The Jim Ellis car dealership does this thing every month where they choose one "super-kid". They post a short article about the "super-kid" on their website, and then send the family to go do something fun.
I have been chosen as the "Supergirl of the Month" for December!! Unlike most of the other kids, I got to write the article about me. Last night, my parents, brother, and my brother's friend Kevin (my sister was busy) all went to the Jingle Ball concert!!!
I have to say... Jessie J and Fall Out Boy were my favorite! Calvin Harris, Jeremih, and Hoodie Allen also performed (but we had to leave before T.I. came out). I think that Jessie J is probably one of my favorite singers now... she sang "Burnin' Up" and "Bang Bang" last night, and she has an AMAZING voice!! How is it possible for anyone to hit those high notes -- and hold them for that long?! Oh, and before I had heard her last night, I had already heard the song "Who You Are", and loved it... only today did I find out that she's the one who sings it!! Makes me like her even more!
Want to hear a funny story?
So on the radio, they've been talking about how the Jingle JAM, not Jingle BALL, was on Thursday. My dad listened to the radio a lot... and somehow he got the two concerts mixed up. On Thursday, we all thought we were going to the concert, and were super excited! I had my mom do my hair, I put on makeup... everything! But when we got to the Gwinnett Center, there was NO ONE ELSE THERE. My dad brought us to the right place, but one day early!!!
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Saturday, November 29, 2014
I'm a busy, busy girl!
Hey everyone!
Sorry it's been a while since I blogged! I had a lot of stuff going on -- most of which you probably know about, and some that you don't.
Did you guys know that 9 days ago I had surgery? Yep. They were placing ANOTHER tube inside my body! (Because a G-tube and a port aren't enough, right?) But it went pretty well, actually.
Pros of surgery:
- We weren't in the hospital for long
- I got candy and a new book!
- Hopefully, the tube makes my life a little easier.
Cons of surgery:
- It was surgery. Duh.
- Pain.... and the doctors in the recovery room kept offering me Tylenol, which I can't have!
- I was stuck in the hospital. With nothing to do except read my new book.
- Another tube?! You've gotta be kidding me!
Yeah, that pretty much sums up the entire thing.
What else has been going on? Well, did you know that a few weeks ago, my sister got her driver's license? She can't drive me or my brother (or any of her friends) for another 6 months, but she can drive herself around! ....If only we had another car.
Thanksgiving was crazy, but that's pretty normal. We went to my Nana and Opa's house (we being me, my sister, my brother, and our parents). Our cousins Megan, Savannah, and Mackenzie were there; Megan brought her husband and sister-in-law; Mackenzie brought her boyfriend, and so on. The food was absolutely AMAZING!!!! My dad made his sweet potato souffle (which is to die for), my aunt brought her famous cheesy mashed potatoes, my Opa cooked the turkey, I made the dressing, and everyone had something for dessert!! I went back for thirds, even though I wasn't hungry anymore, just because it tasted so good!
I'm working to catch up on my schoolwork that I missed while I was in the hospital. Yesterday, I started -- and finished! -- a 5 minute long video titled "The Life of a Sick Kid" for Language Arts and answered some reading questions for AP Human Geography. I'm planning on doing some work on eDesign (also known as the site where we work in Yearbook Class) today.
Yesterday, I checked my email for the first time since the hospital. There was one unread message in my inbox from my science teacher, Ms. Wilson. She hadn't put anything in the subject line, so I had no idea what the email was about. When I opened it, I was really surprised!!!! Ms. Wilson said something about hoping my surgery and recovery went well... and at the end, she added on something about the science fair, which was last Tuesday! She said that my science fair project made it to the top 10 in the entire SCHOOL!!! This was my first time ever participating in a science fair, and I'm only a freshman, so I was pretty shocked! And because I made it to the top 10, I'm going on to the regional science fair in February!!!!
