Confessions of a Bookworm, Episode 1: Top 5 Summer Reads :)

Hey everyone! I hope yall are doing well! I'm just having a lazy day today, nothing too exciting. But I'm heading to Georgia to visit my cousins on Monday so I'm really excited!! :)

Today I'm starting off a series where I talk about books! I'm such a bookworm (hence the title), so I'd love to have a special spot on my blog to talk about just them! Since its summer, alot of people are going through their summer books and I thought I would too. I tried to video this...it didn't turn out so well :/ So here it goes!

~ 1. Christy Miller ~

This is by far my favorite summer series! It isn't new by any means, in fact it came out in the 80's! Even so, the story is very impacting and changed so many ways that I look at Christianity. Not only is it my favorite summer series, but it is my favorite book series in general. The first book is called Summer Promise, but there are 12 books in the series, and three more from her college years. All of them are amazing!!!

The story is about a 14 year old girl named Christy who goes to live with her rich aunt and uncle for the summer at their estate in Newport Beach, California. She is having the time of her life meeting friends, especially a hunky surfer named Todd <3 She gets worried when some of her new friends turn out to be more wild than she thought, and Todd's "God Lover" friends totally change her image of the kingdom of God. Needless to say, this summer doesn't turn out the way Christy imagined!

(Click here to read more about this book! )

~ 2. Kingdom Keepers 1: Disney After Dark ~

This book isnt exactly a summery book, but it all takes place in Orlando and Disney World. That's kinda summery, right? ;) This book also is a little older. I remember reading it when I was in 5th grade! But it is still a really cool read for any Disney fan, and Ridley Pearson is still coming out with more!

The story begins with Finn Whitman going to be a DHI at the Disney Parks, basically making him (and the 4 other teens) holographic tour guides. One night he goes to sleep, and wakes up as his hologram in Magic Kingdom! The old Imagineer named Wayne tells him that he and the other teens have to defeat the Overtakers, Disney villans who are determined to take over the parks. The teens have to work together and figure out the clues left behind by Walt Disney himself.

~ 3. So Not Happening ~

I read this book last summer when I was on my church bus headed to camp! I seriously couldn't put it down, so I was antisocial and read the entire thing :) Its a really fun read and a perfect blend of humor, romance, and spirituality.


The story follows Bella, the daughter of a rich New York plastic surgion, who unwillingly moves to Oklahoma when her mother remaries. The spoiled girl has lots of problems getting adjusted to life on a farm with a new school, new father figure, and two new brothers. She finds some relief when she joins her school's newspaper, though she can't get along with her annoying (but adorable) editor. This book is such a great summer read!!!



~ 4. The Last Song ~

Well, I'm sure everyone has heard of this book, or the movie at least! It is one of my favorite movies, and the book was phenominal!! I cried in both so much! I couldn't come up with a better explaination of this story so this is the one off of Wikipedia, haha:

Veronica “Ronnie” Miller’s life was turned upside down when her parents divorced and her father, Steve, moved to Wrightsville, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains distant from her parents, particularly Steve, until her mother decides it would be everyone’s best interest if she and her brother spent the summer with him. Resentful and rebellious, Ronnie rejects Steve’s attempts to reach out to her and threatens to return to New York before the summer’s end. But soon Ronnie meets Will, the last person she thought she’d ever be attracted to, and finds herself falling for him, opening herself up to the greatest happiness – and pain – that she has ever known.

~ 5. Love Finds You in Camelot, Tennessee ~

This is the one I have read most recently, and I loved it soooo much! I have read a few books from the "Love Finds You" series and I haven't found one yet that I didn't enjoy. They are all romance fiction stories that take place in real cities across America and have a number of different story lines. This one is on of my favorites :)

Steve Garrison is the newly elected mayor of the tiny town of Camelot, Tennessee. When his childhood friend Amy Hart comes up with a plan to revive the town’s economy, he jumps onboard. The townspeople will perform the musical “Camelot” in the city’s park, drawing in nightly crowds. While excitement is high, talent is lacking. Amy casts several of the parts but is stumped when it comes to the role of King Arthur. In desperation, she turns to Steve. Will he pull the sword from the stone and save the day? Steve reluctantly agrees—on one condition. In exchange for his willingness to wear tights, Amy must play the role of Guinevere. And when a handsome newcomer cast as Lancelot takes an interest in Amy, the stage is set for a little  tension - and maybe love!

