Memorial Day Video

Thank you troops, veterans, and so many more!

Say thank you and never forget!




With eternal love and blessings,
Officially Inspired Blessed

Memorial Day

Dear Readers,

You may not hear from me for about a week.  I have exams all of next week, save for Friday.  I really need to study for finals - considering math is a high school course, I really need to do well.  On top of that I have yet to take science, history, and music creation lab.  I'm really concerned for the first two and math.  Math especially.  So I'll be using a lot of my three day weekend to study. 

Friday is my last day of school, which is bitter sweet for me.  I don't want to say goodbye to my teachers, nor do I know how I will say goodbye to a lot of them.  It's my last day at the Junior High too, so I'll be saying goodbye to the building that I love.  But, on the bright side, it's summer vacation and I'll be able to do a lot of writing and reading!  I have a lot of plans this summer, so I'm excited to share that with my eight followers! 

I went to a Reds game on Wednesday night - hopefully I'll have pictures soon!

Monday is Memorial Day, so I ask you to please remember the veterans and troops - but also remember the loved ones you've lost. 

Cake Boss starts a new season on Monday, as well! I'm super excited!  A certain teacher of mine better be watching it!

I FINALLY finished The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber, and OMA LEANNA I LOVED IT!  I feel so bad that it took me so long to find the time to read it!  I also just started Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead and I'm loving it as well.  It's very yummy.  I'm 100 pages in and I'm aching for Dimitri to enter the story.  *tick tock...*

Well, I must go.  Happy Memorial Day!

With eternal love and blessings,
Officially Inspired

Oh, and THERE IS NO DOCTOR WHO TOMORROW NIGHT!  IT WILL RETURN JUNE 5TH! Just so you know.

Happy Birthday Jimmy!

It's my cousin, Jimmy's birthday today!  He's the one that I made those two videos for.  Although he's in Afghanistan for his birthday, and I already sent him a happy birthday email, I just wanted to make a more public display of my birthday wishes!  Jimmy is my hero and I look up to him (no pun intended) a lot.

I also have some very exciting news!  Jimmy got promoted to Sergeant!  I'm so proud!  Go Jimmy!  Whoo!  Love ya, Sarge!

For Jimmy's birthday (if anyone's reading this)  *crickets* please leave your comments and good wishes on this post.  If you do, I will be sure to email them on to him. 

Sorry this is short.  I have 20 pages left in Darkly Luminous and now I wish to go finish it!

With eternal love and blessings,
Officially Inspired
Kiddo

Edit:  Jimmy didn't actually get promoted to SGT until soon after we got the worst news possible on 8/28/10

Bad Blogger *hits hand*

I feel incredibly bad because I did not post on Tuesday, and I really should have.  For those of you who don't know, Spirit Bound (the 5th in the Vampire Academy series) by Richelle Mead was released.  How could I not blog about that?

So, I didn't get the book that night, because it was a Tuesday night and I didn't really feel like going out.  It was yucky and rainy, and, as much as I love this book, I couldn't bring myself to bring it home in the rain.  And so, I felt bad.  I love getting books on their release days, so I decided to order it from http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ .  And since I'm a member, I got free shipping.  My book arived yesterday! 

I was so excited!  It felt like this was a real baby because I was waiting for it to come for such a long time, and I couldnn't believe that the time was finally here to hold it in my arms.  And so, being me, I decided to sit on the front pourch and read The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker and wait on the UPS man.  I was out there for a good hour, reading.  Forgetting that SB was coming my way.  I got so wrapped up in DL.  I'm nearly done with it, but I still feel really bad because I haven't finished it yet.  I apologize, Leanna.  So, I saw the UPS man pull into my driveway, and got up.  I forgot that he couldn't see me because of a bush that's right in front of the chair I was sitting in.  I thought that he was getting out of the truck, so I walked down the walkway to where the truck had stopped.  Only to find, he had gone into the back of the truck to get my package.  Needless to say, when he actually did come out of the truck, he was a bit surprised to see me.  Standing there.  Bouncing up and down.  Wishing for nothing more than to recieve this package.  His responce?  "OH!...Hi."  Me: "Hi!"  Driver: *hands package to me.*  Me: *bounces even more* "Thank you! Thank you!  Thank you!"

So I found a new hobby - freaking out the UPS man.  :)  Wow, I'm simple. 

I haven't started SB yet, because I first must finish DL.  But I did read the first chapter online a while back.  And it's kind of amazing. ;)

Oh!  And did I tell you (no I didn't)?  There's going to be a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie! *I don't think it includes Robert Pattinson, but there was once talk of it and I just really love this picture.  Just sayin'*

Have a wonderful and blessed day!

