Baking All Day!

Not mine- you'll see mine in tomorrow's video.

Today I am going to be baking all of my Thanksgiving goodies- my pie and cake! I am going to do one of two options- make a video showing how to make blueberry pie and how to make the cake, OR I will simply share the recipe. However- it has been awhile since I made a video, so I think I will do that. But anyways...

It is me and dad's tradition every year to bake cakes on holidays (except for birthdays. Birthdays are mine). Why should that tradition change, even if we are staying in NH? So I will take pictures as me and Dad frost the cake, and show how to make a frosting turkey. As for the pie, I will do a full tutorial from start to end. I WILL be using a store-bought crust, but will make my own filling.

I will also show how to make a lattice crust. It is really simple- but I am not going to go giving anything away right now. Check back tomorrow for the baking video!

Maddie

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is drawing near- I can't wait! Tomorrow I will be baking a blueberry pie, a cake, a batch of chocolate chip cookies and a batch of "turkey" cookies! I will be spending my Thanksgiving here in NH for a change- and one of my close friends and his family are going to share it with us.

Besides all of the mouth-watering desserts, we will also be having turkey (of course), stuffing, some kind of vegetable (I am not sure what, maybe green beans?) salad, and biscuits. I am happy that we can share our Thanksgiving meal... it makes me feel warm inside.

Besides that... my sister tested for her belt and passed... I passed Dad in Assasins Creed... and I bought my baking supplies for my class that starts next Monday. I am SO excited- I just cannot wait to learn about how to make icing flowers and how to work with fondant and gum paste- SQUEE!

Well, I am going to end this post here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Maddie

Honesty (Readers Request)

Okay, I am going to be flat out honest with my readers- I lied, so this is basically my "punishment". I am going to answer- and ASK- a question about honesty.

First and foremost- Why do I lie? Well, to 'me-at-the-time', it is an easy way to get out of whatever I am doing. So I think: "ooh, let me just do this ITTY-BITTY lie and then its all over- boom." But lies NEVER work like that. No matter what, you always get found out!

I am the kind of person where I do not think ahead (or if I do, I mess it up anyway.) So while at the time, lying may be convenient, it always ends up messing me up later in life. So now I have doubled schoolwork (being schoolwork is what I lied about).

So now I have a question for my readers- why do YOU lie? If you claim that you never lie, you are only kidding yourself... but it is fine if you don't comment. I understand- it took me awhile to get up the courage to write THIS post!!

Maddie

“The real things haven't changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.” 
- Laura Ingalls Wilder

My Sister Is Testing!

I am very happy for Ash right now because she is testing with her little ninjas class on Saturday! All week she has been telling me how excited she is for her test... she even comes over and practices in front of me! Just today I was sitting and doing my math when she came over to me to have me watch her blocking form 1.

I am going to be helping out with the test along with my dad, and will try to snap some good pics to put up on my blog. I had a live interview with my sister prepared for today's original post, but my video editor stopped working so I will try to fix it and get the video up tomorrow. It is very cute :)

I will end this post by wishing my sister and all her classmates good luck on their test, and I will post some pictures when I can.

Maddie

The test will be held at USA karate, jaffrey nh at 12:30 on saturday if anybody cares to come see Ashleigh's test.

Fake

I am sure many people have either written or made videos about this, but I am going to do it anyway. Yesterday, my grandma brought home an Us magazine, because she wanted to read an article in it. I flipped through it, mainly because I try to keep up on fashion, and I was kind of annoyed at how fake every girl in the magazine looks. They always make the people look like supermodels, when underneath they are just normal like us! Take Lady Gaga or Katy Perry for example! You should see pictures of THEM without makeup- YIKES!

I talked with dad about it, and he made a good point- it is good that the stars allow people to take pictures of them with no makeup- to show people that they DON'T have to wear makeup and crud to live up to false expectations. I see his point, and respect that a little. I only say a little because I feel that some of them just do it for the publicity: "So and so steps out in public WITHOUT MAKEUP!" There have also been a few cases where the photos were posted without the person's permission, and they get all huffy about it. DRAMA!

