HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! While I usually trick or treat today, this time I am not. I am trick or treating Saturday instead. The town I usually trick or treat in, Peterborough, took some damage from Hurricane Sandy. Three roads were closed and are still being repaired. Trick or treating was scheduled for Saturday instead.

This year, me and my sister are going as Musketeers. Our costumes are super cool. We have matching hats, swords, and outfits. I have a blue mask, my sister has a purple one. I am going all out and even doing long fake nails for the occasion. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

(Tip- If you are wearing fake nails, please read the glue bottle first. Otherwise, you may be stuck not knowing how to get the nails off. Also, don't use regular glue. You can get nail glue at your local pharmacy or dollar store. Fake nails can rip off your real nails if you do not remove them properly. Do not press on your fake nails. IT HURTS. Thank you.)

Remember, this is the one day where you can totally pig out on candy! So enjoy it!

Maddie

WOOHOO! TIME TO CHANGE MY BLOG SETTINGS!

Howloween Success

Lucky went to his pet competition on Saturday... and he rocked! He did all of his tricks the first time too. All of that practice finally paid off! However, the poodle came as a Geisha Girl with it's toenails painted, and won for attention to detail (May I mention that the poodle did that stupid walk on its hind legs trick again but still after one year refused to do sit?) .

I did not feel that the competition was fair for a few reasons:

1. The dog's costume kept falling off.
2. The dog refused to do the easiest trick in the book.
3. The nail polish was all smudged.

So last year we got told that the dog had better tricks. So we worked on that, and a better costume. We went in and did awesome tricks. Then, the dog won for attention to detail! WE JUST CAN'T WIN!!! Or can we??? Next year, Lucky is going as a goth. I think that he will pull it off very well. If not a goth, maybe a leprechaun. You know, since his name is Lucky.

Lucky has some years of competing ahead of him though. I may start a page on my blog about him and just put his contest info up and stuff.

Maddie

Questions About Me

Hi! Today, I wanted to tell people about me. I am going to write down questions and put in my answers. Any additional questions should be left in the comments below.

 What Is My Favorite Color? Pink or Green or Black or Blue'
What Is My My Dog's Name? Lucky Balthazar Nef
 What Is My Middle Name? Margaret
How Many Blogs Do I Have? I have 3 that I blog on, but many that are just testers.
What Is My Favorite Food? ICE CREAM, BY FAR!!!!
What Is My Sister's Name? Ashleigh
What Is My Favorite Computer Game? Wizard101
What Is My Sister's TERRIBLE Middle Name? James- Yuck!
Who Is My Favorite Singer? Victoria Justice
What's My Favorite Dessert to Bake? Fudge
 What Is My Favorite Animal? Giraffe
How Old am I? 11
What Is My Goal For When I am 15? I would like to have graduated high school.
What Is My Favorite Book Series? Xanth Novels


Well, those are the questions I could come up with! If anyone would like to know anything else about me, please leave a comment either below or on the comments page!

Lewis and Clark Report

Lewis and Clark Report

By Madison Nef

Thomas Jefferson had been interested in Western expansion for a long time, and in the 1780’s, had met a man named John Ledyard who proposed the idea of an expedition to the Pacific Northwest. Jefferson read a book that a guy had written about an expedition and this led him to order Congress to fund the expedition.  He asked his private secretary, Meriwether Lewis, if he and his friend William Clark (who was also a friend of Jefferson) would head the expedition. In the end, 33 people volunteered to go on the expedition. Among the 33 was a young Indian woman named Sacagawea. She traveled with her baby on her back the whole time. The goal was to explore the Louisiana Purchase, and establish trade with the natives across the Missouri River.

The expedition followed the Missouri through much of what is now Kansas City, Missouri, and Omaha Nebraska.   During this time, there was only one death.  The quartermaster of the trip, Sergeant Charles Floyd, died of acute appendicitis and was buried in what is now Sioux City. Only a few days after his death, the expedition found what they called THE GREAT PLAINS. It was an area with many elk, deer, bison, and beavers.

