Internet Sensations, Taking a Turn for the Crazier

Planking. Planking is an activity consisting of lying face down in an unusual or incongruous location. The hands must touch the sides of the body and having a photograph of the participant taken and posted on the Internet is an integral part of the game. (Wikipedia.com) I am sure we have all seen pictures on the internet, seen people doing it or maybe you have actually "planked" yourself. I find this internet sensation kind of amusing. Its like a world wide contest with the goal consisting of who can come up with the most unusual location. I have seen pictures of people on lampposts, on top of garbage cans, on football fields, on top of trucks and so many more odd locations.

Here are a few pretty great pictures.....65 More Great Planks Around the World

The reason I'm bringing this topic up is because a knock-off of planking has risen to popularity over the past few weeks. Tebowing as its called is referring to the current Denver Broncos quarterback, Tim Tebow. Tebow is known for his religious beliefs and act of prayer in public, especially at football games. According to the official Tebowing website (in which your supposed to upload your best tebowing pictures) Tebowing is the action of getting down on one knee and start praying, even if everyone around you is doing something completely different. The original "Tebow" is posted above.

 I think that this sensation is even more amusing than planking. Having my dad being a Denver Broncos fan, adds to the humor a bit more for me.

For those of you concerned with the fact that this might be mocking Tebow, this issue has already been addressed, Tebow is officially fine with it. For what became an overnight sensation I think its pretty creative. Here is the authorized Tebowing site: Official Site of Tebowing. The media has also caught on to this ever-so-silly phenomenon, here is an example of an article and people's thoughts: Introducing Tebowing. Its like planking, but dumber.

All I have to say is, if you choose to participate in this spectacle, stay safe and have fun!

High-Tech Swimsuits

Over the past few years in the "swimming world" one thing has been consistent, the controversy over high-tech swimsuits. In the 2009 World Championships, a ridiculous 40 something world records were broken, all swam in these suits. Questions soon came up such as "Is this even swimming anymore?" "When will it stop?" "Is it an unfair advantage?"

First of all, you might be asking, what are these high-tech swimsuits? In summary from Wikipedia.com, "These swimsuits are made with scientifically advanced materials with features to reduce drag against the water.The fabrics include features that increase the swimmer's glide through the water (said to mimic marine animal skin) and reduce the absorption of water by the suit as opposed to regular swimsuits." The suits are extremely tight and as I said in my last post, take on average 10-15 minutes to get on.

The mental aspect is something else to think about. When your in this type of suit most people truly  believe they are going to swim faster, so they do. I have personal experience with this. Now whether it was the suit or just my mentality, it worked.

So in the competitive world of swimming, when record breaking was such a common happening (about 2008-2010), something needed to change. In 2010, the "swimming governing body" (yes, there actually is one!) banned suits below the knees of swimmers and past the shoulders for women and nothing above the waist or below the knees for men. This made a difference, but still swimming seemed to be more about the technology rather than the swimming.

Now, I am not sure of the specifics but all high-tech suits must be approved by FINA (International Swimming Federation is what it is translated to). This is supposed to decrease the "unfair advantage" of technologically advanced suits. Will as many records be broken? I do know, that now when records are broken it is a big deal as it should be. This is just something that time will have to tell.

In case of any curious readers here is a picture of today's fastest suit (Speedo LZR Elite)
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=LZR+Elite&um=1&hl=en&safe=active&biw=1280&bih=883&tbm=isch&tbnid=o0S8J0od7O-4kM:&imgrefurl=http://www.pureblueswim.com/Speedo_LZR_Elite_Recordbreaker_Kneeskin_p/7190804.htm&docid=c_HFxhnc5vRIHM&imgurl=http://www.pureblueswim.com/v/vspfiles/photos/7190804-2T.jpg&w=172&h=250&ei=yfaqTsjxF-fDsQKT8IygDw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=831&vpy=395&dur=873&hovh=200&hovw=137&tx=93&ty=128&sig=116184635868371563299&page=1&tbnh=140&tbnw=96&start=0&ndsp=30&ved=1t:429,r:12,s:0

All Season Long

It's that time of year again! The final two weeks of high school swim season. On average we have worked 250 hours over the past two and a half months just for these two weeks. Its a time of excitement, stress, team bonding, and swimming fast!

