Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Pig Wrestling

Dear Readers,

Amazing as this sounds, there is a reason why I have a picture of a pig coming with this post.

Really, truly, there is.

Well, our fair is going on right now, and we have this pig wrestling night that goes on and there's teams to wrestle pigs. The categories were Peewee Division 1, Peewee Division 2, Junior Division, Teen Division, and the Adult Division. (I think the adult one was called something else, but that's all that it was. =D)

It was really funny.

To say the least.

There was going to be a group of teen "girly girls" doing it, which I was much looking forward to, but they must've backed out, because they never went. (believe me, I was waiting for a hilarious one, but, unfortunately, it did happen.... *sigh* Wow, I really sound pretty horrible, huh? haha) Anyway, there were some other teams that were pretty funny, too. Like this one person just jumped ont the pig and wrap their arms around its neck. Heh... ha... hahahahaha.... yeah, it was pretty funny. :D

We're still trying to sell the rest of our puppies (we already sold one, and another is spoken for! Only two more left...), so I had an adorable little ball of Shorkie Chon fur on me. (yes, there's a reason you've never heard of that breed--mostly because we made up the name. =P They're a Shih Tzu/Bichion Frize/Yorkshire Terrier mix/cross, and, oh golly, they're the cutest puppies I've ever seen, and I'm not just saying that because they're ours...) It was so cute. :)

The calcutta at the beginning for the teams was kinda boring, but otherwise it was hilarious to watch everybody running for the pig in the mud. A team of boys actually just flopped themselves in the mud. (OK, OK, I probably would've done the same... even though they were really little boys. Who could resist having dirty clothes on and not jumping in the mud? I mean, really...!)

It was a great night. :)

Have you ever watched pig wrestling?

Catch ya later...

~Storyteller

P.S. After coming back from the pig wrestling, isn't that a great excuse to have bacon for supper? Yum yum...


Monday, July 29, 2013

Need Your Help


hey
missed you guys
i was really busy
really
really
really
busy
but i can't wait to get more posts on here
i was thinking
maybe a mix--
life
and
inspirational
(with contests coming back)
good or bad?
comment :)

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Customized Page Links

OK, so, this used to bother me a lot--how on earth did people get their pages to go italic? I mean, I already had the hover code for it, but it didn't make my pages do that. And another thing... how did people put like things like this ||Home||About||Contact|| between their pages? That just looked way awesome.

Heh... well... I definitely didn't find that on a tutorial on google. I just kind of figured it out. (I'd say God showed me, because suddenly I just thought of it.) This is how you get to do it. :)

Ready? Let's go.

1. Log into your blogger account.
2. Click on the blog you want to edit.
3. Go to "layout".
4. Click "add a gadget" wherever you're going to want this gadget at.
5. Scroll down to the "text" gadget and click it.
6. OK, first off, you're going to want this centered, right? So we get to use the really simple center code. The center code is <center> </center>, but you put whatever you want centered in between. So that it looks like this: <center>||Home||About||Contact||</center>. Get it? :)
7. So put whatever words you want, with the center code around them. (I'm going to be using my example from above.)
8. Now, these are going to be links.

See the one that looks kind of like the world?

Click on that one.
9. It'll say "enter a URL". Place the link of what those words are supposed to lead to there. (so like my "Home" would be "http://connieisarubberbootgirl.blogspot.com/")
10. Click enter.
11. You do this for the rest of the links with their various URLs.
12. Save gadget.
13. Viola! Customized pages. :)

Hope this was helpful! If you have any questions, just ask! :)

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Truth Is Answers

For Christy O'Keefe:

Truth is, you're an amazing friend and I always look forward to your sweet comments! You always brighten my day and encourage me beyond belief. :) (and thanks so much for guest posting for me, by the way! You rock!!! :))

For Autumn:

Truth is, I've been so happy at helping you with your designing! I hope that you get to find out everything you've been wanting to know in the future. :)

For Sarah Vincent:

Truth is, girl, you're hilarious! :) Love your blog and your sweet comments. I love your writing style... always puts a smile on my face! :)

For Hannah:

Truth is, you're so nice and kind! I can really sense your loving heart through your comments and through your blog. :)

For Claire:

Truth is, thanks so much for all of your sweet comments, which I have loved, and I love your blog and had a fun time designing the header for it. :)

For Christina L:

Truth is, your many and lovely comments have made a glow inside of me every time they come. I love hearing from you so much! :) I'm so glad and blessed to know you. <3

For Britt:

Truth is... oh my goodness, girl. I've known you a lot longer then some of the other girls I'm going Truth Is's to today. I've never regretted, for one moment, meeting you on the blogger world! You're so funny, caring, nice, and so amazing! You are so talented and I can always see God working through you and the way you post. I always look forward to hearing you, whether you're blogging or posting a comment to me. Love ya. ;)

For Jess:

Truth is... you. are. amazing!!!!! I'm so glad that you found my blog that long time ago. =D I've always enjoyed your blog and your comments, and feel like we're best friends. You are such a great friend to me on blogger, and I hope that one day we might be able to meet, face to face. You have so many amazing qualities, that sometimes it just blows my mind. You are one of my favorite bloggers... EVER!! :) And one of my best friends on blogger. <3

For Jessie:

Truth is, I've really enjoyed interacting with you through comments!! :) (by the way, I just realized that I followed your new blog! haha =D I hadn't realized it was you... *wow I feel stupid*) I absolutely love your blog. Your words inspire me. <3

For Kayla:

