It really has been a while. I usually wait for something interesting to happen to write in my blog, but the past month or so, I've just been in a bad mood. I've been slightly depressed, and I've had some health problem. Not a great part of my life, and not much I want to talk about. To sum things up, I was depressed because I didn't think I was accomplishing much. Soon after that, my chest hurt late at night and I went to the emergency room. I've been healing since then, and trying to get into a pulmonologist. My lungs have been poor for a few years.
It was soon after making an appointment to see the doctor that I started to feel better (go fig), but I'm still going since I've had this ever lingering cough for almost two years. Time to get that cleared up. But I'm feeling better and my spirits are up so I've been working more on my projects.
Anime Banzai is coming up, so I'm getting ready for that. I'm making a few costumes and getting things ready to sell at my table. One of my costumes I'll be wearing is Astrid from How to Tame a Dragon. I'm really excited about that costume. Especially since my husband is going to be Hiccup for Halloween, so we'll be matching. ^.^
My writing has fallen behind. Lately, the only thing I've been wanting to write is chapter summaries for all my books so that I have them written down, but it'll take me forever to do that. I just keep coming up with more and more stories that I'll never get through them all. But I want to.
Another thing going on in my life is that I'm in training to be my ward's organist, not something I ever thought would happen. I never thought of myself as a great piano player, so when I was asked to start learning the organ I was a little excited, but more than a little apprehensive. I've played two songs in sacrament so far, and each time I'm very nervous. And I've found that it's hard for me to learn new songs. It's been a long time since I've had lessons.
Now I'm just complaining. I can't really think of anything of real importance that I've accomplished lately. I've been reading a lot of books, and watching plenty of Monk. I love that show.
Maybe next time I'll have a little more to write about. For now, that's how my life's been going in a nutshell.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
My first poem for the blog
In a nutshell, I've been watching too much Animaniacs, and reading too much Calvin and Hobbes. I also blame my sister for reminding me about how creepy my home town really is.
The poem (I don't have a title).
There is a race
That came from space
With long tentacles and deadly machines.
They thought it right
To come and fight
Against the Earth, a planet, blue and green.
And just before
They start this war
A human they needed, to study his head.
They wanted one smart,
A scientist to start,
And just their luck, they abducted me instead.
They poked and prod
Me. This poor sod!
To get me talking to they could learn our language.
I was not in ease,
So I aimed to please
By saying things like, “Gotach fam toka mertagage.”
On that spot
I did taught
Those aliens our culture; everything bright and new.
In misdirection,
I didn't mention
They were all things no human would ever, ever do.
In just an hour
They showed their power
By making a copy of me to send to Earth.
I did not dare
To show how scared
I was of this abomination they had birthed.
The creature's mission:
To sow dissension
Among our leaders, to ruin and make a mess
To make us weak
And when we're meek
They will take over and destroy us more or less.
The copy went down,
And when she was found
Was taken to my apartment by the cops.
My husband dear,
Had little fear,
Was unaware of the plan he had to stop.
That bad clone of me
My husband did see
Act in a manner that was wild and obscene.
Even as a hostage,
This I could acknowledge
Watching the Mothership's wide visual screen.
It didn't take long,
For things to go wrong,
My husband knew and finally submitted.
Was this his wife
He wed for life?
In the end, he went and had me committed.
The invasion was doomed
To a white, padded room.
The creature was locked up with all the psychotics.
Her masters wondered
How she had blundered
While doped up on five kinds of narcotics.
Up they beamed prescriptions
Of every descriptions
Wonder written all over their ugly mugs.
A lie I told
Was bought and sold.
Those alien fiends readily took the drugs.
That super strength
Would come at length
Was the fib I told; they wanted to believe.
They laughed and cried
Some even died
Chaos reigned until their senses were retrieved.
From drug delusions
Came to conclusions
That Earthlings used too many vile tricks.
They vowed to pack,
Never come back,
(At least 'til they needed another fix.)
To end my doppelganger,
They exterminated her,
And cleaned her remains up without sign or trace.
As for MY dilemma,
I don't mind to tell ya,
They disposed me in their experiment's place!
As if my life
Needed more strife.
Those aliens only ruined me a little.
I nearly snapped
When I was trapped
In my new cell inside that mental hospital.
I couldn't tell
Those in my cell
That aliens sent me here like a delivery.
In just a few
Short months, it's true,
I walked away a miraculous recovery.
Normalness returned.
From TV I learned
Not to let my mouth spill over like a tipped cup.
I won't jeer,
I lived in fear
That if I talked the government would shut me up!
But I just couldn't keep it
From my husband, this secret.
I trusted him above all other men.
I was without
any true doubt
Until he had me committed again.
The poem (I don't have a title).
There is a race
That came from space
With long tentacles and deadly machines.
They thought it right
To come and fight
Against the Earth, a planet, blue and green.
And just before
They start this war
A human they needed, to study his head.
They wanted one smart,
A scientist to start,
And just their luck, they abducted me instead.
They poked and prod
Me. This poor sod!
To get me talking to they could learn our language.
I was not in ease,
So I aimed to please
By saying things like, “Gotach fam toka mertagage.”
On that spot
I did taught
Those aliens our culture; everything bright and new.
In misdirection,
I didn't mention
They were all things no human would ever, ever do.
In just an hour
They showed their power
By making a copy of me to send to Earth.
I did not dare
To show how scared
I was of this abomination they had birthed.
The creature's mission:
To sow dissension
Among our leaders, to ruin and make a mess
To make us weak
And when we're meek
They will take over and destroy us more or less.
The copy went down,
And when she was found
Was taken to my apartment by the cops.
My husband dear,
Had little fear,
Was unaware of the plan he had to stop.
That bad clone of me
My husband did see
Act in a manner that was wild and obscene.
Even as a hostage,
This I could acknowledge
Watching the Mothership's wide visual screen.
It didn't take long,
For things to go wrong,
My husband knew and finally submitted.
Was this his wife
He wed for life?
In the end, he went and had me committed.
The invasion was doomed
To a white, padded room.
The creature was locked up with all the psychotics.
Her masters wondered
How she had blundered
While doped up on five kinds of narcotics.
Up they beamed prescriptions
Of every descriptions
Wonder written all over their ugly mugs.
A lie I told
Was bought and sold.
Those alien fiends readily took the drugs.
That super strength
Would come at length
Was the fib I told; they wanted to believe.
They laughed and cried
Some even died
Chaos reigned until their senses were retrieved.
From drug delusions
Came to conclusions
That Earthlings used too many vile tricks.
They vowed to pack,
Never come back,
(At least 'til they needed another fix.)
To end my doppelganger,
They exterminated her,
And cleaned her remains up without sign or trace.
As for MY dilemma,
I don't mind to tell ya,
They disposed me in their experiment's place!
As if my life
Needed more strife.
Those aliens only ruined me a little.
I nearly snapped
When I was trapped
In my new cell inside that mental hospital.
I couldn't tell
Those in my cell
That aliens sent me here like a delivery.
In just a few
Short months, it's true,
I walked away a miraculous recovery.
Normalness returned.
From TV I learned
Not to let my mouth spill over like a tipped cup.
I won't jeer,
I lived in fear
That if I talked the government would shut me up!
But I just couldn't keep it
From my husband, this secret.
I trusted him above all other men.
I was without
any true doubt
Until he had me committed again.
7th month anniversary.
Yes, my husband and I have been married for seven months since yesterday. It's so sweet. And to celebrate, we went to go see a play down in the Orem Hale Center Theater. It was really good. It's called "The Hit". If you ever get the chance, go see it. I thought that is was so cute.
