Been a while

Hello people on the Internet!

I have finally returned after much a hiatus. Let's just say with the recent events, the blog was the last thing on my mind but to give small details:

Mom and I learned how to use an old fashioned popcorn machine (October 31st)

I've been working hard towards getting good grades!

I've been expanding my collection of books a bit...

I got a Toothless POP! figure (and it's adorable)

Mom and I spent Thanksgiving with Mom's family, and I'm glad Mom enjoyed herself (It was raining cats and dogs though).

And now as we enter December, I feel like I'm going to be on stress OVERLOAD!!

I have work to finish by the 18th (Last day of school for 2015), TWO choir (did I mention that I joined the school choir??) concerts the same week (I'm trying to avoid having a science test and concert on the same day), and it just so happens that Whitney and Dad (glad to see one, and desperately want to avoid the other.) fly in that week too!! Let's say that it's serious cramped that week! Luckily, Mom's arranged for us to spend time with our Cross Plains relatives the following week so it's not TOO terrible.

I plan to stop being negative, but it's really hard when it comes to certain situations.

I hope everyone has had a happy Thanksgiving and will have a Merry Christmas to follow! Thanks bunches for taking the time to read my post!!

--Listening to Christmas music (Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker)--

-Lauren <3

Don't just say it, DO IT!

There are two kinds of people in this world: The Say-ers and the Do-ers. I said I was going to enter a writing contest and I did. That is being a do-er.  If you just say you're going to do something and you don't, you are a say-er.  I have lived in a house with a Say-er Dad and a Do-er Mom for most of my life. Then enter Mimi! Mimi is a full-on do-er and that took us all by surprise. If she says she's going to do something she'll do it! Mimi's a wonderful person and I'm glad to have her as a grandmother.

As mention before in the spirit of doing: I entered a writing contest. One of my favorite book series The Lunar Chronicles is hosting a fanfiction writing contest until the end of the month and I finally hopped on Microsoft Word and wrote out a Lunar Chronicle fanfiction mixing it with the Goose Girl fairytale by the Brothers Grimm. I'm glad to just have entered, but after reading a few of the other contestants stories, I have some good competition. If I win (I'm NOT counting my chickens before they hatch) then hooray! If I don't, then I'll still be proud of myself for this.

For any friends or family reading this I have an announcement: I will be going on radio silence for any photos until December. I went to the doctor who told me to exercise more and I was getting some medicine anyway for "personal" reasons, but overall even though I want you guys to see me through this journey, I felt it best to keep it on hush level until I really see and feel a change in myself. I want to show you the product of being a do-er and having strong motivation for something that has been put off WAY too long. Of course, it's a big change in a short period of time so I may not look that different, but I will say that I want to feel different by the time this is over

There are still chains binding me to what I was before I left, but over the next three months I will strive for change and accomplishment in my life that I was hindered about in NC. I WILL CHANGE for the BETTER and I WILL be PROUD of MYSELF when I'm done.

Music currently paused on my iPod: --From the Day-- by I am They

Thank you for taking the time to read this!!

-Lauren

Cat's Out of the Bag

So I REALLY hate it when Allison to guess these things but too late now! So in turn with this outcome I might as well post it: WHITNEY'S COMING TO TEXAS FOR FALL BREAK!!! Mom came up with this idea two weeks ago so she could see us. So in early October I will post about the visit with Whitney!

Next up is a nice little thing I'd like to call The Book Count. This is where I will tell you how many books I have received/bought throughout the month. As of today I have gotten 14 new books in the past week including 6 out of 7 Harry Potter books, The Tale of Desperaux, Ella Enchanted, and the novel version of Kingdom Hearts (I now know the manga that consist of 4 volumes covers more, but not everything.).

For more common news, school's been going well for the both of us. Allison enjoys going to Abilene High and loves training, whilst I've been having catch-up lessons the past two weeks and have now gotten four stars and I get out earlier this next week! Not to mention that even though I only have two classmates in Photography, it's wicked awesome and I've enjoyed taking photos and using workshop on them.

Today Mom and Mimi continued to clean the garage with a little assistance from myself. When it's done we will have new little craft shop in the house to replace the one that was originally my room. In addition to that, I've been tasked to make small bows for Mimi to use in her crafts! I enjoyed doing them before and I could probably use my own ideas to spruce them up. Who knows, maybe I'll get paid for it like for my chores. I just know that it'll keep me busy.

Wish us lots of love and please pray for me as I have a doctor's appointment on Monday. I have multiple things that are bugging me such as my spine and shoulder blade giving me pain and I'll have some chance of getting a needle in me. I HATE NEEDLES!!!!!

Thank you for taking the time to visit!!