So, as you can tell, there's a lot of stuff going on right now! I'm really excited about what this all will do for me later -- both in and out of school.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
~ Mattie <3
Sorry it's been a while since I blogged! I had a lot of stuff going on -- most of which you probably know about, and some that you don't.
Did you guys know that 9 days ago I had surgery? Yep. They were placing ANOTHER tube inside my body! (Because a G-tube and a port aren't enough, right?) But it went pretty well, actually.
Pros of surgery:
- We weren't in the hospital for long
- I got candy and a new book!
- Hopefully, the tube makes my life a little easier.
Cons of surgery:
- It was surgery. Duh.
- Pain.... and the doctors in the recovery room kept offering me Tylenol, which I can't have!
- I was stuck in the hospital. With nothing to do except read my new book.
- Another tube?! You've gotta be kidding me!
Yeah, that pretty much sums up the entire thing.
What else has been going on? Well, did you know that a few weeks ago, my sister got her driver's license? She can't drive me or my brother (or any of her friends) for another 6 months, but she can drive herself around! ....If only we had another car.
Thanksgiving was crazy, but that's pretty normal. We went to my Nana and Opa's house (we being me, my sister, my brother, and our parents). Our cousins Megan, Savannah, and Mackenzie were there; Megan brought her husband and sister-in-law; Mackenzie brought her boyfriend, and so on. The food was absolutely AMAZING!!!! My dad made his sweet potato souffle (which is to die for), my aunt brought her famous cheesy mashed potatoes, my Opa cooked the turkey, I made the dressing, and everyone had something for dessert!! I went back for thirds, even though I wasn't hungry anymore, just because it tasted so good!
I'm working to catch up on my schoolwork that I missed while I was in the hospital. Yesterday, I started -- and finished! -- a 5 minute long video titled "The Life of a Sick Kid" for Language Arts and answered some reading questions for AP Human Geography. I'm planning on doing some work on eDesign (also known as the site where we work in Yearbook Class) today.
Yesterday, I checked my email for the first time since the hospital. There was one unread message in my inbox from my science teacher, Ms. Wilson. She hadn't put anything in the subject line, so I had no idea what the email was about. When I opened it, I was really surprised!!!! Ms. Wilson said something about hoping my surgery and recovery went well... and at the end, she added on something about the science fair, which was last Tuesday! She said that my science fair project made it to the top 10 in the entire SCHOOL!!! This was my first time ever participating in a science fair, and I'm only a freshman, so I was pretty shocked! And because I made it to the top 10, I'm going on to the regional science fair in February!!!!
So, as you can tell, there's a lot of stuff going on right now! I'm really excited about what this all will do for me later -- both in and out of school.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
~ Mattie <3
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Trick or Treat!
So, as you most likely noticed, last night was Halloween!
My family and I almost didn't go trick-or-treating, because it was supposed to rain and be really cold. My dad told us that we could either go trick-or-treating, or we could go out to eat and then have movie night; when we voted, we ended up going trick-or-treating.
I wasn't sure which costume I was going to wear. I had two -- one of them was a duct tape Elsa dress that I made for my church's duct tape contest, and the other one was a witch dress that I wore last year. I wasn't sure that I wanted to wear duct tape out with my friends, but I didn't want to wear the costume that they had seen me in last year, either! But one of my awesome nurses, Ms. Kristi, had brought her costume (yes, she dressed up and went with us), and she let me try it on. It was a Hermione Granger outfit -- you know, from Harry Potter? -- with a red and gold cloak, scarf, and even a time-turner accessory! (If you want to know what a time-turner is, read the book. It's from #3, The Prisoner of Azkaban.) And not only did it look cool, but it fit perfectly too! My mom made my hair kind of wavy, and pretty frizzy/messy, so it would look like Hermione's in the movie. So for the rest of the night, and some of this morning, I looked like, acted like, and even talked like one of my favorite characters!
