Once upon a time

there was this genius who had a child's imagination. He decided that he wanted to make amazingly beautiful, perfect, drawn movies for children. He made a bunch of them with other cool geniuses who had an obsession with drawing. Everybody loved them and when he had made like a bazillion dollars he thought "Why don't i make these wonderful tales come to life? Hey other geniuses! Dudes, lets totally make a park!" So they did. It is an amazing park. It's called Disneyland.

And guess where my fam and friends were this week-end? Thats right! The Happiest Place on Earth! And let me say that that name is not an exaggeration because coming back to not-Disneyland was a serious crash from a happy high for all of us. "Well hello homework. You have no idea how ugly you look today! Yes, i am so not excited to see you either."

But, you know, I am happy that it happened and ecstatic that it is still there waiting for us. I think this line describes it perfectly:

"A whole new world!

A hundred thousand things to see

I'm like a shooting star

I've come so far

I can't go back to where i used to be."

a little cheese today

What makes a perfect day? What makes anyone light up inside and wish life would go on forever?

I have the answer. Would you like to hear it? Yes? Then here it is:

Going on an adventure with friends and family you love.

It is rather simple but when this answer is pondered and considered it has many facets. When i think of things in my life presently that i wish would continue on and on in my life for always i immediately think of my friends. Where else in my life will i find friends half so special as the ones i have now? Sure there will be special friends and precious friends but these life long ones will always be the life long friends i grew up and became myself with. Family i wish always to be there and remain the same. Then add an adventure to life to make our life and relationships even deeper. Plus adventures are just fun to have!

This is for all my family and friends whom i love! You are amazing, I love you all! I hope we have so many exciting journeys with you through out life! Thanks for the memories so far :)

Thanksgiving happies!

Thing to be thankful for on Thanksgiving:

#1-Turkey!! duh! It's the signature dish of this warm yummy day. I mean without a turkey, lets face it, no one would really care about today with much enthusiasm.

#2-Family! The best thing about holidays in general is seeing your family. Mine live all over the States so holidays are always busy and fun with family visits!

#3- PIE!!! Ok, so maybe i was wrong. If there was no turkey on Thanksgiving people would still care because of this delightful delicacy! I know i would!

Happy Thanksgiving!-Tallie Raye

Happy Thankfulness!

Happy Thankful-day!!

<-- This is a comic strip by Berkeley Breathed on Thanksgiving. I thought it was genius!

Anyway, today is the day the Pilgrims and Indians ate dinner together and made peace, then went back to killing each other so i thought this strip was appropriate.

Ok, in all seriousness i am thankful for many things today. Like water colors and food and more food! We are going to a southerners house where we will be partaking in deep-fried turkey! It will be amazing!!

Have a great day yourself! *wink*

Do not bewail the night!

At this moment it is 3:10 A.M. I know i should be extremely tired but it's hard when you have a full pot of caffeinated tea coursing through your veins which i do at the moment.

I am rejoicing in sending off the rough draft of a history paper to my teacher! It has been plaguing me that i wouldn't get it done in time but AH HAAA!!!! I have triumphed! Of coarse i have the final draft to write when he sends back his comments but i am not going to think of that yet.

It's amazing how alive i feel at night, even without the tea. I get super tired but if i stay up past that then i revert to my back-up energy and can be perfectly happy to not sleep at all! I'd rather read or dance about in the moon light! The night is poetic and romantic in a way the day time can never be. I would dwell in the night time if my loved ones did too. I would dress in white and prance down the middle of the road in bare feet, paint little pictures and leave them on neighbors door steps. There are great adventures to be had at night, little joys to be found in the darkness. But i will go to bed tonight and i will pay for it in the morning, sadly.

Well, I shall retire now to my chamber a wistfully think of all the things i could have done if sleep had not been necessary for my sanity of mind. Good night all and pleasant dreams!

The Car-Pool Deal

Today is Geometry class. My friends and I car-pool to the site where we take it. Well, today there was a most interesting conversation that took place in the back seat. I was in a bucket seat chatting with my friend Charissa when i heard the boys in the back mention my name. Me and Charissa stopped and listened.

M: "I can punch Tallis!"

