The Crock Pot Delimma

Last Friday, my friends and I went to the mall on a mission; to purchase my mother a Crock Pot for Christmas. Our current Crock Pot is from the 80s, and I think its about time we get a new one. I had researched all these Crock Pots, and had decided the model I wanted, everything was set. We went to Macys, and I found my CrockPot, while also paying a small fortune for the thing. Instead of putting my dear Crock Pot in a bag, the lady at the counter attached this strap thing to it, leaving me to carry a freaking Crock Pot all through the mall.

Great.

So I carry the heavy thing for about two more hours, and I get quite a few odd stares. We counted 17, not to mention the "Can I help you? Nice Crock Pot." as we entered each store.

After the mall, I came home and wrapped my lovely present, and set it under the tree. Victory!

Today, my mother was looking through her Crock Pot cookbook, and I dropped the hint "Wouldn't It be nice if you had a new Crock Pot? One you could fit a chicken in?" Then she goes "Yes. But no one get me a Crock Pot!

AIJKLFJLAKFJALKFJAKGJSKDJGS NOW WHAT. I can't drive 45 minutes to go get another present. She is just going to have to deal with her dumb Crock Pot. Ugh, thanks mom.

Me and my man pants :)

Oh, man. It's been awhile. A LONG while. And I have alot to say, but lets start with something simple. Black Friday.

So, it's November 30th and I'm up at 6 AM in the morning. There is something wrong with that! Anyways, half an hour and a black coffee from Starbucks later, we are almost at the mall. (One of the two malls in the state. Haha) So anyways, we are waiting in this really long line to enter the Best Buy parking lot, when we see two cars that looked like they crashed into each other, and a ton of smoke. Not only that, but there was a firetruck, and a news crew. So my mom and I are freaking out, then she starts yelling "It might blow up! Get your camera out, this could be your Pulitzer!" So my mom and I sit there spazzing for a good 10 minutes. Finally, we get into the parking lot, and guess what? It was some guy barbecuing ribs for charity! The smoke was from the grill! I just about died.

Continuing on, I am happy to say I discovered something in Target. Something so amazing, so unique, so beautiful, I really have no idea how I lived my life without them. You know what it is? Man pants. $5 sweatpants from the men's section at Target. You thought it was going to be something pretty and shinny didn't you? Well I'm sorry to disappoint, but seriously. You have got to try these things! I bought 8 pairs. So now I wear man pants every day to school, and I have to say, I've never been happier. It's all about enjoying the little things, even if it is just a cheap pair of pants. :)

My Condolences to the Tree Man

This morning before church I was in a rush trying to apply my makeup. While brushing foundation along my cheek I noticed something; a freckle. Then I notices something else, another freckle! and another, and another, and another, and another. There was a direct line of freckles from the corner of my nose all the way down to my shoulder. Now I usually don't mind my Nick Jonas-esque freckles, but this is ridiculous!!
All during church this got me thinking, what if they start out a freckles, but turn into moles? Or warts?! What if, Heaven forbid, I turn into the tree man!?
Poor Dede, bless his little heart. This guy, was in an accident when he was 15, then BAM! Started growing moles everywhere. His hands and feet turned into what looks like tree branches, or...part of a tree. He couldn't work or support his family, his body was just covered in pounds of warts. Gross I know, but incredibly sad too.
Thankfully the tree man is getting medical help now, but I feel so bad for him. So lesson to you, and myself, next time you are upset about the freckles that may be scattered across your nose, or in my case, in a line down your neck, remember it could always be worse. Be thankful for what you have, be thankful for not resembling a tree.

Today was one of those days...

Where it rains like crazy, and you and 200 other kids huddle under the tiny front porch of school, trying to stay dry, and then you start to wonder why are you doing this? So you take off running through the grass, letting the rain soak through your clothes, and letting your hair fly wild, and you just spin in circles enjoying who you are, and where you are. No matter what. Even if what awaits you at home is 2 hours of piano practice, and a screaming plastic baby that now sits safely on the porch with your paranoid friend. And all you want to do is run home in the rain, but instead you have to wait for a ride because of that stupid plastic baby. Life lesson; don't get pregnant in high school. I just have my plastic baby for a day, but the girl on the porch, she has hers for a lifetime.

