NaNoWriMo and goings on

 Hey there! I know I should be posting some more pretties, but my computer hates deviantart these days, and I'm too tired to try and deal with it right now. But I might post the rest eventually.

But anyway, guess what's in 3 days?
November.
And what does November mean?
NANOWRIMO!!!!!!!!!

Oh dear. Yes, National Novel Writing Month is almost upon us. After last year's bad experience, I thought about it, and I really actually want to do it this year. So I've logged in again and started getting ready to go. But then of course that posed the problem....what will I write about?!?!? I really didn't feel like winging it this year, so I thought I would be racking my brain for days trying to think of a plan. But then, when I was telling my dad I had decided to do it again, and my problems and stuff, we were just talking about how to come up with good ideas for plots and such, and literally five minutes after we stopped talking, I came up with my idea!!!!! It was seriously amazing. And I'm actually really excited about this one, guys. I think it might be good. :) I was kind of worried about this year, because I actually want to write something that I'm proud of, something that I would enjoy reading, something that I want to share with people, something that might make a difference. And I think this might be the year I finally achieve that. Of course, I guess it'll actually be next year, because if it does turn out as well as I want it to, then I'll actually take the time to edit it. Who knows, maybe for once I'll have something that ends up being more than a first draft! I'm still kind of nervous telling people what it's about before I've actually written and edited it, but I'm trying to get braver, so here's the summary I have as of now (changes possible in the future).

Who run the world? Girls. -Beyoncé Knowles.

After the third world war (also known as WWW, the Women's World War), society is run by females. All surviving men are imprisoned in different facilities, or work as slaves in factories. The most troublesome men are sent to a place called The Institute, where unspeakable things are done to them, after which the men are never seen again. But Cassandra Grayson has secretly been in contact with her father for years, and she's not happy with the ways things seem for him. When all messages from her father cease suddenly and she comes across a boy who gives her an interesting proposition, Cassandra must make a hard choice. Can she overcome a world where the best and worst sides of women, the sweet and the ruthless reign, or will she settle into complacency? 

Gaahh I feel so weird posting that on here! But I did post it on my NaNo page (add me if you're doing it, I'm Megatron14), so I shouldn't care. Oh and yes, I did get my inspiration from a Beyoncé song. Don't judge please. :P 

Well in other news, I think my busy spell is finally over. Well, not counting the entire month of November. Metro and my concert are both over, and both went well! Everyone complimented me on the flute solo I did with the choir, and even though I was super nervous both times, I didn't mess up. Phew. Also I'm getting over the cold I've had for a week, and even though in the past week I've also had a muscle cramp and issues with my jaw problem, all the things I were stressed about seem to be going away. Thank goodness. :)  

Mood: Tired...ready to just go watch tv!
 Listening to: All The Small Things by Blink 182
Quote of the day: “Kind people have a way of working their way inside me and rooting there.” —Suzanne Collins Random something: I printed up the new Hunger Games movie character posters for my wall! :D

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Pretties #2

Yes, I'm back again (and I would've been sooner, except my computer was being DUMB), with the second part in my series! Last time I showed you some of =Sugarock99's more colorful photographs, today I'll share some of her darker ones. I love both, the dark and the colorful, let me know which ones you like more! And also please let me know if you're enjoying these posts, if everyone hates them, I can stop. :P

This one is a photo manip (duh), I love it :D

I like this one cause it's a lot different from her others :)

Tadaaaa! If you like these, I hope you'll go check out her gallery! http://sugarock99.deviantart.com/

Anyway, on a side note, schools have pretty much all started! Except for some colleges. I'm gonna be pretty busy this year with homeschool, online school, and public school (band)! And baby sitting jobs! Ahh, the joys of being 16. :) See you soon!


Mood: ohhhh yeah
Listening to: Psych (my cousin's watching it)
Quote of the day: “It crosses my mind that Cinna's calm and normal demeanor masks a complete madman.” —Suzanne Collins
Random something: I like you!

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Pretties

Hey guys! I haven't disappeared completely, I promise. And I have a treat for you today! I am going to show you some of my favorite pictures ever. :) Wheeee! Except I have so many, I think I'll have to split them up. It'll be like a series! No, it WILL be a series. I've just decided. Yuppp. I'll try to kind of topic-ize them I guess. But basically, be on the lookout, cause I'll have more amazing pictures coming, not just today!

