I SHOULD Feel Bad...

But I don't.
Not really.
It's just a cumpulsion.
I thing I cannot turn away from.
I am utterly powerless...
...when it comes to a good book.
Especially when said book is either one I've been meaning to get my hands on for a while (especially years!) and also when I can buy them cheap.
My demise is my victory.

I have so many books on my to-read shelves, yes that's shelves.
And what do I do?
Even though I'm a relatively slow meticulous reader.
And I especially take a while to get through books when school and dance are in full swing.
I keep on buyin 'em.
But like I said.
I am utterly powerless.
So here are my spoils of the day's book adventure.
And NOT my objects of shame.
:)

The Silver Crown, by Robert C. O'Brien

Ever since I read and fell in love with Chris Colfer's middle grade The Land of Storis:The Wishing Spell I've been getting a middle grade itch all over. My better bookish half, Emily Sterner, is begging me to read The Percy Jackson series. I'm totally game!

Heart of a Samurai, by Margi Preus

Also been really into anything with an Asian influence/setting. This was in the children's section and looks so endearing. 1800's time frame, on the high seas, the main character wants to be a samurai, mixture of two cultures...Newberry Honor Award. Can't miss.

Shadowcry, by Jenna Burtenshaw

Ah, the book I've been hunting down for a while. I first saw it in bookstores when I was 17 when it first came out and at that time fantasy was not yet making such a come-back. This I am really excited for, both the book and the genre (I'm currently reading Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass!). The sequel for this is now out in hardback and if you read the post where I rant about my quirk with having series in the same type of "back" then you'll know I'll definately have to wait for the sequel to come out in paperback now. But at the rate I read books, I don't think it will be a porblem.

Thomas Riley, by Nick Valentino

Do you think perhaps Steampunk is making its own little comeback? What with the Sherlock movies and the new releases I've been seeing on the shelves lately? I hope so. This one looks good and gritty, just the way I like them. Plus I've been searching for main male character fiction as of late as well.

Well there it is folks.

Proof that I am bookishly unstable.

I'd ask for help...

but I find I don't really care for any.

Here's to making time to read!

Here's to loving your quirks!

Here's to...well here's to books, books, books!!!

Back to Business

So the reason for my slight absense has been due,
1. to travelling, see last post.
2. to getting four wisdom teeth pulled. :(

I had them out two thursdays ago and am doing pretty fine now. There was definately a point where the pain meds had me feeling quite icky and so I was not only unable to eat the foods one cannot eat after oral surgery, but also unable to eat even the mushy good stuff you're supposed to eat after oral surgery. Like pudding and jello and milkshakes. The reason: I couldn't eat sweet things. Gasp! Cry! Oh what a world, what a world!
But actually I didn't mind so much because, like I said, I was feeling the ick. Big time!
But anyway, a couple fifty bowls of mashed potatoes later I was good to get off those troublesome pain meds and just stick with the tylenol and ibuprofen. And now I'm eating a cookie as we speak! Pretty early in the day, but I was deprived so cut me a little slack.

Since then I have gone back to dance--no pics, sorry. Nothing really too exciting as of yet. Just a lot of sore muscles. Though we are starting a very cool, very different, project that I will tell you more about later. :)

I've also bought this product!

In light of a looming september, therefore fall, season I thought it a good idea to splurge a little and get this stuff that I've been hearing many good things about. And I can see why. Ever wonder why Blake Lively always looks like she just stepped off the beach? Yeah I'm pretty sure she uses this stuff. And I'm always looking for go-to hairproducts that mean I don't have to spend a ton of time in front of the mirror getting ready for school...yet still have cute hair.

I've been writing like crazy...more on that to come...hopefully.

I was able to make it back into the kitchen yesterday. I felt so at peace again, even if I was only doing a little side baking for my dad's family famous grilled chicken and sweet corn dinner, pretty much just what it sounds like, but I love it so much!

Giada de Laurentiis cheesy garlic popovers

Turned out great!

But two notes:

1. Don't think that because it is a savory baked good you can use sprayed olive oil instead of good old canola oil...just because you feel like it. It actually doesn't work.

2. These say garlicky because they are very garlicky. The recipe calls for five cloves and I put in four because I happen to have some larger cloves in my kitchen, and even that was a bit too much for me. But if you do like really garlicky things, then by all means go for it!

I also bought these songs. Mostly to satisfy myself until I can buy the whole albums!

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, Taylor Swift Album: Red

One More, Joshua Radin, Album: Underwater

So...one week leaft of summer break! Hopefully I can make it count...and not go too crazy trying to finish my current WIP. Actually, maybe I should go get to that right now. :)

Here's to modern medicine!

