And Thus, School Starts!

Today is the first day of school for my family. Well, it technically is for me too, but I just have online stuff to do today. I need to print syllabuses and organize stuff in my binder and write down assignments and all that jazz. I still haven't bought/rented any textbooks, but I plan to do that either today or tomorrow. Blech.

I have to get up around 6:00 tomorrow morning, which sucks. Well, carpooling to school with Sarah should be fun, because being around Sarah is always fun, but I don't want to get up early. I'm too used to sleeping in. This morning, I woke up at about 6:45, when my mom was yelling at my brothers for various reasons. I tried my best to ignore it and rolled over and went back to sleep when they left. Then I woke up again at 7:30 when my alarm went off. I stayed in bed until 8:00. Tomorrow, the real stuff begins. I will have to get ready while my family is getting ready, which I haven't done in like a year or more. I just know that no one is really happy when we have to get up early, as illustrated by what I observed this morning from the comforts of my bed.

I also have to film a vlog for the KEEYSS youtube channel today. I have no clue what its going to be over. I'm still posting on Tuesdays, but I prefer to film, edit, and upload the day before. I just wait until Tuesday to make the videos public. Its just more convenient that way. I'm having one of those acne attack things where my face looks horrible, so I get to wear makeup to cover it up and hope that it doesn't make it worse (which it totally will).

My mom and I went grocery shopping yesterday, so there is actually a decent amount of food in the house. Not that there will be for long. We've determined that my brother (the middle child) is the one that makes it so difficult to keep food in the house (no offense if you're reading this, James, although I doubt you are). Everyone else is okay with eating what we have for lunch and dinner. Enciladas, chicken and dumplings, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, rice, beans, vegetables. HE is freaking picky. He won't eat any of those things, even though he likes all of the things that go in them (like the cheese and meat and tortillas that go into enchiladas). No, he has to eat sandwiches and cereal and pizza and hamburgers and meat. I swear, when we have a meal that includes meat and some kind of vegetable or side, he eats nothing but meat, and an excess of it too, leaving the other 4 of us to eat a little bit of meat and a lot of veggies. Not to mention, he's a glutton, who loves food and eats it really fast and eats a whole lot more than he should. He eats enough for 2 people most of the time, and he snacks in between meals. GAH. His existence is annoying. Sorry for the rant.

Its funny, I had a completely different idea for a blog post this morning while I was in the shower, but it seems that I will have to post that at a later time. Maybe tomorrow? Idk. I've got to go work on college stuff, plus find something to eat for breakfast.

-EW

Asian Obsession

No, I'm not obsessed with Asian people (though I suppose they are a part of it, technically), I'm obsessed with the culture. Or course, due to the fact that I have never been to Asia, my view of the culture may be a bit skewed. I've probably talked a bit about this before. I love KPOP music and Oriental food and anime. But my obsession seems to have increased in intensity over the summer. Perhaps its the amount of anime I've watched, but I'm not really sure.

Lets first touch on the anime that I've watched over the summer...

Black Butler: Book of Circus
Maid Sama
Kamisama Kiss
Soul Eater

I feel like I've probably watched more, but Netflix and Hulu aren't that great at keeping a running list of what I"ve watched. The third season of Black Butler technically isn't all out yet, so I watch an episode or two when I get a chance. Maid Sama is one that I'm about 3/4 through, and I love it. Kamisama Kiss was super cute, but for some reason I can't remember the plot at the moment (as you might have noticed, I'm loving the shoujo genre right now). And I'm maybe 7 episodes into Soul Eater. I've started watching some that have subtitles, which is new, but I'm getting used to it. I still prefer dubbed ones though.

I haven't talked about this much before, but like any other teenage girl, I have problems with acne. Its super annoying and I hate going out in public when it gets bad. But, I do manage to cover the red ugliness with makeup most of the time (or at least dull its appearance) with makeup. I don't have a huge love of makeup, particularly since it doesn't help my acne much and because its a pain to put on, but I do love trying new products. In fact, I bought two new mascaras this summer to try and I love both of them (I might discuss them at a later date). For this reason, and because its hard to get american makeup that matches my pale, oily skin, I have decided to start trying out various asian makeup products.

