I don't have any Halloween plans this year so I thought it would be fun to show you guys an old Halloween photo. This picture is of me and my cousin in 1993. I was Princess Belle and she was a bride. I think I remember being jealous of her bride costume, LOL. However, I think it was because I had to wear a jacket, that didn't match I might add, while we were trick-or-treating and she didn't have to because she had long sleeves. Oh well, I'm sure I still had fun. I remember being almost every Disney Princess that existed. My favorite costume was Princess Jasmine. Too bad I couldn't find photos from that year. This year I probably will just stay home and watch Netflix. No scary movies though. I don't do scary movies, LOL. Do you have any plans for Halloween this year? Happy Halloween everyone!
The first three weeks of October I was in a rut. I wrote down many ideas and made many plans but when it came down to the execution, I couldn't do it. I've been struggling with motivation, in many aspects of my life. So for the last three weeks I've been sticking to simpler activities that don't require much thought or creativity. I spent a lot of time on the computer and my kindle playing Farmville 2. However, this post is not about games. It's about Netflix. From the 1st to the 23rd, there were only three days that I didn't watch Netflix. I haven't been watching movies either. I've been watching TV shows. Some days I only managed to watch a couple of episodes but most days I would watch about five episodes. There were even a couple days when I watched more than ten episodes. That's crazy, right?
My binge started because of The Vampire Diaries. Season 6's season premiere was on October 2nd. I started re-watching all the episodes back in July. I finished season 4 in the beginning of September. At the time, season 5 wasn't available yet. Then, of course, Netflix added season 5 only two days before season 6's premiere. I decided that I had to finish season 5 before watching the new season. Thus, the binge started. After finishing The Vampire Diaries, I discovered Netflix's newest addition: Gilmore Girls. Thus, the binge continued. I'd been waiting years for Netflix to add Gilmore Girls. And I was so happy that they did. About five days in, I finished season 1. Then I discovered something else. Netflix added season 3 of Hart of Dixie. I love Hart of Dixie more than Gilmore Girls so I decided to start watching it instead of continuing with Gilmore Girls. Since it's been awhile since I've watched Hart of Dixie I decided to start from the beginning.
For the last two weeks, I've solely been watching Hart of Dixie. I'm actually almost finished with season 3. For some weird reason, it's been three whole days since I've Netflix. That's the longest time I've gone since September. I'm not sure what's happened, it's like something changed in me. I think I realized that school is started soon and I really need to get into a routine again. I'm still going to continue with watching my shows on Netflix. But, I think the binge has ended.
On a side note, how weird is it that all three shows are based in small towns? Weird.
Okay, I really suck at blogging. It has been over a month since my last post. I've been having a hard time lately finding motivation for creative things. I've mostly just been watching cable tv and netflix. However, both my life and my schedule will be changing for the better in about a week. Back in September, I was getting ready to start college. I was already enrolled in classes but my financial aid was still processing. I also didn't know what I wanted to major in. Well, many changes have been made since then. On the first day of classes, I dropped out. My financial aid money still hadn't arrived and I had no way to pay for transportation or books. I decided that going back to college just wasn't meant to be. I already have an associate's degree in business management. Besides, I don't think a BA in art is really that necessary.
Although I'm not going back to college, I am doing something else. Last year, before I moved to Georgia, I was considering going to beauty school for esthetics, aka skin care. My plans got put on hold to help out family and the idea was pushed to the back of my mind. Back in July when I was applying for college, I had considered going to beauty school but I didn't feel like it was right for me. I've never really been a beauty person. I don't care about makeup and I haven't really put much consideration into hair and fashion. After I dropped my classes in September I tried to figure out what to do with my life. Then I reconsidered beauty school. I realized that I'm more into beauty than I thought. So without hesitation, I applied for the school, met with them for an interview, and enrolled in the program, all in one week. I even got my financial aid processed on the spot. I was ecstatic on the drive home. Even the sun was shining that day, which is weird for Seattle weather in October.
Over the last couple of weeks I've noticed my mood has brightened. I'm still struggling finding motivation for creativity in the present but I've been excited for the future. I have so many ideas on things I want to change while I'm in school. I've also made many plans and goals for when I finish school. I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. My future is bright and I'm super excited for it.
