portraits of my sister

This is my younger sister, Lauren. She's twelve and in the sixth grade. I don't believe she's been formally introduced on this blog yet, but here she is. I was taking pictures outside the other day and I asked her to model. Surprisingly, she agreed. I've obviously got a ways to go, but I thought I'd experiment more with portraiture. Here are the results. :)

My favorite are the last two. I just love the green in the background! What about you?

~Kendall

in which i am a stylish blogger

Yesterday I was tagged by Libby with the Stylish Blogger award. Thank you! :) So basically for this tag, you link back to the person who tagged you {done}, list seven previously untold facts about yourself and then pick seven people to tag. I'm with Libby; I usually don't do tags but I thought I'd make an exception because this was more flexible and because it's quick and I don't have much time now. :)

Without further ado, here are seven facts about me:

{one}
I like gum. A lot. Especially the fruit kind. I usually have a piece or two every day.

{two}

When I don't feel like practicing the pieces I'm supposed to be working on, I like to play Beatles songs on my guitar. Eight Days a Week, anyone?

{three}

The only television show I watch regularly is Glee. :) I used to watch Ugly Betty but now it's over...so Glee kind of takes the place of it. Occasionally I'll watch House or America's Funniest Home Videos but not every week.

{four}


I love love love Harry Potter. I started the series in like third or fourth grades and have been hooked ever since. I went to the midnight release party of the last book when I was eleven--that was so much fun--and the midnight release of Deathly Hallows Part 1 in November--ditto. I'm totally planning on going this summer, too. Major awesomeness. I am really surprised that I have yet to really mention my affinity for this series on this blog. Well, that will have to come soon, friends.

{five}

The people I admire most {I guess you could call them my heroes} are Eleanor Roosevelt, Anne Frank and, of course, J. K. Rowling {see number 4 ^_^}

{six}

I'm thinking about getting a haircut soon. Like four or five inches. I'm not really sure...


{seven}


I think this little dog is the cutest thing. Just putting that out there. Don't you think? So soft and small. He's a keychain in the back and he has a little kitty friend that's just like him. Except, you know, a cat.

Now, people to tag? A lot of the people I would tag have probably already been tagged, so I'll just tag:

+ My three cousins who have blogs {Bridget, Maura and Kathleen}
+ And for the four remaining spots, any and all persons wearing some green at the time of reading this. Just because! :D

Have a terrrrrrific day!

~Kendall

whimsical wishes

I find it funny the odd conglomeration of things we wish on: eyelashes and candles and dandelions. Who decided that blowing on a whispy white weed would make your desires come true? Well, anyway, I rather like the idea. I like closing my eyes, making a wish and them opening them again to see all the little seeds float away like parachutes, ready to plant themselves and spring up a new flower.

My wish is different every time. Sometimes I dream big and wish for wars to end and for world peace. Other times I am selfish and wish for a good grade on a test or to find five dollars on the ground. I like wishing. Even if they don't come true, it's still fun.

It's fun finding dandelions in my front yard and plucking them out of their habitat. Twirling the stems in my fingers, huffing and puffing until the seeds begin to let go. My sister blew one yesterday and after several breaths she said, "I guess I'm going to have a lot of children." I hadn't heard this one before, but apparently you are going to have a kid for every time you blow until it is all gone. Okay then.

To many people, dandelions are just weeds, but to me they are a symbol of summer and of childlike whimsy. Maybe they remind me of days spent in tall green grass, picking flowers and sipping lemonade. Did that ever even happen? Sometimes I get my memories mixed up with photos and movies and books I've consumed and with fixed notions and stereotypes that somehow lodge themselves in my brain. Anyway, I rather like these wishing machines.

My friend pronounces them 'dandy-lions' which makes me think of giant lions with suits and ties on; I'm not altogether sure why. I just call them 'dan-de-lions' but I like her fanciful way of saying it. They're not just dandelions, they're dandy lions. What are they to you?

~Kendall

nature at its finest

In the past five days, I've only posted once. Here are the reasons: Internet connection being stupid + algebra homework + soccer practice + other things. But I'm back now! :)

I've probably said it so many times before, but I love the changing of seasons. With every new turn, I find something to be excited about. With fall it is the colorful foliage and the lingering breeze, and with winter it is the frosted windowpanes and Christmas spirit.

But unfortunately, where I live, we don't get much in ways of picturesque bright leaves or snow fall. What we do get, though, is green. That's why spring is when nature is at its finest here.

I love looking out the window and admiring all the greenery that is the newly blooming trees.

I love staring at the blue sky, too, when it is blue {right now it's a sullen grey}.

I love the delicate orange petals that adorn the flowers in my front yard.

I love the glassy surface of a pond, the way the light reflects off of it and how still and calm it is.

I love visiting the park and seeing all the picnickers, well, picnic, with the kids running around and the adults chatting contentedly.

And of course, at the end of the day, I love the sunsets, pure and simple.

Truly, I think that springtime is when nature is at its finest. Happy spring, everyone! {I know it's been almost a week since it began, but oh well!} I'm probably going to be do some gardening this weekend with my family. What about you? Got any plans? :)

~Kendall

P.S. I don't know what's up with the spacing down here, but it's really bothersome. Just ignore it. :P

eat your heart out

{This post was actually supposed to be published on Monday, but then I had to get off before I could finish and then yesterday my internet was down so it got delayed even further. Anyway.}

Here are some photos of food I ate this weekend. I know it's a bit belated, but better late than never, eh? 

^This was not mine. I don't like soda, or anything with carbonation for that matter. I just don't like the fizziness. Call me odd, but I think I picked a good thing not to like. :P

Pizza, on the other hand, is the best. Hands down. Especially pepperoni and olives. Mmm... What're your favorite pizza toppings?

