Born This Way

Can I just say that other than the lack of Finchel, I absolutely adored tonight's episode of Glee?
First, I thought it tackled real life issues head on.  I've been disappointed in some recent episodes (A Night of Neglect, Comeback, Special Education, etc.)  As one who's always been insecure about my looks, it was nice to see how they handled it and how at the end everyone came to accept the things they like least about themselves.
I love the budding friendship between Rachel and Quinn.  I always thought those two would make a good pair and this episode had some great moments between them.  Loved their duet!
Also thrilled that Kurt is back at McKinley!  The ND weren't the same without him.  I will miss the Warblers - liked their goodbye song and hope it doesn't hurt Klaine.  Loved the Furt hug during the goodbye song.
And as much as I hate Fuinn as a couple with a burning passion, when Lauren put those nasty posters of Quinn (or should I say, Lucy?) all over the school, I loved how sweet Finn was to her.  I felt really bad for her - nobody should have their embarrassing past depicted for the world to see.
Although they weren't officially together, I did love the Finchel moments - Finn telling Rachel she's beautiful and taking her to the doctor and feeling so bad about hitting her in the face.  Hopefully they'll be back together soon!
So, great episode!  If you missed it tonight, watch it tomorrow online.  You won't be disappointed.

Happy Easter!

"I want to color an orange one first!" Kit shouted.
"No, I want to be the first one to color an orange egg!" Molly yelled.
*sigh* Those two have been fighting almost nonstop lately.  This morning we were coloring Easter eggs and they started lashing out at each other almost RIGHT AWAY.
The annoying thing is, then they're best friends after five minutes.
They both agreed to do orange.
The rest of us each did a separate color.
So, these were how it turned out: Molly and Kit both took orange ones, then it was blue for Natalie, pink for Erin, green for Emma, purple for Hannah and yellow for me.
Simone hid the eggs so we could do a photoshoot for an early Easter youtube video, but we'll have our real hunt tomorrow.
AND we'll FINALLY get to eat candy again!!!
Here's the video of us hunting for the eggs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJTLLmBU258&feature=channel_video_title
Movie Maker STILL isn't working so she had to record it on her camera from her computer, so the quality isn't that good.
An early Happy Easter!!!

"Will you two make up your mind already?"

Natalie's exact words regarding Jake and me on the way home from school today.
Jake and I brought down the house with our duet at Severance last week.  Lots of people assumed we were a couple.
The next day at school I asked him if he considered us a couple.  He said he has strong feelings for me, stronger than he's ever had for a girl, but he doesn't think he can get into relationships right now.  He's stressed out about starting at Loyola.  Graham's still giving him crap.  His family's been through a lot lately.  He "needs time to sort out my life" before he can have a girlfriend again.
I guess we're like Finn and Rachel from Glee, as our friends say.  We always have feelings for each other, even when we're with other people, but we don't always know what to do with them.
But we're meant to be together.  At least that's what I think.
Hopefully he'll be ready to be my boyfriend soon.
I asked him if he thinks we'll eventually be together.  His response?
"If we didn't still have feelings for each other after everything we've been through, no.  But since we do, yes."
I asked him if he thinks he'll end up dating a girl at Loyola's sister school next year.
His response?
"I don't want to date other girls, Kylie.  Only you.  I'll just let you know when I'm ready."

The Big Night

Finally, we had the big concert.
The one we spent ALL YEAR getting ready for.
The one we spent over 200 hours practicing for (yes, I calculated).
The one people spent hours arguing about solos for.
The one the district spent over $25,000 on.
The one that took place at the home of the Cleveland Orchestra.
Anyways, it was tonight.
It opened with a performance by an alumni band, then the gospel choir, then the jazz band.  Then came the elementary honor choir.  They sang three songs and I watched them, to see Molly and Kit.
Next came the middle school honor band.  Which included me (clarinet), Hannah (flute), Natalie (violin), Erin (viola) and Emma (French horn).  I think we did well on our three pieces.  Despite everything, I managed to hang on to first clarinet chair.
After the middle school honor band came the middle school honor choir.  Can I say I've never been more nervous in my entire life before Jake and I opened with our duet?  Right before we started he smiled at me and said, "Break a leg!"  I looked back at him and said, "You too!"
Turned out we killed it!  The crowd was on its feet.  He offered me his hand when we went back to join the rest of the choir.
Our other two songs went well, and the high school orchestra and choir were AMAZING!  I can't believe next year I'll be with those groups....
Anyways - what a night!  Pretty special!