I'm not rich at the moment, and I still have quite a bit of unused regular makeup, so I'm not buying any yet, but I have a plan to buy some throughout the year. I figure that doing well on a test, doing well with Jamberry, and holidays are probably good excuses to reward myself with a new makeup product to try. I've been watching a lot of videos by Michelle Phan and Grav3yardGirl on youtube, plus spending quite a bit of time on pinterest and window shopping on Amazon. My wishlist for makeup is full of stuff that I can't wait to try. If you use any of the products on this list or want to try them yourself, I'd love to hear about it in the comments (she writes as she remembers that a total of like 3 people have ever commented). Here's the link to my wishlist: http://smile.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3PPIU8L9QUNER

I mentioned earlier my love of asian food. We're talking sushi (though I'm kinda wary of raw meat), chicken, egg rolls, pork, rice, fried rice, wonton soup, crab puffs, GAH I'M SO HUNGRY! Anyway, I love it. As I talked about yesterday, I bought a bento box off of amazon and I'm super excited to use it. I have pinned a ton of bento box recipes on pinterest on the food board (http://www.pinterest.com/lizardbreathwa). There's no guarantee that I'll actually use any of them, but I've at least got some idea. Right now, however, we have pretty much no food in the fridge and probably won't until later in the week when Mom and I go grocery shopping.

According to my research, a bento box is supposed to be set up like this, as far as food portions go:

This works out perfectly with my bento box, because I have the same size/shape sections (okay, a bit bigger, but same proportions). I've figured out my fruits (pineapple one day, and melon or apple slices another day) for this week. I think we have some carrots and celery, which I can use for the veggies. For the protein, I'm not really sure. We don't have much, but maybe I can do lunch meats or something like that. For carbs, I hate plain rice, but maybe I can manage to find a good recipe for fried rice or something like that. Or maybe I could do ramen noodles cooked like fried rice. Although that probably wouldn't be so great at room temp/cold. I really don't want to just do bread like my brother would, because I hate eating just bread. Maybe tortillas? I know this is just a guideline, but it would be a great way to eat healthy. Anyone else have any ideas for my bento boxes? Pack bento boxes or lunches for yourself on a regular basis? Have any tips? Let me know ASAP! And watch my instagram for pictures of my (most likely horrible) bento boxes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, because what else is instagram for besides pictures of food and hipster things? http://instagram.com/lizardbreathwalker

In other news, Andrew has started doing Ren Faire stuff again, so I have no one but my family and Sarah to talk to on the weekends. Joy. Its not that I don't like talking to them, its just that its a different kind of conversation. Maybe I also have an Andrew obsession... Nevermind, that sounds creepy and wrong on so many levels.

I'm super hungry, but its not dinner time. Dang. Oh well. See you all Monday! Or maybe tomorrow if I get too bored. BTW, do you dig the increase in links and pictures? Because I totally do.

-EW

College Related Anxiety

It kinda reminds me of the Phineas and Ferb episode (the wizard of oz one) that includes a song about a "Tree Related Wish". But this is a lot more real and scary and has been depriving me of sleep for the last week, and its getting worse.

I start back to college on Monday. Whoo. It wouldn't be that big of a deal, except that this will be my first time taking on-campus classes. My friend, Sarah, and I arranged our schedules so that we have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and we can carpool (I still haven't got my license, but I'm almost there). I'm taking Government and Speech online, then Theatre (THANK GOD) and Biology (with the lab, its going to be about 4 freaking hours with that professor *dying screech*) in person.

All of this thinking about college has kinda freaked me out. Which also means that I am trying to be over prepared and that I can type really fast. So I figured a blog post was probably the best way to get this anxiousness out. Plus, I might be able to help some of the people who are in the same or similar situations. 

One of the huge things that I have been thinking about is WHAT IN THE WORLD DO I BRING ON THE FIRST DAY??? I mean, this isn't like kindergarten. There is no supply list. No mommy to walk you to class and introduce you to your teacher. At least I had Sarah to show me around the campus a couple days ago (I only have to worry about 3 buildings that are close together. WHOO!). I've been doing some research, and this is what I've learned. We'll see on Tuesday what good this does me...

1. Bring a backpack or large-ish bag.

Makes sense to me. I mean, you have to be able to carry all of the crap you bring, right? I contemplated bringing just a purse at first, but now I've decided on this backpack that I bought from Spencer's on my birthday. Its not super girly, but I think its cool, and it meets my needs. And I have yet to find a real use for the speakers, even after having it for a month, but its a cool tech-y thing regardless, and shows that I have an interest in music. Get it here: http://www.spencersonline.com/product/tr-pnk-bl-graffiti-audio-bckp/



2. Bring notebooks/paper and folders and pens and stuff.

I have yet to get all of this stuff together yet. I need a binder with dividers, since thats how I like to organize papers for all of my classes. I do, however, have some spiral notebooks, which I will assign to classes as needed. I like cute ones, so I have some (salvaged from my collection of many) that just have a cute design on the front (ONE HAS HELLO KITTY ON IT!!!) and others that were plain and I customized with duct tape. The only downside to the ones I have is that they're not college ruled :( . I need to get some pens and pencils and highlighters, but for now, I'll just scavenge some from around the house.

