365- The Dictionary and other fun stuff.

27.  Make a Choice 

                                                           28. Army of Wine Glasses

        Isn't it annoying when you are looking up a word in the dictionary and have to look up the words that define the original word you were looking up.....yeah that is all I could come up with for this post. I think that, I should write all the time, but only actually post, when I am inspired. Otherwise I will have nothing good to say.

        I did both these photos, not because I am behind, but because that’s just how indecisive I am. I sat here for at least 5 minutes flipping back and forth between them, I really can’t decide on things like this. That’s why my albums on fb always have so many photos that are all so similar….yeah sorry relatives or stalkers with slow internet who want to wander through my photos.  Not being able to decide on things is one of my struggles. I don’t want to be the person to make the choices, but I also like to feel like I am in control.  So…yeh I am even indecisive on whether I am an indecisively challenged person or not…..sheesh.


And I thought I didn’t have anything to say for this post.

Great.

P.S. Does anyone even use a dictionary anymore? Not dictionary.com, but an actual book dictionary, yes they used to have those. Shocking, I know.

365- They Call Her Tiffany We Call Her Chucklina

So its about time I did a photo post, how about we share a little bit about what me and my missionary friends do....

26. They Call Her Tiffany 

Chucklina Mugshots 

This is Chucklina aka Tiffany. You know, like the bride of Chucky? Don't worry, I have never seen those films, and NEVER intend too. I learned about Chucky, in the woods, in the middle of nowhere Russia, dead of night. It was fall 2009. Our master story teller, a wonderful spinner of tales Ashley, at our request for a scary story told me and a bunch of other girls who sat huddled in our tent about the infamous Chucky. Haillie and I were thoroughly freaked out. For the next year it was guaranteed that someone would make a  Chucky reference about every day, Miles was Chucky possessed, Chucky lives in Sarah's attic, or don't go in that room! Chucky’s in there! , etc. There was one particular day summer 2010 when Haillie was over at my house and we were doing our usual Dumpster Diving run, taking our bikes and scouring the neighborhood for neat things, we came up on some run down green houses, so of course we decided to go inside. Now you see in Russia, the whole privet property thing doesn't really stand unless the owner has a really big dog or a 12 foot fence. So this was totally legit....I think. 

As we wandered around these greenhouses we kept a lookout for any cool odds or ends, that's when we found the big army green trunk. We attempted to get it out of the greenhouse, it was right up against the windows, So I climbed over it to try and lift from that side, as I was leaning down to pick it up Haillie shouted, 'MADI. DOnt....move.' So I freeze, 'Ok, don't freak out, but there is a doll behind you and she looks really scary and neglected...she probably has a grudge against children too'

'There is not,' I said laughing as I turned around, and sure enough sitting right behind me, on the floor next to the window, surrounded by shards of glass sat this doll. I might have screamed....I don't remember...

I could have died that day, just imagine if haillie hadn't said anything, this doll could have snuck right up behind me and sliced my throat with a shard of formerly echo friendly glass.

So we named her Chucklina and we made sure to put her back. Every time we go by those greenhouses we check to make sure she is still there. I took Tasha and Cady back there sometime later that year, then summer 2011 Sarah came to visit us in Russia, so we showed her. Last I checked back was September, and if I remember correctly,

She wasn't there.

DUN DUN DUN dunnnnn

But we may never know, because our landlord sold the house that we lived in then, which was near these greenhouses, so I may never see her again.....

Hopefully....

P.S. yes, I am sure you are all wondering if me and Haillie ever got that amazing green box, well, we did get it out of there. And since we were on bikes we couldn’t carry it back with us. So we hid it in a field. Vowing to come back next weekend when she came over again to pick it up,  when we came back they had plowed the field and our box was gone….so sad….

She totally rocks that bandage ponytail huh....

OH MY WORD SHE'S AFTER YOU.

Chucklina 2010

The green houses are just past that building, we've explored that building as well. But that's another story.

Inside Greenhouse number 1.

Old electrical boxes, yes we push every red button we see....not such a good idea.

Sarah Gardner and Chucklina , last summer

Hunger Games

I am well aware of the fact that I am quite a few days behind on the photo thing and I didn't put any short story up on friday. I've been busy. I'm in the car right now on my way to San Antonio, so I just doodled this with my new watercolor pencils.
This will have to keep you happy for the time being.
P.S. it is Katniss from the Hunger Games.