 The expedition made friends and trades with over 2 dozen different native tribes. The only one that gave them trouble was the Sioux. The Sioux lived along the river and were a very vicious tribe. Many expeditions went to try to make trade routes and never came back. Some horses were stolen from the expedition, and the Sioux were held responsible. The Sioux existed mainly to stop trading routes from cluttering up the river, which was where they fished. They ended up making peace with them, but it had been feared that the sides would fight.

In the winter of 1804, the expedition built Fort Mandan. One chief of the Mandan tribe asked for a boat to pass through the territory. When Lewis and Clark refused to build him a boat, he threatened them with war. Lewis and Clark prepared for war, but in the end, both sides fell back. After the winter, the expedition used the Clearwater, Snake, and Columbia rivers to descend the mountains via canoe. The expedition soon faced another harsh winter. They voted on where to make another fort for the winter. They decided on the south side of the Columbia River. Since both Sacagawea and Clark’s slave York were allowed to vote, this may have been the first time that a woman and a slave were allowed to vote.

The expedition built Fort Clatsop to stay in for the winter, and on March 23^rd of 1806, turned home again. Before crossing the Continental Divide, the expedition took different paths so that Lewis could explore the Marias River. Soon, Lewis’ men met some men from the Blackfeet tribe in the woods. During the night, the Blackfeet men tried to steal some of the expedition’s weapons. Lewis’ men got up and fought the tribe off, and in the process killed 2 of the tribe’s members. They then fled 100 miles before camping again.

Meanwhile, Clark’s expedition had stumbled into the Crow tribe’s land. Overnight, half of the horses went missing and not a Crow was seen. Lewis and Clark did not reunite until August 11^th at the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers. Before reuniting, one of Clark’s hunters mistook Lewis for an elk and shot him, permanently injuring his thigh. The expedition returned home on September 23^rd of 1806, having successfully completed their mission.

Bad News

I have really bad news. Today, my nanny said she was quitting her job! Nancy is a great nanny and I hate to see her go. I understand that she needs the healthcare though, and for that she needs to take on a full time job. I am very upset, but I have to act mature and get used to it. I am sure that me and Nancy will remain friends even after she leaves.

Tomorrow is her last day. I am kinda sad. But hey, sometimes people are ready for a change. A lot of changes have been going on in my life lately. I guess this is the next one. I am going to miss her very much. But anyway. That's my life. Has anyone noticed that I added a computer game to my blog? It is on the Ice Slide page which you should be able to find to the right of this post. Check it out, it is really cool.

If anyone likes that game, I can get a bunch more from www.miniclip.com. If you are a game-o-holic, you should check it out. It has HUNDREDS of games for every category. I know that the game I put up is a little lame, but it goes with winter, which we will be going into before we know it. Can you believe that Target ALREADY HAS THEIR CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS UP!? They haven't even taken down their Halloween decorations yet, and they already put up Christmas decorations. It's just plain stupid.

Anyway, PLEASE WISH MY DOG GOOD LUCK! He is going to compete this weekend in a Halloween competition, and I worked very hard on his little trick routine and costume (Well, the costume not so much. But the trick routine, I worked VERY hard on.).  I will take some photos of him at the contest and put them up when I get a chance.

PIRATE101

PIRATE101 IS OUT! THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS, THE GAME YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR FROM KINGSISLE ENTERTAINMENT IS O-U-T OUT! Wait a minute, what am I saying?! Half of my readers probably won't know what the heck I am talking about. Well, as most of you should know, I play an AWESOME game called Wizard101. Well, a new game from the same creator came out called Pirate101. In this game, you get to create your own pirate and travel into new and unseen parts of the Spiral!

I am Lazy Madison Parkinson. I have only been playing for 2 days, and already I am a level 5 witchdoctor. That's right, I chose Hoo-Doo as my power in the game. What's that? You REALLY thought I would totally give up magic for sword-clashing and distasteful clothing? Witchdoctors in the game at least get some cool clothing. But others make it look like you just crawled up out of the briny deep!

If you are interested in becoming a Pirate101 player, please go to www.pirate101.com for more information. I would recommend Wizard101 for younger players though. It is not as complicated as Pirate101. I am 11 and I have a bit of a tough time getting my character around!

