Just One More

I decided that I would write just one more post to close out the year.  It's 8:04 right now and in 3 hours and 56 minutes it will be 2012.  I know it already is in a large portion of the world, such as Jerusalem or Amsterdam.  But I'm going to savor the last few hours of 2011 and make the most of them.  Have a happy new year, see you in 2012!!!

Coming Home

I just spent 4 days in New Orleans with my mom.  We toured and shopped and it was great.  The best part was the food.  I'm going to dream about bananas foster and chocolate freezes for weeks.

When we got home, we waited in the airport because Big Pain's plane was coming in 15 minutes after ours.  We stood at the exit of the gate waiting for him to come, and couldn't help noticing there was a large group of people waiting at the exit, including people holding signs, American flags, and there was even a woman holding a very new baby.  At first we weren't sure who they were greeting, but we soon figured out that they were greeting a soldier.  There was a TV camera and everyone cheered as he came through the exit. It was heartwarming.

It's nice to be home, and I hope that every soldier got a welcome that warm as the one we saw at the airport.  Merry late Christmas and Happy (Even though it's over) Hanukka and have a great new year if I'm not on again before then.

Still No Snow

The only time this year there has been snow in my area was in November or October, and it was a super-light sprinkle that didn't stick and did nothing for me getting a snow day.  We have usually had snow at least one by the end of winter break, but the break is half over.  We have no snow.  It's cold, sure, but not cold enough for me to not wear short sleeves.  I'm really sad.  Everyone else gets snow! IT'S NOT FAIR.

My Dislike Of Certain Condiments

My mom was eating something with mustard, and I was like, Eew.  Mustard. 


That was when I realized that I really don't appreciate--or enjoy--mustard.


I apologize to you mustard lovers.  I am what I am, and I am a mustard hater.

Winter Break At Last!

I am finally on winter break. I'm so excited! I think that these next few weeks of rest are well earned.

My mom's taking me to New Orleans for a few days. She went to college and law school there, so she's going to show me all around.

A few days ago I made latkes. You know, potato pancakes fried in oil that we eat for Hanukkah. I've had so many that I'm kind of tired of them.

Actually, I'm excited that I'm on break, but I'm sad because I only have one more semester at my school and then I have to leave and go to a secondary school. I'll be really sad but it's inevitable because I've been there for 8 years and my school graduates in 6th grade.

I've watched Toy Story and Elf to the point where I can recite the whole script. I've made latkes and spinach soup and I helped make cranberry bread.

One more thing that I forgot:

I'm going to the school spelling bee, again. (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) (See Jan. 15, 2011: "Can You Spell Awesome? I Can. C-U-P-C-A-K-E", as well as Dec. 14, 2009: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!")

I made alternate in the Geography Bee (see Dec. 18, 2009: "More Smart Stuff"), meaning if someone is out sick or something I'm in. (See Jan. 16, 2010: "Wassup Internet?")

Feeling Saintly

Today my mother and I went to Kmart. I have never been to Kmart before, and we weren’t even there to shop.

We went to the Layaway counter and paid off all but a few cents of two layaway accounts.

See, we read this article about a woman who walked into Kmart and asked to pay off layaway accounts. She paid for three, and they all included children’s toys.

That was really inspirational to us. And it wasn’t just us who was inspired to do that. People all around the country have done it. Three of them:

One of them

Another one

One more

When we went to the counter and asked if we could pay off layaway accounts, the woman at the counter was baffled. She didn’t understand what we were doing, but she went with it. The second woman to come to the counter knew what we were doing. She thought it was great, and called it “Secret Santas.” Strangely enough, as she was helping us, another Secret Santa came in to do the same thing. She brought us a list of accounts, and we chose two to pay. We left a penny on both of them.

I feel absolutely saintly.

So does my mother.

Christmas Movies For 6th Graders

One of the best movies EVER is Elf. I've known about this movie since longer than I can remember, and I've enjoyed it for just as long.

See, what's so special about this movie is that it would be horrible if it didn't star Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf.























Today we watched it in class as part of our winter break party. My friend and I had been discussing how great it was previously, so we both started squealing when they announced that they were showing it. We knew so many of the best quotes, and we were so excited.

We weren't the only ones, apparently.

There were probably around fifteen kids in the room, and more than half of us hummed along to the opening tune and recited the code of elves. (Treat every day like Christmas. There's room for everyone on the nice list. The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.)

Of course, we all knew all the good quotes. Some of the best:

Buddy: [phone rings, Buddy picks it up] Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?

Buddy: We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.

Buddy: I just like to smile, smiling's my favorite

Buddy: I passed through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, and then I walked through the Lincoln Tunnel. (A personal favorite of mine)


Buddy: [reacting to sign saying "World's Best Cup of Coffee"] You did it! Congratulations! World's best cup of coffee! Great job, everybody! It's great to be here.

Buddy: I'm a cotton-headed ninny-muggins.

Emily: So, Buddy, how'd you sleep?
Buddy: Great! I got a full 40 minutes!

Buddy: [after getting off an elevator with a man] Oh, I forgot to give you a hug!

I think you get the idea.

Book Fair Without Borders

Last night I went to my school book fair at BARNES AND NOBLE. I had tried to stay positive, but
  1. it was kind of crowded, and we couldn't move around as much
  2. we were wrapping gifts for free, and I discovered that I'm no better at it than I was when I was six
  3. the cafe wasn't as fun
  4. they didn't have as much stuff
  5. gift cards weren't going towards the school
But, it was still okay. Not as great, but still okay.

