2015 Reading Challenge

My goal for 2015 is to read 100 books (or more, but 100 will do).


My growing goodreads list is here www.goodreads.com/2015-reading-challenge

Now, I'd love to do reviews of every single one, but I think we all know that won't happen.

On my TARDIS book shelf right now I have:

Have you read any of these? What did you think? Any suggestions for the list?

2014 ~ thoughts {and lists}

It's 1:30 in the morning and I am sitting halfway on my bed with extremely tangled hair, writing this while simultaneously glancing about my mess of a room. Clothes, dirty and clean are draped a shoved every which way and the reason I'm only halfway on my bed is because it's covered in stuff. Drawing pencils, books, purses, lotion, chocolates, headphones, clothes, and more. My life is anything but 'together'. Recently, as New Years crept closer, along with my 17th birthday in January, I began to question the year I've had. I'm behind in school, almost 17 and can't drive, no job, a closet full of clothes I don't wear, and a burn in my carpet from a receipt I'd accidentally dropped in a candle a few weeks ago.

Just an hour or so ago, as the unfamiliar news-people started counting down and the camera zoomed in on all the smiling, rosy, kissing faces, I realized I was only looking at the negatives of my life. Well, I didn't do this, and I didn't do that, so I guess I accomplished nothing. Not true. Sure, I didn't do those things...or keep on top of my schoolwork...or get my life in routine...or stick to playing the mandolin for more than two weeks. I messed up, life happened, and some things got dragged behind.

But you know what? It's a NEW YEAR. Time to brush off my hands, take a deep breath, and reign in all the things I lost control of this past year - all the while learning new things; making new memories; drinking more coffee; reading more books; writing more stories; painting more life; singing silly show tunes; dancing constantly without rhythm; embracing new friends; and growing closer to my family and God.

With this in mind, I can look back at 2014 with new eyes. Eyes that are keenly tuned to the little moments, the crazy excitements, the lessons learned, the friends acquired, and my only year I'll ever have of being "Sweet Sixteen".

My year in retrospect:

JANUARY 2014

• I turned 16
• I was blessed with another sister
• I wore makeup for the first time
• I realized that I could make new friends that truly care for me
• Had a Disney Sleepover/Birthday party #noshame

FEBRUARY 2014

• Valentine's Day with my single gals
• Still obsessed with Frozen
• My Blog's one-year-anniversary 

MARCH 2014

• A sibling's birthday, along with an awesome Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs theme.
• Began to plan My ballroom dance class' Spring Ball
• Dressed in full Candor attire for the Divergent movie
• Modeled my friend Hannah's fabulous skirts
• Went to a 50s diner (in appropriate clothing for the decade, of course)

APRIL 2014

• MEGA THREE-DAY SLEEPOVER. 18 1/2 hours of TV. So much junk food
• Cut my bangs so short I cringe at the pictures. Lesson - learned.
• Mean Girls 10th Anniversary!

MAY 2014

• Spring Ball, vintage carnival style.
• My childhood friend Katie came to visit from good ol' Colorado
• I attended a Masquerade Ball
• I missed curfew
• Learned my lesson

JUNE 2014

• Did the ice water challenge
• Enjoyed a memorable trail walk with the whole fam

JULY 2014

• Scared a bunch of people on Face Book
• Went to Busch Gardens for the Fourth of July
• Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A!
• Ate cupcakes in Carytown
• Gramma came to visit!
• First time at a hibachi grill
• Lots of pool days

AUGUST 2014

• My first concert
• A visit with old friends
• A friend's birthday full of sub sandwiches, cookie dough Oreos, and giggles.
• Doctor Who Season 8 PREMIERE 
• Hanging out at the marina, getting told to get off the banana boats, and long bike rides.

