You’re Putting What, Where?!

Whoa, “Like” for more double picture days!

Hello my lovelies,

Welcome to another edition of View and Review Tuesdays. First off, I want to take a second to say howdy to my new readers and new subscribers, you guys have been so generous lately about sharing this blog with all your friends and families and I’m not sure what I would do without your word of mouth reviews. I love you all, you’re awesome!

Anyway, today we’re talking about goats. “Awesome awkward segue Kim”. Thank you imaginary other person I’m talking to, I try my hardest. (Do you guys ever get tired of me talking to myself? Leave me a comment telling me how annoying I am ♥) Seriously though aren’t baby goats the most adorable thing in the world? I sure think so. While adult goats are mildly terrifying, they are the real topic of this Tuesday discussion, because they’re the ones that are able to be milked.

“Kim, goats can’t be milked, only cows can.” Actually imaginary friend, all mammals can be miked including humans, duh! But I digress, goats milk can be used for several different things (including drinks) today, we’re talking about making goat’s milk soap and how awesome it is for you.

So personally, I’ve been using Little Earth Soap: Goat’s Milk (a link to their site will be at the end of this post)  on and off for about a year. While I normally use Axe body wash for my body (not anymore, now I use a different product that I will showcase soon), I use the goat’s milk soap on my face every day (Yes, I put goat’s milk on my face) and let me tell you, this winter, my face hasn’t been dry and for a while, my breakouts disappeared (then I started drinking Vanilla Coke and sleeping in my make-up, that was a deal breaker). Anyway, for those times that I did end up sleeping in my make-up, washing my face with the soap totally cleared my face of any traces of the previous day’s artwork and while my face wasn’t overly oily, it wasn’t dry and patchy either.

Let’s talk about Little Earth Soap in a little more detail. Since I hit puberty, which seems like forever ago, I’ve been on a life journey to try and find a product/products that could clear up my face and body without smelling like I need to take a shower to wash off the smell of the shower I just took, as well as something(s) that wouldn’t leave my skin feeling dry, patchy or overly itchy. Is that really so much to ask? So, being my mother’s daughter, (with her help and advice) I started searching for organic products that didn’t have a lot (if any) chemicals in them.

Out of nowhere, we stumbled on Little Earth Soap (our neighbor referred them to us and we decided to give it a try). The awesome thing about Little Earth Soap is that their goat’s milk soap has 67% organic ingredients, and I can pronounce all of the “stuff” that the soap is made of.  While the actual “goat’s milk” is the last ingredient listed on the product (meaning that goat’s milk is the least potent ingredient), the other stuff in the soap are things like coconut oil, palm fruit oil, soybean oil and the like (moisturizers) that will not dry out your skin.

Long story short, I love this product, I will continue to use it until I run out (I currently have two bars) and then I will get some more. I would recommend this to all of you guys. It’ll set you back about $5 plus shipping (which isn’t bad at all) and it totally works. Please please please please check out the site (http://www.thelittleearthco.com/index.php) and let me know what you guys think.

As always, if you liked this post, be sure to “like” it. Also comment, subscribe, reblog and share this post with everyone you know. I love you guys, and I’ll see you tomorrow.

*Disclaimer*

The Little Earth Company did not in any way try to get me to endorse their products (I’m not cool enough to get brand deals) They don’t even know that I blogged about them. Everything that I said in this blog post was completely my opinion and I fully stand by my opinions. I genuinely adore this product and would never recommend you guys to try something that I did not stand by.

Today Means Amen

Hey Guys and Gals,

It’s motivational Monday, but to be honest, I wasn’t feeling the motivation today, and I really didn’t want to post at all. But, you guys are awesome and don’t forget to make me a part of your week, every day, and I love you guys and I appreciate that more than you know.

So picture this, it’s about an hour ago (around 7 p.m.) and I am scouring the interweb, trying to find something to write about for you guys today, when I’m really not feeling the love and all I really want to do is hop into bed, when BAM! It hits me on YouTube. So, one of my many subscriptions on YouTube is a page called Button Poetry, because I love getting inspiration from them. I watch a few videos, still not feeling anything special, until I see a link called, “Sierra DeMulder//Today Means Amen”. I click it, not really expecting anything at the beginning but by the end, there were actual tears in my eyes.

Now, to get the full effect, you guys are going to have to check out the video, which I’ll post, probably at the end of this blog. But for your convenience, I have transcribed the poem for you (don’t say I never gave you anything), and am going to post it below. Now, because it’s Monday, you guys know that I’m going to have to give you a challenge for the week, so here it is: email me or comment under this video, telling me if and how this poem effected you. I’m really curious and interested to find out the stories that you guys have, and on Wednesday, I’ll share mine with you.

