Hard Times

I remember a time, after my parents had had a fight when I was a little girl. Afterward, my mom sat my brother and I down and told us not to worry, because she and my dad would never get divorced, and that we would never have to choose between our parents. A few years later, due to a completely unrelated matter, my parents did get divorced, but we were never forced to choose between them, thank God. We both still see both of our parents all the time, and there's never really been a time when we felt like we had to choose one or the other. We've been very lucky.

Jerry and Matt have broken up. Of course, this has nothing to do with my parents' divorce, and it's really nothing like that... except that I have that breathless panicky feeling stuck in my throat like I'm going to have to choose between them. I won't have to do that, of course. I'm sure things are going to be very weird for a while, but I hope we can all somehow still be friends. Jerry is and always will be my best friend, but I've grown close to Matt in the past year, too. I felt like we had something awesome, the three of us, as friends, that had nothing to do with Jerry and Matt's relationship, and I don't want that to go away. If it does, I don't know what I'll do. I'm going to miss our late nights at diners, the fun we had at rehearsals, and being able to call them "my boys." I can't stop crying. I wish I had a big stuffed animal to hug. Why did I give all of those away? Christmas songs are making me tear up, because they got together last year, right before Christmas. Tracey's Christmas party is really going to make me cry, because that's where I met Matt. I just want to wake up and have their breakup have been a stupid nightmare I had. I can't believe how stupid I'm being, getting so upset about this- you'd think it was my breakup! I'm sure they're hurting a lot more than I am, which must really suck, because my heart is broken into tiny shards. Good thing we have a lot of Kleenex stored up from everyone's colds.

Speaking of being sick, I got terribly ill last Saturday night. I threw up for twelve hours straight, and had to go to the emergency room at the hospital. But I didn't just have the flu, as it turned out. A lot of really hot doctors decided to keep me in the hospital for over 24 hours for observation, and, after a lot of really painful tests on my stomach, they figured out that I have a large, benign tumor covering my liver, and that my gall bladder was only functioning 10%. An ultra-oh-my-God-hot surgeon came into my room and informed me that my gall bladder will have to come out, and that they'll be scraping the tumor off my liver while they're in there. I'm now on an awful low-fat diet until I can get an MRI next week. Ew.

Well, I've got a bunch of homework to do, so I guess I'll get back to that. Just wanted to bitch about my problems a bit. It didn't really help, but oh well.

<3, Holly

Straight Eye For the Queer Guy

Holly's Headlines or Things Holly Has Learned Recently

• Hugging Jerry is good; colds are gross


• New theatre class not up to students' standards


• Holly is cast as Alice in Lost, a confused character who is basically Holly herself


• Meg and Jerry are cast in Interiors as the dirty psyches of proper people


• Kyle is cast as normal guy Dan in Scuba Lessons


• Columbiaville Mansion will be transformed... (Harold Ziddler style) INTO A THEATRE! Kyle will be in charge of the plays, Jerry will be directing, and all four of us will be acting. Our first show will be Rebecca


• Kyle and Meg move in with Jerry; color is introduced to his apartment


• At Holly's 20th birthday dinner, we discovered that Jerry would marry Holly had he been born straight


• Sarah will be giving birth to Kaitlin Marie any time now

So theatre class is not entirely thrilling this semester. Lori, the only theatre teacher I've ever had, has quit. We all thought Lori was the best thing since sliced bread, even the folks who'd had other theatre teachers. Lori let us use our imaginations and play around with our scripts. I Hate Hamlet was the best experience of my life... and no, it wasn't just the all the physical interaction with Jerry. *Grins* But that was definitely a plus. That play was a challenge. I learned to speak with a German accent for the role, Jerry and I actually had to learn to dance, the boys had to figure out how they should sit while wearing tights... It was incredible, the whole experience. The main thing was that Lori encouraged us to have so much fun with the play. When our work was done, we still wanted to go to J.W.'s and hang out. I had my 2 first kisses there with my fellow theatre students, Chris and a very drunk Jerry (he seems to turn straight when he's drinking, so you'd think I'd approve of his love of alcohol, wouldn't you?).

This semester, our teacher is Amy. She doesn't seem to enjoy our idiotic antics nearly as much as Lori did. And instead of doing one whole play, we'll be doing short little plays that should confuse the audience nicely. She likes yelling at Jerry, Meg & Kyle for swearing, but she's just assigned Jerry and Meg to parts where they say dirty, dirty things that will do a wonderful job of offending my grandparents. Kyle will, of course, be playing the attractive guy who gets the attractive girl. And I've got the part of the confused girl who has no clue what's going on with anything in life. Do you see what's happening here? We're all playing ourselves. There's no challenge here. *Sigh* But I'm sure it'll be sort of entertaining. And hey, what am I complaining about? I got a part. *Smacks self and promply resumes writing entry in usual Happy-Go-Lucky-Holly manner*The fun news is, Meg & Kyle have moved in with Jerry! Last Wednesday, after theatre, Jerry and Meg stayed in the car and were sad about their exes while Kyle and I moved his and Meg's things inside the apartment. It turns out that Straight Boy knows how to decorate, and he really surprised the heck outta me when he put in Savage Garden to work to. Who knew the gay guy would suck at decorating, and the straight guy would be so good at it? Eventually, Meg and Jerry came in and the full-out decorating & consumption of Jerry's awesome vegan tacos began. I've never seen Jerry's apartment look so neat... and so colorful. Meg's big, red Buddha umbrella hangs in the corner above Jerry's beautiful wicker and glass table. Kyle's picture of our cast from The Elvis Monolouges is upstairs in what is now his and Meg's bedroom. Meg & Kyle hung her huge purple tapestry on the upstairs ceiling while I snapped pictures galore. We all got little-kid excited by the end of the night, and I caught this hilarious candid video of Jerry that he's very upset about. We've dubbed the place The Theatre Apartment, and plan to film a sitcom starring the four of us called Creative Differences. T'will be very lovely indeed.

