holiday gift guide: cootie catchers

          

Wow!  It's winter!  How did that happen?  

A brief update on me: In addition to being a person in high school, I am in fact a senior in high school.  I have been learning how the college application process works (very "survival" worthy), along with learning to drive.  Woop!  Normal things!  I figured my crafty drive had ceased two summers ago, but many crafty schemes have since accumulated in the depths of my brain.  Why not keep sharing them?

Why now?  To be honest, I received a lovely comment encouraging me to continue!  Thanks, Ashley!

 

These cootie catchers are great to print out and share with yo friends.  I selected only the juiciest of dares, most intriguing of fortunes, and most puzzling of would-you-rathers.  What's the best thing about these cootie catchers?

You can color them in!  Isn't that fun?  

In case you forgot how to fold a cootie catcher, here's how:

They're perfect stocking stuffers, in my opinion.  Have your whole family asking each other which they would rather: being hairy all over or being completely bald?  You can stuff one away in your back pocket during holiday gatherings, then whip it out during awkward conversation.  The possibilities are endless.

Have fun! 

metro solo

(My attempt at a cool photoshop collage like the ones in ROOKIE Magazine)

Taking your metro/subway system in stride and riding the train on your own is so empowering and SO MUCH FUN!  Throw a few friends in there, too - just NO PARENTS.  I was originally going to create an entirely new blog for the tween age group and center it around this very post, until I realized that tweens (typically aged 11-13) should not ride the metro on their own in fear they may be recognized as children.  That is why I am (kind of) accompanied by my dad in the collage above.  Until I scratched him out.  Because now I am METRO SOLO.

P.S. if you have been Metro Solo for a very long time and find the following information quite obvious, I'm sorry.

How to be Metro Solo (let the phrase catch on):

1.  Where to? (optional)
The train goes places, doncha know.  Use a set destination as an incentive to hop on the train with enthusiasm.  Go to a far-off grocery store, the mall, or even a new town with cool stuff in it.  Meet a friend who you'd have to drive a ways to get to.

2.  Mapping
You may have to walk an intricate path to actually get to the metro/train/subway station, and from that metro station you may end up at another metro station where you may hop on a different train.  It's complicated, and I recommend using Google Maps to get ya through it.  Type the address of your destination into the address bar, making sure to click the little train icon beneath it.  Directions will -tada!!- be provided.

3.  Gear
Why not take use of the handy bike lockers they have at your metro station and bike there?  Another system to get to know!  Also, don't forget a backpack with snacks and maps and phones and stuff in it.

That's about it!  You barely needed instructions.  Have fun mastering your land.  This is YOUR LAND!

fortune cookies in bulk

This year's summer getaway was a family reunion-type thing in the mountains of the northwest, which was just as satisfying (and confusing) as it sounds.  Part of this experience was getting to tear open a foot-and-a-half tall bag of fortune cookies, and reading every single fortune.

We were staring at this appalling product, purchased by my cousins TO EAT, when my Aunt B said, "I wanna open them all" or something.  Then WE DID.  

Bulk bags like this can be found in various grocery stores off the beaten path, and most likely on the internet.  I recommend giving this sort of activity a go, particularly for the snarky comments that are sure to be made about each fortune.

surviving summer

Summer can be (and usually is) a good feeling.  It's safe, comfortable, and expects very little of you.

Summer is not always a good feeling.

If you're like me, summer's debut has been BITTERSWEET, mainly due to hour-long periods of nothingness wherein I may analyze my worth as a human and it's meaning.  My solution?

I compiled a list of every single fun summer activity I could think of.  Then, I can kind of hurl myself (and you can, too!) at each activity with such force that I (you) may completely forget my (your) worries all together.

This, in a way, is a method of avoidance, so I would also recommend taking some time to tell yourself that you are certainly not expected to become a better person over summer break and what matters most is that you do not turn into a potato but really just try to enjoy yourself out there and also turn off your brain for a while.

