Final Blog

This year I have read 2131 pages (more if you count the books I read in English)

Before this class, I read all the time. I would usually read before I went to bed at night, which sometimes was a bad idea because I wouldn't be able to put the book down. However, for some reason when I was in this class, I never wanted to read. I think it was because reading became my homework, and not just something fun to do. I also really didn't like to blog about it. It was hard to blog 4 times a week because a lot of the times I would read too much of the book, so I would have to try to remember what happened in certain pages to make this. Once you changed the number of blog post, it did become easier.

Like I said before, I tend to find myself reading in my bed right before I fall asleep. Sometimes when I read my mind wonders, and I read really slow. That depends on if the book is at an interesting part, or if I am drawn in to the drama, or mystery. I love to talk about books with my family and friends. Me and my mom talk about the books I read all the time, and I can always get her to check them out too. I enjoy reading the same books as my friends because I find it more fun to read when you have someone to talk to about it.

At the beginning of the semester, I was signing and angry that we would be doing lots of poems, however I have to admit that they aren't that bad. Their still not my favorite things, but I do enjoy some of them. :)

Over all I enjoyed this class, and I will keep reading, and maybe even reading some poems ;)

6 Poems!!!

Poems:

1. What Do Animals Dream? - Yahia Lababidi

2. Thoughts in a Zoo - Countee Cullen

3. The Animal Store - Rachel Field

4. Turtle - Kay Ryan

5. Rain at the Zoo - Kristen Tracy

6. Golden Retrievals - Mark Doty

Theme: Animals

Flawless (pg. 1 - 52)

The next book in the Pretty Little Liars series (I plan to read them all)

How it began: So the book begins with a "How it really began" part before going into chapter 1. It explains how the girls were having a sleepover, just goofing off doing girly things that you do in middle school. Everything is fine, their having fun, when Ali sees someone outside watching them. Toby. Toby is the neighborhood creeper. All the kids steer clear of him. They say the only person who talks to him is his step-sister, Jenna!! So as revenge for scaring them, Ali comes up with a plan to scare him in his tree house. They get his fireworks, and were just going to light it out, but Ali messed up, and it went in through the window, and hurt Jenna....not Toby. Anyway, Toby took the fall. :O

Spencer: Spencer thinks back and remembers the day that Jenna got hurt. She knows something that none of her other friends, except for Ali, know. Spencer was talking to Ali when Toby marched up and said he saw everything and was going to tell. However, Ali said she saw something and would tell if he didn't say it was all his fault. He agrees. (we don't know what Toby did that was so bad yet in the book, but if you watch the show then you do ;)). Anyway, Spencer wants to tell her friends this now, but is afraid that they would be mad for not speaking up sooner. Because Toby had said he would get back at Ali, and now she is dead...

Hannah: Mona is now upset with Hannah because she is talking to her old friends, who use to pick on her. But that is not the core reason for Hannah's pain. Her mom called her dad about the car and the shoplifting. Hannah hasn't gotten so much as a phone call from her dad in a long time, but now he is sitting in he kitchen trying to lecture her. She talks about his family some more, and how that's the reason she did the whole "toothbrush" thing way back when. She says that was the old Hannah, and she is never going back. We also learn that instead of going to court or anything like that, Hannah will be going to Sean's dad's work a few times a week.

Emily: Emily, Emily...she is still confused about her feelings. So goes and sees Maya, who is staying in a hotel until the cops say they can go back home, and invites Emily up to her room. They start kissing, and almost goes to something more, but Emily kinda freaks out. Scared someone at school might find out about this, scared of what her parents might think. She runs out pretty fast.

Aria: Aria goes to a bar with her brother. They are goofing off, having fun with their fake ID's and stuff. He talks some about Ali, and says "I didn't even think you liked her much." Aria thinks about that and knows on some level it is kind of true, but she would never admit it out loud. Anyway, while their there, Aria spots her dad, with another women! She tries to get her and her brother out of their fast, but her brother spots them too. He gets upsets, and storms out, disappearing before Aria can do anything about it. :(

The Voice!

By Now I am pretty sure must everyone has heard of the newest singing show, The Voice. For those of you who haven't, their are four "coaches" (all singers themselves). These people sit in their chairs facing away from the singer, so they don't know what they look like, or what they do on stage. Each of the coaches need a team of 8, and based just on their voices, they make make up their teams. If more then once coach wants a singer, the singer gets to choose! What I like most about this show is that it based on just their voice. Where on American Idol they want this perfect looking person who would have a good image. Also, from what I heard last night, the people can actually sing! You can be any age, sing any song, and you can even be a dual. It's pretty cool. I sure like it more then American Idol. I think that it could be the next big singing competition. They do want to outshine American Idol, since it comes on at the same time...and I think it just might. But you never know. Either way, I'll be watching it, so they have one viewer! ;) haha

I thought that this guy was incredible! And he impressed all of them...which is awesome!! haha :)

Pretty Little Liars (pg. 256 - 286)

