November 8, 2011 (S.)

I baked delicious brownies for heifer international that day. Last time that I had made brownies they came out funky and not very tasty. This time however I made rather delicious brownies, if i do say so myself. They completely sold out! I;m happy that this time they came out better and I was able to contribute toward the cause.  I know I can bake now and it taught me to not get discouraged and to just simply, try again. This perseverance, if only towards brownies, is a small but realistic example of what happens when you keep trying. Next when I fail at something I can remember this incident and keep pushing towards making myself better.

Last week (C. S.)

Last week me and Stephanie and Milan all went to the library to see what needed done. When we got there we took all the old Halloween decorations down and put up the new Thanksgiving ones up. One of our jobs was to create a deigns for the Teen bulletin board. We came up with a turkey and selected reading section. I have a picture that I will put up when I find my camera cord. However it looks great! It was something very simple yet creative. mall things like that are a good reason why I enjoy volunteering there. It was a simple task that let me and others leave a mark on the library in a small but noticeable way.

Two weeks ago (S)

Its been so LONG! I really need to try and keep up with my blogging. That will definitely be a goal of mine for these next coming weeks. Two weeks ago I did some service by picking up trash around my neighborhood. Nothing particularly large just  a couple cans and some bottles. But yo know what they say, Rome wasnt built in a day. Every little bit counts and one can at a time is all it takes to help the earth and enviroment. I hope to help Sara and Stephanie collect trash or larger roads sometime in the near future.

Friday October 21 (C.S.)

This Friday was less stressful than last Friday that's for sure. We went to the library and painted pumpkins and helped decorate a room for the libraries Un-Scary Halloween party they were having that Saturday. I got to paint my pumpkin like a witch! It was really fun and easy. It reminded me of when I was a little kid. Except we carved the pumpkins instead of painting them. Plus it really completed the look of the room!

October 15th XC (A.)

Last Saturday I ran my fastest time of the season. I ran my 5K in 22:37. That's A LOT of time of my old PR. I was so happy I beat my old time. My goal is by next year to have set the school record which i believe is only 20:50. As you can tell I'm not very far off from this goal. I'm just going to have to keep working at it all summer and then by next year rock cross country. But as for my goal this year its just to get my picture on the athletes wall by the gym. I'm not sure why but that is a really big source of motivation for me in XC. I thinks it because I'm so close to it already. It'll be lots of work to earn my goals but I'm confident I can reach them and cant wait to try.

Last Friday October 14th (C.S.)

Last Friday was  BUSY day. During school me and Stephanie Nusche put in a announcement for people to bring in non perishable goods for our schools food closet. It seems that we had run out of food, but we are hoping that at least by putting in announcements we can gather more food. Then at the end of school we went to the Library and Milan and I set up some light up trees for Halloween. It really added some nice decoration for the library. The set up was easy once we got the hang of it but initially we had a couple bumps to overcome. When we finished there, me, Sara, Stephanie, and Nicole ran the entire Change for Change booth AND sold beads for our Ugandan teacher as well. I think we totaled at least 42$ from our efforts. It was a BUSY Friday, although very productive! I was sooo tired by the end of it. But we did so much I felt like i was really helping and making a small but noticeable difference. However this blig is very late so I am going to make a real effort to blog on time now.

Heifer International (C.S.)

Yesterday I baked and sold cookies at the school for Heifer International. Not only was it delicious, but easy too! I didn't see ms. Peters yesterday so I'm not sure how much money it raised but I hope all of my cookies sold. Its an easy way to support a good cause. I am definitely going to sign up for it next time!

The Library II (S)

Last Friday on October 7th, Milan, Stephanie, and I met at the library again. The childrens librarian came up with a couple ideas that we might be able to do. We also discussed the idea we had come up with from our last visit. She agreed to talk to the library and see which of our ideas could be put into effect at the library that wouldn't take quite so long. This Friday we will see what we are able to do. We did however fix a clock that was broken in the library. It just proves that everything is done in baby steps.

