Currently

This week: 334
This semester: 1382

Quotes of the Week:
1. "And I haven't told you this, but I made her take the SAT's in February. She missed every single question. Do you know how smart you have to be to miss every single question?" -The Last Song
2. " "We had to save you because you're the mockingjay, Katniss." Says Plutach. "While you live, the revolution lives." " -Catching Fire
3.  " "I think you have problems." She told him. "What problems?" "Well, for starters, you're an evil duck killer." -The Last Song.

Number 1 is my favorite quote because it provides comic relief in a very serious story. And it does take a lot of talen to get EVERY question wrong on the SATs.

Life Lessons for the day! :)

As I sit here in my physics class I started to think about my life. I have so many blessings in my life. Each person should count their blessings everyday. You never know what could happen to you. The vicissitudes of life will come to get you one of these days. Something will enter your life that you may think you can't handle. I personally believe that God wouldn't throw something at you that you can't handle. I think that anything is possible if you believe in yourself and have faith in God. Also trust your instincts, people often second guess themselves and that comes back to bite them later. I think that you should trust yourself, your heart, and God. :)

The Last Song... :'(

I finished Catching Fire and started The Last Song. .. This book holds a special place in my heart. I'm not very far 160 pages or so, but I have seen the movie. So far the book is ten times better. For those of you that don't know what The Last Song is about I can give you a short description of what has happened so far. In North Carolina a man lives alone on the beach. This man Steve, is Ronnie and Jonah's father. The family is divorced Ronnie and Jonah live with their mom. Ronnie is the rebel, and she has not talked to her father in 3 years, ever since he left them to play the piano around the country. Steve is a spectacular pianst. He went, and then taught at Juliard. But to the main story. Ronnie's mother decides that her and her little brother were going to spend the summer with their father. Ronnie immediatley hates the idea. She can't stand it. So when she gets there, for the first couple of days, Ronnie stays out really late, barely talks to her father, and she has all sorts of tantrums. Ronnie is 17 by the way, so she is pretty much taking it way out of proportion. One of the main reasons she is so angry with her father, besides the fact that he left them, is because he had her so set on playing piano. She herself was, and still is, a fantastic pianst. She gets angry everytime he plays because she thinks he is trying to guilt her into playing again.. Ronnie makes the worst of everything, and felt sorry for herself until... She met Will. Oh Will. Of course this is her love interest later on but from the moment he ran into her and knocked her soda all over her, you knew. She of course then was apalled and ran away. Then she met Blaze... Oye Blaze is just.. She makes me angry. Ronnie is a vegetarian, and she LOVES animals. They find baby sea turtles on the beach behind her, so naturally she has to take care of them. Will finds her there, and they begin to fall for each other. Will's jealous ex-girlfriend of course had to interfere, and right now they are fighting but they did date. :) So I am very excited to read the rest even though I know what happens.

Catching Fire

I finally got deep enough into Catching Fire, the second book in the Hunger Games series, to blog about it. This book has so many twists and turns, and it is a great page turner. So far I have yet to predict anything that has happened. In the beginning, Katniss returns home and lives in the Victor's Village with her family. The first book left us with an angry Capitol and two alive tributes. Peeta and Katniss both survived the Hunger Games. Now the two of them are off on their Victors tour through the districts. In district 8 is when all goes wrong. Katniss makes a very compelling and rebellious speech that not only angers the Capitol, but begins an uprising. Which is strictly forbidden. When they come home, Gale, her best friend actually is in love with her. Which just complicates things even more considering she is supposed to pretend the he is her cousin, and that she is engaged to Peeta. Rough life. Then this year is the 75th Hunger Games, and since it is an anniversary there is a twist to the games. The 50th there were twice as many tributes... For the Quarter Quell as they call it, the twist is... All the living victors from all the games, are going back. All of the tributes are going back into the arena. All of them including, Peeta and Katniss. This is probably the biggest turn of the book so far. Katniss is completely and utterly terrified. She can't sleep and she couldn't even say goodbye to her family. The Capitol whisked them away. This book is so surprising. I can't wait to finish it. After I finish the Hunger Games series, I will begin reading "The Last Song" by Nicholas Sparks. This story holds a special place in my heart.

A bit of faith for the week...

