The Conned Princess

It’s finally time for the epic night to come around again. It is the night that young girls look forward to since they enter the world of school. It is the night that a girl gets the chance to look like a princess and go on a date with there high school sweet heart. That’s right it is time for prom once again. But is this year going to break every teenage girl’s wallet?

How much do you think girls are willing to spend on a dress? Is it around fifty dollars, a hundred dollars, two hundred dollars?? No most HCHS girls have been spending close to four or five hundred dollars on a dress. It seems that since there is such a lack of stores around this area teens have been going to stores like Glam to get there dresses. At stores like this the chances of you getting a dress fewer than three hundred and fifty dollars are almost slim to none. So I, Kelsey McDaniel, am posing the question. Is it just simply the fact that girls spend this much money cause they have to or is it teen girls looking for a materialistic item that will provide them with one night of feeling like a princess?

Well yes it is true that stores do price dresses high, but stores such as Glam are not the only stores that sell these dresses. There are many stores that sell cheaper dresses even in a reasonable driving distance. These stores are ones that many people here are familiar with and ones that girls maybe are not. When a girl is going dress shopping they are aware of the fact that they are going to have to spend some money. The problem is that teenage girls tend to look past the fact of the price and more towards how they look in the dress. Which is perfectly reasonable, you want to look good in the dress, but what you want to do is find a happy medium, a medium between price and brand.

Okay girls are you ready for this… I have one word, bargains. Yes it is possible to find a dress for a hundred dollars or less. Here are some ways. You can go to a half and half store and buy a nice used dress. Go online and buy one off of eBay or Craig’s list. There’re always stores such as Deb that aim for low prices. Also there is always the option of asking a graduated girl about borrowing there dress for the night. Than there is a possibility that if you have some one in your family or a close friend who is good at sewing. They could make a dress for you. All you have to do is pay like a hundred dollars for the fabric. There’re many ways to avoid spending to much money.

Basically girls I am trying to encourage all of you to not buy the first dress you try on. Take your time. So based on the facts that I have just given you I leave you with the question. Is it just simply the fact that girls spend this much money cause they have to or is it teen girls looking for a materialistic item that will provide them with one night of feeling like a princess? What do you think?

Brelje Family History

This week's blog is, of course, about the history of my family. My father's side was pretty simple, but I must say, my mother's side took a lot of digging. After shuffling through many, many ancient papers, I was finally able to come up with some interesting information.

My mother, Becky's, maiden name was Tolyan. Her mother is JoAnn Tolyan. JoAnn's maiden name was Oppedahl. JoAnn's parents were Bernice Hove (Oppedahl) and Gilbert Oppedahl. Bernice's parents were Bertha Hove (Nelson) and Peter A. Hove, and Gilbert's parents were John Oppedahl and Lillian Andrews. Bertha Nelson's parents were Iver Nelson and Ingeborg Oppedahl. Iver and Ingeborg emigrated from Vik, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. They came to the US in 1869. Peter A. Hove's parents were Anna Lewis and Peter J. Hove. The Hove's emmigrated from Norway to the US in 1872. Peter J. Hove had seven children by his first wife and two by his second wife. He served in the Norwegian army for six weeks as a soldier. They came to the Clear Lake township of Iowa on May 25, 1872. Most of my relatives from my mother's side settled around the Clear Lake, Iowa area. An interesting story about my mom's family is that my great grandma married an Oppedahl, and it turns out that her grandma was an Oppedahl as well. That means that her and her husband were actually distantly related.

My mom's dad was James Tolyan. His parents were Katherine Galetich of Croatia and Emil Tolyan of Germany. Katherine emmigrated to the US from Croatia to what is now the town of Madrid, Iowa. There, she met my great grandpa, Emil, and they got married. That side of my family stayed in Madrid, Iowa until my grandma, JoAnn, moved to Boone. My mother grew up in Madrid.

My father's side of the family is not near as extensive or interesting because they all come from the same place, Germany. On my dad's side I am 100% German. My dad's parents are Larry Brelje and Karen Brelje (Eggerding). Larry grew up in California, and his parents were Clara Paulus and Edwin Brelje. Edwin's family initially lived in Steelville, Illinois, which was about 60 miles from Redbud, Illinois. When Edwin was a small boy, the Brelje family all went to California. Karen grew up in Redbud, Illinois. This is where most of the Eggerdings originally immigrated to, and some remain there to this day. Karen's parents were Edwin Eggerding and Leona Hitzemann. Both Leona and Edwin's parents emmigrated from Germany. So, my grandparent's ancestors actually lived only 60 miles away from one another.

Although it took me quite some time, and caffeine, to do all of this research, I found it a very rewarding experience. It was very interesting to find out where I come from and who my ancestors are. My mom's side of the family was especially interesting. It really helped that one of my grandma's cousins compiled a ton of information on the family's past and gave it to all of the cousins. I had a lot of information to use. In conclusion, I can now officially say that I am very little Croatian, a little bit more Norwegian, and a lot German! That's all for now!

This Family Is Bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S! ♥ Danielle's Weekly Blog Post #8

As I mentioned in my Puerto Rican blog two weeks ago, my Latina flavor is heavily diluted with pasty white European blood. Tis a shame. But in this week's blog I shall tell you of the other 3/4 of my heritage! :D





Ta Da! So my father is half Danish and half Puerto Rican, while my mother is half Danish and half German. Well, when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much they get together and have a baby Danielley. Then they decide they hate each other and get a divorce lol. But long before they were even born, Danielle's great grandpas were leaving the world they knew and making homes in weird places know as "America".



