Reviews of the Books I’ve Read

 

Books are marvelous things. I have loved almost every book I have read, so I figured I would share those books with you so you can love them as well!

When Marnie Was There   By: Joan G. Robinson

I first started loving When Marnie Was There when I watched the movie. I loved the way the movie was done, and what it was about. Eventually I learned there was a book, and, since I loved the movie so much, I figured I better read the book. As soon as I read the book, I was awed. When Marnie Was There is such a beautifully told book, it is absolutely wonderful to read. I encourage you to read it, it is truly an amazing book. Great job, Joan G. Robinson! You made an amazing book!

The Serafina Books   By: Robert Beatty

These books are AMAZING. You absolutely HAVE to read them. They are wonderful mysteries and adventures stored in a book. The stories of Serafina’s adventures are INCREDIBLE to read. I love them so much. Thank you Robert Beatty! I am absolutely hooked on the Serafina books. I only own tow of them and I am really looking forward to getting the rest, they are such great books!

The Harry Potter Series    By: J. K. Rowling

These books are too great for words. It is amazing to see how brave Harry Potter is. I love reading these books so much! I also love watching the movies. My family and I have a tradition of reading one of them before Halloween, and then watching the movie on Halloween. These books are…. Just… Wow. J. K. Rowling is a very creative writer. She is a genius. The amount of people that have read her books are too many to count. Her books are sooooooooo… good! I haven’t read all of them yet, but they just keep getting better and better! Infinite cheers for J. K. Rowling!!

Monkeys On The Road    By: Mary Hollendoner

Before I read this book, I never thought about travel. I’ve been carsick for a couple years now, and it never occurred to me that I might actually enjoy traveling. But once I read this book… It changed my life. Mary Hollendoner shared her story with the world in a book, and for that I am grateful. Now I have big plans for travel. I am hoping to travel to lots of places in a van, just like Mary did with her family. I loved reading about her journey, and all the places she went to. I never thought about visiting Mexico, but now it’s on the top of my to-do list. Mary Hollendoner has inspired me. I now know that it will be worth it to travel to different places in a van, despite being carsick. Mary Hollendoner is my role model. Thank you, Mary Hollendoner. 

Ponies Of Chincoteague, the series   By: Catherine Hapka

These books have wonderful morals, and are very fun to read. They teach you not to stress over things you don’t know for sure, to not worry about fitting in, and other fun morals. And you get to hear about the main characters having fun with their horses! It is a very enjoyable book to read, and very great for kids who like horses. They are very fun books to read. Thanks, Catherine Hapka.

Beauty, a retelling of Beauty and the Beast    By: Robin McKinley

This book is very detailed. It really helps you imagine the surroundings in the book. It is such a great book. As you read, it’s not just Beauty that comes to love the Beast despite his appearance, it’s you as well! At first, Beauty (and maybe even you) doesn’t like the Beast, but eventually she sees his inner personality. It is such a beautiful book, I love it so much! Thank you tons, Robin McKinley!

I have many more books that I could list, but that would make for a very long post, so I will just stop here. I hope that I have convinced you to read some of these books, so that you will love them just as much as I do!

My Thoughts On Acting and Theater

 

Acting

Acting is very fun! My sisters and I love to put on little plays for our family all the time. It is an effort to memorize all the lines (especially when you don’t have a script paper! We don’t use them) and it may be a little tough at first to act in front of people, but trust me, it’s fun! Whether you’re acting at home, or at a proper theater, it is always an amazing experience. It is also very meaningful; people always clap because they liked your show and it is very special to know that they had a good time. 

Theater

Theater is an amazing thing. I love to watch plays! It really shows you that hard work pays off. Going to the theater is always an exciting experience. And at the end you are allowed to get the actors’ autograph! The theater is a really inspiring place; it can inspire you to act, it can inspire you to be more creative, and it inspires you to follow your dreams and think bigger. If you have never been to the theater, then you need to go. It will change your life, I promise. Watching a play always makes me happy, it may just be the fact that they worked really hard, or that they did it to please the audience, or that they enjoy being in the play as much as I love watching it! Either way, theater has changed me for life. I especially love Christian plays. It is always beautiful when you get to see the Bible Times put in action, or when the play teaches you a very good moral. 

