Christmas is coming SOON!!!

So...I like Christmas. I love Christmas. I LOVE Christmas. And I am now going to tell you so much about our Christmases that you probably won't even read this whole post =). Oh well, it will be fun to write it.
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For us Christmas starts the day after Thanksgiving...'cause we are just THAT awesome =). We go to Apple Hill, to our favorite Christmas tree farm, Robert's. We have a very high ceiling in our living room so we used to get the twelve-thirteen footers. But last year we got a six or seven foot one, and we really liked it. So I am gonna ask for another smaller one.

We always used to invite friends to our Tree Day expedition, but in the last few years we have been growing up, and most of our friends are either my friends or Zack's friends or what ever. We don't have that many friends who the ENTIRE family would really LOVE to have up for Tree Day, who aren't already busy. And this is a special day for us so it has to be a family that we ALL love. So for the last few years we haven't invited anyone. But this year I had an inspired idea (yes it was mine, and never let anyone tell you different =P) on the way home from dance class, my dad and I were discussing how to get some friends up to our house and it hit me "Dad, lets ask them to come for Tree Day!" It was a perfect idea. Every one agreed. Dad texted Mrs. Krouse, and she said they could come! We still aren't sure if the boys can come (it would be very sad if they can't) but we love Mr. and Mrs. Krouse and we are gonna have tons of fun with them =).

Now the Bitter Drop in the cup, there are three drops actually.

Bitter Drop number one: Madelaine (my older/only sister) is at collidge and can't get home for Thanksgiving or - more importantly - Tree Day. Sniff sniff

Bitter Drop number two: Zack (my oldest brother) has to go to WORK on Tree Day. Sniff sniff sniff.

Bitter Drop number three (which isn't all bitter, but is somewhat bitter): My brothers' friends have created a tradition of having a FOOTBALL game on TREE DAY! How dare they? But the not-so-bitter side of this is; I get to spend the afternoon by my self listening to my Christmas music, baking and decorating the house. Which is pretty fun =).

Actually the fact that the Krouse boys might not be able to come is a possible Bitter Drop number four. But I can't very well put it as a Bitter Drop 'cause we don't know if it is gonna happen =). __________________________________________________________________________

I play the piano. Not very well, but I do  play. And that is another reason I love Christmas. Carols, are surprisingly easy to play (and make sound pretty good). The first Christmas carol of the year that I play is Oh Christmas Tree when we bring in the Christmas tree and set it up in the living room.
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Technically we don't start playing/listening to Christmas music 'till Tree Day, but I always start a little early, when I am by my self...like now =).
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Our Christmas tradition pretty much ROCKS. I give you permission to copy it if you want to, but never forget that we started it =).

We start putting presents under the tree as soon as we have them (or if you think ahead as soon as you have the tree). At least us kids do. Mom and Dad put the ones from them under the tree while they stuff our stockings, after we are all in bed. We always eat Christmas Eve Dinner out on our upstairs deck, by candle light. We have bread and cheese and sparkling cider, and read the Christmas story. Then we go to church. When we get home we open one 'tree present' each, decide on a time to open stockings the next morning and go to bed, while Mom and Dad stuff our stockings.

The next morning we all come out as we wake up...or at least us kids do. Mom and Dad lie in bed talking loudly until the appointed time. In resent years my younger brother and I then go drag our older brothers out of bed, and we open the stockings. Then we eat Dutch Babies for breakfast. No we are not cannibals, Dutch Babies are also known as German Pancakes or Puff Oven Pancakes. They are SUBLIME!!! After that we open the rest of the 'tree presents'. That's pretty much as far as tradition takes us. After that it's just hang out and have a good time, 'till dinner. We have a really good dinner, the content of which varies. Sometimes it's honey baked ham, sometimes  it's Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding. But - like I said - it is ALWAYS really good =).
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That's all for now =). I wonder how many people have actually read this far?

Love Y'all!
Claire

P.S. You might have noticed the Christmasy new template? Yeah well...I told you I LOVE Christmas =)

Fly

This is my room and it's robin's egg blue and it's got a few crack in the ceiling 
This is my street where the minutemen meet and dad says that i'll never be leaving
I'm ten years old but i know how to smoke and the drinks help to cure the bad feelings
This is my home and the sticks and the stones are made up of the darkest of things

But in my dreams i can fly and i soar and my feet touch the sky and it seems i can go anywhere it i try 
And the world's not so dark when the cloulds make it white 
If there's no hope, tell me why in my dreams i can fly

Here come the tears and i cover my ears and i swear i can hear my own heart-beat
When they stop fighting to turn out the lights i pretend that i'm already sleeping
After the violence Alone in the silence just me and the secret i'm keeping
My dad tells me i'm not worth anything and i've almost admitted defeat 

But in my dreams I can fly and i soar and my feet touch the sky and it seems i can go anywhere if i try                                  And the world's not so dark when the cloulds make it white
If there's no hope, tell me why in my dreams i can fly
In my dreams i can fly

This is my room and it's robin's egg blue and it's got a few crack in the ceiling 
This is my home and the sticks and the stones are made up of the darkest of things
After the violence alone in the silence just me and the secret i'm keeping
My dad tells me i'm not worth anything and i've almost admitted it

But in my dreams i can flyand i soar and my feet touch the sky and it seems i can go anywhere it i try
And the world's not so dark when the coulds make it white
If there's no hope, tell me why in my dreams i can fly

And my feet touch the sky and it seems i can go anywhere if i try
And the world’s not so dark when the clouds make it white
If there's no hope, tell me why in my dreams i can fly
If there's no hope, tell me why in my dreams i can fly
If there's no hope, tell me why in my dreams ï can fly...