 

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I hope you enjoyed and check out these books! Let me know also if you want to see more of these!! :)

 

Lov and books,

Em :)these;)

 

 

30 Days of Harry Potter...sort of :)

Hey everyone!! I hope you are all having a fantastic summer!! I haven't done anything big yet (besides Disney World, which I will post about later!), but I know July is gonna be really busy so i'm looking forward to it!


I was going through some of my old posts on this blog and I came across one entitled 30 Days of Harry Potter. I remembered that sometime last year a sort of survey went around where you answered a question each day about Harry Potter and you kind of compared answers with anyone. I was going to do this all at once on my blog because I kept on forgetting which day to post what, but the video I made for it never uploaded so I never got it published. 


So I'm just gonna answer all these questions now!! I hope you like them and let me know if you agree or disagree on any questions!! 


Love and Potter Mania, 
Em :)

~ 30 Days of Harry Potter ~

Day 1: Your fave book?

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, definitely :)

Day 2: Your fave movie?

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. Before that one came out, though, the third one always had (and always will have) a special place in my heart.

Day 3: Is there any of the films adaptations that have made you angry because they’ve ignored important parts of the book?

• Well there are always little things that any book nerd would notice, but the biggest one I can remember is that in the movie, Harry broke the Elder Wand before he used it to fix his own. Its just little things like that that people notice who REALLY read the books!

Day 4: Least fave female character and why.

• Dolores Umbridge...I despise her so much. Though I definitely hate her the most, I also can't stand Bellatrix Lestrange or Narcissa Malfoy. 

Day 5: Fave male character and why.

• I would either say Harry (duh!) or Neville. If I said Harry, it would be because of all the different qualities he has: perseverance, love, kind, funny, and all kinds of other things. He is just an overall good guy and a very good role model. If I chose Neville, it is because he is just a very kindhearted individual who is brave and loyal, all the qualities of a true Gryffindor. Neville will always be there for his friends and is ready to step in and be a leader. He was almost the Chosen One, but Harry ended up being it instead. He can relate to Harry, because his parents aren't really there, even though they are alive. Besides the two boys, the older ones I love would be Sirius, Snape, and  Lupin, just because they are both loving, amazing, and ooze awesomeness!!! :)

Day 6: What house would you want to be in?

• Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. On Pottermore I am a Gryffindor though :)

Day 7: Fave female character and why.

• I think my favorite female character is either Hermione or Luna. Hermione is brave, smart, loving, a leader, and overall possesses great qualities. She can be bossy, but she loves Harry and Ron like no other and is always there for them. Luna is a free spirit, but always loyal and funny! She isn't always right in the head, but she can be forceful when she needs to be and always has an accepting heart.

Day 8: What do you think would be your fave lesson?

• Probably Defense against the Dark Arts (only if Lupin is in the house! Haha) or charms.

Day 9: Least fave male character?

• This is a toughie! You would think I would immediately say Voldemort, but I somehow just cant. I've always had sympathy for him. I think that I probably like Lucius Malfoy the least.

Day 10: Horcruxes or Hallows?

• Hallows for sure! With them you can do cool stuff, and I'd appreciate if my WHOLE soul remained intact please ;)

Day 11: What character would you say you are most like?

• I'm not sure why but I'd have to say Ginny or Hermione. 

Day 12: Fave relationship?

• Ron and Hermione of course!!!

Day 13: Least fave movie?

• Probably the 5th because Harry is so agitated all the time and it kills me to see him so mean. But it was one of my favorite books, so.........idk.

Day 14: Team Voldemort or Team Harry?

• I'm not even going to answer that.

Day 15: Who would be your best friends at Hogwarts?

• I'd like to be friends with Ron or Neville, or Seamus. :) I cant forget about that handsome Irish man :)

Day 16: Fave professor?

• Minerva McGonagall <3

Day 17: Are you excited about The Deathly Hallows movie or scared it won’t do the book justice?

• Well, i'm a little late on this one. But I was excited for the movie, even though I knew that it wouldn't measure up.

Day 18: Least fave book?

• I'm probably gonna get hate, but the first one is probably my least favorite. I think it is amazing and a classic of course, it just has the least amount of action. Don't get me wrong, I still love it!

Day 19: Do you prefer the books or films?

• Books, Always. (See what I did there?) ;)

Day 20: If you had to meet one member of the cast, who would it be?

• Umm Harry of course!!! Daniel Radcliff, I <3 U.

Day 21: Out of all the characters that died, if you could bring one back, who would it be?

• Lupin or Fred. Lupin because I just love him, not to mention he is a brand new father. Fred because George depends on him so much and the world needed his humor.

Day 22: Pick a favourite quote from any of the books/films?

