March, Day 23 - Photoshop and Graphic Design

I have recently acquired a new and addictive hobby and that is playing on photoshop. I bought it last month and have been lost in graphic design oblivion. Over the next few weeks I will probably put up some free backgrounds and graphics for those of you who want them. I will also be putting up the link to my shop so that you can buy some of the cooler stuff I make, like photoshop brushes and whatnot. :) Look for it soon!

January, Day 11 - New Years, New Reading List and New Lessons

I have compiled my list of books to read this year and I'm really hoping I can actually complete it. I'm not really a fast reader so it will be good to start reading a lot more in hopes that I speed up. I might get distracted by my new nail polish or so... Oh and I think I forgot to mention this: I FINISHED CHEMISTRY! I am so glad. It was pretty brutal. Now I'm working on Human Biology and that is much more delightful. I also finished my Personal Finance course and I'm nearly done my Consumer Math (Only 3 more quizzes and a test!).
  I have come to realize that I need to balance my life a bit more. When doing my schoolwork I get super motivated for a few days and get loads done and then I end up slacking of for a few weeks. It's a horrible cycle that has been plaguing me for a long time and part of it was pushing myself too far and not letting myself enjoy myself because I was so worried about being behind in my schoolwork and not graduating at the same time as my friends.
  It doesn't really matter when I graduate! It's not like graduating late is going to label me a loser for the rest of my life. It's not going to make people not be my friends(unless they are the biggest snobs in the universe but I wouldn't want to be their friend much anyway). I work better when I'm not worried about failing other peoples expectations and that is my lesson I'm learning. I shouldn't be doing things in my life for everyone else's expectations of me. I'm not the smartest person in the world! I don't have to expect myself to be! I can go through my life and enjoy myself in my learning adventures. I'm not defined by my high school education. Seriously!
  This is kind of a rant to myself. I constantly need to realize that I have to do what I love and stop doing only what other people want of me. I need to stop worrying about other people's opinions. I'm not them, I'm my own person. This is also kind of a rant at the people who would criticize me because I didn't finish as much as they did(I didn't because I was too busy worrying about finishing as much as them) or because I don't have the official education of the Provence like someone from public school. The immaturity in this world disgusts me including my own.
  Conclusion? I'm going to stop worrying about what other people think about my education and just do the education that I want even if it means graduating late because I keep adding oodles and oodles of extra subjects for myself. I don't want to stop learning! I could spend the rest of my life in school if that was acceptable but unfortunately there's this thing about getting jobs and whatnot that is deemed more important.

November, Day 6 - It Has Been So long!

I apologize profusely for leaving you in such boredom with a lack of updates on my life! Well maybe not. I'm sure I wasn't missed. :P but just so you should know, I missed you! 

  I think the biggest reason that I haven't been posting is because I have banned myself from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram because I would literally check them all every few minutes. It was disastrous! And then I would post consistently which, as you may have figured out, prevented me from focusing on school work. It was just a horrible black whole.

  I banned myself from them in September so it has been over two whole months! How do I feel about that? Horrible, actually! Well... I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, I'm going crazy from not being able to see everyone's updates and from not being able to easily talk to anyone and everyone. On the other hand, I have been much more productive than I have been in years! It's so weird! Like I actually have time to do stuff with my life now. I've done a bit more reading. I actually bought a nice hardcover copy of Sherlock Holmes stories. It's pretty good so far but it shocks me to read about how he gets most of his answers while he is in a cocaine daze. Not exactly literature for children... Also I feel like I should mention that I finished chemistry!! *happy dance* I feel so accomplished for actually completing it. I also finished the personal finance course. I think I just have to do the final quiz for it. Oi. So that is 2 subjects down and 10 left to go!

  I feel rather encouraged over that. To actuall be making progress with my school work in a way that I haven't been able to do in a very long time just excites me. The biggest problem I have now is pacing myself. I have this tendency to over exert myself and do a whole bunch of school work for a long time during the day and then I'm left mentally exhausted which can take up to a week to recooperate. Not ideal if you ask me. So I have to make sure I give my brain a bunch of breaks. 

  Something new: I've started taking piano lessons! I have wanted to play piano for a very long time and I'm finally able to do it and I enjoy it so much.  It is one step closer to getting my "Jane Austen" education. ;) speaking of which, I should get an iTunes card so that I can finish downloading the rest of the "Pride and Prejudice" soundtrack. I love it so much. That will be on my to-do list. 

