My finals are DONE!

And all I shall be doing is READING! Okay, that's a slight exaggeration...I do need to get some sleep and eat sometimes as well. But seriously, if there was one thing that I highly neglected that should never be neglected, it was reading. Man, the day I was done with my last final I went to the library and maxed out my library card. It was great.

Now I have this glorious stack of books sitting next to me and I just can't help but beam with happiness. Okay, I've painted a picture of me with just a tad bit too much cheerfulness. I'm actually more subdued than that because I'm in the process of getting over a cold and I don't particularly feel like smiling at the moment, much less beam. So I guess here is a more realistic portrait. I'm laying on my bed, surrounded by piles of books, and while I'm not actually smiling, I am picking them up one by one and trying to decide which ones to read first. So now that I don't have that obnoxious thing called school in my life I have all the time in the world to get other things accomplished.

I actually have a list of things that I want to do.
1. Clean my room. This sounds petty and slightly insane, but because homework has been eating my life I've kind of let things go in my room and the messiness is starting to drive me insane.
2. Read, Read, Read. This is a no-brainer.
3. Write. I feel like I haven't written anything good at all. So I'm going to change that by keeping a journal with me at all times and jot stuff down in it...hopefully this habit will be so well-formed that by the time school starts I'll be able to keep it up.
4. Eat better. I need to work on eating a good breakfast every morning.
5. Exercise. I want to be healthy.
6. Get organized. This kind of goes along with my room, but also the files on my computer, the clothes in my closet, and the books on my floor. I want things that I don't use/don't need out of my life.

And I think that's all I can think of. But I'm off to read some more books and update Goodreads. I cannot believe that I only checked that website 5 or 6 times during the semester. I feel like I'm missed so much.

~currently obsessed with: The Tangled Soundtrack by Disney.

Horrible blogger...

I have 2 more weeks of school. Then finals. Then I'll be done. This is absolutely crazy! I have so many things and projects that I have to do! I feel like this semester has been one of the hardest and most busy semesters that I have ever had. I'm probably involved in too many social activities and clubs...but I can't imagine dropping any of them. This semester is also different in that I did not READ ONE SINGLE BOOK at ALL! Normally I'll break away and read at least a couple every month of some YA book that looks cool or something like that....but not this semester. I only read textbooks. I am SO looking forward to Christmas Break when I can read books! I haven't even hardly checked goodreads! This is just crazy.

All this to say...I'm a horrible blogger. Hopefully I'll get better in the future. I mean, at least I'm starting early right? Wwwaaayyy before New Year's resolutions.

BUT! I almost forgot! This is on a completely random note! But have you seen the movie Tangled? My oh My! I LOVED it....and I kind of don't want to say anything else because I'll set up preconceived notions in your head....you should just go see it...and I'm kind of obsessive because I bought the Soundtrack on amazon.com for $3.99! Booyah!

-This is me, being insane....listening to Mother Knows Best from Tangled.

Remember when I used to blog?

Seriously. Life has been super crazy since school started. I am running around non-stop, doing homework, being involved in clubs, having social activities. It has been one thing after another. I love school because it is such a social setting and I see my friends every day and we bond over crazy homework assignments...but I also don't like that when I am in school it almost completely consumes my life. I don't read books. I don't update my blog. I only do things that are related to school. So, if you have been wondering where I've been since September, now you know.

College Always Consumes

So I've been pretty negligent in my posting lately. That's because college has consumed my life entirely.

2nd week.

I'm in my second week of college classes. That's my only excuse for my sudden disappearance of postings and whatnot. I've been completely absorbed by the upheaval of college and the crazy social atmosphere it contains. Needless to say, I've also been overloaded with homework. I may go slightly mad this semester, what, with taking 3 art classes. I'm not sure whose idea this was (mine).

But I'm in a lull right now. I could actually be doing some homework to get caught up...but I just want to sit in the silence and contemplate life. Okay, that sounded really deep. What I"m really doing is sitting on a bench staring off into space and wondering why there is nothing interesting to read on twitter. Lame. Hahaha.

Actually, now that I've made my life sound so pathetic, I'm going to do my homework now.

Mockingjay

I have just finished Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.

My mind is reeling and I am still trying to combat my overwhelming emotions and figure out the ending. I can't think. I have to go blow my nose. I've already cried several times. It didn't end how I thought it would at all. I am confused. I don't know what I will do with myself for the rest of the day.

I have the best Papi

So I was surfing the web when I noticed a slight stirring in my stomach: a sure sign I hadn't eaten in a long time. I hesitated because it was almost midnight and I didn't want to get out of my comfortable bed and go make a snack...

...when my father got home from work and announced, "Guess what leftovers I brought home?"

Perfect timing.

And since I know my father well, I knew by his proclamation that he had brought something home I highly prized AND he was willing to share his food with me.

So I hopped out of bed and high-tailed it to the kitchen.

Turns out Papi had brought home some home-made tortillas from a Mexican restaurant we sometimes frequent (because of the tortillas) and was already heating them up on the skillet.

These tortillas are amazing because not only are they home-made from scratch and preservative free, but they are so thick and FLUFFY.

Divine heavenly goodness.

Hot and fresh tortillas with melted butter? Yeah, probably one of my all time favorite foods.

What a nice Papi.

Kleptomania

You probably didn't know this...but I'm a kleptomaniac. I steal. All the time.

Really.

Not in the way you'd imagine though. I steal words. Phrases. Odd gestures. Weird mannerisms. Funky personality traits.

I think I do this compulsively because I'm a Writer and I'm always picking up things that I can work into my writing. That's why people fascinate me so much. I love people-watching. I also love how people talk, what they say, what riles them up. It's great.

Today for example, I saw a flustered mom who had a handful of children who were misbehaving. I was trying to remain inconspicuous because I was already feeling like she was going to be embarrassed by her son's outburst. But I almost lost my composure and smiled when she exasperatedly said,

"I'm fixin' to hang you on a clothesline."

I had never heard someone say that before and I loved it. So of course I'm stealing it. I'm adding it to my bag of trademark phrases and southern sayings.

Chapstick.

I have a thing about lipstick.

Really, I can't stand the feel of lipstick on my lips. It has something to do with repressed childhood memories, but I won't get into any of that. I don't like anything on my lips: lip gloss, lipstick, and even...chapstick. I almost have a phobia about this.

I've finally gotten to the point where I can wear chapstick when my lips are dry and on the verge of bleeding, because I know that is the only thing that will save them...but even then, it is a battle.

So why am I mentioning all of this? Well, the other day I noticed that my lips were a little dry...but I ignored them, because that's the type of person I am and I like to be delusional and convince myself that I'm paranoid and leave matters unsettled. Well, the next morning I woke up and my lips were completely chapped and stinging. Great.

So I had to find some chapstick. Okay, here's the deal. I own 3 bottles of chapstick. All of them are organic. (I kind of have a thing for organics. And hey, I don't want Red dye #3 hanging out on my lips. Um, gross.) So I pull out organic chapstick #1. There's nothing left.

That's okay, I'll just find organic chapstick #2 which also includes spf 15 sunscreen. I can't get the lid off so I pull harder and the complete top of my chapstick just goes flying across the room. Now, this is the part where germaphobics should stop reading. Even though it had fallen on the floor and I didn't know how clean it was, I was desperate for something to put on my stinging and about to fall of my face lips...so I brushed it off and blew on it (because blowing on imbedded-into-the-chapstick Dust Particles will do any good. uh huh.) and used the extreme last of my supply.

I needed to break into my stash of organic chapstick #3. But it was nowhere to be found. I'm not sure where it meandered off to, but it is somewhere in my room and I have little hope of finding it.

The moral of the story: I have no chapstick. I don't EVER use chapstick. And who on earth gets chapped lips in 90 degree weather in August? Really?

Seriously, I only own 3 chapsticks and all of them are unavailable.

As a side note, do you know how unlikely it is that walmart carries organic chapstick? Very unlikely.

Man, I need to buy some more chapstick.

