No More Dad :(

My Dad in reality is fine... it's just that he had to go to NJ last night because of a business meeting today, and so he is going to be gone until Saturday. While for some of you that might not seem like so long, for me it seems very long because Dad, for as long as I can remember, has always stayed home. So I get very upset when he leaves for a few days.

On a happier note, I do have less schoolwork.... I am doing Think a Thoughts today, Minerals tomorrow, and chores inbetween. It should be easy. After I get done with this post, there are some filthy blinds in the office bathroom calling my name.... hurray.

I just looked down at my clock and realized how early it is- 6:35 a.m.-Wow. I set my alarm and got up early because I am going to make my family breakfast today.

So I got up at 6-ish to clean up and get everything set up for when they come down. Now all I'll have to do is mix my batter and fry up the pancakes. I am making chocolate chip, blueberry and plain.....

Now that you've seen this picture, you probably want some pancakes yourself. Go give into your craving.... I have to end this post here anyway.

Maddie

The Greek Icon Book Report

The Mystery of the Greek Icon

Book Report by Madison Nef

Characters

Marty

Marty is the main protagonist of the book. She is a 19 year old college graduate from America who is spunky and fast-acting. Throughout the book she proves to be very brave. She is known to love her father very much, and has lived with him since she was 15, when her mother died. When he disappears, she goes around the globe to find and rescue him.

Peter

Peter is Marty’s love interest. He is described as a tall, wiry Swedish man of about 20. He cares very much for Marty, acting almost as her ‘big brother’ in the book. He is very timid and shy, but refuses to leave her side until she finds her father. He is described to be a bit weak, and gets jealous easily, especially of Stephanos.

Stephanos “Steve”

Steve is a Greek man of about 22. He is the older brother of Vicki, and is described as a tall, muscular man. His hobby is traveling to different parts of Greece and being a photographer. He is very useful in the book, and is shown to have a slight crush on Marty. He is loyal to his friends, and drives them wherever they need to go in Greece.

Vicki

Vicki is a young girl of about 20, a tour guide in Greece. Marty and Peter meet her while taking a tour of Greece, looking for information about the icon that Marty has. She is very friendly with them as they keep coming back to her business, and finally invites them over for dinner. She proves useful to them, as she can provide them with good information about the area.

Bart

While Bart doesn’t have much dialogue in the story, he is the center of the plot. He is kidnapped by a gang smuggling icons that belong to museums out of the country, and when he goes after them, he gets drugged and is taken prisoner. He is shown to love and care for his daughter very much, and he is also shown to be a very thoughtful man.

Dr. Nigrita

Nigrita is the main antagonist of the book. He is the head of the smuggling gang that kidnaps Bart and smuggles icons out of Greece. He is known for wearing black suits and driving a grey Mercedes.

Setting

The story takes place in different parts of Greece. The main part of the book takes place in the Meteora, where the most famous monasteries are.  It is described as very rocky and hilly, with beautiful sunrises and sunsets as the sun peeks over the mountains in the morning. There are many ravines in the area where the story is. Greece is also known for its beautiful blue bays and wonderful ocean scenery. Marty and Peter often eat at quaint little sidewalk restaurants with great view of the ocean.

Plot

The story starts with Marty at college, celebrating her 19^th birthday with her friends. She receives a package from her dad, and opens it, mentioning that this is the first time he has ever missed her birthday. However, good news does not come in her present. The letter says that her father is in Sweden, sick with leukemia. He tells her in the letter, “take care of the little one”, implying the small Greek icon he sent to her as a gift.

In the letter, he uses their code name for help, “two Bart”. Marty, assuming he is in trouble, heads out to Sweden immediately to stay with a family friend’s family. When she arrives, she meets the Miller family, and Peter, the eldest son. She greets them, and then immediately goes to the hospital to see her father.

However, at the hospital, she is told by the clerk that he is better and checked out with some ‘friends’ two days ago, leaving no forwarding address. Upon inquiring if he is better, the man laughs and tells her of course, otherwise the doctors would not have let him leave.