Truth is, you're so bright and happy! You always make me smile! And your profile picture always makes that inside person in me laugh. :D (because, come on, admit it, whenever you see a funny thing on Pinterest, we barely ever laugh out loud...) I love your blog. Period. =D

Thanks so much, girls! I had lots of fun!! :)

Monday, July 22, 2013

lots of random goodness

Dear Readers,


Oh my word, YES!!!!!!!!! I so so so so so do this. Like writing *spoiler alert* Grandma Beacon's death?! Oh my gosh, I thought I would die crying!!!! (yes, I cried. Yes, I was the one who had her die. Yes, I did that. Yes, I was bawling. OK, maybe not bawling. But definitely crying. WHY ON EARTH DID I KILL HER?!?! Oh, maybe because it seemed right...  I don't know... I really am cruel to Connie... AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO CRIED AT HER DEATH?!?!)

Anywayyyyyyyyy, thanks so much for all of your lovely comments, which I will reply to soon. (Rose and Mackenzie? Gosh, guys, I wanted to cry reading your comments... you two are way too sweet... everybody else, you're sweet, too... anyway...) I was kind of busy for awhile. You can find that out if you check out my post on Storyteller of Weston County. ;)

oh my word...*sniffsniff* we sold one of our puppies today... gah, i can't think about it!! (the reason this is all lowercase is because i have the other three on my lap right now and they're really really squirmy)

man i love random <3

talk to ya'll later

love
me

p.s. i'm revealing my name when i get to 150 friends on storyteller of weston county and i've already gotten to 141!!!! can't wait!!!

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Comment for a Truth Is

Comment for a Truth Is.

Never heard of it?

Probably because it's a facebook thing.

Here's the deal: You comment, and I'll do something like this for you...

"Truth is, you're so amazing! I've loved your blog since I first got on it and think that you're an amazing person. :)"

Get it? ;)

OK, comment it up!!

lol ;)

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Story Sneak Peek: Mackenzie

Mackenzie Glenworth's world is tipped over when somebody comes to her house in the middle of the night and tries to kidnap her.

And fails.

On the run, she meets a boy named Ben who tells her that she is wanted by the Caines--people who kidnap kids and enroll them in their assassin school. Mackenzie doesn't want to believe him. But when something happens that nearly makes her want to give up life all together, she realizes that it's true.

The Caines are real. And they're deadly.

Racing against the clock, Mackenzie must choose between saving her best friend, and saving others from the Caines.

Whoa.

Just... whoa.

This idea has been one of my favorites in a really long time.

I wanted a really cool name for my main character and her best friend, and I decided to use the names of two real life best friends (well, at least they seem to be) whose blogs I really love.

Mackenzie and Rose? Step forward please.

You guys are so amazing, and I love your blogs... and your names. Which is why I chose them to be the names of my main character and her friend. I'm not saying this is what you're like in real life, but in the story Mackenzie is the more crazier glittery one and Rose is the quieter, "you're such a goober" best friend. :)

I thought it was rather funny that Mackenzie is the one that the Caines want to recruit... one of my favorite lines of the book (so far) comes from Rose and goes something along the lines of, "Mackenzie loves glitter and photography and sarcasm! Not killing people!" (OK, it sounded a little bit funnier when I was writing it... I also think I phrased it differently in the story...)

I just love Mackenzie in the book. (and in real life. But I mean as a character, too...) She has such a great mind that goes so great along with my own. Just the way she thinks is priceless.

Oh yeah. And we both agree on a big argument.

I'm not a big Hunger Games fan, OK? But there's this argument that we had in our house after we first watched it about who was better--Gale or Peeta. (my parents went with Peeta. Us kids went with Gale. Which is kind of funny...) I personally don't like Peeta because he's so... so... so... wimpy. And... come on... it's kind of creepy about the whole "I-threw-bread-out-to-you-that-day-and-I-noticed-you-always-wore-braids" kind of a thing. (at least, for me...) But Gale? Come on, he's the cool man who actually seems like he could handle himself.

In the book, Mackenzie thinks Gale's cool. (oh yeah... lol) And Rose likes Peeta. (sorry, Mackenzie. I think on your blog you said you were a Hutchette? Yeah, so so sorry.... anyway.....) OK, well, they don't LIKE LIKE either, they just have arguments among each other. It's actually pretty funny. Anyway....... that was kind of awkward...... moving on....

I believe I got over 100 pages on it, but I'm still not done. Does this sound like a story you'd like to read? I sure hope so. :) I'll post it on here as soon as I'm done. ;)

Until later...


Friday, July 19, 2013

take a leap of faith


i stared at the gaping space
and fear crept up on me
breathing down my spine
"if you go in there
you will die"
i didn't want to go in there
but i closed my eyes
and i remembered
everything that i had been told
my eyes flipped open
i had to go through
i didn't want to
but i had to
it was horrible
it was scary
it was dark
but i had been Called
and i had to go
i took a step forward
and walked through

We all have those things that we have to do that are unpleasant to us, whether it's having to move away from family friends, give up a beloved pet, do our chores, or build a house. There's always those unpleasant things to God calls us to do. We don't want to do them. We shrink back in fear. But we have to do them. Because we've been Called.

There's been lots of unpleasant things that I've been called to do, and I haven't done all of them, and I definitely haven't done all of them without complaining. But sometimes we just have to push through all of our fears and uncomforts and just get the job done. Just get whatever it is over with. Just get it all done.

So take a leap of faith.

