My Summer is So Separated.

Hey y'all. 

Ummm....I didn't post. 

I suppose I could blame the movie/sleepover party I went to on Friday, but Saturday I had no excuse. 

I feel like a sucky person now. 

I just...totally, honest-to-goodness cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-fly straight-out forgot. 

So this week, my older brother Timothy went with a dozen others from our parish to World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro. They were one of four groups from the US to go, and they've been gone for a week tomorrow. 

They went on a mission trip to build a school, I think, and Tim managed to make it onto the Brazilian news. He has to go out of the country to make it onto the news. Go figure. 

But anyway, he loves it there, and even though my mom had a dream he got bitten by a giant tarantula smack-dab in the middle of his forehead, that actually DIDN'T really happen, and he's totally fine and loving every minute of Brazil. 

And the week before Tim left, my brother Josh ALSO left for Boy Scout camp (hiking in the Rockies. 8O), and he's been gone for two weeks. Only three days left until he's back, though, so yay! I've missed him a lot. :3

After Tim gets back the first week of August, I leave the next week for a camp in South Texas. It's a leadership camp my friends have gone to and it's supposed to be really amazing. ^-^

Our family is so split up this summer, though. Like you guys know, my parents left for two weeks on vacation, and my oldest brother, Paul moved into an apartment last month, plus now Josh and Tim are gone too. And soon...so will I. 

Plus, a lot of my friends are going off to camps lately too. Two of my friends left this morning, and two of my friends were gone a couple weeks ago, and one of my friends is gone for two weeks starting just after my brother Tim gets back. 

All in all, it's been kind of a separated summer.  

So I guess you could say I have a lot on my mind. That could be my excuse for why I didn't post. 

I guess it's still pretty lame, as most excuses are, but it's all I got. 

Anyways, this is basically just an update on my life, but I really enjoyed writing about laughter and happiness and optimism last week. That was pretty sweet. 

If you like that as well as (or better than) just talking about myself and being all vain and arrogant (sort of) give me a holler in the comments. I'd love to hear from you! ^-^

I hope you guys are a having a FUNtastic summer, and I wish you an amazing day, night, afternoon, dusk, dawn or whatsoever it happens to be where and when you are in time and space, and I'll see you next week! 

Love and peace and ALL the zen! ✌

Keep Calm and Endeavor On, 

~Adalyn

NaNoWriMo, and Why I Am Late...Again.

I feel like I'm beginning to fall into a habit of this. 

Before i explain to you why I'm late this week, I also have an announcement to make. 

So, this month, I'm doing Camp NaNoWriMo, which is a program exactly like the regular NaNoWriMo, except for the fact that it's in the summer. I'm writing a book and I'm really liking it, and it's been taking up a lot of my time. 

I wanted to do it in April or whenever the first one was, but I couldn't manage it because I was still in school and I had a bunch of other stuff to do to get ready for the hot summer months. 

But I'm doing it this month. It's super exciting and fun and if any of you are writers, I suggest you check it out. There's a children's/teen's website called The Young Writers' Program at ywp.nanowrimo.org , and there's another program for 13-113 that's just plain-ol' National Novel Writing Month at www.nanowrimo.org . And for summer there's www.campnanowrimo.org .

It's super fun and free and you can participate in it at any age. In YWP and Camp NaNo, you set your word count goal, which is the number of words you aim to write in 30 days, though in the "real" NaNoWriMo, the set goal is 50,000 words. 

It's not nearly as hard or daunting as you think, because if you write a certain amount of words a day, you reach your WCG in no time at all! 

Anyway, if you want to try it out, you can do novels, biographies, screenplays, scripts, poems, songs, or even sentences if you want! All that matters is that you write and have fun. Check it out. It's amazing. 

NOW! To the excuses for why I didn't post and my updates on the 4th! ^-^

In my defense, I did have a very impromptu-ly crazy Thursday/Friday. 

So, as you who live in the Land of the Free, also known as that fat lazy country with those unrefined savages, or The United States of America, know, Thursday just so happened to be Independence Day! It's been that way for, oh, about over two hundred years. 

