Chistmas Eve, Christmas Itself and Boxing Day

Hi there, folks! Whew, I haven't written since 12/21, eh? That's gotta be a record! I had a lovely Christmas, so I figured I should stop playing The Sims Unleashed, for God's sake, and tell you all about it! Oh, and by the way... I'M NO LONGER GROUNDED FROM THE COMPUTER! WOOOOOOO! *Flounces onto next paragraph*

Christmas Eve has always been the day that we spend at the grandparents Shoup's house with my mom's side of the family, which means we're in for a fun-filled day of presents, party-sized Blimpies subs and plent o' criticism from my judgemental cousins! Grandma has this awesome tradition where she fills out stockings full of apples, tangerines and nuts, like her family got in their stockings during The Depression. This year, while carrying presents into the house, I tripped over Carrie's shoes and went flying head first into the Christmas tree, surprisingly without getting injured. Then we sat down for subs and Zach entertained us by spilling six subs and a glass of pop on the floor. *Grins innocently* Zach and I just felt the need to bring some Zintel grace into the Shoup home. That night, I tagged along with Mom and Mike to my step grandma's house, and got yelled at for doing things like sitting on the piano bench and trying to sit on the couch without putting a towel down first. We sat and listened to Michelle sing opera before we could escape to church.

On Christmas morning, Zach came home from his 3rd shift job as a security guard, and woke Dad and I up at 7:15 frickin' A.M.! *Pats his head* I can forgive him for that because it was Christmas and he was excited. While we opened presents, I endured the sounds of my least-favorite movie, A Christmas Story since Zach and Dad love it so much. From Dad, I recieved the following: Michelle Branch--Spirit Room, Jennifer Love Hewitt--Barenaked, Faith Hill--Cry, Spider-Man, Someone Like You, Chocolat, Kate & Leopold, Charlie's Angels, The Sims Unleashed, Sim Coaster, three lovely new outfits, a might-ay comfortable desk chair and a Virgin cell phone. I found it rather humorous that my cell phone is Virgin brand because it's my first time having a cell phone. Zach gave me Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for Gameboy, Shrek for Gameboy, the Daria--Is It College Yet? DVD and a stuffed Hedwig! She's luffly.

Christmas afternoon, we went to Aunt Barb and Uncle Don's house where we watched their digital cable--*pauses to drool*-- and ate Christmas dinner, then opened presents. Grandma & Grandpa Z. got me The Wedding Planner and Beauty and the Beast special edition DVD, and Aunt Barb made me a beautiful fleece blanket that I absolutely adore.

Aunt Barb, Uncle Don, Lindsay and Jennifer have this adorable 10-year-old Yorkie dog named Corky. He's from a puppy mill (remember, never buy a pet from a pet store!), so the poor little guy has a lot of problems. Right now, he's got a horrible skin irritation problem, and he's been chewing through his fur, and making himself bleed, trying to scratch his itches. Poor doggie.


I spent Christmas night at Mom's house, and in the morning, Zach and I exchanged gifts with Mom and Mike. From Mom, I got all sorts of fun Harry Potter merchandise--two calenders, a big gift-package of HP stuff including a Hagrid doll, Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans, a Hermione toothbrush... I also got a beautiful, warm pink pair of pajamas. *Beams and pets fluffy new pajamas* Our pets, Chyna, Daria and Amy all had fun going through their stockings, and I think we all had a wondermous Christmas. I heart my family, and I also muchly heart soy nog. *Rubs stomach in a full-like fashion* I think Mommy and I are going to have to make a lunch date with my pals, Sarah and Samantha so I can give those two crazy kids their presents, and so I can go shopping with my new bunches of Christmas money! I just realized that, before Christmas break, I saw .:::ECHO EFFECT:::. Dave at school, and he gave me his E-mail address and told me we should get together and cook sometime, in all our vegetarian splendor! *Shrieks and throws Hedwig into the air in celebration*
*Hugs for all*
--Holly :-D

Surveying My Inner Child

Hello, you delightful little kiddos, you! Let's see, what have I been up to? I didn't do much on Halloween because, of course, I didn't go to Larry's party party. I'll bet they really missed me at that party, too. They'll probably come into theatre practice tomorrow saying, "Oh Holly, the party really sucked since you weren't there!" and I'll be like, "What was that? I can't hear you. Maybe it's because I can only hear non-alcoholics." *Nods* Yup... that's what'll happen. Anyway, I didn't dress up for Halloween because I didn't go anywhere, and no one came over. We had about 8 trick-or-treaters, and only one of them had a costume. And 3 of them were 17.