So enjoy the video guys, as always, if you liked my brutal honesty and this video, be sure to “like” it. Also, comment, subscribe and share this blog with your families and friends. I love you all, and I will see you next time…

Today Means Amen: By, Sierra DeMulder

 

Dear you,

Whoever you are, however you got here. This is exactly where you are supposed to be. This moment has waited its whole life for you. This moment is a lover and you are a soldier come home baby. It’s over, you don’t need to suffer anymore.

Dear you, this moment is a surprise party. You are both hiding in the dark and walking through the door, this moment is a hallelujah. This moment is your permission slip to finally open that love letter you’ve been hiding from yourself. The one you wrote when you were little, when you still danced like a sparkler at dusk. Do you remember the moment you realized they were watching, when you became ashamed of how much light you were holding, when you first learned how to un-love yourself?

Dear you, the word today mean amen in every language. Today we made it. Today, I’m gonna love you. Today, the box cutter will rust in the garbage. Today, the noose will forget how to hold you. Today, today, today…

Dear you, and I have always meant you. Nothing would be the same if you did not exist. You, who were once as small as bouquets, who could sleep in the laps of strangers, nothing would be the same if you did not exit. You, whose voice is someone’s favourite voice, whose face is someone’s favourite face to wake up to, nothing would be the same if you did not exist. You, the teacher, the starter’s gun, the lantern in the night who offers not a way home but the courage to travel farther into the dark. You, the lover, who worships the taste of her body, who is the largest tree ring in his heart, who does not let fear ration your love. You, the friend, the sacred chorus of “how can I help?” You, who have felt more numb than holy, more cracked than mosaic, who has known the tiles of the bathroom by heart, who has forgotten what makes you worth it. You, the forgiven, the forgiver, who belongs right here in this moment. You, this clump of cells this happy explosion that happened to start breathing by the grace of whatever is up there. You got here. You made it this whole way. Through the nights that swallowed you whole, the mornings that arrived in pieces, the scabs, the gravel, the doubt, the hurt, the hurt, the hurt is over, today. You made it. You made it. You made it. Here.

Sleep- It’s a Beautiful Thing

 

Hello my darlings.

It’s Friday, and you know what that means…we made it to the end of another week! If you guys haven’t noticed, I’ve kind of been avoiding posting on Fridays, because my fitness plan has kind of been shot. But the thing is, I kind of made a commitment to you guys, so I feel like I should be honest and let you guys know what’s going on, good or bad.

So as you guys know, I’ve started trying to drink water like it’s my job. I’ve been committed to this change for a while now- about two or three months- and it’s actually going really well. While I do have the occasional vanilla coke (like the one that is sitting next to me as we speak) I generally drink anywhere between three and five bottles of water every day!

As far as my fitness plan is going…it’s not. At the beginning of my Spring semester in school this year, I was going to the gym every Monday and Wednesday. That was going really well for a while, and then homework started piling up and while I was working at the newspaper, stories started piling up and honestly, it was hard and I got tired all the time and… I quit. It happens and while I might start working out again, at this point, I’m just tired and don’t feel like it.

So that’s my story, and now let’s get on to the topic for the day- something that is very close to my heart right now- sleep.

Now you guys might be asking yourselves (or me, but I can’t hear you) why am I talking about sleep, that’s stupid. Well, imaginary other half of this conversation, it’s because sleep is really important for muscle repair when you’re working out (and it’s all that I can think about right now.)

You guys know how, when you’re sick, you feel better after you’ve taken a nap? Well, that’s because your body heals itself easier and faster when you’re asleep. Granted I’m not a doctor, or a science major or anything like that, but I have the internet and the internet can never lie (I read that on the internet). Anyway, when you work out, your muscles get tiny little tears in them, and when you’re done, they start healing. When you sleep, your body gets a chance to restore and heal itself at a faster pace, and that’s why sleep is good for you. (It also keeps you from talking and that’s what everyone wants me to stop doing).

At any rate, how long should you sleep?

As a college student working two jobs, I would say that you should definitely sleep at the doctor’s recommended advice of nine and a quarter hours. But as a college student working two jobs, I know that sleeping that long is actually physically impossible, especially once you factor in homework and studying and friends and laundry and showers (never forget showers) and everything else that takes away from your time, so here’s what I recommend…

Take a 20 minute nap sometime in the afternoon, if you can. You’ll feel a ton better and you’ve have the energy to make it through the rest of your day (sometime, even without  espresso). On top of that, try to get somewhere between four and six hours of sleep, leaning more towards six. Why? Because your body, once it gets use to it, will fall into REM sleep faster, which means you’ll feel like you’ve slept longer and your body will thin that because of that, it had more time to repair itself.

