Well it's new years time again, and it's also resolution time. Here are mine:
1. Finish at least a somewhat acceptable draft of my NaNoWriMo novel.
2. Plan ahead for the next NaNoWriMo and try to win it, and if not then at least get farther than I did on the last one.
3. Get more involved in Nerdfighteria, including Project for Awesome.
4. Do as much training as I can on my horses and be able to show them.
5. Maybe start vlogging?
So there they are, folks. What are yours? And happy new year!!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Looking For Alaska by John Green (Warning: Spoilers... well kinda)
I just finished reading Looking For Alaska (yes, a nerdfighter that hasn't read it yet, I'm awful.) But I finished it in three days.
I am thinking: John Green, you are a pervert.
I am thinking: John Green, you are the most genius man alive.
I am thinking: This novel brings a whole new meaning to famous last words.
Green's writing style (it feels so weird calling him Green but that's what you do in an official review,) is deep as well as witty, and I admire the way his writing reflects his personality at some points, yet can also take on a personality of its own.
Francois Rabelais' last words were, "I go to seek a great perhaps." Miles "Pudge" Halter, who has lived in Florida his whole life, decides to go in search of his Great Perhaps by attending Culver Creek, a boarding school in Alabama that his father had graduated from. During his junior year, Pudge, who is obsessed with famous people's last words, meet his first real friends and does lots of new things, like smoking, drinking, and of course, pranking. Among these friends is Alaska Young, a beautiful, smart, funny girl that is a lot of fun to be around but can be moody and mysterious. Pudge and his friends have many good times and Pudge thinks things can't get any better. All of a sudden, in the middle of the year, a shocking and painful event shakes the entire school. In the remainder of the year, Pudge learns that even after a person is gone, you can still learn and benefit a great deal from their life.
Another thing that I really like about this novel is actually Green's perception of sex. I know this has been discussed in other reviews and in a vlog by Green himself (link at the bottom,) but I'll pretty much sum it all up here. Yes, there is a sex scene in the book, and it is awkward, emotionally empty and rather un-erotic. The point of the scene, as Green states, is to show contrast between that scene and the scene after it, in which there is not a lot of physical closeness but there is a strong emotional bond. The point was to show that emotionally empty sex is pointless, what really matters is that you love somebody, whether you have sex with them or not. This is just one of the wise thoughts Greens shares with us in this novel.
I highly recommend this read, though I would advise reader discretion, for previously mentioned reasons. Looking For Alaska is a novel that stays with the reader for longer than the time it took to read it. Among all of the novels I've read, this one earns its place on my hallowed "favorites" shelf, which at this point only holds the Harry Potter series, the Twilight saga, and Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse. Now I'm off to find a recipe for a bufriedo (Culver Creek's famous deep-fried burrito) and see if I can find more information on last words.
John Green's vlog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHMPtYvZ8tM&feature=SeriesPlayList&p=747F0A378BC181C7
My research on famous last words:
George Harrison, dying from throat cancer, said to his wife and son, "Love one another." I think these are pretty awesome last words. He seemed not just to be saying them to his family, but to the world.
John Lennon's last words aren't as easy to track. He was shot four times outside his apartment in NYC. The deadly blow pierced his aorta, and he was announced dead on arrival at the hospital from blood loss. Once he was shot, he crawled up a few of the front steps of the building and said, "I'm shot." These are his last recorded words. Nobody's sure though. Some say he remained silent on the way to the hospital, but some say he was barely concious, basically asking what happened and where Yoko Ono, his wife, was. I honestly don't think this is a very cool ending, like some of the people Pudge quotes, but I researched it anyway.
Alex the African grey parrot was a very intellegent bird, that could count, sing, describe colors, tell what foods he wanted and even carry on conversation. He was a research bird at a university. His last words were to his handler, Dr. Irene Pepperburg, when she put him in his cage for the night. "You be good. See you tomorrow. I love you." He was found dead the next morning.
Humphrey Bogart's last words were simple: "I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis."
I am thinking: John Green, you are a pervert.
I am thinking: John Green, you are the most genius man alive.
I am thinking: This novel brings a whole new meaning to famous last words.
Green's writing style (it feels so weird calling him Green but that's what you do in an official review,) is deep as well as witty, and I admire the way his writing reflects his personality at some points, yet can also take on a personality of its own.
