Happy Halloween!

And while I was at it, I decided to post the Google logo for today, which I think is awesome.




Hope everyone has a great Halloween!

Haunting Halloween Tales From School

Well, maybe they weren't so haunting, but they were certainly festive. Since I have no school tomorrow on Halloween (teacher training day!), we had "Wear Your Halloween Costume to School Day" today. I was a witch as usual- I'll try to post up some pictures later. There were also several other witches, not to mention an abundance of pirates, fairies, and some rather original costumes. There were farmers and gangsters and weird vampire people and much much more. There were two people wearing McCain masks...no Obama masks though. I thought that was slightly odd because most of the people at my school support Obama, until I found out that no one liked the Obama mask because it had huge beaver teeth (or so I heard). The McCain masks caused a bit of trouble as everyone wanted to try them out (apparently they smelled horrible on the inside), and the teachers took to banning the masks from being worn. My art teacher "confiscated" the McCain mask and put it on herself- she looked hilarious!

There was also someone who was wearing a mask of a very old man with tons of white hair sprouting from his ears. No one knew what the costume really was. And the boy refused to talk- it was part of his costume. Go figure.

The Shadow Thieves

by Anne Ursu

I would probably give The Shadow Thieves by Anne Ursu a four out of five. It was a mix between the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan and Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, in my opinion. It definitely had a lot of suspense, that's for sure, and it contained a lot of Greek mythology for those mythology lovers.

The only problem that I had with the book was that it was a little too predictable for me. There were a lot of hints about what would happen next, and just by the title, I could tell what the whole book was about: there are people who steal shadows, so the main character has to go on a quest to stop the shadow thieves. Pretty steoreotypical. But other than that, The Shadow Thieves was a great book and I would definitely recommend it.

My Sister's Favorite Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Quote

"'Brains like that, you could be a Death Eater, son. Haven't I just proved my Patronus is a goat?'

'Oh,' said Ron. 'Yeah...well, I'm hungry!' he added defensively as his stomach gave an enormous rumble." (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, p. 560)

pear

The pear sits
upon a golden halo
of light
sparkling arabesque and
reflecting shards of carved glass

and it is surrounded by
apples, but
they all look up to
the Pear as if
she is their
Queen.

Sarah Palin Rap

This is hilarious- you should watch it!

Favorites Lists

Due to my prolonging ennui (just had to use that word!) at the moment, I have decided to make lists of my favorite things. For some reason, I find making "favorite" lists very interesting. So here goes.

FAVORITE PLACES

1. Borders Bookstore
I love going to Borders because there are just so many books there! Whenever I enter Borders to buy a book, the sight of the store just fills me with happiness. I think I could sit there forever just reading. And when new books came out, I could read them first!

2. Coffee Shops
They smell so good! And usually there are other foods at coffee shops, like muffins or cookies. Delicious things. Also, there are all those cozy little tables and couches where you can sit and enjoy your drink while reading a book or something. I've seen a Starbucks coffee place with a fireplace too, which made me super-excited when I first went there.

3. The Library
The library has got lots of books too, but you can't find all of them at the library. Then you have to put books on hold. I admit that it is fun to search up books on the library website and click that wonderful little button that says "Place Hold," but it does get annoying after a while when you have tons of books on hold and none of them have arrived. Anyways, it is fun to go to the library just to browse, or when you know that the book you want is there.

4. My Shower
Ahhhhhh....relaxation.


FAVORITE SMELLS

In this one I could not decide the order of my favorite smells, so this list is in no specific order.

1. Chocolate
Especially if it is cookies or cake or brownies baking in the oven. They should have chocolate-scented candles. Or do they already exist? I haven't seem them, anyways.

2. Lavender
I know people think that lavender is the old-granny-who-loves-gardening-and-her-house-stinks-of-herbs smell, but it smells really good. Really. I have lavender plants in the front yard, and I like to pinch them and smell my fingers. I have to watch out for the furry little bumblebees though. I think I named the lavender plants. Julia, Mary, Faith, Anne, and something else.

3. The Garage
No comment.

4. Coffee
Already mentioned above.

5. Food
Mostly all food smells good, as long as the food tastes good. Yucky food does not smell delicious. I'm sure you understand.

