I Wish...

I wish I could go to.....
-Paris, France because it's romantic.
-Italy, because of the food.
-Texas, because I hear there are nice cows. :)
-Niagara Falls, because I've never been there
-Boston, because of the Red Coats, and all that old fashioned Revolutionary war stuff.
-Prince Edward's Island, because of the name, and Anne of Green Gables.

I wish I had....
-red hair.
-a million bucks.
-a chic minivan. (not a 1998 Villager)
-a beastly house.
-my own room.
-a laptop.
-tons of other things.

I wish I could...
-live in the country and the city at the same time.
-live closer to my cousins.
-taste wine.
-become a pastry chef.
And...I wish I could marry Ron Weasley...too bad he's not real.
(those are just a few)

Ok well, That's all for today.
<3 Miss Sophisticated <3

Snippets

Hello, this is Miss A.F.!
     I love listening to little kids and their problems. I like trying to figure out how their minds work. It can be great entertainment.
The youngest kids in my family provide the most interesting material:

"Leah! Leah! Help!"
"What is it?"
"She said she was gonna shoot my Curious George monkey!"
*slight exasperation* "Just take the monkey away from this room."
"But she said she was going to shoot it!"
"With what? She doesn't have a real gun."
"I KNOW THAT!!!

"Hey, Leah, will you help me type in Nick Jr. games?"
"Sure. Here, now, what makes the 'n' sound?"
*stares at keyboard*
"Okay... do you know what makes the 'n' sound?"
*stares at screen*
"Little brother, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were ignoring me."
*stares at screen*
*in mock tears* "You never listen to me!"
"That's cuz you talk too much."

This one's a conversation between my two youngest siblings:
"I want to get a dog. Do you want a dog?"
"Yeah... but only if it's a girl."
"Why?"
"So it would have puppies."
"You need two dogs to have puppies, silly. Don't you know that?"
"Fine, we'll get two girls."

Here's my favorite, my little sister displaying her split-personality in front of the mirror:
"I can't believe you would do that!"
"Do what?"
"Kill a poor little butterfly!"
"That wasn't me!"
"You liar!"
"I would never lie!"
"I'M NOT YOUR FRIEND ANYMORE!"
"Please come back! I'll never do it again!"
"Like I can believe you! You lied to me about the lip-gloss!"
*bursts into hysterical sobs*
"Just leave me alone!"

Happy Sunday!
Ms. Artsy Fartsy

It Was Good

Miss Sophisticated here.
      For Thanksgiving my family went to my Aunt and Uncle's house and we had dinner with all the  family on my mom's side.  It was a very nice bird. I also got to see my cousins from Arkansas which was good. I have only six cousins on my mom's side but most of them are in collage. My favorite kind of pie is pumpkin pie.
     Guess what!!!! Lake Orion High School (my brother's school) has the best high school football team in the state! The won the game thingy today! It was exciting. I wanted to go to the game, but my dad took some of his buddies. 
      So my friend spent the night last night and she stayed all day! It was fun but I got pooped out, and slightly sick of her. It made me miss my wonderful cousin even more.  So, I'll have to see you soon, Leah.
All for now~
Miss Sophisticated

How Was It?

Hi! Miss Artsy Fartsy (you're favorite nut) here!
     So... how was you're Thanksgiving? Was it all you expected?
 How was your Black Friday? Did you shop? Did you stay home and listen to Christmas music (like moi?)? Did you stay home and listen to Christmas music while sitting curled up next to a radiator while wearing mismatching socks? Well, did you? Tell me! Here, I'll tell you about my Thanksgiving (I've already clued you in on my Black Friday).
     My family and I piled into the mini-van and went to my aunt and uncles house. They only have four people, and we have seven, so they hardly had room for all of us. It was lot's of fun to find places for every body to sit. My lovely aunt did all of the cooking. My equally lovely mother practically kissed her feet for it. I watched in shock and awe as my cousin planned her huge midnight-to-six-a.m. shopping trip. She's a much braver person than I am. After lot's of family-type conversation and bonding (and football) and the like, we piled back into the mini-van and went home. The End.

Have a great rest of the weekend!
Miss A.F.

