In My Mailbox, the 1st!

Welcome to In My Mailbox!

IMM was started by The Story Siren

and is basically a weekly book haul video.

This bad boy is my first!

Books mentioned in order---

if i stay

Perfect Chemistry

Anna and the French Kiss

Gone

Austenland

the boyfriend list

Storm Glass

Feed

Stray

Intertwined

Thanks for watching & reading!

I've linked up here!

Chipotle burritos this year: 12

Boba smoothies this year: 11

EARTH DAY

For those not paying attention today (22 April) is
EARTH DAY.

We need MUST to take better care of Her,
and subsequently we will be taking better care of everyone.

2011 has already been full earth-shattering events
and natural disasters across our globe...
*cough* Japan *cough, cough*

We must remember that our presence on our Mother Earth
is only temporary and we should try to make the most of it. 
 
Love instead of hating.
Respect instead of fighting.
Protect life instead of merely thinking of how to surpass or dominate.

I think we humans forget our place among God's (and the Gods') creatures...
We tell ourselves that because we are at the top of the Food Chain,
that it is our right to be there, no questions asked.

Our lives- they are a privilege and gift...
And I think with our gift of life and free will,
we should focus on leaving this world as a better place.

I know this is pretty heavy stuff for my blog but I needed to take a stand.

Here are some great places you can make a difference
by taking care of our Home and the others who live here:
‡nature.org
‡ocean-institute.org
‡water.org
‡savethechildren.org
‡worldvision.org
‡heifer.org
‡humanesociety.org (US only)
‡justgive.org
‡theanimalrescuesite.com
‡ thehungersite.com
‡therainforestsite.com

And please leave more in the comments.

&& now I'll leave you with a YouTuber's blog.
Adam is a student and environmentalist from Canada.
He is very well informed and although he hasn't blogged much this year,
these are my favorite posts he wrote in 2010.

‡ Recycled Water,
would you drink it?

‡Fluorescent Light bulbs,
better alternative or potential health risk?

‡Global Climate Change is Natural,
we're only speeding up to process

‡Renewable Energy -
Wind Energy - Brief Introduction 

50 Qs about this Birthday Girl!

 They say it's your birthday!

That's right! Today is my b'day!
Basically I am old now.

&& because it's my birthday,
I am off and away from the interwebs.

So my birthday present to you is
a cool questionnaire all about me!

Hey. It is my birthday!I can be narcissistic if I want to!

;o)

1. Were you named after anyone?

-I think my parents just liked the name but more specifically my parents liked the Irish spelling of my name. Same with my brother. The other name they would have named either of us was Erin. I am happy. I like the name Erin but I feel more like a Kat, which works really well when shortening my name.

2.When was the last time you cried?
-It may be silly but this weeks episode of Parenthood.

3. Do you like your handwriting?

-I do. I have constantly changed something about my 'natural' penmen-ship ever since they started making us learn cursive in primary school. Now it is a combo of uppercase and lowercase and probably drives some people crazy!

4. What is your favorite (lunch) meat?

-Turkey. om nom nom nom

5. Do you have kids?

-1. My furkid. ha!

6. If you were another person would you be friends with yourself?

-Yes. Because I crack myself up with how ridiculous I am.

7. Do you use sarcasm?

-What is sarcasm?

8. Do you still have your tonsils?

-Yep.

9. Would you bungee jump?

-I think so. It would depend on the location actually.

10. What is your favorite cereal?

-Easy. Quaker Oats Squares. So good.

11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?

-Only if I must. #lazy

12. First alcoholic beverage?

-Some sort of light beer. I sipped it and thought it was GROSS. I was 14ish?

13. What is your favorite ice cream?

-By brand? B&J's Phish Food. By type? Chocolate, straight up.

14. What do you first notice about people?

-Their smile or eyes. Whichever one is more dominate on their face.

15. Red or pink?

-Neither? I have always been more fond of the 'cool' colors on the wheel.

