A Fur-Ever Friend

Chloe and I just finished our first week at our new community service project. We're volunteering at the local animal shelter. It's the best community service job ever—we get to play with puppies and kittens! (We also have to clean up after them, which isn't as much fun. But it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be!)

You guys already know I love my pet mice, Sam and Cody. They're really sweet, and I spend a lot of time feeding them and petting them. But now that I'm working at the shelter, I really want a dog. And not just any dog. There's this one really beautiful puppy that the folks at the shelter have named Pumpkin. I'm not sure what breed she is exactly. She kind of looks like a beagle but I think there's some cocker spaniel in her too. Anyway, she's only six months old, and she's the sweetest dog I've never met. Today she fell asleep all curled up in my lap.

I've tried before to get my parents to let me have a pet, and they said okay to two white mice. But a puppy is going to be a whole different story. I have to bring this up very carefully if they're going to say yes to Pumpkin. Do you guys have any sure fire advice for me? I've never wanted anything more than I've wanted this puppy, so I've got to make sure I do it right!

Thanks for the help.

xoxo

Jenny

First Day Dress Mess Dilemma

The thing I love most about summer is that I don’t have a huge schedule to follow. I don’t have to be anywhere at any special time. I don’t even have to go anywhere if I don’t want to. I can watch what I want on TV and read any book I want without having to write a report about it. Summer rocks!

But summer is also almost over, and that means I have to start thinking about what I need for school this year. The first thing I have to get is the perfect back-to-school outfit. That takes a lot more thought than just deciding whether I want to use the red binder for English or the green one for math. After all, the outfit you wear the first day of school can define the way people think of you for the rest of the year.

Last year, I made the mistake of wearing my camp T-shirt to school the first day. I thought people would be impressed that I’d gone to sleepaway camp, but I was wrong. All anybody thought was how dorky and uncool my shirt was. On the other hand, my former BFF, Addie Wilson, was wearing a totally styling top, which guaranteed her a spot as one of the Pops.

Now, don’t get me wrong—I don’t want to be a Pop. I like my group of friends a whole lot better. For one thing, they don’t judge me based on how I dress. And for another, they’re never snobby or mean. But just because I don’t want to be a Pop doesn’t mean I don’t want to look cool or stylish. I definitely want to make a statement with my first day outfit. But what statement should I make?

I guess I could go for a sophisticated look and wear my black skinny jeans, a black oversized tee and my silver and black cowboy boots. Or maybe I could go a little hippy-like and wear my faded jeans with my new peasant blouse that has embroidery around the neck. Then again, maybe I could convince my mom to get me one of those new pink, white, and black zebra print 80s retro shirts and wear it with my black leggings.

What do you guys think? Which outfit do you think I should go for? And have you planned out your back to school look yet? Drop me a note and let me know.

TTYL

Jenny

Are You Friends With Your Folks?

So last week, my friends and I all decided we were going to make pages for ourselves on a website where you can tell your friends what you’re doing and post funny photos of you and your friends. I hadn’t actually even thought about having a page on the site until I heard the Pops talking about it on the way to their clubhouse (which, in case you don’t know, is the girls room near the cafeteria, where they all hang out after they eat lunch). I bet it doesn’t shock you that Addie and Dana were the first kids in the whole sixth grade to be on the site. They’re the first ones in our grade to do everything.

I raced home so psyched to make my page. But then my mom told me she would only let me create a profile if I named her as one of my friends!

Okay, so that wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. I mean, I like my mom and all, but I wouldn’t count her as one of my friends. On the one hand, I really want to have my own page on the site. But on the other hand, it would be really embarrassing to have my mom on my list of friends. Especially because everyone will know that my mom is watching my page.

So I’m not really sure what to do. Should I stay off the site, or should I let my mom be one of my friends? What would you do?

Thanks for the help.

Jenny

Dress Distress

Okay, here’s a question for you. Does your school have a dress code? Mine doesn’t. At least it doesn’t for now. But some parents are on a committee to start a dress code at our school. I don’t know exactly what they want the dress code to be, but there are a lot of rumors going around. Someone said they don’t want us to be allowed to wear jeans or t-shirts anymore. That would kill Chloe. All she has are her wacky t-shirts with all their funny sayings on them. And then I heard another rumor that if these parents get their way, the guys will all have to wear ties everyday. Somehow I can’t see Marc and Josh wearing ties to school.

But if my friends and I would be upset about a dress code, can you imagine what the Pops would think? They don’t let anyone—not even their parents—tell them what to wear. They think it’s their job to tell the rest of us what’s cool enough to wear to school.

If this dress code goes through, there are going to be a lot of angry kids at Joyce Kilmer Middle School, that’s for sure.

What’s the dress code like at your school? And how do you cope with it? Is it possible to follow the rules and still be unique?

Can’t wait to hear from you!

xxoo

Jenny

Food For Thought. . .Or Your Thoughts on Food

Hi there! How’s your winter been going? We’ve had four snow days in the past month, so mine’s been great! Don’t you love when you turn on the computer and see the word CLOSED next to your school’s name? I think that may just be the best feeling in the world.

But actually, I’m hoping we have school next Friday, because that’s the day of our sixth grade banquet. It’s this tradition we have at Joyce Kilmer Middle School where every sixth grader in the school brings in a dish, and then we sell the food in the school cafeteria. The money all goes to charity. This year we’re giving the money to help out all those people who were left homeless in Haiti after the earthquake.

I want to cook something really special, partly because I’m the class president, and it’s important that I bring something a lot of people will buy so we can earn a huge amount for charity. The other reason I want to make something spectacular so that Addie and Dana can’t make fun of my cooking. I know that sounds ridiculous, but you guys know that the Pops can make fun of anything. And they usually do. I don’t really want to spend the whole banquet hearing what a dork I am for making something Dana thinks smells like the girls bathroom. You guys know what I mean, right?

I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions about what I could make for the banquet. Do you have a favorite dish?

Thanks (again!) for the help. I’m so glad I have friends like you.

TTYL

Jenny