With Credits to Kathe

While at the Everson, I stumbled upon some hats. Some very COOL hats. Kathe and I both got an idea, and soon enough, we had THIS collection:























It's true, readers---I am the mad hatter!

(All photos were taken by Kathe, Maya's mom. Thanks again!)

My Week in Pictures

I'm back from Syracuse!

To Kathe, Tom, Maya, Lydia, and Squeak: thank you so much for letting me stay! I had so much fun, but I think I'm ready for some time communicating with Maya via webcam. ;-)

And now...the pictures! (Most photo credits go to Kathe. Other photographers are Maya, Lydia, and Quinn)











I know that's just a snippet of the 150+ photos from the trip, but of course, those will come in time. As for there, those are mostly highlights. Not THE highlights, but highlights in general. (One can only edit so much when you have 45 minutes on a plane)

My Old Kentucky Home

Tomorrow Im headed back for Kentucky. The visit went really well, but I think I'm ready to go home (One can only skittle so much, after all.) I'll be in Louisville by about noon tomorrow, therefore getting home somewhere between 1:30 and 2. Then I have about four days...and summer will be over.

Admit it.

I'm awesome:



After a bit of tweaking and exploring, I have managed to put both Charlie the Unicorn and its sequel on my iPod. 9 more minutes of glee.

A Little Fall of...Priest?

Maya and I went to her friends' house today. Both of them (Lauren and Michael) are into musical theatre, especially Michael. Lauren seems to be more into dance. However, Michael is a GENIUS on piano and owns just about any book of sheet music you can imagine. Only things I didn't see were "Beauty and the Beast" and "Wicked".

We attempted to do a little concert, but it kind of went...well, weird. We all did "One Day More", and we had to be like, three people at once. I was the Thenardiers, Enjolras, Eponine, and Random Chorus Person. It was kind of awkward, but in the final snippet when everyone sings different lyrics, Maya took over Eponine and dropped Marius/Cosette. (Thanks, Maya!)

I also soloed on "I Dreamed A Dream", which really was a lot of fun. I love me a good alto-belt song, and it actually is an alto song that goes LOW rather than HIGH (Bad thing about "On My Own"). Maya said that I actually hit the notes correctly...but I do think I slipped up a few times. Her own rendition of "On My Own" was pretty much FLAWLESS, though. She's amazing.

It was strange how fast Michael was able to catch onto songs. He heard the 30-second clip from Avenue Q, "I'm Not Wearing Underwear Today" a couple times, and poof: 10 minutes later, his fingers were flying across the keys on not just the VOCAL line, but the ACCOMPANIST part. Don't even get me STARTED on his sight reading, either. (Tried "Jack's Lament", and it was incredible)

I only have two more days in Syracuse, a day for traveling, then four days at home. Then school starts. However, I think that I'm looking forward to 8th grade. It's going to be nice both taking a math class that is somewhat difficult and also taking German. I think that having a basic understanding of the language is going to help a lot, and if I need advice, I can just call Katherine. That's one of the lovely things about having bilingual friends, after all!

Y-M-C-A!

Well, there's several items to blog.

Item #1: Maya and I saw Sweeney Todd last night. It was AMAZING---personally, I think their Sweeney-Lovett beat out Judy Kaye and David Hess. They officially rank as my 2nd favorite pair, coming very close to beating out Angela Lansbury and George Hearn. Maya knew the person playing Anthony, along with two people in the chorus. It was great finding out who the heck her Gifford people were, and they were incredible! (She told me to add the she hugged Anthony, who she knew.)

They were selling Mrs. Lovett's meat pies, and although we didn't buy any, we found a laugh in the sign that said they sold "Vegetarian pies---made of REAL vegetarians".

Item #2: We went to the YMCA to go swimming today. I was able to show off my backstroke in the lap lane, mess around in the kiddie pool (It was actually really fun), and test just HOW many pool noodles one can sit on without flipping. Apparently, five is the number.

Item #3: We're currently having a Sweeney Todd marathon---we're watching the Angela Lansbury stage production right now and might watch the Johnny Depp movie. However, Johnny Depp/Helena Bonham Carter remains my least favorite pairing our of four. (Scratch that---they are fourth out of five. Patti LuPone and Michael Cerveris are my least favorite. You're great, Cerveris, but having LuPone as Mrs. Lovett ruins it)

Demon Barbers About

All set for the theatre:

The Mall of Shopping

Maya, Quinn, and I bombarded the Carousel Mall today. We went seperately from Maya's mom and her sister, Lydia, and wound up having a lot of fun! Maya didn't buy much, but we all tried on stuff, ate way too much junk food, and actually started jazz squaring in the middle of the walkway.

