Books I'm Reading - Writing Challenge, Day 8

This wouldn't be my blog if I didn't reference books at least every once in a while...

Anyone who's known me for a long time knows I used to read all the time...like, on the level of never leaving the house without at least one book and usually having a back up in case I finished that first book.  Yes, I am/was a complete nerd.  But as adult life has taken over, I haven't had that much time to read.  There were a couple of years within the past five that I don't think I read at all...kinda sad for someone who read as much as I used to.

So, last year I read a little bit more.  I got back into it a little bit, but not enough to really make a habit of it.

This year, I set a goal on Goodreads' 2018 Reading Challenge to read twenty books.  As of the beginning of my writing challenge, I had only finished three.  Since starting to write again, I've also started to read more, and in the past week, I've finished two books out of five that I had been reading.


The two that I've finished were:

"Unbreakable" by Sara Ella
This series was one that took me by surprise.  I hadn't heard of it before, but I found "Unblemished" in the book section at Ollie's and thought it sounded like a fun, easy read.  It was so worth it, and when I finished the first book, I immediately got on my Kindle and bought the second book of the trilogy, "Unraveling," and pre-ordered the last book, "Unbreakable."  "Unbreakable" honestly took me a while to get into.  Some things that happened at the end of "Unraveling"/start of "Unbreakable" really almost ruined it for me.  It was an event that the whole third book hinged on, but it just made it so hard to keep my attention because I hated what had happened to the characters.  Once I picked  it up again this past week, I struggled through that section, and sure enough, even though it threw me off, it got better.  I wasn't able to put it down again, and I finished it last night.

"Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls" by Lauren Graham
This was one I had downloaded a sample of an audiobook for but hadn't really gotten into it because I'd never "read" an audiobook before...this was my first.  And I must say, I'm glad it was my first, because listening to Lauren Graham relate her own sort of autobiography was extremely entertaining.  I got weird looks from Darryl a couple times because I'd be listening to the book while crocheting and end up laughing out loud....seemingly at nothing.  Oops. lol


So that leaves a few that I've picked up and started but haven't finished, and I'm probably going to continue to work on these until they're done:

"Shinnston Tornado: Eyewitness Accounts of Nature on the War Path" by John Finlayson
This is one that I've been picking up off and on and reading a little bit at a time for the past year.  It's interesting, but it's also a little weirdly emotional for me because it's about a tornado that went though my grandpa's parents' farm in 1944 when he was about 12.  He and his parents holed up in their house in a room that butted up against the hillside and waited it out.  When it was over, most of their house was gone.  A lot of the farm was destroyed.  Chickens were alive but had had their feathers stripped by the wind, and the livestock somehow were okay.  (He told me recently that one of the biggest blessings when all had been evaluated was that their car had been in town being serviced; otherwise it would have been destroyed too!)  They got very lucky.  A lot of people didn't, and reading about the devastation and destruction that happened all around them is honestly pretty eerie.  It's sad to think about what those people went through, but it makes me so so thankful that my grandpa's family got out the way they did.

Note:  They ended up building a new house across the road from where that one was, and that's where he still lives today.  He, my grandma, dad, and uncle moved back into that house after his mother passed away.  The judge who owned/lived in Adaland Mansion, right up the road, let them live there while they rebuilt their home after the tornado.

"The Foxfire Book" by Eliot Wigginton
I've had books 1-5 for years but never read them.  I decided a couple of weeks ago to try to start them, and they're pretty interesting as far as I've read into the first book.

"Charmed and Enchanted" by Nora Roberts
I liked reading Nora Roberts' books when I was in high school, and I found this one used for like $0.50 at a little store in Darryl's hometown, so I grabbed it while we were there on Fourth of July this year.  It's actually two books in one.  I've finished reading "Charmed" and started "Enchanted".  This is another easy read, so I might have it finished by next week - we'll see.


To follow along with what I'm currently reading, check out the widget to the left of the blog (if you're reading on a computer) to see my Goodreads "Currently Reading" shelf!

A Quote for You

I just wanted to share this.  I saved it a while back on a sticky note on my desktop and just came across it again.  I think it's a great quote with a great meaning, and I hope you will enjoy it and take it to heart the way I have been. :)

"Make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt.

