#52 DZP: Read the Hunger Games Triology

#52 DZP: Read the Hunger Games Trilogy

Oh. My. Gawd.

It's no wonder how this book sold over 50 million copies.

It took me forever to say "just read them Shannon, everyone loved them." and so finally I went and bought The Hunger Games.

After book one, I was hungry (pun intended) for more. So the next day I went and bought Catching Fire and Mockingjay. And now after reading the trilogy, I'm sad that it's over, but so happy I read them all.

Yes, I had nightmares, and intense visions that even woke Alex up. I couldn't explain my dreams or describe what the "arena" looked like, but I guess that's why I'm not a teen-fiction novelist.

It reminded me of what reading Harry Potter and Twilight was like. Staying up way too late because of "just one more chapter, then I'll go to sleep". Believing in the fantasy world that the author creates for me. And at the end, I feel a little empty, like I've lost a friend... ok, maybe not a friend, but I spent many nights with these books. I'll miss them, and probably will visit them again later in the future.

If you haven't read them, you should. Meant for teen or not, you should read them. Guys should read them too. Or at least the first book!

My Love

 

Love

The 10 iPhone Photo Challenge!

Not going to lie: I'm really excited for this goal to be completed!

While searching all over Pinterest (what else would I be doing?!) I came across these lovely ladies and their awesome website: A Beautiful Mess!

 

While poking around the site, I came across the 10 iPhone Photo Challenge, and it goes a little somethang like this:

1. use blur effect
2. add sun flare
3. use 2 filters
4. use the timer for a self portrait
5. take 10 photos in one day
6. take a silhoette photo
7. create a filter with your sunglasses
8. add fonts to a photo
9. make a collage with a theme
10. create a message (cut letters out of magazine or something)

So cheers ya'll & off I go to picture it up!

Word of the Day 9/26/2012

Interrobang (noun) : a punctuation mark ‽ designed for use especially at the end of an exclamatory rhetorical question

Examples: The essay was peppered with interrobangs and exclamation points, communicating—intentionally or not—an incredulity and outrage that didn't feel very hospitable. "Inevitably, however, you'll cheat on the Period with the Ampersand, Semi-Colon, or possibly the Interrobang." — From an article by Jen Doll in the Atlantic Wire, August 21, 2012

Did You Know?: Most punctuation marks have been around for centuries, but not the interrobang: it's a product of the 1960s. The mark gets its name from the punctuation that it is intended to combine. "Interro" is from "interrogation point," the technical name for the question mark, and "bang" is printers' slang for the exclamation point. The interrobang is not commonly used—its absence from standard keyboards can explain its paucity in print perhaps just as well as its paucity in print can explain its absence from standard keyboards. Most writers who want to communicate what the interrobang communicates continue to do as they did before the advent of the mark, throwing in !? or ?! as they feel so moved.

Word of the Day 9/25/2012

Hypothecate (verb) : to make an assumption for the sake of argument : hypothesize

Examples: The students hypothecated that plants under observation would have different reactions when exposed to artificial light versus natural light. "'Can someone hypothecate where Scotland and Yorkshire would rank in the medal table?' says Marie Meyer." — From the (London) Guardian's Olympics 2012 live blog, August 5, 2012

Did You Know?: "Hypothecate" is a controversial word. It has existed as a synonym of "hypothesize" since 1906, showing up primarily in scientific and linguistic sources, but usage commentators have long criticized it. It is sometimes perceived as a mistaken use of another "hypothecate," one meaning "to pledge as security without title or possession." Both "hypothecate" homographs—and "hypothesize" too—derive ultimately from the Greek "hypotithenai" ("to put under," "to suppose," or "to deposit as a pledge"), but each entered English by a different route. The hypothesizing "hypothecate" is a legitimate (albeit uncommon) word in its own right, not a misuse of its homograph. If you want to avoid the controversy altogether, however, you can stick with the more common "hypothesize."

Little "Fist" Fish Marshmallow Pops

Little "Fist" Marshmallow Pops!

 

 

  My dear friend Annette and her boyfriend Tom had recently lost their goldfish Fist. And while searching the amazing site that is Pinterest, I came across this DIY Goldfish Marshmallow Pops from See Vanessa Craft. So because of their loss, I made these pops and took them to our Tuesday night rehearsal for all of us guard-girls (and coaches) to enjoy and remember the little fish. Recipe adapted from See Vanessa Craft:  

Ingredients:
1 bag light blue chocolate melts (I use Wilton's Candy Melts)
1 – 10.5 ounce bag large marshmallows
1 box graham cracker crumbs (I just used the cheap grocery-store brand and only used like 4 crackers)
1 – 6.6 ounce bag cheddar goldfish (I had a huge Costco size box so I had plenty)
Large white pearl nonpareils
Plenty lollipop sticks (about 20 or more)

Instructions:
 

1: Melt blue chocolate melts according to package. I use Wilton's Chocolate Pro Electric Chocolate Melter, it makes keeping the melts warm and not over done. A lot of bakers recommend placing chocolate in a microwavable bowl and melting in 30 second increments, mixing in between. Do not over-melt or the chocolate will be difficult to work with.

2: Place lollipop sticks in marshmallows. Dip marshmallows into the chocolate. Tap excess chocolate off the marshmallow.

3: Before the chocolate dries, dip the bottom in graham cracker crumbs. Add a goldfish and 2-3 white pearl nonpareils.

4: Allow to dry and then enjoy! If you are making this a day in advance, make sure to place your pops in an air tight container or cover with saran wrap so they don’t go stale.


RIP Fist-Fist fish

Word of the Day 9/24/2012

Kitsch (noun)
1 : something that appeals to popular or lowbrow taste and is often of poor quality
2 : a tacky or lowbrow quality or condition

Examples: The "country store" seemed to sell mostly cheaply made kitsch and other tacky memorabilia. "Across the board there was a welcome absence of kitsch." — From a review by Guy Trebay in The New York Times, June 28, 2012

Did You Know?: "The fashionable clothing label ... kicked off the revival last June..., putting its models in Miranda-inspired swimsuits and marching them through a gantlet of 50 tons of bananas," writes Mac Margolis in Newsweek International (January 2006) of a fabulously kitschy gala commemoration for the late Brazilian singer and actress Carmen Miranda. Since we borrowed "kitsch" from German in the 1920s, it has been our word for things in the realm of popular culture that dangle, like car mirror dice, precariously close to tackiness. But although things that can be described with "kitsch" and the related adjective "kitschy" are clearly not fine art, they may appeal to certain tastes—some folks delight in velvet paintings, plastic flamingos, dashboard hula dancers, and Carmen Miranda revivals!