Quinn dragged us into Aeropostale and American Eagle (And almost added Hollister and Abercrombie to the list), which was rather interesting. Really---me, dressed in black, did NOT look like the average AE customer. Quinn, however, insisted I looked fine---I still had to point out that I wasn't wearing a jean mini skirt nor a pink frilly camisole. I STILL think we were ripped off when Quinn paid $5.23 for a shirt that was marked 70% off from $12, but oh well.

My stores of choice were PayLess Shoes and f.y.e. I didn't find what I was looking for at f.y.e (Some Nightwish CD---only thing I found was a Stevie Nicks soundtrack with "Edge of Seventeen" on it), nor exactly did I at PayLess. Actually, I did find a pair of ballet slippers that fit pretty well---it's just that I figured I didn't really need any more dance shoes right then. However, I found a pair of ballet FLATS that are totally awesome...even if Maya claims they'll give me some knee or ankle failure.

I must admit, I actually shopped at Claire's. I usually don't---I think it appears like a Purple Bomb exploded. However, I found out recently that I can do MORE with my hair then put it in two ponytails or in barettes: headbands actually work. I scored a pack of three, a pair of blue dangle earrings, and a totally awesome hat. Here's a picture of me "modeling" the earrings and (Squee!) hat:



At the end of the day, I finally scored a bag that I liked. I'm pretty sure I can take it to school, as it's not too freakishly big. Still, I totally love it. It pretty much racked up the last of my money, though. Still---I was able to get a Vanilla soft serve to mark the end of a great day.

Not Much Else of Interest

Maya, Quinn, Lydia, and I did a little bit of filming for our Twilight movie (I'm playing Alice), and did some regular video recording. We introduced Quinn to the first three songs of Wicked, fell backwards onto the bed while listening to "Defying Gravity" , and attempted making a tent out of a few sheets.

However, all video is on Maya's macbook. So here's a photo taken a few minutes in Photobooth. (Yes, I am aware of how dazed I look. I just woke up from the most UN-powering 'power nap' ever)

Greetings from Syracuse!

Quinn, Maya, and I are currently watching "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" (I'm a Tibby), and Quinn's sleeping over. Not much else to report---flight was good, and there'll be a week of skittling-related news.

His Super-Sweet 16

Today is Mike's 16th birthday! Fill up the comments with birthday wishes for our favorite Pete Wentz look-alike:

(I couldn't find a baby picture my mom didn't use, so here's his brithday from LAST year)



In other news, I'm leaving for Syracuse tomorrow! Maya, Quinn, and Lydia---I can't wait to see you all and skittle to the maximum degree! This is going to be TOTALLY "awesome possum"! (As my friend Jillian would say)

Strike Out!

Tonight was the Strike Party, and it was so much fun. A little depressing at the end, though...

It mainly consisted or wild chatter and eating, but considering that what teenagers do best, that was good enough. We had fried chicken, salad, chips, ice cream, and cake---it was really good!

The awards (Nerds and Rubber Chicken) were hilarious. They were "hosted" by the seniors, and they each had a Nerd category. Some of the entries were pretty basic---newbies trying to hit the high note, missing a prop, etc. However, the winners were outrageous---I believe Gaston and Beast singing "Gaston and the Beast" rather than "Beauty and the Beast" at all the Meet-n-Greet's won for Backstage Romance!

The rubber chicken went to our Monsieur Darque, and Andrew's (Lumiere) explanation for it was hilariously funny. I don't remember all of it, but I remember the main thing was that someone in the guy's dressing room was always shouting, "Richard, it's your fault!"

The last hugging circle was somewhat of a mess. It took forever, both because we added the crew to the circle and because it was the last goodbye. Some of my friends completely broke down, and I was close to crying myself. (I got emails from all of my closest friends, though, so I'll be keeping in touch)

All in all, it was an amazing experience. To think that when I got the casting list, I was close to dropping out because I didn't think I would want to spend my entire summer dressed as a Rug. Not only did I love being dressed as a rug---I met chairs, menus, candlesticks, tea cups, beer steins, bassooning inventors, cakes, etc, etc, etc.