16. What is your least favorite thing about yourself?
-My metabolism. That is my biggest envy of most of the opposite sex and other random ladies.


17. Who do you miss the most?

-Joshua.

18. Would you let someone else brush your teeth?
-It would depend on the person but probably. Flossing though? Heck no!

19. What color of pants and shoes are you wearing?

-Neon green PJ capris with bleach splatters; no shoes.

21. What are you currently listening to?

-The TV. But the most listened to track from my iTunes tracker is 'Enchanted' by Taylor Swift. Buuuuuut #2-4 are all from Spring Awakening OBC

22. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?

-A glitter crayon, probably blue.

23. Favorite Smell?

-Boy. haha, obviously this varies.

24. Who was the last person you talked to?

-BFF Abby about TODAY!

25. Do you like the person you got this from?

-Meh. She's pretty cool. Dude. I luff her!

26. Favorite sports to watch?

-I don't really watch a lot of sports and if I do, I try to go live.  Hockey, Soccer/Football, attractive men--that isn't a specific sport? On TV, I'll usually have patience for ice skating or gymnastics... but not exclusively, usually I'll do the dual channel mode. I will however watch diving, live, on the TV, on the internet, everywhere--I love it.

27. Hair Color?

-My natural hairs are ashy blonde/dish water blonde-esque. It's darkening as I get older. So now it is usually a color from a box.

28. Eye Color?

-They travel between grays and blues.

29. Do you wear contacts?

-Yep! I think it would be cool to have alternate colored ones as well.

30. Favorite food?

-Mashed potatoes. Or bacon.

31. Scary movies or happy endings?

-Yeah, I'll take the rom com option!

32. Last movie you watched?

-In the theater: 'Soul Surfer' on Sunday with Grandma.

33. What color of shirt are you wearing?

-I have a black hoodie on, a hand-me-down from my little brother. ha!

34. Summer or Winter?

-I live in Colorado. So summer.

35. Hugs or kisses?

-It definitely depends on who it is from. ;o)

36. Favorite desert?
-I have re-become a huge fan of fro yo! I remember going to TBCY as a child so I am really happy that fro yo is suddenly back in the spot light.

37. Who is the most famous person you've met?

-Jake Epstein? I guess. You may know him from Degrassi, I met him as Melchior in Spring Awakening.

38. Coffee or tea?

-mmmm Hot Chocolate!

39. What are you currently reading?

-Click here.

40. What is on your mouse pad?

-n/a. I have a laptop.

41. What did you watch on TV last night?

-Criminal Minds. Duh.

42. Favorite sound(s)?

-Um. irl ocean waves. I totally have this video (& this video) in my YouTube favorites.

43. Rolling Stones or the Beatles?

-Dude. The Beatles.

44. What is the furthest from home you have been?

-Dover, England. le sigh, I miss England.

45. Do you have any special talents?

-I love people--I love learning about the lives people live. So I am generally not shy around strangers.

46. Where were you born?

-Colorado Springs.

47. What position do you sleep in?

-My side? I roll over and shift more than I used to I think.

48. How did you meet your spouse/significant other?

-TBA.

49. Is the cup half empty or half full?

-Half full. I also thought immediately of going and getting a nice full glass of milk. Mmmmm milk.

50. If you could sit down at dinner with five people, who would they be?

-I could go wise and pic influential figures from past and present but I am going to go with bloggers I want to meet irl. 1 2 3 4 5

Feel free to do this epically long meme on your own blog.

I grabbed this questionnaire from Alex who yoinked it from Sam.

It takes forever...just so ya know.

Also I am going to try to put together
a birthday re-cap post and vlog this weekend!

Thanks for reading!
xoxo 

Chipotle burritos this year: 12

Boba smoothies this year: 11

The Hourglass Door [20/50]

Lauren tweeted about this book...
& I read it =]

The Hourglass Door (Hourglass Door Trilogy #1)

by Lisa Mangum

Rating: The next book nao please!

