The Highlights of 2018 - Part Two

  Today has to be one of the loveliest and sunniest days yet of this year (never mind the fact that it has only been two weeks) and so with the beautifully glistening snow outside my window to keep me company as I write, I shall set about creating another post.

  I left off after finishing the month of April so I shall pick up with May.

The Highlights of 2018 - Part Two

             May

•  I practiced my parking skills
• We finished school and entered summer break
• I started a scripture writing challenge that I found on Pinterest
• My sister Diane and our little brother Sean went splashing through our creek
• Diane went to a cookout with her friends
• I baked cupcakes for our homeschool group
• I got an Instagram account
• All of my friends were persuaded to play carpet ball with me
• I decided to "wing" making a dress, including creating the pattern
• I was gifted an adorable silver spoon
• Mum picked up Downton Abbey at the library and I established a tea and movie time each week
• I parked our vehicle successfully without hogging three spots (which is actually possible)
• Mum and one of her friends had lunch dates and went walking (I tagged along once)
• The home school group play was had and I said goodbye to the group for the last time
• The dress I tried to "wing" sewing got stuffed into an unobtrusive corner in my closet
• Dad and Eldon went to a lumber exposition 
• Eldon officially got a girlfriend (who turned out to be my best friend from childhood)
• Diane and I took up playing tennis
• Eldon graduated from school
• Eldon and I attended a folk music concert

            June

• I accidentally ran into one of my best friends at the library
• Eldon and I attended one of our friend's graduation party
• All of us siblings learned how to play slapjack
• Mum took us to a beautiful old graveyard where I held a frog that used my hands as its restroom
• My family (excepting Eldon and I) went to a wedding of my Mum's brother
• Eldon and I attended several youth events
• My friend and I went walking and then made homemade donuts
• One of Diane's friends came over to have a cupcake baking day
• My family went exploring at Cooper's Rock (where us children bought some pretty quartz)
• Eldon and his girlfriend and her brother and a friend and I all started hanging out on Sunday evenings
• A giant white duck chased my family (and we were in a vehicle!)
• We all went wild strawberry picking
• We all tried kombucha for the first time and I decided it's delicious
• One of my dear friends got married
• One of my cousins asked Eldon and I to be table waiters at her upcoming wedding
• I got a bank account
• Mum, Diane, Sean, and I cleaned out our basement
• My Dad treated us all to pizza
• Diane and her best friend started having library days where they went to the library and then spent an afternoon together reading books and nibbling on snacks
• I sent in an application to a transcription company

          July 

• Dad took Diane, Sean, and I on a hike with the goal to reach a bridge where we would sit and watch trains pass underneath  
• Eldon and I went to watch the fireworks in town with some friends
• Dad and Eldon worked from home for a little while
• Dad and Mum gave me a bouquet of roses just because they loved me (and they gave Diane a special gift as well)
• The transcription company I applied for accepted me and I was enrolled in training (I wasn't given a job but depending on how training went I would become a transcriptionist)
• My friend asked me to come over to her place where we stroked her cats, watched movies, and went berry picking 
• My family went on a hike to a darling little covered bridge where the more adventurous of us walked over the wet rocks and crossed under the bridge (being careful not to get swept up in the waterfall)
• My sister and I went raspberry picking 
• We attended my cousin's wedding and I got to talk with all of my beloved cousins again 
• We went back to school shopping
• We butchered chickens (a most gruesome task no matter how informative or useful)
• Dad played baseball with Diane, Sean, and I
• I got to drive on a big road for the first time ever (the kind where you drive at an unholy speed whilst weaving among potential life threats)
• My family attended the graduation party of Eldon's girlfriend and I baked cupcakes for the event
• We started up school again
• Mum bought happy planners for us all and so Diane, Mum, and I began planning
• Diane and I watched our first opera, perhaps you've heard of Semiramide? 
• I actually got to sit under a weeping willow tree as the sun set

            August

•  I baked some sesame seed bread (my first enriched bread recipe ever aside from the disastrous brioche I once tried to create)
• Mum made bunches of sweetcorn; so much that we were up to our ears in it (pun completely intended)
• I was promoted in advance and became a full transcriptionist
• Mum took us all to feed the ducks at the pond by our library (Sean was almost run over by the greedy little things)
• One of Mum's brothers and his family stopped in for short visit
• Mum and Dad had a date night at one of their favorite restaurants
• Eldon became engaged
• I met my Sunday school teachers at one of my favorite restaurants
• Mum, Sean, Diane, and I went blackberry picking
• My best friend and I went bike riding with her family
• Eldon and his fiancee started having pizza nights with my family once a week
• I finished reading through my whole Bible (it had been a goal)
• We went to our country fair 
• We watched bull riding (live) and I was thrilled when I found out that one of the bulls had been in the PBR
• One of my good friends invited me over to her house where we chatted in a hammock (I love hammocks) and then baked cupcakes
• Diane officially entered senior youth at our church after saying goodbye to junior youth
• We went to the fair a second time and Dad gifted Diane and I with some money which we could spend on anything we pleased
• We went to the Flight 93 memorial
• Eldon's fiancee and her brother came over to play baseball like we used to back when we all little children
• I was introduced to the books written by Harold Hill (some of the best books out there)

  The summer months were very busy for my entire family and even more precious memories were created. My desire for adventure was nourished and I enjoyed many delightful adventures both alone and accompanied by family. 

