New Year's

The end of the year
is soon drawing near.
A brand new clean slate
for us to change our fate.
Looking back to our past
memories to last.
New hopes and new dreams
while a child’s smile beams.
Fireworks fill the sky.
Confetti does fly.
A colorful ball,
Slowly begins to fall.
Counting ev’ry second,
to what lies beyond.
The dawn has broken.
Resolutions spoken.

Original poem by Erica N.


Happy New Year's, Everyone!
- Erica N.
Author of Erica's Odds and Ends

Shelf from Paper Video Project

Check it out! I made a video tutorial on how to make a dollhouse miniatures shelf from paper! Here it is:

 

If you try the project, let me know how it goes! Enjoy! :)

Ender's Game Movie!!!

Hi, everyone!

I hope your holidays were amazing. I had a great time with friends and family. On another note, I found out that they are making Ender's Game into a movie!!!

I mentioned it in October on this blog:
Ender’s Game is written magnificently. It’s a page turner right to the end. Upon buying this book, I read it eight times in a row. This sci-fi novel raises great points about survival, the greater good, and other topics. I would definitely recommend that you check it out.

I also found a blog with pics from the movie set: http://endersgameblog.tumblr.com/ !!!!

Even better: it's one of the novels we can read for my English project.

I've already read Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind, Ender's Shadow, and Shadow of the Hegemon. I'm reading Shadow Puppets right now.

Almost Christmas

I know I haven't posted in a while, but it's almost Christmas. So I just wanted to share this really cool thing my mom gave me early. Then, I got another one for my friend, Jonni, author of Jonni Blogs.
Well, here it is:

This is a bad pic, but it's a fiber optic xmas tree. It changes colors and everything. You plug it in via usb. In case anyone needs a last minute gift idea, I got it at Target.

 

 

Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

 





-Erica

Author of Erica's Odds&Ends

Fan Art and The Truth About Forever

I got my first piece of fan art! Inspired by my page background, look what Mitch created!

Also, time for another book review!!!
Today's book: The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
What a perfect book to read on a rainy day! With its enchanting storyline and dynamic characters, this is a must read. In fact, all of Sarah Dessen's books are amazing. (I've read them all.) You all should definitely check them out.


I haven't been blogging lately, but, hey, it's the holiday season.

Wishing you and your family well during the busiest season of all,


Erica
Author of Erica's Odds and Ends

Across the Universe and A Million Suns

Time for another book review!

Book: A Million Suns
Author: Beth Revis
Additional Information: Book 2 of 3 in the Across the Universe Trilogy

I first read Across the Universe when a friend at camp suggested it to me. By then, A Million Suns had already come out. I read both books within the week. So you don't get confused, here's the general idea of Across the Universe:

Amy is cryogenically frozen for a journey to Alpha Centauri with her parents.
She is woken up early, and meets Elder, the ship's next leader.
More frozens are being unplugged, though, and life on the ship is so different from what Amy knows.
Together, Amy and Elder must uncover who is behind the lies that consume Godspeed, before it's too late.

Now for A Million Suns:
AMS(A Million Suns) has an amazing plot. In this face-paced novel, discord is let loose upon Godspeed. Elder, as leader of the ship, must attempt to control the discord that's been let loose upon the ship. All the while, Amy is trying to uncover the rest of the lies that envelope Godspeed; there are more than she ever guessed.

If you haven't already, check this series out! The third book, Shades of Earth, comes out next year. :)

Thanksgiving List

My friend, author of Jonni Blogs (http://jonniblogs.blogspot.com/), and I spent the evening making lists and seeing who could come up with the most. We already did xmas carols. Now we're on to thanksgiving foods. See if you can come up with anything to add anything to our list:

turkey
mashed potatoes
stuffing
olives
ham
pies
green beans
biscuits
corn
cranberry sauce
gravy
mozzarella cheese
butter
beets


In my family, we buy lottery tickets for each place setting. Everyone loves this tradition, even though the most someone ever won was twenty dollars. There's no place like home for the holidays. :) What are some of your traditions? Comment below!