We barely got there in the nick of time due to the fact we stopped by Sizzler for some food. Our waitress probably thought we were crazy because we told her we were in a hurry, and had her bring to-go boxes when she brought our meal. So we're shoveling food into our mouths, and rushed out the door. We were late to the play, but the play started 15 minutes late, so we were lucky.
It would have been a terrific day if it wasn't for the fact that when I got home, I laid on the bed in exhaustion. I hadn't been sleeping too much, so I couldn't wait to climb into bed and sleep. Then I saw on the ceiling about five tiny, baby spiders crawling around. My husband and I killed about twenty of them. After looking around the house and seeing that they were only in the bedroom, I figured they came from the window. Or there's an egg sack in our mattress (which is something I don't want to dwell on for long). Knowing I would never get any sleep in that bed, I made my husband sleep on the futon with me.
But other than that, I had a great time yesterday.
That's 7th month anniversary in a nutshell.
We barely got there in the nick of time due to the fact we stopped by Sizzler for some food. Our waitress probably thought we were crazy because we told her we were in a hurry, and had her bring to-go boxes when she brought our meal. So we're shoveling food into our mouths, and rushed out the door. We were late to the play, but the play started 15 minutes late, so we were lucky.
It would have been a terrific day if it wasn't for the fact that when I got home, I laid on the bed in exhaustion. I hadn't been sleeping too much, so I couldn't wait to climb into bed and sleep. Then I saw on the ceiling about five tiny, baby spiders crawling around. My husband and I killed about twenty of them. After looking around the house and seeing that they were only in the bedroom, I figured they came from the window. Or there's an egg sack in our mattress (which is something I don't want to dwell on for long). Knowing I would never get any sleep in that bed, I made my husband sleep on the futon with me.
But other than that, I had a great time yesterday.
That's 7th month anniversary in a nutshell.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Books I recommend that I've read recently
Recently I've finished a couple of books that I've been very happy about, some that relate to the books I've recommended on past books.
I finished the third book of the Circle of Magic series called Daja's Book by Tamora Pierce. I didn't think it was as great as the first two, but it was fine.
Next I finished the second book of the Keys to the Kingdom series called Grim Tuesday by Garth Nix. I really love this series. It is fantastic. It's very creative, and it feels like Alice in Wonderland but with a plot. It has strangeness all over it, but a nice adventure feel.
Another book I finished is called The Roar by Emma Clayton. This book is a distopia and kind of creepy. I would not suggest this for younger audiences. It's post-apocalyptic and involves corrupted governments and lying politicians, as well as kid endangerment and brain washing. I really like the characterization of this book, and some of the plot twists. Now I gotta go get the sequel "The Whisper".
Last of all is a book called The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison. This isn't my usual type of book. It's fantasy, but more on the romance side. It was very interesting, and a different type of fantasy than I'm used to. My only complaint was the ending was kind of slow and a bit softer than I liked. I was hoping for a cliff hanger since there's a sequel.
I'm still addictive to books. I can't do anything without taking a book with me. I'm currently reading two more, and then one with my husband. I can't stop. Also I bought three more books at DI. What am I to do?
At least my husband is keeping up with my addiction. He's just as bad.
That's my obsession in a nutshell. I'm glad that I might be able to spread it to others.
I finished the third book of the Circle of Magic series called Daja's Book by Tamora Pierce. I didn't think it was as great as the first two, but it was fine.
Next I finished the second book of the Keys to the Kingdom series called Grim Tuesday by Garth Nix. I really love this series. It is fantastic. It's very creative, and it feels like Alice in Wonderland but with a plot. It has strangeness all over it, but a nice adventure feel.
Another book I finished is called The Roar by Emma Clayton. This book is a distopia and kind of creepy. I would not suggest this for younger audiences. It's post-apocalyptic and involves corrupted governments and lying politicians, as well as kid endangerment and brain washing. I really like the characterization of this book, and some of the plot twists. Now I gotta go get the sequel "The Whisper".
Last of all is a book called The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison. This isn't my usual type of book. It's fantasy, but more on the romance side. It was very interesting, and a different type of fantasy than I'm used to. My only complaint was the ending was kind of slow and a bit softer than I liked. I was hoping for a cliff hanger since there's a sequel.
I'm still addictive to books. I can't do anything without taking a book with me. I'm currently reading two more, and then one with my husband. I can't stop. Also I bought three more books at DI. What am I to do?
At least my husband is keeping up with my addiction. He's just as bad.
That's my obsession in a nutshell. I'm glad that I might be able to spread it to others.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
My name is Emilou and I'm an addict
It's true. I can't stop. I don't know what to do.
And my husband doesn't help. He's just as bad.
So we have four bookcases stacked full of books in our apartment, a bookcase for fantasy, one for religion, one for my comics and manga, and one for the rest of books. Besides that, I have two shelves in my closet and inside my nightstand holds over 120 books that I have read.
And my husband isn't helping. Almost once a week, my loving husband goes to DI, half the time I go with him. When I go, I can walk out with up to fifteen more books. Good news is that usually that was about ten bucks spent for fifty dollars worth of books (I love DI). But I can't get over this addiction.
I tried to sell a few of my books. Over the space of two years, I have accumulated about twenty books that I didn't want. So I decided to sell them to a used book store. The first one wouldn't take them, the next one only sold LDS books, and the last one was closed. Instead of taking them home, my husband said he'd buy ten dollars worth of merchandise at DI if we donate the twenty pounds of books to DI. We went home with twelve more books.
I am an addict, and I can't stop getting more books and reading them.
I have no life. My nutshell is too full of books.
And my husband doesn't help. He's just as bad.
So we have four bookcases stacked full of books in our apartment, a bookcase for fantasy, one for religion, one for my comics and manga, and one for the rest of books. Besides that, I have two shelves in my closet and inside my nightstand holds over 120 books that I have read.
And my husband isn't helping. Almost once a week, my loving husband goes to DI, half the time I go with him. When I go, I can walk out with up to fifteen more books. Good news is that usually that was about ten bucks spent for fifty dollars worth of books (I love DI). But I can't get over this addiction.
I tried to sell a few of my books. Over the space of two years, I have accumulated about twenty books that I didn't want. So I decided to sell them to a used book store. The first one wouldn't take them, the next one only sold LDS books, and the last one was closed. Instead of taking them home, my husband said he'd buy ten dollars worth of merchandise at DI if we donate the twenty pounds of books to DI. We went home with twelve more books.
I am an addict, and I can't stop getting more books and reading them.
I have no life. My nutshell is too full of books.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Bot Con
So Bot Con was a few days ago. I just got back, tired and geeked out. But it was a great weekend.
It started over a month ago when I started making transformer hats. It took me forever, but I bought enough material to make around 90 hats. Two years ago when I went, I had about twenty-five hats and sold out. This year, I didn't want to sell out, so I made enough. I had most of them finished when the trip began, but the rest I had to sew by hand. All the way to California, I sewed hats. In the hotel, I sewed hats.
I went with my sister and three of her friends. We arrived at Botcon a day before the convention, so we went to Hollywood and the beach. I got pictures of Abbot and Costello's stars, and we walked up and down the boardwalk. It was fun and very interesting. Then we went to the beach. The ocean was cold, so there was lots of squealing and screaming.
The Botcon came. I had made hats for Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Ratchet, Prowl, Jazz, Red Alert, Soundwave, Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, and TFA Prowl. I also made a few baby hats, but I was afraid that I made them too small. And sure enough, I did. But they fit a few plushies some fangirls had. So I gave them away to the girls, who were happy about that.
