Georgetown Cupcakes

March 29th through March 30th, I had a cheer competition in the National Harbor. The National Harbor is located right outside of D.C. On the way home Monday, my mom and I decided to stop by Georgetown Cupcakes. Georgetown Cupcakes is located in Washington D.C. Sisters, Katherine and Sophie, are the co-founders of Georgetown Cupcake and star on the hit series D.C Cupcakes on TLC. The sisters first decide to open shop in 2008. Katherine and Sophie's first shop to be opened was in Washington D.C. Since then they have expanded up and down the east coast.  Once my mom and I arrived to Georgetown, it was extremely hard to find a parking space. Finally finding a parking spot, we had to walk five block to the cupcake shop. Arriving at Georgetown Cupcakes, is was not surprising at all when we saw a big line coming out of the store. Standing in line was not to bad because you could smell the sweet delight of cupcakes every time the door was opened. When it was our turn to go into the door, my eyes got big with the sight of different types of cupcakes. Each day of the week, Georgetown Cupcakes has specials. Just my luck, on Mondays they have my favorite type of cupcake. My favorite cupcake is the peanut butter fudge. We ending up getting four peanut butter fudge, one red velvet, one chocolate coconut and one birthday cupcake. Once back in the car, my mom and I could not wait to dig in. Georgetown cupcakes never disappoint. Their cupcakes are so moist with sweet cream cheese icing. If ever driving through D.C, make sure to stop by Georgetown Cupcakes. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Week 10

The week after spring break is always a struggle. Going back to school after having a week off is very difficult. Plus Monday was a rainy dreary day. On and off all day it went between rain and freezing rain. It was such a crappy day; I could not make myself get out of bed. So instead I spent the day recovering from spring break and cuddling in bed. Sadly it continued to rain all the way through Wednesday. So on Wednesday it was still very difficult to get up, but this time I forced myself to. However, I did get some lovely Star Bucks with Cate to help me get through the day. When the time rolled around for Sweeney’s class, I was surprisingly pretty awake. That day we had to read “The Rape of the Lock” by Alexander Pope. At the beginning of class we discussed the elements of poetry and wrote them in a huge list of the board. After discussing these factors of poetry, the class got into five different groups. This time we were actually allowed to pick our groups and it went a lot smoother than normal. Once in our individual groups, each group was handed a work sheet with five questions. Each group got to pick one questioned they wanted to do. After answering our individual question, we shared our answers with the class. I believe the class went very smoothly. That was the end of the week for English, because of Friday Swenney canceled class. I thank him for allowing me to start my weekend early. 

Week 9

Happy spring break week everybody! I hope everyone is enjoying this lovely break away from school. I know I have thoroughly enjoyed a stress free week. Even though I was not lucky enough to go to Panama City or anything, I have gotten a lot of things done. On Monday I did some spring-cleaning. I cleaned my whole entire room from top to bottom. I dusted and polished all my furniture. I also set up a new piece of furniture in my room. Then I went through all my clothes and got rid of some. The rest I straightened up in the dresser and closet. Then I vacuumed and made my bed. Then on Tuesday I look advantage of the beautiful day. I washed my car. I call my car Fonda then Honda. She was quite dirty. I washed the outside and cleaned the outside. I always feel so much better when my car is clean. On Wednesday, it was another absolutely gorgeous day. I spent this day fishing on the pond with my boyfriend and best friend. Then the rest of the week I spent it just lounging around. Expect of Friday I took my boyfriend’s little bother lunch to school. After I ate lunch with him, I went to recess. At recess, I played four square with him and his friends. I was very upset though when Sunday rolled around. Not that spring break was over, but also because cold weather was coming back. I am so ready for summer and hotness!

Week 8

This was a very short week of Sweeney’s English 102 class. Monday, March 3, was canceled due to another snow storm. This snow storm was crazy because just the day before it was seventy degrees. I truly do not understand Virginia weather. It can be sunny and seventy-five one day, then the next be snowing and freezing. I have such sinus problems because of this bipolar weather. Though I am extremely tired of the snow, I was very happy that RBC closed both Monday and Tuesday. Having both of those days off the week before spring break was a blessing. When Wednesdays, March 5, rolled around another blessing came about. Sweeney sent out a lovely email informing the class that the rough draft on Glass Menagerie was not due to the Monday after spring break. This was a big stress relief because I have still yet to watch the movie. So in class on Wednesday, I guess Sweeney decide not to talk all class because of how rude the class was that last time we meet. He decided to type everything instead of talking. Throughout him typing questions, forcing the class to talk amongst ourselves. I had to say that it was not a bad idea. It made the class participate, well I should say some of the class to participate. I participated and gave my input as much as possible. However I do hope that after spring break, he will begin to engage in class again. I hope everyone enjoys their spring break and be safe! J

