Sunday, February 15, 2015

Teddy's Soda, The Cold, and Drawings.

I am a failure at keeping up with my blog, I know.



So you know that quote, from Dragons: Riders Of Berk? From the episode Animal House if I am correct. The one that goes, "A storm? It is the middle of winter! Devastating winter isn't for another two months!" Well, back in December I said that exact quote when it got really cold. And, of course, Devastating Winter does not occur in December. No no no, that is just winter, devastating winter is now. In February. It is probably the coldest month of the year for us. Last year, it snowed on the thirteenth of Feb. This year, yet again around Valentines day, it is freezing. It is bitter and cold and we are expecting severe winter storms and snow. Hurrah for devastating winter...




Moving on, I am currently sipping on my favorite brand of soda. Seriously, Teddy's is this soda company that makes sweet, fizzy soda, but it isn't syrupy like most brands, and it doesn't foam, it just fizzes. The root beer and cream soda are best. And the amount you get is insane! You get a full liter of soda for just a dollar! You can buy them at Tractor Supply Company. I know, a store made for farm equipment, tools, and pet supplies, sells great soda. It is good though, my parents sometimes surprise me and my brother with a bottle to ourselves some days. If they go to the store or if we are good while they are shopping they sometimes let us pick out a bottle or bring some home to us. They make citrus soda, like a Mountain Dew or Mello Yellow basically, as well as regular soda, cream soda, root beer, and orange soda. They also might make a cherry soda, but I don't remember.



Moving on, I have found a way to use photos as guides and draw anything. Seriously. Here are some drawings I've done using my tablet.




Hiccup and Astrid kissing. (From DreamWorks How To Train Your Dragon 2)

Elsa looking nice. (From Disney's Frozen)

And Astrid flying. (From DreamWorks How To Train Your Dragon 2)





Abbie R,





Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Stay Warm

Seriously, stay warm, I was outside for FIFTEEN MINUTES hauling loads of firewood with my brother, and in that span of time my hands went 100% numb, they are currently shaking still from the cold. It is sixteen degrees outside with intense wind. We're snug in our house but still, even with gloves and a sweater and a thick coat on I was cold, and with two hats my head was still chilled! Earlier today it was spitting a little snow, but now it is just that nice bitter cold. WE LIVE ON BERK I SWEAR.


Seriously, it is awful. Also, I don't think I've mentioned this, but, my mom is having a baby. Yup. It was a shock to me as well. Anyway, stay warm!




Here is us, freezing in the cold. Stay warm everyone.




Abbie R,

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Christmas Traditions

I'm sure your family has Christmas traditions, mine does of course. But sometimes, creating a new tradition is exciting. I'm currently going to start one after Christmas, I would earlier, but I can't. the tradition I'm going to start, is that I'm going to make a rag doll or two, and every Christmas I make them a new dress! (Just like Josefina's mother did in the books!) I will give the doll to my children and continue making dresses for them, in hopes they pass on the tradition.



If you want you could do this to, basic sewing skills is all it requires, you could even hand sew it! A basic piece for the doll itself, some yarn for hair, a button or maybe some stitching for eyes, a painted mouth maybe a nose, add a dress and bam! An adorable doll!



You can make one and start the same tradition as I am for fun!


Abbie R,

Monday, December 15, 2014

Pioneer Christmas

My family, has a very pioneer Christmas. Yeah, we have modern conveniences, but it is a very pioneer type of Christmas. And I love it, we do the same things the pioneer's did. So now, I'm going to tell you how we share similarity to pioneers.




Christmas Oranges. The only time of year my parents buy oranges, is in the winter around Christmas. They are a special thing, my dad got Christmas oranges as a kid, so my family, well, they buy them in bulk for Christmas. Christmas oranges are special.



Family. We spend a lot of time with out family during Christmas, it used to be that we traveled, but now the people come visit us. My mother's parents and my cousin, came to visit us this time, they arrived yesterday and are staying until just after Christmas, like good neighborly pioneer's would we give them places to stay. And on the Christmas gathering, we have a nice meal with me, my parents, my brother, my aunt and uncle, my grandmother and grandfather, and my cousin. We play games and talk and exchange a few gifts.



Special Food. Like Christmas oranges, over the holidays my parents break out some expensive cheese, summer sausages, boxes of crackers, oh, and drinks like cider and eggnog. (Or Yaknog, as my family calls it.) Special treats only occur during the holidays, enjoy them.



Baking. How much does your family bake during the holidays? Well mine does a lot, cookies, haystacks, chocolate covered pretzels, you name it, we bake it. And I adore baking so of course I add to the deliciousness.




All these things are much like what the pioneer's did! Think about what you share in common with them and traditions, the amount might surprise you.




Abbie R,

Monday, November 24, 2014

If I were in a movie....