That's it for today.

Maddie

Fairy House

Today, me and my sister are going to go outside and build fairy houses. Now, probably you think I am too old for fairies and stuff like that, but I am NEVER going to be too old to hang out and have fun with my sister.

She likes collecting rocks and sticks and such, so I decided I would teach her how to build fairy houses, as it was a favorite activity of mine.

I will post up a picture of our fairy house when we are done, but until then, the fairies will just have to rough it in the cold. I should be done with the required work amount in around an hour, unless I REALLY sluff off, like I did yesterday.

Maybe me and my sister could start a blog and every week make a new fairy house and how to make it. That would be really cool. In fact, I think that I WILL do that. It would make a great starter blog for my sister.

THE AFTERMATH

Me and Ashleigh DID build a fairy house, but it didn't last very long. Not even long enough for me to take a picture of it. Me and my sister worked our tails off collecting nasty chewed sticks (courtesy of Lucky the wuppems Balthazar Nef) and when we finally got done building a BEAUTIFUL fairy house, a certain someone whose name shall not be mentioned let Lucky out.

As you can imagine, Lucky was not too happy about his beautiful collection of junk being messed with by mysterious different scented hands, and he came trotting outside. I immediately dove to protect our creation, but alas, 'twas too late to save it. Lucky decided that he was taking back what was his, and ran around the yard doing puppy run with my- I mean OUR fairy house in his mouth.

Computer Problems

   


That is basically what Dad has looked like ever since I got up. His Google Chrome has been acting up on him and he is rather annoyed about it. He tried uninstalling it, and then reinstalling it, but even that wouldn't work. It's just been one big problem after the next for us lately:

1. Dad's old computer breaks and he has to buy a new one.
2. Our sink plumbing leaks and Dad has to fix it.

And Last but not Least...

3. Our Washing Machine broke and Dad had to hire a repairman to fix it. (Did I mention that the water that leaked out went through to the basement.....?)

Now there is this. What is this, a jinx on Dad? I hope that Dad can fix his computer. (Without having to buy a new one or anything.)

If anyone knows how to fix a Google Chrome page that crashes after someone adjusts settings, please comment below. It would really help Dad.

Thanks,

Maddie

Aliens- Real Or Fake????

Today, I saw my Dad reading an article on an alien biopsy that was being conducted. I saw a picture of a strange creature with it, and I thought it looked really fake. This got me thinking: Why do we always see aliens as glowing green creeps with big heads and black eyes? Think about it:

I don't think so...

Still not real....

What I am wondering is why we think of aliens this way. 

And MOST CERTAINLY not real.

For all we know, aliens could look like us! Also, who's to say there aren't aliens among us??? Has anyone here ever taken a close look at a wasp? Or a grasshopper? Yeah, thats what I thought too. (Heck, grasshoppers have an EXOSKELETON for crying out loud!)

There have been skeletons found that are over 8 feet tall. THIS sounds more like an alien than a slimy green thing from outer space. Sure, the universe is huge, and I am sure that there ARE other forms of life out there, but need we assume that they are hideous and scary?

Anyway. That is just about all I have to say. Just because you see it in a cartoon or on some spook show on TV, doesn't make it totally like they show it. Somewhere in the universe, some person may be sitting at their device and wondering if there are other creatures out there. They may see pictures that look like us on the device and laugh. Heck, to them we might even be scary! But technology hasn't come that far yet. I hope I am alive when it does.

Peace,
Maddie

Kickathon

On Saturday, October 20th, I'll be kicking in a kickathon to raise money for a charity! My goal is to do 1000 kicks. So far, most of my sponsors are pledging 2 cents per kick. This amounts to $20 for those of you who are mathematically challenged. The charity I am kicking for is Christ Initiative.

