I dreamed a dream of sexy cars

The first car I ever drove was a 1997 Ford Explorer. Preceding that, I drove tractors for my grandpa an uncountable number of times. I'm not sure if this is the reason I love SUVs now or not. Whatever the reason is doesn't matter. All I know is, mark my words, I will own a Range Rover. At this point in time, my dream model is a 2013 Sport Supercharged V8 S/C 5.0L. This is one sexy piece of automobile and I can't wait to get my hands on that precious, black, leather steering wheel. I can't wait to get control of my dream SUV. I can't wait to be the car on the road that people gasp at when it passes them and I especially can't wait to say I've done enough in my life to afford and own an 85 thousand dollar car. The 85k for this sexy thang doesn't even include taxes, registration, or insurance but honestly, I don't care. My baby will be white. Shining... glistening... white. The interior will be white. White seats, white center counsel, white white white. The only things that won't be white will be the wheels, the front bumper, and the interior trimmings including the steering wheel and gear shift. (See model below on left.)

Beyond a gorgeous, luxurious SUV is my dream sports car. A black 2013 Audi A7. This beautiful baby has a base cost of $66,150. After I customized this pretty piece of metal to meet all of my expectations, I ended with a grand total of $76,745. Again, that doesn't include taxes, registration, or insurance. Again, I don't really care. In order to contrast my SUV, the exterior is shiny black and the interior consists of velvet beige leather. Don't forget the "Innovation Package" which is a collection of driver assistance. The head-up display shows a digital read out of the road ahead on the windshield so your eyes stay on the road. Night vision assistance alerts you of pedestrians within 300 feet of the car. The corner camera assists the driver in parking and also monitors the drivers blind spot to ensure no trouble when executing a lane change. Audi side assist prevents accidents caused by blind spot trouble and adaptive cruise control can maintain a preset distance from the car in front of the Audi. Last, Audi pre sense plus kicks in if an accident seems unavoidable. Pre sense plus protects passengers of the Audi by pretensioning the seat belts, boosting brake pressure, and shutting the windows and sunroof. How perfect is this? (Again, see model below, this time on the right.)

Now the question arises: why does one dream of something so materialistic, expensive, and luxurious when a much cheaper item can execute the same things? My answer? I like pretty things that impress other people. Another answer is if you have the money to spend, why not spend it? No matter what the reason, it is nice to own things that other people want. It's nice to get compliments on your possessions. For me, it will be extremely satisfying to say “I worked hard, was successful, and I finally own my dream cars.” (530)

Fab Five

For a person involved in nothing but show choir, it’s a great feeling when after a break from concerts and competitions, you get to perform your show for a new crowd.  This exact feeling overwhelmed my entire body on Saturday night at the Fab Five concert. The Fab Five is the name for the 5 public school show choirs in the Cedar Rapids area. This includes Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s “Happiness Inc.”, Jefferson’s ”Westside Delegation”, Washington’s “Momentum”, Prairie’s “Ambassadors”, and Linn Mar’s “10^th Street Edition.”

Each show choir performs their show in front of a crowd of parents from each school, citizens of Cedar Rapids who had interest in show choir, directors, and anyone willing to pay for a ticket to the event.  Also performing at the event is a soloist or ensemble from each school to fill time between one entire show choir ending their performance and the next setting up and getting ready for their show.

This year was my first time performing in the Fab Five concert but I really enjoyed it. Often, I see show choirs from my areas in an intense competition setting rather than a relaxed concert. Many old friendships were rekindled and many more friendships began.

At the end of the show, all five groups came together to sing a final song. This year, the song was in honor of an Iowa choral legend that passed away this fall. It was directed by his daughter who is an elementary school music teacher and a very nice woman. After this year, however, there will no longer be a finale at the end of the concert. Instead, folks will be welcome to leave once the final show choir is done performing.

I enjoyed the Fab Five concert much more than I thought I would have and I’m even more excited for next year's Fab Five performance. (310)

Best Birthday Present EVER

I always worry that when I buy a present for anyone in my life, it’s not going to be good enough or they aren’t going to like it. Fortunately, I didn’t feel this way when I handed my brother his birthday present on Thursday.