During the first day, I didn't sell very many. The dealor's room was only open for three hours, and not open to the general public. I sold about ten. The second day was crazy. The general public was allowed in for a small price, and I sold around thirty hats that day. The third day I lowered my prices, and sold around twenty more.
I sold out on Prowl(8), Soundwave(7) and TFA Prowl(4). I sold a good amount of Bumblebee(12). Jazz(4), Ratchet (5) were pretty good as well. My seeker hats were fair, but I sold none of Thundercracker. I sold one Red Alert and two Cliffjumpers. I want to have this on record for next time I go, so I know what kind I need. But I made a great amount of money there. I made as much as I spent, including gas, price of the table and hotel. It was great.
I also have had a few people saying they're wanting to order hats online, and a couple of people have offered to advertise for me, so I'm stoked. I might have a second income for buying my geek stuff.
Besides selling hats, I also saw a lot of neat costumes. There was a girl who had made a Jazz dress that was really adorable. Another girl made a punk girl style Soundwave costume. And then these really awesome people made ten foot costumes of Grimlock and Devestator. The Grimlock could even talk like the character. There were also some really good movie costumes of Bumblebee, Megatron and I think Blackout. They were amazing. There were a few other really good ones, that I missed or that I'm forgetting to mention.
I also bought some great swag. I got myself a Heroes of Cybertron Paradon Medic that I want to custom change into my original character Airclover. I bought two artist made picture, one of TFA version of Rosanna and one of Elita-One. Then I traded two hats for an Air Razor toy. I bought a TFA Shockwave that came with a little Bumblebee. This was my most expensive toy I bought, and it wasn't that expensive. I bought two comic books, one I got cheap. Then I got a World's Smallest Transformer Grimlock. He's so cute and tiny. The last toy I bought was a TFA Arcee. I was happy about this one, because she was going for forty dollars everywhere. I got her for eighteen on the last day. Yay.
At the end of the day, we walked to a comic book store and I found the last Gargoyle's comic book that came out. Horray. All in all, I didn't buy that much stuff.
I also ate some delicious sushi. I like the eel kind, and the Inari. There was also a bakery near our hotel that had some of the best cupcakes. I got a sugar and spice tea cake, and it was stinkin' good. I'm cravin' some right now. The lady there was also very nice. She said the bakery usually doesn't make muffins everyday, but she made sure to make muffins for us the next morning, and they were so good.
It was a great trip.
It started over a month ago when I started making transformer hats. It took me forever, but I bought enough material to make around 90 hats. Two years ago when I went, I had about twenty-five hats and sold out. This year, I didn't want to sell out, so I made enough. I had most of them finished when the trip began, but the rest I had to sew by hand. All the way to California, I sewed hats. In the hotel, I sewed hats.
I went with my sister and three of her friends. We arrived at Botcon a day before the convention, so we went to Hollywood and the beach. I got pictures of Abbot and Costello's stars, and we walked up and down the boardwalk. It was fun and very interesting. Then we went to the beach. The ocean was cold, so there was lots of squealing and screaming.
The Botcon came. I had made hats for Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Ratchet, Prowl, Jazz, Red Alert, Soundwave, Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, and TFA Prowl. I also made a few baby hats, but I was afraid that I made them too small. And sure enough, I did. But they fit a few plushies some fangirls had. So I gave them away to the girls, who were happy about that.
During the first day, I didn't sell very many. The dealor's room was only open for three hours, and not open to the general public. I sold about ten. The second day was crazy. The general public was allowed in for a small price, and I sold around thirty hats that day. The third day I lowered my prices, and sold around twenty more.
I sold out on Prowl(8), Soundwave(7) and TFA Prowl(4). I sold a good amount of Bumblebee(12). Jazz(4), Ratchet (5) were pretty good as well. My seeker hats were fair, but I sold none of Thundercracker. I sold one Red Alert and two Cliffjumpers. I want to have this on record for next time I go, so I know what kind I need. But I made a great amount of money there. I made as much as I spent, including gas, price of the table and hotel. It was great.
I also have had a few people saying they're wanting to order hats online, and a couple of people have offered to advertise for me, so I'm stoked. I might have a second income for buying my geek stuff.
Besides selling hats, I also saw a lot of neat costumes. There was a girl who had made a Jazz dress that was really adorable. Another girl made a punk girl style Soundwave costume. And then these really awesome people made ten foot costumes of Grimlock and Devestator. The Grimlock could even talk like the character. There were also some really good movie costumes of Bumblebee, Megatron and I think Blackout. They were amazing. There were a few other really good ones, that I missed or that I'm forgetting to mention.
I also bought some great swag. I got myself a Heroes of Cybertron Paradon Medic that I want to custom change into my original character Airclover. I bought two artist made picture, one of TFA version of Rosanna and one of Elita-One. Then I traded two hats for an Air Razor toy. I bought a TFA Shockwave that came with a little Bumblebee. This was my most expensive toy I bought, and it wasn't that expensive. I bought two comic books, one I got cheap. Then I got a World's Smallest Transformer Grimlock. He's so cute and tiny. The last toy I bought was a TFA Arcee. I was happy about this one, because she was going for forty dollars everywhere. I got her for eighteen on the last day. Yay.
At the end of the day, we walked to a comic book store and I found the last Gargoyle's comic book that came out. Horray. All in all, I didn't buy that much stuff.
I also ate some delicious sushi. I like the eel kind, and the Inari. There was also a bakery near our hotel that had some of the best cupcakes. I got a sugar and spice tea cake, and it was stinkin' good. I'm cravin' some right now. The lady there was also very nice. She said the bakery usually doesn't make muffins everyday, but she made sure to make muffins for us the next morning, and they were so good.
It was a great trip.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Summer Reading List for You
I've been listening to a lot of books recently because of my work. I thought I would make a summer reading list for anyone who comes across this by accident and wants a nice book list. Most of these books are for young adults, because that's where the best fantasy books are from, and because I want to write young adult fantasy books that's what I read.
1. Wee Free Men By Terry Pratchett. Genre: Fantasy/comedy A story of a young girl who's brother gets taken by the Queen of the Elves. She then asks for help from a group of small blue men (no they're not smurfs), called feegles who are famous for fightin' and drinkin' and stealin'. This is a hilarious book, a great plot and full of Terry Pratchett's famous satire. If possible, get the illustrated version. I totally love the feegles. The pictures are really good. Sequels to this novel are "A Hat Full of Sky", "Wintersmith", and "I Shall Wear Midnight." I've read the first three, and they're all very good, but I haven't read the fourth.
Other books by Terry Pratchett that I liked and would suggest: Mort, Wyrd Sisters, Eric, Moving Pictures, Reaperman, Witches Abroad, Maskerade, The Hogfather, and, Truckers, Diggers, Wing (Last three is a trilogy).
2. The 39 Clues by multiple authors. Genre: Action. A story about a family separated into teams racing around the world to gather the 39 clues. I found these books surprisingly good and very informative about world history. I also found it interesting that different authors write different volumes. The first book of the series is called "The Maze of Bones" by Rick Riordan.
3. The Cat Who series by Lillian Jackson Braun. Genre: Murder Mystery. If you like the old fashion mysteries back when there were no cell phones, no C.S.I. Miami stuff or any kind of large technology that helped solved crimes. If you like the mysteries where the main character had to us their brains and sleuthing to find the criminals, then this is the series for you. Although I wouldn't suggest reading the whole series because they can be a little slow (especially in our TV watching, 5 minute attention span era), so I would suggested listening to them on tape. I love the narrator's voice, his voice is very soothing and he did an excellent job. Also, this writer has the best description of a Siamese cat I've ever read. The first book of the series is "The Cat Who Could Read Backward."