The Fourth of July is kind of an important day for us rebellious, independent US of A citizens, and hence we do stupid things, like throw big parties with lots of meat and potato chips and yummy drinks. And set off big, explosive, colorful and sometimes terrifying tendrils of flame to show our excitement and joy over our freedom and liberty from other countries. 

The only drawback from these parties and fireworks is when you're sitting there watching the show, and your neighbor, who's joined you for the big, delicious celebratory party, accidentally puts the firework in upside-down. 

And so it explodes about 20 feet away from you, shocking and scaring everyone there, making you scream as you feel the shockwave and see the brilliant burst of color that has exploded all too close to you and your friends and family, and setting off the car alarm of your best friend's brand-spankin'-new bright white Toyota Tundra. 

It was an awesome and exciting experience, and since my boyfriend decided I needed to be comforted, and wrapped his arms around me, it was also sort of cute, too. 

After the party, two of my friends slept over, totally ruined half of my makeup doing blind makeovers, and stayed half of the next day, when I had to clean the house and help prepare food for a get-together we were having with some of our closest friends. 

They stayed until ten, and after a long argument between my friend Brianna and her mother, she was allowed to spend the night. And we watched Les Mis. And we wrote, since we're both aspiring authors. And then fell asleep. 

Yesterday was Saturday, and I don't really have an excuse for not posting, and I was even going to post, but in the morning I had to return canopies and chairs to my neighbors that they had let us borrow for the party, and then I was reading all afternoon. 

I finished my book at 1:30 am this morning, finally went to bed around 2am, and then woke up at 11:28 to discover my family gone to 10 o'clock mass.

So here I am, two days late after a crazy weekend, happy that I broke my record for how late I've slept in ever because I'm not nearly as tired as I have been for the past week. 

I guess a good night's sleep solved all my problems. Anyway, my mom and dad are taking my siblings and I on a surprise outing, so I guess I'll see you all next week. Though I probably won't post until Saturday, since I have a birthday party to attend. 

At least I let you know this week, right?

....Right? 

;)

Keep Calm and Endeavor On,

~Adalyn

My Amazing Dramatic Camp

I've had a crazy week. 

So, this week, I was gone at camp for six days, with no wifi, no family, and no idea of what I was getting myself into. It was a totally new camp I'd never heard of. I was only there because my friend Claire had wanted some people she knew to be there with her. 

So I signed up. 

It was an overnight drama camp held at a school about an hour outside of the city. Like I said, acting has been a big part of my life lately, and this camp seemed like a great opportunity to enhance my talents and try something new at the same time. 

But on the first day...I was really nervous. 

I didn't know if Claire had been accepted, and since I'm a freshman I was probably going to be the youngest one there, and what if everybody was super cliquish and didn't really include me?

I was super, super, super nervous. 

But this really nice guy named Jon snapped me out of it and helped me emerge from my silly, fragile shell. And from then on, it was all fun and games. Quite literally. 

We played a bunch of ice breakers and theater games, and we all introduced ourselves to each other, and I had a really awesome time. There were a couple people that stood out in my book, but you'll hear more on them later. 

On the first day, we had to audition for what part we were going to play. And I was fourth on the list. 

I was also super nervous about that, even though I figured I'd get a small role. A freshman, brand new to a camp and everyone but one person in it? Yeah, I was definitely gonna get a leading role!

But anyway. 

I got the part of Kate, a girl with only one spoken line and two sung ones. But that was okay, because I didn't want a big part anyway. Too much pressure. 

And the rest of the week went by, with games at 9am until 9:30, and then vocal warmups, song practice, and then a run through of the play, with input from our directors (we had an artistic director and a music director) whenever it was needed. 

The people who played the main roles were super talented, for the most part. And the people who played Laurey and Curly were absolutely spectacular. 

