I found my fun Halloween layout! I love it! Thanks to everyone who gave me koodos for it! I appreciate the feedback.
Saturday:
I missed the Friday Twitter Party cause I got on 9:00 PM Mountain Time instead of Easter Time! Ya...I pulled a retard. Luckily I fixed the time problem and participated in the Saturday Twitter Party. I was a bit overwhelmed. I'm a Newb, and it was my first time on Twitterchat. I was shocked at how many people were on and how many different chats were happening.
I went through a bunch of Mini Challenges, and I found some great ideas! Thanks everyone! I also entered a couple giveaways.
I spent many many many hours backing up all my blog posts! Hooray for that being done!!! Each post has been copied to a Word document, and I created a Roster for all posts on Excel with Dates, Titles, and Authors. That way I can sort all my posts via column! I'm going to link each Title to it's correlating Word document, but that is a task for later. It probably won't get done until the next Bloggiesta.
- I FINALLY saw this!! I have been wanting to see this for a long time, and I finally got my chance. I was not disappointed!
- I really didn't like Rachel McAdams, I was really happy that she wasn't in very much of the movie. I won't lie, I was kinda happy about what happened to her.
- The pony part made me laugh SO HARD!! I didn't stop laughing for a long time after that scene. It was hilarious!
- The cinematography was trippy. I think the should have cut down on it a bit. Some of it was really cool, but they used the special slow down thingy way too much.
- I loved the cast! Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law are so good together as Holmes and Watson!
- Moriarty had a scarier voice in the first movie. I kinda wish he still had that voice.
- The last scene made me laugh.
- Sherlock's brother grossed me out!
- The plot/story was really meticulous, and I'm going to have to watch this 5 more times to understand everything that happened. I love movies like this though. It has a lot of re-watch value, and I can pick up on new things each time.
Tyson's Thoughts:
- That Rachel lady is like sour melk and gives me bad acid reflux and heartburn.
From Goodreads:Jacinda was supposed to bond with Cassian, the "prince" of their pride. But she resisted long before she fell in love with Will—a human and, worse, a hunter. When she ran away with Will, it ended in disaster, with Cassian's sister, Miram, captured. Weighed down by guilt, Jacinda knows she must rescue her to set things right. Yet to do so she will have to venture deep into the heart of enemy territory. The only way Jacinda can reach Miram is by posing as a prisoner herself, though once she assumes that disguise, things quickly spiral out of her control. As she learns more about her captors, she realizes that even if Will and Cassian can carry out their part of the plan, there's no guarantee they'll all make it out alive. But what Jacinda never could have foreseen is that escaping would be only the beginning....
Loyalties are tested and sacrifices made in the explosive conclusion to Sophie Jordan's Firelight trilogy.
My Thoughts:
- I wasn't a huge fan of this series, but I was intrigued enough to keep reading. I made it to end, and I'm still not a huge fan.
- How can Will kiss Jacinda when she is in dragon form? That would be so weird and awkward to kiss a dragon.
- There was WAY too much making out in this book. I feel like a good chunk of the book is about Jacinda and Will making out with each other. I got tired of it.
- Deghan was cool. I really liked how they brought him into the story.
- Jancinda's character really bugs me. I just want to slap the girl sometimes. She is so whiny and needy and indecisive.
- The beginning was kind of interesting and intense, but it all goes downhill after that.
- Is there any way Cassian and Jacinda can brake their bond? Are they just stuck like that forever?
- I felt bad for Cassian. Honestly, I think Jacinda should have ended up with him. He was the bigger man.
- I think this was a fitting end to the series, and I think people who like these books with enjoy this one, but they just weren't all that great to me.
Goodreads Bit:In the Pacific there is an island that looks like a big fish sunning itself in the sea. Around it blue dolphins swim, otters play, and sea birds abound. Once, Indians also loved on the island. And when they left and sailed to the east, one young girl was left behind. Karana is the Indian girl who lived alone for years on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Year after year she waited for a ship to rescue her. But while she waited, she kept herself alive by building shelter, making weapons, finding food, and fighting her enemies, the wild dogs. Hers is not only an unusual adventure of survival, but also a tale of natural beauty and personal discovery.
My Thoughts:
- I was supposed to read this in middle school, but I hadn't discovered the magic of reading yet, so I didn't read it. I thought I would give it a try.
