Happy Birthday, Impossibilities of Light Packing, and Vacations

Happy Birthday to my best friend, Lydia! I'm a day late on the blog post, but I did "sing" you Happy Birthday on Facebook:) I decided that for the Blogger Happy Birthday I would get gushy and reminisce:) So, those of you reading this, Lydia and I met when she moved into the house next door(But we were both shy so we didn't actually become good friends until later). We both home schooled and had a mutual love for books, so once we got over the initial shyness we became the best of friends:) We've only known each other for a few years, but in those few years we managed to realize we have quite a few things in common. Such as:

-A love for books
-A desire to travel to different countries
-Loving old shows (Andy Griffith)
-Loving jokes (especially blonde jokes, even though my now has blonde in it :P)
-Writing
-We're both home schooled
-We both hate math
-Loving hidden object puzzles:)
-Strawberry Popsicles:)
-Among many other things:)

SOOO, to finish off the birthday celebration part of this post, I will virtually sing Happy Birthday to you, again, in French (Yes, I had to use Google translate) :)

Joyeux anniversaire à vous
Joyeux anniversaire à vous
Joyeux anniversaire chère Lydia
Joyeux anniversaire à vous

Spell check really hates me for that!

By the way, I tried to sneak to your house to steal your cake, but this guy beat me to it ;P

Now to the next part. I've come to the realization that it is impossible for me to travel light! We leave for vacation tomorrow and I have too much stuff. I packed enough outfits for everyday, plus one extra in case we get dirty and I want to change before we go anywhere else, plus two outfits to lounge in at the hotel.
I always pack a backpack when we go out of town. In my backpack I have:

-My kindle which is stocked with samples of every book on my To-Read list.
-Three notebooks
-Four pencils and two pens
-All of my Kindle accessories
-My iPod
-My iPod charger
-Two books
-Accessories to match every outfit
-Three pairs of sunglasses(in case, you know, one of the breaks, or doesn't match one of my outfits :P)
-My purse
-My phone charger
-Candy to satisfy the munchies
-I also added apps that I could put all of my book info and actually write on. Then, I put all the info into the apps.

I definitely can't pack light.

Now I talk vacation!:D We're going to Lexington, KY, Petersburgh, KY, and Cincinnati, OH. Tomorrow we get up no later than 5:00 make the 6 hour drive to Lexington. We will make any necessary stops at Dairy Queen and thrift shops along the way:) When we get there we're going to take an hour-long paddle-wheel boat tour:) Then, whatever else we find to do:) Monday, we're going to the Horse Park:) Tuesday, we go to the Creation Museum in Petersburgh. Wednesday, we get to play with penguins at the aquarium in Cincinnati:) Thursday, we make the even longer drive from Cincinnati back home, with the necessary stops mentioned before, and a stop at my grandma's house in KY:) It's going to be one fun-filled week!:)

Vacation 2013 here I come!!:D

All the Craziness of the Last 3 Weeks Packed into 1 Post:)

I finally have time to blog! I feel like it's been forever! The last few week have been crazy. And now you get to hear about them:) I'll tell most of the story with pictures:)

I'll start with the monsoon that graced us .  About three seconds after I took the pic on the left the car flew through that puddle and splashed all over our truck. Nice. Thanks a lot. The pic on the right is a field that was turned into a mini lake. The other one is a ditch by our house. It's normally only a fourth of the way up. It was almost over the bridge at that time.

 

Has anyone ever seen this before? You take yarn and throw it to each other. But, you have to hold on to some before you throw it. It makes an awesome design! And, luckily our kids caught on very quickly! The first pic it just pure epicness! An awesome action pic. That's me throwing it, by the way:)The second one the red yarn looks like red security lasers:) Very cool:) It's also our final product. Total hit. We're going to do it again with multi-colored yarn.

 

That same Sunday we caught this little critter in our swimming pool:) I rescued him:) He's a little baby Red-earned Slider. We let him go in a ditch behind out neighborhood:)





 

I got my braces off!!:)

 

 

We had our Awana awards assembly last Wednesday night. I couldn't get the Sparkies (above) to look at me. Mr. Joey and his daughter, Mayson (right). After this pic her kissed her on the cheek and said, "I can do that. She's my daughter." He tried to do the same thing to Korey (below), but he ducked. Korey's not his son, but their families have been friends for a long time.