Walk through the scary gaping door before you.

And know that Someone's holding your hand the whole way.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

reach


reach
stretch out your arm
give me your hand
reach
i'm trying to save you
trying to help you
reach
you can do it
just a little bit farther
reach
you're almost there
you're going to make it
reach
i can help you
just let me help
reach
take my hand
let me pull you out
reach

reach

i know you can make it. just reach. i can help you. let me help you. reach, let me take your hand, reach. if you reach, i can grab it. i can pull you out of this mess. i can help you. let me help.

reach. sometimes we just need to reach for Jesus.

thanks for reading. <3

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

dear you, love me #2

dear you,

everything used to be perfect. everything was amazing. we were best friends. and then everything came crashing to the ground. why? why did you do that? why did you have to break us? i didn't want to go away. i didn't want have to it all fall away. but you did. i don't know why. i'm still trying to understand.

you built a wall between us. a big wall. a fence. and i don't know how to break it. i don't know how to tear it down and get back into that precious heart that i had known for so long. why? why did you build that wall? why did you build that fence? why do you want us to stay away from each other, when what we really need is each other? why do you want to do this to us? to me?

i feel so alone. there's nobody else in the world like you. not somebody who understands me as you do. there's nobody. i've searched. but nothing can fill the void like you do. why did you do it? i don't even understand. what did i ever do to you, that you would ruin my life forever? why?

i don't understand.

love,
me

fictional||thanks for reading <3

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

because i love you


i saw you
i heard you yell my name
"marina! no!"
they had to hold you back
as i walked up before him
as he looked at me
and said
"why are you here?"
"take me," i whispered
"take me instead of him"
i pointed to him
his eyes were anguish
he tried to get to me
to rescue me
but the others
they held him back
this was my choice
a teardrop falls down my cheek
my breath catches in my throat
do i really want to do this?
sacrifice myself?
for him?
the man sitting before me
he watched me
and he watched you
he saw your pain
your anguish
he saw the words in your eyes--
"don't take her"
"take me"
but you he turned to me
and he said
"you have saved his life"
"now go"
i looked back over my shoulder
one last time
your eyes were anguish
you looked about ready
to sink into the cobbles
and die
because i had left
because i had been everything to you
but my eyes
they gave him my message
they told him the reason why
"because i love you"

Monday, July 15, 2013

Italics When Hover on Links for Blogger Blogs

OK, so, you know that on most blogs when you hover over a link it has an underline? That used to drive my crazy. Until I found out how to get rid of it.

What we'll be covering in this tutorial:
1. No underlines on link hover.
2. Italics on link hover.

OK, so, first, how do you just plain get rid of the underline?

1. Log into your blogger account and click on the blog you want to edit.
2. Click on "template".
3. Click on "customize".
4. Go to "advanced".
5. Click on "CSS".
6. Paste this code in the box:

a:hover {
text-decoration: none;
}

7. Save template.
8. Click "back to blogger" and hover over your links to see how it worked!! :)

And then how do we apply the italics?

1. Log into your blogger account and click no the blog you want to edit.
2. Click on "template".
3. Click on "customize".
4. Go to "advanced".
5. Click on "CSS".
6. Paste this code in the box:


a:hover { color: normal; font-style: italic;
text-decoration: none; }


7. Save template.
8. Click "back to blogger" and hover over your links to see how it worked!! :)

Now, on the second code, we can edit it a little bit.


a:hover { color: normal; font-style: italic;
text-decoration: none; }


See the code in yellow? That's what we can edit. :)

So "normal". This is talking about the color when you hover over it. On "normal", it will be whatever you put on the customization. But if you put something like "black", "gray", "blue", etc., it will be that instead. You can only do stuff like "black" etc., you couldn't do like "light gray". Otherwise the code goes void. (doesn't work)

Hope this helps!! :)

~Storyteller

Sunday, July 14, 2013

it doesn't even matter


i watch other people
all the attention they get
for things that i can do
and it makes me feel
small
insignificant
unloved
don't they see me?
don't they see what i can do?
why don't they understand?
why don't they like me?
why don't they tell me what they think?
i watch other people
get so many friends
so much praise
and they just bask in it
and why shouldn't they?
but aren't i as good as they are?
don't people care about me?
don't they understand?
i watch other people
and see the things they do
and suddenly i feel
like i can never do anything right
because who can stand
against those other people?
who everyone says is so amazing?
who can stand?
certainly not me
and suddenly
i realize
it doesn't even matter
they don't know me
none of them do
but who cares?
i do what i do
 i serve My God
i do what i have to do
and it doesn't matter about them
because this is between me and God
and it doesn't matter
it might still hurt
it might still give pain
but it won't hurt me
like it did before
because i'm stronger now
and it doesn't even matter

Saturday, July 13, 2013

"meet me at the fair"

"meet me at the fair." his words haunted her.

she was here, but where was he? she was tired of waiting for him. she'd waited for him all her life. waited for him to notice her. waited for him to realize that she wanted to marry him some day. waited for him to realize that he really loved her back.

she was tired of waiting. she didn't want it anymore.

then why, after five years, was she again waiting for him?

she glanced around, trying to see through the throng of people. she promised herself that if he didn't show up in the next ten minutes, that she would leave. never look back. never wait for him again, only to have it result in heartbreak once more. she wasn't going to wait for that. she was tired of waiting. she wanted somebody who she didn't have to wait for, somebody who would just realize who she was, what she thought, what she loved, and why. somebody who just loved her for her, instead of something that everybody else said about her. she wasn't shallow. she was full of depth. but he probably didn't even know that. probably didn't even care.

she waited ten minutes.

then twenty.

then thirty.

she couldn't bring herself to leave, not without knowing what he wanted. every time she thought about going, she got this feeling in her heart--a stab. she didn't want to leave. she wanted to believe that he would come and apologize for the waiting. to come and tell her what she really wanted to hear.

he loved her for her.

