The life and times of Willow

Hello everyone, Willow here! Avery gave me permission to write on the blog... but now I'm not exactly sure what to write. I guess I'll tell you all a little about myself, since I'm new to school this semester and all.

My name is Willow Holland, but I think you already know that. I used to live in Massachusetts, but a few months ago my grandfather passed away and we moved to be closer to the rest of the family, who happen to live right around Mondale Academy. Sometimes I really miss it back home, it was all I ever knew. I had to leave my friends, my school, and sometimes I wish I had never moved. However, I have to admit, Mondale is pretty nice.

I'm used to going to public school, so a private boarding academy was definitely a big change, as were the room mates. I share a room with three other girls: Sophia Hamilton, Haydren Insalanco, and Sydney Jacobs. Sophie is a total drama queen, Haydren is a major chatter box, and I really don't know what to think about Sydney yet. I don't know if she's just quiet, but she seems to be giving me the cold shoulder for some reason.

Another big adjustment was the work load! I'm taking harder classes now, and there's a lot more homework to do. My favorite class would be biology of course, that and Spanish. I like the subjects to being with, but the teachers are great. Ms. Lafferick is the science teacher, she's a little odd to be honest, but it keeps things interesting. Señor Gwisdala is the Spanish teacher, and he is very nice and upbeat, and has neat games to make learning easier.

I wanted to get involved in a as much as I could, so as soon as I enrolled I tried to join a few student organizations. I'm not exactly a sporty person and most of the school teams were already filled, so I looked into any clubs they had. I looked at drama, but I have stage fright so that wouldn't work out. I don't know to play an instrument, so jazz band was out of the question. Things were looking kind of dismal until I spotted a small poster on the news bulletin board. And just my luck, there's an environmental club! I love nature and gardening, as well as biology. I went to a meeting after school, and it's headed by Ms. Lafferick. It's not the most popular thing to be in with only a few students, but it's fun so far. We're doing a recycling project soon, maybe I'll post again about that?

Anyways, I've just gotten settled into school life. It feels good to finally be finding my niche. I just hope it will last.

-Willow D. Holland

Remember when...?

Remember when....?

• This blog was actually updated more than once a month, without all of my repetitive "sorry for being absent!" posts?
• Things were written by Avery, and not me?
• It was the dolls' lives posted about, and not me dumping my life story on you guys?
• There were actually pictures of American Girls, and photo stories, and little diary-like entries?
• It was about having fun and not popularity?

I miss those days, I honestly do. When I used to make up stories with the girls, take pictures just for enjoyment. When I didn't worry about how many comments or followers or what other people were doing. There's been a lot of "Bringing Back 2009" talk, and that sounds like an excellent idea. I think I'm going to try jumping on the bandwagon here.

Of Sonali and Snow

Just when the feet of the snow starts melting, you can see grass, and I can actually walk home on the sidewalks instead of through snowbanks, we get another storm. Lovely. I wish spring were here already. Seriously, I would be happy with forty degree weather. :P

But Sonali likes the snow!

Short post is short.
-Brooke

102 and Willow too!

Enjoy the rhyme-y, strange title! It reminds me of 'Tippecanoe and Tyler Too!', which is sad since History class really is wearing off on me. I hope people understand that reference, otherwise I'm going to seem more odd than I already do, haha.

Anyways, this is a rather important post, since it celebrates Avery-Here's 102 followers - what a great milestone! Thank you all so much for following this blog and putting up with my ramblings, rantings, absences, etc. I means a lot to know that people actually do read this and I'm not just talking to myself. :P

In order to celebrate these 102 amazing followers, I planned out an AG post! Finally! I know, I've been terrible with photographing the dolls, which is kind of what this blog is supposed to be all about. I took over for a little while, and I'm sorry about that. I hope to focus more on the AG's soon.

I posted about Lanie a while back asking for name suggestions, but kind of left you guys hanging and I haven't mentioned her since then. I've been super busy and haven't had much of a chance to do much with the poor girl. Well, I'm pleased to announce that I now have her name - Willow Delanie Holland. I used Delanie as the middle name so she can also be called Lanie, and I've started calling her Lanie-Bug. :) I was debating on Willow/Willa, but went with Willow since Willa Holland is an actual person/actress that I didn't even know existed. And I've typed Willow and Willa so many times that I'm losing the meaning of those words, haha.

