Truly Pointless Post

I have been working on my book for nearly 10 hrs straight--with one 30 minute break to eat and work on a puzzle. True story. I got A LOT accomplished on it today. I got chapters 1-10 completely revised and on their second drafts. I added an extra chapter and changed some things that just weren't clicking. It was a lot of work. But . . . It feels great! My eyes, however . . . not so much.

I got a letter from my brother today. It's the first one I've received since he left in July. Haha. My family have all received letters before now. I'm not sure why it took him so long to write to me.

Wow. It's only 6:00 p.m.? It feels like it should be at least 9:00. I think I'll head to bed a little early today. I'll probably curl up with the book I'm reading. That sounds amazing.

I'm not sure what the purpose to this post is . . . I'm not even sure it has one. (That might be an indication to how tired I am.)

Visit "Life in My Heels" for a chance to win!

I really want to win this one . . . can't lie. Look how cute this necklace is!

Click Here

Christmas Photos!

If you liked the Halloween photos I did, you might like the Christmas ones I can do. Here are a few examples -- my sisters get to be the models. :)

If you think you'd like a Christmas photo done, please email me (my email can be found under my "contact me" tab), I'd be happy to do one up for you. ;)

Let's Talk Books

Have any of you read the book Juliet Immortal? What did you think of it? I know you loved it, Sophie . . . . ;)

I read it at her request and I can't decide what I think about it. I might need to read it again. In the beginning I wasn't sure I was loving it, but by the end of it I felt differently. I feel like I do need to read it one more time to make a fair assessment of how I really feel about it. I'm just curious what some of your thoughts about it are, if you've read it.

I read The Hunger Games awhile back, and I KNOW I loved those books. Now they're making it into a movie. (Mattsons . . . We need to go together!) It looks like it's going to be pretty good. The first time I ever saw the trailer on tv, I knew exactly what it was for from the moment it started. The part where they duck under the fence to go hunting looked EXACTLY how I had pictured it in my mind. And I'm not the only one who has said that. That's how you know the author did a great job -- she described it vividly enough that people pictured the same thing in their mind.

I'd recommend reading any of the books that I've talked about above. I also like the book Matched, by Ally Condie. (Also recommended to me by Sophie. What would I do without you, Soph? ;) I just started that one and so far it's pretty good.

Another Drawing

I did a drawing yesterday that I don't particularly love. I love the idea, but the drawing didn't turn out that great. (Why do I share these failures with you guys? I don't know - but I do. I need to start sharing my successes, too.)

Anyway, I'm going to attempt this drawing again sometime in the next couple of days because I think it could be really neat. Here's what I'm talking about:

See how he's getting up off the page as he's being drawn? Cool idea, huh. For the record: that isn't my original idea. A friend emailed me a picture similar and asked if I could re-create it for her. I was happy to oblige. I don't know who to give credit for for the original picture because she didn't say . . . but that person is a genius.


I am tired today. Mattsons came over and we had another "sleep-over". (Really we just watch episodes of Vampire Diaries, as those of you who are frequent readers of my blog are already aware.) We made it into season 2 last night. Whoot! However - the consequence is some pretty boss fatigue. Ugh. Good thing I can just kick back and work on my book today.

Say No to Cruelty!

Last night I saw a picture of a dog that had a firecracker set off in its mouth on facebook. It made me absolutely sick. Those kinds of things disturb me on an unfathomable level. Why are people so cruel? Who could do something so awful to an innocent animal? Ugh. People like that make me sick.

Cruelty in general makes me sick. Not just animal cruelty. Take the shootings for example. Why? What IS it that brings these people to this point? In many cases I suppose there would have to be multiple factors to push someone over the edge like that. I just can't imagine that it could be one "little" thing.

On that note: It's not just violence that makes me sick. I think back on High School when I witnessed certain students being bullied by other students, and I never understood why. I may not have been friends or have been particularly fond of the students being picked on, but it still made me upset to witness it. What is the point of saying hurtful words . . . to anyone? People would poke fun of the way they dressed, spoke, looked, or of where they came from or were going in their lives. I made it a goal to always stick up for the person, no matter what. Sometimes I succeeded in my goal, and unfortunately, sometimes I let pride get the better of me and I walked away.

A large part of why it bothered me so bad was probably my own experiences with being bullied. I was bullied in Elementary School. Fortunately, by Middle School, I had "grown out of" whatever it was that urged "people" (it was really just one girl) to be cruel to me. I didn't suffer anymore bullying through Middle or High School, but I still remember what it was like.

I think it's so important to be nice. It's a lesson we hear over and over growing up, but some people really struggle with it. Why is there ever a good excuse to say anything cruel about or to someone? Ever?

There isn't.

Period.

You never know what's going on in someone's life or mind. And you never know what cruel words can spark in them, but you know that kind words are 99% likely to only bring about good things. I'm making it a goal to say 10 kind things today without making one cruel or judgemental comment to counter it. (This is something I try to do often). I challenge you all do do the same. It's harder than you think.

Good luck! Much love!

Here is a quote I like that I think goes along with kindness quite well when you think about it:

Amen.

Have you seen Water for Elephants?

I have a new favorite movie.

Last night my sister and I stayed up and watched Water for Elephants. I loved it. I don't know if it was just because it was late, or if it really was amazing, but I enjoyed every second of it. I need to watch it one more time through and see if I still like it as much as I did.

It's been a long time since a movie has been able to touch me in the way that that one did (as far as love scenes go). I used to LOVE romantic movies, and I'd fall in love with the characters (as most people do), but that hasn't happened to me in a long time.

I'm not saying I'm in love with Robert Pattinson now--just for the record. But he is pretty cute.

I heard from a good friend that the book wasn't that great. I was actually thinking about reading the book before she said that. Maybe I still will . . . who knows. I'm always looking for something to read.

Ugh. This post is scattered. I'm tired. Same old story.

Good-night, all.