Well, I no longer think very highly of Miss Avril Lavigne. My mom bought me an Entertainment Weekly that's all about Avril, and that sk8er girl is not nearly as cool as I thought she was. As it turns out, she's a hunter... and she's actually proud of it! And what's up with her breaking that guitar over that car in the "Sk8er Boi" video? If she didn't want the car and the guitar, I would have taken them! She didn't need to break 'em. The whipper-snapper...

The time has come to break out the Christmas CDs! Thanksgiving is coming, and so is my play and so... is... CHRISTMAS! Ooooh, excitement time for Holly! Yup. Well, guess what? I've got this awesome little book called My School Days. It's a keepsake and memories album, and it has a survey for every year of school (pre-k through 12th grade). Here's a picture of me as a pre-schooler. Don't ask me why I had those dorky bangs. But I like the dress, it's neat. I want a plaid dress...



Here's how I filled out a survey when I was in 1st grade (I was 6).
When I come home from school, I like to: Drink milk, eat popscicles and play with Jake's grandchildren. (Note from 18-year-old Holly: This must be why I'm allergic to milk now.)
At school, my favorite thing to do is...Hear stories, go outside and go to art class.
Once, at share time, I: Said that Daddy told me I could maybe have a baby kitten!
On Halloween, I dressed up as:Ariel, The Little Mermaid.
My best friend this year is: Shannon
But I also like: Ashley.
The tooth fairy came: 5 times
And I got: Toys and lots of money.
For my birthday: I had a Little Mermaid party & an Ursula pinata. I had a kids' party & a family party! Wow!
My best present all year was: Go-go Walking Pup.
My most fun trip was: To Myrtle Beach, S.C. We played in the ocean, collected shells, swam in the pool and shopped.
These are a few of my favorite things
School lunch: Chips, bologna and cheese. (Note from 18-year-old Holly: EWWW! I didn't go vegetarian until the next year!)
Sport: Dancing, biking.



TV show: Full House, Muppet Babies and Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Movie: The Little Mermaid, Annie and Heidi.
School clothes Little Mermaid shirt.
Holiday Christmas.
Doll (truck): The Little Mermaid.
Restaurant: Chuck E. Cheese.
Game Super Mario Bros. III

Well, it was fun to have a chat with my inner child. Now, I must go, as it's time to vote. Ah yes, and I'm working on un-Halloweening my diary, so don't think I slept through Halloween and don't know it's over or anything. *Shifts eyes nervously* Ta!

Holly :-D

The Hot Vegan Dude and Fun Galore

Isn't it awesome how different college is from high school? I mean... all through high school, I was either totally ignored, or made fun of for all my various obsessions and animal rights issues. But now that I'm in college, people are suddenly nice. It's like a completely different world. People I don't even know stop and say, "I like your shirt." You know, I never did understand why people in high school disliked my Mr. Rogers shirt. *Smiles and waves at the Mr. Rogers on my shirt*.

In high school, when I'd look around, I'd see cliques. A cluster of giggling preps, a herde of wild drug addicts, a big shadow of goths all dressed in Marilyn Manson shirts with pants covered in safety pins... And everywhere I turned, one group of people was looking down on another group of people, either making fun of them for the way they dressed and the music they listened to, or glaring at them for simply daring to exist.

College is like a breath of fresh air to me. There are no cliques. It's not unusual to see a 60-year-old guy walking and talking with a pierced-up kid who's wearing jeans that are three sizes too big for him. I love the way college students are. They all seem content with themselves, and with everyone else. I went to my Intro to Theater class today, and immediately spotted... *echo effect* .:::THE HOT VEGAN DUDE:::. *end echo effect*. I'm very proud of myself... I actually talked to him. *Beams proudly and high fives the first person she sees* I wish to marry him someday. *Nods decidedly, grinning from ear to ear*

And now, it's time for a lovely, fun Birthday Survey that I have stolen from my buddy, Samantha.