Here's to time at home!

Here's to time well spent during time at home!!!





Living Limitless

I am returned to my home in little Modesto, California and what a whirlwind this past weekend has been at the United Methodist Women's Limitless conference at Duke University in North Carolina. So many wonderful new opportunities and friends have presented themselves to me!
I got to meet my conference group from California/Nevada, aka CalNev--oh yes, the name caught on.

I have to say as of...perhaps...three weeks after I graduated high school (don't ask me how) I started to notice a difference between myself and others who had not yet graduated.
I felt older.
I felt I could not connect.
You might be scratching your head or you might be laughing at me because why whould I consider myself so matured when I'm only a few weeks out of high school?
But now I'm a whole year out of high school and I think I can say I definately notice a difference when around high schoolers (and I mean this in the nicest of ways, mind).
The point of this being, I was living with four high schoolers in my own conference and I did not notice a difference.
These girls were seriously awe-freaking-some!
I believe there was a moment after we all met up finally where one of us made a joke in a big group of other girls, and when the only ones who found it hilariously funny were the girls from CalNev, the ice was officially broken. We hit it off right away and we hit the ground running.
This past weekend was full of revelations and inspirations.
I now feel equipped to work with the United Methodist Women organization in the best way I possibly can. It might not be an easy road, but I feel it's one worth travelling.
And with the support from my fellow team mates, even if from afar, I believe we can accomplish so much more than we all thought possible just six days ago.
And that's saying something.
Here are the pictures!

Some little friends near our dorm.

 

The Duke Chapel was under construction, but still breath taking. My first time in such an extravagant cathedral!

Three of the gang: Danny, Maddie, and Hope.

The dining hall, reminiscent of Hogwarts. And I was not alone in this thought.

Core Sessions, where the work got done.

Canvassing around the residential area near Duke. I was a little hesitant at first, but the team was so go-getter! And it ended up that my partner and I raised the most donations! We were quite proud.

Full day of work and brain storming with the CalNev girls. Quite a passionate group!

Me, Hope, and Piper!

Laughs. Down time. Soft serve after a long day's work! Say hi to Victoria!

In the end the CalNev Conference came up with a...dare I say...PERFECT mission statement for our next two years as ladies of United Methodist Women.

We are diverse sisters united, driven by God's grace, to empower women, embrace all gifts, and take bold action against injustice.

Here's to August!

Here's to all the Esther's in the world!!

Here's to living limitless!!!

Coincidence, I Think NOT!

So I am a religious person.
There are many reasons for this.
Family.
Friends.
Dreams.
...camp.
I know, it might sound cheesy or just odd.
I went to a Christian camp exactly five years ago for one week and I experienced something so fulfilling I went back every year after that.
Here are some things that have happened since then that are the only words I can share, like testimony, to describe to you how these events have affected my life.

1) I felt God in a song for the first time. A throng of people my age--and not my age--rushed together in songs and claps and harmony. We didn't know eachother, not really, but we sang as one voice. The lyrics didn't matter. We could have been singing about bubble gum--we might have been singing about bubble gum. And that made no difference. I saw the faces around me and they saw me--and for that moment we called each other family without saying a single word.

2) These not really coincidences: I built a deck every year at camp. This is a coincidence because there are so many things you can do at camp, but every year I was given deck. So one year I put on the finishing touches. I laid down the last of the floor boards. I sanded and I tainted. The next year I started a deck. I dug the post holes and watched the structure rise over the course of one week. I walked on its surface even--the total five feet that we had finished. The next year I happened upon a deck that looked nearly just as I had left last year's deck. And a week later I left it in the shape of the previous year's deck. The last year...I got no deck. I worked on a campsite and built camp fire pits and cleared roads and made benches out of logs, but I made no structures by houses with power tools and nails. But! My little brother Lantern went to camp for the first time...and guess what?
He built a deck.

3) I am not going to camp this year for I am too old. I was thinking of trying for a job at camp, but it just didn't work out. Then I got a call from a lady at church asking if I was interested in going to Duke University in North Carolina for a long weekend to be a part of a young women's conference. I said yes! I'm not going to camp. I will not build a deck for a family, but I will work with others like me and make an even greater difference in  my world. The one God put me in.

Lucky me.

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

My brother was too much of a butt to take a photo of the deck and himself together. But here are the fruits of his efforts.

I have so much to be thankful for.

Some people think they need God to move mountains or cure diseases in order to believe. They need to see more than a coincidence.

Sometimes something darker in me says that's just what it is.
That's all it is.
But then I hear the magic of guitars strumming and feel the energetic rush of tired, laughing bodies all around me.