6. I Could Go On Forever With This
... so that's why I am going to stop. Yes, I know that there are flowers and perfumes and other what-nots that everyone thinks should have been at the top of my list. So here's what I have to say: I can't list all of them!


FAVORITE AND LEAST FAVORITE COLORS

Favorite: Purple
Purple...it's so mysterious and...dark. I seem to have a liking for dark colors. Happy-go-lucky bright colors annoy me. Like florescent colors and neon? Ugh! Purple is the best by far. It has a dark side to it, but it also has a bright side. Ever seen bright purple? Then you know what I mean.

Least Favorite: White
Yecccchhhh. White is so plain and bland. Yes, it represents innocence and purity and all that, but it is just...too white, I guess. I don't know how to explain it, but I don't like white! That's all there is to it. Oh, and for anyone who wonders why all the text on my blog is white if I don't like that color, would you be able to read anything on my blog if I made the text black? No? I thought so.


Well, that's it for now on favorites! If you disagree with anything here and would like to express your feelings on any favorites you have, just click the link in the corner of the post that says "comments." When you click this wonderful link, you will be transported to a place where you can write whatever comment you want! Please comment on this post!

Charlie Bone and the Shadow

by Jenny Nimmo

Warning: content below may contain spoilers.

This book gets five stars from me. I think that out of the whole Charlie Bone series, Charlie Bone and the Shadow by Jenny Nimmo was the best. This book was wonderfully action-packed and the story kept me reading until the very end.

Count Harken from Charlie Bone and the Red King is back, and his goals are to suck people into his kingdom, Badlock, and get rid of as many "good people" as he can. Charlie Bone, his friend' Billy Raven, and a dog named Runner Bean all get sucked into Badlock, where they have a rather scary adventure. Meanwhile back in Charlie's city, the usual battle between good and evil continues as always. The story ends with a cliffhanger that leaves a lot of questions unanswered.

All in all, a great page-turner and a must-read if you have already read the other books in the series.

Matilda

By Roald Dahl

Welcome to the world of Matilda Wormwood, super-genius. At age four, she read her way through all the children's books in the library. At age four, she mentally calculated her father's profits and losses in his secondhand car business. Now at age five (and a half), it is up to Matilda to save the victimized kids at her school from the terrorizing, former Olympic hammer thrower, and just plain scary headmistress. Will she rid the school of Headmistress Trunchbull forever, or will she end up being one among the other poor kids who were swung by their pigtails, hung by their ears or hair, or forced to eat a giant chocolate cake in one sitting?

The Inside Scoop on Santa Claus

The elf set down the small toy truck he was tinkering with and sighed. It was twenty-five past twelve already, and Mr. Claus still had not yet called lunch break. The boss’ demeanor was not one you could particularly call compassionate, the elf reflected as he began to paint the toy truck red with a miniscule brush. His pointy, sensitive ears ached from the clamoring din in the workshop; the usual factory noises and harried shouts of seven thousand elves working in one astronomical room created a tumultuous racket that bounced around the four wooden walls and pierced the elf’s eardrums like nails scraping against a chalkboard.

As the young creature scanned the room dully, his eyes fell upon an exquisitely painted portrait of the legendary Santa Claus. The old man in the portrait had jolly cheeks the color of roses, benign blue eyes that sparkled with the twinkle of stars, and a neatly kept mane, mustache, and beard of blinding white hair. Well, the elf thought savagely, no matter how judicious and generous the humans believed Santa Claus was, he knew who his so-called “magical” boss was: a hardhearted and insensate director with no sympathy towards his hardworking elves. And those flying reindeer! The elf’s eyes grew dark with displeasure as he pictured those irritating animals tossing their heads jauntily and showing off their glossy antlers; their overconfident airs and obvious smugness were enough to drive anyone insane. Rudolph was all right though, the elf consented silently. The lead reindeer’s modesty and larkish ways made him fun to be around, although he did become slightly arrogant when his glowing red nose was greeted with exclamations of wonder and admiration.