Short Story Friday, on a Sunday.

So, I realized something yesterday, I forgot to put a short story up on Friday! I'd been looking forward to it all week but then just got so busy on Friday I totally forgot! I know you were looking forward to it too and I totally disappointed you. Well, you SHOULD have been looking forward to it, because it's a really great one. It is by my lovely cousin Emily, the spontaneous, funny....odd, child, that I am proud to be related too. Now, if I could only get her to stick with this story and finish it! She sent this to me January last year....without further ado,

Emily's Nameless Tale

The tall majestic oak trees cast cool shade over the lush thick grass In front of Grandma's humble weather worn, but comfortable looking house which sat proudly In the middle of the large expanse of hilly land. A small girl about 4 years of age swung happily from the old tire swing, as small speckled dots of light shown through the leaves dancing along her little strawberry-blonde head. She laughed joyfully as she ran to embrace her grandmother who sat in the rickety rocking chair that grandpa had made before his death. As they enjoyed the beautiful spring afternoon together, the little girl asked suddenly, “Grandma, do I have a daddy?" the old woman, startled by this question answered" of course deary, but I've told you before, I never got to meet him." she said with a long sigh. “I wish I could meet him too...I love you Grandma." She said with a quiet yawn as she lay her tired head on the old woman's ancient shoulder. 


Beep Beep Beep...the annoying beeping of my alarm clock rang out loudly. I groaned and reached my arm out to feel for the snooze button...what the...? My arms weren’t respondIng! I awoke in a panic and cold sweat. Then I realized this wasn't grandma's house. Surveying my surroundIngs I tried to pull myself from the hard white table my arms and legs were bound to. The room reminded me of a laboratory which I realized was probably correct. A thin man in a lab coat strutted proudly into the large room and looked at me. Walking over to me I looked fearfully into his pale, unattractive face. The dark bags under his black eyes hinted that he didn't sleep often. I cringed as he spoke to me "Well, I see you have finally regained consciousness. And they told me it was impossible!" He said, speaking rather to himself. I tried to respond but my mouth was having difficulties forming the questions that were swimming around in my groggy head. I finally managed to sqeak out "What is happening to me?" As a cold unfriendly smile spread across his face a shiver raced down my spine. As If waiting to answer this question of mine he nodded across the plain, white washed room where another table like mine sat in the middle of a closed- In glass case. And what I saw made me gasp as I looked into the face of the same girl I had previously saw swinging on the tire swing...at the old lady’s house...then it got to me I was in the glass case...a smaller me. Suddenly I blacked out.

By Emily Anderson

365- Please don't pee in our pools

the title caught your attention didn't it.
ADMIT IT.



                                                        25. I judge books by covers.

Little sister Brooklyn, inside the Castle Wall in Italy.

When I was younger, ok, I am not that old, so when I was around 11, and it came to meeting some new kid, my friend and I would have the instant opinion of, oh this person is going to be a jerk, when in reality we were being the jerks by assuming that, just from knowing them for 3 minutes. We were judging the book by its cover. Turns out this person I was assuming to be a jerk, is now one of my closest friends. 

You don't want people to judge you before they've really met you, so don't judge them.

We don’t swim in your toilet; please don't pee in our pool.

Ok the last phrase doesn't fit in well as it did when I said it in my head.....

What can I say, I was dying to use that phrase.

If I ever get a pool, I am making a sign that says that. Ha that reminds me, once I was at my cousins' house, (same cousins from the Wadawada story) and we were hanging out in their hot tub, that was pretty entertaining....all 7 of us packed in there. And then Uncle Tim came out, ( Same uncle who likes to scare us :)) and put this little thermometer in the water, he told us that his little magic stick there, could tell if there was pee in the hot tub. And not just that, but WHO peed in the pool. This freaked my little sister Aubrie and her cousin Gabby out so bad (both probably 6 at the time) that they would run back inside to go to the bathroom, about every 3 minutes. Pretty soon our Dads came out and kicked us out of the hot tub because we kept running in to go to the bathroom. 