And what better way to wrap up your day than with sorbet? {Hey, that rhymes. I'm a poet and I didn't even know. loljk I knew it.}Yeah, this was taken in the grocery store. We got the raspberry and chocolate kinds, in case you were wondering. ;)

~Kendall

confessions

{once again, credit to carlotta for idea}

confession: Yesterday, I deleted my old Twitter account and I made a new one. Feel free to follow me: I'm @kendall_the_cat. Or for a direct link: my twitter.

 confession: Sometimes, when I'm bored, I go to my favorite blogs and re-read old posts. It's entertaining...and maybe a bit creepy. But blogs are meant to be read, are they not? :P

confession: I'm struggling with algebra. I just don't understand it and I don't see a point in it. And I'm not doing well in that class.

confession: Because of this^, I'm being forced to limit my time on the computer to one hour a day. This is going to be hard for me...But it just means no more pointless meandering about on random websites, wasting time.



confession: I really like this quote: "You can't keep the birds of sadness from flying over your head, but you can keep them from nesting in your hair." I need to think about that one.

confession: I just stuck in some random pictures from my folders in an effort to 'prettify' this post. Even though they have nothing to do with the actual content of this post. 'Cause I'm cool like that.

confession: I think I'm Earth's laziest resident. Seriously. No need for further explanation on this one.

confession: I can't wait for summer. ♥ Summer means Hawai'i, my birthday, getting to see my cousins. By summer, everything will be colorful again, everything will be alive again. I won't have to worry about school anymore. I love summer. I love every season in its own way, but summer is especially special. I might even say it's my favorite. ;)

Got any confessions? Do tell. :)

~Kendall

everybody loves new clothes

Even self-proclaimed non-fashionable people like me.

So, recently I decided that since now it is ~spring~ I needed to go shopping for more warm weather attire. And I did. Great story, huh? Yeah, and now I'm going to share what I got with you.

Before that, a disclaimer: I am not a model, I do not look like a model and I do not act like a model. I'm also not a fashion blogger. {Obviously.} So why am I even doing this? Good question. I'll get back to on that one.

The shirt and skirt on the left are from Aeropostale {not a store I usually shop at, but someone gave me a giftcard for Christmas} and everything else is from Target.

And on person, {outfit numero uno}:

The details of the pants:

And the shirt {which is layered on top of an Old Navy tank top, fyi}:

And my feet in the only pair of semi-nice shoes I own:





{Outfit numero dos}:

The skirt was kind of a lot shorter than I thought it would be. But it's okay, 'cause I have leggings and stuff.

Okay, so about these pictures. Hehe. All the ones that are full length were taken in my backyard. I put my camera on the self-timer, 10 seconds and then set it on water barrel. Yep. It took me like half an hour and tons of pictures to get any that were semi decent. The camera either wouldn't focus, or it was too zoomed in, or--most of the time--I just looked stupid. If I ever do this again, I'm getting a tripod. Or a human to take pictures. What a novel idea!

Oh, and here's one more outfit {taken inside, as you can see}. This is more of what I wear on a normal day sort of thing. I wore it last night to go listen to my friend's favorite band, which was, by the way, awesome. I bought a CD. :)

I wore shoes, though, just so you know. I just hate wearing shoes in the house.

This has been a post. A long post full of terribly embarrassing pictures of me. Why oh why am I doing this? Never again. I think I'll stick to food and leave the style to the more experienced. XD

~Kendall

san antonio

My little vacation...in sections. :)

-breakfast

What can I say, except that I'm addicted to taking pictures of food! And the whole wall of windows, letting the morning sunlight stream in? I couldn't help myself.

-the riverwalk

This one's blurry...sorry, t'was hard to get a good photo at night, while moving. :P

It was teeming with people at practically all hours of the day, especially around dinnertime and afterwards. The waits at every single restaurant were horrendous. But we survived. :)

-that beautiful pre-sunset lighting

You know what I'm talking about. Yes, you do. {These photos were taken on the roof of our hotel. There was a pool up there and although I didn't go swimming, I did go to get some pictures. :)

-oh, cousins

My cousin Tommy told me to "blog about him" so that's what this little section is for.
We were walking back to our hotel last night when this ambulance drives by. It lets off this really loud siren/horn/noise, making all of us cover our ears. But Tommy? He jumps once, twice and leaps into his mother's arms. Did I mention he's fourteen? :P

That probably wasn't what he meant by "blog about him" but you get what you asked for...And I have plenty of embarrassing pictures but I won't post them because I would hate it if someone did that to me. :P 

-ice cream

Terribly long line. Thank goodness my double-chocolate with Reese's in a cone was worth it. ;)

-the alamo

I've been here several times so it wasn't like it was really exciting. And it was so dark. But we saw this adorable little kid:

~Kendall

P.S. There is a Bloggers' Day of Silence tomorrow, Friday the 18th, for Japan. Click here for more details. It just means not posting for one day, for a good purpose. Feel free to join in. {Also read Libby's post about this.}

You can also donate money to different organizations to help. I did it through the Red Cross yesterday. Any small amount helps. 

at the zoo

On Monday, I went to the San Antonio zoo and saw...

animals

lots 

and lots

of animals.

Many of the

non-mammal variety,

including birds

and butterflies

(my favorite).

Aren't they lovely?

Oh, and maybe a human or two:

So, yes. The zoo. Do you have a favorite animal?

Part II of San Antonio coming soon. That's the more tourist-y stuff: the hotel, the River Walk, yes, the Alamo.

~Kendall