- Idiot! Why did she jump off the boat?
- I'm so happy she made friends with the wild dog. That warmed my heart. She could have been cruel, but she wasn't. Even though this dog killed her brother, she took it in and gave mercy!
- This story was mostly about survival. I don't know if I could have done what Karna did. I probably would have died from starvation.
- The book had a lot of slow parts, and it didn't keep me interested during these parts. I kinda skimmed a few pages.
- The ending was kinda sad. The book has a solemn feeling overall.
For nearly a month, Enna Isilee has been celebrating her birthday by interviewing a TON of authors, and having a TON of giveaways. You can click here for all there is to know about the birthday bash. But here's the sad news: it's almost over!! You only have until 10:01pm MST on 9/21/12 to enter to win all of these amazing books. What are you waiting for?!
Click on the the book you want to win to be taken to an interview with the author where you can enter to win that book! While you're there, stop by and say hi to the author and wish Enna Isilee a happy birthday.
It's the party of the year! And it's almost over. Don't miss out!
Goodreads Synopsis:Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen — literally, ouch! — both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma's gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom . . .
Told from both Emma and Galen's points of view, here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance.
My Thoughts:
- There were some funny parts, and I enjoyed the overall humor of the book.
- There were some Twilightish elements throughout the book, and I just rolled my eyes at them. Like Galen being perfect (barf), and he was protective, and he always left Emma with a bodyguard.
- The point-of-view threw me off a few times. It was like I was suddenly reading 3rd person instead of 1st. It mostly happened at the beginning of chapters.
- The twist at the end was a tad predictable, but still threw me for a loop.
- MAJOR CLIFFHANGER!!!! grrrrr!!
- I felt like the majority of the book focused too much on Galen and Emma lusting after each other. I would have liked more plot and less gushy romance. I wish there would have been more about the Syrena being divided and more about the stalker. They seemed like afterthoughts, but they could have played a larger role.
- I liked the whole mermaid/merman aspect of the book. I haven't read one of these before, so it was a nice new genre for me.
- I enjoyed the book overall, but it wasn't like "ohmysweetgoodness!"
- I really really enjoyed this game. Batman fans are going to love and adore it!
- Batman: Arkham Asylum is a sophisticated game
that is challenging yet beatable. It is
everything a Batman game should be, great villains, detective solving, beating
people up, dark and scary surroundings, and everything else! I was geekin’ out the whole way through. This game is seriously epic , and I think any
gamer will enjoy playing it.
My Thoughts on Gameplay:
- Batman has once again captured the notorious Joker, but this
time, being captured was all part of Joker’s plan. He quickly takes over Arkham Asylum and puts
his plan into motion. Several of
Batman’s villains are seen throughout the game.
Some of them are working to help Joker, and others are just up to their
own tricks. It is pretty thrilling to
play as Batman and take down these bad dudes using detective skills, fighting
techniques, and of course, awesome gadgets.
- I loved
the different playing styles this game incorporates. Batman becomes the ultimate predator when
taking out armed thugs. You can hide in
air ducts and on top of gargoyles to take out opponents all stealthy like. You can also take on 1-20 guys in hand to
hand combat. Final take downs are just so
awesome! The guys with knives and
electric rods are annoying though.
Batman gets gassed by the Scarecrow a few times, and the game style
changes to a side scrolling stealth type of play. There is a lot more, but I don’t want to
spoil it for ya.
- Throughout
the game you will find little riddler trophies, and you can choose to solve the
riddles or not. It will give you
achievements, but it isn’t important to the main story line. I think I solved about half of the riddles
just running through the game and looking at things out of the ordinary.
- Like I
said, this game is challenging all the way through, but I never got stuck and
everything is doable. I think this game
would be enjoyable for all gamers.
My Thoughts on Control:
- The controls are pretty sophisticated, but pretty easy to
learn. The game will prompt you what to
do, so you will never forget how to do anything. The prompting is a lot like Zelda, so it
isn’t annoying or anything.
- My only
complaint is the hand to hand combat might have been a little too sophisticated
for me. Your basic attack button is X,
but you can also counter attack with Y when a thug is about to hit you. My problem was you couldn’t just button mash the
X and use the Y when needed. Timing is
everything, and it was little hard to fight a big group of guys, especially when
some of the guys had electric rods and knives.
