It's been a while folks, almost 60 days, since my last post, but now it is back to school and back to blogging.

I follow several blogs regularly and I hope you will enjoy them too.

http://tedenrice.wordpress.com/

My very own sister's blog!  Karen is a phenomenal writer.  She is the best in our family, by far.  We four Rice girls like to compare ourselves to Little Women, and Karen, the second-born, is quite fittingly Jo.  Her blog is in turn hilarious, serious, and entertaining.  Karen is a Junior at William Jewell College, but is studying this whole school year at Oxford University as a part of her school's program. Her blog is currently filled with stories of her traipsings around Europe over winter break.

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http://cassidygibson.blogspot.com/

Cassidy Gibson is an amazing girl I wish I knew.  Is it a little odd I read the personal blog of someone I don't know? A little.  Am I okay with that?  Yes.  My sister first showed my Cassidy's blog when my family was considering moving to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  At that time Cassidy was living in Uganda as a missionary's kid.  Karen thought it would be helpful to read the blog of a girl who was going through many of the same struggles as I might.  We didn't move to the Congo, but I still read her blog.  Currently, Cassidy is living in the USA.

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Strict Adherence...
Yes Gary, be sure to pat yourself on the back as much as you can now for your oven mitt “storage solution,” because I’m pretty sure that tape won’t hold forever.

http://catalogliving.net/

Meet Gary and Elaine:  they live in your catalogs.  Catalog Living is a picture-based blog all about them.  Molly Erdman, the author, finds the oddest catalog pictures in print and posts them with snarky comments.  I find it hilarious.

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http://putthison.com/

The Web Series about Dressing like a Grownup.  

If you've ever seen me, you know I don't dress to please anyone but myself, so why would I read a blog about fashion?  What will you think when I tell you it is a blog of men's fashion?  When I look at the men of St. Louis, there is a horrid lack of real good-looking men.  This blog shows how real men dress; a blessed relief to the eyes.  Plus, if I were a man... I would dress like this.

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The cruise ship Costa Concordia lies stricken off the shore of the island of Giglio as floating barriers are positioned to prevent pollution of the coasts on Jan. 18, 2012 in Giglio Porto, Italy. The official death toll is now 11, with some twenty people still missing. The rescue operation was temporarily suspended earlier due to the ship moving as it slowly sinks further into the sea. (Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images) #

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/

For stunning photography that tells the news: The Big Picture

I wish I remembered to check this blog more than I do.  I don't think I've looked at in at least a year.

Five wonderful blogs to check along with our Modern Lit blogs.

SR

The other day, I remembered this story.

Bison (aka American Buffalo)

My family was on our way to Oregon driving by van.  We were taking the scenic route through Yellowstone National Park.  As we rounded a bend in the road, the serenity of the landscape was shattered as hundreds of bison thundered over the hilltop.  The bison came charging down the slope straight at us. Careening at breakneck speeds, they came inches away from grazing our van.  I remember looking at the man in front of us who sat on his motorcycle waiting for the storm to pass.  I thought he must be terrified. Me?  I loved it.

See? Life can be crazy.

It's the Little Things

"Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having a scoop of ice cream fall from the cone."
Jim Fiebig

No it doesn't.  That's why I eat my icecream in a bowl...

In Other News...

Things I am excited about:
* My Grandmother is coming to visit!  She arrives tomorrow.

* This weekend is the Basketball Tip-off Tournament!  We leave on Thursday.

* My Parents are going to India on a missions trip!  They leave in two weeks.

Yep.

Blah, Blah, Blog.

Bonjour!  Est-ce que vous comprenez le français?  Moi aussi.  Je desire vivre en France un jour.  Et aussi, je veut comprendre sept langages. Je prende un coure de français à Meramac Community College. C'est une bonne classe!  Nous lisons les petit livres en français.  Ils sont romans pour apprendre le français, mais ils sont vraiment romans. Par example, nous avons lu Le Planet des Singes.  L'original est ecrit en français par Pierre Boulé.
Je se rendra à France c'est may!  Il est palpitant!  Ma soeur est en Angleterre pour elle étudie à Oxford cet année.  A son ecole, les étudiants va à Oxford ou Cambridge pour son troisième année.  Ma famille va à Angleterre et va vu un peu de l'Europe.