But I still miss Borders.

Winter Choir Concert

Yesterday was my choir's "holiday" concert. It's mainly a Christmas concert but holiday concert sounds nicer.

My choir was the fifth group to perform. We were the last group before intermission and we sang our little hearts out. Not so little, actually. There are high-schoolers in the group.

During intermission, we (well, at least I did) practiced for our audience carol, Angels We Have Heard on High, in which all the groups come out to sing the finale when Angels We Have Heard on High is over. It was really fun.

My grandparents came, and so did my aunt and uncle, and the soldier that my grandparents met at the symphony once and kind of adopted. He's really nice. My music teacher came, too, because we had extra tickets.

According to my mother, this was the best concert I have been in in the five years I have been in the choirs. My only regret is that I did not get to see the younger kids perform A Charlie Brown Christmas. I heard it was really funny.

Barnes And Noble

Yesterday my mom and I went to Barnes and Noble. I still can't get over Borders going out of business; it draws tears to my eyes every time we pass one of their former locations.

Moving on. Back to Barnes and Noble.

At one point, my mom said, "I wish there would be an annotated version of A Tale of Two Cities." My mom loves annotated versions of books. In response, I said, "It would be twice as long, and then it would be A Tale of Four Cities." Then I started cominng up with other funny things, like, "An abridged version of A Tale of Two Cities would just be A Tale of One City."

Mahna mahna.



No School Tomorrow!

I have no school tomorrow! I'm really excited. My school doesn't have a ton of days off. I'm going to make the best of tomorrow.

Anyway, I feel compelled to put something else in this post. This is a picture I took at camp this summer. My cabin was seriously ten feet away from the waterfront and the racks where we stored the canoes and boards and everything. I got this picture, well, I can't remember when. But isn't it nice?
















Yeah. Yeah it is.

I Am A Winner!

For the past month or so, I have been laboring over writing a novel. Just about ten minutes ago, I met my word count. I haven't finished my novel, but I surpassed my word count goal.

See, November is NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. People everywhere have been writing nonstop, including me, and right around now is when everyone is meeting their word count goals.

I'M A WINNER!

If you're interested in NaNoWriMo or their April play writing project Script Frenzy, I suggest starting at nanowrimo.org.

Now I must go throw confetti and have my own little ticker-tape parade outside as I celebrate my victory. Bye!

I Look Like A Dork, But At Least Everyone Else Does, Too

My choir uniform is bizarre. Here is a diagram of it if you don't believe me.

The red robe is actually fun.









But what we wear under it is dreadful.

We wear white polo shirts with the choir logo in red. They aren't too bad.

The worst part is the skirts.

The boys are lucky. They wear pants. There is an older group that wears tuxedos and dresses. Those are cool. And the younger kids all wear pants and tuxedo shirts.

But the girls? Out of luck. We wear these horrible black skirts over black opaque tights. And we have to tuck the polos into our skirts. If we weren't all so darn youthful, we could look like we were in our 60's.

Today I had a mandatory dress rehearsal for our Holiday Concert.

After we finished, I was starving, so my mom took me to a grocery store to get something for lunch. I decided it would be fun to wear the whole uniform in, including the robe, and count how many funny looks I got while wearing it.

The thing is, people do look at you funny if you wear a polo shirt tucked into a long, ugly black skirt, and a red robe. Especially on a weekend.

It was fun.

Harry Potter!

Last night I watched the eight Harry Potter movie with a friend. It was, you know, a delight. We were enjoying it and giving each other random trivia. (Did you know that in 1/3 of the scenes that Harry, Ron, and Hermione are featured in, they are wet?) It was fun. So at the part where various teachers and Mrs. Weasley are using charms to make a barrier around Hogwarts, it shows people watching them, and it show the Weasley twins. And it's dramatic, except for... THERE ARE FOUR EARS IN THE SHOT INSTEAD OF THREE! THEY COMPLETELY DISREGARDED THAT ONE OF THE TWINS LOST HIS EAR!

And then I'm watching a Harry Potter marathon on TV, and the fourth movie is on. And it has scenes that aren't in the movie put in, and one of them is right after Beaubatons and Durmstrang (I think I got the names right) walk in, Hogwarts starts singing their school song! It's funny.




I love how everyone gets into it except for Malfoy.

Happy 11/11/11!

Happy 11/11/11! This is kind of exciting. Have a great day!


This is just an absurd picture I made.

Enjoy the rest of your day. Forgive me if you found this post an absolute waste of your precious life.

No Homework!

For what is probably the first time since I've been in 6th grade (a bit over 2 months) I have no homework.

Yeah, that's about it.

The end.

There's Twisting AND Shouting?

To celebrate the 50th birthday of my school, we are singing songs from the sixties and seventies at our Grandparent's Day performance.

So everyone's singing these really old songs that were sung by these really old people.

The sixth grade is singing Twist And Shout by the Beatles.

So today in music, we passed around lyrics sheets and sang it. Well, we attempted to. One boy in my group actually knows the whole song.

So I looked at the lyrics and burst out laughing. Twist And Shout has the most outrageous lyrics, and the singing is even more outrageous.

