The Final Blog!

Total Pages: 1487


Overall this class was very helpful. I feel like my writting has improved because we did so many writing assignments. The weekly vocabulary tests were not hard. One thing that i would probably change about this class is the blog due dates. by having them due on Monday or Tuesday i feel like i'm done with the assignment for the week so i forget to read. I think it would be nicer if they were due on Fridays instead of the begging of the week. I wouldn't say that this class changed my reading habbits. I already read on my own so it wasn't that big of a deal. I mostly read during the summer time and it is hard to read for fun during the school year. I probably won't read as much during the school year as we were suppose to for etymology. The best book i read was hunger games. It was really interesting and i felt like i was in the book with the characters. Palo Alto was pretty good. I wished the short stories were long stories. I didnt like only having a short explanation. The worst book i read was Eat Pray Love. Even though I thought it was the most boring thing in the world i decided to keep reading it. And it was very long and dragged out. Probably one of the worst books i've read. Now I know a feel authors that I like and a few I should stay away from.

The Lovely Bones Pages 1-75

This book is about a young girl named Susie Salmon. She has a mother and father, an older sister, and brother. Susie is on her way home from junior high when her weird neighbor asks her to come see this thing he build. It ends up being a hole in the ground but he said it should be a place where all of the kids in the neighborhood can play it. She starts to feel a little weird so she asks to leave. But he won't let her he ends up rapeing Susie and killing her.

Once she gets to heaven she can whatch what is happening on earth. She sees her parents start to get worried when she hasn't been home. And she can see Mr. Harvey, the man who killed her. She whatches the police come to her house and search for her and there is nothing she can do about it. She even whatches Mr. Harvey dragg out her body parts. Susie starts to worry about her sister the most because she thinks that she will do something rash.

The beging of this book was really exciting and scary, then it started to get boring. It's frustrating that the man that murdered her is in her neighborhood so close to her brothers and sisters. And the heaven that she is in is really strange.

The Hunger Game Pages 300- 375 (end)

Katniss ends up going to the banquet because if she doeant Peeta will die. When she gets there Catos partner throws a knife at her face. Then she is pined down and the girl is just about to kill katniss when Thresh comes over and crushes her skull with a rock. Thresh lets her go because she was friends with Rue and tried to help her.

Katniss goes back to the cave with Peeta and gives him the medicine. She is weak for a few days then they decided they need to find Cato. Whild searching for food Peeta finds berries that are poisonis and lays them down. When he comes back some of them are eaten and it is announced that another player is dead.

One day Peeta and Katniss are looking for Cato when all of the sudden cato is running towards them in fear. He is running away from these huge monsters with claws. Katniss and Peeta climb a tree and Katniss shoots Cato from the tree. He ends up falling to the monsters and being eaten. While waiting in the tree to be congratulated for winning a mn announcement comes on. It says that there was a rule change and there can only be one winner again. Neither of them can kill eachother so they decide to both eat the poinsinous berries. Just as they are about to put them in their mouths the speaker comes on and says to stop. They can both win. Once they get home and cleaned up Katniss reveals that she pretended to be in love with Peeta for the sponsers. He is very upset and they both are in danger becuasw thwy tricked the system.

I loved this book. It was very interesting and i felt like i waa apart of the games. Im excited to read other books by this author

The Hunger Games Pages 235 -300

After Rue is shot and killed katniss covers her in flowers and hinds her wounds. The people of Rues district appreciate it so they send her a loaf of bread. Later an announcment comes on that there is a change in the rules. Two people from the sam district can win instead of just one. This only applies to katniss and peeta and another distric because there are only 6 people left. Katniss begins to look for Peeta so they can form a team. After searching for a while she finds him laying on the ground in camaflage covered in mud and grass. Katniss can see that he is very hurt. She takes all of his clothes off and cleans them in a stream. There are bruises and cuts all over his body. He also has a high fever. They move to a crave where they can rest because Peetas leg was cut almost to the bone and it is infected.

Peeta keeps on asking Katniss for a kiss and when she finally does she recieves a gift from her sponser. Meaning that they like the romance they have going on. Katniss trys to pretend like shes inlove to keep the audience interested.

