Book Review: "Room: A Novel"

I haven't done a book review in quite some time, so now would be good. I recently finished "Room: A Novel". This book is definitely one of my favorites. I simply loved it, I just couldn't put it down! Except in rehearsal. Yeah, I couldn't ever read in rehearsal. But here's the basic plot:

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits. Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough...not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work. Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.

Pfft, no I didn't write that, Amazon did! Duh. So, I would say that this book is kind of slow to start. They go through their daily routine for the first part, which is a little boring if you ask me. It does pick up though! This is where the fun begins, my friends. I'd suggest this book to pretty much anyone. I hope you like it!

Just Trust Me..

A Few Things I've Learned About Blogging.

I've not had this little blog for very long. About a year actually, but in that year I've learned so much about blogging. I discovered lots of things that I didn't even know existed. I've still obviously got tons to learn, but I thought this would be a good time to spout off some things that new bloggers might not know. My friend Brad started a blog a few days ago, you should definitely go check it out! It's quite funny and entertaining. GO! Well, here goes! Maybe soon I'll do a post over all the things I've learned about photography. For now, we'll stick to blogging. 

Simple is good. When I first started blogging I was really into elaborate, busy backgrounds and headers. They were really cute, but now I like simple things a lot better. Sometimes they're a lot to take in, and if you go for a more basic look it makes your blog a lot less 'amateury'. That's not to say that some people don't pull off the busy look! I know of lots of blogs that have a printed background, but they usually have a very simple header. This works both ways, if there's a bold header than the background is usually pretty plain. Do what feels right, and what best shows you!

I can make decorative things for my blog all by myself?! This was a GIANT discovery! I opened so many different doors when I figured this out. I usually use GIMP or pixlr to make all of my blog stuff. Pixlr is much more simpler to use than GIMP, and I wouldn't suggest downloading GIMP unless you have an apple computer, since I'm not sure if it's totally safe. Once you get the hang of using the software it's so much fun. You can do so many things! I do change my blog design a lot, but I really like my current design. If you need any help, or if you want a specific tutorial for something, please don't hesitate to ask!

LinkWithin is a great thing. This little gadget is great to keep readers engaged. It keeps them clicking. And clicking. And clicking. I'm definitely guilty of doing that on other blogs. This is really easy to install, just google LinkWithin and it should take you right through all the steps.

I like wider blogs. This may seem kind of silly, but it's very true. My blog used to not be wide at all, and I think it looks a lot more professional if your layout is more spread out. But maybe I'm crazy..

Post about things that your readers are really going to want to read. This may seem like common sense, but I'm guilty of posting boring stuff that I wouldn't want to read if I was a blog reader! I try to avoid complaining posts, unless they're funny. I also don't like posts about my day, or my week. No one wants to hear that, I have a boring life. Just try to keep your posts interesting, with set topics.

There are lovely CSS codes that you can add to your blog. These codes perform wonders. They can center things, (which is basically what mine do) and fix minor details on your blog that you wouldn't know how to do otherwise. Go look for them, the code you need is out there somewhere!

It isn't all about followers. Keep in mind that there can be gobs of people reading your blog that aren't following you. I've noticed that they don't see the extreme importance of it like we do. Keep posting and be patient. Great ways to promote your blog? Facebook, sponsorships, twitter, blog cards, and much more! 

And those are the most important things. I'm sure there's more, but we'll stick to these! It's kind of fun to imagine where your blog may be in the few years down the road. It's a pretty slow process of gaining followers. I've tried basically everything, and it just takes patience! I hope you found some of these useful! I still have so much to learn, and I can't wait. Here's a picture, since I don't like posts without pictures. Except "Words Worth" posts, those are kind of supposed to be like that..

I'm such a dweeb.

Just Trust Me!

Word's Worth.

I do love writing. Sometimes I forget how much I enjoy it because I'm simply in a rush all the time. I actually write in my journal, as mentioned before in a few posts. I usually write in it at school when I don't have a book to read. I just put lots of crazy stuff in there: blog post ideas, random intellectual inspirations, stupid ideas, complaints, my day. Stuff like that! I thought it might be fun to take a little snippet (that's a word, right?) of my journal entries and make a blog post out of them! Obviously it is my personal journal, so I'm gonna censor a lot of things, but you'll still get the main idea. So, here it is I guess! Straight from my journal. Also, I won't change anything I wrote, I just won't add things about boys, and complaints, and stuff that you really won't care about. Let's go.

"Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom." -Thomas Jefferson. 

I saw this quote on the wall of my Elementary school. I always thought it was a cool quote, but I think about it now and it really does have a lot of meaning, more meaning than I knew it had. Obviously it's saying in order to be wise, one must be honest. I've always heard that you can sometimes be too honest, and maybe there is such a thing. There's this Geico commercial (I think it's Geico..) where Abe Lincoln's wife is asking him if a dress made her look fat. He told her maybe a wee-bit. His wife then proceeded to slap him. I don't know about you but I don't really see how that's contributing to your wisdom. Then again, maybe it does. Will his wife thank him later for his continued honesty, event through the occasional slap in the face? Or will she give him a speech on keeping some things to yourself, even if they are true. We'll obviously never know. It could be one of those things that everyone has an opinion about but we still go on with life despite our differences. Wouldn't life be lovely if it really worked like that? I would love to go up to a congressman and say that. That's one of the reasons that I HATE politics. It's just a bunch of people not respecting others' opinions. Gross. And I know, that's the whole point of politics- to get your views out there, but I'm just not a fan. I am thankful for those who are into politics, I'm just not one of those people. Sorry about the whole reel of randomness, it was very off the honesty topic. 

Have a wonderful Friday! 

Just Trust Me.

Photos on the go!

Here's some crazy craze pictures from my day at school. Most of them are from drama, but the one with the picture on the marker board is from algebra. Our friend always draws a picture on the board after class, and today happened to be a combination of our teacher, Mrs. Pfeiff, and a unicorn. It was pretty awesome.

Cute, Caitlyn. (:

I love them all!

I'm a Flamingo.

If you had to compare yourself to an animal, what animal would it be? I saw this question somewhere at school recently, and I began to think. First, I had no earthly idea. Then I went to some of my favorite animals: Giraffes and Elephants. Okay, so let's start with a giraffe. Am I tall? Absolutely not, that one's out. An elephant? They're just a wee bit large and fat.. So I passed on that one too. I went to the zoo last Monday, which was a lot of fun! Then, I saw it. It looked at me, I looked at it. We were a match. I took pictures of it, and it didn't move! Woah, this is simply the animal for me. Yes, the title kind of gave it away. I'm a flamingo. It's pink, and I enjoy pink. But the main thing is that they're so weird. No other animal is like them! I mean they're pink. Oh, and they randomly stand on one leg. Then to add to it, they bury their necks into their bodies, like so. 

So, there I am. Flamigos make me laugh. (:

Tehe. What animal are you?

Just Trust Me..

Boys Will be Girls.

Hi friends! I hope that everyone is having a fabulous week. I've been crazy busy with well school and rehearsal. (I know you've heard all this before) But rehearsal got canceled! Shiver me timbers! (It's a pirate show..) I've been wanting to share this video with you because it's quite funny. It's not like 'bust out laughing' kind of funny but *chuckle chuckle* kind of funny. Get it? But these guys are acting like girls, and vice versa. Enjoy!!

Just Trust Me..

Do You Ever...

Here's pathetic things I've noticed I've done lately. Don't laugh. Okay, okay, you can laugh. They're really awful.

-Do you ever get called a 3rd wheel? Or a 5th wheel...

-Do you ever strongly dislike your Chemistry teacher?

-Do you ever wear your jeans 2 days in a row?

-Do you ever talk to your dogs about your problems cause you know they'll keep secrets? (I am so insane.)

-Do you ever laugh way too loudly? 

-Do you ever talk too loudly?

-Do you ever encourage yourself in your head during a test? 

- Do you ever wish you had a pet duck?

-Do you ever wear fuzzy socks to school... visibly?

-Do you ever want to play laser tag?

-Do you ever blush at really stupid stuff, then people tell you you're blushing, which makes you blush more?

-Do you ever wonder what a pomegranate tastes like?

-Do you ever scrape the bottom of the car because you pulled into a driveway too fast?