Here is a paragraph about the charity:

Zacharia Baker's journey began with a call from God to go to Zimbabwe when he was 19 years old. In February of 2009 he set off for his first trip to Zimbabwe giving away all his belongings. He left with a one-way plane ticket across the world planning to live with Pastor Jefuremu as long as the Lord provided. After arriving in Zimbabwe Zach took on the role of Assistant Pastor and became exposed to the critical condition of the country under the dictatorship of Robert Mugabe. His heart broke for those in serious need. He felt the church should be doing so much more and was extremely bothered by the lack of effort he saw. Most people had heard the Gospel message but either did not entirely understand it or know how to respond to it. Church services had become a business and competition over who had the best music or the most appealing message. Pastors were thriving while congregations suffered in poverty and sickness. Zach learned of several stories of those who had been in serious need and after seeking help from the church were overlooked. These people had been told by their Pastors that if God loved them they would be taken care of but they still had nothing and so assumed that God either did not love them or did not exist. This presented very difficult and unique circumstances to evangelize under. Zach concluded that these people had heard of but not seen Jesus and that the greatest impact that could be made would be made through actions, not words. After several months he saw a great need for housing and nourishment of the 1.4 million orphaned children.  This charity will go towards the feeding, housing, and educating of these children.

This is a good cause. If you'd like to sponsor me and help a good cause, please make all checks payable to Christ Initiative.

P.S. I CAN do 1000 kicks and I WILL do 1000 kicks.
P.P.S The kickathon will be held at Sullivan's USA karate in Jaffrey NH. If you are in the neighbourhood, please stop by and participate and/or watch. Thanks!

Maddie

Report on Benedict Arnold- Traitor

Report On Benedict Arnold

By Madison Nef

Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold was born on January 14^th of 1741 in a small town called Norwich in Connecticut. He was one out of 2 of his mom’s 11 kids to survive to adulthood. His mom was a poor widow before she met Benedict’s father, who was a merchant. Though his father was very kind, he could not handle money very well, and he was also a very bad alcoholic. Soon, the family had very little money and the father’s disease had gotten worse. Benedict was forced to quit school at a young age and start training to become an apothecary in the house of the Lathrop family to support his family.

In his teenage years, Benedict had a desire to join the French and Indian War after hearing a drummer play. His mother did not consent and neither did the Lathrops. He tried sneaking off several times when he was 16, and at one point, there were wanted posters up for him. At 17 he finally joined the army.  However, he resigned when he was 18 to be with his mother, who had fallen ill over the period of time. After awhile, he went on to become a merchant and a trader like his father. He was a very successful trader, though he was accused quite a few times of smuggling, and was quite well-known for his headstrong action-before-thinking attitude.  He got into 2 fights while on a trading boat.

When he was 26, he married Margaret Mansfield. Mansfield was the daughter of The New Haven Sheriff. (New Haven, Connecticut, was the town that Benedict had opened a pharmacy in when he was an apothecary.) He had 3 children with her before her untimely death early in the Revolution. He set out for the Connecticut militia when the first word of the Revolution came around.

He soon befriended George Washington, who was in charge of the militia. Even though he had not necessarily been invited to the militia (as he had a pretty BAD reputation at this time), he soon had his first official mission. His mission was to lead the troops in attack on Fort Ticonderoga the next month. While the mission was a complete success, almost all of the credit went to Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, who had accompanied Arnold on the trip.

Arnold’s second try at glory failed. He was to lead his troops to Quebec, Canada, along with Richard Montgomery. However, Montgomery ended up dead and Benedict left with a very hurt leg. After his injury healed, Benedict headed over to Lake Champlain in attempt to stop the British from using it as a trade route. He lost 2 battles to the British there, yet held them off for a while. In the same month he was promoted by the Congress to brigadier.

Luck did not get better for Arnold in the winter. In fact, I guess you could say it got WORSE. His anger problems got him into hot water with the Congress. He was accused of many things, such as misconduct and incompetence. Even worse, 5 generals that were below his level were raised up to MAJOR, which was above his level. Only George Washington begged for Arnold not to resign.

While visiting New Haven, he heard of a raid that was taking place in Danbury. He immediately went to try and stop the raid, but got there too late to save the goods.  However, he did manage to take the British off their guard, and forced them to give up their post there. The Congress, very grateful for the effort, promoted him once again, this time to major likes the other soldiers. But sadly, Arnold’s problems were not yet over.