"cara?"

a hand was placed gently on her arm.

she turned around.

it was him.

"rick."

he smiled. "cara, you look great."

she couldn't manage a smile, even for his sake. she felt tears come to her eyes, but she pushed them back. "thanks."

"i...cara, i know this is sudden..." he trailed off, looking away. "just do it," he whispered to himself. he turned to cara and before she could protest got down on one knee. "cara smith, will you marry me?"

her voice caught in her throat. she thought of all the waiting she had ever gone through. she thought about everything that this man had done to her... ignored her for five years, asked her to wait, then rejected her for someone else. this was the person who had pursued shallow girls, after knowing her depth. this was the same man.

her eyes flickered. she had to make a choice. what was it going to be? she was tired of waiting. what if he made her wait again?

"no." the coldness in her voice surprised herself.

rick's face fell. "no? why not?"

"because of every single time you made me wait," she spat. "every single time you ignored me and went for somebody else. i don't want you because you lost your fortune and no other girl will have you. i want you because you love me--me for me." she couldn't believe that she'd brought up his loss of fortune at a time like this. "i don't want to wait any longer. i'm tired of being treated like i don't matter."

she walked off.

and, surprisingly, she felt free.

Happy in a rather sad way...

Friday, July 12, 2013

Story Sneak Peek: Rain


Princess Rain has always felt second best to her sister, Snow. Snow has always acted the role of the future ruler, despite the fact that Rain is two years older. When Rain is framed for an act of felony that she didn't commit, she is forced to flee her father's kingdom or be sent to the dungeons by her evil younger sister. Confused, angry, and full of sadness to be apart from her beloved father, she wanders into the Lost Forests, where she encounters a strange group of characters. Upon finding out that Snow has a plot to kill their father on the kingdom's anniversary, the same night that Snow will be crowned the ruler, Rain goes into action and, along with a motley band of dwarves, elves, and an angry huntsman, they go to save him. But will they be in time? And can they save the kingdom from utter despair?

This... is just a little synopsis of my newest story idea. Yeah, yeah, I decided to redo the Snow White story in a way that's totally not Snow Whitey. Well, first off, it's not a totally random idea--I was just randomly reading this book at the library and on the back it said, "How to mix up a fairytale--make the hero the villain and make the villain the hero." And I was like, "That is such a good idea!" Then I was going through fairytales, and I realized that one that doesn't get redone that often, but it still one of the more famous ones, was Snow White.

And come on. Admit it. The idea of having the gorgeous Snow White as a cruel and ruthless younger sister princess is pretty scary, right?

It took awhile to get it all through my brain--so Snow White's the bad guy, so who on earth is the hero? Um, the huntsman? No, it has to be a girl. Obviously. But then who? The Evil Queen? And that's when  I realized I wanted her to be the good guy. And then I was like, "Wait. Whoa. That makes my main character like... wow... ancient. I don't want that!" Then I got a great idea, "Why not make her the older sister, but she looks old enough to be Snow White's mother?" Of course, I was feeling pretty stoked at that idea. So I grabbed my notebook and started writing down ideas.

Which... is when I got to the dwarf part. And I was like, "Now, how on earth am I going to make the dwarves totally characters of my own?" And I was thinking, "First off, there can't be seven. There has to be more." That's why I decided it was two groups of feuding outlaw dwarves. Oh yeah. I was on a roll by then, and I was, "Whatever! Let's add in some elves! Everybody likes elves!" (at this point I will mention that these aren't cute little elves. These are LOTR-Legolas-kill-the-orcs-with-huge-bows elves.) And then I was like, "Wait a sec. What about the poor Huntsman?" So of course he hates Snow and wants to join Rain's side. :)

Now, about Rain's name. I was trying to think of a really good name for her. And I just couldn't help but think, "Man, Snow White's really a stupid name. Why on earth would you name your princess in your story Snow?" And then it was just like BINGO. Lightbulb in the brain. What if their father was like this huge weather scientist dude? That's why he would've named Snow Snow. And that's why I picked Rain for Rain's name.

I still haven't decided if there's going to be a prince/love interest for poor Rain. I mean, she's going to be seventeen about to turn eighteen. But still. Mushy gushy books are not what I like. I like having the guy in there, so that you can go and imagine what happens in the future (they get married? She ditches him? Who cares!) but I don't like having to go in on that in detail. (um... eww) Anyway, so, if there was one, I'm just saying, I think it should be an elf. Or maybe the huntsman! Wait, no, I made him old and he already has a family. Nevermind. =P

(if you can't tell, I'm still figuring some of these things out. Like... as I write this)

Anyway, so that's kind of a sneak peek of an upcoming story that I'm writing and hopefully going to be posting on here right before I go and get it published. :) Talk to ya'll later. ;)

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Customized Fonts for Blogger Blogs

Hey, guys!! :)

So, Autumn asked me how I got customized fonts on my blog. You will NOT believe how long I searched for this code on google, until I just ended up making my own code. (that was after I found out how to build it. Anyway) This code seriously needs to get out there, which is why I decided that I would make my next post (this post) about that.