Thanksgiving Week

Miss A.F. here.
     Finished all of my school for this week, yesterday. Now I'm thinking it was a mistake, because now I don't know what to do. I could organize my panty-drawer. But I don't want to (I'm a little afraid of it). I could wash my windows. But I don't feel like it. Whatever can be done?

Slipping into chronic laziness,
Miss Artsy Fartsy

P.S.
Turducken? Heck yeah! That's my favorite!

Turducken

     It's Miss Sophisticated here.  I'm the only one in my family who didn't get sick (no offense Leah.) including my oober healthy father.
     So today I didn't have any classes because of Thanksgiving in three days, and I extremely grateful.  Other than that school was alright today.
     For Thanksgiving, I'm going to my Aunt and Uncle's house with all the relatives on my mom's side of the family.  I'm very excited.  I love food.
     I raked leaves in the rain this morning with my dad.  Apparently this is the last day the leaf sucker comes.
     I saw the new Harry Potter movie Friday night. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows....PART 1! It was excellent!  I've been having lots of dreams about Ron and Voldemort and things like that, lately.
     Not much else is new.
~Miss Sophisticated
P.s. Have you heard of a turducken?

Random Monday Poll

White, milk or dark chocolate?
Or maybe you don't like any chocolate?
Or maybe you like all of them so much you can't possibly decide?



Stay cozy!
The Homeschool Geeks

Of Tissues and Niquil

Hey there, this is  Miss A.F.!
     *sniff, sniff* So, my cough has escalated into a cold. Last night, I ran a fever, developed a throbbing headache, forgot my mother's maiden name, and began talking like this: "Hey, mob, hab you seend the tissues? *cough* I thing I left theb in the...*sniff, cough*... cad you find theb for...*cough*...oh, neber mind." I'm growing sick of the smell of Vick's and Niquil. I still can't find that box of tissues. I really liked it, it had fun penguins on the side. Now I'm using the boring, mauve/pink tissue box. On the upside, however, I get to curl up on the sofa with a fluffy novel (and tissues) for hours at a time, without being disturbed. That I like.
     Because my mental faculties aren't quite what they should be, I'm afraid that's all I have to report (for now).

Happy Almost Thanksgiving!
Miss Artsy Fartsy
P.S.
Where did those tissues go?

Unsure

Hi! This is Ms. A.F.!
     I wasn't really sure what to write about today. Then it struck me. "Of course! I'll tell all of the people about my middle-brother!" Then I thought, "Well, maybe that'd be better to do later..." Then it hit me that, if I didn't write about him, I'd have to tell you all about all the dead animals the cat leaves on our porch, or how strange my feet are, or something equally marvelous. So, for the sake of your mental well-being, I'm going with the brother-post. (I just heard you thank me)
     My brother... he's just a tad bit strange. He almost has a split personality. He's mildly obsessive-compulsive. He over-thinks absolutely everything, from which socks he will wear each day, to what fork I use to eat a fried egg in the morning. He also likes loves to start fights. It doesn't matter which sibling is around, as long as they respond to any of his many antagonistic tactics, he's all set. For instance, not thirty minutes ago, I was sitting on the sofa reading my history text book. Who should come along but my dear brother, Luke? So he sat on the other end of the sofa, and made fart noises for five minutes strait. When I failed to respond, he began poking my arm, with sound effects that I cannot even try to duplicate in print. So, I got up, and he followed, chanting, "I'm gonna get your stu-uff, I'm gonna get your stu-uff" repeatedly. He could literally do this for hours, to any of us, his beloved brothers and sisters. I try to ignore him most of the time (but not all the time, I'm still working on it). My younger brothers and sister, though, have a harder time 'turning the other cheek', as it were.
     When he is not busy making us want to strangle him, he can be such a sweet little guy. It's the freakiest thing, one minute he wants to torment the life out of you, the next he wants to talk about philosophy and lego-building. I seriously cannot convey the change that comes over him. It's like he's a different person altogether. I really have a hard time making the transition from wanting to hang him from his toenails, to talking to him like a civilized human-being. I've heard it said that the middle child is usually the one who differs the most from the rest of the pack, but I firmly belive that my brother is an extreme case.