Does anyone remember the show Hellcats? It only lasted one season, it ran from 2010-2011, and it was on the CW network. I remember watching the first few episodes on TV but then life got busy and it was too late to catch up. I usually watch old shows on Netflix, but Hellcats was never on there. I haven't really thought about this show since it first aired. That was, until a couple of days ago. I was searching the CW website for episodes of some of my other favorite shows, such as Hart of Dixie and The Vampire Diaries, and saw that they had full episodes of Hellcats. Usually, the website will only have five episodes of each show. For some reason though, they have the whole season of Hellcats. i thought that was pretty awesome. I'm not sure how long the episodes will be up there. The last time I watched any episodes on the website was a few months ago. I don't remember Hellcats being on there then. Ever since I discovered the episodes I've been binge-watching Hellcats. It's just another typical Cheerleader show with all the drama that's usually involved, but I love the show. It's fun to watch.
Life has been a bit rough lately. I thought everything was on track for my future. Now I'm not so sure. Like I've mentioned before, I'm 25. I had planned on going back to school to complete my BA degree. If all goes as planned, then I'll be 29 when I finally graduate. A couple of years ago I decided that I wanted to be a foster parent one day. Earlier this year, I told myself that at age 30, I would settle down in one location, start a career, and become a foster parent. I only have five years left. Do I really want to be stuck in one location for the next four years? I had planned on getting a BA in general art. I don't even know what kind of career I could have in general art. What will I do when I graduate? What kind of jobs do I apply for? I know that I want to be an artist. I want to be a self-sufficient artist. I know that I want to make money doing freelance work, taking photos, making vlogs, and creating items to sell on etsy. All those things take time to grow before you're successful enough to make a living off it. That's why I planned on going back to college. I was going to spend the next four years growing my audience, my skills, and my income. What happens if at the end of the four years, I'm still not successful? What happens if I graduate with a degree that I don't know how to use? I've considered getting a degree in something else, but nothing feels right. Everything else feels too specialized. I like photography but I don't want to just be a photographer. I like graphic design but I don't want to just be a graphic designer. I like to try new things and dabbling in a bunch of different crafts. The whole "What do you want to be when you grow up?" thing has always been hard on me. I want to do everything. I can't imagine doing just one thing or having one career for the rest of my life.
I also want to travel the world. I'm sure when I have foster kids I won't be able to travel as much. I only have five years left. If I spend the next four years in college that doesn't give me much time to travel. But college will give me time to save money. If I decided right now to quit everything and just travel, I wouldn't be able to. I literally have no money. To make this decision even harder, my financial aid money still hasn't come through. I applied for financial aid back in beginning of July. Seriously, it was July 1st. It took them two and a half months to process my application and then request for more information. Once I turned in all the additional paperwork, I was told that the second review process would take a couple more weeks. That happened three weeks ago. I've been checking my email everyday, and still nothing. I'm losing hope. Right now my tuition is on a payment plan and my dad has been able to pay the first two payments. But I know he's struggling. School starts on Monday, only a few days away. I used to be so excited to go back to school and take classes on topics I've never taken before. Now I'm just worried. I still need to pay for books, which will cost $325, and find a way to pay for transportation. We can't really afford that. Without financial aid, I can't afford to go back to school. If it doesn't kick in by Monday then I will have to drop out and wait until next quarter.
If I have to wait until next quarter, then it will throw off my next four years. It would take up even more of my time. I already don't know how much time I will have to travel. If I have to wait another quarter, that would be three months worth of travel that I'll be losing. This leads me to the question, do I even want to go back to college? If I don't go the full four years then it won't be worth it. It's all or nothing. This is a big decision I have to make. If I start college then I will have to continue through the next four years and finish it. If I don't go to college, then what will I do for a career? Even if I finish college, what will I do for a career? I have to make a decision that will make or break the next four years. That's the rest of my twenties. It will be a huge chunk of time that I don't want to end up regretting. If you're wondering why I'm doing the whole foster kids at 30 thing it's because I'm ready to have kids. I want to have kids. I was a full-time guardian for two young kids between August 2013 and April 2014. As much as they drove me crazy, I loved it. I miss having kids in my life. I feel like they gave me purpose. Now, my life sucks. I don't do anything and I don't have a job. My college is about two hours away from my parent's house. I planned on waiting to get a job until after I moved closer to my college. I can't move forward until my financial aid comes in. My life is at a standstill and it's making me question my future. As much as I would love to have the kids now, it's just not the right time. The last few years I've been jumping around, moving from place to place and job to job. I need stability. Children need stability. That's why I gave myself five more years. I figured I would take the time focusing on myself, my career, and my travels.
