Courtney's Cauldron

So it finally snowed again! We got about a foot (possibly more!)

I can’t wait to go sledding and build a snowman (an upside down one)!!

We’re going to have a white Christmas this year 😀

~Courtney

So today was William’s birthday. He’s officially 11!! And probably twice the size I was at that point in my life…

I told my friend that and her response was “No. He’s eight. And will remain eight. He is not allowed to grow anymore.” She also told me to wish him a happy EIGHTH birthday 😉

I made him two cakes from scratch… we went with the box mix again… 😛

Although, all three were perfectly edible and delicious.

So happy birthday William!!!

~Courtney

Always remember and respect those who died in the tragedy 70 years ago!

I was incredibly disappointed to see that the Google Doodle for today did not include anything about this major American event. Made me loose a little respect for whoever does those things. We got one for Tom Sawyer but not for our fellow American lives? Not cool, Google. Not cool at all.

~Courtney

Since the season is getting closer by the millisecond, we decided to put up the Christmas lights! (I know! It’s amazing that we even have the tree up before Dec. 23rd…)

The task of putting up the lights was mostly left up to Dad and me– with maybe a little coercing on my part…

I really wanted to put the “icicle” lights up on the high roof as well as the roof above the garage (<– if this makes no sense to you, go check out Mom’s blog.)

Now, this seemed like a simple task (not really…) at the time, but as it turned out, it was almost impossible to put the lights up on the high roof. We started by climbing up there and just trying to do it that way. It was only slightly terrifying and we managed to get a total of 1 clip attached before we gave up on that.

Our next approach was with a ladder. Another short-lived attempt. Ladders are scary, okay? And there was no place to set the ladder against because of Ashley’s bedroom window.

Then we had an epiphany! We could rope ourselves to the roof so there was less of a danger if we fell! Why didn’t we think of this sooner? Because it’s an absolutely stupid and potentially life-threatening idea. So of course we did it.

With the hard part done, we also hung the other lights. Some on the garage roof, some in the tree, some around the garage, some lining the sidewalk, some around the door, and some in the windows. We aren’t quite done yet; there’s still a couple of things we want to add to our masterpiece, but we’re getting there.

Who else isn’t looking forward to taking the lights down?

Oh well, they look pretty nifty 😉

~Courtney

This season I heard several comments about Black Friday, some analogies, some sayings.
Black Friday is like the zombie apocalypse: people flood the streets attacking one another; Everyone else locks themselves in their homes.

Black Friday is a made up holiday by the government in order to improve the economy once a year.

So I thought I’d add my own two cents…

Honestly, Black Friday seems over rated to me. Sure, there are some good sales, but for the most part, couldn’t a store stick a 80% off sticker on something, then raise the price 20 bucks?

Black Friday is a freaking scary thing. The horror stories that come afterward just prove that it’s not really worth it to go out. A lady carries around pepper spray in her purse to spray other shoppers because she must get one of those Wii remotes? Really? A guy dies in Arkansas and everyone continues to trample over him to get to the stuffed animals?

A kid in one of my classes was telling everyone how he and a buddy went to Wal-Mart to see if there was anything worth buying. They couldn’t even get into the store it was so crowded.

It’s just not worth it! Most of the stores have caught onto extended Christmas (holiday) sales anyways, not just Black Friday sales.

We actually went on Saturday afterward—most of the sales were still kind of going on, but the shelves were picked clean like meat off of the turkey dinner.

Guess that means there’s some advantage to going on Friday… but not really.

I suppose this shows you whether I was a zombie or locked up in the house on Black Friday.

~C0urtney

I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving was amazing and fun!!!

Remember what you should be thankful for!!

~Courtney

Happy Birthday Mikey! The world’s favorite mouse!!!

~Courtney

Everyone’s at least heard that saying, right? “Live every day like it’s your last (or like there’s no tomorrow, either one)”

Well in Econ (AP Microeconomics, btw) we learned all about opportunity cost. Basically if you lose more than you gain by doing something then you have a high “opportunity cost” and you shouldn’t do it.

An example would be if you bought $30 concert tickets for a band you kind of liked on Wednesday for a concert on Friday, then on Friday your friend invites you to a movie (you have to buy a $10 ticket). Economists would say that if going to the movie would make you happier than going to the movie, then you should go. In an economists’ point of view, the $30 you spent on the concert is dead–it shouldn’t play into your decision about the movie. Whether you go to the concert or not, that money is gone.

By this logic, if “living like there’s no tomorrow” is too trouble some, wouldn’t it be more worth while to live like there is a tomorrow? If you feel tired one day, it isn’t logical for you to go party hard because you may not see tomorrow if you would be happier staying in bed, even if there isn’t a tomorrow.

So here’s my advise: live so your opportunist cost is minimal 😉

AP Microeconomics: life choices and stock markets all in one.

~Courtney

The other day I had the hiccups. A lot. I’m talking in dang near every single one of my classes, after school, in the shower, while I was sleeping, etc. And they were loud. And violent. People seriously stopped in the hallway to stare at me because of my hiccups.

Of course, when somebody has hiccups, people stop to give them advice. Over the course of the day I got tons of different suggestions on getting rid of my hiccups, and I realized that the ways to get rid of hiccups got more and more exotic and ridiculous as the day went on:

Hold your breath for two minutes.
Drink water until you stop hiccuping.
Jump up and down on one foot while holding your breath.
Look up and swallow.
Look down and swallow.
Drink water from the opposite side of the glass.
Put an ice cube on the back of your neck.
Hold your breath for five minutes.
Cross your eyes and breath only out of your nose.
Look at the sun.
Think of a Beethoven song.
Hold your breath for ten minutes.
Spin in circles.
Pet a dog.
Drink soda.
Hold your tongue in your fingers.
Hold your breath for two hours, fifty seven minutes, and twelve seconds.

Okay, I’m only over exaggerating a little. I was seriously told to put an ice cube on the back of my neck and to hold my breath and do various forms of jumping jacks or to drink several different drinks. A girl actually told me that every time she gets the hiccups she pets a dog and they go away and my choir teacher told me (sarcastically, I think) to think of a Beethoven song. Then to play it backwards in my head.

By the end of the day I had a theory: If I spun counter clockwise in six circles while holding my breath and drinking hot green mint tea while holding a dog, then stopping to clap four times, then spinning clockwise three times (while holding my breath) and stopping at a 78º angle from the ground, my

Don’t you just love it when the district decides to cancel school?

Maybe not, if you aren’t in school. Or aren’t in a place that has snow. Or if you actually enjoy going to school. Then I suppose you probably wouldn’t be too fond of the district’s tendency to shut down when the weather gets bad…

But since I do attend school in a place where it snows and I prefer to sleep in I LOVE SNOW DAYS!

And although this post may seem a little random, it’s not– because WE HAD A SNOW DAY TODAY!

The only downside was that I still had to go to my orthodontist appointment and get my teeth tightened and screwed and glued and whatever the heck else they do to me there.

~Courtney