Gecko!

If you've been reading my blog for more than a month you know that I went to Cambodia in July. While there we learned many new things.

One of which involved geckos.

For about a week during the trip we stayed in the rural island community of Koh Preah. We stayed with our friendly homestay family, they were all so kind to us.

My roommate, Jackie, and I stayed in a homestay that had an extra bedroom for us to share. We would get home from work and dinner very late at night so it was always very dark. We used my headlamp for a light for the room because mine was very bright.

Of course, every night we needed to turn off the headlamp to go to bed. Once we did this, we were tuned in to the noises of the outside world around us.

The first couple of nights, we heard a really weird sound. It was unlike anything we'd ever heard. It frightened us, especially being in a new environment in a foreign country.

We told the others the next morning about this strange noise. A couple of them looked at us funny, like we were speaking Japanese. A couple of them said they heard the same thing. Only Jim, one of the group leaders, knew what it was.

"It's just a gecko. That's the sound they make, 'gecko'. It's why they're called that."

That night, when were turned off the light, we listened carefully, and sure enough:

"ge-cko!"

That was the exact noise they made! Jackie was still a bit apprehensive because they were kinda loud and ominous, so I came up with a solution.

When something seems scary, give it a name. I came up with the idea when I was little and afraid of the monster under my bed. I named her Lucy and she became my imaginary friend instead.

So we named all the geckos Earl. It quickly caught on around our group, and anytime someone heard a gecko they would say something like, "oh, quiet, Earl!" Or "no worries, Earl's just checking in on us."

Nobody was afraid anymore. And that concludes my Cambodian gecko story.

Hannah Renea

Side note for nerds: geckos say their name so that makes them real life Pokémon, right?

Yay Me.

You know how, when you get your braces, they give you a retainer/retainers so your teeth stay in place?

And you know how they tell you not to fold it up in a napkin because you'll forget it somewhere?

Oops?

And the biggest idiot of 2013 goes to:

Hannah Renea

Seriously guys, do not fold your retainer in a napkin. Keep the case with you at all times.

Wowwww I feel like a moron.

Our New Obsession

My family and I've recently got a new
obsession: puzzles.

We just finished this 550 piece puzzle today.

It features a zoo, but instead of animals there are people on display. The animals are visiting to see the people!

In the past 24 hours we completed a total of three puzzles. One with 200 pieces, this one with 550, and one with only 24.

We are about to embark on the greatest puzzle yet: a classic Disney puzzle. It has 1000 pieces. Wish us luck!

How very puzzling indeed!

Hannah Renea

I love my new phone!

Hello, hello! How art thou? I am making this post using 100% Siri voice activation!

So, for the past several years I have had the pleasure of using my iPhone 3GS. Man, I loved that 3GS. It had a Steamboat Willie case it was personalized so it was my own. It worked just for me. It was my phone, and I was its owner. We had some good times together.

But alas, it's time to come. It wasn't working as well as it had back when it was a spring chicken. It was slow, had a tough time responding, the case was cracked in multiple places, and it was just time for a change. I think we both knew this and I hope we both accepted it, because I certainly know that I did.

In the past, I had stubbornly refused ever trade in my beloved 3GS for anything more. That being said, I had an upgrade available. I had had this upgrade available for a very long time.

So yesterday my family and I took a trip to target where we got…an iPhone 4S!

I absolutely adore this new phone. I can't wait to use it for years to come.

See ya later, Siri

Hannah Renea

Run, Hannah, Run!

If my name were Forest, that title would make a lot more sense.

Cross country season has started up! I'm really excited about it. My goal is to run two miles in less than fifteen minutes. I think if I pursue this to the best of my ability, I can do it.

This year, I'm going to start dual-workouts. Running in the morning to get the miles in, then running with the team in the afternoon when I have to brace the elements.

Texas summers are not fit for runners. Think of a glorious, sunny day. Yeah, that's death to a runner. Now picture a dreary, rainy day. Paradise. Our perception of weather is the exact opposite of every other sane human being.