-Bobby Jo Valentine

Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsforsong.net/ 

Ballet

I started taking ballet the end of last August. I LOVE it! I am not on point (obviously, since I just started) but I hope to get there someday. I will never be a real ballerina since I started so late...but still =).

Name this movie/play

"I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone. The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever. If it did, it would prove a serious danger to the upper classes, and probably lead to acts of violence in Grosvenor Square."


"To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose both looks like carelessness"


"Good heavens, I suppose a man may eat his own muffins in his own garden. "
"But you have just said it was perfectly heartless to eat muffins!"
"I said it was perfectly heartless of YOU under the circumstances. That is a very different thing."        "That may be, but the muffins are the same!"



"I'll bet you anything you like that half an hour after they have met, they will be calling each other sister." 
"Women only do that when they have called each other a lot of other things first."

"Your will be done"

Today my mom, my little brother, and I are going to go out to a movie. My brother hasn't desided what movie yet. It's between, Harry Potter, (which he hasn't seen yet =O) Pirates Of The Carabian, (which he also hasn't seen yet =O) Cowboys And Alians, (which none of us have seen yet) and Capt. Amarica. I am voting for one of the first three.

12:00am Phone rings. We are not going to a movie. Mom - as soon as she has dropped my older sister off at the bus station to go back to college - starts driving to Palo Alto. My grandmother's cousin (who we have always been pretty close to on acount of her having been an only child that never married) has had a stroke. We are all praying, but would apretiate you doing the same. Natallie is the same age as my grandmother who died last January, but I really, really don't want her to die. Please God let her not die. But then if she has had a stroke and lives she will probably never walk again, and possably be unable to function in some other equally important way, and I know that she would hate that, she might rather die. I don't know what to pray, and I don't know what to want. I'll just say "Your will be done Lord." 'cause God knows what is right and what is best. I can cast all my cares apon him and he will give me rest. I didn't mean for that to rhyme but I am not going to change it. I think I am going to go write a poem about it. (Or I would if I knew how to write poetry).

New Classic

Ok, little disclamer, I am not a Disney Chanel or a High School Musical fan, but this is just such a good song I can't help loving it, even though it is Drew Seeley and Selena Gomez!

Megan Nicole

I have found a new favorite artist. Megan Nicole is coming out with her first single on the 16th. I can't wait to hear what her original music sounds like, if it is any thing like as good as her covers than, well I'm hooked! Check out the link below, she has a bunch of stuff up on youtube, so be sure to listen to some of it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcxhgdXivYY&playnext=1&list=PL5B28FCCA83263618

If I were rich...

I would dress in Burberry.

Can you say classy?

Can you say cute?

Can you say awesome?

If you answer yes to all of the above than you can say Burberry.

=)

Sunday

Today friends are coming over, the guys are going to go over to the granny-flat to watch THE GAME, I have no idea what game but I am sure they will enjoy it. The girls are going to stay here at the big house and do... who knows what =). It promoses to be a fun afternoon. Hannah and I are probably going to plan the joint birthday party that we want to have this summer... her birthday is in January and mine in February... that's why I love Hannah =). PJ (Petra Joy)  and I are probably just going to laugh hysterically about nothing in particular but it will be fun any way =).

I love those girls. They are both graduating from high school this year, which means that they will graduate from our debate club. Which means that we won't see them as much.

Another family has left our speech and debate club this year, the Smiths. Era and Anya had become two of my closest friends latly, I will miss them very, very much. They live far away from us and I doubt that I will ever see them again. They are gone.

Other friends have graduated, moved on, or are going to live in Kenya for a year, but there will be new friends, there will be, I know it. There always are. This does not mean that I will forget the old friends but, life goes on and I will go on with it. Plus some of them will come back, the Kjs won't live in Kenya for ever.

Some day...

Some day I am going to live in  Monterosso Italy and I am going to have a cafe called il caffè ombrello a righe or in English The Striped Umbrella Cafe.