When she goes home, she discovers another letter from Bart, saying that he is following a trail through Athens. Marty says that she must go immediately, but Peter insists she stay an extra day, and then he will go with her.

The next day they set out to Athens, Greece, and when they arrive they go to their hotel. The next morning, they take a tour about Greece, searching for information on Marty’s icon. She is sure it has some connection to her father’s disappearance, but she is not sure what. Their tour guide is a kind young girl named Vicki, who is most useful.

After taking her tour a few times, Vicki comes over to them and asks them over for dinner. When they go over to her house that night, they meet Steve, a traveling photographer and Vicki’s older brother. They learn from her mother that the icon comes from a place called the Meteora, a place where all the famous monasteries are. Upon seeing the icon, Vicki and her family are almost positive that it is not a re-production because of the fine detail in it.

Steve offers to drive them to the Meteora the next day, if they are interested in going. They accept, and then head back. At the hotel, a message waits for them, and it is from Bart. He says, this is much more than where the torch starts…and then breaks off the phone call. Putting two and two together, Peter and Marty figure that he is in Olympia, where the first Olympic games were.

When Steve arrives to take them to the Meteora, they beg him to take them to Olympia instead. He consents, saying that it is the same distance in the other direction anyway, and they set off. When they reach Olympia, they tour the stands, and when they do, they see 10 men in black suits exiting in single file. Marty is convinced that these aren’t your typical tourists, and she learns that they always ask for night passes from the old woman at the ticket stand.

As she is leaving, Peter runs back to get her and tells her to follow him. They go back to an old tunnel under the stadium, where he shows her a message he has found in the daylight. On the wall of the tunnel, there is a scribbling that says one word: B A R t.

The B on the message is very clear, but the rest of the letters are sort of dragged off, as if he was walking and writing. Marty is horrified when she see the writing come off when she touches it, and automatically thinks it is blood. Peter recognizes the smell, however, and says that it is just ash from the torch, and that if someone looked, they could find it in the tunnels because the caretakers swept it out so that the next torch could be lit.

At this point, Marty starts freaking out and is sure he has been kidnapped. They see him being dragged into a car by 3 men in black suits as they exit the stands. Marty automatically wants to go after him, but Peter holds her back and says he overheard the name of the lead man, and that he has the license plate number of the Mercedes that he was put in.

Next, they go to the monastery and ask the nuns there about the icon. They agree that it is an original, and say that they recall seeing it somewhere before. It turns out that the painting on the icon is of St. Nikolas, whose monastery was shut down when the Nazis invaded. They say that the icon is probably very rare, and probably came from the ruins of the monastery.

 As they walk out, discussing the icon, they are cornered by a man in a black suit. Recognizing him as one of the men from the gang, they dodge onto Vicki’s tour bus and ride with the group until the next stop. She playfully scolds them for not being part of her group, but allows them to ride and stick with the group through the next stop.

At the next stop, the group heads into a Greek museum that is run by a monk. Upon seeing the icon, the monk gets excited and says he wishes to show it to the high priest. Marty is about to say yes, but Vicki warns her that it could take hours to get it looked at. She declines, but the monk says that it looks very similar to an icon they had been expecting for their collection.

After the museum, Peter and Marty discuss the icon and figure out that Bart has discovered a smuggling operation, and has been kidnapped because of his knowledge. They figure that the icon needed to be saved, so Bart sent it to Marty. They see the Mercedes with her father in it zoom by, and make an attempt to follow it by cab. Finally, it stops at a small cottage. Marty wants to go in and save her father, but Peter stops her.

They go to a local inn and call Steve, telling him they need backup. They know that there is at least 2 men in the cottage, guarding Bart, and that the leader, Dr. Nigrita, has gone to get more people. Steve arrives, and they tell him of their situation. He agrees that they should get the police involved, so he calls them. However, they dismiss him for being drunk because of the time.

Steve, dismayed at his failed attempt, tells them his plan to rescue Bart with help from his cousins, who live nearby to the cottage. He calls the police again, begging them to listen, and finally they agree to come.