However, since I had taken Ms. Kristi's costume, she didn't have one to wear! However, she had brought a white shirt and black pants to wear under the cloak, and I had an idea when looking through some of our Halloween stuff: She would be Snow White from the show Once Upon a Time! She wore the white shirt, black pants, a white belt, boots, and a fake dagger. Because Ms. Kristi has dark blonde/light brown hair, she didn't exactly look like Snow White, so we told everyone that she was a huntress.
My sister, Aly, wore all black, a pair of cat ears, and my dad drew some whiskers on her face. Huh... her costume kinda went with the nickname my nurse Ms. Katie has for her, which is Aly-Cat! One of the other younger girls we were trick-or-treating with is named Allison, and she was also wearing a cat costume -- although Allison's was more of a leopard. We all called them "the two Aly-Cats!"
James wore one of my sister's old karate uniforms and belt. He kept pretending to attack everyone, which was a little annoying, but the costume did look like it was made for him! And his friend, Kevin, who currently does the same kind of karate as my sister, was also wearing a karate uniform. And Kevin's brother, TJ, was wearing a ninja outfit. They all matched each other, and none of it was planned!
We went around the entire neighborhood, and then we went over to Kevin's house. After a couple minutes, everyone decided that they wanted to go to ANOTHER neighborhood to get more candy! I couldn't go because it was starting to sprinkle, and my wheelchair can't get wet. Kaylee (Kevin's other sister) couldn't go either, because of her chair. And TJ didn't go, I don't know why. TJ and I ended up going around the neighborhood again -- and when we got back, everyone else gave us a handful of their candy, since they got a lot and we hadn't been able to go with them!
By the time we got back home and got in bed, it was around ten o'clock. So today, I am tired! But it was totally worth it.
My family and I almost didn't go trick-or-treating, because it was supposed to rain and be really cold. My dad told us that we could either go trick-or-treating, or we could go out to eat and then have movie night; when we voted, we ended up going trick-or-treating.
I wasn't sure which costume I was going to wear. I had two -- one of them was a duct tape Elsa dress that I made for my church's duct tape contest, and the other one was a witch dress that I wore last year. I wasn't sure that I wanted to wear duct tape out with my friends, but I didn't want to wear the costume that they had seen me in last year, either! But one of my awesome nurses, Ms. Kristi, had brought her costume (yes, she dressed up and went with us), and she let me try it on. It was a Hermione Granger outfit -- you know, from Harry Potter? -- with a red and gold cloak, scarf, and even a time-turner accessory! (If you want to know what a time-turner is, read the book. It's from #3, The Prisoner of Azkaban.) And not only did it look cool, but it fit perfectly too! My mom made my hair kind of wavy, and pretty frizzy/messy, so it would look like Hermione's in the movie. So for the rest of the night, and some of this morning, I looked like, acted like, and even talked like one of my favorite characters!
However, since I had taken Ms. Kristi's costume, she didn't have one to wear! However, she had brought a white shirt and black pants to wear under the cloak, and I had an idea when looking through some of our Halloween stuff: She would be Snow White from the show Once Upon a Time! She wore the white shirt, black pants, a white belt, boots, and a fake dagger. Because Ms. Kristi has dark blonde/light brown hair, she didn't exactly look like Snow White, so we told everyone that she was a huntress.
My sister, Aly, wore all black, a pair of cat ears, and my dad drew some whiskers on her face. Huh... her costume kinda went with the nickname my nurse Ms. Katie has for her, which is Aly-Cat! One of the other younger girls we were trick-or-treating with is named Allison, and she was also wearing a cat costume -- although Allison's was more of a leopard. We all called them "the two Aly-Cats!"
James wore one of my sister's old karate uniforms and belt. He kept pretending to attack everyone, which was a little annoying, but the costume did look like it was made for him! And his friend, Kevin, who currently does the same kind of karate as my sister, was also wearing a karate uniform. And Kevin's brother, TJ, was wearing a ninja outfit. They all matched each other, and none of it was planned!