I would say that I would post some every day, except I don't know if I'll be able to, because I'm actually not home right now. I'm visiting relatives (my dad's side this time). I'm going home tomorrow, will be home for two days, and then I'm going to visit relatives on my mom's side! Haha. And then school starts!! So I'm pretty busy. But I guess I will be home the next 3 days, so I'll try and wrap it up then. But anyway! On to the good stuff.


I have recently found a photographer on deviantArt that I absolutely LOVE. She does underwater photographs, which have always intrigued me. I don't know if anyone watches Americas Next Top Model, but they did an underwater photoshoot on there one time, and it was super cool. So, all of the following photographs are done by =Sugarock99 and they're some of my favorites of hers. Hope you enjoy!

This one might look familiar to some of you - it's on the cover of the book Imaginary Girls!

Part of a series called "Alice in Waterland"

Today I showed some of her more colorful ones, next time I'll share some of her darker ones. Really hope you like them! :]

Mood:  tired, content, happy :) everything?
Listening to:  house noises
Quote of the day: "It's not that you should never love something so much that it can control you.It's that you need to love something that much so you can never be controlled.It's not a weakness.It's your best strength." -The Ask And The Answer
Random something: I'm FINALLY getting over the cold i've had for almost a week!

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Christian t-shirts by JCLU Forever

 Hey guys! I know, I've been absent from here for a while, and now this might not even be considered a *real* post, but hey I have something to tell you about. Which you can probably tell from the title! Yes, I'm here to tell you about a website/clothing brand called JCLU Forever (which stands for Jesus Christ loves you forever). I found out about them a while ago and bought one of their shirts a few years ago, it's pretty cool if I do say so myself! Here's what they say about themselves: "Christian T shirts made by three girls who Love Jesus for girls who Love Jesus. Our shirts are designed to be tools for evangelism. JCLU T shirts have simple faith based statements while being fun and fashionable”. That's very true. They have a lot of cool products, not just t-shirts. They also have a few sweatshirt type things, and some bracelets - the main reason why I'm writing this. They like to give away free stuff (who doesn't love free stuff?!?), and just for writing this blog post they'll send me a free bracelet! Super cool, right?? They also have lots of sales, almost all the time practically. Even if you don't think you're interested, I'd appreciate it if you could just check out their website for a little while to see what their products look like. Here's the link: jcluforever.com . It's pretty amazing how far those girls have come with their business! Pretty inspiring.

Anyway, I guess that's all! Please help support these girls! :)



Mood: very content :]
Listening to: my dad talking on the phone to his mom, my brother in the kitchen, etc.
Quote of the day: "Anything can happen in the blink of an eye. Anything at all."
Random something: I like life. :)

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Heeyyy

 Hi. I haven't posted in like, a month. I'M GETTING BETTER!! :D

But no, really, what's up? I have a list of things I want to do this summer, and one of them is to blog at least once a week. I just realized though, I have two blogs, therefore I guess posting on either one of them counts...so, I guess I might not be posting on here that much anyway. But whatever! Duly warned. :P

Soooo. I had finals on Monday. Well, I guess I can't say final(S), because I only have one public school class...whatever. I survived! Yay! Still don't know how well I did though. I'm a teensy bit nervous, haha. I can never remember the difference between perfect and major, so I basically just guessed. Can't wait to see how good my guessing skills are!

In other big news, I finally got my drivers permit!!!!!!!!!!! Oh yeah. Not that I've driven yet or anything...heh heh. I'll admit, I'm scared. Seriously scared. I don't think I'll be scared once I actually start learning, but - I'm so scared to start!! Yeah I'm a wimp. But it's not my fault! ...No that's a lie, it is. Oh well. Once I start, I'll tell you guys. :) Not that I actually have any idea whooo you guys are...or if you even exist...again, whatever! I'm in a very chill mood, haha.

We're having tacos for dinner. :]
I get to go to the library tomorrow. :]

....Wellllllllllll, off to go eat my tacos! Byyyyyyyyyye.



Mood: chillllll! haha
Listening to: mi madre talking to mi hermano (yeah that's spanish. barely even had to use google translate!)
Quote of the day: The secret to getting ahead is getting started --Mark Twain
Random something: why don't YOU tell ME?

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Music & misc.