<3, Holly

Try Pie, Try

'Ey folks! I-- *pauses to cough, hack and blow nose* --I've had a cold for the last four days... which means, I had the cold Friday, on my birthday. Ugh. Somehow, though, I still managed to have a decent B-day. Zach made me a hilarious birthday card that only cool people would get, seeing as only uncool people don't watch the internet cartoon, Weebl and Bob *Nods enthusiastically, pointing at link*

Oh yes, and Z also got me some Powerpuff Girls floormats for my car! Eeeee! *Momentarily contains glee in tupperware bowl* After I recieved my gift from Z-bear, he, Tracey and I went to meet Dad at Ruggero's for my Birthday Pizza Special and some sort of delectable cookie die pie. *Drools* Mmmm, pie...
Tracey got me a book that I immediately became addicted to called If Only It Were True by Marc Levy. It's about Lauren, a girl who's been in an irreversable coma for six months, yet the "ghost" of her (even though she's not dead) can hang out at her old appartment with the guy who lives there now. Arthur, the dude who lives there, is the only person who can hear, see and feel Lauren. He falls in love with this "ghost" of a girl whom he's never really met, but he's got to talk her doctors and mother out of taking Lauren off life support, or the "ghost" Lauren he's in love with can no longer be with him. *Sniffs, not from the cold* It's awesome, everyone must read it immediately!
Guess what else I found to read? This series of amazingly hilarious, sweet, tear-jerker, edge-of-your-computer-seat Harry/Hermione fics! They're called The Hermione Stories by Mena Baines, and I highly reccomend them to everyone! Oooh, especially "Hermione and the Muggles"... but you do have to read the whole series!
Oh dude, I forgot to mention, my dad gave me a bunch of candy and a card saying he's going to take me to pick out my car stereo as soon as I get my license! Woo hoo! Anyway, Saturday, Zach, Dad and I went to the Olive Garden with my Aunt Barb, Unlce Don, cousin Lindsay and Lindsay's boyfriend, Trevor. The evening started out very grumpily, as it was a freezing day, the Olive Garden was packed so full that we had an hour wait ahead of us, and my cousin, Jenny, was on a ski trip with her boyfriend. However, once everyone had eaten and Dad, Zach and Trevor had told plenty of dirty jokes, the evening turned out to be a lot of fun. I ordered some tirimisu, and everyone thought I was an attention hog, since I told the waitress it was my birthday. The waitress yelled, "HEY, EVERYBODY! IT'S HOLLY'S 19TH BIRTHDAY! LET'S ALL SING TO HER!" and then the entire restaurant sang to me! I thought it was jolly good fun, but my family just looked at me like an alien had recently crawled out of my stomach. *Shrugs* Oh well.
Say, guess what? In theatre practice Wednesday, Lori informed us that we'll be doing 4 small plays for our performance this semester! In my play, Wanda's Visit, I play Wana, a derranged yet hilarious nutcase who's a little too vocal about her genital herpes, and Nick & Shawna play Jim & Marsha, the poor couple with whom Wanda will be staying with. *Grins and gives a thumbs-up*
--Holly :-D

Fun With Talking Inanimate Objects

Goodmorrow, kind sirs and gentle ladies! 'Tis Valentine's Day, and I've nothing better to do than sit on the computer and read Harry/Hermione fan fiction. Although I feel a little like those Star Wars nerds, I must admit that I've thoroughly enjoyed my fan fic-packed day. Just look at this exerpt from MsScribe's "Hush":
"Harry awakens to the sound of something jumping around on the floor. Thud... bonk. "Crookshanks?" he whispers, sitting up to look for the cat he and Ron had adopted ever since Hermione's disappearance. She needs me, don't you understand? There is no time for sleep. I can't imagine what she's doing without me-- Something clinks, and then scuffs up against his bedpost. He reaches for his glasses, blinking twice as he sees Hogwarts, a History, the book he had asked the Grangers if he could keep. It wiggles and falls flat again. We need to go to her. I've waited so long-- "Do you know where Hermione is?" Then the book trembles and its pages open to the section on the forbidden forest. She has been collected.
Muahahahahaha! Oh, do I love this stuff! See, the deal is that this "Collector" guy (well, "Collector" thing) has added Hermione to his collection at his house in the Forbidden Forest. He took her voice away, but now she can have conversations with inanimate objects without moving her lips. Everything can suddenly talk... except for her! *Evil laughter continues, but is cut off when the computer monitor clears its throat pointedly* I'm such a dork.

Mom made some Valentine's brownies for me to take to theatre Wednesday like the sweetheart she is, and everyone enjoyed them muchly... especially Leah, who spent most of the night eating the majority of them. *Grins* You'd never know a girl with a waist that tiny would have such a huge appetite! Of course, she's usually seen with plenty of Metabolife. The class was a blast, as usual. Don and Karen were hilarious as they played a married couple fighting over Don's winning lottery ticket, Shawna and Jennifer was hysterical when they played sisters bickering about whose waistline was smaller, Nick and Jason were awesome as roomates fighting over the volume of Jason's stereo while Nick was trying to watch The Cosby Show, and Leah and Kyle were highly amusing when Kyle came back from vacation to discover that Leah had let all his prized tropical fish die. However, it was awfully sad to find out that Larry could no longer afford theatre practice, and had to drop the class. *Cries and curses Farmer Jack for not paying him enough*
GUESS WHAT, FOLKS? Zach and I worked very hard for 3 days to put together the new song that's on the main page of my diary, called "Holly's Variety-licious Mix"! So, if you have some time, please listen to the song! *Hugs*
--Holly :-D

