Geometry For Dummies

   Is there such a thing? Because if there is, I want it!!!!
   Euclid, who is commonly called the father of geometry, invented Proofs and Postulates in his book the Elements around 300 B.C. primarily to torture high-school kids in the 20th and 21rst Centuries.
     I don't know why Geometry is so hard for me. Algebra was fairly easy, although I find writing and English much more enjoyable than I got about a 75% score on my test. So you know what that means for homeschoolers. STUDY, study, study and TRY again. Try again until you get a B. Which is all I'll probably be able to get in Geometry anyway. Darn! I hate it.

     Nothing too interesting happened today. Right now I was working on page numbers for my book. I am so close to having it published and I still can't think of what to call it. So far I have two names: The Dusty Trail, or Brave Spirit. I think that I would call it "The Dusty Trail" because the story is about the journey of a horse called Dusty. But I don't know if I should call it "Brave Spirit" partially because it sounds so cool and partially because it is about a character who learns the true meaning of courage. So E me or comment! What do you think?
     And about the page numbers--those are the hardest things in the world to figure out. I almost ripped the cord out of the wall and threw my computer out the window I was so frustrated. But thankfully there was some other; cheaper objects for me to take out my wrath on.
     I hope to have the press-ready manuscript ready tomorrow. I am sending it to one more person to read for typos then It's off to the publishing house!!! I'm so excited, I hope I can have it ready for Christmas.
     No pictures today, sorry. I spent the majority of my afternoon facing grocery aisles at Jay's. But tomorrow we are going to do some fun and interesting stuff, so I'll have at least one photo of that. Make sure to check it out! ;)

  Mattie "MJ" Richardson

Redheads . . .UNITE!

   A variation of Karl Marx's slogan, "Working men of all countries, UNITE!" :D
    Nothing too interesting is going on here today. Dad's home so that means I'll probably have to go to work with him. The house is a mess and I don't care.
     Some weird red head facts:

• Redheads make up less than 4% of the world population, making it the world's most unusual hair color
• There was once a rumor going around that redheads would become extinct. It is a myth that is entirely false.
• Red hair is actually caused by a genetic mutation
• Redheads are traditionally associated with a bad temper and that they can get mad easily. How weird is that? I don't get too mad at anyone. (except my brother)
• Sixty percent of people who dye their hair do so at home. Of that, 26% go blond, 27% any brunette color, and 30% choose red hair. Jealous, are we?
• Red heads often get picked on mercilessly. I don't understand that at all. It's not like we chose red hair.

     So, I've decided to just live with it instead of hating it or dying my hair some other color. (I can do that when I'm old!) People always say stuff like; Stand out, Be different, you don't have to be like everyone else! So I apply that to red hair. Like I always tell anyone who picks on me for it you're just jealous. :P

    So, I hope your day is going well. I now have 2 followers! Thanks Michele!
     Here's a redhead joke for you to finish off:

     There was once a lovely couple who had been married for 50 years. The wife was growing quite old and felt as if she was going to die soon. So she told her husband, "Go up to the closet in my room. On the top shelf, you'll find a box. Bring that to me please."
     The loving husband did as he was told. He brought the box down and showed it to her. "Open it." she said.
     Inside was two doilies and $45,324 in cash. The husband was puzzled. "What is this?" he asked.
     "Well, my mother told me never to let my red headed temper get the best of me," the wife answered, "so she told me to make a doily every time I got mad at you."
     The husband was touched that in 50 years of marriage, the wife only had gotten mad at him twice. "So what is the $45, 324 for?" He asked.
     "Oh," said the wife, "that's the money I made selling all the other doilies"

Playing Violin for the Elderly

  . . . Is very stressful!! I forgot to mention I played violin on Friday for the older folks in a nursing home that is in Lisbon. Of course, I got there early (I'm always early or late because I have no working clock with me when I travel) and that's always awkward. I played a few songs but messed some of them up terribly. I guess all in all I didn't do too bad.
     I offered to bring a copy of Appaloosy in for them to read and such, but I couldn't bring it in right away because of the darn fact that I am still out of copies. I hope I get them soon.
    Some of the old people really appreciate the fact that I'm playing, and they talk to me and shake my hand and say stuff like, "oh, well I knew that song!" or, "My father played violin!" I like when people say that stuff. Other people just grunt and move their wheelchairs back to their rooms.
     I am so awkward in every way when it comes to performing. I am so shy, I really need to work on that. Why am I scared to show myself off to people? For pete's sake, I even look nervous in pictures!
     Speaking of which, there are none of me playing on Friday. No one was able to go with me so I had to go all by myself. I'll upload one of me playing in my performance garb, this one's at the Summer Reading program in Bismarck. This was one of the best places to go for selling books, and I had a lot of fun, but I think my grandma (who was with me) had to pretty much force me to play.

