To infinity...and BEYOND!

   Soooo the first day watching the Trask Farm started out mmmm not so great?  I wake up around 7:30 in the morning and head out the back door to feed the animals. I was going to start with the dogs, the cats and the rabbits, since they all eat out back. I grabbed a few cups of dog food and that's when I saw it. I looked to the right in horror as I saw IT! A chicken...I kid you not. Apparently the chickens had gotten out sometime during the night and now the dogs were chasing it.

  So after that I spend about 10 minutes running around like (excuse the pun) a chicken with it's head cut off chasing after...well the chickens. After I rounded up the chickens, as usual there was that one ONE elusive chicken. The one that was smarter than ALL the others. It KNEW the best routes and paths to stay away from my near frost-bitten fingers.

   Oh but it didn't end there! To make matters worse, now the dogs were chasing after it! This had become a game of skill. A Hunt so to speak. Man vs. Chicken. Who will outsmart the other? Who Will reign supreme? Will Kendall capture this chicken so the others can eat? Will Koda and Kinsly (The Dogs) stop chasing the chicken so that they too can eat? Will the horses get their food? If and ONLY IF...I could catch that chicken. I zigged left, it zagged right! I tried to grab it and it DUCKED behind the pens! 

   But after a few more minutes of chasing, I had come out on top!!  Kendall-1...Chicken-0. After I finished feeding them and the horses, I went back inside from the back to warm my hands. As I went back outside through the front door, Koda and Kinsly left me a nice little gift. A dead chicken on the porch. 

  As all the animals were fed and things were being wrapped up, the most heart stopping, jaw dropping thing happened to me! Kinsly came up to me and RIPPED OUT MY HOODIES DRAWSTRING!!! Does she not know that it's impossible to get those things back in?? Eh I guess she doesn't. Oh well.

Things that go bump in the night.

Ok this post shouldn't be to long, just a quick and interesting story...I think!

   Well the first night that I was at my friends house, watching it while they were away. something kind of weird/interesting happened. It was night time and I was getting ready for bed, when all of a sudden and out of nowhere!!!!...I heard a sound! *Covers eyes* NO NO It's too scary I can't tell it! Sorry to have wasted your time folks goodbye!...Hm? Whats that, you still want me to tell it? ...But nightmares? Alright suit yourself!

   Anyway it was a dark and stormy night! Ok it was dark (duh it was night) and a little chilly. And I was getting ready for bed when I heard a noise. It kind of startled me at first because it was such an unusual sound. It kind of sounded like one of those old fashioned hand crank pencil sharpeners. Almost like a slight grinding sound. Then it would stop for a bit. Then start up again. I looked around and couldn't find the source of the sound. I got up and tended to the woodstove, trying to make sure the fire didn't go out. ( what a bang-up job I did my first 2 days! *sarcasm*).


   Anyway I kept hearing the sound near the boys room. (Sons of the family house house I was watching) And for a minute I thought It might be an animal in the attic. Because once before at my house we've had squirrels and raccoons in our attic! So I went back to my room and a few minutes later it started again. And I'm super puzzled. Here is this sound that is so close to my face that I could taste it, but I could find it!

   Then I decide to go out and look one more time. And wouldn't you know it, there it was. The source of the sound! All along it was!!! Alright well I think that's enough for one night. Lock your door. Say your prayers and drink your milk! Goodnight and sweet dreams...fine I'll continue.

  There it was, the source of the sound! Right outside of my room!!! Seriously right on the other side of the WALL!!! it was...A HAMSTER!!!! Dun dun DUN!! I know what you're thinking, But seriously it was kind of creepy. This hamster had the audacity, to run on that wheel a the most inappropriate time of the day! Night time! The hamsters are normally so quiet during the day time, so they didn't cross my mind when the sound started.

  Goodnight! Hope I didn't scare you too much mwahahaha lol.
   

Lending a helping hand.

   On 2/25/2015, my friends the Trask Family went on trip to Ohio to visit friends who have been in Africa for almost 2 years. I have been entrusted to watch over their farm, house and animals while they are away.This is a brand new experience for me as I live in the city, and they as you might have guessed live in the country.


   I'm super excited though! I have loads of animals to watch over, feed and take care of. Chickens, horses, dogs, hamsters, cats, rabbits and a cockateel! I live almost 200 miles away ALL the way on the other side of Missouri...er well mot side so to speak. I live in the northern part of Missouri.