Old Gang Sign

Hellooooo, everybody! How was your New Year's? Mine was simply mahvelous! Well... for the most part, anyway. Although, I had to wonder, as I watched the countdown to 2003 on the Cartoon Network, why do they always sing that song, "Old Gang Sign" on New Year's Eve? It just doesn't seem fitting to me. *Grins stupidly*
And now to abruptly change the subject! Folks, I'm grounded from the computer once again. On the morning of New Year's Eve, my dad announced that he had my report card in his hands. I was pretty mad that he had opened my mail, of course. I mean, correct me if I'm wrong here, but I'm pretty sure it'd be difficult to mistake the name "Holly" for the name "Ken" on a piece of mail. But whatever anger I was feeling toward Dad was nothing compared to the familiar feeling of dread in my stomach.
Dad informed me that I'd failed my distance learning classes and my intro to theatre class. He asked me what was up with that, and I explained that I'd tried my best to keep up with the classes, but it was just too much for me to handle. Dad didn't really yell at me that much, but I ended up crying anyway because I was extremely dissapointed that I'd failed my intro to theatre class, despite how many notes I'd taken and how I tried to make sense of the crazy diagrams of theatre in anient Greece. However, I know I didn't try hard enough, and so I'm going to devote as much time as Hollyly possible to school this coming semester. I know I can do it. I mean, just look at my grades in theatre practice and career exploration. I got 100% in theatre and 90% in CE. I'm going to do awesome in all of my classes. As much as he upsets me sometimes, I really, honestly want to make my dad proud. And, of course, the rest of my family. And most importantly, myself.
This past year has been one of the best yet, and in honor of 2002, here's... *drum roll*...a survey!
~Appearances~
clothing item/outfit of the year: Red Mirage, Las Vegas shirt and jeans.
hairstyle of the year: French braids.
jewelry of the year: Amethyst (birthstone) ring.
car of the year: VW Bug convertible.
hottie of the year: Dave Loisel, the vegetarian boi whom I have a crush on.
~Daily life~
food of the year: Mom's homeade stuffed pumpkin shells, all the way!
class of the year: Theatre practice, the greatest, most incredible, awesome class anywhere, of all time!
appliance of the year: My friend, Ed, the computer. *Hugs him and lovingly cleans his screen with Windex*
recreational activity of the year: Acting, pantomime and improv.
means of communication of the year: Face-to-face.
most despised means of communication: The phone.
~Sentimental~
gift of the year: Daria--Is It College Yet? DVD.
vacation of the year: Las Vegas, summer of 2002.
holiday of the year: Christmas, o' course!
achievement/s of the year: I've taken a class that I absolutely love, and has helped me figure out who I am and what I want to do with my life, as well as made awesome new friends during, and has majorly improved my self esteem. Plus, I've been in my first play, The Elvis Monolouges! And I've gotten my G.E.D., of course!
memorable moment/s of the year: Pantomiming and doing improv in theatre, getting ready for and acting in the play, going out with the theatre folks, mistakenly wandering onto the roof of the Flamingo Hilton with Zach in Vegas, breaking my ankle in two places and spraining the other while chasing my cat, Daria, becomming dehydrated and being hospitalized for a day, helping Mom and Mike move into their new house, visiting Mike in the hospital and Samantha's birthday party.
insight of the year: "It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."--Albus Dumbledore.
miracle/blessing of the year: Mike surviving after being deathly sick with hepatitis and chronic fatigue, and me getting my G.E.D.
~Personal~
embarrassing moment of the year: When that hot doctor took my cast off after having it on for two months, and saw all that gross leg hair.
body part of the year: Eyes.
heartbreak of the year: When Sarah wrote in her online diary about how she'd cheated on Zach with numerous guys. For the next couple of months, I constantly felt like I'd been punched in the stomach.
health issue of the year: In January, when I got the flu, and puked for 10 hours straight, then had to be rushed to the hospital because I was so dehydrated.
fetish of the year: ...Harry Potter merchandise?
phobia of the year: Spiders.
crush of the year: Dave.
~People/social~
old friend of the year: Sarah, despite everything that happened. She's still a great friend.
new friend of the year: All my theatre friends, especially Leah, Kyle and Don.
relative of the year: Mom, who was there for/with me during all the tough times I had this year, and all of the good times.
internet buddy of the year: Lucy, who's been an awesome online pal since 2000!
enemy of the year: Osoma Bin Laden.
reformed enemy of the year: Shakira.
~Entertainment~
musician/singer of the year: Amy Grant.
band or group of the year: Lifehouse
album of the year: Avril Lavigne--Let Go
movie of the year: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
biggest waste of nine bucks and two hours: The Good Girl and Abandon
actor of the year: Brian Gaskill (Rafe, Port Charles)
actress of the year: Erin Hershey (Alison, Port Charles)
all-around celebrity of the year: J.K. Rowling.
televsion show/series of the year: Port Charles
television channel of the year: Cartoon Network.
website of the year: freeopendiary.com and fanfiction.net.
book of the year: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
magazine of the year: Animal Times
--Holly :-D

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

Not only is "I Breathe in, I Breathe Out" a lovely song, it's also, more of less, the instructions Lori gave us for the day. That's right, tonight is opening night for our play, The Elvis Monolougues and everybody is freaking out. Lori told us that, until 8:00 tonight, we all just need to chill and let out hair down because the majority of us have been on edge all week.
People have been so nervous that heated (or shall we say... ridiculously loud) arguments have broken out amongst us. For instance, on Monday, Lori told Regina that she didn't want her to wear a certain dress that Lori thought showed (and it did) way too much cleavage. On Tuesday, Lori and Regina were screaming at each other till they were blue in the face because Regina was offended by what Lori said on Monday, and thought Lori was insulting her body. Then the entire class sat in the auditorium while Lori stood on stage and demanded to know if we thought Regina should be offended. *Shakes head awkwardly*
As stressful as it sounds, this week has actually been a lot of fun. For the past few days, we've been having dress rehearsals, and this means practicing our .:::ECHO EFFECT:::. STAGE MAKEUP .:::END ECHO EFFECT:::.

We decided that we should do the guys' makeup first, since they were so resistant. *Cackles evilly* We were jerks, heh. Lori told the bois that the lighting was best in the girls' bathroom (muahahaha!), so that's where we did their makeup. I brought a camera, and Morgan and I took pictures of the guys getting their makeup done in the girls' room. We all agreed that Kyle looks like a doll when he's all made up, and I think he may be plotting our deaths at the moment. Jason, on the other hand, is having a little too much fun with the fact that he "gets" to wear makeup, and bought himself some mascara, which is something not required for stage makeup.
But even during the usually fun putting-makeup-on-resistant-guys-time, things are a bit tense between some of the girls. For example, Leah said, "I want to do Jason's makeup so I can make him look like a whore!" to which Morgan replied, "Don't you get enough practice doing that on yourself?" Um... so Leah wasn't too thrilled with Morgan for a while. *Laughs extremely nervously*

Another thing that's freaking us all out is the fact that people keep forgetting their lines. Leah was so upset after a fight with Morgan that she went on stage and forgot entire paragraphs of her monolouge. Jim did the same thing, and even Don, our best actor, forgot a line. Gah! I think it's time for a prayer now. God, please don't let any of us forget our lines tonight, tomorrow night or the next. We're all under a bit of stress, and could use some guidance. Thanks a lot. *Hugs* Amen.

Hey, look everybody! I changed my name for Christmastime. I'm now "Hollylujah". Excitement, excitement! *Admires new name* Oh yes, and before I go, I should mention that my stepdad almost got electocuted the other day. A pipe in the basement had a leak, and the guy at the pipe-fixin' place told him to hold a hairdryer to the pipe... but well, Mike was standing in the water and... *makes horrible electricity-gone-bad noises* But he's okay. Well, as okay as he ever was.
Wish me luck, kids! I'm off to get ready for the play! *Crosses fingers*
--Holly :-O

BTW, we were in the paper! Next to a Harry Potter ad, even! And you know what the Newsies say... if you're in the papes, you're famous! *Shrieks*

Germans From Russia is the Part-ay of the Year

On Sunday, I went to the annual Germans From Russia Christmas party with my grandma and grandpa Z. My brother, Zach and my cousins, Lindsay and Jennifer used to come with us, but they all think they're too cool for it now. I, on the other hand, simply love Germans from Russia, and look forward to it all year long. We buy raffle tickets, eat a huge, delcious and extravagent meal, then sing Christmas songs and wait to see who won the Christmas gifts in the raffle. I sat across from a 9-year-old boy who really reminded me of Zach when he was 9. This kid, Alex, was an aspiring cartoonist (like Zach), seemed to enjoy trying to set his program on fire with the candle at the table (like Zach and Jennifer used to do) and could remember only the German number for "six"--"Sex" (like Zach). After we ate, 3 women introduced themselves as our entertainment, and began playing instruments that were said to be over 1,000 years old. The music was awesomely Christmasie, despite what Alex said about it. I had never won anything at Germans From Russia in my life, but this year, I sure did! I won 4 prizes, which is ridiculous, considering there are only about 12 prizes, and roughly 100 guests at Germans From Russia. I won a huge Christmasie table center piece containing aromatherapeutic candles, a Jesus tree ornament, a box of delectable chocolate praline seashells and a loaf of homemade rye bread. I think Grandma was kind of mad that I won all that stuff, as she usually wins a ton of stuff there. She said, "Holl, you won too much; I'm taking this loaf of bread you won." And she did, heh.