You have to stun the knife guys before you can take them out, and you
have to jump over the rod guys and take them from behind. The key is to try to be aware of ALL the guys
around you. It gets tough, but the game
is really good at being aware of Batman’s surroundings.
- All the
gadgets are pulled out by pushing the Left Trigger and pushing the Right
Trigger uses them. It’s really
simple. You can select which gadget to
use by selecting a direction on the d-pad.
I really didn’t prefer having gadgets assigned to a diagonal direction,
but it was ok.
- Batman
has a detective mode that is really useful throughout the game. You can easily go in and out of the mode by
hitting LB. The mode lets you see how
many thugs you have to fight, and which ones are armed. Clues and extra things are also highlighted
in this mode.
My Thoughts on Graphics:
- The surroundings and characters are awesome! The programmers did a really great job with
the graphics in this game.
- Batman’s cape
effects were great, and his costume could get torn and ripped but it didn’t
regenerate, so it was more realistic.
- The environments were really done perfectly. The entire story happens in one night, so it
is dark and creepy just like Batman stories are supposed to be.
- The villains
were designed really well. They were
creepy and scary to fight. I wish they
had kept Harley Quinn’s and Poison Ivy’s traditional costumes though.
My Thoughts on Sound:
- Sound effects and music were really good. No complaints. It kept the game suspenseful and perfect.
- I
absolutely LOVE that they used the same voice actors from the old original
Batman cartoon! Mark Hamill does an
AMAZING job (as always) with the Joker’s voice.
It was a real treat to have the old cast back together again to make
this game even more epic.
From Goodreads:Evie's paranormal past keeps coming back to haunt her. A new director at the International Paranormal Containment Agency wants to drag her back to headquarters. The Dark Faerie Queen is torturing humans in her poisonous realm. And supernatural creatures keep insisting that Evie is the only one who can save them from a mysterious, perilous fate.
The clock is ticking on the entire paranormal world. And its fate rests solely in Evie's hands.
So much for normal.
My Thoughts:
- I like the color use on the cover! The purple is pretty.
- Disaster strikes in the first 100 pages! The book really takes off in the beginning, and it never really slows down! It is great!
- I liked this one WAY better than the second. There was more going on. It was a great wrap up to the trilogy.
- Evie's Christmas present to Lend was lame! I would like to know what Lend got Evie. He still owes her.
- Lend and Evie's relationship was better in this book. I got a little upset with them in the second book, but it all came together. It got a little mushy, but most of it was fun to read.
- This was filled with humor! I laughed at so many things. I loved Vivian's character. She cracked me up. I especially loved how she made fun of Lend and Evie at the end!
- I feel for Reth. I feel bad for the guy.
- I wish there had been an Epilogue or something. It would have been nice to see if life went well for everyone, and if Evie's life was finally "normal".
- Overall, this was a fun and humorous read! It was a great ending to a fun trilogy. I look forward to more books from this author!
Goodreads Synoppsis:Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be...kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees. But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie’s faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there’s a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself.
So much for normal.
My Thoughts:
- I can relate to Evie's rebellious side. When someone pushes me in one direction, I want to do the exact opposite!
- How the heck to you pronounce Grnlllll? What kind of name is that?
- Evie makes all sorts of bad decisions in this one! Seems like a theme in second books.
- The unicorn bit made me laugh! I loved it!
- I also loved the part where they mock Twilight! SO HILARIOUS!!
- Evie is a tad too dramatic in this one. Everything is just TOO MUCH!! wah! I'm glad she gets a kick in the butt and comes to her senses in the end.
- We get to see a new character in this one. Jack was annoying yet funny. I couldn't decide if I hated him or liked him. I think I know now though ;)
- I feel like Reth is really misunderstood. I kinda like the guy.
- I really liked that we got to know more about Evie and where she came from and what she is.
- This one wasn't as good as the first. Paranormalcy was so funny and a great read, but this one was lacking in the story area. I wish there had been more evil plotting, and less worrying about relationships and making dumb decisions.
Goodreads Bit:Evie's always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours.
But Evie's about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.
So much for normal.
My Thoughts:
- The book is filled with humor. I love Evie's descriptions of the paranormals. It cracked me up every time! The Little Mermaid thing was really funny. I completely agree, and I think I might have to dedicate a blog to Ariel one day. I also like the sigh interpretations, such a teenage girl thing.