This isn't perfect french, but in general, it says:
Hello!  Do you understand french?  Me too!  I want to live in France one day.  And also, I want to know seven languages.  I take french class at Meramac Community College.  It is a good class!  We read little french books.  They are novels for learning french, but they really are novels.  For example, we read The Planet of the Apes.  The original is written in french by Pierre Boule.
I'm going to France this May!  It is exciting!  My sister is in England because she is studying at Oxford this year.  At her school, the (honor) students go to Oxford or Cambridge for their Junior Year.  My family will go to England and see a little of Europe.

17. Seventeen

Sometimes it feels like I am seventeen and a half and have nothing to show for it.  These people had done amazing things at seventeen:

Howard Carter

At seventeen, Howard Carter had begun his career in Egypt as an archaeologist.  His job was copying wall scenes and inscriptions inside tombs.  Seven years later, Carter became Inspector-General of Monuments in Upper Egypt.  He found King Tutankhamen tomb, the greatest Ancient Egyptian discovery.

King Tutankhamen also made his start at a young age.  He became Pharaoh at nine, but he died at eighteen.  I'm not in favor of dying next summer...

Robert Downey Jr.

Robert Downey Jr. had lived by the time he was seventeen.  His father was an actor, writer, producer, cinematographer, and director of underground films, and his mother was an actress. Downey had his stage acting debut at age five and his second at age seven.  At ten, he was living in England and studied classical ballet.

At seventeen, Downey dropped out of school and moved to New York to pursue a successful acting career.

George Washington

 George Washington's mother wanted him to join the Navy.  He was then fifteen.  Mrs. Washington soon found out the hardships on board Navy ships and dropped the idea. Lawrence, Washington's brother helped him find a job as a surveyor for Culpeper County through connections with the affluent Fairfax family. It was a well paying job that allowed Washington to know the country. With only an elementary level schooling, he became the first President of the USA.

Julie Andrews

Julie Andrews started her fabulous career very young.  The child of musicians, she began to sing with them at the age of ten.  At twelve, she had her professional solo debut.  A year later, she became the youngest solo performer ever to be seen in a Royal Command Variety Performance, at the London Palladium.  At seventeen, she was considerably famous for two years worth of work on BBC radio comedy show Educating Archie.  She then led an exceptional career on Broadway and in Hollywood.

Natalie Portman

Natalie Hershlag (stage name Natalie Portman) is the perfect example of someone who pursued her dreams while also pursuing education.  Her first major movie roll came at seventeen; she played Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.  She skipped the premier of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace to study for her high school final exams.  The same year, she co-authored two scientific papers that were published in scientific journals.  At eighteen, Portman turned down all new acting offers to go to Harvard University to pursue her bachelor's degree in psychology. 

"I don't care if [college] ruins my career," Portman has said. "I'd rather be smart than a movie star."  Turns out, she is both.

HRM Queen Victoria

 Queen Victoria was still Princess Victoria at seventeen, but just barely.  Her uncle, King George III was ailing.  Victoria was his heir, and he promised to live until her eighteenth birthday to avoid a regency.  He kept his promise.  Victoria was Queen.  At twenty, she proposed to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.  Her reign, 63 and a half years, was the longest of any British Monarch and the longest of any female monarch in history.  The time of her reign is known as the "Victorian Era".

Susan Rice

Susan Rice. What am I?  At seventeen, I am a student.  a basketball player.  a sister.  a daughter.  nothing spectacular. I have dreams for the future, but they seem impossibly far away.

Happenings

Events and happenings in my life.  Enlighten yourself:

This weekend, my church had its annual Church Retreat.  It is an amazing and relaxing time.  We spend the whole weekend hanging out with friends, eating good food and praising God.  For the first time in several years, we held a talent show!  Our MCs definitely stole the show, and a good time was had by all.  If only it could go on for weeks...

Last night, basketball started again!  I love basketball.  I do.  We start things off with a bang; our first three games are a tournament in Springfield, Mo.  I wish basketball would last all year...

This Monday, I have my first college mid-term.  Dun, dun, dun!  I'm taking French at Meramec  Community College.  It is intense, but I love it.  Mid-terms I love less. A lot less. I wish it would be over already...