So yesh.....did I just ruin a perfectly good post.....

hhmmm...

IN OTHER NEWS.

I am going back to Russia next month! 

wish me luck, and immunity to all foreign diseases.

Especially  the notremembermyrussian-er flue.

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Ciao.

365- Blue Walls

24. Blue Walls

Inside a castle wall in Italy last September.

They say time makes the heart grow fonder, they also say, out of sight out of mind, whoever "they" are needs to make up their minds.
I mean how confusing is that? Am I supposed to expect that not seeing you is going to make you miss me? Or only remember my name because we are facebook friends?

Procrastination!

There is probably something really wrong with my level of procrastination when I am procrastinating posting about things on my procrastination blog, where I go to procrastinate on other parts of my life.  And now I am instead procrastinating by writing a post of procrastination......

365- DARN IT. Why did I come in here again?

23. The door.

Have you ever walked into a room and forgotten why you came into that room in the first place? There are many theories as to why this happens,
    you have so many things on your brain the smaller reasons slip from your mind, meaning the reason you came into that room in the first place isn't so important, or more interesting reasons like you walked into an extraterrestrial illegal transaction and the MIB erased your memory with their little techno stick. My theory is that you are just to darn intelligent and the only way to keep you from taking over the world is too make sure you don't know what you are doing half the day.

365- Attention Nerds who can't get girlfriends.

22. Roadkill

   Mom almost ran over a couple today (they would have been fine, we weren't that close). The guy pulled the girl out of the way just in time, and that is going to live in her mind for literally FOREVER. Him saving her life, you should have seen the look in her eyes! I almost want to pay Mom to drive around doing this, it's so entertaining! Infact, guys should pay her for making them heroes. We could start a whole business selling instant hero tricks to nerds who can't get girlfriends, I could make a fortune. 

We adopt a dog at the airport.

 So literally seconds after I posted about getting our visas renewed we got out of the car to walk into the building. We could see dad coming out through the glass doors. He was walking a black lab, my first thought was that this was some security dog he had found and wanted to show us because he looked like Denmark (our recent dog that passed away, yes, he is what my sob story dog story posts are about) then I realized that that would just have been cruel. The minute he got outside I knew it was Ivan.
        For the passed four months we have been traveling all over America, Texas,Kansas,Minnesota,Wisconsin, New York, Maine, Florida, you get the picture. When we were in NY we stayed with  John and Glynda Spencer, some really great friends who we love to death. They are so easy to talk to, I could share anything with them. They're really fun too, and took us to see lights on the lake! One of those long drives with the millions, no, billions, of Christmas lights. They have three dogs, Moe, Cali (Like California), and Ivan. Moe and Cali are shih tzus, and Ivan is a 3 month old black lab. He reminded us so much of Denmark, this was before Denmark died. So this was all happening 2 months ago, we left NY and slowly made our way back to TX.
     And we all thought we were renewing visas, yes we thought it was a little odd, we didn't think we had to do that with our new temporary residency status, but we didn't question. It was kind of annoying because we had to drive up to Fort Worth from Lindale to do this whole thing, and we ended up having to stay an extra day because they changed the dates on us. On the way to the airport dad had to stop at walmart and get some bungee cords, we didn't think much of this but now it makes sense.
          So standing outside that pick up office at the airport, it dawned on all of us that Papa John and Aunt Glenda had given us Ivan. They had been looking for a new home for him because Papa John is really sick right now and Ivan was too much to handle (Papa John is getting better :) But you can keep him in your prayers!), so when they heard about Denmark dying, they knew who to give him to. So for the past few weeks all those times mom has rushed us out of the room when dad was on the phone, was them planning to get him over here. Mom was so amazed that we didn't over hear anything.

            So no visa renewals, just another addition to our big happy family :) We crammed Ivan into the car strapped his kennel to the back (using the bungee cords, yup that useless information ties in...ties in...get it....ties...)  I wasn't able to type this up till I got home, because I had Ivan on top of me haha, Aubrie says we should teach him to sit and stay, Brooklyn barely visible under the large puppy, says we should teach him to scoot over, that's him I hear right now, I better go.