Week 7

Week seven of Sweeney’s class was a short week, due to Sweeney canceling class on Monday due to a stomach bug. I, however, was not complaining when I found this out Monday morning. Instead of going to English class, I came home and completed a lot of homework. This made me a lot less stressed. This week and next is particularly stressful due to a total of five tests, a paper and human sexuality packet all due within these two weeks. When hump day rolled around, Sweeney’s 102 English class finished watching the Glass Menagerie. During this Sweeney fell asleep. This made for some funny pictures that just had to be posted of a social media sites. However, I cannot blame Sweeney for falling asleep because the movie was not very interesting. I, myself, had a hard time paying attention. Therefore I am going to watch it again on Netflix before the rough draft is due. Finally it was Friday on this stressful week. The whole class defiantly had a Friday attitude.  Sweeney wanted to count us off into groups then play jeopardy with questions from Glass Menagerie. Counted off into groups took quite some time because the majority of the class feels like we are being babied when counted off into groups. I feel as if we are college students, we can get into groups ourselves. In four year universities the professor does not put his or her students into groups. If RBC's goal is to prepare students for four year universities, then we should not be counted off into groups. Professors should put trust in their students to put themselves into groups they will work well with. After the struggle of being put into groups, the class answered the jeopardy questions. Sweeney’s anger continued to grow throughout the class because it was obvious that no one had been reading the story. He finally just gave up and told everyone to leave. I love Sweeney’s class, but maybe if he did not baby us as much the class would be more willing to participate.

Outside Class Activity

For the ones that do not already know, I am a competitive cheerleader for Platinum Cheer Stars. Platinum Cheer Stars (PCS) is located in Dinwiddie Virginia and has been open for six years now.  I cheer on two teams at Platinum Cheer Stars: senior four and senior three. I also coach two teams as well as cheering. The two teams I coach are tinys level one and juniors level one. The girls I coach range from ages three to twelve. Quick background information of competitive cheering it is separated by ages and levels. The levels depend upon the difficulty of tumbling and stunts one can do. In total there are six levels of cheer-leading. The levels I cheer for are three and four. Level three tumbling consist of multiple standing backhand-springs, running round-off-backhand-spring-tucks and front punches. Level four tumbling consist of standing tucks, standing backhand-springs to tuck/ layout and  running round-off-backhand-spring-layout(I am aware most of you have no idea what these tricks are) .I am not even going to try to explain the different level of stunts because it is going to be quite difficult. Each team has a different routine that last two minutes and thirty seconds. The routine consist of tumbling, stunts, jumps and dance.

This last weekend, on February 22, 2014, I competed in Jamfest Nationals in Hampton Va. I had to arrive quite early on Saturday morning because that is when tinys and juniors went. My tiny team went up against a whopping eight teams. They ended up placing second. I was truly happy with this placement. My juniors however had no competition, therefore came out with a first place win. Then that night came my turn to compete. Senior three performed at 7:55 pm. When we went back to warm-ups, this is where every team would stretch and warm-up tumbling and stunts before competing, I was feeling pretty confident. My stunt group it the stunt perfectly and my tumbling was going smoothly. When it was time to take the mat, my nerves set it. I always get a little nerves even though I love being in front of a crowd. On stage two minutes and thirty seconds feels like forever.  Overall the routine went pretty smoothly, expect for some tumble touch downs and stunt bobbles. Due to these mess ups I had no idea how we would place out of seven teams.  We ended up coming in second place. I was happy with this placement because our routine was not perfect, therefore we did not deserve anything better. Then it came time for senior four which competed at 8:40. This time in warm ups my nerves came quite early. I was already wore out due to just getting off the mat, plus my stunts were shaky during warm-ups. Before I knew it I was stepping out onto the mat for the second time. I instantly removed the tired look from my face and smiled confidently. When the routine was over I was quite disappointed in myself and my team. We could have performed a lot better. We had stunt falls and bobbles in stunt groups that never fall. This made me extremely worried because we were going against our rivals Richmond Twisters, and I knew we had to beat them. When awards rolled around I was overcome with nervousness. With surprised however, we ended up in second place out of five teams. I was happy with this placement for two reason: one we beat Richmond twisters and two we did not deserve first due to our not the best performance. At the end of the day I was content and extremely wore out.

Before judging whether or not cheer-leading is a sport one should come to a cheer competition.  Each cheerleader most be extremely athletic to be able to perform these action packed routines.  I am a firm believer that competitive cheer-leading is a sport and should be respected. 