Hey there. :)
Yes, it's been a little over a month, but I'm back! And I'm in a rather musical mood.
First of all, this weekend is going to be CRAZY full of band stuff. Final concert is tomorrow night, then we have marching, we're even going to be in a parade on Sunday. My first time marching EVER, besides the two times we've practiced in band. I'm so scared!!!!

But anyway, that's not what this post will mainly be about. I had a bunch of cool songs stuck in my head, and I decided that I kind of just wanted to write about them! So basically this will be like a blog full of songs reviews today. Probably the first 10-15 songs I can think of off the top of my head. :] I'm not entirely sure how I'll do this, cause I wanted to post the lyrics to all of the ones I'm talking about that, but that would make this CRAZY long...so maybe I'll just post links (wait, I've got it, I'll post the chorus and then a link for the rest. Yeeahhh go me!). But anyway! Here goes, guess I'll start with the song that's playing right now. :)

1) Hey There Delilah by Plain White T's.

(this one doesn't really have a proper chorus, but this is basically it)

Hey there Delilah
Don't you worry about the distance
I'm right there if you get lonely
Give this song another listen
Close your eyes
Listen to my voice, it's my disguise
I'm by your side

Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
What you do to me

Full lyrics: Click here

     Ever since I heard this song, I kind of fell in love with it, just like lots of Plain White T's other songs. It's just got such a sweet, whimsical feel to it, and it's not quite melancholy or hopeful. What else is there to say? It's a classic.

 2) Where is the Love by Black Eyed Peas.

People killin' people dyin'
Children hurtin and ya hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach
Or would you turn the other cheek?
FATHER FATHER FATHER help us
Send some guidance from above
'Cuz people got me got me questionin'
Where is the love
Where is the love
Where is the love
Where is the love, the love, the love

Full lyrics: Click here

     So, I've actually only heard this song on the radio a few times, and I was really surprised when I found out it was by BEP. I mean, I just never suspected it! But still, it's a really cool song, and I love the message. 

3) Rolling in the Deep by Adele.

The scars of your love remind me of us
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
The scars of your love, they leave me breathless
I can't help feeling
We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
You had my heart inside of your hand
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
And you played it to the beat
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

Full lyrics: Click here

     So, this song is actually the one that made me want to do this whole post in the first place. I just LOVE IT! It's so soulful and has such a cool sound, kind of funky and bluesey and definitely not the normal type of music, which just adds to my love for it. And it's so dang catchy. :] I don't even think I liked this song the first time I heard it, but it definitely grew on me. Like, I'm listening to it right now, and it just makes me smile and want to belt it out along with Adele at full blast (which I probably would if I wasn't getting over a cold). So yeah. SO GOOD.

4) Cut by Plumb. 

I do not want to be afraid
I do not want to die inside just to breathe in
I'm tired of feeling so numb
Relief exists I find it when
I am cut

Full lyrics: Click here

     This song is just so breathtaking. I swear I want to cry every time I hear it. This song and I actually have a funny relationship, though...I first heard it at my friends house about a year ago and I thought it was horrible, because it was glorifying cutting. But then I heard it again on a tv show last week (20 points to whoever can guess the show!) and I realized that it actually meant much more than that, and that I was absolutely in love with it (and it doesn't help that the scene they played it in was AMAZING too <3 haha). Seriously, even if you have the same misconception about the lyrics that I did at first, you must listen!! And it really does remind me of Evanescence...maybe another reason I love it. :]

5) Near To You by A Fine Frenzy. 

Near to you, I am healing
But it's taking so long
'Cause though he's gone
And you are wonderful
It's hard to move on
Yet, I'm better near to you.

Full lyrics: Click here

     This is another of those breathtakingly sadly beautiful songs...but still so different from the last one I talked about. I've never heard any of A Fine Frenzy's other songs, but I really must change that, because I love this song so much. Like FOR REAL. It's kiiiind of amazingly awesome. Yup.

Okay! Well, my 10-15 has changed to 5, but hey IT'S A GOOD FIVE. Actually, I could've done better, so maybe I'll have to do this again! And it was fun, too. =D

But yeah, that's all for now. See you next time, and LISTEN TO MUSIC! Yeah!