She's a shy girl, who likes reading and biology and being outdoors, no matter what time of year, though she's glad that the weather is warming up and it's more feasible to be outside. Sadly, that's about all of her personality I have figured out now.

So enjoy the pictures of Willow! :) I love cross-process. I usually try not to edit my pictures too much, but I was bored and thought it looked cool.

Hope you are all having a wonderful day!
-Brooke

Très Bonne

Très Bonne, muy bien, sehr gut, molto buona... however you want to say it, today has been very good. I don't know why, it's just been one of those random great days that I can't really explain the reason why. It's a multitude of things, I guess.

The highlight was burning old papers from classes I had last semester. The most liberating thing ever. I really recommend it, just don't burn your house down. :P Also burned a copy - well, more like singed a few pages - of Atlas Shrugged. You know it's a good day when old homework is toasting in your fireplace and Atlas Shrugged is smoldering and the corner of the cover is crumbling to ash. That sounds really sadistic, but it's true, I'm a raging, psychopathic, pyromaniac. /sarcasm. (Totally kidding. I'm a really sarcastic person, but it doesn't come across very well on the internet. So I thought I'd clarify.)

I even got a half ways decent picture today! See above. There's some mild bokeh up in the corner, too. That's they best photo I've gotten in a while, which isn't saying much. I haven't had much time for photography, or the AG's, or blogging (SORRY!), but I was glad to get outside, I trudged through like 15 inches of snow for that picture, and my hands were so numb that I could barely press the shutter. But I suppose it was all worth it. Not the best, but I'm sort of happy with it.

Well, I suppose I'd best get started on that mountain of homework waiting for me. Procrastination is beautiful.
-Brooke

PS: I just realized I have 100 followers! It really is a good day, haha. :O Thank you so much! I will do a more official post, that is actually AG-center, later.

Midterms.

Dear Midterms,
I hate you. Good day.
Sincerely,
-A frustrated exam taker
*^That's what is says in the picture, but it's too small to see*

Midterms... have been conquered.
Exams are officially the worst things on the planet. I literally studied from four o'clock in the afternoon until one in the morning. Not fun. Functioning on only five hours of sleep is not good. But, midterms are now over!
And... the good news is that I did awesome! I don't mean to be arrogant or brag or anything, sorry if it comes off that way. I got a 98 (YES! A 98!) on AP Bio, I have no idea how that happened, and a 96 in my advanced math class. All the other subjects I got above a 93. Not bad, not bad at all.
Now I can sleep, not obsess over studying, and be generally less stressed and a more pleasant human being to be around. I turn into a viscous creature during exam times.

Between getting my thankfully good exam scores and going to a cafe downtown with a few friends, and tonight watching Bend It Like Beckham, it's a good day.

I promise I will take some AG pictures soon! I know I've kind of been taking over this blog and there has been very little actual American Girl posts. :/ Sorry about that!
-Brooke
*who is a very happy person right now*

A post of anything and everything...

"Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go."
-Herman Hesse

Ever screwed up so bad and just can't stop thinking about it, reliving it, having it replay over and over in your mind? It's not the greatest feeling.

*Sigh*... now that that's out of my system, I will move onto more ramblings. The picture above is of a sun conure, her name is Juliet. She was in the sunlight and preening her feathers and I thought it was most beautiful thing, so I took a quick photos.

Thanks for all of your name suggestions for Lanie, I'm still debating over what to call her. I haven't had much time for the AG's lately, unfortunately. Sorry I haven't been doing much posting with them, it's more of a bunch of rants (like this!)

I've seen more movies in the past week than I usually do in an entire year. I just don't go to the cinema at all usually, for whatever reason, but I just saw The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and Tron, both in 3D (really, are there any movies not in 3D now?) Anyways, I liked them both, and just thought I would throw that random fact out there.

Also, I was bored today, so I threw together a slideshow of pictures to a song that I recently heard. None of the pictures are mine, credit where it is due!



So this post was completely random and kind of pointless, but oh well!
Adios,
-Brooke

Meet 'Curls'

Lanie has arrived! I'm not sure if I like that name for her, though, so at the moment I'm just calling her 'Curls'. Does anyone have any name suggestions? Something unique, but not totally crazy.

