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“Midnight Sun” and Then Some

Okay…

The moment we’ve been waiting for since the beginning of December has finally come. I have completed Stephanie Meyer’s book “Midnight Sun” and I can now check this book off my February Reading list…

Ha. Right.

So I ended up not finishing this book, ya’ll. Perhaps maybe one day I’ll eventually finish this book, but now that I have tried countless of times I’m still just going to mark this off my list and leave it incomplete because I think I’ve made a strong enough opinion on it already.

We all know it’s not a good sign when a reader doesn’t want to finish reading a book, and a short list of the reasons why a person may forgo finishing includes:

1.) The book is a yawn, personified.

2.) The book’s plot is hard to follow, muddled, isn’t thought out, etc.

3.) The book is outdated.

In this case, I would like to say it was perhaps all of the above. I am not dragging Stephanie Meyer’s by any means because I really liked her series when I was a teenager. But I am now a twenty-six year old woman, and this book had a lot of moments early on that were hard to get through.

So let me count down the things I disliked in the story…

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First Impression: Book Cover

From the moment you lay eyes on the cover, you can tell it’s another book in the “Twilight” series. There’s just a distinct look these books have–the clean black background with the simple image contrasted on the cover always makes me do a double take in the bookstore to see if it’s another book from Stephanie Meyer. I can appreciate what they were trying to do with a pomegranate, since Edward refers to Bella as Persephone in the story. But honestly I dislike having the fruit sloppily cut open on the front. I feel like having a whole pomegranate sitting on the front cover like the original books always have a whole apple on their front cover (unless it was the version used to promote the movie series) would have been a better design.

I already knew what the book was going to be about, so I can’t really make a unbiased first impression on my thoughts going into this book. I have an expectation that this book is going to be Edwards point of view of Twilight. I figured my impression was going to be generally more focused on whether or not Meyer decided to add something crazy into it that wasn’t included in the first book.

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Going in, I’m feeling pretty open minded. I have read the twilight books since graduating high school. They are not that bad structurally compared to the House of Night series where I couldn’t get through the series based on how the author wrote her sentences. There’s some moments that used to make me swoon as a teen that as an adult make me laugh (the Bella-Jacob in a sleeping bag scene for one) but overall, I pulled through the series in the matter of days.

I expect this book will take about the same amount of time to get through, and will be the generally the same tone as the Twilight saga was.

Impressions After Reading

Oh, how wrong could I be.

Stephanie Meyer didn’t add any scenes, so that problem was easily laid to rest. However, she surely doesn’t do much for making Edward’s character less creepy than people had originally thought for him to be. This definitely is not a romance book now reading back at it from an adult’s perspective. This is a bit more horror-like now after binge-watching “You” on Netflix for hours on end in my adulthood.

Edward Cullen is fuckin’ creepy.

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He talks about killing his entire biology class in a moment’s notice just so he would be able to kill Bella the moment he’s hit with her scent. He mocks his science teacher’s intelligence level because he has two doctorate degrees. He follows her everywhere and listens into every person’s thoughts nearby. This guy is an absolute killer, and a stalker to top it all off.

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I think if this book had been published before we were adults it would have perhaps landed a bit differently, but that ship has sailed. Maybe I’m not the intended target audience, but this book series came out when I was a teen, so this was the audience it ended up being for. Why Stephanie Meyers waited so long to publish this book after a chapter was leaked back in 2008 is beyond me, because I really do think she missed her window on when this book would have ended up on the bestseller’s list.

Rating

Rating: 1 out of 5.

Overall, I give this book a rating of a single star. We have the Twilight Saga. We didn’t really need the first book retold in Edward’s voice. It came out way too late to make an impact, and Edward is a creeper.

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Tanologist Express Self Tanning Water: Worth It?

I picked this sun tanning water spray the other day while in Ulta beauty. I’ve seen this sun tanning spray in Target quite a few times, however my local target has been out of the Medium version of this tanning spray. Ya’ll…your girl over here is pale. I cannot do a dark spray, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to pull a medium spray off. However this product really swooped me in by the promise that it would be airy light and have a smooth, non-stanning, non-sticky going on. So after waiting patiently for the past few weeks and it never coming in, I ventured over to Ulta beauty. 

I could’ve asked for Target to have ordered me a tube of this sun tanning lotion, I know. But I needed to go over to Ulta anyways so why not just buy it from there? And Ulta had it’s own stand of sun tanning sprays and oils for this time of the season, so there was plenty in stock. 