Francois Rabelais' last words were, "I go to seek a great perhaps." Miles "Pudge" Halter, who has lived in Florida his whole life, decides to go in search of his Great Perhaps by attending Culver Creek, a boarding school in Alabama that his father had graduated from. During his junior year, Pudge, who is obsessed with famous people's last words, meet his first real friends and does lots of new things, like smoking, drinking, and of course, pranking. Among these friends is Alaska Young, a beautiful, smart, funny girl that is a lot of fun to be around but can be moody and mysterious. Pudge and his friends have many good times and Pudge thinks things can't get any better. All of a sudden, in the middle of the year, a shocking and painful event shakes the entire school. In the remainder of the year, Pudge learns that even after a person is gone, you can still learn and benefit a great deal from their life.
Another thing that I really like about this novel is actually Green's perception of sex. I know this has been discussed in other reviews and in a vlog by Green himself (link at the bottom,) but I'll pretty much sum it all up here. Yes, there is a sex scene in the book, and it is awkward, emotionally empty and rather un-erotic. The point of the scene, as Green states, is to show contrast between that scene and the scene after it, in which there is not a lot of physical closeness but there is a strong emotional bond. The point was to show that emotionally empty sex is pointless, what really matters is that you love somebody, whether you have sex with them or not. This is just one of the wise thoughts Greens shares with us in this novel.
I highly recommend this read, though I would advise reader discretion, for previously mentioned reasons. Looking For Alaska is a novel that stays with the reader for longer than the time it took to read it. Among all of the novels I've read, this one earns its place on my hallowed "favorites" shelf, which at this point only holds the Harry Potter series, the Twilight saga, and Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse. Now I'm off to find a recipe for a bufriedo (Culver Creek's famous deep-fried burrito) and see if I can find more information on last words.
John Green's vlog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHMPtYvZ8tM&feature=SeriesPlayList&p=747F0A378BC181C7
My research on famous last words:
George Harrison, dying from throat cancer, said to his wife and son, "Love one another." I think these are pretty awesome last words. He seemed not just to be saying them to his family, but to the world.
John Lennon's last words aren't as easy to track. He was shot four times outside his apartment in NYC. The deadly blow pierced his aorta, and he was announced dead on arrival at the hospital from blood loss. Once he was shot, he crawled up a few of the front steps of the building and said, "I'm shot." These are his last recorded words. Nobody's sure though. Some say he remained silent on the way to the hospital, but some say he was barely concious, basically asking what happened and where Yoko Ono, his wife, was. I honestly don't think this is a very cool ending, like some of the people Pudge quotes, but I researched it anyway.
Alex the African grey parrot was a very intellegent bird, that could count, sing, describe colors, tell what foods he wanted and even carry on conversation. He was a research bird at a university. His last words were to his handler, Dr. Irene Pepperburg, when she put him in his cage for the night. "You be good. See you tomorrow. I love you." He was found dead the next morning.
Humphrey Bogart's last words were simple: "I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis."
Sorry
Sorry I've been away for a while, Malibu's been hurt, I've been sick, and Christmas came. I'm back blogging again.
Friday, December 4, 2009
First Movie Review: Mannequin
Ok, I saw this movie on tv the other day. It is hilarious, romantic and has a good plotline. Ok, sure it was made in 1987. But if you know me at all, you know I love 80's movies. I have a new favorite. Jonathan, a young man in his eary twenties (with little luck keeping jobs) works at a mannequin factory. He's very proud of his first, but then gets fired. After a few more jobs, he gets hired at Prince and Co. which is a big department store dowtown. The store has been having problems getting business, but one night Johnathan sees his mannequin there. He marvels over her, and all of a sudden she comes to life. Emmy, the mannequin is an enchanted spirit that took on the form of a mannequin. Jonathan is the only person who can see her alive. Together, they build beautiful dispalys in the store window. Another store, Illustra, is ready to bring them down though. I won't spoil the ending. You can watch it on Youtube. All I can say is this movie is awesome!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
My Tips For Dieting Under Stress
This diet is designed to help you cope with the stress that builds up during the day.
Breakfast
1 Grapefruit
1 slice whole wheat toast, dry
3 oz. skin milk
Lunch
4 oz. lean broiled chicken breast
1 cup steamed spinach
1 cup herb tea
1 Oreo cookie
Afternoon Snack
Rest of Oreos in package
1 pint Rocky Road ice cream
1 jar hot fudge
Nuts, cherries, whipped cream
Dinner
2 loaves garlic bread with cheese
Large sausage, mushroom, and cheese pizza
3 Milky Way or Skinkers candy bars (or both!)
Late Evening Snack
Entire frozen cheesecake eaten directly from freezer
Rules For This Diet
If you eat something and nobody sees you eat it, it has no calories.