He was accused of stealing from Montreal merchants when he had been in Canada. Though he was cleared of his charge, he was angry about being accused and resigned from the army. George Washington once again begged for him to rejoin the army, because he had another mission for him. Arnold resentfully rejoined. His mission was to go to New York and defeat the British. He ended up winning the battle, and as a reward, the Congress promoted him to a higher rank then the other soldiers.

In April of 1779, Arnold fell in love again. This time, it was with Peggy Shippen, the daughter of a local wealthy judge. They were married the next month. Living with the wealthy, Benedict spent more than he had, and was soon in heavy debt. Also, he was in trouble with the Congress for using his place in the military for his own advantage.

By this time, Arnold was fed up with ill treatment from the Congress. He had begun as early as May to pass on American movements to the British for some money. I suspect that he did this to get money because he was broke after over-spending. In the summer, Arnold came up with a master plan. He would surrender at West Point to the British, giving them control of a major base.  He would be rewarded 20000 pounds.

Now, this plan seemed to be working out perfectly fine until John Andre, the British undercover spy, was arrested dressed as a commoner in October. Naturally, the Americans were trying to raid him, and so they found the paperwork that proved that Arnold was a traitor. Andre was hung, and Benedict Arnold fled to the British to avoid the same fate.

Benedict spent the rest of the war fighting against his own country. He died after 20 years. Even though it has been hundreds of years since he was alive and the event occurred, to this day, calling someone a Benedict Arnold means they betrayed their side. 

Howl-o-ween Pet Contest

Happy Howloween! Oops, I mean, Halloween. My mind has been on the pet costume contest that I am entering Lucky in this year. Last year, he was small and ran out of his robot costume. A POODLE DRESSED AS A BANANA SPLIT BEAT HIM. I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT. ALL BECAUSE IT COULD DO A STUPID STAND-UP TRICK. But this year, Lucky is going to rule the stage.

Lucky is going as a karate guy from our studio. He is using an old gui of mine, and he has a white belt. He looks pretty darned awesome. I have also been working on a routine with him. It goes like this:
Come
Sit
Paw
Bow
Roll Over
Up

Up is his best trick. He will stand up on his hind legs and stand there. He is AMAZING. And he can flip a biscuit off of his nose. That poodle had better be ready for some even competition! I have been training with him every day, and giving him pep talks. He WILL win! I just know it.

* If you are interested in this competition, it is running at all petco locations. It starts on October 27th at 2:00 p.m. Lucky will be performing at the Nashua NH petco.

Storyland Tomorrow

Tomorrow, I am going to a great amusement park called Storyland for my birthday. I usually go every year. I am debating on going next year. It is getting a little babyish for me now. Next year I will be 12... I don't want to look like a sissy.

Storyland will be fun for me though. The only thing I am worried about is if it rains. The weather forecast for tomorrow is 60% chance of rain :( so I am kind of sad. If it rains for more than a half an hour without stopping, everyone has to leave and people get rainchecks- but they only last for the current season. Since it is like the second to last day and tomorrow is supposed to rain too, I may not go! :(

I have a feeling that this year isn't going to be good. Dad told me we might have to sell the house and move to a different one! The other one would be close by, but I don't really care. I am very attached to the house I am in and I WILL NOT GO TO ANOTHER ONE!!!

Halloween Poems

Halloween Signs

Black cats,

Scary bats,

Slinking round at night,

These Halloween beings can give you quite a fright!

Witches cackling,

Bones a-clacking,

Magic in the air,

When zombies rise from in the grave,

You would have to be pretty brave,

to hold your ground and stare.

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat! Trick or Treat!

I yelled through the night,

Mountains of candy were in plain sight,

I knocked on the doors and rang all the bells,

To get every last sight and every last smell,

But as the candy filled my bin,

My frown appeared to replace my grin,

For my basket was heavy!

Now what would I do?

I couldn't just sit down and cry out boo-hoo!

I took a small rest and felt refreshed,

And went merrily on my way.