Last week most of my team started our "taper." This is the term used for less yardage, more rest, more sleep e.t.c. Its an exciting thing after all of our hardwork from the season. We all get decked out in our crazy tights to see who can look the most ridiculous. The point of wearing the tights is to increase drag so then once we shave for our championship meet we are so much "smoother" in the water. Were also starting to have less practice, so we can be building up our energy and catch up on sleep. This week I don't have any early morning practices!

In the next few days, as a team, we will start to make goals for the rest of the season. This is so exciting to talk about the possibilities, and you get closer to your teammates throughout the process. With only two more meets left (Regionals and State) there is a lot of pressure to swim fast. One really important aspect of this part of the season is to have positive thinking. This is incorporated into any competitive activity such as football, show choir, orchestra, academic decathalon e.t.c. If you really want to do something you have to believe that you can do it. So as this week continues as I try not to get stressed out about schoolwork and swimming I just have to stay relaxed and think about the positives.

There are so many things to look forward to in the next two weeks that I can hardly wait. I want it to get here quickly but at the same time I don't want it to end! Like a lot of sports we have our team dinner on Friday night, the day before our Regional swim meet (the meet to qualify for state). After we shave (which is also really disguisting, you could basically confuse me with a boy) we all eat Zio Johnos to load up on carbs. It's delicious! Then on Saturday, the real fun begins, and the nerves, and the pressure, and the excitement. Putting on our LZR suits is always a great experience haha. These are the suits that are really, really tight and engineered to "create buoyancy", its exciting to think about that you have on the "fastest" suit in the world! (I will blog more about these at a later date). On average it takes between 10-15 minutes to even get them on.

After were rested up and suited up its the moment swimmers' wait for ALL SEASON LONG!

Trick-Or-Treat....How Old is too Old?

Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat, if you don't I don't care, I'll pull down my underwear! This was one of my favorite little sayings to chant when I was a younger child. This then brings up the topic of trick or treating. One of many kids' favorite things to do during the fall, including finding a costume and obviously getting a TON of candy. But how old is too old? Should there be some sort of maximum age for trick or treating?!?

I am sure there are many opinions on the topic at hand. There are also always exceptions. But here is one article I found on the matter. This article is similar to my blog, just bringing up the topic to see what people's opinions are....How Old is too Old for Trick or Treating?

I think that there already is kind of an "unwritten rule" for the appropriate ages for trick or treating. Probably somewhere around age 12, I'm guessing. I know that when I pass out candy (which I just love doing, the little kids are sooooo cute) and a group of high schoolers come to the door I get a little bit annoyed. I guess that if they aren't pushing the little kids, or running them over than they aren't harming anything. But the problems come when the older kids start being stupid. Like, coming by your house waaayyyyy too late, or running over little kids or taking all of the candy from a "Please take one! Happy Halloween!" box. Now don't get me wrong we probably have all done that before but it still doesn't make it right:)

So for some ideas to do on Halloween night if your to old to trick or treat.....
----Pass out the candy! This sounds really boring, but its actually kind of fun. You get to see all of the cute little kids plus you can stay warm in you house!

----Go to a Halloween party. This is an excuse to still dress up and probably have some really good junk food, all while not disturbing little kids

----Scare the OLDER kids that come by your house. This can be pretty fun to do with a group of friends. Come up with a little plan for when some of the older kids and/or parents come by. One time my sister and a friend hid in the garbage can with a chainsaw and jumped out every so often. I heard that a mom sprinted away at un-humanlike speeds screaming her head off.