Love,
Miss Artsy Fartsy

:)

So, today was pretty good.  This is Miss Sophisticated, by the way. 
     I had classes yesterday, and they went very well. Except that I had no lunch because me and my mother thought it was pizza day but it wasn't. :(
     Today I woke up at 9:30. Uggh! It made me all depressed like from the start. Then I ate some oatmeal, and I discovered that I shouldn't make oatmeal anymore cause I hate it. Then we went to get adjustments from my Uncle who's a chiropractor and his office is like 5 minutes from my house.  I didn't actually start school until like....one. It's not pretty. But I didn't slack after that. I did school until five. Then me and my little siblings made a fort on my bunks bed and then we propped the mattress up against the top bunk and slid down it. It was fun. Now I am happy, and am being summoned to the dining room for dinner.
THE END.

Miss A.F.'s Most Embarrassing Moments: #4

4) I had to go touch the St. Louis arch, while wearing my pajamas. I was then  forced to go into the museum/gift store, while wearing my pajamas. Of course, before you can go into the museum/gift store, you have to go through security. We'd been in the car for eight hours. I wasn't wearing any make up, but I was wearing an over-sized Tigger sweatshirt and bright purple scrunchy (A scrunchy? Really? What is this, 1995?). It still bothers me to think about it.

Phew!

Hey-yo.  It's Miss Sophisticated.
I've been gone since Monday (it's now Friday).  
Let me give you the scoop.
~Monday, November 8th:  I had classes in the morning.  Right after my class, my mom and sister picked me up and we went to Indiana to visit my cousins!  When we got there and me and my awesome cousin, Heather, went to the library, out to coffee, and I experienced riding in her new car (She's 17).
~Tuesday, November 9th:  All of us (Me, My mom, my sister Molly, my Aunt Leanne, and cousins Heather, Ruthie, and Abby) took a train very early in the morning, to Chicago.  We got to Chicago and the Mom's took the little girls to the American girl doll store for their birthdays. Me and Heather went off shopping and had a GREAT time. We then took the train back to the cousins house and didn't arrive there until midnight.
~Wednesday, November 10th:  My cousin, Heather had classes in the morning so the rest of us went to the park. Later, Me and Heather went to a retarded grocery store to get some stuff.  It was the worst designed store I've ever seen!!! I accidentally started checking my self out in something, I thought was a self-check out. I was wrong.  When we got home me and Heather made dinner and had a great  time watching movies and drinking eggnog and taking unattractive pictures of us.
~Thursday, November 11th:  My little sister's birthday. I made her cupcakes, we ate brunch and then we left for home. It was a great trip but it's always sad to leave :(  But on our way home we picked up Leah! She was going to spend the night because she was coming to and opera with us the next morning (today). It was a lot of fun. But by the time I go home it was 4:00. So I am way too pooped to poop right now.
     So I had some time to check my facebook, read a little, clean my room, and BLOG!  But, in an hour I'm going to my youth pastor's house for a youth group party thing.
Well I hope your scooped up.  I need to go take something for my headache so I can get ready for another party.
~Busy as a bee,
Miss Sophisticated

Updates, And Other Fun Things

Hello, Miss Artsy Fartsy here!
     Seems I'm holding down the fort, here, since Miss Sophisticated decided to leave this state and party it up in Chicago.
Okay, okay, not really, she's actually with some other cousins of ours, and they went to Chicago for her sisters birthday. But it was really funny to think of Miss S. partying it up anywhere.
     Anyway, things have been pretty average here 'bouts. Everyone is still suffering from the disgusting, phlegmy, raspy cough that made our lives miserable for two weeks. Did you know that children's cough medicine tastes ten times worse than the adult stuff? It's true. Also, Nyquil is the most amazing substance known to man. Amen.
      Yesterday (to the dismay of my throat and lungs), we burned four enormous piles of leaves in our yard. It was smokey. Very smokey. We're about to go finish burning leaves in the front yard, so we'll see how that goes.
     *cough cough*
Love,
Miss A.F.

Miss A. F.'s Most Embarrassing Moments: #5

     I walked into the men's out-house at my brother's T-ball game. I only figured it out when I walked out of the door to find two middle-aged dads in line. But it definitely was not my fault! They really ought to label those things more clearly. *ears begin turning red* I'd wondered why there was a urinal in the ladies room.

And This Is Fun...How?