Home alone

   Well, I'm not really home alone. Mom is in Philip, SD with four of the kids and I am home with Dad and Clarissa, Sarah and Eva.  But it's so quiet, it almost feels like it. I went to youth group on Wednesday night again, and I decided that I really like it. I think I might give my testimony next time. But I'm not sure on that yet.

Wednesday Writing Tip

   Okay, it's not Wednesday today but I got a little busy yesterday. Mom and four of the kids are going to South Dakota again to help take care of Grandma. They left this morning. We were busy packing and cleaning yesterday. So here's your tip:

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Writing tip-- Keeping a Schedule

Everyone needs to keep somewhat of a schedule to be able to finish a novel. Even with short stories, essays, songs and articles, it helps to be able to have a schedule to stick to.
    If you're really serious about writing, I recommend at least a two-hour time slot every day for writing. The more, the better. But it is better if you write consistently for a little each day rather than a huge chunk of time on Saturday, for example.
     If you do it for fun and don't plan on publishing or really showing a lot of people, whenever you feel like writing would be okay. But it usually takes about 30 min. to "warm up" to your story and get in the right mindset, so at least that much time would be needed to make some progress.
   Now: when should I write? It doesn't really matter, as long as there isn't a lot of distractions and you have the time. I personally prefer writing from after supper to late into the night, but sometimes I do my writing in the morning. Some people prefer to do it in the afternoons. Whenever you feel best writing is when you should write. Find your groove and fit in it! You'll find yourself making a ton of progress if you just find a good writing schedule and stick with it!

Mattie
    

Got Guineas?

   No, not a guinea pig, but a guinea hen. I woke up this morning to our annoying bunch of them screaming and cackeling away. We started out with about twenty, now I'd say we have almost fifty. The main reason we have them mostly is because they eat ticks and other grubs. Other reasons people keep them is for their meat, eggs, as watchdogs, and simply for yard decoration. (They come in a variety of colors.)
    Here are some Guinea Hen Facts:

• The most common color of guinea hens are Pearl Gray (shown above) and Lavender
• Guineas originated from Africa and Madagascar, where they are still hunted as wild game today
• Baby guineas are called keets
• You can tell which guineas are males and which ones are females by the sound they make. Males simply make one annoying, continous noise like "CHIT CHIT CHIT CHIT" while females make a noise that sounds like "Buck Wheat, Buck Wheat"
• Guineas are expensive, costing anywhere from $3-$6 for keets and $10-$30 for adult hens/cocks each
• The main reason Guineas are kept is because of the fact that they eat bothersome ticks. Lots of them.

     Now, go do some more reasearch on them. They are really quite interesting. Then, maybe go get some. =D
     Last night I went to 4H. I got my premium money, (not much) and listened to our long meeting agenda. I was nominated for the offices of Vice President and Secretary. Not that I really wanted to so much. But I usually get nominated but not voted through anyway so that's okay. We'll see what happens.
  Mattie Richardson

And the Award for Most Un-photogenic Person in the World Goes To . . .

  Mattie Richardson!!
  (Applause)
   

Thank you, thank you very much! I always knew this award would come to me! I just can't stand looking at myself in pictures, and apparently no one else can either!

   Allright, I'll quit being mean to myself. I am terrible in photos though. That's why it's a good thing no one took any pictures of me yesterday. We were going to go trick or treating but ended up going to the party at church. I didn't care too much anyway, I just didn't want to scramble around and find materials to make five homemade costumes out of. It was pretty cool for the kids, they had carnival games that the kids could play and win awards. It was from 5:30-8 and at the end they had a little message for the kids. Then they gave out candy. Although I would have liked the one in Philip, SD better though. I still get candy there. And a BUNCH of candy actually means a Bunch of candy. We all went home with at least one full plastic grocery bag of candy. Here a bunch was less then there a bunch, but the kids still had a good time.

A renegade--A creature so hard to capture with a camera, it's
almost crazy. Otherwise known as Eva.

Sawyer got drafted into crazy balloon making.

Violette in disguise.