So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality, nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.

The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure.  The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.

If you want to get more out of life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy.  But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty."

-Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild

Books Galore!

I've been trying to get back into reading lately.  I read a ton the first half of the year last year.  Then I got thrown, got busy with Fiverr, and realized that not only was it hard to find the time to read, it was also hard to find a comfortable position to read in thanks to my jacked up bone. -_-  Laying down while holding a book up hurt, sitting down and looking down at a book hurt, sitting down while holding a book up hurt, I. Could. Not. Win.  Actually, in all honesty, doing just about everything hurt, there for a while.

So I kind of fell out of the habit.  Then I started to get back into it and read a couple good books.

I found my new place and kept up with reading off and on for a little while....but then the last couple months, a lot of stuff has gone on that kept me from reading.  First, I was trying to unpack and plan out a way my furniture would fit in my room properly.  Then, I took on a new animal or two and started spending a lot of time with and taking care of them.  Also, I found out that I could watch Hulu and Netflix on our TV through Cody's little Neo TV thing....annnnnd the mad dash to catch up/keep up with my shows ensued.  And there are a lot of them.

So now, I'm getting back to reading and trying to balance all those things out a little more.  A healthy balance of all things needed and wanted is key, as there will be some other big priorities taking over here soon....which I don't want to get into now, but I will fill you all in on later.  (Just know this - they're exciting and will set my life in a new, better direction!)

Right now, I'm reading The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate.  It was recommended by a friend.  I've read Lauren Kate's Fallen series, which is a must read if you haven't read it already.  I'm actually the one who got said friend reading this author, so I borrowed her book and started it today.  I'm not very far into it yet (one of the animals kept me awake most of the night, so I fell asleep 10 minutes into starting the book), but it seems interesting so far.

I'm also partway through Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks.  It was what I was reading when I fell off the reading wagon a couple months ago, so I plan to go back and finish it after the Kate book.

I have a multitude of books on my Kindle to read, first of which will probably be a couple of Nancy Drew books by Carolyn Keene that I bought the other day.  I had the entire original hardback series and a lot of the paperbacks when I was a kid.  I loved them, and I've recently gotten back into playing the computer games that they started making years ago.  Unfortunately, I gave all of my ND books and games to the little girl next door when I was clearing out my room one summer during college.  I have almost never regretted the decision to get rid of those and another series of books I gave away that summer more. =\  I only hope that they benefited someone else because I miss them.

What are you reading these days?  Let me know in the comments section below!  I like suggestions. :)

Book Geek

If you followed along this weekend, you might have noticed that I splurged and bought myself a few new books.  Seriously, books and horse stuff = only things I splurge on these days.  Generally anything else I buy is a must-have or a need for everyday life, but these book and horse shopping are the two types of things I save up for in addition to emergencies and bills.  I could spend all day in a book store and find a hundred new books that I've been wanting if you give me an unlimited budget.  Hell, I can spend all day in a book store just looking around at all the books without buying anything.  Anyone who has ever been to a book store with me knows this.  At least 3/4 of the time I spend there is spent looking around and contemplating which books I want to spend my money on.  I'll pick up a book, look at it, and either put it back or hang onto it if I can't decide, until I have a huge stack of books in my arms that there is no way in hell I can afford to get.  So then the process of elimination starts.  How badly do I want this one?  If I can't say "yes" immediately to it, it goes in a separate pile.  I do this until I get down to what I can afford and physically or mentally write down the other titles so I know to look for them later on my Kindle, where they'll most likely be cheaper, the next time I'm in need of new books.

And let's just make something else clear: I'm never really in need of new books because it's not like in high school and before that, when I read at least three or four books a week....I'm lucky if I read one book in two weeks.  Lucky, as that almost never happens.  I quickly learned in college that as you grow up and real life takes over, there's not as much time to just chill out and veg and read all day.  :(  So inevitably, I end up with a ton of books that I own but haven't read yet.  Then I see books that I want, and I put up a mental fight with myself for a long time about not spending money, until one day when I do have a little extra cash, I buy a new one, adding yet another title to my ever-growing "to be read" list.  

Yeah.  I'm that person.  