• Ohhhh the list could go on forever!!! But this one probably reins supreme, even if it is over published: '"I have spied for you and lied for you, put myself in mortal danger for you. Everything was supposed to be to keep Lily Potter’s son safe. Now you tell me you have been raising him like a pig for slaughter – ""But this is touching, Severus," said Dumbledore seriously. "Have you grown to care for the boy, after all?""For him?" shouted Snape. "Expecto Patronum!"From the tip of his wand burst the silver doe. She landed on the office floor, bounded once across the office, and soared out of the window. Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears.
  "After all this time?""Always" said Snape. "'

Day 23: Any part of the books/movies that makes you cry?

• Oh tons of them! Probably all the deaths in the final book hit me that hardest. Also the epilogue, just because I know its all over.

Day 24: Any particular scene you wished would have been put in the movie but it wasn’t?

• The only one I can think of at the moment is that I wish that in the credits of the seventh movie, they could have put the final lines of the book. 

Day 25: Nineteen years later. Are you happy how it turned out, or do you wish something was different?

• I think the ending turned out beautifully and I loved it all!!! Yes, even the film adaption pleased me :)

Day 26: If you could be able to work one spell without a wand what would it be?

• I can't even decide!!!

Day 27: Would you rather own The Invisibility Cloak, The Resurrection Stone or The Elder Wand?

• Probably the Elder Wand, because I can do more stuff with it.

Day 28: Do you listen to Wizard Wrock, what do you think about it?

• Not really, but I'm sure it would be entertaining!!

Day 29: Did you enjoy A Very Potter Musical?

• Besides the language, I loved it!

Day 30: What affect has Harry Potter made on your life and how much does it mean to you?

• Harry Potter has seriously effected my life. I think about it every day, have made friends because of it, and the lessons I have learned from it make me a better person. My heart skips a beat when I hear the theme music, I can quote practically the entire third movie, I know in depth details about all the charactors, and I can't imagine what I would be like with out it. J.K. Rowling, you are our Queen <3

Summa Time!

So, after what seemed like forever, summer is finally here again!!! I can't tell you how pumped I was on the last day of school and how happy I am to be able to say I'm a Junior ;) This year really has been a lot of fun though! From my best friend and I goofing off in culinary, to crazy Drivers Ed adventures, and tons of last minute projects, 10th grade was busy to say the least! I can't say every minute of it was fun, but it is definitly a school year I won't ever forget!

The end of this school year has also brought some sad things with it, like a bunch of my close friends graduating and leaving for college :/ It is also a very exciting time, but I will miss them dearly and I love them all very much!

This summer has a lot of things in store! We have vacations, camps, VBS, and SLU 201 just to name a few things! I know this summer will be packed with tons of fun and I am so looking foreward to it! (Also looking forward to the sunny weather, since our first week of summer has been all rain :/)

I know this is so shocking...but I haven't been so good on keeping up with my blog :) I'm giving up on being a regular blogger, but oh well! I'm gonna end out this post with some stuff that you might have missed in between posts ;)

Love and summer fun,

Em :)

Easter with my family!

Fun at Wendy's with Abby :)

Hunger Games premiere!!!

Church Dodgeball Tournament!! We lost, but we lost with style ;)

Sweet friend <3

 

Hair cut!!

My graduate friend, Ben!

Sweet Kaylee!

Sweet Chelsea!

Kelly, Abby, Elizabeth and me holding up our graduating years! Even though Kelly has already graduated, its still really sweet!

Some sweet little girls I babysit :)

Empire State Of Mind :)

Hey everyone!!! 

We just made it back today from New York City! This trip was so much more impacting to me than even last year was! I can't lie, I am slap worn out. But, I have a great sense of accomplishment knowing that we did what God sent us there to do and we made great advances for His Kingdom :) Now, I know I did this last year and NO I'm not trying to be lazy ;) My youth pastor was the leader on this trip and he wrote his blog much better than I could have. He has tons of videos and interviews with the mission team that are really awesome! So instead of me trying to tell you about my fantastic week, click here to see Bro. Jeff's blog :) 

Though his blog rocks, I took a whole bunch of pics myself too! Here is a little video I made about the trip:

I'm so thankful we made it back safe, and I can't wait to see where my experiances with this week take me! Thank you for your prayers and God bless you :)

Love and jet lag,

Em :)

Ready for the trip!!!

So, I'm attempting to try and video this trip to NYC. But just to get started, here is my Pre-Travel Video :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jxSE3Y27z4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Love and no sleep,
Em :)