Monday, December 31, 2012

Gossip Girl: Would I Lie To You?

Happy New Year to everyone! Wishing you all the luck in the world with all the resolutions and reminding you to party safe!

Author: Cecily Von Ziegesar

Pages: 192

Publisher: Little Brown and Company

Summary (from the publisher):
Welcome to New York City's Upper East Side where my friends and I live, and go to school, and play, and sleep - sometimes with each other.We all live in huge apartments with our own bedrooms and bathrooms and phone lines.We're smart, we've inherited classic good looks, we have fantastic clothes, and we know how to party... Continuing the #1 New York Times bestselling series about the provocative lives of New York City's most prestigious private school young adults. Sharp wit, intriguing characters, and high stakes melodrama drive the action of this addictive series that have made Gossip Girl the lit world's coveted "it" girl.

Thoughts:
Everyone has graduated (except for Nate who is working at his Coach's Hampton house). Blair and Serena have these weird European twins flown in by Bailey Winter who end up trying to take over their spotlight from the fashion campaign B & S were muses for. Vanessa had started babysitting in the last book, but in this book she leaves after coming to the Hamptons. She comes back to the city to find Dan exploring his sexuality with a guy named Greg (coworker at The Strand). This happens in a drunken same-sex orgy that was originally supposed to be a literary salon. The story and even some of the editing seemed very lazy. On page 126, they misspelled the word "brother" and put "bother". The one thing I will say was that this was the first time I've seen the series use a Craigslist ad and letters. I also liked some of the quotes being quoted during the literary stuff that was going on (ex. "Weren't ideas, when all is said and done, so superior to reality?" page 64). That was a pleasant surprise, but it wasn't something I could enjoy for long. I was more annoyed than shocked when Serena had her "realization" that she loves Nate this whole time. Not only was it in the tenth book, it was also in the last third half of the book. I'll read the other books after this only because I bought them (so I don't want to waste money). However, I don't know if wasting my time reading them will make up for the money. Since the TV show is over, I don't feel as obligated anymore to finish the series if it's not that well-written. We'll see. My next review will show my decision. 


Friday, December 28, 2012

Ain't No Body Got Time for That

I'm up early (9:00 am to be exact) and while I wake up and get my busy day going, I thought I'd post early for once.

This Christmas, I had the pleasure of sharing it with Eric. Last night was our one year anniversary. All these things are all great, but one thing was grinding my gears. To be specific, it was this video: 


Now, this video isn't so bad when it's standing alone. However, whenever there's a news report on Youtube, there's always a spoof. THAT is what I don't really like. This is it:


For some reason, Eric's siblings could not get enough of this video. I liked it at first because I thought the editing was well done. Hearing it once might make you laugh, but hearing it on repeat for half an hour will really test your patience. Maybe I was just being cranky, but maybe all the repitition butchered it for me as well. Who knows. Anyways, just thought I'd share it with you for this Friday's installment. You be the judge.

'til next time, keep it classy! ♥
-M

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Sexist humor on a Wednesday?



I'm very pro-equality among men and women and this can make me laugh.
'til next time, stay classy!♥
-M

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Gossip Girl: Only In Your Dreams

Merry Christmas to all! :)

I was going to try to fill in the blanks and rush in reading all the books I've missed. However, it's not fun if it's a job so I'm just picking up where I left off today.

Author: Cecily Von Ziegesar 

Pages: 231

Publisher: Little Brown and Company

Summary (from publisher):
Welcome to New York City's Upper East Side, where the girls are dazzling, the guys are gorgeous, and the summer heat is the perfect excuse to throw a fabulous roof-deck pool party. As if we need a reason!It's our last summer together before heading off to college, and things are sizzling -- no, it's not just the weather. Despite that steamy kiss on graduation night, Blair, Serena, and Nate have gone their separate ways...though not for long. Blair is off to London with her English Lord boyfriend, Serena's about to become a movie star -- as if she wasn't a star already! -- and Nate's rolling up his well-worn khakis and heading to the Hamptons. Back in New York, Dan and Vanessa are rekindling their love. Fiery! Watch out, this summer is going to be hotter than ever

Thoughts (relevant material bolded, opinion is normal font):
As I've said before, the other books have things going on that don't really add to the story (like Blair and Serena kissing) but this one seems to progress the story more than recent books. This is the first one I finish in a two-three day span since the first three books so I don't know if that says something. Also, I read in several outlets that this far along in the series, it isn't even Cecily Von Ziegesar writing anymore (more of a ghostwriter). I don't know how true that is but if it is true, I picked up on it like two books ago. ANYWAYS, out of the main characters, Jenny seems to be the only one absent. I think she got her own spin off series but her absence was noticed since I wasn't reading about her rebellious adventures that I subconsciously got accustomed to. Serena gets a lead in a movie that Blair ends up getting a job as a costume designer. Blair seemed in denial that Lord Marcus was more into his "cousin" (who is made to feel like his arranged fiance) and comes back to New York from England. Blair is excelling and Serena is having trouble for the first time in her life. Serena thinks that she's going to end up with Thaddeus, the Hollywood hotshot, but he ends up being gay. That part of the story was being foreshadowed since the last book and I thought it was well done although I could predict it. Dan cheats on Vanessa with this yoga-obsessed, Zen girl named Bree. Vanessa is heartbroken since she actually moved in with Dan after her sister kicked her out and expected things to go "back to normal". However, Rufus lets her stay and offers her the chance to pay cheap rent in exchange for some company once Dan and Jenny are off in their respective schools. Awkward?! Nate is working in the Hamptons for his lacrosse coach to get his high school diploma (after stealing his stash of Viagra) and meets this local "slut" type named Tawny. Nate hears Blair is back early and thinks she's either pregnant or married and he starts to ditch Tawny as a result, who later hooks up with Chuck. Tawny and Bree were a little lame but I wasn't so annoyed by everything..only one thing. The whole Nate and Blair things needs to finally end or they need to get together. It's starting to feel more juvenile for high school graduates. So, as I've said, this was one of the better books lately and I'm about halfway into the next book because I'm curious to see how everything plays out and where the series will end. Will the story touch on their freshmen year of college? We'll see. 