This week I was introduced to a movie called, "The Human Experience". The movie is about people who try to get the human experience and see how some people really live. It is a documentary. For instance on Sunday at my youth group, we watched the first thirty minutes or so of the movie. In that thirty minutes these two men set out to live as though they were homeless. They spent a month on the streets of New York City homeless. Each night they slept in boxes, and all they had was a sleeping bag and a back pack of essentials. They had to scrounge for food, and find a safe place to sleep each night. They found out that a church is the safest place for homeless people to sleep. Which I thought was very interesting. Homeless people believe that God will protect them from the evil that is out there if they are sleeping near a church. These two boys learned a lot in there month of living on the streets, but the people who learned more were the people watching the documentary. In this case, my youth group. In the movie homeless people talked about how they were at one time very rich and powerful, but then things just started to go down hill and they had no choice but to fall to homelessness. There was a lady that said she would see people walking down the streets, and they would stop and try to help the stray dogs and ogle over them. But when people walked past a homeless person they just kept on walking and ignored them. Can you imagine how it feels to be ignored like that? Can you imagine what it feels like to be under a stray or sick dog? This portion of the movie opened my eyes majorly. It showed me that there are people out there that have it way worse then I do. I will sit and complain about how my parents bother me. Some of these people don't have families that love them. It taught me to count my blessings, and not to complain about what I have or what I don't have. This is a very inspirational movie, and I recommend it to all.

My Five Claims

1. The majestic, distinctive color with the deep, wild detail add to the heavy contrast and proud focus of this lion, a dignified and appreciative beast who hunted his prey out of resigned necessity, and for a disgruntled, hungry family.
2. In Versace's purple ruffled gown, his fading colors, smooth lines, and rough and fragile textures along with a flowing and clean shape create a complimentary and whimsical sense of beauty in fashion-art.
3. Catherine's use of goofy clothing, fierce jumps, and precise gracefulness express a sense of energetic and explosive dance that has a playful attitude.
4. The interior decorator's use of strange, modern furniture, simple color, a careful use of space, and distinct, quirky architecture express an energetic confidence and absurd frivolousness of the inhabitant.
5..In this dance from the show America's Best Dance Crew, the [crew's breath-taking yet crazy, loud and exciting choreography, fast paced music, and wide range of use of space] express [a dramatic explosion and loud abstruseness.] 
I like the first claim because I think it is very descriptive and has a lot of details. 
I also like my fourth choice because the claim is very good and descriptive.  

http://ilikesoccer17.blogspot.com/  i love this!!

The Wizard of Oz movie poster

Observe:                                                                                         Tone:

   

Color:                                                                                          Cheerful

• Beautiful                                                                         Compassionate
• Bright                                                                              Energetic
• Old Fashioned            
• Attractive

Facials:

• Alive                                                                               Wrath
• Innocent                                                                         Formal
• Curious                                                                           Gentle
• Real                                                                                Thoughtful  

Feeling:

• Ancient                                                                            Anger
• Graceful                                                                           Innocent
• Early                                                                                 Reverent
• Outstanding                                                                     Kind

Attractiveness:

• Bright                                                                                 Excited
• Alive                                                                                   Happy
• Talented                                                                              Benevolence
• Magnificent                                                                        Passionate

In the beautifully bright movie poster of the Wizard of Oz, the creators use of old fashioned colors, alive and real facials, reverent feelings, and excited attractiveness makes this old fashioned movie a must see movie.

http://www.movieposter.com/poster/b70-7814/Wizard_Of_Oz.html

Poet of the Year

My poet of the year is Robert Frost. I wrote his poem, The Road Not Taken, in my moleskine!

Currently

Pages this week: 346
Last week: 302
Pages this semester: 1048

Quotes:
1. "Because when he sings... even the birds stop to listen." The Hunger Games.
2. "Then almost eerily the Mockingjays take up my song... " The Hunger Games
3. "Let the 74th Hunger Games begin." 

I love the first quote so much. Katniss says this about her father. Her father had the most amazing singing voice. I like it because birds have a beautiful song, and comparing a man's song to a bird's is a major event. That gives the image that Katniss' father sings so beautifully.