I love her hair and her eyes are beautiful. I got her as a Christmas present (the first AG I've gotten for a present in a long time). I hadn't had the time to take pictures until today. And of course, it RAINED. It poured, and melted all of the snow we had, which was several inches. Uh... So I went outside into the dreary snow-less backyard to take some pictures.

*warning - this is where the post gets really rant-y and self pity-like XD*

Okay, so on the the topic of photographs... mine have really been terrible lately and I find myself having to do a lot of editing just to make them presentable. I try to resize them, but it always makes them blurry. Plus they just haven't been that great to start out with. As far as point and shoots go, I love my Kodak and it has taken some great shots. It's just really fussy half of the time and not getting good pictures at all lately. I find myself really wanting a DSLR when I see all the great photos people take with them, but I know it's probably never going to happen. It's frustrating me and I don't know what's up at the moment since every picture I take lately is turning out just plain bad. I guess I'm just in a rut or something.

*rant over*

Moving on! Anyways, that's "Lanie" - or that's what I'm calling her temporarily. I like the environmental part of her story, I think I'll build off of that. I've been progressively thinning out my collection and not really talking about it much. I forgot the 'new doll hype' feeling, if you know what I mean. :D Sorry, that sounds really greedy/materialistic.

Well, I'm still not sure on names, so if you have any suggestions, be sure to comment!
-Brooke

Two Years

It's Avery-Here's second blog-o-versary (yes... I made that word up). I can't believe it's been two years since I started this blog. I can tell how much my writing/photography has really improved. Seriously. It's drastic. :P As much as I hate this saying - time really does fly with you're having fun. Thank you to all my readers who put up with my long absences, rants, terrible posts and photos, etc. I really do appreciate it. I wish I could give you all a gold star and a cookie.

I hope everyone is having a happy holiday and new year! A post to come in the near future with my Christmas gift and the newest arrival. Aha, suspense!
-Brooke

Art evokes the mystery without which the world would not exist. - Rene Magritte

(larger flickr version here)
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I really like how this turned out (my favorite photo in a while). I was playing around with settings on my camera, and somehow I made the pictures all very dark. With some minor editing in color, softening, and text, this was the result!

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Happy holidays, everyone! :)
-Brooke, Avery, and the gang

Snowy Days (and random pictures)

Finally, some snow pictures! There has been a huge amount of snow where I live for the last week or so, but I'm just now finding the time to take pictures. And these photos are horrible. I cannot find my camera so I had to use an old one that is broken, but still sort of works, haha! Anyways, this is Elizabeth in the woods. She's wearing Felicity's holiday gown, but I always thought AG messed up and switched Elizabeth and Felicity's dresses around. (Elizabeth looks better in blue, and Felicity looks better in green. Just my opinion. :/)

Now for the random pictures part! Insert random inspirational pictures here! I'm too lazy to make a separate post... :P

Happy Holidays,
-Brooke

Randomness

This post is exactly what the title entails - randomness! I'm bored and haven't updated in a while, so thought I would ramble a little bit. A huge storm hit last night and there's so much snow. It looks like a winter wonderland. I was going to take pictures, but I was too lazy and it is freezing (below 0 degrees Fahrenheit with wind chill - brrr!). So, instead I include the sunny, warm picture of a horse that I took what seems like ages ago when I was on vacation. Yeah, I literally walked down the road from the beach to this pasture on the side of the road and took a picture. I'm weird like that.

Things are pretty good, I'd like to say. (I. Did. Awesome. In. Exams. :D :D :D x1,000. I would brag for a second, but I really don't want to for fear of coming off as arrogant/selfish/all that other stuff.) The holidays are coming up, and that means sort of a break. Hopefully I'll get some posts/photos in.

I LOVE THE WHIFFENPOOFS. Specifically BEN WEXLER. ♥Yeah... that was weird. I think I owe some explanation to that statement. Well, I'm not a huge fan of TV in general, pretty much everything is terrible, especially reality shows. But NBC's "The Sing Off" caught my interest. It's an a capella singing competition. One of the competitors were the group from Yale called the Whiffenpoofs. I love their voices and the arrangements. :) They were eliminated, but now I'm addicted to them, haha. Sorry for the random "fangirling". Speaking of Yale (the Whiffs' are a collegiate group that has been around for over a century), wouldn't that be an awesome school to go to? It's one of the top in country. I doubt I'll be admitted there anytime soon, though.