Aria: Her and her family sit around the table at 2 a.m. talking about Alison and how she was found. Aria is pretty upset, of course, and finds herself wanting to be comforted by Ezra. So she hops in the cars a drives to his place. Things did not go the way she thought they would. When she got their, he was so angry. She had left her phone their, and it kept beeping because of text messages, so he opened it to shut it up, and saw the texts from A! She tries to explain, but he won't hear it. She bits him by mistake when he places his hand over her mouth, and he throws a book at her :(

Spencer: Spencer could see out her window as they took care of Alison. Her parents are still angry with her, and wouldn't even see if she's okay. She had a semi panic attack, and Andrew helped her and gave her a blanket. She didn't know this until she saw him put a letter in the mailbox asking if it helped. This upsets her. Wren comes, and they have another little moment. I really hope they don't do anything together...that would be so wrong! haha

Hannah: There was a really small chapter on Hannah. She was sitting on the couch watching the news about Alison. She wants someone to talk to, but realises there is no one. No Sean anymore, Mona is out of the question, and her mom is on a date. So she sits and thinks if A is Alison. But knows that can't be. She also wonders why her mom would say "I'll take care of it" about her drunk driving and theft, instead of yelling and being mad.

Emily: Well it's the funeral. Alison's mom wants all the girls to sit together in the front, so after not have spoken in a long time, the feel a little awkward. But soon old memories bring smiles to their faces, and they feel better. Aria is wearing a knitted bra she made for them all, and Hannah brought some alcohol to help them get by. It's a sad day, but Emily realises that they can be their for each other, and that being with her old friends...made her feel good.

Spencer (again): Well they see Jenna and Toby at the funeral. A big shocker for the girls. A cop pulls Spencer to the side and asks if he can come y to ask her questions about Alison and stuff. The girls are a little nerves, because of the Jenna thing, but don't think much of it. They walk away from the funeral, and are about to say their goodbyes, and Spencer wants to say how much she has missed them in the last three years, when they all get a creepy text from A.

This was the end of the book...with just a long text from A, that is kinda creepy. haha.

Oh technology...

I think just about everyone knows what it is like when your whole family is all doing something with electronic devices. In my family, it is my mom watching TV, my dad on his Ipad, my sister on the laptop, and me on my computer. I remember the good ol' days when we would have family game night. This would either be on Saturdays or Fridays, depending what we were doing, and it was just tons of fun. Now instead of sitting on the floor laughing over silly games, we sit on the couch watching Netflix together. Do I think this is a bad thing? No. We still do play board games everyone once and awhile, and we go on walks and bike rides together, but most of the time we are on our electronic items. It is perfectly fine to spend time on your own separate gadget, but the key is knowing boundaries. If the family only does this, and never really talks, then that's not right. I remember once when my family went out to eat, and I noticed this family at another table...all on their phones texting. Were they texting each other? I sure hope not. That is just sad. That is when technology gets in the way of family and you are over using it. If you can't put your phone, or you laptop down for a nice family dinner, then that is when you need to SEEK HELP!! :)

Pretty Little Liars (pg. 230 - 256)

Aria: It starts with her dreaming about Alison, being alive. It's just a little creepy, I can imagine it was for her. Anyway, when she wakes up she talks to her dad about if ghosts can send text messages. He asked her what a text message was. This is funny, but a little cheesy. I mean, I know it's fun to make fun of older people for not being as "smart" in technology, but really? lol. Anyway, Emily shows up at her house, and she wants to know if Ally ever said anything about her to any of their friends. Aria wonders why, but then she gets to thinking and wonders if Ally told her secret to any of her friends behind her back. We find out that Alison was nice and comforting the first day she found out about Aria's dad, but then was demanding and asking a lot of questions...not a very good friend.

Hannah: Hannah wakes up with a hangover after her big night of drinking. She has very little to no memory what happened last night. Someone knocks on her door, so she kind of straitens herself out, puts on sunglasses, and answers the door. It is the same police man as before. He tells her she stole a car, crashed it, and walked away. She says no way, but kinda confesses by saying she didn't steal it, Sean let her borrow it. Since their was an empty bottle of alcohol, she has to go to the station. She wonders if Mona will get in trouble too, since she was also in the car. She calls her mom, and once again, her mother says she will handle it. Hannah sure has been messing up a lot lately. We learn more about her secret, and the story of a toothbrush that only Alison would know, but now someone else does.

Spencer: Oh my goodness Spencer's parents are horrible!! I mean, what Spencer did to her sister was horrible, but the way her parents handled it...its no wonder she does things like she did. Her dad told her he wished she wasn't his daughter, her mother said she is a horrible person, and Melissa (who has a right to be angry) said she is a b**** and a whore. :( I feel bad for her, yet in a way, she deserved it from Melissa, but not her parents! They should hug her and tell her it will be alright, but what she did was the worst thing one sister could do to another. And blah blah blah. I hope everyone forgives and forgets soon...however something tells me Melissa is not the forgiving type.

Emily: So After her talk with Aria, she decides she needs to go see Maya, and that maybe Maya was the one who wrote her the note. She decides she wants to go back with Ben, if he'll have her, and that she just wants to be friends with Maya. On her way their, she see police cars and ambulances speeding down the street to Maya's house. She remembers that she told her sometimes she cuts herself, so she freaks out a peddles faster to her house. When she gets their, she finds out Maya is just fine, but they found somebody. They found Alison's body!!