Book Review # 3

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Harry Potter was an orphan living with his horrid aunt, uncle, and cusin (duddley). On his 11th birthday a man comes to the house to tell harry that he is a wizard and takes him to go to school at Hogwarts. Here harry meets his two best friends (Ron & Hermione) and learns about how his parents didn't die in a car crash like his aunt and uncle have led him on to believe. Apparently, when harry was young, his parents fought against a dark force naed Lord Voldimort (an extremely powerful dark wizard). The love Harry's parents showed when fighting against the Dark Lord in order to save Harry made it so that when Voldimort tried to kill Harry that night; a peice of Voldimort attached itself to Harry leaving only a lightning bolt shaped scar on Harry's head. Now Harry is the only one who can stop him. However, Voldimort lost his body and is now forced to find someone to attach his soul to. There is something called the sorcerer's stone and if voldimort gets ahold of it, he can get his body back. Harry fights a 3-headed dog, a human/deadly chess match, and vines that will strangle you to death if you don't relax your body. When he reaches a magic merrior it shows him what his heart desires most. He wants the stone befor voldimort gets it so he can't hurt Harry or anyone else again. The merrior puts the stone in his pocket as harry turns around he sees his defense against the dark arts teacher (Quirll). Voldimort has attached himself to the back of Quirll's head. When Voldimort gets close to Harry, Harry's scare begins to cause him drastic pain. Harry fights off Quirll but sadly becoming unconcious in the end. He wakes up to the head master by his bedside in the hospital wing. The head master explains that the stone has been properly distroyed. In the end everything is ok.....for now..



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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


In Harry Potter and the Camber of Secrets, Harry has already figured out some secrets that the school (Hogwarts) holds for him. However, Harry continues to learn more. In this book, Harry begins hearing whispers in the walls of the school. He runs into his friends Ron and Hermione but they have heard nothing. They then see words written in blood on the wall with the care taker's (Mr.Filtch) cat petrofied. As the year continues, more and more people become petrofied (including Hermione). Harry Finds a diary with the name Tom Riddle on it. The diary shows harry about the Chamber of Secrets and what happened the last time it was opended. It killed a mudblood (a witch/wizard with non magical parents) and now it is opened again. Harry finds out that the whispers he has been hearing have actually been snake. He can speak and understand snake (also known as Parstletoung). Harry and Ron go to the chaber of secrets only to be followed by their new (pretty boy) defense against the dark arts teacher. He tries to cast a spell to stop the boys but it backfires and makes the teacher completely goofy. Rn stays behind with him and Harry goes into the chamber. Soon after entering the chamber, Harry sees Ron's little sister Ginny's body lieing there. Suddenly a young boy (Riddle appears) Riddle explains to Harry that he is voldimort. Harry trusted the diary but it only gave him false information. A huge basalisque comes out of the chamber set to kill Harry. Harry manages to kill the snake with help from the head master's phenix (phalx) whom blinds the serphant and gives harry the sword of griffendoor. harry then distroys the diary of tom riddle by stabbing the book with the tooth of the snake. killing riddle and wakeing Ginny and setting things at the school right once again.....for now...



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Speak

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book is about a girl who has been through alot. She has a rough family life and is just trying to be normal. However she is forever haunted on the past when she is forced to see the guy who raped her, every day in school. She went to a party and he took advantage of her. In the end, she has her own getaway n a janitor's closet where she keeps her art work and "he" comes in and tries to rape her again. Luckily this time someone hears her screams for help. The entire feild hockey team comes running to her rescue. This book is a sad story about a girl just trying to survive.



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Dissapointment

Sadness, Depression, Darkness, Lonely. You think you have it all figured out..then your world comes crumbleing down around you. Why? Because you told one little lie? Because your feelings have changed? Because he/she isn't who you thought they were? Or simply just boreing? Love and Loss are a way of life. you get your hopes up that you have finally gotten it right, then it turns out to only hurt you. You fall for someone. do they know? do they feel the same? are they taken? are they gay?..what if they turn me down? what if i get my heart broken?...you need to take chances in life.. "get messy, make mistakes!"- Miss frizzle (magic school bus)..There is nothing to fear but fear itself. You can't be afraid to try something new, to open up to others, take chances. you will get hurt, but you will gain ALOT. new experiences, new feelings, and new people.