Well, there you have it. Rambling at its finest.
Over and out,
-Brooke

PS: My youtube channel is undergoing some modification, so no videos are up right now. They're still "out there" if you search, just the module that shows them isn't applied to my channel. No worries. ;)

La Lumière de la Vie

Life is a lot like candle light
So vibrant and bright
But so easily snuffed out.

Rest In Peace E.L. ♥
[an acquaintance of mine who passed away from a car accident. D': ]

The Tridge

What is a 'Tridge', you may ask? Well, it is just what it sounds like. A bridge with three spans! (Picture is not mine, but I hope it helps give a better picture of what the Tridge actually is.)
It's quite cool, actually. Last weekend I was in the town where it was located and shot some pictures. I have to say I'm very pleased with how they turned out. These are all SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera) - meaning there was no editing! All I did was crop them and give them the sepia tone (yeah.. I'm addicted to black and white/sepia). Honestly, I usually do a little bit of color-enhancement, contrast, adjust the brightness levels, etc. Just making small tweaks that improve the photo, but these I really didn't want to, or need to. I think these are my best photos in a long time.

This is a view from the bank of the river. I like how the branches of the tree sort of 'frame' the photo. The texture from the smooth and rippling water is nice as well.


This is a picture standing at the entry to go on to one of the spans. The walkway sort of leads in to the distance in this shot, which I like. It's a foot bridge - meaning only walking, or biking, roller blading, etc. I love the light and the shadows, it creates a lot of good, contrasting lines.


The last and final of the three best shots of the day. This one is darker than the other ones, but I think it has the best picture of the water. The reflection is perfect! When I looked at the thumbnail, it almost looked upside down since it's such a mirror image in the water. The brambles of twigs creep up the edge of the photo, too.

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Well, some more photography. I really like these three shots for some reason, I'm not why. Hope you enjoy them as well!
-Brooke

Can You See Me?

Can you see me
Through the ivy
Climbing up the wall?

Can you see me
Through the raindrops
Falling to the ground?

Can you see me
Through the sun light
Glinting up above?

Can you see me
In your dreams
When I catch you as you fall?

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I know, I know, it's becoming a terrible habit of mine to post in poem form. I hope my awful writing doesn't annoy you all too much. But this is a post, none the less! Two in the past few days, that's pretty good for me, haha! Anyways, I have a shed in my yard and it has these vines growing up the sides. I was outside yesterday looking for a place to take a picture, and I realized I could take it there! It's a really nice place, actually, I'm sorry I didn't think of it sooner.

Black And White

"Black and white are starkly different, but they make many shades of gray."-Moi

A glance around me shows
The world is content,
Yet I am not.
The distant thought hiding
Will not surface.

The world is not simply
Made of good and evil
Right and wrong.
Black and white.
So many things lie in between.

My shell, my armor
May protect my physical being,
But it cannot protect my mentality.

What is worth it?
Worth the tears, the sacrifice?
They say it's the
The simple beauties.
The everyday miracles.
But even I
No longer see the novelty.

Empty.
Broken.
I am.

Well... that was rather depressing, wasn't it? Yeah, sorry for the dark poem up there. ^-^ I'm not suicidal or anything, I promise. The inspiration just kind of hit me. Black and white photos usually do that - inspire. I don't think it's a big secret that I love black and white photography. It's an unhealthy obsession, haha! I think it's classy, elegant, vintage, and has an feeling of mystery as well.

Some photos just demand to be taken in these tones, like the ones I included. These are the last in my secret storage of never-before-seen photos. I took them Spring of 2010, but just for myself. I didn't think they turned out very well (the first one looks like an illustration?) but since I've neglected this blog so much, I decided to post them.

Anyways, I again apologize for the lack of posts, but in this one I'm going to bore you with random facts about myself! Yipee! In light of a recent lovely (sarcasm - it was really troll-ish) message I received on flickr, I'm in a pretty good mood. Well that's a contradictory sentence, now isn't it? People who try to insult you 'lyk dis' amuse me and I find it pretty funny. My troubles seem quite small after I hear those crazies. It's like a good friend of mine said "Every time I read something like that, it reminds how stupid all the people are around me." Not implying that those reading this or stupid, or anything. I think you get the point. :)
So, I feel like I rant about everything and have had this blog for almost two years, yet no one really knows all that much about me outside of the AG's. I thought I would share some random facts about myself, not like anyone really cares...