Cross-Country (A.)

One of my goals for cross-country was to beat my previous personal record (P.R.) of 24:17.  On Saturday October 1st two weeks ago at the Bartram meet, i met my goal. I finished with a time of 23:30. I have been working hard to reach this time and am proud that I was able to do so. There is a lot of competition on the team, especially since all the top runners for the girls have such close times. I am hoping to drop my time even more before the end of the season.

The Library 2 (C.S.)

Yesterday after cross counrty Milan, Stephanie N. and I went to the library to see what could be done as far as CAS there. We were especially inspired after we had a speaker, Ms. Alyssa, came in from the library to talk to us about volunteering. When we got to the library we met with Ms. Alyssa, we learned of things we could do around the library that involved CAS. After we talked to her we went to the teen section and came up with ideas that we could impliment at the library. We came with alot of good ideas and now im really excited on starting them. The most important thing to keep in mind is that these projects will take some time. We have to take baby steps instead of jumping right in. It all starts with one step and I cant wait to take it.

Trash Pickup (C.A.S.)

Today in CAS some classmates and I came together to discuss things we could do to help the environment. Only a handful of us came together. So in this class we got our small but determined group together and had our first meeting about what we could do. In this meting we decided to have a trash pickup. Out of this trash we can take pictures and make a collage to help raise awareness about the growing trash in our community. When our group asked who all would be interested in helping with this project we had a surprising and overwhelming response. With this news we are determined to make this pick up work. We hope to contact the Highway patrol and have them put our collage on their website, or do something, with it, as a sign to our community that we can easily improve our environment.
   I'm really excited to start this trash cleanup project. It seems like fairly simple way to help the environment. Through this simple project I hope we raise the awareness we want, and to get as many people as we can involved with this project. This would be a good way for our community to come together as well as do something productive. I cant wait till we have our next meeting and set a date to begin this idea.

Paper Africa 3 (C. S.)

I sold five more Paper Africas today. I haven't really been putting my mind to it because I've been so distracted with school and everything. I am really hoping this weekend and next week to sell more. However people are still just as wiling as ever to buy them and show their support for invisible children. When I get more this weekend maybe I can convince Ms. Peters to give me a little extra so that I can work to sell those as well and get back on top of my game.

The Library (S)

Yesterday I went straight to the library after cross country. I volunteered there for and hour and a half. While I was there I met the head coordinator of volunteers Janet. Today I saw Milan and found out he volunteers at the library as well. When I started volunteering the other volunteer coordinator, Linda, told me how they have been wanting to redo the teen section of the library. When I saw Milan and talked to him about this, he agreed to join in. I think it would be a great idea for me and Milan to help redesign the teen section, and even have a few others join in.

Paper Africa 2 (C. S.)

After selling my second set of paper africas I  feel very accomplished. Selling the africas has been very easy so far. Some of the people have even written notes on the back of the africas in case we get a teacher from Uganda. I hope we do get a teacher so she can see how hard we've worked to help support her cause.

Paper Africa (C. S.)

For part of our CAS we are slling paper Africas for one dollar as a way of fundraising for invisible children, and geting a teacher from Uganda. Selling paper Africas is a lot easier than I expected. Its nice to see people put their money into this cause. It reallsy shows how fortunate we are in America to be able to put ,even a dollar, aside. The money we raise could be used to make impact, whether it be large or small. It makes me feel good to help even if it is by doing something so small.

Invisible Children

Watching Invisible children made me feel very appreciative of what I have living in America. The way the children live day to day make me appreciate the little things, like school. For the children in Uganda school is their only escape. Something kids here take for granted. They live in constant fear of being taken by the rebels. That is a fear the most of us will never know. Many of the children have lost their family and home because of the fighting. Small everyday things like shelter, and food are taken for granted. The most suprising part is that even though they live in fear of the rebels, they find time to be happy. They celebrate the little things in life. Their story is inspiring because of the challenges they face everyday. They face these chalenges everyday with hope and courage. Something none of us have had to do, thats wassup.