If you drink a diet soda with a candy bar, the calories in the candy bar are cancelled out by the diet soda.
When you eat with someone else, calories don't count if you eat less than they do.
Food used for medical purposes NEVER count, such as hot chocolate, toast, or pie.
If you fatten up everyone else around you, you look thinner.
Movie-related foods do not have additional calories because they are part of the entire entertainment package and not part of one's personal fuel, such as Milk Duds, buttered popcorn, Junior Mints, red hots, and Tootsie Rolls.
Cookies Pieces contain no calories. The process of breaking causes calorie leakage.
Things licked off of knives and spoons have no calories if you are in the process of preparing something. Exaples: Peanut butter on a knife making a sandwich, ice cream on a scoop making a sunday, icing on you finger making a cake.
Foods that have the same color have the same number of calories. Examples: Spinach and green Skittles, mushroom and white chocolate. Note: Chocolate is a universal color and can be substituted for any food color.
This diet is in no way designed to benefit your health.
Breakfast
1 Grapefruit
1 slice whole wheat toast, dry
3 oz. skin milk
Lunch
4 oz. lean broiled chicken breast
1 cup steamed spinach
1 cup herb tea
1 Oreo cookie
Afternoon Snack
Rest of Oreos in package
1 pint Rocky Road ice cream
1 jar hot fudge
Nuts, cherries, whipped cream
Dinner
2 loaves garlic bread with cheese
Large sausage, mushroom, and cheese pizza
3 Milky Way or Skinkers candy bars (or both!)
Late Evening Snack
Entire frozen cheesecake eaten directly from freezer
Rules For This Diet
If you eat something and nobody sees you eat it, it has no calories.
If you drink a diet soda with a candy bar, the calories in the candy bar are cancelled out by the diet soda.
When you eat with someone else, calories don't count if you eat less than they do.
Food used for medical purposes NEVER count, such as hot chocolate, toast, or pie.
If you fatten up everyone else around you, you look thinner.
Movie-related foods do not have additional calories because they are part of the entire entertainment package and not part of one's personal fuel, such as Milk Duds, buttered popcorn, Junior Mints, red hots, and Tootsie Rolls.
Cookies Pieces contain no calories. The process of breaking causes calorie leakage.
Things licked off of knives and spoons have no calories if you are in the process of preparing something. Exaples: Peanut butter on a knife making a sandwich, ice cream on a scoop making a sunday, icing on you finger making a cake.
Foods that have the same color have the same number of calories. Examples: Spinach and green Skittles, mushroom and white chocolate. Note: Chocolate is a universal color and can be substituted for any food color.
This diet is in no way designed to benefit your health.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Riding
I had to get off early, she was sore. Crap. But when she gets her shoes she'll be better. Grrr. So I ate dinner and washed dishes. Yay. Now I'm typing. Woots.
Oh, Hi Again.
Yup, off to the barn. Like every afternoon. Today I am riding Malibu for the second time since the foot issues. But yesterday I wasn't practicing. Today I am. Let you know how it goes. DFTBA.
I Like Blogging.
Get ready for obsessive blog posts, people. I like cheese on sausage biscuits. Yum. RANDOM PICTURE TIME!!!!! My feet. OH YA!!!
Pictures!!!
Gabby, She's awesome. And very paranoid.
Jude the stupid sweet baby. Malibu the bestest pony ever!Sorry the picture sucks, I'll get a better one up soon.
The one of Malibu is at the old barn, Jude is in Kevin's barn, Gabby is in my kitchen.
The Story of Malibu
Ok, I feel like telling you all about my beautiful and amazing baby girl. Maybe you (and you are currently nonexistent,) can get to know her a little better. But first I have to tell you the story of my first horse.
I have been begging my parents for a horse since I was six years old. Dreaming about them, thinking about them, learning about them, loving them. I got sent to horse camp for two weeks every summer since third grade. I loved horse camp, and I wanted to board a horse there. I fell in love with a few of the horses there and begged my parents to buy them, even though they were not for sale.
