Farrewell...again

So, I thought that May 18th was our last blog day so I created a final post, but now Mr. Hill wants a formalish one. Well, here goes....

(see my previous last post for all the mushy gushy stuff I wrote about this class) This semester I read 5,200 pages of pop literature (minus the few nonfiction pages I tried to read). As I picked up the many many many books I read during this semester, I found that I usually found my self curled up on my couch with something to drink (I like to drink water when I read, it's just some thing I do). When I read at home, I usually like to start my novels with complete silence, but i usually get so into them that half the time I can't hear my mom calling me to dinner. In all of the books, excluding the first book, I have read this semester, I have found that I could not put them down. I typically would start the book at my house and then I would get so into it that I would be sitting in class thinking about when I would get the chance to pick up my book again. I usually read during my math class (I know that's bad) when the teacher was going over our homework, and again in my study hall. Basically I would eat, sleep, and think about each book I read. When I read Water for Elephants, I talked about it with Mrs. Palmer because she had read the book earlier, so when I got to all the good stuff we just talked and talked and talked. I mainly talked about my books with my mom though because we basicially share bookshelves. Either I read a book she's read or she reads a book I've read and then we talk about it. It's kind of like we have our own two person book club! One thing I have learned about myself as a reader is that I really enjoy reading novels that are or will become movies. I love reading and watching the story then picking out similarites and differences. I also have realized that if you put a romance novel in front of, doesn't matter what kind, I will most definately read it and lov it. Overall, I have loved this class and I plan to keep reading and maybe I will make a new blog kind of like this one because I really have enjoyed blogging this semster! (some of my friends want me to make a Glee blog because I love it so much).

Thanks Mr. Hill for being an amazing teacher, this was by far my favorite class this semester :)

Farewell...it's been a great semester!

Well, today is the last day to blog for etymology.  So, I've decided to reveal my identity. My name is Allison Murray (but I bet some of you already guessed who I was). I had so much fun blogging this semester, even though making all of those reading posts got a little annoying towards the end. Blogging was so much better than having to write about our reading in a journal. It's going to be weird coming home and not having to get on the computer everyday so I can make either a reading log or a personal post (I loved making those). Who knows, maybe I will create my own blog in the future?  I hope Mr. Hill keeps doing this for his future classes!

I am going end my etymology blogging with this song from the Sound of Music...Maybe you can guess it :)

What Happened to Goodbye...a summary

By: Sarah Dessen

Well, this is sad....this is my very last reading post ever. I have really enjoyed (and hated...not gonna lie) making these posts and it will be sad to never have to do them again....but oh well, life goes on :)

The main character in this book is Mclean. She currently lives with her dad. Her parents are divorced due to this messy affair that her mom had with the University basketball coach (scandalous, I know). Anyway, after a long and messy court debate, it was decided that Mclean would travel with her father. He goes and fixes up restaurants for a living, so he has to travel a lot. In each new city that Mclean lives in, she creates a different identity for herself because she really wants to leave Mclean's life behind, but when her dad is sent to fix up a restaurant in Lakeview, she ends up getting stuck with using her real name again. In Lakeview, she meets this guy named Dave (that's a shocker) and makes real friends. She didn't plan on making friends because she and her dad always move on to a new town after a few months, but making friends just kind of....happened. As she starts to live her life as Mclean again, she realizes that it's ok to have a messed up past as long as their are people in your future that are worth being with.

I was so excited when this book came out. Sarah Dessen is my favorite author (of young adult novels), and I have read every one of her books. I really liked this story, even though it wasn't my favorite. If any of you have read any Sarah Dessen books, I highly recommened this one. It is a fairly easy read and has a mix of drama and romance and funniness :)

Some Cute Videos :)

This video is of a little Korean boy singing Hey Jude by the Beatles!

This is of two little British kids (WATCH)

You have to go to 0:40 for the really funny part, but the whole video is really cute. Two little girls are singing tomorrow from the musical annie.

This little baby's laugh is so funny and cute :)

Ok, last one! This little baby's laugh is also quite adorable :)



Safe Haven...A summary

By: Nicholas Sparks

This was my favorite book I have EVER read by Nicholas Sparks. I think I liked it so much because it was just so different than the other ones I have read by him. In the majority of his books a guy and a girl meet, they fall in love, and someone dies of cancer...then I end up bawling my eyes out even though I knew what was coming. So, when I got into this book, I was surprised to find out that it wasn't anything like I just described...
  The main character in this book is a woman named Katie. She has moved to Southport, a small and safe town in North Carolina. She has a huge and crazy secret that she is trying to run away from. While in Southport, she meets and falls in love with this widowed man named Alex and his two children. Alex's wife had died of cancer (only mention of the disease in the ENTIRE book!) Katie also becomes best friends with her neighbor who has a secret of her own, but I can't tell you what it is because it would ruin the whole story ;) As Katie re-creates her life in Southport, she eventually trusts Alex and Jo with the truth of her past and her reasons for running away (I really want to say, but I don't want to spoil the book or anyone!) Let me just say that the life she left behind a life in which she knew a cccrraazzyy man who was a psyco-path. Anyways, this psycho path eventually discovers where she is hiding and comes after her, but Katie finds a away to be brave and stand up to face all of the horrors of her past.
  I definately recommend this book to all those girls out there who love sappy romance novels...this one will deifinately make you cry!!