With eternal love and blessings,
Officially Inspired

Good News!

KRISTEN STEWART IS NOT - REPEAT NOT - PREGNANT!

Despite Rob's words on Oprah, Kristen Stewart is NOT pregnant.  I, too, was kinda worried.  I mean, I don't really want to be a step mom.  If it came to that, so be it, but...you know.  ;)  Anyway, he was just kidding around.  I'm 99.9% sure. 

Just thought I'd let you know.  There's no more truth to this than the rumors about them being engaged.  Oh, by the way, hasn't this rumor circulated before?  Just sayin'. 

Have a wonderful and blessed day!

With eternal love and blessings,
Officially Inspired

p.s.  Wow.  Is it just me or does that picture seem really old?  It was only from '08.  Why does it seem like such a long time ago?  Remember that time - before Twilight stills got leaked and posted on the web and when these fan-made things were all we had to quench our thirst for the epic romance? 

p.s.s. Yeah, I know, I know.  I'm ending this post now.  I'm goin', I'm goin'.

p.s.s.s. Hehe I lied.  I'm still here.

p.s.s.s.s. Wow...sleep deprivation...wow....

Writing Mojo...

Hey there dear readers!
I have no idea what happened, but for about two or three weeks, I absolutely could not write anything worth saving.  Nothing would 'flow' and therefore I absolutely hated it.  I just cannot stand to reread something that I wrote when I know it didn't flow.  And I mean even if I skipped ahead and tried to write a scene that I really wanted to write, I just couldn't.  Like I said, I have no idea what happened. 

But Friday night I got my writing mojo back.  THANK GOD!  I think I was starting to get it back a little during the week, but during the school week, I just don't have a whole lot of time to write.  Which angers me, especially now because it's almost at the end of the school year.  Anyway, I did a lot of writing/outlining Friday night and Saturday night.  I'm still not totally recovered, but I'm getting there. 

I've been trying to figure out what caused this, so that I can avoid it in the future.  But I suppose that it might have all started about that time I wrote that twin poem for my teacher.  And it's continued up until now because there's been so much going on.  I haven't even had time to read - let alone write!  (My apologies to Leanna Renee Hieber.  I still haven't finished TDLFFPP)

In other news, Spirt Bound by Richelle Mead comes out this Tuesday!  I'm going to try my

hardest to finish Darkly Luminous by Tuesday so I can start SB.  We'll see.  I haven't had a lot of reading time this weekend because I got my hair cut and that took two hours!  *And she still cut it wrong.  Ugh.  She didn't put the second layer in.  Grrr* Then, my brother had a baseball game, which was rather boring.  But I did see two teachers from my school there.  And today I have to do my history homework because I've put it off until today.  (And I REALLY hate weekend homework.) And it's my great-grandpa's birthday today, so they're having a party for him tonight.

Maybe I should retitle this post "Excuses for not reading Leanna's amazing book and for not writing my awful novel"  =D

Yesterday was Armed Forces day, so I just want to say thank you to everybody in the Armed Forces!  Without you, our country would be nothing!  People like you are what makes America the land of the Free!  Thank you - your country is forever in your debts!  God Bless you and may He bring you all home safely!

Oh, and Dr Who is quite amazing this season.  Just thought I'd throw that in there.  Matt Smith is really good - he might almost be tied with David Tennant.

Have a wonderful and blessed day!

With eternal love and blessings!

Officially Inspired

Happy Birthday!

HAPPY 24TH BIRTHDAY ROBERT PATTINSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As some of you may know, today is Robert Pattinson's birthday.  This year he turns twenty-four.  I just wanted to take a minute to say happy birthday to my favorite actor, inspiration, future-husband, and one of my many role models. 

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvgQdR6XNcQ

Happy birthday, Rob!  I love you!

The Death Collector by Justin Richards

The seventh book I read this year was The Death Collector by Justin Richards.  Again, I finished this book a while ago, so I apologize for the delay of this review.

TDC is set in Victorian England, which is what originally drew me to this novel.  After I read the beginning line I was convinced that I had to read this book.  The novel starts out "Two weeks after his own funeral, Albert Wilkes came home for tea."  I am, by all means, convinced that that is the best opening line of any novel.  Maybe even surpassing Chris Crutcher's Whale Talk.  However, I kind of lost interest in the novel after that.  It may have just been the style that it was written in, but I just couldn't focus on the text and it wasn't sticking in my brain.  If I had not been on a time frame to finish it, I don't know if I ever would have. 

The novel is a mystery.  Remember how a while back I was saying how much I hate mysteries?  Well, Richards did a very nice job with this book when it came down to it.  It kept me guessing all the way up until the end and I was very surprised I didn't figure it out sooner.  So, Mr. Richards, good job.  Seriously, this is the only mystery of the few I've read that I couldn't figure out.