(None of the boys in our group ever punch girls. Hitting a girl to them is the lowest of the low so i was most sure i was not in any danger.)

N: "No you won't"

M: "Watch me!" raises fist and looks at me, "No, I can't! But i bet you could."

N:"No dude."

M:"I'd pay you two bucks!"

N:"Ok." looks at me "Are you ok with this?"

Me: shrug "Sure"

N:"Ok, just on her arm right?"

M:"yeah but you got do it hard enough to leave a bruise!"

N:"What!"

MJ:"Two bucks, man!"

N:"Ok. This is gonna hurt my conscience."

MJ:"Wait a second, I gotta text Josue." texting "Nick...gave a...girl...a bruise. Haha! Ok go."

N:"Wait, wheres the money? huh?"

MJ:"I'll give it to you after."

N:"No man i wanna see it before. just hold it."

MJ:"mmmmm...No."

N:"So are you actually going to give it to me?"

MJ:"There's like a fifty fifty chance."

N:"What! come on."

MJ:"Ok seventy five percent chance."

N:"No, it's gotta be a ninety."

MJ:"Well, it's my bus money so it's either you give Tallis a bruise or I walk home from EIE on tuesdays."

Me:"Wow, you have to debate about this." me and Nick give each other a quizzical look.

N:"Just tell your parents to give you more."

MJ:"They told me not to spend it on anything else."

N:"Oh, well then i'm not gonna do it."

MJ:"Wait, I might have some more money." digs through bag "OOOO look i have some Burts Bees lip balm! Thats good stuff, dude. Oh and i have this, on the go sunscreen SPF 50!"

N:"Dude this stuffs been used."

MJ:"It smells nice."

N:"Yeah your right, and i could sell the sunscreen to Seth for cheap."

MJ:"Yeah you could, he needs it."

N:"Ok, I'll do it for these and lock." MJ has to keep a lock on his back pack to keep it closed

MJ:"No, man, my stuff will get stolen!"

By this time we were at our class so the conversation was cut off. the guys are awesome.

Drug of choice

I am afraid to say i have an addiction. It's deadly and i will have it for the rest of my life. That addiction is

Tea!!!!

I drank three pots of tea the day before last and yesterday i had a splitting headache because i didn't drink any. It's really a dilemma simply because tea is so stinking good that i can't stop drinking it and i don't want to.

I am not so much addicted to the taste of tea but also the idea of it. It is the perfect drink for anytime of the year. When it's cold outside and you are finishing your homework the perfect thing is a warm cup of tea to make you cozy. When it hot outside put some ice in it and it will cool you down.

It's amazing! Also it's what they drink in all the finest books so that just puts you into a literary mood.

If you can't find me look in the kitchen, i'll most likely be sipping a steaming tea cup by the window.

Happy making!

I have these little excursions of happiness for life now and then. I am glad to report that they are getting more frequent, i thank God for happiness in life.

Today my happiness is coming from:

-Manga! I have always loved this happy form of drawing. The stories for the comics are never very good and they are such quick reads that if i buy them i am done with them the same day so i never do. but i will stand in the manga isle at Boarders or Barnes and Nobles and just look at the busy outline drawings of happy girls and tall mysterious guys, their my favorite because they are always so cool looking! Drawing this way is even more fun!

-Chocolate truffles! Oh the soft chocolate-ness of a truffle is enough to get me into a bliss fest! When ever i bite into one i feel like a princess, as though i should be lounging on silk cushions in a villa with shear curtains billowing in a spicy arabian wind. Or being carried in a litter through a busy colorful Egyptian market.

-Musical scores to movies! Words are nice to listen to with music but there is something so sweet and pure and peace bringing to here just instruments serenading and booming. They bring concentration too, I love listening to these while doing homework.

The Pretty factor

Me and two good friends of mine have been swimming at the aquatic center in Pasadena for exercise. It's been fun! We took a four week class that refined our swimming skills so we could get more out of it. At first we, being the non-lame teenagers that we are, were like "a swimming class? psh! we don't need that!" Of coarse we did need it!

The last time i took a swim class i was about six years old. I loved everything about it except for my teachers.

