I'll be in charge of Wednesday night meals, also known as dinner, until I go off to college (and probably when I come home for the summer and breaks and what not). I will be doing a new blog series called My Treat Wednesdays. So here are the rules: 1) It must be healthy 2) I can't cook the same meal twice, I must pick a new recipe every week 3) I have around $20 to spend which means finding fresh, healthy food on a budget (yet another life lesson). I will be writing up a blog post every Wednesday telling y'all what I cooked along with pictures. I am excited to experiment with food and try some new recipes. I will be doing a lot of American food, some French food, and any other international dish that looks yummy and my family will eat. I guess that means no frog legs, not that I would know where to get those.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
My Treat Wednesdays: Introduction
This year is my last year in high school. Yep that's right, I'm a Senior....I still can't quite believe I will be 18 in a couple months and off to college next August. My parents, being the awesome parents that they are, have for the past year or so have been giving me an allowance that I must budget so I can get all the things I need, it has taught me the importance of budgeting and keeping track of my money. Now my lessons to help prepare me for life are going in to phase two.
Friday, July 4, 2014
4th of July: A Day of Rememberance
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I want to take a minute and just say thank you. I don't know if any soldiers will read this but from a teenage girl in Colorado, thank you. It is because of you I can debate without fear of persecution. It is because of you I can say what I want, believe what I want, and do what I want (within the law of course). Thank you for your sacrifice and your willingness to fight so we can be free. I pray for you and your families every time I think of you.
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Sunday, June 29, 2014
The Beginning
All stories have their beginnings. Blogs are meant to capture the story of life as it unfolds. Within the story of life there are many sub-plots. Your first boyfriend, college, speech and debate, soccer, girl scouts, etc. This series will follow one such sub-plot of my story and I will be blogging about it whenever there is an update. I might do a few video blogs in addition to (or to replace) some of my written blog posts. Now you may be wondering what this series is going to be all about. *drumroll* I will be (mostly) in charge of Mary's Home Library! (Mary's Home is an apartment complex New Life Church is building for single homeless moms.) This has been a thing for a while but I haven't gotten around to blogging about it.
My mom has been pushing for me to do some kind of humanitarian project for my senior year. I told Mom about the African Library Project and said I wanted to do something like that. After thinking she said "What about Mary's Home? Why don't you build a library for Mary's Home?" Immediately the idea took a hold of me and I became incredibly excited. I contacted a friend of ours who works at New Life and I told her what I was thinking about doing, offering to do a formal pitch and everything. That Tuesday I was at Bible study and I asked if we could pray about this project. After we finished praying I checked Facebook and voila a message showed up in my inbox saying that the architect was drawing up plans for the library!!! It was super exciting and I may have squealed.
As the weeks passed I didn't hear anything further except that it was most likely happening. I began to doubt whether or not it was actually going to happen but I kept going forward as if it were. When my Aunt had a neighborhood garage sale I went around the neighborhood and passed out flyers saying I would pick up any books they didn't sell. I got tons of books for both the kids and the moms. Now I have finally heard back from New Life and it is for sure happening. I don't know how much room I have or anything like that but it is for sure happening.
Now I need to collect as many books as I can. The theme quote for the library is from G.K. Chesterton who said “Fairy Tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” These kids and their moms have seen plenty of dragons but we want to remind them that dragons can be beaten.
What we need: Books! Any book that you read as a child that brought you comfort. That you loved. That your children or your grandchildren loved. Also we need good books for single moms. Devotions, anything like that.You can donate one book or ten no gift is too small. And if you don't know what to get don't worry I can help you out.
There are a couple ways you can help.
1. Go to Mary's Home Amazon Wishlist and order books from there. Your card will be charged but because you ordered it off the wishlist they will be sent straight to me. I won't see any of your information (minus the note with you should leave) and you won't need my address. If you don't see what you want email me here with the book you want to get and I will add it to the wishlist so you can purchase it. Please don't feel bad about doing this. I would love to include books that helped you overcome dragons then you pick something on the wishlist. Also as I am not a mom nor an adult I don't know which books would be good for the mom's. Note: be mindful of the books that you choose to add on. This is a Christian organization so please don't donate books that are inappropriate.