First off, you're going to need to pick a font or two that you want, right? So hop on over to the Google Fonts that are offered and just pick one, for this tutorial. Got one? OK, good, let's go.

The font I'm going to pick is called Shadows Into Light.

1. See that blue button where it says "add to collection"? Click it.
2. In the right corner you'll see three buttons. Click the one that says "use".
3. Scroll down until it says "add this code to your website". Copy that code and put it somewhere safe. (sticky notes or like wordpad or something like that works amazing)
4. This is an example of the code, real quick:
<link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Shadows+Into+Light' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'>
5. Got it somewhere safe? Good. Now, you're going to add a / right before the last >, so that the code looks like this:
<link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Shadows+Into+Light' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'/>
(I put the / in red so that you would notice it better. ;))
6. Log in to your blogger account and click on the blog that you want to edit.
7. Go to "template".
8. Click "Edit HTML".
9. First off, don't freak out about going into the HTML. I understand, I was TOTALLY freaked when I first had to try this. It's no biggie. I would suggest that when you first try something like this out, get a test blog, just to make you lest wary of using your own HTML and more comfortable with it. It's highly unlikely that you're really going to hurt anything.
10. OK, see this line?
<b:skin>...<b:skin/>
(it should be like right towards the top)
Paste that code up there^ right ABOVE it.
Good job. :)
11. Now, click on the arrow beside those words.
12. Scroll down to the body where the blue words end and you again see the <b:skin/>.
13. This is what it should look like:
]]></b:skin>
What you're going to do next is RIGHT ABOVE that HTML, OK? :)
14. These are the codes that you're going to be using:


h3.post-title { font-family: 'FONT NAME HERE', cursive !important;}

.sidebar .widget h2 { font-family: 'FONT NAME HERE', cursive !important;}


Put the name of your font--in my case, Shadows Into Light, where it says "FONT NAME HERE". Don't erase any part of the code except for FONT NAME HERE (not even the ' '), because otherwise the code will go void. (that means it doesn't work) So it should look like this:


h3.post-title { font-family: 'Shadows Into Light', cursive !important;}

.sidebar .widget h2 { font-family: 'Shadows Into Light', cursive !important;}


15. Now, what do these two codes do, first off? The one that says "h3.post-title" is the one that controls the font of your post title, as it would suggest. This will change your post title to whatever font you just embedded into your template. (you know when I asked you to paste it into the code? Yup, you embedded it!) And the second code ".sidebar .widget h2"? That's talking about the widget/gadget titles.
16. Now you're going to paste both of those codes, WITH THE NAME OF THE FONT THAT YOU EMBEDDED, right above the ]]></b:skin>.
16. Now click the "preview template" button at the top.
17. You will be shown a preview of your template. If the post titles and widget/gadget titles are changed to the font that you went, it worked!
18. Viola! Your fonts are changed. :)

I'm still working on getting the right code for the date title, but I'll keep you updated. ;)

Hope this helped!

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

A Magical Poem

sometimes you just feel
deep inside your heart
maybe not all the way, but you'll feel it someday
at least it's a start

it's something magical
just a small little spark
something's different here, everything's crystal clear
you think you've hit the mark

it's something special
the way you can feel it
you hold it tight, the stars alight
so that none can steal it

you get that feeling
that this has never happened before
you feel a little tremor, that'll make you remember
it shakes you to the core

you know that something will happen
something very soon
you'll be swept away, to the stars someday
or maybe a quiet lagoon

there's a spark
in the stars tonight
sparkling mystery, i just wish i could see
past the quiet moonlight

i know that something will happen
soon, quicker then light
i can't wait until then, to leave this world of men
and find that magic place, what a sight

and now i smile and wave
flying away up high
i know you'll miss me, look for the magic key
i'm flying away in the sky

Monday, July 8, 2013

The Surface


Nope, I don't just randomly start posting Owl City CD covers. Nope, this post isn't about how much I love Owl City. Nope, Owl City doesn't really even come into it. (OK, but just a little bit...) Nope, this post isn't even about music.

OK, so what on earth is this post about?!

Stories.

Like most of my posts.

In one way or another.

Anywayyyyyyy.....

What story am I going to be talking about?

Remember that post about that song about Owl City?

Anyway, if you don't, go check it out again real quick. ;)

OK, whoa, whoa, wait.

You guys know the Generation Gazette blog (whose authors I really need to talk about posting more regularly, like, maybe, oh,  I don't know, every day)?

Well, you know Danielle and the rest of them? Well, I'm writing a story about them. It's called The Surface. And, frankly, I think it's one of my best works. If not THE best. Mostly because I worked so hard on making it... right. Not just skimming through it. Doing it the right way. Staying in the spots as long as I needed to, to make it real. To actually have my character go through physical hardship, as well as emotional hardship. To get Danielle to the place where... where she actually seems... real.

And guess what? I'm already at 300-some pages, and still going! That's what's so exciting for me.

Of course... there's always the thought that you guys won't like it, and that nobody else will like it, and I'll never get it published... Man, sometimes I just feel like such a failure. =P

Anyway, I got inspired by Mr. Owl City's cover up there^.

(actually, the guy's name is Adam Young, but anyway...)