4. Sabriel by Garth Nix. Genre: Fantasy. Sabriel is a story of a young woman who has been trained to be a necromancer who banishes the dead instead of raising the dead. She is unexpectedly called to risk her life when her father get in trouble. Her only defense against an army of the dead is her father's old sword and the seven bells of the necromancer. This is a very dark story, and very well written. It is not gory, it is just dark. I really liked Garth Nix's writing style, and his idea to use bells to fight the dead I really liked. Sequels to Sabriel are "Lariel" and "Abhorson". Number four should be released soon.
5. The Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix. Genre: Fantasy. A very creative story. It's a kind of Alice in Wonderland type style. It has the fun nonsense that Alice in Wonderland has, but it has a real plot. And just like Alice in Wonderland, it involves a few well known fairy tales, and objects brought to life. But as I said it has a plot and a very good one. The first book of seven in the series is called "Mister Monday."
I would also suggest any book from Garth Nix. I am very impressed with his works.
6. Books from Eva Ibbotson. Genre: Fantasy and Historical Fiction. I came across Eva Ibbotson by accident, and I've found that I love all her books that I've listened to. She has a very unique writing style, her stories are adorable, well thought out, and very charming. Her characters are very interesting. I would suggest any books from her. The ones I've listened to are "The Beasts of Clawstone Castle", "The Star of Kazan", "The Dragonfly Pool", and "A Company of Swans."
7. The Circle of Magic Series by Tamora Peirce. Genre: Fantasy. It's a story about four kids that are learning about their own unique magic, how to control it, and how to work together to cast even bigger spells. It's a fun book, and I love the characters. If you get the chance, listen to it on CD. They have a whole cast of people reading the book, and it's really neat. The first book is called "Sandry's Book."
8. The Tortall Universe by Tamora Peirce. Genre: Fantasy. Another series from Tamora Peirce that involves twins switching identities. Alanna was meant to go train to be a lady at a convent, her brother was to go train to be a knight. However, her brother was adept at magic (Which they teach at the convent, go fig.), and Alanna was a tomboy. The best solution was to forge their father's signature and switch places. It's been done before, but I still like it enough. I'm only on book three in the series, so I'm not sure how great it is all the way through. The first book in the series is called, "Alanna: The First Adventure."
9. ANYTHING FROM BRANDON SANDERSON. Genre: awesome Brandon Sanderson is my favorite author, and for good reason. I seriously have no complaints with anything's he read. He has some great ideas, his characters aren't sterotypes, very unique in everything. I love him. Right now I'm reading "The Way of the Kings." I do not listen to his books on CD. They deserve to be read. This is the author who's finishing Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. I haven't read everything he's written yet, but I'm working on it. What I've read so far and I suggest: "Elantris", The Mistborn Trilogy, "Warbreaker" and "The Way of the Kings" (The first of a trilogy he's working on).
10. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaimen. Genre: fantasy. A boy's family was killed when he was a toddler. As his family's murderer goes searching for the young boy, the toddler makes it to a graveyard and the ghosts of the cemetary adopt the boy. He grows up in the graveyard, and is often warned he must not leave. It's an interesting book. It isn't the best, but I don't think Neil Gaimen is the best writer, but I liked this one.
11. The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins. Genre: fantasy/adventure. Gregor is an ordinary boy that gets sucked down a hole in his apartment building's laundry room, along with his baby sister. Down there, he meets the Underlanders, giant roaches, giant rats, giants spiders, giant bats, and, well, giant everything. It's very interesting, and very well written. I was pleasantly surprised by this gem, especially since I didn't like Collins more famous books series The Hunger Games. The first of this series is "Gregor The Overlander."
12. The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney. Genre: Fantasy. This series takes place in early colonial times. Thomas becomes the last apprentice of the county's "spook", a man who takes care of ghosts, boggarts, witches and other things that go bump in the night. This series had gotten me very excited. I really liked these books, there isn't anything like it out there. They're really fun, and kind of creepy. It's very dark, but not very gory. The first of the series is called "Revenge of the Witch."
13. "Airman" by Eoin Colfer. Genre: Fantasy An interesting book of a boy born in a hot air balloon, and grows up wanting to fly. However, in his youth, he happens to see a conspiracy going on in the king's castle, and there his life goes awry. I love Eoin Colfer, and found it very different than his Artemis Fowl series, which I also suggest very much. Great writer.
14.Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull. Genre: Fantasy. An interesting book, but a little slow. Two kids get stuck at their grandparents' house for the summer, and they start to notice strange things, like why isn't their grandmother around or why milk is laid out in dishes around the house. My husband and I are currently reading the series together. He has some great ideas. The first book is called "Fablehaven."
15. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. Genre: fantasy. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to meet a character from a book. Well, that's exactly what happens in this story, but it's not as great as you might think. Sequels are "Inkspell" and "Inkdeath". Also from Cornelia Funke, I would suggest reading "The Thief Lord" and "Dragonrider". She also has another book out, and I want to read it. This is another writer I do not want to listen to on CD. She's good enough to spend the extra time to read myself.
16.The Cronus Chronicles by Anne Ursu. Genre: Fantasy. A novel that tells what happens when greek myths get mixed up in modern day. I know it sounds like the Percy Jackson series, but I think this is better. It's very interesting, and I believe it's a better thought out plot. It's a trilogy, and the first one is called "The Shadow Thief."
17. The May Bird series by Jodi Lynn Anderson. Genre: Fantasy. May Bird has always been a weird child. But most of all, she has never felt comfortable being near the forest by her house. After a few ghost sightings, she takes a walk by the lake, and falls in, with her cat coming in close behind to save her. She wakes up to find that she is in the ghost world. Interesting storyline, I love the characters and the cat, I love the way the ghost world works, and have been very surprised with how good it is. The first of the series is called "May Bird and the Ever After."
18. The women of Genesis Series by Orson Scott Card. If your Christian, and like to read historical novels, then this is the series for you. Orson Scott Card writes three different books about the lives of Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachael and Leah from the Old Testament. It's an interesting insight into their lives and their story. The only problem I have is Card has been working on book four for about seven years. He's been slackin' off.
19. Dealing with Dragons series by Patricia C. Wrede. Great series. They're an old time favorite of mine. My paperback are so hashed from me reading them over and over. It's about a princess who volunteers to work for a dragon because she's sick of being a princess. There are four books in the series with the first one called "Dealing with Dragons."
I'd love to have an even twenty books here, but I'm out of good stuff for you.
1. Wee Free Men By Terry Pratchett. Genre: Fantasy/comedy A story of a young girl who's brother gets taken by the Queen of the Elves. She then asks for help from a group of small blue men (no they're not smurfs), called feegles who are famous for fightin' and drinkin' and stealin'. This is a hilarious book, a great plot and full of Terry Pratchett's famous satire. If possible, get the illustrated version. I totally love the feegles. The pictures are really good. Sequels to this novel are "A Hat Full of Sky", "Wintersmith", and "I Shall Wear Midnight." I've read the first three, and they're all very good, but I haven't read the fourth.
Other books by Terry Pratchett that I liked and would suggest: Mort, Wyrd Sisters, Eric, Moving Pictures, Reaperman, Witches Abroad, Maskerade, The Hogfather, and, Truckers, Diggers, Wing (Last three is a trilogy).
2. The 39 Clues by multiple authors. Genre: Action. A story about a family separated into teams racing around the world to gather the 39 clues. I found these books surprisingly good and very informative about world history. I also found it interesting that different authors write different volumes. The first book of the series is called "The Maze of Bones" by Rick Riordan.