Putting this spray on, I would say the smell was very quaint and smelled slightly floral. It wasn’t overpowering, which was a releif because some fragrant smells seem to give me a headache this time of the year (thank you allergies). Since the spray was clear and dried quickly however, it was hard for me to really build up a nice even layer that I felt confident about. I did use a new mitt that I had also picked up from Ulta, and I had rubbed the spray into my skin. The bottle said to keep it on for 1-3 hours before rinsing off.

The first time that I used it, I kept it on for 3 hours. My skin on my face did seem to have a very light glow to it, however my fingers and shoulder where I hadn’t rubbed in appeared quite streaky. This would continue to be an issue the following day as well when I reapplied the second time. The build-up has been very faint, but there is a definite glow. 

As far as staining goes, I didn’t notice any staining on my clothes as I wore it in my air conditioned apartment. Since I didn’t test it against sweat, I’m not sure how the tan will hold up or if it will start to streak. My white bra did have faint bronze rub from my underboob, but that easily seemed to come off in the wash. 

I’d say this is a spray I’m going to keep my eye on in the next couple of months as I keep using. So far it’s been okay. It definitely fulfills the pricepoint for me, so that’s not bad. Overall I would say this is a nice buy to have to slowly start building up your tan for the upcoming summer season. 

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Destiny & Reruns

I keep seeing lists upon lists floating around Facebook this week about how many shows you’ve seen every season of. Lately, it had me thinking about how we seem to accumulate a great number of shows over a lifetime. If I live to see 70, I will have surely seen hundreds of shows by then. How many shows have you watched every episode of? How many shows have you started watching and didn’t even finish? Now, let’s think of all of the shows we’ve seen every episode of that you’ve watched over and over again.

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My Thoughts on “The Midwife Murders”

At the beginning of the month of January, I created a reading list to finish three books by an author I dislike, James Patterson. It’s now a little halfway through the month, and I have now just completed “The Midwife Murders”. This is the second book I’ve completed a review on, and if you want to hear my thoughts on “Hush” I’ll link that here for your merriment as well. 

Continue reading My Thoughts on “The Midwife Murders”
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Why I Dislike Stephen King

Since I’ve been on a roll this month with controversial topics, I figured I’d go into a little more detail on my dislike primarily on the known King of Horror, and that’s Stephen King. Most people find this the most shocking about myself personally because I am such a horror buff, one would automatically assume that my love for the horror genre would just automatically translate to the book world. In most cases I’d say you’d be correct, however not in all cases, as I have a love/hate relationship with this author. 

Photo credit here.

I cannot remember the first horror movie I ever watched, but I’m sure it was probably a movie based around a Stephen King book. I can say this with almost positive certainty because my parents VHS tape collection is vast, and one of the movies I remember them both jointly liking in my younger years was Stanley Kuberick’s “The Shining”.

Photo credit here.

Believe it or not, this version of “The Shining” is extremely different from the book and highly saturated with content that was made up for your viewing pleasure. A lot of scenes from the book has been left out in the movie version or has changed to be more exciting for visual purposes. If you’re planning on watching a better adaption from book to movie then I’d recommend getting your hands on the 90s television version of “The Shining”. My parents had a bootleg copy of this version on VHS at one point, and it was so uniquely different from Kubrick’s version that I had to read the book after watching both screen adaptations.

So I started to read “The Shining” when I was probably around 12 (parents didn’t care what I read, yes they owned bootlegged VHS tapes, let’s continue) and the book most closely identifies with the TV series. I ended up not being a fan of either the book nor the movie, and both will eventually give us the dumpster fire that Doctor Sleep is many decades later, I’m sure.

Even though I didn’t like The Shining”, I decided to try and start reading other books by Stephen King because I had liked most of the movies I was watching. I have tried to read “Christine”, “It”, “Firestarter”, “Pet Semetary”, “Salem’s Lot”, “Doctor Sleep”, “Duma Key”, and “The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon”. To this day I can say I successfully have finished one of his books and that was “On Writing”, which ironically is one of my favorite books. 

When I picked up Firestarter, it had me interested until about the last quarter of the book where the one guy droned on about his military knowledge for the next six pages. Sometimes I feel as if his writing gets sidetracked and he spends the next five pages talking about a tree, and that loses it’s charm easily. 

Most of Stephen King’s books to me are very bland and have been an outdated concept by the time I’ve begun to read them. Nothing in his books pull me in or decidedly give me chills, and I expect more from a horror novel than what Stephen King’s books deliver to me. Perhaps it’s because his books have been over done by everyone else in the horror genre by this point, but I’m pretty certain a tale such as Cujo isn’t just an original thought he came up with (Old Yeller) and don’t get me started on Salem’s Lot (vampire weirdos living in crawlspaces? Yeah okay). 