For example: I spent about $35 on books at the local bookstore this weekend.  A couple were on sale, and I just couldn't pass them up.  Then, when I was at Walmart later, my friend picked up "Deliver Us From Evil" by Ralph Sarchie and Lisa Collier Cool and pointed out that it was a book before a movie, which I did not know.  Go ahead, laugh at me; I felt pretty clueless when I learned that I had missed that crucial point.  She said it was supposed to be good, and I like scary paranormal stuff.  It wasn't too expensive, so I bought it.  

I'm prepared to have the crap scared out of me while I read this.

Maybe I have a problem....  A book-buying problem....

Nah.

To tell the truth, it's the first time I've bought books (or really splurged on anything, for that matter) in a couple months, at least.  Unless you count the two I had pre-ordered because they were part of a series I started reading a couple years ago...But those were technically ordered a while back, so I'm not counting them.  

Thankfully, I have more time to read now than I did in college (though I know that if I get into grad school, that extra time will be nonexistent).  Thus, I am slowly but surely making my way through my ginormous reading list (and catching up on my favorite TV shows - but that's a post for later).

How many of you are bookworms like me?  Do you have the same problems?  What kind of books do you like to read and what book(s) would you recommend to me or any other readers of this blog?

My Week in Pictures

It's Saturday, and since I'm spending the weekend with one of my best friends and doing all kind of fun stuff, I thought I'd just share a few pictures from this week.
Enjoy!

I splurged a little bit today and bought myself some new books.  These are pretty much the only things I splurge on the past few years - books and horse things.

Chelsea's cat, Ginny, is obsessed with shoes.  My flip flops became hers temporarily last night.

This is why I love WV...because just an hour or so from where I'm staying, there's this.  And this is just one of the countless amazing sights my state has to offer.

My old church sent me a get well card.  I received it yesterday.  Thank you Philippi Baptist Church!

Who needs a puppy when your little brother does this?

Grainy, crappy quality picture of where I've been doing my proofreading and blogging for the past couple of weeks since the accident.

Writing and KITTENS!!

Hola!

I'm still here, just working and writing my life away!  (The working part doesn't thrill me, but the writing part does!)

I've made a ton of progress on my book, and I'm definitely going to publish it.  Right now, I'm just working on fleshing out some scenes that were already written and expanding upon some of the character relationships.  I know what these relationships are supposed to be like and how they developed, but in re-reading through the book from start to finish, I've realized that the relationships haven't been explained or developed as fully as they should be, so I'm writing more scenes between certain characters so that events that happen toward the end of the book and in the next book don't just jump out at you out of nowhere.  As I was reading, trying to imagine myself reading it for the first time, I ended up going "Whoa, wait, where did that come from?  I mean, I know where it came from, but I didn't back that up at all earlier."  So I'm fixing those things, and then sending it off to a very small, diverse group of trusted friends to read, edit, and give suggestions.  After all of that is fixed and loose ends are neatly tied up, I have a very good book blogger friend who has agreed to read and review it for me. :D  I'm working on covers, but as my graphic design skills aren't excellent, I may resort to asking someone else I know to design the cover for the book.  Once all of that is stowed away, I can publish it as a Kindle book.  If all goes well, I may even make it paperback and publish it for Nook as well.

All of this is in the works, but the fact that I actually have a plan for it for the first time ever and I'm this close to finishing it has me really excited and ready to just go for it.  I want to publish it now, but I have to keep reminding myself that to make it the best version it can be, I need to take the time to make sure everything is done properly.

Eeeeeeeek!  There.  Some of my excitement is out.  Hehe.

Another thing that I'm looking into as I'm writing this is the possibility of editing/proofreading things for people and getting paid to do it.  I recently read about a site called Fiverr where you can promote certain business skills and get paid to do things, like graphic design (not for me!), proofreading, editing, researching topics...even things like painting pictures, singing, voice-overs, or creating company logos.  I read about this in a book by Gerry Marrs called "How to Make $800 Per Month: Starting Tonight!  A "no-hype" realistic plan you can implement...".  Yeah, sounds crazy, but it was only $0.99.  Plus, I also bought his book "How to Write, Edit, and Self-Publish Your First eBook: Make Money Writing Instant International Bestsellers!" first, and it turned out to be pretty good and an informative read for what I want to do.  So, for $0.99, I figured why not?  It was an interesting read as well, and I won't lose anything by signing up for this site if no one is interested in having me edit/proofread their stuff, but if I can make a little bit of money that can towards paying off my student loans, especially if it's by doing something that I actually enjoy, I'm all in.

