I Lied.

I know I said I'd post again from Michigan, but from the looks of things I'd say I'm still in Texas. Sorry to disappoint you.

As it turns out, I had something else to blog about! I've been wanting to, but consistently forgetting to, and was just recently reminded to tell you about Shoved To Them.

Shoved To Them is the blog of a Catholic, home schooling mom of six great kids, who also happens to be a darn good writer. She's smart, witty and full of faith. Almost every post of hers makes me smile, and often laugh as well. The rare ones that don't have me thinking and being thankful.

The Mom is a great role model for those of us girls who hope to also be moms someday. Wait, let me try that again. She's just generally a great role model for all Catholic girls, whatever may lie in their future. If everybody had her faith and sense of humor, it'd be a much nicer world.

Here's the part where I turn mercenary. She's hosting a contest for an $80 gift card, and posting about it here may give me an extra chance at it. :-D You can enter too: all you have to do is publicly follow Shoved To Them. To turn it a little more to your favor, comment on her post about it and/or post on your blog about it.

Now that you know about that contest, I might seem like a suck-up. But I meant every single word. I hope The Mom never stops blogging, because her many followers would miss her terribly.

(and I won't deny it...I hope I get that gift certificate. XD)

Worlds? What is this Worlds you speak of?

You don't seriously mean to tell me that I'm leaving on Monday to go to Worlds?

Oh, wow.

We've been talking about and preparing for Worlds for a while, but it didn't fully sink in for me until a couple of days ago when we were discussing what to bring. Hearing again of the inconveniences of campus living brought back all sorts of memories...most pleasant, some not. Later we were looking at pictures from both of the high school team's previous Worlds trips. All this finally brought home for me the fact that yes, this next Monday I will climb into a car, books in hand, and embark on a road trip that will take to me to good old Michigan (having been to Michigan before and having some friends there, I feel perfectly entitled to say "good old" with it) and Worlds.

First of all, I can't wait to see MSU again. It's such a nice campus, much much bigger than the smaller size that I'm used to at UD. Michigan is a gorgeous place, and parts of the campus resemble a park.

I'm also beginning to remember things about Worlds itself. I'd forgotten exactly what it was like, and now it's all coming back. It's practically a different culture, where everyone is an OMer and pins are the preferred currency. You're surrounded by people from different countries, and although many of them speak English well, you may learn a few new words in another language.

And while we're going to have an incredible time, let us not forget the competition. This year we seem to have a pretty good shot at placing, or at least placing much higher than in previous years. I don't expect first place or anything....just like in the Olympics, there are certain countries that everybody knows will do well in certain things. The Poles? OWN the vehicle problem. However, I'm sure we'll do well, and maybe, just maybe, even get a Ranatra Fusca! Now that would be awesome. A Ranatra Fusca at the Worlds level is about as prestigious as it gets.

It looks like Worlds snuck up on me. Today I thought I had better write a list of stuff to take with me, and a long list it was. Hopefully I'll remember everything. I've been getting better at that lately, but still, a relapse could occur. While I keep my fingers crossed, I'll be looking ahead to the awesomeness that is Worlds. Next time you hear from me, I'll be in Michigan, tired but excited, trying to make you all jealous of how much fun I'm having.

See you then!

Tada!

Like it? I think it was about time for a change. The background, banner and buttons may not all match like the last ones did, but hey, I'm a pretty random person, so a little randomosity won't hurt.

*Many thanks to Kayla for help with the banner! Curse photobucket and their limited selection of fonts.*

I command thee to click!

I would like to introduce you to two rather wonderful young ladies of my acquaintance, Kat (aka kit-kat) and Ella. They have begun a blog called The Sound of Life, all about music. They'll be posting videos and lyrics to a variety of songs by many different artists, so if you're looking for some new music to listen to, it's the place to go. :)
Also check out Ella's personal blog, Sepia, Black, White and Other Colors of My Life.
So click, now! Both of these blogs can also be found on my sidebar.

Reading Habits Meme

Do you snack while you read? If so, favourite reading snack:
Not really, unless it happens to be around Halloween or Easter and I've got chocolate that needs eating. :-D

What is your favourite drink while reading?
I don't ever drink while reading. Me with my clumsiness, risk spilling on a book? :-o

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
WHAT?! Write in a book?!?! Who wrote this?

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?
Dog-ear, every time.

Fiction, non-fiction, or both?
Fiction.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?
I prefer to finish the chapter, but I'll put it down in the middle of one if Mom or Dad seem to really need me for something...

Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?
Nope.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?
I just ignore it and keep reading. Usually I can figure it out.

