HIGH SCHOOL! *groans, faints and dies* JK it's not that bad :)

So yeah, I started going to high school last week and it was . . .
Different?
Idk how to actually describe it because it wasn't terrible and it's totally nothing like in the movies. Well I mean, there's lots of people (like so many people!!!! The halls are so crowded you can barely breathe!!) well maybe not that dramatic but it is tight.

It was really different for me because I came from this tiny little school from out in the country and I'm also the oldest in my family so I am first for everything! Yay! (noooooo......) *groans*

Anywho it's a really good fresh start for my friends and I and I'm actually enjoying PE class so that's gotta say something LOL
I'll update you guys on any embarrassing high school stories that come up later in the year because THERE WILL BE SOME! trust me.

P.S. The cafeteria food is actually really good... Or at least our food is. I had a poutine today and it was AMAZING!

INTRODUCING THE ONE AND THE ONLY.....

Heeeeyyyyyy! :)
So to make up for my months of not posting I decided to bring a very very special guest onto the blog.
Well.... not like on the blog but she wrote some stuff for the post and... yeah. You know what I mean.

Anywho, you may know by now that I'm a writer and so I thought it would be totally awesome to have an interview with an author. So I decided to interview the one and the only Kathryn Fogleman!
We actually met on the website Howrse while before I completely forgot about my account and then later I found out she was actually published!
I'm ready her book right now and it's absolutely amazing so I asked her some questions about writing and some other completely random questions ;)

1. Did you have any struggles while writing your book, or just with writing in general?
   Oh yeah. I still have trouble. My primary problem is that I get distracted by other shiny stories that pop up in my head.
   It goes kinda like this:
   Me: "I love this book, I love this book - writing, writing, writing, writing..."
   Brain: BING! "Lookie at this new shiny story idea!"
   Me: *Mesmerized* "I-I... I really need to stay focused on the story I am writing."
   Brain: "Well, yes, but surely writing a few ideas down and translating a few scenes into the written word wouldn't hurt."
   Me: "Oh, I guess it wouldn't hurt..."
   - 3 days later -
   My mom: "How far have you gotten on your book?"
   Me: "Uuuuhh.... oops... I started another one and forgot about the old one."
   Mom: *gives "The Look"*
   So, yeah, that is my main problem. I have to work hard every day to ignore my impulses and stay focused on my main story. I will occasionally take a break and work on some of my others, and I will take notes down for other stories, but I work really, really hard to stay focused on the primary story. I pretty much fail at it, but at least I try, right?
2. What is your favorite part of writing?
   I just love writing. Period. I particularly like moving the stories from my head onto paper (or the computer, whichever). Seeing my story unfold on paper is like watching a painting come to life. I love playing with words, tweaking sentences, and challenging myself to make the story come alive in the reader's mind. I love making my characters come alive with feelings and emotions. I like experiencing things with them.
   I am a wordsmith, and, boy, do I love my job.
3. Do you have any advice for young aspiring authors/writers?
   Do I have advice? Only a ton of it, but I will pick one thing out of the hat this time:
   JUST DO IT.
   Sit down, finish your story. FORCE yourself to finish it. Have someone who is really good with grammar look at your story and correct things in it (believe me, every author makes mistakes - don't kid yourself). Then, don't wait around: publish the blasted thing! If you can't find a publisher who will take it, publish it yourself. Self-publishing companies, like CreateSpace, are becoming increasingly popular, because they making publishing a book a breeze.
   Who knows; once you've published a book or two yourself, maybe an literary agent will become interested in representing you and take your book to a real publisher. It's happened before!
4. What would you like readers to take away from your book?
   I think what most people take from my book is that fantasy can be clean AND fun. The whole family can enjoy it, fantasy buffs or not. A fantasy book doesn't have to be chock full of magic. Characters can have flaws, and still be fun and clean to read about. There can be romance without it being too mushy. And dragons CAN be good guys. They can. Really. They are awesome good guys.
   I love my dragons.

AND NOW THE ABSOLUTELY RANDOM QUESTIONS

1. If you could have dinner with any famous person (dead or alive) who would it be?
   Oooooh... this is a tough question. It would either be Elijah, from the Bible, Leonardo da Vinci, J.R.R. Tolkien, or Bryan Davis (author of the Dragons In Our Midst series)
2. Who was your first or favorite celebrity crush?
   I've never been a girl that had crushes on anyone. Ever. I just wanted to jump into the movies and go on an adventure with the characters.
   But, that all changed when Hayden Christensen hit the big screen in Star Wars. And then Transformers came out, and Shia LaBeouf took over from there.
   *Sigh*
3. What is your favorite animal?
   Dragons. Oh, they're mythological? That's what you think.
   Alright then: horses, dogs, and ferrets. All equal. I can't choose a favorite.