Steve’s cousins are shepherds, and they only understand their goats. There are 4 of them. That night, they gather their goats and surround the house. The goats act as a distraction so that Marty can slip in through the back window of the cottage and rescue her father. When the two men go outside to see what the ruckus is, they are rounded up by the police.

Bart is in bad condition when he is out of the house. The drug effects are just starting to wear off, and he gives Marty a hug and asks for water. He is taken automatically to the hospital by Marty and Peter.

Once he is better, he explains that their hunch was correct. His bank that he worked at had been involved in the scam, and one of his friends was involved. When he heard about the operation, he decided to track it down to its base and shut it down. He managed to recover one icon, and realizing it wasn’t safe, send it to Marty.

However, he was captured by the gang and drugged. He was then dragged from city to city, with vague memories of trees and men spooning soup into his mouth. He said that for the short period of time he was conscious, he came to know the leader of the gang as Dr. Nigrita. Also, he said they meant to kill him by dropping him into a deep ravine.

With his help, the rest of the gang is tracked down and captured, and many of the icons are returned to their rightful owners and/or homes. Marty, though sad to let go of her icon, gives it to the monk museum where it belongs. She is just happy to have her Dad back.

The book ends with this closing paragraph, No Copyright Intended, all rights go to Mary Tyson Pickering.

“Belted into my high-backed seat, I felt the big plane rise smoothly into the clear Greek skies. Below, Athens sprawled across its hills like a humped mural of some make-believe city, but I barely noticed. My senses were numb with the emotions of the past half-hour. Bart had promised he’d be home for my graduation. “The conference in Vienna will be over,” he said, smiling, “and nothing in the world can keep me away- not even kidnappers!”

Then Peter had gathered me into his arms and whispered, “Til next fall, Marty! I’m coming to your country then-“ and he named the very college Bart had helped me choose. There was nothing brotherly about the kiss that followed and, in a happy daze, I’d joined the line of boarding passengers.

Now I unwrapped the little package Peter had pushed into my hand. Without looking, I knew what it contained. An icon. Inside would be the painted pictures- of whom, it didn’t matter. Just the feel of the smooth wooden covers was enough, that and the memory of his parting kiss.”

I personally really enjoyed the story.             It was a good mystery, and it kept me intrigued until the final page.  I hope you enjoyed this report, as I worked VERY hard on it. 

Doll Design Winner

I am sorry for putting off this post.... I had a busy weekend and a lot of extra work to complete. But, there is a winner, and that winner is Sharon. Thank you for sending in a beautiful entry. Here it is:

Thank you Sharon for entering my contest and congratulations! But now, onto other topics.

Yesterday, I went to an AWESOME French and Indian war reenactment. It was so cool! It was held at an old village called The Fort at Number 4. I had been there before, but when I was very little, so I didn't remember much.

It wasn't TOO hot out that day, and we stood outside and watched the battle. It was a really good reenactment, with a lot of shooting. I got some really good pictures, because the British advanced right in front of where me and my friend were standing.

This also meant that the guns were going off right in front of our faces. It wasn't real bullets or anything, just powder- but it had sulfur in it, so it was very stinky. It was also very loud. The guns might not have been firing bullets, but they still made the noise they would have made. There were also 2 cannons that were very cool, but even LOUDER than all the guns.

I haven't downloaded any of my pictures yet, but I will soon. Then, I will post them up on my blog... probably as tomorrow's post.