Mr. Sorensen (you can tell he's my European grandpa with those blue eyes and blond hair!) of Denmark decided being in Europe was lame and got on a big boat, known as a ship, and came to Iowa. He faced many hardships on the ship, including close quarters and less than awesome toilet situations. He also made many enemies, such as John SorensOn that stole his sandwich at every meal and insisted upon the superiority of o's over e's. Not really. But I like to add my own creativity to history. It adds more interest I think. Many others immigrated to this part of Iowa as well, and made Elk Horn and Kimballton, home of the Danish Windmill and The Little Mermaid... But not my great grandpa! He then met a Miss Aikman! And well when a great grandpa and a great grandma love each other very much... You know the story. They make my grandpa!


As for origins of my mommy's mommy Miss Bornholdt, not much is known. She developed breast cancer and died when my mommy was thirteen. Needless to say, not many questions like these received answers, so as to where exactly her side of the family hailed from remains a bit of an enigma. But she was German! :D




Senor Hernandez, however, came to New York from Puerto Rico (you can tell that from his dark skin and suave raven hair!). He then made a lady friend and together they united to make some Lil Hernandezes. Hernandeces? Hernandi? ... They had some kids. One of which was my grandpa! Who grew up, travelled the country, and met my uber Danish grandma in Texas! They loved each other very much! ... And made my daddy! They too decided they hated each other and grandpa moved to California! Woo hoo! Then my daddy joined the Air Force. But his eyesight is terrible and he's also slightly colorblind! So he cooked food! And met my mama! And made a lil Danielley! Who was born at the Air Force base! Huzzah! I'm sensing a Full Circle Ending to this blog.

So there you have it, the very not detailed story of the people who gave birth to the people who gave birth to the freaks who gave birth to Danielle. Are you not impressed?! BLOG THAT MR. BRUNS!

Presidential Candidate Debate Blog #8. Bri Nelson =]

The Second Presidential Debate took place on October 7, 2008 at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Okay, to start things off, I would be lying if I said that the Presidential Debate was the most exciting thing on TV that night! HA! Seriously, debates are not really my thing. I would much rather be watching anything other than the debate, but to be honest, it was the ONLY thing on! And what is more wonderful than lounging around in the living room in a big comfy chair and watching the second presidential debate? It was a great time for family bonding! .. But debates just are not interesting for someone who is not interested in politics.


Question: What did you personally think about the second presidential debate?
That is a great question, but before I begin, I would like to take the time to thank Mr. Bruns for reading my blog, and every one in my group for everything that they have done. Now the answer to this question is simply this...
blah blah blah so on and so on..

-Does that sound at all familiar to you? I think it does! That is how each candidate addressed the first question. (except I used my own question and answer) But the "I'd like to thank.. and "Before I begin.." statements were said in the beginning questions of the debate.

Question: Did you like the format of the debate?
Thank you for the question. (McCain said this every once in a while). I personally did like the format of the debate. I liked how the questions came from the citizens of the United States. I thought that it was pretty neat because they had 80 uncommited voters on the debate, and they were able to ask the candidates their questions. The debate had a Town Hall Format. Tom also said that there were many questions submitted through the internet, and those questions were used as well.

-The candidadtes were always thanking the audiance for their "wonderdul" questions. McCain was saying that, "You really identified one of the major challenges that America faces."

Question: Do you think it is right to have time limits for each candidate to respond to the question?
Well, Let's talk about this. I know we are on time constraints, but I would like to match the time limit of the opposing candidate.. (Obama used this quote once or twice in the debate.) I believe that it was a good idea to allow a time limit for the candidates, but the candidates did NOT follow the time constraints by any means! You have to admit it, 2 minutes it is more than enough time to answer a question. The candidates usually answered the question within the first 30-45 seconds, but they would ramble on and on about how the opposing candidates were wrong. Tom had to constantly remind the candidates about the time, but do you think they listened? NO!


Question: Did you think the questions people asked were appropriate for the debate?
That's another great question. (McCain told the people that they were asking good questions numerous times during the debate) I would say that the questions were very appropriate for the debate, the people of the hall were asking great questions and the candidates usually answered the questions with a powerful punch. They had good answers that support their parties. A lot of the time the candidates were trying to say that eachother was wrong, but I believe that both candidates answered their questions pretty darn well!!

Question: What were some of the main issues discussed in this debate?
Well, some of the main, and what I believe the most important issues discussed were the Financial Crisis, Healthcare, Social Security, and the Current Economic Situations. I think that both McCain and Obama answered their questions very well, and that the debate wound up being a tie between both parties.

So I guess I must have really paid attention to the debate because it seems like I found a lot of things that I liked and disliked. The debate helped me to decide who was the better candidate. Like I metioned earlier, debates are probably one of my lower television interests, but after it was over, I realized that I wouldn't mind watching another one... but not anytime soon!--If you didn't understand the format of my blog, I was using my own questions/answers and putting them in the form of a debate. I discussed what I liked and didn't like about the debate.. and I hope you enjoyed it!!