How does this all tie into exercise?

If you’re constantly on the go and working out every single day, eventually, you’re going to burn out. Add in a rest day from your workout plan as well, at least once a week. Give your body time to relax and appreciate what you’re doing to it. Also, if you get enough rest (and keep drinking your water, you won’t be as sore the next day, just saying.

So there’s my two cents. It’ll be worth a lot more once I’m dead, but at least you guys will get to say you knew me when…

Once again, I’m sorry I’ve been a little distant lately, especially on Fridays. I’ll get myself together eventually and see you guys more often. As always, if you liked this post, be sure to “like” it, comment, subscribe and share my blog with your friends, families and cats, can’t forget the cats. I love you guys, I’ll talk to you again some day

Going Hard and Fast Through the Labyrinth

 

Hello my Darlings,

Welcome to another View and Review Tuesday. Since I reviewed a book last week, I thought I’d just keep the ball rolling and do another one.

I’ve wanted to read “Looking For Alaska” for a really long time, so when I went to Ollie’s a few weeks ago and found the book for $4 (which is a total steal) I had to grab it. Honestly, I went through this entire book in less than a day, I couldn’t put it down.

The book follows Miles Halter, who hasn’t had the best of luck relating to people his own age, but loves learning the last words of famous people. When he goes to a boarding school that’s been in existence since basically, the beginning of time, at first he doesn’t really want to be there. It’s hot all the time. The shower barely comes up to his knees, and his room mate has a tiff with the rich kids that he doesn’t quite understand.

Then Miles meets Alaska, and his entire world is turned upside down. Alaska is a moody, seemingly self-righteous, book loving, sexy, bratty mess, that no one can quite figure out. Along with Alaska comes an entire new group of friends (the first real friends that Miles has ever had), a different type of drama that he’d never been exposed to before, a different type of school work and the hurricane that comes with the prank wars.

The book is differently structured than others that I have read. It is divided into “Before” and “After”. From the beginning, the book starts counting down and it’s not until “The Day Of” that you realize what happened. I’ll admit, for books I am a crier, and this book definitely made me emotional. It has all of the emotions from Miles that one would expect in a tale of a first love and all of the exhilaration of adventures.

I loved this book (I’m pretty sure I said that already) but it’s true. As usual, I don’t want to give away the story, so you guys are going to have to read it for yourself. This book is definitely not one for children, but anyone over the age of about 14/15 ish I would definitely recommend the book for. It’s a great coming of age story and there’s something in it that most everyone can relate to. The book has its moments of lightheartedness at some points, it’s completely serious at other points and there are times where I can’t figure out what the heck John Green was thinking.

Basically, it’s a book that makes you think. It makes you think about yourself, your relationships with your friends, your parents, your teachers and everyone else you associate with. Although this book is written in the perspective of a male, as a female, I felt no problems in reading it and I actually don’t feel that it could have been written from anyone else’s point of view just because you felt everything that Miles, as the new kid, felt throughout the year.

Overall, the book gets 4.5 stars from me, just because I feel like there was a lot that was un-resolved in the book that didn’t have to be (which translates into: I’m just a horrible person), but like I said, I loved the story.

Have you guys read “Looking for Alaska”? If you have, leave a comment telling me what you thought about it. Also, leave a comment or send me a message telling me what you would like for me to view and review next. As always, if you liked this post, be sure to let me know by “liking” it. Also subscribe to my blog if you want to be the first one updated whenever I make a new post. Be sure to share this blog with your friends and let them know what you think of me as well (you all can make fun of me together). I love all of you guys, and I’ll see you next time. Until then…

People Suck, Now Carry On

Hey there Beautiful People,

I’m back for you with a totally awesome Motivational Monday! But before I get to inspiring you all with my amazing wise ol’ words of wisdom, let me just say this. I realize that I suck at posting everyday, so, here’s my compromise. Whenever I do post, my first post that day will always correspond to the day that we’ve agreed the topic should be. If I’m not completely burned out when I’m done writing that post, I’ll either do a random rant (because you all seem to love my sweet nothings) or I’ll write about a topic that you guys have emailed me (I’ve got several pages f a notebook filled from you guys’ ideas, y’all are awesome). On a similar note of things I’m proposing a change to: As of now, Friday’s are generally known as “fitness Fridays”. The problem with that is, there’s only so many ways that I can try to talk you guys out of eating blue foods or what happens if you skip leg day. With that being said, I’m proposing that Friday’s now be Free For All in the sense that, at my discretion (or the highest number of votes I get for that week, Friday post will either be “Freaky Friday” “Fitness Friday” “Family Friday” or “Freakin’ Whatever Fridays”. What do you guys think of that? Leave a comment or message me if you guys have any other suggestions or if you do/don’t like my changes.