Crazy weekend

This weekend was Lil Sibs weekend at Simone's school.  So Simone's brother Gianni and her cousins Allie and Julie came down.  As you can expect, the room was pretty full.
The fun part was that Allie brought her Nellie, Nicki and Elizabeth down :)  So we hung out with them.  They hadn't met Erin and Emma yet so we hung out with them.  We went off on our own while Simone hung out with her brother and cousins.  We had lots of fun!  In the morning we went to an animal show in one of the dorms and did some sand art there.  We had lunch at the rec center and in the afternoon we played on the inflatables there and went swimming.  We also hung out in Simone's room and watched some Glee.  Right before dinner we tie dyed t-shirts and then had dinner in one of the dining halls.  After dinner we went bowling, went to see "Tangled" and watched some more Glee.  It was a little noisy at night, so we're kind of tired, but everyone went home.
(Oh, and Simone's very proud of the fact that she's turned her brother and cousins into Gleeks and Finchel shippers.  She does everything in her power to make everyone she knows into an Evan Lysacek fan and a Finchel shipper.)
Tomorrow is the big concert - I'm a little nervous but super excited!

I spent last night with the three hottest guys ever. Be jealous.

Let me just tell you that last night was, by far, the best night of my life.
Stars On Ice was fantastic.  Better than it was in Chicago.  Not just because I went with Jake (yes, I still do love Simone, Hannah, Erin and Emma).
Jake and I went down almost right after school and took the train.  (As we did on what I consider our first date.....)
The meet and greet arrival was similar to how it was in Chicago - a bunch of people crowded in the lobby.  It was chaotic.  I didn't expect this one to be as crowded because Chicago is so much bigger than Cleveland.  I just hoped this one wouldn't be a dud like the Chicago one.
After Jake and I got our passes I was literally shaking.  I was scared.  Jake asked me if I was okay.  I told him I was fine.  He said he knew I wasn't.  I told him I was just nervous.  He told me I'd be okay.
We were led to the area to watch skaters warm up.  One by one, they entered the ice for their warmups.  Michael Weiss.  Katerina Gordeeva.  Todd Eldredge.  Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto.  Jamie Sale and David Pelltier.  Sasha Cohen.  RYAN BRADLEY!!  And FINALLY - EVAN LYSACEK!!!!
"Oh my God!" I gasped.  "Jake, just look at them!  Both of them!"
"Sorry Kylie, I don't play for that team," Jake said.
The warmup ended and the skaters went backstage.  The staff member told us that anytime, they'd be bringing out our meet and greet skaters.
"Hopefully this will be money well spent," I said to Jake.  "The meet and greet in Chicago was a rip off."
"I know, you've told me that," Jake said with a laugh.
The staff member came out again.  "We're ready for you guys now," she said.  "Line up here."
When we got in line, I could swear I was hyperventilating.  "Are you okay?" the person behind me asked.
"Yeah," I said.
"Okay, because your boyfriend probably won't want to stick with you if you get this excited over other guys," she said.
Jake and I both laughed at that.  Little does she know, we aren't official yet....
Finally, we got to the meet and greet room.  Where EVAN LYSACEK and RYAN BRADLEY were at the meet and greet table.  I screamed silently.
Jake smiled at me and said, "I hope you're happy."
"Oh, believe me, I am," I said.
The line kept moving and finally, Jake and I reached the table.  "Hi, I'm Jake," Jake said.  "This is Kylie.  She's a little overexcited."
"Hi, Jake.  Hi Kylie," Evan said with a big smile.
"Hi Evan.  Hi Ryan," I managed to squeak.  I handed Evan the SKATING magazine covering his Olympic win and I handed Ryan the SKATING magazine covering his Nationals win.
"I can tell you're a loyal fan if you have these," Evan said.
"Oh, she is," Jake said.  "I just have the program."  He put his program on the table.
"So, you're Kylie, right?" Ryan said.  "K-Y-L-I-E?"
"Yeah," I said.  I took pictures of them signing my stuff.
"Kylie, calm down," Jake said.
"She's fine," Ryan said, handing me my magazine.  I looked at it: "To Kylie - love and best wishes!  Ryan Bradley."
Then Evan handed me the magazine: "All the best Kylie!  XX Evan Lysacek."
"Thank you both!" I said.
"Thank YOU!" Evan said.  "Will we be taking pictures, too?"
"Yup," I said.
"You can go first," Jake said.
"Thanks," I said.  I stood between Evan and Ryan and put one arm around each of them.  I think it was the biggest I ever smiled.
After Jake took his picture, I gave Evan and Ryan each a hug and thanked them.
"Thank you, both of you," Evan said.
"It was great to meet you guys," Ryan said.  "Enjoy the show."
"Was that great or what?" I said.
"Pretty awesome," Jake said.
The show flew by and all the skating was fantastic.  The night ended WAY too soon though.