A Week in the Life: Day 1

It's Wednesday morning, and so it's time to get started on this. As the day goes on, I'll try to update the post every few hours with what I've been doing. Today might be a little boring, but that's real life. The rest of this week will be crazy busy, so it's good that today's not too exciting. If anything exciting happens, I'll take pictures and add them in for variety. :)

7am: I woke up in time to say goodbye to my mom as she runs out the door to work.

7:30: I check my email, Facebook, the weather, the news, Feedly (a blog reader). Answer a few emails, check the FedEx website to track a package that I'm expecting.

8:00: I watch the lesson for a math lesson (Teaching Textbooks Algebra II), and do the practice problems. I then go eat some fruit my mom and sister left on the table from when they ate breakfast.

8:30: I watch a few Crash Course Psychology videos (I'm almost a month behind), then suddenly remember that today was going to be the first day I live blogged. Oops.

9:00: I get on the blog for the first time today and write up this post so far. Now, I'm off to take a shower and get dressed (yeah, I did all that stuff up there in my pajamas).

9:45: Now, dressed and showered, I finish working on a History lesson I started yesterday. I'm reading a chapter in New History of the World about the Europe coming out of the Dark Ages.

10:15: I update the blog again, and then go to copy my scribbled notes about from the history lesson into a legible and understandable summary to put in my notebook. I then spend the next hour finishing the summary while also attempting to promote a dance performance I'm doing this weekend on Facebook, and answering questions about said dance performance.

11:00: I finish the math lesson I started earlier. The power also goes out about this time, for some yet known reason.

11:30: After calling the power company to report the outage, I make up some lesson plans for Latin class next week, and grade all of the assignments they handed in yesterday.

12:00: A package I have been waiting for finally arrives. I spend quite a while looking at the stuff that arrived.

12:45: Lunch. Tuna sandwiches and carrots. We spend quite a while talking over lunch.

1:45: The power comes back on!

2:00 Isabelle and my dad go to park day, but I stay home to get more work done. Now that the power and internet are back, I send a bunch of emails, and get a bit distracted reading blogs. Back to work now.

2:45: I read The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth Laban for a while. I really should have done more school work, but I really didn't feel like it, so I just read that book for a few hours. I also watch a few videos online, and try for a while to understand why some of my posts on Facebook are shareable (by my friends) and others aren't, but still don't understand it. I also remember a few hours later than normal to take Flovent, my steroid inhaler for my asthma.

5:45: My mom and sister get home from park day. I clean up my desk a bit, and decide that I really need to get something more done today.

6:30: Mom is making dinner, so I decide I really need to get something more productive done today, and finish up the Latin reading I started last week, since it's obvious I won't get around to writing up some mini biographies of people from the place/time I was reading about earlier for history, which is the most urgent thing on my school list right now. I have only have a few paragraphs to translate, so hopefully I can finish before dinner.

6:45: I almost manage to finish before dinner (Cod with asparagus and some kind of garlic soy sauce thing on it, and rice).

7:20: I clean up the table after dinner and very quickly finish the Latin Reading. Time to update the blog again. I was thinking about do more homework, but against it. So, time to waste time on the internet (not a hard thing) until mom and Isabelle are done doing some school reading.

7:45: We watch an episode of Gilmore Girls.

8:45: I read a bit, and try to organize school for tomorrow, and plan my schedule for the next few days.

9:30: Mom and I read West with the Night by Beryl Markham, and get ready for bed.

11:00: Bed.

Week in the Life: Coming Soon!

In my last post, I mentioned a few posts that I was working on, but, I haven't actually finished any of them. I have been really busy, and things aren't going to be slowing down for a while.

Since I realized that I won't be having any more time to really sit down and blog for a while, I thought that maybe I'd do a "Week in the Life" series. I did this almost two years ago on my old blog (which isn't up anymore), and it was pretty popular. Also, on homeschooling websites and blogs, one of the most common questions is "What do you do all day?" I thought this would be a good way of showing you a little of our schedule.

Granted, this is a way busier than normal week, but all of the normal activities are happening, and any given week we usually have a few extra things going on anyway. To give you a little context, I thought I'd tell you a little about what's been going on the past few days, and what we're doing today, and then the firs real DITL post will be tomorrow. I'll start the post in the morning, and publish is, and then edit it throughout the day as I have time with what's been happening. I'll see if I can edit the post from my phone, because if I can't, there may be a few days with nothing until the evening (mainly Sunday). If I can, I'll post pictures from the day too, but no guarantees.