Anyway, I am not going to post any pictures- I will let my readers dig them up themselves. Don't want to give anyone nightmares ;) If you want, you can send your "finds" to maddiesthinkathought@gmail.com


Maddie

My Dog

I know, I know... I write a ton of posts about my dog. But it is only because I love him so much! He is always there if I need a cuddle, and he will play with me when I am bored, and all in all, he entertains and loves me and is part of my family. He puts up with me through tons of stuff, including:

• Being a pillow.
• A footwarmer.
• Listening to music with me.
• Letting me paint his nails (for Halloween, of course)
• Letting me DRESS him for Halloween
• Playing Hide n Seek with me
• ... and much more!

Lucky with my toad

All while dealing with my sister climbing on him, wrestling and playing fetch with dad, and strolls down the driveway with "the girls". And then of course he has the outdoors to himself- I'm not even going to TELL you how many times he has gotten "porcupined". 

Lucky truly is the family dog. He is well behaved for the most part and very loving. He even sits quietly with the pet toads on his paw... I just tell him to be good, and I have never had a problem with him... though he does kind of glare at them.

Tell me in the comments what your favorite pet is/was, and why!

Maddie

One Man's Junk is Another Man's Treasure

As the title says, one man's junk CAN be another man's treasure. I personally love going out to yardsales with my family- you can find such interesting things! And it isn't always yardsales or sales in general. My dad had a dog when he was in his twenties named Barkley, and he was his favorite dog. He was a rescue dog, and it is quite interesting how dad got him. The shelter needed a fridge (probably for medicine) and dad happened to have an old one. He said that instead of money, he would give the shelter a fridge in exchange for Barkley.

And he did- and he had Barkley. Barkley was my dad's favorite dog. I only remember him vaguely as I was about 3 when he passed, but I have heard many kind and funny stories about him. As for me, Lucky is my favorite dog as he is my first. But that is off the topic- the point is, dad got something that he loved forever for something that was junk to him- while the shelter got something they needed and got rid of their "junk".

What I want my readers to do is to leave me a comment telling me YOUR greatest find at a yardsale- or even trading something like Dad did.

Maddie

Cake Decorating!

Bakery Logo

Dad recently gave me a sneak peek at one of my Christmas gifts- a course on cake decorating! I am very excited because, as most of my readers know, I am VERY into decorating cakes.

However, most of them come out looking like frosting globs with too many sprinkles- but no more! The course teaches how to use the different pumps and how to work with fondant, so my cakes will have a nice finish.

Dad really surprised me- I am so happy. I had seen a page on Facebook where the lady runs her own bakery, and the cakes and cupcakes were very well decorated- so Dad messaged the lady, asking her if she teaches classes. While she doesn't teach, she did recommend the Michael's Wilton Cake Decorating Class. So Dad called and set it up and- my first class is December 2nd! It is a 2 hour class each week. I am signed up for 3 months.

The bakery page is Simply Sweet Creations, and you can check it out by clicking here. It is a local bakery for me, in Marlborough NH. Also, you can sign up for the Wilton class at YOUR local Michael's by clicking here, and then clicking on the 'cake decorating' button on the page.

Maddie

This Weekend...

This weekend, I helped out with the estate sale (mentioned last post). Me and dad had the help of our friends Laurie and Kyle, and we did very well. Dad and Laurie worked the "shop", while me and Kyle trudged around outside in the cold waving signs to get customers. Mostly, we got tons of beeps as if we were trying to elect a mayor, or people saw us and drove FASTER- But all in all we pulled in about 10 customers from our sign waving, so it worked out.

This is totally off subject BUT for those of you who didn't know, I really love the singer Avril Lavigne. She just put out a new album, and I searched it on Google, to see what songs were on it- and instead, I found a YouTube video of THE WHOLE ALBUM!!!

 So of course I had to turn it on and listen to it while doing my math... and it is really awesome! I think it is great that I can listen to it for free all the time- now I can save my $20!!! I will leave the link to the album down below.

Well, this about ends my post- but first I would like to give a HUGE shout out to Laurie and Kyle for helping me and Dad Saturday. For the album, click here.

Tell me what you did this weekend in the comments!