Now that that’s all out of the way, let’s talk about drama and rumours!

So just recently, it was brought to my attention that I was having “relations” with one of my really good friends, and that this had been going on for several months, behind the backs of both my boyfriend and my friend’s girlfriend (who happens to also be a good friend). Now, when I heard this, not only was I impressed (I didn’t know that I could have a “thing”  going on behind my own back), but I was also overall annoyed. First of all, the person that I heard this rumour from (a high-schooler) had apparently heard the rumour from another person (a college graduate). Now, I get it, I live in the middle of nowhere in a place where if you spit, you would probably hit your old kindergarten teacher, but seriously, for a person to take that much of an interest in me and not even give me a really cool hook-up with like, Josh Ramsay (the lead singer/guitarist in Marianas Trench) is almost insulting, but I digress…

After hearing about said rumour, although I didn’t actually seek out the source (does it really matter who started it) it was time for damage control. I figured that if the rumour had gotten to me, it had probably gotten to the other two people in the situation, so I went to the person I figured would be the most hurt by the stupidity, my friend’s girlfriend. When I spoke to her about the incident, I found that I gained more respect for her than I had before (which is saying something, because she is one of the most level headed people that I know and sometimes I wish I could be her, anyway). Basically, while she had no idea that there was drama that was trying to breed, she said that it didn’t matter. She said that she and (enter male friend name here) have an understanding that if something inappropriate were to happen (be brought up) it would be up to each of them individually to deal with it and put things right…Mind. Blown.

So after that story, you may be asking why today’s motivation is about dealing with people that talk about things behind your back. Well, think about what my friend said and did. First of all, she didn’t care that people were talking about her, indirectly (which is disrespectful in and of itself). Not only that, but she felt that if what people were saying was worth a reaction, she would have trusted her significant other, to handle it on his own. Think about that for a second. How much confidence do you need to have in yourself to walk away from drama and not let it spread? More that either way, how much trust and faith do you have to have in your significant other to know that they would do the same.

Oh, if you’re wondering how my boyfriend reacted to that, he laughed it off. We’re all friends and we all trust each other, and we all know our boundaries with each other. I’m glad that I have such good people in my life that I can learn things from. I hope that if you guys don’t have that kind of relationship with your friends, that you either develop it, or make some new friends.

With that being said, I hope you guys had an awesome Monday. I hope you’ve regained some respect for the human race after reading this post (though that’s not likely), and I hope that you guys go out and tell your friends how awesome they are and how much you love them. If you liked this post, be sure to “like” it. Also, leave a comment, or message me, telling me about your “Restored Faith in Humanity” stories, I love hearing from you guys. “Subscribe” if you guys want to be the first ones to know when I add a new post and I’ll see you all next time. I love you all, and until then….

Letting Go: The Beautiful Struggle

Hello Beautiful People,

So this post might be a bit different than the usual banter that I indulge you all in. This weekend has been one of re connection and meeting new people, as well as one of goodbyes. Over the past few days, I’ve had the opportunity to connect with some old friends but at the same time, I’ve had to say some second farewells, which is always a different kind of adventure. Today, I wanted to talk to you guys about some of the processes that I’ve used to get through the weekend, as well as some of the things I’ve learned just from growing up in a family where a famous quote and a cup of tea can really make all the difference. So without further ado, let’s talk about life!

Some people are meant to take the entire journey with you, while others are there only to get you over a path.

Since I graduated high school, there have been several people, some that I would have considered friends at one point or another in my life that have disappeared without me having to look back. At the same time, there are others who, while I accepted the fact that they had gone, I still wondered what would have happened if they had stayed in my life. One of those people (who will remain nameless) I ran back in to a couple of days ago while I was hanging out with one of the friends that I just so happened to have kept around. At first, things were awkward, but after the (ab)normal “Hey’s how’s it going, what have you been up to” in addition to the “why did we stop seeing each other” the night seemed to transition to one of general fun. It wasn’t until the next day that I realized just how awkward things had been and how much we both had to force ourselves to be “normal” around each other. In talking with said person that next day, we actually realized that being around each other wasn’t as easy as it had once been and that it would be better if we had a clean separation from each other.

