Hope your Thanksgivings have been great! We both had some delicious food and had good times with our families tonight. Unfortunately we aren’t together for this one, but maybe next year. Monty is off visiting his family in Kentucky. When I called him about 10 minutes ago he was walking around Walmart waiting for the Black Friday sales. That was the last thing I ever expected him to do haha. I’m sitting at home right now. We had our meal with family and friends and then watched A Christmas Carol. Afterwards, I watched two shows on the Food Network and now I’m debating whether or not I want to go to Target at 5 am. Probably not though. My money supplies are really limited lately. Hope everyone else had a good night!!!

This summer, I will be traveling to Costa Rica with my best friend. This is no ordinary vacation, however. We will be participating in over 80 hours of community service and conservation work. I am doing this through an organization called International Student Volunteers. Here are some examples of some of the activities I’ll be doing:

• Animals, Buffer Zones and Natural Reserves
• Community Support Projects
• Art in Communities
• Animal Conservation, Research and Scientific Monitoring

Volunteers in Costa Rica

I can’t wait to go to Costa Rica and make a difference. To think I could aid in saving an endangered species or helping a community really excites me. There is a downside though. In order to go on this trip I have to find a way to raise $3,295 PLUS my airfare. I have a lot of fundraising ideas. One of them was the creation of this website: www.firstgiving.com/emilyhoward

This is my own personal donation website. If you would like to donate (ALL amounts are appreciated!!!) please visit my site. I would greatly greatly appreciate it. Thank you!!!

Franki Nichol Triano, 21, of Leawood, Kan., passed away on October 27, 2009, in Rhode Island. Visitation and services will be held at St. Peter’s Catholic Church at Meyer Boulevard and Holmes. Visitation from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, with rosary at 4 p.m. Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Monday. Franki was born on August 25, 1988, in Kansas City, Mo. She attended St. Peter’s grade school in Kansas City and graduated in 2003. She then attended St. Teresa’s in Kansas City, Mo., for one year, and proceeded to graduate from Shawnee Mission East in 2007. Franki was attending Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., as a junior this year. Franki possessed a spirit so alive and untamed, a smile so contagious and dimples so recognizable. She lived life full of enthusiasm and passion. Her disposition on life was something to be envied. She was a little firecracker; her presence could ignite excitement and joy in the hearts of all of us as well as everyone she met. Franki possessed a natural gift for culinary arts, as she received 2nd place in a nationwide scholarship competition to Johnson & Wales. She had the talent and wit to excel in all endeavors and challenges she met head on. Franki will be missed more than words can describe. Franki is survived by her parents, Nick and Deborah Triano; her sisters, Taylor Triano and Maggie Triano; her maternal grandfather, Duane Downer; her paternal grandparents, John and JoAnn Triano, and many aunts, uncles, and many friends. Well she’s walking through the clouds With a circus mind that’s running round Butterflies and zebras And moonbeams and fairytales That’s all she ever thinks about Riding with the wind. When I’m sad, she comes to me With a thousand smiles, she gives to me free It’s alright she says it’s alright Take anything you want from me, Anything. Fly on little wing, Yeah yeah, yeah, little wing. Arrangements: Passantino Bros. Funeral Home, (816) 471-2844.

On Monday, my friend Ally and I went to The National to see our absolute favorite band AFI and a band from England called Gallows. I have to say it was one of the best days of my life.

First, Gallows opened up for AFI. Ally and I had never heard them before, but heard them online. We didn’t like what we heard so we weren’t really excited. One more obstacle between us and our favorite band. We were very wrong however. Gallows was simply put, awesome. What really impressed me was that the singer got off stage with the mic, walked into the middle of the crowd and had us form a circle around him. Then he invited us to mosh and sing with him. At first only two or three kids were really going crazy but then it grew into a huge circle pit. It was so cool. We were on the very inside of the circle so most of the time the singer was only about two feet away from us. I probably would have joined in on the circle pit if i wasn’t so afraid for my life haha. Then he crowd surfed. Let me tell you, it is a pretty frightening thing when some rockstar’s butt is coming at your face and you’re supposed to keep him in the air when you don’t even have enough muscle to lift your own backpack. He stayed up there though and all was good Then when he did get back onstage after about 30 minutes the drummer called his girlfriend on stage and proposed to her. It was SO CUTE!!! I almost cried haha.