Zach and I at Bronners when we were littleYOUR HOLIDAY FAVORITES

1.) COOKIE: Peanut butter with a Hershey's Kiss on top. My mommy makes these lovely creations.

2.) CANDY: Reeses Christmas trees.

3.) MAIN COURSE: The Chic Max sub from Blimpies. The grandparents Shoup order us subs for Christmas Eve, and the veggie max that is fake chicken is simply delicious

.4.) STORE: Bronners in Frankenmuth, all the way.

5.) COLOR OF OUTDOOR LIGHTS: Pastels. We have the white icicle kind, but I wish to have pastels. *Pouts*

6.) TYPE OF TREE: Absolutely artificial!

7.) COLOR LIGHTS ON TREE: Numerous white ones, and they must be on that slow twinkle setting that looks like falling snow.

8.) TREE TOPPER: Angel! The one here @ Dad's has fiber optic wings, and she's simply luffly, but the one Mom's online friend made for her is full of angelic fun as well.

9.) ORNAMENTS or BALLS: Both. My favorite tree decoration is my first pair of shoes. They say "Holly Rachael" in fancy gold letting on the soles, and they're gnarley.

10.) GARLAND or TINSEL: Tinsel, all the way! Tinsel was my very first kitty cat, and I loved her muchly.

11.) HIDNG PLACE FOR GIFTS: Dad's closet.

12.) BEST TOY YOU EVER GOT FOR CHRISTMAS: My Belica doll, Rachael. Her hair was the prettiest thing I've ever seen.

13.) THING TO WEAR TO BED CHRISTMAS EVE: My new pajamas! For as long as I can remember, my mommy has given us our new pajamas on Christmas Eve, and she has excellent taste in comfy bed-wear. *Hugs Mom*

14.) TIME YOU GOT UP CHRISTMAS MORNING AS A KID: Around 5 or 6:00 A.M. I actually don't remember ever falling asleep on Christmas Eve, but I definitely remember waking up with my stocking in my arms. Mom always snuck into our rooms and put our stockings in our beds so we could go through them right when we woke up.

15.) TIME YOU GOT UP CHRISTMAS MORNING LAST YEAR: 6:30, but only because Zach made me. He got out of work and decided everyone should get up. *Makes an angry/sleepy face*

16.) DO YOU ENJOY SENDING OUT CHRISTMAS CARDS: Absolutely! Haven't done it in a while, though...

17.) HOW DO YOU DISPLAY THE CARDS YOU RECEIVE? We tape them up around the big wooden-frame (door substitute) that leads into the family room.

18.) HOT CHOCOLATE, EGG NOG or APPLE CIDER: Hot chocolate and Soy Nog with apple cider for desert. *Nods happily*

19.) ALCOHOLIC DRINK: I'm a proud no-alcohol girl.

20.) DO YOU HAVE A NATIVITY IN YOUR HOME? Indeed we do!

21.) HOLIDAY SONG: "Welcome to Our World" by Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith.

22.) HOLIDAY MOVIE: Prancer, The Santa Clause 1 & 2 and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

23.) BEST HOLIDAY EPISODE OF A TV SHOW YOU EVER SAW: One Life to Live in 1995.

24.) HOLIDAY TV SPECIAL YOU EVER SAW: Garfield's Christmas but I also love Charlie Brown's.

25.) DO YOU WRAP THE GIFTS YOU PUT IN A STOCKING: Nope.

26.) HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU FOUND OUT THERE WAS NO SANTA CLAUS? Alright, now it's just a lie that there's no Santa Claus.

27.) HOW DID YOU FIND OUT? Well, Zach and Mom kind of sat me down and tried to convince me that there was no Santa Claus when I was 11.

28.) HOW DID YOU TAKE THE NEWS? I thought they were B.S.ing me then, and I still do. There is a Santa Claus, I tell you!

29.) DO YOU GO TO CHURCH ON CHRISTMAS EVE/CHRISTMAS MORNING? Christmas Eve night. It's always the highlight of my year; we have a beautiful candle-lit service where we all stand and sing "Silent Night" and "O Holy Night" for half an hour, then hand out hugs instead of our usual "May the peace of Christ be with you" handshakes, and everything seems right in the world. *Beams*

30.) WHEN DO YOU TAKE YOUR CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS DOWN? After New Year's.

--Holly :-D

The Town is Somewhere Under That Pile of Snow

We have just a bit of snow here. A tall guy might be able to go outside and keep his head about snow-level... maybe. It's nice to have a butt-load of snow, though, if you ask me. If you ask all the people driving 2 and a half miles an hour on the express way, however, they might not think it's so great.

Remember last week when I wrote about that house around the corner from mine where they had that standoff with police about how that guy threatened to kill his wife? Well... apparently, they didn't keep him in jail long enough. Friday night, Zach and I followed a couple of ambulances home. My dad had a date that night with a woman in Detroit, and Zach had to go to work. So, it was 11:30 at night, and I was sitting in the family room, watching Everybody Loves Raymond reruns and eating peanut butter crackers when the phone rang. I was nervous anyway because I don't like being home alone, and when the phone rang, I jumped 12 feet into the air and broke the remote control to the Christmas tree. My grandma Shoup was on the phone. She said, "Holly, is your dad there with you?" I told her he wasn't, and she said, "Well, there was a murder in that house that's right by you, and they haven't found the guy who did it yet."

To say the least, I was a bit freaked out beyond belief. I paged my dad, and he called me back, saying he was on his date in Detroit, two hours away, and they hadn't even ordered their food yet! I told Dad what was happening, and he didn't think there was anything to worry about. He said, "Holly, people don't just go on random killing sprees. You'll be fine." Well, geez, I'm sorry, but I don't know how a psycho's mind works! Besides, those sniper guys did go around, killing random people! I went to spend the night at my grandma's house, 'cause I sure as heck wasn't sticking around. The police have caught the guy who killed his wife by now, but I'm still kind of weirded out.