-Lauren

Dog... Just Dog

Today was full of surprises, and one of them has still left me in shock.

First off there's a bit of history to the first surprise (for me): A few weeks ago when school started, I made a friend named Mikayla Williams. She eats the school lunches, but didn't want the mixed veggies they gave that day, nor did I want to take them. So I left the veggies on the wall, unopened and left for whoever wanted it. Until yesterday it continued to sit in the same spot, today it found itself knocked over and moved a few feet down. Along with the change, the school has decided that lunches must be eaten in the cafeteria and not outside. This leaves me to believe that we were the culprits of this new rule. Whether that's true or not, I'll leave it to the Lord to have us find out.

Second, third, and fourth surprises were all connected. First we got a dog named Coco out of the blue, leaving me stunned. Then she got territorial and Pa had to take her back, and after that (and the disappointment of my other family members) Mom came up with an idea: Send Coco to Nonnie in Cross Plains. This third part has yet to be carried out, but we all know it happening. And I quote that from that point, "We'll play it by year." I'll never understand Mom's logic.

Lastly, I'll finish off with an announcement (that may leave me with a few less site-visitors...) Pokémon and Nintendo have developed something that revolutionizes Pokémon as we know it: Pokémon GO!! Using a free-to-download app for both Android and iPhone (which is coming out with the iPhone 6s) and a blue-tooth device developed by a now independent start-up from Google called Niantic, people will be able to play Pokémon in the real world by locating & catching Pokémon in real world locations and use the app to trade, battle, and participate in events. It comes out in 2016, and I plan to use it to get out and explore the world more, though I know it'll never be as cool as it was in the announcement trailer.

Song I'm trying to keep Spotify on: --Brave-- Moriah Peters
It really good!! Thank you for taking the time to visit!

-Lauren

BIG BIG NEWS!!!!!

ALLISON IS GOING ON HER FIRST DATE!!!!!!
Only minutes ago did she tell me of this!! I'm so happy for her! Unfortunately, the only details I know (without revealing anything over important) is that the person who asked her out was a freshman on the freshmen football team at Abilene High.

In other news... I'm going to go to have to go to school until 2 next week. BOOO!! I'm not looking forward to it much, but it'll be ok!! I also started photography class this week! It was so much fun and I get to use a fancy camera!! Excitement has its limits, but keep an eye out for things that can make you smile!

To finish off today I'm planting a seed of curiosity.... Starting in October I'm going to be counting down the days until the BIG reveal on Facebook so keep a close eye off for it!!

Song I just switched to: -- Hero -- by Skillet
I love the Legion Of Doom remix if you ever need a music recommendation!!
-Lauren

Many a tale to tell!

Ok so first off... Happy Birthday Mom!! Love ya bunches. Today is Mom's birthday so if you can, give her some love in the comments!

Second news: I survived the first week of school!!!! I can fully say charter school is very exciting! I'm doing a variety of subjects such as English 2 (Knew I was taking it), World Geography (Apparently the way it works is I was supposed to do it BEFORE World History, but too late at this point.), Math Models (Real-world math. It was the easier choice instead of Algebra 2 & Pre-Calc so I jumped at it), Spanish (the only online course I have), and drumroll please... *Drumroll plays*... PHOTOGRAPHY!!! That's right P.O.I. (People of Internetland) I'm taking photos for class credit!! If I have pictures, or videos even, that I liked then expect them here and on Facebook.

Special Shout-out: Congratulations to Whitney for making it in to the a cappella group she auditioned for!!! If you can, show her some love in the comments!!

To close it off I must tell you all this: I'm going to a Fridays also be Fairy Tale Friday. I got two over 1300 pages combined books of fairy tales from the masters: The Grimm Brothers & Hans Christian Anderson. So until I get through both of those I will be spouting out fairy-tale facts and adaption recommendations out the wazoo!! Luckily for you I have a fairy-tale adaption trio book by Cameron Dokey known as Kissed (Belle*Sunlight & Shadow*Winter's Child) that I'm still charging through so I give you guys 2 weeks tops before the fairy tale fountain goes on overload.

Thank you to everyone and anyone who takes the time to read this!

Song currently playing: --Impossible-- Building 429

-Lauren

I'm still trying to work out the kinks

Ok I'm having trouble figuring out how to add pages, but until then I will have the profiles int this post:

Lauren - The youngest child of our family and part two of the twins. Electronically inclined and creator of the blog. "I have no idea on what I want to do in the future but I believe the future is bright from this point." I love to write stories with my ultimate goal to create a Disney Princess (I know it's possible!!). I also read (mainly fairy tales and adaptions of such), draw, take nature photography, and avidly play games on my 3DS. I tend to monologue just as a warning! But I hope that this will be a great way to keep in touch with everyone! I'm going to be starting sophomore year at the Premier Charter School in Abilene as a new way to start my new chapter and be close to family when they're working.

