It’s almost summertime, and I finally got a chance to come back and visit all my friends at 11Alive. And what’s summertime without my dad and Backyard Weather?
Dad brought me to this year’s first BW, which is right here at 11Alive.
There’s Dad with the guys who are working the grill. They have chicken, pork, and ribs, and I even got to eat some… though I had to wait my turn, just like everyone else.
This is some of the stuff they put on the barbecue.
Everyone at the station walked in on Dad’s weather report just to get their share. I got mine pretty close to the start, and it was awesome.
Steven, who’s normally working with Valerie, took some video of me hanging out, and as soon as I learn how to use the system Dad uses to put up his video, I’ll post it here on my blog.
See you soon!
Last night was the Championship Finals! I hope some of you watched it on TV, because it was really intense and cool. I was in the audience, and I got to see it UP CLOSE! If you watched it, you’ll know that Kavya Shivashankar of Kansas won the 2009 National Spelling Bee. She got 4th place last year, and she was incredibly knowledgeable about the words. Kavya has been in the Nationals four times and has gotten to the Finals four times! Congratulations Kavya! Last year’s runner-up, Sidharth Chand, was expected to win, but surprisingly, he got out on the word ‘apodyterium’. He did a fantastic job, too. I had a relaxing and fun day today. My family and I went to the National Zoo for the afternoon. I especially liked the sloth bears, fishing cats, and tenrecs. And if you don’t know what a tenrec is, look it up. Put that dusty dictionary to use. Anyway, tonight is the big fancy banquet! I think it’ll be really fun. I can’t wait to get home, see my friends, and enjoy the summer to its full extent!
~~Julia~~
Yesterday was a rather nerve-racking day! Round Two began pretty early in the morning, and Round Three was only a few hours later. Oh yeah, I got back my score from Round One (the written round). There were 50 words, but only 25 were graded. I made 4 mistakes, and unfortunately, ALL WERE GRADED!!! : ( My score was 21 out of 25. The words in Rounds Two and Three were 3 points each. Everyone got one word in Round Two and one word in Round Three. I spelled both of my words correctly (yay!). After that, my total score was 27. Still hanging in there? Later, they announced the Semifinalists. Last year, there were about 100 Semifinalists. This year, they said there would be a MAXIMUM of 50 Semifinalists!!! They actually cut it down to 41 Semifinalists. I tied for 42nd place with 27 points, while the cutoff was 28 points: ( I missed it by one point!!! I’m disappointed, but I did my best, and I will definitely try again next year. Today is the day of the Semifinals and the Championship Finals, and I think I’ll go to watch them. There are some kids that are much better sports than others, and I’d like to see them win. Thank you so much for all your positive support! However, it’s not over yet. There is a fancy banquet on Friday and a party on Thursday. Woo hoo!
**Julia** =’.'=
Check out the results of the Spelling Bee: http://public.spellingbee.com/public/results/2009/round_results.
As of now, Julia is still in it, having correctly spelled “crucial”.
Today was the day of the barbecue! We went out in a bus to a park in McLean, Virginia. It was pretty awesome. There were volleyball, baseball and soccer courts and inflatable thingamabobs (it’s amazing, I’m in the spelling bee but I don’t know the proper word for those big bouncy things), along with craft tables, face painting, and karaoke. I was too chicken to sing at the karaoke, though! While I was getting my arm painted with a cute bee (did I mention that they did arm and hand painting, too?), some people from ABC came over to interview me. I spoke with a lot of nice, normal kids, which was a relief. An ESPN reporter also came up to me earlier in the morning and asked me to spell supercalifragilisticexpialidocous for her. Sweet! Tomorrow is Round One, the written round. There are 50 words, but only 25 are graded, for some strange reason. Wish me luck!!!
~~Julia~~ ♣ Luck of the Irish!
Today I went to the International Spy Museum with my family. We spent a few hours there, and it was really interesting! The best part was when you assumed a fake identity and had to keep up your cover. There were whole exhibits on disguises, equipment, famous spies, and etcetera. However, I decided that I wouldn’t like to be a female James Bond because it’s too dangerous : ) Later, I registered for the spelling bee. I got a National Spelling Bee autograph book at the registry because, apparently, it is a tradition for the spellers to autograph each others’s books. I met a bunch of really nice kids at the autographing session. Hopefully I’ll make some new friends! Tomorrow is the Great American Barbecue. Sounds like FUN!!!