As I said to Lumiere at the end of the hugging circle, though, "The show always ends like this." In other words: incredibly and fabulously amazing.

End of the End

Tonight's the final show! I'm going to miss everyone, but I'm going to enjoy not putting a new face on with my makeup every night. Also, I'm going to Syracuse for a week on Tuesday, so I'm looking forward to that.

If you can't make it to the show, enjoy some pictures and some video at the YTHC website.

For Aubrey

A new reader of mine, Aubrey, requested a picture of my Pete-Wentz-look-alike brother. Well, here he is (and me):



Come to think of it, he looks like Beethoven, too:

Hate to do this twice in a row...

...but you have to admit: it's kind of cute.

LOL of the Day

Following the Trend

Two blogs I read have started posting their celebrity crushes. Considering nothing exciting is going to happen with my life today, here's my list:

Johnny Depp:



I love him in just about anything; Pirates, Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd, Corpse Bride, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are just a few of my favorites. I also like how he doesn't always hide his glasses---in fact, they're rather big. Oh, and his hat. Can never forget his hat.

Billy Martin


This might just be because Good Charlotte is one of my favorite bands, but I totally love Billy. He doesn't really have a signature hat, but his eyes and ever changing hair make up for all of that. Oh, and did I mention he's hilariously funny?

Mikhail Baryshnikov



All right, just about anyone around the age that this post is meant for is going to wonder who the heck this is (Unless, say, Maya or Quinn comes along). Basically, he's a retired Russian ballet dancer. He also starred in the 80's movie White Nights, a couple episodes of Sex and the City (Kari's boyfriend, I think), and a few other things. He's incredible, and totally shows that ballet is NOT just for girls.

Pete Wentz



All right, I'm so-so about putting Pete Wentz on the list. Although he IS rather pretty and can actually pull off (and put on) eyeliner, he bears an odd resemblance to my brother. It might just be me, but it's kind of weird to like someone who looks like someone you're RELATED to. Either way, I felt obligated to save a little room for "Peter".

Emile Doles



All right, so he's not TECHNICALLY to complete star status yet, but he's a local celebrity in Florida (And Karen would shame me forever if I didn't put him on this list). I actually have his signature (Thanks, Karen!) along with the rest of the original bands'. However, Emile is my favorite. There are a lot of reasons, but one of the top ones: his black hat.

NOTE: Yes, I know that I didn't include the Jonas Brothers. That's because, although they seem like really nice guys, I don't have a crush on them. On any of them. Just wanted to point that out so I wouldn't get an inbox full of "You forgot Joe Jonas----but he's mine!!!!!!!!!" ;-)

Apologies to anyone who could have cared less about this post. It was either this or an LOLcat...

Speaking of which, I'll throw one in:

Vote!

Yes, I know it's 2 AM here (I can't sleep), so I just thought I'd tell you about my new poll. Recently, I've been getting a bunch of random readers commenting here, and I've been curious how they got here. Therefore, July's poll has started.

So whether you're a new reader or one that's been with me since the beginning of the year, how about taking two seconds out of your demanding life and telling me how you even got here? It'd sure satisfy my curiousity, and people of all ages might find more interest here than in the last one.

At Day at the Office

Well, my little office room is more or less set up! I figured out how to set up my printer tonight, and it triples as a scanner and copier. It's rather nifty, and fits right next to my desk. The printer stand it's on has some shelves, so I'm able to put all my electronic junk/spare paper there. Eureka!

I feel all technology-savvy now. I can either watch DVDs on my Mac or the PS2 (Which doesn't serve much other purpose, as my brother owns most of the games), take pictures on my computer, print my own stuff, AND scan my pictures, all in the warmness of my little escape. (AKA bedroom)

I was a little nervous that it wouldn't work, but here's official documentation that my printer can print from my laptop:



And here's my 'office' in all of it's glorious mess:

Dear Apple,

Please sign some DMR thing so I can do NetFlix instant watch.

Love,

Alicebelle (And Patrick Ryan Murpny)

I'm serious---I was about to watch Law and Order, when I found out that it isn't compatible on Macs. I love my MacBook to death, so I'm not dissing the system...just wish I could watch said movies. Oh well---I'll watch it on my mom's laptop tomorrow. Right now, it's Jeff Dunham time.