----Host you own Halloween party. If your the type that likes to host events, have your own party! Come up with a theme, good food and music and of course a perfect costume!

So to everyone out there, Happy Halloween!

Lovely Lasagna

Cheese. Noodles. Tomato sauce. Hamburger. Spices. Lasagna. Yum. The combination of these wonderful ingredients create one of the best meals ever. There is nothing quite like the wonderful experience of eating lasagna. Lasagna happens to be on my mind today, because tonight were having a swim team dinner at my coach's house. His wife happens to make some of the BEST lasagna I have ever had. I don't know what she does but, it turns out fantastic. I guess, I could say I am really looking forward to tonight's dinner.My mom also makes a great lasagna.

 I think it must be an art to come up with the correct amount of each ingredient. The balance between, cheese, hamburger, sauce and noodles needs to be exact. I am not much of a hamburger person in my pasta, just give me the carbs. But I do like some because it gives me some protein in my meal. There can't be too much cheese either because there is nothing worse than just getting a mouthfull of cheese. The best lasagna uses multiple kinds of cheese. I know that my mom uses cottage cheese, Parmesan and mozzarella cheese and it turns out great!

The sauce, noodles and spices need to be perfect as well. I am not too picky on these ingredients because I love noodles and most sauces are going to be the same. Spices are probably what makes the taste in every lasagna different. So if you want to have a famous lasagna come up with something creative!

Its not just lasagna that makes the meal great. In my opinion, you have to balance the main dish out with some garlic bread. I absolutely love garlic bread. Just spread some butter and garlic salt on basically any kind of bread and throw it in the oven to get toasty.

Once you have the lasagna and garlic bread maybe add a vegetable (I reccommend green beans), fruit salad and dessert. Then you have one of the best meals EVER!!!

Officially Fall

Red, orange, and yellow leaves, new sweaters, football, apple pies and cool weather all perfectly describe Fall in my opinion. The weather all of a sudden changed this week and it hit me that it really is Fall!

There is something kind of exciting and at the same time kind of depressing about the chilling temperatures of mid-October. There are many things to look forward to such as Thanksgiving, football games, and indoor activities. But the thought of the never-ending Iowa winter soon enters my mind. Snow, sleet, and freezing cold temperatures are not my most favorite thing in the world. So now, I am going to take some time to tell you some of my favorite things about the current season: Fall.

--Leaves: The beautiful colors of leaves that you see as you drive about are just unbelieveable. I love driving down a street that is just surrouned my big trees with lots of leaves. The scenery looks picture perfect! As a child, I was never one for jumping into a pile of leaves, I preferred to just rake them and have contests to see who could make the biggest pile.
--Football: I love football. As most people who know me half decently will tell you, I love football. I have started to enjoy going to high school football games as long as its a nice night and were not loosing by unimaginable numbers. Most importantly, I need to get my fix of cheering for the Hawkeyes on Saturdays and switching gears to the pros by Sunday. My life pretty much revolves around football and homework on these days. I love watching the sport with family and friends while relaxing and eating a yummy snack!
--Apples: There is something about apples that just scream "Fall" to me. I think its because when I was younger, my family and I would go to the apple orchard and pick apples. I absolutely loved doing this and being able to sample several different varieties of apples just by picking them off the tree. Then we would make homemade applesauce and turnovers. This is the perfect Fall snack! To this day, there isn't much that gets better than a good ol' apple turnover.
--Halloween: This holiday has always been one of my favorites. I never go too crazy but the atmosphere is always fun. I love handing out candy to all of the little kids who come by in their cute little costumes! Plus this gives me a great opportunity to steal some of the candy:)
--Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving is another great holiday that occurs in the Fall. I don't know if its all the terrific food, seeing family and friends or getting a whole week of off school but its pretty great! I am already looking forward to the green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, turkey and cranberry jello. Yum!

