It has been a great year for making memories with my friends. My first favorite memory is when I went to Disneyland with my leadership class. It was my first time going there and it was amazing. We as a class, met up at our school, then left for Disneyland around eight o’clock. I stayed there till about 1:00am. The purpose for going there was to learn Walt Disney’s way of leadership. Then after that, we split up into groups and walked around the park going on rides and eating. I never ate there, but from what I have seen, the food is fantastic. My favorite ride by far, was Space Mountain. Last year, I went to DisneyWorld in Orlando, Florida and I heard from frequent Disneyland goers, that the California Space Mountain is definitely more fun. I loved how the room was dark so that you couldn’t expect what was happening. As well as the speed of the ride. It was much faster than Disneyworld’s! My next best memory is finishing the hardest project in wood 1. It is a sliding top box, that if done well, looks amazing! I spent so long on it, trying to sand every scratch and make it look great. When the finish was sprayed onto it, it looked stunning! The grain was finally revealed and I felt good about it. And to top it off, I got 100% on it, which only like seven people had received. My third favorite memory is participating in our schools “Olympics.” We get into a team and play multiple different sports every two days. We play basketball, softball, soccer, ultimate football, team handball, and volleyball. My favorite sport was team handball because it is like basketball where you dribble a ball down the court, and to score, you throw the ball into a net, but you can’t pass a semicircle shaped crease. Today I was playing it and I was guarding this tall eighth grader who was about to catch his teammate’s throw but I got in front of him and stole and almost scored on the opposing team’s goal. Later that game, I was guarding the same eighth grader and he was throwing the ball, but I stuck my arm out and blocked it! We still ended up losing the game.
20% Project Week 6 – Cooking/Baking
This week while working on my 20% project, I baked my final meal. It was a Chocolate Cobbler. I did not like it. It asked for cocoa powder which made it really rich in addition to all of the other chocolate ingredients that went into it as well. I did not need to make any adjustments this week but if I were to make this again, I would put less cocoa powder into it. Some struggles I had this week were, because I have a lack of experience in baking, I kept overthinking things and, that our oven stopped working which made me have to go to my next door neighbors house and put the dish in the oven and wait there. I will not be baking next week because my project, has ended and I will be presenting my project in class. I felt like this project was useful because I needed to learn how to cook.
Happiness vs. Unhappiness
“Happiness and satisfaction in life depends on how much is considered enough.” This quote represents the people who are never happy with what the have versus the people have little but love it all. The kid on the left is like a Dudley Dursley from Harry Potter. They are spoiled and unhappy. No matter how many toys they receive, they remain unhappy. But the kid on the right, is like Harry Potter, who is very poor, doesn’t have many things but is still happy. The more you appreciate everything, the more happy you will be.
20% Project Cooking/Baking – Week 5
While working on my 20% project this week, I did not complete my goal of making a Praline Bread Pudding, but I still made a meal. Instead I made protein balls. I adjusted my meal from the pudding to protein balls because we were under a time constraint. My mom could not go to the store because she is busy during Tuesdays. I did not have any struggles this week. Next week, I will be making a Chocolate Cobbler. A Chocolate Cobbler is two desserts in one: a layer of tender cake mixed up with warm, pudding-like fudge. Cobblers like this one are made in an unconventional way. First, the batter is poured into a buttered baking dish, then a layer of dry ingredients are scattered on top, then boiling water is poured over the entire dish. Once the batter is in the baking dish, you don’t stir it. As the cobbler bakes, this helps it form pockets of pudding and cake-like crust.
Radical Reading – April
This month I read the book, Eragon by Christopher Paolini. This story follows a young farm boy named Eragon who lives in Alagaësia and discovers a shiny blue stone in the Spine, a dangerous mountain range. The stone then hatches revealing a blue dragon that bonds with Eragon and names Saphira. He becomes a legendary Dragon Rider, and embarks on a journey across Alagaësia in an effort to overthrow the evil king, Galbatorix. He makes enemies and allies along the way such as Brom, the storyteller, Arya, the elf and Murtagh, the king’s son.
I enjoyed this book because it combines engaging storytelling, well-developed characters, detailed world-building, and good writing to create an immersive and enjoyable reading experience. Paolini made characters that are believable, you can easily identify with their struggles and root for their successes. It is detailed and immersive world for the story to take place in, complete with its own history, mythology, and magic system. This world-building adds depth and richness to the story. The author’s writing style is descriptive and intriguing.