 

Saturday was Mayfest. It's an annual this out town does downtown. Everyone sets up booths and sells stuff, there's live entertainment, good food, and games for the kids. It's always really fun, and all the "biker dudes" , as I call them, come out. When I took this pic dad asked why I took it. My reply was, "It's perfect for my blog! 'Hey, look at who came to visit! Bet you don't see that very often!'"

 Mitzie, our Poodle, was very rudely pushed into the pool by Chester, our Yorkie.

Revenge was had today. Peyton pushed him in right after this pic:)

Mother's Day was fun. We went to visit my Nana. We spent the day watching World's Strongest Man. I actually quite enjoyed it. But, I still don't know who won. If anyone knows please share:)    

I saw this today and loved it!! I am so excited for this movie! This one and about ten other 2013 releases!:) This is the year for good movie releases apparently.


I hope you enjoyed hearing about my crazy last few weeks:) More craziness is sure to follow!:)

 

P.S. Is anyone else is love with Owl City's Midsummer's Eve cd? It was my Summer Cd last year and I think I'll give it that title again this year, too:)

P.P.S. If you read all of this kudos to you!:)

My First Tagggg!!!!:)

The Notebook Sisters (a really awesome blog by two really awesome girls) tagged me for the Liebster Blog Award! rules:
- each nominee must answer 11 questions.
- create 11 questions for the next nominees to answer.
- link back to who nominated them
- choose 11 people and link them to your post
- go to their page and tell them
- no tag backs!
The Notebooks Sisters 11 questions are the following:   1.   Q: Favorite character in your work-in-progress?A: I currently have two works-in-progress and my favorite character from each would have to be Adelynn, Addie for short, in Disappearing Act, and Amicus (a Latin name that I made up my own pronunciation for) in the second untitled work.

2.   Q: Does music influence your writing? What's a song that's inspired you?A: Yes. Music greatly influences my writing! I always listen to music when I write because is helps block out any conversations going on around me. I usually get inspired to write an epic fight scene or something like that when I listen to the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack, and a sad scene or a scene where a character has a deep philosophical thought when I listen to piano music.

3.   Q: Do you prefer writing in past tense or present tense? Why? A: I do the no-no. I write both. In the same story. At the same time. I need to work on this. 4.   Q: Name a random fact a book taught you. A: The Skeleton Creek series taught me a lot about haunted places!:) Which is right up my ally:)

5.   Q: Favorite food to snack on while reading/writing?A: Almost anything with chocolate or peanut butter!

6.   Q: Name 3 books you can't wait until are released. A: Cress by Marissa Meyer coming in 2014, Gallagher Girls 6 by Ally Carter coming in September of this year, and the continuation of the Dreamhouse Kings series by Robert Liparulo whenever he decides he's ready to write them:P 7:   Q: Name a sequel that outshone it's predecessor. A: The Ghost in the Machine by Patrick Carman. The first book being Skeleton Creek.   8:   Q: Best side-kick/ secondary-character you've read this year? A: Hale from Heist Society, and Iko/ Kai from Cinder.   9.   Q: Favorite quote? A: I have no idea! I really like "You can never been overdressed or over educated" and "Little by little, one travels far" from J.R.R. Tolkien, and "The scariest moment is right before you start" from Stephen King, and "Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of time, if one remembers to turn on the light" from Albus Dumbledore!
10.   Q: Do you have any reading goals for 2013? Are you on track?A: Not really. I guess to put a reasonable dent in my rapidly growing to-read list. No, I'm not at all on track.

