Wow! I haven't been able to get on here in like forever! As you can see my last entry was almost an entire year ago!!!!!!! ::allgasp:: So I've been on facebook.com alot since I was blocked off of my xanga, but now that I'm here I'll definitely be splitting my time between the two I don't even know if my friends will be responding to this because it's been such a long time. I completely enjoy xanga much more than facebook I must say. You can't exactly do anything cool like webloging (atleast not in such a wonderful way) and myspace is such a drag and the advertisements are disgraceful. So if any of my friends are still here please answer back and comment, otherwise, this xanga bloger is going to be very lonely. So please comment, just so that I know you are still there.
Miss everyone so much,

Leah
P.S. Ok so I have changed my background for the sake of spring! and I hope it ushers in the season much faster than Father Time!

Hey Y'all!!
My brother had his Eagle Scout Ceremony on Sunday. It was a lot of work setting it up, but overall I think it was successful. I was the official photographer and finally got to have some real fun with my Cannon EOS-10D ( < that's my baby!). I took some wonderful shots of my brother and all the speakers. Once I get the software installed, I'll post some pictures up here.
 The food was good too! The buffet was a combination of my mom's cooking and pre-ordered stuff. We had Swedish meatball, mini penne in tomato sauce, chopped green beans with olive oil and slivered almonds, fried chicken, culcuts of turkey, roast beef and two kinds of ham (I forgot what they were), sliced provolone, swiss and white american, four different kinds of bread (all from Panera Bread! they make the second best bread in the world. The best is my mom's.), whole wheat, rye, sourdough, and country style. Then for dessert the we had two tray cakes with the two different kinds of icing.
Your probably wondering why I spent soo much time typing about all of this, well... I had to help prepare most of it which took basically all of my weekend (I was supposed to plant the flowers I had bought, but now they're going to sit in my house for another week. Oh well ::sigh::).
My Youth and Government club is going to end this weekend with the model convention at the capitol. It is going to be a really busy time (usually is) and I haven't even written my opening and summation speeches.

Gotta go.

Luv all of you,

Leah

By all contrary appearances on this site, I am not dead.
School, volunteering and work have taken over my life as they have the lives of so many others. Since my schedule is probably one of the biggest parts of my life I thought I'd share it with you (hopefully next school year it won't be soo busy ).
Monday: volunteer an hour at the local YMCA for algebra tutoring/mentoring.
Tuesday: guitar practice for a half an hour.
Wednesday: work for three hours at the afore mentioned YMCA for three hours as a lifeguard and an hour for the Youth and Government club hosted by the same place.
Thursday: a three hour Chemistry lecture and lab and afterwards two hours for Envirothon session.
Friday: two hours for Trigonometry mentoring and another hour of Chemistry lecture.
Saturday: this can be filled with many things such as another two to three hour Youth and Government meeting, cleaning the streets with the leadership club for two to three hours, and usually cleaning the house the rest of the day.
Sunday: church small group and then off to one of the local Panera Breads while my brother has math tutoring.
::whew::
I get to do all this and all my school work plus the lesson plans for the Youth and Government club and practice my guitar between.
I usually never say this, but I can't wait until this school year ends. Sometimes it just gets hard to hear myself think!

This past Saturday I went to see a dog show (AKC of course) and it was wonderful! I've been inspired to return to one of my first passions, to become a vetrinarian. And I'm also thinking of either becoming a proffessional dog judge along with that a breeder/show-er. I was really hoping that my family and I could have gotten a dog this year, but because of our everything else that's going on in our lives were not. I only have a couple more years here so I don't think I'll be getting a dog until I have my first real job out of college. ::sigh:: 
At least, I would love to see other dog shows. I've been on the American Kennel Club website alot and have been researching how they judge the dogs. I think I would stick to the shepherd or hound groups if I ever did become a judge. I just love those types of dogs!  

I've been watching alot of movies lately, most of them consisting of the Matrix trilogy, The Return of the King (extended edition), Anne of Avonlea, and The Remains of the Day. I just can't seem to stop watching these films, there's just sooooooo much in them! I love to watch them while I'm working out on the NordicTrack. They give me alot of motivation to do so, cuz unlike a tread mill, music just doesn't cut it for inspiration to get on the thing.
This summer though I'm hoping to get a tread mill so I don't have to keep going back to the YMCA(I already spend enough time there already *see the afore mentioned schedule). So, I'm saving up all the money I make from lifeguarding for it. I had originally intended to upgrade my ipod Nano for the iTouch, but I think that's going to have to wait.