Juxtaposing that with two of my friends that I have known probably since we were in diapers, there was a period of time where we didn’t talk for maybe a year or so. Out of the blue, they were on my mind and I decided to send each one of them a text message. While the same amount of time had passed since I last spoke with those two friends and the old friend I saw again this week, there were two completely different reactions to our re connections. With the two friends I sent random messages to, it was like I had just seen them about a week ago. There was no awkwardness, there was no random pauses from lack of conversation. It was like no time had passed at all. Each one of these people are thriving. It turned out that we are all in the same positions in life when it comes to juggling school, work, relationships and dealing with family stuff and I realized just how much I had missed having those people in my life.

The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but building the new.

While there are times (all the time) where I wish that  I could go back to a time where things were simpler, I’ve come to realize that dwelling on the past does nothing but clouds the good things that are happening right in front of you. Going to school when no one is making you, instead of watching TV all day, sometimes gets kind of old. Having to go to work when all you really want to do is sleep in for a little bit longer gets to be a pain every once in a while. Realizing that your parents can’t make decisions for you and that taxes are really a thing and not a nightmare that everyone talked about is borderline mental. No, my life isn’t that hard, but it’s harder than it used to be, I have a lot more responsibilities and no one to really keep me accountable for them. If I fail out of college, there is no summer school that my parents can send me to in order to help me move to the next level. Instead, the money that I shelled out to pay for those classes goes down the drain and I have nothing to show for it.

But let’s look at the bright side for a minute. I get to do what I love every day now. I’m writing, not just for a paycheck, but simply because I enjoy it. I have great friends and not those click-ish high school girls that cause drama every  30 seconds and then complain that they hate drama. I am able to eat what I want, when I want. Sure I have to pay for it, but if I want ice cream for breakfast AND dinner,  I can have that. If I want to stay up all night and watch movies instead of going to bed, I can do that. Will  I hate myself in the morning when I have to be at work at 4 a.m., sure, but no one is stopping me!

Growing up sucks and growing up rocks. What everyone’s got to learn is which bridges they want to cross and which they want to burn. I love my life right now and as much as I complain about…everything, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

With that being said, thank you guys for letting me get that off of my chest. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to “like” it. Share it with your friends and don’t forget to comment and subscribe to my blog to get the first updates to my endless ranting. Until next time, I love you all, have an awesome day!

More Time in the Day?

 

Hey there dudes and dudettes,

It’s Saturday, and that means I can talk about whatever I so choose. Even though I do that everyday, Saturdays (that I feel like writing on)  are the days that I take some of the ideas that you guys give me (or I get off of the internet, whatever) and make them into funny, borderline insulting (to me, of course) posts that you guy will want to put your thumbs up for or “like” me because of. Today, we’re going to talk about the elephant in the room that I constantly use as an excuse to not put fingers to keyboard and give you guys something to waste your time reading. That’s right, we’re talking about scheduling.

Now as a general rule, I have three different methods of setting aside, or making, time to do certain things that happen to be priority in my life, and I have other methods of just remembering other things that I’m sure you guys have as well. So, today, I’m going to share some of my tips with you guys and hopefully, it’ll help you out. Today’s challenge for you guys is to actually try out one of these methods and see what it does for you. Maybe you’ll totally hate it. If you do, send me a comment or an email telling me that you totally hated it. If it works for you, send me another comment telling me what it was that you did and how it changed your life forever. If you don’t want to and you’re thinking that this entire post is a waste of time, that’s okay, I love you anyways; now, let’s get started!

There’s a calendar somewhere on your phone, use it!

By now, everyone on the planet has some sort of smartphone. I’m in college and I swear, I see more I-Phone 85’s than there are in the Apple store in New York. I’m an Android girl myself; I have a Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere 2 and I love it so much that I may never upgrade again, but I digress… on every smartphone I’ve ever had the pleasure of snooping through there has been a little icon that has the word “Calendar” on it. If this nifty little button did not come pre-added on your mobile device, don’t worry, there’s an app for that! On this app, there is an option, that normally looks like this (+) where you can add an event to your calendar, complete with a time and location option. Once you have successfully added a life event to your calendar, your phone will remind you with an email, the day before, that you have an event coming up, and an hour before on your phone.

Generally, I use this scheduling tool when there’s somewhere that I need to be on a certain day (like school or work) so that I can collaborate with the other people in my house as to who needs to be where at what time. It comes in handy on days where someone has to work and someone has to be in school and someone else has a meeting or something and otherwise no one would know where anyone else was. Saves gas, too.