The Highlights of 2018

  The year of 2018 was a very long and eventful one for not only me but also my entire family. There were plenty of beautiful moments that I shall cherish for the rest of my life and there were some moments that weren't quite as grand (I believe most people call these the highs and lows of life) but in today's blog post I shall choose to focus on all of the positive things that happened, both big and small.

  One of my 2018 goals had been to complete six diaries, or one every two months, I didn't quite meet this goal for just yesterday I finished my sixth diary of 2018. I'm quite fond of my little stack and therefore I shall share a picture of them with you.

   I shall consult these friends of mine for today's post because my memory isn't wonderful enough to remember what happened in all of the months of 2018. But, before I jump into the highlights of my past year I must first introduce you to my diaries since that is the only proper thing to do. Starting from left to right I would like for you to say hello to Charlotte, Ella, Lavender, Annie, Luna, and Avril. Now that you have met them, I can continue.

      The Highlights of 2018

             January

•  I earned a 90% in my Algebra on the second day of January, of which I was immensely proud. 
• One of my dear friends announced her engagement
• I made a goal to become more outgoing (especially concerning talking to people I didn't know)
• I read the Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
• I fell in love (with strawberry mint soap that is) 
• My family had dentist appointments and I got to sit in a chair with electrical malfunctions
• I got to meet a bunch of new people 
• Diane and I did some rather painful face masks
• My brother bought his first vehicle
• I turned sixteen            

            February

• I made a goal to expand my vocabulary
• My Dad and I finished a very large puzzle whilst becoming crazier the longer it took
• My Mum, Diane, and I had a bit of an "Austin and Ally" watching fest filled with tons of laughter
• All of us celebrated the Superbowl with plenty of good food (I managed to avoid the game all day and then walked in the room just as the Eagles won, I'm rather skilled)
• I gave up frivolous technology for Lent
• Dad and I went shopping and I managed to hit every corner in the store with my shopping cart
• My little brother learned the fine art of "testing" cookie dough
• The winter Olympics began
• Eldon (the oldest brother) began going to gym night with the youth
• I had to take my physical to qualify for a learner's permit
• Dad surprised Mum with pink roses
• I received a letter from a "twin" 
• I got my learner's permit
• My siblings (excepting Sean) starting going to gym night with the youth 
• I got my first driving lesson
• My family got a new vehicle

           March

• My family all cared for me while I was quite ill
• My siblings and I began going to another youth gathering at our church
• An adorable little girl declared  me to be her puppy
• We got to have Krispy Kreme Donuts
• My Mum took my sister to her best friend's birthday party
• Eldon and I signed up to take part in the Easter Choir at church 
• Mum, Diane, and I spring cleaned our storage room
• I began creating menus including recipes from a Rachel Khoo cookbook that my Mum gifted
• I actually got a 96% on an Algebra test
• Dad set up a bird feeder
• We celebrated Eldon's birthday

            April

• Eldon and I sang in the Easter choir at church
• I fell in love (with ping pong, that is)
• Mum became the owner of a beautiful Bible journal
• One of my friends and I decided to do a competition to see who could do the most algebra
• Mum gifted me with a lovely devotional set
• Us womenfolk (in the words of my diary) decided spontaneously to throw a birthday party for Diane
• We attended a reptile viewing at our library
• We actually had gorgeous weather for a day
• We celebrated Mum's birthday
• One of our cousins spent a little more than a week with us to help celebrate Mum's and Diane's birthdays
• I was introduced to the game of carpet ball which I loved immensely 
• I bought six books from the library for sixty-five cents
• My Dad pulled a newborn calf out of the creek saving it's life and then fell in himself 

 
  It seems that this post would be insufferably long if I were to list all the great moments from the entire year of 2018, so I shall break it up into three posts of which this one is the first. So many of the lovely little occurrences I listed above deserve more than just a small spot as a bulleted sentence so I shall have to turn them into blog posts in the future. What were some of the highlights of your year? I would love it if you'd tell me in a comment.

  Until some later date, fare thee well.  

D ~ Dear Diary

  I am well aware of how late I am getting this post made, and I apologize for that, but life just occupied most of my time today and between having plumbing issues, spending hours spring cleaning Diane's and my room, doing school etc, it's no wonder I'm getting to my post late in the day.

  I'm sure a good few of you are aware of what my Awk+Awe posts are, and I have just recently had my single most embarrassing moment in my entire life, which I recorded affectionately with many a grimace in my diary. And lucky for you, not only do you get to read my diary, but you get to learn about an awkwardly embarrassing moment in a person's life that you most likely don't even know. (I know for a fact I love random awkward stories from complete strangers.)