It's hilarious.
Well, shake it up, baby, now, (shake it up, baby)
Twist and shout. (twist and shout)
Cmon cmon, cmon, cmon, baby, now, (come on baby)
Come on and work it on out. (work it on out)

Well, work it on out, honey. (work it on out)
You know you look so good. (look so good)
You know you got me goin, now, (got me goin)
Just like I knew you would. (like I knew you would, oooh!)

Well, shake it up, baby, now, (shake it up, baby)
Twist and shout. (twist and shout)
Cmon, cmon, cmon, cmon, baby, now, (come on baby)
Come on and work it all out. (work it all out, oooh!)

You know you’re a twisty little girl, (twist little girl)
You know you twist so fine. (twist so fine)
Come on and twist a little closer, now, (twist a little closer)
And let me know that you're mine. (let me know you’re mine oooh)

Ahhhhhhhhhh(root) Ahhhhhhhhhh(third) Ahhhhhhhhhh(fifth) Ahhhhhhhhhhh(seventh) Ahhhhh Ahhhhh Woah, Yeah

Well, shake it up, baby, now, (shake it up, baby)
Twist and shout. (twist and shout)
Cmon, cmon, cmon, cmon, baby, now, (come on baby)
Come on and work it on out. (work it on out, wuu!)

You know you’re a twisty little girl, (twist little girl)
You know you twist so fine. (twist so fine)
Come on and twist a little closer, now, (twist a little closer)
And let me know that you're mine. (let me know you’re mine, wuu!)

Well, shake it, shake it, shake it, baby, now. (shake it up baby)
Well, shake it, shake it, shake it, baby, now. (shake it up baby)
Well, shake it, shake it, shake it, baby, now. (shake it up baby)
Ahhhhhhhhhh(low) Ahhhhhhhhhh(higher) Ahhhhhhhhhh(higher) Ah!(high)

Yup. I laughed too.

Illness Does Not Equal Funness

I have recovered from being sick (pretty much) but my nose is running withing an inch of its life and I'm still coughing a bit. I'm thinking about just cutting off my right nostril, which is the runny one and the one where most of my nosebleeds come from. Hmm... There are scissors next to me... *Evil chuckle*

*Sneeze*

Octoberrrr!

Octoberrr is almost overrr! Wherrre has this yearrr and school yearrr gone? I am almost 12! I am 2 months in to 6th grrrade! I'm wearrring rrreally distrrracting brrracelets on my wrrrists rrright now!

Goodbye!

Ties!!!

About 10 minutes ago I learned how to tie a tie. Then I tied a tie around my neck.

I really like wearing this tie! I'm never taking it off!!!

Halloween Gets Theoretical

I was thinking. Not sure what I was thinking about, but somehow I was thinking about mummies. Like, the Halloween ones. And I realized that Halloween mummies are just zombies dressed up the way the Egyptians buried their dead.

And because I'm an uncreative freak, my Halloween costume is a fake mustache and whatever I find.

Guess Who Stayed Home From School Today.

Whee. Lucky me. I've missed 2 days of school. I've checked my class website for homework assignments, but it can only take me so far. If I'm lucky, today I'll be able to get my hands on the notes Rockstar took for me in class. (Thanks Rockstar!)

My throat hurts. :(

This... is not my best day.

My temperature, as of about one minute ago, is 98.2 degrees. Woohoo.

Still Sick

I have a fever, as of about 20 minutes ago, of 101.1 degrees. My mom won't let me go to school tomorrow.

Sad. :(

Sick

Yesterday I came home from my school's 6th grade camping trip. (Bye the way, it was awesome.) My throat hurt and my legs really hurt. I felt a wee bit (I love using that phrase) dizzy. Well, more than a wee bit. Aaaaand coughing hurt, too.

Last night I had a bit of a fever. Yayyyyy.

Buuuuuuuuuut I feel better now. But my mom's still feverish.

I am a ninja.

All My Life

All my life I wondered when the boys in my grade would become real people and stop having fake gun fights and making dumb, cruel jokes. Oh, and enjoying Star Wars: The Clone Wars so much. Is that too much to ask?

I figured that when we all got to 6th grade, they would feel an overcoming sense of maturity and stop their fake guns and dumb jokes.

Now we all made it to 6th grade, and I have made a discovery:

If they haven't given up the guns and Star Wars by now, which only a few have, they never will.

I will still have to yell at them to "Grow up!" when they start being weird in class.

I will still roll my eyes a lot.

Guess I was wrong all my life.

Thank goodness I'm going to a different school next year.

Real Life NINJAS!

So we were watching this video in science class about muscles, and it was showing these street gymnasts. I was like, cool! Then I was like, whoa! These guys are like ninjas! And I told that to the girl next to me. She agreed.

This is part of the video we watched. It's really cool if you ignore the poor quality and the advertisements.


The Hunger Games Was Meant To Be

Once upon a time, long, long ago...

Wrong. Sorry.

A few years ago, around Spring Break 2009, I sat in a hot tub at a resort in California.

Great start, right?

As I sat in this hot tub, a girl I didn't know sat across from me, blabbing and blabbing and blabbing to her friend about some book. She went on for 15 minutes, and I had no choice but to listen to her speak. And speak. And speak And speak. And eat pudding. And speak.

(She wasn't actually eating pudding. I lied about that.)

So last year, someone convinced me to read The Hunger Games. I read it, and by the time I finished the whole series, I had gone from "Don't like this" to "Love it" to "Hate it."

And then it hit me.

The girl in the hot tub, who I have somehow never forgotten was telling her friend about The Hunger Games.