I miss you, I miss your smile.

Jim! Why did you have to go? Poor Melinda, and what about the baby? What happens now?

I've been watching the show Ghost Whisperer for 4 years now, and as of last night I think my life officially ended. Jim...died! Seriously, I can't eat, I can't sleep, I can't stop crying, and its pretty pathetic that I'm getting so torn up about a character on a TV show.

Well, I guess I'll just go morn some more now. I'll post a real entry later, I just needed to express my sorrow. Oh man I miss Jim...

Si Si Puede,

Yes We Can.

America Fererra had it right.

For the past five minutes, I've basically been sitting in front of the TV crying, tears of happiness. 50 years ago in America, our country was segregated. Blacks and whites couldn't go to the same restaurants, use the same water fountains, we were divided as a country.

Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream that one day, we as Americans could come together as a country, despite our differences. Today his dream came true. I am proud to announce Barrack Obama as the 44th president of the United States of America. The past 21 months have been a long, hard road, but we made it! Congratulations Mr. President! I can't wait to see what happens next :)

Towels imported from Turkey, turkey imported from Maine...

So...its officially Thanksgiving season! Woot! Only 29 more days till Black Friday! Haha.

How was everyone's Halloween? Mine was ok. I spent my night watching "Haunted Lighthouses" on the Travel Channel (Ironic much?), Ghost Whisper (my favorite show EVER. Comment if you like it!) and some movie on Disney Channel called "Mostly Ghostly." Aside from that I had some friends come over for a little while. While there were trick-or-treaters at my house, one of my friends had the bright idea to jump out the window and scare them. Well, my old religion teacher was actually at the door, not a bunch of kids, and when my friend saw she freaked out and fell out the window (don't worry, my room is on the 1st floor.) It was hilarious.

So...that was the extent of my yesterday, tell me about yours. :)

I feel like an onion,

sitting on this deserted porch, all wrapped up in the contents of my closet. Its pretty cold outside, but I don't really mind. Personally, I think the best part of the fall is the cold. I'm not much of a summer person, I like leaves and pumpkins, cider and spices. Every fall I break out the apple cinnamon air freshener, and crank up the Glade Lightshow plug-in thing. The smell drives my brother insane but it makes me pretty darn happy. I'm a bit of a freak when it comes to air freshener, I have every kind Target could possible offer. One for every mood and every season. Mixed with my "soothing sounds" CD, it makes quite the peaceful place.

But right now I'm not in my room, listening to music or sniffing artificial scents. I'm staring at the sky, smelling the air of the Kentucky country. Fall in Kentucky is lovely, almost as lovely as Maine, but...we won't go there. ;). There are so many scenic roads, some that I drive by every day. It can cost millions of dollars just for a few acres of field, that's how pretty it is. Someday maybe I'll be motivated enough to get out of the car with my camera and work some photo magic, but for now I'm just content as I am; sitting on this porch, staring at the sky.

ElleBelle, CowBell!? Say Whatt?

Haha. Cows. Oh man do I love cows. My aunt owns an Angus farm, and we don't really get to mess around and play but sometimes she lets me feed the babies. They are so darn adorable, seriously. I love my aunts farm, the only thing is she never lets us do anything but work. So you can bet that a few weeks ago when my friend invited me to her grandparents farm I was pretty darn excited. I would give anything to live on a farm, and you would think that in Kentucky, the birthplace of all things rural and farmish, there would be plenty of farm to go around. Oh, well, there is. My dad would die though, he hates farms, and animals, and tractors and all that good stuff. So I guess for now I'm just stuck will FFA. ha.

Anywhoo, as I was saying, my friend's grandparent's farm was AMAZING. We went in the hayloft, which was the biggest hayloft I've ever seen, took pictures with my phone of tractors, ran through fields, mooed at cows, chased kittens, it was pretty darn awesome. The only thing I regret was not having my camera, and just my phone.

So the best part of then entire farm had to be the baby cows. Cows!! Awwh man they were adorable. We got to do in their pen, pet them, feed them, you name it we did it. Speaking of names, I named them! Haha. Here are my new cow friends;

^That's Cowie ^

^Kenijoe!^

^And last but not least, Jonas^

As you can tell, the last two both have Jonas Brothers related names. Hehe.