My favorite character was Brom, the wise, storyteller. He is a wise and experienced warrior who becomes Eragon’s mentor and teacher. He has a dry sense of humor, but he cares deeply about Eragon and the fate of their homeland. He is willing to sacrifice himself to protect Eragon and ensure the success of their mission. Brom is a wise character with a deep knowledge of the world and its history. He is usually able to provide Eragon withinformation and guidance based on Brom’s own experiences. For example, he advises Eragon to be patient and cautious when dealing with the ancient language and it’s magic, “Magic is a tricky thing, Eragon. Especially when you don’t know what you’re doing.”
My favorite line from the book is, “You cannot have a hero unless he is flawed.” This line is spoken by Brom as he is teaching Eragon about the nature of heroism.” The line is important because it suggests that even heroes have weaknesses and flaws, which makes them more relatable and interesting to readers.
20% Project Cooking/Baking – Week 4
While working on my 20% project this week, I completed my goal of making Dutch Oven Pizza. To cook with a Dutch Oven, you heat up charcoal, and put the charcoal under the oven and on top of it. I used chopped up pieces of olives, chunks of tomatoes and sea salt which made it taste great. I used a lot of dough which made it really fluffy and it was still good! This week was a great week and I did not have any struggles at all this week. I also did not need to make any adjustments but, if I were to make this again, I would spread out the charcoals so the crust and top bake more evenly because the bottom burnt a little. Next week I will be making a Praline Bread Pudding. This recipe has many reviews that say how good it is so I am excited.
My Favorite Room
In my house, he have a room called the den. It is my favorite room because most family time is spent there watching movies and TV shows. Recently, we have watched Transformers, Fire of Love, and the new Puss in Boots. My second reason is because our couch in there is so comfy. We have been through three couches and this one is by far my favorite. Our first couch was white and low to the floor. It stained very easily which after time, turned tan. Our second was higher off the floor and was gray. It was cheaply made and had a warranty but the furnishing company, wouldn’t let us return with that same year. Our current couch is a lighter gray and not too low and not too high to the ground. My third reason is because it is a great place to relax and play video games. There is a part of the couch that you can lay down fully while watching a show. We have a big TV screen in there that while not being ideal for gaming, has good quality. We have good speakers for shows as well. An ottoman came with the couch that is very cushy.
20% Project Week 3 – Cooking/Baking
While working on 20% project this week, I finished my goal of making my mom’s enchiladas. It tasted great. I used red sauce for it instead of green sauce because, I’m my opinion, it tastes better. I was going to prepare beans for this meal, but decided not to although I should have done so, because the portions were small for five people. This week was a great week and I did not have any struggles. When I make her enchiladas next, I will make sure to make beans and make bigger portions. Next week, I will be making pizza but in a Dutch Oven. A Dutch oven is a heavy, wide, fairly shallow pot with a tight-fitting lid. These ovens are heavy in order to maintain a constant temperature either in an oven or on the stove. It has a tight fitting lid so it can keep the heat inside.
20% Project Week 2 – Cooking/Baking
This week, my goal was to make a Peach Crumble Pie. But due to the in availability for peaches, I adjusted the recipe to Pear and Apple Crumble Pie. Even if they were in the grocery store, they would have been very pricey. I accomplished my goal of making a Crumble Pie and it was still really great. I probably should have changed my baking dish to a smaller one because it cooked a little over brown. This week I had one struggle. We forgot to buy lemon juice for the pie, but we risked it, and it turned out fine. If we had added it, the pie would be more tangy. Next week, I will have made my mom’s best enchiladas, my favorite meal of her’s. It is a recipe handed down from my grandma to my mom, with some improvements. My mom’s brother even asked and learned the recipe because he loves it so much.
Dinner With The Stars
There are so many people I would want to invite to dinner, but these are my top three: Shaquille O’Neal, Steve Irwin and Darth Vader. I think Shaquille would be a great guest because I like basketball and that’s a mutual interest. I could ask how many backboards he’s smashed and how many threes he’s made. He’s also funny. To be in advertising, I would think that you need to be funny, which is why he’s in advertising. I could pick his brain on all the commercials he’s made; which ones were his favorite, which were terrible and how much he makes from advertising as well as the amount per ad. I think Steve Irwin would be cool because he was a crocodile hunter. Steve definitely has injuries from his captures and from other animals. He was also a television personality so he was very interesting. He was always upbeat, optimistic, and had a great sense of humor. Irwin was a natural entertainer, and his shows were always filled with excitement and adventure. Darth Vader would be amazing because I love Star Wars. Vader is like the most famous character. He is an icon. It would be interesting to talk to him and learn more about his lightsaber, and his fighting style.