After years of wondering what that girl was talking about, I found it.

School Lunch

School lunches have a bad reputation of rancid meatloaf and mystery meats. That, however, is not what my school served last year.

Personally, I thought our caterer was amazing. They served farm fresh food, had salad bars on Fridays, and the food was all colorful, tasty, and EDIBLE.

But other people complained so much that they got rid of that program.

This caterer lacks general pizzazz. Sure, their food's kinda good, but it's just not fun.

And sometimes it literally makes me want to throw up...

...like today.

We had chicken, rice, and peapods.

The peapods were cold, mushy, and made me gag. I did not eat them.

The rice was goodish, but mushy.

And the chicken?

It was revolting. I started eating and it was kind of good, but when I got close to the bone, my chicken (and the bone) was RED. And since we just studied the skeletal system in science, I know what the red means.

So I threw that piece of chicken to the side and started on the other one. The same thing happened: it was BLOODY. And when I poked the blood with my fork, it was still liquid.

DISGUSTING.

After lunch, as we were getting ready for class, I saw my friend. She was smiling... and her teeth were stained red. Because she ate the bloody chicken.

Which leads me to wonder...

What are they doing to our food?

What is in my school lunches?

Detective Cupcake is on the case.

I Am Wonderful

Why am I wonderful, you ask? Well, do you even need to ask?

Bad question.

To start, I've been getting great grades so far in 6th grade. I got 99% on a science test, and my language arts teacher loved a paragraph I wrote.

Among other reasons that I am wonderful, I recently made an awesome pie. It was chocolate mocha chiffon, and the greatest pie I have ever laid eyes upon.

And, as the feather in my wonderful cap of wonderfulness, I got my first babysitting job. I'm happy.

*hi mom!*

Sorry I didn't say hi to my other family members, but the stupid guys standing behind a news camera always just say "Hi mom!" Not that I'm stupid. or a guy. or behind a news camera.

Okay, bye bye!

Buh bye!!

Bye!!!



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This makes me laugh.

A Devastated Cupcake Is A Devastated Cupcake

As the title of this post hinted, I am devastated.

Crying into my pillow devastated.

I'm talking 8 quarts of chocolate ice cream devastated.

Like, hiding in my room and never coming out devastated.

Why? you ask. Well, even if you aren't asking that, I appreciate your fake concern.

Some hints as to why I am devastated:


1) It's September 1st
2) I'm 11 years old
3)















And if you are still clueless, I'll tell you.

My acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was a) lost in the mail b) burned by my uncle or c) never sent! And no half-giant kicked down my door to hand me my letter! Which means...

THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS LEFT WITHOUT ME!!!!!

Wait... I have and idea. Does anyone know where I can get a Ford Anglia?


School! But First, A Party!

Yes, do you remember my annual swim party? I'm sure you do.

If you don't remember the party, this might help.

My party is this afternoon. I'm really excited. Although sadly, we're not throwing the watermelon or the sodas in the pool.

:(

I know, right?

But I'm excited anyway.

And then schooooooooooooooooooooooool starts...

Hallooooooo!!!

I am in Washington, DC!

My hotel is cool. You can see the Washington Monument from my window. It is tall and (possibly dangerously) pointy.

Yesterday my mom took me to see the National Museum of American History, National Museum of Natural History, and the National Archives. After that, we went to a Nationals/Reds game.

I'm not sure what we're doing today; I think Ms. Witty is going to take me and Big Pain to the Spy Museum.

On an unrelated note,

OH I JUST CAN'T WAIT TO BE KING!

Guess Who's Back?

I AM!!!!

Miss me? Of course you did.

Anyway, camp was amazing. Going the full season makes it even better than it already is. You get to be around for absolutely everything! I can't wait to go back next year.

But I did miss home. I'm going to see Harry Potter 7 part 2 today (YAY!!!) and tonight, we're having a whole family dinner because me, Big Pain, and all our cousins will be in town. I'm excited.

And I'm going to DC soon. For a Bar Mitzvah. My summer keeps getting better and better-- I've never been there!

One Short Day

One short day until what?

The glorious return of Cupcake and her big brother!

I'm ready.

The Letters Keep Coming In, Along With The Occasional Illustration

Cupcake is a faithful correspondent. I get letters, her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins get letters, and her friends get letters. Many of these letters are even illustrated, in case we can't get the message from the words. For example, a couple of days ago Cupcake's grandfather got a letter consoling him for being grandchild-free, with an illustration of a miniature pie, complete with steam, to represent the pie that Cupcake will make for him after she comes home. This year, for her grandfather's birthday, Cupcake gave him a membership in the Pie of the Month Club, indicating that she will bake a pie for him every month throughout the year. Cupcake loves to bake and she loves to experiment with new recipes, but I have a feeling that every month's pie will be lemon meringue, since that is her grandfather's favorite.

Cupcake and her brother, Big Pain (her words, not mine) will be back home in less than two weeks!

The Letters Keep Coming In, Along With The Occasional Phone Call

Cupcake is a faithful correspondent. I get letters, her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins get letters, and her friends get letters. Many of these letters are even illustrated, in case we can't get the message from the words. For example, a couple of days ago Cupcake's grandfather got a letter consoling him for being grandchild-free, with an illustration of a miniature pie, complete with steam, to represent the pie that Cupcake will make for him after she comes home. This year, for her grandfather's birthday, Cupcake gave him a membership in the Pie of the Month Club, indicating that she will bake a pie for him every month throughout the year. Cupcake loves to bake and she loves to experiment with new recipes, but I have a feeling that every month's pie will be lemon meringue, since that is her grandfather's favorite.