When you are in love.

When you are in love, he/she is the only one on your mind, When you are in love, he/she wants to talk to u. when you are in love he/she will call/text just to hear ur voice or say hi and that they miss you. When you are in love, people tend to say things. They will make up lies or go to extreme lenghs for no reason. But if you love them, nothing will change that. I tend to talk about love alot in my blogs, but it seams to be a subject i can easily relate to and write alot about. Sometimes, love is found in the strangest of places and may not make people very happy. But then you stop and think, what makes ME happy? and if the answer is him/her..then don't give up what makes you happy for anything in the world. Because if you do, what will you be left with? Not happiness, i'll tell you that.

Girls: If you love a guy enough, don't give up. You will come across problems in life and need to face them together. There is nothing stronger. You may find love in weird places, but it may be the strongest you have ever felt. And the truth is, guys are just as shy as girls, so they may not always make the first move. accept it.

Guys: You have been through alot. If you care about a girl, DO NOT EVER GIVE UP. if you give up, so will she. Don't. Send her cute texts just to let her know she is on your mind. Tell her to look up a song because it reminds you of her. and don't pass up any oppertunities, because it may be your last.

My Reading History

Literacy is the knowledge of reading and writing. We use literacy on a regular basis in school with doing work, driving and reading street signs, and when cooking to read or write down ingredients. I used to absolutely HATE reading. It was the one thing I NEVER wanted to do. I would try to read but could never get interested in a good book. I later found that all I needed was to find the right kind of book.
My I was not influenced to read actual books at a young age or words on a piece of paper. I was influenced to read pictures and sounds recognizing what words sound like and what they mean. I don’t remember my very first experience with reading. However I would watch TV a lot as a child and if I heard a word I was not familiar with I would ask my family what it meant. I guess you could call it imaginary reading. I remember my grandma would swing me on the swing on her front porch and sing rock-a-by baby to me. It was my favorite nursery rhyme/song. I would imagine the pictures of the rhyme in my head and see the story so I could link words to pictures of what they meant.
I attended Lenna Conrow Elementary School. I was still not interested in books at that age and did not read. I would be assigned something to read for class and I would just struggle so much with it that I didn’t want to read. We had a program called Success for All (SFA) and for the first few years they taught us to spell and read by just sounding out the words which lead to me struggling in reading and writing in the future. I cannot remember any teacher from elementary school or anything else about it. I just remember hating to read.
I attended Mary Ethel Costello Middle School. That was when I started to become interested in reading. It was fourth grade and I was introduced to The Magic Tree House series. It was about magic and mystery and it caught my attention. There weren’t too many dull moments in the books. It felt, at times, as though I was being sucked into the magical world. I read every book in the series until they made the last book at the time, Christmas in Camelot.
Now I am in high school. I have read the Twilight Series, the Harry Potter Series, the Night World Series, and many other books. Reading has become a great part of my everyday life as a high schooler. I need to read and write to drive, I need to read and write to apply for college, I need to read to get ready every morning before school. I consider myself a more literate person then I was but I believe with age and knowledge I will become more literate.
Currently I love reading. I am in the middle of the 7th book in a series called The House of Night and I still feel as though I am being pulled into the story of every book I read or as though I am watching a movie of it in my head. Literacy is important now in my life because I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am now without it and I am continuing to learn about how it can be used. Literacy is like a tree; when you are young you don’t have many leaves of information but as you grow and blossom, your knowledge grows into many, many, many leaves of knowledge and it never stops.