Wishing you and your family a safe and happy Thanksgiving,

-Erica
Author of Erica's Odds & Ends

Math Challenge

 

…..89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987, 1597, 2584, x…….

 

Time to offer you all a challenge! What is the value of x? No googling. Bonus: what sequence is this?

Excercise is important, so try this challenge and excercise your brain today. :)

Finally, I want to share a quote I found. Not sure who said it, but here it is anyway:

 

"Those who wish to sing, always find a song."

Amazing Leadership Quotes

"Leaders can let you fail and yet not let you be a failure.” -Stanley McChrystal

"Spectacular achievements are always preceded by unspectacular preparation." ~ Roger Staubach

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. —Lao Tzu

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” ~Winston Churchill

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." ~ Thomas Edison

“Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”
- Mark Victor Hansen

"One person can make a difference and everyone should try" -John F. Kennedy

Video Tutorial: My Blog Background

It's the holiday season! Well, almost. Starting this Friday, one of the radio stations will play nothing but Christmas music until December 25th. What's your all time favorite Christmas carol? Also, stores are preparing for Black Friday. Like my cool background and want to know how to make one in Photoshop? Here's a video tutorial I made for it:

SAT Prep and Jessica Khoury Contest

Hi, everyone!

If anyone is preparing to take their SAT, I have an awesome site: http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/sat-question-of-the-day

Jessica Khoury, author of Origin, is doing a contest. Just be one of the first fifty people to submit a pic of you with your copy of Origin to win some swag. :)

Perfection

No one is perfect- that's why pencils have erasers. (Not sure where that quote is from, but it's awesome!)

MicroObservatory

Looking for something totally awesome to do? Check out MicroObservatory! This site allows you to control the telescopes and take your own images of celestial objects. Here's the link: http://mo-www.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/OWN/Own.pl

Let me know how your images come out! :)

Why I Love YA

I love YA books. They're the best genre out there, spanning the ranges of sci-fi, romance, comedy, and more. They allow me to see myself in them. Teens as the protagonists make the story interesting. We're not perfect and don't pretend to be. Readers can empathize with teens' triumphs as well as their failures. Teens do not have all the experience that adults do, but they also have the clear vision to see things can't or won't. Teens aren't afraid to be different and they often can be quite rebellious, making dynamic characters. YA is written not only to entertain but for us to understand ourselves. :)

It's halloween!

Halloween Scene

I can't wait for halloween! :)

 

I made this using paint tools and layer

 

effects in photoshop for halloween.

 

I hope you all like it. 

Halloween Traditions

Halloween is my favorite holiday! Every year I carve pumpkins and watch the Disney TV Monster Hits from 1987. It’s a great movie. There’s nothing like eating popcorn and candy corn and watching it with the house smelling like freshly carved pumpkins and cinnamon. Another tradition is making my Halloween costume. I’m putting on the finishing touches, so stayed tuned for more about it. What are some of your fun halloween traditions?

Ender's Game and 172 Hours on the Moon

When you can a book with a refreshing plot and storyline, it is a wonderful surprise. This past week, I picked up Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. Here’s the link to the Shelfari book profile: http://www.shelfari.com/books/35825/Enders-Game.

Ender’s Game is written magnificently. It’s a page turner right to the end. Upon buying this book, I read it eight times in a row. This sci-fi novel raises great points about survival, the greater good, and other topics. I would definitely recommend that you check it out.

Although I’m not usually a fan of scary books, 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad blew my mind. Here’s the Shelfari link: http://www.shelfari.com/books/25630279/172-Hours-on-the-Moon

The author is a master with plot tests and the outcome is surprise through the final page. This sci-fi novel has elements of truth which makes the entire storyline seem plausible. You should look into this book for sure.

Top Ten Teen Books

They just announced the teen top ten book award list! So many great novels from amazing authors including Beth Revis and Sarah Dessen. :)

Welcome!

This is my first blog post ever! Odds&Ends will be full of little tidbits and ancedotes just for fun. :)