We went around the entire neighborhood, and then we went over to Kevin's house. After a couple minutes, everyone decided that they wanted to go to ANOTHER neighborhood to get more candy! I couldn't go because it was starting to sprinkle, and my wheelchair can't get wet. Kaylee (Kevin's other sister) couldn't go either, because of her chair. And TJ didn't go, I don't know why. TJ and I ended up going around the neighborhood again -- and when we got back, everyone else gave us a handful of their candy, since they got a lot and we hadn't been able to go with them!
By the time we got back home and got in bed, it was around ten o'clock. So today, I am tired! But it was totally worth it.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Poetry Out Loud
I. Am. So. EXCITED!!!!
I joined this thing called "Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Competition", and it's coming up pretty soon! The competition is basically where you have to memorize a couple poems and then recite them up on a stage, and you are judged based on your accuracy, voice and articulation, evidence of understanding, and appearance/physical presence. One of the poems has to be 25 lines or fewer, and the second poem must be from before the 20th century! The competition starts at a school level. If you win, then you go to district, and then state -- and eventually the National Finals!!! I kind of doubt that I'll make it THAT far, this being my first year, but I hope to at least win at the school level.
I've chosen the poems "The Ocean" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and "It Couldn't Be Done" by Edgar Allen Guest. "The Ocean" was appealing to me because it sounds so dark, deep, smooth, and a little mysterious, but still beautiful!!
I joined this thing called "Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Competition", and it's coming up pretty soon! The competition is basically where you have to memorize a couple poems and then recite them up on a stage, and you are judged based on your accuracy, voice and articulation, evidence of understanding, and appearance/physical presence. One of the poems has to be 25 lines or fewer, and the second poem must be from before the 20th century! The competition starts at a school level. If you win, then you go to district, and then state -- and eventually the National Finals!!! I kind of doubt that I'll make it THAT far, this being my first year, but I hope to at least win at the school level.
I've chosen the poems "The Ocean" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and "It Couldn't Be Done" by Edgar Allen Guest. "The Ocean" was appealing to me because it sounds so dark, deep, smooth, and a little mysterious, but still beautiful!!
The Ocean has its silent caves,
Deep, quiet, and alone;
Though there be fury on the waves,
Beneath them there is none.
The awful spirits of the deep
Hold their communion there;
And there are those for whom we weep,
The young, the bright, the fair.
Calmly the wearied seamen rest
Beneath their own blue sea.
The ocean solitudes are blest,
For there is purity.
The earth has guilt, the earth has care,
Unquiet are its graves;
But peaceful sleep is ever there,
Beneath the dark blue waves
The reason that I picked "It Couldn't Be Done" is probably because of the message that it sends across: If you just try hard enough, anything is possible! It was also a really inspiring, uplifting poem.
Somebody said that it couldn’t be done
But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it!
Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it;”
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure,
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.
I have already gotten both of these memorized (surprise!) and so I just have to work on my enunciation and physical appearance. I don't think that I really appear all that confident when I am reciting, mostly because I am trying to remember what words come next! So I have to work on physical appearance/appearing confident the most.
The competition is coming up soon -- in the beginning of November -- so wish me luck!! I'll make sure to post about it the day of and/or the day after, so you guys know what happens. :)
~Mattie <3
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Puppies
Do you have any idea how awesome puppies are?! They're, like, ALWAYS warm, even in the middle of winter. They almost always love to cuddle (there's one curled up in my lap right now). They can fall asleep anytime, anywhere, as long as they're comfy enough. There adorable, and fun, and playful. We call Paco my "therapy dog", because whenever I feel bad or sick or anything like that, he comes over and sits on me. He growls, and sometimes snaps at, anyone who tries to touch me if he doesn't think I'm okay! And then there's Raphah, my kinda-sorta service dog. He's super playful, and it's hilarious to watch him zooming in circles around the house when he feels hyper!! And it's pretty cool, trying to teach him tricks and things. If our dog Chloe was a person, she would probably be a model or something! She's really pretty... but also, very picky and can be grouchy at times. Cee-Lo is like the baby, even though he's older than Raphah. Cee-Lo can be found sitting in a lap, sleeping on the couch, or snuggling in a blanket. He is like a heater: constantly emitting heat! And he falls asleep so easily, and doesn't like to wake up.