Love

there are many ways to say i love you. English- I love you. German- ich liebe dich. Italian- ti amo. Spanish- te quiero. Portuguese- eu te amo. and the list goes on and on! one thing many people don't know..is how to show someone you love them. people ask, "How much do you love me?" well, that isn't always an easy question to answer. "More then the moon loves the stars!" well thats a good one. "More then life it self." well that's a little drastic. the point is that they are all just words. words are only words. they mean nothing. Now i'm not saying that they don't mean what they say. i'm only saying that you shouldn't just throw yourself at any guy who says they love you. it's only high school and we won't even see most of these people after we graduate. there are very few 'chilhood sweathears' anymore. so don't just settle on one guy. don't give up anything for any guy. and persue your dreams full force! We shouldn't need to worry about getting our hearts broken at 16, 17, 18 years old. it's all one big game. sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and other times you lost. miserably. i don't understand why us girls put ourselves through this. we find a guy and fall in love with him. only to be hurt. we fall in love to quickly. it is the biggest mistake a girl can make. Live life. don't just live it for a guy. live it for you. live it to persue your dreams. live it to see the world. live life and make yourself happy. when we are in our 20's we can worry about love. right now. live life to the fullest. and it doesn't matter who says what to who about anything. are you happy? THAT is all that matters. :) <3

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Harry Potter was an orphan living with his horrid aunt, uncle, and cusin (duddley). On his 11th birthday a man comes to the house to tell harry that he is a wizard and takes him to go to school at Hogwarts. Here harry meets his two best friends (Ron & Hermione) and learns about how his parents didn't die in a car crash like his aunt and uncle have led him on to believe. Apparently, when harry was young, his parents fought against a dark force naed Lord Voldimort (an extremely powerful dark wizard). The love Harry's parents showed when fighting against the Dark Lord in order to save Harry made it so that when Voldimort tried to kill Harry that night; a peice of Voldimort attached itself to Harry leaving only a lightning bolt shaped scar on Harry's head. Now Harry is the only one who can stop him. However, Voldimort lost his body and is now forced to find someone to attach his soul to. There is something called the sorcerer's stone and if voldimort gets ahold of it, he can get his body back. Harry fights a 3-headed dog, a human/deadly chess match, and vines that will strangle you to death if you don't relax your body. When he reaches a magic merrior it shows him what his heart desires most. He wants the stone befor voldimort gets it so he can't hurt Harry or anyone else again. The merrior puts the stone in his pocket as harry turns around he sees his defense against the dark arts teacher (Quirll). Voldimort has attached himself to the back of Quirll's head. When Voldimort gets close to Harry, Harry's scare begins to cause him drastic pain. Harry fights off Quirll but sadly becoming unconcious in the end. He wakes up to the head master by his bedside in the hospital wing. The head master explains that the stone has been properly distroyed. In the end everything is ok.....for now..



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confusion

Left or Right? Up or Down? Good? Bad? This? That? These are questions we face everyday in life and sometimes we answer them like it's nothing. Little do we know that some questions cann affect our entire lives. We need to take the time to think, "how will this decision affect my life?" ometimes the deciions are miniscule such as,"should i eat a cookie?" if i dont- i dont i taste it's sugary goodness. and i don't gain weight. if i do- i get the yummy taste and i get fat. However, some decisions are majorly important and can change your whole life if you aren't careful even though it may not seam like it at the time. Such as, "should i study for the SAT's?" if i don't- i get a ow grade and get into a bad college and get a bad job and ive in middle class all my life and hang out with my friends right now. or i do- i get a good grade, get into a good college, get a good job an don't hng out with my friends till after the SAT's. so you see, the decisions we make in everyday life can affect our entire futures. so think bfore you act. and becareful when making decision. becaue you od end up regretting alot an being pretty unhppy.

different yet the same?

Sometimes you find friends in the most unlikely of places. You befriend people who are nothing like you and your differences only bring you closer. She is TRAGICLY BEAUTIFUL and well, i guess you could say i'm BEAUTIFULY TRAGIC. She was Glinda when we did the wizard of oz. I was the wicked witch of the west. She likes pink. Ilike green. She is blonde and i'm brunett. She has long hair and i have short hair. She is Irish and i am Italian. She likes english and i like math She likes cheetah print and i like zebra print. She istall and iam short she is prissy princess girly girl and i am a punk rocker. We are nothing alike. Yet, our opposites attract. We love to perform. we have 2 ear peircings. We are major clutses (her morethen me). and we have a common problem. our loves...don't love us. we have agreed to help eachother no matter what. because we both know how the other feels. We are able to work together in ways we didn't even think possible. Who ever said opposites attract,they didn't know how right they were. Me and her usually agree on somethings but other things we dissagree making good conversation and interesting stories. This isthe beginging on a BEATUIFULY STRANGE friendship :)