My entire family loves ice hockey. My brother has played for close to 20 years and my dad coached for many of those years. My dad also worked for the Cedar Rapids Roughriders, the local USHL team, for 13 years before retiring this year. My mom was quickly introduced to the hockey lifestyle by her husband and very talented son. I was introduced for the same reasons. I learned to count by the numbers on hockey jerseys and I am proud to say I have about 20 non-biological brothers because of hockey. It’s because of my family’s love for hockey that I knew I couldn’t go wrong with this birthday present for Jake.

I have always wanted to attend an NHL hockey game and I knew if I was going to go, I wanted to see my favorite team play. Luckily, my favorite team just so happens to be the favorite of my dad, brother, and mom (kind of by association.) Not so luckily, the NHL was in a lockout for over half of the season. It was just a few weeks ago that the lockout ended and game play resumed. As soon as I found this out, I started looking at tickets to see the Chicago Blackhawks play. I checked games against rivals first; Detroit Red Wings, Vancouver Canucks. Then games against teams I thought my brother would also want to see; Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild. At the same time, I had to pay attention to the date of the game. Weekday games were out of the running unless they fell on a week of a break. If I found a game that fit the criteria, entertaining (good opponent), close to home, weekend game, I checked in to tickets. Unfortunately, most games had tickets for standing room only…….

BUT!

I came across a game that pleased my parents and me in terms of seats, price, date, and team. Of course I couldn’t ask my brother since the ticket were his gift so I hoped with every fiber of my being that he would like them. Thankfully, he did! He opened his card from me at dinner and slowly unfolded the proof of purchase. He immediately raised his hands in excitement and yelled “YEEEEESSSSSSS!” in the restaurant. He was beyond happy to know he was going to see the Chicago Blackhawks play against the St. Louis Blues in St. Louis and I was beyond happy to know I made him happy and chose the right gift. (460) 

Brother doubles as Best Friend

My brother is so much more than a brother to me. He is a mentor, role model, and more than anything, he is my very best friend. He was seven and a half when my mom gave birth to me and now, 15 and one half years later, my brother just turned 23.  It’s amazing how much happens in 15 years of someone’s life. A few examples would be getting a baby brother… or sister, playing a sport… or multiple, moving out of the house… or state, making a mistake…or two, graduating high school and getting a job… or a few, and so much more. I’ve been lucky enough to see my brother go through most of these milestones.

Obviously, I didn’t see my brother get a little sister since I’m the littler sister he got. I’ve just seen pictures and some videos. It was very obvious that my brother loved me from the day I was born and I have yet to see that love diminish. He had no problem watching me while my mom made lunch or dinner. He didn’t whine when I needed a diaper change, and he knew that singing “You are my Sunshine” to me put me to sleep. The same caring and loving brother still exists in my life today, just without the babysitting, diaper changing, and singing me to bed. Now it’s hanging out with me, helping me pick out what to wear for a date, and being there for me when I need someone to talk to.

Jake chose to take hockey more seriously than the rest of his sports; baseball, soccer, and track. He was also in show choir but it was obvious his love was in hockey. Before his sophomore year of high school, he was scouted to play for Triple A team in Omaha, Nebraska. At age 15, he made the courageous decision to move to Omaha and live with a housing family in order to play for this team, the Omaha Energy. This was by far one of the hardest times of my life with my brother. My parents, Jake, and I took the four hour trip to Omaha to drop Jake off for his sophomore year. Saying goodbye to my brother was beyond depressing and writing about it right now is making me tear up. I knew losing my best friend wasn’t going to be easy but I had no way at all to prepare for the tears, pain, and heartbreak that overwhelmed me as I looked out the back windshield and waved goodbye for however long it was before I saw him again.

I know I’m the person I am today because of my brother and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I love him and he’s still the closest person to me, 15 years later. There have been times when I thought I was going to lose my brother, whether to a girlfriend or sport, or worse, when my brother could have died. I’m beyond lucky and blessed to have a brother who is my best friend and I can’t imagine my life without him nor would I want to. I love my Bubba. (530)

Crappy Christmases

I absolutely love Christmas time. To me, there is nothing better than spending time with family, baking with Grandma, buying presents for special people in my life, and eating holiday treats like cookies and fudge. When I was little I always went to bed early because I knew Santa wouldn’t visit me until I was fast asleep. I would put the cookies and milk out, plus carrots for the reindeer, and scurry up to my bed where Daddy tucked me in. Even now as a teenager, 15 years old, I still get the same excitement and joy for Christmas morning as I did back then.