Flipped

I'm so excited for the new movie Flipped to come out! I knew they were making a movie, but the trailer seemingly came out of nowhere and I'm positively hooked. I've already watched it several times. The movie is based on one of my all time favorite books by Wendelin Van Draanen. This book is amazingly sweet and wholesome. It's one of the few books I've ever read twice...and I'm thinking about reading it a third time right before the movie comes out. I can't believe that August is so fast approaching...the sixth is not so far away. I am so going to see this movie in theaters...preferably during its first day of showing. From what I've seen of the previews it looks like it is pretty close to the book. I just hope that I'm as smitten with it now after I've seen it.

Psyched cannot even begin to cover my emotions. I'm practically beaming with anticipation and adoration.

Good friends, good conversations...

I was talking to my friend that I've known since high school late-ish last night and our conversations were off-the-wall funny. I'm not sure if we were just so excited to talk to each other (we live in different states and hadn't had a chance to speak for several months) or if the late hour was warping our thoughts or what...but we were giggling up a storm. I also managed to type down some of our funniest bits because they made me laugh so hard. I realize that these might not make complete sense to an unknown reader, but I'd still like to save them on my blog for posterity's sake.

Her: "It's like chick-fil-a skype?"
context: I was explaining how the drive-thru worked.

Me: "Why did you yell? Is my face really That hideous that you had to scream?"
Her: "It just scared me because I wasn't expecting your face to completely fill up my computer screen!"
context: she pushed a random button and my face took over her computer, consequently making her yelp.

Her: "What if we had a skype moss pit?"

Me: "This is my petrified wood look! *poses spastically with one arm raised and eyes frozen*
My response (once I saw how I looked): "I look socially inept!"
Her: "Is that going to be your perpetual face when you're old?"
Me: "I HOPE NOT!"

Me: "I look like I have two front teeth!"
Her: "You do have two front teeth."
context: I had meant to say, "I look like I ONLY have two front teeth"

Obviously we are a little crazy, but it's okay because we understand each other fairly well and we're planning on taking over the world some day.

Whoops!

I've realized that I've been a pretty neglectful blogger as of late. This could be for various reasons...but I'm going to blame laziness and my summer job.

The other day I wandered past the kitchen to see most of our oven in pieces assembled across the floor. I didn't make much of it until a couple of hours later I walked by and it was being put back together. I walked by it a third time about 40 minutes later to hear my father mumbling, "Hm...it looks like I forgot to put some screws back in..."

Needless to say, the mother wasn't too pleased. Haha!

(He found where the screws went.)

And for some odd reason, our microwave convection oven is not working. I guess that was the reason my father took the two ovens apart in the first place. The oven light went off and so now it won't cook anything but just says "door" on the screen like we've left it open.

It's funny how you don't think you use something very often until it disappears. Or how you want to eat lunch but everything conceivable to eat seems to need the microwave to cook. Annoying.

Teletubbies.

So my mom and I were driving down the road when I saw these oddly shaped humanoids on the corner of the street. They were still fairly far off, so I couldn't quite make out what they were, but as they got closer, I realized they were Teletubbies. People had dressed up in remarkably realistic (and creepy) Teletubbie costumes to sell fireworks. When I saw what they were, I loudly exclaimed, "Are those Teletubbies?!"

You know what my mom's first reaction was? She looked at where I was pointing, took a sharp intake of breathe and immediately locked all the car doors.

I laughed for a full five minutes after we had passed them...I couldn't stop saying, "That was your first reaction? You locked the car doors?"

Just thinking about it cracks me up. Oh man...

Children will always make me smile.

Something I overheard at the Museum today...

After they had been in the exhibit rooms for 10 minutes:

Kid: "Mommy, I want to go now."

Mom: "Sorry hon, but we're going to be here for hours."

Kid: "How long is that?"

Mom: "A really long time."

Kid, pauses to think and takes a deep breathe: "Mommy, are we going to die here?"

I should mention that we were looking at egyptian mummies, so the kid's reasoning wasn't completely unfounded because there WERE dead bodies hanging out.

~Currently obsessed with:
Welcome to the Masquerade by Thousand Foot Krutch

Misplaced IDs, janky wallets, and creepy strangers at the gym.

Yesterday I was in a bad mood. It was like I woke up and couldn't shake this grumpy feeling that was settling over my body, trying to consume my being. I think my mood was brought on by staying up until 2:30am finishing a book. Normally this does not warrant a bad mood, but let's just say the book I finished reading wasn't worth it. I also didn't wake up until 12:30pm the next morning, er, afternoon. Now if there is one thing I hate it is waking up so late that I feel like I've already missed half of the day. I also woke up with a headache. And I couldn't find any lizard stickers! (That's another story, but it lead to me being disgruntled.)

So at the end of the day I'm headed to the gym with mom. Looking at my gym bag I make sure I've brought my wallet. Last time I completely forgot my wallet and had brought my camera instead. Needless to say, my camera did not magically turn into my much-needed gym card and I had to have the gym people look me up. So I was happy to see that I had brought my wallet this time, but my happiness soon turned to dismay when I opened my wallet and saw the slot that held my library card, gym ID, and driver's license was completely empty. Confounded wallet!

I've been having some issues with my latest duct tape wallet. I'm not sure if it is because I made it in a hurry and didn't take enough time to carefully craft it or if it's just old, but it is not holding things properly and my cards keep falling out of the pockets. Normally, this is just annoying and tedious, but when I'm in a hurry and grab my wallet to deposit it into another bag and leave half the contents of my wallet in my previous bag, it becomes downright frustrating.

That would make it day 2 I'd shown up the the gym without an ID. I was already mad at my pesky wallet for gleefully leaving things behind and now I was mad at myself for not double-checking before I left the house. And now I had to go explain again to the gym people that I did not have my ID. Great.

I told the guy that I didn't have my ID and he admonished me for forgetting it and told me sternly that I needed to bring it next time. I was already stewing and his comment only made me more annoyed. Unfortunately I didn't realized until later (and after my mom had told me) that he was only harassing me and wasn't nearly as serious as I had first imagined him. According to my mom he had seen that I was annoyed and had decided to poke fun at me, but I just did not see the subtle nuances that he was only joking and wasn't really mad at me for neglecting to bring my ID. I'm the kind of person that is seemingly gullible, especially with people I do not know well and so I cannot tell when they are joking and will think forever that they were severely disappointed when I didn't bring my ID. It was only my outburst of "Do I really look like the kind of scatterbrained person who forgets their ID on a regular basis? Do I have to be told that next time I need to bring my ID?" that my mom said he had only been pulling my leg.

So this was the kind of mood I was in when I walked upstairs and heard Creepy Guy talking loudly to someone else about sports.

Okay, so I haven't yet introduced you to Creepy Guy. I know, I know, way original name right? But seriously, he is creepy. I don't like him for a number of reasons.

1. He walks funny.
2. He has an incredibly annoying and grating voice.
3. He has a bulbous head.
4. He appears to be full of himself and pompous.
5. And the REASON I DISLIKE HIM THE MOST: I feel that whenever I'm working out he is staring at me. This is majorly creepy and slightly disturbing.

Now I know that I'm paranoid, but I've grown up with paranoid parents who've instilled in me a healthy distrust of strangers. So a part of me is wondering if maybe my overactive imagination and writer tendencies has exaggerated his staring and he's really just looking around the room in a bored manner. And how can you really tell if someone is staring at you all the time unless you stare at them all the time?! Which is something I totally do not want to do. If I'm wrong and he's not staring at me, I'll be staring at him and he'll start to think I'm The Creepy One. And if I'm right and he IS staring at me, I've only given him further encouragement and he might come over and Talk To Me. Both of those scenarios are not good, so I've been doing a lot of eye avoidance.

Now the only reason I think he's staring at me is because I've scanned the room a couple times and he's been staring in my direction, which is just unnerving. And as soon as I see someone staring at me, I immediately look away and pretend to be busy with something else until I can sneak another glance at the person so see if they are still staring at me or if it was just my imagination. When I did this he was still staring in my direction.

So after my day of grumpiness and then coming to the gym to find Creepy Guy there I was not in a good mood. But surprisingly, I just plugged in my iPod and listened to some Thousand Foot Krutch and tried to ignore him and by the time I was down with my workout I was relatively calm. I didn't have a headache and I had almost completely forgotten about my wallet mishap. I've read that exercising relieves stress and boy did I need that after the day I had been having. I'm glad I went.