2. If you are not in the United States and don't want to pay the Amazon shipping then you can order books off of the Book Depository. Just email me at the above email with a list of the books you wish to donate and I will send you the link to my wishlist which should function the same way as the Amazon wishlist. The reason I don't provide a link now is because that wishlist is currently empty. I will add to is as you request books to be added to it :).
I hope you will enjoy this sub-plot of Lauren's life and I plan to keep you updated as things happen. Thanks for reading.
My mom has been pushing for me to do some kind of humanitarian project for my senior year. I told Mom about the African Library Project and said I wanted to do something like that. After thinking she said "What about Mary's Home? Why don't you build a library for Mary's Home?" Immediately the idea took a hold of me and I became incredibly excited. I contacted a friend of ours who works at New Life and I told her what I was thinking about doing, offering to do a formal pitch and everything. That Tuesday I was at Bible study and I asked if we could pray about this project. After we finished praying I checked Facebook and voila a message showed up in my inbox saying that the architect was drawing up plans for the library!!! It was super exciting and I may have squealed.
As the weeks passed I didn't hear anything further except that it was most likely happening. I began to doubt whether or not it was actually going to happen but I kept going forward as if it were. When my Aunt had a neighborhood garage sale I went around the neighborhood and passed out flyers saying I would pick up any books they didn't sell. I got tons of books for both the kids and the moms. Now I have finally heard back from New Life and it is for sure happening. I don't know how much room I have or anything like that but it is for sure happening.
Now I need to collect as many books as I can. The theme quote for the library is from G.K. Chesterton who said “Fairy Tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” These kids and their moms have seen plenty of dragons but we want to remind them that dragons can be beaten.
What we need: Books! Any book that you read as a child that brought you comfort. That you loved. That your children or your grandchildren loved. Also we need good books for single moms. Devotions, anything like that.You can donate one book or ten no gift is too small. And if you don't know what to get don't worry I can help you out.
There are a couple ways you can help.
1. Go to Mary's Home Amazon Wishlist and order books from there. Your card will be charged but because you ordered it off the wishlist they will be sent straight to me. I won't see any of your information (minus the note with you should leave) and you won't need my address. If you don't see what you want email me here with the book you want to get and I will add it to the wishlist so you can purchase it. Please don't feel bad about doing this. I would love to include books that helped you overcome dragons then you pick something on the wishlist. Also as I am not a mom nor an adult I don't know which books would be good for the mom's. Note: be mindful of the books that you choose to add on. This is a Christian organization so please don't donate books that are inappropriate.
2. If you are not in the United States and don't want to pay the Amazon shipping then you can order books off of the Book Depository. Just email me at the above email with a list of the books you wish to donate and I will send you the link to my wishlist which should function the same way as the Amazon wishlist. The reason I don't provide a link now is because that wishlist is currently empty. I will add to is as you request books to be added to it :).
I hope you will enjoy this sub-plot of Lauren's life and I plan to keep you updated as things happen. Thanks for reading.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
General Synopsis:
Hazel is termly ill. She would give anything to stay at home and read and watch her favorite TV show but when her mother forces her to attend a cancer support group her life is changed. There she meets Isaac who has cancer in his eye and Augustus Waters. The three quickly become friends and Hazel and Augustus start to become something more. This book tells the story of Hazel and Augustus' story and it hurts my heart.Warning there will be some spoilers.
Quality Rating: 4 1/2 Book
This book is so good. The writing is very eloquent. It is not the kind of story I would normally read but because of the writing style I loved it. Honestly there is nothing more to say except that I sobbed through the last five chapters. No joke.
Content Rating: 3 1/2 Books
I figured out how to more accurately rate the content! Average the numbers. Wahoo! I am so smart. Anyway you will see why this lovely book has received a mediocre rating for content. It's main shortcomings are in the language and the romance categories.