Invest in a planner!

Seriously guys, I started using a planner my junior year in high school and it’s saved my butt on several occasions. At the front of every month, there’s a mini calendar that has little squares that correspond with the days of the week. I use that space to schedule the days where I have tests or projects due, plus things like birthdays, holidays, spring breaks and days off. It definitely comes in handy. On the following 4 to 5 pages, there are sections corresponding to the days of the week with lines where you can write various things in. This space is generally reserved for my to do list for that day. For example, today’s list has:

~Make a blog post, butthead

~help (Insert brother’s name here) with school project

~Kitchen duty

~Write one midterm essay

As you go throughout the day completing the day’s activities, the best part comes when you can cross out the tasks you’ve completed. There’s something oddly satisfying about crossing words off of a piece of paper. You can actually say that you’ve done something at the end of the day.

Colour Code Everything!

While this is probably more of a organizational skill rather than a time management skill, I’m adding it in because at the end of the day, its always nice to see what areas you’ve done things in. For example, when I’m in school, I have a different colour pen for each of my classes: Green for Biology, Pink for English, Blue for ITS and Orange for History. It’s a lot easier prioritizing things when you know that you have three assignments for one class due this week but you have a second week for the other assignments. Now, while I frequently catch lastminuteitus, I am not saying that this is a way that you can get away with what assignments you need to do and which ones you can blow off. It takes years of training to perfect those kind of skills.

This tip also works for things outside of school. My ideas for blogs are colour coded to match the days of the week, just saying.

Okay, now that we’ve covered some of the basics to staying organized and managing your schedule, there are some things that you just shouldn’t need to write down, some of those things are (but are not limited to)

• waking up
• brushing your teeth
• taking showers
• getting dressed
• going to bed
• drink coffee/tea
• check emails
• check bank account
• annoy people
• smile throughout the day

Now, as a disclaimer (I have to put these in when I give any type of lifestyle advice, doctor’s orders), these tips are coming from my own personal experience. I am in no way endorsing coloured pins, planners, smartphones or anything else that I may have mentioned throughout this post.

So that’s the end of this post. As always, if you’ve enjoyed my musings don’t forget to “like” “comment” “follow” and “share” this post and my blog with your friends, your family, your friend’s family, your family’s friends, you cousins uncle’s sister’s mother’s baby’s dogs, and everyone else you can think of. I love you all, see you next time!

Falling for the Fallen

Hello lovelies,

Hey everybunny, it’s Tuesday again and you know what that means…You don’t? Well it’s View and Review Tuesday and while I promise you that one day I will blog about Supernatural simply because it’s Tuesday, today is all about fallen angels, and wars, and hidden love-children. That’s right, we’re talking about Becca Fitzpatrick’s Hush Hush series!

So my good friend and fellow book-obsessed junkie Alexa got me in to this series last year and I’ve read these books at least six times each. Basically, the story follows Nora Grey, who’s a perfection obsessed teenager that is just trying to make it through high school. When she meets the mysterious full package in Patch, her world turns inside-out, upside-down and all around insane. Now, while I don’t really want to give anything away, for any of you who haven’t read this series before, I apologize in advance because I might not be able to help myself.

I fell in love with these books because (within the reading community) I really am a closet romantic and these books have all the struggles that every first love relationship will go through…and so much more. I’ve always had a thing for fallen angels and I began to relate to Nora in ways that I didn’t think I would, not just because of Patch, but because of who she is as a person.

Nora was always that person who cared about school, what school she wanted to attend, her grades, writing for her school newspaper…you know, the extent of my high school life. When she met Patch (like when I met Taylor) those things almost took a back seat to the roller coaster ride that was her relationship.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that my relationship is anything like a fictional character’s (I’m a lot more boring), although that would be so cool, but I’m just saying, in terms of relating to the book, Hush Hush was right up my alley.

While I don’t remember all of my impressions, my views on the book haven’t really changed much. As far as teen fictions go, this book is geared towards (mostly) towards teenage girls. I wouldn’t recommend the series for anyone under the age of about 15, just because there are some underlying, subtle (and not so subtle) sexuality hints, as well as violence as the story progresses. Obviously, since the books are based around fallen angels, this series is (unfortunately) fiction, but it’s realistic fiction in the sense that it’s about a girl, with friends, in high school, in Maine, with a boyfriend, and a mom that isn’t exactly pro-Patch. Add in the “popular” girls, shopping, the best friend and breakfasts filled with steamed milk and you’ve got a regular school experience on your hands.