-I must have an introduction to the point i am about to write about. When I was little i was a very innocent child, I was shielded from the usual little girl fantasies of having a boy friend, I was not informed of what a crush was(not that i would have had one). I knew about love, of coarse, from the amazing Disney movies and so forth but me actually ever wanting to be in love (or like, whatever) with a real non-animated boy was absurd. Boys were gross unless they were trapped behind a glass screen and could only be alive in my imagination, which was usually occupied with being a sword fighting mouse or wizard or princess kicking her evil step-mothers butt. Very rarely was i ever in love with someone so having a "crush" wasn't even in my vocabulary. When my little girl eyes looked upon a guy that my later teenaged eyes would have classified as good looking i just thought he was weird and made me feel uncomfortable, therefore i didn't like him.

So now that i am sixteen and knowledgeable i realize that those "weird" swim instructors were, in fact, hot. I know, i know, very teen-girl of me to say but i can't really help it. i assure you i don't feel comfortable around hot guys still unless i know them.

Back to the aquatic center, the first time me and my friend Mika and his sister walked in to take our lessons i turned to him and said with a miserable facial expression "i bet the hottest instructor here will be out teacher just because i'm here."

Guess what.

His name is Matt and he is tall and built, not necessarily hot, but charming with a beautiful smile, great laugh and kinda big ears. I hate him, not really, but i do. I try to get a swim lane as far away from him as possible because i always have this annoying feeling of being watched when i'm around good looking guys i don't know. Blah!

But also it's just the aquatic center, all the teachers and life guards are very good looking. I think part of the hiring process is a modeling show. I have a friend who works there and by many standards she is stunning. So it's just kinda hard to concentrate on swimming well when you're surrounded by beautiful people.

Not some of the other customers though, geez! That locker room is scary to walk into without first shielding your eyes.

Despite all this, I love swimming! It's so peaceful and a real challenge that makes me feel great! I am so happy after an hour of swimming that i am quite willing to take on the homework that awaits me at home. Love swimming!

So those are my swimming thoughts.

bye!

*sheepish grin*

It's slightly ironic but the most comments i have gotten on my Nov. 13th post have not been on this blog but in person. The comments haven't been in reference to the conversation but to the statement about my mom sleeping in a chair next to me and snoring herself awake. Of coarse my mother was not thrilled when she heard of what i said but it wasn't really that bad!

We had had a busy week and my mother was just getting some very needed rest before her and my dad went to dinner with some friends. When i said she had moved into her bedroom to sleep i was not saying that she sleeps all day. Have you ever slept in a chair? Well, then you will know it's not the most comfortable way to sleep so naturally she moved onto her wonderfully comfortable pillow-topped bed.

My mother was very happy to know i was writing this post, because she thought i had made her sound like a slob. I just wanted to make sure no one actually thought i was meaning that. My mom is awesome! She loves rock-n-roll music and raised us in a way that makes me hope i can be a mother like she is. I love my mom and always will!

P.S. and the snore was only a little snore, hee hee!

the future... wait, no it's now

I am a junior in high school this year so i have been one busy stressed out bee. Two AP classes fill up most of the free time i am used to having during the school year, but alas! This year there is no free time to be had. I think i have resigned myself pretty well to the homework load, i find i like working hard towards the goal of good grades more fulfilling this year. It has gotten so much so that any free time i have i don't know what to do with myself so i usually end up doing some homework. I view it as preparation for the college experience that i am already preparing for.

College. College. College.

It is a full word, what i mean by that is the word seems to fill up your mouth when you say it.

I am getting to the point in my junior carrier in which i decide where i wish to go to college and do all the preparations to ensure i get to that college. I would love to attend an out of state college, just far enough that i can't live at home or visit everyday but close enough that i can drive home for holidays. This is not because i hate being at home, by all means no! I just long to be thrown out of my comfort zone and experience something completely new and alien to myself.

I have narrowed it down to four colleges i would like to apply to.

-University of Washington at Seattle

-University of Texas at Austen

-University of Colorado at Denver

-University of colorado at Boulder

U of W is close to my Uncle in Oregon and my friends in Idaho. We have many friends in Texas and Colorado is so centralized that i could get to all of these people plus my sis in Montana and my grandparents in South Dakota! I am super excited about this part of my life, i think i'll enjoy it!