Yesterday was just kind of crazy.

~Currently listening to:
Welcome to the Masquerade by Thousand Foot Krutch

Debating.

You know how you hear a song on the radio and it strikes you as interesting, but you soon forget about it? And then the next time you hear it you perk up and realize that you really like that song? Well, I heard Trinity by Paper Tongues and I just couldn't get it out of my head. But unfortunately I kept missing what the band's name was and couldn't find any more information about them. When I finally figured out who they were I searched youtube to find a full-length video of the song and I just kept listening to it over and over. I think I might be slightly addicted. But now here is the dilemma: should I just buy the song that I've been playing ad nauseam or should I buy the whole album because it's only $5 more? Gee whiz, I hate these kinds of questions. I just listened to all the samples of the other songs and I'm not in love with those...but I have this sinking feeling in the back of my head that I could grow to love them later. At this point I'm kind of leaning towards the one song because I'll only spend $1 instead of $6 and I'm not sure I'll like the rest of the songs...or I might even grow out of this song after several months - who knows.

~Currently obsessed over:
Trinity by Paper Tongues

Sarcasm much?

My father uses sarcasm on a regular basis. It's just built into his personality or something. I'm pretty sure that he's more sarcastic then I ever was as a teenager.

Me (seeing Papi grilling): "What'cha doing?"

Papi: "What does it look like I'm doing? Greeting aliens on another planet?"

See....I was just asking a simple question. Of course I knew what Papi was doing: this was a conversation opener, a chance for Papi to tell me about his life and not be a weirdo. But did he?
No.

Reason #239 of why I love children...

In Nursery today, (I heard this story from a coworker who witnessed the conversation - I wasn't in that particular class room) this delightful conversation took place.

Teacher: "Sometimes, on special occasions I use butterscotch chips instead of chocolate chips in my chocolate chip cookies..."

3-year-old: "I don't like butterscotch. Well, I don't like butter, but I do like scotch!"

It still makes me laugh. The 3-year-old of course was talking about scotch tape. But I loved his reasoning for not liking butterscotch. 

Hunger Games Movie Please Come Soon

I'm about to go on a Hunger Games craze.

I was looking at people's cast lists for the movie and I've been seeing some pretty interesting choices. But this only made me realize that I need to give MY input. So, of course, now I have to assemble a cast list. Yep, I'm going to be writing another blog entry up soon.

Confessions of a nursery worker...

Some of the things I think/say while working with small children. Italics are obviously in my head.

"Hey, it's okay, your mommy is just in church...she's going to be back in a bit, don't you want to play with the trains?"

"Oh man, why do you have colored snot? That's gross. Now I have to get you a tissue. Oooorrrr you can just wipe your face on my shirt. That eliminates the whole mucus problem because it isn't in on your face anymore. Well, I guess this shirt is going into the laundry when I get home. Thanks, anytime you don't have the time to wait for a tissue, just use my shirt/arm/leg/shoe, really, I don't mind one bit."


"Don't hit her. Go over and say you're sorry. We don't hit people because that's not nice. Do you want to go to time-out?"

"Drat, now he's smiling. It is so hard to discipline a child who's doing something bad when he just looks so cute. Argh, I can't smile because then he will know I'm not serious and he won't listen and he'll think he can get away with that kind of behavior...don't smile...don't smile..."


"Yeah, you...uh huh, I'm talking to you bud. You don't have to look shocked, I saw you shove him. You think your innocent little face will prove you not guilty? Nope, it won't."

Yeah, I love kids...but some times they frustrate me/make me laugh. It's funny how you can be mad at them one minute for completely disobeying everything you've told them and then they are hugging you and saying, "sorwy" and you can't help but think of them as angelic. Funny that.

Some people need to pay attention...

So I was driving to the gym and I saw a small mound on the road ahead of me. I was trying to figure out what it was when I suddenly realized it was a small turtle trying to cross the road. I swerved my car a little and went a bit into the other lane to avoid hitting it. I was congratulating myself for successfully saving the little guy's life when I looked in my rearview mirror and saw the car behind me drive right over the turtle. Really? REALLY? I had swerved...majorly. And they didn't even see that? They didn't notice that I was driving funny? What on earth were they paying attention to? Do they like driving over turtles? They were only a little bit behind me and they couldn't even watch out for the turtle?

Sigh. This is the kind of stuff that makes me depressed.

Eavesdropper

This is a conversation I overheard at the gym today and it struck my fancy and I had to write it down.

"I saw Tony the other day..."

"Big Tony?"

"Little Tony who got his eye detached, you call him Big Tony?"

"No, there's two Tonys."

Oh the conversations we have.

This is what our conversations tend to look like when we're all hanging out (my familia) and have eaten mass quantities of french onion dip and chocolate ice cream.

The context: playing Apples to Apples

The conversation:

Me: "I'm so hot....I'm sweating!"

The Sis, inquiring: "Are you wearing socks?"

Me: "I'm wearing a skirt!!"

The Aunt, exasperated : "I don't think those are mutually exclusive!"

It's funny...

How you can convince yourself to do all sorts of great things right before you are falling asleep. And then when you wake up in the morning you realize the majority of your motivation has vanished. Maybe one of these days I will wake up and be completely energized and ready to take on all my aspirations. One of these days...

~ Currently listening to:
Avalanche by Manafest

Oh dear...

Yeah, just watched that Fantastic Mr. Fox movie based on the Roald Dahl book. I can definitely see why that did not go over well. That's pretty much all I can say about it. Don't ever pay money for that movie, trust me, it is not worth it. Nope.

~Currently listening to:

Walls by Manic Drive

Listless?

So I've spent a lot of time reading this summer and now I've realized that I need to have a more defined purpose. Obviously I'm still trying to get a job...but I've been thinking about what I want to do with my life and I've decided to come up with some goals for myself this summer.

1. Get a part-time job. (I've filled out several, several, job applications but it looks like I need to step it up a notch.)
2. Get serious about my writing. I feel like lately I've been a poser-writer because I haven't done anything worthwhile with my writing. I'm thinking about writing a novel this summer? How hard could that be? I've already done nanowrimo successfully. So three months is plenty of time...*grins hopefully*
3. Get my etsy shop up and running like a pro. This means taking the time and effort to research and read articles about how I can improve my shop and actually sell something. I'd also like to get at least 50-60 items up and listed.
4. Get in shape. I've started walking...sporadically. I've read that walking is one of the best forms of exercise, plus it gets me out in the sun, when I'm usually inclined to stay inside and read all day.

So, I thought I had more things on my mind, and maybe I did...but that seems to be all I can remember at the moment, and those are pretty large goals that will take a lot of time and effort, but I really want to strive for something and discipline myself to get stuff accomplished.

La la la...

So I've been reading like a wild banshee. That doesn't even make sense, but I really wanted to type it. I've made several trips to the library, carting my bolsa with me to hold my 15-18 books that I always seem to come away with. I'm still desperately trying to get a summer job and so far I've applied to a lot of places...and I've heard back from a couple...and they've said no. I feel kind of pathetic, but I'm still hoping and praying that I'll find something. But in my spare time I read.

I guess the reason I'm reading so much is to make up for all those hours I devoted to writing papers and studying during the college semesters...but I've also decided that I'm going to set some goals for myself.

So here are my summer reading goals.

1. Get my to-read list on goodreads under 900 (I had originally made it under 1000, but now I'm thinking that will be too easy, so I've upped the ante.)
2. Read 100 Juvenile/Young Adult fiction books.
3. Read all the Newbery Medals (that I haven't already read, minus that one Newbery medal that our library doesn't own - drat!)

I've made brand new spankin' pages on my book reviews page for 2 and 3 on my blog and I'm working on getting them completely updated. You should totally check them out.

So those are my plans...and I'm sweepin' through them. I'm also listening to some good music on my iTunes. The Classic Crime is quickly becoming one of my favorite bands. And I get excited anytime I hear Children 18:3's newest song. I cannot wait until their new CD comes out in June.

So if my blogging updates have been kind of scattered or nonexistant, it is because I'm buried in a corner somewhere wolfin' down a book.

