Thoughts of a Dumb Blonde

     So it is now two days after Christmas and I have made it through four Christmases. My first Christmas was at my papa’s house. My aunt and her husband cane in to have dinner and exchange presents with us. My grandma got me an Instax Polaroid camera and my aunt got me a silver Penn State bracelet. My second Christmas was on Christmas Eve at my grandma’s. This year I decided to bring my boyfriend along and hope for the best. He’s been to a lot of family things but I’ve never actually thought a guy could handle Christmas at my grandma’s before. Christmas at my grandma’s is crazy because it’s about 35 people all packed into her small house trying to eat dinner and open presents at one time. My grandma got me fuzzy socks, candy, and a gift card, which  at my age is actually very appreciated. I got my grandma a new curling iron; this was actually my first year buying my grandma a present separate from my parents. My boyfriend got me a giant stuffed dog and a box of Her...

     Everyone seems to have traditions. Especially around this time of year. A lot of people have Christmas with their family. They decorate the tree, have dinner, and give presents. Many others have Hanukkah. Many people go to church to celebrate advent. Many people stay home and watch football. Not every person does the same thing. We all have our own traditions and beliefs that we follow. Some people always travel for the holidays. Other people can’t imagine being away from home over the holiday season. There truly is no set path for us as humans. We all adopt our own habits and traditions as we go through life. Your traditions may be exactly like the ones you experienced growing up; or maybe they’re completely different from your parents. The only constant about traditions is the fact that everyone seems to have them. I think the best thing for us to do is to try not to judge people for their traditions; but to support them and encourage them to do the things that mak...

     Christmas break started today with an early dismissal from school. I’m so happy for this break because after all the school work, tests, and sports stuff I’ve had over the last two weeks, I’m ready for a break. I don’t have to go back to school until January 2nd. I’m ready to spend some time just relaxing and hanging out with my friends and family. But before I get ahead of myself, I have a wrestling match to cheer at. It’s gonna be fun because my whole squad is wearing ugly sweaters with Christmas socks and dancing to a Christmas song. Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year, and I can’t wait to  get to see some of my family that don’t live around me.

Since I did a post Disney tips, I decided to do a Universal addition. I’ll try not to repeat things I mentioned on my last post. Definitely get your universal tickets online they are cheaper that way.  If you say at a Universal hotel you are able to enter the Wizarding World of Harry Potter an hour earlier.  If you are going during the busy months purchasing a Universal Express Pass might be worth consideration. If you are going during the slower time (ex. early November) you shouldn’t need the passes. In my experience most lines are at a bearable wait time.  If you are alone, or your party is okay with splitting up, most rides at Universal theme parks have a single rider line. These lines typically go much faster and allow single riders to be placed with odd numbered parties on rides.  If you have paid to park at Universal, your parking pass lasts all day. You can leave and return as long as you have your pass. Universal City Walk has restaurants, shops,...

     I’m back to talking about Disney! This time I'm gonna give you guys any tips I can think of on how to plan and have a good Disney vacation. I’m gonna put these in more of a list form so bare with me. If you can go in the fall or spring and try to avoid holiday. Holidays at Disney are very busy as well as the summer, not to mention the stifling heat.  Start planning early, especially if staying on Disney property. Hotels get booked fast and prices often shift frequently for flights.  If you are planning on going places other than Disney, rent a car. It’s convenient to be able to go wherever you want, whenever you want, and not have to rely on public or hotel transportation.  Buy your Disney tickets on line. They are often cheaper and you can find out if your day is a value day (cheaper due to less people being at the park) Make your Fastpass+ reservations as soon as possible. Popular rides run out of fast passes fast. (The time frames are: 3...

     Since i already did a blog on Walt Disney World I thought it'd be cool to give you guys a look into another Disney park: Disney's Animal Kingdom. I went back to Animal Kingdom this year for the first time in a few years. Animal Kingdom will always have a special place in my heart. Growing up I loved animals and I still do. As the name would suggest, Animal Kingdom has several animal exhibits. the park is divided into different lands name for different continents. Each land  has different attractions and animal exhibits specific to their continent. The Kilimanjaro Safaris in Africa are really cool. Guests get to ride in a safari truck and see and learn about different animals. Something else in Africa that I highly recommend is the Lion King show. You may show up and see how crazy the line is but my recommendation is to wait until after they start letting people in to try to enter. The odds are they’ll still have room inside and you can walk right in. The show...

     Welcome back to my college confusion. I got a letter in the mail from Houghton College about me attending their school and being a part of their honors program. The college is almost exactly 3 hours from my house; which is just within my limits. The college locked really nice and their honors program is very selective. Depending on which part of the program you choose, you get to study abroad in different places. They also have a Pre-Art Therapy program. The only difference about the college is that it is a Christian college. Their belief system is based on the Wesleyan Church; I being a Methodist myself, it would work well. At the moment I don’t go to church very often but that’s not because I don’t like it. I actually really enjoy going to church I’m just busy often and when I do go I go alone. I’ve never been a really involved Christian and I often avoid the subject of religion because I don’t want to accidentally offend someone. This said, I think I might actuall...

     Yesterday I competed at my gyms home Christmas Invitational. It was terrible. I had been at the YMCA for 14 hours on Saturday watching my friends compete and helping work different parts of the meet. When I got their early Sunday, I felt sick. My head was pounding and I was sick to my stomach feeling as if I were going to throw up. The worst part was I didn’t have to compete until 5 and it was still before noon. I could barely get myself to eat even a little sandwich. I went most of the day with only the sandwich and a couple Excederine Migraines. Every time I competed it made me feel more nauseous. Then at the last event the messed up the setting on my vault. Between the altered setting and me being sick I competed horribly and dropped about a whole point off of my score. By the time I was done competing I felt so terrible I was in tears; which is something I really try to avoid at gymnastics competitions. But, even with all of this, I still got second place al...

     The older I get it seems like the less free time I have. Most of my week days are spent at school from 7:30-2:37 and I don't usually get off the bus until 3:10. I have cheer practice around twice a week after school until 5:00. Not to mention either football games or wrestling matches, depending on the season. Then in the spring I have softball, either practice or games, six days a week. On top of this I have gymnastics all year round two to three days a week with meets about two weekends a month from October to June. With coaching and practicing most of my gymnastics practices are 4:45-8:30. By the time I get home it's close to 9:00. I'm in honors classes at school so there is seldom a day that I don't have homework. With all of this I still have to find time for dinner and a shower. With everything going on when am I supposed to have free time. Time to hang out with friends; read; draw? I don't miss elementary school, but I do miss having time to myself. Hope...