In August of 2007, my parents agreed to lease a black TN Walker named Bo from a guy who lived about five minutes from us. In the three months that I leased Bo, I fell in love. I wanted to buy this horse in the worst way. The guy though, asked way too much for him. My parents knew they couldn't buy him, but in November they got me another black TN Walker. His name was Elvis. I didn't think I could love a horse more. I was very wrong.
I loved barrel racing back then. I boarded Elvis at the place where I used to take lessons. That was a barrel barn, run by a barrel trainer. I was going to have a TWH who ran barrels. Bad idea. But I took lessons on him a started to teach him barrels. He wasn't really that bad. I aslo liked going on trail rides.
That spring, the weekend of the beginning of my fall break, a group from our barn trailered our horses (including Elvis) to a benefit trail ride. That weekend, he lunged out and bit my best friend in the neck for no reason whatsoever. She wasn't in too much pain or anything, but it was pretty gruesome. And right next to her jugular area.
We got him home, everything seemed ok. I went to the barn Monday. I tried to catch him. He had always been terrible to catch. Now he was worse. He was hanging out with a group of mares. He mounted one of them while we tried to catch him. My trainer told me not to try to catch him or ride him and I can ride her horses.
It turned out he had been a stud until he was six. He was 10 when we got him. He had been a sire. He was proud cut. He was dangerous and he needed to go. On that Thursday, my trainer's husband's employer gave us a 23 year old mare that they didn't need anymore. I named her Malibu. This is the horse I love more than air.
Our original intention was to take her until we could sell Elvis and then give her to the barn as a lesson horse and buy a new horse. I now laugh at this idea.
During the time we tried to sell Elvis, which was all summer, I rode Malibu. She was kind and gentle and obediant. I realized what a terrible horse Elvis was. That we let him push over us. I started to hate him. My mom still loved him.
That whole time, Elvis bucked off both of my parents. My dad nearly broke his arm. My mom had a few broken ribs and a mild concussion. Elvis tried to kick us a zillion times. And do pretty much everything a horse could do to you. We had to get him gone.
In around October, we finally sold him. We had bought him for around $2000. We were so desperate, we sold him for $400. Stupid economy. But he was gone.
Malibu was a barrel horse. We weren't very good, but we had fun. In August, she got a tendon injury. Three months of stall rest and walking by hand for fifteen minutes. Wrapping her leg every day. Taking extra good care. It was a long, painful journey. But it was so worth it.
One of my friends had a pleasure horse. My trainer was going to take me and another friend (the one with the neck bite,) to her the pleasure trainer, Kevin, to look at some horses.
I rode a few of them. They were so smooth, I fell in love with pleasure. I took a lesson on my friend's pleasure mare, Fancy, a few weeks later. Fancy is so much better then the two I looked at. Pleasure was my new thing.
I took lessons on Classy, Kevin's lesson horse, every week. I loved it. Kevin is a great trainer and I was having fun. In December, when Malibu was able to walk, trot, and lope, Kevin took her for a month of training. Ever since we got her home in January, 2009, Malibu and I have worked on pleasure.
I knew she would never be good. Kevin told us she might be good enough for a Saturday night show. I never imagined I would ever get this good. This summer, because of personal issues, we moved Malibu to a new barn. This barn had much better facilities. Mailbu's training took off. A lesson every week and lots of unpleasant practice in between pays off. Because in March we are looking at maybe showing her in AQHA. For the epic win.
But I knew she would never be good enough for my goals. I want to show at lots of AQHA and big shows. Malibu isn't that good. Or at least she wasn't in July, when we got our 2 year old plesure prospect, Jude. (BTW I named him after Hey Jude. Your welcome, Mr. McCartney.)
So that's about it. Right now we are going through feet problems. Malibu's hooves are so uneven that our farrier is baffled. Stupid natural hoofcare. We use a real farrier now. He has to wait for her feet to grow out so he can even then up and put on shoes. We she gets them, she'll be so much better. I can't wait. Only two weeks, baby.
Jude is doing pretty well. Kevin thinks he'll be great. Like, amazingly great. He's coming home to our barn in January. Until then, I can only ride him once a week in lessons.
Anyway, I know this is long. Sorry. But I felt like getting it all out. I don't think I've told the whole story like this. Please look for more posts soon. DFTBA.
I have been begging my parents for a horse since I was six years old. Dreaming about them, thinking about them, learning about them, loving them. I got sent to horse camp for two weeks every summer since third grade. I loved horse camp, and I wanted to board a horse there. I fell in love with a few of the horses there and begged my parents to buy them, even though they were not for sale.