SEPTEMBER 2014

• Successfully decorated an "Exploding TARDIS" cake for my brother's birthday.
• Fun at Golden Corral, and, like, six cotton candies.
• Chile and fire-roasted hot dogs, silly stories, and campfire songs.
• SKYPE WITH MARISSA MEYER
• My first Selfie gone Profile Pic

OCTOBER 2014

• Family visits, a trip to D.C., and goofy cousins.
• Apple picking in the mountains.
• Storybuilding and preparation for my first NaNoWriMo

NOVEMBER 2014

• NANOWRIMO
• Went to YALLfest in Charleston, SC. - AKA my first trip without my parents.
• Met James Dashner, Veronica Roth, Gayle Foreman, Rainbow Rowell, Pseudonymous Bosch, and tons more.
• Thanksgiving with friends (and sneaking away from the loud children to squeeze in some writing)
• Hosted my first {capitol} party
• Mockingjay Part 1 Premiere

DECEMBER 2014

• Christmas parties full of good food and happy voices.
• Late nights crafting presents.
• A trip to Nashville, TN for Christmas!
• Wifi-less for a week
• So. Much. Coffee.
• Listening to my Mimi talk of her past, late into Christmas night as the TV shines light onto our faces and the Grinch steals Christmas.
• Teary goodbyes and more than one "last hug".
• Little towns off the highway with adorable coffee shops.
• Mountains, snow flurries, and cloudy-gray skies.
• The joy of sleeping in your own bed again.
• New Years Eve costume party as a full-out gypsy.
• Watching the clock cont down.
• Looking back on the year with a different approach.

If you actually got through that list, bravo to you. 

This was my year, or what I could remember of it at least. 

Thanks for reading, even if it bore you to bits.

If so, I apologize.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

(It is now 3:37)

YALLfest Wrap-Up

A year ago, I had a dream...

My dream was to go to the YALLfest in Charleston, SC.

A beautiful, wonderful convention full of authors and books and fangirls. My dream was to road trip with some friends to have the most amazing weekend ever.

Apparently, if you don't plan these sort of things far in advance, they don't happen.

My dream was crushed.

like a grape

I admit, I cried a little. (MAYBE a lot, okay? I just have all the feels. Plus, SHANNON HALE was going to be there. I mean, come on.)


~


Months passed by, and I eventually ceased my ever-flowing river of tears. It was an annual occasion, so maybe, MAYBE, 2014 would be my lucky year.

And you know what?

My dream came true, and in an even better way than I ever could have hoped...


~


We booked our hotel months in advance and I started saving every dollar I made from babysitting. November was drawing closer and closer, which brought on a numerous amount of worries and excitements. NaNoWriMo. YALLfest. Thanksgiving. November might be the best, most stressful month of the year.

My friend Rachel and I packed snacks and water bottles, stuffed her car with our luggage, and stocked up on Broadway Musical soundtracks and Taylor Swift CD's. It was a seven-hour drive to Charleston, but we were going to make it through in style.

Actually, we looked pretty ratchet. But hey, bursting Barbie songs at the top of your lungs is attractive enough to make up for your appearance, right?

Finally arriving in Charleston brought on all sorts of emotions. We're here! I can't believe it! This is the first time I've been on a trip without my parents! Ahhhh! We're meeting James Dashner and Veronica Roth!

The activities kicked off Friday night with a handful of authors signing in different buildings along King St.

James Dashner was one of those authors, and we waited for four hours in front of the most amazing toy shop I've ever seen so that we would be in the first batch of people let in.

via: Rachel Coker

Here's a little back story:

I do ballroom dancing classes. Irrelevant? I think not, since a guy in my class' mom was BEST FRIENDS WITH "JAMIE" DASHNER WHEN THEY WERE KIDS.

Yep.

Makes me wonder if I've been friends with anyone who will be famous one day...

(OR WILL I BE THE FAMOUS ONE?!?? MWUAHAHAHAHAHA)


Here's another story...or confession, whatever:

I really love Dylan O'Brien.

Don't laugh, I know he's becoming all the rage on tumblr and the like...

But I loved him before I read Maze Runner. And I loved Maze Runner before I knew he was going to be Thomas. So, let's just say The Maze Runner is one of my favorite movies.

Okay, story time is over.

Hahaha. I'm kidding, I'm kidding.

So, when you are in line for a book signing, someone volunteering for YALLfest brings you sticky notes to write your name on so that the author won't mess up when signing your book.

via: Rachel Coker

I couldn't help myself.

3:00 struck and everyone in line was on their feet, excitement filling the air like static. My own stomach was flipping.

You can imagine the feels I had when James started to sign his/my book, read the sticky note, looked up at me and was like: "Lily..." then smiling and saying "I do actually have his number."

via: Rachel Coker

AGH. I was tempted to pickpocket his phone and run like a hoard of Grievers were after me.