'til next time, stay classy! ♥
-M

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Grades are in! :)


This is already on my Facebook but just showing it to show hard work pays off! Also, not working 50 hours a week makes school a lot easier. Now that I'm employed again, I'm planning on keeping these grades as the standard. Hopefully A's across the board next semester! :)

Book Review Update:
I didn't read the past two weeks because I was cramming for school but I should catch up this winter break. Gossip Girl on the CW officially ended this Monday. :( It was predictable and a litte rushed, but I think the fans got what they wanted. Here's one review you can read that's favorable and here's another that's a little more critical. I'm genuinely very sad to see it go, even if it was kind of lackluster towards the end.


'til next time, stay classy! ♥
-M

Friday, December 14, 2012

12 Days of Christmas (Movies)

Thought this was more creative than funny.


Finally done with school! Now for grades to come in! :/ Wish me luck!

'til next time, stay classy! ♥
-M

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Quote of the Week Wednesday!

Here is something that I found to be very true.


I struggle a lot with worrying but it's getting better. Also, I thought this picture was very artistic. It's sad to look at because of the child's face but I can appreciate the message and creativity.


Side Note: I'm thinking about changing up my format. Again. Instead of videos and pictures on Wednesdays and Fridays, I was thinking TV and movie reviews. It's something I already do out loud, so why not make it public? We'll see. Starting January, I do want to kick off blogging more often so I might keep the format now and just plug in my new ideas.

Sorry for the short entries lately! Still finals time. I'll post the results later.

'til next time, stay classy! ♥
-M

Friday, December 7, 2012

Announcement! #employed

I try not to make this blog about my life but I'm just so excited. I'm going to be a dog trainer at Petco! :) 

I got an interview on Tuesday and called the green light two hours later. It sounds like an awesome gig and I can't wait to meet new dogs! Maybe this will also make me closer to my dogs. 

It came at a perfect time, too. It's like God just put it on my lap right as I was getting too bored and about to start my job search. It literally came out of the blue; I applied back in September and hadn't looked for a job since that weekend that I did applications. Awesome! 

In honor of my recent employment, here's a video about the company, the upcoming holidays and also touching on the "dog shaming" trend I mentioned in the past. It's cute. :)

Also, now that I'm here. I will say I'm also happy about the fact that my boyfriend's birthday was yesterday. I got him a Spurs-themed cake with his favorite player, Tim Duncan, whose number just happens to be the age he celebrated. We're heading to see the Spurs/Rockets game as well. It's my version of a two-part birthday treat! Great week!

Happy Friday everyone! 


'til next time, stay classy! ♥
-M

UPDATE: 
Here I am with my cutie at the AT&T Center:


and here is the cake I had made for him:



Wednesday, December 5, 2012

A piece of humble pie.

I found this picture on my Facebook feed and saved it to put things into prospective when the green-eyed monster of envy starts to mess with my head.

I thought I'd share it with my 1.5 faithful readers, haha.


As Kevin Hart says in his stand-up: Stay in your financial lane, People! In fact, here is the video: it's hilarious. 




Happy Hump Day, guys!
'til next time, stay classy! ♥
-M

Monday, December 3, 2012

Gossip Girl: Nothing Can Keep Us Together

Author: Cecily Von Ziegesar

Pages: 221

Publisher: Little Brown and Company

Summary (from publisher):
Welcome to New York City's Upper East Side, where my friends and I get everything -- and everyone -- we want. Snagging the latest Marc Jacobs bag or your best friend's boyfriend isn't pretty, but it's always hot...It's almost graduation and our lives are really heating up. Everybody's into college and it's obviously time to party -- as if we hadn't been doing that already! Will Blair and Nate's love affair continue? More importantly, will Blair finally get into Yale? Or will Nate and Serena hook up in New Haven and leave Blair alone in the city?And as for the juiciest scoop of all, what's this we hear about Jenny leaving Constance Billard to go to boarding school? Only time will tell how everyone will end up, but one thing's for sure: love is in the air, and it smells a lot like Gucci Envy.

Thoughts:
For a series that I would praise so much, as I read further into the series, I get more and more frustrated and less and less excited to read. None of the stuff going on in Serena's life really have any significant meaning, and Blair is just starting to get annoying with her need for attention. Jenny is "coming of age" and trying to be a rebel, Dan is painted like some sort of love-sick puppy, Vanessa is breaking her "goth" mode, Nate is just a wreck and graduation just gives everyone one more excuse to get together and gossip. The gossip itself is even getting a little old. I started this series as a farewell to the television series and always used to say the books were better but at this point, I'm kind of more entertained by what the writers did on the television show. The only thing that made me feel a little better was that at least I know that the TV show got their "prince" idea from this book (although in the book, it's the English Lord Marcus who supposedly has an arranged marriage back home anyways). Hopefully, I'll finish at around the same time as the show wraps up. 

'til next time, stay classy! ♥
-M

Friday, November 30, 2012

Finals time= Mini-break!

