Catching Up

Hi!

Since I hadn't posted for two weeks since my last post *bad blogger award goes to me* I thought I would post some pictures of what I've been doing the last couple weeks. :)

I got all dressed up and went to church with my friend. :)

My cousin came and visited us for a day, and we had so much fun!!

We made a DELICIOUS no-bake cake/pie thing, and oh my gosh was it good. :)  Check out the recipe here.

We had some friends over to swim, and had fun swimming in the pool and *attempting* to play ping pong. :P 

We also had our friends over for a sleepover, and yes, I fell asleep with by legs on the back of the chair. *bizarre sleeper here*

I also got to go to a water park with my friend, and we had SO MUCH FUN!!!!!  We are also total dorks around each other, which adds to the fun by about 1000%. :P :P :P

We have been having so much fun enjoying our last bits of summer, and we hope you have been, too. :)

We'd love to here about your end of summer fun, so leave a comment below and tell us about some of your favorite things about this summer!

Have a wonderful night!

Sew Fun!

Hi!

So, I recently got a sewing machine, and I have been getting frustrated with it because I haven't been able to work it real well.  With the purchase of our sewing machine, we got 3 free classes at the sewing store (where we purchased the machine).  Well, yesterday my great friend and I went to the class together, and I learned so much!!!  It was super fun, and I learned a lot of different techniques, and we were given several great project ideas!  Well, after the class, my friend and I REALLY wanted to sew something, so we made some adorable bags and an apron for her little sister!

My bag. (My friend and I made matching ones.)

I love the pattern! 

It has a velcro closure. 

Fancy fancy fold! :) 

 I did a five-string braid with twine for my strap.  My friend had a really cute old belt that she used. :)

I absolutely LOVE my new bag. :)  Do you like it?  I am actually selling them for $15.  I can also make other patterns.  If you want to buy one, please email me and I'll give you the details and also the different patterns. :P

Thanks so much for reading, and I'm so excited to finally get back to my regular posts!!!

Q&A Vlog! {Questions needed!}

Hi!

Recently I've been seeing a lot of bloggers doing Q&A vlogs, and I thought that it would be really fun if I did one, too!  You can ask me questions about me, my blog, YouTube channel, American Girls, etc.*  Please comment below with your questions by June 17, and I will post my vlog with my answers that week.  Thanks, and I can't wait to see your questions!!!

*I reserve the right to not answer any questions that I am uncomfortable giving the answer to.

Breaking the Barrier

Within the past year, my family moved to a new place.  We had lived in the place before for nearly my whole life, and I had some really, really good friends there.  I was all for this move, and I don't regret it in the least.  I love where I'm at, and I wouldn't change it for the world.  Being the 'new girl' at the age of 13 is super difficult.  The girls here already have their groups of friends, because they've grown up together. Plus, being homeschooled is kind of a disadvantage.  Don't get me wrong; I love homeschooling, and I definitely wouldn't change it.  It's just extra difficult, because I only see the girls at dance, and the 'socialization period' is very short; before and after dance for maybe 10 or 15 minutes at the most.  How do I become 'involved' with these girls' lives?  How do I make friends?  It is really difficult for me, because I am very shy.  I know that being shy can be taken the wrong way sometimes.  What if they think I'm stuck up?  What if they think that I think I'm better than them?  I don't want that at all.  I just want to be friends with them.  I'm really, really trying to create conversation, but what do I talk about?  What do we have in common besides dance and skiing?  I don't know.  I'd like to ski with them, but most of the girls don't ski where I do.  I try to smile, say 'hello' and 'goodbye', wave, make friendly gestures.  My mom keeps encouraging me to be friendly, and talk, but it's just so hard.  It's so hard to figure out how to break the barrier.  Sometimes a lot of times, it gets lonely.  I have my friends from where I used to live, and I keep in touch, but it's not like I can just hang out on the weekends.  This is one of the reasons that I love blogging so much.  You guys are my friends.  Even though I haven't met you in person, face-to-face, you are my friends.  I hope you feel the same way.  So, once again, the question comes back, lurking constantly in the back of my mind.  How do I break that barrier?  How do I ask if they want to hang out sometime? How do I ask that without it being totally awkward?  I. Don't. Know.  I need your help.  Have you ever been in a situation like this?  How did you get through it?  Can you give me some tips?

Cool YouTube Channels

Hello!

Lately, I've been really into Sculpey, and I've learned a lot of stuff through some neat YouTube Channels.  I've actually made a really neat little cake, and I'll show you that, too!  I wanted to share my favorite channels with you so that you could learn new stuff, too!  Here they are:

PaperPastels

ToniEllison

stargatefansg1

makoccinos

These girls are all SUPER talented, and I have learned a lot of Sculpey techniques from them!  You should go check their channels out!

Here is my little AG cake!  Isn't it cute?

Check out the checker pattern!

Do you like my little cake?  It was a lot of fun to make, and I plan to make more Sculpey cakes this week!