In August of 2007, my parents agreed to lease a black TN Walker named Bo from a guy who lived about five minutes from us. In the three months that I leased Bo, I fell in love. I wanted to buy this horse in the worst way. The guy though, asked way too much for him. My parents knew they couldn't buy him, but in November they got me another black TN Walker. His name was Elvis. I didn't think I could love a horse more. I was very wrong.
I loved barrel racing back then. I boarded Elvis at the place where I used to take lessons. That was a barrel barn, run by a barrel trainer. I was going to have a TWH who ran barrels. Bad idea. But I took lessons on him a started to teach him barrels. He wasn't really that bad. I aslo liked going on trail rides.
That spring, the weekend of the beginning of my fall break, a group from our barn trailered our horses (including Elvis) to a benefit trail ride. That weekend, he lunged out and bit my best friend in the neck for no reason whatsoever. She wasn't in too much pain or anything, but it was pretty gruesome. And right next to her jugular area.
We got him home, everything seemed ok. I went to the barn Monday. I tried to catch him. He had always been terrible to catch. Now he was worse. He was hanging out with a group of mares. He mounted one of them while we tried to catch him. My trainer told me not to try to catch him or ride him and I can ride her horses.
It turned out he had been a stud until he was six. He was 10 when we got him. He had been a sire. He was proud cut. He was dangerous and he needed to go. On that Thursday, my trainer's husband's employer gave us a 23 year old mare that they didn't need anymore. I named her Malibu. This is the horse I love more than air.
Our original intention was to take her until we could sell Elvis and then give her to the barn as a lesson horse and buy a new horse. I now laugh at this idea.
During the time we tried to sell Elvis, which was all summer, I rode Malibu. She was kind and gentle and obediant. I realized what a terrible horse Elvis was. That we let him push over us. I started to hate him. My mom still loved him.
That whole time, Elvis bucked off both of my parents. My dad nearly broke his arm. My mom had a few broken ribs and a mild concussion. Elvis tried to kick us a zillion times. And do pretty much everything a horse could do to you. We had to get him gone.
In around October, we finally sold him. We had bought him for around $2000. We were so desperate, we sold him for $400. Stupid economy. But he was gone.
Malibu was a barrel horse. We weren't very good, but we had fun. In August, she got a tendon injury. Three months of stall rest and walking by hand for fifteen minutes. Wrapping her leg every day. Taking extra good care. It was a long, painful journey. But it was so worth it.
One of my friends had a pleasure horse. My trainer was going to take me and another friend (the one with the neck bite,) to her the pleasure trainer, Kevin, to look at some horses.
I rode a few of them. They were so smooth, I fell in love with pleasure. I took a lesson on my friend's pleasure mare, Fancy, a few weeks later. Fancy is so much better then the two I looked at. Pleasure was my new thing.
I took lessons on Classy, Kevin's lesson horse, every week. I loved it. Kevin is a great trainer and I was having fun. In December, when Malibu was able to walk, trot, and lope, Kevin took her for a month of training. Ever since we got her home in January, 2009, Malibu and I have worked on pleasure.
I knew she would never be good. Kevin told us she might be good enough for a Saturday night show. I never imagined I would ever get this good. This summer, because of personal issues, we moved Malibu to a new barn. This barn had much better facilities. Mailbu's training took off. A lesson every week and lots of unpleasant practice in between pays off. Because in March we are looking at maybe showing her in AQHA. For the epic win.
But I knew she would never be good enough for my goals. I want to show at lots of AQHA and big shows. Malibu isn't that good. Or at least she wasn't in July, when we got our 2 year old plesure prospect, Jude. (BTW I named him after Hey Jude. Your welcome, Mr. McCartney.)
So that's about it. Right now we are going through feet problems. Malibu's hooves are so uneven that our farrier is baffled. Stupid natural hoofcare. We use a real farrier now. He has to wait for her feet to grow out so he can even then up and put on shoes. We she gets them, she'll be so much better. I can't wait. Only two weeks, baby.
Jude is doing pretty well. Kevin thinks he'll be great. Like, amazingly great. He's coming home to our barn in January. Until then, I can only ride him once a week in lessons.
Anyway, I know this is long. Sorry. But I felt like getting it all out. I don't think I've told the whole story like this. Please look for more posts soon. DFTBA.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