Smashn' Smoothies

Yummmmm the delicious taste of a perfect smoothie. I don't know about you but I have to say that smoothies are one of my favorite foods. Everything is so perfect about a smoothie. The cool, crisp, refreshing fruity taste that quenches your thirst and hunger is a superb snack!

One of the best things about smoothies is that no two ever seem the same (unless you buy one at a restaurant which I will address later). At least for me I always blend my own and come up with my own concoction based on whatever my heart desires. I tend to prefer the tart variety rather than the sweet/tasteless ones. Most of the time my smoothies consist of juice, fruit, yogurt and lemonade concentrate. Sometimes I will add lemonade or milk depending on how I want the final product to taste. Every ingredient has a very important role in order to perfect each smoothie....

--Juice/liquid: The liquid is the base of each smoothie. Probably 90% of the time I use apple-raspberry or apple cranberry juice. Pineapple juice is another fantastic addition, a little goes a long way! The juices give off a solid fruity taste. If I'm going for an afternoon thirst quencher, I tend to add some lemonade as well. To make the smoothie healthier, like for breakfast, milk might be added but I don't prefer that as much.
--Fruit: My favorite part! The fruit in each smoothie is what makes each recipe different. I either go the tropical route or the wild berry path. Tropical includes strawberries, pineapples and peaches. Wild berry consists of blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries. For the best smoothie ever-add freshly picked raspberries!
--Yogurt: The yogurt is what thickens this ever so delicious snack. I always put in a cup or so of plain Greek yogurt. This has lots of protein which provides a nutritious aspect  to the drink! Then I follow up with raspberry yogurt to balance out all of the other flavors.
--Lemonade concentrate: This is my specialty! Every smoothie receives a spoonfull of pink lemonade concentrate. This adds to the tartness that I love while providing a lemony flavor!
--------With each of these ingredients, I have got a perfect snack!

Now, to talk about restaurant smoothies. For the most part, there is something about them that isn't just right. I have triend a lot of smoothies from a lot of different places just because I am always craving one. There either to sweet or sugary. You don't get that natural, healthy and tart flavor! Over my years of smoothie tasting I have found a few places that hit the spot just right....
--Coldstone: Yeah, I just broke my rule of healthy and natural but I do love a Berry Lemony smoothie from here. Its tart, fruity and fun!
--Maui Wowi: These smoothies are some of the most delicious ones I have ever had. I first became aquainted with them up at a swim meet in Minneapolis. That was the only place I could ever get one and each year I would look forward to that just as much as my swim meet. Then they stopped catering there and I found them at Valley Fair! Strawberry Banana is the way to go here.
--Caribou Coffee: These are very good, not too sweet/sugary smoothies that quench your thirst and hunger! Wild Berry is my suggestion and the purple color is fun too!

Now after writing this ridiculous post I have made myself crave a smoothie....good thing I have left overs from this morning!

What is in a Name?

Your name is something that identifies you from everyone else in the world. Yes, I am sure there are plenty of repeats but probably not in the people that you know. I would hope that most parents give serious thought before naming their children. A name could haunt someone for their whole life or it could help them in some ever so weird way.

In recent surveys, parents are starting to regret their baby-making decisions. Now, I have never had the experience of naming a child (thank god) but I would think that you would make 100 % sure that you have it right. Here is a link to an article discussing the matter: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/parenting/do-you-have-baby-naming-remorse-youre-not-alone-says-new-poll-2579685/

This is totally off the top of my head and in my opinion but it seems that more commonly parents are spelling totally normal names in a totally weird way. What is the point to this? I understand that having a unique name is important to many but how far is too far on the spelling account? These children are never going to get their name spelled correctly. Here are some of the most ridiculous ones I have seen:
-Geoff instead of Jeff
-Mykal instead of Michael
-Katelynne instead of Kaitlin
-Jourdan instead of Jordan
-Hayleigh instead of Hailee
-Aleezah instead of Alisa
This is just a small example of poor children who are never going to have their name spelled right.