My puppies are all wonderful!! : ) Just like us humans, they all have their different personalities and qualities. But in a way, they are almost better. They know when you're upset; they can make you laugh without even really trying to; they're just plain ADORABLE!!!! I love them so, so, SO much. <3
~ Mattie
My puppies are all wonderful!! : ) Just like us humans, they all have their different personalities and qualities. But in a way, they are almost better. They know when you're upset; they can make you laugh without even really trying to; they're just plain ADORABLE!!!! I love them so, so, SO much. <3
~ Mattie
Thursday, October 16, 2014
I am.......
I have hobbies.
I play the piano, read, write (um, duh?), I hang out with friends, I study, I sing, I dance (not very well), I draw, paint, and (try to) sketch.
I take care of my dogs, I play video games, I will (occasionally) go on my phone or Facebook. I (kind of) exercise on the Wii Fit, I volunteer at my church for the Worship and Drama Team, and I love to sit outside, just watching and listening (though I am always willing to go outside and start being crazy, too!).
I can be random.
I ask almost everyone about their favorites (color, food, movie, game, etc.). I am known (among my friends) for randomly changing the topic. One of my friends will tell people she doesn't even know that she is a "rabies-infested, radioactive squirrel" (in fact, that's how she signed my yearbook!).
I can be dramatic.
I am on the Drama and Worship Team at church, I want to find a theater or acting club to join. My nurse calls me a "drama queen" (and so does my entire family... and most of friends....). I can cry, laugh, or scream at some of the tiniest things. Sometimes, I exaggerate on purpose, to be funny -- and other times, I hardly even notice that I'm exaggerating things. Yeah, really.
I can be... myself!
I am all of the above. I am random, dramatic, creative, nerdy, helpful, musical, fun, and funny. I try my best to make people laugh, and to make them feel better if they are upset. I write, and play music... and I have tried writing my own music! (It didn't turn out so well.) My family and I love each other, like each other, dislike each other, fight, laugh, joke..... we're a pretty awesome group of people, if I do say so myself.
Now that you know who I am.....
Tell me, who are you?
I play the piano, read, write (um, duh?), I hang out with friends, I study, I sing, I dance (not very well), I draw, paint, and (try to) sketch.
I take care of my dogs, I play video games, I will (occasionally) go on my phone or Facebook. I (kind of) exercise on the Wii Fit, I volunteer at my church for the Worship and Drama Team, and I love to sit outside, just watching and listening (though I am always willing to go outside and start being crazy, too!).
I can be random.
I ask almost everyone about their favorites (color, food, movie, game, etc.). I am known (among my friends) for randomly changing the topic. One of my friends will tell people she doesn't even know that she is a "rabies-infested, radioactive squirrel" (in fact, that's how she signed my yearbook!).
I can be dramatic.
I am on the Drama and Worship Team at church, I want to find a theater or acting club to join. My nurse calls me a "drama queen" (and so does my entire family... and most of friends....). I can cry, laugh, or scream at some of the tiniest things. Sometimes, I exaggerate on purpose, to be funny -- and other times, I hardly even notice that I'm exaggerating things. Yeah, really.
I can be... myself!
I am all of the above. I am random, dramatic, creative, nerdy, helpful, musical, fun, and funny. I try my best to make people laugh, and to make them feel better if they are upset. I write, and play music... and I have tried writing my own music! (It didn't turn out so well.) My family and I love each other, like each other, dislike each other, fight, laugh, joke..... we're a pretty awesome group of people, if I do say so myself.
Now that you know who I am.....