Well, to lighten this entry up, I'm going to take a song survey and show you all this Christmasie Harry Potter fan art! Woo!

Name the song that...
Makes you think of happy things: "1980 Me"--Darren Hayes
Makes you cry (or gets ya close): "Sweet Jesus"--Gary Chapman
Makes you laugh: "Albuqurque"--"Weird Al" Yankovic
Makes you want to dance: "The Macarana"
You never want to hear again: Every song by Eminem
You love that you wouldn't have known about if it wasn't from a movie: "You Belong to Me"--Jason Wade (Lifehouse) from Shrek.
Makes you think of being alone: "I Love a Lonely Day"--Amy Grant
Makes you just feel good: "Take Me Away"--Lifehouse
Makes you feel Christmasie: "Welcome to Our World"--Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith
Makes you feel sexy: "I'm Too Sexy For My Shirt"
Makes you get shivers: "Two People Fell in Love"--Brad Paisley
Strangely Relaxing: "Naked"--Avril Lavigne

--Holly :-D

Pretty Lights Are Everywhere, Shining Night & Day

"...Christmas can't be very far away." <---You know what that is? That's right, it's a line from one of my favorite of Amy Grant's Christmas songs! And you know what that means? That means the Christmas season is upon us! Eeeeeee! How spiffy is that? Why, that's positively spiffilicious! The only thing I don't like about this season is that some people seem to think it's hunting season. And to that, I say "grrr." Grrrrrrrr, I tell you! *Glares and kicks at the freaking hunters while holding deer protectively*.

*Takes a few deep breaths* AHEM. As I'm sure you can tell, I'm just a tad perturbed about all this "hunting" business. My cousin, Lindsay, seems to have chosen one of those... those hunter bois as her boyfriend, and I didn't take kindly to the fact that she freely discussed the fact that this hunter boi was out hunting, all through Thanksgiving dinner. *Sigh* Other than the talk of how Lindsay is dating this dude, and how most of my family members ate turkey, I think Thanksgiving was lovely. As usual, my brother Zachary and I had Thanksgiving lunch with my dad's family, and dinner with my mom's. At Grandma Z.'s, Zach, Lindsay and Jennifer had fun listening to the CDs of prank calls Zach has made, and then they decided to prank Lindsay's and Jen's boyfriends. At Grandma Shoup's, I read a prayer for the turkeys that Mom printed out, and Zach & Mike thought it would be hilarious to eat turkey and laugh during the prayer. *Rolls eyes* No respect, I tell ya.



Good Lord, I had the worst flu this past week. I figured I was going to have to go to the hospital. I just couldn't stop puking, so I thought I must be getting dehydrated, like I was last winter when I had to go to the hospital. Eventually, though, I was able to keep some Coke and clear Gatoraide down, and now I'm okay. *Gives a thumbs up* Apparently, everybody's got this flu because I went to theatre practice on Wednesday to find that only five of us attended! Not even Lori, the teacher, showed up, so we had some guy named Mike who acted exactly like Lori, so it was like she wasn't even gone.

Dood. Our show opens December 13th, in two freaking weeks! I hope people start showing up to class before then so everyone can have their parts down. Gaaaaah, only about seven of us have our lines memorized so far! *Goes to use inhaler* I'm okay. We put up the new Christmas tree that Dad ordered from QVC yesterday morning. It's pre-lit and pretty. I would go, sit in the family room and gaze at it, but there's a mouse or something in the attic, and you can really hear it walking around in the family room, so... yeah. I think I'll just stay here. *Hugs for all*

--Holly :-D

Spending Devil's Night @ School

Wheeeeeew, I tell ya what! Party hardy! Where'd everybody go this Devil's Night? I'll bet you crazy kids spent the night drinking an overcaffienated beverage like Mountain Dew and playing Spin the Empty Mountain Dew bottle or something totally uncalled for such as that! Well, I bet I can beat all of ya for fun tonight. That's right! I went to... MOTT COMMUNITY COLLEGE, BABY!

Now I know it's customary for me to spend Devil's Night hanging out at home, eating the candy I originally intended to hand out to kids on Halloween, but I decided to do something cool this year, so I went to school. I know, I know... I'm such a rebel. I bet that you folks would just love to hear me drone on and on about my theatre practice class, but I'm going to rant instead. Sorry to dissapoint you.

I was planning on going to Larry's party tomorrow night, but Morgan informed me tonight that, "It's going to be a party party, Holly. I mean, you know, with drinking and stuff." And well, we all know that the strongest thing I drink is pineapple/orange/banana juice. Speaking of which... *returns with juice* Mmm... juuuuuuiiice... And so, I will not be attending Larry's Halloween party. Instead, I will be holding a Courage the Cowardly Dog-athon at my mom's haus. T'will be much more fun than the party party, I assure you. *Is pensive* But you know what I've been wondering? Why is a party only considered cool amongst college kids if it's a drinking party? I mean, I always thought the "cool parties" were the ones where folks sit around, playing Scattergorries and eating chips & salsa while Lifehouse plays in the background. *Shrugs* I guess I'm not "hip". And I'm probably not "down" either. So I figure I don't have the "411" and I'm most likely not "jiggy with it". Oh well.

Maybe on my 21st birthday, I'll have a group of hot guys over to play Naked Uno or something. I'm very good at Uno, so... yes... *Cackles in a Halloween-like fashion* By the way, I have decided on my big Christmas present from my Dad for this year. You see, my brother and I are a bit... well... how should I put this...? Ah yes--SPOILED ROTTEN. And since Zach and I are spoiled, Dad buys us one big present each, every Christmas, along with little presents like DVDs and other not-so-ridiculously-expensive gifts. For my big present this year, I have decided on... *drum roll* a CD player for my car! It's true, I don't have a license yet, due to laziness... and loneliness. I don't like driving a car by myself, and so I've been having people drive me places for as long as possible. But most of my friends are chain-smokers. And I have asthma and a strong dislike for cancer, and so I just can't ride in a car with my chain-smoking friends any longer. I shall get my license soon. That is a promise.

Okay, bed time for Holly. Night-night.

--Holly :-D

Halloweenized

Hello, everyone! As you can see, Zach has helped me to Halloween my diary. *Hands him a pack of "fun-sized" Skittles from Halloween candy stash* Dad, Zach and I went to see The Tuxedo with Jackie Chan and Jennifer Love Hewitt today. I heart that movie. Tis rockin'. And my dad decided today that I'm no longer grounded from the computer! WOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOO! In honor of this awesome occasion, I have decided to fill out this Halloween survey that I filled out last year, once again. Happy "Holly"ween!