Thanks for reading, (and congrats to Sharon)
Maddie

Alternate Ending to Shirley Holmes

Shirley Holmes and the Mystery of the Stolen Project
By Madison Nef

It was a cold, stormy day in the town of RedBrook. Puddles covered the roads, and people with umbrellas hurried home. But at RedBrook Middle School, students were bustling about. In 3 days, there was to be a science fair at the school. Now, many fairs were very small, but this one was being sponsored by MIT (Massachusetts Institute to Technology). Whoever won first place got a certificate from the college and a scholarship when they were older. But not all the students were bustling.
In the science lab in the basement of the school, two girls were sitting at a counter together. One of the girls was tall and wiry, with thick black hair and green eyes. She was wearing experiment goggles and gloves, and was working on a machine. The other girl is also tall, but shorter than the other girl and has brown hair and eyes. She is reading a sleuthing magazine.  “Shirley, are you done yet?” asked the brown-haired girl. “Not quite, Dot,” said the black-haired girl, whose name was Shirley.
Dot sighed. She knew that this science fair was important to Shirley, but did she HAVE to spend their after-school time in the lab every day? “What are you building, anyway?” asked Dot, who had forgotten. “I am building the Shirley 5000. It is a helpful robot; all you have to do is program it with your list of chores, and it will complete them all,” replied Shirley, connecting some wires together. “I only have 3 more days to finish it, and I have to figure out why these wires keep glitching. PLEASE do not distract me because this is very complex work.”
“Alright, geez,” muttered Dot, turning back to her magazine. There was a very good article in it about recognizing clues, and how clues could look like other things at times. About 15 minutes later, she nearly jumped out of her skin when an electronic voice said, “I am the Shir-r-r-rley 5000. How ma-y-y-y I help yo-o-u-u?” “YES!” cheered Shirley.
“Look Dot!” she cried. “I am going to give it a command….” She said, breaking off her sentence as she pressed some buttons on the machine. “Y-y-y-es, mistress,” stuttered the machine, and it rolled over to Dot and gave her an uncomfortable hug. “GET AWAY FROM ME!” screeched Dot, who didn’t like anything that talked and moved when it was supposed to be inanimate. She frowned at Shirley, who was on the floor laughing.