I'll leave you all with this picture of my cat, who has finally decided that snuggling with me isn't such a bad thing and ended up curling up on the couch with me last night while I wrote and binged on watching House.

ALSO:  We have kittens at the house!  One of the skittish, wild cats from outside went from looking like she'd swallowed a basketball yesterday morning to being slim and fit yesterday afternoon, and when Grandpa and I went looking for the kittens, we found them.  Here.  In the oldest, dirtiest box she could find, apparently.  The boxes haven't been refurbished in forever because the two cats that are left outside almost never use them, but the second of the two is much nicer than this.  So excuse the nasty bedding, but mama cat chose it, not us!  If she lets me near her babies without fussing or trying to move them, I might try to change out the bedding for some cleaner newspaper.  But for now, this is what they've got, and the babies really don't seem to mind.  They have more important things to think about - like sleeping and snuggling and hissing at anything they sense nearby that isn't their mom.  The one at the bottom of the picture was hissing at me the whole time I had the box open and was taking this picture.  Sooooooo scary.  lol

So, that's what I've been up to lately.  What have you all been doing?  Comment below with your thoughts on Fiverr, writing, exciting things (or not exciting things - I just like reading comments and knowing that someone out there is interested in and getting something from my writing! lol)...

Book Blog

HEY!

So, I've been wanting to start a book review blog for a while now, and since I just read all three books in the Divergent trilogy (I'm so sleep deprived right now), I decided I was finally going to get it going and start with those.

The first post will be for Divergent, and it is scheduled to post itself on Monday at 9:30am.  The next two books, Insurgent and Allegiant will follow, and I'll decide what I'm doing next after that.  So, if you're interested and want to show the new blog a little love, feel free to stop by and/or follow it.  (Please, please, please follow it! :D )

Visit Volumes & Verses, here.

If you like what I'm posting, spread the word so the blogs can get even more love. <3 p="">
Thanks guys!

I might be addicted to this series...

At 1am last night/this morning....

I read "Divergent" by Veronica Roth the other night. Yes, you read that right...one night. I couldn't put it down and read the whole thing in pretty much one sitting.  I loved the setting, the characters, the story line, the writing..all of it. Loved. It.

Now I'm all amped up to see the movie. I've heard it's getting pretty good reviews.

I was kicking myself after finishing the first book, because I bought it in paperback and didn't buy the whole series. Soooo....I really think I'm going to buy "Insurgent" on my Kindle. I really don't want to wait until I can go to the store and get the matching paperback copy of "Insurgent". The first one was just that good!

So what do you guys think? Any of you read the books and/or seen the movie? Without any spoilers, leave your thoughts in the comments below. :)

Hobbies and Crafts

I've decided to keep myself busy while babysitting and in the evenings when I'm home (the boys pretty much keep themselves occupied most of the time) by doing more hobbies and crafts.


Reading is a given.  I've already ready three books, and I'm detouring from my original summer reading list and starting the second A Song of Ice and Fire book, A Clash of Kings.  I'm excited. :)  I now own the first four books in the series - would've been five, but Walmart didn't have the fifth one...boooooo!

I'm also going to start cross-stitching bookmarks again.  Found out that Walmart has the felt that I need for their backing and picked up two sheets of it in brown and purple.  Each was only 32 cents!  Yay cheap materials!  I thought for sure it would be more than that.


I picked up some photo albums and am going to have some pictures printed.  I want to do an album for my first year with Orion and one for my junior year.  I thought about making a scrapbook but decided that a photo album will work just as well.


Any ideas for other crafting adventures I could embark on?  They can be for just me or for my brothers (ages 10 and 6) as well.  Feel free to leave them in a comment. :)

Summer Fun

Hola everyone!! Having a nice summer? I hope so!  Mine's been...semi-uneventful, but in a mostly good way. :)

I'm going to try to force myself out of my writer's block of the past few weeks.....starting now!