~Julia Denniss, secret agent 008
Yesterday was my last day of school at St. Jude : ( I said many sad goodbyes to my friends and teachers. The teachers were all fantastic, and I know I will see my friends over the summer. Sixth grade has been a great year for me! Today, I got up at a miserably early hour and flew to Washington, D.C, arriving in the afternoon. The hotel, the Grand Hyatt, is beautiful and pretty cool. Thank you Georgia Association of Educators!!! On the way there, I saw a army of leather-clad, metal-studded bikers and bikerettes at the Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Convention. I could be wrong, but I don’t think they’re here for the Spelling Bee. It would be great to see them in the audience, though : ) I also took a walk to the mall with my family today and saw the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument at sunset. I will get some pictures on this blog when the program stops acting up and lets me get the picture to normal size!
~~Julia~~
I have had a fantastic couple of days! Matt Pearl, a reporter with WXIA, came to interview me at my school, and I was really excited. Then, I went on the WXIA Morning Live Show and was interviewed live on TV. The best part was quizzing Jill Becker, Chesley McNeil, and Donna Lowry. Everyone was so kind and friendly at the station, and it was so cool to see the set… there’s a lot going on behind the scenes! I will be leaving for Washington, D.C very soon, but I’ll still be blogging! I am so happy to have the opportunity to compete in the spelling bee (and to be on television, how cool is that?). I look forward to representing my school, St. Jude the Apostle, and the state of Georgia (I’m also hoping to have some fun and do some sightseeing in Washington!).
~Julia~ : )
These tweets are from when I was covering the Silver Comet Trail trial. They’re in reverse time order. If you want to follow me on Twitter, click here. I’ll post more tweets a little later in the day, too.
***
Michael ledford will go to crime scene, since it’s part of his trial. Will not be on trail w/ jury. Defense said he’ll stay in car.
about 1 hour ago
School bus is waiting to take jurors to crime scene after lunch break. Defense atty tells me he really wants to do closing arguements today
about 1 hour ago
Jury going home to get shoes, etc. For trip to comet trail. Back in court at 11:35.
10 minutes ago
Trip to crime scene will show where body was found, were items (clothing, etc.) were found, where trail meets nearby dirt road.
21 minutes ago
Media pool camera will go to scene with court & jury with limited access (50 to 100 feet from jury- will not show jurrors).
24 minutes ago
Judge: Jury WILL go to scene of silver comet trail murder.sheriff’s dept. Getting site ready right now. Removing memorial for jury’s trip.
30 minutes ago
1991 rape victim testifies for state in silver comet trail murder case. ‘he grabbed me and lead me into the woods’ she says of Ledford.
35 minutes ago
Lawyers conferencing with judge on request to take jury to site of silver comet trail murder where 53 yr. Old jennifer ewing was killed.
about 1 hour ago
Silver comet murder trail: judge ‘mulling over’ state’s request to take jury to crime scene. DNA expert on stand now.
about 1 hour ago
The non profit Environmental Working Groups says these are the foods most likely to contain pesticides even after they are washed.
The “Dirty Dozen”: Must-buy organic foods
Fruit
· Apples
· Cherries
· Grapes, imported (Chili)
· Nectarines
· Peaches
· Pears
· Raspberries
· Strawberries
Vegetables
Bell peppers
Celery
Potatoes
Spinach
Bank of America is starting up its museum promotion again. The first full weekend of the month, people who have a Bank of America ATM, credit or check card get free admission to Zoo Atlanta, The Atlanta Botanical Garden, the Atlanta History Center, Fernbank Museum of Natural History and Millennium Gate. The next weekend of this promotion is June 6th and 7th.
Home Depot is offering free classes throughout the month of May on both gardening and tile work. Go to homedepot.com for schedules and to sign up.
Actor Stephen Baldwin will be whipping up smoothies at Planet Smoothie in Buckhead on Wednesday, May 6th from 5am to 8am.
The first 100 customers during that time period at the Peach Shopping Center will receive a free smoothie and an autograph. Baldwin is promoting the TV show “I’m a Celebrity, get me out of here.”
Atlantaonthecheap.com reports the Adios Café on Walker Street downtown is offering free coffee from 7 to 9 in the morning if you ask for it.
Beauty samples, including Dove and Ponds products are at ViveMejor.com
And if you still need a boost you can get a sample of a new energy drink called Revida at healingamerica.com
And print free coupons on 11alive.com and Atlanta.momslikeme.com
There is a brand new blog out there that I LOVE! http://www.iheartpublix.com/ This is the brainchild of Douglasville resident Michelle Atwood, who has been featured on 11Alive News twice. Michelle started a coupon club in Douglas county and also participated in a grocery shopping makover with us back around November. Her new blog tells you what’s on sale at publix and where to get all the coupons to maximize the deals. You can even print the coupons right from her website. Go Michelle!
I’m off to speak at the Save More Than Money Workshop in Alpharetta!
PS I tweeted this but in case you are not on Twitter, hanging flower baskets on sale at Home Depot 2 for 5.00. Sweet Deal!
PS Thanks to all you viewers who watched our Ways to Save Special Wednesday Night!
Hope you got some VALuable info!