~Currently listenin' to:
Cover Your Eyes by Children 18:3

Haha,

Today I found out that my alarm clock will automatically turn itself off after 1 hour of playing music. This is interesting. And it is regrettable to say that I learned this while lounging in bed. Yeah, real productivity right there folks. I have my alarm set to play the radio and usually I don't lay in bed longer then 20 minutes. But today I just didn't feel like getting up, plus I had my computer on the floor next to my bed, so I was just twiddling around on that instead of getting up and getting dressed/eating food/turning off my alarm.

Well, it was playing nice radio music when all of a sudden it just stopped. That's when I realized that my alarm had gotten fed up with me and was obviously thinking that I was never going to wake up and decided to turn itself off. This is something else you should know, my alarm is located on the complete otherwise of my room. As far away from my bed as possible. Did I plan this because of all the sleep studies that say that works best because you actually have to get up out of bed to turn it off instead of reaching over and slapping a button? No, I did that because that's where my desk is.

You learn something new every day. Alarms get fed up after 1 hour, good to know.

~Currently listening to:
The Silver Cord by The Classic Crime

This is what happens...

When the sun is in the sky and all is well in the world you should not sit on a couch and decide to read a book in one sitting. You should especially avoid this if you can't even remember what the book is about, but only remember that it has been on your to-read list for ages and now you have an afternoon free. So I read a zombie apocalyptic Young Adult book in completely one sitting and didn't realize until I was done with it that the sun had set and all the blinds were up, letting the forest outside shift in the night wind.

Yeah, not the best idea. Oh, and I forgot to mention the book: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. It was good. Really good. I just couldn't tear myself away from the book and I had to tell myself to calm down and read the WHOLE paragraph before jumping to the next page to see if what was going to happen next. Man though, it wasn't really a happy book. It had some disturbing images and a lot of death, but it was sure thrilling and I sped through the entire novel like there was no tomorrow.

There's only one problem. Once I was done reading I was thinking, breathing, and seeing unconsecrated bodies leering at me all around the house. My legs were kind of shaky because I had been so tense while reading the book that I hadn't moved from my position for a couple of hours.

Needless to say, I did NOT want to be alone. The house was far too quiet and I couldn't quite distinguish between reality and fantasy. So it was a good thing my sister was home to distract me otherwise I probably would have gone crazy. It's even been hours since I read the book and Still whenever I hear an odd noise my heart kind of speeds up.

Gee whiz, I can only imagine what my dreams will be like tonight, but it was totally worth it. Haha.

~Currently listening to:
The Silver Cord by The Classic Crime

Aaahhh.....

I just want a summer job. I've submitted 9 online applications and I've called a couple of places.

I guess I need to work harder.

Sigh.

All I have been doing...

is reading.

I'm devouring books like a maniac. I just keep checking books out of the library and reading for hours every day. It's like I'm trying to make up for lost time.

Basically, I'm a freak.

So I got home and noticed there was not very much chocolate milk left. Now, most people who know me know that I love chocolate milk. A lot.

Anyway, I figured there really wasn't enough to put in a cup so I decided I'd just drink it out of the carton. I don't normally do this sort of thing because it's cumbersome and weird. But since it's summer and I'm feeling lackadaisical I just took it to my room and finished it off in a couple of gulps.

Well, I set it aside on my bed, propped up next to my crumpled bed sheets and completely forgot about it while I surfed the internet on my laptop. I was happily looking around on websites when out of the corner of my eye I noticed something was on my bed that normally wasn't there and it looked like it was watching me. I was startled and spun my head around to be confronted by a cheery little cow holding an organic chocolate milk banner.

So, basically I'm a freak because I was scared by an empty milk carton that I had put on my bed. This is kind of pathetic. Obviously I am still recovering from finals week. Gee whiz.

~Currently listening to:
Innocence and Instinct by RED

Hey look, a contest.

So one thing that I really enjoy is looking at other people's book blogs. I like to see how they format their blog, what books they read, what posts they do on a weekly basis about reading. This blog is even holding a contest. But you need to enter soon - because it ends today.

I've been wondering what sorts of things I should add to my blog to make it more interesting...

Something I avoid...

This is kind of weird, but sometimes I just have so much trouble motivating myself to do things. I put them off until 2:40 in the afternoon because I haven't seen civilization and I've been reading.

So, I kind of don't like taking showers.

This doesn't really make sense, since I like being clean and don't like grime caked on my skin. But really, I sometimes can find absolutely no motivation to take a shower right when I get up the morning. I put it off, saying that I need to eat breakfast, check my email, or read 12 books. You know, the little things that can take up so much time.

Well, I decided that I should work on my health and so I took a long walk around the neighborhood. This might not sound like much, but I HATE walks....especially out in the humid hot sun. But I knew that I would feel better after some exercise and if I went for a walk I would have no excuse whatsoever not to take a shower right after I got back because of sweat. That was my grand plan.

So what am I doing exactly? Writing a blog entry instead of taking a shower. That's what I'm doing.

New favorite movie!

Oh my goodness! I went and saw How To Train Your Dragon yesterday! Words cannot even describe how much I loved it. I've been wanting to see this movie since the first time I saw a trailer for it back in october (or whenever it came out - basically a long time ago).

I loved toothless, he was incredibly cute and his mannerisms always made me smile. Hiccup was great, I loved his sarcastic asides he inserted into his crazy situations. He made me laugh with all his quips and facial expressions.

I laughed, I almost cried, and I couldn't stop the grin from spreading across my face when it was over. It was the first movie I have seen in a long time that I have wanted to immediately watch again. Definitely my favorite movie of the year.

I want a pet dragon.

If you haven't seen a trailer, you should really watch this.

Gee whiz...

I went to my school's graduation ceremony this morning. I knew a lot of people that were graduating and I thought it would be nice to see them off and say goodbye/take pictures with them. I'm going to miss them. And I'm surprised that I haven't really cried that much at all. But probably because I keep shoving my emotions down and saying, "It's not like it's going to be forever, gee whiz."

I'm keeping positive. And it helps that some of the graduates are staying around town for a little bit this summer. I can still hang out with them, even though they won't be in my classes next semester.

I do not even want to think about what a wreck I will be when I graduate in a couple of years. Basket-case. That's all I have to say.

~Currently humming in my head
Oh, Happiness by David Crowder Band

My to-read list.

So, forgive the crummy picture (I took it with my webcam) but this is my to-read pile. Pretty much all of these books are ones that I won in Goodreads Giveaways and have not gotten a chance to read because I'm been fiendishly busy doing schoolwork. But now that it is summer I am going to read all of these and write reviews. I'm excited. I've also put a lot of books on hold at the library. So I'm going to intersperse these ARCs with other novels I've been meaning to read and hopefully I should be completely updated with all my ARCs and have review for all of them. That is my plan.

I'm free!!!!

Normally, I frown upon using excessive exclamation points to convey moods. But I thought I'd make an exception because I just finished my last final and I am now done with school.

I felt like it was cause for celebration and grammatical abundance.

My first two years of college: complete. I am now a junior. Summer has started. I can read so many books. I can take over the world. I can write poetry without the judgmental glances of homework. I can sleep in late. Yeah man. I'm kind of excited.

Plus, I know so many people who aren't going far away for the summer. So I can actually hang out with people. This is great.

~currently humming:
Free At Last by dcTalk

Mourning...

I'm in a weird mood.

I feel like I've gone through so many different emotions these past couple of weeks. I just don't know what to feel sometimes. I'm strung-out. But I just got back from a party. We watched a movie at the end. There were only a few of us left to watch Bright Star, but we took an empty classroom and couches and pillows and made ourselves a little den.

I don't know how I feel about that movie. I cried. I liked the imagery. But I don't know if I will ever be in love with it.

After I drove home, I got our of my car and heard the wind. It was roaring. I could imagine the swirls of its rhythm in the dark night sky.

I was in such a mood. I stopped and closed my eyes. Letting the wind fill my thoughts. The sounds reminded me of the ocean. I was pulled into mourning, not knowing what I had lost. Every time I opened my eyes I could feel something tugging at the corner of my mind, trying to remind me of something I had lost. I felt swept away by the tides of the wind.

I wanted to write.

Oh, one more thing....