Maddie

Estate Sale

This post is going to be more for my NH readers- When mom died, she left behind a LOT of stuff...and I mean A LOT. So to clear some stuff out of her house in order to sell it, we will be having an estate sale tomorrow in Jaffrey. Here are the details:

When:
7:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Nov 9th
8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Nov 10th

Where: 13 Oak Street, Jaffrey NH

Location- If you look across from the Jaffrey post office, there is a brightly colored house on the corner of the street. Go down the street, and you will see a few abandoned houses. One of the houses has a new red roof, that is mom's house. That is where the estate sale will be held.

We will be selling books, clothing, shoes, and handbags. Here are a few samples of the prices:

Vera Bradley Wristlets- $5
Vera Bradley Bags- $20
100% Cashmere Sweaters- $15
Scarves (some 100% cashmere)- $1 a piece

I hope to see you there!
Maddie

Robert Frost Poem Interpretation

The Road Not Taken

 Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;         

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,         

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.         

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.         

I get the feeling in this poem that the poet is looking back on his life and seeing that one tiny little change can make a huge difference. The roads represent the different choices in life- you can be a follower, or you can be a leader. By "taking the road less traveled by", he chose to be different. He made his choice: to be a poet, and obviously it was the correct one, as he is a published author and made money off of his work. This reminds me of the story my dad tells me about how him and my mom met:

It was after a party that mom, dad, one of dad's friends and one of mom's friends had gone to. The two men and the two women were going to walk on the beach. Dad's friend walked off with mom's friend, and mom and dad were left, so dad grabbed mom's hand and they started walking. A few months later, after living together for awhile, they got married... and then had me and my sister and so on and so forth.

That is a very BASIC version of the story, but the main thing I am trying to focus on is that Dad had a big choice to make: to grab mom's hand or NOT to grab mom's hand. And that ONE LITTLE CHOICE- well, that certainly made all the difference.

Neither Out Far Nor In Deep

The people along the sand

All turn and look one way.

They turn their back on the land.

They look at the sea all day.

As long as it takes to pass

A ship keeps raising its hull;

The wetter ground like glass

Reflects a standing gull

The land may vary more;

But wherever the truth may be--

The water comes ashore,

And the people look at the sea.

They cannot look out far.

They cannot look in deep.

But when was that ever a bar

To any watch they keep? 

I feel that this poem is kind of about sticking out. This may sound silly, but take this into consideration: Many people stare at models, and think, "oh, she/he is pretty, and I'd love to date him/her". They judge off of appearance- they don't know what is inside the person- if they are nice, loving. They judge by appearance. Meanwhile, there is a perfectly average person that is very nice and kind- but they don't get a second glance compared to the model. "The land may vary more, but wherever the truth may be: the water comes ashore, and the people look at the sea".

A Patch Of Old Snow

There's a patch of old snow in the corner,

That I should have guessed,

Was a blow-away paper the rain

Had brought to rest,

It is speckled with grime as if

Small print overspread it,

The news of a day I've forgotten,

If I ever read it.

To me, what Frost is trying to get across is that sometimes, people earn something but yet do not receive it. The snow, instead of melting like snow normally does, has survived long enough to become dirty. To some degree that is an achievement- but is still seen only as a patch of dirty snow. It is kind of like someone taking credit for a good deed that you yourself performed, and getting great attention for it- and you stand in the crowd watching, even though it should be YOU getting the attention. 

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood: IMPOSSIBLE!

I don't know how many of my readers have ever played ACB, but for those of you who have- on Xbox at least- you probably understand my annoyance. These are the 4 main annoying things I've run into in the game- so far! (People who do not know Assassin's Creed should either look it up, or just scroll to the next post. I am not going to bother going into detail on what everything is because I would need a book to do it.)

1. The Borgia Horseman
   This guy is almost IMPOSSIBLE to defeat. He slashes at you from his horse, and being you are only given a flimsy little assassin blade with which to do your fighting, by the time you kill his horse, your health is so low that the first strike he hits you with kills or "desynchronizes" you with the Animus.
2. The Borgia Messenger
   You are expected to run after this jerk after he takes an important letter from you. You do not know HOW annoyed I got at this part of the game. It took me a few tries, but I finally got it. Then I killed him (AFTER getting the letter). I had to make sure I didn't ever have to redo that part of the game. If you get more than a few feet away from him, the game desynchronizes you and you have to start over. The only hope in getting past this is to remember the path he takes and cut across to it to tackle him BEFORE he hops up on the wall.
3. The Masked Man From The Dungeon Chase
   You encounter a masked man in one of the dungeons halfway through the game- and you have to chase him on horseback. You start out running and have to jump onto a horse halfway through to continue the chase. It is extremely hard to coordinate the controls, and me and Dad  have not yet passed this part of the game. 
4. The Beginning Game Sequence
   Yes, the tutorial gave me trouble....you can stop laughing now. You have to follow a friend to a meeting point, and fight your way through. It is pretty annoying, because when you get caught in combat he keeps going. Thankfully, my Dad played the game before me and helped me get through by telling me where to go. If you are not as privileged as I am, then just replay it- but remember where he goes so that if he gets ahead of you, you can catch up to him fast.