What are you currently reading?
Catherine of Siena by Sigrid Undset, on and off. And I've been doing a lot of half-hearted rereading lately.

What is the last book you bought?
Er, with my own money? I think it was Enna Burning by Shannon Hale.

Are you the type of person that reads one book at a time, or can you read more than one?
Depends, usually two at a time, though. One for fun and one for school.

Do you have a favourite time/place to read?
My bed. Anytime!

Do you prefer series books or stand alones?
Both! I think I lean slightly towards series, though. If it's good, then more is definitely better!

Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?
Not that I can think of, though I have been known to bully people about Jane Austen.

How do you organize your books? (by genre, title, author's last name, etc.)
By genre, more or less.

Give in to the cuteness.

You know you want to.


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State Finals Tournament

This past Friday, Mom, Ian and I drove up to Houston (Katy, technically, but it's in the near vicinity so people simplify by saying "Houston") for Texas Odyssey of the Mind's State Finals Tournament. *insert impressive echo effect*
The night before States, many teams choose to attend a mixer at the hosting school. The mixer consists of large numbers of kids grade 3 on up partying and trading cutesy and useless doodads, usually homemade, while popular tunes are loudly played and even more loudly sung along to, pizza and drinks are served, and TX OotM merchandise (pins and t-shirts) is sold.
Sounds fun, right? Well in spite of the joy we all find in listening to 8-year-old girls singing Taylor Swift karaoke at the top of their lungs, our team chose not to attend. We went to the movies instead. Those of us that went to an earlier movie killed some time while waiting for the others' flick to end by stopping by Target to get a couple of things the team needed, and do some impulse buying.
Then we all went back to our respective hotels to rest up for the long day ahead.

April 17th dawned...we were all asleep when that happened, actually. But eventually we roused ourselves and went to do war - figuratively speaking, of course- upon our opponents. Our performance was pretty good; a couple of things didn't work the way they were supposed to but generally it went well. We got good judges, especially this one guy who absolutely l o v e d our vehicle. We did get penalized, but it was just for one teeny mistake, and they only took off three points for it.
I didn't get to watch Ian's team, but I've seen their skit before. By all accounts the judges loved it, especially one part where "Spock" gives himself the "Vulcan nerve-pinch" and knocks himself out. That got lots of laughs. :-)
I can't tell you much about spontaneous, all very confidential you know. Plus I didn't actually participate. I took the part of lowly spectator this time. Quite gladly, I wouldn't have been very much help with that particular problem. We scored nicely on it.

We were done, so we returned to the hotel, whereupon the middle-schoolers and co. proceeded to take over the swimming pools. I dropped in for a short while later when they were done. We went to dinner and then....to the awards ceremony. *cue tense, suspenseful music*

AND THE RESULTS....
*drumroll please...*

In first place for Problem 1, Division III....SA HERO TEAM B!
That's right! Us!

Later that evening, the Ranatra Fusca Award, the highest award given by Odyssey, was given to three teams. Among them, us.

So yep, we're going to Worlds. :-) Michigan State University, here we come! It'll be the third time to Worlds for Ellie and I, and the second time at MSU. It's a beautiful campus, but I swear there is no worse cafeteria food in the country.

World's is in late May, so we have about a month to plan, practice, fix what needs fixin', and find the necessary funds. Wish us luck...

Clash of what titans?

Seriously, there's not a single dang titan in the whole show! I know, I know, it sounds cooler...
Clash of the Titans was a fun movie, and if you want to see it at all you should definitely see it on the big screen. Liam Neeson rocks and Hades, though evil, was way cool. The witches were spot on, and though they might seem reminiscent of Pan's Labyrinth, the eye thing IS originally from the myth. I did like some of the interpretations, and I know that Greek mythology by its very nature allows for tweaking, but:

Io shouldn't be in this movie at all. I could go into her story, but I'll save it for another time.
What happened to Hermes' winged sandals? OK, so that would have been a little weird for a movie... and where are the other Gorgons, Medusa's sisters?

And pray tell, what is up with the ending? He defeats the bad guy, makes up with daddy and gets the girl...the wrong girl! Like I said, Io doesn't have a darn thing to do with Perseus in the old story, and throughout the movie I was getting an idea of good friend/sister/guardian/teacher...not love interest! Sure, the actress is beautiful. Sure, Andromeda has a small part in the movie. But e v e r y b o d y knows the age old deal: You save the princess, you marry the princess. End of story. Doggone screenwriters.

So if you're a Greek mythology nerd/purist, don't see this movie. It'll only tick you off. If you don't care that much and you like giant scorpions and cool effects, it's worth it. If you don't have anything better to do and want to watch something fun (like me), might as well.
That's my opinion anyhow.