It's kind of like a world like that... magical and yet so real to our own. If it was like our own, though, it would definitely be in the future. (it's not called Earth, it's called Aerth, I believe, so it kind of could be Earth in the future, but I don't want to think of it as that bleak...) I want to make the books a trilogy, of just three books of around 300/400 pages each. I'm thinking the second book might be named The Underground (you'd understand if you read the book) or maybe The Equinox, and the third would be something like The Beginning. I'm not sure yet. Any ideas? :)

Anyway, I'll be posting it on here as soon as possible. :) I hope you guys will like it!! I'm feeling a little nervous about it... ;)

P.S. Rubberboot Girl publishing update: my query letter still has to be read by my "editor"... so, yeah, hopefully it will get sent off to the publishers we picked out!! Please keep praying. If I could get a book published... that would be my dream come true. <3

Sunday, July 7, 2013

The Cooking Disaster

Dear Readers,

Hi, this is Jessie.

Today was the first day of my summer cooking class.

And let's just say it didn't go so hot.

So, when we got there, Noah and I found ourselves sitting at this table in the middle school's cooking team's kitchen by the science labs. Ladasha, Maya, Summer, and Maurice all arrived. Maya was grumpily listening to Summer and Ladasha argue over shoe brands while Maurice sat nearby, looking bored. Each girl was used to being the most popular, but they'd had to settle for being in a popular group together.

Maurice was still the most popular guy.

Other then like Noah.

Yeah.

*awkward*

Several other kids came in, but I didn't really recognize any of them. They all had that "sort of familiar" look that I knew was because I'd seen them in the hallways at school.

Anyway, so we were just sitting there obediently (Me: I'm bored. Noah: I bet I'm more bored. Me: Don't count on it.) when all of a sudden a voice boomed from behind us, "HELLO, KIDS! WELCOME TO YOUR SUMMER COOKING CLASS! I'M MRS. KARP!"

We all turned, a little bit horrified by her loud voice. In front of us was the dread huge, fat, and ugly sixth grade history teacher that was rumored to have put the mayor to sleep in class as a kid. (and he makes the most boring speeches) She looked like a decaying dinosaur, except not quite as pretty. Her hair should've been white, but it was dyed a violent red, teased up into a huge beehive hairdo. Large black glasses sat like a block on her Roman nose. She wore old ucky eighties clothes that would've made us die if our mothers had even tried it on.

Oh my gosh.

This couldn't be real!

"We're going to die," groaned Noah under his breath.

"I HOPE YOU'RE ALL COMFY," she went on, "BECAUSE NOW YOU'RE IN MY CLASS! AND IN MY CLASS, 'COMFY' ISN'T IN OUR VOCABULARY! NOW, WHO WANTS TO START COOKING?!"

Nobody raised their hands.

"EXCELLENT! LET'S START WITH THE BAKED POTATO!"

Baked potato? What kind of a cooking class was this?!

"I'M BREAKING YOU INT GROUPS! YOU, YOU, YOU, AND YOU, TOGETHER! YOU, YOU, YOU, AND YOU, TOGETHER! YOU, YOU, YOU, AND YOU, TOGETHER! AND YOU?!" I was the last kid left, and she was giving me the evil eye. "YOU'LL BE COOKING WITH ME, YOUNG LADY!"

I was definitely going to die.

Noah was off with some kids that we didn't know, and the popular kids were all split up. Mrs. Karp grabbed my arm and hauled me over to another table so that it was just the two of us.

"WELL, GET COOKING!" she yelled, sitting down and putting her feet up on the table. She grabbed a book with a name that didn't look so great and started to read.

I stared at the table. A potato, fork, and plate were in front of me. I got to work, and placed the ready potato into the microwave when I was done, putting it on for... I glanced over my shoulder at Mrs. Karp. How long was I supposed to cook just one potato? At home, we always made four. (one for each of my parents and two for me, because I was always starving) So how long did you just cook one potato?

"Um, Mrs. Karp...?" I started.

"DON'T TALK, JUST COOK!" she shouted back at me.

I cringed, and put the potato in, my finger hesitating over the quick-cook numbers. Finally, I clicked the five. I was cooking it for five minutes. Yeah. That was right. Right?

I sat down awkwardly at the table, starting to twiddle my thumbs. Was that potato done yet? I avoided looking at Mrs. Karp, looking all around the room. I closed my eyes for a few moments.

What woke me up sounded like a hand grenade.

Someone screamed.

I jumped out of my chair and turned around.

My potato was exploding in the microwave!

"YEEK!" I cried, jumping over and turning it off.

I yanked open the door. The fizzled potato looked like garbage. A few more pops, and then it was only the smoke.

"THERE'S A FIRE!" one of the girls screamed.

Well... let's just say the fire alarm went off and we all got rushed out of there. I didn't want to go back the next week, but Mom made me.

So, yeah.

Could it get any worse?!

Love,
Jessie

*fictional

Button for Poem Girl


<div align="center" style="padding: 5px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzD4-mcxtiiDCxCkXUvBvwq27EUxRNIhTyddmKSTYglKpTNPzvatytWeSJ2C36jR_QJ3pnYVzpl3moPORF8QTXesemfxDzwQy0yQkPTjlVpZtKuHXU1b9sEtHVVUcwEo0elQNJ_DAcE0Y/s1600/theheaderchallenge.jpg"  title="The Header Challenge" alt="The Header Challenge" /></div><textarea style="background:#ffffff;border:solid 1px #cccccc; color: #000000; font-size:100%; height: 50px; margin:auto; text-align: left; padding: 2px 0 2px 5px; display: block;  width: 90%;">&lt;div align="center">&lt;a href="http://poetic-meditations.blogspot.com/" title="The Header Challenge" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzD4-mcxtiiDCxCkXUvBvwq27EUxRNIhTyddmKSTYglKpTNPzvatytWeSJ2C36jR_QJ3pnYVzpl3moPORF8QTXesemfxDzwQy0yQkPTjlVpZtKuHXU1b9sEtHVVUcwEo0elQNJ_DAcE0Y/s1600/theheaderchallenge.jpg" alt="The Header Challenge" style="border:none;" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div></textarea>