Have a great night!

~Grace

The Blogger Election!

Hello!

Jodie is having a blogger election!  There are several categories, and you enter yourself in the category that you think you fit in best.  You should enter, too!  Click the button to enter!

Bloggers vote for each other, and the voting starts next week.  Will you please vote for me?  I entered under the category Teen Blogger.  Jodie will be putting up the voting widget this week, so when she puts it up, I will let you know.  Please vote for me!  Also, Jodie would love it if you would enter, because the more the merrier!  Click the button above to enter!

~Grace

Ice Skating Donner + The Ice Tunnels!

Hello!

On Wednesday, we got to go ice skating on Donner Lake!!  Isn't that amazing?!?!  We went to the South side of the like, where the ice is over 5 inches thick, and it is shady.  We were very safe, and with a friend who knows what he's doing.  It was unbelievably beautiful, and we had a wonderful time!  Lindsay actually got really freaked out because of the cracking (Cracking is totally normal, and happens on every frozen lake; it's just from expansion and contraction.), and the sounds it made.  To me, it sounded like when the phasers were being shot in Star Trek!  It was also windy, so she got caught by the wind, and her fear escalated from there.  My dad said he would stay with her, and told my mom and I to go skate.  It was super beautiful, and the ice was super clear.  A few times, the wind got really gusty.  Once, when I was going with the wind to skate back to the car, I got going SUPER FAST.  The wind blew me, and I was trying to make turns and slow down, but nothing worked.  Next thing I knew, I was sliding across the ice in the upside-down splits!  Plus, my sunglasses flew across the ice, and my mom retrieved them for me!

My mom and I on the ice!

A really pretty view of Donner.

Yes, those are buoys frozen in the ice!

A really cool bubble garden.  We actually got to see one forming underneath the ice!

 

A really, really amazing crack in the ice.  Isn't it neat?

After skating on Donner, we went to an abandoned train tunnel that was just up the road.  It was totally iced over.  There is usually running water, but it was COMPLETELY FROZEN!!!  There were huge icicles hanging from the ceiling.  I didn't really like it because 1) I'm not into big, long, closed-in tunnels that are very dark 2) Having big, HUGE icicles above me that make me feel like they are going to crash down and stab someone made me VERY uncomfortable.  I just got really claustrophobic and kind of freaked out, and on the way back, ended up fast walking/running through the tunnel to get to the other end.  I had to be careful though, because the the 'floor' was literally ice.  I mean, the ice stretched all the way across, and there was no dry ground.  It was pretty insane.  That whole thing just made extremely nervous and uncomfortable.  Let's just say I was REALLY glad to get out of there. :)  We were totally safe, and never stood under any icicles, and I knew that.  It just made me nervous.  To finish up the day, we went to Panda Express for lunch, and then headed off to dance!  We had a very full day, and it was a lot of fun!

The entrance to the tunnel.

This picture kind of gives you a good idea of how MASSIVE the icicles are!!!

A big icicle on the right, plus the tiny light at the end of the tunnel.

An interesting ice formation.

LOTS of ice!

 A long icicle.

 A cool picture with the 'light at the end of the tunnel' effect.

This MEGA icicle came all the way down from the escape hatch hole in the tunnel, which was really high up.

My silhouette at the end of the tunnel.

Pretty scenery!

That is Donner from a little lookout point on the road up to the ice tunnels.

We had a wonderful time!  Have you been on any fun adventures lately?

Have a great night!

~Grace

A Triple Sleepover!

Hello!

Thank you so much to my new follower, MyInnerStarUStudios!

I haven't posted for so long!!  I am so sorry, my lovely followers!

  On Friday, Lindsay's friend J (I won't be saying her name for her privacy) and her family came up for the three-day-weekend (Happy MLK Day!!) for vacation.  We went skiing with them all day Friday.  J and her little brother had never been skiing before, so it was fun to watch them learn.  I got to help J with some basic skiing stuff, and my dad helped her a lot with turning.

J had decided that she wanted to go to dance with Lindsay, so I went into town with them to get some stuff from the grocery store.  Lindsay had made some special dessert requests, so I needed some ingredients!  When I got home, I set up a fort for them to sleep in (per Lindsay's request), and started working on the popcorn ball mixture for them.  By the time the girls got home from dance, the mixture was ready, and they rolled up the balls.  They turned out great, and were quite delicious!  Lindsay and J enjoyed playing Barbies, watching movies, hanging out, and getting dressed up all weekend!

Pillow fight! (You can see the fort behind them)

On Saturday, I made a special cinnamon roll hearts breakfast for them.  I got the idea from Pinterest.  I also made them special mini sundaes.  It was a lot of fun!

The inspiration.


Our cinnamon rolls!


The popcorn balls.  Pretty cool, right?

They turned out really well, and I was super happy with them!  J was only suppose to stay one night, but of course the girls never wanted to separate!  J ended up being able to stay for three nights!  She went home around noon on Monday.