That being said, living in Texas with dangerous heat advisory warnings and triple digit degrees (Fahrenheit, obviously. Otherwise we'd literally die) can be...oh, I don't know...challenging. I don't know what the temperature was like that first day, I didn't check, but on the second day, it was 108º.

I'm not exaggerating even the slightest.

I remember being in Cambodia with my group members, many of which were from the northern parts of the USA. They were so surprised at how hot it got. 103º?! Is that even possible?! Then you'd have us Texans just laughing, saying, "get used to it, that's not that bad".

Yeah, it's bearable...if you're not running in it.

Oh well, I know it's good for me. It certainly gives us an advantage over other schools that practice early in the morning. We'll be used to the heat, they won't. So. There.

Well that's all I have to say about that,

Hannah Renea

We Are Sherlocked

There are a total of 6 episodes of the wildly popular BBC show, Sherlock. Each one is about an hour and a half long. I've watched two episodes.

And I love it. Extremely fascinating stuff, I highly recommend.

Well, I knew my family would love it as much as I do, so I tried to get them to watch it with me. Gracee's only six, so she's out of the question seeing as it is not fit for a first grader. Mackenzee watched it with me and loved it as much as I do.

Our parents were harder to convince. There was never enough time or they just weren't interested. I knew they'd love it, we're all really into crime shows, especially my mom. My dad's read the original Sherlock Holmes books and he finds deduction as fascinating as I do.

Last night, my parents and I were just hanging out in the family room. My mom was on Pinterest, my dad was reading, and I was trying to find something to do. I knew if I asked, they'd say "no", so I just didn't ask. I picked up the remote and turned on the first episode on Netflix.

At first, my parents weren't all too thrilled with me for turning it on without asking. I got an earful on how they were both doing something already and how I should've thought that through.

I was about to just turn it off when my dad told me to keep it on because we might as well, it was already playing.

Within five minutes, my dad was intrigued. I love when my dad gets into things because he's just so animated about it.

And then, even my mom put away Pinterest and admitted that she was into it.

We finished A Study In Pink, the first episode, in one sitting last night. Tonight, we'll be watching the second episode because thanks to me, my entire family is Sherlocked.

221B or not 221B, that's the question

Hannah Renea

Update: we have finished all six episodes of Sherlock. Can't wait for season three! (August 13, 2013)

Toes

Do I like country music?

It's funny, when people say they "like all types of music", they usually add the phrase "except country and screamo" to the end of that statement. While I'm not particularly fond of screamo (though there are one or two songs I actually enjoy that are screamo), I do have a confession to make.

I absolutely adore country music.

Yeah, I really do. Now, normally you'll hear me humming Green Day over Alan Jackson, but nonetheless, I still am really quite fond of country music. A lot of my extended family listens to bluegrass, country, and southern rock (which all sound the same to the untrained ear), and I'll never stray from that part of my roots.

I remember listening to my iPod in class once (we were allowed to while we studied, don't worry) and sharing with my friend Jacob. It was on shuffle and it seemed like the Dixie Chicks came up every other song. Jacob would laugh and tell me, "Hannah, your Georgia is showing."

And you know what? I'm proud of that. While I listen to a plethora of genres and artist, I'm a firm believer in you are what you listen to (John Lennon). I won't deny that my iPod has my Georgian roots hidden here and there, because I'm the same way.

So, do I like country music? Hun, I love country music.

Hannah Renea

Well I was raised underneath the shade of a Georgia pine

And that's home, you know

Sweet tea, peacan pie, and homemade wine

Where the peaches grow

If that verse from Zac Brown Band's "Chicken Fried" doesn't describe where I'm from, I don't know what does. By the way, Zac Brown Band is Southern Rock, thankyouverymuch!

Fingers

Do I play a musical instrument?

I play the cello. Though I don't play very often, I love it. I gave my love for my cello to one of my characters in Assignment, and he is way better and way more dedicated to his cello than I am with mine. I did try to portray my love of music through his eyes, although it's tricky, since (despite my love of words) I don't think I could ever fully put my love for music into petty little statements.

I hope I do my cello justice in my novel.