“Come on, I’m going home,” grumbled Dot to her friend. “Ok ok, fine,” said Shirley, and she took her robot and put it on the top-most shelf in the lab. Since she was the tallest girl with access to the 5th grade lab, she was the only person other than teachers that could reach the top shelf without the step stool. After putting her robot away, she dashed out into the rain with Dot.
The girls lived next door to each other, so they walked home together. When they were 2 blocks away from their houses, Shirley suddenly stopped. “What’s the matter?” asked Dot. “I forgot my backpack in the lab,” said Shirley. “All of my homework is in there, and I DON’T want to break my average of A. I am going to go get it… wanna come with me?” “UGH… Sure,” said Dot.
The girls raced back to school and out of the rain. Shirley used her key to the lab, given to her by the principal himself, and went down to the basement. “I am glad we came back,” chuckled Dot. “I left my magazine here!” Shirley laughed as she grabbed her backpack. The girls raced up the stairs and headed home.
The next day at school, Shirley could barely wait for science. She wanted to show off her robot to her class; everyone, including Dot, had told her she wouldn’t be able to do it. Finally, it was 1:30. Shirley raced down to the lab, grinning. Her teacher, Mrs. Mickle, smiled and said, “What’s the big hurry?” even though she knew quite well that Shirley loved science and was ready to show off her project.
At about 1:35, the rest of the class trickled in, slouching themselves into chairs and slumping their projects onto the counters. Dot scooched in next to Shirley and asked “Well? Where is it?” “Still on the shelf…. I am saving it for last,” replied Shirley. “OK,” said Dot. After a boring talk about the fair, Mrs. Mickle finally called out, “Would anyone like to show off their science fair projects?”
Pandora Chesney’s hand went up first. Pandora was a short, heavyset blonde girl that was known for being popular and very bratty. She brought out a sparkly pink bag with fluffy feathers all over it. “THIS,” she began in a preppy voice, “is the ‘Super Bag 200 by PaNDorA’. All you have to do is press one of the buttons, either lipstick, compact, cellphone, or gum, and it will open up and a mechanical hand will give it to you. However, it still has a bit of a glitch… But don’t worry, it’ll be ready for the science fair!”
Next, Rose Neret raised her hand. Rose was a quivery little redhead with brown eyes. She was very small, very shy, and also got picked on a lot. She was also very passionate about science. Next to Shirley, she was the best in the class. She pushed out a large silver machine and smiled. “This is called ‘the Knit It’. All you have to do is enter the yarn of your choice, and press what you want it to make, and voila! You have a new hat, or mittens, or even a stylish new scarf.”  She put in a small red ball of yarn, hit a button, and after a minute, out came a cute red scarf. She bowed and went back to her counter, taking her machine with her.
A few more people went, and finally it was Shirley’s turn. She grinned and turned to her class. “What you are about to see is a do-it-yourself robot that I like to call ‘The Shirley 5000’. Enter your list of chores, turn her on, and find yourself kicking back to relax!” With that, Shirley went to the shelf to get her project. But it wasn’t there!
Shirley gasped. Where was her science project?! “Um, uh, I actually seem to have misplaced my project. Come back later,” said Shirley, in awe. The class stared at her awkwardly. She blushed and returned to her counter. Dot said, “WHAT HAPPENED?!” “I don’t know!” said Shirley. “I put it there yesterday when we left… somebody must have taken it!”
After the class had finished, Shirley and Dot stayed behind to look for Shirley’s project. “Where did you see it last?” asked Dot. “Well, I had put it on the shelf, then I had run out with you. When I went back to get my homework, it was still there… I must have forgotten to lock the door when I left!” she exclaimed.
Dot looked around the shelf for clues as to where the project was. Shirley looked around the stepladder. “Who would even want my project?” asked Shirley. “Uhm, ANYONE?” said Dot. “You’re the best in class, and anyone in the science class would want that scholarship. So to get it, they’d have to knock the best person out of the competition. Right?” “Right,” said Shirley.
Shirley started looking around the shelf for clues as to where her project might have gone, but saw nothing. She climbed down and found Dot searching around on the floor. “Man,” Shirley said, “I’ll have to mention this room to cleaning- that shelf smelled of some kind of chemical…. Probably Rose spilled another test tube…. But anyway- Dot, what did you find?”
Dot held up a small, shiny black button. “It caught my eye. I was getting the step-stool to come and help you look up on the shelf, when I saw a glisten in the corner. So I looked, and- voila!” Shirley carefully examined the button. “It looks like it came from a lab coat….” She trailed off. “What’s the matter?” asked Dot. “Nothing. In fact, I have good news. Each lab coat has the student’s name on it…. So all we have to do is look at the coats and we’ll know who was snooping around!” exclaimed Shirley.