Until tomorrow,

Elle

The closest I got to Maine was Red Lobster.

NEVER AGAIN.

Yes, this week has been utterly boring, in fact, I'm surprised that I haven't been blogging every single day at least four or five times. I haven't seen any of my friends, and before today I hadn't even left the house since Saturday, except to take the dog out. No joke.

My mom decided that because we couldn't go to Maine, at least we could go to Red Lobster, which in Kentucky, is about as close as you can get. So the minute we walked to to Red Lobster I almost gagged. It smelled like a nursing home. Seriously. I was disgusted. And all the people there were over the age of 60. The waitress knew how to fold a walker down, that should tell you something. We ordered calamari and they served it mixed with broccoli. BROCCOLI! That was my first visit to Red Lobster, and I don't think I'll be going back any time soon. The food was really gross, and everything had the word "Maine" in the title. As if I didn't feel bad enough!

After the Red Lobster incident we went to the mall, in search of computer cleaner. My one goal for the break was to clean my laptop really well (I know. I have big goals.) NOT ONE STORE HAD COMPUTER CLEANER! We even went to "Computer World." Nothing. I did get a few sweatshirts though, so that was good. Although at one point my mom thought I had been abducted and almost called the police. Haha.

It was a good "bonding" day with my mother though. All is well.

au revoir!


Elle

Photography and Me :)

As you may know, I take alot of pictures. Whether it be of my friends, my dog, the kitchen floor, I just love doing it. I take pride in my photography, and hope one day I become good enough to make a career out of it. So below are a few pictures I've taken. Hope you enjoy!

Check out more on my Flickr!

Pie Crust Sunday

Before things went wrong... (c) ElleBelle

So this Sunday I decided to bake a pie. I got the idea from Homesick Texan's Blog. My mom was extremely sceptical of this saying it was hard to make meringue and pie crust, but being the idiot that I am, I did not listen. So my mom leaves and me and Sadie attempt to cook. The crust actually turned out ok. Yes there was flour all over the me, the dog, the ceiling, and the front porch (how it got there I do not know...) but it was all in one piece and that is good enough for me.

The recipe said to put the crust in the oven for 20 minutes. This is when things started to go wrong. While the crust was baking I tried to make the chocolate filling. You had to separate the egg, yolk and whites. That really did not turn out well. I had to borrow eggs from four different neighbors before I actually got the yolk and whites in separate bowls.

So I put that on the oven, and start the meringue. I don't know if I followed the recipe wrong, or if it left out something that was common sense and I should have put in but either way it was a DISASTER. By this point the crust was burnt, the meringue was not meringuey, and the filling was boiling over. So I dumped everything into the newly burnt crust and shoved it in the oven.


While taking the pie out I burned my finger horribly, I could not play the piano at all up until today, which is was a big set back from me because I am supposed to practice an hour a day and I couldn't. Not to mention the nasty pie that instantly found its burnt self in the garbage can. Note to self: NEVER COOK AGAIN.

I think next time I am either going to A) Buy a frozen pie at Kroger or B) Go visit Homesick Texan's grandmother so she can make it for me. Haha.

Peace out,


Elle
(PS, if you like to cook go check out Homesick Texan's blog. I've used a few recipies from there and they have all turned out amazing. I guess i'm just not gifted in the pie baking area...)

Meet Sadie.

Otherwise known as the little lady who currently resides at the foot of my bed, Sadie and I have been inseparable for the past four years. Found wandering the streets, a few years back, Sadie was put into a shelter, spending endless nights behind bars, a prisoner of the vast alone. You would never think that now, looking at the two, multi-colored, sparkling eyes staring quietly as I coo "Chub-Chub!". She gives her signature remark, a sarcastic sort of yawn. Sadie is certainly the farthest thing from dumb. I swear, she can understand you. If you talk to her, she will give you her little yawn response, and if you listen closely, it sounds like she is actually speaking. Every morning 6:00 AM sharp, she wakes up to go get my dad and ask for breakfast. No joke, I swear she can tell time. And she never, ever wakes me up, nope Sadie is to smart for that, because if she were to wake me up she would soon find a pillow being slammed in her face.