This is just a little factoid about how much of a crazy book fiend I am. You know how your browser likes to be handy and fills in the rest of the website when you go to type up something in the little window thingy? Well, when I just put in the letter "G" the first website that comes up is Goodreads. Yeah, I visit it more than Google. That's dedication right there....or obsession. Whichever.

Finally!

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Just a little note....

Stress is going to eat my soul.

And then I shall be a soul-less wanderer.

So there's that.

You probably won't see me...

Because everything in the world is due Thursday/Friday. Okay, so that might be a slight exaggeration, but everything major is due. A Creative Writing final notebook, an Art class final notebook, a final art project, and 1 Jane Austen research paper. This is why I have not be blogging lately, because I've been swamped with this crazy stuff. I feel like my head is going to explode.

What really bugs me is when I have these moments of inspiration, where I think to myself, "Hey, I can do this. I just have to manage my time wisely and really, how long will it take me to do such and such? Probably only 4 hours - so that means..." and I catalog my entire week with all my projects done and room to spare. And instead of going off and starting something, I procrastinate because I have so much time. And the other thing I do? Completely freak out and go around yelling there's no time. Both of these situations are not good for me. So I need to stop being a sluff and get some more work done.

This is the end as we know it....this is the end - to quote Relient K.

I am so intimidated by my final art project that's due in less than 2 weeks. I'm not an art major. I'm an English major. I have an art minor...but it is photography. Why am I in this class? Because I want to die, obviously.

On a completely different train of thought...
Eating breakfast is a good thing. Skipping breakfast and then drinking questionably flavored peach punch before eating lunch is not a good thing. This will result in a headache.

food headache + art project headache = throbbing head.

In the future, I need to plan better.

Seriously.

Also, I'm obviously loosing it because as the semester has progressed I've gotten more and more delusional and absent-minded. This is not good for my mental sanity or for the people I call friends.

I'm losing the ability to speak coherently. My words blur together and I feel my brain turning into mush. I don't think it is a good idea to store mush in your head. Once school gets out I will be able to relax. Maybe. I have to get a job.

Yum, chicken.

Which family member is my favorite?

The one who comes home with fried chicken.

Haha, nepotism!

~currently humming:
Awake and Alive by Skillet

M-I-S-S-M-E...all you want...

Hey blog world, I'm back from the dead....and when I say dead, I mean maniacal paper writing. Now I have a slight breather...but not really because I have other homework that wants to eat my life.

So that is a majorly quick update on my life. I fell asleep listening to my favorite new soundtrack....you guessed, WTWTA.

Okay, now I have to run some errands.

~Currently listening to:
Haunted Horse by Neon Horse

Eyelashes

Do you ever pull on your eyelashes and accidently pull a couple out? My eyelashes are kind of crazy and they like to poke me in the eye, so I will occasionally straighten them with my fingers, and sometimes I pull out a few.

Well, I just pulled out six. SIX! That freaks me out. Am I going to have any eyelashes left? What if I pulled out six eyelashes a day? Are my eyelashes completely unbalanced now? Do I have some kind of eyelash deficiency disease?

These are the kinds of questions I will be asking myself now that I've just pulled half my eyelashes out.

Gee whiz.

Paper cuts...

I tried to pick up a stack of papers yesterday. It didn't work. I sliced my finger open and it started bleeding. It kind of stung that night, but I figured that a good night's rest would cure it, right? I mean, hanging out, not having to do anything for about 7 hours, with no bandaid or annoying restrictions, it should have healed. Fresh air is good for wounds, so I've heard.

The next morning it hurt. When I washed my hands it felt like I was reopening the wound. When I cut up strawberries for breakfast, I accidently leaked strawberry juice on it and that made it angry. When I picked up anything with my right hand it was unhappy and throbbed.

Basically, this paper cut was being a nuisance.

Also, I keep poking it, hoping that it will have healed...but I'm starting to get the idea that's not helping. Funny that.

~listening to:
Forget and Not Slow Down by Relient K

Funny that...

I remember a time when I didn't cry during movies. Seriously, I never shed a tear. I could watch the saddest movie on the planet and come out unscathed.

I don't know what happened. But somewhere in my middle teen years I became a movie crier. This amuses my sister greatly, who thinks it's humorous when I have tears streaking down my face at the end of a movie.

If I see anyone on screen crying, I start to cry. The good thing is that my face is fairly forgiving and I don't look like a major freak right after crying...it clears up pretty fast.

But still, I always cry during sad movies.

So, what brought this up? I just peeked upstairs to see what the rest of the family was doing and they were watching the end of Finding Neverland. Of course I stayed. Of course I started crying as soon as Freddie Highmore shed a couple of tears. Duh.

Oh well...but now I must be on to write some more of that paper.

Annoyed.

I am such a dweeb.

I avoid doing things even though I know FULLY WELL I'll regret not doing them earlier.

Like this paper, for instance.

I like pretending it does not exist.

But I have to get it done this weekend. And I've been avoiding working on it all day. If I don't finish it tomorrow I will be one big bottle of stress and that is never a good thing.

Also, because I'm in such a great mood everything I play in my iTunes library sounds sub-par and I can't keep still. I keep skipping to the next song, rotating CDs because nothing suits my mood. This is exceedingly annoying.

But now, I am going to pick out quotes for my paper and maybe do an outline. That way I can tell myself, "just write this paragraph and then you can take a break..."

I really want some chocolate.

It's official...

It's spring/summer.

We've had so much cold weather lately...and as much as I love sweaters and snow, when you've had it for months on end you are kind of ready for the next season.

But today was glorious. I wore flip flops...and I kept kicking them off because I didn't feel like wearing any shoes.

So I just walked around campus barefoot. It felt nice.

I'm so excited for warmer weather, which is interesting, because I'm such a winter person.

(Side note: when walking barefoot, even if you feel all free and blithe, don't get too caught up in your happiness and walk in questionable areas...because then you'll send up stepping on a thorn and piercing your foot.)

I want to hang out in the sun and get freckles.

I know people...

This is what happened when I went to renew my overdue book at my school's library. I have a friend whom I've been stalking for a couple semesters now and she's stalking me...so it is a mutual stalkership and we also greet each other as such. We are always joking how the other person is following us around or knows where we've been.

Me: "Hey Stalker,"

Stalker: "Hey,"

Me: "You really need to quite following me you know,"

Stalker: "Um, hello, I'm not following you if I work here...you are following me."

Me: "Oh, I guess that is true..."

Stalker: "Hey, my Stalker wants your help."

Librarian: "What can I do for you hun?"

Me: "So, I have a library book that I'm pretty sure is overdue and I was wondering if I could renew it because I'm in the middle of writing a research paper on it..."

Librarian: "Sure thing, let me check your account..."

Librarian: "There you go! It'll be due back in 2 weeks."

Me: "I don't have to pay anything?"

Librarian: "Nope, I erased all your fines because you hang out with seedy people."

Isn't that great? I have stalker connections and it pays in the end. Although, I think my book was overdue by 1 or 2 days...so it wasn't crazy overdue or anything.

Not in the least...

Obsessive? 

Why would people use that word to describe me? 

Why does my family laugh when I proclaim that I'm not obsessive?

Really, what defines obsessive - who are we to label others with this generic term?

Pshaw, I'm just a music lover...that explains why I've listened to the entire (every song on the CD, start to finish) Where The Wild Things Are Motion Picture Soundtrack 24 times in the past 5 days.

Obsessive....really? Nah, just hyperactive and attentive to my iPod and my newly acquired music.

But not obsessive.

Nope.

Anniversary!

Hey! I just realized that it is my two year anniversary for being a member of Goodreads! I've loved goodreads every since a good friend of mine recommended it to me a couple years ago. I'm actually quite obsessed with this website. I use it to keep track of every single book I read.

I've been steadily counting every book I've read since March 2008 and I've read 869 books! That's crazy! Although, I should note there are probably several hundred Children's book in that stack, but still, it's impressive.

I pretty much become a reading maniac when I'm not in school. I've only read 10 books this spring semester...that's pathetic. But on the other hand, good grades is not pathetic.

I've been seeing so many books that I want to read and I keep putting them in my to-read pile and it keeps growing larger and larger. One of my goals for this year is to get it under 1000 books...but we'll see how I manage that.