  Speaking of to-do lists, I should start constructing up a goal book for myself since Walmart doesn't sell the ones that I normally use when it isn't August. Such a rip off if you ask me. What if some kid accidentally pours milk on their day planner/goal book? They have to be stuck until next August to get a new one? Preposterous! Absurd! I have a problem with it. I wasn't able to get one when they were on sale and mine lasts only until this December. So I shall use my creativity and make one up myself. Perhaps with Microsoft Excel. 

  That should be all for now. I'm going crazy here, not having a social network life so I will most likely post again of my dreadful and uninspiring woes. I hope you're excited! :p

  Love, Mary xoxo

August, Day 31 - Doctor Who, Boys, and Fire

   I totally bought Doctor Who Monopoly yesterday! I also bought something else. Here are the two things I bought yesterday:

Isn't it awesome? I love it! I have such an urge to check the time with it every few minutes. I feel like such a dork... My goodness. So now I'm just sitting here listening to Cody Simpson, wishing I could play the Monopoly with someone. Oh, hey! When I bought the Monopoly at Chapters yesterday, I met a guy. ;) I walked up to the cashier casually as he called me over. He saw my Monopoly and he was totally a Whovian! We talked about Doctor Who for like 5 minutes and then I had to go so that other people in line could pay for their stuff. The best part about that was that he was cute! I doubt I'll see him again because I don't go to the city very often.
   After that I realize how much I miss being in a relationship. It kind of sucks being single but at the same time I'm really enjoying the freedom. I also really can't imagine a guy falling for me. I'm kind of weird. Even weird guys think I'm too weird. I DON'T GET IT! I like weird guys, personally. The silly thing is that normal guys go for normal girls, weird guys go for normal girls, and even nerdy guys go for normal girls. What about those weird girls, like myself?! Am I destined to be single for life? It sure feels like it. Maybe I should just forget about guys and completely pursue all my semi-passions.
    I say semi-passion because I have never really felt completely passionate about something. I am kind of envious of those people who have that one thing they are completely passionate about and they spend their life pursuing it with their whole being. Then there is me... I have a billion hobbies and likes. I just don't know what to do with myself...
   I totally didn't do a song cover. I'm sorry. I have a good excuse though! I'm a volunteer firefighter and we had a fire call yesterday and I got waaaayy too much smoke and I nearly collapsed. I probably should have put on an SCBA the minute I got on scene. So I spent all last night being nauseous and tired. That is my fabulous excuse. I also really feel like no one will like any of my covers. I'm so insecure about it... I have such a hesitation for trying things like that. I realize my insignificance every, single day. Maybe I should just stop suffering depression. It's really depressing, haha. I don't know.

   Love, Mary xoxo

August, Day 29 - Dr. Who, Before You Exit, and Failed Goals

I must say, I didn't complete my science goal. It's a total bummer, I know. I think I have pretty good excuses for it though! Not that excuses are really impressive... So first excuse: Our cat ran away or gotten eaten by the lovely owls that reside in our lovely village so we are left to feed her kittens by an eye dropper ever two hours. I have been sent to kitty duty for a few days. Second excuse: My birthday! I spent the day before my birthday hanging out with one of my friends and then she came over for a sleepover. In the morning, we started making my cake. In the afternoon we biked 40km. Yes, 40 whole kilometers. LIKE SERIOUSLY 40 WHOLE STINKING KILOMETERS!! It was amazing. I had set for myself the goal of biking 40km by the end of summer and I totally did it! It was amazing! During the last stretch I really had to battle my mind because I was so sore and tired that I came so close to just calling my sister to just come and pick me up. But I did it! Ah! Now I have decided that I want to bike to this city that is an hour's drive from my house. It will probably take all day to accomplish it. It's about 90km, I think. I'm not actually quite sure and I don't feel like looking it up.
   Anyways, third excuse: Wait... Do I even have a third excuse? I don't remember... Shoot. I was so sure I had a huge bunch load of reasons. Maybe I'm just a lame bum. Oh wait! I was catching up on my Dr. Who. I started watching it this year and I'm just about finished the third season. I can't express truly how much I love that show and David Tennant. I guess that is probably the lamest excuse in the world of excuses. *In whiny voice* I was watching Dr. Who! *sigh* My nerdy is showing. I apologize. Oh wait, maybe I don't because I SAW DR. WHO MONOPOLY!! It was in Chapters. $40. I must get it. I might purchase it tomorrow if I go to the city.
   I have a new favorite band other than Hunter Hayes now. It's Before You Exit. My friend, Dawn, showed them to me and I'm kind of obsessing. I kept telling myself that I wouldn't obsess over them and the next thing you know it they're the background on my computer. So embarrassing. Maybe I should have left that detail out. I hope they come out with more music really soon. I keep listening to them on repeat all day. I'm worried that I'm falling in love with boys that I will never meet. It's pitiful. I should really be more realistic. I'll never be able to meet them. *sigh*
   I keep thinking of doing those YouTube covers soon. Should I do it? What if I get famous? That would be horrible! I don't know if I could stand a bunch of silly people obsessing over me. :P I also have a wee bit of a cold so I can't sing... Well I can, but it might not sound that good. That would also mean that I would have to fit in another activity to my schedule. Maybe I could have a music-y evenings. I am supposed to practice piano in the evening but I never get around to it. Music evenings might be a good idea for me besides my hand sewing... To sing or not to sing! That is the question! Do you think I should go for it? Let me know in the comments!
   Well that's all I can think about writing tonight. I will either post tomorrow or I will be practicing a song for a YouTube cover. Good night!
   Love, Mary xoxo