BIG THANK YOU TO KATHRYN FOR DOING THIS FOR ME!
Check out her book! It is AMAZING!!

Author of the fantasy series, Tales of the Wovlen, Kathryn Fogleman spends a great deal of time in the world of her imagination, having tea with fire breathing dragons, writing books on flying space ships, and practicing her mad scientist laugh with gusto.

http://bit.ly/DragonSonToW

Her Blog: http://www.depthsofimagination.net/main-blog

Her Website: http://www.kathrynjfogleman.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathrynjfogleman

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KJFogleman

My Mechanic Dream

Soooooo uh yeah . . . . .
I haven't posted in like FOREVER.
My excuse is school and homework and family and music and writing and reading and well . . . Pretty much life.
But I am back!
 
So this coming fall, I'm entering the terrifying/exciting world of high school. To be honest, I can't tell if I'm excited or just extremely nervous. Probably both.
High school has so many more options compared to my tiny little junior high insolated in the country and stuffed in a corner surround by farmer fields and trees. But at the same time, I'm not a huge fan of people.
I just don't like talking or putting myself out there.
I guess we'll have to see how this turns out.
 
It was just last week that my tiny little junior high took the trip to the high school and went through all the options that they provide. And one major option seemed to stand out.
Mechanics.
 
My sudden fascination seemed to shock me as much as my parents and family.
I mean, come on. I'm a musician, singer songwriter, author, and that introvert that sits in her room all day, contemplating her life.
Yes that is me.
But for some reason Mechanics just has this strange appeal to me. Getting my hands dirty, learning how cars work, how to fix them, etc. (not to mention that you get to wear cool jumpers as well XD)
So just recently, I started some early studying so I'm some stupid student who has no clue in the world. I started with the basic engine of a car and so I figured I would share some of the things I've learnt along the way.
 
So these are the steps of how an engine works on the inside.

1. The piston starts at the top, the intake valve opens, and the piston moves down to let the engine take in a cylinder-full of air and gasoline. This is the intake stroke. Only the tiniest drop of gasoline needs to be mixed into the air for this to work.
2. Then the piston moves back up to compress this fuel/air mixture. Compression makes the explosion more powerful.
3. When the piston reaches the top of its stroke, the spark plug emits a spark to ignite the gasoline. The gasoline charge in the cylinder explodes, driving the piston down.
4. Once the piston hits the bottom of its stroke, the exhaust valve opens and the exhaust leaves the cylinder to go out the tailpipe.
 
This process happens multiple times, over and over again, thus giving the power to move the car. Some engines have more pistons than others. You can have 4 or 6 or 8 or 10 or sometimes even up to 12 pistons moving at the same time.
 
Well…?
How cool is that?!?!
Anywho, that's my life right now. If you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments below!
 
Over & Out,
Emmi

It's Christmas time in the city . . .

Hey guys!!
It's Christmas!!

Well we technically still have another 25 days until Christmas day but to me, December 1 is Christmas because that is when I pull out the Christmas Carols :)

I know a lot of people who absolutely hate Christmas Carols. Which I just simply don't understand, partly because they can't give me a good reason.
They're annoying . . . . ?
I absolutely love Christmas. I love gifts. I love the bright lights and the beautiful decorations. I love the cozy feeling. I love chocolate. I love hot chocolate. I love mint chocolate.
And so on.

To be quite frank, I could listen to Christmas carols all year long; and it seems that every year, I switch to a new favorite Christmas carol. Last year it was "Carol of the Bells", the year before that it was "Jingle Bell Rock" and this year it is "Mary Did You Know".
This is because of my favorite band Pentatonix who did a cover of Mary Did you know that I fell in love with.
You can listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifCWN5pJGIE

So what are some of your favorite Christmas carols?
Tell me in the comments below!!

Over & Out,
Emmi

The Deadly Case of the Hiccups

Yeah, I'm pretty sure we all hate hiccups. They jolt your body forward (Or backward. I don't know. Normally you go forward . . .) and make this annoying little sound that sounds like a coughing mouse. Not only that but hiccups seem to like interrupting you in everything your do.

I find that it doesn't actually work when you hold your breath. At least not for me.

Talking
"Hiccup!"
Breathing
"Hiccup!"
Laughing
"Hiccup!"
Sitting
"Hiccup!"
Standing
"Hiccup!"