I'm excited for summer, but I have to get a job or an internship. And I should probably be looking into that sort of thing about now....hmmm.

I finished Fever Crumb and I'm working on a review. But I can tell you this.

I Loved It.

And I really want to know why the next book is not in my hot little hands. Gee whiz.

Listening to like a fiend because I'm pretty sure I'm in love with this soundtrack:
Where The Wild Things Are Motion Picture Soundtrack

Free time?

So, because I just turned in 2 papers and I already had 3 tests this week, I think I'm actually going to take some time to just relax for several hours today....something I haven't done in a long time.

I slept in til about 10:15am this morning, which is pretty late for me, but I have one big goal for today....I want to read this book!

I received it in the mail as a part of a goodreads giveaway contest I entered and I am so stoked that I won! I love how this author takes things that you take for granted and he twists them into horrifying and fantastic new elements of a sci-fi/steam punk novel! This is the author's website if you want to check him out, and here is the book website. You might recognize his name because he also wrote Mortal Engines, which I absolutely LOVED. I am going to go read some more and try to finish it today before the madness of school starts again.

~listening to like an obsessed fiend:

the Where The Wild Things Are Soundtrack

Duly noted...

Breakfast tastes funny if you've recently brushed your teeth.

But I'm actually surprised that I was able to eat breakfast at all today. I'm feeling kind of stressed with all the things that I have to get done today and tomorrow and normally when I'm stressed out I just feel sick all the time and can't eat.

Okay, my 2-minute writing break is over. Now I'm off to school.

Waiting...

Peace

Open laptop

earbuds nestled, playing music.

Doors burst

A crowd of people

Stream from the enclosed and tight spaces

of class

Conversations

"how'd you do..."

"...didn't look nervous at all..."

"...thanks, I got it at..."

"...I can't wait for summer..."

"...eat lunch..."

A cacophony of disturbance

My music is gone

drowned in the turbulence of noise

With a few deft strokes

of my thumb

I slide the volume adjuster

Now the conversations are a murmur

And my Where The Wild Things Are Soundtrack

Is happily consuming my thoughts once again.

Since yesterday...

All I've been doing is listen to the Where The Wild Things Are Soundtrack.

It is great companion music. I listen while doing homework, eat dinner, browse the web, write papers...it brightens my day.

~listening to:

WTWTA Soundtrack (I am obsessed)

I'm a lyin' fool

I told myself I'd clean my room over spring break.

I told myself I'd read all my ILL articles over spring break.

I told myself I'd read my Jane Austen novel before I went to conference.

I told myself I'd study for my Engl Lit II test before conference.

I told myself I'd practice my presentations for conference 5 times each.

I told myself I would study on the car drives to and from conference.

I told myself I'd get up early every morning over spring break.

I told myself I'd make a to-do list and check things off over spring break.

I told myself a lot of things...and I've come to this conclusion. I cannot trust myself to follow-through.

I am such a delinquent. Gee whiz.

But, now my Engl Lit test is over and I did finish Emma yesterday...so what do I have left?

Bible test, 2 speaker summaries, 1 lit review, 200 pages of ILL, 1 art project, 500 words of creative writing, 1 topic proposal, 1 minute long speech, and probably a couple other things I'm forgetting. This week will not be a good one. I'm actually surprised that I'm not as stressed as I imagined I would be. It will probably set it soon enough though and I'll just explode.

~contemplating buying the soundtrack because it is on sale at amazon.com for $5.99

Where The Wild Things Are Motion Picture Soundtrack

Getting ready...

I'm packing like a fiend....

~humming to myself:

Awake and Alive by Skillet

I'm trying to be healthy...

So I'm eating yogurt for breakfast. It tastes good, but I want something more substantial.

Like pizza. But that isn't very nutritious.

Drat.

I'm going to eat this shiny apple, because that should fill me up...with energy.

Avoidance

Me?

I'm a go-getter. I don't take no for an answer. I get things accomplished like there is no tomorrow. When I set my mind to it, I hop to it.

You can't bring me down cuz I've got so much energy. I'm on fire with attitude and I'm not a slacker.

I've got style and I've got spunk. I always make to-do lists and check off each item when I'm done. You never see me sleeping because I'm runnin' all over the place.

So, this is why I'm writing a blog entry...instead of cleaning my room.

Sunday afternoons..

I'm reading my poetry, pausing, stumbling, working on inflection.

It's bad to smile when you are talking about death.

And you have to give the listeners clues, that your poem is funny.

It's so much easier...to sit at the kitchen table, the ambience of unwashed pots and sunday comics as your audience.

When I present, I will have to take a piece of this tranquility with me.

Relient K obsession?

So, I've loved Relient K since 2002 when I got their sophomore CD. I was randomly browsing through my iTunes and I started playing Candlelight. If you have not heard that song you really need to check it out...It makes me smile every single time I play it. I'm pretty sure it will never grow old. My favorite lines are in bold.

"She's almost brighter than the sun
Seems to me to be unfair
When you consider everyone
Who pales when they compare

Can't hold a candle to her
Cause all the moths get in the way
And they'll begin to chew her
Entire attire until it frays
For she outshines anyone whoever might
Dare to bask in the same candlelight"

Sleep deprivation...

I slept for 10 hours and 45 minutes last night. That is the most sleep I've probably had in the last six months. And while I was fiddling around on my computer and it was so hard to keep my eyes open that I just decided to take another nap.

This is sleep insanity!

Or actually, my lack of.

Confusion

Why is it that my father and my sister will not watch Martian Child but they will happily watch Enchanted instead?

This puzzles me greatly.

Side note...

I have been seriously craving cheese lately.

Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese

To be specific.

I am pretty sure it's my favorite.

I'd love for homework to disappear...

You probably guessed this, but schoolwork and crazy activities have taken over my life. And when I say crazy activities, most of them are ones that I'm having a blast in and I thoroughly enjoy participating in. I'm probably involved in too many extracurricular activities.

I'm still lovin' college...I just wish some of my homework would go away. Over the spring break I have got to get some stuff done otherwise I will probably fail college.

My to-do list?

1. Read Emma by Jane Austen

2. Read research for lit review (about 190 pages)

3. Study for a crazy intense 18th century literature test

4. Look up an article to summarize for Creative Writing

5. Have fun at conference

Yeah, I don't know if I mentioned this or not, but I'm going to English Conference over spring break and I'm pretty excited. I just got to work on my presentations.

~currently obsessed with on the radio:

Collapsing by Demon Hunter &

Dust by Queen's Club

I'm still here...

I'm just crazy busy with school and extracurricular activities.

I also haven't been getting very much sleep lately.....or doing as much homework as I would like...which makes me annoyed.

I also recently acquired a cold. This is not cool and I am taking drugs to get rid of it. Blargh.

Meandering thoughts...

I've deleted what I've typed 2 times already. I cannot get my thoughts down without sounding stupid.pointless.whiney.lame.

*sigh*

Trying to explain in a vague and longwinded way isn't working, so I'll just be vague without the backtracking.

I don't require much, but I'd like to be noticed, okay?

That's all I want to say. I'm sure this sour mood will pass and besides, I have to do some crazy art/english homework or my GPA will kill me.

Blargh.

Paper....

I'm writing a paper...that's what I'm going to do today. I've got to get it done in a couple hours because I have to do other homework as well. I also need to free up some space on my camera's memory card. I have about 8 pictures left and I'm going to need room for spring sing photos and concerts.

But, first....the paper about 18th century literature.

~Currently listening to:

Chain Gang Bang Bang by Neon Horse

So sleepy...

I've been working on my art pieces since 7pm and now they are almost done. Just the last finishing touches and I can be free from this assignment. Though I still have some Mansfield Park to read before I can go to bed...such is the life of a college student...

~Currently hummin' in my head:

College Kid by Relient K

Not Cool.

I have too much stuff to do this semester. I am going to die with all these assignments, papers, and art projects. I can't keep up. I don't get enough sleep. I am not eating. My GPA is going to die. I shouldn't even be writing this blog post because it is taking 2 minutes of my time....argh.

~Listening to:

my heart beating out of my chest from stress and anxiety.

My pearly whites

Is it weird to say that I love my dentist? No, no, it is not.