Sorry guys, but I'm trying to do well my first semester at the University level.
I've been at community colleges for 3 years and even if it is in my hometown, I want to pick up my GPA.

I'll write next week at the specified times.

Thank you for your understanding and wish me luck!
'til next time, stay classy! ♥
-M

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Inspirational!

I keep trying to stick to memes and stuff on Wednesdays but there's so much more I could do with my internet space than just spin mindless jokes around, ya know?
This video has been floating around in my news feed on Facebook and it's made a lot of people cry (including myself).

It's about this veteran who couldn't walk unassisted and through yoga, lost over 100 pounds and can now run on his own again. I did read someone talking about how he lost weight too fast; while that might be true, don't kill the spirit! lol
The main point was to show how he was able to walk again and how the human spirit can push through unlikely circumstance. It's not a scientific evaluation of weight loss, lol. Anyways, here you go:


'til next time, stay classy!♥
-M

Monday, November 26, 2012

Gossip Girl: Nobody Does It Better

Author: Cecily Von Ziegesar

Pages: 231

Summary (from publisher):
The uptown girls are headed downtown as Serena and Jenny take on their new fabulous roles as rock-star model girlfriends of New York's hottest band, The Raves. Meanwhile, Dan is to busy drowning his sorrows in empty bottles to notice a mysterious French beauty who has a penchant for dirty, Jim Morrison-wannabe lead singers. Blair takes residence at the Plaza to think about her future. Will she become a gun-toting international spy or Manhattan's snobbiest society hostess? Decisions are so difficult! Sounds like everyone needs a day off at the spa. And Senior Spa Day promises to serve up further doses of scandal for New York's busiest private-school vixens.

Thoughts:
It's getting harder and harder to get excited to breeze through the series. The books start off well and then are stagnant for a majority of the time then have one buzz-worthy event that keeps you there. If anything, I'm still around this far because 1) I said I would in honor of GG's last TV season and 2) I compare TV and print. I think the comparing is the only fun I have right now. I'm not saying they aren't well written because in this book, Von Ziegesar was writing descriptions as well as the first book; it's just getting a little too predictable for my taste. This one wasn't as cheesy as the sixth because it didn't have any of that annoying try-hard singing but it did have some unexpected things going on. I didn't ever imagine that Vanessa and Blair would end up being roommates. Jenny is getting a little too adventurous for my taste because it reminds me of try-hard girls when I was growing up but it was entertaining, I suppose. I guess what's really gnawing at me is the whole unrealistic band thing with the Raves. Quick read only if you're bored I guess. 

'til next time, stay classy!♥
-M

Gossip Girl: You're the One That I Want

Finally a topher(two-for-one) this week! Thanksgiving break felt extra long, lol.
Here we go:

Author: Cecily Von Ziegesar

Pages: 224

Publisher: Little Brown and Company

Summary (from publisher):
Welcome to New York City's Upper East Side, where my friends and I live in gorgeous apartments, go to exclusive private schools, and make Manhattan our own personal playground. It might look hard to be this fabulous, but for us it's as easy as sleeping with your best friend's boyfriend. (A little generic, right? Even the publisher's are getting lazy)

Thoughts:
It was a quick read and did have some good stuff happening. I was dying to see who got into what college already! The way Von Ziegesar chose to reveal it was also pretty well executed. Some of the Gossip Girl narration is starting to get really cheesy but this point in the series. I understand she's supposed to be sassy or whatever but I think there's a line between being topically witty and try-hard cheesy. Just my opinion, by the way. I also wish there was more cohesion between the story lines of each characters. I'm surprised at how fast Georgina was in and out of the series; it's really hard to not compare it with the tightly knit cast on the show. They might hate each other in the show but they're always together or calling each other or running into each other every where. In the book, it happens a lot less often. It feels like a compilation of several stories in one book than a group of teenagers growing up together.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Good news for the animals!

I'm up early this Saturday morning and I know I was a little negligent about Friday's post. So here I am at 8:54am posting about animals. Don't judge me. I posted about this on my Facebook page yesterday so I figured it should be talked about in detail here, since I can go on forever about my love for animals.

If you click here you can see that Laredo has finally done something legitimate about the horrific conditions that strays have to face. They opened up a new facility with a little over 80 kennels. It's a two-phase project that costs the city 1.5 million dollars. The first phase is now open and the second one is underway. In this video, it says 1.5, but in the Thanksgiving front page of the Laredo Morning Times (LMT) print edition I'm pretty sure it said 2.4 million but don't quote me. Supposedly they're also going to require pre-adoption classes on owner responsibility. This really made me very happy to see. The animals are even getting normal things like fans and proper care now.

Laredo Animal Protective Society (LAPS) has also significantly increased their efforts. There was a petition online (which I signed) to either destroy it and build a new shelter or to completely restructure the place. The city of Laredo used to use LAPS as a pound basically and would euthanize about 80% of the animals admitted. Since then, the city and LAPS have parted ways, taking LAPS back to their role of humane society. They also don't euthanize anymore and have a new executive director  If their Facebook page is an accurate description of their efforts, they are also doing a great job.  I used to frequent the shelter and every time I'd leave sad. All the dogs looked famished and frustrated and the ones that didn't were bound to get all the illnesses spreading. I always wanted to leave with one every visit and couldn't believe the place didn't aggressively try to adopt them out. Now, they have a website and a Facebook page that is constantly advertising adoption events around the city. It doesn't seem like much, but just last year LAPS wasn't doing any of these typically normal functions.