Logic, hmmm do we have it?

Today is Saturday, it's a very pretty Saturday too i might add. My sister and her friends are off on a church retreat by Lake Arrowhead so i am an only child for the weekend. My mother is napping in a chair next to me, an almost empty teacup is sitting prettily next to my hand and my French homework is prodding me whispering "Allez-y!" so naturally my blog came to my mind. There are things to do, I am going to blog! I think blogging should be counted as extra credit for English or Writing class, don't you? It would be a great way to get teens to start writing, "go write on the internet all about yourself!"

Well, it is Saturday and Saturday means that i have my figure painting class at 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. Haha! my mom just snored herself awake! Anyway, I am completely enjoying this class and am excelling in my painting talent that, before this class, stood at 0. This is mean sounding but i was thrilled that i wasn't the worst one in the class! There is no way that i am even near the best in class but at least i know the difference between a canvas and an easel. The people are nice, I have been talking with two other girls in there and today i had a most enlightening and frustrating conversation with them.

We were chatting about normal teen things like friends and school when, somehow, it came up that i don't believe in sex before marriage. They were somewhat shocked. They know i am a christian and i know neither of them are. This is roughly how the conversation went, with my mind commentary added. I was never bratty or disrespectful when i answered them and they were never bratty either.

L:"You don't believe in sex before marriage? Not even in college?"

Mind:(no.)

V: *pulls ear phone out of ear* What?

L: "oh, she doesn't believe in having sex before marriage."

V: "Really? not at all?"

Mind:(um...no!)

Me: "No. I think it's kind of disrespectful to the man you will marry one day."

L: "But you need to know what your getting in to. Like, in Sex and The City one of the characters doesn't have sex with her husband until they get married but she had had sex with other guys and she finds out he is really bad in bed."

Mind:(excuse me, what? why are you taking relationship advice from that show? and if she hadn't slept around then she would never have known anyway!)

Me: "I really don't think it's necessary."

V: "Well, how young would you say is too young if you didn't wait?"

Mind:(Excuse me, what?)

Me: "I really don't have an opinion about that because i think you should wait."

L: "What about living together, do you believe in that?"

Me: "No, not really cause it takes away the excitement of when your married and you finally get to live with each other, it's like 'Yes! finally'"

L: "But what if you get married and then find out that he has all these stupid little habits that drive you crazy?"

Mind:(You'll have stupid little habits, too!)

Me: "But they are just stupid little things. If you let those get in the way, you're supposed to love each other no matter what. And if you have known each other long enough there won't be that many things that you don't know about."

L: "Yeah but if there are enough stupid little things. No, I'm probably gonna live with him before i marry him. My parents lived with each other a long time before they got married and they aren't divorced."

Mind:(ok.)

Me: "My parents dated for about a year before they got married and they are still together and not getting divorce anytime soon."

Mind:(thats sarcasm.)

L: "Wow, really? Thats not a very long time."

V: "It's usually the people who don't believe in sex or living together that get married young."

Mind:(is there a problem with that?)

L: "Yeah, you're right. Like in their twenties."

Me: "So you don't plan on getting married tell your around thirty?"

L: "Probably. Why, what age do you think is good?"

Me: "Like, twenty-four. Around there."

L: "Wow, thats really young. Most people now a days don't get married that young."

Mind:(So what.)

Me: "Well if you love the guy then why not?"

L: "Yeah, i know but you can live together and then when you get married then you can have a baby and start building a family."

Mind:(or you could just get married and wait, you know just a suggestion.)

So thats pretty much how it went. I is baffling what lies this world feeds us impressionable teenagers. I feel like innocence and morals don't have a place here anymore. Well, my teacup is empty and my mom has moved to her bed to nap. My french is still poking me so i should go.

Post later!

What a fright!

My good friend told me today that she had seen Tim Burtons Nightmare Before Christmas for the first time in her life. This brought back many fond memories of this stunning example of superior claymation. Ever since i saw this movie i remember falling in love with it! The claymation captured the feelings of every character so perfectly. The story idea is so unique to anything else that has been made and the songs! The songs! The soulful heartfelt serenades of love sick Sally to the hopeful tune of Jack's Whats This!