His personality is so great that I am put in a good mood whenever I go. He also remembers details about my life and asks how things are going.

Today we discussed movies.

I think I also might be a little biased because when he first looked inside my mouth he said, "Fantastic!" which made me feel as if I have the best teeth in the world.

And the clincher, guys? He saw my feet almost immediately and said, "Hey, I love your camo Toms."

Oh yes, he's definitely the best dentist around. I also had no cavities. Score.

~Currently humming:

Dental Care by Owl City

Oh, yeah...

Dentist appointment tomorrow. I've got to brush my teeth - Ack!

Study time

It is so hard to study when your eyelids feel like they are slowly sliding down to cover your sleepy eyes. What am I supposed to do? Get up and bounce around to get my mind back on track. Craziness. I think I'll eat something real quick and then try and tackle those last 100 pages of my Clinker novel....ah, this is taking forever, but at least I'll have it done and can start writing the paper for it. Bleh.

Update on Clinker

I only have 133 pages left in this crazy novel of letters written in the 18th century. I might read the rest tonight, but probably not, seeings how it is already 11:40 and I have church, work, spring sing practice, and homework all on the morrow.

On my ever growing to-do list, I need to delete photos off my camera and put them safely on my portable hard drive. I have space for about 40 more and then my 4GB memory card will be full. I guess it would be an understatement to tell you I'm a camera fiend. *shrugs shoulders*

~Currently listening to:

Innocence and Instinct by RED

I just saw this...

So, taking a little study break from my homework, I was perusing the internet when I saw this!!

I so did NOT know that Suzanne Collin's last installment in the Hunger Games Trilogy had a cover and a title! I am such a bad rabid fan. Man...I cannot wait for this to come out. I'm pretty sure the world will stand still the moment I get my hands on this book. I will not eat, I will not sleep, I will not check facebook, I will curl up with this book and probably shed tears. If Peeta dies I do not know how I will console myself. But at the same time, I'm starting to feel for Gale as well....but Peeta needs to get the girl, okay?

Oh my goodness! August 24, 2010! Why are you so far away?

~listening to:

Rocks Into Rivers by Seabird (this makes me so happy - I am already in love with this CD. Piano based rock and moody lyrics with a soulful voice - I can't get enough. love. love.)

Today...

I must get a lot of things accomplished. I feel like I did a decent amount of work yesterday, but I've got to step it up today. I really can't lollygag around on the internet randomly checking twitter/facebook to see what other people are doing. Here's my to-do list.

1. Finish The Expedition of Humphry Clinker.

2. Start Mansfield Park.

3. Write outline for NT class.

4. Write 500 words for Creative Writing.

5. Make 15 art pieces.

6. Write a novel analysis for Clinker (1250 words).

So...that's what I have to do. This is just over the weekend, man. And it seems like I have this kind of load every weekend! What is up? This is why my blog posts are scarce. Bleh.

~Currently listening to on the radio:

Never Going Back To Okay by The Afters

Reading.

Lately I haven't read any non-textbooks. Sure, I have many a happy hour reading Jane Austen's novels for that class, but the majority of my reading is not for pleasure and fun. I am working on The Expedition of Humphry Clinker by Tobias Smollett right now. I am going to have to write a research paper on this novel as well. I am not looking forward to it because I am afraid I won't be able to delve deeper into the text and analyze it fully. *sigh* I also have several goodreads books I won that I haven't been able to read because I'm trying so hard to stay on top of schoolwork. I'm looking forward to spring break when I can hopefully manage to squeeze in a book or two. Maybe.

~Currently listening to:

Always Yours by Ruth

I got a blog award!

I got a lovely little award from my friend, Amelia over @ Imagination In Focus!

The rules for this Bliss (Happy 101) Award are that I must list 10 things that make me happy, then pass it along to 10 other bloggers.

Okay, 10 things that make me happy:

1. I love free music downloads.

2. Family Force 5 concerts.

3. Goodreads giveaways.

4. Late night wacky conversations with friends who get me out of my sour moods.

5. Children that let me hold them.

6. People who read my blog.

7. Chocolate (hahaha, enough said!)

8. Macbook computers.

9. Toms Shoes

10. Exciting new young adult series I can't wait to get my hands on!

And I pass this award on to:

• Beth @ Beth Kephart Books
• Amelia @ Imagination In Focus (she sent it to me!)
• Sara @ Along For The Ride
• Janette @ Janette Rallison's Blog
• Miss Erin @ Miss Erin
• Shannon @ Squeetus
• Wideyed @ To Convey A Double Meaning
• Stephanie @ Yarn Harlot
• Julie @ The Book Gargoyle
• Ashes @ Up From The Ashes

Announcement

I got accepted to conference.

English major in an art class

So I'm working on an art project right now. It's probably going to take forever because I've never done anything like this before in my whole life. I didn't take art in school and I've never even really doodled. I wouldn't be in the this class if it weren't required for my photography minor. But I think this class is going to drive me crazy, man. I just spent a hour drawing and shading my face on a 4 by 5 piece of paper and I'm STILL not happy with the result. My eyes are too big and lopsided. But I have 5 more pieces to do before tonight because I will have absolutely NO time tomorrow and it's due on Tuesday at noon.

It is definitely not the best rendition of myself, but considering it being the first face I have ever attempted to draw, I'd say it was decent.

I probably should stop writing though and get back to work...I have 5 more different versions to make of my face.

~Currently listening to:

Ocean Eyes by Owl City

Mental Note

A friendly reminder to myself for future purposes and random internet blog readers:

When it is snowing outside make sure you are not wearing cloth shoes that will get wet when you step into a pile of slush. In doing this you will not walk around campus with soaked socks and pruned feet.

~Currently singing:

Fire It Up by Thousand Foot Krutch

I never really thought this...

But I guess my moods are kind of roller coaster. One moment I'm really happy and then something happens that turns my thoughts sour. I am not happy right now and I can't stand it. I'd say I was a pretty cheerful person but the past week has been so crazy. There have been a lot of Not Cool Things and some pretty Crazy Cool Things.

But I really need this slight depression to go away. I have things to do and I'm working on my crazy schoolwork that is trying to take over my life.

I know I kind of mentioned Stalk Week in my last post...but I'm going to explain when I'm in a better mood because then it will be more exciting.

Blargh.

~currently obsessed with

Hello Hurricane by Switchfoot

Da da da dun!

All I've got to say is this:

STALK WEEK!

Okay, I'll explain later....

~Song I'm currently playing in my head:

Free by Switchfoot

I'm waiting....I'm waiting...

So....I submitted a couple selections of my writing to this national conference that our English Honor Society goes to every year....

I submitted them November 20, 2009. They said they'd inform the people whether they got in or not on January 30, 2010. So I patiently waited and did my schoolwork and basically forgot about it until a week before it was going to be announced. When January 30 came around I kept checking my email.

Nothing.

And then I checked the official website and it said they were going to inform people on February 1. and also post them online. So I was going, "okay, that's nice, we will find out on Monday..."

Today's monday and now they've said they are having technical difficulties and will sent out emails before February 2.

Oh my goodness.

Heavy Thoughts

A person at my school took their own life this past weekend. I didn't know them, but I still feel all these crazy emotions. My heart breaks for their family and all that knew them. The day it happened I felt like I had a cloud over my head, constantly reminding me that someone was no longer alive. I felt guilty every time I laughed or had a happy thought because I was alive and they weren't.

This was kind of close to home. I'm just praying.

Bad day...

Today was not a good day.

I've been waiting for an email for months and it was supposed to arrive today...it didn't.

I found out I can't go to a concert I already bought tickets for months ago.

I bought a piece of jewelry online and it never arrived and nobody is answering my emails (but they've already taken my money).

My throat is sore because I've been coughing so much.

I got a horribly depressing email from school about a student and my heart breaks for the student's family.

And I just basically been in a saddened mood today. I hope tomorrow gets better. It's only now that I've had a little while to process things that I'm actually starting to feel my mood lighten a little.

~Currently obsessed with the CD:

Hello Hurricane by Switchfoot

Snow Day!

It's snowing! We have no school, and when I look outside I'm reminded of Narnia. This would be a great time to get caught up on my book reviews blog and goodreads. Man, I should probably tackle some homework as well. I've been reading Jane Austen and underlining anything that I think is great.