I'm thinking of starting tennis lessons (and no, it is not just the warm air which had my phsyched about going outdoors and doing stuff). Anyway, I met this lady at my local Sports store and she said that she would teach me lessons. 
Speaking about warm air, the local 5k is comming up soon. I was really excited about doing it this year, but with all that has been going on I just don't have the time to train for it properly (it's not the distance that gets me it the really odd hills on the course). I'm going to miss doing it; I just love to run (or anything that has to do with walking, I was never much a "jogging" person). I can only do short distance running, though, like the 5k's other than that I get extremely bored. But the weird thing is I can walk and a pretty descent pace for hours on end (a four hour walk is what I would consider a nice walk; six hours is a good long walk; eight hours I've never done because there's usually homework to be done.

My trigonometry class is almost over! YAY! I totally loved the subject and had a blast with the entire course. I have about four or five more weeks left (and considering that we only meet once a week, it will go by pretty fast). Once that is done I get about a month or a little less for a break and then onto Calculus. I'm hoping to be done with that by January of 2009, but we'll see.

Guitar is wonderful! Presently I'm finishing Jim Croce's "Operator". The finger picking patern was a bit hard to catch onto and some of the changes between the chords were faster than what I was comfortable with. But that's what makes us grow, right. Pushing ourselves by reaching out to tackle harder challenges in life and mastering them in our turn. Though we may not master it at the same speed as others we are all still growing just the same.
My teacher said we will move to "Say I Love You in a Song", because the finger picking pattern parallels the one in "Operator". Can't wait

Envirothon is going well. There are three new people on the team which puts us at a slight disadvantage against the rival team. This year I don't think we will get first place, but I'm still hoping for a close second; so as to keep the other team on their toes. Next year if all the same people return we have a very good chance of taking first at the county level and even first in states. I don't know about nationals, but if we could just get through counties that would even be an achievement in itself.
This year I am in charge of the soil section and am finding the information most fascinating. At one point when the team was at the "soil pit" demonstration I was considering becoming a soil scientist. I don't think I would pursue it, but you never know .

Chemistry class has a two week vacation (but only with a load of homework which stretchs from here to the moon, lol). The reason for the "break" is the other student in is on vacation and the teacher is having surgery. As I mentioned before, the amount of homework is gargantuan. I have two test, four quizes, two chapter reviews, two chapters to read, a pair of lab sheets to fill out(we did the labs, but I forgot my lab book ::I know...big taboo...especially in a chemistry class::), a concept review, and like a gabillion problems to do. I know it may not seem alot to some, but the study time which is required for all of this what I'm also looking at.

This is kind of random, but I really want a gameboy advance and the at least one of the older pokemon games. I just think that because I'm not getting a pet now, I could at least have a virtual one ::smile:: (and I don't have to feed it or clean up after that, but then again I don't get to play tricks with it either or show it in a ring.).

English language and American literature class is hard and tedious, but I'm learning soo much I don't really mind it at all. Except for the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. I feel the man was a complete womanizer and overly cofident leading to the arrogance on his own abilities.  Now, I am reading Moby Dick and find it fascinating, with the exception that Mellvile has a blatant vendetta against God, which I find to be humorous and at the same time abominally rude and close-minded of him.

I went to a book signing lately (lately as in the past three or four weeks) for the Leven Thumps series. The author Obert Skye, I must say is an amiable person, who spent much time with his young fans answering questions and listening to comments. He answered some of my own questions as well and I found some great insight into the books from them (though I will not tell you what they are for you must read the books first, hehe).

The Value City in the county is going out of business, so my mother and I stopped by (we do not shop there regularly...sometimes the company which comes is...unsavory). I did find a pair of sneakers I liked for very good bargain and some other articles of clothing which were very good looking, if I do say so myself. They were selling some very comfortable and extremely soft blankets a very good price, but we had to pick up my brother and ran out of time at the store.

There was a fourty percent off coupon at Borders books and immediately jumped at the opportunity of purchasing the soudntrack to "The Devil Wears Prada". I enjoy the movie alot and the soundtrack is wonderful as well. The second track, U2's "City of Blinding Lights", is amazing! I did not know it was them playing during the movie and was much anticipated on knowing who had done that particular track.
Now that I am on the subject of music, I have bought the piano adaptation to Enya's "Only Time". I absolutely love the piece and hope to start it and have it mastered by the end of June.

I must end this transmission now, for education and exercise calls to me.
Miss all of you on xanga,
Leah