1. Date of birth: February 28th, 1984.
2. Current age: 18
3. Zodiac sign: Pisces. I'm a fish! *Splashes around to get point across*
4. Birthstone: Amethyst.
5. Do you like to make a big deal out of your birthday? Um... not a huge deal. But I do enjoy making it known that it is Holly Day every Feb. 28th.
6. Do you like it when people bring you balloons? Yes. Balloons rock my world.
7. What kind of cards do you like, sappy or funny? Funny, all the way!
8. Have you ever had a surprise party? Yes. When I turned 6, I believe. I was rather angry about it.
8. Do you want one? No, thanks.
9. Where would your dream birthday party take place? At the Flamingo Hilton garden/pool area in Las Vegas, baby!
10. What do you want for your birthday? Well, it's quite a ways away, but I always like getting funny shirts and novelty hats.
11. Do you like getting any of the following as gifts?
Jewelry: Absolutely!
CD's: If I've specifically requested them.
DVD's: Yesiree! DVDs are my passion in life.
Clothes: If we're talkin' funny, or animal rights shirts, yeah.
Books: Yes, bring on the books! ...Please.
Perfume: Oh yeah, Cancun! *Waves at Boas*
Flowers: Sure, flowers are lovely things.
Candy: I'm always up for candy, yes.
Money: I'd actually rather not get money. I like getting gifts because buying or making something seems more creative, and from the heart to me than saying "Here's $20, have fun with that."
12. What was the best gift you've ever received? My first cat, Tinsel. She was a Christmas present. Does that count?
13. What was the worst gift? That math G.E.D. study book I got from my dad last year.
14. What is your favourite store? FAO Shwartz.
15. What is your favourite colour? Pink.
16. How much money do you expect your friends to spend on you? None at all. It's the thought that counts, pal.
17. What kind of cake do you like? White cake! Ooh, and that confetti cake is good too.
18. If there were a picture on the cake what would you want it to be of? My mom is the world's best cake decorater, and I've loved every picture she put on my cakes. But my favorite was the one with Daria daydreaming about Trent.
19. If you could invite one celebrity to your birthday party and they would come, who would it be? J.K. Rowling. Ooh, can I have "Weird Al" too? That'd be great.
20. Do you prefer store bought or homemade gifts? They're both great.
21. Do you hate it when presents are wrapped in newspaper? Heh, no, I prefer it! Just wrap it in the comics so I can read 'em when I'm done opening it.
22. Do you like it when the waiter sings happy birthday? I like it when they do it to someone who isn't me.
23. What's the coolest thing you've ever done for someone's birthday? We all threw this huge surprise party at Fuddrucker's for my dad's 40th B-day. It was super-fun, trying to keep it a secret... and we all managed it!
24. What's the coolest thing someone has done for yours? When I was 11, I was OBSESSED with One Life to Live. On my B-day, my mom decked out the entire house, inside and out, with pictures of my two favorite couples from the show. My mom is like, the coolest person of all time. *Hugs her*
25. What do you think you will wish for when you blow out the candles? That no wax gets on the frosting. *Shudders* I hate it when that happens.
--Holly Rachael :-D

What Do You Mean, "No More NC-17"?!

Dude. Duuuuuude! Dude. Fanfiction.net is no longer accepting NC-17 rated fics! Now, don't get me wrong, I think porn is gross. But these fan fictions were so not porn. I mean, who can read the Harry/Hermione fic, "It Was You" and think it's dirty? It's like, the sweetest thing I've ever read in my entire life. *Throws a large gob of hair gel at fanfiction.net people*

I showed up to my 7:00 P.M. theater class wearing my "9/11/01" shirt, which features NYC firemen raising an American flag out of a pile of ash. *Shakes head* I can't believe it's been a whole year since the 9/11 tradgedy. *Glares* Stupid terrorists. All I can say is, thank God that Bush is in office. He's an awesome guy, and a great president.