And on it goes.
Did you know that the longest record someone has every had the hiccups is 68 YEARS?!?!?!
Can you IMAGINE 68 YEARS OF HICCUPS?!?!
This record was set by the one and only Charles Osbourne. While Charles was preparing to slaughter a 300-pound hog in 1922, the animal collapsed on top of him - and so began his decades of non-stop hiccupping. He had one hiccup every ten seconds for the next 68 years of his life.
Scientist don't actually know what hiccups are. They've kinda just assumed that hiccups are minor stomach upsets. But I'm lactose intolerant. My stomach is always upset and I've never had the hiccups during this time.
Just saying.

It was just a few days ago that I was sitting in class hiccupping and it just happened to be that really bad case of the hiccups. You know, the kind where it really hurts and then on top of it, they make this weird sound that sounds like a coughing mouse. So during class (Yes, I am one of those people who are always off task and distracted) I researched how to get rid of hiccups.
So here are a few tips in case you are ever in dire need to get rid our your hiccups.

1. Breath in and hold your breath for about ten seconds, then breathe out slowly. Repeat three or four times. Then do it again twenty minutes later.
2. Bring your knees up to your chest and hug them for a few minutes.
3. Say the word "Hiccup" 50 times in a row. (I made this one up. For some reason it only works for me . . .)
4. Place a couple of drops of vinegar in your mouth (Eeeeeeewwwwwww!!!)
5. Try a tablespoon of peanut butter. It's so much better then vinegar!
6. Pull your tongue - hold the end of your tongue with your fingers and tug. (Please do this while you are alone. I tried it during class and it just didn't really work)
7. gargle with very cold water

I hope this kinda sorta helps!!

Over & Out,
Emmi

Blessed are the Weird People . . . "My Weird"

I'm weird.
You're weird.
We're all weird.

I have this picture on my wall. It's a quote about weird people and how we are actually very valuable to the world. All my life, I have heard my mother tell me that I am a strange child. Now whether she gets this from the fact that I talk to myself, am always making up worse case scenarios, or used to have imaginary pet fairies when I was little, I will never know.
But we are all weird.

I don't think you have to talk to yourself to be weird. I think everyone is weird in their own way. We all have our own little quirks, likes and dislikes, and pet peeves (Like when people sit on my bed
right after I made it).
So this quote is out to the weird people:
"Blessed are the weird people. The poets and misfits, the artists, the writers and music makers, the dreamers and the outsiders. For they force us to see the world differently."
-Stated by a person I don't know.

Just recently, I had been struggling with excepting who I was. What I looked like, my shy personality, my abilities, my talents . . . etc. I wasn't happy with myself and it took a toll on everything I did because all I could think about was what I could do to be better.
But then I realized that I don't need to be better . . .
Because I'm already being my best.

And all my little quirks make up "My Weird" and My Weird is the thing that me who I am.
So don't be afraid of Your Weird.
Everyone has one.

Over & Out,
Emmi

How Does A Bee Sting Work?

So I'm doing this LA project in which we are supposed to choose a topic and write about how it works.
Now because I am terrified of bees I decided that I should face my fear. I guess at the moment I was feeling a strange ounce of bravery that propelled me to scare the tar out of myself.
So here is how a bee sting works.

Ever since I was a little girl I have only ever known one thing when it comes to bees.

Terror.

I’m not actually sure what scares me when I see a bee. It could be their tiny little fuzzy bodies that brush past you, or their peculiar buzzing sound that hums in your ear. . . or is it the sting?

The honey bee, rarely stings, but when it does, it is normally because it feels threatened or there is a threat to the hive. A honey bee will actively go out and try to sting something if it feels the hive is in danger.

The reason a honey bee dies when it stings you is because the stinger is barbed and when it lodges into your skin, it tears off a part of the bee’s abdomen. It leaves behind not only the stinger, but also part of its abdomen and digestive tract, plus some muscles and nerves.

And as if this isn’t bad enough, when the honey bee stings it sends out a signal called pheromones that alert any other bees in the area to attack as well. Now these pheromones are ON YOUR SKIN and do not wash off quickly. So if their target enters water, the bees will resume their attack as soon as it leaves the water.

NOW THAT IS REALLY FREAKY!!

And to top it all off, the sting can be painful for many hours and can be itchy and irritated for weeks after.

And that, is how a bee sting works.

Lovely I know.
I apologize if I just scared anyone else as bad as myself.

Over & Out,
Emmi