Everyday Life of an MK

We are at the airport right now ( I love 3G) renewing our visas. What if they suddenly decided to deport us?!?! Dad doesn't seem to care about my irrational fear -_-
So just an update on whats goin on in my lovely life :) I will post 2 365 photos tomorrow since I didn't do one today. So no worries :)
Now I have to go make sure Sam can breathe (he's stuck in the back of the car surrounded by goodwill junk, heh heh)

365- WadaWada

21.  WadaWada

                               This is Liz, my WadaWada cousin. What does that mean? It means we're cousins who will stick with each other to the end, through thick and thin. How did that name come about? When I was about 9 we went to visit my Hayes cousins', Jess, Liz, and Maddie, they live in MO. Like the adventurous kids we are, we decided to sleep on the trampoline. It was totally awesome we played all those sleeping bag games, where you locked someone in a sleeping bag and jumped up and down till they screamed or got sick. Everything was going great, that is until it actually got dark. Their trampoline was at LEAST 50 yards from the house, and right along the edge of the woods. So you know what that means, scary story time. The more stories about disfigured green hands and possessed barbies that got told, the more scared us girls got. And since we had the fathers we did, and Poppy, our grandpa, we knew all about being scared. Our dads ALWAYS tried to scare us, it ran in the family. My dad and Uncle Tim grew up with Poppy constantly jumping out at them from closets and behind doors. So when they had kids of their own, they proceeded to do the same to us. We've been growing up watching our every move; and this was a perfect time for them to scare us,
Oh here are some rules for survival, in case you have a father or uncle like this, or even an Aunt.

             1. If your dad asks you to get some milk out of the downstairs fridge, that means your Uncle is hiding behind the door just waiting to scare you so bad you pee your pants.
             2. If you wish to enter a dark room, do NOT GO IN ALONE. Take a cousin, sister, or brother with you. The more vulnerable the better, you will feel like the strong one and won’t be so scared.
             3. Don't stick your hand out the window to check the straps on the roof when your dad asks, because he will most likely snap your arm in the window. I know this from experience.
             4. When watching a scary movie, do not hold spill able items, such as a bowl of popcorn or a cup of ice in your hands, because your uncle will come up behind you and scream like a banshee causing you to jump so high your head hits the ceiling and it rains popcorn and ice. Alex learned this the hard way.

                 So as you can see, we were expecting to get scared. My cousin Liz, was telling one particularly scary story about a bunch of little goblins. Some of the younger kids, Cady my sister and my cousin Maddie, ok fine, and me, were getting a little freaked out. That’s when Liz started chanting, “I’m not afraid wadawadawada, I’m not afraid wadawadawada” We all took up the chanting and pretty soon we were jumping up and down yelling it. And that’s when the world was suddenly filled with a white glowing light and a chorus of unearthly screams. Those screams were soon mingled with the screams of five little girls.
                 “Just wanted to make sure you guys were doing ok!” Chuckled my Poppy, our eyes adjusted to the light, and we saw my dad, Uncle Tim, and Poppy holding one of those big industrial lights. Ever since that day we’ve been using that wadawada phrase. It’s just latched on, it’s sort of become a part of me. When I think of Madi Hayes, I think Madiwadawada. I’m a wadawada cousin and proouuuuuuuud of it!

Wisconsin

Here's a video.

I made.

of me and my sisters.

Hanging with our friends

the Brobergs.

In Wisconsin. 

Enjoy.

(aNd check out this new LAYOUT. Awesome right.)

Short Story Friday

Lets call this Short Story Friday, I have some amazing friends who are pretty good writers, and I just got permission from one of them to post one of her short stories, so that's coming up later today, or next Friday. This is a short story I wrote, about a year ago. I was a little hesitant about sticking it up here, especially since now I've found out that people actually read what I stick on here. Hellooo readers. 

Anyhoo, here goes it,

For the King,

Oh how sad and exciting it is to kill a character off. All the writers out there know the feeling I'm sure.