Horses

It's been a slow week without the option of a ride out to the barn.  Friends I normally go with either started work for the summer or are known to be super busy so I don't ask...but I will remedy that soon enough!  

Nom nomming on a willow tree.

I started going out on my third or fourth day home from school, riding for a bit the first couple of days, exploring a new trail that a friend showed me (it's my favorite yet - and this time of year, everything is SUPER green and beautiful!), but mostly hanging out and loving on our horses.

Orion was slightly jealous when I fed Glory instead of him.

Orion was super sweet and willing to please the majority of the time - with the exception of not wanting to go through the gate, which we argued over for a few minutes.  I won.  He was great, albeit a bit jumpy for some reason.  

Taken just after his bath.

The dogs usually never bother him, but two days in a row, I got to experience him jump straight into the air and skitter sideways as he realized one of the - now grown - pups was nearer to him than he'd apparently realized.  That was a fun feeling - usually resulting in a "WTF??" exclamation from me and a huge sigh from him as he hung his head in relief upon deciding a terrifying monster was not about to eat him!

Bath + summer sunshine = beautiful  =)

One day last week, he actually came to me from the other side of the field when I whistled and called for him.  I was giddy - yes, giddy - that he'd actually done it from that distance. Then a couple of days ago, I tried again...to no avail.  He didn't even give me the courtesy of lifting his head in acknowledgement.  So across the field I trekked, and he still didn't visibly acknowledge the fact that I was there until I was about three feet from him.  Thanks buddy.  I felt loved.

Books

I finally decided to copy a friend's idea last week and made myself a summer reading list.  Reading is something I love doing.......but unfortunately something I usually don't have time to do during school without neglecting other important things. :/

So this summer, I set myself a goal.  The list is comprised of various books that I've been meaning to read for a while - in some cases, years - that I never get around to.  Most of them are ones that I don't have on my Kindle, because I want to save those for when I go back to school - that way I'm downsizing on how many books I take back with me.  Especially since I'll have a roommate next year and more limited space than I was used to previously.  

I've already finished two of the books on it, and am about a third of the way through my third.

Here's the list:

Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

The Lucky One  by Nicholas Sparks

Out of Oz  by Gregory Maguire

Mirror Mirror by Gregory Maguire

Snakehunter by Chuck Kinder

The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger by Stephen King

The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King

The Dark Tower III: The Wastelands by Stephen King

And that's it. For now.  I'm sure upon cleaning my room - another chore on my to-do list this summer - I'll probably find more that I haven't read or want to re-read.  There's a few I've considered that probably won't make the list unless I can't find something else...simply because I want to read as much new stuff as I can while I have the time!

So far, that has been the extent of my activities this summer - horses and books and working out, though it's a bit hard to write much about doing Zumba and Wii Fit.  Another fun thing was going camping with my two best friends at the beginning of the week - but I'll add more about that later.

Tuesday starts my babysitting job, so I'm sure I'll some humorous stories to tell about that.  There's never a dull moment when my younger brothers are together all day long!!

Kindle Fire

I want one of these soo badly right now...It's probably not going to happen, and that's fine.  But it doesn't keep me from drooling over this little baby.  I have the Kindle 2nd generation (the white one pictured here).  I love it.  It's awesome.  I have probably at least a hundred books on it right now, most of which I haven't read yet due to time constraints, but no matter where I go, I can take all of them with me.  And when I'm ready to start a new one, it's right there.  There's no finishing a book at school, just to look over at my mini plastic-crates-stacked-on-top-of-each-other bookshelf only to see that I've just read my last unread book that I had at school.  Nope.  I can just get on my Kindle and voila!  There's a whole list to choose from.  And if there's a book that I want on Amazon that I can get for my Kindle, it's in my hands in less than five minutes.  Awesome stuff.

Considering all the new Kindles they have come out with in the last four years, mine is ancient (but I still love it).  There's absolutely nothing wrong with it.  But of course, human nature has to go and say "but this one looks so much nicer..and..and...it's got all these other cool features." Pshhh.  Shut up human nature.  I don't need to spend any more money.

But still...the Kindle Fire looks awesome.  And for any of you who haven't experienced a Kindle yet...I'm sure it would be a great one to start with.  :)

  

Books, books, books....