Age Scale: (Again parents you know your children better than I do this is just a general guide)
0-11: High Caution. This is not a book for youngsters for the reasons I will list below
12-15: Medium Caution: there is quite a bit of language and lots of talk of death
16+: Low Caution:
Positive Elements:
There are three main positive elements I want to highlight. 1) Hazel's parents. They are amazing loving parents who are super supportive of Hazel and love her especially when she needs it most. They are model parents yet very realistic. 2) The insight to what it is like to loose someone/be the one dying. For anyone who has lost someone they love will find this book very relatable. *SPOILER* In the end Hazel was torn by the fact that Gus died but she did recover and move on without forgetting. And for those of us who aren't dying or haven't lost people this give as an insight to their pain. It makes us more understanding of those who have gone through this. It helps us understand (as much as someone who hasn't experienced these events) what is happening on an emotional and physical level so we can better relate to other. 3) Love. Ok so if you have seen the movie trailer you have seen the part where she tells Gus she is a grenade and for a long time she pushes Gus away because she doesn't want to love and she doesn't want to hurt people or be hurt. This story highlights the decision to love and be loved, and how glorious that is, even if there is pain in the end.
Language: 3 Books
In addition to a well developed vocabulary John Green also uses a fair amount of language. As well as some crude jokes.
Romance: 2 Books
Ok so there is one sex scene and although it is brief it's still there and slightly uncomfortable (at least for me I skipped most of it). It is also not graphically described. There is a part after Gus dies in which there is a pretty crude joke (not sure where to put that but it seems to fit best here). If that stuff bothers you then you have been warned.
Violence: 5 Books
This is a contemporary book about cancer so there isn't a lot of violence. There is talk of violence and they play a violent video game but nothing graphic or even worth docking down for.
Alcohol/Smoking: 4 Books
While in Amsterdam Gus and Hazel drink campaign and one of the side characters is very fond of drink. Also just FYI Gus often puts cigarettes in his mouth but doesn't light them. It's a metaphor. See what I did there? Huh? Huh? Ok I'm done.
Beliefs: (Again no rating)
There aren't any clear religious beliefs in this book. The support group happens in a church and makes fun of fake Christians. I am a Christian and could relate to the annoyingness of fake/theatrical Christians but I do feel it didn't give Christianity a fair chance. Believe it or not but most Christians aren't fake/theatrical. If I am not mistaken most of the characters are Atheistic.
Magic: N/A
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Quality Rating: 4 1/2 Book
This book is so good. The writing is very eloquent. It is not the kind of story I would normally read but because of the writing style I loved it. Honestly there is nothing more to say except that I sobbed through the last five chapters. No joke.
Content Rating: 3 1/2 Books
I figured out how to more accurately rate the content! Average the numbers. Wahoo! I am so smart. Anyway you will see why this lovely book has received a mediocre rating for content. It's main shortcomings are in the language and the romance categories.
Age Scale: (Again parents you know your children better than I do this is just a general guide)
0-11: High Caution. This is not a book for youngsters for the reasons I will list below
12-15: Medium Caution: there is quite a bit of language and lots of talk of death
16+: Low Caution:
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There are three main positive elements I want to highlight. 1) Hazel's parents. They are amazing loving parents who are super supportive of Hazel and love her especially when she needs it most. They are model parents yet very realistic. 2) The insight to what it is like to loose someone/be the one dying. For anyone who has lost someone they love will find this book very relatable. *SPOILER* In the end Hazel was torn by the fact that Gus died but she did recover and move on without forgetting. And for those of us who aren't dying or haven't lost people this give as an insight to their pain. It makes us more understanding of those who have gone through this. It helps us understand (as much as someone who hasn't experienced these events) what is happening on an emotional and physical level so we can better relate to other. 3) Love. Ok so if you have seen the movie trailer you have seen the part where she tells Gus she is a grenade and for a long time she pushes Gus away because she doesn't want to love and she doesn't want to hurt people or be hurt. This story highlights the decision to love and be loved, and how glorious that is, even if there is pain in the end.
Language: 3 Books
In addition to a well developed vocabulary John Green also uses a fair amount of language. As well as some crude jokes.
Romance: 2 Books
Ok so there is one sex scene and although it is brief it's still there and slightly uncomfortable (at least for me I skipped most of it). It is also not graphically described. There is a part after Gus dies in which there is a pretty crude joke (not sure where to put that but it seems to fit best here). If that stuff bothers you then you have been warned.