But good ol' Sade does have her flaws. For one, she is scared to death of rabbits. She will not go near them. In fact, all the rabbits in our neighborhood have learned that no matter how close they get to her, she will never try to attack them. It really is something to watch the rabbits and Sadie. Second, like me, she can be lazy. She enjoys watching TV, and listening to the Jonas Brothers. Sometimes, when I'm doing my homework I'll turn the volume on my iPod down really low, put the headphones on her ears and she listens. Third, she is very devious. Being thoroughly taught not to lounge on the furniture, Sadie always stays away-when we are home. After returning from a trip, no one in our house is surprised to sit down on the couch and find it warm, and covered in hair.

The two of us, Me and Huck, we've been through a lot together. And its pretty crazy how similar we are. She is like a second mother, or maybe a sister, heck even a daughter. Its amazing what she can do, whether it be her impact on my grandmother with Alzheimers, or her score at agility trials. And even though we do have our fall outs, and get mad, she will always and forever be my baby Huckabee.

Pictures (c) ElleBelle

Here on this winding road we call life.

So yesterday on my way home from school I was thinking about something; this blog. And I thought about how all I do is complain. Then I realized something, does anyone really want to hear me complain? We all have enough problems in our lives, who wants to listen to everybody else's? My goal for this blog was to change the way people feel, and I'm pretty sure my posts so far have been anything but uplifting.

Life isn't perfect, but maybe we should spend more time enjoying the little moments than worrying over the ones that don't mean anything. Take pleasure in the simple times, like running through the ocean with your best friend after a long car ride, sitting in the barn on Christmas morning, or lying in the Church parking lot at 3 AM, freezing cold in the middle of February, stargazing. There are so many times in my life I wish I had savored more.

Sitting here, looking a picture of my old class blowing bubbles and laughing makes me smile. And that's what I want you to do, smile. Life is beautiful, why waste it?

So here's to the good times. The giggles, the grins, the funny faces. Skipping down the side walk, climbing the neighbors tree, dancing in the rain. Be fearless, be free, and let the good times roll.

Until next time,

Elle

Who says, I can't wear my Converse, with my dress?

Don't Forget...

TO BUY DEMI'S NEW ALBUM!!

It is amazing. If you aren't into all the Disney female singers, I promise this is differant. It's more rock than junky pop. I was given the privlege of meeting Demi this summer, and I have to say she is one of the sweetest, most sincere people I have ever met. Even though she was signing autographs for over 300 people, she never acted bored, but very enthusiastic. If you gave her a compliment she looked you right in the eye, smiled, and thanked you. Standing in line for 4 hours was not a disapointment. We weren't allowed to take pictures with her, but I did get one of me meeting her. However, I look like a complete freak and its blurry so i'm not going to post it. But below is a picture I took while waiting in line.

Not only is she so sweet, but breathtaking live. No Disney editing here, it blew me away. Today's song of the day over there on the thingamajig (>>) is actually four songs. My four favorite off of Demi's new CD. I suggest you listen to at least one. The first song I chose because it is title, but the second song is the one you need to hear.

So anywho, since I live half an hour away from the nearest store that sells CDs, I had to tag along to my brother's tackle football game (he is 10, FYI.) So we drop him off, go to Target (I had to get the real CD, instead of using iTunes. It's just not the same...) and them come back for the game. Well I have to say, peewee tackle football is just about the funniest thing I have ever seen in my life. Imagine a field of 10 year olds, clueless to anything pertaining to football, but with only one instinct; to tackle. And that is what they did. Every 30 seconds DOGPILE! I was almost rolling on the bleachers with laughter. I think the other parents were getting mad because I was laughing at their children getting tackled. Whoops.

About 15 minutes into the game I was starting to get bored, and then the best thing ever happened. I saw a friend from my old school standing on the edge of the field. I haven't seen her since May. So of course I freaked out screaming and running down the bleachers. I am pretty sure any parents still not pissed off at this point now were. We got to talk for about an hour, and I was pretty much indescribably happy. A perfect ending to an awesome day.

Best wishes and...DON'T FORGET to at least listen to Demi. :)

Elle

My name isn't on that list, guess no one knows that I exist...