-Do you ever know the McDonald's cashier so well that he asks you how your Christmas was?

-Do you ever wonder what Pluto is like? So lonely.

-Do you ever wish your mind would shut up and mind its own business?

-Do you ever send someone telepathical messages but the signal just isn't working right?

-Do you ever wish things were as simple as first grade?

-Do you ever question your conscience?

-Do you ever question your confidence?

-Do you ever wish to be something spectacular? To make an impact on the world?

-Do you ever wonder what you'll be when you grow up?

-Do you ever eat way too many cookies and get embarrassed?

-Do you ever look forward to getting into sweatpants after school?

-Do you ever want to read someone's mind?

Okay enough, I could go on for days. I bet no one ever does some of these things, but whatever! Haha. Be sure and follow me if you'd like!

Just Trust Me..

Catching Up and Babbles

Sorry about the lack of posting lately. Finals were this week, talk about DRAINED. That's what I am. It's just awful that we don't get a 2 week break after our finals since our semesters ended up being really weird, so now our only hope of a break is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which is simply not enough time to restore my fried brain. 

I've read a lot lately, "Room" by Emma Donoghue. Good book! It's very interesting. I'd definitely recommend it to any fellow reading buddies! I got halfway through it over the past 2 days since we've had lots of free time after we took our tests. In last hour today my poor kindle got overworked and politely asked me to charge her. I felt guilty that I already hadn't. I ended up writing in my journey to empty my brain of all the stuff that was crowding up things in there. It's already a tight space, so we had to make room by letting thoughts out on paper. Personal ones that I can't write on this here bloggy blog or I'd have to put a paper sack over my head for the rest of my life. Moving on.

I've found recently that I've been quite the schizophrenic. I discovered this from writing in my journal. I'll tell myself to do something, and then completely contradict that in the following sentences. It's quite embarrassing really. One thing I've learned to do throughout the years is to never, I repeat, never, re-read what you've written. (In your journal, that is. Not on research papers, that'd be very bad..) The whole point of a journal, to me at least, is to spill your innermost thoughts to clear your mind. It's supposed to be relieving. You shouldn't be worried about it sounding stupid. That's why you don't ever re-read the things you've written because you'll think about what a pathetic dweeb you were. Don't want that now, do we? 

Here are some random pictures I've taken recently that I haven't been able to put up. I hope you have a fabulous long weekend! 

Tyson. Cute kid. (:

Just Trust Me..

Hi, I Talk a lot.

Recently I've been trying to tell myself this. I don't know why, but I've felt like I've been having a lot of word vomit lately and I hate it. It's probably not near as bad as I really think it is, but I wish I'd stop talking. I'm almost positive that people want me to shut up a lot, but I just have so much to say. I need to have self control. Yes, that's it. 

Self Control: (n) self-denial: the act of denying yourself; controlling your impulses.

I should really consider this a lot more. Another reason I talk a lot is the fact that I'm so eager for things. I JUST GET SO EXCITED SOMETIMES. I need to remember to calm down, take a few breaths, and have self control. Yes, this sounds like a stupendous plan. And to all of those out there reading this who are staring at the screen going, "WOW IT'S ABOUT TIME SHE FIGURES IT OUT, GEEEEEZ" I'm sorry, I'm working on it. All I ask is that you bear with me during my time of shutting up. Mission? Impossible. Ready? BREAK.

Just Trust Me.. 

Aquarium Adventures!

Today we took a fun trip to the Oklahoma Aquarium! We took our cousins, Caleb and Tyson. Caleb was the perfect age, (he's 3) and he just had a ball! There's so much to learn in that place. He soaked up all the information like a little sponge, and it's amazing to see his brain work hard! Tyson liked it, but we'll have to take him when he's older so he can remember it cause he's only 9 months old. I tried to capture pictures of all the animals but I have to be honest, fish are very hard to take pictures of. They will not stay still! So I would suggest starting with something like a sea cucumber until you get skills to catch the fish in the act! These pictures are not my best, the lighting was just against me. I'll still share though! It was so much fun. 

Deep in thought!

Mr. Tyson!

Have a wonderful day!

Just Trust Me..