Mood: quite happy!
Listening to: Thistle and Weeds by Mumford & Sons (another amazing song I should've mentioned)
Quote of the day: "You know what? I love what a dirty mind I have."
Random something: uhhhhh...heeeeeyyyy. ;)

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Catching up

 Hello again! My life has been rather busy and at times hectic lately...hence the no posts. Except for that one weird thing where my email got hacked and sent a post to here...but I deleted that. :)

Anyway! Like I said, I have been rather busy. Things usually get like that this time of the year. But, isn't this time of the year lovely?? We've had some perfectly beautiful weather, and some perfectly terrible weather, but that's Spring in Oregon for you! Most of us tried and true Oregonians are used to it by now, but it can get rather irritating at times.

The biggest piece of news I have to offer up is that I spent my spring break (March 17th-26th) in Mexico! Just like last year, I went on a missions trip with my church and another church in the area, we had about 30 people and we built a house! And, like last year, it was AMAZING. The trip helped my attitude and views on life and people SO much. Like I've been saying, I got my happy back! (If you want to read my posts about last year's trip, click here and here)

I'm also working on making the Mexico slideshow, like last year, and it takes up SO MUCH TIME! Also, our presentation is this Sunday, so I'm running out of that time! But me and my friend are putting in a lot of effort to it, so I hope that people enjoy it, and we don't have some of the technical problems we had last year!

Another great thing that's happened is one of my friends from Taiwan visited us!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, it was so exciting! Her and her husband are here visiting in Oregon, and we got to spend Monday afternoon and evening with them, plus some time on Tuesday. It was absolutely an awesome visit, and I'm so glad we got to spend time with her here in America and show her how we live. My parents and younger brother stayed in her house the last time we were in Taiwan, so it was a funny exchange. :]

 Well, that's mostly what I have to say...I do have something else, but I think I'll put it in a separate post, and hopefully I'm getting picked up soon to go work on the slideshow! Oh, and yes I know I never posted my Lost Hero review, mainly because I didn't want to take the time and write one without spoilers. But I might, or I'll just post my spoiler review. So I haven't forgotten! And, to send you off with, a picture of me and some friends in Mexico. :)

Mood: happy
Listening to: blog playlist! haha, "Break your heart"
Quote of the day: "Finnick?" I say, "Maybe some pants?"
He looks down at his legs as if noticing his outfit for the first time. Then he whips off his hospital gown leaving him in just his underwear. "Why? Do you find this" -- he strikes a ridiculously provocative pose -- "distracting?"
I laugh. Boggs looks embarrassed and Finnick looks more like the guy I met at the Quarter Quell"— Suzanne Collins
Random something: uh i had a random something but i forgot it!! :( oh yeah...my brother's having surgery today...weird.

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We had a snow day, now it's time for....

SICK DAY!!!!!
yeah, woohoo, fun, right? Well, not exactly! Haha, but yes, I am sick. It's slowly been creeping up on me since Wednesday, but today the germs seem to have come out in their full-blown terror. Yuck. :P
therefore, all (or most) of my plans for today have been cancelled, and I'm spending the majority of my time on the couch! Flanked with iPod, tv, and books, of course.


On that point, sick days do have their ups and downs. The most prominent down being... I'm SICK! Well, duh. But even while I feel disgusting, it's nice
to have some down time, right? So far I've watched two episodes of Psych, read several chapters in The Lost Hero, checked email and facebook (and texting), and I even managed to get myself dressed! Oh, and I've eaten plenty of food, of course. ;)

So even throughout all the stuffiness, sore throat, coughing, sneezing, throat-clearing, sounding like there is a literal frog down your throat, and etc., sick days CAN be fun. Well, at least slightly. Also, before I leave you, I'm almost finished reading The Lost Hero, so you can be prepared for a book review coming up later! Yay, what fun! Well okay, enough typing on here, I'm gonna go get to reading!
...or maybe another episode of Psych first. :)


Mood: sick :P
Listening to: the sound of my sniffing
Quote of the day: "Does your hair always look like a dead badger?"
Random something: today when I got up at 7:45, it was 16 degrees(F) outside. And for where I live, that is COLD. it's crazy!

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SNOW DAY!!!

I think by now, you should know what this post is about. :)
Yes, it was just about time for a lovely, refreshing SNOW DAY!
Now, I know that not everybody likes snow, and sometimes I'm one of those people, but not today! When I woke up in the morning, I was almost nervous to look out my window just in case there *wasn't* any snow, but when I looked out and saw there was, I pumped my fist and yelled "Yesss!".
Yeah, I actually did that. I know, I'm a bit overly dramatic at times.

