Hello everyone,

Hopefully you all had a nice holiday, whether it be Chanukah, Christmas, or another celebration! How were your holidays? Did you travel anywhere? Please comment below and let me know!

I wanted to catch up with you all, as I have not blogged in a while.

In August, I auditioned for the local junior symphony orchestra. I play the cello and was accepted as ninth chair out of eighteen players! This is a big improvement for me from last year (my first season), as I was fourteenth out of fifteen chairs.

I started seventh-grade back in late August, just two days before I started this blog, and it has been going well. I was very nervous about starting middle school because it was a new school that I was not used to, but I like all of my classes. My ancient civilizations class has been one of my favorite classes; in ancient civ., we learn about ancient peoples, their histories, and the impact they made on modern society.

I met my favorite author, Ally Carter, in September. She wrote a book series about girls who attend a school for spies called the “Gallagher Girls” series, and I love them a lot! The sixth and final book was just released in September, so I went to her book signing.

I finished my first middle school field hockey season in October, and I played in a lot of games as well as made lots of memories with new friends (my teammates).

I visited the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. this November to see some of the inspiration for Ally’s books. The exhibits were very neat and displayed some devices that spies used throughout history. Additionally, when we arrived to the museum, everyone was asked to assume a pseudonym/fake identity as our “cover” with a mission to complete before leaving. All of my family members succeeded!My identity was Jane, a thirteen-year-old girl, so it’s pretty fitting to my real identity!

Thanksgiving was super fun! What did you all do for Thanksgiving? Please let me know with your holiday comments! This year was “Thanksgivukkah” for me because a day of Chanukah overlapped with Thanksgiving this year, so my family & I held Chanukah celebrations with our Thanksgiving dinner. We ate latkes, which are potato pancakes — a traditional Chanukah food, with our dinner, lit candles, sang songs, and played dreidel.

Following Thanksgiving break, I went back to school and have been pretty busy with assignments and tests, anxious for winter break. Here we are, though! I travelled to Pittsburgh for Christmas to celebrate with my grandfather (he celebrates Christmas, but the rest of us observe Chanukah), and it was wonderful. We put up and decorated the Christmas tree with my grandfather, which was really fun and is a tradition that we do every year. My cousins who live nearby to my grandparents slept over with my sister & I, then we all woke up in the morning to exchange gifts together. My parents gave me the last two books in The Heist Society series (another series by Ally Carter) that I’ve started and cannot wait to finish reading! How did you celebrate Christmas, give, or receive for the holiday?

Once again, happy holidays and happy almost New Year! 3 Days Until 2014!

Love,

Yael