Friends. Family. Happiness

Well, I was just in a show but what else is new? I've been in shows before. Well, this wasn't just a show. This show changed my life. This show was the Wizard of Oz. I was the Wicked Witch (the part suited me well I think). Not only did this show show me what is really important in life and set me up for a bright future, but it also showed me how many friends I truly have. Durring this show I realised that I wasn't truly happy with who I was with and what was happening around me with that person. I needed to stand up for my family and myself. I did and he didn't like it. So I left for the better. Sometimes it upsets me. But then I realise how much happier I am now that he is out of my life. Not to mention I met a guy who treats me like a princess, fragile china doll, he treats me like I am his world. It is truly incredible. Everytime he kisses me, I smile. He was the Lion in our show. The witch and the lion....weird.....I know. But he makes me happy, treats me well, and he gives me butterflies. I think leaving the one who disrespected me and my family, never appriceating what I did for him, was the best thing I ever did for myself. I am finally happy. <3

Leo

Leo isn't just a cat. He is my best friend. Not only is he my best friend, but he is perrrrrrrfect! "Leo came to us. Not the other way around," my mother likes to say. She went outside to water her flowers when she saw him sitting on our neighbor's pourch. "You don't want to go there. They have dogs!" she calmly exclaimed to the black and white, slim, feline resting under a chair. After he noticed my mother talknig to him he quickly ran over obviously begging for attention. My mother came in to get me and my sister. We gave the cat some attention as well as tuna and water. After we left the food for him we went inside. The cat however, decided to stay and spend the night on the pourch. Later that night, my step dad looked out the window to check on the cat and noticed a white cat sneaking up behind it. Pete quickly ran out the door to scare the white cat away. It worked and in fear for his safty, my step dad brought him in. We named (her) Mia. Supprisingly though when we took Mia to the vet, we found out Mia was actually a Leo. :/ oops.

Leo has always been by my side ever since we brought him in. He always wanted to be around my and on my lap and at the foot of my bed or curled up next to/on me. He is very loving and is always there for me when i need him. He is there through break ups and deaths. he is there durring the good and bad times and always with me. Mom says he is my cat because he took to me the best. He is very outgoing and greats guests in our home with a friendsly rub up against their legs. He loves attention and is no longer slim and slender. Nope. He is pleasantly plump and i love him! ^_^ . Leo is a black and white, long haired, plump, male cat and he is my best friend.

Darwin

Charles Darwin went to Cambridge to receive his Bachelor of Arts in 1831. In that same year, on December 27th, Darwin left on the ship 'The Beagle'. He explored the southern parts of South America. On Darwin's way to Bahia Blanca, he started to see a marvelous variety of wildlife. In the swamps, he saw animals such as black-necked swans, ducks, cranes, and colorful snakes. Darwin would draw the different plant and animal life he saw.

Darwin wrote in his notebook, "every part of this world is habitable! whether lakes of braine, or those underground ones hidden beneath volcanic mountains, or warm mineral springs, or the wide expanse and depths of the ocean, or the upper regions of the atmosphere, and even the surface of perpetual snow- all support living things." The Beagle set off again and stopped breifly at Port Desire and St. Julian. He noticed the different minerals in the soil here and layers on fossil rock far from the sea line.

Darwin spent fourteen months in the west of South America. He wanted to 'solve the puzzle' of the mighty Andes mountains. As he started his journey, up one side of the Andes and down the other, he started noticing birds. He noticed beaks, colorization, patterns, and the sounds they made. He also took interest in how the earth's crust was shaped.

Later, Darwin explored the Galapagos islands. He focused mainly on birds here. he sketched how the birds looked and acted. He noticed different breads and characteristics. In November of 1859, he published his drawings and ideas pluss his theorys in a book called THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES which explained what he calls, as we all know today, the evolution theory.

Ashmerica (if Ashley ruled the world)

If Ashley ruled the world things would be different. I mean way different. America wouldn't even be called America in Ashley's world. In Ashley's world, America would be called Ashmerica. I have descided to write down Ashley's views on how the world would be if she ruled. I want to write a book about it but want to know what you all think before I write it. These are the basic ideas and orders of Ashley's new world order. Enjoy!

