Is it August already? Wow 2011 sure is going by fast.



This year sure has been exciting, and I'm sure the rest of the year won't be dull in comparison. This year alone I've gone to two church camps, 4-H camp, and camping in general. Not to mention all the 4-H activities and workshops I've attended this year. My county is so lucky that our local 4-H foundation was provided a grant this year that has made a lot of fun workshops free.

Take the Chef School that I attended through 4-H last week for instance. A two day long, Monday and Wednesday workshop that would have had to have been paid for without that grant. I had a lot of fun attending, even though I was one of the oldest people there. In all, ten people attended.

We kicked off the first day by learning how to properly wash our hands, taking about the different food groups, calorie needs, and food safety. While we did start at nine in the morning, breakfast was not provided that day, instead we got to make some really yummy snacks. We were divided into four teams,with each team assigned to a different snack or beverage. Symphony of Fruit Pizza, Veggies & Dip, Trail Mix, and Bottoms-Up Cherry Limeade was what was on the menu.

While we ate, our Adult Leader, Ms. Jean, along with her daughter Lauren and the Youth Program assistant for Howard County, Lindsay, talked to us about serving sizes, how fruits and veggies are related to color, thinking about what's in our drinks, and how important it is to eat balanced meals. During the break Lauren and I, who have been in 4-H the longest, led the group in singing 4-H songs and some short games to kill time.

For lunch that day we were once again split up into teams, this time making Corner Kick Pita Pockets, Barbecue Bacon Party Spread, Crunchy Munchies, and Lemonade. Once we had cleaned up and done another load of dishes, Ms. Jean told us what was happening on Wednesday. Not only were we cooking our regular meals, but we were throwing a small party for our parents, going shopping for supplies, and having an Iron Chef competition, though not in that order.

Since there were ten of us that day, we were split into two teams of five, given a blank menu and cookbooks, and told we had to plan a meal consisting of a main dish, salad, veggies, dessert, and drinks. We had to have a theme for our meal, so my team decided on Home Cooking, since that is what we are most familiar with. Our meal consisted of Chicken Nuggets (homemade), Garden Salad, Green Bean Casserole, Twice Baked Potatoes, and Peach Cobbler with tea and lemonade to drink.

That concluded Day One.

Day two kicked off with a couple of songs and hand washing routines, which by now all of us were used to. Breakfast was Ready, Set, Go! French Toast, Cheese and Fruit Kabobs, and Frosty Orangeliciousness. Don't worry if you can't pronounce the last one, we couldn't either. After we finished, we loaded up into two vehicles and drove to Walmart. Each team had a shopping list with the ingredients for their meal for the party written down, and $75 to spend. After a brief lesson on how to find the lowest price, we set out to get everything we needed. Since both teams needed some of the same products, we got large containers and only one team bought that items. (Team One bought eggs, team two bought milk.)


Even though my team needed ten pounds of chicken, we still only spent about $56, before tax. Altogether, when we checked out, we had about thirteen dollars left. We went back to the

E-H building to cook lunch, which was Cool Quesa, Summer Salsa, Spanish Rice, Boatloads of Fruit, and Fruit Cooler. We only had about ten minutes to eat lunch, because we were running behind and the judges for the Iron Chef competition were due to arrive soon. Some of us skipped out on half of our food in order to clean the kitchen, I was one of those people. By the time they had arrived, we had the kitchen all cleaned and the dishes were done.

Since there was now nine of us, we were split into three teams of three, and given four items of food in a basket. We were told that we had to use those items, but we could add any items we wished. The things we were given were a raw pie crust, a jar of grape jam, a granny smith apple, and a packet of saltine crackers. My team baled the crust, spread the jam on top, covered it with more crust and served it topped with apples, whipped cream and apples on top with crackers and cheese on the side. All the teams discovered that day that you cannot bake a pie crust in thirty minutes, the amount of time we were allotted. My team didn't win, but we all had fun experimenting.

We cleaned up yet again and set out to make our party food. Everything went smoothly until I started chopping the tomatoes and sliced my finger open. When I was two I broke that same finger and it's always been sensitive, so not only was it bleeding though the towel it hurt like heck. One of the volunteers took me to the first aide station and cleaned me up, but I started to feel queasy and she made me sit down. My friend Sherry's dad came in, and since he's an EMT he checked me out. It wasn't a long cut, but it was deep. Even when I felt a little better, and when I felt up to walking, I sat down for a few minutes, until my mom got there. I offered to help in the kitchen again, but they kicked me out and told me to sit down. According to eye witnesses I was as white as a ghost.

But anyway, everything went smoothly, even if the parents had to wait a while, and the food tasted great. After we were done some of the parents offered to help clean up, and we started to bag up the leftovers. I discovered the one upside I had to cutting my finger, they wouldn't let me do the dishes. After door prizes and certificates of completion, we said goodbye, and thank you and left.

Speaking for myself and my friends, we had a great time. I hope that we get to do something like this again next year.