But anyway! It really has been a good day. I got go traipse around in the snow with Nathan (a longstanding tradition), and Kevin, Isaiah, and my mom joined us for some sledding! We finally got to use the sleds that we got for Christmas 2 years ago that had just been waiting for today! After being outside for about an hour, we headed in (too cold and wet, and Nathan and I are both a bit sick), but it was great.

Of course, staying inside can be great too! I'm currently reading The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan, but I haven't had much free reading time lately, so I was glad to be able to catch up on that a bit. I'm also catching up on my flute practicing!! Now that I have a practice journal I actually have to write in every day at band, my practice habits are hopefully going to be improving. :P
I also watched 3 old Psych episodes...ahh, I can never get tired of those! OH, another thing that I'm catching up on is my Facebook 30 day picture challenge! I definitely haven't posted since day 8...I'm supposed to be on day 18. :P hahaha, so I'm gathering the picture for that, and I'll post them soon. I might post the picture on here too, if I have time! But for now, just some snow pictures.

Bye, have a good day whether you have snow or not! :]

Mood: happy but cold!
Listening to: my playlist again...currently "Down" :)
Quote of the day: "When words fail, music speaks."
Random something: uh...SNOW!! :D

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Yes, once again, I'M BACK!

 Wow, I really abandon this blog a lot, don't I? And yes, that makes me feel bad. So sorry, to whoever is reading this, if it makes you feel bad too.

A LOT has happened since I last posted. And I mean, really a lot! Way more than usual for me. So, it's time for a few quick updates.

If you notice, the last thing I posted about was my first day of NaNoWriMo. Yes, way back in November. And yes, it's late February now. But! That's not what I'm talking about now. What I'm going to say is, I actually didn't do NaNoWriMo.
Well, I mean, I did that one day, as you can see.
But after that, due to many distressing personal and emotional problems, I decided not to. It's really hard to explain why I made that decision, but if you really want to know why, you can ask. :]

Number TWO big thing that happened since November:

I WENT TO TAIWAN! Oh yeah, my lovely Taiwan. I went back (my 2nd time there) Jan 20th-Feb 1st with another mission team from my church (5 out of 7 members just happened to be members of my family, too. It was strange). And, oh boy, I loved it. That place is like my home away from home. And I am SO SO SO going again! I made a scrapbook full of pictures and thoughts and memories and stuff from both trips, so if you know me personally and want to see it, I'm sure I can arrange something! I worked really hard on it. I would post some pictures here now, but I'm not actually at home at the moment...more about that now, I guess!

Yup, I'm not at home. I'm up in Washington staying with my aunt and uncle in Everett. My dad's uncle died in Canada last week, and the memorial service was yesterday, so since we were already planning to spend the weekend here in Washington, we decided to come up earlier and attend the service (but of course the silly border customs people couldn't understand that, and made us pull in...we always have the hardest times going to Canada! oh well). My parents saw a lot of my dad's cousins that they hadn't seen in over 20 years (my dad is half Canadian, by the way)! It was a lot of fun...well, for a memorial service, that is.

Today we're telling aunt & uncle & grandma about our Taiwan trip, and after church tomorrow we're heading south to visit cousins. Which I'm happy about! :] Is it weird that they're, like, my best friends? Hmm...haha well they are, anyway. :]

Wellll, okay, I guess that's all the BIG news! And, of course, I re-did the blog. Again. ;) hahaha, I always do that, don't I? But I will try to keep posting! I really will! I'm kind of turning this into a semi book blog anyway, so that might help me to remember to post. If I get any time to actually read the books... *sigh*. Oh well, I guess I'm not as busy as some people, so I shouldn't complain! And I won't! Okay.

That's all for now I guess! Stick around, I'll be back...BEFORE 3 months pass! ;)


Mood: happy/content
Listening to: my AWESOME new blog playlist! i love it!
Quote of the day: "The texture! The flavor! It's like a party in my mouth!" -Justin
Random something: I was going to have the quote of the day be the quote that was currently on my random-quotes widget, but it was way too long. So I used a quote from my friend Justin in Taiwan instead. :)

 (cause you know, i've always actually been HERE...wherever here is...)

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