11.   Q: If you were a superhero would you wear a cape?
A: No     I actually do like capes on superheros. Like Thor. But, I would probably wear something more like Black Widow in a cuter color;P  Maybe red:)
My 11 questions: 1. Best book you've ever read?
2. Do you like reading/writing nonfiction or fiction better? (I think I know most of the answers to this) 3. You're being chased by thousands of bees/ wasps. What do you do?
4. If you could meet a book character (without having to enter their world) who would it be? 5. Do you like reading/writing from a male or female perspective more? Why?
6. Loki just showed up at your doorstep asking you to help in his world-domination plots. What do you do? Why? 7. If you could play one character from your favorite book in a movie who would it be? Why? 8. Any 2013 movies your excited about?
9. Name a stand-alone book that you think should have been made a series.
10. Do you prefer writing in first, second, or third person? Why? And finally

11. How do you sort the books on your bookshelf?

My tags:
Lydia

Caitria
Jonnah
Lana
Ok, so I only know 4 people to tag since I can't tag Cait and Mime back. So, if you're not tagged just do  the tag and tell me:)

 

I think that's everything. There are two other posts I want to get up, but I haven't had time to do them. I had to squeeze in time to do this one! I'm writing this closing right as my mom is telling me to put the computer up!
BYE!!

 

 

Caution: Story In Progress

Alright, I have been wanting to write this blog post for a few days now, but I have had computer troubles, and just now got access to it:) We had to restore it to factory settings, but that's a whole different story. Point is, I have my laptop back!:) We have another computer, but I was too busy stressing over my computer to worry about using that one. So, finally, I am going to blog about my story!:) It's a novel, but it's just kind of weird for me to call it that. So, it's my story instead:) So, I'm going to talk about where the idea came from, a one-sentence description/synopsis, among other things:)


Inspiration:          
       The inspiration for this story actually came from a conversation I had with my parents. It went something like the following:
   
    Mom: I want to get some Winter Hardy Pansies for the flower beds.
    Me: What are those?
    Mom: It's a type of flower that blooms all year round. Even in the winter.
    Me: Cool!
    Dad: You know, when I was a kid we would call a scaredy cat or wimp a pansy. Yet that flower is probably one of the toughest flowers.

       And thus, my story was born.
One Sentence Synopsis:
       A fantasy full of family, friends, fights, fakes, and fearsome foes.

Introducing:     
        Georgina Mirrian: She is the protagonist of the story. She's often called Georgie by friends and family, and George by her best friend, Amicus. She cares for her friends and doesn't let any of the boys do anything stupid unless she's there to bail them out.
Amicus Fortis: He is Georgie's best friend. They've know each other pretty much since birth, and it shows. He is very protective, and he doesn't want Georgie to do anything even remotely dangerous.
Gininae Mirrian: Often called Gin, he is Georgie's twin brother. Although he doesn't mind if Georgie does something dangerous, he doesn't let her do it without him. He has a wife and two small children that he cares for dearly and hates leaving.

Finnegan Birdle: He goes wherever Georgie and Gin go. He is like a lost puppy without them. He has a bit of an adventurous side, but won't give in to it unless he has someone to go with him.

Prince Demitri Lompere: He is the prince of the Northern Elf Kingdom. He often takes charge and bosses everyone around, without noticing. People say it's his rude uncle showing through in him.
Snippets/Conversations:        

       "Morning, Georgie! Sleep well?” My brother, Gininae, asked the next morning, stepping into the round kitchen.
      “Same as I always do,” I replied.
      “Nightmares?”
      “Isn’t it always? 

      “It’ll get better, I promise.”

      “It’s been twenty-two years, Gin! When is it gonna get better?”

       “Ten-thirty in the morning and breakfast isn’t even cooking yet? What are you trying to do, starve me? Georgie, I’m very sad to live in a world where a man has to wait until lunch time to eat breakfast. Now when will I eat lunch?” Finn said, with a look of utter disgust.

       “You’re the only person I know who finds it surprising that a party is fun!"


      “G, my dear little friend, I’m going to do a little dance called The Dance With The Elves and I need a partner. You’re the only one here who knows it,” he said.
      “Aren’t I a bit short for that?”
      “Oh, come on, you’re not that much shorter than me, and we used to dance it all the time!”

      “We should make it to Dryadalumve this evening. Maybe even in time to snag some dinner!” Amicus announced. Finn perked up upon hearing this.
      “Don’t get your hopes up, Birdle! By that he means we might make it back before they throw out the leftovers. Which means cold food and hard bread,” I replied, laughing at the look on Finn’s face. He’s never had to eat anything cold unless it’s supposed to be cold. He’s quite spoiled, actually.