New School Bling - Apps I'm Loving Fall 2013

I am always on the lookout for new apps. I just love apps and maybe one day I'll make my own. So here is my compiled list of apps that I found and love for back to school.

Grades 2 - Free

Grades 2 is perfect for me because I home school and it saves time to have all my grades on my iPod. Also when you can type in what grade average that you want to maintain with each subject and it will tell you what test score you need to get in order to get that grade average. It will definitely be on my iPod for a long time.

 Dictionary.com Dictionary and Thesaurus - Free

This is pretty self explanatory. Like seriously, how are you supposed to get through school without a dictionary? I like this one because it has such a simple format and you can upgrade it for $0.99 to add a rhyming dictionary. I can already see it now! This will make me more famous than Dr. Seuss!! Ha ha...ha.... Okay, maybe not.

BooksApp 2 - Free

This app is used to catalog all the books you own. It will even sort them by author, genre, and title. It's like the private version of Goodreads. 

A+ FlashCards Pro - Free

This is for those times when you are on the go and have no way of making manual flashcards and the best part about it is that you'll never lose your flashcards.

Do! Spring - Free

I spent a really long time searching for the perfect to-do list. I wanted it cute and simple but I couldn't find any that compares to Do! Spring. It's just so pretty and it makes me want to finish the things on my list. It also features sound effects so it sounds like you have scratched it off with a pencil. Very satisfying!

Learn French - Mindsnacks 

-  First lesson free and then $4.99 for all 50 lessons

Mindsnacks is great with languages. I'm personally learning French and it really encourages daily learning and practice and who could say no to learning a language by playing games?

It also comes in Spanish, German, Italian, Chinese, Portuguese, and Japanese.

Songza - Free

Now if you are using a computer, you could just use the website but if you are nowhere near a computer, the app is perfect! Some of my favorite playlists are American Primitivism, Electronic Study: Ambient, and Superhero Soundtracks. 

So that is my list of my current favorites. Do you have any apps that you would recommend? I would love to hear about them!

August, Day 25

   From the get go I should probably mention that I didn't complete my goal of finish module 15 in chemistry by Friday. Recently our cat ran away or got eaten by an owl and her five kittens have been left to our care so I have to feed them like every two hours with an eye dropper. They're only 4 weeks old and soooo cute. It's a bit of a pain though. So I have been busy these past few days playing mommy cat.
   I have really been getting excited for winter. As soon as December comes, I get to buy myself Adobe Photoshop! I am so excited for it. I wish I had a better job and then I could get it sooner. After I get it, though, I know I'm going to want a new camera so that I can take pro pictures and edit them. So my older sister, who is also a graphics enthusiast, said she will buy a good camera and we could share our goodies. We will take pictures with her camera and edit them with my Photoshop. Eeeks! It excites me so much! The opportunities that will come with that is just so high! Maybe I should calm down about this.
   I really miss autumn a lot. When the leaves turn orange, it is the most inspiring time for me, especially for writing because the story that I'm writing takes place in autumn. It's not a really good story but I enjoy writing it. I have been spending a lot of time adding autumn pictures on We Heart It. I love that website because the pictures always have that vintage looking tinge to them. Oh and I have added a new page to the blog. If you look at the top of the page, there will be a link that says "Contact Me." On that page it has links to my social networks, including We Heart It!
   Oh, speaking of my story, I am currently doing a 100 for 100 challenge. It is hosted by the Go Teen Writers blog. You have to write 100 words for your current novel that you're working on for 100 days. It's really good for keeping myself consistent with writing. Do you write? Do you have any goals for yourself in writing?
   Sometimes I feel like no one will ever read the things that I write on here. Do you ever get the feeling of insignificance? I really hate it. I sometimes wish that bad feelings would just go away but I realize that without the bad feelings, how could we enjoy the good feelings?
   Now to work on writing my Back-to-School-Apps post.
   Love, Mary xoxo