First Karate Class

Well, yesterday's class went off perfectly! Ashleigh got along great with the other little boy taking class, and there was no problem. Ashleigh was SO happy to finally be doing class.... the whole 15-minute ride in the car all she was saying was "karate, karate, karate..." but it didn't bother us much (us meaning dad, grandma, and me).

It was SUCH  a cute class. The two kids looked adorable in the gis. We did a bunch of simple stretches and exercises with them, like jumping up and down, sit-ups, and combinations. I have heard some 'horror" stories about the little kids class, but so far... it seems ok.

Here are Ashleigh's thoughts on karate, word for word:

"Kicking... I guess. Uh... Doing push-ups, getting ready for karate. Flying on an owl (..?) and.... doing work. Doing work like you're doing. Doing jumping jacks. Getting a new karate gi... and just, you know, doing work in my living room..." (at this point, the conversation drifted so I dismissed her).

Ahh, I LOVE chatting with my sister. Such interesting things come up... but you can read about my talks with her by looking back through my posts or using the search bar at the bottom of my blog to find the post (that's what it's there for (= )

Well, I have a tiny bit of work left, so I will end my post HERE.

Maddie

Nameless Post (I couldn't think up a name)

Dun-dun-dun.... today is the day I help teach the little kids class. This morning, when my sister woke me up, the first thing she told me was that she was going to karate today. She is so excited, and I guess I am too... I love helping out with classes. I taught my sister karate, and there is only going to be 2 other kids besides my sister in class, so it shouldn't be too bad. Also, Shihan will be on the floor with us for that class, so there is not much to worry about.

Ugh, I am having a brain fart! I hate when this happens. Some people call it writer's block, but I call it brain farts. It's funnier that way. I just cannot think of anything interesting to blog about! Well, let me go take my shower, and I will finish off my post when I get out.

Well, all I needed was a shower ...  and a little inspiration from my un-knowing family. Ashleigh sometimes slumps her head, and my Grandma always tells her that 'Nef's are proud and hold their head high' so that she'll pick up her head. I know this PROBABLY wasn't the nicest thing to do, but I couldn't resist using some photoshop magic to create this image of my sister 'holding her head high':

And I threw me in there as a camel too. It wouldn't be fair to just photoshop my sister- that WOULD be mean. So I did it to myself too.... regardless, I think it is hilarious.

Well, I am hungry for lunch now, so I am going to go eat.

Maddie

Pie, Sewing, Karate, OH MY!

I am very excited right now because tomorrow, my little sister is going to start karate! I cannot believe it... I (kinda) remember when I was her age and doing karate in the Little Dragons class.... good times.

My karate teachers are opening a class for little kids, like my sister, and already have another little boy signed up to do it with her. And guess who is going to be helping out with the class?! ME! I am very happy. I love teaching, I just get kind of nervous about it.... but I am getting better.

Earlier today I was sewing with Grandma. Since my sister is starting karate, we pulled out a few of my old gis for Ashleigh. A gi is a special uniform for karate that you wear. However, I was slightly taller than Ashleigh at her age, and so Grandma has to hem up her pants legs. I was helping, but then I stopped to hang out with my sister. Then I got called in to blog... and here I am.

As for the pie mentioned in the title.... I am hoping that later me and Grandma can make a lemon meringue pie. I have had a hankering for one this whole week, and she said that maybe today we could do it, so I am a pretty happy camper. I am going to end this post here....

Maddie

News

So, who likes the new blog background!? It is supposed to go with Friday the 13th, which comes up later in the year. I know it is not September yet, but I am excited and also would otherwise forget. September marks quite a few important things for me-

On the 5th, I can change earrings for the first time since getting them pierced! I am so excited!

On the 26th, it is my friend Kyle's birthday. You can check out his blog and leave him a happy birthday in a few weeks here.

And on the 28th, I have a karate tournament in Providence, RI. TRIPLE POINTS!!! I am very excited for that too.

I was working on my math today (on IXL) and I got very fed up. The first two math lessons I did were relatively easy, but I had a ton of trouble finding an easy one to finish up with. Finally, I settled on Converting Mixed Measurements, but by the end and after getting taken down about a bazillion times, this is what I felt like:

After I finish this blog, all I'll have left for work is my coursera.... and then again, that's more fun than work. I have 3 more lectures and exercises to do today, but that is all. I cannot believe I am actually getting done early! EEEK!

Well, I also have karate.... and I have to get ready for that right now.

Maddie

Background Delay

My apologies.... I totally forgot to change the background of my blog! FOR A MONTH! But with all that went on I hope my readers understand. Changing background to something September themed :)

Hmm... maybe a Friday the 13th theme ;)

NEW COURSERA COURSE!

Today, I started a new course on coursera! I am going to give a summary of the course here:

Name: Think Again: How to Reason and Argue

Professor(s): Walter Sinnot-Armstrong and Ram Neta

Representing School: Duke University

About the Course (taken from www.coursera.org):
Reasoning is important.  This course will teach you how to do it well.  You will learn some simple but vital rules to follow in thinking about any topic at all and some common and tempting mistakes to avoid in reasoning.  We will discuss how to identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments by other people (including politicians, used car salesmen, and teachers) and how to construct arguments of your own in order to help you decide what to believe or what to do. These skills will be useful in dealing with whatever matters most to you.

That's the course I am taking! I did my first 3 lectures today, and I enjoyed them very much. I also like my professor, as he is funny while still getting his point across. Also, it seems to be an easy course... let's hope it stays that way!