Hannah Renea

Hands

Are you an artist/writer?

I wouldn't consider myself an artist, but I'd definitely call myself a writer. Which reminds me, I need to get back to Assignment. It needs a major editing job!

I'm in love with words and names and sounds. I'm fascinated by the fact that (in English, at least) you can take a combination of 26 letters and suddenly be whisked away to a different world. I hope to be on shelves someday and have people read my combination of those 26 letters, with their characters, places, and plotlines.

That'd be just peachy,

Hannah Renea

Nose

What is my favorite scent/fragrance?

I love the smell of spearmint or a freshly mowed lawn. I love the smell of a campfire on a cool summer night or just the general smell of shampoo. I love the smell of lipstick or aftershave. I love the smell of ice cream. I love the smell of rain or my mom's fresh baked brownies out of the oven.

As for my favorite fragrances, I like the Twilight Woods scent and the Dark Kiss scent fragrances from Bath & Body Works. They're both just pretty and girly and I like them.

Smells, scents, fragrances are beautiful things. They're like colors for your tastebuds. They engulf you in a symphony of flavors. You sense of smell is the sense most linked with memory, so you could smell a fresh baked pie at a bakery and are whisked to a time when you were seven at your grandparents' house.

I often wonder what the love potion from Harry Potter would smell like to me, since it would be the perfect smell, tailored to my liking.

Hannah Renea

Crazy Busy Scheduling

The past month has been one of the craziest I've ever endured...and it's summer vacation!

First of all, I was in/got home from Cambodia. It truly was a wonderful experience and I loved every single day I was there. Getting home hit a few snags (which deserves a post of its own) but long story short I finally touched down in DFW an entire day later than I should have. Then there was the jet lag for a few days. Adjusting was weird.

Then, only a couple days later, I began volunteering at the Camp Community Storehouse Summer Reading Program. It had been my fourth year working with them, and my job was to keep the kitchen from falling apart. I took two days off in the middle of the program and when I returned it was a complete wreck. I ran a tight ship that sunk without me there.

Monday through Thursday after camp, I went to Driver's Ed, which was boring, horrifying (why did they feel the need to show us graphic accident pictures?! agh!), and very long. I think my teacher liked me though, I would always participate in the classwork, even though I got the discussion questions wrong 85% of the time. Still, at the end she said it was a pleasure to have me, and she didn't say that to anyone else. What can I say? I'm a natural teacher's pet.

Cross country starts up (drumroll, please) tomorrow! I've finished camp already, and Driver's Ed, this weekend's been really lazy because it's the only lazy days I've actually been able to have. Then cross country! Woohoo! I'm wicked excited to be with my team.

This year, Thayer, Andrés, and Jacob will be on the team. It'll be fun having my friends there. Last year, Thayer ran conditioning, but she was busy with volleyball so she wasn't actually on the team and was only able to come a few times. I'm so excited to run with them!

All in all, my summer's been go-go-go-go-go and I've barely had a break. Time to get on to reading, running, and before I know it, school!

Hannah Renea

Summer Reading?!

I'm going to be a (gasp) sophomore this year, and like every summer my school assigns summer reading books that we're required to read. We usually have an assessment of these books the first or second English class of the year.

Yeah, I'm not kidding and I'm not exaggerating. Literally one of the first English classes, we get a test.

And this summer, the in-coming sophomores have to read not one...not two...but three books!

In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

and The Elements of Style (illustrated) by Strunk, White, and Kalman

The issue I have is that it's already August (yikes! where'd summer go?) and I've only gotten about a third of the way through In the Time of the Butterflies. I need to get to reading.

My problem is that I'm pretty much the world's slowest reader. Add annotations on top of that, and it takes me half an our to get through ten pages. I know people who have two chapters finished in half an hour. Maybe more than that.

Needless to say, my busy summer just got busier.

Hannah Renea

Dear Guys

Recently, a friend has asked me what girls look for in a guy.

Well, I believe I found a typo-graph that explains exactly how to get a girl.