It comes on the announcements that there will be a banquet for all of the players and there will be things they really need there. Katniss decides she has to go because Peeta will die with out medicine. Peeta wont let her risk her life so she gives him medicine that will make him fall asleep for a day.

At this point i want Katniss to go to the banquet because i want Peeta to stay alive. And more people need to die inorder for her to get closer to winning. I think she will have a problem with a guy named thrash because no one has disturbed him yet.

The Hunger Games Pages 150 -134

The careers spot katniss and chase her up a tree. No one can reach her so they decide to wait untill the morning. But while sitting in the tree katniss notices human eyes in the tree next to her. They belong to Prim. Prim points up and Katniss notices a wasp nest. She tries to cut down the tree branch that it is connected to. While it falls down Katniss is stung 3 times but the stings kill two of the carrers and severly hurts the others. Peeta saves Katniss's life when he tells her to run away from the carrers after she goes back to get a bow and arrow left behind.

Later Katniss meets up with Prim and the form an allience. Prim gives her berrys and plants Katniss gives Prim meat. They form a plan on how to ruin the career's food. Prim is suppose to go and light fires to distract them. meanwhile Katniss goes to their food source and finds there are bombs set up. She shoots down a sack of apples which set of the bombs and in turn ruins her hearing and hurts her badly. She later finds Prim shot with an arrow by another boy. Then Katniss shoots him. Prim is now dead and there are 6 players left.

I feel bad that Prim was killed but it was probably for the best. Katniss might of had to kill her anyways which would have been worse. Although she is missing out on Prim's help. Hopefully the careers will start to starve and die off. I just want to know what happens at the end!

Outer Space

Earth Day: By Jane Yolen

Ego: By Denise Duhamel

Light-years: By Hester Knibbe

Laws of the Universe: By Albert Goldbarth

Gravity: By John Frederick Nims

Saturn: By Cynthia Zarin

Hunger Games pages 95- 150

Now katniss and peeta have to train. They go to different booths and work on skills with different weapons. After that they have to go in a room alon with the gamemakers and show them their best skill. Afteewards they will be judged. The judges are tired because they have already seen so many so they dont pay attention to katniss. This makes her angry so she shoots an arrow through the judges food and almost hits one of them. She gets so angry that she did this cause she thinks now they are going to give her a bad score. However she ends up getting 11which was the best out of everyone.

Later she finds out Peeta chose to have private training lessons. That makes Katniss feel like he beytrayed her and they are offically not friends anymore. But during interviews Peeta reveals that he had always had a crush on katniss. His makes her blush in front of everyone and it makes her more appealing to the sponsors and fans.

Its kinda sad that peeta likes katniss. I think this is foreshadowing problems to come. Like they will probably have to hurt each other. Or maybe they will be the last two left.

Quality Time Redefined

I think my family uses a lot of technology, but not the the extent of this family. Our living room is shared with our kitchen. So, whenever someone is watching a movie they are not alone. We watch movies together. I have to admit that i just bought a smart phone. Its nice because i don't have to sit at a computer to get something done, I can check facebook, blog, and google anything whenever i want. You would think that this would make me spend more time on the internet but it actually does the opposite. I can look things up quick and be done. Maybe it is because my parents are not technologically advanced, or maybe its because we don't own an ipad, kindle, or more than 2 computers.

Hunger Games pages 44-94

Katniss and Peeta are now on a train on their way to the capitol. The train is very nice and they are feed very well. For the first time katniss takes a hot shower.

There is another ceremony where the players from all of the districts are introduced at the capitol. But before katniss is introduced someone waxes her entire body and she has to stand naked while people judge her. Then a stylist puts her and peeta (other boy from her district) into black unitards with capes and crowns of fire. With their costumes they steal the show from everyone else. Thats good because they need sponsors to survive.

Katniss thinks that peeta is playing a game with her and trying to win her over in order to kill her. So she tries to stay away from him but haymitch says they have to be together at all times and they are often dressed in the same outfits. While eating dinner one night she notices a red headed servant thay she thinks she reconizes. Katniss is told that that girl is a traitor and her tounge was cut off so she cant speak. Later she remembers thay she reconizes the girl from the woods at home. She witness the red head and a boy running away from something. Then the boy was killed and the girl was picked up by something. Katniss regrets not helping her.