I Do

It's always been about me, myself, and I
I thought relationships were nothing but a waste of time
I never wanted to be anybody's other half
I was happy saying I had love that wouldn't last
That was the only way I knew 'til I met you

You make we wanna say
I do, I do, I do, do do do do do do do
Yeah, I do, I do, I do, do do do do do do do
Cause every time before it's been like
Maybe yes and maybe no
I can live without it, I can let it go
Ooh what did I get myself into?
You make we wanna say I do, I do, I do, I do, I do, I do

Tell me is it only me
Do you feel the same?
You know me well enough to know that I'm not playing games
I promise I won't turn around and I won't let you down
You can trust I've never felt it like I feel it now
Baby there's nothing, there's nothing we can't get through

So can we say
I do, I do, I do, do do do do do do do
Oh baby, I do, I do, I do, do do do do do do do
Cause every time before it's been like
Maybe yes and maybe no
I won't live without it, I won't let it go
What more can I get myself into?
You make we wanna say

Me, a family, a house, a family
Ooh, can we be a family?
And when I'm eighty years old I'm sitting next to you

And we'll remember when we said
I do, I do, I do, do do do do do do do
Oh baby, I do, I do, I do, do do do do do do do
Cause every time before it's been like
Maybe yes and maybe no
I won't live without it, I won't let us go
Just look at what we got ourselves into
You make we wanna say I do, I do, I do, I do, I do, I do,
Love you
- Colbie Caillat

Are you wondering where in the heck that last post came from?

It came from the fact that I am reading a book called What Would Audrey Do? It is a great book. It's all about Audrey Hepburn, her life, her dreams, her insecureties (yes she had them), her career, and her death. If you love Audrey than I would definetly recomend this book. Or if you are a guy and your, sister/girl friend/ wife loves Audrey and you want to know how the heck she knows that Audrey liked dogs but not cats or perfered dark chocolat to milk chocolat or what ever =).

I want to be like this woman...

Not only was she beauiful, and a fashion icon, she was smart, funnie and had a tremendous heart for the poor. She was a wonderful mother and a delightful co-worker. She was generous and refined. What's strange is, that although so many people envy her easey 110 pounds, the reason was, she grew up in Holland during World War II and was hugly mal-nourished from the time she was 11 up to the time she was 16, the time when girls grow the most.   

 Also, she wasn't much of a cat person, but one of her favorite things was to feed buttered toast to her dogs. She had a beautiful home in Switzerland to which she would disapear for a weekend. And her first two husbands were unfaithful to her. Ok granted I am a girl, but really? Why? Doesn't that seem so beyond rediculous? 

Little tid-bit, Audrey Hepburn wrote letters and signed them "<3 Audrey" Isn't that cute?



Latest from Netflix...

Poppies

Rainbow

I'm still feelin the rain fall
And bouncin off my skin
How long do I have to wait for
The sun to shine again
Come on paint me the rainbows
I can follow it
I don't know where it'll take me
But I like wonderin

Wherever you are
Where will you be
Are you the same or
Dreamin after waitin only for me
Waiting for love
Waiting for the same or
Dreamin on the other side
Hoping no matter how far I'll find my way to you
Followin a rainbow

I'm gonna stop in the middle
Hang my feet off the edge
I got no reason to worry
I know I'll find the end
That's where you'll be waiting
I hope you don't forget
That I wont quit till I find you
No matter the risk

Wherever you are
Where will you be
Are you the same or
Dreamin after waiting only for me
Waiting for love
Waiting for the same or
Dreamin on the other side hoping that
No matter how far I'll find my way to you
Followin a rainbow

Stuck in my mind
I'm wasting time
I'm still on my own
I never thought that I would find my way
Into the light
Dreamin to find
Who ever you are

Wherever you are
Where will you be
Are you the same or
Dreamin on the other side waiting for me
Waiting for love
Waiting for the same or
Dreamin on the other side hoping that
No matter how far I'll find my way to you
Followin a rainbow

Ooohooohooohooooh yea yea yea...
I know we're gonna find it
I know we're gonna find it
I'm never gonna let you go
I know I'm gonna find you
I know I'm gonna find you
I wont let you go

Followin the rainbow
Followin the rainbow
Followin followin
Followin the rainbow
I'm followin a rainbow

Whoa whoa whoa...

Followin the rainbow
Followin the rainbow
Followin followin

Another new template, and more

Again it is not red, but it is springy and that is what is important on April 2. I love huming birds, and I love blue, so this is perfect.

Now for the "more" I am going to paint my room! At the moment it is apple green with a border of stencled flowers and ivy around the top of the wall. I am going to paint it yellow.

Very yellow.

I want to put sheer white curtains in the window, maybe with little blue polka-dots!

My random paintings

St. Patrick's Day

No really, I am! But sorry, you can't =).

Red shoes

 I love red shoes!

Cream puffs

Yesterday I made cream puffs. And they worked! Thanks to Simone Beck, Louisette Berthole, Julia Child and Mastering The Art Of French Cooking they actually worked. And tasted GOOD!!! I have several before pictures that my mom took.

 But I don't have many afters... They were almost all gone before I got the chance to take any. Luckily I was able to save a few for Daddy... and for pictures =).

I know the custerd filling looks yellow but that is just the lighting. It was actually a delicious cream color.