Well, these are the troubles I have had. Let me know down below if you have had any problems yourself!

Maddie

The Mermaid Story (6 Page Paper on Mythological Creature)

The Mermaid’s Call

By Madison Nef

Chapter 1- A Strange Hand

For years, legends have been passed through my town, Seashville. There are accounts of ghosts, sea monsters, hellhounds- but the most famous legend is that of Shelly. Shelly is a beautiful mermaid said to swim in Seashell Lake. Our legend tells of a wonderful underwater kingdom, with treasures unimaginable. There is a castle made purely of gold and pearls, and the mermaids swim in it. When they get lonely, they simply sing in a lovely voice to attract sailors… and then capture the sailors for themselves. But that is just the stuff of legends…so I thought.

It all started on a day in July. I was hanging out with my two best friends, Emily and Katy. “Hey, you guys want to go to the beach today?” I asked them. “Sure, Melanie,” they replied in chorus. We left my house and walked down a rocky path to get there. The sun beat down on our backs. Our “beach” is just a sand strip that surrounds the lake, but it is worth it. I could already feel the cool, crisp water on my back, the summer breeze whipping through my hair…ahhhhh.

We finally made it to the lake. “Beware of Jelly,” Emily joked. Jelly is our supposed resident lake monster- an oversized jellyfish. Anyone who’s been here long enough knows there is no such thing, and that Jelly is just a sales gimmick. Nevertheless, I am still hesitant to go in the water. I slowly step in, letting my feet soak for a minute. My friends run in, laughing and splashing, and I soon join them. “Let’s play ‘find the locket’,” says Katy. Find the locket is a fun game- we use a plastic, yellow necklace and drop it somewhere in the lake. Then, the ones who do not know where it is have to find it underwater.

Emily hides the locket first, and then tells me and Katy to go find it. I take a big breath of air, and then dive beneath the surface. I scan the bottom and quickly see the necklace. It is halfway covered in sand. I swim over and reach for it, and at the same time, another hand grabs for it. I pull hard, and the necklace breaks free into my hands. I surface quickly to yell at Katy, who I assumed was the one who had reached for the necklace, but she is across the lake with Emily. What had grabbed my necklace?

I look around cautiously. Then, I run over to my friends. “Did you guys grab my necklace?” I ask, already knowing the answer. “No!” my friends clamor. I sigh and say “Let’s head home… I am feeling sick.”

My friends walked me home and hung out for a few hours. When they FINALLY leave, I go to my room to lie down and think. I think about the hand, and right away my brain connects it with Shelly. ‘But Shelly is a myth’, I think to myself. ‘A myth and that is all’. I drift off into a deep sleep, and start to dream…

Chapter 2- The Dream

I open my eyes slowly. Light fills them and I squint. I sit up to look around. I am on a beach SOMEWHERE- I do not remember ever seeing it. I see a huge wave coming- it is going to crash right on top of me! My brain tells me to scramble inland, but instead, I dive into the water. It feels natural to me- I am swimming perfectly and shockingly, I am breathing! I look downward and see something glittering at the bottom of the lake.

I dive down gracefully and find it is a mirror. In entices me, and I look into it- but the face looking back at me is not my own! Instead, a face with big blue eyes and thick, blonde hair looks back at me, flashing a supermodel smile. I cannot pry my eyes away from the mirror, it is so addicting! But when I do pull my eyes away, I look down- only to see that I have a tail! And not just any tail- a gorgeous mermaid tail! It is a soft green color, with gold and pearls all over it.