HALLOWEEN DIA MONTE

Haunting

A lot of fun

Lots of candy

Lovely costumes

Only for fun

Wonderful

Everything

Enticing

Not good for your teeth

THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT TRIALS

Report by Madison Nef

For a long time, witchcraft has been a wonder to many people. But never was witchcraft as popular as it was in the 1600’s. This whole witchcraft nonsense started when Samuel Pariss’s daughter and niece started behaving strangely. They would say they were hurting and being controlled and that they saw strange figures that they believed to be demons. Everyone suspected this was witchcraft.

After a few more incidents, people started blaming EVERYTHING on witchcraft. If their farm animal died for seemingly no reason, it was witchcraft. If one of their family members got ill, it was witchcraft. If crops got killed by an unexpected rainshower, it was witchcraft. Many innocent women were sent to jail or killed for witchcraft during this time. It was horrible because most of the accused were old widows.

You have to take into consideration that there were very strange plants around back then and the wheat that was used to make bread (which was used as a plate for the poor), had weird bacteria on it that could make you hallucinate. The people who claimed to be “cursed” could just have been reacting to wheat.

Many of the witchcraft “targets” seemed to be teenage girls. In my opinion, they could have just been trying to stir the pot and get attention. If a certain person had done something wrong to them, the girls could just cry boo and the person would likely be sent to jail.

Over 150 women were sent to jail accused of witchcraft. The jails were in disrepair, because so many people were in them. Some of the punishments for committing a crime were embarrassing. Example: Standing in the center of the main marketplace wearing nothing but a sign saying CRIME IS WRONG.

The perhaps most famous witch trial is the Salem Witch Trial. Many people were executed and/or hanged for witchcraft. These people were:

Martha Carrier- Hanged because her children confessed that she was a witch.

George Burroughs- A Congregational Pastor accused of witchcraft and hanged.

Bridget Bishop- The first person to be hanged during the trials.

Giles Corey and Martha Corey- Crushed and Hanged for refusing to plea during the trials.

Mary Eastey- Hanged during the trials.

Sarah Good- One of the first witches to be accused and hung.

Elizabeth Howe- Got hung during the trials for witchcraft.

Susanna Martin- Executed during the trials.

Rebecca Nurse- Hung

Alice and Mary Parker- Both were beheaded

And many others…..

Later Guys.

Maddie <3 

Bad Tooth

Today, at about 1:30, my dad was eating lunch and cracked his tooth in half on a tough piece of food. He was jumping around the room in pain for about 15 minutes before he was able to call someone. Nancy, my nanny, is staying late so that Dad can go to the dentist today. They are going to pull his tooth so that he won't be hurting any more.

Dad's normal dentist couldn't take him, so he had to go to one in Leominster, which is about an hour away. They told him to be there by 2:30 and they would take him within the hour. Then, he will be better. It could take a few hours, depending on how bad his tooth issue is.

I am worried that Dad will have to eat mush food for a few days. I am going to mush him up a small meal for when he gets home. I am worried. I just HATE seeing my Dad hurting so much. I hope that yanking the tooth will make him feel better. Time to mush some cauliflower!

My Sister Plays Wizard101!

Today, I took some quality get-off-from-schoolwork time to teach my sister how to play my favorite game, Wizard101. First, we made her her own account so she would stop using mine. When we got to that, we discovered that we needed to make her an email address too. (This took forever.)

After this, we logged her into her account. I had her type in her username and password, that way she learns a little too. (You'll never guess what she chose as her username: MyOlderSister! Isn't that cute???) I TRIED desperately to get her to learn, but she did not understand how to use the computer mouse. I had to help her BIG TIME.

After she completed the tutorial, I tried teaching her to use the arrow keys. She kept walking forward constantly. She would not turn at any point, even though I told her how to. She seemed content with walking forward and backward. I couldn't complain; if that was what kept her occupied, then fine.

On an unrelated manner, my birthday is coming up on October 12th! :) I am going to be 11- only 2 more years and I am a teenager! I can't believe how time has flown. I started this blog when I was 9 years old. Wow. That's basically it for today.
Later,
Maddie