I didn't. Don't worry. That little interaction was good enough for me :)

Well...I still would like his number - not gonna lie.


~


Saturday was the day full of panels and more signings.

Don't be jelly.

Especially not because we woke up at 4:00 AM, sat on the sidewalk in the freezing cold for five hours, and received blue wristbands. That part was only fun because we had great people to talk to and the promise of meeting Veronica Roth on the horizon.

After securing the wristbands on our shivering wrists, casting leering eyes at the fangirls, licking their chomps in anticipation, we scurried off to the opening keynote session. Not only were James Dashner and Sara Zarr there, but I was handed warm cider and a READING IS AWESOME poster.

The panel was hilarious. James Dashner can't keep his mouth shut without Sara on his shoulder, like a little angel. She talked to him about his life as a writer; how it began; how it felt to see Maze Runner for the first time. It was great.

via: Rachel Coker

As soon as that panel ended we scampered over to where Veronica was signing, got in line near the front, turned the corner, and THERE SHE WAS.

My life is complete.

ALL THE FEELS WERE PACKED INTO THIS WEEKEND I CAN'T EVEN.

And no, I will not try to odd.

To top off the wobbling tower of emotions, one of my childhood dreams came true.

I met Pseudonymous Bosch (Or his impostor. You never know...). He was just so cool and mysterious - dressed in black with dark shades and a beret tilted on his head, topped with a crescent roll.

I went all fangirly on him and followed him out the side door where his panel was, THE NAME OF THIS BOOK IS SECRET and a pen in hand.

The last panel we went to was the Hollywood Stories Panel. Veronica Roth, Gayle Foreman, James Dashner, Melissa de la Cruz, Ann Brashares, and Kathy Reichs were seated on the stage, white lights of fame blazing down on them. Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia (Authors of Beautiful Creatures) were the moderators, asking all the questions involving the films and TV series, the actors, and the feels. It was probably my favorite panel of the day.

And that's all we were able to do, having missed our shot to buying tickets for the closing keynote and Smackdown. However, I will never forget that day in Charleston...or the sweet way it ended:

Rachel and I were about to get in her car, preparing to leave behind YALLfest with only the wonderful memories we made, when someone tapped my shoulder.

"Excuse me?"

I turned. It was Laini Taylor, pink hair and all. She smiled and continued to say how her daughter had spotted me earlier, saying I looked like Little Red Riding Hood, and that they kept seeing me throughout the day. Her daughter was wearing a little red cape, shyly standing behind her mother's leg. Laini then said how they were pretending that her daughter and I could be two Little Red Riding Hoods that save the city together.


I can't remember what my response was, but I think it was along the lines of "Awwwohmygoshthatissosweetthankyou".



~


And that, my friends, was the best weekend of my life.

YALLfest, I hope to see you again next year.


And (not to sound cheesy) "Thank You" to all the marvelous people who made this dream come true! The volunteers, the fangirls (and boys), the authors, Rachel, my parents for allowing me to go to another state without them, and my awesome Gramma.

ALL THE JUNK FOOD WAS DEVOURED. 

ALL THE DREAMS WERE MADE TRUE. 

AND ALL THE FEELS WERE FELT. 

Pictures via: Rachel Coker

Here we go again...

NaNoWriMo did not go very well for me last year.

To say the least.

Last year I had an idea for a story - it was amazing. That was enough for me, I was going to do NaNoWriMo and write that book! 

I quit ONE WEEK into the month.

After consideration, here's three ways I went wrong:

1) The number one most horrific thing I did was read over my work at the end of the day. I'd fix it up, make it pretty, and then read over it again the next day before writing more. I came to hate my story. It was boring. I was a horrible writer. What was I thinking? Apparently I couldn't write a novel at all. There were many tears.

PLEASE DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE. I hope you have more sense then I did, but just in case: DON'T EDIT AS YOU GO.

2) Writing was not my first priority. Call it procrastination, if you will, but after my schoolwork was done for the day and as the keyboard sat waiting for my tapping fingertips, I would do other stuff. Clean my room. Mop the kitchen floor. Anything to avoid writing, though not completely intentionally. I wanted to write; just "not right now".