So, this weekend was my 16th birthday party (yay!) which was a ton of fun. My friends and I painted some pottery at a local place (I'll try to post pics of the finished product later), went on a scavenger hunt through the beautiful part of Bellingham called Fairhaven, and ended up at a pizza place for dinner.

Sunday we went to hear some friends sing, and then went back to their house for a party. Also fun, but overall kind of exhausting. Monday, I volunteered at the library, and then went to dance class.

Today, I've been working on school all morning, and then I'm teaching a Latin class to four girls this afternoon at a friend's house.

Come back tomorrow for the first in a week's worth of "real life" posts.

Birthday, Allergies, and Dancing

It's been a while since I posted on here, but that's because things have been kind of crazy. I've had a very odd virus (or something) for the last 8 weeks or so, which seems to be almost entirely gone now. It's involved a lot of coughing, and some other symptoms which have come and gone, like a sore throat, feverish achy feelings, and more.

I haven't posted a real update on here in a very long time, so I'll start by going back a bit. My 16th birthday was near the beginning of the month, and it went pretty well, though I wasn't feeling very well. That weekend, we saw two musicals: Pippin, which was done by a local kid's theater group, and Shrek: The Musical, which was done by the theater department at the college my mom works at. The following weekend, my mom and I went to see a play version of The Outsiders, which is one of my all time favorite books.

A bunch of girls (and one boy!) from my Irish Dance class danced at the talent show that the local homeschool organization puts on every year. I would have liked to dance too, but I was in the fluish phase of this illness, and so I just did the music.

I am now signed up for classes at the local community college! Last week I signed up for Study Skills, and Yoga. It's not a lot (6 credits), but I'm still going to be doing Math, History, and probably English at home, so I don't want to overload myself.

My Irish Dance group is dancing at the local Highland Games in a few weeks (three times on Sunday, June 8th,  in case you're local and interested), so we have several rehearsals over the next two weeks. Both the intermediate and beginner classes are performing, so the rehearsals will have everyone. It will be fun, since I usually only dance with the other intermediate people, but I have a lot of friends in the beginner class.

I started tutoring a group of four middle school ages homeschool girls in Latin, which is a lot of fun. I've done a lot of Latin, but I'm not always very confident in my own abilities (mainly because I really can't speak it almost at all, and I can't really understand it when other people speak it, but I can read and write pretty well), so this has been good for my confidence, in addition to my own Latin studies.

I also have been busy editing, and working on a top secret project which has taken a lot of time, and I can hopefully tell you about in a few weeks. This is the same secret project I mentioned way back in January.

As usual, I have a backload of things to post about, including a ton of book reviews, and lots more. I also have a post that I hope to write today or tomorrow, which was sparked by a comment a friend made to me at a party this weekend (my best posts usually are). It's something I've been thinking a lot about recently, and will probably be a lot like the post I linked to in the last sentence. Or maybe not. We'll see.

Writers of the Future {Book Review}

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

Before I get to the review, I want to apologize. This post was supposed to come out two weeks ago, but due to illness, I've gotten quite behind on a number of projects (and school!) that I am working on. This is the reason that the contest at the bottom closes so soon.

When I got a copy of the Writer's of the Future book this year, I was a little excited, since I have heard good things about the stories in these collections, and also a little skeptical about the program and contest in general. In this post, I'm going to talk only about the individual stories and their particular merits, as well as the organization and readability of the collection as a whole.

I'm going to be honest: I don't really think I'd want to read this book in public, and a few things that I had read online about the contest did weird me out a little, but on the whole, the individual stories were quite good. I'll let you do your own research about the rest of it. In my review, I'm going to focus on a two of the stories (though there are many more great ones than that), and give more in depth reviews of them. I will also talk about how I thought the book was organized and the quality of the stories as a collection.

My Review
First of all, my review of the collection as a whole. I was impressed by the variety of stories and the quality of them. There are stories ranging all parts of the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genres, and it is fun to read. The illustrations were also quite good, though there were times where the illustration almost didn't seem to fit with the story it accompanied. The book itself was very readable, and good quality. Now, I am going to briefly review two of the stories I read. I had a hard time choosing the stories to review, but in the end I chose the two which most stood out to me as I read them, for various reasons.

Another Range of Mountains by Megan E. O'Keefe is the first story I am reviewing. I enjoyed the story and plot, but there were moments where I felt a little overwhelmed by it. There was a lot of plot in those 25 pages, more, maybe, then made sense. I was intrigued by the premise, and I liked the ending, but it felt a little abrupt. I would have liked a little more backstory, and a much slower plot. I actually would love to read this same story in a novella format. I think that with maybe 150 pages to work within, this story would be really great.