Its not just spelling that is getting a little crazy. There are definitely more parents going for the unusual names in about the last ten years. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of names that are unique that I really like. Another technique parents could think about would be going for the common first name and unusual middle name. For example, one of my friends has a common first name and her middle name is "Cosmo."
To wrap up this completely random post up here is the list of most popular baby names for 2010:
Top 10 Names for Boys
1. Jacob
2. Ethan
3. Michael
4. Jayden
5. William
6. Alexander
7. Noah
8. Daniel
9. Aiden
10. Anthony

Top 10 Names for Girls
1. Isabella
2. Sophia
3. Emma
4. Olivia
5. Ava
6. Emily
7. Abigail
8. Madison
9. Chloe
10. Mia
http://shine.yahoo.com/event/mothersday/the-most-popular-baby-names-welcome-back-jacob-so-long-elvis-2480957

Marathoners in the News

A marathon is something that very few people can say that they have accomplished. A grueling 26.2 mile race is a challenge that few people take up. It takes weeks, months and maybe even years of training, healthy living and mental toughness to be ready for the event. I have had multiple relatives participate in marathons and I have witnessed this lifestyle from them.

 Normally, this would not be a frequent top story of the nightly news. But in the past week, two different marathon participants made the headlines for two VERY different reasons....

A man disqualified after cheating: http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/London-man-DQ-s-after-taking-bus-for-final-five-?urn=oly-wp779

A pregnant women finishes marathon hours before delivery: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Moms/marathon-mom-pregnant-woman-amber-miller-finishes-chicago/story?id=14706286

Crazy stories right? Let's begin with the cheating dude. You have got to be kidding me! This is the most pathetic thing I have ever heard of. Why would you spend your time in effort and training just to cheat and make a fool of yourself? Especially because he has done a marathon before so he obviously knows that finishing isn't the problem. Why would anybody think this is a good idea? Now, he has built this reputation of a bizarre weirdo and no one will ever be able to look at him the same way again.  M yquestion to Mr. Rob Sloan is, "Was it worth it?"  Taking a bus to finish a marathon, lying to the press and then being called out on it? If you ever get a hold of this blog, please let me know.

Now, on the other side of things. This woman should be now called Wonder Woman. I heard about this on the radio the other day and was just amazed. This is one crazy feat considering the amount of pregnant women who probably just sit at home all day with people doing things for them. She too, like Rob, has competed in other marathons before. As the article states Amber Miller has completed 8 marathons, three while pregnant! I doubt any of the other ones were day-of-giving-birth marathons but still, give the lady some credit!

All I got to say, is if your in the news for some odd headline, don't make it as ridiculous as catching a bus to finish a marathon.

Check it Out!

Reading books is a very simple thing. How come it has become such a big deal? I know that in the days of technology that we are in, reading is the last thing on a lot of people's minds. There are some days that the only thing I want to do is curl up on the couch, with something yummy to drink, and read a good book. But I also feel that I am mostly alone in these feelings.

Reading is not for everyone, I get that. I just wonder if once you start to get to "that age" (probably around 13) and everyone is getting a facebook and cell phones, reading becomes "not cool." I don't care what people say, I like to read. I don't read every single day, 5 hours a day, but I think it is important to keep our minds open to knew experiences. When I read a good book, I don't want to put it down and can't wait to pick it up. Sometimes I think about the characters and what they are going to do next (especially when I'm swimming). I believe that everyone, and especially those of us still in school, need to have this opportunity more. Even if that means 20 minutes less on facebook to read a chapter or two.

Now I am extremely guilty when it comes to book genres. I get in a rut that I am comfortable with and don't make many exceptions, ever! I know this isn't the smartest idea, but at least I am still sitting down with a book and not staring at screen (unless I'm using a Kindle, which I don't even have, but some of you might). For those of you (probably teenage girls) who might decide to pick up a book and read it here are a few of my favorite authors/books. These are not meant to be that challenging, especially because I read them a few years ago, but they are great for a fun read!