- Evie was a very believable teenage girl. I really liked her (except for the pink). She was a fun character. I felt like was reading a tv sitcom, like Sabrina the Teenage Witch or something.
- Reth reminded me of Arial from Eyes Like Stars. I like Arial much better though.
- The book is a very clean read. I was really impressed and happy about that. I loved how the characters said "bleep" in place of curse words, so funny!
- This is a very refreshing take on the paranormal genre. I liked it.
- It was like Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Hellboy meets Eyes Like Stars meets Gallagher Girls.
- The romance got a little mushy for me, and I kinda felt like "oh brother."
- The ending was good, and there wasn't a cliffhanger. There are still things left undone, but I got some closure.
- There were a few bits that were annoying, but overall it was a good/light/fun read.
Don't miss out on the party of the year! That's right, it's time for Enna Isilee's Birthday Bash! In fact, it's not just time, it's HALF OVER! If you want to see the full awesome that is the Birthday Bash then you can click here. Enna's put together a whole schedule and information there. But take a look at what she's giving away so far, and this is only half! The next two weeks will also have a giveaway EVERY DAY!
Click on the the book you want to win to be taken to an interview with the author where you can enter to win the book pictured! Come party with me, it's a blast!
- Complete 80's AWESOMENESS!!!!! I love this movie! It was one of my favorites as a kid. SO EPIC!!
- I think Splinter chucks a Book of Mormon at Michelangelo while he is ordering pizza. Check it out! It is about the right size, and has a blue cover.
- Those turtle costumes were pretty awesome for back in the day...they are pretty awesome for now too. I'm impressed!
- The action is so fun to watch! Turtle Justice!
- I still get a bunch of laughs out of this movie even thought I've seen it a thousand times. One of my favorite lines is, "Ninja kick the damn rabbit!" Cracks me up every time!
- I love how so many people are wearing sweat pants, especially Casey Jones.
- This movie is SO quotable! I love quoting this movie! My brothers and I often do.
- Dear April, we all want to dream of Harrison Ford!
- I like the turtle rap during the credits. It makes me want to dance.
- I can't believe Splinter is voiced by the same guy who does Elmo!! So wrong on so many levels!
Tyson's Thoughts:
- The movie was edgy and tubular!
- Too bad April was such a plane Jane, very disappointing!
Sadly, I forgot to get a group picture. Sorry friends :(
For August we read:
SPOILER ALERT! DON'T CONTINUE READING UNLESS YOU'VE READ THE BOOK OR DON'T CARE IF YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
I wanted to serve dinner while we discussed the book.
Fried chicken was the obvious choice! Funny thing: everyone was supposed to bring a side dish. I picked up some garlic bread when I went to get the chicken, Andrea brought rolls, and Sara brought rolls. Luckily Erin brought a salad, but she was debating between salad and crescent rolls. It was a carb night!
For dessert, we had the terrible awful! Just kidding...it was just chocolate pie. When hubby came home, he asked if Marie Calendar took a dump in the pie...we had a good laugh.
Our Thoughts on The Help:
Stewart was a total jerk! We kept hoping he would come around and Skeeter and him would end up together, but they didn't, and he was a jerk!
It is really sad/weird to think that this happened during our parent's generation! It wasn't that long ago that people were being treated this way.
It is scary that Hilly had so much control EVERYWHERE! In her community, in her city, etc. She needed a swift kick in the butt! Elizabeth was such a drone/sheep/door mat. She just did everything Hilly told her too. We wanted her to finally stand up against Hilly, but no!
The terrible awful was disgusting and hilarious! Chocolate pie will never be looked at the same way.
The style back in the 60s was funny to think about. Like shot hair was brazen, ladies wore wigs, etc. They mentioned a lot of styles in the book.
The way it ended was realistic. Nothing epic happened, and it was a bit sad, but realistic.
It was a bit frustrating for Sara that the author changed narration every couple of chapters. Some situations left you hanging. I liked the change in narration, but the cliffhangers were a bit grrr!
There was much crying while reading.
For September we are reading:
I picked this up at the UBM Party. The ladies thought it looked interesting. I'm a bit nervous about it, but I hope it's good.
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