Section 1 - Obligatory Questions:


Name: Holly the Rachael Zintel

Age: 18

Location: Flint, MI.

Section 2 - This is my costume. Give me the damn candy!

What was your first Halloween costume? I was a Carebear. I couldn't eat any candy due to my lack of teeth, but it was still jolly good fun.

What was your costume last year? I was a costumeless dork last year.

What will your costume be this year? I shall be a Chinese person, for I have a cool Chinese novelty hat, and not enough time to put a good Hogwarts student costume together.

Has there ever been a reoccurring theme with your costumes? For three years in a row, I went as various characters from Daria--Daria, Jane and Andrea.

Through the years, what have your costumes been? A Carebear, a clown, Smurfette, Peter Pan, Ariel the Little Mermaid, a butterfly, Paula Abdul, a ballerina dinosaur, Miss America, a silly-looking witch, Todd from One Life to Live, a yin-yang... thing, some sort of freak made up of Smiley faces, an Egyptian chick, Daria Morgendorffer, a vampire version of Jane from Daria, my Grandma Z. and Andrea from Daria.

What was your favorite costume? Miss America. I was 7, and I loved the Miss America pageants. I felt all special, getting all dressed up in a glamorous-looking nightgown, heels and a cool, glittery sash.

What is your dream costume? A Hogwarts student. I'd be in Gryffindor.

Which do you prefer, store bought or home made costumes? Homemade. I've never had a store-bought costume in my life because I think they're uncreative.

Masks or make up? Make-up! Where's the fun in putting on a frickin' mask?

Have you ever dyed, cut or did anything else to your hair for a costume? My mom dyed my hair red when I was Ariel in kindergarten, and my dad dyed it black when I was Jane the vampire, but the dye got on my neck, and wouldn't wash off for weeks! Ah yes, and when I was Daria, I had my mom cut my bangs. I shouldn't have done that. It was not a pretty sight.

What is the longest time you ever spent working on a costume? I think it was when I was Todd from OLTL.

The shortest? The Egyptian one didn't take too long, because I just wore one of my dance recital costumes, and painted eye-makeup on.

What was the most expensive costume you wore? Grandma Z., I think.

The least expensive? Probably Smurfette.

Section 3 - Trick or Treat, smell my feet, gimme something good to eat.

What kind of bag or pail did you collect candy in? A pillowcase.

Did you ever get so much candy it spilled over the top? I don't believe so. I usually got too tired to stay out very long.

Broke the bag/pail? Nope.

Did you just Trick or Treat up your street or your street and everyone else's? Usually my whole neighborhood, but for the last few years, it was my aunt Barb's neighborhood, and once, my grandma Shoup's.

Candy that you hated to get? Rock candy. I felt like Charlie Brown.

Do you think Trick or Treating should only be done at night? Yes, but safely and responsibly. This 4 in the afternoon crap is getting ridiculous.

What is the perfect weather for Trick or Treating? Nice and warm so you don't have to put a coat or hat on and mess up your costume or makeup.

Section 4 - It's alive! ALIVE!!!

What is your favorite monster? The Cookie Monster.

Why do you like this monster so much? He bears cookies. What's not to like?

If you had the chance to be this monster for one day, what would you do? Eat a lot of cookies.

If you could be anywhere in the world on Halloween, where would you want to be? Home.

What is your favorite Halloweenish song? "Nature Trail to Hell" by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It's playing on my front page.

What is your favorite horror movie? Ernest Scared Stupid.

What is your favorite horror novel? In a Dark, Dark Room.

Have you ever been to a theme parks Halloween celebration (i.e. HallowScream, Halloween Horror Nights, ect.)? No. That'd probably be cool, though.

Is Freddy really dead? The guy on Scooby Doo? No, I just saw him yesterday.

What about Bela Lugosi? I... figure as much. (I have no idea who that is.)

Have you ever been to a real haunted house? I hope not.

Did anything spooky happen? Um... yeah.

Is 13 an unlucky number to you? Not particularly.

Oh man... I just went to Hollywood.com and it seems that Richard Harris, a.k.a. Professor Dumbledore, died! That's pretty dang upsetting. I don't want to sound like a jerk saying this, but... I wonder who will play him now?

--Holly :-0

Who Named You Accuser?

You did. Good job.

Mr. Deeds, Fireworks and Theresa

Time: 1:54 A.M.
I'm Wearing: Blue "United We Stand" shirt, patriotic shorts, and patriotic sandals
My Hair Is: In French braids with ribbons
I Last Ate: A veggie dog w/ mustard and chips
Holly's Song Pick of the Day: "I Wanna Be With You"--Mandy Moore
________________________________________________________

Today was Carrie's birthday, yet we had the cake and ice cream celebrating Carrie's birthday yesterday. It was pretty cool. My mom has this Barbie-shaped cake pan, and she made the cake up to look like Carrie in her Grand Blanc cheerleader uniform. It was packed as heck in my mom's house, though, so halfway through the party, Zach and I left to pick up Bobby.

After stalling for time with Bobby at Office Depot, he, Zach and I returned to Mom's house with the movie we rented, Shallow Hal. I've gotta say, that movie was hilarious and touching at the same time. Awwww.

Today I went to see Mr. Deeds with Dad and Zach. That movie was also hilarious and touching all at once. Again, awwwwwww. Then we went to pick up my dad's chick, Theresa, whom Zach and I had never met before.

Theresa was pretty cool, but she laughed waaaay too much, which was probably due to her nervousness about hanging out with us. And she wore waaaaaay too much perfume, which kind of made it hard to breathe in the car until Dad opened the sunroof. She was really nice, though, and I knew she would be, because she's a social worker. That woman puts up with a lot of crap, so perhaps she can even put up with my dad. Heheh... We all went to fireworks in Clio together. They were pretty dern good fireworks, but I've seen better. *Thought bubble as Holly remembers Disney World*. Ahhh... Epcot fireworks...

*Snaps out of it* Man, I gotta tell ya, my indoor cat, Daria, ran out of the house yesterday, and that was not a fun ordeal. The last time she got out and I chased her, I broke my left ankle in 2 places and sprained the other, so this time, I didn't want to go running after her in the dark. After like, half an hour of playing hide and seek with the cat, Mom caught her and brought her in. My other cat, Amy, had such a superior look on her face, it made everyone giggle. Yes, I said "giggle".

