Amaranthine Forever

Hi! I'm in denial about New Years. Far be it from me to further inundate you with cliches about how fast the year has gone....but I'm going to anyway. The year has sped by so fast I can't believe it. It seemed like yesterday I was posting LAST year's complaint about how fast the time passed, and now...ahhh. I had a great trip! The highlights were going to visit Google's headquarters(THAT PLACE IS SURREAL. Free awesome food, free big park with climbing ropes/track/soccer field, swimming pool, bowling alley, free yellow/green/blue bikes. Android beanbags and life-sized smartphone, and a google maps room with a nearly-360 google earth panorama on like ten flat screen tvs placed horizontally.) and seeing Les Mis with cousins. And I'm leaving again to go skiing! Yay! Anyways, new years. This past year has been insane. This year, I went on a mission trip, saw my blog traffic grow(and drop, and grow) experienced everything with my TLF sisters, and read bad seq

  December is always my favorite month of the year, and now that most of the stressful things are out of the way,  I can see why. I like cold weather. But because I live in Southern California, we never really get to see it for a while. Summer lasted a really long time this year. It didn't start to get cold until about two weeks ago. I'm pretty excited for this Christmas! We've never had Christmas away from home before, but this year we're going to my cousin's house up near the bay area.  I really love their house. My city is very planned and clean and boring and suburban with houses that all look the same, but their house is in the middle of an epic pine forest and has lots of old interesting houses. One of their neighbors has a llama. A legit llama just hanging in the backyard. This past month has been super busy for me! I'm applying to several super-exclusive summer programs, and the applications are almost like college applications. I'm apply

People get confused when I tell them that writing makes me tired. And it does. After writing any sort of narrative(aka school essays don't count) for a long time, my head spins and I get really cranky. It was hard to explain why writing had that effect on me. Why does something that I love drain me so much? Then I saw this passage by Roald Dahl in his memoir Boy, and I thought it was summed up perfectly: "The life of a writer is absolute hell compared with the life of a businessman. The writer has to force himself to work. He has to make his own hours and if he doesn't go to his desk at all there is nobody to scold him. If he is a writer of fiction he lives in a world of fear. Each new day demands new ideas and he can never be sure whether he is going to come up with them or not. Two hours of writing fiction leaves this particular writer absolutely drained. For those two hours he has been miles away, he has been somewhere else, in a different place with totally di

I'm super excited about this article published by Entertainment Weekly yesterday, which includes this still of Harrison Ford and Asa Butterfield and some army.   It looks ah-mazing, but I'm still a little troubled. Because even though OSC SAID that almost none of the scenes of the movie were in the book, and vice versa, it's still scary. As in, in Ender's Game Graff never visits the barracks. O.O Also, the article says "He’s facing off with the imposing Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford) over whether his emails to home are being blocked."  In the book, it's a given that they're blocked. And when did he write any emails to home anyway? >.> In the comments of this and other articles, you can find many an outraged fan ranting over the stools next to the desks, the socks(!!) and the not one, but two girls you can find if you click on the entire picture  here . Also, I wasn't too terribly upset about Major Anderson's cha

Not the actual work part. Just the "shopping" aspect of it, getting to look at all the different places and making a list, and annoying all my senior friends about their apps which they're trying to forget. I didn't want to go to college here in California because I didn't want the same old boring sunny gorgeous weather, I wanted bricks and ivy covered buildings and snow and Hogwarts. like so. I'm excited to start the process, but I just have to concentrate on my grades and SAT prep and Gold Award and attempt at Scholastic awards. And it doesn't help that I spend so much time reading college rankings and college confidential. I'm still applying to three colleges here in California though. I do  have a history of homesickness. The nearest one is Harvey Mudd(like half an hour away O_o) EXTREMELY un-ivy and un-Hogwarts but a really awesome program. I'm interested to see how my 11 years of online-schooling go over. Do any of you know home

Hello! Another Thanksgiving sneaks up upon us.... It's perfectly placed actually, because I've been feeling insecure and mopey and self-pitying lately. Cause of college and having to compete with all these epic smart accomplished people. But as thankfulness is the antidote for all that, here is a list of what I"m thankful for. 1.) The One who saved me from my own sin and continues to save me from stuff every day. Thank you God , for always being there, as the song goes: never delaying, always coming through for me when I most need it. 2.) My awesome family. Thanks for staying sane another year! 3.) My awesome internet friends, including but not limited to: Fally, Auty, Rachely, Abby, Savannah, and allllllll the many many TLF girls. I love all of you(even if my life is several years shorter) and I couldn't imagine this year without you. 4.) My awesome but few IRL friends. Thanks for making me feel loved IRL and not totally anti-social <3 p="p">5

