Going Bovine 5/5 Stars

"Going Bovine"

By Libba Bray

All 16-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school—and life in general—with a minimum of effort. It’s not a lot to ask. But that’s before he’s given some bad news: he’s sick and he’s going to die. Which totally sucks. Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure—if he’s willing to go in search of it. With the help of a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America into the heart of what matters most (Synopsis from Good Reads)

200 Pounds Beauty

200 Pounds Beauty

Summary

Hanna is an overweight ghost singer for Pop artist, Amy. Sweet and talented Hanna always did her job with love and enthusiasm; singing is her passion. One night, Hanna is bullied by Amy and over hears their manager, (Sang Jun) saying hurtful words about her appearance. Having had a secret crush on him, Hanna's world is shattered by his words and attempts suicide.  Before she can kill herself, she is stopped by an epiphany that all of her problems are with her physical looks. Thus, she pursues a total body transformation through exercise and plastic surgery. During her extensive makeover, she disappears from work and home, leaving Amy and their manager without any hope to schedule singing performances. After unveiling a new and  (by most social standards) improved look, and with the help of her closest friend (Jeong Min), Hanna auditions to sing for Amy as, Jenny. Upon hearing her sing, Sang Jun decides to debut Jenny as a pop singer and market her as an all “natural beauty”. 

The Immortal Rules - 4.5/5 Stars

The Immortal Rules

By: Julie Kagawa

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn’t easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

The Secret - Unrated

The Secret

By Rhonda Byrne 

I found myself unable to give The Secret a star rating because of its content. Everything you read in it is mostly based on common sense. Positivity attracts posivitiy, negativity attracts negativity, etc. Naturally when you live your life in a positive manner, you perceive that only good things are coming your way. The opposite is also true. I've known about the premise of this book for a long time before finally giving it a read after being influenced by Xia Xue, Cheerserland, and Qiuqiu, having read their rave reviews about how The Secret has changed their lives.

One thing I did learn from The Secret (and Xia Xue) is affirmations. If I ask the universe for something (with only positive wording!) and believe that I've already attained it, then it is more likely to come true. Since then I've started keeping an affirmation journal, writing down the things I absolutely believe will come true. I'm happy to report that so far, it's worked. How, you may ask? I'm glad to tell you.

I've been helping my sister-in-law build a business from the ground up. I handle all the back end stuff - paperwork, sales, mailing, packaging, etc. She focuses on designing the jewelry that we sell. From the first day she showed me her jewelry, I believed that she could be a success. Without her permission (before she had made the decision to start up a business), I went behind her back and contacted several boutiques but there was one that I really had my heart set on. It's very popular and successful where we live, and has an stellar reputation. It was a week after I wrote down the affirmation that I would close the sale for $1,200 (not too bad for a business that didn't exist at the time!) and help her take steps to becoming a success that she decided to allow me to do the legal paperwork to set her up.

Everyone should give The Secret a read at least once. You may not unlock the meaning of life, but you'll likely gain something out of it.




BeKa

Blog Giveaway!

Details for the giveaway below.  The winner of the giveaway is BethyDoodle! Congratulations!

Fifty Shades Trilogy - 3/5 Stars

Fifty Shades Trilogy

Fifty Shades of Grey/Fifty Shades Darker/Fifty Shades Freed

By E.L. James

Fifty Shades of Grey synopsis: When literature student Anastasia Steele is drafted to interview the successful young entrepreneur Christian Grey for her campus magazine, she finds him attractive, enigmatic and intimidating. Convinced their meeting went badly, she tries to put Grey out of her mind -- until he happens to turn up at the out-of-town hardware store where she works part-time. (Source: GetGlue)

Fifty Shades Darker synopsis: Daunted by the singular tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house. But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. (Source: GetGlue)

Fifty Shades Freed synopsis: When unworldly student Anastasia Steele first encountered the driven and dazzling young entrepreneur Christian Grey it sparked a sensual affair that changed both of their lives irrevocably. Shocked, intrigued, and ultimately repelled by Christian's singular erotic tastes, Ana demanded a deeper commitment. (Source: GetGlue)

China Glaze Capitol Colors: Harvest Moon [Updated, Originally Published 4-18-12]

I don't plan on making a habit of blogging about nail polish and cosmetics, but since this was sort of book related I thought it would be okay. :)

I was at Maui Hair and Body getting my eyebrows waxed when I saw a display for China Glaze Capitol Colors. I loved all of the colors - especially Luxe and Lush (which was sold out. Extreme sad face.) I ended up leaving with Harvest Moon and Electrify at $6.00/ea.

My picture isn't the greatest (I used my myTouch 4g's camera) and neither is the lighting, but you get some idea of what it looks like, right? (Please disregard the fact that I am hopeless at painting my nails and the paint ends up on my nails and everywhere else.)

Things you should know about this polish:

• What you see is what you get - the color in the bottle is the color you get on your nails after ONE COAT!!!!! 
• It was fast drying (it took about a minute before I could go about my business again, but if you're wary you can wait longer.) 
• It's easy to remove (from skin, anyway.) I accidentally painted my finger and cleaned it immediately. Most nailpolishes leave ugly streak marks on my skin, but this came off clean.

Because I just applied it today, I'm not sure what it's longevity is while it's on the nail. I don't use a base or top coat so when a polish lasts more than five days you can color me impressed. :)

Eventually, I'll post a picture of what Electrify looks like. If any of you have the other colors, I'd love to see how it looks on your nails or what kind of nail art you've done with the polish. ^_^

Love,

BeKa


EDIT

This is what my nails looks like ten days later:

It wasn't until the last few days that it really started chipping off. Considering that I didn't use a top or bottom coat, I'm very pleased with the quality of this nail polish.

Once Upon a Marigold - 3/5 Stars

Once Upon a Marigold

By Jean Ferris

Christian is gaga for Princess Marigold. But he's just a commoner, and no match for royalty. Heck, he lives in a cave with a troll! And now he's discovered another reason to put his love-soggy heart on ice: Queen Olympia is scheming to take over the kingdom—and she'll bump off her own daughter to do it. Can Christian foil her diabolical plans?

A young man with a mysterious past and a penchant for inventing things leaves the troll who raised him, meets an unhappy princess he has loved from afar, and discovers a plot against her and her father.

My Thoughts on the Hunger Games Film

Synopsis

Sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen volunteers in her younger sister's place to enter the games, and is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy when she's pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives. If she's ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

This isn't really a review, I just wanted to share how I felt about the film after having finally watched it yesterday. My thoughts under the cut.


Love,
BeKa

Introducing....BeKa!（*´▽`*)

I have a tendency to worry about, well, everything.

Happy Easter 2012!

Happy Easter, blogders! (Blogder = Blog + Reader, a phrase made popular by Xiaxue.) Although this is technically the first post on the blog, there should be upcoming posts introducing ourselves. (o^−^o)

Traditionally I try to make themed eggs. Last year I did Pokemon themed eggs but this year as you can see I made a single Hunger Games themed egg featuring the Mockingjay! This picture was taken before I ruined it with blue egg dye. Sob.（┰_┰）

The Hunger Games is special to me because the year it was released was the same year I first started working at Borders Express. I have a distinct recollection of the following two books (Catching Fire and Mockingjay) being released and selling them to customers.

What did you-all do for Easter? Did anyone make book-themed Easter eggs? I'd love to see what everyone else has done if they're willing to share!


Love,
BeKa