Duuuuuuude, the Avril Lavigne CD is the best CD since Lifehouse--No Name Face. *Contented sigh*. Ohhh, Lifehouse... So anyway, I was sort of bothered by the fact that Theresa shares my dad's love of *shudders* oldies. This was the first 4th of July in 3 years that I haven't gotten to listen to Mandy Moore in the car on the way back from fireworks. *Sob*. Ah well. Next year! Happy 4th, and God bless the U.S.A.! *Salutes*

--Holly Rachael :-D

Grandma Z.'s 80th B-Day Bash

Time: 11:44 P.M.
I'm Wearing: Gray Mackinac Island shirt and short w/ flip-flops.
I Last Ate: Snickers ice cream from Ron's.
Holly's Song Pick of the Day: "Frank's 2000'' TV" by "Weird Al" Yankovic.
_________________________________________________________

After doing G.E.D. practice tests and cleaning the house all afternoon, I went to my aunt Barb's house with Dad and Zach. It was supposed to be a surprise party, but my grandma's friends didn't understand that, I guess, and they called her to ask what time the party was! Oh well.

I talked to a lot of people I didn't know, and most of them were pretty cool. They seemed to remember me from when I was a baby because they were all like, "You're KENNY's kid? Wow! You've grown."

I would have had a perfectly awesome time at the party, though, if this woman hadn't decided to talk my ear off all day. good Lord, that woman acted like she'd just come from an 'N Sync concert where she had a backstage pass that included a naked J.C. Chasez, and while she was there she drank five espressos and three Mountain Dews. I tell ya, she was a hyper one.

Everyone there kept discussing their age, and when I said I was 18, the old people would all ask if I had graduated this year. It was sort of embarrassing, telling them I had to get my G.E.D. until they told me they didn't know what a G.E.D. was. One old lady even thought a G.E.D. was something very prestigious! Heh.

Anyway, though, when the conversation got around to how old Grandma was, I finally realized, "Hey... she's 80 years old." And people kept telling stories about how their 80-year-old friends were dying and stuff... GAH! I don't know if I could stand it if any of my grandparents died because I'm so family-oriented, I'm really close to all four of them. Man... So I hope my grandma still has quite a few years left in her. It seemed to me like she was having an awesome time, so that's great. We're going out right on her birthday on Tuesday, too. Okay, latah!

--Holly Rachael :-D

The Big One-Eight (You Know, 18)

Time: 10:16 P.M.
I'm wearing: My sky blue Luxor, Las Vegas shirt and jeans.
I last ate: Linguini with marinara at Ruggeros and Tirimisu for desert.
Song that's in my head: "On the Line" by... all those people.
_________________________________________________________

Welp, today was my birthday. My best friend, Sarah came over with her boyfriend, Justin. Sarah gave me a pillow that she made me. It's her best one yet! It says "Cabbage Patch Holl" on it; it's so cool!

When Justin had to go to work, Sarah, Mom and I went to Circuit City. I told my mom I'd like to go shopping with her to pick out what I wanted for my birthday, instead of her buying me something, like usual. I decided on a DVD player for her house and the Empire Records DVD. Mom also decided to get the Walk to Remember soundtrack and Rachael Lampa's CD. They're both really good. Then Sarah and I went to Deb and admired the prom dresses.

At 6:00, Dad, Zach and I all headed out for my birthday dinner. I decided on Ruggeros. Then we came back home and I got my presents from Dad. He got me the hard-cover copies of the two Harry Potter books that I only had in paper-back, Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban (awesome!). I also got the DVDs of Pearl Harbor, The Family Man, and one of my favorite movies of all time, Xanadu! I was thrilled.

Yesterday wasn't so great, however. When my dad got home from work, he was all, "Holly, I got you an early birthday present!" I was like, "Sweet, thanks!" But it turned out that my "early birthday presents" were GED studying books. I mean, I need them and everything, but for BIRTHDAY PRESENTS?! What the...? Oh well. Later!

--Holly Rachael :-D

It's My Birthday and I'm Blue

Not *actually* blue. But according to this nifty online quiz, I have a blue aura. How 'bout that? It's midnight, and I'm alone. Zach's at Meijers with Tracey and Dad's in bed. I'm alone for the very first portion of my birthday! Crap!

BLUE You give your love and friendship unconditionaly. You enjoy long, thoughful conversations rich in philosophy and spirituality. You are very loyal and intuitive. Find out your color at Stvlive.com!

Later!

--Holly Rachael :-D

Woo hoo! It's 2002!

Time: 12:46 A.M.
Song in my head: "Overprotected" by Britney Spears.
I last ate: Potato chips with white grape sparkling cider (you know, fake wine) at the Boas'.
I'm wearing: The sparkly, striped pink sweater Grandma Z. bought me for Christmas with jeans.
________________________________________________________

Well, would'ja look at that? It's already 2002! Wow, 2001 sure flew by, didn't it? You know what's depressing, though? *Hangs head*, I'm supposed to be graduating this year... :-( Oh well.

A lot has happened this past year. Zach and Sarah broke up and got back together a few times, but finally broke up for good. Zach got a new girlfriend, and promptly dumped her. Sarah got a new boyfriend, and seems really happy with him. I inherited a whole new step-family when Mom married Mike, and now I have two step-siblings, Billy and Carrie. Dad, Zach and I went to Disney World and Universal Studios, and I rode my first rollercoaster, and loved it! I went to Cedar Point with Dad, Zach, Sarah and Bobby, and rode most of the rides there, which is a first. Oh, and I'm actually passing classes!

I've decided my New Years resolution is going to be to actually pass all my classes this year. That'd be great, and I'm sure I can make it happen if I put a *little* effort into getting to school on a regular basis!

Tonight, we went to the Redwood Lodge for dinner, but when we got there, they were like, "Oh, you have a party of nine? Sorry, we're only seating parties of four or less, unless you have a reservation." Arrgh! So I suggested the Olive Garden, and WOO HOO! We got to go there! Then we went to Aunt Barb's house, and flipped between all the New Years specials. Daria was on MTV's! Nifty as heck!

I think Lindsay might've had a liiiiiittle too much to drink, because she kept cracking up at stuff, and then yelling at everybody, and then she'd answer the phone like, "Hellooooooooooooooooooooo?!" She was a bit nutty, but it was funny. Lindsay was really mad at her mom because she wanted to go to East Lansing with her friends, but Aunt Barb said she had to stay home and hang out with her family. I was pretty upset that my dad wouldn't let me go out with Sarah, Justin and Samantha, too. But ah well. Maybe next year.

Happy new year!