Gee, Zoe, what's eating you?

I will be a Junior next year, and it's really bothering me.  When I was a freshman (which, by the way, felt like yesterday), I saw Juniors as the most well-adjusted of us all.  I idolized them and their confident social lives.  Over the past two years I have come to realize that 

(a) "confident" social lives are not for everyone, 

(b) a lot of people don't have "confident" social lives and don't really give a damn, and 

(c) Juniors are the exact same people they were as freshmen, more or less, they're just a little less bewildered.

So, before my brain came to realize all of this, I thought that over the mere course of two months (summer), I would flower into the Junior I was always meant to be, and everything would be perfect, and it would be all on me to make happen.

So yeah I was a little stressed out and needed a guide to escape my own anxiety.

THUS:

1. Bike to picnic
2. Tye dye
3. Make lemonade (REAL lemonade, the kind that you could totally sell)
4. Rollerblade music video
5. Fancy pool day - good swimsuit, towel, sunglasses, snacks, water slide n' all
6. Backyard campout (don't forget the s'mores bonfire)
7. Sew a pretty dress, skirt, or top 
8. Take METRO to: shopping in the city, picnic in the city, museums in the city, or classes in the city!
9. Hiking day!  Get in the GEAR!
10. Beach day (drive up to the nearest beach, swim the heck out of the beach, then drive back)
11. Water park day (same deal)
12. Eat out for breakfast 
13. Take an early (as in sunrise) morning bike ride
14. Paint on big sheets outside (I have not discovered a purpose for this yet, but have been wanting to do it
15. Buy a can of shaving cream and empty the entire thing into a bathtub, then play with it
16. Go to an Asian supermarket and buy neat candy/pastries
17. Host a dance party with all the best music
18. Go eat sushi 
19. Have the ULTIMATE spa day, no fooling around here
20. See a matinee
21. Try rock climbing
22. Have lunch with an old friend ("having lunch" is a very civilized and satisfying way to do it!)
23. Go to the thrift store 
24. Clean the house
25. Make dashboard cookies
26. Make a day-long video log ("vlog")
27. Make miniature shoebox dollhouses (put your Malibu Stacy in one)
28. Make an obstacle course
29. Make cute things to stuff in people's mailboxes
30. Spend a day reading nostalgic books of your childhood (Like Calvin and Hobbes or The Mouse and The Motorcycle)
31. Speaking of which, do all of Ramona Quimby's favorite activities
32. Make a painting outside (called "plein air" painting)
33. Make a water slide (lay out a huge plastic tarp over a grassy hill, then run the hose over it)

Have fun!

**note** it may not be wise to attempt ALL of these activities - perhaps pick a few favorites.

neighborhood b-o-n-d-i-n-g

I've had some lonely moments, particularly last winter, that left me yearning for some kind of connection with the human race other than just my peers at school.  So, long story short, I decided to start a club.  In our neighborhood.

The club I came up with is titled "the Pizza and a Movie Club," and acts as an anti-book club for all teens and tweens within roughly four blocks of each other.  Activities consist of exactly what is listed in the title: eating pizza and watching a movie.  We've had four meetings so far (which are once a month), and each has been at a different kid's house.  The kid gets to pick the movie and order the pizza.

1. how?  huh?  
I passed out flyers (litterally) to neighborhood parents, advertising the club.  They looked like this:

Parents responded postitively, saying they were sure their kids would be into it.  I did not, however, recieve any RSVPs.  I had to go through the neighborhood directory and personally call each household I was fairly familiar with.  HOT TIP: get a neighborhood directory.

The phone calls were a kinda scary, but if you keep a friendly tone, little can go wrong.  I said something along the line of, "As a teen, I'm starting a neighborhood club for teens and tweens.  Pizza.  Movie.  Yes?"

2. through the birth canal, the graphic arrival of P&M Club
I called each potential member three times.  Once to get their contact info, then the second time to see what Friday/Saturday they were available.  A few dates matched up for everybody.  I called a third time to verify that the club would indeed exist.  It would be hosted at my house.

