I saw that Jo did this on Scraps From my Workbasket, so I went over to the site and decided to do it too (I had been wondering what to post for thanksgiving.)
After the ABC's Vivi insisted on putting a movie up with a turkey song thing.
a) Atoms (I mean, who COULDN'T be thankful for them??)
b) our Brother the BUG!!
c) Co-op (especially engineering)
d) Dinner :P
e) Easter (I LOVE EASTER!)
f) frappuccinos ;)
g) God's grace...(and, OF COURSE, God himself) we went to church today instead of Gators, and I'm glad.
h) Hot Chocolate
i) Aw, great. What else can I say? iMovie!!!!
j) the Jedis!!!!!!!
k) kinesthesia
l) key LIME pie (my sisters will agree, I'm sure.)
m) milkshakes....mmmm......
n) Numbers (3.141592654....)
o) Originality ("...and the use of today's secret ingredient." Oh, have you guys not watched Iron Chef America? [By the way, it took a LOT of this to make up some of the answers for this])
p) Parents
q) quadrilaterals (I had to put something here, and come on: If we had no quadrilaterals, we'd might have a dismal, depressing world of round tables!! The THOUGHT of it!!)
r) Ribosomes (ok, ok, I just had to say it.)
s) siblings (and, of course, swimming)
t) Thanksgiving (I think I do actually like it...)
u) The ultimate USA!!! (I had to make it more interesting)
v) violins/violas (NOT the same thing). I really like the way both of these instruments sound in their different ways...
w) weekends
x) deoXyribonucleic acid (aka DNA) -- I am extremely thankful for this.
y) skYpe (come on.....that works.....)
z) enZymes! (creative, right?)
From Vivi:
take a look...because you gotta see this. About 4 years ago...or something like that... we found this movie, wrote down the words, and memorized it. (we still have it memorized)
Today is Gab's 15th birthday!!! 15 years ago today, Mom and Dad were at Martha Jefferson Hospital and Ga
b was born. (actually, she wasn't born till 11:07 PM...)
(I know...the first two pictures are really not that good...but that's because I couldn't find the ones that I wanted on the computer...and then I tried to scan them and it didn't work...so, yeah)
Gab, love love love you! You're one of my absolute best friends. In fact, I do believe that you are my best friend. :)
So...I thought I'd give 15 things about you that most people hopefully won't know:
1) You've been swimming on FLST since your were 6. (9 years...scary...)
2) You made a movie in 1 week! I mean, really...a whole movie. It was only like 5 minutes long, but still it was a movie. You wrote the script and filmed it (with the help of some friends) in 1 week.
3) Mom loved you so much that she thought that when I was on the way that she wouldn't be able to love me as much as she did you. :)
4) You came into the Catholic church 3 and 1/2 years ago
5) You're an amazing writer (in my mind...)
6) You're always interested in things that would gross me out...
7) You actually used to LIKE brussel sprouts! (sorry, I had to put that one...)
8) Some how (by accident) we manage to put the same clothes on some days...or manage to say the exact same thing at the exact same time...
9) For some reason you think of random interesting things all the time and then tell them to me...and I'm kind of amazed that I never thought of those things before...such as "If two lines are not parallel then they must intersect"...of course, that was in her Geometry book, but still....and like what she just asked me..."Have you ever tried looking down and closing your eyes and slowly putting your head up...like this...and seeing where you get dizzy?"
10) People are always like, "Are you guys twins?"
11) You happen to love a lot of the same things that I do...but I guess that's obvious.
12) Some people that don't know you as well think that you're shy...but that changes completely once they know you well....
13) You're only an inch taller then me! I used to be at your nose...
14) You're very much like mom: your hair and your face especially...
15) We end up doing nearly everything (not quite everything but nearly) together. :)
EDIT: (Gab here...) I thought it might be good to say something about the age level for these books...
Regina Doman's exact words on the question:
"Although the books were described by the reviewer as a "Catholic Nancy Drew", I believe that makes the books sound as though they are intended for a younger audience, which they're not. I would say the books are definitely for teenagers, and they definitely do go beyond the romance of the Barbie/Disney movies: not because the main characters behave unchastely (no way!) but because there are darker elements and threats in the stories that make them more "high school" than anything else.
I will say that all of these issues are deliberately dealt with in a very ambiguous manner, so that most of it will go over the heads of readers innocent of these issues. But my teenage heroes and heroines do fight real dragons that are out there in society today. [...]"