The two girls raced towards the supply cabinet. Dot threw open the doors and Shirley grabbed an armful of the coats. The girls each took a pile and started going through them all. Shirley finally gave a squeal of joy. “It’s Stanley!” she gasped. Dot looked at her. “Who’s Stanley?” she asked. “You know, the dorky kid who sits in the back of the room and chews on his pencils?” said Shirley.
“Ohhh,” said Dot. “I’m going to go find him,” said Shirley. “You coming?” “Sure,” said Dot. The girls ran up the stairs and scoured the halls for Stanley. Finally, they found him in the computer lab, practicing computer encoding. “Oh, hi,” he said when he saw them. “What do you two want?” “What I want to know is why you were snooping around the lab near my project!” said Shirley. “What would I want with your project?” asked Stanley calmly. “Oh, I don’t know…. Maybe you’d want to get a certain someone kicked out of a certain contest?” snapped Dot. “Well, don’t get to big in the britches, because I am not even entering!” huffed Stanley.
Shirley and Dot were shocked. They had been so sure that they were on to something… But it had all turned out to be a false trail. “What a waste of time!” grumbled Dot. “I know,” sighed Shirley. “We better get another lead soon.” With that, the girls proceeded through the rest of their school day, and finally, at 3:30, went home.
The next day in science, Mrs. Mickle called up a girl. “Everyone, this is Gemmy, and she has been held back 3 grades. She has been absent due to a broken leg. However, she has been working on a project for the fair. Now, I am going to give everyone this class to get ready for the fair Saturday. You may re-test your projects and add the finishing touches to them, so that they are good.”
Everyone reached into their counters and pulled out their projects. Shirley sat with her head in her hands, upset that her project was still gone. She only had two more days to find it, or else she would be disqualified. Suddenly, a tall, rat-faced boy rose from the back of the room and brought a small device to the front of the room. Mrs. Mickle cleared her throat and said, “Everyone, this is Basil, and he didn’t get to show his project yesterday because he had misplaced the remote to it. Basil, please tell us a little about your project.”
“Well,” Basil began in a nasal voice, “I call my invention ‘the Hack-a-Tron’ because it can literally hack into ANYTHING. It could hack into the computer code, the classroom, the school files- and if I keep practicing with it and experimenting with it until I am older, hopefully it will be able to hack into the human brain. The reason you didn’t see it yesterday is because I had misplaced it and it’s controller…. But today I found them on my desk, underneath some college plans.”
Suddenly, Rose let out an ear-splitting screech, that abruptly brought Basil’s monologue to an end. No one minded that much; but they DID mind getting their brains blown out. “What’s the matter?” asked Mrs. Mickle. “M-my Knit-It!” she said. “It just malfunctioned, and when I checked it, I found that the battery was gone! That battery is one of a kind, my own prototype….” Mrs. Mickle shook her head sadly. “Class dismissed,” she said, and everyone scrambled to get out the door.
But not everyone. Shirley and Dot stayed behind with Rose to ask her about her project. She explained that she had stored her project inside of her counter, which she kept padlocked for fear of thievery like this. Shirley and Dot walked over to the counter to look around. The lock was open, but there were no signs of force or damage of any kind. However, the padlock was VERY greasy. Dot swiped her finger on it and sniffed. “BLEH!” she yelled. Shirley sniffed carefully, and then said “HEY! That’s the smell that was on the shelf!” Dot frowned. “But why would anyone want a battery?” “My battery is made up of many different parts,” said Rose. “Anyone would want it if they were fixing something.”
That night, Shirley sat in her bed, going over the facts of the case. The chemical smell definitely had something to do with it, but where did it fit in? It was the only connection between the two cases. The only reason anyone would want to steal her robot was to eliminate competition and the same for Rose. What was it she had said the battery was good for… oh yeah. Fixing things. But who the heck would need their brand new science project repairrrrrr…. HOLD ON A MOMENT! PANDORA! “However, it still has a bit of a glitch… But don’t worry; it’ll be ready for the science fair!”
But how would Pandora access the projects? Shirley turned the thought over in her mind. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. Pandora had been absent that day!  And also the day after Shirley’s project disappeared! And then she thought about Basil: “The reason you didn’t see it yesterday is because I had misplaced it and its controller…. But today I found them on my desk, underneath some college plans.”
That would explain how Pandora got access to the projects! All she would have had to do was take the controller, then sit back and let the machine hack into the classroom and cabinet! And the chemical smell…. She had said something about a glitch… and since it was a purse designed to make perfume, lipstick, and chewing gum, she wouldn’t be surprised if it had a bad smell!
