I'M BACK!
School is over. Crazy horrible insanity of the last two weeks is over. As far as I know, everything on the this-might-send-me-over-the-edge list went well*. And I wasn't sent over the edge.** Really.
And luckilyluckilyluckily, it wasn't strep throat! Just a bad case of something else that was gone within a week.
I am so happy right now. Literally grinning ear to ear. It's like this great burden has been lifted off of me. I am now free to wallow. Lay in bed and do nothing but read. Read, read, read.
And in reading news, I've only managed to read one book in two weeks. But this one book is worth a hundred books. A thousand books. It has skyrocketed to the very top of the favorite books list.
THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald has stolen my reading-heart away. Really. I don't get favorite books often, but this book...it just made my soul sing.
Perhaps I'll write up a review some day, although I doubt I can do it justice.
Also, I've been lucky enough to be given a few awards in the last few weeks.
And who am I awarding these awards to?
Anyone who comments on this post can consider themselves an awardee. Because I love comments. Comments are everything in blogging. And don't be shy. I'll edit this post accordingly so you'll HAVE to take the award.
First off, the Over the Top Award from the amazing Ah Yuan of Gal Novelty. Thank you!
Here are the rules for this award:
1.) Thank and post URL to the blog that gave the award.
2.) Pass the award along to 6 brilliantly over the top blogs (blogs you love!) Alert them so they know to receive the award.
3.) Copy and paste this quiz... Change the answers, ONE word only. (2 are acceptable!)
The Quiz:
1. Where is your cell phone? Borrowed
2. Your hair? Cavemanish
3. Your mother? At airport
4. Your father? At airport
5. Your favorite food? Chocolate
6. Your dream last night? Uneventful
7. Your favorite drink? Green Tea
8. Your dream/goal? Happiness
9. What room are you in? Mine
10. Your hobby? Procrastinating
11. Your fear? Spiders
2. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Europe
13. Where were you last night? Mall
14. Something that you aren't? Organized
15. Muffins? Chocolate chip
16. Wish list item? Books
17. Where did you grow up?
18. Last thing you did? Eat chocolate
19. What are you wearing? Pajamas
20. Your TV? Old
21. Your pets? Dogs
22. Friends? Crazy
23. Your life? Boring
24. Your mood? Exuberant
25. Missing someone? Mom & Sister
26. Vehicle? None
27. Something you're not wearing? Shoes
28. Your favorite store? Barnes & Noble
29. Your favorite color? Green
30. When was the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Last week
32. Your best friend? Funny
33. One place that I go to over and over? School
34. One person who emails me regularly? Friend
35. Favorite place to eat? In-N-Out
Honest Scrap Award from the awesome Stormi at Books, Movies, Reviews, Oh My! and also from the brilliant Sharon O'Donell at Book Dreaming. Thank you!
List ten honest things about yourself and then pass this onto ten other bloggers.
I'll do 20, I guess, since I got the award twice. Sorry if this goes on and on! I know I already did 10 facts earlier, so now you guys know everything about me there is to know:
1. I love alternative/indie music. Favorite bands: The Last Shadow Puppets, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Arctic Monkeys, Death Cab for Cutie, The Bravery...I could go on forever.
2. I'm asthmatic. Back when I used to be crazy-soccer & volleyball-playing girl (sometimes as much as four hours of practice a day), this sometimes made it really tough on me.
Go, choco go! Get the ball!
*wheeze, wheeze!* I'm trying coach!
3. I've sprung my ankle so many times I can't even keep count any more. Earlier this year, I was in crutches. More crutches. Then a bit of cast time as well. Fun fun! Part of the reason I had to quit sports--ankles just wouldn't hold up.
4. My mind works in really strange ways. If you knew me, there'd be no denying this. It's okay though. It's not the creepy-weird kind, don't worry. :) You'll probably get a glimpse of it as these facts go on.
5. I want to learn photography so badly. I'm hopeless at drawing. Photography might be something I actually have a chance at. I spend so much of my time surfing the web and looking at beautiful photography, or art ( love Impressionism). I want to be able to do something like that. Create something beautiful. Look at it. Feel my soul sing. Make other people's souls sing.
6. To me, creativity is the most important trait (aside from basic human decency). If you've got it, I can't help but admire you. It's the trait I want to nurture, let grow. It's so important to me to have ideas of my own, explore them, better them.
7. I have the most glorious memories of Europe and China. Insubstantial, mostly. Bits and pieces of beauty, shattered. I like to sit and close my eyes and try to remember, piece it all together. Patchworked buildings. Misty fjords. The Colosseum at sunset. The chocolates under pillows in Hungary. The Great Wall, crowded.
I'm lucky to have even pieces of memories, but I can't help wish for more.
8. I'm the biggest history geek. I get obsessed with time periods, and then I just can't stop. I've got to know anything, everything about them, enough so I can picture myself there.
9. I want to travel so badly that I go on these little fake-travel escapades on Google Earth/Maps. <3 Google Earth. The option where you can go through the streets and see the buildings and everything is about the coolest thing ever invented.