3) I spent more time developing characters than the actual story. Sure, I had an original idea. Sure, I knew how the story would end. Sure, developing characters is very important.

But I spent hours, day after day, looking up pictures to represent my characters, cutting up magazines, reading inspirational quotes, and completely procrastinating from thinking about the plot.

Do I still look at pictures on Pinterest for inspiration? Um, of course.

Do I still cut a clothing and eyes out of magazines to paste on my characterization board? YES.

Do I still grin and get all jittery when I read a beautiful quote that makes me want to hide away from life and pour my soul out onto paper (or screen, whatever)? So much yes.

Do I still ignore my plot and the actual grittiness of writing a novel? To be completely truthful: Sometimes. However, this year, for NaNo, I'm taking a class with actual classmates and an actual teacher.

*shocked silence*

My teacher sends the class home with prompts and goals and grades them. So basically I'm getting school credit BY DOING NaNoWriMo, which is pretty awesome. Anyway, having this class and a devoted teacher has really helped me so far. I'm confident in my plot, adore my characters, and am itching for November 1st to arrive.

~

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo? If you have a YWP account, add me as a buddy! I mean, if you want to, which you might not. Don't... Unless you really want to. So, just in case you do, which you might not, my username is lilyember.

Cress by Marissa Meyer + skype fun!

For my Cinder review go here.

To read my Scarlet review go here.

~


My anticipation for this book was so insanely high that when it finally was in my hands I just held it and cried. So beautiful, so shiny...


The Lunar Chronicles is by far one of my favorite series (up there with Divergent, Hunger Games, Maze Runner, and the Books of Bayern). The last installment, Winter, won't be released until November of NEXT YEAR. My eyes tear up just thinking about it.

~


From Goodreads:

"In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has."


~


Oh. My. Gosh. I can't. Even. Describe. ALL THE FEELS.

We have Kai and Cinder feels. We have Wolf and Scarlet feels. We have Thorne and Cress feels. We have Iko feels. WE HAVE ALL THE FEELS.

Kai - Our young, dashing Emperor has his hands full with wedding plans and his head full of thoughts of Cinder :')

Cinder - She's learning how to control her glamor better, with some help from Wolf, and the crew is creating a plan to over-throw Levana and place Cinder on the throne. Cinder is still being conflicted with coming to terms with being the lost Lunar princess. If they succeed, her life will drastically change.

Wolf & Scarlet - I'm combining the two because we don't see much of them in this book. Plus, I can't say when we do see them because...spoilers.

Iko - Iko! Iko! Iko! Probably my favorite character. She's fun and lovable, and who doesn't love fun and lovable? Her role in this book is the steady, constant friend. The light moments in the dark. The humor; the laugh; the smile. Iko is perfect.

Thorne - *giggles* Oh, gosh. This witty good-looking-stud-of-a-man is just..yeah. We get a look into his past from Cress' perspective, which is a little distorted by her crush on him, so that's great. Since he's Cress' love interest he's in the majority of the book. Ladies, we get a lot of Thorne time.

Cress - Although a tad naive, Cress is a super fun character to read. She's not dumb, but all of her knowledge comes from the internet, and we all know how untrustworthy that can be. Her character definitely grows, but anyone leaving their home for the first time kind of has to.

Levana - I can't wait to read Fairest, which is Meyer's prequel story about Levana. She is a very interesting perspective to read from and I really want more of her side of the story. In Cress we get a few looks into Levana's head, and I have a feeling we'll get even more in Winter.


~


Have you read this book yet? Have you read ANY of them? Let me tell you a thing:

READ THEM. I ORDER YOU IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS GOOD AND BOOKISH. I SWEAR IF YOU DON'T...

5 gazillion stars

12+


~

AND NOW.

MWUAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!

That's right. Be jealous ;)

I love my library. The people there are great and they set up Skype talks with authors and it's basically book heaven. I asked Marissa Meyer a ton of questions about writing, but there were a couple non-writing-related answers of hers I want to share...(This is not word-for-word, just from my memory and notes.)

1) I know you relate most to Cress, but if you could be like any other character, who would it be?

She laughed and said, "None! I do such horrible things to them!"

 "Personality wise, then," I laughed.