But even though it is not natural, I don’t feel the least bit surprised. I continue to gaze into the lovely mirror, which somewhat matches my tail. But then, I hear a voice- a screeching, gurgling voice-cry out: “Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiivvvvvvvvvvvvvveee itttttttt baaaaaaaaaaaccccckkkkk!” I spin around, and an ugly being is coming towards me! Once it is up close, I see that it is another mermaid, and if you look, she is somewhat pretty. She has a shark’s tail, and teeth to match. Her eyes are silver, and her hair is jet black and long. She snatches at mirror. “GIVE IT BAAAAACK, SHELLLLYYYYYY!” she wails.

I wake up shivering.

Chapter 3- Shelly’s POV (Spoiler! The dream is actually reality…Shelly’s POV picks up just after it ends.)

I look back behind myself. Shadow is still tailing me, teeth bared. I grin to myself- I have the mirror, not HER. Everyone knows that there are a FEW key things about mermaids, some of them being:

·         We love to sing and we love music

·         We LOVE mirrors

·         We are very catty and curse any man who tears apart from us after enchantment

·         We love the water and could never part with it

I swim faster, towards my home in a large rock underwater. I grab the seashell handle on my door and swim in fast, slamming it behind me, which causes my house to shake. I hear Shadow banging on the door outside, screeching at me. I am shaking, clutching the mirror tight to my chest. ‘Why should I give it back?’ I think to myself. ‘I found it, not her, so it is rightfully mine!’ I place the mirror carefully under my pillow and swim to the door. I am shaking like a fish out of water as I slowly open the door.

Shadow is hovering in the water, glaring at me angrily. “I saw it firrrrst!” she wails in a horrible, shrieking sound. I clap my hands over my ears. “Yes, and I reached it first!” I contradict angrily. “The mirror is rightfully mine- it even matches my tail.” “Well, when I saw it it looked like me!” Shadow fumes at me. “Oh, so when you saw it it had a bad attitude and a set of chompers too big for its face?!” I retort casually, a sly smile sliding onto my face.

Shadow turns a dark shade of red and slinks away.

Chapter 4- A Friendly Dolphin (Melanie’s POV)

I get up early in the morning, still feeling stricken from my dream. I try to tell myself that it is nothing, but deep down I know the only way to get rid of the tugging curiosity is to go back to the lake and look around- under the water.

I rented some scuba diving gear from a local shop, and after strapping it on, jumped into the water. I try to look around, but the water is very murky and I can’t. Nevertheless, I dive down into the water, and as I am about to give up hope, a dolphin shoots by. ‘Wait, what? A dolphin?’ I say to myself. ‘There aren’t any dolphins down here!’

I quickly follow the ‘dolphin’ through the murkiness. Amazingly enough, it leaves a good, clean trail for me to follow! Finally, I come to a large log. I see that the dolphin has stopped just past it, so I swim over it. As I get closer, I see that the ‘dolphin’ is not a dolphin- it is a mermaid! “Shelly?!” I ask in disbelief as I swim closer. The mermaid turns to face me. She is old looking, with white hair and grey eyes. She shakes her head sadly. She tries to speak, but I do not understand her language.

I shake my head, and then she nods slowly. She softly starts singing, and this I CAN understand:

I’m not She-e-ly,

But perhaps you’ll he-elp me,

I’ve dropped my glasses in this sandy flo-o-oor!

Find them,

I’d be so very glad…

I look around on the floor, and see the glasses lodged in some sand. I grab them and hand them to her. “What’s your name?” I ask. The mermaid made a garbled noise: DAAAAA-LLLLLLL-EEEEEEE. I thought for a minute, and then had an idea. “Is your name Dolly?” I asked. The mermaid nodded. I smiled, and continued on my way. I had been so caught up in my little adventure that I forgot to check my oxygen tank… and I slowly lost air and sank to the bottom of the lake.

Chapter 5- A Mysterious Recovery

When I regained consciousness, I was in the local hospital. My mom and dad were standing by my side, each with a worried look on their face. “Wha-what happened?” I ask groggily. “You were found washed up on the beach,” my mom replies calmly. “It’s a good thing we found you when we did- Stuck in that mask with no air- the doctors thought you were gone!”