3. The Cat Who series by Lillian Jackson Braun. Genre: Murder Mystery. If you like the old fashion mysteries back when there were no cell phones, no C.S.I. Miami stuff or any kind of large technology that helped solved crimes. If you like the mysteries where the main character had to us their brains and sleuthing to find the criminals, then this is the series for you. Although I wouldn't suggest reading the whole series because they can be a little slow (especially in our TV watching, 5 minute attention span era), so I would suggested listening to them on tape. I love the narrator's voice, his voice is very soothing and he did an excellent job. Also, this writer has the best description of a Siamese cat I've ever read. The first book of the series is "The Cat Who Could Read Backward."
4. Sabriel by Garth Nix. Genre: Fantasy. Sabriel is a story of a young woman who has been trained to be a necromancer who banishes the dead instead of raising the dead. She is unexpectedly called to risk her life when her father get in trouble. Her only defense against an army of the dead is her father's old sword and the seven bells of the necromancer. This is a very dark story, and very well written. It is not gory, it is just dark. I really liked Garth Nix's writing style, and his idea to use bells to fight the dead I really liked. Sequels to Sabriel are "Lariel" and "Abhorson". Number four should be released soon.
5. The Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix. Genre: Fantasy. A very creative story. It's a kind of Alice in Wonderland type style. It has the fun nonsense that Alice in Wonderland has, but it has a real plot. And just like Alice in Wonderland, it involves a few well known fairy tales, and objects brought to life. But as I said it has a plot and a very good one. The first book of seven in the series is called "Mister Monday."
I would also suggest any book from Garth Nix. I am very impressed with his works.
6. Books from Eva Ibbotson. Genre: Fantasy and Historical Fiction. I came across Eva Ibbotson by accident, and I've found that I love all her books that I've listened to. She has a very unique writing style, her stories are adorable, well thought out, and very charming. Her characters are very interesting. I would suggest any books from her. The ones I've listened to are "The Beasts of Clawstone Castle", "The Star of Kazan", "The Dragonfly Pool", and "A Company of Swans."
7. The Circle of Magic Series by Tamora Peirce. Genre: Fantasy. It's a story about four kids that are learning about their own unique magic, how to control it, and how to work together to cast even bigger spells. It's a fun book, and I love the characters. If you get the chance, listen to it on CD. They have a whole cast of people reading the book, and it's really neat. The first book is called "Sandry's Book."
8. The Tortall Universe by Tamora Peirce. Genre: Fantasy. Another series from Tamora Peirce that involves twins switching identities. Alanna was meant to go train to be a lady at a convent, her brother was to go train to be a knight. However, her brother was adept at magic (Which they teach at the convent, go fig.), and Alanna was a tomboy. The best solution was to forge their father's signature and switch places. It's been done before, but I still like it enough. I'm only on book three in the series, so I'm not sure how great it is all the way through. The first book in the series is called, "Alanna: The First Adventure."
9. ANYTHING FROM BRANDON SANDERSON. Genre: awesome Brandon Sanderson is my favorite author, and for good reason. I seriously have no complaints with anything's he read. He has some great ideas, his characters aren't sterotypes, very unique in everything. I love him. Right now I'm reading "The Way of the Kings." I do not listen to his books on CD. They deserve to be read. This is the author who's finishing Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. I haven't read everything he's written yet, but I'm working on it. What I've read so far and I suggest: "Elantris", The Mistborn Trilogy, "Warbreaker" and "The Way of the Kings" (The first of a trilogy he's working on).
10. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaimen. Genre: fantasy. A boy's family was killed when he was a toddler. As his family's murderer goes searching for the young boy, the toddler makes it to a graveyard and the ghosts of the cemetary adopt the boy. He grows up in the graveyard, and is often warned he must not leave. It's an interesting book. It isn't the best, but I don't think Neil Gaimen is the best writer, but I liked this one.
11. The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins. Genre: fantasy/adventure. Gregor is an ordinary boy that gets sucked down a hole in his apartment building's laundry room, along with his baby sister. Down there, he meets the Underlanders, giant roaches, giant rats, giants spiders, giant bats, and, well, giant everything. It's very interesting, and very well written. I was pleasantly surprised by this gem, especially since I didn't like Collins more famous books series The Hunger Games. The first of this series is "Gregor The Overlander."
12. The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney. Genre: Fantasy. This series takes place in early colonial times. Thomas becomes the last apprentice of the county's "spook", a man who takes care of ghosts, boggarts, witches and other things that go bump in the night. This series had gotten me very excited. I really liked these books, there isn't anything like it out there. They're really fun, and kind of creepy. It's very dark, but not very gory. The first of the series is called "Revenge of the Witch."
13. "Airman" by Eoin Colfer. Genre: Fantasy An interesting book of a boy born in a hot air balloon, and grows up wanting to fly. However, in his youth, he happens to see a conspiracy going on in the king's castle, and there his life goes awry. I love Eoin Colfer, and found it very different than his Artemis Fowl series, which I also suggest very much. Great writer.
14.Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull. Genre: Fantasy. An interesting book, but a little slow. Two kids get stuck at their grandparents' house for the summer, and they start to notice strange things, like why isn't their grandmother around or why milk is laid out in dishes around the house. My husband and I are currently reading the series together. He has some great ideas. The first book is called "Fablehaven."
15. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. Genre: fantasy. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to meet a character from a book. Well, that's exactly what happens in this story, but it's not as great as you might think. Sequels are "Inkspell" and "Inkdeath". Also from Cornelia Funke, I would suggest reading "The Thief Lord" and "Dragonrider". She also has another book out, and I want to read it. This is another writer I do not want to listen to on CD. She's good enough to spend the extra time to read myself.
16.The Cronus Chronicles by Anne Ursu. Genre: Fantasy. A novel that tells what happens when greek myths get mixed up in modern day. I know it sounds like the Percy Jackson series, but I think this is better. It's very interesting, and I believe it's a better thought out plot. It's a trilogy, and the first one is called "The Shadow Thief."
17. The May Bird series by Jodi Lynn Anderson. Genre: Fantasy. May Bird has always been a weird child. But most of all, she has never felt comfortable being near the forest by her house. After a few ghost sightings, she takes a walk by the lake, and falls in, with her cat coming in close behind to save her. She wakes up to find that she is in the ghost world. Interesting storyline, I love the characters and the cat, I love the way the ghost world works, and have been very surprised with how good it is. The first of the series is called "May Bird and the Ever After."
18. The women of Genesis Series by Orson Scott Card. If your Christian, and like to read historical novels, then this is the series for you. Orson Scott Card writes three different books about the lives of Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachael and Leah from the Old Testament. It's an interesting insight into their lives and their story. The only problem I have is Card has been working on book four for about seven years. He's been slackin' off.
19. Dealing with Dragons series by Patricia C. Wrede. Great series. They're an old time favorite of mine. My paperback are so hashed from me reading them over and over. It's about a princess who volunteers to work for a dragon because she's sick of being a princess. There are four books in the series with the first one called "Dealing with Dragons."
I'd love to have an even twenty books here, but I'm out of good stuff for you.
Monday, May 2, 2011
The Tender Voice of Men
This evening as my husband and I were working on our computers, I heard a very tender sigh from him. Before now, I had only heard him give this tender of a sigh in regards to me. So I was wondering what he was looking at.
He was on KSL, looking up cars. And not just any car, or for that matter, not any sports car. He was looking up an old, Saturn which was the same model and year he owned a few years ago.
I laughed.
Men only have kind voices for three occasions. Their wives, their moms, and of course, cars.
I don't get men.
He was on KSL, looking up cars. And not just any car, or for that matter, not any sports car. He was looking up an old, Saturn which was the same model and year he owned a few years ago.