Saturday, July 6, 2013

A Really Big Tutorial Post

Hey, ya'll!! :)

So, Silent Reader asked me how I did the cool (well, I think they're cool) social media icons and how I made them kind of hover all around the round picture. Well, it's really simple, actually. I used mapping--having one picture with multiple links. This also makes it so that I could put all of the links close together with no gaps. And, a feature that I really love, a new window doesn't open up. (it really drives me nuts when it does that... unless I'm clicking on a blog button. Then I want a new window.)

Anyway, so I'd been searching for awhile (a month, maybe?) for how to do mapping. (because I'd looked it up and found out what it was named and how you "should" do it, but it wasn't working) And then I finally found this site that does it for you. (glory hallelujah!) I believe it is perfectly harmless (though I've only been using it for a little while...) but just to be safe, for spam issues and such, I didn't upload my photos, I gave the URL of them.

And what is this awesome site?

(just a sec while I get a new window and grab the link...)

Image Map Tool.

Oh yeah.

It's that cool.

Jjjjjjjjjjjjust kidding. =D

Anyway, so there's^ the link up there. All you do is...

1. Give the link to your photo. (talk to me how to do this...) Or you can upload. Your choice.
2. You'll be sent to another window that shows your photo uploaded and a countdown going on. Don't freak out. They're just loading the next page. Click "continue" when it's ready.
3. Read the instructions. What you're going to end up doing is clicking the rectangle thing and making little boxes around what you want to be links. You'll give the link to where you want it to go, and name the link. What naming it will do is, when you hover over it, you know those little words that pop up? Bingo. That'll be it.
4. When you get it all done, click "grab code." (err... somethin' like that)
5. This was the page where I got confused the first time. Towards the top you'll see a whole bunch of tabs. Click the HTML one and grab the code.
6. Log into blogger and click on the blog you want to edit.
7. Go to layout.
8. Click "new gadget."
9. Get the HTML/Java Script gadget and paste the good.
10. Viola! :)

Really easy, right? Most of the process is just trying to get the right photo to map. =P At least for me, anyway... I think I went through at least three before I found the one that I liked and one that matched with the rest of this design...

Also, Silent Reader wanted to know some websites that I use for designing.

HelpBlogger and Google.

That's it, folks.

I have looked up so many codes, spent so much time trying out things, figuring how to do stuff... man, it's tough being a designer. =P

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I have minorly used the code site Code it Pretty for some importing fonts and stuff like that. (also I learned about selectors and stuff there...) Anyway, if you're more advanced, you might want to go and check out some of the stuff she has there. :)

Also, just to say, if you have a question for the Code it Pretty lady, don't be afraid to ask. She's been really helpful to me. ;)

Anyway, but what's a good way to search for codes on google? I start out with "HTML code blogger..." because, first off, you want HTML codes. (this will include CSS codes in the search) And sometimes codes come up for like Wordpress, which..... isn't helpful. So starting out with that and then asking whatever your question is really helps.

Also, Silent Reader wanted to know some tips for designing.

First off, and I can hardly stress this point enough, if you want your design to look nice, professional, real, or pretty (or all the above), and I cannot stress this point enough, GET RID OF THE CLUTTER. It's fine to have your friend's buttons and some cute little sayings and such, but you don't want to have "useless" gadgets or too much of something. Some gadgets that mostly just clutter up your design: blogroll, pageview gadget, the feeding the fishes thing, etc. Even sometimes the label gadget. You have to decide for yourself how much clutter you want. And sometimes it doesn't look so hot to have like basically NOTHING on your sidebar. That can get old, too. So you just have to decide what you like. :)

I'm just going to say it right now... CSS saves my life. I used to think that CSS was kind of like baby designing and that I was just kind of like the amateur at everything. And I'm still kind of amateur in some ways. There are still things that I don't know and am still trying to find out. But first off, to clear the myth--CSS ISN'T BABY.

Let me describe it this way--HTML is embedding it into your code. CSS is applying it and using it. So HTML is the raw material, and CSS is the tool that you craft with. Once you find out the names of things in the HTML and their code names and such, then you can pretty much do anything with them with CSS.

Which... gets me onto my next topic.

Guys, I've been making my own codes.

*gasp*

It's true.

And let me tell you... it's sweet! I mean, seriously! There are some really annoying things that I can't find on the internet. And then... I just... made them. It... was an awesome moment. To say the least.

Let's see... what are some of the codes that I made? Well, I made one for making the post title go lowercase when hovered over. Oh my word, that was one of the awesomest moments... EVAH. Then let's see... I made a code for centering part of the comment form. And how to just get the post's font to change into one font, instead of changing the post title, too. And... hm... oh yeah. I made one to change the date titles into what I want. And... I made my own code for doing stuff with the post, like a border.

I mean, it's just awesome! Look^ at all I could make, just by making my own code! And you can do that, too. I know you can. :)

If there's ever any code that you want, or something that you want to happen but you're not sure how, just talk to me. I'm so willing to give you whatever you want! I don't care if you want to start a design business. I don't care if you want to crush my business into the dirt. I just don't care, you know? I just want to help other designers learn the stuff that I had to learn by spending hours on Google easily just by reading my posts.