If I was in a movie, I would be dead. Why? Well it is obvious! But her is a list anyway,



1. I am the oldest sibling. (Lots of children's movies have the oldest sibling die to portray pain of loss and make the main character stronger.)


2. I am NOT an underdog. (Say what you please, but I am not one. While I am a bit nerdy I am not an underdog, I am actually quite tough and sturdy and not the type who is teased, I am also a person adults love, which you never seen in an underdog.)


3. I'm also very annoying.


4. And I'm good at hobbies and what I do, (Underdogs and characters who don't die off seem to be bad at everything.)


5. I have saved people, as in helped sick people, I once saved a friend's life when she got hurt to. People who are amazing and help people tend to die in movies for some reason...




Abbie R,

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Beauty For Girls On A Budget

Let me guess, you are a girl between the ages of 9-14 who just really wants to look pretty but doesn't have any money to spend on stuff? No worries, I have a list and guide here to help you look good and healthy with stuff you can find around your house!


For Your Skin:


Having nice, healthy looking, acne free skin will automatically make you look nice, but buying the stuff to make your skin look pretty, is well, expensive. But here is some stuff you can use to make it look better.


1. To keep it more acne free and clean as a whistle, once a day, sometime in the morning because that is when your face is dirtiest most likely, try taking some Hydrogen Peroxide (Be careful! Most hydrogen peroxide sold in drugstores and supermarkets comes in a brown bottle and says 3% on it, 3% is the concentration of it, and that is the common one. Most people only have 3% in their houses, but in my house we have some stuff that is more on the 30% scale, which is dangerous. So just ask an adult about the percentage before using it!) Get a cotton ball, tissue paper, paper towel, or clean wash cloth damp with the Hydrogen Peroxide, and gently wipe it on your face, (Avoid your eyes.) Hydrogen Peroxide kills bacteria, so it will kill the bacteria on your face and clean it! If your skin starts to tingle pr hurt a bit, to get scared, that is a normal thing that happens, it is just the Peroxide doing its job!


2. Take a day where you pull your hair and bangs away from your face, like, all day girls, no cheating, and wash your face that morning, it will help your skin out nicely.


3. If you have a sunburn or a rash, put COCONUT  oil on it, and only coconut! Canola oil or any other would just a mess, but coconut heals and soothes.


5. If you have a random lotion nobody uses just apply it to your hands, legs, and arms. Soft, healthy skin is nice. ESPECIALLY during winter when dry skin is common.




For Your Hair:

Clean shiny hair is like wearing your best dress everyday, it is awesome! But stuff like fancy shampoos, and deep cleansers are pricey. This is the cheap alternative!

1. Just wash it when it needs washing. Washing your hair everyday when you don't need to is actually really bad for your hair, it strips the oils out and damages it.


2. Take a day (Maybe that day when you have your hair pulled back) when your hair is oily and dirty, and leave it like that. The oils will help heal your hair and that night or the next day when you wash your hair it will be healthier.


3. For shiny hair, rinse your conditioner out (I suggest always doing conditioner last thing every time you shower) with COLD water. Rinsing your hair with cold water makes it shiny!


4. To make hair shiny and softer and healthier, have your mom or sister or someone help you, or carefully do this by tilting your head back so it doesn't get into your eyes or mouth, and rinse your hair with vinegar. White vinegar might be best, but it doesn't matter that much. Vinegar rinsing is a great way to clean hair and make it look AMAZING. But don't do it too often, try once every month or once every two weeks, on the days you aren't rinsing with vinegar just rinse your hair with cold water.



5. If you have super greasy hair but you want to leave it down while going out, find some baby powder, (I don't know why but everyone seems to have it.) place a little in your hand, and place it through the oily parts of your hair and pat, rub, or move it around until you can't tell there is baby powder in it, the powder can help absorb the oils and make hair feel a bit dryer.

For Your Lips:


Soft, healthy lips make a smile look much more beautiful. You don't need gobs of lipstick to make them look gorgeous!


1.  The best thing to keep lips soft is to have something moisturizing on them. Even when they aren't dry or chapped. Chap-stick isn't that expensive, but it is annoyingly easy to lose. Something better would to be, before you go out and before bed, try putting some Vaseline (Also known as Petroleum Jelly) on your lips! You probably have some in your house, and it works miracles! Ditch those lip glosses and just use Vaseline for glossy, healthy lips!






For Your Nails:



Fingernails don't need to be covered in gobs of colorful nail polish, so try saving it for parties, events, etc, plus, removing it once it chips and trying to fix it is a large pain.


1. Just keep your nails trimmed, I keep it in mind that when I clip my nails I let them be at the same length as the tip of my finger or just longer then that when trimming them, and letting them grow out is good though. I let mine grow out to be very nice and averagely long, but I only clip them back when one breaks. That is a good rule, you can grow your nails out for at most a month without clipping, but if one breaks during that time you needs to clip it so it is a normal shape, and clip the rest of your nails down to that length as well.