Hello, this is Ms. A.F.!
     As of one month ago, my brothers are obsessed with Airsoft guns. For those of you who (like me a few weeks ago) don't know what Airsoft guns are, let me clue you in. They're alot like b-b guns, but instead of shooting little metal balls, they shoot little plastic balls. Yep. They come in all shapes, sizes, and prices, from a little pistol to a huge mega-monster machine gun that could kill a small mammal. It's pretty intense, apparently.
     Now, when I say my brothers are obsessed, I really mean obsessed. They sleep, breath, talk, eat and think Airsoft at all times. They talk about which gun they're saving up for, how they want new attachments for the guns they have now, what color their b-bs are, how heavy the front end of the hand gun is compared to how hard to cock the shotgun is, FPS (feet-per-second, I believe) and accuracy, and how totally awesome guns are in general. It really never ends. They even dream about Airsoft guns. My second oldest brother spent hours (and hours) on Youtube last week watching video reviews on different guns with different gadgets attached and such.
     The other day, I made the sorry mistake of going to a local sporting goods store with my two brothers and my dad to look for a new Airsoft gun. Let me be clear: I wanted to go to the fabric/crafts store, to which they were going to take me after they were done. I did get to go to my store, but only after watching my male relatives for almost two hours, whilst they decided whether they wanted more or less FPS in a machine gun.
After much deliberation, they finally decided to try a different store, where they finally found the gun for them. It was quite touching.
Now they run around outside shooting each other. ALL. THE. TIME.
     What is it about guns and weapons that makes guy's hearts go pitter-pat? Why in the world is it fun to shoot each other with small plastic b-bs going 350 FPS? Why, why, why? It is far beyond my capacity to understand. I feel the same way about paintball.

Confused,
Miss Artsy Fartsy

Happy Today

Hey there! This is Miss Artsy Fartsy!
     I'm feeling very good this afternoon. Maybe because it's Saturday. Or because my desk/workspace is now clean and organized. Or because my sweet outdoor cat finally got his act together and is sitting in the mudroom grooming himself. Or because I ate sugar cereal for breakfast. Who can say?
     As I write, my dear padre is in the basement putting in a new water softener. *queue hallelujah chorus* I love soft water. I despise hard water. What more is there to say?
     Today, the sun finally showed his face. It's still freezing outside, of course, but at least it's sunny. My sister and I took a walk to the end of our road, and we now have deep, dark, tropic tans (not really, but it's a nice thought, right?).
      I'm going to drink a mug of coffee, because I feel like it. Hopefully, this will help to continue my very good day. We shall see.

Love,
Miss A.F.

P.S.
Congrats to Miss Sophisticated on her new camera! It is very chic, indeed.
   

My New Camera

Hey! :) It's Miss Sophisticated. :)  I'm very happy Because I just got a new camera!!!  I'd been looking online for a new camera for a very long time, and I finally found the right one for me (it's all very romantic).  

     I mostly take pictures of my little siblings and my friends outside and inside, some videos, and nature pictures, like close-ups on flowers and leaves and such.  I wanted a really nice camera that has a lot of zoom, takes great low light pictures, and takes great, clear images, and is chic. :) (I love that word).  My camera does all that! It got great reviews. 

     One of the biggest things with ultra-zoom cameras, I found, was that they don't really take very good pictures indoors.  Lots of people said 'zoom is great, but really just doesn't really take great, clear images in low light.'  So instead, I got one that is more compact and not so zoom crazy, so that I get better pictures for my money, not just bigger zoom. I'm very happy with my decision so far.  I've only had it for about five hours, though :) Hehe.

     It's the Canon PowerShot SX130. 

Don't you just love it? When I got it,

though, it looked so much more chic,

in person! 

     Maybe I'll post some of

my photography later (actually,

I took the picture of the leaves

above).

Love ya~ Miss Sophisticated

Mexican Cheesecake. Yum.

Hey, Miss A.F. Here!

     If you like cheesecake, cinnamon and butter, than have I got a recipe for you. It's easy (like, seriously easy), and absolutely delicious. I made it for my mom's birthday. A word of warning, though, it most definitely does not fit into the "diet friendly" category. Not at all.

Here's the recipe!