I just ask one thing--please don't act like you're all better then me, even if you do know more codes then me. But it's especially annoying if you don't, and you just found out one that I hadn't even thought to look up. It's the most annoying thing ever. We're all friends here. I just want everybody to get better. I love looking at an amazing blog design. It's just so... beautiful. I love that, and I want that for everybody.

Which is way I'm going to give you the codes that I created.

For free.

Yup.

How to make all post titles go lowercase when hovered:


h3:hover {
text-transform: lowercase !important;
}


Centering part of the comment form:


.comment-form {
text-align: center;
}


These are the two easiest. The one about changing just the post font I'm going to have to save for another post all by itself. The same goes for the one about changing the date title--it's going to need a pretty big explanation to explain everything and how you can customize it for you own. :)

Hope this helpful. <3

Friday, July 5, 2013

I'll be Blunt


how could one thing
so simple as this
be so much fun?

Eh.

I'll be blunt.

GUESS WHAT?!

I GOT A PINTEREST!!!!!!!!!!

I'm called Jessica Willow, though of course that's not my real name. :)


Thursday, July 4, 2013

Fireworks


crackle
pop
boom
bright
alight
ignite
flash
clash
slash
through the night
explode
loud
high
in the sky
breaking darkness
into light
bright
color
red
white
blue
there's a flash
in the night
without a warning
there's a light
it's bright
full of color
and it explodes
bright
light
high
sky
crackle
clash
bright
in the night
what is it?
a firelight

Happy Independence Day. <3

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Why Not Have a Purpose?


instead of touching the water
and see random ripples
spreading across the waves
why not look at the ripples
the watery depths
and see that they're pointing
towards one direction?

random is fine
even fun
makes you laugh
makes you smile
but instead of being random
why not have a purpose?

instead of looking at the sky
and seeing random clouds
spread out like fluffs of white
why not look at the clouds
the masterpiece of God's hand
and see that they're pointing
towards one direction?

random is fine
even fun
makes you laugh
makes you smile
but instead of being random
why not have a purpose?

I hope you enjoyed that little poem. :) And it does have a meaning. As you can probably tell, during my last year of blogging I have been very random. (exceedingly random. Crazily random. Amazingly random!!!!!!!!!!! OK, you get the point...) Anyway, I tend to be a very random person. My thoughts move around crazily. It's like a writer's brain. I'm always thinking of something. And I have a tendency to get bored... very quickly.

But I've realized something. Instead of being random, why not have a purpose? Why not have something that you're striving for? Something that you're building up to? Something that you can accomplish? Why not have a purpose?

What I want my purpose to be is to serve God in everything that I do.

So how do I make that my purpose?

I'm going to. I hope you enjoy the ride. <3 And please ask yourself... why not have a purpose?

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

though it will rain, i will trust

though it will rain
i will trust
though it will pour
i will trust
that some day
there will be sun
and it will shine
down on me
and i will again
feel that joy
that comes with God

though it will rain
i will trust
though it will pour
i will trust
though people are against me
i will sing
though they are against me
i will stand strong
for you, Lord
always

though it will rain
i will have power
to stand strong
to stand firm
to look them in the eyes
and then pull away from fear
i will stand firm
i will stand strong
i will have God's power
i will forever do His will
i will never fear
i will trust
even though it rains
even though it pours
i will trust
forever

will you?

Monday, July 1, 2013

Busy+Owls+July+Reading the Publishing Date=This Post

Dear Readers,

First off, I just want to say that I'm going to be pretty busy for the next... oh... several months (until the end of summer), and probably won't be able to post as much, as sad as that sounds. :( I felt really bad about it, but God made me realize that I didn't need to worry about it. So... can you guys promise you won't freak out if I don't get a post on here every single day? Because that would seriously be a stress reliever. There's so much work to be done here, and it's hard to fit in time. But I promise that I'll try and post as much as possible, and answer your comments as much as possible, too. So that you guys can comment and don't have to wait for me to moderate it, I'm considering taking off all comment restrictors so that you guys can just comment away and it won't take as long as it used to. :) That sound good? I sure hope so. Anyway, I just wanted to give a little update on how my knee's doing. Amazingly? I can sprint now!! And play volleyball normally!! And jump!! It's so amazing what God does, isn't it? :) I'm sooooo excited!!!!! :)

Have you guys ever read the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series? Because that owl in that picture really reminds me of one of the owls. (Soren, I think it was? Anyway...) They were pretty interesting at first, and then I got into the "history books era", as I call it, and got absolutely bored to death. (owls+owl history+no dialogue=Storyteller being bored out of her brains.) But they were pretty good at the beginning. :D

Oh my word!! I can't believe it's July, can you?! I mean, really. June seemed like it just snuck up on me. But July?! Pretty soon it's going to be 2014. =P What a scary thought... I still haven't really gotten used to 2013!!!! Though, sadly enough, 2012 it starting to sound old. =P

I have a question. Does anybody else check the front of books to find out when they were published? *waves guilty hand* I don't really know why I do that. Maybe because I want to find out if the book's going to be modern or outdated by a few years. (like... will they be using iPhones, or slap-shut phones?) I actually read a book a few months back where they had a cell phone that was like a huge walkie talkie. =D It was pretty funny. ;)

Anyway, I'll get back to you guys later. :)

~Storyteller