Theater is a super class. I was mucho proud when the cool skater girl, Leah, told me I was hilarious. *Beams* The professor, Laurie, had us partner up, and do exactly what she said. My starting partner was Leah, but Laurie was like, "Back to back, toe to toe, thumb to thumb, sholder-to-shoulder, switch partner!" She said this all very fast, 5 times in a row. Larry, the 6'5" dude, stepped on my bad toe twice, heh. Yeah, ow. The partner I had in the end was Kyle, the volunteer fireman/class hottie.

Laurie then instructed us to study our partners. I was actually assigned to check out the hot boi. *Grins* I think I got an A+ on that one. Then we had to turn our backs on each other and change 3 things about the way we looked, then turn back to each other and spot what the other person had done to change their appearance. We did that like, 12 times in a row w/ the same partner. *Shrugs* What can I say, I like that class! Then we did some really fun pant-a-mime stuff... or... something. It was like, acting without talking. As we walked to the parking lot, though, I noticed that Kyle has one bad flaw-- he smokes. *Cries*

*Quickly recovers* That's okay, 'cause guess who I met?! I actually met a guy in Intro to Theater who IS A VEGAN! He wears an animal rights shirt every day! Today his shirt read: "FUR IS DEAD". Woo hoo! *Points and laughs at all family members & friends who said I'd never meet a vegetarian guy*

Tonight, I went to Samantha's birthday party. It was quite the jovial event! I really missed Sarah and Samantha! I hadn't seen either of them in like... well, a very long time! Good times, good times. Well, it seems that I am rather dead on my feet. So I shall see you all at a later time. G'bye!

--Holly Rachael ;-D

God? Wanting us to eat meat? Nah...

I just got back from church, and while I was there, I got to feeling kind of bad about what I said yesterday...

See, Mom and Mike were having an argument last night about whether God wants us to eat meat or not. Mike thought he'd be all slick and show us where it said that God wants us to kill animals to eat. Mom and I can't even comprehend such a thing, so she started crying and said, "Whatever. Go ahead and eat your meat, Mike. I hope you choke on it!" She feels really bad that she said that now. What I said was, "I think some of the Bible is just made up," and Grandpa was like, "You can't just take part of the Bible and leave the rest."

Then this morning, I was sitting there in church while Mr. Hale (our substitue minister, and my occasional sub at school) talk about helping and defending your neighbor. He said, "Just who is your neighbor? Is it just the guy next door? Or should you help any man who's in trouble?" But hey! Why should we only help "man?" What kind of bull is that? Can't the animals be our neighbor, too? I mean, why the heck not? I just can't believe that the sweet, loving God that I believe in would want His creatures to be killed for our selfish benefit.

UGH!!!!!!!!!

Vegetarian Survey

I got this nifty survey from Staypufed's diary.

1.) What was your initial reason for becoming a vegetarian? I was just a little kid, and I hadn't known that I'd been eating animals. When I found out, I was like, "Ew!" and I felt all bad for the animals, so I stopped eating meat.
2.) Since becoming a vegetarian have you found other reasons to be one? Yeah. They totally beat up those animals before they kill them! Plus, it's unhealthy as heck to eat meat.
3.) How long have you been a vegetarian? 10 years.
4.) Are any other members of your family a vegetarian? My mommy and I have been vegetarians for the same amount of time. We rule! Yeeeeeeah! Wooooooo!
5.) Is your significant other a vegetarian? What significant other? *Oh*! Right. The imaginary one. No, he doesn't eat meat, he looks like Nick Lachey, and people think I'm insane when I speak to him in public.
6.) What kind of vegetarian are you? Vegan.
7.) Do you wear or use leather products? No! That would be just as bad as eating meat! Ugh!
8.) Do you eat meat substitutes, such as Phony Bologna or Not Dogs? Yeah, a ton of them. My brother thinks they smell all nasty, but who cares? They rule! Hurray!
9.) On a game show entitled Don't Forget Your Toothbrush five vegetarian contestants were asked to take a bite of a hamburger for $300. Would you take a bite of a hamburger for $300? Heck no! I would kill myself before I ate any kind of meat!
10.) On the new Survivor series the castaways were to spin a wheel and eat the "food" that stopped in front of them. The team who ate the most (without it coming back up) won immunity. One of the castaways is vegetarian and landed on cow brain. Would you eat cow brain for your team? How about a worm? No! Good *God*, no! Oh! How horrible!