365- A Kidnapped Sister

20. A Kidnapped Sister

   This picture was taken on Anna Maria Island just last month. That's my little sister Cady and my "Uncle" Tim, Tim Gardner lives in Maine with his wonderful family, Aunt Carre, his wife and their 3 kids, Sarah, Miles and Mark. They used to be missionaries with us in Krasnodar, but couldn't get visas so they had to move back too Maine, Uncle Tim is a police officer there and Aunt Carre a nurse. After spending Thanksgiving with them up in Maine, we all carpooled down to Florida. One of the best vacations EVER. So glad Dad and Uncle Tim could put it together,

   Speaking of uncles, I have a LOT of Uncles, all of us MK's do. Basically any other American man above the age of 30 is going to be called your uncle, when you live on the other side of the planet in some foreign land away from any of your real uncles. So in addition to that, I have a lot of aunts too. And I think this is really cool, I like the way that my friends parents, will take me on as a niece. We're all in the same boat here; they know what it’s like to be away from home, away from all their relatives. And instead of feeling sorry for themselves, they make a new extended family. The MK community over there in Kdar, is just as much my family as the Aunts, Uncles, and cousins I have here. I am just as close to them, if not more. There's something about being stuck in Russia thinking a cloud of nuclear gases is coming your way that bonds people. But what do I know, maybe that’s not it, maybe it’s the staying in each other’s houses for months at a time while searching for your own house to rent. Once we had my family, 6 people (Sam wasn’t born) the Broberg family, 6 people, and a team of 4 Chi Alpha guys all staying in our house. Yup, 16 people, and this was for a good 2 weeks or so. You learn things you never really needed to know about a friend when you’re stuck living in their house for an extended amount of time, haha. It really is just like family, we’ve all seen each other in our worst, and our best.

I love my extended family.

356- This Post is brought to you with limited photo interruption

                              I opened my blogger stats this morning to be confronted with something.
                                                                             unheard of.

13. Hidden Smile

                                           Instead of the usual 30 page views, 12 visitors,

14. Slurppy 

                                        I know, not a lot, its ok, I don't really read blogs either. 

15. Ice cream

                                     



                                                            Instead of that small number,

16. Our little Snaggle Tooth

                                                       I had 372 page views and 132 visitors. 

                                                               Excuse me while I pass out.

17. Almost

                                                            WHAT THA STINK?!

18. Oh YES.

                                        That's what happened when 3 people shared my blog. 

19. Monkey's Uncle.

P.S. The many black and white photos of children eating icecream are your prize, for reading this. Because everyone likes ice cream (even if they only like one flavor ;) oh wait....unless they are lactose intolerant ....I take it back ) and I have learned to appreciate the art of those two bland colors. 

P.P.S. I include this carrot Vader for all lactose intolerant people. 

you are welcome.

365- Because Today, We Are All Sweater Wearing Pandas

10. Hand Painted

I painted this plate yesterday. It is a panda, wearing a sweater. I like Pandas and sweaters, thus the combo. 

11. Lewis Carroll

'I can't go back to yesterday- because I was a different person then- Lewis Carroll' that is what the plate says, I picked this phrase over 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder'. One, because the other is a cliche, the first one in the book, and two, because that phrase really means a lot to me. There have been instances in my life that have shaped me in so many ways,  they have changed me. If I was still the person I was before those things happened, I would be lost, characterless, Godless even. These days have changed me,

and I can't go back.

12. Because Today, We Are All Sweater Wearing Pandas

In other words, today we are all what we weren't yesterday.

BAM.

365- Brooklyn's Generation

9. Brooklyn's Generation

There is nothing so special about the way this picture was taken, the point of interest, is what was being said the minute after I took it.

Brooklyn rolled out her green play-doh, breathing heavily she said, "This,er," She huffed, "Is so much eeaasierr," Her face scrunched up as she put her entire weight into rolling out the play-doh, "on the computer" It's so much easier on the computer.

There you have it.

A generation where children play with play-doh, on the computer.

I know moms don't like the clean up, but to go this far?

I am speechless.

365- Drama

8. Drama

(you can click photos to enlarge, they are cooler larger you know)

The sad fact of the matter is this, as long as we have girls on this planet we will have drama, that's just the way it works. And word to those younger than me, your teenage years will be full of drama. The best you can do would be, buckle up, hold on tight, and keep all arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times.

GOOD LUCK.

yeh ha I'm only 3 years into my teendom what the stink do I know? :D

365- Pizza Night and TashE

6. Pizza Night

If you think that buying pizza crust, spaghetti sauce, and grated cheese (you don't even have to grate your own cheese in this country) at your grocery store and throwing it together is a homemade pizza, your pizza isn't going to taste all that heavenly.