It was a ton of fun, and I met a bunch of über-nice people who liked to make me laugh. You would expect the people who played the leads to be sort of stuck-up and have an I'm-too-cool-for-you-peasant kind of attitude, but there were actually no "mean kids" at this camp. Which was nice. 

And Clayton, the guy who played Curly, was always really funny and open and welcoming. He never frowned once and he always made sure I was having fun. 

Friday was our dress rehearsal, and we all got into our costumes, donned mascara and eyeliner and blush and lipstick, slipped on our cowboy boots, and jumped right in. 

It went really well, and we were all totally psyched for Saturday night, when we would put on the play for all our friends and family. 

Saturday was our cast party. We watched Le Mis, which I'd never seen, and then The Phantom of the Opera, the one with Gerard Butler. Which I love to pieces. Everyone was forbidden to sing during Le Mis, but no one cared if everyone belted their hearts out to The Phantom of the Opera. And a girl named Ella brought cupcakes. They were really good. 

We had one last run through of the show before we went to dinner, and then rushed to the dressing rooms before the 8pm show. 

I put on my blue, floral costume, knowing it was the last time I'd ever wear that ridiculous dress, pulled my hair back in the assigned hairstyle, and pinned my bangs back so I could put on the makeup I'd bought on Friday.

Red lipstick went on over Chapstick. My naked blue eyes were outlined in black and my eyelashes darkened and fanned out. My cheeks became artificially rosy, even though I knew they'd get pink as soon as I started dancing. 

Even though I'd been really nervous about coming on the first day, I found I wasn't nervous at all before the show. No butterflies. Not even little ones. 

As a final touch, I unpinned my bangs, slipped on my boots, and settled my hat on my head. And then I skipped out into the world of Oklahoma!, arm in arm with Claire. 

The play went perfectly. My family brought me flowers and I got a bunch of contact information for a bunch of different people. I've already texted/ emailed most of them, and I'm going to get in touch with the rest of them today. 

Overall, it was an amazing experience, and I can't wait to head back next year. The directors both said I was amazing, and the acting director said he had plans for me for next year, so I'm super excited! 

I think I'll relax a little today, because I have VBS tomorrow! Yay! 

I'll post on Friday this week, so....

Keep Calm and Endeavor On! 

~Adalyn

An Update On My Stressful Misery.

Hello, all you beautiful people who read my blog! And hello all you gorgeous new people who have never seen me before and are just browsing blogger/ the Internet/ NaNo, and just happened to stumble across my blog or my profile. You are beautiful too. 

Everyone is beautiful today. 

I don't know why I'm in such a good mood right now, considering I'm having a crazy, aw-screw-it kind of day. 

First of all, I've told you guys I'm helping out with VBS again this year. It's Athens, like I said, and I have to be this Grecian girl named Thalia who is learning from St. Paul. 

It's stressful because my parents had an opportunity to go on this amazing vacation for a couple weeks, and they took it, and so...they're gone for VBS. My parents and our family play a big role--the only role, really--in making and setting up all the decorations and sets for our week-long Vacation Bible School. 

And since they're gone, all we have is a list of directions and a few good luck wishes from our parents, instead of a guiding hand as far as setting everything up. 

And I have to memorize six skits and work them out with my friend Marge on top of other lines and choreography which you will hear more about in just a moment. 

Another thing is the fact that I'm currently the only wannabe maternal figure in our house. And also the only one who doesn't have to work full-time who possesses the knowledge of how to operate the washing machine properly. 

My brothers kind of fail. 

But, then again, they're better and more willing cooks than I. And I only have to do two loads of laundry every day. They have to slave over the stove for hours. 

Or something like that. 

The third thing that's stressing me out is that I'm going to be gone at a camp this week, and we have six days to perfect the play Oklahoma! before we have to preform. I've never seen the full play/ movie, so needless to say, I'm a little nervous. 

Plus, it's an overnight theater camp, which means my family will be without any maternal figure whatsoever for six days. 

Keep in mind, none of them know how to do laundry. 

I've never been in a musical like this before, though I've been in plenty of plays. I'm still nervous though, because I was never much of a dancer. Hence why I dropped out of ballet, jazz, and tap when I was seven. 