• Ashmerica.
• The password to get into Ashmerica is pineapple skins.
• Everyone must drink all liquids out of boxes like juice boxes.
• All floors MUST be made out of trampolines and moon bounces.
• There is no such thing as jell-o.
• Math is illegal.
• ALL dark areas MUST be night lighted.
• Bambi's mother DOES NOT DIE!!!!
• Jail is inside of a chucky cheese. Inside of a locked ball pit. Inside a volcano with the lava scooped out.
• #1 rule- Always check for toilet paper.
• Every third Wednesday, Everyone must break out into song and dance so life becomes a musical.
• Cheese, Bacon, and Chocolate are the three main food groups.
• Fat jolly bakers are the best. If you are a fat grumpy baker, a skinny jolly baker, or a skinny grumpy baker, you will be sent to jail.
• hairspray is banned, for it kills Santa.
• Ashley- dictator, Katie- treasurer (with an eye patch) , Jim (the broom)- awesome, Alexis- second in command, Briana- military seargent, Ariana- mean ISP teacher.
• There are no guns and no bullets. Only water guns.
• The only people who go to ISP are people Ashley hates. Mean people. However, everyone must still go to school so we all wont be idiots. Only mean people go to ISP though.
• All clouds must be made of cotton candy. "I don't care how it gets done! just do it!"
• All crocodiles (crocs) have manes (like a lion's mane).
• There are 8 days in a week. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Flurbday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
• Anyone with the last name *GLEASON must be jailed and not allowed to reproduce.
• Owls may not be worn in picture or life.
• Bad attitudes get you sent to ISP. I suggest you be nice.
• Every third day you must talk in a HORRIBLE Australian accent.
• Chores are banned. The only people who have to do chores are the people in jail. They must do chores for EVERYONE.
• DRUGS ARE BANNED!!! THEY DO NOT EXIST HERE! SO DON'T EVEN TRY IT!!! (THAT INCLUDES SMOKING).
• All streets and trees are the color teal.
• There are no cars in Ashmerica. Floors are trampolines and moon bounces remember? Bounce and stop being lazy!
• On Thanksgiving the meal must consist of: Grape Juice, Cheesy Potatoes, bacon, Chocolate Covered Potatoe Chips, Banana Chips, and Mango Smoothies.
• There is no such thing as allergies, cancer, or HIV.
• Exclimation points are to be used instead of periods, question marks, and other punctuation at the end of scentences! Which means I will be using exclimation points from now on!
• Atheism doesn't exist because it is annoying!
• You are not allowed to sing badly or out of tune unless you have special permission by Ashley!
• No one can question dictator Ashley! Unless she says you can! Which probibly won't happen!
• Brusslesprouts, Egg plants, and cherry water ice are banned! Ashley doesn't like them and neither should you!
• Movie theaters are NO MORE! Only Drive Ins and indoor Drive Ins!
• The only human/nonhuman things allowed to be terrorists are gurbber daises!
• All puffer fishes must be names puff daddy!
• pets cannot have names like Mike! Only names like Wilber or Geronimo!
• The song Grillz by Nelly is the Ashmerica Anthem!
• Instead of Running laps in gym, people must climb trees! (It's more fun)!

*****SOME NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO PROTECT THE INNOCENT ....AND THE GUILTY...****** JUST SAYIN..****

OW OW OW OW OWWWWWWW!!!!!

"OW!" Why am I yelling out in pain? I have sunburn. It's not even the cute pinky sunburn like on the cheaks of your face, where your friends poke it just to see there finger print go from white to pink again. It's on my back and it's beat red! AND IT HURTS! I have had friends come up to me in the hall and give me a hug only for me to return the favor by screaming in pain! I have never had sunburn like this before. I had to take a cold shower this morning because a hot one burnned my sunburn even more. I never used to get sunburn. I would tan alot but never burn. I always hate sun screen. It smells weird, It is slimy, it's sticky, and it's just weird; I don't like it. But from now on I will be using it every time I go outside in the sun. I don't want to have to deal with this anymore. It feels like it is begining to blister and that's not good. I have been putting aloe on my back like an insane person. Also, I went to the nurse today durring school because the pain was unbarable, and she told me to put aloe on it myself. I can't put aloe on myself! It's on my entire back! I can't even lift my arms! I didn't have to do gym today for that reason aswell. I couldn't lift my arms to get my shirt off so I didn't have to change for gym class. This stinks!