My Story of Veganism

I became a vegetarian when I was seven years old. Mom and I were sitting at the food court in the mall, eating the food we'd gotten from Arby's. I had a turkey sandwich, and she had a salad. I was enjoying my meal when I realized what she was eating. I asked, "Ewww, Mom, why are you eating a *salad*?" She said, "Holly, I've been thinking... isn't it sort of wrong to eat meat? I mean, people kill animals just so we can eat them. It seems sort of selfish, doesn't it?"

Animals? I had no idea I'd been eating REAL DEAD ANIMALS all these years! Bill Knapps always had cute names for their food like "The Elephant" and "The Hippo." I'd long since asked my parents if I was really eating elephants and hippos, and they'd said no! I thought chicken and turkey were just like the meals at Bill Knapps. Now that I knew what I was eating, I gagged, and pushed my turkey sandwich away. Even though I'd been eating turkey, the first thing I thought of were fish... like we kept at home in the aquarium. There was no way I'd eat meat ever again.

Mom and I seemed to be getting sick quite a bit after we became vegetarians. She'd miss days of work, I'd have to get out of school to go to the doctor's office... My dad and my grandma Z. said that we *needed* that meat, and that's why we were getting so sick. Actually, though, it turned out that my mom was having attacks from her Lupus, and I was allergic to dairy.

I was like, "Nooooooo! How am I going to eat pizza?! I won't get to drink milk anymore! What am I going to do?!" To make the transistion easier for me, Mom gave up dairy, too. We ate our pizza without cheese, and it actually wasn't that bad. Soon we subscribed to PETA, and got the internet. We learned what they do to those poor dairy cows, and we didn't even *want* the dairy.

I can't understand people who eat meat. My friends and family (except for my mom) are all carnivores, and they see no problem with it. Once I learned what I was eating, I felt sick. Why don't they? Mom and I show them the articles on how these animals are tortured, and put to death. Of course, they don't understand me either, for some reason.

In conclusion, I'd just like to say, EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! Leather is gross, and I hate sitting on it in my dad's car!!!! GARRRRRRRRGH!

Okay. See ya next time.

--Holly the "Holy" Zintel ():-)

Don't Eat Turkey Tomorrow! Eat... Pez

Or anything but turkey. I'd like to invite a group of turkeys over to eat Thanksgiving dinner with us, but I think my grandmas would freak out. Ah well.

Anyhoo, I figured I should list all the things I'm thankful for.

1. My parents are divorced, so I get to have two Thanksgiving dinners! (Us fat people are into that sort of thing.)

2. I'M HAVING A FOUR-DAY WEEKEND! WOO HOO!

3. The next holiday is Christmas!

4. Daria's been on for four years, and I'm still not sick of it.

5. There are so many celebrities setting a vegetarian example, such as Drew Barrymore, Alicia Silverstone and Natalie Portman.

6. Norm is on Friday night!

7. God made stuffing... or, at least, He made the stuff to *make* stuffing with.

8. My family, friends and pets all reek of awesomeness.

9. No matter how bad life gets, there is always Johnny Bravo.

10. My appendix hasn't burst yet.

There you have it. Put on your golden tukes, and thank God Boxing Day is coming up, eh? Happy Thanksgiving.

--"Holy"

What Makes Humans So Cool?

You know, I was watching my pets yesterday. My cats, Amy and Daria, were bathing with my dog, Chyna, and they were all hanging out, having nothing against each other. They were so cute. The next minute, they were at each other's throats.

Humans are that way, too. We watched a movie in U.S. History today about World War I. It was Christmas Day, and a few Germans came out saying, "Don't shoot! We don't want to fight today! We'll send you over some beer!" Some of the French agreed with them, and everyone was contentedly singing "Silent Night," in their own languages, but together. But just as soon as midnight came, a shot was fired, and the derned people were at each others' throats.

We say that humans are the masters of the world, and that we're so much cooler than animals. People go on killing animals, with that foolish belief in their heads. It's selfish. They think that humans are the best animal just because they, for some reason, want to eat the other animals' flesh?

Liberty and justice for all, eh? What about the animals?! Don't they freaking count?! They're our equals. Talk about discrimination. *Shakes head* Selfish humans.