Cupcake and her brother, Big Pain (her words, not mine) will be back home in less than two weeks!

What Can I Do When I Can't Think Of Anything To Say?

I know!! I can invite a guest poster! And here she is:

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, puppies and kitties, Cupcake's mom is proud to present

PIGLET

Also known as Cupcake's Little Friend

Dear Cupcake,

Hi, it's me, “Piglet” (your little friend). I hope you are having fun at camp. I really enjoy getting your letters. Do you get homesick while you’re away for so long? Sometimes I get homesick when I spend the night at my Grandma's, because I miss my home. But I hope that someday I can go to sleep-away camp too, and not get homesick.

I have read almost all the books on my summer reading list and now I am looking for more good books to read. What are some of your favorite books? When I’m done writing this letter, I am going to go back to your blog and feed your fish some more. It’s really fun to feed the fish. I miss you.

Love, Piglet

The Best Kind Of Friendship

Cupcake has a "Little Friend" from school. At their school older kids are matched with younger kids for mentoring, field trips and just play time. The pre-k kids are matched with sixth graders and at the end of the year the graduating sixth graders parade through the campus holding hands with their little friends and everyone throws Froot Loops at them. The fifth graders' little friends are in junior kindergarten; when Cupcake was in JK she was chosen by TWO fifth graders, who both liked what they saw on the playground and shared her all year.

Last year Cupcake was in fifth grade and could not wait to select her Little Friend.

But -- the Little Friend Draft happened to occur on Rosh Hashanah, when we don't work or go to school, so when Cupcake returned to school the next day she learned, to her horror and annoyance, that her Little Friend had been assigned to her and she would have no say in the matter.

Well.

Cupcake was distressed and affronted and convinced that whoever had been assigned to her would turn out to be some scary, horrible kid with fangs that nobody else had picked, and she moaned about her sad lot for days and days. Once they finally met Cupcake grudgingly admitted that her LF wasn't entirely hideous, but still complained about how the draft had been operated and remained convinced that sooner or later LF would turn on her and eat her brains when she wasn't looking.

As the school year progressed Cupcake occasionally let slip a hint of admiration for LF, who waved excitedly from the little kids' playground whenever she spied Cupcake and enjoyed having Cupcake push her on the swings. The deal was sweetened even more when it was discovered that LF's grandparents have been long time friends of Cupcake's grandparents, which makes Cupcake and LF almost long lost relatives. I have it on reliable authority that when Cupcake came in second in the school spelling bee, LF went home and swooned from the excitement of seeing the big friend she idolized on the stage.

By the end of the school year Cupcake couldn't rave enough about her astounding good luck in being assigned the best, most intelligent, most excellent Little Friend in the history of friendship.

She and LF had a playdate before Cupcake left for camp. They exchanged addresses and promised to write each other. Cupcake took a babysitting class so in the fall she can help take care of LF.

Little Friend's mother informed me that Little Friend was delirious upon receiving Cupcake's first note from camp, and insisted on writing an immediate response. According to LF's mother:
She asked me to make lines on the paper, and occasionally shouted out to ask how to spell something, but otherwise, it's all her.
And here it is, a fan letter from a five-year-old:


Way to go, Little Friend!

Big Kisses

Here is the latest in Cupcake Communiques:

Three letters received on the same day: one to Boppo (grandfather), one to Mawmaw (grandmother), and one to me (much admired and beloved Mother), each containing some variation on the same message, to wit:

"I cut my thumb. It hurts. I wish you were here to kiss it."

Well, here you go, Cupcake:

MMWWAAAAAHH!

:-*

While Cupcake's Away

Hello Friends of Cupcake! This is Cupcake's mother updating you because Cupcake's away at camp for TWO WHOLE MONTHS. She left on Sunday and today I got two letters from her in the same envelope. Man, they keep busy there, what with swimming tests, gardening, rock climbing, arts and crafts and S'Moring. Cupcake tells me there are two lambs at the farm; wonder if she can sneak one home in her suitcase. I'd love a pet lamb, wouldn't you?

Okay, let's all talk amongst ourselves about how much we miss Cupcake. I'll start.

I miss Cupcake THIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSS much. Maybe even more.

Now it's your turn.

Adieu!

Goodbye!

At the moment this is posted, my plane (if it's running on schedule) it taking off. Don't be sad, my absence is temporary. My darling mother will keep you posted. Au revoir, Internet!

'Til we meet again,

Cupcake


Pinch Hitter

HI EVERYBODEEE! CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME IN THE BACK???

Great. This is Cupcake's mom and I've been very graciously asked to update Cupcake's blog periodically while she and her brother are away at camp. It's a real honor to be invited to stand in for such an outstanding blogger and I hope I'm up to the task. If anyone has any questions or comments please, don't be shy, and I'll do my best to answer them, or wait until Cupcake returns in August. K?

So. How'm I doing?

Camp

As my returning audience most likely knows, I leave for camp in a week.

I will be spending not one, not two, not four, but EIGHT weeks in Minnesota!

I have never gone away to camp for eight weeks before. To keep you coming back, my darling mother will be posting with news from me and what she has to say.