However, despite my harsh criticism thus far of his work, I hold a certain respect and admiration for Stephen King. Even though I have not been able to find much enjoyment in his books, I cannot deny someone who has talent when I see it. There is a reason everyone knows his name, and knows some plots as being associated with his name. All I have to say is “kids battle an evil clown. Name that title,” and arguably everyone who is reading this will automatically assume I’m talking about “It” by Stephen King. The fact that he has full plots that we associate only as being a Stephen King novel says something, especially when a rare few contemporary novelists have reached the same height in recent decades.

Photo credit here.

There is no denying that Stephen King is truly a master when it comes to his craft, even if his craft is not necessarily my cup of tea. A few contemporary authors have created works of fiction that will withstand the test of time as his work surely will. However, it’s still going to take some time for me to get into reading another book of his.

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The Bomb of Drugstore Beauty Balms

Hey guys! So I wanted to talk to you this week about a beauty product I had used many times in the past that seemed to work really well for me in taking care of split ends and fixing my hair after I had used boxed dyes on my hair. 

I have been in love with this balm since I had started using it back in 2012 when I started dying my hair black for the first time. This balm always helped me combat the dryness that comes with the out of the box amateur hair dyes we all seem to use at one point or another in our lives. This damage erasing balm is recommended for use in placement of your usual conditioner. You want to work this at the ends of your hair where most of the damage is going to be, and then spot treat any other dry spots you have in your hair. 

For women with curly hair, I have been told this product works best on top of your usual conditioner, although I would warn you to watch out for weighting down your hair or your hair drying out too much. 

This balm is going to be really easy to use, and as soon as you get it out of the container you can feel the luxurious, silky smoothness. I’m not a big fan of the color or the packaging, like so many other people have mentioned before in the past I do wish this product came with a pump as opposed to just staying loosely in the jar, but I’m not going to beat up a product over something as simple as that. The smell is so good, especially if you like the smell of most L’Oreal shampoos and conditioners.

 

I hope I supplied at least a little more information for you to make a decision today on whether or not this may be a good product option for you. I know that it’s an uphill battle sometimes when it comes to dry and damaged hair, especially if you live in a place with a dry climate. 

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Ramblings: Blog Updates

Hey, y’all. What is up my dudes? I just sat down with a cup of English Breakfast tea, and I decided I would create a blog post to give you guys a heads up on what I’m planning on doing in the upcoming year.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I know in the past I have not tailored my blog to fit into a certain niche. On my blog, you can find lifestyle posts, book posts, funny posts, and beauty posts. My vision I’ve discovered is bigger than just covering a sector of a blog, and one day I hope to turn this blog into an elaborate culture blog that’s going to probably require more than just me one day. I want it to have different categories and sections being updated on a regular basis. To do such requires a lot more planning on my end, as this blog idea just suddenly happened one day and now I have a lot of big ideas I want to put together and get out there. 

I also would like to keep my own personal blog going, but that’s still going to just be my own personal blog posts, so I’m not sure if I can provide a number of scheduled posts throughout the week because y’all–my life is really not interesting. Writing personal blogs is something I’m still struggling with writing regularly because it’s harder for me to have inspiration; I plan out things a little too much and then I’m anxious when it’s not turning out the way I had originally pictured it. 

Over the next couple of weeks, I may play around with different layout types. Later on, in the year I hope to add a couple of designs to my website. You guys don’t understand how I’ve lived under an internet rock for about the past five years and now I find a website like Red Bubble after always obsessing over Deviant Art in my teen years. This just seems like a cool place to put some artwork up even if it turns out to be really freaking awful. I am also just starting to master the use of a stylus, but this is going to be interesting to say the least. 

I also wrote a blog about New Years’ Eve Resolutions. For my year, I am planning on maintaining a healthy weight while I allow my thyroid to be treated by the endocrinologist. Plus doing more stuff with this blog.

How is everyone doing? How was your first week of 2021? Sadly, the world is still crazy. If you want to read more about what I have to say on a broad range of different topics, don’t forget to like and subscribe to my blog or follow me on my social media. Take care!

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End of 2020: Hello 2021

Hey my dudes, what is up?

I’m sure we are all happy for this year to be over and for 2020 to be put in the past behind us. However, how many of us had extreme blessings in one way or another in 2020? Has anyone had a new member introduced into the family, whether it be a human or a furry friend? Has anyone started working at their dream job? 

