More Poetry

The Winter of My Discontent

The snow falls cold and deadly,

on a mountaintop so still,

could the beauty of the world,

a desperate child's heart fill?

walking through the forest,

a chill is in the air,

the world has left you all alone,

it doesn't seem quite fair,

stumble 'cross the icy lake,

trying not to fall,

wondering if you are missed,

or cared about at all.

finally, up the mountain,

the hardest part of all,

admitting you aren't strong,

and letting yourself fall. 

Poetry

Missing

Puzzle pieces,

on the floor,

try to make what is no more,

once new and full,

with colors bright,

the picture has faded into light,

left alone,

forgotten by most,

except the ones who held it close,

pieces are gone,

pieces are lost,

good things always come at a cost,

some stay around, and are full for awhile,

but others fade fast, leaving you in denial,

that the picture was ever there.

An Interview with my sister on homeschooling

Previously, I have blogged about how I feel about homeschooling- but that's just my opinion. I love it- today I interview my sister to see what she thinks about her homeschooling.

What are you learning from homeschooling?

I am learning how to use the computer, and how to spell and write. I can spell my name and 20-30 other words! I'm also learning home economics and basic math.

Do you like your teacher(s)?

Yes! (More like exaggerated nodding, but if I put in everything she does/says, this interview would go on forever!)

What do you think going to school would be like after being homeschooled?

Well, doing all the kind of things you need to do, and you need to focus and do what the teacher says to you and you do it... and thats all I can remember.

Finally, do you think you are learning more from homeschooling than you would IF you were in school?

No... I don't think so. (Me: Why not?) Because I don't think I am old enough for public school. (???) 

In any case, that concludes my interview with my sister! Despite what she said at the end, you really can benefit from homeschooling. I'm 12 and I tested out at above 12th grade level for math and reading in the state tests this year, and I hope that my sister follows in my footsteps.

Maddie

The Color Changing Card Trick

During my social psychology class, the following video was used as an example. Watch it before reading the rest of the post!

Now, after seeing the video, I'll explain what it was used to teach. It was used as an example for learning about change blindness: seeing what you expect to see and nothing more. The first time I watched it, I saw NO change- and it shocked me because I usually can spot out things like that.

Did you see the changes the first time- or did you end up like me, oblivious and surprised? Let me know in the comments!

Maddie

Bob Lazar's Ununpentium discovery

Research scientists at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California believed they had made element 115 in Russia in 2003. The work was supposedly a collaboration between science teams led by Yuri Oganessian and Ken Moody. What many people DON'T know is that in 1989, a former scientist from Los Alamos National Lab named Bob Lazar stepped into the spotlight with an astonishing claim that he had worked on spaceships in Nevada.

As if this claim wasn't shocking enough, he went farther to say that they could produce their own gravity using a super-heavy substance- aka element 115. Now this, you're probably thinking, is all well and good. This guy knew that ununpentium was around and used it in his stupid, pointless argument. Here's where it gets interesting: element 115? It didn't exist in 1989! It wasn't "actually discovered" for another 14 years after Lazar's claim- yet his description matched it perfectly.

The government denied Lazar's working for them, and covered up the "finding" as their cooperation with Russia. I find that MIGHTY interesting- especially being they called it the exact same thing that Lazar called it! Coincidence? I think not. Other than it being superheavy, not much is known about ununpentium. This is mainly because when the minuscule amount that was produced WAS produced, it fell apart within minutes. It is very unstable.

What do you think of Bob Lazar? You can Google him and learn more about what he said and then leave me a comment with your opinion!

Maddie

Skyrim Invisible Chest!

This weekend, I played a LOT of Skyrim in my spare time. I was in Dawnstar when I discovered a cool "bug" in the game- a hidden chest right near the Quicksilver Mine! Just in front of and a little to the left of the mine entrance there is a small patch of trees and a few rocks- walk into the trees in crouch mode and you will soon find an invisible chest! The chest is filled with a BUNCH of stuff that is actually the entire inventory of a Khajiit trader that can be found between Riften and Dawnstar. You can take the chest items with no consequence (going to jail, getting a bounty).