I was shocked. I just wanted to relax now. “Could you tell me my favorite story?” I asked. I am 13, and a bit old for stories, but this one is my favorite. It is about a mermaid, and it has a good morale. Here is how it goes:

Opa turned to the first page of the strange book of fairy tales. “This story is called The Entangled Mermaid.”

“I like mermaids!” Arianna said excitedly.

Opa laughed, “Yes, I know you do. Now this story starts with a young mermaid named Cordelia. She was a beautiful mermaid and her parents loved her more than anything. The three of them all lived happily in a little pool connected to the ocean. It was half salt water, like the ocean, and half fresh water, like a river. All of the other mer-families loved visiting this pool because being in the ocean all the time was dangerous.”

“Why?” asked Alex.

“Because the ocean is full of scary sea monsters. That’s why all the mermaids were afraid to travel in the sea without mermen. So, because their pool was safe, Cordelia and her parents often held parties for all of the other merfolk.”

“I wanna be a mermaid so I can go to a mermaid party!” Arianna said, pouting.

“Well, maybe someday, if you wish hard enough, then you’ll turn into a mermaid.” Opa winked. “Now, one day Cordelia’s parents left to visit some relatives in a far away part of the ocean. It was a treacherous journey, so they left Cordelia at home. Excited that she now had the pool to herself, Cordelia invited all of her mermaid friends over for a picnic. After they ate, all of the mermaids searched for seaweed, pearls, and coral to put in their hair to make it even more pretty. Cordelia was crowned the Mermaid Queen.”

“What’s a mermaid queen?” Alex wondered aloud.

“That means that everyone voted that she was the prettiest of all of the mermaids. After they chose their Queen, all of the mermaids talked about how strange it would be to be a human. You see, they didn’t understand things like legs and clothing. They were all having a wonderful time when suddenly a merman came swimming up, looking pale and tired. Cordelia asked him what was wrong and he said that some horrible humans were going to come and drain the pool to build a dam. Do you know what a dam is?”

“Oh, oh! Is that the thing that beavers build with trees?” asked Arianna.

“It is! Good job. So, when they heard this terrible news, all of the mermaids panicked because if the pool was destroyed, then they would have to live in the ocean with the sea monsters all of the time. Cordelia, however, didn’t believe the merman. She thought that he was making it all up just to have an excuse to come see how beautiful she was. She told him to stop trying to scare them and shooed him away. After that, all of the mermaids left and Cordelia went to bed. That night she slept for longer than usual and when she woke up the pool was almost empty. As she swam around in the shallow pool, she noticed that a dam and fences had been built around the pool while she was asleep.”

“The merman was right!” said Alex.

“Yes he was. Cordelia was scared that she would never be able to make it back to the ocean, so she swam up to the dam and tried to climb it. At this exact moment, her parents returned to find their home blocked by the dam. They saw Cordelia trying to escape and attempted to help her, but Cordelia’s beautiful hair got caught in the dam. The more she struggled, the more her hair got tangled.”

“Oh no!” said Arianna, looking scared. “Is she gonna be okay?”

“Just be patient, Arianna. As Cordelia was struggling to free herself from the dam and her parents were trying to help her, some humans nearby heard all the noise they were making. Four of the humans rushed up and grabbed Cordelia, who was so scared that she fainted. Cordelia’s parents cried over the loss of their daughter and their home. They would have stayed there and cried all day if some more humans hadn’t tried to grab them as well, forcing them to swim away. When Cordelia awoke, she found herself in an aquarium.”

“Like Goldie!” Alex said, pointing to his goldfish in its fishbowl.

“Yes, like Goldie, except Cordelia’s fishbowl was much bigger. She could see the faces of many humans coming to look at her every day. For the rest of her life she lived in that aquarium, on display for the humans. She learned that if she had not been so vain and if she had only listened to that merman who tried to warn her, she would be out in the ocean with her parents. So, kinderen, being smart is better than only caring about your appearance.” Opa said, finishing the story.

“I get it!” said Arianna.

I sigh and smile as the story ends. My eyes drift closed and I slip into a deep sleep.

Dolly’s POV (Short Paragraph)

I saw her go down. I couldn’t just leave her there to die; she had, after all, helped me. I knew that humans couldn’t breathe water, they had to use special tanks filled with something called ‘oxygen’. So I swam down, grabbed her, and pulled her to the surface. I left her in plain sight- I hope she was found. I had to leave quickly so I wouldn’t be discovered. I wish there were more people like her around- Kind and generous.