As for my thoughts on the book, I absolutely loved it. I never really wanted to wait for the next book in the series to come out so I was always stalking the internet for fan-fics, and leaked pages…I couldn’t get enough. While the books progressed pretty regularly and each character had adequate development, there were times where I wish I could get inside the head of different characters (but that’s just me). Now there were also times where I felt like Fitzpatrick  did put a little too much detail in places where it wasn’t needed (again, personal preference) but all in all, I would definitely read anything else that she decided to release.

All in all, as you may have imagined, I give the book five stars. For people like me who live their lives vicariously through fiction, this is the type of book that will take you into another world, where you never want to leave. When it ended, of course, I was sad, but it ended in a place where pretty much all strings were tied. There are definite plot twists in the books and for a person like me, that can usually predict where something is going, that was awesome. I would, and have, recommended this series to friends and right now, I’m recommending it to all of you. The box set is great as a gift, and for the record, yes, I am considering painting black feathers all over my bedroom walls (read the book to find out why).

If you have any questions about the books (yes, I was intentionally vague, go read it) feel free to leave a comment or message me. As always, like, comment, subscribe and share. I’ll be looking for you guys next time. I love you all!

Seriously, Where Have I Been?!

Hey lovely duckies,

I know. I suck, I suck! So guys, a lot has happened since  I was last blogging (You know, in January) and while today is normally view and review Tuesday, I’ll probably get to that at the end. But here’s what’s been going on in the life of yours truly…

I broke my laptop!

It seems really hard to believe, since it seems like my laptop is always attached to my hip, but it’s true. Before the beginning of the Spring Semester, my laptop decided to take a dive off of my lap while I was watching the Lion King 2 (again). And. It Died. RIP to my Lenovo, which I loved (insert moment of silence here) anyway, about two weeks, or so, ago, I got my new Toshiba Satellite something or another and now that I’ve gotten most of my old programs on here and have remembered most of my old passwords, I’m back in business!

I lost my job!

Alas, since we last spoke, I am no longer working at my local newspaper “The County Times”. Although I absolutely loved and adored and worshiped that job, things were not going the way that they needed to, or the way that I expected them too, so I had to leave. I would never say anything bad about my old job, because it gave me some vital experience in the Journalism field and I am eternally grateful for that, but there were things that could have gone a lot better with the way the job was run, and in short, it was time for me to go.

I finished/started school!

Now, I’m not sure if I told you guys about finishing my first semester in college, I rocked so hard, but whether I did or not, I am now in my first spring semester (midterms are about to start) and I’m totally kicking butt. I’m not sure whether or not I’ll get straight A’s (science is a pain…) I’m doing my best and I’m sure that everything’s going to pay off. Speaking of pay, I feel really bad because I wanted to be able to pay for my college on my own, and not ask anyone for help. The thing is, since I left “The County Times”, I’ve been un-employed and have had to go to my family for help with my tuition. They’re totally awesome and have continually helped me out of binds over and over again, but the thing is, they shouldn’t have to, you know. I feel like I’ve been mooching off of my family my entire life and college was supposed to be the start of my being independent and beginning to make my way on my own. It just pisses me off that I haven’t been able to do a very good job of that.

I made friends!

Okay, so I’m being dramatic (again). But seriously though. I think I told you guys that I didn’t really have a lot of friends in high school (no one really understood my sarcasm/cynicism mix of emotion) but since I left high school everything’s been a lot better for me. Okay, so I was in the drama department of my high school and was totally in love with it. The awesome part about being a thespian is that you get to interact with people both on your level as well as older and younger than you, and as you interact with said people, you find out that you have more in common with them than just your love of the arts. One thing starts to lead to another and before you know it, you’re not spending everyday in your bed with your laptop blogging and watching YouTube videos in between hours of your wide collection of Disney movies that you will never grow out of.

I (re) fell in love with music!

So you guys may or may not know that my love of music knows no bounds. The thing is, since I haven’t had a laptop in a while, I’ve been forced to rely on various music stations on the radio and the television in order to maintain my addiction. As horrible as that may sound, I’ve found a place in my heart for everything from 80′ hits to country to show tunes to jazz to various instrumental tracks. I know what you’re thinking “But Kim, didn’t you already love that stuff?” Yes I did, imaginary other half of this conversation, but there’s so much more out there than what my little warped version of those types of music than what I previously thought. It’s gotten to the point where I’ll be listening to my music around other people and my comments range from, “you like that too?” to, “I know, I’m sorry”. It’s become, in a word, awesome.

I got a job!