Basically, to a girl, the gentlemen is the KING of boyfriends/husbands/partners in general. And every queen deserves a king, am I right?

I hope this answers your question, friend.

Hannah Renea

My Shiny New Toy

A couple of days ago, I got (drumroll please) a new keyboard!

That's right! It may not seem like a big deal to some but I am so excited about this. I do pretty much everything important to me on my iPad: my writing, spreadsheets, blogging, you name it. Of course, I like to keep my precious safe so I always have it in some sort of case.

I've never really been a fan of the touchscreen keyboard. In fact, they really annoy me. A couple years ago, I got a case with a keyboard for Christmas. Man, I loved that keyboard, and I used it till the day the qwerty row stopped working because I used it so often.

This was a few months ago, and believe it or not, my writing suffered the loss of my keyboard. Using that touchscreen to edit Assignment was just plain annoying. I still used the case to protect the iPad, but it was looking a little sad from use.

My sister let me using her bluetooth keyboard a couple weeks ago and it's fine, but it was missing the O key. Do you know how many times I use the letter o? A lot.

Then, my saving grace. My parents told me that since we were reusing a lot of our school supplies from last year, we had enough money to buy a new keyboard case. And ta-dah! We have a new keyboard!

I absolutely love it! I'm excited to be writing and blogging more often. Blogging especially because HTML is extremely annoying on a touchscreen. It likes to autocorrect things. Yes, I know href isn't a word.

So you'll be hearing from me a little more I suppose.

Hannah Renea

Windpipe

ENJOLRAS! AT NOTRE DAME SECTIONS ARE PREPARED!

Sorry, we (Thayer and I) do that to Andrés all the time because somewhere along the line we figured out that "Enjolras" and "Andrés" are remarkably similar in pronunciation. FYI that quote above is from Les Mis if you don't recognize it. Love the live version, the movie was okay.

And it's fitting since Andrés requested windpipe with the question "Do you sing"?

Do I sing?

Do I sing?

I sing a lot. I sing more than I do really any other activity, including writing. I once wrote a This I Believe speech on how much I value music in my life. I might've actually blogged about it back when this was a little fetus blog and I really had no idea what I was doing.

Anyway, I often use music and singing as an escape. I'm able to relax when I'm upset to the point of meltdown. I'm able to enhance my joy when I'm happy. I sing everywhere and all the time. Showers, my bedroom, school, the park, with friends, with family, alone. The world is my stage and life is a musical.

Maybe I'll gush about it on my music blog (link's up top), but for now I gotta get to driver's ed. I'm going to get my license in October! :D

Swiggity swing I love to sing,

Hannah Renea

Wrists

Another one from Andrés (if that even is your real name): wrists. Have I ever broken a bone?

I have not. Never ever. Nearly sixteen years and no bones broken. I drink a lot of milk.

The closest I ever got to breaking a bone was slamming my hand in a car door. It hurt sooo bad. I went to urgent care and was there until like three a.m. and all for what? Ripped tissue between my ring finger and my pinky. That's it. I mean, come on, at least give me something to show for it.

I think another reason why I haven't ever broken a bone is because I'm too dang cautious. I'm not adventurous enough to break my arm or something. I'm okay with that though. I like my arms the way they are, thankyouverymuch.

DFTBA,

Hannah Renea

Cheeks

This was requested by Andrés under the name "Anonymous" so it really could be anyone. Pretty suspicious if you ask me....

I kid, I kid. This post is for Cheeks! Do I blush easily?

I think I blush pretty easily. I don't go all bright red all the time (only sometimes), but I do blush often. When I'm frustrated, embarrassed, or flattered is usually the reasons.

I get frustrated when people don't listen to me or don't take me seriously. That seems to have been happening to me a lot lately and quite frankly I just get really tired of it. This usually makes me flush red.

I tend to embarrass myself more than I lead others to believe. I've gotten pretty good at concealing my own embarrassment, but I still tend to get hot in the cheeks.

Then when I'm flattered. Of course, this is my favorite blush because I just feel really rosy for a moment. So I appreciate that.

Keep calm and carry on,

Hannah Renea