I laughed.
Men only have kind voices for three occasions. Their wives, their moms, and of course, cars.
I don't get men.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Another Strange Dream
I have had yet another strange dream, which seems to happen to me a lot.
In my dream, I was at a restaurant with my little brother. We were sitting on a terrace, you know, one of those things that is kind of outside. Anyway, I was just given my food, when a giant squid started attacking. The owner of the restaurant wanted us to get rid of the squid, so we agreed. I threw a shrimp at the squid, and it ate it. Then I gave it the rest of my dinner, and the squid was happy, so it went away. However, the restaurant owner was mad at us because he thought we were going to destroy the squid, and now the squid is going to come back and expect to be fed.
I liked the squid.
Maybe I'm just a nutshell.
In my dream, I was at a restaurant with my little brother. We were sitting on a terrace, you know, one of those things that is kind of outside. Anyway, I was just given my food, when a giant squid started attacking. The owner of the restaurant wanted us to get rid of the squid, so we agreed. I threw a shrimp at the squid, and it ate it. Then I gave it the rest of my dinner, and the squid was happy, so it went away. However, the restaurant owner was mad at us because he thought we were going to destroy the squid, and now the squid is going to come back and expect to be fed.
I liked the squid.
Maybe I'm just a nutshell.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Strange Dream Last Night
Last night I had a really weird dream. I dreamed that I wrote a book that was about three princes that dressed up in Masquerade-like costumes of three birds. A sparrow, a raven and a thrush. Then they went to a princess's party and danced around in a circle dance. It was really weird and non-explanatory. And there was this guy named Jaccobo who looked like a cuter version of a goblin. He went around and picked locks and stole people's cars. And then he was turned into a cat that looked like my pet cat, Tay. An orange stripped tabby. Anyway, my book was published, and this girl in my neighborhood read it and then wanted to marry my cat because she thought it was Jaccobo. So her parents arranged a marriage with my parents, and my parents thought she wanted to marry my brother. But I knew better. So while my family was preparing for this wonderful wedding, I was trying to keep this little girl away from my cat and trying to convinced her that he is just a cat. He's not a person-thing in disguise.
Yeah, and that was my weird dream. I like to make my dreams into books, but I think I may leave the most of this one alone. But the three princes that dressed up as birds sounded really good, and I think I may use Jaccobo in a story.
Don't ask me where any of this comes from. I was all asleep when it happpened.
Well, that's my head in a nutshell.
Yeah, and that was my weird dream. I like to make my dreams into books, but I think I may leave the most of this one alone. But the three princes that dressed up as birds sounded really good, and I think I may use Jaccobo in a story.
Don't ask me where any of this comes from. I was all asleep when it happpened.
Well, that's my head in a nutshell.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Updates on project and life.
I'm just going to update what has been happening in my life so far.
As those who read this blog know, my last post told about how my crab escaped and scared the crap out of me. Well, for those of you who don't believe in Karma, here's one for you.
My crab died soon after posting on my blog. The universe does not want you to scare me.
On the my little pony front, I've just received all the bait ponies in the mail that I bought on line. I'm very excited about fixing them up. Today I received my last box, and got a carousel pony in the batch. I was very excited about that. But what I've done so far is cleaned up about four of them, and I started painting one. It doesn't look very good because I had too big of a brush, but I bought some smaller ones. So I'll be painting again today.
I'm also on another project. Bot-con is coming up soon, and I'll be going this year. I started working on my transformers hats. I have enough material, and I just learned how to use my new sewing machine. It's all fancy-shmancy with an LED screen and different buttons to press. I was so scared I would break it or that I wouldn't know how to use it, it's so high-tech. But it's not too bad if I just want to do a simple stitch. I'm not going to touch anything else.
As for my book, I believe that I'm a fourth of the way through my novel. I'm kind of stuck on my next chapter, but I'm going to try real hard to work on it today. I'm going to try to write two chapters a week. In fact, I should be working on it right now. Opse. Anyway, I also started another writing project. I started writing a church story that's a parable. It'll only be about three pages long, but I'd like to make it into a short picture story like those one books with the wooden puppets that Deseret Books always sells. I hope anyway.
Another project I've been working on is a puzzle that has been sitting on our coffee table for over two weeks. I started working on it during General Conference because that's the easiest way for me to listen to the speakers. Anyway, I usually can finish a whole puzzle during Conference, but this one was really really hard. There's only about fifty pieces left, but I still can't get myself to finish it.
That's whats going on in my life. That's me in a nutshell for right now. More later.
See ya.
As those who read this blog know, my last post told about how my crab escaped and scared the crap out of me. Well, for those of you who don't believe in Karma, here's one for you.
My crab died soon after posting on my blog. The universe does not want you to scare me.
On the my little pony front, I've just received all the bait ponies in the mail that I bought on line. I'm very excited about fixing them up. Today I received my last box, and got a carousel pony in the batch. I was very excited about that. But what I've done so far is cleaned up about four of them, and I started painting one. It doesn't look very good because I had too big of a brush, but I bought some smaller ones. So I'll be painting again today.
I'm also on another project. Bot-con is coming up soon, and I'll be going this year. I started working on my transformers hats. I have enough material, and I just learned how to use my new sewing machine. It's all fancy-shmancy with an LED screen and different buttons to press. I was so scared I would break it or that I wouldn't know how to use it, it's so high-tech. But it's not too bad if I just want to do a simple stitch. I'm not going to touch anything else.
As for my book, I believe that I'm a fourth of the way through my novel. I'm kind of stuck on my next chapter, but I'm going to try real hard to work on it today. I'm going to try to write two chapters a week. In fact, I should be working on it right now. Opse. Anyway, I also started another writing project. I started writing a church story that's a parable. It'll only be about three pages long, but I'd like to make it into a short picture story like those one books with the wooden puppets that Deseret Books always sells. I hope anyway.
Another project I've been working on is a puzzle that has been sitting on our coffee table for over two weeks. I started working on it during General Conference because that's the easiest way for me to listen to the speakers. Anyway, I usually can finish a whole puzzle during Conference, but this one was really really hard. There's only about fifty pieces left, but I still can't get myself to finish it.
That's whats going on in my life. That's me in a nutshell for right now. More later.
See ya.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
I was so freakin' scared.
Okay, my husband and I like to shop at DI, and I usually get books when I'm there. Well, a few days ago, I bought some books, and I left them on the floor just because I was lazy this week. Just a minutes ago, I decided to clean up a bit and pick them up. I pulled out a My Little Pony I bought there, and put it in my pony basket, then went into the bedroom to put my books away when I felt something that wasn't a book and was moving. I look down and saw this black round shape with many legs.
I did what any girl would do.
I screamed my head off, threw everything on the ground and backed away. Then I screamed again.
My husband, being a good husband, was washing dishes. He heard my terrified screams, stayed at the sink and yelled if I was okay.
My reply was something like this: "HOLY CRAP!"
Yes, I too believed what was in my hand was a giant spider. No, like you I was wrong. It was in fact, our red claw crab that lives in our aquarium's filter. Yes, you heard me. The crab lives in the filter and not the aquarium itself. He crawled up there two months ago, and we just left him there since he liked it. Well, today he decided to get out and go for a walk. And that's where I found him.
Once my husband knew what I was screaming about, he retrieved the fish net, caught the little sucker, and dumped him in the tank. And for a while now, we've been trying to figure out how to keep him in there, because crabs will die within two hours of being out of water. Right now, we've saran wrapped around the filter, to prevent him from just getting out of the tank. To prevent him from getting into the filter, we've put a vase in the tank that's tall enough to fit over the bottom of the filter. We're not sure if it'll work, but it's the best we can do for right now.