The strangeness of the Halloween characters is slightly disturbing, my sister loathes this movie. I can see how she could get weirded out by the disturbing look of the halloween town but i find it so perfect!

But i won't ever forget the first time i heard Jack Skellington walked on to the curly hill in the pumpkin patch to sing the haunting chores of Jack's Lament. I feel, hard! And now i am fully and forever in love with the tall dashing skeleton. How could i avoid it? He is the best looking skeleton i've ever seen! He wheres the most amazing pin-stripped suit and cat bow-tie. AHH! love him!

"have some more" said the Marsh Hare

This Birthday keeps getting more and more wonderful! Last night My mother and I took a trip to my best friends house for a small art class. Now, my best friend and I are very much in tune with each other. We understand each other excellently. We are the kind of girls that have tea parties and wonder why the world is round while melting chocolate in the microwave. Her mom is such a lovely person as well! My sister and i call her Aunt Linda, thats how close we are to this family. love them so much!

Well, last night they gave me my present. They gave me some AMAZING truffles, some PG Tips tea and...

an Alice in Wonderland teapot!!

I have wished for a teapot for a while now, there is something so satisfying about getting your tea out of a teapot. It just seems so natural to sit down at the breakfast table and pour a teacup full of tea waiting for you in a teapot. No more running back and forth to the stove for more hot water. They are such jolly round things. Mine has a little Marsh Hare in a stripped vest and red waist coat sitting on top. All over it are pictures of the very merry unbirthday scene from Alice in Wonderland. Its so cute!

I love it!! This has been the best birthday EVER!

Pic: Alice in Wonderland Cafe teapot

This is a gift

The night before last was for remembering. As a part of my birthday present we journeyed to the Wiltern theater in Hollywood to see...

FLORENCE + THE MACHINE!!!!
We didn't know much of her music, just on the radio and i owned one song of hers. We went and our minds were blown! She is this skinny british woman who dances about on stage like a fairy in billowy clothes, she's rather girlish in her actions so we were completely caught off guard by her Voice. Her Voice must come up from deep in the earth because it's hard to believe that such a huge, full, breath taking Voice could come from her body. She never missed a note.

Hers is a Voice that you can almost see, it fills you up to your throat with thick tones and colors. It throbs and dances above the audience with passion. I mean, her Voice is so perfect it deserves to be capitalized! In fact, i will do that right now.

As she trotted about on stage she smiled and interacted with her audience. She accepted gifts of My Little Pony drawings and pink masks. She got the audience all jumping for the last song and throwing their hands up to shout "Raise It Up!". She was a wonder to see!

Beautiful! Bravo Florence, bravo!

Channel four...

Birthdays are special days full of happiness and sunshine and rainbows and streamers and cakes and presents. They are fun, charming with all the correct people that need to be there, family and friends, you know. Sometimes you get taken out on an outing to a theme park with a friend. Birthdays are amazing! Believe me, i think there are the greatest.

Then there are 16th birthdays. These are a breed apart from normal birthdays. These consist of many things that normal birthdays do but to make this a proper equation we must add lots of money, Teen girls (lets face it, besides Bar Mitzvahs and those for fourteen year olds, what teen boy has a sweet sixteen? *cricket* thats what i thought) and big presents. Yes, girls when that certain day comes around start expecting huge presents and a large sum of money to be spent on them. There was even a reality TV show about them... called Sweet Sixteen. Anyway, my point is that most teenagers demand a big party celebration just for them.

I make the confession that i am one of those girls. Two years ago my sister turned sixteen and my parents practically rented out an arcade for all of her friends to run about and shoot at badly pixilated screens, which by the way is one of the most fun things ever! So this year i automatically started thinking of what big hoo-ha i could throw for my b-day. I decided on Disneyland! So the week-end after Thanksgiving we are spending at the happiest place on earth (it's true, too)riding rides over and over again. I am so excited!!

Today is actually my birthday but we are not doing anything tell that weekend because my amazingly talented sister and our friend is having a voice recital. I am cool with that:) I had gluten free waffles with fruit and sausages this morning as a wee celebration and i opened the cards from grandparents so that was good enough for me!