Long week

To me, this week has been incredibly long. With all the stresses of school, working, and playing softball I have found myself exhausted and always tired. Since last Friday I have had about a total of 8 quizzes/tests. It has not been fun, and I am always busy too. Monday seems so far away. My Tuesdays and Thursdays are always jam packed. First I got to school, then to softball work outs, and then to work. Then I come home around 8 or 8:30 and begin my homework. My homework then usually takes an unnecessary amount of time to complete, and I go to bed late. I realize that this is what every teenager goes through, and they probably complain about it a lot as well. I need to vent, so I am venting here. I haven't had time to read any of Catching Fire, so this weekend I am looking forward to reading it. I heard that there will be a movie made of the Hunger Games and I am beyond excited to see it. It looks spectacular, and I hope that it matches the book well. Well I this weekend in my softball games, my goal is to not scrape my knee up, and to do well both offensively and defensively. Have a great day!

And the Hunger Games end...

Wow. I can honestly say that I could not put this book down. I could not stop reading the Hunger Games. I became so incredibly addicted that I have read the book since 5 pm today and finished it at 8:59 pm this evening. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone. Its such a great book. I will have to explain, but I won't give anything away in case you choose to read it. I left you last time with just the setting, and Katniss deciding she would take her little sister's spot in the games. So much has happend since that fateful day. She gets to the capitol, and her life then is completely and totally under the control of the games. For a week she attends interviews and special training sessions. There the 24 tributes practice for the games. They learn what plants are good, and what their strong suits are. Each tribute has their own training session where they show the Gamemakers what they do best. As for Katniss, she is best with a bow and arrow. She is the greatest hunter out of all the tributes, and the greatest in her district. It is also revealed that Haymitch, Katniss' and Peeta's mentor, has told Peeta to trick the people. Trick them into believing that the tributes from district 12 are madly in love with each other. This, at first, is not true. I wont go into great depth on the relationship between them, because it is a major part of the story. But the gun shots go off, and the games begin. The 24 tributes run into the arena. The smarter tributes run away from all the supplies and head for the terrain. But there are the greedy and the nonwise who head straight for all the supplies. These tributes are attacked by the bigger and stronger ones, and then there were 12. For a long time Katniss survives on her cleverness and wits. She is very smart, and the Hunger Games are, unfortunately her place. She survives for weeks, and then there were three. I will not release the winner of the Hunger Games because you have to read it. I can honestly say  I was shocked, and so was the Capitol. This was a very interesting and weird book and I can't wait to start reading the second book in the series, Catching Fire.

Currently

Pages this week: 371
Pages last week: 164
Pages this sememester: 702

No favorite sentences, a favorite paragraph. They are from Passion.:
"That was a later early version of myself," Daniel said.
"A later early version of myself, he says!" Shelby snorted. "Exactly how many Daniels are there?"

I love these sentences because they are really funny and they make good comic relief.

And The Hunger Games begin.

I finally finished reading The Screwtape Letters. In the end, Wormwood failed in getting his "patient" to give into him, and become a sinner. "The Enemy" kept entering in the patient's life and saved him from being tempted away from him. I was happy to find out that Wormwood failed in tempting him. I love reading about miracles sent from God. I was also truly excited to finish the book so I could begin reading The Hunger Games. I am so excited to read it. I have heard a lot about it, and I pretty much have this weekend to read it because it is due back to the library on Tuesday so lets hope that I can finish it within that time. I have started to read it, I am only 2 chapters in and not much has happened. All I know is that the main character, Katniss, lives in a really strict community and every year two teens between ages 12 and 18 get picked to compete in the hunger games. There are 12 districts that kids come from. The kids compete to see who is the best kid. In some districts its an honor to be in the games, but in others it is a terrible thing. Katniss' little sister Prim was picked out of 1000 names to be in the games, but Katniss wanted to be a tribute. Which I am assuming means the trade in. I have heard that once you get caught in the games, you cant quit.