I think its weird that she regrets not helping the red head because obviously if she did..she would be dead. Katniss thinks that Peeta wants to kill her or has some sort of a plan but i dont really think he does. Maybe its just her who has a plan. Im thinking that peeta and katniss will end up being the last two and one might kill the other.

Hunger Games pages 44-94

Hunger Games pages 1-43

The first character introduced is katniss. She is hunting in another distrct for her family. It is really hard for them to get for because her father died and her mother never got a job. Alot of people in her district starve to death. They trade alot. Katniss has a friend named Gale who is two years older than her. They both help each other out with the food situation. Katniss also has a younger sister named Prim. She is very small.

There is a thing called a reaping that happens every year. Kids ages twelve through eighteen are entered into a drawling. One boy and one girl is chosen every year to participate in the hunger games. This year Prims name is drawn. However katniss volunteers for her little sister. Now she is on her way to fight for her life while her family and the rest of the districts whatch as entertainment.

This book is very interesting and exciting. I can see why so many people have read it already in the class. I don't really understand the whole district thing. I kind of picture like fenced in yards the way the book describes it. Aparently they are suppose to be in north america...but after it was ruined by a war then rebuilt again. Anyway, this is a really cool story line and it makes me never want to put down the book!

The Best Bloggie!

My favorite blog is cookie-monster. . The posts are funny and it is very personal. Her overviews of books are good also. I like this post because i am also obsessed with Adele.

The Secret Fruit of Peter Paddington Pages 250-300

Peter started wrapping duct tape around himself so much that it caused health problems. He started to faint and had to be taken out of school. When he came back he was really embarrassed but people were conceded about his health. He decided he was going to loose weight and daniella was going to find a job. So he tried to jog with his sister. He didn't lijlke it because it made his left side hurt and his nipples burn. So then he tried an aerobics class. It was easier than running but he felt stupid doing it. Finally he found an excersise video tape in his sisters room and he began to do it often. He was finally loosing weight and daniella had his old job as a paper boy.

Overall this book was very cute. It was weird at times but that made it funny. I read it fast and it wasn't challenging but I had a good time listenin to the problems of Peter Paddington.

The Secret Fruit of Peter Paddington Pages 200-250

Peter finds out the Daniella in fact does have a boyfriend. He works at burger king full time because he drooped out of school. He is seventeen and Daniella is not even in high school yet. Peter doesn't like her boyfriend because he is so much older than her and because Daniella said she might do "it" with him. That scares peter so he tries really hard to break them up. He finally succeeds when he calls her dad and says her boyfriend is bad and to watch out for him.

The family starts to have concerns about peters sister Nancy. She has a boyfriend named Andre. She is upset very often because if him and no one like it. But she keeps on going back to him. She just recently lost forty pounds. She started to eat healthy and work out. Then she dumped Andre. Peter became jealous because she was a new Nancy and he wanted to be a new peter.

I still feel really bad for peter and the way he views himself. Maybe his sister will give him inspiration to start his old goal. I still think that Daniella and him will be together.

The Secret Fruit of Peter Paddington pages 150-200

Peter never makes friends with any of his potential boy friends. He thinks one day he will be popular and everything will fall into place. Like how he used to love theater but he quit because he thought he was too fat for re stage. But he thinks one day he will start it up again because he will be skinny. Plus his fourteenth birthday is coming up and everything will change. For his birthday dinner he wants his family to go to this old italian restaurant. Because he always walks past it and he thinks the owner is lonely. He feels bad for the owner because he has no buissness. He ends up going to a play with his mom and he hates it. But he does fall in love with the main character of the play. He thinks she is so beautiful. And perfect.

One day while visiting the little shop he always does he finds out something that really bothers him. The owner mentions that his friend daniella just bought a valentines day card and some candies and they might be for peter. He does not believe this at all and gets angry. He begins to think random people are daniellas lover.

I think it would be so cute if daniella and peter became boyfriend and girlfriend. It probably will happen because peter is obviously jelous of the boy she bought them for.