~Currently listening to:

Ordinary World by RED

Sweet!

No school! No School! La la la lalalal.

Okay, so I'm a tad bit excited. I know I shouldn't be absolutely thrilled that we have no school, but come on, how can I not be happy. I'm going to use my time wisely though. I'm going to catch up on some sleep and kick this cold out of my body. I'm going to finish my Jane Austen novel. And I'm also going to do homework that isn't due until next week. I'm all fired up.

The one thing I feel guilty about is the weather, even though it is shutting down schools, I'm still a little worried about how severe it could get. I'm praying that it won't be too bad and that people will stay safe.

Okay, now I have to go finish sense and sensibilities.

~Currently singing:

Hill Street Blues by Maj

Blargh

I don't feel well.

I just took some cold medication. I really thought I was over this cold.

Apparently not. Gee whiz, can I try and be healthy for a change? I mean, I've been fighting this stupid cold since before Christmas. I don't understand, I've been eating way better than normal and I'm still fighting this cold. In the last three days I've eaten 7 apples. This is amazing for me, because I'm not that big of an apple eater, but my goal is to eat 365 by the end of this year.

Okay, now that I've got this out of my system, I really have to get back to my Jane Austen novel...I'm only 90 pages behind. Gee whiz, why do I keep doing this to myself.

~currently running through my head:

Let's Dance by Hawk Nelson

School?

There is a winter storm coming in tomorrow. Which means school might be canceled tomorrow. Which, of course, I would not mind in the least. But we are supposed to be checking our email regularly to see what is going to happen. I can't help but mutter cancelschoolcancelschoolcancelschool under my breathe. Not that I just don't love learning and going to classes, but a break would be nice. Because I've been feeling kind of really stressed out lately.

But still, whenever there is the possibility that they might cancel school, I'm always on the student side. Whoops.

Anyway, here is what I really wanted to write about, but I felt like I needed to give you a little backstory.

I told my sister, "I'm going to go outside to do a Snow/Ice Dance."

"What's that look like?" she said.

"It looks like a frozen Rain Dance," I said right before walking out the backdoor.

Hey there...

My blog has been sadly neglected as of late. Probably because I'm going crazy with schoolwork and trying to balance that with all the clubs and other cool stuff I'm in. Hm...I'm really not happy with how I'm managing my time skills at this point, and I want to improve so that I'm not so crazy stressed out during the week. I think the key is Friday. Because I have no classes, I should take this time to do schoolwork that isn't due until next week so I won't freak out so much. But the problem is that all I ever seem to do is think about this solution and never implement it. Gee whiz.

This Friday, things are going to change.

~Currently listening to obsessively:

Flashlight (The Cullen Song) by Eleventyseven

I'm basically a freak.

You want to know the most exciting thing I did today?

I superglued two of my fingers together.

Yeah, not cool at all.

I ended up spending 8 solid minutes rubbing them together while applying nail polish remover and olive oil to break them apart. As of right now, they are still sore and I can't really feel anything on the edges. Plus my skin kind of shifted around in the process, so now my fingerprint is kind of janky.

I've now resolved to NOT use superglue for my art project. I'm just going to stick with tacky and rubber cement.

~currently obsessed with:

Dishes by Flynn Adam

Argh

I woke up with a headache. It makes no sense. I got 8 hours of sleep. I didn't eat anything strange before going to bed. I had crazy weird dreams with subplots of Avatar, but my alarm went off and kept me from getting sucked into that vortex.

I ate breakfast as soon as I got up. But I still have this nasty headache. Gee whiz.

Hey though, you want a quick update on how I'm doing with my New Year's resolutions?

I've eaten 15 apples! Yeah, I know, today is the 23rd, so I'm 8 apples behind, but still, I'm pretty impressed with myself.

But today equals homework day. I have too many crazy assignments that are due in the coming weeks. It is crazy. I'm going to probably go insane. But that is the reason my blog entries are sometimes scarce. Hehehe. I think to perk myself up I'm going to buy some songs off amazon or iTunes. I've had a couple items I've had my eye on for several weeks now...

~currently listening to:

The Effect Radio

The neverending sludge...

Now that school is back I have loads of homework. As soon as I turn another assignment in they give me more to work on. I sometimes have a break in the sludge and wonder what I should do. I have done all the homework that was needed for class and I feel like I've accomplished something, but then I realize I shouldn't sit around doing nothing because I still have so many other projects that I could get started on...only I don't want to get started on those because I know they are labor-intensive and will take actual brain cells. (mine are currently fried at this point).

So...I sit and I meander listlessly. I have a to-do list on the stickies application on my Mac but I really would rather not check it. I don't want to look at the mountain of things I need to do this weekend. Nope.

And I definitely Do Not want to think about that Art project we're doing in class tomorrow. Nope. I will live in the delightful land of delusions and play with my pet t-rex.

This sounds like a grand plan.

~Song I can't stop singing:

Dishes by Flynn Adams

Golden Globes? No, I want the Newbery Awards!

So I completely went to bed last night forgetting that today was the day that the ALA announced their awards, including the Newbery and Caldecott winners.

I was randomly checking my email and checking out my blogs when I saw something on the side of a page and realized that it was book related and the NEWBERYS were going to be announced today. I immediately did some crazy fast internet searching to find out when the winner's would be listed and I got onto twitter to check out ALA's twitter page and found out the winners, but I didn't find the whole list.

But I found an article online that said they were posting the press release at 10:30EST and since I live in CST I looked at the right hand of my computer screen and saw it was 9:31 my time and I refreshed my page and I got the results! Here are the winners and honors for 2010!

I'm going to go put a whole bunch of books on my to-read lists on goodreads.

Conclusion

When I watch horribly depressing films that I know I'm going to cry in I will get a headache and have a small mountain of used tissues. Then I will go work on homework and not think about my cold or the sad movie.

(we watched My Sister's Keeper)

Whose idea was this anyway?

Oh right, me.

I signed up for all these classes.

I decided that three English classes and an Art class would go great together.

Yep, allll me.

Lucky little me.

So, that might be why my blog posts mysteriously disappear, or, ahem, fail to appear in the first place. I'll be so crazy busy doing Art when I'm an English major while reading for all my English classes.

Real smooth.

~Currently listening to:

the sound of my computer whirring...

I'm sick...again!

So you know that cold I kicked to the curb before school started? That nasty, obnoxious fellow who followed me around all Christmas break and tried to get chummy?

Yeah, him.

Well, he left for a little bit only to come back with all sorts of rude intentions.

No I don't want a stuffed up nose.

No, I don't want sinus pressure and plugged ears.

No, I don't want drowsy headaches.

No, I don't want to blow my nose every five minutes.

Argh, I am so annoyed.

~song I've heard on the radio and gotten excited about every time:

Hillstreet Blues by Maj

School is back in session...

And that means I am even more booked up than ever. I can't believe it is already day 3 and I have a nice stack of homework. What are they trying to do? Kill me?

So...I'm in an art class....which I'll probably fail...because I've never taken are before...and I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing...why did I sign up for this? Oh yeah, Photography Minor. Hm....

But I'm rereading the complete works of Jane Austen for my Jane Austen class - booyah (and I don't even use that word). Northanger Abbey is cracking me up man, Jane is so clever at inserting witty banter and ironic statements that I'm smiling throughout my entire reading of this novel. Tongue and cheek to the max. She's great.

So...I probably shouldn't be on her blithely typing away a blog entry when I have 1 creative writing assignment to write and 17 more sketches for that killer art class. I'm off to loose my mind in circles and black and white.

Excitement!

It's the first day back at school! So many new faces, so many warm and familiar ones. I'm getting to see my friends who I haven't seen in so long.

I just printed off my schedule. It's funny, I'm usually pretty paranoid, but I didn't even look to see where any of my classes were. Haha, I just knew which ones I was taking.

Now that I kind of know where I'm going I can relax a little. It's kind of funny though, out of my six classes, four are in the same two rooms! My bible classes on two different days are in the same exact room. And two of my english classes are in the same exact room with the same exact professor.

This semester looks pretty crazy, but I'm thinking it will be a good kind of crazy.