Violence: 5 Books
This is a contemporary book about cancer so there isn't a lot of violence. There is talk of violence and they play a violent video game but nothing graphic or even worth docking down for.
Alcohol/Smoking: 4 Books
While in Amsterdam Gus and Hazel drink campaign and one of the side characters is very fond of drink. Also just FYI Gus often puts cigarettes in his mouth but doesn't light them. It's a metaphor. See what I did there? Huh? Huh? Ok I'm done.
Beliefs: (Again no rating)
There aren't any clear religious beliefs in this book. The support group happens in a church and makes fun of fake Christians. I am a Christian and could relate to the annoyingness of fake/theatrical Christians but I do feel it didn't give Christianity a fair chance. Believe it or not but most Christians aren't fake/theatrical. If I am not mistaken most of the characters are Atheistic.
Magic: N/A
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Things That Go Through My Head When I Walk Into (and through) a Bookstore
I saw a post on the B&N Blog about 23 Things We Think Upon Entering a Bookstore and I though I would do one of my own. Some of them will be the same as that post but others will be mine. So if you have ever wondered what goes through my mind when I walk into a bookstore your wait is over.
1. I...can't....breath. Must....read....words *walks into store and breaths deeply* Ahhh...I feel better already.
2. I'll just look around for a minute *checks watch* oh has it been three hours already
3. My people
4. I think I'll check the YA section one more time
5. *sigh* I am content
6. Dang! That is one beautiful cover.
7. Hmm...I may have to rearrange my shelf when I get home
8. In and Out. Got it. In and Out. In and....oooh new releases
9. You may only spend 20 dollars Lauren 20 dollars *thinks for a few minutes* I could spend $25 or $30. Yea 30 sounds good
10. I love the smell of books and coffee
11. Two hardbacks or three paperbacks....so hard to decide
12. Do I need more books...what a silly question I always need more book. Thomas Jefferson had over 6,000 book and I don't have anywhere near that many
13. Sooo many books so little time
14. I wonder if they are hiring and if they would pay me in books
15. The membership should really come with a rewards program
16. Oooo....I haven't seen this book before
17. Oh my gosh they have the second book!!!
18. I wonder if I have any coupons
19. *spots someone reading a book I love* Hello, you are my new friend
20. Why aren't there any baskets...I can only carry so many books
1. I...can't....breath. Must....read....words *walks into store and breaths deeply* Ahhh...I feel better already.
2. I'll just look around for a minute *checks watch* oh has it been three hours already
3. My people
4. I think I'll check the YA section one more time
5. *sigh* I am content
6. Dang! That is one beautiful cover.
7. Hmm...I may have to rearrange my shelf when I get home
8. In and Out. Got it. In and Out. In and....oooh new releases
9. You may only spend 20 dollars Lauren 20 dollars *thinks for a few minutes* I could spend $25 or $30. Yea 30 sounds good
10. I love the smell of books and coffee
11. Two hardbacks or three paperbacks....so hard to decide
12. Do I need more books...what a silly question I always need more book. Thomas Jefferson had over 6,000 book and I don't have anywhere near that many
13. Sooo many books so little time
14. I wonder if they are hiring and if they would pay me in books
15. The membership should really come with a rewards program
16. Oooo....I haven't seen this book before
17. Oh my gosh they have the second book!!!
18. I wonder if I have any coupons
19. *spots someone reading a book I love* Hello, you are my new friend
20. Why aren't there any baskets...I can only carry so many books
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Top 5 Free News Podcasts
I listen to the news...a lot. Sometimes I don't have access to the internet so I like to listen to podcasts which I have downloaded on my phone. Here are my top 5 news podcasts.
1. The Economist: Week Ahead
This podcast takes the top three stories that will be featured in the next week. It is a great and quick listen that let's you know what to pay attention to. It also gives you a quick background/overview of the issue. This podcast is updated once a week.
2. BBC World Service: Global News
This is a thirty minute podcast updated every other day (sometimes more often). I love BBC's analysis. It is a little liberal but they do a pretty good job at keeping the bias at a minimum. They take the top stories from all of their news services and combine them into one podcast.