I know I’ve been absent in the writing community for a little bit of time. My boyfriend and I have been gaming over the US holidays since he has been off work, and we’ve been enjoying doing that in the evenings. One thing I am grateful for in 2020 would be Kevin. I look forward to all of what 2021 brings. 

I have also been busy with my parents. In September of 2020 Kevin and I moved in together about two hours away from my parents and I still had to dash back to my locker in the middle a few times. My father has also been sick on and off, and I still tried to make this holiday a good one for the both of them. The three of us work in public service, so COVID is more difficult than ever when you come in contact with so many people throughout the day. I have always had my concerns of spreading it despite my job taking every precaution possible. 

Working at a vet clinic has also kept me on my toes quite a lot, as it always does. I’m still trying to decide on what I want to be when I grow up. Being a vet tech really doesn’t pay much, and I hope to not be reliant on another person’s paycheck one day–it’s a hang up I have, and I know it is. But being a vet tech doesn’t cover housing let alone the standard of living within my state. I make barely over minimum wage and even if I was certified that wouldn’t change much. I love what I do and I love the animals, but I do not have the means to go to vet school and I’m not even sure if I would. 

How many others of you work in a service field that puts you in contact with many people throughout the day? How has your workplace responded to COVID-19? Coming from a retail background where I worked for corporations and large businesses where the employees were not regarded as much more than money making machines, working for a small business has made me appreciate small businesses that much more. My boss honestly cares about her staff’s welfare, even though sometimes it feels she goes overboard with how cautious she has been with COVID-19. But I think I prefer her err on the side of caution compared to my retail job at the time saying we were not allowed to say anything to customers not wearing a mask (but if we were to be caught without a mask it was a fireable offense).

I could go on about covid but that’s not what you’d want to hear from me at the end of the year. Corporations sometimes suck and some small businesses are ran by butt holes all the same. For every good boss out there, you are appreciated.

Despite all of the good that’s came out of 2020, I look forward to 2021. There, I said it. Like so many other people I am looking forward to this year being over with. That’s not to say I believe all of my problems are going to be over with at the stroke of midnight. I know I’ll wake up in 2021 and my house won’t be clean, I’ll still wear a mask at the office and still will need to take my meds. Nobody is looking for that fairytale. But we all would like to hope for 2021 to be a better year for everyone involved, and there’s nothing wrong with being at least potentially optimistic.

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Personal Blog #2: Friday the 13th Quarantine

Hey my dudes! What’s up? I hope you are having a great day today! I’ve had a bit of an unexpected week. On Friday the 13th I showed up to work and was told the woman I work with every Friday had tested positive for COVID-19. Which is not the greatest thing you want to hear as soon as you walk through the door to work. That, coupled with the fact that I had been coughing up a lung all night long had my boss nervous to let me work the front desk, so up until yesterday I was home at quarantine with my boyfriend.

It wasn’t that bad, and as you all know I’m rarely out of the house to begin with. I am living in a county where the infection rate is going up again, and clinics are giving tests out by a first come first serve basis. Another coworker of mine spent five hours waiting to be tested. I found out through Kevin (boyfriend) you can get a test shipped overnight to your house online if you live in the United States! How cool is that? Mine came all the way from the West Coast to the East Coast on Monday and by yesterday morning I found out I was negative! It’s through Pixel by LabCorp and it’s been approved by the FDA. This isn’t a paid advertisement for Pixel and I am not in any way affiliated with Pixel or their parent company. I just know how precious time is, and if you’re worried if you have COVID-19 I want you to know all your options to get tested.

Spoiler Alert: if you’re queasy when it comes to wounds don’t look at my next picture.

Since I’ve been at home I’ve made the best of my time. I got an exceptional amount of writing accomplished, including a full length story and a few blog posts I’ll set up to be blogged over the course of the next few weeks. You may have noticed as well I updated the theme of my blog once more. I’m still trying to decide which theme/layout I like more so you’ll continue to see my blog’s appearance change. I also have finished and started a new book on my November reading list, which is very exciting for me as well.

Oh, I also potentially have a new scar to add to my collection. This isn’t the aftermath of a rambunctious night hunting aliens like I’ll one day tell my grandchildren it’s from, unfortunately. I rubbed my hand against a very hot lid off of a boiling pot whilst cooking dinner the other night.

You’re welcome for the scars in the making overshare. Does this mean we’re best friends now?

Any who, for more updates on what I’m doing or what I’m posting, I am in the process of getting a Instagram and a Facebook page up and running. Talk to you guys soon.