Even after writing this super long post, I still don't know what to do. I don't know what decision to make. I'm scared of being stuck in the same place for the next four years. But if I don't go back to college, I won't know what to do next.
I've noticed all my posts thus far have been about reading. Since this is also a crafty blog I thought it was time I should share some of my scrapbook layouts. I haven't made any new layouts lately, whether digital or traditional. However, I wanted to show you all the digital layouts that I've completed this year. There aren't many, but I hope this will not only give you a good view of my skills but it also teach you a little about digital scrapbooking, aka digiscrap. All these pages are 100% digital. That means that I used a program, such as Photoshop Elements, and used products that are purely digital. My favorite shop for digital supplies is Scrap Orchard. Usually people either print out 12"x12" photo prints of their completed layouts and then put those in a traditional scrapbook album or print a photobook. I haven't done either yet so I can't give much opinion about that. I haven't had extra funds to bring my pages to life so for now they live in my computer. Eventually, I probably will go the 12x12 prints in an traditional album route because I want to be able to add/subtract pages whenever I'd like. When I create digiscrap layouts I don't do it chronological order. However, sometimes I complete them in batches. The next six layouts for instance, are all from my 2004-2005 album and they are all in order. Each set of 2 is a double-spread. Also, I want to mention that I scrapbook on a birthday-to-birthday method instead of a calendar year.
The next batch of pages are from my 2006-2007 album. These are also all in order, with each set of 2 being a double-spread.
You can click on the photos to make them bigger.
What do you think? Have you ever tried digital scrapbooking?
I first picked up this book back in August. I was at Goodwill searching for a book to bring with me on trip to Texas. I found this book and thought it would be a nice read, so I bought it. I didn't end up bringing it with me to Texas but I did actually enjoy reading it. I actually just finished reading this book about an hour ago.
The book is about a 33-year-old woman named Vita and a 46-year-old man named Oliver. A year after separating, Vita is learning to become independent after breaking up with her boyfriend of six years. Three years after his wife dies, Oliver is learning how to cope and be a parent to his teenage son, Jonty.
This is a stand alone book. The story is set in Wynford, England. The lead characters are Vita and Oliver. For my dream cast, I would choose Gerard Butler as Oliver and Anne Hathaway as Vita.
4-Stars
The characters were very likeable. I couldn't relate to them too much because I haven't gone through the exact situations that they have. However, I do feel like other people would be able to relate to them. Although, I do have similar characteristics with Vita and everyone goes through breakups at some point so I somewhat understand what she's going through.
I did not enjoy the POV in this book. It had a third-person POV. However, everyone's thoughts were thrown all over the place that it seemed like a first-person POV that kept getting switched back and forth. I was confused at times about whose thoughts I was reading or who was speaking.
The story was very enjoyable. Other than trying to figure whose thoughts I was reading, it pretty much made sense. It would flow back and forth between Vita's story and Oliver's story. It was nice to learn both their backgrounds before they met. I love that they met because of a pear tree. The book and their story pretty much revolves around different trees. My favorite part was their first date, when they walked through the gardens at Wynfordbury Hall. It was all very romantic.
The ending was cute. It ended the way I expected and I'm happy because of it. There was a small twist at the end about a smaller character you see throughout book. It's not a shocking plot twist, although it's a little sad, but it should make you smile.
I suck at book reviews. I really do. I never know how to give a good description without giving away spoilers. Since I have many reviews to post, I figured I should create a standard formula of sorts that will not only help me with the review but it will also help me remember what each book was about. My memory can only attain so much at one time. When you add a new item, another item gets pushed out. Since I read so many books, it's easy for me to forget what each one is about. Writing book reviews will not only help me track my books but also help me remember each book. But, like I said, I suck at writing them, so I decided to create a template.
In each book review I will include the following:
1. Title and Author
2. Three categories (such as romance, young adult, fantasy)
3. Three keywords (such as college, heartbreak, guilt)
4. Stand alone/Series
5. Location/setting
6. Lead Characters
In order to give each book a valid rating, I've created a guideline. It looks like this:
1-star - Are the characters likeable or just plain annoying? Can you relate to them? What would you change about them?
1-star - What did you think about the POV? Whose POV was it? Were there multiple? Would you change anything?
2-star - Was the plot/story enjoyable? Did everything make sense? Was the content appropriate for the genre? What was your favorite part?