10. My middle sister, who is 3 1/2 years older than me, often gets mistaken for me. We look very similar--exact same hair color, similar height, etc, etc. My oldest sister always says she's adopted since she doesn't look a thing like us. U).
11. I'm lucky to live where I do. I know I complain and complain about the year round heat, the cage of boring surburbia, the lack of seasons. But I live in a cultural melting pot. Everyone is so tolerant---and I know that in a lot of other places in America, it isn't like that at all. 1
2. I'm a workhorse. I'm starting to realize that. Once I commit myself to something, I can't stop. It has to be the best it can be. This is not to be mistaken for perfectionism. Perfect scares me. But not putting a 110% into something I'm committed to is hard for me. I think it's part of the reason I procrastinate so much--I have to shield the workhorse within me so it doesn't destroy myself.
13.I love to take long walks. I get these wonderful ideas during them--fresh air really does do you good.
14. I've run out of bookshelves. There are all these book stacks around my room, teetering unsteadily, ready to come tumbling down at the slightest disturbance. Oh crap, there goes another one! *catastrophic crashing in background* RUUUUUUUN FOR COVER! *book comes flying forward and hits me on forehead* Ouch.
15. I love dogs. I'm a dog-person. Awwwwwwww. PUPPIES! 16.
17. I'm a saver. I still have the money I started saving when I was in elementary school. The only time I spend money is when I buy books. I try not to buy too many books now, because I can just RIB them. It makes me feel sort of guilty sometimes, but reading can get to be an expensive habit, and I try to make sure it's not.
18. I'm shocked that I still have no need for glasses. Perfect 20/20 vision, despite countless hours of squinting at tiny words on books and computers. And everyone else in my family has glasses. I'm the oddity. I hate going to the optometrist because I think it's always going to the year they tell me I need glasses.
19. I still have stuffed animals and dolls in my room. I haven't redecorated since I was eight and we moved here. Ick. And you know what? I never even played with dolls, according to my Mom. My room is the dumping place for all the junk and toys and things my sisters got embarassed with as they got older. Britney Spears CD? Check. Barbie House? Check. Scary puppets? Check. Oh gosh, typing it up makes it sound even worse than it is. (ps most of it is in the closet, so it's really not that bad). OKAY, I REALLY NEED TO REDECORATE!
20. I've played piano since I was three. Crazy, I know--it's mostly because my sisters started and I started too. I don't take lessons anymore, but I like to learn pieces on my own. AND I LOVE CLASSICAL MUSIC, SO THERE! Chopin is my favorite. And Beethoven and Mozart and Bach and Debussy are such fun playing as well. Lovely, all of it.
One Lovely Blog award from the lovely In the Hammock. Thank you!
Here are the rules: Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.
All three of these awards are awarded to:
1. Shannon O'Donnell at Book Dreaming
2. Cleverly Inked
3. Kirthi at Pages
4. Emilia at Punk Writer Kid
5. Amna at Amna Writes
6. Steph at Steph the Bookworm
7. Inkspatters at Ramblings of a Writer
8. Raven at Love Letters to Forever
Annnd....WHOEVER ELSE COMMENTS :)
Lastly--I know this blog post is GINORMOUS--I wanted to share a song that I'm in love with currently: My Mistakes Were Made For You. Please click and listen :) THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS = win!
*this obliviously happy belief might come crashing down when I see my final Calc score
**Unless curling up into a fetal position as newspaper deadlines, derivatives, and unfinished essays loomed overhead counts?
2. Your hair? Cavemanish
3. Your mother? At airport
4. Your father? At airport
5. Your favorite food? Chocolate
6. Your dream last night? Uneventful
7. Your favorite drink? Green Tea
8. Your dream/goal? Happiness
9. What room are you in? Mine
10. Your hobby? Procrastinating
11. Your fear? Spiders
2. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Europe
13. Where were you last night? Mall
14. Something that you aren't? Organized
15. Muffins? Chocolate chip
16. Wish list item? Books
17. Where did you grow up?
18. Last thing you did? Eat chocolate
19. What are you wearing? Pajamas
20. Your TV? Old
21. Your pets? Dogs
22. Friends? Crazy
23. Your life? Boring
24. Your mood? Exuberant
25. Missing someone? Mom & Sister
26. Vehicle? None
27. Something you're not wearing? Shoes
28. Your favorite store? Barnes & Noble
29. Your favorite color? Green
30. When was the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Last week
32. Your best friend? Funny
33. One place that I go to over and over? School
34. One person who emails me regularly? Friend
35. Favorite place to eat? In-N-Out
Honest Scrap Award from the awesome Stormi at Books, Movies, Reviews, Oh My! and also from the brilliant Sharon O'Donell at Book Dreaming. Thank you!
List ten honest things about yourself and then pass this onto ten other bloggers.
I'll do 20, I guess, since I got the award twice. Sorry if this goes on and on! I know I already did 10 facts earlier, so now you guys know everything about me there is to know:
1. I love alternative/indie music. Favorite bands: The Last Shadow Puppets, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Arctic Monkeys, Death Cab for Cutie, The Bravery...I could go on forever.
2. I'm asthmatic. Back when I used to be crazy-soccer & volleyball-playing girl (sometimes as much as four hours of practice a day), this sometimes made it really tough on me.