I just want to end this post by saying, thank you. Thanks to all the people that work hard in plays, whether they’re the star in the show or the lights manager, you have inspired me. Thank you.

Cross-Shaped Pull-Apart Rolls

 

Makes: 12 rolls     Time: around an hour and 15 minutes 

There are so many things you can bring to an Easter dinner with your family, but what’s better than bread? Ok, you can probably name loads of things, but I love bread and that is why I decided to make it. And this bread isn’t just any old bread it’s cross-shaped pull-apart bread! This bread represents Jesus dying on the cross for our sins, and when you pull the rolls apart, they represent the stone that guarded Jesus’s tomb! This bread is perfect for Easter.

Ingredients:

One package instant yeast

1 1/3 cup of milk, heated at 105-115 degrees.

3 1/4 cup flour

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Dissolve the yeast with your warm milk and your sugar in a large bowl

2. Stir in ONE cup of your flour, all of your oil, and all of your salt. Beat until smooth (you can do this with an electric mixer, or a spoon. The electric mixer is quicker, but the dough gets stuck to it making it hard to clean, and the spoon takes hard work and perseverance)

3. Stir in the rest of your flour, and stir until dough forms

4. Cover the bowl with a lid or towel, and let it sit in a warm place for around 45 minutes

5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

6. Grab a pan and oil it

Tip: if your dough is too sticky sprinkle a little flour on top before rolling it into balls

7. Roll your dough into balls, and stick those balls in a cross shape on the pan. Place the rolls in the same arrangement as the picture above, and make sure they are touching

Note: you will have one or two extra rolls, just stick them on the side of the pan, not letting them touch the cross, before cooking

8. Bake until the top is golden brown, around 15 minutes

9. Now enjoy with butter, jam, or whatever!

T.P. Roll Ponytails

 

I love wearing things of my own design, so that’s why I created the T.P. Roll Ponytails. It is also nice because you don’t have to pay money to make this. They can be as stylish and cool as you like, or as mellow and simple as you like. These ponytails can be made however you want. 

Supplies:

T.P. Roll

String or yarn

Anything you want to decorate it with

Needle

Directions:

1. Cut off part of your T.P. Roll (it can be as short or as tall as you want. I prefer short)

2. Take that piece of T.P. Roll, press it flat (so that you can measure), and cut off an inch or more from the side (the more you cut the tighter your ponytail can get)

3. Use a needle and thread string/yarn through it. A five 1/2 inch of string/yarn works well

4. Tie a knot at the end of your string/yarn

5. Using that needle poke a hole at the ends of your T.P. Roll

6. Poke your needle through the outside of one of your holes but don’t pull the whole way

7. Pull your needle through the inside of the other hole

8. Remove the needle from your string/yarn

9. On the side of string/yarn that does not have a knot, tie an overhand knot but don’t pull it completely

10. Slide the string/yarn that already had a knot through the overhand knot

11. Stop sliding the string/yarn a little after the knot is through the overhand knot, tighten the overhand knot so that it is fully pulled, and then tie a knot on the string with no knot

12. Now it is adjustable so that you can make it big to stick it on your hair, and then tighten it by pulling the 2 strings

13. Decorate it however!

My Beautiful Surroundings

It is great to just take in our surroundings, the nature, the animals, and everything else in life. Today, I am gonna be sharing some of the beautiful scenery I’ve seen and live next to. I will also share my favorite

parts of scenery.

Water in Lakes, Oceans, Rivers, etc

I love water. It is beautiful. When the sun shines on it just right… wow. And when the sun is setting and you get that beautiful orange color. It is just an amazing creation. On family trips I have seen a lot of water in oceans, rivers, streams, but most typically lakes. This picture was taken while we were driving past Mono Lake.