So, these are a few of my favorite books...and the ones above are some that I'm reading right now.  Yeah I know, I multitask.


Musicophilia is the book that I read my junior year of high school to do my junior paper.  It delves into the world of music and how it affects the brain.  It's extremely interesting.  Music is something that everyone has in common; we all like it, even if we like different kinds.  I think it's awesome to see that it can affect everyone's brains in the same way.


My Blood Approves is the first in a series by Amanda Hocking.  She is an amazing storyteller.  A friend recommended her books to me last year and I've been hooked ever since.  The first series I read by her was her Trylle Trilogy.  She is an inspiration as an author and gave me the idea to self-publish on Amazon.com when I get my first book finished.


The Count of Monte Cristo is a classic, and I've been reading it little by little for past year or so.  It's a great book, but it's one that I really have to sit down for a while to be able to get into it.  Now that I'm further into it it's not as hard, but it's still one that I don't want to read a little at a time, you know?  While I'm in school, I can't sit down for long periods to read, so I've been reading it during summers.  Last summer I really put a dent in it. :)


The Hunger Games was also suggested by a friend last year.  I just bought it during Walmart's Black Friday Sale on Thursday evening.  I'm only part way through the first chapter, so I'm just getting into it.  It started out a little bit dull and confusing, but I think it was meant to be...it seems to be getting more interesting now.  I've learned not to judge a book by its first chapter.  Sometimes you have to give it more time than that for it to really get going.


So there you go. I thought I'd suggest a few books for you.  And if you want to get them at the Kindle price but don't have a Kindle or want to buy a Kindle....you can still get the Kindle reading app for your computer, phone, etc.  You can just as easily read the stuff on there.


:)


I hope you try out some of these great books and enjoy them!


-Jor

Black Friday Deals

I'm part of this Amazon Associates thing on Amazon.com, and because of that, I get a heads up on these special deals they have going on.  One of them is this:

Shop Amazon's Holiday Countdown to Black Friday Store

They have a lot of great deals going on even before Black Friday starts.  I'm sitting here as I type looking at them and drooling over some of the stuff...

Inheritance

I finally have it! Well, actually, I've had it since Wednesday...I've just had other things to write about and to do.

If you haven't heard of the Inheritance Cycle (or of the first book and movie of the same name, Eragon), you are truly missing out on something great.


Inheritance is the last book in the series. :( But I am over halfway through it (which attributes to my vast amount of procrastination last weekend), and it is amazing every step of the way. It's been a long time since I read one of those books you just can't put down, but in the last three weeks, I've read two (the other is Monty Roberts' The Man Who Listens to Horses). Inheritance is definitely one of them.


I won't talk about the plot, for those of you who have read Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr, so as not to ruin it for you before you finish it. But I will say that it is amazing what Christopher Paolini has done once again. I am in love with this book, and for those of you that want it, it is in my store. You won't even have to leave this website to buy it. :)


So take a look, and for those that are already reading it, enjoy! :)

A Little Slice of My Life Now Has Its Very Own Store!

Hey everybody! Check this out.

My blog now has its own store...courtesy of Amazon.

You can find most of the books, movies, TV shows, horse products, etc. that I talk about on here.  There is also a tab specifically with links to the things that I have bought for/dealing with Orion - titled "Orion's stuff".

All of those books that I've bought and told you about in the past few months?  They're in the "Books" tab, along with many other books that I have read and enjoyed over the years, plus some that I would like to read in the future.

Specifically under the books tab, is a subcategory called "Horse Fiction".  Within this, there are several book series that I read growing up that led to my love of horses before I ever set foot near one.  There is one very important series missing, that I will be adding later, as it is very very long, and I didn't have time to put it together today.

There is a "Movies/TV" tab that showcases many movies and TV shows that I like, as well as another subcategory within that which is specifically for horse lovers.

If anyone has any additions that they think should be added to the store, be sure to let me know!  I'm excited to get this going.  It's not a huge money-maker for me personally, but to make it easier for other people to enjoy the books/DVDs/horse equipment that I like excites me like you would not believe!

So here you go; you can either click the page tab above, or enter the store here:

A Little Slice of My Life Store

Thought Vomit

Wow, what a weekend it has been!  