The Secret Fruit of Peter Paddington Pages 105-150

Peter's friend Daniela brought him to her catholic church because it was the aniversary of her cousin's death. He oved the stain glass windows and the fact that ou can confess our sins and no one will know about it. Daniela tells him a story about how a virgin Mary vistited her mom in a field and he starts to think he sees the spirit everywhere. But Daniela says she will only come if he builds her a shrine so he does. He thinks the virgin will cure his nipples and his problems. He then asked Daniela to get hima rosery and she did. So when he got to his house he sprinkled his "holy water" onto his nipples and said a prayer. He thinks her can convert into a catholic and cure his niples.

This story is hillarious. I hopt there are not really any 8th grade boys that self consious about their nipples.

The Secret Fruit of Peter Paddington Pages 51-104

Peter decides that regular tape is not working well enough. So he moves on to duct tape to secure his weird nipples. He also thinks that he is disipointing his partents and not living up to their expectations. He signs up for shop class because he thinks it will make him seem more manly. But, afer being made fun of the first day he lies to his parents and says he got kicked out. And now he has to take home ec, which is what he wanted to do all along. He loves the new class and the teacher says that he is very good at it.

Peter has no boy friends so he begins his hunt to find a friend that's a boy. He was once made fun of for only talking to girls. He starts writting down names then finally settles on Andrew. Andrew is very attractive and a lot of girls have crushes on him. So Peter tries to call him to ask him if he wants to go to a movie. However his mom gets in the way and he doesn't end up asking him. later Peter had to go to the doctor for a regualar physical. He is nervous because he doesn't want the doctor to see his nipples. He ends up being able to keep his shirt on. But he does find out he weights 204 pounds.

I was a little confused when he said he needed a boyfriend. Because i thought Peter was a boy, then i thought maybe he was gay. As I read further I realized he needed a friend that was a boy, instead of hanginf around girls all of the time.

The Secret Fruit of Peter Paddington Pages 1-50

The Secret Fruit of Peter Paddington is about an 8th grade boy named Peter. He delivers the paper for the bluewater observer. He has this one big problem, his nipples. And he thinks everyone notices them. So he goes to th convience store he fquently visits for candy, and purchases tape. So everyday he tapes down his nipples because they loo like cherries. Peter is overweight and he does not like himself. While at dinner with his mom and dad and two sisters he realizes that people staire at them and laugh because most of them are fat (with the exception of his sister). He has a friend named Daniela who curses alot. She wants to enter into a beauty contest for italians. Peter doesn't have the heart to tell her she is not very attractive.

I really like this boo so far. It's very funny. I am interested in what else will happen in this book based on a kid insecure of his nipples.

Dan Martensen and Shanna

Dan's unique home, which is surrounded by trees and nature, reflects his artistic and creative personality. His house can serve as constant inspiration for his work. Nature is always changing and there are new things to discover every day. It is obvious that this family appreciates nature by their extensive gardens, and out-doors activities. The rustic walls, chairs, and silverware of the house convey their easy-going attitudes. They do not need fancy things in life to keep them happy. It seems like they like old things because they have more interesting qualities. From the looks of it, they grow their own vegetables and fruits. These people are self-sufficient and content in their serene surroundings.

Interviews of High School Seniors

The marijuana baker seems kind of stupid. He claims that he likes "finding ways to help people". But i don't think you can do that by baking stuff that has weed in it. I don't think that he will be successful with this or make any money from it.
Tudel Riek's plans are a little unrealistic. He says he just wants to do anything with sports, he doesn't really know what. He just wants to make money but he doesn't know how or what skills he needs to do those things. I think I would relate most to Damian Dumas because i am interested in working with young people. I like listening to other people's problems and helping. I love being able to help people out. And also with Elivia Freeman. I don't see anything in my future that would make me wealthy. But i do want to be comfortable with my money situation.

In ten years I would like to see myself with a stable job. I thought i wanted to be a teacher because I love kids and helping people. I am a very organized person and i like to plan. So I felt like that would be the perfect area for me. I don't expect to make a lot of money but I don't want to struggle. I don't have any crazy dreams or expectations I would like to meet. I would just like to be successful in whatever I decided to do and live a happy fulfilled life.