This is #5: Alex O'Donnell and the 40 Cyber Thieves by Regina Doman. And you probably guessed that this one is based after "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves"...or Arabian Nights.
Alex O'Donnell just came home from college for the summer. Life at home is as it usually is (or so he thought) Mom on her crutches, Dad on his computer, and two little brothers keeping the house chaotic. But then he found the check.
"It was printed, like a payroll check, from the Sundance Fun Foundation, but the memo said "Winnings." Paid to "Cash" in the amount of $ 1,234,567.89. "This isn't real," Alex said. He flipped to the back of the check, expecting to see "This is a sample" inscribed in red on the back. Nothing. “This isn’t real,” he said, looking for a background printing, any sign that this was just a scam. “Nah. This isn’t real.” It was only after the family had $1,234,567.89 extra in their bank account that Alex believed it.
And that's when everything started happening at once...
The O'Donnells are a not-exactl- usual, but not-exactly-unusual family. They're not well off, their dad is a hacker, their mom has muscular sclerosis, Alex does martial arts, and the boys play video games. And then, there's Kateri--Alex's girlfriend. And it just so happens that everything starts happening right before Kateri comes for a visit. And then Kateri gets swept into the life of the O'Donnell family. Unintentionally, of course.
The family just tried to get back to normal life then. They were trying not to use the money until Mr. O'Donnell found out where it came from. So, when the Mystery Money actually ended killing someone, that was a shock.
And it's only then that Mr. O'Donnell tells them what had really happened.
Then they buy a hotel. Big surprise. Literally. But they managed to buy it without using a cent of the Mystery Money. Kateri movies into the hotel as Assistant Manager, though she didn't really want to. And then one night, they find out that they're surrounded by thieves.
I can't tell much more without giving away too much, so I won't try.
A couple quotes:
Alex-
Wrenching himself back and forth, Alex tossed and turned in the chair, straining this way and that, trying to find some give. Sweat poured out of him, he was exhausted, but he couldn’t give up. He couldn’t.
The chair toppled and fell forward, his head smashing on the base of the nearby table. His eyes spun around, and he struggled to remain conscious, breathing through his nose. He couldn’t throw up again with his mouth gagged, or he’d suffocate.
Feeling all resolve draining from him, he slumped, his forehead against the carpet, and tried hard to focus, to find that center of trust in God that had always seen him through the worst battles before. But the tangled images in his imagination cut into that center, jabbed knives into his chest as he tried again and again to calm his breathing and his heart rate.
It was hopeless. He knew it. A meaningless battle against despair.
There was nothing he could do.
Kateri-
Finally the mask was gone, and Kateri lay on the bed heaving and trying to breathe despite the unyielding ropes around her ribs, while the woman busied herself with the molded plastic.
“What are you doing?” Kateri managed to ask at last, trying to master the tears that still crowded her eyes.
“Making you,” the woman said, and held up the plastic. “I think it’s a pretty good likeness, don’t you?”
Kateri saw her own image looking back at her. She could tell the face was distorted with pain, but it was close enough.
The woman put down the rapidly-hardening mask and picked up a spray can of rubber foam. With quick and careful strokes, she prayed rubber compound onto the mask and turn it over for Kateri to see.
“Like it? So do I. Mostly because that means I’m done with you now,”” the woman said, her eyes gleaming through the pig mask. She set the mask down on the other bed and picked up the gun. She approached Kateri. “Say goodbye to living, chino girl.”
This is a good one...it's not quite as scary as the others (I think), but it's good, so again, DON'T MISS IT! I'm pretty sure this is the last one that Regina Doman has written (I think it just came out), but I'm also pretty sure that there are more to come, so keep a lookout for them. :)
So...my ratings:
Strength of characters: *****
Strength of plot: ***** (I know...but this one is really not that predictable...)
I'm hoping...to memorize 15 biology terms by Tuesday
Yesterday, I...watched How to Train Your Dragon AGAIN!
I'm hungry for...nothing much
The song stuck inside my head is..."Burn For You" - tobyMac
I love...the lack of school today
I loathe...well, right now I have 3 gross cracks in my fingers (like literally cracks) that are actually mostly healed now...but at first I could hardly do anything...
This week, my goal is...try to get most/all of our script down by Tuesday
Did I meet last week's goal?...*thinking*...somewhat...
