, I promise. I usually enjoy the Valentine's Banquet, but it seems to get almost kind of stressful planning for it. I should just calm down and let what happens happen and deal with it.

Bowling Shoes, Basketball and Jam-Packed Days

Today was a very jam-packed day. Indeed it was.

I woke up at 5:00, got ready, picked Richelle up and headed to the church to leave for Mandan at 7:00. Arrived at Mandan and had a quiz meet. I didn't do very good and hardly anyone was there, while it seemed like hardly anyone. I guess there really aren't as many quizzers as when I first started. I need to study more and the get the information down. I need to just do better than I have the last several months.

Then we drove back and I got to town in time to keep book for both JV and Varsity. I messed up somehow and it's messy to explain, so I'd rather not. Anyway, it was Parent's night (when it came to name tags, since my mom doesn't go, I wore one name tag and April wore the other, so she was my mom tonight) so I got to walk down the hall with Dixie while we danced (because we weren't going to the dance at the gym tonight) and then I got to eat a lemon-square messily like a four-year-old. We took a team picture and Dixie and I hurried out before anyone tried to make a speech.

Then I headed to the bowling alley to say hi to Crispy. He convinced me to bowl a game, though, so I was there a little bit longer than it takes to just say hi. Jake came, so I told him to bowl with us and so it was my birthday present to him. I didn't bowl all too great. But, Crispy gave me a 50-handicap and still beat me by a pin. But it was still a lot of fun and a good way to get me hyper before I had to come home and get some sleep, considering I have to wake up and be at the church by a quarter to nine for worship team practice. Here's my bowling sheet:



And all of this left me with enough time to tell a story to anyone that was around me at the time (which was Krista and John). So yesterday night I was at the bowling alley, but then Trevor came after the game was over to work for me. So I had worked, Bradley came to visit me, and I put on my shoes and bowled a frame while I was there. So I was leaving, driving home and I realized that my shoes felt roomier than I remembered. Then I realized I still had my bowling shoes on... so I drove back. And there I was sitting in my car thinking how I didn't want to walk outside more than I had to with my bowling shoes on. So I was like, hmm... what do I have that I could change into? Ah ha! It was Wild West Day on Wednesday and I always leave things in my car! So there I was, putting my cowboy boots on and walking into the bowling alley unable to stop laughing. I told Trevor about the whole ordeal, took my other shoes and went home.

What I Learned

It's Friday, and if you overlook that tomorrow is the Hawaiian Dance, this week is almost over. Since I love learning experiences, I did learn a couple things from this week, this I Hate Winter Week:

First of all, you can make a poster telling what to dress up like everyday and people will go along with it. I'm actually surprised. While less people dressed up than they did for homecoming, people still dressed up and put effort into their outfits. It's kind of cute, yet kind of silly. I supposed I should have already learned this when our church had a Hunter's Appreciation Sunday where we all dressed in camo. I don't know how many other churches would do that.

Secondly, I learned that no matter how cold it is outside (which by the way, this has been the coldest week so far of not only this year (duh) but like of winter, or at least in a really long time), people still will wear ridiculously not warming things. Like flip-flops or togas, when it's -40 degrees with wind chill. So, since have mad drawing conclusion skills, I conclude that we North Dakotans are superhuman when it comes to cold conditions.

Thirdly, I learned that I Hate Winter Week seemed silly at first, but every week ends eventually, even if it seems to take forever and forever until you die.

The End [of I Hate Winter Week (almost)]