I'm really excited to be going to camp. I'm going for my third year, and I get to be a big sister for the first time! A big sister is matched up with a little sister to mentor. The little sister is a first year camper. (Although sometimes the little sister is older than the big sister-- that happened to my brother and one of his little brothers.) My job is to make sure my sister feels comfortable at camp. I can say, from experience, it helps a lot. When I got off the bus at camp my first year, the only people I knew were my big sister and my cousin, Moo.

But we don't spend the whole time in the wilderness among the mosquitoes and loons. Every Thursday we pack up our backpacks and get on a bus to for an Adventure Day. We do all sorts of cool stuff on Adventure Day- we go to the beach, Lake Itasca, a science center, and I think we even go to a pool. (On one of the trips, we go to Dairy Queen! the first time I ever had Dairy Queen was when I went on that trip, and guess what? I didn't like it!)

Camp is pretty cozy considering where we are. our cabins are really nice-- they even have bathrooms! We have really good food, too. Everyone says that girls camp food is waaaaaaay better than boys camp food, even my own brother!

I can't wait to go!

Sayonara!

PS: This is my 321st post! Unbelievable, right? Well, BELIEVE IT!

Progress

I've been working on the summer homework, and I've made pretty good progress.  One of my assignments is that I need to read 3 books and write a summary and a commentary for each one.  I finished one today.  It's on The Penderwicks at Point Mouette.  If you're interested, read on.  If you're not, too bad.  Just keep reading.  Please.

The Penderwicks at Point Mouette

Written by Jeanne Birdsall

Summary

    In The Penderwicks at Point Mouette, the four Penderwick sisters are going apart for the first time.  Their father is in England with his new wife, and Rosalind is going to New Jersey, leaving Skye in charge.  Everyone doubts Skye’s capability of being the Oldest Available Penderwick. (OAP)  With Jane in a romantic daze, especially after meeting Dominic, and Batty with her newly discovered musical talent, the two weeks at Point Mouette are quite an adventure.

Commentary

    Whenever I read a Penderwicks book, I fear it will be the last.   I treasure and adore them.  This book was no different.  I love connecting with the characters.  I relate to Rosalind’s maturity, Jane’s love of writing, Batty’s wildness.  Skye’s blonde hair and love for being organized I don’t share.  I would recommend it in a heartbeat to anyone who is looking for a comfortable, fun, and exciting book to sit down with.



So, what did you think of it?  If you have any (positive) comments on it?  If you do, you can click the box below this post that lets you comment and tell me what you think.



And for those who didn't want to continue reading, how do you feel about it now?

Peace.

Summah

Today I wrote a poem.

Summah

Written by the Cupcake

Twinkle twinkle, 3 month long summer
Summah summah, doodly doo
How I wonder how I ever survived school without summer
Summah summah, doodly dee
Up above my head so high
Summah summah, doodly da
Like a diamond, so precious
Summah summah, doodly do
Twinkle twinkle, 3 month long summer
Summah summah, doodly day
How I wonder how I ever survived school without summer
Summah, summah, SUMMAH!

Okay, so I didn't really write that poem.  I just thought of it off the top of my head.  It's all improv.

But anyway, I wrote it. And it's sort of a poem/song/thing/pickle/sandwich.

Au revoir!!!

Summer Homework

*Flashback*

August 2010: Dear Future Self,

Remember how hard it was when you got to the last week of summer vacation and suddenly you had a bazillion math, reading, and writing assignments to finish? Don't let that happen again. Especially because summer 2011, you are going in to 6th grade and also going 8 weeks to camp. Listen to mom. Don't complain.

Just do your homework.

*End of flashback*

Well, what was then my FUTURE SELF is now my CURRENT SELF.  Summer homework came home today, and I plan on starting in a couple of days. (I'll try to start Friday afternoon, after school is out. Don't hold me to it--I'm not very good at keeping promises.)

Oy.

Ah, remember when summer wasn't about reading four books and doing a bunch of math packets?

Good, because I don't.

Memory Mapping

In fourth grade, we started out simple. Map the United States. About 3 weeks of practice. Cake.

Fifth grade: let me map out the scenario. (Bad pun.)  One week to learn South and Central America, plus all of the capitals and geographic features. Tough? Yes. Impossible? No.

Okay, let me back up.  The fourth, fifth, and sixth graders learn some area to map.  Four: USA. Five: South America. Six: The World. 

Impossible, some might say.

If you are one of those people, get this:

After two 50 minute periods of mapping, I am almost done.

I can almost hear your gasping.

PS: 2 1/2 days left until I am in 6th grade!!!

1 Week!

Yes, that's right!

1 week left of school!!!  And then I will be immersed in summer!!! And I will be in sixth grade!!! W00 H00!!!

I decided that I like writing in big fonts. Hehehe!!!

Summer homework will be arriving on my doorstep any day now. Grr!!!  But in August, so, so long ago, I promised myself that I would make sure that my homework was done before the last day of summer.



And so, it will be.

BYE!!!

Howdy

Helloooooo INTERNET!!!

How y'all doin'? Oh, you in the back. You look amazing. And you too, in the front row. 

Aaaand now that my tacky blog post-opening banter in COMPLETE, I will move on.

Or so I thought.

Because then, I realized: I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY!!! 

I took multiple tests today.
In geography I had a test on Europe & Asia. I got a 39.5 out of 40 on a test on the Maya. I took I test on Greek.

OY.  

