Sticking to It

Last year, my friend, Carmen (you da bomb, Carmen 😉 ) got me a sticker maker for my birthday. I ended up putting it to good use over the summer and made a bunch of stickers to put on the Chromebook (a cheap, nice little laptop made by Google) that I would get at the start of my freshman year. 

Fast forward a few months, we get our Chromebooks, and everyone's excited to start stickerfying their new device (even though we technically aren't supposed to). I deck mine out with my original, drawn stickers, and people start to ask about it. 

That's when I realized something: People want custom stickers... I make custom stickers... this could turn into something...

Now, with the help of my friend, Abby, I've started the KGBStickerCo. and have currently sold over 50 stickers! The stickers are $2 for larger or more complicated ones (For example, the size of about the spider or the pizza) and $1 for small ones (The size of the orange or the pawprint).

A few other orders:

Thank You Teachers!!!

      Another school year has gone by, and you know what that means- I have had the pleasure of meeting another set of great teachers! So, without further ado, here are this year's custom cards for my exceptional educators:

(Feel free to tell me your favorite in the comments below! :D)

Dr. Finn- Seminar

Mme. Cox- French

Mr. Gittelman- Music

Mr. Huth- Science

Mr. Kelly- Math

Mr. Whitney- Seminar

Mr. Burkhimer- Social Studies

Mrs. Gerber- Language Arts

Ms. Stein- Art

Mrs. Ramos- Info Tech

Ode to Spring Break

     Over spring break, we visited my parents' alma  mater, Penn State. In honor of the school year, I decided to change things up and describe our trip in the form of a poem and pictures (below). Enjoy!

A few weeks ago, we went away on spring break
to a wonderful college you all know as Penn State
Where both of my parents went and earned their degrees,
Met, fell in love, got married, then had MEEEEE
We stayed at an awesome hotel not too far from campus
My favorite part of our stay was the free cookies and breakfast.
That evening, we just walked around, so many sights we saw
And for dinner, we feasted at West dining hall
Pizza and breadsticks, Korean cuisine
Daddy was in heaven as he dined on Kim Chi
For dessert, sweet cake, brownies, and ice cream that melts
We licked our treats happily and loosened our belts.
When it was time for bed, we watched Disney on cable TV
Well - Bob and I, that is, Mommy just fell asleep.
The next day it was nice, so we went for a hike
After scarfing down breakfast, we headed out on our plight.
Up Mount Nittany we climbed, laughing all the way
As the elevation grew and more snacks we craved.
Finally we finished, to dinner we frolicked
heading out to the dining hall so dearly named Pollock
On the last day we decided to live life to the fullest
as we stuffed our mouths with the ice cream that tasted the coolest
and headed home happy and content
At how perfectly perfect our trip had went
We laughed as Bob drove, in a jovial mood
Our only regret? Having to leave all that food.

Phillies Game and 7th Heaven

     Recently, my school's select choir, 7th Heaven had the amazing opportunity to sing the National Anthem at a Phillies game! It was a blast, and overall, a really cool experience.

Check out the video here:

https://vimeo.com/213134082

Bonus points if you can spot me... the camera is only on me for about half a second

(If you need a hint, scroll down to the very bottom picture)

After we sang, I mainly just read my book while Daddy napped between innings. I think Mommy was the only one actually paying attention to the game. :D Fans 14 and under all got a free sweatshirt, which was pretty awesome!Mommy wanted one too, but apparently being short doesn't earn you a sweatshirt. 
:( 

Kevin Cain- Again

     Last Sunday, my mom and I (for the-what is it-5th or 6th time?) competed in the Kevin Cain Make My Day 5K Race. My mom got 7th out of 17th in her age group. Not too shabby, but she has made it clear that she doesn't want to disclose what age group that is.
     I won first place in the 11-14 age group, but that wasn't the most exciting part; the real highlight of the day was when we won a raffle basket at the end of the event!

Mommy & her friend, Ms. Joanne, waiving to camera man, aka Daddy

  Every year, at the post-race party, we feast on the delicious food and buy some raffle tickets to A) support a great cause (fighting cancer) and B) try to win a basket. Two years ago, we won (for the first time) a really cool basket full of biscotti cookies, chocolates, and a gift card to a local pasta company. 

     This year, we were lucky enough to win AGAIN, this time an epic wine-themed basket. When I heard our last name and ran up to collect the prize, the man joked that he couldn't give me, a minor, a wine basket. Fortunately, my dad was there to accept the goods. 

     The basket contained: two bottles of wine, 4 gift cards (to various food places totaling $90), and a magnetic board decoration. 
     Well, when I say, "basket", I don't really mean basket. All the goods came in one large, very durable, tote bag. As my dad and I both have an unhealthy obsession with bags, this proved to be a problem, and we fought over who would get the bag for the entire walk home.
     We finally decided Mommy would have the final say on who gets the bag, and guess who won? :D

     The bag was all I really wanted in the basket, so I was happy. 

Ukulele, Me-kelele

     Guess what? I got me-kelele an ukulele! Thanks to my Nana (THANK YOU NANA!), who gave me some spending money for a new instrument around Christmas. I finally bought this bee-oo-tiful light blue ukulele from Music & Arts. The chord fingerings are completely different, but the basic concept is very similar to the guitar, so I've been able to pick it up pretty quickly. Check out some pics below:

Open Mic Night!

     A few weeks ago, I played my sax at New Leaf Club for their open mic night. I played two songs, Black Orpheus and Autumn Leaves. Mr. Peters, my private teacher played a guitar accompaniment, and I think we rocked it! Feel free to check it out below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku7TgtA9Jpc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO-yZX9Ty4A

Special thanks to Mr. P, Mommy, Daddy, and the awesome people at the New Leaf Club for making my first open mic amazing!