This is me in a nutshell, keeping an eye out for eight legged house guests. See ya later.
I did what any girl would do.
I screamed my head off, threw everything on the ground and backed away. Then I screamed again.
My husband, being a good husband, was washing dishes. He heard my terrified screams, stayed at the sink and yelled if I was okay.
My reply was something like this: "HOLY CRAP!"
Yes, I too believed what was in my hand was a giant spider. No, like you I was wrong. It was in fact, our red claw crab that lives in our aquarium's filter. Yes, you heard me. The crab lives in the filter and not the aquarium itself. He crawled up there two months ago, and we just left him there since he liked it. Well, today he decided to get out and go for a walk. And that's where I found him.
Once my husband knew what I was screaming about, he retrieved the fish net, caught the little sucker, and dumped him in the tank. And for a while now, we've been trying to figure out how to keep him in there, because crabs will die within two hours of being out of water. Right now, we've saran wrapped around the filter, to prevent him from just getting out of the tank. To prevent him from getting into the filter, we've put a vase in the tank that's tall enough to fit over the bottom of the filter. We're not sure if it'll work, but it's the best we can do for right now.
This is me in a nutshell, keeping an eye out for eight legged house guests. See ya later.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
ponies and ebay
It's been a while since I blogged, and a lot of stuff have been happening.
First off, as the people know who read this (hopefully there's two of you *eyes audience*) know that I'm into My Little Ponies. It's really silly of me, but kind of fun. In the past week, I bought a lot of bait ponies, and I've gotten some in the mail. Right now, I'm washing them, and plotting what to do to them.
My first pony that I started working on had marker and pen marks all over her, and her mane and tail were cut. I had to soak her in hot water so that the glue around her head would melt a little, and that I could cut and remove the head. Once I did that, I pulled out her mane and tail. Her tail had rust and mold growing on it, as did the mane and all inside the pony. I then cleaned out the inside, which was not very easy or pretty. It involved Q-tips, cotton swaps, tooth picks and all sorts of cleaners. Once the insides were clean, I started on the outside. Using nail polish remover, I was able to get everything off except one color of the cutie mark (aka, the butt tattoo on the pony's flank). I did everything to get those marks off. I tried all sorts of cleaners, I tried soaking it in the cleaners, I tried gasoline and scrubbing it as hard as I could without trying to scratch the plastic. It's still there. Grrrr.
So, I'm going to try some peroxide next, and if that fails I have to find some acetone. Yay.
Now, I have about five more ponies in line that I want to try and clean up and custom make. There is one that I don't want to custom make. She's in really good condition, except for her mane. If I just replace it, she'd be in great condition. So I might just do that. Her cutie mark is painted all the way to her neck.
Plans for the ponies, you'll have to wait and see.
On another note, I've been learning to sell on ebay. It was totally exciting. I can't believe how much time I spent checking to see if I sold anything. But it's nice to get rid of a bunch of my stuff. But there were a few problems. One of my favorites was that I specifically said that I don't ship internationally, and someone from Japan bids on my stuff. Yeah, that was interesting.
It'll be fun tomorrow to go to the post office and show up with a basket full of packages to send them off. Fuuuuuuuunnn.
We'll that's my week in a nutshell. I need to blog more often.
First off, as the people know who read this (hopefully there's two of you *eyes audience*) know that I'm into My Little Ponies. It's really silly of me, but kind of fun. In the past week, I bought a lot of bait ponies, and I've gotten some in the mail. Right now, I'm washing them, and plotting what to do to them.
My first pony that I started working on had marker and pen marks all over her, and her mane and tail were cut. I had to soak her in hot water so that the glue around her head would melt a little, and that I could cut and remove the head. Once I did that, I pulled out her mane and tail. Her tail had rust and mold growing on it, as did the mane and all inside the pony. I then cleaned out the inside, which was not very easy or pretty. It involved Q-tips, cotton swaps, tooth picks and all sorts of cleaners. Once the insides were clean, I started on the outside. Using nail polish remover, I was able to get everything off except one color of the cutie mark (aka, the butt tattoo on the pony's flank). I did everything to get those marks off. I tried all sorts of cleaners, I tried soaking it in the cleaners, I tried gasoline and scrubbing it as hard as I could without trying to scratch the plastic. It's still there. Grrrr.
So, I'm going to try some peroxide next, and if that fails I have to find some acetone. Yay.
Now, I have about five more ponies in line that I want to try and clean up and custom make. There is one that I don't want to custom make. She's in really good condition, except for her mane. If I just replace it, she'd be in great condition. So I might just do that. Her cutie mark is painted all the way to her neck.
Plans for the ponies, you'll have to wait and see.
On another note, I've been learning to sell on ebay. It was totally exciting. I can't believe how much time I spent checking to see if I sold anything. But it's nice to get rid of a bunch of my stuff. But there were a few problems. One of my favorites was that I specifically said that I don't ship internationally, and someone from Japan bids on my stuff. Yeah, that was interesting.
It'll be fun tomorrow to go to the post office and show up with a basket full of packages to send them off. Fuuuuuuuunnn.
We'll that's my week in a nutshell. I need to blog more often.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
The Best Sandwich in the World
Yesterday, I had the best sandwich in the world. I was made with 89 cents per loaf bread, cheap skinny chicken meat and mayo. I ate it at work, and I was super hunger. The minute I bit into that sandwich, I was in heaven. It was the weirdest thing, since it was such a simple sandwich, but I loved every bite. I was so ready for another one after a finished it.
After a while, I figured out why it tasted so good. My husband had made that sandwich. He made it with love. And that's the special ingredient that made that sandwich the freakin' best thing in the world. And I can have that same sandwich anytime I want.
Except we don't have any meat.
After a while, I figured out why it tasted so good. My husband had made that sandwich. He made it with love. And that's the special ingredient that made that sandwich the freakin' best thing in the world. And I can have that same sandwich anytime I want.
Except we don't have any meat.
Monday, March 28, 2011
I'm such a copy cat, part 2
Once again I find myself caught in the waves of someone else's party boat. I saw something cool, and I wanted it for myself. This time it was my older sister with another geek project, and her excitement was catchy. This time its (drum roll) My Little Ponies.
I kid you not. I thought she was crazy at first. She was cleaning up her old vintage collection, cleaning up a friend's collection of around 200 ponies, and started a newer collection. I went over to her apartment and there were ponies everywhere. It was kind of funny, and also brought back old times since I remembered a lot of her ponies. Then she showed me a bunch of old, worn out ponies that the fandom call "bait ponies". Basically, they're the hashed figures that people use to customize their own ponies. After seeing everything my sister showed me, I started to think, "I want to do this too."
Less than four hours later, I was on ebay looking up My Little Ponies. I must be crazy, because I'm already making a big deal about this, but it seems fun and I want to try it out. And lucky for me, I have the best husband in the world who supports me in all my crazy hobbies that I'll pick up. I almost bought something last night in a spontaneous burst of buyer fever. However, I didn't. I wanted to think things through to make sure I'm not just riding my sister's coat tails and if the high wears off I'm suddenly not interested. So I decided to sleep on it.
And then I dream of Ponies. And it wasn't one of those dreams that you do things, go places and things move. No, it was just ponies. Ponies that didn't do anything, didn't move. It was such a weird dream. However, even after that I still want to try this pony thing. I'm going to look for old hashed ponies at DI and buy a few on ebay and see if I can clean them up and paint them in a fun way. It'll be kind of fun.
Anyway, that's my new obsession in a nutshell.