And I'm surrounded not by coincidences, but by blessings.

Here's to the music in us all.

Here's to making something...out of a pile of dirt.

Here's to seeing the magical amongst the ordinary.

Shooting Practice

Last post I mentioned a "more to come"...
Well here is that more!
I couldn't resist that title for this post; however, this post has nothing to do with guns or ammunition or anything to do with bangs!
So, without further ado...
Linnea and I had some fun frolicking in the gardens around her house playing pretend as model/photographer.
Something we've done for a while as I love using every chance I get to snap some shots with my trusty old canon.
This time, I decided to stray from behind the camera and get some shots of myself. Now I'm as self-consciouss as the next girl. I mean, Linnea could be a frekin model and she hates to have her picture taken. But every girl needs to feel like a model for a few minutes in her life, right?

Here are the fruits of our efforts...with a little enhancing on my part!

I am wearing a blouse I bought thrifted in Davis, Mango shorts, and Charming Charlie cuff. Linnea is wearing a gorgeous dress from Modcloth; so many great dresses--I mean thousands!

ALSO!

I have two links for you!

It seems pathetic and pointless to be mentioning this now, but I had to write about my prayers and heartache for the victims in the Colorado shooting. As the stories of the 12 dead and many more injured pour in, my heart bakes a little more each time. And as much as I hate to mention this whole thing in side note, I would like to share something one of my favorite writers (blogger and author) Libba Bray, wrote, who always writes words worth reading.

Secondly, on a much happier note, here is a link to another writer/blogger I follow, Sarah J Maas. Her book, Queen of Glass, is coming out in August, and her 4 prequel e-novellas are all out as well! All wonderful and fantastical and totally kick-ass! However, I bring her up now not actually because of her novels, but because of her friend's Susan Dennard's (aka Sooz). She wrote a book too, Something Strange and Deadly, and it's already out! I bought my copy!

On Sarah's blog, she posted a contest in which the winner can expect tons of cool prizes, like a butt load of ARC's and also the chance to have your writing reviewed by Sarah herself and an actual agent as well!

Why not give it a try?! The rules are simple and posted clearly on her blog.

Libba Bray Live Journal Link

Sarah J Maas Live Journal Link

Here's to celebrating life!

Here's to the everday hero!

Here's to little bangs with big effects!

Memories on Memories

This past Saturday I got back from a three day stay in Davis in which I got to see much of my cousin, Linnea (Lyn-ay-uh), and her beau, Pascal (Pastel) ...(ok that's just me poking fun at his name)...(which I really shouldn't do, but we won't get into the topic of name changing...brings back too many memories*)

I didn't get as many pics as I'd have liked--too distracted with Linnea as I have not gotten to spend much time doing so in the last year, what with her going to UC Santa Cruz and me dancing.

Anyway

Here are the pictures!

Linnea's little puppy (actually not, she's full grown) Abbow! Named after Linnea's pronunciation of the word rainbow when she was a little kid. So cute!

Downtown Davis!

Antique store!

I could never resist such a stellar hat!

The shoes I wish had fit...because then I would have bought them.

All these were taken in the gardens of the community Linnea lives in. It's such a wonderful little community of meandering paths, lush gardens, orchards, vinyards, streams, and of course the occasional little pond and bridge. More on this to come. :)

Past...uh...Pascal. The boyfriend. And his model for a girlfriend. What can I say? It runs in the family.

Davis Farmers Market is legendary and practically a religion for this family. I don't see why not. Best Thai food and popscicles I've had! The flavor I'm having is strawberry coconut, hard decisions between that and the thai iced tea sweet potato (sweet potato of which according to Linnea you CAN HARDLY taste...if that worried you initially) and avacado lime! Plus some delicious cheese, peaches, and croissants!

Cousin #2: Sylvan. We Ransoms roll with the wierd names! He was gone with my Aunt Sherri at a bird camp all week, but I got to spend Saturday with them.

A gorgeous painting of my grammy's; and with the proper accoompanimnet too.

Now THIS  is extra special!

One night when Linnea and I were perhaps ten, we snuck out in the dark of night with her soft pink blanky and lay down by this fence (with the garden to our right) and gazed at the stars, a thing I've endearingly loved to do for as long as I can remember. I don't recall who said it first, but it was decided, as simply as ten year olds can do, that we would never forget that moment.

I think there was a time when we sort of didn't remember our agreement, but we never entirely forgot.

And nine years later I believe that calls for a picture.

*I mean really? KaHarry? Don't even bother laughing...it gets so much worse.

Happy family times!

Happy playing!

Happy memories!