I'm glad to see that local advocates could bring change. They went to countless city council meetings and pushed for change. I'm including a video that shows them trying to show the conditions through a slideshow and then being asked to stop because it was "defamatory". This kind of action shows me that people here still care. It gives me hope that not all people in Laredo are stupid.
Have a great weekend!
'til next time, stay classy!♥
-M

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Hope everyone eats a lot and laughs just as much tomorrow. 
To  get in the spirit, I've included some funny topical photos:

How I feel about anyone who constantly checks in on Facebook.

I understand this can be highly offensive depending on who reads it, but I burst out laughing when I read it.

I want to do this with one of my dogs but I need to come up with someone witty enough.
Apparently it's a "thing" right now. This is one of the cuter ones I've seen.
Happy Thanksgiving to all! Don't be hateful; gotta be grateful (at least for one day)
'til next time, stay classy! ♥
-M

Monday, November 19, 2012

Gossip Girl: I Like It Like That

Sorry I didn't post last Friday; I had a lot of homework (to be frank).

Author: Cecily Von Ziegesar

Pages: 224

Publisher: Little Brown and Company


Summary (from publisher):
It's spring break and love is in the air. Or is that a blend of Chanel no. 9 and Gucci Rush? Is there a difference?Blair moves in with Serena and they're back to being best friends. But will the love-fest last or will they end up tearing out one anothers newly highlighted hair? And speaking of new, Nate is on the straight and narrow, playing Nate-in-shining-armor to his crazy new girlfriend, Georgie. But he will definitely get more than he bargained for when he, Georgie, Blair, and Serena end up hanging out together in Sun Valley, Idaho. Back in Manhattan, Jenny is spending time with a mysteriously nice new boyfriend and Dan is spending time crying in the office of the Red Letter literary journal. And Vanessa, wait, is that Vanessa shopping at Barneys with a guy in a Lacoste shirt?The long cold winter is over and the sun is finally shining along Fifth Avenue. The trees are in bloom and NYC's most fabulous are ready for a truly outrageous vacation

Thoughts:
There's a scene that involves the police that was really surprising to me. Jenny's little boyfriend was penned out to be gay in the last books, and he just ends up being a normal working-class kid with older parents. I don't know if that was a let down or a surprise, lol. Maybe I'm just used to the big plot twists already. I didn't think that Dan would take his new job so lightly; maybe I would've preferred to see the progression in that way and see if it would've helped him get further as a writer. In the TV show, they keep trying to push the Blair and Chuck coupling and in these books, there seems to be that same push for Nate and Blair. The other books months at a time and this one just covered Spring Break. I'm just eager to see what happens with the college admissions. I think this book was good but more a filler for the big stuff that's coming up (hopefully).

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Animal Legal Defense Fund


I know that Wednesdays are supposed to be for funny pictures and what not, but again I'm being lame and feeling motivated. I saw this commercial while catching up on Gossip Girl on Hulu and it was really sad to me. I think the fact that all these things they're saying here are true is very disappointing. This is a non-profit company that helps enforce animal rights through the court systems. I feel any lawyer who'd want to practice this kind of law could shed the negative stereotype of lawyers. I was actually very offended with one episode of Parks and Recreation. When Leslie was running, they showed a candidate who was passionate about animal rights and made him out to seem like an idiot. I love this show but felt very sad that they paint people out like that. It's the reason animal rights doesn't move forward.

I remember looking into a lot of animal-related fields where maybe I could use my degree upon graduation. There's animal law, but law has only recently recognized this as a legitimate form of government so there's not enough jobs out there yet. Vet technician salaries are also underwhelming. I hope that I can help once I graduate.

Last year, I was asking at the local shelter to volunteer. They said they would only allow court-mandated community service, which I found ridiculous. Thanks to local advocates, they're on the road to building a new shelter, have set up a new website, and actually do normal things like ask for donations and plan adoption events around the city.I don't know if it's because I still feel a certain level of guilt over having to surrender a dog I had (Toby) or if it's because I have two dogs I deeply love but I do care a lot more about this than I did growing up.  Hope you guys will care too one day.

'til next time, stay classy!♥
-M

Monday, November 12, 2012

Small Detour: The Dramatic Writer's Companion

In lieu of a Gossip Girl review, I thought I'd post up the book review I had to do for my English class since that's what's been distracting me from reading lately.

My teacher told me to pick something about the writing process, but also something that will help you in the future. Because of this, I picked The Dramatic Writer's Companion: Tools to Develop Characters, Cause Scenes, and Build Stories by Will Dune. Mind you, I just finished writing a 5 page analysis so forgive my lack of elaboration. I'm a little burnt out (lol) and am just trying to keep my blogging schedule.

I guess your only reasons for reading this would be:
A) are absolutely a second away from blowing your brains out of boredom or 
B) are really interested in screenwriting.



Author: Will Dunne

Pages: 359

Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

Summary (from the back of the book):

Moss Hart once said that you never really learn how to write a play; you only learn how to write this play. Crafted with that adage in mind, The Dramatic Writer’s Companion is designed to help writers explore their own ideas in order to develop the script in front of them. No ordinary guide to plotting, this handbook starts with the principle that character is key. “The character is not something added to the scene or to the story,” writes author Will Dunne. “Rather, the character is the scene. The character is the story.”
Having spent decades working with dramatists to refine and expand their existing plays and screenplays, Dunne effortlessly blends condensed dramatic theory with specific action steps—over sixty workshop-tested exercises that can be adapted to virtually any individual writing process and dramatic script. Dunne’s in-depth method is both instinctual and intellectual, allowing writers to discover new actions for their characters and new directions for their stories.