I get the feeling Pizza Night, is just like a missionary thing that we've all latched onto, a nice constant thing in everyone's unpredictable schedules. Here in Krasnodar pizza night is every Friday from 4 pm till everyone gets tired and crashes. Unfortunately here, we don't have many good pizza restaurants, and none that ever want to deliver to you. I’m talking raw bacon, this mozzarella looks like blue cheese-oh-that-can’t-be-good, kind of pizza restaurants. So we make our pizza, that means we make the sauces and we make the dough. Ok, correction, the Mothers, make the sauces and the dough, us kids sit back and do all the chopping. Ok. Fine, the only reason we did even that much was because Simon Bennett taught us to be helpful. We would have played outside the entire time and most likely forgot all about helping, what can I say, it’s the way of a child. Don’t mess with the flow.

My mom, Aunt Beth, and Aunt Jen, make THE best pizza I have ever eaten. I mean nothing compares, and that is NOT an overstatement. In all seriousness you will never want to go back to Papa Johns or Papa Murphy’s, little Caesars, whatever pizza you get. Just picture homemade herb crust, homemade basil tomato sauce, whatever topping you want, you’re making the pizza, you decide! And Aunt Beth’s homemade garlic butter dip? So much better then Papa John’s. You just put the word homemade in front of it and it’s already AMAZING. I wish I had more pictures of cooked, yummy looking pizza, but this is all I have maybe later. After all I’m going back to Russia in February : ) Bring on the Pizza Nights! Oh how I’ve missed you…

7. TashE

This is TashE, aka, Natasha Wilson. We all call her TashE, because a little kid named Silas started calling her that. It caught on :)

A few things about TashE, she has the most amazing hair that I am incredibly jealous of, I am not sure if I will be able to get over her hair. Taylor swift would be jealous of it. It’s all natural wavy and curly, gorgeous.

She is an awesome cook, ok this was years ago, but I remember she made these biscuit things for a Mad Hatter Tea party, SO good, she made the biscuits and the sauce on the inside and everything! It was fantastic! She makes amazing donuts too. And I know she can make pizza just as well as her mom, Beth Wilson.

Tasha is a good sport, she puts up with me making her sit still for hours reciting the lines to a short Audio Drama I wrote. She’s not one of those persons who has to have everything her way, she’s flexible, loving to do anything that makes the other person happy. You know unless that person was violent…and killing made them happy… she wouldn’t do that…..uhh….yeah, ok. Back on subject.

Tasha is hilarious. Sometimes it may be unintentional, but she has one of the greatest senses of humor I have ever seen in a person.

Best of all Tasha is a really great friend, and I am so grateful to have her. I can’t wait to see her again, it’s already been too long :( She is in Russia right now, doing her job, being a totally awesome MK :D see you soon TashE!

Tasha's biscuits picture credit, Sarah Gardner.

365- Oh So You're Left Out?

5. Left Out

A good friend of mine once told me that very often when someone feels left out, its not because they aren't being included, its because they aren't making themselves heard. If you want to join in, do it, say something. They can't do all the talking for you.

If you want friends, make yourself friendly.

365 Photos- Love Your Outfit

3. Love Your Outfit

passed someone in the mall and they stopped and complimented you on your outfit or hair style? I would be one of those persons. Unfortunately with the way my brain works, it wouldn't register to compliment you until 5 seconds to late. You would be gone, and I would be facing some other person instead. And most likely they would be sporting a pair of sweatpants and a tshirt, they would think I was being sarcastic. And quickly walk away with a sneer.

yes.

It has happened.

365 Photos- Blues Clues

4. Blues Clues

Today I was remembering,

I remembered those days when counting to 100 was impressive,

Writing your full name in cursive meant you were the smartest.

When your heart broke, it sewed itself up in minutes.

It wasn't physically possible to have too much Mac&Cheese

You'd wake up at six every morning to get in some time with your toys before school.

The Dish Job didn't even exist yet.

People called you Snaggle Tooth

And the tooth fairy was ALWAYS late.

Nothing was more fun than procrastinating when it came to school work,

Oh wait,

That still stands.

