Mondale Greenhouse

Février (February): The time between winter and spring where everything is just... blah. There was a large thaw, and now all the snow is dirty slush; slightly disgusting. It was beautiful powdered crystals, and now it's a muddy mess. It's just cold enough for flurries, but warm enough to where everything melts. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for spring! Don't get me wrong, I love winter and the snow, it's just this yucky transitional period I hate.

Anyways, Nicki felt the same way. So... she started the Mondale 'Greenhouse'! It isn't very big, but as of now we have several plants growing, including a large tree and some cacti. I think it's a really fun project, it brightens these dreary days.


(Just a note: The 'tree thing', the cacti, and the holly leaves are all real! :) Don't you just love a mini, doll-sized cactus? Hehe!)
Sorry for not posting much over the past week. But I'm trying to take into consideration your suggestions, so: here you have it! A long-ish post with pictures. Sorry for the somewhat horrible indoor lighting and messy background.

-Avery

Friends-A Photo Story

(One of your suggestions was more pictures/photo stories. I have to admit, I agree with that 100%!)

Introducing the first ever photo story on this blog:
Friends
-Dedicated to all my wonderful readers, but in particular Starr-

"Hi Julie," said Sonali, coming into the bedroom.
"Hello," replied the blond girl.
"Have you seen Chrissa today?" Sonali asked.
"She stayed after school to finish her History exam," explained Julie. "She was pretty worried yesterday, I hope she did all right."
-*-*-*-*-*-*
A little while later, Chrissa came into the room:

"Hi guys," she said in a depressed tone.
"What's wrong?" asked Julie, sensing her friend's bad mood.
"I got an 84 on my exam," Chrissa answered.
"An 84? That's really good!" said Sonali excitedly.
"But you got a 90," muttered Chrissa.
"Oh, Chrissa," exclaimed Sonali as she walked out.

-*-*-*-*-*-*
30 minutes later:
"I'm back," called Sonali, seeing her two friends in the same place she had left them.
"Chrissa, you did great on your exam! You did your best and that's all that matters," Sonali said comfortingly.

"Here," she said, holding out a bag. Chrissa opened it, and found a cute stuffed teddy bear.
"Thank you, Sonali," said Chrissa, giving her a hug. "You're a great friend."

-*-*-*-*-*-*

Featuring:
Chrissa Maxwell
Sonali Matthews
Julie Albright
Matthew (haha, I didn't even realize until now that it's Sonali's last name)-the mohair teddy bear in the Macy's bag :P Hehe!
-*-*-*-*-*-*
Well, it was short and sweet, with horrible indoor lighting photography, but I hope you enjoyed! Yes, it was a bit cheesy, but I like it. I just had to use that little Macy's shopping bag, it's so adorable, haha! I dedicated this to Starr, due to her recent post. She inspired me. Hope this made you smile, laugh, what ever! :D
Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day.
-Brooke

How to make this blog better?

Do you guys have any suggestions, comments, etc?
We'd love to hear them! With the New Year, I'm going to strive the make the blog better. I know I'm not doing a very good job, it's probably gotten worse...
Anyways, comment on things you like, things you don't, and hopefully things will change!
-Brooke
PS-Happy Birthday, Sitara!

*Is suprised*

Yeah, as you can see, I'm a bit surprised, haha! I didn't know everyone loved Erin so much! :O I made the small mention of her on this blog and made a short video for youtube, and I've gotten quite a few comments from people saying that Erin was their favorite doll of mine, etc. I don't know why I find that so surprising. I guess it's because I hardly ever posted about her on this blog, and she hasn't really been photographed that much.
I've also been asked 'why':
My cousin wanted an AG doll, simple as that. After I received some AG things for Christmas, she expressed an interest. So, after contemplating, I decided to give her Erin. My cousin said she was just going to 'borrow' Erin, but I'd feel kind of horrible taking her back. Only if she doesn't take care of Erin or doesn't play with her much will I get her back. Or, unless she decides she doesn't want her anymore and gives her back herself.

