My Kitty Pictures!!

39 Things To Do Before You Die

I was inspired by my mom and her friend at Bottomless Lakes to construct a list of 75 things to do before you die. Obviously I said only 39 on the title of this post, but considering that I am a third of my mother's age, I should be allowed to write about a third less than she did. 

There are a few qualifications in writing the list:

1) The list can only be comprised of things you've done. This is not  wish list. 

2) It must be a one time thing, not a life changing beatitude. This is not Seven Habits for Blah Blah Blahs. 

As put by my mother and her friend, try to shoot for something high, at least 25. 75 is difficult. My mom stayed up for hours writing hers. If you only have 10, you need to live. 

My list:

1. Climb a rock climbing wall without the rope. 

2. Sled down a hill in the summertime. It's a little  hard, but if you get the hill wet with a hose you should slide pretty easy. 

3. Skinny dip in a potentially dangerous area. Let's say a red zone for bears, or something like that. 

4. Be a flower girl in a wedding. 

5. Swim the length of a small pool underwater. I admit that this is a small feat but just knowing that you can do it is quite satisfying. 

6. Write your own alphabet and memorize it. 

7. Stick to a particularly poorly written book series without stopping. 

8. Float down a river in an innertube. 

9. Go on a safari in a dense area of trees. It doesn't have to be an actual safari; I haven't really been on one. Just get in a jeep and drive up hills and through trees. 

10. Feed a hungry person. Just grab some McDonald's and give it to him. You can even give them spare change; anything to help.

11. Bodysurf in the ocean. 

12. Watch someone have a baby.

13. Experience an amusement park ride that you wouldn't generally take lightly. 

14. Follow an unfamiliar trail through the woods without a proper guide. Ethan and Winston and I went through a forest in the mountains without any idea where we were going. We walked dangerously close to ledges that fell to a fast-moving river. 

15. Collect the corpses of crabs on a beach. 

16. Visit a city much larger than your hometown. Think of how tiny you are. 

17. Grow some sort of plant. When it sprouts flowers or veggies you get so excited. Enjoy the reward! 

18. Get a pet and care for it as though it were family, even if the landlord doesn't  allow it.

19. Go to a wedding reception and dance like the world is going to end. 

20. Play along with your family and pretend that something is real for the little kids. Even if it gets on your nerves. 

21.  Help paint a demolition derby car by finger painting. 

22. Go to a rodeo and really watch it. Scream for the competitors, say "aww" when the riders go to slow. 

23. Perform for a large audience. 

24. Explore your neighbor's backyards. Be careful not to get caught; you don't want them to think that you're doing graffiti or ruining their gardens. Just explore. 

25. Make cookies and go doorbell ditching. 

26. Walk in a parade. 

27. Make a list of 39 things to do before you die. 

28. Create styrofoam boats and float them down the creek. I did this with my cousins. We put candy in the boats because they thought that fairies would receive them. This was what I meant by "play along" on number 20. 

29. Stick up for someone badly outnumbered. 

30. Visit a friend who decided to be home schooled  in the middle of the year. Tell them how much you miss them. Ask why they left. See how they've changed. 

31. Eat expensive chocolate. Learn to accept how much better than us the Europeans are at making it. 

32. Keep a journal. Express yourself and confess as much as you can to it. 

33. Commit to writing a book. 

34. Play on a team in a competitive sport. 

35. Go dune diving. Roll in the sand! Just try to keep it out of your socks. 

36. Visit Craters of the Moon. Feel the cool air on you're face in the caves, what a relief it is to escape the heat of the sun outside. 

37. Enter a contest and do something you're good at. 

38. Get really good at something ridiculous. For example, I entered a talent show and did a hula-hooping act. The audience really liked it, too. 

39. Go to a caucus meeting. Get involved with politics even if you're not old enough to vote. Rejoice when your favorite candidate get the most delegates.