And I ran a 5 K yesterday. In the past week, I have run 10 kilometers!!! And on Thursday I am running a mile!!! And on Sunday I run ANOTHER 5 K!!!

Okay, maybe I was lying.  I do have some  stuff to say.

AAaaaand for breakfast I had cheese, orange juice, and gooey butter cake. (Bad combo. I know.)
For lunch I had a wrap with falafel, (YUM!)  cucumbers, greens, and tahini. YUM.

Oh, and I have a project:

In an attempt to broaden my vocabulary, I have made a chart to fill out. Every day of the week, I want to use the words "groovy" and "rubbish" each at least once.

And now...

Au revoir!

Euge!

Ha ha, I feel smart. I learned that euge is Latin for hooray.


Moving on...


There are only a few weeks left of school! I don't think we can even finish all of our material.  We have to map South America, study the Aztecs and the Incas, and who knows what else.  But somehow, we are going to get it all done, and then euge! I will be in 6th Grade!!!

In other news...

It FINALLY stopped raining in my area (I hope) we had about two whole weeks of pure rain, not to mention a few tornadoes.  I *think* our plants will survive, but one can never be too sure. 

Now for the stuff no one really cares about!!!

I ran/walked 3 miles today. I am proud of me!!!

Okay, now I'm tired so I am going to end this post.

GOOD NIGHT INTERNETS!!! WOO HOO!!!

Peace.

Ohai There!

I couldn't think of a title for this post, so I called it... well, it's right there.

If I were red I would be a tomato
If I were orange I would be a carrot
If I were yellow I would be mustard
If I were green I would be lettuce
If I were blue I would be a blueberry
If I were purple I would be a grape

If I were red I would be sunburned
If I were orange I would be an Oopma-Loompa
If I were yellow I would look really weird
If I were green I would be... envious? Vomiting?
If I were blue I would be a Smurf
If I were purple, I have no idea what I would be

I have no idea why I wrote that.

Camping Trip

So, every year, the fifth grade goes on a camping trip. I got back from mine yesterday. We left on Thursday. And now, I will give you an account of the trip.

First without punctuation:

We left on a big bus Thursday morning and drove for 45 minutes until we reached a nature reserve our camping destination we went to the eating lodge and they gave us rules and cabin assignments my cabin was really nice and big I was with 12 other girls the cabin was called Casa we did a scavenger hunt using GPS and then we went on nature walks both were really cool and fun then we ate our lunches they were partially yummy then we began to prepare dinner there were 4 groups and 2 were making chili 1 was making salad and 1 was making garlic bread my group was making 2 chilis we made a meat chili and a vegetarian chili our meat chili was better than the other groups no offense to those who were in the other group making chili but they put in 2 containers of chili powder so it was very very very spicy the salad was good the garlic bread was waaaay too buttery but it was still goodish then we went on a night hike where we made owl calls to another group and ate those mints that make sparks when you chew them in the dark then we did a team building game then we had caramel apples and went to bed the beds were really comfy I had a top bunk then on Friday we went on a hike and fished for and studied pond life my shoes got really wet then we got on the bus and went back to school I played cards with a few friends I lost all the games we played but it was fun the camping trip was REALLY fun

Now with:




We left on a big bus Thursday morning and drove for 45 minutes until we reached a nature reserve, our camping destination. We went to the eating lodge and they gave us rules and cabin assignments. My cabin was really nice and big. I was with 12 other girls. The cabin was called Casa. We did a scavenger hunt using GPS and then we went on nature walks. Both were really cool and fun. Then we ate our lunches. They were partially yummy. Then we began to prepare dinner. There were 4 groups and 2 were making chili, 1 was making salad, and 1 was making garlic bread. My group was making 2 chili's. We made a meat chili and a vegetarian chili. Our meat chili was better than the other group's (no offense to those who were in the other group making chili, but they put in 2 containers of chili powder so it was very very very spicy.) The salad was good. The garlic bread was waaaay too buttery, but it was still goodish. Then we went on a night hike where we made owl calls to another group and ate those mints that make sparks when you chew them in the dark. Then we did a team building game. Then we had caramel apples and went to bed. The beds were really comfy. I had a top bunk. Then on Friday, we went on a hike and fished for and studied pond life. My shoes got really wet. Then we got on the bus and went back to school. I played cards with a few friends. I lost all the games we played but it was fun. The camping trip was REALLY fun!

My Story

Today I was bored so I sat down and wrote a short story using no punctuation just like this post is I hope you enjoy run on sentences because that is this whole post so here is my story I hope you like it and now I crave chocolate I always crave chocolate as noted in my story here it is I hope you like it


Once upon a time there was a blue and purple cow named Barty Barty had a pig friend named Coco Coco and Cocos pet ladybug like chocolate Chocolate is yummy I agree with Coco and Cocos ladybug whom I am calling Larry Larry is really cute and friendly Larry likes to compete in table tennis tournaments every Saturday at 747 and 3 second yay for Larry Larry is too small play table tennis so Larry always loses but Larry doesn't care because Larry is a good sport Larry has a Larry size ping pong table but it is too small for anyone to play Plus Larry was a loser in high school so nobody wants to even talk to Larry Oh no somewhere in the world a pig just became breakfast food POOR PIGGY :( Larry is also sad :( Larry is small so :( small frowny face

That  is the end of my awesome awesome awesome awesome story that was so very awesome you know what else is awesome thats right I am awesome because I really am really awesome awesomeness is me yay I am awesome

Hehehe I love being AWESOME

ARENT I AWESOME OOPS I FORGOT TO TURN OFF CAPS LOCK BUT WHATEVER BECAUSE I LIKE WRITING IN CAPS LOCK YAY

Reflections

I am reflecting on a post I wrote in January.  You know, this one?  Well, I didn't really think that through.