Friday night I had an alumni event to play for with flute choir.  It was fun - especially since when we weren't playing, four of us were enjoying great food (why can't our cafeteria cook like that for us at school?  If they can do it for others, surely they could do more here. Blah!) and checking out "hot" guys.  Ha - one of my friends (I won't mention names for her sake) was obsessed with a particular guy allllll evening - and before you think it - no, the alumni were not all old people. lol  Overall, it was just a fun, laughing at each other and being silly kind of atmosphere.  We went up to the balcony (this took place at Adaland Mansion) and sat, and that's where most of the sillyness took place, where people could not see us and think how immature we were. It was mostly just laughing and saying stupid stuff.  After the week I have had, I needed some time to let go and just be silly with friends, you know? It was nice.  I feel like the five of us are becoming closer each time we go out together, and I love that.  It's almost like when my section in high school band started getting more comfortable around each other and became more like sisters or family than just a flute section.  I miss that, and I'm glad it seems like I'm getting a little bit of that back.

That being said, the same thing has been happening with my suite.  This week we've all spent more time out in the common room together in the evenings instead of being locked behind closed doors in our bedrooms.  Claire, Sara, Francesca and I especially.  Kristen has been out more too, and Jessie, when she's here.  Everyone in my suite is always super busy (4 out of the 6 of us are music majors - Jessie and I are the only ones who aren't: Jessie is education and I am biology).  It's nice to come back from work or lab in the evening though and find everyone just chilling out in the common room, talking and relaxing.  That room is starting to feel more like a living area than just a room to walk through to get to my bedroom now.  I love it.

It was also super fun yesterday (even though a bit nerve-wracking and stressful).  I worked from 10:30-2:45, walked back to campus, arrived at my dorm room at 3, started to get ready, received a text from Natalie (pretty much the head flutist) saying I needed to be at the chapel ASAP, and realized I had mixed up the times in my head.  I thought I had to be there at 3:30.  I was supposed to be there at 3.  Seriously???  So I touched up my makeup really fast, left my hair in a ponytail from work, changed clothes, grabbed my flute and sheet music, and booked it across campus to the chapel - in high heels that I haven't worn for about six months.  I ended up only being about 15 minutes late, and the concert didn't start for a while, so I was good.  My feet felt like they were going to fall off by the end of the concert though.  I swear, I am not made to wear heels.  I thought I was going to break my ankle with every other step that I took!  Our flute choir performance went pretty well though, and that was all that really mattered to me.

I went back for the evening concert to see the jazz band, Men's and Women's Quartets, and the West Virginians perform.  For anyone who hasn't seen the West Virginians, you are missing out.  They travel and perform, and they are amazing.

The quality to this video sucks and the angle sucks too, but they were still amazing.  Francesca is the blond in the gray and black shirt.  She did awesome as well.  And she's only a freshmen.  Go Fresca! :)

Then yesterday, we had a surprise visit from an old friend.  Joe Harris came in for homecoming this weekend and stopped by my suite to say hi to Sara. I happened to be sitting out in the common room looking up music on my computer and heard a knock, then he walked in, we recognized each other, said hello and started talking.  Then he knocked on Sara's door and she tackled him with a hug.  He stayed until almost 3 a.m., with he, Sara, Sara's boyfriend, Eric, and I sitting out in the common area talking and joking around like old times.  We had a visit from my old roommate Jess and her boyfriend for a little while, which really made it feel like old times during freshmen year.  It was a wonderful surprise. :)

Oh, and by the way, since he graduated from A-B, Joe has written a book!  I have not read it yet, but I just downloaded it to my Kindle.  It's also available from Barnes and Noble.

Check it out and tell me what you think! :)

Hopefully mine will someday be finished and I'll be able to follow in his footsteps with publishing.  I'm thinking now that it may be next summer unless I can pull off a miracle over Christmas break.  I have soo much left to do with Summer of Horses that it's ridiculous.  I'm not at all happy with how the last half that I haven't yet revised looks.  I feel like it's probably going to take even more work than the first half did.  Grr.

At this point I'm soo tempted to just start working on Senior Year, which is the sequel to Summer.  Yes, there is a sequel.  And I like it sooo much better.  But that's just me.  I was more grown up when I started Senior Year, and I think that's why it appeals to me more.  Hopefully by the time I'm finished with Summer I will feel differently about it.  Don't get me wrong; I love my first book.  I was just in a better place and knew more about myself and the world around me when I wrote Senior Year.  I wasn't as naive, and it shows.  