1-star - How was the ending? Was it a cliff hanger, either in a good way or bad way? Were there too many unanswered questions? Was it predictable?
I'm not sure if my guideline will make sense to others. It makes sense to me though, and I think that's what's most important. In the past, I'll usually just give a book 5-stars if I loved it or 3-stars if I thought it was okay. Now, I'm actually allowing myself to delve into the book and actually figure out which parts I liked and didn't like. It should make sense when I actually do a book review.
Also, sometimes I like to pretend that I'm a casting director who turns books in movies. I like to cast the lead characters of each book. Most of the time it's a couple, but sometimes it's a group. If I have time to figure out the actors, I will include pictures in each book review I write. I think it's a fun way to make the book come alive. Especially nowadays when a lot of books are becoming movies, it'll be nice to see how my vision compares to the movie producers.
I'm almost finished with my current book so my first review should come soon. If you review books, do you have a formula that you use? Do you also like to play casting director with the books that you read?
By now, you should be able to guess that I love to read. I read a lot of books this year. Yet somehow, over the summer, I stopped reading so much. I want to change that. I start school soon and might not have much time to read but I wanted to find a way to make sure that I find time to read. You might not know this yet, but I love Pinterest. That website is like a Pandora's box for me. I normally would go on there to search one item, such as healthy recipes, and somehow end up printing out printables to help create a Home Management Binder. Among the many printables I found, I came across a printable for a reading challenge. Granted, they're made to encourage children to read, but I thought it would be a fun way to track my reading.
The printable that I'm currently using can be found at Homeschool Creations. The challenge runs on a point system and lasts for one season. In order to make it more challenging for an adult, I considered only giving myself one point per book. However, the challenge is to reach 75 points and there's no way that I would be able to read 75 books in 3 months. Therefore, I will be giving myself 3 points per book to equal to 25 books. I think that's doable. For me, I will only be counting novels and other novel-like nonfiction, such as memoirs. I read a lot of self-help and crafty books and I didn't want to include those since I normally don't read the book entirely.
For this challenge, once 75 points have been earned, I will be entitled to a special treat. For kids, it could be something small, like ice cream or a family night out. For me, I will allow myself to spend $30 on Project Life products. In case you don't know what Project Life is, it's just a simplified version of scrapbooking. I love to scrapbook so you definitely will learn more about Project Life in the future. This post, however, is about reading. Throughout the next year I will have a tight budget with no room for extra shopping for crafts or clothes.
Completing this challenge will be a win-win situation. I will be able to get more reading done and I also will be able to go shopping for scrapbook supplies. Do you have any challenges you plan to commit to this season? I'd love to hear about other challenges!
Hello! First, I will introduce myself. My name is Leilanie Marie. My nicknames include Lonie, Lanie, and Lei. Which do you prefer? I started my first blog in 2009. Since then I've had many blogs and they all got neglected. For that reason I decided to start fresh with a whole new blog, name, and template. I wanted to keep it simple this time around. For now, this will mostly be a diary of sorts, just to keep this blog alive. In the future, I plan on covering topics such as Project Life, digiscrap, snail mail, book reviews, my weight loss journey, DIY projects, essential oils, and traveling the world.
I'm 25 and I already have an associate's degree but I decided to go back to school to get my BA. My first degree is a technical degree therefore most of my classes are non-transferable. Since that's the case, I have to start over from scratch. I start school in a couple of weeks but I'm still waiting for my financial aid to be approved. I have many things to do after I receive the money, but for now, I'm just bored. I have, however, been reading a lot of books. Therefore, I have a lot of reviews to write.
Back in January, I discovered the website Good Reads. From there, I discovered that people could receive free books in exchange for writing book reviews. That's how I discovered NetGalley. Anyone can sign up and request for books. But you need to be approved by the publisher in order to receive the books. Each publisher has their own criteria, but basically, the more reviews you write, the more you get approved. The reason I mention this is because most of my book reviews will be books I've received from NetGalley. I want to mention that I'm easy to please and I mostly only request books that I know I will love. However, sometimes I poorly judge a book by its cover and end up with a book that I don't like. I promise to give an honest review and my opinion will not be based on how I obtain the books.
I have a ton of NetGalley book reviews to catch up on. The next post you'll see will probably be a book review, but that's not a guarantee. See you next time.
I'm just a twenty-something girl who loves to scrapbook, write snail mail, create DIY projects, read books, learn how to live healthier, and travel the world. Oh and I may have a slight addiction to Pinterest and YouTube.