That would also explain the missing battery- she probably wanted it to help her fix her glitch! Now all Shirley had to do was get a hold of Pandora’s project, and make sure once and for all that her suspicions were correct. She fell asleep as the plan glazed over in her mind.
When Shirley got up in the morning, she got dressed and took her mini tape recorder with her. She knew that the only evidence against Pandora she had was in her mind, and that she’d look like a fool getting up and accusing her without proof. So what she decided to do was tape her conversation with Pandora, that way, if she confessed, she’d have it on tape.
In school, Shirley cornered Pandora next to her locker and said, “May I see your project for a moment please?” “Sure,” said Pandora. Shirley took one sniff of the purse, and knew that her hunch was correct. She flipped on her recorder in her pocket and began. “Pandora, I know you stole my project, and a part of Roses’. Your pocketbook’s smell was everywhere where the crime was committed, and you were absent the days the crimes occurred. I spent all of last night putting the clues together, and they all point to you.”
Pandora smirked. “Bravo, Shirley, bravo!” she laughed. “Yes, yes, I did do it, but unfortunately for you, you’ll never catch me. You don’t have an OUNCE of evidence against me. People will think you are crazy, I’ll win the science fair, and you won’t be able to stop me. HA!” she said. Shirley smiled and said, “Thanks. You just made my public accusation SO much easier.” She held up her recorder and laughed as she walked off to science class.
In the middle of science, Shirley raised her hand and stood up. “I know who has been stealing the science projects, and I have proof!” Everyone gasped, they couldn’t believe it! Shirley said, “Pandora is the culprit, and if you don’t believe me, I have her full confession right here on tape!” Everyone gasped again. Mrs. Mickle said, “Pandora, is this true?!” “Yes, it is,” mumbled Pandora, hanging her head. Mrs. Mickle shook her head. “Pandora, give the girls back their projects IMMEDIATELY!” Pandora nodded sadly and pulled the battery and the robot out of her counter. “Here you go,” she said sadly.
Pandora was not disqualified from the competition, but she WAS given a month’s after-school detention. Shirley was very happy to have her project back- and just in time for the fair, too! Rose, however, couldn’t enter the fair because her battery was broken. Dot and Shirley felt very bad for her.
Dot and Shirley decided to have a sleepover the night before the science fair. Dot helped Shirley pick out what to wear: a cute jean skirt with a clean white t-shirt and black flat shoes. Then, the girls stayed up watching monster movies, telling secrets, listening to music, and snacking before falling asleep at 12:00 midnight.
In the morning, Shirley got up bright and early to get ready for the fair. She took a shower, dried her hair, brushed her teeth and ate a nutritious breakfast of sausage, eggs, and a yogurt before getting into her outfit. Then, she woke up her mom, dad and Dot. Dot was rather annoyed at Shirley, as she was used to getting up late on Saturdays. However, when reminded about the science fair, she got ready fast.
By 11:30, Shirley was at the science fair. She went over to her booth and set up her board, telling about her robot, and set her robot up with it. She also put up a sign that said: TRY IT NOW! GIVE THE ROBOT A COMMAND OF YOUR OWN! She couldn’t wait for the fair to open at 12.
Soon, more and more people started to come, and at 12, the judges arrived. There were three: A kind, fair skinned lady with blonde hair name Claire, a heavyset man with a big black moustache and large front teeth named Joe, and another young woman with darker skin and black hair that had a rather large nose named Joan.
Slowly, the judges walked from table to table, nodding, whispering among themselves, and taking notes. Shirley watched as Claire went towards Pandora’s table. She heard her giving her cheesy little speech. “…yes, push that button and it will give you lipstick,” said Pandora with a smile. But when Claire pushed the button, instead of lipstick, the metal bag shot out a glob of hair, chewy gum, and lipstick right into Pandora’s face.
Shirley couldn’t help but laugh at the look on Pandora’s face. It was SO funny. But Shirley quickly put on her business face again, because the judges were heading towards her table. She smiled politely as she told them about her machine, and Joe tested it out. The judges smiled at her, wished her good luck, wrote down their notes, and moved on.
The clock ticked, and time flew by. Finally, Claire got up onto a podium and spoke into the microphone: “And the winner of the RedBrook Middle School Science Fair (sponsored by MIT) is….. Shirley Holmes, with her invention “The Shirley 5000, a Do-It-Yourself Robot”. Congratulations, you have won a scholarship to MIT when you grow up!” Shirley quickly accepted her award, and felt the happiest she had ever felt. As for Dot, she was very happy for her friend….. but mostly, she was happy to only be spending an hour in the musty school lab for classes.
The End