I kid you not. I thought she was crazy at first. She was cleaning up her old vintage collection, cleaning up a friend's collection of around 200 ponies, and started a newer collection. I went over to her apartment and there were ponies everywhere. It was kind of funny, and also brought back old times since I remembered a lot of her ponies. Then she showed me a bunch of old, worn out ponies that the fandom call "bait ponies". Basically, they're the hashed figures that people use to customize their own ponies. After seeing everything my sister showed me, I started to think, "I want to do this too."
Less than four hours later, I was on ebay looking up My Little Ponies. I must be crazy, because I'm already making a big deal about this, but it seems fun and I want to try it out. And lucky for me, I have the best husband in the world who supports me in all my crazy hobbies that I'll pick up. I almost bought something last night in a spontaneous burst of buyer fever. However, I didn't. I wanted to think things through to make sure I'm not just riding my sister's coat tails and if the high wears off I'm suddenly not interested. So I decided to sleep on it.
And then I dream of Ponies. And it wasn't one of those dreams that you do things, go places and things move. No, it was just ponies. Ponies that didn't do anything, didn't move. It was such a weird dream. However, even after that I still want to try this pony thing. I'm going to look for old hashed ponies at DI and buy a few on ebay and see if I can clean them up and paint them in a fun way. It'll be kind of fun.
Anyway, that's my new obsession in a nutshell.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Writing Prompts
So because I really have no idea what to write in a blog, I went looking around for writing prompts. I've decided to try and commit to writing an exercise or prompt each day and post it on this blog, if I don't have anything really awesome to post.
I've found two really awesome sites for this for anyone who cares. How about you Hubby? The first one has a prompt for everyday in the year. Here's the URL: http://www.theteacherscorner.net/daily-writing-prompts/ This one has a lot of prompts, but some of them kind of stupid so I might ignore some of these prompts. The next one only has a few, but has many different kinds. Here's the URL: http://www.oneofus.co.uk/index.php/writing_tips/writing_exercises/ I also saw that there were a couple of books with prompts, so I'm going to look into borrowing a few from the library if there are any available.
Maybe doing stuff like that will get me writing more for my book. I had time to work on it today, but instead I procrastinated and organized my playlist. Music is very important for a creative mind.
Today's writing prompt is: On March 24, 1874, magician Harry Houdini was born. What is the best magic trick you have seen or that you have performed yourself?
It wasn't long ago that my husband and I were on our honeymoon. We went on a Carnival Cruise. Every night, we'd go to the dining room to have our evening meal. During the last half of our vacation, our servers started performing cheap magic tricks. They weren't anything special, but it was fun to joke around and try and figure out how to do the tricks. They even let us try the tricks ourselves. I remember that there was a young woman at a table next to ours who would get so worked up trying to figure out the tricks. It was the highlight of our meals.
Well, that's it for today. That's writing prompts in a nutshell. I'm going to have trouble fitting in that phrase every day. ^.^
I've found two really awesome sites for this for anyone who cares. How about you Hubby? The first one has a prompt for everyday in the year. Here's the URL: http://www.theteacherscorner.net/daily-writing-prompts/ This one has a lot of prompts, but some of them kind of stupid so I might ignore some of these prompts. The next one only has a few, but has many different kinds. Here's the URL: http://www.oneofus.co.uk/index.php/writing_tips/writing_exercises/ I also saw that there were a couple of books with prompts, so I'm going to look into borrowing a few from the library if there are any available.
Maybe doing stuff like that will get me writing more for my book. I had time to work on it today, but instead I procrastinated and organized my playlist. Music is very important for a creative mind.
Today's writing prompt is: On March 24, 1874, magician Harry Houdini was born. What is the best magic trick you have seen or that you have performed yourself?
It wasn't long ago that my husband and I were on our honeymoon. We went on a Carnival Cruise. Every night, we'd go to the dining room to have our evening meal. During the last half of our vacation, our servers started performing cheap magic tricks. They weren't anything special, but it was fun to joke around and try and figure out how to do the tricks. They even let us try the tricks ourselves. I remember that there was a young woman at a table next to ours who would get so worked up trying to figure out the tricks. It was the highlight of our meals.
Well, that's it for today. That's writing prompts in a nutshell. I'm going to have trouble fitting in that phrase every day. ^.^
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
How to start a blog
Because if you're asking me, then you're in really big trouble.
But as for me, I'm not sure how to start my blog. As far as I know, a blog is like a big diary that anyone can read. However, I shouldn't be too concerned since the only one who is reading this is my husband, and he can just lean in and read over my shoulder.
So for anyone who comes across this by chance, I hope you love reading about the day in the life of Emilou, random fangirl and wannabee writer. In the meantime maybe something exciting will happen to me that I can report on everyday.
But just a little something about me, I'm 26 years old, just barely married, have a BA in English, and am working as a data entry. I don't think my ultimate calling is data entry, but it pays enough to help out with the bills. Not to mention I listen to books on CD all day, which is totally sweet since most of the time it doesn't even feel like I'm working.
Right now I'm listening to a book called The Eye, The Ear, and the Arm (or something like that). I didn't notice it before I started listening to it, but it had a dancing blue monkey on the cover. I told myself, "It's a blue monkey. This book has got to be good." Not to mention it is narrated by George Leddel, who has one of the most soothing voices I've heard in the narrating business.
I'm going to be guessing that I'm going to be talking about books a lot in this blog.
That's all I have for now. That's the beginning of my blog in the Nutshell.
But as for me, I'm not sure how to start my blog. As far as I know, a blog is like a big diary that anyone can read. However, I shouldn't be too concerned since the only one who is reading this is my husband, and he can just lean in and read over my shoulder.
So for anyone who comes across this by chance, I hope you love reading about the day in the life of Emilou, random fangirl and wannabee writer. In the meantime maybe something exciting will happen to me that I can report on everyday.
But just a little something about me, I'm 26 years old, just barely married, have a BA in English, and am working as a data entry. I don't think my ultimate calling is data entry, but it pays enough to help out with the bills. Not to mention I listen to books on CD all day, which is totally sweet since most of the time it doesn't even feel like I'm working.
Right now I'm listening to a book called The Eye, The Ear, and the Arm (or something like that). I didn't notice it before I started listening to it, but it had a dancing blue monkey on the cover. I told myself, "It's a blue monkey. This book has got to be good." Not to mention it is narrated by George Leddel, who has one of the most soothing voices I've heard in the narrating business.
I'm going to be guessing that I'm going to be talking about books a lot in this blog.
That's all I have for now. That's the beginning of my blog in the Nutshell.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
I'm such a copy cat.
Everything I've wanted to do, always came from some sort of inspiration. In other words, I'm a big, fat copy cat. And it didn't take fate long for her to place a blog in front of me good enough that I wanted to blog as well. I've never been good with keeping a journal. Even with my aspirations to be a writer, I have a hard time trying to write every day.
If procrastination was the eighth deadly sin, I'd be in big trouble. Or does it count in slothfulness?
Anyway, now I'm trying my hand in keeping a blog. We'll see how well this goes. I don't know what will be worse, letting this dry out like so many other projects I started, or having a ton of fun with it and nobody reads it.
Here goes nothing.
That's the reason for this blog in a nutshell.
I hope I don't crack.
If procrastination was the eighth deadly sin, I'd be in big trouble. Or does it count in slothfulness?
Anyway, now I'm trying my hand in keeping a blog. We'll see how well this goes. I don't know what will be worse, letting this dry out like so many other projects I started, or having a ton of fun with it and nobody reads it.
Here goes nothing.
That's the reason for this blog in a nutshell.
I hope I don't crack.
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