Easter

Tomorrow's Easter!! I'm excited about it. We go to church at the regular time, but of course it's a special service. After all, there would be no Christianity if Jesus hadn't risen from the dead. After church, some of our very old friends (not old as in elderly, but we've known them a while) are coming for dinner at 5:30. It'll be 10 people all together. Liz (we've known her since we used to live in Virginia when I was little. She worked on Capital Hill. Then she retired and moved down here. She is very sweet and really cares about us.) and her boyfriend Tom, the Murrays (Marrienne, Jim, Claire, and A.J. who we've known since we moved to Florida when I was six) and us Roses. That's a lot of people, but it'll be fun to all be together again. We have the house decorated with little bunnies and roosters, and we have candle holders with eggs in them. Easter seemed to come a little early this year, but that's fine with me. I'm ready for spring and Easter whenever they come.

Talent Show

At my school, there's going to be a talent show! I have a few talents, one of them being singing. I LOVE TO SING!!!!!!!!! When I get older, I'm probably going to get a college degree in voice and be a professional (just ike Meav, except her degree is in law. She found out that singing was her passion. She is so my idol!). Right now I'm at Wards Creek Elementary with Mom, and I'm on her school-owned Gateway laptop. I was just on iTunes and I found a great karaeoke version of "The Prayer" from Quest To Camelot (I originally heard it from Celtic Woman singer Chloe Agnew). I'm pretty nervous because I don't want to mess up in front of all those people, but mainly I don't want people to think I'm stupid because of the song I picked. Most of the kids will be doing hip-hop songs. But I know that it shouldn't matter and I should just move forward with my passion.

Listen to "The Prayer" from Celtic Woman Chloe Agnew:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sASfv9EEhrw

Celtic Woman Concert

The night of March 5 was easily one of the best nights of my life. For me it was like a dream, having Chloe, Orla, and Mairead performing in front of me! Lynn and Alex were new, though. Lynn is actually really pretty (keep in mind-doesn't even come close to Meav), but she doesn't around all that much, and I think she could use a little more expression. As for Alex, I didn't really like her that much. I didn't like the style of her voice, which was kind of a broadway style, and it didn't fit in with all the other voices and the Celtic music. But I welcomed both newcomers in my mind. Speaking of in my mind, Mairead was definetly the star of the show. I used the binoculars, which were amazingly cool because I could see the faces up close. Mairead just used sooo much fun and expression in her face and her actions, like when she danced all over the stage, which had been very nicely decorated and it looked like a mini version of what the stage looked like in the DVDs. But the thing that happened that night that I will never forget is that while I was looking at her through the binoculars, Mairead looked at me. Like, 3 times. It was so awesome! She was smiling and moving her body, and she looked right into my eyes. I had seen some of the others (like Lynn and Chloe) sort of look at me but just for a second. But Mairead just held her gaze for 3 seconds or more. And I just smiled at her, nodding at her performance and how good it was. We also purchased a souvenier tourbook with really nice pictures and writing that I promised myself I would never cut out and hang in my room (it was hard). But i had a great time, and I was so sad when it ended and it was time to go home. But it was night I will never forget.

Ireland/Concert

St. Patrick's Day is now officially my 3rd favorite holiday (after Christmas and Halloween), thanks to Meav and the rest of Ireland, my favorite country. On Saturday me, Mom, and little sis Jenny went out shopping and I got all my St. Patty's day materials. I got shamrock earrings, green nail polish, sparkley green and silver bead necklaces, and the stuff to make my special shirt. I didn't want one of those Target shirts that everyone wears (Everyone loves an Irish girl, Kiss me, I'm Irish, etc.). I wanted something special. We got a white t-shirt from Michael's craft store alond with some green, orange, and black fabric paint. On the front will be the Irish flag and IRELAND written on it, and on the back (in smaller letters), it will say THE EMERALD ISLE, because that's its nickname. I hope I can wear it all year round. I also got a very nice big book on Ireland that has awesome pictures and was on sale! Yay! And speaking of Yay, I'm am now officially off of Celtic Woman recovery!! I burned a cd of them that has their 2004/2005 songs on it from their debut concert at Helix Center in Dublin. Some of the songs are One World, Walking in the Air, Si Do Mhaimeo i ("The Wealthy Widow" in Gaelic), Orinoco Flow, You Raise Me Up, and others. I just try to keep my exposure to them limited, not to watch or listen to them too much, because I will regret it later (can't really explain it to you, sorry). Their concert is in 2 days!!! It'll be so cool to watch Mairead dance with her fiddle right in front of me, and to watch Chloe and Orla sing in the same building! Lynn and Alex I don't know yet, but I'm sure they're talented. And Meav and Lisa, we all miss you so much!!
So...Look out Ireland, here I come!! (someday...) ag deireadh! (The End)