--Holly Rachael :-D

Holly's Jolly Christmas

Time: 2:21 P.M.
Song in my head: "The Distance" by Evan and Jaron.
I last ate: Peanut butter and jelly with soy milk to dunk for breakfast.
I'm wearing: My purple sweater and black flares.
_________________________________________________________

Well, Christmas was butt-loads of fun this year. On Christmas Eve, we went to Grandma Shoup's house, like usual. My grandparents are such sweethearts, they make sure *everyone* who comes to their house of Christmas Eve has a stocking to go through. Besides cute little teddy bears and lots of candy, everybody gets an apple, an orange, and a handful of walnuts. Some people, like my brother, think this is a bit stupid. I think it's awesome, though, for the reason Grandma puts them in there. She grew up during the depression, and her family hardly ever got to eat anything other than bread and soup. But on Christmas, her mom managed to get a hold of an apple, orange, and handful of walnuts for each of them, and put them in their stockings. So, it's important to Grandma to put those things in *our* stockings, even though she really stocks up for Christmas Eve dinner at her house (this year their 'fridge wasn't big enough to hold it all). Cool, huh?

When we'd finished going through our stockings, it was time to open presents. My step siblings came over, and Zach and I were so surprised that Carrie (my step-sister) got us each a gift! She bought us each these really good Paul Mitchell hair care kits. What a sweetheart she is! Zach and I did feel terrible that we didn't get Carrie anything, though. My grandparents got my awesome stuff like an Avon breast cancer awareness teddy bear, the Harry Potter Playstation game I asked them for, and the Grinch and Shrek DVDs. Some obnoxious kid said that Harry Potter was a "demonic influence" and that I shouldn't like it. My hilarious step-brother Billy, who reeked of pot replied, "I haven't seen Harry Potter yet, but it can't be *that* bad." Heheh.

7:00 rolled around, and we headed over to church for the Christmas Eve service. This is my favorite part of the entire year. We lit candles and sang Christmas hymns, then our minister read the verse that Linus does on the Charlie Brown Christmas Special. But for some stupid reason, I sat with Zach and his friend, Andy, who drew cartoon characters on their bulletins and pretended to set the pew on front of them in fire, while singing in goofy voices. After church, Zach, Andy, me, and my crush and Andy's brother, Tim, headed back to Grandma Shoup's house for leftover sub sandwiches and pumpkin pie.

Christmas Day was awesome as well. When Zach woke me up, I could hear my least-favorite movie, The Christmas Story, blaring on the TV in the family room, so I didn't want to get up. However, I was starving, and it *was*, after all, CHRISTMAS MORNING! So I ambled out to the family room, plunked down on the couch, and scarfed down the delicious raspberry danish Dad had bought for breakfast.

Zach and I got Dad the Forearm Builder he'd asked for, and he seemed to love it, so that was cool. We also stuffed a stocking full of various chocolate candies for him, so I think our Christmas gift to him was kind of an oxy-moron or something. It was like, "Hey Dad, here's some excersize equipment... and here's some candy, too!"

The first thing Zach and I opened (well... I actually just sat there and left the opening to him) was... AN X-BOX! Then, I opened... A DVD PLAYER! Then we could get to our other presents, which were all DVDs, X-Box games, and clothes. I got the X-Box games Simpsons Road Rage and Shrek while Zach got the games Halo and Project Gotham. I also opened the DVDs Heartbreakers, Legally Blonde and Wayne's World 1 and 2. Then we opened a bunch of really nice, dressy clothes, which shows Dad is trying to force Zach and I out of our every-day outfits of T-shirts and jeans.

That afternoon, we went over to my aunt Barb's house, like always. Since Zach had to work all night Christmas Eve, he slept a good portion of his Christmas Day away. Poor guy... After our Christmas lunch/dinner (at like... 3:30 or something), prepared by Grandma Z. and Aunt Barb, we went to the living room to open presents. Grandma Z.'s presents for me were no surprise, as I was with her when she bought them. I had picked out my own gift, which was a glittery, striped pink turtleneck sweater and a skirt to match. She also got me a surprise... a beautiful, delicate sterling silver bracelets with little hearts dangling from it, and Britney Spears' new CD. Rockin'! Aunt Barb, Uncle Don, Lindsay and Jennifer got me a very pretty glittery pink decoration for my room, and The Grinch DVD. Since I'd already gotten The Grinch from the Grandparents Shoup, I took it back and exchanged it for Save the Last Dance, so that worked out good.

The day after Christmas (Boxing Day), Zach and I had our Christmas morning with my mom and Mike in Bay City. This was where I got my favorite Christmas presents... HARRY POTTER STUFF! Mom got me two Harry Potter pillows: One that says "Quidditch" and comes with the golden snitch tucked into a pocket, and one that says "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans," and it looks like a bag of them. They're both *adorable*, and I love them! I also got Harry Potter sheets, Harry Potter stickers for my wall, the Harry Potter poster book, a Harry Potter calender, a Nimbus 2000 bookmark, chocolate Wizarding money (which I won't eat, of course), plus some non-Harry-Potter-stuff such as the CDs Backstreet Boys-- Hits, Chapter One and a good, not-burned copy of Lifehouse-- No Name Face, which is my favorite band, and CD.

Zach and I got Mom the PETA watch she's been wanting for like, five years or longer, and we filled her a stocking full of little vibrating massager things, which she thought looked like sex toys. We all laughed, and admitted that they did indeed look like sex toys. We were like, "Um... please don't use them for that, though. Ew."

So, as you can tell, Zach and I are spoiled rotten. We get so much stuff for Christmas, it's ridiculous. And today (the 29th), I hung out with Sarah at Grandma Shoup's so we could exchange Christmas gifts. She got me this adorable Pisces zodiac bear that had little attributes on it and everything! I LOVE IT! She also got me Nickelback's single of "How You Remind Me." That song kicks *arse*! I got her a little crystal figurine dragon that she's been wanting since the ninth grade! She seemed to like it, so that's gnarley.

Talk to ya later!

--Holly Rachael :-D

Ah crap, I've got a cold *again*.

Time: 5:29 P.M.
Song in my head: "Get the Party Started" by Pink.
I last ate: A candy cane I found on the table.
I'm wearing: My Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure shirt and tie-up jeans.
________________________________________________________

Ohh, I feel *miserable*. Why do I always get a cold when it's time for Christmas break, which starts tomorrow? It's ri-frickin'-diculous!

Well, I'm writing a Harry Potter fan fic called "If I Wasn't a Celebrity..." I hope I actually finish this story. That'd be rockin'.

Duuuuuuuuude, I don't even feel good enough to be sitting here, writing in my diary! *Cough, hack, cough*. Ugh...

Despite the icky way I feel, I'm still really excited about Christmas! Woo hoo, five more days! And only *four* more days until Christmas *Eve*, which is the day for Christmas with my mom. Then Christmas Day is my Christmas with my dad. Wow, this paragraph sure does have the word "Christmas" in it a lot.

Well, I'm going to find some Kleenex. Later.

--Holly Rachael :-(