365 Photos- Poetry

2. Poetry

(click photo to enlarge)

These words translate as, 'during the ice cream' taking what I know from learning Russian and applying it to Italian, it sounds more like ' The ice cream shop of course' I'm not sure if that makes any more sense.
I couldn't really think of anything to write about this photo, so instead I came up with a reason why,


Some people say they are vertically challenged, and then there are others, like me, who say they are poetically challenged. I am poetically challenged. I can not get poetry for the life of me, I have tried Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan Poe , J. R. R. Tolkien, and then Lewis Carroll throws in the whole why is a raven like a writing desk thing? none of it makes sense to me. I can not write or understand it. I have wanted to write songs, but every songwriter has a little poet inside him telling him how to phrase things.
And I do not have this.


I think I shall stick to reading Dr. Seuss.

365 Photos of My Fantastic Life

I've been seeing this photo challenge a lot lately, its like some kind of disease everybody's caught. Well add me to the list. I am going to upload 365 photos a day.

I'll let that sink in.

Haha, some of you have seen my photo albums on fb, and your thinking, man she already does that!

Yeah ok, I was kidding, typo, I am going to upload one picture a day for everyday of the year. I'm not going to take a picture a day, that's a little stressful O.o. But I will try and put up interesting pictures up here and talk a little bit about them.

Wish me luck. and Sticktoitiveness.

Without further ado, my first photo,

1. Discover

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.

- Walt Disney

I took this sometime in the end of September, 2011. We are on a ferry leaving the island of Sardinia, in Italy. We had just spent a lovely week there exploring the beaches and old Spanish (yes Spanish) watch towers. Each morning I got to wake up early, run down to the beach where the water was still calm, walk along it until I came to one of the old towers, I would climb up inside it and read for a few hours. It was so fun to watch the sea come alive as the day got started. We were leaving Sardinia so that we could go to America, but that ride away from the island had us all thinking about jumping ship and swimming back to that exciting island.

It's A Kind Of Russian Cheese Bread, My Third Installment In A Sob Story About Dogs

I know this post is long, but hey stick with me.

So where was I.... ah yes, India had just died, and we were in America. So yet again it came time for us to move back to Russia (MK life is exciting huh, all this moving around) we needed to find a new house, so we lived on the streets for 2 months.

Yeah, Im just kidding, nott funny? Okkk...erm anyhoo, our friends the Brobergs let us stay in their house since they were still going to be in America for another 2 months. Which was totally awesome, it would have been such a hassle to try and rent an apartment for 7 people O.o.

The Brobergs have this amazing dog named Jack, like Jack Sparrow, Jack the Pumpkin King, Jack and Jill ran up the hill- you get the picture. While they were in the States (yes I very often call it The States instead of America, hey your talking to a person who thought Maine was next to that glove state. Don’t judge me) they left Jack at their house, yeah he babysat himself for 5 months, he's cool like that. Yes they did have someone come and feed him you silly goose. He's an outside dog, so he has total and utter free range. They have a huge yard, but enough is never enough right? He gets out ALL the time. And while we were there it was to hang with his lady friends.

yup.

thats Jack, Haillie Broberg, and my little sister Aubrie

So I'm (that’s me Madi) just sitting here, minding my own business, doing school and all, OK FINE, you caught me, I was secretly reading Inkheart, (you know the old hide your fun book inside of your boring science book) what can I say, I was hooked, that series was awesome! So I'm reading when all of a sudden I see a brown fuzzy thing slide across the floor out of the corner of my eye.

Heart attack, and of course think OH MY WORD ITS GWEN. I READ HER OUT OF THE BOOOK!!!!!! (Ferret like character in inkheart, a book about a girl reading things out of books yaddayadda)

It was a little brown splotchy puppy, eyes only just opened, I have got to say cutest thing ever, and it just fell out of the sky, I mean literally, how the stink did it get in my room? (Or rather Haillie Broberg’s) Dad walks in laughing, and saying, “There's more where that came from!” Me and my sisters rush outside trailing behind him like, well, puppies! (oH man AM I CHEESY!) Inside of the drainage pipes that runs under the dirt road, were 4 puppies all curled up, you know that awkward dog pile puppies do? you know what I'm saying.....anybody?

that little fuzz ball.