2. I love wearing nail polish, but I also like NOT wearing nail polish. So if you have a dollar to spare, I would suggest going and finding the cheapest possible CLEAR nail polish, yes, I said clear. I apply clear nail polish all the time because it makes natural nails nice and glossy, just like a models'! Plus, if it chips it is easier to fix than a colored nail polish.



3. And for toenails, well, keep them trimmed, avoid nail polish, use a clear polish if you want, but in general just keeping them trimmed is enough.





Budget Makeup:



So you need some makeup for something? An event, a party, school or family photos, well your house can have a couple handy things in it!


1. Blueberries. That sounds weird, but mascara is SUPER expensive, so instead, if you are on a budget and out of time, try putting a blueberry or two in a bowl, and sticking them in the freezer for five minutes. Once done, mash them up with a fork until you have a nice paste. After that take a q-tip, dip it in the blueberry paste stuff, and apply it to your eyelashes. Bonus! If you need longer eyelashes apply some baby powder to the tips of your lashes and apply the paste, and if you need thicker lashes apply baby powder to the base of your lashes and then put the blueberry paste on! Nobody will ever know you are wearing homemade mascara!


2. Again, Vaseline as lip gloss.


3.  Remember, a smile is the best thing to wear on your face!








For Your Overall Body:



1. Drinking a lot of water is hard, up until recently I never drank water because it made me nauseous. (VERY nauseous.) You are supposed to have eight glasses a day, but that is a lot! Especially if you are in school and not allowed to have food or drink with you! So instead, when you are home or whatever, try and drink one or two small bottles or glasses throughout the day. Take some in a thermos if you are going to be out and about. You don't have to chug the water either, you can just be sipping on it every few minutes while on your computer. Water is great for healthy skin, lips, and body!


2. Drink a glass of milk or two if you can, it makes teeth and bones strong as I'm sure you have heard. But if you can't, because like, milk is expensive and you can't really drink four glasses a day, that is excessive, to get the calcium you need eat some cheese or yogurt, but if you don't have any, one thing most everyone has, is Tums, or Antacid Tablets, which is the name for generic off brand Tums. Tums can cut down on the acid in your stomach, BUT, they have a HUUUGGEEE dose of calcium in them, taking one a day can help make up for the milk you can't drink.


3. Exercising is hard, I know. I'm pretty lazy unless we are talking about bike riding. (I LOVE bike riding, I can go on ten mile bike rides because it is so FUN!) But, you don't need a fancy workout to exercise, you don't have to jog, instead, during commercial breaks while watching TV, try getting up and doing fifteen jumping jacks! You have no idea how great it feels to get up, do them, and then sit back down to enjoy your show! You can also... Do two lunges every time someone says the word Hi, Hello, or Hey, while you are watching TV, videos, etc. You can do that while reading as well! Every time someone is eating or drinking on the show you can get up and run in place for twenty seconds! It is very easy to work out and enjoy yourself!



4. Eat an apple a day. Yeah, it is supposed to keep the doctor away, but they have more vitamins than an orange and they are the best fruit for keeping teeth healthy! (That must be why I've never had a cavity, I eat so many apples because I love them.) Also try eating, bananas! They have LOTS of potassium and can also stop stomach aches from happening! Oranges, while low in other vitamins, do have quite a bunch of vitamin C! So try that as well. Remember, you don't have to eat ALL of these a day, but one of these every day or two is really great!



5. This is a mini guide to how much sun you need to get,
If you have extremely pale skin all the way to a light medium color, you need between ten and twenty minutes of time in the sun without sunscreen, hats, or sunglasses. You only need ten minutes if you are very pale, and you need more around twenty if you are up to a medium skin tone. Because lighter skin absorbs the sun's light faster and better and converts it into vitamin D very easily! Which is why pale people burn really fast. If your skin is more in the range darker medium (Olive tones, etc.) to very dark (African American/Black/whatever you chose to have your skin tone called.) you need more like thirty to forty five minutes of unprotected time in the sun. That is because dark skin doesn't absorb light easily, so being in the light up to forty five minutes ensures you are getting your needed vitamin D.



Those are all my tips for you for now!



Abbie R,






Wednesday, October 8, 2014

WIP Astrid Cosplay: Update

I said I would update on the Astrid cosplay, well, I'm getting farther along in the work! I now have:



Both of the shoulder pads.


A long stick/log that my dad will have to cut for the axe handle.


The material for the arm guards.


Dark red fabric and METAL SPIKES for Astrid's skirt.


And some brown fur like stuff so I can make the boots!



Here is a picture of the materials that I got! (Minus the log and shoulder pads.)




See! Big and little spikes, red fabric, fur/fleec-ey stuff, the cloth for arm guards, and thread!



That is all I have to say, bye for now!




Abbie R,