Go, choco go! Get the ball!
*wheeze, wheeze!* I'm trying coach!
3. I've sprung my ankle so many times I can't even keep count any more. Earlier this year, I was in crutches. More crutches. Then a bit of cast time as well. Fun fun! Part of the reason I had to quit sports--ankles just wouldn't hold up.
4. My mind works in really strange ways. If you knew me, there'd be no denying this. It's okay though. It's not the creepy-weird kind, don't worry. :) You'll probably get a glimpse of it as these facts go on.
5. I want to learn photography so badly. I'm hopeless at drawing. Photography might be something I actually have a chance at. I spend so much of my time surfing the web and looking at beautiful photography, or art ( love Impressionism). I want to be able to do something like that. Create something beautiful. Look at it. Feel my soul sing. Make other people's souls sing.
6. To me, creativity is the most important trait (aside from basic human decency). If you've got it, I can't help but admire you. It's the trait I want to nurture, let grow. It's so important to me to have ideas of my own, explore them, better them.
7. I have the most glorious memories of Europe and China. Insubstantial, mostly. Bits and pieces of beauty, shattered. I like to sit and close my eyes and try to remember, piece it all together. Patchworked buildings. Misty fjords. The Colosseum at sunset. The chocolates under pillows in Hungary. The Great Wall, crowded.
I'm lucky to have even pieces of memories, but I can't help wish for more.
8. I'm the biggest history geek. I get obsessed with time periods, and then I just can't stop. I've got to know anything, everything about them, enough so I can picture myself there.
9. I want to travel so badly that I go on these little fake-travel escapades on Google Earth/Maps. <3 Google Earth. The option where you can go through the streets and see the buildings and everything is about the coolest thing ever invented.
10. My middle sister, who is 3 1/2 years older than me, often gets mistaken for me. We look very similar--exact same hair color, similar height, etc, etc. My oldest sister always says she's adopted since she doesn't look a thing like us. U).
11. I'm lucky to live where I do. I know I complain and complain about the year round heat, the cage of boring surburbia, the lack of seasons. But I live in a cultural melting pot. Everyone is so tolerant---and I know that in a lot of other places in America, it isn't like that at all. 1
2. I'm a workhorse. I'm starting to realize that. Once I commit myself to something, I can't stop. It has to be the best it can be. This is not to be mistaken for perfectionism. Perfect scares me. But not putting a 110% into something I'm committed to is hard for me. I think it's part of the reason I procrastinate so much--I have to shield the workhorse within me so it doesn't destroy myself.
13.I love to take long walks. I get these wonderful ideas during them--fresh air really does do you good.
14. I've run out of bookshelves. There are all these book stacks around my room, teetering unsteadily, ready to come tumbling down at the slightest disturbance. Oh crap, there goes another one! *catastrophic crashing in background* RUUUUUUUN FOR COVER! *book comes flying forward and hits me on forehead* Ouch.
15. I love dogs. I'm a dog-person. Awwwwwwww. PUPPIES! 16.
17. I'm a saver. I still have the money I started saving when I was in elementary school. The only time I spend money is when I buy books. I try not to buy too many books now, because I can just RIB them. It makes me feel sort of guilty sometimes, but reading can get to be an expensive habit, and I try to make sure it's not.
18. I'm shocked that I still have no need for glasses. Perfect 20/20 vision, despite countless hours of squinting at tiny words on books and computers. And everyone else in my family has glasses. I'm the oddity. I hate going to the optometrist because I think it's always going to the year they tell me I need glasses.
19. I still have stuffed animals and dolls in my room. I haven't redecorated since I was eight and we moved here. Ick. And you know what? I never even played with dolls, according to my Mom. My room is the dumping place for all the junk and toys and things my sisters got embarassed with as they got older. Britney Spears CD? Check. Barbie House? Check. Scary puppets? Check. Oh gosh, typing it up makes it sound even worse than it is. (ps most of it is in the closet, so it's really not that bad). OKAY, I REALLY NEED TO REDECORATE!
20. I've played piano since I was three. Crazy, I know--it's mostly because my sisters started and I started too. I don't take lessons anymore, but I like to learn pieces on my own. AND I LOVE CLASSICAL MUSIC, SO THERE! Chopin is my favorite. And Beethoven and Mozart and Bach and Debussy are such fun playing as well. Lovely, all of it.
One Lovely Blog award from the lovely In the Hammock. Thank you!
Here are the rules: Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.
All three of these awards are awarded to:
1. Shannon O'Donnell at Book Dreaming
2. Cleverly Inked
3. Kirthi at Pages
4. Emilia at Punk Writer Kid
5. Amna at Amna Writes
6. Steph at Steph the Bookworm
7. Inkspatters at Ramblings of a Writer
8. Raven at Love Letters to Forever
Annnd....WHOEVER ELSE COMMENTS :)
Lastly--I know this blog post is GINORMOUS--I wanted to share a song that I'm in love with currently: My Mistakes Were Made For You. Please click and listen :) THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS = win!
*this obliviously happy belief might come crashing down when I see my final Calc score
**