Today was a very happy day for my mom.

First, we were driving to my piano lesson and we saw they had changed the billboard (this happens to be a big thing in my town. *coughcough* redneck!). Well to my mom's delight it was an add for an Abe Lincoln convention. Well...guess I know where i'll be in two weeks. Oh. joy.

As if that wasn't enough, we came home, and saw on the news that there are going to be five new pennies all dedicated to Abraham Lincoln, one of which has his Kentucky log cabin on it. She about had a cow.

Now about this title. I didn't get the part in the play I tried out for, like I didn't see that coming. Well...on the bright side, this gives me a better chance of being able to go to Maine. Hopefully. Tommorow my mother and I are making the half an hour drive to our nearest bookstore in an effort to get a Maine travelbook. Well...actually my mom is too cheap to buy the book, since she is still not sure if we are going, so we are going to bring paper and "take notes" (???). That woman. Well...back to the play thing, I made my song of the day (>>) So Much Better from Legally Blonde the Musical, just in case you have never heard it, and were questioning the title. (The Laura Bell version bytheway. Sorry Bailey fans, Laura Bell is the true Elle)

So for English we have to write this feature article, and mine is about how Wal-Mart is bad for America. Some of the facts are shocking. If you get really bored check out wakeupwalmart.com, the things you see might surprise you. Anyways, I have a question; are you for or against Wal-Mart? Dedicated shopper or most likely to get arrested for protesting? Sometimes I think I am the only one in my whole town who doesn't want a Wal-Mart, because I know if they add one all the small local businesses are going to go kaput. And that thought makes me really sad.

Until tomorrow,
Elle

(P.S. Demi Lovato's new album "Don't Forget" came out yesterday. Go buy it! It is AMAZING.)

No Maine, No Gain.

Wow. That is gorgeous. That is Maine. I really have no clue why I love Maine so much, I've never even been there. I think it all started when I read this book called "A Northern Light". It is so descriptive of the scenery, it makes me want to hop on a plane, or train, or heck even a horse and go there as fast as I can. So far my planning isn't going very well though, and my mom still isn't really into the whole "go-see-somthing-that-doesn't-invole-log-cabins-and-Abe-Lincoln" thing. So wish me luck with that.

In other news, tommorow I find out if I got a part in this play I tried out for. Most likley not. It's professional theatre and I am far from professional. But hey, keep hope alive :)

Back to the Maine thing, I reccomend you read "A Northern Light", it's my favorite book (minus Twilight)

And speaking of Maine again, ever heard of the band, The Maine? They are amazing! One of my friends is well...pretty much as obsessed as it gets. If you get her talking about them, she can't stop. Haha. It's all good though because I love hearing her crazy stories about the concerts she has been to. I made their song "I Must Be Dreaming" first up on my little ipod thing over there (>>) so you can have a listen if you like.

Happy 33 minutes left of monday!
Elle

Did I mention I hate retainers?

So here's the deal. I have a retainer. I HATE my retainer. It broke for the fourth time in six months about five minutes ago. Ugh. Since getting my two original retainers made in April, I have needed to get two new ones make because I keep freaking breaking them! I don't know what it is... I have never thrown them away, let them near the dog, or anything like that. I just take them out and they simply...break. My mother is not happy.

In other news fall break is in less than three weeks. What does one without a life do with a whole week to themselves? Since starting this new school I have no friends, so you can mark "spending time with friends" off the list. I could always go back and spend the week at my old school, but that is a little pathetic on my part. I am thinking about getting a job, so there is that option. Really all I want to do is travel. When my mom was young, she traveled all over the world, I guess that is where I get my need to see the world from. The problem is, the farthest we have ever gone is DisneyWord, and I live in Kentucky. Her idea of a fun vacation is going on the "Lincon Trail" which is going to lots of musems and basically stalking the guy. She wants to get a cabin in North Carolina when A) I think I have been there more than anyother state minus Ohio and Tennasee because we border them and B) No matter where we go we always rent a cabin in the middle of the woods. Always.

I REALLY want to go to Maine. You have no idea. Sadly, I don't think we will end up in Maine, and I will go into great detail later, but this post is getting kindof long and I don't want to bore you.