Passion Ends

I finished reading Passion late last night. I finished a little under 200 pages yesterday. Luce has gone on quite the journey, and unfortunatley her fight to be with Daniel is not over. In the final bit of Passion, Luce finds herself visiting times back before Christ. She finds herself in the Mayan culture, and that she is about to be sacrificed to gain rain. Daniel saves her life yet again, but then by revealing his true angel soul, he kills her and many other Mayans. So she then travels to Ancient Egypt and is sent by an evil princess to die in a tomb, but yet again Daniel saves her then kills her. Luce finally discovers that the curse between her and Daniel have nothing to do with something he did, but what she did. A little gargoyle that follows her and "helps her" tells her that her love for Daniel is what is killing her. So she thinks that to stop Daniel from being in pain she thinks that she needs to end her life. Naturally believing the little evil creature, Luce almost separates her cursed soul from her body. But her love for Daniel kept her from doing so. Nearing the end of the book Daniel finally discovered that he will catch Luce eventually, so he goes to the place where The Fall happened. The bible talks about the great fall from Heaven. Lucifer and his demons fell from Heaven and into Hell. He flies in on the meeting where "God" and Lucifer are having their argument over which angels are staying and which are leaving. There he watches his past self walk up to "God" and Lucifer and state that he chooses his love, Luce. He refuses to be in Heaven or Hell. So he is forced to fall anyway. While this is happening, Luce has found out that the evil gargoyle is the Devil himself. He appears to her and tells her his plan of erasing the time from The Fall till now. He wants to make the slate clean. He then takes Luce to the time in which Daniel is waiting for her, and they decide together that they will fight to end the curse. Its a love story like any other. I did enjoy the book and I can't wait to read the last book, Rapture.

Currently

This week: 167
Last week: 164
This semester: 331

This week I have a favorite passage. It is from "The Screwtape Letters".
"We want cattle who can finally become food; He wants servants who can finally become sons. We want to suck in, He wants to give out. We are empty and would be filled; He is full and flows over."

I like this quote because even though its from the devil's point of view, it really does show what God wants you to do.

Finally Friday

This week has been really long, and I am really glad it's over. I am really excited for my lunch today. Last night I am still currently reading Passion by Lauren Kate and I am slowly moving through it. Luce is in Paris, France in 1723. She finally gets to be with "Daniel" from the old life. Luce finally encounters her past self. She goes 3-D, meaning she enters Lys', her past self, body. They are at a ball and Luce had to weasel out of a sticky situation and ended up in Daniel's arms. Luce has had to watch herself die many times. The only reason she is going back in time is so she can finally end this curse that has killed her over and over. Luce finally realizes one of the most important things in her life. Daniel has never lied, and will never lie to her. He has been honest and true with her. All she does know s that he hasn't told her everything that is also why she has gone back. This weekend I hope to finally finish both "The Screwtape Letters" and "Passion."

Faith life.

I started reading "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis yesterday, and so far its good but confusing. The book has taught me a lot about sin and morality. The book is about a man, who is one of the devil's demons, telling his demon nephew how to turn his "clients" into sinners. All the advice he gives is written in letters. They are very in depth and sometimes confusing to read. The book is very ironic because it is a widely known fact that C.S. Lewis himself was a very strict Christian. This book opened my eyes to sin and morality. Screwtape is telling Wormwood, his nephew, how to make humans sin. For example, people call themselves Christians all the time but they go off and sin then. It is very easy to sin, and people do it all the time but they never know. Sometimes your "church" friends can be bad for you. If they sit around and gossip and talk about people and how much better they are then someone else, that's sinning. The book shows you how the devil tries to come into your life. How they try to force you to go against God's word, and they portray God to be the bad person. In the book, God is known as "The Enemy". Screwtape, the uncle writing the letters, tells Wormwood specific examples of how to ruin his human. This book also incorparates morality. There are many definitions of morality. Most people see it as the things that you live your life by. For example, honesty, integrity, and loyalty would all be spectacular morals. The devil obviously doesn't want you to be honest or loyal. He doesn't want you to keep promises or go to church every Sunday. Screwtape is upset when he finds out that the human has started going to church. He often tells Wormwood how God is lying about loving each person fully. That he just wants to be in control. But in reality that's not true. I was always taught that God loves every one of his creations equally. He will never stop loving you and that each person is made in God's own image. I actually really love this book because it shows me how much I actually do sin and don't realize that I am doing it. My faith is the most important thing in my life. I believe strongly in God, and I put my trust and love in him. In high school it is hard to keep your morals and stay straight. Especially with all the peer pressure and the want to fit in. I am not done reading this book yet, but when I finsih I am sure I will have learned a lot more about me and about sin.