However slow the beginning was, the latter part of the middle and the ending were really nicely written and at points I couldn't put the book down.  It really picked up and I was really glad to see that.  I could start piecing together the puzzel, but then something would happen and I knew that I wasn't right.  And if I was right, I still didn't have all of the pieces to make it fit. 

I got a little confused because Liz, one of the main characters, left her elderly father alone for quite some time, despite the fact that he is very dependant upon her.  Sir William Prothroe reminded me, unexpectedly, of Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean.  He just had this kind of jumpy, jittery, "Hey-whatcha-doing-OhMyGoshLookAtThat" air to him.  He kept me laughing, I will say that.  I loved how all of the characters came to know each other, and I've gotta mention Eddie.  He's so cute and funny, but I think a lot of times he feels like the third wheel.  But he's probably my favorite character from this whole book. 

I liked the ending, because everything made sense.  Justin Richards didn't forget to bring anything full circle or to light, and I greatly applaude him for that.  It seems to me that you'd have to be an organized person to write a full-blown mystery such as this, especially one so wonderfully written.  That's probably why I don't like to read them, nor will I ever write one.  *grin*

However much I enjoyed the ending, I will say that I expected a love to form between Liz and George.  And I mean a confirmed love.  You could infer that they loved each other and that they were going to have a life together, but nothing was every said to confirm this.  And so I say, Mr. Richards, sequel?  ;)

I rate this book 3.5/5 stars.

Thank you!

Dear Followers, (and other readers)

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for following me here on blogspot!  I was just looking at my followers box and it delighted me to see that there were four followers I don't personally know!  *Followers, I do know - I love you too.*  It also made me very happy to realize that I had more followers than my brother!  And one of his seven followers is himself.  He rubbed it in my face for so long that he had more followers, but now he doesn't.  Now I just need to surpass him in channel views on MY YOUTUBE. 

Followers, if you're actually reading these, please don't be afraid to comment.  When I recieve comments, I feel like I'm not totally just talking to myself via blog post.  :D

Thanks again christina622, sweetchocolate, Book Lover, SWOSPORTS, Meggie G, Tessie, carlygaile, and Andrew!!!

With eternal love and blessings,

p.s. the picture @ the top, I just had to post because I made a collage of Leanna's signing!  And I think it's kinda amazing. :D

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

The sixth book that I read this year was Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor.  I finished this novel quite some time ago, and I apologize for the delayed review.

To me, this novel started off really slowly.  And any book that starts off slowly, I have a hard time getting into it unless something happens that really proves to me that this book is amazing.  Unfortunately, I didn't feel this book did that.  For some reason, and I don't say this lightly or without hesitation, I didn't really care for the book.

Although, I will give credit where it is due.  The storyline was very accurate and informative about the time in American history where segregation was a big problem.  The characters were believable and I could imagine them going through the time period and reacting the way they were.  I could also see a lot of similarities between me and each of the characters - Even Mr. Morrison.

A bit of a downside, I was really confused when it came to the land issue.  I know that sharecropping was a main source of income back then and that having your own land was very much in your favor.  However, I didn't quite understand why there was so much backstory to the land.  Except for possibly the ending, showing the true sacrifices made.  To me, this book wasn't a happy book, but it wasn't sad enough to make for an "Oh my goodness I can't put this down" kind of book.  A lot of the characters, too, although they may be round, I didn't understand why they made the choices they did and why the made the actions they did.

I rate this book 2 out of 5 stars.

Leanna Renee Hieber Signing (4/27/10)

I was fortunate enough to attend Leanna Renee Hieber's signing and release party on April 27th at a local Barnes and Noble.  It was so much fun, and I was even more excited for this signing than I was for last year's because I knew what the novel was about, how amazing the novel was, and how amazing Leanna is. 

When we got there, of course I had to sit in the front row.  :D  Leanna had a wonderful turn out and I told my dad that no one deserved it more than Leanna.  Honestly, Leanna is just an all around genuine person and she's so down-to-Earth.  If you ever have the chance to meet her, go to the signing or whatever because you won't regret it.  She makes you feel right at home even if you don't know her all that well or at all.

So the shirt I wore on Tuesday said (on the front) Team Alexi (and on the back) Because real men see ghosts.  Leanna seemed to enjoy this. 

I had so much fun and it just continues to amaze me how inspirational Leanna Renee Hieber is to me.  She told me to never quit writing or else she's going to come find me and be like "What's going on?" *oh and her ghosts are going to haunt me. :) *

Leanna, thank you so much - for everything!

With eteral love and blessings,

Mrs. Rychman

Officially Inspired