So you know how you were reading about my loss of work situation approximately five minutes ago? Well, I wish it had only taken me that long to get a new job, but instead, it’s taken me about a month. I honestly have no idea what I used to do with all of my time before I had a job and didn’t have friends, because that’s A LOT of time that’s un accounted for. Anyway, as of last Thursday, I am currently employed at my local Dunkin Donuts, (which is awesome) and requires me to have a steady stream of coffee (which is even awesome-er) and as of today (like 4 hours ago) I am currently employed at my not-so-local Panera Bread. Cool, huh? So I’m about to have no life, once again, but I’ll be getting paid to have no life, which I can totally work with.

So everyone, those are my excuses for why I haven’t been around much lately. I’m sure you’ve all missed me insulting both all of you, as well as myself, and I’m sure that you’re all so happy that you get to waste about 10 minutes of your day reading the ramblings of a condescending 18 year old who’s just trying to find her way. Anyway, stay tuned for View and Review Tuesday. I promised you guys that it would be here, and it will be, (after I finish up my homework and write it) some time tonight.

Until then, remember that when life gives you lemons, go see a psychiatrist because “life” can’t “give” you anything. If you liked this post, remember to “like” it online. Also, comment, and subscribe to my blog. If you feel extremely generous, share it with your friends (then you can all laugh at me). Smile at someone today, even if it’s only your reflection in a mirror, and I’ll see you guys later. I love you guys, YAY! for long blog posts 🙂

Yeah, Bring on the New Year

Hey there beautiful people, welcome to Monday Motivation!

I hope you guys all have had a super awesome New Year so far and have made some attempts to at least begin the process of making New Year’s resolutions. Now personally, I’ve never made any New Year goals before but because people have been on my case about it in a way (I do read all of your comments), I decided that now would be a good time to start. Granted, I realize that I just made some goals about a month or so ago, which I will update you guys with on Wednesday probably, but you can never have too many life goals.

So, my first goal of the New Year is to get back into the guitar. You guys may not know this but I have wanted and wanted to play the guitar for years now and about five or six years ago, my mom bought me a guitar instead of giving me babysitting money for watching my brother. Since then, I have taught myself how to play via YouTube, various guitar websites, and one class in high school. The thing is, for the past year or so, my skills have seriously dwindled because I’ve been too busy or too tired or too lazy or…well, you get the picture. But this year, that is going to change, and I am going to start playing again.

My second goal of the New Year is to get straight “A’s” this coming semester in college. Last semester I took four classes and got 3 “A’s” and a “C” but this year, I’m going to try really hard to be a straight “A” student. I really think it’s achievable and it’s something I’m really going to make an effort to do. I’ve always been a pretty good student (I am extremely jealous of people who don’t have to study or try in any other way to make good grades) but I’ve never cared about getting “A’s” so much as just passing the class, so this semester, I’m really going to push myself.

The third goal I’m going to set is one that I probably should have pushed for years ago. As you guys know, I am a writer. But in addition to writing op-ed pieces (which is essentially what this blog is) and various (bad) poetry, I also write short stories, novellas and novels. The problem is I’ve got approximately 7 or 8 of them started right now that I haven’t looked at in about three months, and so many more ideas in my head that are waiting to get out. So my goal for this year is to finish two of the current projects that I’ve got going on. Now I know what you’re thinking (that’s only 25% of what you have). Listen guys, it’s okay. I’ve only ever finished one of my writing projects. Two more would be the greatest accomplishment in history for me. It’s also very do-able, which is definitely key in making resolutions. It’s attainable and being attainable is super important, otherwise, your setting yourself up for disappointment.

My last goal for the New Year is not to completely cut out junk food and soda (which are both really bad for you but are super yummy) because I feel like denying myself completely will only make me want them more, but it’s to seriously cut back on the amount of junk food and soda that I consume. I’ve been doing really good at making smarter, healthy decisions about what I eat and drink (well, up until November) and I think that if I seriously limit the junk that I put in, I might see an improvement in the rest of my life.

So, that’s it, those are my goals. I’m really interested in what you guys have to say or if you have goals of your own that you wish to declare right now. I’m challenging all of you to set somewhere between three and five New Year’s resolutions, making sure that while they may be challenging, they are doable. I want you guys to write them down on paper and hang them somewhere you’ll be able to see them every day. In addition to that, I’ll be updating you guys on how I’m doing on my goals, both the ones I set today and the ones from a month ago, and I want you guys to keep me updated as well. I read and answer all of your comments and questions, but I want us to be able to take this journey together.

As always, comment this post, like, subscribe and share with your friends. I love you guys! I’ll see you tomorrow.