Thoughts:
It's amazing: structure-wise, content-wise, everything is good. I honestly see no weakness. He sounds eloquent when he talks, but doesn't talk much. Dunne just explains all the ground rules and exercises and why everything is set up the way it is, and then he lets you get to work. It's hard to get lost when he makes every exercise strong enough to stand on its own.

'til next time, stay classy!♥
-M

Friday, November 9, 2012

Happy Friday!

Hello and welcome to the weekend!! 

This song has been stuck in my head ALL day so I decided to look it up on YouTube.
It's one that's pretty well liked at the moment: "Clique" by Kanye West and Big Sean.
I don't really listen to hip-hop as often as I used to, but this song is really good.
I found the top three best choreography videos....well the ones I like best.

I really miss dancing. I was playing Just Dance 4 with my boyfriend's 8 year old sister and even just that small amount of dancing really made me feel good.
It really motivates me to want to get in shape to join a studio or something.

This video has 4 groups doing the same routine.
The first two (who probably did the choreo) are my favorites stylistically. 
This is the choreography I liked the best.

These guys had some nice chemistry so I chose to post their duet.
They also had a good mix of moves that alternated between following the beats and lyrics.

This group was the cleanest.
They were all together and made it easier to watch.
In the first video, the groups were a little distracting because they weren't together.

I thought I'd close out the week with something just for fun. I've noticed the past couple of posts have all been for some specific purpose. Something loose just for the weekend. :)

'til next time, stay classy!♥
-M

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Wednesday already?!


Unless you've been living under a rock, you've heard the news that Obama has been re-elected as President. I voted for him both times, and I'm very pleased.Those who are annoyed with all the election hyper don't really understand that we're watching history. If they could take that into account, I think there would be more appreciation for what's going on. It's sad that people complain about others in having hope in something bigger than themselves. That's what life is all about. If you're just busy being self-absorbed, is that really a life worth living? Stop existing and start living! I've never seen such a reaction from young voters, and that's also another awesome thing to witness. Say what you want about Obama and his policies but no one can deny that this man knows how to move a crowd. For a presidential acceptance speech, his words really hit deep in a lot of people's hearts. It's one for the books, whether you like it or not. 

Congratulations, Obama! 4 more years!

'til next time, stay classy♥

-M

Monday, November 5, 2012

Gossip Girl: Because I'm Worth It

I have a book review due for my rhetoric class and my book is 200 pages of screenwriting tips (the assignment was a book of about 100 pages). It's a lot of material, so I've been focusing on that. It's worth 15% of my average and has to be at least 4 pages so yeah, I'm sorry. :( I am still squeezing in the fifth book (about halfway in). I'll do the book review next Monday. I might even throw in the paraphrased version of my screenwriting book. We'll see.

Author: Cecily Von Ziegesar

Pages: 235

Publisher: Little Brown and Company

Summary:
A better format for me to explain what's going on is to do it by characters. Here we go (keep in mind, the book starts off in February):
Blair: In an attempt to look more credible for college, Blair becomes the co-head to new peer groups during lunch with 5 freshmen girls. She is actually nice enough to set up Jenny (who's in the group) with a cute guy Jenny spotted in Barney's but only hints at Jenny to check her e-mail. She cuts her hair in a more sophisticated Audrey Hepburn bob for her second Yale interview with a cute alum named Owen.
Serena: Enjoying every moment of her new romance with Aaron, Blair's stepbrother. She even gushes about it in her session with her peer group that she runs with Blair. Serena goes to Les Best's Boutique to try to buy him a ski jacket she liked, but ends up getting personally invited to be in his show for Fashion Week (in exchange for the jacket). At the show, she stirs up a lot of gossip when she hits the runway wearing an "I love Aaron" t-shirt, which embarrasses him (which is when he leaves the show). Serena is having such a good time, she doesn't seem to notice even at the after parties. After this, they just break up when she's in the middle of another photo shoot for a perfume and she sheds a tear, which prompts the designer to name the fragrance "Serena's Tear".
Jenny:  She's one of the girls in peer group and discovers a new friend in Elise, one of the girls there with her. Since Dan is busy and she's no longer with Nate, she figures she needs friends. They quickly become inseparable, but Jenny notices Elise's "quirky" nature. She wants Jenny to paint a portrait of her in the same pose as Rose from Titanic (naked) and actually encourages them to experiment with same-sex kissing (which Jenny doesn't really like). You found out later that Elise is acting out because she thinks her dad is having an affair...later the reader finds out it's Blair. Good news strikes when she checks her e-mail and the guy from Barney's e-mailed her. She rides the bus all day with Elise until she finally meets him.
Nate: Calls Blair out of desperation when he finds out his weed dealer left the city. Later on in the story, we see that Nate actually runs into Mitchell (the dealer) and tries to buy some weed from him, but at this point, Mitchell is working with the cops. They bust Nate for possession and he's forced to go to rehab. While at rehab, he meets Georgina Sparks.
Vanessa: After finally swiping Dan's V-card, her sister Ruby interrupts to tell her the good news that she got into NYU's film school. Ken Mogul gets in contact with her again and invites her to the Cult for Humanity show in Fashion Show, where she lands a seat originally for Christina Ricci. Her film is used as the backdrop for the show, and everyone starts to rave about Vanessa becoming the next film prodigy. Ken meets up with her to invite her to South America for a Cannes documentary but Vanessa declines, opting to start her own name instead of helping someone else. He storms off but she catches a glimpse of the flyer he had with Dan's name on it and decides to meet up with him there. She then finds out why Dan has been ignoring her.
Dan: Dan gets his first taste of fame when his poem "Sluts" gets published and Rusty Klein wants to be his agent. She invites him to the Better Than Naked fashion show and signs his first autograph while in the back of the fashion show. He also meets a yellow-teeth beauty named Mystery who is also a poet. They sparks fly and so does the fidelity card. Dan feels guilty so the entire time, he's blowing off Vanessa and sends her a half-assed poem on Valentine's Day. Mystery is also Rusty's client so she sets them both up to read poetry together and Vanessa shows up to find him practically having sex on stage.
Giant side-note: everyone thinks Chuck is gay for some reason.