THEN AFI was up. After waiting in suspense for about another 20 minutes they came on. We screamed so loud I’m surprised I still have a voice. They played a perfect mix of all the songs I love and looked god-like. I was in ecstasy. We had a great time singing and dancing to every song and looking at our angel, Davey Havok. He is beyond amazing. His voice is sent from above. It was Euphoric. They all looked great and played even better. The excitement in the crowd was so great. It was the happiest I’ve been in a really really really long time. Unfortunately I forgot my camera, but I found some pretty good videos on youtube ( a little shaky, but what do you expect at a concert?) if you would like to relive my amazing night.

Blue Ridge Parkway

Even though I’ve been feeling kind of sick lately I would like to express my great excitement for the fact that Fall is here! Fall is by far one of the best seasons ever. Lately temperatures have been dropping around here and I’ve been able to bring out some of my favorite clothes. I love more textured clothes and layering. There are also so many fall activities that I love to do (especially with Monty). Here are some examples:

• State Fair
• Taking a walk outside in the crisp fall air
• Driving around (maybe to the mountains?) to see the foliage
• Halloween
• Thanksgiving
• Getting delicious smelling fall themed candles (Yankee Candle Factory has the best ones)
• Going out to eat (its just more fun in fall)
• Shopping!
• Cuddling and watching a movie
• Sitting by the fire
• Christmas shopping (I do most of mine in fall)
• First frost of the year
• Decorating for holidays
• Corn mazes
• Halloween themes at amusement parks
• Pumpkin picking
• Cooking delicious fall food
• Taking lots of pictures with Monty

I’m so excited!

World Wildlife Foundation

Hey everyone,

Just letting you know we got a new widget which raises money for the World Wildlife Fund to help slow the amount of greenhouse gases released. This cause is very important to us because it gives a voice and helping hand to those who cannot help themselves, our world’s plants and animals. Now that we are realizing the consequences of our environmental actions, it is necessary that we fix our wrongdoings. Greenhouse gases are harmful to our wildlife and planet and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t help out. You can help out for free by clicking on the WWF link on the bottom left of our side toolbar. Thanks for supporting the Earth!

Also, here’s a mini update on us: We’re going to the state fair on Friday! We’ll take lots of pictures and post them up here soon.

Before I went to Cape Cod this year, my brother convinced me to go to the DAV. Normally I would have said no because I’m never been able to find anything of interest, but this time I agreed. When I got there I was amazed at all of the used books that they had. I picked out two, Memoirs of a Geisha, which I’m not quite done with yet, and this book, Prep. I had always wanted to read this book, but was never willing to fork over the money to pay for it. Now with a price of only $1.99, I couldn’t say no.

I have to say this book was one of the best books I have ever read. This novel, by Curtis Sittenfeld, is a true page turner. I stayed up hours every night reading it. The story starts off with a girl named Lee Fiora and is set in what I think is the late 80s (the author never really makes this clear). Lee, from Southbend, Indiana, applies to the prestigious Ault Academy, which is a boarding school near Boston, and to her surprise gets in. Her father drops her off for her freshman year when she is fourteen and she moves into her dorm.

Throughout the book, Lee experiences roomate problems, friendship, embarassment, frustration, and her first relationships with boys. Fitting in at Ault is not easy for Lee, who was once outgoing and popular at her old school. Unlike most of the other students, Lee is at Ault on a scholarship. She does not fit in with the rich crowd, who take extravagent vacations and pay thousands of dollars on a day trip or laundry service. Through the novel you can see changes in the character who goes from a shy girl who does everything in her power to avoid detection, to someone who is developing as a person and begins to do things you would never expect of her.

One of the reasons I really loved this book was because it was so real. Every night when I picked it up I was so anxious to see what would happen in Lee’s life next. It was like she was a real person, one of my friends. Every twist and turn her life took, I felt like I was there with her. I felt what she felt. The author’s writing style, in my opinion, was absolutely flawless. Since everything seemed so real, the story was very powerful.

So what can you expect from Prep?

1. To experience along with Lee, the joys and pitfalls of high school. What it’s like to feel left out, and what it feels like to gain your first friend.
2. A clear division of classes, Lee’s life at Ault on scholarship vs. the lives of the rich students
3. Intriguing characters who capture your attention, like they would try to in real life
4. A journey in Lee’s life from a weak to strong person
5. First romances with someone seemingly out of Lee’s league (even though it wasn’t very romantic)
6. Comments Lee makes publicly that throw her onto everyone in her school’s radar, the opposite of what she wants
7. Surprising twists and turns

I don’t think anything I can say will really do this book justice. The only way you can find out is to go read it for yourself. I highly highly recommend it!