Anyway, I'll stop that topic there because I don't want to give away too much.  The first one isn't even finished yet! lol

I'm in the library until 5:00.  And I already have all my homework done. *sigh*  I think I'll print my notes off and study.  At least then, I'll still be doing something constructive.  I might even work on Summer a little more since I'm in a constructive kind of environment.  I still have two and a half hours to go, so who knows?

After I'm done here, Claire and I might go to Elkins to see Orion.  Depends on her getting her homework done, so we'll see.  I might ride him today if we do. :D  So excited!

And a Good Weekend Will Ensue...

Orion got his feet trimmed today!

And tomorrow I will hopefully be going out to spoil him  and soak his feet and legs in the creek.  I haven't been able to get out there since Labor Day; I was telling Chelsea today that I'm half afraid he won't remember me.  Blah.  Gotta get my license so that I can get out there more.  Maybe it will happen by the end of the year - though that is probably wishful thinking.  

For the moment, I am caught up on schoolwork, all except for one assignment, which I may embark upon when I'm done with this blog.  We're all about reading Flannery O'Connor in my honors course right now.  I have to say, I like her....but some of her stories are messed up.  Someone always seems to die in some horrifically violent way, or maybe they don't die, but something equally violent and "WTF???"-thought-inducing always happens.  

For example, the next to last one that I read was "A Good Man Is Hard To Find," in which an entire family was murdered at the side of the road by a serial killer after having a car accident.  The one that I had to read for yesterday's class ended with a seven- or eight-year-old boy hanging himself.  

They're all very thought-provoking, but disturbing.  In one of them, "Good Country People," a one-legged thirty-something-year-old woman who still lived with her mother went out to a barn with a man she didn't know with the intentions of seducing him.  Once they were in the loft where she couldn't get down, he turned from being this backward, somewhat stupid and ignorant "country boy" to being a total creep - he stole her wooden leg and left.  End story here. That was it.  

I'm amazed at every new O'Connor story that I read.  Throughout the whole of "Good Country People" I was screaming in my head "Are you crazy??!" as she started to cross the field with a man she had just met, at 10:00 at night. Seriously?? How stupid can you get? *reins self in*  I just have to keep telling myself that it's just a story. lol

So anyway...

No new news (<--haha) on my project so far.  I'm still set on the same autistic children/horses/therapy idea, but I've been busy with other things lately.  It's not at that "gotta get this done right now" stage yet.  The project probably won't occur until summer, and right now we're still learning about which faculty members would be best suited to our projects in my research methods class.  Prof is having different teachers and professors come in for each of our weekly Friday meetings now and explain what kind of research they have been involved in and would like to see done.  I already have in mind who I am going to ask, but I'm going to wait until I've heard some others - who knows, I might meet someone I didn't know about who might be better suited to this project.  I'm limited on professors that I've had multiple times that I know and like well enough to work with for a project of this magnitude, but I'm open to all of the possibilities until I make up my mind for sure.

I treated myself today.  I got on Amazon and bought a few Monty Roberts books, including "From My Hands to Yours," which my Nana gave me the money to buy as a birthday gift.  I also bought a Linda Tellington-Jones book; she is the woman who came up with TTeam and TTouch.  There are a lot of things on body work, ground exercises, and riding exercises in the book that I'm excited to read about.  I also downloaded a couple of free samples of other books that I'm interested in to my Kindle.  They were ones that looked good, but I didn't know much about the authors and didn't want to spend any more money at this point in time, so I got samples to read and see what I think of.

Basically, tonight has been a lazy evening for me.  I've had a headache - blah - off and on all day.  So after my last class I came back to my room, made some coffee (and later some chai tea - yum!), played around on the computer a little, read a couple blogs, watched Charmed on Netflix, and read.  It's been a nice, relaxing, unwinding kind of night, and now I'm about to end it by going to bed.  I'll probably save that other homework for tomorrow.  Not worried about it now.

I have high hopes for this weekend! :)

Btw - tomorrow I'm 21! :)