Allison - The middle child and part one of the twins. Allison is highly creative, active, and always trying to do her best. She's now an athletic trainer for Abilene High (Hooray!!) and is eager to start with an interest in doing in as a career. She's is a REALLY great singer and finished her first year in All-State Baptist Youth Choir this summer, and hopes to keep pursuing it in the future. She also loves photography and I personally hope that she keeps doing it through football season!

Mom - Tammy Mantooth. The spontaneous and creative person of the family. She is working at the Crafter's Gallery in Abilene (around the corner from my school), and is working to support us for the next part of our lives. You never know what might happen with Mom as she takes us with her on crazy adventures that you wouldn't expect until they happen (Which is how our family ended up at Grandfather Mountain a few years ago). Mom loves art and photography when she gets a chance to do it, and has constantly worked her tail off just to make sure we have food on the table and a place to sleep. I was once told that someone could see wings coming out of her and I could fully believe it, she is a blessing to be with and always knows how to make others smile.

Whitney - Eldest child and always looking for adventure. She is a sophomore at UNCG in North Carolina and it's not easy living 22 hours away from someone with such happiness. Pursuing a career in event planning, Whitney has always been good at what she does. As with the rest of us, Whitney loves art and crafting and never wants to miss out on an adventure. In the past Whitney was an athletic trainer for Cary High passing that interest to Allison. Lover of Broadway's Wicked and Newsies, Whitney is indeed someone Allison and I look up to. She also has a blog about her summer adventures if you want to find it.

Dad - Thomas Mantooth. Lives in Cary, North Carolina. Reason why we are in Texas. The End.

Thor & Loki - Our absolutely, positively, most wonderful, adorable, mischievous, curious, and trouble making, kittens. The boys are always on my nerves, but I still love them. I'm always saying how I didn't have input on those names and I still believe so. They were born in April 2015 to a cat named Midnight who was adopted by family friends of ours. They are the most precious things in the world, but if I have a say, then the cats need a reality check.

James T. -  The one and only boyfriend of my sister Whitney. He is like a big brother to us and is always ready to handle out craziness. No matter the situation, James seems to keep things in perspective. He and Whitney have been in a relationship for over three years now and things seem like they're going well.

Family Time!! Here's some of our extended family for you to know:

Uncle James - Dad's brother and our uncle
Aunt Luann -Our aunt and Dad's sister in law; Married to Uncle James
Caitlin - Eldest child and cousin. College graduate from UT and lives in Irving with her cat named Nala
Brianna - Middle child and cousin. She loves singing, Wicked (as does a good amount of her and our family), and is really smart.
Andrew - The youngest child and cousin. He's an all around ball of energy who has a tendency to climb the walls of his house earning him the nickname Spiderman. He's always out to make everyone smile and loves to goof around and have fun.
Bo - The adorable dog of their family. Originally he was to be Brianna's dog, but ended up believing he was Aunt Luann's dog. He loves popsicles, cheese, and loves to snuggle.

Aunt Melody - Mom's sister and our aunt.
Uncle John Fred - All of us skip the Uncle and just call him John Fred. Our uncle and Mom's brother in law.
Colton - The oldest and our cousin. Plays sports and is known to talk in a slow deep Texan accent. Currently attends Texas A&M.
Shelby - One of two middle kids and our cousin. Does cheerleading among other sports.
Dobbs - The other middle child and our cousin. According to Whitney's blog he's most likely to become a rancher.
Cody Joe - The youngest and our cousin.

Gramma - She's our great-grandmother and has housed us in our previous visits to Texas and loves seeing us.

Gigi -  If all of us were to agree on something, it's that we'd all be prepared when it comes to seeing Gigi. Our grandmother and Dad's mom, Gigi has a tendency to want to be a part of everything that goes on. We still love her, it's just that sometimes you just need to smile and move on.
Doc - Our grandfather. He's very kind and doesn't speak often.
Kylie - Gigi's dog. Everyone believes that when Gigi passes on, that everything will go to the dog.

Pa - Our Grandfather and Dad's dad. Very sarcastic on occasions, but is very loving towards us. He runs the post office in the Crafter's Gallery with Mimi and was the one who offer Mom the job that allows us to live here in Texas. He loves sports.
Mimi - Our grandmother and one of the sweetest people ever. She is very crafty, and sells crafts at the Crafter's Gallery alongside working with Pa in the post office.
Rascal & Bebe - Pa & Mimi's dogs. They don't like our cats very much...