Until Christmas Eve last year, I never thought anything could ruin my Christmas. When we got out to Grandma’s, everything went as it always does. Socialize with family, eat main meal, eat dessert, clean up, and open presents. That’s when it all went downhill. Last year, my grandma asked me for some ideas to get my parents for Christmas. I told her our manual can opener was really old so maybe an electric one for the counter. Unfortunately, Grandma tried to be funny. Correction, that’s why it all went downhill, Grandma shouldn’t try to be funny. I opened up my first present and there it was. Staring me in the eyes was a brand new, white, electric can opener. As I started opening the box, I asked if this was a joke and if there was something different inside. There was something inside, alright... certainly not different, though. It was a brand new… white… electric can opener… Grandma found this hilarious. I wanted to cry. I understand that may be greedy but a can opener!? Come on!

Luckily, Grandma redeemed herself this year. I love to bake and cook so one of my gifts was a Babycakes cupcake maker. PERFECT! I use this handy machinery close to every day. It makes the obvious cupcakes, but also mini pies, appetizers, brownies, muffins, and so much more. The cupcakes are about two inches in diameter at the widest point so they are perfect for popping right into your mouth. Not only are they convenient, I have yet to hear of a cupcake that wasn’t delicious.

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Christmas Traditions

Christmas in my family is done almost exactly the same way each year. On my mom’s side of the family, we do Christmas at Grandma’s house on Christmas Eve. Call time is usually about three thirty in the afternoon so we can socialize and catch up with family. My aunt endures the journey from Dubuque to Cedar Rapids, my uncle joins us, and a longtime family friend celebrates at Grandma’s house also. Grandma never has everything ready when people get to her house so we sit at the table and talk about how I’m doing in school, what Jake’s doing now, how’s Mom’s cancer, etc. Grandma yells across her kitchen to try and stay in the conversation while finishing the mashed potatoes and gravy or vegetables.

When all is said and done for the meal, we sit down together, say a prayer, and dig in. Grandma makes it blatantly clear that we are to eat enough food so our stomachs are filled within millimeters of exploding and then and ONLY then are we to stop eating the main course. I say the main course because we stop eating to let our stomach digest enough of the goods to make room for the betters. (Of course I mean cookies and dessert.) Grandma brews a pot of coffee in hopes that someone has acquired the taste but again, like last year, she’s the only one drinking it. I, the youngest at the gathering, encourage everyone to hurry up so we can mosey into the living room and open our presents.  

This is where some variation occurs. My brother and I sort out the presents to each family member and depending on the year, either I start or Grandma does. This year, Grandma started because I started last year.  It’s frowned upon to tear your wrapping paper and if you even think about throwing the bow away, you’ll hear about it from Grandma. Same goes for boxes. Anything that can be reused is reused often the next year. After Grandma goes, it’s Uncle Bennie’s turn; then my dad, then my mom, then Aunt Tammie, then my brother, and last, myself.  After presents we might enjoy more of Grandma’s homemade sweets or we might leave. It all depends on the year.

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I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry

I sincerely apologize for my lack of blogging. If I had an excuse, I would use it… but I don’t. In the time since I last blogged, I got the stomach flu twice, ended up in the hospital both times, celebrated Christmas with my family, rang in the New Year with my brother and his friends, entered into hell week for show choir which actually lasted about two weeks, and made way too many cupcakes. I started some new medicine as a preventative action against the stomach flu as well as influenza A which has made its way to my dad, brother, and brother’s girlfriend who all live in the same house as myself and luckily have not infected me… yet. (Knock on wood.)

Having diabetes is an added challenge when it comes to illness outbreaks, especially during the winter.  I become a slight “germaphobe” from November until mid to late March. Carrying hand sanitizer is a must, changing clothes when someone coughs or sneezes on me is almost instantaneous, and wiping down desks, railings, and doorknobs is a habit. Getting sick is extremely dangerous for diabetics and being a high school student makes it worse. Each missed day of school adds more pressure to get back on track. Unfortunately for me, I’m still trying to get caught up from earlier in second trimester.

Again, I’m sorry I haven’t been blogging regularly and I promise I’m as disappointed in me as you are. My grade has been affected and my parents have hopped on me about it. You have my word that starting on Monday, January 13, 2013; I will keep up with my blog.

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