Week 5

Happy Valentines Day Everyone! I love Valentines Day because two days later it is my birthday. I will finally be the big eighteen. I will thoroughly enjoy not having a curfew, being able to buy lottery tickets, club and vote. I am upset about my birthday is on a Sunday though, because a lot of these activities will have to wait. Well during this week of Sweeney’s English 102 was quite unsuccessful.  Monday, February 10^th,  class was canceled due to Sweeney having a sinus infection. I did enjoy going home after biology. Then on Wednesday, the only day we actually had class, the class got into groups to look over our rough drafts. Within each group, each person had to read aloud his or her story while others in the group wrote down their initial thoughts about the piece. Then each person in the group looked over someone else’s paper for grammatical errors. Later on Wednesday night is when the snow began. I was overcome with happiness when I found out Richard Bland would be closed on Thursday. Though I was upset on Thursday when it rained all day because I could not play in the snow. However all that sadness went away when it turned to snow. Within an hour of heavy snow, Richard Bland closed school for Friday. So therefore Sweeney’s class could not meet Friday. I am super happy about having a four day weekend. What a great birthday present! Thank you Richard Bland! J

Week 4

It’s my birthday month! WHOO HOO! As the semester continues on, it becomes even harder to attend class in this awfully cold weather. Once the weather warms up I believe school will not be as miserable. I dread walking to and from classes in the blistering cold wind. To make it worse all this rain we have been having. I really need to invest in a pair of hunter rain boots. However, I cannot bring myself to spend $145 on rain boots. I cannot wait until the weather is a warm seventy-five. Now I will discuss another lovely week at Richard Bland College. Week four of Sweeney’s English 102 class was used to catch up on discussions, brainstorming, taking time to blog in class and looking at Sweeney’s adorable children.

On Monday the third, we did an in class activity on the two stories the class read. The two stories were “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor and “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe. The class split into two groups. Each group had a different story. Each group then answered questions about their stories and then discussed their answers with the other group. Then on Wednesday the fifth we brainstormed for our upcoming paper. The paper is about comparing ourselves to a character in a story we had read. Last of Friday the seventh we worked on our blogs and look at Sweeney’s precious kids. His baby girl is the cutest.

Thank goodness another week is done. I continue to count down the days to spring break! J

Week 3

We can all admit that week three of Sweeney’s English 102 was pretty pointless. This week consisted of three main events. Truly only one of these events were enjoyable. The three events consisted of Monday: going to the library with the entire class, Wednesday: having a snow day and Friday: a lovely class discussion on our reading. I am sure you can guess which one was enjoyable!On Monday the entire class took a trip to the community room near the library. Once arrived we found out that we were going to be participating in a lovely scavenger hunt throughout the library. The whole class was overcame with joy in the news of this to say the least. Sweeney’s class was then separated into four teams, which we were not allowed to pick ourselves, then sent out into the library to find a series of things.  Once completing this scavenger hunt, each team had to present their findings in front of the class. This whole activity was completely pointless because I am sure each of us had the same presentation in English 101. It was so incompetent that I felt as if I were in high school again. Then on Wednesday the ground was covered enough that RBC actually closed school, which was quite shocking. I thoroughly enjoyed my day full of snow. Last on Friday we actually meet for a good reason. Behind in our discussion though, we discussed Monday’s reading. Monday’s reading was “The Chrysanthemum,” which like past stories, was difficult to understand. After a long and hard to stay on topic talk about this story we came to a conclusion. The main woman was frustrated with her life because her husband only saw her on the outside.
Week three started off slow but began to pick up the pace on Friday. Even though it was hard to discuss the story because we were all so chatted we manage to get to the main point. What a lovely week! 

Week 2

The first week of the 2014 spring semester has past. All the fun of going over syllabuses are over. English 102 had a slow start to it. Beginning with an elaborate overview of the course and a contract each student must sign. Each student would contract for the grade he or she would like to receive in this particular class. Another big aspect of English 102 with professor Sweeney is blogging. Once a week, the students must blog about the reading, class discussion or approved topics. After a couple days of going over this interesting stuff and creating a blog, we began discussing the reading. In class we discussed “How to Become a Writer” and “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven”. I missed the discussion of “The Yellow Wallpaper” due to the snowstorm we had on Tuesday 21, 2014. Also, I was absent from the discussion of “Hills Like White Elephants” because I was not feeling the best.

            I shall do a quick overview of the readings I was there to discuss.  Each story was extremely difficult to follow and understand. Through the discussion of class, I began to read in-between the lines and fine the true meaning of each story. In the story “How to Become a Writer,” a woman is struggling with writing stories that have a meaningful plot. In consequence the story itself was without a plot. It was very choppy and difficult to follow. The title truly had nothing to do with the story because it did not give steps in which to follow on how to become a writer. The next story I was there to discuss was “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.” This story was about an Indian man having troubles with finding his place in society. He also struggled a lot with race. The title actually went with this story. The Lone Ranger is an Indian man which symbolized the young man in the story. Tonto, which is the Lone Ranger white side-kick, symbolized the social races in this story. The fistfight part symbolized his continuous fight to figure out which race he belong to. I truly have no idea about the heaven part though.

            Week one and two of English 102 was a success. I enjoy class discussion and I also thankful for them. I am thankful for them because they give better understandings of the stories.