"Then...Iko. She's so fun and perky and I just love her."


2) Any chance we'll be seeing the Lunar Chronicles as movies?

"Yes! Someone has the rights right now and I could get a call any day!"

"REALLY?!? How do you feel about that?"

"Of course I'm excited! It would be amazing."

IT WOULD BE MORE THAN AMAZING OHMYGOSH.

SERIOUSLY.



If anyone is interested in her writing tips, she posts on her blog sometimes! She just did a series called "From Idea to Finished" which is very informative and helpful. www.marissameyer.com


~

This was a dream come true.

The Glorious Mess That Is My Life

I don't post many personal things on this blog.

I tell myself: "Nobody on the internet wants to read about some silly teenager's life. Books. Books are what they want to hear about."

This morning I slept in. Yes, I'm homeschooled - so why should it matter? I can do school and chores and friend stuff whenever, because my schedule is SO flexible.

Not.


At least, not since school started back up. Co-op classes with homework that's actually DUE on a certain day. A church campout this weekend, which requires packing and squeezing into our snug SUBURBAN. Family coming to visit, so CLEANING and SHOPPING and SCHOOL. 

I might have a break to breath in a few weeks, but THEN.

NANOWRIMO. YALLFEST. THANKSGIVING. SCHOOL. TRAVELING.

A never ending spiral dragging me further and further into the depths of I JUST CAN'T DO IT ANYMORE.

Monday morning brought tears. Buckets and buckets of tears and pounding headaches and eyes squeezed shut. I was so sure the next two weeks would be stressful and emotionally draining. I wanted it to simply STOP. 

(What brought on this sudden spillage of my soul to the internet? Partly, I knew that writing it all down would help me in my own little way, but it also happens that a friend of mine has had a straining couple of days as well. Her blog post inspired me to do my own, and I hope that somehow mine will likewise inspire and uplift someone. I'll leave a link to her post at the end...)

My mom. Me darling mum. Nodding and admitting to have been struggling with everything I was struggling with, simply said, "One day at a time. That's all we can do."

No. No, I couldn't do that. Life was in chaos and I wanted A PLAN. I wanted the next two weeks to line themselves up in front of me so I could examine each one and determine everything necessary for making them wonderful and smooth. 

I called a friend and ranted. After we hung up with "Love you"s and "Everything will be fine" I realized how ridiculous I was reacting to it all.

Life is a mess. There is nothing I can do about the school and the cleaning and the planning, except take it in bunches. Week by week; Day by day. 

But, even that is useless if I'm trying to do it on my own. It's not until I said "Okay, Lord. These next few weeks are in your hands...just like my life that I have promised to you" that the stress began to slowly roll off my shoulders, droplet by droplet.

I still have a load of unfinished homework due tomorrow. And days of schoolwork to catch up on. And a campout to help my mom pack for. And family visiting. And a book to write. And authors to see. And food to eat. And friends to hang out with. And a family to love.

All those aspects have their ups and downs. Some more than others, but this is my life. It isn't some temporary existence to slug my way through. 

It's my life, given to me from God for a purpose. A beautiful, nerve-racking purpose...

To LIVE and LIVE FOR HIS GLORY.

found on pinterest

(Rachel's post: http://www.rachelcoker.com/the-strain/)

In Summer...

You know what?

Just because you have a blog...

Doesn't mean you'll get around to writing on it every week...

If you're lazy...

Like me.

I know, right?


~

So, either I need to make a commitment and stick with it, or I need to loosen up a bit and not set my expectations so high.

I want to post 2-3 times a month. Hopefully, with this being my busiest school year yet, I can find the time to do that. We'll see.

~

Summer has come and gone in a flash, and I'm left with a bit of nostalgia. I've done so many things in the past three months - things that, two-years-ago I would have thought I'd NEVER experience. I thank God all the time for my amazing family and friends (Especially my friends. They're awesome.)

Masquerade Ball, May 2014

downtown + cupcakes = <3

Busch Gardens

Selfie-ception

at the dock

Credit to Rachel Coker Photography for these next pics.

Birthday fun with this cutie

He Best Trio

(laugh)

our fourth bff

Hope you enjoyed a little peak into my summer, you stalkers ;)

Goodbye, Summer!