Hello! I'm having a unusually relaxed November because of my lack of NaNoWriMo. I do miss it, a lot. I've been thinking about entering in the national Scholastic Art and Writing awards, a prestigous recognition program that gives out awards in all kinds of categories, from fashion design to architecture to poems. I've been thinking about either submitting in the novel character(outline+first fifty pages) or writing a short memoir-type story about dance or homeschooling or something. http://www.artandwriting.org/ Whatever it is, I have to make up my mind soon, because the submission early deadline is Nov. 29th and the regular is Dec. 7th. Otherwise, things are going good on most fronts. I've been worried/researching about colleges recently. All the ones I like are really good, but I'm afraid I won't be good enough to get into them. My grades are as good as they can be, but I haven't taken the SAT yet(have been practicing/studying at least every othe

I recently started another anime/manga series called Black Butler, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite things of all time. Set in Victorian England, the series follows the loyal butler Sebastian Michealis and his thirteen year old master, the earl Ciel Phantomhive, who became the head of the Phantomhive estate and company after a mysterious fire killed his parents. Ciel is also known as "the Queen's guard dog" as he follows in his family's footsteps as the patrol/crime investigation frontman of the London underworld. Ever at Ciel's side, ready to carry out any order to the letter, Sebastian is actually a demon in a supernatural contract with Ciel: once Sebastian helps Ciel carry out all his goals, including vengeance on those who killed his parents, Sebastian will be allowed to kill Ciel and consume his soul. Black Butler can best be described as a dark, supernatural black comedy/thriller. The series' elaborate art and soundtrack(some of the best

also posted on The Lakehouse   " Media giant Disney has purchased movie and TV production house Lucasfilm for $4.05B in cash and stock. Star Wars Episode 7 is targeted for release in 2015, with more feature films expected to continue the Star Wars saga. http://thenextweb.com/media/2012/10/30/disney-purchases-lucasfilm-including-the-star-wars-franchise-for-4-05b-in-cash-and-stock/ http://www.benzinga.com/news/12/10/3039512/disney-to-buy-lucasfilm-for-4-05b-in-cash-and-stock http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavitz/2012/10/30/mickey-meet-yoda-disney-to-buy-lucasfilm-for-4-05-billion/ [url][/url][url][/url] I'm going to die. I'm really gonna die. This is like the first sign of the apocalypse. I just have no words. I really don't think this is a hoax....it's everywhere. If it is a hoax, I apologize for being gullible and stupid. But seriously. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!@! iit's not april right? It'

I was really, really, tempted to be like every other review of this book I saw and turn it into a rant with tons of reaction gifs and keyboard hitting....I may or may not succeed. IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WAS MAXIMUM RIDE . . . A GIRL. A FIGHTER. ... SEEKING HER DESTINY. AND NOW, THE END ISN'T NEAR . . . IT'S HERE. .. One last chance... for Max, Fang, and Dylan... before it all ends. Are you ready for the final chapter? Are you ready for the ultimate flight? Because THIS IS IT. One last incredible, explosive adventure with an astonishing ending that no one could have seen coming.   It's been a pretty disappointing literary year as far as much-anticipated books go. After a disappointing final chapter to what had the possibility of being the best book series ever(Artemis Fowl), and not being able to break into any really excellent new series(besides the res

I like watching and keeping up with politics, although I don't like talking(aka ARGUING) about it very much.  I watched the full presidential debates, and am about to watch the VPs go at it.  I'm not going to say who I'm for or against here, but I think they're both pretty good speakers. Of course, this also means heated mudslinging, name calling, and flaming both on the internet and off. What is it about these elections that get everybody so worked up? I think the presidential elections, in particular, have become more than just politics, and instead a part of internet/pop culture lately. People follow, argue, and keep up with them as if they were celebrities, rooting for the candidates as if they were sports teams. Also, for many people  government is their religion. They put their faith in the government, or one of these two people to fix things. That's why politics are argued about in such an inflamed manner--they're very close to the heart. I do feel

