Back In Session!!

Wow! It's definitely been a while since I've posted anything. A good three years (😅), but I'm glad to finally be back! One thing to start it off, I'm finally in my senior year! So only nine months (give or take a few days) till my graduation! In this three year hiatus, a lot has happened. I moved to this school called International Leadership of Texas, a local charter school district that was just starting to grow. One thing that I found myself liking about this school was the language component. Learning Chinese and Spanish was a requirement in the upper grades and the teachers of these classes were from the countries that speak the language. The best aspect of the school, for me, was definitely the size. I didn't know before, but I realized that the older I got, the more I liked that small class-vibe. Going to a public school like Northwest HS or Byron HS would've been absolutely horrible for me as a person. The small classroom environment helped me open up as a person and created the greatest change in me as I moved from being the girl who could barely talk when called on in class to being the current National Honor Society president at my school's chapter. The years have been rocky, but now that I'm back to my wonderful blog, I hope to continue to share my life as it happens. Because of the new personality that I have, I have now decided to change my title from When In Rhome to When In Keller.

Update

Okay so it's been a while since I've posted on this blog, but everything's been pretty busy for me. I mean, school has  been completely hectic and my sleeping schedule has been jacked up. I can't even stay up past 9 pm on  a Friday night because I'm so tired of everything. So for cooking breakfast in the morning, I have resorted to microwavable meals. I'm not talking about the Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches, but home cooked meals made in less than 10 minutes. The first thing I attempted to make was a pancake in a mug. I had seen this recipe on a website that had a list of these microwavable meals and was very interested in trying this. So, I tried making this for my sisters one day. One word: AMAZING!!! The pancake was absolutely delicious and cooked perfectly in the mugs. I would definitely recommend this recipe to anyone that needs a quick meal in less than a minute. The link for this recipe is below, I would also recommend this website because it has many other delicious recipes worth trying. Have fun cooking and adios!!!

http://kirbiecravings.com/2013/07/pancake-mug-cake.html

My pancake in a cup:

SUMMER BREAK!!!

Okay, so a lot has happened since the last time I updated my blog. After my STAAR tests that I ranted about in my previous post, I went on this school trip to tour around the New England region. We went to many different places and I got to visit D.C and New York City. This trip was absolutely awesome and I really enjoyed going to all the different places. After my trip, school was basically over and all I had left was my 8th grade graduation ceremony. Since this was the school's first year, the graduation wasn't extravagant, but it was pretty amazing. We had a ceremony and, from that ceremony, I got four medals. Three of these medals were for getting commended on my algebra, science and history tests. The remaining medal was for having perfect attendance, which I didn't even knew I had. After the ceremony, we left the school in a bus and went to the church that I would be attending at this year. After arriving at the church, we spent a couple of hours just hanging out and meeting some of our high school teachers. Then summer came. To be completely honest, I spent half the summer doing absolutely nothing. My days were spent doing only three things: eating, sleeping and watching TV. Around mid-July, my family and I went on a trip to Chicago to visit my grandparents and uncles. The three weeks we spent there were really fun. We did a ton of shopping while we were there. I really had fun this summer and I really can't wait till next summer. Maybe we'll spend more time in Chicago next time. ADIOS!!!!

STARR Testing

Okay,  so this upcoming week is STAAR testing at my school.  During this time of the school year,  it gets really boring at school because of all the tests we have to take. Sadly, this year I have to take FOUR STAAR tests. Of those for tests, I only have two that are actually eighth grade. They're the science and social studies tests. In fact, I have the science on Wednesday and social studies on Tuesday. The only one that I'm remotely worried about is the science because on the spring mock STAAR test, I we only one question away from being commended, which is really good on the STAAR. My other tests that I have to take this year is the algebra I and English I EOC. Thankfully, I already took my five-hour English test. I think that of all the tests that I'm going to take, the algebra I test is probably going to be the easiest test for me because math is my strongest subject in school. I mean, last year I took the eighth grade STAAR test and only missed two questions. I also got like the best score on the test in my school- seventh and eighth graders combined. This year, I'm just hoping that I get commended on all of my tests. So, wish me luck woke I knock these tests out of the way. Adios my fellow readers!!!

Update!!!

Okay, so it's been a while since I've posted, but I've got a legitimate reason as to why. For the past month, my teachers all simultaneously agreed to double up the homework and make us study harder. It doesn't help that we've got STAAR tests in the spring, but obviously that doesn't matter. Usually this time of the school year, I get really bored because we barely do anything and we just study for STAAR tests. Sadly, this new district doesn't share the same ideas as my previous district. Today, I had to take my English I EOC (End-of-course) test. The test took me four and a half hours to complete in our five-hour time limit. I was absolutely shocked at how different the seventh grade test was and the EOC. This test contained 63 multiple-choice questions, 3 short answers and 1 essay. I'm absolutely glad that we were given a five-hour limit cause I wouldn't of finished the test on time in four hours. Another good thing that's coming up is that it's almost Good Friday. Supposedly, this day is so important that we get to have a student holiday at my school, so I've got no school on Friday!!! Well, I guess this is all that's going on right now, but we get to pick our high school classes soon so I'll post again soon. Hasta luego, mis amigos!!!!