   I've lost my chapstick!! Never mind I found it, forget that outburst even happened... Anyway. So while they are away for around a week, I have the ENTIRE house to myself...PAR-TAY!!! No I'm just joking lol. Things are so different here than they are in the city, just different in general than what I'm used to. Is it used to? Or use to? I don't know I see people use both, I think it's just one of those things that either or.

   The scenery is beautiful! Lots of open areas, woods all that jazz. I sound like such a nerd, I know but I just love it here! I think I might move out to the country! I got to go into town with my new friend Dylan ( we're secretly new best friends, he just doesn't know it yet lol) so I got a chance to see the town before they left...leaving me here...all alone. *Starts crying crocodile tears* They told me there are sometimes armadillos out here near the woods, I would LOVE to see one! I've never seen one in  person before! And no the zoo doesn't count. Although I don't think I've seen one at the zoo before either!

   They've been so hospitable to me. To be honest, probably more than anyone I've ever met. They're really nice people, it's great to have friends like them people who really care. It's pretty rare to find people like them these days...that makes me sad :(  *Starts to tear up*

   Ok I'm just going to be honest, I'm singing "How to Save a Life" AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS!! I could never do this if I were home! And no-one can hear me! Mwahahaha. Ok I went off on a little tangent didn't I?? 

   We watched a movie the night before they left, and I got a chance to meet "Captain Ahab"! Who is Captain Ahab you ask? Oh you'll just have to meet him yourself!! 

  They are a large family, and to be honest I was a little nervous about meeting them. Well I met about 1/3 of them over a month ago but the other...7 I had not. But everyone was very kind, and made me feel right at home! I even got me own room! All of the animals are really neat and very sweet. Especially Blueberry, The Mini-Lop Rabbit!! Words...not enough of them...nor the right ones exist to explain how adorable Blueberry is!!

   To be honest. Ok I use that term a lot don't I? Anyway, "to be honest" lol, it's a really nice break from city life. I can't wait quite put my finger on it, it's a wonderful change in scenery, and difference in behavior from people. Speaking of scenery, I took a few pictures while it was snowing and they turned out pretty good!

   I've learned a lot of really useful things and tips, I'm all set for when I have my own farm someday lol! Oh I forgot to mention, two of them had birthdays also! Happy Birthday Troy and Paige!!

  This time alone will give me chance to think, read and reflect on things. I will have a lot of time to sit and read my Bible ALL DAY if I choose lol! they also recommended some other books to me that I'll read also. This was a pretty cool opportunity that came up for me things are going great so far. All animals accounted for. I'm still alive. I haven't burned the house down! I haven't frozen myself yet! I haven't starved! Yeah I'd say it's been going pretty well so far.

Oh yeah and here are a few of the pictures I took!!!

   

A Spark, a Flame then it just went out.

   Almost all of my life there has been one thing that I've been interested in and actually good at. (unlike cooking) And that would be Drawing!!! A lot of my drawings were fan or friend requested (I used to have a youtube channel for it)

This is "Megaman!!"

First it started out small, just a few friends from school asking me to draw a picture but then I decided to take to the skies! Er well Take to the net!! There were a few other users who  knew a thing or two about the art game around youtube and that helped me to get my foot in the door.

For many people it's all about subscribers. Now depending on what your plans are then that may be very important. For me personally I wasn't sure what I was looking for. It was kind of nice though that people liked my drawings, even if most of them weren't my own original work.

    So a little bit down the road, I gained a few more subscribers and and things started to take off. Certain users ( the most popular ones) Would sometimes hold drawing competitions. You upload a video of one of your drawings and tag it to the user holding the competition. Now for as much as people liked my drawings and sometimes told me how good I was, there was some stiff competition. And it was at the end of a few of those competitions that I was truly humbled.

   Sometimes you're not as good as you might think. Now I wasn't arrogant with my drawings by any means, I mostly got As in art, but up against those other artists was something else. But at the same time, it simply made me want to try harder. To just get better, test my skills and push them to the limit. And that's what I did. My brother and I both began to practice like never before. And with time we did improve. 

   The time came one month that I entered Two drawing competitions. Dun, dun, DUN!!! And to my surprise, all that practice paid off. I won! I got first place in one competition and I believe second in the other. Around that time (since most of the drawing requests that I received were from mangas) I considered becoming a manga artist. Another user actually nominated me for a competition, and the winner would have their short story be helped in becoming a manga.

   In recent years that passion has died down. It's been awhile since I've drawn. I started working on many characters and even a story for my potential manga, well two actually. I still have most of my original characters but I'm just not feeling it anymore. It's frustrating to be honest. But sometimes other things, new people are introduced into your life and things just change. I continue to thank God for the talent that He's given me, even if it's not my calling to do anything with it.