I also hung out with my friends awhile and had an all around really good weekend. I also started my 3rd week of consecration- for those of you who didn't know, I am making a consecration with a small group of people from my church. We meet once a week to discuss readings (we have to read a chapter per week and answer 4 questions, plus watch a 35 minute video).

It's getting late, so I will end this post here. Check back tomorrow for a new post!!!

Maddie

Lenox

The History of Lenox China

By Madison Nef

Some of you have asked questions about our Lenox set when you come over the house to pick up items, so I decided to write this post to tell you a little something about the china itself. At the end of this post, I will include a link directly to Amazon and our store so you can pick up some Lenox yourself- if not, just browse! There is something for everyone in our store.

The Lenox company was founded in 1889 by Walter Scott Lenox of Trenton New Jersey. In the beginning, it wasn’t a factory- in fact, it wasn’t very big at all! It didn’t sell full ceramic sets, but instead, one of a kind works of art. Only 18 employees worked there, and the first of Lenox’s pieces were displayed at the Smithsonian Institution in 1897. Lenox became more popular in the 20th century, when dining rooms and hostess parties became a new trend. Lenox made one of a kind china sets for his customers, increasing the china’s value AND popularity.

Lenox’s first designs were the Ming and the Mandarin- they were produced for the next 50 years following their release. Lenox became popular in the US thanks to Frank Holmes, who publicized them. Holmes was a well known chief designer, so him giving Lenox a good word helped A LOT. Lenox pieces were chosen for display in 1928 by the National Museum of Ceramics in Sèvres, France — the only American porcelain to receive this honor.

A large plant in North Carolina manages all the production of Lenox china- which happens to be the only bone china manufactured in the USA. This plant has been running since 1989, and was responsible for the making of George Bush’s bone china set. The company has changed names over the years- but the unique and wonderful quality of the expensive china stays the same.

Lenox was also the first bone china to ever be used in the White House- in fact, quite a few presidents have used Lenox china. The sets were so named:

* The Wilson Service

* The Roosevelt Service

* The Truman Service

* The Reagan Service

* The Clinton Service

And the Bush Service. Each of these sets is unique, most of them designed by Frank Holmes- the main reason behind Lenox’s popularity. Both the Smithsonian and the Metropolitan Museum of Art have Lenox pottery as centerpieces to some collections.

Today, Lenox is a well known name in dinnerware and is sold around the world. Lenox is still used in the White House and also in many embassies and is in more than half US governor’s homes. While Lenox himself died a long time ago, in 1920, his china lives on through some of his original designs and style. I personally like Lenox a lot, it is beautiful.

I will wrap up this post here. I hope you learned something about Lenox- I know I did, I can’t believe it is run from one factory! I also didn’t know it was the only bone china manufacturer in the US. Oh well, as the saying goes, you learn something new every day!

Thanks for reading!

Maddie

Social Psychology

This week, I started a new course on Coursera- Social Psychology from Wesleyan University. So far, it has proved to be a fun and well taught course. Today, I was learning about change blindness and how everyone's reality varies depending on belief and what each person expects/wants to see. A good example is this video, the color changing card trick, which was actually used as an example in today's lecture.

In addition to Social Psychology, I am also taking classes on Calculus and Child Nutrition- but those are "go-at-your-own-pace" courses with no set deadline or schedule. I will leave links to each of these courses below, but to join you have to set up a coursera account. I have said it before and I will say it again- Coursera is great for learning new things. All courses are free and most will get you a Statement of Accomplishment signed by the instructor(s).

The Social Psychology course is taught by Scott Plous from Wesleyan University - check it out here.

The course on Child Nutrition is taught by Maya Adam from Stanford University - check it out here.

Finally, the course in Calculus is taught by Jim Fowler of the Ohio State University - check it out here.

Maddie

Rainy Day Activities

Here in New Hampshire, it has been raining ALL week. My sister and I have been stuck inside ALL week too- but we have actually found some fun stuff to do to amuse ourselves. I will share some of them here:


We sing and play guitar

I kind of know how to play guitar, so I will play and my sister will sing. If you and your family members can play instruments, recite a song and perform it! If you don't have any instruments, just sing and try to match up your pitches- it took me and Ashleigh quite some time to master that one. Anyways, it was relatively fun and we wound up singing mainly songs from Frozen.