3. Bring a lunch/lunch money/etc.

 I'm not going to a big college, so there aren't really meal plans, and I don't have a ton of money to spend on food, so this year I'm going to bring my lunch most of the time. Inspired by the bento boxes that I've seen on the anime I watch and my love of Asian things in general, I bought a kind of American version of a bento box. Its got three little containers and one big one, plus a freezer pack (really important since Texas is so hot), and it all snaps together. If I could manage it, I would totally get a Totoro or Kiki's Delivery Service bento box though. And I might do that anyway in the future. Look for bento box meal pictures on my instagram in the near future, btw. I got this one from Amazon: http://smile.amazon.com/Cool-Gear-Ez-freeze%C2%AE-Collapsible-Assorted/dp/B00BSZJGII/ref=sr_1_3?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1408747459&sr=1-3&keywords=bento+box

4. Bring your electronics.

I'm not talking about your Ipod, though that might be on your list. But I'm taking my laptop so that before classes (my first class isn't until 11:00, but Sarah has to be there way earlier) I can blog and work on stuff for my online classes. I'm looking forward to sitting in the library with my laptop and being ignored by pretty much everyone else as I work on stuff. At least, I hope that's how it will go. Unless I buy ebooks instead of physical textbooks (not sure at the moment, but they are sometimes cheaper), I'll be leaving my kindle at home, at least for the first day. My cell phone is a necessary thing, since Andrew, Sarah, and my mom are people I am constantly texting (I won't be texting during class though if I can help it). Plus, I use it for most of my Jamberry stuff. I'll probably bring my headphones too, but I probably won't use them.

5. Bring a copy of your schedule.

You'd think this would be a no-brainer, but it seems like something I'd totally forget. I don't have a printed version of my schedule, but I took a picture of it with my phone. I'm also going to write it in my planner (YET ANOTHER IMPORTANT ITEM) and in some of my notebooks. I only have to know when two classes are, but I'm probably going to be so full of anxiety that I'll forget every 5 minutes.

The other important thing that I have been worried about is WHAT IN THE WORLD DO I WEAR AND NOT LOOK LIKE A TOTAL FRESHMAN?????

*Mentally channels child from The Magic School Bus* According to my research you are supposed to look cute and feel comfortable, but don't overdo it. Its just college. You don't have to look professional. But dress well enough to make a good first impression.

Based on this, I have decided very little. I do know that I'll wear my favorite pair of non-skinny jeans (some really cute dark ones from Rue 21). And because I won't be walking much, I'm free to choose whatever shoes I want, so I'm probably going to rock these American Flag flats that I got from Payless (http://www.payless.com/womens-dream-slip-on/71097.html). I also have an American flag infinity scarf that I got when we went to Canton this summer. I'll probably wear a cute top that I got during one of my many thrift shopping trips this summer, and bring along a the really cute, lightweight grey zip-up hoodie that I got on sale at Maurice's. And, of course, I'll be rocking Jamberry Nails (I sell them, so that's kinda a given!). I bought these "Raspberry Sparkle" ones when I first started selling, and I've been saving them. By the way, they're part of the Going. Going, Gone sale, and are only available for order through the end of August. Get them here: http://elizaw95.jamberrynails.net

So, yes. I'm pretty well prepared because of all of this freaking out. Here's to a good year, and even better grades! If you want more college advice, try watching this video of mine that I posted to the KEEYSS channel this week:



Also, here are some articles that I found helpful:
http://charlotte.cbslocal.com/2013/08/01/a-freshmans-guide-to-the-first-day-of-college/

http://www.communitycollegesuccess.com/2013/08/firstdayofcollege.html
http://www.hercampus.com/high-school/preparing-college/11-things-not-do-your-first-week-campus

PS: Writing this article was really fun and calming. I should do this when I get stressed and scared.

I got my shopping fix...

I woke up around 8 this morning, and  I didn't get to go back to sleep because of two things: My little brother was watching cartoons, and I had to go to the bathroom. Sadly, my dad is STILL in the bathroom for some reason and it has been almost an hour. *explodes*

Anyway, I needed to get on the computer this morning so that I could invite people to this online party I'm having for Jamberry nails. They're like the most fantastic kind of nail strips/wraps that last between two weeks and all eternity. Ok, not that long, but a long time. I decided to host a party on facebook, which is like the easiest thing ever, because you hardly have to do anything, plus, you can get free stuff depending on how much your friends order from Jamberry. I can't wait to get my jamberry nails and try them out.

I have been in need of a shopping trip for a couple weeks now. Like, its crazy. I get shopping withdrawals, where I want to spend the whole day shopping and whatnot. Yesterday, I got my wish and from about 8:30 to 3:30, my mom and I were shopping. I got four new shirts (three from goodwill and one from Palais Royal), a new book (The Zombie Survival guide), a pair of doc marten ish boots, a cute little portable chess set (goodwill), a mickey mouse purse (goodwill), two scene it games (disney and nick, both from goodwill), and two vhs movies (alice in wonderland and the little mermaid, both from goodwill). It was a successful day of shopping. I think I might do a youtube video with my shopping haul. I feel like it would be fun.