The second story I'm reviewing is Giants at the End of the World by Leena Likitalo. I'm going start by saying that I loved this story. The plot was subtle, the writing was absolutely beautiful, and the ending was perfectly set up. This is the kind of story that makes me want to find everything this author has ever written. The short story is, in my reading and writing experience, a difficult medium to master, since you are limited in space, but still trying to tell a full story. The plot in the story was subtle: there wasn't a lot to it at first glance, but it was still substantial. I felt satisfied at the end, but also curious as what might happen next.

Contest!




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 I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano {Book Review}

*This post may contain affiliate links, and if you make a purchase after clicking them, I will receive compensation.*

Today, I'm reviewing Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano. I have read (and semi-enjoyed) her Chemical Garden trilogy, which was why I picked up this book in the first place.To start off with, let me just say, this book is way better than the Chemical Garden books (Wither, Fever, Sever). The world is so much more interesting, the characters are more realistic, the romance is more believable, and the writing is much better.

I just want to say that I love this cover. I know that that's not something I usually talk about, but with the kinds of covers that are usually found on YA books nowadays, something that's subtle, a little mysterious, not a collection of clip art, and that doesn't have a giant teen face/feet is kind of refreshing. I also like the colors. The dark background with the white design is so pretty, and the red dress is eye catching, but it doesn't pull away from the subtlety of the cover. I know you can't really judge a book by it's cover (actually, if it's a YA book, you sort of can), but this one is giving a good first impression.

Summary from Amazon.com

Morgan Stockhour knows getting too close to the edge of Internment, the floating city in the clouds where she lives, can lead to madness. Even though her older brother, Lex, was a Jumper, Morgan vows never to end up like him. If she ever wonders about the ground, and why it is forbidden, she takes solace in her best friend, Pen, and in Basil, the boy she’s engaged to marry.

Then a murder, the first in a generation, rocks the city. With whispers swirling and fear on the wind, Morgan can no longer stop herself from investigating, especially once she meets Judas. Betrothed to the victim, he is the boy being blamed for the murder, but Morgan is convinced of his innocence. Secrets lay at the heart of Internment, but nothing can prepare Morgan for what she will find—or whom she will lose.

My Review

The characters in this book were a bit of a mixed bag. There were some really good ones, and some who felt completely flat. Morgan, the main character, did feel nicely fleshed out, as did Pen, her best friend, and Amy, a young girl she befriends. Others, like Basil (her betrothed), Thomas (Pen's betrothed), and Lex (her brother) felt much more one sided to me.

The plot was great. I thought the worldbuilding was really good, it felt so believable. Even a having different words for everyday items, which usually bothers me, seemed normal. I liked the premise quite a bit, and the general progression of the plot made sense to me, though I disliked the ending. I know that all teen storied now have to be trilogies, but I don't like it. I think that a book, whether or not it's part of a series, should be a story in it's own right. This book ends on a cliffhanger, which is something that really irritates me.

The writing was good. I really don't like present tense writing, but I've gotten used to it, and it wasn't too noticeable here. I was really happy about two common teen lit features which were not in this book. First of all, it was narrated solely by one person. I know this shouldn't be a big deal, but I've gotten kind of tired of all the teen books narrated by a girl and her love interest. Also, there isn't a love triangle. There is the perfect opportunity for one: She is engaged to marry Basil, and has been since birth, but then she meets mysterious Judas. But the author didn't go for it! Basil, the "safe guy" who Morgan has known forever, ends up really being the perfect guy for her. I really hope this potential love triangle doesn't get played out in future books.

Who Should Read This Book?

I would recommend this book to lovers of YA dystopian fiction. And I don't mean the Hunger Games style obviously dysfunctional governments, but more the Giver type of subtly (but fatally) flawed utopias. Actually, the world Perfect Ruin had quite a bit in common with the world of The Giver.

University of Washington Homeschool Days

This Friday and Saturday, my mom and I went to the University of Washington to take part in the activities put on by the Homeschool Advocacy Group on campus. Overall, it was a pretty great experience, and I'm really glad we went.

This stretch down to the fountain is very pretty. When you're in the main part of the campus, you almost forget that you're in downtown Seattle.

On Friday, we sat in on a couple of classes, and went on a campus tour. The first class we went to (an English Literature class), we went in and sat down in the back, and waited, and waited, and waited. Nobody showed up, including the professor. We were positive we had the right time and the right room, but unfortunately, we didn't get to see the English class. I was a bit disappointed mainly because that was the class I was most looking forward to, but also because it was a small class, while the other ones we saw were quite large.