Turns out these 5 puppies were Jacks, way to go buddy.( we later found out there was one more way back in the pipe, but he had died) The mom, was, I am not even kidding, a three legged dog. She was missing one leg, and part of the other. And she was now going to have to deal with 5 puppies, talk about a stay at home mom.

I have more pictures of all of them on a hard drive in Russia.

So we took care of those puppies every day, it was pretty fun. We had boxes and boxes of milk that was going bad that we could feed them, so that was no prob. Me and Tasha Wilson even built a fort for them, that if we laid down we could both fit in as well, it was pretty sweet, until it rained….and the fort fell apart, us being forced to run back through the rain hauling 5 puppies.

And we named them all! The one (they are all mutts so they ALL looked different) that looked like a German Shepard; we named her Lucy, like Narnia, or Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. The yellow one, (or should I say blonde????) we named Lemony Snicket, like the Author. (I was a little obsessed at the time). The grey and white one, he looked kind of like a husky, we named Wolverine, Duhhherrr. The Reeses colored one with a stub of a tail, who looked like a bull dog...hahaha she really did, we named her Indiana Jones. BOOYA. Dude these dogs had amazing names, well, all but the last one, the last one was a bit of a calico. And adorably fluffy, so we named him Mr.Fluffers....no, no one would go for that ( I KNOW, it would have been awesome) it was taking some time to decide his name, and we'd basically decided on Chewy, short for Chewbacca, when the Brobergs came back. We all lived in there house like one big happy family for another week or so, yes, that would be 9 kids, can you spell hectic? Me either....

Lemony Snicket

Chewy

Soon after came Jimmy. Jimmy started a lot of things. Like refusing to let me, Haillie and Noah Broberg cook our pizza on the road when the power was out. So we resorted to licking all the slices because we thought he was being unfair. HAhahaha, yes I laugh, THAT DOES not mean I am proud of what I have done (hehehheh :D) Another thing he started, was calling the dog Duncan khachapuri (Hot chee pori) Khachapuri, is a Russian cheese bread. Haha, that’s not random at all. So in his maniacal ways, he got every child under the age of 10 (that would be all but 3 of us) to chant Duncan KhachepurriiiiiIIIII!!! In a sing song voice kind of like "NacchhoooOOOOOOOO" From Nacho Libre. It was even more obnoxious then getting told that we don't know how to build an A frame and aren't a loud to use our creative means of heating pizza -___-

So the dogs were named, and we were all one big happy family.

THE END.

What do you mean I said it was a sob story?

Well, fine if you want it to be one, I'll finish the story.

(I gotta wrap this up its getting long O.o)

It came time to give the puppies away before they were grown up and really looked like mutts. Indiana Jones (my fav. girl) and Lucy, went to an American couple in Nalchik. Lemony Snicket went to our friends the Behimers they have 4 kids, so that was perfect. Wolverine, was hard to give away, he was the one I wanted to keep, but rest of the family liked Mr. KhachepurriiiiiII. We gave him to some Russian guy.

We kept Duncan, and officially named him Chewy, the Behimers couldn’t take Lemony yet so we watched him too. And, we got a new house! Everything was going great, it was a perfect sized house that we managed to live in for 3 years (I believe that’s a record) the first year there were workers living in the back house, and junk ALL over the yard, it was a total mess, they even dug a huge hole in the middle of the front yard, why? So that they could BURY all the garbage, gee that made gardening an adventure -_-

Chewy at our new house.

lemony at the new house

Dad even found me this great blue bookshelf out near a dumpster! (um helloooo, that’s cool) Unfortunately, that is what led to the sob story. Chewy had been missing for a while, so we’d asked the workers to tell us if they saw him, they told me and mom that they’d found him. When we came outside the bookshelf had fallen over, and Duncan was trapped underneath. But it was too late, his arm had been trapped in his mouth and he couldn’t breathe. Story goes that Lemony had jumped on top of one of the many pieces of the workers equipment sitting near the bookshelf, climbed up on that, and toppled it onto Chewy. I was glad my sisters hadn’t come outside with me and mom. It was kind of a sad sight. We wrapped him up in a box, and mom took him away. Took the girls awhile to get over him.

Hey, you asked for the sob story.