Breath Of Angel

Melaia is a priestess who lives in the Temple of Navia, with the young priestesses, and The High Priestess. Her life is perfect, until a stranger walks through the gates and is murdered in front of her.......... by a hawk. After this Melaia's world is spun out of control and she is thrust into one adventure after another as legends come to life right before her eyes. The stories she told to her friends all come to have a foothold in reality, as she meets both angels and immortals during her travels. Before long, she finds her self caught in a feud that has been going on for centuries, and everyone is saying that the only one who can end it is her.







Breath of Angel, written by Karyn Henley and published in the year 2011 os the first book in The Angeleon Circle series. I enjoyed reading this book, because it's action packed and has a hint of romance. For Melaia there seems to be danger at every turn, coupled with adventure and excitment. I was never bored, and always at the edge of my seat. Melaia makes both friends and enemies in this fantasy tale.



However, there are some downsides. While it's never boring, it seemed to go a little to fast, one minute someone's murdered and a few days later she's leaving the temple, her home, then suddenly she's here, there, everywhere. While I liked the adventures and adversaries she encountered, she had to face one after the other after the other all at once and when I got to the end I couldn't believe I had finished. And also, the author hardly used the word "said" and at times I got confused, I didn't know who was saying what unless I went back and read it again.

I would definitely recommend this book to my friends who like fantasy stories that keep them on the edges of their seat, but if you like a story that explains everything at a good steady pace, then this is not for you. But, considering it's faults and highlights, Breath Of Angel is something that I know I will read again, and I can't wait for the next book in The Angeleon Circle to be released.

I received a complimentary copy of Breath Of Angel from Waterbrook Multnomah for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review.

The Singing Tree

The Singing Tree was written and illustrated by Kate Seredy and was first published in the year 1939. The copyright was renewed once in 1967 and again in 1990 by Puffin Books. The book begins in the year 1914, a year many people will remember, and a year that the main characters, Jancsi and his cousin Kate will never forget.


"Life on the Hungarian plains is changing quickly for Jancsi and his cousin Kate. Father has given Jancsi permission to be in charge of his own herd, and Kate has begun to think about going to dances. Jancsi hardly even recognizes Kate when she appears at Peter and Mari's wedding wearing nearly as many petticoats as the older girls wear. And Jancsi himself, astride on his prized horse, doesn't seem to Kate to be quite so boyish anymore. Then, when Hungary must send troops to fight in the Great War and Jancsi's father is called to battle, the two cousins must grow up all the sooner in order to take care of the farm and all the relatives, Russian soldiers, and German war orphans who take refuge there."


Taken from the back of The Singing Tree, by Kate Seredy.


This book was a highly entertaining, coming of age story. Follow Kate and Jancsi as they experience the pains of growing up, run the farm, take charge of the Russian soldiers, experience grief and sorrow along with their village, watch lives be torn apart in the War. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book with my mother. It was a great story, and I will cherish it forever. Anyone could read this book, but with mild violence and a bad word, I would recommend that if your child is younger than nine or ten you should read this book aloud to them. All in all, it was a great book, better than its' prequel, The Good Master.

The Lightning Thief

This book begins Rick Riordan's popular Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. Now that the movie has come out, more and more people want to read these great pieces of literature. The first book in the series is The Lightning Thief. This book was published in 2005 by Hyperion Paperbacks for Children. It portrays twelve year old Perseus (Per-see-us) Jackson, who discovers that he is far more than a kid who gets kicked out of every school he goes to, and far more than the son of nobody, as he is soon to learn.


"Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school......again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mt. Olympus seem to be walking straight out of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Now Percy and his friends have jut ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mt. Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief; he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves."





Taken from the back of The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.





Is this a good book? Yes! When I first read it, five or six months ago, I couldn't wait to read the next one. This book keeps you at the edge of your seat, waiting for the next chapter. The comical chapter titles and the characters sense of humor and black comedy keep you entertained throughout the book. Rick Riordan draws readers into his story of friendship, adventure, drama, and treachery. The way Riordan wrote this book makes you feel as if you are Percy (females and males both!). Rick is a great author and I can't wait to read more of his work.

The Sight

There will be three, kin of your kin.....

The wild cats have flourished in their new home on the banks of the lake for several seasons, and the Clans are growing strong and healthy with new kits. The time has come for three kits of ThunderClan to become apprentices.

Hollypaw, Jaypaw, and Lionpaw spring from a strong legacy: the children of Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw, two of the noblest ThunderClan warriors, and the grandchildren of the great leader Firestar himself. All three young cats posses unusual power and talent and seem certain to provide strength to the Clan for the next generation.

But there are dark secrets around the three, and a mysterious prophecy hints at trouble to come. An undercurrent of rage is rising against those who are not Clanborn, and the warrior code is in danger of being washed away by a river of blood. All the young cat's stregth will be needed if the Clans are to survive.

......who hold the power of the stars in their paws.

Taken from the inside flap of The Sight.


One of the many books by the trio who together write under the name of Erin Hunter, it was an enjoyable read. The words on the page drew me into the story, and as I read on I could see it a coming alive in my mind. With the air of mystery and adventure that all of Hunter's works provide, I know I will enjoy reading the rest of her books and reading this one again.