Recently read this article on plugged in.com, on people who use extreme makeup/contact lenses/plastic surgery to make them look like(or similar to) anime characters on a daily basis. .(similar to the whole elf ears thing) "The 19-year-old girl pictured for instance, is Anastasiya Shpagina, a Ukrainian girl who has hundreds of thousands of followers on YouTube and Facebook. Looking like someone right out of the anime world that inspires her, the 5-foot-2 woman reshapes herself with enormous eyes, flawless skin, a teeny-tiny waist, a coquettish pose, a defined butterfly-lipped pout and very brightly colored hairstyle. She's even taken on the moniker of Fukkacumi, a name straight out of a Japanese comic. Click here to see Anastasiya demonstrate how she makes up her eyes—a painstaking process complete with oversized contact lenses and huge eyelashes that can take somewhere north of 30 minutes per eye to accomplish. Britain's Daily Mail reported

In my acro class! I was so excited. XD. I think the back leg is bent though.... oh well. Now I'm working on my front! This is exciting. XD This is what a back walkover is:

Hello! Can you believe it's the last week of September already? That's insane! Sometimes I just look at the calendar and panic. XD I've learned it doesn't really help to be stressed out anymore...cause the stress is never gonna really let up on you, right? Once one gets out of the way, another one moves right in. So I've decided to just try and get through it. I haven't really been like really anxious about anything, but there's just always been more and more stuff to do. Plus, my weekends have been busy so that doesn't mean a lot of time to rest. Here's what I've been doing lately: -School School takes up a lot of time now. XD I'm a junior, and I can't just knock everything off like I could in my sophomore and freshman years. Before, I usually could understand everything and get good grades without putting in an extreme amount of effort. Now, it seems like everyday is a crunch day. If you haven't guessed, AP Chemistry is the

Sometimes I'm amazed at people(even mature adults) who gleefully flaunt their sinfulness, naughtiness, and crudities as if they're something to be proud of.  Like, have I suddenly walked into a contest to see who can be the worst? blehhh Life has been kind of slumpy lately. I feel really spoiled sometime...like everything's been going pretty well, but I can't seem to appreciate it. One thing that really helps me get through this is that our relationship with God and our life isn't based on feelings. It's alright to FEEL distant and blehh, it's natural. Sometimes I wish we could go straight to heaven and skip all the guessing and trusting and worrying and stuffs.

Tonight's episode of The Food Network's Cupcake Wars culminates at a special Star Wars-themed VIP cupcake party at Celebration VI!  Keep an eye out for TLF girls in TLF shirts, at the party when the show was filmed. I hope we get to see at least one TLF gal tonight! I have been an live audience on a national TV show before, and they don't like having clothing with logos on it. But since it's CVI and there'll be a billion logos and costumes, I hope they don't mind! If you have cable, look out for The Food Network at 8:00 PM ET/PT ! Speaking of TLF, today I got my package from JC! It includes a TLF shirt, wristbands, a picture of my TLF gals, a HU tote, and a card from JC! I'm so happy and I love it a lot. I haven't had much time to blog or do much of anything, but hopefully I'll get a real post up soon!

@kangjason on Deviantart This is part of a series where I review final books in series. Part of this post was published on The Lakehouse Forums earlier this month. Earlier this month, I read one of my most- and least-anticipated books of the year. Artemis Fowl and The Last Guardian. Most anticipated, because Artemis Fowl is my favorite series ever. The books are hysterical, poignant, suspenseful, engaging, and just enjoyable to read. I really didn't want this series to end, but after reading The Last Guardian,  I'm a bit glad that it did. My deepest regret is to say that it was not, in fact, a slam dunk for this series. The general fan response has been favorable, but I was a bit disappointed. The book is a notable departure from the rest of the series. The characters are mostly spot on, as usual. And it doesn't fail to make you laugh! Eoin Colfer is still the funniest and best writer(although perhaps not plotter) ever! The narration is amazing as usual.

oh my gosh

So I'm reading Psalms in the Bible right now. Well, Psalms is one of the three places I read from. I'm reading the Bible all the way through and read two chapters from three places--the Old Testament, the middle of the Old Testament, and the New Testament--every day. I'm in Deuteronomy and Romans in the other sections, but in the middle I'm still right where I started from-Psalms. Cause Psalms is really really long. I was getting kind of tired of Psalms(which isn't really the right attitude to be reading the Bible in). But I realized there are some really breathtaking passages in Psalms, and I'm glad I read them. These are my three favorites: *Buck Forester on Flikr Psalm 65 This one is about God's spectacular creation. What mighty praise, O God,      belongs to you in Zion. We will fulfill our vows to you, 2       for you answer our prayers.      All of us must come to you. 3  Though we are overwhelmed by our sins,      you forgive them a