A loud, jangling bell signaling lunchtime interrupted the elf’s unspoken reverie. The magical creature cast a cursory glance at his boss, annoyed. He was just getting started on Mrs. Claus and her urbane sense of fashion, not to mention her sophisticated wardrobe of stylish ballroom dresses and outlandish red high heels! But his stomach was growling desperately, and he longingly yearned for a break from his tedious toy making. With a gusty sigh, the elf got up from his chair and followed the rest of the elves from the workshop room to his temporary freedom.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Movie Trailer

Apparently this came out on July 28th, but I only got around to viewing it recently. The movie looks like it's going to be super exciting! My favorite part is when Tom Riddle is talking to Dumbledore about the snakes. And the background music is awesome!

With thanks to Miss Erin at misserinmarie.blogpost.com.

Johnny Jim Blue

Have you ever heard of Johnny Jim Blue
Who lived down in Hillbilly Town?
He always went around with a smile on his face
And his hair was very, very brown.

One day as he was leaping through the woods
Two bluebirds on his head
He stumbled upon something on the ground
A teensy weensy piece of bread.

Now Johnny Jim Blue wasn’t one for wasting
And this bread looked very, very new
He picked up the bread, wiped it off
And gave it to the birds to chew.

The birds carefully examined the bread
Then decided to try it out
Their bodies started shrinking, their feathers turned green
And they turned into two alfalfa sprouts!

Johnny Jim Blue went screaming down to Hillbilly Town
Tearing his hair out the whole way
And all the Hillbillians came running out of their houses
To see if everything was OK.

Soon everyone had heard of Johnny Jim Blue
Who lives down in Hillbilly Town
He now goes around with a frown on his face
For he wears an alfalfa crown.

Warriors Book Signing

On September 13th, there was a Warriors booksigning at Borders Bookstore in Redmond, Washington. Over 600 people came to Borders to see the author of the popular bestselling Warriors series, who had just come out with the next book in the series, Eclipse.

The signing started out with the reading of a short excerpt from the book. Then, there was a question and answer session- in which I got my question answered!!!! Finally was the signing.

My sister and were forced to wait for approximately three hours to get our books signed. We spent the time wistfully watching others getting their books signed and trying to get good pictures of the author, Victoria Holmes.

Finally, finally, it was our turn. We got all six of the Warriors books we own signed, and I got to talk to Vicky and ask her a few questions...such as, "When will [my least favorite character] die?" and so on.

The above picture is of me, Vicky, and my sister (left to right). I think we were really lucky to be able to see her and get our books signed when she was just ten minutes away!

Delicious Chocolates

School Camp

During September 3rd to the 5th, I was away at school camp. The camp was in a learning center somewhere in the mountains, so we had several great views of the surrounding scenery both at camp and during the drive to and from camp.

Although I have to admit that the conditions of the cabins, bathrooms, and facilities at camp were not the greatest- in fact, they were horrible (the toilets didn't have locks so you had to have someone guard the door for you so it wouldn't swing open, and the bathroom stalls themselves were quite dark inside)- many of the activities at camp were not bad. There was a campfire the first night with lots of singing and skits performed by students, and as we were walking back to the cabins, we could see millions of stars in the night sky- more than I ever saw in the city. There were "Water Olympics," which consisted of a few games such as water-balloon-throwing and dodging wet sponges. I, unfortunately, was hit somewhere around the shoulder with a water-balloon. On the last day of camp, there was a scavenger-hunt-complete-the-activity-and-get-a-ticket game. Basically, you and your cabin group had a series of clues that would lead you to different areas around camp. At each area, you had to complete an activity within five minutes. Everytime you completed an activity, your team recieved a ticket. The team with the most tickets at the end won. My team tied for second place with two other teams, I believe.

The most memorable moments of camp for me were few and far between, but they were memorable all the same. One night at dinner, one of the counselors stabbed a big black fly buzzing around the table right through the middle with his knife. And the morning of September 5th, our group made our breakfast cleanup duty fun by running around with brooms and mops, pointing all the dirty spots out to the moppers, and...well...you get the picture. Not to mention a superbly annoying clapping-and-dancing-and-singing pony song that made my life miserable...at least for three days.