We spent some time wandering around campus before sitting in on Psych 101. It was in a huge lecture hall, with probably about 400 people in it. We ate some lunch, and then headed back to the homeschool people for a tour of UW.

The Gothic Reading Room (AKA the Harry Potter room), in the Suzzallo library.

In the afternoon, we went to see an Art History class (in the same room as the Psych). It didn't have as many people in it, but it was still really full. It was kind f strange for me, because it felt like something out of a movie. At 2:30, the professor walked in and started lecturing about Rembrandt. She continued to talk continuously about other artists and paintings until 3:20, when the bell rang, and everyone immediately got up and left. It felt like such a stereotypical college lecture. There was no class interaction, no time for questions, just her talking for 50 minutes.


After that, we drove home. Saturday morning we got up early to make it back to UW (which is a little less than two hours away) by 9am.

Mary Gates Hall, where the events on Saturday were.

All the things Saturday were workshops about applying to college, particularly as a homeschooler. The first part was about preparing your transcript, and how to make sure you cover all the classes required to get into college. We then talked some about finding a college that is a good fit for you, and then ate lunch.

The campus is full of beautiful old buildings like this one.

After lunch were the more interesting parts (in my opinion). First, there was a session on writing your personal statement, which I thought was really helpful. They had great tips and ideas to help write a good essay, and some warnings about what not to do. The last part of the day was devoted to how to pay for college. Since my mom is a college counselor, this is a topic she knows quite a bit about, but I found it helpful. The woman leading did a really good job of explaining financial aid in a way that made a lot of sense to me. She also talked about applying for scholarships, which was helpful.

Red Square on Saturday afternoon. On Friday, where were hundreds of people in this space.

Overall, I thought it was a really good thing to go to. Even though the idea of going to a a huge university like the University of Washington is a little scary to me, this definitely made me start thinking more about applying to colleges, and about where I might actually want to go.

A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin {Character Analysis)

*This post may contain affiliate links, and if you make a purchase after clicking them, I will receive compensation.*

Last night, I finished reading A Storm of Swords, the third book in the Song of Ice and Fire series. This won't be a review really, more just a collection of my initial thoughts after finishing the book. There will be spoilers, certainly for the first two books, and probably for this one as well, so be warned. If you're watching the TV series, this goes beyond what has aired so far, so there might be spoilers for that too, though I'll try to avoid them. If you are worried about spoilers, DON'T READ THIS.

My Review
I was really impressed by the character development in this series, but particularly in this book. For example, take Sansa. In the first book, I really didn't like her. I found her irritating, and a little flighty. In the second book, I started to feel sorry for her, but in this book, I really began to respect her. She went through incredible things for someone her age, and made very difficult choices, but stayed strong through it. By the end, I felt so, so sorry for her, but also really liked her. Another example is her sister Arya. I have always liked Arya, but in this book, I began to feel like she's gotten a little detached. By the end, I was almost a little afraid of what she would do. Her circumstances would have made her become that way, and George R. R. Martin created that change in her perfectly. Warning, possible spoilers in the following paragraph.

This book was a little shocking. With a number of major character deaths, a few weddings, and more shocking revelations, it was quite a page turner. There were a number of points where the thing that happened was the one thing that I was absolutely sure could not happen. Here are some of my opinions about characters as of the end of the book. My thoughts of them change all the time, so I think its interesting to record who I do and don't like at the end of each book. Warning: Spoilers may follow.

Arya and the Hound.

Some characters who I like now, but didn't before, or didn't expect to like, are Jaime Lannister (I love his relationship with Brienne), Sansa Stark, Ygritte (in a way, she was really a good thing), and sort of the Hound. I didn't really like him for sure, but my respect for him grew a lot during the last half of the book. Other favorites (but not new favorites), are Tyrion Lannister, Bran Stark, Samwell Tarly, and Jon Snow. Some that I am less sure about, but once liked (and don't really dislike), are Arya Stark (she's gone through a lot, and it's taken a tole), and Daenerys (she scares me. She's gone through unimaginable things, and she's kind of gone crazy.). I straight up don't like Cersei, Melisandre, Tywin Lannister, and Joffrey Baratheon.

The most interesting part of the series to me is the way the characters change, and how my thoughts on them change. I'd love to hear your thoughts on these people too (though please, no spoilers for anything beyond A Storm of Swords).

As usual, I should mention that while I personally love these books and would highly recommend them, they are NOT books intended for young readers. They include quite a bit of sex, swearing, and violence. Keep that in mind when choosing whether to read these books.