I Got Sweeped

If you go to Pacetti Bay middle school, you probably know that we have tardy sweeps, and if the Dean sees you out of class when the tardy bell rings, you have to come with him/her to the auditorium and get a punishment. Well, until Monday, I didn't know what the punishment was until it happened to me. If you go to my school, you probably know how long it is from the band room to the green house, where most of my classes are. If you don't, well, IT'S LONG. It takes me a while to get to geography from the band room. And Dean Gifford was in the green house at the time, so when I was about 25 steps away from my classroom, the bell rang and he ordered us to the auditorium. This usually only happens to bad kids and if it happenes to many times, you can get demerits, detentions, and even worse. So when I went in there, I saw Mrs. Sparkman (principal), Mrs. Calloway (vice), Mrs. Seaton (guidance), Dean Gifford (man dean), Dean Cooper (woman dean), and Officer Keisler (school cop) all in one place. Wow. They gave us a harsh lecture about getting to class on time. I felt really bad. I mean, Mrs. Sparkman's my friend, and I don't want her (or Dean Cooper) to think that I'm a bad kid. The high majority of the kids in there were 7th graders, too, and everyone had to write down their name so they could keep track of who's been there. Well, let me just say this. Mrs. Sparkman, I know you know I'm not a bad kid, and I was late for a good reason. And Dean Cooper, you don't really know me that well, and I want you to think highly of me, so don't judge me by this. This is something I will definately try to not let happen again.

Teacher of the Year Banquet

If you keep up with my blog, you probably know that my Mom was selected as Teacher of the Year for her school, and then nominated as one of the 3 finalists to become Teacher of the Year for the whole county. Well, the banquet was on Tuesday night, and we got to find out who was the big winner. It was a big and fancy banquet, with 630 people there. My sister and I wore dresses, my dad a coat and tie, and my Mom looked very pretty in a navy blue dress and silver high heels. It was, like, the 15th dress she tried on until she found the one that was perfect. A lot of people from my school were there. My principal, Mrs. Sparkman, my vice-principal Mrs. Callaway, the teacher of the year, Mr. Ryan and his wife ( who is actually one of our P.E. coaches), Mr. Anthanseas, our maintenance supervisor, and our 2 Deans, Mr. Gifford and Ms. Cooper (ps-she's only 34!). And I also got to see a lot of teachers from my elementary school that I haven't seen in a while, so that was nice. So Mom and Mrs. Miller, a pretty 2nd grade teacher who's our Rookie teacher of the year (teacher that's taught for 3 years or less), sat together and awaited the 2 big announcements. Mrs. Miller didn't win, and Mom didn't either :(. But she's happy for Mr. Dodd, the guy that did. He teaches music at St. Augustine High, and Mom was glad that a music teacher won, because they sometimes get overlooked. So, that's the story of our big night. It was a fun (and suspenseful!) one, and one that we will probably remeber forever.

Ann Reinking

Have you ever heard of her? She's an American actress, dancer, and choreographer. If you've ever seen the movie "Annie" (the well-known one made in 1982), Ann Reinking stars as Grace Ferrall, Mr. Warbucks' private secratary. She choreographed and was in "Chicago". She was also in "Goodtime Charley" (a Tony award winner), "Dancin' ", "All That Jazz" (winner of 4 Academy Awards) and "Fosse", which was loosely based around her life and her relationship with Bob Fosse, another famous choreographer. She's won a Tony Award, A Drama Desk Award, and a Bob Fosse Award. But I like her best in "Annie". I think she did a great job on the role, and seemed to work well with Aileen Quinn (the girl who played Annie) and Albert Finney(who played Oliver Warbucks, she had to kiss him in the end). I also think she looked very pretty in the movie. Well, times have changed, and she's almost 60 now. I just hope she never forgets her famous career as a talented actress, singer, and great dancer. And I hope people don't forget her, either.

Check her out in these scenes (ps- she's the brunette):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBwyANWjyls We Got Annie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nM_-CFRBS8 I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRnXvPQVtaE Cheek To Cheek (not from Annie)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVasewV7OpA&NR=1 Jagger And Gideon! (All That Jazz)