Be looking for my photography, coming up in later posts.
And a big thanks to all the people who have commented/followed this blog. You guys make my day :)

Have a great monday!
Elle

My Seventeen

Memories are fading...

There were 17 of us, and for the past nine years we had always been there for eachother. Through the laughs and the heartbreaks. If you fell, someone was always there to pick you up. And that building, as old as it was, was home. Spending practically your whole life at a Catholic school changes you. I've been growing up in a little bubble, sheltered from all the bad, and all the hate. A few weeks ago, that bubble was popped. Here I am, high school. Wow. I never thought that day would come. You know, it's odd; you spend your whole life trying to get out of somthing, then when you do, all you want is to go back.

All of us are now split up between 3 differant schools. Sure we still talk, but it will never be the same. I miss my 17, I miss being able to shine, I miss being able to show myself as I really am. This highschool thing isn't as easy as it looks. I would give anything to go back to how it was. But I can't. "Only the foolish dwell in the past, the wise look towards the future" is a quote I once heard, and I don't plan on being a fool. But i'm walking on a new path now, and I'm pretty sure it's not the path I want to be on.

Jambo =]

First off, I would like to say thanks for reading my blog. I have no clue how the heck you got here, but I am quite glad you did.

I guess since you have no idea who I am or what this blog is about, I should probably tell you a little bit about myself.

WELL:
I go by Elle, and I am 14 year old. Yes I know what you are thinking, oh great, I have stumbled upon the blog of a nieve child. Well, maybe you have, maybe you haven't. Is it possible that you could learn somthing from a teenage girl lacking a life? You never know unless you stick around to find out.

I have goals. I have my life planned out. I am a girl with dreams. My life consists of 5 goals, which I will elaborate on in later entries. What you need to know now is that I am an aspiring photographer. My biggest goal is to live in Tanzania, on the Sarengeti Plain, and be a wildlife photographer. Contrary to the ideas my Social Studies teacher is forcing upon me, I don't want to be rich. I don't want to live in a big mansion, and wear fancy clothes, and drive an expensive car. I want to have a nice, warm, safe home where I am happy, that is my goal. "Greed is good" is a phrase that enrages me. Greed is not good. Green gets you a big empty house with $2039403940 in taxes and 17 ex-wives.

So photography. As I was saying before, photography is one of the few things that make me happy. Macro photography and nature photography are my favorites, but I am willing to try anything that throws me a challenge. My highschool does not offer a photography class or club, so as for expanding my photography horizons I am simply dependant on my imagination and how many poses my dog can possibly strike.

Aside from photography, I enjoy creative writing. Four weeks into a creative writing class at my school and I have discovered I suck at poetry. I am an epic failure. The first thing I wrote about was a rose, thinking "Oh, the teacher will love this. Roses and poetry go together like peanut butter and jelly. Right?" Wrong. The next day she announced to the class that "rose" is the most overused subject in poetry. Roses and love. What a great start Elle. I think for now I am going to stick to the type of writing I am good at; Sarcastic writing, and for your sake, hopefully blogging.

I guess this is a pretty good length for a first post, although it really doesn't cover that much. You will learn more in the near future, I promise. I am one of those people who keeps everything bottled up inside, and in this blog, I am going to try really hard to unscrew the lid.

One more thing;
Since this pretty much consumes my life, I suppose you should know I am a pretty hardcore Jonas Brothers fan. Go ahead, roll your eyes. You don't have to like them, I understand if you don't. I just want you to know that I am not a "fake fan". I love more than their looks. I have not labed myself "Mrs. Jonas" and although all three boy are simply gorgous , I do not plan on claiming them as my own. They are people. We claim lost dogs, not people. All three are so incredibley talented. Nick is a true musician, and an amazing song writer. Joe can always make you laugh, and sure knows how to shake that tamborine. Kevin..Oh Kevin. Kevin is amazing. He always makes you smile. He himself has a beautiful, heartwarming smile and personality. I only wish I could be the kind of person Kevin is.

I'll try not to ramble on the Jonai, although they are my favorite subject. I can't help it sometimes, it just starts and I can't stop.

Best wishes now and forever,
Elle