Thoughts: 
I left out some stuff but as you can see, there's a lot going on with each character. It's getting a little harder to read the books so I feel maybe it's because of a lack of character development. In the first couple of books, everything was well thought out and made to make each character unique. Now, the newer characters seem to be very superficial. Rusty really gets on my nerves but I guess the point is to prove how fake agents and "Hollywood" can be. I also don't understand why Jenny had to be dragged into the experimentation. However, the book does mesh all the story lines rather well and the surprises really are unexpected. This isn't my favorite book, but it's still decent.

'til next time, stay classy ♥
-M

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Happiness Project- Neutral November


I'm starting my happiness project with what I like to call "neutral November". I'm so used to doing everything fast; eating, showering, cleaning, etc. I want to kind of slow down because I think it can cause me some anxiety sometimes. I don't want to be on this weird auto-pilot and not enjoy the things I'm doing everyday; so I'm taking some time to slow down the pace of my life a little and to make room for other things I've been wanting to try. Hence, the "neutral" pace..not too fast to where it's all a blur, but not so slow it's frustrating.

This is the actual checklist I'm using for this month. Believe it or not, writing it down makes me more conscious of it. Every day you're supposed to check off stuff and see the progress. As you can see, I still got a little bit to go but at least I'm trying? lol that's my optimism talking.

Most of these are pretty self-explanatory so I won't go into them. To clear up, the "one-minute rule" is something I got straight out of the book. Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and Happier at Home, says she'd give herself one minute to do something to avoid clutter build up. So, if she felt lazy but knew she needed to put her shoes in her closet, she'd give herself a minute to get it done. I'm done it so that I can learn to not do things when I want. Sometimes, things just need to get done and I tend to wait until "I feel like it". I can't always do that so this is my attempt to change it.

I don't feel I engage my dogs enough so I want teach them more tricks. They know down, hand, stay, jump, roll over, touch, and turn around (for when it's time to go back home on walks). I still feel I need to bond more. I bought this book and hopefully it'll be an easy process.

The early bird thing is something I feel I need for the future. I have NEVER been an early bird, but waking up earlier will give me more time of my day and keep me thinner. That one will probably be my biggest struggle which is why I've put it in the first month, lol.


I've been doing pretty good about the nightly reading and writing and the nightly 15 minute clean up. Actually, back in September when I was coming up with the 12 traits I wanted to improve, I also wrote down a bunch of goals to rank them. Surprisingly, most of the goals I'd written in August/September were already part of my routine. I am very self-deprecating, so for those couple of minutes, I felt confident. It made me feel a little better about how much I've changed in a year without this checklist.

I'll check in with more progress later!

til next time, stay classy!♥
-M


Running a bit behind!

Sorry for the late entry!
It's been a little hectic these past few days, but I am still going to post the Friday video (even if it's a Saturday).

I'll also be posting up about my progress on my happiness project sporadically. As I have mentioned before on my blog, I recently read a book called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. It basically chronicles her year-long journey to be happier. She takes concrete steps to make this happen and her website offers a lot of help for those who would like to do their own. So yeah, I'm doing it. Hopefully, it's a lot of learning involved. I tried it through October but it was a little wishy-washy so I'm restarting it this month with a whole heart. In honor of this motivation, here is a video on happiness. :)


The music is a little tacky but the information is good.
It's a documentary and if you have Netflix, there's one that's better called Happy.
Have a great weekend!
'til next time, stay classy!♥
-M

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween!

In honor of the holiday, here are some of the funnier pictures I've seen floating around the internet. Even though some are political or religious (some of which I don't agree with), I can still be a good sport and see the wit in these. Hope you guys can too!


Mean but still kind of ironic.
Only posted this one because it's a campaign year. I disagree with this.

This one's poking fun at the recession.


Here's one about dogs, to end on a lighter note:

I'll update a picture of Eric and I later tonight. We're taking his siblings trick or treating. Be safe!
Happy Halloween!
til next time, stay classy!♥
-M

UPDATE: 
Here we are, E&M. (Eric & Michelle but also Elvis and Marilyn) Get it? Yeah, lame.
I apologize for the disastrous wig, lol.
I posted the funny one on Facebook but I also liked this one. :)

Monday, October 29, 2012

Gossip Girl: All I Want Is Everything

I'm about a third into the fourth book. Sorry there's no topher (two for one) today. Also, I was getting registered for next semester so I apologize for the late post.  Need to get better about that!