Melanie’s Journal

August 15^th, 2013
I have been out of the hospital for 1 month now and since have not gone back to the lake. Now that I know mermaids exist, I can go visit them- I am still scared though- if I fainted again, it would be dangerous. I don’t know WHO rescued me from the bottom of the lake… but I have a pretty good hunch. The last thing I remember from the bottom of the lake was looking up and seeing a shadowy figure swim over me before my eyes rolled back in my head.

August 28^th, 2013
I finally got up the guts to go back to the lake today. I only waded in up to my ankles though… I think the accident is getting to me. Tomorrow, me and Emily and Katy have plans to dive together- there is no backing out now!

August 29^th, 2013
We just got back from diving! I didn’t run out of air- but I didn’t see any mermaids either. I guess that if they were common, everyone would see them…or maybe I am just crazy, maybe they don’t exist. I am almost positive I did though… otherwise, how would I have gotten from the bottom of a murky lake to the beach?

I closed my diary, satisfied. I had gotten over my fear of water. For the rest of the summer, I was going to scuba dive with my friends. I was going to chill out on the beach, take art class, do whatever I wanted- and maybe even spot a couple more mermaids. As for my friends, I don’t think they quite believe me- but I don’t care. I know what I saw, and I have reason to believe it.

Mermaid’s Prologue

Shelly, like all mermaids, aged slowly and happily. She kept the mirror, despite Shadow’s efforts to claim it for her own. Hundreds of years later, she was crowned the mermaid queen of the lake. She cleared out the murk and pollution that made the lake ugly, and this brought new life the area. Mermaids found underground channels from the sea and came to live in the beautiful lake- and since there were more mermaids, there were more sightings, and since there were more sightings, there were more tourists. The mermaid kingdom thrived, as did Seashville.

Shadow was never peaceful- she wanted the mirror. She let it destroy her completely, and she grew out of control. She was thrown out of the lake when Shelly became queen for thievery of another mermaid’s mirror, when she was denied the one she wanted. She left in a fury, and since there was a large monster passing by, it is presumed she was eaten. In any case, she was never seen again.

As for Dolly, she had reached the peak of her life. She got very ill after rescuing Melanie, and died shortly after. But she died happily at a ripe old age of 2035, and knew she had died for the right purpose.

The End

More Math

Well, I am back on my usual schoolwork schedule- 3 math, a think a thought, and a mineral, every day. I am actually glad- I was getting sick of writing so much. I have a 6 page paper due on a mythological creature of my choice- so I will put it up tomorrow as a post. I am also going to be blogging more frequently on my absolute animals blog- I will leave the link at the end of the post.

Also- the Grand Champion Tournament was yesterday! I competed at the very end of the tournament, so I had the rest of the day to hang out and cheer on my friends. This is how I placed:

• 14 and under Black Belt Weapons- 3rd place
• 14 and under Black Belt Forms- 2nd place
• 13 and under co-ed Black Belt Sparring- 3rd place

I, personally, am very happy with how I did. Sure, it isn't first place, but I still feel I did very well. Here is a picture taken at the grands of me and my friends/competitors: 

The last thing I would like to say is CONGRATS to everyone who went to the tournament. 

Maddie

Link to blog: www.absoluteanimals.blogspot.com

New Books

A few days ago I got some new books in the mail. I would like to give a big shoutout to Mrs. Ann Armenti for sending them to me! They are awesome- I am almost done reading them and my favorite so far has been The Tomorrow Girls: Behind the Gates. I look forward to buying the second book in the series and reading that too.

On top of all the books I just received, I also just did an inter library loan to get 2 more books- books 3-4 in the Secret Series. I read the first one last night and plan on finishing the second tonight. They are very funny books, and while they are long, they are well worth the read with a story line that seems to go on forever.

So it is safe to say I will be busy reading for the next few days. For right now, I have to go grocery shopping with Grandma and sister... Once again, thank you Mrs. Armenti!

Also, if any of my readers are wondering how trick or treating went, it went AWESOME! I went with my friends Kyle and Marc, and, of course, my sister. Here is a pic:

Happy (belated) Halloween!

Maddie