"whats that dad? 100 dollars to spend on iTunes? WOO-HOO!!"

Have i mentioned that i love my amazing, perfect, totally cool parents? Well i love my amazing, perfect totally cool parents! They are gifts from God! Thank you Mommy and Daddy. I will love you forever!

Send me an angel

The lights rise, the first lonely twangs float across the audience. The mist starts and you see the silhouettes of the four men in skin tight pants, their hair creating fuzzy halos. Then the cords start flying, voices rise in screaming hysteric love for the ones playing the music. Heads bob and fists pump, the gods of rock are here!!

Thus is the legacy of 80's rock. Beautiful in it's raw grungy songs and twangy thick ballads. I love it!! No one rocks like the long-haired rockers of the 80's. No no! No resent band can be like the rock gods of the 80s.

Journey! They are amazing!Bon Jovi! Stunning!
ACDC! So good!Echo and The Bunnyman! Lips like Sugar!!!

All these and more are just perfect in the rock category. To these bands no modern band can hold a candle. Yes there are some amazing bands out there rite now. Trust me, i listen to most of them. but at heart I am my moms 80's baby. Love that fashion and that music, oh! so beautiful! *tear*

I've got an itch

Today i discovered that all the web surfing for cool blogs i've been doing over the past few days has resulted in something alarming: I've been bite by the blog bug. It's a horribly contagious disease that travels from you mind to you finger tips. It makes me want to jot down every single thing that flashes through my shallow teenage mind. Blogging is making your thoughts public, weather they are worth while or not here they are for the world to view if it wishes.

I have been on all sorts of websites over the last two days. From Nylon.com to Etsy.com(a shopping website) looking for places to blog or read other peoples blogs(only if the blog is interesting though because i simple don't tolerate being bored by what i read). I have tried to start a blog on Nylon.com but cannot find where you can do that. It's quite infuriating. Well, it has taken up so much of my time but i have enjoyed it. I realize that there are other things i'd like to do as well so i need to limit my time on here.

On the Nylon predicament. If you don't know what it is, it is a fashion magazine that focuses on all aspects of pop culture. Music, movies, quirky pillows and food, you can find that everything is considered in Nylon Magazine. I subscribe to it and enjoy reading it's pages full of articles on actors and actresses. The clothes are always fabulously fun! But anyway, on some magazines websites you can start you very own fashion blog. I was like "hey! how about on Nylon!" but i couldn't find how to start one. phooy!

Oh Well. This blog does fine for me anyhow. i have fun keeping track of myself on here. it's such a great hobby.

I do believe i am going to add some other pages onto this page. Just places i can write reviews of the movies i see or books i read. And, of coarse, fashion.

Thats all for now folks! bye!

Mourn for the long gone past

from my childhood tv watching memories!

I love Lucy! It's so fun to watch her blunder about in ridiculously impossible ways. As if it wasn't unnatural at all to clime out on the ledge outside your apartment window.

Loony Toons!! The childhood cartoon is right here! Bugs Bunny was all our hero with his fluffy tail and sarcastic cross-dressing ways of getting out of mischief. He is amazing!

Animal planet was my sister and mine favorite station to watch. We would run up the stairs of our grandparents house to the living room on saturday morning and watch K-Nine To Five, Emergency Vets, and of coarse, The Crocodile Hunter. He was the man of the hour! Steve Erwin! We grew up with him as our animal guide. We oohed and ahhed when his little girl was born and held our breath in suspense when he was in danger of being devoured by an evil croc. We miss you a lot Mr. Erwin. Thanks for the memories and stories. We won't ever forget you.

The Club Can't Even Handle Me Right Now!

Halloween! The Night of Horror!!! Or in this case the Night of Dancing Ninjas!

I, I'm proud to say, am part of a dance crew. We danced a halloween dance that was worthy of induction into the ninja hall of fame! After we murdered the dance floor we knocked the socks off anyone who saw the whites of our eyes with our killer moves. we pretty much are the most awesome in all of Pasadena and beyond!

We will strike again in November! We will see you all then, but you won't see us. *poof ninja smoke disappear*