Also, we've gotten a lot of rain here the past week. The streets are sodden. 

I went to run lines with my friend Marge, who lives across the neighborhood.

Our neighborhood is about two miles all the way around. 

And so, in it, I would not recommend scootering in the rain, through large puddles there is no possible way you can avoid. You get mud all over the back of whatever pant leg is not pushing, and you don't even realize it until there's this freezing feeling on the back of your calf. Also, your favorite flats get soaked, and you're just really thankful you brought socks in your bag. Oh, and your script is soggy. 

What? Haha. No. Pshhhh...No, no, I've never done anything like that. Haha, I'm so much more clever and practical than that! I'm not an idiot. That would be stupid. Pshhhhhhhhhhhh. 

Anyhoo, running lines went fine. Margie gave me a towel to wipe the mud off my jeans, ((shut up.)) and we had fun tossing lines back and forth. 

And then...I started to scooter home. 

Just kidding. I had learned my lesson. 

And with a humble and contrite heart that had no desire to get more mud on it, I walked. 

And I had a book idea on the way, inspired by the soaked hems of my favorite pair of jeans. So that was okay. 

Anyway, I'm gonna go take a nap and eat some candy. Not in that order. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Friday, and I wish you an absolutely fantabulous start to the summer! I hope your first week or two was awesome. 

Keep Calm and Endeavor On, 

~Adalyn

Hey Dudes.

Again, I was going to post yesterday, and I even reminded myself on Thursday. You know, the whole, "Oh, Ads, you've gotta remember to post tomorrow or no one will read your lonely blog!" type deal. 

But, alas, my morning quickly spiraled into afternoon and then early evening, and before I knew it, I was in the car driving to Marian group, and about to stay there for a sleepover with my friend Marie. 

And so, having just gotten back from said sleepover, I shall endeavor (Ohhh, reference to the name of my blog! Ohhh...) to explain my complicated life once again. 

Starting with Marian Group. 

We've started a new session, 'The Importance of Knowing Yourself' in order to know who you are and what you were made for. 

I was expecting something totally different from what I got. Basically what we did is talk about what we think is the biggest thing about ourselves that we keep hidden.

And you know that when seven females get together to talk about their innermost beings, six of them being teenagers, dang is it gonna be deep! 

So we talked about that and ate scones and apple pie and I'll tell you, there was lots of smeared mascara and runny noses. 

It was really good. And the. I slept over. 

Also, one of my close friends, Hannah, who I've known for a few years, is moving to Nevada with her Air Force family. My dad was in the Air Force for 25 years, so I know what it's like moving around a lot. 

She's leaving on Monday. Bye, Hannah, we love you! <3

Of course,we'll still keep in contact, so it'll all be good. ^__^

She was at the sleepover, too. It was sort of her last sha-bang before she left. Their bags and boxes are all packed. 

In other news, my fiends are jerks sometimes.  

So my friend Xavier? I've mentioned him a couple times. We're sort of...semi-in a...you know a...relationship.

Not officially or anything, but I like him and he likes me and everything is hilarious and amazing and the best ever whenever I'm with him, and everyone introduces us as boyfriend and girlfriend and stuff like that. 

And today? My friends made him angry. 

My friend Lizzie, Marie's older sister, was teasing me about him and telling me what I should respond over text because "I'm a matchmaker! I help everyone with stuff like this! Just listen to me!"

And I wasn't listening. I like to be myself in a conversation, I don't like to be Lizzie.

And so, as she said she was looking up a poem to write on a bookmark for her mom for Mother's Day? She was actually texting him and telling him a bunch of embarrassing stuff about stuff about me.  

I was ready to kill her. 

And then, when I finally got it away from her? My friend Marie did exactly the same thing! Except she was a little nicer. 

A little. 

Anyway, they won't get angry with me when they read this because we already worked it out between ourselves and Xavier, so it's all good!