The moral here is:
Things take time. Sometimes early on things seem certain, and later on they don't. Some things stick and turn out to be your calling.
But while making room and time for new friends, and hobbies are great. Never forget the things of old, those good things which impact the wonderful person you are today.

Burning the Mid-night Oil

   So I've been thinking, my sleep schedule is completely out of whack. I'm one of those people who can sleep for 2 hours and run the entire day, seriously. Of course that's not fun nor a good idea when you have to work the next morning ugh yeah not a great idea.

   On many nights I'm up easily til 3 am. Recently however that's been extended to about mmmm 6-9 am! I mean in the event that you aren't tired, there's actually quite a bit you can do in the wee hours of the morn..night mornight? It's technically both. Anyway there's lots that can be done while everyone else is resting their dreary heads from a long days work.

  A lot of the time I spend hours upon hours watching cooking shows on Create Tv (channel 19-3 for those of you without cable or satellite) Which is ironic, because I can't cook to save my life! I've watched quite a few over the last few years, but it's just not sticking. Then you have your Nature shows and what have you. There is always new and interesting things to learn about animals. Did you know some dogs can smell disease? I know right!

   Then you have your woodworking shows. Rough Cut is a particular favorite of mine. I know it looks a little weird, it's a pretty strange combination of shows. Back on topic. Carpentry is fascinating, complicated but fascinating. Jesus was a carpenter.
I'd kind of like to try my hand at it, but there is just so much that goes into it. Maybe when I have more time...and money...and a workshop.

   Last but not least. PAINTING. Now just like cooking, I CAN. NOT. PAINT. At all. Period. I'm not a bad artist, but I can't paint.
Okay I'm starting to see a pattern here. Why I'm I so interested in things that are complicated or I'm no good at? Anyway The Best of the Joy of Painting. By Bob Ross is my favorite! I mean the man is an artistic genius! He was a painter for a long time, so it's understandable that he's improved to the level of perfection. As they say practice makes perfect...but for me some of those things just aren't meant to be :/

The moral here is. "There is a time and a place for everything. Including staying up insanely late watching cooking and painting shows."

   

I'm not a Noob!!

Just something I wanted to throw out real quick that I will customize my page when I get the chance. It looks quite bland...like tofu. I'm not new at this, I used to have my own website in fact. It just takes a little getting used to again I suppose. All the fonting and panel arranging and stuff, yeah that's right folks. I'm not a noob. 


    But the again given how I've forgotten most of what I learned anyway I might as well be a noob. But being a noob is no fun, unless you're there with other noobs then it's not as bad. :)
Until we meet again!

If there's a will, there's a way!

Soooo in early January a friend of my sister's invited her to Arkansas for the day as he was visiting a friend, and later going to Joplin to visit his grandpappy. When I caught wind of this, a glint formed in my eyes!

   I had a friend who I had talked to for awhile and we talked about meeting over in Joplin to hang out. Of course with me not having a car makes things difficult. Anyway my sister talked to him and everything was just peachy...until it wasn't.

   Although her friend (former co-worker of mine) had to drive through Joplin to get to Arkansas, he sorta made things complicated and said he wasn't going to drop me off. {Insert mad face holding it's breath...looking all pouty} 

   So I continued to ask him,and tried to bargain with him and he WOULD.NOT.BUDGE. But lil O'l Kendall kept on trying and finally I offered him $50 dollars to take me. (I was saving up for my car at the moment. Ironic isn't it?) He told me that I was as stubborn and my sister. And that was sort of a compliment? I guess?

   In any case things worked out, I got a chance to hang out with my friend Ashley, her mother and her sisters. The trip was 2 hours, although not that long troublesome for someone with a vehicular transport...thing. We got a chance to go to the mall for a little while,we also both  got a chance to play Laser Tag for the first time. it was pretty fun!

   Afterwards we traveled to Nevada, MO if I'm not mistaken, as she wanted to look at a horse. Now from this point on, she has gotten me addicted to horseback riding! I'd never done it before, although I had wanted to for awhile. 

So these are a few pictures of me riding for the first time!

I don't care what anyone says, that horse tried to kill me. It simply did. It almost knocked me off but I managed to stay on and rode him a few more times afterwards. (His name was Whiskey btw)

It was a BLAST and I cannot wait until I get my own horse. But the mechanical steed known as a car comes first :(

It was a little chilly for riding that day, but still fun.

To leave a moral. As people say "If there's a will, there's a way" 

If you don't have the will, you'll make excuses not to do it.