You Wish You Had Cool Friends

Oh my gosh! i have the most amazing friends. We went on a feild trip yesterday to go see the show "Take Flight". Shannon, Me, Briana, Ashley, and Alexis sat together in that order. Before the show Briana saw a boy with a Burt Simpson shirt. She complimented it and he nodded and made a deep voice and said, "Thanks". This boy must have been in like, 5th grade. He was very young. He kinda kept stairing at her the whole show. After Bri found her 5th grade stalker, Briana and Ashley tried to convince the two 5th grade girls in front of them that they have been to Juvie. They said they killed a man! That was great. They taught her how to take out blood stains...large blood stains. The girl was probably never more scared in her life! Ashley said, "I liked the corn bread in Juvie." Briana then replied, "You know, they spit in that." to which Ashley replied with, "That's why it was so moist!" Then Briana began to get mad and I said, "Bir! calm down!" She then yelled, "Nawh man! Nawh! I'm on my last strike man! my last strike!" The poor 5th grader was HORRIFIED! so funny.
So then, durring the show, the lead, Amilia Airheart, was flying in her air plane and we all noticed that when she is in the plane, she goes cross eyed. It was hilariously mean. Then the Wright Brothers played a fun song with a cool beat so we were all doing the same dance and then the borthers look at the audience and go, "EVERYBODY!" and we were so focused on our dancing that we werent listening to the song so we had trouble singing along and clapping along. It was great! So after the show we had a nice long ride home where most of the people slept. Ashley gave Briana, Joey, and Julian twislers that pull appart and they all tried to tie them in a knot with their toungs! It was so funny to watch! I couldn't do it however because they were cherry and i am alergic to cherry flavorings.
Also, on the way back as I began to fall asleep, I hear Briana say, "I hope we gave that girl nightmares!" It made me giggle. I love my friends!

A Blog?

So, a blog huh? This is kinda cool. But how do I start this off? Well, I guess I could tell u a lil bit about myself. I'm Ariana. I am in the Performing Arts Acadamy and I love it! I love to sing, act, and dance (even though I'm not the best at dancing). At least I try. This year I played Sally Bowles in Cabaret and last year I played Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors so I guess you can say that I aim high. I love what I do and wouldn't trade it for anything. There is a motto in life that i try to live by: Live (life to the fullest), Laugh (harder then you ever have before and enjoy life), and Love (leave your heart open and love will always find it's way in). That's right; Live, Laugh, Love.

Something else about me? Well, I love animals. I have 1 dog (Ziggy), 1 cat (Leo- My Best Friend), 2 twin kittens (Bella & Sassy), 1 betta fish (Bluey), and well over 20 male guppies (various names). I love animals and when I was younger I always wanted to study them. To work with them for a living was always a dream of mine. Now that I look back on it, I would still love to work with them, train them, play with them. Sadly, I doubt I ever will.

When I was younger, my mother thought i had a sixth scense. isn't THAT a laugh?! Apparently, when I was about 5 or 6, my great grandfather died. He was an old Jewish man and I called him Zada. Anyway, once he died I was too young to understand death. All I knew was that I coulodn't see him anymore. My mother would come into the room in which I was playing in and hear me talking. She would say, "Ariana, who are you talking to?" I would simply reply, "Zada." She couldn't understand. She thought maybe it was just me being a silly little girl. Then it got weird. My mom was down stairs when I came down stairs and ran over to her and whispered something in her ear. I don't remember what I told her but she said that it was nothing I would have known about or been told about. That there was no way I could have known but I did. She asked who told me and how I found out. I simply said, "Zada told me mommy. We talk alot. But only see him here (at grandma's) sometimes and always at GG's (my great grandmother)." my mother was totally freaked!

So thats my weird life. Not very interesting. Funny family and friend moments; and a great life. I can't ask for more.