 

       “SH!” He said, in the middle of my sentence.
      “Amicus Fortis! You did not just-“
      “SH!” He interrupted again.

 

Ok, I'm gonna stop now:) Hope you enjoyed my little story post:) I don't really have a title. I've just been calling it "A Truly Mythical Story" since there are all mythical creatures in it:) It's just a title to save it under though. I haven't been able to think of a good one, so if anyone has any suggestions leave them in the comments. I've been dying to talk about it. Hope you all enjoyed it:)

     

      

Pass The Parcel

  The Notebook Sisters are doing a blog party for teen writers!:) And what kind of party is it without games? This game is called Pass the Parcel:)
1. Name your top 5 favorite YA authorsAlly Carter
Patrick Carman
Robert Liparulo Tedd Dekker Suzanne Collins
(I would say J. R. R. Tolkien, but I've never actually read the books. Sadly.)   2. What's the last YA book you read and what did you think about it?Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter. It's the second book in the Heist Society series and it was amazing!:) Ally Carter sure knows what she's doing!:) Amazing writing, totally lovable characters, a plot that grabs your from the first page, simply wonderful! 3. What's your favorite YA genre? That is a very hard question. I love medieval fantasy stuff! I also love realistic fiction/mystery, which is what Heist Society is:)

4. Let's talk characters! Pick a character you love and tell us why. Katrina "Kat" Bishop from Heist Society! What's not to like? The girl lives for adventure! Whether it's flying via private jet to England to a museum to steal four paintings they didn't even know they had, or being lowered down a vent to take a priceless, so-called cursed gem, she's always doing crazy, thrilling stuff. 5. Top YA villain?Old Joe Bush from The Skeleton Creek   6. Top YA couple?Cammie and Zach and Kat and Hale. Both are complicated relationships where they both like each other, but refuse to admit it. 7. With dystopian on the decline, what do you think will be the next hot trend in YA?I have no idea! Hopefully something action-packed, adventurous, and edge-of-your-seat good. And humorous/witty, always humorous/witty!   8. What's next YA on your to-be-read pile? The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, Perfect Scoundrels and the untitled upcoming final Gallagher Girls book by Ally Carter.   9. What's the fastest time you've ever finished reading a book in? (And what was the book?!) I read The Dreamhouse Kings Series by Robert Liparulo in a week, one of the book in that series I read in 4 hours. I can't remember which one. 10. (And now for the burning question) Do your think books should be sorted according to color or title. (This matters.)That is a very hard question for me! I am very OCD about my books. I sort mine firstly according to size, then author (alphabetically), then copyright date. But, I'm supposed pick one of the two methods in the question so probably color:)

My Awesome New Room!:)

 I finally have my room done!:) Well, mostly. I just have to get three paintings done and hung up to have it all finished:) But, I'm going to go ahead and post the pics:)

I am in love with this wall:) The red curtain is actually a flat sheet that I accidentally grabbed instead of a fitted sheet:)

One of the paintings is gonna go in the bottom left corner of this pic:) I love the Hobbit poster, too:)

The keys are an awesome antique store find:)

These are the Mickey cups I found at the thrift store:) Aren't they adorable:)

This mirror used to be covered in pink fabric:) Me and mom recovered it and it turned out really good:)

My Amazing Weekend:)

I spent the weekend pretty much off the radar:) We went the Village Creek State Park to camp:) We left Friday and set up the camper. We sat around the campfire all day long. Roasted hot dogs and made smores in a waffle cone:) It was delicious! Saturday, we went thrift store shopping in Wynne, AR. After we got back to the campground we went fishing. I don't like fishing, but it was relaxing sitting in the boat and reading:) Sunday we went to Forrest City and got ice cream at Dairy Queen:) We also did more thrifting:) I found some adorable Mickey Mouse cups from Disney World that go perfectly i my room, and I found my friend a birthday present:) Pretty successful shopping if you ask me:) We came home yesterday on Monday:) The weather here has been amazing!:) It got up in the 80's today!:) All the praying for warm weather paid off!:)