Guest Blogger on Buy-Buy Momma!!!

Yesterday, I went out shopping with my sister and Grandma. When I got back, I had to rush off to karate automatically, and I found myself not having a lot of time to get my work done. When I told Dad, (who at the time was busy with computer programming), he said that if I wrote a blog post on his site, Buy-Buy Momma, that he would call it even. Well, I just couldn't believe my luck! I got right to work, and wrote an awesome post about how I teach my sister.

The next morning when I woke up, Dad said that he had just published my post and that he had absolutely LOVED it. He had even added a few kind paragraphs about me onto the end..... thank you Dad. To see the article I wrote, please visit: www.buybuymomma.weebly.com

So far, the article has gotten 16 hits- and it has only been up for one day! Dad says it currently has more hits than his marketing blog. I was quite pleased and surprised.

The rest of my week has been going ok, I guess- I earned $20 (I am taking my sister to the movies in July) and I moved some stuff around in my room... and I MIGHT be going swimming tomorrow with my friend, depending on work and weather. I still have to do a 2 page paper, a 5 page paper, a book report (and I have to finish reading the book), and I also still have my mineral.

Because of this, I will end my post here..... remember, all dolls must be sent in by midnight. Winners of the doll design contest will be posted tomorrow.... Good Luck!!!

Maddie

Eggs

Eggs... I have never liked them. I have tried to enjoy them many times before, but I just CAN'T. I have tried them many ways:

• Hard Boiled. (The white is too slimy and the yolk.... it tastes ok but it is very grainy.)
• Omelette. (I have been told by my Dad NUMEROUS times that, "omelettes are delicious, why don't you try them". I just don't like them!! Again, there is texture.... and I cannot tolerate the taste of the white part of the egg.)
• Fried. (The only way I will sort of eat eggs. By 'sort of' I mean crack open the yolk and dip bacon or some other sort of meat into it.)
• Scrambled. (Just like the omelette: TASTE. The only way you could get me to eat fried eggs is if there was tons of ketchup on them- and by then the eggs would look so gross that I probably wouldn't eat it anyway.)

My sister got off easy- she's allergic to eggs. So lucky for her, she won't ever have to eat an egg. There are some downsides to being allergic though... Like no meringues... no mayo on a turkey sandwich... no potato salad (Well, that's actually more of a benefit than anything else).... not even any marshmallow because it has egg in it (Well, actually, it is more because of her age. I don't think that there is enough egg in marshmallow to affect my sister's health.)

However, even though I don't make eggs sound very good, they are actually very good for you. To the right people, they CAN be delicious, and they are low in calorie and carb. They are also a healthy source of protein. Dad quotes: "It is a very nutritious breakfast- no sugar added!!!" 

Well, I have loads more work to do, so I am going to end my post here.

Maddie

Cinderella

This weekend, having nothing else to do, me and my sister created a movie. It is basically Cinderella, only shortened up to about 5 minutes length. Though it was only 5 minutes, if you add up the costume changes, constantly having to redo scenes, and stopping for the occasional break, it all added up to about 2 and a half hours of filming.

The result was a sloppy but hilarious DVD. It took forever to upload onto my computer, and then it took awhile to create the movie and burn it to the DVD. Me and Ashleigh didn't have enough time, by the time all of this was done, to watch it, so today we sat down with Dad and Grandma and watched it.

I will now interview each person on what they thought of the movie:

Dad: From what I saw it was ok, other than you didn't work with the shadow. You had shadow on your face most of the time. Other than that, I was amused. (AMUSED!? YOUR DAUGHTERS JUST SPENT THEIR DAY TO MAKE YOU HAPPY AND YOU ARE AMUSED!!!!!??? GRRRrrrrrrr......)

Ashleigh: Well, I..... can you help me with this puzzle a little bit, because I am getting a bit nervous..... (???????)

Grandma: It's very well done, you running everything... I mean, you were the producer, the director, various roles..... I just wish I had been there to run the camera for you. (Me too.....)

And as for what I thought of it.... Well, I agree with everyone except Ashleigh. It might not be the best, but hey, I had fun working on it with my sister, and that is what counts. I refuse to put it up on my blog because of the humiliation factor..... because it IS embarrassing.

Well, I have tons of work to do, so I am going to end this post here.

Maddie