 
Author: Cecily Von Ziegesar
Pages: 215
Publisher: Little Brown and Company
Summary:
Without giving too much away, here are the main events that occur during Christmas and the New Year:

The book starts off with Chuck, Kati, Isabel, Serena, Blair, and Aaron heading out to the club for the Black and Whie Ball that Serena and Blair are hosting (they are friends at this point). She tries to distract herself with Aaron's new friend (Miles Igram) while Serena is busy flirting with a rock star named Flow. Aaron doesn't really like what's going on because he's secretly into his step-sister, so he's been pretty distant lately. Flow makes a shout-out to Serena and Blair, but invites Serena to party with her afterwards which causes the rumor mill to start talking. Everyone ditches Chuck, Kati, and Isabel because they're passed out in the limo while everyone else is about to head to the afterparty. Aaron doesn't want to a be a third wheel so he also splits. As the rest of the group loads up, Nate and Jenny are passing by the club and Serena invited them to join. Nate is kind of bored with Jenny already (although he won't admit it) while Jenny is still very much in the moment. She eagerly accepts the offer but the moment they get into the car, it becomes extremely awkward because everyone runs into each other for the first time since 1) Blair and Nate broke up and 2) Nate and Serena being in the same room since the Blair reconciliation.

At school the following Monday, everyone is treating Serena like a complete celebrity because of the run-in with Flow. Blair is getting told to rewrite her essay to Yale after blowing her interview, Jenny is speaking up in class about sex, Dan's not putting out to Vanessa because he wants his first time to be more poetic, and Nate can't stop comparing Jenny and Blair. During the break, Blair and Serena head off to St. Bart's while Jenny and Nate go Christmas shopping before Nate heads to Maine. As they walk in the park, they get taped being kind of kinky and it's leaked to the internet by accident.

Meanwhile in St. Bart's, Blair tries to lose her virginity to Miles but Aaron ends up walking in on them before anything happens. Dan and Rufus see the video and tell Jenny (who is mortified). When Dan eventually finds out that the tape came from Vanessa's camera, he hates her and writes his first poem since before him and Vanessa started dating. He called it "Sluts" and sends it to Vanessa after a period of not talking. Although it hurts her feelings, she realizes the poem is a gem. She then sends it to the New Yorker to have it published. He gets a letter from the New Yorker on New Year's Eve that he's being published. Initially, he's enraged because he had no idea it was even submitted but then he actually ends up getting back together with her because of it. At this point, Nate is trying to get back together with Blair, Aaron is getting over Blair with Serena, Serena is ditching Flow's heavy attempts to impress her, Jenny is ditching her punishment to go see Nate (who really doesn't care at this point), and poor Flow is getting rejected a second time by a heartbroken Jenny. Ken Mogul sees Vanessa's tape and thinks her cinematography could be useful so he goes to the park to see her in action on New Year's Eve. This is when Dan makes up with her and they share a New Year's kiss.

Thoughts:
First of all, I apologize for the longer review. I guess I went a little hay-wire since I didn't do two books. There's a lot of ground to cover since there's a lot of social activities for these characters going on. There's also a lot of feelings and doubting so I just kind of listed that stuff. It seems really fast and forced, but I'm trying to leave the juicy details out. After all, it's supposed to be a summary, not an entire outline (lol). By the third book, you start seeing some weaknesses in the writing. When Von Ziegesar reintroduces characters, she uses mainly the same descriptions. Ex.) "Ms. Gios is always getting nosebleeds and was thought to have some rare contagious disease. All the girls were afraid to touch the handouts she gave them. (page 65)". It's an okay description but it's pretty much the same thing as the second book (almost word for word). She could've changed it up a little since she does this with multiple characters and places (the Humphrey apartment, Rufus, Cyrus, etc.) Also, the whole "Flow following Serena around thing" didn't really have a point in the plot other than to show that Serena was seriously wanted. I don't think it was needed. That's the only criticism I'd have. It was still very entertaining.

Also, these came in the mail today. Yipee! I pre-ordered the book so I'm thrilled it finally got here.


til next time, stay classy!♥
-M

Friday, October 26, 2012

Financial Friday!

Hello and thank you for staying tuned!
I know you probably have better places to be on the web (like watching some people fall on YouTube or something) so I really appreciate your visit. :)

It's Friday; this is supposed to be a day dedicated to videos to start your weekend off right. Well, I hate to be a bore but I just wanted to share an article on Yahoo that I found about impulse shopping. Women are usually the ones that are labeled as the impulse shoppers, but this article shows that men actually spend an average of $350 dollars more than women a year.

The article also mentions this site called Spendster. (You can click on the link to go there if you'd like.) It's a website dedicated to showing people how much money is being wasted. Now, it may seem a little lame but I'm always down to learn something on the internet as opposed to getting more ignorant. I like seeing websites trying to bring awareness but I could be one of the few that enjoy it. There's even a calculator that shows you how much you could be saving a year.

I felt compelled to do this instead of a funny video after reading about a sexual predator getting her own reality show after being accused of having sex with her 17-year-old student. I figured I may as well contribute something meaningful instead of encourage stupidity but that sense of inspiration could wear off by next Friday. If you're interested in reading that, here's my source. Celebitchy is my guilty pleasure but once in a while, it has actual news like this. You can also watch a video from there. This high school teacher used to be a Bengals cheerleader, fyi. This is where we're at, people!

If you're interested, here's the article on shopping: Biggest Shopping Regrets.
As I said, it's a little different from the upbeat mood I wanted to set for Fridays, but I felt motivated after looking at my classes for next semester. I have to take some upper level electives and was looking at a "Money and Banking" class to get better informed with all that jazz...BUT I didn't have the prerequisites. :( If I can't learn at school, I'll look online and educate myself (and also share it online with you guys).
Something to consider since the holidays are coming up.