  My experience was as follows:

Dear Anne,

  Oh why did I have to have such a very Rose day?!
  The event I had to live through (unfortunately,) happened at my home school group when we were playing jeopardy. It was my turn to walk up and take my seat, I marched over to  my chair, my hand was readied to slap onto my buzzer, I sized up my opponents and felt ready to tackle the world.
  The category my friend Ryder chose was "Capitals" I awaited eagerly for the question, which turned out to be "What is the capital of Hawaii?" Oh, that was an easy question, I was so ready and totally had the answer in the bag, I smacked down on my buzzer with the adrenaline that rushed through me, this was terrific!
  I was the first out of a chain of buzzer thumps and I felt utterly victorious, then all of a sudden my brain blanked, it felt like time was ticking insanely loudly as I frantically hurried through the vast barrenness that was my mind, searching desperately for anything at all that was related to Hawaii.
  The time was ticking, I could feel the tension in the room, then at long last my brain latched onto something Hawaiian and feeling utterly confident I yelled the fateful word into the air.
  Heads turned and shrieks of disbelief clouded the air, as raucous laughter followed my statement. My mind clouded with confusion, and then the word that I had shouted registered in my mind, into the silence I had hollered "Aloha!!"
  Instant death by a lightning strike would have been welcome, my cheeks glowed as red as the lava in a Hawaiian volcano, no one believed me when I said I knew it was Honolulu. Oh Anne! I fear I shall forever be remembered as the Aloha girl!

  Surely my fellow bloggers, you must understand the true courage it took for me to bare such an atrocity of my past with you, but, till tomorrow, Aloha.

My Dear Diary ~ A Morning Spent Shopping

  I don't know about you, but to me spending an afternoon, or evening, or whenever really, scribbling away in my diary is a pretty perfect way to use up my time and document my life in a pleasing and enjoyable manner. Even though the idea of having my life recorded is terrific, it is the fact that I can write absolutely whatever I fancy at the moment into my diary that makes me love it so much. Plus, my diary is like a friend to me, however strange that may sound.

  Now I did not plan to go about making a blog post consisting of nothing but yapping about my diary so I shall not turn it into that now. My point for writing this post was to tell you about my morning that I spent shopping, I am only giving you a proper introduction to my diary because today you shall get to meet her because I have had a pretty terrific morning that can only be told to you properly if I go and share my diary entry about it with you.

  But, before I begin, there is one thing that you must know about my diary, and that particular bit of information is that her name is Arabella, I don't know why I chose that name but she looked a bit British so I went with it.

  Now that I have given you that vital bit of information I can share my morning with you just as I did with Arabella. Well, everything but my handwriting, which you can be glad you don't have to view since this font is a lot more legible.

Dear Arabella,

  Though it is only 3:27 in the afternoon, I was in the mood to write so here I hideout in my room, secluded efficiently from most of reality. Isn't that terrific?!
  This morning at around nine, Mum whisked Diane, Sean, and I off to to go about some shopping for Christmas supplies and various other items.
  My lower back was doing a splendid job of hurting and throbbing uncontrollably, so that made for an interesting ride into town. I didn't care too much though, because everyone knows that physical comfort is overrated. #sarcasm
  Once we had arrived at the store Mum led us all to the Christmas section of the store which seemed to be branched off as another building. That building had frequently opened doors so lots of cheery birds were flying around chirping incessantly. I was in awe of all the supplies in the Christmas department, we browsed for a while and Mum selected several rolls of wrapping paper and a large container of gorgeous ornaments. I could have spent hours in that department doing nothing but sighing over perfectly darling ornaments and so on.
   Sadly however, we left to finish up the rest  of our shopping . Since it's Christmas season, there were exceeding amounts of elf balloons everywhere. They were floating over shelves, and peeking from behind boxes, and some were basking in the warmth of the ceiling lights. Sean didn't seem overly impressed about them, but that only amused me.
  Mum took us to select winter boots then and I have to admit that I was a touch upset over how Mum made me get a pair of boots suited for orcs instead of a lovely pair that I wanted. I believe as Mum put it "you have to be practical, you're using these outside in the snow, it's not like you're using them to go to church or something." Can you believe that?! I'd much rather be cold and stylish than warm and sporting boots that orcs would fancy.
  However, Arabella, all thoughts of fashion problems were soon forgotten when I arrived to the tea section and was informed that I could select anything that suited my fancy. Naturally I chose the "English Breakfast Tea" knowing that once I arrived at home that Dad and I would have to thoroughly look over the assets of the tea, noting it's flavour notes and so on.
  Once we had checked out and were leaving, the store's greeter took one look at our tub of ornaments and immediately began telling Mum how he decorated his tree with purple ornaments and how the tinsel we had selected didn't actually look that pretty on the tree. Mum tried to politely edge away from all of his excessive chatter but that man followed us right along. I don't know exactly why but he struck one of my many absurd funny bones.


  That was only an excerpt from my diary but I believe it served to tell you about my morning spent shopping. You see, sometimes I can explain things better to Arabella than anyone else.