UPDATE!!!!

Okay, so it's been a while since I've been on my blog and a lot has happened in the past like seven weeks. There was this huge cold front that came and we had a bunch of snow. This past week, I only had to go to school for three days. My school had a three-day weekend that turned into a four-day weekend. On Wednesday, we had a two-hour delay pushing back the start of school to 9:45. There was snow from the previous days that covered the roads and freeways. The snow and ice was all melted by noon. On Thursday, the day was actually fine and actually kind of warm. Thursday night, though, it rained and sleeted. Sometime during the night it snowed lightly. The weather forecast said that the temperatures wouldn't go above freezing. Friday morning there was snow, but it didn't appear to be terrible. It started to snow around 8 in the morning while I was in first period. The snow started to really accumulate around 10 am. By fourth period, which starts at 10:10, the snow was coming heavily. At around 10:40, my school decided that the weather conditions were really bad. The roads were icy and, if we were to have a full day, the traffic for pick-up would be absolutely terrible. So, what they did was, after contacting the parents, have all the kids in grades kindergarten to fourth grade be picked up at 11. Then they would have grades fifth to eighth grade be picked up noon. So instead of going to my fifth through tenth periods, I got to go home. Yesterday, I got to skip two tests and an extremely tedious class. So, hopefully my school schedule doesn't get me too busy so that I can blog again. Adios amigos!






BTW, that dress is black and blue. ------------>

Last Day of Break :(

Today was the last day of break and I'm utterly saddened by how fast it went. I really had am awesome break. My mom, sisters and I went shopping more the once throughout the break. I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas, Hanukkah, etc. and an even better New Years.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! Hope everyone has a great holiday.

The Maze Runner

Yesterday, my family and I got to see The Maze Runner. One word to describe this movie: AMAZING!!! I absolutely love the book and now love the movie. The movie was about Thomas waking up and finding himself in this place full of boys ranging from little tweens to young adults. This place, named the Glade, is in the center of this maze that the boys have been trying to find a way out. And as soon as Thomas comes into the picture, everything starts to change. I would definitely recommend this movie to everyone who's into science fiction-y type movies or people who liked Divergent. This movie would definitely rank at my top 5 best movies list. This is a 10 out of 10 for me and I really can't wait to see Maze Runner: Scorch Trials that's supposed to be coming out next year!!!

UPDATE!!!

Wow! It's been a really long time since I've been on my blog. I really hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving, I know I did. The menu at my house was turkey, chicken dressing, sweet potatoes, collard greens, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, pumpkin bread pudding, and cherry pie. My family and I had an awesome time just cooking and spending our time together. School, on the other hand, has been really easy. Even though I'm in 8th grade and take some high school courses, my English I and Algebra I classes have been my easiest classes. Math for me has always been easy, so doing it repetitively helps me learn it quicker and now I'm a math tutor. In English, we just started reading George Orwell's Animal Farm and this has been no struggle for me. I mean, I love to read and the book is funny, so reading this book isn't hard for me. My Chinese and Spanish classes are alright. I'm learning these languages consecutively, so I just have to pay attention and study in those classes. US History isn't hard when you have a history-freak/lover for a mom. Science is probably going to be the downfall for me. I have an A in that class, but that doesn't mean I get what I'm doing. Science just doesn't make sense to me. Math, unlike science, is perpetual. It just doesn't change. There aren't any 'theories' or 'hypothesis' in math. It's consistent and never changes, unlike science. Anyways, I just hope that everyone has a great rest of the month and hope that they have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or whatever you celebrate.

Book Thief, the movie

Yesterday, I finally got to watch The Book Thief. This movie is about Liesel Meminger, who is living through the horrors of World War II, is taken to Germany where she finds comfort by stealing books and sharing them to others. In the basement of her home, her adoptive parents are hiding a Jewish refugee. This movie was just very sad. So many people died in this movie that were very important to her. This movie would be a definite 5 out of 5 because the movie actually fit the time period. Now I haven't read the book, so my opinion of the movie would be a 5 out of 5. Whenever movies are this great that means that the book is as great. Maybe even better.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Yesterday, my dad took Gracie and me to the movies. We watched Guardians of the Galaxy. The movie was basically about Peter Quill, known as the Star-Lord, that was taken away from his family after his mom died from cancer. He grew up to become a famous thief and comes across this orb that he later learns has enough power to destroy the universe. Quill along with his four friends find themselves as prime targets of Ronan the Accuser when they discover that his main goal is to destroy the planet of Xandar. This movie was just absolutely awesome. I can totally see how this movie was the number one blockbuster. This movie had the action, the adventure, the witty comments, and a touch of romance all put together. I would definitely rate this movie a 5 out of 5 for it's humor and action.