Tell me, who are you?
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Surgery (again)
Well, it is official....
In about 6 weeks, I am having a surgery to get another tube placed. Why? Well, my doctor's diagnosis was that my "head and my body don't talk". I can honestly say that no one has ever said anything like that to me before!
Truthfully, I am freaking out over this new tube. It's being placed in my stomach, not too far from my feeding tube, and I have not had a great experience with that kind of thing. When you get a feeding tube (like I currently have now), you usually start out with what's called a "peg." After about 6 months, they pull out the peg, and place the actual tube in. When I had my peg pulled out, everything just "fell apart", as my mom puts it. What was supposed to be a 30 minutes procedure -- outpatient, not in the O.R. -- turned out to be an emergency surgery that kept me in the hospital for a week afterwards. And did I mention how much it hurt, to have a tube placed in your stomach, but not actually IN your stomach, and have your body pumped up with fluids that were supposedly going straight to your belly? Yeah. Not fun.
So you can see why I am not super-excited about this new procedure! Especially considering that I don't know my doctor that well, since we just started seeing him. (If you are reading this, please do not be offended!) Oh, and just yesterday I got to meet the surgeon -- who apparently doesn't even work at my regular hospital. She works at another hospital close by (I can't spell the name). Everyone that I met yesterday -- the student, the PA, and the surgeon (along with my regular doctor) -- were all super nice, and tried to answer any and all questions that my mom and I had.... but, I mean, we just met them, you know? And my dad is currently out of town, so my mom and I went into the meeting with just my nurse as backup. We couldn't even talk to my dad today about scheduling the actual operation. We just chose a date, put it on the calendar, and let my dad know about it! At least he'll be here for the real thing, though.
So, yeah, I'm totally freaking out inside... just don't tell anybody, okay? (Yes, I am aware that I am posting this on the Internet for the whole world to see.) I'll make sure to keep you guys updated over the next few weeks.
Until then, have a great night and I will post something more cheerful tomorrow!!!
~ Mattie <3
In about 6 weeks, I am having a surgery to get another tube placed. Why? Well, my doctor's diagnosis was that my "head and my body don't talk". I can honestly say that no one has ever said anything like that to me before!
Truthfully, I am freaking out over this new tube. It's being placed in my stomach, not too far from my feeding tube, and I have not had a great experience with that kind of thing. When you get a feeding tube (like I currently have now), you usually start out with what's called a "peg." After about 6 months, they pull out the peg, and place the actual tube in. When I had my peg pulled out, everything just "fell apart", as my mom puts it. What was supposed to be a 30 minutes procedure -- outpatient, not in the O.R. -- turned out to be an emergency surgery that kept me in the hospital for a week afterwards. And did I mention how much it hurt, to have a tube placed in your stomach, but not actually IN your stomach, and have your body pumped up with fluids that were supposedly going straight to your belly? Yeah. Not fun.
So you can see why I am not super-excited about this new procedure! Especially considering that I don't know my doctor that well, since we just started seeing him. (If you are reading this, please do not be offended!) Oh, and just yesterday I got to meet the surgeon -- who apparently doesn't even work at my regular hospital. She works at another hospital close by (I can't spell the name). Everyone that I met yesterday -- the student, the PA, and the surgeon (along with my regular doctor) -- were all super nice, and tried to answer any and all questions that my mom and I had.... but, I mean, we just met them, you know? And my dad is currently out of town, so my mom and I went into the meeting with just my nurse as backup. We couldn't even talk to my dad today about scheduling the actual operation. We just chose a date, put it on the calendar, and let my dad know about it! At least he'll be here for the real thing, though.
So, yeah, I'm totally freaking out inside... just don't tell anybody, okay? (Yes, I am aware that I am posting this on the Internet for the whole world to see.) I'll make sure to keep you guys updated over the next few weeks.
Until then, have a great night and I will post something more cheerful tomorrow!!!
~ Mattie <3
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)