Simple Blue Skies, Mountains, and Plains

This picture is so simple and yet so beautiful. I mean eventually you will get tired of seeing this while you’re driving on the road, but for the first time it is truly beautiful. I love how the sky is so blue and how the top of the mountain has a slight white on it from snow. I love to just sit outside and look at the sky. It is always so blue in summer. I also love looking at the clouds that dot the sky like white polka dots on a blue dress. Then there is mountains. The view from the top of a mountain is amazing, especially when it views a city. But when you are simple looking at a mountain it is so majestic, is it not? Plains can get pretty boring sometimes, but not always. Sometimes they can be covered in plants and beauty. Overall, all the things I listed are beautiful things that are very pleasing to our human eyes.

People

They may not seem like much of surrounding, but people are just as much part of our life like mountains, rivers, animals, or anything else. I love people. Sure, I may be the kid that always hides in a corner during public events, but I enjoy making friends and meeting new people. People are amazing creations of God. Each person is made differently and all of them are amazing. It is wonderful that God has blessed us with so many new people and friends, he truly is amazing. A simple person can change someone’s life just by complementing them or saying hello. Life is made so interesting and fun by all people. Take your friends for example, they might invite you to a party because they’re your friend, they might go skiing with you, or they will just hang out with you. These things make life fun and exciting. That is why people are a beautiful creation and why I am so glad to have them. 

Animals

Aren’t they just so cute?! Whether it’s a little chipmunk, a nut-hunting squirrel, or a furry little kitten, these creatures are magnificent. All of the animals have very different ways of living. An owned cat depends on its owner to take care of it, a squirrel hunts for nuts that it buried somewhere, and a baby bird waits on its mother to get its food until it can get its own. This uniqueness makes animals so special to me. I love the fact that they are different it means that God worked on them just for us. Animals are also incredible to look at. They are either super cute, fierce, strong, furry, or a mix. I especially love corgis (not that other animals aren’t really cute as well). The fact that they are super tiny, how they have heart shaped butts, and how they come in various colors. Everyone has a favorite animal or multiple, and everyone loves them for certain reasons. Animals are a great surrounding.

I hope you now love your surroundings as much as I love mine. There are other surroundings that I didn’t include in here but that is because this post is long enough. I also hope that you now realize the magnificence of everything around.

Reminder Owl

 

This little reminder owl is perfect if you have trouble remembering things and it is just the cutest thing! It is perfect for bedrooms and is customizable in size and color. It is especially great because the reminders are removable!

Supplies: 

Glue stick 

2 pieces of card stock paper (or 1 if you want the wings to be the same color as the body)

Markers

Tape

Sticky notes 

Pencil

Directions:

1. Draw an owl (whatever size) like the one above on 1 of your pieces of card stock paper and cut it out, then draw wings for the owl and cut them out

2. Glue the wings to the back of the owl like the picture at the top of this post

3. Add detail to the owl (by adding a beak, eyes, lines and squiggles, detail to the ears, etc)

4. Grab a stickie note and cover it with tape

5. Stick it on the owls belly 

6. Repeat this steps 4-5 until you are satisfied with the number of stickie notes in the owls belly (the stickie notes can be cut shorter)

7. Now use washable markers to write in the tape-covered stickie notes

8. When you are done with the things you wrote, simple grab a wet towel and wash the writing off!

Milk Jug Plant Container

 

Nothing’s better than reusing everyday items (in my opinion). Instead of just throwing simple things like toilet paper rolls, tomato sauce cans, milk jugs, water bottles, etc in the trash why not keep them and turn them into something beautiful instead? With this craft you can do just that!

Supplies:

1 milk jug

Scissors

Anything you can use to decorate this project

Directions:

1. Cut your milk jug in half by using your scissors to poke a hole in the jug, and then cut from there.

2. Scrape of the labels with your fingers or something else good for scraping (or you can, instead of removing the labels, keep them on and cover them with washi tape, markers, etc)

3. Decorate with markers, crayons, pens, or anything else you might have on hand

4. Pour dirt into the jug

5. Plant some seeds and water it daily

6. Watch your plant grow!