My mom's lake

My mom found Horseshoe Lake, her lake. When she needed it it had disappeared, but after driving around for an hour we saw it. Lily pads cover its surface and the water is dark and murky, but it's beautiful. I waded through the water for the half hour we had to stay there, mud gushing through my toes. We didn't get to stay there long, but we found it all the same. 

Those rivals of mine are really getting on my nerves

Still working on the roses. As I was drawing them earlier in the evening as the sun was setting and the light was growing dim in the kitchen, I realized that they were mocking me. They seemed to say, "Do you really think that you can copy us, you pathetic wannabe artist? Do you think that you're that good? It's to difficult for you to draw us." 

I was pretending, of course. But that was what they seemed to be saying. And I felt rather discouraged by the roses' discourteous remark, and I wanted less and less to finish my drawing. And I'm afraid that I won't, but I'll try. 

I feel strangely depressed when I draw. I'm totally absorbed in the drawing; I sort of feel trapped, sort of claustrophobic, and that's most likely the reason I dislike it. It's like I'm stuck in the paper. And if it gets too smudgy I feel even more stuck. It's odd that I'm good at something that frustrates me so much. I guess I like it a little, but I've noticed that I don't draw as much as I used to. Imagine what the roses would look like if I practiced more! And if you think I'm bad at drawing, well, that's your problem. Too bad. I know I'm good at it for my age. My mom even said so, so ha! 

Mom has enrolled Ethan and I in art lessons. She says that I have the talent, but no technique. That's why my rival always beats me... her dad passes all of his knowledge on to her. Mom said that I have more talent, much, much more talent than she does. She said that if I learn the technique I can finally be better. 

I draw in black and white all the time. Never in color. But I need to lear color scheme, and especially balance. 

I didn't get a place a in the fair contest for the water lilies picture or the picture of a baby named Hannah. Of course, my rival and her siblings all got first place. One of my enemy's brothers did a pastel piece of glass bottles, one that looked exactly like a piece his sister did in water color. They aren't original with their art--as I recall, her older and younger brother have both entered several almost identical works featuring irises. They most always get first place. Ugh!! Urg... 

I am gonna be so good... no one will beat me! I will not falter! I shall not! 

My Graphite Rose

I wanted to enter this in the county fair but the deadline was two hours ago and I haven't finished yet. My mom says that it's pretty good. She said that I can enter it next year when I'm done or enter it in another contest. And on her blog she said that I drove everyone nuts. Fine. I admit it. I did. (But if they'd leave me alone while I'm drawing I might not get so crabby and frustrated with them.)

It looks a little different than what appears on your monitor. My picture doesn't look like that. The lighting is different.

Considering what happened at the most recent art contest I entered, I'm not very encouraged to enter any other competitions besides the one at the fair. I haven't tried it before and maybe it's different the ones I've been in. The whole "let the ugly drawings win" thing is getting on my nerves. 

I copied the roses that my mom got from Rodeo, which went considerably well. I think that the first performance was a little better than the second. My mom's friend's choreography scared my cousin Natalia a little bit. The dance was called "Critters", a.k.a. "spider-monkey-swamp-things". It was a modern piece. The dancers wore pantyhose on their heads (yes, pantyhose) and plain black leotards and tights. Natalia thought they were demons at first, but farther into the dance she started to think that they looked like bunnies. They held onto their "ears" and did the movement.  I thought it was awesome. 

My Grandma Maddie took us to JB's and Anna and Cora and I made up daydreams. They're stories about things we want to happen when we grow up, like happy things that can be little or big.

I get a really bad stomachache when I eat a lot. I definitely got a stomachache then. And the gunk on my face felt really gross. I hate face gunk. 

We showed my cousins and and all the other dudes my dad's new condo, which is spacious (enough) and air-conditioned and has a decently-sized living room, unlike his old house's one. We played there for a while and then they had to leave, but Winston stayed to visit for the weekend. We went swimming the next day and Ethan and Winston squirted Leigha and teased her with a Spiderman hand they found in the lost & found. And then the weekend was over and we went home. 

THE END