And now I'm safe at home and ready for some lunch. Because I'm starving and my stomach is protesting its emptiness. 

I've been talking with Xavier and he's okay now. He just got angry because I was angry. Which is good, I guess. Because we're all Zen, all connected and crap. 

But anyway, I changed my password and now they can't get in! MWAHAHA!

I'll post on Friday next week if it kills me, okay, dudes?

Ima go have some lunch and then play piano for an hour. 

Keep Calm and Endeavor On!

~Adalyn  

My Fridayyyy.

This week was kind of boring, really.

I mean, basically I was sick and did school all week. The only variation I can think is worth mentioning is last night.

Yesterday, since I didn't have as much school as usual, I pretty much lazed around in bed all day watching YouTube videos of Say Yes to the Dress and the X Factor.

But at about 6pm, my beloved brother barged into my room without knocking.

I hadn't bothered to put on any "real clothes" because I thought we weren't doing anything that night. Hence, I was wearing a too-small tank top that showed my stomach underneath a crappy but comfy gray hoodie, along with my favorite pair of jeans.

So, when Josh, my brother, barreled into my room without knocking, I probably looked like heck, lying there half asleep on my bed watching an episode about one of those brides who knows exactly what she wants, and her entourage hates all the dresses she loves and makes her try on something she hates. So then the bride starts saying she likes the dresses she really doesn't.

And you're lying there screaming to yourself, "Just do what YOU want, woman! It's your wedding, not theirs!"

But ANYWAY...

Josh told me to come on, we were leaving. And I was like WHAT?!

He explained to me quickly that we were going to the monthly thing we do with two other families every month, and I screamed, WHAT?! I HAVE TO RE-DRESS!

And despite his protests, ran into my closet, changed my shirt, and practically shanked myself with my hairbrush trying to get all the knots out.

But the evening was fun.

We swung on this huge tire swing they have in the middle of their yard, we ate a ton of food, and basically just hung out. It was great.

And then I woke up at eight this morning, because my dad was yelling at one of our dogs, and then I guess I fell back asleep again, because I woke up at 10:45 to the surprisingly loud text tone of my friend Xavier, saying he'd gotten a jagged, dragon-claw style scar when his chihuahua had scratched his face.

So, yeah, that was my Friday. I hope y'all weren't totally bored out of your minds.

Keep Calm and Endeavor On,
~~Adalyn

So I Was Totally Gonna Post on Friday...

But, unfortunately, my beloved blogger app decided to crash and burn and die.

And then on Saturday I went to my good friend Marie's house for a sleepover and stayed there all day the next day too.

So now it's Monday and I'm finally posting.

And guess what.

.....I have a COLD!

I've been sneezing and coughing all day, and it's been absolutely horrible.

I NEVER get colds. I have an immune system made of iron.

And steel.

And stuff like that.

Yet, I still have managed to contract the virus my family has had for TWO WEEKS!

I hate being sick. It makes me feel all helpless and weak and want to listen to Catching Fire all day while I crochet a big blanket for myself and don't worry about math because my mom said not to.

Which is exactly what I did. Although now I wish I'd had the sense to take a nap.

On top of all that, I'm losing my voice from coughing so much, so singing for church yesterday nearly killed me.

And I have voice lessons on Wednesday, and somehow I don't think I'll be feeling much better.

I did have a brilliant book idea today, so yay for that, but I'm still feeling a little down. The fact that my brothers have been ribbing me all day hasn't helped either.

But anyway, I think I'll stop complaining about my life now and text people who've actually seen my face in person, not just over the Internet.

Like my best friends Xavier and Brianna and Christine. They'll hopefully have some sympathy for me, and maybe I can even sleep in a little before the crazy hassle that is every Tuesday decides to shake its frenzied head and say, "Oh, Adalyn, you're sick, sleep deprived, and lonely today? I think I'll abuse you even MORE than usual. MWAHAHAHAHAAAA!!"

So anyway, wish me luck! And good health. And sleep.

Lots of sleep.

Keep Calm and Endeavor On,
~Adalyn