The Private Series by Kate Brian-I started reading this in eighth grade, and became hooked. There are over 12 books in the series and the last one came out last month. If you like drama and suspense these are the books for you!

Christy Miller Series, Katie Weldon Series, Sierra Jensen Series by Robin Jones Gunn- These are definitely more for early teens, but I loved them so much I had to include them. They are great-fun-loving books that incorporates a little bit of a religious lesson.

Any Books by Sarah Dessen- For those of you who may be confused, its not a book titile but I have loved every book by this author. They all deal with a girl going through a different problem in her life and you get to live their story through the ups and downs of everything involving their life!

Thats what I've got, now go check it out!

Review: Seussical the Musical

This past Friday night, I had the opportunity to see my school's production of Seussical the Musical. It is a story for the young and the old based on a compilation of the best Dr. Seuss stories. Some of these stories include; How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Green Eggs and Ham, Horton Hears a Who, The Cat in the Hat and Oh, the Places You'll Go plus many more! Once all of these crazy adventures were combined into one story, it made for one cute and fun musical!

An aspect that made this production a really great one was the costumes. The bright colors and different fabrics made the show very appealing to watch. All of the "whos" were decked out in yellow dresses, aprons, vests and shoes which created a very bright sight! The monkeys outfits were cute, consisting of brown pants, vests and monkey tails. Horton the Elephant's costume would also be ranked high on the creativity scale. The gray Converse, socks, shorts, shirt, tie, and ski hat were perfect for the role of an elephant. More bright colors were added to the stage when the birds were taking part in the show. The red, purple, pink and orange bird's costumes entailed dresses, tights, shoes, feathers, belts and flowers!

The set was also very well done. I have heard a lot of positive comments about how the set was perfect! The bright colors and crazy settings of Dr. Seuss's stories came to life in the Kennedy auditorium. A colorful slide was center-stage which just enforced the fun-loving, crazy story even more!

Of course we can't have a muscial without singing. The music was fantastic. It's amazing how a group of students can come together and memorize so much music. I'm sure it takes lots of practice! All of the songs were great to listen to and many of them were upbeat. The dancing and choreography that went along with the singing was fun to watch as well. The catchy songs were entertaining for everyone and I still have them stuck in my head as I am writing this post.

Overall, I give everyone involved with this production of Seussical the Musical and A+!

First Time for Everything

Oh those joyous times when you decide to check your grades and something pops out at you, totally unexpected. There is a first time for everything and today I had my first experience of a big fat F staring right back at me.

So go ahead and call me a nerd. I have never failed a test in my life. I care about my grades, sometimes more than I probably should. I consistantly take challenging classes and spend hours doing homework, but I think its all worth it in the end. What I don't understand is how are people just ok with poor grades and failing tests? It makes me feel defeated inside. I believe in most cases students have to try to fail. Now we can be talking about two different instances here. My F was on a test, which was bound to happen sometime or another. But failing multiple classes? There is no excuse for that.

Now I am not terribly worried about this F. It was in spanish class, which I have been an A+ student the past two years. I'm still getting used to the teacher and how the tests are graded. This doesn't mean that it is ok though. I also have the opportunity to retake this poriton of the test, which will hopefully be to my advantage. I plan on studying the information again in preparation for the retake. The worst part about this whole situation is that I didn't expect this at all. I knew that I misunderstood an "essay" question that was worth a lot of points. But other than that, I thought I did pretty good! Now, I don't know for sure what I missed because I have only seen the test on Powerschool.

With all of this just adding another stress point in my life (yes, maybe you still want to call me a nerd) I still want to know why people are ok repeating this "behavior?" I am disappointed, and hoping my re-test goes better. It's also a little bit embarrassing, I have an A on everything else in this class but this one portion of the test. But people, come on, getting multiple F's seems like a problem to me.