We watch videos and play games online (providing that my work is done)

I have mentioned that me and my sister like watching makeup tutorials in previous posts. My sister also enjoys watching me play a simulation game called 'Papa's Donuteria' and helping me decorate different donuts for customers. To give the game a try, click this link --> Donut Game

We try out different simple recipes from online
We do this VERY often- a good example is the soda can cupcakes we made just last week. I am going to end this post here- leave me a comment telling me what YOU like to do on a rainy day!

Maddie

10000 PAGEVIEWS!?!?!?

I just realized today that I passed 10,000 pageviews on my blog.... and I couldn't be happier! When I started this blog roughly 3 years ago, it was a writing project from Dad. For the first year, it wasn't even a public blog! I was 9 and my writing was FAR sloppier (and shorter) than what I write today. Only a few people knew about my blog- and I never in a million years would have thought that my readership would have grown so fast.

Now, I average about 20-30 pageviews a day (compared to the 1-2 I had back then) and have readers in many different places- Indonesia, Russia, Canada, Germany- everywhere. I write a variety of different posts, from poetry to recipes to short stories to whatever the heck I feel like writing- so each post is unique in it's own way. So, I'd like to take a moment and thank my Dad for having me start this blog, and for pushing me to write on it once a day- thank you so much. It has taught me so much about writing, and it has become more than just schoolwork for me- it's become a hobby. Out of all my work, my blogging is definitely my favorite part of it all.

Thanks to my Dad and all my readers,

Maddie

Crazy Children Toys

Today, my family and I took a trip to Walmart. My sister automatically opted to check out the toy section, and I said I would take her there while my grandma shopped for other things. So we get to the toy isle, and naturally my sister heads for the dolls. Keeping a watchful eye on her as there were other people in the isle, I noticed her looking at a baby doll and repeatedly reaching through a small hole in the box. I walked over to see what interested her, and it turned out that it was a potty training doll with a small toilet- complete with faux poop and pee for the flushing. And yes, you guessed it- my sister was sticking her hand directly into the throne.

As if one poop themed toy wasn't enough, we found TWO more further down the doll isle- one a "Barbie training Kelly" set and the other advertising a fake dog that pooped glitter. YUCK! Who would even buy this for their kids?! Who wants a kid to be playing with something that ON THE BOX, as the main advertisement says: I POOP GLITTER over a few glittering white nuggets!? I can see how this may seem funny to some, but in my opinion companies and toy manufacturers are pushing the line between funny and disgusting- and it's a VERY, VERY fine line.

Maddie

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have not posted a recipe or anything about baking in a while, so I have decided to give my readers my chocolate chip cookie recipe. Chocolate chip cookies are my FAVORITE thing to make- they are simple, yet still delicious. I love this recipe because the cookies always turn out not too crispy, and not too soft either. It is from the Joy of Cooking. Here it is:

You Will Need:
1 cup 2 tbsp of flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
8 tbsp (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 light brown sugar (packed)
1 large egg
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 bag chocolate chips (the recipe calls only for a cup, but I find the "chocolate to dough" ratio is more even with a full bag. Besides, the cookies come out better AND- what's wrong with a little extra chocolate? ;) )

Prep:
Heat the oven to 375. Grease cookie sheets. Whisk together in a medium sized bowl your flour and baking soda. Set aside. Beat on medium speed until fully mixed the butter and the 2 sugars (in a large bowl, NOT the one with the flour in it). Once this is mixed, add your egg, salt and vanilla to the mix. Whisk again. Finally, add in your chocolate chips (don't forget to keep aside a few to taste!). At this point your can either hand mix the chips into the batter or use your mixer. I do both sometimes, but I have found stirring the chips myself is more effective.

Scoop small balls of dough onto the sheets, spacing them an inch to two inches apart. Bake them for about 10 minutes (8 depending on your oven) and let them cool for 15 minutes. Once cool, eat with a glass of cold milk and enjoy!

Try out the recipe and tell me in the comments how it turned out! Also, leave me YOUR recipes, and I will try them out!