Should I?

-EW

Question Tuesday

I haven't been blogging  much because I've been busy. And by busy, I mean I've been trying my best to enjoy summer.

I've been knitting and crocheting and teaching myself to play guitar and writing books and painting and helping with moving sales and making a birthday wishlist and reading and making videos.

If you don't know already, I am working with some other teenagers to do this collaborative youtube channel. I get to post on Tuesdays, which is pretty fantastic. This year, my birthday is on a tuesday, and I plan on doing a special video for that. And when I go to this big flea market in Canton after my birthday, I plan to make a "Thoughts from places" video.

We're mainly a vlogging channel, but we also do challenges and stuff too. Its going to get even more interesting as the days go by. We started off doing themed weeks, but we're abandoning that now that we're all used to the video making process. I mean, we're not the best vloggers, but we are pretty fantastic and interesting. And we're constantly posting videos. Literally, every day but sunday.

This week, I want to do a Question Tuesday video like the vlogbrothers do. However, this means that  I need questions to answer. The more the better. So, I need your help. PLEASE ask me something. It can be scientific, historical, musical, writing-related, about my family, about videos, about me, ANYTHING!!!

Seriously, I need you all on this. Ask me here in the comments, via google plus or youtube or tumblr or facebook or whatever you have. THANKS A TON!

-EW

Love of reading

I have always loved books and reading. Even before I could read. Like, the first day of kindergarten, I came home upset because I already wanted to learn how to read. I'm also impatient, but thats a discussion for another day.

Since I have been able to read, I have consumed every bit of literature that has been given to me. Well, anything that I found interesting, which leaves out a lot of textbooks and required reading. I have probably read a couple thousand books in my lifetime, just estimating.

Something that I love about my youngest brother is that he absolutely loves reading. My mom and dad don't read much and my other brother doesn't like reading hardly at all, mainly because there are few books that he finds interesting. John Thomas, however, has somehow inherited the love of reading and reads books that are above his level like I did. He can read books at a fifth grade level and he just got out of second grade. To give some perspective, I was reading 12th grade level books in fifth grade. But reading levels are weird.

I love that I finally have someone besides my friends to recommend books to. I can tell John about Lemony Snicket and C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling. In fact, over spring break, we listened to an audiobook of the first Harry Potter book and he loved it. I think we might have listened to the second one also. Not sure that we finished it though.

Today, John and I were compiling our birthday wishlists, which we do at the beginning of each summer, to make it easier on our mom since our birthdays are in July. I was writing his for him, since his handwriting is still kinda horrible. And I was recommending things to put on the list. When I got around to books, we added The Magic Treehouse books, which are currently his favorites, and then I asked him about A Series of Unfortunate Events. He said he had never heard of it.

So, now we are laying in our bunks and listening to the audiobook version of The Bad Beginning. A kinda theatrical version. He says he likes it, so I'm going to add the series to his wishlist.

I think I may have decided what I am getting him for his birthday this year. I've never been very good at giving gifts, but I'm getting better. Having money to buy stuff with helps. I know that for Christmas, I am making knitted hats for the boys, and I kinda missed James' birthday this year. Not that he really cared. He doesn't like the gifts I give him. Not even the portable phone charging stick thing I gave him last year. He never finished opening it, so I took it and used it the other day.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure that I'm getting John some Chocolate Frogs for his birthday. The fair trade ones that the harry potter alliance did. Except they don't have them anymore so I have to buy them somewhere else. Like from amazon or Jelly Belly. And maybe I'll get him The Tales of Beedle the Bard too. I do know that
I want to put some audiobooks and some songs that he likes on one of my old mp3 players and give it to him though. I might do that before his birthday though. Not sure.

-EW

KEEYSS

So, this morning I am uploading a new youtube video. But if you go to my channel, you won't see it. Why? Because its on a completely different channel that I am not the main owner of. Thats right, I'm participating in a collab channel.

Me and 5 other random strangers from Nerdfighteria are doing this vlogbrothers-style collaborative channel. Everyone has a specific day to upload videos, and my day is Tuesday. The video I'm putting up right now is the channel intro/trailer. I think it will be really cool to do this with several strangers and have it as a kind of vlog/penpal type thing. Some of them live in the US while others live in other countries. I'm excited about this.

We got this whole thing together between friday and now. Its been crazy and I've been on and off facebook and youtube and google plus and my email the whole time. We did a pretty good job for such short notice though. We start posting videos this week. It would be absolutely lovely if you all would watch them. It would mean a lot to me, and probably a lot more to the other people in the group.

It finally finished uploading. Here is the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwxsef47dHQ&feature=youtu.be

-EW