Now for the fun part! Random facts:

• AP Bio is my favorite school subject. It's an insane amount of work, but I love it!
• I've met the man who was the first person to teach genetics in Russia.
  
• I'm a nerd. Plain and simple. Which is why I find the above fact interesting.
  
• My birthday is September 11th. :/
  
• I could eat raw cookie dough until I barf :P
• I've never dyed my hair.
• I love Harry Potter (hopefully seeing the seventh movie this weekend)
• Glee is my guilty pleasure. Every time I see it, I think how stupid it is, but yet there I am, watching it and having a smile on my face.
  
• I'm really, really socially awkward, shy, and quiet in real life.
• I like creative writing, but I never finish any stories I start.
• I wish I could draw figures, like people. I'm a decent artist, but anywhere near as good as I'd like.
• All my grandparents have passed away.
• Chinese movies are the most hilarious things on the planet.
  
• I've never gotten less than an A- on a report card. :D
• I play soccer, volleyball, basketball, and run cross country.
• Jeopardy! is an awesome show.
• I love band!
  
• I'm a fan of anti-humor, the punch line of a joke is so logical it's funny. Example - "What does the man say when he burns his finger on the stove? Ouch, that hurt!" "What's red and has the consistency of blue paint? Red paint." ... Reading this, it sounds really stupid. I guess it's a QB thing.
• I've never broken a bone.
• I'm a terrible dancer. Emphasis on the terrible.
  
• I haven't worn a dress in... who knows how long.
• I've jumped 20 feet off of a cliff/ledge and into a river. It's pretty exhilarating, not 'gonna lie. ;D

Okay, congratulations if you actually read through all that. Thank you if read through it, and actually cared and/ or found it weird/interesting/random. Well, I was bored and had nothing else to do. (Well actually, I have a lot of stuff to do but I'm procrastinating...)

Over and out!
-Brooke

*Disclaimer: Not that they're much to begin with, and I think you're crazy if you want to steal them, but all quotes, poems, and pictures are my property!

Cricket Chirp? Echo?

I feel bad. Just plain bad. I haven't updated in over four weeks! That's absolutely terrible, and I'm so sorry. And even in this post to say sorry, I don't even have anything of relevance. No photos, no stories, nothing. The AG's haven't gotten much attention lately. I'm very busy. Mainly school work, especially AP Bio. I love it to death, but and it's a very large course load. Eek! College!

Hopefully during Thanksgiving Break I'll have some free time for pictures and posts.
-Brooke

Lissie in the Autumn

The coppery leaves
Match her hair
As it blows gently in the cool breeze.

Her yellow skirt ruffles
Butter-colored leaves chasing at her hem
It is autumn.

Here We Go Again

It seems like these posts are almost routine now. By this time you get the drill, this is the usual post that says "So sorry I haven't posted very much I'm just so busy!" And that's exactly the case. College classes suck up a lot of your time, not to mention extra curricular activities, friends/family, etc.

So in a way I'm sorry, but in another way I'm not because school comes first and posting on this blog isn't necessary. :(

Anyways, I haven't been able to spend much time with the dolls lately. I'm busy, but I feel myself drifting away from them, like how I drifted away in 2007. A part of me wants to get Lanie and some Felicity things, but a part of me is screaming "NO! You're just going to grow out of it soon so why even bother?!" That's the thing with AG. It's turned me into a consumer-machine, always wanting more and more. It's saddening to think about.

Anyways, apologies for being non-existent. :(
Included is a (semi) recent picture of Ivy to make this post somewhat relevant. I know these posts are nonsense and everyone hates reading them, sorry for that too.
-Brooke

Explored? What? :)

Yes, this photo was explored on flickr! :) It is of autumn leaves in my backyard. I'm so proud of my little Kodak point and shoot. You see that? It's bokeh! haha
This is quite the good news. I had no idea, so it is great to hear. It couldn't have come at a better moment.

So, just thought I'd share. I still have another post planned for this week. Yay for spare time!

-"Brooke"
^Someone asked me in a message a while ago, and no it's not my real name. Just a pseudonym that I use for online and when I write. I just thought I'd address that. :)