*spoiler free*

I read this book in.

After finishing it I feel 3 things:

1- The beginning was a bit slow.
Despite having an awesome prologue.
There was a lot of raving on Twitter about this book.
That didn't help the first few chapters for me...
I loved the teaser pages, but it was hard
to get invested the "present" at first.

2- Time travel. Dude.
I loved it.
I loved how Lisa created this universe.
&& I loved how she presented
the responsibility of living outside of time.
It also doesn't hurt that I am a Doctor Who fan.

3- Dante is not one of my book boyfriends. (yet)

Don't get me wrong. I really liked him.
I rooted for him and rooted for Abby to fall for him.
I just didn't want to steal him from Abby.
Am I growing up!? o.O haha

*spoilars!*
*spoilars!*
*spoilars!*

 aka.*favorite quotes*

  

Any book that nods to both P&P and Clue is automatically good!

p.s. I would love Austen Clue!!! Some one get on that!

.

***

 I just thought that this was so beautiful!
  

Comment Questions:

 Have you read this series? If so, what did you think?

Also feel free to leave any book suggestions in the comments!

{My Goodreads Profile}

 

Chipotle burritos this year: 12

Boba smoothies this year: 11

Huhot

Once upon a time...

Ryan, GinnyFriend & I went out to eat.

The place was really cool to look at...

After we where seated, we chose the buffet...

In which they cook in front of you!

And it becomes all you can eat deliciousness!

 

holy crap it was so good, I got two plates! om nom nom nom

Then we ate s'mores and failed at taking a pic!

 

It was good times.

So I wanted to share it with you!

Where are 'nom'y places you go to eat?

Chipotle burritos this year: 12

Boba smoothies this year: 11

Girl Parts [19/50]

I read the plot and had to read this book!

=]

Girl Parts

by John M. Cusick

Rating: Definitely enjoyable sci-fi.

*spoiler free*

I read this book in a day.

After finishing it I feel 3 things:

1- The Dollhouse similarities.
 There are some. It is the reason I needed to read this book.
I loved Joss Whedon's Dollhouse.
But I loved this story on it's own too.

2- At some parts I did want to punch some characters.

But I really liked that this book looked at the impact
of our digital world had on the kids growing up in it.
It may be science fiction, but it is a very interesting concept!

3- My favorite character was Rose.

She definitely had the best arc.
If there is a Book 2,
I want her in it!

*spoilars!*

 aka.*favorite quotes*

  
Actually, I didn't mark out any quotes in this book...

Not to say it wasn't quoteable,

but I found myself loving entire passages!

Basically any part from Rose's POV, I loved.

 Something that IS a little spoilariffic is this video.
&& possibly one of the coolest book trailers I have seen!

 

Comment Questions:

 Have you read this book? If so, what did you think?

Also feel free to leave any book suggestions in the comments!

{My Goodreads Profile}

 

Chipotle burritos this year: 11

Boba smoothies this year: 11

I kissed a parrot and I like it.

Yesterday.

This happened.

&& I had to share it!

I am easily amused. 


But srsly.
If all birds were this cool,
I'd totally get one! 

#lovesit 

Chipotle burritos this year: 11

Boba smoothies this year: 11

Blame VEDA.

and work.

but also VEDA.

here I am.

back as a slacker blogger.

between today being my first day off 2 weeks.

and participating in VEDA on my youtube.

i have neglected my blog.

again.

and I am 7 book blips/reviews behind.

oh man.

so

VEDA.

Vlog Everyday in April

Video Everyday in April

not every video is perfection,

but here are some of my favs from the 1st half.

&& sorry the audio sucks on this and some other videos...

&btw&
I also vlog on Thursdays
on an awesome collab channel
&& here is yesterdays video

so yeah....

I hope to quit slacking on this blog sooooon.