Sure, in the Olympics, the other half of Sparta got first place in the Marathon.

And sure, my team had ME, who is awesome enough to be 3 people, but that didn't cover it.  My team still had -1 person.

I should have added the fact that for the past 2 or 3 years, the winners have been Athens and Megara.  Never Corinth or Sparta. GRR.

So, as usual, Sparta lost epically.

But we are still awesome.

Gone With the Wind

About a week ago, I read Gone With the Wind.  It was a really good book.  It was very tragic, though.  I say it needed more comedy.

The movie was good, but it could have done with more comedy, too.

That's where my idea comes in.

Gone With the Wind: The Musical!!!

Braces

About a year ago, I got my braces on.

About 15 minutes ago, I got my braces off.

Now excuse me, but I must return to Gummy-land.

The Play

The fifth grade play every year is always something related to Greek mythology.  Gods, foolish mortals, epics, heroes... You name it, they've done it.  Our play was the 12 Labors of Heracles (aka Hercules).  At first, I was like, "Oy.  Just great.  My least favorite myth, and it has to be our play."

That was before we really started.

We learned our lines.  We practiced at school.  Finally, we started putting the whole production together.  We got our costumes- the traditional Greek chiton.  In my case, I used the one my brother used three years ago.

On Wednesday, we started performing.  It was beautiful.  Everyone knew what to do, everyone actually had expression.  The shows were fantastic.

Until one day.


(Ha ha ha.  I made it sound all dramatic-like.)

My parts were as follows: I was Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons.  I was part of the Titan Atlas. (Three kids total played Atlas-- we wore a big cape.  I was the eyes of the operation, meaning my face was the only one showing.  My accomplices were the arms.)  I was the three headed dog Cerberus, though I only had one head. (The other two were off-duty.)

At our last performance, eeverything was great.  I came, I saw, and I conquered-- not really.  I died without a problem.  Me and my other Atlasses got into our cape.  We held our big globe-- and we dropped it.  On stage.

Want to hear the best part of that?

Most people thought it was rehearsed.  They thought we were absolutely hilarious.

As Cerberus, I got to eat a cookie on stage. It was yummy.

And at the after party, the whole grade went out for ice cream, and almost got arrested.  But that, of course, is another story.

This Is Sparta!

The biggest unit in 5th grade at my school is on ancient Greece.  We actually do a simulation.  We were split in to Greek cities!  I am in Sparta, just like my brother was.  There's a point system called Hellaspoints, based off of Hellespont.  We get points for the projects we do.  WE ARE GOING TO BEAT ATHENS! 
Louder!

WE ARE GOING TO BEAT ATHENS!

LOUDER!

WE ARE GOING TO BEAT ATHENS!

Much better.




Can You Spell Awesome? I Can. C-U-P-C-A-K-E.

Remember how last year, yours truly went to her school spelling bee and got out in the 3rd round? *Pauses dramatically to let audience have a big thought bubble about it.* If you don't, here is when I was so very excited.

This year, I was in the spelling bee. I was the only girl from my grade this time. I spelled a handful of words correctly. I missed narrate. My school does double elimination. I watched as the rounds went by and weeping fourth graders walked off to join their class, and glum sixth graders were patted on the back by their peers. I watched three of my fellow fifth graders looking unhappy as they accepted their certificates and shook the judges' hands.

I watched until their were three people left. And one of them was me.

The other two were both girls, both sixth graders. One of them came in second place last year to a girl who went to  nationals. The other was just there.

We went through a few rounds. Finally, I misspelled raspberry. I faced the sad truth: I had lost.

But all hope was not gone. The other sixth grader misspelled her word, leaving the one who got second place last year to take a championship word and take first place.

But we needed someone in second place, a runner up. I knew this was when the competition got fierce. I was nervous, needless to say. But I was confident.

We went back and forth, spelling words and misspelling them. Finally, the other girl's word was peppery. Something I knew. I crossed my fingers and prayed she would misspell it.

She misspelled it.

The announcer came over to me. "Cupcake," she said, "Your word is peppery."

Finally, I thought.

"Peppery. P-E-P-P-E-R-Y. Peppery."

That was it. If I spelled one more word right, I won second place. The word was mandate.


Back story time!!!

One day in Israel, the Pains (brother and cousins) and I went to the beach. We decided to dig a big hole. It was really fun, but I wanted to go in to the water. My cousin said, "All right. You get two minutes, and this break in mandatory. "

Thank you, Royal Pain.

I was like, "Uhh... Mandate. M-A-N-D-A-T-E. Mandate?"

They were like, CONGRATULATIONS.

I got so many high fives, "Good jobs," and smiles. I got hugs and kisses form my mom and my aunt. I was like, "Living the dream!"

Next week me and the first place girl will have our picture on the front of the school newsletter. If she can't make it to the city spelling bee in two weeks, I'm filling in for her.

Living the dream!

Happy Birthday To... Me?

I got this very amazing birthday card for my twelfth eleventh birthday. Here is a video of it performing!



Happy birthday to me!