3. setup
A clean house and some snacks on the table are good staples, in my mind.  I was sure to have activities available, like cards or Wii or boardgames, but those never happened.  For an hour, the kids were content to just sit and talk.  The next three meet-ups were like this.  If you have a particularly stoic collection of tweens and teens in your neighborhood, I think extra activities are useful.  Otherwise, the party just... GOES.  I cannot emphasize this enough.

4. and the moral of the story is...
If you want to start a club, you are officially the mom of that club until it learns to fly.  It's a little bird.  You're teaching it.  To fly.  You're the mom.  It's a bird.  You got it.  SO, you are required to tirelessly contact all potential members.

After this is complete, the club has zero requirements (other than its required activities, of course).  No one has to get along, no one has to talk, no one has to bond.  Socializing is like - if I may present you with another metaphor - taking a shower.  You feel good afterwards, even if you were just standing there.  After a few meet-ups, it's OK if the club dissentegrates.  Chances are, though, that people will feel joyful to have a place to go and people to see on a friday night.

tie dye afternoon

Tie dye may seem like your AVERAGE afternoon activity, but the process has remained somewhat of a mystery to me - and a few of my friends.  Thus, you have an afternoon activity that is sure to excite and engage!  

Picking only ONE unusual task to attack with friends (as opposed to five or six) is usually a guaranteed success, given the task isn't that difficult.  Tie dye, it turns out, isn't.  Here's how:

Pick out some white shirts!

Find a bucket in your basement.  You have one, I promise.  Fill with hot water and ~*soda ash*~, then add the shirts.  Dance around for 20 minutes, letting the shirts soak.

Ring out your shirts, then proceed to rubber band them.  Instructions for making different designs will be included in the box, but there's also the internet - and your own lively imagination!  I am a fan of the accordion fold and the little nubs.

Go outside to do this!

You probably want to put on some rubber gloves for the dying, but if you prefer not to, it washes off in two days.  I recommend covering almost the entire shirt in dye for a BOLD effect.

Wrap your gross, damp, dye-covered shirts in plastic wrap, then stick in grocery bags.  Let your shirts "sleep" over night, then return to them around the same time the next day.

When it comes time to reveal your shirt, maybe call your friends and have everyone do it at the same time.  Maximum funness!

Rinse your beautiful creation in cold water.  Hang to dry.  Wash in the washing machine after this, but don't let your shirt in with the other clothes until one or two washes.

you and your friends are movie stars

This one's simple.  Strap on some nerf guns, sunglasses, and stretchy plastic skirts.  Then go pose by a wall.  Your mom, another friend, or a camera stand can help you get some dramatic full-body shots. The main goal?  Look like the people on action movie posters.  You are out there to save the world, save yourself, or save some obscure object, and you're gonna do it well.

Step #2 is a bit more tricky.  Photoshop.  If you don't know how to upload your photos onto the computer, photoshop will be particularly hard.  Once you're there, here are some tips:

"Enhance"
This will be the tab at the very top of the screen.  Click, navigate down to "adjust lighting."  Select "Brightness/Contrast" from the pull-down menu.  This will allow you to brighten your image.

"T"
The green T on the lower-ish left hand side of the screen will allow you to add text.  By selecting it, there will be setting options at the bottom of the screen.  You can change the color, size, or style of the text.

Layers
These will be stacked up in little rectangular boxes along the right hand side of the screen.  Drag the boxes before or after each other, allowing multiple layers of text to align in different ways.  See the top photo as an example.

Then just fool around with shapes.  Have fun!

how to have a proper bike ride

Rule #1: don't forget to pack lunch

Try a juice box, apple sauce, and sandwich of your choice - all in a paper bag.  Decorate before leaving.

Rule #2: see this?

Dance on it.

Rule #3: trees are for making poses between

Rule #4: stop at the best park you can possibly find

Eat here, but don't forget to play on the playground.