Chipotle burritos this year: 11

Boba smoothies this year: 11

13 Little Blue Envelopes [18/50]

 My favorite Maureen Johnson book yet!

=]

13 Little Blue Envelopes (Little Blue Envelope #1)

by Maureen Johnson

Rating: Is the next one out yet?!

*spoiler free*

I read this book in a day.
I started it at work. Crawled into bed and finished it.

After finishing it I feel 3 things:

1- It is such a great concept.
 Who wouldn't want to take
an all-expense paid adventure around Europe.
2- I wanted to be Ginny. Obviously.

Who wouldn't?!

But just the character herself.

She learns to much about herself on this adventure.

3- This book gave me so much wanderlust.

Srsly. I want to do this little blue envelope adventure.
I loved this book but I spent every page jealous as all heck!

{the following may or may not be relevant}

Dear future benefactor,

feel free to show up at any time to send me to Europe.

I'd totally be okay with it. Totally.

With love, 

your desperately thankful benefacteeeeee!

*spoilars!*
*spoilars!*
*spoilars!*

 aka.*favorite quotes*

  

I totally had the classy irl LOL after reading this.

*le sigh* I love/miss London.

***

  I loved this!

 

Comment Questions:

 Have you read this book? If so, what did you think?

Also feel free to leave any book suggestions in the comments!

{My Goodreads Profile}

 

Chipotle burritos this year: 10

Boba smoothies this year: 11

Need [17/50]

Need (Need #1)

by Carrie Jones

Rating: The next book is already in my library queue!

*spoiler free*

I read this book in a few shifts at work and one late night.

After finishing it I feel 3 things:

1- After the first 100 pages, I was hooked.
 but it did take me 100 pages to get there.

2- I really liked the take Fae/Were mythology used.

If I ever visit Maine
and see little gold glitter piles
I might will freak!

3- The female characters are strong and I like it.

All the ladies you meet in this book carry their own
unique brand of courage and strength,
even if it takes a bit for you, the reader, to see it.

*spoilars!*
*spoilars!*
*spoilars!*

 aka.*favorite quotes*

 I was totally an Issie when it came to running.
Okay, not was, AM! Swimmers FTW! 

***

  I totally know what you mean, Zara!
Dimples make me swoon. 
get. it. girl! ;o)


***

How many times have you felt like this around a boy?
*raises own hand*
Oh. You mean only me? Oops.
 

Comment Questions:

 Have you read this series? If so, what did you think?

Also feel free to leave any book suggestions in the comments!

{My Goodreads Profile}

 

Chipotle burritos this year: 10

Boba smoothies this year: 11

Suite Scarlett [16/50]

Suite Scarlett (Scarlett #1)

by Maureen Johnson

Rating: Super cute and super quick to read.

*spoiler free*

I read this book in a shift at work and one afternoon.

After finishing it I feel 3 things:

1- It was a little bit of a rough start to step into Scarlett's world
 but I have been feeling that a lot in this challenge.
It is a very cool setting though-
living in a hotel.
Fun!

2- Who want's to buy me a ticket to NYC?

I love NYC in this book. Seeing it through native Scarlett's eyes
just showed me how bad I need to see the Big Apple for myself.

3- I LOVED the relationship between Scarlett and Spencer.

I am the older sister of two and it took me moving up
to college to build a relationship with my brother.
I adored reading about theirs.

*spoilars!*
*spoilars!*
*spoilars!*

 aka.*favorite quotes*

 I like this quote because it's such an adorably honest
way to describe a new crush! I am going to steal it!
"ordinary plus" 

***

Hilariously awesome part! Loved it.

***

  Such a great description!
It totally reminded me how I felt as a kid.
&& how I still want to feel!


 

Comment Questions:

 Have you read this book? If so, what did you think?

Also feel free to leave any book suggestions in the comments!

{My Goodreads Profile}

 

Chipotle burritos this year: 10

Boba smoothies this year: 11