I mentioned in the beginning of this post how you could be watching funny videos on falls instead of being here, so I'm being nice and combining funny and shopping. Here are some shopping cart fails to end on a lighter note. Enjoy! :)


Be safe and have a great weekend!
'til next time, stay classy!♥
-M

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Family Edition Wednesday

So this week's Wednesday post is dedicated to my brother, Chris. He just got married today in San Antonio. He barely told me yesterday..and guess what? My parents don't know. He wants to surprise them... I smell some craziness brewing this weekend!  
He left home 7 months ago to go to basic training for the army and he's already such a man! It's crazy! It's gonna take me a while to process this. The first picture is a screenshot of what he's uploaded on Instagram and the second is a picture taken just last Christmas. He told me that he'd send me some pictures soon. Hopefully he does since I wish I could've been there personally.

I'm happy for him but as his big sister, I worry.
I'm wishing him nothing but the best in this new chapter of his very young life (20!!!).
I'll meet my new (and first) sister-in-law this Friday!
Congratulations, Chris!                          
Us a little under a year ago.
'til next time, stay classy♥
Happy Hump Day!
-M

Monday, October 22, 2012

Gossip Girl: You Know You Love Me

Author: Cecily Von Ziegesar

Pages: 227

Publisher: Little Brown and Company

Summary:
The opening scene is with Blair having dinner with her now gay father, who treats her to Manolos and an early birthday cake. A lot is covered in this book; Serena and Dan have their "first date" (at least in Dan's eyes). Dan turns into what the book calls "stalkeresque", writing her a love poem and consistently pushing for some alone time. This usually doesn't happen because Serena keeps inviting friends along to join their time together (like the time when Nate and his friends hitch a ride to Brown with them for their interviews, as well as when Nate and Erik get in Serena and Dan's limo at the Waldorf wedding).  Blair gets cock blocked again but gets informed of her mother's wedding coming up in three weeks (which is the same day as her birthday), gets ignored by Nate, and blows her interview at Yale..so she gets into an extreme state of melancholy  She also has to deal with Aaron, her new hippie stepbrother. He's really nice all throughout but Blair isn't giving in until the last half of the book. Nate is ignoring Blair because he's been hanging out with Jenny Humphrey. At the wedding, Blair catches Nate with her and heads to the bathroom. Serena cheers her up and takes her out, which is the first time they hang out on a mutual basis since the series started. After Dan realizes that he's experiencing an unrequited love with Serena, he finally sees Vanessa as a potential girlfriend (which Vanessa has been dying for).

Thoughts:
You begin to feel bad for Blair because she has no one to turn to. The inner monologue that Von Ziegesar uses so well gives you a clear picture at everything she's feeling (her lack of self-sufficiency and her chronic loneliness . The Gossip Girl blasts do a really good job at tying in parts of what's going on (for example, in the first book (Kati or Isabel?) returns her pink camo bag after Blair and her minions talk about how tacky camo and animal print are when they discuss party favors for the Kiss on the Lips party). All of the characters emotions seem so tangible and genuine and you can really relate, despite the fact that they're filthy rich (and I'm not, lol). Really awesome second addition; can't wait to read the third!

'til next time, stay classy!♥
-M

Gossip Girl

Author: Cecily Von Ziegesar

Pages: 201


Publisher: Little Brown and Company


Summary:

The book begins with introducing the main narrator of all the characters, Gossip Girl. She's an anonymous Upper East Sider who runs a popular gossip blog that keeps tabs and everyone's dirty laundry. Then, we start the actual book with Blair Waldorf attending a party at her house with her friends Kati Farkas and Isabel Coates. Blair sneaks off to her room with her boyfriend, Nate Archibald, in order to finally loose her virginity. However, that was cut short by the arrival of Serena van der Woodsen, Blair's best friend who left one year ago to attend boarding school. Blair was always left in her shadow and had grown accustomed to being the new "it girl" once she left. Needless to say, she was less than eager to see her. Blair finds out that Serena and Nate had sex the summer before Serena left. Serena does not understand why she is being ignored by all of her friends, but the reader knows that Blair had something to do with that. So this makes her explore the city on her own (for once) and she ends up being the center of a fashion campaign that's all over New York, infuriating Blair. Despite this attention, Serena realizes that she's not as credible as she needs to be to get into an Ivy League school, which is why she attempts to audition for film that Vanessa Abrams is making. Dan Humphrey freaks out when she sees her show up because he's in love with her. Jenny Humphrey, his little sister, is equally infatuated with her and all the rich kids so she needs her way into getting invited to the big party by doing the invitations. At the Kiss on the Lips party, Chuck Bass tries to pull a fast one on young Jenny. Serena and Dan come to the rescue. Blair also makes Nate swear to avoid Serena in order to make amends for breaking her heart.


Thoughts:

The books are really so much better than the series. It's really hard not to compare when you've watched both. Von Ziegesar takes her time to develop character personalities, and it's also a lot more uncensored than the show. Nate smokes pot, most of the kids smoke cigarettes, there's a couple of f-bombs throughout the book, and there's even characters in the novel that aren't on TV. Blair has a younger brother named Tyler (and a kitty named Minky), Chuck has a brother named Donald, and Serena's brother Erik is really an older freshmen at Brown. The characters that are mentioned in both print and TV are better described in the novel. Ms. Waldorf (Blair's mom) is actually rocks a blond bob and lost 20lbs. post-divorce, Cyrus rocks a mustache   Jenny actually has curly brown hair and (a 34D chest), and Vanessa is a tough looking indie chick, rocking black turtlenecks and a shaved head. Chuck and Dan go to Riverside Prep, while Nate is at St. Jude's. Rufus is made out to seem like a has-been writer (that's rocking some salt and pepper hair) unlike the sexy rock star he's portrayed as on the show. You just really get a feel of everyone better, and the interactions are a lot more organic. It's all very juicy. :) 

'til next time, stay classy♥ 

-M