3. The Economist: All Audio and Special Reports
These two podcasts are like the Week Ahead but they focus on the news of the day. Having all three of the Economist podcasts will give you a general yet well rounded idea of what is going on in the world.
4. CARO Institute's Daily Podcast
This podcast mainly focuses on economic topics and it is not always common man in the sense they use quite a bit of economic language however their analysis is good and shows pretty interesting (in my opinion)
5. BBC: Best of Today
Several of these 2-3 minute podcasts are out every day and focus on one event. I like this podcast because they report on a plethora of news stories.
1. The Economist: Week Ahead
This podcast takes the top three stories that will be featured in the next week. It is a great and quick listen that let's you know what to pay attention to. It also gives you a quick background/overview of the issue. This podcast is updated once a week.
2. BBC World Service: Global News
This is a thirty minute podcast updated every other day (sometimes more often). I love BBC's analysis. It is a little liberal but they do a pretty good job at keeping the bias at a minimum. They take the top stories from all of their news services and combine them into one podcast.
3. The Economist: All Audio and Special Reports
These two podcasts are like the Week Ahead but they focus on the news of the day. Having all three of the Economist podcasts will give you a general yet well rounded idea of what is going on in the world.
4. CARO Institute's Daily Podcast
This podcast mainly focuses on economic topics and it is not always common man in the sense they use quite a bit of economic language however their analysis is good and shows pretty interesting (in my opinion)
5. BBC: Best of Today
Several of these 2-3 minute podcasts are out every day and focus on one event. I like this podcast because they report on a plethora of news stories.
Friday, April 11, 2014
A Call to Action
Hey y'all so I know I have been gone for a while but my life is crazy. I had a tournament two weeks ago and I am currently in Seattle doing the same thing. Now that we have excuses out of the way let's get to the reason I am writing this blog post. Now you guys know how much I love books. I wrote a post about how important books are, I do book reviews, and have over 200 books on my shelf. (If you think that's amazing did you know Thomas Jefferson had 6,487 books?) I always talk about how everyone should read but I have done nothing to ensure that people who can't afford books have access to them. I have thought about donating them to my public library but what if we could send it somewhere where they are needed. I mean we have 120,091 libraries in the United States! What about third world countries? Think about it. Most people in third world countries don't have access to libraries and if they do they aren't very big. Of course I am not under the delusion that I can provide books to everyone in the world but I can make a small difference. Shannon Ippolitot from cozyteareads has partnered with an organization whose goal is to create libraries in Africa. All you have to do is send them books and they will give these books to children in Africa. That's right there is a whole organization dedicated to making sure children in Africa can read!!!!
These are the books they are looking for:
These are the books they are looking for:
-Books at U.S 4th to 8th grade reading level.
-Juvenile literature
-Children’s fiction and non-fiction
-Teacher's resource books for school libraries
-Dictionaries
-Encyclopedias less than 15 years old
-Accurate up-to-date atlases
-Thesauruses
-Books with universal themes (friendships, animals, love)
-Books like Chicken Soup for the Soul (inspiring stories with life skills lessons)
-Books about Africa or African-Americans
-Educational kids science and literary magazines in good condition
-Brain teasers, flash cards, educational games and puzzles
They also need about $500 to help ship the books. So you can donate money if you don't want to donate books. Here's a short cut. If you don't want to pay for shipping (because you are international or you have to buy books anyway and don't want to spend the extra money) go on the Book Depository Website (found here) which has free world wide shipping. Just put Shannon's address in instead of your own. Or if you don't mind spending money on shipping go to the Book Outlet (here) which has super cheap books but does have some shipping costs and again send it directly to Shannon. Shannon's address can be found here. Read the information then send Shannon and email with what you are going to do and also to get the exact address. I challenge every single one of you to send books to help these children. The deadline is May 15, 2014. I know I will be going through my bookshelf as well as sending an order from Book Outlet. And if all of my readers, few though you may be, send a couple books we will be able to make a difference.
If you do send books let me know down in the comments.
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