My Celebrity Twin?

Recently I was told that I was a "spitting image" of the female singer in the duo Lady Antebellum. Personally, I can't see the resembelance all that much, but hey, I have always wanted a celebrity twin so I guess I will just go with it :)

Someone else I have been told that I look like it Jennifer Garner...now this one I think is a stretch haha :)

I mean how can I look like both of these women when they noth look completely different? I just don't get it! I guess it just depends who it is that looks at me lol



Poetry Anthology

The theme I have chosen for this project is First Love

My Poems:
1. Adam and Eve by Marjorie Pickthall
2. Coy Mistress by Annie Finch
3. The Best Slow Dancer by David Wagoner
4. First Love John Clare
5. "I wish I could Remember that firhst day" by Christina Rossetti
6. A Moment by Mary Elizabeth Coleridge
7. Fate by Carolyn Wells
8. A Date by Kevin McFadden
9. Cave Dwellers by A. Poulin
10. Once We Played by Mathilde Blind

The Twilight saga: the official guide pgs. 68-84

by: Stephanie Meyer

The section after Stephanie Meyer's interveiw is her interpretation of Vampires. She talks about why her vampires sparkle in the sun light. She also explains how, once transformed into a vampire, every imperfection that you may have had will completely disappear and be replaced with nothing, but complete beauty. She also talks about a vampire's supernatural abilities. In her world, all vampire's obtain the abilities of unnatural beauty, speed, and immortality, but only a few get "special" abilities. The vampire's that do get these excess abilities often get them because they were used quite often in their human lives. For example, Jasper can control people's emotions. This is because he was very caring and really cared about people's emotions when he was human.
  After she talks about her vampires characteristics, Meyer goes into detail about the Vampire history. Apparantly, the oldest vampire's are the Romanians. They ruled for a long time, until a trio known as the Volturi rose to power. They have been in power since 500 a.d. The Volturi have establised a sort of kingom, with themselves at the top (the Kings basically). To maintain order in the Vampire world, the Volturi came up a few laws that every vampire must follow. Thei biggest rule is to keep their existence a secret. The only other major law is that no vampire is to create an immortal child. This is because once transformed, you are stuck with that level of maturity.
  The last section in this "Vampire" section talks about what is a vampire Myth and what is true in Stephanie Meyer's world. According to Stephanie Meyer, the Volturi created the myths of burning in the sun, no reflection, sleep in coffins, etc.., to keep the humans from figuring out how similar real vampires are to humans (besides the blood-thirst and extreme beauty).

This section of the guide was very interesting to me because I have been interested in the Volturi's background ever since Edward mentioned them in the second book. It was cool to read that all of the myths that we have grown up hearing about vampires, are actually really myths (well, it's all just one big myth since Vampires aren't real, but I think you guys get what I mean) and that real vampires actually aren't all that different from humans.

Best Commercial Ever!

Oh my Goodness!...this commercial came on while I was watching Raising Hope last night. I think it is the best commercial ever!

Ipads, Laptops, and Wiis Oh my!

I think it is just ridiculous that nowadays people think that the only ways to have fun are if you're playing with the latest downloadable app for your ipod or smart phone. Don't get me wrong, I love technology; I go to my Facebook account almost everyday. I just look back to the good ole days when my family used to have "family Game night" and play our favorite board games after we finished dinner. Now our usual post dinner activities include: my dad checking up on his fantasy football stuff (it's not even football season!), I get the laptop so I can do my blogging for etymology while listening to my ipod, and my mom and two sisters either watch TV or wait until it's their turn for the computer.
  I don't think that all this technology is simply ruining family relationships, I think it also is ruining people's overall well being. I mean if you think about it...why is the obesity rate so high? It sure wasn't back in the 40's and earlier when kids actually had to go outside and play to enjoy life. I mean think about it, if you were given the option to go out and play soccer or sit inside and play Angry Birds on your ipod touch..Which would you choose?
  I think all of this new technology is great and really fun to use, but I think our nation would be a lot better off if these new inventions were used in moderation. Why waste your life away starting at a computer screen when you could be out in the world looking at life for real?