Making Muffins with the Family

Today, my sisters and I got to make banana muffins and quadruple chocolate muffins. Both muffins were delicious. My sisters and I are going to be making muffins for breakfast like these muffins more often for school because they're time-saving. The banana muffins came from Simply Recipes, though we made some alterations to the recipe. Below are the recipes for each muffin with a picture of our muffins:

Banana Muffins
Prep time: 10 minutes            Cook time: 30 - 40 minutes            Yield: about 17 - 18 muffins

Ingredients

• 4 very ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), and lay out 17-18 regular-size muffin cups on a pan.

In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until smooth. Stir melted butter into mashed bananas.

Mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour.

Pour the batter into the muffin cups, filling only about 1/3 of the cup.

Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350°F (175°C), or until toothpick comes from the center clean.

Remove from pan and let cool. Serve with some butter and enjoy!



Quadruple Chocolate Muffins
Prep time: 10 minutes            Cook time: 17 - 19 minutes            Yield: about 23 - 24 muffins

Ingredients

• 1 pouch of Betty Crocker Hershey's Ultimate Chocolate brownie mix
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of Nescafé Clásico
• 1/2 bag of Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate Chips, 10 oz. bag

Directions

Heat oven to 325°F and lay out 23-24 regular-size muffin cups on a pan.

Stir brownie mix, Nescafé Clásico, oil, water, and eggs in a medium bowl until well blended. Mix in Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate Chips. Pour the batter into the muffin cups, filling only about 1/3 of the cup.

Bake for 17-19 minutes at 325°F, or until toothpick inserted into center of brownie comes out clean.

Remove from pan and let cool. Serve with a cup of milk and enjoy!

 

 

First Week!!!

So this week was the first week of school and I can already tell you guys that I had an amazing week. I absolutely loved the school. The school is, in one word, different. All of the aspects of the school is different than what I'm used to. This is a new experience for me. My schedule for this school is just absolutely crazy-weird. I have math, social studies, science, language arts, art, lunch, Chinese, Spanish, athletics, and lastly my enrichment period/homeroom. All of my classes are awesome. The majority of the teachers come from other places around the country and some around the world. Both my Spanish teacher and math teacher come from Spain, while my Chinese teacher actually came from China. I think that I'm still trying to get used to the school and waking up early enough. Like I said in my other post about the school, this school starts at 7:45 in the morning. For me last year, that was usually the time that I woke up for school to get on the bus. That is sadly not the case for this year. I have to wake up at 5 a.m. in the freaking morning just to be out of the house by 7. This would be easy for me if I it was just me, but there's also my sisters. None of us are morning people, but, for me, it's easy to actually wake up than my sisters. Once I'm awake, I usually stay awake. Anyways, I'm really excited about this school year and I hope it goes really well. So a cabo la paz! Hépíngle! Peace out till next time!

New School!!!

This year my sisters and I are going to be going to a charter school for the first time. I am really excited about this new school because I'm going into eighth grade with a whole new group of people. The new school is called the International Leadership of Texas (ILT). The school's motto is to strengthen the mind, body, and character. I really am looking forward to going to this school because not only is this like a big restart button, but it also is a more advanced curriculum. Some of the differences between this school and Chisholm Trail MS (previous school) is this school has more hours. My previous school started at 9:20 and ended at 4:30, whereas this school I would start at 7:45 and end at 3:45. That's an hour added onto school. Another major difference is that this school looks like a community college and my old school looks like a regular middle school. The charter school also holds about 1300 students, whereas Chisholm Trail has only about 900 students. ILT has a total of nine periods. At this school, they teach Mandarin Chinese and Spanish to all of their students. Although this school doesn't have as many different electives, this school makes it up for its activities. At this school, there's soccer, volleyball, basketball, baseball, softball, track, and cross country. I love the variety of sports here and I really can't wait until school starts!!!

International Leadership of Texas

Chisholm Trail Middle School

Summer Music!!!

Besides being lazy and reading, summer for me is spent by listening to discovering new genres of music. Surrounded with music from a young age, I've always loved music. This summer, I started to listen to alternative music. Now, with summer break almost over, I am in love with alternative music. I could tell you that I only started listening to it because I came across it while going through radio stations, but I only started listening to this music because my favorite radio station was acting up. I now love this genre because the songs have so much good meaning and I just love the bass and drums. Below are YouTube videos of the new songs that I discovered that are all really good:

Need You Now by Lady Antebellum

 

Riptide by Vance Joy

 

Cardiac Arrest by Bad Suns

 

My Sweet Summer by Dirty Heads

 

Habits (Stay High) by Tove Lo

 

Do I Wanna Know? by Artic Monkeys

 

Stolen Dance by Milky Chance

 

Dangerous by Big Data ft. Joywave