I had started getting a sore throat on Sunday, and by Monday morning, I did NOT feel good.  Ick.  Unfortunately, we had to drive 2 hours to go to my orthodontist appointment, and then meet with our Educational Supervisor from our charter school.  I really didn't want to go, but I had to.  It was a tiring but productive day.  When we went to Target, as always, I looked in the dollar rack for AG sized things.  I actually found these cute little bins that are great for storage, and an adorable AG sized laundry basket.  Lucky finds!  I will post pictures soon.

Lindsay had lots of fun, and was totally overjoyed to spend 3 and a half days with J!

Have a great night!

~Grace

P.S. Post tomorrow on ice skating Donner Lake!!

New Blogs!

Hello!

Guess what???  I have a new blog!!!  It is a design blog, and I'd LOVE it if you would check it out, and maybe get a design from me. :D  I had so much fun designing it, and I'd love to design your blog!  Here's the link:

Blog Designs By Grace

Also, Lindsay has a new blog!  It is all about our Barbies, and she makes awesome photostories.  Please go check it out, and follow!  Here's the link:

Lindsay's Barbie World

Please check out both of our blogs, and follow us!

Have you started any new blogs?  If you have, or I don't follow your blog, please leave me a link!

Have a great day!

~Grace

I'm Back!

Hello!

Sorry I haven't posted for a few days!  I have been having tons of fun soaking up my last days :'( of Christmas break.  Can you believe that school is back in TOMORROW???  I can't.

On Wednesday, I completed the Perplexus puzzle ONE TO ONE-HUNDRED!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I have been trying to complete it for quite a while, and I FINALLY got it!  You're probably wondering what the Perplexus is.  Well...

...THAT is the Perplexus!  In a nutshell, you basically have a little silver metal ball that you are trying to move around on the tracks without falling off.  It is hard because of the MANY obstacles that you encounter along the way.  The tracks have numbers on it from 1-100.  I have been working on it for about 2 years, off and on, and I decided to bring it out again on Tuesday.  I started off pretty well, and completed both level 2 and 3 pretty quickly.  I had never fully completed level 2 or 3; only level 1.  So, that made me happy!  My goal then became to complete level 1-3 (1-100).  I wanted to complete it on Tuesday, but that didn't happen.  Then, after about 4 straight hours of working on it on Wednesday (yes, I was slightly obsessed), I GOT IT!!!!!!  It was an amazing moment of joy.  I am now working on the Perplexus Epic...

...which is insanely hard.  Unlike the Original Perplexus, it does not have levels, it is just one thing that goes from 1-125.  The obstacles are WAY harder than the Original Perplexus.  So, I will let you know when I complete this one.  It may be awhile, because I've only gotten to 26.

On Thursday and Friday, we went skiing.  We had a lot of fun, and I am starting to go on some more fun, advanced runs!  I love it!

Yesterday (Saturday) we went skating on WILD ICE!!!  We had a 45 minute to an hour hike in the snow to get to the lake.  Some of the terrain was flat, but most of it was sloped.  We had to pack in our skates, extra clothing, and all our food for the day.  It was fun to hike in the snow.  Once we arrived at the lake, it was SO amazingly beautiful.  The experience overall was incredible!  It was really hard to believe that we were actually skating on a lake.  It was super cool, because in some spots, we could actually see the bottom of the lake.  Another very neat and special (but also kind of freaky) part of skating on wild ice, is the sounds it makes when it's cracking.  It cracks, and then it makes a sound that almost sounds a bit like a dog barking.  There was one crack that was really big, and when you skated over it, it moved, and a bit of water came through it!  The ice was 3 plus inches thick, so we were totally safe; the ice is constantly expanding and contracting and cracking.  On most of the ice, you could not see through.  The spots that you couldn't see through had TONS of tiny bubbles underneath the ice.  It was super cool!  There are also these really neat formations of bubbles under the ice called bubble gardens.  Here are some pictures:

A crack in the ice and some branches from a fallen tree underneath the ice.

A beautiful view across the lake. 

I love the lighting in this picture!

A part of the ice by the shoreline where you can see RIGHT THROUGH!!  You can see my skates in this picture.

A bubble garden.  Isn't it incredible?  Here are a bunch more bubble garden pictures:

So cool!

I think this one is the coolest one.  It reminds me of the Jetson's little houses and the big mall in the middle!

This is another picture of the one above from a different angle.

These people had their lawn chairs and stuff out on the middle of the ice, which we thought was cool/funny! 

It was so cool to just look right through it! 

A very interesting, beautiful cloud formation over the mountains. 

A reflective picture.

We had a wonderful time.  It was such a beautiful experience, and it might be our only wild ice skate this season, because it is snowing today!  Once the ice is covered with snow, you can't skate on it.  We aren't supposed to get much snow, so it's possible that the snow will melt into the ice and freeze.

I hope you enjoyed this post, and all of the pictures!  Have a great day!

~Grace

P.S. If you haven't already, please participate in my survey here!