My professor used a Monty Python skit as an example. I take the lessons with my Dad, and for the six minutes it was, we had a good laugh. I will include the link to the video we watched below, along with a link to the course I am taking, in case you want to take it too or wait for the next time it comes around.

Monty Python (HILARIOUS): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQFKtI6gn9Y
Coursera: https://www.coursera.org/course/thinkagain

Well, I hope you will check out both the funny video AND the course. I will keep my readers updated as it goes on :) till tomorrow,
Maddie

FINALLY!

YESSSSSSSS! THE LAST POST! I am sorry, I am just really happy to be done with my work. If all goes well, I should be able to hang out with my friend, come home, crank out a couple math, and then chill the rest of the night away hanging with my sister, watching movies, and playing computer games.

 Hey, I'm allowed to dream, right? In reality I will probably visit my friend, come home, eat, and then stay up til midnight grumbling and trying to finish my work before it gets doubled. Which is why I am stuck writing 5 posts in one day in the first place.

Well, I guess I might as well blog about the toad tank incident... Ok. It was about 3 days ago, and I decided that I was going to clean out my toad's tank, since it stunk like a pile of horse dung. Grandma told me to wait for her, but I didn't... and ended up paying the price. Literally.


 I went outside with the tank to dump the wet, disgusting dirt out of it, and when it clumped to the bottom of the tank, I (being the stupid idiot that I am) flipped the tank over and started lightly tapping on the bottom of the glass. A few clumps of dirt fell out, and then the really bad part happened. I gave the glass another tap, and the whole thing cracked! As a result, I had to pay for the new tank AND I got a cut on my finger... Serves me right for not listening.

Maddie

Blog Faster!!!

Have you ever felt really, really hurried? Well, then you know how I feel right now. Since I fell behind in schoolwork, I fell behind in blogs, and have to write them all today... Also, I made plans to hang out with my friend today, so I am bustling to get all my blogging done, as Dad says I cannot hang out with her until EVERYTHING is done. Me and her want to hang out since she is going back in school on Tuesday, and we have not really hung out over the summer.

But now I only have one more post left after this! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my blogging, but once you do 4 posts in a row in one day, it starts to lose it's appeal, ya know? I have not done a poll in awhile, so I am going to update and put up a new one today: What kind of phone do you use?

I only bring up that question because our phone is an ABSOLUTE PIECE OF GARBAGE. It may be cheap, but it broke down on Dad yesterday, and now we have to use our over-priced trac-phone to call and get it fixed.

However, trac-phone is better than no phone, I guess. I am happy without one- I have an iPod that comes with free unlimited texting and FaceTime calls, and that is all I need. Besides, all of my friends have iPods too, and it is much more convenient than the phones that charge you per month/year.

Well, I am going to end the post here and go put up the poll.

Maddie

(Correction- Dad wanted me to add that normally it is a good phone :P)

Stumble Game Finds

I was stumbling about on stumbleupon today and found a weird but fun game called Dusk on Newgrounds games site. It is a platformer game where you are a small black square and have the ability to turn back time. It is a platformer game, and though it sounds boring, it is actually quite fun. Click here to play it!

Another game from Newgrounds that I stumbled upon was Caesar's Day Off. It is a hilarious game in which you are Julius Caesar- and if you are displeased with something, a lion will eat whoever you are annoyed at! Click here to play it!




I also stumbled upon the game Doodle God. It is where you are given a few basic elements and have to combine them to make new elements, and then use those to create new elements... It is a good game that works your brain. Click here to play it!

I love stumbleupon. You basically just put in your interests after setting up an account, and it shows you your interests! And, it's free! If you want to check out stumbleupon, please click here.

Maddie

My Dog

My Dog (Lucky)

I love my dog a lot,

He loves to "talk" and play,

He runs and jumps and makes me laugh,

Every single day,

He likes to walk on four legs,

I like to walk on two,

But since a puppy he's been trained,

so he can do it too!

Lucky is a puppy,

That likes to run and play,

He loves me, and is my friend,

In each and every way.

Lucky's Nicknames

Buppums - Just a nickname I made up for him when we brought him home.

Little Goat - Something Dad started calling him when Lucky ate a tin can.

Dog - Just what he is. Mostly Dad calls him this.

Weasel - Another Dad nickname... but Lucky IS sneaky, always slinking around upstairs where he is not allowed...

Vacuum Cleaner - I came up with this one. I call Lucky this when I spill something on the floor and he licks it up.

Age: 2

Birthday: March 23rd

Fur: Brownish Gold

Eyes: Brown

Rating: Best Pet Ever

Favorite Toy: A squeaky ball he won in a competition.

That's all,

Maddie and Lucky

Sorry

Once again, I must say sorry.... I promised last week that I would write regularly and I failed! What happened was I basically flunked my math out on Monday, doubling it for the day after that. And the day after that. All the way up to yesterday. Well, now I am going to put out 5 posts in one day, just to make up for it! I recall promising last week to tell how the surprise on Dad went: Here is what happened.

Aunt Michelle came in right on schedule.... But Dad was out of the house. About 5 minutes before she arrived, Dad declared he had to go out for an hour on errands. After he left, Aunt Michelle pulled up... and we had to wait about an hour to surprise Dad.

 10 minutes before he pulled up, all of us piled out onto the front porch and waved as he came around the bend in the driveway. He was very surprised- but also very happy.

What he was more surprised about was the fact that I could keep the secret for so long without spilling! Normally I would have yelled at him, but I must admit, I am pretty bad at keeping secrets like that, so I instead felt proud. The rest of Aunt Michelle's stay went pretty good.

That's all for now! See you in the next post!
Maddie