Maddie

Ice Cream Pie, Python Coding, and Room Cleaning

If you can't guess from the title of this post, this is the list of the stuff I did today. STARTING with the Python Coding. A couple of days ago, the website Code Academy that stores our data for computer programming RESET both me and my dad's progress- and we had been halfway through the course. So now we have to play catchup this week to get back to where we were before. I just finished up and am now back where I was before (I think).

Next came the disastrous ice cream pie, which was a pain in the rear to make- the ice cream melted VERY fast and the pie crust almost broke, and on TOP of that I almost walked into the freezer and dropped the pie altogether. It is currently in the freezer chilling over for tomorrow- I will post tomorrow how it turned out. I don't have very high hopes- it looked kind of "sad" the last time I saw it.

Finally, my day ended with room cleaning- and BOY, was my room a mess this time. Clothing everywhere, makeup spilled, and my dresser OVERFLOWING with cheap costume jewelry, the whole catastrophe took 3+ hours to clean. But, it's all worth it as I get to hang with my friend tomorrow :)

It's pretty late now (1:47 a.m.) so I will end this post HERE.

Thanks for reading,
Maddie

OH! And if you ever happen to need stuff from Amazon, my Dad set up this cool little store AND blog. If you need to go to Amazon.com, please use his link! It costs you nothing extra, but if you buy something after clicking through his link, he gets a small commission. Thanks!

www.buybuymomma.weebly.com

Soda Can (or bottle in our case) Cupcakes!

Today, my sister and I decided to try making something we saw on the internet- soda can cupcakes! I was shocked that there were only TWO ingredients: cake mix (whatever flavor/brand) and any type of soda! I decided that I also needed to spend a little more time with my sister than I have been doing, so I invited her to help me and together we made the soda can cupcakes.

Prep is pretty simple- just whisk together the soda and the mix and then scoop into cupcake pans. Cook for 25 minutes on 350 and then enjoy! My sister and I used Pilsbury Butter Cake mix and Diet Pepsi as the soda. We also made Hershey's chocolate frosting to ice them with- and the frosting itself took longer to make than the cupcakes! Now we are just waiting for the cupcakes to cool so we can decorate them.

I'll update this post with pictures of the decorated cupcakes later!

Maddie

P.S. The cupcakes themselves turned out VERY well.

A Heathen Short Story

Once upon a time, long ago in the mountains, there was a young girl named Lif. Lif belonged to a heathen tribe that lived in the ice cold mountain caves- but she was curious. Everyone always told her to stay up the mountain because it was safer, and that people who had big guns and believed in a false God lived at the bottom of it. But Lif wanted to leave the mountain- she wanted to know about this “God” and about what lay away from her home. So one cold day, Lif set out on her own to go down the mountain... nothing with her but a fur cloak and some meat.

Lif discovered a small tribe of Catholics at the base of the mountain. They didn’t know about the tribe up the mountain and thought she was just a homeless wanderer. They took her in, and taught her all about God and how to cook and live like a civilized young woman. After a year, Lif, who had changed her name to Olivia, decided to go back up the mountain to tell her tribe that the people at the base of the mountain were kindly folk, and so once again she set out up the mountain- but she never got to see her tribe. They saw her, and since she was dressed like a person from the mountain base tribe, they shot her down with arrows on instinct. Only upon going to loot the body did the tribe folk discover- that they had shot their own friend.

Anime

This summer, I have been looking for interesting things to do and listed in one of the newspapers was an "Anime Club". I had no idea what anime was, so I googled it. It turns out it is a Japanese style of drawing, usually either hand drawn or computer animated. The pictures are almost always cheerful and very colorful. I love it- especially how the eyes on many of the drawings are done.

Anime was created at the start of the 20th century when Japanese film makers were experimenting with different animation styles and the style stuck. Currently, anime is used in pop culture, TV shows, and also video games. Many RPG pixel horror games are based around anime such as:

• Mad Father
• Paranoiac
• Corpse Party
• Ib
• The Witch's House
• Misao

And many others... I like the style of drawing and actually have a friend who can draw anime very well. There are also dolls and other merchandise based around anime- some of which cost millions of dollars! Wow.  Let me know in the comments if you like anime, or if you can draw it! 

Maddie