Sorry if that was a bit confusing :P I'm not sure how genuinely interested my cousin was, or if this was just a fad/phase kind of thing. Only time will tell.
But I'm glad that Erin was well loved by my internet buddies :P She would have liked to know that she was popular! LOL :P
-Brooke

Best Friends

Felicity and Elizabeth:


Ruthie and Kit:


Finally a 'real' post!
Some updates: I gave Erin to my cousin. I'm not sure if said cousin will keep her or not. She said that she was going to 'borrow' Erin for a while.
I feel absolutely horrible because I'm not spending very much time with my AG's. Like Kirsten; I just got her a few months ago and I've barely done anything with her... I feel terrible about it. It's the same story with a lot of my other dolls, too.
I feel like I might be 'growing out' of them again, like I did in 2007. :'( I guess it's just because I'm so busy.
-Brooke

Uhhh, it's a busy life!

Of course, everyone is super busy, as are we! :) Sorry for not posting hardly at all. What with midterms and everything coming up (Yeah, we haven't had ours yet...)
We didn't post about something... but I'm not sure I'm going to or not. I'll have to decide later.
-Avery

PS-Congrats to Sitara on 2nd place in the LJ contest!

We haven't posted at all, sorry!

Sorry for neglecting the blog... :'(
Everyone is just super busy right now! Maybe this weekend I'll have some extra time to post pictures, etc.
-Avery

Winter Wonderland

Yay, it's the weekend! :) Here in MI we got a nice weekend surprise; five inches of snow! It came over Thursday night/Friday/and it is still snowing today. Everything looks so pretty, all the trees are covered in ice and snow. Finally winter has came! I was beginning to get worried that we would never have a substantial amount of "the white stuff".
Personally, I love snow! I'm glad that a thick, white blanket has fallen over Mondale (my boarding school). This morning I got bundled up in my new sweater and went outside. Erin came along as well. Her and I have been getting to be good friends.


Anyways, we went out into the woods to play in the snow! We had a lot of fun, and Brooke snapped some pictures.



I hope my readers are having a wonderful weekend!
-Avery

Midterms

"Midterms /ˈmɪdˌtɜrm/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [mid-turms]- Noun. Informal. An examination or series of examinations at the middle of a school term."

Midterms. Not fun.
Midterms=crazy long hours of studying.
Midterms=absurd amount of homework.
Midterms=STRESS!
Midterms=sleep deprivation.
Midterms=no social life, or internet/blog life for the matter.

Welcome to January, the month of midterm preparations. Needless to say, everyone is freaking out. Including me. I'm crazily studying for the exams. I'm especially nervous about my Algebra test. It's worth 1/3 of my grade. :o Since it is technically a high-school class (I'm in the 8th grade, but learning in an advanced class with 9th grade Algebra), the grade I get also counts for my GPA. O_o Needless to say, I'm just a bit worried.
My science homework is also overwhelming. Table of Elements, here I come! Unfortunately, that's the easy stuff... And plus, there's that lurking science fair in a few weeks.
History is unmerciful, I'm cramming so many dates and names into my head I think I'll explode. When, in 'real life', will I ever need to know that Martin Van Buren, 'of Dutch descent', was born in 1782, the son of a tavernkeeper and farmer, in Kinderhook, New York?!?!?

I have loads of homework, and a bunch of tests coming up (not including the actual exams!) Avery is not happy. Sorry, not sure why I'm talking in third person. But yeah, this is why I have not been posting much...
Sorry about the spasm of a post above, as well...

~Avery~

Nature Photography

This is a somewhat off-topic post by Brooke.
Today I was cleaning out my computer, deleting files, etc. I came across some old photos from summer/autumn 2oo9, and thought I'd share them.
They're just a few nature photographs. Nothing fancy, but I still like them. I know these aren't the greatest, but I thought I would post the pictures. Plus, I've got nothing else to post about. *Hides ashamed face*
New Year's Resolution: Improve Both AG and Non-AG Photography

Photos of Upper Peninsula, Michigan. About as far North as it gets. Around a town where I used to live.

Early Autumn Trail


Waterfall


Boat Wreckage (slightly dramatic... hehe)


Apples



Enjoy!
-Brooke