Mexican Cheesecake

      Ingredients:

• Two eight-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened One cup of granulated sugar
• One teaspoon of vanilla extract
• One stick (eight tablespoons) of butter
• Two eight-count tubes of crescent rolls
• One half cup of sugar mixed with one teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Directions:

     Mix the cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar together in a large mixing bowl.

Open and unroll one tube of crescent rolls, then lay them flat in a 9x11 pan, pinch the seems together.
Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly.

Open and unroll the second tube of crescent rolls, lay them on top of the cream cheese, pinch seems together. It's okay if there are a few gaps, just make sure to get most of it covered.

Now, melt the butter in the microwave on high for about a minute, check, and then for thirty second intervals until its all melted. Pour the butter over the cheese cake, then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over that.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Let cool (it's alot easier to cut when cool), keep refrigerated.

     My very favorite part of this dessert, to be honest, is the crispy cinnamon on top. YUM.

So, if you're in need of a good potluck/family type dessert, make this cheesecake ASAP. Everybody'll love ya.

Love,

Miss A.F.

P.S.

Also, if you make this dessert, you might want to have it with a salad or something to make up for the butter/cream cheese factor. Just sayin'.

A Really, Super, Extremely Important List

Miss Artsy Fartsy here!
     A list:
1) I have a killer cough right now, which makes me sound like a chain smoker.
2) My mom's birthday was yesterday! (Happy birthday, mom!)
3) I didn't put anti-frizz in my hair this morning, so I look like I rubbed a balloon all over my head.
4) I cannot touch my elbow with my tongue.
5) It has been cloudy and depressing 'round here for the last week.
6) Can you touch your elbow with your tongue?
7) Sometimes I eat ice-cream out of the carton.
8) The family cat believes himself to be a person (a very spoiled person).

     Thus concludes my post for today.
Love,
Miss A.F.
P.S.
I can change the fonts and colors, too

Songage

     Hey. It's Miss Sophisticated. I have songage (Don't look it up...it's not a word.) troubles.  Songage trouble means you have an ipod (like me), you have an itunes gift card (like me), you like music (like me), have had your ipod for over a year (like me), but still have only 75 songs (like me).  I guess it's because I don't listen to the radio, or maybe because I actually care about the meaning of songs and don't just buy songs that are catchy; but I hardly have any songs and I don't know where all these people get 500 million songs. Ugh. I suppose there are bigger issues in life, but not being able to use and itunes gift card because you don't know where to find good songs or what songs are actually good is one of mine. So...Here I sit, itunes open, gift card in hand, having no good songs to buy. :( It's tragic.
     On a happier note...Halloween was deliciously fun! I dressed up as Michael Jackson. It was pretty awesome. In fact, it was the Michael Jackson costume of mine that won me the itunes gift card! I got best costume in my youth group.  Leah over there dressed up as Charlie Chaplin. She looked great! It was a very creative(get it...ArtsyFartsy)costume.
     Alright well I'd better get back to song searching. Adios!
~Miss Sophisticated.
P.S. I just figured out how to change the font and the font color.

*GASP* You Don't Go WHERE?

Hello, there, Miss A.F. here!
     Okay, I'll just try to be kinda quick, here. We (as in, myself and my family) do not attend church. I myself believe in God, and my mom and dad do, too. But we haven't gone to church in several years. This elicits more misunderstandings than I can count, mostly from people who go every Sunday.
     Many people can't understand why a family that calls itself Christian can stand not to go to church. My parent's have their own reasons, of course, but even if they woke up one morning and decided to go, I would not. I can't function in a place with a bunch of people. My brain can't handle it. Sitting in church, or a youth room, it takes everything I have to remain dignified, so how could I possibly learn anything, or grow spiritually? I went to a Wednesday night youth-group for a few years, and therefore dreaded every single Wednesday. Not to imply that it wasn't a good youth group, it was, everyone was nice and friendly. But I had nothing in common with anyone there, and I felt completely out of place. During the time I went, my spiritual life took a serious dive. I was absolutely miserable.
     Since I've stopped going, however, my confidence levels have soared, and I feel happier and more contented than ever. It seems completely ridiculous to some that I could be flourishing without a pastor or group leaded to guide me, but I am.
     Anyway, I guess I wasn't as short with today's post as I wanted to be. Oh, well.

Lots of love,
and have a happy Hallowmas! (look it up, it's real)
Miss Artsy Fartsy